Here are a few items I have collected concerning current health issues:
Just one soda per day can cause heart attacks in men
(NaturalNews) You have no doubt heard that sugary, high-fructose soda is a major contributing factor to the nation's ever-growing waistline, but new research indicates that even in moderation, drinking just one soda a day is a major health risk, especially for men.
According to a new study published in the medical journal Circulation, a daily soda increases your heart risk, even if it's not leading to much weight gain.
The ingestion of such high concentrations of sugar "appears to be an independent risk factor for heart disease," says the study's lead author Frank Hu, M.D., a professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH), in Boston.
"Continually subjecting our bodies to high amounts of glucose, to high blood sugar levels that trigger large secretions of insulin results in stresses that in the long run show up as high risk of heart disease and diabetes," the study's co-author, Dr. Walter Willett, told CBS News.
The study tracked 42,833 men over 22 years, following their diet, weight, smoking and exercise patterns. In the end, researchers discovered that men who drank a single 12-ounce soda per day increased their risk of heart attack by 20 percent.
So much sugar, so little time
The researchers said a typical 12-ounce soda contains a whopping 10 teaspoons of sugar, which is a very large amount over a relatively short period of time. But they also said the study didn't necessarily confirm that sugar itself was to blame.
"It's very likely people who choose to drink sugared soft drinks actually have a variety of health habits that are not heart healthy, and it may well be those health habits that are responsible for the increase in risk," Willett said.
Still, the data was enough to confirm what scientists, dieticians, nutritionists and researchers have known for years.
"We already know that sugary beverages are associated with increased obesity, type 2 diabetes, and other metabolic issues," Hu said. "This adds further evidence that sugary beverages are detrimental to our health."
Harmful effects of so much sugar
Sugar in excess is a major contributor to obesity. Researchers noticed that many people were reducing fat intake but either increased their intake of sugar or did not appreciably decrease it, leaving them scratching their heads as to why they were not dropping any weight.
But it is the primary culprit in other disease processes as well.
"Sugary beverages also are believed to promote inflammation, an immune-system response involved in both heart disease and insulin resistance, a major risk factor for type 2 diabetes," CNN reported, citing the Hu-Willett study, adding that sugary drinks increase belly fat, which can also increase a man's heart attack risk.
During the study, blood samples were taken from about 40 percent of men. The findings: "Men who consumed sugary beverages at least once a day had higher triglyceride levels, lower HDL levels, and higher levels of a marker of inflammation known as C-reactive protein (CRP)," said CNN. "They also had higher levels of leptin, a hormone that helps regulate metabolism."
The consumption of so much sugar - from soda and a wealth of other sources - as well as other high-fat, high-calorie processed foods, has led to record-high obesity rates, both among adults and children. The Centers for Disease Control estimated in 2010 that 34 percent of U.S. adults were obese, more than double the percentage 30 years ago. Meanwhile, the share of children who are obese - 17 percent - has tripled.
(NaturalNews) You have no doubt heard that sugary, high-fructose soda is a major contributing factor to the nation's ever-growing waistline, but new research indicates that even in moderation, drinking just one soda a day is a major health risk, especially for men.
According to a new study published in the medical journal Circulation, a daily soda increases your heart risk, even if it's not leading to much weight gain.
The ingestion of such high concentrations of sugar "appears to be an independent risk factor for heart disease," says the study's lead author Frank Hu, M.D., a professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH), in Boston.
"Continually subjecting our bodies to high amounts of glucose, to high blood sugar levels that trigger large secretions of insulin results in stresses that in the long run show up as high risk of heart disease and diabetes," the study's co-author, Dr. Walter Willett, told CBS News.
The study tracked 42,833 men over 22 years, following their diet, weight, smoking and exercise patterns. In the end, researchers discovered that men who drank a single 12-ounce soda per day increased their risk of heart attack by 20 percent.
So much sugar, so little time
The researchers said a typical 12-ounce soda contains a whopping 10 teaspoons of sugar, which is a very large amount over a relatively short period of time. But they also said the study didn't necessarily confirm that sugar itself was to blame.
"It's very likely people who choose to drink sugared soft drinks actually have a variety of health habits that are not heart healthy, and it may well be those health habits that are responsible for the increase in risk," Willett said.
Still, the data was enough to confirm what scientists, dieticians, nutritionists and researchers have known for years.
"We already know that sugary beverages are associated with increased obesity, type 2 diabetes, and other metabolic issues," Hu said. "This adds further evidence that sugary beverages are detrimental to our health."
Harmful effects of so much sugar
Sugar in excess is a major contributor to obesity. Researchers noticed that many people were reducing fat intake but either increased their intake of sugar or did not appreciably decrease it, leaving them scratching their heads as to why they were not dropping any weight.
But it is the primary culprit in other disease processes as well.
"Sugary beverages also are believed to promote inflammation, an immune-system response involved in both heart disease and insulin resistance, a major risk factor for type 2 diabetes," CNN reported, citing the Hu-Willett study, adding that sugary drinks increase belly fat, which can also increase a man's heart attack risk.
During the study, blood samples were taken from about 40 percent of men. The findings: "Men who consumed sugary beverages at least once a day had higher triglyceride levels, lower HDL levels, and higher levels of a marker of inflammation known as C-reactive protein (CRP)," said CNN. "They also had higher levels of leptin, a hormone that helps regulate metabolism."
The consumption of so much sugar - from soda and a wealth of other sources - as well as other high-fat, high-calorie processed foods, has led to record-high obesity rates, both among adults and children. The Centers for Disease Control estimated in 2010 that 34 percent of U.S. adults were obese, more than double the percentage 30 years ago. Meanwhile, the share of children who are obese - 17 percent - has tripled.
Is Colloidail silver the perfect mouthwash?
(NaturalNews) The amazing infection-treating properties of silver seem to be flooding the pages of scientific journals these days, as researchers, scientists, and medical experts are finally fessing up to the fact that this unique element possesses healing properties far superior to pharmaceutical antibiotics and drugs. And a new study published in the Society for Applied Microbiology journal Letters in Applied Microbiology reveals that silver is fully capable of killing yeast-based mouth infections caused by Candida albicans and Candida glabrata.
Professor Mariana Henriques and her colleagues from the University of Minho in Portugal evaluated the effects of a silver nanoparticle solution on oral thrush, dental stomatitis, and various other mouth infections caused by the two aforementioned strains of yeast. They came to the conclusion that, in all cases, the silver solution was effective at combating these infection-causing yeast strains, even when the size of the silver particles used varied dramatically.
"With the emergence of Candida infections which are frequently resistant to the traditional antifungal therapies, there is an increasing need for alternative approaches," commented Henriques about her findings. "So, silver nanoparticles appear to be a new potential strategy to combat these infections. As the nanoparticles are relatively stable in liquid medium they could be developed into a mouthwash solution in the near future."
To many in the natural health community, these findings may not necessarily be all that revolutionary as thousands of people have been using ionic and colloidal silver solutions internally to fight off disease and infection, and externally on wounds to boost healing and prevent infection. For centuries, in fact, silver has been used for medicinal purposes, that is until the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) began marginalizing it in favor of pharmaceutical drugs in the 1940s.
In 2000, researchers from China and Korea found that silver is also an effective treatment against Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (staph infection). Tests revealed that silver effectively unhinges the cytoplasmic membranes from bacterial cell walls, and prevents the DNA of these bacterial mechanisms from replicating. In essence, silver was found to demobilize deadly bacteria and prevent it from spreading.
"Colloidal silver has a long history in medicine as a natural antibiotic," writes Walter Last in his book The Natural Way to Heal: 65 Ways to Create Superior Health. "It is very effective in killing bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasites, and the cancer microbe, and no serious side effects from overdosing have been reported."
My Comment:
Colloidal Silver is a great item to keep around for difficult to treat illnesses and infection. It can be used externally or taken internally to fight infection and other illness when other treatments are not effective. It is also a good emergency item to have on hand for the whole family in case of a serious virus or flu epidemic. Silver is one of the only treatments that bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites cannot develop resistance to as they always manage to do with antibiotics. It comes in a filtered water solution that looks and tastes just like water.
Professor Mariana Henriques and her colleagues from the University of Minho in Portugal evaluated the effects of a silver nanoparticle solution on oral thrush, dental stomatitis, and various other mouth infections caused by the two aforementioned strains of yeast. They came to the conclusion that, in all cases, the silver solution was effective at combating these infection-causing yeast strains, even when the size of the silver particles used varied dramatically.
"With the emergence of Candida infections which are frequently resistant to the traditional antifungal therapies, there is an increasing need for alternative approaches," commented Henriques about her findings. "So, silver nanoparticles appear to be a new potential strategy to combat these infections. As the nanoparticles are relatively stable in liquid medium they could be developed into a mouthwash solution in the near future."
To many in the natural health community, these findings may not necessarily be all that revolutionary as thousands of people have been using ionic and colloidal silver solutions internally to fight off disease and infection, and externally on wounds to boost healing and prevent infection. For centuries, in fact, silver has been used for medicinal purposes, that is until the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) began marginalizing it in favor of pharmaceutical drugs in the 1940s.
In 2000, researchers from China and Korea found that silver is also an effective treatment against Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (staph infection). Tests revealed that silver effectively unhinges the cytoplasmic membranes from bacterial cell walls, and prevents the DNA of these bacterial mechanisms from replicating. In essence, silver was found to demobilize deadly bacteria and prevent it from spreading.
"Colloidal silver has a long history in medicine as a natural antibiotic," writes Walter Last in his book The Natural Way to Heal: 65 Ways to Create Superior Health. "It is very effective in killing bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasites, and the cancer microbe, and no serious side effects from overdosing have been reported."
My Comment:
Colloidal Silver is a great item to keep around for difficult to treat illnesses and infection. It can be used externally or taken internally to fight infection and other illness when other treatments are not effective. It is also a good emergency item to have on hand for the whole family in case of a serious virus or flu epidemic. Silver is one of the only treatments that bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites cannot develop resistance to as they always manage to do with antibiotics. It comes in a filtered water solution that looks and tastes just like water.
Another effective little known natural treatment is Grapefruit Seed Extract. It has many of the same bacteria killing attributes of silver and is beginning to be used in many new products like soap, shampoos, mouthwashes and other types of hygiene products. Look for it as a natural way of protecting your skin and your health without chemicals or drugs.
Center for Disease Control uses made-up math to incite raw milk panic
The CDC just won't let up on its raw milk fearmongering -- and now, they've released a study that claims raw milk is behind "most dairy-related outbreaks."
Notice something about that phrasing? Not illnesses... just "outbreaks," making an incident where a single person is sickened equivalent to one where 100 are sickened.
Here's what they REALLY found: Between 1993 and 2006, there were an average of just 112 actual illnesses each year linked to raw milk products, compared to 203 linked to pasteurized dairy.
That's it.
You have to be curious about the CDC's choice of a seemingly random 14-year period. If you're like me, you'll suspect it's because of the two major outbreaks -- including three DEATHS -- caused by pasteurized dairy products in 2007.
Somehow, that didn't make it into the study.
And it's not hard at all to figure out why they didn't want to go anywhere near the 1980s, when some 200,000 people were sickened by pasteurized dairy -- including the single largest salmonella outbreak in U.S. history.
So much for "safe" pasteurized milk, right?
Believe it or not, the shenanigans don't end there. The CDC numbers include raw milk "outbreaks" where no one was sickened, cases were raw milk was suspected but never actually confirmed, and plenty of incidents linked to queso fresco.
That's a raw milk cheese made in Mexico and illegally smuggled across the border to immigrants in California. It's downright unfair to lump those into the raw milk numbers -- but then again, the CDC has never been accused of playing fair.
But let's assume for a minute that all the CDC's numbers are true. Let's count all the "outbreaks" and even those Mexican cheese eaters.
The fact remains that even if you accept all that, the odds of getting sick from raw milk are incredibly small -- just 112 illnesses a year out of more than 9 million raw milk drinkers, according to the government's own numbers.
That means your own odds of getting sick on raw milk are 1 in 80,357. Your odds of getting sick off anything else in the U.S. food chain in any given year? Roughly 1 in 4.
The hidden cause of unexplained weight gain may be poor liver function
The issue of weight is a prevalent source of discontent especially in western cultures. It seems that we have woken up and realized that weight control is about much more than keeping up appearances. Obesity rates have skyrocketed along with the associated adverse health conditions. Each year more and more people choose to eat right and exercise but still struggle with weight issues and chronic degenerative conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes mellitus, heart disease, etc. A seldom-discussed yet extremely important aspect of weight loss is liver function. Traditional diets see-saw between high fat, nutritionally void foods and weight loss gimmicks and products that actually causes people to gain weight in the long run. In the middle of all this is a liver that grows, quite literally, fattier and more sluggish by the day.
The liver has two distinct and highly important functions. First, it is the body's chief blood detoxifier. Secondly, the liver is the body's primary fat metabolizer. Once the liver becomes sluggish and fatty it performs neither job well and we begin to pack on the pounds in earnest and have great difficulty losing the weight once it is on.
The liver has two distinct and highly important functions. First, it is the body's chief blood detoxifier. Secondly, the liver is the body's primary fat metabolizer. Once the liver becomes sluggish and fatty it performs neither job well and we begin to pack on the pounds in earnest and have great difficulty losing the weight once it is on.
Causes of a fatty liver
An excessively high fat diet (primarily animal fat) will most likely cause the liver to malfunction over time. Animal fats tend to contain toxic materials that were trapped by the animal’s body. When we ingest these fats the toxins are released in the liver where they have the ability to cause damage, inducing poor liver function.
Another cause of fatty liver is artificial sweetener use. Artificial sweeteners have been touted by industry as a zero calorie marvel that will help consumers reduce calories and lose weight. What is not revealed is that artificial sweeteners generally lead to long term weight gain. Artificial sweeteners completely bypass the normal digestive stages and are immediately taken into the liver. The liver basically shuts down all other metabolic processes, including metabolizing fat, to contend with the sweetener. The fats in the liver are either released - without being fully metabolized - into the blood stream to be stored as unprocessed material or they attach themselves to the liver. Either way, this is bad news for your weight and health.
An additional prevalent culprit behind fatty liver is excessive alcohol use. Before the alcohol causes cirrhosis it makes the liver fatty, which is the beginning of the road to dysfunctional health and weight gain.
Finally, prescription and over-the-counter medications have adverse effects on the liver. Notice that almost all of the pharmaceutical commercials mention the liver and liver function. It is because they know how detrimental their medications are to the liver and the health dysfunctions, like weight gain, cirrhosis and liver failure that will occur when using their products. Continue taking your prescriptions but seek a holistic health professional who can assist with eliminating the underlying cause(s) of your condition which would eliminate the need for the medication.
How to avoid or reverse a fatty liver
Here are a few helpful tips that can get you started or keep you on the road to healthy liver function.
• Avoid artificial sweetener use
• Restrict or eliminate alcohol consumption
• Nourish the liver with fresh citrus juices, milk thistle, and licorice. A mixture of cayenne and lemon juice or cayenne and vegetable juice is a great liver nutritive
• Detoxify the colon to keep the digestive system flowing which increases metabolism and aids the liver in its proper functioning
It is clear that poor liver function will most likely lead to a malfunctioning and fatty liver, in turn making weight gain probable and weight loss unlikely. If you are working diligently at exercising and eating right but still struggle to lose weight, have your liver function checked to shed light on this little-known aspect of weight management.
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).
Another cause of fatty liver is artificial sweetener use. Artificial sweeteners have been touted by industry as a zero calorie marvel that will help consumers reduce calories and lose weight. What is not revealed is that artificial sweeteners generally lead to long term weight gain. Artificial sweeteners completely bypass the normal digestive stages and are immediately taken into the liver. The liver basically shuts down all other metabolic processes, including metabolizing fat, to contend with the sweetener. The fats in the liver are either released - without being fully metabolized - into the blood stream to be stored as unprocessed material or they attach themselves to the liver. Either way, this is bad news for your weight and health.
An additional prevalent culprit behind fatty liver is excessive alcohol use. Before the alcohol causes cirrhosis it makes the liver fatty, which is the beginning of the road to dysfunctional health and weight gain.
Finally, prescription and over-the-counter medications have adverse effects on the liver. Notice that almost all of the pharmaceutical commercials mention the liver and liver function. It is because they know how detrimental their medications are to the liver and the health dysfunctions, like weight gain, cirrhosis and liver failure that will occur when using their products. Continue taking your prescriptions but seek a holistic health professional who can assist with eliminating the underlying cause(s) of your condition which would eliminate the need for the medication.
How to avoid or reverse a fatty liver
Here are a few helpful tips that can get you started or keep you on the road to healthy liver function.
• Avoid artificial sweetener use
• Restrict or eliminate alcohol consumption
• Nourish the liver with fresh citrus juices, milk thistle, and licorice. A mixture of cayenne and lemon juice or cayenne and vegetable juice is a great liver nutritive
• Detoxify the colon to keep the digestive system flowing which increases metabolism and aids the liver in its proper functioning
It is clear that poor liver function will most likely lead to a malfunctioning and fatty liver, in turn making weight gain probable and weight loss unlikely. If you are working diligently at exercising and eating right but still struggle to lose weight, have your liver function checked to shed light on this little-known aspect of weight management.
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).
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