Gina Maria

2016-10-30T06:40:00.000-04:00

Sick Invite - Real

2014-04-02T22:22:00.001-04:00

Antique Crystal - Walking Sticks Canes by Stephens Stikks

2014-02-28T23:43:00.000-05:00

Stephens Stikks is back in business

Antique Mystical Crystal Walking Stick

This one is on Etsy right now

The Alarming Truths About GMO

2014-01-29T18:38:00.001-05:00

Queen of the sun - what are the bees telling us 2010)

2014-01-29T18:33:00.001-05:00

FREE VIEWING - Queen of the Sun: What Are the Bees Telling Us?

2014-01-29T16:13:00.000-05:00

Queen of the Sun: What Are the Bees Telling Us? From Mercola.com I have to say this is one of those most important films you will ever see. It talks about how bees are crucial to our Environment and Survival. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frYkQfdQH-w

2013-03-20T22:46:00.001-04:00

Some good safety tips........ Eye openers .

Written by a Cop for Our Own Safety

(PLEASE DON'T DELETE, THIS MAY SAVE YOUR LIFE)

Everyone should take 5 minutes to read this.

It may save your life or a loved one's life.

In daylight hours, refresh yourself

of these things to do in an emergency situation...

This is for you, and for you to share with your wife,

your children, & everyone you know.

After reading these 9 crucial tips,

forward them to someone you care about.

It never hurts to be careful in this crazy world we live in.

1. Tip from Tae Kwon Do :

The elbow is the strongest point

on your body.

If you are close enough to use it, do!
2.. Learned this from a tourist guide.

If a robber asks for your wallet and/or purse,

DO NOT HAND IT TO HIM.

Toss it away from you....

Chances are that he is more interested

in your wallet and/or purse than you,

and he will go for the wallet/purse.

RUN LIKE MAD IN THE OTHER DIRECTION!

3. If you are ever thrown into the trunk of a car,

kick out the back tail lights and stick your arm out the hole

and start waving like crazy..

The driver won't see you, but everybody else will.

This has saved lives..

4. Women have a tendency to get into their cars

after shopping, eating, working, etc., and just sit

(doing their checkbook, or making a list, etc.

DON'T DO THIS!)

The predator will be watching you, and this

is the perfect opportunity for him to get in

on the passenger side, put a gun to your head,

and tell you where to go.

AS SOON AS YOU GET INTO YOUR CAR ,

LOCK THE DOORS AND LEAVE..

If someone is in the car

with a gun to your head

DO NOT DRIVE OFF,

Repeat:

DO NOT DRIVE OFF!

Instead gun the engine and

speed into anything, wrecking the car.

Your Air Bag will save you.

If the person is in the back seat

they will get the worst of it.

As soon as the car crashes

bail out and run.

It is better than having them find your body

in a remote location.

5. A few notes about getting

into your car in a parking lot,

or parking garage:

A.) Be aware:

look around you,

look into your car,

at the passenger side floor ,

and in the back seat.

B..) If you are parked next to a big van,

enter your car from the passenger door.

Most serial killers attack their victims

by pulling them into their vans while the women

are attempting to get into their cars.

C.) Look at the car

parked on the driver's side of your vehicle,

and the passenger side.. If a male is sitting alone

in the seat nearest your car, you may want to walk back

into the mall, or work, and get a

guard/policeman to walk you back out.

IT IS ALWAYS BETTER TO BE SAFE THAN SORRY. (And better paranoid than dead.)

6. ALWAYS take the elevator

instead of the stairs.

Stairwells are horrible places to be alone

and the perfect crime spot.

This is especially true at NIGHT!)

7. If the predator has a gun

and you are not under his control,

ALWAYS RUN!

The predator will only hit you (a running target)

4 in 100 times; and even then,

it most likely WILL NOT be a vital organ.

RUN, Preferably in a zig -zag pattern!

8. As women, we are always trying

to be sympathetic:

STOP

It may get you raped, or killed.

Ted Bundy, the serial killer, was a good-looking,

well educated man, who ALWAYS played

on the sympathies of unsuspecting women.

He walked with a cane, or a limp, and often

asked 'for help' into his vehicle or with his vehicle which is when he abducted
his next victim.

9. Another Safety Point:

Someone just told me that her friend heard

a crying baby on her porch the night before last,

and she called the police because it was late

and she thought it was weird.. The police told her

'Whatever you do, DO NOT

open the door..'

The lady then said that it sounded like the baby

had crawled near a window, and she was worried

that it would crawl to the street and get run over.

The policeman said, 'We already have a unit on the way,

whatever you do, DO NOT open the door.'

He told her that they think a serial killer

has a baby's cry recorded and uses it to coax

women out of their homes thinking that someone

dropped off a baby.. He said they have not verified it,

but have had several calls by women saying that

they hear baby's cries outside their doors

when they're home alone at night.

10. Water scam!

If you wake up in the middle
of the night to hear all your taps outside running or what you think is a
burst pipe, DO NOT GO OUT TO INVESTIGATE! These people turn on all your
outside taps full blast so that you will go out to investigate and
then attack.

Stay alert, keep safe, and look out for your neighbors!

Please pass this on

This e-mail should probably be taken seriously because

the Crying Baby Theory was mentioned on

America 's Most Wanted when they profiled

the serial killer in Louisiana

I'd like you to forward this to all the women you know.

It may save a life. A candle is not dimmed by lighting another candle..

I was going to send this to the ladies only,

but guys, if you love your mothers, wives, sisters, daughters, etc.,

you may want to pass it onto them, as well.

Send this to any woman you know that may need

to be reminded that the world we live in has a lot of crazies in it

and it's better to be safe than sorry..

Everyone should take 5 minutes to read this. It may save your life or

a loved one's life.

BGP

Where did piss poor come from ?

2012-05-22T19:17:00.001-04:00

We older people need to learn something new every day...

Just to keep the grey matter tuned up.

Where did "Piss Poor" come from?

Interesting History.

They used to use urine to tan animal skins, so families used to all pee in a pot.

And then once it was full it was taken and sold to the tannery...

if you had to do this to survive you were "Piss Poor".

But worse than that were the really poor folk who couldn't even afford to buy a pot...

They "didn't have a pot to piss in" and were the lowest of the low.

The next time you are washing your hands and complain because the water temperature

Isn't just how you like it, think about how things used to be.

Here are some facts about the 1500's

Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May,

And they still smelled pretty good by June. However, since they were starting to smell,

Brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odor.

Hence the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting married.

Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water.

The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water,

Then all the other sons and men, then the women and finally the children.

Last of all the babies.

By then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it.

Hence the saying, "Don't throw the baby out with the Bath water!"

Houses had thatched roofs-thick straw-piled high, with no wood underneath.

It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the cats and other small animals

(mice, bugs) lived in the roof.

When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof.

Hence the saying, "It's raining cats and dogs."

There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house.

This posed a real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppings

Could mess up your nice clean bed.

Hence, a bed with big posts and a sheet hung over the top afforded some protection.

That's how canopy beds came into existence.

The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt.

Hence the saying, "Dirt poor." The wealthy had slate floors that would get slippery

In the winter when wet, so they spread thresh (straw) on the floor to help keep their footing.

As the winter wore on, they added more thresh until, when you opened the door,

It would all start slipping outside. A piece of wood was placed in the entrance-way.

Hence: a thresh hold.

(Getting quite an education, aren't you?)

In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that always hung over the fire.

Every day they lit the fire and added things to the pot. They ate mostly vegetables

And did not get much meat. They would eat the stew for dinner, leaving leftovers

In the pot to get cold overnight and then start over the next day.

Sometimes stew had food in it that had been there for quite a while.

Hence the rhyme:

�Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot nine days old�.

Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them feel quite special.

When visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show off.

It was a sign of wealth that a man could, "bring home the bacon."

They would cut off a little to share with guests

And would all sit around and chew the fat.

Those with money had plates made of pewter.

Food with high acid content caused some of the lead to leach onto the food, causing lead poisoning death.

This happened most often with tomatoes,

so for the next 400 years or so, tomatoes were considered poisonous.

Bread was divided according to status.

Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle,

and guests got the top, or the upper crust.

Lead cups were used to drink ale or whisky.

The combination would sometimes knock the imbibers out for a couple of days.

Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial.

They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around

and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up.

Hence the custom; of holding a wake.

England is old and small and the local folks started running out of places to bury people.

So they would dig up coffins and would take the bones to a bone-house, and reuse the grave..

When reopening these coffins, 1 out of 25 coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realized they had been burying people alive.

So they would tie a string on the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell.

Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night (the graveyard shift) to listen for the bell; thus, someone could be,

saved by the bell or was "considered a dead ringer.

And that's the truth.

Now, whoever said History was boring!!!

So get out there and educate someone! ~~~

Share these facts with a friend.

Inside every older person is a younger person wondering,

'What the heck happened?'

We'll be friends until we are old and senile.

Then we'll be new friends.

Smile, it gives your face something to do!

Soon we'll all be Piss Poor

Canary Party "Autism is 1 in 88" Press Conference Live

2012-04-02T19:03:00.000-04:00

We need your help! The company that makes Nestea conducts deadly tea experiments

2011-09-12T17:55:00.000-04:00

We need your help! The company that makes Nestea conducts deadly tea experiments that involve poisoning, electrically shocking, surgically mutilating, and decapitating animals. The company has caused animals to suffer simply to investigate the possible health benefits linked to tea products and ingredients, even though the Food and Drug Administration does not require any of these experiments and, in fact, U.S. and European regulators have stated that animal tests are not sufficient to prove health claims about food and beverage products.

Experimenters injected mice with toxic chemicals to destroy insulin-producing cells, causing the animals to develop diabetes, and then force-fed them tea ingredients before killing them. In another experiment, mice were force-fed tea extracts and then had their leg muscles cut open before being decapitated. That's not all—mice bred to suffer from brain damage and rapid aging were locked in dark chambers and given painful shocks to their extraordinarily sensitive feet before being killed. The list goes on—and the abuse will likely continue without your help.

Take a stand against Nestea's CruelTEA by refusing to buy Nestea until its maker ends its deadly tea tests and pledge to drink only cruelty-free tea such as Arizona, Celestial Seasonings, Honest Tea, Lipton, Luzianne Tea, Snapple, Stash Tea, Tazo, Twinings, and many more. You can take a vital step for animals by taking action and telling Nestea to ditch the CruelTEA and to use modern, cruelty-free research methods instead, like those employed by other major tea companies around the world.

TAKE ACTION!
You can do even more by sharing this shocking information on Facebook. The more people you spread the word to, the more people will be inspired to speak out against this atrocity. Be sure to browse through our brand-new website, NesteaCruelTEA.com, to learn about more ways that you can get involved.

Thank you for your compassion for mice, rats, and all animals.

Sincerely,

Tracy Reiman
Executive Vice President
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals

What's Really In Chicken McNuggets? (Scary)

2011-08-05T22:39:00.000-04:00

by Mike Adams, NaturalNews.Com

Ever wonder what's really found in Chicken McNuggets? Some of the ingredients, it turns out, seem to belong more to an industrial factory of some kind, not a food retailer. According to the McDonald's Corporation, its famous Chicken McNuggets are made with ingredients including:

Autolyzed yeast extract (which contain free glutamate, similar to MSG),
Sodium phosphates and
Sodium aluminum phosphate.

But that's not the freaky part. According to McDonald's own website, Chicken McNuggets are also made with:

"hydrogenated soybean oil with TBHQ and
citric acid added to preserve freshness" and
"Dimethylpolysiloxane added as an antifoaming agent."

At least two of these ingredients are artificially synthesized industrial chemicals. TBHQ, a petroleum derivative, is used as a stabilizer in perfumes, resins, varnishes and oil field chemicals. Laboratory studies have linked it to stomach tumors. "At higher doses, it has negative health effects on lab animals, such as producing precursors to stomach tumors and damage to DNA. A number of studies have shown that prolonged exposure to high doses of TBHQ may be carcinogenic, especially for stomach tumors." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TBHQ)

Dimethylpolysiloxane, a type of silicone, is used in caulks and sealants, as a filler for breast implants, and as key ingredient in Silly Putty. Says Wikipedia:

"PDMS is also used as a component in silicone grease and other silicone based lubricants, as well as in defoaming agents, mold release agents, damping fluids, heat transfer fluids, polishes, cosmetics, hair conditioners and other applications. PDMS has also been used as a filler fluid in breast implants, although this practice has decreased somewhat, due to safety concerns. PDMS is used variously in the cosmetic and consumer product industry as well. For example, PDMS can be used in the treatment of head lice..."

Not that the other ingredients are any better. Because cotton is not regulated as a food crop, cottonseed oil may contain chemical pesticides that are banned in food production. It is also almost always genetically modified. Hydrogenated oils, of course, typically contain trans fats, the artificially produced fats that are unusable by the body and that studies have linked to a number of detrimental health problems. And autolyzed yeast extract is a chemical taste-enhancing ingredient containing free glutamate that manufacturers use as a friendlier-looking replacement for MSG.

And what about the chicken in Chicken McNuggets? It's factory-farmed chicken, not free-range chicken. So it's the kind of chicken that's typically treated with vaccines and hormones while being fed conventional feed products that are medicated with pharmaceuticals and grown with pesticides.

Yum!! Don't forget to ask for extra dipping sauce. We haven't even talked about what you'll find in there...

Source: 25 Amazing Facts About Food, authored by Mike Adams and David Guiterrez -www.naturalnews.com/032820...

Stevie Nicks Confesses: Common Remedy Turned My Hair Gray and Molted My Skin...

2011-05-18T07:30:00.000-04:00

Posted By Dr. Mercola | May 18 2011

In the article linked below, Fleetwood Mac star Stevie Nicks discusses the biggest mistake she says she ever made -- giving in to her friends and going to see a psychiatrist. He put her on the drug Klonopin, and the next eight years of her life were destroyed.

According to Nicks, if she didn't take it, her hands started to shake. She gained weight and felt as if she had a neurological disease.

As reported in the Daily Beast, Nicks said:

"Finally, in 1993, I'd had enough. I said, 'Take me to a hospital.' I went in for 47 days, and it made Betty Ford look like a cakewalk. My hair turned gray and my skin molted. I could hardly walk. You can detox off heroin in 12 days. Coke is just a mental detox. But tranquilizers -- they are dangerous. I was terrified to leave, and I came away knowing that that would never happen to me again."

Sources:

Fox News May 4, 2011

Benzo.org.uk

Dr. Mercola's Comments:

Like many of you I am sure, I enjoyed listening to Fleetwood Mac in the 70s and it was quite a surprise to read Stevie Nick's story.
It's been repeatedly demonstrated that prescription drugs can, and frequently do, pose SERIOUS risks to your health. In this case, Fleetwood Mac star Stevie Nicks ended up battling the devastating side effects of a drug she probably didn't need in the first place, and it swallowed eight years of her life.
Although many fail to realize this, prescription drugs can be just as addictive as illegal drugs. In fact, in many cases there's no difference between a street drug and a prescription drug. For example, hydrocodone, a prescription opiate, is synthetic heroin. It's indistinguishable from any other heroine as far as your brain and body is concerned. So, if you're hooked on hydrocodone, you are in fact a good-old-fashioned heroin addict.
Unfortunately, not a lot of attention is paid to prescription drug abuse. Still, nearly 20 percent of Americans admit to having used prescription drugs for nonmedical reasons, and three quarters of those may be abusing prescription drugs.

Insane Drug Use Statistics and the Danger of Polypharmacy

There's no doubt that the US has been manipulated into a nation of drug users. In just a ten-year span, from 1992 to 2002, the number of prescriptions written increased by a whopping 61 percent. And in that same period, the number of prescriptions written for opiates increased by almost 400 percent.
According to the latest statistics from the Kaiser Health Foundation, the average American, aged 19 to 64, now takes more than 11 prescription drugs!
This brings up yet another problem, which is the exponentially increased health risk of mixing multiple drugs. The word 'polypharmacy'means "many drugs," and essentially refers to instances where an individual is taking too many drugs--either because more drugs are prescribed than clinically indicated, or when the sheer number of pills simply becomes a burden for the patient.

This situation used to be primarily a concern for the elderly, who generally take more medicines than younger folk—in the US, theaverage senior fills more than 31 prescriptions per year. But over the past several years, even children as young as three are increasingly being prescribed four or more drugs!

This is a significant problem, as the more drugs you mix together, the greater the chances of serious side effects. People (of all ages) taking psychiatric drugs appear to be particularly prone to polypharmacy, which is particularly disturbing since each and every one of these drugs are quite potent and potentially dangerous when taken all by itself.

The Incredible Cost of Polypharmacy

Prescription drug abuse and overuse not only wreak havoc on the health, well-being, and longevity of the American population, it also has a major impact on our health care system, and it's NOT a beneficial one.
In fact, drug use accounts for tens of billions of dollars per year in health care costs. Let me explain—that's tens of billions of dollars to treat the side effects of drug use, IN ADDITION TO the close to one TRILLION dollars those same drugs cost our health care system in the first place!
So the idea that "more and better drugs" are the answer to our nation's failing health is "misguided" to say the least...

When the Treatment is Worse than the Original Problem

Sadly, there are literally millions of people who, like Stevie Nicks, suffer the ravaging side effects of drugs they didn't need in the first place—drugs that were supposed to "help" them in some way, but in reality cause problems far worse than the original concern.
For example, knowing how hard it can be to quit drugs like heroin, it's shocking to hear Nicks' description of her ordeal in detoxing from Klonopin; an anti-anxiety medication:
"I went in for 47 days, and it made Betty Ford look like a cakewalk. My hair turned gray and my skin molted. I could hardly walk. You can detox off heroin in 12 days. Coke is just a mental detox. But tranquilizers—they are dangerous. I was terrified to leave, and I came away knowing that that would never happen to me again."
It's time to wake up from our collective slumber and cease to fall prey to this predatory type of "health care."

You are Responsible for Your Health

It's unfortunate, but you, as a patient, carry the greatest burden when it comes to changing the current drug paradigm. I don't think we'll see doctors changing their prescribing ways anytime soon—it's what they're trained to do. In many cases, it's ALL they do! So as a patient, you have to take responsibility for your health, and question the drugs prescribed to you.
Do you really need that drug?

Is it prescribed appropriately, or is it being prescribed for an off-label use?

What are the side effects?

Is it addictive?

These are but a few of the most common-sense questions you need to ask before you swallow any pill.
In the case of Stevie Nicks, the health problems she experienced were par the course for that drug. Klonopin (Clonazepam) is an anti-seizure, anti-anxiety medication that works by decreasing electrical activity in your brain. It's in the same family of drugs as valium and xanax—well-known tranquilizers. (Ironically, it's also used to treat acute catatonic states, when a person does not speak or move at all.)
Side effects include:

Drowsiness	Dizziness, unsteadiness, and problems with coordination	Difficulty thinking or remembering
Muscle or joint pain	Blurred vision	Changes in sex drive, reduced sexual function
Addiction	Fetal harm; birth defects	Changes in mental health, including thoughts of suicide

Withdrawal symptoms include new or worsening seizures, hallucinations, uncontrollable shaking and changes in behavior.

Prescription Drugs Cause More Deaths than Illegal Drugs

In addition to exorbitant health care costs for drugs and their subsequent side effects, the cost in terms of lives has also skyrocketed.
Opioid painkillers alone — opium-like drugs that include morphine and codeine — now claim more than 13,800 lives each year. This means prescription painkillers have surpassed both heroin and cocaine as the leading cause of fatal overdoses, despite the fact that the FDA increased the restrictions for consumer drug ads in 2005, especially for COX-2 painkillers like Celebrex and Bextra.
Additionally, more than 700,000 people visit U.S. emergency rooms each year as a result of adverse drug reactions. And, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), adverse drug reactions from drugs that are properly prescribed and properly administered cause about 106,000 deaths per year, making prescription drugs the fourth-leading cause of death in the U.S.
When you compare these statistics to the death toll from illegal drugs -- which is about 10,000 per year -- you can begin to see the magnitude of the problem the pharmaceutical industry is propagating.

A Very Real Side Effect: a 25 Percent Chance of Premature Death

Three years ago, an analysis of federal data by the nonprofit Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) offered up some truly shocking information. In the first quarter of 2008, fatalities from adverse drug reactions accounted for 23 percent of all adverse reaction reports!
If that's not a wakeup call, I don't know what is.
Naturally, some drugs are far riskier than others. Chantix, for example, accounts for more adverse reaction reports, including deaths, than the ten best-selling brand name drugs combined! It even out-harms the addictive troublemaker oxycodone, a potent pain medication.
The greatest travesty here though is that Chantix is actually intended for use in healthy people to help them quit smoking! If that's not insane, I don't know what is...

There are NO Absolutely Safe Drugs

A clear majority of people have been successfully brainwashed into thinking that FDA-approved drugs can safely and effectively treat every possible ailment under the sun. This is a tragedy of epic proportions. But it's not too late to turn this madness around.
First and foremost, you must understand that even under the BEST circumstances -- such as with a drug that has gone through unbiased, stringent, long-term testing -- anything can happen when a drug is released into the uncontrolled environment of your individual body. It may interact badly with another drug you're taking, or perhaps a food you eat causes an unforeseen reaction, or maybe your genetic makeup, metabolism or the state of your immune system will cause it to have an unpredictable impact.
Unfortunately, studies are frequently biased, results are skewed, and drugs are put on a fast-track to be approved long before anyone knows whether they're safe. In essence, it's all a gamble, and there are NO 100 percent safe drugs.

Should You Medicate or Not?

Ultimately, it's your body, and the decision to medicate yourself for an ailment is yours alone.
However, I urge you to research any drug your doctor prescribes before you take it. Do not just take your doctor's word for its safety. Most physicians have little information to offer you aside from what they've been told by their drug reps.

Make sure you are aware of the potential side effects of the drug, read the package insert, and remember that even if it lists a side effect as rare, it can still happen to you.
Then decide whether the potential benefits truly outweigh the potential risks.
Also remember that a large number of drugs are vastly over-prescribed and unnecessary. They're frequently referred to as "blockbuster drugs." If several people you know are on it, it's a dead giveaway that it's probably being over-prescribed, which means you should be even more cautious—not less!

Redefine the Word "Health"

What does "health" mean to you? Does your idea of being healthy include taking a dozen medications or more?
I certainly hope not...
If you make drugs a last option instead of a first choice, you will have taken a major step in the right direction.
"Health" does NOT equate to "suppressing symptoms of disease." Rather, true health means having a body that actually functions as it should... And the only way to get there is by addressing the root causes of any symptoms of disease you may have—not covering them up with a drug.
The "problem" with this mindset, however, is that the medical- and pharmaceutical industries can't make any money through this strategy. If you get rid of the underlying cause of a disease, you effectively cure it and all symptoms go away. If you have no symptoms, there's no reason to take medications to suppress those symptoms.
This may sound obvious to some, but believe me, many people still don't "get" this.
They take drugs in the belief that they're doing something beneficial to their health when in fact there's not a single drug on the market that is designed to cure anything. The only thing a drug can do is address a particular symptom or set of symptoms. And, if you don't address the root cause, your problem never goes away!
This is how you get stuck in the mindless never ending loop of polypharmacy.

Basic Health Strategies that Can Address a Large Number of Health Problems

There are many health conditions that can be prevented or effectively treated with lifestyle changes alone, yet if you go to a typical doctor, you'll walk out with one or more prescriptions. Examples of health problems that typically don't require drug intervention include:
Diabetes

Heart disease

High blood pressure

High cholesterol

Insomnia

I realize it may require a massive shift in thinking to realize that your body can heal itself, and that drugs typically only hinder the process. But I can't stress enough the importance of this most basic principle:
Disease can only be resolved by addressing its root cause.
What many people fail to realize is that it is possible to maintain optimal health by simply avoiding unnecessary drugs and by understanding the fundamentals of good nutrition and exercise.
Remember you can Take Control of Your Health by:
Eliminating fructose and most grains

Eating unprocessed, high-quality foods, organic if possible, right for your nutritional type

Eating your food as close to raw as possible

Consuming enough omega-3 fats

Exercising regularly

They Want to Ban Times Square Billboard Message

2011-05-06T15:46:00.002-04:00

Conventional medicine finally admits MS caused by vitamin D deficiency

2011-05-02T14:45:00.002-04:00

Monday, May 02, 2011 by: M.K. Tyler

(NaturalNews) Is it true that those who suffer from Multiple sclerosis (MS) just need a little sun? Researchers at the University of Oxford seem to think so. In 2006, a study by theJournal of the American Medical Associationsuggested higher levels of vitamin D might decrease overall risk of developing MS. Now researchers at the University of Oxford are backing that study with further evidence while also suggesting a link between lack of sunlight and how the body responds when faced with an infection. Theresearchconcludes that MS is caused by several factors working in combination but clearly correlates to a lack of vitamin D.

Is it really as simple as soaking up some rays?

While the phenomenon ofvitamin D deficiencyis seen all over the world, countries in the northern hemisphere have been linked to significantly higher rates of MS. Scotland, for example, has one of the largest populations of MS sufferers, while thediseaseis "virtually unknown" in Africa. Even in sunny areas of the globe, it's not uncommon for people to become vitamin D deficient during the winter, as the sun's rays aren't often high enough to penetrate atmospheric layers.

The research put forth by the University of Oxford suggests that, while those who already have MS may not benefit exponentially simply by increasing levels of vitamin D, getting moresuncould be an effective preventative measure against developing the disease and managing symptoms.

More importantly, MS sufferers may be able to boost immunity to other conditions with an increase in vitamin D. A recent study byAnticancer Researchaffirms that typical adults need much more than thedaily dosagerecommended by the U.S. Government. According to that research, 4,000-8,000 IUs of vitamin D every day could not only help prevent MS but also several types of cancer and Type 1 diabetes.

Thehealthcare industry, of course, won't promote anaturaland safe preventative measure for degenerative diseases. Instead, people are warned about the dangers of UVexposureand the risks of vitamin toxicity. With vitamin D deficiency afflicting 90% of the U.S.population, however, it may be time to get a tan. Here are some interestingfactsabout the relationship between vitamin D and health:

1. It's free. Five to thirty minutes of sunlight a couple of times a week is usually sufficient for helping thebodycreate enough vitamin D
2. Getting enough vitamin D from food is virtually impossible
3. Sunscreens may block the body's ability to generate vitamin D
4.Vitamin Dis essential for the absorption of calcium in the body
5. Those who live further from the equator generally require longer periods ofsun exposureto generate enough vitamin D
6. A lack of vitamin D can affect bone strength. One theory suggests that women who are deficient in vitamin D can suffer from contracting pelvises, which can result in the death of babies during labor
7. Vitamin D deficiency cannot be reversed quickly. It takes months for the body to increase and regulate vitamin D levels. This is why short periods of sun exposure are not onlysafebut also necessary for the synthesis of this important substance

For those with MS, increased sun exposure may be an easy and safe preventative measure against further cognitive and physical degeneration. As a direct threat to the medical establishment, however, it remains to be seen whether furthergovernmentwarnings and regulations about vitamin D will eventually ban people from sun bathing.

Sources for thisarticleinclude

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-13...
http://health.usnews.com/usnews/hea...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2...

Learn more:http://www.naturalnews.com/032244_multiple_sclerosis_vitamin_D_deficiency.html#ixzz1LDpgkmYE

Estrogen - Milk... Stubborn Belly Fat..Must watch

2011-04-29T10:14:00.000-04:00

The 'Other' Sweetener That's Made from Sugar, but is Closer to DDT

2011-04-26T19:21:00.000-04:00

Article By Dr. Mercola,

Taken from mercola.com

Researchers recently investigated sucralose (Splenda) to see if it could reduce hunger and keep blood sugar steady. They found that it could not.

The researchers hoped to find that sucralose could cause the intestine to produce a hormone that reduces blood sugar and decreases appetite, which prior study had indicated might be a possibility. But the effect did not occur when it was ingested orally -- hunger remained the same and the blood sugar remained the same.

According to FYI Living:

"Worse, other research has shown that artificial sweeteners might contribute to weight gain ... [when the] sweet taste is not accompanied by the calories (energy) our brain expects it to be, the complex systems our bodies have to regulate energy balance may be thrown off kilter. The result is that a diet high in artificial sweeteners may possibly, over time, cause people to seek out more calories from other sources".

Sources:

FYI Living March 10, 2011

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition April 2011; 65(4):508-13

Dr. Mercola's Comments:

Avoiding sugar is a crucial component of a healthy lifestyle, but, instead of consuming a naturally low-sugar diet based on whole foods, some people are still trying to have their cake and eat it too.
Unfortunately, the belief that artificial sweeteners can allow you to have the best of both worlds is simply not based in reality. It's a carefully orchestrated deception. So if you're still consuming artificially sweetened foods, snacks and beverages because you think it'll help you manage your weight, please understand that you've been sorely misled.
In reality, "diet" foods and drinks ruin your body's ability to count calories, thus boosting your inclination to overindulge. This effect appears to be true for all artificial sweeteners.
Unfortunately, most public health agencies and nutritionists in the United States still recommend these toxic artificial sweeteners as acceptable and even preferred alternatives to sugar, which is at best confusing and at worst seriously damaging the health of those who listen to this well-intentioned but foolish advice.

Artificial Sweeteners INCREASE Your Risk of Obesity

Contrary to popular belief, research has shown that artificial sweeteners can stimulate your appetite, increase carbohydrate cravings, and stimulate fat storage and weight gain. In fact, diet sodas may actually double your risk of obesity!
How's that for being misled?
Studies have repeatedly shown that consuming artificial sweeteners may be ruining your ability to control your food intake and body weight. For example, I have listed the results of six studies on aspartame that found it increases hunger and body weight on my Aspartame Studies page, and research on other artificial sweeteners have come to the same conclusion.
It's thought that consuming artificial sweeteners breaks the inherent connection between a sweet taste and a high-calorie food, thereby changing your body's ability to regulate your intake of calories. The end result is that by consuming artificially sweetened foods and beverages, you end up gaining more body fat than if you were to eat the same foods sweetened with regular sugar!
But weight gain isn't the only health-harming side effect of these man-made chemical sweeteners.

Splenda Destroys Your Gut Flora

Different artificial sweeteners have been found to wreak havoc in a number of different ways. Aspartame, for example, has a long list of studies indicating its harmful effects, ranging from brain damage to pre-term delivery.
Splenda (sucralose) has been found to be particularly damaging to your intestines.
A study published in 2008 found that Splenda:
Reduces the amount of good bacteria in your intestines by 50 percent

Increases the pH level in your intestines, and

Affects a glycoprotein in your body that can have crucial health effects, particularly if you're on certain medications like chemotherapy, or treatments for AIDS and certain heart conditions

They also found unmistakable evidence that Splenda is absorbed by fat, contrary to previous claims.
In response to this study, James Turner, chairman of the national consumer education group Citizens for Health issued the following statement:
"The report makes it clear that the artificial sweetener Splenda and its key component sucralose pose a threat to the people who consume the product. Hundreds of consumers have complained to us about side effects from using Splenda and this study ... confirms that the chemicals in the little yellow package should carry a big red warning label."
I agree. It's truly disturbing that Splenda can destroy up to 50 percent of your healthy intestinal bacteria, as these bacteria are absolutely vital for supporting your general health! Many people are already deficient in healthy bacteria due to consuming too many highly processed foods. This is why a high quality probiotic is one of the very few supplements I highly recommend for most, if not all, people.
Believe me, if you continually destroy up to half of your gut flora by regularly consuming Splenda, then poor health is virtually guaranteed!

Splenda has Never Been Proven Safe for Human Consumption

Splenda was approved by the FDA as a tabletop- and general-purpose sweetener in processed foods in 1998. The FDA claims the approval was based on more than 110 animal and human safety studies. However, what they don't specify was that out of these 110 studies, only two were human studies, consisting of a combined total of 36 people, of which only 23 people actually ingested sucralose.
Additionally, the longest of these two human trials lasted only four days and looked at sucralose in relation to tooth decay, not human tolerance!
Many people have sent me stories about their adverse reactions to Splenda, which are posted on my site. This list alone contains more people than were formally studied in the research submitted for FDA approval!
The remainder of those 110-plus "safety studies" were done on animals, and they actually revealed plenty of problems, such as:
Decreased red blood cells -- sign of anemia -- at levels above 1,500 mg/kg/day

Increased male infertility by interfering with sperm production and vitality, as well as brain lesions at higher doses

Enlarged and calcified kidneys (McNeil stated this is often seen with poorly absorbed substances and was of no toxicological significance. The FDA Final Rule agreed that these are findings that are common in aged female rats and are not significant.)

Spontaneous abortions in nearly half the rabbit population given sucralose, compared to zero aborted pregnancies in the control group

A 23 percent death rate in rabbits, compared to a 6 percent death rate in the control group

Common Side Effects of Splenda
The web site www.truthaboutsplenda.com lists a variety of consumer complaints from Splenda consumption, such as:

Gastrointestinal problems	Blurred vision
Migraines	Allergic reactions
Seizures	Blood sugar increases
Dizziness	Weight gain

You can also read the first-hand accounts of many of my readers here, at least one of whom say that allowing Splenda on the market is "worse than chemical warfare" based on the adverse effects she suffered before she figured out the cause. Just as with aspartame, many Splenda users complain of general malaise or "feeling under the weather," along with a variety of neurological changes, such as foggy-headedness, lack of concentration, and "bad mood."
If you have ever suffered any side effects from taking Splenda or any artificially sweetened product, I strongly recommend reporting it to the FDA Consumer Complaint Coordinator in your area.

Splenda—"Made from Sugar" But More Similar to DDT...

That's right.
The catchy slogan "Made from sugar so it tastes like sugar" has fooled many, but chemically, Splenda is actually more similar to DDT than sugar.
Sucralose starts off with a sugar molecule, yes, but that's where the similarity ends. (A sucrose molecule is a disaccharide that contains two single sugars bound together, i.e. glucose and fructose.) Then, in a five-step patented process, three chlorine molecules are added to that sucrose (sugar) molecule.
This process converts the sugar molecule to a fructo-galactose molecule.
This type of sugar molecule does not occur in nature, and therefore your body does not possess the ability to properly metabolize it. As a result of this "unique" biochemical make-up, McNeil Nutritionals makes its claim that Splenda is not digested or metabolized by the body, hence it has zero calories.
But, if you look at the research, you will find that an average of 15 percent of sucralose IS in fact absorbed into your digestive system, and ultimately is stored in your body. To reach the average number of 15 percent means that some people absorb more and some people absorb less, depending on your biochemical makeup.
If you are healthy and your digestive system works well, you may be at HIGHER risk for breaking down this product in your stomach and intestines, so for you the adverse reactions may be more acutely felt.

How to Kick the Artificial Sweetener Habit

Sweet cravings are very common for the simple reason that sugar is as addictive as cocaine. Unfortunately, switching to artificial sweeteners will neither reduce these cravings nor increase your satiety. On the contrary, as discussed above, you're likely making matters worse.

Your body also craves sweets when you're denying it the fuel it needs. Sugar (and grain carbs) is very quick fuel and can give your body a boost when it's running low. Again, using artificial sweeteners does not trick your body into thinking it has had its fill; rather it wants more sweets because it didn't get the energy boost with that sweet taste!
A powerful solution to help curb your cravings is to determine your nutritional type, which will tell you which foods you need to eat to feel full and satisfied.
It may sound hard to believe right now, but once you start eating right for your nutritional type, your sweet cravings will disappear. To help you turn your health around, I now offer the full nutritional typing program online for free, so please take advantage of this opportunity to dramatically change your health for the better.
Interestingly, nutrition- and fitness expert Ori Hofmekler recently shared a fascinating benefit of caffeine that can be helpful here. If you like coffee, drinking organic black coffee (meaning without sugar or milk) can help eliminate sugar cravings because the caffeine is anopioid receptor antagonist.
As you may know, sugar binds to the same opioid receptors as cocaine and other addictive substances. But once an opioid receptor antagonist occupies that receptor, it prohibits you from becoming addicted to something else. Therefore, caffeine may attenuate the addictive impact of sugar.
There are a few caveats to using this strategy however, including:
Only drink organic coffee (as it's one of the most pesticide-heavy crops there are)

Drink it black, sans sugar/artificial sweeteners or milk

Only drink coffee in the morning, prior to exercise

Limit your consumption to one or two cups

In addition to eating right for your nutritional type, I highly recommend addressing the emotional component of your food cravings, using a tool such as the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT). It's one of the most profoundly effective tools I've ever used or researched to help overcome food cravings and reach dietary success.
Turbo Tapping is particularly useful if you're addicted to soda. It's an extremely effective and simple tool to get rid of your addiction in a short period of time.

Cap The Gene Spill - New video says GMO contamination of world is far worse than Gulf of Mexico oil spill

2011-04-25T18:59:00.000-04:00

NaturalNews) As part of an ongoing effort to warn the public about the dangers of runaway GMO pollution of our planet, the Institute for Responsible Technologyexecutive director Jeffrey Smith has released a new video called Cap the Gene Spill.

The video is viewable in its entirety at:
http://naturalnews.tv/v.asp?v=29315...

In it, Jeffrey compares the genetically modified contamination of the planet to the Gulf of Mexico oil catastrophe. Except the genetic pollution of our planet is actually far worse than the Gulf spill because genetic pollution can't be "cleaned up." It persists in the environment... perhaps for the entire future of life on planet Earth.

Here's some of what Jeffrey Smith says in this newvideo:

[GMO pollution causes] intense, insidious environmental degradation that may never be able to be cleaned up.

And just like the oil spill, you can trace it back to government incompetence and collusion, and industry manipulation -- putting out technologies that are not safe long before the science is ready.

What about the self-propagating genetic pollution? Once it gets out, it then spreads, and cross pollinates... it becomes a self-propagating pollution that could outlast the effects of global warming or nuclear waste. This is an impossible thing to clean up, and we are bequeathing to all future generations the folly of this generation.

Never before have we fed the products of an infant science to the entire population, or released it into theenvironment without a way to fully recall it.

So we need to cap the gene spill. Put it back in the laboratory where it belongs.

Maybe someday we can predictably and safely manipulate the DNA of plants and know what its impacts will be in the environment and in our bodies, but that day is far away.

Watch the full video now at:
http://naturalnews.tv/v.asp?v=29315...

The video links to www.ShopNoGMO.org which offers a convenient shopping guide to help you avoidgenetically modified foods in grocery stores and health food stores.

Personally, I consider Jeffrey Smith to be the single most important person leading the fight to stop the genetically modified gene contamination of our world. This man deserves a Nobel Peace Prize for his valiant efforts to protect humanity from what is literally becoming the seeds of our own destruction.

Follow Jeffrey's work at www.ResponsibleTechnology.org

Soon, NaturalNews will be launching a separate news channel on GMOs, and we plan to strongly increase our editorial coverage of Jeffrey's outstanding work. Keep reading NaturalNews.com for more news about our collective fight to help save humanity from the evils of fraudulent science and greed-driven corporations that seek to control the world's food crops.

Please also share the link to this page, and forward the video link to as many of your friends as possible. They need to see this. Really.

How Supermodel Gisele Bundchen "Infuriated Cancer Experts"...

2011-04-22T11:48:00.002-04:00

Article By- Dr Mercola:

Researchers at the Environmental Working Group, a Washington-based nonprofit, released their annual report claiming nearly half of the 500 most popular sunscreen products may actually increase the speed at which malignant cells develop and spread skin cancer because they contain vitamin A and its derivatives, retinol and retinyl palmitate.

Furthermore, the FDA has known about the dangers of vitamin A in sunscreens since ordering a study 10 years ago, but has done nothing to alert the public of the dangers.

"Retinyl palmitate was selected by (FDA's) Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition for photo-toxicity and photocarcinogenicity testing based on the increasingly widespread use of this compound in cosmetic retail products for use on sun-exposed skin," said an October 2000 report by the National Toxicology Program.

According to AOL news, other problems with sunscreens include:

The use of the hormone-disrupting chemical oxybenzone, which penetrates the skin and enters the bloodstream.
Overstated claims about performance.
The lack of needed regulations and oversight by the Food and Drug Administration.

Also, be careful where you discuss the danger involved with sunscreens. Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bundchen has reportedly "infuriated cancer experts" by describing sunscreen as "poison".

Bundchen refuses to use it on herself or her family because of the chemicals they contain. According to the Daily Mail:

"[Bundchen] made the comments at the launch of her own organic skin care range, which presumably doesn't include sun care lotions."

Bundchen, incidentally, is currently the highest paid supermodel in the world. She also has said that it should be against the law for healthy mothers to give their baby infant formula full of sugar, and often soy.

Sources:

Daily Mail February 4, 2011

AOL News May 24, 2010

Environmental Working Group’s 2010 Sunscreen Guide

Dr. Mercola's Comments:

The FDA is once again on the wrong side of consumer safety, just as they have been time and time again when they allow dangerous drugs onto the market that end up killing people and are later recalled.
Failing to alert consumers of the dangers of vitamin A and its derivatives in sunscreens falls in line with the FDA's seemingly endless ability to protect their big business "clients" at the expense of public safety. In this case the manufacturers of sunscreens are the beneficiaries of the FDA's inability or unwillingness to publish their own vitamin A safety research that they conducted over 10 years ago in 2000.
For a long list of other FDA debacles through the years, just put "FDA" into my search box at the very top of this, or any page at mercola.com.

Is Sunscreen Really a Necessity?

Let's consider a question that naturally arises out of this latest failure by the FDA – do you even need to use sunscreen in the first place?
The answer is "maybe", and only when you can't control how much sun you are exposed to. For instance, if you work outdoors all day as part of your job, or if you need to protect sensitive areas of your face, like around your eyes, that are particularly susceptible to photoaging and not that large a surface area to impact vitamin D levels if blocked with sunscreen.
But you certainly don't want to use most of the commercially available sunscreens under any condition as they not only block your body's ability to produce vitamin D, they're also loaded with toxic chemicals. More about that in a minute.
However, sunscreens available in most health food stores, and the one we sell on our site, are safe to use when the need arises.
The fact is, getting safe sun exposure every day is actually one of the best things you can do for your health. Sun exposure allows your body to naturally produce your own supply of vitamin D, and experts agree that this is the best form of vitamin D available.
The point to remember is that once your skin turns the lightest shade of pink (if you're Caucasian), it's time to get out of the sun. Past this point of exposure your body will not produce any more vitamin D and you'll begin to have sun damage. And sunburn anywhere on your body is never good for your health.

The Benefits of Vitamin D

First of all, vitamin D plays a crucial role in your overall health and well-being. If you've spent any time on my site at all, you know that I'm a firm advocate for optimizing your vitamin D levels.
For example, this superb nutrient is known to:

Support your cardiovascular health	Support healthy kidney function
Enhance your muscle strength	Promote healthy teeth
Help produce optimal blood pressure levels	Help keep your bones strong and healthy
Help maintain a healthy immune system

Please understand -- this list of important benefits represents a fraction of the many ways vitamin D helps optimize your health. And, although you can obtain vitamin D from natural food sources, experts agree on one thing:
Sunlight is by far the best way to get your vitamin D. The so-called experts who advise you to avoid all sunlight and religiously apply sunscreen are actually encouraging you to increase your risk of cancer, not lower it…
The key is to find a healthy balance between getting enough natural sunlight to maximize your vitamin D production and maintain your optimal health, while at the same time protecting yourself from damage that occurs from overexposure to the sun.

Sun Exposure Can Protect You Against Cancer

Over the years, several studies have already confirmed that appropriate sun exposure actually helps prevent skin cancer. In fact, melanoma occurrence has been found to decrease with greater sun exposure, and can be increased by sunscreens.
One such study revealed that melanoma patients who had higher levels of sun exposure were less likely to die than other melanoma patients, and patients who already had melanoma and got a lot of sun exposure were prone to a less aggressive tumor type.
Another Italian study, published in the European Journal of Cancer in June 2008, also confirms and supports earlier studies showing improved survival rates in melanoma patients who were exposed to sunlight more frequently in the time before their melanoma was diagnosed.
Also, Melanoma is actually more common in indoor workers than in outdoor workers, and is more common on regions of your body that are not exposed to the sun at all. Additionally, UVB radiation has been found to delay the appearance of melanoma if you are genetically predisposed or prone to skin cancer.

To Prevent Skin Damage You Have to Protect Against the Most Damaging Rays

Ultraviolet light from the sun comes in two main wavelengths – UVA and UVB. It's important for you to understand the difference between them, and your risk factors from each.
Consider UVB the 'good form' that helps your skin produce vitamin D.
UVA is considered the 'bad form' because it penetrates your skin more deeply and causes more free radical damage. Not only that, but UVA rays are quite constant during ALL hours of daylight, throughout the entire year -- unlike UVB, which are low in morning and evening, and high at midday.
If you've ever gotten a scorching sunburn on a cloudy day, you now understand why; it's from the deeply penetrating UVA!
Since UVA's are inherently more damaging AND persistently high during all daylight hours, wearing a sunscreen that doesn't protect you from UVA is going to give you virtually no benefit, and be detrimental to your overall health. So the first thing to understand about using sunscreen, when applicable, is to make certain you are actually getting UVA protection.

A Better Alternative to Sunscreen

One of the best strategies to protect yourself from the sun is actually not a sunscreen at all, it's wearing clothing or getting into the shade.
Why?
Because most sunscreens are loaded with toxic chemicals that can actually accelerate skin cancer, or get into your bloodstream where they can disrupt your hormones. Also, the protection sunscreen manufacturers claim is often misleading due to improper application.
So you don't always need to apply sunscreen, and you definitely do want to get some safe sunlight exposure every day, which has also been shown to help protect against as many as 16 different types of cancer, including; breast, colon, endometrial, esophageal, ovarian, bladder, gallbladder, gastric, pancreatic, prostate, rectal, and renal cancers, as well as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
Cotton clothing provides about SPF 15, in other words, you will get about 15-times your skin's normal protection from the sun wherever you cover your body with clothing. Just remember that even with protective clothing on your body, it's still important to monitor your skin for the telltale signs of burning.
Remember, sunburn provides no benefit, and is never good for your skin.

So is Gisele Bundchen Right?

Until very recently all sunscreens did NOT filter out the UVA radiation. They filtered out UVB, ensuring that your body could not make any vitamin D, while letting the UVA through. So there was a strong recommendation from the medical community to use sunscreen, but this advice was actually increasing your risk of cancer while eliminating your body's ability to manufacture vitamin D!
The other issue is what type of chemicals does the sunscreen use to create the barrier against the UVA waves?
The synthetic chemicals often used in sunscreen preparations can get into your bloodstream and can cause all sorts of unwanted toxic side effects, including hormone disruption.
Some of these chemicals include:

OMC (Octyl methoxycinnamate)	Octocrylene
Avobenzone	Oxybenzone
Homosalate	Octinoxatre
Octisalate

So if Gisele was referring to sunscreens containing these hormone-disrupting synthetic chemicals that do not even protect against UVA rays, then she was absolutely right!

Safer Sunscreen Alternatives

However, options do exist to provide safe protection from the sun during times when you may not be able to control the amount of sun exposure you are likely to receive. For instance, if you take your kids to an amusement park or the beach, you might just be in direct sunlight all day.
To get natural sun protection from both UVA and UVB rays, you will want to use a sunscreen product that contains the active ingredients of titanium dioxide and zinc oxide. My research team has put together what we think is superior sun protection and you can find more about it here.
You want to be cautious not to include any vitamin A in your sunscreen, or its derivatives retinol and retinyl palmitate.
Other safe ingredients that will nourish your skin include:

Coconut oil	Jojoba oil
Sunflower oil	Shea butter
Vitamins D and E	Eucalyptus oil

Vitamin A—A Dangerous Sunscreen Additive

The sunscreen industry uses vitamin A in its formulations because it is an anti-oxidant that is thought to slow skin aging. But according to the AOL story cited above, the FDA's study of vitamin A's photocarcinogenic properties revealed that:
"tumors and lesions developed up to 21 percent faster in lab animals coated in a vitamin A-laced cream than animals treated with a vitamin-free cream."
This conclusion came from Environmental Working Group's analysis of the findings released the FDA and the National Toxicology Program.
Why hasn't the FDA released these findings and alerted the public to the possible dangers of using a sunscreen that includes vitamin A or its derivatives?
No one is really certain why the FDA again refuses to listen to its scientists and doctors. But this type of behavior has become standard operating procedure for the FDA, an agency that routinely protects the business interests of corporations instead of following their stated mandate to protect the public health.
Our sunscreen used to have vitamin A in it until I discovered its potential health problems. We immediately removed it, however many other brands still include it in their formulas, so beware, and always check the labels when shopping for sunscreen.

How to Research Your Sunscreen

Thanks to the Environmental Working Group, you are now able to see exactly how your sunscreen rates for safe ingredients and efficacy. Check out EWG's Sunscreen Guide here.
Their website also lists the titanium and zinc containing sunscreens receiving the highest ratings, as well as provides you with some non-mineral options that rank lowest on the toxicity scale.
The site is also a great reference for surprising facts about sunscreen, and also contains a sunscreen hall of shame, showing the absolute worst offenders on the toxicity scale. And lastly, according to their website, 1 in 8 sunscreens sold on the market today stilloffer no protection against UVA rays!

Astaxanthin as the Hottest New Internal Sunscreen

Yes, a specific nutrient has been identified as being profoundly useful in protecting against sun damage!
Astaxanthin has recently jumped to the front of the line in terms of its status as a "supernutrient," becoming the focus of a large and growing number of peer-reviewed scientific studies. It's produced from marine algae in response to exposure to UV light. This is the way the algae protects itself, so it makes perfect sense that this deeply pigmented substance would have the capacity to "shield" you when it is taken in large enough quantities for a long enough time to saturate your body's tissues. Typically this is several weeks.
One of the benefits of astaxanthin that has piqued the interest of researchers is its ability to reduce signs of aging, by helping protect your skin from sun damage.
Cyanotech Corporation funded a study through an independent consumer research laboratory to measure the skin's resistance to both UVA and UVB light, before and after astaxanthin supplementation. After taking 4mg per day for two weeks, subjects showed a significant increase in the amount of time necessary for UV radiation to redden their skin.
Animal studies lend further evidence to astaxanthin's effects as an internal sunscreen. Consider the following:
In 1995, hairless mice were fed various combinations of astaxanthin, beta-carotene and retinol for four months. After irradiation, astaxanthin alone or in combination with retinol was substantially effective in preventing photoaging of the skin (as measured by markers for skin damage).

In a 1998 study with rats, astaxanthin was found to be 100 times stronger than beta-carotene and 1000 times stronger than lutein in preventing UVA light-induced oxidative stress.

The Journal of Dermatological Science published a study in 2002 finding astaxanthin is able to protect against alterations in human DNA induced by UVA light exposure.

Some Other Tips to Decrease Your Risk of a Burn

Controlling your exposure to the sun is not always possible, and sometimes even the most vigilant of us forget to bring along the proper natural sunscreen when we face overexposure.
So what's the best way to ensure your body is primed to have the best defense against overexposure to the sun's harmful UVA rays?
Consuming a healthy diet full of natural antioxidants has always been a useful strategy in not only staying healthy but also providing your body with the resources to counter damage from exposure to ultraviolet radiation. Fresh, raw, unprocessed foods deliver the nutrients that your body needs to maintain a healthy balance of omega 6 and omega 3 oils in your skin, which is your first line of defense against sunburn.
If you are regularly consuming processed foods and your cells are loaded up mostly with damaged, oxidized fats, you simply aren't giving your skin the proper fat protection it needs at a cellular level.
Fresh, raw vegetables also provide your body with an abundance of powerful anti-oxidants that will help you fight the free radicals caused by sun damage that can lead to burns and cancer.
You can also make sure to wear a cap with a visor to protect your face and eyes from direct sunlight, along with enough clothing to protect your skin from direct sun contact. Most cotton clothing will provide you with about 15 SPF.
Also, I avoid using sunglasses, because I believe your eyes need to receive the full spectrum of light to function optimally, and sunglasses block out some essential waves of the light spectrum. So as you're getting your healthy and necessary daily exposure to direct sunlight to optimize your vitamin D levels, you want to be sure to leave the sunglasses behind.

Holistic Approaches to Asthma Treatment BY - Lawrence B. Palevsky, MD, FAAP, DABHM

2011-04-20T16:26:00.002-04:00

Holistic Approaches to Asthma Treatment
Lawrence B. Palevsky, MD, FAAP, DABHM
Asthma is a common word in many households. A growing number of children live on
beta-2 agonists, steroids and anti-leukotriene medications that treat the acute and chronic
symptoms of asthma. These medications have helped save many lives. However, these
medicines, unfortunately, do not cure the asthmatic condition. They merely serve to quiet
the visible expression of symptoms.
Medicines do not influence the factors that generate the imbalances in the body causing the
onset of wheezing. The imbalances that trigger the symptoms of asthma persist despite the
use of medication and the relief of symptoms. These imbalances arise mostly from
problems within the child’s immune system. The key to treatment lies in the evaluation of
the underlying factors that contribute to the development and expression of asthma
symptoms. The goal is to assess the imbalances and address their causes.
Asthma is defined as a reversible, chronic, obstructive, airway disease. On clinical exam, a
child with asthma is found to be wheezing and coughing. Often there is difficulty
breathing, labored breathing, poor air movement, shortness of breath and irritability.
Occasionally, a child may be pale or have blue lips. In the worst case scenario there is
somnolence or coma. However, the lungs are rarely involved. Rather, the smooth muscles
of the affected airways are in spasm and there is swelling and inflammation of the lining of
the airways.
An important segment of our immune system is found in the lining of the airways. And
significant portions of the immune system are found in the linings of the digestive tract, the
skin and the nervous system, including the brain. The body obtains its major protection
against the outside world from the proper functioning of these four areas of the immune
system. All parts of the immune system are in constant communication with each other.
An acute asthma episode is triggered by a challenge to the immune system at one, several or
all four of these areas of the body.
In a healthy child, when the immune system is stressed, chemicals are released that produce
inflammation. These chemicals are made by immune cells that migrate to the site(s) where
the body is challenged. Redness, heat or fever, swelling, tenderness and loss of function
are the five signs and symptoms of inflammation that are clinically present, either singularly
or in combination. By the end of the inflammatory process another group of immune cells
begins to produce chemicals that have anti-inflammatory properties. These antiinflammatory
chemicals aid in quieting the area of inflammation. As a result, the symptoms
of inflammation begin to resolve. The body, in the ideal situation, is genetically
programmed to heal itself.
The resolution of symptoms during an inflammatory response is dependent on the delicate
balance between the production and activation of pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory
immune chemicals. An acute episode of asthma occurs when this delicate balance is tested.
Thus, asthma is a condition of acute and chronic inflammation. The goal of treatment is to
evaluate any one of a number of contributing factors in a child’s environment that can
produce a state of inflammation. Perfumes, smoke, pollen, volatile chemicals, exhaust
fumes, pollution, animal dander, metals, dust and mold are some of the inhalants that can
adversely affect the immune response in the linings of the airways and trigger an episode of
wheezing. Dairy, soy, nuts, sugars, dehydration, processed flours and grains, processed
fats, fried oils, nutritional deficiencies, food dyes, chemicals, preservatives and additives,
metals, soda, junk food, fast foods and certain prescription drugs and over the counter
medicines can instigate an inflammatory response in many parts of the body especially in
the airways of children who are prone to wheezing.
Emotional stressors such as fear, anger, anxiety, worry and grief can both acutely or
chronically stimulate an inflammatory response in the nervous system leading to an immune
response in the airways of children with asthma. Even extreme emotional outbursts,
positive or negative, along with exercise, can bring about a state of inflammation. Birth and
head trauma along with other traumas to a child’s body can cause an impairment of blood
flow, lymph flow and nerve supply to and from the muscles of the chest wall and the
smooth muscles of the lining of the airways. This dynamic can compromise a child’s
ability to breathe efficiently and maximize air exchange in as many airways as possible.
The parasympathetic and sympathetic branches of the autonomic nervous system regulate
the state of contraction and relaxation of the smooth muscles of the lining of the airways,
respectively. When both branches of the autonomic nervous system are in balance, the
smooth muscles are not in spasm. Some children with asthma can develop bronchospasm
when there is over stimulation of the parasympathetic branch and/or a weakness in the
sympathetic stimulation of these airway smooth muscles. Any one of the above
contributing environmental factors—respiratory irritants, ingested materials, physical and
emotional nervous system traumas and stressors—can influence the over or under
stimulation of the parasympathetic and sympathetic branches of the autonomic nervous
system, respectively, leading to the onset of bronchospasm in children with asthma.
Prostaglandins, leukotrienes and cytokines are the major immune chemicals that function in
the body to produce pro and anti-inflammatory responses. The ingredients that make up the
building blocks for these chemicals come directly from the diet. Most of these chemicals
are made up of proteins (cytokines), polyunsaturated fats in the omega-6 and omega-3 fatty
acid family (prostaglandins, leukotrienes and thromboxanes) and from complex sugars
(oligosaccharides) that are fundamental to the proper function of every one of our cells,
especially the immune cells. Many of these fats, sugars and proteins are essential in our
diet and cannot be manufactured in the body. Many vitamins and minerals are needed to
help stabilize the structure of fats, sugars and proteins in cell membranes and aid in their
production, release and function.
When a child with asthma consumes an overabundance of omega-6 fatty acids and simple
sugars, which favor the production of pro-inflammatory immune chemicals, and/or
consumes an insufficient amount of omega-3 fatty acids and complex sugars, which favor
the production of anti-inflammatory immune chemicals, the stage is set for the development
of wheezing with swelling and inflammation of the airways. The trigger(s) that cause the
body’s immune cells to release these pro-inflammatory chemicals during an acute asthmatic
episode may come from any one of the contributing factors mentioned above—respiratory
irritants, ingested materials and physical or emotional traumas and stresses to the nervous
system.
There was great enthusiasm when the anti-leukotriene medications (e.g., Singulair) came
out on the market. It was seen as a major breakthrough for children with chronic
inflammatory conditions like asthma and inflammatory bowel disease since we knew that
these children had high circulating levels of pro-inflammatory leukotrienes. Leukotrienes
are some of the most potent inflammatory agents in the body. Prescribers of these
medications hoped for a reduction in the symptoms of inflammation in these children. In
reality, the medicine does nothing to stop the body from producing the leukotrienes. So
what happens to these pro-inflammatory leukotrienes? They continue to circulate in the
body. The inflammatory response persists in spite of an alleviation of symptoms. Many
children with asthma do not need these medicines to block the action of the proinflammatory
leukotrienes. A simple change in their diet will reduce leukotriene production
altogether.
A diet of mostly nutrient empty processed foods with a deficiency of important vitamins
and minerals, an abundance of simple sugars and an excess of unhealthy fats favors the
production and release of pro-inflammatory chemicals and weakens the anti-inflammatory
response. A diet high in simple sugars causes insulin levels to remain high or fluctuate in
very high and low ranges. These types of insulin responses stimulate the release of proinflammatory
prostaglandins, leukotrienes and cytokines which weakens the production of
their anti-inflammatory counterparts as well.
The goal of treatment is to introduce the idea to the family that the child’s illness, in this
case asthma, is presenting them with an opportunity to make changes in their lifestyle.
They do not need to follow along the path of medication and frequent medical visits.
Wheezing, coughing and swelling and inflammation of the airways are signs and symptoms
that tell the family there is dis-ease in the environment. The child is calling out that
something is out of balance in his/her life. The family can educate themselves about how
some or all of the contributing factors mentioned above are creating the dis-ease for the
child. In reality, the child’s asthma, seen as an illness, serves as the cure for the true disease
in his/her life—the underlying stressors. Ultimately, the child with asthma can provide
the family with the opportunity and incentive to live a healthier life.
For some children with asthma, improving the air quality alone can reduce further wheezing
episodes. For others, addressing and lightening the physical and emotional stressors can
help the child breathe easier. For the most part, changing the diet of a child with asthma has
the greatest impact on improving his/her health. If a child with asthma ingests and
incorporates into the cells of the body a balance of the essential dietary ingredients that
make up the building blocks of the pro- and anti-inflammatory chemicals, an exposure to an
occasional trigger may have no untoward effect on the immune system. In other words,
children with asthma need to eat properly for their bodies to function the way it is intended.
Some children continue to have asthma despite removal of the confounding triggers. These
children require more intensive therapy that may respond to evaluation and treatment of
metal toxicity, liver and intestinal detoxification, vitamin and mineral supplementation,
herbal treatment, treatment of severe food allergies,
homeopathy, Chinese or Ayurvedic medical treatment and/or continuation of conventional
medicines. It is possible for a child with asthma to live symptom and medication free for
the rest of his/her life.
Treatment Approaches
Recognize, understand, reduce and eliminate contributing factors:
Clean up the environment reducing exposure to known respiratory irritants. Continue to
look for other possible airborne irritants that are not very obvious.
Teach older children to take full, proper breaths. Have them sit or stand in an upright
position in a calm environment. Ask them to inhale through the nose and feel their
diaphragm pushing down towards their feet while the abdomen relaxes, pushes out from
their bodies and fills like a balloon. Make sure the shoulders and chest wall are still and not
part of the respiratory effort. Ask them to feel their chest wall filling with air after their
abdomen expands. On the exhale, have them reverse the process letting the air exit through
the mouth, allowing the abdomen to return to its normal position bringing the belly button
back towards the spine. Encourage them to practice this type of breathing at all times,
especially during more stressful encounters, until it becomes second nature. Yoga,
hypnosis and meditation are several tools to help children with asthma improve their
breathing.
Clean up the diet by removing unhealthy fats. These include partially hydrogenated oils,
margarine, vegetable shortening, cooking oils such as corn, vegetable, safflower and
sunflower oils and fried foods and oils. These oils are found in supermarket and bakery
packaged foods and used in restaurants for cooking and frying. Read labels. Use olive oil,
organic butter, ghee, grape seed oil, coconut oil and cold pressed oils for cooking and
flavoring. I do not recommend flax seed oil for children as a source of omega-3 fatty acids.
There is scientific evidence that the oil is not processed in the body to help promote antiinflammatory
responses due to weak enzyme systems in children. If children are unwilling
to eat fish and sea vegetables for their omega-3 intake, there are good tasting cod liver oil
preparations made by Carlson Labs and Nordic Naturals. (3,5,8)
Clean up the diet by removing simple sugars and regulate insulin levels. These sugars
include glucose, sucrose, fructose and lactose and processed white flours. These sugars are
ubiquitous in cereals, juices, cookies, cake, candy, pastries, soda, soft drinks, shakes, snack
bars, milk, cheese, ice cream, bread, pasta, crackers and, junk, snack and fast foods. (5, 7,8,
9)
Sugar, like salt, is dehydrating to the body. Dehydration increases histamine levels.
Histamine is another pro-inflammatory chemical that can worsen asthma. Water is an antihistamine
and helps reduce histamine levels. Sixty-seven to seventy percent of a child’s
body is made up of water. Give children with asthma water as their main beverage and
keep them well-hydrated. I have personally watched several wheezing children clinically
improve using hydration as a main part of their treatment. (1, 2)
Clean up the dyes, preservatives, food colorings, artificial sweeteners and additives found
in most foods listed in numbers 3 & 4 above and in many prescription drugs, antibiotics
and over the counter medicines. Several of these chemicals are known to interfere with
important enzymes needed for production of pro- and anti-inflammatory immune chemicals.
Encourage a diet of whole, fresh, simple foods including vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds,
meat, chicken, fish, eggs, whole grains, sprouted breads and some fruit. Flavor foods with
fresh culinary herbs and spices. Depending on factors specific to the individual child, some
children with asthma will improve on a diet of non-starchy vegetables, meat, chicken, fish
and eggs, nuts and seeds and fats with small amounts of grains, legumes, starchy
vegetables, sugars and fruit. Others will improve on starchy vegetables, legumes, whole
grains and fruit with small amounts of non-starchy vegetables, animal proteins and fatty
foods. (6, 8) Processed foods and beverages taste good yet they have little to no nutritional
value. As a mainstay in the diet, they can be harmful to a child’s health, especially for a
child with a chronic inflammatory condition like asthma.
Relieve tension on the autonomic nervous system. The best way to do this is through
evaluation and adjustment by a chiropractor, or cranial work by an osteopath or cranial
sacral therapist. Some children, whose asthma is more related to an imbalance in their
autonomic nervous system rather than a problem with their diets, will respond better to
these types of care. The diet changes will still be of benefit nonetheless.
Avoid Motrin and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications. In a subset of
children with asthma, these medications will increase the production of pro-inflammatory
leukotrienes.
Address stressors that may affect the emotional state of the child. Increased peer pressure,
academic pressure, over stimulation, over scheduling, problems in the home, inability to
express emotions such as fear, anger, anxiety, worry and grief with build up of these
emotions, exposure to violence, anger or fighting, and feelings of smothering and
suffocation are some of the concomitant stressors that serve as triggers for children with
asthma.
References:
Batmanghelidj, MD, F., ABC of Asthma, Allergies and Lupus
Batmanghelidj, MD, F., Water: For Health, For Healing, For Life: You’re Not Sick,
You’re Thirsty
Enig, Ph.D., Mary, Know Your Fats
Ivker, DO, Robert, Nelson, ND, Todd, Asthma Survival: The Holistic Medical Treatment
Program for Asthma
Weil, MD, Andrew, Spontaneous Healing
Wolcott, William and Fahey, Trish, The Metabolic Typing Diet
HYPERLINK "http://www.glycoscience.com" www.glycoscience.com
HYPERLINK "http://www.mercola.com" www.mercola.com
HYPERLINK "http://www.nancyappleton.com" www.nancyappleton.com
Copyright © 2003 Lawrence B. Palevsky, MD
All Rights Reserved PAGE 3

Asthmatic children with low blood vitamin D levels may have a greater risk of suffering severe asthma attacks

2011-04-18T20:35:00.000-04:00

Asthmatic children with low blood vitamin D levels may have a greater risk of suffering severe asthma attacks.

A study followed more than 1,000 children with asthma for four years, and found those with vitamin-D insufficiency at the outset were more likely to have an asthma attack that required a trip to the hospital.

Reuters reports:

“When the researchers considered other factors -- including the severity of the children's asthma at the study's start, their weight and their family income -- vitamin D insufficiency itself was linked to a 50 percent increase in the risk of severe asthma attacks.”
Vitamin D never ceases to amaze, and research into its impact on non-bone related diseases continues to yield positive results.

Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to a variety of health conditions, from depression to autoimmune disorders, to colds and flu, to cancer, and now asthma, and even cognitive function.

This is good news.

Asthma has increased by more than 300 percent over the last two decades, now affecting some 20 million Americans, and if vitamin D is even partially responsible for this meteoric rise in prevalence, then the answer is literally right outside your door.

Millions of people are needlessly exposing themselves to the dangers inherent with the standard drug treatments for asthma. Advair, for example, contains the long-acting beta-agonist (LABA) salmeterol, which can actually increase the severity of an asthma attack.

Researchers estimate that salmeterol may contribute to as many as 5,000 asthma-related deaths in the United States each year. Conventional asthma treatments can also increase your risk of heart disease and osteoporosis, just to name a few.

This is why it’s so important to start focusing our attention on simple, effective, and infinitely safer methods, such as increasing vitamin D levels, to combat the underlying cause of this growing health problem.

Vitamin D Deficiency and Asthma at All Time Highs

Right now, only 5 to 37 percent of American infants meet the standard for vitamin D set by the American Academy of Pediatrics, which will make them prime candidates for a slew of future health problems related to vitamin D deficiency – one of them being asthma.

At the end of 2008, the American Academy of Pediatrics doubled its recommended dose of vitamin D for infants, children and adolescents, raising it from 200 to 400 units per day. But research published earlier that same year revealed children may need ten times that amount in order to receive the health benefits that optimal vitamin D levels have to offer.

Many mothers also are vitamin D-deficient, which is another contributor to asthma. A 2007 study showed that poor diet and lack of vitamin D during pregnancy were the determining factors in whether their children suffered from asthma by the age of five.

In addition, this latest study published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology confirms previous findings, showing that asthmatic children with low blood vitamin D levels also have an increased risk of suffering severe asthma attacks.

According to this study, vitamin D insufficiency itself was linked to a 50 percent increase in the risk of severe asthma attacks.

This makes sense, as a number of other studies have confirmed that there’s an inverse association between respiratory infections and vitamin D levels in children. This is likely because vitamin D upregulates a specific gene that produces over 200 anti-microbial peptides, some of which work like a broad-spectrum antibiotic.

In addition, optimizing your overall immune function is an essential part of treating asthma, and vitamin D is proven to be an incredibly powerful immune modulator, which is why optimizing your vitamin D levels is so essential.

Beware: Conventional Vitamin D Recommendations are Still Too Low

Based on the latest research, many experts now agree you need about 35 IU’s of vitamin D per pound of body weight. This recommendation also includes children, the elderly and pregnant women.

This is a far cry from the 200-600 IU’s currently recommended by our health agencies.

Remember, however, that vitamin D requirements are highly individual.

Your vitamin D status is dependent on several factors, such as the color of your skin, your location, and how much sunshine you’re exposed to on a regular basis. So, although these recommendations may put you closer to the level of what most people likely need, it is virtually impossible to make a blanket recommendation that will cover everyone.

The only accurate way to determine your optimal dose is to get your blood tested. Ideally, you’ll want to maintain a vitamin D level of at least 50ng/ml and perhaps as high as 80-90 ng/ml year-round.

For in-depth information about safe sun exposure, dosing and other recommendations to safely and effectively optimize your vitamin D levels, please review this previous article.

Additional Safe and Effective Strategies to Treat Asthma

Although asthma is a serious disease, safely treating your asthma is not complicated.

Optimizing your vitamin D levels is the first step, but there are other simple strategies that can help treat the root of the problem as well.

In my experience, the following strategies are highly effective when treating asthma:

Increase your intake of animal-based omega 3 fats and reduce your intake of processed omega 6 fats
Consider the hygiene hypothesis – There’s a tendency in our modern culture to be obsessive about cleanliness, but this may not be as healthy as initially thought. It appears that being exposed to common bacterial and viral infections as a child can be instrumental in providing the stimulus to your immune system to prevent asthma naturally.
Get regular exercise – Exercise (especially out in fresh air if you’re an asthmatic) is actually crucial, as it helps to moderate insulin levels. It increases your insulin receptor sensitivity, and as a result your body produces less insulin, which tends to optimize it.
Purify your indoor air
Avoid all commercial milk products. They are notorious for making asthma worse. If you consume milk at all, use only raw milk products from grass-fed cows, but even then be careful and take note of whether or not the raw milk is making your asthma better or worse.
Eat foods rich in vitamin E. Much like vitamin D, higher vitamin E intake has also been associated with lower serum IgE concentrations and a lower frequency of allergen sensitization.
Hydrate well. You will want to make sure you drink enough clean pure water to turn your urine a light color of yellow, as dehydration will clearly worsen asthma.
Try some Butterbur (Petasites hybridus). This perennial shrub has been used since ancient times to treat a variety of conditions. As far back as the 17th century, butterbur was used to treat coughs, asthma, and skin wounds. Researchers have since identified the compounds in butterbur that help reduce symptoms in asthma by inhibiting leukotrienes and histamines, which are responsible for symptom aggravation in asthma. In one study, 40 percent of patients taking a butterbur root extract were able to reduce their intake of traditional asthma medications.
Build your immune system with allergy testing. In my experience, conventional testing does not work very effectively and there is a fair amount of risk. A far better intradermal skin test is the provocation neutralization testing. The American Academy of Environmental Medicine (AAEM) has a list of physicians who are trained in this highly effective technique.
The Link Between Asthma and Allergies

In addition to the 20 million Americans suffering from asthma, another 60 million are affected by allergic rhinitis, or ‘hay fever.’

The hidden link between asthma and allergies?

Again, vitamin D deficiency!

So whether you’re an asthmatic or suffer from allergies, optimizing your vitamin D levels should be at the top of your list.

For natural allergy relief, another recent study found that Pycnogenol®, an antioxidant plant extract derived from the bark of the French maritime pine tree can offer significant relief.

Although it won’t treat the root cause of the problem, it may be worth a try to get relief from the symptoms, which can be quite debilitating for some, such as itchy rashes, swelling, hives, and excessive mucous.

.
Vitamin D is Important for Thinking Clearly Too

As I mentioned at the beginning, scientists have also found more evidence linking vitamin D and cognitive function, by studying seniors receiving home care. Cognitive function is the level at which your brain is able to manage and use available information for daily activities.

As I’ve mentioned in previous articles, vitamin D receptors have been identified throughout the human body, and scientists have shown that vitamin D influences at least 3,000 different genes. So it is no surprise that metabolic pathways for vitamin D also exist in your brain. In this case, researchers located pathways in the hippocampus and cerebellum of the brain.

These are the areas of your brain that are involved in planning, processing of information, and the formation of new memories.

Of the 1,000 participants, only 35 percent had sufficient vitamin D levels.

Keep in mind that “sufficient levels” in this case are based on the conventional recommendation, which states that 15 ng/ml is sufficient for bone- and overall health.

We now know this is woefully inadequate for most.

Experts now believe the optimal level for general health lies between 50-70 ng/ml.

Still, participants with higher vitamin D levels performed better on cognitive tests than those who were deficient.

Other studies have also provided evidence that vitamin D is involved in brain function by promoting detoxification of damaging heavy metals. One such study showed that vitamin D helps remove mercury by radically increasing intracellular glutathione.

As you can see, there’s plenty of reasons to check your vitamin D levels, if you haven’t done so already, to make sure you’re within the optimal range.

For more information about the numerous health benefits of vitamin D, please review the related articles listed below.

Related Links:
  Which Vitamin Will Improve Your Life Expectancy the Most?
  What is the Real Cause of Influenza Epidemics?
  Is This the New Silver Bullet for Cancer?

Discover the amazing power of maqui berry, the antioxidant superfruit

2011-04-18T16:54:00.000-04:00

Discover the amazing power of maqui berry, the antioxidant superfruit

1969 Paris Led Zeppelin

2011-04-07T16:23:00.000-04:00

Led zeppelin - live in paris 1969 by piRjtull

funny

2011-03-19T22:34:00.000-04:00

Top 10 Pharma CEO salaries of 2009

2011-03-11T14:03:00.004-05:00

Top 10 Pharma CEO salaries of 2009

July 7, 2010 — 7:09am ET | By Maureen Martino

TOOLS

Welcome to to our annual look at the biggest CEO paychecks in the pharma industry. The major trend in 2009 was the mega-merger, which helped propel former Schering-Plough CEO Fred Hassan to the top of this year's list. With the help of a $33 million golden handshake, Hassan bypassed perennial top dogs Bill Weldon (Johnson & Johnson) and Miles White (Abbott) as the highest-paid CEO in Pharma.

Novartis' Daniel Vasella moved up three places to the number four spot this year, but it will be his last appearance on our CEO pay list. Vasella stepped down as chief of Novartis in January, and was replaced by Joe Jimenez. To discover more details for yourself--or to find out what your boss is making--take a look at the list below.

1. Fred Hassan - Schering-Plough - $49.65M

2. Bill Weldon - Johnson & Johnson - $30M

3. Miles White - Abbott Laboratories - $26.2M

4. John Lechleiter - Eli Lilly - $20.9M

5. Daniel Vasella - Novartis - $20.24M

6. Jim Cornelius - Bristol-Myers Squibb - $18.2M

7. Richard Clark - Merck - $16.8M

8. Robert Coury - Mylan - $16M

9. Jeffrey Kindler - Pfizer - $14.8M

10. Frank Baldino - Cephalon - $11.1M

Top 15 Big Pharma Paychecks 2008

2011-03-11T13:54:00.001-05:00

Top 15 Big Pharma Paychecks of 2008

May 11, 2009 — 8:28am ET

www.fiercepharma.com

TOOLS

by Maureen Martino and Calisha Myer

Welcome to to our second annual look at pharma CEO salaries. Every year, executive salaries cause a flap as industry watchers compare who makes what, who got a raise and who's spending the most on air travel, security, drivers and the like. Inevitably, the numbers cause controversy. Last year's massive rounds of layoffs--along with broad criticism of CEO salaries due to economic problems--have made this year's salaries even more subject to scrutiny.

There are several notable moves in this year's ranking. With a hefty $29.5 million haul in 2008, J&J's Bill Weldon jumped two spots to number one, knocking Abbot's Miles White to second place (White's pay dropped from $33 million in 2007 to $28.3 million in 2008). Schering-Plough's Fred Hassan fell all the way down to number eleven from the number two spot last year as his pay plummeted from $30.1 million to $12.9 million. Hassan--along with Wyeth's Bernard Poussot and Sanofi's Le Fur--will not be on our list next year; Schering Plough and Wyeth were absorbed by Merck and Pfizer respectively, and Le Fur has been replaced by former GSK exec Chris Viehbacher. No CEO made over $30 million in 2008, which Weldon and White both topped in 2007.

Biotech CEOs, suchs as Amgen's Kevin Sharer and Genentech's Arthur Levinson, are not included on the Big Pharma list but will be covered in a future report on biotech executive salaries. To discover more details for yourself--or to find out what your boss is making--take a look at the list below.

1. Bill Weldon - Johnson & Johnson - $29.4M

2. Miles White - Abbott Laboratories - $28.3M

3. Bernard Poussot - Wyeth - $25M

4. Jim Cornelius - Bristol-Myers Squibb - $25M

5. Richard Clark - Merck - $19.9M

6. Robert Parkinson - Baxter International - $16M

7. Daniel Vasella - Novartis - $15.1M

8. Jeffrey Kindler - Pfizer - $14.8M

9. Frank Baldino - Cephalon - $14.5M

10. John Lechleiter - Eli Lilly - $13M

11. Fred Hassan - Schering-Plough $12.9M

12. Robert Coury - Mylan $12.5M