Happy Heart Month! Here’s the start to my summaries of the great articles and research studies I read…

The Environmental Impact of Our Health

Based on the article from Integrative Practitioner: Breast Cancer and the Environment & Environmental Policy by Susan Luck

There exists approximately 100,000 synthetic chemicals registered for commercial use in the world today, with several thousand new ones being formulated every year. Many of these chemicals have not been tested for human safety prior to approval.

The release of the CDC’s Fourth National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals concluded that most Americans carry approximately a 150 chemical body burden. Studies are now linking these chemicals to several disease pathologies including Alzheimer’s, ADHD, Diabetes, and Hormonal imbalances as well as infertility. Furthermore, it has been suggested that the increase in the amount of cancers may be due in part to increased levels of exposure to these substances.

Once substance known as BPA, found widely in plastics, has been linked to breast cancer in women. Global Research estimates that up to 50% of breast cancer may be related to endogenous and exogenous estrogen exposure from BPA and several other substances acting as endocrine disruptors. This not only affects hormonal cancers, but has a profound effect on the youth.  Recent reports continue to determine that critical windows of susceptibility in early life exist. This means that a risk for deterimental genetic expression later in life increases with earlier exposure.

Compounding matters is the decrease in nutritional value of our food, which contains potent phytonutrients aiding the body’s detoxification measures. Without proper nutrients, the body is not strong enough to rebuild and detoxify.

Continued at my blog link

Salt Reduction in Food (Medpage Today)

A New York City-based health organization is proposing that restaurants and packaged food manufacturers lower sodium levels by 25% over five years to greatly reduce preventable health risks.

The National Salt Reduction Initiative (NSRI) request would cut the nation’s salt intake by 20%, helping prevent a variety of health complications, including hypertension, myocardial infarction, stroke, and ultimately mortality, a statement from the group said.

Why Anti-Depressants Don’t Work (eurekalert)

Most animal models that are used by scientists to test antidepressants are based on the hypothesis that stress causes depression. “They stress the animals and look at their behavior,” she said. “Then they manipulate the animals’ behavior with drugs and say, ‘OK, these are going to be good anti-depressants.’ But they are not treating depression; they are treating stress.”

That is one key reason why current antidepressants aren’t doing a great job, Redei noted. She is now looking at the genes that differ in the depressed rat to narrow down targets for drug development.

She said another reason current antidepressants are often ineffective is that they aim to boost neurotransmitters based on the popular molecular explanation of depression, which is that it’s the result of decreased levels of the neurotransmitters serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine. But that’s wrong, Redei said.

Drugs Aim at Wrong Molecular Target

In the second part of the study, Redei found strong indications that depression actually begins further up in the chain of events in the brain. The biochemical events that ultimately result in depression actually start in the development and functioning of neurons.

“The medications have been focusing on the effect, not the cause,” she said. “That’s why it takes so long for them to work and why they aren’t effective for so many people.”

The Mythology of Science (Huffington Post)

We all marvel at the technological advances in materials and techniques that allow doctors to perform quadruple bypass surgeries and angioplasties without marveling that recent studies indicate that coronary bypass surgery will extend life expectancy in only about three percent of cases. For angioplasty that figure sinks to zero percent. Those numbers might be close to what you could expect from a witch doctor, one difference being that witch doctors don’t submit bills in the tens of thousands of dollars.

It would be one thing if any of these unproven conventional medical treatments were cheap , but they are not. Angioplasty and coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) alone cost $100 billion annually. As quoted by President Obama in his drive to bring down medical costs, $700 billion is spent annually on unnecessary tests and procedures in America. As part of this excess, it is estimated that 2.5 million unnecessary surgeries are performed each year.

Doctor Threatened when reported research findings of vaccine link to bowel disease and possible correlation to autism (NVIC)

I met Dr. Wakefield that day in 1997 in the auditorium where our conference was to take place as he was trying to decide what to do with a slide that identified him as being employed by the Royal Free Hospital. You see, he had received a telephone threat from London in the middle of the night warning him that if he spoke at our conference, he might not have a job when he returned to Britain. He then described to me the intense pressure he had been under from senior health officials in Britain to withdraw from our conference.

This was five months before he and his colleagues published the first article in the medical literature suggesting there might be an association between vaccine induced chronic inflammation in the body and developmental delays in some children.

The Eclectric Triphasic Medical System (ETMS) (Donnie Yance)

My hope is that the fruition of the ETMS will be the future of modern medicine, removing
ego and fear in favor of compassion, humility, wisdom, and love. The ETMS is a unique
synthesis of spiritual and physical perspectives, being uncompromising in its quest for
truth in both realms. My personal practice of the ETMS, like the improvisations of a jazz
musician, is infused by a spiritual force that harmonizes rhythm, melody, and the artful
expression of human science into the whole it was meant to be. Through analysis of the
objective experience recorded by millions of doctors and billions of patients over the last
five millennia, combined with the modern scientific facts, theories, and statistical
findings used as the basis of our modern biomedical system, the ETMS represents the
culmination of the human potential for achieving a truly integrated medical system. I
firmly believe that applying this model in a specific, patient-centered format provides the
best means to significantly improve patients’ quality of life, and greatly contributes to
increased longevity.

Lemon Juice to Thin Blood & Hydrogen Test to Measure Mal-digestion (D’Adamo Newsletter-Blood Type O)

One of my teachers, John Bastyr, used to say that the juice of 5 lemons equaled a pharmacologic dose of anti-coagulants. New research into deep vein thrombosis (DVT), has found that lemon juice significantly reduces the likelihood of clots forming during long haul flights.

Japanese researchers who were examining the blood thinning properties of lemons discovered that blood circulates nearly 20% faster at altitude after the juice of a large lemon has been consumed. The researchers, from Tokai Gakuen University in Nagoya, revealed their findings at a meeting of the Japanese Society for Food Science and Technology. They gave volunteers on long haul flights a drink containing lemon juice. The blood in the volunteers’ veins moved 19% faster than that of others on the same flight, thereby reducing the likelihood of potentially fatal clots forming in their systems.

The scientists believe that the effect is due to two ingredients contained in lemon juice – citric acid and lemon polyphenol. They are now recommending that passengers on long haul flights have a lemon drink every five hours to obtain the juice’s protective effect.

Heart Health & Blood Type (Ann Quesarano)

In his book, Cardiovascular Disease: Fight It with the Blood Type Diet, Dr. D’Adamo explains why people with different blood types experience different cardiovascular problems and provides targeted programs for each of the four blood types for preventing and treating heart conditions, high blood pressure, controlling cholesterol and vascular problems. Here are a few tips to keep your ticker in tip top shape!

Type O

  • Minimize consumption of the insulin-mimicking lectins most abundant in grains, such as wheat and corn. These can contribute to metabolic syndrome, a precursor to heart disease……….

    • The Many Positive Effects of Exercise on the Brain & Body (Dr. Mercola)

    http://fitness.mercola.com/sites/fitness/archive/2010/02/02/the-single-most-important-thing-to-preserve-your-brain-function.aspx

    Lab tests on animals have shown that during exercise, their nerve cells release proteins known as neurotrophic factors.

    One in particular, called brain-derived neurotrophic factor or BDNF, triggers numerous other chemicals that promote neural health. Further, exercise provides protective effects to your brain through:

    • The production of nerve-protecting compounds
    • Greater blood flow to your brain
    • Improved development and survival of neurons
    • Decreased risk of heart and blood vessel diseases

    A regular exercise program can also slow the development of Alzheimer’s disease by altering the way damaging proteins reside in your brain. In animal studies, significantly fewer damaging plaques and fewer bits of beta-amyloid peptides, associated with Alzheimer’s, were found in mice that exercised.

    Be sure to include all 4 types of exercise:

    1. Aerobic exercise- for heart and immune health

    2. Interval training- to burn fat

    3. Strength training- for bones and muscle building-which burns more fat at rest

    4. Core exercises – for stability, posture, flexibility, circulation, and fat burning power

    The Mind Effects of Tea (my blog)

    A recent article published in The Journal of Clinical Nutrition demonstrated the beneficial effect ofaerobi constituents in green tea on attention span in adults. Specifically, participants in this study who consumed a combination of l-theanine and caffeine vs those who received placebo, scored higher in attention tasks. Furthermore, brain imaging results showed these substances had a tonic effect to visual modulation, suggesting greater visual accuracy.

    Switching To Fish Oil Yields Statin-Like Benefits (VitalChoice)

    Diet changes appear to rival statins’ blood-fat benefits
    When the study began, five percent of the participants were taking a cholesterol-lowering medication, usually a statin drug.
    By the end of the study 10 years later, one-quarter of the participants had been prescribed drugs to control their cholesterol … mostly statins.
    The analysis showed that people who cut back on saturated fats lowered their total cholesterol levels, regardless of whether they were taking a statin drug(Buyken AE et al. 2010).
    And when study participants started eating more fish and omega-3 fatty acids, their “good” HDL cholesterol levels rose modestly and their triglyceride levels dropped substantially.
    HDL levels lower than 40 mg/dL are considered a risk factor for heart disease, while levels of 60 mg/dL or higher are linked to lowered heart risks.
    For every one percent increase in omega-3 intake, people’s HDL levels rose by about 2.5 mg/dL.
    Interestingly, higher intakes of omega-6 fats – the kind that dominate American diets and predominate in our most commonly consumed vegetable oils (e.g., corn, soy, sunflower) – were not linked to improvements in participants’ total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, or triglyceride levels.
    Conventional cardiovascular wisdom holds that many people need to lower their cholesterol levels considerably.
    However, as recent articles in The New York Times and The Boston Globedemonstrated, there are increasingly serious doubts that high blood cholesterol levels and/or diets high in cholesterol and saturated fats are primary causes of heart disease.
    For links to those analyses, see “Cholesterol Fiasco Undermines Accepted Theory”.

    The Importance of Sleep on Blood Pressure & Weight (Dr. Northrup)

    Physiologically, anything that increases inflammation or contributes to chronic inflammation is going to negatively affect the cardiovascular system. Sleep is, hands down, the body’s most effective way of digesting excess stress hormones from your day. If you don’t get enough sleep, your stress hormones stay elevated and this increases inflammation throughout your body. This causes your arteries to narrow and even constrict, which results in higher blood pressure.

    Not getting enough sleep has become an epidemic in our society. So has obesity. And these two are connected. Obese people are more likely to develop sleep apnea than their thinner counterparts. When you have sleep apnea, you don’t get enough sleep, and the quality of your sleep is often poor. Sleep apnea has been shown to obstruct the flow of oxygen to the body. And this condition has been connected to an increased risk of stroke, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes in obese people.[2]

    How Lack of Sleep Damages Your Health (Dr. Mercola)

    Melatonin is an antioxidant that helps to suppress harmful free radicals in your body and slows the production of estrogen, which can activate cancer. When your circadian rhythm is disrupted, your body may produce less melatonin and therefore may have less ability to fight cancer.

    Exposure to light while your body is trying to sleep activates your stress response and weakens your immune system, which is why irregular sleep cycles can lead to stress-related disorders including:

    • Constipation
    • Stomach ulcers
    • Depression
    • Heart disease

    A disrupted body clock can wreak havoc on your weight. Losing sleep raises levels of two hormones linked with appetite and eating behavior. Sleep deprivation reduces leptin, a hormone that tells your brain you’re satiated, and increases ghrelin, a hormone that triggers hunger.

    Lack of sleep can destroy your memory. If your internal clock isn’t functioning properly, it causes the release of too much GABA, the brain inhibiting neurotransmitter. According to the results of the Stanford study, an excess of GABA inhibits the brain in a way that leads to short term memory problems and the inability to retain new information.

    Sleep deprivation ages you. Lack of sleep interferes with metabolism and hormone production in a way that is similar to the effects of aging and the early stages of diabetes. Chronic sleep loss may speed the onset or increase the severity of age-related conditions such as type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, and memory loss.

    Stress Could Cause Cancer (The Telegraph)

    The findings, published in Nature, seemed to show for the first time that the conditions for developing the disease can be affected by your emotional environment including every day work and family stress.

    Professor Tian Xu, a geneticist at Yale University who led the study, said: “A lot of different conditions can trigger stress signaling – physical stress, emotional stress, infections, inflammation – all these things.

    “Reducing stress or avoiding stress conditions is always good advice.”

    The National Cancer Institute on Stress and Cancer

    The body responds to stress by releasing stress hormones, such as epinephrine (also called adrenaline) and cortisol (also called hydrocortisone). The body produces these stress hormones to help a person react to a situation with more speed and strength. Stress hormones increase blood pressure, heart rate, and blood sugar levels. Small amounts of stress are believed to be beneficial, but chronic (persisting or progressing over a long period of time) high levels of stress are thought to be harmful (1).

    Stress that is chronic can increase the risk of obesity, heart disease, depression, and various other illnesses. Stress also can lead to unhealthy behaviors, such as overeating, smoking, or abusing drugs or alcohol, that may affect cancer risk.

    And according to Dr. Mercola:

    Norepinephrine can stimulate tumor cells to produce two compounds (matrix metalloproteinases called MMP-2 and MMP-9) that break down the tissue around the tumor cells and allow the cells to more easily move into your bloodstream.

    Once there, they can travel to other organs and tissues and form additional tumors, a process called metastasis.

    Norepinephrine may also stimulate the tumor cells to release a chemical (vascular endothelial growth factor, or VEGF) that can aid in the growth of the blood vessels that feed cancer cells. This can increase the growth and spread of the cancer.

    The stress hormone epinephrine has also been found to cause changes in prostate and breast cancer cells in ways that may make them resistant to cell death. This means that emotional stress could both contribute to the development of cancer and reduce the effectiveness of treatments.

    Why Avoiding Artificial Sweeteners Is Important (Dr. Mercola)

    Artificial Sweeteners, including aspartame, has been linked to neurotoxicity and brain tumors. Their use has been linked to MS, Parkinson’s, Fibromylagia, diabetes, cancer, epilepsy, migraines and vague symptoms affecting vision, memory, digestion, and muscle and joint pain. This link provides a 90 minute movie on the background of this excitotoxin.

    Aspartame reactions may be caused by the compound itself, its three components, stereoisomers of the amino acids, toxic breakdown products (including formaldehyde), or combinations thereof. They often occur in conjunction with severe caloric restriction and excessive exercise to lose weight.

    Various metabolic and physiologic disturbances explain the clinical complications.

    Only a few are listed:

    • Damage to the retina or optic nerves is largely due to methyl alcohol exposure. Unlike most animals, humans cannot efficiently metabolize it.
    • High concentrations of phenylalanine and aspartic acid occur in the brain after aspartame intake, unlike the modest levels of amino acids following conventional protein consumption.
    • Aspartame alters the function of major amino acid-derived neurotransmitters, especially in obese persons and after carbohydrate intake.
    • Phenylalanine stimulates the release of insulin and growth hormone.
    • The ambiguous signals to the satiety center following aspartame intake may result either in increased food consumption or severe anorexia.
    • Brain tumors, including brain cancer: Aspartame can disturb the metabolism of amino acids, protein structure and metabolism, the integrity of nucleic acids, neuronal function and depolarization, and endocrine balance, ultimately leading to tumor growth and cancer. In 1981, an FDA statistician stated the brain tumor data on aspartame was “so worrisome” that he could not recommend approval of aspartame (NutraSweet).

    Brush, Floss, & Eat your Fish? (vital Choice)

    Kentucky lab study finds anti-bacterial potential in omega-3s
    New test tube findings suggest that omega-3 fats from fish and plant foods may exert strong anti-bacterial effects against major periodontal pathogens.
    The research was conducted by Drs. Brad Huang and Jeff Ebersole of the University of Kentucky College of Dentistry and was sponsored by the U.S. National Institutes of Health.
    The researchers say that theirs is the first study to demonstrate that omega-3 fatty acids exert antibacterial activity against oral pathogens (disease bacteria).

    AANP’s Top 10 CAM News Stories of 2009 (AANP)

    Top Stories include: H1N1 Scare Prompts a Focus on Natural Flu Support,  Integrative Cancer Research Highlights and Inclusion with the ACA, ND prescriptive rights expanded in some states, Naturopathic Treatment found to work better than psychotherapy for anxiety, ND school shows heavy metal treatment for autism safe and effective, Qigong and Yoga for back pain and diabetes, NCCAM reports increase use of CAM, UMC honored, NMJ launched, and AANPs Physician of the year (Timothy Birdsall)

    Our Electrosmog Environment (Dr. Mercola)

    Two of the more well-known biologicals impacts from electrosmog are the interruption of the brain wave patternleading to behavior issues and the interference to your body’s entire communication system (cytoskeleton)leading to abnormal neurological function, such as dementia, chronic fatigue syndrome, and fibromyalgia.

    At a cellular level, your cell membrane receptors (the brain of the cell) recognize electromagnetic fields at very low levels of exposure producing a stress response similar to that produced by exposure to heavy metals or toxic chemicals.

    This can cause the cell membrane to go from an “active” or permeable state where it allows nutrients in and toxins out, to an “inactive” state where the cell membrane is impermeable. During a normal day, your cells will change states thousands of time, but when under constant environmental stress, the membranes can be locked in the inactive state. This is often referred to as “oxidative stress” as nutrients are able to enter into the cell, while toxins (free radicals) are not allowed to leave.

    There is also real evidence that this inactive state can even have geno-toxic effects, meaning electrosmog is toxic by both damaging DNA and preventing your body from repairing DNA, which can be the first step to cancer.

    We are not really sure what the “trigger” is that causes health problems, but we know that the electrosmog is definitely a contributing factor. For health, your body must be able to communicate within itself, that is, to be in harmony with the natural rhythm of the earth and all life.

    Protect yourself with stress relieving and meditative practices, intestinal and immune support, ridding your home of mold, and supporting your organ systems with proper nutrients and rest.

    Other ways:

    Electrical Pollution Solution has an extensive list of steps you can take to combat electrosmog in your home and work environments. Their suggestions include the following:

    • Remove your microwave oven. Besides dangerous EMF radiation, microwave ovens have other negatives impacts on your health.
    • Have your electrician make sure the wire between the meter and your electrical box is large enough and in good condition.
    • Have the phone company install a Radio Frequency (RF) Filter on your phone line; some people also install shielded phone wire.
    • Avoid using electric blankets and electric heating pads.
    • Use rubber gloves when washing dishes or working at the sink, and stand on a non-conductive mat. Both increase the resistance of the path through your body.
    • Put aluminum flashing on your desktop computer, and connect that to aluminum flashing under your chair with another strip of aluminum flashing.

    For additional EMF information, please see EMF.mercola.com for the latest news and updates.

    Radiation Dose Mistakes Not Reported-Potential Fatal Results (Times)

    Here’s what I consider the important excerpts from this 8 page investigative report:

    Americans today receive far more medical radiation than ever before. The average lifetime dose of diagnostic radiation has increased sevenfold since 1980, and more than half of all cancer patients receive radiation therapy. Without a doubt, radiation saves countless lives, and serious accidents are rare.

    But patients often know little about the harm that can result when safety rules are violated and ever more powerful and technologically complex machines go awry. To better understand those risks, The New York Times examined thousands of pages of public and private records and interviewed physicians, medical physicists, researchers and government regulators.

    The Times found that while this new technology allows doctors to more accurately attack tumors and reduce certain mistakes, its complexity has created new avenues for error — through software flaws, faulty programming, poor safety procedures or inadequate staffing and training. When those errors occur, they can be crippling.

    “Linear accelerators and treatment planning are enormously more complex than 20 years ago,” said Dr. Howard I. Amols, chief of clinical physics at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. But hospitals, he said, are often too trusting of the new computer systems and software, relying on them as if they had been tested over time, when in fact they have not.

    New York State is a leader in monitoring radiotherapy and collecting data about errors, The Times decided to examine patterns of accidents there and spent months obtaining and analyzing records. Even though many accident details are confidential under state law, the records described 621 mistakes from 2001 to 2008. While most were minor, causing no immediate injury, they nonetheless illuminate underlying problems.

    The most accurate X-ray beams must pass through healthy tissue to penetrate the tumor before exiting the body. Certain body parts and certain people are more sensitive to radiation. According to research by Dr. Eric J. Hall of the Center for Radiological Research at Columbia University, even accurate I.M.R.T. treatments, when compared with less technically advanced linear accelerators, may nearly double the risk of secondary cancer later in life due to radiation leakage.

    When therapeutic errors enter the picture, the risk multiplies. An underdose allows the targeted cancer to grow, while an overdose can burn and cause organ damage.

    While most radiation burns are mild, comparable to a sunburn, larger doses can damage the cells lining small blood vessels, depriving the skin and soft tissue of nourishment. The result is a wound that resists healing.

    Diseased by Beauty: Hairspray and Lipstick linked to autoimmune disease (Autoimmune Journal Abstract)

    The diseases which comprise the group, share a common genetic predisposition, the HLA-B27 gene, however this association varies markedly among the various SPAs and among different ethnic groups. Environmental factors seem to be triggering the diseases in the genetically predisposed.

    5 Exercises for Chronic Neck Pain (NRCWE)

    These 5 exercises were shown to decrease pain and hypertrophy (build strength) in a study with women with chronic neck pain. The exercises were shrugs, one are row, upright row, reverse flyes, and shoulder abduction.

    Cancer & Soda

    Recent study concludes:

    Conclusion: Regular consumption of soft drinks may play an independent role in the development of pancreatic cancer. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 19(2); 447–55

    Vitamin K and Bones (Susan Brown)

    This action is due to vitamin K’s role in GLA protein production. Since its discovery in the mid-1970s, vitamin K was identified exclusively for its role in blood coagulation. Recently, however, vitamin K-dependent GLA formation has also been identified as critical to strong bones and healthy hearts. Specifically, the vitamin K-dependent ?-carboxylation process is important for the formation and proper functioning of a bone protein known as “osteocalcin.” If osteocalcin is properly carboxylated more mineral compounds are bound into bone. So in simple terms adequate vitamin K helps calcium and phosphorus bind onto the bone protein matrix. Several epidemiological studies show the link between low vitamin K intakes and higher rates of hip fracture.

    Good food sources include leafy greens.

    Important note: High inflammation down-regulates osteocalcin formation, so healthy bones are also related to a healthy body systemically, not just mineral and vitamin intake.

    A Real Life Sea Serpent Spotted! (Vital Choice)

    I’m not sure of the omega 3 content of oarfish, but it does grow up to 32 feet!

    New Rule: Better Treatment for “USDA ORGANIC” Cattle (Agricultural Marketing Service/OCA)

    USDA NOP has finally come out with a rule that bans intensive confinement feedlots and requires that organic cows get at least 30% of their feed from grazing for at least four months out of the year.

    Overview of Pasture feed vs. Factory Feed Cows

    Is the Internet Making You Sad? (KA

    Moreover, it is linked to depression, such that those who regard themselves as dependent on the Internet report high levels of depressive symptoms. Those who show symptoms of IA are likely to engage proportionately more than the normal population in sites that serve as a replacement for real-life socialising. Further work needs to be done on validating this relationship. Future research is needed to corroborate the existing evidence and address the nature of the relationship between IA and depression: there is comorbidity between these conditions that needs greater investigation.

    Note: IA=internet addiction

    WHO to Examine Its Reaction to H1N1 (Bloomberg)

    The World Health Organization said it plans to conduct a review of its response to swine flu as policymakers in Europe prepare for an “urgent debate” on the influenza pandemic.

    The WHO moved to the top level of its six-step pandemic alert in June after the discovery of swine flu in Mexico and the U.S. in April. The virus has spread to more than 208 countries and overseas territories, the Geneva-based agency said Jan. 8.

    WHO Director-General Margaret Chan is scheduled to brief the agency’s executive board on actions taken in the response to the pandemic at a meeting in Geneva starting Jan. 18.

    Can Foods Contribute to Infertility? (NY Times)

    Yes, infertility, or the inability get pregnant, seems to be more common in women with untreated celiac disease, based on a variety of studies in different countries. Other gynecological and obstetrical problems may also be more common, including miscarriages and preterm births. Men with untreated disease may also face fertility issues. Although these problems were not always recognized as being related to celiac disease by doctors and other health professionals, this situation is starting to change.

    Women with celiac disease are reported to start having periods later and stop menstruating earlier than average. They also suffer more often from secondary amenorrhea, a condition in which menses start but then stop. Together, these menstrual disorders lead to fewer ovulations, which results in less of a chance to get pregnant. Hormonal factors and poor nutrition are thought to play a role in causing these problems.

    Anti-aging, Telomeres, & Whey (Dr. Mercola)

    Now, glutathione (GHS) is not a compound you can ingest directly. It is manufactured inside your cells from its precursor amino acids, glycine, glutamate and cystine. But this is the exciting part – you don’t have to take expensive glutathione supplements. I confirmed with some of the leading scientists at the 2009 Longevity Summit that you can actually increase your glutathione levels through dietary manipulation alone.

    Interestingly, one of the most potent dietary strategies to increase your glutathione levels is whey protein. Whey also has so many other health benefits, it’s one of my favorite “superfoods.”

    The best way to increase and maintain your GSH levels is to make sure your diet includes foods rich in the sulfur amino acids your cells need to synthesize glutathione. Whey protein is the easiest and most convenient way to do this. Other food sources include animal foods and eggs.

    Fructose in Food (Dr. Mercola)

    Chart on fructose and how it relates to obesity

    Fish Oil Boosts Brain Power in Healthy Boys (vital choice)

    DHA composes 60% of the brain and is a large contributor of eye and nerve health. VN reported the findings of a recent study in Cinicinnati which used functional MRIs to assess how omega 3 intake affected brain function.

    The main finding was that boys in the DHA groups showed significant activity increases in the part of the brain associated with working memory (dorsolateral prefrontal cortex).
    Working memory is required for the integration, processing, disposal, and retrieval of information.
    The fMRI scans also revealed increased activity in the brain’s vision processing and motor control centers (occipital and cerebellar cortex)
    As expected, the boys who got DHA showed increased levels in the membranes of red blood cells (erythrocytes).

    Bayer Pesticide Banned Over Threat to Honeybees (OCA)

    A U.S. District Judge from Manhattan has banned the sale of spirotetramat, a pesticide produced by Bayer CropScience. Citing allegations by environmental groups and commercial beekeepers that the pesticide is toxic and is killing off the nation’s honeybee population, Judge Denise Cote has declared that sales of spirotetramat must cease after January 15.

    Death By Rubber Duck

    Inspired by Morgan Spurlock’s fast-food gluttony in the movie Super Size Me, two environmental activists from Canada devised their own experiment. Instead of fast food, Rick Smith and Bruce Lourie absorbed themselves in everyday products like shampoos, soaps and cleaners to find out what kind of damage might be done to their health.

    Saturated Fat is NOT a Villian-according to new meta-analysis (pubmed)

    CONCLUSIONS: A meta-analysis of prospective epidemiologic studies showed that there is no significant evidence for concluding that dietary saturated fat is associated with an increased risk of CHD or CVD. More data are needed to elucidate whether CVD risks are likely to be influenced by the specific nutrients used to replace saturated fat.

    Confusing the Facts About Saturated Fats (Dr. Mercola)

    Part of the scientific confusion about saturated fats relates to the fact that your body is capable of synthesizing the saturated fats it needs from carbohydrates, and these saturated fats are principally the same ones present in dietary fats of animal origin.

    However, and this is the key, not all saturated fatty acids are created equal.

    There are subtle differences that have profound health implications, and if you avoid eating all saturated fats you will suffer serious health consequences. There are in fact more than a dozen different types of saturated fat, but you predominantly consume only three: stearic acid, palmitic acid and lauric acid.

    It’s already been well established that stearic acid (found in cocoa and animal fat) has no effect on your cholesterol levels at all, and actually gets converted in your liver into the monounsaturated fat called oleic acid.

    The other two, palmitic and lauric acid, do raise total cholesterol. However, since they raise “good” cholesterol as much or more than “bad” cholesterol, you’re still actually lowering your risk of heart disease.

    Published Review on Reliability & Validity of Manual Muscle Testing

    “Manual muscle tests evaluate the ability of the nervous system to adapt the muscle to meet the changing pressure of the examiner’s test. This requires that the examiner be trained in the anatomy, physiology, and neurology of muscle function. The action of the muscle being tested, as well as the role of synergistic muscles, must be understood. Manual muscle testing is both a science and an art. To achieve accurate results, muscle tests must be performed according to a precise testing protocol. The following factors must be carefully considered when testing muscles in clinical and research settings:

    • Proper positioning so the test muscle is the prime mover

    • Adequate stabilization of regional anatomy

    • Observation of the manner in which the patient or subject assumes and maintains the test position

    • Observation of the manner in which the patient or subject performs the test

    • Consistent timing, pressure, and position

    • Avoidance of preconceived impressions regarding the test outcome

    • Nonpainful contacts – nonpainful execution of the test

    • Contraindications due to age, debilitative disease, acute pain, and local pathology or inflammation”

    MMT, when employed by AK chiropractors, is used to determine whether manipulable impairments to neurological function (controlling muscle function) exist. For example, chiropractic management using MMT for a patient with carpal tunnel syndrome could involve assessment of the opponens policis and flexor digiti minimi muscles (innervated by the median and radial nerves), and then adjustment as indicated to the carpal bones, the radius and ulna, attention to an inhibited (on MMT) pronator teres muscle, adjustment of the cervical or thoracic spines, and evaluation of cranial nerve XI through MMT of the sternocleidomastoid and upper trapezius muscles. Any or all of these factors may require treatment in order to strengthen the inhibited opponens policis and flexor digiti minimi muscles that are evidence of the carpal tunnel syndrome. This “continuous nervous system” thinking and testing may allow the identification of contributing sites to a pain state.

    When performed by an examiner’s hands MMT may not be just testing for actual muscle strength; rather it may also test for the nervous system’s ability to adapt the muscle to the changing pressure of the examiner’s test. A nervous system functioning optimally will immediately attempt to adapt a muscle’s activity to meet the demands of the test. There appears to be a delay in the recruitment of muscle motor units when the nervous system is functioning inadequately [66,71–73,82,90,102]. This delay varies with the severity of the nervous system’s impairment, and influences the amount of weakness shown during the MMT.

    More than 100 studies related to MMT and the applied kinesiology chiropractic technique (AK) that employs MMT in its methodology were reviewed, including studies on the clinical efficacy of MMT in the diagnosis of patients with symptomatology. With regard to analysis there is evidence for good reliability and validity in the use of MMT for patients with neuromusculoskeletal dysfunction. The observational cohort studies demonstrated good external and internal validity, and the 12 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that were reviewed show that MMT findings were not dependent upon examiner bias.

    Conclusion

    The MMT employed by chiropractors, physical therapists, and neurologists was shown to be a clinically useful tool, but its ultimate scientific validation and application requires testing that employs sophisticated research models in the areas of neurophysiology, biomechanics, RCTs, and statistical analysis.

    (Note by me: MMT=manual muscle testing, for it to be considered more valid, those who are schooled in healthy function and pathology of the nervous and muscular system consistently will be better at assessing and practicing diagnose of nervous and muscular dysfunction)

    Sci-Fi Medicine is Here Today? (Dr. Mercola)

    Developed by Washington University professor Henry Lai, the novel malaria treatment exposes the patient to a magnetic field that pulsates with a certain frequency. It has been shown to successfully eliminate malaria from the patient within a few sessions.

    It’s just one example of the pure application of physics to your body.

    Lai has patented the frequency used, and as a result of that, the pharmaceutical industry is currently busy patenting frequencies for the treatment of a number of infections, toxins, and medical conditions.

    So the pharmaceutical industry is quite aware that big changes are looming on the horizon.

    Another example of an instrument based on quantum physics that is now increasingly common in Europe, may strike most as being too good to be true…

    You simply lie on a table, covered with a white sheet, in a darkened room. Two electrodes, held in each hand, put about 70,000 volts of electrical charge through your body – no amperage, only voltage, so there’s no physical sensation of the charge. A scanner held about two feet away from your body registers any illness, physical dysfunction, infection or toxin by lighting up a bluish light in the middle of the room. The device is held there until the blue light disappears, and that’s the end of the treatment.

    This novel sci-fi treatment is already approved by the German equivalent of the US FDA. When this treatment will be available in the US is another matter… There are many special interest groups in the US that spend much of their time and effort suppressing radical new alternatives.