Health & WellnessS


Health

France on high alert for flu and gastro bug, admissions up 35% at the weekend


Connexions
Tue, 02 Jan 2018 19:02 UTC
The CHU in Nice reported a rise in hospital admissions due to flu by 30-35% over the past weekend
The CHU in Nice reported a rise in hospital admissions due to flu by 30-35% over the past weekend
The Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (Sud) region is on high alert for flu and gastroenteritis, with only slightly fewer people affected there than in Paris.

The PACA (Sud) region is the most affected in France by "gastro", according to reports on the French medical GP network Sentinelles, although it notes that there have been "no hospitalisations" for complications such as "severe diarrhoea".

Influenza ("flu", known in French as "grippe") is also at severe levels in PACA, currently affecting around 495 people for everyone 10,000 inhabitants, just down from the 510 cases per 10,000 seen in the Parisian area.
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Brain

SOTT Focus: If You've Got "Adrenal Fatigue", There's Likely Nothing Wrong with Your Adrenals

Elliot Overton
Sott.net
Tue, 02 Jan 2018 16:46 UTC
Stress
© American Psychological Association
For those unfamiliar with the term 'adrenal fatigue', it's a popular buzzword used often by those in alternative health and wellness circles to informally diagnose people who display any (or all) of the following symptoms:
Fatigue, insomnia, depression, anxiety, low libido, poor stress tolerance, dry skin, poor quality sleep, apathy, sugar and salt cravings, repeated infections, headaches, slow wound healing, menstrual irregularities, diarrhea, constipation, hair loss, palpitations, cold hands and feet, poor body temperature regulation, low blood sugar, increased effort to perform daily tasks, lack of energy, food intolerances, allergies, etc...
Chiropractor and naturopath Dr James Wilson, building upon the previous work of pioneers in the field of stress physiology, including Hans Selye, claims to have coined the term "adrenal fatigue" in 1998. Since then, a whole host of books have been published on the topic, and a simple google search brings up more than 403,000 results.
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Bacon n Eggs

Survey says meat-eaters have more sex than vegetarians


Daily Mail
Sun, 31 Dec 2017 21:19 UTC
couple in bed
A survey has suggested that those who eat meat everyday are more likely to have sex more than once a week compared to vegetarians.
Vegetarians may like to claim they lead healthier lives, but it seems there is one area where they are missing out - in the bedroom.

A survey suggests that 42 per cent of those who eat meat at least once a day have sex once a week or more.

But the figure drops to only 16 per cent for vegetarians and those who are defined as 'reluctant carnivores' who eat meat only once a fortnight.

Before you drop your tofu and race to the butchers for something juicy, however, it's worth noting that the survey of 2,000 Britons was conducted by GourmetMeatClub.co.uk, which happens to be an online provider of grass fed, free range, ethically sourced meat.

Broken down by country, the Welsh were the top of the carnal carnivore charts, with 49 per cent who ate meat every day reporting that they had sex one or more times every week.

Comment: Although surveys are highly unreliable (and there is no source link for this one in particular), a vegetarian diet lacks sufficient amounts of fat soluble vitamins, B12, iron and zinc which can lead to low energy and lack of activity between the sheets.

Why you should think twice about vegetarian and vegan diets

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Pills

Crooked big pharma that hooked people on opioids now profits again from addicts' switching to heroin


RT
Mon, 01 Jan 2018 16:18 UTC
Drugs
© Global Look Press
The same pharma companies that profited from the opioid epidemic in the US by hooking patients on their drugs are profiting again as their victims migrate to heroin and participate in needle exchange programs, an attorney told RT.

The opioid epidemic is one of the biggest stories of 2017. The number of people dying from big pharma's prescription narcotics has skyrocketed. But the same pharmaceutical companies that profited from creating the crisis in the first place, and received a slap on the wrist for it, are now profiting from it again, attorney Peter Mougey said in an interview with RT America's Mike Papantonio.

"The migration from the prescription opioids to heroin is integral to this whole problem. At the end of the day, you are 80 times more likely if you are on heroin to have abused prescription opioids. It's common sense. No one starts by wrapping a tourniquet around his arm and putting a needle into it," he said.

"But something I find even more disgusting - I was with my co-counsellor in West Virginia last week, and we were looking through one of these needle exchange program packages. It has syringes and cotton balls and spoons to reduce the Hep-C and HIV. And sure enough, one of the companies that was selling - their logo was on the inside of the package - was McKesson. So, McKesson profited from the needle exchange program - and this is the same company that was charged with responsibility for controlling the overflow of the opioids into our communities."

Comment: See also:

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Pills

U.S. drug prices defy economics

Julie Appleby
Salon
Thu, 28 Dec 2017 13:00 UTC
prescription bottles Rx
© Burlingham via Shutterstock
Renda Bower knows well the cost of drugs to treat rheumatoid arthritis - her husband, son and daughter all have the painful, disabling autoimmune disease. And the family's finances revolve around paying for them.

Even with insurance, Bower's family last year faced $600 a month in copayments for the drug, plus additional payments on another $16,000 in medical bills racked up in 2016 when a former insurer refused to cover all the doses her 9-year-old daughter needed.

Bowers, of Warsaw, Ind., said her family tries to keep up with prices by cutting back on her children's sports and extracurriculars and skipping family vacations. She also works as a part-time teacher.

But financially, it's hard. "The cost should not be this high," she said.

Comment: Price-gouging is just one way the Pharmaceutical industry screws customers in the most heartless and evil way. As long as people believe these outrageously expensive treatments are the only option, they remain imprisoned by Big Pharma, unable to get off the wheel of suffering and money hemorrhaging. See also:

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Toys

SOTT Focus: Social Justice Targets Personal Trainers: Check Your Thin Privilege and Anti-Fat Bias

Doug DiPasquale
Sott.net
Sun, 31 Dec 2017 19:04 UTC
personal trainer stock image
"Oh, crap! I was so busy using my thin privilege to fat oppress you, I forgot what I was writing!"
PJ Media posted a report on a new academic article written by two professors at the Oregon State University, and published in the journal Fat Studies (yes, apparently there's an academic journal thoughtfully named Fat Studies. Who knew?). The article, written by Vicki Ebbeck, a professor in the College of Public Health and Human Sciences at OSU, and Shannon Austin, a graduate teaching assistant at the same school, informs us that gym instructors and personal trainers are guilty of perpetuating "fat oppression" and "anti-fat bias".

The article is titled "Burning off the fat oppression: Self-compassion exercises for personal trainers," and right off the bat I've been triggered by that 'O-word', leading me to believe I know exactly what's coming - an SJW screed pigeon-holing all fat people into an oppressed category who have power held over them by a powerful group of fit people (mostly that most oppressive of oppressive power-holders, personal trainers). I wasn't disappointed.

That said, this one took a bit of effort to tease apart. On the one hand, this seems like a total 'snowflake libtard' academic take decrying what should be obvious - being overweight is not healthy and making efforts, through diet and exercise to control for excess weight, is beneficial - by recasting the overweight as an oppressed group. And make no mistake, that's exactly what this article is.
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Biohazard

As this year's flu virus approaches epidemic levels, tens of thousands infected find the current vaccine totally ineffective

Tess Pennington
Ready Nutrition
Thu, 28 Dec 2017 00:00 UTC
flu virus
The 2017-2018 flu season has shown to be particularly nasty this year - in part, they believe, because of a less effective vaccine. Each month, flu cases have multiplied and the CDC has already warned this year's flu will be worst than the last. To date, 36 states are showing widespread influenza levels and many believe this season could easily reach epidemic levels. Headlines across the country are indicative of epidemic fears:

Comment: Not only is the vaccine for flu largely ineffective, but as we've documented here on many occasions vaccines actually work to undermine the body's natural immunity and ability to fight the virus:

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Extinguisher

Inflammation is the cause of almost every disease -what can you do about it?

Christina Sarich
Collective Evoultion
Fri, 15 Dec 2017 16:18 UTC
inflammation
© New Earth Media
The latest science is in, and though it is being used to promote a pharmaceutical solution (is it any surprise?), there are natural ways to stop chronic inflammation in the body - a problem that is now linked directly to the top five killers on our planet - heart disease, cancer, neurodegenerative disease, and diseases of the gut, primarily.

The latest evidence of inflammation's contributory role in disease came just months ago, when a global clinical trial of 10,000 patients who had previous heart attacks showed that an anti-inflammatory drug from Novartis reduced their risk of further heart attacks or strokes. A surprise side effect: The drug also sharply cut the risk of lung cancer. While Big Pharma would like our take-away from this study to be: "Oh, I need this incredible drug!" there's another obvious fact we can glean.

Comment: Chronic inflammation 101 - Everything you need to know

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Bulb

Meridians: The human body's 'energy highway'

Arjun Walia
Collective Evolution
Thu, 28 Dec 2017 15:04 UTC
meridians
It may seem counterintuitive, but there are many instances where science can actually hold us back from new discoveries and knowledge. Unfortunately, mainstream science is quick to discount anything which cannot be physically seen or felt, making notions like 'energy points' within the body seem like pure science fiction. But just because we can't physically see something, does not mean it doesn't exist. Nikola Tesla told us that "the day science begins to study non-physical phenomena, it will make more progress in one decade than in all the previous centuries of its existence," and hundreds of scientists around the world have been taking on this task for several years. Within the next few decades, the examination of non-material science is going to skyrocket, and we all stand to benefit. What we know as science is definitely changing.

One example where non-material science could benefit the human race is healthcare, as a number of publications have revealed the importance of mind-body connections, and how our thoughts, emotions, feelings, the perception of the environment around us and more are all connected to the health of our body and regulation of our immune system. A study published in the Journal of Acupuncture and Meridian Studies titled "The Primo Vascular System as a New Anatomical System" is one that has recognized the importance of these concepts.

Comment: Listen to the following shows to learn more about acupuncture and the meridian system of the human body:

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Microscope 1

23andMe to conduct massive weight-loss study

Antonio Regalado
MIT Technology Review
Thu, 28 Dec 2017 00:01 UTC
23andMe kit
© 23andMe
Right now, a lot of Americans are getting their skis out of the attic and trying to fit into last year's snow pants. More than a few will regret drinking that extra cup of eggnog.

To mark the season, consumer DNA testing company 23andMe is kicking off what it terms a "massive study" into the genetic basis of weight loss that it says will ultimately involve 100,000 people.

The company, based in Mountain View, California, says that starting this week it will begin contacting 1.3 million of its customers with an offer to take part in the project by sticking to one of two diets or an exercise plan for three months, reporting back on whether their waistlines grew or shrank.

Comment: The idea 23andMe is putting forward is interesting, but its success will likely depend largely on its methodology; the formulation of the diets, customer compliance and how truthful the self-reporting. Overall, one wonders if data gathered will simply bolster genetic determinism bias rather than actually looking at how diet can affect gene expression. See also:

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