Health & WellnessS


Eye 1

Orwellian Nightmare: Congress may block States from requiring GMO labeling

Timothy Wise
Alternet
Fri, 11 Sep 2015 17:05 UTC
Image
© justlabelit.org
The SAFE Act sounds like it promises accurate labeling of GM foods. But it likely guarantees that no such thing will ever happen.

As the vitriol intensifies in what passes for debate over the safety of genetically modified foods, scientific inquiry, thankfully, continues. A Tufts researcher, Sheldon Krimsky, recently published his assessment of the last seven years of peer-reviewed evidence, finding 26 studies that "reported adverse effects or uncertainties of GMOs fed to animals."

If recent history is any indication, Sheldon Krimsky should expect to be slammed as a "science denier."

Comment: New bill would give Monsanto immunity and squash GMO labeling
Forget all the progress that non-GMO advocates have made so far, too, if this bill receives enough support in Congress to actually pass. With its passing, it would preempt any local or state requirement thus overturning existing laws in Vermont, Connecticut and Maine - a direct attack to state sovereignty.

This is sad, news, concerning the fact that most Americans want GMOs to be labeled (at least). Polls show that a whopping 92% of US citizens are asking their government to label GE foods.

Despite this landslide request, Monsanto, Bayer, and Syngenta have infiltrated our governments to such an extent that nothing short of firing all of Congress, the FDA, the EPA, and the Senate would give us a chance to slay the biotech dragon that has its hold over us.


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Beaker

Researchers elucidate role of enzyme in signalling the immune system


Neuroscience News
Fri, 18 Sep 2015 19:26 UTC
mitochondria
A volume rendering of mitochondria
Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have discovered a new role for an enzyme involved in cell death. Their study shows how the enzyme, called RIPK3, relays signals between the cell's mitochondria "powerhouses" and the immune system.

The new study shows that this crosstalk is important not only for launching immune responses against tumors, but also for regulating the inflammatory responses that may result in autoimmune diseases.

"This finding could be helpful for developing strategies to target cancer and inflammatory diseases," said TSRI Assistant Professor of Immunology Young Jun Kang, who collaborated on the study with the lab of TSRI Institute Professor Richard A. Lerner, who is also Lita Annenberg Hazen Professor of Immunochemistry.

The study was published September 18, 2015 in the journal Nature Communications.

Comment: For more on improving mitochondrial function and its signalling see: Three major ways to improve your mitochondrial function

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Pills

Antidepressant claimed to be safely used for adolescent depression actually ineffective, associated with serious side effects


PsyPost
Thu, 17 Sep 2015 00:00 UTC
paxil, paroxetine
© Justin Jureidini
A University of Adelaide led study has found that a psychiatric drug claimed to be a safe and effective treatment for depression in adolescents is actually ineffective and associated with serious side effects.

Professor Jon Jureidini, from the University of Adelaide's newly created Critical and Ethical Mental Health Research Group (CEMH) at the Robinson Research Institute, led a team of international researchers who re-examined Study 329, a randomised controlled trial which evaluated the efficacy and safety of paroxetine (Aropax, Paxil, Seroxat) compared with a placebo for adolescents diagnosed with major depression.

Comment: The corrupt practices of the pharmaceutical industry and their research have become so common, that any study funded by the industry should be suspect and investigated thoroughly before dosing an unsuspecting public with dangerous drugs. Unfortunately, industry watchdogs who are supposed to be protecting people from these depredations are for the most part in league with BigPharma, hence drugs are approved with little oversight.

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Lemon

Detoxing with lemon and ginger tea

Kirsten Cowart
Realpharmacy.com
Sat, 12 Sep 2015 00:00 UTC
lemon ginger tea
Your body's ability to detox is key to maintaining good health, preventing illness and healing diseases.

There is a long list of toxins and pollutants that you can find in your water, food and air that inevitably gets into your body. Even with this happening, you can still maintain great health by keeping your kidneys, digestive system, liver and lymphatic system clean and healthy.

We have found an incredibly powerful recipe that is extremely inexpensive and effective at keeping your immune system healthy and ready for anything. Before we go over how to make this delicious tea though, let's quickly go over why it is so effective in healing your body by breaking down the ingredients.

Comment: For more information on the health benefits of lemon and ginger, see:

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Bacon n Eggs

Paradigm change: People increasingly avoiding carbohydrates in favor of fat and protein

Lydia Mulvany
Bloomberg Business
Thu, 17 Sep 2015 15:41 UTC
Saturated Fat
© www.primalbody-primalmind.com
Consumers are increasingly eschewing bread in favor of butter and red meat as carbohydrates take a back seat to fat and protein, a worldwide shift underpinned by a changing medical consensus that promises to transform the food industry.

Global demand for fat will rise 43 percent by 2030 with per-capita consumption jumping almost a quarter, according to a report released Thursday by the Credit Suisse Research Institute. Demand is seen gaining 23 percent for red meat and falling 8.3 percent for carbohydrates.

Comment: It seems that finally the demonization of healthy fats is coming to an end, after over 50 years that have seen skyrocketing rates of disease related to the consumption of high carbohydrate/ low fat diets and the promotion of deadly statin drugs.

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Health

Parkinson's may be cased by stomach pathogen entering the brain via the vagus nerve


NeuroscienceNews.com
Tue, 23 Jun 2015 14:43 UTC
vagus nerve
A major epidemiological registry-based study from Aarhus University and Aarhus University Hospital indicates that Parkinson's disease begins in the gastrointestinal tract; the study is the largest in the field so far.

The chronic neurodegenerative Parkinson's disease affects an increasing number of people. However, scientists still do not know why some people develop Parkinson's disease. Now researchers from Aarhus University and Aarhus University Hospital have taken an important step towards a better understanding of the disease.

New research indicates that Parkinson's disease may begin in the gastrointestinal tract and spread through the vagus nerve to the brain.

"We have conducted a registry study of almost 15,000 patients who have had the vagus nerve in their stomach severed. Between approximately 1970-1995 this procedure was a very common method of ulcer treatment. If it really is correct that Parkinson's starts in the gut and spreads through the vagus nerve, then these vagotomy patients should naturally be protected against developing Parkinson's disease," explains postdoc at Aarhus University Elisabeth Svensson on the hypothesis behind the study.

Comment: If a full disconnection of the vagus nerve from the stomach reduced the risk by about half, that might suggest that either there are other factors and pathways involved in the development of Parkinson's, or that the damage was already done before the vagotomy. Either way, this is a fascinating find. But remember, the vagus nerve isn't evil. It's involved in several important digestive functions, which vagotomy can disrupt in various ways. It's also the nerve that helps us relax and form bonds with the people we're close to!

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Attention

Chlorpyrifos on your food: Why is the EPA stalling?

Virginia Gewin
Civil Eats
Wed, 16 Sep 2015 23:16 UTC
Image
© Shutterstock
Autism, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, dyslexia, and other brain-related impairments have been diagnosed in millions of children in recent years. So it caused quite a stir last year when scientists identified chlorpyrifos as one of a dozen industrial chemicals fueling what they called a "pandemic of developmental neurotoxicity."

Chlorpyrifos, an organophosphate pesticide, is classified as a neurotoxin because it disrupts neurotransmission, essentially how brain cells communicate. According to the National Pesticide Information Center, it is also the active ingredient in dozens of commercial pesticides, used to control a wide range of insects on crops like corn, almonds, apples, and oranges. According to Dow AgroSciences, which manufactures the pesticide Dursban using chlorpyrifos, it has been used on more than 50 agricultural crops.

Comment: What information does the EPA need to review and why the continued pattern of delay?

According to Elizabeth Grossman at Yale Environment 360
Organophosphates are well known neurotoxins - some were developed as nerve agents for use in chemical weapons - and work on insects by targeting the nervous system. They have been on the market since after World War II, but their use increased in the 1960s and 1970s, when they were promoted as an environmentally preferable, rapidly degrading alternative to more persistent organochloride pesticides, such as DDT. By the 1990s, organosphosphate pesticides were one of the world's most widely used type of insecticides. Such pesticides include chlorpyrifos - used in household bug sprays, termite control, lawn care products, domestic pet flea and tick collars, and commercial agriculture - and malathion, used to control mosquitoes, fruit flies, and lice. Roughly 33 million pounds of organophosphate pesticides were used in the U.S. in 2007, the last year for which government statistics are available.


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Info

Is dairy sabotaging your gluten free healing?

Dr. Peter Osborne
Gluten Free Society
Wed, 17 Dec 2014 21:17 UTC
Image
Research Identifies Dairy as a Problem

Many people embarking on a gluten free diet continue to consume milk, butter, cheese, and other dairy products without giving thought to the potential for having an inflammatory reaction. However; researchers have identified that dairy proteins can affect as much as 50% of those with gluten problems. A summary of the research findings is listed below:
Patients with coeliac disease (CD) on a gluten-free diet may still have gastrointestinal symptoms. On clinical grounds cow's milk (CM) protein sensitivity may be suspected...A mucosal inflammatory response similar to that elicited by gluten was produced by CM protein in about 50% of the patients with coeliac disease. Casein, in particular, seems to be involved in this reaction.
Source: Clin Exp Immunol. 2007 Mar;147(3):449-55.

Comment: Milk: Does it really do a body good?

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Family

Is another human living inside you?

David Robson
BBC Future
Fri, 18 Sep 2015 20:46 UTC
Image
© Ariko Inaoka
You may think your body and mind are your own. In fact, you are a fusion of many organisms - including, potentially, another person.
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Health

Study suggests preventing changes in gut microbiota with antibiotics may prolong life, prevent disease


Science Daily
Fri, 11 Sep 2015 00:00 UTC
microbiome
Why do some people remain healthy into their 80s and beyond, while others age faster and suffer serious diseases decades earlier? New research led by UCLA life scientists may produce a new way to answer that question -- and an approach that could help delay declines in health.

Specifically, the study suggests that analyzing intestinal bacteria could be a promising way to predict health outcomes as we age.

The researchers discovered changes within intestinal microbes that precede and predict the death of fruit flies. The findings were published in the open-source journal Cell Reports.

"Age-onset decline is very tightly linked to changes within the community of gut microbes," said David Walker, a UCLA professor of integrative biology and physiology, and senior author of the research. "With age, the number of bacterial cells increase substantially and the composition of bacterial groups changes."

Comment: Your physical health and mental health is deeply influenced by the health of your gut and the microbes that live there:

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