healthy foods and healthy recipes

BPA causes obesity in children, new study shows

noreply@blogger.com (healthy food) — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 03:43:00 +0000

(NaturalNews) Are the chemicals commonly found in thermal receipt paper, aluminum cans, and plastic containers causing your children to become overweight or obese? New research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) seems to suggest this may be the case, having found that children with the highest levels of the plastics chemical bisphenol-A (BPA) in their blood are also the largest among their peers.

For their study, researchers from the New York University (NYU) School of Medicine evaluated data from a nationwide health and nutrition survey that included roughly 3,000 children ranging in age from six to 19. About 33 percent of the children were overweight, while 18 percent were considered obese based on current body mass index (BMI) guidelines.

On average, the children who participated in the survey had roughly three nanograms, or about three-billionths of a gram, of BPA in every milliliter of their urine. After adjusting for outside factors that may have affected the results, researchers found that only about 10 percent of the kids on the lowest end of the BPA spectrum were obese, while 22 percent of the children on the high end were obese.

"Overall, we observed a positive association between increasing levels of urinary BPA and both measures of obesity, independent of potential confounding factors including smoking, alcohol consumption, and serum cholesterol levels," wrote the authors of the original survey, which was published in the journal ISRN Endocrinology back in 2008.

"Elevated levels of urinary BPA are associated with measures of obesity independent of traditional risk factors, (and) this association is consistently present across gender and race-ethnic groups." (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22852093)

BPA, a hormone-disrupting, disease-causing poison

Since BPA has already been positively identified as an endocrine disruptor, it is widely believed that the chemical's hormone-altering properties may be responsible for such weight gain in many individuals. BPA has also been shown in hundreds of published studies over the last decade to cause other serious conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, reproductive problems, neurological damage, early puberty, and cancer. (http://www.naturalnews.com/BPA.html)

"BPA is commonplace -- found in copious brands of fruit, vegetables, soda, and other frequently eaten canned goods," write Brenda Watson and Leonard Smith in their book The Detox Strategy: Vibrant Health in 5 Easy Steps (http://www.naturalpedia.com/book_The_Detox_Strategy.html). "What's most troubling about the recent reports of BPA's prevalence ... is that it remains entirely without safety standards. It is allowed in unlimited amounts in consumer products, drinking water, and food, the top exposure source for most people."

Other prominent sources of BPA include thermal receipt paper, aluminum and steel can linings, plastic containers and packaging, composite dental fillings, pizza boxes, conventional napkins, paper towels, and toilet paper, wines fermented in plastic vats, and paper money.

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/037307_BPA_obesity_children.html#ixzz2EKmR3Emb

Overweight and obesity are shown to increase cancer risk by up to 50 percent

noreply@blogger.com (healthy food) — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 03:42:00 +0000

(NaturalNews) It doesn't take much more than a casual glance around you to know that overweight and obesity rates have risen during the past half century, specifically skyrocketing over the past five to ten years. An overabundance of highly processed, fructose-infused convenience foods and meals eaten at fast food restaurants have been significant contributors to the rapidly growing problem apparent in many western cultures. To put it simply, people today eat differently than their parents and grandparents, and our fast paced lifestyle and lack of physical activity are accumulating pounds around the waists of many children and adults.

Most people do not realize that the protruding bellies so commonly seen today are a major factor in the development of certain lines of cancer. Investigative researchers from The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston have published the result of a study in the journal Cancer Research that shows how fat progenitor cells may contribute to cancer growth by fortifying the vessels that provide needed blood to tumors.

The authors describe how fat progenitor cells can turn into various types of cells, and are known to fortify the vessels that provide essential blood to tumors. Prior population studies have shown that there is a correlation between obesity and cancer rates, and demonstrate that for many cancers, overweight and obesity is linked with poorer prognosis and faster progression of the disease.

Special adipose stromal cells are released through the blood to promote cancerous tumor growth

Dr. Mikhail Kolonin, lead study author noted "Our earlier studies led us to hypothesize that fat tissue called white adipose tissue, which is the fat tissue that expands in individuals who are obese, is itself directly involved and that it is not just diet and lifestyle that are important." Researchers examined two groups of mice, one obese and the other lean, and observed that when both were fed the same diet, the obese mice developed tumors at a higher and more rapid rate as compared to their lean counterparts.

The scientists also found that the obese mice had more adipose stromal cells (ASC's) that enter the circulation. When the stromal cells entered forming tumors, many of them turned into fat cells while others became part of the blood vessel network feeding the tumor growth. They concluded that adipose stromal cells contributed to angiogenesis, an essential component in tumor development that feeds nutrients and oxygen to fuel cancerous growth.

Dr. Kolonin concluded "Our results suggest that ASC's recruited from endogenous adipose tissue can be recruited by tumors to potentiate the supportive properties of the tumor microenvironment." In the past, researchers have associatedoverweight and obesity with increased risk for prostate, breast, ovarian, colorectal and renal cancers. This important study now explains the specific mechanism to explain how excess body fat is an independent risk factor in cancer development and progression.

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/037892_overweight_obesity_cancer_risk.html#ixzz2EKlquHHY

Cyberbullying: New Problems, New Tactics

noreply@blogger.com (healthy food) — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 07:55:00 +0000

Bullying is an old problem that remains difficult to bring under control, in part because technology offers new ways for kids to pick on one another. Indeed, cyberbullying can extend the reach and power of some of the worst bullies, subjecting kids to taunts from beyond their own schools and neighborhoods.

Cyberbullying also means the problem can be constant — gone are the days when kids just dreaded an encounter on the bus or during the schoolday. Through cell phone texts, emails, and social media sites, bullies can torment their victims 24 hours a day. Picked-on kids can feel like they're getting blasted nonstop and that there is no escape.

Because many kids are reluctant to report being bullied, even to their parents, it's impossible to know just how many are affected. But it's estimated that one third of teens have been victims of some form of online bullying. Yet they often don't realize it happens to so many of their peers, adding to their sense of isolation.

As the pressure builds, victims can experience anxiety, depression, and other stress-related disorders. As recent well-publicized cases have shown, some kids and teens ended their lives to escape bullying. Experts say that kids who are bullied — and the bullies themselves — are at an elevated risk for suicidal thoughts, attempts, and completed suicides.

What This Means to You

Parents are often desperate to help when their kids are bullied. It's hard enough to combat the typical schoolyard thug — so what can be done about the sometimes anonymous tormentors who strike from behind a computer screen?

Warning signs of cyberbullying to watch for can include:

emotional distress during or after using the Internet
withdrawal from friends and family members
avoidance of school or group gatherings
slipping grades and "acting out" in anger at home
changes in mood, behavior, sleep, or appetite
wanting to stop using the computer or cell phone
appearing nervous or jumpy when getting an instant message or email
avoiding discussions about computer or cell phone activities

Why don't kids tell their parents about cyberbullying? Despite the torment they might find online, they still want to be connected to friends and are afraid they'll lose their online privileges. So it's important for parents to reassure them that they won't lose their access, though what transpires online should be carefully monitored. When possible, block the bully from your child's online groups and profiles, and on cell phones and email accounts.

Encourage your child not to respond, because doing so just fuels the fire and makes the situation worse. But do keep the threatening messages, pictures, and texts, as these can be used as evidence with the bully's parents, school, employer, or even the police. Also consider involving officials at your child's school, especially if the bully also goes there.

And if your son or daughter is doing the bullying, take steps to end the negative behavior. Explain that joking and teasing might seem harmless but can hurt feelings and lead to serious consequences at home, school, and in the community. If it continues, put tracking or filtering software on the computer, impose restrictions on computer and cell phone use, and consider having your child talk with a counselor.

The Rise of Psychiatric Diagnoses in Younger Kids

noreply@blogger.com (healthy food) — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 07:54:00 +0000

Adults tend to look back on childhood as a carefree time of playing with friends, going to school, and being taken care of. Compared with the concerns that accompany adulthood, being a kid is a piece of cake, right?

So it's shocking to learn that a recent study found that the rate of antipsychotic medications given to kids 2 to 5 years old doubled between 1999 and 2007. Antipsychotic drugs typically are used to treat schizophrenia, psychosis, bipolar disorder, and other severe mental disorders, yet in this study also were given to kids diagnosed with pervasive developmental disorders (such as autism), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and disruptive behavior disorder.

While the number of younger kids affected still is very small, the growing trend alarms mental health experts. The study's authors, for instance, also report that fewer than half of the children in their study had received any mental health services, such as a mental health assessment or treatment from a psychotherapist or psychiatrist.
What This Means to You

About 1 in 5 children in the United States has an emotional or behavioral condition, according to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS). But these often are problems like anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and depression, which can respond well to early treatment with gentle, kid-friendly techniques like talk therapy.

Early diagnosis and treatment are key. Parents who worry that their child might be suffering from a mental health condition should first speak with their pediatrician or primary care provider, who can assess the child and then refer parents to a mental health specialist, if needed.

A child should receive a full mental health assessment from a specialist, such as a psychologist or psychiatrist, before being put on any psychiatric medication, especially one as strong as an antipsychotic. In addition to taking a thorough medical history, the specialist will ask about the family situation and school environment, and if there is a family history of psychiatric problems.

If other options, such as talk therapy and less powerful medications, have been unsuccessful in treating a severe mental disorder, only then should mental health professionals turn to stronger pharmaceutical treatments.

Alcohol

noreply@blogger.com (healthy food) — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 07:53:00 +0000

Getting the Right Message

"Hey, who wants a drink?"
"Oh, come on, just one drink won't hurt you. It's fun."
"It's cool. Everybody drinks, right?"

Wrong.

Drinking alcohol is dangerous for kids and teens and sometimes for adults, too. Alcohol is a drug, and it is the drug most abused by teens. Many kids have their first drink at an early age, as young as 10 or 11 or even younger.

It's easy for kids to get the wrong message about alcohol. They might see their parents drink or watch TV commercials that make drinking look like a lot of fun. You might see people drinking and watching sports together or having a big party.

But alcohol is actually a depressant. That means it's a drug that slows down or depresses the brain. Like many drugs, alcohol changes a person's ability to think, speak, and see things as they really are. A person might lose his or her balance and have trouble walking properly. The person might feel relaxed and happy and later start crying or get in an argument.
What Happens When People Drink?

When people drink too much, they might do or say things they don't mean. They might hurt themselves or other people, especially if they drive a car. Someone who drinks too much also might throw up and could wake up the next day feeling awful — that's called a hangover.

Drinking too much alcohol can lead to alcohol poisoning, which can kill a person. Over time, people who abuse alcohol can do serious damage to their bodies. The liver, which removes poisons from the blood, is especially at risk.

Because alcohol can cause such problems, the citizens and government leaders in the United States decided that kids shouldn't be allowed to buy or use alcohol. By setting the drinking age at 21, they hope older people will be able to make good decisions about alcohol. For instance, they don't want people to drink alcohol and drive cars because that's how many accidents occur.

What Is Alcoholism?

What can be confusing about alcohol is that some grown-ups seem to be able to enjoy it occasionally with no problems. Other people, though, can develop a problem with it. Sometimes, that's called alcoholism (say: al-kuh-hol-ism) or being an alcoholic (say: al-kuh-hol-ik). Someone who has alcoholism craves alcohol. The person has little control over his or her drinking and can't stop without help. A person who starts drinking alcohol at a young age is more likely to develop alcoholism.

Alcoholism is chronic, which means it continues over time. It often gets worse, too, because the person may start experiencing health problems related to drinking. In addition to causing liver problems, long-term drinking can damage the pancreas, heart, and brain.
Say No

It can be tempting to try alcohol. It's normal to be curious about new things, especially if it seems like everyone is doing it. But everyone is not drinking alcohol. Don't believe it if someone says you're immature for not drinking. You're actually more mature (which means grown up) because you're being strong and smart.

Still, it can be hard if you feel unpopular because of your decision. Good friends won't stop being your friend just because you don't want to drink alcohol. If you feel this kind of pressure, talk to someone you trust.

And if you're concerned about a friend who's drinking, you should tell one of your parents, a school counselor, or another trusted adult. That way, someone can talk with your friend before the alcohol causes a big problem. Unfortunately, some kids who drink may also drop out of school, get in car accidents, start fights, or join in crimes.

But with help, anyone who has a problem with alcohol can be successful at stopping. And if you're still a kid, help yourself by not starting in the first place!

When It's Just You In an Emergency

noreply@blogger.com (healthy food) — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 06:25:00 +0000

"Mom!" you yell down the stairs. "Where's my math book? I can't find it and the bus is coming! Please help me ... it's an emergency!"

It is kind of an emergency with the bus coming and all, but what about a medical emergency? That kind of emergency is usually more serious. If you don't have your math book or miss the bus, that would be bad. But a medical emergency means someone needs care from a doctor right away. Let's find out the right thing to do.

Quick Thinking: What Would You Do?

Liz and her little brother Jamie are out for a walk. Jamie decides to race ahead down a very steep hill. He's running pretty fast when he suddenly trips. Over and over he falls, rolling down the hill at high speed until he's sprawled out on the sidewalk at the bottom.

Liz rushes to her brother's side, hoping that he's OK. Then she sees some blood on the pavement. And Jamie isn't moving at all. What should she do? First things first: Liz should look around for a grown-up and call him or her to help right away. If no one is close by, she should make a phone call either on a cell phone or from the closest phone.

Calling for help is the most important thing a kid can do in an emergency.

If you're going to be the one making the emergency phone call, here's what to do:

Take a deep breath to calm down a little.
Call 911.
Tell the operator there's an emergency.
Say your name and where you are (the exact address if you know it).
Explain what happened and how many people are hurt. (The operator will need all the information you can provide, so give as many details as you can.)
Follow all of the operator's instructions carefully.
Stay on the line until the operator says it's OK to hang up.

After calling for help, your first thought might be to rush over to the person who's injured. But stop and look before you do. Make sure the scene is safe. If it's not, wait in a safe spot until a grown-up or an emergency team arrives.

If the scene is safe, and as soon as Liz is sure someone is calling 911 — or she has called it herself — she could return to her brother and wait until help arrives. (She shouldn't move her brother at all because he could have a neck or other bone injury. Moving someone who has that sort of injury can make it much worse.) She can help him feel calm by being calm herself.

In Case of Emergency

The best way to handle an emergency is to be prepared for one. Knowing what to do ahead of time can help you stay in control so that you can help. Here are some suggestions on how to be ready to help in an emergency:

When you're outdoors, make sure you're in an area where you can call out for help even if you don't have a phone with you.
Know how to dial 911 or your local emergency number (in most areas in the United States, it's 911).
If you have one, carry a cell phone or know how to use your parent's cell phone.
Learn first aid. Look for basic first-aid classes with your local Red Cross, the YMCA or YWCA, the Boy or Girl Scouts, 4-H clubs, your local hospital, and other organizations. Or ask your school nurse to have a first-aid class just for students in your school.

It's scary to think about someone getting hurt. But the truth is that accidents can and do happen. They happen when people are being careless and careful. Sometimes, kids are the ones who get hurt. Sometimes, grown-ups get hurt. Either way, it's good to know what to do if someone needs emergency medical help. Even though you're a kid, you can make a big difference by doing the right thing.

Stroke

noreply@blogger.com (healthy food) — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 06:22:00 +0000

A stroke is kind of a strange word for a health problem. You probably think of a stroke as something good. You might stroke your dog's fur. Or maybe someone has told you: "That's a stroke of good luck."

But if someone has a stroke, it means something has stopped the normal blood flow to the brain. Strokes usually happen to older people, like grandparents. Kids don't typically get them.

Blood is circulating through your body all the time in tubes calledarteries and veins. Usually, these blood vessels work fine and there's no problem. That's important because blood carries oxygen to all the cells in your body. And without oxygen, the cells would die.

A stroke can happen if something keeps the blood from flowing as it should. A person might have a clogged blood vessel, so the blood can't get through. Or a blood vessel may burst and a part of the brain is suddenly flooded with blood. Either way, with a stroke, brain cells die because they don't get the oxygen they need.

There are two main types of strokes:

Ischemic (say: iss-kee-mik) strokes happen when a blood vessel going to the brain becomes blocked, and the blood can't get where it's supposed to be. This type of stroke is the most common. A blood clot — a clump of blood that sticks together — is usually to blame for ischemic strokes. They can also happen when arteries become narrow and clogged with plaque. Plaque is a mix of cholesterol and other fatty stuff that sticks to the walls of blood vessels.
Hemorrhagic (say: heh-muh-rah-jik) strokes happen when a weak or thin blood vessel bursts and the blood spills out, killing brain cells and affecting how the brain works. High blood pressure can weaken the walls of vessels and make a hemorrhagic stroke much more likely.

There are also "mini strokes" called transient ischemic attacks (TIAs). These are not full-blown stokes because the blood flow is only cut off for a short amount of time and they don't cause the same kind of damage right away; however, they are a warning sign that something is wrong and that a real stroke might be on its way.

Strokes are serious. People who have strokes can get really sick, have brain damage, or die. But many people recover from strokes, especially if they know the warning signs and can get help quickly.

What Happens During a Stroke?

A stroke usually happens suddenly, and a person having a stroke has several of these signs:

numbness or weakness on one side of the body
a very bad headache
dizziness
loss of balance or coordination
trouble talking or understanding what people are saying
trouble seeing

Anyone who has even one of these symptoms should get to the hospital right away. The first thing a doctor will do is make sure the person is not in immediate danger, like making sure he or she can breathe.

Next, the doctor will want to figure out what's causing this problem. The doctor can run tests on the heart and brain.

If it looks like a stroke, doctors usually get a CT scan, a special kind of X-ray of the brain. This test can show the doctor what part of the brain has been affected and how big the stroke is.

How Does a Person Get Better?

Recovering from a stroke can happen quickly or can take a long time. How soon someone gets better depends on how bad the stroke was and how healthy the person was before the stroke.

People who have had a stroke may need medicine or surgery. Later, they may need rehabilitation (say: ree-huh-bih-luh-tay-shun). Treatment for a stroke will depend on what caused it.

Medicine: For a stroke caused by a clogged blood vessel (ischemic), the doctor might give the person medicine that thins the blood and keeps it from clotting too much. There's even "clot-busting" medicine that can break up a blood clot. This medicine is given through an IV and works best if it is given very quickly.

Surgery: Doctors may do surgery to open up a clogged blood vessel to help prevent another stroke later on. If a person has had a hemorrhagic stroke, surgery may be needed to remove blood clots or fix weak blood vessels.

Rehabilitation: Rehabilitation, or rehab, is when people to relearn basic things, like walking, talking, writing, or taking care of themselves. They may need speech therapy, physical therapy, or occupational therapy.

If Someone You Love Has a Stroke

It can be scary if someone you care about has a stroke. But strokes can be big or small. A small one may not cause too much damage and the person may get back to normal quickly.

But a major stroke can cause big problems with important stuff, like walking and talking. With a major stroke, someone may spend a lot of time in the hospital. Once the person is home, he or she may need special care, therapy, medicine, and a lot of doctor visits. In some cases, the person may have lasting problems with important skills, like walking or talking.

But often, people are able to relearn the important skills they lost. It may take time and patience, though. So if you know someone who has had a stroke, encourage him or her to keep on doing the hard work necessary to regain these skills.

It's also important for you to talk with someone if you have questions or worries about someone who has had a stroke. You might feel sad, frustrated, or angry that this happened to someone you love, especially if this person isn't able to do stuff with you like before.

It's also normal for people who have had a stroke to feel frustrated and upset, especially if they need to re-learn something as basic as feeding themselves. It can make a person feel less independent.

Preventing Strokes

Some strokes can be prevented in adults. Here are some stroke-prevention tips for grown-ups:

Don't smoke.
Don't drink too much alcohol.
Eat healthy and be active. This can help lower cholesterol.
Check blood pressure. High blood pressure is a major cause of stroke.
Don't ignore problems like heart disease, high cholesterol, ordiabetes.

What can kids do? Live healthy from an early age. Don't start smoking, eat healthy, and be an active kid!

What Kids Say About Their Health

noreply@blogger.com (healthy food) — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 01:25:00 +0000

You've probably heard the word "literacy" (say: lit-er-eh-see). It's often used when people are talking about being able to read. If you're reading this, then you're literate!

But there's another kind of literacy called health literacy. Health literacy means that you can understand information about your health, so you know how to take care of yourself and make good decisions.

If you have a health condition, such as asthma, being health literate means that you know what asthma is and you know how to treat it. It means you have gone to a trustworthy source, like your doctor, and received information that you understood. And now, if you have any breathing troubles, you know that you take a certain number of puffs from your inhaler. You also know when to call the doctor or go to the emergency department for more serious problems.

Steps to Health Literacy

It's important for both kids and adults to be health literate. Health literacy can be a serious problem for people who are older or who don't speak English. They may get health information or instructions from their doctor that they don't understand. As a result, they may not know how much medicine to take or how to best take care of their illness.

To be health literate, a person must:

know where to get health information
understand the health information he or she finds
apply the information to make good decisions about health

Maybe you know a person who can't read well. If so, you might be able to help by reading instructions to him or her. But sometimes it's not easy to be health literate, even if you can read and understand English. Some sources, such as friends or a TV show, might give you wrong information. Other times, the source is good, such as a doctor, but the information given is confusing or unclear. You walk away thinking, "Huh? What am I supposed to do?"

But many doctors, nurses, and other health professionals are working to make health information easier to understand. It makes sense because when people get good health information and understand it, they can use it in their lives and be healthier.

KidsHealth Asked Kids

KidsHealth wanted to find out more about health literacy among kids, so we asked 1,178 boys and girls a bunch of questions about their health and how they get health information. Here's what they said:

Lots of kids say they would turn to trusted people if they had an important health question.

31% would ask a parent
29% would ask a doctor or nurse
21% would ask a teacher

Other kids said "somewhere else" or the Internet. Kids said they would not trust their friends or TV for health information. About three quarters of the kids said those two sources give the most wrong information about health.

How do you know if you have a good source for health info? You want the person, book, or Internet site to be reliable and likely to give you correct information. You might ask yourself: How does this person know about health? If a kid at school tells you the best thing for a cold is pickle juice, you know that's not a trustworthy source. The kid didn't go to medical school and is probably just pulling your leg!

But if your doctor or nurse tells you that rest and drinking fluids are good for a cold, you can believe it's true. They went to school to learn about health and it's their job to take care of kids.

Do You Understand?

In addition to having a good source who has correct information, you need to understand what that source is saying. Maybe it's your mom talking to you about eating healthy food or something you read on the Internet about how much exercise kids need. If you don't get what the person is saying, or has written, you don't know what to do next.

About 37%, or less than half of all kids, said health information was very easy to understand. Another 41% said it was sort of easy to understand. About 22% said it was sort of hard or very hard to understand.

It's not surprising that health information is sometimes confusing. It's confusing even for grown-ups. Health and the body are complicated scientific subjects. What can do if you get health information, but you don't understand it? Ask questions. Ask about websites or books where you could find more information.

You can ask questions at the doctor's office, too. Sometimes you need to be quiet — like when the doctor is listening to your lungs with the stethoscope. But there are also usually times during an appointment when you can ask questions like, "Hey, what are you looking for in my ear?"

Sometimes you don't have questions until later. That's OK. You could write them down for next time or ask your parents to help you find the answers.

The same goes for health class. If you don't understand what the teacher is saying, ask questions. If you're embarrassed about the question, write it down or ask it after class. Your health teacher wants you to understand so you can take good care of yourself. Asking questions and learning more is a great way for kids to take responsibility for their health.

Kids Want to Know

Speaking of taking care of yourself, almost 80% of kids say they are very interested or sort of interested in learning about health. And 80% of kids also knew that what they do as kids can affect how healthy they will be as adults. For instance, just by eating a healthy diet and being active, kids can help maintain a healthyweight. Kids who grow up at a healthy weight are less likely to be overweight as adults.

Doing something like wearing a bike helmet also can make a big difference. They help kids avoid head injuries that could hurt their brains. And when a kid's brain gets injured, it can affect thinking, walking, and other important body functions.

We also asked kids on how well they follow what they are taught about health. About 66% said they tried to follow health advice all the time or most of the time. About 20% said they follow the advice sometimes. That's a lot of kids who are trying to do the right thing. But about 15% of kids said they followed health advice hardly ever or never.

Adults also have trouble following the health advice they get. It can be tough to exercise after a long day at work. It's hard for kids, too, to eat fruits and vegetables or to remember a bike helmet every time. But the more kids learn about health and start taking these steps on their own, the healthier kids will be. So tell your friends, tell your parents: Let's all get health literate!

What's a KidsPoll?

The group that took this KidsPoll included an almost equal number of boys and girls who were between 9 and 13 years old. They answered the questions on handheld data devices while visiting these health education centers and children's museums:

Byrnes Health Education Center — York, Pennsylvania
Children's Health Education Center — Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Crown Center for Health Education — Hinsdale, Illinois
CDC Global Health Odyssey Museum — Atlanta, Georgia
Health Exploration Station — Canton, Michigan
HealthSpace, Cleveland — Cleveland, Ohio
HealthWorks! Kids Museum — South Bend, Indiana
Health World Children's Museum — Barrington, Illinois
Lilly Health Education Center — Indianapolis, Indiana
Poe Center for Health Education — Raleigh, North Carolina
Weller Health Education Center — Easton, Pennsylvania

A poll, like the KidsPoll, asks people a list of questions. Then researchers compile all the answers and look at the way the group answered. They calculate how many — or what percentage — answered "yes" to this question and "no" to that one. Polls give us clues about how most people — not just the ones who answered the poll questions — feel about certain issues.

We'll be conducting more KidsPolls in the future to find out what kids say — maybe you'll be part of one!

After 15-year court battle, Pfizer reluctantly compensates Nigerian families whose loved ones injured, killed by illegal drug experiment

noreply@blogger.com (healthy food) — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 06:45:00 +0000

(NaturalNews) The families of children who were permanently injured or killed in an illegal 1996 Pfizer drug trial in Nigeria are finally starting to get the promised financial compensation for their losses, according to a recent report byBBC News. After trials involving the experimental anti-meningitis drug Trovan left 11 Nigerian children dead and dozens more injured, Pfizer initially refused to admit fault, claiming that the drug was not the cause. The drug giant eventually agreed to settle the issue out of court, however, and 15 years later is finally starting to distribute payments.

There was ameningitisepidemic in Kano, a city in northernNigeria, during the time whenPfizercame into the country and began pushing Trovan on youngchildren. The goal of the trial was to prove that Trovan was more effective than other established treatments for meningitis, even though it never had legal authority to do so. In the end, many of the 200 children who participated in this illicit medical experiment paid the ultimate price with either theirhealthor their lives.

When news of permanent disabilities and deaths first began to surface, Pfizer insisted that meningitis, not Trovan, was responsible. But the Kanogovernmentwas persistent in pursuing justice in the matter on behalf of itspeople, and it eventually forced Pfizer into a settlement agreement. And besides payments made to the victims' families, Pfizer also agreed to sponsor various health projects in Kano to be determined by the government.

"People and entities can and must be held accountable for the consequences of their conduct," said Babatunde Irukera, attorney for the state of Kano, to theWashington Postback in 2009 when the settlement was finally reached. "People around the world are no different and must be accorded the same levels of protections, always."

The original lawsuit sought $9 billion in restitution for damages and 31 criminal counts, which according to theWashington Postincluded homicide. Pfizer's Chairman Emeritus, William C. Steere Jr., was named as one of the defendants. While that suit was dropped in exchange for the settlement, Nigeria's federal government also filed a separate suit seeking roughly $6 billion in damages that was not affected by the settlement.

Learn more:http://www.naturalnews.com/033358_Pfizer_drug_experiments.html#ixzz1VSFmlySV

Ron Paul: Force to be reckoned with?

noreply@blogger.com (healthy food) — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 06:42:00 +0000

(NaturalNews) Libertarian-leaning physician Ron Paul, longtime Republican lawmaker from Texas, has struggled mightily for attention and respect over the course of his many years in Congress and histhree presidential bids. He's been regular fodder for the self-anointed spinmeisters and talking heads inside the Beltway throughout, none of whom have ever taken him seriously.

The official snubbing continued over this past weekend, despite the fact that Paul finished a close second in theIowa straw poll. If you were only monitoring the mainstream media's reporting of the event, you might not have even known Paul was a candidate, let alone giving Rep. Michele Bachmann - the overall winner - a run for her money.

When the votes were tallied, just 152 separated the top two candidates; Bachmann received 4,823 votes, and Paul received 4,671, a margin some would consider a statistical dead heat. Yet the major news broadcasts ignored Paul's accomplishment, in essence dismissing the will of thousands of his supporters.

EvenFox News, the so-called iconic news agency of the right, blew off Paul's near-victory. In his "Fox News Sunday" broadcast, host Chris Wallace snubbed him altogether, saying of the results, "There's a top tier now of Bachmann and Perry and Romney, and we haven't mentioned, and we should, Rick Santorum who really did surprisingly well for the amount of money and resources he had." For the record, Santorum, a former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania, received 1,657 votes, putting him in fourth place behind former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty's 2,293 votes. Pawlenty, by the way, considered his finish to be so poor as todrive him out of the race altogether.

Even comedian Jon Stewart, host of The Comedy Network's "The Daily Show," has noticed the mainstream media's lack of coverage. "How did libertarianRon Paulbecome the 13th floor in a hotel?"he asked rhetorically on his programfollowing Paul's strong showing inIowa.

Worse than receiving no attention is the fact that some of the other candidates - all of whom performed worse than Paul - continue to be considered "top tier." That list would include former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and even businessman Herman Cain.Really? What gives?

Things may be about to change for Paul, however, in the "R-E-S-P-E-C-T" department. It's possible that2012will be the year he finally command the respect he so richly deserves. Because whenthe vaunted Associated Press starts talking about your viability, you've definitely "arrived" on the political scene.

What's the problem with Paul? He's been a Republican congressman, fromTexasno less, for more than a quarter century, and yet he can't even get any love from his ownparty. Why?

For one thing, Paul's got a real libertarian, small-government, high-on-individual-freedom, anti-expeditionary war streak, and truth be told, his party really doesn't like those values much, despite what they try to sell to supporters.

"I believe in a very limited role forgovernment. But the prime reason that government exists in a free society is to protect liberty, but also to protect life," Paul told an increasingly boisterous crowd in Iowa Saturday.

"The country's bankrupt, and nobody wanted to admit it. And when you're bankrupt, you can't keep spending," he said Thursday, during a televised debate hosted by Fox News.

He wants to abolish the Federal Reserve, not because he's anextremistbut because he says it's an unaccountable organization that is secretive with U.S. economic policy and operates without any legitimate oversight from the federal government.

Paul, a former Air Force and Air National Guard flight surgeon, is not against protecting and defending legitimate national security interests but he is against spending limited national blood and treasure fighting endless brushfire wars in faraway lands to no effect and to no end.

As more Americans' pocketbooks are squeezed, Paul is a true advocate for getting government out of thebusinessof solving economic and employment problems by hampering business with too much oversight and red tape.

And that's his downfall. He's too much of a true believer for either major political party.

Take the recent debate over thedebtceiling. As far as the GOP leadership was concerned, it all centered on cutting spending - or so they said. But when the final deal was done - a deal Republican leaders signed off on -real government spending wasn't reduced at all. And the size of government wasn't cut a bit.

Paul knows that and warned against it. But as usual, he was shunned and ignored.

Well, it's getting harder to ignore him now. He's doing well in national polls. He's close to winning straw polls in early caucus states. And now, finally, he's beginning to get the attention and respect his long-held positions on the issues commands.

The establishment wants Ron Paul to sit down and be quiet because neither major party wants him or his positions to be heard. Yet results speak for themselves and the American people won't be denied.

Paul is for real. Paul has always been for real. He doesn't know how to be anything else.

What to Do If You Can't Sleep

noreply@blogger.com (healthy food) — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 08:14:00 +0000

Sometimes going to sleep can seem boring. There's so much more you want to do. But if you've ever had too little sleep, you know that you don't feel very well when you're not rested. Some kids have trouble falling to sleep, sometimes called insomnia. Let's talk about what to do if that happens to you.

Bedtime Fears

For kids, feeling scared or worried at bedtime is one of the main reasons for having trouble falling asleep. A kid might be afraid of the dark or might not like being alone. If a kid has a good imagination, he or she might hear noises at night and fear the worst — when it's just the family cat walking down the hall.

As you get older, these fears usually fade. Until they do, make sure your room makes you feel relaxed and peaceful. Look around your room from your bed. Are there things you can see from bed that make you feel good? If not, add some. Display some family photos or other pictures that make you happy. You might even create a mobile to hang over your bed.

Nightmares

Have you been having any nightmares lately? Sometimes it's hard to fall asleep when you're afraid of having a scary dream that feels way too real. If the fear of nightmares is keeping you awake, try talking to your mom or dad. Sometimes talking about the nightmares (and even drawing a picture of them) can help you stop having them.

By the way, kids have many more bad dreams when they watch scary or violent TV shows or movies or read scary books or stories before bedtime. Instead of doing those kinds of things, try thinking good thoughts before bed. Imagine a favorite place or activity or think of all the people who care about you. Reading a peaceful book before bed (your parent can read to you or you can read to yourself) or playing soothing music can help you have sweet dreams.

Worry and Stress

Insomnia also can happen when you're worried about things. It's easy to feel stressed when you have tests at school, after-school activities, team sports, and chores around the house.

If you're starting to feel overwhelmed — like it's all just too much — speak up. Your mom or dad can help you put some balance in your schedule. It may mean cutting out some activities so you have more free time.

Big Changes

A major change in your life or daily routine can easily cause sleep problems. Changes like divorce, death, illness, or moving to a new town can affect your ability to sleep through the night. During a difficult time, it helps if you feel safe. Try bringing a comforting object to bed with you, like a blanket a relative made for you or a favorite stuffed animal.

It might take a while to feel better, so talk with your mom or dad about what's bothering you. Even if the problem can't be solved, just talking it out can help you sleep easier.

Feeling Uncomfortable

If you feel too hot, too cold, hungry, or crowded, you won't get to sleep like you should. Prevent this by creating sleep-friendly bedtime space:

Make sure your bed is ready for sleep and relaxing — not so jammed with toys and stuffed animals that there's no room for you.
Turn on a fan if you're warm or pull on some socks if you're cold.
Have a regular bedtime routine that includes a light snack if you often feel hungry when it's time to turn in.

Getting Help for Sleep Woes

Most of the time, talking with your parent is all you need to do to handle a sleep problem. Your mom or dad can help you improve your bedtime routine and help you be patient while you develop new sleep habits.

But if a kid has really tough sleep problems, he or she might need extra help. That could mean talking to a counselor or psychologistabout stress or sadness the kid is feeling.

If the kid's not really worried about anything, he or she could have a sleep problem. In this case, the answer might be to see a doctor who's a specialist in sleep. Some hospitals even have sleep labs, where patients come in and go to sleep so doctors can monitor their sleep and see what might be wrong.

Sleep Tips

Because so many people get insomnia, a lot of research has been done on how to beat it. Lucky for you, right? Not all of these tips work for everyone, but one or two might help you:

Write in a journal before you go to bed. This practice clears your mind so you won't have all those thoughts crowding your brain when you're trying to sleep.
Sleep in a dark, comfortable room. Light signals your body that it's time to be awake, so you want to avoid it at night. But if you are really afraid of the dark, it's OK to try a dim night-light. And being hot and sweaty or shivering from the cold can easily keep you up.
Don't sleep with a pet. This can be a tough habit to break, but your lovable dog or cat could be keeping you awake. As your pet cozies up to you or makes noise, it could wake you from a peaceful sleep. Try sleeping without your pet for a couple nights to see if you sleep better that way.
Don't drink any caffeinated beverages (like soda or iced tea) after about 3:00 in the afternoon. Caffeine is a stimulant and might keep you awake.
Don't exercise at night. Keep your exercise to earlier in the day — never within a couple hours of when you go to sleep.
Once you're lying in bed, try a peaceful mind exercise. For instance, count backward from 100 with your eyes closed. By the time you get to 10 (yawn) we hope you'll feel very sleepy. And by 5, we hope you'll feel yourself drifting off ... 3, 2, 1, ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ.

Smoking Stinks

noreply@blogger.com (healthy food) — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 08:06:00 +0000

Smoking is one of the worst things kids or adults can do to their bodies. Yet every single day about 3,900 kids between the ages 12 and 17 start smoking. Most middle school students don't smoke — only about 1 in 16 does. And most high school students don't smoke either — about 1 in 5 does (that means 4 out of 5 don't).

But why do those who smoke ever begin?

There's more than just one simple answer. Some kids may start smoking just because they're curious. Others may like the idea of doing something dangerous — something grownups don't want them to do. Still others might know lots of people who smoke and they might think it's a way to act or look like an adult. Fortunately, fewer people are starting smoking than a few years ago.

Maybe that's because more and more people have learned that smoking and tobacco use can cause cancer and heart disease. But sometimes kids can't really think that far into the future to worry about an illness they might not get for many years.

So let's talk about the problems that might affect kids more quickly:

bad breath
yellow teeth
smelly clothes
more colds and coughs
difficulty keeping up with friends when playing sports
empty wallet — cigarettes and tobacco products are very expensive!

Let's find out more about cigarettes and tobacco.

What Are Smoking and Smokeless Tobacco?

Tobacco (say: tuh-ba-ko) is a plant that can be smoked in cigarettes, pipes, or cigars. It's the same plant that's in smokeless tobacco, known as dip, chew, snuff, spit, or chewing tobacco. Smokeless tobacco is not lit or inhaled like tobacco in cigarettes, pipes, and cigars. Instead, smokeless tobacco is put between the lip and gum and sucked on inside the mouth.

Tobacco contains nicotine (say: nih-kuh-teen), a chemical that causes a tingly or pleasant feeling — but that feeling only lasts for a little while. Nicotine is also addictive (say: uh-dik-tiv). That means that if you start to use nicotine, your body and mind will become so used to it that you'll need to have it just to feel OK.

Anyone who starts smoking could become addicted to it. If you're addicted to something, it's very hard to stop doing it, even if you want to. Some kids get addicted right away. And adults are often addicted, which is why so many of them have a hard time quitting smoking.

Why Is It So Bad for You?

Cigarettes and smokeless tobacco kill hundreds of thousands of Americans every year. You know those rubber bracelets that were created to bring attention to different causes? The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids created a red one with the number 1,200 on it. Why 1,200? That's the number of people who die each day due to smoking.

The nicotine and other poisonous chemicals in tobacco cause lots of diseases, like heart problems and some kinds of cancer. If you smoke, you hurt your lungs and heart each time you light up. It also can make it more difficult for blood to move around in the body, so smokers may feel tired and cranky. The longer you smoke, the worse the damage becomes.

The Other Cost of Smoking

Using tobacco eats up a lot of money, too. A pack of cigarettes costs $4.50, on average. That means, even if you buy just one pack a week, you'll spend $234 in a year. Some people smoke a pack a day, which adds up to $1,642! That's a lot of CDs, computer games, and clothes you could buy instead.

What's It Like?

Usually, people don't like smoking or chewing tobacco at first. Your body is smart, and it knows when it's being poisoned. When people try smoking for the first time, they often cough a lot and feel pain or burning in their throat and lungs. This is your lungs' way of trying to protect you and tell you to keep them smoke free. Also, many people say that they feel sick to their stomachs or even throw up. If someone accidentally swallows chewing tobacco, they may be sick for hours. Yuck.

What if My Friend Smokes?

If you have friends who smoke or use tobacco, you can help them by encouraging them to quit. Here are some reasons you can mention:

It will hurt their health.
It will make their breath stinky.
It will turn their teeth yellow.
It will give them less endurance when running or playing sports.
It's expensive.
It's illegal to buy cigarettes when you're underage.

If you think it will help, you could print out articles like this one to give to a friend who smokes. He or she may be interested in learning more about the dangers of smoking. But people don't like to hear that they're doing something wrong, so your pal also could be a little angry. If that happens, don't push it too much. In time, your friend may realize you are right.

In the meantime, it could help to talk with a parent or a school counselor if you're worried about your friend. When your friend is ready, a grown-up can help him or her quit for good. If your friend decides to quit, lend your support. You might say it's time to kick some butts!

Bad Breath

noreply@blogger.com (healthy food) — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 07:26:00 +0000

You lean over to whisper something to your friend and you can tell by the look on your friend's face that something is up. Could it be your breath? Maybe you shouldn't have put extra onions on your hamburger at lunch. What's a kid with smelly breath to do?
The good news is that bad breath happens to everyone once in a while. Let's find out how to detect it, prevent it, and even treat it.
What's That Smell?
Bad breath is the common name for the medical condition known as halitosis (say: hal-uh-toe-sis). Many different things can cause halitosis — from not brushing your teeth to certain medical conditions.
Sometimes, a person's bad breath can blow you away — and he or she may not realize there's a problem. There are tactful (nice) ways of letting someone know about bad breath. You could offer mints or sugarless gum without having to say anything.
If you need to tell a friend he or she has bad breath, you could say that you understand foods can cause bad breath because you've had it before yourself. By letting someone know that bad breath isn't something unusual, you'll make your friend feel more comfortable and less embarrassed about accepting your piece of chewing gum.
If you suspect your own breath is foul, ask someone who will give you an honest answer without making fun of you. (Just don't ask your brother or sister — they just might tell you your breath stinks even when it doesn't!)
Although everyone gets bad breath sometimes, if you have bad breath a lot, you may need to visit your dentist or doctor.

What Causes Bad Breath?

Here are three common causes of bad breath:

foods and drinks, such as garlic, onions, cheese, orange juice, and soda
poor dental hygiene (say: hi-jeen), meaning not brushing and flossing regularly
smoking and other tobacco use

Poor oral hygiene leads to bad breath because when food particles are left in your mouth, they can rot and start to smell. The food bits may begin to collect bacteria, which can be smelly, too.

Not brushing your teeth regularly will let plaque (a sticky, colorless film) build up on your teeth. Plaque is a great place for bacteria to live and yet another reason why breath can turn foul.

Preventing Smelly Breath

So what's a kid to do? Don't smoke or use tobacco products, of course. And take care of your mouth by brushing your teeth at least twice a day and flossing once a day. Brush your tongue, too, because bacteria can grow there. Flossing once a day helps get rid of particles wedged between your teeth. Also, visit your dentist twice a year for regular checkups and cleanings.

Not only will you get a thorough cleaning, the dentist will look around your mouth for any potential problems, including those that can affect breath. For example, gum disease, also known asperiodontal (say: per-ee-uh-don-tul) disease, can cause bad breath and damage your teeth.

If you're concerned about bad breath, tell your doctor or dentist. But don't be surprised if he or she leans in and take a big whiff! Smell is one way doctors and dentists can help figure out what's causing the problem. The way a person's breath smells can be a clue to what's wrong. For instance, if someone has uncontrolleddiabetes, his or her breath might smell like acetone (the same stuff that's in nail polish remover).

If you have bad breath all the time and the reason can't be determined by your dentist, he or she may refer you to a doctor to make sure no other medical condition could be causing it. Sometimes sinus problems, and rarely liver or kidney problems, can cause bad breath.

Usually, there's a less complicated reason for bad breath — like what you had for lunch. So keep up with your brushing and flossing and you should be breathing easy — and odor free!

Government agents stole $9,000 in cash during Rawesome Foods raid, says witness

noreply@blogger.com (healthy food) — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 07:18:00 +0000

(NaturalNews) A witness on the scene during the Rawesome Foods raid has publicly stated that an agent of the Specialized Surveillance & Enforcement Bureau of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health stole $9,000 in cash from James Stewart after placing him in handcuffs. The $9,000 in cash was about to be used to acquire food products (honey, watermelons, eggs and others) that are offered to club members of Rawesome Foods.

During the raid on Rawesome Foods, $4,500 in cash was taken from the store and $9,000 confiscated from James Stewart, but only the $4,500 in cash was noted on the warrant. California law requires that all items seized at the raid are noted on the warrant, but the LA County Department of Public Health failed to note the $9,000, meaning there is no longer any paper trail for this cash that was taken from James.

Lela Buttery, a witness at the raid, explained this on the Robert Scott Bell Show (www.NaturalNewsRadio.com) Sunday, August 7, 2011:

"The warrant states that they are to take various samples of dairy products. It also says that they can take files, computers, hard drives, cash, etc., but they have to account for everything. So all of the milk that was dumped out is not accounted for. There's a part of the warrant that they have to say what they confiscated. There were envelopes in the office that were already set out to pay these vendors... that was about $4500, but when Terrence Powell asked James Stewart how much money is on the premises -- that was one of the first questions that was asked -- so he said he had nine grand on him, and Terrance asked why would you have so much money on you right now? That money was taken and on the currency sheet it is not on there. So I'm looking at some government agencies that are pocketing some dough right now."

Listen to the full audio recording of this at:
http://snd.sc/oLNRED

The Terrance that Lela is referring to isTerrance Powell, Bureau Director, Specialized Surveillance & Enforcement Bureau of Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. He is one of the five key government people responsible for masterminding this raid which has now been publicly called an act ofgovernment terrorismagainst innocent Americans.

In response to Lela's explanation, Robert Scott Bell answered:

"Yeah, we're looking at criminal organizations, racketeering if you will, these are the organized crime people that are in government, and they're looking for funds. Because they've realized they've tapped out on the taxes of the American people; they've indebted and enslaved children yet to be born to a debt that can never be repaid. And of course they're going after the people who eat and drink raw milk. It's the new source of bailout money -- Rawesome Foods in Venice, California! This is beyond belief!"

Later, when I joined the show, I said:

"Lela just broke some news on your show about the fact that the authorities took a large amount of cash that was not noted on the warrant -- I think $9,000. Can Lela confirm that's the case? Because that looks like outright theft."

Lela replied:

"That indeed is the case. I have the warrant right here, I have the [list of] currency that was obtained, and it was the $4500 which was the envelopes that were in the office, but I was standing with two other witnesses while James was in handcuffs and they asked him how much money was on the premises, and when he said that he had nine grand in his pocket, they asked him what it was for, he said it was for the produce, and they took that money and confiscated it, and it was not recorded. It is not on the currency control sheet."

This eyewitness account seems to indicate that LA County Dept. of Public Health authoritiestook $9,000 from the raid without properly recording it on the warrant, thereby eliminating any paper trail of the cash. Of course, following the posting of this article and the public scrutiny that will undoubtedly follow, you can expect this $9,000 will magically reappear and they will claim it was some sort of oversight or mistake that's now being corrected. Or, perhaps, they will just say, "What $9,000?" and brazenly just steal it. These people are engaged in criminal misconduct, after all. They conduct armed illegal raids against innocent farmers in total violation of civil rights and basic human rights. They operate in total abuse of their power.

Vitamin D deficiency causes mental disorders in children

noreply@blogger.com (healthy food) — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 03:39:00 +0000

A new study shows that children with psychosis and other severe mental health disorders also have twice as muchvitamin D deficiencyas children who are mentally healthy.

The study, presented to theAmerican Psychiatric Association 2011 Annual Meeting in Honolulu in Juneby researchers from the Oregon Health and Science University in Portland showed that 21 percent ofchildrenwith symptoms of severe psychiatric problems had vitamin D levels below what the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends.

That level compared with 14 percent of children who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III, a population-based study that assessed thenutritionand health status of both children and adults in the U.S.

"That is 50 percent more than children in a normal population, so based on our findings this means that 1 out of 5 kids with severe mental illness has low vitamin D levels,"leadinvestigator Keith Cheng, M.D., told Medscape Medical News.

Added first study author Mini Zhang, M.A., "The prevalence of vitamin Ddeficiency(43 percent) was most common in children with psychoticdisorderscompared to othermental health disorders."

Some researchers have also said that low vitamin D levels can lead toautismin children, the report said.

Besides combatting mental problems and conditions,vitamin D is also useful in preventing a range of other medical conditions, including osteoporosis, prostate cancer,depression, breast cancer and can even affectdiabetesand depression.

One of the reasons why so many of these diseases andhealthissues are so prevalent could be thatthere is a phenomenon of vitamin D deficiencyaround the world, not just in the U.S.

The results of another recent study, this one published in the March 2010 issue ofJournal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, found that 59 percent of the world's population lacks clinically appropriate amounts of vitamin D in their bodies. Twenty-five percent of those were found to have seriously low levels.

The data also show that low levels of vitamin D can lead to immune systemdeficienciesas well. According to researchers at the University of Copenhagen, the immune system's T cells tend to remain dormant, meaning there is little or no protection against invading microorganisms.

Dr. Soram Khalsa, writing inThe Huffington Post, said during his three decades of practicing medicine, he has noticed that boosting vitamin D levels in hispatientshas done what many prescriptiondrugswere unable to do:

"I have worked with literally hundreds of herbs, vitamins and dietary supplements, to help my patients, often when drugs did not work. In all this time, I have not seen one nutritionalsupplementthat has the power to affect human health as much as vitamin D. This is becauseVitamin Dis not actually a vitamin - it is a hormone that has the ability to interact and affect more than 2,000 genes in the body. It is for this reason that vitamin D deficiency has been linked with many of the diseases of modern society. Vitamin D deficiency is associated with 17 types of cancer, heartdisease, high blood pressure, diabetes, autoimmune disease, chronic pain,osteoporosis, asthma, and most recently with autism."

Wonderdrug? No - because it's not a drug. It's a supplement that can singlehandedly improve your overall health.

Learn more:http://www.naturalnews.com/033144_vitamin_D_deficiency_mental_disorders.html#ixzz1TSi0MbDa

The Unthinkable Financial Ruin of America

noreply@blogger.com (healthy food) — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 03:35:00 +0000

(NaturalNews) People and governments around the world are fast running out of money. This is common news today, the inability to meet payments and the building up of debt. Though many individuals, corporations, towns, cities, states and sovereign governments are in this situation no one has gotten into deeper hock than the United States Government. They have been able to borrow and spend without limit but now they have hit a wall.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner says it's "unthinkable" that there would be a time when the U.S. couldn't pay its bills. That's why he says he's confident of a deal to raise the government's borrowing limit before an August 2 default deadline. He says the U.S. has a top credit rating and that despite all the rhetoric, there are signs that both sides are coming closer to an agreement. But he says the legislative process needs to get started by Monday night.

We are going to talk a lot about insanity in this essay and these declarations by Geithner are a good place to start. Look at thischartfrom the Office of Management and Budget. That's a graphic image of theUnited Statesgovernment's swan dive into oblivion. That's a straight line into fiscal hell. That's the visual proof that the only reasons that Geithner is not taken away in a straight jacket is that he knows how to dress well.

Look at that chart again and let your imagination drop with that line that marks off the descent in two-hundred-billion-dollar amounts. That's a lot ofmoney! More accurately said, it was a lot of money but today $100 billion does not buy governments much since so much of it has to go to paying interest on debts and the insanity of war instigated by mad men who should not be allowed to walk freely on our planet.

Argentina's President Cristina Fernandez, whose own country defaulted on about $100 billion indebta decade ago, asked last week: "When did the American dream become a nightmare?"

The current reality, represented very clearly by the above chart, is that the Americangovernmentcannot pay its bills, not with real money at least, only with the fabricated stuff, the kind of money that can be created out of thin air. Its funny money and it is taking the whole world down to a place where it will probably take many decades from which to recover.

Congressman Ron Paul said, "It isn't too late to return to fiscal sanity. We could start by canceling out the debt held by theFederal Reserve, which would clear $1.6 trillion under the debt ceiling. Or we could cut trillions of dollars in spending by bringing our troops home from overseas, making gradual reforms to Social Security and Medicare, and bringing the federal government back within the limits envisioned by the Constitution. Yet no one is willing to step up to the plate and make the hard decisions that are necessary. Everyone wants to kick the can down the road and believe that deficit spending can continue unabated."

"Eventually the American taxpayer will get so fed up with thisbunch of morons inWashington-- Republican and Democrat-- they are going to demand we take real action with real numbers; cut through the crap and start dealing with this debt and we can do it. Why did we say in U.S., 'the bondholders can't be hurt?' What the hell was that about? It was all mad!" saidHoward Davidowitz.

It certainly is too late to return to fiscal sanity for it is insanity that rules the world, insanity that drives the United States government and insanity that runs deep in the psyche of the human race. We are a race of madmen though of course some are much madder than others.

Today we wake up to see the work of a super madman who gunned down 90 innocent boys and girls in Norway. The madmen who have run the pharmaceutical industry kill hundreds of thousands of men, women and children each year so it's really hard to decide who is the most insane. In the United States alone over 100,000 die each year from properly prescribedmedicine.

"President Obama and his allies in Congress believe they know better than you do what is in your own best interest," writes attorneyJonathan Emord, which means "we have a bunch of morons in Washington"runningroughshod over ourfuturelives. As Emord tells us, they even want to control thefoodwe eat so you really know that those running the show behind the scenes are truly mad. Monsanto, with their genetically modified foods, are in all likelihood creating a food Armageddon. In short, that company should be dissolved and its executives locked up for their violence against humanity.

Apparently whether the "littlepeople" like something or not doesn't matter now in this "new" world.
Daily Bell

There is little desire or regard for the middle class from the people at the top of the human heap because a big portion of their wealth is derived from robbing the lower classes. The Federal Reserve acts at the top of the line as the greatest robber of them all, raping the entire system to serve the people at the top.

"The first top-to-bottom audit of the Federal Reserve uncovered eye-popping new details about how the U.S. provided a whopping $16 trillion in secret loans to bail out American and foreign banksand businesses during the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. An amendment by Sen. Bernie Sanders to the Wall Streetreformlaw passed one year ago this week directed theGovernment Accountability Officeto conduct the study. "As a result of this audit, we now know that the Federal Reserve provided more than $16 trillion in totalfinancialassistance to some of the largest financial institutions andcorporationsin the United States and throughout the world," said Sanders."This is a clear case of socialism for the rich and rugged, you're-on-your-own individualism for everyone else."

Financial Poison

Contemporary civilization has already committed financial suicide and we are now just waiting for thepoisonto take full effectbut many millions are already feeling the poison flooding through their veins. The only answer the governments have been able to come up with to resolve the situation is to drink much more poison (debt) and ram it down the throats of their citizens. The future of the world is at stake and we have mad politicians at the helm so we do indeed have much to be concerned about.

"The banks ofEuropeare the new Feudal Manors and Masters. All Europeans now serve them as debt-serfs in one way or another. If we knock down all the flimsy screens of artifice and obscuring complexity, what we see in Europe is a continent of debt-serfs, indentured to thebanksunder the whip of the European Union and its secular religion, the euro," wroteCharles Hugh Smith. The title of his essay was500 Million Debt-Serfs: The European Union Is a Neo-Feudal Kleptocracy.

We are closing in on aneventthat will "set fire to the heart of the globalfinancial system. The insolvency of the global financial system, and of the Western financial system in the first place, returns again to the front of the stage after just over a year of political cosmetics aimed at burying this fundamental problem under truckloads of cash," writesGEAB.

The elites that stand behind the EU are trying to build aone-world order,and they will stop at nothing to get it. The same thing is going on in the U.S. with the debt crisis. An orchestrated agenda. The Americans will eventually get European-style austerity. They simply don't
understand the ramifications yet.
- Daily Bell

There is ashockcoming soon, probably in the autumn of2011where the collective experience will literally bethe ground giving way beneath our feet as the underpinnings of our global financial system come apart.

As we head into the black hole of debt that cannot be repaid we will see the word default come up again and again. Jean-Claude Trichet had the word "default" stuffed down his throat last week and in the United States politicians are now, like tug boats, maneuvering the United States ofAmericacloser to defaulting on a mountain range of debt and liabilities that should never have been incurred by a sanesocietyand government.

Karl Denningerwrites, "When investors get nervous about stocks, they usually flow to bonds. Today, they're not. They're buying gold instead which is up just under 1%, or silver, which is up 3.2%..." During the next few weeks or short months even the blind will begin to see which way events are going to take us.Every tick upward of interest rates will ring the bells of doomsince servicing trillions upon trillions of debt becomes that much more impossible.

Bloomberg published, "That consumers areincreasingly "usingcredit cardsto pay for basic necessities as income gains fail to keep pace with rising food and fuelprices."Silvio Tavares, senior vice president of the largestcredit cardprocessor said, "Consumers, particularly in the lower-income end, are being forced to use their credit cards for everyday spending because there's been no other positive catalyst, like an increase in wages, to offset higher prices.It's a cash-flow problem." It is not only governments that are in serious trouble but an entiregenerationor even two generations that are drowning in debt and fiscal insanity.

The people of Brazil and Chile also have a cash-flow problem. Their banks were loose and easy with money they lent out because in some cases they have been collecting over 200 percent interest on peoples' debts. There are perhaps a billion debt slaves in the world and we can count most countries within those numbers. Perhaps my numbers are way too conservative; there is no way to count but the situation is dire.

To make matters much worse for the near future of the Americaneconomywe and preview at end of the year seeing 3.7 million Americans stop receiving jobless benefits. This financial Armageddon for these 3.7 million families will be cruel enough for them but it will spill over to the wider economy -- acting as a hit man to consumption in the first quarter of 2012.

That's a lot of people to drop out of the bottom of society all at once. It's the safety net tearing, allowing perhaps as many as 10 million men, woman and children to fall to total destitution. Now imagine what could happen if the United States government goes down and cannot pay for the food for its 40 million Americans on food stamps? Are you getting an idea yet of the bad endings that are possible for the American dream?

Down the Slippery Slope

In a recentElliott Wave Theorist, Robert Prechter focuses on a different metaphor from sailing to explain what's happening inthe economy. He references the granite slope of Stone Mountain, pictured here for those of you who have never visited Atlanta.

Excerpted from the June 2011Elliott Wave Theorist

Investments

"Near Atlanta is a mound of granite called Stone Mountain. Over the years, people have fallen to their deaths because they allowed the mountain to fool them. There is no sharp cliff of which to beware. The slope is rounded. So, people sometimes sneak past the protective fence and edge their way down the mountainside,thinkingthat they have sufficient traction to remain stable. But when they pass the point at which they can hold on, the slope only increases, and they fall to their doom.

"This seems to me somewhat analogous to the economicdepressionthat has been developing since the year 2000. It started out slowly, so that people didn't even realize it was beginning. As the economy deteriorated, they didn't worry much, because they thought it had plenty of traction. Periods of moderate stability increased their confidence. The quick slide of 2008 wasn't fatal, because there was a convenient ledge to stop the fall. Today, it seems that 29,900 economists out of the approximately 30,000 in the world are breathing easier, thinking the mountain issafe. Butjust a few more steps downward in the economy and the slope will be too steep to keep it from going into adeathslide.

Learn more:http://www.naturalnews.com/033158_America_financial_ruin.html#ixzz1TShCxZw4

McDonald's makes Happy Meals 'healthier' by reducing fries, adding apples

noreply@blogger.com (healthy food) — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 03:34:00 +0000

In an apparent "change or die" strategy of business, the McDonald's fast food company will soon alter the contents of its childrens "Happy Meals" to meet growing demand for healthier food. To make the meals healthier and more appealing to health-conscious customers, the company is planning to cut the amount of fries included from 2.4 ounces to 1.1 ounces, and instead replace them with a few apple slices.

Reports indicate that McDonald's has been under intense pressure from both consumer groups and parents to make itsfoodofferings healthier. ManyNaturalNewsreaders will remember previous incidents involvingMcDonald'swhere the company was actually sued for includingtoyswith Happy Meals (http://www.naturalnews.com/029090_H...), and the now-infamous banning ofHappy Mealtoys in San Francisco (http://www.naturalnews.com/030289_H...).

Beginning in September, McDonald's is voluntarily changing the Happy Meal in some stores by cutting the amount of fries they come with, and automatically replacing these minimal fries with addedfruit. By the end of its first fiscal quarter in 2012, McDonald's says all 14,000 of its US stores will be serving the modified Happy Meals.

"We are going to be casting our gaze more closely on portion management as well as how we can introduce more food groups such as fruits, vegetables, and whole grains," said Cindy Goody, McDonald's senior director of nutrition. The company also denied that consumer group lobbying had anything to do with the changes, claiming that they had been in the works for years.

However, while the efforts appear well-intentioned, they still do not address the underlying problems with McDonald's food and the system from which it is derived. Poor quality, genetically-modified (GM) frying oils; refined, highly-processed buns; factory-farmed meat with synthetic additives -- these are some of the underlying problems with McDonald's food that need a complete overhaul of the company's food strategy. But at least McDonald's is beginning to move, in the right direction.

Learn more:http://www.naturalnews.com/033142_Happy_Meals_apples.html#ixzz1TSgiq64U

Flu vaccines revealed as the greatest quackery ever pushed in the history of medicine

noreply@blogger.com (healthy food) — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 08:33:00 +0000

(NaturalNews) Prepare to have your world rocked. What you're about to read here will leave you astonished, inspired and outraged all at the same time. You're about to be treated to some little-known information demonstrating why seasonal flu vaccines are utterly worthless and why their continued promotion is based entirely on fabricated studies and medical mythology.

If the whole world knew what you're about to read here, the vaccine industry would collapse overnight.

This information comes to you courtesy of a brilliantarticlepublished inThe Atlantic(November 2009). The article, written by Shannon Brownlee and Jeanne Lenzer, isn't just brilliant; in my opinion it stands as the best article onflu vaccinesthat has ever been published in the popular press. EntitledDoes thevaccinematter?, it presents some of the most eye-openinginformationyou've probably ever read about the failure of fluvaccines. You can read the full article here:http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/2009...

Perhaps its impressive narrative shouldn't be too surprising, though, since writer Shannon Brownlee is also the celebrated author of a phenomenal book on modernmedicineentitledOvertreated: Why Too Much Medicine Is Making Us Sicker and Poorer(http://www.amazon.com/Overtreated-M...) (http://www.naturalpedia.com/book_Ov...).

While I've never done this before, I'm going to summarize this article point by point (along with some comments) so that you get the full force of what's finally been put into print.

This information is so important that I encourage you to share the following summary I've put together. Email it to family, friends and coworkers. Or post it on your blog or website (with a link and proper credit to bothNaturalNewsandThe Atlantic, please). Get this information out to the world.People need to know this, and so far the mainstream media has utterly failed to make this information known.

(The really good information begins after around a dozen bullet points, so be sure to keepreading...)

Does the vaccine matter?

What follows is my point-by-point summary of this groundbreaking article by Shannon Brownlee, originally published in The Atlantic. My opinion statements are shown in brackets and italics.

• Vaccination is the core strategy of the U.S. government's plan to combat theswine flu.

• The U.S.governmenthas spent roughly $3 billion stockpiling vaccines andanti-viraldrugs.

• TheCDCis recommending that 159 million Americans receive a swineflu vaccineinjection (as soon as possible).

• What if vaccines don't work? More and more researchers are skeptical about whether they do.

• Seasonalflu(that's the regular flu) currently kills an estimated 36,000 people each year in theUnited States.[But most people who die are already suffering from existing diseases such as asthma.]

• Most "colds" aren't really caused bythe fluvirus. As few as 7 or 8 percent (and at most, 50 percent) of colds have aninfluenzaorigin. There are more than 200virusesand pathogens that can cause "influenza-like" illnesses (and therefore be easily mistaken for the flu).

• Viruses mutate with amazing speed, meaning that each year's circulating influenza is genetically different from the previous year.

• The vaccine for each upcomingflu seasonis formulated by healthexpertstaking a guess[a wild guess, at times]about what strain of influenza might be most likely to circulate in the future.

• The 1918 Spanish Flu infected roughly one-third of the world population and killed at least 40 million.

• In the U.S., the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology predicted thatH1N1influenza could infect up to one-half of the U.S. population and kill 90,000 Americans.

[Keep reading, the good part is coming...]

• Of those who have died from the Swine Flu in the U.S., roughly 70 percent were already diseased with some serious underlying condition such as asthma or AIDS.

• Publichealthofficials consider vaccines to be their first and best weapon against influenza. Vaccines helped eradicate smallpox and polio.[I don't agree with that assessment. Vaccines did relatively little compared to improvements in public sanitation.]

• Each year, 100 million Americans get vaccinated, and vaccines remain "a staple" ofpublic healthpolicy in the United States.

Why theresearchis bogus

• Because researchers can't exactly pin down who has influenza and who doesn't, the research conducted on the effectiveness of vaccines simply calculatesthedeath ratefrom all causesamong those who take the vaccine vs. those who don't.[This includesdeathsfrom accidents, heart attacks, medications,carwrecks and everything.]

• Thesestudiesshow a "dramatic difference" between thedeathrates of those who get the vaccines vs. those who don't. People who get vaccinated have significantly lower death rates[from ALLcauses, and herein lies the problem...].

• Flu shot propaganda cites these studies, telling people that if they get theirflu shotsevery year, they will have a significantly reduced chance of dying. But this is extremely misleading...

• Critics question the logic of these studies: As it turns out, compared to the number of deaths from all causes, the number of people killed by influenza isquite small. According to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, deaths from influenza account for -- at most --10 percentof the total deaths during the flu season (and this includes all indirect deaths aggravated by the flu).

• This brings up a hugely important dilemma: If influenza only accounts for roughly 10 percent of all deaths during the flu season,how could an influenza vaccine reduce total deaths by 50 percent?(As is claimed by the vaccine manufacturers.)[It doesn't add up. Even if the vaccines were 100% effective, they should only reduce the total death rates by 10%, given that only 10% of the total deaths are caused by influenza.]

• Here's a direct quote from the story: Tom Jefferson, a physician based in Rome and the head of the Vaccines Field at the Cochrane Collaboration, a highly respected international network of researchers who appraise medicalevidence, says: "For a vaccine to reduce mortality by 50 percent and up to 90 percent in some studies means it has to prevent deaths not just from influenza, but also from falls, fires, heartdisease, strokes, and car accidents.That's not a vaccine, that's a miracle." [Emphasis added.]

Thefailureof cohort studies

• So how do the vaccine companies come up with this "50% reduction in death rate" statistic? Throughcohort studies.

• Cohort studies compare the death rates of large groups of people who received the vaccine to large groups of people who did NOT receive the vaccine. But there's a fatal flaw in this approach:People self-select for vaccinations. And what kind of people? As it turns out: People who take more precautions with their health!

•[Thus, you automatically have a situation where the more health-cautious people are getting the vaccines because they THINK it's good for them. Meanwhile all the masses of people who don't give a darn about their health tend to skip theseasonal fluvaccines. And these people tend to not take very good of their health in lots of other ways. In other words, in terms of the masses, people who get vaccines are more likely to avoid junk food and live a more health-cautiouslifestyle.This explains the differences in the death rates between the two groups!It has nothing to do with the vaccine...]

• There is extreme "cult-like" peer pressure put ondoctorsand researchers to swallow the vaccinemythologywithout question. Quoted from the story: Lisa Jackson, a physician and senior investigator with the Group Health Research Center, in Seattle, began wondering aloud to colleagues if maybe something was amiss with the estimate of 50 percent mortality reduction for people who get flu vaccine, the response she got sounded more like doctrine thanscience. "People told me, 'No good can come of [asking] this,'" she says. "'Potentially a lot of bad could happen' for me professionally by raising any criticism that might dissuade people from getting vaccinated, because of course, 'We know that vaccine works.' This was the prevailing wisdom."[In other words, don't dare question the vaccine, and don't ask tough scientific questions because the vaccineindustryruns on dogma, not science... and if you ask any questions, you might find yourself out of a job...].

[Here's where the really good part begins...]

• Lisa Jackson was not deterred. She and three other researchers began to study the widely-quoted vaccinestatisticsin an attempt to identify this "healthyuser effect," if any. They looked through eight years of medical data covering 72,000 people aged 65 or older and recorded who received flu shots and who didn't. Then they compared the death rates for all causesoutside the flu season.

The vaccine made no difference in mortality

• What she found blows a hole right through thevaccinationindustry: She found that even outside the flu season, the death rate was 60 percent higher among those who did not get vaccines than among those who do.[In other words, even when you take the flu season completely out of the equation,elderlypeople who don't get vaccines have other lifestyle factors that makes them far more likely to die from lots of other causes.]

• She also found that this so-called "healthy user effect"explains the entire apparent benefit that continues to be attributed to vaccines. This finding demonstrates thatthe flu vaccine may not have any beneficial effect whatsoever in reducing mortality.

• How well done were these particular studies? Quoted from the story: Jackson's papers "are beautiful," says Lone Simonsen, who is a professor of global health at GeorgeWashingtonUniversity, in Washington, D.C., and an internationally recognized expert in influenza and vaccine epidemiology. "They are classic studies in epidemiology, they are so carefully done."

• Many pro-vaccine experts simply refused to believe theresultsof this study[because it conflicts with their existing belief in vaccine mythology]. TheJournal of the American Medical Associationrefused to publish her research, even stating, "To accept these results would be to say that the earth is flat!"[Which just goes to show you how deeply ingrained the current vaccine mythology is in the minds of conventional medical practitioners. They simply cannot imagine that vaccines don't work, so they dismiss any evidence -- even GOOD evidence -- demonstrating that fact. This is what makes the vaccine industry a CULT rather than a science.]

• Jackson's papers were finally published in 2006, in theInternational Journal of Epidemiology.

[And here's the really, really juicy part you can't miss...]

Vaccineshortageproves it never worked in the first place

• Thehistoryof the flu vaccine reveals some huge gaps in current vaccination mythology, essentially proving they don't work:

• For example: In 2004, vaccine production was low and there was a shortage in vaccines (a 40 percent reduction in vaccinations). And yetmortality rates did not riseduring the flu season.[Clearly, if vaccines actually worked, then a year when the vaccine wasn't even administered to 40% of the people who normally get it should have resulted in a huge and statistically significant increase in mortality. It should have spiked the death rates and filled the morgues... but it didn't. You know why? Because flu vaccines don't work in the first place.]

• In the history of flu vaccines, there weretwo yearsin which the formulated flu vaccine was a total mismatch to the widely-circulating influenza that made people sick. These years were1968and1997. In both of these years, the vaccine was a completely mismatch for the circulatingvirus. In effect,nobody was vaccinated![Knowing this, if the vaccine itself was effective at reducing death rates, then we should have once again seen a huge spike in the death rates during these two years, right? Seriously, if the vaccine reduces death rates by 50% as is claimed by vaccine manufacturers, then these two years in which the vaccine completely missed the mark should have seen huge spikes in thewinterdeath rates, right? But what really happened was... nothing. Not a blip. Not a spike. Nothing. The death rates didn't rise at all.]

• If vaccines really worked to save lives, then the more people you vaccinate, the lower death rates you should see, right? Butthat's not the case. Back in 1989, only 15 percent of over-65 people got vaccinated against the flu. But today, thanks to the big vaccine push, over 65 percent are vaccinated. And yet, amazingly, death rates among the elderly have not gone down during the flu season. In fact, they've gone up!

• When vaccine promoters (and CDC officials) are challenged about the "50 percent mortality reduction" myth, they invoke dogmatic language and attack the messenger. They are simply not willing to consider the possibility thatflu vaccines simply don't work.

• Scientists who question the vaccine mythology are routinely shunned by the medical establishment. Tom Jefferson from the Cochrane Collaboration is an epidemiologist who questions the claimedbenefitsof flu vaccines. "The reaction [against Jefferson] has been so dogmatic and even hysterical that you'd think he was advocating stealing babies" said a colleague (Majumdar).

• Jefferson is one of the world's best-informed researchers on the flu vaccine. He leads a team of researchers who have examined hundreds of vaccine studies. To quote directly from the article: The vast majority of the studies were deeply flawed, says Jefferson. "Rubbish is not a scientific term, but I think it's the term that applies [to these studies]."

[And here's the real kicker that demonstrates why flu vaccines are useless...]

Flu vaccines only "work" on people who don't need them

• Vaccines supposedly "work" by introducing a weakened viral strain that causes the immune system to respond by building influenza antibodies. However, as Jefferson points out,only healthy people produce a good antibody response to the vaccine. And yet it is precisely the unhealthy people -- the ones who have a poorimmune responseto the vaccine -- who are most at risk of being harmed or killed by influenza. But the vaccines don't work in them!

•[In other words -- get this --flu vaccines only "work" in people who don't need them!]

•[At the same time, it's also accurate to say thatvaccines don't work at all in the very people who theoretically could benefit from them. They only produce antibodies in people who already have such a strong immune response that they don't need the vaccine in the first place.]

• Jefferson has called for randomized, placebo-controlled studies of the vaccines. Butvaccine pushers are resisting these clinical trials!They call the trials "unethical"[but, in reality, they know that a randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled study would reveal the complete failure of flu vaccines, and they will do anything to prevent such a trial from happening. Don't you find it amazing thatdrugpushers and vaccine advocates claim they have "science" on their side, but they won't submit their vaccines to any real science at all?]

•[No placebo-controlled studies have ever been conducted on flu vaccines because the industry says they would be "unethical." So where do these people get off claiming their vaccines work at all? The whole industry is based on fabricated statistics that are provably false... and the injections continue, year after year, with absolutely no benefit to public health whatsoever...]

Why anti-viraldrugsdon't work either

• On the anti-viral drug front, hospitals are urged to hand out prescriptions forTamifluand Relenza to almost anyone who is symptomatic, whether they actually have swine flu or not. Concern is growing about the emergence of drug-resistant strains of swine flu. " Flu can become resistant to Tamiflu in a matter of days..." says one researcher.

• In 2005, the U.S. government spent $1.8 billion to stockpile antiviral drugs for the military. This decision was made during the time when Donald Rumsfeld was Defense Secretary. Rumsfeld also held millions of dollars worth of stock inGilead Sciences, the company that holds the patent on Tamiflu. That company saw its stock price rise 50 percent following the government's stockpiling purchase of Tamiflu.

• The evidence supporting Tamiflu's anti-viral benefits is flimsy at best. Even worse, as many as one in fivechildrentaking Tamiflu experienceneuropsychiatric side effectsincluding hallucinations and suicidal behavior.[In other words, your kid might be "tripping out" on some bad Tamiflu...]

• Tamiflu is already linked to 50 deaths of children in Japan.

• The evidence supporting Tamiflu is based oncohort studies, just like the vaccines, which may distort or exaggerate the apparent benefits of the drug.

• Even supporters of Tamiflu admit it's never been proven to help. A CDC official says that randomized trials to determine the effectiveness of Tamiflu would be "unethical."

• In all, neither vaccines nor anti-viral drugs have any reliable evidence that they work against influenza at all. Both are being promoted based entirely on pure wishful thinking, not hard science.

• The history of pharmaceutical medicine is littered with other examples of drugs that doctors "knew worked" but which later turned out to harm or kill patients.[All along, the proper scientific studies were avoided because, hey, if you already know everything, why bother conducting any actual science to prove anything?]

• The hype about vaccines provides a false sense of security, taking away attention from other things that really do work to prevent influenza deaths. That's why, except for "hand washing," virtually no advice has been offered to the public on preventing influenza beyond vaccines and anti-viral drugs.

• Concluding quote from the author: "By being afraid to do the proper studies now, we may be condemning ourselves to using treatments based on illusion and faith rather than sound science."

A recap of these astonishing points

Let's recap what we just learned here (because it's just mind-boggling):

• There have been no placebo-controlled studies on flu vaccines because the vaccine pushers say such clinical trials would be "unethical." Thus, there is actually no hard scientific evidence that they work at all.

• The "50 percent reduction in mortality" statistic that's tossed around by vaccine pushers is a total fabrication based on "rubbish" studies ("cohort" studies).

• Scrutinizing the existing studies that claim to support vaccines reveals thatflu vaccines simply don't work. And when vaccines aren't available or the formulation is wrong, there's no spike in death rates, indicating quite conclusively that these vaccines offer no reduction in mortality.

• Flu vaccines only produce antibodies in people who don't need vaccines. At the same time, they fail to produce antibodies in people who are most vulnerable to flu. Thus, vaccines only work in people who don't need them.

• The entire flu vaccine industry is run like a cult, with dogma ruling over science. Anyone who asks tough, scientific questions is immediately branded a heretic. No one is allowed to question the status quo. (So much for "evidence-based medicine," huh?)

As you can see from all this,the flu vaccine is purequackery. Those who administer vaccines are, by inference, QUACKS. They claim to have scientific minds, and yet they are the most gullible of all:They will believe almost anything if it's published in a medical journal, even if it's complete quackery.

Today, countless doctors, nurses and pharmacists across NorthAmericaand around the world are pushing a medically worthless, scientifically-fabricated chemical injection that offers absolutely no benefit to public health... and yet they're convinced it's highly effective! It just goes to show you how easy it is to brainwash people in the field of conventional medicine.

They've abandoned real science long ago, you know. Now the whole industry is just run on the momentum of dogmatic arrogance and the illusion of authority. From the CDC and FDA on down to the localpharmacistat the corner store, the American medical system is run by some seemingly smart people who have been brainwashed into become full-fledged members of theCult of Pharmacologywhere vaccine mythology overrules real science.

The vaccine industry is perhaps the greatest medical scam ever pulled off in the history of the world. Don't fall for it.

And don't forget to read the full article inThe Atlanticby Shannon Brownlee:http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/2009...

Why people get vaccinated: Superstition

Reading everything you've read here, you might wonder: Why do people get vaccinated at all?

The reason is becauseno one knows whether they work or not, so people keep on taking them "just in case." It's exactly the kind of superstitious ritual that "science-minded skeptics" rail against on a regular basis... unless, of course, it involves their vaccines, in which case superstition is all okay.

People take vaccines for the same reason they rub a rabbit's foot. It's agood luck ritualthat may or may not work, but no one really knows. And besides, what's the harm in it? (They think...)

Personally, I'd rather get some vitamin D and have a healthy, functioning immune system. But for those who prefer to play the lotto, gamble in Vegas or bet their lives on medical superstitions, flu vaccines are readily available.

So what are you waiting for? Shoot up a few flu vaccines, rub your lucky rabbit's foot, then spin around clockwise seven times and you, too, may be able to generate enough luck to avoid the flu this winter.

Learn more:http://www.naturalnews.com/027239_vaccine_flu_vaccines.html#ixzz1SdHNpJQm

Murdoch's media malpractice and the genetic altering of human beings through DNA vaccines

noreply@blogger.com (healthy food) — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 08:31:00 +0000

(NaturalNews) Rupert Murdoch's media empire News Corp., which represents the second largest media conglomerate in the world behind the Walt Disney Company, is taking a severe beating as Murdoch himself is having to address various criminal allegations, including that hisNews of the Worldtabloid illegally hacked private phone lines and committed various other crimes (http://www.naturalnews.com/033034_N...).

But Murdoch's media malpractice runs even deeper as his strong connections to the pharmaceutical industry also fueled his media machine's fabrication of lies against Dr.Andrew Wakefield, as well as hid from the public the true dangers of DNAvaccinesthat permanently corrupt human genes and causeautism.

Murdoch has built quite a reputation for himself as a scoundrel of sorts, as many Americans who identify with the "left" side of the political spectrum have accused him of pandering to the "right" by skewing the news to appeal to "conservatives" (Murdoch owns FOX News, after all).

But what Murdoch's organization is actually doing on all fronts with its various media outlets, including FOX, is pushing much bigger agendas that supersede any alleged "right vs. left" paradigm. One such agenda is News Corp.'s routine censorship of the dangerous truth about drugs and vaccines, which include smear campaigns like those levied against Dr. Wakefield who conduct legitimateresearchthat contradicts mainstream medical thought.

News Corp. systematically destroyed the reputation of Dr. Wakefield, lied about his work

If you are unfamiliar with the Dr. Wakefield story, you can read more about it in previousNaturalNewsarticles (http://www.naturalnews.com/Andrew_W...). But as a quick recap, Dr. Wakefield basically discovered through credible research that the combinationmeasles, mumps, and rubella (MMR)vaccinewas linked to mental and physiologicalhealth problems, and that the individual measles vaccine should be given tochildreninstead until further research on thesafetyof MMR could be conducted.

Thefindingswere credible, responsibly-derived, and honest in their assessment -- but they resulted in a tirade of lies and slander against Dr. Wakefield.

The statements included false accusations that he is opposed to all vaccinations, that he had manipulated his data, and that he is basically unfit to be a doctor, despite the fact that he is arguably one of the most well-respected and highly-educated gastroenterologists in the world. In the end, though, Dr. Wakefield ended up having his study pulled from the esteemed UK journalLancet, and his UK medical license was revoked.

And just who was responsible for the annihilationcampaignagainst Dr. Wakefield? None other than Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., which literally fabricated lies about Dr. Wakefield and disseminated them around the world via its multinational media network. News Corp.'sLondon Times, for instance, falsely accused Dr. Wakefield of being "callous, unethical and dishonest," and published numerous articles saying he was a fraud, and that he "abused his position of trust."

And why, exactly, did News Corp. feel the need to destroy thelifeand reputation of a man that had done so much to help children with autism and other neurologicaldisorders?

Because Dr. Wakefield's findings were incongruent with the multi-billion-dollarprofitring of multinational pharmaceuticalcompanieslike GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) andMerckInc., both of which produce and market MMR vaccines.

Murdoch media empire, judicial system closely knit withdrug companies

Did you know that Rupert Murdoch's son James Murdoch, who manages the UK paperSunday Times, is on the board ofGSK? Or how about Sir Nigel Davis, the High Court judge that denied parents of children treated by Dr. Wakefield the right to have their claims against vaccine manufacturers heard in a real court? Davis' brother, who is an executive board member of Elsevier, the group that publishes theLancet, is also on the board of GSK.

Anarticlein theCOTO Reportalso explains that the head of the popular Reuters news service serves on the board of Merck, while a prominent writer at the UK'sDaily Mirroris married to the former chairman of GSK. And the list goes on and on.

With all of these strong connections todrugcompanies, it is no wonder that the media at large wholly participated in the Dr. Wakefield slander campaign -- after all, Dr. Wakefield's work caused millions of people to wake up and begin questioning the safety not only of theMMR vaccine, but also of vaccines in general. And this continued awakening is taking its toll on Big Pharma's profits.

MMR and dozens of other DNA' vaccines essentially create genetically-modified humans

Dr. Wakefield's work uncovered a crucial detail about certain vaccines that ultimately exposes those in this particular category as highly-dangerous, life-altering poisons. Third-generationDNAvaccines like MMR contain genetically-engineered (GE) materials that are injected directly into thebody, sort of like how genetically-modified (GM) crop seeds have been injected with altered DNA that changes their genetic makeup -- and these GE traits can permanently alter proper human development.

As far as DNA vaccines are concerned, the GE material they contain is included as part of an overall effort to induce "DNA uptake," a term that is very vaguely defined, but one that appears to infer a literal adoption of altered DNA into the human genetic structure. If this is the case, then DNA vaccines like MMR are overriding normal DNA with altered DNA, whichcausesthe untold changes in human development andhealththat have been observed.

Based on Dr. Wakefield's findings, this is exactly what appears to occur with MMR vaccines in particular, and it is why he urged the public to skip the MMR vaccine and get the individual vaccines instead. His findings showed that the MMR vaccine is linked tomitochondriadysfunction caused by DNA mutations. And since no properreviewof MMR has ever taken place to prove its safety, his professional conclusion was that it was best to stop using it for childrens safety.

Mitochondria, of course, are what power cells and convert energy into forms that are usable by the body. When these do not work properly, the entire human body becomes compromised. Individuals with autism demonstrate mitochondriadysfunctionas well as various other problems, which may or may not be possible to cure -- and this, again, is precisely why Dr. Wakefield urged the public to beware of the MMR vaccine.

According to the sameCOTO Reportarticle mentioned earlier, DNA vaccines like MMR were actually derived from failed gene therapy experiments. In other words, they appear to be a type of genetic experiment that is permanently altering human gene expression and proper DNA development, which in turn lands its victims with permanent, life-altering developmental disorders like autism.

But none of this will ever be addressed by the likes of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., or by most other mainstream news outlets for that matter, because of their close alliance with the drug industry. It is in their best interests to hide the truth from the public, and to continue pushing the lie that all vaccines aresafe, and have never been implicated in causing any long-term health problems.

CBS News, however, did recently report on a new review published in theJournal of Immunotoxicologythat addresses the issue of third-generation DNA vaccines and autism. That review, entitledTheoretical aspects of autism: Causes -- A review, admits that "[d]ocumented causes of autism include genetic mutations and/or deletions, viral infections, and encephalitis [brain damage] followingvaccination."

Learn more:http://www.naturalnews.com/033062_Rupert_Murdoch_Andrew_Wakefield.html#ixzz1SdH0Ajx9

Vaccination: The pet controversy

noreply@blogger.com (healthy food) — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 06:39:00 +0000

(NaturalNews) In the history of human vaccines, the numbers clearly show that in every case, the disease itself was already on the decline when the vaccine was introduced. Most vaccines were scarcely a blip on the radar, not affecting the natural decline of the disease at all. In a few unfortunate cases such as polio, the disease actually increased after vaccinations began.

For example, when people contract measles, their overall immune system is strengthened in response to the mild challenge of thisdisease. (Death as a consequence ofmeaslesis generally seen only in undernourished populations.) Whendoctorsstarted routinely vaccinatingchildrenagainst measles, we started to see babies who contracted measles at a dangerously early age because their vaccinated mothers were not able to pass onimmunityto them. And what was the medical community's solution to this dilemma? Vaccinate infants for measles even earlier!

Remember that humans are vaccinated only a few times in their lives, (although we can certainly see that Big Pharma is trying their best to see to it that this changes) whereasanimalsare so treated once or twice a year for their entire life. Mostpeoplewith chronically ill animals believe the animals were already sick when they got them, but often we can trace their problems to the time ofvaccination(or to their parents having been vaccinated). It's true that vaccinosis (a condition which refers to a chronic disease pattern occurring after vaccination) does not afflict all vaccinated animals; some are lucky enough to have very strong immune systems. But if you or your animals have ever been affected by it, you'll never forget it. You take ariskevery time you allow your animals, your children, or yourself to be vaccinated unnecessarily. Remember, it's your decision, unless the laws in your state complicate your freedom of choice.

Vaccines do not work all the time. In both human andveterinary medicine, there are many recorded instances of no immunity developing, or of so-called "vaccinebreaks" occurring, whereby the stimulation of antibodies isn't sufficient to protect against thenaturaldisease. Conventionalmedicineclaims those arebodyfaults and problems. There does appear to be a genetic component to which animals may have trouble responding to a vaccine, however, giving a nonresponding animal morevaccinesis unlikely to force an appropriateimmune response, and it certainly can cause more problems.

Vaccination has become a highly charged subject in the news media of late and both doctors and individuals who challenge the concept are most often treated as if they were lepers. Entire reputations of certain individuals have been disgraced for their challenge of the vaccine issue. The facts are clear however in veterinary medicine that the way vaccines are typically used today are extremely dangerous and potentially one of the most harmful things we could do to our animals.

WHY DO WE VACCINATE OUR DOGS AND CATS?

We vaccinate because we're afraid our animals will contract certain diseases. We've accepted annual vaccines without considering where that recommendation came from and what it really means. Mostveterinariansrecommend that cats, for example, receive a combination vaccine against panleukopenia (feline distemper), calicivirus, and rhinotracheitis (upper respiratory infections). Many also encourage injections for Chlamydia, felineleukemia(FeLV), feline immunodeficiencyvirus(FIV or feline AIDS), feline infectious peritonitis (FIP), and even ringworm. These vaccines are typically repeated every year for the cat's wholelife, despite overwhelming scientificevidencethat they are unnecessary.

Since the vast majority of vaccines are unnecessary and even unsafe, more and more people are not getting their animals vaccinated at all. However, recent outbreaks of panleukopenia in cats are of great concern. Therefore some believe that no vaccines can be just as dangerous as too many vaccines; the basic kitten shots (panleukopenia andrabies) are still recommended by most experts, at least once, between 12-16 weeks of age.

Ron Schultz, Ph.D., professor and chair of the department of pathobiological sciences at the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine, and Tom R. Phillips, D.V.M., Ph.D., wrote in Kirk's Current Veterinary Therapy XI (abookeven conventional veterinarians most likely have on the shelf) that:
"A practice that was started many years ago and that lacks scientific validity or verification is annual revaccinations. Almost without exception there is no immunologic requirement for annual revaccination. Immunity tovirusespersists for years or for the life of the animal. Successful vaccination to most bacterial pathogens produces an immunologic memory that remains for years allowing an animal to develop a protective anamnestic (secondary) response when exposed to virulent organisms. Only the immune response to toxins requires boosters (e.g., tetanus toxin booster, in humans, is recommended once every seven to ten years), and no toxin vaccines are currently used fordogsor cats. Furthermore, revaccination with most viral vaccines fails to stimulate an anamnestic (secondary) response as a result of interference by existing antibody (similar to maternal antibody interference). The practice of annual vaccination in our opinion should be considered of questionable efficacy unless it is used as a mechanism to provide an annual physical examination or is required by law."
In plain English, this means that the authors believe there is no valid scientific reason to vaccinatepetsevery year. That practice, instead, emerged as a default judgement between the pharmaceuticalcompaniesmaking the vaccines, and the veterinarians. The vets wanted to get their patients in once a year for a check-up, and the vaccine makers wanted to sell more vaccines. Tying the annual physical to vaccines was a stroke of genius. It simplified life for veterinarians, who now only had to say "We'll see Fluffy next year for his shots" and send a postcard, and it made boatloads of money for the drug companies. When this "suggestion" was added to vaccine labels, it added an air of "requirement" and ensured that the system would continue to make everyone happy. At the time, vaccines were considered benign and harmless -- so this lucrative state of affairs went unquestioned until the late 1980s, when vaccines began to be linked to injection-sitecancersin cats.

Today, it is known that vaccines are not so harmless, and they are now considered a medical procedure like any other, with bothrisksand benefits. In order to realistically assess the situation and make wise decisions for our dogs and cats, we need to examine the big question on animal companions minds today.

ARE VACCINES ACTUALLY SAFE?

Conventional veterinarians consider a symptom or condition to be an adverse reaction only if it occurs within seventy-two hours of vaccination. Acute reactions are uncommon, but they can be extremely serious, and they can have long-lasting effects.
Holistic veterinarians agree that symptoms of vaccine-induced diseases can occur any time during the life of our dogs and cats. In addition, the following known long-term risks are associated with one or more vaccines.

AUTOANTIBODIES

Antibodies, bloodproteinsthat attack and destroy invading organisms, are the goal of vaccination. We want the body to produce antibodies against the disease being vaccinated against. However, the vaccine manufacturing process contains some quirks that cause the body to make antibodies to a wide variety of components in the vaccine.

Most vaccines are produced through aculturemedium such as eggs,bloodserum, or certain types of cells. The organisms are grown in these nutritious cultures and then filtered for manufacture into vaccines. While the filters are small enough to keep out whole cells, both intended viruses and a variety of unintended loose proteins will end up in the final product. When injected, the animal's body then makes antibodies to many of the proteins as well as the virus itself. Studies at Purdue University showed that canine vaccines grown in calf serum caused antibodies to be made to many calf proteins, including red blood cells, thyroid, DNA, and connective tissue proteins. Unfortunately, calf proteins are so similar todogproteins that the antibodies react to the puppies' own tissue as well. This is an autoimmune reaction. Every vaccinated puppy developed multiple autoantibodies, and every additional booster produced even more autoantibodies. Because the puppies in the Purdue study were euthanized at twenty-two weeks of age, (welcome to the world of animal cruelty in "Big Pet Pharma") it is unknown if these autoantibodies wouldleadto disease, but logic suggests it is likely. In other words, because proteins are similar among many animals, antibodies to proteins in the vaccines can cause an autoimmune reaction. Theimmune systemstarts attacking the body's own organs and tissues.

FELINE CHRONIC RENAL FAILURE

Cat companions know all too well how heart breaking the condition known as Feline Chronic Renal Failure can be and many cat lovers have wondered why so many cats die from it. Here is strong evidence that one of the most successful of all vaccines for animals is involved. The feline panleukopenia vaccine. The common feline panleukopenia virus is grown in a culture of feline kidney cells. Recent work at Colorado State University showed that most kittens developed autoantibodies to their own kidney tissues after being vaccinated for panleukopenia. When autoantibodies react with body tissue, the result isinflammation. Each booster vaccine creates even more antibodies -- and more inflammation. Chronic low-grade inflammation is the primary cause of feline chronic renalfailure(CRF), which is almost guaranteed to develop in older cats. The authors of the study suggest (but did not prove) a causal relationship between the panleukopenia vaccine and the development of CRF.

An auto-immune reaction to kidney proteins injected with the vaccine can cause the cat's immune system to attack its own kidneys. The chronic low-grade inflammation generated by this vaccine reaction -- compounded every time the cat receives a booster -- is a likely contributor to the development of CRF. Annual boosters for feline panleukopenia are totally unnecessary because the immunity produced by the initial kitten vaccine is very long lasting. How long lasting? Perhaps for the life of the cat, however vaccine manufacturers don't test for long term efficacy.

VACCINE-ASSOCIATED SARCOMAS HAVE REACHED EPIDEMIC PROPORTIONS
Malignant, fatal tumors called fibrosarcomas can be caused by some vaccines in cats. Thiscanceroccurs in the connective tissue. The two vaccines currently implicated are rabies and feline leukemia. A third will undoubtedly be joining the list -- the felineAIDS(FIV) vaccine. These three products are all killed vaccines made with adjuvants (substances that increase the immune response). Unfortunately, in cats, this additional response includes inflammation that can lead to the formation of cancer. Even worse, every additional vaccine -- indeed, some researchers suggest that every additional injection of any kind (antibiotics, steroids, insulin, sedatives, fluids, which holds true for dogs as well) -- may significantly increase the risk of developing cancer, particularly if the injections are given in the same place. At least one vaccine maker has recognized this risk and now makes several effective vaccines that do not contain adjuvants, using advanced recombinant technology.

When vaccines were given between the shoulder blades, these cancers were inoperable and fatal because they would grow into the spine, ribcage, and chest. This became such a serious problem that it is now recommended to give cats the rabies vaccine in the right hind leg, and leukemia in the left hind leg -- so that when a tumor does develop, the whole leg can be amputated and thus the cat's life can be saved.

The rabies vaccine is required by law for most animals in most jurisdictions because it is a publichealthhazard. Therefore, it is important from a legal standpoint to follow your jurisdiction's regulations concerning rabies vaccines for your pets. Killed rabies vaccines are labeled for either one or three years; but the vaccine in the bottle is exactly the same in both cases. The label itself is the only difference. Request that your dog or cat receive the three-year vaccine, only once every three years. Better yet, consider a nonadjuvanted vaccine. If your vet clinic does not carry it, ask if they will order it, if not find one who will.

If you have come to the conclusion that now is the right time to just say no to furthervaccinations, do keep in mind that some veterinarians and vet techs are so convinced of the need for vaccines that they may vaccinate your cat or dog without your permission. If circumstances bring you to a vet you don't trust completely, try not to let your dog or cat out of your sight. Both dogs and cats have been force-vaccinated when they were taken into the back of the clinic for a nail-trim, blood draw, or other simple procedure. In many cases, the first time that people notice this is on their invoice for payment, and then it's too late. Be sure your wishes are clearly stated in your file as well as saying it directly to your veterinarian. You are your cat's first and last line of defense, so stay alert!

It is important to remember just who is paying the veterinarians bill. Your veterinarian works for you, it is a personal service they are rendering and you have the right to fire them and hire another!

About the author:
Celeste Yarnall, PhD is a holistic practitioner and nutritionist, specializing in supplementation and the species specific, raw carnivore diet. She is an EFT consultant and member of the prestiious Tapping Solution's, Insider's Club. She also consults on Non-Verbal communication, visualization techniques, grief counseling and anti-aging for both people and pets. She is a Reiki Master, medical intuitive and author of 4 books on holistic health care for dogs and cats. Her latest book, The Complete Guide to Holistic Cat Care, chronicles her 11 generations of Tonkinese Cats reared on the principles in her books and is the recipient of the 2010 CWA Muse Medallion Award. The co-author of The Complete Guide to Holistic Cat Care, is Jean Hofve, DVM. It is the first anti-aging book ever written for pets. Celeste and her husband, Nazim Artist have formed the Art of Wellness Collection and live and work in Westlake Village, CA.

She can be reached through her website,www.Celestialpets.com.

Learn more:http://www.naturalnews.com/032708_pet_vaccines_scam.html#ixzz1Rs2W9Mkd

Mexican drug gangs with 30,000 firearms - but why?

noreply@blogger.com (healthy food) — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 06:34:00 +0000

(NaturalNews) It is now a widely-reported fact that under the Obama administration, U.S. federal agents actively placed over 30,000 fully-functional weapons into the hands of Mexican drug gangs, then halted all surveillance and tracking activities of where those weapons were going.

This is not a conspiracy theory, nor a piece of fiction. It is now an openly-admitted fact that this was pulled off by the BATFE (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, more commonly called "ATF") under orders fromWashington. The program was called "Fast and Furious."

Even Reuters is now covering the news and reporting how members of Congress are outraged to learn that this happened (http://www.reuters.com/article/2011...).

Details are also starting to leak about the cover-up inside ATF, which was led by the U.S. Attorney inArizona, Dennis Burke, anObamaappointee (http://dailycaller.com/2011/07/06/i...). The engineering of the illegal gunrunningwent right up the chain of command to the director of the ATF, Kenneth Melson, who is now expected to resign. The real planning of thiseventwent even higher up the chain of command in Washington, possibly all the way to Attorney General Eric Holder (http://dailycaller.com/2011/06/21/i...).

Among the firearms sold to the Mexicandruggangs wereAK-47s, thousands of pistols and, remarkably,.50-caliber rifleswhich are typically used to disable vehicles or carry out sniper-based assassinations at extremely long ranges (up to two miles). The mainstream media is now reporting that theseweaponsare turning up in violent crimes being committed in Phoenix, Arizona. As an ABC news affiliate reports:

"According to the testimony of three Phoenix ATF agents, including Dodson, hundreds of weapons are now on the streets in theUnited Statesand Mexico, possibly in the hands ofcriminals. Dodson estimated the number could be as many as 1,800 weapons. He estimated agents in the Phoenix field division facilitated the sale of approximately 2,500 weapons to straw purchasers. A few hundred have been recovered."(http://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/local...)

How the "Fast and Furious" program put thousands of weapons directly into the hands of Mexican drug gangs

Here's how "Fast and Furious" worked: Under orders from Washington, ATF agents were specifically told to acquire these weapons using "straw" buyers in theUSA, find new buyers in Mexican drug gangs, then sell the weapons and "lose track" of them. Although some agents raised concerns about the insanity, they were overruled by the higher-ups in Washington who wanted to pursue this policy for their ownreasons. "It made no sense to us either, it was just what we were ordered to do, and every time we questioned that order there was punitive action," said Phoenix Special Agent John Dodson.

But what could be the reasons for Washington initiating such a program in the first place? Why would the Obama administration actively send30,000 sniper rifles, assault weapons and firearmsintoMexicoeven while claiming to follow an anti-gun stance back in the USA?

To answer that question, you need to understandP.R.S-- Problem, Reaction, Solution. It is the "playbook" that governments use to get what they want, which usually involves: 1) Disarming their populations, 2) Taking away all their rights andfreedoms, and then 3) Ruling over theirpeopleas tyrants with completepower.

Precisely such an effort is now underway in the United States, led by the Obama administration which has repeatedly demonstrated itself to be an enemy of the U.S. Constitution and itsBill of Rights.

How Problem, Reaction, Solution really works

If you're the U.S.government, you can't just announce a new program to disarm the country, end the Bill of Rights and install yourself as theKing. People won't go for it if you try to sell it that way. Instead, you need to find a way toget people to BEG youto do all that.

So you need a way to put people in a state of mind where they are terrified ofdrugs, terrified of guns and terrified of the borderviolence-- to the point where they insist that somebody in Washington do something about it.

Therefore, you first need a way tocause the problemthat results in all the violence that people react to. You effectively need tocreate violenceand then wait for people to beg you to stop it.

This is where the Obama administration's program to send 30,000 firearms into Mexico comes into play. If you want to cause gun violence and drug war violence, what better way to accomplish it than to justarm all the bad guys?

Think about it: 30,000 weapons in the hands of drug criminals! Then all you have to do is sit back and wait for all the violence to kick in. And it has kicked in -- in huge numbers. Shootings on the border, kidnappings, armed conflict across the border with U.S. border agents, and so on. Violent crimes in Arizona are now being committed with these very same weapons the ATF trafficked into the hands of Mexican drug gangs.

As Judicial Watch president Tim Fitton explains, his belief is that Operation Fast and Furious was purely an anti-gun political ploy from the Obama administration, designed to put more guns into the hands of criminals as a justification for confiscating guns from all citizens. He adds, "I think another major part of this story is that the narrative of the Obama administration and the ATF is that, 'wouldn't it be great if we could tie guns, as part of our anti-gun agenda, to the Mexican civil war, as opposed to, you know, our lack of enforcement of the druglawsor failure to protect the borders.'" (http://dailycaller.com/2011/06/21/i...)

And here's the real kicker: Of all the weapons now being confiscated bypolicein Mexico, an astonishing70 percent came from the United States. So now you have a situation where the USA is actually arming the criminals in Mexico and destabilizing that country's entire system of law and order. The drug gangs are at war with the police there, and thanks to thinks like U.S.-supplies AK-47s and .50-caliber sniper rifles,the drug gangs are winning!

ATF can now demand more power and bigger budgets

Getting back to the U.S. issue, if you're theDEAor the ATF, you now have 30,000 more reasons to have your own budgets increased. There's a wave of violence coming across the border! The drug gangs are out of control! They'reshootingback!

Well gee, I wonder why? It's because the ATF actually sold them these 30,000 riflesunder orders from Washington.

And now the Obama administration is, predictably, saying there's so much "gun violence" in the Southern USA that new laws are needed to curb gun sales there.

Seriously? New laws? What about the 30,000 guns the ATF openly and admittedly sold to the Mexican drug gangs? Wasn't that already a violation of law?

It all comes back to Problem, Reaction, Solution, you see. Want to keep the useless War on Drugs going a little longer? Just dump a few thousand pounds ofcocaineinto the hands of criminals and let 'em run loose with it. Want to beef up the budgets of the ATF? Just distribute 30,000 illegal weapons into the hands of drug gangs and then sit back and wait for people to beg for your help. Want to justify a war on "terror" in the Middle East? Dream up some stupid story about Weapons of Mass Destruction and then launch a war.

For every power-hungry tyrannical agenda in Washington, there's a false flag operation that will make it come true.

If the U.S. government would actively arm drug gangs, in what other ways might it betray theAmerican people?

Now that you know the truth about how Washington put 30,000 guns into the hands of Mexican drug gangs, it naturally makes you start to wonder about the government's involvement with things likevaccines.

Want to make people so afraid ofinfectious diseasethat they beg for vaccines? Justrelease an infectious diseaseinto thepopulationyourself! It's a simple matter, really.

Want to get the public to beg for newfood safetyregulations? Justrelease e.coli into thefoodsupplyand then wait for the deaths to be reported in the news. All of a sudden people aredemandingmore foodsafetyregulations.

Want to justify military imperialism and expansion? Just stage your own terrorist attack against your own country! Then magically find the passports of someterroristsat the scene of thecrimeand blame the whole thing on them.

When theory becomes fact

You see, all this used to exist solely in the realm ofconspiracy theory. A few years ago, if you even suggested this kind of thing was going on, you were called a kook. But now it's an established fact being reported by Reuters, Washington Post and other major news outlets. Now the U.S. government has been forced toadmitthat yes, it actively delivered 30,000 firearms into the hands of Mexican drug gangs and then intentionally stopped tracking where they went.

This is no longerconspiracytheory. It's conspiracy FACT. And similar types of operations are being planned right now for other agendas the government has in mind: Taking away your Fourth Amendment rights, for example. How do you accomplish that? Just stage an airportterrorismattack, just like the one theTSAwas caught rehearsing in Minnesota (http://www.naturalnews.com/032458_T...).

Want to take away peoples' Second Amendment rights? Just brainwash some low-IQ psychopath to walk into a shopping mall and start blazing away with fully automatic weapons that were provided to him by the ATF!

It's simple, you see. Pick a topic, choose an agenda, thencause the problemyourself. Then sit back and wait for the reaction. Works every time.

The CDC pulled the same stunt back in the 1980's withAIDS. At a time when the CDC was facing severebudgetcuts, it actually hyped up the whole AIDS epidemic and started releasing complete scientific fictions as if they were fact. Thediseasemongering by the CDC caused widespread fear and panic across the country, earning it huge budget increases from the U.S. government.

This is all fully documented in the movieHouse of Numbers, by the way, using recordedvideointerviews from many of the key scientists involved in the whole fiasco who finally went on record to tell the truth. Almost everything you've been fed about AIDS is a fabrication or a distortion of the scientific truth. Watch these astonishing videos to see for yourself:

http://naturalnews.tv/v.asp?v=D35F0...
http://naturalnews.tv/v.asp?v=BE507...
http://naturalnews.tv/v.asp?v=4FE73...

The American government is working AGAINST you, not for you

The point in all this is that much of what you see happening in the world today in terms of terrorism, the drug war, infectious disease andhealthcare are justfabricated, staged eventsactually pulled off by the very people who stand to benefit from the reaction!

Suckers and sheeple always believe the mainstream news at face value. They believe we're under attack from terrorists who bring down tall buildings, or we're being assaulted by Mexican drug gangs on the border, or we're threatened by the Swine Flu. That's what suckers are supposed to believe, you see: That your government is never workingagainstyou... it's always working FOR you, right?

But intelligent people know the opposite is true: Your government is usuallyplotting against youand trying to figure out how to expand its power, expand its reach, reduce your freedoms and control your life. This is accomplished byunleashing the very problemsthat the governmentclaimsto be fighting to prevent.

The government, for example, says it's trying tosolve our nation's economic problems.And how does it accomplish that? By generatingtrillions of dollarsin new fiat currency and handing it over to the criminals running Wall Street. This has the net effect ofstealingmoney from everybody else through dollar devaluation.

How does the government solve our nationalhealth care crisis?By enacting Obamacare, which mandates that more people buy into a system that has utterly failed to serve the health interests of the American people in the first place!

So at the very same time the government says it's working to improve the economy, it's actually stealing from you behind your back. At the very same time the government says it's trying to stopcancer, its own health-related agencies (National Cancer Institute, for example) are openly engaged in massive disinformation campaigns that spread falseinformationabout sunlight being "dangerous" to your health (while conveniently ignoring the truth about vitamin D and its cancer preventive properties).

The government says it wants to make your foodsafer, and yet the USDA keeps approving genetically modified foods that are essentially massivebiological experimentsthat cause widespread infertility and disease.

The same story goes on and on... with fluoride in the water, mercury in dental fillings, aspartame in diet sodas, pesticide use in agriculture and so on. At nearly every turn, the government itself isactively plotting against the Peopleto keep them financially enslaved, biologically diseased and mentally ignorant.

Shipping guns into Mexico, you see, is just a tiny part of the big picture that's going on today in the USA. The same process -- Problem, Reaction, Solution -- is in use almost everywhere in government at both the state and federal level.

Big Government is the enemy of peace and freedom

Bureaucrats hate to lose their jobs, and if there's a way to stage something that makes them suddenly look more important, they won't hesitate to roll it out. The U.S. government, just so you know, has been actively engaged in weapons trafficking, drug running and counterfeiting fordecades. If you or I did what our own government does every single day, we'd be arrested as felony criminals. But when the government runs guns into Mexico, or traffics in cocaine, or prints counterfeit dollar bills that have no backing with real value, somehow it's all okay.

Amazing how our own government has now turned into the very criminals that it claims to be protecting us against, isn't it?Who are the real terrorists inAmerica?The ATF agents running guns into the hands of Mexican drug gangs, of course. Andthe FBIagents who set up Arab-looking patsies to try to set off fake bombs that the FBI actually assembled for them!

By the way, Alex Jones (www.PrisonPlanet.com) has been covering all this for years. He's been saying this all along, and time and time again, he's been proven right. I realize his presentation style may seem a little intense to some people, but at the end of the day,Alex Jonesis far more accurate at decoding what's really going on behind the scenes than any mainstream news channel or newspaper. Here's anarticlefrom InfoWars on this very topic:http://www.infowars.com/obama-admin...

I'm scheduled to host the Alex Jones show next week and will likely be discussing more about the ATF's gun-running activities in Mexico. In the mean time, stay tuned to NaturalNews.com for more stories that aren't afraid to report the truth about what's really happening in our world today.

Learn more:http://www.naturalnews.com/032934_ATF_illegal_firearms.html#ixzz1Rs1DTsps

City living intensifies brain stress response and increases mental illness risk

noreply@blogger.com (healthy food) — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 06:22:00 +0000

(NaturalNews) While city living offers many amenities and advantages not found in rural living, it might have a downside in the area of mental health. City dwellers generally are more stressed and are at a higher risk of developing mental illness than their rural counterparts. Although scientists have been aware of this, they did not know the reason why. A new study has revealed certain alterations in brain function that could potentially provide the explanation:Time Healthlandreports.

Previousresearchindicates that those who grow up in a city have a two- to three-fold higher likelihood of developing schizophrenia. In addition, earlier studies show that even after reaching adulthood, city living raises the probability of contractinganxietydisorders by 21% and mood illnesses, such as depression, by 39% compared with rural dwellers.

The new study has provided further enlightenment on the issue. In an internationalinvestigationpublished in the journalNature, researchers at University of Heidelberg and McGill University report that city dwellers or those who were raised in cities display definite characteristics of activity in specific areas ofthe brainthat are not found in rural dwellers. The study pinpointed two areas of thebrainthat seem to be involved in responding tostress.

One structure of the brain that proved to be the culprit is the amygdala, an area that regulates anxiety and fear. This part of the brain is most often utilized in stressful or threatening situations and the study suggests it is more sensitive in city dwellers.

Another part of the brain the study implicated is the anterior cingulate, a region that is a more global regulator of stress. The research found that those raised in the city during their first fifteen yeas oflifeshowed a higher activation of this area. Furthermore, this increased activation seems to be more permanent than in those who moved to cities later in life, states Jens Pruessner, one of the investigation's coauthors. He explains that since the changes happen in an important period of development, these individuals will become more alert tostressful situationsfor the rest of their lives.

Lead researcher, Andreas Meyer-Lindenberg, explains that although the two brain structures are separate, they are linked by forming a circuit. According to Discovery News, he characterizes the findings by stating that the areas of the brain connected tomental illnesswere found to be hyperactive in city dwellers.

In the study, researchers applied stress on volunteers while their brains were being imaged by MRIs in order to determine which areas of the brain were activated by stressful situations. The stress was exerted by having the participants work difficult math problems, either while they were under time pressure or while they were being criticized by investigators for their poor performance.

Following the application of stress, investigators compared the results of the test with the population density of the area where the participants were currently residing, as well as the place where they were raised. They found the degree of amygdala activation increased with the size of their hometown, with it being highest in the major metropolitan areas and lowest in the rural areas.

Researchers are not suggesting that people vacate the city and move to the country, but if the exact factors of city life responsible for these brain changes are identified it could have implications for city planning. They think the social aspects of urban living, more so than factors such as noise or pollution, are the stressors affecting the brain. Future brain scanning investigations should help researchers determine the causative agents in the urban environment.

Learn more:http://www.naturalnews.com/032885_city_life_stress.html#ixzz1RD2RlZ9n

Fresh meat versus processed meat: Here's why it matters

noreply@blogger.com (healthy food) — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 06:20:00 +0000

(NaturalNews) Every July 4th, Americans gobble down enormous quantities of meat. Some of it actually comes from animals. The rest comes from factories that assemble bits and pieces of meat scraps, using chemical additives to make the final substance resemble something edible. That's where hot dogs come from… and sausage, pepperoni and deli meats.

If you're eating hot dogs this Fourth of July, you're engaged in acts of nutritional tyranny against your own body. So if you eat meat, eat fresh meat, not processed meat. Here's why:

Read meat versus processed packaged meat

Countless scientific studies have concluded that eating red meat is bad for you. But in those studies, researchers routinely fail to differentiate between processed junk meat versus free-range, grass-fed organic beef which isn't processed with chemicals. And in doing so, they cast a dark shadow of doubt over all red meat when the reality is that there is a huge difference in the health impacts of fresh meat versus processed factory-made meat.

Just like the primary health risk of smoking cigarettes is from the chemical additives, not merely the tobacco (http://www.naturalnews.com/032795_t...); the primary health risk from eating red meat is from the chemical additives, not from the meat itself.

That's my conclusion after reading tens of thousands of news headlines, research reports and study abstracts: Red meat may be objectionable for lots of reasons -- the ethics of raising animals in food factory concentration camp conditions, for example -- but any focus on the health impacts of the meat must conclude that the chemicals are the real problem, not merely the meat. (Unless, of course, it's meat raised on genetically modified corn, in which case the meat probably is biologically toxic, and that's 95% of all conventional meat, just so ya know…)

Why I don't eat red meat

I don't eat red meat, by the way. That fact possibly gives this article even more impact, because it's not even being written by a routine red meat eater. (I tried a bit of organic free-range beef a month ago but just couldn't stomach it. Not my bag, baby!)

From an ethical standpoint, I personally don't wish to participate in the beef industry's treatment of cattle, yet at the same time I've found myself advocating grass-fed organic beef to those who still choose to consume beef for their own reasons. I'm not a food Nazi. People can eat whatever they want -- I just try to help them make healthier choices, and all the evidence I've seen on this issue convinces me that it's the additives in processed meat that are killing people, not the consumption of fresh meat itself.

It doesn't take much sodium nitrite, for example, to greatly increase a person's risk of pancreatic cancer or colon cancer. And guess where you find that chemical? Hot dogs, bacon, sausage, pepperoni, ham, lunchmeat and even beef jerky. It's also in all the quick lunch trays for children, by the way. But never in the fresh meat.

People who eat fresh meat don't poison their bodies with sodium nitrite. Nor MSG (bacon, sausage, beef jerky) nor all the other chemical additives typically added to meat products. That's something to remember if you shop for meat of any kind. And don't forget that unless it's organic meat, it's almost certainly contaminated with GMOs, because cows, pigs and chickens are all fed genetically modified corn and soy as part of their diets.

If you're eating that stuff, you're committing slow suicide. And maybe not even that slow, come to think of it.

People who eat their own farm-fresh meat are remarkably healthy

One interesting angle in all this is that people who eat farm-fresh meat usually don't have all the chronic health problems of people who buy and consume processed factory-made meat. It's the quality of the meat that makes all the difference. I know people who eat their own chickens, cows and pigs, and their health is just great! (But they wouldn't dare eat GMO-contaminated pork sausage sold at the grocery store…)

When research says that "red meat" is linked to pancreatic cancer (for example), what they mean is processed red meat laced with chemical additives. We're never told this, of course, because the entire medical system is so nutritionally ignorant that modern medical researchers don't even recognize any qualitative difference between LIVE foods versus DEAD foods -- nor fresh meat versus processed meat. To them, it's all the same. So their questionnaires simply ask study participants about "meat consumption" without breaking it out into "fresh" versus processed. That's why all meat gets a bad rap when it's really just the processed, GMO-contaminated meat that's the culprit.

Avoiding meat isn't a guaranteed health strategy, either

Interestingly, avoiding meat doesn't automatically make you healthier. While I personally follow a largely plant-based diet that's rich in superfoods and smoothies, I've also met quite a few sick vegetarians and vegans who are eating processed vegetarian foods (pastas, white rice, factory-made foods, etc.) that make them look like they're about to die from malnutrition. An alarming number of vegetarians, I've discovered, are chronically deficient in omega-3s and vitamin B12. They've taken on vegetarianism but never learned how to pursue a plant-based diet in a healthy way.

(Veganism, when done correctly, is undoubtedly the best diet for a sustainable planet, but personally I've found it impossible to follow as someone who works on a ranch and engages in a fair amount of physical work each day. For me, powering my work takes a small amount of fish, fresh farm eggs, some Moxxor omega-3s and other fish oils such as those from Living Fuel. Overall, my diet is probably 95% plant based. No dairy. I do buy grass-fed free-range beef bones for my dog Roxy who greatly benefits from the raw bone nutrition.)

The real answer in all this is simple:

The QUALITY of what you eat matters more than you think.

A vegetarian living on Cheetos and Diet Coke is going to have far worse health than a farmer eating farm-fresh eggs and his own home-grown beef steaks. It's not merely about meat versus no meat, it's about the quality of the food (meat or otherwise) you choose to consume.

From a nutritional standpoint alone, I'm convinced that avoiding chemical additives and GMOs is far more important than merely avoiding meat.

What about the ethics of eating meat? Well, that's a question for another article.

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/032890_red_meat_food_additives.html#ixzz1RD26t4FC

ONE The Event launches on 9/11 to help transform fear into love

noreply@blogger.com (healthy food) — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 07:42:00 +0000

(NaturalNews) In an effort to transform fear into love through the power of human intention, Seattle firefighter Erik Lawyer has launched a transformational event calledONE The Event(www.OneTheEvent.org). Erik is the founder ofFirefighters for 9/11 truthand is fully informed about the rather obvious fact that 9/11 was an inside job. But instead of focusing on the conspiracy of it, he has decided to focus his efforts on moving forward in the spirit of love and positive intention. (See my comments below...)

You can join in the event atwww.OneTheEvent.orgby joining the email list and taking part in the global consciousness shift on September 11. (9/11/11) A video teaser at the site explains what the event is all about.

Listen to the interview with Erik Lawyer

I spoke with Erik Lawyer for 45 minutes about the event, his experience as a911 trutherand why he has shifted his focus to transformation through positive intention. The full interview with Erik is available now at NaturalNews.TV:
http://naturalnews.tv/v.asp?v=F1CFB...

There, Erik explains why and how his journey as a9/11 trutherbrought him to his present course of action.

I also ask some direct questions about Erik's philosophy, questioning how positive intention alone can transform the world when the global elite are using bombs, info-terrorism and economic warfare against the people. If we all just focus on the positive, I said, the global elite are still screwing us all behind our backs, right?

To hear Erik's answer to that question, listen to the full interview:
http://naturalnews.tv/v.asp?v=F1CFB...

The interview is roughly 45 minutes long, and we cover a lot of territory including the power of intention, elements of conspiracy in 9/11, personal journeys and much more.

My own take on the effectiveness of positive intention

For the record, and just so there's no confusion about my own position on 9/11 and the power of intention, I am a believer in the power of focused intentionbut only when it is married with ready action. Protecting our freedoms and civil liberties cannot be accomplished solely through sending love vibrations to the world, I believe. We must also take steps in the physical world to put that intention into action and protect ourselves from those who operate from a place of destruction rather than love.

As a relevant example of the failure of doing just one thing and not the other, consider the Tibetan Buddhists who spend much of their time meditating in temples. Over the last several decades, they have been overrun by the communist Chinese; imprisoned, butchered and nearly eradicated from China while adopting a stance of non-violence. That has earned them near extinction in the face of tyrannical oppression. Positive meditation clearly has not saved them from the violence of the communist Chinese government.

To focus all our energies in the spiritual realm while neglecting the security needs of the physical world is a grave oversight.We need both approachesto achieve lasting freedom and peace. Erik Lawyer's event plays an important role in this by bringing together large numbers of people to broadcast positive intention, but let us all remember there is another component to peace, and that is thephysical front linecomprised of those who are marching in the streets like Gandhi did, or standing up to fraudulent authority like Martin Luther King, or taking part in a violent but necessary revolution like Thomas Jefferson or Paul Revere.

In essence then, I believe that positive intention isa necessary component of positive changebut not the entire solution, and I think Erik Lawyer would probably agree with that assessment. We each do our part to make the world a better place, andONE The Eventplays an important role along with all the other freedom efforts and tactics being pursued by others who have a different approach. Erik is to be commended for his efforts, and I hope you consider taking part in the event on 9/11/11.

Why we must still demand answers about 9/11

I also support those who continue to question the official lies about 9/11 and who are digging for the truth about this event which was obviously and blatantly staged in a classic "problem reaction solution" format. I would also love to be able to buy a pair of jeans made out of the same material as the magical terrorist passport that the FBI claims somehow survived the impact and the explosion that melted skyscrapers... and then magically appeared unscathed on the sidewalk below even though the entire airplane and all its passengers were literally blown to bits. (Alex Jones jokingly refers to this material as the same stuff from which theHammer of Thorwas constructed...)

I would also love to know how the WTC 7 building defied all known laws of physics and collapsed in a near-perfect demolition style free-fall even when it was not hit by any airplane and only suffered from a few office fires. Concrete and steel buildings do not simply collapse all their support columns in perfect unison and pancake one floor on top of another, floor by floor, all the way to the ground, unless there is ademolition teaminvolved, using precisely-placed explosive charges detonated in a specific timing sequence.

I also love how the BBC broadcast the "fact" that the WTC 7 building had collapsed even while filming that broadcast with the building still standing rather evidently in the background. Somebody at the BBC, it turns out, jumped the gun on the media conspiracy and accidentally reported the WTC 7 collapse a few minutes before it actually happened (http://whatreallyhappened.com/WRHAR...).

Any intelligent person examining the evidence surrounding 9/11, of course, inevitably concludes that the WTC 7 building was primed with explosives well ahead of 9/11, which is why thousands of physicists, architects and firefighters have publicly questioned the official explanation of 9/11 (http://www.ae911truth.org). And while I greatly admire Erik Lawyer's approach withONE The Event, I still believe we all need honest answers about who was really responsible for 9/11 and why the official story is so laughably and obviously fabricated.

The official story on 9/11 looks about as believable to me as CNN's fake broadcasts from Saudi Arabia during the first Gulf War. Watch this hilarious video to see what I'm talking about:
http://naturalnews.tv/v.asp?v=B5514...

And finally, check out the event sign-up page at:www.OneTheEvent.org

Learn more:http://www.naturalnews.com/032779_9-11_truth_positive_intention.html#ixzz1Q5CFOJqh

Vitamin B-12 warning: Avoid cyanocobalamin, take only methylcobalamin

noreply@blogger.com (healthy food) — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 07:38:00 +0000

(NaturalNews) One of the pitfalls of pursuing a healthy diet is that we are sometimes blind to nutrients we may be missing. And in the world of healthy eating, one of the most common nutrient deficiencies involvesvitamin B-12, a crucial nutrient for nerve health and the construction of red blood cells that carry oxygen throughout your body.

Vitamin B-12 deficiency is especially common amongvegetarians and vegans, but it's also surprisingly common in meat eaters, too. Why? Because vitamin B-12 can only be absorbed in the small intestine, and due to common intestinal ailments, even many meat eaters who consume high levels of B-12 areunable to absorb itin their gut.

This leads to a series of seemingly "mystery" health symptoms that actually have a simple common cause: Vitamin B-12 deficiency!

Symptoms of B-12 deficiency

B-12 deficiency is shockingly widespread. Studies now show that up to40% of the populationmay be deficient in vitamin B-12 (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7...).

Here are some of the most common symptoms of deficiency (do you experience any of these?):

* Chest pain or shortness of breath
* Fatigue or unexplained weakness
* Dizziness, trouble with balance, and fainting
* Confusion, memory loss or dementia
* Coldness, numbness or tingling in the hands and feet
* Slow reflexes or diminished nervous system function
* Pale skin or yellowing of the skin
* Sore mouth and tongue

... in addition, vitamin B-12 deficiency can actually causebrain shrinkage, according to a University of Oxford study (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7...). Although more work needs to be done, research is already suggesting a link between vitamin B-12 deficiency and Alzheimer's.

If you (or someone you know) shows any of the symptoms listed above, I urge you to immediately investigatevitamin B-12and determine if a deficiency in this nutrient may be causing your symptoms!

Again, vitamin B-12 deficiency is especially common in vegans and vegetarians because typical vitamin B-12 sources (meats, yogurt, etc.) are simply not present in their diets. But even meat eaters can be deficient in B-12 due to poor digestion. This is especially true for older people who suffer a diminished ability to absorb nutrients in their small intestine.

In addition, diabetes medications and even pain pills can interfere with B-12 absorption, and intestinal parasites can also strongly block its absorption in the gut.

Solutions for vitamin B-12

Traditionally, people who are deficient in vitamin B-12 have receivedinjectionsof B-12. This is extremely effective because it bypasses the digestive tract and goes right into the bloodstream. But it has one obvious downside: It requires being injected! So most people aren't interested in this method.

Instead, most people supplement their vitamin B-12 usingnutritional supplements. But here's where this can go wrong: The most commonly available form of vitamin B-12 on the market is the cheap synthetic form that's actually bound to a cyanide molecule (yes, cyanide, the poison). It's calledcyanocobalamin, and you'll find it in all the cheap vitamins made by pharmaceutical companies and sold at grocery stores and big box stores.

Action item: If you have any vitamin B-12 supplements, check the ingredients label right now to see what form of vitamin B-12 they contain. If they contain cyanocobalamin, throw them out!

Cyanocobalamin is a cheap, synthetic chemical made in a laboratory. It's virtually impossible for you to find this form in nature. Low-end vitamin manufacturers use it because it can be bought in bulk and added to products with claims that they "contain vitamin B-12!" What they don't tell you is that the vitamin is bound to a toxic, poisonous cyanide molecule that must then be removed from your body by your liver. Cyanocobalamin is also up to100 times cheaperthan the higher qualitymethylcobalaminwhich we'll talk about below.

As Wikipedia explains:"A common synthetic form of the vitamin, cyanocobalamin, does not occur in nature, but is used in many pharmaceuticals and supplements, and as a food additive, because of its lower cost. In the body it is converted to the physiological forms, methylcobalamin and adenosylcobalamin, leaving behind the cyanide..."(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitami...)

Removing the cyanide molecule from the vitamin and then flushing it out of your body requires using up so-called "methyl groups" of molecules in your body that are needed to fight things like homocysteine (high levels cause heart disease). By taking low-quality cyanobalamin, you're actuallystealing methyl groups from your bodyand making it do more work at the biochemical level. This uses up substances such as glutathione that are often in short supply anyway, potentially worsening your overall health situation rather than helping it. This is one of the reasons why low-grade vitamins may actually be worse for your body than taking nothing at all!

Cyanocobalamin, in summary, is a low-grade, low-quality andslightly toxic (cyanide) formof vitamin B-12 that's used by all the cheap vitamin manufacturers. I recommend avoiding it completely. It won't kill you to take it, of course, but there's a better solution for B-12.

The better choice: Methylcobalamin

The proper form of vitamin B-12 to supplement is calledmethylcobalamin. This is the form that exists in nature, and it is pre-methylated, meaning it's ready for your biochemistry to put to immediate use. Methylcobalamin has several key advantages over cyanocobalamin:

* Increased absorption
* Better retention in tissues
* Contains no toxic cyanide
* Supports production of SAMe

As explained by Ed Sharpe:

"The coenzyme form of vitamin B12 is known as methylcobalamin or methyl B12. It's the only form of vitamin B12 which can directly participate in homocysteine metabolism. In addition, converting homocysteine to methionine via methyl B12 generates an increased supply of SAMe (S-adenosyl methionine), the body's most important methyl donor."(http://www.health101.org/art_methyl...)

Every informed nutritionist knows that methylcobalamin is far superior to cyanocobalamin. That's why companies likeOla Loa(www.DrinkYourVitamins.com) use only the high-end "methyl" form of B-12.

Why 99% of vitamin B-12 supplements are wasted

Taking vitamin B-12 as an oral dose is largely a waste of money. As much as 99% of what you swallow is not even absorbed... it's just passed through your body. (http://www.health101.org/art_methyl...)

There are really only three methods for absorbing vitamin B-12 that reliably work:

#1) B-12 injections.
#2) Sublingual absorption.
#3) Skin absorption.

B-12 injections obviously require injections from a trained medical professional, so few people pursue this route. Sublingual absorption is a viable route, but nearly all the sublingual B-12 products use thecyanocobalaminform of the vitamin (with the cyanide molecule).

A vitamin B-12 skin patch is now available that deliversmethylcobalaminthrough the skin, using a small medical-grade patch placed behind the ear. Each patch delivers1000 mcg of methylcobalamin(1,666% DV) in a steady release over a 1-2 day period, after which the patch may be removed and discarded.

In addition to methylcobalamin, each path also delivers 400mcg of Folic Acid (another form of a B vitamin), which is widely known to work synergistically with methylcobalamin to help support healthy heart function and nervous system function*.

B-12 energy patch works through skin absorption

TheB-12 Energy Patchis available now in packs of 8 patches (a 1-2 month supply) from the NaturalNews Store. This 8-pack carries a list price of $39.95, but through our volume purchasing, we are able to offer it to NaturalNews readers at53% offthe list price.

When purchased in a 3-pack (total of 24 patches), the price is lowered even more to57% offthe list price.

Click here to see the products in our store.

* These products are not intended to treat, diagnose, prevent or cure any disease.

What customers say about this B-12 patch

(From Amazon.com)For me a much better alternative to effective sublingual pills

"B12 is running low in my family tree. A couple of relatives have been regular at getting B12 shots. I never felt like I needed the shots, because I thought I could get by with red meat, liver and sublingual pills. I decided to try the patches just to see... I did not expect them to be more effective than sublingual pills.

I must say I was wrong. From the first patch I noticed the boost, which is at first more subtle than the more noticeable boost of the sublingual pills giving you more B12 in a shorter time span. But it picks up over time and feels way more efficient. By way of example, I used the big plate in my road bike and did not pant at the top of three bad climbs hours after getting the patch. To get this kind of effect with sublingual pills after getting low of B12 would take over ten days for me and quite a bit of dedication remembering to keep supplementing. It can get rather tedious waiting for the pills to dissolve under the tongue.

The second day I used two patches right behind the ear, but they both fell off, presumably from the sweat biking. Yet the day before the one patch I tried less close to the ear stayed put biking and after two showers, and I had no dropped patches since. If you exercise, watch out for areas where sweat would accumulate.

I think there is no comparison between this brand and the other one advertised. For four bucks more, you get half the patches and the wrong type of B12 -- cyanocobalamin instead of methylcobalamin. Read about it because cyanocobalamin has to be turned into methylcobalamin by the liver. You can spare that. My doctor put me on cyanocobalamin initially and I turned to methylcobalamin with much greater results. Also, this brand I review has the daily allowance of folic acid as an added bonus (read up on the benefits of taking folic acid with B12), rather than selenium.

I've had no side effects and no skin reactions with this product. I am so satisfied I have ordered a B-complex as a patch from a different company. It is advised to have a B-complex if you supplement in big doses with any vitamin of the B family."

Click here to get these vitamin B-12 patches.

They're on sale now at an incredible price through the NaturalNews Store.

Whatever form of vitamin B-12 you use, remember this:avoid cyanocobalamin!(Unless you enjoy eating cyanide, that is...)

Learn more:http://www.naturalnews.com/032766_cyanocobalamin_vitamin_B-12.html#ixzz1Q5BRB85u