Overuse of Vaccines, Anti-Flu Drugs Could Be Disastrous

As bad as the H1N1 swine flu outbreak may turn out to be, you can be sure that government intervention will only make it worse. In the swine flu debacle of 1976, only one person died from the swine flu itself, but hundreds of Americans were killed or seriously injured by the inoculation the government gave them to stave off the virus.

Disease researchers have begun modeling how a future H1N1-09 swine-flu outbreak would spread throughout the world and have come up with some troubling scenarios. Infectious disease experts are beginning to describe modern efforts to quell seasonal and epidemic influenza with vaccines and anti-viral drugs using wording like "potentially dangerous," "worrisome," and "may do more harm than good."

This is striking in light of the multi-billion dollar worldwide effort to rapidly manufacture huge stocks of vaccines, up to an unprecedented 2 billion doses, against the 2008–09 late-flu season H1N1 swine flu epidemic. Public health officials are fearful this unusual strain of H1N1 influenza virus may mutate into a more lethal form in the fall as did the deadly Spanish flu pandemic of 1918.

Researchers at Shizuoka University in Japan, writing in a recent March 2009 issue of the Public Library of Science (PLoS One), are among the first to sound the alarm that the most relied upon weaponry against the flu, vaccines, may actually apply "immunological pressure on circulating strains of the flu which might engender the emergence of genetic variants with enhanced potential for pathogenicity in humans." Translation: mass vaccination, unless well monitored, may actually induce the dreaded gene mutation that could result in more cases, increased hospitalizations and a larger death toll. Read more

The Calorie Delusion: Why Food Labels Are Wrong

Maybe one of the reasons some of us are so fat is because we measure calories the wrong way. Calorie counts are created by incinerating food, but we don't burn food up, we digest it.

... Calorie counts on food labels around the world are based on a system developed in the late 19th century by American chemist Wilbur Olin Atwater. Atwater calculated the energy content of various foods by burning small samples in controlled conditions and measuring the amount of energy released in the form of heat. To estimate the proportion of this raw energy that was used by the body, Atwater calculated the amount of energy lost as undigested food in faeces, and as chemical energy in the form of urea, ammonia and organic acids found in urine, and then he subtracted these figures from the total. Using this method, Atwater estimated that carbohydrates and protein provide an average of 4 kcal per gram, while fat provides 9 kcal per gram. With a few modifications, these measurements of what is known as metabolisable energy have been the currency of food ever since.

We know these values are approximate. Nutritionists are well aware that our bodies don't incinerate food, they digest it. And digestion - from chewing food to moving it through the gut and chemically breaking it down along the way - takes a different amount of energy for different foods. According to Geoffrey Livesey, an independent nutritionist based in Norfolk, UK, this can lower the number of calories your body extracts from a meal by anywhere between 5 and 25 per cent depending on the food eaten. "These energy costs are quite significant," he says, yet are not reflected on any food label. Read more

7 Surprising Sleep Tips

You've probably heard the usual sleep tips - don't drink caffeine, exercise before bedtime, etc. - but if you still can't sleep, try these seven lesser-known sleep tips. They may do the trick.

Can't sleep? You have plenty of company. About half of all adults experience insomnia on occasion, and 1 in 10 battle insomnia on a regular basis, according to the Cleveland Clinic. If you fall into one of those groups, chances are you're already following the tried-and-true rules for a good night's sleep: Don't have too much caffeine (especially late in the day), don't exercise late at night, keep your bedroom at a cool, comfortable temperature, and make sure your bed, pillows and linens are comfy. Those are all good tips, but there are lesser-known things you can try to help you get more rest.

1. Set a Bedtime Alert
Most of us already use an alarm to wake up in the morning, but sleep expert Michael Breus, PhD, author of Beauty Sleep: Look Younger, Lose Weight, and Feel Great Through Better Sleep, suggests setting it at night as well. Read more

Do Penis Enlargement Exercises Really Work?

Penis enlargement exercises seem to be promoted everywhere nowadays, but do they really work? Many people are keen to dismiss penis enlargement exercises as myths even though they are not familiar with the facts. Penis enlargement exercises have been around in one form or other for a very long time. Penis enlargement through exercise is possible. Svetlana Ivanova at Sex Secrets discusses penis enlargement exercises and gives this unique testimonial to their effectiveness:

Does natural penis enlargement really work? I can’t speak directly from personal experience, lacking the equipment to do so. However, I know that penis enlargement exercises work for at least some men because a former lover – after I commented of the size of his penis – confessed that he had used them to increase his penis size an inch and a half. I can’t think of any possible reason for a man to say that unless it were true. Read more

Mercury Contamination Found in High Fructose Corn Syrup

Many people are concerned about eating foods containing high-fructose corn syrup because of its possible link to health conditions such as diabetes, obesity, metabolic syndrome, increased triglycerides, increased LDL cholesterol, and liver disease. Now another reason to avoid high-fructose corn syrup has been discovered: high levels of mercury, which can cause brain damage, deafness, learning disabilities, and even death.

High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) accounts for the largest amount of calories in the average American diet. It can be found in processed foods of almost every kind - soda, bread, breakfast bars, processed dairy, crackers, soup, condiments, and others. The U.S. first began using HFCS heavily in the 1970's as an inexpensive alternative to sugar when sugar prices skyrocketed. It quickly became the most commonly used sweetener and today is found in almost all processed foods. Americans consume about twelve teaspoons of HFCS on average per day.

Recently HFCS has come under scrutiny because of its possible link to health conditions such as diabetes, obesity, metabolic syndrome, increased triglycerides, increased LDL cholesterol, and liver disease. Fructose is hard for the body to metabolize, converts to fat more than other sugars, and contains no enzymes, vitamins, or minerals. In fact, fructose actually uses vital compounds from the body to be metabolized so it is actually robbing the body of its necessary micronutrients.

In addition to these detrimental effects on health it has been recently reported that there are high levels of mercury in high fructose corn syrup. Mercury is a toxin and is especially harmful to the nervous system. Read more

Streetball Workout

This a great skills and conditioning basketball workout. It would make a great warm-up before practice or a game if you left out the abs routine.

THC in Marijuana Kills Brain Cancer Cells

New research suggests that the active ingredient in marijuana kill brain cancer cells. Of course, experts issued the obligatory warning not to smoke pot to fight brain cancer, but some patients are doing it anyway.

New research out of Spain suggests that THC -- the active ingredient in marijuana -- appears to prompt the death of brain cancer cells.

The finding is based on work with mice designed to carry human cancer tumors, as well as from an analysis of THC's impact on tumor cells extracted from two patients coping with a highly aggressive form of brain cancer. Read more

Live Longer: Cut Your Calories by 30%.

Cutting calories could be the key to a longer life. Though Dr. Roy Walford made this claim more than 20 years ago, new research is confirming his findings.

The key to a longer life is all down to how much - or how little - we eat, according to a new study.

Scientists have revealed for the first time that cutting calories by about 30 per cent, while maintaining a nutritious diet, delays ageing in primates and could also add years of extra life to humans. Read more

The Angioplasty Scam

Angioplasty is a huge business, but new heart research shows that exercise helps heart disease and increases survival rates more than angioplasty does.

At the European Association of Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation meeting recently held in Barcelona, Spain, new heart research was presented that shows one treatment in particular can provide remarkable help for patients with certain forms of serious heart disease. It's not a new drug or surgical procedure. Instead, it's a natural therapy -- plain old-fashioned regular exercise. Read more

Four Reasons To Avoid "Cancer Screening"

Does cancer screening really "save lives?" Dr. Julian Whitaker thinks it may do more harm than good.

Anne is a good patient. She sees her doctor for regular checkups, has yearly mammograms, Pap tests, and colon cancer screenings, and she even paid for a full-body CT scan out of her own pocket. She figures she's doing everything she can to make sure she doesn't get cancer.

Truth is, Anne is doing nothing to prevent cancer. Although cancer screening is billed as a preventive service that saves lives, the best it can do is detect disease in its early stages, when it is supposedly easier to treat. Nevertheless, every year millions of Americans dutifully line up for their screenings, completely unaware that they may be doing more harm than good.Anne is a good patient. She sees her doctor for regular checkups, has yearly mammograms, Pap tests, and colon cancer screenings, and she even paid for a full-body CT scan out of her own pocket. She figures she's doing everything she can to make sure she doesn't get cancer.

Truth is, Anne is doing nothing to prevent cancer. Although cancer screening is billed as a preventive service that saves lives, the best it can do is detect disease in its early stages, when it is supposedly easier to treat. Nevertheless, every year millions of Americans dutifully line up for their screenings, completely unaware that they may be doing more harm than good. Read more

Want To Avoid Knee Surgery? Then try "Magic Shoes."

Want to avoid knee surgery? Then try "Magic Shoes," says David Jones.

As I approached the ninth green of a steeply sloping golf course on the Sussex Downs the other evening, something extraordinary happened.

To the astonishment of my two sons, who have watched me limp between holes with an ever-worsening grimace in recent years, I actually began running - quite effortlessly - towards my ball.

This was a minor miracle, although only my orthopaedic surgeon, who's been tinkering with my clapped-out footballer's knees for years, will know what I mean. Read more

Coffee May Reverse Alzheimer's

Five cups of coffee daily may reverse Alzheimer's, and it's the caffeine that does the trick.

Drinking five cups of coffee a day could reverse memory problems seen in Alzheimer's disease, US scientists say.

The Florida research, carried out on mice, also suggested caffeine hampered the production of the protein plaques which are the hallmark of the disease.

Previous research has also suggested a protective effect from caffeine. Read more

Eating Curry Weekly Could Prevent Dementia

Eating a curry once or twice a week could help prevent the onset of Alzheimer's disease and dementia. The magic ingredient in curry is curcumin, a component of the spice turmeric.

Eating a curry once or twice a week could help prevent the onset of Alzheimer's disease and dementia, a US researcher suggests.

The key ingredient is curcumin, a component of the spice turmeric.

Curcumin appears to prevent the spread of amyloid protein plaques - thought to cause dementia - in the brain. Read more

Junk Food Triggers Human "Bliss Point"

Former FDA chief David Kessler claims in his new book The End of Overeating that snacks, cereals, and prepared meals devised by food scientists can act on the reward centers of the brain in the same way as tobacco. He argues that manufacturers are seeking to trigger a “bliss point” when people eat certain products, leaving them hungry for more. Though Kessler may be an inveterate nanny-state advocate, even a stopped clock is right twice a day.

Junk foods such as Snickers bars and ketchup really are irresistible. Manufacturers have created combinations of fat, sugar and salt that are so tasty many people cannot stop eating them even when full, according to America’s former food standards watchdog.

David Kessler, former head of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), has warned that snacks, cereals and ready meals devised by food scientists can act on the reward centres of the brain in the same way as tobacco.

He argues that manufacturers are seeking to trigger a “bliss point” when people eat certain products, leaving them hungry for more. Read more