The Diabetes Industry

Natural Health News has over three dozen articles on diabetes and related topics.  Our main domain since 1991, www.leaflady.org, has numerous pages on this topic.  CHI-Creating Health Institute on facebook has posted to our Diabetes Diary since February and this will continues through 12 July in support of the Longest Walk, Reversing Diabetes.  I also publish the subscription Diabetes E-List.

I went into nursing in 1969.  Prior to that I was working in public health and community mental health.  Over these many years I have been a staunch advocate of natural therapy for diabetes and other health concerns, as well as a proponent of PREVENTION.

Now some 30+ years later comes a health organization that makes the same statements as I have been making for decades, as if the idea was new.  It is no different than a couple of my competitors that seem to try all sorts of tricks to top the search engines, event to the point of using our name.

However, as some one who has always been ahead of the pack, it is good to know that I am not the lone beacon on the shore.

And you'll see why I developed HEALTH FORENSICS as an extremely effective system to help you find "the road to new health".

You'll note recent posts regarding the Food Pyramid and "The Plate" as well as coverage of diabetes drugs and artificial sweeteners, statins, and more here at the ORIGINAL Natural Health News.

FYI
American Diabetes Association’s Guidelines Are Killing Diabetics!

New High-tech Mosquito Repellants Replace DEET

UPDATE: 6 June 2011

"DEET is the go-to bug repellent, but it does have its drawbacks"

from the Chicago Tribune where I used to work as an editor and proofreader many decades ago, via the LA Times

The drawback is that DEET is a toxic neurotoxin and there are better and safer alternatives which you can learn more about here and here.

from older posts, 2010
N-acylpiperidine, the chemical heir apparent to neurotoxic DEET is coming to your bug repellent, is it safe?
DailyTech - New High-tech Mosquito Repellants Replace DEET

The chemists of the University of Florida and the U.S. department of agriculture feel your pain. They’ve just published a study that might lead to improving the lives mosquito haters everywhere. Currently, the most effective ingredient in insect repellent on the market is DEET (N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide). DEET has been the gold standard for over 50 years and it protects us from the various diseases we can contract from mosquito bites such as malaria, West Nile Virus, yellow fever, encephalitis, Lyme disease and dengue fever. DEET is the ingredient used in most insect repellents. Around one third of the American population use insect repellent according to the US Environmental Protection Agency.
Kenan Professor Alan R Katritzky of the University of Florida led the way having researchers review hundreds of chemicals, data that has been collected by the USDA for the past 50 years. After each chemical was reviewed, they were rated on effectiveness on a scale of 1 to 5. They took all the highest ratings and compared the chemicals in order to figure out what the common factor was.
N-acylpiperidines (compounds from black pepper) was the chemical that they found the most effective compounds had in common. N-acylpiperidine, according to the New York Times, is similar to the active ingredient found in pepper. They took 34 of the most effective, then weeded it down to 10, and then again to 7. These 7 chemicals were vigorously scrutinized on factors such as production cost and level of toxicity.
These researchers have found these 7 chemicals that may pave the way to a new and improved mosquito repellent. DEET on average lasts about 17.5 days after its initial application. These new chemicals haven’t been safely tested on fully exposed skin yet, but when they were tested on volunteers they discovered that they were still repelling mosquitoes up to 50 days later. A couple of the chemicals even were found to last 73 days later, about four times longer than DEET.
The tests involved the volunteers wearing gloves with holes in them and then their gloved hands were wrapped in a cloth saturated with the chemical. The volunteer’s wrapped hand would be place into box containing live mosquitoes for precisely one minute; this process was then repeated every day. Failure of the test was determined if 5 mosquitoes or more bit through the cloth.
So far so good, the research holds a lot of potential for creating superior insect repellents everywhere. DEET should enjoy its reign while it can, as it may be replaced soon.

From Natural Health News:


Mosquitoes inherit DEET resistance

May 04, 2010

Although Vincent Corbel is quick to note that the dangers of DEET when applied as recommended are lower than the dangers of mosquito-borne diseases in the tropics, his work at the Institute of Research for Development in France might ...

More on Herbs for Health: cancer, malaria

Jul 08, 2010

He next wants to test the evolution of DEET sensitivity using wild populations of mosquitoes, including those that spread malaria. "We're not saying that repellents shouldn't be used," he says. "But we have to understand how they work...

Other pest control tips

See How the Dirty Work Flows: Big PhRMA and the FDA

I have highlighted passages in the article below that to me are glaringly suspect -  Some parts of this make you think FDA is doing good but the this may be only one of few incidents in their overall track record of approving drugs with serious side effects.  Statin drugs remain on the market and have known heart risk. There are many other examples.

Also consider that the drug companies are testing in poor countries like India to do their dastardly tests that often result in death.

Orexigen puts obesity drug development on hold   Associated Press/AP Online

Friday, 03 Jun 2011

---

By MARLEY SEAMAN

NEW YORK - The maker of a weight loss drug once seen as a potential blockbuster said it is scrapping its bid for U.S. approval because of "unprecedented" demands by regulators on safety trials.

Orexigen Therapeutics Inc. said Friday that it will focus on developing its drug candidate Contrave and another drug candidate, Empatic, in non-U.S. markets until there is a clear pathway to approval in the U.S. The Food and Drug Administration refused to approve Contrave in February because of concerns about its effects on the heart.

As recently last year, Contrave was seen as a highly promising obesity drug in a nation where more and more people are overweight or obese. Friday's announcement indicated that Orexigen believes Contrave's prospects are dim, at least in the U.S., which is the world's largest pharmaceutical market.

Shares of Orexigen tumbled $1.03, or 32.3 percent, to $2.15 in midday trading.

Orexigen said the FDA wants it to conduct a study on Contrave's heart side effects that is unprecedented and would generate much more information than is necessary or feasible.

In February, the FDA said Orexigen would need to conduct the heart study to get Contrave approved. Orexigen proposed a more limited study, saying it wanted to run a trial to demonstrate that cardiovascular problems linked to Contrave did not present an unreasonable risk. The company also expressed interest in trying to get the drug approved for patients with a lower risk of heart problems.

However, the FDA's Division of Metabolic and Endocrinologic Products refused to approve Contrave even for low-risk patients without data from a cardiovascular trial.

WBB Securities analyst Steve Brozak said Orexigen will either need a partner to help develop Contrave, or it will need to adopt a different approach to approval, which means seeking approval in other markets.

"I would say they are basically acknowledging they're currently not configured to continue on this dance with the FDA," he said in an interview.

Orexigen said the FDA plans to hold an advisory committee on cardiovascular risk assessment for obesity drugs in early 2012. According to Orexigen, the FDA said it might change any agreements about cardiovascular studies based on that advisory committee meeting.

Orexigen said it plans to appeal the FDA's responses through a formal dispute resolution process. The company will also will speed up exploration of non-U.S. markets. Orexigen said it plans to evaluate new opportunities, but did not specify what those opportunities are.

The company said Wednesday that it would have an announcement about Contrave Friday morning. Its shares jumped 18 percent that day as investors anticipated good news.

Contrave was considered the most promising of a group of three obesity drug candidates that were in development in the last few years. However the FDA said it was not willing to approve any of the products because of concerns about their side effects.

The agency was concerned about the effectiveness of Arena Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s drug lorcaserin, as well as a link to tumors when lorcaserin was studied on rats. The FDA hasn't approved Vivus Inc.'s drug Qnexa because one of its ingredients is linked to birth defects.

Lycopene and Vitamin K

UPDATE: 3 June, 2011


Clearly this is not new information about vitamin K.  I first started educating about it in the early 90s.  It is also important to know that you need to have a healthy colon to help your body make it, just as with vitamin B12.  The link below (osteo..) will give you a list of foods providing vitamin K.

Is vitamin K the new D?

By Erin Kelley, MS, RD

In the fashion world, trends come and go, and the dietary supplement industry shares the same “what’s hot” and “what’s not” faddism. For the last three years, vitamin D has soaked up the spotlight. The nutrient gained attention from an increasing number of research studies showing benefit to a myriad of diseases—cancer, autoimmune disorders, immune health, depression, and last but not least, death. But like bell bottom pants, vitamin D’s staying power may be short-lived. Word on the street is that vitamin K is the new D.

It started with a cluster of research done on vitamin K in the early 2000s. A 2003 study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutritionfound low dietary intake of vitamin K was associated with low bone mineral density in women, which validated similar outcomes in other studies and associations between low vitamin K intake and a higher risk of hip fracture. A year later, the same journal published a study showing girls with a better vitamin K status had better bone turnover. But bone health wasn’t the only association researchers noticed. Over the next few years, studies on vitamin K would show associations between high vitamin K status and reduced risk of prostate, lung, and liver cancers, and protection against coronary heart disease.

Two forms of vitamin K exist: vitamin K1 (phylloquinone) is found in leafy green vegetables. Vitamin K2 (menaquinone) is synthesized by bacteria and is found in fermented soybeans and certain cheeses. Much of the research done has looked at vitamin K2. Both forms are essential for the proteins involved in blood clotting and are necessary for proteins that are needed to form bone. Although vitamin K is fat-soluble, the body does not store much and it can be depleted without regular dietary intake. However, it may be difficult to get in the daily diet.

If you are starting to think vitamin K sounds a lot like vitamin D’s recent milieu, you’re right. While more research is needed (isn’t that always the case?), expect to hear more about vitamin K in both research and product developments.

UPDATE: 27 APRIL 2010 -
Mayo study links increased vitamin K intake to lower non-Hodgkin lymphoma risk

A higher intake of vitamin K is associated with a reduced risk of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, an immune system cancer that is the most common blood malignancy in the United States.

In research funded by the National Cancer Institute, cancer epidemiologist James Cerhan, MD, PhD and his colleagues at the Mayo Comprehensive Cancer Center compared 603 newly diagnosed non-Hodgkin lymphoma patients to 1,007 men and women who did not have cancer. Dietary questionnaire responses were analyzed for vitamin K intake from food and supplements.

The investigators found an association between a lower risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma and increased consumption of vitamin K. For those whose intake of the vitamin was among the top 25 percent of participants at over 108 micrograms per day, the risk of the disease was 45 percent lower than those whose intake was among the lowest fourth at less than 39 micrograms per day. Adjustment of the analysis for age and other factors failed to modify the association. When vitamin K from supplements was examined, intake of the vitamin was also shown to be protective up to a certain level, above which increased intake offered no additional benefit, suggesting that it is not necessary to supplement with high doses for protection to occur.

Vitamin K is well known for its role in blood coagulation; however, an ability of the vitamin to inhibit inflammatory cytokines and involvement in cell cycle arrest and cell death pathways could help explain the benefit suggested by the current study's outcome.

"Whether the protective effect we observed is due to vitamin K intake, or some other dietary or lifestyle exposure, cannot be definitely assessed in this study," Dr Cerhan remarked. "But these findings add to a lot of other data that support a diet that includes plenty of green leafy vegetables in order to prevent many cancers as well as other diseases."

"These results are provocative, since they are the first work we have done on the connection between vitamin K and Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and this is a fairly strong protective effect," he noted. "However, as with all new findings, this will need to be replicated in other studies."

I am a great fan of tomatoes and also vitamin K supplying foods. What makes it more supportive of my long held views are two new reports I received today.

I have posted on the benefits of vitamin K for osteoporosis in the past, and now we have more data on its benefit in cancer.

An article published online on March 24, 2010 in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reports the finding of researchers from the German Cancer Research Center and the German Research Centre for Environmental Health of an association between reduced vitamin K2 intake and an increased risk of dying from cancer.

The current research analyzed data from 24.340 participants in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition-Heidelberg (EPIC-Heidelberg) prospective study who were aged 35 to 64 upon enrollment between 1994 and 1998. Participants, who were free of cancer at the beginning of the study, were followed through 2008. Dietary questionnaires completed upon enrollment were analyzed for phylloquinone (vitamin K1) and menaquinones (vitamin K2) intake.

Over the follow up period, there were 1,755 cases of cancer, including 458 fatalities. While the those whose intake of vitamin K2 was among the top 25 percent of participants had a 14 percent nonsignficant reduction in cancer incidence compared with those whose intake was among the lowest fourth, the group with the highest intake experienced a 28 percent lower risk of dying of the disease. Further analysis of the data determined that the reduction in cancer incidence associated with vitamin K2 occurred in men. When cancers were examined by cause, a 62 percent reduction in the risk of lung cancer and a 35 percent lower risk of prostate cancer were observed in those whose intake of vitamin K2 was among the top 25 percent. Although exclusion of prostate and lung cancer from the analysis still found an inverse association between vitamin K2 intake and metastatic cancer risk, the researchers did not consider it to be of statistical significance. No associations were found between vitamin K1 and cancer incidence or mortality.

The authors explain the difference in vitamin K2's effects on men and women by the fact that the men in the study had cancer sites (prostate, lung) that were likelier to be influenced by vitamin K2. Concerning the greater inverse association of vitamin K2 with cancer mortality compared to cancer incidence, the authors remark that "This observation is consistent with the assumption that factors affecting apoptosis and cell cycle arrest are likely to play a role later in carcinogenesis. In addition, experimental studies suggest an inhibitory role of menaquinones in angiogenesis, which is tightly linked to the development of metastasis."

"This study showed inverse associations between the dietary intake of menaquinones and both overall cancer incidence and mortality," the authors conclude. They suggest additional studies using biomarker measurements of vitamin K status.

and

"Dietary vitamin K intake in relation to cancer incidence and mortality: results from the Heidelberg cohort of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC-Heidelberg)," Nimptsch K, Rohrmann S, et al, Am J Clin Nutr, 2010 March 24; [Epub ahead of print]. (Address: J Linseisen, Institute of Epidemiology, Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen, German Research Centre for Environmental Health, Ingolstadter Landstr. 1, D-85746 Neuherberg, Germany. E-mail: j.linseisen@helmholtz-muenchen.de ).
Summary: In a prospective cohort study (EPIC-Heidelberg) involving 24,340 subjects between the ages of 35 and 64 years, free of cancer at enrollment, followed up with for an average of > 10 years, during which time 1,755 incident cases of cancer occurred of which 458 were fatal, dietary intake of menaquinones (vitamin K2) was found to be inversely associated with overall incidence of cancer (for highest vs. lowest quartile HR=0.86), and cancer mortality (HR=0.72). The reduction in risk associated with increasing intake of menaquinones was even greater in men than in women, specifically seen with prostate and lung cancers. No association was found for phylloquinone (vitamin K1) intake. The authors conclude, "These findings suggest that dietary intake of menaquinones, which is highly determined by the consumption of cheese, is associated with a reduced risk of incident and fatal cancer."

Lycopene now shows help in glioma, which again should be considered for its high antioxidant capacity -

"Lycopene in treatment of high-grade gliomas: A pilot study," Puri T, Goyal S, et al, Neurol India, 2010 Jan-Feb; 58(1): 20-3. (Address: Department of Radiation Oncology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi - 110 029, India).
Summary:In a randomized, placebo-controlled study involving 50 patients with high-grade gliomas treated with surgery followed by adjuvant radiotherapy and concomitant paclitaxel, oral supplementation with lycopene (8 mg/d) along with radiotherapy was found to exert potentially beneficial effects. Specifically, prior to supplementation, lycopene levels were 152 ng/ml and after supplementation 316 ng/ml, as compared to no significant change found in the placebo group. More favorable overall response at 6 months, last follow-up, and time to progression (40.83 vs. 26.74 weeks) were found in the lycopene group, as compared to the placebo group, though the differences were considered non-significant. Follow-up duration was significantly higher among those taking lycopene (66.29 weeks), as compared to placebo (38.71 weeks). The authors conclude, "Addition of nutrition supplements such as lycopene may have potential therapeutic benefit in the adjuvant management of high-grade glioma s."

So you see there is a clear pattern for the need of supplementation in prevention and treatment of cancers, along with powerful and good nutrition - against what you may hear and read in mainstream media or from your doctor (or the doctor who tells you not to eat broccoli because it interferes with chemo).

Here is an organic herbal and health promoting sports drink

In the photo is the health promoting organic herbal tea blend that I have made over many years.  The great part about this is that you make your own, and it is safe for kids.  Loaded with vitamins and minerals it is great just made in water, brewed like sun tea, or you may mix it with some organic apple juice as a base if you like a sweeter taste.  To learn more and order go here.  And we'll include a free sample of our sports and energy formula, ADVENTURx. Contact us directly for bulk order pricing.

Kids should never consume energy drinks

PROVIDENCE, R.I., June 3 (UPI) -- A clinical report by the American Academy of Pediatrics advises parents children should not consume energy drinks and they rarely need sports drinks.

Dr. Marcie Beth Schneider, a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Nutrition, and Dr. Holly J. Benjamin of the American Academy of Pediatrics Council on Sports Medicine and Fitness, said sports drinks and energy drinks are different products.

Energy drinks can contain caffeine, guarana and taurine, and caffeine has been linked to a number of harmful health effects in children. Energy drinks are never appropriate for children or adolescents, said Schneider and Benjamin, co-authors of the report. In general, caffeine-containing beverages, including soda, should be avoided.

"In many cases, it's hard to tell how much caffeine is in a product by looking at the label," Schneider said. "Some cans or bottles of energy drinks can have more than 500 mg of caffeine, which is the equivalent of 14 cans of soda."

Sports drinks contain carbohydrates, minerals, electrolytes and flavoring. They are intended to replace water and electrolytes lost through sweating during exercise, the researchers said. Sports drinks can be helpful for young athletes engaged in prolonged, vigorous physical activities, but in most cases they are unnecessary.

"For most children engaging in routine physical activity, plain water is best," Benjamin said in a statement. "Sports drinks contain extra calories that children don't need, and could contribute to obesity and tooth decay. It's better for children to drink water during and after exercise."

The report is published in the journal Pediatrics.Read more: http://www.upi.com/Health_News/2011/06/03/Kids-should-never-consume-energy-drinks/UPI-90711307073918/print/#ixzz1OEPTFvLd

American Dietetic Association (ADA) Strengthening its Monopoly

Introducing "the PLATE".  The new tool government wants you to use that is still too high in grains, sugars, and obesity promoting food.  Just remember, this "new" tool cost taxpayers $2 million. I recall a couple of decades ago when "the PLATE" concept was used to teach nutrition.


May 2011 - The ADA is basically the clinical arm of the USDA and Big AG.  If you aren't sure you know about this group then maybe you have heard that in its "diabetes education" it promotes aspartame, sucralose, canola and soy.

And if you regularly read Natural Health News you know that these are very unhealthy foods.

If you go back a few decades you might even remember that ADA members serving as hospital dietitians (R.D.) brought about the extensive number of articles about the deaths and malnutrition associated with eating hospital food. 

Then we have the food pyramid that originally was health promoting until Big AG came in and made the USDA re-formulate it so that it promoted the foods that have led you down the slippery slope to the current obesity epidemic.  Along with obesity is the increase in many chronic diseases that are created by following ADA recommendations, such as the non fat / low fat diet craze of the last 30 years.

SOURCE: How the American Dietetic Association is Strengthening its Monopoly

I am very familiar with the work of Elizabeth Lipski, the highly qualified nutritionist referenced in the above article.  She is an outstanding resource and extremely knowledgable, much more so that most dieticians I have encoutered in my health career.  I use her work as a required resouce for my students.  And I have recommended it to doctors as well.

You really have to put your thinking on the line here and understand what the mainstream control freaks are doing here, and it isn;t just to nutritionists.

As a health professional who has provided nutritional consulting over many decades I find this just one more way the corporatocracy and the bureauracracy will be limiting and dumbing down your health care options.

Read more here about the food pyramid, A Fatally Flawed Food Guide

One example of R.D. misinformation -

The important point to remember is that vitamins over certain levels are shown to act like drugs. Many individuals take vitamins not knowing what amounts they are receiving or why they are taking them, putting them at risk for other issues. Susan B. Dopart

More from Natural Health News
 
Childhood Obesity Campaign: Issues in Health
 
Leading to Weightiness; Light on what happened to the healthy pyramid
 
Luise Light's Original
 
More Fake Food and The New Pyramid

Overmedicated Society Needs Natural Health

This is quite an interesting interview.  When you know that drug pushing is the end result, like my friend who was prescribed Levaquin without being told of the risk of tendon rupture, you might wonder what you need to do to change the way you look at your health.

In an in-depth interview on CNN this morning, John Abramson, MD, board member of the Alliance for Human Research Protection, explained why it is that 74% of Americans who visit a doctor, leave with a prescription for a drug (or several drugs), and why taking drugs is NOT the best way to good health.
Dr. Abramson succinctly explains how American medicine's reliance and over use of drugs--primarily new, expensive drugs--is driven by the drug industry. And how that industry controls most of the channels of communication by which medical information is transmitted to physicians and the public.

http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/bestoftv/2011/05/31/exp.am.overmedicated.abramson.cnn.html


And in another story that tells you how how hospitals are seriously low in their supply of prescription drugs, you should have your contingency plan.  Natural Health is here to help you.  

Hospitals hunt substitutes as drug shortages rise

I have to say I see this as inevitable and I am not surprised.  Of course I do not use any drugs and rely only on herbal, homeopathic,  orthomolecular and nutritional medicine.

You can too, and you can learn how to be more responsible for your health.

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Our Health Forensics service may be of help to you, or the many of our acclaimed educational programs from The Oake Centre for natural health education.

Healthcare and The Environment

Over my many years working in healthcare facilities I have developed a green and clean system to help in the elimination of devastating bacteria that can lead to MRSA and other difficult infections.


It seems as the facilities make a major contribution to this problem and they must be addressed.

How Healthcare Impacts the EnvironmentHospitals make significant contributions to their communities by providing a wide variety of services.  They are also major employers, with healthcare comprising approximately 16% of the national and regional economy. Hospitals operate all day everyday, making their environmental footprint large in many communities.
Hospitals impact the environment by:

• Generating approximately 7,000 tons per day of waste, including infectious waste, hazardous waste, and solid waste.

• Using mercury in medical devices, equipment, light bulbs, etc.

• Using materials that may have toxic effects:  PVC, DEHP, cleaning materials, heavy metals in electronics, pesticides, batteries.

• Consuming large amounts of energy in buildings and car fleets, and generating significant greenhouse gas emissions.

• Consuming large amounts of water for domestic use and heating/cooling as well as landscaping.

Read more

Does Going Pink Lead to "The Cure"?

Real questions do need to be asked about pink products and real progress in prevention and cure of breast cancer.

Back in March, BCA re-launched the Think Before You Pink® blog to provide information and resources for those interested in shifting the dominant breast cancer narrative. One of our goals was to provide concrete tools that would help people start conversations with their friends, family and communities. As a result, I am excited to announce that we are finishing a “first draft” of our brand-new Think Before You Pink® toolkit. We’ll be offering a sneak peek next week, so stay tuned!

As a lead-in to the initial release of our toolkit, we thought that it would be interesting to revisit our campaign’s best known resource – our critical questions. We created these questions in response to the rise of breast cancer related cause marketing and the lack of transparency about how the generated revenue is spent.

In the years since we’ve started our campaign, we’ve seen a lot of changes: a number of organizations have adapted our questions, mainstream news outlets have reported on the unregulated (and sometimes problematic) use of the pink ribbon, and many companies have even started to disclose more information about their “breast cancer awareness” campaigns.

However, there’s still much work to be done.

The first of our questions is: How much money actually goes toward breast cancer programs and services?

In 2009, the Boston Globe ran an article with the following information:

“Research [has shown] that 79 percent of consumers would likely switch to a brand that supports a cause, all other things being equal. People want to buy from companies that appear to do good deeds. In one test conducted by Cone and Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, shampoo aligned with a cause saw a 74 percent sales increase over the same brand without a cause.”

Donations to breast cancer organizations still pale in comparison to profits. Just last year, Reebok marketed an entire line of pink ribbon apparel and accessories, with prices ranging from $50-$100. However, they set a “cap” on the proceeds that they would donate to the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade: $750,000. One wonders how much money they made by “linking” themselves to the breast cancer epidemic.

Similarly, Yoplait requires participants in its “Save Lids to Save Lives” campaign to either mail lids to the company or enter a code online to donate a whopping 10 cents to Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Why not donate a significant portion of overall sales instead? Hmm.

It gets worse: a quick Google search yields a number of pink items without any apparent connection to breast cancer organizations at all.

These promotions are successful because people want to help end the breast cancer epidemic. They want action steps – and there are few provided.

With our advocacy and education work, we aim to provide more options.

Selections from 30+ Pink posts from Natural Health News

Pink Cause Marketing  Feb 24, 2011
This is why for more than a decade we have been saying THINK Before You Pink! Women's Health Month is March, and that is not too far away. FDA Warns of Potential of Serious Side Effects with Topical Numbing Agents . ...

Natural Health News: The Trouble With PINK
Aug 14, 2006
General Mills also refuses to allow our health education oriented non-profit organiztion, Creating Health Institute, from participating in the annual pink lid promotion. CHI does a very great amount of public health ...

Natural Health News: The Politics of Breast Cancer
May 12, 2011
What is so wrong with pink ribbon marketing? THINK BEFORE YOU PINK. Why on earth would corporations involved in the treatment and diagnosis of women with breast cancer try to control how the public understands the ...

Make Your Effort to Save Water

For many years I served on one community's Health and Environment Commission.  Water Conservation  was one large issue on which we worked.  


I had the first community xeriscaped yard and brought in the rain barrel concept.  We created tiered usage rates, specific watering hours, and had a great array of water saving items available from the water department.  Audits were available from the water department as well.


As this problem continues, here are some tips you might wish to use.  For main stream media I thought this was quite helpful.

Saving water at home

Where to start:

In order of water savings starting with the most bang for the buck, according to the Rocky Mountain Institute:

• Replace water-wasting fixtures with state-of-the-art products, starting with your showerhead.
• Fix a toilet that leaks water from the tank into the bowl, or replace an old toilet with a new "low-flow" model.
• Fix a leaky faucet, replace an inefficient one with a newer model, or add an aerator.
• If you're in the market for a new washing machine, choose one that spins on a vertical axis. (It's probably not cost-effective to replace your conventional machine if it still has a few years left in it.)
• Water your lawn in the morning or evening to reduce water lost to evaporation. Water in pulses of 10-20 minutes with 15 or more minutes in between, allowing the water to soak in properly.
• Redesign your landscape with drought-resistant plants.
  

More about: Saving water at home

For most households, the vast majority of water is used indoors. You can get the biggest water savings in your home by installing efficient fixtures and fixing leaks.
But there are other ways too. Water and electricity are linked; the water-supply sector uses large amounts of energy to transport, treat, and deliver water. On the flip side, vast quantities of water are required to generate power. Use less power and you'll save water, and vice versa.

Food for additional thought: Meat is far more water-intensive to deliver to the table than vegetables. Skip meat once a week at your home, and the water savings upstream is significant.

Steam showers: Save water, ease stress

by Linda Merrill for Networx Steam showers are the modern day equivalent of the steam baths of ancient Rome and the traditional Finnish saunas.


10 things I learned while living without running water

The Green Cheapskate learns the hard way that it's much easier to save resources than he thought.


Water-wise around the house

The U.S. population nearly doubled between 1950 and 2000; however, the demand for water during that period more than tripled. Americans now use an average of 100 gallons of water every day, enough to fill 1,600 drinking glasses. ...


Save money and the planet

Five actions you can take that will help to preserve and protect the planet and your budget.


Raining revolution: Collect rain water, help the planet

Lower your water bills by diverting the water that runs down your roof.


Fives ways to save time and money on your lawn

Already tired of cutting the grass? These green tips can help.


Showerhead with automatic shutoff

When you live in Australia, droughts are very real, and water conservation is a part of life. One Australian recently came up with a household invention to help reduce the amount of water being used in the shower. ...


Clean your car without toxics or water

Cheaper than the car wash and kinder to your water bill, the Eco Touch spray will shine your car without harming the environment.


Dishpan hands go green

A green strategy for hand-washing your dishes.


Dry to the bone

A selection of online tips for conserving water -- something much of the U.S. needs to do right now.


Grey water for flushing

Large-scale projects sometimes install systems to treat and re-use grey water from sinks for flushing toilets. Now, you can do this in your very own home!

SOURCE

Mercury a Concern as it Remains in Vaccines

You may or may not like, or know of, Tim Bolen.  This aside he is a relentless expositor of important issues in health care today.  And he should be applauded for the most part in his ongoing expose of the fraudulent actions of the over-relied upon quackbuster operation.  You know, Stephen Barrett's propaganda (false flag) fiasco relied on by too many journalists.

To the ire of many Bolen exposes the issues of mercury remaining in vaccines through the eyes and research of now attacked-by-MSM pundits -

The Attack on Mark and David Geier... 

Opinion by Consumer Advocate  Tim Bolen 

Saturday, May 21st,  2011

An attorney friend of mine, Bob Reeves, a mainstay in the mercury in health care wars, called me last April 28th, 2011 and asked me to look into some strange occurrences regarding Mark Geier MD and his son David Geier.  As everyone knows, the Geiers are severe critics of the fact that Thimerosal (mercury - deadly toxic to humans) has NOT, despite false claims and misrepresentations from the vaccine industry, been removed from vaccines.

Bob asked me, as a Crisis Management Consultant, to analyze the situation and give him, and the Geiers, my Opinion and make some Recommendations.  This, below, is the Public Version.  The Private Version is much grittier.

Who are these Geier guys?

In short, they are the nemesis of the world-wide vaccine industry.

(1)  Last January 27th, 28th, 29th, 2011 the Geiers, along with their colleague Lisa Sykes attended, by invitation as anofficial NGO, the United Nations Environment Programme - Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to prepare a global legally binding instrument on Mercury (INC2).  There, they officially presented, to the shocked international delegates, convincing evidence that mercury in vaccines, HAS NOT actually been removed, and represents a serious threat to the people of Planet Earth.  The Geiers have since been invited to present again at the next conference in Nairobi, Kenya, in October, 2011.

(2)  The Geiers have been a mainstay in the State legislative actions banning Thimerosal in vaccines across the US, and the world. More than half of the States are involved in Thimerosal ban legislation.  Already, New York, Delaware, Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, California, and Washington state have legislated those bans.

(3)  The Geiers, through their non-profit corporation CoMeD recently sued the FDA for, as attorney Bob Reeves say"The failure of the FDA to follow their own regulations and require testing for the safety of vaccines."

(4)  Press Releases - the Geiers, through their organizations, have issued Press Releases documenting mercury in vaccine issues.  There are five of them.  You can read them by clicking on each one:  One, Two, Three, Four, Five.

(5)  Their peer reviewed studies, over a hundred, cover a broad range of Thimerosal caused issues including two extremely shocking revelations:  (a)  Thimerosal in vaccines is 300 times more toxic to the human brain than the bacteria in the vaccines it is designed to destroy, (b)  there is a Thimerosal substitute that is twenty times more destructive to bacteria and it has NO affect on the human brain.  You can find many of these published papers here.

(6)  Mark Geier MD testifies in Vaccine Court on behalf of brain damaged children. Article.

(7)  Both Geiers testified to the IOM on the problems of Thimerosal in vaccines.  Testimony.

(8)  Both Geiers have been active attempting to force the US Center for Disease Control (CDC) to make vaccine adverse reaction data available to the public.  The CDC will NOT let anyone see that data.  Do you wonder why? Link.

(9)   David Geier was appointed by the Governor of Maryland to the Maryland Commission on Autism, and as such, has significantly effected the quality of treatment recommendations offered to Autistic children in the State of Maryland.

(10)   Mark and David Geier, because of their research into the question "Why do boys get Autism at a rate higher than girls," found that Thimerosal interacts with testosterone, increasing it in children, causing "precocious puberty."  They then found that the use of the drug Lupron reduces those effects, and significantly reduces incidents of violence, and acting-out, in Autistic children, sometimes almost removing Autistic behavior.

(11)  The Geiers set up, with every health insurance company in the US, pre-approved protocols, using Labcorptesting, for the use of Lupron, and the payment for that testing and that drug, directly to the lab and pharmacies on a case-by-case basis.

The Geiers, because of their activities, are a MAJOR thorn in the side of the vaccine industry.

Major...

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Sunscreen Safety at Issue

Just as the Northern Hemisphere is getting close to the sunnier summer season these consideration about using sunscreen may be important to consider -

It's that time of year when sunscreen advertisements become ubiquitous on television—cute kids prancing on the beach after their mothers conscientiously apply multiple coats of white lotion in an effort, the companies tell you, to protect against sunburns and skin cancer. Sunscreen has become big business. In 1972, sunscreens and sunblocks raked in $18 million. Last year, a single Banana Boat brand product brought in that amount, and the top 10 sunscreen products on the market netted more than $300 million in sales. Yet, as sales of sunscreen have grown, so has theincidence of melanoma, the most fatal form of skin cancer. Among white Americans, for example, incidence rates for melanoma have increased from approximately 8.7 per 100,000 people in 1975 to 25.3 per 100,000 in 2007, according to the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF). Those numbers raise the question, if we're using more and more sunscreen, why haven't those cancer rates gone down?  SOURCE

Selections from our many Sunscreen posts at Natural Health News

Natural Health News: Sunscreen Allergies

May 15, 2011

In 2008 Natural Health News reported on sunscreen as unsafe and ineffective. Earlier than this, along with an expert on the subject, we tackled mis-information being promoted by Dr Oz's "Real Age". Over the years we have continued to ...

Suncreen May be Hiding the Facts

May 19, 2008

Today the BIG NEWS is about Sunscreen. Numerous problems remain even after many years of known issues with the chemical ingredients in these products. Some products listed as safe in the EWG report contain titanium dioxide, ...

Yes, you do need more D

Aug 16, 2010

But cloud cover, sunscreen, skin pigmentation and even northern latitudes can reduce the penetration of ultraviolet-B rays. And with sedentary lifestyles and concerns about skin cancer, many people never get enough sun to provide ...

More Foods for Health

Apr 22, 2010

Pomegranate Enhances sunscreen protection Lowers "bad" cholesterol Fights prostate cancer. Pumpkin Protects joints against polyarthritis Lowers lung and prostate cancer risk Reduces inflammation. Raspberries Inhibit growth of oral, ...

More Benefit from Vitamin D

Vitamin D found to boost functioning in the elderly

Vitamin D (actually, a hormone) appears to play a wide variety of roles in health and disease. Back in 2007 I reported on a study which found that higher levels of vitamin D were associated with better physical functioning in the elderly over time. This may not come as too much of a surprise when we consider the evidence that vitamin D has the ability to preserve muscle, and enhance balance and reaction times. 

The role vitamin D has here may have particular relevance to the elderly. As we age, we can be at increased risk of frailty and falls. It is possible, therefore, that maintaining higher levels of vitamin D might help preserve functioning and prevent falls in later life.

The study I reported on back in 2007 has validity, I think, but we’re limited in what we can learn from it due to it being ‘epidemiological’ in nature. Because of this, all it can tell us is that vitamin D is associated with improved function. We can’t tell if there’s a causal relationship here from this study. Even if there is, perhaps vitamin D does not cause improved function, but the other way round (improved function might lead to enhanced sunlight exposure and higher vitamin D levels).

I was therefore interested to read a recent study in which vitamin D therapy was tested in group of elderly individuals (average age 70). The study participants were divided into four groups:

Group 1 received 300,000 IU of vitamin D into the muscle
Group 2 received a placebo injection into the muscle
Group 3 received 300,000 IU of vitamin D as an oral supplement
Group 4 received an oral placebo

The group underwent a range of assessments at the start of the study and one month later.

Here are the changes seen after a month in each of the four groups:

Group 1. Reduced pain, improved functional mobility, improved quality of life, improved general health, improved mental health, improved social functioning.

Group 2. Reduced pain, improved physical functioning.

Group 3. Reduced pain, improved physical functioning.

Group 4. Reduced pain.

Overall, compared to placebo, just one big dose of vitamin D had significant benefits for this population, particularly when given directly into the muscle.

We have some evidence here, that vitamin D can directly enhance functioning in the elderly. It makes me think that many elderly individuals can get quite easily get caught in a cycle of impaired functioning, restricted movement, reduced sunlight exposure and then suboptimal vitamin D leading to impaired functioning and so on and so forth. ‘Institutionalised’ individuals in nursing and care homes may be at particular risk, as may any individuals who are long-stay patients in hospital. 

It’s impossible to know what sort of disease and disability burden is caused by suboptimal levels of vitamin D, though my suspicion is that it’s sizeable. On the plus side, it’s a problem that is easily tested for and treatable. Growing awareness of this issue may see many more individuals getting the management they require in later life to keep them alive and well.

References:

1. Sakall H, et al. The effect of oral and parenteral vitamin D supplementation in the elderly: a prospective, double-blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled study. Rheumatol Int. 2011 May 10. [Epub ahead of print]

SOURCE

In Support of Health Forensics

Some years ago I began the arduous task of developing a better way to get to core issues in a client's health status.  I did this mainly because I have a strong commitment to public health.

Over time I honed this approach, always seeking just a little bit better way to accomplish the resulting "picture" of some one's health status.  It also came to be able to show the real core of the problems at hand: nutritional deficiencies related to organ system strength.

With the ever broadening of diagnostic classification, the extensive reliance on pharmaceuticals, and the loss of the art in health care, I  knew I had to find a better way.  With this approach I believe I can help people understand what has become an epidemic of no real method to prevent and improve health.

This process started off with a nutritional profile and an overview based on Five Element Theory.  Over time I added something or removed something to eventually come to the point where I began developing my patent application.

Patent applications are time consuming.  I know because I already have one.  This will be my second, and I hope to have the package ready to submit shortly.


In the mean time there three levels of my program are available.


The basic level is the ASK plan.  This allows you to ask a simple question and after payment you receive what is equal to my 15 minute mini-consult.


The second level available in my system is Health Detective.  This is a service that looks into your current health concerns and there is a $300 fee.  This plays out to about a 5-6 hour access to my expertise.  You receive feedback from the results of the forms I require you to complete and it includes a private phone consultation.  The information amazes most doctors.


The most in depth level in the system is Health Forensics.  There is an hourly fee for this service.  Many practitioners use this service when they are meeting with obstacles in a client's care.  I also have many attorneys using this system for help with difficult case.  This service is focused on complex and complicated health concerns, or it may be used to assist you in developing your own health protection program.  Additionally, our health, spiritual, nutritional, emotional, and specialized counseling services are provided under this designation.

All of these services are unique and highly customized and individualized to your needs. Telephone counseling sessions are available by appointment only (prescheduled and prepayment required).


We do offer retainer plans.

While we do not do insurance billing we do provide statements so you may submit to your insurance for reimbursement.

There is never any obligation to continue working with us after the first appointment.  All information is considered highly confidential and is provided only and directly to you.

Learn more about Health Forensics

Nonsense in Normal Lab Results 

Broadening Disease Definitions