Health & Wellness Issues

Media Hype and Hysteria over Swine Flue

Original Article: Superstar CBS Reporter Blows the Lid Off the Swine Flu Media Hype and Hysteria
Posted by: Dr. Mercola

Painkillers like Asprin kills 4 times more people than Swine Flu

Did you know that more than four times as many people are killed each year by common NSAID painkillers like aspirin?

According to death statistics tables available on the 'net, you are ten times more likely to die in a car accident this year than be killed by swine flu.

Original Article: Mike Adams



The reality is that vaccines have a shelf life and I guess that as the public discover the hype surrounding these injections and exercise their right to say no, governments will be sitting on stocks of unused vaccines they have paid millions to buy.

My guess is that they will step up their campaign to frighten people into taking the vaccine.

All I say is that we need to become more informed and not just take the pharmaceutical company's word. After all, they stand to make billions and have a vested interest in you not seeing a balanced view

Opratunitists mislead the public: so what's new?

There are lies, damn lies and statistics no where is there more deception than in the world of food and supplement sales.

I picked up some interesting news today from two sources concerning the deception behind the marekting of Acai berry as the wonder ingredient.

The story goes that this fruit saved a tribe from extinction. It has a powerful nutritional profile. But some claims about it are outrageously bogus… so says Dr Mercola and I would encourage you to watch his interview (no I don't market his products).  He explains that even though the Acai Berry is known to have great health benefits, other issues have to be taken into consideration.  

Purity of ingredient, sourcing, standardization etc.

CLICK HERE to read Dr Mercola's full article

The other information I received was concerning a number of network and internet marketing companies apparently making false claims about product endorsement 

On August 19, 2009, Harpo, Inc., producers of The Oprah Winfrey Show and The Dr. Oz Show, along with Dr. Mehmet Oz, filed a trademark infringement complaint against 40 Internet marketers of dietary supplements including MonaVie. You can get the full list of companies here.

Neither Ms. Winfrey nor Dr. Oz has ever sponsored or endorsed any acai berry, resveratrol, colon cleanse or dietary supplement product.

The question that needs to be asked is this.  Is Mona Vie making these claims or have they lost control of the individuals marketing their product.  Over zealous individuals who make wild claims that damage the parent company and the good name of network marketing.

You be the judge.  Me.  I know that all too often marketing people put just enough of a 'magic ingredient' into a product to make a claim, but not enough to make a difference.

One in Seven Scientists Say Colleagues Fake "Scientific" Study Results

One in Seven Scientists Say Colleagues Fake "Scientific" Study Results.

One in Seven Scientists Say Colleagues Fake "Scientific" Study Results

America now, Europe Next? Alarming report if you have Children

Big Pharma is pushing hard for mandatory screening of depression in adolescents. 

Watch this must-see video on the growing threat of psych drugs:

Chocolate: the Obesity Time Bomb

'Chocolate tax' to tackle obesity from the BBC News Website today A Scottish GP has called for chocolate to be taxed in the UK in the same way as alcohol and cigarettes to tackle increasing levels of obesity and type 2 diabetes. Dr David Walker, a GP in Lanarkshire, said many people eat their entire daily calorie requirement in chocolate, on top of their normal meals. Dr Walker, who is also a trained food scientist and nutritionist, told the BBC news website: "Obesity is a mushrooming problem. We are heading the same way as the United States. Dr Walker said that a 225g bag of chocolate sweets contained almost 1,200 calories - almost half the recommended daily calorie intake for a man - and could be eaten incredibly quickly. I have recently made an in depth study of the real difference between the healthy and antioxidants claims of chocolate manufacturers and the reality. The cocao bean is the richest source of healthy antioxidants known to man (good thing) yet when chocolate manufacturers get hold of it, they do all sort of bad things to it ... health wise. Tastes good but not healthy (bad thing). "People have been lulled into a false sense of security about chocolate. "I had one patient recently who said to me she thought chocolate was good for you. People are being brainwashed into believing this." Given the publicity for this real cause for concern it is very important to understand the difference between good and bad chocolate. Chocolate manufacturers use hype and spin to claim that chocolate is rich in antioxidants which is not the case when it has been heated and when the dairy fats and sugars are added is the ticking obesity bomb Dr David Walker is talking about. Chocolate as a Health Food. Be your own judge at www.ilovehealthychocolate.co.uk

Green Tea, Cancer, Purdue Research

BACKGROUND* Joseph Y. Chang, Joe, Ph.D. has been Chief Scientific Officer and Executive Vice President for Product Development of Nu Skin Enterprises Inc. since February 2006. Dr. Chang serves as Chief Scientific Officer of Pharmanex, LLC. He served as President of Pharmanex, a natural healthcare division of Nu Skin Enterprises from April 2000 to February 2006. Dr. Chang served as a Senior Pharmaceutical Executive at two major pharmaceutical companies, Wyeth-Ayerst Research and Rhone Poulenc Rorer, where he was involved in researching natural products for arthritis and cancer treatment. Dr. Chang served as Vice President for Clinical Studies and Pharmacology of Pharmanex from 1997 until April 2000. He served as the President and Chief Scientific Officer of Binary Therapeutics, Inc. from 1994 to 1997. He has also served as a Congressional Subcommittee expert witness on marine-derived products. A prolific author, Dr. Chang has published numerous articles, reviews and books on pharmacological research during his 20 years in the healthcare industry. He serves on the Board of Directors of a major trade association (CHPA) related to consumer health products in U.S. He had co-edited a textbook on inflammation and developed a series of monographs on botanical products as a source of information for consumers and health professionals. Dr. Chang has been a Director of Optimer Pharmaceuticals, Inc. since November 1998. Early in his professional career, he was The Arthritis Foundation fellow at The Johns Hopkins University School of Public. He is a member of New York Academy of Sciences, and American Society of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics. He also holds several patents on new drugs. He received a B.S. degree from Portsmouth University and obtained his Ph.D. in pharmacology from the University of London and conducted post-doctoral research at The Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health and Hygiene.

For more information about TeGreen 97 CLICK HERE

The Illusion of Disease: "Secret Language Codes" Used by Doctors and Drug Companies to Manipulate Patients

NaturalNews) Last year, I met a small, frail woman in Los Angeles who approached me after a speech I gave on nutritional cures. In a weak, crackled voice, she told me my speech was all wrong. There were no cures for diabetes or cancer, she said, and I was wrong to give people even a hint of hope at reversing disease.

She was a type-1 diabetes sufferer, and she talked about the disease as "my diabetes." She described the pharmaceuticals she was taking for hormone balance as "my medicine," and her description of her bone health included the admission that she had a disease called "osteoporosis" that caused her bones to become fragile.

It didn't take long to realize there was something odd about her choice of words. This wasn't the way healthy people talk... it was almost like she was speaking some sort of alien language that had been taught to her by doctors and health authorities -- a language that kept her trapped in a system of medical control.

That's when it hit me: She had adopted a new language of disease victimization that practically guaranteed she would stay sick forever! The owning of disease ("my" cancer), the possessive pronouns describing pharmaceuticals ("my" medicine), the belief in a condition called osteoporosis that causes fragile bones (hint: It's the other way around, see below)... it was all part of a new language of personal disempowerment being taught to patients by doctors and medical authorities! You might call it "medical psychobabble..." or the language of "anti-self-improvement."

Ultimately, I came to discover this was all part of a high-level linguistic technology used by doctors, journalists and health authorities -- a technology based on reprogramming the mind through virtually undetectable language sleights. I've come to call this the "Secret Language Codes" of modern medicine, and this article tells the story of discovering how these language codes were being used, reverse engineering them and creating a set of defensive strategies that completely disarm them.

What most people don't realize is that NLP is the basis of the Secret Language Codes used by drug companies, health authorities and pill-pushing doctors who infect the minds of patients with their dangerous (and false) concepts of health and disease.

Read the Full & Fascination Article Here.

New Push for Statin Drugs in UK as GPs are Asked to Dole Out Drugs for Millions More

(NaturalNews) The British government is urging doctors to increase the prescription of cholesterol-lowing statin drugs by an estimated 1.5 million, in a new initiative billed as a way to reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes among high-risk patients.

Several months ago, the government encouraged that all people between the ages of 40 and 74 be screened for cardiovascular disease. Following up on that recommendation, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has urged that all those identified as "high risk" be prescribed statins, whether they have high cholesterol or not. 

This "high risk" population would not be identified by physical tests, but by a computer program that would calculate risk factors such as age, ethnicity, sex, blood pressure, cholesterol levels and smoking habits. Those identified as high risk by their doctors would be invited in for a personalized medical screening. They would be offered advice on how to live a healthier lifestyle, and a prescription for simvastatin.

I wonder if this advice covers diet and the risks involved in taking statins.  Once again, doctors are being nudged down the path of becoming legalized drug pushers. (my comment).  

The British Heart Foundation has warned that dosing large numbers of people with drugs will not necessarily provide the best care for each individual. The foundation's medical director, Pete Weissberg, criticized NICE for advising drugs in the absence of continued healthmonitoring to make sure that they respond well to the treatment.

"This 'fire and forget' approach is likely to result in many patients being inadequately treated," he said.
Sources for this story include: news.bbc.co.uk.

Essential Reading: the Statin Scam Marches On

Researchers Detail Statin Drug Dangers

(NaturalNews) With familiar and widely-advertised names like Levacor, Zocor, Pravachol, Lipitor, and Crestor, statin drugs have become some of the most widely prescribed drugs in the world. In fact, the medications (technically a class of drugs called HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors) have been so hyped as a pill-popping easy way to quickly lower soaring cholesterol levels, some doctors have advocated they should be sold over-the-counter like aspirin. Others want children as young as two to be on these drugs that block an enzyme in the liver responsible for making cholesterol.

But many physicians and scientists -- as well as countless patients who have experienced side effects from statins ranging from some that are merely annoying to others that are devastatingly painful -- have urged caution and pointed to a host of potential dangers from the drugs. Now scientists from the University of California (UC) San Diego School of Medicine have published a review paper of nearly 900 research studies on statins to see just what the facts are. The verdict? The drugs may predispose many people to serious muscle and kidney problems, potentially deadly heart arrhythmias and a host of other health problems.

"Muscle problems are the best known of statin drugs' adverse side effects," Dr. Golomb said in a media statement. "But cognitive problems and peripheral neuropathy, or pain or numbness in the extremities like fingers and toes, are also widely reported." In addition, the paper discusses other negative health effects from the drugs, including irregular heartbeats, elevated blood glucose, and tendon problems.

"Physician awareness of such side effects is reportedly low. Being vigilant for adverse effects in their patients is necessary in order for doctors to provide informed treatment decisions and improved patient care," Dr. Golomb stated.

Original Article can be Read Here

Also, read the Statin Scam Marches On

Hot Flushes take on a Different Meaning

Hospitals Flush 250 Million Pounds of Expired Drugs Into Public Sewers Every Year

(NaturalNews) The Associated Press (AP) estimates that hospitals and long-term medical care institutions across the United States are dumping 250 million pounds of pharmacologically active drugs directly into public sewer systems each year.

Because the US government does not require health institutions to keep records on their disposal of pharmaceutical products, there are no definitive numbers on the volume of drugs going into the water supply. In order to construct an estimate, AP investigators extrapolated from a survey of 14 urban and rural Minnesota hospitals.

I wonder what the situation is in the UK.  First of the waste in drugs that are purchased by the National Health and then how they are disposed.   

Natural News go on to say ... This pharmacological waste is much more potent than the drugs that patients flush down their own home toilets, including not only stronger versions of over-the-counter drugs but also highly toxic chemicals like cancer treatments. Tests of hospital sewers in Oslo and Paris have revealed high concentrations of antibiotics, heart drugs, hormones, painkillers skin medication -- in addition to the well-known high concentrations of bacteria, viruses and other pathogens.

Dumping drugs into water is far from harmless, although the exact nature of the danger remains poorly understood. But scientists agree that drugs remain pharmacologically active even after disposal, and can have severe effects on humans and wildlife. Studies of wastewater near hospitals in Europe and the United States have found higher concentrations of antibiotic resistant bacteria and of organisms with genetic mutations similar to those that can cause cancer in humans. Another study on antibiotics in the fluoroquinolone family, including best-seller ciproflaxin, found that these drugs could cause changes to bacterial DNA. 

Original Article Here.

Coca-Cola is the Real Thing Alright

Coca-Cola's Orange Drinks Found to Contain 300 Times More Pesticides than Legal Limit in Water

Product Reviews for Thursday, January 08, 2009 Book Review: The Ultramind Solution by Dr. Mark Hyman - How to Beat Depression, Anxiety and Brain Fog Book Review: Drug Muggers by Suzy Cohen Wallops Big Pharma with Uncensored Truth about Drug Safety Review: Australian Jarrah Bee Bollen from Vivapura Review: Cell-nique Super Green Drink Offers Premium Superfood Beverage to Mass Market Review: Stress Eraser Biofeedback Device Really Works to Reduce Stress, Normalize Pulse Rhythms      See all Product Reviews...  FREE Natural Health Newsletter Receive natural health product reviews, recommendations and alerts. Instant download of 20+ free health reports and exclusive interviews. Join over 1.2 million monthly readers. Unsubscribe anytime, email privacy guaranteed

by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, January 8, 2009
Key concepts: Coca-Cola, Pesticides and Fizzy drinks 

Need a hit of extra pesticides today? Just drink some orange-flavored soft drinks (called "fizzy drinks" in the UK) made by Coca-Cola. New research conducted in the UK reveals that Coca-Cola's "Fanta" orange drinks contained 300 times more pesticides than the legal limit allowed in bottled water.

The chemicals that were detected in the Coca-Cola orange drinks included carbendazim, thiabendazole, imazalil, prochloraz, malathion and iprodione -- all common pesticides used on fruit crops. That's good news in one sense, of course, because it means Coca-Cola products contain some level of actual fruit! Never mind the fact that the fruit is contaminated with pesticide chemicals...

In its defense, Coca-Cola responded to the DailyMail article, saying, "All of the drinks tested meet the safety regulations relating to food products made from agricultural ingredients, which include drinks with fruit juice as an ingredient."

Got that? They meet safety regulations, so don't worry about the pesticides. In fact, all those chemicals are perfectly safe, didn't you know? As Coca-Cola said, "The generally miniscule levels that were detected were well within the acceptable daily intake levels and these findings should reassure consumers there is no safety issue here."

Wow. I'm not sure what's more scary: The fact that these chemicals were detected as such levels in the Coca-Cola drinks, or the fact that Coca-Cola believes these levels are acceptable for daily consumption!

Of course, we are talking about parts per billion here: DailyMail reports the average level of pesticide contamination in the Coca-Cola drinks was 17.4. But that turns out to be over 34 times the allowable level of pesticides in bottled water (EU standards).

It's also worth mentioning that simply eating non-organic fruit from the grocery store most likely exposes you to hundreds of times the total pesticide contamination found in the Coca-Cola drinks (especially if you eat conventionally-grown strawberries).

But hey, if you don't want to actually drink Coke's products, they can be used in another way: As a pesticide on crops! This YouTube video shows how farmers in India are using soft drinks on their crops as pesticides: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Is4iuZt0eo

Proven Cure and Prevention for Cancer the Medical Establishment Doesn't Want You to Know

(NaturalNews) The Budwig protocol is the food treatment and cure for cancer and other major debilitating diseases created by Dr. Johanna Budwig. 

It was designed for use with extremely ill and wasted cancer patients who had been sent home by their doctors to die. These were patients so ill that many were unable to take any food at all in the beginning, and had to be initially treated with enemas. 

The protocol is so simple that it can be tailored to fit whatever situation is encountered, from use with someone at death's door to use as a preventative and part of a healthy lifestyle. 

Part I this article reveals the Budwig protocol as the only well recognized and highly documented cure and prevention for cancer in existence today. In part II the mechanics of the protocol are elaborated and discussed. 

There are only two essential foods in the protocol, flax oil and cottage cheese or some other sulphurated protein such as yogurt or kefir. The oil provides electron-rich fats, and the cottage cheese provides the sulphurated protein to bind with the oil and render it water soluble. In this state, the oil is able to carry immense amounts of oxygen straight into the cells. Cancer cells cannot thrive in an oxygen rich environment. 

CLICK HERE for the rest of the original article and CLICK HERE for part 2

Xmas is over. Time to shed those pounds

I keep coming across the acai berry in the press and during my research have discovered that it can help you lose weight.  So I thought I would look further.  

The acai berry (ah-sigh-ee) grows in the Amazon Rainforest on acai palm trees and looks like a purple marble or purple grape. The Acaí berry (fruit) is 90% seed pit and 10% acaí pulp and must be carefully handled before it can be consumed. During the process the acaí berries with water are put into a machine and are agitated against one another. This process separates the acaí pulp from the seed to produce a thick acaí fruit pulp puree.

Acaí berry has a unique tropical fruit flavor and provides a high level nutritional benefits. The acaí berry contains high levels of antioxidants also known as anthocyanins. It also contains Omega Fatty Acids (healthy fats), Amino Acids, Fiber, Iron, along with many other vitamins and minerals (Nutritional Value of the Acai Berry and Acai Berry Juice). An amazonian traditional recipe mixes acaí fruit pulp and natural guarana seed, which gives energy and heighten mental clarity that has caffeine like effects when combined with guarana.

Natives living in the Amazon river region in Northern Brazil, have had as part of their diet the acai berry for hundreds of years for it's nutritional value. It's healing and wellness powers are legendary throughout the area. The popularity of the acai berry is starting to spread from Brazil to the rest of the Americas.

Acai Berry has the following nutritional, health and wellness properties:

* Antioxidant
* Antibacterial
* Anti-inflammatory
* Antimutagenic
* Cardiovascular System

Acai berries contain very high amounts of essential fatty acid & omegas proven to lower LDL & maintain HDL cholesterol levels. They also have a remarkable concentration of antioxidants to help combat free radicals and premature aging. Acai Berry is a source of a particular class of flavonoids called anthocyanins. The ORAC value of Acai Berry is higher than any other edible berry in the world! Acai Berry is also an excellent source of dietary fiber!

Acai is extremely rich in organic vegetable protein which does not generate cholesterol during its digestion and is easier processed and transported to your muscles than animal protein (such as in milk or meat). 

Besides its outstanding content of protein and unsaturated lipids, acai is also rich in carbohydrates which provide your body with the necessary energy while working or practicing any kind of sport. That is why acai is served in most gyms, sport clubs and beaches all over Brazil.

For comprehensive advice on weight management CLICK HERE >> Manage Weight Loss Review

Healthy Foods for Under $1

How tough is it to eat healthy on a budget?  The advice Web site DivineCaroline gets you started with a list of 20 healthy foods for under $1.

Some items on the list, like oats or eggs, aren’t all that surprising to experienced budget shoppers. But a few, like kale, wild rice or garbanzo beans, may not be regulars in your shopping cart. Not surprisingly, none of the foods on this list are prepared or processed, meaning that healthful eating on a budget will require more time in the kitchen.

I can't agree with the idea that coffee is healthy ... far too acidic to be healthy.

Are we what we eat?

50 Foods That Will Help You Feel and Look More Beautiful

By Alisa Miller

There is no denying that good nutrition is important to your health. Eating the right foods can not only help you feel better, but they can also help you look better too. Whether you want great overall health, healthy looking skin, or foods that really pack a punch with antioxidants, below you will find 50 great foods to help you look and feel your best.

CLICK HERE for the full list (they're tasty, very, very tasty)

100 Awesome Instructional Videos for Your Health and Wellness

100 Awesome Instructional Videos for Your Health and Wellness | Nursing Assistant Central.

100 Awesome Instructional Videos for Your Health and Wellness at Nursing Resources comments By Alisa Miller 

Almost everyone has heard about ways they can improve their health and wellness, but sometimes everything just comes together more clearly when you see it in action. 

The videos shown in the link offer suggestions, demonstrations, and education to help you learn ways to keep yourself healthy or recover from illness. 

Covering topics like prevention of disease, disorders, good nutrition, healthy pregnancy and birth experience, and good mental health, these instructional videos will guide you to a longer, stronger life.

Breakthrough Technologies in Nutritional Science

Pharmanex's Biophotonic Scanner is one of the most important breakthroughs in nutritional science.

What is the Scanner?
It's a revolutionary tool developed by Pharmanex to measure the carotenoid antioxidant levels in your skin-and prove the effectiveness of your supplements in improving your overall antioxidant health.

What does the Scanner do?
Place the palm of your hand in front of the Scanner's safe, low-energy blue light laser, and you will obtain an immediate reading of the carotenoid antioxidant levels in your skin-your Skin Carotenoid Score.

Why should I be scanned?
By measuring the stable level of carotenoid antioxidants in your skin and generating your Skin Carotenoid Score, the Scanner provides a more accurate and reliable biomarker of your overall antioxidant health status than other methods of measuring antioxidants.

Getting your Skin Carotenoid Score makes you aware of the antioxidant levels in your body-and gives you the push you need to improve your overall antioxidant health.

If you already advise clients or patients on good eating habits, nutrition or wellness and you would like to find out how you can use the scanner in your clinic or for more information CLICK HERE then get back to the person who recommended you visit this site or contact Paul Clegg direct.

How the FDA extorts money from nutritional supplement companies

The FDA extortion racket works like this: FDA employees use keyword-scanning software to scan the web pages of natural health product and supplement companies, searching for terms like cancer, cures, treatment, remedies and other "forbidden" words. FDA employees then review the discovered pages to determine if they contain any words that might inform consumers of the health benefits of the nutritional products. FDA employees also look for links that might point web users to scientific articles from peer-reviewed medical journals that further explain the health benefits of specific foods, supplements or nutrients.

When offending words or links are found by the FDA, their extortion team goes into full swing. First, they contact the company and warn them to remove all information and links from their websites. This is the most important step from the FDA's standpoint, because by doing this, they can keep the health-conscious public in a state of nutritional ignorance about the scientifically-supported healing properties of natural supplements. Cherry products, for example, cannot link to scientific articles explaining the simple biological fact that cherries ease inflammation in human beings. Such links are considered "drug claims" by the FDA.

Read the full article at Newstarget.com

Cartoon creator Mike Adams www.NaturalNews.com

If the company being targeted for extortion refuses to fully comply with the FDA's requests to remove all educational information from their website, the FDA then escalates the extortion tactics by threatening the company principals with arrest and seizure unless they agree to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to top FDA contractors and sign a "consent decree" where the company "admits" to committing various crimes (see below). This consent decree is a blatant violation of the Constitutional rights of U.S. citizens, of course, and it violates numerous sections of the Bill of Rights (Amendments #1 and #5, at the very least).

The FDA employees or contractors receiving the extorted money, it is claimed, are being paid to "review web pages" to make sure they don't contain anything that might inform consumers about the scientifically-validated benefits of the health products being sold. FDA extortion agreements specify that FDA employees should be paid the rate of $100 per hour, with no limit on the number of hours they may bill the company for. The extortion agreement also requires companies to pay for all the following:

• $100 per hour for the travel time of FDA employees.
• Hotel rooms for FDA employees.
• Storage fees for all products seized by the FDA.

The same agreement also requires the company to comply with FDA demands by never placing any links or "illegal" information on its website, where "illegal" means anything that offers an accurate description of the health benefits offered by natural health products.

Welcome to the United States of Tyranny, FDA style.

Think Pink Ribbon, Think Again

(NaturalNews) With Breast Cancer Awareness month fully upon us once again, retail stores have been invaded with everything pink, including "pink ribbon" candies and personal care products made with blatantly cancer-causing ingredients. Retail grocery stores like Safeway even hit up customers for donations at the cash register, promising to raise funds to find "the cure for cancer."

Consumers of course, have virtually no idea where the funds they donate actually go, nor do they know the truths about breast cancer they'll never be told by conventional cancer non-profit organizations. In this article, I'll reveal ten important myths about breast cancer, and the truths that can save your life.

Cartoon creator Mike Adams www.NaturalNews.com

Myth #1: Breast Cancer is not preventable

The Truth: Up to 98% of breast cancer cases can be prevented through diet, nutritional supplements, sunshine and exercise

It's true: Breast cancer can be almost entirely prevented through commonsense changes in diet, the addition of anti-cancer nutritional supplements, boosting vitamin D creation from sunlight, avoiding exposure to toxic chemicals in consumer products, pursuing regular exercise and eating a live foods diet.

The breast cancer industry -- which depends on the continuation of cancer for its profits and employment -- has so far refused to teach women even basic cancer prevention strategies (such as increasing the intake of vitamin D, which prevents 77% of all cancers). See: http://www.naturalnews.com/021892.html

There's more to Organic Food than you think, but is it worth it?

10 Reason to Choose Organic by Ysanne Spevack

1. Organic produce is not covered in a cocktail of poisonous chemicals. The average conventionally-grown apple has 20-30 artificial poisons on its skin, even after rinsing. Trust your instincts, and go organic!

for the other 9 compelling reasons click on the link above.

Starbucks 'wastes 23 million litres of water each day'

From original article by Aislinn Simpson Telegraph
The American coffee shop chain Starbucks has been accused of wasting more than 23 million litres of water each day because staff are told to leave taps running non-stop.

A Starbucks executive revealed running the tap non-stop stopped breeding in the taps. The bizarre policy, which is aimed at preventing germs developing in the taps in its 10,000 stores worldwide, has outraged environmental groups.

Every Starbucks branch has a cold tap behind the counter providing water for a sink called a "dipper well" used for washing spoons and utensils and the staff are banned from turning the water off under "health and safety rules", an investigation claims.

In a letter to a customer who complained about the waste, a Starbucks executive revealed that a constant flow stops breeding in the taps.

It means that 23.4 million litres of water - enough to fill an Olympic swimming pool every 83 minutes or sustain the population of drought-hit Namibia - is wasted every day. In the UK alone, where there are 698 branches open for 13 hours a day, it counts for around 1.63 million litres of water wasted.

Read More Here

Quote

"It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver."
— Mahatma Gandhi: was a political and spiritual leader of India

Are we turning schoolchildren into street junkies?

The BBC reports today that according to The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) parents need lessons in how to cope with their children's unruly behaviour. New guidelines on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) say that drugs such as Ritalin should be avoided - and must not be given to the under-fives. Most of the estimated 365,000 children in Britain with ADHD receive no treatment at all. But of those who do, most - about 37,000 - are prescribed stimulants like Ritalin (methylphenidate).
Children with ADHD have extreme difficulty sitting still, learning or concentrating.

I agree with Mike Adams in that controlling kids with drugs is not the answer. We are turning school kids into street junkies and Ritalin has seen a ten fold increase in precriptions. Distraught parent pressure or lazy doctors giving in to the spiel from drug reps. Doctors are certainly culpable. Kids are a responsibility and dosing kids up is certainly not the answer. Apart from the reported side effects of stunted growth in 40% of pre-schoolers given the drug (goodness me) there are other compelling reasons why Ritalin is not the answer.

This is what Mike Adams has to say about the subject. "Every time I write about this subject, I can't help but be outraged at the fact that we are a nation dosing our children with powerful narcotics in order to alter their brain chemistry rather than teaching them how to avoid the foods that cause these behavioral disorders in the first place. We don't teach our children how to eat right, nor do we teach our parents how to teach good dietary habits to their own children. Instead, we turn our children into literal druggies by forcing them onto extremely dangerous narcotic and anti-psychotic drugs."

In this nation, there appears to be a drug for every problem out there, including undesirable behavior on the part of children. In reality, ADHD is not a behavioral disorder, nor is it some sort of mysterious chemical imbalance in the brain. It is simply the natural effect of pursuing a diet that is very high in refined carbohydrates and very low in optimum nutrition."

Mobile phone use 'raises children's risk of brain cancer' fivefold

I have been concerned about the health dangers associated with the regular use of mobile phones. I suggest that you put your mobile phone about 3 inches away from your computer monitor and watch what happens when a call comes in. If the signal can scramble your screen, just think for a minute what it can do to your brain.

Alarming new research from Sweden on the effects of radiation also raises fears that today's youngsters face an epidemic of the disease in later life Take a look at the article by Geoffrey Lean, Environment Editor Independent on Sunday, 21 September 2008

Children and teenagers are five times more likely to get brain cancer if they use mobile phones, startling new research indicates.

The study, experts say, raises fears that today's young people may suffer an "epidemic" of the disease in later life. At least nine out of 10 British 16-year-olds have their own handset, as do more than 40 per cent of primary schoolchildren.

Yet investigating dangers to the young has been omitted from a massive £3.1m British investigation of the risks of cancer from using mobile phones, launched this year, even though the official Mobile Telecommunications and Health Research (MTHR) Programme – which is conducting it – admits that the issue is of the "highest priority".

Despite recommendations of an official report that the use of mobiles by children should be "minimised", the Government has done almost nothing to discourage it.

Last week the European Parliament voted by 522 to 16 to urge ministers across Europe to bring in stricter limits for exposure to radiation from mobile and cordless phones, Wi-fi and other devices, partly because children are especially vulnerable to them. They are more at risk because their brains and nervous systems are still developing and because – since their heads are smaller and their skulls are thinner – the radiation penetrates deeper into their brains.

To read the rest of the article CLICK HERE

Thirsty World

THIRST

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: design crisis)

Let put stuff back on the shelf

In my last post I highlighted how we are conned by packaging. This week I came across a great example.

This week I walked into my local Asda Store (Walmart) and was attracted by the great packaging in their new Organics range of Ice Cream and Sorbets.

Organic - Sorbet - good for you! Well, not actually ... but better than Ice cream and all that fat. Well let's take a look at the packaging ... the front is designed well. Sicilian Lemon Sorbet ... wow, I can hear opera arias in the background.

But when you check out the back the marketing deception is clear.

Concentrate:
To make fruit juice concentrate into a production-friendly sweetener, it has to go through a lengthy and expensive process called "stripping". As the name implies, everything is stripped out of the juice: vitamins, minerals, color, flavor, etc. Then it goes through a deionization process similar to the one that turns cornstarch into corn syrup.

What's left is essentially glucose syrup-sugar water that looks and behaves a lot like corn syrup. It is sweet, but it is colorless, flavorless, and doesn't alter the pH of whatever is being sweetened, all of which are highly desirable in the manufacturing process. Although it no longer resembles anything close to a fruit juice concentrate it is still considered a fruit juice concentrate. Marketers can still put "100% juice" or "no sugar added" on the package. Source: Are Fruit Juice Concentrates A Healthier Sweetener? Eric Thorn

Dextrose
Processed sugar: Sugar greatly impacts the healthy functioning of the nervous system, and refined sugar is a lot like crack in the way it alters (and impairs) brain function. All refined sugars should be avoided, including high-fructose corn syrup (the sweetener in sodas), dextrose, sucrose and others. While you're at it, avoid white bread and refined grains, too, because they're very similar to sugars in the way they impact the nervous system. Read more here.

Glucose Syrup
Certain harmful refined dietary sugars (which are specifically discussed below) almost always turn directly into fat! Glucose, Fructose, Sucrose, Galactose, Maltose, and Lactose are digested and absorbed with such speed that the body must convert them into saturated fats. Saturated Fatty Acids are "sticky" by nature, and, when introduced into the vascular system, clog arteries, increase the chance of stroke, diabetes, and definitively decrease athletic performance. see article Killer Sugar. Suicide with a Spoon

And then the disclosure that if they run out of Organic ingredients they will use non organic ingredients!! Now isn't that convenient.

Come on, isn't it time we put stuff back on the shelf.

We were conned by the packets

Lauren Brock, 11, and her father, Simon, from Wellington, Somerset, were confused by different food labelling systems. Simon, 39, said: "We always thought manufacturers weren't allowed to lie, so we would trust what we read on the front of packets and buy all these 'healthy' foods. As a busy parent, what are you supposed to believe?

"Last year Lauren started getting teased about her weight so we went to Mend's fit club, because I wanted make sure she was healthy and happy. It was only then I realised we'd been conned by these food labels and that these so-called 'healthy' foods were full of fat and sugar. We've been taught by Mend to ignore the front of packets. We've been shown what information to read on the back, so now Lauren is making healthy choices and feels much happier.

"I would love to see a simple system for the front of packets which didn't confuse ordinary people. Even very young children could use the traffic light system."

Health leaders have condemned Tory plans to abandon the acclaimed traffic light labelling guide which helps consumers easily avoid unhealthy foods.

Experts claim the Tory health spokesman, Andrew Lansley, has "sold out" to the food industry, which is opposed to the introduction of a mandatory easy-to-use labelling system.

Next week the Faculty of Public Health and National Heart Forum will write to British MEPs asking them to push hard for legislation that reflects the evidence rather than listening to "lobbying juggernauts" from the food industry.

CLICK HERE to read the rest of the article in the Independent on Sunday

Being Obese Accelerates Growth of Cancers

(NaturalNews) Obesity increases the risk of a large number of cancers, in some cases by more than 50 percent, according to a study conducted by researchers at the University of Manchester and published in the journal Lancet.

The new study was designed as a follow-up to an October report by the World Research Cancer Fund, which concluded that excessive body fat could be a cause of certain cancers.

"This study has extended that further and reported specifically on 20 different types of cancer," said lead researcher Andrew Renehan. "We showed an association with less common cancers that had not been shown before."

"This does not surprise me at all." says Paul Clegg. "When measuring antioxidant levels of clients using the Biophotonic Scanner, BMI influences the score as much as smoking does. Stress, smoking, BMI and low consumption of fruit and vegetables give free radicals a license to accelerate the growth of cancer cells, in my personal view."

For more information about the biophotonic scanner CLICK HERE

Nutritional Authority David Wolfe Discusses Metabolism and Chocolate

(NaturalNews) This interview is an excerpt from Kevin Gianni's Fountain of Youth Summit and in this excerpt, David Wolfe shares on foods that speed up metabolism and the truth about chocolate. Original Article

Kevin: Yeah, I think that's a nice approach. What other foods are there that can speed up metabolism. People love to hear, I love to hear, foods that can speed up metabolism because everyone feels they're so sluggish.

David: Well, we categorize these foods that speed up metabolism as super foods because not only do they speed up metabolism but they're also usually complete protein sources. They're usually some of the richest sources of minerals, natural trace minerals in food, and some of the best sources of vitamins. For example, the goji berry. The goji berry is one of the hottest substances, foods, in the world right now. In fact, it has just really, you know, caught fire in the west. The goji berry is a simple berry. It's a snack food. It's about the size of a raisin. It tastes great. You know, I start people on goji berries, even some of the top executives in America. That's the one thing they get from me. They get on the goji berries and they eat it all day long every day. What it does is it keeps you alert because of all the protein. It keeps the blood sugars stable but it also has all these trace minerals. It speeds up metabolism. It increases weight loss. In fact, I have a little story to tell. I sent this one executive off to Europe. I had met him at a party, talked to him about what I do. He said, "look, just give me a bag of whatever you've got. I'm going to Europe for six weeks tomorrow morning".

Kevin: Right.

David: I had to come up... I had to go to my car and just pull together all I had right there. What I had was I had goji berries.

Kevin: Um-hum.

David: I had another super food, which we're going to talk about, which is cacao beans, which is the raw chocolate nut. All chocolate is made from a nut. Most people are not aware of this. And this nut is the most widely eaten nut in the world; a hundred times more people eat it than almonds but not in its original form, in its processed form, which we call chocolate. Anyway, I gave him a bag of the cacao beans, the goji berries, a bag of cashews and I mixed it all together -- I mean it must have been two pounds of stuff. It was in, you know, those big Ziploc bags?

Kevin: Sure.

David: And I handed it to him and I said, "okay, every time you're tempted to snack on something in an airport. Every time you run out of food. Every time you feel hungry, snack on this." Well, he shows up -- I hear a knock at my door six weeks later and it's him.

Studies Prove That Chocolate Is Really Good for You

(NaturalNews) Chocolate lovers, take heart. Reports from recent studies have given you plenty of reasons to keep on eating chocolate without feeling guilty. In fact, the news from several studies released this spring shows that chocolate is quite effective against the number one killer of Americans, heart disease. Another serious threat to our health, environmental pollution, was significantly reduced by eating chocolate. And the news is even better for females.

Studies and results

Epidemiologic investigations have supported the hypothesis that regular consumption of flavonoid-containing foods reduces the risk of cardiovascular diseases. While flavonoids are found in many plants, cocoa is particularly rich in a subclass of flavonoids known as flavanols. Several dietary intervention trials with flavanol containing cocoa products have shown improvements in endothelial and platelet function, as well as blood pressure. These studies have provided direct evidence of the benefits of flavanol containing foods and have helped to substantiate the epidemiological data.

The April, 2008 Journal of Nutrition reports a double-blind controlled study evaluating the efficacy of daily consumption of a cocoa flavanol-containing dark chocolate bar and chocolate bar with added plant sterols on serum lipids, blood pressure, and other circulating cardiovascular health markers in a population with elevated serum cholesterol. Plant sterols are essential components of plant membranes that resemble the chemical structure of animal cholesterol and carry out similar cellular functions in plants. 49 adults participated in the study, eating the American Heart Association style diet for two weeks prior to beginning the study. They were divided into two groups and instructed to consume 2 cocoa flavanol containing dark chocolate bars per day with or without plant sterols. Each bar was nutrient matched and contained approximately 180 mg of cocoa flavanols.

Eating Broccoli Reduces Risk of Heart Attack

(NaturalNews) Eating raw or lightly cooked broccoli helps protect the heart against damage and maintain its healthy functioning, according to a study conducted by researchers from the University of Connecticut and published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

Researchers fed an extract of steamed broccoli to a group of rats for one month, then compared those rats to others that had been fed a standard diet. They found that the rats that had been fed the steamed broccoli extract had better heart function than those who had not. In addition, when all the rats were deprived of oxygen, those who had been fed steamed broccoli extract suffered less damage to their hearts and those who had been fed the standard diet.

The researchers observed that when the rats ate the broccoli extract, their body increased its production of several antioxidant proteins. Antioxidants are chemicals that remove free radicals from the body.

Overeating Beats Inactivity as Cause of Obesity

From an original article by Jon Barron | July 5, 2008

Couch potatoes and French-fried potatoes -- these are the things we commonly blame for the obesity epidemic. But now, a new analysis indicates that it's the potatoes more than the sofa making people fat. According to researchers in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, people today are no less active than they were 20 years ago. In fact, the researchers found that subjects in the US and Europe burned an equivalent number of calories on a daily basis when compared to subjects in non-industrialized, developing countries and even when compared to wild animals.

"We found that people have not reduced their energy expenditure over the same period that obesity rates have increased enormously," says Professor John Speakman from the University of Aberdeen. His co-author, Klaas Westerterp, from the University of Maastricht, illuminates the point: "Because we found no evidence for declines in energy expenditure over the last two decades, this work suggests that the obesity epidemic has been largely driven by increases in food intake."

This doesn't mean .....

10 Superfoods for Men’s Health

I came across this article on a great health blog by Ruth Schaffer and thought I would share it with everyone.

A reader originally sent her a tip about Men’s Health article titled “The 10 Best Foods You Aren’t Eating”, and while it was originally written with men in mind, I think the info is something we can all benefit from, gender aside. According to the article, here are ten of the healthiest foods (and what makes them superfoods) you should consider tossing in your shopping cart next time you head to the grocery:

1. Beets: “…one of the best sources of both folate and betaine. These two nutrients work together to lower your blood levels of homocysteine, an inflammatory compound that can damage your arteries and increase your risk of heart disease.”

2. Cabbage: “…loaded with valuable nutrients. At the top of the list is sulforaphane, a chemical that increases your body’s production of enzymes that disarm cell-damaging free radicals and reduce your risk of cancer.”

3. Guava: “Guava has a higher concentration of lycopene — an antioxidant that fights prostate cancer — than any other plant food, including tomatoes and watermelon.”

4. Swiss chard: “A half cup of cooked Swiss chard provides a huge amount of both lutein and zeaxanthin, supplying 10 mg each. These plant chemicals, known as carotenoids, protect your retinas from the damage of aging, according to Harvard researchers.” See related info on my previous post on Xangold and macular degeneration.

5. Cinnamon: “Cinnamon helps control your blood sugar, which influences your risk of heart disease. In fact, USDA researchers found that people with type-2 diabetes who consumed 1 g of cinnamon a day for 6 weeks (about 1/4 teaspoon each day) significantly reduced not only their blood sugar but also their triglycerides and LDL (bad) cholesterol.”

7 Conditions That Don’t Need Pills

In the April 2008 issue of the Harvard Health Letter, researchers explained how in many cases, the non-pharmacological approach can accomplish as much, or more, than pills.

In more recent years, a growing body of studies are showing that simple lifestyle changes such as diet and exercise are effective remedies for many ills.

These seven common conditions can be managed without medication:

Arthritis
Cholesterol
Cognitive decline
Depression
Diabetes
High blood pressure
Osteoporosis

Sources: Live Science March 25, 2008

According to Dr Mercola, The seven common health conditions mentioned here can indeed be managed without resorting to pharmaceutical drugs, which oftentimes cause serious side effects and deteriorate your health even further.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE

Good Chocolate v Bad Chocolate

Over the centuries, chocolate has come full circle. Most of the modern world currently views chocolate as a tasty but quite unhealthy indulgence meant for only occasional consumption. But health-conscious consumers are now learning that dark chocolate, devoid of some of the unhealthful ingredients usually paired with it in confectionary products, possesses some impressive health properties.

Scientists are rediscovering what ancient Mesoamericans knew centuries ago: chocolate can be very good for you. It may have been cultivated for over two thousand years, but in the last five years science has finally begun to discover the actual health benefits of cocoa. Research is just beginning and is especially promising in the area of phytonutrients, polyphenols, and flavonoids.

However, not all chocolate is created equal. Most candy bars and chocolate foods commonly found in grocery stores are not what you’re looking for. These are typically high in refined (white) sugar, milk fats, and hydrogenated oils—ingredients that replace the truly healthful nutrients found in cocoa.

Polarity Therapy by Andrew Harry

Today I spoke at the Community Soul meeting in Bath where I met a very charismatic man called Andrew Harry who gave a talk on his passion, Polarity Therapy. I am very much aware of the main complimentary therapies and a few of the obscure one but this is one therapy I had not come across before.

Polarity Therapy is a comprehensive health system involving energy-based bodywork, diet, exercise and self-awareness. It works with the Human Energy Field - electromagnetic patterns expressed in mental, emotional and physical experience. In Polarity Therapy, health is viewed as a reflection of the condition of the energy field, and therapeutic methods are designed to balance this field for the benefit of your health.

Whilst I have taken this explanation from Andrew's website, I am aware of energy fields, lay lines. yin and yang, galvanic currents and of course the energy that is generated when observing the law of attraction. So what Andrew talks about makes logical sense.

Certainly a google search for Polarity Therapy brings up some fascinating reading but if you want to talk to someone who practices what he preaches check out Andrew's website and give him a call. I have found him to be very approachable.

I would certainly be interested to any feedback regarding the sort of conditions that Polarity Therapy helps.

"Turn your face to the sun and the shadows fall behind you." Ancient Maori proverb

Why Drug Companies Do Not Want You to Take Supplements

(NaturalNews) Supplements like Coenzyme Q10, amino acids, even a daily multiple vitamin can provide your body with natural health benefits. So why would the pharmaceutical companies have a problem with this? Think about it. If nutritional supplements worked for even a small portion of the people currently bound to their prescription medications for heart disease, arthritis, diabetes and other degenerative diseases, the drug companies would stand to lose a lot of money!

That's why they spend tons of money trying to discredit anything that may even hint of helping you. Americans more than ever before realize the importance of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients in not only preventing disease, but also in promoting good health.

For example, nonprescription guaifenesin works well to clear phlegm from the chest. Guaifenesin has also been used to manage symptoms of fibromyalgia.

The aging baby boomer generation is becoming skeptical about drugs and turning more to supplements. According to the Alliance of Dietary/Food Supplement Association, calcium, glucosamine, coenzyme Q 10, and women's multi-vitamins are some of the supplements most preferred and purchased.

This makes sense since women are most at risk of developing osteoporosis and their physicians will likely prescribe hormone replacement therapy. However, reports indicate multiple side effects to these types of treatment. Women are therefore looking at nutritional supplements as an alternative, such as calcium magnesium supplements or glucosamine.

Stress, according to current medical research, depletes our bodies' level of vital nutrients. With air pollution, junk foods and the high level of stress most Americans function under, nutritional supplements should be part of everyone's daily routine.

Today, more than ever, augmenting your diets with dietary supplements makes good sense. But more than that, you also need to be open to the idea that these vitamins and minerals may help you escape the ravages of some of the diseases that many of us as we age fall prey to. That being said, it's important to do some homework and choose the right supplements for you in the proper dosages.

About the author

Flora Stay, D.D.S. has been a practicing dentist for over 30 years. She is the author and contributing author to books as well as magazines such as Total Health, Prevention, Men's Health and others. She is currently an Associate Professor at U.S.C. School of Dentistry Dept. of Diagnostic Sciences. Visit her website for a free e-book "Product Labels: a cautionary tale" at www.cleure.com

The Dangers of Dehydration (Part I)

Monday, June 16, 2008 by: Andreas Moritz (see all articles by this author)

(NaturalNews) The human body is composed of 75 percent water and 25 percent solid matter. To provide nourishment, eliminate waste and conduct all the trillions of activities in the body, we need water. Most modern societies, however, no longer stress the importance of drinking water as the most important "nutrient" among nutrients. Entire population groups are substituting water with tea, coffee, alcohol and other manufactured beverages. Many people don't realize that the natural thirst signal of the body is a sign that it requires pure, plain drinking water. Instead, they opt for other beverages in the belief that this will satisfy the body's water requirements. This is a false belief.

Common Beverage Substitutions Lead to Dehydration

It is true that beverages such as tea, coffee, wine, beer, soft drinks, sports drinks and juices contain water, but they also contain caffeine, alcohol, sugar, artificial sweeteners or other chemicals that act as strong dehydrators. The more of these beverages you consume, the more dehydrated your body becomes because the effects they create in the body are exactly opposite the ones that are produced by water. Beverages containing caffeine, for example, trigger stress responses that at first have strong diuretic effects, leading to increased urination. Beverages with added sugar drastically raise blood sugar levels. Any beverage that provokes such a response coerces the body to give up large quantities of water. Regular consumption of such beverages results in chronic dehydration, which plays a part in every toxicity crisis (the body's effort to rid itself of accumulated toxins).

Drug Companies Wish to Control Your Choices

There is an attack on the dietary supplements weight loss industry. The attack is coming from the drug industry. The drug industry is trying to reduce all competition in the weight loss industry. If they accomplish what they're trying to accomplish, they will be the only ones to be able to claim they can help someone lose weight.

In Tim Sales' view, one of the greatest deceptions of the 20th century is the trick the drug industry played by controlling the word "disease." If they can get some ailment named a disease, the FDA will ONLY allow the drug industry to claim they can help that disease.

Legally (not logically), heart "disease" can only be cured with a drug. No drug actually cures or prevents heart disease, but that doesn't seem to matter to the FDA. A healthy diet does cure and prevent heart disease, but no one can claim this because LEGALLY the drug industry owns the word "heart disease."

We must act now to prevent the drug industry from owning the words "obesity disease." If they succeed at this, no one selling dietary supplements will be able to state that their supplements can help one lose weight because being overweight will be considered a disease.

At the very minimum... click on this link and read it (it's not long). Then, using the example letter, send your comments to the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) using the link on this site. If you can, also send a written letter.

Or... (and this is what I prefer) you can become fire spitting mad and email everyone you know and use whatever means or techniques necessary to get them to engage and fight with us. Simply send your friends to this weblog.

Making people's lives better - who might not even know we made their life better. :)

Tim Sales

Do You Really Need Eight Glasses of Water a Day?

A review of studies dealing with the healthy benefits of drinking lots of water concluded that, while athletes and people in hot, dry climates do better with increased fluid intake, for average healthy people, more water does not mean better health.

There is little evidence for or against any of the supposed benefits of extra water, such as increased toxin excretion, improved skin tone, lessened hunger, and reduced headache frequency.

Sources:
eFluxMedia.com April 3, 2008
Journal of the American Society of Nephrology April 2, 2008

Dr. Mercola's Comments: Every day your body loses water through urine and sweat, and this fluid needs to be replenished. Fortunately, your body is already equipped with a virtually foolproof mechanism that tells you when you need to replenish your water supply -- it’s called thirst!

Read on to find out Why You Need Water.

Junk Science & the Press Fall for It

(source: NaturalNews) The latest attack on vitamins A, C, E, selenium and beta-carotene comes from the Cochrane Library, a widely-read source of information on conventional health matters. In the paper published yesterday, these antioxidants were linked with a higher risk of mortality ("they'll kill you!"), and now serious-sounding scientists have warned consumers away from taking vitamins altogether. But with all the benefits of antioxidants already well known to the well-informed, how did the Cochrane Library arrive at such a conclusion? It's easy: The researchers considered 452 studies on these vitamins, and they threw out the 405 studies where nobody died! That left just 47 studies where subjects died from various causes (one study was conducted on terminal heart patients, for example). From this hand-picked selection of studies, these researchers concluded that antioxidants increase mortality.

Just in case the magnitude of the scientific fraud taking place here has not yet become apparent, let me repeat what happened: These scientists claimed to be studying the effects of vitamins on mortality, right? They were conducting a meta-analysis based on reviewing established studies. But instead of conducting an honest review of all the studies, they arbitrarily decided to eliminate all studies in which vitamins prevented mortality and kept people alive! They did this by "excluding all studies in which no participants died." What was left to review? Only the studies in which people died from various causes.

Brilliant, huh? This sort of bass-ackward science would earn any teenager an "F" in high school science class. But apparently it's good enough for the Cochrane Library, not to mention all the mainstream press outlets that are now repeating these silly conclusions as scientific fact.

Drug Reps Woo Doctors

Multi-national drug companies may have policies that only apple to the USA, but I don't think so. Read on.

Your doctor may have the best intentions in the world, but if they are being visited by drug reps, there is a strong likelihood they have been influenced by highly skilled, multinational, self-serving corporate interests and their opinions about prescription drugs are likely highly biased as a result. This can certainly happen even at a subconscious level, and the end result is a higher tendency to prescribe the drugs that have been marketed to them.

This is why I remind you often, taking ownership for your own health by leading a healthy lifestyle, and only resorting to drugs as a last option, is the key to surviving, and thriving, in the 21st century.

Hahram Ahari, who spent two years selling Prozac and Zypraxa for Eli Lily, told a Senate Aging Committee that his job involved "rewarding physicians with gifts and attention for their allegiance to your product and company despite what may be ethically appropriate."

Ahari claims that drug companies often hire former cheerleaders and ex-models, as well as former athletes and members of the military, even if they have no background in science.

During their five-week training class, Ahari says he was taught sales tactics such as:

How to exceed spending limits for important clients
How to be generous with free samples to leverage sales
How to use friendships and personal gifts to foster a "quid pro quo" relationship
How to exploit sexual tension

Ahari claims that he's even heard stories about sales reps helping to pay the cost of a doctor's swimming pool, or taking a doctor to a nightclub where a hostess was paid to keep him company.

For this work, sales reps often earned more than researchers. On top of a base salary of $50,000 for starting reps, Ahari says, "there were four quarterly bonuses, an annual bonus, stock options, a car, 401K, great health benefits, and a $60,000 expense account."

Sources: ABC News March 12, 2008

Mammograms Don't Help, They Harm Women

Breast cancer kills women. In fact, breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in women. Lung cancer is number one.

It is estimated that 211,240 women were diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005. 40,410 have since died from the disease. These deaths should not have occurred. There is a potentially fatal flaw in our medical profession's diagnostic procedure.

Could mammograms cause cancer?

The standard method for early cancer detection is mammography. A mammogram is a procedure during which an X-ray picture of the breast is taken that can reveal tumor growths that may be otherwise undetectable. Like all x-rays, mammograms utilize doses of ionizing radiation to create this image. The image is then analyzed for any abnormal growths. Mammography is now receiving sizable opposition because of high error rates and high radiation levels involved in the procedure.

The rate of false positives and false negatives is alarming. 70 to 80 percent of all positive mammograms do not show any presence of cancer upon biopsy. Additionally, mammograms have a high rate of missed tumors (false negatives). In the book The Politics of Cancer, Dr. Samuel S. Epstein claims that in women ages 40 to 49, 25% have their cancer missed by mammography.

The End of Antibiotics

Eventually antibiotics are going to be seen as one of the worst things to ever come out of pharmaceutical science because in the end, they have made us only weaker in the face of ever increasingly strong super bugs that are resistant to all the antibiotics doctors have at their disposal. When we look at how deep the rabbit hole goes with antibiotics, we will get sick in our souls. Antibiotics have fulfilled their anti–biotic anti-life role leaving a long trail of death and suffering in the wake of their use.

Diseases include measles, scarlet fever, tuberculosis, typhoid fever, pneumonia, influenza, whooping cough, diphtheria and polio. All were in decline for several decades before the introduction of antibiotics or vaccines - Dr. Lawrence Wilson.

Antibiotics do not kill yeast. Many women find after taking antibiotics, they get vaginal yeast infections (because their normal bacterial balance has been lost). Antibiotics bring on fungal and yeast infections thus will eventually be seen as a major cause of cancer since more and more oncologists are seeing yeast and fungal infections as an integral part of cancer and its cause. With upwards of 40 percent of all cancers thought to be involved with and caused by infections, the subject of antibiotics and the need for something safer, more effective and life serving is imperative.

It may be some time before we really enter the predicted "post antibiotic era" in which common infections are frequently untreatable - Dr. Marc Lipsitch et al. (Harvard School of Public Health).

Antibiotics kill all bacteria in the body, including the ones we need.

Acupuncture Reduces Post-Surgery Pain

Acupuncture Reduces Post-Surgery Pain While Reducing Need for Pain Drugs
with thanks to Natural News

Acupuncture may reduce the pain experienced by patients after surgery, and decrease their need for pain-killing drugs, according to a new study conducted by researchers from the Duke University Medical Center in North Carolina and presented at an American Society for Anesthesiology conference in San Francisco.

Acupuncture is a form of traditional Chinese medicine in which thin needles are inserted into certain key (predetermined) points in the body. There is evidence of the practice existing in China anywhere from 3,000 to 5,000 years ago.

"The use of acupuncture is still very under-appreciated," said Dr. Tong-Joo Gan, vice chairman of Duke's anesthesiology department. "Western doctors are typically not trained [in acupuncture], and they really are not familiar with how it works. I think practitioners such as surgeons and anesthesiologists need to have an open mind."

Want a Nutritional Edge? Buy Organic

A recent UK government report found that chickens raised in the widespread, non-organic fashion, have a 23.4% chance of being contaminated with salmonella, a bacteria responsible for food poisoning. The chance of an organic flock having salmonella? Only 4.4%.

What's the difference between how the chickens are raised?

Organic chickens must have "access to outdoor ranges and pasture, with an emphasis on enabling the animals to express their natural behaviour." Sounds pretty reasonable.

The non-organic chickens are mostly housed in cages which allow each individual bird the space of a standard sheet of paper. Yes, the 8 1/2" X 11" kind. These birds are also given antibiotics, which not only help to create superbugs and weaken the birds' immune systems, but they potentially have the same effect on you when you eat the chicken or its eggs.

Processed Meats Stimulate Cancer

The same ingredient used to inject laboratory rats to give them cancer in order for scientists to study cancer is used to color processed meats so that they look healthy. Let's face it, meat that has been on a shelf should looks old or grey. But then you wouldn't buy it if it looked that way so in comes Sodium Nitrate, the powerful carcinogenic force fed to rats to give them cancer.

Consuming processed meats including bacon, sausage, hot dogs increases the risk of pancreatic cancer, says new research conducted at the University of Hawaii that followed nearly 200,000 men and women for seven years. According to lead study author Ute Nothlings, people who consumed the most processed meats (hot dogs and sausage) showed a 67% increased risk of pancreatic cancer over those who consumed little or no meat products.

Want to know what the Top Five Cancer Causing Foods Are? CLICK HERE

Mr Tesco, there is a beetle in my jam

And the same goes for Sainsbury, Asda, Waitrose and Morrisions.

It takes the form of Cochineal, Carminic acid, Carmines Natural Red 4 - colouring

A colouring that makes many foods red. Found in alcoholic drinks, fruit pie fillings, jams, many sweets like yogurts and even cheeses. Cochineal is made from the female insect found on cacti called Dactylopius Coccus. She is boiled alive or left to "cook" alive through sun exposure. Cochineal is the result of crushing scales of the insect into a red powder.

You can't get more natural than an insect but do you really want lashings of beetle in your jam? Personally, I find that there is far too much sugar in jam. Look past the fruit claims and read what percentage of sugar is in the product. Some of the biggest brand names have over 50% sugar! Better to choose a fruit spread.

Additives are generally substances which are of little or no nutritional value, but are used in the processing or storage of foods or animal feed.

You won't find healthy food reading labels

I come from the world of marketing and know only too well how much deception (sometimes innocently) is involved in manipulating the public into buying products.

Whilst my marketing was focused on the hair and beauty market and one may argue relatively harmless, food and drink manufacturers have a lot more to answer for. I notice more and more people in supermarkets reading labels but do we really know what they are looking for and did you know that the really important stuff does not need to be listed?

In the United Kingdom the law requires that food labels must include basic information including:

The name or description of the food, manufacturer’s name and address, place of origin, any special storage or cooking instructions, information about certain processes used in manufacturing such as pasteurised, dried, frozen, concentrated, smoked. Nutritional information is sometimes included, but isn’t required by law unless the manufacturer claims a product is for example 'low fat' or high fibre'.

Ingredients list.

Ingredients, including additives, must be listed in descending order of weight. From February 2000, products will also have to declare the percentage of their key ingredients, for example the amount of fish in a fish cake or lemon in a lemon meringue.

To discover what labels don't tell us. read on