We have been told for decades that, to reduce our risk of a heart attack, we should cut down on saturated fats. And the fat on milk - the cream - is rich in saturated fat. Not surprisingly, more and more people are drinking skim and semi-skim milk, low-fat yogurt and 'light' cheeses.
However, studies over a decade it was shown that use of low-fat dairy products increased the risk of prostate cancer in men,[1-4] and ovarian cancer in women.[5,6] So you won't be surprised that these cancers have increased in number since 'healthy eating' was introduced in the 1980s.
Now, a new study published in the prestigious American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, shows that, far from increasing the risk of heart attack, drinking dairy fat actually reduces the risk![7]
Not only that, but the researchers found that drinking full-cream milk and eating other full-fat dairy products also reduced the risk factors for the metabolic syndrome - a collection of conditions which includes obesity and diabetes.
Health & Wellness
I have been gluten-free for over ten years now. But it did not take long for me to realize that there were other foods that needed to be eliminated from our diets...and those of my veterinary patients. Within a few months of starting down this road, I had discovered that dairy was not "nature's perfect food", soy was not a "health food" and that corn was the fourth food that induced villous atrophy of the small intestine, just as gluten does. Turns out, my four-legged patients needed this info as badly as I did.
Yes, I began placing all of my dog and cat patients on the same diet that I had adopted for myself, starting with the elimination of wheat and later adding restrictions from soy, corn and all dairy products. Miracles started happening in my veterinary patients! And why wouldn't they? Dogs and cats are carnivores and not only would they never elect to eat gluten grains, dairy, soy and corn, they would never even be exposed to them, as they are all man-cultivated items.
So, when did we mess things up so badly? Look back...way back.
Yes, I began placing all of my dog and cat patients on the same diet that I had adopted for myself, starting with the elimination of wheat and later adding restrictions from soy, corn and all dairy products. Miracles started happening in my veterinary patients! And why wouldn't they? Dogs and cats are carnivores and not only would they never elect to eat gluten grains, dairy, soy and corn, they would never even be exposed to them, as they are all man-cultivated items.
So, when did we mess things up so badly? Look back...way back.
After weeks of silence on the issue, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finally decided to go public with the list of ingredients used to manufacture Corexit, the chemical dispersant used by BP in the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster. There are two things about this announcement that deserve our attention: First, the ingredients that have been disclosed are extremely toxic, and second, why did the EPA protect the oil industry's "trade secrets" for so long by refusing to disclose these ingredients until now?
As reported in the New York Times, Brian Turnbaugh, a policy analyst at OMB Watch said, "EPA had the authority to act all along; its decision to now disclose the ingredients demonstrates this. Yet it took a public outcry and weeks of complaints for the agency to act and place the public's interest ahead of corporate interests."
On the toxicity question, you could hardly find a more dangerous combination of poisons to dump into the Gulf of Mexico than what has been revealed in Corexit. The Corexit 9527 product has been designated a "chronic and acute health hazard" by the EPA. It is made with 2-butoxyethanol, a highly toxic chemical that has long been linked to the health problems of cleanup crews who worked on the Exxon Valdez spill.
As reported in the New York Times, Brian Turnbaugh, a policy analyst at OMB Watch said, "EPA had the authority to act all along; its decision to now disclose the ingredients demonstrates this. Yet it took a public outcry and weeks of complaints for the agency to act and place the public's interest ahead of corporate interests."
On the toxicity question, you could hardly find a more dangerous combination of poisons to dump into the Gulf of Mexico than what has been revealed in Corexit. The Corexit 9527 product has been designated a "chronic and acute health hazard" by the EPA. It is made with 2-butoxyethanol, a highly toxic chemical that has long been linked to the health problems of cleanup crews who worked on the Exxon Valdez spill.
U.S. ideas of mental illness are spreading around the world, leading to an actual change in the kinds of mental disorders experienced in other cultures.
In contrast to the view held by modern psychiatry, the forms of madness have varied widely throughout space and time -- including such unique phenomena as "amok," in which men from certain Southeast Asian cultures would go into a murderous rage then forget about it; zar, in which Middle Easterners would experience dissociative episodes marked by laughing, shouting and singing; and a wave of leg paralysis that struck European women in the late 1800s.
"We might think of the culture as possessing a 'symptom repertoire' -- a range of physical symptoms available to the unconscious mind for the physical expression of psychological conflict," wrote Edward Shorter of the University of Toronto in his book, Paralysis: The Rise and Fall of a 'Hysterical' Symptom.
In contrast to the view held by modern psychiatry, the forms of madness have varied widely throughout space and time -- including such unique phenomena as "amok," in which men from certain Southeast Asian cultures would go into a murderous rage then forget about it; zar, in which Middle Easterners would experience dissociative episodes marked by laughing, shouting and singing; and a wave of leg paralysis that struck European women in the late 1800s.
"We might think of the culture as possessing a 'symptom repertoire' -- a range of physical symptoms available to the unconscious mind for the physical expression of psychological conflict," wrote Edward Shorter of the University of Toronto in his book, Paralysis: The Rise and Fall of a 'Hysterical' Symptom.
© Caters
Eva Uhlin has finally recovered her looks.
Eva Uhlin has finally recovered her looks.
In September 2005, Uhlin took a capsule of acetaminophen (also known as paracetamol and marketed in the United States as Tylenol) to bring down a fever. The combination of her virus and the drug, however, produced a rare condition known as Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis. When she woke up the next day, blisters were spreading all over her body, including her face.
"It was terrifying, because at the time they didn't know what was wrong with me or what would happen to me," she said. "When I looked in the mirror ... I didn't recognize myself."
Uhlin's skin began to burn, scab, blister and fall off on her face, arms, back, chest and stomach. Her lips actually grew together, making it impossible for her to open her mouth.
Readers of this blog are familiar with issues surrounding the highly ubiquitous and estrogenic chemical bisphenol A - known commonly as BPA - a compound in nearly every consumer product. Now, headlines are discussing what we have long been saying: BPA can be found in most canned foods. Here is how BPA works inside canned foods, explained Reuters: The thin epoxy resin layer rests between the food and the metal, which serves to prevent rust.
According to Shanna Swan, a professor and researcher at the University of Rochester in New York, BPA exposure from canned food, "is far more extensive" than, say, from plastic bottles. "It's particularly concerning when it's lining infant formula cans," quoted Reuters. Although a known carrier of the controversial chemical, plastic bottles are not the only item containing the plastic hardener known for its use in polycarbonate manufacturing. BPA is also found in beverage cans, a wide array of plastic products, thermal paper, and resins used in nautical paint, an issue in our aquatic environment.
BPA imitates the hormone estrogen and acts as an anti-androgen, which means, even in the smallest of amounts, BPA affects sexual development and processes, especially in developing fetuses, infants, and children, explained Science Daily previously.
According to Shanna Swan, a professor and researcher at the University of Rochester in New York, BPA exposure from canned food, "is far more extensive" than, say, from plastic bottles. "It's particularly concerning when it's lining infant formula cans," quoted Reuters. Although a known carrier of the controversial chemical, plastic bottles are not the only item containing the plastic hardener known for its use in polycarbonate manufacturing. BPA is also found in beverage cans, a wide array of plastic products, thermal paper, and resins used in nautical paint, an issue in our aquatic environment.
BPA imitates the hormone estrogen and acts as an anti-androgen, which means, even in the smallest of amounts, BPA affects sexual development and processes, especially in developing fetuses, infants, and children, explained Science Daily previously.
The more antibiotics are prescribed for coughs and flu-like illnesses, the more bacteria become resistant in a vicious cycle.
According to Reuters:
"Medical experts say overuse of antibiotics in Europe, the United States and other wealthy regions is building widespread resistance in and threatening vital medical treatments from hip replacements and cancer therapies, to intensive care."Sources:
Reuters May 18, 2010
© Matthew Bowden
White tea has been found to have a higher concentration of antioxidants than green tea.
White tea has been found to have a higher concentration of antioxidants than green tea.
White Tea's Production Makes it More Effective
White tea is made from the same species of plant (Camellia sinensis) as other leaf teas but the processing of white tea is different. White tea leaves and buds are picked when they are young and then immediately steamed and dried to maintain the optimum freshness. Not only does this give white tea a lighter, smoother flavor, it also helps it to maintain a higher concentration of antioxidants than green tea. Green tea is made of mature tea leaves which are picked, steamed or fried and then rolled. The processing of the leaves of green tea can make it lose some of its healing properties.
Workers in California's Salinas Valley pick summer crops. Endosulfan is used primarily on vegetables, fruits and cotton.
Endosulfan is a chlorinated insecticide that is chemically similar to DDT, which was banned nearly 40 years ago. Like DDT, endosulfan builds up in the environment and in the bodies of people and wildlife, and it is transported around the world via winds and currents. Nearly all other organochlorine pesticides already have been banned.
© Barry Estabrook
Sadly, Lee is in no way unusual among the roughly 2,500 African Americans, Haitians, and Mexicans with whom she toiled. In a survey of workers conducted in 2006 - eight years after the Apopka farms were closed - the Farmworker Association of Florida found that 92 percent of respondents had been exposed to pesticides through a combination of aerial spraying, wind drift, touching plants still wet with pesticides, or inhaling pesticides. They reported arthritis, throat problems, diabetes, persistent coughing, recurring rashes, miscarriages, birth defects, and childhood developmental difficulties - all conditions that research studies have linked to chemicals applied in the area.
Comment: Readers who wish to find out more on Diet and Health related issues, can do so here.