28 Şubat 2011 Pazartesi

Interconnectedness: Politics-Finance-Your Health

RELATED ARTICLE, 4/22/10

I sometimes think that everyone should think in the same way I do, but then that may not be a good thing. I'd at least like more people to be able to see things in the interconnected way things are and how the Wall Street fiasco, political maneuvering on the health bill, and the limited perspective on the outcomes of these things can directly effect your health.

Yes, I know that was a run-on sentence, but I'm ok with it. Just trying to make a point...

As I explained recently to someone in health care, I've been in health care all my life except for my first five years. I owe that to my father who was trying to brainwash me into being the next doctor in our family (we have lots of them, dating back to before the Civil War). It makes for an unusual childhood, but perhaps the pay off is the way I closely observe.

This foresight, or hindsight, or whatever sight led me to think about a few things and the following is what I ended up expressing.

Now that it has been published, I'm adding in here for those of you who read Natural Health News to consider and comment -

Politics, Finance, and Your Health

In the late 70s I took a position of Executive Director at an urban tribal health center. There were a ton of problems, if not more. This health program was extremely important because it was the first funded under the Indian Self determination Act, PL 93-638.
With all the politics involved a traditional model of governance was established and the clinic continues to serve today. It also has been a model other tribes have used to develop improved health care delivery.
One day I came to work only to find a poster tacked to my office door; it was Wonder Woman.
I don’t usually like to write too much about politics or economics, but from time to time issues do arise that seem to have a close relationship to health.
In the past few days one or three have come to my attention that touch on issues related to health and to things that have been important to me for a very long time.
I don’t like war. And more of what I don’t like about it is the damage it does to not only our military, but other those serving in other countries, and to innocents.
Currently we are spending an obscene amount of money on war that is really getting us nothing, and moving us nowhere.
Here you can learn for yourself - http://costofwar.com/
This is a project of http://www.nationalpriorities.org/
Learning about what members of Congress vote for who gives them how much money can be found here - http://www.opensecrets.org/
Open Secrets becomes very useful when looking at how the health reform bill came to pass, as it were, especially if you watched a recent Frontline program evaluating it.
Lawrence H. Summers was sworn in as the 71st Secretary of the Treasury in July 1999 after serving as Under Secretary for International Affairs and Deputy Secretary of the Treasury. From 1991 to 1993 he served as Chief Economist of the World Bank.
During his first stint in the Clinton administration he basically stopped progressive regulations that would have prevented the most recent problems with ‘bubbles’ and the Wall Street Bailout.
A very astute and erudite woman, Brooksley Born, tried to stop the derivatives mess when Summers was first at the Treasury Department.
He dismissed her to some dark basement of ineffective impact because she wanted strong regulations to halt the derivative nightmare of that time.
Subsequently, Summers again took aim at Born again - http://firedoglake.com/2010/04/09/brooksley-born-raises-an-important-question-but-answers-are-weak/
Another mention of this situation is recorded in a recent program on Bill Moyers Journal - http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/04162010/profile2.html
This is not unlike the work of Catherine Austin Fitts who questioned many concerns when she was at HUD.
As usual, the fast printing of money and the recent sell outs to the banksters comes close to the sell out to Big Insurance and PhRMA.
Much of this could certainly have been avoided it male egos weren’t so entrenched and fragile.
Now we’re about to get it again in the proverbial shorts because the real change we need in banking reform is just another watered down deal for citizens and another government handout to Wall Street.
http://www.campaignmoney.org/blog/2010/04/13/sen-mcconnell-takes-financial-industry-cash-opposes-financial-industry-reform
And we still have Summers, Geithner, and Bernanke. No real change!
Should we start panhandling for spare change?
Or do we need more ‘women of steel’?

Copyright©2010 Gayle Eversole, DHom, PhD, MH, NP, ND. All rights reserved.

Vaccine Dos and Don'ts

UPDATE: 28 April - Avoid Vaccines

When I was a very young child I loved it when my mother would play 'This Little Piggy' with my toes. I recall it was always a wonderful moment and I always laughed with joy. I played this with my children too.

What I didn't do was load them up with vaccines.

What I did do, as was common in that time, was to give them daily vitamin drops, high in vitamins A and D.

We now know that vitamin D is quite a miracle substance. We may be over looking the real benefits of vitamin A currently. Vitamin A is known for many benefits and one is to protect all your mucous membranes. It is a preventive for pneumonia while strengthening your lungs, and can help you recover from bronchitis, pneumonia and other respiratory health issues.

What boggles my mind is this crazy concept that vaccines will keep you healthy when we know they are associated with many health problems and contracting the very illness they are surmised to prevent.

Now another jab is proposed for babies and children, yet no thought is given to a simpler and less costly way to improve health.

Perhaps another "study" is needed, let's study why there is vaccine tunnel vision...

Vaccine hope for children's lung virus - A virus that causes wheezing and pneumonia claims the lives of up to 200,000 children worldwide each year, a study has found.

This vaccine removed from the market -

“U.S. federal health authorities recommended … that doctors suspend using Rotarix, one of two vaccines licensed in the U.S. against rotavirus, saying the vaccine is contaminated with material from a pig virus,” CNN reports.
The Rotarix vaccine, which is made by GlaxoSmithKline and was approved by the FDA in 2008, has already been given to about 1 million U.S. children along with 30 million worldwide. The vaccine was found to contain DNA from porcine circovirus 1.
“The FDA learned about the contamination after an academic research team using a novel technique to look for viruses in a range of vaccines found the material in GlaxoSmithKline's product and told the company,” FDA Commissioner Dr. Margaret Hamburg told CNN.

Hushed Up: Disease causes

From Edward Priestley.

The Christie Hospital in Manchester, where I gave bone marrow for research over 20 years ago said recently they hope to increase survival rates for lymphatic leukaemia from about 20% to 40%. Whether this will actually happen remains to be seen.
These are not survival rates the public are generally led to believe.
I believe many of those raising funds for leukaemia research must be aware there are known causes (toxic chemicals, medical drugs, radiation) but they do not speak out. I know from my own and others' experiences patients and their families are intimidated by the not to speak out. It was one of the first things my consultant at Halifax told my wife and I after I was diagnosed with aplastic anaemia - "Do not bandy your condition about".
So as soon as I was able, nearly a year later, when I 'escaped' from Hammersmith Hospital, I wrote articles in the media on causes. This resulted in many local sufferers contacting me. Every one of their conditions had an obvious cause when you investigated.
There are frantic efforts to improve blood disease treatment because of the increase in incidence, so the causes do not have to be admitted.
The refusal by the UK Government to warn children of these dangers of solvent abuse on leaflets shows just how resistant they are to warning the public of the dangers.
Speaking of the many medical drugs which cause leukaemia is taboo in the media. Professor Judith Marsh wrote to me in 2006 saying she and 11 other of the world's leading experts, most of whom I know well, could not get a research paper published. They were very disappointed because the paper included information on the causes of aplastic anaemia and leukaemia.
She, like the rest, still says the cause is unknown in about half of cases, but they never tell patients the causes even when they are 100% sure of it. When you investigate causes you find that nearly 100% of patients have no idea of the causes, which like my own case, was never investigated by them.
Ref. Harrison's Principals of Internal Medicine "The percentage of cases of aplastic anaemia where a cause is found depends on the vigour with which a cause is sought.".
In other words, if you never look for a cause you never find one. You could say the same for many medical drug, chemical and radiation induced conditions like Parkinson's, most cancers etc.

26 Şubat 2011 Cumartesi

The Importance of Avoiding WholeFoods

UPDATE 4 May: Whole Foods Responds Courtesy Rense News Network

CORPORATE OWNERSHIP OF NATURAL FOOD PRODUCTS

UPDATE: 18 April - WF cozies up to China: ABC 7 I-Team Investigates: Organic Foods
First posted March 2010
Join Organic Consumers Association in Protest of WholeFoods Market

A WF employee, unhappy with this discussion, made a comment(4/20)and states - "And btw, none of the produce in my department is from China. Period."
While this anonymous person has a right to their opinion, perhaps they missed the point in the data, that products from China sold at WF may not be in their 'produce' department.

Whole Foods is a multi-billion dollar, U.S. based organic and natural foods chain that is buying up organic markets and lowering standards. Now they are trying to expand into Canada. WholeFoods likes to market to conscious consumers but when it comes to things those consumers care about like climate change, safe and healthy foods, and domestic Fair Trade, WholeFoods is all wrong.

Only one-third of the products sold by Whole Foods and their major supplier, UNFI are actually organic, while two-thirds are conventional foods greenwashed as so-called "natural"

WFM and UNFI talk about Fair Trade, while opposing unions and buying from suppliers who routinely violate the rights of farmworkers and other food workers. Join the Vancouver community and friends from Seattle in a rally on Monday March 8th to tell Whole Foods and its investors that what they are doing is "bad for the planet, bad for the people."

Why protest Whole Foods?
GREENWASHING FOOD: When it comes to healthy foods, Mackey says it's his priority, but instead of increasing organic sales, two-thirds of Whole Foods products are so-called natural foods that have no standards attached to them. In the majority of cases, "natural" products are greenwashed conventional products, produced using pesticides, GMOs and chemical fertilizers, with "natural" label claims neither policed nor monitored. Whole Foods has the potential to widely expand support to organic farmers and bolster the organic movement but cares more about it's bottom line--"natural" is not organic and increased sales of "natural" foods divert profits from organics back to conventional, industrial agriculture (see the Organic Consumers Association "Whole Foods and the Myth of Natural" for more on this).

CLIMATE CHANGE DENIAL: In a recent article in the New Yorker, WholeFoods CEO John Mackey dismissed "hysteria about global warming" claiming, "prosperity tends to correlate to warmer temperatures." And though top scientists almost unanimously agree that human activity causes climate change, Mackey says there is "no consensus." (New Yorker, 1/4/2010)

REFUSAL ON CARBON DISCLOSURE: In a study from sustainable business group Ceres earned a pitiful 27 score (out of a possible 100) on the assessment--flunking in basically every category. Whole Foods neither accounts for nor publicly discloses its emissions. As of the date of the report, the company didn't have emissions goals or plans in place for reducing emissions. Since that report was released, the company has taken on some additional commitments, but really doesn't appear to have changed much. (Ceres/Mother Jones)

VIOLATING FAIR TRADE PRINCIPLES AND LABOR RIGHTS: UNFI and WholeFoods have a history of cutting workers' benefits. Both have gone to extreme lengths to block their employees from choosing to unionize. WholeFoods has long fought unionization of its retail locations, largely ignored the demands of farm workers organizations, like the United Farm Workers, and kept workers' wages consistently low by industry standards. UNFI has repeatedly fought efforts by its employees to fight for better pay, benefits and working conditions. Where workers have successfully formed unions, UNFI has begun moving jobs to new, non-union locations.

SOURCE:OCA

Stop Toxic Dumping at the Historic Cataldo Mission

Please help Stop Toxic Dumping at the Historic Cataldo Mission by signing the petition.

August 2010 FACT SHEET

Join the Cause, this is the BP of the NW and learn more here and on facebook

This is the epicenter of the nation's largest Superfund site incorporating 1500 square miles.

EPA allows for toxic dumps in wetlands to be closed in other states as not acceptable!

Yet Region X EPA builds toxic dump sites in wetlands because they are "convenient".

The toxic dump of concern in this post is located at Idaho's oldest building, which is on Sacred Lands of the Salish people and a National Historic site.

Volunteers needed, donations needed...

Photo shows flooding in July 2010 at the EMF Cataldo Mission repository.

Is This Really Corporate Social Responsibility?

How Junk Food Giant PepsiCo Is Buying Up High-Ranking Experts to Look Like a Leader in Health and Nutrition

by Michele Simon

Pepsi's strategy: Create a research environment so scientists and public health experts don't feel out of place at the corporate HQ of sugar, salt and fat.

"Last month PepsiCo set off a firestorm among angry bloggers when the company attempted to buy its way onto the popular ScienceBlogs (run by Seed Media Group) with its own offering called Food Frontiers. Apparently, the actual scientists didn't appreciate having their space invaded by PR flaks. One blogger put it succinctly, "I don't care how many PhD scientists they hire, PepsiCo is a corporation, not a research institute, for crissakes!" Within two days, ScienceBlogs apologized and pulled PepsiCo's plug, but not before some disgusted bloggers quit altogether."

25 Şubat 2011 Cuma

Drug Information Never Reaches Clinicians

FDA drug information that never reaches the clinician

Important information regarding the benefits and harms of FDA approved prescription drugs, does not make its way into the hands of the clinician - writes Lisa Schwartz in the New England Journal of Medicine. The FDA is the American drug regulatory body. Drug labels (package inserts) are the direct way of communicating prescribing information to physicians- but they are written by the drug companies and then negotiated or approved by the FDA. Drug approval requires that preclinical studies and the results of at least two phase 3 studies in patients - are submitted to highly qualifed FDA experts which may take a year to evaluate. The FDA produce review documents recording the reasoning behind approval. These are lengthy and can be complex - the problem seems to be that important information is getting lost - and never makes it onto a drug label. The authors report a number of possible harms - which fail to make it onto the drug labels, but also efficacy data that can be useful, but again is lost from the final drug sheets.

The FDA has recognised some problems with drug labels and in 2006 introduced a highlights section to emphasize drug warnings and indications. It has also issued guidance about reporting trial results in labels - but in at least 2 drugs studied, labels remained unimproved.

It seems that a better way of communicating information that is already known, but not passed into the clinicians hands must be expedited.

Source

WEB: http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/361/18/1717

24 Şubat 2011 Perşembe

GMO Now in the "WILD"

GM plants 'established in the wild'

By Richard Black Environment correspondent, BBC News

Researchers in the US have found new evidence that genetically modified crop plants can survive and thrive in the wild, possibly for decades.

A University of Arkansas team surveyed countryside in North Dakota for canola. Transgenes were present in 80% of the wild canola plants they found.
They suggest GM traits may help the plants survive weedkillers in the wild.
The findings were presented at the annual meeting of the Ecological Society of America in Pittsburgh.

"Over time, the build-up of different types of herbicide resistance in feral canola and closely related weeds could make it more difficult to manage these plants”
Professor Alison Snow Ohio State University

Paging Doctor Nurse

In the mid 1970s I held the position of critical care coordinator in a large urban hospital that also included a burn center.

At that time I had just completed advanced education at Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons that put me in the role of being the only nurse diagnostician in the hospital and the only NP.

My friend and colleague who was the Emergency Care Coordinator had a joke she liked to pay when she needed my help in the ER. The page was "Doctor Nurse".

At that time the big push for NPs was to help with lack of doctors and time constraints facing them that was not as restrictive for nurses. We educated patients, worked independently, provided excellent care, and this was about 35 years ago.

As an old friend, now a psychiatrist at Harvard used to like to say (a la Baba Ram Dass), "Well, here we are."

CHICAGO – A nurse may soon be your doctor. With a looming shortage of primary care doctors, 28 states are considering expanding the authority of nurse practitioners. These nurses with advanced degrees want the right to practice without a doctor's watchful eye and to prescribe narcotics. And if they hold a doctorate, they want to be called "Doctor."
For years, nurse practitioners have been playing a bigger role in the nation's health care, especially in regions with few doctors. With 32 million more Americans gaining health insurance within a few years, the care overhaul is putting more money into nurse-managed clinics.
Those newly insured patients will be looking for doctors and may find nurses instead.
The medical establishment is fighting to protect turf. In some statehouses, doctors have shown up in white coats to testify against nurse practitioner bills. The American Medical Association, which supported the national health care overhaul, says a doctor shortage is no reason to put nurses in charge and endanger patients.
Nurse practitioners argue there's no danger. They say they're highly trained and as skilled as doctors at diagnosing illness during office visits. They know when to refer the sickest patients to doctor specialists. Plus, they spend more time with patients and charge less.
"We're constantly having to prove ourselves," said Chicago nurse practitioner Amanda Cockrell, 32, who tells patients she's just like a doctor "except for the pay."
On top of four years in nursing school, Cockrell spent another three years in a nurse practitioner program, much of it working with patients. Doctors generally spend four years in undergraduate school, four years in medical school and an additional three in primary care residency training.
Medicare, which sets the pace for payments by private insurance, pays nurse practitioners 85 percent of what it pays doctors. An office visit for a Medicare patient in Chicago, for example, pays a doctor about $70 and a nurse practitioner about $60.
The health care overhaul law gave nurse midwives, a type of advanced practice nurse, a Medicare raise to 100 percent of what obstetrician-gynecologists make — and that may be just the beginning.
States regulate nurse practitioners and laws vary on what they are permitted to do:
• In Florida and Alabama, for instance, nurse practitioners are barred from prescribing controlled substances.
• In Washington, nurse practitioners can recommend medical marijuana to their patients when a new law takes effect in June.
• In Montana, nurse practitioners don't need a doctor involved with their practice in any way.
• Many other states put doctors in charge of nurse practitioners or require collaborative agreements signed by a doctor.
• In some states, nurse practitioners with a doctorate in nursing practice can't use the title "Dr." Most states allow it.
The AMA argues the title "Dr." creates confusion. Nurse practitioners say patients aren't confused by veterinarians calling themselves "Dr." Or chiropractors. Or dentists. So why, they ask, would patients be confused by a nurse using the title?
The feud over "Dr." is no joke. By 2015, most new nurse practitioners will hold doctorates, or a DNP, in nursing practice, according to a goal set by nursing educators. By then, the doctorate will be the standard for all graduating nurse practitioners, said Polly Bednash, executive director of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing.
Many with the title use it with pride.
"I don't think patients are ever confused. People are not stupid," said Linda Roemer, a nurse practitioner in Sedona, Ariz., who uses "Dr. Roemer" as part of her e-mail address.
What's the evidence on the quality of care given by nurse practitioners?
The best U.S. study comparing nurse practitioners and doctors randomly assigned more than 1,300 patients to either a nurse practitioner or a doctor. After six months, overall health, diabetes tests, asthma tests and use of medical services like specialists were essentially the same in the two groups.
"The argument that patients' health is put in jeopardy by nurse practitioners? There's no evidence to support that," said Jack Needleman, a health policy expert at the University of California Los Angeles School of Public Health.
Other studies have shown that nurse practitioners are better at listening to patients, Needleman said. And they make good decisions about when to refer patients to doctors for more specialized care.
The nonpartisan Macy Foundation, a New York-based charity that focuses on the education of health professionals, recently called for nurse practitioners to be among the leaders of primary care teams. The foundation also urged the removal of state and federal barriers preventing nurse practitioners from providing primary care.
The American Medical Association is fighting proposals in about 28 states that are considering steps to expand what nurse practitioners can do.
"A shortage of one type of professional is not a reason to change the standards of medical care," said AMA president-elect Dr. Cecil Wilson. "We need to train more physicians."
In Florida, a bill to allow nurse practitioners to prescribe controlled substances is stalled in committee.
One patient, Karen Reid of Balrico, Fla., said she was left in pain over a holiday weekend because her nurse practitioner couldn't prescribe a powerful enough medication and the doctor couldn't be found. Dying hospice patients have been denied morphine in their final hours because a doctor couldn't be reached in the middle of the night, nurses told The Associated Press.
Massachusetts, the model for the federal health care overhaul, passed its law in 2006 expanding health insurance to nearly all residents and creating long waits for primary care. In 2008, the state passed a law requiring health plans to recognize and reimburse nurse practitioners as primary care providers.
That means insurers now list nurse practitioners along with doctors as primary care choices, said Mary Ann Hart, a nurse and public policy expert at Regis College in Weston, Mass. "That greatly opens up the supply of primary care providers," Hart said.
But it hasn't helped much so far. A study last year by the Massachusetts Medical Society found the percentage of primary care practices closed to new patients was higher than ever. And despite the swelling demand, the medical society still believes nurse practitioners should be under doctor supervision.
The group supports more training and incentives for primary care doctors and a team approach to medicine that includes nurse practitioners and physician assistants, whose training is comparable.
"We do not believe, however, that nurse practitioners have the qualifications to be independent primary care practitioners," said Dr. Mario Motta, president of the state medical society.
The new U.S. health care law expands the role of nurses with:
• $50 million to nurse-managed health clinics that offer primary care to low-income patients.
• $50 million annually from 2012-15 for hospitals to train nurses with advanced degrees to care for Medicare patients.
• 10 percent bonuses from Medicare from 2011-16 to primary care providers, including nurse practitioners, who work in areas where doctors are scarce.
• A boost in the Medicare reimbursement rate for certified nurse midwives to bring their pay to the same level as a doctor's.
The American Nurses Association hopes the 100 percent Medicare parity for nurse midwives will be extended to other nurses with advanced degrees.
"We know we need to get to 100 percent for everybody. This is a crack in the door," said Michelle Artz of ANA. "We're hopeful this sets the tone."
In Chicago, only a few patients balk at seeing a nurse practitioner instead of a doctor, Cockrell said. She gladly sends those patients to her doctor partners.
She believes patients get real advantages by letting her manage their care. Nurse practitioners' uphill battle for respect makes them precise, accurate and careful, she said. She schedules 40 minutes for a physical exam; the doctors in her office book 30 minutes for same appointment.
Joseline Nunez, 26, is a patient of Cockrell's and happy with her care.
"I feel that we get more time with the nurse practitioner," Nunez said. "The doctor always seems to be rushing off somewhere."
By CARLA K. JOHNSON, AP Medical Writer, April 13, 2010

___
On the Net:
American Nurses Association, http://www.nursingworld.org/
American Medical Association, http://www.ama-assn.org/

We hope to give you a different view of education as you review the many posts of interest found in Natural Health News

H. L. Mencken wrote in The American Mercury for April 1924 that the aim of public education is not "to fill the young of the species with knowledge and awaken their intelligence. ... Nothing could be further from the truth. The aim ... is simply to reduce as many individuals as possible to the same safe level, to breed and train a standardized citizenry, to put down dissent and originality. That is its aim in the United States whatever pretensions of politicians, pedagogues other such mountebanks, and that is its aim everywhere else."

http://www.natvanbooks.com/cgi-bin/webc.cgi/st_prod.html?p_prodid=924

23 Şubat 2011 Çarşamba

Fluoride Poisoning Risk and Volcanic Eruptions

A NATURAL HEALTH NEWS EXCLUSIVE
Thank you to PFPC for sending the original information that started this post.

Farmers try to save herds from toxic ash, fluoride

UPDATE: 18 April - Air Games? Volcanic Ash? Air War Games Taking Place Over Europe
Look What Happened When Eyjafjallajökull Erupted In 1821
Experts differ on health risk of volcanic ash

You are not hearing in the mainstream media the health risk concerns of the recent volcanic eruption in Iceland. Here is information you should know -

As usual, the UN and North American news do not mention the dangers of fluoride in volcanic ash, as it relates to yesterday's eruption.

The Russian paper Pravda was the only one I could find.

SEE:
http://english.pravda.ru/world/europe/15-04-2010/113035-icelandic_ash-0

Compare to UN news:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jRN9lsRBRDZhRT7Vf0JwkayHp1qgD9F44VKG0

Other items on F- in the volcanic ash:

Chemical composition of ash and scoria from the eruption in
Eyjafjallajökull - April 15, 2010
http://www.evropusamvinna.is/page/IES-EY-CEMCOM

"Even if these values are only about one third of comparable values for Hekla ash it is there,and is reason to be careful and move grazing animals form ash-contaminated fields and melt-water."

Source information and more on fluoride poisoning provided by Parents of Fluoride Poisoned Children

Health tips from Alaska for volcanoeshttp://www.epi.hss.state.ak.us/bulletins/docs/b2006_05.pdf

USGS

and from PubMed -
Arch Environ Health. 1994 Sep-Oct;49(5):395-401.
Evaluating a fluorosis hazard after a volcanic eruption.

Rubin CH, Noji EK, Seligman PJ, Holtz JL, Grande J, Vittani F.

Epidemic Intelligence Service, Epidemiology Program Office, Atlanta, Georgia.
Abstract

The August, 1991 eruption of Mt. Hudson (Chile) deposited ash across southern Argentina and contributed to the deaths of thousands of grazing sheep. Early ash analysis revealed high levels of fluoride, a potential ash constituent toxic to humans and animals. In order to evaluate fluorosis as the cause of sheep deaths and to examine the possibility that similar ash and airborne toxins could also have an effect on the human population, we conducted an investigation that included health provider interviews, hospital record review, physical examination of sheep, determination of sheep urine fluoride levels, and complete constituent analysis of ash samples collected at proscribed distances from the volcano. Ash deposited farthest from the volcano had highest fluoride levels; all fluoride measurements were normal after rainfall. There were no signs or symptoms of fluorosis observed in sheep or humans. Sheep deaths resulted from physical, rather than chemical properties of the ash. PMID: 7944572 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Unidentified Flying Flavors Now Arriving in Your Food

Senomyx is a flavor enhancer and it can be designed to have salt, sweet, cooling, or bitter blocking flavors, or perhaps the range is unlimited. Combination and permutations of chemical tweaking probably can allow your imagination to conjure up anything your taste-altered taste buds might imagine.

Time to get out of the box on the shelf or the can in the cupboard and get back to scratch. Cooking that is!

SENOMYX, SWEETER THAN SWEET; SALTIER THAN SALT; MORE SOUR THAN...
By Robert Cohen, http://www.notmilk.com
Posted: 13 March 2009

We are witnessing the dawning of a sci-fi food revolution. A new technology. A new food group. Amazingly, my research uncovered something nobody has ever revealed before in a column, newspaper article, or magazine expose. The next time you read "artificial flavor" on a food label, you should be aware that a component of that new genetically engineered food additive may be embryonic kidney cells from aborted human fetuses.

The new high-tech artificial flavors are not flavors at all. Instead, they contain chemicals which have been engineered to fool human taste buds. Future foods will need no salt, sugar, MSG, or artificial sweeteners. Instead, sensory perceptions will become warped by modern science. Brains will taste things that are not really there. Illusions. Deceptions. Memories of taste which are now artificially induced.

The Abstract:J Biol Chem. 2008 May 2;283(18):11981-94.
Small molecule activator of the human epithelial sodium
channel.Lu M, Echeverri F, Kalabat D, Laita B, Dahan DS, Smith RD, Xu H, Staszewski L, Yamamoto J, Ling J, Hwang N, Kimmich R, Li P, Patron E, Keung W, Patron A, Moyer BD.
Senomyx, Inc., San Diego, California 92121.

The epithelial sodium channel (ENaC), a heterotrimeric complex composed of alpha, beta, and gamma subunits, belongs to the ENaC/degenerin family of ion channels and forms the principal route for apical Na(+) entry in many reabsorbing epithelia.

Although high affinity ENaC blockers, including amiloride and derivatives, have been described, potent and specific small molecule ENaC activators have not been reported. Here we describe compound S3969 that fully and reversibly activates human ENaC (hENaC) in an amiloride-sensitive and dose-dependent manner in heterologous cells. Mechanistically, S3969 increases hENaC open probability through interactions requiring the extracellular domain of the beta subunit. hENaC activation by S3969 did not require cleavage by the furin protease, indicating that nonproteolyzed channels can be opened. Function of alphabetaG37Sgamma hENaC, a channel defective in gating that leads to the salt-wasting disease pseudohypoaldosteronism type I, was rescued by S3969. Small molecule activation of hENaC may find application in alleviating human disease, including pseudohypoaldosteronism type I, hypotension, and neonatal respiratory distress syndrome, when improved Na(+) flux across epithelial membranes is clinically desirable.

OK, so what does it all mean? Another question: What's $6 today and $100 in the Near Future? SNMX trades on NASDAQ http://www.senomyx.com

From the Senomyx website: Translation: Senomyx is re-inventing food and flavor by genetically engineering taste bud receptor cell triggers. Foods of the future will contain "flavor enhancers" which fool human taste buds into perceiving the sensations of sweetness, sourness, saltiness, and bitterness.

Remember the artificial sweetener controversies? Chemical sugar-replicating compounds are listed on food labels. The new chemicals made by biotech companies will require no such labels. Although they are not actual flavors, they will be called "artificial flavors."

How did Senomyx accomplish the task? A (multi-hour) review of their patents reveals that it all began with the cloning of human embryonic kidney cells. Step two was a recombinant process involving the combination of genetic material from embryonic kidney cells and human adeno-virus. If I had the ability to recall ten thousand abbreviations for the amino acid sequence, plus hundreds of complex combinations of ACTG (adeneine, cytosine, thymine, guanine) I'd describe the structure to you. For those curious scientists, do a google search with the keywords 'Senomyx and patents' and the third link (bioportfolio.com) will provide more info than you need to know. See: United States Patent #5,993,778.

How far into the future will these new biotech wonders appear in our food supply? The future is now. The next time you read "artificial flavor" on a food label, pause to consider what you've read here today. Content labels should read: Embryonic kidney cells from aborted human fetuses.

Senomyx is presently developing new products with many of the world's largest food manufacturers including Campbell's and Coca Cola. In fact, if you eat Nestle's foods, your taste buds are being artificially stimulated by biotech products developed by Senomyx. You may now know what you are eating, but I take this opportunity to paraphrase 17th century author Miguel Cervantes, who wrote in Don Quixote: "The proof is in the pudding."

Senomyx Q2 Revenues Up 91%; Outlook Encouraging, Source: Senomyx, Inc

August 5 - Senomyx, Inc., a company focused on using proprietary taste receptor-based technologies to discover novel flavor ingredients for the food, beverage, and ingredient supply industries, today provided a corporate update and reported financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2010.

Revenues were $5.7 million for the second quarter of 2010, compared to $3.0 million for the second quarter of 2009, an increase of 91%. Revenues were $13.4 million for the six months ended June 30, 2010, compared to $6.5 million for the six months ended June 30, 2009, an increase of 107%. As of June 30, 2010, the Company had cash, cash equivalents, and short term investments of approximately $55.4 million.

“The second quarter of 2010 has been very active for Senomyx,” stated Kent Snyder, Chief Executive Officer of the Company. “During the quarter we were informed that the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has provided a ‘favorable opinion’ for Senomyx’s Savory Flavor Ingredients, S336 and S807, which means that no further evaluation is required. The successful conclusion of the evaluation is a key step toward receiving an approval to use these ingredients in the European Union.”

Senomyx’s Savory Flavor Ingredients are intended to reduce or replace added monosodium glutamate (MSG) in foods and beverages. Final regulatory approval and commercialization in the EU is contingent upon the ingredients being included in the EFSA Union List, which EFSA has targeted for publication by the end of 2010.

“Nestlé, the world’s largest food and beverage company, is currently conducting marketing activities in the Pacific Rim, Latin America, and Africa with both new and reformulated established products that incorporate Senomyx’s Savory Flavor Ingredients. Approval in Europe could create a new market opportunity for Nestlé,” Snyder noted.

“In addition, Ajinomoto, a leading global manufacturer of food and culinary products, is introducing products that contain a Senomyx flavor ingredient in Asia and another key region,” Snyder stated. “Ajinomoto has increased the number of products launched and has also selected several new Senomyx flavor ingredients for potential marketing.” Selection of the new ingredients, which are all currently being evaluated by Ajinomoto, triggered a $500,000 milestone payment to Senomyx.

“Another Senomyx partner, Firmenich, is continuing commercial activities for Senomyx’s extremely effective enhancer of the high-intensity sweetener sucralose (S2383),” Snyder said. Firmenich SA, a global leader in providing ingredients and flavor systems to major consumer companies, has exclusive worldwide rights to market the sucralose enhancer as either a stand-alone ingredient or as part of a flavor system in all food and beverage product categories.

“Senomyx’s recent scientific achievements include important progress in our Bitter Blocker Program during the past quarter,” Snyder noted. “Development activities, including primary safety studies, have now been completed for our S6821 Bitter Blocker, allowing Senomyx to submit regulatory filings for S6821 in the second half of the year. S6821 is effective in reducing the bitterness of a variety of product prototypes. We are encouraged by the accelerated pace of our development activities and the potential long-term value of our Bitter Blocker Program.

“We are also enthusiastic about the success Senomyx has had with our Sweet Enhancer program,” Snyder commented. “As announced on June 24, our advances in this program have led to Senomyx and PepsiCo, the world’s second-largest food and beverage company, signing a letter agreement and entering into an exclusive 60-day negotiation period regarding the completion of a definitive agreement for a new collaboration related to Senomyx’s sweet taste technology.”

Senomyx’s letter agreement with PepsiCo includes key commercial and financial terms for a potential multi-year collaborative research program focused on the discovery, development, and commercialization of new artificial sweet enhancers, natural sweet enhancers, and natural high potency sweeteners for the non-alcoholic beverage category. Under the letter agreement, Senomyx has received a payment of $7.5 million from PepsiCo. The payment, which is non-refundable except under limited circumstances, will be applied as partial payment towards an upfront license fee if Senomyx and PepsiCo enter into a final definitive agreement.

“PepsiCo is an innovative company that shares our commitment to providing healthier, great-tasting products to consumers. We believe that our potential new collaboration would include a commercialization timeframe and other terms that are beneficial for both companies,” Snyder stated.

In addition to other accomplishments, the Company increased its intellectual property portfolio during the past quarter. As of June 30, 2010, Senomyx is the owner or exclusive licensee of 207 issued patents and 362 pending patent applications related to proprietary taste receptor technologies in the U.S., Europe, and elsewhere. Technologies covered in the Company’s patents include taste receptor sequences and functions, screening assays, new flavor ingredients, and product applications.

Senomyx achieved its recent scientific advances under the leadership of Donald S. Karanewsky, Ph.D., who has served as Senior Vice President, Discovery since joining Senomyx in June 2007. In recognition of his valuable contributions to the Company, Dr. Karanewsky was appointed to the position of Senior Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer during the past quarter. Dr. Karanewsky received his Ph.D. and Master’s degrees in Chemistry from Harvard University and was granted a B.S. in Chemistry, Magna Cum Laude, from Stevens Institute of Technology in New Jersey.

Discovery & Development Program Updates:
Sweet Enhancer Program: The primary goal for this program is to identify flavor ingredients that allow a significant reduction of sweeteners in food and beverage products while maintaining the desired sweet taste. Senomyx has received a GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) regulatory designation for S6973, the Company’s sucrose enhancer that enables up to 50% reduction of sugar in certain foods and beverages while maintaining the sweet taste of natural sugar. The GRAS designation allows it to be used in the U.S. and in numerous other countries for most food products and selected beverages such as flavored milk, as well as ready-to-drink and instant coffee and tea. The sucrose enhancer is currently being evaluated by potential collaborators interested in using it for these beverage categories. Firmenich has exclusive worldwide rights to commercialize this sucrose enhancer for virtually all food categories, and co-exclusive rights for the powdered beverage category. Firmenich has initiated pre-commercialization activities with major clients in anticipation of conducting its first product launches during 2011.

Additional advances with the Sweet Enhancer Program include the identification of a new family of sucrose enhancers with distinct physical properties that may be advantageous for a broader range of beverages and other product applications. A recently discovered sucrose enhancer from this family enables up to 50% reduction of sugar in preliminary taste tests.

During the first quarter of 2010, the Company identified the first Senomyx flavor ingredients that demonstrate a statistically significant amplification of the sweet taste of fructose, a key component of high fructose corn syrup. High fructose corn syrup is the primary sweetener used in carbonated and certain other beverages, especially in North America. A number of new samples have been active in the fructose enhancer screening assay. These are being optimized to increase their potency and improve their physical properties, followed by evaluation in taste tests.

Bitter Blocker Program: The primary goals of this program are to reduce or block bitter taste and to improve the overall taste characteristics of foods, beverages, and ingredients. Taste tests have demonstrated that S6821 and S0812, alone or in combination, can provide statistically significant reductions in the bitterness of a variety of product prototypes and food ingredients including tea, cocoa, menthol, various proteins, and the sweeteners Rebaudioside-A (a derivative of the stevia plant), Acesulfame potassium (Ace-K), and saccharine. Senomyx expects to submit regulatory applications for S6821 during the second half of this year. In addition, the Company believes development activities with S0812 will conclude by year-end and regulatory filings are planned for 2011.

Salt Enhancer Program: The goal of the Salt Enhancer Program is to identify flavor ingredients that allow a significant reduction of sodium in foods and beverages yet maintain the salty taste desirable to consumers. Senomyx discovered SNMX-29, a protein with characteristics that indicate it could be involved in human salt taste perception, and identified samples that are active in screening assays based on this protein. These active samples have not provided significant enhancement of saltiness in taste tests, which leads the Company to believe that SNMX-29 is not the primary receptor responsible for human salt taste. The Company is exploring the role of other proteins that may be integral to the sensation of salty taste. This high-priority effort involves chemistry and biology approaches, including assessing components of Senomyx’s proprietary database of proteins found in taste buds. Senomyx believes that discovery of the protein or proteins that function as the salt taste receptor could lead to identifying a salt taste enhancer.

Cooling Flavor Program: The goal of the Cooling Flavor Program is to identify novel cooling flavors that do not have the limitations of currently available agents. Senomyx has discovered new cooling flavors that demonstrated a taste proof-of-concept and displayed cooling properties that exceed those of commonly used agents. Senomyx and its partner for this program, Firmenich, have prioritized sample classes that are the focus of further optimization.

Financial Review: Revenues were $5.7 million for the second quarter of 2010, compared to $3.0 million for the second quarter of 2009, an increase of 91%. Revenues were $13.4 million for the six months ended June 30, 2010, compared to $6.5 million for the six months ended June 30, 2009, an increase of 107%. The increases in revenues for the second quarter and the year-to-date were primarily due to the recognition of license fee and R&D funding revenue related to the Company’s August 2009 Sweet Enhancer collaboration with Firmenich. License fee and R&D funding related to the collaboration contributed $3.3 million and $6.2 million for the three and six month periods ending June 30, 2010. Also contributing to the increase year-to-date was a total of $3.0 million in non-recurring milestone payments and cost reimbursements from collaborators.

Research and development expenses, including stock-based compensation expense, were $7.1 million for the second quarter of 2010, compared to $7.8 million for the second quarter of 2009, a decrease of 10%. Research and development expenses, including stock-based compensation expense, were $13.5 million for the six months ended June 30, 2010, compared to $15.4 million for the six months ended June 30, 2009, a decrease of 13%. These decreases were primarily due to reduced expenditures for compound acquisition and related high-throughput screening activities and reduced personnel-related expenses.

General and administrative expenses, including stock-based compensation expense, were $3.3 million for the second quarter of 2010, compared to $3.2 million for the second quarter of 2009, an increase of 3%. General and administrative expenses, including stock-based compensation expense, were $6.4 million for the six months ended June 30, 2010, compared to $6.5 million for the six months ended June 30, 2009, a decrease of 1%.

The net loss for the second quarter of 2010 was $0.12 per share, compared to a net loss of $0.26 per share for the second quarter of 2009. The net loss for the six months ended June 30, 2010 was $0.18 per share, compared to $0.50 per share for the six months ended June 30, 2009.

2010 Outlook: “Due to the receipt of $7.5 million from PepsiCo related to the June letter agreement, we are revising our cash utilization guidance for 2010 from a range of $14 million to $16 million to a range of $6 million to $8 million. At this time, we are not revising our other financial guidance metrics; however, we will update our financial guidance as necessary if we enter into a definitive agreement with PepsiCo,” stated Tony Rogers, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.

For the full year 2010, Senomyx now expects: Total revenues of $20 million to $24 million Total expenses of $42 million to $44 million, of which $5 million to $6 million is non-cash, stock-based compensation expense Net loss of $18 million to $21 million Basic and diluted net loss of $0.48 to $0.56 per share Net cash used in operating activities between $6 million and $8 million
http://www.flex-news-food.com/

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School Lunch Improvements Don't Limit Sugar

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Salt: The Health Promoting Kind

Nov 20, 2007

Senomyx is the manufacturer. Humans and animals require salt (sodium and a little chloride) for health. Even as little as a lick of really natural salt can lower blood pressure (or two celery stalks a day) and help your heart. Dr. ...

New Pact: Pepsico & Senomyx

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Watching Processed Salt in Your Food

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22 Şubat 2011 Salı

A Caring Human

My friend and colleague is a real human companion. He is an holistic vet in California (www.lovapet.com) and is active in education. He just released a new book and as he shared it with me, I want to share it with you.

You can support our work and this blog by purchasing it through your favorite book seller using
http://www.goodsearch.com/toolbar/creating-health-institute-chi

Releasing Your Pets Hidden Health Potential
Richard Palmquist, DVM

Intestinal Anti-inflammation Drug CAUSES It

I work with Alice from time to time as several of my articles are found at healthiertalk.com, where she is the editor.

I find it supportive to see that other health sites are proactively education you about drug risks, especially when dangerous side effects can be the outcome.

By Alice Wessendorf

Another drug produced by Big Pharma that causes, and even worsens, the exact problem it is supposed to treat? It’s almost like this isn’t news anymore.

Turns out that the Caspase–1-inhibiting drugs, designed to quell the inflammation in the colon associated with colitis, are triggering intense inflammatory reactions that lead to severe flare ups of colitis.

A research team out of McGill University has proven that inhibiting or eliminating the protein Capsase-1—the very one targeted by these drugs—can cause the inflammation process to go out of control. Even worse, suppressing this important protein could eventually lead to certain cancers developing.

Every day your gut is bombarded with bacteria and the result is a controlled inflammatory response by your body. Occasionally, in some people, that inflammatory response flares out of control and this can lead to inflammatory bowel disease and make them susceptible to developing cancer like cancer of the colon.

Drug makers suspected that the protein Caspase-1 was involved in this inflammation process. So in all their wisdom, and rush to get a new product to market, they designed drugs to suppress it. Problem is they failed to take into account that the protein was an integral part of the entire regulated inflammation process.

So, the drugs leave your gut essentially defenseless when it comes into contact with bacteria. No Caspase-1 means no barrier. Bacteria are left free to invade deeper into tissues and cause much more severe inflammations, which can lead to cancer.

This is yet one more example of drugs doing more harm than good. In this case, Big Pharma’s half-cocked profits-before-people run to market could kill you.

This class of drug has also been tried with ALS or Lou Gehrig's Disease.

Need some practical, non-drug approaches to dealing with an inflamed bowel?
READ MORE...

Senator Seeks Deadline for Medicare to Prevent Prescription Drug Fraud - The Center for Public Integrity

21 Şubat 2011 Pazartesi

Vitamin Combo Helps Delay Aging

UPDATE: 16 May - Just in case you happen to read this post, you might find it helpful to realize that if your right of access to health care of choice and supplement use over drugs, remember that the folks (members of Congress et al)wishing to bring you CODEX restrictions will allow you to have this level of supplementation, well below well proven therapeutic levels -

ALLOWABLE VITAMIN POTENCY UNDER CODEX: Vitamin C (225 mg - up from the original 60 mg); Vitamin E (15 mg - up from the original 7)(Gamma Tocopherol); Magnesium (400 mg); Vitamin B-12 (9 mcg when normal dose in the 1940s-70s was 2400-2800 daily and we had very little dementia); Vitamin B-6 (5.4 mg - when we know a minimum of 200 mg daily is for basic intake); Beta Carotene (4 mg); Vitamin D (5 mg - although FDA is currently suggesting a minimum of 1000 mg)

A supplement composed of vitamins B-1, B-3, B-6, B-12, C, D, E, folic acid, beta-carotene, CoQ10, rutin, bioflavonoids, ginkgo biloba, ginseng, green tea extract, ginger root extract, garlic, L-Glutathione, magnesium, selenium, potassium, manganese, chromium picolinate, acetyl L-carnitine, melatonin, alpha-lipoic acid, N-acetyl cysteine, acetylsalicylic acid, cod liver oil and flax seed oil supports anti-aging.

Much of this research has been completed in the past by such natural health greats as Gary Null, Carleton Fredericks, and Gayelord Haueser. In the 40-50-60s vitamins, especially B complex and B12, along with natural thyroid support were key medical therapies for aging and prevention of dementia.

A cocktail of vitamins, minerals and herbals may delay the major aspects of the aging process and extend lifespan by 10%, according to a mouse study from Canada led by David Rollo.

Mice fed a supplement containing 30 dietary ingredients did not experience a 50% loss in daily movement like non-supplemented animals, according to findings published in the journal Experimental Biology and Medicine.

The benefits were linked to increases in the activity of mitochondria, the power plants of the cells, as well as by reducing levels of free radicals produced by the mitochondria, said researchers from McMaster University.

"For aging humans, maintaining zestful living into later years may provide greater social and economic benefits than simply extending years of likely decrepitude," Rollo said. "This study obtained a truly remarkable extension of physical function in old mice, far greater than the respectable extension of longevity that we previously documented. This holds great promise for extending the quality of life of humans," he added.

Rollo and his co-workers used bradykinesis, or declining physical movement, as a biomarker of aging and mortality risk. Mice were divided into two groups: One was fed a normal diet, while the other was supplemented with a cocktail of dietary supplement ingredients.

"Dosages were derived from recommended human doses adjusted for body size and the 10-fold higher metabolic rate of mice," explained the researchers.

Results showed maintenance of youthful levels of locomotor activity into old age in the supplemented animals, whereas old non-supplemented mice showed a 50% loss in daily movement, said the researchers. This was accompanied by a loss of mitochondria activity, and declines in brain signaling chemicals relevant to locomotion, such as striatal neuropeptide Y. This chemical is associated with a range of functions, including maintaining energy balance, as well as effects in memory and learning. No such declines were observed in supplemented animals, the researches said.

"Although identifying the role of specific ingredients and interactions remains outstanding, results provide proof of principle that complex dietary cocktails can powerfully ameliorate biomarkers of aging and modulate mechanisms considered ultimate goals for aging interventions," Rollo and his co-workers stated.

The supplement was composed of vitamins B-1, B-3, B-6, B-12, C, D, E, folic acid, beta-carotene, CoQ10, rutin, bioflavonoids, ginkgo biloba, ginseng, green tea extract, ginger root extract, garlic, L-Glutathione, magnesium, selenium, potassium, manganese, chromium picolinate, acetyl L-carnitine, melatonin, alpha-lipoic acid, N-acetyl cysteine, acetylsalicylic acid, cod liver oil and flax seed oil.
Experimental Biology and Medicine 235:66-76, 2010

Personality may influence brain shrinkage in aging

ScienceDaily (2010-04-27) -- A team of psychologists has found an intriguing possibility that personality and brain aging during the golden years may be linked. Researchers found lower volumes of gray matter in the frontal and medial temporal brain regions of volunteers who ranked high in neuroticism traits, compared with higher volumes of gray matter in those who ranked high in conscientious traits. ... > read full article

20 Şubat 2011 Pazar

Ilya Somin: Two cheers for federal court's Virginia health care suit decision | Washington Examiner

Experience with Publicly Funded Private Health Insurance -

If you think this will just apply to those who speak English as a second language, don't overlook the great probability that Big Insurance will pull this trick on you, even if you are outside the legal immigrant groups.

To the Editor:
On October 31, 2009, Massachusetts involuntarily transferred about 30,000 legal immigrants (mostly “green card” holders) from Commonwealth Care, the state-subsidized insurance program, to a new private insurance plan. CeltiCare, a subsidiary of the out-of-state, for-profit insurer Centene, agreed to take over their care for only $1,300 per person, one third of the state's previous cost1 and well below the average cost of adequate care nationally.23 CeltiCare excluded several hospitals (and their affiliated community health centers) that have traditionally provided safety-net care for immigrants, including Boston Medical Center and Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA), where we work.
We used internal hospital data to determine the characteristics of patients who were transferred to CeltiCare and who had formerly received their primary care at CHA. A total of 1325 patients who had visited a primary care provider at CHA during the past year were moved to CeltiCare. Of these patients, 73% speak a primary language other than English, including Portuguese (24%), Spanish (20%), and Haitian Creole (9%); 19% have hypertension, and 10% have diabetes mellitus. A psychiatric disorder has been diagnosed in at least 9%.
We then evaluated the adequacy of the provider network for these patients. During the second and third months after the switch to CeltiCare, we searched CeltiCare's Web site4 for primary care providers within 5 miles of CHA's ZIP Code. The search returned 326 providers, of whom 217 were nonduplicate adult generalists. Of these providers, 25% could not be reached at the telephone number provided. Of those available by telephone, only 37% were actually accepting new CeltiCare patients, and the average wait for an appointment was 33 days. In all, only 60 providers were accepting new CeltiCare patients, and only 38 could provide service for even one of the three major linguistic minorities.
Given these findings, we believe that patients who were switched from Commonwealth Care to CeltiCare had inadequate access to primary care 3 months into this new program. We fear that such “rationing by inconvenience”5 shuts patients out of care to the detriment of their health but to the benefit of CeltiCare's bottom line. Policymakers, in Massachusetts and nationally, should reassess the role of profit-driven insurers in the provision of safety-net care.
Ruth Hertzman-Miller M.D., M.P.H.
Malgorzata Dawiskiba M.D.
Cassie Frank M.D.
Cambridge Health Alliance, Cambridge, MA
rhertzman-miller@challiance.org

http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc1005451

New Strategy to Address Malnourishment

Considering that both obesity and being too skinny are indicators of malnutrition. I learned this in the 60s when I was studying nutrition in college while working on a nursing degree. Seems it has taken a long time to get this far, at least as far as recognition.

The US is one of the most malnourished countries in the world.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa., April 14 (UPI) -- There is considerable confusion among those working in healthcare on how to identify malnutrition among patients, a U.S. researcher says.

Gordon Jensen, professor and head of nutritional sciences at Pennsylvania State University, says patients who are malnourished are frequently not identified, and patients who are identified as malnourished may not be.

"Depending upon the criteria that are used, up to 50 percent of patients in hospitals or skilled nursing facilities have been estimated to be malnourished," Jensen says in a statement.

"We're taking a new starting point that we can all agree on, and one that is based on our modern understanding of malnutrition and inflammation."

Jensen and colleagues propose replacing existing terminology dealing with malnourishment with a new diagnosis strategy in which patients would fall into one of three categories -- starvation related, chronic disease related or acute disease/injury related.

The new strategy has appeared in both Clinical Nutrition and the Journal of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition.

19 Şubat 2011 Cumartesi

Supplements Lower Risk of Dysplasia in HPV

SUPPLEMENT UPDATE: D. Telegraph 19.4.10 "SUPPLEMENTS MAY REDUCE CANCER RISK"
Vitamin & calcium supplements could help keep breast cancer at bay. They are thought to help cells repair damaged DNA using a process that involves over 200 proteins. Prof. Jaime Matta from the Ponce School of Medicine in Puerto Rico compared 268 breast cancer patients & 547 healthy women. Taking a variety of vitamin supplements appears to reduce the risk of breast cancer by 30% & taking calcium supplements reduces it by 40%. The findings were presented to the American Assoc. for Cancer Research in Washington DC.

Now who needs Gardasil when you have supplements, said the big good wolf?

An article published in the April, 2010 issue of the International Journal of Gynecologic Cancers reports the finding of researchers at Korea University College of Medicine and Korea's National Cancer Center of a lower risk of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN, also known as cervical dysplasia) among human papilloma virus (HPV) positive women who consumed vitamin supplements. Human papilloma virus has been identified as the agent responsible for cervical cancer, for which cervical intraepithelial neoplasia is a precursor. The condition is detected by a pap smear and graded according to stage as CIN 1, 2 or 3. Although CIN can regress on its own, it is frequently treated with cryocautery, electrocautery or other methods.

The current study included 328 HPV-positive participants in a Korean cohort study begun in 2006. Ninety women with CIN1 and 72 with CIN 2/3 were compared with 166 control subjects. Dietary intake prior to enrollment was documented in questionnaire responses, and supplement use was classified into 5 categories. Human papilloma viral load was ascertained by cervical sampling for HPV DNA.

Having a high HPV viral load was associated with a three times greater risk of CIN 2/3 compared with the risk associated with a low viral load. Women who used multivitamin supplements had a 79 percent lower risk of CIN 2/3 than those who did not use them. Similar reductions in CIN 2/3 risk were observed for vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, and calcium supplement use. For participants with a low viral load, the risk of CIN 1 was reduced by 65 percent and that of CIN 2/3 by 89 percent in multivitamin supplement users compared to nonusers.

"HPV infection alone does not lead to cervical neoplasia; other factors, such as the patient’s nutritional status, play a role in cervical carcinogenesis," the authors write. "Dietary guidelines for the prevention of cervical cancer recognize the importance of antioxidants and have recommended an increase in the consumption of fruits and vegetables as good sources of dietary antioxidants."
"This is the first study to report on an association between cervical dysplasia in women with high-risk HPV, the HPV DNA load, and dietary supplements," they announce. "Larger studies are needed for confirmation of these findings before the results can be generalized to a broader population."

SOURCE

EU Moves to Block Natural Health Care

As the European Union (EU) moves to limit right of choice and access to supplements, while turning over this industry to Big PhRMA, the plan there will have an impact in the US and other countries.

If you read Natural Health News you are aware of the shift in ownership of supplement firms to PhRMA, and you know too that PhRMA is boosting sales by promoting engineered supplement type Rx drugs.

Here's what's ahead in the EU - "From What Doctors Don't Tell You" - email news Aug. 2010.

How Big Pharma plans to kill off alternative medicine
Within two years, nutritional medicine - as a viable alternative therapy to conventional medicine and pharmaceuticals - will be a shadow of its current self in Europe. By then, four laws will be fully implemented throughout the European Union, and they will effectively remove consumer choice. In 2012, the only show in town - in terms of genuine therapy - will be prescription drugs. This bleak landscape - and what we all can still do about it before it's too late.

From 2012: High-dose vitamins will be barred, and will be available only by prescription from your doctor, who may be less than sympathetic.
a.. sales of health products will start to slow as manufacturers will be barred from making even the most obvious claim for their product
b.. Chinese and ayurvedic herbs will start disappearing from the shelves
c.. Herbal practitioners in the UK may be going out of business unless they can get themselves registered to a standard acceptable to the EU. They have until April next year to do this.
If you care about nutritional and alternative medicine - and if it's an important part of your life - you need to know what's happening now. - 'The assault on natural medicine'.

No matter where you are, if this issue is important to you, tell your Member of Congress that you want freedom of choice and right of access, and coverage under health insurance for supplements.

Natural Medicine was cut from health insurance reform.

Most doctors are not sympathetic nor do they know about nutrition or therapeutic use of supplements.

18 Şubat 2011 Cuma

Supplements Saved

US office of the great Alliance for Natural Health, started years ago by Dr. Robert Verkirk, just announced a victory for US consumers of nutritonal supplements

Supplements Are Exempted From Codex Language in Food Safety Bill
The FDA Food Modernization Act (S. 510), also referred to as the “Food Safety” bill, has been modified to exempt dietary supplements from language that otherwise creates a slippery slope toward U.S. harmonization with Codex Alimentarius. ANH-USA worked to protect the natural health community from this dangerous provision that threatened access to high quality, therapeutic supplement doses by working with key senators to modify the language, now for the second time. Read Complete Article

Childhood Obesity Campaign: Issues in Health

UPDATE: 4 August, Sugar Cut in Cereals

Remember that most of the big name cereals have been loaded with high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) for years. And also consider that it is the organic brands of cold, boxed cereal that is also loaded with sugar, only they use the organic kind. Either way you look at it the sugar has to go, the HFCS has to go, and all of the cereals with any GMO grain or other ingredient - like beet sugar that now is about 100% of the market -) nneds to come out of these and any other product containing them.

15% cut in sugar coming in 2011 to Coco Pops

3 February, 2010 Michelle Obama Kicks Off Childhood Obesity Drive
Mrs. Obama is taking on her first substantive policy role in overseeing the Obama administration programs and partnerships dealing with what is considered a national epidemic of childhood obesity.

http://www.politicsdaily.com/2010/02/01/michelle-obama-kicking-off-childhood-obesity-drive-feb-9/

My hope is that Michelle addresses the role of vaccines, fluoride, environment, lack of physical education in schools, the USDA food pyramid that promotes obesity, unhealthy school lunches, artificial sweeteners proven to cause obesity, HFCS, soy formula, microwave cooking, GMO soy and canola oil disguised as " plant sterols" and not healthy saturated fat, TV ads and cold cereals, and some of Tom Vilsack's GMO buddies, and more to be concerned with. We are just a nation of starving children who are malnourished because of the focus of today's government guidelines.

Some 30+ related articles on obesity can be found here at Natural Health News

Originally posted 3/6/09

Somehow I think the lineal thinking process, or lack of any kind of meaningful thinking, is a very real issue as we address the needs for health care change and reform in the US, and of course in the world.

I also think that as long as we have this mind set those who see themselves as power brokers just might not be hitting the target, so to speak.

Try to put a few puzzle pieces together here as I give you food for thought.

First of all, look at the USDA. This is the place where dietitians get their basic education. Since most of this is funded by Big AG is it no wonder RDs end up on the short end when it comes to how this translates to a role in health care delivery. Remembering too that the ADA (American Dietetics Association) wants to control ALL nutrition education, and they support aspartame, sucralose (both known obesity promoters) and the faulty food pyramid.

Luise Light, PhD, the originator of the first food pyramid with real food, might give you more to think about. Her opinion of grains is certainly not the same as ADA or USDA or for that matter, Big AG.

Today, you can read about a culture of bias in ADA education. If it is found in students of dietetics (dietetics is not nutrition) then you can be sure it is in the faculty and the field as well.

Bias Against Obesity Is Found Among Future DietitiansBy Carolyn Colwell Healthday Reporter
Mar 5, 2009

THURSDAY, March 5 (HealthDay News) -- Just 2 percent of those training to be dietitians have positive or neutral attitudes toward people who are obese, and the rest are moderately biased against their prospective patients, a new study has found.

"Essentially, this shows that future dieticians are not immune to weight bias, and there are negative attitudes toward obese patients that may have a negative impact on the quality of care," said Rebecca Puhl, the study's lead author and the director of research and stigma initiatives at Yale University's Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity.

Most of the almost 200 dietetic students who participated in the study had pejorative views about the attractiveness, self-control, overeating, insecurity and self-esteem of people who are obese. They also rated obese patients as being less likely than non-obese patients to comply with treatment recommendations. The findings were published in the March issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.

But the students aren't alone in their beliefs and share the biases with other health-care providers, Puhl said, adding that other studies have shown that many health professionals have negative perceptions about very overweight patients. Patients have reported "very many examples of providers who really make very stereotypical comments that suggest that they are making assumptions about a patient's character, intelligence or abilities because of their weight," she said.

Other signs of professional insensitivity, Puhl said, include weighing obese patients on freight scales because scales in a doctor's office don't accommodate their weight and not having blood pressure cuffs big enough for a heavy patient.

She said that the attitudes expressed by the dietetic students in the study show a lack of appreciation for how difficult it is to lose weight and for the biological factors involved. Also, the message that obesity results from a lack of self control ignores mounting scientific evidence that it's difficult to lose weight and keep it off for a sustained period of time, she said.

"Most people, when they walk into an office, have already tried to lose weight and, more likely, they've lost weight and regained the weight," Puhl said. "I think a better understanding and appreciation of the complexities and difficulties of weight loss are needed to reduce the stigma."

The 182 students who completed the study were from 14 universities and had been enrolled in an undergraduate dietetics program for about two years. With an average age of 23, 92 percent were women, and 85 percent were white.

The researchers asked the students to respond to questions about a normal-weight male and female and an obese male and female. The people they were asked about shared the same health characteristics except for weight.

Dr. Nicholas H.E. Mezitis, an assistant professor of clinical medicine and nutrition at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, said that the findings might be misleading because of the small number of minority students and the predominance of white females among the participants. "If you get into ethnic communities, such as a black population, they all have different views," he said. In some groups, he explained, being thin might not be seen as desirable.

"We also have to bear in mind that a lot of what these students are reading in magazines and such are taking them to the other extreme," Mezitis said. "What's desirable is very thin, and … these [obese] patients are way on the other extreme."

Lona Sandon, a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association, added that students' mentors need to provide positive role modeling. "If mentors reflect weight bias, then students are likely to do the same," she said. "In addition, one's own attitudes about body image may influence attitudes towards other's weight."

The study recommends adding stigma reduction to the standard curriculum for dietetics programs. The Obesity Society has more on weight-related bias.

Then we have to give some attention to this announcement of the joint venture between the heart association (AHA), Nickelodeon and Bill Clinton's organization to allegedly fight childhood obesity.

Then consider the Healthy School Lunch Program and what actually took place over a decade ago in Wisconsin, and you have to wonder about why all of this has been taking so long.

Then remember when the push started for the Hepatitis B vaccine? It was pretty clearly established that no long term studies had been done with this vaccine, and it contributed to the development of diabetes and some other scary for parents kinds of issues.

Then, if you recall history, Mr. Bill awarded the developers of the Hepatitis B vaccine the National Technology Award.

Is it guilt, is it greed, or is it that there is a real interest in change this issue for our children.

One has to ask because we haven't seen a response on aspartame even though the FDA knows it causes diabetes and obesity.

And certainly there has to be consideration of cultural concerns because in the American Indian and other ethnic and forgotten communities, nuttrition, diabetes and weight issues are major public health problems.

Now you have some real food for thought.

Natural Health Expert