No Verichip For Me

November 13th, 2008

VeriChip is an injectable identification chip that can be inserted under the skin of a human being to provide biometric verification. VeriChip, manufactured by Applied Digital Solutions, is about the size of a grain of rice. It holds an identification number, an electromagnetic coil for transmitting data, and a tuning capacitor; the components are enclosed inside a silicon and glass container that is compatible with human tissue. The chip, which uses an RFID (wireless transmission) technology similar to the injectable ID chips used by animal shelters to tag pets, can be read by a proprietary scanner up to four feet away.

The site that I became fascinated with uses a logo similar to that of Intel’s, which states, “No Verichip Inside”. It was here that I learned about how crazy this thing has become. The site is We The People Will Not Be Chipped. Spread it! But more importantly, oppose the tracking and control of human beings. Oppose anything that violates your freedoms. This is why we live in this country. It’s about time Americans started to behave as the founding fathers intended. Show your support! Oppose The Real ID Act. March, write, sing, paint, scream, film and be free! You have the power. People have the power.

TAKE ACTION, The Truth, news ,

Time in the Sun

September 1st, 2008

How Much Is Needed for Vitamin D?

Vitamin D and the Sun

Coinciding with the first weeks of summer, a study just published underscores the importance of getting adequate amounts of sunlight for its vitamin D-boosting benefits. The research, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, shows that those with the lowest vitamin D levels have more than double the risk of dying from heart disease and other causes over an eight-year period compared with those with the highest vitamin D levels. The researchers cite “decreased outdoor activity” as one reason that people may become deficient in vitamin D. Another recent study found an increased risk of heart attacks in those with low vitamin D levels.

In the winter, it’s impossible to produce vitamin D from the sun if you live north of Atlanta because the sun never gets high enough in the sky for its ultraviolet B rays to penetrate the atmosphere. But summer is a great time to stock up on the nutrient. When the sun’s UV-B rays hit the skin, a reaction takes place that enables skin cells to manufacture vitamin D. If you’re fair skinned, experts say going outside for 10 minutes in the midday sun—in shorts and a tank top with no sunscreen—will give you enough radiation to produce about 10,000 international units of the vitamin. Dark-skinned individuals and the elderly also produce less vitamin D, and many folks don’t get enough of the nutrient from dietary sources like fatty fish and fortified milk.

The government’s dietary recommendations are 200 IUs a day up to age 50, 400 IUs to age 70, and 600 IUs over 70. But many experts believe that these recommendations are far too low to maintain healthful vitamin D levels. They advocate for supplementation in the winter a minimum of 2,000 IUs per day as well as a dose of daily sunshine in the summer.

The sunshine vitamin may protect against a host of diseases, including osteoporosis, heart disease, and cancers of the breast, prostate, and colon. What’s more, sunlight has other hidden benefits—like protecting against depression, insomnia, and an overactive immune system.

Given all the upsides of basking at least briefly in the summer sun, many experts now worry that public-health messages warning about skin cancer have gone overboard in getting people to cover up and seek the shade. U.S. News got in touch with Robyn Lucas, an epidemiologist at Australian National University who led a study published in the February issue of the International Journal of Epidemiology.

Read more…

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When Should You Go Out in the Sun?

August 21st, 2008

New research shows that to get an optimal vitamin D supplement from the sun at a minimal risk of getting cutaneous malignant melanoma (CMM), the best time of sun exposure is noon.

That means that common health recommendations given by authorities in many countries — that sun exposure should be avoided for three to five hours around noon and postponed to the afternoon — could be wrong and may even promote CMM.

This is in part because the action spectrum for CMM is likely to be centered at longer wavelengths than that of vitamin D generation.

Health News

5 Ways to Beef Up Your Brain

August 21st, 2008

Scientists are still trying to unravel the many mysteries of the brain. But although there is still a lot to learn, several studies have indicated a few ways to help keep your thinking organ in shape, now and as you age.

1. Eat Your Brain Food

A diet of junk food can also junk up your brain. Fake “foods” like trans fats can negatively affect the brain’s synapses. But a balanced diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids can give the synapses a boost and help fight against mental disorders from depression to dementia.

2. Hit the Gym

Since exercise is a mild stressor to your body, eating up the energy needed by your brain, it triggers the release of chemicals called growth factors that make the brain’s neurons stronger and healthier. Half an hour every other day will do it, according to experts.

3. Mind Benders

Give your brain a workout, too, with brainteasers, crossword puzzles and memory games. Studies have shown that using these tools to stay mentally active can reduce the risks of developing dementia by building and maintaining a reserve of stimulation in your brain.

4. Memory Tricks

Keeping information stored in your memory banks and retaining that memory with age may also be a simple matter of mind control. Confidence in your cognitive abilities could actually affect how well your memory functions, particularly for the elderly.

5. Give it a Rest

Sleep gives your brain a chance to replay the memories of the day and consolidate them for long-term storage. One study suggested that the brain can do its reviewing much faster when you’re asleep than when you’re wide awake.

Health News

Thai Government Deals Patent Blow to Big Pharma’s Cancer Drug Monopoly

August 21st, 2008

(NaturalNews) Health Minister Chaiya Sasomsap said that the government of Thailand will override the patents on three cancer drugs, after pressure from health activists and doctors calling on him to resign. Over the course of five years, the decision is expected to save the government of Thailand, and cost the pharmaceutical companies, more than 3 billion baht ($100 million).

It is not the first time that Thailand has issued compulsory licenses to override the patents on expensive drugs. In 2006, former Health Minister Mongkol na Songkhla overrode the patent on the HIV/AIDS medication Efavirenz, manufactured by Merck.

Mongkol said that a poor nation such as Thailand could not afford to pay patented drug prices for the 63 million people on its national health plan - 80 percent of the country’s population. Soon after, he issued compulsory licenses for an Abbot Laboratories AIDS drug and a Sanofi-Aventis heart medicine.

Mongkol also announced patent overrides on three cancer drugs: Letrozole, a Novartis drug for breast cancer; Docetaxel, a Sanofi-Aventis drug for breast and lung cancer; and Erlotinib, a Roche drug for lung, ovarian and pancreatic cancer. But when Chaiya took over as health minister in February 2008, the three affected drug companies launched a lobbying effort to reverse Mongkol’s decision.

Chaiya, a businessman with no history in medicine, announced that he would review the decision, calling it “politically correct … but not legally correct.” He also fired the Health Ministry’s top negotiator responsible for securing lower prices for foreign drug companies. Outraged doctors and health activists immediately launched a campaign to remove Chaiya from office.

On March 10, Chaiya announced that Mongkol’s initial decision would be upheld.

“The findings have convinced me to go ahead with the compulsory licenses, since the ministry’s policy is to give patients good access to quality drugs at cheap prices,” he said.

In February, drug company Novartis averted a compulsory license on its leukemia drug Glivec by agreeing to provide it to hundreds of Thai patients for free.

news

The Dangers of a High Soy Diet

August 21st, 2008

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9L5MJYfi2A

Health News

U.S. Surgical Errors Cost Nearly $1.5 Billion Annually

August 21st, 2008

A recent analysis by the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) indicates that employers pay out almost $1.5 billion each year to cover the costs incurred from preventable adverse medical events in surgical patients.

The costs of surgical errors were estimated by analyzing data from a nationwide sample of more than 161,000 adult patients who underwent surgery in 2001 and 2002.

Preventable errors included technical problems, infections, pulmonary and vascular problems, acute respiratory failure, metabolic problems, wound problems, and events related to nursing care. Respiratory failure and infections were particularly costly adverse events; insurers paid over $28,000 and over $19,000 extra for a surgical patient who had respiratory failure or an infection, respectively.

Other added costs included more than $12,000 for episodes related to nursing care, more than $11,500 for metabolic problems, close to $8,000 for pulmonary and vascular problems, and nearly $1,500 for wound problems.

news

Study Finds Chinese Red Yeast Rice Good for Your Heart

August 21st, 2008

(NaturalNews) A clinical study on patients who have suffered a heart attack found that a partially purified extract of Chinese red yeast rice, Xuezhikang (XZK), reduced the risk of repeat heart attacks by 45%; revascularization (bypass surgery/angioplasty), cardiovascular mortality, and total mortality by one-third; and cancer mortality by two-thirds.

The multi-center, randomized, double-blind study, was conducted on almost 5,000 patients, ranging in age from 18-70 over a five-year period at over 60 hospitals in the People’s Republic of China. Corresponding author David M. Capuzzi, M.D., Ph.D, director of the Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Program at Jefferson’s Myrna Brind Center of Integrative Medicine and Zonliang Lu, M.D., Ph.D, from the Fuwai Hospital at the Chinese Academy of Medical Science report their findings in the June 15th edition of the American Journal of Cardiology.

“It’s very exciting because this is a natural product and had very few adverse side effects including no abnormal blood changes,” said Capuzzi. “People in the Far East have been taking Chinese red yeast rice as food for thousands of years, but no one has ever studied it clinically in a double-blind manner with a purified product against a placebo group until now and we are pleased with the results. However, people in the United States should know that the commercially available over-the-counter supplement found in your average health food store is not what was studied here. Those over-the-counter supplements are not regulated, so exact amounts of active ingredient are unknown and their efficacy has not been studied yet.”

The study looked at patients who had suffered a heart attack in the previous year. Study participants were given two 300-milligram XZK capsules or a placebo and tracked over a five-year period. The XZK capsules contained a combination of lovastatin, lovastatin hydroxyl acid, ergosterol and other components.

“I think it is surprising that a natural product like XZK would have this great an effect,” said Capuzzi. “If further testing and study prove true, my hope is that XZK becomes an important therapeutic agent to treat cardiovascular disorders and in the prevention of disease whether someone has had a heart attack or not. But it is important to recognize the fact we do not know exactly how Chinese red yeast rice works. The exact ingredients from the XZK capsules have not been isolated and studied yet. Still the results were so profound, even out performing statins prescribed in numerous western populations, that further study should certainly be investigated.”

The study was sponsored by Beijing Peking University WBL Biotech Co. Ltd (WPU), in Beijing, People’s Republic of China. Dr. Capuzzi has no financial interest in this company.

Health News

Intelligence Report on Weaponized Avian Flu

August 21st, 2008

Maj. Gen. Bert Stubblebine (USA ret.) and Dr. Rima E. Laibow, MD, Natural Solutions Foundation, provide their analysis of the potential for a weaponized avian flu pandemic.

Health News , ,

The Seven Most Common Foods That Cause Food Intolerances

August 21st, 2008

(NaturalNews) Many people claim that their health improves tremendously by cutting out various foods. Avoiding food intolerances can be a huge step in minimizing ill health and boosting your wellbeing. Here are the seven most common food intolerances.

Sugar

If refined sugar was discovered today, it might be classed as a poison. It gives nothing to the body of any value. It causes the energy levels to become imbalanced, and a whole range of other possible symptoms including extreme fatigue.

While it may give people with low energy a quick boost, there will be a low that follows, which causes sugar craving. Cravings are associated with obesity and many illnesses. Fortunately there are many amazing alternatives to sugar.

Caffeine

Many people live on caffeinated drinks such as coffee, coke, or red bull because of the short but sweet energy rush. However, caffeine causes adrenal gland exhaustion, which is a foundation for fatigue and ill health.

Wheat

Wheat can zap, energy, cause foggy head, and create pain in the digestive and urinary track systems. Many people find that their weight begins to drop and their mind is clearer when they reduce or give up wheat.

Gluten
Gluten includes wheat, oats, rye and barley. While wheat is the most common problem, some people need to take the extra step and avoid all gluten-containing foods.

Alcohol

Many people find that they feel much better when they reduce or cut out alcohol. Some people can have one type of alcohol and need to avoid other types.

Yeast

Yeast overgrowth (also known as Candida) is a major player in many illnesses. While some people who have yeast overgrowth in their body can still consume yeast without negative consequences, others feel much better when they avoid it completely.

Nightshade Family

The nightshade family (green peppers, aubergine or eggplant, tomatoes and white potatoes) is known to increase pain for some people. Avoiding these can be especially beneficial for people with chronic pain.

What to eat