Health & WellnessS


Biohazard

SOTT Focus: The Great Canola Con: How We've Been Duped Into Replacing Natural Fats With a Trans Fat Shitstorm

Doug DiPasquale
Sott.net
Mon, 11 Dec 2017 15:09 UTC
poisonous canola oil
Some of you may remember, in the mid-1990s, when a new oil showed up on grocery store shelves and in the ingredient lists of many processed foods. It was called canola, and it was voraciously marketed as a healthy new oil, similar to olive oil in its fatty acid profile, yet cheaper. A public thoroughly brainwashed into the belief that saturated fats were killing us, having traded in their butter for vegetable oils, but already becoming leery of soy, corn and cottonseed, were quick to adopt a cheaper alternative to olive oil which had come to be viewed as basically the only "safe fat".

It seemed few were asking the right questions at the time; namely 'What the hell is this stuff?'

Canola is a Canadian invention, created by cross-breeding the rapeseed plant, the oil of which is toxic for human and animal consumption, so that it no longer produces (much) of the toxic constituent erucic acid. International regulations differentiate canola oil from rapeseed by checking the erucic acid levels - if it has less than 2% erucic acid, and less than 30 µmoles glucosinolates, it's canola (a trademarked term, by the way).
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Health

Sott Exclusive: From Seal Finger to Rapunzel Syndrome: Ten Strange Health Cases in 2017

Doug DiPasquale
Sott.net
Sun, 10 Dec 2017 08:41 UTC
Dental brace in woman's intestine
© BMJ Case ReportsWire from a woman's dental braces was discovered twisted in an Australian woman's intestine.
2017 has had its fair share of bizarre, headline-grabbing medical cases which tend to leave people scratching their heads. Fox News has compiled ten of these cases.

Braces are a pain - literally

An Australian woman went to the doctor complaining of stomach pains. The doctor found her heart beat was elevated and her gut wall was inflamed. The docs were stumped, though, as when lab tests and liver scans of the liver, gallbladder and bile ducts all showed up as normal.

It was only when they did a CT scan that they found an almost 3-inch long dental brace wire lodged in her intestines. "The wire penetrated through the small bowel and the small bowel mesentery and to another loop of the mid-small bowel," read the BMJ article reporting on the case.

The woman told the doctors she hadn't had braces in over ten years and that she never remembered swallowing any.
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Dollar

Big Pharma making moves to monopolize CBD oil market

Dr. Mercola
Mercola.com
Mon, 11 Dec 2017 00:01 UTC
CBD Hemp Oil Benefits
© CBD Hemp Oil Benefits
The cannabinoids in cannabis - cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) - interact with your body by way of naturally-occurring cannabinoid receptors embedded in cell membranes throughout your body. In fact, scientists now believe the endocannabinoid system may represent the most widespread receptor system in your body.1

There are cannabinoid receptors in your brain, lungs, liver, kidneys, immune system and more, and both the therapeutic and psychoactive properties of marijuana occur when a cannabinoid activates a cannabinoid receptor. Your body actually makes its own cannabinoids, similar to those found in marijuana, albeit in much smaller quantities than you get from the plant.

The fact that your body is replete with cannabinoid receptors, key to so many biological functions, is why there's such enormous medical potential for cannabis. More often than not, medicinal marijuana is made from plants bred to have high CBD and low THC content. While THC has psychoactive activity that can make you feel "stoned," CBD has no psychoactive properties.

Comment: For more on the ongoing CBD oil battle in the US, see: Meanwhile, in Ireland: Irish govt permits special license for medicinal cannabis oil (CBD) to girl suffering from severe form of epilepsy

And for more on the benefits of CBD oil, see:

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Magnify

Cannabinoid Deficiency and Its Impact on Human Health and Disease

Jonn Desnoes, Sandra Kischuk
Townsend Letter
Mon, 11 Dec 2017 11:49 UTC

Comment: We're compiling here parts 1, 2, 3 and 4 of this article (published on July, October, November and December 2017 respectively)


CBD oil
© HERB
If you had mentioned "cannabis" in a room of people two decades ago, you would have seen an immediate, violent schism between those who believed it was the gateway to opiate hell and depravity and those who felt it was a safer and gentler alternative to alcohol. Today, science is beginning to understand that there are many "layers" to the issue of marijuana use.

In this paper, we will attempt to start a dialog, a discussion which has been too long in coming. We will explore the available information (and even more misinformation), dispel the myths, and examine the role this plant can play in promoting health. Our ultimate goal is to clarify waters that have been long muddied by political, financial, and economic concerns totally unrelated to and unconcerned with the real properties of this "humble herb."

Comment: See also: The Health & Wellness Show: The Highs and Lows of Cannabis as Medicine

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Health

54 natural science-based options to inhibit and destroy pathogenic Biofilms

Joseph Cohen
SelfHacked
Mon, 23 Oct 2017 12:37 UTC
biofilms
I've been getting more and more people with outstanding infections.

Helping people who have chronic infections can be tricky because they are most likely to react to supplements, which is why such people often require a 'slower' approach (one that lessens reactions).

Identifying infections can also be really tricky. Is it bacterial, fungal, parasitic or viral?

Biofilms make the equation more complex, because even if someone took an anti-microbial that would kill their infection, biofilms can prevent this from happening.

Comment: Biofilms may be far more prevalent than we've been aware, or are perhaps becoming more common as pathogens have been evolving from modern medicine (antibiotics) and our toxic environment. Just a few things are certain: Biofilms are here to stay, they make treating chronic infections significantly more complicated than non-biofilm pathogens, but they can be treated.

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Heart - Black

SOTT Focus: Presiding over a heart disease catastrophe, the American Heart Association advocates vegetarian diet

Gabriela Segura, M.D.
Sott.net
Sun, 10 Dec 2017 20:17 UTC
steak meat
Hmmm, steak
Vegetarians were celebrating last month because a study published by the American Heart Association (AHA) found that a plant-based diet was associated with reduced risk - by 42%, allegedly - of heart failure.

Vegan and freelance writer Susan Bird, in her article on this study, accidentally cited a different study (published on the same day by the AHA) about coffee, strokes, and heart failure, where researchers analyzed data from the long-running Framingham Heart Study.

In this coffee/strokes study, researchers found that drinking coffee was associated with decreased risk of developing heart failure by seven percent, and stroke by eight percent, with every additional cup of coffee consumed per week, compared with non-coffee drinkers.

They also found that eating red meat was associated with decreased risk of heart failure and stroke. And yet, the AHA recommended that people "limit red meat, which is high in saturated fat, as part of a healthy dietary pattern that should emphasize, fruit, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy products, poultry and fish."
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Hearts

The little known effects of mercury on the cardiovascular system


World Mercury Project
Sun, 10 Dec 2017 18:33 UTC
cardiovascular system
Mercury's toxic properties have been apparent for centuries. Nonetheless, from the time of the first Emperor of China on, doctors have been fascinated with the metal's purported curative properties. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, health practitioners blithely used mercury as a medical treatment for everything from syphilis to teething discomfort to dysentery.

As early as the 1820s, some healers began to object to the practice of "giving poison as medicine," but, in many branches of medicine, physicians remained enthusiastic. In the late 1890s, for example, the prestigious scientific journal The Lancet published case studies broadcasting doctors' seemingly successful use of mercury for the treatment of heart disease. Referring to a mercurous chloride compound called calomel (also called the "blue pill"), Dr. Arthur Foxwell in Birmingham praised, in September 1895, mercury's "unique" virtues as a cardiac tonic capable of "freeing" a sluggish heart of "half its labour."

Over a century later, the medical perspective on mercury and heart disease has come to look quite different. Although many researchers have focused heavily on mercury's neurotoxicity in children, others acknowledge that, in adults, the cardiovascular system may be exquisitely vulnerable to mercury's toxic effects. A simple search using the terms "mercury" and "heart disease" in PubMed (the National Institutes of Health database) pulls up ample documentation detailing a higher prevalence of cardiovascular disease in individuals who have higher blood levels of mercury. Mercury damages the cardiovascular system even at low concentrations of exposure.

Comment: For in in-depth guide on decreasing your mercury load see: How to Rid Your Body of Mercury and Other Heavy Metals

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Health

Nine tasty fermented foods that are good for the gut

Dr. Eddy Betterman MD
Dreddymd.com
Mon, 13 Feb 2017 00:00 UTC
Fermented food
© Hoaquaonline
Fermented food has made a comeback in recent years, partially thanks to the popularization of Weston A. Price teachings. Fermented foods like sauerkraut and kimchi aren't considered to be the most appealing types of food; however, research exploring these and other fermented products on gut, brain, and body health has revitalized public interest. The fermentation process encourages essential bacteria such as Lactobacilli and Bifidobacteria to flourish. This makes fermentation a good source of probiotics for vegans, since many fermented foods are plant based. Vegetables are submerged in a salty brine during preparation to kill off dangerous, pathogenic bacteria. The good bacteria break down lactose and other sugars and starches in the food, making digestion easier. And once they reach your gut, they continue to help break down food and keep out bad guys like E. coli and C. difficile.

The Best Fermented Foods

When it comes to fermented foods, your options aren't limited to sauerkraut or fermented soy. There are other fantastic options that are considered "fermented," including tea, yogurt, and various vegetables. Here are 9 fermented foods you should include in your gut.

Comment: More on the benefits of fermented foods and probiotics: For more information on the importance of probiotic enzymes, check out these two SOTT Radio Health and Wellness Shows: Gut Health and Some of my best friends are germs

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Brain

Alzheimer's Disease and chronic inflammation

Kate Raines
thevaccinereaction.org
Thu, 30 Nov 2017 22:08 UTC
Inflammation
As medical researchers continue to make progress in understanding the causes and mechanisms behind Alzheimer's disease (AD), it appears that AD may be another example of an autoimmune disease, in which the body's own immune system turns on itself in a case of mistaken identity.1

One of the hallmarks of the more than 80 recognized autoimmune disorders is chronic inflammation,2, 3 although the site of the inflammation depends on the specific disorder.4 In rheumatoid arthritis, for example, inflammation affects the joints, in Graves' disease it is the thyroid, in psoriasis or systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) symptoms show up on the skin. In the case of AD, the inflammation is in the brain, showing up as an overproduction of antibodies generated to neutralize the brain "plaques and tangles" characteristic of the disease.5

Comment: Is your body burning up with hidden inflammation? Read the following articles to learn more about the connections between inflammation, stress and disease:

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Ambulance

2017's scariest health stories


Fox News
Sun, 10 Dec 2017 11:44 UTC
missing finger xray
© Chelsey BrownThis mom lost her finger after it got caught on a fence at her son's T-ball practice.
Not all health news is easy to report, especially when it comes to freak accidents and rare diseases. Here's a look at some of the scariest headlines from 2017:
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