Link to Saratoga.com latest blog–FTO gene and weight loss, Vitamin C and skin, and more!
Follow Up on Vitamin C From Mercola: In this study, ascorbic acid 2-phosphate (AA2P), a vitamin C derivative, was found to promote wound healing and helped protect cellular DNA against damage caused by oxidation.
Oxidation, caused by free radicals, is associated with premature aging of your skin. Antioxidants like vitamin C may offer protection against this kind of damage, which bodes well for natural cosmetics.
10 Tips to Reduce Your Exposure to BPA (Dr. Mercola Excerpt)
1, 2, 4 & 5 Ok.
Homocysteine & Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) Mortality Risk (Science Direct)
Lowering homocysteine levels with folate therapy was an indepedent risk factor for CAD mortality in patients with high homocysteine levels.
DIM in Broccoli Reduces Risk for Prostrate and Breast Cancer
Prostate Cancer (Pubmed) Excerpt: Our data suggests that chemo-preventive and/or therapeutic activity of B-DIM is in part due to down-regulation of uPA-uPAR leading to reduced production of VEGF/MMP-9 which ultimately leads to the inhibition of cell growth and migration of aggressive prostate cancer cells.
Breast Cancer (Research Gate) excerpt: Our results, therefore, suggest that B-DIM down-regulates uPA-uPAR in aggressive breast cancers but in the absence of uPA-uPAR, B-DIM can directly inhibit VEGF and MMP-9 leading to the inhibition of cell growth and migration of breast cancer cells. J. Cell. Biochem. (c) 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Cell Phone Use and Brain Tumors (Dr. Merocola)
Excerpt:The first major indication that cell phones might be a health hazard came out of a massive, $28 million research project funded by the Cellular Telephone Industry Association (CTIA). To the industry’s surprise and dismay, the results of the study came to the opposite conclusion from the one they were hoping for.
The study’s results included findings of:
- A nearly 300 percent increase in the incidence of genetic damage when human blood cells were exposed to radiation in the cellular frequency band
- A significant increase in cell phone users’ risk of brain tumors at the brain’s outer edge, on whichever side the cell phone was held most often
- A 60 percent greater chance of acoustic neuromas, a tumor affecting the nerve that controls hearing, among people who had used cell phones for six years or more
- A higher rate of brain cancer deaths among handheld mobile phone users than among car phone users (car phones are mounted on the dashboard rather than held next to your head)
Protect yourself by: using speakerphone whenever possible, only using your cell phone under good reception, limiting the use of cell phones in your children to ensure appropriate neural connection formation, considering a blue tube, turning the phone off when not in use, & keeping the phone at least 6 inches away from your body.
“Another noted brain cancer authority who voiced his concerns last year was Australian Dr Vini Gautam Khurana. His paper titled: Mobile Phones and Brain Tumors was the result of reviewing more than 100 sources of recent medical and scientific literature on this topic.” (This is a great scientific article)
Excerpt:
It’s because of this bioaccumulation that about 40 percent of all U.S. exposure to mercury comes from eating contaminated tuna. And roughly 75 percent of all human exposure to mercury in general comes from eating fish.
If you would still like to indulge in the occasional fish dinner, you should know that some fish are more problematic than others. These are some of the varieties you should definitely avoid — especially if you are pregnant, expecting to become pregnant or nursing:
- Tuna steaks
- Canned tuna
- Sea bass
- Oysters (Gulf of Mexico)
- Marlin
- Halibut
- Pike
- Walleye
- White croaker
- Largemouth bass
- Shark
- Swordfish
Organic Valley’s Calculator of the toxic burden of Conventional Food on the Environment (OCA)
Not just better for you, organic foods are better for the environment!
Excerpt:
…”Organic Counts!” which shows how Organic Valley farmers and consumers collectively kept 89.5 million pounds of synthetic fertilizer and 1.25 million pounds of synthetic pesticides from America’s soil and water from 1988 to 2008. Exposure to pesticides and synthetic fertilizers have been linked to infertility, Parkinson’s, cancer, birth defects, obesity, and learning and behavioral disabilities. More than one million children in America age five and under ingest at least 15 pesticides daily. Early childhood exposures to pesticides are a leading cause of autism, obesity, asthma, brain cancer and other childhood diseases.
Save the bees with a ban on Imidacloprid (OCA)
This pesticide linked to colony collapse disorder of bees.
Eat Right For Your Type Fun Facts (D’Adamo & Ann Quarsarano)
While anyone can have an ear infection, studies show that type A children, or children of blood type A mothers, are much more routinely affected.
…Urtica is also considered to be a diuretic. Urtica dioica root beneficially controls an overactive immune system and is approved for use in promoting prostate health in Germany. Urtica dioica is quite a potent Candida agglutinating lectin.
More at the link……
Dr. Northrup’s View on Thermography (Dr. Northrup)
“The reason is a thermogram often picks up anomalies better than a mammogram. For example, thermography is very good at finding problems in young dense breasts as well as women with large breasts. This makes thermography, as compared to mammography, appropriate for a woman who is high risk and wants to begin breast cancer screening early. Something particularly good to know is that thermography doesn’t pick up questionable masses in women with fibrocystic disease nearly as often as mammography does,” Dr. Northrup enthuses.8
What You Need to Know About Organic Foods (Dr. Mercola)
But some of the most compelling evidence comes from a $25-million European-Union-funded study into organic food — the largest of its kind to date.
The researchers obtained their results after growing fruit and vegetables, and raising cattle, on adjacent organic and non-organic sites.
This four-year study, called the Quality Low Input Food (QLIF) project, found that organic food is FAR more nutritious than ordinary produce, and can help improve your health and longevity. They found that:
- Organic fruit and vegetables contain up to 40 percent more antioxidants
- Organic produce had higher levels of beneficial minerals like iron and zinc
Milk from organic herds contained up to 90 percent more antioxidants
Of the 43 different fruit and vegetable categories in the Guide to Pesticides, the following 12 foods had the lowest pesticide load when conventionally grown.
Consequently, they are the safest conventionally grown crops to consume:
Broccoli Eggplant Cabbage Banana Kiwi Asparagus Sweet peas Mango Pineapple Sweet corn Avocado Onion Meanwhile, these 12 fruits and vegetables had the highest pesticide load, making them the most important to buy or grow organic:
| Peaches | Apples | Sweet bell peppers | Celery |
| Nectarines | Strawberries | Cherries | Lettuce |
| Grapes (imported) | Pears | Spinach | Potatoes |
Green Tea for Bone Health??!!
A recent study on the effects of Green tea catechins, Epigallocatechin (ECFC), Gallocatechin, and Gallocatechin Gallate showed:
“… EGC in particular, had positive effects on bone metabolism through a double process of promoting osteoblastic activity and inhibiting osteoclast differentiations.”
These catechins seemed to up-regulate ALP activity, down-regulate tatrate-resistant acid phosphatase, increase mineralization, inhibit osteoclasts, and modulate Nuclear factor kB ligand!
Eating Veggies (From Whole Foods) Makes You Smarter (Dr. Mercola)
Excerpt: During normal cell processes, compounds called free radicals are released, which can be harmful to your body tissues and lead to so-called oxidative damage or stress. Experts have linked oxidative stress to many illnesses, including cancer, heart disease and Alzheimer’s disease.
Since antioxidants can neutralize free radicals, quite a bit of research has focused on these nutrients and it’s believed they can help delay the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. However, they keep finding that this benefit only becomes apparent when the nutrients are consumed in food.
In the JAMA study, those with the highest intake of vitamin E from food appeared to be the least likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease. Even smokers who consumed the most antioxidant nutrients appeared to cut their Alzheimer’s risk.
Alzhemer’s And Insulin resistance:
In your brain, insulin binds to an insulin receptor at a synapse, which triggers a mechanism that allows nerve cells to survive, and memories to form. A recent study in the journal Neurology discovered that a toxic protein in the brain of Alzheimer’s patients — called ADDL — removes insulin receptors from nerve cells, and renders those neurons insulin resistant.
It has been suggested that ADDLs accumulate at the beginning of Alzheimer’s disease and thereby block memory function. There is even a test that measures ADDL in your spinal fluid that claims to detect Alzheimer’s disease in its early stages.
Bruce Lipton Interview (Mercola)
A Vet’s View on Antibiotics for Your Pet May Be Wise For You. (Dr. Mercola)
Excerpt: f your veterinarian determines an antibiotic is truly necessary to heal your dog or cat, I strongly recommend you review and follow these guidelines to minimize the dangers to your pet:
- Choose the correct antibiotic for the specific infection should be done to determine the specific type of bacteria causing the infection, so that the appropriate antibiotic can be prescribed.
- Administer the proper dose (amount) to effectively resolve the infection. Underdosing your pet may seem safer but can actually foster antibiotic resistance.
- Define the proper intervals for dosing (once … twice … or four times a day?) and follow your vet’s advice.
- Define the right length of time to keep your pet on the drug (long enough to be effective, but no longer) … stopping antibiotics when you think the infection is gone vs. giving the whole course is yet another way bacterial resistance is fostered! Additionally, if you stop therapy too early and your pet’s infection isn’t completely healed, you may have to start the antibiotic treatment all over again.
- If the culture shows that a bacterial infection is not present, don’t use antibiotics. Remember, antibiotics DO NOT WORK on viral or fungal infections!
Another Reason to Eat Organic (Yahoo Finance)
The Top 10 Riskiest food for bacteria contamination included leafy greens, tuna, eggs & ice cream. When one buys organic, they can be assured that the food is less likely to be contaminated, because the source of nutrients are from a healthy plant or animal versus factory made products which must spray plants with pesticides due to their lowered immunity or insert antibiotics into animals due to dirty living conditions. (Watch the FOOD MATTERS link. )
According to an article posted by Dr. Mercola, A Harvard study reported an Omega 3 deficiency linked to 96,000 premature deaths each year. Compared to 40,000 from Breast Cancer, this makes quite a significant finding.
Omega 3 Fatty acids have been found to be helpful in controlling inflammation by modulating prostaglandin 2 anti-inflammatory eicosanoids. Inflammation has been linked to may diseases including heart disease, diabetes, cancers, and autoimmune conditions.
The Link Between Autism and Vaccines (Dr. Mercola)
Excerpt: Another recent study confirming the link between low-level mercury poisoning in children and diagnoses of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) was published in the Journal of Neurological Sciences in September 2008.
It was the first prospective, blinded cohort study to examine children diagnosed with an ASD using urinary porphyrin profile analysis (UPPA) to assess the physiological effects of mercury toxicity. They also used glutathione analysis to assess the children’s susceptibility to mercury poisoning.
Children with severe ASDs were found to have significantly higher levels of mercury intoxication in comparison to participants with mild ASDs. And glutathione — a key biochemical in your body’s mercury detoxification pathway — was significantly lower in patients diagnosed with an ASD in comparison with the control group.
I’d like to point out, though, that although this study shows a relationship between lower glutathione levels and greater severity of autism, mercury is not the only toxin that can affect glutathione levels.
Swine Flu Recommendations (Dr. Mercola)
Dr. Oz recently supported the swine flu. Read the second opinion of another health authority, Dr. Mercoal.
Mercury and vaccines a concern?
Excerpt:For example, in a brand new study published in the journal Neurotoxicology just last month, the researchers found that primates injected with just ONE vaccine containing thimerosal suffered significant neurological impairment when compared with those who received a saline solution injection, or no injection at all.
The monkeys received a weight-adjusted amount of the vaccine preservative thimerosal, so each dose included 2 mcg’s of ethyl mercury. A human infant dose of thimerosal-containing vaccine typically contains 12.5 mcg, and most seasonal flu vaccines as well as the swine flu vaccine will contain 25 mcg of mercury per adult dose.
As a result, the macaques vaccinated at birth took more than twice as long as unexposed macaques to acquire three standardized skills typically used to measure infant brain development.
Despite the overwhelming evidence that has built up over the years, US health officials are still promulgating vaccines as the best solution to the flu.
Worse yet, in a nauseating twist, the state of Washington’s Health Department has now temporarily suspended a rule that limits the amount of a mercury preservative in vaccines given to pregnant women and children under the age of 3, just so that they can start administering the swine flu vaccine to toddlers and pregnant women as quickly as possible…
A new Senate Bill to Hurt Small Farmers? (Dr. Mercola)
Follow the link in the article to your state senators if you agree with the following. You can cut and paste from Mercola’s article, giving him credit, as I did:
The Problems with Senate Bill S.510
Here’s a brief explanation of the various problems inherent in S.510 (the same problems which were also found in HR 2749), as written by Pete Kennedy, Esq., President of the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund :
Food safety problems lie with the industrial food processors and food imports, not with local producers. FDA should not be given any additional regulatory power over the local food system than what the agency has at present.
S.510 calls for federal regulation of how farmers grow and harvest product. Farmers selling food directly to local markets are inherently transparent and accountable to their customers, and there is no reason to impose these regulations on them.
Based on FDA’s track record, it is likely that such rules will also discriminate against diversified sustainable farms that produce animals and crops in complementary systems.
S.510 expands FDA’s powers over food processors, regardless of their size, scale, or distribution. FDA oversight of small, local food processors is overreaching and unnecessary.
Small processors selling into local markets do not need federal oversight, unlike the large, industrial, multi-sourced supply chains that are the cause of most foodborne illnesses and food recalls.
S.510 applies a complex Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) system to even the smallest local processors, imposing onerous paperwork and record-keeping on these small businesses.
Applying a HACCP system to local foods facilities processing for local markets, as well as farmers making value-added products, could undermine and extinguish these emerging small businesses attempting to bring healthy local foods to American consumers.
In fact, when HAACP was applied to the meat packing industry, it was instrumental in reducing the number of smaller regional and local meat packers, yet failed to increase the number of independent, objective inspectors in giant meat slaughtering and packing facilities.
Bottom line: One size does not fit all when considering food safety bills!
Local foods businesses are not the same as animal factories or mega-farms that sell products into industrial scale national and international markets, and should not be regulated the same way!
Why It’s Important to Get Quality Supplements (Omaha World Herald)
As a Naturopathic Doctor, all supplements I use are held to rigorous third party and independent testing. They are tested from raw materials to efficacy and are free of contaminants. You do not get this guarantee from a health food store. My advice: Know what you are buying!
Apples Can Help your Cholesterol? (Lipids in Health & Disease)
It seems as though the flavonoids and phytochemicals in apples can produce an anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant effect which can affect lipid markers in serum blood. This study highlights the effect of various markers in the blood (such as CRP, fibrinogen, triglycrides, factor VII, & LDL-C) were favorably effected in a study with mice.
Grandma was right! Tea does relax you!
This study showed green tea consumption was inversely related to anxiety.
Maybe I shouldn’t tell you, but carnitine may decrease the negative oxidative risk factors. increase GSH which helps with detoxification, and raise the levels of depleted vitamin E.
Why You Should Avoid Genetically Modified Foods (Dr. Mercola)
Excerpt: Studies link genetically modified organisms (GMOs) with toxins, allergies, infertility, infant mortality, immune dysfunction, stunted growth, accelerated aging, and death. Whistleblowers were fired, threatened, and gagged. Warnings by FDA scientists were ignored.
The 10 Best Plants to Help Your Home Environment (Dr. Mercola)
Excerpt: It was NASA, along with the Associated Landscape Contractors of America (ALCA), that conducted the classic study on the benefits of plants on indoor air, and they reported that houseplants were able to remove up to 87 percent of air toxins in 24 hours. They recommended using 15 to 18 “good-sized” houseplants in 6- to 8-inch diameter containers for an 1,800 square-foot house.
The top 10: Feston’s Rose, Devil’s Ivy, Phalaenopsis, English Ivy, Parlor Ivy, African Violets, Christmas Cactus, Yellow Goodess, Garlic Vine, Peace Lily
3 Minute Video on How Organic Farming Can Help Global Warming (OCA)
7 Minute Video on Information on Emissions From Conventional Farms (OCA)
If we used the 3.5 billion tillable acres available for farming for organic production, we could be putting away 40% of the country’s carbons emissions.
Estimates from government and EPA on climate change do not include emissions from methane or Nitric Oxide (release of 75 Billion kilo equivalents from 1998-2007). Suggested solution is to replace the use of Synthetic Nitrogen fertilizer.
Natural & Organic Product Label Fraud (Cornucopia Institute)
Recently, a public interest group filed a lawsuit against Target Supermarket’s Aurora Natural and Organic Brand labeling. They claim it has violated organic labeling laws.
One Man Sit-In Arrest for Health Care (Grassroots Networks Alliance)
California man jailed for protesting denial for insurance company BCBS to cover doctor recommended medical treatments.
Study Finds Omega 3s good for your heart (British Journal of Clinical Nutrition abstract)
Excerpt:I n conclusion, we found borderline significant negative associations between the intake of marine n-3 PUFA and ACS among healthy men.
What? This means that the more poly-unsaturated fatty acids from omega 3 sources digested, the less risk for acute coronary syndrome.
Preventing Muscle Atrophy with Aging (Dr. Mercola)
In this article, Dr. Mercola explains the importance of resistance training and supplying the muscles with healthy fuel (whey protein).
Rebuiliding muscle is possible through the stimulation of a receptor called NOTCH on muscle stem cells which activates an enzyme called MAPK.
Sugars Relation to Mood Imbalances (Dr. Mercola)
Sugar can have biochemical effects on the brain. Hypoglycemia increases the neurotransmitter glutamate causing aggressive, anxious, and agitated behavior.
Chemicals Effect on Children (Dr. Mercola)
Excerpt: There are 3,000 high-volume chemicals used today; for roughly half, there is no basic toxicity information publicly available. For the past six to eight years, national surveys have found these chemicals present in the blood and urine of practically everyone in the U.S.
Of the 287 chemicals EWG detected in umbilical cord blood, it’s known that:
- 180 cause cancer in humans or animals
- 217 are toxic to your brain and nervous system
- 208 cause birth defects or abnormal development in animal tests
People living in more urban environments had a higher prevalence of 15 of the 24 conditions, with the relationship strongest for anxiety disorder and depression.
Asthma increases with Rising Heat (Medline)
A current study reported that ER admissions for asthma increased with 10 percent increase in temperature.
Excerpt: “A 10 percent increase in humidity two days before the admission day was associated with one additional visit to the emergency department,” said Baptist. “For temperature, an interday change of 10 degrees one day before the admission resulted in two additional visits.”
…As many as 9 million children in the United States have asthma, according to the background information in the study. There are numerous known triggers that can exacerbate the inflammatory airway disease, including viral infections, air pollution, exposure to tobacco smoke and airborne allergens, such as pollen, the study authors noted
Mammograms Not the Best Option for Breast Cancer Detection (Dr. Husbands)
Learn about a functional medicine test for estrogen metabolism and thermography in Dr. Husbands article.
