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Sat, 16 Oct 2021
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Vitamin D Deficiencies at Epidemic Levels, Says New Study

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© Google Images
Vitamin D is an amazing nutrient that protect the body from all sorts of diseases and problems. Researchers continually uncover new links between lack of vitamin D and disease, illustrating the fact that it is vital to good health. However recent studies have also found that most people are deficient in vitamin D.

A team of doctors from the McGill University Health Centre in Canada was surprised to find that about 59 percent of people evaluated were deficient in vitamin D and about 25 percent were severely deficient. Published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, the study is allegedly the first to illustrate a definitive link between vitamin D deficiency and an accumulation of fat in muscle tissue.

"Because it [vitamin D deficiency] is linked to increased body fat, it may affect many different parts of the body. Abnormal levels of vitamin D are associated with a whole spectrum of diseases, including cancer, osteoporosis, and diabetes, as well as cardiovascular and autoimmune disorders," explained Dr. Richard Kremer, lead investigator of the study.

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Food Industry Too Secretive Over Nanoparticles

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© Getty Images
Nanotechnology
The food industry is being too secretive about the extent to which it has adopted nanotechnology, according to a report by the United Kingdom's House of Lords Science and Technology Committee.

The industry is "very reluctant to put its head above the parapet and be open about research on nanotechnology," said study chairperson Lord John Krebs.

"They got their fingers burnt over the use of GM crops and so they want to keep a low profile on this issue. We believe that they should adopt exactly the opposite approach. If you want to build confidence you should be open rather than secretive."

Nanotechnology refers to the practice of manipulating particles on the scale of one-billionth of a meter. Particles of this size behave in a fundamentally different fashion than they do on the more familiar scale, producing a wide variety of novel applications.

Because nanoparticles are not currently regulated any differently than larger particles, they are already making their way into consumer products, from sunscreens and cosmetics to clothing and sporting goods. Their industrial and medical uses are also being explored.

Health

Two-Year-Old Toddlers Being Dosed Up with Antipsychotic Drugs

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© Getty Images
Children between the ages of two and five are being treated with antipsychotics at twice the rate they were ten years ago, according to a study conducted by researchers from Columbia University and published in the journal Health Affairs.

"It is a worrisome trend, partly because very little is known about the short-term, let alone the long-term, safety of these drugs in this age group," researchers Mark Olfson said.

Although a handful of antipsychotics have been approved by the FDA for use in children, they are intended for older children because few if any studies have been conducted into the effectiveness or safety of the drugs in younger children.

Researchers examined prescription data on more than one million children between the ages of two and five. They found that from 1999-2001, approximately one out of every 1,300 children in this age group was being treated with an antipsychotic drug. By 2007, the rate was one in every 630. Among the oldest children (five-year-olds), the rate has always been higher. In 1999-2001, one in every 650 children was receiving an antipsychotic, while in 2007 one in every 329 was.

Info

Chocolate Formula: Baby Doesn't Know Best

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© cambodia4kidsorg/flickr
The Mead Johnson company, makers of a leading line of infant formulas (Enfamil), has reached a new low point in the nation's nutrition history by introducing a product called Enfagrow Premium Chocolate. This is a chocolate-flavored version (it also comes in vanilla) of formula designed for toddlers - ages 12 to 36 months, according to the company - as they transition from infancy to early childhood. The can says "Toddler Formula," which is odd since there is no way children 12 months to 36 months even need formula.

Touting its health benefits, the company sells this as follows:
As your child grows from an infant to a toddler, he's probably becoming pickier about what he eats. Now more than ever, ensuring that he gets complete nutrition can be a challenge. That's why we created new Enfagrow PREMIUM Chocolate with Triple Health Guard™. With over 25 nutrients, Omega-3 DHA, prebiotics, and a great tasting chocolate flavor he'll love, you can help be sure he's getting the nutrition he still needs even after he outgrows infant formula.

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Which Household Cleaners Contain Secret Toxic Ingredients?

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© Wikimedia Commons
The label on my shower spray cleaner claims it's supposed to smell like ylang ylang. To me it smells like, well, chemicals. I was curious to see whether any real ylang ylang actually made its way into my cleaner, so I looked up the ingredients online. No ylang ylang (or any other plant for that matter) in sight. Near the end of a long list of ingredients were the words "fragrance oil." Mysterious. Is my shower spray hiding something?

Attention

UK: Stress causes workers to lie about sick days finds new study

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© unknown
A new report has revealed that the recession has caused a "stress epidemic" across the UK, with thousands of workers beset by stress and worries from the workplace even on their days off.

Mind, the mental health charity, released figures last weekend that along with existing statistics and estimates paint a bleak picture of the daily experiences of the UK's workforce. Overcoming anxiety and stress appears to be a daily challenge for many, with over a quarter of people saying that they felt dread and apprehension before returning to work.

According to Mind's survey of over 2,050 workers, nearly 20% of workers have phoned in sick because of anxiety and stress caused at work. However, nearly all of these workers would rather lie about the true cause of their problems rather than admit that stress from their levels of work, poor management or personal difficulties with colleagues were causing them poor health.

Family

The "Not Now, Maybe Later:" Parents Don't Devote Enough Time to Their Children

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© Alamy
Parents who have hectic work schedules are creating a generation of 'Maybe Later' children to whom they don't devote enough time.
Hectic work schedules are creating a generation of 'Maybe Later' children whose parents never have enough time to spend with them.

The phrase comes from the response dished out when Mummy or Daddy are asked to play a game or read a story or simply run around the garden. Despite children being parents' 'absolute highest priority in life', 80 percent admit they don't devote enough time to them, researchers found.

In fact, according to their study, working parents spend less than an hour a day giving their children one-to-one attention, notching up a mere 36 minutes. Children's responses to the survey painted a similar picture, claiming parents are too preoccupied with working, tidying or checking emails to address their needs.

Almost eight out of ten said they resented being parked in front of the television instead of being entertained and 60 percent said they wished their parents worked less. Two thirds said they would like it if their parents had more time to play with them.

Bad Guys

Pig Virus Contaminates Rotavirus Vaccines, But FDA Says "No Problem"

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© NaturalNews
Rotavirus vaccines are commonly given to children, and this year's batch of vaccines made by GlaxoSmithKline and Merck are contaminated with a pig virus, the FDA recently discovered. So the FDA called a meeting to determine whether injecting a pig virus into the bodies of young children might be some sort of problem requiring a recall of the vaccines.

Can you guess what conclusion the agency reached? As reported by Reuters, the FDA concluded "...it was safe for doctors to resume giving patients Glaxo's Rotarix and continue using Merck's Rotateq. The agency said there was no evidence the contamination caused any harm..."

In other words, as long as they can bury the evidence and deny any link between vaccines and health problems -- which has been the standard excuse of the FDA for decades -- they can continue to claim the vaccines are safe enough to inject into little children.

Never mind the fact that the pig virus found in the vaccines actually causes a wasting disease in baby pigs, giving them intense diarrhea and causing them to rapidly lose weight. DNA from these viruses was detected in the "master cells" used to make the vaccines.

People

Shyness Negatively Affects Marital Quality

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© Christian Godefroy
Shyness can influence the quality of an ongoing relationship -- even one as important as marriage -- according to a study in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.

A key question in psychology, and everyday life is the extent to which a person's personality determines the shape and quality of his or her social relationships. In two studies, the research explored the specific impact of shyness on marital quality.

In one of the studies, researchers Levi Baker and James K. McNulty found that shyness was linked both to more severe marital problems among newlyweds and to overall lower marital quality. Shyer people reported more problems with issues like trust, jealousy, money, and household management. In the second study, the researchers explicitly showed that it was prior shyness that was linked to marital difficulties later -- even declines in marital satisfaction -- and not early marital difficulties that were linked to later shyness.

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Research Shows Eating Nuts Lowers Cholesterol

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© Getty Images
Walnuts
NaturalNews has covered how eating pistachios lowers the risk of lung cancer and how a diet rich in nuts may help prevent age-related blindness. Walnuts appear to have breast cancer-fighting properties, too. And now there's even more reason to be nuts about nuts -- scientists have found new evidence that nuts are heart healthy because they dramatically improve blood cholesterol levels, without drugs.

"Dietary interventions to lower blood cholesterol concentrations and to modify blood lipoprotein levels are the cornerstone of prevention and treatment plans for coronary heart disease," Joan Sabate, M.D., of Loma Linda University and colleagues stated in their report, which was just published in the Archives of Internal Medicine. "Recently, consumption of nuts has been the focus of intense research because of their potential to reduce coronary heart disease risk and to lower blood lipid (fat and cholesterol) levels based on their unique nutritional attributes."

The Loma Linda University researchers investigated data from 25 international nut consumption trials involving 583 women and men with high cholesterol or normal cholesterol levels. Each study compared a control group of research subjects to a group assigned to specifically eat nuts regularly. None of the study participants took cholesterol lowering drugs such as Big Pharma's widely prescribed statins.