2010 Health

Bill Clinton Vegan--President Clinton Vegan Diet

Mon, 22 Aug 2011 13:34:22 -0400

Within days of each other, America lost its Burger King and its Burger President.  Last week, former President Bill Clinton, once known for his love of barbecue, burgers, and baked goods, told CNN's medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, that he's essentially become a vegan. The change, he said, was a gradual, a two decade process of turning around his eating habits to improve his health. It began in 1993, when first lady Hillary Clinton brought in Dr. Dean Ornish, director and president of the Preventive Medicine Research Institute in Sausalito, CA, to revamp the White House menu, which tended toward high-fat, gourmet French foods.

More from Delish: Southern Food Made Healthier
 But the President continued to struggle with his weight, and in 2004, then 58-year old Clinton required a quadruple bypass surgery.  "I was lucky I did not die of a heart attack," Clinton told CNN, but even substantial lifestyle and diet changes following the bypass were not enough. After requiring a second surgery in 2010, this time an angioplasty, Dr. Ornish told the former President that he needed to do more.  "I shared with him that because of his genetics, moderate changes in diet and lifestyle weren't enough to keep his disease from progressing," Ornish told CNN. "Our research showed that more intensive changes change actually reverse progression of heart disease in most people."
More from Delish: Plate of the Union - Picky Presidential Palate
And so Clinton made intensive changes--he says he has stopped eating meat, dairy, and eggs, and has almost cut out oil. He had a single bite of turkey last Thanksgiving.  "I like the vegetables, the fruits, the beans, the stuff I eat now," Clinton told CNN.  Clinton whose namesake foundation has partnered with the American Heart Association to spread the message of healthy eating with American schoolchildren, says his goal is to reach a trim 185 pounds — what he weighed when he was a schoolboy, at age 13.
Source: http://www.delish.com/food/recalls-reviews/bill-clinton-goes-vegan?GT1=47001

Mass Animal Deaths Continue as Thousands of dead Walleye wash up in Lake Erie

Wed, 18 May 2011 11:44:27 -0400

(NaturalNews) Experts are trying to figure out why thousands of dead walleye fish have been washing up on a roughly 25-mile stretch of Lake Erie between the northern Ohio cities of Toledo and Port Clinton over the past few weeks. The mysterious deaths add to the millions of others that have occurred since the beginning of 2011, most of whose cause of death has never been conclusively determined.

According to a recent report in The News-Messenger, tens of thousands of fish have washed up on Ohio beaches in recent days, and the majority of them have been between two-and-a-half to three pounds in weight. Some local anglers have told reporters that the sight of these dead fish is highly unusual, and that they appear to be coming from the west.

"I'm hearing thousands or tens of thousands maybe, on the high side," said Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) biologist and program administrator Roger Knight to reporters. "This is something out of the ordinary."

Knight and colleagues are currently investigating the deaths to determine their cause. Several explanations have already been put forth, including unusually cold weather in recent months that may have killed the walleye during their spawning period. Other explanations include overfishing by commercial operations in Canada, and even a mystery virus.

The Great Lakes in general, which represent roughly 20 percent of the world's total fresh water supply, are known to be highly contaminated with industrial chemicals and pollutants, including but not limited to pesticides, herbicides, persistent organic pollutants (POPs), and heavy metals like mercury (http://www.eoearth.org/article/Merc...). These and other pollutants likely play some role in the mysterious fish deaths.

You can see a full list of mysterious animal deaths that occurred within just the first two weeks of January by visiting:
http://www.naturalnews.com/031041_a...

Sources for this story include:

http://www.thenews-messenger.com/ar...

http://www.newsnet5.com/dpp/news/st...

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/032432_animal_deaths_fish.html#ixzz1MifDIjiT

Breast Cancer Breakthrough: Parsley and other Plant Products Halt Tumor Growth

Mon, 16 May 2011 17:02:03 -0400

(NaturalNews) (NaturalNews) Did you ever use parsley simply to decorate some food -- and then toss the herb aside? You might want to reconsider that and make sure you actually eat the parsley. That's because groundbreaking new research shows parsley and certain other plant products, including fruits and nuts, contain a natural substance that can stop certain breast cancer tumor cells from multiplying and growing.

In a new study just published in Cancer Prevention Research, Salman Hyder, the Zalk Endowed Professor in Tumor Angiogenesis and professor of biomedical sciences in the University of Missouri-Columbia's College of Veterinary Medicine and the Dalton Cardiovascular Research Center, gave apigenin (a common compound found in parsley and other plant products) to rats with a particular type of breast cancer.

The animals exposed to the apigenin developed far less tumors and also experienced significant delays in tumor development compared to those rats that were not given apigenin. Dr. Hyder stated this new finding could potentially impact women who are taking certain hormone replacement therapies.

"Six to 10 million women in the United States receive hormone replacement therapy (HRT)," Dr. Hyder said in a media statement. "We know that certain synthetic hormones used in HRT accelerate breast tumor development. In our study, we exposed the rats to one of the chemicals used in the most common HRTs received in the United States -- a progestin called medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA) -- which also happens to be the same synthetic hormone that accelerates breast tumor development."

MPA is especially dangerous because when breast tumor cells develop in response to it, these malignancies spur new blood vessels to form within tumors. The blood vessels then provide nutrients for the tumors, causing them to grow and spread.

Dr. Hyder discovered that apigenin, which is most prevalent in parsley and celery, but is also in apples, oranges, nuts and other plant products, blocked new blood vessel formation. So it slowed and sometimes totally stopped the development of tumors. Moreover, the natural compound reduced the overall number of tumors even though it didn't stop the initial formation of breast cancer cells.

"We don't have specific dosage for humans yet," Dr. Hyder explained in the media statement. "However, it appears that keeping a minimal level of apigenin in the bloodstream is important to delay the onset of breast cancer that progresses in response to progestins such as MPA. It's probably a good idea to eat a little parsley and some fruit every day to ensure the minimal amount. However, you can also find this compound in pill supplements in the health food section of many stores. ."

[Editor`s Note: NaturalNews is strongly against the use of all forms of animal testing. We fully support implementation of humane medical experimentation that promotes the health and wellbeing of all living creatures.]

For more information:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/...

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/032410_parsley_tumors.html#ixzz1MYG17aYd

Diabetics Twice as likely to Develop Cancer

Mon, 16 May 2011 17:01:59 -0400

(NaturalNews) A new study published in the journal Diabetes Care reveals that diabetics have a nearly doubled risk of developing certain types of cancer compared to those without the disease. Dr. Chaoyang Li from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Ga., and his colleagues found that 16 percent of diabetic men and 17 percent of diabetic women develop cancer, while only seven and ten percent of the general population, respectively, develop it.

"The significant association between cancer and diabetes does not surprise us," Dr. Li is quoted as saying in a recent FOX News piece. Dr. Li and his team surveyed 400,000 adults by phone, and after accounting for external factors like age, race, and smoking and drinking habits, they determined that diabetics are far more prone to develop colon, pancreas, rectum, urinary bladder, kidney, breast and prostate cancers, than is the rest of the population.

The report explains that the most dramatic increase is seen in those with pancreatic cancer, as diabetic men appear to be 400 percent more likely to develop the cancer than others. And in women, those with diabetes tended to be up to three times more likely to develop blood cancer than women without the disease.

"[The study] shows there's a substantial pool of American adults who have diabetes and cancer," said Dr. Fred Brancati, a professor at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Md., who was not involved with the study. "The authors rightly point out that these two conditions go together beyond chance alone, so it pays to think about them together."

Research Dr. Brancati published in 2008 revealed that the death rate from cancer is about 40 percent higher in diabetics than it is in the general population as well, illustrating once again a clear connection between diabetes and compounded cancer risk.

Sources for this story include:

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2011/...

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/032405_diabetics_cancer.html#ixzz1MYGWkS43

Hundreds of Herbal Remedies now Outlawed across Europe

Fri, 13 May 2011 12:01:44 -0400

(NaturalNews) Live in Europe? Get your herbs while they last. New rules put forth by the European Union (EU) will ban the sale of certain herbal remedies that have been used for centuries.

Traditional herbs such a St. John's Wort or Echinacea must now meet strict licensing guidelines in order to be sold, while other lesser-known herbs that haven't been "traditionally" used in the last 30 years won't even make the cut to reach consumer shelves. Only those products that have been "assessed" by the Medicine and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) will be available for purchase. The real kicker? Even approved products will only be recommended for minor ailments such as the common cold, which means that product labeling may no longer be allowed to convey the potent health benefits of widely-used herbal remedies.

According the the EU, the laws were put in place to protect consumers from the "damaging" effects of traditional herbal remedies. The subtext of that statement, of course, is that herbal remedies can sometimes have dangerous interactions when taken with prescription drugs. Used alone, however, herbal supplements rarely pose a problem. With so many people taking prescription drugs, it's clear that the EU's move to ban herbal products is a monopolistic attack on the alternative health movement. While they can't admit the dangerous and deadly side effects of manufactured drugs, they can shift the blame to herbs.

Richard Woodfield, MHRA head of herbal medicine policy, claims that the new regulations empower the consumer: "The current signs are that the [herbal remedy] market will be lively and competitive. The key difference for consumers is that in the future they will be in the driving seat and able to make an informed choice when they wish to use these medicines."

Banning widely-used natural substances that may help cure or prevent illness promotes "informed" choices?

Paul Gimson, director of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society in Wales, also claims that herbal remedies may not be safe because they have not been put through clinical trials in the same way drugs are tested. Isn't this a tad obvious, however, since drug companies would never even consider testing or promoting a natural herb as a medicinal cure? Clearly, herbal remedies are not widely used because doctors or health care professionals recommend them. They are used because people know they work.

The most disturbing part? These regulations point to a movement toward complete restriction of herbal products and the idea that pharmaceutical companies may someday have patents on herbal remedies. Consider a possible scenario: A woman who has been taking Chasteberry supplements to regulate a gynecological condition may now need a prescription for it. She goes to her doctor and, instead of giving her the herb, he recommends a drug. She can no longer buy Chasteberry supplements unless she scours the Internet in search of a reputable company that sells safe herbal products. As we all know, these companies can be hard to find.

Not only do these laws threaten the livelihood of nutritionists, herbalists and holistic healthcare providers across Europe, but they put consumers in a lose-lose situation: go without herbal remedies or run the risk of purchasing them online.

Vicky Perks, clinical nutritionist at The Health Diva and health food store, Beanfreaks, notes that the regulations are "poorly thought out" and are driven by money: "Licensing is just a way of generating extra money for the government. It costs €50,000 to license one product."

Herbal products still on shelves will be for sale until their expiration dates. Stock up while you can.

Sources for this article include:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-13...
http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/w...

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/032389_herbal_remedies_Europe.html#ixzz1MFV5cofQ

Is Cabbage the Ultimate Anti-Cancer Food?

Fri, 13 May 2011 12:01:40 -0400

(NaturalNews) Men with early signs of developing prostate cancer were able to prevent tumor growth by eating broccoli four times a week, according to a British study covered on MSN (http://health.msn.com/health-topics...). But broccoli is not the only cruciferous vegetable with anti-cancer properties.

Cabbage has a long history of use both as food and medicine, according to The George Mateljan Foundation for the World's Healthiest Foods. Manual laborers were fed salted cabbage with their rice, according to William Duffy's "Sugar Blues", to keep them strong and healthy during the building of the Great Wall of China (http://www.naturalpedia.com/cabbage...). It was the only food they had besides their rice. Cabbage was also grown in Ancient Greek and Roman civilizations that held it in high regard as a general panacea capable of treating a host of health conditions.

Today, epidemiological studies provide evidence that diets rich in cruciferous vegetables are associated with lower risks of several types of cancer, according to Oregon State University (http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocent...). Cabbage in particular looks promising, boasting numerous cancer-preventing properties, including antioxidants and glucosinolates.

Anti-oxidant phytonutrients
Red cabbage contains 36 different varieties of anthocyanins, a class of flavonoid phytonutrients that have been linked to protection from cancer, according to a new study conducted by researchers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry (http://www.naturalnews.com/024487_c...).

Anthocyanins are naturally occurring pigments that give fruits and berries their red, blue and purple color. Another study by the ARS found that some varieties of the phytonutrient have twice the antioxidant effect of vitamin C (http://www.naturalnews.com/024487_c...).

Red cabbage is unique among the cruciferous vegetables in providing about 30 milligrams of the red anthocyanin in each half-cup serving. But even white cabbage -- the most commonly eaten variety of cabbage in the U.S. -- provides about 50 milligrams in a half-cup serving.

The cancer-preventing effects of cabbage are due, at least in part, to the antioxidant richness of the vegetable. Without enough antioxidants, we can experience a metabolic problem called oxidative stress, which can be a risk factor for development of cancer, according to The George Mateljan Foundation for the World's Healthiest Foods (http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?...).

Isothiocyanates
The anti-oxidant benefits of cabbage alone secure its position on the list of cancer-fighting foods but cabbage takes it a step further. The glucosinolates found in cabbage can be converted into isothiocyanate compounds, and these compounds show preventative effects for variety of different cancers, including bladder cancer, breast cancer, colon cancer, and prostate cancer (http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?...).

Isothiocyanates (pronounced eys-so-thigh-o-sigh-an-ate) stop carcinogens in three different ways, according to The Cancer Project: They prevent carcinogens from being activated, they counteract the effects of carcinogens once they have been activated and they speed up the removal of carcinogens from the body.

Studies have shown that risks of cancers of the gastrointestinal tract and the respiratory tract can be reduced by consuming isothiocyanate-rich vegetables, and the compounds are especially effective in fighting lung and esophageal cancers (http://www.cancerproject.org/protec...).

Indole-3-carbinol
Cabbage is also proving to aid in the prevention of cancer due to a compound called Indole-3-carbinol. The compound, I3C, which is released when we chew cruciferous vegetables, has been shown to protect against the adverse effects of estrogen, according to The South African Journal of Natural Medicine. When one type of estrogen is broken down, it divides into metabolites, one which leads to high risk breast cancer and the other which leads to low risk. I3C can reduce the risk of breast cancer by increasing the production of the safer metabolite.

Sources for this article include:
http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocent...
http://www.naturalpedia.com/cabbage...
http://www.cancerproject.org/protec...
http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocent...
http://cancer-treatment-registry.or...
http://www.fourwinds10.com/siterun_...
http://health.msn.com/health-topics...
http://www.naturalnews.com/024487_c...
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?...
http://www.naturalmedicine.co.za/ca...

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/032377_cabbage_anti-cancer_food.html#ixzz1MFVkPs2p

Acetaminophen tied to blood Cancers

Tue, 10 May 2011 23:29:26 -0400

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – New research shows chronic users of acetaminophen, a top-selling painkiller known as Tylenol in the U.S. and paracetamol in Europe, are at slightly increased risk for blood cancers.
Yet the risk remains low, and it's still uncertain what role the drug plays.
The finding adds another twist to the complicated evidence linking cancer and painkillers, and hints acetaminophen might be different from the rest.
Earlier work has shown that aspirin use might lower the odds of dying from colon cancer but increase the risk of bleeding ulcers. The picture has been less clear for blood, or hematologic, cancers, however.
"Prior to this study there was very little evidence that aspirin reduces your risk of hematological cancers," said Emily White of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, who worked on the new research.
There were some suggestions that acetaminophen might increase the risk of the cancers, on the other hand, but those were based on individual cases of blood cancer.
Studies of individual patients aren't considered as strong as the new one, which tracked a large population of healthy people over time.
"We have the first prospective study," White told Reuters Health.
Still, she warned, there is no proof that acetaminophen causes cancer, and the new results need to be confirmed before they are used in any treatment decision.
Earlier work has linked acetaminophen to asthma and eczema as well, but scientists still don't agree on whether the drug is the actual culprit or just an innocent bystander.

Swiss Researcher shows natural breeding better than GMOs

Tue, 10 May 2011 23:29:22 -0400

A Swiss researcher has developed a new apple that is resistant to disease, appealing to the palate, and easy to grow, all without using genetic modification.
According to Natural News, it took Swiss orchardist and researcher Markus Kobelt twenty years of careful research and development to come up with the new apple variety. The RedLove apple is said to be "sweet, tangy and delicious."   For a long time, researchers from other food establishments have been trying to create a GM apple that has more nutrients, that is more resistant to disease and pests, and attractive to growers and consumers. However, Kobelt did it first with his non-GM variety, which he was able to create using natural breeding methods and cross-pollination techniques.    Amazingly he didn’t have to use any GM to beat the companies who usually do a lot of gene splicing to make new varieties of crops. This means that the RedLove apple has none of the serious health risks that many GM varieties do. It’s a big win for natural agricultural methods.

   "These varieties of new apple have been created through non-GE (genetically engineered) techniques which is fantastic," said Claire Bleakley from GE Free NZ in Food and Environment, a non-profit organization working to raise awareness about the dangers of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). "It cannot be logical to spend millions of taxpayers’ dollars and research resources on a red GE apple we know could have dangers to the environment and people health and is simply not acceptable to the market, and already exists as a non-GE variant."   The RedLove apple works well if it’s used raw or cooked and it has a distinctively awesome red color. It has much higher levels of antioxidants, and it resists scab disease. And all of these amazing traits were instilled the old fashioned way with no genetic alterations in a Frankenstein lab.

Read more: http://www.tgdaily.com/general-science-brief/55827-swiss-researcher-shows-natural-breeding-better-than-gmos

Sick Fish in Gulf are alarming scientists

Tue, 10 May 2011 23:29:19 -0400

Scientists are alarmed by the discovery of unusual numbers of fish in the Gulf of Mexico and inland waterways with skin lesions, fin rot, spots, liver blood clots and other health problems.
"It's a huge red flag," said Richard Snyder, director of the University of West Florida Center for Environmental Diagnostics and Bioremediation. "It seems abnormal, and anything we see out of the ordinary we'll try to investigate."
Are the illnesses related to the BP oil spill, the cold winter or something else?
That's the big question Snyder's colleague, UWF biologist William Patterson III, and other scientists along the Gulf Coast are trying to answer. If the illnesses are related to the oil spill, it could be a warning sign of worse things to come.

In the years following the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska's Prince William Sound, the herring fishery collapsed and has not recovered, according to an Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee report. The herring showed similar signs of illness — including skin lesions — that are showing up in Gulf fish.
Worried that same scenario could play out along the Gulf Coast, Patterson is conducting research on the chronic effects of the BP oil spill on Gulf fish. And he sees troubling signs consistent with oil exposure: fish with lesions, external parasites, odd pigmentation patterns, and diseased livers and ovaries. These may be signs of compromised immune systems in fish that are expending their energy dealing with toxins, Patterson said.
"I've had tens of thousands of fish in my hands and not seen these symptoms in so many fish before," said Patterson, who has been studying fish, including red snapper, for 15 years. "All those symptoms have been seen naturally before, but it's a matter of them all coming at once that we're concerned about."
Read More: http://www.pnj.com/article/20110508/NEWS01/105080328/Sick-fish-Gulf-alarming-scientists

Recalls Grape Tomatoes Due to Salmonella Risk

Mon, 9 May 2011 12:24:54 -0400

(CBS) Salmonella fears have sparked the recall of grape tomatoes used in prepared foods sold in 13 states.
The tomatoes - used in salads and other products - were sold by Albertson's, Raley's, Safeway, Savemart, Sam's Club, and Walmart stores in Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, New Mexico, Idaho, Montana, Colorado, South Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska, and Utah, according to the FDA.
No illnesses have been reported, but the FDA says the affected products should not be eaten. They can be returned to the place of purchase for a refund.
Salmonella is a microorgamism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections. Children, frail or elderly people, and others with weak immune systems are at greatest risk. In healthy adults, salmonellosis can cause fever, nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more information on Salmonella.
For more on the recall, call Taylor Farms Pacific, Inc. at 209-835-6300.
Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-20059321-10391704.html

Long-term storable superfoods launched

Mon, 9 May 2011 12:12:16 -0400

(NaturalNews) Today we're announcing the launch of Storable Organics (www.StorableOrganics.com), the world's first company offering a full line of preparedness superfoods and organic foods packed in steel cans for long-term shelf life. We have inventory right now, and we're shipping 17 products in these cans, including spirulina, chlorella, chia seeds, quinoa, rice bran and much more.

Click here to see the full list in our store or see more details on our website at www.StorableOrganics.com

Most conventional storable foods are made with pesticides or GMOs
Why do we need Storable Organics? It's simple: Have you ever tried to find organic storable food? Or storable superfoods? Until now, they virtually did not exist. Nearly all storable foods available today (with a few exceptions) are conventionally grown foods farmed with chemical pesticides and GMOs. Many of the "camping" foods you'll find at retail stores are made with textured vegetable protein, GMO soy and food additive chemicals such as yeast extract (a form of hidden MSG).

That's nasty stuff. In an emergency, the last thing I want to do is start poisoning my body with pesticide residues, GMOs and chemical food additives.

So six months ago, I approached several of the top preparedness food companies in the industry and asked if they wanted to partner with NaturalNews to launch a line of organic, storable superfoods. They replied that they were all too busy filling orders to even think about adding a line of storable organics! (Seriously, they all blew us off because their business was already at their maximum capacity, it seems...)

That's when I knew the only way to make this project a reality would be to launch it ourselves.

Learn more: http://www.NaturalNews.com/032331_storable_organics_preparedness.html#ixzz1Ls9JvqqW

NC school district to give away iPod, laptop to children who participate in vaccination contest

Mon, 9 May 2011 11:41:53 -0400

(NaturalNews) The Chapel Hill - Carrboro City School (CHCCS) district in North Carolina has launched a shocking new vaccination contest that offers prize incentives to students who get vaccinated. According to the CHCCS district website, for each vaccine a student receives, he or she will also receive an entry into a drawing to win an Apple iPod or a laptop computer -- and students that get the entire recommended vaccine schedule, which includes the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine for both boys and girls, will be allowed extra entries into the contest and more chances to win than other students.

According to the CHCCS website, the three vaccines being promoted are the Meningococcal vaccine, the Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis) combination vaccine, and the HPV vaccine. Between April 1, 2011, and May 31, 2011, students are encouraged to get one or all of these vaccines, and present proof to their school nurse before June 1. Those that do will receive individual entries for each vaccine, and four entries total if they get all three.

The stunt is taking place under the leadership of superintendent Neil Pedersen, and is being promoted by both school nurses and the Orange County Health Department. The CHCCS information page explains that the contest was made possible by a donation from a family whose daughter allegedly died from meningococcal disease, but it does not explain why the Tdap and HPV vaccines are also included in the vaccine drive.

The Tdap vaccine, of course, is a highly dangerous vaccine that has been implicated in causing permanent brain damage and other serious injuries. Just a few months ago, a Texas man explained to My FOX Houston that the Tdap vaccine caused his otherwise healthy and bright young daughter to basically turn into a vegetable, suffering hundreds of seizures daily as a result (http://www.naturalnews.com/031469_v...).

And the HPV vaccine is widely known to cause neurological damage, seizures, heart problems, autoimmune diseases, vision and hearing loss, chronic fatigue, paralysis, and death (http://truthaboutgardasil.org/). NaturalNews has an extensive archive of reports about the HPV vaccine that you can explore here:
http://www.naturalnews.com/HPV.html

That the CHCCS school district has chosen to push a series of high-risk vaccines on young students using alluring prize incentives is both irresponsible and unethical. In fact, it is borderline child abuse, as the HPV vaccine in particular has absolutely no proven benefits, and only an extremely high risk of serious injury and death.

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/032330_vaccines_iPod.html#ixzz1Ls283MJW

Water fluoridation is a civil rights violation say Atlanta civil rights leaders

Mon, 9 May 2011 11:41:49 -0400

(NaturalNews) On April 18, Atlanta civil rights leaders called for an end to Georgia's mandatory water fluoridation practices April on the grounds that it negatively and disproportionately impacts the health of black families and the poor.

Andrew Young, former U.N. Ambassador and former Atlanta Mayor, along with Reverend Dr. Gerald Durley, Pastor of Providence Baptist Church in Atlanta, both inductees in the International Civil Rights Walk of Fame, expressed concerns about the fairness, safety, and full disclosure regarding fluoridation in letters to the state's minority and majority legislative leaders.

Studies show that despite fluoridation, tooth decay is higher in blacks. Dental fluorosis, caused by overexposure to fluoride which can result in pitting of tooth enamel and mottling of the teeth, is also higher in blacks.

The Department of Health and Human Services proposes to lower water fluoride levels to alleviate the growing dental fluorosis epidemic but the Fluoride Action Network submitted scientific evidence to HHS indicating that, to preserve health, fluoridation must stop completely.

"My father was a dentist," Young said. "I formerly was a strong believer in the benefits of water fluoridation for preventing cavities. But many things that we began to do 50 or more years ago we now no longer do, because we have learned further information that changes our practices and policies."

Fluoride has been linked to many health problems, according to FAN, including lowered IQ in 24 human studies and damage to the brain in over 100 animal studies.

"The National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences has designated kidney patients, diabetics, seniors and babies as 'susceptible subpopulations' that are especially vulnerable to harm from ingested fluorides." Dudley said. "Black citizens are disproportionately affected by kidney disease and diabetes, and are therefore more impacted by fluorides."

Infants, one of the sensitive subpopulations, who are fed formula made with fluoridated tap water will receive up to 175 times more fluoride than breast-fed infants, according to FAN. Infants zero to six months old, the smallest and most vulnerable in our population, were completely excluded from risk calculations in HHS's proposal.

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/032319_water_fluoridation_civil_rights.html#ixzz1Ls2OWGwq

Food Temptation akin to Drug Addiction?

Tue, 3 May 2011 11:44:30 -0400

Seeing a milkshake can activate the same areas of the brain that light up when an addict sees cocaine, U.S. researchers said on Monday.

The study helps explain why it can be so hard for some people to maintain a healthy weight, and why it has been so difficult for drugmakers and health experts to find obesity treatments that work.

"If certain foods are addictive, this may partially explain the difficulty people experience in achieving sustainable weight loss," Ashley Gearhardt of Yale University in Connecticut and colleagues wrote in the Archives of General Psychiatry.

Gearhardt's team wanted to see what happens in the brain when young women are tempted by a tasty treat.

They used a type of brain imaging known as functional magnetic resonance imaging, or fMRI, to study brain activity in 48 young women who were offered a chocolate milkshake or a tasteless solution. Women in the study ranged from lean to obese.

The team found that seeing the milkshake triggered brain activity in the anterior cingulate cortex and the medial orbitofrontal cortex -- brain areas that have been implicated in an addict's urge to use drugs.

And this activity was higher among women in the study who had high scores on a scale that assessed their eating habits for signs of addictive behavior.

"These findings support the theory that compulsive food consumption may be driven in part by an enhanced anticipation of the rewarding properties of food," Gearhardt and colleagues wrote.

People who are addicted to a substance are more likely to react with physical, psychological and behavioral changes when exposed to that substance. Altering visual "cues" -- billboards of tempting treats, for example -- might help curb the urge to indulge, they said.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/health/2011/04/06/2011-04-06_food_temptation_akin_to_drug_addiction_milkshake_can_activate_the_same_areas_of_.html#ixzz1LIxraf00

Gluten-Free: Judging If It’s Right for You

Tue, 3 May 2011 11:44:26 -0400

Sarah Cooper was a new mom in her mid-20s, busily juggling her family and a career as an electrical engineer, when everything came to a halt.

She lost all her energy. She developed acne. And she began experiencing gastrointestinal problems: bloating, diarrhea, cramping, constipation. Her doctors, thinking something must be missing from her diet, put her on various vitamins, none of which helped. "It was all I could do to go to work," she says.

After years of failed treatments, Cooper's luck changed. She saw a doctor who suspected she might have celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder that can appear at any age and is caused by an intolerance to gluten. A protein found in wheat, barley, and rye (and countless food products -- like bread and pasta -- that contain those grains), gluten gradually damages the intestines of people with celiac disease, preventing the absorption of vitamins and minerals and setting off a slew of related health problems, which can include fatigue and bad skin.

Cooper tested negative for celiac disease, but the doctor advised her to try a gluten-free diet anyway. "Within a week of eliminating [gluten], I started to feel markedly better," says Cooper, now 36, from Melbourne, Australia. "It wasn't a gradual feeling better; it was almost a crossing-the-street kind of thing."
Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/15/gluten-free-healthy_n_849138.html