The case against using poisonous insecticides BY JEFF WASIELEWSKI
Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden
Insecticides have labels that list their toxicity: Caution, Warning and Danger. These are not words to be taken lightly. Insecticides are by their very nature dangerous and extremely toxic. The full effects of insecticides on humans and the environment are not entirely known; therefore, insecticides must be treated with extreme care and used only when absolutely necessary by trained professionals.
There are over one million named species of insects but fewer than 1 percent of those cause damage to plants. Nature was taking care of plants long before insecticides were invented; therefore, you can maintain a healthy, lush garden without ever spraying a drop of chemicals on your plants. You will have the ``bad'' bugs in your garden. If you grow it, they will come, but the damage they will cause is minimal and will rarely threaten the life of your plant.
The good news is that natural predators will also come. Natural predators are insects like the lacewing, the ladybug and parasitic wasps that feed on pests. Natural predators are part of the equilibrium that nature has in place to keep plants alive. It is often when we disturb nature's system that the pest populations swell out of control.
When a group of aphids is spotted feeding on a plant, your first impulse may be to spray the pest with insecticides. What you probably missed was the larval stage ladybug feeding on the aphids. The ladybug in the larval stage looks nothing like the adult ladybug and may be mistaken for just another bad insect. These young ladybugs are voracious feeders and a single insect can wipe out droves of aphids.
Aphids reproduce at a fantastic rate with a single female aphid putting out 50 to 100 offspring in a matter of weeks. Each female is ready to reproduce within five days. In contrast, ladybugs lay about 12-15 eggs and take more than a month to repopulate. If you spray the plant that is full of aphids and a very hungry ladybug, the population that is going to rebound the quickest is the aphids, not the natural predator that would have done an amazing job of cleaning up your plant.
Insecticides can also create super pests. If you repeatedly spray the same chemical to treat a pest, the pest will develop a resistance to that chemical until it is no longer affected by it. These now-resistant pests will breed, and a percentage of their offspring will also be resistant to that particular chemical. If another spray is made, it will wipe out all the pests except the growing population of resistant ``super bugs.''
Letting nature take its course doesn't mean that you will always have pest-free plants. There may be times when insect populations get very high before the predators can keep them in check. You must wait these times out and trust in nature's system.
There are times when natural predators cannot keep a pest in check because we have disrupted nature's system. This happens when a pest is accidentally transported (usually on plant material) to a new location far away from its natural predators. This has occurred throughout the United States in the past and especially in South Florida.
Insects have left indelible marks on our landscapes: the Thai scale of the 1990s attacked king and queen sago palms, virtually eliminating them. Recently the ficus whitefly has attacked species of ficus, and the redbay ambrosia beetle is threatening avocados and the native red bay trees. The newest gumbo limbo spiraling whitefly has a huge host range. These pests were removed from the predators that kept them in check and their populations exploded. Now, natural predators are being sought for them.
So before you spray insecticides, consider the risks and the dangers. Think about how you will not only kill the target pest, but also the natural predator. Don't feel badly if a few leaves or even a few plants are covered with insects; they will survive in almost every case.
Let nature do as it has done for millions of years. Let the delicate system of control that is in place take care of your plants.
Jeff Wasielewski is the multimedia specialist at Fairchild, an expert in South Florida horticulture and a professor of horticulture at Miami Dade College.
Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/10/31/1896429/the-case-against-using-poisonous.html
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Monsanto and “Friends” Stockpile Patents on Seeds in Bid to Become Bio’mass’ters
Monsanto and “Friends” Stockpile Patents on Seeds in Bid to Become Bio’mass’ters - Posted on October 30, 2010
April: one day, Monsanto and the “others” will mass such a huge volume of patents on seeds (of all kinds) that they could control the food and seed distribution of the world. It’s time to switch gears and educate ourselves on what is happening in this world behind our backs:
Surge in Corporate Patents on “Climate-Ready” Crops Threatens Biodiversity and Signals Grab on Land and Biomass
Nagoya, Japan — Under the guise of developing “climate-ready” crops, the world’s largest seed and agrochemical corporations are filing hundreds of sweeping, multi-genome patents in a bid to control the world’s plant biomass, according to a report released by ETC Group today.
A handful of multinational corporations are pressuring governments to allow what could become the broadest and most dangerous patent claims in history, warns the group at the United Nations’ Convention on Biodiversity in Nagoya, Japan (18-29 October 2010).
“The Gene Giants are stockpiling patents that threaten to put a choke-hold on the world’s biomass and our future food supply,” warns Silvia Ribeiro of ETC Group. “The breadth of many patent claims on climate ready crop genes is staggering. In many cases, a single patent or patent application claims ownership of engineered gene sequences that could be deployed in virtually all major crops – as well as the processed food and feed products derived from them,” explains Ribeiro.
ETC Group identifies over 262 patent families, subsuming 1663 patent documents published worldwide (both applications and issued patents) that make specific claims on environmental stress tolerance in plants (such as drought, heat, flood, cold, salt tolerance). DuPont, Monsanto, BASF, Bayer, Syngenta and their biotech partners account for three-quarters (77%) of the patent families identified. Just three companies – DuPont, BASF, Monsanto – account for over two-thirds of the total. Public sector researchers hold only 10%.
“In a desperate bid for moral legitimacy and to try to ease public acceptance of genetically modified crops, the Gene Giants have donated a few proprietary crop genes to poor farmers in Africa,” explains Ribeiro.
“The quid pro quo is that South governments must facilitate market access for genetically modified crops and embrace biotech-friendly patent laws. It’s an unacceptable trade-off. In exchange for untested technologies, South governments are being pressured to surrender national sovereignty over intellectual property, biomass, and food,” she warned.
“These patents are the latest form of biopiracy,” notes Vandana Shiva, Director of India’s Research Foundation for Science, Technology, and Ecology. “Farmers have bred seeds for drought, flood and salt tolerance over millennia. Climate resilience ultimately depends on farmers’ innovation, biodiversity and agro-ecological processes staying in the hands of farming communities,” said Shiva.
“Governments meeting at the UN Biodiversity Convention in Nagoya, Japan must put a stop to the patent grab, yet another false solution to climate change. They should instruct their patent offices to reject or rescind all of these patents,” said ETC Group’s Neth Daño, who is attending the meeting. “A fundamental review of all intellectual property claims in agriculture should be jointly undertaken by the CBD and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). These patents also clearly violate the FAO Seed Treaty and its governing body must investigate and take action.”
ETC Group’s report Gene Giants Stockpile Patents on “Climate-Ready” Crops in Bid to Become Biomassters will be released and discussed at a side event in Nagoya, Japan on 25 October (4:30 pm, Room 236, Bldg 2, 3rd floor).
http://gefreebc.wordpress.com/2010/10/30/monsanto-stockpile-patents-on-seeds-to-become-biomassters/
April: one day, Monsanto and the “others” will mass such a huge volume of patents on seeds (of all kinds) that they could control the food and seed distribution of the world. It’s time to switch gears and educate ourselves on what is happening in this world behind our backs:
Surge in Corporate Patents on “Climate-Ready” Crops Threatens Biodiversity and Signals Grab on Land and Biomass
Nagoya, Japan — Under the guise of developing “climate-ready” crops, the world’s largest seed and agrochemical corporations are filing hundreds of sweeping, multi-genome patents in a bid to control the world’s plant biomass, according to a report released by ETC Group today.
A handful of multinational corporations are pressuring governments to allow what could become the broadest and most dangerous patent claims in history, warns the group at the United Nations’ Convention on Biodiversity in Nagoya, Japan (18-29 October 2010).
“The Gene Giants are stockpiling patents that threaten to put a choke-hold on the world’s biomass and our future food supply,” warns Silvia Ribeiro of ETC Group. “The breadth of many patent claims on climate ready crop genes is staggering. In many cases, a single patent or patent application claims ownership of engineered gene sequences that could be deployed in virtually all major crops – as well as the processed food and feed products derived from them,” explains Ribeiro.
ETC Group identifies over 262 patent families, subsuming 1663 patent documents published worldwide (both applications and issued patents) that make specific claims on environmental stress tolerance in plants (such as drought, heat, flood, cold, salt tolerance). DuPont, Monsanto, BASF, Bayer, Syngenta and their biotech partners account for three-quarters (77%) of the patent families identified. Just three companies – DuPont, BASF, Monsanto – account for over two-thirds of the total. Public sector researchers hold only 10%.
“In a desperate bid for moral legitimacy and to try to ease public acceptance of genetically modified crops, the Gene Giants have donated a few proprietary crop genes to poor farmers in Africa,” explains Ribeiro.
“The quid pro quo is that South governments must facilitate market access for genetically modified crops and embrace biotech-friendly patent laws. It’s an unacceptable trade-off. In exchange for untested technologies, South governments are being pressured to surrender national sovereignty over intellectual property, biomass, and food,” she warned.
“These patents are the latest form of biopiracy,” notes Vandana Shiva, Director of India’s Research Foundation for Science, Technology, and Ecology. “Farmers have bred seeds for drought, flood and salt tolerance over millennia. Climate resilience ultimately depends on farmers’ innovation, biodiversity and agro-ecological processes staying in the hands of farming communities,” said Shiva.
“Governments meeting at the UN Biodiversity Convention in Nagoya, Japan must put a stop to the patent grab, yet another false solution to climate change. They should instruct their patent offices to reject or rescind all of these patents,” said ETC Group’s Neth Daño, who is attending the meeting. “A fundamental review of all intellectual property claims in agriculture should be jointly undertaken by the CBD and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). These patents also clearly violate the FAO Seed Treaty and its governing body must investigate and take action.”
ETC Group’s report Gene Giants Stockpile Patents on “Climate-Ready” Crops in Bid to Become Biomassters will be released and discussed at a side event in Nagoya, Japan on 25 October (4:30 pm, Room 236, Bldg 2, 3rd floor).
http://gefreebc.wordpress.com/2010/10/30/monsanto-stockpile-patents-on-seeds-to-become-biomassters/
Saturday, October 30, 2010
The Idiot Cycle - What you are not being told about cancer.
"It has now been scientifically demonstrated that there is indeed a link between chemical products and the appearance of diseases, such as cancers, infertility, degenerative diseases of the central nervous system and allergies."
CPME - Standing Committee of European Doctors, 2005
"There is little direct evidence of widespread ill health or ecosystem damage by the use of man-made chemicals." - Alan Perroy, Director General of the European Chemical Industry Council, in a 2001 letter to European Members of Parliament.
Once upon a time, a king accumulated most of the gold in his kingdom. His subjects were very poor, without land to grow food. When the subjects began to starve and watch their families perish, they realized they had nothing to lose.
They stormed the castle and found the king in a large room, cowering next to his mounds of gold, begging them not to steal his gold.
The subjects did not take the gold. But they left the room and locked the king inside.
Upon leaving they called out, "now you will be able to see the real worth of your gold."
The king, trapped in the room with no water, air or food, realized the gold was useless.
This story became the impetus for The Idiot Cycle - a film about cancer.
"Everyone should know that the 'war on cancer' is largely a fraud."
Dr. Linus Pauling, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize and the Nobel Prize in chemistry
The film follows the cycle taken by the world's largest chemical producers:
Dow Chemical
BASF
Bayer
Dupont
Astrazeneca
Monsanto
and how these chemical companies, who manufacture and emit cancer causing chemical substances, also develop, produce and invest in cancer treatments, the most profitable disease on the planet.
Today we are bombarded with 18 million man made chemicals, many that have mixed in the environment to form new chemicals. Only 2,000 of these synthetic man made chemicals have full toxicological profiles. No government in the world knows which chemicals are in what consumer products and at what quantities.
"For the first time in the history of the world, every human being is now subjected to contact with dangerous chemicals, from the moment of conception until death."
Rachel Carson, Silent Spring
Now these chemical companies are launching biotechnology, an "innovative" frontier, just like synthetic chemicals were half a century ago. These companies are now developing, producing and hyping genetically modified crops, which have never been tested for long term health effects like cancer.
"Commercialization of genetically modified crops seems to have been based on public relations and not on full and truthful scientific reporting. Science has begun to feel the impact of putting commerce ahead of full disclosure and debate."
Professor Joe Cummins, University of Western Ontario
"Um, so they are, um, in the food arena, probably the most extensively studied and tested scientific arena that we've ever seen. If you look at FAO or WHO or even the European Union, you can go to the European Union's web site, there's a whole exposition on the safety of these technologies, so, um yes they are safe." - Hugh Grant, CEO of Monsanto asked about the safety of G.M. foods for Fortune's Brainstorm Green Conference.
Once again, like synthetic chemicals, GMOs have been unleashed onto the consumer market, without full health and toxicological studies, without proper governmental regulations and without public consent. Once again, these companies will test their products on the general population.
And round and round goes the idiot cycle.
"When the same mistakes are repeated over and over again, it's time to consider the possibility that they are not mistakes at all."
Naomi Klein, The Shock Doctrine
http://www.japanesepopsongs.com/idiotcycle/about_the_film.html
CPME - Standing Committee of European Doctors, 2005
"There is little direct evidence of widespread ill health or ecosystem damage by the use of man-made chemicals." - Alan Perroy, Director General of the European Chemical Industry Council, in a 2001 letter to European Members of Parliament.
Once upon a time, a king accumulated most of the gold in his kingdom. His subjects were very poor, without land to grow food. When the subjects began to starve and watch their families perish, they realized they had nothing to lose.
They stormed the castle and found the king in a large room, cowering next to his mounds of gold, begging them not to steal his gold.
The subjects did not take the gold. But they left the room and locked the king inside.
Upon leaving they called out, "now you will be able to see the real worth of your gold."
The king, trapped in the room with no water, air or food, realized the gold was useless.
This story became the impetus for The Idiot Cycle - a film about cancer.
"Everyone should know that the 'war on cancer' is largely a fraud."
Dr. Linus Pauling, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize and the Nobel Prize in chemistry
The film follows the cycle taken by the world's largest chemical producers:
Dow Chemical
BASF
Bayer
Dupont
Astrazeneca
Monsanto
and how these chemical companies, who manufacture and emit cancer causing chemical substances, also develop, produce and invest in cancer treatments, the most profitable disease on the planet.
Today we are bombarded with 18 million man made chemicals, many that have mixed in the environment to form new chemicals. Only 2,000 of these synthetic man made chemicals have full toxicological profiles. No government in the world knows which chemicals are in what consumer products and at what quantities.
"For the first time in the history of the world, every human being is now subjected to contact with dangerous chemicals, from the moment of conception until death."
Rachel Carson, Silent Spring
Now these chemical companies are launching biotechnology, an "innovative" frontier, just like synthetic chemicals were half a century ago. These companies are now developing, producing and hyping genetically modified crops, which have never been tested for long term health effects like cancer.
"Commercialization of genetically modified crops seems to have been based on public relations and not on full and truthful scientific reporting. Science has begun to feel the impact of putting commerce ahead of full disclosure and debate."
Professor Joe Cummins, University of Western Ontario
"Um, so they are, um, in the food arena, probably the most extensively studied and tested scientific arena that we've ever seen. If you look at FAO or WHO or even the European Union, you can go to the European Union's web site, there's a whole exposition on the safety of these technologies, so, um yes they are safe." - Hugh Grant, CEO of Monsanto asked about the safety of G.M. foods for Fortune's Brainstorm Green Conference.
Once again, like synthetic chemicals, GMOs have been unleashed onto the consumer market, without full health and toxicological studies, without proper governmental regulations and without public consent. Once again, these companies will test their products on the general population.
And round and round goes the idiot cycle.
"When the same mistakes are repeated over and over again, it's time to consider the possibility that they are not mistakes at all."
Naomi Klein, The Shock Doctrine
http://www.japanesepopsongs.com/idiotcycle/about_the_film.html
Friday, October 29, 2010
Bed bug ridding chemicals contaminate school.
Bed bug ridding chemicals contaminate school
Tuesday, October 26, 2010 - Art McFarland
MIDWOOD (WABC) -- An exterminator hired to kill bed bugs at a New York City elementary school has left behind a big mess.
The cost to decontaminate what was contaminated is estimated to cost hundreds of thousands of dollars on top of the $100,000 already paid for the extermination.
Parents picking up their kids at P.S. 197 in Midwood, Brooklyn have recently not been sure that bed bugs won't be going home with them.
"My wife went to a parents teacher meeting and she said that they said that there is bed bugs, that they have a problem there," said Dennis Mitchell, a parent.
But, the effort to get rid of the little creatures has created bigger problems.
"Exterminating fluid was found in the rooms, on the teachers' desks, on the children's desks, on their books, on the floor, and it had an odor to it," said Lucille Mauro, a teacher.
Eyewitness News' cameras were not allowed inside the building, but a teacher provided a photo of one of five classrooms that were soaked with a liquid bed bug killing chemical.
"Who ever exterminated it was negligently exterminating the room and all the materials that I have are now in the garbage," said Ellie Salman, a teacher.
The Department of Education hired a private contractor, listed on its website as Joe's Extermination Company.
They paid just under $100,000 for the services.
Research by the Teacher's Union estimates the classroom cleanup will cost well over twice that amount.
"This is the neighborhood of a quarter of a million dollars, money that could have been used in the classrooms," said Alan Abrams, the Teacher's Union leader.
The DOE says it plans to bill the contractor and prevent his company from doing business with the city.
That company has not returned Eyewitness News phone calls.
"We don't know what everyone was exposed to, so it's unnerving," said Denise Richford, a teacher.
The substance used is being tested, but teachers will not know the results for two weeks.
They are now more concerned that the materials they lost will not be replaced for the rest of this school year.
(Copyright ©2010 WABC-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)
http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/local&id=7748002
Tuesday, October 26, 2010 - Art McFarland
MIDWOOD (WABC) -- An exterminator hired to kill bed bugs at a New York City elementary school has left behind a big mess.
The cost to decontaminate what was contaminated is estimated to cost hundreds of thousands of dollars on top of the $100,000 already paid for the extermination.
Parents picking up their kids at P.S. 197 in Midwood, Brooklyn have recently not been sure that bed bugs won't be going home with them.
"My wife went to a parents teacher meeting and she said that they said that there is bed bugs, that they have a problem there," said Dennis Mitchell, a parent.
But, the effort to get rid of the little creatures has created bigger problems.
"Exterminating fluid was found in the rooms, on the teachers' desks, on the children's desks, on their books, on the floor, and it had an odor to it," said Lucille Mauro, a teacher.
Eyewitness News' cameras were not allowed inside the building, but a teacher provided a photo of one of five classrooms that were soaked with a liquid bed bug killing chemical.
"Who ever exterminated it was negligently exterminating the room and all the materials that I have are now in the garbage," said Ellie Salman, a teacher.
The Department of Education hired a private contractor, listed on its website as Joe's Extermination Company.
They paid just under $100,000 for the services.
Research by the Teacher's Union estimates the classroom cleanup will cost well over twice that amount.
"This is the neighborhood of a quarter of a million dollars, money that could have been used in the classrooms," said Alan Abrams, the Teacher's Union leader.
The DOE says it plans to bill the contractor and prevent his company from doing business with the city.
That company has not returned Eyewitness News phone calls.
"We don't know what everyone was exposed to, so it's unnerving," said Denise Richford, a teacher.
The substance used is being tested, but teachers will not know the results for two weeks.
They are now more concerned that the materials they lost will not be replaced for the rest of this school year.
(Copyright ©2010 WABC-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)
http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/local&id=7748002
Monsanto's Going Down!
Monsanto’s humiliations are all over the news these days. Last week we heard that Monsanto is actually paying farmers to spray their fields with competitors’ weedkillers. Monsanto’s latest press release announces it is offering RoundupReady cotton farmers up to $20/acre to pour on extra herbicides. In fact, as The Organic Center’s 2009 report detailed, this bizarre practice—a reversal of Monsanto’s traditional exhortations to rely on its own chemical Roundup—has actually been going on for over a year now, a response to the Monsanto-induced epidemic of superweeds now ravaging the country. It’s a desperate last-hour attempt by the giant seed and pesticide company to slow the wildfire spread of noxious weeds resistant to Roundup, an epidemic which essentially spells the demise of Monsanto’s entire RoundupReady “system of weed management.” Other last-ditch efforts by Monsanto to keep revenue coming in include genetically engineering its Roundup Ready seeds for “enhanced resistance,” that is the ability to withstand—at least temporarily—even heavier dousings of Roundup. Talk about trying to smother a fire with gasoline.
What is really needed, as many weed scientists and organic farmers have been saying all along, are not more chemicals in a never-ending pesticide treadmill, but ecological weed management, including such tried and true practices to suppress weed populations as mulching, crop rotations and planting cover crops. But chemical companies won’t reap the same profits if farmers shift towards reduced-chemical, agroecological farming. That is why Monsanto—and competitors such as Dow Agroscience, Bayer and BASF—are still frantically trying to engineer new proprietary seeds, double and triple stacked with resistance to all kinds of herbicides, including some really old and dangerous ones like 2,4-D (the infamous ingredient in Agent Orange, the dioxin-laced Vietnam War defoliant).
The Ship is Sinking
By now even Forbes has recanted, acknowledging it got it all wrong last year when it named Monsanto “company of the year.” After a century of bad deeds, this corporation is finally taking its karmic hit.
The New York Times reported earlier this month the failure of Monsanto’s newest GE corn and the company’s plummeting stock—down 42% since the start of the year.
West Virginia is suing Monsanto for failure to cooperate in the state’s investigation of the company’s advertising and pricing of its Roundup Ready 2 soybeans.
Earlier this year, seven U.S. state attorney generals launched an investigation into whether the company has abused its market power to lock out competitors and illegally jack up its prices.
The U.S. Department of Justice is continuing its own probe of Monsanto and other seed companies’ possible violation of anti-trust laws, in the context of unprecedented corporate consolidation in the seed and pesticide industry.
U.S. federal courts have recently blocked the planting of GE sugar beets and GE alfalfa, ruling that USDA’s prior approvals were illegal.
At the UN Biodiversity Convention in Nagoya, Japan, people’s movements are demanding an end to Monsanto and other corporations’ “gene patent grab.”
Meanwhile, the company’s flagship pesticide Roundup has been linked with birth defects, human cell death, and loss of soil fertility and reduced plant productivity.
For over a decade, Monsanto has been promising its GE-pesticide package as the solution to many of the world’s woes—while PANNA, along with scientists, farmers and partners around the world have been saying “no, it’s not.” Now the short-sightedness, corporate greed, and ecological illiteracy behind their broken promises are coming back to bite them. I’d savor this moment except that the environmental wreckage and loss of farmers’ livelihoods in the U.S. and around the world is too high a price to pay for the bitter satisfaction of being proven right.
http://www.panna.org/blog/monsanto-going-down
What is really needed, as many weed scientists and organic farmers have been saying all along, are not more chemicals in a never-ending pesticide treadmill, but ecological weed management, including such tried and true practices to suppress weed populations as mulching, crop rotations and planting cover crops. But chemical companies won’t reap the same profits if farmers shift towards reduced-chemical, agroecological farming. That is why Monsanto—and competitors such as Dow Agroscience, Bayer and BASF—are still frantically trying to engineer new proprietary seeds, double and triple stacked with resistance to all kinds of herbicides, including some really old and dangerous ones like 2,4-D (the infamous ingredient in Agent Orange, the dioxin-laced Vietnam War defoliant).
The Ship is Sinking
By now even Forbes has recanted, acknowledging it got it all wrong last year when it named Monsanto “company of the year.” After a century of bad deeds, this corporation is finally taking its karmic hit.
The New York Times reported earlier this month the failure of Monsanto’s newest GE corn and the company’s plummeting stock—down 42% since the start of the year.
West Virginia is suing Monsanto for failure to cooperate in the state’s investigation of the company’s advertising and pricing of its Roundup Ready 2 soybeans.
Earlier this year, seven U.S. state attorney generals launched an investigation into whether the company has abused its market power to lock out competitors and illegally jack up its prices.
The U.S. Department of Justice is continuing its own probe of Monsanto and other seed companies’ possible violation of anti-trust laws, in the context of unprecedented corporate consolidation in the seed and pesticide industry.
U.S. federal courts have recently blocked the planting of GE sugar beets and GE alfalfa, ruling that USDA’s prior approvals were illegal.
At the UN Biodiversity Convention in Nagoya, Japan, people’s movements are demanding an end to Monsanto and other corporations’ “gene patent grab.”
Meanwhile, the company’s flagship pesticide Roundup has been linked with birth defects, human cell death, and loss of soil fertility and reduced plant productivity.
For over a decade, Monsanto has been promising its GE-pesticide package as the solution to many of the world’s woes—while PANNA, along with scientists, farmers and partners around the world have been saying “no, it’s not.” Now the short-sightedness, corporate greed, and ecological illiteracy behind their broken promises are coming back to bite them. I’d savor this moment except that the environmental wreckage and loss of farmers’ livelihoods in the U.S. and around the world is too high a price to pay for the bitter satisfaction of being proven right.
http://www.panna.org/blog/monsanto-going-down
Pesticides Contaminate one-fifth of Kid's Food
Environmental Health Perspectives recently published an article directly linking consumption of conventionally-produced fruits and vegetables to pesticide residues in children’s bodies. Children are at particular risk when it comes to pesticides. For instance, consumption of organophosphate (OP) pesticide residues have recently been linked to increased rates of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children. In the EHP study, Forty-six children supplied 239 samples that were analyzed for (OP) and pyrethroid pesticides—both nervous system toxicants and suspected endocrine disruptors. About one fifth of the food samples contained residues. These findings replicate similar results published two years ago in the same journal.
While most residues were within the ranges listed on PAN's What's On My Food? database, there were some exceptions including six OPs and three pyrethroids found on different combinations of the following foods: apples, bell peppers, blackberries, blueberries, broccoli, carrots, celery, cherries, ketchup, lettuce, mushrooms, nectarines, peaches, potatoes, raspberries, spinach, and strawberries. The authors noted that many foods are not included in the USDA's national pesticide residues testing, including some of the foods consumed in the largest quantities by children. It is also important to note that “acceptable levels” (called tolerances) are intended for monitoring residues in raw produce at the farm gate, prior to washing, shipping, storage, marketing, and food preparation and do not consider the potential impact of exposure to multiple pesticides.
The 1993 the National Research Council report, Pesticides in the Diets of Infants and Children, concluded that, “dietary intake represents the major source of pesticide exposure for infants and children, and the dietary exposure may account for the increased pesticide-related health risks in children compared to adults.” This led to the subsequent passing of the 1996 Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA), which promised to rein in residue exposures, especially among children. Clearly the FQPA has not done the job.
To learn more, visit PAN's Food Residues webpage, or explore our What's On My Food? database. http://www.whatsonmyfood.org/
http://www.panna.org/blog/pesticides-contaminate-one-fifth-kids-foods
While most residues were within the ranges listed on PAN's What's On My Food? database, there were some exceptions including six OPs and three pyrethroids found on different combinations of the following foods: apples, bell peppers, blackberries, blueberries, broccoli, carrots, celery, cherries, ketchup, lettuce, mushrooms, nectarines, peaches, potatoes, raspberries, spinach, and strawberries. The authors noted that many foods are not included in the USDA's national pesticide residues testing, including some of the foods consumed in the largest quantities by children. It is also important to note that “acceptable levels” (called tolerances) are intended for monitoring residues in raw produce at the farm gate, prior to washing, shipping, storage, marketing, and food preparation and do not consider the potential impact of exposure to multiple pesticides.
The 1993 the National Research Council report, Pesticides in the Diets of Infants and Children, concluded that, “dietary intake represents the major source of pesticide exposure for infants and children, and the dietary exposure may account for the increased pesticide-related health risks in children compared to adults.” This led to the subsequent passing of the 1996 Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA), which promised to rein in residue exposures, especially among children. Clearly the FQPA has not done the job.
To learn more, visit PAN's Food Residues webpage, or explore our What's On My Food? database. http://www.whatsonmyfood.org/
http://www.panna.org/blog/pesticides-contaminate-one-fifth-kids-foods
GMO Crop Sabatoge On The Rise.
While America frets the slick onslaught of GM (genetically modified) crops, the rest of world is taking action even at the risk of defying authorities and facing prison. To countries like France, Spain, and India, no means no! The people of these nations have found little recourse with their leaders when they oppose the installation of Monsanto crops. They fear the danger of the sickly GM plants (and the absurd chemicals and pesticides they require) to their environment, health, and the survival of their organic or even non-organic fields. Some groups have battled this corruption through field destruction, anti-Monsanto campaigns, protests, and even openly rejecting Daddy Monsanto’s “gift” of franken-food during times of crisis.
Americans, repeat after Europe – Don’t mess with our food!
Early Sunday morning, French police stood helpless as sixty people, locked inside an open-air field of genetically modified grapevines, uprooted all the plants. In Spain last month, dozens of people destroyed two GMO fields. On the millennial cusp, Indian farmers burned Bt cotton in their Cremate Monsanto campaign. Ignored by multinational corporations and corrupt public policy makers, citizens act to protect the food supply and the planet.
The French vineyard is the same field attacked last year when the plants were only cut. But the security features installed after that incident kept authorities at bay while the group accomplished its mission yesterday.
Speaking for the group, Olivier Florent told Le Figero that they condemned the use of public funds for open-field testing of GMOs “that we do not want.”
Pitching tents in the rain near France’s National Institute for Agronomic Research (INRA) site in Colmar the night before, the group waited until 5 AM before converging on the site and locking the gates behind them. They uprooted all 70 plants, then submitted to arrest.
This is the second attack on GMO crops to make international news this year. In July dozens of people destroyed two experimental corn crops in Spain. In an anonymous press release, they wrote, “This kind of direct action is the best way to respond to the fait accompli policy through which the Generalitat, the State and the biotech multinationals have been unilaterally imposing genetically modified organisms.”
In the late 1990s, Indian farmers burnt Bt cotton fields in their Cremate Monsanto campaign. Monsanto did not disclose to farmers that the GM seeds were experimental. “Despite the heavy use of chemical fertiliser, traces of which still can be observed in the field, the Bt plants grew miserably, less than half the size of the traditional cotton plants in the adjacent fields.”
After the Haiti earthquake this year, Monsanto offered 475 tons of hybrid corn and terminator vegetable seeds in partnership with USAID. In June, 10,000 Haitian farmers marched in protest of the “poison gift” which produces no viable seeds for future plantings and requires heavy chemical inputs. Haitian farm leader Chavannes Jean-Baptiste observed that the biotech plan makes farmers dependent on multinational corporations.
In the US, GMOs were secretly foisted on the public in the mid-1990s, and only now is the US Supreme Court addressing the scourge. In June, the high court upheld partial deregulation of GM alfalfa, which permits limited planting while the USDA prepares an Environmental Impact Statement. Natural and organic alfalfa supply is threatened by the very real potential of GM contamination. This would destroy the organic meat and dairy industry.
Last Friday, a federal court took a tougher position on GM sugar beets. Judge Jeffrey S. White revoked USDA approval of the GM beet, while allowing for its planting this year only.
Also this month, a British farmer exposed that milk and meat from cloned animals had secretly entered the food supply.
Public opposition to GM crops has grown in recent years as more evidence surfaces that DNA-altered crops:
■Require massive chemical inputs which destroy local biodiversity and poison the water tables;
■Cross-pollinate with natural and weedy crops;
■Create superweeds; and
■Have been shown to cause organ damage, sterility, and diabetes and obesity in mammals.
Meanwhile, President Obama has stacked his Administration with biotech insiders going so far as to appoint Islam Siddiqui as Agriculture Trade Negotiator. Siddiqui is a former pesticide lobbyist and vice president of CropLife America, a biotech and pesticide trade group that lobbies to weaken environmental laws.
The US is pushing hard at the world to accept GM foods. Recently, the American Farm Bureau Federation called for stronger sanctions against the European Union for its GM crop ban.
But as governments and trade agreements circumvent the will of the people, some take matters into their own hands. The rise in GMO crop destruction is a clear indication that the world’s people reject chemical and genetic pollution of the food supply and the environment.
####
http://foodfreedom.wordpress.com/2010/08/16/gmo-crop-sabotage-on-the-rise-french-citizens-destroy-gmo-vineyard/
Americans, repeat after Europe – Don’t mess with our food!
Early Sunday morning, French police stood helpless as sixty people, locked inside an open-air field of genetically modified grapevines, uprooted all the plants. In Spain last month, dozens of people destroyed two GMO fields. On the millennial cusp, Indian farmers burned Bt cotton in their Cremate Monsanto campaign. Ignored by multinational corporations and corrupt public policy makers, citizens act to protect the food supply and the planet.
The French vineyard is the same field attacked last year when the plants were only cut. But the security features installed after that incident kept authorities at bay while the group accomplished its mission yesterday.
Speaking for the group, Olivier Florent told Le Figero that they condemned the use of public funds for open-field testing of GMOs “that we do not want.”
Pitching tents in the rain near France’s National Institute for Agronomic Research (INRA) site in Colmar the night before, the group waited until 5 AM before converging on the site and locking the gates behind them. They uprooted all 70 plants, then submitted to arrest.
This is the second attack on GMO crops to make international news this year. In July dozens of people destroyed two experimental corn crops in Spain. In an anonymous press release, they wrote, “This kind of direct action is the best way to respond to the fait accompli policy through which the Generalitat, the State and the biotech multinationals have been unilaterally imposing genetically modified organisms.”
In the late 1990s, Indian farmers burnt Bt cotton fields in their Cremate Monsanto campaign. Monsanto did not disclose to farmers that the GM seeds were experimental. “Despite the heavy use of chemical fertiliser, traces of which still can be observed in the field, the Bt plants grew miserably, less than half the size of the traditional cotton plants in the adjacent fields.”
After the Haiti earthquake this year, Monsanto offered 475 tons of hybrid corn and terminator vegetable seeds in partnership with USAID. In June, 10,000 Haitian farmers marched in protest of the “poison gift” which produces no viable seeds for future plantings and requires heavy chemical inputs. Haitian farm leader Chavannes Jean-Baptiste observed that the biotech plan makes farmers dependent on multinational corporations.
In the US, GMOs were secretly foisted on the public in the mid-1990s, and only now is the US Supreme Court addressing the scourge. In June, the high court upheld partial deregulation of GM alfalfa, which permits limited planting while the USDA prepares an Environmental Impact Statement. Natural and organic alfalfa supply is threatened by the very real potential of GM contamination. This would destroy the organic meat and dairy industry.
Last Friday, a federal court took a tougher position on GM sugar beets. Judge Jeffrey S. White revoked USDA approval of the GM beet, while allowing for its planting this year only.
Also this month, a British farmer exposed that milk and meat from cloned animals had secretly entered the food supply.
Public opposition to GM crops has grown in recent years as more evidence surfaces that DNA-altered crops:
■Require massive chemical inputs which destroy local biodiversity and poison the water tables;
■Cross-pollinate with natural and weedy crops;
■Create superweeds; and
■Have been shown to cause organ damage, sterility, and diabetes and obesity in mammals.
Meanwhile, President Obama has stacked his Administration with biotech insiders going so far as to appoint Islam Siddiqui as Agriculture Trade Negotiator. Siddiqui is a former pesticide lobbyist and vice president of CropLife America, a biotech and pesticide trade group that lobbies to weaken environmental laws.
The US is pushing hard at the world to accept GM foods. Recently, the American Farm Bureau Federation called for stronger sanctions against the European Union for its GM crop ban.
But as governments and trade agreements circumvent the will of the people, some take matters into their own hands. The rise in GMO crop destruction is a clear indication that the world’s people reject chemical and genetic pollution of the food supply and the environment.
####
http://foodfreedom.wordpress.com/2010/08/16/gmo-crop-sabotage-on-the-rise-french-citizens-destroy-gmo-vineyard/
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Fluoridated Water—The Ultimate Evil
Fluoridated Water—The Ultimate EvilPosted by Mark Sircus on 27 October 2010 | Filed under Medicine
Sodium fluoride is commonly used as a rat poison. Globalists and eugenicists have decided to add it to water supplies with the message to the public that it is good for teeth, despite warnings from the ADA stating that young children risk a disease called dental fluorosis. Water actually is a battleground between good and evil and we see this in the fluoridation issue. One cannot understand the universe of water without grappling with poisonous fluoride and its government-mandated entry into public water supplies in the United States, Brazil, and several other countries that have stupidly followed America’s lead in water fluoridation. Just because it’s invisible does not make it any less deadly in the long haul in terms of public health. I had to say that because most people in fluoridated countries just don’t mind that it is there; it’s simply off their radar screens. And in fact, when you go back to the history and beginning of water fluoridation, we find out that it was the Nazis who used it first to turn their prisoners of war into passive sheep.
Fluoride is a poison, but that is nothing to worry about since, according to allopathic medicine, everything is poisonous and it is the dose that makes the poison. At the heart of medical science is a cankerous black hole of ugliness that leads right to the door of the American, German, and English governments (just to name the principles), along with the elite families and corporations that have come to control these governments in the last century. These controlling self-interested parties can barely be called human; they have been correctly labeled by all kinds of horrid names and have forever been a part of and hidden by secret societies. And they have all kinds of people who have sold their souls to those who do their bidding and call it science.
Fluoride was used by Nazis to sterilize inmates and make them docile. Fluoride a key dumbing-down ingredient of Prozac and Sarin nerve gas and many other medications.
When it comes to water fluoridation we have to take off our gloves, but that is hard for most of us because we have been heavily fluoridated. And we have been exposed to, in hundreds of millions of cases, overwhelming amounts of another neurological depressant and an even more dangerous neurological poison, and that is mercury in the form of dental amalgam, vaccines containing thimerosal, as well increasing levels of environmental mercury pollution from the burning of coal and cremation of humans with mercury dental fillings still in their mouths. But of course no one has done any studies of the neurological effects of fluoride when combined with mercury exposure, which varies widely from one person to another depending on where they live and their vaccine and dental history.
“One aspect of the issue of Man’s alleged evil nature is rarely, if ever, addressed. This is the wholesale poisoning of Mankind and its affect on the brain and behavior of Mankind. Man’s food, water, and air (smog, chemtrails) are ever more poisoned. Our medicines are toxic and may be causing more harm than good, our dental fillings are called ‘silver’ yet are over half mercury; likewise our infants are forced to have vaccinations also with mercury and other toxins. The proven carcinogen fluoride is added to water and is in many medicines and toothpastes. The German Nazi regime is said to have fluoridated water because it made people docile. Is the same rationale ongoing in the USA? In a ludicrous ‘environmental’ change, incandescent bulbs are soon to be phased out and replaced with more efficient fluorescent bulbs that all have mercury within them?! All the toxins in the food, water, air, medicines, fillings, and vaccines have a terrible effect on people’s brains. Few people can truly think and change, or have the courage to act. These toxins also cause much chronic, degenerative illness, cancer, etc. The mercury in vaccines does cause autism,” writes the anonymous physicist.
Twin Toxic Dangers of Mercury and Fluoride
I have always liked all my dentists, trusting their competence more than doctors, but when I began to understand the twin dangers of fluoride and dental mercury amalgam I began to see that the entire profession has been duped, and that goes for most graduates of medical school. We first-world people like to think that our universities and medical schools are centers of higher learning and intelligence, but the fact is that they are intense conditioning machines that forcefully mind shape the brains of their vulnerable students who start out with good intentions.
Fluoride is a toxic poison that has known serious side effects.
In my book The Terror of Pediatric Medicine I write about the terror of mercury in vaccines and the incredible fact that our beloved pediatricians in white coats are actually the worst kind of terrorists because they concentrate their dark intentions on newborns and little children. I mention this because here in this chapter, before we really get into any serious science about fluoride, we also have to mention the abomination of adding fluoride to toothpaste and again exposing children to its toxic profile.
Scientific evidence over the past 50 plus years has shown that sodium fluoride shortens our life span, promotes various cancers and mental disturbances, and most importantly, makes humans stupid, docile, and subservient, all in one neat little package.
In 1993 I helped start the Medical Veritas medical journal and in one of its first issues was Dr. Paul Connett’s essay, Fifty Reasons To Be Against Fluoridation. Unfortunately, and in part due to fluoridation and our increasing mercury exposure it, is hard for us humans to be effectively against anything so the horror goes on, yet people like Dr. Connett fight on. He has now published:The Case Against Fluoride: how hazardous waste ended up in our drinking water and the bad science and powerful politics that keep it there, by Connett P, Beck J, and Micklem HS, summarizes thehistorical, political, ethical, toxicological, andepidemiological scientific data behind drinking-waterfluoridation. The book concludes that, if proposedtoday, fluoridation of drinking water to prevent toothdecay would stand virtually no chance of beingadopted, given the current status of scientificknowledge.
In the case of water fluoridation, according to the above authors, the chemicals that go into the drinking water that more than 180 million people drink each day in the United States are not even pharmaceutical grade, but rather a hazardous waste product of the phosphate fertilizer industry. It is illegal to dump this waste into the sea or local surface water, and yet it is allowed in our drinking water. To make matters worse, this program receives no oversight from the Food and Drug Administration, and the Environmental Protection Agency takes no responsibility for the practice. And from an ethical standpoint, say the authors, water fluoridation is a bad medical practice; individuals are being forced to take medication without their informed consent; there is no control over the dose and no monitoring of possible side effects.
Acute high oral exposure to fluoride may lead to nausea, vomiting,abdominal pain, diarrhea, drowsiness, headaches, polyuria and polydipsia, coma, convulsions, cardiac arrest, and death.
Historically, fluoride was quite expensive for the world’s premier chemical companies to dispose of, but in the 50s and 60s, Alcoa and the entire aluminum industry—with a vast overabundance of the toxic waste—somehow sold the FDA and our government on the insane (but highly profitable) idea of buying this poison and then injecting it into our water supply as well as into the nation’s toothpastes and dental rinses. Consider also that when sodium fluoride is injected into our drinking water, its level is approximately one part-per-million (ppm), but since we only drink one-half of one percent of the total water supply, the hazardous chemical literally “goes down the drain” and voila—the chemical industry not only has a free hazardous waste disposal system, but we have also paid them with our health and our pocketbooks for the process.
The aluminum and phosphate fertilizer industries were not alone. The American government’s atomic weapons program was also producing huge amounts of fluoride and was getting sued by famers for the damage done to their cattle.
In part one of The Case Against Fluoride, “The Ethical and General Arguments Against Fluoridation”:The requirement for the informedconsent of the patient before administration of amedication is a basic human right. Yet with fluoride, which is added to drinkingwater as a therapeutic intervention, no such permission is sought or given. The process is enforced on every member of the population. The authors explore thisfact in the context of medical ethics. Another aspect is the efficacy of fluoridationas a therapy, which, the authors argue, is marginal at best and deleterious at worst.The fluoride used for water fluoridation is not of pharmaceutical grade, but is in fact a chemical waste byproduct. The lack of any rigorous studies as to the efficacy of fluoridation programs, the authors contend, means that the wholeprocess is experimental. There is no control of “dose”—how much fluorideanyone receives from the water.
Christopher Bryson’s widely acclaimed book The Fluoride Deception includes dozens of peer-reviewed studies showing that sodium fluoride is a deadly neurotoxin that attacks the central nervous system and leads to a multitude of serious health problems. This fact has been covered up by a collusion of government and industry who have reaped financial windfalls while illegally mass medicating the public against their will.
Perhaps the most notable study was conducted by Dr. Phyllis Mullenix Ph.D., a highly respected pharmacologist and toxicologist, who, in a 1995 Forsyth Research Institute study, found that rats who had fluoride added to their diet exhibited abnormal behavioral traits.
A 2008 Scientific American reportconcluded that “Scientific attitudes toward fluoridation may be starting to shift” as new evidence emerges of the poison’s link to disorders affecting teeth, bones, the brain, and the thyroid gland, as well as lowering IQ. “Today almost 60 percent of the U.S. population drinks fluoridated water, including residents of 46 of the nation’s 50 largest cities,” reported Scientific American’s Dan Fagin, an award-wining environmental reporter and Director of New York University’s Science, Health, and Environmental Reporting Program.
The Scientific American study “concluded that fluoride can subtly alter endocrine function, especially in the thyroid.” “In summary, evidence of several types indicates that fluoride affects normal endocrine function or response; the effects of the fluoride-induced changes vary in degree and kind in different individuals. Fluoride is therefore an endocrine disruptor in the broad sense of altering normal endocrine function or response, although probably not in the sense of mimicking a normal hormone. The mechanisms of action remain to be worked out and appear to include both direct and indirect mechanisms, for example, direct stimulation or inhibition of hormone secretion by interference with second messenger function, indirect stimulation or inhibition of hormone secretion by effects on things such as calcium balance, and inhibition of peripheral enzymes that are necessary for activation of the normal hormone” reports the National Research Council of the National Academies in a 2006 report on page 266.
Fluoride is a thyroid poison and because so many are so heavily exposed, the need for iodine supplementation is vastly increased. There are actually four halogens: iodine, bromine, fluorine, and chlorine. All these halogens use the same receptors in the body. Therefore if a person’s diet is deficient in iodine the iodine receptors in the thyroid and stomach, for example, may fill up with bromine, which is common in grains, bleached flour, sodas, nuts, and oils as well as several plant foods. Iodine is depleted by bromine, which is used as a spray on fruits and vegetables, in baked goods, as a fumigant, and in Prozac, Paxil, and many other pharmaceutical drugs. Chlorine, fluorine, and fluoride are chemically related to iodine, and compete with it, blocking iodine receptors in the thyroid gland.
Dr. David Brownstein says that fluoride inhibits the ability of the thyroid gland to concentrate iodine, and research has shown that fluoride is much more toxic to the body when there is iodine deficiency present. When iodine is supplemented, the excretion rate of the toxic halides bromide, fluoride, and perchlorate is greatly enhanced. Brownstein says that after only one dose of iodine, the excretion of fluoride increased by 78% and this is very important for those who are drinking fluoridatedwater or taking medicines with fluoride in them; bromide excretion rates increased by 50%.
Halogen Poisons
Iodine forms compounds with many elements but is less reactive than the other members of the halogens group and has some metallic light reflectance. There is a well-known law of halogen displacement: the critical activity of any one of these four halogens is in inverse proportion to its atomic weight.
The mechanism behind “halogen displacement” was probably best described by J.C. Jarvis, M.D. (Folk Medicine, Henry Holt & Co., 1958, HB, p. 136), who wrote: “The clinical activity of any one of these four halogens is in inverse proportion to its atomic weight. This means that any one of the four can displace the element with a higher atomic weight, but cannot displace an element with a lower atomic weight. For example, flourine can displace chlorine, bromine, and iodine because flourine has a lower atomic weight than the other three. Similarly, chlorine can displace bromine and iodine because they both have a higher atomic weight.” Likewise, bromine can displace iodine from the body because iodine has a higher atomic weight. A reverse order is not possible.
Fluoride and Cancer
In 2005, a study conducted at the Harvard School of Dental Health found that fluoride in tap water directly contributes to causing bone cancer in young boys.“New American research suggests that boys exposed to fluoride between the ages of five and 10 will suffer an increased rate of osteosarcoma—bone cancer—between the ages of 10 and 19,” according to a London Observer article about the study.
Based on the findings of the study, the respected Environmental Working Group lobbied to have fluoride in tap water be added to the U.S. government’s classified list of substances known or anticipated to cause cancer in humans. Cancer rates in the U.S. have skyrocketed with one in three people now contracting the disease at some stage in their life.
The link to bone cancer has also been discovered by other scientists, but a controversy ensued after it emerged that Harvard Professor Chester Douglass, who downplayed the connection in his final report, was in fact editor-in-chief of The Colgate Oral Health Report, a quarterly newsletter funded by Colgate-Palmolive Co., which makes fluoridated toothpaste.
An August 2006 Chinese study found that fluoride in drinking water damages children’s liver and kidney functions.
Sodium fluoride is commonly used as a rat poison. Globalists and eugenicists have decided to add it to water supplies with the message to the public that it is good for teeth, despite warnings from the ADA stating that young children risk a disease called dental fluorosis. Water actually is a battleground between good and evil and we see this in the fluoridation issue. One cannot understand the universe of water without grappling with poisonous fluoride and its government-mandated entry into public water supplies in the United States, Brazil, and several other countries that have stupidly followed America’s lead in water fluoridation. Just because it’s invisible does not make it any less deadly in the long haul in terms of public health. I had to say that because most people in fluoridated countries just don’t mind that it is there; it’s simply off their radar screens. And in fact, when you go back to the history and beginning of water fluoridation, we find out that it was the Nazis who used it first to turn their prisoners of war into passive sheep.
Fluoride is a poison, but that is nothing to worry about since, according to allopathic medicine, everything is poisonous and it is the dose that makes the poison. At the heart of medical science is a cankerous black hole of ugliness that leads right to the door of the American, German, and English governments (just to name the principles), along with the elite families and corporations that have come to control these governments in the last century. These controlling self-interested parties can barely be called human; they have been correctly labeled by all kinds of horrid names and have forever been a part of and hidden by secret societies. And they have all kinds of people who have sold their souls to those who do their bidding and call it science.
Fluoride was used by Nazis to sterilize inmates and make them docile. Fluoride a key dumbing-down ingredient of Prozac and Sarin nerve gas and many other medications.
When it comes to water fluoridation we have to take off our gloves, but that is hard for most of us because we have been heavily fluoridated. And we have been exposed to, in hundreds of millions of cases, overwhelming amounts of another neurological depressant and an even more dangerous neurological poison, and that is mercury in the form of dental amalgam, vaccines containing thimerosal, as well increasing levels of environmental mercury pollution from the burning of coal and cremation of humans with mercury dental fillings still in their mouths. But of course no one has done any studies of the neurological effects of fluoride when combined with mercury exposure, which varies widely from one person to another depending on where they live and their vaccine and dental history.
“One aspect of the issue of Man’s alleged evil nature is rarely, if ever, addressed. This is the wholesale poisoning of Mankind and its affect on the brain and behavior of Mankind. Man’s food, water, and air (smog, chemtrails) are ever more poisoned. Our medicines are toxic and may be causing more harm than good, our dental fillings are called ‘silver’ yet are over half mercury; likewise our infants are forced to have vaccinations also with mercury and other toxins. The proven carcinogen fluoride is added to water and is in many medicines and toothpastes. The German Nazi regime is said to have fluoridated water because it made people docile. Is the same rationale ongoing in the USA? In a ludicrous ‘environmental’ change, incandescent bulbs are soon to be phased out and replaced with more efficient fluorescent bulbs that all have mercury within them?! All the toxins in the food, water, air, medicines, fillings, and vaccines have a terrible effect on people’s brains. Few people can truly think and change, or have the courage to act. These toxins also cause much chronic, degenerative illness, cancer, etc. The mercury in vaccines does cause autism,” writes the anonymous physicist.
Twin Toxic Dangers of Mercury and Fluoride
I have always liked all my dentists, trusting their competence more than doctors, but when I began to understand the twin dangers of fluoride and dental mercury amalgam I began to see that the entire profession has been duped, and that goes for most graduates of medical school. We first-world people like to think that our universities and medical schools are centers of higher learning and intelligence, but the fact is that they are intense conditioning machines that forcefully mind shape the brains of their vulnerable students who start out with good intentions.
Fluoride is a toxic poison that has known serious side effects.
In my book The Terror of Pediatric Medicine I write about the terror of mercury in vaccines and the incredible fact that our beloved pediatricians in white coats are actually the worst kind of terrorists because they concentrate their dark intentions on newborns and little children. I mention this because here in this chapter, before we really get into any serious science about fluoride, we also have to mention the abomination of adding fluoride to toothpaste and again exposing children to its toxic profile.
Scientific evidence over the past 50 plus years has shown that sodium fluoride shortens our life span, promotes various cancers and mental disturbances, and most importantly, makes humans stupid, docile, and subservient, all in one neat little package.
In 1993 I helped start the Medical Veritas medical journal and in one of its first issues was Dr. Paul Connett’s essay, Fifty Reasons To Be Against Fluoridation. Unfortunately, and in part due to fluoridation and our increasing mercury exposure it, is hard for us humans to be effectively against anything so the horror goes on, yet people like Dr. Connett fight on. He has now published:The Case Against Fluoride: how hazardous waste ended up in our drinking water and the bad science and powerful politics that keep it there, by Connett P, Beck J, and Micklem HS, summarizes thehistorical, political, ethical, toxicological, andepidemiological scientific data behind drinking-waterfluoridation. The book concludes that, if proposedtoday, fluoridation of drinking water to prevent toothdecay would stand virtually no chance of beingadopted, given the current status of scientificknowledge.
In the case of water fluoridation, according to the above authors, the chemicals that go into the drinking water that more than 180 million people drink each day in the United States are not even pharmaceutical grade, but rather a hazardous waste product of the phosphate fertilizer industry. It is illegal to dump this waste into the sea or local surface water, and yet it is allowed in our drinking water. To make matters worse, this program receives no oversight from the Food and Drug Administration, and the Environmental Protection Agency takes no responsibility for the practice. And from an ethical standpoint, say the authors, water fluoridation is a bad medical practice; individuals are being forced to take medication without their informed consent; there is no control over the dose and no monitoring of possible side effects.
Acute high oral exposure to fluoride may lead to nausea, vomiting,abdominal pain, diarrhea, drowsiness, headaches, polyuria and polydipsia, coma, convulsions, cardiac arrest, and death.
Historically, fluoride was quite expensive for the world’s premier chemical companies to dispose of, but in the 50s and 60s, Alcoa and the entire aluminum industry—with a vast overabundance of the toxic waste—somehow sold the FDA and our government on the insane (but highly profitable) idea of buying this poison and then injecting it into our water supply as well as into the nation’s toothpastes and dental rinses. Consider also that when sodium fluoride is injected into our drinking water, its level is approximately one part-per-million (ppm), but since we only drink one-half of one percent of the total water supply, the hazardous chemical literally “goes down the drain” and voila—the chemical industry not only has a free hazardous waste disposal system, but we have also paid them with our health and our pocketbooks for the process.
The aluminum and phosphate fertilizer industries were not alone. The American government’s atomic weapons program was also producing huge amounts of fluoride and was getting sued by famers for the damage done to their cattle.
In part one of The Case Against Fluoride, “The Ethical and General Arguments Against Fluoridation”:The requirement for the informedconsent of the patient before administration of amedication is a basic human right. Yet with fluoride, which is added to drinkingwater as a therapeutic intervention, no such permission is sought or given. The process is enforced on every member of the population. The authors explore thisfact in the context of medical ethics. Another aspect is the efficacy of fluoridationas a therapy, which, the authors argue, is marginal at best and deleterious at worst.The fluoride used for water fluoridation is not of pharmaceutical grade, but is in fact a chemical waste byproduct. The lack of any rigorous studies as to the efficacy of fluoridation programs, the authors contend, means that the wholeprocess is experimental. There is no control of “dose”—how much fluorideanyone receives from the water.
Christopher Bryson’s widely acclaimed book The Fluoride Deception includes dozens of peer-reviewed studies showing that sodium fluoride is a deadly neurotoxin that attacks the central nervous system and leads to a multitude of serious health problems. This fact has been covered up by a collusion of government and industry who have reaped financial windfalls while illegally mass medicating the public against their will.
Perhaps the most notable study was conducted by Dr. Phyllis Mullenix Ph.D., a highly respected pharmacologist and toxicologist, who, in a 1995 Forsyth Research Institute study, found that rats who had fluoride added to their diet exhibited abnormal behavioral traits.
A 2008 Scientific American reportconcluded that “Scientific attitudes toward fluoridation may be starting to shift” as new evidence emerges of the poison’s link to disorders affecting teeth, bones, the brain, and the thyroid gland, as well as lowering IQ. “Today almost 60 percent of the U.S. population drinks fluoridated water, including residents of 46 of the nation’s 50 largest cities,” reported Scientific American’s Dan Fagin, an award-wining environmental reporter and Director of New York University’s Science, Health, and Environmental Reporting Program.
The Scientific American study “concluded that fluoride can subtly alter endocrine function, especially in the thyroid.” “In summary, evidence of several types indicates that fluoride affects normal endocrine function or response; the effects of the fluoride-induced changes vary in degree and kind in different individuals. Fluoride is therefore an endocrine disruptor in the broad sense of altering normal endocrine function or response, although probably not in the sense of mimicking a normal hormone. The mechanisms of action remain to be worked out and appear to include both direct and indirect mechanisms, for example, direct stimulation or inhibition of hormone secretion by interference with second messenger function, indirect stimulation or inhibition of hormone secretion by effects on things such as calcium balance, and inhibition of peripheral enzymes that are necessary for activation of the normal hormone” reports the National Research Council of the National Academies in a 2006 report on page 266.
Fluoride is a thyroid poison and because so many are so heavily exposed, the need for iodine supplementation is vastly increased. There are actually four halogens: iodine, bromine, fluorine, and chlorine. All these halogens use the same receptors in the body. Therefore if a person’s diet is deficient in iodine the iodine receptors in the thyroid and stomach, for example, may fill up with bromine, which is common in grains, bleached flour, sodas, nuts, and oils as well as several plant foods. Iodine is depleted by bromine, which is used as a spray on fruits and vegetables, in baked goods, as a fumigant, and in Prozac, Paxil, and many other pharmaceutical drugs. Chlorine, fluorine, and fluoride are chemically related to iodine, and compete with it, blocking iodine receptors in the thyroid gland.
Dr. David Brownstein says that fluoride inhibits the ability of the thyroid gland to concentrate iodine, and research has shown that fluoride is much more toxic to the body when there is iodine deficiency present. When iodine is supplemented, the excretion rate of the toxic halides bromide, fluoride, and perchlorate is greatly enhanced. Brownstein says that after only one dose of iodine, the excretion of fluoride increased by 78% and this is very important for those who are drinking fluoridatedwater or taking medicines with fluoride in them; bromide excretion rates increased by 50%.
Halogen Poisons
Iodine forms compounds with many elements but is less reactive than the other members of the halogens group and has some metallic light reflectance. There is a well-known law of halogen displacement: the critical activity of any one of these four halogens is in inverse proportion to its atomic weight.
The mechanism behind “halogen displacement” was probably best described by J.C. Jarvis, M.D. (Folk Medicine, Henry Holt & Co., 1958, HB, p. 136), who wrote: “The clinical activity of any one of these four halogens is in inverse proportion to its atomic weight. This means that any one of the four can displace the element with a higher atomic weight, but cannot displace an element with a lower atomic weight. For example, flourine can displace chlorine, bromine, and iodine because flourine has a lower atomic weight than the other three. Similarly, chlorine can displace bromine and iodine because they both have a higher atomic weight.” Likewise, bromine can displace iodine from the body because iodine has a higher atomic weight. A reverse order is not possible.
Fluoride and Cancer
In 2005, a study conducted at the Harvard School of Dental Health found that fluoride in tap water directly contributes to causing bone cancer in young boys.“New American research suggests that boys exposed to fluoride between the ages of five and 10 will suffer an increased rate of osteosarcoma—bone cancer—between the ages of 10 and 19,” according to a London Observer article about the study.
Based on the findings of the study, the respected Environmental Working Group lobbied to have fluoride in tap water be added to the U.S. government’s classified list of substances known or anticipated to cause cancer in humans. Cancer rates in the U.S. have skyrocketed with one in three people now contracting the disease at some stage in their life.
The link to bone cancer has also been discovered by other scientists, but a controversy ensued after it emerged that Harvard Professor Chester Douglass, who downplayed the connection in his final report, was in fact editor-in-chief of The Colgate Oral Health Report, a quarterly newsletter funded by Colgate-Palmolive Co., which makes fluoridated toothpaste.
An August 2006 Chinese study found that fluoride in drinking water damages children’s liver and kidney functions.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Tennis Elbow and corticosteroid injections
Efficacy and safety of corticosteroid injections and other injections for management of tendinopathy: a systematic review of randomised controlled trials
Original TextBrooke K Coombes MPhty a, Leanne Bisset PhD b c, Prof Bill Vicenzino PhD a Summary
Background
Few evidence-based treatment guidelines for tendinopathy exist. We undertook a systematic review of randomised trials to establish clinical efficacy and risk of adverse events for treatment by injection.
Methods
We searched eight databases without language, publication, or date restrictions. We included randomised trials assessing efficacy of one or more peritendinous injections with placebo or non-surgical interventions for tendinopathy, scoring more than 50% on the modified physiotherapy evidence database scale. We undertook meta-analyses with a random-effects model, and estimated relative risk and standardised mean differences (SMDs). The primary outcome of clinical efficacy was protocol-defined pain score in the short term (4 weeks, range 0—12), intermediate term (26 weeks, 13—26), or long term (52 weeks, ≥52). Adverse events were also reported.
Findings
3824 trials were identified and 41 met inclusion criteria, providing data for 2672 participants. We showed consistent findings between many high-quality randomised controlled trials that corticosteroid injections reduced pain in the short term compared with other interventions, but this effect was reversed at intermediate and long terms. For example, in pooled analysis of treatment for lateral epicondylalgia, corticosteroid injection had a large effect (defined as SMD>0·8) on reduction of pain compared with no intervention in the short term (SMD 1·44, 95% CI 1·17—1·71, p<0·0001), but no intervention was favoured at intermediate term (−0·40, −0·67 to −0·14, p<0·003) and long term (−0·31, −0·61 to −0·01, p=0·05). Short-term efficacy of corticosteroid injections for rotator-cuff tendinopathy is not clear. Of 991 participants who received corticosteroid injections in studies that reported adverse events, only one (0·1%) had a serious adverse event (tendon rupture). By comparison with placebo, reductions in pain were reported after injections of sodium hyaluronate (short [3·91, 3·54—4·28, p<0·0001], intermediate [2·89, 2·58—3·20, p<0·0001], and long [3·91, 3·55—4·28, p<0·0001] terms), botulinum toxin (short term [1·23, 0·67—1·78, p<0·0001]), and prolotherapy (intermediate term [2·62, 1·36—3·88, p<0·0001]) for treatment of lateral epicondylalgia. Lauromacrogol (polidocanol), aprotinin, and platelet-rich plasma were not more efficacious than was placebo for Achilles tendinopathy, while prolotherapy was not more effective than was eccentric exercise.
Interpretation
Despite the effectiveness of corticosteroid injections in the short term, non-corticosteroid injections might be of benefit for long-term treatment of lateral epicondylalgia. However, response to injection should not be generalised because of variation in effect between sites of tendinopathy.
Funding None.
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2810%2961160-9/abstract
Original TextBrooke K Coombes MPhty a, Leanne Bisset PhD b c, Prof Bill Vicenzino PhD a Summary
Background
Few evidence-based treatment guidelines for tendinopathy exist. We undertook a systematic review of randomised trials to establish clinical efficacy and risk of adverse events for treatment by injection.
Methods
We searched eight databases without language, publication, or date restrictions. We included randomised trials assessing efficacy of one or more peritendinous injections with placebo or non-surgical interventions for tendinopathy, scoring more than 50% on the modified physiotherapy evidence database scale. We undertook meta-analyses with a random-effects model, and estimated relative risk and standardised mean differences (SMDs). The primary outcome of clinical efficacy was protocol-defined pain score in the short term (4 weeks, range 0—12), intermediate term (26 weeks, 13—26), or long term (52 weeks, ≥52). Adverse events were also reported.
Findings
3824 trials were identified and 41 met inclusion criteria, providing data for 2672 participants. We showed consistent findings between many high-quality randomised controlled trials that corticosteroid injections reduced pain in the short term compared with other interventions, but this effect was reversed at intermediate and long terms. For example, in pooled analysis of treatment for lateral epicondylalgia, corticosteroid injection had a large effect (defined as SMD>0·8) on reduction of pain compared with no intervention in the short term (SMD 1·44, 95% CI 1·17—1·71, p<0·0001), but no intervention was favoured at intermediate term (−0·40, −0·67 to −0·14, p<0·003) and long term (−0·31, −0·61 to −0·01, p=0·05). Short-term efficacy of corticosteroid injections for rotator-cuff tendinopathy is not clear. Of 991 participants who received corticosteroid injections in studies that reported adverse events, only one (0·1%) had a serious adverse event (tendon rupture). By comparison with placebo, reductions in pain were reported after injections of sodium hyaluronate (short [3·91, 3·54—4·28, p<0·0001], intermediate [2·89, 2·58—3·20, p<0·0001], and long [3·91, 3·55—4·28, p<0·0001] terms), botulinum toxin (short term [1·23, 0·67—1·78, p<0·0001]), and prolotherapy (intermediate term [2·62, 1·36—3·88, p<0·0001]) for treatment of lateral epicondylalgia. Lauromacrogol (polidocanol), aprotinin, and platelet-rich plasma were not more efficacious than was placebo for Achilles tendinopathy, while prolotherapy was not more effective than was eccentric exercise.
Interpretation
Despite the effectiveness of corticosteroid injections in the short term, non-corticosteroid injections might be of benefit for long-term treatment of lateral epicondylalgia. However, response to injection should not be generalised because of variation in effect between sites of tendinopathy.
Funding None.
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2810%2961160-9/abstract
Monday, October 25, 2010
Flight Risk: Death Sentences for Geese Near NYC Airports.
When Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger safely landed his plane in the Hudson River after hitting a flock of migratory geese, it was determined to end this kind of flight risk and death sentences were then given for the local resident Canadian Geese. In June, 2009 about 2,000 Canada Geese living within striking distance of New York City's John F. Kennedy and LaGuardia airports were herded into fenced areas, put into crates and euthanized - even though the geese that struck Sullenberger's plane were migratory geese as opposed to the resident ones that lived near the airport - all the killing was done in the name of airport safety.
Canada Geese are regulated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service under the guidelines set forth by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 making it unlawful to kill, sell, hunt, disturb nests and eggs, or purchase and possess migratory birds unless permitted by the Secretary of the Interior. Because Canada Geese are afforded protections under the law known as the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, they can only be killed with permission. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has again given USDA a permit for this year's extermination.
Once again, the US Fish and Wildlife is going to allow the killing of thousands of Canadian Geese which will then be thrown into a landfill on the east coast rather than killing them in a better way so they can be used for food to help many people in need.... Why this incredible waste? Is anyone really "in charge"?
Canada Geese are regulated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service under the guidelines set forth by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 making it unlawful to kill, sell, hunt, disturb nests and eggs, or purchase and possess migratory birds unless permitted by the Secretary of the Interior. Because Canada Geese are afforded protections under the law known as the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, they can only be killed with permission. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has again given USDA a permit for this year's extermination.
Once again, the US Fish and Wildlife is going to allow the killing of thousands of Canadian Geese which will then be thrown into a landfill on the east coast rather than killing them in a better way so they can be used for food to help many people in need.... Why this incredible waste? Is anyone really "in charge"?
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Think twice before eating fruits daily.
Think twice before eating them daily Subhash Chandra N S Bangalore, Oct 23, DHNS
A report by a New Delhi-based NGO has made a startling revelation regarding ‘health’ of fruits consumed by urban dwellers.
The urban dwellers (New Delhi, Bangalore and Kolkata) in the country are said to consume fruits with high doses of harmful pesticide residues in them. The dosage exceeds the permissible limits.
The adage - ‘Eat fruits to stay healthy’ has just been turned on its side, with the Delhi-based organisation ‘Consumer Voice,’ (CV) coming out with startling figures which can turn even regular fruit consumption carcinogenic.
With chemical contents such as endosuplhan, captan, thiacloprid, methyl parathion and DDT residues found in larger quantities, the agency in its finding titled ‘Slow poisoning by slack standard’ has stated that it would lead to several ailments initially, and might turn carcinogenic in the later days.
The organisation randomly picked up samples from New Delhi, Kolkata and Bangalore’s roadside shops and wholesale markets. “We picked the samples randomly and subjected them to test at National Accreditation Board (for testing and calibration) Laboratories, where we found pesticide residues in them,” said Sisir Ghosh, Head - Corporate Affairs, CV.
The study, aimed at identifying the level of residues in fresh fruits and examining the total level of pesticides used in the individual fruits as per MRL (Maximum Residual Limit) of permitted pesticides, also found four pesticides aldrin, chlordane, endrin and heptachlor residues. “These pesticides are banned for manufacture, import and use,” said Ghosh. The report also intends to identify presence of pesticides which are banned due to their potential toxicity impacts.
Permissible limits
H Wadhwa, Technical head, CV, explaining the level of residues in the fruit said that the level of pesticide is so high in some fruits that the instruments could not quantify the contamination. “Surprisingly, pesticides in some of the imported fruits were within the permissible limits as per the standards of consumption in India,” he said. “If the permissible limit of endosuplhan is 2,000 parts per billion (ppb), the sample of cherry when subjected to test revealed that it was 5,762.92 ppb in the fruits we consume,” he said.
The presence of Thiacloprid in imported apple is 23.06, a little more than the permissible limit (20 ppb in Europe and 15,000 in India), but there is no details of the apples grown in India. Twelve fruits, tested by CV, which are regularly consumed, were found with pesticides and had violated the European Union and the Indian Standards of Pesticides in the fruits.
The pesticides and insecticides are the common potent chemicals sprayed on fruits and other crops to curb attacks and damage from various insects and pests. In tropical countries like India, possibilities of pest damages are maximum due to hot and humid weather.
Suggested solution
CV has warned people against consumption of unwashed fruits, switching over to organic fruits and consumption of fresh fruits to reduce exposure to pesticide. Fruits subjected to test along with their numbers: apple (11), banana (5), cherry (4), chikoo (2), grapes (2), khubani (3), kiwi (3), litchi (3), mango (11), musk melon (4), papaya (4), peach (5), pears (5), pineapple (4), plum (5), pomegranate (5) and watermelon (4).
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/107031/think-twice-eating-them-daily.html#top
A report by a New Delhi-based NGO has made a startling revelation regarding ‘health’ of fruits consumed by urban dwellers.
The urban dwellers (New Delhi, Bangalore and Kolkata) in the country are said to consume fruits with high doses of harmful pesticide residues in them. The dosage exceeds the permissible limits.
The adage - ‘Eat fruits to stay healthy’ has just been turned on its side, with the Delhi-based organisation ‘Consumer Voice,’ (CV) coming out with startling figures which can turn even regular fruit consumption carcinogenic.
With chemical contents such as endosuplhan, captan, thiacloprid, methyl parathion and DDT residues found in larger quantities, the agency in its finding titled ‘Slow poisoning by slack standard’ has stated that it would lead to several ailments initially, and might turn carcinogenic in the later days.
The organisation randomly picked up samples from New Delhi, Kolkata and Bangalore’s roadside shops and wholesale markets. “We picked the samples randomly and subjected them to test at National Accreditation Board (for testing and calibration) Laboratories, where we found pesticide residues in them,” said Sisir Ghosh, Head - Corporate Affairs, CV.
The study, aimed at identifying the level of residues in fresh fruits and examining the total level of pesticides used in the individual fruits as per MRL (Maximum Residual Limit) of permitted pesticides, also found four pesticides aldrin, chlordane, endrin and heptachlor residues. “These pesticides are banned for manufacture, import and use,” said Ghosh. The report also intends to identify presence of pesticides which are banned due to their potential toxicity impacts.
Permissible limits
H Wadhwa, Technical head, CV, explaining the level of residues in the fruit said that the level of pesticide is so high in some fruits that the instruments could not quantify the contamination. “Surprisingly, pesticides in some of the imported fruits were within the permissible limits as per the standards of consumption in India,” he said. “If the permissible limit of endosuplhan is 2,000 parts per billion (ppb), the sample of cherry when subjected to test revealed that it was 5,762.92 ppb in the fruits we consume,” he said.
The presence of Thiacloprid in imported apple is 23.06, a little more than the permissible limit (20 ppb in Europe and 15,000 in India), but there is no details of the apples grown in India. Twelve fruits, tested by CV, which are regularly consumed, were found with pesticides and had violated the European Union and the Indian Standards of Pesticides in the fruits.
The pesticides and insecticides are the common potent chemicals sprayed on fruits and other crops to curb attacks and damage from various insects and pests. In tropical countries like India, possibilities of pest damages are maximum due to hot and humid weather.
Suggested solution
CV has warned people against consumption of unwashed fruits, switching over to organic fruits and consumption of fresh fruits to reduce exposure to pesticide. Fruits subjected to test along with their numbers: apple (11), banana (5), cherry (4), chikoo (2), grapes (2), khubani (3), kiwi (3), litchi (3), mango (11), musk melon (4), papaya (4), peach (5), pears (5), pineapple (4), plum (5), pomegranate (5) and watermelon (4).
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/107031/think-twice-eating-them-daily.html#top
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Health Benefits of Coconut Oil.
The health benefits of coconut oil include hair care, skin care, stress relief, maintaining cholesterol levels, weight loss, increased immunity, proper digestion and metabolism, relief from kidney problems, heart diseases, high blood pressure, diabetes, HIV and cancer, dental care, and bone strength. These benefits of coconut oil can be attributed to the presence of lauric acid, capric acid and caprylic acid, and its properties such as antimicrobial, antioxidant, antifungal, antibacterial, soothing, etc.
How is Lauric Acid Used by our body?The human body converts lauric acid into monolaurin which is claimed to help in dealing with viruses and bacteria causing diseases such as herpes, influenza, cytomegalovirus, and even HIV. It helps in fighting harmful bacteria such as listeria monocytogenes and heliobacter pylori, and harmful protozoa such as giardia lamblia. As a result of these various health benefits of coconut oil, though its exact mechanism of action was unknown, it has been extensively used in Ayurveda, the traditional Indian medicinal system.
Composition of Coconut Oil: Coconut oil consists of more than ninety percent of saturated fats, with traces of few unsaturated fatty acids, such as monounsaturated fatty acids and polyunsaturated fatty acids. Virgin Coconut Oil is no different from this.
The Saturated Fatty Acids: Most of them are Medium Chain Triglycerides, which are supposed to assimilate well. Lauric Acid is the chief contributor, with more than forty percent of the share, followed by Capric Acid, Caprylic Acid, Myristic Acid and Palmitic.
The Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids: Linoleic Acid.
The Monounsaturated Fatty Acids: Oleic Acid.
The Poly-phenols: Gallic Acid, which is phenolic acid. These poly-phenols are supposed to be responsible for the fragrance and the taste of Coconut Oil and Virgin Coconut Oil is rich in these poly-phenols.
Certain derivatives of fatty acid like Betaines, Ethanolamide, Ethoxylates, Fatty Esters, Fatty Polysorbates, Monoglycerides and Polyol Esters.
Fatty Chlorides, Fatty Alcohol Sulphate and Fatty Alcohol Ether Sulphate, all of which are derivatives of Fatty Alcohols.
Vitamin-E and Vitamin K and minerals such as Iron.
Approximately 50% of the fatty acids in coconut fat are lauric acid. Lauric acid is a medium chain fatty acid, which has the additional beneficial function of being formed into monolaurin in the human or animal body. Monolaurin is the anti-viral, antibacterial, and antiprotozoal monoglyceride used by the human or animal to destroy lipid coated viruses such as HIV, herpes, cytomegalovirus, influenza, various pathogenic bacteria including listeria monocytogenes and heliobacter pylori, and protozoa such as giardia lamblia. Some studies have also shown some antimicrobial effects of the free lauric acid." As a "functional food," coconut oil is now being recognized by the medical community as a powerful tool against immune diseases. Several studies have been done on its effectiveness, and much research is currently being done on the incredible nutritional value of pure coconut oil. Please go to www.coconutoil.com to read about these studies.
Hair Care: Coconut oil is one of the best natural nutrition for hair. It helps in healthy growth of hair providing them a shiny complexion. Regular massage of the head with coconut oil ensures that your scalp is free of dandruff, lice, and lice eggs, even if your scalp is dry. Coconut oil is extensively used in the Indian sub-continent for hair care. It is an excellent conditioner and helps in the re-growth of damaged hair. It also provides the essential proteins required for nourishing damaged hair. It is therefore used as hair care oil and used in manufacturing various conditioners, and dandruff relief creams. If you ever visit coastal parts of India, you will be surprised to see lots and lots of old men and women, in their 70s and 80s, still having thick jet black hair. Thanks to the coastal climate, the rice and fish meal and of course, to the pure coconut oil they use on hair.
Stress Relief: Coconut oil is very soothing and hence it helps in removing stress. Applying coconut oil to the head followed with a gentle massage helps in removing mental fatigue. Coconut oil is one of the healthiest things you can put on your skin.
Skin Care: Coconut oil is excellent massage oil for the skin as well. It acts as an effective moisturizer on all types of skins including dry skin. The benefit of coconut oil on the skin is comparable to that of mineral oil. Further, unlike mineral oil, there is no chance of having any adverse side effects on the skin with the application of coconut oil. Coconut oil therefore is a safe solution for preventing dryness and flaking of skin. It also delays wrinkles, and sagging of skin which normally become prominent with age. Coconut oil also helps in treating various skin problems including psoriasis, dermatitis, eczema and other skin infections. Therefore coconut oil forms the basic ingredient of various body care products such as soaps, lotions, creams, etc., used for skin care.
Premature Aging: Coconut oil helps in preventing premature aging and degenerative diseases due to its antioxidant properties.
Heart Diseases: There is a misconception spread among many people that coconut oil is not good for the heart. This is because it contains a large quantity of saturated fats. However, coconut oil is beneficial for the heart. It contains about 50% lauric acid, which helps in preventing various heart problems including high cholesterol levels and high blood pressure. The saturated fats present in coconut oil are not harmful as it happens in case of other vegetables oils. It does not lead to increase in LDL levels. It also reduces the incidence of injury in arteries and therefore helps in preventing atherosclerosis. The U.S. Department of Health and the FDA estimate that artificially hydrogenated trans-fats -- the type found in fast food, processed foods and your favorite pastries -- are ultimately responsible for a huge number of fatal heart attacks every year. These dangerous unsaturated fats are the ones you should ban from your diet, not naturally pure coconut oil, which is a better alternative because it contains very few fats with highly perishable double bonds -- and also has NO TRANS-FATS. Plus, those commonly-used polyunsaturated fats encourage the formation of blood clots by increasing platelet stickiness. Coconut oil helps to promote normal platelet function.
Weight Loss: Coconut oil is also being used by thyroid sufferers to increase body metabolism, and to lose weight. Coconut oil contains short and medium-chain fatty acids that help in taking off excessive weight. It is also easy to digest and it helps in healthy functioning of the thyroid and enzymes systems. Further, it increases the body metabolism by removing stress on pancreases, thereby burning out more energy and helping obese and overweight people reduce their weight. Hence, people living in tropical coastal areas, who eat coconut oil daily as their primary cooking oil, are normally not fat, obese or overweight.
Pancreatitis: Coconut oil is also believed to be useful in treating pancreatitis.
Digestion: Internal use of coconut oil occurs primarily as cooking oil. Coconut oil helps in improving the digestive system and thus prevents various stomach and digestion related problems including irritable bowel syndrome. The saturated fats present in coconut oil have anti microbial properties and help in dealing with various bacteria, fungi, parasites, etc., that cause indigestion. Coconut oil also helps in absorption of other nutrients such as vitamins, minerals and amino acids.
Immunity: Coconut oil is also good for the immune system. It strengthens the immune system as it contains antimicrobial lipids, lauric acid, capric acid and caprylic acid which have antifungal, antibacterial and antiviral properties. The human body converts lauric acid into monolaurin which is claimed to help in dealing with viruses and bacteria causing diseases such as herpes, influenza, cytomegalovirus, and even HIV. It helps in fighting harmful bacteria such as listeria monocytogenes and heliobacter pylori, and harmful protozoa such as giardia lamblia.
Healing: When applied on infections, it forms a chemical layer which protects the infected body part from external dust, air, fungi, bacteria and virus. Coconut oil is most effective on bruises as it speeds up the healing process by repairing damaged tissues.
Infections: Coconut oil is very effective against a variety of infections due to its antifungal, antiviral, and antibacterial properties. According to the Coconut Research Center, coconut oil kills viruses that cause influenza, measles, hepatitis, herpes, SARS, etc. It also kills bacteria that cause ulcers, throat infections, urinary tract infections, pneumonia, and gonorrhea, etc. Coconut oil is also effective on fungi and yeast that cause candidiasis, ringworm, athlete's foot, thrush, diaper rash, etc.
Liver: The presence of medium chain triglycerides and fatty acids helps in preventing liver diseases as they substances are easily converted into energy when they reach the liver, thus reducing work load on the liver and also preventing accumulation of fat.
Kidney: Coconut oil helps in preventing kidney and gall bladder diseases. It also helps in dissolving kidney stones.
Diabetes: Coconut oil helps in controlling blood sugar, and improves the secretion of insulin. It also helps in effective utilization of blood glucose, thereby preventing and treating diabetes.
Bones: As mentioned earlier, coconut oil improves the ability of our body to absorb important minerals. These include calcium and magnesium which are necessary for development of bones. Thus coconut oil is very useful to women who are prone to osteoporosis after middle age.
Dental Care: Calcium is an important element present in teeth. Since coconut oil facilitates absorption of calcium by the body, it helps in getting strong teeth. Coconut oil also stops tooth decay.
HIV and Cancer: It is believed that coconut oil plays an instrumental role in reducing viral susceptibility of HIV and cancer patients.
Finally, coconut oil is often preferred by athletes and body builders and by those who are dieting. The reason behind this being that coconut oil contains lesser calories than other oils, its fat content is easily converted into energy and it does not lead to accumulation of fat in the heart and arteries. Coconut oil helps in boosting energy and endurance, and enhances the performance of athletes.
Back in the 1930's, a dentist named Dr. Weston Price traveled throughout the South Pacific, examining traditional diets and their effect on dental and overall health. He found that those eating diets high in coconut products were healthy and trim, despite the high fat concentration in their diet.
Similarly, in 1981, researchers studied populations of two Polynesian atolls. Coconut was the chief source of caloric energy in both groups. The results, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, demonstrated that both populations exhibited positive vascular health. There was no evidence that the high saturated fat intake had a harmful effect in these populations.
Dr. Mercola has written: " The first, extra-virgin olive oil, is a better monounsaturated fat. It works great as a salad dressing. However, it is not the best oil to cook with. Due to its chemical structure, cooking makes it susceptible to oxidative damage. And polyunsaturated fats, which include common vegetable oils such as corn, soy, safflower, sunflower and canola, are absolutely the worst oils to use in cooking. These omega-6 oils are highly susceptible to heat damage because of all the double bonds they have.
The Author's friend Beldeu Singh has written: "The research on coconut oil shows that it contains three medium chain fatty acids - the same medium chain fatty acids found in breast milk but your doctor will tell you that it contains cholesterol! Plants do not produce cholesterol. Plant cell walls are made of cellulose. Cholesterol is of animal origin. Animal cell wall is made of a choilesterol, a phospholipid. Coconut oil is largely made up of fatty acid which is a triglyceride that easily broken to monoglycerides by the action of ligual lipase, an enzyme found in saliva. So, now you why babies drool a lot. So, if you take a spoon of coconut oil just before you go to bed, mix it in your mouth for a minute or so, with a lot of saliva before swallowing it.
Use virgin olive oil without heating it in salad dressings, etc. but, cook only with virgin coconut oil.
http://products.mercola.com/coconut-oil/
How is Lauric Acid Used by our body?The human body converts lauric acid into monolaurin which is claimed to help in dealing with viruses and bacteria causing diseases such as herpes, influenza, cytomegalovirus, and even HIV. It helps in fighting harmful bacteria such as listeria monocytogenes and heliobacter pylori, and harmful protozoa such as giardia lamblia. As a result of these various health benefits of coconut oil, though its exact mechanism of action was unknown, it has been extensively used in Ayurveda, the traditional Indian medicinal system.
Composition of Coconut Oil: Coconut oil consists of more than ninety percent of saturated fats, with traces of few unsaturated fatty acids, such as monounsaturated fatty acids and polyunsaturated fatty acids. Virgin Coconut Oil is no different from this.
The Saturated Fatty Acids: Most of them are Medium Chain Triglycerides, which are supposed to assimilate well. Lauric Acid is the chief contributor, with more than forty percent of the share, followed by Capric Acid, Caprylic Acid, Myristic Acid and Palmitic.
The Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids: Linoleic Acid.
The Monounsaturated Fatty Acids: Oleic Acid.
The Poly-phenols: Gallic Acid, which is phenolic acid. These poly-phenols are supposed to be responsible for the fragrance and the taste of Coconut Oil and Virgin Coconut Oil is rich in these poly-phenols.
Certain derivatives of fatty acid like Betaines, Ethanolamide, Ethoxylates, Fatty Esters, Fatty Polysorbates, Monoglycerides and Polyol Esters.
Fatty Chlorides, Fatty Alcohol Sulphate and Fatty Alcohol Ether Sulphate, all of which are derivatives of Fatty Alcohols.
Vitamin-E and Vitamin K and minerals such as Iron.
Approximately 50% of the fatty acids in coconut fat are lauric acid. Lauric acid is a medium chain fatty acid, which has the additional beneficial function of being formed into monolaurin in the human or animal body. Monolaurin is the anti-viral, antibacterial, and antiprotozoal monoglyceride used by the human or animal to destroy lipid coated viruses such as HIV, herpes, cytomegalovirus, influenza, various pathogenic bacteria including listeria monocytogenes and heliobacter pylori, and protozoa such as giardia lamblia. Some studies have also shown some antimicrobial effects of the free lauric acid." As a "functional food," coconut oil is now being recognized by the medical community as a powerful tool against immune diseases. Several studies have been done on its effectiveness, and much research is currently being done on the incredible nutritional value of pure coconut oil. Please go to www.coconutoil.com to read about these studies.
Hair Care: Coconut oil is one of the best natural nutrition for hair. It helps in healthy growth of hair providing them a shiny complexion. Regular massage of the head with coconut oil ensures that your scalp is free of dandruff, lice, and lice eggs, even if your scalp is dry. Coconut oil is extensively used in the Indian sub-continent for hair care. It is an excellent conditioner and helps in the re-growth of damaged hair. It also provides the essential proteins required for nourishing damaged hair. It is therefore used as hair care oil and used in manufacturing various conditioners, and dandruff relief creams. If you ever visit coastal parts of India, you will be surprised to see lots and lots of old men and women, in their 70s and 80s, still having thick jet black hair. Thanks to the coastal climate, the rice and fish meal and of course, to the pure coconut oil they use on hair.
Stress Relief: Coconut oil is very soothing and hence it helps in removing stress. Applying coconut oil to the head followed with a gentle massage helps in removing mental fatigue. Coconut oil is one of the healthiest things you can put on your skin.
Skin Care: Coconut oil is excellent massage oil for the skin as well. It acts as an effective moisturizer on all types of skins including dry skin. The benefit of coconut oil on the skin is comparable to that of mineral oil. Further, unlike mineral oil, there is no chance of having any adverse side effects on the skin with the application of coconut oil. Coconut oil therefore is a safe solution for preventing dryness and flaking of skin. It also delays wrinkles, and sagging of skin which normally become prominent with age. Coconut oil also helps in treating various skin problems including psoriasis, dermatitis, eczema and other skin infections. Therefore coconut oil forms the basic ingredient of various body care products such as soaps, lotions, creams, etc., used for skin care.
Premature Aging: Coconut oil helps in preventing premature aging and degenerative diseases due to its antioxidant properties.
Heart Diseases: There is a misconception spread among many people that coconut oil is not good for the heart. This is because it contains a large quantity of saturated fats. However, coconut oil is beneficial for the heart. It contains about 50% lauric acid, which helps in preventing various heart problems including high cholesterol levels and high blood pressure. The saturated fats present in coconut oil are not harmful as it happens in case of other vegetables oils. It does not lead to increase in LDL levels. It also reduces the incidence of injury in arteries and therefore helps in preventing atherosclerosis. The U.S. Department of Health and the FDA estimate that artificially hydrogenated trans-fats -- the type found in fast food, processed foods and your favorite pastries -- are ultimately responsible for a huge number of fatal heart attacks every year. These dangerous unsaturated fats are the ones you should ban from your diet, not naturally pure coconut oil, which is a better alternative because it contains very few fats with highly perishable double bonds -- and also has NO TRANS-FATS. Plus, those commonly-used polyunsaturated fats encourage the formation of blood clots by increasing platelet stickiness. Coconut oil helps to promote normal platelet function.
Weight Loss: Coconut oil is also being used by thyroid sufferers to increase body metabolism, and to lose weight. Coconut oil contains short and medium-chain fatty acids that help in taking off excessive weight. It is also easy to digest and it helps in healthy functioning of the thyroid and enzymes systems. Further, it increases the body metabolism by removing stress on pancreases, thereby burning out more energy and helping obese and overweight people reduce their weight. Hence, people living in tropical coastal areas, who eat coconut oil daily as their primary cooking oil, are normally not fat, obese or overweight.
Pancreatitis: Coconut oil is also believed to be useful in treating pancreatitis.
Digestion: Internal use of coconut oil occurs primarily as cooking oil. Coconut oil helps in improving the digestive system and thus prevents various stomach and digestion related problems including irritable bowel syndrome. The saturated fats present in coconut oil have anti microbial properties and help in dealing with various bacteria, fungi, parasites, etc., that cause indigestion. Coconut oil also helps in absorption of other nutrients such as vitamins, minerals and amino acids.
Immunity: Coconut oil is also good for the immune system. It strengthens the immune system as it contains antimicrobial lipids, lauric acid, capric acid and caprylic acid which have antifungal, antibacterial and antiviral properties. The human body converts lauric acid into monolaurin which is claimed to help in dealing with viruses and bacteria causing diseases such as herpes, influenza, cytomegalovirus, and even HIV. It helps in fighting harmful bacteria such as listeria monocytogenes and heliobacter pylori, and harmful protozoa such as giardia lamblia.
Healing: When applied on infections, it forms a chemical layer which protects the infected body part from external dust, air, fungi, bacteria and virus. Coconut oil is most effective on bruises as it speeds up the healing process by repairing damaged tissues.
Infections: Coconut oil is very effective against a variety of infections due to its antifungal, antiviral, and antibacterial properties. According to the Coconut Research Center, coconut oil kills viruses that cause influenza, measles, hepatitis, herpes, SARS, etc. It also kills bacteria that cause ulcers, throat infections, urinary tract infections, pneumonia, and gonorrhea, etc. Coconut oil is also effective on fungi and yeast that cause candidiasis, ringworm, athlete's foot, thrush, diaper rash, etc.
Liver: The presence of medium chain triglycerides and fatty acids helps in preventing liver diseases as they substances are easily converted into energy when they reach the liver, thus reducing work load on the liver and also preventing accumulation of fat.
Kidney: Coconut oil helps in preventing kidney and gall bladder diseases. It also helps in dissolving kidney stones.
Diabetes: Coconut oil helps in controlling blood sugar, and improves the secretion of insulin. It also helps in effective utilization of blood glucose, thereby preventing and treating diabetes.
Bones: As mentioned earlier, coconut oil improves the ability of our body to absorb important minerals. These include calcium and magnesium which are necessary for development of bones. Thus coconut oil is very useful to women who are prone to osteoporosis after middle age.
Dental Care: Calcium is an important element present in teeth. Since coconut oil facilitates absorption of calcium by the body, it helps in getting strong teeth. Coconut oil also stops tooth decay.
HIV and Cancer: It is believed that coconut oil plays an instrumental role in reducing viral susceptibility of HIV and cancer patients.
Finally, coconut oil is often preferred by athletes and body builders and by those who are dieting. The reason behind this being that coconut oil contains lesser calories than other oils, its fat content is easily converted into energy and it does not lead to accumulation of fat in the heart and arteries. Coconut oil helps in boosting energy and endurance, and enhances the performance of athletes.
Back in the 1930's, a dentist named Dr. Weston Price traveled throughout the South Pacific, examining traditional diets and their effect on dental and overall health. He found that those eating diets high in coconut products were healthy and trim, despite the high fat concentration in their diet.
Similarly, in 1981, researchers studied populations of two Polynesian atolls. Coconut was the chief source of caloric energy in both groups. The results, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, demonstrated that both populations exhibited positive vascular health. There was no evidence that the high saturated fat intake had a harmful effect in these populations.
Dr. Mercola has written: " The first, extra-virgin olive oil, is a better monounsaturated fat. It works great as a salad dressing. However, it is not the best oil to cook with. Due to its chemical structure, cooking makes it susceptible to oxidative damage. And polyunsaturated fats, which include common vegetable oils such as corn, soy, safflower, sunflower and canola, are absolutely the worst oils to use in cooking. These omega-6 oils are highly susceptible to heat damage because of all the double bonds they have.
The Author's friend Beldeu Singh has written: "The research on coconut oil shows that it contains three medium chain fatty acids - the same medium chain fatty acids found in breast milk but your doctor will tell you that it contains cholesterol! Plants do not produce cholesterol. Plant cell walls are made of cellulose. Cholesterol is of animal origin. Animal cell wall is made of a choilesterol, a phospholipid. Coconut oil is largely made up of fatty acid which is a triglyceride that easily broken to monoglycerides by the action of ligual lipase, an enzyme found in saliva. So, now you why babies drool a lot. So, if you take a spoon of coconut oil just before you go to bed, mix it in your mouth for a minute or so, with a lot of saliva before swallowing it.
Use virgin olive oil without heating it in salad dressings, etc. but, cook only with virgin coconut oil.
http://products.mercola.com/coconut-oil/
One-Third of U.S. Adults Could Have Diabetes by 2050: CDC
One-Third of U.S. Adults Could Have Diabetes by 2050: CDC
'Alarming numbers' point to importance of healthier lifestyles in reversing the trend, experts say
FRIDAY, Oct. 22 (HealthDay News) -- The number of American adults with diabetes could double or triple by 2050 if current trends continue, warns a federal government study released Friday.
The number of new diabetes cases a year will increase from 8 per 1,000 in 2008 to 15 per 1,000 in 2050, predicts the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. By 2050, between one-fifth and one-third of all adults could have diabetes -- with virtually all the increase attributed to type 2 diabetes, which is largely preventable.
An aging population, an increase in minority groups at higher risk for diabetes, and the fact that diabetes patients are living longer are among the reasons for the steep projected rise.
"These are alarming numbers that show how critical it is to change the course of type 2 diabetes," Ann Albright, director of CDC's Division of Diabetes Translation, said in an agency news release. "Successful programs to improve lifestyle choices on healthy eating and physical activity must be made more widely available, because the stakes are too high and the personal toll too devastating to fail."
Another expert agreed.
"These data are accurate and reflect reality," said Dr. Mary Ann Banerji, professor of medicine and director of the Diabetes Treatment Center at SUNY Downstate Medical Center, New York City. "Taking into consideration minorities and longer life expectancy, the real burden of diabetes is much greater than many people thought."
Banerji believes that "we need to act now. Immediate changes in diet, physical activity, stress and sleep are known to decrease diabetes and obesity. We can make changes in our physical environment to promote greater physical activity and we should consider changes in national food policy."
Diabetes remains the leading cause of new cases of blindness under age 75, kidney failure, and preventable leg and foot amputation among adults in the United States, according to the CDC.
In addition, people diagnosed with diabetes have medical costs that are more than twice that of those without the disease, the agency reports. The total costs of diabetes in the United States are an estimated $174 billion annually, including $116 billion in direct medical costs.
The study appears in the journal Population Health Metrics.
The projected increase in U.S. diabetes numbers reflects the global growth of the disease. About 285 million people worldwide had diabetes in 2010, and the number could swell to as many as 438 million by 2030, according to the International Diabetes Federation.
About 24 million Americans have diabetes, but one-quarter of them don't know it. Older age, obesity, a sedentary lifestyle, family history, developing diabetes while pregnant, and race/ethnicity are risk factors for type 2 diabetes. Racial/ethnic groups at increased risk are African Americans, Hispanics, American Indians/Alaska Natives, and some Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders.
"The incidence of diabetes over the last few decades has progressively increased," notes diabetes expert Dr. Jacob Warman, chief of endocrinology at The Brooklyn Hospital Center, New York City. "It is not surprising that with a flourishing of fast food chains and use of Internet and cable television, the population has become more sedentary and overweight."
However, regular physical activity and proper nutrition can reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes and help control the disease. To that end, the CDC has launched a campaign to reduce such risks in overweight and obese people, stressing dietary changes, coping skills and group support to help participants lose 5 percent to 7 percent of their body weight and get at least 150 minutes per week of moderate physical activity.
Prevention programs that target at-risk groups can help reduce -- but not eliminate -- future increases in type 2 diabetes prevalence, the study said.
More information
The U.S. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases has more about diabetes.
-- Robert Preidt
SOURCE: Mary Ann Banerji, MD, FACP, professor of medicine and director, Diabetes Treatment Center, SUNY Downstate Medical Center, New York City; Jacob Warman, MD, chief, endocrinology, The Brooklyn Hospital Center, New York City; U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, news release, Oct. 22, 2010.
Copyright © 2010 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/healthday/644785.html
'Alarming numbers' point to importance of healthier lifestyles in reversing the trend, experts say
FRIDAY, Oct. 22 (HealthDay News) -- The number of American adults with diabetes could double or triple by 2050 if current trends continue, warns a federal government study released Friday.
The number of new diabetes cases a year will increase from 8 per 1,000 in 2008 to 15 per 1,000 in 2050, predicts the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. By 2050, between one-fifth and one-third of all adults could have diabetes -- with virtually all the increase attributed to type 2 diabetes, which is largely preventable.
An aging population, an increase in minority groups at higher risk for diabetes, and the fact that diabetes patients are living longer are among the reasons for the steep projected rise.
"These are alarming numbers that show how critical it is to change the course of type 2 diabetes," Ann Albright, director of CDC's Division of Diabetes Translation, said in an agency news release. "Successful programs to improve lifestyle choices on healthy eating and physical activity must be made more widely available, because the stakes are too high and the personal toll too devastating to fail."
Another expert agreed.
"These data are accurate and reflect reality," said Dr. Mary Ann Banerji, professor of medicine and director of the Diabetes Treatment Center at SUNY Downstate Medical Center, New York City. "Taking into consideration minorities and longer life expectancy, the real burden of diabetes is much greater than many people thought."
Banerji believes that "we need to act now. Immediate changes in diet, physical activity, stress and sleep are known to decrease diabetes and obesity. We can make changes in our physical environment to promote greater physical activity and we should consider changes in national food policy."
Diabetes remains the leading cause of new cases of blindness under age 75, kidney failure, and preventable leg and foot amputation among adults in the United States, according to the CDC.
In addition, people diagnosed with diabetes have medical costs that are more than twice that of those without the disease, the agency reports. The total costs of diabetes in the United States are an estimated $174 billion annually, including $116 billion in direct medical costs.
The study appears in the journal Population Health Metrics.
The projected increase in U.S. diabetes numbers reflects the global growth of the disease. About 285 million people worldwide had diabetes in 2010, and the number could swell to as many as 438 million by 2030, according to the International Diabetes Federation.
About 24 million Americans have diabetes, but one-quarter of them don't know it. Older age, obesity, a sedentary lifestyle, family history, developing diabetes while pregnant, and race/ethnicity are risk factors for type 2 diabetes. Racial/ethnic groups at increased risk are African Americans, Hispanics, American Indians/Alaska Natives, and some Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders.
"The incidence of diabetes over the last few decades has progressively increased," notes diabetes expert Dr. Jacob Warman, chief of endocrinology at The Brooklyn Hospital Center, New York City. "It is not surprising that with a flourishing of fast food chains and use of Internet and cable television, the population has become more sedentary and overweight."
However, regular physical activity and proper nutrition can reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes and help control the disease. To that end, the CDC has launched a campaign to reduce such risks in overweight and obese people, stressing dietary changes, coping skills and group support to help participants lose 5 percent to 7 percent of their body weight and get at least 150 minutes per week of moderate physical activity.
Prevention programs that target at-risk groups can help reduce -- but not eliminate -- future increases in type 2 diabetes prevalence, the study said.
More information
The U.S. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases has more about diabetes.
-- Robert Preidt
SOURCE: Mary Ann Banerji, MD, FACP, professor of medicine and director, Diabetes Treatment Center, SUNY Downstate Medical Center, New York City; Jacob Warman, MD, chief, endocrinology, The Brooklyn Hospital Center, New York City; U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, news release, Oct. 22, 2010.
Copyright © 2010 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/healthday/644785.html
Landmark Report Links Breast Cancer to Everyday Chemicals.
Landmark Report Links Breast Cancer to Everyday Chemicals
Rising breast cancer rates may be a consequence of pesticides, plastics, perfume, and even the flameproofing chemicals on your couch.
RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—Breast cancer now affects one in eight women in the U.S. every year, a 20 percent increase from 40 years ago. And despite all the pink ribbons, pink NFL sneakers, even pink KFC buckets, scientists aren't getting very close to discovering all the potential causes of the disease, or why it's getting more common. There are a few clear leads, of course, such as genetic predisposition and obesity, but more and more mainstream medical organizations are starting to look at environmental chemicals and other factors that could be influencing the ever-increasing rates of breast cancer.
"We now have sufficient data to be seriously concerned about the increased risk for many diseases, including breast cancer, that result from exposures to common environmental factors, especially those that interfere with the endocrine system," says Janet Gray, PhD, professor and director of the Program in Science, Technology & Society at Vassar College, and the author of a new report from the Breast Cancer Fund that explores the complicated link between chemicals in the environment and breast cancer. "We need to take this data seriously."
THE DETAILS: The Fund first published its State of the Evidence report in 2002, says Gray, and over the past decade it's seen a number of shifts in the amount of research being conducted on breast cancer and environmental exposures, particularly in the area of chemicals used in plastic, such as bisphenol A (BPA) and phthalates. "More broadly," Gray says, "more research is being done on the class of chemicals that BPA and phthalates are part of, endocrine-disrupting compounds." Studies have shown that early lifetime exposure to those endocrine disruptors, the report notes, is linked to higher rates of breast cancer later on because they mimic the way that estrogen functions in the body; breast cancer is associated with a woman's total exposure to estrogen.
The timing of exposures is critical, says Gray. There are certain periods of a girl's life during which exposure to problematic chemicals, whether it's BPA in plastics or the endocrine-disrupting pesticides used on our food, could cause serious damage. "Those periods of high risk are consistent with what we know about breast physiology," she says. Exposures to chemicals in the womb and immediately after birth are crucial, she says, because that's when breast tissue is just developing. Similarly, during adolescence and during pregnancy, girls and women are experiencing incredible growth of breast tissue, and their bodies are easily influenced by chemicals and pesticides that act like estrogen.
The influence doesn't stop at environmental chemicals and pesticides, either. "Radiation is the one unequivocally accepted environmental cause of breast cancer," Gray says. "We know from studies in adolescents who were treated with radiation for all sorts of diseases 40 to 50 years ago that they have an increased risk of breast cancer, especially when those exposures were during childhood and adolescence." The type of radiation she's referring to is dubbed low-dose radiation and comes from X-rays, CT scans, and even mammography equipment—the very screening equipment that is intended to detect breast cancer early. "There were two studies published last fall indicating that exposure to radiation from mammography over the long term is associated with an increased risk of breast cancer, especially among women with a genetic predisposition to the disease," she notes. "This is just a demonstration of the exploding use of CAT scans and other screening tools that are hypothesized to be leading to thousands of cases of cancer every year."
Breast cancer awareness is up, but are you aware that chemicals in your environment may be raising your risk?
Regarding emerging research, Gray says that more attention is focusing on flame retardants in furniture and other household goods. "These chemicals are being associated with interfering with thyroid function," she says, adding that they're being found in extraordinarily high levels in people in California, where stringent laws require their use in everything from baby nursing pillows to car seats to mattresses. "Scientists are going to be really intensively studying the health effects, and included in the long lists of diseases with which they're associated will be breast cancer."
WHAT IT MEANS: We live in a toxic world. In the report, Gray writes that, of the 85,000 chemicals in use in the U.S. today, just 7 percent have been evaluated for safety. And included in that 7 percent are 216 chemicals that international regulatory agencies have associated with breast cancer. "No one study and no one chemical by itself is the critical linchpin in saying that environmental exposure to chemicals is associated with breast cancer," she says. "Our growing understanding is that these chemicals are interfering with hormones and altering breast development in ways that are very similar to what DES did in the 1950s and 60s," she adds, referring to diethylstilbestrol, a drug many women took to prevent miscarriages. It was later found to significantly increase breast cancer rates in the women, their daughters and, new research suggests, even their granddaughters.
That may sound disheartening, but it also puts some of the risk squarely in our hands. Nobody can avoid all of the dangerous chemicals in our environment, but there are steps you can take to shield yourself from some of the toxins you encounter every day.
Here are some easy ways to protect yourself and your family from the cancer-causing influences of modern chemistry:
• Eat organic. Organic produce, meat, and dairy products are free of the growth hormones in milk, pharmaceuticals used on animals, and the pesticides on our food (such as the widely used pesticide atrazine) that have been linked to breast cancer.
• Use glass or stainless steel. Both are free of BPA and other plastic additives (such as phthalates) that are known to interfere with the endocrine system and possibly cause cancer. BPA is used in all canned foods, so opt for jars or cartons like the type used for soy milk and boxed soup instead, and store leftovers in glass or stainless steel containers. And whatever you do, NEVER microwave any food in plastic.
• Say "no" to vinyl. Shower curtains, flooring tiles, fake-leather bags and shoes, and children's backpacks can all be made with vinyl, which itself is made with phthalates to keep the products made from it soft and pliable.
• Buy safer cosmetics. In the report, the Breast Cancer Fund identified nine commonly used chemicals that are believed to cause breast cancer, ranging from the phthalates used to keep nail polish flexible to placental extracts used in shampoos and other skin-care products to keep hair shiny and skin soft. Learn to make your own organic beauty products or consult the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep cosmetic-safety database for safer, over-the-counter goods.
• Avoid all synthetic fragrances. Whether found in your cleaning products or your cosmetics, synthetic fragrances contain a whole host of potentially cancer-causing ingredients, including phthalates and "synthetic musks." Companies aren't required to tell you what chemicals they use to make a fragrance, so opt for totally fragrance-free products or those scented only with essential oils.
• Use DIY cleaners and pesticides. An easy way to avoid unknown fragrances is to make your own cleaners and pesticides, both of which are often scented and both of which contain other non-fragrance ingredients linked to breast cancer. For tips, read our Nickel Pinchers tips on spring cleaning and DIY pest control.
• Toss your crumbling sofa. Flame retardants can make up as much as 5 percent of the foam in your furniture. Once the foam starts to crumble, there's a higher chance that dangerous flame retardants can infiltrate your home. If you can't afford to replace the furniture, cover it with a tightly woven barrier to reduce your exposure.
http://www.rodale.com/environmental-chemicals?cm_mmc=DailyNewsNL-_-2010_10_22-_-Top5-_-NA
Rising breast cancer rates may be a consequence of pesticides, plastics, perfume, and even the flameproofing chemicals on your couch.
RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—Breast cancer now affects one in eight women in the U.S. every year, a 20 percent increase from 40 years ago. And despite all the pink ribbons, pink NFL sneakers, even pink KFC buckets, scientists aren't getting very close to discovering all the potential causes of the disease, or why it's getting more common. There are a few clear leads, of course, such as genetic predisposition and obesity, but more and more mainstream medical organizations are starting to look at environmental chemicals and other factors that could be influencing the ever-increasing rates of breast cancer.
"We now have sufficient data to be seriously concerned about the increased risk for many diseases, including breast cancer, that result from exposures to common environmental factors, especially those that interfere with the endocrine system," says Janet Gray, PhD, professor and director of the Program in Science, Technology & Society at Vassar College, and the author of a new report from the Breast Cancer Fund that explores the complicated link between chemicals in the environment and breast cancer. "We need to take this data seriously."
THE DETAILS: The Fund first published its State of the Evidence report in 2002, says Gray, and over the past decade it's seen a number of shifts in the amount of research being conducted on breast cancer and environmental exposures, particularly in the area of chemicals used in plastic, such as bisphenol A (BPA) and phthalates. "More broadly," Gray says, "more research is being done on the class of chemicals that BPA and phthalates are part of, endocrine-disrupting compounds." Studies have shown that early lifetime exposure to those endocrine disruptors, the report notes, is linked to higher rates of breast cancer later on because they mimic the way that estrogen functions in the body; breast cancer is associated with a woman's total exposure to estrogen.
The timing of exposures is critical, says Gray. There are certain periods of a girl's life during which exposure to problematic chemicals, whether it's BPA in plastics or the endocrine-disrupting pesticides used on our food, could cause serious damage. "Those periods of high risk are consistent with what we know about breast physiology," she says. Exposures to chemicals in the womb and immediately after birth are crucial, she says, because that's when breast tissue is just developing. Similarly, during adolescence and during pregnancy, girls and women are experiencing incredible growth of breast tissue, and their bodies are easily influenced by chemicals and pesticides that act like estrogen.
The influence doesn't stop at environmental chemicals and pesticides, either. "Radiation is the one unequivocally accepted environmental cause of breast cancer," Gray says. "We know from studies in adolescents who were treated with radiation for all sorts of diseases 40 to 50 years ago that they have an increased risk of breast cancer, especially when those exposures were during childhood and adolescence." The type of radiation she's referring to is dubbed low-dose radiation and comes from X-rays, CT scans, and even mammography equipment—the very screening equipment that is intended to detect breast cancer early. "There were two studies published last fall indicating that exposure to radiation from mammography over the long term is associated with an increased risk of breast cancer, especially among women with a genetic predisposition to the disease," she notes. "This is just a demonstration of the exploding use of CAT scans and other screening tools that are hypothesized to be leading to thousands of cases of cancer every year."
Breast cancer awareness is up, but are you aware that chemicals in your environment may be raising your risk?
Regarding emerging research, Gray says that more attention is focusing on flame retardants in furniture and other household goods. "These chemicals are being associated with interfering with thyroid function," she says, adding that they're being found in extraordinarily high levels in people in California, where stringent laws require their use in everything from baby nursing pillows to car seats to mattresses. "Scientists are going to be really intensively studying the health effects, and included in the long lists of diseases with which they're associated will be breast cancer."
WHAT IT MEANS: We live in a toxic world. In the report, Gray writes that, of the 85,000 chemicals in use in the U.S. today, just 7 percent have been evaluated for safety. And included in that 7 percent are 216 chemicals that international regulatory agencies have associated with breast cancer. "No one study and no one chemical by itself is the critical linchpin in saying that environmental exposure to chemicals is associated with breast cancer," she says. "Our growing understanding is that these chemicals are interfering with hormones and altering breast development in ways that are very similar to what DES did in the 1950s and 60s," she adds, referring to diethylstilbestrol, a drug many women took to prevent miscarriages. It was later found to significantly increase breast cancer rates in the women, their daughters and, new research suggests, even their granddaughters.
That may sound disheartening, but it also puts some of the risk squarely in our hands. Nobody can avoid all of the dangerous chemicals in our environment, but there are steps you can take to shield yourself from some of the toxins you encounter every day.
Here are some easy ways to protect yourself and your family from the cancer-causing influences of modern chemistry:
• Eat organic. Organic produce, meat, and dairy products are free of the growth hormones in milk, pharmaceuticals used on animals, and the pesticides on our food (such as the widely used pesticide atrazine) that have been linked to breast cancer.
• Use glass or stainless steel. Both are free of BPA and other plastic additives (such as phthalates) that are known to interfere with the endocrine system and possibly cause cancer. BPA is used in all canned foods, so opt for jars or cartons like the type used for soy milk and boxed soup instead, and store leftovers in glass or stainless steel containers. And whatever you do, NEVER microwave any food in plastic.
• Say "no" to vinyl. Shower curtains, flooring tiles, fake-leather bags and shoes, and children's backpacks can all be made with vinyl, which itself is made with phthalates to keep the products made from it soft and pliable.
• Buy safer cosmetics. In the report, the Breast Cancer Fund identified nine commonly used chemicals that are believed to cause breast cancer, ranging from the phthalates used to keep nail polish flexible to placental extracts used in shampoos and other skin-care products to keep hair shiny and skin soft. Learn to make your own organic beauty products or consult the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep cosmetic-safety database for safer, over-the-counter goods.
• Avoid all synthetic fragrances. Whether found in your cleaning products or your cosmetics, synthetic fragrances contain a whole host of potentially cancer-causing ingredients, including phthalates and "synthetic musks." Companies aren't required to tell you what chemicals they use to make a fragrance, so opt for totally fragrance-free products or those scented only with essential oils.
• Use DIY cleaners and pesticides. An easy way to avoid unknown fragrances is to make your own cleaners and pesticides, both of which are often scented and both of which contain other non-fragrance ingredients linked to breast cancer. For tips, read our Nickel Pinchers tips on spring cleaning and DIY pest control.
• Toss your crumbling sofa. Flame retardants can make up as much as 5 percent of the foam in your furniture. Once the foam starts to crumble, there's a higher chance that dangerous flame retardants can infiltrate your home. If you can't afford to replace the furniture, cover it with a tightly woven barrier to reduce your exposure.
http://www.rodale.com/environmental-chemicals?cm_mmc=DailyNewsNL-_-2010_10_22-_-Top5-_-NA
Friday, October 22, 2010
Coconut oil is good for you!
This Cooking Oil is a Powerful Virus-Destroyer and Antibiotic…
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/10/22/coconut-oil-and-saturated-fats-can-make-you-healthy.aspx
You've no doubt noticed that for about the last 60 years the majority of health care officials and the media have been telling you saturated fats are bad for your health and lead to a host of negative consequences, like elevated cholesterol, obesity, heart disease and Alzheimer's disease.
Meanwhile during this same 60 years the American levels of heart disease, obesity, elevated serum cholesterol and Alzheimer's have skyrocketed compared to our ancestors, and even compared to modern-day primitive societies using saturated fat as a dietary staple.
Did you know that multiple studies on Pacific Island populations who get 30-60% of their total caloric intact from fully saturated coconut oil have all shown nearly non-existent rates of cardiovascular disease?[1]
Clearly, a lot of confusion and contradictory evidence exists on the subject of saturated fats, even among health care professionals.
But I'm going to tell you something that public health officials and the media aren't telling you.
The fact is, all saturated fats are not created equal.
The operative word here is "created", because some saturated fats occur naturally, while other fats are artificially manipulated into a saturated state through the man-made process called hydrogenation.
Hydrogenation manipulates vegetable and seed oils by adding hydrogen atoms while heating the oil, producing a rancid, thickened oil that really only benefits processed food shelf life and corporate profits.
The medical and scientific communities are now fairly united in the opinion that hydrogenated vegetable and seed oils should be avoided.
These manipulated saturated fats are also called trans fats, and no doubt you've heard about them lately. Some cities and states have now outlawed their use. There is no controversy anymore regarding the health dangers of these artificially saturated fats.
And guess what?
These are the same damaged trans fats that have been touted as "healthy" and "heart-friendly" for the last 60 years by the vegetable and seed oil interests!
But the truth finally came out. Trans fat was rebuked, debunked, and revealed as the true enemy to good health that it has always been, regardless of what the seed- and vegetable oil shills told the American public for the last half century.
Unfortunately, this rightful vilification of hydrogenated saturated fats has created a lot of confusion regarding naturally occurring saturated fats, including coconut oil.
If one form of saturated fat is bad for you, the argument goes, then all saturated fat must be bad.
Right?
Nothing could be further from the truth!
The Truth about Coconut Oil
The truth about coconut oil is obvious to anyone who has studied the health of those who live in traditional tropical cultures, where coconut has been a nutritious diet staple for thousands of years.
Back in the 1930's, a dentist named Dr. Weston Price traveled throughout the South Pacific, examining traditional diets and their effect on dental and overall health. He found that those eating diets high in coconut products were healthy and trim, despite the high fat concentration in their diet, and that heart disease was virtually non-existent.
Similarly, in 1981, researchers studied populations of two Polynesian atolls. Coconut was the chief source of caloric energy in both groups. The results, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition,[2] demonstrated that both populations exhibited positive vascular health.
In fact, no evidence exists that the naturally occurring high saturated fat intake had any kind of harmful effect in these populations!
That's not what you expected, is it? Based on 60 years of negative public policy towards naturally occurring saturated fats, you would expect these cultures to be rife with clogged arteries, obesity and heart disease.
It may be surprising for you to realize that the naturally occurring saturated fat in coconut oil actually has some amazing health benefits, such as:
Promoting your heart health[3]
Promoting weight loss, when needed[4]
Supporting your immune system health[5]
Supporting a healthy metabolism[6]
Providing you with an immediate energy source[7]
Keeping your skin healthy and youthful looking
Supporting the proper functioning of your thyroid gland[8]
But how is this possible?
Does coconut oil have some secret ingredients not found in other saturated fats?
The answer is a resounding "yes".
Coconut Oil's Secret Ingredient
50 percent of the fat content in coconut oil is a fat rarely found in nature called lauric acid. If you're a frequent reader of my newsletter you already know that I consider lauric acid a "miracle" ingredient because of its unique health promoting properties.
Your body converts lauric acid into monolaurin, which has anti-viral, anti-bacterial and anti-protozoa properties.[9]
Monolaurin is a monoglyceride which can actually destroy lipid coated viruses such as:
HIV, herpes
Measles
Influenza virus
Various pathogenic bacteria
Protozoa such as giardia lamblia.
Lauric acid is a powerful virus and gram-negative bacteria destroyer, and coconut oil contains the most lauric acid of any substance on earth!
Capric acid, another coconut fatty acid present in smaller amounts, has also been added to the list of coconut's antimicrobial components.
This is one of the key reasons you should consider consuming coconut oil, because there aren't many sources of monolaurin in our diet. But the health benefits of coconut oil don't stop there.
The Benefits of Medium-Chain Fatty Acids
Coconut oil is about 2/3 medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs), also called medium-chain triglycerides or MCTs. These types of fatty acids produce a whole host of health benefits.
Coconut oil is nature's richest source of these healthy MCFAs.
By contrast, most common vegetable or seed oils are comprised of long chain fatty acids (LCFAs), also known as long-chain triglycerides or LCTs.
Let me tell you why these long-chain fatty acids are not as healthy for you as the MCFAs found in coconut oil[10] :
LCFAs are difficult for your body to break down -- they require special enzymes for digestion.
LCFAs put more strain on your pancreas, liver and your entire digestive system.
LCFAs are predominantly stored in your body as fat.
LCFAs can be deposited within your arteries in lipid forms such as cholesterol.
In contrast to LFCAs, the MCFAs found in coconut oil have many health benefits, including the following beneficial qualities:
MCFAs are smaller. They permeate cell membranes easily, and do not require special enzymes to be utilized effectively by your body.
MCFAs are easily digested, thus putting less strain on your digestive system.
MCFAs are sent directly to your liver, where they are immediately converted into energy rather than being stored as fat.
MCFAs actually help stimulate your body's metabolism, leading to weight loss.
Coconut Oil Helps Fight Diabetes
Your body sends medium-chain fatty acids directly to your liver to use as energy. This makes coconut oil a powerful source of instant energy to your body, a function usually served in the diet by simple carbohydrates.
But although coconut oil and simple carbohydrates share the ability to deliver quick energy to your body, they differ in one crucial respect.
Coconut oil does not produce an insulin spike in your bloodstream. You read that correctly, Coconut oil acts on your body like a carbohydrate, without any of the debilitating insulin-related effects associated with long-term high carbohydrate consumption!
Diabetics and those with pre-diabetes conditions (an exploding health epidemic in America), should immediately realize the benefit of a fast acting energy source that doesn't produce an insulin spike in your body. In fact, coconut oil added to the diets of diabetics and pre-diabetics has actually been shown to help stabilize weight gain, which can dramatically decrease your likelihood of getting adult onset type-2 Diabetes.[11]
Cococut Oil, the Friend to Athletes and Dieters
If you live in the United States, you have an almost 70 percent chance of being overweight.
And, by now, I'm sure you're well aware that obesity affects your quality of life and is linked to many health concerns.
One of the best benefits of coconut oil lies in its ability to help stimulate your metabolism.
Back in the 1940s, farmers found out about this effect by accident when they tried using inexpensive coconut oil to fatten their livestock.
It didn't work!
Instead, coconut oil made the animals lean, active and hungry.
However, many animal and human research studies have demonstrated that replacing LCFAs with MCFAs results in both decreased body weight and reduced fat deposition.
In fact, the ability of MCFAs to be easily digested, to help stimulate the metabolism and be turned into energy has entered the sports arena. Several studies have now shown that MCFAs can enhance physical or athletic performance.[12]
Additionally, research has demonstrated that, due to its metabolic effect, coconut oil increases the activity of the thyroid. And you've probably heard that a sluggish thyroid is one reason why some people are unable to lose weight, no matter what they do.
Besides weight loss, there are other advantages to boosting your metabolic rate. Your healing process accelerates. Cell regeneration increases to replace old cells, and your immune system functions better overall.
Coconut Oil on Your Skin
Besides the mounting medical and scientific evidence that coconut oil has powerful positive health benefits when eaten, it has also been used for decades by professional massage therapists to knead away tight stressed muscles.
However, you don't have to be a professional massage therapist to gain the skin and tissue support benefits of coconut oil. Just use coconut oil as you would any lotion.
Coconut oil is actually ideal for skin care. It helps protect your skin from the aging effects of free radicals, and can help improve the appearance of skin with its anti-aging benefits.
In fact, physiologist and biochemist Ray Peat, Ph.D. considers coconut oil an antioxidant[13] , due to its stability and resistance to oxidation and free radical formation. Plus, he believes it reduces our need for the antioxidant protection of vitamin E.
Like Dr. Peat, many experts believe coconut oil may help restore more youthful-looking skin. When coconut oil is absorbed into your skin and connective tissues, it helps to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles by helping to keep your connective tissues strong and supple, and aids in exfoliating the outer layer of dead skin cells, making your skin smoother.
Coconut Oil and Your Heart
Heart disease is the number one cause of death in the U.S. And heart disease is often a silent killer. The first sign of cardiovascular disease is commonly a heart attack, and sadly, over one third of heart attacks are fatal.
And despite the propaganda, the truth is this: it is UNSATURATED fats that are primarily involved in heart disease, not the naturally occurring saturated fats, as you have been led to believe.[14]
Plus, the polyunsaturated fats in vegetable and seed oils encourage the formation of blood clots by increasing platelet stickiness. Coconut oil helps to promote normal platelet function.
Coconut Oil in Your Kitchen
I only use two oils in my food preparation.
The first, extra-virgin olive oil, is a better monounsaturated fat that works great as a salad dressing.
However, it should not be used for cooking. Due to its chemical structure, heat makes it susceptible to oxidative damage.
And polyunsaturated fats, which include common vegetable oils such as corn, soy, safflower, sunflower and canola, are absolutely the worst oils to use in cooking. These omega-6 oils are highly susceptible to heat damage because of their double bonds.
I strongly urge you to throw out those omega-6 vegetable oils in your cabinets.
Why?
Reason # 1: Most people believe that frying creates trans-fat. That is not the major problem, in my opinion. Although some are created, they are relatively minor. There are FAR more toxic chemicals produced by frying omega-6 oils thantrans-fat.
Frying destroys the antioxidants in oil and as a result oxidizes the oil. This causes cross-linking, cyclization, double-bond shifts, fragmentation and polymerization of oils that cause far more damage than trans-fat.
Reason # 2: Most of the vegetable oils are GMO. This would include over 90 percent of the soy, corn and canola oils.
Reason # 3: Vegetable oils contribute to the overabundance of damaged omega-6 fats in your diet, which creates an imbalance in the ratio of omega-6 to omega-3. As you know from my extensive writing on this subject, I believe that excessive consumption of damaged omega-6 fats contributes to many health concerns.
They are all highly processed and consumed in amounts that are about 100 times more than our ancestors did a century ago. This causes them to distort the sensitive omega-6/omega-3 ratio which controls many delicate biochemical pathways which results in accelerating many chronic degenerative diseases.
There is only one oil that is stable enough to resist mild heat-induced damage, while it also helps you promote heart health and even supports weight loss and thyroid function -- coconut oil.
So, whenever you need an oil to cook with, use coconut oil instead of butter, olive oil, vegetable oil, margarine, or any other type of oil called for in recipes. Even though I don't fully recommend frying foods, if you must fry, by all means use coconut oil -- it's your smartest choice.
Coconut Oil Safety
The medium-chain fats in coconut oil are considered so nutritious that they are used in baby formulas, in hospitals to feed the critically ill, those on tube feeding, and those with digestive problems. Coconut oil has even been used successfully by doctors in treating aluminum poisoning.[15]
Coconut oil is exceptionally helpful for pregnant women, nursing moms, the elderly, those concerned about digestive health, athletes (even weekend warriors), and those of you who just want to enhance your overall health.
References:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] Kaunitz H, Dayrit CS. Coconut oil consumption and coronary heart disease. Philippine Journal of Internal Medicine, 1992;30:165-171.
Prior IA, Davidson F, Salmond CE, Czochanska Z. Cholesterol, coconuts, and diet on Polynesian atolls: a natural experiment: the Pukapuka and Tokelau Island studies, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 1981;34:1552-1561.
[2] Prior IA, Davidson F, Salmond CE, Czochanska Z. Cholesterol, coconuts, and diet on Polynesian atolls: a natural experiment: the Pukapuka and Tokelau Island studies, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 1981;34:1552-1561.
[3] Dr. Mary G. Enig, Ph.D., F.A.C.N. Source: Coconut: In Support of Good Health in the 21st Century, part 2.
[4] Assunção ML, Ferreira HS, dos Santos AF, Cabral CR Jr, Florêncio TM. Effects of dietary coconut oil on the biochemical and anthropometric profiles of women presenting abdominal obesity, Lipids, 2009 Jul;44(7):593-601. Epub 2009 May 13.
[5] Dr. Mary G. Enig, Ph.D., F.A.C.N. Source: Coconut: In Support of Good Health in the 21st Century.
[6] Baba, N 1982. Enhanced thermogenesis and diminished deposition of fat in response to overfeeding with diet containing medium-chain triglycerides, Am. J. Clin. Nutr., 35:379.
[7] Bruce Fife, ND. Coconut Oil and Medium-Chain Triglycerides.
[8] Raymond Peat Newsletter, Coconut Oil, reprinted at www.heall.com.
An Interview With Dr. Raymond Peat, A Renowned Nutritional Counselor Offers His Thoughts About Thyroid Disease,
[9] Isaacs CE, Litov RE, Marie P, Thormar H. Addition of lipases to infant formulas produces antiviral and antibacterial activity, Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry, 1992;3:304-308.
Isaacs CE, Schneidman K. Enveloped Viruses in Human and Bovine Milk are Inactivated by Added Fatty Acids(FAs) and Monoglycerides(MGs), FASEB Journal, 1991;5: Abstract 5325, p.A1288.
Mitsuto Matsumoto, Takeru Kobayashi, Akio Takenaka and Hisao Itabashi. Defaunation Effects of Medium Chain Fatty Acids and Their Derivatives on Goat Rumen Protozoa, The Journal of General Applied Microbiology, Vol. 37, No. 5 (1991) pp.439-445.
Dr. Mary G. Enig, Ph.D., F.A.C.N. Source: Coconut: In Support of Good Health in the 21st Century.
Hristov AN, Vander Pol M, Agle M, Zaman S, Schneider C, Ndegwa P, Vaddella VK, Johnson K, Shingfield KJ, Karnati SK. Effect of lauric acid and coconut oil on ruminal fermentation, digestion, ammonia losses from manure, and milk fatty acid composition in lactating cows, J Dairy Sci., 2009 Nov;92(11):5561-82.
[10] St-Onge MP, Jones PJ. Greater rise in fat oxidation with medium-chain triglyceride consumption relative to long-chain triglyceride is associated with lower initial body weight and greater loss of subcutaneous adipose tissue, International Journal of Obesity & Related Metabolic Disorders, 2003 Dec;27(12):1565-71.
[11] Geliebter, A 1980. Overfeeding with a diet of medium-chain triglycerides impedes accumulation of body fat, Clinical Nutrition, 28:595.
[12] Fushiki, T and Matsumoto, K Swimming endurance capacity of mice is increased by consumption of medium-chain triglycerides, Journal of Nutrition, 1995;125:531.
[13] Raymond Peat Newsletter - Unsaturated Vegetable Oils Toxic, 1996 edition, p.2-4. Daneil R. Doerge, Hebron C Chang "Inactivation of thyroid peroxidase by soy isoflavones in vitro and in vivo", Journal of Chromotography B, September 2002; 777(1,2);25:269-79. http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2005/01/26/coconut-oil-part-eight.aspx
Nevin KG, Rajamohan T. Effect of topical application of virgin coconut oil on skin components and antioxidant status during dermal wound healing in young rats, Skin Pharmacol Physiol, 2010;23(6):290-7. Epub 2010 Jun 3.
Marina AM, Man YB, Nazimah SA, Amin I. Antioxidant capacity and phenolic acids of virgin coconut oil, Int J Food Sci Nutr, 2009;60 Suppl 2:114-23. Epub 2008 Dec 27. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19115123
[14] Barry Groves, PhD. Second Opinions: Exposing Dietary Misinformation: The Cholesterol Myth, parts 1 and 2.
Robert H Knopp and Barbara M Retzlaff, Saturated fat prevents coronary artery disease? An American paradox, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 80, No. 5, 1102-1103, November 2004.
Mozaffarian D, Rimm EB, Herrington DM. Dietary fats, carbohydrate, and progression of coronary atherosclerosis in postmenopausal women, Am J Clin Nutr, 2004;80:1175-84.
[15] K. G. Nevin and T. Rajamohan, "Beneficial effects of virgin coconut oil on lipid parameters and in vitro LDL oxidation", Clinical Biochemistry, September 2004; 37(9): 830-835.
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/10/22/coconut-oil-and-saturated-fats-can-make-you-healthy.aspx
You've no doubt noticed that for about the last 60 years the majority of health care officials and the media have been telling you saturated fats are bad for your health and lead to a host of negative consequences, like elevated cholesterol, obesity, heart disease and Alzheimer's disease.
Meanwhile during this same 60 years the American levels of heart disease, obesity, elevated serum cholesterol and Alzheimer's have skyrocketed compared to our ancestors, and even compared to modern-day primitive societies using saturated fat as a dietary staple.
Did you know that multiple studies on Pacific Island populations who get 30-60% of their total caloric intact from fully saturated coconut oil have all shown nearly non-existent rates of cardiovascular disease?[1]
Clearly, a lot of confusion and contradictory evidence exists on the subject of saturated fats, even among health care professionals.
But I'm going to tell you something that public health officials and the media aren't telling you.
The fact is, all saturated fats are not created equal.
The operative word here is "created", because some saturated fats occur naturally, while other fats are artificially manipulated into a saturated state through the man-made process called hydrogenation.
Hydrogenation manipulates vegetable and seed oils by adding hydrogen atoms while heating the oil, producing a rancid, thickened oil that really only benefits processed food shelf life and corporate profits.
The medical and scientific communities are now fairly united in the opinion that hydrogenated vegetable and seed oils should be avoided.
These manipulated saturated fats are also called trans fats, and no doubt you've heard about them lately. Some cities and states have now outlawed their use. There is no controversy anymore regarding the health dangers of these artificially saturated fats.
And guess what?
These are the same damaged trans fats that have been touted as "healthy" and "heart-friendly" for the last 60 years by the vegetable and seed oil interests!
But the truth finally came out. Trans fat was rebuked, debunked, and revealed as the true enemy to good health that it has always been, regardless of what the seed- and vegetable oil shills told the American public for the last half century.
Unfortunately, this rightful vilification of hydrogenated saturated fats has created a lot of confusion regarding naturally occurring saturated fats, including coconut oil.
If one form of saturated fat is bad for you, the argument goes, then all saturated fat must be bad.
Right?
Nothing could be further from the truth!
The Truth about Coconut Oil
The truth about coconut oil is obvious to anyone who has studied the health of those who live in traditional tropical cultures, where coconut has been a nutritious diet staple for thousands of years.
Back in the 1930's, a dentist named Dr. Weston Price traveled throughout the South Pacific, examining traditional diets and their effect on dental and overall health. He found that those eating diets high in coconut products were healthy and trim, despite the high fat concentration in their diet, and that heart disease was virtually non-existent.
Similarly, in 1981, researchers studied populations of two Polynesian atolls. Coconut was the chief source of caloric energy in both groups. The results, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition,[2] demonstrated that both populations exhibited positive vascular health.
In fact, no evidence exists that the naturally occurring high saturated fat intake had any kind of harmful effect in these populations!
That's not what you expected, is it? Based on 60 years of negative public policy towards naturally occurring saturated fats, you would expect these cultures to be rife with clogged arteries, obesity and heart disease.
It may be surprising for you to realize that the naturally occurring saturated fat in coconut oil actually has some amazing health benefits, such as:
Promoting your heart health[3]
Promoting weight loss, when needed[4]
Supporting your immune system health[5]
Supporting a healthy metabolism[6]
Providing you with an immediate energy source[7]
Keeping your skin healthy and youthful looking
Supporting the proper functioning of your thyroid gland[8]
But how is this possible?
Does coconut oil have some secret ingredients not found in other saturated fats?
The answer is a resounding "yes".
Coconut Oil's Secret Ingredient
50 percent of the fat content in coconut oil is a fat rarely found in nature called lauric acid. If you're a frequent reader of my newsletter you already know that I consider lauric acid a "miracle" ingredient because of its unique health promoting properties.
Your body converts lauric acid into monolaurin, which has anti-viral, anti-bacterial and anti-protozoa properties.[9]
Monolaurin is a monoglyceride which can actually destroy lipid coated viruses such as:
HIV, herpes
Measles
Influenza virus
Various pathogenic bacteria
Protozoa such as giardia lamblia.
Lauric acid is a powerful virus and gram-negative bacteria destroyer, and coconut oil contains the most lauric acid of any substance on earth!
Capric acid, another coconut fatty acid present in smaller amounts, has also been added to the list of coconut's antimicrobial components.
This is one of the key reasons you should consider consuming coconut oil, because there aren't many sources of monolaurin in our diet. But the health benefits of coconut oil don't stop there.
The Benefits of Medium-Chain Fatty Acids
Coconut oil is about 2/3 medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs), also called medium-chain triglycerides or MCTs. These types of fatty acids produce a whole host of health benefits.
Coconut oil is nature's richest source of these healthy MCFAs.
By contrast, most common vegetable or seed oils are comprised of long chain fatty acids (LCFAs), also known as long-chain triglycerides or LCTs.
Let me tell you why these long-chain fatty acids are not as healthy for you as the MCFAs found in coconut oil[10] :
LCFAs are difficult for your body to break down -- they require special enzymes for digestion.
LCFAs put more strain on your pancreas, liver and your entire digestive system.
LCFAs are predominantly stored in your body as fat.
LCFAs can be deposited within your arteries in lipid forms such as cholesterol.
In contrast to LFCAs, the MCFAs found in coconut oil have many health benefits, including the following beneficial qualities:
MCFAs are smaller. They permeate cell membranes easily, and do not require special enzymes to be utilized effectively by your body.
MCFAs are easily digested, thus putting less strain on your digestive system.
MCFAs are sent directly to your liver, where they are immediately converted into energy rather than being stored as fat.
MCFAs actually help stimulate your body's metabolism, leading to weight loss.
Coconut Oil Helps Fight Diabetes
Your body sends medium-chain fatty acids directly to your liver to use as energy. This makes coconut oil a powerful source of instant energy to your body, a function usually served in the diet by simple carbohydrates.
But although coconut oil and simple carbohydrates share the ability to deliver quick energy to your body, they differ in one crucial respect.
Coconut oil does not produce an insulin spike in your bloodstream. You read that correctly, Coconut oil acts on your body like a carbohydrate, without any of the debilitating insulin-related effects associated with long-term high carbohydrate consumption!
Diabetics and those with pre-diabetes conditions (an exploding health epidemic in America), should immediately realize the benefit of a fast acting energy source that doesn't produce an insulin spike in your body. In fact, coconut oil added to the diets of diabetics and pre-diabetics has actually been shown to help stabilize weight gain, which can dramatically decrease your likelihood of getting adult onset type-2 Diabetes.[11]
Cococut Oil, the Friend to Athletes and Dieters
If you live in the United States, you have an almost 70 percent chance of being overweight.
And, by now, I'm sure you're well aware that obesity affects your quality of life and is linked to many health concerns.
One of the best benefits of coconut oil lies in its ability to help stimulate your metabolism.
Back in the 1940s, farmers found out about this effect by accident when they tried using inexpensive coconut oil to fatten their livestock.
It didn't work!
Instead, coconut oil made the animals lean, active and hungry.
However, many animal and human research studies have demonstrated that replacing LCFAs with MCFAs results in both decreased body weight and reduced fat deposition.
In fact, the ability of MCFAs to be easily digested, to help stimulate the metabolism and be turned into energy has entered the sports arena. Several studies have now shown that MCFAs can enhance physical or athletic performance.[12]
Additionally, research has demonstrated that, due to its metabolic effect, coconut oil increases the activity of the thyroid. And you've probably heard that a sluggish thyroid is one reason why some people are unable to lose weight, no matter what they do.
Besides weight loss, there are other advantages to boosting your metabolic rate. Your healing process accelerates. Cell regeneration increases to replace old cells, and your immune system functions better overall.
Coconut Oil on Your Skin
Besides the mounting medical and scientific evidence that coconut oil has powerful positive health benefits when eaten, it has also been used for decades by professional massage therapists to knead away tight stressed muscles.
However, you don't have to be a professional massage therapist to gain the skin and tissue support benefits of coconut oil. Just use coconut oil as you would any lotion.
Coconut oil is actually ideal for skin care. It helps protect your skin from the aging effects of free radicals, and can help improve the appearance of skin with its anti-aging benefits.
In fact, physiologist and biochemist Ray Peat, Ph.D. considers coconut oil an antioxidant[13] , due to its stability and resistance to oxidation and free radical formation. Plus, he believes it reduces our need for the antioxidant protection of vitamin E.
Like Dr. Peat, many experts believe coconut oil may help restore more youthful-looking skin. When coconut oil is absorbed into your skin and connective tissues, it helps to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles by helping to keep your connective tissues strong and supple, and aids in exfoliating the outer layer of dead skin cells, making your skin smoother.
Coconut Oil and Your Heart
Heart disease is the number one cause of death in the U.S. And heart disease is often a silent killer. The first sign of cardiovascular disease is commonly a heart attack, and sadly, over one third of heart attacks are fatal.
And despite the propaganda, the truth is this: it is UNSATURATED fats that are primarily involved in heart disease, not the naturally occurring saturated fats, as you have been led to believe.[14]
Plus, the polyunsaturated fats in vegetable and seed oils encourage the formation of blood clots by increasing platelet stickiness. Coconut oil helps to promote normal platelet function.
Coconut Oil in Your Kitchen
I only use two oils in my food preparation.
The first, extra-virgin olive oil, is a better monounsaturated fat that works great as a salad dressing.
However, it should not be used for cooking. Due to its chemical structure, heat makes it susceptible to oxidative damage.
And polyunsaturated fats, which include common vegetable oils such as corn, soy, safflower, sunflower and canola, are absolutely the worst oils to use in cooking. These omega-6 oils are highly susceptible to heat damage because of their double bonds.
I strongly urge you to throw out those omega-6 vegetable oils in your cabinets.
Why?
Reason # 1: Most people believe that frying creates trans-fat. That is not the major problem, in my opinion. Although some are created, they are relatively minor. There are FAR more toxic chemicals produced by frying omega-6 oils thantrans-fat.
Frying destroys the antioxidants in oil and as a result oxidizes the oil. This causes cross-linking, cyclization, double-bond shifts, fragmentation and polymerization of oils that cause far more damage than trans-fat.
Reason # 2: Most of the vegetable oils are GMO. This would include over 90 percent of the soy, corn and canola oils.
Reason # 3: Vegetable oils contribute to the overabundance of damaged omega-6 fats in your diet, which creates an imbalance in the ratio of omega-6 to omega-3. As you know from my extensive writing on this subject, I believe that excessive consumption of damaged omega-6 fats contributes to many health concerns.
They are all highly processed and consumed in amounts that are about 100 times more than our ancestors did a century ago. This causes them to distort the sensitive omega-6/omega-3 ratio which controls many delicate biochemical pathways which results in accelerating many chronic degenerative diseases.
There is only one oil that is stable enough to resist mild heat-induced damage, while it also helps you promote heart health and even supports weight loss and thyroid function -- coconut oil.
So, whenever you need an oil to cook with, use coconut oil instead of butter, olive oil, vegetable oil, margarine, or any other type of oil called for in recipes. Even though I don't fully recommend frying foods, if you must fry, by all means use coconut oil -- it's your smartest choice.
Coconut Oil Safety
The medium-chain fats in coconut oil are considered so nutritious that they are used in baby formulas, in hospitals to feed the critically ill, those on tube feeding, and those with digestive problems. Coconut oil has even been used successfully by doctors in treating aluminum poisoning.[15]
Coconut oil is exceptionally helpful for pregnant women, nursing moms, the elderly, those concerned about digestive health, athletes (even weekend warriors), and those of you who just want to enhance your overall health.
References:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] Kaunitz H, Dayrit CS. Coconut oil consumption and coronary heart disease. Philippine Journal of Internal Medicine, 1992;30:165-171.
Prior IA, Davidson F, Salmond CE, Czochanska Z. Cholesterol, coconuts, and diet on Polynesian atolls: a natural experiment: the Pukapuka and Tokelau Island studies, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 1981;34:1552-1561.
[2] Prior IA, Davidson F, Salmond CE, Czochanska Z. Cholesterol, coconuts, and diet on Polynesian atolls: a natural experiment: the Pukapuka and Tokelau Island studies, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 1981;34:1552-1561.
[3] Dr. Mary G. Enig, Ph.D., F.A.C.N. Source: Coconut: In Support of Good Health in the 21st Century, part 2.
[4] Assunção ML, Ferreira HS, dos Santos AF, Cabral CR Jr, Florêncio TM. Effects of dietary coconut oil on the biochemical and anthropometric profiles of women presenting abdominal obesity, Lipids, 2009 Jul;44(7):593-601. Epub 2009 May 13.
[5] Dr. Mary G. Enig, Ph.D., F.A.C.N. Source: Coconut: In Support of Good Health in the 21st Century.
[6] Baba, N 1982. Enhanced thermogenesis and diminished deposition of fat in response to overfeeding with diet containing medium-chain triglycerides, Am. J. Clin. Nutr., 35:379.
[7] Bruce Fife, ND. Coconut Oil and Medium-Chain Triglycerides.
[8] Raymond Peat Newsletter, Coconut Oil, reprinted at www.heall.com.
An Interview With Dr. Raymond Peat, A Renowned Nutritional Counselor Offers His Thoughts About Thyroid Disease,
[9] Isaacs CE, Litov RE, Marie P, Thormar H. Addition of lipases to infant formulas produces antiviral and antibacterial activity, Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry, 1992;3:304-308.
Isaacs CE, Schneidman K. Enveloped Viruses in Human and Bovine Milk are Inactivated by Added Fatty Acids(FAs) and Monoglycerides(MGs), FASEB Journal, 1991;5: Abstract 5325, p.A1288.
Mitsuto Matsumoto, Takeru Kobayashi, Akio Takenaka and Hisao Itabashi. Defaunation Effects of Medium Chain Fatty Acids and Their Derivatives on Goat Rumen Protozoa, The Journal of General Applied Microbiology, Vol. 37, No. 5 (1991) pp.439-445.
Dr. Mary G. Enig, Ph.D., F.A.C.N. Source: Coconut: In Support of Good Health in the 21st Century.
Hristov AN, Vander Pol M, Agle M, Zaman S, Schneider C, Ndegwa P, Vaddella VK, Johnson K, Shingfield KJ, Karnati SK. Effect of lauric acid and coconut oil on ruminal fermentation, digestion, ammonia losses from manure, and milk fatty acid composition in lactating cows, J Dairy Sci., 2009 Nov;92(11):5561-82.
[10] St-Onge MP, Jones PJ. Greater rise in fat oxidation with medium-chain triglyceride consumption relative to long-chain triglyceride is associated with lower initial body weight and greater loss of subcutaneous adipose tissue, International Journal of Obesity & Related Metabolic Disorders, 2003 Dec;27(12):1565-71.
[11] Geliebter, A 1980. Overfeeding with a diet of medium-chain triglycerides impedes accumulation of body fat, Clinical Nutrition, 28:595.
[12] Fushiki, T and Matsumoto, K Swimming endurance capacity of mice is increased by consumption of medium-chain triglycerides, Journal of Nutrition, 1995;125:531.
[13] Raymond Peat Newsletter - Unsaturated Vegetable Oils Toxic, 1996 edition, p.2-4. Daneil R. Doerge, Hebron C Chang "Inactivation of thyroid peroxidase by soy isoflavones in vitro and in vivo", Journal of Chromotography B, September 2002; 777(1,2);25:269-79. http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2005/01/26/coconut-oil-part-eight.aspx
Nevin KG, Rajamohan T. Effect of topical application of virgin coconut oil on skin components and antioxidant status during dermal wound healing in young rats, Skin Pharmacol Physiol, 2010;23(6):290-7. Epub 2010 Jun 3.
Marina AM, Man YB, Nazimah SA, Amin I. Antioxidant capacity and phenolic acids of virgin coconut oil, Int J Food Sci Nutr, 2009;60 Suppl 2:114-23. Epub 2008 Dec 27. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19115123
[14] Barry Groves, PhD. Second Opinions: Exposing Dietary Misinformation: The Cholesterol Myth, parts 1 and 2.
Robert H Knopp and Barbara M Retzlaff, Saturated fat prevents coronary artery disease? An American paradox, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 80, No. 5, 1102-1103, November 2004.
Mozaffarian D, Rimm EB, Herrington DM. Dietary fats, carbohydrate, and progression of coronary atherosclerosis in postmenopausal women, Am J Clin Nutr, 2004;80:1175-84.
[15] K. G. Nevin and T. Rajamohan, "Beneficial effects of virgin coconut oil on lipid parameters and in vitro LDL oxidation", Clinical Biochemistry, September 2004; 37(9): 830-835.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
US slips to 49th in life expectancy: study.
US slips to 49th in life expectancy: study
The report by Muenning and Glied found the prime culprit of the plunge to be America’s deteriorating health care system, marred by ever-rising costs and growing numbers of uninsured and under-insured individuals."
"The United States currently ranks 49th in the world in overall life expectancy, according to a study published in the academic journal Health Affairs, slipping dramatically during the last decade."
"The noteworthy decline is highlighted by the fact that in 1999, the World Health Organization ranked the US as 24th in the world in the same category, life expectancy.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/10/slips-49th-life-expectancy-study/
The report by Muenning and Glied found the prime culprit of the plunge to be America’s deteriorating health care system, marred by ever-rising costs and growing numbers of uninsured and under-insured individuals."
"The United States currently ranks 49th in the world in overall life expectancy, according to a study published in the academic journal Health Affairs, slipping dramatically during the last decade."
"The noteworthy decline is highlighted by the fact that in 1999, the World Health Organization ranked the US as 24th in the world in the same category, life expectancy.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/10/slips-49th-life-expectancy-study/
PESTICIDE UPDATES (20th October 2010)
Researchers worried by weed resistant ryegrass
Crop tests at Naracoorte have returned important information showing that ryegrass can build resistance to Paraquat. Studies from the university of Adelaide have found the weed is now resist the second most common type of chemical used by crop growers. Dr Chris Preston says the findings could mean farmers would run out of ways to combat weeds. For more information please visit:
http://www.abc.net.au/rural/sa/southeastsa/?site=southeastsa&ref=fb-220-southeastsa-news
Minister criticises Centre’s stand on endosulfan
Forest Minister Benoy Viswam criticised the stand taken by India against global ban on endosulfan at the sixth meeting of Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee to the Stockholm Convention at Geneva last week.“India’s stand was not right. The general consensus at the meeting was in favour of the ban. India should have supported that view,” the Minister said. The Minister said “If you go to Kasaragod, you can see the effect of endosulfan on people. Many of the affected were in such a condition that they could be described as ‘the living dead’.” For more information please visit:
http://flashnewstoday.com/index.php/minister-criticises-centre%E2%80%99s-stand-on-endosulfan-2/
Tanzania: Unga Ltd Factory Produces Fake Pesticides, Fertilizer, Bread
Arusha — When you sow seeds and they do not grow; use pesticides but they kill both the crop and the pests; apply fertilizer and the crop withers, you are probably using counterfeit inputs produced in Unga Limited, a sprawling slum of Arusha city. Same backyard factory also produces bread without any label. The Police in Arusha region on Monday ambushed a factory alleged to manufacture, pack and distribute counterfeit agricultural inputs, including seed varieties, pesticide, herbicide and fertilizers. For more information please visit:
http://allafrica.com/stories/201010181485.html
UN science panel urges ban on widely used pesticide endosulfan that can cause nerve damage
GENEVA — A key U.N. science panel has urged governments to ban the widely used pesticide endosulfan that can cause nerve damage to humans and wildlife. The 31 scientists on the Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee want endosulfan placed on a list of chemicals that should be phased out of use. For more information please visit:
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/world/un-science-panel-urges-ban-on-widely-used-pesticide-endosulfan-that-can-cause-nerve-damage-105249518.html
Aldicarb; Notice of Receipt of Request to Voluntarily Cancel a Pesticide Registration
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY - [EPA-HQ-OPP-2005-0163; FRL-8848-1]
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
Purpose: In accordance with section 6(f)(1)of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, as amended, EPA is issuing a notice of receipt of a request by the registrant to voluntarily cancel all of the registrations for aldicarb products held by Bayer CropScience. The request asks for the deletion at various times of aldicarb use in or on citrus, cotton, dry beans, peanuts, potatoes, soybeans, sugar potatoes, sugar beets, and sweet potatoes. Because these uses constitute all the remaining uses of aldicarb, Bayer's request would result in the termination of the last aldicarb product registered for use in the United States. EPA intends to grant this request at the close of the comment period for this announcement unless the Agency receives substantive comments within the comment period that would merit its further review of the request.
For more information please visit: http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2010/2010-25128.htm
Crop tests at Naracoorte have returned important information showing that ryegrass can build resistance to Paraquat. Studies from the university of Adelaide have found the weed is now resist the second most common type of chemical used by crop growers. Dr Chris Preston says the findings could mean farmers would run out of ways to combat weeds. For more information please visit:
http://www.abc.net.au/rural/sa/southeastsa/?site=southeastsa&ref=fb-220-southeastsa-news
Minister criticises Centre’s stand on endosulfan
Forest Minister Benoy Viswam criticised the stand taken by India against global ban on endosulfan at the sixth meeting of Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee to the Stockholm Convention at Geneva last week.“India’s stand was not right. The general consensus at the meeting was in favour of the ban. India should have supported that view,” the Minister said. The Minister said “If you go to Kasaragod, you can see the effect of endosulfan on people. Many of the affected were in such a condition that they could be described as ‘the living dead’.” For more information please visit:
http://flashnewstoday.com/index.php/minister-criticises-centre%E2%80%99s-stand-on-endosulfan-2/
Tanzania: Unga Ltd Factory Produces Fake Pesticides, Fertilizer, Bread
Arusha — When you sow seeds and they do not grow; use pesticides but they kill both the crop and the pests; apply fertilizer and the crop withers, you are probably using counterfeit inputs produced in Unga Limited, a sprawling slum of Arusha city. Same backyard factory also produces bread without any label. The Police in Arusha region on Monday ambushed a factory alleged to manufacture, pack and distribute counterfeit agricultural inputs, including seed varieties, pesticide, herbicide and fertilizers. For more information please visit:
http://allafrica.com/stories/201010181485.html
UN science panel urges ban on widely used pesticide endosulfan that can cause nerve damage
GENEVA — A key U.N. science panel has urged governments to ban the widely used pesticide endosulfan that can cause nerve damage to humans and wildlife. The 31 scientists on the Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee want endosulfan placed on a list of chemicals that should be phased out of use. For more information please visit:
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/world/un-science-panel-urges-ban-on-widely-used-pesticide-endosulfan-that-can-cause-nerve-damage-105249518.html
Aldicarb; Notice of Receipt of Request to Voluntarily Cancel a Pesticide Registration
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY - [EPA-HQ-OPP-2005-0163; FRL-8848-1]
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
Purpose: In accordance with section 6(f)(1)of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, as amended, EPA is issuing a notice of receipt of a request by the registrant to voluntarily cancel all of the registrations for aldicarb products held by Bayer CropScience. The request asks for the deletion at various times of aldicarb use in or on citrus, cotton, dry beans, peanuts, potatoes, soybeans, sugar potatoes, sugar beets, and sweet potatoes. Because these uses constitute all the remaining uses of aldicarb, Bayer's request would result in the termination of the last aldicarb product registered for use in the United States. EPA intends to grant this request at the close of the comment period for this announcement unless the Agency receives substantive comments within the comment period that would merit its further review of the request.
For more information please visit: http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2010/2010-25128.htm
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