The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has doubled its recommended daily vitamin D intake for children and adolescents, citing concern over rising levels of rickets as well as new evidence that higher vitamin D intake may help prevent against a wide variety of diseases.
Vitamin D plays a critical role in bone health. Deficiency in children can lead to the bone-softening disease rickets, which can cause permanent deformity.
"New evidence [also] supports a potential role for vitamin D in maintaining innate immunity and preventing diseases such as diabetes and cancer," the new policy reads.
Health & Wellness
Dr. Alasdair Coles, a lecturer in neurology at University of Cambridge, and an Anglican priests as well, takes a very acerbic look at brain imaging studies of the faithful, particular those that make claims of unique brain findings for people who have religious or mystical experiences.
His lecture at our seminar today was titled "Neurotheology" and he had a definition: "the scientific study of the mechanisms of brain function which underlie human religious behavior, belief and experience." Then he debunked his own title.
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A high intake of fruit and vegetables appeared to reduce the risk among non-smokers but seemed to have the reverse effect on smokers, findings by the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) showed on Wednesday.
"People who eat 600 grams or more vegetables and fruit a day appear to have a 20 to 25 per cent lower chance of developing colon cancer than people who eat 220 grams or less," said the statement.
"For smokers, the consumption of vegetables and fruit appears, on the contrary, to increase the chances of colon cancer. Protection against colon cancer through the consumption of vegetables and fruit therefore appears to depend on smoking habits."
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Woman holding female condom
Woman holding female condom
An early version of the female condom was introduced in 1993, and it remains the only available woman-initiated form of protection against both STDs and unintended pregnancy. Yet despite global promotion by the United Nations and other organisations, its usage is still minuscule, even as women bear an ever-growing share of the AIDS epidemic.
Advocates hope the dynamics will change following last month's approval by the Food and Drug Administration of the FC2, a new version of the female condom produced by the Chicago-based Female Health Co.
About 35 million female condoms were distributed worldwide last year, but that compares to more than 10 billion male condoms, which are far cheaper and, at least initially, easier to use. However, in some nations with high HIV rates, many men refuse to wear condoms, putting women at risk.
Like Wall Street trying to replace the credit default swap/ high risk mortgage gravy train, pharma is cooking up new diseases to sell.
While the "disease" of menopause and aging filled pharma coffers for forty years--Over 35? You Might Be At Risk for Menopause!--hormone replacement therapy was found to cause not prevent the host of symptoms women feared.
Pharma tried to replace HRT dollars with a thinning bones fear campaign until its bone wonder drugs, bisphosphonates like Fosamax, Boniva and Actonal, were found to cause not prevent fractures and osteonecrosis of the jaw bone at times. Nor did it help that Boniva czar Sally Field allegedly broke a bone. Oops.
While the "disease" of menopause and aging filled pharma coffers for forty years--Over 35? You Might Be At Risk for Menopause!--hormone replacement therapy was found to cause not prevent the host of symptoms women feared.
Pharma tried to replace HRT dollars with a thinning bones fear campaign until its bone wonder drugs, bisphosphonates like Fosamax, Boniva and Actonal, were found to cause not prevent fractures and osteonecrosis of the jaw bone at times. Nor did it help that Boniva czar Sally Field allegedly broke a bone. Oops.
The therapist touches and lightly squeezes the migraine patient in a few places and then leaves the room for two minutes. He repeats this procedure for the entire 45-minute appointment. After several weeks of such sessions, the patient reports that the migraines have diminished in frequency. How could anything so simple do so much?
This technique, which isn't quite chiropractic, not quite massage, and not quite acupuncture, was introduced to the energy healing scene in the 1950's by Australian Tom Bowen. Though untrained, he had learned from watching trainers and therapists. Sensing vibrations and tension in muscles and other soft tissues, he figured out what to manipulate to help the sufferer. Bowen saw thousands of patients a year and claimed an 88% success rate.
This technique, which isn't quite chiropractic, not quite massage, and not quite acupuncture, was introduced to the energy healing scene in the 1950's by Australian Tom Bowen. Though untrained, he had learned from watching trainers and therapists. Sensing vibrations and tension in muscles and other soft tissues, he figured out what to manipulate to help the sufferer. Bowen saw thousands of patients a year and claimed an 88% success rate.
The taste of wine changes with the lunar calendar, according to experts at leading supermarkets.
Tesco and Marks and Spencer, which sell about a third of all wine drunk in Britain, now invite critics to taste their ranges only at times when the biodynamic calendar suggest they will be at their best.
Marks and Spencer has even gone a step further and is advising customers to avoid disappointment from the best bottles by making sure not to open them on "root" days.
The cosmic calendar has been published for the last 47 years by a gardening great-grandmother called Maria Thun, who lives in rural Germany. She categories days as "fruit", "flower", "leaf" or "root", according to the moon and stars.
Tesco and Marks and Spencer, which sell about a third of all wine drunk in Britain, now invite critics to taste their ranges only at times when the biodynamic calendar suggest they will be at their best.
Marks and Spencer has even gone a step further and is advising customers to avoid disappointment from the best bottles by making sure not to open them on "root" days.
The cosmic calendar has been published for the last 47 years by a gardening great-grandmother called Maria Thun, who lives in rural Germany. She categories days as "fruit", "flower", "leaf" or "root", according to the moon and stars.
Sweetener has been called diet enemy No. 1 - but that's not the full story
In the grand tradition of nutritional scapegoating, high fructose corn syrup has stepped into the spotlight as dietary enemy No. 1. It's an easy target. The corn-based sweetener is found throughout the American diet, in everything from sugary foods like soda and cookies to savory products like tomato sauce and salad dressing.
That's precisely the problem, say critics who blame the vast quantities we consume for the nation's soaring rates of obesity and diabetes.
But not everyone is convinced. Last June, the Corn Refiners Association launched an ad campaign telling the other side of the story - namely, that HFCS is "made from corn [and] has the same calories as sugar."
The mixed messages have left consumers looking for answers. Prevention investigated - and found little conclusive evidence to confirm the anti-HFCS crusade.
In the grand tradition of nutritional scapegoating, high fructose corn syrup has stepped into the spotlight as dietary enemy No. 1. It's an easy target. The corn-based sweetener is found throughout the American diet, in everything from sugary foods like soda and cookies to savory products like tomato sauce and salad dressing.
That's precisely the problem, say critics who blame the vast quantities we consume for the nation's soaring rates of obesity and diabetes.
But not everyone is convinced. Last June, the Corn Refiners Association launched an ad campaign telling the other side of the story - namely, that HFCS is "made from corn [and] has the same calories as sugar."
The mixed messages have left consumers looking for answers. Prevention investigated - and found little conclusive evidence to confirm the anti-HFCS crusade.
Listening to soothing music may ease anxiety in people with heart disease, and also lower their blood pressure and heart rate, according to a new review of studies.
What do we know already?
If you have coronary heart disease, the arteries that carry blood to your heart are narrowed with fatty deposits. This is a serious condition that can lead to a heart attack if your heart doesn't get enough blood. Coronary heart disease is the most common cause of death in the UK, with around 1 in 5 men and 1 in 7 women dying from the disease.
However, there are good treatments, which can help people to feel better and live longer. Even so, many people are understandably anxious about their disease, and worry about their future. If their stress is severe, this can actually worsen their condition by raising their heart rate and blood pressure, as well as their heart's demand for oxygen.
What do we know already?
If you have coronary heart disease, the arteries that carry blood to your heart are narrowed with fatty deposits. This is a serious condition that can lead to a heart attack if your heart doesn't get enough blood. Coronary heart disease is the most common cause of death in the UK, with around 1 in 5 men and 1 in 7 women dying from the disease.
However, there are good treatments, which can help people to feel better and live longer. Even so, many people are understandably anxious about their disease, and worry about their future. If their stress is severe, this can actually worsen their condition by raising their heart rate and blood pressure, as well as their heart's demand for oxygen.
Cheer up - Britain's gloomy weather may not be good for the soul but it's great for the mind, claim scientists in sunny Australia.
Psychologists have discovered that people performed better in memory tests when the weather was bad and they were feeling grumpy.
The research discovered that the worse the weather and the more depressed the individual, the sharper their brain.
Psychologists have discovered that people performed better in memory tests when the weather was bad and they were feeling grumpy.
The research discovered that the worse the weather and the more depressed the individual, the sharper their brain.
Comment: Considering this was supposedly a large study taken over many years, the authors are surprisingly uncertain about their results, casting aspersions on the effects of fruit and vegetables for smokers without actually making any definite claims. Note the use of "appears" and "may".
We also wonder if this fruit problem described in relation to smokers might have anything to do with this other fruit problem?
Rising number of children allergic to fruits and vegetables