Dr. MERCOLA --> alternative health and fitness

Alternative/natural solution-based discussions of topics like health, medicine, science, food, etc.
User avatar
BroJones
Level 34 Illuminated
Posts: 8247
Location: Varies.
Contact:

Re: Dr. MERCOLA --> alternative health and fitness

Post by BroJones »

Interesting, about suppression of alternative cancer treatment.
By Dr. Mercola

If you are old enough, you might recall a controversy in the early 1970s regarding the compound Laetrile, purported to prevent the spread of cancer. New York’s Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center was ground zero in that firestorm.

In the early 1970s, America’s war on cancer was in full force, and Sloan Kettering was regarded as one of the world’s leading cancer research centers.

But Sloan Kettering’s Board of Directors swept positive findings about Laetrile under the rug when it became unprofitable and publicly unpopular for them to support it.

Their Laetrile research was done under their own roof by one of the world’s most respected cancer researchers of the day—Dr. Kanematsu Sugiura. One person—and only one—has come forward with the truth about what turned out to be one of the most reprehensible cover-ups in the history of cancer research.

In 1974, young science writer Ralph Moss had just netted his first big-time job in Sloan Kettering’s public relations department, but he soon found himself smack dab in the middle of the Laetrile fiasco.

In July 1977, Moss was no longer willing to lie on behalf of his employer, so he exposed the truth about Sloan Kettering’s conduct at a highly publicized press conference. The next business day he was fired and swiftly escorted to the door by armed guards.

This story is personally recounted in a new documentary Second Opinion: Laetrile at Sloan Kettering,1, 2 in which Moss reveals the full extent of the Laetrile cover-up, in its entirety, as an insider. He’s also written a book about it, called Doctored Results.

Eric Merola is an award winning documentarian whose prior work includes Burzynski: The Movie and Burzynski—Cancer is Serious Business, Part II. The experience was life changing for Ralph Moss, who has since devoted his career to independently evaluating the claims of conventional and nonconventional cancer treatments.

The fact that mainstream media has embraced this documentary with positive reviews is rather astonishing, and perhaps a sign of changing times.

“Though a documentary, it’s dramatic enough to be reminiscent of ‘The Insider,’ the whistleblowing thriller about Big Tobacco.”
—Graham Fuller, New York Daily News, August 28, 2014

What Is Laetrile?

Laetrile is the patented drug made from the natural compound amygdalin, found in the seeds of many fruits, such as apricot, plum and peach pits, apple seeds, and quince, as well as in almonds. Laetrile is also known as Amigdalina B-17 or vitamin B17, although there is very little evidence it warrants classification as a vitamin.

Amygdalin contains glucose, benzaldehyde, and cyanide. Cyanide is believed to be the active cancer-toxic ingredient in Laetrile. However, cyanide is toxic to all cells, so Laetrile’s overall toxicity is a concern.3

Some Laetrile proponents claim that it’s more toxic to cancer cells than to normal cells.4 Getting cyanide poisoning from apple seeds or almonds is extremely unlikely.5

In 1924, Laetrile was synthesized from amygdalin and promoted as a cancer treatment. By 1978, it was estimated that more than 70,000 Americans had tried it—despite its being banned in the US since 1963. Most people obtain Laetrile from Tijuana clinics, as the agent is still legal in Mexico.6

Dr. Sugiura’s Research

Dr. Kanematsu Sugiura7 spent most of his career at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, authoring more than 250 papers and receiving numerous awards, including the highest honors from the Japan Medical Association for outstanding contributions in cancer research.

While studying Laetrile, which was previously written off as “quack medicine,” Dr. Sugiura discovered Laetrile to have very positive effects in preventing the spread of malignant lung tumors in laboratory mice.

In control groups, which received only plain saline, the lung tumors spread in 80 to 90 percent of the animals. But in those given Laetrile, the tumors spread in only 10 to 20 percent.8

Then, the Cover-Up

By 1974, the findings were so positive that Sloan Kettering had signed off on clinical trials—but suddenly everything changed.9 The center began shifting their Laetrile experiments away from Dr. Sugiura to other scientists. But every time new experiments even hinted at a positive outcome, the research was scrapped, for ridiculous reasons.

Even the scientists at Sloan Kettering who had previously been supportive of Sugiura’s studies began to characterize Laetrile as a fraud—yet nothing had changed scientifically to negate Sugiura’s findings. Despite the opposition, Dr. Sugiura stood firmly by his work.

Ralph Moss had befriended Dr. Sugiura from the beginning of his employment at Sloan Kettering, and Sugiura had excitedly shared his findings about Laetrile with Moss. When things went south, Moss was suddenly caught in a dilemma.

His only choices were to lie, in order to support his employer, or tell the truth and sacrifice his job and potentially his career. He tried leaking the documents of Sugiura’s work to the editor of the New York Times, but they never saw the light of day.

Ultimately, Moss chose to come clean at a press conference in July 1977, which ended up being the final day of his employment at Sloan Kettering. He was admonished to never set foot in the facility again. What happened to cause this sudden, drastic shift about Laetrile?

Embarrassment Over Patchwork Mice



Just prior to the Laetrile controversy, Sloan Kettering was already reeling in embarrassment from research fraud, courtesy of dermatologist William T. Summerlin. In 1974, Summerlin was supposedly studying transplantation immunology and claimed to have successfully performed the first skin transplant from a black mouse onto a white mouse—quite a scientific feat, as they were genetically unrelated animals.

Shortly thereafter, technicians noticed that the black “pigmentation” on the white mice wiped off with a cotton swab, tipping them off that Summerlin had merely colored the skin patch with a black permanent marker. Further investigation revealed that many of Summerlin’s prior studies were equally bogus.10

Sloan Kettering did not want to be in the spotlight for anything else even remotely resembling quackery, and Laetrile was considered too controversial. The problem was compounded by the fact that the pro-Laetrile movement had been commandeered by the extreme right wing John Birch Society, with whom the center did not want to be associated. And then, you must consider the individuals comprising Sloan Kettering’s Board of Directors.

Sloan Kettering’s Board Included Drug and Petrochemical Industry Big-Wigs

According to Ralph Moss, the Laetrile cover-up really only makes sense when viewed through the lens of “the politics of cancer.” According to Moss:11 “The individuals on Sloan Kettering’s Board of Directors were a ‘Who's Who’ of investors in petrochemical and other polluting industries. In other words, the hospital was being run by people who made their wealth by investing in the worst cancer-causing things on the planet.”

The Board was dominated by CEOs from top pharmaceutical companies that produce cancer drugs, whose interest was in promoting chemotherapy and undermining natural therapies. For example, both the Chairman and Vice President of Bristol-Myers Squibb (the world’s leading manufacturer of chemotherapy drugs) occupied high positions on the Board. Of the nine members of the hospital’s powerful Institutional Policy Committee, seven had ties to the pharmaceutical industry. Even the hospital itself invested in stock of these drug companies. The Board also included directors of the biggest tobacco companies in the US—Phillip Morris and RJR Nabisco. Moss writes:

“With this background in mind, it should come as no surprise to learn that Sugiura’s findings did not please his employer. What goes on inside the laboratories is generally of little interest to board members. It is assumed that, whatever it is, it will result in a new patented drug that will keep the cash flow moving in their direction. They were slow to pick up on the implications of Sugiura’s work, but when they did, all hell broke loose in the board room. If a cure for cancer were to be found in an extract from the lowly apricot seed, it would be a terrible economic blow to the cancer-drug industry.”

Related to this is one very telling quote that comes near the end of the film, attributed to William W. Vodra, the former Associate Chief Counsel for Drugs at the USFDA: “Nobody is going to pay $70,000 for a new cancer drug if they can buy Laetrile for 75 cents.” The Sloan Kettering Board likely realized that Laetrile offered no hope as a profitable cancer treatment—so it had to be squelched.

Corporate Greed Knows No Bounds

The Laetrile story is not unlike the Stanislaw Burzynski and Nicholas Gonzalez stories, where potentially powerful cancer treatments are silenced by those whose real agenda is to protect corporate bank accounts. The cancer paradigm is based on toxic drugs, dangerous surgeries, and expensive machines. There's an enormous amount of money to be made in this system, and those who threaten to overturn it will pay a steep price.

Conventional medicine purports to be beholden to science-based medicine, yet it resists and denies solid science-based evidence again and again. Things have not changed much since the 1974 Laetrile cover-up—in fact, they may getting worse. “Science” may not be as trustworthy as we would all like to believe. We continue to see one case after another of shocking medical science fraud, particularly in the extremely profitable cancer industry.

Our current medical system has been masterfully orchestrated by the drug companies to create a system that gives the perception of science based medicine when it is really a heavily manipulated process designed to boost their profits, and more accurately labeled science biased medicine. One review of retracted biomedical and life-science research found that only 21 percent of retractions were due to errors—the rest were due to misconduct, fraud, or plagiarism.

The more respected or influential the journal was, the more likely its retractions were attributed to fraud or suspected fraud! Even the prestigious Mayo Clinic is not immune to this type of scandal, retracting 19 papers from nine research journals due to shady research a few years back. Ralph Moss was very clear in saying he’s not an advocate for Laetrile, but rather an advocate for truth in medical science. An interesting aside is that another laetrile researcher, Dr. Harold Manner, was head of the biology department at Loyola University in the late 70s. Two of his graduate students, Dr. Tom Michalson and Dr. Steve Disanti, were in my medical school class and their Laetrile stories confirmed the details in this story.

Contemporary Laetrile Studies Confirm Sugiura’s Work—But an Apology from Sloan Kettering Is Nowhere to Be Found

The research into Laetrile did not stop just because Sloan Kettering buried it 40 years ago. Many recent studies confirm Dr. Sugiura’s work, supporting his conclusion that Laetrile shows potential in reducing the spread of cancer, although it’s not a cure. Laetrile and amygdalin may also have benefits for other medical issues, such as kidney disease. Here are just a few of the more recent studies that substantiate Dr. Sugiura’s work:

August 2014: In a new German study, amygdalin dose-dependently reduced growth and proliferation of bladder cancer12
May 2013: Amygdalin inhibits renal fibrosis in chronic kidney disease; researchers conclude it is a “potent antifibrotic agent that may have therapeutic potential for patients with fibrotic kidney diseases”13
February 2013: Amygdalin induces apoptosis in human cervical cancer cells; authors conclude it may offer a new therapeutic option for cervical cancer patients14
August 2006: Amygdalin also induces apoptosis in human prostate cancer cells15
February 2003: Amygdalin from Prunus persica seeds (peach pits) shows anti-tumor effects comparable to epigallocatechin gallate in green tea16
Despite contemporary research findings, you will find no retraction (or apology) by Sloan Kettering, and sadly, the vast majority of cancer information sites claim that Laetrile is useless as a cancer treatment. Laetrile was a lost opportunity. This type of misinformation is rampant in the industry, and the people who really suffer are those battling cancer and denied access to treatments that could potentially save them or extend their lives. The facts show that Dr. Sugiura was both competent and honest, but instead of accolades, he received nothing but grief because he just happened to step into the middle of a political hornets’ nest.

Sign the Petition Now!

Ralph Moss’s organization Second Opinion has a petition urging Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center to acknowledge its positive results about Laetrile from the 1970s. You can sign that petition here. Since being fired by Sloan Kettering in 1975, Ralph Moss has written or edited 12 books and three film documentaries about issues related to cancer research and treatment. He currently directs The Moss Reports, an up-to-date library of detailed reports on more than 200 types of cancer. You can obtain further information about Dr. Moss and his work on his website.

If you liked this documentary, you can support this project by renting or buying the entire package which also includes an additional 74 minutes of 'extras' exploring many other parts to this story here.

Or purchase the DVD or Blu-ray at a reduced price here.

User avatar
BroJones
Level 34 Illuminated
Posts: 8247
Location: Varies.
Contact:

Re: Dr. MERCOLA --> alternative health and fitness

Post by BroJones »

Hadn't thought of this one before - the dangers of meds + driving:
By Dr. Mercola

According to statistics collected by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2.5 million Americans wound up in the emergency room (ER) as a result of a car accident in 2012.

That equates to about 7,000 people per day, and the lifetime medical expenses associated with these accidents amount to about $18 billion. When you add in work lost over a lifetime due to injuries sustained, the cost jumps to $33 billion.

According to Ileana Arias, principal deputy director for the CDC:1

"Motor vehicle crash injuries occur all too frequently and have health and economic costs for individuals, the health care system, and society. We need to do more to keep people safe and reduce crash injuries and medical costs."

While there are many factors that make driving risky, including the use of cell phones, texting, drunk driving, and not using a seat belt, there's also the issue of prescription drug side effects.2 Many can cause drowsiness and/or other impairment that can make you dangerous on the road.

This may in fact be a major traffic safety issue that is largely ignored. Truly, if you're taking medication that impairs your driving skills, it's no different from driving drunk or high on illegal drugs.

FDA Admits: Certain Medications Make Driving Risky

According to research3 published earlier this year, prescription drugs and multiple drug combinations are frequently found in the blood of drivers involved in fatal car crashes on US roads.

Unfortunately, many simply assume that the combination of drugs prescribed to them is safe to take while driving because their doctor did not specifically warn them otherwise. This could turn out to be a fatally flawed assumption...

According to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), you should always read the label on any and all prescription or over-the-counter (OTC) drug you're taking before getting behind the wheel.

Also make sure you're not taking more than one medication with the same active ingredient, as this will multiply its effect. And don't make the mistake of assuming that OTC drugs are safe to use while driving simply because you can pick them up without a prescription. OTC allergy and cold medications are particularly notorious for making you sleepy and potentially dangerous behind the wheel.

One 2013 CDC report estimates up to 33 percent of all fatal car crashes involve a drowsy driver,4 and contrary to popular belief, sleep aids do not actually make you more well-rested. On the contrary, sleeping pills are also associated with next-day impairment that could make you a danger behind the wheel. As reported by Medicine Net:5

"The [FDA] cautions that some common nonprescription medicines can impair your ability to drive and operate other vehicles and machinery safely. Some of the most common of these drugs include certain types of nonprescription antihistamines, anti-diarrheals, and anti-nausea medications...

'You can feel the effects some over-the-counter medicines can have on your driving for a short time after you take them, or their effects can last for several hours,' Dr. Ali Mohamadi, a medical officer at the FDA, said in an agency news release.

"In some cases, a medicine can cause significant 'hangover-like' effects and affect your driving even the next day... 'If you don't read all your medicine labels and choose and use them carefully, you can risk your safety. If your driving is impaired, you could risk your safety, and the safety of your passengers and others,' Mohamadi said."

Polypharmacy Raises Your Risk of Impairment

Gone are the days when drunk drivers were our only concern—alcohol is but one of many drugs that can make you dangerous behind the wheel. And now many people, especially seniors, are on multiple prescription drugs (polypharmacy), which multiplies their impairment.

When you picture someone under the influence of drugs in your mind, you probably don't envision a grey-haired grandmother or grandfather, a middle-aged professional, or a soon-to-be retiree.

But the face of drug addiction in the United States has changed dramatically over the past few decades, and a significant number of older adults are now struggling with both illicit and prescription drug abuse.

According to statistics from the Kaiser Health Foundation,6 seniors aged 65 and older fill, on average, 27 prescriptions per year, and National Institutes of Health7 (NIH) statistics show that the number of people in their 50s who are abusing illicit drugs more than doubled from 2002 to 2010, going from 2.7 to 5.8 percent. Among those 65 and older, 414,000 used illicit drugs in 2010.

The most commonly abused prescription medications among seniors include:

Opioids (painkillers such as morphine, codeine, oxycodone, hydrocodone, and fentanyl)
Depressants (including Valium, Xanax, Ambien, and Sonata, prescribed for anxiety and sleep disorders)
Stimulants (such as Ritalin, Concerta, and Adderall)
Many people are still under the illusion that prescription drugs are somehow safer than street drugs, but it's important to realize that prescription medications like hydrocodone and oxycodone are opioids, very similar to heroin.

More Than One in Five Fatal Car Crashes Involve Driver on Multiple Medications

A CDC report8 issued this past summer analyzed data on drivers who tested positive for drugs after being involved in fatal crashes in the US between 1993 and 2010. Not surprisingly, the results were as disturbing as they were revealing. First of all, prescription drugs were involved in fatal car crashes at three times the rate of marijuana.

This is not meant to be an argument that driving under the influence of marijuana is safe, but it clearly shows that prescription drugs, especially when combined with alcohol, is an even greater hazard when you're on the road.9 Moreover, the study found that between 1993 and 2010, the number of drivers with three or more drugs in their system nearly doubled, increasing from 11.5 to 21.5 percent.

Drugs Used by Drivers Involved in Car Accidents
Source: White House Report, Drug Testing and Drug-Involved Driving of Fatally Injured Drivers in the United States: 2005-2009 (PDF)

The fact that about one in five fatal car crashes involves an individual with multiple medications in their system should serve as a warning to all who think prescription drugs are safer than recreational drugs. As reported by Medicine Net,10 this trend is likely to worsen as aging Americans continue to rely on prescription drugs. At present, 90 percent of seniors aged 65 and over use prescription medications.11 According to the researchers, doctors can help prevent drugged driving by warning their patients about the risk of impairment while on certain drugs. They also suggested making mass transportation more affordable to dissuade drugged drivers from taking to the road.

Yet another study, published in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology12 in 2012, found that people involved in car accidents are more likely to have taken psychotropic drugs for a period of days, weeks, or months prior to their accident. Psychotropic drugs are those that alter your mental processes and are typically prescribed for anxiety, depression, insomnia, and other psychiatric disorders. Benzodiazepines, antidepressants, and insomnia drugs known as Z-drugs (including Sonata, Ambien, Imovane, and Lunesta) all have the potential to impair your driving.

Beware: Medications Also Cause Most Fatal Allergic Reactions

Even if a medication does not make you drowsy or less alert, it's also important to be aware that certain drugs can cause fatal allergic reactions. According to one recent study,13 medicines are the most common cause of fatal allergic reactions in the US—absolutely dwarfing the death rate from other allergens such as bee stings and food. Antibiotics and radiocontrast agents used in imaging studies are among the most hazardous. According to the New York Times:14

"Using data from the National Center for Health Statistics, researchers found 2,458 cases of fatal anaphylaxis from 1999 through 2010. Almost 60 percent of the deaths, or 1,446, were caused by reactions to drugs, and in cases where the specific drug was known, half were caused by antibiotics. The rate of drug-induced fatal reactions almost doubled over the period. Insect stings caused 15.2 percent of the fatalities and food 6.7 percent. The cause was not recorded in a fifth of the cases." [Emphasis mine]

Being a Responsible Driver Includes Avoiding Driving When Taking Drugs that May Impair Driving Ability

The risk of driving impairment from prescription medications has likely been underestimated for many years. There is no way to know how many of the accidents attributed to "drunk driving" have really been a combination of alcohol and prescription drugs. When you take combinations of drugs, even those prescribed by your doctor, the mental and physical effects can be complex and unpredictable.


So, if you do choose to take psychoactive medications, or drugs that impair judgment and reaction time either by itself or in combination with other drugs, please exercise good judgment and avoid getting behind the wheel. Needless to say, talking on your phone or texting while driving raises your risk of a potentially fatal car crash in and of itself—and doing so while impaired exponentially raises that risk.

User avatar
BroJones
Level 34 Illuminated
Posts: 8247
Location: Varies.
Contact:

Re: Dr. MERCOLA --> alternative health and fitness

Post by BroJones »

This explains a lot:
Visit the Mercola Video Library
By Dr. Mercola

"Your health is now brought to you by Wall Street. If you thought they hurt us with the banks, wait 'til you see what they are doing to our health care." – Jeff Hays, "Bought"

The new documentary Bought dives deeply into the inner workings of the industries at the core of our food and healthcare system, exploring the truth about how vaccines and drugs are developed and rushed to market and the ongoing secrecy behind the genetic engineering of our food supply.

For a limited time proceeds from renting or purchasing this film will be donated to the National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC), a non-profit organization advocating for vaccine safety and informed consent protection in the public health system.

Filmmaker Jeff Hays believes, as I do, that you have a right to the truth so that you can make educated decisions about your health, food, and medicine. Unfortunately, the truth is not easy to come by today.

Like the banks, the food and drug industries have grown more powerful and less transparent over time, and profit has become the primary motive. Hays may be best known for his 2012 documentary "Doctored," which exposes how the medical and drug industry conspire to control the health care system.

Hays' new film peels back the layers to show how the drug, vaccine, and chemical technology industries have joined forces as one supervillain, with its "undisclosed location" smack-dab in the middle of the White House.

You can't effectively address one industry without addressing them all, as they are now inextricably linked. Until enough people raise their voices, nothing is likely to change. According to Hays:1

"From opiates, to statins, to a blizzard of psychotropic medications that do far more harm than good, the film covers how our entire health care system, from education to practice has been Bought... three story lines converge on Wall Street, in a tale of corruption, greed and shocking lack of conscience."

Federal Vaccine Court: Designed Specifically to Clean Up the Trail of Destruction Left by Vaccines

Vaccines are a $30 billion per year industry. Today, four dominate the world market (Pfizer, Merck, Sanofi Pasteur, and GlaxoSmithKline). Given the furor that erupts when anybody publicly questions vaccine safety, you would assume that the US government considers vaccines completely safe.

But in reality, that's not the case as evidenced by the establishment of a Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) where vaccine injury claims are decided in a Federal Vaccine Court2 to compensate vaccine victims, but in reality protects the vaccine industry from lawsuits. The official line by federal health officials is that vaccines are safe and never cause autism.

However, the fact is that for many years, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Justice and the Federal Vaccine Court have been quietly settling cases of brain inflammation and permanent brain damage (encephalopathy) that included symptoms of autism.

These VICP awards have been made to cover treatments related to autism. The VCIP was established in 1986 when Congress passed the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act,3 which protected vaccine manufacturers, pediatricians and other vaccine providers from nearly all civil liability for injuries and deaths caused by government recommended and mandated vaccines.

If vaccines are so safe, then why has the government set up a federal compensation program specifically to manage the damage they cause? In Bought, families who have won and lost in Vaccine Court share their heartbreaking stories.

These parent and health care professionals speaking out about their experiences are articulate, knowledgeable, and compelling witnesses to the damage that vaccines and one-size-fits-all vaccine policies have done. They are not part of some anti-vaccine campaign—in fact, the reason they were in Vaccine Court is because of what happened when they DID vaccinate their children!

Most Vaccine Reactions Are Never Connected to Vaccines

Proving causation is extremely difficult with vaccine injuries in part because there are huge gaps in vaccine safety science and, also, unless a vaccine reaction is immediate and obvious, parents may not connect their child's deterioration in health to the shots the child was given.

When parents report their child's regression into chronic poor health following vaccination to their child's pediatrician, they are typically told the illness couldn't possibly be related to the vaccine or vaccinations the child was given.

Sometimes reactions occur within hours or days of vaccination and are dramatic and life threatening and the child is taken to the emergency room and the vaccine reaction symptoms are recorded in the child's medical record. Usually, only the most clear cut and identifiable vaccine reactions end up in Vaccine Court—the ones where the "dots" are easily connected.

Unfortunately, at that point the damage is done and the child may be left with lifelong chronic illness and disability. The vast majority of vaccine adverse reactions are never reported to the federal Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS). Still, CDC's VAERS database4 lists 8,000 different adverse vaccine reactions, from localized swelling and anaphylactic shock to autism, coma, and death.5

Because of the factors already discussed, the actual number of reactions is probably much higher than the database reports. As vaccine safety advocate Dawn Loughborough said in "Bought:"

"We used to have this idea we were protecting children from infectious diseases. And we created the National Vaccine program with children in mind, but somewhere in time protecting the program became more important than what's happening to our children."

Physicians Are in a Difficult Position Today

As a parent, you would like to believe your doctor is making decisions that are in your child's best interest—but when you begin to realize how the system really operates, you can see how this may not be the case.

Most physicians DO have good intentions and believe they are helping their patients. But pediatricians and other healthcare providers are overwhelmed, and many "don't know what they don't know"—and the pharmaceutical industry is taking full advantage of that fact.

The current American healthcare system requires physicians to make patient care decisions based on public health policy. Most doctors do not stop to analyze or critique public health policy, including vaccine policy, but simply implement it—and there is great risk to them if they step out of line.

Those who question public health policy face professional criticism, isolation, and potential loss of licensure. But where does this policy come from? It comes from the US government, which gets its data from the drug companies that manufacture vaccines, drugs, and medical equipment—and their lobby. Clinical trials are now nearly entirely funded by both the U.S. government and the medical-pharmaceutical industry in a cozy public-private financial partnership.

Even medical schools in big universities are hugely influenced by pharmaceutical industry money and it affects what's being taught to medical students. So, even academia and our educational system has been bought.
In the featured film, former executive sales representative (and whistleblower) for GlaxoSmithKline Blair Hamrick states:

"I have a new respect for those docs that did not want drug reps in their offices. The reps have four-year degrees in public relations, media or whatever, but they're not scientists. They're given these three-week crash courses on these drugs, and they're told exactly verbatim what to say, and they're persuading doctors to make decisions about patient care. The drug reps do not educate physicians—they do nothing."

An Industry Steeped in Corruption



Download Interview Transcript

The drug industry has grown immensely powerful, wealthy, and corrupt, especially over the past 30 years. Science—or what is passed off as science these days—is virtually meaningless when funded by these companies, which cherry-pick results and manipulate data to fit the conclusions they want. Some of the most monumental legal cases of the past decade highlight the degree to which they'll go to maximize their profit, at any cost. Here are a few that were mentioned in the film:

Pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline plead guilty and agreed to pay a $3 billion fine for illegal marketing and withholding information about health hazards associated with several of its drugs, including Avandia and Paxil. This was the largest fine ever paid by a drug company.
In 2012, Johnson & Johnson agreed to pay more than $1 billion in a civil suit involving the illegal marketing of their antipsychotic drug Risperdal, which they promoted for off-label use for more than a decade. This massive case required more than 100,000 investigative hours over the course of six years, review of more than a million documents, and 140 depositions.
In 2010, two Merck virologists filed a federal lawsuit against their former employer, alleging the vaccine maker falsified data related to the efficacy of the mumps vaccine. A US District Court Judge just recently gave them the green light to proceed.
Chances are we've not seen the last of this massive corporate corruption within the drug industry. There's not much incentive for them to clean up their act, when you consider their profit margin in comparison to their fines. For example, Johnson & Johnson paid out $3 billion in fines—for a drug that earned them $44 billion. For them, maybe it's just the cost of doing business.

Autism Rates Explode 30-FOLD in Three Decades

The official line is that vaccines don't cause autism. Yet, the CDC recently reported that the disorder now affects one in 32 boys between the ages of six and 17. Autism rates are at least 30 times higher than they were 30 years ago—and that's a conservative estimate:

1985: 1 in 2,500 (other estimates suggest 1 in 10,000)
1995: 1 in 500
2001: 1 in 250
2007: 1 in 150
2014: 1 in 77 (other estimates suggest 1 in 50)
Dr. Stephanie Seneff projects that half of all children will have autism by the year 2025. It costs approximately $70,000 per year to raise a child with autism, which is three times as much as raising a healthy child. Not to mention the emotional toll on the parents—80 percent of marriages involving a special needs child end in divorce.

Vaccine Adjuvants Linked to Dangerous Gene Mutations

Rates of autism and other serious immunological and neurological diseases have exploded over exactly the same period of time that our children have been bombarded with one vaccine after another. Industry experts deny that vaccines cause autism, claiming it's a "genetic disease," but it's actually an epigenetic disease—meaning, autism can be triggered by changes to a child's genes. But what's prompting these changes? Environmental chemicals and other toxins can turn genes on that would ordinarily be dormant, and turn genes off that would normally protect you.

Two of the agents shown to do this are mercury and aluminum, and exposure to both has gone up dramatically over the past 30 years, thanks to the outrageous number of vaccines being given today. Recent research has correlated increases in autistic disorder with the introduction of vaccines that use human fetal cell lines and retroviral contaminants. In the 1980s, kids received 23 doses of seven vaccines.

Today, CDC recommends 69 doses of 16 vaccines, starting the day of birth and continuing through age 18—including 49 doses before the age of six. This regimen deals a heavy blow to your child's developing immune system, raising his or her risk for brain abnormalities and autoimmune dysfunction. Although neurotoxic mercury preservatives were removed from many vaccines in the late 1990s, there are still heavy metals in vaccines like aluminum adjuvants, which are also neurotoxic—especially to infants and children. We don't know all of the factors that interact to produce toxic and mutating effects on your DNA because science does not have all the answers yet and much more research needs to be done.

The drug and agricultural industries have thrown caution to the wind, with the assistance of a government that's gone from watchdog to accomplice. A recent study6 reveals just how rampant conflicts of interest are among FDA advisors. On average, 13 percent of the members in any given committee have a financial interest in the company whose drug is up for review by that committee. The Precautionary Principle—"first, do no harm" and establish safety first—has been replaced with do whatever it takes to rush a drug or vaccine to market, then deal with the fallout later. But this recklessness isn't reserved solely for the pharmaceutical industry—the corporate food system has been silently allowing genetically engineered ingredients to be injected into our food supply for more than three decades.

The United States Is World's Top Producer of GE Foods

Genetically engineered (GE) ingredients have made their way into our food supply, without our knowledge, permission, or labeling, since 1976. Essentially no scientific studies have been done to determine whether or not it's safe to eat these foreign proteins, and plants soaked with toxic herbicides that can't be washed off, for years on end. Ninety percent of processed foods contain GMOs, and the US is the top producer. Monsanto is the top manufacturer of GE seeds, producing 90 percent of the GE seeds across the globe.

Studies about the effects of GMOs on human health are sorely lacking, but those involving livestock show some pretty disturbing evidence of developmental abnormalities, disturbed organ development, and damaged microflora. Research has shown that a child's microbiome plays an important role in autism. Pesticides inserted into GMO crops are also finding their way into pregnant women's bloodstreams. Many scientists maintain that we haven't had enough time for the effects of GMOs to fully reveal themselves across populations—and when they do, the damage may be irreparable.

Cheap Food Brings Expensive Healthcare

Since 1996, the incidence of chronic diseases has escalated at the same rate as GE crops have increased, to meet the growing demand for "cheap food." In order to meet this demand, farmers are pushed daily for higher yields. The current system, which employs monoculture, has been devastating to our bee colonies and soils, as well as causing massive environmental pollution and a glut of ecological problems. Forty years ago, Americans spent 16 percent of their income on food and eight percent on healthcare; today, those numbers are reversed. This "cheap food" system has bought us the most expensive healthcare in the world.

In the same way that medical schools and universities are controlled by the drug industry, the food system is controlled by the agrichemical industry. The industrialized food system is putting many small farmers out of business. Land grant universities, funded by corporate agribusiness, are under enormous pressure to shush any research that goes against the party line. Educational institutions are afraid to "bite the hand that feeds them."

Mark Kastel, Co-Founder of the Cornucopia Institute, explains how other strategies are used to ensure that the public never finds out about the health dangers of GMOs:

"Monsanto and others actually have contracts with farmers, a technology agreement that prohibits the farmers from using any of their crop for research—other than agronomic research and yield research. So they can't partner with a physician or a medical researcher to take a look at the impact on human health. They've really impeded our ability to know whether or not GMOs are safe."

Big Bucks Buys Big Votes

Money changes everything... take Prop 37, for example. In 2012, California's GMO labeling bill was a shoe-in to win. Surveys showed as much as 85 percent of the public favored GMO labeling; $6.7 million was raised and the proposition was headed for passage. Then Monsanto, Dow, and food manufacturing giants poured more than $45 million into the anti-labeling campaign, replete with false claims, misrepresentations and scare tactics. Who knew that it is perfectly legal to lie in these types of campaigns? The proposition was defeated by six points. Bought!

Between 2012 and mid-2014, Monsanto and the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) successfully blocked GMO labeling laws in over 30 states, at a price tag of more than $100 million. According to the most recent analysis, opponents of GMO labeling spent more than $27 million on lobbying in the first six months of 2014 alone—this is about three times more than they spent during all of 2013.

On Being 'Pro-Evidence'

It's time to stop the insanity. As a nation, we've gone from a society that values and utilizes science to caring only about what's best for industry. But if enough of us make our voices heard, things CAN change. Think about it... what fuels industry? Money. And how does industry make its money? Off of YOU! You vote with your wallet every day with every purchase, be it at the drug store or grocery store or garden center. For example, you can boycott GMA Member Traitor Brands, which helps level the playing field.

As always, continue educating yourself and sharing what you've learned. Think of yourself as being pro-evidence, as opposed to anti-GMO or anti-vaccine. Just because you question something doesn't mean you're opposed to it—you just want more evidence so that you can make a good decision for yourself and your family. The movie Bought is an excellent learning tool, so I urge you to forward it to your friends and family.

Protect Your Right to Informed Consent and Defend Vaccine Exemptions





From Novermber 8th -14th we launch Vaccine-Awareness Week. We set aside an entire week dedicated to advocating vaccine safety and informed consent in the public health system.

Internet Resources Where You Can Learn More

I encourage you to visit the website of the non-profit charity, the National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC), at http://www.NVIC.org" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;:

If You Vaccinate, Ask 8 Questions: Learn how to recognize vaccine reaction symptoms and prevent vaccine injuries.
Vaccine Laws & Exemptions: Vaccine requirements differ form state to state. Learn about vaccine requirements in your state and what exemptions are available.
Vaccine Freedom Wall: View or post descriptions of harassment and sanctions by doctors, employers, and school and health officials for making independent vaccine choices.
NVIC Advocacy Portal: Think globally, act locally! It is important for EVERYONE to get involved in protecting vaccine choice rights. Sign up for NVIC’s Advocacy Portal for alerts on legislation in your state, easy access to your legislators and tips on getting your voice heard.
Together, Let's Help NVIC Get to the Finish Line

This is the week we can get NVIC the funding it deserves. I have found few NGOs as effective and efficient, as NVIC. Its small team has led the charge on vaccines and informed consent and will continue to do so with our help!

So I am stepping up with the challenge. For the fourth year in a row, I will match the funds you give. This year, I believe a $100,000 match is the right thing to do. Please give, and all dollars received up to $100,000 will be matched by Natural Health Research Foundation, which I founded.

Also check out the documentary Bought from now until November 21st, that exposes the inner workings of the food and healthcare systems, exploring the truth about the manufacture and sales of vaccines and drugs. All proceeds from sales of the video (minus $1 for the distributor) will be donated to the NVIC.

User avatar
BroJones
Level 34 Illuminated
Posts: 8247
Location: Varies.
Contact:

Re: Dr. MERCOLA --> alternative health and fitness

Post by BroJones »

5 Surprising Factors That Make You Pack on Pounds

By Dr. Mercola

Two out of three Americans are now either overweight or obese. Obesity has become the number one form of malnutrition in the country, and no group has been hit harder than our children.

Childhood obesity in the US has nearly tripled since 1980, and one in five kids is now overweight by age six; 17 percent of children and adolescents are obese.1

As noted in a recent article by investigative health reporter Martha Rosenberg,2 the weight of the average American increased by 24 pounds in the four decades between 1960 and 2000.

In her article, she reviews five scientifically-backed factors that contribute to Americans’ expanding waist lines, which I’ll review here. I’ve also covered all of these more in-depth in previous articles, so for additional details, please follow the hyperlinks provided.

Contrary to popular belief, obesity is not simply the result of eating too many calories and not exercising enough.

While those are part of the equation, there are a number of other environmental and lifestyle factors that are likely to play a much more significant role, if nothing else because most people don’t realize they’re affected by them, and therefore fail to address them.

#1: Antibiotics in Food and Medicine

Compelling evidence suggests antibiotic overuse and obesity are intricately linked, although the reasons why didn’t become clear until we discovered how your microbiome influences your weight.

Antibiotics can save your life if they're necessary, such as if you develop a serious bacterial infection, but you don't need antibiotics for every ear, nose, or throat infection you come down with.

Remember that antibiotics are useless against the viral infections that cause the common cold and the flu, and when used for this purpose, they will only harm your health by wiping out the good bacteria in your gut.

Beneficial bacteria (probiotics) are, in fact, so crucial to your health that researchers have compared them to "a newly recognized organ," and have even suggested we consider ourselves a type of "meta-organism."

This is an acknowledgment of the fact that we cannot be healthy without the participation of a vast array of beneficial microbes. While overused in medicine, the primary source of antibiotic exposure is actually through your diet.

The US uses nearly 30 million pounds of antibiotics each year to raise food animals.3, 4 This accounts for about 80 percent of all antibiotics used in the US.5 In livestock, antibiotics are used both to ward off disease and to promote weight gain.

Research suggests antibiotics have the same effect in humans. According to data analyzed by journalist Maryn McKenna,6 the states with the highest levels of antibiotic overuse also have the worst health status in the United States, including the highest rates of obesity.

#2 Other Growth-Enhancing Drugs Used in Livestock

Other growth-enhancing drugs are also used to fatten up livestock, and these too may wreak havoc on your health. Ractopamine is one example. This beta-agonist drug works as a growth promoter by increasing protein synthesis, thereby making the animal more muscular.

In human medicine, beta-agonists are also found in asthma medication, and stubborn weight gain is in fact a common complaint among asthma patients using Advair (a beta-agonist drug)—so much so that the manufacturer has added weight gain to the post-marketing side effects.

Many of the growth-enhancers routinely used in the US are banned around the world for their potential health hazards, which go far beyond weight gain.

Side effects such as reduced reproductive function, birth defects, disability, and death are reported side effects of ractopamine in various animals, and if you’re eating CAFO animal products on a daily basis, there’s no telling what it might be doing to your health...

Many confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs) also use hormones to boost growth, and this routine practices is also banned in many other countries. As noted by Rosenberg:7

anned in European countries are the hormones US cattle growers rely upon, such as oestradiol-17, trenbolone acetate, zeranol and melengestrol. Zeranol may have more actions than just making mammals fat.

It is a ‘powerful estrogenic chemical, as demonstrated by its ability to stimulate growth and proliferation of human breast tumor cells in vitro at potencies similar to those of the natural hormone estradiol and the known carcinogen diethylstilbestrol,’ says the Breast Cancer Fund.

Translation: it may be linked to US breast cancer rates, too. No wonder Europe doesn't want our beef.”

#3: Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals, Including Pesticides

Many common household chemicals are known as endocrine disruptors, a number of which are found in plastic products. These chemicals are similar in structure to natural sex hormones such as estrogen, and can interfere with their normal functions.

Some of the most pervasive examples include bisphenol-A (BPA), PCBs, phthalates, triclosan, agricultural pesticides, and fire retardants.

As Rosenberg notes, endocrine disruptors are not only associated with an elevated risk for infertility, low sperm counts, precocious puberty, diabetes, and other health problems. They’ve also been linked to obesity.

“As early as 2003, the journal Toxicological Sciences8 addressed effects that endocrine disruptors have on fetal development that likely play a role in adult obesity,” Rosenberg writes.

Interestingly, many endocrine disrupting chemicals have been found to promote weight gain specifically at below-toxic levels. As noted by the authors of that paper:

“This article presents data showing that the current epidemic in obesity cannot be explained solely by alterations in food intake and/or decrease in exercise.

There is a genetic predisposition component of obesity; however, genetics could not have changed over the past few decades, suggesting that environmental changes might be responsible for at least part of the current obesity epidemic...

Indeed, many synthetic chemicals are actually used to increase weight in animals. This article provides fascinating examples of chemicals that have been tested for toxicity by standard tests that resulted in weight gain in the animals at lower doses than those that caused any obvious toxicity. These chemicals included heavy metals, solvents, polychlorinated biphenols, organophosphates, phthalates, and bisphenol A. This is an aspect of the data that has generally been overlooked.”

Certain agricultural chemicals, glyphosate in particular, may also affect your weight by obliterating healthy gut bacteria. Recent research has shown that glyphosate causes extreme disruption of microbes’ functions and lifecycles, and preferentially affects beneficial bacteria, allowing pathogens to overgrow... In the US, the vast majority of the glyphosate you’re consuming comes from genetically engineered (GE) sugar, corn, soy, and conventionally-grown desiccated wheat. Besides altering your gut flora, glyphosate also enhances the damaging effects of other food-borne chemical residues and environmental toxins.

#4: Artificial Sweeteners

The business of artificial sweeteners is built on the idea that no- or low-calorie sugar substitutes will help you lose weight. Unfortunately, this simply isn’t true. Research has repeatedly shown that artificially sweetened “diet” foods and beverages tend to stimulate your appetite, increase cravings for carbs, and stimulate fat storage and weight gain.

Part of the problem is that artificial sweeteners trick your body into thinking that it’s going to receive sugar (calories), and when the sugar doesn’t arrive, your body signals that it needs more, which results in carb cravings. This connection between sweet taste and increased hunger can be found in the medical literature going back at least two decades.

Artificial sweeteners also produce a variety of metabolic dysfunctions9 that promote weight gain. A 2010 review in the Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine10 is of particular relevance, as it offers a great historical summary of artificial sweeteners and the epidemiological and experimental evidence showing that artificial sweeteners tends to promote weight gain. It also illustrates that as usage of artificial sweeteners has risen, so has obesity rates.
According to the author of the review:

Intuitively, people choose non-caloric artificial sweeteners over sugar to lose or maintain weight... But do artificial sweeteners actually help reduce weight? Surprisingly, epidemiologic data suggest the contrary. Several large scale prospective cohort studies found positive correlation between artificial sweetener use and weight gain.”

Another study, cited in a recent Democrat & Chronicle article,11 "found that frequent drinkers of diet sodas had waist circumference increases that were 500 percent greater than non-drinkers of diet soda."

#5: Aggressive Stealth Marketing of Junk Food

Last but not least, there’s the issue of junk food marketing, which is particularly detrimental when aimed at kids. Kids are quite literally being deceived and manipulated into destroying their health potential by junk food companies seeking revenue. There’s really nothing “accidental” about rising childhood obesity rates when you take deceptive marketing into account... Marketing to children has actually turned into a full-blown science. For example, “the nag factor” has been studied to the point that marketers can be advised on what kind of tantrums are most likely to push parents into giving in to their child’s demands!

The avenues for marketing have also grown exponentially over the past 30 years, thanks to rapidly evolving technological advances. Marketing is no longer restricted to TV and magazine ads. Kids are now exposed to marketing via brand licensing, product placement, schools, stealth marketing, viral marketing, DVDs, games, and the internet. According to a 2013 report by the Institute of Medicine (IOM),12 children aged 2-11 now see an average of more than 10 television food ads per day. And nearly all (98 percent) of these are for products that are high in processed, damaged fats, sugar, and/or sodium. Most (79 percent) are low in fiber.13

What we’re seeing is a rise of “360 degree immersive marketing,” designed to turn children into loyal lifelong consumers, and when it comes to processed foods, kids are being brainwashed into believing junk foods will make them healthy and happy. The truth, however, is diametrically opposed to such propaganda...

United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Olivier De Schutter14 recently warned that “obesity is a bigger global health threat than tobacco use.” The American Society of Clinical Oncology15 (ASCO) also recently issued a position statement on obesity and cancer, in which they too state that “obesity is quickly overtaking tobacco as the leading preventable cause of cancer." During this year’s World Health Organization’s annual summit, De Schutter urged nations to join forces to place stricter regulations on unhealthy foods, saying: “Just as the world came together to regulate the risks of tobacco, a bold framework convention on adequate diets must now be agreed.”

The Health Ramifications of Obesity Can Be Lethal

Cheap food leads to high health care costs. Obesity-related illness is predicted to raise national health care costs by $48 billion annually over the next two decades.16 Diseases attributable to obesity17 include but are not limited to the following. Keep in mind that while obesity is associated with metabolic syndrome and the diseases mentioned below, it is not their cause; it is simply a marker. The common link among them is metabolic dysfunction, and excessive sugar/fructose consumption is a primary driver. So even if you don't yet have clinical signs of metabolic dysfunction, the fact that you're gaining excess weight is sign enough.

Type 2 diabetes Cancer (especially breast, endometrial, colon, gallbladder, prostate, and kidney18) Heart disease and enlarged heart Sleep disorders (including sleep apnea) Pulmonary embolism Hypertension
Polycystic ovarian syndrome Gastro-esophageal reflux disease Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) Hernia Erectile dysfunction Dementia
Urinary incontinence Chronic renal failure Lymph edema Cellulitis Stroke Lipid problems
Pickwickian syndrome Depression Osteoarthritis Gout Gallbladder disease Asthma
Your Weight Reflects Your Lifestyle Choices

As you can see, a number of factors can contribute to your weight problem. Simply eating fewer calories and exercising more usually doesn’t work very well, and the reason for that is because not all calories are the same. Rather than focusing on calories, you need to address the quality of the foods you eat, and avoid chemical exposures. Many people end up throwing their hands up in disgust when trying to clean up their diet, complaining that once they start to read labels, they realize there’s “nothing safe to eat.” If this sounds like you, you’re probably still looking at processed foods, trying to figure out which ones are “good” for you, and that’s the problem.

The list of ingredients to avoid is just about endless, and keeping track of it can be really discouraging. The answer is to create a list of healthy options instead, which is far shorter and easier to remember. And, when it comes to advertising, keep in mind that whole unadulterated “real foods” are rarely if ever advertised, so if you’re seeing an ad for a food that promises to do you a world of good, it’s probably misleading...

The following short list of just three super-simple, easy-to-remember guidelines will not only improve your nutrition, it will also help you avoid countless chemical exposures that can affect your weight:

Buy whole organic foods, and cook from scratch. First of all, this will automatically reduce your sugar consumption, which is the root cause of insulin resistance and weight gain. If you buy organic produce, you’ll also cut your exposure to pesticides and genetically engineered ingredients, and in ditching processed foods, you’ll automatically avoid artificial sweeteners and harmful processed fats.
Speaking of fats, most people need upwards of 50-85 percent healthy fats in their diet for optimal health. Sources of healthy fats to add to your diet include avocados, butter made from raw grass-fed organic milk, raw organic dairy, coconuts and coconut oil, unheated organic nut oils, raw nuts and seeds, organic pastured egg yolks, and grass-fed meats. For more detailed dietary advice, please see my free Optimized Nutrition Plan.

Opt for organic grass-fed meats to avoid genetically engineered ingredients, pesticides, hormones, antibiotics, and other growth promoting drugs.
Opt for glass packaging and storage containers to avoid endocrine disrupting chemicals.



User avatar
BroJones
Level 34 Illuminated
Posts: 8247
Location: Varies.
Contact:

Re: Dr. MERCOLA --> alternative health and fitness

Post by BroJones »

OK - I'm going to pray to have a more positive image. And actually - I am feeling more healthy with frequent exercises throughout the days. It works!
By Dr. Mercola

For many, "aging" is synonymous with aches and pains, forgetfulness, loneliness, and ultimately death. Aging is inevitable, but research actually shows that how you think about it can make a big difference in how gracefully you age.

As it turns out, holding on to negative stereotypes about aging may have a significant impact on your quality of life, preventing you from living to full capacity as you age.

In one study,1 psychological intervention designed to strengthen positive age stereotypes actually resulted in increased mobility and strength. As reported by the New York Times:2

“Over and over, they’ve found that those who hold more positive age stereotypes behave differently as they age from those with more negative stereotypes, even when the groups are similar in other ways, including health status...

Older people with more positive views of aging do better on memory tests. They have better handwriting. They can walk faster. They’re more likely to recover fully from severe disability.Those with more positive self-perceptions of aging actually live longer, by an average of 7.5 years.”

Mind Over Matter—Your Mental Outlook Affects Your Fitness

This year i turned 60 and thought I would learn to do a handstand. With the help of my trainer Arnold Kolozsvari he helped me learn how to do one. It took me over four months but as you can see in the video above, persistence paid off. Would definitely not try it without a spotter though.

The study in question, published in Psychological Science,3 investigated ways to uplift people’s views on aging, and then looked at how this new mindset affected their physical strength.

Proving the mind-body connection yet again, the results showed that taking a more positive view actually led to stronger physical functioning, even without added exercise.

One hundred seniors living in New Haven, Connecticut participated in the study. The average age was 81. Once a week for one month, some of the participants were exposed to what the researchers refer to as an “implicit association” exercise, while others engaged in an “explicit association” exercise.

Implicit association exercise: For about 15 minutes, words such as “creative,” “spry,” and “fit” were flashed on a computer screen in combination with words like “old” and “senior.”
The words were flashed so quickly that they couldn’t be consciously read—a technique used in subliminal programming. Lead researcher Dr. Becca Levy refers to it as “perception without awareness.”

Explicit association exercise: Those engaging in the explicit exercise were asked to write brief essays about older people engaging in some type of activity.
Follow-up tests revealed that the implicit (subliminal) intervention had a significant impact, strengthening positive age stereotypes and self-perceptions of age over a longer term.

At one week, and again three weeks after the final association exercise, the participants were asked to perform a variety of physical tasks, such as repeatedly standing up and sitting down, walking across a room, and holding challenging poses to test for balance. As reported in the featured article:

“The group exposed to implicit positive messages showed significant improvement in physical function, compared to their status before the experiment began. Those who participated in the explicit intervention and wrote essays showed no improvement.

In fact, the people who underwent four brief exposures to implicit positive messages showed greater physical improvement than a group of a similar aged, enrolled in a different study, that actually exercised for six months.

...The implicit approach may have more impact than explicitly positive messages, Dr. Levy said, because it thwarts resistance. ‘People have encountered negative stereotypes for so long, in media and marketing and everyday conversations, that people build up ways to hold onto them,’ she said. ‘Implicit interventions can bypass that.’” [Emphasis mine]

Real Age versus Perceived Age—A Matter of Choice

When thinking about aging, it's important to remember that your age in years is only a number. I know it sounds cliché, but it's very true, especially if you begin to apply foundational health principles in your life that allow your body to function at its peak. Recently Norwegian researchers created an online calculator for determining fitness age.4 You can take the online test for free.5 This year, I turned 60 but my fitness age according to this calculator is half that—30 years old.

As my test shows, it is possible for a 60-year-old to be just as fit, biologically speaking, as a 30-year-old, or even more fit, depending largely on lifestyle. So your age in years is just a numerical measurement, but your real age is your biological age as dictated by your choices and habits.

Your lifestyle has far more influence on your health at any age, and this includes not only the obvious like healthy eating and effective exercise, but also tending to your emotional needs by deciding to be happy, thinking positively, socializing and seeking out new and exciting experiences, and yes, associating aging with positive stereotypes instead of negative ones.

While society now programs us to think of the elderly as hopelessly incapable in just about every way, you can choose to take a different view. It really wasn’t all that long ago that people revered their elders for their accumulated wisdom and life experience. Barring access to positive subliminal programming, such as that used in this test, you can choose to think of aging as having benefits—regardless of your current age today.

Tips from Centenarians

The way you think about aging may in fact play a role in how old you “allow” yourself to get. The majority of centenarians—people who live to be 100 years old or older—report feeling about 20 years younger than their chronological age, and their mindset has a lot to do with this self-perception. Most centenarians, regardless of their health status, tend to have positive attitudes, optimism, and a zest for life. Could it be that personality characteristics and worldviews play a more significant role than genetics, diet, or exercise? Perhaps!

One way to determine this is to ask centenarians questions about how they see the world, what they value, and to what they attribute their own longevity. What are their secrets to aging well? These individuals represent centuries of wisdom that should not be overlooked. Mining the minds of centenarians for nuggets of wisdom, researchers have been able to detect a definitive pattern of thinking and behavior among the eldest among us. Centenarians overwhelmingly cite stress as the most important thing to avoid.

Those who have lived 100 years or more on this earth have undoubtedly experienced a number of stressful events, but as a general rule, they manage their stress really well. Rather than dwelling on it, they let it go. And most often, they choose to be happy—despite everything. In interviews and surveys with centenarians, the following themes also come up time and time again when asked to explain “why they've lived so long:”6

Keeping a positive attitude; living with passion Eating good food
Exercising moderately (most report basic activities, like walking, biking, gardening, swimming, etc.) Clean living (not smoking or drinking excessively, etc.)
Living independently Family and friends
Staying mentally active and always learning something new Faith/spirituality; being able to forgive and let go of stress
Eating Well for Graceful Aging

For a comprehensive guide on healthy eating, please see my optimized nutrition plan. Generally speaking, you’ll want to focus your diet on whole, unprocessed, ideally organic foods (vegetables, grass-fed meats, raw dairy, nuts, and so forth). In terms of foods to avoid, processed foods and beverages of all kinds top the list, as they’re chockfull of sugar, refined fructose, and grains—all of which promote insulin and leptin resistance when eaten in excess. Insulin/leptin resistance in turn is at the heart of most chronic disease, from obesity to arthritis, cancer, and dementia. A sugar-rich diet is also a major cause of accelerated cellular aging, breaking down your body well before its time.

According to Professor Cynthia Kenyon, whom many experts believe should win the Nobel Prize for her research into aging, carbohydrates (glucose) directly affect the genes that govern youthfulness and longevity. Her research suggests you may actually be able to extend your life and stay fit throughout your old age with a simple dietary change that switches on your "youth" gene.

Kenyon's research with C. elegans roundworms showed that decreased carb intake can lead to significant life extension and improved long-term health. One of the most interesting details of her findings is that not only did the roundworms live up to SIX TIMES longer than normal, but they kept their health and youthful vigor until the end—and isn't that what "healthy aging" is really all about? Besides being high in sugar/fructose, processed foods also contain a wide variety of other harmful substances that can wear down your health, including synthetic chemicals (colors, flavors, preservatives, stabilizers, etc), genetically engineered ingredients, and pesticides, just to name a few.

Exercise Is an Excellent ‘Anti-Aging’ Tool

Besides diet and maintaining a positive mindset, exercise is perhaps one of the best “anti-aging” interventions available. It’s worth noting that exercise has also been shown to have a positive effect on depression, and may in fact help you see the sunnier side of life. Staying active is particularly important for the elderly. I recommend incorporating a variety of exercises into your regimen, but strength training may be particularly beneficial if you’re older. A 2010 study published in the journal Mechanisms of Aging and Development7 confirmed the "anti-aging" effect of high-intensity training, which forms the foundation of my Peak Fitness regimen.

Strength training can be turned into a high intensity exercise by slowing down your movements, and it also tends to be safer than conventional weight lifting or sprinting exercises. One of the key benefits of high-intensity exercises is that it boosts human growth hormone (HGH) production, which is important for optimal health, strength, and longevity. To boost the “anti-aging” benefits of high intensity exercise even further, consider combining it with intermittent fasting. This may in fact be a revolutionary way to keep your body biologically young. The combined effect of intermittent fasting and short intense exercise may help you to:

Turn back the biological clock in your muscle and brain Boost growth hormone Improve body composition
Boost cognitive function Boost testosterone Prevent depression
To Live Longer, Learn to Manage Your Stress and Think Positively

Interviews with centenarians across the world reveal that having a positive world view is part and parcel of enjoying a longer-than-normal life. This makes sense when you consider how potent a component your emotions are for your health. Your emotional state plays a role in nearly every physical disease -- from heart disease and depression, to arthritis and cancer. And as demonstrated in the featured research, just associating aging with positive stereotypes instead of negative ones has the power to affect your ability to perform physical tasks.

Having effective coping mechanisms to deal with everyday stressors are a major longevity-promoting factor in part because stress has a direct impact on inflammation, which in turn underlies many of the chronic diseases that kill people prematurely every day. Meditation, prayer, social support, and exercise are all viable options that can help you maintain emotional and mental equilibrium.
I also strongly believe in using simple tools such as the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) to address deeper, oftentimes hidden, emotional problems. In short, living a long life boils down to an overall healthy lifestyle, where mind, body, and spirit all get the appropriate attention.

User avatar
BroJones
Level 34 Illuminated
Posts: 8247
Location: Varies.
Contact:

Re: Dr. MERCOLA --> alternative health and fitness

Post by BroJones »

Reminder about vitamin D3, and some additional insights:
By Dr. Mercola

If there ever was a Top Nutrient competition, vitamin D just might nab the title. It affects your DNA through vitamin D receptors (VDRs) that bind to specific locations on the human genome.

So far, scientists have identified nearly 3,000 genes that are influenced by vitamin D status, and a robust and growing body of research clearly shows that vitamin D is critical for optimal health and disease prevention.

This includes some of the more difficult-to-treat conditions, including Alzheimer’s disease,1 Parkinson’s, and multiple sclerosis2 (MS).

Vitamin D Deficiency Is Prevalent in MS

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic, neurodegenerative disease of the nerves in your brain and spinal column, caused through a demyelization process. It has long been considered a “hopeless” disease with few treatment options.

The typical prescription for MS focuses on highly toxic medications like prednisone and interferon. However, research over the past few years suggests MS may be improved using a number of natural methods—including vitamin D.

Most recently, a study3, 4 presented at this year’s annual meeting of the American Association of Neuromuscular and Electrodiagnostic Medicine5 (AANEM) shows that vitamin D deficiency is surprisingly prevalent both among those diagnosed with MS, and patients suffering other neuromuscular conditions.

Here, vitamin D deficiency was defined as a 25(OH)D3 level of 30ng/ml or less. Of patients diagnosed with a neuromuscular condition, 48 percent were deficient in vitamin D. Only 14 percent were above “normal,” which here constituted a vitamin D level of 40 ng/ml. According to one of the authors:

“While the connection between vitamin D deficiency and neurologic disease is likely complex and not yet fully understood, this study may prompt physicians to consider checking vitamin D levels in their patients with neurologic conditions and supplementing when necessary.”

Besides this one, about a dozen other studies6 have also noted a strong link between MS and vitamin D deficiency. For example, a number of studies have confirmed that your risk of MS increases the farther away you live from the equator, suggesting lack of sun exposure amplifies your risk.

I believe optimizing your vitamin D level is of great importance if you have MS, but it’s not the only factor. For additional treatment suggestions, please see my previous article discussing natural MS treatment guidelines.

Vitamin D Deficiency Raises Risk of Brain Dysfunction and Death Following Cardiac Arrest

Besides helping prevent chronic brain disorders such as dementia, vitamin D sufficiency may also help protect brain function should you have the misfortune of suffering cardiac arrest. As noted in a recent press release:7, 8

“Vitamin D deficiency increases the risk of poor brain function after sudden cardiac arrest by seven-fold, according to research presented at Acute Cardiovascular Care 2014 by Dr Jin Wi from Korea. Vitamin D deficiency also led to a higher chance of dying after sudden cardiac arrest.

Dr Wi said: ‘In patients resuscitated after sudden cardiac arrest, recovery of neurological function is very important, as well as survival. Vitamin D deficiency has been reported to be related to the risk of having various cardiovascular diseases, including sudden cardiac arrest.

We investigated the association of vitamin D deficiency with neurologic outcome after sudden cardiac arrest, a topic on which there is no information so far...

Patients with vitamin D deficiency were more likely to have a poor neurological outcome or die after sudden cardiac arrest than those who were not deficient.

Nearly one-third of the patients who were deficient in vitamin D had died 6 months after their cardiac arrest, whereas all patients with sufficient vitamin D levels were still alive.’"

Vitamin D Deficiency Linked to Asthma


In related news,9 asthma attacks have also been linked to insufficient vitamin D status. Low vitamin D levels were significantly associated with greater frequency and severity of attacks in asthmatics. According to lead author Dr. Ronit Confino-Cohen, a senior lecturer at Meir Medical Center in Kfar Saba, Israel:

“I think that if a patient has had good treatment for asthma and is still not controlled, maybe he should be checked for his vitamin D levels before adding on more medications. Maybe supplementation would do the job.”

This isn’t the first time vitamin D deficiency has been linked to asthma attacks. Research published in 2010 also found that asthmatic children with low blood vitamin D levels may have a greater risk of suffering severe asthma attacks. According to this study, vitamin D insufficiency itself was linked to a 50 percent increase in the risk of severe asthma attacks.

At the end of 2008, the American Academy of Pediatrics doubled its recommended dose of vitamin D for infants, children and adolescents, raising it from 200 to 400 units per day.10, 11 But research12 published earlier that same year revealed children may need 10 times that amount in order to receive the health benefits that optimal vitamin D levels have to offer! Many mothers also are vitamin D deficient, which is another contributor to asthma. A 2007 study13 showed that poor diet and lack of vitamin D during pregnancy were the determining factors in whether their children suffered from asthma by the age of five.

Have You Checked Your Vitamin D Level Lately?

While the optimal level for general health lies between 50-70 ng/ml, when treating chronic diseases such as cancer, heart disease, and autoimmune and/or neurological diseases, your level should ideally be somewhere between 70-100 ng/ml, which is about double what is typically considered “normal.”

vitamin d levels
References for target ranges

It’s important to realize that vitamin D deficiency14 is common round the world, even in areas where you’d suspect most people would get plenty of sun exposure. One recent study15 done in India found that 69 percent of 37,000 people tested across the country were vitamin D deficient (at or below 20 ng/ml), and another 15 percent had insufficient levels (20-30 ng/ml). Men between the ages of 31-60, and women aged 16-30 were at highest risk of vitamin D deficiency.

The ideal method to optimize your vitamin D levels is through sensible sun exposure, or using a tanning bed. If neither is available, you can use an oral supplement of vitamin D3. GrassrootsHealth has a helpful chart showing the average adult dose required to reach healthy vitamin D levels based upon your measured starting point. Many experts agree that 35 IUs of vitamin D per pound of body weight could be used as an estimate for your ideal dose.

If Taking a Vitamin D Supplement, Remember K2 and Magnesium Too

If you opt for a supplement, be sure to take vitamin D3—not synthetic D2—and take vitamin K2 and magnesium in conjunction with it. Vitamin D is fat-soluble, so taking some form of healthy fat with it will also help optimize absorption. The biological role of vitamin K2 is to help move calcium into the proper areas in your body, and without sufficient amounts, calcium may build up in areas such as your arteries and soft tissues. This can cause calcification that can lead to hardening of your arteries—a side effect previously thought to be caused by vitamin D toxicity. We now know that inappropriate calcification is actually due more to lack of K2 than simply too much vitamin D.

Magnesium is also important, both for the proper function of calcium, and for the activity of vitamin D as it converts vitamin D into its active form. Magnesium also activates enzyme activity that helps your body use the vitamin D. In fact, all enzymes that metabolize vitamin D require magnesium to work. As with vitamin D and K2, magnesium deficiency16 is also common, and if you’re lacking in magnesium and take supplemental calcium, you may exacerbate the situation.

Vitamin A, zinc, and boron are other important cofactors that interact with vitamin D, and indeed, zinc deficiency has also been identified as a contributing factor to Alzheimer’s disease.
When taking supplements, it can be easy to create lopsided ratios, so getting these nutrients from an organic whole food diet and sensible sun exposure is generally your best bet. Dietary sources of magnesium include sea vegetables, such as kelp, dulse, and nori. Vegetables can also be a good source. As for supplements, magnesium citrate and magnesium threonate are among the best.

How Vitamin D Performance Testing Can Help Optimize Your Health



A robust and growing body of research clearly shows that vitamin D is absolutely critical for good health and disease prevention. Vitamin D affects your DNA through vitamin D receptors (VDRs), which bind to specific locations of the human genome. Scientists have identified nearly 3,000 genes that are influenced by vitamin D levels, and vitamin D receptors have been found throughout the human body.

Is it any wonder then that no matter what disease or condition is investigated, vitamin D appears to play a crucial role? This is why I am so excited about the D*Action Project by GrassrootsHealth. It is showing how you can take action today on known science with a consensus of experts without waiting for institutional lethargy. It has shown how by combining the science of measurement (of vitamin D levels) with the personal choice of taking action and, the value of education about individual measures that one can truly be in charge of their own health.

In order to spread this health movement to more communities, the project needs your involvement. This was an ongoing campaign during the month of February, and will become an annual event.

To participate, simply purchase the D*Action Measurement Kit and follow the registration instructions included. (Please note that 100 percent of the proceeds from the kits go to fund the research project. I do not charge a single dime as a distributor of the test kits.)

As a participant, you agree to test your vitamin D levels twice a year during a five-year study, and share your health status to demonstrate the public health impact of this nutrient. There is a $65 fee every six months for your sponsorship of this research project, which includes a test kit to be used at home, and electronic reports on your ongoing progress. You will get a follow up email every six months reminding you "it's time for your next test and health survey."

User avatar
BroJones
Level 34 Illuminated
Posts: 8247
Location: Varies.
Contact:

Re: Dr. MERCOLA --> alternative health and fitness

Post by BroJones »

Reminder about gut health -- good bacteria -- and warning about yogurts at the store that are more like candy than healthy foods --
By Dr. Mercola

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Mark Kastel, co-founder of The Cornucopia Institute, about their long-awaited and much-needed Yogurt Report. The interview took place at the recent Heirloom Seed Festival in Santa Rosa, CA, where we both had the honor of speaking.

The idea for the Yogurt Report was seeded about two years ago. I was out of town and a friend requested yogurt, so I went out looking for some in a local grocery store.

To my dismay, I couldn't find a single healthy yogurt. They were all junk food disguised as "health food." Previous to this experience, I was unaware of how truly degenerated most commercial yogurts had become.

I believe this is really a strong case of deception, so I turned to The Cornucopia Institute. It required two years of investigation.

If you're eating yogurt to help optimize your gut flora, you need to review this report. Chances are you're currently eating yogurt that has more similarities with candy than anything else...

Have You Been Deceived?

Most commercial yogurts are chockfull of artificial colors, flavors, additives, and sugar, typically as fructose (high fructose corn syrup), which actually nourishes disease-causing bacteria, yeast, and fungi in your gut. Since your gut has limited real estate, this smothers your beneficial bacteria and gets you sick.

Sugar also promotes insulin resistance, which is a driving factor of most chronic disease. Virtually all commercially available yogurts use pasteurized milk (heated at high temperature) even before it is reheated to make the yogurt itself, and this has its own drawbacks.

The top-rated yogurts are generally VAT pasteurized at relatively low temperatures, and are made from raw milk rather than previously pasteurized milk. While not as advantageous as making yogurt from raw milk in your own home, it's certainly better than most commercial yogurt.

The report also took a look at the food industry's labeling campaign, Live and Active Cultures, which is supposed to help consumers select products with high levels of healthy probiotics.

To assess probiotic content, Cornucopia tested yogurt purchased directly from grocery stores instead of following the industry's practice of testing levels at the factory. As it turns out, many of the brands bearing the Live and Active Cultures label contain LOWER levels of probiotics than the top-rated organic brands in Cornucopia's report and scorecardthat are not part of the Live and Active campaign.

The report also includes a comparative cost analysis of commercial yogurt brands. The good news is that many organic yogurts are actually less expensive, on a price-per-ounce basis, than conventional, heavily-processed yogurts.

Cornucopia Files Complaint; Requests FDA Investigation

As noted in their press release announcing the release of the report:

"Based on its industry investigation, The Cornucopia Institute has filed a formal complaint with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) asking the agency to investigate whether or not certain yogurts on the market, manufactured by such companies as Yoplait, Dannon, and many store brands including Walmart's Great Value, violate the legal standard of identity for products labeled as yogurt.

The Cornucopia Institute requests that the legal definition of 'yogurt' be enforced for product labeling, just as it is for products labeled 'cheese.'

'The reason that Kraft has to call Velveeta® 'processed cheese-food' is that some of the ingredients used, like vegetable oil, cannot legally be in a product marketed as 'cheese',' Kastel added.

Cornucopia alleges that some of the ingredients that manufactures are using in yogurt, like milk protein concentrate (MPC), typically imported from countries like India, do not meet yogurt's current legal standard of identity."

Why You Need Probiotics

Your body contains about 100 trillion bacteria, mostly in your gut, which is more than 10 times the number of cells you have in your entire body. It's now quite clear that the type and quantity of micro-organisms in your gut interact with your body in ways that can either prevent or encourage the development of many diseases.

A healthy microbiome is not only important for optimal digestion of food and absorption of nutrients, these bacteria also help your body produce vitamins, absorb minerals, aid in the elimination of toxins, and are responsible for a good part of your immune system and mental health, including your ability to resist anxiety, stress, and depression.

One recent study1, 2 discovered that yogurt containing Lactobacillus rhamnosus can help protect children and pregnant women against heavy metal poisoning.

As shown in earlier research, certain microorganisms are particularly efficient at binding to certain toxins and/or chemicals, including pesticides. Here, they found that L. rhamnosus had a preference for binding (and eliminating) mercury and arsenic.

According to the authors: "Probiotic food produced locally represents a nutritious and affordable means for people in some developing countries to counter exposures to toxic metals." Probiotics also have dozens of other beneficial pharmacological actions,3 including:

Anti-bacterial Anti-allergenic Anti-viral Immunomodulatory
Anti-infective Antioxidant Antiproliferative Apoptopic (cellular self-destruction)
Antidepressive Antifungal Cardioprotective Gastroprotective
Radio- and chemo protective Upregulates glutathione and certain glycoproteins that help regulate immune responses, including interleukin-4, interleukin-10, and interleukin-12 Downregulates interleukin-6 (a cytokine involved in chronic inflammation and age-related diseases) Inhibits tumor necrosis factor (TNF) alpha inhibitor, NF-kappaB, epidermal growth factor receptor, and more
It's also important to realize that your gut bacteria are very vulnerable to lifestyle and environmental factors. Some of the top offenders known to decimate your microbiome include the following—all of which are best avoided:

Sugar/fructose Refined grains Processed foods Antibiotics (including antibiotics given to livestock for food production)
Chlorinated and fluoridated water Antibacterial soaps, etc. Agricultural chemicals and pesticides Pollution
Brain Health Is Strongly Tied to Gut Health

While many think of their brain as the organ in charge of their mental health, your gut may actually play a far more significant role. Mounting research indicates that problems in your gut can directly impact your mental health, leading to issues like anxiety and depression.4 For example:

One proof-of-concept study5, 6 conducted by researchers at UCLA found that yogurt containing several strains of probiotics thought to have a beneficial impact on intestinal health also had a beneficial impact on participants' brain function; decreasing activity in brain regions that control central processing of emotion and sensation such as anxiety.
The Journal of Neurogastroenterology and Motility7 reported the probiotic known as Bifidobacterium longum NCC3001 normalized anxiety-like behavior in mice with infectious colitis by modulating the vagal pathways within the gut-brain.
Other research8 found that the probiotic Lactobacillus rhamnosus had a marked effect on GABA levels—an inhibitory neurotransmitter that is significantly involved in regulating many physiological and psychological processes—in certain brain regions and lowered the stress-induced hormone corticosterone, resulting in reduced anxiety- and depression-related behavior.
Previous studies have confirmed that what you eat can quickly alter the composition of your gut flora. Specifically, eating a high-vegetable, fiber-based diet produces a profoundly different composition of microbiota than a more typical Western diet high in carbs and processed fats.

This is part and parcel of the problem with most commercially available yogurts—they're widely promoted as healthy because they contain (added) probiotics, but then they're so loaded with ingredients that will counteract all the good that they're basically useless... The negative effects of the sugar far outweigh any marginal benefits of the minimal beneficial bacteria they have. Remember, the most important step in building healthy gut flora is avoiding sugar as that will cause disease-causing microbes to crowd out your beneficial flora.

Surprisingly, Mark Kastel notes that some of the organic brands of yogurt actually contained some of the highest amounts of sugar! It's important to realize that some yogurt can contain as much sugar as candy or cookies, which most responsible parents would not feed their children for breakfast. Artificial flavors are also commonly used.

You Can Easily and Inexpensively Make Your Own Yogurt

Your absolute best bet, when it comes to yogurt, is to make your own using a starter culture and raw grass-fed milk. Raw organic milk from grass-fed cows not only contains beneficial bacteria that prime your immune system and can help reduce allergies, it's also an outstanding source of vitamins (especially vitamin A), zinc, enzymes, and healthy fats. Raw organic milk is not associated with any of the health problems of pasteurized milk such as rheumatoid arthritis, skin rashes, diarrhea, and cramps.

To find a local source of raw grass-fed milk, see RealMilk.com.

While delicious as is, you could add a natural sweetener to it. Mark suggests whole food sweeteners such as raw organic honey or maple syrup, for example. You can also add flavor without sweetening it up by adding some vanilla extract, or a squirt of lime or lemon juice. Whole berries or fruits are another obvious alternative. Just be mindful not to overdo it, especially if you're insulin or leptin resistant—and about 80 percent of Americans are.

Nourish Your Microbiome with Organic Yogurt for Optimal Health

Cultured foods like yogurt are good sources of natural, healthy bacteria, provided they're traditionally fermented and unpasteurized. One of the best and least expensive ways to get healthy bacteria through your diet is to obtain raw milk and convert it to yogurt or kefir. It's really easy to make at home. All you need is some starter granules in a quart of raw milk, which you leave at room temperature overnight.

By the time you wake up in the morning you will likely have kefir. If it hasn't obtained the consistency of yogurt, you might want to set it out a bit longer and then store it in the fridge.

A quart of kefir has far more active bacteria than you'd obtain from a probiotic supplement, and it's very economical as you can reuse the kefir from the original quart of milk about 10 times before you need to start a new culture pack. Just one starter package of kefir granules can convert about 50 gallons of milk to kefir! Cultured foods should be a regular part of your diet, and if you eat enough of them you will keep your digestive tract well supplied with good bacteria. There may still be times when a probiotic supplement is necessary, but for day-to-day gut health maintenance, yogurt and other traditionally cultured or fermented foods are truly ideal choices.

User avatar
BroJones
Level 34 Illuminated
Posts: 8247
Location: Varies.
Contact:

Re: Dr. MERCOLA --> alternative health and fitness

Post by BroJones »

This is insightful - about a sugary diet's effects;
http://www.foxnews.com/health/2014/11/1 ... =obnetwork" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Following in the footsteps of Morgan Spurlock, who ate only McDonald’s food for one month in the film Super Size Me, an Australian man has undergone a sugar-heavy diet for 60 days to explore the ingredient’s impact on his health.

In the upcoming That Sugar Film, Damon Gameau, a filmmaker and TV actor, vows to follow a strict diet of “healthy,” low-fat food with high sugar content, News.com.au reported.


Within three weeks, the formerly healthy Gameau became moody and sluggish. A doctor gave him the shocking diagnosis: He was beginning to develop fatty liver disease. According to the Mayo Clinic, the most severe outcome for fatty liver disease is liver failure.

“I had no soft drink, chocolate, ice cream or confectionery,” Gameau told Yahoo. “All the sugars that I was eating were found in perceived healthy foods, so low-fat yogurts, and muesli bars, and cereals, and fruit juices, sports drinks ... these kind of things that often parents would give their kids thinking they’re doing the right thing.”

RELATED: Family goes for a year without sugar

Gameau reportedly consumed 40 teaspoons of sugar per day, or slightly more than the average teenager worldwide, according to News.com.au. According to the American Heart Association (AHA), the average American consumes 20 teaspoons of sugar daily.

The AHA’s daily recommendations for sugar consumption are 6 teaspoons for women and 9 teaspoons for men.

In That Sugar Film, Gameau observeed that the additive impacted his physical and mental health. Doctors called his mental functioning “unstable,” and the father-to-be reportedly put on nearly four inches of visceral fat around his waist. He was on the fast track to obesity.

Gameau said his sugar-laden diet left him feeling hungry, no matter how much he ate.

His final meal— which consisted of a juice, a jam sandwich, a bar, and a handful of other snacks— is similar to an ordinary child’s school lunchbox.

“Sadly, it was very easy to do and fitted comfortably into the small plastic container,” Gameau wrote on his blog documenting his experiment.

“The last meal was for all the people out there, especially parents, who are led to believe they are doing the right and healthy thing for their children. They are making an effort yet are horribly let down by the lack of integrity in marketing and packaging strategies.”

Gameau told News.com.au that the experiment’s findings don’t suggest a need to completely cut sugar— but rather a need for more awareness about how much sugar has been added to perceptibly healthy food.

“Sugar’s now in 80 percent of the processed food we’re eating,” he said. “If we can remove that, that’s the first step towards making a change.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 29.1 million Americans, or 9.3 percent of the population, have diabetes. In adults, type 2 diabetes accounts for about 90 to 95 percent of all diagnosed diabetes cases. Research has shown that sugary drinks are linked to type 2 diabetes.

Consuming excess added sugar is also associated with a higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease—the leading cause of death for men and women in the United States, according to the CDC.
Heart disease accounts for one in four deaths in the United States, or about 600,000 annual deaths.

That Sugar Film will be released in Australian movie theaters in February 2015. A U.S. release date has not been listed on the film’s website.
I look carefully at sugar content in foods. Store-bought sweetened yogurts are terrible!

User avatar
BroJones
Level 34 Illuminated
Posts: 8247
Location: Varies.
Contact:

Re: Dr. MERCOLA --> alternative health and fitness

Post by BroJones »

Trying to avoid sugary stuff... but along comes the branch Christmas social this evening... Will limit self to small portions, the taste goes away anyway after a few bites I think.

OK -- good stuff today from Dr M:
By Dr. Mercola

Regardless of your age or gender, you’d be wise to incorporate some form of strength training into your fitness regimen. And it actually gets even more important the older you get.

With good muscle tone, you’ll be better able to perform everyday activities like climbing stairs and getting out of a chair, as you age. Strength training also benefits your:

Body composition and gene expression
Blood glucose control and blood lipids
Blood pressure
Bone density
Cardiorespiratory fitness and aerobic capacity
The fitness industry divides exercise into two categories: anaerobic and aerobic. However, fitness experts like Dr. Doug McGuff and Phil Campbell have pointed out that in order to actually benefit your cardiovascular system, you have to perform mechanical work using your muscles.

Numerous studies have demonstrated the superior effectiveness and efficiency of anaerobic high intensity interval training (HIIT) and strength training over traditional aerobic workouts. In fact, the latter is one of the least effective forms of exercise.

When it comes to strength training, you have a number of different options. A recent article1 by K. Aleisha Fetters discusses the pros and cons of free weights versus strength machines.

Later, I’ll also review how to further supercharge your strength training routine by slowing it down, which turns it into a very high intensity exercise.

The Pros and Cons of Resistance Machines and Free Weights

Generally speaking, one is not “better” than the other in all instances. There are benefits and drawbacks to both machines and free weights, and some exercises tend to be more effective when done using one or the other.

Hand weights are inexpensive, portable, and readily available for purchase in just about any department store. Keeping them in your living room or office will allow you to knock out a few sets of exercises whenever you have the time.

The benefit of a resistance machine is that it will allow you to focus your mind on the effort, as opposed to the mechanics of the movement. But, unless you have enough space for a machine in your home, you’ll need a gym membership.

The primary difference between free weights and machines, however, is the fact that when using free weights, you can move in three dimensions: forward, backward, horizontally, and vertically. This is important, because this is how your body normally moves in daily life.

When you use free weights, you therefore end up engaging more muscles, as you have to work to stabilize the weight while lifting it. The drawback is that you’re at an increased risk of injury unless you maintain proper form.

Machines, on the other hand, are fixed to an axis that will only allow you to move in one or two planes. If used exclusively, this could lead to a lack of functional fitness, which can translate into injuries outside the gym.

Simply stepping off the sidewalk could result in a knee or ankle injury if stabilizing muscles have been ignored in favor of only working your larger muscle groups. On the upside, a machine will allow you to lift heavier weights, and allow you to target specific muscle groups.

So the choice is yours. While some have strong opinions about using one or the other, I believe a balanced approach is the best. As noted in the featured article:

“In the end, for overall strength and conditioning, free-weight exercises—especially those that use compound movements—should be the bedrock of any strength-training plan.

Still, machines can be great tools for helping you focus on and develop certain muscles (granted you use them properly). [T]o get the most from the weight room... [start] your workouts with one or more multi-joint compound movements such as the squat, bench press, deadlift, and overhead press. Then, you can use a few carefully selected machines to strengthen any weak spots and craft the physique you want.”

Four Strength Machines You’re Better Off Not Using

Fitness coach Melissa Edmonds has also weighed in on this topic. In a recent Huffington Post article,2 she lists four ineffective strength training machines that are better replaced with free weights or body weight exercises. This includes:

Smith machine squats: By isolating the movement to a few key leg muscles, you end up placing greater stress on your knees. The machine also prevents you from getting maximum benefit from the squatting movement. When you squat using just body weight or free weights, on the other hand, your entire lower body gets a great workout, as you have to use both your core and legs to stabilize.
Abduction/adduction machines: It’s a stubborn fallacy that you can spot reduce fat from certain areas or your body, and the abduction/adduction machine is overall ineffective for this purpose. As noted in the featured article:
“In addition to not reducing the fat on your thighs, this exercise is considered an "isolation movement," making it less effective for an overall body workout. Stick to compound movements (such as squats and lunges) if you want to improve your legs. Compound movements target additional muscular groups and are more effective overall.”

Abdominal crunch machine: This machine isolates your abdominals and fails to engage your hip flexors. As a result, you will usually end up using your arms, shoulders, and legs to assist, rather than relying on your core strength. In order to effectively train your core, you must incorporate a variety of stabilization, functional, and traditional exercises. Core exercises, specifically abdominal exercises, must be done in a variety of ranges of motion, in different angles and positions, in order to engage all muscles. Effective exercises include standard crunch with rotation, which incorporates your internal and external obliques; functional work on a stability ball; hanging leg raises; and pushups, which actually work your core and abs if done correctly.
Behind-the-head lat pull-downs: In order for this exercise to be effective you need to keep your spine straight and most people simply do not have shoulder joints that are flexible enough to perform this exercise properly. As noted in the featured article, lat pull-downs behind the head can stress your rotator cuff muscles, thereby causing injury. Instead, stick to traditional frontal lat pull-downs.
Seven Phenomenal Strength Exercises

I recently reviewed seven of the best strength-training exercises using free weights or bodyweight, which I’ll list again here. For descriptions of how to perform them, please see “The 7 Best Strength Exercises You're Not Doing.”

1. Goblet Squat: This is a squat done while holding a weight in front of you (like a goblet), which adds more of a workout for your core and legs.

2. Pallof Press: This "anti-rotation" movement is challenging because you must resist rotation, working your obliques, abs, lower back, glutes, and more.

3. Dumbbell Row: The dumbbell row helps to develop a strong back, arms, and core. Plus, because it works your lats, traps, and rhomboids, it supports proper posture by pulling your shoulders back and helping to stabilize your spine.

4. Push-Up: Push-ups are a deceptively simple functional movement that works your upper-body muscles while engaging your core and allowing you to use the full range of motion in your shoulder blades.

5. Split Squat (Stationary Lunge): This is important because it involves single-leg movements that help minimize training imbalances. Split squats will help to build lower-body strength while improving balance, flexibility, and stability in your hips.

6. Lateral Squat: This is a combination of a lateral lunge and a squat, useful for stretching your groin and inner thighs while also working out your hips, thighs, and trunk.

7. Hip Extension (Glute Bridges/Hip Thrusts): This exercise helps to train your glutes, which are often underutilized if you sit for long periods each day.

Super-Slow Techniques Can Boost Your Fitness Results

I’m a big fan of super slow weight training, as it effectively turns your strength training routine into a high intensity exercise. Super slow strength training may even be superior to HIIT exercises using a recumbent bike or elliptical machine in some regards. For instance, you only need about 12 to 15 minutes of super-slow strength training once a week to achieve the same human growth hormone (HGH) production as you would from 20 minutes of Peak Fitness sprints, which is why fitness experts like Dr. Doug McGuff are such avid proponents of this technique.

The super-slow movement allows your muscle, at the microscopic level, to access the maximum number of cross-bridges between the protein filaments that produce movement in the muscle. As with any other strength training exercise, you can perform the super-slow technique with hand weights, resistance machines, bodyweight exercises, or resistance bands. The key to making the either of these super slow techniques work is intensity, which needs to be high enough that you reach muscle fatigue. When the intensity is this high, you can decrease the frequency of your strength training sessions. In fact, the higher your fitness level, the less often you should do these exercises.

As a guideline, when you start out, allow your body at least two days to rest, recover and repair between high-intensity sessions, and do not exercise the same muscle groups each time. As your strength and endurance increases, decrease how often you do the sessions, as each one is placing greater stress on your body (provided you keep pushing yourself to the max). As a rule, avoid doing high intensity exercises more than twice or three times a week. You can enjoy other activities on your off-days, such as swimming, Pilates, yoga, biking, gardening, or whatever other activities you might enjoy.

Comparison of the Super Slow and Super-Super Slow Techniques


Download Interview Transcript

There are two types of super slow techniques—one being even slower than the “standard” super slow technique. The slowest of the two: the “Super-Super Slow” technique, was developed by Dr. Ellington Darden, who also refers to it as “negative accentuated exercises.” I have just started this type of strength training and am impressed with its efficiency and the science behind it. The two super slow techniques could be summarized and compared as follows:

Super Slow: In the video above, I demonstrate a hybrid technique with a four-second positive and a four-second negative, meaning you raise the weight to the slow count of four, and lower it to another count of four. Traditionally, it’s recommended raising and lowering the weight to a slow count of 10. Either way, your goal is to have enough weight that you cannot complete more than 12 reps before reaching muscle fatigue, but not so much that you can’t complete at least four. Ideally, you will be somewhere in the neighborhood of seven to eight. Once you reach exhaustion, don't try to heave or jerk the weight to get one last repetition in. Instead, just keep trying to produce the movement, even if it's not “going” anywhere, for another five seconds or so.
Super-Super Slow: This is only a 1.5-rep exercise. It’s done with the same amount of weight as in Super Slow, but instead of raising and lowering the weight to a count of four or 10, you begin with the weight in a raised position. Lower it to a count of 30; raise it to a count of 30; and lower it again to a count of 30, for a total of 90 seconds. It is best to use a timer and do 30 seconds rather than counting. That’s it! All you need is 10 of these 1.5 rep exercises, performed once a week. Once you can comfortably complete the time, you can increase the weight and decrease the time to 20-20-20 seconds, and gradually work your way up to 30 seconds again. I have been using this approach for a few months and really enjoy it.
Intense Exercise Is a Potent Anti-Aging Strategy

While it's never too late to start exercising, the earlier you begin and the more consistent you are, the greater your long-term rewards. Having an active lifestyle is really an investment in your future well-being. While diet accounts for the majority of the health benefits you reap from a healthy lifestyle, exercise can be viewed as a “force multiplier” and leveraging agent. Interestingly, strength training has been found to have a beneficial impact on your gene expression — not only slowing aging but actually returning gene expression to youthful levels in seniors who start using resistance training.

I believe that, overall, high-intensity interval training really helps maximize the health benefits of exercise, while simultaneously being the most efficient and therefore requiring the least amount of time. Super slow strength training gives you both the benefits from weight lifting and the benefits from high intensity exercises, making it a truly optimal workout for most people. That said, ideally, you'll want to include a wide variety of exercises for a well-rounded fitness regimen. I also strongly recommend avoiding sitting as much as possible, and making it a point to walk more every day. A fitness tracker can be very helpful for this. I suggest aiming for 7,000 to 10,000 steps per day, and this is in addition to your regular fitness regimen, not in lieu of it.

User avatar
BroJones
Level 34 Illuminated
Posts: 8247
Location: Varies.
Contact:

Re: Dr. MERCOLA --> alternative health and fitness

Post by BroJones »

I read that Dr Burzynski's cancer treatment (alternative) which has been attacked by the medical establishment, has finally won approval by the gov't for use on individuals in the US. If anyone has more info on this, pls post on this thread.

User avatar
BroJones
Level 34 Illuminated
Posts: 8247
Location: Varies.
Contact:

Re: Dr. MERCOLA --> alternative health and fitness

Post by BroJones »

Another little post for the counter.

User avatar
BroJones
Level 34 Illuminated
Posts: 8247
Location: Varies.
Contact:

Re: Dr. MERCOLA --> alternative health and fitness

Post by BroJones »

What supplements do you take, and how do you think it benefits you?

User avatar
BroJones
Level 34 Illuminated
Posts: 8247
Location: Varies.
Contact:

Re: Dr. MERCOLA --> alternative health and fitness

Post by BroJones »

OK --
I stay strictly away from Aspartame... more on this and other artificial sweeteners, and their impact on weight GAIN:
By Dr. Mercola

As noted in the featured video, there are currently five different artificial sweeteners on the market. The one you're most likely to encounter is aspartame, which also tends to be the worst of the bunch.

Aspartame and other artificial sweeteners are primarily promoted to diabetics and those concerned about their weight. This despite the fact that artificial sweeteners have repeatedly been shown to produce the exact opposite effects:

Research shows that aspartame worsens insulin sensitivity to a greater degree than sugar
Artificial sweeteners have also been found to promote weight gain, in more ways than one
Over time, artificial sweeteners have also crept into a wide variety of products not directly targeting diabetics and dieters.

Artificial sweeteners are added to about 6,000 different beverages, snacks, and food products, making label-reading an ever pressing necessity. Disturbingly, food industry groups are now trying to hide the presence of artificial sweeteners in certain foods...

Like GMOs, Industry Wants to Hide Artificial Sweeteners in Foods

Last year, the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) filed a petition with the FDA requesting the agency amend the standard of identity for milk and 17 other dairy products, in order to allow for the addition of artificial sweeteners without having to indicate their use on the label.

The IDFA claims the proposed amendments would "promote more healthful eating practices and reduce childhood obesity by providing for lower-calorie flavored milk products" since many children are more inclined to drink flavored milk products than unflavored milk.

Not only is IDFA behind the push to put aspartame in milk, but they are also one of four trade organizations suing Vermont1 in an effort to overturn the state's GMO labeling law, which was passed in May.

It would seem that, far from being concerned about providing Americans with high quality dairy, the IDFA is wholly invested in deceiving the American public for the benefit of the chemical technology industry. Why else would they be so insistent on hiding ingredients that are suspected of harmful effects?

Artificial Sweeteners Cause Metabolic Confusion

One of the reasons why artificial sweeteners do not help you lose weight relates to the fact that your body is not fooled by sweet taste without accompanying calories.2,3

When you eat something sweet, your brain releases dopamine, which activates your brain's reward center. The appetite-regulating hormone leptin is also released, which eventually informs your brain that you are "full" once a certain amount of calories have been ingested.

However, when you consume something that tastes sweet but doesn't contain any calories, your brain's pleasure pathway still gets activated by the sweet taste, but there's nothing to deactivate it, since the calories never arrive.

Artificial sweeteners basically trick your body into thinking that it's going to receive sugar (calories), but when the sugar doesn't come, your body continues to signal that it needs more, which results in carb cravings.

Besides worsening insulin sensitivity and promoting weight gain, aspartame and other artificial sweeteners also promote other health problems associated with excessive sugar consumption, including:

Cardiovascular disease and stroke4,5,6
Alzheimer's disease. While poor diet is a major driver of Alzheimer's in general (the primary culprits being sugar/fructose and grains, especially gluten), the key mechanism of harm here appears to be methanol toxicity—a much-ignored problem associated with aspartame in particular.
In a previous interview, toxicology expert Dr. Woodrow Monte (author of the book While Science Sleeps: A Sweetener Kills7), explains the links between aspartame and methanol toxicity and the formation of toxic formaldehyde.

Research Overwhelmingly Refutes 'Diet' Claims of Artificial Sweeteners

Contrary to industry claims, research over the last 30 years—including several large scale prospective cohort studies—have shown that artificial sweeteners stimulate appetite, increase cravings for carbs, and produce a variety of metabolic dysfunctions that promote fat storage and weight gain—often to the researchers' great surprise.

Below is sampling of some of the studies published through the years, clearly refuting the beverage industry's claims that diet soda aids weight loss. The 2010 review in the Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine8 is particularly noteworthy.

It provides a historical summary of artificial sweeteners in general, along with epidemiological and experimental evidence showing that artificial sweeteners tends to promote weight gain. It also illustrates that as usage of artificial sweeteners has risen, so has obesity rates.

obesity trends
Source: Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine June 8 2010: v83(2)

Preventive Medicine 19869 This study examined nearly 78,700 women aged 50-69 for one year. Artificial sweetener usage increased with relative weight, and users were significantly more likely to gain weight, compared to those who did not use artificial sweeteners—regardless of their initial weight.

According to the researchers, the results "were not explicable by differences in food consumption patterns. The data do not support the hypothesis that long-term artificial sweetener use either helps weight loss or prevents weight gain."
Physiology and Behavior, 198810 In this study, they determined that intense (no- or low-calorie) sweeteners can produce significant changes in appetite. Of the three sweeteners tested, aspartame produced the most pronounced effects.
Physiology and Behavior, 199011 Here, they found that aspartame had a time-dependent effect on appetite, "producing a transient decrease followed by a sustained increase in hunger ratings."
Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 199112 In a study of artificial sweeteners performed on college students, there was no evidence that artificial sweetener use was associated with a decrease in their overall sugar intake either.
International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition, 200313 This study, which looked at 3,111 children, found that diet soda, specifically, was associated with higher BMI.
International Journal of Obesity and Metabolic Disorders, 200414 This Purdue University study found that rats fed artificially sweetened liquids ate more high-calorie food than rats fed high-caloric sweetened liquids. The researchers believe the experience of drinking artificially sweetened liquids disrupted the animals' natural ability to compensate for the calories in the food.
San Antonio Heart Study, 200515 Data gathered from the 25-year long San Antonio Heart Study also showed that drinking diet soft drinks increased the likelihood of serious weight gain – far more so than regular soda.16 On average, for each diet soft drink the participants drank per day, they were 65 percent more likely to become overweight during the next seven to eight years, and 41 percent more likely to become obese.
Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 200517 In this two-year long study, which involved 166 school children, increased diet soda consumption was associated with higher BMI at the end of the trial.
The Journal of Pediatrics, 200618 The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Growth and Health Study included 2,371 girls aged 9-19 for 10 years. Soda consumption in general, both regular and diet, was associated with increase in total daily energy intake.
Journal of Biology and Medicine, 201019 This study delves into the neurobiology of sugar cravings and summarizes the epidemiological and experimental evidence concerning the effect of artificial sweeteners on weight.

According to the authors: "[F]indings suggest that the calorie contained in natural sweeteners may trigger a response to keep the overall energy consumption constant. ...Increasing evidence suggests that artificial sweeteners do not activate the food reward pathways in the same fashion as natural sweeteners… [A]rtificial sweeteners, precisely because they are sweet, encourage sugar craving and sugar dependence."
Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine, 201020 This review offers a summary of epidemiological and experimental evidence concerning the effects of artificial sweeteners on weight, and explains those effects in light of the neurobiology of food reward. It also shows the correlation between increased usage of artificial sweeteners in food and drinks, and the corresponding rise in obesity. More than 11,650 children aged 9-14 were included in this study. Each daily serving of diet beverage was associated with a BMI increase of 0.16 kg/m2
Appetite, 201221 Here, researchers showed that saccharin and aspartame both cause greater weight gain than sugar, even when the total caloric intake remains similar.
Trends in Endocrinology & Metabolism, 201322 This report highlights the fact that diet soda drinkers suffer the same exact health problems as those who opt for regular soda, such as excessive weight gain, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and stroke.23,24 The researchers speculate that frequent consumption of artificial sweeteners may induce metabolic derangements.
Nature, 201425 This study was able to clearly show causality, revealing there's a direct cause and effect relationship between consuming artificial sweeteners and developing elevated blood sugar levels.

People who consumed high amounts of artificial sweeteners were found to have higher levels of HbA1C—a long-term measure of blood sugar—compared to non-users or occasional users of artificial sweeteners.

Seven volunteers who did not use artificial sweeteners were then recruited, and asked to consume the equivalent of 10-12 single-dose packets of artificial sweeteners daily for one week.

Four of the seven people developed "significant disturbances in their blood glucose," according to the researchers. Some became pre-diabetic within just a few days. The reason for this dramatic shift was traced back to alterations in gut bacteria. Some bacteria were killed off, while others started proliferating.
PLOS One, 201426 This study, which was done on rats, using aspartame, also found an increased risk of glucose intolerance. Animals that consume artificial sweeteners ended up with raised levels of propionate—short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) involved in sugar production. Consumption of artificial sweeteners shifted gut microbiota to produce propionate, which generated higher blood sugar levels.
Latest Research Reveals New Mechanism of Harm

Research published in the journal Nature27 in September of this year (see list above) reveals another, previously unknown, mechanism by which artificial sweeteners make you pack on unwanted pounds and disrupt your metabolic function. Most importantly, this study proves causation. In recent years, we've learned that gut microbes play a significant role in human health. Certain gut microbes have been linked to obesity, for example, and as it turns out, artificial sweeteners disrupt your intestinal microflora28,29,30,31—thereby raising your risk of both obesity and diabetes.

Specifically, the researchers found that artificial sweeteners alter metabolic pathways associated with metabolic disease. Decreased function was observed in pathways associated with the transport of sugar in the body, for example. Artificial sweeteners were also found to induce gut dysbiosis and glucose intolerance in otherwise healthy people. Of the artificial sweeteners tested, saccharin (Sweet'N Low) had the strongest impact, followed by sucralose and aspartame. Glucose intolerance is a well-known precursor to type 2 diabetes, but it also plays a role in obesity, because the excess sugar in your blood ends up being stored in your fat cells.According to the authors of this widely publicized study:32

"[W]e demonstrate that consumption of commonly used non-caloric artificial sweeteners formulations drives the development of glucose intolerance through induction of compositional and functional alterations to the intestinal microbiota... Collectively, our results link non-caloric artificial sweeteners (NAS) consumption, dysbiosis and metabolic abnormalities, thereby calling for a reassessment of massive NAS usage."

The following month, another study came out with very similar findings. This one, published in PLOS One,33 found that when rats were fed aspartame, it shifted their gut microbiota, causing it to produce propionate—short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) involved in sugar production—which led to elevations in blood sugar.

Reclaim Your Health by Ditching Artificially Sweetened 'Diet' Foods

When you add together the various routes of harm—from confusing your body with sweet taste without calories, to altering your gut bacteria for the worse—it becomes easy to see how artificial sweeteners have likely played a role in worsening the obesity and diabetes epidemics since their emergence in our food supply. I strongly recommend avoiding all artificial sweeteners, and to read food labels to make sure you're not inadvertently consuming them. They're added to some 6,000 different beverages, snacks, and food products, so there's no telling where they might be hiding.

As for safer sweetener options, you could use stevia or Luo Han, both of which are safe natural sweeteners. Keep in mind however that if you struggle with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, or extra weight, then you have insulin sensitivity issues and would probably benefit from avoiding ALL sweeteners.

Unfortunately, just like sugar, artificial sweeteners can cause you to become addicted to them. If you find you have trouble quitting diet soda or other artificially sweetened products, I suggest trying Turbo Tapping. This is a version of the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) that is specifically geared toward combating sugar cravings. For instructions, please see the article, "Turbo Tapping: How to Get Rid of Your Soda Addiction." The video below with EFT practitioner Julie Schiffman also demonstrates how to use EFT to fight food cravings of all kinds.



If you still have cravings after trying EFT or Turbo Tapping, you may need to make further changes to your diet. My free nutrition plan can help you do this in a step-by-step fashion. Last but not least, if you experience side effects from aspartame or any other artificial sweetener, please report it to the FDA (if you live in the United States). It's easy to make a report — just go to the FDA Consumer Complaint Coordinator page, find the phone number for your state, and make a call reporting your reaction.

User avatar
BroJones
Level 34 Illuminated
Posts: 8247
Location: Varies.
Contact:

Re: Dr. MERCOLA --> alternative health and fitness

Post by BroJones »

Further warning about vaccinations/ flu shots/ etc. - and why you CANNOT SUE even if you are badly injured by a shot:
By Dr. Mercola

If you or your child were to be seriously injured after receiving a routine US government-recommended vaccination, your only recourse would be to apply to the federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP).

Suing the vaccine manufacturer (or the doctor when the vaccine was given negligently) to obtain financial compensation for medical care, pain, and suffering is out of the question, as Congress and the Supreme Court have banned vaccine product liability and vaccine injury malpractice lawsuits in the US.

Instead, vaccine injury claims are awarded or denied by US Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) officials using US Department of Justice (DOJ) attorneys or adjudicated by “special masters” in the US Court of Federal Claims.

Why Vaccine Injury Compensation Program Was Created

The VICP was created by Congress in 1986 under the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act because vaccine manufacturers threatened to stop producing vaccines if they weren’t protected from vaccine injury lawsuits.

It was created as an alternative to a civil court lawsuit, giving partial liability protection to vaccine manufacturers, pediatricians, and other vaccine providers from civil liability for injuries and deaths caused by federally recommended childhood vaccines.1

If the injured party was denied compensation or dissatisfied with the amount of the award, they could then proceed with a civil lawsuit with certain restrictions, depending upon the case.

Unhappy with this partial liability protection, drug companies kept pushing for complete liability protection and, in 2011, convinced the US Supreme Court majority to rule that federally licensed and recommended vaccines are “unavoidably unsafe” and that the VICP should be the “sole remedy” for all vaccine injury claims.2

I think it’s worth repeating, in case you just glossed over it: The reason you cannot sue a vaccine manufacturer for injury or death is because vaccines are “unavoidably unsafe.”

This also means that even if it can be proven that a government recommended vaccine that injured or killed someone in America was defectively designed and could have been made less reactive, no one can sue the drug company in question.3

Funds for the VICP come from a 75 cent fee added to the cost of every dose of vaccine (so the combination MMR vaccine has a $2.25 fee tacked on to it because that shot contains three vaccines).

In effect, Congress gave the pharmaceutical industry a free ride when it comes to drug companies having any financial accountability for the safety of vaccines they sell, and vaccine users and US taxpayers are the ones paying for this program.

This is because the federal government is the biggest purchaser of vaccines provided in public health clinics. When everything is said and done, vaccine manufacturers have virtually no incentive whatsoever to ensure the safety and effectiveness of vaccines that are recommended by federal health officials and mandated by state health officials.

Feds Vow to Publicize Vaccine Injuries Claim Program

Unfortunately, while the VICP was originally set up to give vaccine-injured Americans an expedited, non-adversarial, less expensive administrative alternative to a civil court lawsuit, the process usually only adds more suffering.

Many vaccine victims are left waiting without support and financial assistance for years on end, while their case snakes its way through the red tape. Some VICP claimants even say they felt “attacked” by the government that was supposed to help them.

Another problem has been a lack of public awareness that this program even exists. Reportedly, federal officials operating the VICP have now vowed to publicize the program better,4 promising improvements in its literature to make it easier to understand, and improvements to its website.

They’ve also stated they will seek to increase awareness among health care providers, parents and expectant parents, older adults, Spanish speaking adults, as well as civil litigation and plaintiff’s attorneys.

What actually happens remains to be seen. Several years ago, a comprehensive consultant report about publicizing the VICP was created at a cost of $300,000.5 Few recommendations were ever implemented however. At present, less than $20,000 of the VICP’s $6.5 million annual budget is spent on public outreach.

Moreover, VICP directors didn’t begin taking action on publicity until after a congressionally requested Government Accountability Office (GAO) inquiry began earlier this year. Public outreach has also been largely ignored since the program’s inception. A direct quote from the book, The Vaccine Court: The Dark Truth of America's Vaccine Injury Compensation Program reads:

“One of the most OVERLOOKED provisions of the act was the requirement that the HHS Secretary conduct public awareness and outreach programs to inform the general public about the program and the eligibility to file a claim for either a vaccine-related injury or death. …This provision has been greatly ignored by the HHS Secretary.”

The Associated Press6 also claims it found evidence suggesting that “the government seems intent on keeping the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program’s public profile low.”

Judge Warns Publicity May Further Exacerbate Process Delays

The judge who oversees the special vaccine court in the US Court of Federal Claims warns that greater publicity may result in a greater number of filings, which means the process may take even longer than it already does.

As noted in a recent article by Insurance Journal,7 compensation through the VICP can be painfully slow—at times stretching out over a decade—and that’s if your case is even approved for compensation. Most aren’t. According to the Associated Press:8

“Overall, the government says it distributed $2.8 billion [from 1988] through March 2014. In recent years, the program has received more than 400 claims annually.

Claims are supposed to be resolved within 240 days, with options for another 150 days of extensions. But between the court's opening in 1988 and the end of 2012, less than 7 percent of 7,876 cases not including those claiming a vaccine caused the developmental disability autism met the 240-day target...

Hundreds have surpassed the decade mark. Several people died before getting any money.”

Vaccine Injury Denialists Object to Publicizing Reality of Vaccine Injuries

Another concern among vaccine proponents is that increased publicity around the compensation program may be “misinterpreted” as a public message that vaccines can cause harm, which might dissuade people from vaccinating.

Well, the truth is vaccines can cause harm. The fact that the VICP has kept such a low profile for this long means that most people have no idea that billions of dollars have in fact been paid out to vaccine injured individuals. This is the truth, and however people want to interpret that, it deserves to be widely known that vaccine injuries can and do occur.

Unfortunately, some legal experts still vehemently deny the reality of vaccine injuries and are working overtime to remove the ability for parents to make informed vaccine decisions for their children. For example, UC Hastings law professor Dorit Reiss has been quite vocal in her opposition to changes in the VICP that would allow more vaccine injured children to be compensated.9

She’s also advocating for the elimination of vaccine exemptions and has, in fact, been using her position to claim that there is no evidence vaccines cause harm, and that parents refusing to give their children all government recommended vaccines should be held criminally liable for deaths causes by infectious diseases.10 Journalists are also being manipulated into only reporting information about vaccines that the CDC, FDA, and other government agencies give them, which clearly adds to the lack of transparency on questions about vaccine safety.

According to a July 16 issue of the Nieman Reports,11 “Public health reporters say federal agencies are restricting access and information, limiting their ability to cover crucial health issues.” Fed up with the perceived censorship, a group of journalists have formed a new organization called Stop the New American Censorship12 to raise awareness about this problem. Even students are being blackmailed into not reporting the truth about vaccine injuries. If they write about it, they can get charged with academic misconduct, as evidenced by this recent report13 about a Master of Science student in Australia who wrote a thesis giving evidence for the fact that the whooping cough vaccine isn’t working.

Adult Flu Vaccine Injuries Dominate VICP Claims

According to the GAO’s report, while the VICP was established to assist children injured by government-recommended childhood vaccines, most claims are now filed by adults suffering vaccine injury after receiving influenza vaccine. The flu vaccine was added to the VICP in 2005.14 Most cases involve adults developing Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS)—a crippling condition in which your immune system attacks your nerves. GBS has been a known side effect of influenza vaccines for nearly 40 years.

According to the book, The Vaccine Court: The Dark Truth of America's Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, the swine flu vaccine program was cut short in 1976 when it became clear that the swine flu vaccine was associated with serious neurological side effects such as GBS and transverse myelitis. Congress also passed the “Swine Flu Act” that same year, which transferred liability for vaccine injuries associated with the swine flu vaccine from the vaccine manufacturers to the federal government. Some influenza vaccines, including the adult high-dose flu vaccine for seniors sold under the name Fluzone, also list GBS as a potential side effect in its package insert.15

All Vaccines Carry Risks

It's important to understand that ALL vaccines carry a risk for provoking an immediate acute adverse reaction, such as anaphylactic shock, fainting, or having a seizure, which could be truly life threatening if you're driving a car or crossing a street after you have left the store where you got vaccinated, for example. Further, vaccines can impair and alter immune system responses and can also cause brain inflammation (encephalitis or encephalopathy) that may lead to permanent brain damage.

In addition, as Institute of Medicine Committees have pointed out in published reports, some individuals are more susceptible to suffering harm from vaccines because of biological, genetic, and environmental risk factors but, most of the time, doctors cannot predict who will be harmed because there are few scientific studies that have evaluated vaccine risks for individuals.16 Here are just some of the ways vaccines can impair or alter immune responses and brain function:

Some components in vaccines are neurotoxic, including heavy metals such as mercury preservatives and aluminum adjuvants; residual toxins like endotoxin and bioactive pertussis toxin; and chemicals like formaldehyde and phenooxyethanol.
The lab-altered and genetically engineered viruses and bacteria in vaccines may impair immune responses and do not stimulate the same kind of immunity that occurs when the body responds to an infectious disease
Foreign DNA/RNA from human, animal and insect cell substrates used to produce vaccines may trigger serious health problems for some people
Vaccines may alter your T-cell function and lead to chronic illness
Vaccines can trigger allergies by introducing large foreign protein molecules into your body that have not been properly broken down by your digestive tract (since they are injected). Your body can have an allergic reaction to these foreign particles
In the video below, Barbara Loe Fisher, co-founder and president of the non-profit National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC), interviews a Connecticut artist and her mother, a former professor of nursing, who developed GBS after getting a seasonal flu shot in 2008. She became permanently disabled with total body paralysis.

It’s really important to understand what influenza and flu shot risks are, so that you can ask yourself, “Does my (or my child’s) risk of getting influenza and developing complications outweigh the risks of getting a flu shot and developing complications?” In the end, it is up to you to become fully informed about all risks and make informed vaccine and other health care decisions for yourself or your child if you are a parent.



New Changes to VAERS

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are also proposing changes to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS). Public comments are accepted until January 23, 2015.17 In recent years VAERS has received about 30,000 vaccine-injury reports annually. The suggested changes to the VAERS reporting form are intended to “improve reporting efficiency and data quality.” Significant changes include:

A special box for military-related vaccine injuries
The addition of check-boxes to indicate more specifically the location where the person was vaccinated (e.g., nursing home, pharmacy, school health clinic, etc.)
Boxes to report pre-existing conditions the person may have had prior to vaccination, such as allergies, other illnesses, and long-standing chronic health conditions
A box to list any over-the-counter and prescription drugs the person was on, as well as a list of dietary supplements or herbal remedies they may have been taking
VAERS is another critical resource that has not been given due publicity or attention. In 1999, FDA Commissioner David Kessler, MD wrote in The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) that physicians failed to report up to 99 percent of all serious adverse reactions to vaccines and medications,18 and it still remains that way today. At best, a maximum of 10 percent of adverse reactions are ever reported. At present, the VAERS database19 lists 8,000 different adverse vaccine reactions, from localized swelling and anaphylactic shock to autism, coma, and death.20

According to Dr. Kessler, physicians should report when there is a suspicion that the drug may be related to a serious event; they do NOT have to establish the connection or wait for more compelling evidence. Unfortunately, most doctors today are pressured by public health officials and medical trade organizations to push vaccines and consider preventing disease through vaccines to be a primary goal of their profession.21 Some doctors go so far as to “fire” patients who refuse to get every government recommended vaccine even when patients report they have suffered reactions after previous vaccinations! If doctors would instead actively look for and report serious adverse health outcomes following vaccination, including hospitalizations, injuries and deaths, instead of dismissing them as a “coincidence,” it could go a long way toward building a clinical evidence base that will reveal the whole truth about vaccine risks.

Protect Your Right to Informed Consent and Defend Vaccine Exemptions



With all the uncertainty surrounding the safety and efficacy of vaccines, it's critical to protect your right to make independent health choices and exercise voluntary informed consent to vaccination. It is urgent that everyone in America stand up and fight to protect and expand vaccine informed consent protections in state public health and employment laws. The best way to do this is to get personally involved with your state legislators and educating the leaders in your community.



THINK GLOBALLY, ACT LOCALLY.

National vaccine policy recommendations are made at the federal level but vaccine laws are made at the state level. It is at the state level where your action to protect your vaccine choice rights can have the greatest impact. It is critical for EVERYONE to get involved now in standing up for the legal right to make voluntary vaccine choices in America because those choices are being threatened by lobbyists representing drug companies, medical trade associations, and public health officials, who are trying to persuade legislators to strip all vaccine exemptions from public health laws.

Signing up for NVIC's free Advocacy Portal at http://www.NVICAdvocacy.org" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; gives you immediate, easy access to your own state legislators on your Smart Phone or computer so you can make your voice heard. You will be kept up-to-date on the latest state bills threatening your vaccine choice rights and get practical, useful information to help you become an effective vaccine choice advocate in your own community. Also, when national vaccine issues come up, you will have the up-to-date information and call to action items you need at your fingertips.

So please, as your first step, sign up for the NVIC Advocacy Portal.

Share Your Story with the Media and People You Know

If you or a family member has suffered a serious vaccine reaction, injury, or death, please talk about it. If we don't share information and experiences with one another, everybody feels alone and afraid to speak up. Write a letter to the editor if you have a different perspective on a vaccine story that appears in your local newspaper. Make a call in to a radio talk show that is only presenting one side of the vaccine story.

I must be frank with you; you have to be brave because you might be strongly criticized for daring to talk about the "other side" of the vaccine story. Be prepared for it and have the courage to not back down. Only by sharing our perspective and what we know to be true about vaccination will the public conversation about vaccination open up so people are not afraid to talk about it.

We cannot allow the drug companies and medical trade associations funded by drug companies or public health officials promoting forced use of a growing list of vaccines to dominate the conversation about vaccination. The vaccine injured cannot be swept under the carpet and treated like nothing more than "statistically acceptable collateral damage" of national one-size-fits-all mandatory vaccination policies that put way too many people at risk for injury and death. We shouldn't be treating people like guinea pigs instead of human beings.

Internet Resources Where You Can Learn More

I encourage you to visit the website of the non-profit charity, the National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC), at http://www.NVIC.org" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;:

NVIC Memorial for Vaccine Victims: View descriptions and photos of children and adults, who have suffered vaccine reactions, injuries, and deaths. If you or your child experiences an adverse vaccine event, please consider posting and sharing your story here.
If You Vaccinate, Ask 8 Questions: Learn how to recognize vaccine reaction symptoms and prevent vaccine injuries.
Vaccine Freedom Wall: View or post descriptions of harassment and sanctions by doctors, employers, and school and health officials for making independent vaccine choices.
Connect with Your Doctor or Find a New One That Will Listen and Care

If your pediatrician or doctor refuses to provide medical care to you or your child unless you agree to get vaccines you don't want, I strongly encourage you to have the courage to find another doctor. Harassment, intimidation, and refusal of medical care is becoming the modus operandi of the medical establishment in an effort to stop the change in attitude of many parents about vaccinations after they become truly educated about health and vaccination.

However, there is hope.

At least 15 percent of young doctors recently polled admit that they're starting to adopt a more individualized approach to vaccinations in direct response to the vaccine safety concerns of parents. It is good news that there is a growing number of smart young doctors, who prefer to work as partners with parents in making personalized vaccine decisions for children, including delaying vaccinations or giving children fewer vaccines on the same day or continuing to provide medical care for those families, who decline use of one or more vaccines.

So take the time to locate a doctor, who treats you with compassion and respect and is willing to work with you to do what is right for your child.

User avatar
Strawberry
captain of 100
Posts: 335
Location: Missouri

Re: Dr. MERCOLA --> alternative health and fitness

Post by Strawberry »

Unhappy with this partial liability protection, drug companies kept pushing for complete liability protection and, in 2011, convinced the US Supreme Court majority to rule that federally licensed and recommended vaccines are “unavoidably unsafe” and that the VICP should be the “sole remedy” for all vaccine injury claims.2

I think it’s worth repeating, in case you just glossed over it: The reason you cannot sue a vaccine manufacturer for injury or death is because vaccines are “unavoidably unsafe.”
Dr. Jones I appreciate your sharing this because it is true. Case in point, we received a call on Christmas day notifying us that our great uncle Dick had died. He received a flu shot a few months ago and was hospitalized for 2 months due to being paralyzed, he was then admitted on Christmas and died. Even the doctors admitted his death was vaccine related. He was just 72 years old and healthy and strong for his age. Tragic.

User avatar
BroJones
Level 34 Illuminated
Posts: 8247
Location: Varies.
Contact:

Re: Dr. MERCOLA --> alternative health and fitness

Post by BroJones »

Thanks, Strawberry - yes, it is true.

Another example to the point, a young man in our branch received a flu shot and immediately became very ill. He was taken to a hospital - and placed in ICU for about a week!

He did not die, but was still on oxygen when he was allowed to come home (Christmas eve, IIRC).

I asked his mother if he was healthy before taking the flu shot - she said "YES", very healthy.

User avatar
BroJones
Level 34 Illuminated
Posts: 8247
Location: Varies.
Contact:

Re: Dr. MERCOLA --> alternative health and fitness

Post by BroJones »

This article by Dr Mercola on standing and moving frequently is very informative.
Rather than quoting it, though, I provide just the link this time, because I find the video near the bottom of the article is very worthwhile - esp for those with lower back pain:

http://fitness.mercola.com/sites/fitnes ... =788669859" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

User avatar
BroJones
Level 34 Illuminated
Posts: 8247
Location: Varies.
Contact:

Re: Dr. MERCOLA --> alternative health and fitness

Post by BroJones »

Here's part of another article, re: sleep and exercise:
Vigorous Evening Activity Often Improves Sleep

Two other studies have confirmed that vigorous evening exercise may improve sleep, as opposed to disturbing it. One study2 followed 52 19-year-old students who played sports for up to 90 minutes in the evenings, ending about 1.5 hours before their usual bedtime.

Those who reported more exertion during the sports fell asleep faster, woke up fewer times during the night, and slept more deeply than those who exercised more moderately.

The students who exercised with higher levels of exertion also reported increased tiredness, less hunger, and better moods at night. The researchers concluded:3

“Against expectations and general recommendations for sleep hygiene, high self-perceived exercise exertion before bedtime was associated with better sleep patterns in a sample of healthy young adults.”

Another study4 published in 2011 found that people who exercised vigorously for 35 minutes right before bed slept just as well as on nights when they didn't exercise.

The point is that it appears the cautions about exercising in the evening may be a bit overstated, and the only way to know how it affects YOU is to test it out.

If you’ve been avoiding evening exercise out of fear of insomnia, then it would be instructive to test out the theory—you might be pleasantly surprised. But if your experiment is an epic failure, then you may need to try a few tricks to help your body gear down more quickly so you can sleep.

Overdosing on Exercise Can Backfire

One of the major causes of insomnia is overexercising. Exercising excessively or incorrectly can backfire on your health in multiple ways, including interfering with your sleep.5 Overexercising can actually cause your tissues to break down, become inflamed, and fail to heal or repair, which raises your risk for injury. This is why it’s so important to make sure you allow your body to fully recover between sessions. Excessive endurance exercise activates your stress response, elevating your stress hormones—cortisol, adrenaline, and norepinephrine. If these hormones stay elevated all of the time, it’s not good for your heart, fitness, or overall health.

Stress hormones increase your heart rate, alertness, and the blood flow to your muscles, so they help you perform the physical activity but may make it difficult to doze off.6 Cortisol plays an important role in your sleep-wake cycles. Normally, your cortisol level peaks about 30 minutes after you wake up and then declines throughout the day, being lowest at bedtime, which helps you fall asleep. But doing something like, say, an evening spinning class may throw your system off by kicking your cortisol level back up again.

Over time, extreme exercise may give you chronically elevated stress hormone levels, which can weaken your immune system and raise your risk for chronic disease. The most serious risk of extreme endurance training involves damage to your heart—including sudden cardiac death. This is especially true if you have a history of heart disease.

Tips for Preventing Post-Workout Insomnia

If evening is the most convenient time of day for you to exercise and it doesn’t interfere with your sleep, then by all means continue. But if you are one of the folks who has a hard time nodding off after an evening workout, then you might want to change up your routine.

Sometimes selecting a less strenuous workout at night may be helpful, while saving the heavy hitting, such as high-intensity interval training (HIIT), for morning or afternoon. Consider reserving your evening exercise sessions for less strenuous exercises like yoga,7 Pilates, or even an evening walk. Or just try lowering the intensity of what you’re already doing. Restorative Yoga is particularly beneficial for stress reduction, relaxation and sleep.8 Below are five more tips to help you slip into slumberland with ease: 9, 10

If possible, seek to get your workout done three to four hours prior to bedtime
Coffee before a workout can enhance your fitness gains, but if you exercise in the late afternoon or evening, the caffeine may keep you awake
Staying well hydrated during your workout can help blunt your cortisol response
Try taking a hot bath, shower, or sauna just before bed. The sudden temperature drop from getting out of the bath helps your body shut itself down, facilitating sleep
What You Lose if You Don’t Snooze



Download Interview Transcript

Whatever you do in terms of exercise, you should never allow yourself to become sleep deprived—the price for doing so can be steep. Sleep deprivation has the same effect on your immune system as physical stress or illness, which helps explain why poor-quality or insufficient sleep is tied to an increased risk of numerous chronic diseases. Research tells us that inadequate sleep can contribute to everything from physical aches and pains to diabetes, heart disease, and even irreversible brain damage.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) actually classifies insufficient sleep as a public health epidemic, as it’s crucial for virtually every tissue and organ in your body. It’s during sleep that metabolic waste products are eliminated from your brain, and it’s thought that insufficient sleep may actually injure your brain cells, impacting your cognition.11 Recent studies show just how dangerous sleep deprivation really is. The following are just a few of the more recent studies on this topic:

People who reported sleeping less each night were found to have swelling in a region of their brain that is predictive of more rapid cognitive decline.12
Older men who sleep poorly are more likely to face subsequent cognitive decline.13
Older adults who sleep less than six hours or more than eight hours per night, on average, have lower brain function scores.14
People with chronic sleep problems may develop Alzheimer's disease sooner than those who sleep well.15
Interrupted sleep may be as harmful as no sleep at all—just one night of interrupted sleep was found to be enough to wreak havoc on mood and energy levels.16
If you have insomnia, it may take some time before you notice any benefits from exercise. A study17 from Northwestern University found that working out once is not enough to improve sleep—you have to sustain your fitness routine for a number of weeks to months. Sleep science also makes it clear that you can’t "catch up" on sleep over the weekend—that is, it doesn’t prevent the damage. So you must take steps to ensure that you sleep well every night.

To determine whether or not you’re getting enough sleep, assess the quality of your waking day. If your energy is steady and rhythmic through the day, you’re probably getting plenty of good quality sleep. Make sure you’re going to bed early enough, and that your bedroom is dark, quiet, cool, and free of electromagnetic currents. For an extensive list of tips for improving your sleep, please refer to this previous article. Additionally there is an explosion of fitness trackers coming that can easily help you monitor not only how much you sleep but the quality and tell you how much deep sleep you are getting.

Consider Exercising in the Morning

There is research suggesting that morning or afternoon exercise may offer unique health benefits, but if you're not sure which time of day you prefer, just do some experimenting. Personally, I prefer exercising in the morning for a number of reasons—the first being that my workout is completed early on, leaving less chance for other obligations to eat up my exercise time. Additionally, exercising in the morning makes it easy to exercise while fasting, which amplifies its benefits.

Another reason to workout first thing in the morning is that it may actually help squelch food cravings. Research shows that 45 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous exercise in the morning reduces food cravings, both immediately and throughout the day.18 Morning exercise may also help you keep moving even after your workout, which is key to optimal health. So if you can, give morning workouts a try. If not, don’t stress… fit your workouts in when they’re most convenient for you. It’s always best to listen to your body and honor what it tells you. The best time for you to exercise is whenever you will do it consistently.

User avatar
BroJones
Level 34 Illuminated
Posts: 8247
Location: Varies.
Contact:

Re: Dr. MERCOLA --> alternative health and fitness

Post by BroJones »

I'm cutting back on sugar and white flour...

Look at some of the latest research:
By Dr. Mercola

Dr. Robert Lustig, a Professor of Clinical Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology at UC San Francisco, has been on the forefront of the movement to educate people about the health hazards of sugar and fructose in particular, for a number of years now.

In the video above, he discusses how low-fat recommendations have led to a dramatic increase in sugar consumption, and it is in fact sugar, not fat, that drives heart disease.

Excess sugar is also a primary factor in countless other chronic disease states. This is a topic he delves into in-depth in his new book, Fat Chance: Beating the Odds Against Sugar, Processed Food, Obesity, and Disease.

The excessive amount of “stealth” sugar in processed foods has quite literally become the backbone that supports America’s disease care business.

According to the Credit Suisse Research Institute’s 2013 study1 “Sugar: Consumption at a Crossroads,” up to 40 percent of US healthcare expenditures are for diseases directly related to the overconsumption of sugar!

Sugar Masquerading as Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner...

A major problem with processed food is that when you look at the label, you have no way of knowing how much of the sugar is natural to the food itself, versus the sugar that was added.

Even foods that are typically considered “healthy” can contain shocking amounts of added sugar or fructose, typically in the form of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS).

Clinical trials have shown that those who consume HFCS tend to develop higher risk factors for cardiovascular disease within as little as two weeks, so if I had to pick out the worst culprit among sugars, it would be fructose.

According to Dr. Lustig, it’s important to distinguish between natural food-based sugars versus added sugar.

For example, he notes that a small serving cup of plain yogurt has about seven grams of sugar in the form of lactose, a natural sugar found in dairy, which does not cause any major harm.

A fruit flavored yogurt on the other hand, contains about 19 grams of sugar, 12 grams of which is added sugar. This equates to eating a small cup of plain yoghurt with a bowl of Frosted Corn Flakes.

According to Dr. Lustig, we “abdicated rational nutrition when we went to processed foods.” The low-fat craze has been particularly harmful, because when the food industry removed the fat, they had to put lots of sugar in. Without either fat or sugar, the food is unpalatable and no one would buy it.

We now know that good nutrition includes healthy fat, and quite a bit of it, and that sugar is a primary driver of chronic inflammation and related health problems, including obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.

In short, by removing fat and adding sugar, the processed food industry has created a smorgasbord of made to order disease... Besides enormous amounts of sugar, processed foods are also loaded with ingredients that have been banned in other countries, such as trans fats, artificial sweeteners, genetically engineered ingredients, and glyphosate.

Soda Companies’ Secret Business-Building Strategy—Soda Increases Thirst!

According to Dr. Lustig, there’s a conspiracy around the sugar in soda. Soft drinks contain caffeine, a mild diuretic that makes you urinate more, thereby eliminating water from your body. It also contains about 55 mg of salt, and when you take in salt and excrete water, you get thirstier.

The reason why soda contains so much sugar is because they have to mask the taste of the salt... “They [the soda companies] know what they’re doing, and this is very specific,” Dr. Lustig says, “because they have made it so that you will buy more. This is their business strategy.”

Unfortunately, it’s a business strategy that is slowly killing customers... Adding insult to injury, sugar has also been found to be eight times as addictive as cocaine,2 which also ensures that you’ll stay hooked on processed foods and sweet drinks.

Your Body Can Only Handle a Limited Amount of Sugar

The main problem with sugar, and processed fructose in particular, is the fact that your liver has a very limited capacity to metabolize it. According to Dr. Lustig, you can safely metabolize about six teaspoons of added sugar per day. But the average American consumes 22 teaspoons of added sugar a day.

All that excess sugar is metabolized into body fat, and leads to all of the chronic metabolic diseases we struggle with, including but not limited to:

Type 2 diabetes
Cardiovascular disease
Hypertension (high blood pressure)
Dementia
Cancer
According to a study published in JAMA3 earlier this year, Americans get, on average, about 350 calories a day from added sugar in the diet. (This equates to about 22 teaspoons of sugar, as noted earlier, which amounts to 25 percent of the average American’s daily calorie intake.)

In this study, people who consumed 21 percent or more of their daily calories in the form of sugar were TWICE as likely to die from heart disease compared to those who got seven percent or less or their daily calories from added sugar.

The risk was nearly TRIPLED among those who consumed 25 percent or more of their daily calories from added sugar. Approximately 10 percent of Americans consume added sugars at this tripled-risk level...

Four grams of sugar is equivalent to about one teaspoon, and I strongly recommend limiting your daily fructose intake to 25 grams or less from all sources, including natural ones like fruit. That equates to just over six teaspoons of sugar a day.

If you’re among the 80 percent majority who have insulin or leptin resistance (overweight, diabetic, high blood pressure, or taking a statin drug), you’d be wise to restrict your total fructose consumption to as little as 15 grams per day, until you’ve normalized your insulin and leptin levels.

Sugar-Cancer Connection Revisited

Hospitals are notoriously ignorant of the metabolic damage associated with sugar and processed foods. Even cancer hospitals serve up processed high-carb diets to their patients, despite the fact that the science quite clearly shows that sugar feeds cancer.

Cancer cells need glucose to thrive, and carbohydrates turn into glucose in your body. In order to starve the cancer cells, you have to eliminate its primary food source, i.e. the sugars, which include all non-vegetable carbohydrates. Otto Warburg actually received a Nobel Prize back in 1934 for his research on cancer cell physiology, which clearly demonstrated cancer cells require more sugar to thrive. Unfortunately, very few oncologists appreciate or apply this knowledge today.


The latest World Cancer Report,4 issued by the World Health Organization (WHO), predicts worldwide cancer rates to rise by 57 percent in the next two decades. But the report also notes that half of all cancers are preventable and can be avoided if current medical knowledge is acted upon. Diet (and exercise) is included in their list of known cancer prevention strategies.

I firmly believe that reducing sugar and processed food consumption is part and parcel of the long-term answer. Even in terms of treatment, cancer has been shown to respond to diet alone. A ketogenic diet, which is high in healthy fat and very low in sugar, has been shown to reverse cancer in many cases, and a lot of very exciting research is being done in this area. It can be very useful in addressing the underlying insulin resistance. Once the insulin resistance resolves, the ketogenic diet is typically not required.

New Study Reveals Sugar Also Initiates Cancer Growth

Oncologists will surely have to start paying closer attention to the issue of sugar if they want to purport to practice science-based medicine. Not only is there a solid scientific basis for the claim that sugar feeds existing cancer; according to a study5 published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation in January, sugar also appears to initiate cancer growth. As reported by GreenMedInfo.com,6 this study:

"’...provide evidence that increased glycolytic activation itself can be an oncogenic event...’ That is to say, the activation of sugar-based metabolism in a cell – driven by both the presence of increased quantities of glucose and the increase glucose receptors on the cell membrane surface (i.e. ‘overexpression of a glucose transporter’) – drives cancer initiation.

Moreover, the study found that ‘Conversely, forced reduction of glucose uptake by breast cancer cells led to phenotypic reversion.’ In other words, interfering with sugar availability and uptake to the cell causes the cancer cell to REVERSE towards its pre-cancer structure-function (phenotype).

Tips for Reducing Your Added Sugar Intake


As mentioned in the featured video, the easiest way to dramatically cut down on your sugar and fructose consumption is to switch to a diet of whole, unprocessed foods, as most of the added sugar you end up with comes from processed fare; not from adding a teaspoon of sugar to your tea or coffee. But there are other ways to cut down well. This includes:

Cutting back on the amount of sugar you personally add to your food and drink
Using Stevia or Luo Han instead of sugar and/or artificial sweeteners. You can learn more about the best and worst of sugar substitutes in my previous article, “Sugar Substitutes—What’s Safe and What’s Not”
Using fresh fruit in lieu of canned fruit or sugar for meals or recipes calling for a bit of sweetness
Using spices instead of sugar to add flavor to your meal
Take Control of Your Health to Avoid Becoming a Statistic

Research coming out of some of America’s most respected institutions now confirms that sugar is a primary dietary factor driving chronic disease development. So far, scientific studies have linked excessive fructose consumption to about 78 different diseases and health problems,7 including heart disease and cancer.

Having this information puts you in the driver’s seat when it comes to prevention... As a general rule, a diet that promotes health is high in healthful fats and very, very low in sugar and non-vegetable carbohydrates, along with a moderate amount of high-quality protein.
For more specifics, please review my free optimized nutrition plan, which also includes exercise recommendations, starting at the beginner’s level and going all the way up to advanced.

User avatar
BroJones
Level 34 Illuminated
Posts: 8247
Location: Varies.
Contact:

Re: Dr. MERCOLA --> alternative health and fitness

Post by BroJones »

Reasonable health advice (not from Dr Mercola)
Dear Steve,

When we think of health, we tend to think mostly of exercise and nutrition. But there are many surprising activities that can have a huge impact on health that we don't consider. Case in point. Studies show that reading has a tremendously beneficial effect. As we'll see, when you read the right things in the right ways, you can dramatically improve your health. Read on and I'll tell you how.

Boost Mind Power With Books

Rates of Alzheimer's disease are on the rise. What can you do to protect yourself? Reading books has been shown to help. According to research conducted by Case Western Reserve University, people who engage the most in brain stimulating activities such as reading are the least likely to develop Alzheimer's.

The lead researcher of the project said, "Just as physical activity strengthens the heart, muscles, and bones, intellectual activity strengthens the brain against disease."

Not only does reading protect against Alzheimer's disease, it also protects against all mental decline. A Chicago research group tested a group of older adults for nearly 6 years. What they found was that those who did intellectually stimulating activities such as reading most often remained mentally sharp the longest.

Of course there are other factors that influence our brain power. How well we sleep and the quality of our relationships are important factors. As is whether or not we engage in hobbies that interest us. But regular reading is yet another way we can protect our brain health for life. Making a habit of reading daily can help you to stay sharp.

Reduce Stress

Of the top 10 causes of death all but 1 are closely connected with stress. Research now shows that high stress levels may contribute to illness more than any other factor. So reducing stress levels is an important way to protect your health.

Reading has been shown to be an effective way to help reduce stress. When you read, your whole body and your brain relax. Research shows that reading is actually a better stress reducer than drinking a cup of tea or listening to music. In fact, it was even better than talking a walk!

Of course, I'm not suggesting that you should read instead of taking a walk.Both are important. And reading isn't the only skill you should develop for reducing stress. There are lots of ways to reduce stress that you should bone up on to improve the quality of your life. But add regular reading to your daily routine and you'll have one more way to relax and take care of your health.


Improve Relationships With A Good Story

I've written about the importance of relationships when it comes to health. In fact, the quality of our friendships is the single biggest predictor of our health and longevity. Apart from just showing up and doing things together, the quality of our relationships is affected by our empathy. That means how well we can relate to others and feel connected.

Strange as it may seem, research shows that reading can significantly improve our empathy. Therefore, reading can improve our relationships with others. This is yet another way in which reading can improve our health.

When it comes to reading to improve empathy, there's a catch, however. Not just any book will do. To gain this benefit we have to read books that engage us. We have to read books that we truly enjoy. And the best books for this purpose are fiction.
So while reading about business, history, self-help, religion, technology, or any other subject can help improve our brain and reduce stress, novels that we enjoy will best improve our relationships.

Reading Improves Mood

A huge number of men suffer from depression, which negatively impacts all aspects of life. Surprisingly, reading has been shown to be very helpful in reducing depression. Not only is it helpful in mild cases. It is also proven to be helpful even in severe depression.

While any kind of reading can be helpful, studies show that reading self-help, religious, or spiritual books offer the most benefit. One of the lead researchers of one of those studies said that depression makes it difficult for people to believe that change is possible, but inspirational books help to overcome that challenge.

The reading of inspirational books is fast becoming a promising new form of therapy. Whether you suffer from depression or not, reading inspirational books can lift your mood and challenge you to see new possibilities.

Reading For Life

The best outcomes are for those who read the most frequently. Make a habit of reading daily. If you are in the habit of watching television, switch it off for a month. Read instead. See how things change for the better. You will notice reduced stress, improved relationships, and a brighter mood. You might even feel a little bit smarter. That's because reading has been shown to form more new connections in the brain than most other activities.

Make a point of reading a variety of types of books. Read about subjects that are of interest to you, and challenge yourself by reading about things that are new to you. Whatever else you may read, include plenty of fiction that you enjoy. And make a point to read books that are inspirational and challenge you to see life in a new way.

Do these things and you can expect to notice benefits in short order. Make reading daily a habit for life, and you will be glad you did. Remember, real men read.

Yours in Great Health,
Health Edge
Has anyone read an ENGAGING book lately?

User avatar
BroJones
Level 34 Illuminated
Posts: 8247
Location: Varies.
Contact:

Re: Dr. MERCOLA --> alternative health and fitness

Post by BroJones »

OK - nerve health and resisting Parkinson's disease - first the pith:

Besides intermittent fasting, yet another dietary intervention that may be of particular importance for those with Parkinson’s is the so-called ketogenic diet. One 2006 study14,15 suggests that a diet high in fat (upwards of 90 percent) and nearly devoid of protein and carbohydrates has neuroprotective effects in both Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s sufferers.

While this was an admittedly extreme form of ketogenic diet, when used on patients with Parkinson's disease, it resulted in improvements in balance, tremors, and mood. There are various theories as to how it helps, including shifting your brain's metabolism from blood sugar to ketone bodies, a secondary energy source derived from fat metabolization.

Your heart, as well as other muscles, operates quite efficiently when fueled by ketones.
And the rest:
Diet and Exercise Can Curb Effects of Parkinson’s Disease, and Promote Overall Immune System Health
January 16, 2015 | 81,706 views
| Available in EspañolDisponible en Español
Visit the Fitness Video Library
By Dr. Mercola

Parkinson's disease is a neurological disorder in which neurons in dopamine-producing cells within a region of your brain known as the substantia nigra, which is required for normal movement, begin to die.

Symptoms, which typically progress over time, include tremors, slow movement, rigid limbs, stooped posture, an inability to move, reduced facial expressions, and a shuffling gait.

The condition can also cause depression, dementia, speech impairments, personality changes, and sexual difficulties.

The condition affects as many as one million Americans,1 for whom day-to-day activities can be a real challenge. However, recent research2 suggests that exercise may be beneficial; improving balance, mobility, and overall quality of life.

A ketogenic diet may also be helpful, and fasting has been shown to have an overall beneficial impact on the immune system and brain function, helping to protect against cellular changes associated with Parkinson’s disease.

Exercise Benefits Those with Parkinson’s

In the featured study,3 a total of 231 Parkinson’s patients were divided into two groups. One group received their usual care while the other participated in 40-60 minutes of exercise three times a week for six months. In those with less severe disease, those who exercised reported a 70 percent reduction in falls.

According to the authors:

“An exercise program targeting balance, leg strength, and freezing of gait did not reduce falls but improved physical and psychological health. Falls were reduced in people with milder disease but not in those with more severe Parkinson’s disease.”

Other research has found similar benefits. For example, one 2012 study4,5 found that low-intensity treadmill exercise improved gait speed, and both high- and low-intensity exercises improved cardiovascular fitness. Not surprisingly, stretching and resistance exercises were also found to improve muscle strength.

Another 12-year-long Swedish study,6,7 which included nearly 43,400 people, concluded that six hours of moderate exercise daily may reduce your risk of developing Parkinson’s disease by 43 percent.

The Toxic Origins of Parkinson’s

There appears to be a pronounced toxic influence at work in Parkinson’s disease, which makes dietary considerations all the more important. Nearly a dozen commonly used pesticides have been linked to Parkinson’s, for example, suggesting your best bet is to stick to an organic diet as much as possible.

Even ambient exposure to pesticides has been found to increase the risk of Parkinson’s disease considerably,8 and having a specific genetic variant increases the risk of the disease following pesticide exposure six-fold.9

Parkinson's disease is still classified as idiopathic, meaning it has no identifiable cause. But one reason it is likely on the rise is due to many environmental toxins that now bombard your body on a daily basis, with pesticide exposure becoming an undeniable risk factor.

Avoiding pesticide exposure – around your home, in your community, and via the food you eat – is clearly important for reducing your Parkinson’s risk, as is reducing your exposure to environmental toxins of all kinds. Another important and often overlooked environmental risk factor is amalgam dental fillings, 50 percent of which is mercury—a known neurotoxin.

Mercury becomes a biochemical train wreck in your body, causing your cell membranes to leak, and inhibits key enzymes your body needs for energy production and removal of toxins. Mercury toxicity can lead to major inflammation and chronic illnesses such as Parkinson’s disease.

Fasting Helps Improve Immune System and Brain Function

Fasting is known to have a number of health benefits, including weight loss and improved insulin and leptin sensitivity, but new research10 also suggests fasting helps bolster your immune system function. If you are underweight though, you should be very careful about implementing fasting without professional supervision. According to study co-author Valter Longo, director of the USC Longevity Institute:11

"When you starve, the system tries to save energy, and one of the things it can do to save energy is to recycle a lot of the immune cells that are not needed, especially those that may be damaged. What we started noticing in both our human work and animal work is that the white blood cell count goes down with prolonged fasting. Then when you re-feed, the blood cells come back.”

White blood cells are your primary disease-fighters. Interestingly enough, when you fast, a “regenerative switch” is activated, promoting stem cell-based regeneration of your hematopoietic system, which is involved in the production of blood. As reported by Medical Daily:12

“After the test subjects went without food for two to four days over the course of six months, the hematopoietic system killed older and damaged immune cells and generated new ones. The system is made up of the organs involved in creating new blood, leading the scientists to believe their findings will have major impacts on healthier aging...

With each fast, the white blood cell depletion triggered new cells in the immune system. When the enzyme PKA was reduced along with the cells in the fasting process, that’s when Longo and his team realized there was a switch being flicked on. The switch made it possible to create new cells and also lowered the levels of IGF-1, a hormone that’s linked to aging, tumor growth, and cancer risk.”

In addition to that, there’s exciting research indicating that intermittent fasting can have a very beneficial impact on your brain function, too. Research by Dr. Mark Mattson13 suggests that fasting every other day (restricting your meal on fasting days to about 600 calories) tends to boost brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) by anywhere from 50 to 400 percent, depending on the brain region. BDNF activates brain stem cells to convert into new neurons, and triggers numerous other chemicals that promote neural health. This protein also protects your brain cells from changes associated with both Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease.

Your Body Was Built for Periodic Cycles of “Feast and Famine”

Part of what appears to be driving bodily disease processes is the fact that we eat too frequently. When you’re in constant “feast mode,” your body actually forgoes much of its natural “repair and rejuvenation programming.” Periodic fasting provides a number of health benefits that most people seek: from improved cardiovascular health and reduced cancer risk, to gene repair and longevity. I strongly recommend it if you have insulin/leptin resistance. Traditional fasting, in which you don’t eat for 24-72 hours, is not a very appealing strategy for most people, however. Fortunately, there are other options that can make compliance a lot easier.

Newer research shows that you can get most if not all of the same benefits of severe calorie restriction through intermittent fasting, i.e. an eating schedule where you eat your regular meals on some days, and dramatically cut calories on others. Yet another alternative, and my personal favorite, is to simply restrict your daily eating to a specific window of time, such as an eight-hour window.

This type of eating schedule is quite easy to comply with once your body has shifted over from burning sugar to burning fat as its primary fuel. Also, you don’t need to stay on a fasting regimen for life. Once your insulin resistance improves and you are normal weight, you can start eating more food as you will have reestablished your body’s ability to burn fat for fuel.

Ketogenic Diet Offers Hope for Parkinson’s

Besides intermittent fasting, yet another dietary intervention that may be of particular importance for those with Parkinson’s is the so-called ketogenic diet. One 2006 study14,15 suggests that a diet high in fat (upwards of 90 percent) and nearly devoid of protein and carbohydrates has neuroprotective effects in both Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s sufferers.

While this was an admittedly extreme form of ketogenic diet, when used on patients with Parkinson's disease, it resulted in improvements in balance, tremors, and mood. There are various theories as to how it helps, including shifting your brain's metabolism from blood sugar to ketone bodies, a secondary energy source derived from fat metabolization.

Your heart, as well as other muscles, operates quite efficiently when fueled by ketones. Your muscles can store more glucose (as glycogen) than your brain because they have an enzyme that helps them maintain their glycogen stores. But your brain actually lacks this enzyme, so it prefers to be fueled by glucose. When your blood glucose levels are falling, your ketone levels are typically rising, and vice versa. You might be wondering, then, how your brain is able to function when you're in a state of ketosis.

It turns out that your body has a mechanism for providing your brain with a fuel source it CAN use when glucose is in short supply. When your glucose is low, your brain tells your liver to produce a ketone-like compound called beta-hydroxybutyrate (or beta-hydroxybutyric acid). This compound is able to fuel your brain very efficiently, especially with "practice." The more efficient your body is at burning fats, the more easily it can move seamlessly between its fat-burning and carbohydrate-burning engines, and the more stable your blood sugar will be.

Your Diet Determines Your Metabolic Function

The problem for most Westerners, whose diets are typically heavy in sugar and carbs, is that they’ve lost their ability to burn ketones efficiently. If this is you, then carbohydrates are ever-present and your liver can't remember how to produce ketones because it hasn't needed to. Your fat-burning engine has essentially been switched off... The sad fact is, if you eat the standard American diet, chances are you've lost your ability to burn body fat, despite carrying around an enormous supply of it!

Eliminating excess sugar and grains from your diet will help you "retrain" your body how to burn fat for fuel. Typically, restricting your carbohydrates to 30 or 40 grams per day, along with an appropriate amount of protein (thought to be around one-half gram per pound of lean body weight), is enough to "starve" your brain into ketosis. Exercising, particularly while fasting, is also very effective for jumpstarting your fat-burning engine. The more consistently you exercise, the better your body will be at using your own fat stores for energy.

Strategies That Can Add Years to Your Life, and Help Prevent Parkinson’s Disease, Too

A key factor for living a long healthy life is optimizing your insulin and leptin sensitivity, and there’s cause to believe that this is important for neurological disorders like Parkinson’s as well. Exercise, intermittent fasting, and eating a diet high in healthy fat, along with low amounts of non-vegetable carbs and moderate amounts of protein can likely go a long way toward preventing and treating Parkinson’s and many other health concerns. Additional lifestyle factors to take into consideration include the following:

Eating an organic, whole food diet. For a complete guide about which foods to eat and which to avoid, see my comprehensive nutrition plan. Generally speaking, you should focus your diet on whole, ideally organic, unprocessed foods that come from healthy, sustainable and preferably local sources. For the highest nutritional benefit, eat a good portion of your food raw. This type of diet will naturally optimize your insulin signaling. Refined sugar and processed fructose in particular can act as a toxin when consumed in excess, driving multiple disease processes in your body – including insulin resistance, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and systemic inflammation.
Enjoy a comprehensive exercise program. Even if you're eating the best diet in the world, you still need to exercise—and exercise effectively—if you wish to optimize your health. You should include core-strengthening exercises, strength training, and the right kind of stretching, as well as high-intensity "burst-type” activities. Consider combining this with intermittent fasting to supercharge your metabolism. Also remember that chronic sitting is an independent risk factor for an early demise, so strive to reduce sitting as much as possible. I also recommend walking 7,000-10,000 steps each day, over and above your regular fitness regimen.
Optimize your vitamin D. Researchers report that there is a correlation between insufficient levels of vitamin D and the development of early Parkinson's disease. The important factor when it comes to vitamin D is your serum level, which should ideally be between 50-70 ng/ml year-round, and the only way to determine this is with a blood test. Sun exposure or a tanning bed is the preferred method, but a vitamin D3 supplement can be used when necessary. If you take supplemental vitamin D, make sure you're getting enough vitamin K2 and magnesium as well.
Get plenty of animal-based omega-3. Omega-3 fats, such as that found in krill oil, serve an important role in protecting your brain cells. It works in part by preventing the misfolding of a protein resulting from a gene mutation in neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's.
Avoid as many chemicals and toxins as possible. This includes tossing out your toxic household cleaners, soaps, personal hygiene products, air fresheners, bug sprays, pesticides, and insecticides, just to name a few, and replacing them with non-toxic alternatives. An organic diet is the best way to limit exposure to pesticides associated with Parkinson’s disease. Also avoid prescription drugs in favor of more natural approaches, whenever possible.

User avatar
BroJones
Level 34 Illuminated
Posts: 8247
Location: Varies.
Contact:

Re: Dr. MERCOLA --> alternative health and fitness

Post by BroJones »

What Whistleblowers Tell Us About Vaccine Safety and Effectiveness
October 07, 2014
By Dr. Mercola

In 2010, two Merck virologists filed a federal lawsuit under the False Claims Act against their former employer, alleging the vaccine maker lied about the effectiveness of their mumps vaccine (which is part of the trivalent measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine).

The whistleblowers, Stephen Krahling and Joan Wlochowski, claimed they witnessed "firsthand the improper testing and data falsification in which Merck engaged to artificially inflate the vaccine's efficacy findings."


They charged that Merck used improper testing techniques; manipulated testing methodology; abandoned undesirable test results; falsified test data; and failed to adequately investigate and report the diminished efficacy of its mumps vaccine.

They also claim Merck falsely verified that each manufacturing lot of mumps vaccine would be as effective as identified in the labeling; falsely certified the accuracy of applications filed with the FDA; falsely certified compliance with the terms of the CDC purchase contract; and mislabeled, misbranded and falsely certified its mumps vaccine, among other violations.

Merck allegedly falsified the data to hide the fact that the mumps vaccine in the MMR shot has significantly declined in effectiveness.1

By artificially inflating the mumps vaccine efficacy, Merck was able to continue selling MMR vaccine in the US and maintain its monopoly over the mumps vaccine market in the US and other nations that purchase Merck's MMR vaccine.

This is the main point of contention of a second class-action lawsuit, filed by Chatom Primary Care2 in 2012.

US District Court Judge C. Darnell Jones has now given both of these lawsuits the green light to proceed.3, 4

Also noteworthy is the fact that the Department of Justice (DOJ) has gone on record disputing Merck's apparently false assertions that DOJ previously investigated the issue and declined to join in the lawsuit because it found no wrongdoing by Merck.

Court Documents by Department of Justice Contradict Merck Statements

The Wall Street Journal5 initially published the following statement received from a Merck spokeswoman:

"This lawsuit is completely without merit. Merck has presented information that demonstrated to the US Department of Justice that these allegations are factually false, and after the department conducted its own two-year investigation, it decided not to pursue this lawsuit.

In addition, the FDA previously examined the issues raised in the lawsuit, and they were resolved to the agency's satisfaction. Merck intends to vigorously defend against the litigation filed by the plaintiff."

However, court documents filed by DOJ appear to refute Merck's insinuations that DOJ has already made a final determination in this case and sided with Merck. Kellie Lerner, a representative for vaccine purchasers, sent the Wall Street Journal the following statement:

"Contrary to Merck's assertions, the Department of Justice has submitted documents to the court affirming its 'strong interest in the outcome' of the case, and clarifying that its decision not to intervene 'should not be interpreted as a comment on the merits.'

More importantly, the government has preserved its right to intervene later in the proceedings. Based on the government's submissions to the court, we take issue with any assertion that the government has definitively concluded to not pursue this case." [Emphasis mine]

Does Faked Vaccine Efficacy Nullify Indemnification?

In order for a drug company producing and selling a in the U.S. to be indemnified from civil liability for vaccine damage, the vaccine must be licensed by the FDA as "pure" (safe) and "potent" (effective) and the CDC must have recommended the vaccine for universal use by children.

If in fact a drug company fakes or withholds information from the government about a vaccine's safety or effectiveness, does indemnification still apply? Likely not. And that could spell trouble for Merck.

This certainly isn't the first time vaccine effectiveness has been questioned. Even for vaccines that adhere to government standards for demonstrating effectiveness, while vaccine acquired "herd immunity" is thrown around like gospel, much of the protection vaccines offer has actually been shown to wane rather quickly. The fact is, vaccine-acquired immunity does NOT work the same way as the naturally-acquired immunity you get after recovering from the disease.

Besides that, a majority of the adult population never receives boosters, so most of the adult population is in effect "unvaccinated." This too puts a serious hole in the 85-95 percent requirement to achieve vaccine-acquired "herd immunity."


Download Interview Transcript

Whooping Cough Vaccine—Another Vaccine Failure

In 2010, the largest outbreak of B. pertussis whooping cough in over 50 years occurred in California. Around that same time, a scare campaign was launched in the California by Pharma-funded medical trade associations, state health officials, and national media, targeting people opting out of receiving pertussis vaccine, falsely accusing them of causing the outbreak.

Research published in March 2012 painted a very different picture than the one hyped by public health officials and the media.6

In fact, the study showed that 81 percent of 2010 California whooping cough cases in people under the age of 18 occurred in those who were fully up to date on the whooping cough vaccine. Eleven percent had received at least one pertussis containing vaccine, but not the entire recommended series, and only eight percent of those stricken were unvaccinated. According to the authors:

"This first detailed analysis of a recent North American pertussis outbreak found widespread disease among fully vaccinated older children. Starting approximately three years after prior vaccine dose, attack rates markedly increased, suggesting inadequate protection or durability from the acellular vaccine." [Emphasis mine]

So, as clearly evidenced in this study, the pertussis vaccine likely provides very little, if any, protection from the disease. In fact, basic science research suggests those who are fully vaccinated can still get infected with pertussis and transmit infection without even showing any symptoms.

A 2013 baboon study busted a major hole in the argument that vaccines achieve herd immunity, because while the whooping cough vaccine was found to cut down on serious clinical disease symptoms, it doesn't eliminate transmission of the disease! With that in mind, vaccinated people may pose a far greater threat to others than unvaccinated people because they do not know when they're actively transmitting infection.

Merck Whistleblowers, CDC Whistleblowers–That's a Lot of Whistling...

In late August, the non-profit National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC) renewed its call for oversight of vaccine safety to be removed from the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), which is responsible for vaccine development, regulation, policymaking, and promotion and also serves as a legal respondent and administrator for the federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP).7

NVIC's call came after a senior scientist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a public statement8 admitting he and CDC co-authors of a MMR vaccine safety study9 published in 2004 in Pediatrics "omitted statistically significant information" and that "the final study protocol was not followed." "I regret that my coauthors and I omitted statistically significant information," he said in his statement.

If you can possibly lose more confidence with our CDC officials—who both promote vaccines while also having the conflicting duty of monitoring safety—listen to investigative reporter Sheryl Atkisson's interview with CDC Director of Immunization Safety, Dr. Frank DeStefano.

DeStefano co-authored the MMR vaccine safety study in question with Dr. Thompson. Not surprisingly, Dr. DeStefano defends the study, and maintains the status quo position that there's no causal link between vaccines and autism. Attkisson did get him to concede that there is the possibility that vaccines may trigger autism in some children, however.

"It's hard to predict who those children might be, but certainly, individual cases can be studied to look at those possibilities," he told Attkisson.


Study Questions Whether Autism and Cancer are Related to Human Fetal DNA in Vaccines

Despite the CDC's reassurances that all is well with vaccines, Dr. Thompson's confession coincides with the publication of a study10, 11 asserting there are significant correlations between autism and vaccines manufactured using human fetal cell lines contaminated with retroviruses. This includes certain MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella), Varicella (chickenpox), and Hepatitis-A vaccines. Moreover, the human fetal contaminated vaccines were also associated with childhood leukemia and lymphomas.

According to the authors, autism rates rose sharply each time a vaccine manufactured with human fetal cell lines containing fetal and retroviral contaminants were released. The cell line in question is known as WI-38. In the US, autism rates jumped in 1980-1981 following the approval of MeruvaxII and MMRII, both of which are made with the human fetal cell line WI-38. Another jump in autism prevalence occurred in 1988, corresponding to three factors:

The addition of a second dose of MMRII
A highly successful measles vaccination campaign that raised compliance from 50 to 82 percent between the years 1987-1989
The introduction of Poliovax in 1987
In 1995, autism rates jumped again in response to the introduction of the Varicella vaccine Varivax. In conclusion, the authors note that "rising autistic disorder prevalence is directly related to vaccines manufactured utilizing human fetal cells."

Pro-Vaccine Fundamentalists Targeting Anyone Questioning Safety

Many other whistleblowers have stuck their necks out in recent years, revealing widespread corruption in medical science—among researchers, drug companies, and government agencies. Many have also revealed that these agencies, organizations, and companies are not above using mafia-like tactics to maintain the status quo. For example, whistleblower Ronald Kavanagh was a drug reviewer for the FDA in the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research from 1998 to 2008.

In a 2012 interview, he revealed how the FDA bypassed or ignored safety issues on major drugs approved during his employment. He also gave several examples of how he was intimidated by the agency, to the point of fearing for his life and the safety of his children.

While many refuse to believe a government agency or a pharmaceutical company or special interest groups connected with government and industry would resort to such extreme measures, history, and the experiences of many whistleblowers tells a different story. Fundamentalists and big pharma shills are now targeting everyone who disagrees with the vaccine agenda. NVIC is one target.12 And, recently, a State Farm insurance company television ad that featured comedian Rob Schneider ,who has publicly defended parental rights and informed consent to vaccination, was dropped by State Farm after a group of cyber bullies targeted Schneider for making pro- vaccine choice statements. According to MSN:13

"t wasn't the content of the ad that created a problem for State Farm, it was the social media response focusing on Schneider's anti-vaccine stance. The company said the problem is that the ad became a platform for a discussion unrelated to the products and services provided by State Farm."

As reported by Jon Rappaport,14 the orchestrated social media campaign to pressure State Farm to remove the ad in which Schneider played a comic role included the creation of an attack video in which it was noted that: "State Farm provides health insurance, and nothing ensures public health more than getting vaccinated. It is time to end the anti-vaccination movement; with your help, we can elicit change." Schneider rebutted with a quote from George Washington, saying: "If the Freedom of Speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter."

If pro-forced vaccination proponents consider those who defend the ethical principle of informed consent to be anti-vaccine, and they say it's time to "end" anyone who questions the safety and effectiveness of vaccines, then that sounds an awful lot like a now familiar threat from a major vaccine manufacturer—Merck, which had a hit list of doctors who criticized the deadly drug Vioxx. The hit list came to light in 2009, following testimony in an Australian Vioxx class action case. As reported by CBS15 at the time:

"Merck emails from 1999 showed company execs complaining about doctors who disliked using Vioxx. One email said: We may need to seek them out and destroy them where they live..."

Health care workers are definitely on the hit list of those who would force everyone to get vaccinated – no questions asked and no exceptions. In 2012, Missouri health care workers were threatened with corrective action for refusing the flu vaccine and were told they'd be ineligible for pay raises. Last year, eight nurses in Indiana were fired for not complying with the hospital's new mandatory annual flu shot rule, announced in September 2012. This despite mounting evidence showing that the flu vaccine is not an effective way to prevent contracting and spreading the flu. One nurses' union is now fighting back. According to the Daily Hampshire Gazette:16

"The nurses' union at one of Boston's major teaching hospitals has sued to block a policy that would require nurses to get flu shots... Brigham and Women's mandated vaccinations because its worker vaccination rate of 77 percent is far lower than the city's other teaching hospitals. Efforts to boost the rate, including free shots available around the clock, have fallen short... The union, which represents 3,200 Brigham and Women's nurses, said in the suit that the hospital's yet-to-be-implemented mandate, which could lead to termination of employees who refuse vaccination, violates a state regulation that bars hospitals from requiring employees to receive a vaccine."

Protect Your Right to Informed Consent and Defend Vaccine Exemptions



With all the uncertainty surrounding the safety and efficacy of vaccines, it's critical to protect your right to make independent health choices and exercise voluntary informed consent to vaccination. It is urgent that everyone in America stand up and fight to protect and expand vaccine informed consent protections in state public health and employment laws. The best way to do this is to get personally involved with your state legislators and educating the leaders in your community.



THINK GLOBALLY, ACT LOCALLY.

National vaccine policy recommendations are made at the federal level but vaccine laws are made at the state level. It is at the state level where your action to protect your vaccine choice rights can have the greatest impact. It is critical for EVERYONE to get involved now in standing up for the legal right to make voluntary vaccine choices in America because those choices are being threatened by lobbyists representing drug companies, medical trade associations, and public health officials, who are trying to persuade legislators to strip all vaccine exemptions from public health laws.

Signing up for NVIC's free Advocacy Portal at http://www.NVICAdvocacy.org" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; gives you immediate, easy access to your own state legislators on your Smart Phone or computer so you can make your voice heard. You will be kept up-to-date on the latest state bills threatening your vaccine choice rights and get practical, useful information to help you become an effective vaccine choice advocate in your own community. Also, when national vaccine issues come up, you will have the up-to-date information and call to action items you need at your fingertips.

So please, as your first step, sign up for the NVIC Advocacy Portal.

Share Your Story with the Media and People You Know

If you or a family member has suffered a serious vaccine reaction, injury, or death, please talk about it. If we don't share information and experiences with one another, everybody feels alone and afraid to speak up. Write a letter to the editor if you have a different perspective on a vaccine story that appears in your local newspaper. Make a call in to a radio talk show that is only presenting one side of the vaccine story.

I must be frank with you; you have to be brave because you might be strongly criticized for daring to talk about the "other side" of the vaccine story. Be prepared for it and have the courage to not back down. Only by sharing our perspective and what we know to be true about vaccination will the public conversation about vaccination open up so people are not afraid to talk about it.

We cannot allow the drug companies and medical trade associations funded by drug companies or public health officials promoting forced use of a growing list of vaccines to dominate the conversation about vaccination. The vaccine injured cannot be swept under the carpet and treated like nothing more than "statistically acceptable collateral damage" of national one-size-fits-all mandatory vaccination policies that put way too many people at risk for injury and death. We shouldn't be treating people like guinea pigs instead of human beings.

Internet Resources Where You Can Learn More

I encourage you to visit the website of the non-profit charity, the National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC), at http://www.NVIC.org" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;:

NVIC Memorial for Vaccine Victims: View descriptions and photos of children and adults, who have suffered vaccine reactions, injuries, and deaths. If you or your child experiences an adverse vaccine event, please consider posting and sharing your story here.
If You Vaccinate, Ask 8 Questions: Learn how to recognize vaccine reaction symptoms and prevent vaccine injuries.
Vaccine Freedom Wall: View or post descriptions of harassment and sanctions by doctors, employers, and school and health officials for making independent vaccine choices.
Connect with Your Doctor or Find a New One That Will Listen and Care

If your pediatrician or doctor refuses to provide medical care to you or your child unless you agree to get vaccines you don't want, I strongly encourage you to have the courage to find another doctor. Harassment, intimidation, and refusal of medical care is becoming the modus operandi of the medical establishment in an effort to stop the change in attitude of many parents about vaccinations after they become truly educated about health and vaccination.

However, there is hope.

At least 15 percent of young doctors recently polled admit that they're starting to adopt a more individualized approach to vaccinations in direct response to the vaccine safety concerns of parents. It is good news that there is a growing number of smart young doctors, who prefer to work as partners with parents in making personalized vaccine decisions for children, including delaying vaccinations or giving children fewer vaccines on the same day or continuing to provide medical care for those families, who decline use of one or more vaccines.

So take the time to locate a doctor, who treats you with compassion and respect and is willing to work with you to do what is right for your child.

User avatar
BroJones
Level 34 Illuminated
Posts: 8247
Location: Varies.
Contact:

Re: Dr. MERCOLA --> alternative health and fitness

Post by BroJones »

An important discovery regarding NOSE TEMP (really):

[quote]How to Avoid a Cold in Winters: Keep Your Nose Warm

NDTV Food, Modified: January 06, 2015 15:16 IST


How to Avoid a Cold in Winters: Keep Your Nose Warm

You've got all the winter essentials: furry boots, a woolen scarf, a poofy jacket and warm and cozy mitten gloves. And yet you still find yourself sniffling, trying to fight off that awful winter cold.

A few researchers at Yale University set out to find why this cold keeps making a comeback even though people keep themselves warm. The study was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) and found that people are more likely to catch a cold in cool-weather conditions because of a bug that rests in the nose.

Commonly known as rhinovirus, the bug finds it easier to breed at temperatures found inside the nose (33C or 91F) than deep inside the body (37C or 99F). The bug replicates more easily in cooler environments. Research shows that cold weather makes your immune system slightly sluggish which makes it harder for the body to fight off the bug.

According to Akiko Iwasaki, senior author of the study and Yale professor of immunobiology, the focus of prior studies has been on how body temperature influenced the virus as opposed to the immune system. To investigate the relationship between temperature and immune response, Iwasaki and an interdisciplinary team of Yale researchers spearheaded by Ellen Foxman, a postdoctoral fellow in Iwasaki's lab, examined the cells taken from the airways of mice.

They compared the immune response to rhinovirus when cells were incubated at 37 degrees Celsius which is the core body temperature, and at the cooler 33 degrees Celsius. "We found that the innate immune response to the rhinovirus is impaired at the lower body temperature compared to the core body temperature," Iwasaki said. The study also strongly suggested that the varying temperatures influenced the immune response rather than the virus itself.

Researchers observed viral replication in airway cells from mice with genetic deficiencies in the immune system sensors that detect virus and in the antiviral response. They found that with these immune deficiencies, the virus was able to replicate at the higher temperature. "That proves it's not just virus intrinsic, but it's the host's response that's the major contributor," Iwasaki said. Although the research was conducted on mouse cells, it offers clues that may benefit people. "In general, the lower the temperature, it seems the lower the innate immune response to viruses," noted Iwasaki. Yale researchers also hope to apply this insight into how temperature affects immune response to other conditions, such as childhood asthma.

How to Avoid the Common Cold

Most of us spend the winters trying a mix of antibiotics to keep away cold and cough. But the answer lies with the virus that nestles away in our nose. And covering your head, ears and body might just be a futile attempt. Well, just when you think you've tried enough, scientists in the United States seem to have found the answers!

8 home-remedies for cold and flu

Keeping your nose warm is the key to avoiding the 'achoo' this season. Many scientists have dismissed the former remedy saying coughs and sneezes are not necessarily caused by a drop in temperature. Instead, they say that the virus finds it easier to spread when everyone stays indoors in stuffy rooms. According to a study published in the National Academy of Science Journal, wrap a scarf around your nose to beat the winter cold. Also keep hydrating yourself through the day and eat food that will boost your immune system.[/quote]

User avatar
BroJones
Level 34 Illuminated
Posts: 8247
Location: Varies.
Contact:

Re: Dr. MERCOLA --> alternative health and fitness

Post by BroJones »

Specific guidelines regarding refined-sugar consumption: <15g per day if you are overweight.
<25g per day if normal weight.
More than these amounts taxes your liver he says - leads to obesity, heart disease... read on.

How much is in a typical yogurt? about 26g added sugar.
Visit the Mercola Video Library
By Dr. Mercola

Dr. Robert Lustig, Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology at the University of California, has been a pioneer in decoding sugar metabolism.

He’s become quite well-known in recent years for stating that excessive amounts of sugar in your diet has toxic effects. He’s also pointed out that processed fructose is far worse, from a metabolic standpoint, than refined sugar.

Now, new research1,2 from the University of Utah confirms Dr. Lustig’s stance, showing that corn syrup is more toxic to female mice than table sugar. Not only did corn syrup adversely impact the animals’ rate of reproduction, it also caused premature death.

From a chemical standpoint, high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is similar to table sugar, but it does contain higher levels of fructose.

Manufacturers have long claimed that HFCS contains at most 55 percent fructose (and 45 percent glucose). This is very close to white sugar, which contains about 50 percent fructose (and 50 percent glucose).

That said, tests have revealed that the fructose level in HFCS can reach as high as 65 percent. It is this elevated fructose level is one piece of the explanation for why HFCS is so much worse for you than refined sugar.

Corn Syrup Found to Be More Toxic Than Table Sugar

According to senior author Wayne Potts,3 “this is the most robust study showing there is a difference between high-fructose corn syrup and table sugar at human-relevant doses.” As reported by Reuters:4

“The study showed that female mice fed a diet which contained 25 percent of calories from added fructose and glucose carbohydrates known as monosaccharides that are found in corn syrup died at a rate 1.87 times higher than female mice on a diet in which 25 percent of calories came from sucrose.

The mice on the fructose-glucose diet produced 26.4 percent fewer offspring than their counterparts on the diet containing added table sugar...

The study suggests humans, especially women, could face adverse health effects tied to consuming too much corn syrup, which is found in many processed food products...

Between 13 and 25 percent of Americans are estimated to eat diets containing 25 percent or more of calories from added sugars, according to the paper.”

According to the authors of this paper, 42 percent of the added sugar found in the US diet comes from corn syrup; 44 percent comes from sucrose. The remaining 14 percent of added sugars are in the form of natural sweeteners such as honey, molasses, and fruit. .

Worldwide however, high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) accounts for only eight percent of added sugar consumption, so Americans are far more likely to consume excessive amounts of HFCS than many other nationalities, and our disease statistics tend to mirror that as well.

High fructose consumption is in fact a primary contributor to most chronic disease states, starting with insulin resistance, which can then progress into related diseases like diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and more.

Heart Failure Patients with High Blood Sugar Have Higher Risk of Early Death

In related news,5 researchers claim that testing blood sugar levels of patients suffering heart failure can help identify those at greatest risk of death. According to the study’s lead author Dr. Douglas Lee:6

"Our findings suggest that the measurement of blood sugar levels in all patients arriving at emergency departments with acute heart failure could provide doctors with useful prognostic information and could help to improve outcomes in these patients.

Among patients without pre-existing diabetes, the majority (51 percent) had blood glucose levels on arrival at hospital that were within 'normal' limits but greater than 6.1 millimoles per liter (mmol/L) [110 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL)].”

Among non-diabetics, the risk of death within one month of their heart failure was 26 percent higher among those with even slightly elevated blood sugar levels, compared to patients whose blood sugar levels were in the low-normal range.

Those with blood sugar levels nearing the criteria for diabetes had a 50 percent higher risk of death within the month following their heart failure. Elevated blood sugar levels were also associated with a higher risk of death from cardiovascular disease.

American Agricultural Policies Promote High Disease Rates

There's a common belief that healthy food is inherently more expensive, and thus can only be for the wealthy. But healthy food could easily be more affordable for everyone, were it not for agribusiness CEOs, their lobbyists, and the politicians in their pockets.

Both corn and sugar beet crops are heavily subsidized in the US. The reason why buying a loaf of processed white bread is cheaper than buying a pound of broccoli is directly related to agricultural subsidies, which favor all the ingredients that make up a junk food diet.

As noted by Business Insider,7 the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) spends nearly $1.3 billion a year on subsidies for our most commonly used junk food ingredients, including corn, wheat, soy, and sugar beets.

Sugar used to be a condiment; now it’s a diet staple. According to SugarScience.org, added sugars hide in 74 percent of processed foods under more than 60 different names.8

If subsidies were really based on nutritional value, then neither corn nor sugar beets would fit the bill... As it stands, agricultural subsidies are used to grown ingredients that form the very foundation of a junk food diet.

US Sugar Industry Enjoys a Particularly Sweet Deal...

Interestingly enough, processed food could be even cheaper than it already is. Not that this would necessarily be a positive thing, but it highlights the fact that processed junk foods are a real profit center—both for food industry and our politicians.

According to University of Michigan–Flint economist Mark J. Perry,9 US policies such as minimum price guarantees for domestic sugar, along with high tariffs for imported sugar, ends up costing American consumers about $3 billion per year in inflated processed food prices. As noted in a recent article by Reason Magazine:10

“Taking candy from a baby is easy. Taking sugar from a senator? Not so much... t's not just the nation's 3,913 sugar beet farms and 666 sugarcane farms that crave the sugar program's artificially sweetened revenues. The program also persists because it offers a steady source of money to elected officials.

In a June 2014 report, Bryan Riley, a senior policy analyst at the Heritage Foundation, noted that while sugar constitutes just two percent of the total value of US crop production, the nation's sugar farmers account for 35 percent of the crop industry's total campaign contributions and 40 percent of its lobbying expenditures.

Over the years, major sugar companies such as American Crystal Sugar and Florida Crystals have donated millions of dollars to individual candidates and political action committees. According to OpenSecrets.org, the industry as a whole has donated $41.7 million since 1990.”

Processed foods have become such major profit centers, food manufacturers have absolutely no incentive to switch to selling whole, unadulterated foods. I believe our food system can be changed, but only if enough people understand the simple truths of healthy eating and refuse to buy sugar-laden processed foods. Four years ago, Dr. David Ludwig, a Harvard-affiliated pediatrician, wrote a commentary in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA),11 offering concrete suggestions to turn this disease-producing diet trend around, such as:

Restructuring subsidies
Regulating the marketing of food to children
Adequately funding school lunch programs
Using existing and future technologies to allow the food industry to retain profits while producing more healthful products
Those are all good suggestions, but while politicians debate and search for their moral compasses, I would suggest doing your own homework and changing your own diet.

Do You Know How Much Sugar You Consume Every Day?

We’ve long acknowledged that the Western diet is associated with increased rates of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, and cancer. Yet the conventional paradigm is extremely reluctant to accept that it is the sugar content of this diet that is the primary culprit. Doctors and health officials alike are still trying to convince you that you can have your cake and eat it too, as long as it’s “in moderation.”

The crux of the problem is that if you eat a diet consisting primarily of processed foods, moderation immediately goes out the window, because virtually all processed food items contain some form of added sugar. Oftentimes, just ONE food item can contain an entire day’s worth of sugar!

Sweetened beverages may be among the worst culprits. Take Vitamin Water, for example. One 20 oz bottle contains around 30 grams of sugar,12 which equates to THREE Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnuts. That one bottle alone is also TWICE the daily recommended fructose allowance for people with insulin resistance, and it’s five grams over the limit for non-insulin resistant folks! On average, sugar makes up 15 percent of total calories consumed in the US (about 19.5 teaspoons per day), and your liver, which processes sugar, simply cannot handle that kind of burden.

When you overload your liver in this way, you inevitably end up with chronic metabolic disease. According to available data, the safety threshold for sugar appears to be around six to nine teaspoons (25-38 grams) of added sugar per day. Any more that, and you’re setting yourself up for an insulin resistance. And again, processed fructose tends to cause more severe metabolic dysfunction than regular sugar, in part because it’s more readily metabolized into fat than any other sugar.

The fatty acids created during fructose metabolism accumulate as fat droplets in your liver and skeletal muscle tissues, causing insulin resistance and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Insulin resistance in turn progresses to metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes. The metabolism of fructose by your liver also creates a number of waste products and toxins, including a large amount of uric acid, which drives up blood pressure and causes gout.

To Avoid Chronic Disease, Be Mindful of Your Fructose Consumption

Mounting evidence clearly shows that refined sugar and processed fructose are primary factors causing obesity and chronic disease, including heart and cardiovascular disease. A paper by Yang, et al, published in JAMA Internal Medicine last year looked at consumption of added sugar over two decades, as a percentage of total calories, concluding that it significantly contributed to cardiovascular deaths. People who consumed 30 percent of their daily calories as added sugar (like many teenagers are) had a four-fold greater risk of dying from heart disease.

The evidence is quite clear: If you want to normalize your weight, and dramatically reduce your risk of diseases such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s, you need to address your processed food consumption. Refined sugar, processed fructose, grains, and other sugar-forming starchy carbohydrates are largely responsible for your body's adverse insulin and leptin reactions, which underlie these and other chronic disease states.

If you’re insulin/leptin resistant, have diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, or are overweight, you’d be wise to limit your total sugar/fructose intake to 15 grams per day until your insulin/leptin resistance has resolved. This applies to at least half of all Americans. For all others, I recommend limiting your daily fructose consumption to 25 grams or less, to maintain optimal health. The easiest way to accomplish this is by swapping processed foods for whole, ideally organic foods. This means cooking from scratch with fresh ingredients. My free nutrition plan offers a step-by-step guide to feed your family right.

Healthy Diet Summary

Remember, processed foods are the main source of all the primary disease-promoting culprits, including high fructose corn syrup and other sugars, processed grains, trans fats, artificial sweeteners, and other synthetic additives that may aggravate metabolic dysfunction. Since you’re cutting out a lot of energy (carbs) from your diet when you reduce sugars and grains, you need to replace them with something. The ideal replacement is a combination of:

High quality healthy fat (including saturated13 and monounsaturated). Those with insulin resistance benefit from upwards of 50-85 percent of their daily calories in the form of healthy fats. Good sources include coconut and coconut oil, avocados, butter, nuts, and animal fats. (Remember, fat is high in calories while being small in terms of volume. So when you look at your plate, the largest portion would be vegetables.)
As many non-starchy vegetables as you want
Low-to-moderate amount of high quality protein. Substantial amounts of protein can be found in meat, fish, eggs, dairy products, legumes, and nuts. When selecting animal-based protein, be sure to opt for organically raised, grass-fed or pastured meats, eggs, and dairy, to avoid potential health complications caused by genetically engineered animal feed and pesticides.
Most Americans eat far too much protein, so be mindful of the amount. I believe it is the rare person who really needs more than one-half gram of protein per pound of lean body mass. Those that are aggressively exercising or competing and pregnant women will need about 25 percent more, but most people rarely need more than 40-70 grams of protein a day.

To determine your lean body mass, find out your percent body fat and subtract from 100. This means that if you have 20 percent body fat, you have 80 percent lean body mass. Just multiply that by your current weight to get your lean body mass in pounds or kilos. To determine whether you’re getting too much protein, simply calculate your lean body mass as described above, then write down everything you’re eating for a few days, and calculate the amount of daily protein from all sources.

deep water
captain of 1,000
Posts: 2056

Re: Dr. MERCOLA --> alternative health and fitness

Post by deep water »

I went to visit my family living in Utah this last weekend. One family, my son and his wife looked so healthy. Their hair shown and their skin glistened, and they both had lost 10 to 15 lbs. It was apparent the second they walked in the door, that they were doing something different and very good for them. I ask what are you two doing that has brought on such a dramatic change to both of you. They replied, that they have began a (caveman) diet. A change to reset their system from their gut out. They confessed that they had only been doing it for a couple of weeks, and that the first week was hard, but they both fill so much better both psychically and mentally. To me what they are doing is very good for them. I think the real name is the whole 30 diet, no sugar, or processed foods, or cheep oil for 1 month as a start.

Post Reply