Readers Inspire Me

2/3/10 New Report on Lupron and similar drugs for prostate cancer

Experts Issue Warning on Prostate Hormone Therapy

(Natural Health News 1/31/10)I am always curious why people end up on this blog and take interest in what is being looked up in search engines.

Today I noticed some queries on Lupron, a drug often used in the treatment of prostate cancer.  It can also be used for other health problems but for the life of me I can't accept it being used for fibroids.

Fibroids reflect an great imbalance in female hormones, especially pointing to excessive estrogen. Since Lupron is a synthetic hormone modulator and therefore a possible potentiator of estrogen, I'm scratching my head.  I worry too about it because it seems to be connected with osteoporosis. Other concerns with Lupron do include tooth erosion. 

Isn't this a very high price to pay?  It also indicates the creation of other health problems for which PhRMA has a drug waiting in the wings, and a lascivious desire for the money it will generate.

OTHER USES, off label: Leuprolide is also used to stop early puberty (precocious puberty) in children. It helps to delay sexual development (e.g., growth of the breasts/testicles) and the start of menstrual periods. It also helps slow down the rate of early bone growth so that the chances for reaching normal adult height are increased. Leuprolide works by decreasing the amount of sex hormones that a child's body makes (estrogen in girls, testosterone in boys).

Other leuprolide products may also be used to treat disorders of the uterus (e.g., endometriosis, fibroids). In females, leuprolide reduces the amount of estrogen that the body makes.

If you have more questions about this drug refer to your prescriber, your pharmacist or via our ASK plan.

...round and round we go in The Circle Game

Rx Drugs Killing more than Heroin or Cocaine

This is a very good commentary I received from my colleague, Dr. Phil Bate.  Perhaps now you'll realize that your good health is not the goal in today's maintream medicine.  Get in touch with our ASK plan for more help, naturally.

Records show clearly that prescription drugs are killing more people than Heroin or Cocaine every year.  Since oxycodone came on the scene, researchers looking over 7000 records from 1991 to 2004 found that deaths from opium derived prescription drugs had doubled in this period. 

The records also show that since the FCC allowed the TV ads for prescription drugs,drug deaths in the US have doubled.  We don't allow TV ads for whiskey, so why allow these.  They are very clever, and disguise the side effect warnings of death and destruction with pretty scenes of beautiful people having fun. Listen carefully to the next Big Pharma ad with your eyes closed, and it's a different message altogether.  Money talks.  I wonder who got it at the FCC.

Wear Red for Your Heart

Here's a compilation of articles we've posted on Heart Month and Heart Health and some good links.

It seems as if little has changed in the way mainstream medicine looks at heart health concerns, especially for women, so hopefully our infomration will be put to good use.  I've listed some of the 100+ posts on Natural Health News relating to heart health.  Just use "search" to locate more.

I'm really happy to learn that a friend with congestive heart failure has had major improvement with the use of vitamin C and Hawthorne berry.  See more about Alli-C (our choice for garlic, a natural blood pressure reducer and blood thinner - order from us in the right column ), and consider contacting us for help with your health concerns.

http://naturalhealthnews.blogspot.com/2009/01/diet-and-lifestyle-best-cures-for-worst.html
http://naturalhealthnews.blogspot.com/2009/02/heart-month.html
http://naturalhealthnews.blogspot.com/2009/02/red-dress-heart-month-and-womens-health.html
http://naturalhealthnews.blogspot.com/2005/01/heart-health-month-is-soon-to-be-here.html
http://naturalhealthnews.blogspot.com/2009/03/what-about-heart-healthy-herbs.html
http://naturalhealthnews.blogspot.com/2008/02/heart-health-heart-risk.html
http://naturalhealthnews.blogspot.com/2007/03/herbal-extract-extends-heart-patients.html


Heart at risk in mammography
http://naturalhealthnews.blogspot.com/2009/02/women-kept-in-dark-when-it-comes-to.html

Selected articles from leaflady.org
http://www.leaflady.org/blood_pressure_care_naturally.htmhttp://www.leaflady.org/heart_health.html
http://www.leaflady.org/somethoughts.htm
http://www.leaflady.org/reiki_BP.htm
http://www.leaflady.org/FEB.htm

http://www.leaflady.org/hypertension.htm

Take good care of your heart, you'll be happy you did...

how-wall-street-got-away-with-murder

If this doesn't make you steaming mad, I don't hold out a lot of hope...

http://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/2010/01/24/elizabeth-warren-how-wall-street-got-away-with-murder/

From Blackberry Thumb to Cell Phone Elbow

Order ADVENTURX for Compartment Syndrome, Cell Phone Elbow, Blackberry Thumb and more

Jan 30, 2010

A new problem with similarity: Espresso maker's wrist (West J Med, 1990).  Notice is was recognized 20 years ago.  

UPDATE 2 June

'Cell Phone Elbow' -- A New Ill for the Wired Age

By Jennifer Thomas HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, June 2 (HealthDay News) -- First came Nintendo thumb. Then, Guitar Hero wrist. Now, for the latest affliction of the wired age, it's cell phone elbow.

Medically known as cubital tunnel syndrome, cell phone elbow is numbness, tingling and pain in the forearm and hand caused by compression of the ulnar nerve, which passes along the bony bump on the inside of the elbow.

One of the causes of pressure on the ulnar nerve? Too much gabbing, often brought on by those cell phone plans with unlimited minutes, experts say.

Prolonged flexing of the elbow, such as when you hold a cell phone to your ear while closing sales, talking to your mother or keeping tabs on your teens while you're at work, puts tension on the ulnar nerve. In susceptible people, holding the bent-elbow position for extended periods can lead to decreased blood flow, inflammation and compression of the nerve.

"Repetitive, sustained stretching of the nerve is like stepping on a garden hose," said Dr. Peter J. Evans, director of the Cleveland Clinic's Hand and Upper Extremity Center. "With the hose, you're blocking the flow of water. With the elbow, you're blocking the blood flow to the nerve, which causes it to misfire and short circuit."

The first symptoms patients often notice include numbness, tingling or aching in the forearm and hand, a pain similar to hitting your "funny bone." (The unpleasant sensation of hitting your "funny bone" is actually your ulnar nerve.)

As symptoms progress, they can include a loss of muscle strength, coordination and mobility that can make writing and typing difficult. In chronic, untreated cases, the ring finger and pinky can become clawed, Evans and colleagues note in a report in the May issue of the Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine.

Though there are no solid figures on how many people have cell phone elbow, hand specialists say the incidence is increasing along with the 3.3 billion cell phone service contracts active worldwide, Evans said.

Still, the disorder is less common than carpal tunnel syndrome, a related condition that causes pain in the hand and wrist. Carpal tunnel syndrome is caused by compression of the median nerve that runs from the forearm into the hand.

"Cubital tunnel is the second most common compression syndrome we see," said Heather Turkopp, an occupational therapist and certified hand specialist at William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Mich.

Most people who get cubital tunnel syndrome are middle-aged or older. Women get cubital tunnel syndrome more often than men -- and it's probably not because they talk more.

Although the precise reasons are unknown, women may be more susceptible due to hormonal fluctuations or their anatomy, Evans said.

And too much yakking isn't the only cause of cubital tunnel syndrome. Other causes may include sleeping with the elbows bent and tucked up into the chest, sitting at a desk with the elbows flexed at an angle greater than 90 degrees and driving with your elbow propped on the window for extended periods, he said.

In most cases, minor lifestyle changes can help alleviate symptoms, including using a hands-free headset for your cell phone. If sleep position is the problem, an elbow pad to keep the arm straighter at night can help.

More serious cases are referred to an occupational therapist, who may use ultrasound to loosen scar tissue that can form around the nerve as a result of the inflammation, as well as stretching, deep massage and "nerve-gliding" exercises to reduce pressure on the nerve, Turkopp said.

Doctors may also use anti-inflammatory injections or surgery.

Seeing your doctor soon if you're experiencing any numbness or tingling in your hand or forearm can prevent the problem from progressing to that point, Evans said.

Saturday, February 07, 2009
Not Smart
I might today wish that I had a phone in my shoe. It might be that those texting gadgets are today's version. Dialing and thumb or finger actions seems to promote some problems. We do know from actual use that ADVENTURX helps, and this is based on some old and well known scientific research regarding the use of minerals and vitamins for this and similar conditions such as Carpal Tunnel.

http://naturalhealthnews.blogspot.com/2008/05/blackberry-thumb.html
Posted by herbalYODA at 08:36 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: ADVENTURX, Blackberry Thumb, natural care, texting
Thursday, December 04, 2008
Blackberry Thumb
Don't despair, help is available, surgery may be avoided.

This was originally posted back in May 2008. We overlooked what the "help" is.

It happens to be our ADVENTURX product, originally developed for xtreme sports.

All skiers and snowboarders - now that its winter in the north, don't forget your bottle, now 2-4-1 through 12/31.

BlackBerry Thumb: Real Illness or Just Dumb?
IC Pain 4U: Thumb Malady Said to Strike Frequent Text Messagers
By Daniel J. DeNoon
WebMD Health NewsJan. 26, 2005 -- Do your thumbs hurt? If you're sending lots of text messages, you may have the trendiest new malady: "BlackBerry thumb."

Yes, you can peck out text messages with any finger. But users of popular wireless devices such as the BlackBerry type much faster by pecking out messages with their thumbs. Many people soon learn to type 40 words a minute.

Whatever your thumb-typing speed, lots of messages mean lots of repetitive thumb motions. And that could mean trouble, says Alan Hedge, PhD, director of the human factors and ergonomics research group at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y.

"The thumb is not a very dexterous part of the hand," Hedge tells WebMD. "It is really designed as a stabilizer for pinch gripping with a finger. That is why you only have two of them, not eight. It is the fingers that have dexterity, not the thumb."

The full-size keyboard was designed with this in mind. One uses one's dexterous fingers for lightning strikes on the letter keys. One reserves one's relatively clumsy thumbs for the humble task of striking the spacebar.

"When you switch that around, you put a lot of strain on the thumb," Hedge says. "So if you persist in typing a lot of information with your thumbs, you risk injury."

Hand surgeon Prosper Benhaim, MD, associate professor of orthopaedic and plastic surgery at UCLA, agrees that too much thumbing could be injurious.

"Anything that causes repeat motion can predispose someone to injuries of various sorts, whether it is tendinitis or aggravating underlying arthritis," Benhaim tells WebMD. "These things can be made worse or even initiated by overuse. But thumb typing is very repetitive, and the keys are so small it makes it difficult to navigate around easily. Because it is so small, people are likely to press harder vs. a larger keyboard. So the thumb on the BlackBerry does more than you would do with your fingers on a keyboard.'

BlackBerry Thumb: Tendinitis, Aggravated Arthritis
What kinds of injuries are possible?

"BlackBerry users include a significant segment of the population old enough to be developing arthritis - and this can aggravate it," Benhaim says. "And there different types of tendinitis. One is trigger thumb. trigger thumb. The other is de Quervain's tenosynovitis, involving the tendons on the side of the wrist right where the forearm joins the wrist. These tendons participate in controlling the thumb and are very sensitive to repetitive motions."

These kinds of injuries are not new. Back in the 1980s, these injuries had a different name - and a different blame, says hand-injury specialist Gary McGillivary, MD, assistant professor of orthopaedics at Atlanta's Emory University.

"This is like what they used to write about Nintendo thumb - they called it nintendonitis," McGillivary tells WebMD.

Video game players have sometimes come down with rather serious injuries, says David A. Allan, MD, PhD, director of the repetitive strain injury center and supervisor of occupational medicine at the University of Pennsylvania's Presbyterian Medical Center in Philadelphia.

"I saw one kid who just played and played video games for seven hours at a stretch," Allan tells WebMD. "His thumb was only a small portion of his problem - his whole arm was affected." Allen says the child had nerve damage in his shoulder as well.

But it's rare for repeat motion injuries to involve long-lasting nerve damage, Allan says.

BlackBerry Thumb Rx: Rest Your Weary Digits
What's the treatment for BlackBerry thumb? Lay off thumb typing, the experts tell WebMD.

"If they have true tendinitis, I might give them a cortisone shot," Benhaim says. "Or I might use a thumb brace, maybe. I would certainly tell them to rest it. And then to minimize the stress and strain. Do more typing on your keyboard and then sync over to your BlackBerry rather than typing longer messages on BlackBerry itself."

Merchandisers have been quick to cash in on the trend. Several thumb splints and glove-type treatments are available. But Allan warns that these quick cures may actually aggravate the problem.

"With the thumb splint, it is very iffy that it will change the mechanics of the motion to make it better. And it might make it worse," he says.

BlackBerry Thumb Epidemic?
All the media fuss might lead you to think that there's an epidemic under way. Not so, Benhaim says.

"I do not think it is as big a deal as people say. I've seen video-game thumbs a lot, but no there's no epidemic," he says.

In fact, none of the hand experts who spoke with WebMD has seen a single patient with BlackBerry thumb.

"I haven't seen it," says Benhaim.

"I haven't seen any patients with this," says McGillivary.

"Nobody has yet been referred to me with BlackBerry thumb," says Allan.

Read more here.

The Rising Incidence of Cell Phone Tumours

US should study WIFI health impact

Cell Phone Towers and Your Health

GQ is just out with a lengthy article about cell phones and your health.  The good news is that the writer,  Christopher Ketcham, is really looking at the history and the science as well as anecdotal data, and he should be applauded.

This follows on the Oprah show aired in my market yesterday where she talked about her campaign to stop people from texting and talking while driving.

I'm often disappointed in Oprah because she does some things in sort of a half-assed way.  In this instance nothing in her campaign addresses the increased risk of breast cancer associated with cell phone use as well as the damage it can do to your thyroid gland, your heart, adrenal glands, kidneys, and your bones.

So Oprah, expand your horizon!

As our long time followers know, we have been writing on the risks of cell phones for about 15 years now.  The research that shows the risks does back to the 1940s.  Ketcham picks up in the 60s and to show how responsible his article is, he includes the work of Dr, Henry Lai from the University of WA.  And he asks, "So why isn't anyone in America doing anything about it?"

My 30-something niece just died of a brain tumour last October.  My daughter who has a PR firm in Seattle is working with an organization that focuses on brain tumour research.  I don't know how my niece developed this tumour but I can only raise the concern about cell phones, microwave ovens and cooking, the use of wifi, digital tv, microwave towers where the cellular antennae are perched and any other factor that I am convinced have a serious impact on health.  I believe this to such a degree that I began teaching programs on this topic for health providers about a decade ago.

Its a touchy issue, politically, as the cell phone companies have paid out a bundle to MOC's (members of Congress) to control this issue their way.  Its reported to be in excess of $8 billion.

"That the cell-phone industry, which last year posted revenues in the hundreds of billions of dollars, has an incentive to shut down research showing the dangers of cell-phone use is not a radical notion."

I have over 100 posts involving EMF here at Natural Health News,  and much more on my web site.  All I ask is that you start waking up to the risk you do to your self - and your health - daily with your cell phone and other EMF generating devices.

In this quote from Ketcham's article, and EPA physicist said, "The Department of Defense didn't like our research because the exposure limits that we might recommend would curtail their activities.", I can't help think of the role HAARP is playing in today's world, and how its very high powered EMF is making havoc.

Washington state had rules affecting employees and EMF exposure in 1978.  The history of suppression of information you had the right to know has systematically been suppressed.  It is past time to get the truth.  Ignore the half truth and faulty studies from the cellular industry, ignore convenience and move in favor of fact.

More Evidence of The Circle Game: Restricting Access

Nutritional Medicine is Orthomolecular Medicine

Want to be a MEDLINE Information Censor?  The National Library of Medicine Needs You!

(OMNS, Jan 28, 2010) Would you like to dictate what nutritional research people may or may not access? Why not join the NLM's Literature Selection Technical Review Committee?

We think a good preparatory step is to take the Medline Censorship Aptitude Test (MED-CENT).

Not to worry; it's multiple choice.

First question: Which of the following research papers is NOT indexed by the National Library of Medicine's Medline?

A) Olfactory responses and field attraction of mosquitoes to volatiles from Limburger cheese and human foot odor. (J Vector Ecol, 1998)
B) Heated socks maintain toe temperature but not always skin blood flow as mean skin temperature falls. (Aviat Space Environ Med, 2003)
C) Jefferson JW, Thompson TD. Rhinotillexomania (nose-picking): psychiatric disorder or habit? (J Clin Psychiatry, 1995)
D) Pauling L, Rath M. An orthomolecular theory of human health and disease. (J Orthomolecular Medicine, 1991)

Answer: Only choice "D" is not available on Medline. The others most certainly are. Search each one and see for yourself at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/ or http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez

Let's try another: Which of these studies is NOT indexed by Medline?

A) Psychophysiological responding during script-driven imagery in people reporting abduction by space aliens. (Psychol Sci, 2004)
B) The eyebrow frown: a salient social signal. (Emotion, 2002)
C) Staring at one side of the face increases blood flow on that side of the face. (Psychophysiology, 2004)
D) Rath M, Pauling L. Solution to the puzzle of human cardiovascular disease: Its primary cause is ascorbate deficiency leading to the deposition of lipoprotein(a) and fibrinogen/fibrin in the vascular wall. (J Orthomolecular Medicine, 1991)

Answer: "D" is not on Medline. All the rest are.

Ready? Select the study below that is NOT on Medline:

A) Espresso kiosks can be profitable addition to hospital foodservice. (Health Foodserv Mag, 2000)
B) Espresso maker's wrist. (West J Med, 1990)
C) Characterization of particles in cream cheese. (J Dairy Sci, 2004)
D) Rath M, Pauling L. Case Report: Lysine/ascorbate related amelioration of angina pectoris. (J Orthomolecular Medicine, 1991)

Yes, the study that Medline does not think is important enough for you to see is choice "D". The others are all indexed online by NLM at taxpayer expense.

Next:

A) The Easter bunny in October: is it disguised as a duck? (Percept Mot Skills, 1993)
B) Increasing the portion size of a packaged snack increases energy intake in men and women. (Appetite, 2004)
C) A piece of my mind. Reflections while listening to the Glazunov Saxophone Concerto. (JAMA, 2003)
D) Rath M, Pauling L. Apoprotein(a) is an adhesive protein. (J Orthomolecular Medicine, 1991)

You guessed it: "D" is not on Medline.

One last chance, now:

A) How dogs navigate to catch Frisbees. (Psychol. Sci, 2004)
B) Effect on tipping of barman drawing a sun on the bottom of customers' checks. (Psychol Rep, 2000)
C) An objective evaluation of the waterproofing qualities, ease of insertion and comfort of commonly available earplugs. (Clin Otolaryngol, 2004)
D) Hoffer A, Pauling L. Hardin Jones biostatistical analysis of mortality data for a second set of cohorts of cancer patients with a large fraction surviving at the termination of the study and a comparison of survival times of cancer patients receiving large regular oral doses of vitamin C and other nutrients with similar patients not receiving these doses. (J Orthomolecular Medicine, 1993)

Choice "D" is not indexed by Medline. The others are. Yes, they really are. Just type in the title at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/ or http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez
If you got all the above items right, you are well qualified to become a member of the NLM's Literature Selection Technical Review Committee, because you can discern what research should and should not be available to the public.

Censoring Linus Pauling

If you look carefully at the first four questions, you will see that four of Linus Pauling's papers appeared in the Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine in just one year. That year was 1991. Two years after this, JOM was reviewed by the National Library of Medicine's Literature Selection Technical Review Committee. NLM uses a point scale of zero to 5, with five being the highest recommendation for indexing, and zero being the lowest. On March 4, 1993, the Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine received a "0.0" score.

One cannot escape the significance of such judgment. After all, "0.0" is not merely a low mark. "0.0" represents an absolute dearth of merit. And "zero point zero" states it so flatly as to leave no room for alternate interpretations.
To this day, after additional reviews, Medline still does not include the Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine.
To read the Linus Pauling papers that Medline decided rate a "0.0": http://orthomolecular.org/library/jom/1991/toc3.shtml and http://orthomolecular.org/library/jom/1993/toc3.shtml

For free online access to 600 more full-text papers from the Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine: http://orthomolecular.org/library/jom/

To personally thank your National Library of Medicine for keeping all this information from the taxpayer:
Ms Betsy Humphreys, Deputy Director, NLM
email: betsy.humphreys@nih.gov or betsy_humphreys@nlm.nih.gov
phone: 301-496-6661

You can also call the NLM Customer Service desk at 1-888-FIND-NLM (1-888-346-3656). Remember to be polite, because, after all, they are the "World's Largest Medical Library." http://www.nlm.nih.gov/nlmhome.html

The Circle Game

UPDATE: 2/12/10 From Alliance for Natural Health
UPDATE:  Dr. Wakefield replies to Lancet's move to rebuke his work on vaccines
Andrew Wakefield responds to article about journal retraction of autism study report

February 3, 2010

Dr. Andrew Wakefield has responded in an e-mail message to Tuesday's article citing the medical journal Lancet's retraction of his 1998 article purporting to link autism to the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine. The article stated that Wakefield now practices in Austin, Texas. In fact, he does not practice medicine, but performs research aimed at the development of new treatments for autism. His statement:

"The allegations against me and my colleagues are both unfounded and unjust and I invite anyone to examine the contents of these proceedings and come to their own conclusion.

"In fact, the Lancet paper does not claim to confirm a link between the MMR vaccine and autism. Research into that possible connection is still ongoing."

He is correct -- sort of. The paper does not claim to confirm the link, which has subsequently been refuted by innumerable studies showing that the incidence of the autism epidemic is unrelated to vaccination. But many who read the paper drew the clear inference that the vaccine is the cause. Since the paper's publication, millions of dollars of research funds that could have been spent looking for the causes of the disorder have instead been diverted to investigating the potential link to vaccines. More important, a large number of parents, particularly in England but also in the United States, refused to have their children vaccinated with MMR, leading to outbreaks of measles with serious consequences.

But perhaps for fellow researchers the more relevant question today is whether results from Wakefield's current and ongoing studies can be trusted. Reseachers build upon each other's findings, often trusting that scientific standards have been applied and that the results are legitimate.

The General Medical Council, Britain's regulator of such affairs, concluded that in his research for the Lancet paper Wakefield acted with "callous disregard" for patients by conducting invasive tests on children that were not in their best medical interests. He also failed to obtain approval from his ethics committee for his studies and obtained blood samples for his research by offering 5 pounds to children at a birthday party, the council said. His paper said that the results were obtained with 12 consecutive patients, when that was not the case, according to the council. He also did not disclose that his studies were funded by lawyers who were attempting to sue the vaccine makers in court, nor that he was developing a vaccine that would have been very profitable if the MMR vaccine was discarded, the council said. The council also said it is considering withdrawing Wakefield's license to practice medicine.

Queried about researchers' concerns, Wakefield responded that: "I commonly conduct research in conjunction with collaborators from universities and private institutions all over the world. These teams of researchers are highly regarded in their fields."

Researchers have also wondered why it took Lancet so long to retract the paper. A letter to The Times from Dr. Gilbert Ross, medical director of the pro-industry American Council on Science and Health, summarizes many of the comments The Times has received:

"The retraction by The Lancet's editor-in-chief Richard Horton comes far too late. Even now, Horton fails to accept responsibility for the human toll he engendered by publishing the Wakefield 'study' in 1998. The study -- even without the then-unknown ethical failings -- was a terribly unscientific piece of garbage, based on 12 children and using a 'novel' theory of causation and flimsy 'evidence'.... Even when 10 of the original 13 authors withdrew their names, Horton declined to either withdraw the article or accept his own guilt for the ravages of preventable childhood diseases following the havoc he allowed to occur."

Rae Sonnenmeier, clinical associate professor of communication sciences and disorders at the University of New Hampshire, concurs, noting that Horton called the paper "fatally flawed" in 2004, while refusing to retract it. The decision has "placed children at unnecessary risk for contracting measles, rubella and mumps, which are serious diseases that can be prevented by immunization," she said.

Wakefield is executive director of Thoughtful House for Children, which submitted the e-mailed statement on his behalf.
-- Thomas H. Maugh II

 
ORIGINAL POST
There is a great saying I have always liked, directed to progress and change which says that "the turtle gets ahead by sticking out its neck". 

The Giraffe Project honors risk-takers, people who have the courage to stick their necks out for the common good, in the US and around the world.

As a risk taker and inveterate neck sticker-outer for the greater good throughout the most of my life, I came to ponder something recently.  I got to this honestly because I've been a keen observer of and participant in education.  For the most part all it boils down to is continuation of the same thinking that came before my tenure in college and grad school. 

Change isn't fostered and new ideas come as too much of a threat to the status quo. The veil that surrounds this system lets you think it just might be, but the fact is that the 'science' tells us that there really isn't anything more than a shell game on Lucy's out of control, chocolate dipping conveyor belt.

Oh, I clearly remember one of the best papers I wrote in grad school, marked by a rather closed minded instructor as "too much of your own thinking".

Not to be deterred, another rather internationally well known professor got that paper published for me.

But then the Dean at my undergrad college warned the grad school that they would have to rise to my challenge.

So now, after a Joanie Mitchell piece, "The Circle Game" you may get an insight into my intermittent cynicism.

Dr. Andrew Wakefield today is my turtle and giraffe.

more to follow on this concept, stay tuned...

Eye on ocular health in the computer era

UPDATE: 6/28/11

Computer Vision Syndrome and helpful gear

UPDATE: 2/7/10 - SEEING CLEARLY

Natural Eye Care

Health and Homeopathy - Information about dry eyes

More on eye health

UPDATE: 1/28/10

Fact is that eye diseases among the aging population are on the rise, and your chances of becoming a statistic continue to grow each year. But the news isn’t all bad—in fact, many causes of vision impairment are preventable, if you know the right steps to take.


Take cataracts, for example: While partially attributable to aging, this clouding of the eye lens is also strongly linked to diabetes—and advanced glycation end products (AGEs) play no small role in this connection. Research shows that AGEs and oxidative stress markers are elevated in both diabetic and non-diabetic elderly patients with cataracts, while remaining significantly lower in young control subjects.


Luckily, several nutrients are known to neutralize these dangerous AGEs and reduce the free radical damage that can produce cataracts over time. The naturally occurring dipeptide L-carnosine is one of these AGE-blocking substances—along with botanicals like guava and Yerba Mate.


The antioxidant vitamins C and E, the carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin, and procyanidin-rich grape seed extract (all found in Extension Vision) have been shown to inhibit the progression of cataract development in animal studies—while the flavonoid quercetin has emerged as a valuable supplement for individuals with diabetic cataracts.


Some of these same substances—namely lutein and zeaxanthin—are also critical for the prevention of another common vision-robbing condition: Age-related macular degeneration (ARMD). Clinical studies indicate that high intake of these two carotenoids can decrease your risk of ARMD by as much as 57 percent, while increasing macular pigment density (a crucial factor in visual acuity) by as much as 43 percent


Vitamins A, C, and E protect your lens and retina from oxidative damage and support proper moisture levels—and the iron-binding protein lactoferrin can help to fight bacteria in the eye, a common concern of contact lens wearers.13-14 Meanwhile, herbs like turmeric provide anti-inflammatory protection in the eye’s aqueous layer, and omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids (in the form of GLA and fish oil) offer vital lubrication.

Ginkgo biloba, another clinically proven ally in the fight against ARMD—not to mention other common causes of blindness. Controlled trials have shown that extracts of this herb can significantly improve visual acuity in ARMD patients within six months of use.10 And both animal and human studies have revealed that Ginkgo extract can help to prevent retinal detachment, while increasing antioxidant activity in patients’ blood, tears and plasma. 

Thanks to CP for this informative information.

UPDATE 12/21

Eat fruits and vegetables for better vision
ScienceDaily (2009-12-19) -- Carotenoids, found in green leafy vegetables and colored fruits, have been found to increase visual performance and may prevent age-related eye diseases, according to a new study. ... > read full article

UPDATE: 12/12

More about vision     Natural Nutrition

5/27/10 From THE EYES HAVE IT: NUTRITIONAL NEEDS, THAT IS, on AOL

No, eating carrots won't give you eagle eyes. But a sound nutritional program can help protect your eyes over time. Here's a winning list of nutrients based on our research, and where to find them:
Vitamin A: cod liver oil, liver, carrots, sweet potatoes, butternut squash
Lutein and zeaxanthin: spinach, kale, collard greens
Vitamin C: sweet peppers (red or green), kale, strawberries, broccoli, oranges, cantaloupe
Bioflavonoids: citrus fruits, cherries, grapes, plums
Vitamin E: sunflower seeds, almonds, hazelnuts
Selenium: brazil nuts, yeast, seafood
Zinc: oysters, hamburgers, wheat, nuts
Fatty acids: cold-water fish (salmon, mackerel, trout)-

UPDATE: 2 August - From the web site of one of my former students, Wasilla Chiropractor, Dr. Stacey Lowe.

Do You Suffer From Computer Vision Syndrome?
Believe it or not, there really is a condition known as Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS). Surprised? Well you shouldn’t be given the fact that it is likely to affect those who spend more than two hours a day in front of a computer screen. We all know at least a few people who fit that category!


How many hours each day do you stare at a computer screen? If you use the computer and wear glasses, invest in some glasses designed for computer use.


The symptoms of CVS include:
Blurred or double vision
Headaches
Dry eyes
Neck and/or shoulder pain
Difficulty focusing
Sharp or dull pain
Light sensitivity


Why does CVS occur? It seems that your eyes react much differently to computer-generated images than they do to images in printed materials. Computer–generated images are made up of small dots called pixels, and your eyes find it difficult to adjust to focusing on them.


Computer users who wear bifocals have a particularly difficult time. Bifocals force the wearer to tilt their head backward so they can view the computer monitor through the lower portion of the lens. Prolonged head tilt can lead to neck, shoulder pain and back pain and headaches.


Most eyeglasses and contacts are designed for print reading and not for computer work. However, many optometrists are beginning to recommend eyeglasses and contacts that are specifically designed for reading at computer monitor distance. They may very well be worth the investment, especially if they reduce the impact of CVS-related eye problems.

UPDATE: 22 JUNE - Another report on how effective supplements are for health:

Supplements slow blindness in elderly

BELFAST, Northern Ireland, June 20 (UPI) -- An eye care expert in Northern Ireland suggests vitamin supplements may slow sight loss in the elderly.


Usha Chakravarthy of Queen's University Center of Vision and Vacular Science in Belfast says an anti-oxidant supplement may help prevent early age-related macular degeneration in elderly patients from progressing to late age-related macular.


Patients with late age-related macular degeneration lose their central vision and are unable to read, watch television or recognize people's faces.


Chakravarthy headed a five-year trial involving 400 people in Ireland of the supplement CARMA -- Caroteneoids and Co-antioxidants in Age-related Maculopathy -- which contained the carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin as well as zinc and vitamins C and E.


The study found participants taking high levels of both carotenoids preserved the macular pigments, while macular pigments of those in a placebo group declined steadily.


"These findings are important because this is the first randomized controlled clinical trial to document a beneficial effect through improved function and maintained macular pigments," Chakravarthy said in a statement.

UPDATE: 10 March -

Lutein May Stop Damage Resulting From a Common Modern-Day Problem


The carotenoid lutein, long studied for its possible role in protecting against age-related macular degeneration, may have another role to play in eye health, researchers have found.


In modern society people often spend many hours in front of a computer, a practice that strains the eyes. Lutein is a nutrient known to support eye health. Therefore, scientists examined the effect of different doses of lutein supplementation on visual function in subjects with long-term computer display light exposure. Thirty-seven healthy subjects who ranged in age from 22 to 30 years and who were regular computer users were randomly assigned to one of three groups. One group received 6 mg of lutein per day, another group received 12 mg lutein per day and a third group received a placebo.


At the study’s start and on week 12, the scientists measured levels of serum lutein and visual performance indices such as visual acuity, contrast sensitivity and glare sensitivity in the subjects.


After 12 weeks of lutein supplementation, there was an increase in serum lutein concentrations in the groups given 6 mg per day and 12 mg per day. In the group taking 12 mg lutein per day there was a trend toward increase in visual acuity. Both lutein groups experienced improvements in regards to sensitivity to contrast on a computer screen, said the researchers, with the improvements reaching statistical significance in the high-dose group.


According to the researchers, "Visual function in healthy subjects who received the lutein supplement improved, especially in contrast sensitivity, suggesting that a higher intake of lutein may have beneficial effects on visual performance."


Reference:
Maa L, Lina X-M, Zoua Z-Y, Xua X-R, Lia Y, Xua R. A 12-week lutein supplementation improves visual function in Chinese people with long-term computer display light exposure. British Journal of Nutrition. 2009 February 19. Published Online Ahead of Print.

UPDATE: 17 February, 2009 - While we know cell phone use is connected to cataract and other eye health concerns, here is some additional inforamtion on this subject from the UK. And don't overlook eye exercises and using pinhole glasses.

From The Times
February 14, 2009
Doctor, Doctor: Sore eyes
With so many of us spending our working day in front of computers, there is an epidemic of dry, sore eyes, says the ophthalmic optician Charles Babumba


People come to my clinic with a range of problems, but when I examine them I find that about 80 per cent have dry-eye syndrome. Their eyes feel uncomfortable and gritty because they are not producing enough tears or their tears are drying up too rapidly. On examination you can see that their eyes are red and inflamed.


These days almost everything we do is screen-based, which has an effect on the eyes. There is no evidence that working at a screen damages your sight, but it certainly causes eye dryness. This is because when we're looking at the screen we blink less and provide less lubrication to our eyeball. The problem particularly affects people who wear contact lens,and it is especially bad at this time of year, when office heating can make us dehydrated.


If you get dry, sore or itchy eyes, do not rub them. This may provide temporary relief, but the friction and heat caused has been linked to a condition called keratoconus, when the cornea becomes misshapen. In severe cases keratoconus can cause vision loss. Much better, if you have uncomfortable eyes, is to use lubricating eye drops, such as Systane (available from opticians).


Even better, make a conscious effort to blink while you're looking at the computer screen, and try to look away from the screen for a few seconds every five minutes. Drink lots of water - not just tea or coffee - throughout the day to prevent deyhydration.


And if you get sore or dry eyes regularly, visit an optician to check that there isn't some underlying cause. Remember that if you use computers at work, you are entitled to free eye tests at regular intervals, paid for by your employer.


www.cityeyesopticians.com

Some time ago I was asked to write a brief story on health health and Edgar Cayce treatments for A.R.E.

I hit the Senior Section this year and still don't wear glasses. I do however believe that my flat panel computer monitor is the cause of my eyestrain issues.

I started up my juicer for some carrot juice a few time each week and take a daily Day and Night Eyes supplement that helps with computer eyestrain.

I am also sure that s fellow I know in his twentys, not willing to try my pin hole glasses or other natural treatment, went to spectacles because of his almost day long use of his computer. Laptops seem to be worse.

I'm for carrots, vitamin C, bilberry, eyebright, vitamin A, Day and Night Eyes, pinhole glasses and exercising eyes. Palming the eyes is a useful yoda technique that rests and strengthens the eyes.

I'm not always for sunglasses because of the health benefits of sunlight through the eyes.

In the interim I rely on the magnifying readers a friend bought for me at the Dollar Store.

Computers cause sight problems
TAKE A BREAK: An ophthalmologist said that presbyopia could be delayed by resting for three out of every 30 minutes when using computers, and by eating more carrots
By Shelley Huang
STAFF REPORTER
Saturday, Nov 08, 2008
The increased use of computers in recent years has caused presbyopia — a common vision condition that normally affects people over 40 years old — to be diagnosed at a younger age, an ophthalmologist said yesterday.


Presbyopia is a condition where the eye gradually loses its ability to focus on close objects.


“I now have patients in their 30s coming to me with symptoms of presbyopia,” said James Liau (廖士傑), chief of the Shu-Tien Ophthalmology Clinic.


Common symptoms include difficulty reading under low lighting, experiencing pain in the eyebrow area after reading for long periods of time and momentarily blurred vision when switching between looking at far and near objects, Liau said.


“[People with severe presbyopia] say their arms have become too short, because they must hold whatever they are reading at farther and farther distances,” he said.


While people with myopia, or nearsightedness, may not develop presbyopia until they are as old as 50, it will eventually develop as one gets older, similar to graying hair.


Various factors and habits could cause presbyopia to develop at a younger age than normal, such as hyperopia, or farsightedness, poor reading habits and using the computer for long periods of time without resting, Liau said.


The most common way of dealing with presbyopia is corrective lenses, available as eyeglasses or contact lenses.


As the condition becomes more advanced, the prescription needs to be changed in order to “catch up” with the worsening abilities of the eye, Liau said.


When presbyopia becomes severe, a method called monovision can be used, he said.


Monovision involves the patient using contact lenses to correct one eye for near vision and the other for far vision.


“The brain will automatically filter and choose the correct image perceived by both eyes,” Liau said.


However, some patients using the monovision method say they have difficulty adjusting because the method affects depth perception, making it harder to judge whether something is near or far, he said.


The US Food and Drug Administration is researching techniques to cure presbyopia through surgical techniques.


If surgical reversal of presbyopia were approved, patients would not need to wear corrective lenses, Liau said.


Even though presbyopia cannot be prevented, it can be delayed by habits such as improving reading conditions, letting the eyes rest for three minutes every 30 minutes when using computers, massaging the temples, consuming dark-colored vegetables — such as tomatoes and carrots — and wearing sunglasses to avoid ultraviolet exposure, Liau said.
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2008/11/08/2003428018

If you don't believe Big Insurance controls health think again

1/31/10
Typical Issues in insurance control of health care, bloated inermediaries, Assurant is linked with Blue Shield
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Insurance/InsureYourHealth/battling-the-system-a-patients-tale.aspx

Insurer Steps Up Fight to Control Health Care Cost

UnitedHealthcare says the proposed rule is meant to improve the quality of care and cut costs by allowing insurance case managers to jump in right away. The hospitals say that having their reimbursement cut in half is too much to pay for a clerical error, and that the revenue drain would ultimately hurt their patients.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/25/health/policy/25insure.html

Early Detection DOES NOT PREVENT Breast Cancer

At last, another thinking health professional with a mind set for real prevention

from Desiree Jones--

We have all heard the slogan, “Early detection is the best protection.” As a matter of fact, as a health professional, I find that I can seldom sort through my weekly medical mail without having that slogan staring at me from nearly a dozen different postcards and other mail received from a myriad of local health facilities and hospitals. Notwithstanding that, in this post, I challenge conventional wisdom vis-à-vis this slogan, and ask you to consider another crucially important perspective on this matter.
 
http://www.basilandspice.com/journal/every-13-minutes-a-woman-dies-of-breast-cancer.html

See also: The Prevention Revolution

Radiation and Your Health

For longtime readers of my work you reacll that I have had an active campaign to call your attention to the riskes and hazards of exposure to medical radiation, especially as it pertains to screening mammograms.

Mammograms greatly increase your risk of breast cancer and it is uncalled for when there are better and safer screening methods.  This is because all radiation exposure is cumulative and it is well known in the radiology community.

Radiotherapy for breast cancer also can cause congestive heart failure and thyroid dysfunction as well as other cancers.

Radiation in war zones will also cause sever problems for our military serving in the current political un-war, and those who call Iraq and other careas home.

Currently there is a medical effort to reduce radiation dosages in x-ray screening for children and hopefully others.  But remember that this effort was initiated by John Gofman, PhD, MD many decades ago.

Now mainstream media seems to be catching on too. 
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/24/health/24radiation.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Will you?

Seniors taking 20 pills a day

In the majority of situations no Rx interaction profiles are undertaken nor are reviews of the nutrient depletion caused by Rx. Also to be considered is a thorough review of side effects and risk of developing other conditions as a result of taking a drug.

Our Health Forensics (c) model covers these concerns as part of the health coaching we have done for 30+ years.

From a Medco Health Solutions survey of seniors 65 and older who take medications. [Note that 20% of insured seniors did not take any medication on a regular basis.]

http://patientadvocate.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/medco-study-on-pills-per-day-for-seniors.png 

Mixups Sidetrack Cancer Research

More than 100 studies utilizing cancer cells were completed using the wrong cells for the focus of the study. This may contribute to the real problem surrounding perpetuating research but never finding cancer cures.

The majority of people invloved in "races for the cures" rally have no idea where the money goes.  I think it is past time for people to demand results, not just sit passively by and think that fundraising and research organizations will meet this long over due goal.

It is also time for Big PhRMA stops pushing dangerous, unproven and ineffective drugs on mainstream medicine and often desperate patients, knowing full well their products have major problesm.

By John Gever, Senior Editor, MedPage Today
January 14, 2010

Explain to interested patients that medical research often begins with "test tube" studies of isolated cells and tissues. If they are mislabeled or contaminated, the results may send researchers off in the wrong direction and the error may not be detected until other studies are performed.

Review: Three cell lines thought to be esophageal cancer cells actually came from other tumor types, potentially misdirecting clinical trials and other studies, researchers said.

Genetic profiling revealed that the cell lines SEG-1, BIC-1, and SK-GT-5 -- believed to be esophageal adenocarcinoma cells -- were really derived from lung carcinoma, colorectal adenocarcinoma, and gastric fundus carcinoma, according to Winand N.M. Dinjens, PhD, of Erasmus University in Rotterdam, Netherlands, and colleagues.

"We have identified more than 100 scientific publications in which the contaminated cell lines . . . were used," they reported online in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

They pointed out that at least three ongoing research projects sponsored by the National Institutes of Health were funded on the basis of these cell lines.

Dinjens and colleagues also found two ongoing clinical trials that were based on experimental results obtained with the misidentified lines -- one testing sorafenib (Nexavar), the other evaluating an investigational telomerase inhibitor.

The authors recommended that both trials be reconsidered, as the underlying rationale is now suspect, but an editorial accompanying the report suggested that stopping the trials may not be warranted.

A total of 14 esophageal adenocarcinoma cell lines are currently in use, according to Dinjens and colleagues, and these are the foundation for nearly all experimental science in the disease, in the absence of animal models and familial cases.

It is generally recognized that many cell lines have been contaminated or mislabeled, they said.

Because the original tissues from which 13 of the 14 esophageal cancer cell lines were derived remain available, the researchers set out to authenticate the lines.

They used short tandem repeat profiling to compare genotypes of the cell lines with cells from the original tissues, supplemented by analyzing the exons and the intron-exon boundaries for the TP53 gene.

The TP53 gene is stable enough that mutations should persist through many cell divisions, and should therefore match in the cell lines and original tissues.

Dinjens and colleagues found that 10 of the 13 lines they analyzed were close genetic matches for the original tissues, despite "hundreds, perhaps thousands, of culture passages."

But for SEG-1, BIC-1, and SK-GT-5, the findings showed clear differences. Their genotypes were better matches for other tumor types.

The authors indicated that the scientist who originally derived SEG-1 and BIC-1 confirmed their results for those lines.

"Clearly, contamination occurred early during establishment of the cell lines, and all of the cultures that were distributed subsequently to different laboratories were contaminated," Dinjens and colleagues wrote.
SG-GT-5 turned out to be identical to a gastric fundus tumor line known as SG-GT-2. As with the other lines, communication with the researcher who first developed SG-GT-5 established that it must have been contaminated either at the site of origin or during early exchanges of cells with other laboratories.

"This report is a call for all scientists to authenticate their cell lines," Dinjens and colleagues concluded.

In an accompanying editorial, Robert H. Shoemaker, PhD, of the National Cancer Institute, agreed that the findings were important, but he disputed the suggestion that the two clinical trials are irretrievably compromised.

In both cases, Shoemaker indicated, there are other rationales for the therapies besides the in vitro results obtained with the disgraced cell lines.

Shoemaker also noted that the phenomenon of contaminated or mislabeled cell lines is not new.

The current study's most important impact, he wrote, "will likely be the definition of 10 esophageal adenocarcinoma tumor cell lines of proven authenticity for use in studies addressing this disease."

The study was funded from internal university sources.

No potential conflicts of interest were reported by study authors or the editorialist.

Primary source: Journal of the National Cancer Institute
Source reference: Boonstra J, et al "Verification and unmasking of widely used human esophageal adenocarcinoma cell lines" J Natl Cancer Inst 2010; DOI: 10.1093/jnci/djp499.

Additional source: Journal of the National Cancer Institute
Source reference: Shoemaker R, "Identification of Bona Fide Esophageal Adenocarcinoma Cell Lines" J Natl Cancer Inst2010; DOI: 10.1093/jnci/djp526.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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The Lethal Science of Splenda

UPDATE: 1/20/10  Truvia complaints  

UPDATE: 1/13/10
Not only is Splenda a risk to the health of people who use it, it seems as if it is a health risk to everyone because it is not cleared by water treatment systems. Note, however, that *the science proves that sucralose is broken down in the human body* and this is not reported by the writer in the article that follows.

That Splenda you're drinking will be in our water supply for awhile
By Laura Vanderkam

WASHINGTON, D.C.—People like sucralose—the artificial sweetener marketed as Splenda—because the human body *can’t break it down* and use it. That means the substance has almost no calories and makes it a popular ingredient in everything from cookies to diet sodas. Unfortunately, it turns out that modern wastewater treatment methods don’t break down Splenda either.

That, according to Smitha Ramakrishna, 17, one of 40 finalists in the 2009 Intel Science Talent Search who’ve gathered in Washington, DC, for the final judging rounds this week, means that the sweetener can accumulate in the water supply after people excrete it, potentially harming fish and other living things.

Ramakrishna, a senior at Corona del Sol High School in Chandler, Arizona, first became interested in water issues on a trip to India when she was 12. Her parents took her to an orphanage. She was appalled by the poverty—the lack of tables and chairs for eating, for instance—but what struck her most is that these children didn’t even have access to clean water. In Arizona, despite an ongoing drought, “you turn on the tap and it’s there,” she says. “You take it for granted.”

She came home and, despite her tender years, started an organization called AWAKE, dedicated to water conservation and education. Over the years, AWAKE has helped 3,000 kids in India gain access to clean water through reverse osmosis projects and rainwater harvesting systems.

By high school, however, Ramakrishna decided she wanted to focus more on the science of clean water, and less on the policy. She tried to start doing research at Arizona State University, though since she was the first high schooler her lab had ever had—and she was under age 16—this caused much controversy. “It’s almost child labor,” she says, laughing, explaining the problem. The case went all the way up to the university president’s office. But eventually she was allowed to subject sucralose to various treatments, like bacterial digestion, typically used in wastewater treatment plants. She found that sucralose resisted most of these treatments, and was only broken down into biodegradable molecules with extensive time and concentration of titanium oxide and ultraviolet light. Since few plants use these methods, that means almost all the sucralose people eat or drink winds up in the ecosystem.

It’s too soon yet to say what that will cause. Preliminary studies, Ramakrishna says, suggests that sucralose might poison fish in large enough concentrations. She plans to study this question more in college, potentially at A.S.U., where she continues to work—as do more than 10 high school students, now that she’s broken the barrier. “It’s opened a whole new door,” she says.

Originally posted 12/16/09 (2/52,000 in AOL search): Studies have shown that sucralose can:

* Cause the thymus to shrink by as much as 40% (the thymus is your immune powerhouse - it produces T cells)

* Cause enlargement of the liver and kidneys

* Reduce growth rate as much as 20%

* Cause enlargement of the large bowel area

* Reduce the amount of good bacteria in the intestines by 50%

* Increase the pH level in the intestines (a risk factor for colon cancer)

* Contribute to weight gain

* Cause aborted pregnancy low fetal body weight

* Reduce red blood cell count

Particular warning to diabetics: Researchers found that diabetic patients using sucralose showed a statistically significant increase in glycosylated hemoglobin, a marker that is used to assess glycemic control in diabetic patients. According to the FDA, sucralose "increases in glycosolation in hemoglobin imply lessening of control of diabetes."

Here's a quote from another article - Among the results in the study by Drs. Mohamed B. Abou-Donia, Eman M. El-Masry, Ali A. Abdel-Rahman, Roger E. McLendon and Susan S. Schiffman is evidence that, in the animals studied, Splenda reduces the amount of good bacteria in the intestines by 50%, increases the pH level in the intestines, contributes to increases in body weight and affects the P-glycoprotein (P-gp) in the body in such a way that crucial health-related drugs could be rejected. Turner noted that the P-gp effect "could result in crucial medications used in chemotherapy for cancer patients, AIDS treatment and drugs for heart conditions being shunted back into the intestines rather than being absorbed by the body as intended."

Even limited use of diet soda is known to damage kidney function

"Two or more servings per day of artificially sweetened soda and faster kidney function decline; no relation between sugar-sweetened beverages and kidney function decline was noted.” Moreover, this association persisted even when the researchers accounted for age, obesity, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, physical activity, calorie intake, diabetes and cigarette smoking. Clearly, artificially sweetened sodas are detrimental to kidney health."

Other studies have shown it is linked to cancer and has led to kidney calcification.

There are 35 articles with important information about sucralose and aspartame as well as toxicity of new so-called "natural" sweeteners you can read in Natural Health News.

We suggest using safe sweeteners like "Just Like Sugar".  For more information look for their logo in the right hand column of our BLOG.  Pure extract of stevia is also safe, and can be ordered from us.  You must make sure that any stevia product you purchase is pure, not combined with other harmful ingredients.

And from 2006 -

KOMO TV - Seattle, Herb Weisbaum, Published April 9, 2006

SEATTLE - An investigation by the Environmental Working Group, a well-respected consumer organization, finds high levels of benzene contamination in diet soda.

Benzene is a known cancer causer, something you do not want in your food.

The EWG based its report on data collected by the Food and Drug Administration from 1995 through 2001. It showed that 79 percent of the diet soda samples tested during this six-year period "were contaminated with benzene at levels above the federal limit for benzene in tap water."

The average benzene level found in the diet soda was 19 parts per billion, nearly 4 times higher than the tap water standard which is 5 parts per billion. No brands were identified by the FDA, so I can't tell you which pop they tested.

The Environmental Working Group is not suggesting people stop drinking soft drinks. It does want the FDA to make its test reports public and to take action when manufacturers violate the established safety standards.

The EWG did criticize the FDA for making statements that the benzene levels it found were "insignificant" and "do not suggest a safety concern."

The consumer group says benzene is more likely to be formed when soda pop is stored at warm temperatures for long periods of time.

Read more...

Homeopathy Must Be Saved

Prince Charles: Homeopathy must be saved from new EU rules

Health Insurers on the Attack

From MotherJones


By Kevin Drum
Wed Jan. 13, 2010 9:12 AM PST

Guess what? It turns out that health insurance companies oppose healthcare reform and are spending millions of dollars to defeat it. That wouldn't be a big surprise except for the fact that healthcare reform is supposed to be a boon to the insurance industry, providing them with millions of new customers (courtesy of an individual mandate that forces everyone to buy insurance). So why are they fighting it? Matt Yglesias takes a stab at explaining: [1]

The fact of the matter is that even though the new mandate/subsidy structure will give at least some insurers a bunch of new customers, the medium-run trajectory of reform is bad for private insurers. Right now, insurers are largely shielded from competition and are almost 100 percent immune to needing to please their actual customers, getting to deal with HR bureaucracies instead. In an Exchange-based world, individuals will be choosing from among several plans and insurers will be accountable to customers. What’s more, the principle that it’s the government’s job to make health care work will lead to pressure for further regulations and further squeezing of industry profit margins.

I think that's pretty much right, and I'd add that community rating (which requires insurers to charge everyone the same price) will add to this pressure. With risk adjustment taken away from insurance companies, they become purely administrative middlemen, and that's a dangerous thing to be. Pure paper shufflers are a lot easier to compare to Medicare's administrative bureaucracy, and they won't benefit from that comparison. The political pressure for them to continually cut costs and profits will just keep growing.

On the other hand, this has always been the case, so why did the insurance industry play nice at first and only turn on the attack ads recently? Hypothesis 1: It took them a while to figure this out. I'm skeptical of this. Hypothesis 2: They feared this all along, but figured the alternatives were even worse. Now, however, they're starting to believe that they might be able to defeat healthcare reform completely, so they're throwing caution to the wind.
All the more reason for Democrats to get their act together and hammer out a compromise that can pass the House and the Senate. Unfortunately, Josh Marshall rounds up some evidence here [2] that Dems are stuck in their usual circular firing squad and aren't making much progress, even though the differences between the House and Senate bills are, frankly, fairly minor. But as a friend of mine likes to say, "Republicans are evil and Democrats are idiots." I sure hope they prove him wrong for once.

Source URL: http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/01/health-insurers-attack
Links:
[1] http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/archives/2010/01/insurers-oppose-health-reform.php
[2] http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/01/are_the_dems_going_to_blow_this.php

GMO Corn Linked to Organ Failure

At our mothership, Creating Health Institute, we' ve been precautioning against GMO food for more than half-a-dozen years.  Now another good report is out to support our opinion.

Read this new article

Check the 30 + articles at Natural Health News on GMO, here's a couple for starters:
http://naturalhealthnews.blogspot.com/2009/02/stop-gmo-corn-now.html
http://naturalhealthnews.blogspot.com/2009/01/damaging-effects-of-genetically.html

and see this propaganda piece too

"Effects were mostly concentrated in kidney and liver function, the two major diet detoxification organs, but in detail differed with each GM type. In addition, some effects on heart, adrenal, spleen and blood cells were also frequently noted. As there normally exists sex differences in liver and kidney metabolism, the highly statistically significant disturbances in the function of these organs, seen between male and female rats, cannot be dismissed as biologically insignificant as has been proposed by others. We therefore conclude that our data strongly suggests that these GM maize varieties induce a state of hepatorenal toxicity....These substances have never before been an integral part of the human or animal diet and therefore their health consequences for those who consume them, especially over long time periods are currently unknown."

‘Herbal Insights’

Herbal Insights series on PBS TV

January 8, 2010 — The American Botanical Council (ABC), America’s leading nonprofit herbal research and education organization, has teamed up with the producers of a popular public television series to create “Herbal Insights,” a new segment on popular herbs and herb issues.

ABC Founder and Executive Director Mark Blumenthal has co-created and recorded “Herbal Insights” segments for Healing Quest, a public television show co-hosted by entertainment icon Olivia Newton-John and co-producers Judy Brooks and Roy Walkenhorst of Lightbridge Productions in Sonoma, California.

The new season’s shows with the “Herbal Insights” segments began airing in select markets on January 2, 2010, and are scheduled to run throughout the year. A preliminary schedule for these episodes is available here.
 
The first seven “Herbal Insights” provide brief profiles on the following popular herbs: chamomile (Matricaria recutita), peppermint (Mentha x piperita), ginger (Zingiber officinale), licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra), marshmallow (Althaea officinalis), senna (Senna alexandrina), and *slippery elm (Ulma rubra) bark.

*(our Note) While Slippery Elm is a great herb be mindful that it is endangered.