Health & WellnessS


Magic Wand

Echinacea Really Works

A review of more than 700 previous studies concluded that echinacea does have a substantial effect in preventing colds and limiting their duration.

The analysis found that echinacea reduced the risk of catching a cold by 58 percent, and that the duration of a cold was significantly reduced.

Star

Vitamins are food, not drugs

American Association for Health Freedom (AAHF) is pleased to announce that a critical decision was made by the European Commission and all because of our international affiliate, Alliance for Natural Health (ANH).

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In 400 BC, Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine told his students:

"Let thy flood be thy medicine and thy medicine be thy food. Each one of the substances of a person's diet acts upon his body and changes it in some way, and upon these changes his whole life depends. "

Red Flag

Diabetes Drugs to Include New Warnings

WASHINGTON - The diabetes drugs Avandia and Actos will be labeled with severe warnings about a risk of heart failure to some patients, health officials said Tuesday.

Nuke

Peddling Poison - Bitter battle in sweeteners

NutraSweet is one of the most recognized names in the artificial sweetener world, but for years the Chicago-based company hasn't actually marketed a product under that name. That's changing, and in a big way.

NutraSweet Co., known primarily for imbuing diet pop with sugariness, this month launched its first offensive into another big sugar-substitute market: tabletop sweeteners -- the little packets that coffee and tea drinkers dump into their beverages.

Arrow Down

Even low levels of weekly exercise drive down blood pressure

Randomized controlled trial of home-based walking programs at and below current recommended levels of exercise in sedentary adults

Even low levels of weekly exercise drive down blood pressure and boost overall fitness, suggests a small study in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

To stave off ill health, adults are currently recommended to indulge in 30 minutes of moderately strenuous exercise on at least five days of the week.

But few people meet these recommendations, with lack of time cited as the most common reason for failing to do so.

The study authors invited 106 healthy but sedentary civil servants between the ages of 40 and 60 to take part in an exercise programme for 12 weeks.

Health

Flashback The link between monosodium glutamate (MSG) and obesity

If fried snack chips had a warning printed right on the bag that said, "Warning: these chips will make you obese," would you still buy them? Would you still eat them? Well, in a sense, you do see that warning on chips; just read the ingredient list. Research suggests that monosodium glutamate causes obesity, making unhealthy snacks even unhealthier than you may have suspected.

I'm sure you already know that tortilla and potato chips aren't health foods, right? They're made with fried fats, they almost always harbor hidden toxic chemicals (acrylamides), and if they're flavored, they usually contain monosodium glutamate (MSG). This is basically a recipe for obesity.

But how does MSG cause obesity? Like aspartame, MSG is an excitotoxin, a substance that overexcites neurons to the point of cell damage and, eventually, cell death. Humans lack a blood-brain barrier in the hypothalamus, which allows excitotoxins to enter the brain and cause damage, according to Dr. Russell L. Blaylock in his book Excitotoxins. According to animal studies, MSG creates a lesion in the hypothalamus that correlates with abnormal development, including obesity, short stature and sexual reproduction problems.

Red Flag

UK: How do we tackle the rise in the number of children on anti-depressants?

The tragic side effects include suicide, addiction and self-harm

When Stephen Bailey was eight years old, he was prescribed Librium by his doctor. That was the beginning of a 24-year addiction to mind-altering drugs which, Bailey says, changed the course of his life and saw him descend into a world of fits, screaming and violence whenever he tried to withdraw. A commonly-used tranquilliser, Librium is one of the benzodiazepine family, and was prescribed to calm Bailey after he suffered from migraines and flashing lights in response to a routine set of vaccinations.

Evil Rays

The Hidden Dangers of Cell Phone Radiation

Every day, we're swimming in a sea of electromagnetic radiation (EMR) produced by electrical appliances, power lines, wiring in buildings, and a slew of other technologies that are part of modern life. From the dishwasher and microwave oven in the kitchen and the clock radio next to your bed, to the cellular phone you hold to your ear - sometimes for hours each day - exposure to EMR is growing and becoming a serious health threat.

But there's a huge public health crisis looming from one particular threat: EMR from cellular phones - both the radiation from the handsets and from the tower-based antennas carrying the signals - which studies have linked to development of brain tumors, genetic damage, and other exposure-related conditions.1-9 Yet the government and a well-funded cell phone industry media machine continue to mislead the unwary public about the dangers of a product used by billions of people. Most recently, a Danish epidemiological study announced to great fanfare the inaccurate conclusion that cell phone use is completely safe.10

Health

Bali bird flu deaths spark tourism fears

AUSTRALIAN health officials are on alert after a deadly outbreak of bird flu on the Indonesian tourist island of Bali.

The finding is another blow to Indonesia's tourism industry, still struggling to recover from the 2002 and 2005 Bali bombings.

Wolf

Study: Full moon fills veterinary offices with suddenly ill dogs, cats

When the full moon rises, dogs and cats go wild -- and get hurt.

Dogs and cats suffering heart attacks, seizures and trauma end up at Colorado State University's Veterinary Medical Center emergency room in Fort Collins in higher numbers around the full moon, according to a study.