Cup of joe and a jog may combat cancer

from http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2007/07/31/cup_of_joe_and_a_jog_may_combat_cancer/

Cup of joe and a jog may combat cancer

By Randolph E. Schmid, Associated Press  |  July 31, 2007

WASHINGTON -- Can adding a cup or two of coffee to the exercise routine increase protection from skin cancer? New research indicates that just might be the case.

The combination of exercise and caffeine increased destruction of precancerous cells that had been damaged by the sun's ultraviolet-B radiation, according to a team of researchers at Rutgers University.

Americans suffer a million new cases of skin cancer every year, according to the National Cancer Institute.

In mice there is a protective effect from both caffeine and voluntary exercise, and when both are provided, not necessarily at the same time, protection is further enhanced, said Dr. Allan H. Conney of the laboratory for cancer research at Rutgers.

"We think it likely that this will extrapolate to humans, but that has to be tested," Conney said in a telephone interview.

Nonetheless, people should continue to use sunscreen, he said.

Exposing the mice to ultraviolet-B light causes some skin cells to become precancerous.

Cells with damaged DNA are programmed to self-destruct, a process called apoptosis, but not all do that, and damaged cells can become cancerous.

In today's issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences researchers report stunning results from caffeine-fed mice that exercised. The researchers studied hairless mice in four groups: Some were fed water containing caffeine; some had wheels on which they could run; some had both; and a control group had neither.

"The most dramatic and obvious difference between the groups came from the caffeine-drinking runners, a difference that can likely be attributed to some kind of synergy," Conney said.

Compared with the control animals, those drinking caffeine had a 95 percent increase in apoptosis in damaged cells. The exercisers showed a 120 percent increase, and the mice that were both drinking and running showed a nearly 400 percent increase.

Just what is causing that to happen is not yet clear, though the researchers have several theories.

"We need to dig deeper into how the combination of caffeine and exercise is exerting its influence at the cellular and molecular levels, identifying the underlying mechanisms," Conney said.

"With an understanding of these mechanisms we can then take this to the next level, going beyond mice in the lab to human trials," he said. "With the stronger levels of UVB radiation evident today and an upward trend in the incidence of skin cancer among Americans, there is a premium on finding novel ways to protect our bodies from sun damage."

Conney said the researchers were originally interested in the effects of green tea in preventing skin cancer and were doing tests on regular and decaffeinated teas

They found the regular tea had an effect, but not the decaffeinated brew. Meanwhile, the researchers observed that caffeinated mice were more active than those that weren't, so they decided to study the effects of exercise, too.

They put running wheels into some of the cages, and the mice would run often.

Although both caffeine and exercise helped eliminate damaged skin cells, combining them worked better than either alone.

Dr. Michael H. Gold, a Nashville dermatologist and a spokesman for the Skin Cancer Foundation, said "the concept of systemic caffeine should be addressed further."

"I think the concept potentially has a lot of merit," he said in a telephone interview. But mice and humans are different and studies need to be done to be sure this also applies to people.

© Copyright 2007 Globe Newspaper Company.

 

Re: Addict Limited

from the Fat Cyclist blog
--pws

Cycling and Doping: A Solution

July 27th, 2007

A Note from Fatty: Dr. BotchedExperiment and I ride together fairly frequently. When we do, I always try to get him to talk about doping in cycling. I do this for two reasons:

• He knows what he's talking about. Botched is an actual doctor and scientist. He understands the science and where it's going.
• It's entertaining. Botched gets really worked up. He doesn't just think about this kind of thing. He cares about it.

So I've asked Botched to write up his treatise on doping and what cycling should do about it. To my surprise and delight, he has complied. I think you'll find it as interesting as I do.

Some careless and unlucky cyclists are getting busted for doping, and they're really screwing up this year's TDF. What I really worry about is the future. I don't see the current anti-doping program working. Oh, I see it catching a few people, but there are enough data out there to suggest current anti-doping practices are only catching a small percent of the cheaters—and more importantly, I don't feel assured that those who are not getting caught aren't cheating.

Tearing cycling apart might be worth it if the sport was really going to be clean at the end. But it won't be.

The future of doping lies in two places. One is the development of new drugs/methods/masking agents. The other is manipulation of athletes' DNA such that they "naturally" produce more testosterone, human growth hormone, erythropoietin, etc. This is already technically possible and is done to mice all the time. In fact, it's already been done in humans too. "Gene therapy" is a highly active field of research to treat human diseases by altering the DNA of patients such that those patients produce more of some gene than they normally do.

Any way you slice it, the anti-doping folks will always be playing catch-up to the dopers and we'll never be assured of a peleton of clean cyclists or a "fair" winner of races. Instead what we're going to be assured of is more of the same of what we've experienced this year.

The Solution(s)
The solution is to get rid of WADA, UCI, ASO, etc. and re-organize cycling with privately owned teams and a league collectively owned by those teams (as in the NFL). This provides a single body with authority regulate the sport, and a group of people who are financially invested in the integrity AND popularity of the sport. Since that's never going to happen, an alternative is needed.

A paradigm shift is needed. I suggest cycling stop worrying about dopers and doping and start worrying about an even playing field and the popularity of the sport. I don't really care that some riders are using chemicals or transfusions to ride faster; I only care that maybe some are and maybe some aren't and that my favorite riders are being excluded from racing.

You can try to eliminate doping at all costs, or you can try to save cycling. I'm not sure you can do both. I suggest the following changes to current practices and thinking.

1. Switch the focus of doping tests from specific drugs to physiological parameters.
I suggested something similar in a previous post. The top juniors all over the world should have blood work and physiological testing performed a couple times a year. This gives a history hormone levels and performance values against which future deviations can be compared. Using this method, doping isn't only defined by finding exogenous chemicals in the athlete or extra copies of genes; it's defined by an improvement of performance values/hormone levels greater than two standard deviations above "normal" for that athlete.

Given that this is expensive and is too late for current riders (although CSC has recently started doing exactly this for its own riders) another version of this idea is to to use average values derived from the rest of the peleton, instead of individual values. For each hormone/physiological parameter set a cut-off value, and enforce that value.

This is already being done with hematocrit (percentage of red blood cells in blood). WADA and others established that a 'crit over 50 might be dangerous, therefore any cyclist with a 'crit above 50 is held out of competition for two weeks. The testers don't have to demonstrate that the 50 was produced artificially (for instance by detecting the presence of artificial EPO) it's an automatic bar.

There are several ways of increasing your hematocrit, some are considered doping, some are not. Most of the peleton rides major races with a hematocrit very near the 50 cutoff. Why then, does it matter if one rider gets to 49 hematocrit by using an altitude tent, another goes and lives at 12,000 feet of elevation, another uses EPO, and another uses a blood transfusion? The result is an equal playing field with all the riders at a crit value of about 50.

Similar cutoff values could be established for many hormones and physiological parameters, such as testosterone, human growth hormone, hemoglobin content in blood, and glucocorticoid hormones, to name a few off the top of my head. I suggest that the cut-off values to be considered doping be quite stringent. I'm not suggesting dropping all testing for exogenous chemicals, since some are very easily detected and obviously go beyond the bounds of an even playing field (such as anabolic steroids).

2. Eliminate medical exemptions for high physiological parameters.
Since the future of fighting doping lies in tracking the physiology of individual riders and/or establishing cutoff values for physiological parameters, this is an essential aspect of leveling the playing field. Right now you can race with a hematocrit over 50—if you have a note from a doctor stating that your 60 hematocrit is a naturally occurring value. Depending on the drug/parameter in question, getting an exemption can be as easy as having your hometown doctor fill out a form.

As new, undetectable drugs are developed and as gene doping becomes a reality, it will be impossible to sort out who has a naturally occurring "naturally high" value and who does not.

As for exemptions to use certain (potentially) performance enhancing drugs to treat medical conditions, I think some official agency (I can't believe I'm really about to suggest WADA be in charge of something) should be in charge of this, and riders should actually have to demonstrate the medical condition for which they seek treatment.

Racing bikes for a living is not an inherent right of human kind. If your natural hematocrit is 55, then if you want to race bikes, you'd better do something to keep it under 50 during competition.

3. Reduce the punishment for positive tests to a two week suspension.
This accomplishes 4 things.

•  It allows cycling to try to clean itself up and level the playing field, AND still have a sport people care about at the end of the process. Under the plan I suggest, more cyclists will test positive, so kicking them all out isn't a reasonable solution.
• It reduces the pressure on the anti-doping system. Riders will stop fighting for their lives when they are accused of doping; financially and emotionally, it won't be worth it any more. Currently guys (rightly so) try to tear down the system trying to save themselves, and frankly the system isn't robust enough to handle it.
• It reduces the focus on punishing dopers and dopers defending themselves, which are both very negative for the sport.
• It will allow cycling to more fairly implement new testing procedures and make the cut-off values for being considered "positive" more stringent. If someone is actually innocent, then you didn't ruin their lives.

The Hidden Benefits of Herbs and Spices

The Hidden Benefits of Herbs and Spices

from http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2007/07/09/the-hidden-benefits-of-herbs-and-spices.aspx

Herbs and spices not only add flavor to your food, making it that much more enjoyable, but they also provide some great health benefits.

Turmeric, a staple of many Indian dishes, has anti-inflammatory properties and works as an antioxidant.

Peppermint is beneficial for a wide variety of stomach ailments, from heartburn and indigestion to nausea. It can also help those suffering from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

Cayenne pepper may help relieve stomach aches and gas.

Articles Abundant

Dr. Mercola's Comments:

Spices are absolutely wonderful, and can make a dramatic difference in not only the flavor of food but its health benefits. Not every often where you get a double win like this in health  The typical mantra that most of us use is that if tastes good then spit it out as it could not possibly be good for you. But with spices this just doesn't have to be true.

I also find it amazing that not only do we get a flavor boost, but many of the spices will actually improve our health.

Half a teaspoon of cinnamon a day significantly reduces blood sugar levels in people with type 2 diabetes, and it can also reduces triglyceride, LDL cholesterol, and total cholesterol levels. Herbs such as oregano, dill, garden thyme, rosemary and peppermint are packed full of antioxidants, and garlic can help boost your immune system.

Some of my favorite spices are the hot spices. So I think it's great news that cayenne pepper in particular is such a healthy food. The active ingredient in cayenne pepper, called capsaicin, has been found to reverse Type 1 diabetes in mice, for example -- an astounding breakthrough that the medical community keeps quiet about. Jamaican healers use it to treat diabetes, although I don't believe it should be relied upon for primary control. Capsaicin also has cancer-fighting benefits.

However, in spite of the many benefits of turmeric and its component curcumin, I am not very fond of curry. That brings up an important point, as you really do want to honor what your body tells you. If any food or spice does not taste good or "feel right," stay away from it -- no matter who is telling you how good it is for you. Your body is a far better judge of that than anything you will ever read. In other words:

Listen to your bod and start to Take Control of Your Health

Your body really is designed to give you the feedback you need to make the right food and lifestyle choices that are best for you.

 

Related Articles:

  Turmeric Spice May Fight Cystic Fibrosis
  Spice Up Cancer Protection With Red Chili Peppers
 The Health Benefits of Cinnamon, Nutmeg and Other Favorite Holiday Spices

 

Addict Limited

The same week everyone is getting kicked out of the Tour de France for doping, Scott Bicycles introduced Iban Mayo's new super light bike, and it's named Addict Limited!

MSG toxicity and Processed Foods

I guess I'll have to rethink my opinion on MSG.  Previously, I bought into the idea that it was safe flavoring to add umami, the 5th taste.
--pws

Why You do NOT Want to Eat Processed Foods

from http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2007/07/10/why-you-do-not-want-to-eat-processed-foods.aspx

One of the primary reasons why processed foods should rarely touch your lips is because they're typically LOADED with MSG.

Watch this one-hour lecture by Dr. Russell Blaylock, a board-certified neurosurgeon and author of Excitotoxins: The Taste that Kills, to find out why MSG in processed foods can destroy your brain cells. As Dr. Blaylock explains, excitotoxins like MSG can, quite literally, excite your brain cells to death!

TheFoodIsHorrible.com

I would strongly recommend taking the time to set aside and watch this video by Dr. Blaylock who is a retired neurosurgeon and probably the US leading expert in MSG toxicity. Even if you avoid MSG you will want to have the scientific understanding of why you need to avoid it and the damage it doe

MSG is a toxic substance people consume in processed foods, and probably wouldn't if they knew it causes many of their brain cells to die. MSG, like L-cysteine and aspartame, is an excitotoxin -- a chemical transmitter that causes your brain cells to overwork themselves until they die.

Based on peer reviewed studies, there is no question that MSG is neurotoxic. It can cause blindness and many other problems such as headaches, fatigue, disorientation and depression.

But most people eat MSG without even being aware that they are doing it. Most MSG comes in the form of glutamic acid, the chemical's active component, and is listed on labels under seemingly innocuous names like "natural flavors" or "hydrolyzed protein". It is very difficult to really know whether MSG is in your food because it has so many aliases. A small sampling of the many ingredients that contain MSG includes:

• Gelatin
• Yeast Extract
• Malted Barley
• Rice Syrup or Brown Rice Syrup

The bottom line is that you are going to need to invest some time in the kitchen if you want to stay healthy and avoid foods containing MSG.

To help you get started, you'll want to review Colleen Huber's awesome piece on how to eat healthier organic food, free from many additives and preservatives, on a budget.

Related Articles:

  MSG is Why You Want to Avoid McDonald's Like the Plague

 The Danger of MSG and How it is Hidden in Vaccines

 Is Glutamine Supplementation Helpful or Harmful?

Umami - the fifth taste

MSG's prospects have been greatly improved by the food world's recent embrace of umami, the basic taste that is now an accepted addition to the old quartet of bitter, salty, sour, and sweet. (We perceive complex flavors in food when these fundamental tastes, picked up by receptors on our tongues, are supplemented by the more nuanced aromatic data we gather with our noses.) Umami and MSG have long been conflated. In 2000, when the journal Nature first reported the discovery of an umami taste receptor, it explained that umami is "better known in the west as monosodium glutamate (MSG)."

Connoisseurs argue that naturally occurring umami—found in glutamate-rich foodstuffs like mushrooms and parmesan cheese—is far superior to its synthesized cousin. But when they try to explain what's so great about the "delicious essence," they inevitably resort to verbal mushiness. When umami is not being written off as "the taste of MSG," it is described as "meaty," "brothy," "savory," or, vaguely smuttily, as "mouth-filling." The Kasabians suggest that umami might be "the taste of protein," since glutamate is abundant in breast milk and many meats. I think of umami as a scrumptious roundness in food, akin to a lovely cello note.

It's not surprising, then, that the chefs who contributed recipes to The Fifth Flavor—among them Nobu Matsuhisa and Daniel Boulud—boost umami with natural glutamate-rich sources like soy sauce and parmesan. Very few trendsetting chefs are willing to brush off the "natural is better" philosophy that has dominated the food scene for decades.

Even so, that doesn't mean you're avoiding MSG. The ingredient is simply hiding in plain sight. It thrives in the industrial food world, where it is known affectionately to scientists as E621. The next time you eat your favorite binge-inducing snack—Cool Ranch Doritos, say, or a McDonald's sausage McGriddle, or those little Japanese crackers wrapped in nori—lick the flavor dust off your fingers and read the ingredient label. You're quite likely to find MSG. If not, it is likely that some other glutamate-rich flavorant is producing the same taste. (Hydrolyzed soy protein, autolyzed yeast, and sodium caseinate, to name a few, all serve essentially the same purpose as MSG.) In their book, the Kasabians call the manufacturers' bluff: "Some would say that the public's widespread distrust of MSG has deeply moved food makers—not to take glutamate out of their food, but to find ways of delivering it under unassuming pseudonyms."

full story at http://www.slate.com/id/2140999/

Vinokourov tests positive; Astana withdraws from Tour

Sorry, I was wrong about that being my final email for the day. :)
I was also wrong when I wrote there were no allegations of doping against Contador.
--pws

Contador on cusp of greatness

excerpts from http://www.velonews.com/tour2007/news/articles/12925.0.html
By Andrew Hood
VeloNews European correspondent

Filed: July 24, 2007 at 1:54 P.M. EST

Perhaps Alberto Contador is just too young and too green to realize precisely what he is on the cusp of achieving if he can drop Michael Rasmussen for good on the slopes of the Aubisque.

At just 24, he's already being hailed as cycling's next Lance Armstrong (or Miguel Indurain, in the Spanish press). Contador hopes to live up to the pedigree in Wednesday's decisive climbing stage culminating on the HC steeps of the Aubisque.

"I have nothing to lose," Contador said during Tuesday's rest day, the Tour's second.

"I will risk all to attack Rasmussen and try to win the Tour," he said.

...

Puerto Questions
As cycling faces renewed scrutiny, Contador had to face a few of his own tough questions during the one-hour press conference. When asked if the world can trust him, he smiled and said, "Yes, of course."

Contador also elaborated on why his name appeared last year on the infamous Puerto list. His name was among five Astana riders who were alleged to be linked to the Operación Puerto investigation last year in Spain.

Contador was among nine riders from five teams who were not allowed to start last year's Tour de France.

"I was on the wrong team at the wrong time. My name was on this infamous list, but one week later, the UCI had more time to examine the documents and I was taken off. My relation with Puerto was annulled," Contador said. "I was cleared of any link with the scandal."

Bruyneel said he checked out Contador's story before signing him to a contract, saying the Spaniard's situation was different than Ivan Basso's, who eventually confessed he was part of the Puerto doping ring despite insisting he wasn't for nearly one year.

"I have no reservations about Alberto," Bruyneel said. "The UCI admitted they made a mistake by including Alberto in this case. It's a whole other story for Alberto."

Contador hopes to put his own ending to the story on Wednesday.

On 7/24/07, I wrote:

Last note on this for today. :)
At least Levi sounds like he values integrity and teamwork above self-interest.
--pws

Leipheimer ready to sacrifice podium shot to help Contador

excerpt from http://www.velonews.com/tour2007/news/articles/12918.0.html
By Andrew Hood, VeloNews European correspondent

This report filed July 24, 2007

Levi Leipheimer is closer than ever to realizing his lifetime goal of reaching the Tour de France podium, but the Discovery Channel captain said Tuesday he's prepared to sacrifice those dreams to help Spanish climbing sensation Alberto Contador win the maillot jaune.

With Contador and race leader Michael Rasmussen expected to duke it out for the yellow jersey in Wednesday's decisive climbing stage across the Pyrénées, Leipheimer said he will put the team's interests ahead of his own.

"If there's a chance to win the Tour with Alberto, we have to make some sacrifices," Leipheimer said during Tuesday's rest day.

Those sacrifices will be Leipheimer's ambitions of becoming only the fifth American in Tour history to finish among the top-three in Paris.

The 33-year-old American finds himself in a contradictory position as the Tour surges toward Wednesday's climactic final battleground on the Aubisque.

Leipheimer is poised fourth overall at 5:25 back of race leader Michael Rasmussen, but his 24-year-old teammate is slotted in second at just 2:23 back.

With Contador's superior climbing legs, Discovery Channel knows its best bet to win the Tour for an eighth time as a team lies with Contador.

That means Leipheimer might have to relegate his personal ambitions for the team's larger interests, depending on how the tactics play out on the beyond-category steeps of the 16.6km climb.

two styles of carbon wheels

I wonder how much these babies cost?
--pws

excerpts from http://velonews.com/tour2007/tech/articles/12835.0.html

Barloworld brought two styles of aluminum wheels in addition to two styles of carbon wheels.

The team brought the older Cosmic Carbone wheels with both aluminum and carbon braking surfaces for the flat stages, plus the new Cosmic Carbone Ultimate wheels and R-SYS aluminum for the mountains. While the older Carbone wheels are straightforward and built conventionally, both the Ultimate and the R-SYS are brand new and packed with interesting technology.

Mavic's Cosmic Carbone Ultimate.

The R-SYS is a replacement of Ksyrium ES. It relies on 4mm hollow tubular uni-directional carbon fiber spokes, which are very stiff. In addition the new wheel utilizes a technology called Tracomp, in which the spokes are fixed to both the hub and rim so that they can perform in both traction [Tra-] and compression [-comp.] This way, less spoke tension is needed and it results in a 30-percent stiffer wheel than its predecessor the Ksyrium ES. The riders will choose this low profile model for its predictable braking and good manners when descending in crosswinds.

The Carbone Ultimate is positioned as Mavic's best all-round race wheel.

"It's designed to be the lightest aero wheel that we have for hardcore racing," said Sean Sullivan, Mavic's U.S. marketing director. "This is a totally new approach to wheels for us, it has carbon spokes, carbon rim and carbon hub. We've been working for a little over two years on this project with our racers and the technology is dialed in."

The Ultimate's rim is 40mm high and it's molded from 12K carbon fiber. The most interesting aspect is that the wheel does not use a mechanical spoke attachment system. The spokes, also made from carbon fiber, are molded to the rim and the hub. The spokes on the front wheel actually continue from one side of the rim through the high flange hub to the opposite side of the rim. Mavic claims that the materials and construction method combine to form a wheel that is very stiff.

Soler won stage 9 using a front R-SYS and a rear Cosmic Carbone Ultimate. Hunter won stage 11 on a pair of Ultimates.

Re: Vinokourov tests positive; Astana withdraws from Tour

from the same article at http://velonews.com/tour2007/details/articles/12910.0.html

[David Millar said,] "I wanted to believe it was a really good day [for Vinokourov]. It makes me very sad. Vino is one of my favorite riders. He's one of the most beautiful riders in the peloton. If a guy of his stature and class has done that, we all might as well pack our bags and go home right now." ...

Millar broke down into tears when he was asked by British journalist Jeremy Whittle if he was all right, saying, "I just feel like crying right now."

On 7/24/07, Phillip Stern <phillip.stern@gmail.com> wrote:

Vinokourov tests positive; Astana withdraws from Tour

By VeloNews.com

This report filed July 24, 2007

Vinokourov tested positive for homologous blood doping after his time trial win on Saturday

Double stage victor Alexandre Vinokourov (Astana)learned Tuesday that he had tested positive for homologous blood doping following his victory in Saturday's individual time trial.

Vinokourov and his Astana team have reportedly withdrawn from the Tour.

more at http://velonews.com/tour2007/details/articles/12910.0.html

Vinokourov tests positive; Astana withdraws from Tour

Vinokourov tests positive; Astana withdraws from Tour

By VeloNews.com

This report filed July 24, 2007

Vinokourov tested positive for homologous blood doping after his time trial win on Saturday

Double stage victor Alexandre Vinokourov (Astana)learned Tuesday that he had tested positive for homologous blood doping following his victory in Saturday's individual time trial.

Vinokourov and his Astana team have reportedly withdrawn from the Tour.

more at http://velonews.com/tour2007/details/articles/12910.0.html

Fwd: struck in the head by a line drive

Shock resonates from death of minor league coach

By From Wire Services  |  July 24, 2007

Mike Coolbaugh became a coach with the Tulsa Drillers earlier this month not so much for the job itself, but because his little boys loved to see him on the baseball field.

"He had just started," said Coolbaugh's wife, Amanda, who is expecting their third child in October. "We were going to be done with it, but his kids wanted to see him."

Coolbaugh, 35, died Sunday after being struck in the head by a line drive as he stood in the first base coach's box during a game in Arkansas.

more at http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/articles/2007/07/24/shock_resonates_from_death_of_minor_league_coach/

New "Discovery" -- Gene Theory Flawed

What a surprise!  The interaction of genes is more complex than we thought.  Once again the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
--pws


from http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2007/07/10/new-quot-discovery-quot-gene-theory-flawed.aspx

New "Discovery" -- Gene Theory Flawed

The human genome may not be a collection of independent genes with each sequence of DNA linked to a single function. Instead, new findings indicate that genes operate in a complex network, and interact with each other in ways that are not yet fully understood.

The idea that genes operate independently is the basis for much of the thought, as well as the economic and regulatory structure, that governs the biotech industry. When recombinant DNA was invented in 1973, scientists believed that genes were associated with specific functions, and that therefore a gene from any organism could fit predictably into a larger design. In the United States, the Patent and Trademark Office allows genes to be patented on the basis of this idea.

These new discoveries raise questions not just about patent law, but also safety issues. Risk assessment of commercial biotech products such as genetically engineered crops to pharmaceuticals is also based on the "one gene, one function" theory. A network of interacting genes can produce unknown, and unpredictable, effects.

New York Times July 1, 2007 (Registration Required)

 

Dr Mercola's Comments:

It's long been presumed that genes in the human body operate independently of one another. The first biotech company was founded on this premise, and the entire $73.5-billion biotechnology industry as we know it today still adheres to this basic principle.

But anyone who is aware of the biotech industry's tendency to put profits ahead of safety will not be surprised to learn that the principle is completely wrong.

In fact, it's been known for years that genes in other organisms operate as part of a network. Despite this, researchers only translated this knowledge to humans in June, when they reported being "surprised" to learn that the human genome is not a "tidy collection of independent genes", but a complex interacting network instead.

However, safety studies for biotech products, including genetically modified (GM) foods, pharmaceuticals and more, have all been based on the flawed independent gene theory. Now that gene "network effects" have been acknowledged, it's clear that biotech products could produce any number of unknown effects.

Jack Heinemann, a professor of molecular biology at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand put it quite well when he said, "The real worry for us has always been that the commercial agenda for biotech may be premature, based on what we have long known was an incomplete understanding of genetics."

This is likely to be just the beginning of the dangerous revelations that will come surrounding GM foods, prescription drugs and other biotech products, and their vastly unknown impacts on your health.

This brings home what many people have known for some time: the effects of genetic modification on the environment and on your health are unexplored territory. GM foods in particular are a massive experiment on a scale never before seen in the history of the human race.

You are an involuntary guinea pig in this risky experiment. More than 75 percent of the processed foods you eat contain GM foods, without labeling and without warning. All the more reason for you to stay away from processed foods as often as you can, and seek out local sources for healthier whole foods.

 

Related Articles:

  The Unethical Biopharming of America

  The False Promise of GM Crops Never Realized

  How Monsanto Poisons Science at the Cost of Your Health

 

from http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2007/07/10/how-high-fructose-corn-syrup-damages-your-body.aspx

How High Fructose Corn Syrup Damages Your Body

Drinking high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), the main ingredient in most soft drinks throughout the world, increases your triglyceride levels and your LDL (bad) cholesterol. These effects only occurred in the study participants who drank fructose -- not glucose.

Consumption of beverages containing fructose rose 135 percent between 1977 and 2001. Food and beverage manufacturers began switching their sweeteners from sucrose (table sugar) to corn syrup in the 1970s when they discovered that HFCS was not only cheaper to make, it was also much sweeter (processed fructose is nearly 20 times sweeter than table sugar), a switch that has drastically altered the American diet.

In 1966, sucrose made up 86 percent of sweeteners. Today, 55 percent of sweeteners used are made from corn.

Medscape July 5, 2007 (Registration Required)

Dr Mercola Comments:

In case you forgot, or never knew in the first place, the number one source of calories in the US is high fructose corn syrup.  Let me say that in different words so you more fully appreciate the impact of this fact.  Remember that fat has 250% more calories than sugar, but even with this major disadvantage, the food that most people get MOST of their calories from is sugar from corn, primarily in the form of soft drinks.

Even though I have known this for years, it is still shocking to me every time I reflect on the enormity of this truth.  But, like W. Clement Stone, I believe that there is a nugget of good in this horrible fact. The good is that stopping this pernicious habit is one of the easiest things to do. Since this is such a pervasive problem in the US, we could make radically outrageous improvements in our health as a culture if we just simply stopped everyone from drinking soda.

I am HIGHLY confident that the health improvement would be FAR more profound than if everyone stopped smoking because elevated insulin levels are the foundation of nearly every chronic disease known to man, cancer, heart disease, diabetes, aging, arthritis, osteoporosis, you name it, and you will find elevated insulin levels as a primary factor.

This evidence of an increase in triglyceride levels and LDL (bad) cholesterol levels is just the latest among countless findings pointing to the dangers of High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS).

Part of what makes HFCS such an unhealthy product is that it is metabolized to fat in your body far more rapidly than any other sugar, and, because most fructose is consumed in liquid form, its negative metabolic effects are significantly magnified.

HFCS has also been linked to:

• Diabetes
• Obesity
• Metabolic Syndrome

The delusion that fructose is an acceptable form of sugar is quite prevalent in many nutritional circles. In fact, nearly all simple sugars are metabolized quickly and disrupt insulin levels, which contributes to most chronic illness. Eating small amounts of whole fruit will not provide tremendous amounts of fructose and should not be a problem for most people, unless diabetes or obesity is an issue but fruit juices, sodas and other beverages sweetened with fructose should be avoided.

To add insult to injury, the corn that the high fructose corn syrup is metabolized from nearly all comes from genetically modified corn which is fraught with its own well documented side effects and health concerns.

High fructose corn syrup is is not something that should be in your diet at all. But HFCS is the primary caloric sweetener in U.S. soft drinks. Researchers estimate that most Americans eat 132 calories of HFCS per day, while the top 20 percent of sweetener consumers eat over 300. And some, they say, eat as much as 700 calories per day of HFCS.

Sodas, of course, are not the only source of HFCS (though they represent one of the main ones). This dangerous sweetener is also in many processed foods and fruit juices, so to avoid it you need to focus your diet on whole foods and, if you do purchase packaged foods, become an avid label reader.

 

Related Articles:

  Six Reasons Why Corn is Making You Fat

  Why Americans Keep Getting Fatter

  The Plague of High Fructose Corn Syrup in Processed Foods

 

Sicko

from http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2007/07/11/michael-moore-responds-to-cnn-quot-fact-fudging-quot-accusations.aspx

Dr. Mercola's comments:

If you haven't yet seen Sicko , I highly recommend it. Even though I don't agree with his solution, Moore has put together an excellent portrayal of what is wrong with health care in the United States. Sicko is one of the BEST films I have ever seen, and I'm thrilled that he's not taking the mainstream press' criticisms sitting down.

A 2001 U.S. study showed that about half of all bankruptcies in that year were the result of medical problems -- and most of those who went bankrupt for this reason (more than three-quarters) were covered by health insurance at the start of the illness. Medical bankruptcies affect more than 2 million annually. Sicko offers a well-researched, and often heart-breaking, examination of the causes and effects of this problem.

However, although Moore assessment of the problem is spot-on, he would have the U.S. government pay for all the care for the uninsured. While the movie makes some compelling arguments and it might make sense for acute traumas, the bulk of the disease in this country are chronic degenerative diseases. With the government NOT paying for these expenses, the U.S. is already paying more than two trillion dollars a year for "health care" and headed to three trillion per year by the end of the decade. If the government assumes these costs it will bankrupt the country even faster.

What is the solution to the current health care disaster? Going back to natural healing that treats the cause of disease, not the symptoms -- and, of course, taking responsibility for your own health.

You can also watch the Michael Moore's actual interview on the site.

Why you shouldn't buy bottled water

Why you shouldn't buy bottled water.
--pws

from http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/07/22/pure_water_right_on_tap/

Pure water, right on tap

By Yvonne Abraham , Globe Columnist  |  July 22, 2007

Do you know where the water in that bottle of Aquafina comes from?

Pristine, snowy mountains like the ones on the label, perhaps?

A virgin aquifer protected for centuries by layers of rock and ice in Norway, perchance?

An underground lake on the edge of a primitive rainforest on a Pacific island, possibly?

Ayer, actually.

As in Ayer, Massachusetts. Best known for mills, railroads, and a former military base. And the water comes not from some gently burbling spring in a picturesque valley, either, but from the municipal water supply. Which pumps a slightly less-filtered but equally safe version of that same water into residents' homes for a quarter of one cent per gallon.

Still, we chug down buckets of the pricier stuff.

Nationally, we'll drop $16 billion on bottled water this year. That's 27.6 gallons for each of us. Since most of the bottles it comes in never get recycled, we're helping to clog landfills with 4 billion pounds of plastic annually. And when you consider the energy it takes to make and move those bottles into and around the United States, you might as well fill a quarter of every single one of them with oil.

Meanwhile, Boston is one of just five cities in the country with tap water so pure that it's exempt from Environmental Protection Agency filtration requirements. And even after the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority's recent rate hike, it costs less than a half-cent a gallon.

Which all adds up to a waste of money and space that rivals Paris Hilton.

All of this bad press is churned out by Corporate Accountability International, a national group based in the South End that is trying to get Americans to kick the bottled water habit.

One sunny afternoon last week, the group's volunteers were in Copley Square, challenging passersby to take a blind taste test to see if they could tell the difference between bottled and municipal water. Hardly anybody could, even when the choice was between tap water and Poland Spring, which comes directly from underground aquifers.

Ryan Jones, a Poland Spring man, was outraged after he flunked the test.

"What the hell?" said the 30-year-old. "I'll keep my dollar and buy some cookies. Those guys are making a fortune off of nothing!"

Jones has more and more company in city halls across America. In San Francisco, Mayor Gavin Newsom just nixed bottled water for City Hall employees, which was costing $500,000 a year. He is spending some of the money on a campaign to promote the city's tap water (also given the EPA honor). City officials in Salt Lake City and Ann Arbor, Mich., are moving in the same direction. A few fancy restaurants in San Francisco and New York City have stopped offering bottled water altogether.

So what about Boston?

Mayor Thomas M. Menino is a big fan of the city's water. He calls it "Boston Ale," and he'd like everybody else to drink more of it too.

But last year, his employees bypassed City Hall bubblers and drank $100,000 worth of water supplied by Nestle.

He should cancel the boutique water orders.

But if you're going to encourage people to cut down on something as convenient as bottled water, you have to give them an alternative. So how about putting that hundred grand into more public drinking fountains, which seem to have gone the way of the pay phone? Or maybe fix the ones that long ago stopped dispensing water and now seem to function primarily as public art? Or how about using that famously strong mayoral arm to pressure restaurants to stop pushing the fancy stuff?

After all, if Boston were one of five top cities in the country in practically any other realm, wouldn't Menino be shouting it from mountaintops like the ones on the Aquafina bottle?

The answer is as clear as his Boston Ale.

Red Sox are Guitar Hero fans

excerpt from http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/articles/2007/07/20/virtually_perfect/

When catcher Doug Mirabelli rejoined the Red Sox last year in a trade with the San Diego Padres, he got the rock star treatment as he was whisked to Fenway with a police escort, but Mirabelli enjoys playing the rock star role on his own, along with pitchers Tim Wakefield and Javier Lopez.

The three jam vicariously as virtual rock stars in the video games "Guitar Hero" and "Guitar Hero II," interactive titles that allow players to play popular songs using a guitar-like controller that has color-coded buttons, which correspond to images on the screen.

Mirabelli said he was introduced to the "Guitar Hero" games, which were developed by a Cambridge-based company called Harmonix, last season in Baltimore. The game was in the clubhouse. Now, thanks to Lopez, who brought in both PlayStation 2 versions of the games, the Sox can rock out in their players' lounge at Fenway.

That's not enough for Mirabelli and Wakefield, who bring it on road trips. Mirabelli said that on the road, he'll spend as much as 2 1/2 hours a night playing songs from Nirvana, Guns N' Roses, and '80s rockers Warrant.

"I wouldn't call myself a video game junkie," said the 36-year-old Mirabelli. "I just got stuck on this game. It has songs that I know and now I can go back and play them, which makes me feel like a rock star."

Wakefield is the only one of the three who actually plays the guitar, although Lopez is the reigning virtual rock star. The knuckleballer said such games serve a purpose for the players.

"It fills a void," said Wakefield. "We have a lot of time on our hands on the road. It's kind of an escape. You don't have to think about the pressures of our sport and our business. It's nice to be able to relax and just play a video game and not have to think about anything. [It's] kind of like turning on the TV and watching a rerun that you've seen a thousand times."

While such video games seem like harmless fun, they can become addictive and problematic. Detroit Tigers reliever Joel Zumaya missed three games in the American League Championship Series last season with inflammation in his right wrist and forearm. The Tigers, after examining Zumaya, determined his injuries were more consistent with those of a guitar player than a pitcher. The culprit, according to the team, was "Guitar Hero," which Zumaya was playing excessively.

That should have been game over for the flamethrower, but in an interview with the Detroit News prior to this season, Zumaya denied the game was the source of his injury and told the paper he still plays it. Zumaya is hurt again this season. He has been on the disabled list since May with a ruptured tendon in his right middle finger. That injury is unrelated to "Guitar Hero."

Lopez said video games are more helpful as a stress reliever than harmful as a potential source of injury.

"Some people might think it's a bit childish, which when you step back it probably is a little bit, but it keeps your mind fresh," said Lopez. "It just helps you get through the monotony of the day, playing some video games with some guys."

tax dollars at work

from http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/07/18/leftover_ice_from_katrina_relief_is_headed_for_a_thaw/

Leftover ice from Katrina relief is headed for a thaw

By Anna Badkhen, Globe Staff  |  July 18, 2007

Millions of dollars worth of ice purchased by the Federal Emergency Management Agency for its Hurricane Katrina relief efforts is being melted across the nation, including up to 336,000 pounds that was stored in Gloucester, agency officials said.

FEMA, which came under criticism for its poor handling of relief efforts after Katrina slammed ashore Aug. 29, 2005, had miscalculated how much ice it would need for the hurricane-stricken Gulf Coast and bought too much, said Alexandra Kirin , an agency spokeswoman.

The agency then kept the leftover ice for almost two years, paying a contractor $12.5 million to store it at 22 facilities across the nation, including one in Gloucester, Kirin said.

Kirin said that when Katrina hit, FEMA purchased 224.3 million pounds of ice from the US Army Corps of Engineers for 28 cents a pound, a total cost of $62.8 million. But the agency used only 139.4 million pounds during the 2005 hurricane season, and hired AmeriCold Logistics, an Atlanta-based contractor, to store the 84.9 million pounds of excess ice, worth about $23.8 million.

"We decided that we would keep that, and put it in storage, and have it to be able to respond" to the 2006 hurricane season, Kirin said.

Some of the ice was stored at the AmeriCold Logistics facility in Gloucester, said Marty Bahamonde , a FEMA spokesman in Massachusetts.

Bahamonde said he did not know how much ice was stored at the facility; the Gloucester Daily Times reported the storage held four truckloads of ice, or between 160,000 and 336,000 pounds.

Andrew Pendergrass , general manager of the Gloucester facility, declined to comment.

But 2006 came and went and FEMA did not need the ice. Kirin said FEMA tried, and failed, to donate the ice to charitable organizations.

"Any ice we purchase, once we have no need for it, we'd try to give away to someone who'd take it," said Marty Bahamonde, a FEMA spokesman in Massachusetts. "We look for nonprofit groups that have need for ice. There aren't a lot of takers."

"They wasted millions of taxpayers' dollars; it's a disgrace," said Mary Tysver , who works at the Gloucester Fire Department.

Concerned that the ice was no longer safe for human consumption, the agency decided to get rid of it. Although ice does not have an official shelf life, "we didn't want to take any chances, having kept the ice two years," said Kirin.

Melting the ice, the agency decided, was "most cost-effective," she said. Kirin said AmeriCold has agreed to do it for free.

 

I thought these were interesting grocery shopping tips.  Details below.

• Buy the Freshest Items
  
• Pick the Leanest Cut of Beef, or Request Bison
  
• If the Chicken is From a Factory Farm, Don't Eat the Skin
  
• Fresh Food is Always Better Than Frozen, but Frozen is Better Than Canned
  
• Avoid Processed Foods
  
• Check Prices on Organic Food--It's Not Always More Expensive
  
• Ocean-Caught Fish is Better Than Farm-Raised Fish (ed.: Unless its from Finger Lakes Aquaculture)
  

--pws


from http://www.mercola.com/2004/jan/31/healthy_groceries.htm

How to Shop for the Right Food in Your Regular Grocery Store in 10 Easy Steps

By Dr. Joseph Mercola with Rachael Droege

Your health is the most important thing you own, so investing in it through the right foods is the best investment you can make. However, I realize that finding the "right" foods can be challenging for some. If you:

·          Can't always order the healthy products recommended online

·          Don't have access to a natural health food store

·          Have a very tight budget and are restricted to a regular supermarket

... then the following steps will help you to find the best possible foods no matter where you are or what your budget. It will help if you take a new approach to the way you look at buying food. According to Jim Marlowe, a nutrition counselor here at the Optimal Wellness Center, American consumers make their food choices based on the following five food criteria: taste, price, convenience, appearance and shelf life. Notice that these have nothing to do with health. He says:

"If you are making all your food choices based on these [criteria] you may be indulging your taste buds, staying within your budget and minimizing your trips to the grocery store but your cells may all be starving for nutrients that they aren't getting because they are not in those foods. I am not saying to ignore taste, price, convenience, appearance and shelf life. Go ahead and consider those, but consider those after you consider the nutritional value because nutritional value is the real reason we need to eat--the body needs nutrients and it is important to wake up to that and the sooner you wake up to that the better."

So where do you go once you commit yourself to focusing on a food item's nutritional value? Whether you live in a rural area with no access to a health food store or are simply on a very tight budget, there are ways to weed through the offerings in any grocery store to come out with the most nutritious food available, and the following principles should help to guide you along your way.

Learn Your Metabolic Type

This is the first step you should take, and it's an important one. Learning your metabolic type will allow you to choose the proper foods for your type, and this can vary drastically from a focus on meat to a focus on vegetables or healthy fats. My Total Health Program--the culmination of my last 20 years of work--is designed around metabolic typing, and will give you everything you need to assess your general metabolic type and gives you a full plan to start eating the right macronutrient (proteins, fats and carbs) ratio for your type. It will also teach you how to "listen to your body," that is, it will teach you how to subtly adjust and fine-tune your macronutrient ratios so that you feel your best. Take our quick and easy test to find out your metabolic type.

Learn How to Shop Smart

Now that you've determined your metabolic type, be sure to tailor all of your groceries to your individual type, whether it's protein, carb or mixed.

Buy the Freshest Items

The fresher the food, the more nutritious it will be. Only buy produce that is fresh and firm, otherwise you are wasting your money on food that has passed its prime, in terms of both nutrition and taste. This also applies to meat, poultry and fish. If it's not fresh, don't buy it.

Pick the Leanest Cut of Beef, or Request Bison

Free-range meats and poultry are always the best choice, but there are other options if these are not available to you. In terms of beef, choose the leanest cuts as most of the toxins from hormones and antibiotics will settle in fattier tissue, so the fatter cuts tend to have more toxins. Lean cuts of beef include flank steak and round steak.

Another option is to ask the butcher to order some bison. In general, bison are raised much more naturally than other livestock, which means they're not given antibiotics or hormones and the meat is very lean. If you haven't ever tried it I suggest you give it a try, as in my opinion it's one of the best tasting of all meats. Its flavor is similar to prime beef, but sweeter and more tender.

If the Chicken is From a Factory Farm, Don't Eat the Skin

Most chicken sold in typical grocery stores is raised in factory farms. Each full-grown chicken in a factory farm has as little as six-tenths of a square foot of space. These extremely overcrowded conditions pave the way for disease. Many are also genetically modified, and due to genetic manipulation, 90 percent of broiler chickens have trouble walking. If you don't have access to free-range, organic or cage-free chicken, be sure to remove the skin before eating. Also be sure to follow the white meat/dark meat guidelines based on your metabolic type.

Fresh Food is Always Better Than Frozen, but Frozen is Better Than Canned

There is some confusion over whether frozen vegetables are as healthy as fresh vegetables, but you can rest assured that fresh vegetables are always preferable to frozen ones. The freezing process causes damage to the cells in the food, which compromises its nutritional value. Eating pre-frozen food is acceptable, however, but be careful to not overload your diet with pre-frozen foods. If you have no choice and must choose between frozen or canned, frozen would be the better option.

Avoid Processed Foods

Processed foods, including canned goods, are among the most nutritionally devoid foods. Plus, they tend to be expensive, especially when you get into all of the packaged, name-brand junk foods. Save the money that you'd normally spend on pricey and unhealthy items like potato chips, cookies, ice cream and frozen pizzas, and spend it on some fresh vegetables or meat instead.

Check Prices on Organic Food--It's Not Always More Expensive

If you have access to organic food, don't just pass it up because you assume it's too expensive. Sometimes organic food is actually less expensive than traditionally grown food, especially when it's on sale. It may also be only slightly more expensive than a comparable regular item, and in that case the increased nutritional value (and lack of pesticides, etc.) would be well worth the extra price. So be sure to compare prices and choose the best value, which may in fact be organic.

Ocean-Caught Fish is Better Than Farm-Raised Fish

I don't recommend that you eat any fish unless you can be certain that it does not contain toxins like mercury and PCBs. The only fish I have discovered, via independent lab testing, to be free of harmful mercury and other toxins is the Vital Choice brand of salmon.

If you do choose to eat fish from your grocery store, don't eat farm-raised fish, as numerous studies have found it may be harmful to your health. Instead, your best choices would be fresh, ocean-caught Alaskan salmon, arctic Char (similar to salmon), fresh sardines and anchovies. Remember that these may still contain toxins, though probably a lesser amount than the other options. Sardines and anchovies are likely fine to eat, as they are small enough to have minimal contamination. As fish is not typically labeled thoroughly, you may have to ask the fishmonger where the fish came from (farm, lake or ocean) to be sure.

Adjust to Your New Way of Eating, and Enjoy the Feeling

Once you become accustomed to eating the best-quality foods for your metabolic type and start to experience the increased energy, weight normalization and other health benefits, you may find that you're inspired to seek out even more of the healthiest foods. You may want to ask your grocer to start carrying some of the healthier foods mentioned in this article or be inspired to try some of the products recommended online.

The habit can become quite addictive and I suspect you'll discover that healthy foods are available in places you hadn't thought of before. Local farmers, farmers' markets, and health-food coops represent some great potential places to find healthy, and likely inexpensive, food.

---

Related Articles:

Don't Be Fooled By New Snack Food Deceptions

Eating Our Way In And Out of Our Symptoms

Six Foods That Will Give You the Most Health "Bang" for Your Buck

Resistant Bacteria Common in Grocery Store Chicken

U.S. Food Industry Comes Under Scrutiny

Why do You Need Organic Food?

Four Ways Junk Food Marketing Targets Your Kids

How is Agribusiness Adding Inches to Your Waist and Taking Years From Your Life?

 

Fwd: The Best Way to Get Enough Calcium

Another reason to eat whole foods, rather than popping pills or eating processed foods.
--pws

from http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2007/07/17/the-best-way-to-get-enough-calcium.aspx

The Best Way to Get Enough Calcium

A new study suggests that calcium from food sources may be more effective than calcium from supplements. It found that women who get most of their daily calcium from food sources have healthier bones and greater bone density, even though those who took more supplements tended to have higher average levels of calcium.

Researchers asked 183 postmenopausal women to document their diet over the course of a week, after which their bone mineral density and estrogen were tested. Women who got at least 70 percent of their daily calcium from food sources instead of supplements took in the least calcium (830 milligrams per day, on average), but higher spine and hip bone density than women consuming 1,030 milligrams of calcium per day primarily from supplement sources.

Women who got calcium in relatively even amounts from both food and supplemental sources had both the highest bone mineral density and the highest calcium intake (1,620 milligrams per day).

Calcium from dietary sources is usually more completely absorbed than calcium from supplements, which could explain the difference. Women who got getting calcium from foods also had higher estrogen levels; estrogen is needed to maintain bone mineral density. The connection between dietary calcium and estrogen is as yet unknown, although it could be the result of eating plant sources containing the hormone.

Those who got calcium from food sources might have also taken in more vitamin D, which would aid in calcium absorption .

American Journal of Clinical Nutrition May 2007, Vol. 85, No. 5, 1428-1433

Yahoo News June 27, 2007

This study bears out what common sense would tell you: getting calcium from food is far better than getting it from a pill. But for many of us common sense is not very common and we seek to maximize our convenience and swallow our vitamins and minerals conveniently rather than focus on receiving them from high quality supplements. Ah, if life were just that easy that simply swallowing a few pills would solve our nutritional needs. While supplements of course can be useful, they should be viewed just as that, supplements to a high quality diet that is used in addition to not in place of a high quality diet. As often happens when it comes to food, quality is more important than quantity; even though the women taking supplements had higher average levels of calcium, the women who got their calcium from food had stronger bones. Calcium from food is simply better absorbed and utilized by your body than synthetic calcium from a pill. The best food source of calcium out there is that from raw milk (NOT conventional, pasteurized milk) and other raw dairy products. Dark green, leafy vegetables  is another great source of calcium. Of course, it's not just calcium that you're better off getting from whole foods, it's all nutrients. Your best choice is always to favor getting nutrients the way nature intended . Vitamin D is also important for calcium absorption, so along with your raw milk and vegetables, make sure that you are getting plenty of safe sun exposure this summer. Because of this, adequate vitamin D levels help to prevent osteoporosis and hip fractures. You should also remember that, just as exercise and diet work in tandem to beat obesity, the same can be said for osteoporosis. Strengthening bone mass, especially during puberty, can build a good foundation that can last a lifetime. In fact, there is a stronger connection between exercise and improved bone density among teens than taking calcium.Finally, make sure your diet contains healthy levels of omega-3 fats, which are the stealth dietary weapon in preserving your bone density. Even many nutritionists are not aware of the important relationship between healthy bones and optimal fat intake.

Related Articles:

  Calcium May Help Those Trying To Lose Weight

  Low-Fat, High-Fiber Diet May Lower Calcium Absorption

  Calcium Supplements Not Equally Effective

Plastic Shopping Bags Being Banned

Paper or Plastic?
Neither, thanks, I have a canvas bag for my groceries.
--pws

from http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2007/07/17/plastic-shopping-bags-being-banned.aspx

Plastic Shopping Bags Being Banned

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, over 380 billion plastic shopping bags are used in the U.S. annually. Only a tiny fraction (0.6 percent) of the plastic bags are recycled. As many as 1 trillion plastic bags may be used globally each year, or about one million bags per minute.

It takes 1,000 years for plastic bags to degrade. In addition, plastic bags contain harmful chemical such as lead, cadmium, mercury, and diethylhexyl phthalate, which is a carcinogen. About 100,000 birds, marine mammals, whales, and sea turtles each year either choke to death on plastic bags, or die of an intestinal blockage after eating one.

Steps are being taken in many countries to curb plastic bag use. The Republic of Ireland has enacted a 15 cent tax on plastic shopping bags, which has curbed their use by 90 percent in that country. Bangladesh banned plastic shopping bag after finding that they were blocking drainage systems and causing floods. Taiwan, Singapore, South Africa, and several East African countries have also banned plastic shopping bags. The housewares chain IKEA is now charging five cents per plastic bag, and estimates the move will reduce plastic bag use in their U.S. stores by 50 percent.

San Francisco will soon become the first city in North America to ban plastic bags from supermarkets and pharmacies.

The Intelligence Daily June 27, 2007

I'm glad to see that many regions are taking action to curtail the excessive use and waste of plastic bags. More measures like these are needed to protect future generations and the environment, but you can act now simply by using cloth grocery bags in lieu of plastic ones. Yes this may seem like a hassle but if we all started to do this and pitch in then we could limit the use of this onslaught of absoluetely unnecessary plastic that is such a waste and drain on the environment. Pollution from plastic bags exposes your body to all sorts of toxins and is actually turning our oceans into plastic. In addition to the wildlife deaths they cause and the chemical additives from plastics that are now showing up in our environment, plastic bags use up huge quantities of oil (it takes 430,000 gallons of oil to produce 100 million plastic bags). Plastics can make you sick by mimicking or blocking sex hormones, causing disruption of your endocrine system. Perhaps the most dangerous chemicals used in plastics are phthalates, which can affect everything from development and behavior to reproduction and immunity. They have been shown to hasten puberty in children, and cause many other problems. Plastics may indeed have been the "wave of the future" for industry some 40 years ago, but we're paying for that dearly with our health today. Your body must constantly endure exposures to petroleum-based industrial chemicals contained in things most people take for granted, like plastic bags, bottled water and cosmetics. Particularly vulnerable are your children, who are exposed to plastics in the hospital and through baby bottles and toys. You can start avoiding environmental toxins today by reading my common-sense, easy-to-follow tips .

Related Articles:

  Store Your Food in Glass Not Plastic

  Commonly Used Plastics Chemicals May Harm Children

  Wrap Your Gift in Green