Scientific research has increasingly linked common chemicals found in everyday products to diabetes, obesity, cancer, and other major ailments, according to a new policy statement.
Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) like bisphenol A and phthalates, found in food can linings, plastics, cosmetics, and pesticides, are common to the point that everyone on Earth has been exposed to one or more. EDCs – which influence the body’s natural hormones – mimic, block, or simply interfere with hormone functions, leading to the malformation of cells.
The Endocrine Society now says in a new scientific statement that research in recent years has repeatedly pointed to links between these and other chemicals to not only diabetes and obesity, but infertility and breast cancer.
“In 2015, there is far more conclusive evidence about whether, when, and how endocrine-disrupting chemicals perturb endocrine systems, including in humans,” said the Endocrine Society, which includes health specialists involved in EDC research.
“Thus, it is more necessary than ever to minimize further exposures, to identify new endocrine disrupting chemicals as they emerge, and to understand underlying mechanisms in order to develop methods to enable interventions in cases of endocrine disrupting chemical-associated disease. This is especially important because new chemicals may be released into the marketplace without appropriate safety testing.”
Bottled water found to contain over 24,000 chemicals, including endocrine disruptors
Thursday, September 19, 2013 by: Ethan A. Huff, staff writer
(NaturalNews) Widespread consumer demand for plastic products that are free of the hormone-disrupting chemical bisphenol-A (BPA) has led to some significant positive changes in the way that food, beverage and water containers are manufactured. But a new study out of Germany has found that thousands of other potentially harmful chemicals are still leeching from plastic products into food and beverages, including an endocrine-disrupting chemical (EDC) known as di(2-ethylhexyl) fumarate, or DEHF, that is completely unregulated.
Martin Wagner and his colleague, Jorg Oehlmann, from the Goethe University Frankfurt, in conjunction with a team of researchers from the German Federal Institute of Hydrology, learned this after conducting tests on 18 different bottled water products to look for the presence of EDCs. Using an advanced combination of bioassay work and high-resolution mass spectrometry, the team identified some 24,520 different chemicals present in the tested water.
But of major concern, and the apparent underpinning of the study’s findings, was DEHF, a plasticizer chemical that is used to make plastic bottles more flexible. According to reports, DEHF was clearly identified in the tested water as the most consistent and obvious culprit causing anti-estrogenic activity. Despite trace amounts of more than 24,000 other potentially damaging chemicals, DEHF stood out as the only possible EDC capable of inducing this particular observed activity, a highly concerning observation.
The study’s published abstract explains that 13 of the 18 bottled water products tested exhibited “significant” anti-estrogenic activity, while 16 of the 18 samples were found to inhibit the body’s androgen receptors by an astounding 90 percent. Additionally, the other 24,520 chemical traces besides DEHF were also identified as exhibiting antagonistic activity, which means that they, too, are detrimental to the body’s hormonal system.
Many thousands of endocrine-disrupting chemicals used in plastic production prove material unsafe
But DEHF is apparently not alone in causing significant damage to the endocrine system, as the team was unable to identify this chemical as being specifically anti-androgenic. What this suggests is that there is some other chemical, or chemical combination, being leeched into bottled water that is interfering with the body’s chemical signaling system, which is, of course, responsible for hormone production and use within the body.
“We confirmed the identity and biological activity of DEHF and additional isomers of dioctyl fumarate and maleate using authentic standards,” report the researchers. “Since DEHF is anti-estrogenic but not anti-androgenic we conclude that additional, yet unidentified EDCs must contribute to the antagonistic effect of bottled water.”
So while these specific findings concerning DEHF are groundbreaking, the overall conclusion to be drawn from this research is that far more study is needed to determine the types of chemicals that are being leeched from plastic into our food and water, not to mention the extent of this leeching. And since the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the rest of the three-letter government agencies will surely never get around to conducting this important research, independent science will simply have to take up the charge.
“This work is a ‘tour de force’ in identification of endocrine disruptors in packaged materials,” says Bruce Blumberg from the University of California, Irvine, as quoted by Chemistry World. This type of analysis, he adds, “will be very important for our future understanding of what chemicals we are routinely exposed to and which of these pose hazards of being endocrine disruptors.”
In the meantime, conscious consumers can avoid plastic containers whenever possible and simply use glass or steel containers instead to avoid these unknown risks.
Decide for yourself. Bis-Phenol A is an additive in clear, hard plastics. It is used in water bottles, baby bottles, soda can liners, etc. and is known to leach into the foods and liquids which are stored in it. It is in recycling category 7 (on the bottom of the bottle, in the triangle). Independent academic studies suggest it presents a variety of risks to humans. The government, relying on industry studies, claims the facts are unclear. By Bill Moyers and Expose.
Visit the PBS archives to see the complete show and more of Bill Moyers. http://www.pbs.org/moyers
“It’s in their genes” is a common refrain from scientists when asked about factors that allow centenarians to reach age 100 and beyond. Up until now, research has focused on genetic variations that offer a physiological advantage such as high levels of HDL (“good”) cholesterol.
But researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology of Yeshiva University have found that personality traits like being outgoing, optimistic, easygoing, and enjoying laughter as well as staying engaged in activities may also be part of the longevity genes mix.
The findings, published online in the journal Aging, come from Einstein’s Longevity Genes Project, which includes over 500 Ashkenazi Jews over the age of 95 and 700 of their offspring. Ashkenazi (Eastern European) Jews were selected because they are genetically homogeneous, making it easier to spot genetic differences within the study population.
Previous studies have indicated that personality arises from underlying genetic mechanisms that may directly affect health. The present study of 243 of the centenarians (average age 97.6 years, 75 percent women) was aimed at detecting genetically-based personality characteristics by developing a brief measure (the Personality Outlook Profile Scale, or POPS) of personality in centenarians.
“When I started working with centenarians, I thought we’d find that they survived so long in part because they were mean and ornery,” said Nir Barzilai, M.D., the Ingeborg and Ira Leon Rennert Chair of Aging Research, director of Einstein’s Institute for Aging Research and co-corresponding author of the study.
“But when we assessed the personalities of these 243 centenarians, we found qualities that clearly reflect a positive attitude towards life. Most were outgoing, optimistic and easygoing. They considered laughter an important part of life and had a large social network. They expressed emotions openly rather than bottling them up.”
In addition, the centenarians had lower scores for displaying neurotic personality and higher scores for being conscientious compared with a representative sample of the U.S. population.
“Some evidence indicates that personality can change between the ages of 70 and 100, so we don’t know whether our centenarians have maintained their personality traits across their entire lifespans,” continued Dr. Barzilai. “Nevertheless, our findings suggest that centenarians share particular personality traits and that genetically-based aspects of personality may play an important role in achieving both good health and exceptional longevity.”
The study is titled “Positive attitude towards life and emotional expression as personality phenotypes for centenarians.”
The POPS was developed by lead author Kaori Kato, Psy.D., now at Weill Cornell Medical College, who validated it through comparisons with two previously established measures of personality traits. Other authors of the study were Richard Zweig, Ph.D., assistant clinical professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Einstein and director of the Older Adult Program at Ferkauf, and Gil Atzmon, Ph.D., assistant professor of medicine and of genetics at Einstein.
While the FDA marches on with its plans to take away your right to health and nutrition, this documentary threatens to blow its tyrannical rule apart. Never before seen footage, and never before heard evidence that will SHOCK you into action.
Premiering online in a special, free simulcast June 15, 2012, 7pm. BUT YOU MUST RSVP to this event through this link to receive the live stream code!
Do you know? You are about to have your right to safe and effective nutrients taken away. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has stated it will harmonize with the Food Code of Europe, the Codex Alimentarius, which will undermine the sovereign rights of every American. You will need a Doctor’s prescription for the most common supplements – like vitamin C or D.
Do you know? The FDA is based and founded on a campaign of misinformation to keep citizens enslaved to the drug industry.
FDA tests Adya Clarity, confirms high level of aluminum, multiple label violations
By Mike Adams,
(NaturalNews) Late last year, NaturalNews went public with an explosive story about a fraudulently marketed dietary supplement product called “Adya Clarity.” Made from a combination of sulfuric acid and a mineral / metallic ore mined out of the ground near Fukushima, Japan, the substance was marketed online with a bewildering array of absurd health claims. Furthermore, its label was intentionally altered to deceive consumers about its aluminum content, which happens to be the second most common element…
One in six cancers is caused by treatable infections
By David Gutierrez,
(NaturalNews) Infections cause approximately 2 million cases of cancer per year and are responsible for about 1.5 million of the 7.5 million cancer deaths worldwide, according to a study published in the journal Lancet Oncology. “Infections with certain viruses, bacteria, and parasites are one of the biggest and preventable causes of cancer worldwide,” the researchers wrote The researchers examined a wide variety of cancer records, including a database on incidence of 27 types of cancer in…
Ancient curry spice boosts innate immune response to fight infection and chronic disease
By John Phillip, May 31 2012
(NaturalNews) The ancient curry spice known as turmeric and its bioactive component, curcumin have been revered in the world of Ayurvedic medicine for more than 2500 years. The flavorful, orange-yellow spice has been theorized to help prevent digestive cancers and improve measures of cognition and brain health as it is known to cross the blood-brain barrier. Past studies have shown that curcumin is a powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory, characteristics that are believed to provide human health…
Federal government says it’s okay to lie about pomegranate juice, but not to tell the truth
By J. D. Heyes,
(NaturalNews) Do you remember our recent story (http://www.naturalnews.com) about Coca-Cola getting away with advertising one of its drinks as “Pomegranate Blueberry,” even though it only contained a measly 0.3 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively, of each of those juices? Well, we now learn that the federal government not only sanctions lying about ingredients in drinks, but will punish companies who try to tell the truth about those same products. To recap: Beverage company Pom Wonderful…
Carnosine provide broad-range cellular protection to fight vascular injury and extend lifespan
By John Phillip,
(NaturalNews) Most allopathic medical practitioners would argue that the process of aging is nothing more than a normal process whereby cells deteriorate at a predetermined rate controlled by genetically determined commands and heredity. Standing in stark opposition is a rapidly growing body of research and documented evidence to indicate that aging is a product of many varied lifestyle choices including physical activity, smoking, and most importantly, the type of diet we regularly consume. In…
By David Gutierrez
(NaturalNews) Organic gardening may produce physiological changes to boost your physical and mental health, a number of studies suggest. One such change may take place as a result of the simple act of putting your hands into the soil. A study conducted by researchers from the University of Bristol in London found that contact with a naturally occurring species of soil bacteria, Mycobacterium vaccae, causes the body to release vital immune chemicals called cytokines. These, in turn, spur the brain…
Why Give Antibiotics When This Natural Supplement Works Just as Well?
By Dr. Becker
Many shelter dogs develop acute stress colitis from the shock of being abandoned and then relegated to a kennel in unfamiliar surroundings.
The usual treatments for diarrhea in adult shelter dogs are anti-parasitic drugs and antibiotics, both of which can create additional stress on an inflamed GI tract.
Researchers at North Carolina State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine compared treatment with probiotics to treatment with the antibiotic metronidazole in shelter dogs suffering from acute diarrhea. The results showed the probiotics were just as effective as the antibiotic – without placing additional stress on the GI tract, and without side effects.
The potential for probiotics to replace harmful drugs in the treatment of GI disorders is extremely exciting. In fact, we’ve only just scratched the surface of the potential healing benefits of probiotics in veterinary (and human) medicine.
How Some Shelters are Improving the Lives of Cats Awaiting Adoption
By Dr. Becker
An increasing number of animal shelters across the U.S. are working to improve shelter life for their cat populations. Many are also getting creative in how they showcase their adoptable kitty residents.
Standard shelter housing isn’t appropriate for cats. Barking dogs, cramped cages, and the inability to socialize and play can lead to physical illness and emotional instability.
Some of the changes shelters are implementing include separate facilities for cats with roomier accommodations, environmental enrichment to keep boredom at bay, increased interaction with shelter staff, and videos showing adoptable cats playing and interacting with humans and other kitties.
My cat Boo has the terrible habit of messing with the door stop to wake us up early in the morning. He doesn’t do it because he’s hungry, he does it because he feels lonely. When he flicks the door stop it scares the crap out of us and we wake up right away.
(By Weslley Cavalcante)
Cell phones: 50 percent increase in frontal and temporal lobe tumors in children
By Lloyd Burrell,
(NaturalNews) The Office of National Statistics in the United Kingdom discovered a 50 percent increase in frontal and temporal lobe tumors in children during the ten year span covering 1999 to 2009. Was this a result of cell phone radiation? The Department of Health in the UK would appear to think so. One in three children under the age of ten currently has a cellphone in their possession. The governmental agency put out the following statement: “Children should only use mobile phones for essential…
By Craig Stellpflug,
(NaturalNews) Our health is greatly influenced by the food we eat and how we cook it. The nutrient density of food can be easily damaged by overheating our foods along with the damaging chemicals and heavy metals that leach into it from our cookware. Heavy metals from cookware alter enzymes and tastes and ultimately end up in the body. You can buy the very best organic food and inadvertently turn it into poison by cooking it wrong. Some cookware is better than others and some is just plain toxicTeflon…
[In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit, for research and/or educational purposes. This constitutes ‘FAIR USE’ of any such copyrighted material.]
Detroit American Indian Community Celebrates Grand Re-Opening of Health Clinic
DETROIT – American Indian Health and Family Services of Southeastern Michigan is celebrating its Grand Opening of its renovated medical and behavioral health clinic tomorrow, May9th, which is also National Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day.
American Indian community elders, the architect and the staff
worked to incorporate American Indian culture and teachings into the design.
The event will begin at 4:30 pm and last until 7:30 pm. American Indian Health and Family Services of Southeastern Michigan is located at 4880 Lawndale Street in Detroit.
George Martin, a well known and respected Ojibwe elder, will conduct a ceremonial blessing as part of the opening celebration. The celebration will also include an art display and performances, traditional Native games and songs and food. Educational material on children’s mental health will be distributed.
“Events that draw us together in celebration, especially celebration of children and their voices, add to feelings of worth, love and support for a child. Those are tools they have to build great character and rebound from traumas,”
stated Ashley Tuomi, executive director of American Indian Health and Family Services.
“We express our emotions in many ways. Our job as Behavioral Healthcare Providers is to help children and their families learn to communicate their emotions in healthy, balanced ways. This event highlights how emotional expression can be fun as well as meaningful,”
commented Tina Louise, director of Healthcare and Recovery for the agency.
FDA denies a petition that sought to ban BPA from food packaging
The Food and Drug Administration said that after performing extensive research on the chemical Bisphenol A, the agency is denying a 2008 petition from the Natural Resources Defense Council to ban BPA from food packaging.
BPA, which has generated controversy about its impact on health, is used in the production of plastics and resins and is found in some water bottles and food cans. Research has shown that small amounts can migrate into food and beverages. Some animal studies have raised concerns that BPA exposure may cause multiple health problems, including reproductive disorders, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
The FDA said in its March 30 consumer update report that “scientific evidence at this time does not suggest that the very low levels of human exposure to BPA through the diet are unsafe.” And, the “FDA is continuing its research and monitoring of studies to address uncertainties raised about BPA.”
The Natural Resources Defense Council released a response from Sarah Janssen, a public health scientist, which said the FDA made the wrong call.
Use these 5 powerful herbs to boost your immune system
By PF Louis,
(NaturalNews) It’s good to know more about simple herbs to protect us against infections as well as cure us from infections and disease. Some herbs can be consumed directly; some need to be made into teas or tinctures, while others are offered as essential oils or in capsules as supplements. Here are five choices linked to articles explaining in greater detail. GarlicThis one is easy to use with food on a daily basis. The technical botanical term for garlic is Allium sativa. It has been used throughout…
By Dr. David Jockers,
(NaturalNews) Zeolite is a naturally forming microporous, aluminosilicate mineral combination that is found in rock deposits around the world. Zeolite comes from the Greek word for ‘boiling stones’ as they emit steam when heated. Zeolites have a very strong affinity for pulling out toxic debris from water, clothing, and within the body. Zeolites are considered one of nature’s finest detoxifying elements. Zeolites naturally form when fresh groundwater or sea water reacts with volcanic ash and takes…
Chinese herbs prevent hair loss & stimulate natural hair restoration without the need for baldness drugs
By JB Bardot,
(NaturalNews) Chinese herbs have been used for centuries on their own and in conjunction with other alternative therapies such as acupuncture, acupressure and Ayurveda to prevent hair loss, re-grow hair and restore natural pigment to gray hair. Hair loss has many causes, such as the genetic male pattern baldness and diseases affecting glands and hormones. Lack of circulation to the scalp and vitamin deficiencies play a major role in hair health. Chemotherapy is the primary cause of hair loss in…
By PF Louis,
(NaturalNews) In a recent radio interview, Doctor Peter Glidden, N.D. (naturopathic doctor) disclosed that a daily intake of 200 mcg of selenium produces an effective protection against cancer. He wondered aloud why this information is not part of public knowledge in the “War against Cancer.” He pointed out that several standard randomized double-blind placebo trials over several years have shown that breast cancer risk is reduced by 82% with a daily intake of just 200 mcg of selenium. The same…
While dog might be man’s best friend, that puddle on the floor sure isn’t. If your new housebroken puppy or rescued dog occasionally pees on the floor for no fathomable reason, then you might have a dog with submissive/excitement urination issues.
So what should you do if you think you have a dog with an excitement or submissive peeing problem? First off, take your dog to the vet to rule out other reasons for the inappropriate peeing. If you receive the all clear from your vet, how do you know which problem your dog has?
If your pooch doesn’t pee when you’re in a dominant position (i.e., looking your dog directly in the eye, bending from the waist, greeting your dog face on), then chances are your dog is suffering from an excitement issue. If the dog does pee when you arrive home, when you’re in a dominant position, or when it is in trouble, then it’s probably a submissive issue. Either way, the situation can be remedied.
Submissive Peeing
Submissive dogs pee when they are greeted, when someone approaches, when they are punished, and when there is a history of rough treatment or punishment after peeing; this is common in rescued dogs. This is also a common reaction with shy, anxious, and timid dogs. To fix this problem, avoid scolding or yelling at your dog after it has peed. Instead, try building its confidence by teaching it simple commands (sit, stay, come), and reward your dog after each success. The same applies with teaching simple tricks (roll over, fetch); go with the reward and praise route.
You will also want to approach your dog in non-dominant postures. Avoid direct eye contact, approach from the side, and crouch down to your dog’s level. When patting your pooch, go for under the chin rather than the top of the head. Keep all greetings low key, and when the dog does pee, simply clean it up without fuss and go away. Do not forget to reward and praise your pup when it pees in the appropriate place.
When pet owners are asked what they dread most about the summer months, the topic that invariably comes up most is fleas!
Fleas on dogs and cats! These small dark brown insects prefer temperatures of 65-80 degrees and humidity levels of 75-85 percent — so for some areas of the country they are more than just a “summer” problem.
Dogs and cats often get infested with fleas through contact with other animals or contact with fleas in the environment. The strong back legs of this insect enable it to jump from host to host or from the environment onto the host. (Fleas do not have wings, so they cannot fly!) The flea’s bite can cause itching for the host but for a sensitive or flea-allergic animal, this itching can be quite severe and leads to hair-loss, inflammation and secondary skin infections. Some pets, hypersensitive to the flea’s saliva, will itch all over from the bite of even a single flea!
The flea information presented here will focus on treatment for and prevention of fleas, which, let’s face it, is just as important to the pet as it is to the pet’s caretakers!
How do you know if fleas are causing all that itching – formally known as pruritus? Generally, unlike the burrowing, microscopic Demodex or Scabies Mites, fleas can be seen scurrying along the surface of the skin. Dark copper colored and about the size of the head of a pin, fleas dislike light so looking for them within furry areas and on the pet’s belly and inner thighs will provide your best chances of spotting them.
Look for “flea dirt”, too. “Flea dirt” looks like dark specks of pepper scattered on the skin surface. If you see flea dirt, which is actually flea feces and is composed of digested blood, pick some off the pet and place on a wet paper towel. If after a few minutes the tiny specks spread out like a small blood stain, it’s definitely flea dirt and your pet has fleas!
Infectious diseases-both old and new-continue to exact a devastating toll, causing some 13 million fatalities per year around the world.
Vaccines remain the best line of defense against deadly pathogens and now Kathryn Sykes and Stephen Johnston, researchers at Arizona State University’s Biodesign Institute, along with co-author Michael McGuire from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center are using clever functional screening methods to attempt to speed new vaccines into production that are both safer and more potent.
In a recent study appearing in the journal Proteome Science, the group used high-throughput methods to identify a modulator of immune activity that exists naturally in an unusual pathogen belonging to the Poxviridae family of viruses.
Parapoxvirus infection causes immune cell accumulation at the site of infection; direct screening in the host for this biological activity enabled the isolation of an immunomodulator-labeled B2. Indeed, B2 by itself causes immune cell accumulation at the site of skin injection. When added to a traditional influenza vaccine, B2 improves the vaccine’s protective capacity. Furthermore, the immunomodulator also demonstrated the ability to shrink the size of cancerous tumors, even in the absence of any accompanying specific antigen.
In the past, the process of vaccine discovery involved the random selection of naturally attenuated strains of viruses and bacteria, which were found to provide protection in humans. Examples of this approach include the use of vaccinia to protect against smallpox and attenuated mycobacterium bovis (BCG) to protect against tuberculosis.
In recent years, many vaccines have been developed using only selected portions of a given pathogen to confer immunity. These so-called subunit vaccines have several advantages over whole pathogen vaccines. Genetic components that allow a given pathogen to elude immune detection for example may be screened out, as well as any factors causing unwanted vaccine side effects.
Through careful screening, just those elements responsible for eliciting protective immune responses in the host can be extracted from the pathogen and reassembled into an effective, safer subunit vaccine.
In practice, the process of narrowing the field of promising subunit candidates from the whole genome of a pathogen has often been time consuming, laborious and perplexing. In the current study, their earlier-developed strategy, known as expression library immunization, is extended to develop a scheme to find the protein-encoding segments-known as open reading frames (ORFs)-from a pathogenic genome that have any biological function of interest.
This simple, yet powerful technique uses the host’s immune system itself to rapidly reduce any pathogenic genome (viral, fungal, bacterial or parasitic) to a handful of antigens capable of conferring protection in the host.
The advantage of this in vivo technique is that it offers a means of rapidly screening entire genomes, with the results of the search displaying desired immunogenic traits. The mode of entry of vaccines designed in this way closely resembles the natural infection process of host cells-an improvement over live attenuated vaccines.
This promising approach has been used effectively to engineer a vaccine against hepatitis and may provide a new avenue for the development of protective agents against pathogens that have thus far eluded traditional vaccine efforts, including HIV and ebola.
“We had developed a method for screening for protective subunits against a specific disease,” Sykes says. “However this type of safer vaccine design is notoriously less potent than the whole pathogen designs. What we needed was a method to find generally useful vaccine components that would serve to enhance and control immunity.”
The group chose the pathogen parapoxvirus ovis (known as the Orf virus) for the current set of experiments, in which expression library immunization techniques were used to screen for an immunogenic factor buried in the pathogen’s genome.
Parapoxvirus ovis causes a highly infectious disease known as Orf, which is prevalent in sheep and goats and may be transmitted cutaneously to humans handling these animals, causing pustular lesions and scabs.
Once the group had sequenced the full genome of parapoxvirus, PCR was used to amplify all the viral open reading frames, which code for all of the viruse’s proteins. Each ORF, comprising a library of genomic components, was compiled into a unique high throughput expression construct, and these were randomly distributed into sub-library pools. These pools were directly delivered into sets of mice for in vivo expression. Functional testing for the activity desired identified B2 as the immune cell accumulator.
In further experiments, the team co-delivered B2L as an additive or adjuvant for an influenza gene vaccine, to see if it could improve survival rates in mice challenged with the influenza virus. The co-immunized mice indeed displayed full protection against influenza compared with 50 percent protection of the control group, immunized with influenza vaccine alone.
In addition to infectious agents like Orf, non-infectious diseases including cancer may be amenable to vaccine defense. Thus far however, the discovery of tumor-specific antigens has been frustrating. One approach may lie in using non-specific immunogenic factors like B2.
In the current study, two forms of cancer were investigated in a mouse model, following the administering of B2 alone, in the absence of a disease antigen. The experiments evaluated B2’s ability to enhance survival and shrink tumor size. In the case of an aggressive melanoma, tumor size was significantly reduced and survival rate improved. Administration of B2 to an infection induced by a breast cancer cell line also showed a modest but measureable reduction in tumor size.
With the growing popularity of sub-unit vaccines, the need arises for more effective adjuvants, which may be used to compensate for the reduced immunogenicity of such vaccines compared with their whole-pathogen counterparts. Techniques similar to those applied here to isolate and evaluate B2 could potentially permit the screening of virtually any genome for any gene-encoded activity testable in an organism.
US health advisers on Thursday urged regulators to approve Truvada, made by Gilead Sciences, as the first preventive pill against HIV/AIDS instead of just a treatment for infected people.
The favorable vote came after clinical trials showed Truvada could lower the risk of HIV in gay men by 44 to 73 percent, and was hailed by some AIDS advocates as a potent new tool against human immunodeficiency virus.
However, many concerns were raised during a marathon 11-hour panel meeting in which about three dozen health care providers warned that the pill could boost risky behaviors and possibly lead to a drug-resistant strain of HIV.
The Food and Drug Administration is not bound by the recommendations of its expert panel, but usually follows the advice. A final decision by the FDA is expected by June 15.
Mitchell Warren, executive director of HIV prevention group AVAC, said after the vote that pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), or the method of taking a drug ahead of potential exposure to HIV, “while not a panacea, will be an essential additional part to the world’s success in ending AIDS.”
“For the millions of men and women who remain at risk for HIV worldwide, each new HIV prevention option offers additional hope,” he added.
The drug, made by the California-based Gilead Sciences, is currently available as a treatment for people with HIV in combination with other anti-retroviral drugs, and received FDA approval in 2004.
The panel’s nod came in response to the pharmaceutical company’s request for a supplemental new drug application to market it for prevention purposes.
The Antiviral Drugs Advisory Committee voted for the drug as a preventive measure for three groups: 19-3 in favor for men who have sex with men, 19-2 with one abstention for couples in which a partner is HIV positive and 12-8 with two abstentions for other at-risk groups.
Gay men account for more than half of the 56,000 new HIV cases in the United States each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
But critics noted that the pill is costly — up to $14,000 per year — and could offer a false sense of protection, leading to a spike in unsafe sex and a new surge in AIDS cases.
“We need to slow down. I care too much about my community not to speak my concerns,” said Joey Terrill, advocacy manager at the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, which campaigned against the drug’s approval for PrEP.
There also remains some controversy about who would benefit from the treatment, as trials in women have shown feeble results, possibly due to poor adherence to the regimen.
“I am concerned about the potential for development of resistance,” said Roxanne Cox-Iyamu, a doctor who spoke at the panel’s meeting.
“I am concerned as a black woman that we don’t have enough data that this actually works in women.”
Nurse Karen Haughey said Truvada will not work because “it is not in our nature to always do as human beings what we are told 100 percent of the time.”
She also said Truvada’s main side effects — diarrhea and risk of kidney failure — were a major deterrent.
The main set of data considered came from the iPrEx HIV Prevention Study, carried out from July 2007 to December 2009 in six countries — Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, South Africa, Thailand and the United States.
The study was conducted among 2,499 men who were sexually active with other men but were not infected with the virus that causes AIDS.
Participants were selected at random to take a daily dose of Truvada — a combination of 200 milligrams of emtricitabine and 300 milligrams of tenofovir disoproxil fumarate — or a placebo.
Those in the study who took the drug regularly had almost 73 percent fewer infections. Across the entire study, including those who had not been as diligent in taking Truvada, there were 44 percent fewer infections than in those who took a placebo.
After publication in 2010 in the New England Journal of Medicine, some experts hailed the results as game-changing and the first demonstration that an already-approved oral drug could decrease the likelihood of HIV infections.
Joseph McGowan, medical director of the Center for AIDS Research and Treatment at North Shore University Hospital in New York, said the CDC was expected to soon issue guidance for health professionals who may prescribe the drug.
“I don’t see it as something that would be useful to the general public but to certain people who are particularly high risk, there may be some benefit,” he said.
Pfizer and Merck under investigation for colluding with Obama Administration on health care overhaul
By Ethan A. Huff,
(NaturalNews) Most Americans have no idea what truly went on behind closed doors during the crafting and illegitimate passing of Obamacare, also known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. But a congressional investigation currently underway is seeking to unearth the dirty details, including how drug giants like Pfizer Inc. and Merck & Co. greased the financial wheels to make sure their pharmaceuticals received preferential treatment as part of the health care overhaul. As reported…
[In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit, for research and/or educational purposes. This constitutes ‘FAIR USE’ of any such copyrighted material.]
One hundred cases of Salmonella Bareilly poisoning have been reported from 19 states and the District of Columbia while investigators still have “not conclusively identified a food source,” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Friday.The CDC’s earlier…
It started in 2008 with plastic bottles. After a report suggested that bisphenol A – used as a sealant in food and beverage containers – might be toxic to humans, some bottle manufacturers cut the chemical out of their products….
Eight cases of hepatitis A over the past two months in British Columbia may be linked to frozen berries, the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) said Thursday as it warned consumers not to eat Pomeberry Blend frozen berries…
Five cases of E. coli O157:H7 infection have been
in Central Missouri, according to Margaret Donnelly, director of the Missouri Department of Health & Senior Services.The source of the infections has not been identified, according to the health advisory…
Reports from consumers who said they had allergic reactions to Odwalla Chocolate Protein Monster have prompted the company to issue a nationwide allergy alert and recall 12- and 32 oz. bottles of the drink. In a news release Friday, Odwalla said…
Diamond Naturals Lamb Meal & Rice Dog Food May Contain Salmonella
By News Desk
Diamond Pet Foods is recalling its Diamond Naturals Lamb Meal & Rice because it may be contaminated with Salmonella.According to a recall notice posted by the company Friday, no illnesses have been reported and no other Diamond-manufactured pet food products…
TWI Foods of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada products is recalling Crispy brand cookies and rusk, a hard crisp bread, because they may contain milk and almonds, allergens not declared on the label.There have been no adverse reactions reported.The Canadian-manufactured cookies were…
Los Olivos LTD of Farmingdale, NY, is recalling certain packages of “Pan de Torta” bread because they may contain undeclared milk allergens.Routine sampling by New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets Food Inspectors and subsequent lab analysis revealed the…
Threeline Imports of Brooklyn, NY, is recalling Kypoyka Bisquits because they may contain eggs, which are not listed on the packaging as ingredients.Routine sampling by New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets Food Inspectors and subsequent lab analysis revealed…
[In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit, for research and/or educational purposes. This constitutes ‘FAIR USE’ of any such copyrighted material.]
CDC: No Source Confirmed in Outbreak That Has Sickened 93
Sushi or sashimi suspected
by Mary Rothschild
Ninety-three illnesses linked to an outbreak of Salmonella Bareilly have been reported from 19 states and the District of Columbia, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed Wednesday, but CDC officials said a specific food has not been identified as the source of the infections.
However, many of those infected recalled eating sushi, sashimi or a raw dish such as ceviche, in the days before they became ill, according to the public health agency.
In an investigation report released Wednesday afternoon, the CDC revealed the states reporting illnesses: Alabama (2), Arkansas (1), Connecticut (4), District of Columbia (2), Georgia (4), Illinois (8), Louisiana (2), Maryland (8), Massachusetts (4), Mississippi (1), Missouri (1), New Jersey (6), New York (23), North Carolina (2), Pennsylvania (2), Rhode Island (4), South Carolina (3), Texas (3), Virginia (5) and Wisconsin (8).
The CDC’s message follows an internal U.S. Food and Drug Administration email on the outbreak investigation that was inadvertently circulated beyond the agency. That emailed summary did not list all the affected states.
And although the FDA email said investigators were looking at sushi as a possible source of the illnesses, and singled out spicy tuna roll sushi as “highly suspect,” the CDC said no food item has been conclusively identified.
Iowa Leaders Seek Congressional Hearing on Pink Slime Critics
by Helena Bottemiller
Congressman Steve King (R-IA) and Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad are pushing for a congressional probe into what many in the meat industry are calling a “smear campaign” against Lean Finely Textured Beef (LFTB), a formerly obscure component commonly used in ground beef now known to the public as “pink slime.”
King has asked Frank Lucas (R-OK), chairman of the House Agriculture Committee to host a hearing that would bring in witnesses to testify on the media firestorm and consumer backlash over the product, which has led to three plant suspensions and sidelined 650 workers in Texas, Kansas, and Iowa — including some 200 workers in King’s district.
“Witnesses would be under oath and they’re of course obligated by law to tell the truth, those who have been the ones who have perpetrated this smear campaign against one of the stellar companies in the country,” King recently told an Iowa radio station. “I think they’ll have an obligation then to explain themselves why they could not base their allegations on facts and what they’ve done to damage an industry.”
The congressman said he believes the campaign is also an “assault” on meat. “I’d like to look at that further,” he said. “Right now, I’m focused on helping BPI get their brand back and their market share back.”
In a long-awaited decision, last week the Food and Drug Administration disappointed health advocates once again by allowing Bisphenol A or BPA, a known endocrine disruptor, to remain approved as a chemical additive in food containers such as plastic bottles and metal cans.While the agency says it’s still studying the matter, a number of groups say the science is clear enough. Indeed, in the four years since the filing of a legal petition asking for a ban (a court order was needed to force FDA to respond), evidence of potential harm from BPA exposure has only increased. Of particular concern are young children, as the chemical often lines infant formula containers and baby bottles. Ironically, some of the more alarming research is funded by the federal government. The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences is spending $30 million to study BPA, with much of it published already and more to come. Not surprisingly, the chemical industry claims the additive is perfectly safe.
But with the scientific studies piling up to show how BPA increases the risk of everything from cancer to heart disease to fertility problems, and more recently, even obesity, this latest industry-friendly move by FDA is especially troubling. Meanwhile, without a hint of irony, FDA also maintains several web pages with helpful information for parents and others wishing to avoid BPA, such as: “What You Can Do to Minimize Your Infant’s Exposure to BPA.”
So if FDA admits the chemical is scary enough to avoid and previous independent scientific advisory panels have derided the agency for ignoring the mounting evidence, why did the agency back down yet again?…..
The British Columbia Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) is warning the public not to eat Tomme d’Or cheese made by Moonstruck Organic Cheese on Saltspring Island because it may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.Currently there are no illnesses linked to…
Lawsuit Claims Some Store ‘Honey’ Brands Are Deceptive
by Gretchen Goetz
A series of class action lawsuits has been filed in Florida against major food retailers who allegedly sell honey that may not be “honey” because it does not contain pollen.
Five Florida residents are bringing suits against four different grocery chains – Publix Super Markets, Inc., Target Corporation, Walgreen Co. and Aldi, Inc. – that all reportedly carry ultra-filtered honey under their own house brands.
Ultra-filtration is a special process by which honey is heated and then forced through tiny filters that don’t let pollen through. This process is different from traditional honey filtration, which uses bigger filters and is designed only to weed out visible contaminants such as bee parts, wax and debris.
In removing the pollen from honey, ultra-filtration essentially removes its footprint. The resulting product cannot be traced back to its source to determine whether it came from a legitimate supplier or one with a reputation for adulterated products.
When Food Safety News investigated ultra-filtration last year, it found that over 3/4 of honey sold in U.S. grocery stores lacks pollen.
Florida is one of a handful of states that has set a honey standard dictating what qualities a product needs in order to be called honey. Anything labeled as “honey” must contain pollen, says the standard. This rule gives legal clout to those who want to see pollen-free honey labeled as something other than honey.
The same clout does not exist at the federal level, because the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has yet to issue a set of standards for honey, despite demands from both industry and Congress that it do so.
From the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warning letters posted since our March 27, 2012 update:
– Prospect Enterprises of Los Angeles, CA was warned that a January/February 2012 inspection of the company’s seafood processing facility, American Fish & Seafood Company in Sacramento, CA revealed violations of the seafood Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) regulation so that its chilled, histamine-forming fish such as tuna, chilled, vacuum packaged Hamachi and tuna, as well as refrigerated ready-to-eat products such as vacuum packaged smoked salmon and trout, and pasteurized canned crabmeat, would be considered adulterated.
The FDA said the inspection also revealed deviations from the Current Good Manufacturing Practice regulation for foods, including inadequate monitoring of cooler storage to control pathogen growth and toxin formation including Clostridium botulinum toxin.
– Plenus Group of Lowell, MA was warned that a February/March 2012 inspection of the company’s seafood processing facility revealed violations of the seafood Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) regulation so that its refrigerated clam chowder in reduced oxygen packaged bags would be considered adulterated.
– Meherrin Agricultural & Chemical of Severn, NC was warned that a November/December 2011 inspection of the company’s Hampton Farms Industrial peanut butter processing plant revealed violations of the Current Good Manufacturing Practice regulation for foods, such as using a band saw to cut the bottoms off customer-returned 18 oz. plastic jars of peanut butter.
[In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit, for research and/or educational purposes. This constitutes ‘FAIR USE’ of any such copyrighted material.]
Are Synthetic Chemicals Distorting The Hormonal Balance Of Human Gender And Sexual Identity?
Cases of accelerated puberty in young girls and the “transgender” phenomenon are occurring with increasing frequency.
We are seeing accelerated puberty in young girls , alarming increase in men with extremely low sperm counts, recently. As well as a transgender phenomenon growing at an unprecedented pace. Endocrinologist have found out that endocrine disruptor found in man made common chemicals like DES, dioxin, PCBs, DDT , plasticizers. As well as on many other chemicals we use daily could very well be responsible for this unusual phenomenon. Endocrine disruptors become lodged in the fatty tissues. Becoming impossible for our bodies to eliminate them as they are insoluble in water. They also have a cumulative effect over the course of a lifetime.
Endocrine disruptor interfere with the endocrine glands responsible for releasing hormones into the bloodstream. They control various organs of the body and maintain a harmonious balance for optimal health. The endocrine glands are the pituitary, thyroid, adrenal, thymus, pancreas, ovaries, and testicles. Developing fetuses and infants are are more vulnerable to endocrine disruptors.
In the 50s and 60s physicians prescribed a synthetic estrogen called diethylstilbestrol (DES)to pregnant women to prevent miscarriages. It was later found to contain endocrine disruptors. Over five million women were affected by this drug. Miscarriages,spontaneous abortions, premature births ,birth defects of the the uterus,ovaries, compromised immune systems,undescended testicles , malformed sperm in boys,chronic depression and other psychiatric disorders were reported. Use of estrogen has be found to caused breast cancer in some women.
A study done in the Potomac River in 2000 found 80 percent of the male fish collected had become feminized and their sex organs were not producing sperm. Scientists concluded that pollution in the river must have had something to do with it. Scientist have proven that large pesticide spills in lake Apopka, Florida was responsible for declining alligator populations. Investigations revealed endocrine disruptor in the bodies and eggs of the alligators. A similar type of spill occured in the Great Lakes area but this time the chemical being a polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) spill. Birds feeding on fish in this area have shown similar dysfunctions as the alligators. People who consumed fish from this lake developed thyroid problems. The offspring of women who consumed fish from this area suffered from lower birth weight with smaller craniums and were found to scored lower on IQ tests.
Plastic bottles commonly used to store water and beverages contained substances known as phthalates which are considered to be potent endocrine disruptors. These chemicals can leach into the beverage it contains. Particularly when the bottle is subjected to heat or the beverage is acidic. Viinclozolin,a fungicide used on fruit, blocked testosterone signals in males. Animals exposed to bisphenol-A and other phthalates have been found to become hyper and agitated. This endocrine disruptor could cause irreversible damage and stunted brain development.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta reports on new research showing that beyond weight gain, sugar can take a serious toll on your health, worsening conditions ranging from heart disease to cancer.
(CBS News) If you are what you eat, then what does it mean that the average American consumes 130 pounds of sugar a year? Sanjay Gupta reports on new research showing that beyond weight gain, sugar can take a serious toll on your health, worsening conditions ranging from heart disease to cancer. Some physicians go so far as to call sugar a toxin.
The following script is from “Sugar” which aired on April 1, 2012. Dr. Sanjay Gupta is the correspondent. Denise Schrier Cetta and Sumi Aggarwal, producers.
The chances are good that sugar is a bigger part of your daily diet than you may realize which is why our story tonight is so important. New research coming out of some of America’s most respected institutions is starting to find that sugar, the way many people are eating it today, is a toxin and could be a driving force behind some of this country’s leading killers, including heart disease.
As a result of these findings, an anti-sugar campaign has sprung up, led by Dr. Robert Lustig, a California endocrinologist, who believes the consumption of added sugars has plunged America into a public health crisis.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta: Is sugar toxic?
Dr. Robert Lustig: I believe it is.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta: Do you ever worry that that’s– it just sounds a little bit over the top?
Dr. Robert Lustig: Sure. All the time. But it’s the truth.
Dr. Robert Lustig is a pediatric endocrinologist at the University of California, San Francisco and a pioneer in what is becoming a war against sugar.
Motivated by his own patients — too many sick and obese children – Dr. Lustig has concluded that sugar, more than any other substance, is to blame.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta: What are all these various diseases that you say are linked to sugar?
Dr. Robert Lustig: Obesity, type II diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease itself.
Lustig says the American lifestyle is killing us.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta: And most of it you say is preventable?
Dr. Robert Lustig: Seventy-five percent of it is preventable.
While Dr. Lustig has published a dozen scientific articles on the evils of sugar, it was his lecture on YouTube, called “Sugar: The Bitter Truth,” that brought his message to the masses.
[YouTube Video: I’m standing here today to recruit you in the war against bad food.]
By “bad food” Dr. Lustig means the obvious things such as table sugar, honey, syrup, sugary drinks and desserts, but also just about every processed food you can imagine, where sugar is often hidden: yogurts and sauces, bread, and even peanut butter. And what about the man-made, often vilified sweetener, high fructose corn syrup?
Dr. Sanjay Gupta: Is it worse than just table sugar?
Dr. Robert Lustig: No. ‘Cause it’s the exact same. They are basically equivalent. The problem is they’re both bad. They’re both equally toxic.
Since the 1970s, sugar consumption has gone down nearly 40 percent, but high fructose corn syrup has more than made up the difference. Dr. Lustig says they are both toxic because they both contain fructose — that’s what makes them sweet and irresistible.
Sugar Is Not Poison, But We’re Getting Too Much of It
by Dan Flynn
Sugar is the toxin responsible for most of today’s health problems, a California endocrinologist who conducts research for the American Heart Association, told the television magazine program 60 Minutes Sunday.
The University of California’s Dr. Robert Lustig said obesity, type II diabetes, hypertension and heart disease can all be blamed on Americans consuming too much sugar.
The 60 Minutes segment, with CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta playing the part of the on-air reporter, said new research is “starting to find that sugar, the way many people are eating it today, is toxic and could be a driving force behind some of this country’s leading killers, including heart disease.”
An ongoing, five-year research project at the University of California – Davis, by nutritional biologist Kimber Stanhope, also got mention because it appears to be showing that high fructose corn syrup intake is linked to heart disease and stroke. Midway through, the research also suggests calories from added sugars differ from other calories.
Gupta said the belief that a calorie is a calorie is a “mantra” of nutritionists. He also said the scientists involved in the research are personally eliminating all added sugar from their diets. Added sugars are sweeteners added to processed and prepared foods and beverages.
Examples of added sugars include white sugar, brown sugar, raw sugar, corn syrup, corn syrup solids, high fructose corn syrup, malt syrup, maple syrup, pancake syrup, fructose sweetener, liquid fructose, honey, molasses, anhydrous dextrose, crystal dextrose and dextrin…..
Five easy ways to detox lymph nodes and boost your immune system
By Paul Fassa,
(NaturalNews) Everyone knows a sedentary life style, whether as a couch potato, office worker or vehicle operator, is not conducive to good health. If one is ambitious, with enough time he or she will exercise andfocus on the heart, lungs, and/or muscles. The lymph system needs to be worked also. It is the sewage system for cellular metabolic toxins. Lymph nodes provide antigens for purifying fluids containing anything from allergens to cancer cells. That fluid is called lymph. There is more lymph…
Funny how memories of hurtful occasions from our childhoods have a way of resurfacing. Actually they are not funny at all, but they might be a gift. Whenever you recall a time when you were sick as a child or if a less than pleasant childhood memory pops into your head you have the opportunity to mentally or emotionally go back in time and offer that child some healing. Use those precious moments to reach out to that inner child of yours and offer a smile, a pat on the head, a big ‘ol bear hug, or whatever feels right–how about reading a story to your inner child?
Vitamin B5 is a vitamin often referred to as pantothenic acid. Found naturally in many foods, vitamin B5 is also available in supplement form. Proponents claim that taking vitamin B5 supplements offers a variety of health benefits.
Uses for Vitamin B5
Vitamin B5 is touted a natural remedy for a number of health conditions, including:
Health Basics: The 11 most toxic vaccine ingredients and their side effects
By S. D. Wells,
(NaturalNews) It’s been only 70 years since World War II, and the mad scientists from companies like I.G. Farben, BASF, Hoechst, Dow and Bayer, who created the gas chambers and tested dangerous vaccines on innocent Jews, didn’t just go away. In fact, they went to work for U.S. corporations and pharmaceutical companies that run the vaccine industry today. At least a dozen of these cold blooded killers were hired fresh out of prison, just 4 to 7 years after the Nuremberg trials found them guilty of…
FDA admits in court case that vaccines still contain mercury
By Ethan A. Huff,
(NaturalNews) It is a common myth today that the vaccines administered to children no longer contain the toxic additive thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative linked to causing permanent neurological damage. But a recent federal case involving the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has revealed that, contrary to this widely-held belief, thimerosal is actually still present in many batch vaccines, including in the annual influenza vaccine that is now administered to children as young as six…
Pfizer execs to stand trial for cover-up of drug trial results
By Ethan A. Huff,
(NaturalNews) Four former executives at Pfizer Inc., the world’s largest drug company. — Henry McKinnell, John LaMattina, Karen Katen, Joseph Feczko — as well as Gail Cawkwell, Pfizer’s current Vice President of Medical Affairs, will all face trial for allegedly concealing the unfavorable results of drug trials involving Celebrex and Bextra. Courthouse News Service (CNS) reports that U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain has denied requests made by defendants to dismiss the case, which means all…
FDA Deletes 1 Million Signatures for GMO Labeling Campaign
Mike Barrett
Activist Post
While the Food and Drug Administration has seemingly reached the limit for unbelievable behavior, the company’s decisions continue to astound and appall consumers and health activists alike.
In the agency’s latest decision, undoubtedly amazing thousands of individuals yet again, the FDA virtually erased 1 million signatures and comments on the ‘Just Label It’ campaign calling for the labeling of genetically modified foods.
The ‘Just Label It” campaign has gotten more signatures than any campaign in history for the labeling of genetically modified foods. Since October of 2011, the campaign has received over 900,000 signatures, with 55 politicians joining in on the movement. So what’s the problem here?
Evidently, the FDA counts the amount of signatures not by how many people signed, but how many different individual letters are brought to it. To the FDA, even tens of thousands of signatures presented on a single petition are counted as – you guessed it – a single comment.
This is how, despite over a million supporters being gathered by the petition, the FDA concluded a count of only 394.
Read Full Article Here
Norovirus – How and Where it Spreads
By Gretchen Goetz
Norovirus – a bug that causes gastrointestinal illness – is responsible for 12 percent of all diarrheal disease worldwide and is estimated to cause 218,000 deaths among children under 5 each year. Now a clearer picture of how this virus spreads…
FDA Denies Petition to Ban BPA in Food and Beverage Containers
By Helena Bottemiller
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday denied a petition seeking to ban bisphenol-A, commonly known as BPA, from food and beverage packaging, but the agency said it continues to support research examining the safety of the chemical. BPA…
“There is a reason that masks are worn while applying herbicides and warning signs are erected upon recently sprayed land plots — herbicide exposure is known to cause serious health complications. New research has recently been released showing that glyphosate, the main active ingredient found in Monsanto’s Roundup Ultra Max, is causing both DNA and cellular damage to cells found in the mouth and throat.”
All Parties Ignore the One Way to Reduce Health Care Costs: Single-Payer
David U. Himmelstein MD and Steffie Woolhandler MD, MPH, Truthout:
“Both parties studiously avoid the one health-reform solution that – unlike computers – would actually save money while sparing patients: single-payer, nonprofit national health insurance. Research shows that single-payer reform could save about $380 billion annually that’s currently wasted on insurers’ overhead and the unnecessary paperwork (and screen-work) they inflict on hospitals, doctors and patients.”
Three benefits of dark chocolate that will help you lose weight
By Celeste M. Smucker, MPH, PhD,
(NaturalNews) The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reports that 68 percent of adults over the age of 20 are overweight, half of whom are considered obese. Of course obesity is also strongly linked to many other health problems including heart disease, type 2 diabetes and cancer. The economic costs are enormous. A 2011 article in the The Lancet estimates the annual medical costs of these diseases will increase by as much as $60 billion by 2030. While there is no magic solution to weight loss, research…
Juicing cannabis miraculously saves lives after physicians declare the battle lost
By Raw Michelle,
(NaturalNews) At 16, Kristen Peskuski was suffering from joint inflammation and an array of autoimmune conditions which made her organs and other tissues swell, including interstitial cystitis and lupus. She was prescribed over 40 different anti-inflammatory, antibiotic and painkilling medications to combat the symptoms. Still struggling to bring the symptoms under control, Kristen developed steroid toxicity. She was told that the most she could hope for was reduced discomfort, and with luck, she…
L-form bacteria are formed as a spontaneous variant of bacteria with defective or absent cell walls, or when cell wall synthesis is inhibited or impaired by antibiotics (e.g., penicillin), specific immunoglobulins, or lysosomal enzymes that degrade the cell walls. L-form bacteria are defective variations of regular bacterial cells, which can be almost any type of bacteria. L-forms are different from most other forms of bacteria in the respect that cell walls are an important component of organized cell division. While L-forms are still able to divide, creating more of themselves, they lack the same organizational structure as bacteria with cell walls. L-forms replicate without regard to size, big and small, rather than being of one standard size. They have been found throughout nature, in humans, animals, and plants…..
Nonerosive immune-mediated polyarthritis is an immune-mediated inflammatory disease of the diarthroidal joints (movable joints: shoulder, knee, etc.), which occurs in multiple joints, and in which the cartilage of the joint (articular cartilage) is not eroded away. A type III hypersensitivity reaction, which causes antibodies to be bound to an antigen, in this case joint tissue, causes this condition.
These antibody-antigen complexes are called immune complexes, and they are deposited within the synovial membrane (where the fluid that lubricates the joints is held). There, the immune complexes trigger an abnormal immune response to the joint cartilage. What this means is that, in effect, the body is fighting against itself. This leads to an inflammatory response, and complement protein activation by the tissue surrounding the cartilage, in response to the immunity displaying cells, leading to the clinical signs of arthritis.
Symptoms
Stiffness in legs
Lameness
Decreased range of motion
Cracking of the joints
Joint swelling and pain in one or more joints
Joint instability, subluxation (partial dislocation) and luxation (complete dislocation)
Often cyclic, comes and goes
Wegmans is recalling specific date codes of its Pita Breads and Thin Sandwich Rolls because they may contain bits of metal or plasticized fabric from a damaged conveyor belt.To date, there have been no reports of foreign objects being found.The…
Hartz Mountain Corporation of Secaucus, NJ is recalling 7,056 1-oz. containers of fish food from four specific lots because they may be contaminated with Salmonella.A random sample testing conducted by Hartz as part of its quality control procedures detected Salmonella in lots of…
The recall of potentially contaminated jalapeno peppers continues. On Friday, South Florida Produce said it was recalling certain jalapenos because they may be contaminated with Salmonella. The potential for contamination was noted during a routine testing by a retail store which…
Small Turtles Likely Source of 3 Salmonella Outbreaks
By Gretchen Goetz
Public health officials are currently investigating three multi-state outbreaks of Salmonella linked to baby turtles.Since September of last year, at least 66 people in 16 states have been sickened by three strains of Salmonella: Salmonella San Diego, Salmonella Pomona and Salmonella…
After years of assurance that genetically engineered (GE) crops are the answer to pesky pest problems, corn rootworm is now turning into a nightmare for America’s agricultural biotech companies.
These insects have developed resistance to an inserted gene in the genetically altered corn crop that is designed to kill them.
In a letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 22 of the nation’s top experts on corn pests are calling for the agency to take action “with a sense of some urgency.”i
The researchers want seed companies to stop routinely inserting anti-rootworm genes into their corn lines. Overuse of the gene increases the chances that insects will become resistant to it.
According to the NPRii:
“The researchers are calling on farmers in some parts of the country to stop planting corn with anti-rootworm genes altogether, or to plant such corn only intermittently …
If the recommendations in this letter were, in fact, put into practice, it would compel wrenching changes in the way that major seed companies like Monsanto and DuPont breed and market their corn seed.”….
Is This More-Dangerous-than-Aspartame Sweetener Hiding in Your Food?
One of the more recent toxic additions to our food supply is the artificial sweetener called Neotame.
In the European Union, where it was approved as a flavor enhancer as of November 2010, it is known by its “E number,” E961ii.
Made by NutraSweet (a former division of Monsanto and the original manufacturer of aspartame), neotame is 13,000 times sweeter than table sugar, and about 30 times sweeter than aspartame.
It’s based on the aspartame formula—despite the fact that 80 percent of all FDA complaints pertain to adverse reactions from aspartame.
Neotame is essentially aspartame plus 3,3-dimethylbutyliii–the presence of which ends up reducing the production of phenylalanine, which allegedly makes it safe for those suffering from phenylketonuria (PKU).
(Hence neotame does not need to bear a PKU warning label like aspartame.)
Unfortunately, it may actually be an even more potent and dangerous neurotoxin, immunotoxin and excitotoxin than aspartame.
Proponents of neotame claim that increased toxicity is of no concern because less of it is needed to achieve the desired effect.
Still, Monsanto’s own pre-approval studies of neotame revealed adverse reactions, and there were no independent studies that found neotame to be safe.
On August 16, 2000, the law firm of Hartman & Craven filed comments on the neotame docket pertaining to the lack of safety data submitted in support of neotame, stating in part:
“A food additive petition has been submitted to the FDA for the artificial sweetener neotame. In that petition, the sponsor claims the data presented demonstrate that the compound produces no adverse effects at a dose of 1000 mg/kg/day in the rat. The sponsor also claims that the product should be safe for patients with diabetes. A review of the data submitted to the FDA does not support these conclusions.
In fact, no safe human usage level can be determined based on the submitted data. The animal experimental evidence indicates a toxic effect on growth. The clinical evidence raises concerns about glucose control in patients with diabetes.
Searches for an explanation resolving the adverse findings leave no clear acceptable answers that would insure the safety of the public but does stimulate speculation on questions relating to possible liver effects.”….
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is set to announce this week whether it will ban bisphenol A, a controversial chemical commonly known as BPA, in food and beverage packaging. The deadline, this Saturday, was set as part of a…
This Could Give Women Deadly Blood Clots – US Health Officials Admit
Posted By Dr. Mercola
Emerging markets — primarily in developing countries in Southeast and Central Asia, and Africa — have been on vaccine makers’ radar for quite some time.
One reason that vaccine makers are interested in exploring markets in these parts of the world is that that’s where most of the world’s deaths from major infectious diseases occur — and world health leaders have long suggested that most, if not all, of these diseases could be prevented by vaccines.
The only problem has been that, until recently, making vaccines to sell to undeveloped countries with no money to pay for them was not exactly a profitable goal for vaccine makers.
The GAVI Alliance, a public-private partnership formerly known as the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization, is set to change all of that with a new initiative to vaccinate millions of individuals worldwide with either GlaxoSmithKline’s Cervarix or Merck’s Gardasil HPV (human papillomavirus) vaccines.
The campaign should generate a handsome profit for the vaccine makers, as well as the GAVI Alliance, but it will also be putting the health of millions at risk…..
Kotex assures woman that moldy tampons aren’t unusual
Ladies, you regularly check your unused tampons for mold, right? Well, you’re going to from this day forward, because we’re about to tell you how a woman found spots of black mold growing on her new, unused Kotex cotton tampons…..
Bogus vitamin E study used single-form, synthetic variety to claim nutrient causes bone loss
By Jonathan Benson
(NaturalNews) The Big Pharma-backed pseudoscience brigade is at it again trying to malign natural vitamins as if they were dangerous pharmaceuticals. A new study published in the journal Nature Medicine claims that taking vitamin E is linked to causing bone loss in mice, but fails to mention that the research involved just one of the eight forms of vitamin E, alpha-tocopherol, which was likely synthetically-derived from petrochemicals. Contradicting a multitude of research over the years verifying…
The best homemade remedies to treat hay fever and seasonal allergies
By JB Bardot
(NaturalNews) Homemade remedies for hay fever can quickly reduce seasonal allergy reactions, providing relief from symptoms such as runny nose, sneezing, itching, congestion and coughing. Hay fever affects the mucous membranes of the sinuses, nose, throat, eyes and palate. Grasses and plant pollens are the cause of inflammatory reactions that stimulate the immune system, and are made worse by the presence of chemicals, dust and pollutants. Research indicates that approximately 20 percent of the population…
Beware dangerous new advice to use daily aspirin to prevent cancer
By Tony Isaacs
(NaturalNews) Before anyone jumps on the latest mainstream media bandwagon and begins taking daily aspirin to prevent cancer, there are several strong reasons to hesitate. To begin with, the study which produced the media storm was flawed and the claimed benefits are highly questionable. The new aspirin study was conducted by Professor Peter Rothwell at the Stroke Prevention Research Unit at Oxford University. According to the study, taking an aspirin a day could reduce your risk of cancer within…
When you are comparing the hundreds of dog food options available to feed your dog, there are many ideas to keep in mind. Reading the label carefully will tell you which ingredients and how much of them make up the food (see Demystifying the Dog Food Label). There are many ingredients that go into a quality dog food, and here we will focus on just one category: the carbohydrates
Carbohydrates typically make up anywhere from 30-70 percent of a dry dog food. They come mainly from plants and grains, and provide energy in the form of sugars. Carbohydrates have several important functions in a dog food……
We just love to take our dogs with us wherever we go. In the car, to the beach, for walks, a swim. And now, there’s something else you can do with your dog — Yoga!
Dubbed “Doga,” it seems this new craze is taking the nation by storm. There are books and DVDs and even classes to be had …
Strong America Ltd. is recalling a dried potato product imported from China that may contain sulfites, which are not listed on the label.According to the notice, the recall was initiated after routine sampling by New York State Department of Agriculture…
(NaturalNews) The pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries are known for trying to hijack nature and claim it as their own personal property via the patent process. But a recent Supreme Court ruling has set a new precedent against this fraudulent practice, as Associate Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer has ruled invalid two medical diagnostics patents held by Prometheus Laboratories, a biotech company owned by food giant Nestle. According to reports, Prometheus had developed a diagnostic…
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American Indian community elders, the architect and the staff
Family Survival Protocol - Microcosm News 