BPA: Why it’s a Good Thing to Avoid (Dr. Mercola)
Recently, Gaiam’s “safe” water bottle was found to leech BPA. BPA is a hormone-mimicking chemical found in plastic bottles that has been linked to a variety of health issues. Plastics with no. 1, 2, 4, & 5 are said to not contain BPA. Still, plastic bottles can contain some other nasty chemicals, so your best bet is to use glass containers when you can.
Canned Food and BPA: Read more at Consumer.org
Vaccine Safety: Dr. Mercola Interviews Dr. Palevsky
Excerpt:
Have we really looked at what happens to vaccine materials once injected into a child? Is an antibody sufficient to provide protection for a child against disease?
More and more studies are coming out to show that:
- The proper studies haven’t been done
- Antibodies are not the final way in which your body is protected
- There is a difference between how children process material through air and food versus through injection
- There are particles in vaccines that do accumulate in your body and cause impairments in your immune system
- There are particles in the vaccines that get into your brain, and
- There are foreign DNA particles that get into your body
For many health professionals it is a shock to discover that there is such a lack of information on the safety and efficacy, and a mounting degree of information that actually raises suspicions about the safety and effectiveness of vaccines, and whether or not they have been properly studied.”
What we currently have is a one-sided policy; a one way of thinking that is impossible to really allow for the appropriate debate. Science is truly a field where you ask a question, you find an answer, and you don’t have the biases or the influences that change the way an answer or a conclusion is made. We are not seeing that with vaccines.
Olive Oil Helps Protect from Alzheimer’s (Science Direct)
Excerpt: These results indicate oleocanthal is capable of altering the oligomerization state of ADDLs while protecting neurons from the synaptopathological effects of ADDLs and suggest OC as a lead compound for development in AD therapeutics.
In layman’s terms: oleocanthal is a phenolic compound in olive oil that decreases the olgimer formation found in the brain’s of AD patients.
The Link Between Depression, Inflammation, & Heart Disease (Science Direct)
Excerpt: The present findings indicate that depressive symptoms may precede and augment some inflammatory processes relevant to coronary artery disease among healthy, older adults. Therefore, our results imply that depression may lead to inflammation and that inflammation may be one of the mechanisms through which depression contributes to cardiovascular risk.
Excerpt:Despite a threefold increase in protein and energy content, there was no further increase in protein synthesis after ingestion of 340 g lean beef in either age group. Ingestion of more than 30 g protein in a single meal does not further enhance the stimulation of muscle protein synthesis in young and elderly.
Sweden Focuses on Cutting Food Emissions (NY Times)
Sweden has implemented a new program to list CO2 emissions associated with foods on the nutrition label. The Swedish National Food Association was given the task of creating new food guidelines with equal weight on the environment as nutrition. Some experts believe that if the new guidelines were followed, Sweden could cut emissions from food production by 20-50%.
Excerpt :The Swedish effort grew out of a 2005 study by Sweden’s national environmental agency on how personal consumption generates emissions. Researchers found that 25 percent of national per capita emissions — two metric tons per year — was attributable to eating. The government realized that encouraging a diet that tilted more toward chicken or vegetables and educating farmers on lowering emissions generally could have an enormous impact. Sweden has been a world leader in finding new ways to reduce emissions. It has vowed to eliminate the use of fossil fuel for electricity by 2020 and cars that run on gasoline by 2030.
Video link: Everything You Need to Know About GMO Foods (OCA)
Excerpt: Jeffrey M. Smith, author of the Seeds of Deception and Genetic Roulette, lays out the shocking facts about genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Smith links GMO to food toxicity, allergies, infertility, infant mortality, immune dysfunction, stunted growth, and death
Dr. Weil Not Allowed to Advertise Immune Support Formula According to FDA
Summary from OCA: Days after President Obama declared the swine flu a national emergency, his Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a joint consumer warning on products claiming swine flu prevention or cures. A joint warning letter was also sent to websites and companies demanding they stop selling or stop making false claims about their products or they will face criminal and civil charges.
Historical Perspectives on the Swine Flu (NEJM)
This article documents the history of the current H1N1 strain starting from the first emergence in 1918.
Excerpt: The emergence of influenza A (H1N1) 91 years ago led to a disastrous global pandemic. That virus is thought to have emerged almost simultaneously from birds into humans and swine. In contrast, S-OIV probably emerged from swine into humans. Although the immediate genetic event that led to the emergence of the new pandemic threat was a reassortment between two influenza A (H1N1) swine viruses, these two viruses were actually the products of at least four independent avian-to-mammalian cross-species transmissions, with at least four previous reassortments of gene segments among avian, human, and swine-adapted viruses (Figure 2). One consequence of this intertwined history is that S-OIV shares three gene segments with current seasonal human influenza A (H1N1) virus and three segments with human seasonal influenza A (H3N2) virus. It is not known whether low levels of cross-immunity against historically remote shared epitopes might confer some clinical protection against the newly emerging virus.
Gratitude May Improve Your Health (D’Adamo Newsletter)
Excerpt: A number of studies, including one at the University of California Davis and the University of Utah, confirm that grateful people tend to be more optimistic, a characteristic that boosts the immune system.
Radiation Overexposure & Health Risk (Dr. Mercola)
CT scans, Mammograms, and XRays are routine diagnostics, but how do they effect your health? This article estimates that widely overused CT scans may cause 3 million extra cases of cancer.
Excerpt:
In fact, according to John Gofman, MD, PhD, there is strong evidence that 50 percent of the death rate from cancer, and 60 percent of the death rate from ischemic heart disease today are induced by ionizing radiation treatments.
The concept of x-ray-induced cases means “cases that would not exist were it not for exposure to x-rays.”
Dr. Gofman is both a nuclear physicist and a medical doctor, and is one of the leading experts in the world on this issue. He presents compelling evidence backing up these assertions in his book Radiation from Medical Procedures in the Pathogenesis of Cancer and Ischemic Heart Disease.
Another excerpt:
In addition to everything just mentioned, radiation risks are about four times greater for the 1 to 2 percent of women who are silent carriers of the A-T (ataxia-telangiectasia) gene, which by some estimates accounts for up to 20 percent of all breast cancers diagnosed annually. (You knew I had to throw a genetic connection in this!)
Dr. Northrup Explains the Biochemistry of Health and Gratitude
Excerpt:
Stress hormone levels of cortisol and norepinephrine decrease, creating a cascade of beneficial metabolic changes such as an enhanced immune system.
- Coronary arteries relax, thus increasing the blood supply to your heart
- Heart rhythm becomes more harmonious, which positively affects your mood and all other bodily organs.
- Breathing becomes deeper, thus increasing the oxygen level of your tissues.
Excerpt:
Just prior to the recent Senate hearings on cell phone safety, Chaired by Senator Tom Harkin, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) released a new database for consumers ranking over 1,000 cell phones by the Specific Absorption Rate, known as the SAR value
What You Need to Know about Your Phone’s SAR Value
1. The SAR value is only comparing the heating effect of different phones and does not give an indication that a cell phone is ‘safe,’
2. The power, or heating effect, of the phone is only one of many possible factors impacting cell phone ‘safety.’
3. SAR values are reported to the FCC by the manufacturer and have been known to vary from the reported number..
4. The SAR value varies with the source of exposure and the person using the phone.
5. Holding the phone in a slightly different way can actually render the worst SAR value phone better than the best SAR value phone.
6. SAR values have been created based on simulations of exposure in a plexiglass head filled with fluid, not a human head…
Excerpt:
The Cancer Prevention Coalition is criticizing a widely publicized recent report, “Recombinant Bovine Somatotropin” (rBST) which claims that milk from cows injected with this genetically engineered hormone is safe.
Dr. Sam Epstein, Chairman of the Cancer Prevention Coalition, warns:
- rBGH makes cows sick.
- rBGH-derived milk is contaminated by pus.
- rBGH-derived milk is chemically and nutritionally different than natural milk.
- Milk from cows injected with rBGH is contaminated with Bovine Growth Hormone, traces of which are absorbed through the gut into the blood of people who consume this milk or products made from it.
- rBGH milk is supercharged with high levels of a potent cancer tumor promoter called insulin-like growth factor number one (IGF-1), which is readily absorbed through the gut.
- Excess levels of IGF-1 in the human body have been linked in numerous scientific studies as a cause of breast, colon, and prostate cancer.
- Louis Pasteur, father of pasteurization, was researching ways to kill pathogens in wine, not milk, when he developed his heat treatment process. Pasteur did not experiment with the heat treatment of milk!
- While you have been led to believe pasteurization significantly reduced childhood illnesses like tuberculosis and typhoid, the process came into prominence in the late 1800’s-early 1900’s, simultaneous with the building of sewage systems and improvements in the cleanliness of our water supply. Given this timing, it’s quite likely the benefits of pasteurization alone have been greatly exaggerated.
Pasteurization Kills All the Benefits of Milk
The FDA would have you believe pasteurization of milk protects you from deadly pathogens contained in raw milk. The fact is, however, that if cows are raised as nature intended (free-range and grass fed), there is no need to process the milk these healthy animals produce.
Pasteurized milk contains antibiotics from unhealthy cows, destroys proteins, amino acids, & vitamin C in milk, destroys friendly bacteria, changes the form of lactose, and makes calcium insoluble. Furthermore, homogenization forms xanthine oxidase.
The human adenovirus-36 (Ad-36) — a cause of respiratory infections and pinkeye — may be a contributing factor to obesity, as it’s been found to transform adult stem cells into fat cells that are capable of storing additional fat.
Infectobesity is actually a plausible theory, and it is certainly possible that there could be viral causes underlying many cases of obesity. However, only three out of 10 obese people were found to have the virus, so we’re not talking about it being the cause for a majority of people.
Colony Collapse Disorder of Bees Affects Food Supply (Dr. Mercola)
Excerpt: A full one-third of the U.S. food supply depends on pollination from bees. Apple orchards, for instance, require one colony of bees per acre to be adequately pollinated. The California almond crop alone requires 1.3 million colonies of bees, and bees actually add an estimated $15 billion in value to crops like these.
Other possible causes of colony collapse disorder have also been pinpointed: Pesticides, Genetically modified crops, Micro-organisms that compromise the immune system, High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), frequently used for feeding by certain bee farmers
Explanation of Ingredients in Canadian Vaccine for H1N1 (Preventdisease.com)
Excerpt: n the body, formaldehyde can cause proteins to irreversibly bind to DNA. Laboratory animals exposed to doses of inhaled formaldehyde over their lifetimes have developed more cancers of the nose and throat than are usual, as have workers in particle-board sawmills… Formaldehyde is classifed as a probable human carcinogen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and as a known human carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer.
The Dangers of Cookware (Dr. Mercola)
| Cookware Material | Potential Hazards |
| Teflon | PFOA induced potential health hazards — from your immune system to birthing activities |
| Aluminum | Is a reactive metal and suspected casual factor in Alzheimer’s disease |
| Stainless steel | Potential likelihood of metal leaching into your food and allergen issues |
| Copper | Due to the possibility of copper caused discomfort, recommended to never have direct contact with your food |
Currently, as the recommendation describes, “at a given retailer, one may find personal care products such as shampoos and lotions labeled as ‘organic’ with no clear standards or regulatory underpinning for the organic claim – and unless the product is specifically labeled as ‘USDA Organic,’ the word ‘organic’ may be used with impunity. Manufacturers of personal care products that contain organic ingredients are hindered by a thicket of competing private standards and confusion regarding the applicability of the NOP to their products. Transactions lack the regulatory clarity that applies under the NOP to food products that contain organic ingredients.”
BOYCOTT THESE FAKE “ORGANIC” BRANDS:
Amazon Organics, Avalon Organics, Desert Essence Organics, Earth’s Best Organic,Giovanni Organic Cosmetics, Head Organics, JASON Pure Natural and Organic, Nature’s Gate Organics, Organics by Noah’s Naturals
BUY (“BUY-COTT”) THESE CERTIFIED USDA ORGANIC BRANDS:
Alteya Organics, Baby Bear Shop, Badger, Bubble and Bee Organic, Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps, Indian Meadow Herbals, Intelligent Nutrients, Kimberly Parry Organics, Little Angel,Mercola, Miessence Certified Organics, Nature’s Paradise, OGmama and OGbaby, Organicare, Organic Essence, Origins Organics, Purely Shea, Rainwater Organic Lotion,Rose Tattoo Aftercare, SoCal Cleanse, Sensibility Soaps/Nourish, Terressentials, Trillium Organics, Vermont Soap
Genetically Modified Vaccines for Animals? (OCA)
How to Avoid Vitamin D Toxicity (Pubmed)
The use of vitamin K and vitamin A might be the answer.
Excerpt: Since vitamin K is essential to the nervous system and plays important roles in protecting against bone loss and calcification of the peripheral soft tissues, its deficiency results in the symptoms associated with hypervitaminosis D. This hypothesis is circumstantially supported by the observation that animals deficient in vitamin K or vitamin K-dependent proteins exhibit remarkable similarities to animals fed toxic doses of vitamin D, and the observation that vitamin D and the vitamin K-inhibitor Warfarin have similar toxicity profiles and exert toxicity synergistically when combined. The hypothesis further proposes that vitamin A protects against the toxicity of vitamin D by decreasing the expression of vitamin K-dependent proteins and thereby exerting a vitamin K-sparing effect.
Quercetin is Good for the Heart (pubmed)
Excerpt:
Quercetin (Q), a flavonoid found in berries and onions, can reduce blood pressure in hypertensive animals and inhibit signal transduction pathways in vitro that regulate cardiac hypertrophy. We hypothesized that quercetin could prevent cardiovascular complications in rats with abdominal aortic constriction (AAC).
Soy isoflavones have negative effects on growth (pubmed)
Excerpt:
Genistein (GNT), a natural isoflavone compound found in soy products, affects diverse cell functions, including proliferation, differentiation and cell death. An earlier study by our group showed that GNT has cytotoxic effects on mouse blastocysts and is associated with defects in their subsequent development in vitro. Here, we further investigate the effects of GNT on oocyte maturation, and subsequent pre- and postimplantation development, both in vitro and in vivo. GNT induced a significant reduction in the rate of oocyte maturation, fertilization, and in vitro embryo development.
The Use of Betaine & Choline in Breast Cancer (FASBE journal)
Excerpt:
Higher intakes of betaine, phosphocholine, and free choline were associated with reduced all-cause as well as breast cancer-specific mortality in a dose-dependent fashion. . . Our study supports the important roles of choline and betaine in breast carcinogenesis. It suggests that high intake of these nutrients may be a promising strategy to prevent the development of breast cancer and to reduce its mortality.
What’s in That Cup of Joe? (Dr. Mercola)
Why has a substance which places an enormous metabolic burden on your body and offers no nutritional value at all — no vitamins, no minerals, no enzymes — become so widely used throughout the world?
What’s so Great About Coffee, Anyway?
Excerpt:
The other major reason people drink coffee is for a caffeine boost. Many people swear they can’t get going in the morning without a cup of coffee — or several. They feel physically tired and mentally foggy without their morning brew.
- Interfere with your body’s ability to use water, and promote fluid loss
- Raise your cholesterol
- Send your insulin levels out of control
- Contribute to rheumatoid arthritis and stroke
- Damage your blood vessels
- Increase your risk of heart disease
Coffee interferes with your body’s ability to use folate, and vitamins B12 and B6. Your body needs these nutrients in order to keep your homocysteine level in the healthy range. Elevated homocysteine levels are associated with a wide range of serious, even life-threatening conditions.
Kids Cereals Loaded with Sugar (USA Today)
Excerpt:
Cereals marketed to kids have 85% more sugar, 65% less fiber and 60% more sodium than those aimed at adults, according to the report from Yale University‘s Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity. Researchers there analyzed the content of popular cereals using a nutrient-profiling system and reviewed marketing data. Findings released over the weekend:
•The least nutritious cereals are often the most heavily marketed to children. Among them: Reese’s Puffs, Corn Pops, Lucky Charms, Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Cap’n Crunch.
New Advice on Mammograms (Washington Post)
Excerpt: WOMEN AGES 40 to 49 who do not have family histories of breast cancer should no longer be routinely given mammograms. Nor should all women be taught how to do breast self-exams. Those were two of the recommendations from an independent federal task force that were bound to be controversial. With breast cancer being the second-leading cause of death among women in the United States, the uproar over the change in guidelines is understandable.
Based on scientific evidence derived from an analysis of existing studies and computer modeling, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force found that the net benefit of routine screening for women in their 40s did not outweigh the harm.
Polish Parliament Leader Speaks Out Against Swine Flu Vaccine (Mercola)
Excerpt:
European scientists and health authorities are facing angry questions about why H1N1 flu has not caused death and destruction on the scale first feared, and they need to respond deftly to ensure public support.
Accusations are flying in British and French media that the pandemic has been “hyped” by medical researchers to further their own cause, boost research grants and line the pockets of drug companies.
Britain’s Independent newspaper this week asked “Pandemic? What Pandemic?”
France’s Le Parisien newspaper ran the headline: “Swine flu: why the French distrust the vaccine” and noted a gap between the predicted impact of H1N1 and the less dramatic reality.
“Although some 30-odd people have died….the disease is not really frightening,” it said. “Dangerous liaisons between certain experts, the labs and the government, the obscurity of the contracts between the state and the pharma firms have added to the doubt.”
In response, scientists are walking a fine line. They say that although the virus is mild, it can still kill, and that the relatively low fatalities in Europe are in part, the result of official response to their advice.
However, in Britain, health authorities’ original worst-case scenario — which said as many as 65,000 could die from H1N1 — has twice been revised down and the prediction is now for around 1,000 deaths, way below the average annual toll of 4,000 to 8,000 deaths from seasonal winter flu.
Video quote:
I know that there are three vaccines available on the market today, from three different producers. Each has a different amount of active substance, and yet strangely they are all treated the same. Therefore, isn’t it fair enough for the Health Minister and the experts to have the slightest doubts about it?
… And if [the vaccine] is so miraculous, then why don’t the manufacturers want to introduce their medicine to the free market and take responsibility for it?
UPDATE: Polish Health Minister Speaks Out (The Flu Case)
Excerpt: The Polish Health Minister Eva Kopacz today told Parliament during a heated debate on the swine flu vaccination that she, as a qualified family doctor with more than 20 year of experience, will not authorise the use of untested vaccines on millions of people in Poland when there is inadequate information about the safety of the jabs.
She said the secret contract that the Polish government was supposed to sign with pharmaceutical companies had more than 20 clauses which are against the law.
Kopacz noted that governments in Western Europe had signed secret agreements with pharmaceutical companies, but suggested that the prosperity of the people of Poland was more important to her than the profits of Big Pharma.
How Cell Phones Effect Sperm Cells (PLos)
Excerpt: RF-EMR in both the power density and frequency range of mobile phones enhances mitochondrial reactive oxygen species generation by human spermatozoa, decreasing the motility and vitality of these cells while stimulating DNA base adduct formation and, ultimately DNA fragmentation. These findings have clear implications for the safety of extensive mobile phone use by males of reproductive age, potentially affecting both their fertility and the health and wellbeing of their offspring.
Children and Cell Phones (Mercola)
Excerpt:
- Children Should Never Use Cell Phones: Barring a life-threatening emergency, children should not use a cell phone, or a wireless device of any type. Children are far more vulnerable to cell phone radiation than adults for a number of reasons.First, their thinner skull bones allow for greater penetration of radiation. The radiation can enter all the way into the midbrain, where tumors are more deadly. In addition, children’s cells reproduce more quickly, so they’re more susceptible to aggressive cell growth. Their immune systems are also not as well developed as adults. Lastly, children face a far greater lifetime exposure.The following image, used with permission from the book Public Health SOS: The Shadow Side of the Wireless Revolution, clearly shows the differences in depth of penetration between adults and young children.
In a world where consumption and market value over quality and sustenance drives our choices, this 3 Minute video takes a look at what the opposite of greed is (not thrift) but compassion.
The Whole Picture on Hormones (Dr. Mercola)
Excerpt: However, it’s relatively easy to push your hormones off kilter, leading to an array of varied symptoms and hormone disorders including:
- Adrenal fatigue
- Hypothyroidism and Hyperthyroidism
- Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS)
You can also experience symptoms of imbalanced hormones without having a specific “disorder.” It’s important to understand, however, that hormone problems typically do not pop up overnight.
In a small number of cases, women’s hormone problems may be the result of a direct malfunction with your ovaries or other aspect of your endocrine system. But most commonly the problems are the result of a combination of lifestyle factors.
France Sues Monsanto for Safety Claims (Dr. Mercola)
Excerpt:
Glyphosate, the active ingredient in RoundUp, is the most commonly reported cause of pesticide illness among landscape maintenance workers in California. Additionally:
- The surfactant ingredient in Roundup is more acutely toxic than glyphosate itself, and the combination of the two is even more toxic.
- Glyphosate is suspected of causing genetic damage.
- Glyphosate is acutely toxic to fish and birds and can kill beneficial insects and soil organisms that maintain ecological balance.
- Laboratory studies have identified adverse effects of glyphosate-containing products in all standard categories of toxicological testing.
In one animal study, rats given 1,000 mg/kg of glyphosate resulted in a 50 percent mortality rate, and skeletal alterations were observed in over 57 percent of fetuses!
The 5 Leading Cause of Lung Cancer (Dr. Mercola)
However, even if you don’t smoke, you can be at significant risk for developing lung cancer if one or more of the following risk factors are present:
- Exposure to radon
- Exposure to asbestos
- Air pollution
- Exposure to other chemicals
- Increasing age
It’s all in the spin. The spin of the statistics and numbers. And it’s easy to get confused. Let me try to clear things up.
When you look under the hood of the research data you find that the touted “36% reduction” means a reduction of the number of people getting heart attacks or death from 3% to 2% (or about 30-40%).
And that data also shows that treatment only really works if you have heart disease already. In those who DON’T have documented heart disease, there is no benefit.
In those at high risk for heart disease about 50 people would need to be treated for 5 years to reduce one cardiovascular event. Just to put that in perspective: If a drug works, it has a very low NTT (number needed to treat). For example, if you have a urine infection and take an antibiotic, you will get near a 100% benefit. The number needed to treat is “1”. So if you have an NTT of 50 like statins do for preventing heart disease in 75% of the people who take them, it is basically a crap shoot.
Yet at a cost of over $28 billion a year, 75% of all statin prescriptions are for exactly this type of unproven primary prevention. Simply applying the science over 10 years would save over $200 billion. This is just one example of reimbursed but unproven care. We need not only prevent disease but also prevent the wrong type of care….
So the real concern isn’t the amount of cholesterol you have, but the type of fats and sugar and refined carbohydrates in your diet that lead to abnormal cholesterol production.
Antioxidants Protect Lungs from damage due to Influenza (FASEB and Dr. Mercola)
Excerpt:In this study, the researchers found that the flu virus damages your lungs through a protein called M2, which attacks the cells that line the inner surface of your lungs (epithelial cells). They discovered that the M2 protein disrupts your epithelial cells’ ability to remove liquid from inside of your lungs, which can lead to pneumonia and other lung problems. However, antioxidants were able to prevent the M2 protein from damaging the epithelial cells.
New Guidelines for Aspirin
(AHRQ-US Preventative Task Force)
Excerpt:
Summary of Recommendations
- The USPSTF recommends the use of aspirin for men age 45 to 79 years when the potential benefit due to a reduction in myocardial infarctions outweighs the potential harm due to an increase in gastrointestinal hemorrhage.
Grade: A recommendation. - The USPSTF recommends the use of aspirin for women age 55 to 79 years when the potential benefit of a reduction in ischemic strokes outweighs the potential harm of an increase in gastrointestinal hemorrhage.
Grade: A recommendation. - The USPSTF concludes that the current evidence is insufficient to assess the balance of benefits and harms of aspirin for cardiovascular disease prevention in men and women 80 years or older.
Grade: I statement. - The USPSTF recommends against the use of aspirin for stroke prevention in women younger than 55 years and for myocardial infarction prevention in men younger than 45 years.
Grade: D recommendation.
