ever been conducted on the chemical  (http://www.neotame.com/pdf/neotame_fda_US.pdf). In fact, an investigation conducted by Feingold.org found only four studies relating to neotame in the MEDLINE database.

Two of these “studies” were not studies at all, and the other two were actually one duplicate study conducted by NutraSweet, the company that produces and sells neotame.

So just like with aspartame, the FDA has once again approved for use a dangerous sweetener chemical that metabolizes into formaldehyde when consumed. Except this time, the chemical contains added 3-dimethylbutyl, which the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has listed as one of the most hazardous known chemicals, and it does not have to be labeled on any of the products to which it is added.

“Neotame has similar structure to aspartame — except that, from it’s structure, appears to be even more toxic than aspartame,” writes HolisticMed.com on its page about neotame. “Like aspartame, some of the concerns include gradual neurotoxic and immunotoxic damage from the combination of the formaldehyde metabolite (which is toxic at extremely low doses) and the excitotoxic amino acid” (http://www.holisticmed.com/neotame/toxin.html).

The FDA, the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA), and the World Health Organization (WHO) all consider neotame to be safe for use, despite the fact that WHO actually published a paper seeking to establish acceptable daily intake levels for neotame. If neotame is so safe that it does not even have to be labeled, according to the FDA, then why do acceptable daily intake levels have to be established? And what is the point of establishing them in the first place?

This dog and pony show of special interest regulatory corruption is a travesty that will have global negative health consequences. Like most other toxins added to foods, neotame will most likely cause chronic damage over a long period of time, which means mainstream health authorities will get away with never having to admit that neotame is a dangerous toxin.

Source for Story:

http://www.naturalnews.com/034915_neotame_Monsanto_sweeteners.html#ixzz1lvFT8u9M

lead-glazed pottery, contaminated soil, and contaminated drinking water.

Exposure to these metals is known to have a number of effects on human health, but the effects on human fertility have not been extensively studied, especially when studying both partners of a couple.

The study was published online in Chemosphere. The study’s principal investigator was Germaine M. Buck Louis, Ph.D., director of the Division of Epidemiology, Statistics, and Prevention Research at the NIH’s Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). Other authors of the study were from the NICHD, the Texas A&M Health Science Center School of Rural Public Health, College Station; The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Columbus; The EMMES Corp. in Rockville, Md.; the National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta; and the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University, Atlanta.

“Our results indicate that men and women planning to have children should minimize their exposure to lead and cadmium,” Dr. Buck Louis said. “They can reduce cadmium exposure by avoiding cigarettes or by quitting if they are current smokers, especially if they intend to become pregnant in the future. Similarly, they can take steps to reduce their exposure to lead based paints, which may occur in older housing, including during periods of home renovation.”

To conduct the study, the researchers enrolled 501 couples from four counties in Michigan and 12 counties in Texas, from 2005 to 2009. The women ranged from 18 to 44 years of age, and the men were over 18. Couples provided blood samples for the analysis of three heavy metals. Women kept journals to record their monthly menstrual cycles and the results of home pregnancy tests. The couples were followed until pregnancy or for up to one year of trying.

The researchers ranked the study participants on the basis of their blood levels of lead and cadmium. The researchers also measured the participants’ blood mercury levels, but found they were not associated with the length of time couples required to become pregnant. Nearly every study participant had some exposure to these common metals, although blood levels of the metals varied across participants.

Researchers calculated the probability that a couple would achieve pregnancy by levels of blood cadmium and lead with a statistical measure called the fecundability odds ratio. The measure estimates couples’ probability of pregnancy each cycle, by their blood concentration of metals. A ratio less than one suggests a longer time to pregnancy, while a ratio greater than one suggests a shorter time to pregnancy. Females’ blood cadmium concentration was associated with a ratio below 1 (0.78), which means that the probability of pregnancy was reduced by 22 percent with each increase in the level of cadmium. Males’ blood lead exposure also was associated with a ratio below 1 (0.85) with increasing levels, or about a 15 percent reduction in the probability of pregnancy for each increase in the level of blood lead concentrations.

The researchers also calculated a fecundability odds ratio based on both partners’ combined lead, cadmium and mercury concentrations. The researchers found a ratio of 0.82 for male lead exposure, representing approximately a 28 percent reduction in the probability of pregnancy for each menstrual cycle, with increasing male blood lead concentration.

“The findings highlight the importance of assessing couples’ exposure jointly, in a single, combined measure,” Dr. Buck Louis said. “Males matter, because couples’ chances of becoming pregnant each cycle were reduced with increasing blood lead concentrations in men.”

Source for Story:

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-02/nioc-nsl020812.php

The agency is basically now recommending that all young men and women get the Gardasil vaccine.

The CDC announcement comes just days after Canadian health officials made a similar announcement recommending that all boys between the ages of nine and 26 in that country be jabbed with Gardasil. Together, the two announcements could potentially double profits for the vaccine, that is if enough members of the public are foolish enough to actually comply with these new recommendations.

ACIP heavily influenced by Big Pharma

Many of ACIP’s members are nominated directly by the drug industry, and often have significant financial ties to vaccine manufacturers. So it is really no surprise that ACIP has made such egregious recommendations without considering the fact that Gardasil has been shown to be medically useless for its stated purpose, and a significant threat to health in many cases.

Dr. Carol Baker, executive director of the Texas Children’s Center for Vaccine Awareness and Research, and huge proponent of vaccines, is head of ACIP, which made the recommendation. And Dr. Larry Pickering, executive secretary of ACIP and senior advisor to the director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the CDC, also has an extensive history working for groups that promote vaccines.

Thousands of young girls around the world have suffered debilitating, permanent neurological damage from getting the Gardasil series of shots. Many of them are now paralyzed as well, and suffer from chronic autoimmune disorders, extreme fatigue, and incapacitating muscle weakness, and at least 100 girls have died. If boys start getting the shot as well, you can expect a massive upswing in serious negative side effects and deaths among this segment of the population as well.

The fact of the matter is that Gardasil is a dangerous, unproven vaccine that has no place in medicine. And yet health officials are all too eager to recommend it to practically everyone as if it was some type of miracle treatment.

Source for Story:

http://www.naturalnews.com/034886_CDC_Gardasil_boys.html#ixzz1ldn1e74V

 

The data for this study were obtained from the NHANES 1999-2004 public use datasets. The participants chosen were non-pregnant, premenopausal women aged 15-44 who had provided complete DMPA usage data, indicating current usage of DMPA, past usage of DMPA, or no usage of DMPA at all. All participants received a dental examination that noted clinical attachment (CA) loss, periodontal pocket assessment at two or three sites per tooth, and presence of gingival bleeding.

After adjusting for age, race, education, poverty income level, and smoking status, the study found that current and past DMPA users had significantly increased periodontal pockets, gingival bleeding, and CA loss than women who have never used DMPA. Current DMPA users were more likely to have gingivitis, while past DMPA users were more likely to have periodontitis.

According to Dr. Pamela McClain, President of the American Academy of Periodontology (AAP) and a practicing periodontist in Aurora, Colorado, women currently taking DMPA or that have used DMPA in the past should pay careful attention to their teeth and gums. “Hormones can play a role in woman’s periodontal health. These findings suggest that women that use, or have used, a hormone-based injectable contraception such as DMPA may have increased odds of poor periodontal health. I would encourage women that use or previously used this form of contraception to maintain excellent oral care, and to be sure to see a dental professional for a comprehensive periodontal evaluation on an annual basis.”

Source for Story:

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-02/aaop-ipc020612.php

the device opened blocked vessels without causing symptomatic bleeding in or around the brain in 61 percent of patients. The standard Food and Drug Administration–approved mechanical device — a corkscrew-type clot remover called the MERCI Retriever — was effective in 24 percent of cases.

The use of the new device also led to better survival three months after a stroke. There was a 17.2 percent mortality rate with the new device, compared with a 38.2 percent rate with the older one.

“This new device heralds a new era in acute stroke care,” said Saver, the study’s lead author and a professor of neurology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. “We are going from our first generation of clot-removing procedures, which were only moderately good in reopening target arteries, to now having a highly effective tool. This really is a game-changing result.”

About 87 percent of all strokes are caused by blood clots blocking a blood vessel supplying the brain. The stroke treatment that has received the most study is the FDA–approved clot- busting drug known as tissue plasminogen activator, but this drug must be given within four-and-a-half hours after the onset of stroke symptoms, and even more quickly in older patients.

When clot-busting drugs cannot be used or are ineffective, the clot can sometimes be mechanically removed during, or beyond, the four-and-a-half–hour window. The current study, however, did not compare mechanical clot removal to drug treatment.

For the trial, called SOLITAIRE With the Intention for Thrombectomy (SWIFT), researchers randomly assigned 113 stroke patients at 18 hospitals to receive either SOLITAIRE or MERCI therapy within eight hours of stroke onset, between January 2010 and February 2011. The patients’ average age was 67, and 68 percent were male. The time from the beginning of stroke symptoms to the start of the clot-retriever treatment averaged 5.1 hours. Forty percent of the patients had not improved with standard clot-busting medication prior to the study, while the remainder had not received it.

At the suggestion of a safety monitoring committee, the trial was ended nearly a year earlier than planned due to significantly better outcomes with the experimental device.

Other statistically significant findings included:

• 2 percent of SOLITAIRE-treated patients had symptoms of bleeding in the brain, compared with 11 percent of MERCI patients. At the 90-day follow-up, overall adverse event rates, including bleeding in the brain, were similar for the two devices.
• 58 percent of SOLITAIRE-treated patients had good mental/motor functioning at 90 days, compared with 33 percent of MERCI patients.
• The SOLITARE device also opened more vessels when used as the first treatment approach, necessitating fewer subsequent attempts with other devices or drugs.

“Nearly a decade ago, our UCLA Stroke Center team invented the first stroke retrieval device — the MERCI Retriever — and now we are pleased to have helped develop and successfully test a superior, next-generation clot removing device,” said Dr. Reza Jahan, associate professor of radiology at UCLA and the study’s principal neurointerventional investigator, who also led the pre-clinical studies. “It is exciting to have a highly effective new tool that can improve the outcomes for more stroke patients.”

Source for Story:

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-02/uoc–ndr020312.php

The report claims the technology is for contraceptive purposes only and not for causing sterility. However, Dr. James Tsuruta, who led the research, told reporters that it is unclear whether or not the technology can cause long-term damage, and that more research is needed to determine whether or not repeated ultrasounds cause permanent damage.

The Gates Foundation awarded 78 different research projects with $100,000 grants each as part of its “Grand Challenges in Global Health Program.” Ten of these projects specifically addressed new technologies for contraception, according to TIME, including one for a pill that inhibits the growth and maturation of sperm, and another for creating chemical compounds that prevent sperm from reaching the egg (http://healthland.time.com/2010/05/14/male-birth-control-stopping-sperm-with-ultrasound/).

“We think this could provide men with up to six months of reliable, low-cost, non-hormonal contraception from a single round of treatment,” wrote the researchers in their report. “Our long-term goal is to use ultrasound … as an inexpensive, long-term, reversible male contraceptive suitable for use in developing to first world countries.”

Back in 2010, Bill Gates explained to attendees at the TED Conference that year his ideas for culling the world population, one of which involved increasing vaccination rates (http://www.naturalnews.com/029911_vaccines_Bill_Gates.html). Now, his organization is actively funding research into advanced contraceptive methods that could render individuals infertile. Coincidence?

Source for Story: http://www.naturalnews.com/034834_Bill_Gates_sperm_infertility.html#ixzz1lFhMq0aNF

while an excellent measurement of compressive strength, does not reveal tensile strength, i.e. whether or not your bone will resist breaking from being pulled or stretched, as commonly occurs in a fall or similar trauma.

Moreover, “osteoporosis,” as presently defined by bone scans (DXA scan) using the T-score, inappropriately defines “normal bone density” according to the standard of a 25-year old, young adult.

In other words, if you are 40, 50, or even 100, the T-score-based system says your bones are not normal, or even diseased if they are not as dense as they were when you were a young adult.

If in fact they used the age-appropriate Z-score, most cases of “osteopenia,” and many cases of “osteoporosis,” would suddenly disappear because they were inappropriately classified from the start.

Do Calcium Supplements Predispose You to Breast Cancer?

Ultimately, the “calcium is good for your bones” mantra is yet another example of a good theory gone wrong, and represents how broadly deluded the mainstream medical community is about bone health and the nature of osteoporosis, and its highly fabricated twin condition “osteopenia.”

There are actually a number of studies indicating that mass market calcium supplements increase your risk for cardiovascular incidents and other problems, while offering little benefit to your bones. Only because something can increase your bone density: eating what amounts to chalk or pulverized bone meal, or worse, chemicals like the drugs Fosamax and Evista, does not mean this will translate into improved health for your bones, or any of your other organ systems.

Indeed, before jumping off the lemming-like cliff of conventional medical wisdom, consider there is a solid body of research indicating that higher bone density may actually increase the risk of malignant breast cancer by 300% or more! Considering that close to 1 in 4 women will be diagnosed with cancer in their lives, with breast cancer top on the list, isn’t the neurotic fixation on increasing bone density with calcium supplements misplaced, especially when it may increase the overall risk of dying from cancer and, as we will see, cardiovascular disease (the #1 killer), as well?

Taking Calcium Might Increase Your Heart Attack Risk

Heart attacks may be caused by supplemental calcium from elemental sources, which include limestone, oyster shell, and bone meal, according to two meta-analyses of available research (a meta-analysis is a review and summary of the results of many clinical studies on the same subject).

The first, conducted in 2010 and involving over 8,000 people, showed that taking this kind of inorganic calcium supplement in amounts of 500 mg or more would increase your relative risk of heart attack by 27 percent.

Critics of the study pointed out that it only looked at calcium supplementation without vitamin D administered at the same time (vitamin D helps you absorb and utilize calcium). However, the second analysis showed that even when co-administered with vitamin D, elemental calcium still increased heart attack risk by 24 percent, with researchers concluding:

“Calcium supplements with or without vitamin D modestly increase the risk of cardiovascular events, especially myocardial infarction … A reassessment of the role of calcium supplements in osteoporosis management is warranted.”

In fact, the second analysis was even more disturbing, as it found the calcium supplementation (in addition to vitamin D) increased the composite risk of heart attack and stroke by15%!

Calcium Can be Beneficial or Deadly Depending on Where it Ends Up in Your Body

Calcium is the most abundant mineral in your body, necessary for not only bone health but also regulating your heartbeat, conducting nerve impulses, clotting blood and stimulating hormone secretions. Your body does not make calcium, and in fact loses calcium daily through your skin, nails, hair, sweat and elimination, which is why you must replace it via your diet.

It has been estimated, however, that your body excretes as little as 100 mg a day, making the current recommendations by the National Osteoporosis Foundation for women over 50 to take 1200 mg a day, a bit troubling.  When we compare our calcium-rich diet to the traditional calcium-poor Chinese peasant diet, which was free of cow’s milk and calcium supplements, approximately 250 mg a day of plant-based calcium was all that was needed to fulfill their bodily needs – and this is a culture with no word for “osteoporosis” in its 3,000+ year old language!

Due to the fact that about 99 percent of your body’s calcium is stored in your bones and teeth, if you don’t get enough calcium, your body will take calcium from your bones to perform necessary functions. This is where the idea that supplementing with calcium could prevent calcium loss from your bones comes from — but it is an overly simplified theory that lacks solid evidence to back it up, especially in Western, modernized cultures which consume unprecedentedly large amounts of dairy-derived, fortification-based and supplemental calcium.

For instance, one 2010 article presented evidence for a total lack of support in the research for calcium supplements reducing fracture risk!

Moreover, in the Harvard Nurses’ Health Study, a review tracking 78,000 nurses for 12 years found that the relative risk of hip fracture was 45% higher in those women who drank two or more glasses of milk per day versus those who drank one glass or less. Indeed, in countries where both dairy consumption and overall calcium levels in the diet are the lowest, bone fracture rates are also the lowest; conversely, in cultures like the United States where calcium consumption is among the highest in the world, so too are the fracture rates among the highest (see: The China Study).

The truth is that taking any calcium in excess or isolation, without complementary nutrients like magnesium, vitamin D and vitamin K2, which help keep your body in balance, can have adverse effects, such as calcium building up in coronary arteries and causing heart attacks. Even taking calcium with vitamin D does not appear to be enough to prevent these types of adverse effects.

So when you take a biologically foreign form of calcium (such as limestone, oyster shell, egg shell and bone meal (hydroxylapatite), or when your body’s ability to direct calcium to the right places becomes impaired (as when you are deficient in vitamin K2), calcium may be deposited where it shouldn’t be, which can lead to multiple health problems.

Often, much of the burden of removing the excess calcium falls on the kidneys, which is why it has been proven on numerous occasions that calcium carbonate rapidly calcifies arteries in those with compromised kidney function, especially hemodialysis patients.  Calcium deposits are, in fact, major contributors and even causative factors in many conditions, including the following:

Cellulite and scar tissue	Coronary artery disease and atherosclerosis	Dental plaque and gum disease	Hypothyroidism
Obesity and diabetes	Alzheimer’s disease	Breast cancer and cysts (fibrocystic breasts)	Gallstones, colon cancer and Crohn’s disease
Kidney stones	Ovarian cysts	Cataracts, glaucoma, and macular degeneration	Bone spurs, stiff joints, osteoarthritis, tendonitis and bone cancer

Too Much Calcium May Create Mineral Deficiencies that Promote Disease

Robert Thompson, M.D. wrote a book on this subject called The Calcium Lie, which explains that bone is comprised of at least a dozen minerals, and the exclusive focus on calcium supplementation is likely to worsen bone density and actually increase your risk for osteoporosis. Dr. Thompson believes overconsumption of calcium creates other mineral deficiencies and imbalances that will increase your risk of heart disease, kidney stones, gallstones, osteoarthritis, hypothyroidism, obesity and type 2 diabetes.

If your calcium supplement is being turned into “little rocks” that are being deposited in your soft tissues and arteries, you can begin to understand how this could be increasing your risk for a heart attack, stroke or other health condition.

Many believe that arterial plaque is simply a buildup of cholesterol. But in reality, more than 90 percent of these fatty plaques are calcified. Cholesterol is soft and waxy and does not impair the elasticity of your arteries. But calcium deposits are like concrete, “hardening” your arteries and impairing their ability to expand. It is calcium — not cholesterol — that induces arterial stiffness and makes the plaque less stable and more prone to chipping off and subsequently inducing a life-threatening clot.

This is particularly important for postmenopausal women because hormone balance is necessary for proper calcium signaling — directing your body to deposit calcium into your bones. When hormones fall out of balance, this signaling causes calcium to slowly exit your bones and become deposited in your arteries instead. Simply taking a calcium supplement will not solve the problem because if your body cannot direct the calcium to the right spot, it will cause far more harm than good.

Why Vitamin K2 is Crucial if You Take Vitamin D and Calcium …

Vitamin K2 engages in a delicate dance with vitamin D; whereas vitamin D provides improved bone development by helping you absorb calcium, there is new evidence that vitamin K2 directs the calcium to your skeleton, while preventing it from being deposited where you don’t want it — i.e., your organs, joint spaces, and arteries. As mentioned, a large part of arterial plaque consists of calcium deposits (atherosclerosis), hence the term “hardening of the arteries.”

Vitamin K2 has also actually been found to decalcify certain tissues undergoing pathological (also known as ectopic) calcification.

Vitamin K2 activates a protein hormone called osteocalcin, produced by osteoblasts, which is needed to bind calcium into the matrix of your bone. Osteocalcin also appears to help prevent calcium from depositing into your arteries. In other words, without the help of vitamin K2, the calcium that your vitamin D so effectively lets in might be working AGAINST you — by building up your coronary arteries rather than your bones. This is why if you take calcium and vitamin D but are deficient in vitamin K, you could be worse off than if you were not taking those supplements at all.

Food is the Best Source of Calcium

In order for calcium to do your body good, it must be in a bio available form and balanced out with vitamins D and K and other important trace minerals, as part of a total nutritional plan.

It’s more likely your body can use calcium correctly if it’s food-based calcium. Good sources include raw milk and cheese from pasture-raised cows (who eat the plants), leafy green vegetables, the pith of citrus fruits, carob, sesame seeds and wheat-grass, to name a few. It’s worth mentioning that the studies done about calcium from dairy products are all done with pasteurized dairy, rather than raw dairy products that have more of their nutrients intact, and this muddies the results of these studies.

Calcium from dietary sources is typically better absorbed and utilized than calcium from supplements, which is why studies involving calcium from natural food sources have shown favorable results, including a 25 percent lower risk of dying from all causes, and a 23 percent lower risk of dying from heart disease.

You also need sources of silica and magnesium, which some researchers say is actually enzymatically “transmuted” by your body into the kind of calcium your bones can use. This theory was first put forth by French scientist Louis Kevran, a Nobel Prize nominee who spent years studying how silica, calcium, magnesium, and other minerals are related and transmutable into one another through low-energy nuclear transformation only found within living systems.

His theory explains how cows and chickens produce far more calcium in their milk and eggs than is found in their diet, or why, workers exposed to extremely high temperatures (130 degrees F) in the Middle East are known to consume salt tablets, which their bodies convert to potassium (as measured by their excreta), resulting in a reduction in their bodily temperature.

Good sources of bone-strengthening silica are cucumbers, bell peppers, tomatoes, and a number of herbs including horsetail, nettles, oat straw, alfalfa, and raw cacao, which is also extremely rich in highly bioavailable magnesium.

Dr. Thompson recommends the use of natural unprocessed salt as a far better alternative to calcium supplements because it provides the trace minerals you simply cannot get from food grown in today’s mineral-depleted soils. My favorite source of trace minerals is pure, unprocessed Himalayan salt, which contains 84 elements needed by your body.

The bottom line is, optimize your vitamin D levels through sun exposure and consume a variety of fresh, local organic whole foods, including vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, organic meats and eggs, unprocessed salt, and raw organic unpasteurized dairy, which will give you the bio available calcium your body needs along with the trace minerals and other co factors it needs to be absorbed and properly utilized by your body.

Source for Story:

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/01/30/calcium-supplement-on-heart-attack.aspx?e_cid=20120130_DNL_art_1

Aluminum consumption can also be associated with the development of bone disorders, including stress fractures.

Also known as tartrazine, FD&C Yellow Aluminum Lake is a chemical concoction derived from coal tar. It is known to be a reproductive toxin. All artificial colors contain Aluminum Lake, so when your child gets to pick between red, blue or green medicine, they’re really choosing which poison they get to consume. Several chemically enhanced food colorings contain ammonia and therefore produce compounds proven to cause various cancers in animal studies, according to CSPI, the Center for Science in the Public Interest. (http://www.cspinet.org/reports/chemcuisine.htm)

Most widely used food colors and their damaging actions:

• Blue #1: Research shows it causes kidney tumors in mice.

• Blue #2: Research shows even higher incidence of tumors, specifically gliomas in male rates (a type of tumor that starts in the brain or spine).

• Red #2: Toxic to rodents, even at modest levels, and causes tumors of the bladder.

• Red #3: FDA recognized it in 1990 as a cause of thyroid cancer in animals. It was banned in cosmetics, but still allowed in food and medicine.

• Red #40: Most popular dye of all. Debilitates the immune-system in mice. Allergic reactions common.

• Green #3: Causes bladder and testes tumors.

• Yellow #5: Affects behavior and induces severe hypersensitivity reactions.

• Yellow #6: Causes adrenal tumors in animals.

The following is taken directly from FDA’s Regulatory Process and Historical Perspectives: “Color additives are important components of many products, making them attractive, appealing, appetizing, and informative. Added color serves as a kind of code that allows us to identify products on sight, like candy flavors and medicine dosages.” Really?! Decoding medicine dosages on sight?

There has been a 55% increase in U.S. toxic food dyes just since the year 2000. There are over 15 million pounds of dyes put in foods, drinks, candy and medicine every year, and the FDA does nothing to protect consumers from the colorful barrage of poison. (http://www.vaughns-1-pagers.com/food/artificial-food-colors.htm)

Studies reveal that children have consumed as much as three pounds of dye by the age of twelve

Here are some popular product and “brand” names you may mistake as exempt products: RD&C dyes and colors in baked goods, beverages, candy, cereal, drugs, pet food, personal care products, cosmetics, cough syrups, NyQuil,Tylenol, Robitussin,Jello, gelatins, Cheetos, Skittles, Fruity Pebbles, Marachino cherries, sausage, Mountain Dew, Doritos, chewing gum, and powdered drink mixes.

American companies doing business in Europe currently have to change their products to natural colorings to meet European Union strict regulations. The FDA’s rationale is that because artificial food colorings are used mainly in foods and medicines of low or no nutritional value, that the American public should “already be aware” of health implications, so it doesn’t matter if other toxins are added.

What are your options as opposed to poisonous medicines? Consult a naturopath (ND) for advice on ingredients in food and medicine.

Source for  story:

http://www.naturalnews.com/034813_childrens_medicines_aluminum_pills.html#ixzz1kxgn9C6h

 

The heart of the sensor is a vibrating cantilever, a thin beam attached at one end like a miniature diving board. Music within a certain range of frequencies, from 200-500 hertz, causes the cantilever to vibrate, generating electricity and storing a charge in a capacitor, said Babak Ziaie, a Purdue University professor of electrical and computer engineering and biomedical engineering.

“The music reaches the correct frequency only at certain times, for example, when there is a strong bass component,” he said. “The acoustic energy from the music can pass through body tissue, causing the cantilever to vibrate.”

When the frequency falls outside of the proper range, the cantilever stops vibrating, automatically sending the electrical charge to the sensor, which takes a pressure reading and transmits data as radio signals. Because the frequency is continually changing according to the rhythm of a musical composition, the sensor can be induced to repeatedly alternate intervals of storing charge and transmitting data.

“You would only need to do this for a couple of minutes every hour or so to monitor either blood pressure or pressure of urine in the bladder,” Ziaie said. “It doesn’t take long to do the measurement.”

Findings are detailed in a paper to be presented during the IEEE MEMS conference, which will be Jan. 29 to Feb. 2 in Paris. The paper was written by doctoral student Albert Kim, research scientist Teimour Maleki and Ziaie.

“This paper demonstrates the feasibility of the concept,” he said.

The device is an example of a microelectromechanical system, or MEMS, and was created in the Birck Nanotechnology Center at the university’s Discovery Park. The cantilever beam is made from a ceramic material called lead zirconate titanate, or PZT, which is piezoelectric, meaning it generates electricity when compressed. The sensor is about 2 centimeters long. Researchers tested the device in a water-filled balloon.

A receiver that picks up the data from the sensor could be placed several inches from the patient. Playing tones within a certain frequency range also can be used instead of music.

“But a plain tone is a very annoying sound,” Ziaie said. “We thought it would be novel and also more aesthetically pleasing to use music.”

Researchers experimented with four types of music: rap, blues, jazz and rock.

“Rap is the best because it contains a lot of low frequency sound, notably the bass,” Ziaie said.

The sensor is capable of monitoring pressure in the urinary bladder and in the sack of a blood vessel damaged by an aneurism. Such a technology could be used in a system for treating incontinence in people with paralysis by checking bladder pressure and stimulating the spinal cord to close the sphincter that controls urine flow from the bladder. More immediately, it could be used to diagnose incontinence. The conventional diagnostic method now is to insert a probe with a catheter, which must be in place for several hours while the patient remains at the hospital.

“A wireless implantable device could be inserted and left in place, allowing the patient to go home while the pressure is monitored,” Ziaie said.

The new technology offers potential benefits over conventional implantable devices, which either use batteries or receive power through a property called inductance, which uses coils on the device and an external transmitter. Both approaches have downsides. Batteries have to be replaced periodically, and data are difficult to retrieve from devices that use inductance; coils on the implanted device and an external receiver must be lined up precisely, and they can only be about a centimeter apart.

A patent application has been filed for the design.

Source for Story:

http://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/research/2012/120126ZiaieMusic.html

How do you get rid of that pain? For us, the common methods of pain relief include analgesic and anti-inflammatory medications, which reduce symptomatic pain and swelling. But these treatments have a downside: They offer relief only during the time the medication is active in the body. They do nothing to correct the structural issues in the body causing the trigger points, spasms and pain.

You can also alternate the application of ice and heat to treat muscle pain. These are safe methods for symptomatic relief, but are difficult to apply for a prolonged period. And you need to keep using these techniques if you don’t treat the root cause of the pain.

Acupuncture, chiropractic, massage and physical therapy can also be used to treat muscle pain caused by structural issues. These are all reliable and play a role in re-establishing normalcy in the body. But there is another method, less well known yet powerful, that I’d like to share. It is called gua sha or “scraping” therapy.

A Form Of Bodywork

Gua sha can be thought of as a form of bodywork. It is similar to massage, but is carried out with a blunt instrument. Also, it is only applied to one area at a time and in only one direction.

Let’s say you experience tightness or a chronic trigger point in your shoulders. When you receive gua sha, you sit, shoulders exposed to the practitioner. The practitioner’s fingers press along the line of your shoulder. If the fingers show white marks on your skin after being removed, this is considered to be a sign of blockage. The blood and fluids are not moving freely in the shoulder, and this is the cause of the pain. When the sha or white compression marks take a long time to disappear, the problem has been there for a long period of time or the trouble spot lies deep within the muscle.

After initially testing the spot, the therapists lubricates the area and uses the blunt end of an instrument (like an old coin, rounded metal bottle cap, a piece of jade or hard plastic) to scrape over the troubled area. The movement is always deep, slow and steady and in the same direction away from the spine. (In other cases, like mid-back pain, the movement is parallel to the spine, but not toward or on it). The instrument is held at about a 30-degree angle, and the motion is repeated again and again until discoloration of the skin occurs.

During this process, patients often become worried. But there’s no need for alarm. What is happening is that the repetitive motion of the instrument brings the toxic, stagnant blood and fluids to the surface of the skin where the lymphatic system can clear it. At the same time, as the old, stagnant blood is removed from the muscle, fresh blood carrying fresh oxygen and nutrients is brought into the area to aid in healing. While the skin surface looks as if it is bruised, if the technique is performed properly, there should be no pain when the area is touched. This is a case where something looks worse than it feels. Interestingly, if there is no problem in that area, no dark discoloration comes to the surface and the skin retains its normal color.

Logical Treatment

While the 1,000-year-old method of gua sha may sound peculiar, it is actually based on the same logic used today in physical therapy and sports medicine. It is a form of deep-tissue massage or myofascial release. It augments soft-tissue mobilization. The process of applying the device gently yet firmly over the spasm area acts to mildly re-injure the area to promote proper healing.

In many cases, trigger points and muscle spasms are caused by injuries that may be decades old. These injuries often shorten muscles, tendons or ligaments after healing takes place improperly. Too much connective tissue can be formed which restricts movement and blood flow. Gua sha scraping breaks through this and allows for proper re-healing of the area, thereby correcting once and for all the origin of the pain and tightness.

While scraping can be performed on most muscles of the body, it should be avoided directly over bony areas, and never on a location where there is a new injury, painful bruising, sunburn or rash, or a break in the skin. Moles and pimples must be covered by the practitioner’s fingers so they are not scraped and made painful.

The Very Idea

The very idea of scraping away pain, or causing a new micro-injury to heal an old chronic injury, and of allowing a practitioner to bring dark purple bruising to the surface of your skin may seem a little unreasonable and odd; but I’d like you to put aside your judgment of this ancient healing method and read more about it online. There are many sites and pages and images available via a simple Internet search. If you can, call an acupuncturist or other bodywork therapist and ask if they are proficient in the method. If so, give it a try. A few days of skin discoloration beats decades of pain meds and physical therapy.

Source for Story:

http://www.easyhealthoptions.com/alternative-medicine/scraping-pain-away/

the doctor in question still refused, recommending that the girl just be left to die.

Little Amelia suffers from an affliction known as Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome (WHS) that causes developmental delay, a characteristic facial appearance, and sometimes other birth defects. Amelia had been seeing a nephrologist at CHP for three years before the horrific incident denying her right to life took place, and had made much progress in spite of her condition, thanks to the unconditional love and dedication of her long-suffering parents.

But all of this changed on January 10, 2012, when an unnamed Peruvian doctor of about 65 years old told Amelia’s parents that he would not be approving a life-saving kidney transplant. The hubristic doctor, presumptuously assuming the role of God, explained his opinion that Amelia’s “mentally retarded” and “brain damaged” state rendered her unworthy of the transplant, and proceeded to explain that Amelia would not, under any circumstances, receive the transplant at CHP.
Be sure to read the full sobering account of Amelia’s parents’ harrowing experience here(http://www.wolfhirschhorn.org/2012/01/amelia/brick-walls/).

As we all know, the mainstream medical system is wrong about a lot of things, including its assessments of “quality of life” and determinations of who is worthy of living. After all, how many times have stories emerged about terminal patients living far longer than doctor assessments, for instance, or individuals in a “permanent” vegetative state miraculously recovering in spite of physicians declaring that such individuals would never recover?

Allowing an individual with developmental deficiencies to die because you consider his or her life to be less valuable is the epitome of eugenicist ideology. And such thinking is becoming increasingly more common as government agencies in concert with megalith insurance corporations seize control of healthcare and dictate who is worthy of receiving it.

Sources for Story:
http://endoftheamericandream.com/archives/eugenics-in-action-3-year-old-girl-denied-kidney-transplant-because-she-is-mentally-retarded

http://www.naturalnews.com/034713_eugenics_kidney_transplant_mentally_retarded.html#ixzz1kQ11qpRc

of an underlying biological factor predisposing children to complications associated with second-generation anti-psychotic medication use,” says Dr Dina Panagiotopoulos, study co-author, clinician scientist at the Child & Family Research Institute (CFRI), pediatric endocrinologist at BC Children’s Hospital, and assistant professor, Department of Pediatrics, University of British Columbia (UBC).

“It’s concerning because these children take medications to treat a chronic disease – mental illness – and then develop risk factors for a second chronic disease,” says Dr. Angela Devlin, study co-author, CFRI scientist and assistant professor in the UBC Department of Pediatrics.

Second-generation anti-psychotics are prescribed to approximately 5500 children and youth in British Columbia for psychotic disorders, mood and anxiety disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorders, adjustment disorders and substance abuse. Of these medications, the two most commonly prescribed in B.C. are quetiapine (Seroquel®) and risperidone (Risperdal®).

For the study, researchers assessed 209 children who were inpatients between April 2008 and June 2011 at the Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Department at BC Children’s Hospital, an agency of the Provincial Health Services Authority. Their average age was 13 years, and 105 of the children were treated with second-generation anti-psychotics while 112 did not use these drugs. DNA analysis showed that eight per cent of children from both groups had a genetic variation called C677T on the MTHFR gene. Children with the MTHFR C677T variant who used these medications were six-times more likely to have metabolic syndrome.

The researchers targeted the MTHFR C677T variant because it is known to be associated with metabolic syndrome in adults who have schizophrenia, and with cardiovascular disease in adults who don’t have psychiatric illness.

Dr. Devlin and Dr. Panagiotopoulos say their discovery is an important step to preventing and managing metabolic complications associated with second-generation antipsychotic medications. It is critical to reduce these risks in childhood because adults with mental illness have a 19 per cent increased mortality rate that is largely due to cardiovascular disease risk.

The MTHFR gene is involved in metabolizing the B-vitamin folate.

“We now plan to assess B vitamin status and dietary intake in children who take these medications to gain a better understanding of this association,” says Dr. Panagiotopoulos.

###

This study was funded by CFRI and the Canadian Diabetes Association.

Dr. Panagiotopoulos’s previous research on the metabolic side effects of anti-psychotics in children led to national recommendations for clinicians on monitoring and managing the care of children who take these medications. The recommendations were published in the Journal of the Canadian Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry in August 2011 and in Pediatrics and Child Health in November 2011.

CFRI conducts discovery, clinical and applied research to benefit the health of children and families. It is the largest institute of its kind in Western Canada. CFRI works in close partnership with UBC; BC Children’s Hospital and Sunny Hill Health Centre for Children, BC Women’s Hospital & Health Centre, agencies of PHSA; and BC Children’s Hospital Foundation. CFRI has additional important relationships with British Columbia’s (B.C.’s) five regional health authorities and with B.C. academic institutions Simon Fraser University, the University of Victoria, the University of Northern British Columbia, and the British Columbia Institute of Technology. For more information, visit http://www.cfri.ca.

BC Children’s Hospital, an agency of the Provincial Health Services Authority, provides expert care for the province’s most seriously ill or injured children, including newborns and adolescents. BC Children’s is an academic health centre affiliated with the University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University, and the Child & Family Research Institute. For more information, please visit http://www.bcchildrens.ca.

UBC is one of Canada’s largest and most prestigious public research and teaching institutions, and one of only two Canadian institutions to be consistently ranked among the world’s 40 best universities. Surrounded by the beauty of the Canadian West, it is a place that inspires bold, new ways of thinking that have helped make it a national leader in areas as diverse as community service learning, sustainability and research commercialization. UBC attracts $550 million per year in research funding from government, non-profit organizations and industry through 7,000 grants. For more information, visit http://www.ubc.ca.

Source for Story:

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-01/cfr-gvi012412.php

to spread to other parts of the body (metastasis). And now comes news that a little-explored specific cell type, the pericyte, found in what is called the micro environment of a cancerous tumor actually may halt cancer progression and metastasis. And by destroying these cells, some anti-cancer therapies may inadvertently be making cancer more aggressive as well as likely to spread and kill.

A study just published in the January 17 issue of the journal Cancer Cell concludes that anti-angiogenic therapies (which shrink cancer by cutting off tumors’ blood supply) may be killing the body’s natural defense against cancer by destroying pericyte cells that likely serve as important gatekeepers against cancer progression and metastasis. Pericytes cover blood vessels and support their growth.

For the new research, Raghu Kalluri, MD, PhD, Chief of the Division of Matrix Biology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School (HMS), investigated whether targeting pericytes could inhibit tumor growth in the same way that other antiangiogenic cancer drugs do.

Dr. Kalluri and his research team worked with mice genetically engineered to support drug-induced depletion of pericytes in growing tumors. Next, they removed pericytes in implanted mouse breast cancer tumors, decreasing pericyte numbers by 60 percent.

Compared with control animals, there was a 30 percent decrease in the size of cancerous tumors over 25 days. But there was a serious catch to these results. Contrary to conventional mainsteam medical wisdom, the scientists discovered the number of secondary lung tumors in the engineered mice had increased threefold compared to the control mice, indicating that the tumors had metastasized.

How cancer drugs can spread cancer cells

“If you just looked at tumor growth, the results were good,” Dr. Kalluri said in a press statement. “But when you looked at the whole picture, inhibiting tumor vessels was not controlling cancer progression. The cancer was, in fact, spreading. This suggested to us that without supportive pericytes, the vasculature inside the tumor was becoming weak and leaky — even more so than it already is inside most tumors– and this was reducing the flow of oxygen to the tumor.”

That change, he explains, makes cancer cells more mobile, so they can travel through those leaky vessels to new locations. It also makes cancer cells behave more like stem cells, so they are better able to survive.

Because cancer therapies such as Imatinib, Sunitinib and others are known to decrease pericytes in tumors, the scientists next carried out the same experiments in mice with primary tumors. Only this time, they used the chemotherapy drugs Imatinib and Sunitinib instead of genetic programs to decrease pericyte numbers. Both Imatinib and Sunitinib caused 70 percent pericyte depletion — and they also increased metastasis threefold.

In order to see if their findings are relevant to human patients, the research team examined 130 breast cancer tumor samples of varying cancer stages and tumor sizes and compared pericyte levels with prognoses. The result? The samples with low numbers of pericytes in tumor vasculature correlated with the most deeply invasive cancers, distant metastasis and five to ten year survival rates less than 20 percent.

“These results are quite provocative and will influence clinical programs designed to target tumor angiogenesis,” Ronald A. DePinho, president of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, said in a press statement. “These impressive studies will inform and refine potential therapeutic approaches for many cancers.”

Source for Story:

http://www.naturalnews.com/034693_cancer_drugs_tumors_aggressive.html#ixzz1jwkcAWIQ

a large U.K.-based longitudinal multicenter study initiative looking at health and cognitive function in older adults. Results of the study appeared in the June 24 advanced online publication of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

Over-the-counter products containing diphenhydramine, sold under various brand names such as Benadryl, Dramamine, Excedrin PM, Nytol, Sominex, Tylenol PM, and Unisom, have been shown to have anticholinergic activity. Other anticholinergic drugs, such as Paxil, Detrol, Demerol, and Elavil, are available by prescription.

Malaz Boustani, MD, an associate professor of medicine at the Indiana University Center for Aging Research, a scientist at the Regenstrief Institute, the study’s coauthor, and a geriatrician who directs the Wishard Healthy Aging Brain Center in Indianapolis, says it looks as though at least some of the effects of anticholinergics are reversible if the medication is stopped, although further research is needed to confirm this. “Some other studies have found an irreversible relationship between exposure to these medications and Alzheimer’s disease,” Boustani says.

Because the list of anticholinergic medications is lengthy, Boustani and colleagues developed the Anticholinergic Cognitive Burden Scale to evaluate the link between anticholinergic activity and cognitive decline. Available online and free of charge, the scale allows physicians to scan the medications documented in a patient’s electronic medical record (EMR), identify any anticholinergic medications, and suggest alternative medications.

“This is the best and most practical way to reduce exposure to anticholinergic medications and offer decision support to clinicians in the field,” Boustani says.

Calculating Anticholinergic Effects
The Anticholinergic Cognitive Burden Scale lists approximately 45 medicines that have anticholinergic activity. It rates each type of medication as having no anticholinergic effect (0), a weak anticholinergic effect (1), a moderate anticholinergic effect (2), or a strong anticholinergic effect (3). Then it calculates the effect of all of the patient’s anticholinergic medications. The physician then receives a total score, which in Boustani’s study ranged from 0 to 8. If a patient receives a score of 3 or higher, then Boustani would strongly recommend that the treating clinician advise using an alternative medication.

Clinicians who don’t have access to an EMR system or don’t control their own EMR system’s content can download a paper version of the scale. It contains a list of anticholinergic medications and rates them as having strong or weak anticholinergic activity. Alternatives to these medications are offered on the same page.
Boustani and colleagues at Wishard Health Services are currently working to develop software for the scale for an Apple iPhone application.

Weighing the Pros and Cons
Unfortunately, “The cognitive effects of anticholinergic medications are not well recognized in the field,” Boustani says. In addition, it is difficult to determine whether cognitive impairment results from a medication’s anticholinergic effects or something else.

“If a patient complains of cognitive impairment, a clinician’s first step should be to look at the patient’s list of both prescribed and over-the-counter medications and scan the list to see if there are any anticholinergic medications,” Boustani adds.

If so, the clinician should discuss the benefits vs. the risks of taking such medications or reducing the dosage. The physician may stop the medicine for three to six months and then perform a cognitive assessment to determine whether the patient notices a change. “Let the patient decide whether he or she favors the therapeutic benefit of their medications over the adverse cognitive effects,” Boustani says.

In particular, one such harm of anticholinergic medications could be an increased risk of mortality although more studies need to be done to prove this. The study by Boustani and colleagues evaluated individuals aged 65 and older and found that of those who took anticholinergics, 20% died within two years compared with 7% of those who didn’t take anticholinergics. “We don’t have detailed information regarding the period of exposure and how it relates to death. My group is currently investigating this with new studies,” Boustani says.

When they see him for treatment, many of Boustani’s patients are taking anticholinergic medications for urinary incontinence. After explaining the potential side effects on the brain, such as increasing by 50% the chance of developing cognitive impairment or doubling the risk of death over two years, almost nine of 10 patients choose to stop taking their anticholinergic medications. They prefer to use other strategies to help them with bladder issues, such as pelvic exercises, adult diapers, or scheduled toileting.

“As clinicians, we are well trained to pay attention to the side effects of medications on the kidney, liver, and cardiovascular system,” Boustani notes. “The brain is the only organ you can’t transplant and arguably it’s the most valuable, but for some reason we don’t pay enough attention to maintaining the brain’s health. Let’s strive to maintain the health of the brain, and hopefully we will have a better outcome.”

Source for Story:

http://www.agingwellmag.com/archive/fall2011_p6.shtml

which the authors say can be compared with “sand sprinkled on a carpet” – by sucking them out like a vacuum cleaner. A channel for fluids can inject water into the gallbladder to increase the size of the cavity for ease of performing a surgery, and all the interfaces on the device are standardized, so it can connect to camera systems worldwide.

Clinical trials at two hospitals showed “no significant difference” in the surgical safety of the new method compared to another type of endoscope that is often used for cholecystectomies, the authors write. Furthermore, the authors report, the flexibility and reliability of the device was superior to existing devices, and the image quality was better as well. Approximately ten percent of the population suffers from gallstones, hard, pebble-like deposits that can be as small as a grain of sand or as large as a golf ball.

Source for Story:

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-01/aiop-aew011712.php

Deep, slow diaphragmatic breathing for 10 minutes a day will oxygenate the blood and also circulate the lymph.

Rebounding

A Rebounder, also known as a mini-trampoline, is a great way to exercise. A simple, gentle walk in place without even lifting the feet off of the trampoline will suffice to circulate the lymph. At the top of the bounce the body experiences a moment free of gravity and at that time all of the one-way valves in the lymphatic vessels open to allow the fluid to move upward. This can even be done without a rebounder just by bouncing on the toes.

Massage and movement

Lymphatic drainage is a technical skill taught by a therapist, however a gentle massage can be self administered with good effects. Lymphatic massage is gentle using very little pressure to move and stretch the skin to stimulate flow through the lymphatic capillaries that are located just under the skin. Massage the skin in the direction of the heart. Any kind of movement such as walking will circulate the lymph because of the muscle contractions. Even laughter works well to get the fluid in motion.

Castor oil

“No drug exists that has the ability to improve lymphatic flow; however, the job can easily be handled through the topical application of Castor oil,” said Dr David G. Williams. For lymphatic stimulation, a good place to put a Castor oil pack would be the lower abdomen and/or the liver. For a Castor oil pack use a cotton or wool flannel cloth folded in several layers and a good quality, cold-pressed oil. Saturate the cloth in oil and apply it to the skin. Put plastic over the pack to keep the oil from dripping, then wrap an old towel around the pack for more protection. A hot water bottle placed over the pack will increase the effectiveness of the treatment. It can be left in place as long as all night. Because of the antimicrobial properties of the oil, the same pack can be used over again many times before discarding.

Source for Story:

http://www.naturalnews.com/034649_lymphatic_fluid_rebounding_massage.html#ixzz1jeU0NJj2

 

I’ve operated on 132 young patients in the outpatient clinic at the Sainte-Justine UHC using this technique, as well as on 286 adults at the University of Montreal Hospital Centre (CHUM) outpatient clinic,” says Dr. Saliba. “Regardless of the size of the perforation, the results are as good as those obtained using traditional techniques, with the incomparable advantage that patients don’t have to lose an entire working day, or 10 days or more off school in the case of children.”

The technique, which Dr. Saliba has designated “HAFGM” (Hyaluronic Acid Fat Graft Myringoplasty), requires only basic materials: a scalpel, forceps, a probe, a small container of hyaluronic acid, a small amount of fat taken from behind the ear and a local anesthetic. The operation, which is performed through the ear canal, allows the body by itself to rebuild the entire tympanic membrane after about two months on average, allowing patients to recover their hearing completely and preventing recurring cases of ear infection (otitis). Because it requires no general anesthetic, operating theatre or hospitalization, the technique makes surgery much more readily available, particularly outside large hospital centres, and at considerably lower cost.

“With the traditional techniques, you have to be on the waiting list for up to a year and a half in order to be operated on. Myringoplasty (reconstruction of the eardrum) using the HAFGM technique reduces waiting times, cost of the procedure and time lost by parents and children. What’s more, it will help clear the backlogs on waiting lists,” Dr. Saliba says.

Perforations of the eardrum

Myringoplasty is surgical procedures to repair the tympanic membrane or eardrum when it has been perforated or punctured as the result of infection, trauma or dislodgement of a myringotomy tube (also known as a pressure equalization tube). Surgical repair of the perforation will allow the patient to recover his or her hearing and prevent repeated ear infections, particularly after swimming or shower. Traditionally, these procedures are performed using what are known as lateral and medial techniques, which require hospitalization for at least one day, and 10 to 15 days off work. Every year in Quebec, some 750 myringoplasties are performed on adult or child patients.

Details of the study

This world premiere of a new form of eardrum surgery is based on results of a four-year prospective cohort study of 208 children and adolescents, 73 of whom were treated using the new HAFGM technique. This study was published on December 16, 2011 in the scientific journal Archives of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery by Dr. Issam Saliba, otolaryngologist (ear, nose and throat or ENT specialist), surgeon and researcher at the Sainte-Justine University Hospital Centre affiliated with the Université de Montréal, where he is also professor of otology and neuro-otology. Dr. Saliba is also a surgeon and researcher at the CHUM, where he conducted a similar study, applying the same HAFGM technique to cohorts of adult patients between 2007 and 2010, with publication in the August 20, 2008 issue of the scientific journal Clinical Otolaryngology and subsequently in the February 12, 2011 issue of The Laryngoscope. The University of Montreal and Sainte-Justine University Hospital Centre are known officially as Université de Montréal and Centre hospitalier universitaire Sainte-Justine, respectively.

Source for Story:

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-01/uom-rst011212.php

and practical complementary or alternative treatment of ADHD,” said study authors.

The researchers said that when medicine doesn’t work, or when parents feel uncomfortable giving their child a prescription pill, diets with less sugar and additives and more omega-3 fatty acids and protein may reduce the symptoms associated with ADHD.

Source for Story:

http://www.easyhealthoptions.com/alternative-medicine/fish-oil-and-protein-may-help-combat-adhd/

Sorting Through Gluten’s Damage

Nearly every person has some level of gluten sensitivity, and the digestive discomfort associated with gluten reaction may be only one part of the puzzle. You may find through proper medical testing that your symptoms are due to other food sensitivities, parasites, abnormal bacterial overgrowth, and neurological or emotional triggers. In addition, many people who are gluten-sensitive do not experience digestive symptoms, instead developing neurological or immune symptoms. The gastrointestinal (GI) tract is rich with neurological, hormonal and immune system components, so damage to the GI tract because of gluten reactions can have major impacts throughout your body.

False Negative Test Results

Blood testing and allergen testing can determine whether you have a minor gluten intolerance or celiac disease, which damages the lining of the small intestine and prevents certain nutrients from being absorbed. However, the gluten-sensitivity blood tests that have been available for years can frequently and misleadingly show a negative result, even in the presence of a moderate to severe gluten sensitivity. In my clinic, we use saliva and/or stool testing, which looks for an immune reaction directly at the level of contact between your gut lining and gluten-containing foods. This type of testing often gives a more accurate reading as to the level of gluten-sensitivity.

No test is foolproof, and even the newer gluten-sensitivity tests can give you a false negative reading if the immune system within your GI tract is not functioning properly. Digestive-immune impairment often happens after years of eating foods that you are sensitive to, as well from chronic inflammation caused by a variety of conditions. Even with these limitations, the saliva or stool tests are the most accurate we’ve found to date. One stool test that is available online can be found at Enterolab.com, and a saliva test kit can be purchased at Unikeyhealth.com without a doctor’s order.

Alternate Test For Celiac Disease

If you do have gluten-sensitivity, how do you know if it is mild or severe, or if you actually have celiac disease? With severe gluten reactions, continued gluten exposure can damage the lining of your small intestine, reducing the surface area for nutrient absorption and creating a host of related complications. In the past, more in-depth testing for celiac disease was typically performed by taking a sample (biopsy) of the small intestine during an invasive procedure in which a scope is passed down into the small intestine. This test helped to analyze the level of damage to the intestinal lining. Alternately, Enterolab has developed a stool test measuring fat in the stool. If the fat level is abnormally high, this indicates that fat is not being absorbed and is an indirect measure of intestinal damage.

Choosing Gluten-Free Alternatives

Because there is no straightforward test to distinguish between people that are highly sensitive and those who are mildly sensitive, complete avoidance of gluten-containing foods is the universal recommendation to heal gluten problems. However, gluten is often hidden in foods or not obviously listed in the ingredients, so you need to become a careful label reader to keep gluten out of your meals.

If a product is labeled as “wheat free,” it may not be gluten-free. To be safe, the label must be explicitly labeled as “gluten-free.” In addition, many other types of foods, such as nuts or beans are packaged in the same plant as gluten-containing foods, which can contribute to cross-contamination and induce allergies. Thanks to the growing demand for gluten-free foods, many manufacturers now are clearly labeling their products for gluten-free consumers.

Our knowledge of gluten sensitivity and its many complications is constantly evolving as the gluten-free movement gains a significant foothold within conventional and integrative medicine. The avoidance of gluten has restored the health of millions of people — sometimes quickly and at other times more gradually. If you feel you have issues with gluten, remember to always follow your gut and get appropriate testing to increase awareness of your own personal health and wellness.

Source for Story:

http://www.easyhealthoptions.com/alternative-medicine/clear-the-mystery-over-gluten-misery/