St. John’s Wort

St. John’s Wort has a lot of scientific studies that back it up as a reliable mood enhancer. St. John’s Wort rose to popularity in the 1990s and has been highly visible in health food stores everywhere since. Did you know that only the extracts from the aerial parts of the plant are effective? Unscrupulous manufacturers grind up the whole plant – roots and all and then sell it as the expensive “St. John’s Wort.” If you tried this remarkable herb and had no appreciable effect from it, you probably got rooked with the counterfeit herb. Give it another try, but this time – go with a reliable source. Cheap things are not always good and good things are not always cheap.

Get the good stuff!

Get the good stuff!

Posted in Health News, Vitamins and supplements | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

The fat gene

Genetics are either expressed or suppressed by something that turns them off and on. Take the fat genes for instance: If the doctor tells you fat is genetic, then it’s not your fault, just sit back and let it happen… right? Well, researchers looked at some 12,000 people of which half had those pesky fat genes. They found that one measly hour a day of movement, like simply walking, suppresses the expression of the fat gene to reverse genetic doom and destiny by 50%. This is done without running, weightlifting, and other aerobic exercise. Conversely, two hours a day of boob-tube time multiplied fat gene effects by 25% and 40 hours a week in the mindless TV state quadrupled the expression of the fat gene.

If it is genetic then it is not your fault?? Wrongo...

If it is genetic then it is not your fault?? Wrongo…

Posted in Health News, Lifestyle | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The sun is a good-guy after all

How many times have I said: “The sun is not your enemy” But the idiocy of ingrained thinking says “Stay out of the sun, the sun causes cancer”. Would it now help you to know that medical science has found the true cause of melanoma? Would you believe that it is NOT the sun? The latest of the newest research found that certain skin pigments you’re born with increase the risk of this cancer – whether or not you get sun or any other form of ultraviolet light. The problem certainly is not the sun or ultraviolet light but a genetic pigment that is either damaging skin cells and/or sucking antioxidants out of the skin. The kicker: Genetic expressions are turned off or on by nutrients or toxins. Which one are you feeding your skin?

Have some healthy fun in the sun

Have some healthy fun in the sun

Posted in Health News, Lifestyle | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Medical childbirth outcomes

Yet once again medical science falls short of mother nature – and medical science proves it over and over. Women who opt for home birth have a lower risk of severe complications than women who plan a hospital birth. The safety of planned home births is hotly debated by the medical professionals who insist that childbirth is a medical procedure and must therefore be treated as a medical disease. A team of Dutch researchers recently found that for parous women, the rate of severe outcomes for a planned home birth was 1 per 1000 compared with 2.3 per 1000 for a planned hospital birth. Win for natural birth – big lose for medical births.

Childbirth is a natural process - always has been.

Childbirth is a natural process – always has been.

Posted in Health News, Lifestyle | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A little flu vaccine history

A federally funded study begun in 1942, co-authored by Dr. Jonas Salk, injected experimental flu vaccines in male patients at a state insane asylum in Ypsilanti, Mich., then exposed them to flu several months later to see if it worked. Some the test subjects couldn’t even coherently describe their symptoms let alone say they had informed consent. Of course, we don’t need unwilling participants for vaccine studies anymore as the general public has unwittingly become one of the largest uninformed medical study participants in history. Bottom line, they are NOT studying the vaccine side effects here – just the vaccine cash flow. Don’t be a lab rat people. Say no to the flu vaccine.

It's a mad world out there - brought to you by Big Pharma

It’s a mad world out there – brought to you by Big Pharma

Posted in Health News, Medical Madness | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Did I ever mention cinnamon?

Cinnamon is a biblical herb that just keeps on doing more and more good. Cinnamon has a history of helping people regulate their blood sugar. Cinnamon speeds up metabolism and is also antiviral, antifungal and antiparasitic. But one of the latest study finding brings the news that extracts from cinnamon bark inhibit the toxic amyloid polypeptide oligomers and fibrils that have been found in Alzheimer`s brain plaque formations. Researchers also found that cinnamon extract can break up the classic Alzheimer-related amyloid protein clusters in test tube experiments. Cheap and highly effective – my kind of natural medicine!

used for thousands of years for natural medicine

used for thousands of years for natural medicine

Posted in Health News, Vitamins and supplements | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Glutathione bags mercury

Glutathione is the primary antioxidant in the body and is synthesized from the amino acids cysteine, glutamine and glycine. Glutathione production decreases as we age, and deficiencies are associated with disease processes such as cardiovascular disease and cancer. The liver is the largest glutathione reservoir in the body where it is part of the detoxification pathways. Glutathione is carried by the bile to the intestines and then to other tissues. The intestinal lining, kidney tubules and lungs have substantial glutathione detoxification activity. Mercury has a high affinity for glutathione to provide major intracellular defenses against mercury toxicity. Don’t get caught short on this stuff!

Taking out the trash!

Taking out the trash!

Posted in Health News, Vitamins and supplements | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Supersize physician

When it comes to taking diet advice from a physician – size matters. A new study at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health examined the impact of primary care physician BMI on patients’ trust and perceptions of weight-related stigma. Overweight and obese patients simply trust weight-related counseling from overweight physicians more than from normal weight physicians. Overall lower physician respect towards patients with a higher BMI is a study fact that has stood for decades – bringing with it knowledge deficits, negative attitudes and structural barriers. But if you put the shoes on my feet, I’m a skinny guy who tends to mistrust advice from obese physicians more than from normal-weight ones.

How could you not trust this big guy??

How could you not trust this big guy??

Posted in Health News, Lifestyle | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Butter ban in the Nanny State

NY City has gone crazy over butter! Not a healthy crazy but a maddening ignorant crazy that only a government agency or two can pull off. Seems that they have banned ALL butter from any school kitchens and replaced it with GMO vegetable oils mixed with other plant oils. The “free-lunch” program will cost a child’s health quicker than ever now. Nutritionists and even most chefs know that butter is both healthy for you and delicious. One school chef was caught ordering butter and written up and fired if he was caught again, according to the New York Daily News. There is more than one clinical trial in which natural butter was replaced by plant oils in the diet. Results: Patients fed plant oils instead of butter had a significantly higher risk of death. Time to write up and fire the ignorant administrators.

It just doesn't get much better than this!

It just doesn’t get much better than this!

Posted in Food and Nutrition, Health News | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Drugs for bipolars not working

Scientists at Brown University found no difference in hospital readmission rates among patients who received antidepressants and those who did not – until the got to bipolar depression… When bipolar patients were administered the antidepressant venlafaxine, there was an associated 3-fold higher rate of hospital readmissions. Conclusion: Antidepressant use in patients hospitalized with bipolar depression is ineffective at best, and may be harmful to some patients. There are NO benefits in terms of keeping patients out of the hospitals with the use of antidepressants. These findings were presented at the American Psychiatric Association’s 2013 Annual Meeting. Do you think this report this will curb the rates of prescriptions in these situations? Probably not.

If a lot of something doesn't work then maybe a whole lot will?

If a lot of something doesn’t work then maybe a whole lot will?

Posted in Health News, Medical Madness | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

DHEA and the adrenal glands

DHEA is the “mother of all hormones” that fuels hormone pathways. DHEA balances estrogen, progesterone and testosterone. But as we age, DHEA levels decline and elevated stress levels also cause DHEA levels to plummet – forcing the adrenal glands to work overtime. Adrenal exhaustion comes with chronic stress, poor nutrition, yo-yo diets and emotional turmoil. When the adrenals are busy pumping out stress-reaction cortisol and adrenaline, they just cannot produce enough DHEA. Low DHEA causes: fatigue, weight gain, moodiness, depression, aching joints, muscle loss, bone loss and low libido. There are no food sources for DHEA as it is exclusively made in the adrenal glands. To supplement, most people only need between 5-10mg in the early morning and perhaps another 5-10mg before lunch.

Simple to test with a multi-vial saliva check.

Simple to test with a multi-vial saliva check.

Posted in Health News, Vitamins and supplements | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Why inflammation?

Inflammation in the body has the distinct purpose to respond immediately and destroy toxic materials in injured or compromised tissues before the toxins can damage tissues further and then spread throughout the body. A huge problem with inflammation arises when this defense system steers out-of-control and begins to destroy healthy tissue, which causes even more damage than the original issue. Obesity is a diet-related example of inflammation that causes cardiovascular and metabolic disease. Treating the cause by improved diet and exercise will result in weight loss that will reduce the inflammation. Did you know that processed foods cause diet-related inflammation?

Find the cause and fix it!

Find the cause and fix it!

Posted in Food and Nutrition, Health News | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Dry cleaning truth

Dry-cleaner workers exposed to Trichloroethylene (TCE) have an increased liver cancer risk. TCE is a dry-cleaning solvent and degreaser used for the last 100 years. TCE has been shown to be carcinogenic in rat studies and epidemiologic studies show increased cancer risk in humans for the kidney, cervix, liver, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and esophageal adenocarcinoma. Equipment conversions to TCE-free systems for dry cleaners are expensive and it is up the consumer to ask their dry-cleaner service what they use to clean with. Worth the ask? Sure it is! If everyone ran to the safer cleaners, the other cleaners will compete by retooling ASAP.

Well duh. Organic is better for your health

Well duh. Organic is better for your health

Posted in Health News, Lifestyle | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Sweet lies

The National Confectioners Association (NCA) just put out a “study” that shows that sweets do not affect your health. The NCA is actually a trade association that represents candy companies. This “research study” was a bunch of meaningless calculations funded by the NCA and based on one government food and nutrition survey. The end report makes candy out to be health food and found no link between candy consumption and increase in BMI, waist circumference, skinfold thickness, cholesterol levels, blood pressure, triglycerides, and insulin resistance. So, go ahead and eat all the Mars, Nestle, Hershey, and Jelly Belly that your lil’ ole pea-picking heart pleases but keep in mind that this bad work of fake and irresponsible science was brought to you by – take a guess – Mars, Nestle, Hershey, and Jelly Belly. Real science shows that sugar does cause weight gain, diabetes and even cancer. Which science are you choosing?

Sugar coating the truth will harm your body

Sugar coating the truth will harm your body

Posted in Food and Nutrition, Health News | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

New statin drug risk identified

Just because your doctor is ignorant about the uselessness of dangerous cholesterol meds and their horrific side-effects doesn’t mean you have to be ignorant too. Aside from losing your cognitive function, sex life and experiencing excruciating muscle pain, the latest statins effects are associated with increased risk of musculoskeletal injuries, like dislocations, strains, and sprains, according to a new study analysis. The idiocy just keeps on building as the mainstream wants everybody starting statin therapy at a young age for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease. What did I say about statin drugs affecting your cognitive function? I daresay our medical system is on a very high dose…

Did you make the connection??

Did you make the connection??

Posted in Health News, Medical Madness | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Get the lead out!

In 2004, scientists suggested a connection between prenatal lead exposure and subsequent increased risk for schizophrenia later in the child’s life. Up to 90% of the mother’s accumulated toxic metals transfer to the developing fetus and the firstborn child typically gets the most metals. When lead is absorbed in the fetus it causes a suppression of the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) which makes synaptic connections in the brain – critical for brain development, learning, and memory. Lead also causes a deficit in glutamate neurotransmission to make a hypoactivity of the NMDAR receptors in schizophrenia. Lead’s association to the NMDAR can explain a large portion of dysfunction in schizophrenia.

Maybe it's the lead!

Maybe it’s the lead!

Posted in Health News, Lifestyle | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Medical lesson from history not learned

In 1899, the American Medical Association (AMA) was a weak organization with little money and no respect from the general public. The AMA’s competition was reducing member physicians’ incomes. Chiropractic had just been introduced and homeopathy and herbalists were thriving while “regular” doctors were unable to profit from medicinal practices. By 1910, the AMA was broke until the Rockefellers joined with the Carnegie foundation to bail them out. The resulting schools were required to teach exclusively drug-oriented courses, with no emphasis placed on natural medicine. By 1940, 1500 chiropractors were prosecuted for practicing “quackery.” 22 homeopathic medical schools dwindled to 2. By 1950, all schools teaching homeopathy were closed. Point and case? During the Spanish flu epidemic of 1918, 550,000 people died in the US from flu. Homeopathic physicians treated far more documented flu cases than conventional medicine and had a flu-mortality rate of 0.7% while conventional medicine had a fearsome mortality of 30%. I ask you; which modality would you have rather chosen?

 Quackery is alive and doing very well today


Quackery is alive and doing very well today

Posted in Health News, Medical Madness | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Big Mac heart attack

Studies actually show that after having a Big Mac, heart and endothelial function deteriorates rapidly and you lose about 50% of endothelial function within 3 hours which can precipitate a heart attack. Endothelial function can be measured by heart brachial reactivity. The PREDIMED study of 7500 patients showed about a 30% reduction in cardiovascular events with a Mediterranean diet. But what they really wanted to prove that olive oil had extra benefits, but the results were the same with or without high amounts of olive oil or mixed nuts in the diet. How you eat, what you eat, how you exercise, whether you watch television or videos all affects your endothelial function very quickly.

How is it looking now?

How is it looking now?

Posted in Food and Nutrition, Health News | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Antibiotics cause kidney failure

Anyone who has known me for two weeks knows that I am against the indiscriminate use of antibiotics. Need another reason? Using oral fluoroquinolone antibiotics, like ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin and moxifloxacin, double the risk of acute kidney disease requiring hospitalization according to a study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. Fluoroquinolones are broad-spectrum antibiotics used to treat respiratory and urogenital infections. Have you ever read the warning label? “May cause kidney failure…” Here’s a curve-ball: the study excluded anyone with a history of kidney problems. This makes the double-risk exclusively for healthy patients. Patients with unhealthy kidneys would be at an even higher risk.

Yes, antibiotics can put you right here...

Yes, antibiotics can put you right here…

Posted in Health News, Medical Madness | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Magnesium the mighty

How magnesium works in the heart: Magnesium and calcium work together for heart health. Calcium first enters the heart cells (and other body cells) to perform its vital functions, like produce electrical conductivity. Calcium stays until it is pushed out by magnesium. If there is a magnesium deficiency then calcium will stay in the cell and allow accumulations of calcium, causing calcification, dysfunction, and cell death. A magnesium deficiency related excess calcium also causes muscle cramps, tics and twitches, angina pectoris, hypertension, and arrhythmias. To prevent all this trouble, take 400-600mg of magnesium citrate or malate supplements (NEVER take magnesium oxide for this). Cut back if you experience diarrhea. Never take calcium supplements without magnesium supplements.

This is one that you really need to balance things.

This is one that you really need to balance things.

Posted in Food and Nutrition, Vitamins and supplements | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment