Health & WellnessS


Ambulance

Wisconsin investigating rare bacterial outbreak, infections spread across the state

Elizabethkingia meningoseptica
© Wikimedia commons
At least 18 people have died in Wisconsin from a rare bacterial outbreak.

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services confirmed at least 44 cases of Elizabethkingia anophelis were reported from Nov. 1, 2015, to March 2, 2016, with 18 deaths attributed to the outbreak, ABC News reports. Most of the infected are 65 and older, but everyone has at least one serious underlying health condition.

Elizabethkingia anophelis is a naturally occurring bacteria found in soil, fresh water and reservoirs, according to health officials. An outbreak of the bacteria is very rare.

Symptoms of infection include fever, shortness of breath, chills or redness on the skin.

The source of the outbreak is unknown and an investigation is underway by state and federal health officials.

Health

The true cost of thalidomide: Ten thousand victims in the UK alone

thalidomide survivors
© Sergio Perez / ReutersJose Riquelme (L) and Esther Fernandez, victims of a drug based on thalidomide.
Thalidomide victims may surpass 10,000 people in the UK - far more than the 531 who have received compensation for the notorious drug, which causes severe birth defects and death in new-born babies.

Former director of the Thalidomide Trust Martin Johnson claims many families would not have known their babies had been affected by the drug.

Speaking to the Sunday Times, Johnson said it has taken half a century for the true scale of the thalidomide scandal to be revealed.

He said there had been no criminal prosecutions and that the Conservative government of the time refused to conduct a public inquiry.

Comment: Thalidomide Makers Issue First Ever Apology For Drug's Birth Defects


Rose

How aromas can heal

aromatherapy
© Interpolezno
ReadyNutrition Readers, this article covers some basics about aromatherapy and its uses as a practical tool in your bag of preparedness. Indeed, holistic and naturopathic methods and supplements are becoming more well-known by the day. Aromatherapy has its place within the overall discipline of naturopathic medicine. Let's cover some basics, then, to start you on your path to researching what works for you and your family.

Aromatherapy is not a new concept nor is it a new discipline. It is not "mumbo-jumbo" or pagan ritualistic Spiritism. As a matter of fact, if you need references to dispel such an inaccurate concept, read "The Song of Solomon" in the Torah/Old Testament. Read its references to myrrh, aloes, lilies, the rose, and other aromatic flowers and herbs to prove such. That is not to say that oils and scents were not used by nations for purposes less than "above board," however, the scope of this article is not didactic in nature. We are addressing aromatherapy from a naturopathic and scientifically-based standpoint as a holistic discipline.

Comment: The healing powers of Aromatherapy
Experts believe that, much like certain smells can set off the release of neurochemicals in the brain, such as serotonin, aromatherapy works by stimulating the smell receptors found in the nose, which then connect with the parts of the brain known as the amygdala and hippocampus, which harbor emotions and memories. By breathing in essential oil molecules, it is believed that these parts of your brain are affected on a physical, emotional, and mental level.



Question

Genetically Modified Organisms: The sterilization of humanity?

GMO rats
© Liberty Beacon
Severe health risks of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) are not new. Studies by scientists among others in France, Germany, Austria, since at least the 1990s, pointing to several levels of health dangers to mankind abound. A recent study released by Egyptian researchers found that rats fed a GMO diet suffer from infertility, among other health issues. In the US similar studies were muzzled by Monsanto and the Monsanto staffed FDA. In a 2011 paper the Institute for Responsible Technology - IRT refers to 19 animal studies linking GMOs to mostly liver and kidney organ disruption.

In the early 2000 the first Russian studies revealed reduction in fertility and birth defects in hamsters and rats. In a 2013 Russian study, scientist have discovered that mammals that eat GMO foodstuffs have difficulties to reproduce. The study concluded that "Campbell hamsters that have a fast reproduction rate were fed for two years with ordinary soya beans which are widely used in agriculture and those contain different percentages of GMOs. Another group of hamsters, the control group, was fed with pure soya [found in Serbia, as 95% of soya in the world is transgenic]."

Comment: GMO soy repeatedly linked to sterility, infant mortality, birth defects


Gold Bar

American Heart Association says eating the right fats can save 1 million lives, but they got the fats wrong

Butter
© dpa
You know the drill. Watch or read the health media and you will be regularly told to avoid saturated fats because they raise your LDL cholesterol, which will ultimately clog your arteries and lead to heart disease.

The problem with this recommendation is that it is only based on a theory, and worse yet that theory has never been proven. In fact, the recent studies that carefully examine saturated fat disprove this.

Health

Lymphedema Awareness Day: Is Lymph node removal with cancer surgery really necessary?

lymph node
On March 6th the lymphedema community will celebrate the 22nd annual Lymphedema Awareness Day, otherwise known as Lymphedema D-Day. But despite all these years of awareness, lymphedema is still not curable and remains "an unfortunate side effect" of conventional treatment for cancer. It's time for the medical community to acknowledge that lymphedema is often avoidable and linked to lymph node removal.

It's common practice for oncologists to recommend lymph node removal after cancer diagnosis. Removal of lymph nodes occurs with many cancers - breast cancer, prostate cancer, cervical cancer, colon cancer, melanoma, ovarian cancer, and others too.

Comment: Listen to the Health & Wellness Show: The Iodine Crisis - Interview with Lynne Farrow. Lynne talks about her experience with breast cancer and the conventional medical practice of unnecessary lymph node biopsies. Like the author of this article states; 'Surgical removal of lymph nodes, as a way of reducing metastasis, may actually be causing more harm than good because of the potential lifelong complications of lymphedema.' Lynne shares this perspective:
"Well it makes sense to have the lymph nodes out if they have cancer". Well you have to examine your premise then if you think that's going to help because in this case it doesn't help survival at all, even though you're leaving some miniscule amount of cancer in your body, the lymph nodes are functioning in some way that don't make the cancer spread or don't contribute to your survival or lack of survival. And the downside is this terrible, crippling lymphedema. If you get that it's just awful. If you've ever had anybody in your family that's had it, you would know.



Beaker

Toxic Teflon in your drinking water

Teflon
© ecowatchPerfluorooctanoic acid or PFOA, was used for decades by DuPont and other companies to make non-stick, waterproof and stain-resistant products.
The bad news about a toxic chemical used to make Teflon keeps getting worse.

Perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA, was used for decades by DuPont and other companies to make non-stick, waterproof and stain-resistant products. PFOA and related chemicals, which studies show can cause cancer and reproductive disorders, pollute virtually all Americans' blood and pass from mother to child in the womb. Last summer scientists at Harvard and the University of Massachusetts found that PFOA is hazardous at the tiniest doses - hundreds of times smaller than what the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says is safe.

Hearts

SOTT Focus: The Health & Wellness Show: The Iodine Crisis - Interview with Lynne Farrow

iodine crisis
This week, we are pleased to interview Lynne Farrow author of The Iodine Crisis. Lynne is a whistle blower, journalist, researcher, former college professor and speaker. Her own experience with breast cancer led to the discovery that someone had stolen a medicine with proven benefits reaching back 15,000 years. A medicine that not only helped her, but has helped millions.

She currently serves as the Director of Breast Cancer Choices, Inc., a nonprofit organization dedicated to the scrutinizing and reporting of the evidence for breast cancer procedures and treatments.

Lynne is also the editor of IodineResearch.com, where she has compiled materials for both beginning and advanced iodine investigators.

Why is there so much iodine deficiency? What are the applications of iodine therapy? Should I supplement with iodine? Which is the best way to take iodine? What troubleshooting should I expect? We'll cover all of these questions and much more.

Join us Fridays at 10 am EST and 4 pm CET for the Health and Wellness Show, where we expose the lies and emphasize the truth about health in our modern world. With us, as always, will be resident animal health expert Zoya, with her weekly Pet Health Segment.

Running Time: 01:51:00

Download: MP3


Arrow Up

Science actually supports Antivaxxers: Vaccines utterly destroy cellular immunity

vaccines
The myth that vaccines work is attributed to observations of mammals who recovered from infections with microorganisms that obtained natural immunity from future viruses. Although these observations seem to support vaccinations, raw science reveals that vaccines actually destroy cellular immunity.

T-cells are responsible for cell-mediated immunity, whereas B-cells are responsible for humoral immunity(antibodies). Whenever T- and B-cells are activated by a molecule capable of inducing an immune response known as an antigen, some of these cells become memory cells. As a result, the next time an individual is exposed to the same antigen, the immune system can destroy it quickly.

Comment: Vaccines: Crossing Immunological Boundaries
It is becoming increasingly obvious that our country is becoming more and more physically disabled. Our nation's poor health is increasing in accordance with our expanding mandated vaccine policies. Accurate, unbiased and referenced information, concerning vaccines, is very desperately needed.

By the time the average person reaches adulthood they will have accumulated approximately 68 vaccines. We need to start asking questions. How many are too many? What are the short and long term consequences of the various combinations? Do vaccines really achieve their advertised purpose or are facts and figures manipulated for the monetary benefit of the corporations? Are there any long term studies proving the safety of vaccines ...or......are we and our children the long term studies? Most importantly, what are the ingredients in vaccines and how are these ingredients determined and tested?

Tim O'Shea's much needed book The Sanctity of Human Blood: Vaccination is Not Immunization, answers these questions and much more. It will be shocking to some to realize that vaccines are not created and marketed for public protection. After reading O'Shea's book, one will be much more aware of where much of our chronic illness originates. The consequences of poor diet and chemicals in the environment, together with the negative alteration of our immune systems through injecting foreign bacteria, viruses and toxic chemicals directly into our blood stream, will become starkly clear. It is not always pleasant to confront certain realities.......but, only if we are aware of the propaganda and manipulation being used against us, will we be able to do something about it. The documented information that the author presents in this book is vital for our understanding, so we may begin to reverse the medical nightmare we are currently experiencing.



Shopping Bag

Consumer Reports study: More and more shoppers are tricked by the word 'Natural' at the supermarket

Natural Label
There's a gigantic food labeling scandal going on. Now there's a campaign to get the FDA to ban it.

A recent Consumer Reports study shows that nearly two-thirds of shoppers are being misled to believe the label "natural" on food packages means more than it does — including that the foods are free of GMOs, hormones, pesticides or artificial ingredients. But the truth is, these foods often contain the ingredients and chemicals consumers are trying to avoid.

As an example, some "natural" shredded cheese contains natamycin, a pesticide. And "natural" fruit snacks can contain artificial preservatives like potassium sorbate and sodium benzoate. Consumers shouldn't be misled in this way, and now there is a campaign to get the U.S. Food & Drug Administration either to fix the label "natural," or ban it altogether. In response to a petition filed by Consumer Reports, the FDA is asking for public comment (through May 10, 2016) on what the word natural should mean on food packaging.

Comment: Natural' food labels are essentially meaningless: