Look Young, Feel Young

WOW!

2008-10-13T03:37:00.001-07:00

Last spring I was walking in a park. A short distance ahead of me was a mom and her three-year-old daughter. The little girl was holding on to a string that was attached to a helium balloon.

All of a sudden, a sharp gust of wind took the balloon from the little girl. I braced myself for some screaming and crying.

But, no! As the little girl turned to watch her balloon go skyward, she gleefully shouted out, "Wow!

I didn't realize it at that moment, but that little girl taught me something.

Later that day, I received a phone call from a person with news of an unexpected problem. I felt like responding with "Oh no, what should we do?" But remembering that little girl, I found myself saying, "Wow, that's interesting! How can I help you?"

One thing's for sure - life's always going to keep us off balance with its unexpected problems. That's a given. What's not preordained is our response. We can choose to be frustrated or fascinated.

No matter what the situation, a fascinated "Wow!" will always beat a frustrated "Oh, no."

So the next time you experience one of life's unexpected gusts, remember that little girl and make it a "Wow!" experience. The "Wow!" response always works.

Rob Gilbert
Editor of "Bits & Pieces"

Antioxidants Attack Cancer Cells

2008-10-11T03:56:00.000-07:00

A New Discovery Has Been Made About How Antioxidants Attack Cancer Cells

by: Russell Johnston

http://www.naturalnews.com/024447.html

(NaturalNews) There's a new reason, and a big one, to think that we benefit
from free-radical-inhibiting antioxidants. We've long thought that by
reducing free radicals, antioxidants can help prevent cancer, of course. But
a recent experiment at Johns Hopkins and published in the March 14 issue of
Science shows how antioxidants may be doing much more: interfering with the
growth of cancers that are already established, and potentially, even
reversing them once established, by knocking out communications signals
between cancer cells that encourage cells to grow and divide. Those
communications signals turn out to be... free radicals, which the cancer
cells often produce in abundance. Runaway cell division was actually slowed
when cancer cells were introduced to the antioxidant N-acetyl-L-cysteine,
under experimental conditions. This now demonstrates the existence of a
mechanism that can allow a simple antioxidant to slow down or reverse a
cancer that's already in place.

Genetically altered connective tissue cells expressing the cancerous
H-RasV12 gene, together with non-cancerous cells were used in the study. The
cancer cells produced an abundance of superoxide, a well-known free-radical.
But cells' Ras or Rac1 genes produced proteins that blocked this signal and
kept the cell from turning cancerous, as did doses of other protein
inhibitors. However, it was considered more significant that antioxidants
could also inhibit runaway cell proliferation.

At least in the case of cancers produced by the model H-RasV12 gene, other
cells are influenced to become cancerous "at a distance" if free radicals or
protein-inhibitors aren't present in sufficient numbers to step in and stop
the process.

Kaikobad Irani cautiously summarizes his research by saying that "Control of
signaling pathways involving oxidants may explain why some antioxidants
appear to prevent development of certain cancers." If you're equally
inclined to caution, you may wish to make sure you're getting plenty of
antioxidants.

There are plenty of sources of antioxidants in a good diet, of course, but
by far the most potent and effective antioxidant known to science is as
cheap and available as a long, dark night: that is, melatonin. Turning your
light switch to the off position earlier, keeping it off longer, and making
sure that you are always sleeping in real darkness are excellent natural
ways to boost your melatonin production. Even occasional changes in your
routine, staying up for a couple of extra hours, can reduce your melatonin
for weeks, just as jet lag does.

About the author
Russell Johnston is a private health researcher and writer with a background
in the philosophy and history of science. He began DarknessHeals.com in
order to help publicize dramatic recent medical research showing the
extraordinary importance sleep and chronobiology have for everyone's health.

Vitamin D a key player in overall health

2008-10-11T03:55:00.000-07:00

Vitamin D a key player in overall health of several body organs, says UC
Riverside biochemist

http://www.physorg.com/news142791717.html

Essential for life in higher animals, vitamin D, once linked to only bone
diseases such as rickets and osteoporosis, is now recognized as a major
player in contributing to overall human health, emphasizes UC Riverside's
Anthony Norman, an international expert on vitamin D.

In a paper published in the August issue of the American Journal of Clinical
Nutrition, Norman identifies vitamin D's potential for contributions to good
health in the adaptive and innate immune systems, the secretion and
regulation of insulin by the pancreas, the heart and blood pressure
regulation, muscle strength and brain activity. In addition, access to
adequate amounts of vitamin D is believed to be beneficial towards reducing
the risk of cancer.

Norman also lists 36 organ tissues in the body whose cells respond
biologically to vitamin D. The list includes bone marrow, breast, colon,
intestine, kidney, lung, prostate, retina, skin, stomach and the uterus.

According to Norman, deficiency of vitamin D can impact all 36 organs.
Already, vitamin D deficiency is associated with muscle strength decrease,
high risk for falls, and increased risk for colorectal, prostate and breast
and other major cancers.

"It is becoming increasingly clear to researchers in the field that vitamin
D is strongly linked to several diseases," said Norman, a distinguished
professor emeritus of biochemistry and of biomedical sciences who has worked
on vitamin D for more than 45 years. "Its biological sphere of influence is
much broader than we originally thought. The nutritional guidelines for
vitamin D intake must be carefully reevaluated to determine the adequate
intake, balancing sunlight exposure with dietary intake, to achieve good
health by involving all 36 target organs."

Vitamin D is synthesized in the body in a series of steps. First, sunlight's
ultraviolet rays act on a precursor compound in skin. When skin is exposed
to sunlight, a sterol present in dermal tissue is converted to vitamin D,
which, in turn, is metabolized in the liver and kidneys to form a hormone.
It was Norman's laboratory that discovered, in 1967, that vitamin D is
converted into a steroid hormone by the body.

The recommended daily intake of vitamin D is 200 international units (IU)
for people up to 50 years old. The recommended daily intake of vitamin D is
400 IU for people 51 to 70 years old and 600 IU for people over 70 years
old. Norman's recommendation for all adults is to have an average daily
intake of at least 2000 IU.

"To optimize good health you must have enough vitamin D," he said. "Vitamin
D deficiency is also especially of concern in third world countries that
have poor nutritional practices and religious customs that require the body
to be covered from head to toe. Ideally, to achieve the widest frequency of
good health by population, we need to have 90 percent of the people with
adequate amounts of vitamin D."

About half of the elderly in North America and two-thirds of the rest of the
world are not getting enough vitamin D to maintain healthy bone density,
lower their risks for fracture and improve tooth attachment.

"There needs to be a sea change by various governmental agencies in terms of
the advice they present to citizens about how much vitamin D should be
taken," Norman said. "The tendencies of people to live in cities where tall
buildings block adequate sunlight from reaching the ground, to spend most of
their time indoors, to use synthetic sunscreens that block ultraviolet rays,
and to live in geographical regions of the world that do not receive
adequate sunlight all contribute to the inability of the skin to
biosynthesize sufficient amounts of vitamin D."

Found in minute amounts in food, vitamins are organic substances that higher
forms of animals need to grow and sustain normal health. Vitamins, however,
are not synthesized in sufficient amounts to meet bodily needs. Therefore,
the body must acquire them through diet or in the form of supplements.

Because it is found in very few foods naturally, milk and other foods (often
orange juice) are fortified with vitamin D.

While deficiency of vitamin D impacts health negatively, ingestion of
extremely high doses of vitamin D can cause hypercalcemia, a condition in
which the blood's calcium level is above normal. The highest daily 'safe'
dose of vitamin D is 10,000 IU.

"More than ever we need to increase the amount of research on vitamin D,
with more funding from government agencies and pharmaceutical companies, to
meet the challenge of preserving or improving the health of everyone on the
planet," Norman said.

Source: University of California - Riverside

The Vital Role of Cholesterol in Health

2008-10-10T03:51:00.000-07:00

Byron Richards, CCN

"A significant new discovery about the importance of cholesterol to nerve and
muscle health has just been made. The researchers discovered that
cholesterol is vital to the structure of key proteins involved with nerve
transmission. The finding is groundbreaking, its implications in the
context of widespread high doses of statin drugs in the general population
is alarming.

We have known for a very long time that small fragments of cholesterol (not
HDL or LDL, which are large transport vehicles) are required for every cell
in your body to have a three dimensional structure. Scientists estimate
that you have around 6-8 ounces of this structural cholesterol in your
cells, and without it you would be flat as a pancake on the floor.

Nerve cells are known to have higher amounts of this type of cholesterol, as
nerve cells do not split and divide like other cells and so need the extra
cholesterol to liver longer. One of the very adverse side effects of statin
drugs to lower LDL cholesterol, especially when given in the now commonly
used high doses, is that the important cholesterol in cell membranes is
lowered. In the case of nerves this results in early onset nerve death,
poor function, depression, nerve symptoms, and suicide. Such nerve symptoms
will be progressive and worsen as time goes along, especially when the dose
of a statin is raised.

In the case of muscles, various mechanisms of statin toxicity have now been
identified. These factors reduce energy, muscle health, fitness, and
generally make it harder to be healthy.

The new study adds a brand new explanation for nerve and muscle related
problems from taking statins. Researchers studied the structure of a common
and important neurotransmitter receptor called the nicotinic acetylcholine
receptor. Problems with this receptor's function drastically alter nerve
transmission. Such difficulties are found in chronic inflammation,
Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, schizophrenia, epilepsy, and
addiction issues (alcohol, nicotine and cocaine).

The new discovery is that cholesterol fragments are absolutely vital to this
receptor working correctly and are part of the protein structure of this
receptor. This is a sweeping scientific discovery. It immediately offers a
new explanation as to why statins have so many devastating nerve and muscle
side effects. It also adds clarity to the issue as to why low cholestereol
causes cancer and early risk for death.

Cholesterol is vital to the healthy function of your body, actually core to
survival. You want good levels of HDL and LDL because you are healthy, not
because you have drugged them to look better on paper. The idea of
cholesterol fitness, like physical fitness, is a proper way to look at this
issue."

Getting rid of fears

2008-10-09T03:30:00.001-07:00

"Most fears cannot withstand the test of careful scrutiny and analysis. When we expose our fears to the light of thoughtful examination they usually just evaporate."

Jack Canfield
Speaker and Author
See more of Jack Canfield at: http://www.reachmy2008goals.com

The secret of the achiever

2008-10-08T04:10:00.000-07:00

"Not the maker of plans and promises, but rather the one who offers faithful service in small matters. This is the person who is most likely to achieve what is good and lasting."

Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
1749-1832, Poet, Dramatist and Novelist

5 Ways to Keep BPA Out of Your Food

2008-10-08T04:09:00.000-07:00

With new studies linking bisphenol A, a chemical found in the linings
of food and beverage cans, to diabetes and heart disease, you may be
wondering what you can do to minimize your exposure. Here are some good
rules of thumb for reducing your intake of BPA:

1. Buy your tomato sauce in glass jars

Canned tomato sauce is likely to have higher levels of BPA, because
the high acidity of the tomatoes causes more of the chemical to leach from
the lining of the can.

2. Consume fresh fruits and vegetables instead of canned

In addition to their BPA-free benefit, fresh produce usually has
more nutrients, which often get lost in the process of canning.

3. Purchase beverages in plastic or glass bottles

Canned soda and juice often contain some BPA.

4. Use powdered infant formula instead of ready-to-serve liquid

An assessment from the Environmental Working Group found that liquid
formulas contain more BPA than powdered brands.

5. Think in terms of moderation

Follow a sensible approach, eating less of those foods that are
higher in BPA.

Sources:
a.. U.S. News & World Report September 17, 2008
a.. Journal of the American Medical Association September 16, 2008;
300(11):1353-5
a.. Journal of the American Medical Association September 16, 2008;
300(11):1303-10

Dr. Mercola's Comments:

It's finally becoming more common knowledge that plastic is not
an inert substance, which is what its manufacturers would like you to
believe. Plastic contains chemicals like BPA and phthalates, which mimic
hormones in your body. Even tiny concentrations can cause problems, and you're
likely being exposed from all angles. Aside from canned goods, they're found
in reusable food containers, plastic wraps, water bottles, personal care
products, you name it.

Plastic is used everywhere.

The Many Health Hazards of Bisphenol A (BPA)

Plastic is so prevalent that according to a Centers for Disease
Control (CDC) study, BPA was detected in the urine of 95 percent of people
tested!

This is alarming when you consider the problems it's been linked
to, including:

a.. Structural damage to your brain
b.. Hyperactivity, increased aggressiveness, and impaired
learning
c.. Increased fat formation and risk of obesity
d.. Altered immune function
e.. Early puberty, stimulation of mammary gland development,
disrupted reproductive cycles, and ovarian dysfunction
f.. Changes in gender-specific behavior, and abnormal sexual
behavior
g.. Stimulation of prostate cancer cells
h.. Increased prostate size, and decreased sperm production
I've already discussed the dangers of using plastic containers
and bottles on several occasions; anytime you eat or drink something out of
plastic, you risk exposure. Plastics that are worn out or scratched may
leach even more chemicals into your food, as do hot beverages. Just by
drinking coffee from a plastic-lined paper cup, you could be exposed to 55
times more BPA than normal.

But what's your risk when you use canned goods?

Independent laboratory tests conducted by the Environmental
Working Group (EWG) detected BPA in over half of 97 cans of name-brand
fruit, vegetables, soda, and other commonly eaten canned goods.

There are no government safety standards limiting the amount of
BPA in canned food, and the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) safety
standard is 25 times the dose NOW KNOWN to cause birth defects in lab
studies. Their safety standard for BPA has not been updated for 20 years.

But studies in the past decade have shown that low-level
exposures to BPA may actually be MORE dangerous than high-level exposures!

Where traditional toxicology asserts that higher doses does
greater harm, bisphenol A tests show that low doses can be the most toxic of
all, partly because at low levels it can fall below the radar of your body's
natural detox mechanism.

For example, one study found that a low dose of BPA produced a
70 percent higher growth rate of prostate cancer cells in lab animals than
did higher doses (Wetherill et al. 2002). In another; lower doses of BPA
resulted in higher rates of breast cell growth that can precede cancer
(Markey et al. 2001).

Then again, just last month the Journal of the American Medical
Association (JAMA) published a study that found higher urinary BPA
concentrations were associated with cardiovascular disease and diabetes in
adults.

Perhaps our dependency on plastic plays a larger role than
anyone ever imagined in the rise of the big three: cancer, heart disease and
rampant diabetes?

BPA and Your Baby - What's the Risk, and What's the Solution?

As usual those most at risk are children and fetuses, which is
why it's appalling to think that these chemicals are commonly used in
everything from the infant formula, to the bottle it's served in, to the
teething rings, and the toys your baby plays with on a daily basis.

Sadly, of all foods tested, infant formula was among the top
three foods that had BPA levels of highest concern.

Just one to three servings was found to contain BPA levels that
have caused serious adverse effects in animal tests. And, for 1 in 3 cans of
infant formula, a single serving was found to contain enough BPA to expose
an infant to BPA levels more than 200 times the government's traditional
"safe" level of exposure for industrial chemicals!

Although the article above recommends using powdered infant
formula instead of ready-to-serve liquid varieties to cut down on BPA
exposure, I want to remind you that nothing beats breast feeding when it
comes to feeding your baby.

Breast milk contains antibodies, immunoglobulins, white blood
cells, lactoferrin, lysosomes, bifidus factor (which helps friendly bacteria
grow in the intestines to ensure acid environment), vitamin B12 binding
protein, and many, many other substances. It also contains essential fatty
acids that help bolster your baby's body against the impact of toxic
chemicals.

And of course, if a mother follows my dietary recommendations,
she will have the best chance of being optimally healthy, and her breast
milk will be even more nutritious.

So remember that if you want the very best by far for your
babies, breastfeed them if at all possible. But if you are going to use
commercial formulas, then using a powdered formula may reduce your baby's
exposure to BPA. According to the EWG's calculations, babies fed
reconstituted powdered formula likely receive 8 to 20 times less BPA than
those fed liquid formula from a metal can.

However, a far better option than commercial formula would be to
try the Infant Formula Fortification Protocol developed by Dr. Patricia Kane
and myself. In addition, the Weston A. Price Foundation has its own infant
feeding recommendations, which are another healthy option.

10 More Tips to Reduce Your Exposure to BPA

1. Only use glass baby bottles and dishes for your baby

2. Get rid of your plastic dishes and cups, and replace
them with glass varieties

3. Give your baby natural fabric toys instead of plastic
ones

4. Store your food and beverages in glass -- NOT plastic --
containers

5. IF you choose to use a microwave, don't microwave food
in a plastic container

6. Use glass, ceramic, or stainless steel travel coffee
mugs rather than plastic or Styrofoam coffee cups

7. Avoid using plastic wrap (and never microwave anything
covered in it)

8. If you opt to use plastic kitchenware, at least get rid
of the older, scratched-up varieties, avoid putting them in the dishwasher,
and don't wash them with harsh detergents, as these things can cause more
chemicals to leach into your food

9. Avoid using bottled water; filter your own using a
reverse osmosis filter instead

10. Before allowing a dental sealant to be applied to your, or
your children's, teeth, ask your dentist to verify that it does not contain
BPA

In the event that you do opt to use plastic containers for your
food or beverages, be sure to avoid those marked on the bottom with the
recycling label No. 7, as these varieties may contain BPA.

Containers marked with the recycling labels No. 1, No. 2, and
No. 4 do not contain BPA (however they may contain other unsavory chemicals
that you're best off avoiding by using glass instead). If in doubt, remember
this handy saying from The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy:

"With your food, use 4, 5, 1 and 2. All the rest aren't good for
you."

How we take difficulties

2008-10-07T03:43:00.001-07:00

"Nothing in life is so hard that you can't make it easier by the way you take it."

Ellen Glasgow
1874-1945, Novelist

Avoid Flu Shots, Take Vitamin D Instead

2008-10-04T03:53:00.000-07:00

Taking vitamin D in these doses is safe, far safer than a flu shot with all the bad chemicals it contains.

Enthusiasm!

2008-10-02T04:19:00.001-07:00

"Every memorable act in the history of the world is a triumph of enthusiasm. Nothing great was ever achieved without it because it gives any challenge or any occupation, no matter how frightening or difficult, a new meaning. Without enthusiasm you are doomed to a life of mediocrity but with it you can accomplish miracles."

Og Mandino
1923-1996, Speaker and Author of The Greatest Salesman in the World

Focus on desire

2008-10-01T03:17:00.000-07:00

"Focus more on your desire than on your doubt, and the dream will take care of itself. You may be surprised at how easily this happens. Your doubts are not as powerful as your desires, unless you make them so."

Marcia Wieder
Speaker and Author

How we respond when bad things happen

2008-09-30T03:48:00.000-07:00

"In the final analysis, the questions of why bad things happen to good people transmutes itself into some very different questions, no longer asking why something happened, but asking how we will respond, what we intend to do now that it happened."

Harold S. Kushner
Rabbi, Author of When Bad Things Happen To Good People

Vitamin D again linked to breast cancer protection

2008-09-30T03:47:00.000-07:00

By Stephen Daniells

http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Science-Nutrition/Vitamin-D-again-linked-to-breast-cancer-protection

26-Sep-2008 -
Increased intake of vitamin D from the diet and from sunlight may reduce the
risk fo breast cancer by over 20 per cent, says a new study.

The potential protective effects of the vitamin were not limited by the
hormone receptor status of the tumours, according to research published
online in the American Journal of Epidemiology.

"This study suggests that vitamin D is associated with a reduced risk of
breast cancer regardless of [oestrogen-receptor (ER) positive and
progesterone-receptor (PR)] status of the tumour," wrote lead author
Kristina Blackmore from Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto.

Over one million women worldwide are diagnosed with breast cancer every
year, with the highest incidences in the US and the Netherlands. China has
the lowest incidence and mortality rate of the disease.

Hormone-sensitive oestrogen-receptor (ER) positive and progesterone-receptor
(PR) positive tumours are said to be the most common type diagnosed among
breast cancer patients in the US. These tumours are stimulated to grow by
the female hormones oestrogen and progesterone.

Study details

"Few epidemiologic studies have considered the association between vitamin D
and hormone-receptor-defined breast cancer," wrote Blackmore.

In order to start filling this knowledge gap, the Canadian researchers
analysed the vitamin D intakes of 759 women with breast cancer, and compared
this to the vitamin D intakes of 1,135 healthy controls.

Increased intakes of the vitamin were associated with a 24 per cent
reduction in the risk of developing ER+ and PR+ tumours, said the
researchers. Moreover, increased intakes were also associated with 26 and 21
per cent reductions in the risk of receptor-negative (ER-/PR-) and mixed
receptor (ER+/PR-) tumours. However, these last two associations were not
significant, said the researchers.

"Future studies with a larger number of receptor-negative and mixed tumours
are required," they concluded.

D and the big C

The link between vitamin D intake and protection from cancer dates from the
1940s when Frank Apperly demonstrated a link between latitude and deaths
from cancer, and suggested that sunlight gave "a relative cancer immunity".

Vitamin D refers to two biologically inactive precursors - D3, also known as
cholecalciferol, and D2, also known as ergocalciferol. Both D3 and D2
precursors are hydroxylated in the liver and kidneys to form 25-
hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D), the non-active 'storage' form, and
1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D (1,25(OH)2D), the biologically active form that is
tightly controlled by the body.

There is growing evidence that 1,25(OH)2D has anticancer effects, but the
discovery that non-kidney cells can also hydroxylate 25(OH)D had profound
implications, implying that higher 25(OH)D levels could protect against
cancer in the local sites.

Source: American Journal of Epidemiology
Published online ahead of print, doi:10.1093/aje/kwn198
"Vitamin D From Dietary Intake and Sunlight Exposure and the Risk of
Hormone-Receptor-Defined Breast Cancer"
Authors: K.M. Blackmore, M. Lesosky, H. Barnett, J.M. Raboud, R. Vieth, J.A.
Knight

How we lift ourselves

2008-09-25T03:39:00.000-07:00

"We lift ourselves by our thought. If you want to enlarge your life, you must first enlarge your thought of it and of yourself. Hold the ideal of yourself as you long to be, always everywhere."

Orison Swett Marden
1850-1924, Author and Founder of Success Magazine

Vitamin B12 Keeps Your Brain Young

2008-09-24T03:12:00.000-07:00

Older individuals with low levels of vitamin B12 are at increased risk
of having brain atrophy or shrinkage. Brain atrophy is associated with
Alzheimer's disease and impaired cognitive function.

Vitamin B12 deficiency is a public health problem, especially among
older people.

In a study involving more than 100 volunteers aged 61 to 87, all
participants underwent annual clinical exams, MRI scans and cognitive tests,
and had blood samples taken. Individuals with lower vitamin B12 levels at
the start of the study had a greater decrease in brain volume. Those with
the lowest B12 levels had a sixfold greater rate of brain volume loss
compared with those who had the highest levels.

However, none of the participants were actually deficient in vitamin
B12 -- they just had low levels within a normal range.

Other risk factors for brain atrophy include high blood pressure,
diabetes and high cholesterol.
Sources:
a.. U.S. News & World Report September 8, 2008
a.. Neurology 2008; 71: 826-832

Dr. Mercola's Comments:

The first thing that jumped out at me about this study wasn't only the
benefits of vitamin B12, but the risk that's there if your levels are low.
Not deficient, necessarily, just within the low range of normal

"Our results suggest that rather than maintaining one's B12 at a level
that is just above the cut off for deficiency, it might be prudent to aim to
keep it higher up than normal range," the study's lead researcher said.

This is really important to hear, as most people would assume that if
their levels are within the normal range, they're fine. In reality, you
cannot always count on the "normal" reference ranges that come with your
blood tests. Vitamin D is another example of a test that lists "normal"
ranges that are not nearly adequate to keep you healthy.

This really reminds me in many ways of the story of vitamin D. For
many decades the "experts" believed that all you needed was 400 units per
day. Now we know that you need about ten times that much or the equivalent
amount of sun to produce that in your skin.

To really know if your nutrient levels are where they should be to
keep you optimally healthy, you need to do some major research of your own
(seeking out scientific studies like this one), or you need to seek the
guidance of a health care practitioner who thinks outside of the box -- and
understands that there is a major difference between "average" and
"optimal."

Getting back to vitamin B12, though, there are many important reasons
to make sure you're getting enough in your diet.

Why is Vitamin B12 so Important?

It's been estimated that 40 percent of the U.S. population is
deficient in vitamin B12, a serious public health problem when you consider
how important this vitamin is for your health. Vitamin B12:

. Is needed for proper digestion, food absorption, carbohydrate and
fat metabolism.
. Helps folic acid regulate the formation of red blood cells, and
helps your body use iron.
. Keep your nervous system healthy by assisting the nerves of your
body to function and communicate in an optimal manner.
. Helps in cell formation and cellular longevity.
. Helps support female reproductive health.

. Promote normal nerve growth and development by maintaining the fatty
sheaths. These fatty sheaths play a vital role as they cover and protect
your nerve endings.
. Is critical to your circulation and adrenal hormone production
. Helps boost your immunity.
. Supports a healthy mood and feelings of well-being, and provides
excellent support for your memory, mental clarity, and concentration.
. Helps to boost your energy levels.

Who is at Risk of Vitamin B12 Deficiency?

The group most at risk is those who do not eat meat or animal
products. Vitamin B12 deficiency is VERY common, almost universal, in strict
vegetarians and vegans, as vitamin B12 is NOT readily available, if at all,
in plants.

Vitamin B12 is found almost exclusively in animal tissues, including
foods like beef and beef liver, lamb, snapper, venison, salmon, shrimp,
scallops, poultry and eggs. And, the few plant foods that are sources of B12
are actually B12 analogs. Simply put, an analog is a substance that blocks
the uptake of true B12. The result being, your body's need for the nutrient
actually increases.

You may also be at risk of B12 deficiency if you have stomach
problems. This is because B12 needs the help of a protein in order to be
absorbed. That protein is called intrinsic factor, and if your stomach is
irritated or inflamed, it may stop producing intrinsic factor, making it
nearly impossible for your body to absorb B12.

Other factors also influence your body's B12 levels:

. Age: People over 50 tend to have a limited ability to absorb B12.

. Drinking coffee: A study in Clinical Chemistry found that people who
drank four or more cups of coffee a day had a 15 percent reduction in
multiple B vitamins compared to those who drank no coffee.

. Taking medications: Many prescription drugs diminish your body's
levels of B12, including antibiotics, anticancer medications,
anticonvulsants, anti-gout medications, antihypertensives, antiParkinson's
medications, antipsychotics, antituberculosis medications, birth control
pills, cholesterol-lowering drugs, and potassium replacements.

. Those who have undergone weight-loss surgery, which can impair your
body's ability to absorb B12 and other vitamins.

. Those exposed to laughing gas anesthesia or nitrous oxide.

If you are concerned about getting enough vitamin B12, it is important
to know that most oral vitamin B12 supplements do not work well at all.
Vitamin B12 is the largest vitamin known and it is not easily absorbed.

Ideally, you should make sure you're getting plenty of vitamin B12 by
eating animal foods that are right for your nutritional type, and follow the
advice in Take Control of Your Health to overcome any stomach issues that
may be inhibiting your absorption.

If you do choose to supplement, studies show that sublingual
(under-the-tongue) forms of vitamin B12 are better absorbed by your
bloodstream than tablet or inhaled (through your nose) versions.

Taking failures seriously

2008-09-23T03:35:00.000-07:00

"When we can begin to take our failures seriously, it means we are ceasing to be afraid of them. It is of immense importance to learn to laugh at ourselves."

Katherine Mansfield
1888-1923, Author

Learning and the learned

2008-09-22T10:39:00.001-07:00

"In times of change, learners inherit the earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists."

Eric Hoffer

Pain and quitting

2008-09-18T03:33:00.001-07:00

"Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever."

Lance Armstrong
Cancer Survivor and Athlete

Past, present, and future

2008-09-17T04:28:00.000-07:00

"One day at a time - this is enough. Do not look back and grieve over the past, for it is gone: and do not be troubled about the future, for it has not yet come. Live in the present, and make it so beautiful that it will be worth remembering."

Ida Scott Taylor
1820-1915, Author

Being Vegetarian Shrinks Brain

2008-09-17T04:27:00.000-07:00

Becoming a vegetarian could be good for the planet, but it’s bad for your brain. Scientists at Oxford University in England have found that vegetarians are six times more likely to have brain shrinkage than those who include meats in their diets.

"If things are not going well ... "

2008-09-16T03:31:00.001-07:00

"If things are not going well with you, begin your effort at correcting the situation by carefully examining the service you are rendering, and especially the spirit in which you are rendering it."

Roger Babson
1875-1967, Statistician and Columnist

Why we read

2008-09-15T03:23:00.000-07:00

How are you coming with your home library? Do you need some good ammunition on why it's so important to read? The last time I checked the statistics...I think they indicated that only four percent of the adults in this country have bought a book within the past year. That's dangerous. It's extremely important that we keep ourselves in the top five or six percent.

In one of the Monthly Letters from the Royal Bank of Canada it was pointed out that reading good books is not something to be indulged in as a luxury. It is a necessity for anyone who intends to give his life and work a touch of quality. The most real wealth is not what we put into our piggy banks but what we develop in our heads. Books instruct us without anger, threats and harsh discipline. They do not sneer at our ignorance or grumble at our mistakes. They ask only that we spend some time in the company of greatness so that we may absorb some of its attributes.

You do not read a book for the book's sake, but for your own.

You may read because in your high-pressure life, studded with problems and emergencies, you need periods of relief and yet recognize that peace of mind does not mean numbness of mind.

You may read because you never had an opportunity to go to college, and books give you a chance to get something you missed. You may read because your job is routine, and books give you a feeling of depth in life.

You may read because you did go to college.

You may read because you see social, economic and philosophical problems which need solution, and you believe that the best thinking of all past ages may be useful in your age, too.

You may read because you are tired of the shallowness of contemporary life, bored by the current conversational commonplaces, and wearied of shop talk and gossip about people.

Whatever your dominant personal reason, you will find that reading gives knowledge, creative power, satisfaction and relaxation. It cultivates your mind by calling its faculties into exercise.

Books are a source of pleasure - the purest and the most lasting. They enhance your sensation of the interestingness of life. Reading them is not a violent pleasure like the gross enjoyment of an uncultivated mind, but a subtle delight.

Reading dispels prejudices which hem our minds within narrow spaces. One of the things that will surprise you as you read good books from all over the world and from all times of man is that human nature is much the same today as it has been ever since writing began to tell us about it.

Some people act as if it were demeaning to their manhood to wish to be well-read but you can no more be a healthy person mentally without reading substantial books than you can be a vigorous person physically without eating solid food. Books should be chosen, not for their freedom from evil, but for their possession of good. Dr. Johnson said: "Whilst you stand deliberating which book your son shall read first, another boy has read both.

Earl Nightingale

Behave yourself

2008-09-11T03:09:00.001-07:00

"Believe there is a great power silently working all things for good, behave yourself and never mind the rest."

Beatrix Potter
1866-1943, Author and Illustrator

Study adds colon cancer to list for trans fats' harm

2008-09-11T03:07:00.000-07:00

10-Sep-2008 -

Increased intakes of trans fatty acids may increase the risk of colorectal
tumours by about 86 per cent, suggests new research from the US.

The study followed almost 622 North Carolinians who underwent complete colon
exams between 2001 and 2002 and found significant colorectal cancer risk
increases for higher intakes of trans fatty acids.

The study, published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, looks set to
heap more pressure on the food industry to remove and reformulate products
without trans fats, one of the industry's bêtes noires.

"These results suggest that consumption of high amounts of trans-fatty acid
may increase the risk of colorectal neoplasia [abnormal cell growth in the
colon and rectum], and they provide additional support to recommendations to
limit trans-fatty acid consumption," wrote lead author Lisa Vinikoor from
the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

Though trace amounts of trans fats are found naturally in dairy and meats,
the vast majority are formed during the partial hydrogenation of vegetable
oil that converts the oil into semi-solids for a variety of food
applications.

Trans fatty acids have been useful in foods due to their extended shelf life
and flavour stability, and displaced natural solid fats and liquid oils in
many areas of food processing.

But scientific reports that trans fatty acids raise serum levels of
LDL-cholesterol, reduce levels of HDL-cholesterol, can promote inflammation,
can cause endothelial dysfunction, and influence other risk factors for
cardiovascular diseases (CVD), has led to a well-publicised bans in New York
City and Philadelphia restaurants, and other cities, like Boston and
Chicago, considering similar measures.

The new study adds to a small number of previous studies reporting that
increased levels of markers of trans-fat intake are associated with an
increase risk of cancer of the colon and rectum.

Colorectal cancer is the third most diagnosed cancer in the US, according to
the American Cancer Society. About 150,000 new cases will be diagnosed in
the US this year, says the society, with an almost 50-50 split between men
and women.

Study details

Vinikoor and co-workers recruited over 600 people from the University of
North Carolina Hospitals. Dietary, lifestyle and other demographic details
about them were achieved via interview, while colorectal health was verified
using results of complete colonoscopies.

The highest trans fatty acid consumption was associated with an 86 per cent
increase in colorectal cancer risk, compared to the lowest consumption.

Further analysis of the colorectal area suggested that trans fatty acid
consumption did not influence the location, size or number of benign tumours
(adenoma).

While further studies are required to verify the results, it is clear that
the study may heap more pressure on the food industry to reformulate and
remove trans fatty's from products.

Alternatives to trans fats

The food industry as a whole has expressed its commitment to removing trans
fatty acids from its products, but such reformulation is not straightforward
and presents challenges.

Paul Wassell and Niall Young from Danisco's Multiple Food Application Group
reviewed the options available to formulators and stated that designing
foods with trans-fat alternatives must be a "multidisciplinary' approach"
(International Journal of Food Science and Technology, Vol. 42, pp 503-517).

"Successful replacements of trans fatty acids is not easily achieved by
simply removing the trans isomer, because of a host of beneficial functional
characteristics that are readily attributable to trans fatty acids," wrote
Wassell and Young, pointing out that the presence of the trans isomer
influences melting behaviour, oxidative stability and textural properties.

At last year's IFT in Chicago, Walter Willett from Harvard School of Public
Health said that limiting and labelling trans fatty acids in food is not
enough, and they should be banned.

Professor Willett told food manufacturers and food professionals in Chicago
that Denmark had taken the right approach to the trans fatty acid issue -
the Scandinavian country introduced legislation in 2004 that required
locally and imported foods to contain less than two per cent industrially
made trans fatty acids, a move that effectively abolished the use of
partially hydrogenated vegetable oils in the country.

Source: American Journal of Epidemiology
Volume 168, Issue 3, Pages 289-297; doi:10.1093/aje/kwn134
"Consumption of trans-Fatty Acid and Its Association with Colorectal
Adenomas"
Authors: L.C. Vinikoor, J.C. Schroeder, R.C. Millikan, J.A. Satia, C.F.
Martin, J. Ibrahim, J.A. Galanko, R.S. Sandler

Hearing Loss and the Hearing Function

2008-09-11T03:06:00.000-07:00

"Hearing impairment" or "hearing loss" is thought to be a consequence
of age, but from an up-to-date investigation, it became clear that
there are other causes other than age. While in China, they believe
that the hearing function has something to do with smell.

Do you know that the sound of music you hear may be different when
heard by others? Why will it be heard differently depending on the
person?

Suppose that before we play music, we inform the listeners that there
shall be a word or noise saying "New York, New York", and ask the
listeners how many times they heard it? Probably 70-80% of them will
say, "Yes, yes, we heard that". But then, there was not even a
word "New York" at all but we just inserted scratching noise.

From this experiment, we understand that the Chinese was right to say
that the hearing function has something to do with smell. We really
do not hear sounds by our ears alone. We hear sounds both by smell
and vision, too. Our brain is made to fill up the portions where
objects are blank or hidden.

Now let's take another case. Let's say you saw a bomb blasting photo
and you did not hear any sound. But by means of seeing the blasted
bomb, you will imagine a "Big Bang" or illusion of sounds that exists
in your brain. The brain recalls or restores the sounds lacking in
the photo. You can call it "Phonological restoration".

We also conducted experiments of hearing impairment with the elders
and young people. As expected, in a certain accustomed short Japanese
words, the elders can hear more than the younger ones. However,
English-related short words were heard by younger people. From this
experiment, we truly conclude that hearing is not only by ear but by
individual memories, too. Memories in the brain can repair or fix the
part where sounds are not heard and remain blank. And they can
understand it as if they heard it right.

It's just like the illustrations below. The sights are obstructed or
blocked by lattice doors or windows. Yet, you can imagine the
unviewed portions and repair it to see or imagine the entire sight.
It is just the same with the hearing function.

http://www.pyroenergen.com/articles08/images/window-grills.jpg
http://www.pyroenergen.com/articles08/images/door-grills.jpg

The way this repair capability works varies on the subject among
young and old people. Although it is true that the hearing function
weakens with age, there are ways to restore it artificially. Also,
there are elders whose hearing function is greater than young stars.

Do you notice that elderly people can gather easily and talk to each
other and gossips go around without end? There appears to be no
problem of hearing loss among them. Why?

It is because when the subject of their conversation is favorable
among them, they can fix or repair unknowingly where they were not
able to hear by means of action or movement of each lip. It is just
like the grill window illustrations shown above.

Of course, it is true that when most of us get old, our hearing
senses deteriorate due to hardening of eardrums.

Well, what is the main reason of hearing loss? Our studies show that
there are many elderly who have good hearing just like young people.
We tried to analyze more conclusively on what can cause hearing loss.

At first, we came to understand that people who have hyperlipidemia
(excessive fats in blood), diabetes, and kidney disease are more at
risk of hearing loss or deafness.

In the case of hyperlipidemia, cholesterol deposits form on the inner
surfaces of the arteries obstructing blood flow, and will easily clog
the capillaries in the ear. In addition, diabetes can cause raised
capillary pressure. And when kidney function fails, the ability to
discharge the wastes that formed in the ear capillaries will also
fail. Improvement in lifestyle such as moderate exercise and healthy
diet will help prevent hearing impairment or deafness.

There are families that have misunderstanding or troubles among the
elderly and young generations even in various companies because of
hearing loss.

Try to make subjects to talk about at the same level with young and
old generations. In this way, you can avoid frequent
misunderstandings or misinterpretations from each other.

Let's start just like gossip-gathering.

----------------------------------------------------------
About the Author:
Junji Takano is a Japanese health researcher involved in
investigating the cause of various diseases since 1960. In 1968, he
invented Pyro-Energen, the first electromedicine device that
eradicates viral diseases, cancer, and diseases of unknown cause
effectively without side effects.
Free newsletter: http://www.pyroenergen.com/newsletter.htm
----------------------------------------------------------

Clinging to what doesn't work

2008-09-10T05:14:00.000-07:00

"See that any time you feel pained or defeated, it is only because you insist on clinging to what doesn't work. Dare to let go and you won't lose a thing except for a punishing idea."

Guy Finley
Author of The Secret of Letting Go

Cholesterol Pill Taken by Thousands Causes Cancer

2008-09-10T05:13:00.000-07:00

A pill intended to lower cholesterol levels has been linked to
an increased risk of cancer.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is reviewing data from a
trial which found a "larger percentage" of patients treated with the drug
Inegy died of cancer. The FDA is expected to issue its conclusions within
six months.

Inegy combines the widely-used statin drug simvastatin with a
new medication called ezetimibe. Ezetimibe works in a different way from
statins. Statins block cholesterol made in the liver, while ezetimibe blocks
the absorption of cholesterol in the gut.

Sources:
a.. The Daily Mail August 22, 2008

Dr. Mercola's Comments:

Back in 2004, the U.S. government's National Cholesterol Education
Program panel advised those at risk for heart disease to attempt to reduce
their LDL (bad) cholesterol to very low levels. It's been a health disaster
ever since.

Before 2004, a 130-milligram LDL cholesterol level was considered
healthy. The updated guidelines, however, recommended levels of less than
100, or even less than 70 for patients at very high risk.

These updated guidelines instantly increased the market for
cholesterol-lowering drugs.

Not surprisingly, eight of the nine doctors who were on the approval
panel for these absurdly low guidelines had been making money from the
companies of the cholesterol-lowering drugs they were suddenly pushing onto
a much larger (oftentimes healthy) segment of the population.

Now, in order to get to these outrageous and dangerous low levels
usually requires multiple cholesterol-lowering drugs, such as Inegy, which
combines two cholesterol-lowering drugs into one.

Folks, it is VERY rare for anyone to need a cholesterol-lowering drug,
let alone multiples.

Among the more than 20,000 patients who have come to my clinic, only
four or five of them truly needed these drugs, as they had genetic
challenges that required it. But if you or someone you know is taking them,
odds are very high -- greater than 100 to 1 -- that you or they don't need
them, and they may even create more health challenges than what you started
out with.

Statins Actually INCREASE Your Risk of Heart Disease

Inegy combines two different medications -- simvastatin and
ezetimibe -- into one pill.

Although the Daily Mail article above claims statins "should lead to a
drop in heart attacks and other cardiovascular problems," that is not
necessarily the case.

Statin drugs can actually increase your risk of heart disease because
they deplete your body of Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), which can lead to heart
failure. They have also been linked to:

a.. Weakness
b.. Muscle aches
c.. An increase in cancer risk
d.. Immune system suppression
e.. Serious degenerative muscle tissue condition (rhabdomyolysis)
f.. Potential increase in liver enzymes so patients must be
monitored for normal liver function
Statins Have Been Linked to Increased Cancer Risk for More Than a
Decade

I reported that statins were linked to raised cancer risk as far back
as 2000, when research indicated that besides lowering levels of harmful
cholesterol, the drugs could also promote the growth of new blood vessels.
And, although this effect may help to prevent heart attacks and other forms
of heart disease, it may have the potential to promote cancer as well by
increasing the growth of blood vessels in cancerous tumors.

Additionally, back then, tests in human cell samples and in rabbits,
showed that simvastatin (Zocor) seemed to activate a pathway through which
cells communicate and act very similar to a naturally-occurring growth
factor.

But the statin-cancer connection had been discussed even prior to
that. A review published in the prestigious Journal of the American Medical
Association in 1996 stated:

All members of the two most popular classes of lipid-lowering drugs
(the fibrates and the statins) cause cancer in rodents, in some cases at
levels of animal exposure close to those prescribed to humans. ...
Longer-term clinical trials and careful postmarketing surveillance during
the next several decades are needed to determine whether
cholesterol-lowering drugs cause cancer in humans. In the meantime, the
results of experiments in animals and humans suggest that lipid-lowering
drug treatment, especially with the fibrates and statins, should be avoided
except in patients at high short-term risk of coronary heart disease.

Is "Bad" Cholesterol Really Bad?

It's important to remember that you actually NEED cholesterol in your
body - including LDL, or so-called "bad" cholesterol -- in order to maintain
your health. There is actually no such thing as "good" or "bad" cholesterol.
Both HDL and LDL cholesterol perform vital functions in your body, which is
why it's actually dangerous to bring your LDL levels down too low.

HDL (high density lipoprotein) and LDL (low density lipoprotein) are
actually proteins that transport the cholesterol to and from your tissues.
Cholesterol in turn is a precursor to steroid hormones. For example, you can't
make testosterone or estrogen, cortisol, DHEA or pregnenolone, or a
multitude of other steroid hormones that are necessary for health, without
cholesterol.

Even more importantly, you can't make new cell membranes without
cholesterol.

So, the major reasons your body makes cholesterol in the first place,
and why you have LDL, is to take the cholesterol to the tissue so you can
make new cells or repair old damaged ones.

Why is High Cholesterol Equated with High Heart Disease Risk?

If your arteries are being damaged on a chronic basis your cholesterol
levels will remain chronically elevated. This is NOT the problem in and of
itself. Rather, this is your body's natural and purposeful response to
healing.

The REAL problem is what's causing the damage in the first place, such
as having chronically elevated blood sugar. The sugar molecule, in fact,
causes far more damage than any other molecule.

If you decide to take cholesterol-lowering drugs instead of addressing
the underlying problem of excess sugar in your blood stream, you are not
only stopping your body's natural healing process, you are also exposing
yourself to drugs that are loaded with side effects, such as those mentioned
earlier.

The chronic damage being done to your arteries in turn leads to
inflammation. This is how your body responds to invaders. However, when
inflammation becomes chronic, your body is in a constantly irritated state,
and aside from likely having elevated cholesterol levels, you're also going
to have elevated levels of C-reactive protein (CRP).

CRP is a marker of inflammation in your body, and it's also a very
good indicator of your risk of heart disease.

What Drug Companies Don't Want You to Know About LDL

Now, it's important to realize that there are different sizes of LDL
cholesterol particles, and it's the LDL particle size that is relevant, as
small particles get stuck easily and causes more inflammation.

Unfortunately, most people don't hear about that part, and very
rarely, if ever, get it tested. Naturally, the drug companies really don't
want you to know that part of the science, because it would severely limit
the number of people going on cholesterol-lowering drugs, since statins do
not modulate the size of the particles.

The only way to make sure your LDL particles are large enough to not
get stuck and cause inflammation and damage is through your diet.

In fact, it's one of the major things that insulin does. If you eat
properly, which is really the only known good way to regulate LDL particle
size, then it does the right thing; it takes the cholesterol to your
tissues, the HDL takes it back to your liver, and nothing gets stuck causing
damage.

So rather than worry about your cholesterol levels, you really need to
work lowering inflammation, which can be caused by numerous things,
including:

a.. Oxidized cholesterol (cholesterol that has gone rancid, such as
that from overcooked, scrambled eggs)
b.. Eating lots of sugar and grains
c.. Eating foods cooked at high temperatures
d.. Eating trans fats
e.. A sedentary lifestyle
f.. Smoking
g.. Emotional stress
So, as you can see, when you get to the bottom of it, the real
"villain" is often an unhealthy lifestyle, characterized by a heavy reliance
on sugars, processed, highly cooked foods, and insufficient amounts of
exercise - not "high cholesterol."

Finding happiness day-to-day

2008-09-09T03:35:00.000-07:00

"I am more and more convinced that our happiness or our unhappiness depends far more on the way we meet the events of life than on the nature of those events themselves."

Karl Wilhelm Von Humboldt
1767-1835, German Statesman

The great secret of success.

2008-09-08T01:39:00.000-07:00

"The exercise of the visualizing faculty keeps your mind in order, and attracts to you the things you need to make life more enjoyable in an orderly way.

If you train yourself in the practice of deliberately picturing your desire and carefully examining your picture, you will soon find that your thoughts and desires proceed in a more orderly procession than ever before.

Having reached a state of ordered mentality, you are no longer in a constant state of mental hurry. Hurry is Fear, and consequently destructive.

In other words, when your understanding grasps the power to visualize your heart's desire and hold it with your will, it attracts to you all things requisite to the fulfillment of that picture by the harmonious vibrations of the law of attraction.

You realize that since Order is Heaven's first law, and visualization places things in their natural order, then it must be a heavenly thing to visualize.

Everyone visualizes, whether he knows it or not. Visualizing is the great secret of success.

The conscious use of this great power attracts to you multiplied resources, intensifies your wisdom, and enables you to make use of advantages which you formerly failed to recognize."

From Your Invisible Power by Genevieve Behrend

Curing Victimitis

2008-09-05T03:52:00.001-07:00

Watch your thoughts; they lead to attitudes.
Watch your attitudes; they lead to words.
Watch your words; they lead to actions.
Watch your actions; they lead to habits.
Watch your habits; they form your character.
Watch your character; it determines your destiny.

These words of unknown origin tell us that our silent and often subconscious choices shape our future. Every aspect of our lives, at home and at work, can be improved if we use our power to think, reflect, and make conscious choices about our thoughts, attitudes, words, actions, and habits.

Instead, many of us think of ourselves as victims. We complain about our circumstances and what others did to us. Whatever psychological comfort there is in feeling powerless and blameless when things aren't going right, in the end, victims lead unsatisfied lives.

We're most vulnerable to victimitis when we're under the influence of powerful emotions like fear, insecurity, anger, frustration, grief, or depression. These feelings are so powerful, we believe our state of mind is inevitable. Our only hope is they will go away on their own. Yet it's during times of emotional tumult that using our power to choose our thoughts and attitudes is most important. We can't make pain go away, but we can refuse to suffer.

Even when we don't like any of our choices, we do have some -- once we realize we can take control. It isn't easy, but what we do and how we choose to feel about ourselves has a profound impact on the quality of our lives. Victims may get sympathy for a while, but that isn't enough.

Taking personal responsibility for our happiness and success can be scary, but the payoff is enormous. Although we can't make our lives perfect, we can make them better -- usually a lot better.

Vytorin Linked to Cancer; Prominent Medical Journal Reverses Stance

2008-09-05T03:50:00.002-07:00

(NaturalNews) In an unprecedented change of posture, the New England Journal
of Medicine has reversed itself on the issue of whether Vytorin causes
cancer. In the initial release of data back in July, NEJM stood by Merck and
Schering-Plough, who hired an Oxford consultant to rule that a 50%
statistically significant increased risk of cancer was by chance. I pointed
out in an earlier posting that such statistical manipulation, based
primarily on the opinion of the Oxford reviewer, was ridiculous. NEJM has
had a sudden change of heart and now agrees with me.

On September 2, 2008 NEJM published the full study in question, along with
the Oxford report, and its own editorial now stating "Whether the increased
mortality risk is due solely to the play of chance is uncertain. Ezetimibe
[the Zetia portion of Vytorin] interferes with the gastrointestinal
absorption not only of cholesterol, but also of other molecular entities
[fat soluble antioxidants and isoprenoids] that could conceivably affect the
growth of cancer cells. Physicians and patients are unfortunately left for
now with uncertainty about the efficacy and safety of the drug." This rare
reversal of opinion has sent a shock wave through Big Pharma's world, like
having your stamp of approval withdrawn at the last minute.

Vytorin is the controversial cholesterol lowering drug that is the center of
a major advertising fraud that netted Merck and Schering-Plough over 10
billion dollars in sales in the past two years. Merck and Schering-Plough
are facing congressional investigation, various state attorney general
investigations, and plaintiff class action lawsuits. All the negative
publicity has caused sales to fall off, yet the questionable drug is still a
top seller for Merck and Schering-Plough in 2008.

Cholesterol Disease Mongering Based on Outright Fraud
Underneath the advertising fraud is a far more damaging prospect from the
Big Pharma point of view, that the theory of lowering LDL cholesterol with
drugs to prevent heart disease is itself a major fraud that has been
perpetrated on the American public for the past decade. Indeed, while
Vytorin is the most effective drug combination of all time in terms of
lowering LDL, doing so does not produce cardiovascular health or reduce
cardiovascular mortality.

The current study that uncovered cancer risk, called the SEAS trial, was
supposed to prove that patients whose heart valves were partially blocked
would benefit from Vytorin and not need valve replacement therapy or have
heart failure. In this regard, the SEAS trial showed that Vytorin is
worthless, despite lowering LDL cholesterol. This finding is consistent with
another unrelated study (GISSI-HF trial) just published in The Lancet that
showed fish oil could save lives in patients with heart failure, while the
statin drug Crestor could not. The researchers in this study concluded that
"patients with heart failure should not be treated with statins."

Adding more alarm to the statin industry's safety is another article
published in the NEJM just last week. It reported on a detailed analysis of
the human genome in those with statin-induced muscle damage. Scientists
uncovered an alteration in a gene that causes statin drugs to be more
readily absorbed by the liver, thereby making the drugs very toxic. Fifteen
percent of our population has the risk-related gene variant. At this time no
screening is done to see who is at potential risk, meaning that 1 in 6
patients taking statins are likely to be damaged to a greater or lesser
degree based on this one variable alone. Whatever happened to "first do no
harm?"

Low cholesterol now linked to disease
Adding fuel to the low cholesterol and cancer link was another study
recently published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal that found a
33% increased risk of cancer and mortality in type II diabetic patients when
their LDL cholesterol reached 107 and a 50% increase when their LDL reached
87. This is particularly alarming because type II diabetic patients (like
the late Tim Russert) are aggressively treated with statins to lower their
cholesterol to the very numbers that are now associated with increased
cancer risk and death from any cause.

Pathetically, various forces in the Big Pharma world are recommending that
children as low as 7 months of age have their LDL cholesterol levels
maintained at 50 for their entire lives (which obviously will require statin
drugs since such levels are highly abnormal). Big Pharma is always looking
to expand their market share - focusing now on our children - a truly sad
state of affairs.

Statin drugs do not produce cardiovascular health. The lower your
cholesterol goes, the more likely you are to develop cancer and/or die from
any cause. This is massive public health fraud on a grand scale.

Additional comments by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
I strongly agree with this timely assessment of the Vytorin cancer risk. As
Richards has rightly pointed out, the original findings linking Vytorin to
cancer appear to have been fraudulent swept under the rug by typical Big
Pharma fraud and misrepresentation.

The NEJM's reversal on this issue is sending shockwaves through the
industry. It's also reminding consumers that you cannot trust the medical
journals because they will willingly participate in pharmaceutical fraud,
and then they'll later reverse themselves when the truth comes out through
other channels. At any given point in time, there is no way to know if a
particular study appearing in a drug-funded medical journal is in the
"fraud" phase or the "reversal" phase. Today's highly-touted "miracle" drug
may become next year's poison.

Can you imagine the outcry by the FDA if it were found that an HERB
increased the risk of cancer by a whopping 50 percent? The FDA would ban the
herb and denounce it as dangerous at any dose. Curiously, when an
FDA-pharmaceutical achieves the same negative distinction, the FDA remains
utterly silent. There is no drug too dangerous for public consumption, it
seems, and there is no clinical trial that cannot be warped and reshaped to
adhere to the evil designs of drug companies.

Folks, if you are currently taking statin drugs, you have been duped. The
disease is fictitious (there is no such thing as "high cholesterol" disease)
and the drugs are deadly. Besides, you can achieve the same cholesterol
balancing effects with red yeast rice, garlic supplements, B vitamins,
blueberries and mineral supplementation. You don't need drugs to have a
healthy cardiovascular system; all you need is some good nutrition and
regular exercise. Come to think of it, Byron Richards' company
(www.WellnessResources.com) manufactures some of the highest-quality
nutritional supplements in the world, and they protect cardiovascular health
phenomenally well.

Resources
Links to NEJM articles:

Change of opinion: http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/ful...

Full SEAS Vytorin trial: http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/ful...

Gene damage study: http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/abs...

Links to Lancet articles on fish oil and Crestor:

http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lance...

http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lance...

Links to Canadian Medical Association Journal article:

http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/content/full/179...

Link to a fully referenced version of this article:
http://www.wellnessresources.com/conten...

Link to more health articles by this author:

http://www.wellnessresources.com/health...

About the author: Byron J. Richards, Board-Certified Clinical Nutritionist,
nationally-renowned nutrition expert, and founder of Wellness Resources is a
leader in advocating the value of dietary supplements as a vital tool to
maintain health. He is an outspoken critic of government and Big Pharma
efforts to deny access to natural health products and has written
extensively on the life-shortening and health-damaging failures of the
sickness industry. www.wellnessresources.com askbyron@wellnessresources.com

When Should You Go Out in the Sun?

2008-09-05T03:50:00.001-07:00

New research shows that to get an optimal vitamin D supplement from
the sun at a minimal risk of getting cutaneous malignant melanoma (CMM), the
best time of sun exposure is noon.

That means that common health recommendations given by authorities in
many countries -- that sun exposure should be avoided for three to five
hours around noon and postponed to the afternoon -- could be wrong and may
even promote CMM.

This is in part because the action spectrum for CMM is likely to be
centered at longer wavelengths than that of vitamin D generation.
Sources:
a.. Advanced Experiments in Medical Biology 2008; 624: 86-88

Dr. Mercola's Comments:

This is an update for my own personal knowledge as for many
years I have advised people to avoid the sun from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. if they
were at risk of sunburn. Well it turns out that this is the case where a
little bit of knowledge can actually be dangerous.

Cutaneous malignant melanoma (CMM) is the most serious form of
skin cancer, accounting for about three-quarters of all skin cancer deaths.

New research now supports that while avoiding the sun at mid-day
will decrease your risk of painful sunburn it will actually increase your
cancer risk.

How can this be?

If you are a member of my Mercola Inner Circle, and you listened
to last month's expert interview with Dr. William Grant, internationally
recognized research scientist and vitamin D expert, you already have your
answer.

Though he was not an author of the study above, his research
found the same findings: that going out in the sun at mid-day is best for
your health.

"Our recommendation, this is based on work in England and
Norway, and the United States, that the optimal time to be in the sun for
vitamin D production is near to solar noon as possible. That would be
between say 10:00am and 2:00pm.

The reason is two-fold.

First of all, you need a shorter exposure time because the UVB
is more intense.

Now, the second reason is that when the sun goes down towards
the horizon, the UVB is filtered out much more than the UVA. And it turns
out that the long wave of ultraviolet called UVA, which runs from about 320
to 400 nanometers, is highly correlated with melanoma -- where the UVB is
the one that produces the vitamin D, and that's from 290 to 315 nanometers,"
Dr. Grant explains.

This is truly a profound concept, and one that is just beginning
to permeate through the mainstream media.

For instance, U.S. News & World Report featured an article on
time in the sun, and in it Robyn Lucas, an epidemiologist at Australian
National University, agreed with these findings.

"I believe we all need a little unprotected time in the sun
during the middle hours of the day when the sun is at its highest and UV-B
rays can penetrate the atmosphere," she said.

So let me restate this crucial new information:

If you want to get out in the sun to maximize your vitamin D
production, and minimize your risk of malignant melanoma, the middle of the
day is the best time and safest time to go.

"Squamous cell carcinoma is linked to lifetime ultraviolet B
irradiants, whereas melanoma is linked to lifetime UVA irradiants, or
sporadic sun burning in youth and things like that," Dr. Grant says. "And so
dermatologists, by telling people to put on sunscreen and avoid the mid-day
sun, were actually giving recommendations that led to increased melanoma.
And it's because they didn't carefully look at the wavelength dependents
related to melanoma. And so they just didn't figure out that they were
giving bad advice."

Both UVA and UVB can cause tanning and burning, although UVB
does so far more rapidly. UVA, however, penetrates your skin more deeply
than UVB, and is thought to be a much more important factor in photoaging,
wrinkles and skin cancers.

Going Out in the Sun Will Lower Your Cancer Risk . NOT Increase
It

Getting about 2,000 IU to 4,000 IU a day of vitamin D can help
you to reduce your cancer risk by up to 50 percent!

And according to Dr. Grant, about 30 percent of cancer deaths --
which amounts to 2 million worldwide and 200,000 in the United States --
could be prevented each year with higher levels of vitamin D.

However, most people only get 250-300 IU a day from their diet,
so another source -- ideally the sun -- is essential.

How Long You Spend in the Sun is Also Critical

A common myth, aside from that of avoiding the mid-day sun, is
that occasional exposure of your face and hands to sunlight is "sufficient"
for obtaining healthy vitamin D levels. For most of us, this is an miserably
inadequate exposure to move vitamin levels to the healthy range.

You need to expose large portions of your skin to the sun, and
you need to do it for more than a few minutes.

In Caucasian skin, an equilibrium occurs within 20 minutes of
ultraviolet exposure. It can take three to six times longer for darkly
pigmented skin to reach the equilibrium concentration of skin vitamin D. So,
bearing in mind that you need to gradually increase your time, starting in
the spring, you should be aiming toward exposing large areas of your skin to
the sun, anywhere from 20 minutes at a time to two hours at a time,
depending on your skin type and environmental factors.

Longer exposures will be needed if sunbathing occurs at off-peak
times for ultraviolet light (before 12 p.m. or after 3 p.m.) or at the
beginning or end of the summer (April or September).

You're probably wondering, now that fall and winter are
approaching in the United States, what to do when it's too cold for sun
exposure.

In the winter months, if you've had your vitamin D levels tested
and found them to be low, a vitamin D3 supplement (cholecalciferol), which
is the type of vitamin D found naturally in foods like eggs, organ meats,
animal fat, cod liver oil, and fish, can be used. Continue to have your
vitamin D levels monitored during this time, though, so you don't overdose.

To learn more about how to use sunlight for your health -- and
the dangers of not getting enough -- keep an eye out for my new book, Dark
Deception, which is coming out shortly.

Doing right

2008-09-04T03:30:00.001-07:00

"Every time I've done something that doesn't feel right, it's ended up not being right."

Mario Cuomo
Lawyer and Former Governor of New York

Cell Phones Cause Sleepless Nights

2008-09-04T03:29:00.001-07:00

By: Sylvia Booth Hubbard
http://www.newsmax.com/health/cell_phones_sleepless/2008/09/03/127272.html

Can't sleep, or you're not sleeping well? A joint U.S./Swedish study
says your cell phone's the culprit. Scientists from Wayne State University
in Michigan and from two Swedish universities say cell phone radiation
hinders the ability to enter the deep stages of sleep.

The study involved about 70 men and women between the ages of 18 and
45. Half of the subjects were exposed to wireless signal radiation identical
to that sent out by cell phones, while the other half received no radiation.
The group that wasn't exposed experienced normal sleep, but the group that
got the radiation took longer to reach deep stages of sleep and spent less
time in deep sleep once they reached it.

Swedish scientist Bengt Arnetz, who led the study, says there's no
doubt cell phones "have measurable effects on the brain." He thinks cell
phones trigger the brain's stress system, making it hard to relax and sleep.
"And bear in mind, when you're talking on the phone, there is a mental
stimulus from the conversation itself, in addition to the radiation," Arnetz
said. "The combination makes it doubly hard to relax into deep sleep."

Previous European studies corroborate the study, such as one which
followed about 1,600 Belgian teenagers for a year. It showed that most of
the teenagers talked in bed at night before falling asleep, and that those
who did so more than one night a week were five times as likely to report
being tired as non-phone users.

The new U.S./Swedish study was funded by a trade association that
represents the largest European cell phone companies. After it was published
by MIT, the association tried to play down the results as "inconclusive."

Calcium and Vitamin D Can Cut Stress Fractures

2008-09-04T03:28:00.000-07:00

As you know, our body needs calcium to build and repair bones, and at
the same time calcium needs vitamin D for it to be effectively
absorbed by the body.

We know that vitamin D is produced when our skin absorbs sunlight.
Today, however, we fear that sunlight might cause skin cancer and
other complicated diseases due to strong ultraviolet ray and unknown
light beam created by optical pollutants.

Yes, some foods contain lots of vitamin D and other supplements are
available for that purpose.

Our studies show that young men active in sports who took higher
doses of calcium and vitamin D supplements for about two months had
fewer "stress fractures". Although we do not know more details of its
clinical data, yet, at least it is somewhat an encouraging outcome.
Of course, we need more studies to know its real benefits to us.

http://www.pyroenergen.com/articles08/images/stress-fractures.jpg

Stress fractures usually occur among young students during their
heavy sports activities. Of course, we are trying to find the
simplest prevention techniques.

The body uses calcium to build and repair bones. Vitamin D helps the
body absorb calcium.

Usually, doctors recommend about 1,000 milligrams of calcium and 200
IUs of vitamin D each day for adults of at least above 16 years old.
According to data received from athletes who took nearly 2,000
milligrams of calcium and 700 IUs of vitamin D every day had much
less stress fractures.

On the side note, we notice that people who expose their body to
sunlight have better physical built than those wearing clothes.

Try to get vitamin D from the sunlight. It's free. Of course,
athletes who practice in fields have a higher risk of stress
fractures. We really recommend taking calcium and vitamin D from
foods in their diets, sunlight, and supplements to avoid injuries.

----------------------------------------------------------
About the Author:
Junji Takano is a Japanese health researcher involved in
investigating the cause of various diseases since 1960. In 1968, he
invented Pyro-Energen, the first electromedicine device that
eradicates viral diseases, cancer, and diseases of unknown cause
effectively without side effects.
Free newsletter: http://www.pyroenergen.com/newsletter.htm
----------------------------------------------------------

The key to failure

2008-09-03T04:19:00.001-07:00

"I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody."

Bill Cosby
Actor and Comedian

Trans Fats Linked to Pre-Cancerous Colon Growths

2008-09-03T04:18:00.000-07:00

A high intake of trans fats could increase colon cancer risk, according to
new research published in the American Journal of Epidemiology.

People who ate the most trans fatty acids were more likely to have
pre-cancerous growths or polyps in their colons than those who consumed the
least, Dr. Lisa C. Vinikoor of the University of North Carolina in Chapel
Hill and colleagues found. "These results provide further support for
recommendations to limit consumption of trans-fatty acids," they conclude.

Trans fats are formed by processing vegetable oils to increase their
shelf-life, and are found in many baked goods, crackers, snacks and other
packaged foods. Eating them increases levels of "bad" LDL-cholesterol, and
hence heart disease risk. US food producers are now required to list the
amount of trans fat contained in their products, and health authorities
recommend people avoid eating trans fats entirely.

While there has been little research on whether trans fats boost colorectal
cancer risk, there are many possible ways that they could do so, for example
by changing the normal balance of fatty or bile acids in the colon, Vinikoor
and her colleagues say.

To investigate a possible link, they looked at 622 people who had
colonoscopies at University of North Carolina Hospitals in 2001 and 2002.
Study participants were interviewed about their diet, physical activity and
other health issues within 12 weeks of having the screening test.

People in the top fourth based on trans-fatty acid consumption, most of whom
took in 6.54 grams daily, were 86 percent more likely to have colon polyps
than those in the bottom quartile for trans fat intake, for whom median
intake was 3.63 g, the researchers found. There appeared to be a threshold
effect, with no increased risk seen for people in the bottom three quarters
of fatty acid consumption.

Among the 38.5 percent of study participants found to have colon polyps,
average trans fatty acid intake was 4.97 g, while most consumed 4.12 g.
Average intakes for people who were free of the colon growths was 4.42 g,
while the median was 3.61 g.

These results suggest that consumption of high amounts of trans-fatty acid
may increase the risk of colorectal polyps, the researchers write, adding
that the findings also back current recommendations to limit trans fat
intake.

SOURCE: American Journal of Epidemiology, August 1, 2008.
Copyright Reuters

What wrinkles the soul

2008-09-02T03:38:00.000-07:00

"Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul."

Samuel Ullman
1840-1924, Educator, Writer and Poet

Staying In Touch

2008-08-29T03:13:00.000-07:00

My usual routine on a Sunday morning is to go for bicycle ride. Today I wanted to do something different so I stopped at the cemetery where my grandparents are buried. I rode only a mile to where their headstone is and cleaned it up a little and reflected. I have only one memory from each of my grandparents that stands out. I remember my grandfather walking me to the corner store one morning for bread. He let me carry the money we were going to spend, and I even got to hand it to the clerk.
My grandmother would often be found on the couch with her eyes closed as if she were sleeping. I asked one day why she always had her eyes closed, her response was that she was resting them. Nothing profound about either memory, but I am glad I have them.

As I continued around the cemetery I noticed small groups of people scattered throughout staring at the grave markers at their feet. I would imagine they too were reflecting.

One man bid me good morning as I rode by, so I stopped to wish him a good morning as well. He replied, 'yes it is a wonderful morning'. With that enthusiastic answer I felt an invitation to talk.

"Sir, I noticed you on the hill up the road, now you are down here. Can I ask you what you are doing?"

"Sure." He replied, as if he had something to tell me. "I come here every Sunday to visit my wife up on the hill, then I come down here to visit my life-long buddy. We were in three wars together you know."
We talked for about 30 minutes, then I asked him. "John, (we exchanged names) what advice would you have to give people as we all grow old?"

"Well, Larry, we don't always have control over our health, or even our wealth. But we have control of keeping in touch with our friends. So, I say stay in touch. Whether you're sick or poor, healthy or wealthy, you can always stay in touch."

My eyes began to swell with tears as I looked at this old man and knew he was right. We talked a little longer then wished each other a good day, we shook hands and left.

My early morning bicycle ride made an impression on me today. I hope you got something out of this as well.

Larry D. Schultz

What we expect

2008-08-28T03:55:00.001-07:00

"If we are basically positive in attitude, expecting and envisioning pleasure, satisfaction and happiness, we will attract and create people, situations, and events which conform to our positive expectations."

Shakti Gawain
Author

Bisphenol A Chemical in Plastic Bottles Harms Children, Feds Conclude

2008-08-28T03:54:00.001-07:00

(NaturalNews) For the first time, a branch of the U.S. government has
admitted that the common industrial chemical bisphenol A (BPA) may pose a
health risk.

BPA is a crucial ingredient in the hard, clear polycarbonate plastic found
in water and baby bottles. It is also used to make liners for food and
infant formula cans. BPA has been shown to seep out of these containers and
into food or liquids, and 90 percent of U.S. residents carry it in their
bodies.

The National Toxicology Program of the National Institutes of Health
concluded in April that there is "some concern" that BPA may cause problems
in fetuses, babies and children, including breast or prostate cancer, early
onset of female puberty, attention deficit disorder and other problems of
the reproductive and neurological systems.

"Some concern" is the middle of five rankings available to the National
Toxicology Program, with none at one end and extreme at the other.

The National Toxicology Program's findings "[reflect] a significant body of
science showing that BPA may play a larger role than previously thought in a
host of common health problems, including prostate cancer, breast cancer and
early puberty," said Anila Jacob, senior scientist at Environmental Working
Group.

"More research is needed to better understand [BPA's] implications for human
health," the report reads. "However, because these effects in animals occur
at bisphenol A exposure levels similar to those experienced by humans, the
possibility that bisphenol A may alter human development cannot be
dismissed."

In spite of the report's cautious wording, BPA expert Frederick vom Saal
said that it is "very, very much in line" with a statement signed by 38
scientists in 2007, warning that BPA could be harming infant development.

"This is going to ripple around the world," vom Saal said. "The bottom line
is there really is a convergence of opinion that is occurring."

Sources for this story include: www.latimes.com.

Low Cholesterol Increases Cancer and Death Risk

2008-08-28T03:53:00.001-07:00

(NaturalNews) In a major shot fired across the bow of the statin marketing
machine, the levels of LDL cholesterol that are the artificial targets of
"health" promoted by the American Heart Association (AHA) are now found to
be associated with a significant increased risk of cancer and death.

The AHA recommends an LDL level of 100 for prevention and 70 for high risk
patients. In the new study an LDL level of 107 was associated with a 33%
increased risk of cancer and death, an LDL level of 87 was associated with a
50% increased risk. As the LDL goes lower the risk keeps getting worse.
These arbitrary AHA levels for LDL cholesterol were established by "experts"
with direct financial ties to the statin industry, who knew full well that
reaching their artificially low target levels for LDL would require double
and triple doses of statin drugs, thus dramatically increasing sales (which
has indeed happened).

The Vytorin fraud has pointed out quite clearly that lowering LDL
cholesterol to very low levels does not reduce cardiovascular disease.
Another Vytorin study also shows doing so increases cancer risk by 64%. The
new study paints the clear picture that lowering LDL too low actually
increases the rate of death from any cause. This new study also points out
the statistical shenanigans that the statin industry uses to hide the actual
risks of these drugs in the studies that have been published.

The data was so alarming that the researchers called for a statistical
reanalysis of the data from all existing cholesterol studies, using better
statistical models that actually reflect true risk. The results of this new
research led the authors to conclude "A low LDL cholesterol level is not
necessarily associated with optimal clinical outcomes but is a predictor of
cancer and death."

We have known for many years that individuals who maintain an LDL
cholesterol level of 130 as they enter their 40s and 50s have much less
heart disease as they grow older. This is because they are healthy and have
maintained fitness in their cholesterol function and metabolism. There is no
credible data to show that lowering LDL numbers with statins actually
produces a similar level of health, especially to artificially low numbers.
There is a huge difference between having good cholesterol numbers because
you are healthy and drugging your body's synthesis of cholesterol with
statins.

In the current study the ideal LDL cholesterol level was 126. The
researchers were able to identify a bell shaped curve, in terms of a
departure in either direction from this ideal number. LDL over 146 or less
than 107 was associated with 33% increased risk of cancer. LDL over 164 of
less than 87 was associated with a 50% increased risk. The risk keeps
getting worse the higher or lower the number progresses away from the ideal
of 126. LDL in the range of 108 - 145 had no statistically significant
cancer risk, although being in the center of this range is clearly best.

There have been a number of studies in the past that link low cholesterol
and cancer risk. However, these studies could not prove that the cancer was
not already there prior to the start of the study - which has been the main
argument used (besides statistical manipulation) by the statin industry to
deny the association. In the new study this issue was taken into account by
eliminating participants with less than 2.5 years follow up after the start
of the study, thus demonstrating that the results were not due to
pre-existing cancer.

Needless to say, this study was not part of the marketing machine propaganda
that is rampant in universities and "scientific" journals that have been
used to promote the statin scam around the world, while actively
blackmailing and blacklisting any authors, institutions, or journals that
dare to step on Big Pharma's statin toes. This study was published on August
26, 2008 in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. It was carried out in
Hong Kong with Chinese patients who had type II diabetes - the exact patient
who is forced onto aggressive cholesterol lowering with statin drugs in
America.

It is quite clear that scientific knowledge and advanced statistical
analysis are no longer under the control of Big Pharma and its legions of
scientists, universities, and medical journals that are on the take,
misrepresenting data, and actively suppressing negative findings. The truth
is coming out because Big Pharma is targeting the citizens of the world as a
new market for statin sales. And they are also targeting our children,
wanting infants seven months of age to have LDL levels of 50 and keep them
at that level their whole life (with drugs, since such levels are totally
abnormal).

The insanity must stop. Americans have been conned. Big Pharma and the
American Heart Association should be held responsible for past crimes and
future intended crimes against the health of our citizens under the false
pretense of improved cardiovascular health.

Sources:
Link to full Canadian Medical Association Journal article:
http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/content/full/179...

Link to fully referenced version of this article:
http://www.wellnessresources.com/health...

About the author: Byron J. Richards, Board-Certified Clinical Nutritionist,
nationally-renowned nutrition expert, and founder of Wellness Resources is a
leader in advocating the value of dietary supplements as a vital tool to
maintain health. He is an outspoken critic of government and Big Pharma
efforts to deny access to natural health products and has written
extensively on the life-shortening and health-damaging failures of the
sickness industry. www.wellnessresources.com askbyron@wellnessresources.com

Dealing with troubling people

2008-08-27T10:48:00.001-07:00

"Whenever encountering a troublesome person, do not identify him as being cruel or stupid or rude or anything else like that. Instead, see him as a frightened person."

Vernon Howard
Author

What kindness is

2008-08-26T03:39:00.000-07:00

"Genuine kindness is not what we do. It is what we are."

Vernon Howard
Author of Psycho-Pictography

The Amazing Power of the Human Will

2008-08-22T03:33:00.001-07:00

"My mother taught me very early to believe I could achieve any accomplishment I wanted to. The first was to walk without braces."
Wilma Rudolph

The human will is the most incredible thing. I believe it is the human will that keeps us going, when everyone else expects us to sit, or even quit.

I have always been fascinated by the heroes and sheroes who have made indelible marks in world history; and illustrated distinguished triumphs over seemingly, insurmountable adversity.

I can vividly recall reading about Wilma Rudolph when I was in grade school. Her life epitomized, "breaking through limitations." Over the last three decades, I have thought about Wilma when so-called, "limitations" presented themselves in my own life. I think of Wilma, and I am passionately reminded of the amazing power of the human will.

Wilma Rudolph was born prematurely and weighed only 4.5 pounds. Most of her childhood was spent in St. Bethlehem, Tennessee. There, she was bedridden as she battled double pneumonia, scarlet fever and polio. At six years old, she lost the use of her left leg. Subsequently, she was fitted with leg braces. Later on in life, she was often quoted as saying: "I spent most of my time trying to get them off. (I had an uncompromising resolve) to be a normal kid."

At the age of 16, when she was only a sophomore in high school, the 5' 11" Wilma Rudolph won a bronze medal at the Olympic Games in Melbourne, Australia. And, in the 1960 Rome Olympics, Rudolph became "the fastest woman in the world." She also was the first American woman to win three gold medals in one Olympics. She won the 100 and 200 meter races; and also anchored the U.S. team to victory in the 4 X 100 meter relay, breaking records along the way.

Wilma Rudolph is remembered by family and admirers alike, for her incredible calm and graceful demeanor when under pressure. Valiantly and brilliantly, she removed all of her "struggles" during the course of her lifetime.

She once said: "The most important aspect is to be yourself and have confidence in yourself...triumph can't be had without a struggle."

In 1994, Wilma Rudolph died of brain cancer at the age of 54. Few would argue that she lived a full, purposeful, and triumphant life. Rudolph expected victory when just about everyone else would have understood if she'd just lay down, sit or even quit. Thank you, Wilma, for being the contrary.

Fran Briggs

Top Ten Spices That Defend You Against Aging

2008-08-22T03:32:00.001-07:00

Herbs and spices are rich in antioxidants, and they are also potent inhibitors of tissue damage and inflammation caused by high levels of blood sugar.

When researchers tested extracts from 24 common herbs and spices, they found a direct correlation between antioxidant phenol content and the ability of the extracts to block the formation of compounds that contribute to damage caused by diabetes and aging.

Spices such as cloves and cinnamon have phenol levels that are 30 percent and 18 percent of dry weight, respectively, while herbs such as oregano and sage are 8 and 6 percent phenol by dry weight. Blueberries, which are widely touted for their antioxidant capabilities, contain roughly 5 percent phenol by dry weight.

Sources:
a.. Journal of Medicinal Foods June 2008; 11(2):275-81

Dr. Mercola's Comments:
Any molecule in your body is capable of causing damage, but probably the most damaging of all are glucose and other sugar molecules. They cause more inflammation that leads to heart disease than cholesterol could ever hope to.

How Does High Blood Sugar Cause Tissue Damage and Heart Disease?

Glucose and other sugar molecules cause glycation; a process in which the sugar bonds with proteins and form so-called advanced glycation end products, or AGEs. It's a fitting acronym as it - along with oxidation -- is one of the major molecular mechanisms whereby damage accrues in your body, which leads to disease, aging, and eventually, death.

When sugar glycates it creates inflammation, which activates your immune system in a defensive maneuver. Macrophages are scavenger cells that are part of your immune defense system, and as such they have special receptors for AGEs, aptly called RAGEs (think: raging inflammation). These RAGEs bind to the AGEs and get rid of them. Unfortunately, this process can leave its fair share of battle scars.

Essentially, when you consume excess sugar you tend to produce and accumulate AGEs, which frequently lead to raging inflammation, which leads to damage in your arteries. The damage control ultimately takes its toll and you begin to form scar tissue, which inside your arteries is called plaque.

And, voila! -- Heart disease.

This is why there's such a strong correlation between diabetes and heart disease - and shortened lifespan.

People with Type 2 diabetes get heart disease about 15 years earlier than non-diabetics, and also lose about 18 years from their expected life span, according to findings from hospital and death records of close to 9.5 million Canadians.

How Common Spices Can Protect Against Heart Disease and the Ravages of Aging

This study, published in the current issue of the Journal of Medicinal Foods, found a strong and direct correlation between the phenol content of common herbs and spices and their ability to inhibit glycation and the formation of AGE compounds, making them potent preventers of heart disease and premature aging.

The top 10 most potent herbs and spices are:

1.. Cloves (ground)
2.. Cinnamon (ground)
3.. Jamaican allspice (ground)
4.. Apple pie spice (mixture)
5.. Oregano (ground)
6.. Pumpkin pie spice (mixture)
7.. Marjoram
8.. Sage
9.. Thyme
10.. Gourmet Italian spice
This is not the first time scientists have declared culinary herbs and spices as potent anti-diabetic alternatives.

Cinnamon and cinnamon extracts have previously been shown to effectively lower blood sugar. As a matter of fact, cinnamon was found to increase glucose metabolism 20-fold, in one such study!

Interestingly, cinnamon lowers your blood sugar by acting on several different levels. It slows the emptying of your stomach to reduce sharp rises in blood sugar following meals, and improves the effectiveness, or sensitivity, of insulin. It also enhances your antioxidant defenses.

Researchers have even gone so far as to say cinnamon could play the role of an insulin substitute in the treatment of type 2 diabetes.

1 in 4 Americans Now Suffer From Pre-Diabetes or Some Form of Diabetes

The latest statistics on diabetes indicate that the U.S. now has as many as 24 million people with diabetes, or 8 percent of our total population. However, the statistics are even more grim when it comes to the prevalence of pre-diabetes (impaired fasting glucose).

Almost 26 percent of U.S. adults over the age of 20 are pre-diabetics, and more than 35 percent of seniors, 60 and older. In total, that's 57 million Americans walking around with pre-diabetes, in addition to the 24 million that have already crossed the line.

That means that just over 26.5 percent of the entire U.S. population either has pre-diabetes, or some form of diabetes!

My personal experience with diabetes and review of the literature has made it VERY clear to me that virtually every case of type 2 diabetes is 100 percent reversible without the use of prescription drugs.

And let me assure you, the cure for type 2 diabetes has NOTHING to do with giving insulin. Giving someone insulin with type 2 diabetes is one of the WORST things that can be done. Any physician doing this for type 2 diabetes is suffering from profound ignorance of insulin physiology.

Unfortunately, the vast majority of physicians are still seriously confused about this issue, which is why most doctors cause diabetics to D. I. E.

How to Prevent Diabetes and Heart Disease, and Increase Longevity

First things first: For people with diabetes, the last thing you want to eat is a lot of grains, or any sugar for that matter.

Swap out your grains and sugar for high-quality sources of protein, healthy fat (which INCLUDES saturated fat) and vegetables according to your nutritional type, all of which is outlined in my Take Control of Your Health Program, and you'll be off to a great start.

Add in regular exercise, the other essential key to preventing and reversing diabetes, and you'll be even better off. These two measures alone will help you to shed excess weight, and a weight loss of 10 pounds can reduce your risk of diabetes by nearly 60 percent.

Last but not least, why not add some spice to your life?

Herbs and spices have very low calorie content, they're relatively inexpensive, and they're a great way to turbo-boost the natural antioxidant and anti-inflammatory power of your diet!

Tons of benefits and zero hazardous side effects. It doesn't get any better than that, which is why I keep advocating for the return to a healthy whole food diet that is tailored for your individual biochemistry, rather than stocking up on a cabinet-full of (often synthetic) supplements.

Set up a good herb and spice cabinet and season your food liberally, and you could potentially double or even triple the medicinal value of your meal.

How to live your life

2008-08-22T03:31:00.001-07:00

"To live your life the way you choose,
you have to be a bit rebellious.
You have to be willing to stand up for yourself."

Dr. Wayne Dyer

The books that help you most

2008-08-21T02:54:00.000-07:00

"The books that help you most are those which make you think the most. A great book that comes from a great thinker is a ship of thought, deep freighted with truth and beauty."

Theodore Parker
1810-1860, Minister

Mindfulness in our work

2008-08-20T10:22:00.001-07:00

"Consciously or unconsciously, every one of us does render some service or other. If we cultivate the habit of doing this service deliberately, our desire for service will steadily grow stronger, and will make, not only our own happiness, but that of the world at large."

Mahatma Gandhi
1869-1948, Indian Political and Spiritual Leader

Fish Oil Cuts Macular Degeneration Risk in Half

2008-08-20T10:21:00.001-07:00

A study in the August issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition shows that eating oily fish at least once per week cuts the risk for developing age-related macular degeneration in half.

This is a testament to the destruction of the quality of our food supply by companies that process food and animals used in the food supply that are no longer range raised. Oily fish are one of the few remaining sources of vital oils like DHA. Even the intake of fish is of concern due to the widespread pollution of ocean water.

Molecularly distilled DHA, which does not contain mercury, PCBs, or other contaminants, is the safest way for you to get this vital oil into your diet on a consistent basis.

Low Vitamin D Status Linked to Heart Failure and Sudden Cardiac Death

2008-08-20T10:19:00.000-07:00

Reference: "Association of vitamin D deficiency with heart failure and sudden cardiac death in a large cross-sectional study of patients referred for coronary angiography," Pilz S, Marz W, et al, J Clin Endocrinol Metab, 2008 August 5; [Epub ahead of print]. (Address: Department of Internal Medicine, Department of Public Health, Division of Endocrinology and Nuclear Medicine, Medical University of Graz, Auenbruggerplatz 15, 8036 Graz, Austria. E-mail: Stefan Pilz, stefan.pilz@chello.at ).

Summary: In a study involving 3,299 Caucasian subjects who were routinely referred to coronary angiography at baseline (1997-2000), low vitamin D status was found to be associated with increased risk of deaths due to heart failure and sudden cardiac death. Patients were followed up with for an average of 7.7 years, during which time 116 died due to heart failure and 188 died due to sudden cardiac death. As compared to patients with optimal serum 25(OH)D levels (75 nmol/L or greater), those with severe vitamin D deficiency (25(OH)D < 25 nmol/L) were found to have a 2.84 hazard ratio for death due to heart failure and 5.05 for sudden cardiac death. The authors conclude, "Interventional trials are warranted to elucidate whether vitamin D supplementation is useful for treatment and/or prevention of myocardial diseases."

Facing fear

2008-08-19T03:27:00.001-07:00

"When you face your fear, most of the time you will discover that it was not really such a big threat after all. We all need some form of deeply rooted, powerful motivation - it empowers us to overcome obstacles so we can live our dreams."

Les Brown
Speaker and Author

Serenity

2008-08-18T04:18:00.001-07:00

Calmness of mind is one of the beautiful jewels of wisdom. It is the result of long and patient effort in self-control. Its presence is an indication of ripened experience, and of a more than ordinary knowledge of the laws and operations of thought.

A person becomes calm in the measure that one understands themselves as a thought evolved being, for such knowledge necessitates the understanding of others as the result of thought, and as one develops a right understanding, and sees more and more clearly the internal relations of things by the action of cause and effect, one ceases to fuss and fume and worry and grieve, and remains poised, steadfast, serene.

The calm person, having learned how to govern themselves, knows how to adapt themselves to others; and they, in turn, reverence their spiritual strength, and feel that they can learn of them and rely upon them. The more tranquil a person becomes, the greater is their success, their influence, their power for good. Even the ordinary trader will find their business prosperity increase as one develops a greater self control and equanimity, for people will always prefer to deal with a person whose demeanor is strongly equable.

The strong, calm person is always loved and revered. They are like a shade-giving tree in a thirsty land, or a sheltering rock in a storm. Who does not love a tranquil heart, a sweet-tempered, balanced life? It does not matter whether it rains or shines, or what changes come to those possessing these blessings, for they are always sweet, serene, and calm. That exquisite poise of character which we call serenity is the last lesson of culture; it is the flowering of life, the fruitage of the soul. It is precious as wisdom, more to be desired than gold, than even fine gold. How insignificant mere money seeking looks in comparison with a serene life - a life that dwells in the ocean of truth, beneath the waves, beyond the reach of tempests, in the eternal calm!

How many people we know who sour their lives, who ruin all that is sweet and beautiful by explosive tempers, who destroy their poise of character, and make bad blood! It is a question whether the great majority of people do not ruin their lives and mar their happiness by lack of self-control flow few people we meet in life who are well-balanced, who have that exquisite poise which is characteristic of the finished character!

James Allen
1864-1912, Author

Home Remedies for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

2008-08-18T04:15:00.000-07:00

Have you ever heard of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome? If you feel some
numbness around your hands or palms, consult your physician
immediately as these symptoms might lead to serious damage to your
life.

Most bedridden patients experienced numbness around their feet or
hands in the beginning, thinking that it was just a twist while
sleeping or some simple daily usual occurrence. Often, they tell us
that the feeling of numbness was just nothing, until time had passed
for several years. One day they noticed that they failed to even hold
a cup of coffee or else dropping it. Bear in mind that these are all
dangerous signs to your health.

In carpal tunnel syndrome, numbness usually occurs at thumb, index,
middle finger and half of the ring finger.

## WHAT IS THE REAL CAUSE OF CARPAL TUNNEL SYNDROME?

There are several and many think that it is caused by repetitive
movements of arms and fingers especially among heavy computer
keyboard users. Some records show that women during pregnancy and
after delivery are more susceptible to carpal tunnel syndrome than
others. It is also fairly common in patients undergoing dialysis.

However, according to medical groups, up to this writing, there is no
definite answer on the real cause of carpal tunnel syndrome.

What could be the remedy for the thumb and other parts of the fingers
that are getting thin or having muscle degeneration? It is quite
difficult to answer, and there is also no definite remedy that was
found.

According to some patients, solving the pressure of the nerve with
surgical operation will correct the condition or numbness. Of course,
there are cases that such syndrome disappeared over time without any
treatment.

## HOW TO TEST OR DIAGNOSE CARPAL TUNNEL SYNDROME?

The following photo shows a diagnostic test for carpal tunnel
syndrome, known as the Phalen's maneuver or Phalen's test.

http://www.pyroenergen.com/articles08/images/phalens-maneuver.jpg

Bend your wrist and maintain your hands position in a 90-degree
angle, pushing the back of both hands together, for about one minute.
If you do not feel any pain or numbness, then you are at least on the
safe level. Of course, the Phalen's maneuver is not a definite way to
diagnose but it helps to know at least.

Two years ago, one of our caretakers in the rice field was cutting
rice straw with sickle when she suddenly lost her power to hold the
sickle and dropped it. Since then, she had difficulties holding
things with her right hand for a year. She is now under diet control
and of course, hands, arms and feet exercise everyday with the Pyro-
Energen treatment.

Usually, hands and mouth numbness leads to cerebral apoplexy or
cerebral apoplexy leads to hands and mouth numbness. You should know
that this numbness usually happens when you wake up in the morning.
Whichever it is, if you feel slight numbness in your hands or around
the mouth, we advise you to consult your physician immediately before
anything serious happens to your health.

Also, some patients told us that some numbness or strange feeling or
strange vertigo occurs especially when they bend their neck (head)
upward. Schoolteachers told us that such numbness occurred when they
started writing on the blackboard when they bend their head upwards
or when they face up.

## HOME REMEDIES FOR CARPAL TUNNEL SYNDROME

Open and close and twist hard your hands as shown on these
illustrations as often as possible every day. This simple hands
exercise can eradicate hundreds of blood-related problems according
to our experiences.

----------------------------------------------------------
About the Author:
Junji Takano is a Japanese health researcher involved in
investigating the cause of various diseases since 1960. In 1968, he
invented Pyro-Energen, the first electromedicine device that
eradicates viral diseases, cancer, and diseases of unknown cause
effectively without side effects.
Free newsletter: http://www.pyroenergen.com/newsletter.htm
----------------------------------------------------------

Your Friday story: Love and Loss

2008-08-15T21:04:00.000-07:00

I was lucky. I found what I loved to do early in life. Woz and I started Apple in my parents garage when I was 20. We worked hard, and in 10 years Apple had grown from just the two of us in a garage into a $2 billion company with over 4000 employees. We had just released our finest creation - the Macintosh - a year earlier, and I had just turned 30. And then I got fired. How can you get fired from a company you started?

Well, as Apple grew we hired someone who I thought was very talented to run the company with me, and for the first year or so things went well. But then our visions of the future began to diverge and eventually we had a falling out. When we did, our Board of Directors sided with him. So at 30 I was out. And very publicly out. What had been the focus of my entire adult life was gone, and it was devastating.

I really didn't know what to do for a few months. I felt that I had let the previous generation of entrepreneurs down - that I had dropped the baton as it was being passed to me. I met with David Packard and Bob Noyce and tried to apologize for screwing up so badly. I was a very public failure, and I thought about running away from the valley. But something slowly began to dawn on me - I still loved what I did. The turn of events at Apple had not changed that one bit. I had been rejected, but I was still in love. And so I decided to start over.

I didn't see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.

During the next five years, I started a company named NeXT, another company named Pixar, and fell in love with an amazing woman who would become my wife. Pixar went on to create the worlds first computer animated feature film, Toy Story, and is now the most successful animation studio in the world. In a remarkable turn of events, Apple bought NeXT.

I returned to Apple, and the technology we developed at NeXT is at the heart of Apple's current renaissance. And Laurene and I have a wonderful family together.

I'm pretty sure none of this would have happened if I hadn't been fired from Apple.It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it. Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith. I'm convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You've got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers.

Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking.

Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don't settle.

Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs gave this as his second story of his Commencement Address at Stanford University on June 12, 2005.

The road to happiness

2008-08-14T03:29:00.000-07:00

"The road to happiness lies in two simple principles: find what it is that interests you and that you can do well, and when you find it put your whole soul into it - every bit of energy and ambition and natural ability you have."

John D. Rockefeller
1839-1937, Industrialist and Philanthropist

Achieving what you want in life

2008-08-13T03:40:00.002-07:00

"You can achieve anything you want in life if you have the courage to dream it, the intelligence to make a realistic plan, and the will to see that plan through to the end."

Sidney A. Friedman
Entrepreneur, Speaker and Author

Omega-3's Protect Against Clogged Arteries

2008-08-13T03:40:00.001-07:00

A diet rich in omega-3 fats may explain why middle-aged men in Japan have fewer problems with clogged arteries than similar men in the United States.

The research found that Japanese men living in Japan had twice the blood levels of omega-3 fats, and also lower levels of atherosclerosis, compared to middle-aged white men or Japanese-American men living in the United States.

Atherosclerosis is the buildup of plaque inside your arteries. Over time, they can lead to serious problems like heart attacks and stroke.

Nutritional studies show that intake of omega-3 fats averages 1.3 grams per day in Japan, compared to 0.2 grams per day in the United States.
Sources:
a.. Reuters July 28, 2008
a.. Journal of the American College of Cardiology August 2008; 52:417-424

Dr. Mercola's Comments:

It's been proven time and again that omega-3 fats are excellent for your heart health. Where this particular study made some strides was in showing that it's likely diet -- and not genes -- that's responsible for the drastically lower rates of heart disease among the Japanese.

That is, Japanese people living in Japan. Japanese people who live in the United States have many of the same heart issues as Americans. Why? Because their diets are Americanized.

Are You Getting Enough Omega-3?

Animal-based omega-3 fats, which come largely from fish and fish oils, are not eaten in abundance in the United States. What IS eaten in abundance are omega-6 fats, which come from vegetable oils like corn, soy, and canola.

The typical Western ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fats is 20:1. To reach optimal health, the ratio should be closer to 1:1. Because the Japanese eat so much fish (about 3 ounces a day compared to twice a week in the United States) their ratio is about 3:1.

When omega-6 fats predominate in your diet, as is common in the United States, this encourages the production of inflammation in your body. Since so many diseases have now been linked to chronic inflammation, this really is one of the most important nutrition concerns to get right.

In fact, many scientists believe that one major reason for today's high incidence of heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, obesity, premature aging, and some forms of cancer is this profound imbalance between your intake of omega-6 and omega-3 fats.

Here is just a sampling of omega-3's benefits:

a.. Antiarrhythmic: counteracting or preventing cardiac arrhythmia
b.. Antithrombotic: tending to prevent thrombosis (a blood clot within a blood vessel)
c.. Antiatherosclerotic: preventing fatty deposits and fibrosis of the inner layer of your arteries from forming
d.. Anti-inflammatory: counteracting inflammation (heat, pain, swelling, etc.)
e.. Improves endothelial function: a major factor in promoting the growth of new blood vessels
f.. Lowers blood pressure
g.. Lowers triglyceride concentrations
You can shift your ratio by consuming more omega-3 fats, which actually promote the production of substances that fight inflammation, while also cutting down on omega-6 fats in vegetable oils.

What's the Best Source of Omega-3 Fats?

Most of your health benefits associated with omega-3 fats are linked to animal-based omega-3 fats like EPA and DHA, not plant-based omega-3 fats like ALA from flaxseed. ALA is converted into EPA and DHA in your body, but only at a very low ratio. Even if you eat large amounts of ALA, your body can only convert very small amounts into EPA and DHA, and only when sufficient enzymes are present.

So, hands down, the types of omega-3 that you want to add to your diet are EPA and DHA, which are found primarily in fish. The study above is further evidence of this confirmation as these benefits were found in those consuming animal, not plant based, omega-3 fats.

I'm a big believer in getting your nutrients in as close to their natural form as possible, so in a perfect world you would get your omega-3 fats from eating fish.

Unfortunately, studies show that eating fish can potentially expose you to a high degree of contamination with industrial pollutants and toxins like mercury, PCBs, heavy metals and radioactive poisons.

This is why the FDA and EPA have put out health advisories warning against certain fish and shellfish consumption for young children, women who are pregnant or may become pregnant, and nursing mothers.

So instead of getting your omega-3 from potentially contaminated fish, I recommend taking it in supplement form, as this has been purified to remove any toxins. And, instead of taking fish oil, which is extremely perishable and prone to oxidation, I recommend taking krill oil, which is superior to fish oil for a number of reasons.

What about the Japanese? How can they eat so much fish without any noticeable side effects?

It's my belief that eating the fish raw, as is commonly done in Japan, tends to diminish some of the toxicity.

It should be noted that recent tests have found high levels of mercury in sushi in the United States, particularly tuna, which accumulate more toxins because of their large size.

However, the variable that still remains untested is if the mercury and other contaminants are as toxic if you consume the fish raw. In other words, does cooking it change the nature of the food to transfer its toxicity to you? To the best of my knowledge those studies have not been done.

If you like to practice the precautionary principle then it would be best to avoid it. Personally I avoid tuna, whether raw or cooked. But, again, I believe the Japanese are able to eat fish in abundance because it's almost always eaten raw.

Of course, there may be other variables in the equation as well.

What Else Helps Keep Japanese People Healthy?

There are clearly some downsides to the Japanese way of life. They eat loads of white rice, which is terrible for your insulin levels, and they're expected to put in extremely long hours at the job. So stressful is the Japanese work environment that they have a word devoted to it: karoshi, which means "death from overwork."

Still, Japan continues to have one of the highest life expectancies in the world -- 83 years, compared to 78 in the United States -- so they must be doing something right. Along with their omega-3-rich diets, I suspect their longevity is in part due to:

a.. Fermented foods: The Japanese eat lots of fermented foods, including miso, tempeh, and natto, which are fermented soybeans with a sticky texture and strong, cheese-like flavor. Natto is loaded with nattokinase, a very powerful blood thinner.
I eat natto frequently, as it is the highest source of vitamin K2 on the planet, and has a very powerful beneficial bacteria, bacillus subtilis. It can usually be found in any Asian grocery store.

a.. Green tea: Japanese people drink green tea everyday, which has been linked to protection from heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer's disease and more. They also have access to the most antioxidant-rich green tea out there, matcha green tea, the highest quality of which comes from Japan.
a.. Power naps: They may work long hours, but employers encourage their workers to take regular naps, which are known health boosters. Napping salons are actually commonplace in Japan.
For those of you living outside of Japan, eating more fermented foods, drinking some high-quality green tea and taking power naps may all help improve your health. But make sure you combine them with one of the most important -- and easiest -- healthy steps you can make: taking high-quality, animal-based omega-3 fats every day.

Low Vitamin D Levels Pose Large Threat To Health; Overall 26 Percent Increased Risk Of Death

2008-08-13T03:39:00.001-07:00

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080811195629.htm
ScienceDaily (Aug. 12, 2008) - Researchers at Johns Hopkins are reporting what is believed to be the most conclusive evidence to date that inadequate levels of vitamin D, obtained from milk, fortified cereals and exposure to sunlight, lead to substantially increased risk of death.

In a study set to appear in the Archives of Internal Medicine online Aug. 11, the Johns Hopkins team analyzed a diverse sample of 13,000 initially healthy men and women participating in an ongoing national health survey and compared the risk of death between those with the lowest blood levels of vitamin D to those with higher amounts. An unhealthy deficiency, experts say, is considered blood levels of 17.8 nanograms per milliliter or lower.

Of the 1,800 study participants known to have died by Dec. 31, 2000, nearly 700 died from some form of heart disease, with 400 of these being deficient in vitamin D. This translates overall to an estimated 26 percent increased risk of any death, though the number of deaths from heart disease alone was not large enough to meet scientific criteria to resolve that it was due to low vitamin D levels.

Yet, researchers say it does highlight a trend, with other studies linking shortages of vitamin D to increased rates of breast cancer and depression in the elderly. And earlier published findings by the team, from the same national study, have established a possible tie-in, showing an 80 percent increased risk of peripheral artery disease from vitamin D deficits.

Researchers note that other studies in the last year or so in animals and humans have identified a connection between low levels of vitamin D and heart disease. But these studies, they say, were weakened by small sample numbers, lack of diversity in the population studied and other factors that limited scientists' ability to generalize the findings to the public at large.

"Our results make it much more clear that all men and women concerned about their overall health should more closely monitor their blood levels of vitamin D, and make sure they have enough," says study co-lead investigator Erin Michos, M.D., M.H.S.

"We think we have additional evidence to consider adding vitamin D deficiency as a distinct and separate risk factor for death from cardiovascular disease, putting it alongside much better known and understood risk factors, such as age, gender, family history, smoking, high blood cholesterol levels, high blood pressure, lack of exercise, obesity and diabetes," says Michos.

Vitamin D is well known to play an essential role in cell growth, in boosting the body's immune system and in strengthening bones.

"Now that we know vitamin D deficiency is a risk factor, we can better assess how aggressively to treat people at risk of heart disease or those who are already ill and undergoing treatment," says Michos, who adds that test screening for nutrient levels is relatively simple. It can, she says, be made part of routine blood work and done while monitoring other known risk factors, including blood pressure, glucose and lipid levels.

Heart disease remains the nation's leading cause of death, killing more than a million Americans each year. Nearly 10 percent of those with the condition have not one identifiable, traditional risk factor, which the experts say is why a considerable extent of the disease goes unexplained.

Michos, an assistant professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and its Heart and Vascular Institute, recommends that people boost their vitamin D levels by eating diets rich in such fish as sardines and mackerel, consuming fortified dairy products, taking cod-liver oil and vitamin supplements, and in warmer weather briefly exposing skin to the sun's vitamin-D producing ultraviolet light.

Aware of the cancer risks linked to too much time spent in the sun, she says as little as 10 to 15 minutes of daily exposure to the sun can produce sufficient amounts of vitamin D to sustain health. The hormone-like nutrient controls blood levels of calcium and phosphorus, essential chemicals in the body.

If vitamin supplements are used, Michos says there is no evidence that more than 2,000 international units per day do any good. Study results show that heart disease death rates flattened out in participants with the highest vitamin D levels (above 50 nanograms per milliliter of blood), signaling a possible loss of the vitamin's protective effects at too-high doses.

The U.S. Institute of Medicine suggests that an adequate daily intake of vitamin D is between 200 and 400 international units (or blood levels nearing 30 nanograms per milliliter). Previous results from the same nationwide survey showed that 41 percent of men and 53 percent of women are technically deficient in the nutrient, with vitamin D levels below 28 nanograms per milliliter.

Michal Melamed, M.D., M.H.S., study co-lead investigator who started the research as a clinical fellow at Johns Hopkins, says no one knows yet why or how vitamin D's hormone-like properties may protect the heart, but she adds that there are plenty of leads in the better known links the vitamin has to problems with muscle overgrowth and high blood pressure, in addition to its control of inflammation, which scientists are showing plays a stronger role in all kinds of heart disease. But more research is needed to determine the nutrient's precise biological action.

Researchers say their next steps are to test various high doses of vitamin D to find out if the nutritional supplementation results in fewer deaths and lower incidence of heart disease, including heart attack or moments of prolonged and severe chest pain.

The team also plans to investigate what biological triggers, such as obesity or hypertension, might offset or worsen the action of vitamin D on heart muscle, or whether vitamin D sets off some other reaction in the heart.

Melamed says that because vitamin D levels are known to fluctuate in direct proportion with daily physical activity, the growing epidemic of obesity and indoor sedentary lifestyles lend more urgency to act on the vitamin D factor.

Funding for this study was provided by the National Institutes of Health, the P.J. Schafer Cardiovascular Research Fund and the Paul Beeson Physician Faculty Scholars in Aging Program. Michos has received previous consulting fees from vitamin D therapeutics manufacturer Abbott Pharmaceuticals. The terms of these arrangements are being managed by the Johns Hopkins University in accordance with its conflict of interest policies.

Besides Michos and Melamed, other Hopkins researchers involved in this study, conducted solely at Hopkins, were Wendy Post, M.D.; and Brad Astor, Ph.D. Melamed is now an assistant professor at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University in New York City.

----------------------------------------------------------

Journal reference:

1.. Michal L. Melamed, MD, MHS; Erin D. Michos, MD, MHS; Wendy Post, MD, MS; Brad Astor, PhD. 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Levels and the Risk of Mortality in the General Population. Archives of Internal Medicine, 2008; 168 (15): 1629 DOI: 10.1001/archinte.168.15.1629

How small things lead to bigger things

2008-08-12T06:06:00.000-07:00

"No matter how small and unimportant what we are doing may seem, if we do it well, it may soon become the step that will lead us to better things."

Channing Pollock
Actor, Writer and Composer

The cost of indecision

2008-08-11T18:36:00.001-07:00

"Each indecision brings its own delays and days are lost lamenting over lost days... What you can do or think you can do, begin it. For boldness has magic, power, and genius in it."

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
1749-1832, Poet, Novelist and Scientist

Keeping sight of your goal

2008-08-11T18:33:00.001-07:00

"Circumstances may cause interruptions and delays, but never lose sight of your goal. Prepare yourself in every way you can by increasing your knowledge and adding to your experience, so that you can make the most of opportunity when it occurs.'"

Mario Andretti
Auto Racer

Having A Vision

2008-08-11T18:30:00.000-07:00

Whether you liked his politics or not, much can be learned from the life of former President Clinton. Grolier's "New Book of Knowledge" reports that as a teenager "Clinton thought of becoming a doctor or a reporter or even a musician. But after a fateful meeting with President John F. Kennedy, while still in high school, he made up his mind to enter politics." At that moment a vision was born that he would hold onto - that he would glorify in his mind over and over - for the next 30 years, until he himself was elected President at the age of 46.

Jay Leno, who succeeded the venerable Johnny Carson as host of "The Tonight Show," first envisioned that he would be the host when he was just 22-years-old and unknown and unproven as a comedian, much less as host of a show of such regard. For twenty years he enthroned in his heart an ideal that most people would have thought was "foolish, outlandish and impossible."

The ancient writer tells us in Proverbs that "Without a vision, the people perish." And Thoreau told us that "The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation." No doubt because the masses are without a vision for their lives.

What is your vision for your future, your ideal life? Is it written down? Do you review it and think about it often? Have you "enthroned" it in your heart? Is your life organized around goals and objectives that will ensure your vision is reached?

Wallace D. Wattles, wrote "There is no labor from which most people shrink as they do from that of sustained and consecutive thought; it is the hardest work in the world." And yet it is the "sustained and consecutive thought" about our vision that is the first and primary labor of achievement.

Thoreau also wrote one of my favorite passages of all time. And it gives us the best reason there is to stop what you're doing today and identify the vision for your life. "If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours."

And that's worth thinking about!

Vic Johnson

Vic Johnson is a speaker, author and entrepreneur. You can visit his website at:

www.asamanthinketh.net

Broccoli may undo diabetes damage

2008-08-11T18:28:00.003-07:00

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7541639.stm

Eating broccoli could reverse the damage caused by diabetes to heart blood vessels, research suggests.

A University of Warwick team believe the key is a compound found in the vegetable, called sulforaphane.

It encourages production of enzymes which protect the blood vessels, and a reduction in high levels of molecules which cause significant cell damage.

Brassica vegetables such as broccoli have previously been linked to a lower risk of heart attacks and strokes.

People with diabetes are up to five times more likely to develop cardiovascular diseases such as heart attacks and strokes; both are linked to damaged blood vessels.

The Warwick team, whose work is reported in the journal Diabetes, tested the effects of sulforaphane on blood vessel cells damaged by high glucose levels (hyperglycaemia), which are associated with diabetes.

They recorded a 73% reduction of molecules in the body called Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS).

Hyperglycaemia can cause levels of ROS to increase three-fold and such high levels can damage human cells.

The researchers also found that sulforaphane activated a protein in the body called nrf2, which protects cells and tissues from damage by activating protective antioxidant and detoxifying enzymes.

Countering vascular disease

Lead researcher Professor Paul Thornalley said: "Our study suggests that compounds such as sulforaphane from broccoli may help counter processes linked to the development of vascular disease in diabetes.

"In future, it will be important to test if eating a diet rich in brassica vegetables has health benefits for diabetic patients. We expect that it will."

Dr Iain Frame, director of research at the charity Diabetes UK, stressed that research carried out on cells in the lab was a long way from the real life situation.

However, he said: "It is encouraging to see that Professor Thornalley and his team have identified a potentially important substance that may protect and repair blood vessels from the damaging effects of diabetes.

"It also may help add some scientific weight to the argument that eating broccoli is good for you."

Vitamin C 'slows cancer growth'

2008-08-11T18:28:00.001-07:00

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7540822.stm
An injection of a high dose of vitamin C may be able to hold back the advance of cancers, US scientists claim.

The vitamin may start a destructive chain reaction within the cancer cell, they add.

The jab halved the size of brain, ovarian and pancreatic tumours in mice, reported the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

However, Cancer Research UK said other studies suggested large vitamin C doses may interfere with cancer treatment.

Earlier research by the team at the National Institutes of Health in Maryland had suggested that the vitamin, also called ascorbate, could kill cancer cells in the laboratory.

After these successful tests in mice, they are now suggesting that the treatment be considered for human use at similar levels.

The dose they employed - up to four grams per kilo of bodyweight - was far greater than any that could be achieved using diet or vitamin pills, as the digestive system does not absorb more than a fixed amount taken orally.

The mice were bred to have malfunctioning immune systems, then injected with human cancer cells, which as a result, grew quickly into large tumours. The vitamin was then injected into their abdominal cavity.

Tumour growth and weight fell by between 41% and 53%, and while in untreated mice, the disease spread rapidly to involve other body parts, no such spread was seen in the vitamin C-treated animals.

The researchers wrote: "These pre-clinical data provide the first firm basis for advancing pharmacologic ascorbate in cancer treatment in humans."

Peroxide bomb

The treatment works because a tumour cell is chemically different to a healthy cell.

The vitamin C reacts with this chemical make-up, producing enough hydrogen peroxide to kill the cell, while leaving healthy cells unscathed.

However, Dr Alison Ross, from Cancer Research UK said that much more work would have to be done to see if vitamin C could be a viable treatment.

"This is encouraging work but it's at a very early stage because it involves cells grown in the lab and mice.

"There is currently no evidence from clinical trials in humans that injecting or consuming vitamin C is an effective way to treat cancer.

"Some research even suggests that high doses of antioxidants can make cancer treatment less effective, reducing the benefits of radiotherapy and chemotherapy."

Low Vitamin D Intake Boosts Heart Attack, Stroke Risk by 60 Percent

2008-08-11T18:27:00.001-07:00

Wednesday, August 06, 2008 by: David Gutierrez

http://www.naturalnews.com/023795.html

(NaturalNews) Vitamin D deficiency increases the risk of heart attacks, strokes and other cardiovascular events, according to a study conducted by researchers at the Harvard Medical School and published in the American Heart Association's journal Circulation.

Researchers followed 1,739 people for five years, assessing their vitamin D levels by means of regular blood tests. The average age of participants was 59. All participants were white, had no prior history of cardiovascular disease, and were the children of the original participants in the multigenerational Framingham Heart Study.

Participants with low levels of vitamin D had a 60 percent higher chance of experiencing a cardiovascular event, including heart attack, heart failure or stroke, during the study period than participants with high blood levels. The correlation remained even after researchers adjusted for other risk factors such as diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

Those who had both vitamin D deficiency and high blood pressure had twice the risk of cardiovascular events as those who had vitamin D deficiency alone.

"There is a growing body of experimental literature suggesting that vitamin D may have some actions on the heart and major blood levels," said lead researcher Thomas Wang. "As a corollary, the lack of vitamin D may be associated with the development of cardiac abnormalities."

The connection between Vitamin D and bone health is well-established, due to the vitamin's role in helping the body absorb calcium. Vitamin D deficiency can lead to a bone softening disorder in children known as rickets, and can increase adults' risk of osteoporosis. More recent research has also suggested that high vitamin D intake may also protect against certain cancers and the neurodegenerative disease multiple sclerosis.

The body naturally produces vitamin D upon exposure to sunlight. Health professionals recommend that light-skinned people get 10 to 15 minutes of sunshine exposure at least three times per week, and that darker skinned people get up to twice that amount.

The House of 1000 Mirrors

2008-08-11T18:23:00.001-07:00

Long ago in a small, far away village, there was a place known as the House of 1000 Mirrors. A small, happy little dog learned of this place and decided to visit. When he arrived, he bounced happily up the stairs to the doorway of the house. He looked through the doorway with his ears lifted high and his tail wagging as fast as it could. To his great surprise, he found himself staring at 1000 other happy little dogs with their tails wagging just as fast as his. He smiled a great smile, and was answered with 1000 great smiles just as warm and friendly. As he left the house, he thought to himself, "This is a wonderful place. I will come back and visit it often."

In this same village, another little dog, who was not quite as happy as the first one, decided to visit the house. He slowly climbed the stairs and hung his head low as he looked into the door. When he saw the 1000 unfriendly looking dogs staring back at him, he growled at them and was horrified to see 1000 little dogs growling back at him. As he left, he thought to himself, "That is a horrible place, and I will never go back there again."

All the faces in the world are mirrors. What kind of reflections do you see in the faces of the people you meet?

Japanese Folktale

5 Healthy Vinegar Tips & Trick

2008-08-11T18:22:00.000-07:00

1. Vinegar Paste for scale cleaning. Mix 1 teaspoon of vinegar and 2
tablespoons of salt and use it as a kitchen cleanser.

2. Vinegar for kitchen sink and drain cleaning. Make 1 cup of sodium
bicarbonate (baking soda) to 1 cup of vinegar and wait for 5 minutes.
Mix with warm water and drain to the pipe.

3. Vinegar for flower vase. Mix 2 tablespoons of vinegar and 1
teaspoon of sugar to 1 liter of water to keep cut flowers longer.

4. Vinegar for dog care. Mix 1 cup of vinegar to 1 liter of water.
Use it to wipe dog fur.

5. Vinegar for beauty care. Mix 1 tablespoon of vinegar to 2 liters
of water. Rinse your face with it. You do not need any other facial
cleanser or creams at all. Our beautiful ancestors never had modern
creams, and history books say that Cleopatra also used vinegar.

About the Author:
Junji Takano is a Japanese health researcher involved in
investigating the cause of various diseases since 1960. In 1968, he
invented Pyro-Energen, the first electromedicine device that
eradicates viral diseases, cancer, and diseases of unknown cause
effectively without side effects.
Free newsletter: http://www.pyroenergen.com/newsletter.htm

What we should devote our lives to

2008-08-05T04:54:00.001-07:00

"Often we allow ourselves to be upset by small things we should despise and forget. We lose many irreplaceable hours brooding over grievances that, in a year's time, will be forgotten by us and by everybody. No, let us devote our life to worthwhile actions and feelings, to great thoughts, real affections and enduring undertakings."

Andre Maurois
1885-1967, Writer

DHA - Brain Boosting and Mercury Protecting

2008-08-05T04:51:00.000-07:00

Not only does your heart and circulatory system love DHA, so does your brain. Your brain cells would much rather make themselves of fatty acids from DHA, compared to potato chips or French fries - something to ponder. A variety of new animal studies illustrate the brain power of DHA.

One study showed that DHA was able to maintain "marked neurite-promoting potential in neurones from adult and aged animals." The ability to generate nerve-related projections from existing old brain cells is truly amazing, and supports the notion of DHA as a superior brain anti-aging nutrient.

Another study showed that DHA helped maintain brain plasticity and cognitive function, protecting against scar tissue formation in the brain. The effects of DHA and exercise had a combined synergistic value in terms of further enhancing brain health. The researchers showed that brain brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) was boosted by DHA and the result was further enhanced by exercise. BDNF is the life force of brain rejuvenation, and here are two easy ways to boost BDNF levels.

Another DHA study tested if DHA could protect brain glial cells (astrocytes) and neurons from exposure to methylmercury. Exposure to mercury without protection by DHA caused these brain cells to have severe free radical distress and reduced mitochondrial activity (energy production). Pretreatment with DHA completely prevented these adverse effects of mercury on brain cells.

DHA is one potent nutrient for brain health.

Japanese men have half the heart disease compared to any other industrialized country in the world. This is true even though they smoke more and have similar rates of cholesterol problems, blood pressure issues, and diabetes. Living in Japan, they eat fish every day and new research shows their blood levels of omega-3 fatty acids (DHA/EPA) are twice as high as Japanese men living in America and white American men.

Since so much of the fish available in the U.S. market contains mercury, PCBs, and other contaminants it is wise to get your essential fatty acids from high quality molecularly distilled DHA, which should be taken daily - the higher the amount the greater the protection.

Of course, fish oil is also known to help metabolize triglycerides, those nasty fat blobs that cause so much trouble to your circulation when they are elevated.

The lead author of this study is Akira Sekikawa, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of epidemiology at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health. She concluded, "Our study suggests that very high levels of omega-3 fatty acids have strong properties that may help prevent the buildup of cholesterol in the arteries.While we don't recommend Americans change their diets to eat fish at these quantities because of concerns about mercury levels in some fish, increasing intake of omega-3 fatty acids in the U.S. could have a very substantial impact on heart disease."

Byron Richards, CCN

http://www.wellnessresources.com/health/articles/dha_brain_boosting_and_mercury_protecting/?source=Email&camp=news080408

How American censorship is like Chinese censorship

2008-08-04T08:38:00.000-07:00

Media Censorship at Olympics in China Mirrors FDA Censorship of Health Product Claims in America

by Mike Adams (see all articles by this author)

(NaturalNews) The U.S. media is loudly protesting the censorship of their reporters at the Olympics in Beijing. Betraying its promise to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), China has blocked reporters' access to "sensitive" websites, including those that mention human rights violations, the suppression of the Falun Gong religious group, the Tiananman Square uprising and other similar topics the Chinese government would like to imagine never happened. In response to these restrictions, U.S. reporters are crying foul, insisting that they should have full access to information without government censorship. By implication, they are also stating that the U.S. is a "free society" where information is never censored by the government.

Perhaps these reporters have never actually opened their eyes in their own country. While China's censorship of news websites is deplorable, the U.S. is engaged in a far more restrictive, freedom-crush brand of censorship in the health industry: The censorship of truthful descriptions of health products by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Like China's government at the Olympics, the FDA has outlawed free speech by nutritional supplement companies, threatening them with fines, business interruptions and even jail time for their founders if they don't remove all text from their websites and product packaging that seeks to inform consumers about the genuine health benefits provided by their products.

The FDA's campaign of intimidation against food and supplement companies
For example, last year the FDA sent threatening letters to 29 growers of cherries, warning that they could not place links on their websites linking to scientific studies documenting the health benefits of cherries. Allowing consumers to be informed of the scientific truth about cherries, it seems, was simply intolerable by the FDA. Any company that linked to a scientific, peer-reviewed study showing cherries to be natural anti-inflammatory foods would be sued by the FDA and put out of business, the letters warned.

And that's just the beginning. Over the last several decades, the FDA has seized imports of herbs from South America, threatened honest supplement companies to remove accurate information from their labels, and pursued a campaign of intimidation and tyranny against virtually the entire natural products industry. In fact, the FDA has even ordered the destruction of recipe books containing dessert recipes using stevia (you thought book burnings only happened in China? Think again...).

Why China and America both use censorship to protect the powerful
In all, the actions of the FDA makes China's government look downright Libertarian. In the United States, the FDA has made sure that consumers have virtually zero access to truthful information about the benefits of nutritional supplements in much the same way the Chinese government blocks its citizens from having access to truthful information about human rights websites. These campaigns of censorship also happen for much the same reason: To protect the status quo and prevent a revolution from taking place (in China, it would be a social revolution. In the U.S., it would be a health care revolution).

You see, when it comes to real freedom, it makes no difference that China is a Communist government and America claims to be a Democracy: America blocks its citizens from accessing all sorts of crucial information about health freedom, just like China censors its internet to prevent people from learning about political freedom. In fact, both China and the FDA use many of the same online technologies to search for "offending" websites that they can shut down, intimidate or threaten with legal action. Those technologies, of course, were created by American companies like Google. And it is American companies like Yahoo that gladly hand over free speech protestors to tyrannical governments, betraying the privacy of their users and colluding with the thought police of various nations.

So reporters can protest all they want at China's censorship of the internet, but when they return home from the Olympics, they will return to nations that practice the same brand of crushing censorship... the kind of censorship that keeps consumers ignorant and uninformed, protecting the profits of drug companies and cancer centers, all while interfering with the distributing of truthful information about the astounding ability of foods, superfoods, herbs and nutritional supplements to prevent cancer, halt heart disease, reverse diabetes, dissolve kidney stones, end depression and greatly extend lifespan (among other benefits).

They will talk about how China's citizens don't have access to a free press, and then they'll turn right around and execute the very same censorship they are criticizing by refusing to print stories about the fraud of modern medicine; the quackery of chemotherapy; the monopoly price controls of Big Pharma and the outright criminal actions of the FDA.

The U.S. media mirrors China's media censors
In fact, it is the mainstream media -- the very group whining about freedom at the Olympics -- that fully cooperates with the FDA by focusing its reporting on pharmaceuticals while ignoring the wealth of important information about natural remedies that could revolutionize health care and save the U.S. more than $40 trillion over the next few decades.

Really? $40 trillion? Absolutely: According to the CDC and the National Institutes of Health, a 1% reduction in cancer mortality is worth about $500 billion to the U.S. economy over the long term. We have nutrients right now that can slash cancer rates by nearly 80 percent, across the entire population (vitamin D being the simplest one). That comes to $40 trillion in economic abundance from preventing cancer alone. (That's enough money to rebuild every school, bridge, highway, park, library, airport and seaport in the entire country, by the way, but again, you're not supposed to know that...)

The FDA doesn't want anybody to know that Vitamin D prevents cancer, you see. That's why no Vitamin D supplement company can make any statements at all about cancer. If they tried, they'd be arrested at gunpoint and dragged into prison like a Falun Gong member in Beijing. In China, of course, you might be sentenced to death and have your organs harvested and sold on the black market. In America, you might have your children kidnapped by state officials and watch in horror as their organs are destroyed by state-mandated chemotherapy chemicals that you are then obliged to pay for (at monopoly prices, no less). Don't believe this actually happens in the United States? Think again. Read the story of Abraham Cherrix: http://www.naturalnews.com/019617.html

Don't believe for a minute that you are free in America. You are merely a subject that's exploited by powerful corporations and corrupt government regulators working in collusion with a media institution engaged in all-out censorship of stories that threaten the status quo: Health freedom, the truth about 9/11, voting fraud, the mass fluoridation of public water supplies, the real story behind the fractional reserve banking system and other similar topics. While every American citizens is TOLD they are free, if you look at the man behind the curtain, you'll realize it's all just smoke and mirrors (and bombs and bullets).

Censorship is a tool that protects the powerful
Every government, you see, has its power base to protect, and in the U.S., the power base is the corporations. If you threaten the corporations by telling the truth about nutritional supplements or natural healing modalities, you will be arrested, imprisoned or run out of the country. It happens in America every day. That's why all the really effective cancer clinics are in Mexico and South America -- they've all had to flee the "health police" in the U.S. that run around arresting people like Communist China Secret Police! Read my article documenting the true history of armed FDA raids on health clinics: http://www.naturalnews.com/021791.html

The thought police aren't limited to China
I hope this latest fiasco at the Olympics in Beijing will serve as a reminder that China isn't the only country that isn't free: The U.S., U.K., Australia and most other western nations practice their own forms of censorship, and much of it is carried out at gunpoint. (Many health clinic raids in the U.S., for example, are carried out with SWAT teams armed with assault rifles and body armor.)

When it comes to accessing accurate information about health and supplements, U.S. citizens are no more free than China's citizens, and they're nowhere near as free as the citizens of Ecuador, for example, where a package of the Chanca Piedra herb just openly says, "Eliminates kidney stones." Try to put that text on your bottle of herbs in the U.S. and you'll find your product inventory confiscated by the FDA, which has become the "Ministry of Truth" on anything related to health.

While many reporters might be hoping for freedom in China right now, I'm hoping for freedom at home first. Let's reclaim our own freedom of speech right here at home before we go worrying about how other countries censor their news.

Words and ideas banned in China:
Falun Gong
Tiananmen Square
Religious worship (including Christianity)
Voting rights
Workers' rights
Civil liberties

Words and ideas banned in America:
Curing cancer with herbs
Saying no to vaccinations
Reversing heart disease with nutrition
Curing diabetes with vegetable juices
Eliminating depression with supplements
"Treating" any disease at all with herbs
Disagreeing with the "official" explanation of 9/11 and the WTC7 building

... and more. And while some skeptics might say that China's censorship is far more severe because it deals with human rights violations, I say the FDA's censorship of truthful health information IS a human rights violation!

What could be more important to human rights than the right of an individual to protect and preserve their own life by learning the truth about nourishing foods? To deny a population access to truthful information about the life-protecting properties of common nutrients is, all by itself, a crime against humanity and a damning violation of human rights!

It's always easy to fool the sheeple with TV propaganda
The most astonishing thing about all of this is that China's citizens think they are free! And if you live in the U.S., I'm willing to bet you think you're free, too.

Remember this: Tyranny is always, always, always sold to the People as freedom. Every government lies to its People, as it is a necessary component of creating the illusion of freedom. But there is no such thing as real freedom in a society that restricts the Peoples' access to the very information they need in order to make informed decisions about their own lives. America, then, is no more "the Land of the Free" than China.

Want to make America free? You'll have to take it back from those who stole it from you. Remember the words of Thomas Jefferson:

And what country can preserve its liberties, if its rulers are not warned from time to time, that the people preserve the spirit of resistance? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.

How to get things done

2008-08-04T08:36:00.001-07:00

The greatest stumbling block to achieving anything of importance in your life is circumstances. We let circumstances get us off the hook when we should be giving it everything we've got. More dreams are shattered and goals lost because of circumstances than any other single factor.

How often have you caught yourself saying, "I would like to do or have this but I can't because...?" Whatever follows "because" is the circumstance.

Successful people use circumstances to catapult them on toward their goal, while the masses use them as road blocks. A circumstance may cause a detour in your life but you should never permit it to stop you.

George Bernard Shaw is quoted as saying, "People are always blaming circumstance for what they are. I do not believe in circumstance. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstance they want and if they can't find them they make them."

Napoleon said, "Circumstances hell, I make them."

The next time you hear someone say they would like to vacation in Paris, or purchase a particular automobile but they can't because they have no money. Tell them they don't need any money, your reward will probably be a blank stare followed with, "What do you mean I don't need any money?"

Explain they don't need the money until they make a decision to go to Paris or purchase the car. When the decision is made, they will figure out a way to get the amount needed. They always do.

The circumstance they are using is one of the most common: a lack of money. The real cause of their problem is lack of decision. You always attract what you need when you decide it must be done. Try this yourself today. You know the task you have been putting off "because..." Make a decision, forget the circumstance or adopt Shaw's theory, but get it done!

Bob Proctor

Compounds From Soy Affect Brain And Reproductive Development

2008-08-02T03:29:00.000-07:00

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080731140030.htm

ScienceDaily (Aug. 1, 2008) - Two hormone-like compounds linked to the consumption of soy-based foods can cause irreversible changes in the structure of the brain, resulting in early-onset puberty and symptoms of advanced menopause in research animals, according to a new study by researchers at North Carolina State University.

The study is a breakthrough in determining how these compounds can cause reproductive health problems, as well as in providing a key building block for how to treat these problems.

The study is the first to show that the actual physical organization of a region of the brain that is important for female reproduction can be significantly altered by exposure to phytoestrogens - or plant-produced chemicals that mimic hormones - during development. Specifically, the study finds that the compounds alter the sex-specific organization of the hypothalamus - a brain region that is essential to the regulation of puberty and ovulation. The study also shows that the phytoestrogens could cause long-term effects on the female reproductive system.

While the study examined the impact of these compounds on laboratory rats, neurotoxicologist Dr. Heather Patisaul - who co-authored the study - says the affected "circuitry" of the brain is similar in both rats and humans. Patisaul is an assistant professor in NC State's Department of Zoology. Her co-author is Heather Bateman, a doctoral student in the department.

Patisaul says this finding is extremely important because, while the changes in brain structure cannot be reversed, "if you understand what is broken, you may be able to treat it." Patisaul says she is in the process of evaluating the effects of these compounds on the ovaries themselves.

Patisaul says that this study is also "a step towards ascertaining the effects of phytoestrogens on developing fetuses and newborns." Patisaul adds that these phytoestrogenic compounds cross the placental barrier in humans and that, while many people are concerned about the effects of man-made compounds on human health, it is important to note that some naturally occurring substances can have similar effects.

In the study, which will be published in an upcoming issue of Neurotoxicology, the researchers exposed newborn rats to physiologically relevant doses of the phytoestrogens genistein and equol, and then looked at reproductive health markers in the rats throughout their adulthood. The neonatal stage of development in rats is comparable to the latter stages of pregnancy for humans, Patisaul says. Genistein is a phytoestrogen that is found in various plants, including soybeans and soy-based foods. Equol is a hormone-like compound that is formed when bacteria found in the digestive system metabolize another phytoestrogen. However, only approximately a third of humans have the necessary bacteria to produce equol.

The study shows that both genistein and equol result in the early disruption of the rats' estrus cycle - which would be corollary to early onset of menopause in a human. The study also showed that genistein caused the early onset of puberty. The disruption of the estrus cycle could stem from problems with the brain or the ovaries, so the researchers decided to determine if the compounds had any effect on brain development or function.

Patisaul explains that the brains of both female rats and female humans have a region that regulates ovulation. "That part of the brain," Patisaul says, "is organized by hormones during development - which is the neonatal stage for rats and during gestation for humans." Patisaul says the new study shows that the female brain is "critically sensitive" to genistein and equol during this crucial stage of development - and that this may indicate that the brain is also especially sensitive during this period to all phytoestrogens and possibly other man-made chemicals, such as bisphenol-A.

Gifts From the Heart

2008-08-01T04:07:00.001-07:00

According to legend, a young man while roaming the desert came across a spring of delicious crystal-clear water. The water was so sweet he filled his leather canteen so he could bring some back to a tribal elder who had been his teacher. After a four-day journey he presented the water to the old man who took a deep drink, smiled warmly and thanked his student lavishly for the sweet water. The young man returned to his village with a happy heart.

Later, the teacher let another student taste the water. He spat it out, saying it was awful. It apparently had become stale because of the old leather container. The student challenged his teacher: "Master, the water was foul. Why did you pretend to like it?"

The teacher replied, "You only tasted the water. I tasted the gift. The water was simply the container for an act of loving-kindness and nothing could be sweeter. Heartfelt gifts deserve the return gift of gratitude."

I think we understand this lesson best when we receive innocent gifts of love from young children. Whether it's a ceramic tray or a macaroni bracelet, the natural and proper response is appreciation and expressed thankfulness because we love the idea within the gift.

Gratitude doesn't always come naturally. Unfortunately, most children and many adults value only the thing given rather than the feeling embodied in it. We should remind ourselves and teach our children about the beauty and purity of feelings and expressions of gratitude. After all, gifts from the heart are really gifts of the heart.

Michael Josephson
www.charactercounts.org

The Terrible Truth About Plastic You Never Knew

2008-08-01T04:05:00.001-07:00

As plastic ages or is exposed to heat or stress, it can release trace amounts of some of its ingredients. Of particular concern are bisphenol-a (BPA), used to strengthen some plastics, and phthalates, used to soften others.

These chemicals are used in hundreds of household items; BPA is in everything from baby bottles to can linings, while phthalates are found in children's toys as well as vinyl shower curtains. They enter your body through the food, water and bits of dust you consume, or are simply absorbed through your skin.

BPA and phthalates are endocrine disrupters, which mimic hormones. Estrogen and other hormones in relatively tiny amounts can cause vast changes, so researchers worry that BPA and phthalates could do the same, especially in young children.

To cut down on your exposure, avoid plastic bottles and toys labeled with the numbers 3 or 7, which often contain BPA or phthalates, and canned foods, especially those with acidic contents like tomatoes. You should also avoid heating plastic in microwaves.
Sources:
a.. Time July 10, 2008

Dr. Mercola's Comments:

The dangers of plastic are fast becoming common knowledge. It's amazing the number of blogs and news articles now devoted to reducing plastics' use, when just a few years ago most people never thought twice about it.

In recent years, major changes have come about signaling that attitudes are changing about this pervasive toxin:

a.. Whole Foods stopped using plastic bags

b.. Canada has declared the plastics' chemical BPA toxic and banned its use
c.. You can now purchase reusable shopping bags in just about every U.S. grocery store (unheard of a couple of years ago)
d.. Wal-Mart is phasing out BPA-containing baby bottles, Nalgene bottles have gone BPA-free and Amazon.com has an entire BPA-free section
This is a perfect example of the public's actions and preferences dictating the direction of major corporations!

For Those Who Don't Know . Why Plastics are a Big Problem

Plastic is not an inert substance as its manufacturers would like you to believe. It contains chemicals like BPA and phthalates, which mimic hormones in your body. Even tiny concentrations can cause problems, and you're likely being exposed from all angles: food containers, plastic wraps, water bottles, personal care products, you name it, it contains plastic.

According to a Centers for Disease Control (CDC) study, BPA was detected in the urine of 95 percent of people tested!

This is alarming when you consider all of the problems its been linked to like:

a.. Structural damage to your brain
b.. Hyperactivity, increased aggressiveness, and impaired learning
c.. Increased fat formation and risk of obesity
d.. Altered immune functionEarly puberty, stimulation of mammary gland development, disrupted reproductive cycles, and ovarian dysfunction
e.. Changes in gender-specific behavior, and abnormal sexual behavior
f.. Stimulation of prostate cancer cells
g.. Increased prostate size, and decreased sperm production
Anytime you eat or drink something out of plastic, you risk exposure. Plastics that are worn out or scratched may leach even more chemicals into your food, as do hot beverages. Just by drinking coffee from a plastic-lined paper cup, you could be exposed to 55 times more BPA than normal.

As usual those most at risk are children and fetuses, which is why it's appalling to think that these chemicals are commonly used in baby bottles and children's toys.

I haven't even touched on plastics' impact on the environment, but this one statistic sums it up pretty well: when researchers tested the water of the Pacific Ocean, they found it contained six times as much plastic as plankton, by weight!

What's Hidden in Your Plastic Products?

The Ecology Center in Berkeley, California has put together an excellent list that exposes just what kinds of plastic toxins are in the products you use. I think everyone should read the entire list, but here are some highlights:

a.. Salad dressing and cooking oil bottles: This plastic container is made from PVC (polyvinyl chloride), which leaches plasticizers (lead, cadmium, mercury, phthalates and the carcinogen, diethyl hexyphosphate) into your food.
a.. Soda bottles, water bottles, peanut butter jars and cooking oil bottles: Made from PET (polyethylene terephthalate), the leach acetaldehyde -- a probable human carcinogen, according to the EPA -- into your food and drinks.
a.. Meat trays, foam take-out food containers and cups, foam packing materials: Made from polystyrene (PS), these materials leach styrene, which can damage your nervous system, into your food.
Moving Toward a Plastic-Less Life

Is it possible to go completely plastic-free?

Well, anything is possible . but it wouldn't be easy. Plastic is in shoes, clothing, electronics, and just about every processed food package, not to mention cars, household items and personal care product packaging.

There are some things you can do though, and you won't even have to sacrifice much to do them. Just imagine how much less plastic we could use if we ALL tried to do our part.

My top tips to reduce the plastic in your life are:

1. Boycott plastic shopping bags. Use reusable canvas or cloth varieties instead. (This also applies to the plastic produce bags in the grocery store.)

2. Don't buy bottled water. Filter your own using a reverse-osmosis filter and put it in a glass bottle. I am going to be helping you in this area soon as my team is just finishing up a glass water bottle that you can use to carry around with you. It is covered with a neoprene sleeve to protect it from breaking and has a easy lid to drink from and is wide enough so you can easily clean the bottle. I hope to have them available in the fall as they are at the factory right now being produced.

3. Avoid using plastic cups, utensils, dishware and food storage containers. If you get a beverage while on-the-go, bring your own cup with you.

4. Buy toys made of natural fabrics instead of plastic.

5. Look for products that use minimal packaging, or buy in bulk.

6. Give up plastic wrap (and never use it to cover your food while it's heating).

7. Avoid buying canned foods and drinks (the can linings contain plastic chemicals). Try your hand at canning fresh produce at home instead.

8. Parents, use cloth diapers instead of plastic ones.

9. Look for non-plastic home items like cloth shower curtains and wooden spoons instead of plastic ones.

10. If you have pets, use biodegradable bags to clean up after them.

High Fructose Corn Syrup Makes You Stupid

2008-08-01T04:04:00.001-07:00

Byron Richards, CCN

http://www.wellnessresources.com/health/articles/high_fructose_corn_syrup_makes_you_stupid/?source=Email&camp=news073108

We now know the real reason so many of our kids can't finish high school. They have been fed too much high fructose corn syrup and they have become dumb. This is not a laughing matter. Coke and Pepsi are on the line for playing a significant role in wrecking the intelligence of several generations of children - as well as making them fat. Of course, birdbrains at the AMA want to give our kids statin drugs because they don't have the guts to make a policy statement against high fructose corn syrup as a major cause of obesity.

A new study analyzing rats on a high fat and high fructose corn syrup diet found that the hippocampus, the region of the brain needed for learning and memory, was severely impaired. Eight months on the diet impeded spatial learning ability, lowered the density of brain cells, and the function of brain synapses. The brain damage appears to be caused by a lowering of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). I have made several recent posts on the importance of boosting BDNF to restore your brain, and here we have clear evidence that high fructose corn syrup as part of a high calorie diet is killing off brain cells like an alcoholic.

Parents need to wake up and not give their children any beverage of any kind with high fructose corn syrup. We have a young generation of dropouts and an old generation with excessive dementia headed for Alzheimer's. Coke and Pepsi, and many other smaller companies, have played a large role in the decline of intelligence in our country.

What you want

2008-07-31T03:41:00.000-07:00

"When you are clear, what you want will show up in your life, and only to the extent you are clear."

Janet Attwood

Author

What you have

2008-07-30T03:37:00.000-07:00

"If you look at what you have in life, you'll always have more. If you look at what you don't have in life, you'll never have enough."

Oprah Winfrey
Television Host, Actress and Producer

Great thoughts

2008-07-29T06:13:00.001-07:00

"Nurture your mind with great thoughts, for you will never go any higher than you think."

Benjamin Disraeli
1804-1881, British Statesman and Prime Minister

Soy foods 'reduce sperm numbers'

2008-07-26T04:07:00.001-07:00

Soy foods 'reduce sperm numbers'
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7519459.stm

A regular diet of even modest amounts of food containing soy may halve sperm concentrations, suggest scientists.

The study, published in the journal Human Reproduction, found 41 million fewer sperm per millilitre of semen after just one portion every two days.

The authors said plant oestrogens in foods such as tofu, soy mince or milk may interfere with hormonal signals.

However, a UK expert stressed that most men in Asia eat more soy-based products with no fertility problems [because it is fermented].

Animal studies have suggested that large quantities of soy chemicals in food could affect fertility, but other studies looking at consumption in humans have had contradictory findings.

The Harvard School of Public Health study looked at the diets of 99 men who had attended a fertility clinic with their partners and provided a semen sample.

The men were divided into four groups depending on how much soy they ate, and when the sperm concentration of men eating the most soy was compared with those eating the least, there was a significant difference.

The "normal" sperm concentration for a man is between 80 and 120 million per millilitre, and the average of men who ate on average a portion of soy-based food every other day was 41 million fewer.

Dr Jorge Chavarro, who led the study, said that chemicals called isoflavones in the soy might be affecting sperm production.

These chemicals can have similar effects to the human hormone oestrogen.

Dr Chavarro noticed that overweight or obese men seemed even more prone to this effect, which may reflect the fact that higher levels of body fat can also lead to increased oestrogen production in men.

Worried men

However, the study pointed out that soy consumption in many parts of Asia was significantly higher than even the maximum found in these volunteers.

Dr Allan Pacey, a senior lecturer in andrology from the University of Sheffield, said that if soy genuinely had a detrimental effect on sperm production, fertility might well be affected in those regions, and there was no evidence that this was the case.

"Many men are obviously worried about whether their lifestyle or diet could affect their fertility by lowering their sperm count.

"Oestrogenic compounds in food or the environment have been of concern for a number of years, but we have mostly thought that it was boys exposed in the uterus before birth who were most at risk.

"We will have to look at adult diet more closely, although the fact that such large parts of the world have soy food as a major part of their diet and don't appear to suffer any greater infertility rates than those on western diets suggests that any effect is quite small."

Statins May Spur Dementia

2008-07-26T04:04:00.000-07:00

The "statin" drugs are increasingly prescribed in the current obsession about cholesterol levels. Here's a disturbing piece about dementia being related to these drugs.

Playing Through Your Pain

2008-07-25T03:37:00.000-07:00

Whether you play golf or not, you surely know the name Tiger Woods. So bear with me. This message isn't so much about golf as life.

Almost a month ago now, Tiger outlasted Rocco Mediate in this year's U.S. Open. Playing the course at Torrey Pines in San Diego, the two were tied after four days. They were still tied at the end of an 18-hole playoff. Tiger won in sudden death on the 19th. Some say it was the greatest U.S. Open in history.

No, the score wasn't the lowest ever. No, it wasn't won by an eagle from the fairway. No, there was no miracle shot that ended things. The miracle was that the man who won was able to complete the competition.

Tiger Woods played the tournament with a torn anterior cruciate ligament and two stress fractures below the left knee. As I watched part of the Open on TV, it was obvious that the world's greatest golfer was in excruciating pain at times. His powerful swing would contort his whole body, wrench his injured knee in particular, and register quite dramatically on his ordinarily poised face.

Golf is only a game, but watching a professional athlete compete through such pain was inspiring. He could have simply withdrawn because of the injury. Fans would have been disappointed but would have understood. He could have played to his pain and hit the ball less aggressively. He might have fallen back into the pack and taken a high score and low finish. He would have none of it.

Tiger played through his pain. He wouldn't quit. He gave his best on every hole. He insisted on playing to his full potential - even when the potential was putting both his body and mind under incredible stress. Hooray for him!

The winner of this year's U.S. Open had successful reconstructive surgery on his damaged knee about ten days later. He will miss the remainder of this year's PGA tournament events, of course, while he rehabs the knee. But few people doubt he will be ready to play the tour next year. He is, after all, Tiger Woods. He is the ultimate competitor. He doesn't quit.

There are pains of all kinds. Physical trauma, broken relationships, failed ventures, consequences of wrongs done - all are different and all the same. And each of us has to decide about quitting, playing to the pain, or working through.

As you're deciding what to do with yours, think about why so many people are speaking of Tiger Woods with such admiration these days - even the folks like me who hardly know which end of a golf club to hold.

True courage isn't just outlasting difficulty but turning it into triumph.

Rubel Shelly

Rubel Shelly is a Preacher and Professor of Religion and Philosophy located in Rochester Hills, Michigan. In addition to church and academic responsibilities, he has worked actively with such community projects as Habitat for Humanity, American Red Cross, From Nashville With Love, Metro (Nashville) Public Schools, Faith Family Medical Clinic, and Operation Andrew Ministries. To learn more about Rubel please go to: www.RubelShelly.com

Why Tofu Wrecks Your Brain

2008-07-25T03:36:00.000-07:00

Eating high levels of some soy products, such as tofu, could raise the risk of memory loss.

A study that examined more than 700 elderly Indonesians found that high tofu consumption (at least once a day) was associated with worse memory, particularly among those over age 68.

Soy contains phytoestrogens, which may heighten the risk of dementia.

However, tempeh, a fermented soy product made from the whole soy bean, has been associated with better memory. This could be related to the fact that it contains high levels of the vitamin folate, which is known to reduce dementia risk.

Sources:
a.. BBC News July 4, 2008
a.. Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders June 27, 2008; 26(1):50-57 [Epub Ahead of Print]

Dr. Mercola's Comments:

The deceptive hype created by the soy industry -- which in many ways is not much different than that of the pharmaceutical industry -- has unfortunately been very successful in convincing millions of people that soy is a health food.

Their brainwashing propaganda has cleverly created "healthy soy" -- one of the biggest health myths in the health food industry to date.

I recently had the opportunity to interview Dr. Kaayla Daniel for my Inner Circle Experts Series, and I also reviewed her book, The Whole Soy Story, which covers this issue at great depth. It's a must-read if you're still convinced that soy is good for you and your children, because nothing could be further from the truth.

It is crucial, however, to make a distinction between the health effects from fermented versus non-fermented soy, which I will go over toward the end of this comment, because as you will see, fermented soy dishes do have some redeeming qualities that conventional soy products lack.

Perfect Food or Brilliant Propaganda?

In recent years soy has emerged as a 'near perfect' food, with supporters claiming it can provide an ideal source of protein, lower cholesterol, protect against cancer and heart disease, reduce menopause symptoms, and prevent osteoporosis, among other things.

But how did such a 'perfect' food emerge from a product that in 1913 was listed in the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) handbook not as a food but as an industrial product?

Lipid specialist and nutritionist Mary Enig, PhD shed some light on this issue when she said, "The reason there's so much soy in America is because they [the soy industry] started to plant soy to extract the oil from it and soy oil became a very large industry. Once they had as much oil as they did in the food supply they had a lot of soy protein residue left over, and since they can't feed it to animals, except in small amounts, they had to find another market."

In short, the soy industry CREATED a market where there was none, to profit from their waste products. It required multi-million dollar advertising campaigns and intense lobbying to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), but now about three-quarters of U.S. consumers believe soy products are healthy.

It's like a re-run of the water fluoridation propaganda machine, which began in the 1940s as solution to the fluoride pollution from aluminum plants. The disposing of fluoride had become a costly problem that needed a radical solution. The solution was to create the false belief that fluoride had some health benefit, and today, not only are you likely consuming this toxic waste product in your municipal tap water, but you may even believe it's good for your teeth, AND industry is getting PAID rather than paying for toxic waste removal.

Soy has become a grossly misunderstood food category, to be added to the ranks of coconut oil, saturated fats and vegetable oils. The two former have gained a negative reputation where a good one actually applies, whereas vegetable oil, along with soy, have emerged with sparkling reputations that cover up an unsavory truth.

The Truth About Soy

For just a brief look at what's really going on, consider that numerous studies have found that soy products can actually:

a.. Increase thyroid damage, especially in women
b.. Increase the risk of breast cancer in women, brain damage in both sexes, and cause abnormalities in infants
c.. Contribute to thyroid disorders, especially in women
d.. Promote kidney stones
e.. Weaken your immune system
f.. Cause severe, potentially fatal food allergies
Despite these findings, many people still want to believe the hype, thinking that these studies must somehow be wrong. But the content of soy itself should be a clue. For example, non-fermented soy products contain:

a.. Phytoestrogens (isoflavones) genistein and daidzein, which mimic and sometimes block the hormone estrogen
b.. Phytates, which block your body's uptake of minerals
c.. Enzyme Inhibitors, which hinder protein digestion
d.. Haemaggluttin, which causes red blood cells to clump together and inhibits oxygen take-up and growth
e.. High amounts of omega-6 fat, which is pro-inflammatory
Furthermore, most soybeans are grown on conventional farms that use toxic pesticides and herbicides, and many are from genetically engineered plants. When you consider that two-thirds of all processed food products contain some form of soy, it becomes clear just how many Americans are consuming GM products, whose long-term effects are completely unknown.

Like Feeding Birth Control Pills to a Baby

One of the most disturbing ill effects of soy has to do with its phytoestrogens, which can mimic the effects of the female hormone estrogen. These phytoestrogens have been found to have adverse effects on various human tissues, and drinking just two glasses of soy milk daily for one month has enough of the chemical to alter a woman's menstrual cycle.

The FDA regulates estrogen-containing products, however no warnings exist on soy.

Soy products are particularly problematic for infants, and soy infant formulas should be avoided at all cost. It's been estimated that infants who are fed soy formula exclusively receive the equivalent of five birth control pills worth of estrogen every day!

When testing the blood of soy formula-fed infants, concentrations of isoflavones have been found to be 13,000 to 22,000 times higher than natural estrogen concentrations in early life. It should be obvious that the potential damage to your child can be quite significant. Not to mention the fact that soy formula lacks other vital nutrients for normal and healthy brain- and biological development.

Soy Also Contributes to Dangerously Lopsided Intake of Essential Fats

One of the most important things you can do for your overall health is to balance your intake of omega-3 and omega-6 fats. These two types of fat are both essential. However, the typical American consumes far too many omega-6 fats in their diet while consuming very low levels of omega-3.

The ideal ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fats is probably close to 1:1. But the ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 today averages from 20:1 to 50:1!

That spells serious danger for your health. Even the mainstream health media is now reporting that lack of high quality omega-3 is one of the most serious health issues plaguing contemporary society.

The primary sources of omega-6 are corn, soy, canola, safflower and sunflower oil; oils that are overabundant in the typical American diet. And when you consider the fact that some form of soy or corn (oftentimes both) is found in just about every processed food product on the market, it really helps to explain these excessive omega-6 levels.

What About Soy as a Source of Protein?

While soybeans are relatively high in protein compared to other legumes, they are still a poor source of protein because other proteins found in soybeans act as potent enzyme inhibitors.

These "anti-nutrients" block the action of trypsin and other enzymes needed for protein digestion, effectively cancelling out any potential benefit you may have thought it had.

Regular soy consumption can also lead to chronic deficiencies in amino acid uptake.

It is believed that it is this ability to interfere with enzymes and amino acids that might be one of the reasons for why soy has such a negative effect on your brain. Isoflavones in tofu and other soy foods might exert their influence by interfering with the tyrosine kinase-dependent mechanisms required for optimal hippocampal function, structure and plasticity.

High amounts of tyrosine kinases are found in your hippocampus, a brain region involved with learning and memory. One of soy's primary isoflavones, genistein, has been shown to inhibit tyrosine kinase in the hippocampus, effectively blocking the mechanism of memory formation.

If You Want to Benefit From Soy, Make Sure it is Fermented !

There are some redeeming qualities to soy, however these are found primarily in fermented soy products like tempeh, miso, natto and soybean sprouts.

If you want to get some health benefits from soy, stick to these four forms and pass on ALL processed soy milks, tofu, soy 'burgers', soy 'ice cream', soy 'cheese', and the myriad of other soy junk foods that are so readily disguised as health foods.

The study above affirms this as well, showing that consumption of tempeh was related to better memory, particularly in participants over 68 years of age. Their explanation for this difference between (unfermented) tofu versus (fermented) tempeh is that the fermentation process produces high amounts of folate, which might have a protective effect against the phytoestrogens.

Additionally, not only does the fermentation process blunt the anti-nutritive effect of the soybeans' phytic acid, it also produces probiotics -- the "good" bacteria your body is absolutely dependent on - that increase the quantity, availability, digestibility and assimilation of nutrients in your body.

As a side note, formaldehyde (used as a preservative) was also introduced as a potential culprit rather than the tofu itself in this article. Granted, formaldehyde is somewhere at the very bottom of the list of things you want to consume for good health, but even so, there are so many studies confirming the benefits of fermented soy and the dangers of non-fermented soy products in general that I believe preservatives play a secondary role in the outcome, if any.

Soy is a broad and deep subject that cannot be fully covered in a single article, so for further reading, I recommend you review my related articles below as well as my Soy Index Page, which contains links to many of my best articles and important research findings on soy.

Can You Trust Chemotherapy to Cure Your Cancer?

2008-07-25T03:35:00.000-07:00

(NaturalNews) Former White House press secretary Tony Snow died in July 2008 at the age of 53, following a series of chemotherapy treatments for colon cancer. In 2005, Snow had his colon removed and underwent six months of chemotherapy after being diagnosed with colon cancer. Two years later (2007), Snow underwent surgery to remove a growth in his abdominal area, near the site of the original cancer. "This is a very treatable condition," said Dr. Allyson Ocean, a gastrointestinal oncologist at Weill Cornell Medical College. "Many patients, because of the therapies we have, are able to work and live full lives with quality while they're being treated. Anyone who looks at this as a death sentence is wrong." But of course we now know, Dr. Ocean was dead wrong.

The media headlines proclaimed Snow died from colon cancer, although they knew he didn't have a colon anymore. Apparently, the malignant cancer had "returned" (from where?) and "spread" to the liver and elsewhere in his body. In actual fact, the colon surgery severely restricted his normal eliminative functions, thereby overburdening the liver and tissue fluids with toxic waste. The previous series of chemo-treatments inflamed and irreversibly damaged a large number of cells in his body, and also impaired his immune system -- a perfect recipe for growing new cancers. Now unable to heal the causes of the original cancer (in addition to the newly created ones), Snow's body developed new cancers in the liver and other parts of the body.

The mainstream media, of course, still insist Snow died from colon cancer, thus perpetuating the myth that it is only the cancer that kills people, not the treatment. Nobody seems to raise the important point that it is extremely difficult for a cancer patient to actually heal from this condition while being subjected to the systemic poisons of chemotherapy and deadly radiation. If you are bitten by a poisonous snake and don't get an antidote for it, isn't it likely that your body becomes overwhelmed by the poison and, therefore, cannot function anymore?

Before Tony Snow began his chemo-treatments for his second colon cancer, he still looked healthy and strong. But after a few weeks into his treatment, he started to develop a coarse voice, looked frail, turned gray and lost his hair. Did the cancer do all this to him? Certainly not. Cancer doesn't do such a thing, but chemical poisoning does. He actually looked more ill than someone who has been bitten by a poisonous snake.

Does the mainstream media ever report about the overwhelming scientific evidence that shows chemotherapy has zero benefits in the five-year survival rate of colon cancer patients? Or how many oncologists stand up for their cancer patients and protect them against chemotherapy treatment which they very well know can cause them to die far more quickly than if they received no treatment at all? Can you trustingly place your life into their hands when you know that most of them would not even consider chemotherapy for themselves if they were diagnosed with cancer? What do they know that you don't? The news is spreading fast that in the United States physician-caused fatalities now exceed 750,000 each year. Perhaps, many doctors no longer trust in what they practice, for good reasons.

"Most cancer patients in this country die of chemotherapy... Chemotherapy does not eliminate breast, colon or lung cancers. This fact has been documented for over a decade. Yet doctors still use chemotherapy for these tumors... Women with breast cancer are likely to die faster with chemo than without it." - Alan Levin, M.D.

An investigation by the Department of Radiation Oncology, Northern Sydney Cancer Centre, Australia, into the contribution of chemotherapy to 5-year survival in 22 major adult malignancies, showed startling results: The overall contribution of curative and adjuvant cytotoxic chemotherapy to 5-year survival in adults was estimated to be 2.3% in Australia and 2.1% in the USA." [Royal North Shore Hospital Clin Oncol (R Coll Radiol) 2005 Jun;17(4):294.]

The research covered data from the Cancer Registry in Australia and the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results in the USA for the year 1998. The current 5-year relative adult survival rate for cancer in Australia is over 60%, and no less than that in the USA. By comparison, a mere 2.3% contribution of chemotherapy to cancer survival does not justify the massive expense involved and the tremendous suffering patients experience because of severe, toxic side effects resulting from this treatment. With a meager success rate of 2.3%, selling chemotherapy as a medical treatment (instead of a scam), is one of the greatest fraudulent acts ever committed. The average chemotherapy earns the medical establishment a whopping $300,000 to $1,000,000 each year, and has so far earned those who promote this pseudo-medication (poison) over 1 trillion dollars. It's no surprise that the medical establishment tries to keep this scam alive for as long as possible.

In 1990, the highly respected German epidemiologist, Dr. Ulrich Abel from the Tumor Clinic of the University of Heidelberg, conducted the most comprehensive investigation of every major clinical study on chemotherapy drugs ever done. Abel contacted 350 medical centers and asked them to send him anything they had ever published on chemotherapy. He also reviewed and analyzed thousands of scientific articles published in the most prestigious medical journals. It took Abel several years to collect and evaluate the data. Abel's epidemiological study, which was published on August 10, 1991 in The Lancet, should have alerted every doctor and cancer patient about the risks of one of the most common treatments used for cancer and other diseases. In his paper, Abel came to the conclusion that the overall success rate of chemotherapy was "appalling." According to this report, there was no scientific evidence available in any existing study to show that chemotherapy can "extend in any appreciable way the lives of patients suffering from the most common organic cancers."

Abel points out that chemotherapy rarely improves the quality of life. He describes chemotherapy as "a scientific wasteland" and states that even though there is no scientific evidence that chemotherapy works, neither doctor nor patient is willing to give up on it. The mainstream media has never reported on this hugely important study, which is hardly surprising, given the enormous vested interests of the groups that sponsor the media, that is, the pharmaceutical companies. A recent search turned up exactly zero reviews of Abel's work in American journals, even though it was published in 1990. I believe this is not because his work was unimportant -- but because it is irrefutable.

The truth of the matter would be far too costly for the pharmaceutical industry to bear, thus making it unacceptable. If the mass media reported the truth that medical drugs, including chemotherapy drugs, are used to practically commit genocide in the U.S. and the world, their best sponsors (the pharmaceutical companies) would have to withdraw their misleading advertisements from the television media, radio stations, magazines, and newspapers. But neither group wants to go bankrupt.

Many doctors go as far as prescribing chemotherapy drugs to patients for malignancies that are far too advanced for surgery, with the full knowledge that there are no benefits at all. Yet they claim chemotherapy to be an effective cancer treatment, and their unsuspecting patients believe that "effective" equals "cure." The doctors, of course, refer to the FDA's definition of an "effective" drug, one which achieves a 50% or more reduction in tumor size for 28 days. They neglect to tell their patients that there is no correlation whatsoever between shrinking tumors for 28 days and curing the cancer or extending life. Temporary tumor shrinkage through chemotherapy has never been shown to cure cancer or to extend life. In other words, you can live with an untreated tumor for just as long as you would with one that has been shrunken or been eliminated by chemotherapy (or radiation).

Chemotherapy has never been shown to have curative effects for cancer. By contrast, the body can still cure itself, which it actually tries to do by developing cancer. Cancer is more a healing response than it is a disease. The "disease" is the body's attempt to cure itself of an existing imbalance. And sometimes, this healing response continues even if a person is subjected to chemotherapy (and/or radiation). Unfortunately, as the previously mentioned research has demonstrated, the chances for a real cure are greatly reduced when patients are treated with chemotherapy drugs.

The side effects of the treatment can be horrendous and heartbreaking for both patients and their loved ones, all in the name of trustworthy medical treatment. Although the drug treatment comes with the promise to improve the patient's quality of life, it is just common sense that a drug that makes them throw up and lose their hair, while wrecking their immune system, is doing the exact opposite. Chemo-therapy can give the patient life-threatening mouth sores. It attacks the immune system by destroying billions of immune cells (white blood cells). Its deadly poisons inflame every part of the body. The drugs can slough off the entire lining of their intestines. The most common side effect experienced among chemo patients is their complete lack of energy. The new additional drugs now given to many chemo patients may prevent the patient from noticing some of the side effects, but they hardly reduce the immensely destructive and suppressive effect of the chemotherapy itself. Remember, the reason chemotherapy can shrink some tumors is because it causes massive destruction in the body.

If you have cancer, you may think that feeling tired is just part of the disease. This rarely is the case. Feeling unusually tired is more likely due to anemia, a common side effect of most chemotherapy drugs. Chemo drugs can dramatically decrease your red blood cell levels, and this reduces oxygen availability to the 60-100 trillion cells of your body. You can literally feel the energy being zapped from every cell of your body -- a physical death without dying. Chemo-caused fatigue has a negative impact on day-to-day activities in 89% of all patients. With no energy, there can be no joy and no hope, and all bodily functions become subdued.

One long-term side effect is that these patients' bodies can no longer respond to nutritional or immune-strengthening approaches to cancerous tumors. All of this may explain why cancer patients who do not receive any treatment at all, have an up to four times higher remission rate than those who receive treatment. The sad thing is that chemotherapy does not cure 96% to 98% of all cancers anyway. Conclusive evidence (for the majority of cancers) that chemotherapy has any positive influence on survival or quality of life does not exist.

To promote chemotherapy as a treatment for cancer is misleading, to say the least. By permanently damaging the body's immune system and other important parts, chemo-therapy has become a leading cause of treatment-caused diseases such as heart disease, liver disease, intestinal diseases, diseases of the immune system, infections, brain diseases, pain disorders, and rapid aging.

Before committing themselves to being poisoned, cancer patients need to question their doctors and ask them to produce the research or evidence that shrinking a tumor actually translates to any increase in survival. If they tell you that chemotherapy is your best chance of surviving, you will know they are lying or are simply misinformed. As Abel's research clearly demonstrated, there is no such evidence anywhere to be found in the medical literature. Subjecting patients to chemotherapy robs them of a fair chance of finding or responding to a real cure and deserves criminal prosecution.

Andreas Moritz's book, Cancer is not a Disease - It's a Survival Mechanism, explains the root causes of cancer and how to eliminate them for good. Available through (www.ener-chi.com) or (www.amazon.com) .

About the author
Andreas Moritz is a medical intuitive; a practitioner of Ayurveda, iridology, shiatsu, and vibrational medicine; a writer; and an artist. He is the author of The Amazing Liver and Gallbladder Flush, Timeless Secrets of Health and Rejuvenation, Lifting the Veil of Duality, Cancer Is Not a Disease, It's Time to Come Alive, Heart Disease No More, Diabetes No More, Simple Steps to Total Health, Diabetes -- No More, Ending the AIDS Myth and Heal Yourself with Sunlight. For more information, visit the author's website (www.ener-chi.com).

The achiever

2008-07-24T07:38:00.001-07:00

"It is time for us all to stand and cheer for the doer, the achiever - the one who recognizes the challenges and does something about it."

Vince Lombardi
1913-1970, American Football Coach

What shapes you

2008-07-23T03:47:00.001-07:00

"Be careful the environment you choose for it will shape you; be careful the friends you choose for you will become like them."

W. Clement Stone
1902-2002, Author and Businessman

Toxic Metals: The Reason You Still Feel Sick

2008-07-23T03:46:00.001-07:00

Dr, Kaayla Daniel and Dr. Galen Knight have observed that even when people follow healthy dietary guidelines, they can still have serious health problems. They may digest their food poorly, experience digestive distress, or be generally sickly.

One reason may be toxic metals like:

a.. Mercury
b.. Aluminum
c.. Cadmium
d.. Arsenic
e.. Lead
f.. Nickel, and other metal poisons that flood the environment and invade your body.
These toxic metals can cause or contribute to a long list of diseases including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and other brain and neurological disorders. While the medical establishment recognizes the acute toxicity that comes from high levels of metals in your body, far more people suffer the adverse effects of low-level, chronic exposure.

Sources:
a.. Mad as a Hatter -- How to Avoid Toxic Metals and Clear Them From the Body (PDF)

Dr. Mercola's Comments:
Most people are absolutely clueless about just how toxic mercury is. It is toxic at one in one billion-part quantities. That is about the same concentration of one grain of salt in one swimming pool. That is why having mercury fillings is such a major challenge to your health.

Heavy metal toxicity, just like chemical toxicity, has become one of the most pressing health hazards of our day. Your body is assailed by chemicals and heavy metals on a daily basis, oftentimes from the most innocent-looking sources, from your everyday cookware to your child's rubber ducky.

It has now gotten to the point where babies are being BORN toxic due to the toxic load of their mothers. A 2004 study by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) found that blood samples from newborns contained an average of 287 toxins, including mercury, fire retardants, pesticides and Teflon chemicals.

Despite these dire warning signs, giant corporations and industry advocates like DuPont and The American Chemistry Council are fighting tooth and nail to block any and all proposed bans on toxic agents that happen to be part of their profit-making schemes. According to EnviroBlog, the latest army of lobbyists is trying to crush U.S. Senate Bill 1313, which calls for a ban of perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs) in concentrations exceeding 0.1 percent from food packaging, for example.

And California State Senate Bill 1713, which would ban BPA from baby bottles and toys, is also under attack by hired guns who are trying to scare everyone into believing this bill will put an end to all canned and jarred goods.

If there ever was a time to get more involved in the political process - as these are serious survival issues -- now might be a good time.

How Do You Know if You're Suffering from Heavy Metal Toxicity?

Acute heavy metal toxicity is a lot easier to diagnose than that of chronic exposure.

Indications of acute toxicity include:

a.. Sudden, severe cramping and/or convulsions
b.. Nausea
c.. Vomiting
d.. Sweating
e.. Headache
f.. Difficulty breathing
g.. Impaired cognitive, motor and language skills
Symptoms of toxic build-up due to chronic heavy metal exposure, however, are much more subtle, in large part because these symptoms are so "common," such as:

a.. Fatigue
b.. Digestive distress, and reduced ability to properly assimilate and utilize fats
c.. Aching joints
d.. Depression
e.. Impaired blood sugar regulation
f.. Female reproductive problems such as menstrual difficulties, infertility, miscarriage, pre-eclampsia, pregnancy-induced hypertension and premature birth
Sound like anyone you know?

Add to that your exposure to toxic fluoride in your municipal drinking water, which actually increases your body's uptake of aluminum, in addition to all the other health damaging effects it has in and of itself, and it's no wonder you're feeling less than great.

Why is Your Diet so Important When it Comes to Heavy Metal Detox?

In addition to limiting your exposure to toxic metals, which I will go over shortly, you need to focus on eating a healthy diet, preferably based on your nutritional type to reap the maximum overall health benefits.

The Weston A. Price diet recommendations, which were written in 1920 and still, like all truths, hold true today, includes these timeless guidelines:

a.. Eat foods that are natural, unprocessed, and organic (and contain no sugar except for the occasional bit of honey or maple syrup).
b.. Eat foods that grow in your native environment. In other words, eat locally grown, seasonal foods.
c.. Eat unpasteurized dairy products (such as raw milk) and fermented foods.
d.. Eat at least one-third of your food raw.
e.. Make sure you eat enough healthy fats, including those from animal sources like omega-3 fat, and reduce your intake of omega-6 from vegetable oils.
As Dr. Daniel et.al. explain in this article, optimal nutrition is essential when dealing with heavy metal toxicity because if you are deficient in essential metals, your body will use toxic heavy metals as "stand-ins" instead. For example:

a.. Calcium is replaced by lead, which deposits primarily in bone, and disrupts the formation of red blood cells. Lead contributes to poor bone health such as osteopenia and osteoporosis.
b.. Zinc is replaced by cadmium, which tends to accumulate heavily in your kidneys. Cadmium overload is associated with peripheral neuropathy.
c.. Magnesium is replaced by aluminum, which, among other things, induces neurochemical changes and has been identified as a contributing factor to developing Alzheimer's.
d.. Manganese is replaced by nickel, which is carcinogenic.
Secondly, you also need vital nutrients to aid your natural detoxification process.

A lot more information about this subject will be discussed in my upcoming Inner Circle interview with Dr. Kaayla Daniel, co-author of the article above and the book, The Whole Soy Story, which I recently reviewed in my brand new Book Reviews column.

I also highly recommend subscribing to the Weston A. Price Foundation's journal, Wise Traditions. This quarterly journal is dedicated to exploring the scientific validation of dietary, agricultural and medical traditions throughout the world. It features informative and thought-provoking articles on current scientific research; human diets; non-toxic agriculture; and holistic therapies. It also offers sources for organic foods that have been conscientiously grown and processed.

You can find their membership form at this link.

Guidelines for Reducing Your Heavy Metal Exposure

It may seem like a fight you're destined to lose, however I firmly believe you can reduce you exposure to heavy metals quite dramatically, thereby giving your body a fighting chance to eliminate accumulated toxins and restore health.

These guidelines can help limit your exposure:

a.. Use glass, cast iron, carbon steel, titanium, and enamel cookware. Both aluminum and Teflon are well known for their toxic dangers, and stainless steel can expose you to carcinogenic nickel.
a.. Minimize consumption of restaurant food as restaurants are required to use stainless steel pots and vats.
a.. Avoid stainless steel thermoses; the glass lined kinds are best. Later this year I will be offering glass water bottles that can also be used in lieu of a thermos, with neoprene sleeves to protect them from breaking.

b.. Avoid cosmetics with aluminum bases, mineral powders that contain bismuth, and aluminum-laden antiperspirants, which have been shown to increase your Alzheimer's risk by as much as 300 percent!
a.. Avoid vaccinations that inject mercury or aluminum directly into your bloodstream.
a.. Avoid and remove dental amalgam fillings.

b.. Avoid stainless steel orthodontics such as braces and palate wideners.

c.. Avoid costume jewelry if you are sensitive to metals.

d.. Avoid smoking and second hand smoke as it causes cadmium poisoning.

e.. Make sure you purchase your natural herbal remedies from a reputable source with strict quality testing. Some colloidal silvers can lead to silver poisoning, and some folk remedies can be high in mercury, lead and arsenic, either due to alleged medicinal properties or through unintentional contamination.

f.. Avoid conventional household cleaning products.

g.. Avoid conventional insecticides and herbicides. Also be VERY cautious when using the "natural alternative" Borax (boric acid), which can also cause serious health problems, including death.

Why are Cholesterol Drugs Being Recommended for 8 Year Olds?

2008-07-23T03:44:00.000-07:00

For the first time, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has recommended that some children as young as 8 should be given cholesterol-lowering drugs to ward off future heart problems.

Dr. Stephen Daniels, who is on the academy's nutrition committee, says the new advice is based on mounting evidence that damage leading to heart disease, the nation's leading killer, begins early in life. The drug treatments would be targeted at kids at least 8 years old who have too much LDL, or "bad," cholesterol along with other risky factors, including obesity and high blood pressure.

Cholesterol screening is also now being recommended for kids with a family history of high cholesterol and those who are overweight, obese or have other heart disease risk factors. Screening should take place after age 2 but no later than age 10, according to the AAP.
Sources:
a.. ABC News July 7, 2008
a.. Pediatrics July 2008, Vol. 122 No. 1, pp. 198-208

Dr. Mercola's Comments:
It never ceases to amaze me just how far the drug companies push the limit of what they can get away with. Simply an absolutely amazing testimony to the effectiveness of their brainwashing and manipulation by investing in key non-scrupulous professionals and organizations.

Every few years, the number of people who "need" cholesterol-lowering (statin) drugs is suddenly expanded. At this rate, it won't be very long before someone suggests that everyone take them, cradle to grave. The companies that make the drugs would certainly approve of that idea.

Although the AAP maintains that these new guidelines have nothing to do with any commercial entities, the New York Times uncovered some pretty glaring connections.

For starters, the AAP has received contributions from several drug makers, including:

a.. $433,000 from Merck
b.. $835,250 from Abbott Laboratories' Ross Product Division
c.. $216,000 from the Bristol-Myers Squibb company Mead Johnson Nutritionals
Meanwhile, several members of AAP's nutrition committee, which developed the new guidelines, also have ties to drug makers:

a.. Dr. Stephen Daniels has consulted for Merck and Abbott Laboratories (although not on cholesterol drugs)
b.. Dr. Nicolas Stettler of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia worked on clinical trials for Merck's Mevacor and a failed Pfizer cholesterol drug
c.. Dr. Jatinder Bhatia, chief of neonatology at the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta, has listed financial relationships with Bristol-Myers Squibb's Mead Johnson unit, Abbott's Ross Products and Dey Laboratories, which is affiliated with Merck
Cholesterol-lowering drugs are already the most used prescription drugs in the United States, so their makers really didn't need to target the youngest members of society to increase their bottom lines, but they did anyway.

Five cholesterol drugs have already been approved for kids with genetic cholesterol disorders:

a.. Bristol-Myers Squibb's Pravachol
b.. Pfizer's Lipitor
c.. Merck's Zocor and Mevacor
d.. Novartis's Lescol
But the new guidelines push it even beyond kids with a genetic disorder; they also include children who have high "bad" cholesterol, obesity, high blood pressure and other factors.

Why Cholesterol Drugs are Bad for You . and Even Worse for Your Kids

You should know that among the many dangers of statin drugs is an increased risk of heart disease. This is because patients taking statins become depleted in Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), which leads to fatigue, muscle weakness, soreness and, ironically, heart failure.

The FDA has had a petition to label statin packages with a warning about statin-induced CoQ10 depletion for years, but nothing has been done about it.

Some of the other risks of statin drugs include:
a.. Weakness
b.. Muscle aches
c.. An increase in cancer risk
d.. Immune system suppression
e.. Serious degenerative muscle tissue condition (rhabdomyolysis)
f.. Potential increase in liver enzymes so patients must be monitored for normal liver function
These, of course, are the risks to adults. But when you give drugs designed for adults to children, anything can happen because children metabolize drugs differently. At least one expert has expressed concern that statin drugs may impact a child's endocrine system, which regulates growth and development.

And there is absolutely no long-term data showing that statin drugs are safe for kids, who will likely be put on the drugs for many years, if not a lifetime.

If You are Worried About Your Child's Cholesterol
First, keep this in mind: It is VERY rare for anyone to need cholesterol-lowering drugs. Among the more than 20,000 patients who have come to my clinic, only four or five of them truly needed these drugs, as they had genetic challenges that required it. If you or someone you know is taking them, odds are very high, greater than 100 to 1, that you or they don't need it.

And this applies to children too.

Most often, cholesterol becomes high as a result of excess inflammation in your body. Far from being harmful, the cholesterol is released into your bloodstream to help repair damage by producing new cells.

So the solution is not to lower your cholesterol, it's to address what is causing the excess inflammation.

In kids, this is caused largely by the very same things it is in adults:

1. Eating too many sugar and grains
2. Eating trans fats
3. Not exercising
4. Emotional stress

If these items sound familiar in your family's lifestyle, now's the time to change it. You do not need drugs to get healthy, you just need to follow these eight steps:

1. Make sure you and your kids are getting plenty of high-quality, animal-based omega3-fats. I prefer those from krill oil.

2. Reduce, with the plan of eliminating, grains and sugars in your family's daily diet.

3. Eat the right foods for your nutritional type and make sure your kids are eating right for theirs.

4. Make sure your family eats a good portion of their food raw.

5. Get the right amount of exercise. When you exercise you increase your circulation and the blood flow throughout your body. The components of your immune system are also better circulated, which means your immune system has a better chance of fighting an illness before it has the opportunity to spread.

7. Address your emotional challenges. I particularly love the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) for stress management. EFT is also easy for kids to learn and use.

8. If you are having troubles following this advice (exercising regularly, staying away from sugars, and eating right for your type) then you might want to try the hypnosis program I recommend for diet and exercise adherence.

Doing small things well

2008-07-22T03:49:00.001-07:00

"Bigness comes from doing many small things well. Individually, they are not very dramatic transactions. Together though, they add up."

Edward S. Finkelstein
Author

Why Low Cholesterol is NOT Good For You

2008-07-18T03:47:00.000-07:00

Too little of one type of cholesterol has been linked to memory loss and Alzheimer's disease.

Scientists studied more than 3,500 civil servants to investigate how levels of HDL or "good" cholesterol were associated with memory. HDL cholesterol can influence the formation of the beta-amyloid "plaques" that are a distinctive feature in the brains of Alzheimer's patients.

Higher levels of HDL are also believed to protect against damage to blood supply caused by the narrowing of the arteries.

After the five-year study period, the researchers found that people with low levels of HDL were 53 percent more likely to suffer memory loss than people with the highest levels of HDL.

Those with impaired memory are at an increased risk of developing dementia later in life.
Sources:
a.. BBC News June 30, 2008
a.. Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology June 30, 2008

Dr. Mercola's Comments:

There's plenty of confusion on the issue of cholesterol. I was also caught up in the nonsense. When I finished med school 25 years ago I was convinced your cholesterol could not be low enough.

So with a low-fat diet and plenty of exercise and oat bran (no drugs) I was able to get my cholesterol to a ridiculous level of 75. Yes you read that correctly -- my TOTAL cholesterol was a measly and pathetic 75 points. Fortunately, I later realized that it should be nearly three times as high as that to stay healthy, certainly no lower than 150.

However, due to misinformation in the media and drug pushing by multinational corporations, the majority of people worry about their cholesterol being too high and are clueless about the dangers of low cholesterol, especially when done artificially with drugs.

In an effort to clear up this massive confusion I recently completed a Special Report on Cholesterol that should put a lot of the misunderstandings to rest. These special reports are usually offered for $9.95. However, I'm making this PDF report available to ALL my readers for free because it's simply too important not to share with everyone.

What you need to know first and foremost is that cholesterol is good for you. It's present in every single cell in your body where it helps to produce cell membranes, hormones, vitamin D and bile acids to help you digest fat.

Cholesterol also helps in the formation of your memories and is vital for neurological function, which is why the above finding that low cholesterol is linked to memory loss is not at all surprising.

In fact, when your cholesterol levels go too low, a host of negative things happen in your body.

The Risks of Low Cholesterol

Impaired memory and dementia are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to low cholesterol's impact on your brain. Having too little of this beneficial compound also:

a.. Increases your risk of depression

b.. Can cause you to commit suicide

c.. May lead to violent behavior and aggression

d.. Increase your risk of cancer and Parkinson's disease
Unfortunately, in the United States lowering cholesterol levels has become so common that nearly everyone reading this either knows someone struggling to do so, or has struggled to do so themselves.

Your Cholesterol Will Normalize When You Address its Cause

Contrary to popular belief, high cholesterol is not a disease in and of itself. It is actually a response to something gone awry in your body. You see, cholesterol is produced whenever your cells become damaged, as it's a necessary component in making new, healthy cells.

So if you have a lot of damaged cells, you're also going to have a lot of cholesterol in your bloodstream. This is a good thing, in a sense, because it means your cells are being repaired. Now, while most conventional doctors would see all that cholesterol and put you on toxic cholesterol-lowering drugs, a more knowledgeable doctor would search for what's causing the damage in the first place.

And often it's inflammation brought on by:

a.. A diet too high in sugar and grains
b.. Too many processed, overcooked foods
c.. Not enough exercise
d.. Emotional stress
e.. Smoking

Again, all of the details on how to naturally bring your cholesterol to exactly where it needs to be are in my new Cholesterol Special Report. The remedy involves, of course, addressing the items I've mentioned above by making simple lifestyle changes that are outlined in Take Control of Your Health.

Whatever you do, don't fall for the mistaken belief that the lower your cholesterol goes, the better. If you lower your cholesterol through artificial means (statin drugs) without addressing the underlying causes, your body will continue to degenerate.

Leave the decision of how much cholesterol your body needs up to your body, and make the right lifestyle choices to keep your cells in their top condition. This way you get the best of both worlds: the right amount of cholesterol and a body in tip-top shape.

Where to find happiness

2008-07-17T03:53:00.001-07:00

"Plenty of people miss their share of happiness, not because they never found it, but because they didn't stop to enjoy it."

William Feather
1889-1981, Writer

Moringa Oleifera as an Eco-friendly Solution

2008-07-17T03:51:00.000-07:00

Moringa Oleifera, commonly known simply as Moringa. Moringa is one of
eco-friendly plants that help the world hunger and sick people. It is
a soft-wooded tree that grows to about 20 feet tall, with corky bark
and small feathery leaves. Its root is just like a Japanese wasabi or
horseradish.

Moringa is entirely edible, from leaves to roots. The moringa plant
is drought resistant and grows practically anywhere around the world--
even lands with poor soil, near the sea and dry areas, and can even
withstand severe drought once the plant is established.

Seeds sprout readily in one week. Alternatively, one can plant a
branch and within a week, it will grow by itself with another sprout.
It is often cut back year after year in fence rows and continues to
thrive. Therefore, to keep an abundant supply of leaves, flowers, and
pods within easy reach, topping out is useful. Of course, it is
natural and understandable that water and fertilizer make it grow
better.

## Nutritional Value of Moringa

The leaves contain significant sources of minerals and vitamins A, B,
and C. It contains high levels of calcium, phosphorous, iron,
protein, with low fat, and low carbohydrates. Its iron content is
very good for anemia.

We like to believe that if we will plant moringa tree in our backyard
garden as well as all vacant lots around the world, there shall be no
food shortages and malnutrition problems.

According to other sources on the internet, Moringa has seven times
the vitamin C in oranges; four times the calcium and two times the
protein in milk; four times the vitamin A in carrots; and three times
the potassium in bananas.

## Culinary Uses of Moringa

Virtually every part of it is edible. The Moringa leaves are also
eaten as a leaf vegetable, particularly in the Philippines, where it
is called malunggay. It can be cooked in any various ways like that
of spinach. The roots can be pulled out and can be used as
horseradish. Flowers can be eaten as vegetable, or you can use it to
make a tea, and it provides calcium and potassium. From its seed,
quality oil called Ben oil is yield by pressing. The oil contains:
65.7% Oleic acids; 9.3% Palmitic acid; 7.4% Stearic acid; and 8.6%
Behenic acid. The oil is good for cooking and lubricating precision
machines such as watches and sewing machines.

So why I became interested in planting moringa? During the 1940s,
Japan suffered from food shortages. We used desiccated coconut powder
as bread flour mixed with edible grass powder. I can remember how
moringa leaves were dried and powdered to make a bitterly tasting
bread just to survive from hunger. However, it was good that moringa
provided hungry Japanese with enough nutrients.

How did we make bread out of moringa leaves? At first, rinse moringa
leaves and boil it for 4-5 minutes. Then, dry it either under the sun
or windy shade. Grind it and mix with any flour to make cake, bread,
or noodles. This makes a highly nutritious daily meal.

The leaves and flowers are nutritious and helps especially for
children's growth. Leaves can be dried and powdered, and mixed with
any flour to make nutritious cake and bread. Fresh leaves are cooked
just like any other vegetables, or be grinded for juice extract. It
is recommended that the juice be boiled for a minute to remove some
bitter taste and vegetable smell. Boiled juice is mixed with milk and
honey or sugar. Our Pyro-Energen staffs cook the grinded leaves with
chicken to make a good, tasty, and nutritious soup practically on
every daily meal. Oh, that's because our office fence is surrounded
by plenty of Moringa trees.

The ben oil from the seed can be extracted by pressing or mashing it
and boiled with water. Boiling it will make the oil float to the
surface of the water. Scoop it and you can use it as an excellent
cooking or lubricating oil.

Now, do not throw the mashed seed. You can use it for treating
polluted water.

According to the old folks and traditional healers, if eaten, grinded
seeds are good for detoxification of heavy toxic metals in the body,
although we do not have any clinical data for it. But certainly, it
is way better than those foot detox machines sold worldwide.

## Water Treatment with Moringa Seeds

Moringa seeds are also used for water treatment. As seen in the photo
below, the right PET bottle shows artificially made polluted water
out of kitchen wastes. When kept with grinded moringa seeds, the dirt
contaminated in the water settles after a few hours as seen in the
left PET bottle.

http://www.pyroenergen.com/articles08/images/water-treatment.jpg

Moringa's seed can remove hazardous materials from water. The use of
Moringa for body detoxification is also being studied by several
research groups.

According to some scientists, there are several ways to improve the
process of water treatment with the Moringa seed.

Here's the simplest way we knew from old folks:

Dried Moringa seed is grinded or mashed to extract Ben oil (the seed
can be used for water treatment even after the ben oil is extracted).
The ratio of seed and water depends on the purification quality and
speed. 100-200 seeds to a liter of water are recommended. Note that
bacteria cannot be eradicated by the moringa water treatment.

## Moringa for Medicinal Purposes

Moringa is galactagogue, rubefacient, antiscorbutic, diuretic,
stimulant, purgative, antibiotic, and antifungal. What more could you
ask for? It is really a fantastic and a wonder plant.

The seeds are good for hypertension, gout, asthma, hiccups, cancer,
body detox, and anti-aging. It also helps in increasing sperm count.
Oil extracted from Moringa flowers can also be helpful for arthritic
pains, and rheumatic and gouty joints. Its leaves are also used for
hiccups, asthma, gout, backache, rheumatism, and skin wounds and
sores. Moringa leaves are believed to increase the flow of mother's
milk, and good for constipation, ulcers, diabetes, and for
stabilizing blood pressure.

Moringa contains a compound known as Pterygospermin. It has powerful
antibiotic and fungicidal effects especially for skin infection. It
helps slow down skin aging, too.

Moringa contains antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties
effective for chronic swelling as well as trauma.

Traditional healers may know more about the effectiveness of these
herbs.

Proper use of moringa is therefore an excellent eco-friendly solution
for the world.

Now, you can call Moringa Oleifera an eco-friendly miracle tree of
the world. Let us save the world from hunger and from sick people.
Let us plant Moringa, today!

----------------------------------------------------------
About the Author:
Junji Takano is a Japanese health researcher involved in
investigating the cause of various diseases since 1960. In 1968, he
invented Pyro-Energen, the first electromedicine device that
eradicates viral diseases, cancer, and diseases of unknown cause
effectively without side effects.
Free newsletter: http://www.pyroenergen.com/newsletter.htm

Make "Joy" an "Automatic" Habit‏

2008-07-16T18:33:00.000-07:00

from Dan Robey, at

http://www.thepowerofpositivehabits.com

"Here is another habit you will love because it
brings joy and happiness into your life...automatically.

Here is how it works.

We all have activities that we engage in
that bring us joy and happiness. It could be a craft like
woodworking, or sewing, or a hobby, a recreational
activity or sport. We all enjoy some type of leisure activity
that brings us joy.

Here is an example:

In my life, one activity that brings real joy and
happiness to my life is boating. I live in Miami and I love
to go out in the ocean in my boat. I love seeing the vast expanse
of the ocean, the beautiful blue green waters, it makes
me feel close to nature. I love taking my family and friends
out in my boat, it makes me happy to see the smiles
on their faces as they enjoy the great outdoors.

The problem is that I can only go boating when the weather is
good, and when I have time off from work. How can I
enjoy boating without actually going out in my boat?

One way is to subscribe to magazines about boating, fishing,
and the outdoors. These magazines are automatically delivered
to my door every month, they contain beautiful pictures of
the ocean and boats. They also contain reviews of boating
equipment, maps of places to go, and stories about boating
adventures.

As I read these magazines and look at the pictures, they make
me feel great. They bring joy to my life because they take
me out in the ocean...even if only in my mind.

You can do the same thing. No matter what your hobby
or recreational interest is, I can bet you that there is
a magazine that covers it. There are magazines that cover sports,
fitness, health, hobbies, recreation, lifestyles...you name it.

The beauty of magazines is that unlike the internet, they are
delivered to your door through the mail automatically. They are
physical objects that you can hold in your hand and look at, and
they are very inexpensive. They provide information and images that
can bring joy to your heart...automatically.

Go to your local bookstore and browse thru the magazine section.
Look for magazines that will make you happy in the same way that
the boating magazines make me happy.

Subscribe to them and enjoy them as they come to your home every
month.

The best part about this habit is that when the magazine arrives at
your door and you read it, you will smile....and think of me!"

Achieving your goals

2008-07-16T03:57:00.000-07:00

"If you make the unconditional commitment to reach your most important goals, if the strength of your decision is sufficient, you will find the way and the power to achieve your goals."

Robert Conklin
Teacher, Author and Speaker

Statin Use Has Jumped 150 Percent

2008-07-16T03:56:00.000-07:00

Use of the cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins rose by 156 percent between 2000 and 2005, rising from 15.8 million people to 29.7 million people. Spending on the drugs jumped from $7.7 billion to $19.7 billion annually over the same period.

The total number of outpatient prescriptions for statins rose from about 90 million in 2000 to nearly 174 million in 2005. Each individual spent $484 a year on average on statins in 2000; this rose to $661 by 2005.

Statins include atorvastatin, sold by Pfizer under the brand name Lipitor; pravastatin or Pravachol, sold by Bristol Myers Squibb; fluvastatin, sold by Novartis under the brand name Lescol, and several others.

Sources:
a.. Reuters June 25, 2008

Dr. Mercola's Comments:

Here's yet another example of how corrupted government "health guidelines" and pharmaceutical industry profits go hand in hand. As some of you may remember, in 2004 the U.S. government's National Cholesterol Education Program panel advised those at risk for heart disease to reduce their LDL (bad) cholesterol to very, very low, levels.

Before 2004, a 130-milligram LDL cholesterol level was considered healthy. The updated guidelines, however, recommended levels of less than 100, or even less than 70 for patients at very high risk.

In order to achieve these outrageous and dangerously low targets you generally have to take not just one, but multiple cholesterol-lowering drugs in combination. The new guidelines instantly increased the market for these drugs.

So it did not come as a surprise to find out that eight of the nine doctors on the panel that approved these absurdly low guidelines in the United States were in fact making money from the cholesterol-lowering drugs they were pushing.

The Dangerous Side Effects of Statin Drugs

Aside from the fact that statin drugs are some of the most unnecessary and dangerous drugs out there -- due to the fact that their use is based on a misinformed notion that cholesterol is the nemesis of good health in the first place -- they're fraught with potentially dangerous side effects.

Now, unlike their predecessors, statin drugs oftentimes do not have any immediate side effects, and they are quite effective, capable of lowering cholesterol levels by 50 points or more.

But there's an ever-growing body of evidence showing that potentially serious side effects begin to manifest several months after the commencement of therapy.

For starters, some of the possible consequences of taking statins in strong doses or for a lengthy period of time include:

a.. Depression of mental acuity
b.. Anemia
c.. Acidosis
d.. Frequent fevers
e.. Cataracts
The most common side effect is muscle pain and weakness, a condition called rhabdomyolysis, most likely due to the depletion of Co-Q10, a nutrient that supports muscle function.

There are no official warnings in the U.S. regarding CoQ10 depletion, and many physicians fail to inform you about this problem as well. Labeling in Canada, however, clearly warns of CoQ10 depletion and even notes that this nutrient deficiency "could lead to impaired cardiac function in patients with borderline congestive heart failure."

The breakdown of skeletal muscle tissue can in turn also lead to kidney failure.

The industry insists that only 2-3 percent of patients get muscle aches and cramps but according to one study, 98 percent of patients taking Lipitor and one-third of the patients taking Mevacor (a lower-dose statin) suffered from muscle problems!

Adding insult to injury, active people are actually more likely to develop problems from statin use than those who are sedentary. In a study carried out in Austria, only six out of 22 athletes with familial hypercholesterolemia were able to endure statin treatment. The others discontinued treatment because of muscle pain.

Why Statins are Unnecessary

I have something to say that may sound shocking to some of you, but if you haven't already heard this it needs to be said: Cholesterol is not the cause of heart disease.

And if you become overly concerned with trying to lower your levels to some set number, you will be completely missing the real problem.

There's so much confusion on the issue of cholesterol, I put together a Special Report on Cholesterol, which I offered up for free in another recent article. These reports are usually reserved for members of my Inner Circle, however, I'm offering this PDF report to ALL my readers yet again, because it contains vital information about cholesterol and the persistent myths surrounding it. Feel free to print it out, forward it, and share the information with your friends and family.

How to Lower Your Cholesterol Naturally

There's really no reason to take statins and suffer the consequences from these ill-conceived drugs. These simple guidelines have the power to lower your cholesterol naturally, without any dangerous side effects:

1. Make sure you're getting plenty of high-quality, animal-based omega3-fats. I prefer those from krill oil.

2. Reduce, with the plan of eliminating, grains and sugars in your daily diet.

3. Eat the right foods for your nutritional type.

4. Eat a good portion of your food raw.

5. Get the right amount of exercise. When you exercise you increase your circulation and the blood flow throughout your body. The components of your immune system are also better circulated, which means your immune system has a better chance of fighting an illness before it has the opportunity to spread.

6. Avoid smoking and drinking alcohol excessively.

7. Address your emotional challenges. I particularly love the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) for stress management.

8. If you are having troubles following this advice (exercising regularly, staying away from sugars, and eating right for your type) then try the hypnosis program I recommend for diet and exercise adherence.

Vitamin D: Builds Bones And Much More

2008-07-16T03:55:00.000-07:00

I keep posting stuff here about vitamin D. The bottom line? Get out in the sun. It's summertime, and it's the easiest time to get your vitamin D.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080714162515.htm
ScienceDaily (July 15, 2008) - Vitamin D is essential to strong bones. Inadequate vitamin D can lead to osteoporosis, a brittle bone disease.

Recently, researchers have found that vitamin D may help reduce the risk of other diseases.

Fall prevention: With age, decreasing muscle strength can increase the risk of falls and bone fractures. Several studies have found that vitamin D supplements may benefit muscle strength and balance, helping older adults stay steadier on their feet.

Cancer prevention: Observational research indicates that low levels of vitamin D increase the risk of some cancers - including those of the breast, colon, rectum, ovary, kidney, lung and uterus. Although unclear why, vitamin D in adequate amounts appears to help regulate cellular growth, potentially preventing cells from becoming cancerous.

Chronic pain prevention: Vitamin D deficiency is increasingly recognized as an important cause of muscle pain and weakness.

Protection against autoimmune diseases: Evidence is mounting that vitamin D may offer protection from type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis by reducing inflammation and strengthening the immune system. In one study, researchers found a 40 percent lower risk of multiple sclerosis in women who supplemented their diet each day with at least 400 international units (IU) of vitamin D.

Reduced risk of cardiovascular disease: Some research indicates that lower vitamin D levels are associated with a number of factors that affect cardiovascular health, including coronary artery calcification and, possibly, congestive heart failure.

Being kind

2008-07-15T04:00:00.000-07:00

"Select a few people to be particularly kind to today - those you were a little harsh with yesterday."

Norman Vincent Peale
1898-1993, Author and Speaker

Reasons to say no to vaccines

2008-07-14T04:14:00.000-07:00

Dr. Sherri Tenpenny, DO
July 9, 2008
NewsWithViews.com

Vaccinating children has become sacrosanct in our culture. Doctors and government officials insist that vaccines are safe, and parents are pressured into compliance. In fact, parents have been reported to social services by doctors who consider not vaccinating to be a form of medical neglect or child abuse. Legislators across the country are attempting to pass laws in which parents will have no rights to refuse what is injected into their children.

The inconsistency of rules involving the care of children is striking. Mothers are in complete control of their child's health while in the womb. They make choices against eating tuna, taking medications, smoking cigarettes and avoiding alcohol. Mothers may choose to even terminate the pregnancy. But the moment the baby arrives, control over their child's body is forcibly surrendered to healthcare providers and the government. The leg is jabbed with shots, eyes are gooped with antibiotic ointment and the heel is poked to get a drop of DNA-containing blood. With the passage of the Newborn Screening Saves Lives Act of 2007, signed into law April 24, 2008, the blood will be collected and warehoused for scientific research.[1] Parents have little or no say in any of these events. (see my previous article, "Who Owns Your Child?")

Vaccination is promoted by an industry that capitalizes on fear and the perceived necessity of the procedure has become multi-generationally entrenched. We have been programmed by the medical community and the media to believe that everyone - children and adults -- will become sick, and likely die, unless they are vaccinated. This explains why not vaccinating can be unfathomable to new parents who are unreasonably terrified of what were considered normal childhood illnesses only a few decades ago. The majority adults over 50 years of age remember having measles and the chickenpox. Both were mostly mild diseases, lasting seven to fourteen days, and leaving behind lifetime immunity.

And even though chickenpox is rarely fatal, most parents opt to vaccinate. Merck & Co. estimated that as of December 31, 2007, 80 to 85 percent of all four to six-year-olds had received two doses of Varivax®, at one year and a booster before school.[2] With little attention on the problems with the chickenpox vaccine cited in the media, most don't realize that it can cause harm. Research shows that nearly 1 in 5,000 children who receive the chickenpox inoculation develop shingles within ten years of being vaccinated. Shingles, an intensely painful, blistering rash, is most commonly seen in the elderly or the chronically ill. It was rarely, if ever, seen in healthy children before the introduction of this vaccine. Other serious side effects, such as seizures, pneumonia, and anaphylaxis (a severe allergic reaction), have been reported as a result of Varivax. Before it became available, about 50 children died every year from rare or unusual complications of the chickenpox. Put in perspective, 53 children died in drowning accidents in the [U.S.] state of Georgia in 1999.

Vaccination has been cited as one of the ten greatest public health achievements of the 20th century. However, it doesn't require an advanced degree in science to grasp that the public health accolades, celebrating high vaccination rates and low infection rates, have lead to serious health consequences across the globe. Vaccine ingredients seem to be playing a substantial role.

Problems With Vaccine Ingredients

Gelatin, one of many ingredients in vaccines, is known to cause allergies and asthma. Allergies are now the most frequently reported chronic condition in children, limiting activities in four out of 10 children. Asthma, the second most common chronic childhood disease, affects more than one child in 20. The combined healthcare costs of asthma and allergies have soared to more than $25 billion/year.[3] Vaccines that contain gelatin include chickenpox, MMR, Boostrix (teen pertussis booster), Tripedia (DTaP) and the adult shingles vaccine, Zostrix. Vaccine gelatin may be contributing substantially to the skyrocketing incidence of, and expenditures on, asthma and allergies.

Another vaccine additive, formaldehyde, can interrupt the normal function of the immune system. A colorless, pungent-smelling gas, formaldehyde can cause watery eyes, burning sensations in the eyes and throat, nausea, difficulty in breathing and asthma attacks when exposed to amounts as small as 0.1 parts per million. It is listed as a hazardous chemical on eight federal regulatory lists and considered to be one of the ten worst compounds on the ecosystem and health. Between 10 and 20 percent of general population has a reaction coming in contact with formaldehyde. Topical exposure can cause a mild reaction, such as dry skin and redness. The California Indoor Air Quality Fact Sheet states there is no known threshold level below which cancer risk does not exist.[4] The World Health Association (WHO) recommends that an exposure should not exceed 0.05 ppm or 0.05 mg/kg. So, for 12 pound baby (about 5kg), the maximum exposure should be below 0.25 mg. But with the current schedule, children receive more than ten times that amount, more than 3.5 mg, if they receive every mandated vaccine. Vaccines that contain formaldehyde include DTaP, polio, influenza, hepatitis A and hepatitis B.

Thankfully, mercury (in the form of thimerosal) has been removed from most vaccines. However, measurable amounts are still found in multi-vial flu shots, tetanus boosters, Energix-B (hepatitis B vaccine), Menomune (college meningitis vaccine), TriHiBit and Tripedia (both DTaP vaccines), and Twinrix (a combination hepatitis A and hepatitis B vaccine). Trace amounts remain in many more. Countless children have developed autism and there is strong evidence that their brains were injured by the preservative thimerosal.

Follow the Money

Positioned as a loss leader, vaccines appear to be the economic drivers of both the medical and the pharmaceutical industry. A loss leader is a business technique in which a less-expensive product is sold or given away for the sake of offering another product at a greater profit. This common practice is utilized to introduce new customers to a product, to build a new customer base and/or to secure future recurring revenue. Using a loss leader is more than just a nifty business trick - it can be a very successful economic strategy when executed properly. The classic example of a loss leader is the sale of razor blades. Companies like Gillette essentially give their razor units away for free, knowing that customers will buy their replacement blades, where the company makes all of its profit, for as long as they use the razor.

Vaccines play a similar role for the drug companies. The cost of a vaccine is relatively inexpensive compared to the billions of dollars spent on medical interventions, medications-and even more vaccines-dispensed as a result of a vaccination side effect.

Consider this example: the potential consequences of an inoculation with one of the two newly approved vaccines to prevent a rotavirus diarrheal infection, RotaTeq® and Rotarix®.

Side effects listed on the package insert for RotaTeq include diarrhea, vomiting, irritability, fever, wheezing and coughing. RotaTeq has also been associated with bloody stools, a warning sign of a serious complication called an intussusception. Triggered by the vaccine, intussusception is an event where a portion of the bowel slides into the next, much like the pieces of a telescope, causing an obstruction. Swelling, inflammation, and decreased blood flow to the fragile lining of the bowel cause the intestine to die. Between February 3, 2006, when RotaTeq was licensed, and January 31, 2007, twenty-eight cases of intussusception were reported in infants who received RotaTeq in the U.S. Sixteen of the 28 infants required hospitalization and surgery on their intestine.

In February, 2008, the FDA issued a warning that there was a "statistically signficant increase in pneumonia-related deaths and seizures" associated with the other vaccine for rotavirus infection.[5] To reduce the risk of pneumonia, doctors promote the pneumococcal vaccine, Prevnar®. A side effect of Prevnar, as listed in the package insert, is ear infections, increasing the use of antibiotics. The many rounds of antibiotics required to treat recurring ear infections can cause serious bowel problems, leading to blood tests and evaluations by the pediatric gastroenterologist. The cause of all these additional problems is rarely indentified as a side effect of a vaccination.

All of this can result from a Rotarix or a RotaTeq shot, given to avoid a common infection that most children contract, and recover from uneventfully, by the time they are three years of age.

Another example is the hepatitis B vaccine, given at birth, can cause diarrhea, vomiting, and dyspepsia (a condition associated with gnawing or burning stomach pain and persistent vomiting). Tiny children receive x-rays, undergo procedures such as endoscopy, and are given adult medications such as Prilosec® or Nexium® to resolve their discomfort. Unfortunately, since the dyspepsia is not recognized as a vaccine side effect, additional dosages of the hepatitis B vaccine are administered, often compounding the problem.

Vaccines are the bedrock of expanded illnesses, skyrocketing medical costs and exponential drug sales. But it is more than individual vaccines that are cause for concern. The sheer number of vaccines children now receive between birth and six years of age is staggering and include: Diphtheria (a rare throat infection), pertussis, and tetanus (the DTaP shot); Haemophilus influenza type b (the Hib vaccine); measles, mumps, and rubella (the MMR shot); pneumococcus (the Prevnar vaccine); polio (three strains); rotavirus (five strains); and individual vaccines for hepatitis A, hepatitis B, chickenpox, and meningitis. Flu shots (three strains) are now given annually, beginning at six months of age. That adds up to 113 vaccine antigens by kindergarten given in about 33 shots.

Parents are becoming wary of the many needles being jabbed into their precious babies at the tender age of two, four and six months. In response, the drug companies are combining several vaccines into a single injection. Comvax (hepatitis B and HiB), ProQuad (MMR and chickenpox), Pediarix (DTaP, polio and hepatitis B) and two newly approved vaccines, Kinrix (DTaP and polio) and Pentacel (DTaP, polio and HiB) have been developed. Parents are deceived into believing that the combination shots are fewer vaccines; they are not: The number of jabs is reduced, but the number of antigen doses remains the same.

A significant problem with the combo shots is that, in the event of an adverse reaction, there is no way to determine which component caused the problem. This eliminates the ability to refuse additional doses of a particular vaccine. The ability to make a claim with the Vaccine Injury Compensation program is likewise negated.

For adults who believe the days of deciding about vaccines are over because their children are now teenagers, think again: Teenagers are the new target market for the vaccine industry. Boosters are being recommended for vaccines given before five years of age and the new teen vaccines, Gardasil (for cervical cancer) and Menactra (for college-type meningitis), are being heavily marketed by doctors and the media. The additional vaccines add substantially to the total number of vaccine antigen. If little girls receive all doses of all recommended vaccines, they will have received 156 vaccine antigens and about 45 shots by middle school. Boys, not yet approved for Gardasil, receive slightly fewer: only 144 vaccine antigens and about 42 shots.

Many more vaccines in the pipeline will put teens and adults in the industry crosshairs. In 2007, adult-teen vaccine sales overtook pediatric sales, the first time ever, accounting for 50.6% of all revenues. This development has been attributed to robust sales of influenza vaccines and the success of Merck's advertising to promote Gardasil for the HPV virus. Gardasil alone posted $1.5 billion in sales in 2007.[6]

And yes, it's about the money. In addition to driving revenues as a loss leader, the newer vaccines are driving revenues through direct sales of expensive vaccines. According to Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News,[7]

In 2007, the world market for preventive vaccines totaled $16.3 billion, up more than 38%, from $11.7 billion, in 2006. The market is predicted to increase at a compound annual rate of 13.1% during 2008. This growth rate is unheard of in other drug categories, especially since this is expected to be a challenging year for the pharmaceutical industry. Few other drug categories will see as many new product introductions and such public-policy attention.

In 2007, global sales of pediatric vaccines exceeded $8.0 billion, an increase of 25.2% over 2006 sales of $6.3 billion. This high growth was due in part to continued heavy gains of Wyeth's pneumococcal vaccine, Prevnar, as well as the introduction of Merck's, RotaTeq..This will result in an overall market expansion of 14.2% per year from 2008 to 2013, with total sales reaching $18.8 billion at the end of the forecast period.

Vaccines are promoted as a way to boost the immune system. It only stands to reason that injecting multiple doses of pathogens and measureable amounts of chemicals taxes the immune system instead of enhancing it. I've observed in families who have more than one child and have chosen to vaccinate the first, but not subsequent children, the younger siblings seem to come down with fewer infections and are much healthier overall. I don't believe that's a coincidence.

Preventive measures aimed at enhancing health can be incorporated into simple, lifestyle changes. Here are a few helpful suggestions:

. Staying away from white (refined) sugar and opting for healthy foods and sugar-free snacks is the first step.
. A high-quality, sugar-free, multi-vitamin/multi-mineral supplement is recommended for all ages, too, not just for picky eaters.
. The benefit adequate sleep has on health cannot be overstated. Without adequate sleep, the body is much more susceptible to illness. Toddlers need up to 14 hours a day of sleep, but they typically get only about 10½. Children between the ages of three and six need at least 10 to 12 hours per night; between seven and twelve years of age, 10 hours; and teens and adults need at least 8 hours. Most children get far less; and parents need to enforce bed times for their children, and for themselves.
. Provide your family with clean, filtered water.
. Encourage regular-but not obsessive-hand washing.
. Make sure to get away from the TV and the computer several hours a day to run and play outside. Exercise stimulates the immune system and has a whole cascade of positive effects.

Persons who investigate both sides of this issue rarely continue vaccinating. That speaks volumes. If you do decide to "Say No to Vaccines," you're not alone. Thousands of parents who have experienced first-hand the consequences of vaccination, including autism, are not looking for "something to blame." They are begging other parents to learn about the risks before they proceed. Learn to trust your intuitive sense and investigate the full spectrum of the vaccination issue. You'll be glad you did.

Sunlight Can Cut Your Risk of Death in Half

2008-07-11T03:27:00.000-07:00

"Having low vitamin D levels has been linked with deaths from heart disease and other causes, adding to growing evidence about the "sunshine" vitamin's role in good health.

People with the lowest blood levels of vitamin D were about two times more likely to die from any cause during an eight-year period than those with the highest levels. The link with heart-related deaths was particularly strong in those with low vitamin D levels.

The study involved over 3,000 men and women in southwest Germany. Participants were aged 62 on average, and their vitamin D levels were checked in weekly blood tests.

It's estimated that at least 50 percent of older adults worldwide have low vitamin D levels, and a significant number of younger people may also be affected. Low vitamin D levels may result from spending less time outdoors, air pollution and a decline in your skin's ability to produce vitamin D from the sun as you age, the researchers said.
Sources:
a.. USA Today June 23, 2008
a.. Archives of Internal Medicine June 23, 2008;168(12):1340-1349

Dr. Mercola's Comments:

If you want to get in on one of the "hottest" trends for your health, take a break from your day and spend some time out in the sunshine. This simple action reduces your risk for so many diseases, I believe it is criminal for physicians not to recommend it.

To get the benefits of the sun, you need to expose a significant portion of your skin (shorts and no shirt for men, and shorts and a sports bra or short tank for women) to the sun for anywhere from 15 minutes to two hours a day. The length depends on your skin color (the darker your skin, the longer you need), how close you are to the equator, and the weather that day (if it's cloudy, for instance).

My new book, Dark Deception, is coming out shortly and contains all the details you need to keep your vitamin D levels in a healthy range. But in the meantime you can check out my Sunshine Special Report to get the basics down.

Did You Know That Sun Exposure Actually Prevents Cancer?

The study above is the second in a matter of weeks showing the importance of vitamin D for your heart. But vitamin D is also emerging as a potent cancer fighter.

Last year, a groundbreaking study found that 600,000 cases of cancer could be prevented every year just by increasing your levels of vitamin D. Even beyond cancer, the researchers pointed out that increasing levels of vitamin D3 could prevent diseases that claim nearly 1 million lives throughout the world each year!

Why did you not hear about this amazing discovery?

Because large corporations can't make any money from you getting out in the sun.

So now's your chance to listen up. Optimizing your vitamin D levels could help you to prevent as many as 16 different types of cancer including pancreatic, lung, breast, ovarian, prostate, and colon cancers.

Further, optimal vitamin D levels are also known to positively influence the following conditions:

a.. Heart disease

b.. Diabetes

c.. Inflammatory bowel disease

d.. Rheumatoid arthritis

e.. Multiple sclerosis and osteoporosis

This is One Blood Test I Recommend for Everyone

Because the benefits of optimizing your vitamin D levels are so profound, I urge everyone to get their levels tested. There is more than one vitamin D test, so be sure to ask for the 25(OH)D test, also called 25-hydroxyvitamin D.

When you get your results, ignore the "normal" guidelines the lab sends. Instead, the OPTIMAL value that you're looking for is 45-52 ng/ml (115-128 nmol/l).

Sunlight exposure (without getting burned) is always the best option to increase your vitamin D levels. For the winter months or other times when you simply can't get outside, a vitamin D3 supplement can be used. If you go this latter route, be sure to monitor your vitamin D levels to avoid overdosing.

One final note, when you go outside to get your vitamin D make sure you don't have sunscreen on. By its very nature, sunscreen blocks your body's production of vitamin D. If you're spending a long time outdoors, I recommend going for the first portion without any sunscreen, then covering up afterward with clothing, or applying a natural, non-toxic sunscreen, to avoid getting burned."

No One is Safe From Chemical Overload

2008-07-11T03:26:00.000-07:00

"When Viviane Maraghi took blood tests to find out how many chemical pollutants were in her body, she expected the number to be low. An environmentalist, she carefully monitored what she ate and the household products and items she purchased.

Nevertheless, lead, arsenic, mercury, PCBs, flame retardants, and an array of other chemicals linked to cancer, birth defects and neurological diseases were all well represented in her bloodstream. She tested positive for 36 of 68 potentially toxic chemicals, many of which never actually leave the body, but instead continue to accumulate over time in tissues such as fat or bone.

Dangerous chemicals are in the air you breathe, the water you drink, the food you eat and the products you use. Over the last 50 years, from 70,000 to 100,000 different chemicals have been introduced into the world's markets with about 1,500 new ones added each year. Only now are governments beginning to examine the dangers posed to human health and world ecosystems.

Many western governments are finally initiating new chemical controls as part of the 2006 Strategic Approach to International Chemical Management agreement. Leading the way is the European Union, with a new program called REACH (Regulation on Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals) that requires industry to prove the safety of their chemicals and consumer products before they reach the market.

Sources:
a.. The Gazette June 20, 2008

Dr. Mercola's Comments:

The sheer number of toxic chemicals that you are exposed to on a daily basis is truly staggering. With some 100,000 different chemicals being used throughout the world, and 1,500 or so more being added each year - all without any major oversight or testing for safety until after the fact - is it any wonder that you're not as healthy as you should be?

The number of toxic chemicals is so large, addressing them all would be an impossible mission, but I believe being an informed and vigilant consumer CAN help you keep your toxic load as low as possible, even if it may be impossible to cut your exposure to zero.

After all, they're everywhere; in your air, water, soil, food supply, and in a vast majority of the personal care, household and yard products you use on a regular basis. Today, they're even in the circuitry boards of the electronics you surround yourself with. Some of the sources of toxins you have control over. Others, you don't.

Keep reading to find out tips on how to limit your exposure to some of the most common of these health hazards.

Environmental Toxins

Many of the toxins that you're exposed to are from your general environment, which also ends up including your food supply. A few of the most common environmental toxins are:

PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls): This industrial chemical has been banned in the United States for decades, yet is a persistent organic pollutant that's still present in your environment.

Risks: Cancer, impaired fetal brain development
Major Source: Most farm-raised salmon, which accounts for most of the supply in the United States, are fed meals of ground-up fish that have absorbed PCBs in the environment and for this reason should be avoided.

Pesticides: According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 60 percent of herbicides, 90 percent of fungicides and 30 percent of insecticides are known to be carcinogenic. Alarmingly, pesticide residues have been detected in 50 percent to 95 percent of U.S. foods.

Risks: Cancer, Parkinson's disease, miscarriage, nerve damage, birth defects, blocking the absorption of food nutrients
Major Sources: Food (fruits, vegetables and commercially raised meats), bug sprays

Dioxins: Chemical compounds formed as a result of combustion processes such as commercial or municipal waste incineration and from burning fuels (like wood, coal or oil).

Risks: Cancer, reproductive and developmental disorders, chloracne (a severe skin disease with acne-like lesions), skin rashes, skin discoloration, excessive body hair, mild liver damage
Major Sources: Animal fats: Over 95 percent of exposure comes from eating commercial animal fats.

Chloroform: This colorless liquid has a pleasant, nonirritating odor and a slightly sweet taste, and is used to make other chemicals. It's also formed when chlorine is added to water.

Risks: Cancer, potential reproductive damage, birth defects, dizziness, fatigue, headache, liver and kidney damage.
Major Sources: Air, drinking water and food can contain chloroform.

Heavy Metals: Metals like arsenic, mercury, lead, aluminum and cadmium, which are prevalent in many areas of your environment, can accumulate in soft tissues of your body.

Risks: Cancer, neurological disorders, Alzheimer's disease, foggy head, fatigue, nausea and vomiting, decreased production of red and white blood cells, abnormal heart rhythm, damage to blood vessels
Major Sources: Drinking water, fish, vaccines, pesticides, preserved wood, antiperspirant, building materials, dental amalgams, chlorine plants

The American Cancer Society has stated that environmental pollution causes:

a.. Cancer
b.. Alzheimer's
c.. Parkinson's
d.. Asthma
e.. Nervous disorders and hyperactivity
f.. Emphysema

g.. Nasal congestion and burning eyes
h.. Headaches and muscle aches
i.. Burning and tingling skin
j.. Irritability and mental confusion
k.. Lack of coordination, and other symptoms
So, just how high is your exposure to toxic compounds from your environment; the air you breathe; your city water supply?

If you're a U.S. resident, one way of assessing your level of exposure in the area where you live, is by checking out the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) TRI Explorer database.

This site summarizes the basic Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) data for each county and state, starting from 2002, and contains information about the releases of toxic chemicals by industrial facilities.

The TRI was established by the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) of 1986, for the purpose of providing you with information about the presence and release of toxic chemicals in your community.

For example, within the state of Illinois (where I live) the grand total emissions of toxic chemicals from industry were almost 87,670,000 pounds in 2006 alone. That's toxins released into the air, water, landfills, underground injection wells and other waste management locations, just within my state.

Your Home - Healthy Haven, or Toxic Nightmare?

Many people do not realize that their home - the building itself as well as your furnishings and decorations - is a major source of toxic contamination.

According to EPA studies, indoor air pollutants are anywhere from three to 70 times higher than outdoors! This is why I often recommend using a high quality air purification system in your home, and hopefully in your place of business as well.

Personally, I've gone to great lengths to remedy most of these common indoor problems. Not only are the building materials, paints, and furniture in my new office building all non-toxic recycled materials (or materials that can be easily recycled), but our air filtration system is beyond state of the art, circulating completely PURE air.

Other common hazards in your home that add to your toxic load include:

Mold and other Fungal Toxins: One in three people have had an allergic reaction to mold. Mycotoxins (fungal toxins) can cause a range of health problems with exposure to only a small amount.

Risks: Cancer, heart disease, asthma, multiple sclerosis, diabetes
Major Sources: Contaminated buildings, food like peanuts, wheat, corn and alcoholic beverages

VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds): VOCs are a major contributing factor to ozone, an air pollutant. According to the EPA, VOCs tend to be even higher (two to five times) in indoor air than outdoor air, likely because they are present in so many household products.

Risks: Cancer, eye and respiratory tract irritation, headaches, dizziness, visual disorders, and memory impairment
Major Sources: Drinking water, carpet, paints, deodorants, cleaning fluids, varnishes, cosmetics, dry cleaned clothing, moth repellants, air fresheners.

Asbestos: This insulating material was widely used from the 1950s to 1970s. Problems arise when the material becomes old and crumbly, releasing fibers into the air.

Risks: Cancer, scarring of the lung tissue, mesothelioma (a rare form of cancer)
Major Sources: Insulation on floors, ceilings, water pipes and healing ducts from the 1950s to 1970s.

The Unsuspected Price Tag of Convenience and Beauty

Next, there are all those products you use in daily life. From your personal care products, to household cleaning agents, to plastic food containers and baby bottles. Many of them contain ingredients that are known to be toxic or cancer-causing.

For more information about which ones you'll definitely want to avoid, please review the articles listed under Related Articles below, as I've written quite extensively on these issues before.

Something you may not have seen or heard before, however, is this list of the Top Cancer-Causing Products in the average home, as compiled by the National Cancer Prevention Coalition, which includes:

a.. Johnson & Johnson Baby Powder with talc
b.. Crest Tartar Control toothpaste
c.. VO5 Hair Conditioner
d.. Clairol Nice-n-Easy Hair Color
e.. Cover Girl Replenishing Natural Finish Make Up
f.. Ajax cleanser
g.. Lysol disinfectant
h.. Zud Heavy Duty Cleanser
I believe that putting something on your skin can be even more dangerous to your health than ingesting it directly, which is why I decided to create my own personal care line of products that are 100% USDA Organic Certified. My team has been researching this topic extensively and I am proud to report that we are getting very close to launching one of the best, most pure skin care product lines out there. It is truly effective and has absolutely no synthetic ingredients.

Is There Hope?

I realize this can get quite overwhelming, but as I stated earlier, I believe you CAN limit your exposure, and hence your risk of suffering any debilitating effects.

So, instead of feeling overtaken by the enormity and the pervasiveness of the problem, please focus on the things that you can control right now. That would include switching to non-toxic and natural alternatives for things that you use on your body, in your home and around your yard, to start.

Like Viviane Maraghi stated in this article, if her and her son's test results revealed toxins in their bloodstream despite the fact that they eat mostly organic and are careful about the household products they buy, just imagine what your toxic load might be if you pay no attention at all!"