Seed Fruits for Health

Identifying Peach and Plum Polyphenols with Chemopreventive Potential 

Giuliana Noratto, Weston Porter, David Byrne and Luis Cisneros-Zevallos*

^† Department of Horticultural Sciences and Vegetable and Fruit Improvement Center

^‡ Veterinary Integrative Biosciences

Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843

J. Agric. Food Chem., 2009, 57 (12), pp 5219–5226

DOI: 10.1021/jf900259m

Publication Date (Web): May 28, 2009

Copyright © 2009 American Chemical Society

ABSTRACT: Our objective was to evaluate the cancer suppression activity of extracts from a commercial variety of yellow-fleshed peach ‘Rich Lady’ (RL) and a red-fleshed plum ‘Black Splendor’ (BS) and identify the phenolic fractions that may possess potential as chemopreventive and/or chemotherapeutic natural compounds. The peach RL extract effectively inhibited the proliferation of the estrogen-independent MDA-MB-435 breast cancer cell line. The concentration to inhibit 50% of cell proliferation (IC₅₀) was 42 mg/L for this cell line compared to an IC₅₀ of 130 and 515 mg/L for the noncancerous breast cell line MCF-10A and the estrogen-dependent breast cancer cell line MCF-7, respectively. Similarly, BS extracts showed greater effects on MDA-MB-435 cells as compared to the other breast cancer or the normal breast cell lines. In general, BS extracts were less effective than RL extracts. Within all RL and BS fractions, fraction 3 (F3, flavonoids) and fraction 4 (F4, procyanidins) were more potent than fraction 1 (F1, phenolic acids) and fraction 2 (F2, anthocyanins) against the three cell lines. The order of potency of RL fractions against MDA-MB-435 was F₃ F₄ > F₁ > F₂. The antiproliferative activity of pure compounds identified in F₃ and F₁ confirmed that quercetin 3β-glucoside is the bioactive compound in F₃, with the same level of toxicity on the estrogen-independent MDA-MB-435 breast cancer and breast epithelial MCF-10A cells (IC₅₀ = 1.9 ± 0.2 and 1.8 ± 0.3, respectively). However, we confirmed that phenolic acids present in F₁: chlorogenic and neo-chlorogenic acids have potential as chemopreventive dietary compounds because of the relatively high growth inhibition exerted on the estrogen-independent MDA-MB-435 breast cancer cell line and low toxicity exerted in the normal MCF-10A cells.

FRUIT SEEDS

More About GMO in Your Food

http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_21101.cfm

Which Federal Politicians Oppose GMO Labeling?Monsanto's Minions in Congress 

Monsanto is a major corrupting force in the political arena. Each year Monsanto contributes hundreds of thousands of dollars to elected officials, while their powerful allies, Food Inc. and the Farm Bureau, contribute millions more. We characterize these indentured Congress members as "Monsanto's Minions," to call attention to the fact that they would rather deny consumers the right to know whether their foods are genetically engineered or not (90% of their constituents want labels on GMOs), rather than standing up to Monsanto and the other Gene Giants: Syngenta, Dow, BASF, Dupont, and Bayer.

Is your US Representative one of Monsanto's Minions?

Fight Monsanto! Ask Your Representatives to Co-Sponsor Kucinich's Bill to Label Genetically Engineered Foods

On June 21, 2010, Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) announced he would introduce three bills to comprehensively regulate all genetically engineered products, including a bill that would require all foods containing genetically modified ingredients to be labeled.
Most Americans simply do not understand that 80% of non-organic supermarket processed foods (basically every product containing soy, corn, canola, cottonseed oil, sugar beet derivatives or ingredients from animals fed soy or corn) are contaminated with genetically modified organisms. While nearly everyone in North America has eaten genetically modified foods, only 26% believe that they have.
People don't think they're eating genetically modified foods because they have no way of knowing whether they are or not. Genetically modified foods aren't labeled.
If we're going to save this generation from reproductive dysfunction and save our farmland from the ravages of RoundUp, we need to stop Monsanto.
The first step is to protect consumers' right to know whether their food is genetically modified. Please ask your representatives in the US Congress to cosponsor Rep. Kucinich's legislation.

New Cell Tower Report in Error: Don't Get Closer Than 1500 Feet

This new report is a great dis-service to you and your health.  The main error is that the study is too short.  The time frame is legitimate studies are well know to me much longer.  And if you review the existing science on this subject you will see that  the standard distance to a tower where you have continual exposure is not less than 325 yards or better, 1500 feet (500 yds).

Of course you are free to decide what risk you really want to take.

LONDON, June 23 (UPI) -- British researchers say living near a cellphone base station does increase a woman's likelihood of having a child with cancer.

Researchers at the Imperial College London analyzed radio frequency exposure from nearby mobile phone base stations during the nine months of pregnancy for mothers of 1,397 children who developed leukemia or nervous system brain cancer in their first four years of life.

Exposures were also calculated for the mothers of controls -- four children for each cancer child who share gender and birth date.

The study, published in the British Medical Journal, concluded children developing cancer were no more likely to have a birth address near a cellphone base station than those in the control group.

"People are worried that living near a mobile phone mast might affect their children's health," study corresponding author Paul Elliott says in a statement. "We found no pattern to suggest that the children of mums living near a base station during pregnancy had a greater risk of developing cancer than those who lived elsewhere."

Elliott and colleagues analyzed total power output and power density for base stations near the birth address of almost 7,000 children.  © 2010 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

And on a healthier cell phone note 

San Francisco passes cell phone radiation law

San Francisco has become the first city in the US to require mobile phone retailers to post radiation levels next to the handsets they sell.

Natural Products Association expresses "concern" over 2010 Dietary Guidelines

Worth your time to review and comment before 15 July.  This proposal leaves out the importance of using nutritional supplements.

Natural Products Association expresses "concern" over 2010 Dietary Guidelines

USDA Report

Health Insurance Rewards More for Procedures Than Real Care

Are you wondering why Congress blocked Medicare reimbursements?

I thought this was quite a good report on the current state of health care.  The problem as I see it is that this mentality has been the mainstay of Medicare and Big Insurance since the "managed care" movement moved in with gusto in the 80s.

I just hop my readers will take heed and realize this is what you are up against in regard to REAL health care reform.

It was a case study in what primary-care doctors have long bemoaned: that Medicare rewards doctors far better for doing procedures than for assessing whether they should be done at all. The incentives for overtreatment continue, said Dr. Ted Epperly, the board chairman of the American Academy of Family Physicians, because those who profit from them — specialists, hospitals, drug companies and the medical-device manufacturers — spend money lobbying Congress and the public to keep it that way.

Last year, doctors, hospitals, drug companies, medical-equipment manufacturers and other medical professionals spent $545 million on lobbying, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. This may help explain why researchers estimate that 20 to 30 percent of Medicare’s $510 billion budget goes for unnecessary tests and treatment. Why cost-containment received short shrift in health care reform. Why physicians like Fales net an average of $173,000 a year, while noninvasive cardiologists like Rogan net about $419,000.

The system rewarded nobody for saying “no” or even “wait” — not even my frugal, intelligent, Consumer-Reports-reading mother. Medicare and supplemental insurance covered almost every penny of my father’s pacemaker. My mother was given more government-mandated consumer information when she bought a new Camry a year later.

And so my father’s electronically managed heart — now requiring frequent monitoring, paid by Medicare — became part of the $24 billion worldwide cardiac-device industry and an indirect subsidizer of the fiscal health of American hospitals. The profit margins that manufacturers earn on cardiac devices is close to 30 percent. Cardiac procedures and diagnostics generate about 20 percent of hospital revenues and 30 percent of profits.

According to an analysis by the Dartmouth Atlas medical-research group, patients are far more likely than their doctors to reject aggressive treatments when fully informed of pros, cons and alternatives — information, one study suggests, that nearly half of patients say they don’t get. And although many doctors assume that people want to extend their lives, many do not. In a 1997 study in The Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 30 percent of seriously ill people surveyed in a hospital said they would “rather die” than live permanently in a nursing home. In a 2008 study in The Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 28 percent of patients with advanced heart failure said they would trade one day of excellent health for another two years in their current state.

Complete article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/20/magazine/20pacemaker-t.html

Know Your GMO

UPDATE, JUNE 21: High Court Delivers Ruling that Leaves Ban on Planting of Roundup Ready Alfalfa in Place in First-Ever Case on a Genetically-Engineered Crop
The United States Supreme Court announced its decision today in Monsanto v. Geerston Farms, the first genetically modified crop case ever brought before the Supreme Court.  Although the High Court decision reverses parts of the lower courts’ rulings, the judgment holds that the ban on planting Roundup Ready Alfalfa still stands until and unless future deregulation by the Agency occurs.  This is a major victory for the Center for Food Safety and the Farmers and Consumers it represents!
In the majority opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito, the Court held: “In sum…the vacatur of APHIS’s deregulation decision means that virtually no RRA (Roundup Ready Alfalfa) can be grown or sold until such time as a new deregulation decision is in place, and we also know that any party aggrieved by a hypothetical future deregulation decision will have ample opportunity to challenge it, and to seek appropriate preliminary relief, if and when such a decision is made.” (Opinion at p. 22).
The Court also held that:

• Any further attempt to commercialize RRA even in part may require an EIS subject to legal challenge. 
• The Court further recognized that the threat of transgenic contamination is harmful and onerous to organic and conventional farmers and that the injury allows them to challenge future biotech crop commercializations in court.

USDA indicated at the Supreme Court argument that full deregulation is about a year away and that they will not pursue a partial deregulation in the interim.  Any new attempt at deregulation in full or part will still be subject to legal challenge.
Many of you may have read press this morning reporting that the 7-1 decision announced by the Supreme Court today went entirely in Monsanto's favor. Not to our surprise, Monsanto’s PR machine is working hard to overpower the truth in today's decision in the first-ever Supreme Court case on genetically engineered crops (Monsanto Co. v.  Geertson Seed Farms). While the decision is complicated, this Court opinion is in many ways a victory for CFS and a defeat against Monsanto—especially given that it is still illegal to sell or plant GMO alfalfa.
CFS’s Executive Director, Andrew Kimbrell authored an article in today's Huffington Post to help clarify the legal ramifications of the decision. Grist also has a good piece outlining the decision, as does Eco Centric.
Despite what Monsanto is claiming—and what many mainstream media outlets reported earlier this morning—today’s ruling isn’t even close to the victory they were hoping for. Generally speaking, Monsanto asked the Supreme Court to rule on three main issues: (1) to lift the injunction on GMO alfalfa; (2) to allow the planting and sale of GMO alfalfa; (3) to rule that contamination from GMO crops not be considered irreparable harm.
In fact, the court only ruled on the first request which it did affirm by stating that the injunction was overly broad and should be overturned. However, the Court ruled in CFS's favor on the other two issues, which in many ways are more important as the fact remains that the planting and sale of GMO alfalfa remains illegal. The Supreme Court ruled that an injunction against planting was simply unnecessary since, under lower courts’ rulings, Roundup Ready Alfalfa became a regulated item and illegal to plant.  In other words, the injunction was “overkill’ because our victory in lower federal court determined that USDA violated the National Environmental Protection Act and other environmental laws when it approved Roundup Ready alfalfa.  The court felt that voiding the USDA’s decision to make the crop legally available for sale was enough.
The Center is victorious in this case in several other ways: most importantly, the High Court did not rule on several arguments presented by Monsanto about the application of federal environmental law.  As a result, the Court did not make any ruling that could have been hurtful to National Environmental Policy Act or any other environmental laws.  In addition, the Court opinion supported the Center’s argument that gene flow is a serious environmental and economic threat.  This means that genetic contamination from GMOs can still be considered harm under the law, both from an environmental and economic perspective, another huge victory for CFS. 
We could not have gone all the way to the Supreme Court without your support—thank you! Your letters, phone calls and donations have been invaluable in the efforts to ban GE alfalfa. We will keep you updated on any Agency attempts to deregulate GE alfalfa and on the ongoing EIS process. In the meantime, if you have not already done so, please take a moment to contact your Congressional representatives and ask them to sign the “Dear Colleague” letter circulating in the U.S. House and Senate urging USDA to ban GE alfalfa.

Further background information on the history of this case and scientific studies are available at http://truefoodnow.org/publications/supreme-court-briefs/. Today’s press release can be found here: http://truefoodnow.org/2010/06/21/supreme-court-ruling-in-monsanto-case-is-victory-for-center-for-food-safety-farmers/#more-1217, and The Supreme Court decision can be viewed here: http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/09pdf/09-475.pdf 


UPDATE: 28 May - 

Genetically Modified Soy Linked to Sterility, Infant Mortality
"This study was just routine," said Russian biologist Alexey V. Surov, in what could end up as the understatement of this century. Surov and his colleagues set out to discover if Monsanto's genetically modified (GM) soy, grown on 91% of US soybean fields, leads to problems in growth or reproduction. What he discovered may uproot a multi-billion dollar industry.
After feeding hamsters for two years over three generations, those on the GM diet, and especially the group on the maximum GM soy diet, showed devastating results. By the third generation, most GM soy-fed hamsters lost the ability to have babies. They also suffered slower growth, and a high mortality rate among the pups.
And if this isn't shocking enough, some in the third generation even had hair growing inside their mouths—a phenomenon rarely seen, but apparently more prevalent among hamsters eating GM soy.

Tom Vilsack was well known to be a great Monsanto cheerleader before Obama selected him for AG Secretary -

Now here's another chance to let him and Health Secretary Sebelius know how dangerous GMO's are to health and why labelling MUST be required on food.  


You Do Have the Right to Know

Action Alert – Protect Your Right to Know Which Foods Contain GMOs

Please send this URGENT message to U.S. Government leaders to protect your right to know which foods are made from genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Click and send an email today to the Secretaries of State (Clinton), Agriculture (Vilsack), and Health and Human Services (Sebelius). Please try to do this before Wednesday, May 5th, but don’t stop until they come around.

They must stop U.S. negotiators at an international (Codex) conference from May 3-7, from pushing an agenda that could make it difficult for anyone, anywhere in the world to label foods as genetically modified (GM) – or even make non-GMO claims on their product’s label.

The U.S. is taking the ridiculous and unscientific position that GMOs are not different from conventional foods, claiming labels that say GMO or non-GMO are misleading.

If they succeed at the meeting, the U.S. may then file lawsuits through the World Trade Organization against any country that implements mandatory labeling of GMOs, or even allows non-GMO claims on packages.

This Is a Grave Threat to the Non-GMO Tipping Point – We Must Push Back Now!

The growing evidence and concern about health dangers of GMOs is making waves. A renowned US Medical organization (American Academy of Environmental Medicine) called on doctors to prescribe non-GMO diets for all patients. Consumers are seeking non-GMO brands, and the fastest growing claim among store brands in 2009 was “GMO-Free” (Neilson Survey). The trade journal Supermarket News predicts GMO concerns will erupt this year, specifically because consumers are now given choices by the new Non-GMO Shopping Guide website and the Non-GMO Project’s third-party verified standard for making non-GMO claims.

Most Americans (53%) say they would avoid GMOs if they were labeled. But even 5% would likely be enough to create a tipping point of consumer rejection, forcing all GM ingredients out of our food supply.

We can see the tipping point just over the horizon, but it is now threatened by the US position at Codex.

Tell our government leaders that you will not stand for this outrageous obstruction of our democracy and human rights. Demand that the U.S. support the right for countries everywhere to label GMOs. And remind them that 9 out of 10 Americans want mandatory GMO labeling, and that President Obama actually made a campaign pledge to implement it—which are all waiting for.

Send an email today

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This email was sent by The Institute for Responsible Technology, located at PO Box 469 - Fairfield, IA 52556 -

Kagan goes to bat for Monsanto
U.S. Solicitor General Elena Kagan, President Obama's pick for the Supreme Court, is the most recent in a long line of pro-biotech Obama appointees.
As Solicitor General, Kagan submitted a friend of the court brief to the Supreme Court in favor of Monsanto's appeal in Monsanto v. Geertson Seed Farms.
Monsanto is trying to get the Supreme Court to force genetically engineered (GE) alfalfa onto the market, despite passionate opposition from organic consumers and farmers, and despite the fact the USDA never did a proper Environmental Impact Statement. Geerston Seed Farms made the case that GE alfalfa would permanently contaminate their GE-free alfalfa seed, prompting a California US District Court to effectively ban Monsanto's GE alfalfa.
As Solicitor General, Kagan is supposed to represent the interests of the American people in matters that come before the Supreme Court. Instead, she went to bat for Monsanto Co.

ORIGINAL POST DATE 5/4/10

Summer, WAR, and Health

Salute to Lee Oskar of WAR: Summer

And now health, Emphysema

Harmonica For Fun & Health Classes -

It was amazing to find that most of the benefits of harmonica play are areas of focus in pulmonary rehabilitation programs.

Ranch Dressing a Favorite, Even with Questionable Ingredients

Ranch dressing is the most popular salad dressing offered in restaurants of North America, according to Mintel Menu Insights.

Kraft Ranch Dressing came in at the 'Numero Uno' position  and of course I wonder why that is because the writer made no inclusion of the ingredients.

As fro me I'd leave this on the shelf after viewing some of the ingredients I highlighted.

According to Kraft, their Ranch dressing contains -

WATER, SOYBEAN OIL, SUGAR, GARLIC JUICE, BUTTERMILK, CONTAINS LESS THAN 2% OF SALT, MODIFIED FOOD STARCH, WHEY, PHOSPHORIC ACID, MONOSODIUM GLUTAMATE, EGG WHITES, VINEGAR, XANTHAN GUM, CITRIC ACID, POLYSORBATE 60, SPICE, NATURAL FLAVOR, ENZYMES, WITH SODIUM LACTATE, NATAMYCIN, AND CALCIUM DISODIUM EDTA AS PRESERVATIVES. CONTAINS: MILK, EGG.

And the label sports this information -

• 

• Serving Size
• 2tbs

• Servings per Container about
• 24

• Amount Per Serving

Calories

120

Calories from Fat

110

% Daily Value*

•  Total Fat 12g
• 
  
• 18 %

•    Saturated Fat 2g
• 
  
• 10 %

•    Trans Fat 0g
• 
  
• 0 %

•  Cholesterol 0mg
• 
  
• 0 %

•  Sodium 370mg
• 
  
• 15 %

•  Total Carbohydrate 3g
• 
  
• 1 %

•    Dietary Fiber 0g
• 
  
• 0 %

•    Sugars 2g
• 
  
• 
  

•  Protein 0g

Here in a report posted Yahoo's 'Shine' pages you'll find the report -

So how did we choose our test subjects? Some were easy--you can't think of the words Hidden Valley without Ranch attached--but some required more thought. So I took myself to an Associated Supermarket (a New York chain akin to Giant, Safeway, and the like), stood in front of the dressing aisle, and let my hand wander to bottles like the planchette on a Ouija board. Just kidding; this choice involved email discussions among colleagues and many a chat with grocers.

Once I arrived back to the office, plastic bags in hand, we set out to decide which brand is the best. The only fair way to do this was a blind taste test, so that no one on staff knew which dressing was which. And baby carrots were the vehicle of choice, because "baby carrots and ranch dip is the official food of preschoolers everywhere," said Executive Editor Victoria von Biel.

#1 Kraft Ranch Dressing & Dip
Nutrition: 1 serving = 120 calories; 12 g fat; 370 mg sodium
Cost: $2.19 for an 8oz. bottle at Associated Supermarket
Blind Tasting Notes: "Nice bright white color"; "Well balanced"; "Tastes like my childhood"

No Pink Pill This Week

While the "pink pill" has received an all thumbs down response it may be good for women on the long run, and their health.

It can be good because it can allow for nutritional education and coaching like we offer at Creating Health Institute in the beginning of our work with clients. Food allergy and environmental allergy can re investigated too. And we don't ignore emotional and spiritual issues either.

It can also allow for evaluation of hormonal issues like thyroid, and the sex hormones, leading the way, perhaps to the use of bio-identical hormones that the FDA wants to ban.

And if it is support in the mean time that you are seeking, then our natural, herbal formula that has helps so many over the years is still available.

While it is a complex issue for women, perhaps low and no fat diets are the culprit...

Another review

FDA: 'Female Viagra' falls short
By MATTHEW PERRONE, AP writer
WASHINGTON – A pink pill designed to boost sex drive in women — the latest attempt by the drug industry to find a female equivalent to Viagra — fell short in two studies, federal health regulators said Wednesday.
The Food and Drug Administration is considering Boehringer Ingelheim's drug flibanserin for premenopausal women who report a lack of sexual desire, a market that drugmakers have been targeting for more than a decade since the blockbuster success of Viagra in men.
The search for so-called "female Viagra," has proved elusive though, with many drugs abandoned after showing lackluster results.
On Friday the FDA will ask a panel of experts to weigh in on the safety and effectiveness of Boehringer's drug. The agency is not required to follow the group's advice, though it often does.
In its review posted online, the FDA said two Boehringer studies failed to show a significant increase in sexual desire, as recorded by women in a daily journal. Women taking the drug reported slightly more sexually satisfying experiences, but FDA said that was not the primary measure of the study.
"The division wanted to see that an effect of treatment is an overall increase in sexual desire regardless of whether a sexual event occurred or not," states the FDA review.
The FDA also noted increased side effects like depression, fainting and dizziness seen among women taking the pink pill.
The drug, which is related to the antidepressant family, affects serotonin and several other brain chemicals, though it's not clear how that increases sex drive.
"We don't know specifically what the exact mechanism of action is but we believe it acts on brain chemicals that have a role in human sexual response," said Dr. Peter Piliero, executive director for Boehringer's U.S. medical affairs.
Since the launch of Viagra in 1998, more than two dozen experimental therapies have been studied for so-called "female sexual dysfunction," a market which some analysts estimate at $2 billion.
Dr. Elizabeth Kavaler, a urologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York, says arousal in women is so complicated that it may be unrealistic to expect a pill to completely address sexual problems.
"It's a fairly complicated area, unlike in men's sexual dysfunction where there's a major mechanical concern," said Kavaler. "In women there's no mechanical concern, so if she's not having a successful sex life, where is the problem?"
Pharmaceutical approaches to boosting female libido have evolved over time. Initially, most treatments aimed to increase blood flow to the genitals, similar to Viagra. A second wave of would-be blockbusters focused on boosting hormones, including testosterone, which is linked to sexual interest. Flibanserin is the first drug to approach the problem through brain chemistry.
The FDA has approved an unusual handheld vacuum device that increases blood flow to the clitoris to increase sexual arousal. But all drug therapies have fallen short so far.
In 2004, Pfizer halted its study of Viagra in women due to inconclusive results. Later that year an FDA panel rejected Procter & Gamble's testosterone patch Intrinsa, due to potential risks of heart disease and cancer. Smaller companies are currently developing creams and nasal sprays to increase female libido.
BioSante Pharmaceuticals Inc. expects to submit its testosterone gel LibiGel for FDA approval next year.
Medical surveys have estimated more than 40 percent of women suffer from some form of sexual dysfunction; Boehringer estimates as many as one in 10 women could be helped by its drug.
Boehringer tried to zero in on the chemical aspect of sexual dysfunction by only testing its drug on premenopausal women who were in stable relationships and not taking other medications. Despite wanting to have a sexual relationship, the women enrolled in company studies reported a persistent lack of desire that caused them "distress or interpersonal difficulty."
Leonore Tiefer, a psychiatry professor at New York University who runs a private sex therapy practice, believes drugmakers have oversimplified female sexuality. She says in most cases lack of sex drive has more to do with the quality of one's relationship and lifestyle than brain chemicals.
During the public comment period at Friday's meeting, Tiefer will ask the FDA to reject flibanserin, arguing it offers meager benefits for women with unknown long-term risks.
The modest results reported by Boehringer have also cooled Wall Street's expectations for the drug.
Decision Resources analyst Alasdair Milton said he expects flibanserin sales to peak at $300 million after six or more years on the market. By comparison, male sexual dysfunction drugs including Viagra, Cialis and others posted combined sales of $4.4 billion last year, according to health care data firm IMS Health.
Privately-held Boehringer Ingelheim posted sales of $12 billion last year. The Ingelheim, Germany -based company makes a range of prescription drugs for heart disease, HIV and other diseases.

STATINS LINKED TO DEPRESSION AND MEMORY LOSS

D.Mail 9.11.2009

SIDE-EFFECTS ALERT FOR ALL STATIN USERS AS DRUG IS LINKED TO DEPRESSION AND MEMORY LOSS

New health warnings are to be issued over popular cholesterol- lowering drugs after evidence that thousands of users suffer side-effects such as depression and sexual problems.

More than 6 millions adults are prescribed statins by their GPs will be told about five new 'undesirable effects' in leaflets issued with packets of the drugs. These include sleep disturbances, memory loss, sexual dysfunction, depression. But some doctors have criticised delays by the Government's drug safety watchdog, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. The MHRA signalled the need for updating warnings last year but disagreement about the wording have held up the changes.

Edward Priestly comments. 100s of prescribed drugs have many of these and other more serious side-effects. These side-effects are in addition to the previous ones where warnings are given of severe disabling muscle disorders caused by statins that can lead to kidney failure .

Hooray for SPROUTS!

Retail excellence: stores we love

Looking for a store tour or a store we have highlighted in the past year? Click here to learn about different stores across the country and what they're doing well.

Sprouts Farmers Markets	12 of 17 « Prev Next »
Spotlight on: meat and fish counters

The meat selection at a Sprouts Farmers Market.

Vince Dreshner knows meat. He started out at the counter of a gourmet meat shop in 1976—the year is easy to remember, he says, because he had to work during America’s bicentennial celebration. He moved up the meat-retailing ranks until, in 2002, he finally got the opportunity to design a meat and fish department from scratch.

As director of perishables for the then-new Sprouts Farmers Market in Chandler, Ariz., Dreshner took the lessons he learned from a career full of hits and misses to initiate a program that has propelled Sprouts to the top of the retail world. When other stores are cutting back on expansion plans, Sprouts has inked deals to open a minimum of 12 locations in 2010. While other stores are laying off employees, Dreshner estimates that the new Sprouts locations, at around 85 employees per store, will create more than 1,000 jobs next year.

Click here to learn more about this store.

Pet Health: FOOD

My friend and holistic vet, Rick Palmquist, sent along this information to me about Dr Pitcairn's blog. Dr. Richard Pitcairn has written several books on holistic and homeopathic veterinary, including the Complete Guide to Natural Care for Dogs & Cats.

Here he writes about the controversy of feeding grains.  I make home cooked food for my dog and cat, and often use organic brown rice or organic barley.  Belle, my Golden Retriever, loved home cooked organic whole oats as a puppy, with banana. Learn more -

Feeding Grains to  Cats and Dogs, from Dr. Pitcairn

Since the last edition of our book was published there has been a strong movement towards feeding dogs and cats primarily meat and bones. Along with this, the strange idea has been put forth that grains are harmful or poisonous. Likely this is an exaggeration of the concept that grains in large amounts are not the optimal diet. The situation is more complex, however, than most realize.

The first question is if grains are not good for animals. The short answer is that grains are well accepted by animals if they are properly prepared. By this, I mean that the animal digestive tract is shorter than the human so the grains must be well cooked to be digestible.

Well, then, are they are in some way harmful? They are not if the quality is good. By “quality” we are meaning that the grains are complete, not just “leftovers” from milling. Also they need to be fresh, not rancid or spoiled. One would assume this is obvious but the fact is that commercial pet foods can use the leftovers and rejects from the production of human foods – the spoiled, contaminated, nutritionally inadequate floor sweepings – as their source of grains. Much of the concern about the harmful effect of grains in food for animals is because of the poor quality grain used in many commercial foods. The formula is like this:

Poor quality grain in commercial food = diminished health in animals = avoidance of grain based commercial foods = all grains are bad.

You can see that the first 3 steps make sense but the last conclusion does not as it is not taking into account that the health problems seen in animals has to do with the quality of the ingredient rather than the nature of it, e.g. that it is from grains.

Research into animal nutrition as cited in “Nutrient Requirements for Dogs” and “Nutrient Requirements for Cats” published by the Subcommittee on Dog Nutrition and Cat Nutrition by the National Research Council (about as reliable as one is going to find outside of the industry) reports that growing dogs fed a diet of up to 62% starch (which is an unusually simple carbohydrate, grains being much more complete) were able to digest 84% of the starch and use it for growth and energy. Even more significant these puppies had no apparent health effects from such a diet, growing the same as the group fed no carbohydrates.

Cats have been shown to be able to digest over 96% of starch fed to them.

B vitamins and Methionine Improve Health

High levels of Vitamin B6 and the amino acid methionine cut lung cancer risk by half -

Methionine is a sulfur bearing amino acid that is necessary for health.  As a "methyl donor", methionine contributes to the formation of numerous important compounds in your body. This process is called "methylation". As a sulfur donor, methionine aids body detoxification processes, and assists in converting other sulfur-bearing amino acids - like glutathione - to S-adenosyl methionine (SAM-e).

SAMe is an active compound made from methionine and adenosine triphosphate (ATP). SAMe acts as a methyl donor in many biochemical pathways including detoxification of harmful products of metabolism.  It is needed to build neurotransmitters, cartilage, and glutathione.
Glutathione production is very important in anti-aging and helps reduce cellular oxidation, acting to prevent cancer. It mixes with toxins to form water soluble compounds that can be eliminated from the body.

Deficient "methylation" is implicated in mood deviation. Diets that are deficient in methionine may result in destructive tissue breakdown and poor protein metabolism.

Methionine is an essential amino acid and help make cysteine from food.  Its sulfur compounds promote healthy hair, skin, and nail growth. Sulfur increases bile flow, reduces liver fat and cholesterol, helps eliminate heavy metals and toxins, and protects your kidneys while blocking ammonia build-up in urine.
Methionine plays a key role in regulating the availability of folic acid (vitamin B9). Methionine deficiency interferes with your ability to use B9 and may cause a build up of unusable B9.

Food sources of methionine include Sunflower seeds, sesame seed, pumpkin seed, eggs, garlic, onions, yoghurt, cottage cheese, fish, sardines, beef, pork, chicken, lentils, Brazil nuts, peanuts, and almonds.

Soy is deficient in methionine.

Vegans or those eating low protein diets are at risk for deficiency.

Indications for use: Mood depression, excess alcohol use, liver health, antioxidant support, immune support, and to help maintain copper levels

Crystalline L-methionine is most readily absorbed, and it is best to take this amino acid in a combination with B complex, taurine, cysteine, vitamin B6, and folic acid.   Complete B complex vitamins and amino acids are available in our organic nutritional yeast.

More about methionine  and  also here


Creating Health Institue recommends taking a high quality multi-vitamin/mineral before adding additional supplements.

Health Insurance Rates to Climb

Natural Health News has been covering the health insurance issue for many years and we have over 100 related posts on this blog.

Today, yet another report on increased insurance costs is reported in business news.  These increases are poised to impact retiree health plans and reduced employer coverage.  Once again corporate America is holding on to its profits as the expense of those that make profit possible.

Employers to see 2011 medical costs jump - 
9% increase projected for 2011 with higher deductible rates.

By TOM MURPHY, AP Business Writer Mon Jun 14

INDIANAPOLIS – Companies that offer employee health insurance expect another steep jump in medical costs next year, and more will ask workers to share a bigger chunk of the expense, according to a new PricewaterhouseCoopers report.
For the first time, most of the American workforce is expected to have health insurance deductibles of $400 or more, the consulting firm said in a report released to The Associated Press.
Deductibles are the annual amount a patient pays out of pocket for care before insurance coverage starts. They are generally separate from co-payments and coinsurance.
Two years ago, only 25 percent of companies participating in the annual survey said they asked employees to pay deductibles of $400 or more. That grew to 43 percent in 2010 and is expected to pass 50 percent next year.
Employees who are asked to pay more through things like higher deductibles help keep cost growth in check because they use less health care.
The health care reform law passed by Congress and then signed by President Obama in March has just started to unfold and will have little impact on costs next year, said Michael Thompson, a principal with PricewaterhouseCoopers.
"In general, it's a continuation of a fairly high rate of medical inflation," he said.
PricewaterhouseCoopers found that medical costs are expected to rise 9 percent next year. But this doesn't mean workers will see their monthly premiums jump by the same amount.
Employers typically try to soften the impact of a cost increase by absorbing some of it, changing insurance plan designs or asking employees to pay higher deductibles or a larger coinsurance percentage.
For instance, a medical cost increase of more than 9 percent was forecast for 2009. But the average annual premium rose only 5 percent for family coverage that year and stayed flat for single coverage, according to a separate study from the Kaiser Family Foundation.
The 9 percent medical cost increase projected in 2011 is actually slightly smaller than the 9.5 percent jump PricewaterhouseCoopers is seeing this year. Thompson said several top-selling drugs will lose patent protection next year and become exposed to lower-cost generic competition. That will help temper the increase.
The PricewaterhouseCoopers report also found a steep drop in the percentage of employers that subsidize retiree health coverage. It said only 22 percent of employers with more than 5,000 workers subsidized retiree coverage after age 65 this year. That's down from 37 percent in 2009.
"It's a major cost and one that employers have for years now been moving away from," Thompson said.
PricewaterhouseCoopers compiled its report by analyzing e-mail survey results from 674 companies in 30 different industries across the country. Most of the companies participating had 1,000 employees or more. The firm also interviewed health plan executives and reviewed analyst reports.  http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100614/ap_on_bi_ge/us2011_health_costs

Brown Rice: More than Low GL or High Fiber

Brown Rice has been a mainstay of organic, whole food nutrition and food plans for a very long time.  It has also been a mainstay of more macrobiotic food plans for as long or longer.  Both choices have suffered the ridicule of mainstream medicine and dietitians for as long or longer than I have been involved as a health care professional which has been more than 40 years.  I have studied nutrition for far longer and it amazes me how slow mainstream is to learn about the benefits of such whole foods as brown rice, and then how they get the credit as if they are the first to discover it.

I have for decades now been recommending a special brown rice meal to people with diabetes or those at risk.  I've also been recommending it as a special meal for deep cellular detoxification.  And if you knew the nutritional benefits you would understand why.

White rice 'raises diabetes risk', say US experts

White rice has a higher glycemic load than brown rice.

Replacing white rice with brown rice and wholemeal bread could cut the risk of diabetes by a third, US experts say.

White rice poses a diabetes threat because it causes steep rises in blood sugar, say Harvard researchers in Archives of Internal Medicine.
Brown rice and other wholegrain foods are a healthier option as they release glucose more gradually, they say. Complete article

What I think is more important and not addressed in this report is the basic nutritional profile of this whole food and that connection to health or dis-ease.

Brown rice is high in the mineral manganese. Manganese is important for many functions. It can

• Help your body utilize several key nutrients such as biotin, thiamine, ascorbic acid, and choline
• Keep your bones strong and healthy
• Help your body synthesize fatty acids and cholestorol
• Maintain normal blood sugar levels
• Promote optimal function of your thyroid gland
• Maintain the health of your nerves
• Protect your cells from free-radical damage 

Biotin and Thiamine are part of the vitamin B complex.  B vitamins are especially important for people with diabetes.  It is also important to support healthy thyroid function because it has a direct link to diabetes.

Brown rice is also high in selenium which helps support your thyroid and iodine metabolism, and it is high in magnesium which is also very important for people with this health problem.  This unhulled rice also is known to be high in phytonutrients that may be equal to or higher than fruits and vegetables.

Brown rice is helpful as well for lowering cholesterol, preventing cardiovascular disease, weight management, protecting against breast and colon cancer (other cancers too), preventing gallstones, and aiding childhood asthma.

Purchase organic brown rice when possible to reduce risk of arsenic exposure and store it in the refrigerator to prevent it from becoming rancid as it contains rice bran oils.  The oil is a source of vitamin E and tocotrienols. It also contains trytophan.

I always suggest soaking this rice overnight before cooking to reduce the phytic acid load.

More about Brown Rice nutrition

Combining brown rice with sesame seed in my special recipe adds more preventive nutrition for diabetes. This combination raises the level of IP6 availability.  IP6 (inositol) boosts your  immune system, helps lower cholesterol, prevents kidney stones, helps prevent osteoporosis, prevents or reduces the complications of diabetes and sickle cell anemia, reduces risk of cancer and cardiovascular diseases, including heart attack and stroke.

IP-6 + Inositol Against Diabetes - Experiments with isolated murine pancreatic beta cells have shown that IP-6 stimulates these cells to secrete insulin" [Hoy et al, Journal of Biological Chemistry Vol: 278 #37 pages 35168-35171, September 12, 2003]. And Dilworth and colleagues report that IP-6 supplementation when administered in diet lowered blood glucose levels in rats. That diabetics could be benefited from IP-6 + Inositol is further supported by data from Nascimento and colleagues who report in the January 3, 2006 issue of the PNAS that in their experimental model, inositol itself may work as an antioxidant and not only prevents but also reverses many of the complications of diabetes. Thus, on one hand, IP-6 causes direct stimulation of insulin from pancreatic beta cells and inositol on the other hand helps in the prevention of complications of diabetes; combination of IP-6 + Inositol gives dual benefits. Read more here

We published an entire issue of herbalYODA Says! about diabetes some time ago,  This informative issue is available with a donation to keep our work alive and well.

Our bioSupplemente has IP6 (now RKBioBlend) and ADVENTURx, with a magnesium base, both help support health for people with diabetes.

Resources: whole health foods, Natural Healing through Natural Health
Archives of Internal Medicine 

NB:  I appreciate this comment regarding this and many other articles I write at Natural Health News.  It is from a member of a medical list to which I subscribe -

Is this really new information! We know and have known for years that whole grain (with the germ and husk) is healthier for you than one stripped of it's outer shell and germ. there is more fiber in whole grain which slows down the absorption of sugars. It blows my mind that information we have known for years gets money for research. It would be similar to studying" does putting your hand on a hot stove burn you" of course it does do we need to prove it?

Brown Rice Recipe for Heavy Metals - Soak 3 cups of organic brown rice ovenight.  Pour off water and place in pot with tight closing lid.  Add 7 cups of pure water and one sliced medium red onion and 1 tabespoon dulse.  Cook and eat several servings daily until gone, maintain a regulr healthy food plan.  This is not a fast.

One brown rice recipe I enjoy - Asian Brown Rice
Ingredients:
1 cup brown rice, rinsed and drained  2-1/2 cups water  2 tsp. fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped  1/2 tsp. Oriental sesame oil  1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. soy sauce
Cooking Instructions:
Combine all ingredients, except soy sauce, in a heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium high heat. Boil 5 minutes. Lower heat as low as possible. Cover pan tightly and let rice simmer 45 minutes without lifting lid. After 45 minutes, turn off the heat, and  let stand covered for 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork. Serve drizzled with soy sauce.

Warning for People who have had Bariatric Surgery

The very high incidence of vitamin D deficiency noted in participants of this study indicates that an urgent effort to educate patients about this critical health issue must be undertaken. And more effective methods of supplying vitamin D in this population must be found in the very near future.

This may have implications for anyone with pancreatic dis-orders or for those who have had other types of bariatric surgery.

72.3% of patients had 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] levels less than or equal to 30 ng/mL (insufficient), and 46.8% of patients had 25(OH)D levels less than or equal to 20 ng/mL.

High Prevalence of Vitamin D Deficiency in Biliopancreatic Diversion Patients

Reference:"Prevalence and Persistence of Vitamin D Deficiency in Biliopancreatic Diversion Patients: A Retrospective Study," Khandalavala BN, Fang X, et al, Obes Surg, 2010 May 7; [Epub ahead of print]. Department of Family Medicine, Creighton University, Omaha, NE, USA.

Summary: In a retrospective study involving 219 patients who underwent biliopancreatic diversion (a form of bariatric surgery), results showed a high prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency and deficiency. 72.3% of patients had 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] levels less than or equal to 30 ng/mL (insufficient), and 46.8% of patients had 25(OH)D levels less than or equal to 20 ng/mL. Thus, the authors conclude, "This study gives evidence that vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency is prevalent in BPD patients. Despite excess weight loss and oral vitamin D supplementation, the data shows that vitamin D levels continue to decrease over time in BPD patients. Since the current method of vitamin D supplementation is not producing ideal results, other protocol needs to be developed."

Americans Getting Too Much X-Ray Exposure

UPDATE: 2 August -
After Stroke Scans, Patients Face Serious Health Risks

By WALT BOGDANICH, Published: July 31, 2010

When Alain Reyes’s hair suddenly fell out in a freakish band circling his head, he was not the only one worried about his health. His co-workers at a shipping company avoided him, and his boss sent him home, fearing he had a contagious disease.

Only later would Mr. Reyes learn what had caused him so much physical and emotional grief: he had received a radiation overdose during a test for a stroke at a hospital in Glendale, Calif.

Other patients getting the procedure, called a CT brain perfusion scan, were being overdosed, too — 37 of them just up the freeway at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, 269 more at the renowned Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles and dozens more at a hospital in Huntsville, Ala. Continue Reading

From a post dated 14 June -
Ionizing radiation is a known cause of cancer. This article actually - at last - does admit to what my organization has been educating about for a couple of decades.

Americans Most Over treated with Cancer Causing Radiation

Americans get the most medical radiation in the world, even more than folks in other rich countries. The U.S. accounts for half of the most advanced procedures that use radiation, and the average American's dose has grown sixfold over the last couple of decades.

Too much radiation raises the risk of cancer. That risk is growing because people in everyday situations are getting imaging tests far too often. Like the New Hampshire teen who was about to get a CT scan to check for kidney stones until a radiologist, Dr. Steven Birnbaum, discovered he'd already had 14 of these powerful X-rays for previous episodes. Adding up the total dose, "I was horrified" at the cancer risk it posed, Birnbaum said.

Kudos to Dr. Birnbaum for taking up the cause, following the great works of John Gofman, PhD, MD.

It is very important - even though this article downplays the risk - that you also realize that EMF exposure DOES add to your cumulative exposure risk.

We have a range of radiation protecting products to readers of Natural Health News.  See also the new brown rice article regarding IP6.