It's funny how often "cutting edge" science looks a lot like articles that have been around for years. Take this "recent discovery" for example: A key adrenal hormone can help beat menopause and boost sexual wellbeing and satisfaction in women.
That's great news...but it's certainly not new. Some people are just now starting to pay attention.
It's called dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA).
So to some of you, it's old news, but to the rest of the world, the new research must have been eye-popping: DHEA went toe-to-toe against standard hormone replacement therapy and a synthetic steroid, and matched both for menopause relief.
That's because DHEA boosts both androgen and estrogen plasma levels in women -- offering many of the same benefits of estrogen replacement therapy, and none of the side effects.
And if that's not reason enough to put DHEA on your shopping list, the hormone again matched HRT -- and flat-out beat the steroid -- when it came to sexual wellbeing, leading to more desire, ability and activity.
Women hearing about this for the first time probably don't realize that DHEA is responsible for nearly 70 percent of female sex hormones before menopause and almost 100 percent of estrogens after "the change."
Yet it's also right around that same time that your DHEA levels plummet -- so naturally, the ability and the desire sink right along with it.
This same hormone is also essential to male sexual function, and that's not all it can do. DHEA can stimulate the immune system, prevent cancer, fight aging, protect the brain and boost the mood -- all in men and women alike.
And believe it or not, that's not even close to the full list of benefits.
If you're past a certain age, you almost certainly need a supplement -- but while DHEA is inexpensive and widely available (despite the best efforts of Big Pharma to get it banned), don't fly solo on this one. Talk to a naturopathic physician who can check your levels and help you figure out just how much you need.
Study - Statin Drugs Linked to Diabetes
(NaturalNews) A new study confirms a dangerous statin drug side effect: diabetes. Researchers at Harvard Medical School report women over the age of 45 are much more likely to develop diabetes if they're taking a statin drug.
The study followed more than 153,000 postmenopausal women who enrolled in the Women's Health Initiative study in the 1990s. At the time they enrolled, none of these women had diabetes. Researchers followed up with the women in 2005, and found that nearly 10 percent of women taking statins developed diabetes, compared to only 6.4 percent in women who did not take statin drugs.
Some experts are calling this a "slight" or "modest" increase. However, crunching the numbers reveals a different result: this is a whopping 50 percent increase in the risk for developing diabetes! Because statin drugs are the darling of the medical community, this risk is being played down. But with millions of Americans taking statin drugs, a 50 percent increase really adds up.
This is hardly the first study to turn up the link between statins and diabetes. In fact, there have been several studies demonstrating the same results. For instance, statins were also shown to increase diabetes risk in a randomized controlled study in 2008. More reports about the connection between diabetes and statin drugs were published in The Lancet in 2010 and yet again in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 2011.
Although statins are supposed to be helping our hearts, they may be doing just the opposite. The link between diabetes and heart disease is frighteningly strong. The official website for the American Heart Association says, "Adults with diabetes are two to four times more likely to have heart disease or a stroke than adults without diabetes."
Statins: The scourge of modern medicine?
Unfortunately, diabetes isn't the only serious health problem connected with statins. These drugs have previously been linked to liver damage, kidney failure and cataracts. Statins are also associated with memory loss and depression. It's time to start taking these risks seriously and stop glorifying the use of statin drugs.
Study: Nearly all women with breast cancer have parabens in their breast tissue
They are added to everything from shampoos and deodorants to processed foods and pharmaceutical drugs in order to inexpensively extend shelf life and improve product stability. But a new study out of the University of Reading (UR) in the UK has found that, based on tests conducted, nearly every single woman with breast cancer has one or more paraben chemicals in her breast tissue, suggesting a possible link between the chemical and the disease.
According to the UK's Daily Mail, Dr. Philippa Darbre and her team from UR gathered tissue samples from 40 women who were undergoing mastectomies for breast cancer between the years of 2005 and 2008. The team took four different tissue samples from each woman at separate times, which collectively totaled 160 samples, and performed an extensive analysis on each of their contents.
In the end, the group found that 99 percent of the breast tissue samples contained at least one type of paraben, while 60 percent contained at least five. And while the presence of parabens in cancer-infected breast tissue does not necessarily imply that the chemicals are responsible for causing the disease, it sure does lend suspicion to the notion that parabens could be a potential culprit.
"The intriguing discovery that parabens are present even in women who have never used underarm products raises the question: where have these chemicals come from?" asked Dr Darbre after observing that even women who did not use typical paraben-containing products still had the chemical in their breast tissue. "The fact that parabens were present in so many of the breast tissue samples does justify further investigation."
In a separate study, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that nearly every human urine sample tested contained parabens. This is particularly concerning, since research compiled by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) suggests that parabens are linked to causing organ system toxicity, reproductive and fertility problems, birth and developmental defects, and endocrine (hormone) disruption. (http://www.ewg.org/chemindex/term/563).
When shopping for personal care products and food, be sure to read all ingredient labels carefully to avoid unnecessary exposure to parabens. High-quality personal care products, for instance, will often contain helpful labels indicating that they do not contain parabens.
Antibiotics In Our Food Supply
I sometimes wonder if FDA officials give any thought to the way their decisions affect their own families. I mean, don't they have kids and grandkids? Don't they have parents, husbands and wives, brothers and sisters, and friends they care about?
When powerful drug companies and food industry giants are given an absurdly long leash when it comes to public safety, everyone is affected -- including all those individual people who are personally important to decision-making FDA officials.
I'm thinking about this today because the agency recently made a decision that will likely have an enormous negative health impact on untold numbers of people for years to come -- mothers, fathers, kids, grandkids...and even FDA officials themselves.
The first time I heard this statistic I was bowled over -- it's just staggering...
About 80 percent of all the antibiotics made in the U.S. are used on livestock. Just think about that. Millions of people use antibiotics every day, and yet that's a relatively small fraction compared to out-of-control antibiotic use on factory farms.
Many years ago, meat producers realized that their healthy animals gained weight when antibiotics were put in their feed. Since then, that one simple detail has added up to vast additional profits for food producers and drug companies.
Good for profits. Bad for people.
It's been more than 30 years since the FDA first acknowledged that antibiotic use in healthy livestock creates a growing threat to public health. Over all those decades, millions upon millions of people have filled their plates (and their stomachs) with meat containing traces of those antibiotics.
It's no surprise that this significantly contributes to our overall antibiotic resistance, prompting bacteria to mutate into "superbugs." And one of those superbug strains -- the exceedingly dangerous MRSA -- kills thousands of hospital patients every year.
But as we've seen time and time again, the FDA is not likely to say, "No," to either the food industry or the drug industry when boatloads of money are involved. And this antibiotic issue is no exception.
According to a recent FDA notice, Congress has told the agency that more research is needed before any action is taken. Thirty-five years, and they need more research? It's absurd!
Well...put it this way: It's absurd from a public health point of view. But from the point of view of Congress, which is fueled by big donors in mammoth industries (such as drugs and food) it's just business as usual.
Meanwhile, FDA officials say they'll move forward in promoting voluntary guidance. Voluntary! They're actually going to ask factory farmers and drug executives to voluntarily curb their profits in the interest of public health. Yeah, that will work.
When you're shopping, look for one of these three seals that ensures the meat comes from animals that have not been fattened with antibiotics:
1) USDA Certified Organic
2) American Grassfed Certified
3) Animal Welfare Approved and Certified Humane
You know...if you're not interested in waiting another 35 years for the FDA (or forever for the voluntary changes).
Reaerch Shows How Fatty Meats Can Beat Dementia
A healthy diet rich in key nutrients can protect your brain and keep dementia at bay? Yes that's the latest "discovery" from the mainstream.
More than 100 old folks -- many in their 80s -- were given blood tests along with tests to measure their cognitive abilities. Many were even given MRIs to establish brain size and volume.
And after all that, the researchers found that seniors with the biggest brains and best cognitive abilities had the highest levels of vitamins C, D, and E along with B vitamins such as B6, B12 and folate, and the omega-3 fatty acids.
Obviously, ALL of those nutrients are already well-known brain boosters -- especially those fatty acids. Your brain is 60 percent fat, and the most prominent fat in your noggin is the omega-3 fatty acid DHA. DHA is also one of the few fats with the power to cross the blood-brain barrier, so it goes to work the moment you eat it.
Vitamins C and D are positively critical to brain function -- and B vitamins, even on their own, have proven time and again to help slow the brain shrinkage that comes with aging, boost memory and cognition and beat dementia.
The key point here -- the one the researchers missed, of course -- is that the best sources of B vitamins as well as omega-3 fatty acids are the very foods you've been told NOT to eat: grass-fed meats and fatty fish.
Meanwhile, the same study confirmed that the trans fats in vegetable oils -- the junk STILL found in margarine and supposedly healthy snacks despite claims to the contrary -- can shrink the brain and cause cognitive function to plummet.
In other words, "unhealthy" meats will save your brain... and "healthy" vegetable oils will rot it from the inside.
Comment:
We get far too much vegetable oil in our diet from hundreds of different sources. This causes an imbalance in our system and can only be corrected by increasing your intake of Omega 3 fatty acids from fish, flax and nuts. An easy solution to help the situation is to use olive oil, coconut oil or even grape seed oil, in place of all vegetable oils. Coconut and grape seed oil can handle higher temperatures for frying when needed. A light olive oil will be able to cook at a higher temperature compared to extra virgin olive oil and will have a milder taste when desired. Many important vitamins are fat soluable and must have fats to be utilized by our body. Fat is a necessary and helpful food as long a you eat the right type of fat.
Until next time, stay healthy and happy,
JD Roma
The information on this blog is provided for educational purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional medical care, and medical advice and services are not being offered. If you have, or suspect you have, a health problem you should consult your physician (preferably a Naturopath).
No comments:
Post a Comment