Today… A Car That Takes Your Pulse, Tomorrow A Card or Implant That Controls Your Life

WSJ – Cross-Posted at AskMarion: What the car of the near future will sense about your biology. Auto makers are researching technology that could feed your heart rate, blood pressure and other biometric responses into the car's computers, the better to determine when you're drowsy or overwhelmed with distracting media. MIT researcher Bryan Reimer and WSJ's Joe White has details on Lunch Break. See Video

A Car That Takes Your Pulse

Designing Vehicles To Monitor Brain Waves, Sleepiness

Could a car that knows when you are stressed or ill save you from having an accident? Auto makers are stepping up efforts to find out.

A number of big car manufacturers are accelerating research into equipping vehicles with so-called biometric sensors that would keep tabs on a driver's vital health signs, including pulse, breathing and "skin conductance," aka sweaty palms. When that information is fed into the computers that manage a car's safety systems, it could enable a vehicle to better react to whatever challenges the road and traffic dish out.

The move comes amid major advances in mobile medical-monitoring technology, as well as growing concerns about meeting the needs of an aging and increasingly distracted population of motorists.

It also reflects another step in the industry's broader move toward self-driving cars, a brave new world in which computers could all but eliminate the potential for driver error—whether it's due to a distracting phone call or a sudden drop in blood sugar.

Already, some Lexus models use in-cabin cameras and some Mercedes-Benz vehicles have steering sensors to detect drowsy-driving behavior. The cars sound a warning beep or flash a coffee-cup icon to suggest that it's time for a break. Luxury brands are promoting these accident-avoidance technologies as examples of what sets their expensive vehicles apart from cheaper, mainstream models. The Mercedes system, called Attention Assist, comes as standard equipment in a wide range of its vehicles, from the smaller C-class sedans to the more opulent, and high-tech, S-class models.

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Separately, car makers and federal safety regulators are working on in-vehicle systems that could reliably detect when someone is too drunk to drive.

The new body monitors could, if a driving hazard appeared imminent, trigger the car's safety systems to tap the brakes, turn off a radio, block a cellphone from ringing or take other actions. Some of these advances may be in cars in three to five years. Others depend upon whether researchers can crack the challenge of designing health-related sensors that can work flawlessly in a vehicle for up to a decade.

Sports car maker Ferrari SpA, for one, has filed a patent application that indicates the company is evaluating technology that would embed wireless electrodes in a car seat's headrest to monitor drivers' brain waves for stress as they pilot machines capable of roaring up to 200 miles per hour. Depending on what the sensors detect, the car might try to mitigate the driver's risk by cutting power to the motor or automatically stabilizing the vehicle. As Ferrari researchers put it in the patent filing: "drivers tend to miscalculate—in particular, overestimate—their driving skill and, more important, their psychophysical condition."

At Ford Motor Co., F +1.26%researchers are looking at connecting information from medical monitors, like seat-belt-based respiration sensors and steering-wheel heart-rate trackers, to its cars' in-dash multimedia systems.

Ford's prototype system aims to lessen distraction by taking readouts from biometric sensors and combining the data with information from the car, including speed, steering-wheel angle, and data from radar sensors or cameras used in blind-spot obstacle detection or cruise control. All the data are run through software that can gauge the driver's overall stress level. If it is high, the system could automatically engage a "Do Not Disturb" function for the driver's phone.

Jeff Greenberg, a senior technical leader involved with the Ford research, says the broad goal is to minimize driver distraction and stress. This may involve keeping people engaged and alert on a boring drive to work or helping them stay focused in more difficult driving moments. If a truck looms out of the blind spot during a high-speed freeway merge, for example, a driver would be better off if his phone's ringer was disabled at that moment, he says.

Mr. Greenberg says phone-disabling technology could come to showrooms "relatively quickly." Adding the biometric sensors, he says, "is further out." Ford classifies those technologies as research projects that typically are at least three to five years from being offered to consumers.

One reason: The technology is evolving faster than issues such as medical privacy and regulatory oversight can be resolved. Ford, like other auto makers, is loath to add the Food and Drug Administration to an already heavy regulatory load.

Car makers hope that vehicles with medical monitors will appeal to an aging population that wants to keep driving.

"If we want to keep people in their vehicles, it's key we integrate systems to support them," says Bryan Reimer, a researcher with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology AgeLab, which focuses on innovations for an aging population. AgeLab has worked with Toyota Motor Corp., 7203.TO -1.56%Ford and other companies to test how biometric sensors could be used both to guide the design of vehicles to make them easier to operate and as onboard systems to help people drive more safely.

Getty Images/Onoky

A number of big car manufacturers are accelerating research into equipping vehicles with so-called biometric sensors that would keep tabs on a driver's vital health signs.

Dick Myrick, a 63-year-old retired electrical engineer from Arlington, Mass., participated in AgeLab experiments in biometrically monitored driving. His says he would be interested in a car that kept tabs on his condition as part of its safety technology, but only if he was in control of the system. "I need to know that the function is on, and have it not on when I want," he says.

Others see the new technology as yet another thing to keep track of behind the wheel. It's "a further distraction" for drivers, says Gabrielle Lucci, 60, a Farmington Hills, Mich., retiree.

Devices that collect data about an individual's physical condition are getting cheaper and smaller. Many are designed to connect to smartphones using the same Bluetooth technology that connects smartphones to cars. This provides a gateway for wirelessly connecting devices like glucose or heart monitors into a car's multimedia displays.

"The same sensor you are wearing for your weekend warrior stuff…is the sensor you could slap on your mother" to monitor her heart, says Leslie Saxon, a cardiologist who leads the University of Southern California's Center for Body Computing. Dr. Saxon's project recently formed a research alliance with German luxury car maker BMW BMW.XE +0.72% AG.

Daniel Grein, a BMW designer, says the USC research could help determine how to connect a Bluetooth-equipped blood-sugar monitor to future BMW models. In Munich, he says, BMW engineers are also investigating how to design a car that could automatically stop if the driver suffered a heart attack.

Dr. Saxon says he sees a time when biometric monitors in a car could feed data, not just to onboard safety systems, but also to doctors and patients looking to better manage health care. "My car calls me when it needs something," Dr. Saxon says, referring to vehicle-service alerts generated by the car. "I want patients' cars to call them when they need blood-pressure medicine."

Sound interesting? Might increase safety? But as Founding Father Benjamin Franklin said, “He who trades security (or safety) for freedom" usually gets (nor deserves) either!!” Wake-up America, Europe, Christians, Patriots, lovers of freedom… this is Big Brother 1984 style all the way! Today it is a smart car… tomorrow it will be a smart card. Be sure to watch the video below and then you be the judge!

Video: Smart card (made 2005)

Related:

Now Big Brother is REALLY watching you

Smart Dust Computers… Vaccination Nanotechnology… NWO Here We Come

RFID Chip for all Americans in 2013 as Part of ObamaCare… See Biden Telling Fed Judge He Will Have to Rule on Implanted Microchips

Christian Family Refuses Mandatory RFID Chip at Texas School

MARK OF THE BEAST IS COMING SOON ! – WIFE STANDS UP FOR JESUS AND AGINST THE RFID IMPLANT AT HOSPITAL — GOD BLESS HER FOR HER STRENGTH OF CONVICTION

Buying and Selling in an RFID Chip for the First Time – VeriChip Changes Its Name

Technorati Tags: Smart Card,Smart Car,Big Brother,watch the other hand,RFID,Implants,Big Brother is watching you,1984,RFID chip part of healthcare bill,NWO,safety,smoke and mirrors,BMW,smartphones,wake- up,wake-up America,biometric monitors,Benjamin Franklin,safety vs freedom

Ignore This Essential Habit and Your Health Will Eventually Decline

By Dr. Mercola

Researchers have learned that circadian rhythms—the 24-hour cycles known as your internal body clock—are involved in everything from sleep to weight gain, mood disorders, and a variety of diseases.

Your body actually has many internal clocks—in your brain, lungs, liver, heart and even your skeletal muscles—and they all work to keep your body running smoothly by controlling temperature and the release of hormones.

It's well known that lack of sleep can increase your chances of getting sick. A new study shows just how direct that connection is.

The research found that the circadian clocks of mice control an essential immune system gene that helps their bodies sense and ward off bacteria and viruses. When levels of that particular gene, called toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9), were at their highest, the mice were better able to withstand infections.

Interestingly, when the researchers induced sepsis, the severity of the disease was dependent on the timing of the induction. Severity directly correlated with cyclical changes in TLR9.

According to the authors, this may help explain why septic patients are known to be at higher risk of dying between the hours of 2 am and 6 am.

Furthermore, they also discovered that when mice were vaccinated when TLR9 was peaking, they had an enhanced immune response to the vaccine. The researchers believe vaccine effectiveness could be altered depending on the time of day the vaccination is administered...

According to study author Erol Fikrig, professor of epidemiology at the Yale School of Medicineⁱ:

"These findings not only unveil a novel, direct molecular link between circadian rhythms and the immune system, but also open a new paradigm in the biology of the overall immune response with important implications for the prevention and treatment of disease. Furthermore, patients in the ICU often have disturbed sleep patterns, due to noise, nocturnal light exposure and medications; it will be important to investigate how these factors influence TLR9 expression levels and immune responses."

Lack of Sleep Worsens Stress-Related Immune Depression

One of the first studies to provide direct evidence linking sleep with the human stress-immune relationship dates back to 1998ⁱⁱ. Stress is also known to interfere with immune system function, and has been found to increase susceptibility to the common cold and slow wound healing.

In that 1998 study, the researchers discovered that people who were more likely to awaken during the first sleep cycle also tended to have lower levels of natural killer cells (NKC). Overall, the age of the patient was the greatest determinant of NKC level, but sleep disturbances were responsible for about 12 percent of the variance in NKC level.

Are You Living in Sync with Your Natural Body Clock?

Sleeping well is one of the cornerstones of optimal health, and if you ignore your poor sleeping habits, you will, in time, pay a price. In general, you will feel best and maintain optimal health when your lifestyle is in line with your circadian rhythm. It's wise to establish healthful routines of eating, exercising and sleeping, and to stick to them every day, including the weekends.

Unfortunately, sleep deprivation is such a chronic condition these days that you might not even realize you suffer from it. Your circadian rhythm has evolved over many years to align your physiology with your environment. However, it operates under the assumption that you are behaving as your ancestors did. Historically, humans have slept at night and stayed awake during the day. If you stay up late at night, depriving yourself of sleep, you send conflicting signals to your body.

As a result, you body gets confused and doesn't know whether it should be producing chemicals to help you sleep, or gear up for the beginning of a new day.

Melatonin is another chemical closely tied to your circadian rhythm. It's a pineal hormone and a very potent antioxidant, created in your brain during sleep.

Among its many functions, it slows the production of estrogen and is well known to suppress tumor development, which is why insomnia may increase your risk of cancer. Melatonin also helps suppress harmful free radicals. Melatonin production can be severely disrupted simply by exposing yourself to bright light late at night. Just switching a bedside lamp on and off in an otherwise pitch-black room produces a drop in melatonin levels. This is why it's so important to turn off the lights as the evening wears on, and avoid watching TV and working on the computer late at night.

How Sleep Influences Your Physical Health

Without good sleep, optimal health may remain elusive, even if you eat well and exercise (although those factors will tend to improve your ability to sleep better). Aside from directly impacting your immune function, another explanation for why poor sleep can have such varied detrimental effects on your health is that your circadian system "drives" the rhythms of biological activity at the cellular level. Hence disruptions tend to cascade outward throughout your entire body. For example, besides impairing your immune function and raising your cancer risk, interrupted or impaired sleep can also:

Increase your risk of heart disease.
Harm your brain by halting new cell production. Sleep deprivation can increase levels of corticosterone (a stress hormone), resulting in fewer new brain cells being created in your hippocampus.

Aggravate or make you more susceptible to stomach ulcers.
Contribute to a pre-diabetic state, making you feel hungry even if you've already eaten, which can wreak havoc on your weight.

Raise your blood pressure.
Contribute to premature aging by interfering with your growth hormone production, normally released by your pituitary gland during deep sleep (and during certain types of exercise, such as high intensity interval training).

Worsen constipation.
Increase your risk of dying from any cause.

Furthermore, lack of sleep can further exacerbate chronic diseases such as:

Parkinsons
Alzheimers
Multiple Sclerosis (MS)

Gastrointestinal tract disorders
Kidney disease
Behavioral problems in children

Are Sleeping Pills a Good Option When You Can't Fall Asleep?

If you have trouble sleeping, you're not alone. According to the National Sleep Foundation's (NSF) 2010 "Sleep in America Poll," only four in 10 respondents said they got a good night's sleep every night, or almost every night, of the weekⁱⁱⁱ. But please don't make the mistake of resorting to sleeping pills. At best, they're ineffective. At worst, they can be dangerous.

According to U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) data, over-the-counter sleep products such as Tylenol PM and Excedrin PM don't offer any significant benefit to patients. In 2007, an analysis of sleeping pill studies financed by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) found that sleeping pills like Ambien, Lunesta, and Sonata reduced the average time to go to sleep by just under 13 minutes compared with sugar pills -- hardly a major improvement.

You'd be far better off putting your money toward authentic solutions to help you sleep, like installing black-out drapes in your bedroom, than on sleeping pills, as they may actually make it more difficult for you to get a good night's rest naturally.

If anything, you could consider taking a melatonin supplement, which will help boost sleepiness.

Ideally it is best to increase your melatonin levels naturally, of course, by exposing yourself to bright sunlight in the daytime (along with full spectrum fluorescent bulbs in the winter) and complete darkness at night. If you do this regularly, you will promote proper functioning of your natural circadian rhythm, which is essential for a proper sleep cycle. However, if that isn't possible, you can consider a melatonin supplement. It's is a completely natural substance, made by your body, and has many health benefits in addition to sleep. In scientific studies, melatonin has been shown to increase sleepiness, help you fall asleep more quickly and stay asleep, decrease restlessness, and reverse daytime fatigue. I prefer to use a sublingual melatonin product because it is absorbed much faster and therefore works more quickly.

Keep in mind you typically only need a very minute amount. Taking higher doses, such as 3 mg, can sometimes have the reverse effect. So start with as little as 0.25mg or 0.5mg and play around with it to see what dosage works best for you.

How to Optimize Your Sleep

Below are several of my top guidelines for promoting good sleep. For a comprehensive sleep guide, please see my article 33 Secret's to a Good Night's Sleep.

1. Avoid watching TV or using your computer at night—or at least about an hour or so before going to bed—as these technologies can have a significantly detrimental impact on your sleep. TV and computer screens emit blue light; nearly identical to the light you're exposed to outdoors during the day. This tricks your brain into thinking it's still daytime, thereby shutting down melatonin secretion.

   Under normal circumstances, your brain starts secreting melatonin between 9 or 10 pm, which makes you sleepy. When this natural secretion cycle is disrupted, due to excessive light exposure after sunset, insomnia can ensue.

2. Sleep in complete darkness, or as close to it as possible. Even the slightest bit of light in the room can disrupt your internal clock and your pineal gland's production of melatonin and serotonin. Even the tiniest glow from your clock radio could be interfering with your sleep. So close your bedroom door, and get rid of night-lights. Refrain from turning on any light at all during the night, even when getting up to go to the bathroom. Cover up your clock radio.

   Make sure to cover your windows—I recommend using blackout shades or drapes.

3. Keep the temperature in your bedroom no higher than 70 degrees F. Many people keep their homes and particularly their upstairs bedrooms too warm. Studies show that the optimal room temperature for sleep is between 60 to 68 degrees. Keeping your room cooler or hotter can lead to restless sleep. This is because when you sleep, your body's internal temperature drops to its lowest level, generally about four hours after you fall asleep. Scientists believe a cooler bedroom may therefore be most conducive to sleep, since it mimics your body's natural temperature drop.
4. Take a hot bath 90 to 120 minutes before bedtime. This increases your core body temperature, and when you get out of the bath it abruptly drops, signaling your body that you are ready for sleep.
5. Check your bedroom for electro-magnetic fields (EMFs). These can disrupt your pineal gland and the production of melatonin and serotonin, and may have other negative effects as well. To do this, you need a gauss meter. You can find various models online, starting around $50 to $200. Some experts even recommend pulling your circuit breaker before bed to shut down all power in your house.
6. Move alarm clocks and other electrical devices away from your bed. If these devices must be used, keep them as far away from your bed as possible, preferably at least three feet. This serves at least two functions. First, it can be stressful to see the time when you can't fall asleep, or wake up in the middle of the night. Secondly, the glow from a clock radio can be enough to suppress melatonin production and interfere with your sleep.

   Cell phones, cordless phones and their charging stations should ideally be kept three rooms away from your bedroom to prevent harmful EMF's.

7. Avoid using loud alarm clocks. It is very stressful on your body to be suddenly jolted awake. If you are regularly getting enough sleep, an alarm may even be unnecessary.

   I gave up my alarm clock years ago and now spontaneously awake without an alarm. On those rare occasions that I do need to get up early to catch a flight, I have used a sun alarm clock. The Sun Alarm™ provides an ideal way to wake up each morning if you can't wake up with the REAL sun. Combining the features of a traditional alarm clock (digital display, AM/FM radio, beeper, snooze button, etc) with a special built-in light that gradually increases in intensity, this amazing clock simulates a natural sunrise. It also includes a sunset feature where the light fades to darkness over time, which is ideal for anyone who has trouble falling asleep.

Technorati Tags: sleep,sleeplessness,circadian rhythm,natural body clock,sleep deprivation,depression,sleep disorder,normal body functions,graveyard shift

Rare Syndrome Causes British Teen to Sleep for Days at a Time

Two years ago, a bizarre ordeal unfolded for Louisa Ball and her family. The then 15-year-old girl initially came down with flu-like symptoms. While it seemed like a normal occurrence (after all, everyone gets sick from time to time), Ball subsequently contracted a rare syndrome called “Sleeping Beauty Sickness” (Kleine-Levin Syndrome). As a result of the affliction, the young girl sleeps — very literally — for days at a time. MSNBC has more:

Doctors don’t know what causes it or how to cure it — only that it strikes teenagers and goes away by itself after eight to 12 years…

…victims worldwide may number no more than 1,000. The victims live normally for weeks or months at a time, with normal sleep patterns and normal energy levels. Then, with little warning, they’ll go to sleep for days or weeks at a time. So far, Louisa’s longest bout in bed has been 13 days.

KLS stumps modern medicine and has yet to be successfully treated. Researchers claim that the disorder effects the hypothalamus, which is the part of the brain responsible for regulating appetite, sleep and libido. Thus, the disorder triggers sleep, aggressiveness and hyper sexuality.According to ABC News:

Mood stabilizers like lithium and hormone therapies help those with KLS around the edges, but they don’t ward off the extreme sleep.

“[When I wake up] I’m always confused as to what day it is, because I don‘t know how long I’ve slept for,” Louisa said. “And then when I realize, I’m like, ‘Wow, that’s a long time!’”

While some outlets first began to report on Ball’s ordeal back in early 2010, ABC’s Nightline covered the medical dilemma this week. Watch the fascinating report, below:

Video:  Sleeping Beauty Disorder  - 17-Year-Old Sleeps for a week at a time

This bizarre illness certainly impedes the young girl’s life, as she regularly sleeps through exams, family vacations and other important moments that most teenagers typically treasure. She and her family anxiously await the day when KLS no longer causes such saddening disruptions.

Source:  The Blaze

Kids who get recommended sleep least likely to be obese

Nanci Hellmich  -  USA TODAY  -  01-24-11 Parents, here's another good reason to make sure your kids get enough shut-eye: Children who get sufficient sleep are less likely to be obese, a new study shows. Other research shows sleep affects kids' academic performance, mood and attention span. For the latest study, scientists at the University of Chicago and the University of Louisville compared the sleep patterns of 308 children, ages 4-10, with their body mass index, a number that considers height and weight. The children wore special wrist-band devices for a week to track the amount they slept. Some of the kids had blood work done to look at their glucose, insulin, triglycerides and cholesterol levels, which are markers for the risk of type 2 diabetes and future cardiovascular disease. The study, out online today in Pediatrics, shows: *Kids slept an average of eight hours a night. This is far less than the nine or more hours recommended for this age group. *Kids who slept at least 9 1/2 to 10 hours were the least likely to be obese or to have unhealthy blood work. *The children who slept the least and had the most irregular sleep schedule (they didn't go to bed at a set time) had a substantially greater risk of being obese and having unhealthy blood work. *Those who got caught up on sleep on the weekends somewhat reduced their risk of being obese or having unhealthy blood work. *Obese children were less likely to get caught up on their sleep on the weekends. "Good sleep routines and sleeping the right amount is the best healthy proposition," says lead author David Gozal, chair of the department of pediatrics at the University of Chicago. About one-third of children and adolescents in the USA weigh too much, putting them at increased risk for type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, sleep apnea and other health problems. Previous research shows that not getting enough sleep may contribute to weight gain partly because it affects hormones that control hunger and feeling full. Copyright 2009 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.

Why morning people rule the world

Philip Delves Broughton - 05.07.10

We are all morning or evening people. Scientists have established that our genes dictate around half of what they call our “chronotypes” — our natural preference for certain times of the day.

Evolution has produced a range of humans capable of being alert to danger at every hour of the day. Our experience confirms these findings. We all know people who love to be at work bright and early, with a cup of coffee to hand and decisions to make, and others who would rather stumble through the day until reaching a state of relaxed clarity around dusk, when their minds are purring.

The problem is that those with the genetic gift of “morning-ness” tend to be more highly rewarded. Morning-ness is perceived as a sign of activity and zest, whereas evening-ness implies laziness and loafing. How often did we have to see David Cameron on one of his early-morning runs to get the idea that here was a leader of potency and vigour? How different would it have been if he slunk out of bed to work, then exercised at around 8pm? Could a Prime Minister be elected today who worked like Churchill, reading, writing and thinking in bed before getting out of it at noon?

History is full of great bores praising the virtues of early rising, but few have made the case for letting the day drift by until you kick into gear around happy hour.

Yet the research continues to mount, arguing that evening people have qualities which should be nurtured. They tend to be more creative, intelligent, humorous and extroverted. They are the balance to morning people, who are said to be more optimistic, proactive and conscientious.

Evening and morning are the right and left sides of our brain, the creative and the analytical, both of which we need to organise, process and advance our lives.

New research by Christoph Randler, a biology professor at the University of Education at Heidelberg, however, concludes that morning people are more likely to succeed in their careers because they are more proactive than evening people.

He surveyed 367 university students, asking them when they were most energetic and willing to change a situation. It was the morning people who were more likely to agree with statements such as “I feel in charge of making things happen” and “I spend time identifying long-range goals for myself.”

Discussing his research in the Harvard Business Review, Randler says: “When it comes to business success, morning people hold the important cards. My earlier research showed that they tend to get better grades in school, which gets them into better colleges, which then leads to better job opportunities. Morning people also anticipate problems and try to minimise them. They're proactive.”

Christopher Coleridge, the founder of V Water, the fast-growing vitamin-enhanced water brand, has a different view on the advantages of morning-ness. “Morning is always the best time to get people to make decisions because people are full of optimism in the morning. By 9am, nothing really can go wrong. You're full of hope. By 4pm, at least six annoying things will have happened, so by the evening you're slightly annoyed and frustrated. Fortunately, you then have the rest of the evening to pick yourself up.”

Earlier in his career, when Coleridge worked in advertising, he found the culture much more focused on the evenings, when conversations over drinks would lead to creative ideas. But as an entrepreneur, he found mornings were the best time to corral people's energies.

Evening-ness, he says, can be exploited by companies that are full of young people. But mornings appeal more to people with families who want a schedule which allows them to get in early and leave on time. For the growing army of part-time and freelance workers, tight schedules are just as important. “They tend to be very focused because they are moving from project to project and they don't have time to yack away.”

In certain environments, morning-ness is unavoidable. In the City, many of the most significant meetings take place before the markets open. Schools, however, force morning-ness on teenagers at a moment when everything else in their lives — their hormones, their social lives, their working patterns — is drifting towards the evening.

But can one change one's chronotype from evening to morning? Randler says “somewhat”, but it can be hard. He cites one study that showed half of school pupils were able permanently to shift the time they woke up by one hour. Chronotypes, however, do evolve over one's life. Adolescents tend towards evening-ness; from the ages of 30 to 50, people are evenly split between morning and evening; and over-50s are more morning types.

The challenge for companies, Randler says, is to accept that evening-ness is an inherent trait and, rather than battling against it, find ways to “get the best out from their night owls”.

The Night Shift isn’t Called Graveyard for No Reason

Adoption and Social Styles

Squalene: The Swine Flu Vaccine’s Dirty Little Secret Exposed

According to Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, your children should be the first target for mass swine flu vaccinations when school starts this fall.[i]

This is a ridiculous assumption for many reasons, not to mention extremely high risk.

In Australia, where the winter season has begun, Federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon is reassuring parents the swine flu is no more dangerous than regular seasonal flu. "Most people, including children, will experience very mild symptoms and recover without any medical intervention," she said.[ii]

Sydney-based immunization specialist Robert Booy predicts swine flu might be fatal to about twice as many children in the coming year as regular influenza. Booy estimates 10-12 children could die from the H1N1 virus, compared with the five or six regular flu deaths seen among children in an average year in Australia.[iii]

“Cure the Disease, Kill the Patient”

Less than 100 children in the U.S. die each year from seasonal flu viruses.[iv] If we use Australia’s math, a very rough estimate would be another 100 children could potentially die of swine flu in the United States in the coming year.

If children are the first target group in the U.S. per Sebelius, that means we’re about to inject around 75 million children with a fast tracked vaccine containing novel adjuvants, including dangerous squalene, to prevent perhaps 100 deaths.

I’m not overlooking the tragedy of the loss of even one child to an illness like the H1N1 flu virus. But there can be no argument that unnecessary mass injection of millions of children with a vaccine containing an adjuvant known to cause a host of debilitating autoimmune diseases is a reckless, dangerous plan.

Why are Vaccinations Dangerous?

The presumed intent of a vaccination is to help you build immunity to potentially harmful organisms that cause illness and disease. However, your body’s immune system is already designed to do this in response to organisms which invade your body naturally.

Most disease-causing organisms enter your body through the mucous membranes of your nose, mouth, pulmonary system or your digestive tract – not through an injection.

These mucous membranes have their own immune system, called the IgA immune system. It is a different system from the one activated when a vaccine is injected into your body.

Your IgA immune system is your body’s first line of defense. Its job is to fight off invading organisms at their entry points, reducing or even eliminating the need for activation of your body’s immune system.

When a virus is injected into your body in a vaccine, and especially when combined with an immune adjuvant like squalene, your IgA immune system is bypassed and your body’s immune system kicks into high gear in response to the vaccination.

Injecting organisms into your body to provoke immunity is contrary to nature, and vaccination carries enormous potential to do serious damage to your health.

And as if Vaccines Weren’t Dangerous Enough on Their Own …

… imagine them turbocharged.

The main ingredient in a vaccine is either killed viruses or live ones that have been attenuated (weakened and made less harmful).

Flu vaccines can also contain a number of chemical toxins, including ethylene glycol (antifreeze), formaldehyde, phenol (carbolic acid) and even antibiotics like Neomycin and streptomycin.

In addition to the viruses and other additives, many vaccines also contain immune adjuvants like aluminum and squalene.

The purpose of an immune adjuvant added to a vaccine is to enhance (turbo charge) your immune response to the vaccination. Adjuvants cause your immune system to overreact to the introduction of the organism you’re being vaccinated against.

Adjuvants are supposed to get the job done faster (but certainly not more safely), which reduces the amount of vaccine required per dose, and the number of doses given per individual.

Less vaccine required per person means more individual doses available for mass vaccination campaigns. Coincidentally, this is exactly the goal of government and the pharmaceutical companies who stand to make millions from their vaccines.

Will There Be Immune Adjuvants in Swine Flu Vaccines?

The U.S. government has contracts with several drug companies to develop and produce swine flu vaccines. At least two of those companies, Novartis and GlaxoSmithKline, are using an adjuvant in their H1N1 vaccines.

The adjuvant? Squalene.

According to Meryl Nass, M.D., an authority on the anthrax vaccine,

“A novel feature of the two H1N1 vaccines being developed by companies Novartis and GlaxoSmithKline is the addition of squalene-containing adjuvants to boost immunogenicity and dramatically reduce the amount of viral antigen needed. This translates to much faster production of desired vaccine quantities.”[v]

Novartis’s proprietary squalene adjuvant for their H1N1 vaccine is MF59. Glaxo’s is ASO3. MF59 has yet to be approved by the FDA for use in any U.S. vaccine, despite its history of use in other countries.

Per Dr. Nass, there are only three vaccines in existence using an approved squalene adjuvant. None of the three are approved for use in the U.S.

What Squalene Does to Rats

Oil-based vaccination adjuvants like squalene have been proved to generate concentrated, unremitting immune responses over long periods of time.[vi]

A 2000 study published in the American Journal of Pathology demonstrated a single injection of the adjuvant squalene into rats triggered “chronic, immune-mediated joint-specific inflammation,” also known as rheumatoid arthritis.[vii]

The researchers concluded the study raised questions about the role of adjuvants in chronic inflammatory diseases.

What Squalene Does to Humans

Your immune system recognizes squalene as an oil molecule native to your body. It is found throughout your nervous system and brain. In fact, you can consume squalene in olive oil and not only will your immune system recognize it, you will also reap the benefits of its antioxidant properties.

The difference between “good” and “bad” squalene is the route by which it enters your body. Injection is an abnormal route of entry which incites your immune system to attack all the squalene in your body, not just the vaccine adjuvant.

Your immune system will attempt to destroy the molecule wherever it finds it, including in places where it occurs naturally, and where it is vital to the health of your nervous system.[viii]

Gulf War veterans with Gulf War Syndrome (GWS) received anthrax vaccines which contained squalene.[ix]MF59 (the Novartis squalene adjuvant) was an unapproved ingredient in experimental anthrax vaccines and has since been linked to the devastating autoimmune diseases suffered by countless Gulf War vets.[x]

The Department of Defense made every attempt to deny that squalene was indeed an added contaminant in the anthrax vaccine administered to Persian Gulf war military personnel – deployed and non-deployed – as well as participants in the more recent Anthrax Vaccine Immunization Program (AVIP).

However, the FDA discovered the presence of squalene in certain lots of AVIP product. A test was developed to detect anti-squalene antibodies in GWS patients, and a clear link was established between the contaminated product and all the GWS sufferers who had been injected with the vaccine containing squalene.

A study conducted at Tulane Medical School and published in the February 2000 issue of Experimental Molecular Pathology included these stunning statistics:

“ … the substantial majority (95%) of overtly ill deployed GWS patients had antibodies to squalene. All (100%) GWS patients immunized for service in Desert Shield/Desert Storm who did not deploy, but had the same signs and symptoms as those who did deploy, had antibodies to squalene.

In contrast, none (0%) of the deployed Persian Gulf veterans not showing signs and symptoms of GWS have antibodies to squalene. Neither patients with idiopathic autoimmune disease nor healthy controls had detectable serum antibodies to squalene. The majority of symptomatic GWS patients had serum antibodies to squalene.”[xi]

According to Dr. Viera Scheibner, Ph.D., a former principle research scientist for the government of Australia:

“… this adjuvant [squalene] contributed to the cascade of reactions called "Gulf War Syndrome," documented in the soldiers involved in the Gulf War.

The symptoms they developed included arthritis, fibromyalgia, lymphadenopathy, rashes, photosensitive rashes, malar rashes, chronic fatigue, chronic headaches, abnormal body hair loss, non-healing skin lesions, aphthous ulcers, dizziness, weakness, memory loss, seizures, mood changes, neuropsychiatric problems, anti-thyroid effects, anaemia, elevated ESR (erythrocyte sedimentation rate), systemic lupus erythematosus, multiple sclerosis, ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), Raynaud’s phenomenon, Sjorgren’s syndrome, chronic diarrhoea, night sweats and low-grade fevers.”[xii]

Post Vaccination Follow-Up Might as Well Be Non-Existent

There is virtually no science to support the safety of vaccine injections on your long-term health or the health of your children. Follow-up studies last on average about two weeks, and look only for glaring injuries and illnesses.

Autoimmune disorders like those seen in Gulf War Syndrome frequently take years to diagnose due to the vagueness of early symptoms. Complaints like headaches, fatigue and chronic aches and pains are symptoms of many different illnesses and diseases.

Don’t hold your breath waiting for vaccine purveyors and proponents to look seriously at the long-term health consequences of their vaccination campaigns.

Visit the National Vaccination Information Center (NVIC) site and join in the fight against mandatory swine flu vaccinations.

Educate yourself about influenza strains, vaccination risks, and the public health laws in your state that may require you or your children to undergo either mandatory vaccination or quarantine.

Take care of your health to reduce or eliminate your risk of contracting the flu. The key is to keep your immune system strong by following these guidelines:

• Eliminate sugar and processed foods from your diet. Sugar consumption has an immediate, debilitating effect on your immune system.
• Take a high quality source of animal-based omega 3 fats like Krill Oil.
• Exercise. Your immune system needs good circulation in order to perform at its best for you.
• Optimize your vitamin D levels. Vitamin D deficiency is the likely cause of seasonal flu viruses. Getting an optimal level of vitamin D will help you fight infections of all kinds.
• Get plenty of good quality sleep.
• Deal with stress effectively. If you feel overwhelmed by stress, your body will not have the reserves it needs to fight infection.
• Wash your hands. But not with an antibacterial soap. Use a pure, chemical-free soap

By Dr. Mercola

Posted:  True Health Is True Wealth

Permission to Rest Outside of Tahiti

       One observation I have heard visitors to the States often make is that Americans are always in such a hurry, and that we don’t seem to know how to relax. In contrast, people in some countries work fewer hours and have much longer vacations. In some cultures, a nap is just part of daily life.  The idea of “hurry” and “overtime” just doesn’t fit in with my idea of Tahiti.

When was the last time you took a break to just enjoy a beautiful day? Can you take a real day off? A real vacation? Do you feel guilty when you do?

Wellness coaching is often thought of as a means to lose weight or regain fitness. Therefore, discussion may focus on diet and exercise, or the number of hours spent sleeping.  However, the larger picture of a healthier life is not just a regular bedtime, but breaks in routine throughout the week or month or year.

In these times of hurry and over-commitment, we might rationalize that we just can’t afford to step away simply to unwind and recharge.  Even though God does not get tired, He set the precedent for us by resting one day after working for six days on Creation. The commandment to rest one day a week was important enough to be included in the initial Ten. Rather than a heavy obligation, this commandment is a mercy gift to us from Him. God also gave Israel holidays (from “holy days”) as times for celebration, worship, and family.

It’s not enough to just rest from physical work; we also require mental, emotional, and spiritual refreshing. So many of us are exhausted mentally and emotionally, which affects our physical energy levels as well.  Just as the body is recharged by ceasing exertion and taking time to sleep, the soul and spirit are recharged by time spent in peace and quiet, the beauty of nature and art, and just having fun, to name a few.

So instead of figuratively hacking away at the forest with a dull blade, taking time for rest and relaxation sharpens our axe so that our work is actually of higher quality and more productive.  A “working vacation” is unsatisfactory and does justice to neither work nor vacation.

More than that, it’s time to give ourselves permission to rest, not only when feeling tired, but as a regular part of our lifestyle.  The world can manage without us for a little while.  If we don’t draw our own boundaries, someone else surely will. A weekly day of rest and other set-apart times are God’s gift to man. Accept this gift for yourself.

A wellness coach can be a wonderful ally who supports the decision to give yourself permission to engage in R&R.  The coach can help navigate the balance between work and rest, and encourage creativity in healthy diversions from the pressures of “hurry sickness”.  A brain-storming session followed by action steps involving marking dates for R&R on the calendar is wonderfully liberating and honoring to our personal humanity.

But before you book that six-month trip to Tahiti, it would be wise to begin with baby steps: a regular day off, an afternoon walk in the park on a beautiful day, and a weekend now and again. The quality of your rest is enhanced by how you choose to spend your time.  Practicing new and intentional choices to nurture your soul and spirit builds a habit of greater appreciation, comfort, and wholeness that can be more easily maintained. As incremental changes are introduced and supported, a lifestyle of honoring your need for rejuvenation will be developed. Then, on an upcoming day of rest, you can daydream about a trip to Tahiti, and your coach can help you make that happen too!

Donna Astern just got back from a few days of R&R in which she slept, read, prayed, & enjoyed the beauty of nature.

This is a guest post by Donna Astern, of  www.destinyspirit.com - Donna loves to see people move forward with the unique plan and person God has for their lives. She is a life coach and an apostolic prophetic minister who leads Destiny Spirit Apostolic Network. She and her husband reside in Virginia Beach, Virginia.http://www.destinyspirit.com 

Posted:  True Health Is True Wealth - http://truehealthistruewealth.blogspot.com - May 09.2009

How sleep affects your blood-pressure

This may sound trivial but it's important to acknowledge that sleeping well can help lower blood-pressure. Here are some facts and suggestions for getting a good night's sleep, every night.

·              Get plenty of sleep - When you are refreshed, you're better able to tackle the next day's problems, allowing you to avoid and better cope with stress.

·              If you have difficulty falling asleep, try keeping a schedule; going to sleep and awakening at a consistent time each day. A bedtime ritual such as taking a warm bath, reading or eating a light snack helps many people relax.

·             Make sure you sleep healthily - People with high blood-pressure are more likely to suffer from a condition called sleep apnea. In this potentially serious sleep disorder, breathing repeatedly stops and starts during sleep. Apnea is Greek for "without breath."

If you have been told that you snore loudly or you wake up feeling tired after a full night's sleep or you are sleepy during the day, it may be worthwhile to learn more about sleep apnea.

Related Articles:  The Night Shift Isn’t Called Graveyard for No Reason 

The Night Shift Isn’t Called Graveyard for No Reason

Often the night or graveyard shift, usually 10:00PM to 6:00AM, 11:00PM to 7:00AM, or 10:00PM to 8:00AM with variations, is the entry level shift at large 24-hour companies, social service care facilities, prisons, medical facilities and for emergency service personnel and first responders.  But it is also the shift of choice, in many cases, for working students, working moms and single parents, people that work two jobs or for some who just like the perks it sometimes brings including more time off or the extra time during conventional waking or productive hours.  But this shift comes with a grave cost.

I came from 5-years at a job like this and have several friends who are still working that job and shift; some 5-days a week and some long 4-day a week shifts, but none with special time off benefits or shorter work weeks so I know the hazards first hand. It took me almost 3-years to physically get off that shift and get back to a semi-normal sleep pattern, and after 5-years, I still don’t sleep as soundly as I used to.

Another friend, Jack Reeder, has worked the same shift at a local hospital for 18-years because it allows him to work one week on and one week off and he likes the flexibility to travel and pursue his hobbies, but it still comes with a price.  He and most of my friends working these shifts are now chronic insomniacs.  According to the American Heart Association, weekly changes of sleep time affect the cardiac sympathetic and parasympathetic autonomic controls in our bodies.  The sympathetic nervous system accelerates body functions, including heart rate and digestion. The parasympathetic nervous system slows down some of these systems causing what some researchers say afflicts many people who work a shift schedule – higher rates of accidents and cardiovascular disease. 

What this means is that the natural circadian, or daily, rhythms of your biological clock are constantly wrestling with your work schedule if you are required to work during the hours when your body and brain would normally be resting.  The tug-of-war happens because your circadian rhythm and your lifestyle are not in sync. Circadian rhythms are, in part, tied to the 24-hour cycle of the Earth’s rotation and the amount of daylight to which you are exposed.

According to Raffaello Furlan, MD, a professor at the University of Milan and the lead author of their sleep study, “This resistance of the body’s internal ‘clock’ to change with varied work schedules indicates that people don’t adapt as easily as we think to shift work.”  Certain processes like cell division and DNA repair happen at regular times while we sleep and are missed by shift workers.  Circadian rhythms also seem to control the amount of and time when various hormones are released in the body, such as cortisol, growth hormone, melatonin and testosterone, which control weight, energy, and reaching the ‘deep sleep’ state among many other processes.  Because the release time of these substances might not match your schedule, it can lead to health problems say Furlan and other Italian researchers.

The researchers believe that the higher rate of sleep disturbances, gastrointestinal and cardiovascular diseases, and accidents that shift workers experience may be due to the stress that the frequent changing of sleep and awake periods place on the body’s nervous system.

Max Hirshkowitz, PhD, director of Baylor College of Medicine sleep research center in Houston, and the author of Sleep Disorders for Dummies says that the biological clock is a strong force in determining people’s sleep habits.

“These are three basic processes that govern and regulate sleep patterns – circadian rhythms, homeopathic rhythms, and anything that activates the sympathetic nervous system and can interfere with sleep”, says Hirshkowitz, “For most people, it’s more difficult to sleep during the day.  Light is a stimulant, and there is more noise during the day.”

Your biological clock tells you that the sleepiest time of the day is 4:00AM, Hirshkowitz says, yet many shift workers drink coffee around that time to stay awake. “Then they can’t go to sleep, or they sleep but wake up a short time later,” he says.  “It’s equivalent to drinking coffee after dinner.”

Shift workers also often develop destructive habits like trying to change their sleep patterns on the weekends or their days off because they want to be with their friends or families.  But according to Dr. Hirshkowitz, this is the wrong thing to do!  “It creates a cycle of sleep deprivation”, he says.  He advises that if you have to work a night shift, you should keep your sleep patterns the same on your off days, and you should protect the time slot when you’re supposed to sleep.  If you have to change shifts constantly and it involves the night shift, you should do whatever you can to protect your sleep time.  Don’t exercise within two hours of trying to sleep, but do exercise, and use blackout curtains and earplugs.  In other words, practice what Hirshkowitz calls “sleep hygiene”.  More sleep rather than “less”… which shift workers tend to get is also critical; 8 hours during the day under ‘ideal’ conditions is like 5 ½ or 6 during the night, 6 hours of day time sleep is like getting about 4 at night, and so on down the scale.  And broken sleep, a hazard of day-sleepers, is almost worse than no sleep.

Hirschkowitz says it’s easy to see these effects.  What happens if you haven’t had enough sleep?  With sleep deprivation, your balance is off; you have gastrointestinal upset, your eyes ache, and you are more prone toward colds, headaches and whatever else is going around.

Most shift workers know that they need more sleep.  Some chose not to take the step to correct their chronic sleep deprivation because of activities or because they like the extra money. Others have no choice because of family responsibilities, childcare or because it is the only option for them to afford to go to school.

The schedule is the worst for day people who naturally like to go to bed early and get up early”.  Evening or night owls do better but eventually the shift affects everyone. Night people will often say the first five years they worked this shift, they didn’t have a noticeable problem with going from night sleep to day sleep or sleeping day hours in general.  But eventually it takes its toll.  Studies show that extended graveyard shift work, can affect longevity.  It’s not called “graveyard shift” for no reason.

Studies have shown links to graveyard workers or shift change workers that include the night shift to increase breast and prostrate cancer, diabetes, weight shifts and obesity, mood swings, forgetfulness, chronic fatigue and a weakening of the immune system in general for years.  In 2007, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, the cancer arm of the World Health Organization, added overnight shift work as a probable carcinogen, just like UV rays and diesel exhaust fumes.  It is a surprisingly positive step validating a concept once considered wacky or at least improbable.. And, it is based on research that finds higher rates of breast and prostate cancer among women and men whose work day starts after dark.   

Many companies and organizations in the U.S. and worldwide have begun to recognize the sacrifice of night shift workers and have compensated them for their sacrifices, as well as trying to cut-down the related increases in their accident and sickness ratios with shorter shifts for 40-hours pay, shorter work weeks, and non-traditional rotations including flextime and the options of part-time and job-share types of positions. Graveyard workers are generally compensated with 10% higher wages than their day-worker counterparts. They are also often compensated with additional sick or compensatory time or allowed extra time off without pay, but also without attendance penalties. Perks like areas for naptime on break or between shifts or recreational facilities are also common. In New York, some companies are supplying sleep capsules for 20-minute naps for both shift workers and day workers in high stress positions. New studies suggest the use of ‘light boxes’ in a special area where shift workers work or in the break room will make them sharper. Workers who do not have physically or mentally challenging positions or are in an observation capacity with lots of sitting should always work with a partner and be allowed access to television, radio, a computer or something that interests them to keep them alert, between or after their duties are done. Eating healthy foods rather than excessive amounts of caffeine and sugar is advised and wearing sunglasses in the morning, from sunrise until bedtime to cut out a lot of the blue light which tells the body that it is morning, is also helpful.

Let us hope that these and additional balancing measures will become common knowledge, uniform in practice and mandatory before more people end up far too young in the graveyard for which their shift is nicknamed.

By: Marion Algier – Ask Marion 

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