NHD Undercover: Killer Chemicals in Your Cosmetics

Killer Chemicals in Your Cosmetics

Your cosmetics may be killing you! Recent reports show that many popular products still contain toxic compounds like mercury and lead. And while a new bill is seeking to close legal loopholes that allow the sale of these lethal products, those same products may be on sale at your local store right now!

How many products do you use each day? Most Americans use about 10. They add up pretty quickly. Think about it... toothpaste, shampoo, shower gel, and shaving cream... and you're not even out of the bathroom yet. Factor in deodorants, cologne, hair gels... and you're easily hitting that 10-a-day mark.

But while most of us go about our daily ablutions in blissful ignorance, beauty manufacturers, scientists, law makers, and reporters know that your daily products could well damage your kidneys, affect your nervous system, and even cause cancer.

Where We Stand Today

Currently, the FDA can't regulate beauty products until they are already on sale to the public. That means these products and ingredients don't have to go through any safety tests. Cosmetics companies can also combine ingredients without pre-market tests.

The FDA has banned certain compounds in beauty products. For example, it banned mercury in cosmetics in 1990. But it rarely tests to see if manufactures respect that ban. And that means no one is checking to see if consumers remain at risk or not.

In the case of mercury, a series of recent high-profile tests and investigations show that products continue to expose Americans to dangerous levels even now. But more about that in a moment...

It's been left to various environmental groups to conduct tests and prove that the public remains at risk. And only after applying pressure to the government for several years have they finally provoked proper action.

Mercury in Mascara

Mercury has a long history in the beauty industry. It blocks melanin, which pigments hair and skin. This function makes it a popular skin-whitener.

Other products do the same thing. But mercury is cheap, says Professor Ellen Silbergeld, who works for John Hopkins University.
Unfortunately we absorb mercury through our skin. And according to Silbergeld it can shut down organs and can lead to death.

As noted, the FDA banned mercury in products in 1990. But that doesn't mean cosmetic companies aren't still using it.

There's been a flurry of real-life cases and investigations that show it's still very much out there. And it's putting Americans in harm's way.

Mercury in Virginia

The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) is investigating 10 cases of mercury poisoning. Those cases are all linked to a cream that's been imported from Mexico.

"Before using any product, make sure the ingredients are on the box," says State Health Commissioner Karen Remley. "We urge people not to use imported products if there are no ingredients listed or if a product lists mercury as an ingredient."

VDH says that mercury can affect the "nervous system, kidneys, and the developing fetus. Health effects include memory loss, irritability, and [body] tremors."

But cases of mercury poisoning aren't just limited to Virginia. California health officials are also looking into a similar case for a California family who used the same cream.

Chicago Investigation Finds Proof of Poison

Earlier this summer, a major Chicago newspaper ran its own investigation into mercury poisoning. They revealed that popular skin-lightening creams still contain dangerous levels of mercury.

Researchers tested 50 creams at a certified lab. Six of those contained mercury. Worse, five contained enough to cause kidney damage, according to researchers.

"I'm shocked and speechless," says Dr. Jonith Breadon. She's a Chicago dermatologist and works with patients who use skin lighteners. "I just assumed since [mercury] was banned in the U.S., it never got in. But clearly that isn't true."

While mercury is banned in the U.S., the creams are clearly still finding their way here. Merchants order them online or from suppliers who bring them in from overseas.

Consumers can't know for sure which creams are tainted. The investigation shows stores across the nation sell dozens of brands, many of them made overseas.

The six creams that tested high were made in Lebanon, China, India, Pakistan, and Taiwan.

CBS has also reported on mercury in beauty products.

"We [found] several people who were poisoned by mercury in cosmetics," said Nutritional Biochemist Jay Foster. "They put it in mascara and other cosmetics as a preservative."

The FDA says mercury is safe in some eye makeup so long as it's not higher than 65 parts per million. But there are many experts who disagree.

"The amount of mercury in mascaras is very small, but it adds to our total mercury exposure," says Jonette Keri, a dermatologist at the University of Miami.

Lead in Lipstick

But it's not just mercury in mascara you have to watch out for. Heavy metals can seriously damage health. And there are plenty of them in beauty products.

Three years ago, the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics sent 33 lipsticks to an independent lab for testing.

The lab found that 61 percent of them contained lead. These lipsticks included:

• L'Oreal
• Cover Girl
• Dior Addict

They sent letters to three U.S. Senators and kick-started a campaign to make the FDA take action. Two years passed before the FDA did anything.

But in 2009 the FDA conducted a follow-up study and found lead in the same lipsticks. They said the highest lead levels were in lipsticks made by:

• Procter & Gamble (Cover Girl brand)
• L'Oreal (L'Oreal, Body Shop, and Maybelline brands)
• Revlon

"Lead-containing lipstick applied several times a day adds up to significant exposure levels," says Dr. Mark Mitchell, president of the Connecticut Coalition for Environmental Justice. "There is no safe level of lead exposure."

"Lead is a proven toxin that causes lowered IQ, reduced school performance, and increased aggression," says Professor Sean Palfrey, the medical director of Boston's Lead Poisoning Prevention Program.

"Pregnant women are vulnerable to lead exposure," says Palfrey. "There is no safe lead exposure for children and pregnant women."

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention backs this up. They say that: "No safe blood lead level has been identified."

The agency suggests avoiding all sources of lead exposure, including lead-containing cosmetics.

Pampering - or Hurting - Your Baby?

The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics tested several baby products just last year. They found that two known carcinogens, 1,4-dioxane and formaldehyde, in dozens of bath products. Products included Sesame Street character brands and even Johnson & Johnson's "pure and gentle" baby shampoo.

According to the EPA, formaldehyde and 1,4-dioxane are known animal carcinogens and probable human carcinogens. Formaldehyde also causes skin rashes in children.

The group delivered a letter to Johnson & Johnson last year asking for safe products. The letter was signed by over a million physicians, nurses and moms.

Fragrance

Fragrance makers have the ultimate loophole when it comes to disclosing what's in the bottle. That's because fragrance is a trade secret and companies don't have to say what's in it.

"The companies already know what are in each others' products," Stephanie Hendrick, coordinator for Environmental Health, told AolNews. "It's only the public that's kept in the dark."

And "fragrance" can mask many chemical compounds. It's used in shampoos, deodorants, lotions, and shaving creams. Even "unscented" products make use of the loophole. They'll often use masking fragrances, which are chemicals that cover up the smell of other chemicals.

According to the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, fragrances are among the top five known allergens. They can cause or trigger asthma attacks. The group tested fragrances just this year and found:

• Phthalates: These chemicals cause hormone damage and affect fertility.

• Diethyl phthalate (DEP): Recent studies link DEP with sperm damage in men. It was found in 12 out of 17 tested fragrances.

Smart Shopping Guide

With so many dangers lurking in the cosmetics aisle... you need to be smart about what you buy.

Many doctors are working to tackle this burning issue. They're working hard to create natural products... cosmetic lines that are safe for you and your family. We'll be investigating this very subject and bringing you our findings on the doctors and products that you can trust in a future issue.

In the meantime, be smart about choosing your products. Keep these three tips in mind:

1. Be wary of claims that say products are "dermatologist-tested," "natural," or "organic." Look for yourself and read the ingredient label instead.
2. Be very serious about warning labels. They're your best clue to toxic ingredients.
3. You can check out which products tested safe or not. There's a huge safety guide at www.cosmeticsdatabase.com.

To your health,

Ian Robinson,
Managing Editor
NHD "Health Watch"

Obesity Levels Go Up Even As Soda Sales Drop

Soda Consumption Has Been Declining for 5-Yearss

Rob Port  •  August 4, 2010

It’s almost like obesity doesn’t really have anything to do with soft drinks or something.

For a while now politicians, particularly Mayor Michael Bloomberg in New York and First Lady Michelle Obama, have been leading a charge against the soda industry claiming that the industry is responsible, at least in part, for the “obesity epidemic.” That “epidemic” really just being the latest “crisis” they don’t want to let go to waste when it can be used to justify more taxes and regulations.

There’s a problem though. While obesity levels are on the rise…

The U.S. is losing the battle of the bulge, and Mississippi is the state reporting the largest percentage of fat people.

The number of states with an adult obesity rate of 30 percent or more has tripled, to nine, since 2007, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a report today. Mississippi had the highest rate, 34 percent. About 75 million Americans are considered obese, the Atlanta-based CDC said.

Being fat is costing Americans as much as $150 billion a year from ills such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer, as obese people carry almost $1,500 more in yearly medical expenses, the CDC said in the report. The Obama administration and public-health officials have made fighting flab a priority, organizing campaigns to get people to eat less, consume more fruits and vegetables, and get more physical activity.

…soda consumption is actually declining and has been for five years now.

Sales of carbonated soft drinks in the U.S. fell for the fifth year in a row last year, although the pace of decline has slowed from 2008, according to a report from industry trademagazine Beverage Digest.

Maybe, just maybe, Americans are fat not because of any one specific industry but rather because they make poor diet and exercise decisions. Specifically, that they eat too much and exercise too little.

And maybe that really isn’t any of the government’s business. After all, doesn’t living in a free country mean being free to have an unhealthy diet and skip exercising if we want? Granted, those aren’t good decisions, but since when did freedom only mean the freedom to make what the government defines as good decisions?

But, according to the Obama administration, Americans “do not have a fundamental right to obtain any food they wish.” And according to Michelle Obama, “dessert is not a right.”

ObamaCare… New Chart

This latest chart of ObamaCare only shows about a third of the complexity of the hurricane and where it is blowing us.

High Resolution Version of Chart (PDF) »

In the garage I still have a copy of the chart for HillaryCare. It was simple, Alice's Wonderland was easier to wind through, compared to this maze, a maze we're doomed to wander in search of care.

Washington, DC – Four months after U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi famously declared “We have to pass the bill so you can find out what’s in it,” a congressional panel has released the first chart illustrating the 2,801 page health care law President Obama signed into law in March.

Developed by the Joint Economic Committee minority, led by U.S Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas and Rep. Kevin Brady of Texas, the detailed organization chart displays a bewildering array of new government agencies, regulations and mandates.

“For Americans, as well as Congressional Democrats who didn’t bother to read the bill, this first look at the final health care law confirms what many fear, that reform morphed into a monstrosity of new bureaucracies, mandates, taxes and rationing that will drive up health care costs, hurt seniors and force our most intimate health care choices into the hands of Washington bureaucrats,” said Brady, the committee’s senior House Republican. “If this is what passes for health care reform in America, then God help us all.”

Brownback, the committee’s ranking member, added, “This updated chart illustrates the overwhelming expansion of government control over health choices and the bewildering complexity facing everyone affected by this law. It doesn’t take long to see how the recently signed health care bill causes a hugely expensive and explosive expansion of federal control over health care. Personal choices that should be between a doctor and a patient will quickly be strangled in a never ending web of bureaucracy.”

Senate Steering Committee Chairman Jim DeMint (R-South Carolina) called Obamacare “a bureaucratic nightmare. The Democrats’ takeover of health care creates a byzantine network of 159 new federal programs and bureaucracies to make decisions that should be between just the patient and their doctor. It should concern everyone that at the center of this regulatory web is the new CMS chief, Donald Berwick, who has championed rationing and European socialized medicine. Americans were rightly outraged that this big government bill was rushed through Congress before anyone read or fully understood the bill’s consequences. Republicans will fight to repeal this reckless takeover and to ensure health care freedom to American families.”

In addition to capturing the massive expansion of government and the overwhelming complexity of new regulations and taxes, the chart portrays:

• $569 billion in higher taxes;
• $529 billion in cuts to Medicare;
• swelling of the ranks of Medicaid by 16 million;
• 17 major insurance mandates; and
• the creation of two new bureaucracies with powers to impose future rationing: the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute and the Independent Payments Advisory Board.
• Rationing will be a reality and from experience that means Seniors and the Disabled…. as Sarah Palin warned us all about and was vilified for!

Brady admits committee analysts could not fit the entire health care bill on one chart. “This portrays only about one-third of the complexity of the final bill. It’s actually worse than this.”

###

The War on Seniors. If you're on Medicare or if you soon will be, the future doesn't look great. You and 46 million Americans just like you are going to shoulder more than half the cost of health reform through reductions to Medicare spending. And you will bear additional burdens through indirect taxes on everything from drugs to wheelchairs and crutches.

If you are one of the 11.5 million members of Medicare Advantage plans, you may have already noticed the changes. According to a recent Wall Street Journal article, "across the country, dozens of private insurers...are preparing to pare dental, vision and certain prescription-drug coverage starting next year."

The chart below shows how cuts in spending will affect seniors in conventional Medicare and Medicare Advantage plans. It shows a little bit of pain at first, ratcheting even higher through time. It's as though politicians think seniors are like the proverbial frog in the sauce pan. If you turn the heat up slowly, the frog gets boiled before he realizes he's in trouble.

Sources: National Center for Policy Analysis and
the Congressional Budget Office

Redistributing from Old to Young. Since the enactment of Social Security in the 1930s and Medicare in the 1960s, Americans have lived by a simple compact: younger generations will pay the taxes necessary to support older generations, and, when they're old, the young will provide for them. If ObamaCare is permitted to go forward, there will be a reverse redistribution of health care resources from the elderly to the young. As a Senior Fellow from the left-leaning Brookings Institution has explained, "We badly need to...reallocate resources from the elderly to younger families."

Coming Soon: A Two Tiered Health Care System. As Joe Newhouse argued in Health Affairs recently, to follow its mandate the agency responsible for constraining Medicare costs will have to cause Medicare fees to fall further and further behind what private insurers pay. This means that seniors and the disabled would look increasingly less attractive to providers than higher paying private sector patients. In the worst case, Medicare enrollees could find that their access and quality of care is no better than the Medicaid enrollees who are compelled to rely on community health centers and safety net hospitals for their care.

The Spin from Washington. The Obama Administration has alleged that cutting Medicare benefits now will strengthen Medicare in the future. Said Nancy-Ann DeParle, head of the White House's Office of Health Reform, "I'm sure that some of those additional benefits have been nice, but I think what we have to look at here is what's fair and what's important for the strength of the Medicare program long term."

That's a nice story, but it's not the truth. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that health care reform will cut Medicare spending by more than $523 billion. These Medicare cuts aren't going to shore up Medicare's future; they are going to create a new entitlement program - taxpayer-funded health insurance for young Americans. The numbers tell the truth: during the next ten years, ObamaCare will spend $938 billion to expand health care for low-income Americans. To pay for it, ObamaCare will cut $523 billion from Medicare and, hardest hit, approximately $200 billion from Medicare Advantage. ObamaCare will also levy new taxes, including higher Medicare taxes.

Spread the Word! A health care system that prizes patient choice is possible. Since 1983, the NCPA has led the charge for patient-centered health care. Help us by forwarding this email to your friends and encourage them to sign up for the Policy Patriot Weekly Letter!

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Warm regards,

Jeanette Nordstrom - National Center for Policy Analysis

Back to BasicsA RETURN TO BASIC VALUES

House moves to repeal Obamacare individual mandate

Sent by GOP staff this afternoon:

Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives have just announced they will move to force a vote in the next 24 hours on legislation to repeal the unconstitutional “individual mandate” at the heart of President Obama’s job-killing health care law. Americans can go to this link on the America Speaking Out website starting NOW to read about the idea, vote on it, start a discussion, and share their ideas. The GOP legislation, offered by Rep. Dave Camp (R-MI), is a first step to repealing ObamaCare and replacing it with common-sense reforms that will lower health care costs and protect freedom.

GOP leader John Boehner adds:

House Republicans plan to force a vote as soon as today on a measure that would repeal the job-killing, unconstitutional ‘individual mandate’ at the heart of ObamaCare. This proposal, to be offered by House Ways & Means Committee Ranking Member Dave Camp (R-MI), will be offered as the Republican motion-to-recommit on H.R. 5486, the so-called Small Business Jobs Tax Relief Act of 2010.

Rep. Camp’s idea has been posted here on the America Speaking Out website, and Americans are urged to visit, read about the proposal, and share their ideas. House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) voiced strong support for this effort to strike at the heart of ObamaCare:

“House Republicans will force a vote to end the job-killing ‘individual mandate’ at the heart of ObamaCare during the debate on the small business deficit spending bill. We’ll highlight our effort using the ‘America Speaking Out’ website to call attention to what will be, literally, the biggest vote on the new health care law since it passed. This is a first step in Republicans’ efforts to repeal ObamaCare and replace it with commonsense, step-by-step reforms to lower costs.”

This move comes one day after the new health care law experienced its latest setback, this time in the form of new job-killing mandates that flatly contradict President Obama’s now-infamous ‘if you like it, you can keep it’ pledge. The coverage controversy is the latest in a growing list of broken promises that have solidified the American people’s opposition to this job-killing health care law:

“If You Like Your Health Care Plan” … Too Bad. In stark contrast to President Obama’s oft-stated pledge that, “If you like your health care plan, you can keep your health care plan,” his administration yesterday issued new job-killing mandates that will force a majority of the nation’s employers – including as many as four out of every five small businesses – to change or drop their coverage as the government sees fit. Even the Administration acknowledged its reversal, allowing “that some people, especially those who work at smaller businesses, might face significant changes in the terms of their coverage.”

ObamaCare Will Increase Costs, Not Lower Them As Promised. Despite President Obama’s claim that his health care plan would “slow the growth of health care costs for our families, our businesses, and our government,” analyses by both the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office and the Obama Administration’s Medicare actuary have confirmed that the new health care law will actually raise health care costs by $311 billion over 10 years.

ObamaCare Forces Millions of Seniors Off Medicare Coverage. Last week, President Obama re-launched his health care plan by promoting Medicare rebate checks that more than nine in 10 Medicare beneficiaries will never receive. An analysis conducted by the President’s own Medicare actuary indicates that the new health care law includes roughly $575 billion in Medicare cuts, which will be used to fund the creation of a massive new entitlement program. As a result of these cuts, enrollment in the popular Medicare Advantage program will be slashed in half.

ObamaCare Is Anti-Small Business. In April, Obama sought to reassure “jittery” small business owners by touting a health care tax credit in the ObamaCare bill that he claimed was “pro-jobs” and “pro-business.” But according to the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB) – which joined 20 states in a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of ObamaCare – the tax credit the Administration cites “will do little to nothing to make purchasing insurance more affordable for small firms.” According to the NFIB, only 12 percent of small businesses would benefit in any way, and the credit goes away after a short period of time.

President Obama has tried to deflect attention away from these broken promises with another tireless taxpayer-funded PR campaign, but the American people have spoken – again. Republicans are listening, and advancing this effort to repeal ObamaCare and replace it with commonsense, step-by-step reforms to lower costs and protect American jobs.

***

5:52pm Eastern update GOP Rep. Lynn Jenkins reports that the vote failed 187-230.

Here’s the roll call vote.

Constitutional challenge to ObamaCare wins the first round

Thomas Lifson

The lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of ObamaCare, brought by Virginia's Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, has won the very first legal step in a long process. A motion to dismiss brought by the Obama Administration was rejected by the judge. Rosalind S. Helderman reports on the Washington Post's Breaking News Blog:

U.S. District Court Judge Henry E. Hudson rejected arguments from Obama administration lawyers that Virginia has no standing to sue over the law and no chance of ultimately prevailing in its constitutional claim.

The suit challenges the constitutionality of the mandatory purchase of health insurance contained in the ObamaCare legislation. The next step will be a hearing of the legal arguments in Judge Hudson's courtroom in October.
Mark J. Fitzgibbons adds:

The Virginia lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of ObamaCare survived the federal government's motion to dismiss. This battle victory for Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli and his team overcame attempts by the Feds to claim Virginia does not have standing to sue, that the case was not ‘ripe' to be brought, and that the penalty for not purchasing health insurance is a ‘tax' that Congress may constitutionally impose anyway.

The 32-page opinion is a carefully written slam-dunk at this first stage. The federal judge wrote, "Never before has the Commerce Clause and associated Necessary and Proper Clause been extended this far."

The judge even quotes the Feds' brief that if the individual mandate is declared unconstitutional, "that's the end of the ballgame" for ObamaCare.

The Virginia case of course cites to judicial opinions about the Commerce Clause, the Necessary and Proper Clause, the 10^th Amendment, and so on. It is remarkable, however, in one significant sense: the Virginia case remains true to the text of the Constitution.

If the judges and justices were to remain true to the Constitution itself as this case proceeds up the judicial ladder, then ObamaCare will lose. Those hoping for ObamaCare to win will stake their claims in arguments that are not supported by the pure text of the Constitution. A win by ObamaCare proponents would result in the "end of the ballgame" for restrictions on federal power

Only repeal is real

Sign the “Repeal 2010 Healthcare Reform” Petition:

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The Truth About Obamacare

IS THERE HOPE FOR GLENN BECK'S EYES?

Struggling to maintain composure in front of 6,000 fans Glenn Beck disclosed that he had been diagnosed with a serious eye condition, macular dystrophy, a progressive genetic disorder that may lead to blindness. As he told his story he took a shot at health care reform, quipping that he “went to the best doctor I can find while I could still go to the best doctor I can find.” And sadly, all this best doctor that money can buy could tell him was that he would just have to wait and see what happens. At once, as he fought back his tears, Glenn Beck unwittingly became the symbol for millions of Americans, liberals and conservatives alike, who go to their doctor looking for solutions and leave in a humbled and hopeless frame of mind.

Glenn Beck has already turned to prayer for his hope, as would millions of Americans in a similar situation. But where are the healing doctors when they are needed? Sure you can pay a fortune for the Disney-World, high-tech medicine of today, but does that do more for anyone than the country doctor who used to have time to make house calls? The doctor whose mere presence instilled the hope that everything would now be fine. There is something terribly wrong in American medicine today, and it’s not just the cost.

Glenn Beck’s health problem, macular dystrophy, is not to be confused with the much more common cause of blindness in the United States, macular degeneration. It is a rare problem. In my 25 years on the front lines of clinical nutrition I have never seen a single person with the issue, while I have helped many with macular degeneration. Since Mr. Beck is unlikely to understand the technical nature of his problem I looked into it for him.

His problem involves his cornea, which is the major refractive structure of the outer part of the eye. This structure must hold water to provide cushioning to protect the eye while at the same time allowing light through in an unobstructed manner. A key layer of the cornea, called the corneal stroma, is developing clouds that block his vision. Scientists have identified the gene weakness involved, and the problem is considered essentially untreatable and progressive. Or is it?

The first clue that his diagnosis is atypical is that true macular dystrophy shows up early in life, as the eye structure is simply unable to maintain its integrity. So why does Mr. Beck all of a sudden have this problem show up at his age? Genes are pliable, never fixed in concrete. Gene-related problems that pop up at unexpected times tend to mean that other health problems have enabled a genetic weak spot to manifest as a medical problem. This is actually good news for Mr. Beck, as it means he has a much higher chance of keeping that weakness in check, possibly reversing the current situation or preventing it from worsening. Yes, there is a glimmer of hope.

The next step is to understand the nature of the problem. Scientists have done a fairly good job of defining how the problem presents itself. The corneal stroma is made up of something called keratin sulfate, a type of proteoglycan that is a mix of carbohydrate and protein that forms the tissue matrix of the cornea. In this case, it is highly sulfated enabling a negative charge on the structure so as to be able to hold water as cushioning in case your eye bumps into something. In macular dystrophy there is a genetic inability to synthesize keratin sulfate or the keratin sulfate that is produced is abnormal in structural integrity.

Keratin sulfate is something I happen to know quite a lot about, as it is also part of cartilage and other body tissues. I was using glucosamine as a dietary supplement before my peers, let along the general public, had any idea of its value in making proteoglycans and repairing connective tissues. I was the first to use supplemental low-molecular weight hyaluronic acid for joint repair. Hyaluronic acid is the backbone spine of a proteoglycan.

In the nutritional recovery of health we always start with basics and then move on from there. Unfortunately for Mr. Beck, because his problem is rare, there is not a great deal of science demonstrating how nutrition can help him. However, there is enough science to give suggestions that have no potential for doing any harm and a logical possibility of providing benefit – especially compared to the wait-and-see advice of health professionals who admittedly don’t know how to help.

Lumican and keratocan are the primary keratin sulfates in the cornial stroma. Without adequate lumican then collagen strands within the cornea are too thick and too close together. The absence of lumicancauses a loss of structural integrity and is the cause of the cloudiness that results in blindness. In Mr. Beck’s case if he had a true gene problem it would have been present earlier in his life. It is more likely that he has the gene problem as a weak spot that is now manifesting. This gives him hope that if he can restore lumican functionality and promote better structural integrity of the connective tissue matrix and related collagen, then he can improve his situation. Of course, no known drugs can do this. Nutrition can.

There is scientific evidence to show that DHA, the important omega 3 typically from fish oil, can increase the gene expression that directly enhances the production of lumican. DHA is the most lacking nutrient in the American diet and is almost always lacking in anyone who is overweight. While there are no human studies to prove that DHA can help atypical macular dystrophy, there is certainly no downside to trying. Typical doses likely to help range from 1000 mgs of DHA per day up to 3000 mg per day.

We’ve known since the days of scurvy the vital nature of vitamin C to form healthy collagen in connective tissue. A study clearly shows that vitamin C is needed for lumican production and integrity of the collagen structure of the cornea. Vitamin C and other antioxidants are typically low in any overweight person. I would suggest 3,000 – 5,000 mgs. per day along with a mixture of other antioxidants that act synergistically with vitamin C. In particular, I would also suggest up to 300 mg of grape seed extract. While there are no grape seed extract and lumican studies, the nutrient is well-documented for its ability to increase the strength and structural integrity of injured collagen strands.

These basic suggestions are backed by science. Of course, I am not giving medical advice for the treatment of a disease. I am giving some simple tips for nutrition to support eye structure. In this same vein Mr. Beck could do much more, taking supplements like hyaluronic acid and glucosamine that are known to enhance the formation of all types of proteoglycans.

In addition to basic nutrition Mr. Beck needs to figure out what is punching his genetic weak spot in the nose. These would be changes that were going on prior to the onset or flare up of his problem. Such changes would need to have a plausible link to his problem. In reality, this could be any kind of increased stress. Oftentimes, it could be the side effect of a medication he may be taking. Since I know little about his life or medical issues let me throw out some examples so you get the idea.

As a recovering alcoholic he has a much higher likelihood of having a low-grade chronic Candida albicans infection, typically residing in his digestive tract or sinuses. Based on his on-air obsession with sweet junk food the likelihood he has a significant Candida problem is high. Sugar feeds Candida. It is not uncommon for someone having a Candida flare up to go on a sugar-eating binge, especially when under stress, resulting in aggravating a lower-level problem into a flared up condition. There is science to show that a Candida albicans infection within the eye can drastically interfere with the production of lumican. We also know that even if the infection is not in his eye Candida albicans anywhere in his body can send messages to the human immune system and seriously disturb function. This is how digestive Candida albicans causes asthma.

Maybe Mr. Beck has been cutting his sleep short and running himself ragged. The lack of deeper REM sleep which involves rapid eye movements can significantly disturb the health of the cornea, especially in someone who has his problem or is prone to it. This problem either is or isn’t happening, but if it is then it should be solved.

Perhaps he is taking one of the drugs typically given to overweight men at mid life such as blood pressure medication or erectile dysfunction drugs like Viagra. Blood pressure pills could easily reduce the flow of nutrition to his eyes, a problem that would slowly worsen the longer he was on the medication. ED pills, which can produce friendly nitric oxide (eNOS) that relaxes the vascular system can just as easily produce hostile nitric oxide (iNOS) capable of easily damaging the eye. This is why ED pills have vision loss as a side effect. If he has a genetic weak spot then excessive iNOS could easily aggravate the problem, as would also be the case in a low oxygen eye environment induced by blood pressure medication. Doctors are in denial over the massive health-damaging side effects of the medications routinely given out. If Mr. Beck showed up with these or similar medications at his appointment then the doctor is likely to yawn and discount them as a possible contributing factor even though it is often drugs that cause genetic weak spots to manifest.

My point is that it takes some detective work to figure out what is punching Mr. Beck’s genetic weak spot in the nose. I’m sure, nine times out of ten, Mr. Beck, as is true of any patient, could describe exactly what triggered his problems. If only health professionals listened and had the intelligence to understand and take corrective action.

Whether or not anything I have suggested would fix or solve Mr. Beck’s problems is unknown. I am certainly not offering a treatment or miracle cure. I am offering common sense. And from common sense springs hope. And from hope springs the innate power of healing. While hope has been denigrated in modern science to the placebo effect, it is one of the most powerful healing forces in nature. Any physician that cannot provide realistic hope to a patient is a physician not worth having.

For the record, I’d give the same health tips to President Obama if he had this problem, as my agenda is not political. I do have a very open agenda, and that is the promotion of health freedom for the American public. I am dedicated to explaining the absolute value of nutrition and natural health not only to maintain good health but in the prevention of disease and as part of the process of helping any disease.

Americans should understand that health freedom is the leading indicator of freedom in general. Governments like to control a population’s health, especially their mental health. This is true of Republicans and Democrats, as I have clearly explained in my 2006 book, Fight for Your Health; Exposing the FDA’s Betrayal of America.

Glenn beck would love the historical examples. In Germany, a century ago, medical practitioners worked side by side with alternative healers in what was known as “the freedom to cure.” In Hitler’s rise to power alternative health was one of the first things he got rid of, replacing it with a fixation on mental health and psychiatric control of the minds of the German people. Today in America, we have extensive overuse of psychiatric medication in adults and children.

The FDA doesn’t care about such problems, rather the FDA, as a tool of whatever administration is in power, consistently works to suppress knowledge of health options to the American people. The Republican FDA does this to stamp out competition for the Big Pharma sickness industry and the Democrats do it to create a herd of pliable sheeple that will follow any public health decree. It is little wonder that leading health freedom attorney, Jonathan Emord, has called for the end to the FDA and replacing it with a humane, safe, and void-of-vested-interests free market system of drug approval.

In addition to its revolving door with the industry it is supposed to be regulating, the unelected bureaucrats at the FDA actively work against all Americans trying to sell out American sovereignty and subject Americans to foreign agreements at the expense of health freedom. The two most egregious examples are the FDA’s Trilateral Cooperation Charter, the health part of the effort of our government to create a new North American Union and harmonize us with the repressive freedom-lacking laws of Canada and Mexico. And then there is the similar international effort called Codex, in which the FDA actively lobbies against the wishes of the American people for natural health options and health freedom.

Invariably the misguided FDA works against the wishes of the majority of Americans and in the direction of making U.S. citizens conform to business interests of other countries. The FDA is central to the health problems in America, acting as a gatekeeper to the profits of industry. Example after example shows that Big Pharma could care less about the health damage they cause, other than having to pay liability claims. This is not a new problem, it has been going on for a century and Americans have paid a dear price in terms of lost quality of health and over 100,000 casualties per year.

Fundamental to the erosion of freedom in this country is the health-related loss of hope. Yes Mr. Beck, you have more than a fighting chance.

By Byron J. Richards, CCN
July 28, 2010
NewsWithViews.com

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Byron J. Richards, Board-Certified Clinical Nutritionist, nationally-renowned nutrition expert, and founder of Wellness Resources is a leader in advocating the value of dietary supplements as a vital tool to maintain health. He is an outspoken critic of government and Big Pharma efforts to deny access to natural health products and has written extensively on the life-shortening and health-damaging failures of the sickness industry.

His 25 years of clinical experience from the front lines of nutrition have made him a popular radio guest who callers find impossible to stump. He has personally developed 75 unique nutraceutical-grade nutritional supplement formulas with a focus on thyroid nutrition, healthy weight loss supplements, cardiovascular nutrition, and stress management.

FREE Subscription to Byron's Health Newsletter, click here.

E-mail: byron@truthinwellness.com

Food: The Ultimate Secret Exposed - Videos

Ready to get creeped out? This is all True!! The people in the know have been writing about these things for years!

Video: Food: the Ultimate Secret Exposed – PT 1/2

Food: The Ultimate Secret Exposed - PT 2/2

Video: Dr. Russell Blaylock on AJ Tv “The Rockerfellers & Social Engineering” PT 1/5

Video: Nutrition & Behavior: A Lecture By Russell Blaylock, MD

Video: Rockefeller NWO RFID Chip Implanted in Everyone (Britain Blocks This Info)

The provisions for this have already been passed in the Stimulus Bill and the ObamaCare Bill

Video: Caller Ask About Fluoride being Added to Food - Alex Jones Tv

Filling Your Home With Mercury

Video: WARNING: Swine Flu (H1N! virus) Vaccine DEADLY!

The Obama Deception HQ Full Length Version

Pregnancy Denial

Why Are French Women Killing Their Babies?

The question is as horrifying as it is important to ask: Why are a rising number of French women killing their newborn babies? Finding the answer has become a matter of urgency following the discovery Wednesday of eight infants allegedly smothered to death and buried by their mother in northern France. And with that case marking at least the fifth instance of multiple infanticide reported in France since 2003, it's now become vital for the nation to seriously confront the phenomenon that appears to be behind it all: a mental condition known as pregnancy denial.

This latest case of newborn murder in France was uncovered in the northern town of Villiers-au-Tertre, after eight tiny bodies were found buried in the gardens of two separate homes. Six of the cadavers were unearthed on July 29 by police at the house of Dominique Cottrez, 45, and her husband Pierre-Marie, 47.

Investigators searched their home after the current resident of a house previously owned by Dominique's parents turned up two tiny bodies on July 24 while digging a pool in the backyard. According to the French prosecutor leading the inquiry in the town a short distance south of Lille, Dominique has admitted to hiding her pregnancies - and the killings of her babies - from her husband, who police describe as being "dumb-struck" by the revelations. Dominique was charged for the murders; Pierre-Marie has been cleared of wrongdoing and released, but could yet become the subject of investigation. (See the top 10 crime stories of 2009.)

The case in Villiers-au-Tertre is only the most recent example of a father of slain babies being apparently unaware of his wife's pregnancies. Four other such cases since 2003 include that of VÉronique Courjault, 42, who was convicted in June 2009 of killing three of her newborns - two of whom she hid in a freezer, and which were later discovered by her husband. Just last March, CÉline Lesage, 38, was found guilty of murdering six of her babies after she hid her pregnancies from the men who had fathered them. Both were sentenced to prison terms; Courjault for eight years and Lesage for 15.

Experts explained each of those cases as resulting from pregnancy denial, an often misunderstood and minimized condition. According to Michel Delcroix, a former gynecologist who served as a court expert in the Courjault trial and others involving pregnancy issues, pregnancy denial is a quasi-schizophrenic condition in which women either don't realize or cannot accept that they are with child - not even enough to have their unwanted babies aborted. Whether these women are afflicted by the condition before they deliver or as they're suddenly giving birth, Delcroix explains, the psychological denial of their pregnancy is so strong that they refuse to believe it even when it confronts them as reality.

"These women are so convinced pregnancy is impossible that once the child they never wanted arrives, they don't accept it as real and get rid of it to restore order to what they believe is non-pregnant reality," Delcroix says. "However terrible its consequences, pregnancy denial acts in infanticide cases much as a psychotic state that drives someone to kill another person does. Yet we still try women for what they do during pregnancy denial when we don't try psychotic killers deemed not responsible for their actions." Delcroix and others who are fighting for pregnancy denial to be medically and legally recognized as an illness argue that improving ways to identify and treat women with the ailment makes more sense than simply punishing the crimes they commit as a result of it.

What causes the condition? Several things, Delcroix says, including previous trauma such as beatings and rape. But other non-physical factors can also be involved, and denial can kick in even if a woman has had and raised children without problem previously - Lesage has a 14-year-old son; Dominique Cottrez has two grown daughters. And while pregnancy denial has been around for decades or longer, Delcroix says it's now rising in frequency. The probable reason, he says, is changes in wider social factors that have downgraded the value of childhood, parenting and family.

But in some cases, it can also be a matter of women simply failing to see themselves as mothers. "Some women never manage to update their self-identity during pregnancy, [while others] want to become pregnant without wanting to procreate," psychiatrist Pierre Lamothe told Le Parisien on Thursday. "When the child arrives, it doesn't really exist for them. They don't give it life, in psychological terms. If they saw it as a [real] baby, they wouldn't kill it." (See the 25 crimes of the past century.)

Others just never realize - or acknowledge - that they're with child. Experts on pregnancy denial say most sufferers are either sufficiently overweight or experience such little body change that they simply assume they've gained some weight. In France, 230 women a year discover their pregnancy only while giving birth. Though only a fraction resort to infanticide, Delcroix fears that there are more of those cases that remain undiscovered than there are ones that come to light, as in Villiers-au-Tertre. And he poses a chilling question: does anyone really believe that the spreading phenomenon of pregnancy denial - and the infanticide it can lead to - is purely a French problem?

By BRUCE CRUMLEY / PARIS Bruce Crumley / Paris

http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20100729/wl_time/08599200735900

Related:

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Reposted: True Health Is True Wealth

2050: 1.1 Million Over 100 Years Old; Their Aging Brains

Over-turn ObamaCare and the Opportunity of More People Living to 100+ will Happen

Amy Sherman  -  Mclatchy-Tribune News Service.

07-21-10

There was a recent article in my local paper about brain fitness and how to retain optimal brain function well into our senior years. As boomers, we are all concerned about moments of memory loss and wonder if we are experiencing dementia or other signs of cognitive impairment.

Chances are our memory loss is more about our ability to retrieve information and filter out unnecessary irrelevant material than it is about cognitive decline and illness. Because there's so much information bogging us down and distracting us, it becomes difficult to shut off the "noise" long enough to remember what we want to remember. That makes us feel forgetful and susceptible to those numerous senior moments.

However, we can't ignore that cognitive decline may happen, but we don't have to feel helpless to the aging process. Most researchers will agree that a challenged, stimulated brain will retain and regenerate brain cells and that translates into maintaining, restoring and revitalizing cognitive acuity well into the golden years of our lives.

Therefore, if you want to slow up the aging process, you may want to learn a new language, do crossword puzzles, play Sudoku or take piano lessons to reduce your risk of getting Alzheimer's or other forms of dementia.

Research is now taking aging a step further. Apparently, not only is it important to learn challenging new experiences, but it is important to do so in a social setting, connecting and interacting with others. The University of Southern California has been studying this concept with a group of seniors who are well into their 90s. The key to their brain health is their afternoon bridge game where they are required to maintain a strong focus by remembering the bidding, the dealt hands and the strategies of their partner.

These residents in Southern California are considered the most successful seniors in the world. In fact, this research is altering the way scientists are looking at the aging brain. While mental exercises and good diet can't hurt to keep you healthy and alert, it seems you need to be involved socially with others to maintain your cognitive alertness and acuity.

Successful aging is really based on lifelong choices, a good attitude and a keen sense of your life's purpose. The Census Bureau estimates that by 2050 there will be 1.1 million people 100 years old. Baby boomers who continue to train their brain on a regular basis are twice as likely to retain high cognitive function than someone who doesn't. This means that if you start now, you'll reap the rewards of a healthy, sharp, active brain for many fruitful years to come.

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Amy Sherman is a licensed mental health counselor and trainer. She is the founder of Baby Boomers' Network, a resource designed to give baby boomers the insights, information and inspiration they need to live their best lives. She is the author of the ebook, "Distress-Free Aging: A Boomer's Guide to Creating a Fulfilled and Purposeful Life" and "The Joy of Optimism 10-Lesson eCourse." To learn more, go to www.bummedoutboomer.com. Amy can be reached at amy@bummedoutboomer.com

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See more Basil & Spice content at www.basilandspice.com.

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(c) 2010, Basil & Spice

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

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Codex Alimentarius Signed Into Law By Obama!

Weekly New Tips

Codex Alimentarius Signed Into Law By Obama!

 

What is Codex Alimentarius? The quick and dirty version-A law to make vitamins and supplements either illegal or extremely costly. In 1996, the German delegation put forward a proposal that no herb, vitamin or mineral should be sold for preventive or therapeutic reasons, and that supplements should be reclassified as drugs. [This is their true intention.] The proposal was agreed, but protests halted its implementation. The 28th Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission was subsequently held July 4 - July 9, 2005. Among the many issues discussed were the "Guidelines for Vitamin and Mineral Food Supplements", which were adopted during the meeting as new global safety guidelines. This text has been the subject of considerable controversy, in part because many member countries may choose to regulate dietary supplements as therapeutic goods or pharmaceuticals or by some other category. [In our case, we do not have many member countries. It's just the United States. Therefore, it will be enforced in an entirely different light than the European Union.]

The Codex Alimentarius (Latin for "food code" or "food book") is a collection of internationally recognized standards, codes of practice, guidelines and other recommendations relating to foods, food production and food safety. Its texts are developed and maintained by the Codex Alimentarius Commission, a body that was established in 1963 by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO). The Commission's main aims are stated as being to protect the health of consumers and ensure fair practices in the international food trade. The Codex Alimentarius is recognized by the World Trade Organization as an international reference point for the resolution of disputes concerning food safety and consumer protection. Below is the Exact document from the White House Website. http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/executive-order-establishing-national-prevention-health-promotion-and-public-health The White House Office of the Press Secretary For Immediate Release June 10, 2010 Executive Order-- Establishing the National Prevention, Health Promotion, and Public Health Council EXECUTIVE ORDER ESTABLISHING THE NATIONAL PREVENTION, HEALTH PROMOTION, AND PUBLIC HEALTH COUNCIL By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including section 4001 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Public Law 111-148), it is hereby ordered as follows: Here is an excerpt: "Section 6 (g) contains specific plans to ensure that all prevention programs outside the Department of Health and Human Services are based on the science-based guidelines developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention under subsection (d) of this section." In other words, ALL prevention programs, even those outside of the umbrella of the Department of Health and Human Services, must align with CDC guidelines, which are "science-based." What do we take for prevention? Herbs and vitamins. Herbs that you grow in your backyard and vitamins that are not approved by your doctor do not fall under these "science-based" guidelines, and are not allowed. Therefore, this will effectively open the door to outlawing ALL disease prevention practices that use herbs and vitamins not prescribed by a doctor, and implement CODEX ALIMENTARIUS right here in the good old U.S.A. You can of course go to the White House website and get the entire document. If you have not heard about this law, which has already been approved, and on the books from any mainstream media, you should most definitely jump up and down and know that the bad guys have succeeded in pulling the wool over the general public's head again. On a very casual survey, every single vitamin shop that I have talked to in the last two days have absolutely no clue that this is a fact in the United States. The fact that it has been devoid of mainstream media means that there are other plans in the works. I've already started to see some red herrings being thrown about in the Senate how they need to address this subject of Codex Alimentarius when it has already been put in law. This executive order completely bypassed Congress and the general open discussion on this particular subject of food, vitamins, and prevention. Please forward this short e-mail to as many health practitioners, friends, alternative doctors, for this is the only way this data will get around. I expect two types of response. Either it's the good old ostrich head in the sand, or the tiger on cocaine. Something can always be done! Just because the law is on the books, does not mean that it can't be repealed! And repealed it shall be!  And Executive Orders are often nullified when the next President comes into office.  So please help us stand up and get the word out. Remember that when they tried to change the organic laws to allow city sewage sludge & other things, it was the public outcry that stopped it. You do have the power-use it!

Source: Go Beyond Organic  -  Posted:  True Health Is True Wealth

Black Listed Cancer Treatment(s) Could Save Your Life… Hidden, Stolen and Blocked…

     As unbelievable as it seems the key to stopping many cancers has been around for over 30 years. Yet it has been banned. Blocked. And kept out of your medicine cabinet by the very agency designed to protect your health -- the FDA.

     In 1966, the senior oncologist at a prominent NY hospital rocked the medical world when he developed a serum that "shrank cancer tumors in 45 minutes!"

     Headlines hit every major paper around the world. Scientists and researchers applauded. Time and again this life-saving treatment worked miracles, but the FDA shut him down, ignoring the research he had done and the hope he had given to many.

     You read that right. He was not only shut down -- but also forced out of the United States where others may have benefited from his discovery. That was 32 years ago. How many other treatments have they been allowed to hide? Just as in the case of this miracle serum, these too go unmentioned.

Two-Nutrient Cancer Breakthrough...

     Decades ago, European research scientist Dr. Johanna Budwig, a six-time Nobel Award nominee, discovered a totally natural formula. It not only protects against the development of cancer, but fights existing cancer as well. People all over the world who were diagnosed with incurable cancer and sent home to die have greatly benefited from this research and went on to lead normal lives-- thanks to this amazing formula.

     After 30 years of study, Dr. Budwig observed that the blood of seriously ill cancer patients was deficient in certain nutrients. It was the lack of these nutrients that allowed cancer cells to grow out of control.

     By simply eating a combination of two natural and delicious foods (found on page 134) not only can cancer be prevented -- but in case after case it was actually healed! "Symptoms of cancer, liver dysfunction, and diabetes were completely alleviated." Remarkably, what Dr. Budwig discovered was a totally natural way for eradicating cancer.

     However, when she went to publish these results so that everyone could benefit -- she was blocked by drug manufacturers who stood to lose a lot of money. Since natural substances cannot be patented, drug companies won't make money by marketing them. For over 10 years now her methods have proved effective -- yet she is denied publication -- blocked by the giants who don't want you to read her words.

What's more, the world is full of expert minds like Dr. Budwig who have pursued cancer remedies and come up with remarkable natural formulas and diets that work for hundreds and thousands of patients. How to Fight Cancer & Win author William Fischer has studied these methods and revealed their secrets for you -- so that you or someone you love may be spared the horrors of conventional cancer treatments.

As early as 1947, Virginia Livingston, M.D., isolated a cancer-causing microbe. She noted that every cancer sample analyzed (whether human or other animal) contained it.

This microbe -- a bacteria that is actually in each of us from birth to death -- multiplies and promotes cancer when the immune system is weakened by disease, stress, or poor nutrition. Worst of all, the microbes secrete a special hormone protector that short-circuits our body's immune system -- allowing the microbes to grow undetected for years. No wonder so many patients are riddled with cancer by the time it is detected. But there is hope even for them...

Turn to page 82 of How to Fight Cancer & Win for the delicious diet that can help stop the formation of cancer cells and shrink tumors.

They walked away from traditional cancer treatments...and were healed!

Throughout the pages of How to Fight Cancer & Win, you'll meet real people who were diagnosed with cancer -- suffered through harsh conventional treatments -- turned their backs on so called modern medicine -- only to be miraculously healed by natural means! Here is just a sampling of what others have to say about the book.

"We purchased How to Fight Cancer & Win, and immediately my husband started following the recommended diet for his just diagnosed colon cancer. He refused the surgery that our doctors advised. Since following the regime recommended in the book he has had no problems at all, cancer-wise. If not cured, we believe the cancer has to be in remission." -- Thelma B.

"I bought How to Fight Cancer & Win and this has to be the greatest book I've ever read. I have had astounding results from the easy to understand knowledge found in this book. My whole life has improved drastically and I have done so much for many others. The information goes far beyond the health thinking of today." -- Hugh M.

"I can't find adequate words to describe my appreciation of your work in providing How to Fight Cancer & Win. You had to do an enormous amount of research to bring this vast and most important knowledge to your readers.

My doctor found two tumors on my prostate with a high P.S.A. He scheduled a time to surgically remove the prostate, but I canceled the appointment. Instead I went on the diet discussed in the book combined with another supplement. Over the months my P.S.A. has lowered until the last reading was one point two." -- Duncan M.

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Study: Adult stem cells successful in restoring sight

Posted on Jul 6, 2010 | by Tom Strode

WASHINGTON (BP)--Adult stem cells have restored sight to more than three-fourths of patients blinded by chemical burns to their eyes, according to a new research study.

The results, reported at the International Society for Stem Cell Research meeting in San Francisco, showed success in 77 percent of people in the study after one or two procedures, according to Bloomberg News. It showed partial success in 13 percent of the cases and failure in 10 percent.

Italian researchers tracked participants in the study for an average of three years, some for as many as 10 years.

The procedure involved taking healthy stem cells from a patient's eye and, after growing them, layering the tissue onto the injured eyes, Bloomberg reported. The stem cells were taken from the limbus, which is at the intersection of the cornea and the sclera, the white portion of the eye. The cells produced a healthy cornea in the successful cases, resulting in an eye that is normal in color and appearance.

"The patients, they are happy, even the partial successes," said lead researcher Graziella Pellegrini of the University of Modena's Center for Regenerative Medicine, according to Bloomberg. "We have a couple of patients who were blind in both eyes. Can you imagine for these patients the change in their quality of life?"

The study involved treatment of 112 people.

The method may assist in other therapies, a researcher said.
"This is bigger than just the surface of the eye," said Ivan Schwab, a stem cell researcher at the University of California-Davis, according to Bloomberg. Schwab said it may work on regenerating "livers or other organs."

The study is another success for adult, or non-embryonic, stem cells, which have produced therapies in trials for at least 73 ailments in human beings, according to Do No Harm, a coalition promoting ethics in research. Embryonic stem cell research, which results from the destruction of human embryos, has yet to generate successful treatments in human beings.
--30--

Tom Strode is Washington bureau chief of Baptist Press.

Posted: WallBuilders - Cross-Posted: True Health Is True Wealth

Beginning at 6.22 mins in the GB American Revival Below (Part 3) and into the beginning of Part 4, Glenn Beck talks about having been diagnosed with Macular Dystrophy… and that he could go blind.

How Many Red Bulls Would Kill You??

How many Red Bulls would it take to kill me?

How Many Red Bulls Would Kill You?

Image via Wikipedia

The folks at Energy Fiend have developed an online calculator called “Death by Caffeine” that tells you roughly how many Red Bulls, Monsters, Rock Stars, etc you’d have to drink to keel over. The number of drinks you can choose from on the killer-drink drop down menu is staggering, but upon closer inspection it looks like they include regular sodas like Pepsi, Coke and the like along with the amped up drinks (and even energy mints and coffee ice cream).

I’m going to enter my information, choosing Red Bull as my initial poison. Here’s the result:

It would take 204.75 cans of Red Bull to put you down.

Comparatively:

Gulp down 474.78 cans of Coca-Cola Classic and you’re history.

You could drink 297.82 cans of Mountain Dew before croaking.

It would take 109.20 cups of Starbucks Tall Caffe Americano to put you down.

If you eat 341.25 Cups of Haagen-Dazs Coffee Ice Cream, you’ll be pushing up daisies.

By the way (and I say this as a die-hard coffee drinker), imbibing caffeine to stay awake is one of the silliest things we humans do. The reason is this: in the brain, caffeine acts as an antagonist (a blocker) of adenosine–the neurotransmitter that pushes us closer and closer to sleep until we nod off–and it’s very good at accomplishing this. The problem is that with less exposure to adenosine, we become even more sensitive to the neurotransmitter’s effects. If we reduce our intake of caffeine, or simply become more tolerant of it, we actually find ourselves becoming more tired. So then we jack up the caffeine to counteract the withdrawal, but that just increases our tolerance.

Takeaway: you can only fool your brain into not sleeping for so long before succumbing to the inevitable crash.

HT: MindHacks

Carbo Unloading

Healthy Food Choices

There could be more heart- disease dangers in your diet than the usual suspects. By Paula Goodyer.

--------------------

WHEN CONSIDERING which foods increase the risk of heart disease, you might think of fatty bacon rashers, but not a bowl of refined breakfast cereal. But to defend arteries from the thickening and hardening that can lead to heart disease and stroke, it might pay to be choosy about your carbs.

We're all familiar with the standard dietary advice to head off heart disease - avoid saturated fat and trans fats in favor of healthier fats. But, according to Professor Jennie Brand-Miller of the School of Molecular Biosciences at the University of Sydney, there's growing evidence that too many carbohydrates with a high Glycemic Index (GI) - the kind that cause rapid rises in blood sugar - may also contribute to heart disease.

The trouble with a diet heavy on rapidly digested carbohydrate foods - such as many white breads, refined breakfast cereals, processed snack foods, biscuits and potatoes - is their potential to increase levels of blood glucose. High levels of glucose are "toxic" to arteries, Brand-Miller explains. "Not only do they encourage plaque to form in the artery walls, they also cause inflammation that ages arteries, making them stiffer and less elastic, while also increasing the formation of blood clots."

And it's not just people with diabetes who are likely to have high blood glucose levels either - increasing numbers of Kiwis and Australians now have blood glucose levels that hover somewhere between normal and diabetic, and that's not healthy.

"This isn't saying that high GI carbohydrates are the only villain as far as arteries are concerned - it means we need to beware of both too much saturated fat and too many high GI carbohydrates," says Brand-Miller. "It's the quality of both carbohydrates and fat that influence heart health. Carbs and fat both taste good - but we have to be choosy about which type we eat."

Some research also suggests women's hearts may be more easily damaged by high GI carbs than those of men. A study recently published in the Archives of Internal Medicine found that in women, but not men, a high carb intake more than doubled the risk of developing heart disease over an eight-year period. Eating more high GI carbs seemed to increase the risk, while eating more low GI carbs did not. But with men it was a different story - the amount of carbohydrate foods and their GI rating didn't seem to matter - at least not to their heart health.

Why carbs should have an effect in women, but not men, isn't clear, but Brand- Miller speculates that heart disease might develop in a different way in women compared to men.

"Some research has found that a predictor of heart disease in women is a high level of C-reactive protein (CRP), a substance measured in blood that's a sign of inflammation. This low grade inflammation is probably a result of oxidative stress - and this fits in with the idea that a high GI diet can increase oxidative stress. A study at the University of Sydney has suggested that women may be more vulnerable to the effects of high GI carbohydrates on weight gain, but it's only a hypothesis - we don't know for sure."

None of this is to say that you should never bake a potato or eat toasted Turkish but it does suggest it's not smart to let refined carbs and potatoes dominate your diet. And not just for your heart's sake either.

A broad mix of vegetables and eating denser, grainier breads delivers a lot more heart healthy nutrients and fiber.

Sunday Star-Times - 07-14-10

DNA 'molecular scissors' discovered

2010-07-12

Scientists at the University of Dundee have discovered a protein that acts as a 'molecular scissors' to repair damaged DNA in our cells, a finding which could have major implications for cancer treatments.

Dr John Rouse and colleagues in the Medical Research Council (MRC) Protein Phosphorylation Unit, which is based in the College of Life Sciences at Dundee, discovered a protein, known as FAN1, which is present in each cell and plays a vital role in maintaining healthy DNA and thus prevents mutations which can lead to cancers.

'The DNA in our cells is like an instruction manual for the proper working of each cell,' said Dr Rouse, a Programme Leader in the Medical Research Council Protein Phosphorylation Unit in the College of Life Sciences.

'A major problem is that DNA becomes damaged regularly. If DNA damage is not fixed quickly then these instructions are changed and the result is mutations - undesirable changes in DNA - that can cause the cell to become abnormal. This is essentially what causes cancer.

'However, cells are very good at recognising when DNA has become damaged and they are good at finding DNA damage and repairing it. For example, cells can quickly detect breakages in DNA and quickly fix these breaks. Many different factors help this process but we still haven't identified all of them or exactly how this process works.

'With our findings we have unlocked a major part of the puzzle. We discovered a new protein, FAN1, which is essential for the repair of DNA breaks and other types of DNA damage.

'During repair of DNA damage, DNA 'flaps' are produced that must be trimmed for repair to be completed. These leftover pieces of DNA get in the way during DNA repair and that is why they have to be removed. FAN1 carries out this task, and in this sense it acts like a 'molecular scissors'.

'Our study shows that superfluous pieces of DNA are cut by FAN1. Cells that do not have FAN1 are unable to repair DNA breaks and their DNA becomes irreversibly damaged and cells die. This underlines the fundamental importance of FAN1.

Physorg

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

Filling your home with mercury

If you've fallen for the compact fluorescent (CFL) light bulb scam, you're the one getting screwed -- in more ways than one.

Not only are these things expensive and dim, they're also dangerous. A reader named Ken wrote in to say that these bulbs did a number on him.

"I think the new CFL light bulbs are death," he wrote. "I am extremely angry at them for allowing them to be sold without a warning on the box!!"

Allowing? Heck, Ken -- they're MANDATING it. CFLs are the law of land, passed by those dim bulbs in Congress. Starting in 2012, America's beacon of freedom is going to be a mercury-laden death ray -- and that light will be shining on YOU.

There's emerging evidence that these bulbs can cause seizures and dizziness, worsen migraine headaches and send lupus patients doubling over in agony. They've been linked to skin disorders and even cancer.

I can only wonder what else they'll discover when hundreds of millions of people are forced to sit under these bulbs all day, every day... at home, at work, and everywhere in between.

Even worse, CFL bulbs are filled with mercury. They'll tell you it's a "tiny" amount, but a single bulb contains enough mercury to contaminate 6,000 gallons of water.

Does that sound safe to you?

Let me shine a little light in this one: Small amounts of mercury can lay waste to your central nervous system, and all it takes is a whiff, taste or touch. Mercury can damage your vision, ruin your speech, wreck your hearing, turn you into a herky-jerky spastic, and give you the rash of a lifetime.

Ever hear the phrase "mad as a hatter?" It's because hatters worked with mercury -- and it literally drove them nuts.

And when the greenies get their way, we'll all be mad hatters. After all, light bulbs break -- and it's just a matter of time before you and your family are exposed to mercury from a shattered CFL bulb.

All that, and I haven't even touched on what's going to happen when all the mercury from discarded and "recycled" bulbs seeps into the ground and ends up in the already-filthy water supply.

I'm no fan of ordinary incandescent lights, either -- I'm convinced they're responsible for poor health and cataracts. But in this case it's a lesser of two evils. And if you hope to keep using them, you'd better stock up now.

Soon, you won't have a choice.

William Campbell Douglass II, M.D.