by Editor | Nov 11, 2010 | Health
Canada has already classified it as toxic – now health authorities around the world may ban the chemical BPA (bisphenol A), which is used in cans, bottles and food packaging.
The World Health Organization is considering a global ban because the chemical can affect the fetus and the newborn child, especially if it feeds from a plastic bottle. Canada has recently banned the use of BPA in baby bottles, and has classified the chemical as toxic.
Even low levels of BPA can cause prostate enlargement and affect the development of mammary glands. Research studies have also discovered that people working in factories that manufacture BPA had poor sperm quality, and it could also cause heart disease.
BPA mimics the body’s hormones, which can cause neurological problems, too.
(Source: World News Report, November 1, 2010).
via Toxic chemical finally faces worldwide ban | What Doctors Don’t Tell You.
by Editor | Nov 11, 2010 | Health
Even people with raised levels of cholesterol don’t need to take a statin drug – the Mediterranean diet, rich in fruits, vegetables and oils, does the job just as well.
The diet reduces levels of LDL or ‘bad’ cholesterol by 35 per cent, while raising levels of HDL, or ‘good’, cholesterol 12 per cent. Scientists believe the monounsaturated fat (MUFA) in the diet is having the positive effect
They tested the diet on 24 people with low to moderately high levels of cholesterol. The patients had already been on a low saturated-fat diet that had not reduced levels. Half were put on a either a high or low-MUFA diet. The high-MUFA diet included a sunflower oil, which was spread on salads and vegetables.
The researchers, from St Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, noted a “significant reduction” in cholesterol levels of those who had the high-MUFA diet for two months.
(Source: Canadian Medical Association Journal, 2010; doi: 10.1503/cmaj.092128).
via Diet cuts cholesterol levels by 35 per cent – without using a statin drug | What Doctors Don’t Tell You.
by Editor | Nov 11, 2010 | Health
How do you know a drug is safe and effective? Because it’s tested against a placebo, or sugar pill, and you know it works if it significantly outperforms the dummy pill. But suppose the sugar pill isn’t as benign as we think – suppose it contains a chemical that makes even a bad drug look good? The trouble is, nobody has checked – until now.
Finally, researchers have started to take a look at the placebo, a method used in countless drug trials over the years. A research team from the University of California’s school of medicine in San Diego scanned four of the major medical journals published in 2008 and 2009 – and discovered that hardly any trials listed the ingredients of the placebo.
As the composition of the placebo can have a big effect on a drug trial’s results, its ingredients should be listed every time, they say.
(Source: Annals of Internal Medicine, 2010; 153: 532-5).
via Why drugs are not as effective – or safe – as they’re telling us | What Doctors Don’t Tell You.
by Editor | Nov 11, 2010 | Health
A positive outlook doesn’t just make you feel better – it has a profound influence on your body, your health and your longevity, researchers have discovered.
Positive thoughts create more telomerase, an enzyme that help maintain the long-term health of the cells in our body. Cells die when levels of the enzyme are too low.
Meditation is one technique for achieving an immediate change in our mood and thoughts – and increase telomerase activity, say researchers from the University of California at San Francisco.
They tested 30 participants at a meditation retreat at the Shambhala Mountain Center in Colorado, who were taught Buddhist meditation techniques, and compared them with 30 similar controls, who did not meditate.
(Source: Psychoneuroendocrinology, 2010; doi: 10.1016/j.psyneuen,2010.09.010).
via A positive outlook really does help you live longer and healthier | What Doctors Don’t Tell You.
by Editor | Nov 11, 2010 | Health
The amalgam fillings in your teeth could cause a range of health problems, including Alzheimer’s – and now a Californian city is telling its dentists to stop using the material. It is also calling on the other 33 cities in Orange County to use a better alternative to amalgam, which contains mercury.
The call, by Costa Mesa City Council, could be the beginning of the end for amalgam fillings, even though dental associations maintain they are safe. Despite the assurances, Sweden has banned mercury fillings, and Austria and Germany has restricted their use.
The Costa Mesa resolution calls on state and federal agencies to eliminate amalgam fillings, urges dentists in the city to use safer alternatives, and invites the other 33 cities in Orange County to oppose dental mercury.
Evidence is showing that mercury vapours from the fillings are causing a range of chronic, systemic health problems. Several reports have confirmed that the fillings are a direct cause of Alzheimer’s disease.
(Source: www.wellsphere.com)
via Stop using amalgam fillings, dentists told | What Doctors Don’t Tell You.
by Editor | Nov 8, 2010 | Health
Fibromyalgia causes fatigue and chronic pain throughout the body – and there’s little the doctor can offer, other than painkillers. But now there’s something the sufferer can do, and it can make a big difference, a new study has discovered.
A yoga programme, which includes gentle poses, meditation and breathing exercises, can reduce the worst symptoms of fibromyalgia, researchers have discovered.
A research team from Oregon Health & Science University divided a group of 53 fibromyalgia sufferers into those either who took part in an eight-week yoga programme or who carried on with conventional therapy of medication and exercise.
The yoga group showed marked improvements in pain levels, fatigue, stiffness, poor sleep, depression, poor memory, anxiety and balance. Pain levels were reduced by 24 per cent, fatigue by 30 per cent and depression by 42 per cent.
(Source: Pain, 2010; 151: 530).
via Yoga helps fibromyalgia sufferers when doctors can’t | What Doctors Don’t Tell You.
by Editor | Nov 8, 2010 | Health
Medicine has got it seriously wrong about flu viruses. Although they are often heralded as killers – such as happened with the recent swine flu and avian flu viruses – they rarely are fatal. It’s what happens next that is the problem.
Researchers have discovered that secondary, bacterial infections are far more likely to be fatal, and account for the majority of deaths associated with flu viruses.
This means that the current flu vaccine programme is flawed because it is concentrating entirely on the original virus. Governments spend billions of pounds every year on stocks of anti-virals to protect against seasonal flu as well as the occasional so-called pandemics, such as avian and swine flu.
But in an analysis of the Spanish flu outbreak of 1918 – the most lethal of modern times – researchers have discovered that most deaths were caused by bacterial infections, such as pneumonia.
The same pattern can be seen today, say the researchers from the US’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Of the deaths recorded in the recent swine flu (H1N1) outbreak, around 55 per cent were caused by a secondary bacterial infection.
Governments and drug companies need to go back to the drawing board, and come up with flu shots that include an anti-bacterial, say the researchers.
(Source: Journal of Infectious Diseases, 2010; doi: 10.1086/657144).
via It’s the bacteria, stupid. Medicine gets it seriously wrong about killer flu viruses | What Doctors Don’t Tell You.
by Editor | Nov 6, 2010 | Health
I’m sure like myself , many parents are having second thought regarding their daughters having the vaccination for cervical cancer. We hear the first death was not caused by the vaccination , but that the girl had a tumour in her chest , I’m amazed this was not spotted earlier .
No explanation has come forward regarding the girl who suffered epileptic fits after the vaccination, and is now zombi-ised after being perfectly healthy. How many others are there we not being told about . The pharmaceutical company say , there is “no evidence” to suggest this vaccination causes any long term side effects, BUT there is also “no evidence” to suggest it does not . Are we being told the whole truth. How many others are there who have, or are suffering, bad effect from this vaccination, we will never be told .
Well I have made up my mind, and my daughter is not having it at this time, I need more reassurance, as I’m sure many other parents do.
Submitted by Jackie on Wed, 10/14/2009 – 16:18
by Editor | Nov 6, 2010 | Health
People who enjoy drinking at home are being warned that its effects can be as devastating as going to the pub.
I would have thought this was obvious, excessive drinking is never good and causes physical, psychological and social harm.
Excessive drinking at home must be as bad if not worse than social drinking.
Time and effort should be spent looking at why people, particularly the young destroy themselves and their families with alcohol.
Submitted by Jackie on Wed, 10/14/2009
by Editor | Nov 6, 2010 | Health
Latest thinking about being overweight Doctors have become almost parrot-like in telling us that being overweight can dramatically affect our health – but a new study suggests they are wrong. And being a little on the tubby side even seems to protect you against cancer.
A new report from Germany reveals that being overweight – having a body mass index (BMI) of between 25 and 30 – doesn’t make any difference to how long you may live. In fact, men who were overweight had a 7 per cent lower death rate from cancer than men with a normal weight.
In a review of 42 studies, researchers from the University of Hamburg found that our weight affects our health only when we become obese, which is defined as any BMI score above 30. Overall, the death rate among obese people is 20 per cent higher than in people with lower BMI scores. But as we get older, even obesity seems to have less of an impact on our health.
Welcome back Choky biscuits.
Note: This article is for discussion purposes only, please consult your doctor before doing anything that may affect your health.
(Source: Deutsches Artzeblatt International, 2009; 106: 641).
