Less than 4% of medical costs come about through medical malpractice lawsuits. Of those, less than 5% are frivolous, and they go nowhere, most being tossed out of court early on.

This is a solution looking for a problem. Why? Why did our president tell us that we needed to reform our Malpractice practices?

Well, for one thing, President Obama took a lot of money from the insurance industry; just one more reason we never saw Single Payer.

The one thing that never comes up while discussing the cost of medical malpractice lawsuits is this: Why don’t we focus on physicians making fewer medical mistakes?

This is the heart of the problem. Were there fewer mistakes, there would be fewer lawsuits.

Most importantly, there would be fewer deaths and a lot less suffering.

• 18% of patients are harmed by medical care (NEJM, 2010)
• Over 63% of those injuries could have been prevented.
• Over 40,000 incidents occur daily.
• One in seven patients on Medicare who are hospitalized will be harmed by medicine.
• Researchers in one study felt that 44% of adverse and temporary harm events were probably preventable.
• The cost of these medical mistakes was estimated at $324,000.00 in October alone (2010).

These are just a handful of stats reported concerning medical mistakes. We’ve not even touched on harm due to drugs, prescribed drugs or over the counter drugs.

100 people die from medicine every 22 minutes.

The problems with medicine can be addressed, but not by punishing the victim. If a physician removes the wrong leg or wrong eye on you or one of your family, you should have the right to sue your physician into the ground. These are preventable.

Let’s focus on prevention. Do not punish the victim. If you support medical malpractice reform, you’re part of the problem.

In our previous newsletter, we told you about AGS, the cancer cure that comes from ginseng.

Well, I’ve not had time to put it into our alt cancer cure section so far, but I’ve researched it a bit further.

His form of AGS is called Force C, and is a bit cheaper there. He’s also created a version that comes with Taxol and a few other immune system herbs. It’s called Herbal C.

Another product called Immune C is a sublingual spray.

Many of his products are for cancer patients, though he can only hint at this at his site because of FDA restrictions.

At the AGS site they tell you to take 12 capsules per day. At Dr Tai’s site, he tells you to take 8 capsules a day. They have to be taken on an empty stomach, at least half an hour before eating. It is also recommended to take these with warm water.

The AGS site wants you to take four capsules, an hour apart, three times. Dr Tai doesn’t say this at his site; apparently he feels you can take all eight capsules together.

I have heard back from one reader that the AGS cured his dog’s cancer right away.

Years ago we wrote an article called Cancer Loves Sugar that went viral on the web. There must be 70 sites that have reprinted it.

However, recent studies are showing that cancer loves Fructose even more.

Researchers found that cancer cells use glucose and fructose in different ways. We’ve known for years that cancer metabolized by fermentation. Fermentation requires glucose, or sugar. But now we’ve discovered that cancer cells use fructose for proliferation.

The recent studies help explain the link between fructose intake and the rise of one of the most deadly cancers: pancreatic cancer.

While the soda-pop industry argues that sugar is sugar, science continually demonstrates that this is pure bunk. That high fructose corn syrup is damaging our health; hence the movement to tax soda-pop.

A study reported last March from Duke University Medical Center found that daily consumption of fructose, the main kind of sugar added to soft drinks and sweetened juice drinks, increases liver fibrosis, which leads to scarring and progressive loss of liver function. The increased consumption of fructose, as well as the increase in fibrosis, are both alarming new trends.

The industry will tell you that the government is trying to limit your choices, when in reality, the government wants us to drink less toxic beverages, while covering the medical costs of those who don’t care what they put in their bodies—especially when you consider that consumption of high fructose corn syrup jumped 1000% between 1970 and 1990.

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/08/02/cancer-fructose-idAFN0210830520100802 

“The average American has more than 200 industrial chemicals in their body, including dozens linked to cancer and other health problems. The shocking truth is that the current law does not require tests to ensure chemicals used in everyday household products are safe.”

--Senator Frank R. Lautenberg

Today, Senator Lautenberg introduced the “Safe Chemicals Act of 2011", which seeks to require – for the first time – that chemical manufacturers demonstrate the safety of industrial chemicals used in everyday household products.

Read more (and watch the video!)

Oakland: Cracking Down on Farming?

According to police statistics, Oakland has the highest crime rate and slowest police response time of any major California city. In fact, the rate of violent crime in Oakland is more than twice the average rate of the top ten other California cities.

So naturally, Oakland has chosen to crack down on crime, starting with, yes, those dangerous urban farmers. In its wisdom, Oakland has in its sights not just any farmer, but Novella Carpenter, an urban farmer who’s brought national attention to the good side of life in our fair city (the kind of positive national attention that’s a rare commodity around here).

Read more

An Italian high tech company has produced a glove, called the Donna Glove, that enables every woman to perform a self-exam, discovering lumps the size of a grain of salt. The glove “locks and enlarges”, reduces friction, and increases sensitivity about 50 times higher than that of a bare hand. Clinical trials conducted at the University Tor Vergata in Rome proved the glove to be 100% effective, compared to the control group who detected lumps at less than 50% with manual palpation. The Donna Glove is available, right now, only in Europe.

It seems there’s no such thing as a “safe” x-ray. Researchers at McGill University Health Center in Montreal tracked nearly 83,000 heart patients who had undergone at least one scan after a heart attack and found that 15% of them went on to develop cancer; 2/3 of the cancers were in the area of the scans (chest, abdomen).

Previously, physicians just assumed that CT scans, low dose x-rays, angiograms, and routine screenings were safe because of low levels of radiation. (Source: Canadian Medical Association Journal, 2011; doi: 10.1503/cmaj.101885).

As stated above, that even low dose radiation increases your risk of cancer, the answer is, “Yes.”

We are told not to worry; that the amount of radiation is the same as you would get flying at commercial airline altitudes, but the problem is, that radiation increases your chances of cancer too.

Yes, the risk is slight, but each flight your odds increase. (Source: Radiology, 2011; 259: 6-10).

The elderly are being screened yearly for prostate cancer, while those in their fifties are screened every two years or less. A cohort study out of the University of Chicago determined that prostate cancer in the elderly is not deadly; that they will die with the disease, not because of it. Additionally, a prostate cancer diagnosis could trigger (unnecessary) aggressive treatments that destroy the patient’s quality of life. (Source: Journal of Clinical Oncology, 2011; doi: 10.1200/JCO.2010.31.9004).

The French Paradox has been studied since it was first highlighted in the TV program 60 Minutes. This time they’ve discovered that one of the chemicals in red wine helps us lose weight. Which chemical? The same one that helps fight heart disease and cancer, and helps to reverse aging: Resveratrol.

We’ve talked about Resveratrol heavily in the past, but this is new one. Apparently Resveratrol helps reduce the accumulation of triglycerides; combine this with a low cal diet and exercise program, and you’ve got yourself a winner. (Source: Basque Research, from the University of the Basque Country).

Researchers testing a variety of nuts have determined that the king of the bunch was the walnut. Nuts are one of the healthiest snacks in the world; each nut has nutrients that we need, but the walnut seems to have won the top honors. Walnuts contain twice the antioxidant power of any other nut tested; two to fifteen times more potent than vitamin E. Nutritionists recommend eating walnuts daily (after meals or as snacks) for cardiovascular health and to prevent type II diabetes. (Source: 241ST National Meeting of the American Chemical Society, March 27, 2011).

In our last newsletter we told you how Avandia is killing people and pointed out that drugs were NOT the solution to type two diabetes, but diet and exercise were.

Well, Avandia is still on the market in the US and Canada and is still being prescribed even though it’s been outlawed in Europe.

The British Medical Journal (2011; 342: d1309) pointed out that 3.8 million Americans take the drug and that 47,500 of them will die or suffer a crippling heart attack as a direct result of the drug.

So far, there have been 1250 heart attacks, heart failures, or deaths for every 100,000 who take it. If you like Congestive Heart Failure, you’ll love Avandia.

Though not exactly placebos, homeopathic remedies and supplements have been prescribed by German doctors to the point that business is booming in the “placebo” field. It should be noted that past studies invalidating chelation therapy used supplements as placebos and it was later learned that those particular supplements had “chelation” activity. Thus the idea of calling supplements and homeopathic remedies “placebos” is not entirely honest. However, since they are safer than drug therapies, it seems that 53% of doctors in Germany are regularly prescribing them.

While on this same subject, I would like to quote my favorite comedian: "I'm addicted to placebos. I'd give them up, but it wouldn't make any difference." ~ Steven Wright

Answer: A trained Dog. (Though I’d like to think of it as a PET scan.)

In two separate studies published in two separate sources: Gut, January 31, 2011; doi: 10.1136/gut.2010.218305 – bowel cancer; European Urology, 2011; 59: 197 – prostate cancer, it was shown that dogs can accurately sniff out early signs of bowel and prostate cancers with an accuracy rate upwards of 95% which is far greater than any medical screening.

The Mayo Clinic is reporting that approximately 22% of Parkinson’s patients exhibit compulsive behaviors using dopamine agonist drugs. They also found that the behaviors are dosage related; the higher the dosage the more likely the new behaviors. Behaviors retuned to normal within a month of stopping the treatment. The drugs used are Miraprex and Requip. (Source: Parkinsonism & Related Disorders, 2011; doi: 10.1016/j.parkreldis.2011.01.009).

The number of people who suffer from side effects of prescription drugs is ridiculous. The number one segment of the population getting most of our drugs are those over 65. Now get this. People over 65 are not included in the drug testing. Drugs are tested on the young.

Researchers at the U of Michigan discovered that just one in five studies includes the elderly, but the studies rarely look at the impact of the drug on the quality of the patient’s life. (Source: Journal of General Internal Medicine, February 3, 2011; doi: 10.1007/s11606-010-1629-x).

“Eat your vegetables!” Every household hears these words.

14,000 children were tracked for five years and there was discovered a direct correlation between eating habits and IQ scores. It was also theorized that the benefits are even greater when the child starts eating veggies early on (in the first three years).

File this one under: Duh! (Source: Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, 2011; doi: 10.1136/jech.2010.111955).

Apparently the older you get the more likely you are to suffer from depression. Researchers at UCLA studied a group of 112 adults aged 60 or older. First they were put on antidepressant drugs and 73% reported only slight improvement. Next they were put on a regimen of 2 hours of tai chi per week for ten weeks and this time 94% said the depression was much improved with 65% of them reporting it completely gone.

A deadly germ that infects 2% of all hospital patients and has killed hundreds of thousands around the world might have met its match. Researchers from the U of Calgary in Canada were able to neutralize the toxins produced by the C.Difficile bacterium. The Journal of Biological Chemistry (2011; 286: 8961) claims we’re pretty darn close to a remedy for this scourge.

Once again the postulate espoused by the Linus Pauling Institute that diet and lifestyle override genetic disposition has been substantiated by researchers at the University of Gothenburg. They’ve been tracking 855 men born in the year 1913 since 1963, and 13% were still alive at age 90; and they concluded that their longevity had everything to do with their diet and lifestyle and nothing to do with their genes. (Source: Journal of Internal Medicine, 2010; doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2796.2010.02331.x).

A study out of the University of Michigan showed that the brain registered the same for both physical and emotional pain. Subjects were “hooked up” to a brain scan device and poked with a hot probe (not hot enough to cause injury or serious pain); next (while still hooked up) they were shown pictures of an ex and asked to think about that person. It was discovered that the same part of the brain registered the same for both stimuli.

Now here is the screwy part. When we find something from three different sources, we assume it to be common knowledge and we don’t reference it. We feel that if you Google a few key words, you’ll find more on it on your own. Well, one of the sites we found carrying this story (GET THIS!) recommended Tylenol for a break-up. Has it come to this? Really?

Professor Daniel Michaelson of Tel Aviv University has identified the APOE4 gene as a major cause of Alzheimer’s disease. They also discovered that omega-3 fish oils seem to counter the negative effects of the APOE4 gene; with supplementation, the APOE4 is suddenly harmless. (Source: American Friends of Tel Aviv University, February 15, 2011).

There was a study (very poorly structured) involving 725 pregnant women from upper Manhattan and the South Bronx in New York City who regularly used insect sprays in their homes. The sprays contained so-called “safer” compounds (safer than the stuff we grew up with in the sixties and seventies). There was no control group in this study, but rather the children in the experiment were compared to “normal” children. The write-up of the study did not disclose exactly how the researchers eliminated variables, but it was determined that the experimental children had delayed mental development by the age of three. (Source: Pediatrics, 2011; doi: 10.1542/peds.2010-0133).

Zinc has stirred up a controversy in recent years. Does it really help with colds? Some say yes, some say no. Researchers at the Cochrane Systematic Review decided to analyze the studies and see if they could come up with a conclusion on this one. They took the data from 15 trials involving 1,360 participants and found that zinc, in any form (lozenges, supplements, syrup) did help shorten the common cold if taken within one day of symptoms appearing. They also concluded that children who take 15mb of zinc every day catch fewer colds. (Source:  Cochrane Library, February 16, 2011. CD001364).

The new Health Care bill just turned one. Will someone please tell all the pundits who screamed that this was the end of the world, the end of America, or that Armageddon was approaching that we’re still here, we’re still alive, and nothing has changed (except more people have health care and we’re saving billions and billions of dollars). Oh, and some still want Single Payer (Medicare 4 All).

If you suffer from depression, you won’t have to suffer all that long if your doctor prescribes for you SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors), because they cause thickening of the arteries, and speed up the aging process. This was discovered in a study of 513 middle-aged male twins. Those taking the drugs had arteries that were approximately four years older than their twin who did not take the drugs. (Source: Meeting of the American College of Cardiology, New Orleans, April 5, 2011).

Medicine, in this bill, is defined as treating anyone for any disorder, thus homeopaths, herbalists, hands on healers, etc, can be tossed in prison for daring to compete with the medical monopoly.

So, What Do We Do With Dead Vaccines?

Every pandemic scare (and the drug industry loves them) produces stockpiles of vaccines. In a couple of years, these vaccines just die and have to be destroyed. Well, not anymore, It’s been discovered that no matter what flu the original vaccine was targeted at, all it has to do is get mixed with a new vaccine and it’s ready to go into action fighting the newest pandemic. (Source: Journal of Infectious Diseases, 2011; 203: 666).

I’m sure you’re all read about Dr Andrew Wakefield who we are told faked all his research into the MMR vaccine and its connection to autism-spectrum disorder.

This was one heck of a smear campaign. It hit the front pages of American’s news media and parents everywhere were once again re-assured that their children were safe; that all the hubbub was due to a fraudulent physician who made up all his data.

The only problem with this story is that Dr Wakefield has shown that his paper (that has been attacked as fraud) was based upon evidence that had been assembled a year earlier by Prof Walker-Smith at the Royal Free Hospital.

This last bit of the story has yet to be published all that much. But…you heard it here.

Dr Paul Thorsen, the man who led the CDC funded studies that have been used to deny a vaccine (mercury)/autism link was indicted 4/13/2011 on nine counts of money laundering and thirteen counts of fraud. Having already been cited for academic misconduct by Aarhus University in Denmark, Dr Thorsen is now facing charges of embezzling a million dollar grant for autism.

The connection between the mercury-based vaccine preservative, thimerosal, and the current increased rates in autism were supposedly debunked by Dr Thorsen’s research while he was being trashed by his contemporaries as Dr Profit.

Apparently his profits weren’t enough for him, but the whole ordeal and his questionable work in Denmark have reinvigorated the movement to remove mercury from all of medicine:

Rev. Lisa K. Sykes, President of CoMeD [Coalition for Mercury-free Drugs], expects the recent charges against Thorsen to serve as a turning point in the debate over Thimerosal: "In addition to the charges against Dr. Thorsen, the United Nations is drafting a treaty to reduce mercury exposure, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is reconsidering the use of mercury in dental fillings.  I'd say its past time to reevaluate the legality, as well as the soundness, of injecting a Thimerosal-preserved vaccine into anyone." [Vaccine-Autism Researcher Indicted for Fraud]

The best way to eat broccoli is raw. If you eat it raw, dipped in our Vegie Dip, it’s even better. However, if you cook your broccoli, researchers at the University of Illinois discovered that if you add sprouts, you’ll bring the benefits of the cooked broccoli back up to the levels of the raw vegie. (Source: Nutrition and Cancer, 2011; 1: doi: 10.1080/01635581.2011. 523495).

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning consumers and health care professionals that long-term or high-dose use of proton pump inhibitors may increase the risk of fractures. We’ve warned you for years that acid reflux drugs and antacids stop digestion. No matter how you look at these drugs, they do not solve the problem. We need to digest the food we eat to get the full nutritional value of that food. We will point you to our papers on digestion for the answers: Digestion Part I; Digestion Part II.

Researchers from the University of Gothenburg in Sweden created a very simple study, pitting two groups of tennis players with tendonitis in their tennis arms against each other. One group did exercises, while the other did drugs. Those who did the home training programs (simple exercises to build strength in the arm and elbow) reported a better reduction in pain and improved (over the drug group) movement that elbow and hand. (Source: University of Gothenburg, December 20, 2010).

Antipsychotic drugs known as “atypical” which include Abilify (aripoprazole), Risperdal (risperidone), and Seroquel (quetiapine) have been prescribed for more than 20 years to patients suffering from autism, depression, and/or dementia. The thing is, researchers at Stanford University Medical Center tell us that they do absolutely nothing to help these patients, yet they cause diabetes, weight gain, and heart disease. Is there any wonder that these drugs have been the subject of more lawsuits than any other family of drugs? Payments to patients and their families who’ve been harmed by them have reached over $100 million dollars. (Source: Stanford University Medical Center, January 7, 2011).

Perflurocarbons, found in clothing, furniture, carpeting, paints, an even food containers, which have been known to lower immune function and cause heart problems, are now suspected of triggering early menopause. Researchers in the West Virginia University School of Medicine discovered the role of PFCs after analyzing blood from nearly 26,000 women aged 18 to 65. (Source: Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, June 2011; yet to be published).

Researchers in Massachusetts discovered that in as little as eight weeks, people suffering from memory loss (or stress) were able to change the physical make-up of their brains just through “mindful meditation.”

From images of their brains, before and after the study, the researchers saw increased gray-matter density in the hippocampus (the area of the brain associated with new learning and memory) as well as in the brain structures that relate to compassion, introspections, and self-awareness.

People in the study practiced “mindfulness” for about half an hour a day. (Source: Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging, 2011; 191: 36).

Our government has finally admitted that phasing out mercury amalgams will likely “result in positive public health outcomes,” though it has taken years of pressure from small groups to get this far, not to mention continuing negotiations for the world mercury treaty. The US Government’s official stand is that we phase-out amalgams and to start that phase down immediately, while speaking up for children and the unborn, and standing up for the human rights of every parent and patient to make educated decisions. The only bump in the road right now are the “pro-mercury” factions; The American Dental Association and the World Dental Federation.

Many of you have seen this TV commercial: A mother has a meeting at the breakfast table. Her daughter will argue with her, the cable repairperson will make her late, the elevator will be out of order, and she'll get a call from her son's school principal, but she'll be fine because she's got her Florida orange juice. Well, I hate to burst her bubble, but recent research out of Harvard Medical School that followed 71,000 nurses for 18 years showed that those who had orange juice (one glass) for breakfast increased their chances of type 2 diabetes by 18% (24% for those who drank 3 glasses). It is theorized that the free sugar in orange juices (all commercial juices, for that matter) without fiber will spike blood sugar. Additionally, a smaller study that went under the radar discovered that those who drank their orange juice with a fiber-filled lunch had no risk of diabetes. It seems that mothers and grandmothers around the world have always been right in admonishing the children at the dinner table that they get no desert until they finish their vegetables. The fiber in the veggies will keep the sugar in the desert from spiking their blood sugar levels.

A few years back, research was published touting the anti-arthritis benefits of tart cherry juice. The people in those same studies also reported that they were sleeping better. So, further studies at the University of Rochester Medical Center’s sleep research lab have now confirmed that drinking tart cherry juice brought significant improvement in sleep continuity.

Fifteen men and women in good health but reporting sleep difficulties (moderate-to-severe insomnia, especially wakefulness in the night) were separated into two groups. One group was given a placebo while the other group drank a glass of tart cherry juice in the morning and prior to bed time. The experimental group just got better sleep than studies using valerian, and about the same as in studies using melatonin.

In May, new European legislation comes into force. Many herbal remedies and all Ayurvedic and Chinese Medicine traditional herbal remedies will be banned. As of May 1^st, remedies such as Hawthorn Berry for cardiovascular health, meadowsweet for arthritis, and red clover for PMS will be removed from shelves. Just 79 herbal remedies (such as Echinacea) will still be available.

The law, passed months ago as part of the sweep across European countries by CODEX, requires manufacturers to license their products, a process that can cost well over $200,000.00. So far, only 26 companies have licensed “approved” herbal products.

The Alliance of Natural Health is mounting a challenge to the law, but they’ve not been able to raise the £100,000 needed.

Harvard School of Public Health researchers discovered after analyzing the lifestyles of nearly 50,000 men and just over 80,000 women that those who ate berries (and men who ate apples and oranges) were “far” less likely to develop Parkinson’s than those who avoided fruit. Those who ate the most fruit were 40% less likely to develop the disease.

One of the secret ingredients turns out to be anthocyanins which were “neuro-protective” in both men and woman. Because of these effects, researchers postulated that fruit might also be protective against Alzheimer’s and MS.

Though we’ve railed against this crap for years, a new study (revealed by the American Stroke Association conference that took place in February this year) of around 2,500 adults living in New York that showed conclusively that drinking soda sweetened with aspartame® dramatically increased risk of heart attacks and strokes. After taking into consideration all other factors such as obesity, lethargy, smoking, and lack of exercise, the one risk factor that stood out was the diet soda. What used to be a weekly treat in the lives of 50’s and 60’s American families has become a staple in the diets of families today, however with one huge difference: the “diet” label. Consumers think this label means healthy, when nutritionists have been telling us for some time that so-called diet sodas cause weight gain. Since that news has yet to reach those consumers sucking diet sodas down daily, this new development is slated to reach them long after they’ve croaked.

WTF? Menopausal women often experience bone loss so drug companies came up with bisphosphonate (Fosamax, Boniva) to strengthen bones and decrease the risk of fractures. Researchers have discovered that women who take bisphosphonate for five years or longer increase the risk of “atypical fracture” by 2.7 times compared to those who take the drug occasionally or for less than 100 days. The study, published in JAMA [2011; 305: 783-9], did not compare the rates of fractures in those using the drug to those not using the drug, though they are now recommending that doctors consider giving their bisphosphonate patients an occasional break from the drug.

Those of us who have followed Sally Field’s career from a flying nun to an Academy Award winner to Boniva spokesperson are not looking forward to her testimony before congress when she will say: “You’ve hurt me. You’ve really hurt me.”

WTF WTF? The Wake Forest University School of Medicine tracked the health records of 13,000 patients who were on bisphosphonate compared to 13,000 people who had been giving placebos and discovered that those on the drug had in increased risk for strokes and heart attacks.

(“You’ve killed me. You’ve really killed me.”)

A short comparison study published in Chemistry Central Journal [2011; 5: 5] claims that chocolate first is a fruit (because it comes from a seed and is described by “someone” as a super fruit) and that it’s one of the healthiest fruits due to the high level of antioxidants, polyphenols, and flavonoids. Coincidentally, the research was funded by Hershey’s, that Great American Chocolate Company (that packed up and moved to Mexico closing down 75,000 jobs in America).

PLEASE, choose Fair Trade Chocolate. It is not made or packaged in sweatshops, and children are not sold into slavery to work the chocolate plantations, while suffering from starvation and harsh punishment. Fair Trade Chocolate pays a living wage to everyone from the plantation on up to the factory workers to the truck drivers and sales people.

Just unintentional overdose was responsible for the deaths of 27, 500 Americans last year, nearly five times the number of soldiers who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan. The CDC tells us that in 20 states, unintentional overdose is one of the leading causes of death. Additionally, opioids (pain killers) have been responsible for a doubling of hospitalizations between 2004 and 2008. Total deaths from prescription drugs is estimated around 200,000 per year. Annually 30,000 people are hospitalized due to over the counter drugs, mostly NSAIDS. Researchers at the CDC say that doctors are partly responsible for these deaths, since they are often prescribing multiple drugs at the same time and they have no idea what the combination will do.

In the old days we called this practice quackery. (Source: Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 2011; doi: 10.4088/jcp.10com06560).

Russian custom officials found 49 contaminated automobiles among a consignment of 300 newly manufactured vehicles. Experts now assume that other Japanese goods such as cameras, camcorders, and TVs could also be contaminated.

For years we’ve been told use it or lose it (your brain). Studies show that as we age, the more we use our brains, the better they still function. Well, now add social interaction to the list of things that keep us sharp, whether going to parties, to church, or just visiting friends. Researchers at the Rush University Medical Center discovered that in a study of over a thousand adults with an average age of 80, that those who had an active social live had just a quarter the rate of cognitive decline as their more sedentary, isolated counterparts. The researchers offered up a number of reasons for their results, while the rest of us just give a soft, but resilient: Duh.

Advertising has been called “legal lying.” I don’t watch much television (I have TiVo so I record what’s interesting and then blast through the commercials), but I was at a friend’s home when I heard the TV exclaim this: Eighty percent of heart attacks occur in people with high cholesterol. Because I’ve studied this subject, I knew it was a lie. How they can get away with it is that we let them. The FDA comes down hard on anyone selling a natural substance who makes a claim that is backed up by solid research, but drug companies are allowed to lie to us and then take our money. This Cholesterol Fraud costs American consumers nearly 12 billion dollars a year. Here are the facts:

If you don’t know by now that we happen to love Ron’s products, you’re not paying attention. We’ve written him up on a regular basis and we get testimonials sent to us daily.

In one newsletter we took a look at a very high end product by La Mer which is very expensive, and pointed out the dangerous and suspected chemicals in it.

Ron’s creams and lotions are miracles. That is a fact. So…we’ve given him his own page and in the future, as more and more testimonials come in we will post them there. Ron Salley’s Miracle Skin Creams & Lotions.

Ron’s miracle skin products are available at Simply the Best.

This is one recipe I’ve received hundreds of letters over. People tell me how delicious it is; one person tried to cut corners and instead chopped up all the cilantro (stems and leaves) and discovered the second day that the recipe was too bitter to eat and had to toss it out. Two physicians who work with cancer patients using nutrition and lifestyle changes have told me that this recipe is something they want their patents to eat daily. One could not contain his joy over discovering this for his patients. He felt there was nothing better for them.

And that’s why I invented it. Using Johanna Budwig’s basic recipe, I blended cottage cheese with flax oil, added a few other things and developed the best, healthiest dip (and damn tasty too!) for broccoli and cauliflower.

Both broccoli and cauliflower are cruciferous veggies. They contain many phytochemicals that fight cancer (indole-3-carbinol) and also detox xenoestrogens that can lead to cancer in the long run, but in the short run put fat around your waste and keep you from losing it no matter how much you diet and exercise.

I’ve finally put this onto its own page, and you’ll find it here: Super Veggie Dip.

I was going to publish this recipe exclusively for my dieters(those who've purchased our book Rapid Safe Weight Loss), but after playing with it for the past five months, modifying it, making it healthier and tastier all the time, I realized that everyone needs this recipe. The spices in it: ginger and curry fight inflammation (which can lead to cancer and heart disease) and also keep your blood sugar from spiking (leading to type two diabetes). The veggies fight cancer. You can add healthy mushrooms (to boost immune function). And this is TRULY a bachelor recipe. There is hardly any measuring. You just toss this together and each time you get something so delicious, so healthy, you’ll want to serve it weekly. Oh…and the black rice we recommend has lots of fiber (keeps blood sugar from spiking) and more antioxidants (even cooked!) than a bowl of blueberries. And when I say bachelor recipe, you don’t even have to use chicken (pork or beef is perfectly fine). Here you go: Creamy Curried Chicken.

National Public Radio, that “public” program that the far right wanted to defund, reported that one out of four meat samples were tainted with a drug-resistant bug. [Source]

In the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases a small study was published that found that 47% of our meat and poultry had evidence of Staphylococcus aureus contamination (MRSA).

Earlier we reported that the CDC had admitted that overuse of antibiotics in our livestock was the chief source of antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria, and new information coming from Europe is even spookier.

It seems that a gene has been discovered that causes bacteria to become resistant. It’s called NDM-1 and is present in drinking, bathing, and cooking water in Delhi, India. The spookier new is that it’s beginning to spread outside of India.

So, there you have it. Two causes of resistance to antibiotics:

Obviously we’re in for a rough ride. Factory farming of our foods has been a growth industry, often subsidized by our government (welfare for the wealthy). Our diets have weakened our immune systems.

Cooking will destroy these pathogens, but food preparation areas must be kept very clean and foods should not be allowed to come into contact with suspected meat and poultry.

One more thing you can do to avoid tainted meat is to shop for pasture-raised beef and free range chickens. Grass fed beef is just cleaner than beef raised on feed lots. They have less e-coli and are just plain healthier.

When in doubt, buy organic. The odds of contamination drop to nearly nil when you go organic.

To keep immune systems in tip top shape, we need Vitamin C Complex (3 – 5 grams daily depending on the air pollution in your area), D3 (minimum of 1000 IU), zinc (5mg), a good probiotic, beta-3-glucan from mushrooms, Epicor, and of course, our favorite, Del-Immune V.

About seven years ago, the NIH funded a $2.25 million study conducted jointly with Bastyr University (a Naturopathic Medical School) and the University of Minnesota (conventional medicine), and the University of Washington (also conventional). The study was to research the impact of the Turkey Tail mushrooms on the immune systems of patients with breast cancer, though prostate cancer patients were also allowed into the study.

They got their mushrooms from Fungi Perfecti, LLC; something I don’t understand since their web site does not sell Turkey Tail mushrooms (they sell kits to grow them and supplements made from them, but not the actual mushroom).

We love mushrooms at this site and have lots of articles scattered about boasting the immune stimulating properties of a variety of mushrooms; one of my favorites being the ABM from the jungles of Central America, and the Maitake (which seem to be growing everywhere today).

However, this Turkey Tail study seems to have results pouring out that could easily top past studies on other mushrooms.

In addition to these mushrooms proving to have an impressive efficacy against cancer (and other diseases), they discovered that the Turkey Tail mushrooms could improve or eliminate:

The dosage is 2 to 3 grams, 3 times a day, either with or without food (standard extract available at Fungi Perfecti, LLC http://www.fungi.com).

We’ve been telling you to avoid sunscreens for years. The chemicals in them are just not good for your skin, and anything you put on your skin gets into your blood within 20 – 30 seconds.

The Environmental Working Group claims this year that few sunscreens win the “green” rating. The reason?

You can go to their site to find safe (green) sunscreens, but before that, we’ll give you some recommendations here.

Years ago I found simple sunscreen recipe made of ascorbic acid (some refer to this as Vitamin C incorrectly; vitamins are all complexes) and water. Just spray all over every hour or so or right after getting out of the water.

Vitamin C also works internally for sunburn. In a paper I found on vitamin C called, “Observations On the Dose and Administration of Ascorbic Acid When Employed Beyond the Range Of A Vitamin In Human Pathology,” by Frederick R. Klenner, M.D., F.C.C.P., I learned that we should take 1000 mg (one gram) every hour to prevent sunburn. Dr Klenner survived the Spanish Flu of 1918 that took as many lives as WWI by taking megadoses of vitamin C.

Here is another recipe that works better than commercial brands, and is good for your skin, which comes from research at John Hopkins.

Sulphoraphane is a phytochemical found in broccoli. It’s extremely high in broccoli sprouts and is one of the chemicals found in cruciferous veggies that fight cancer. Sulphoraphane fights cancer by activating a cancer fighting enzyme already in your cells.

When applied to our skin, sulphoraphane penetrates the cells and stimulates the cells natural defense mechanisms. Keep in mind that you can also protect your skin by eating broccoli and broccoli sprouts. Many of the nutrients you can apply to the skin to help protect the skin also protect you from the inside out.

You won’t find broccoli sprout extract on the market, but you can make your own.

First you have to either grow or buy broccoli sprouts. In a large mouth bell jar, fill it ¾ full with sprouts. Add about half a quart of cheap vodka. Shake well. Every day for two weeks, shake the jar well, possibly twice a day.

Strain the liquid though a coffee filter and then add some DMSO or Hyaluronic acid for penetration. As an aside, hyaluronic acid also works internally for skin protection from the sun.

Of course, there’s always my favorite, Coconut Oil. It’s been used for centuries on the islands where coconut is found.

However, baking in the sun with a good sunscreen is never recommended. Yes, the sun is good for us. Yes, it gives us vitamin D (if you don’t wash it off; it takes 24 hours to be absorbed). But too much of a good thing is not a good thing.

As we stated above, taking 1 gram of vitamin C every hour will protect your skin. There are still other supplements that also protect the skin. I’m sure everyone knows a sunbather whose skin starts to look like alligator baggage after years of tanning. This type of situation can be avoided by taking supplements that protect our skin.

One supplement is Astaxanthin, a carotenoid found in a few foods, and in krill. Krill oil is a natural sunscreen when taken internally. As noted above, vitamin A in sunscreens is dangerous. Astaxanthin is one of the carotenoids, an antioxidant, that does not turn into vitamin A. It has also been approved by the FDA as a food coloring.

Essential lipids are very skin protective, such as your omega-3s. Taking Omegasentials daily is a good idea, as flax oil will protect your skin. So will GLA (gamma linoleic acid) from borage seed, black currant seed, or evening primrose is also very good skin protection. And don’t forget a good vitamin E with mixed tocotrienols.

Finally there is GliSODin which is a super powerful antioxidant (actually an enzyme) that stimulates the body to produce its own antioxidants, and finally, GliSODin protects our DNA. I’ve been using this with my exercise program (because at times I over-do it).

You can purchase all of these things separately, or you might want to check out Dr Alan Sears’ product Radiance.

No matter which you choose, we all need antioxidants in our bodies, and vitamin C is the most important of them all. If the only antioxidant you take is vitamin c, you’re doing fine, just as long as you take enough. With our polluted air and water and food supply, 3 to 6 grams a day is not too much.

Always keep in mind that too much of a good thing is not a good thing. Wear a hat, loose clothing, and stay out of the sun when you’ve had enough. There is always tomorrow.

And just in case you do get burned (accidents happen), Ron Salley has a Sunburn Lotion that no one should be without. I’ve received testimonials that it stops the pain in seconds with some reporting that they didn’t even peal: Miracle Skin Island Sunburn Lotion.

Astaxanthin	GliSODin	GLA	Tocotrienols & E Complex
C Complex	Omegasentials		18 oz DMSO

Last week, the FDA announced changes to its medical device approval process, aka 510(k) clearance, which has been the source of complaints from many in the industry. But as the embargo lifted at 1 p.m. Eastern on January 19, all you saw in the media were brief stories like this one. It took a little while before you could get any reaction from industry or other players.

Here’s why: On January 19, a few hours before the embargo lifted, the FDA’s Karen Riley, of the Office of Public Affairs, wrote the following (FYI, it was not me at Reuters asking):

Reuters is asking, so I am clarifying. It goes without saying that the embargo means YOU CANNOT call around and get comment ahead of the 1 p.m. embargo. Needless to say, that would effectively break the embargo.

Actually, it does need some saying, since this is a new version of a journalistic embargo. Cardiobrief’s Larry Husten wrote to Riley in response:

Just for future reference I strongly suggest you rethink this policy. From everything that I understand, the major purpose and best rationale for an embargo is to allow reporters to get a deeper perspective on a complex story. By necessity this often entails asking other experts in the field. Of course, these experts need to be apprised of the embargo and they need to agree to its terms.

I’m guessing you’ve heard similar points from other reporters…

As Husten notes, one of the main reasons for embargoes — at least, if you take journals at face value — is to allow for better, more informed coverage. Part of how that coverage happens is that reporters can go interview sources other than the embargoing institution.

Without that, journalists become stenographers. If that’s what the FDA — a public agency — wants, they need to rethink. And if they insist that this is what they mean by a journalistic embargo, then I’d suggest reporters stop agreeing to them. There’s really no benefit to reporters or the public, only to the FDA.

I’ve tried to reach Riley, and will update if I hear back.

Written by ivanoransky

January 28, 2011 at 10:50 am; January 28, 2011 at 10:50 am; https://embargowatch.wordpress.com/

To the average or below average mind, this response makes a lot of sense. To someone with a grasp of logic, however, the response has a fallacious predicate (a logical fallacy with an unstated major premise).

First, the response (stance) implies that “only” the wealthy supply jobs (since the question concerned “the wealthy),” and secondly, the premise assumes that wealth creates jobs in the first place.

This is proof positive that money in the hands of the work force, the poor, and the middle class produces more economic activity, more demand, than tax breaks for the wealthy.

Now here is something I’ve done a bit of research on that no economist I’ve researched has touched upon: The Bush administration repeated constantly that when they first came into office, they’d inherited a recession. For the longest time I simply assumed this was BS since most of the time that’s all we get from Washington, until a friend told me, hey go “here” and check this out. He sent me a link to a website run by apolitical economists. It was there that I saw the facts, the naked facts (devoid of any political agenda) that a slight recession had started prior to Bush taking office. However, after extensive further research, I could not find anyone who could point to when or how this recession began; I kept tossing out factor after factor until through deduction (and reduction) all I had left was the only possible cause of the recession: billions of dollars had been removed from circulation.

Demand creates jobs. Tax cuts do not. In fact, prior to the Welfare Reform Act when Clinton increased taxes on the wealthy, 23 million jobs were produced; more than had been created at any other time in our history. Under Clinton’s taxation, growth was about 4%; under Bush’s tax breaks, growth was about 2%.

America’s story has become the story of Robin Hood in Reverse: we are taking from the poor and middle class and giving to the rich. This is fact. Welfare for the wealthy has never been so blatant, so abundant, and so profitable as it is today. Privatization is profitization. Everyone needs to watch the documentary: Iraq for Sale. It’s online free: Iraq for Sale.

We are told that if we tax people that much, they won’t go to work. Why work if the government is going to take it all away?

Thus, if profits are taxed at 35%, any money that goes into wages from those profits is only 35% the government’s, and 65% the company’s money.

Though the latest group of clowns in Washington claimed they would create jobs and boost the economy while they were running for office, apparently kicking grandma to the curb is now more important, along with gutting education, the environment, and taking health care away from women. Washington is through the looking glass right now as once again we are told that cutting spending and giving tax breaks to the wealthy will create jobs.

So help me out here: the enemy of my friends is ... wait...the friend of my enemy is ... wait ... the enemy of my enemy is ...

Wouldn't it be a riot if history books 500 years from now see the US as a big asshole of a nation, furnishing dictators with weapons, exploiting weaker nations, and spreading terror in the world?

Fighting On The Same Side As U.S. – Al Qaeda Joins Libyan Rebels

Click here: The Lessons of Triangle Shirtwaist Fire May Be Lost 100 Years Later