Government says that formaldehyde & styrene causes cancer

Greetings,

Now the government is saying that formaldehyde is a cancer-causing agent!  Is it just us, or is it that every time we turn around there is something we’ve known ourselves (all you need is a little common sense) is bad for us. 

For years I have been telling anyone who would listen to avoid anything that has this in it.  This includes aspartame, which breaks down in the bloodstream into formaldehyde!

Please share this with people you know, we need to get this info out.   Will keep putting out more info, have a great post on the benefits of Lemons on fighting cancer, it's still up if you need it.

All the best,

Lou & Debbie

The government says the industrial chemical formaldehyde causes Cancer and that styrene, which is used worldwide in the manufacture of fiberglass and food containers, may cause cancer.     

The National Institutes of Health says people with higher measures of exposure to formaldehyde are at increased risk for certain types of rare cancers, including in the upper part of the throat behind the nose.     

The strong-smelling chemical is widely used to make resins for household items, including paper product coatings, plastics and textile finishes. It also is commonly used as a preservative in medical laboratories, mortuaries and consumer products including some hair straightening products.     

The government says styrene is a component of tobacco smoke, and  NIH says the greatest exposure to the chemical is through cigarette smoking.

FDA issues warning against Statins!

Greetings,

Here is another example of how listening to the established medical model can get you into trouble (or by watching commercials on TV!). 

Here we go again, now another one of the magic bullets from the drug companies is once again being issued new safety warnings.

Please share this with people who are taking these dangerous products.

All the best,

Lou & Debbie

FDA issues warning against high doses of simvastatin  06/10/2011

 FDA on Wednesday issued new safety restrictions on high-dose simvastatin, which also is sold under the brand name Zocor, because of concerns that it can cause a potentially severe muscle disease called myopathy, the New York Times'"Prescriptions" reports.


About 2.1 million U.S. residents in 2010 were prescribed simvastatin at the 80-milligram dose, which is the highest approved dose of the cholesterol-lowering drug. FDA is recommending that physicians only continue to prescribe the high dose to patients who have been taking it for at least one year without any adverse muscle pain. 

The agency reviewed the results of a seven-year study and found that patients taking that dose were at a greater risk than those taking lower doses or other statins. FDA will be "making label changes to reduce the risk of statin-associate muscle injury," according to Eric Colman of FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.

The recommendation also applies to Vytorin and Simcor, which are combination drugs sold by Merck and Schering-Plough, and Abbott Laboratories, respectively (Wilson, "Prescriptions," 

New York Times, 6/8; Stein, "The Checkup," Washington Post, 6/8).

Have scientist finally solved mystery of the Bee Colony Collapse?

Greetings, 

Ever notice how everything in nature fits together?  Something as small as a honeybee is vital to growing the food we need to survive.

Here's the scary part, Bees have been dying off all over the world, especially in western countries, which could put 90% of US crops in peril.

There have been multiple scientific studies that have suggested that one group of agricultural toxins – neonicotinoid pesticides as a major contributor to their rapid demise. 

It is important to note that in the four European countries that have already banned these products, Bee populations have recovered!  

So why is Bayer still selling this deadly poison here in the United states?  The Environmental Protection Agency has recognized, in a leaked document, the Bayer’s Highly toxic product is a major risk concern to not targeted insects, like Honeybees.

Back in 2009, Italy put in place a ban to stop farmers from using neonicotinoid. After Italy no longer permitted this pesticide, the next sowing of corn resulted in no new cases of widespread bee mortality in apiaries around the crops sown. A first since 1999!

So now Italy, France, Slovenia and Germany have all banned neonicotinoid pesticides, and all have had noticeable positive results. 

This is your call to action, we need to Call, Email and Write to our representatives, here in the US and around the world to put a halt to the use of this dangerous product.  

Unfortunately, we will be fighting a powerful chemical lobby to get this ban in place.  We need to act to protect our country’s food supply.

There is an organization that has started a petition to help implement this, please go and add your voice to the petition.

http://tinyurl.com/bees-us

All the best,

Lou & Debbie.

How to stop your sight from fading

 Greetings,
Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving and didn't put on too much weight from all the extra food.
I'm always looking for something that hopefully you will find as interesting as I did.  This is about taking care of our vision, something we don't tend to think about.  Debbie and I just had our eyes examined and my eyesight actually improved!  I have been doing eye exercises recommended by my friend Dr Winer. Let me know if your interested and I'll be gladly share what he told me to do with you.
All the best,
Lou & Debbie

How to stop your sight from fading
Dr. Julian Whitaker provides prevention steps for common vision problems

By Dr. Julian Whitaker

It's easy to take our eyes for granted. They don't require much maintenance, and even for those who don't have 20/20 vision, corrective lenses are an easy fix.

But there are other eye problems that can develop, especially as we get older. They range from the merely annoying – such as dry, irritated eyes – to serious, vision-impairing diseases like macular degeneration. Fortunately, there are targeted nutritional supplements and lifestyle changes that can help prevent and treat common eye concerns.

Antioxidants help prevent AMD

The leading cause of blindness in older people is age-related macular degeneration (AMD), which results in the loss of central vision and the ability to see fine details. AMD is primarily triggered by a lifetime of free-radical damage, so the best way to protect your eyes is to make sure they have an abundant supply of targeted antioxidants.

Scientists discovered years ago that taking a daily supplement containing relatively high doses of vitamin C (1,000-1,500 mg), vitamin E (300-400 IU), beta-carotene (15,000-25,000 IU), zinc (50-80 mg) and copper (4-6 mg) lowers risk of AMD and related vision loss, but nutritional research has gone far beyond these basic vitamins and minerals. And much of the latest science has focused on a handful of phytonutrients.

Phytonutrients provide powerful protection

Phytonutrients are health-promoting organic components found primarily in plants. The carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin scavenge free radicals in the retina and absorb damaging wavelengths of light. Leafy greens, such as kale and spinach, contain both of these protective compounds. Egg yolks are another good source.

Anthocyanosides are strong antioxidants that strengthen blood vessels and improve ocular blood flow. The best dietary sources are bilberry, black currant, and other dark berries.

Few people get therapeutic doses of these phytonutrients from diet alone – a serving of leafy greens, for example, has only about 1 mg of lutein. For optimal protection, you need to take them in supplement form.

Look for a combination product targeting vision support that contains 15 mg of lutein, 2 mg of zeaxanthin and the anthocyansosides mentioned above. They're widely available in health food stores and online.

Cataracts aren't inevitable

Cataracts, or opacities of the lens of the eye, are another common problem associated with aging. More than half of all Americans in their 80s either have cataracts or have had surgery to replace the clouded lens.

I'm not going to knock cataract surgery, because people see much, much better afterward. But isn't prevention a better idea?

First, make some lifestyle changes to eliminate the factors linked with increased risk of developing cataracts and other vision problems. These include:

Smoking
Abdominal obesity
Diabetes
Hypertension
Nutrition is also important. Not surprisingly, the same nutrients that protect against AMD have also been shown to help stave off cataracts.

One study found that older women who had the highest levels of lutein and zeaxanthin were about a third less likely to have cataracts. And in a more recent placebo-controlled clinical trial, people who took a daily multivitamin/mineral supplement for nine years were much less likely to have developed the most common type of cataracts than those who took a placebo.

N-acetyl-carnosine can help stop cataract formation

Another therapy worth trying is N-acetyl-carnosine. Free-radical damage isn't the only thing going on in cataract formation. Advanced glycation endproducts, or AGEs, caused by the crosslinking of proteins, is another degenerative process that damages the lens.

Carnosine is a natural amino acid combo that inhibits AGE formation. Several studies show that when carnosine eye drops are used twice a day in eyes affected by cataracts, improvements are often noted in both vision and lens opacity. Look for these drops online and in health food stores.

Say goodbye to dry, irritated eyes

Most of us occasionally experience a dry sensation in the eyes, but for millions it's a daily occurrence. Caused by a decline in tear production or quality, this condition is particularly prevalent among older individuals.

Lubricating eye drops, or artificial tears, may soothe dry eyes, but they do little to address the underlying condition. Two of the processes at work in dry eyes are inflammation and free-radical damage.

To curb inflammation, eat salmon and other cold-water fish on a regular basis and take a minimum of 2,000 mg of fish oil daily. Harvard researchers found that women with the highest intake of anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acids had a substantially reduced risk of dry eyes.

Try VIVA drops

To fight free radicals, I recommend VIVA Eye Drops from Corneal Science. In addition to being preservative-free, this product contains vitamin A and other antioxidants that improve the normal tear film and help heal the epithelial cells on the surface of the cornea.

In one study, people with dry eyes used one or two drops of VIVA in one eye and artificial tears in other several times a day for four months. Improvements were reported in 61 percent of the eyes treated with VIVA compared to 15 percent of the eyes treated with artificial tears.

These eye drops are also helpful for red, irritated eyes. I do not recommend drops that promise to get the red out. Overuse may result in dilation of the blood vessels, making them even redder. VIVA drops are available online and in some health food and drug stores.

Solutions for other common vision concerns

Glaucoma is a disease of the optic nerve characterized by increased pressure in the eyes. If this condition is not addressed, it can cause permanent vision loss. Common treatments are drugs and surgery, but studies suggest that several natural agents can reduce pressures in patients with glaucoma. The best studied is high-dose vitamin C (1,000-1,500 mg), but Ginkgo biloba (60 mg daily), bilberry (320 mg daily) and magnesium (500-1,000 mg daily) also appear to be helpful for treating this vision concern.

Night vision often falters as we get older, making driving after dark a chore. Many of my patients with this concern tell me their night vision improved after they started taking a supplement containing most of the nutrients I mentioned earlier. This isn't surprising. Anthocyanosides, in particular, have been demonstrated to enhance light/dark adaptation and improve night vision.

The bottom line

Whether you want to treat an existing eye problem or maintain your vision, the best thing to do is improve your diet and take a comprehensive supplement aimed at supporting vision health.

To view this item online, visit http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?pageId=225965

Environmental Toxin May Play Important Role in Multiple Sclerosis: Hypertension Drug Possible Treatment

ScienceDaily (Nov. 24, 2010) —
Researchers have found evidence that an environmental pollutant may play an important role in causing multiple sclerosis and that a hypertension drug might be used to treat the disease.

---

The toxin acrolein was elevated by about 60 percent in the spinal cord tissues of mice with a disease similar to multiple sclerosis, said Riyi Shi, a medical doctor and a professor of neuroscience and biomedical engineering in Purdue University's Department of Basic Medical Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, Center for Paralysis Research and Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering.
The research results represent the first concrete laboratory evidence for a link between acrolein (pronounced a-KRO-le-an) and multiple sclerosis, he said.
"Only recently have researchers started to understand the details about what acrolein does to the human body," Shi said. "We are studying its effects on the central nervous system, both in trauma and degenerative diseases such as multiple sclerosis."
The compound is an environmental toxin found in air pollutants including tobacco smoke and auto exhaust. Acrolein also is produced within the body after nerve cells are damaged. Previous studies by this research team found that neuronal death caused by acrolein can be prevented by administering the drug hydralazine, an FDA-approved medication used to treat hypertension.
The new findings show that hydralazine also delays onset of multiple sclerosis in mice and reduces the severity of symptoms by neutralizing acrolein.
"The treatment did not cause any serious side effects in the mice," Shi said. "The dosage we used for hydralazine in animals is several times lower than the standard dosing for oral hydralazine in human pediatric patients. Therefore, considering the effectiveness of hydralazine at binding acrolein at such low concentrations, we expect that our study will lead to the development of new neuroprotective therapies for MS that could be rapidly translated into the clinic."
The researchers also learned the specific chemical signature of the drug that binds to acrolein and neutralizes it, potentially making it possible to create synthetic alternatives with reduced side effects. The studies are detailed in a paper appearing online this month in the journal Neuroscience. The paper was written by doctoral students Gary Leung, Wenjing Sun and Lingxing Zheng; graduate research assistant Melissa Tully, who is an MD-Ph.D. student at Purdue and the Indiana University School of Medicine; postdoctoral researcher Sarah Brookes; and Shi.
In multiple sclerosis, the myelin insulation surrounding nerve cells is destroyed and the nerve fibers themselves are damaged.
"We think that acrolein is what degrades myelin, so if we can block that effect then we can delay the onset of MS and lessen the symptoms," Shi said.
Acrolein induces the production of free radicals, compounds that cause additional injury to tissues after disease or physical trauma.
"We've discovered that acrolein may play a very important role in free radical injury, particularly in multiple sclerosis," Shi said.
The elevated acrolein levels in the MS mice were cut in half when treated with hydralazine. The drug represents a potential long-term therapy to slow the disease's progress.
"To our knowledge, this is the first evidence that acrolein acts as a neurotoxin in MS and also the first time anyone has demonstrated hydralazine to be a neuroprotective drug," Shi said.
Other researchers had previously shown that acrolein damages liver cells and that the damage can be alleviated by hydralazine, leading the Purdue researchers to study its possible effects on spinal cord tissues.
Further research will be conducted, and Shi's group has identified other potential compounds for binding acrolein. The research team, in a possible future collaboration with the Indiana University School of Medicine, also is working to improve the sensitivity of detection methods to measure acrolein levels in people with multiple sclerosis.

FDA Failing to Monitor Safety of Medical Devices

Greetings.

Would you be surprised to learn that the FDA is not doing their job?
If your like us you won't have any problem believing this.  It really is up to us to take care of our health and do things proactively to stay healthy.
All the best,
Lou & Debbie


FDA Failing to Monitor Safety of Medical Devices: Report

Lax procedures around approvals, poor follow-up plague the agency, investigators claim

By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter


TUESDAY, Nov. 2 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is not doing its job of properly monitoring the safety of medical devices, the authors of a new report charge.

The FDA has the authority to approve both drugs and medical devices, but the investigators believe that the division responsible for device approval and safety is lax in both its initial approval of devices and its ongoing monitoring of related problems.

"The agency often misses problematic devices," contends lead author Shannon Brownlee, an instructor at the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice.

The report is published in the Nov. 3 online edition of the BMJ.

In their article, Brownlee and New York-based medical investigative journalist Jeanne Lenzer focus on the FDA's approval and follow-up of a device that prevents or reduces seizures in patients with epilepsy who don't respond to drug treatment.

This apparatus, called a vagus nerve stimulator (VNS) is made by Texas-based Cyberonics. The VNS, which is implanted under the skin, works by sending electrical impulses to stimulate the vagus nerve in the neck.

The FDA approved the device in 1997 and some 60,000 patients around the world are using it, according to the manufacturer. In 2005, the FDA also okayed the device as a treatment for medication-resistant depression. There are some 5,000 people who use VNS to treat depression, Cyberonics says.

Brownlee and Lenzer's concern: That during the 13 years the device has been on the market there have been 900 FDA-reported deaths of people using the device to control their epilepsy.

The question of whether any of these deaths were due to the device remains unanswered, however, even though Cyberonics did conduct the post-marketing study the FDA requested at the time of approval. However, the FDA did not require the study to report the cause of death for individuals using the device, Brownlee and Lenzer said.

FDA spokeswoman Karen Riley said the agency is engaged in an ongoing effort to improve overall medical device safety monitoring. "We have an initiative underway to strengthen post-market monitoring," she said.

But Brownlee believes the story of the VNS device to be just one example of the FDA's failure to monitor the safety of medical devices before and after they are out in the marketplace. For example, she pointed out that less than one-third of devices approved under FDA's pre-market approval process had ever been evaluated in a randomized trial.

And she said that it was physicians, not the FDA, who spotted serious problems with certain implanted defibrillators, for example. "It was physicians keeping their own database that alerted the company to the problem," Brownlee said.

Moreover, she believes the agency is not capable of detecting potentially unsafe devices through its own harms database. Brownlee cited a finding that many post-approval studies are either not done, or conducted so poorly "as to be meaningless."

According to the BMJ, the FDA referred Brownlee and Lenzer to five post-approval studies that they said established the device's safety. However, Brownlee said these studies do not prove the device was not the cause of deaths, since none contained mortality data.

Brownlee also said that when the device was approved for depression it was over the objection of FDA's own panel of scientists. And, according to Brownlee, the company has suggested that VNS may be useful for a wide range of other ailments, including obesity, stroke and traumatic brain injury, and has patented the device for these potential therapies.

According to Brownlee, the FDA will only improve when it gets more staff, better funding, more authority and more outside experts to objectively evaluate device safety.

The new findings come on the heels of a recent embarrassment for the agency: In October, the FDA apologized for mistakenly approving the Menaflex knee implant over objections from its own scientists. In its announcement, the FDA admitted it caved to political pressure from New Jersey senators and a congressman. The FDA has now taken steps to rescind that approval.

"I have sympathy for the FDA, which is understaffed and underfunded in many areas," Brownlee said. "But there is no question that this agency had been captured by the very industries that it is supposed to regulate," she said.

Defending the VNS, Cyberonics chief financial officer Greg Browne said that "none of the approximately 900 deaths reported to the FDA were attributed to VNS therapy."

"Available data demonstrate that all-cause mortality rates for VNS therapy patients are less than half the rates in the comparable non-VNS epilepsy patient population," he added.

Dr. Jerry Avorn, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and author of an accompanying journal editorial, agreed with the article's authors that, "until recently the part of FDA that approves devices has been run in a much more loose manner than the part of FDA that approves drugs."

While the FDA has started to deal with some of these problems, "it's still more of a wild west environment than the drug side of FDA," he added.

The agency needs to look harder at the standards it uses when approving new devices, and should revamp its surveillance systems to spot people who have received faulty devices, he added.

"All government regulation is not a bad thing," Avorn said. "It can sometime be life-saving," he said.

More information

For more information on the FDA and medical devices, visit the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

SOURCES: Shannon Brownlee, M.S., instructor, Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, Hanover, NH; Jerry Avorn, M.D., professor of medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston; Karen Riley,spokeswoman, U.S. Food and Drug Administration; Greg Browne, chief financial officer, Cyberonics; Nov. 3, 2010, BMJ, online

Copyright © 2010 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Myths and musts about drinking water

Greetings,
So who would want to argue with Chuck Norris?
Not I for sure.  He has started to write for World Net Daily and he is all about health.
His series is called C-Force and I thought that we would share it with you all.
Enjoy
Lou & Debbie

Myths and musts about drinking water


Julia Child summed it up well when she said, "Water is the most neglected nutrient in your diet but one of the most vital."

In a previous article, I suggested a couple of great nutritional books. One of them was Dr. Don Colbert's "The Seven Pillars of Health," in which he simplifies complex matters and boils down the web of healthy lifestyle tips into simple steps.

Colbert's seven pillars are a part of what I consider eight basics, or foundational principles, that you must focus on to create a better you. And some of them might surprise you. If you even relatively master these eight, you will greatly increase your odds of a long, energetic and productive life. Based upon questions from readers, I'll be elaborating on each of them in future articles.

And it all starts with the most overlooked element to nutrition – water.

Water is critical throughout the body:

It helps transport nutrients and waste products in and out of cells and the body;

It is necessary for all digestive, absorption, circulatory and excretory functions;

It is critical for the proper function of every organ in the body;

It is needed for the utilization of water-soluble vitamins;

It helps to maintain proper body temperature;
That is why proper hydration is the first item on Dr. Colbert's checklist in examining all ill patients. Roughly 70 percent of the body is made up of water, so drinking water makes sense. It is the most foundational aspect of life and the single most important nutrient. Again, it is used in every bodily function.

The fact is you can live five to seven weeks without food but only five days without water.

Colbert says, "Many Americans live in a mildly dehydrated state with various irritating symptoms and never realize it."

Signs or symptoms of a lack of hydration include headaches, skin problems, digestion problems, back pain, arthritis, dry skin, being overweight, high blood pressure, asthma, memory loss and other ailments. Colbert testifies that in his medical practice, many people have actually experienced relief and even been cured through proper hydration.

The doctor recommends you don't wait until you're thirsty to drink water. Because the average body loses about two quarts through organ functions, perspiration, filtration and secretion, it is important to hydrate yourself regularly.

Thirst is actually your body's way of saying, "I've needed water for a while." If you wait to drink water, you're likely dehydrated to some degree.

And here's another hydration myth. I used to think I could get my daily dose of water in coffee, juice, soft drinks and milk, but chemicals and sugars often associated with these beverages (and certain types of caffeine, even in teas) actually dehydrate the body more than they replenish it.

There is an equation to figure the recommended amount of water you should drink. Your weight divided by 2 equals the number of ounces of water you need to consume daily. And not all of that needs to be drunk, as much of your food intake provides the liquid. For example, bananas are 70 percent water. Apples (80 percent), tomatoes (90 percent), watermelons (90 percent) and lettuce (95 percent) are also good sources of water.

In order to ensure the intake of quality water, use a reputable filtration system or drink good bottled water, because contaminants are plenty in much of our tap water.

With the essential role that water plays in life, you will benefit physically, mentally and spiritually, so remember that the road to a better you definitely begins with H2O.

Taming America's tummy aches

Greetings,
This is a little long, but I know people who are living with this problem.  
Got a question for you? 
Do you think it's better to look for a natural solution first -  or should you always run to your doctor's office every time you don't feel well?
Look, we're not saying you should always avoid the traditional medical route, but it's not always best to only go that direction. 
A wise man I know once told me that you need to look at the underlining cause of the problem, not just mask the symptoms with drugs!
 Let us know what you think - or if this helped.


Enjoy

Lou & Debbie

Taming America's tummy aches
Dr. Julian Whitaker  © 2010
Abdominal pain, bloating, gas, cramping, diarrhea and constipation are a fact of life for the millions of Americans who suffer from irritable bowel syndrome, or IBS. Also known as spastic colon and nervous indigestion, IBS is usually diagnosed only after a doctor has  ruled out more serious conditions such as ulcerative colitis or colon cancer.

Although IBS is not life-threatening, it is uncomfortable to say the least and downright inconvenient. For many people the symptoms are so severe that they have to plan their outings and day-to-day activities around trips to the bathroom.

What causes IBS?

Despite its prevalence, no one is certain what causes IBS. Emotional distress was once thought to be the culprit – patients were often told it was "all in their heads." While it's true that stress and anxiety worsen the condition, physicians now know the problem is in the gut, not the head.

Some research suggests that the muscles and nerves in the colons of IBS sufferers may be hypersensitive, and as a result, they respond strongly to stimuli that would not bother most people.

Common conventional treatments

Not surprisingly, conventional treatment for IBS consists primarily of prescription drugs. These include tranquilizers and antidepressants, which can improve IBS symptoms but have a host of other complications including addiction, anxiety, nausea and even violent behavior.

One IBS drug, Lotronex, was pulled from the market only months after it was approved by the FDA because it caused several deaths and numerous serious side effects requiring surgery or hospitalization.

Diet makes all the difference

Fortunately, there are ways to naturally manage IBS. Most digestive difficulties can be treated with dietary modifications.

The first step toward controlling IBS symptoms is to eat more fiber from vegetables, beans, peas and fruits. Fiber is important not only for stool formation, but also for the overall health of your gastrointestinal, or GI, tract. Aim for at least 30 grams daily.

Second, limit your intake of caffeine. Caffeine is a powerful GI tract irritant that can be especially problematic for IBS sufferers.

Also, cut back on excess sugars and starches. They're a favorite food of the bacteria that reside in the gut, which is why they cause gas and bloating. Beware also of artificial or low-cal sweeteners such as aspartame, sorbitol and mannitol, which can cause diarrhea.

Eliminate IBS triggers

If these simple changes don't dramatically improve your symptoms, your next line of defense is to identify which foods irritate your system and cut them out of your diet.

Among the most common IBS offenders are:

dairy products - wheat - eggs - citrus - corn - peanuts


The best way to identify triggers is to try an elimination diet. The idea of an elimination diet is to eat non-allergenic meals for at least one week to clear your system, then add in new foods every few days and observe your reaction to them.

A standard elimination diet may consist of:

chicken - rice - potatoes - bananas - apples - a variety of vegetables (except corn)


Only these foods – fresh, not processed – should be eaten for seven days. As you slowly reintroduce other foods, keep a detailed diary to help you pinpoint which ones produce symptoms.

The mind-body connection

The colon is controlled partly by the nervous system, which explains why bowel evacuation is a normal part of the body's response in a high-stress, fight-or-flight situation. So it makes sense that chronic stress and anxiety can dramatically affect everyday bowel health.

Learning to relax can make a huge difference in alleviating IBS symptoms. In one study, adults with IBS were split into two groups, and one group practiced a relaxation technique twice a day for 15 minutes. After six weeks, researchers found that participants in the relaxation group reported significantly reduced symptoms, with particular improvement in diarrhea and bloating.

Amino acids to the rescue

If anxiety is contributing to your IBS symptoms, give gamma-aminobutyric acid, or GABA, a try. This amino acid binds to receptor sites in the brain, blocking "excitatory" neurotransmitters and keeping you on an even keel. GABA, which is available in health food stores, is safe, nontoxic and non-habit forming.

For quick relief during an acute episode, open a capsule and stir it into water. For chronic anxiety, take 750 mg 1-3 times per day as needed. Because amino acids are best absorbed on an empty stomach, you should take them 30 minutes before or two hours after meals.

You should also consider glutamine. The most prevalent amino acid in the body, glutamine is renowned for its healing properties in the  gut. It aids in the production of enterocytes – cells that line the intestinal tract and play a key role in controlling the absorption of nutrients and prohibiting improperly digested proteins from entering the bloodstream. The recommended dose is 2-3 g daily.

Other ways to restore digestive health

Several other supplements have proven effective when it comes to treating IBS. They can be found in most health food stores.

Probiotics: Stress, medications, and poor diet can reduce "friendly" bacteria in your intestines, worsening symptoms of IBS. Clinical studies show that probiotic supplements help normalize the bacterial makeup of the intestinal tract, alleviating bloating, constipation, diarrhea and other GI disturbances that often accompany IBS. Use as directed.

Artichoke leaf extract: A growing body of evidence suggests that artichoke leaf extract is a valuable therapy in the treatment of IBS. After a six-week study, researchers in the United Kingdom reported that IBS patients taking artichoke leaf extract had significant reductions in the severity of their symptoms. Furthermore, 96 percent of the patients rated artichoke leaf extract as "better than or equal to" previous therapies they had tried. The suggested dose is 600-1,800 mg daily, in divided doses with meals.

Peppermint: (Mentha piperita) is particularly beneficial for gas and bloating because it helps relax muscles in the intestines. The preferred form of peppermint is enteric-coated capsules. They break down in the intestines, not in the stomach, where they could cause heartburn. Take 1-2 capsules (each containing 0.2 mL of peppermint oil), two or three times a day, preferably between meals.
As most physicians are quick to point out, there is no sure cure for IBS. However, I am confident that through diet modification, stress control and the use of targeted supplements, you can achieve dramatic, long-term relief.

Julian Whitaker, M.D., known as America's Wellness Doctor, is founder of the Whitaker Wellness Institute, which has treated more than 45,000 patients as the largest alternative medicine clinic in the country. Author of the monthly newsletter "Health & Healing" and 13 books, including "Reversing Diabetes" and "Reversing Heart Disease," Dr. Whitaker is a proponent of freedom of choice in medicine and founder of the nonprofit Freedom of Health Foundation.

Here is the Video to make it easier...

Continuous Chest Compression CPR

Greetings,

This is one of those videos that unfortunately, is something everyone needs to know.  One of the reasons that Debbie & I started this blog and in the past opened the Curves, was to keep people healthy and fit.  This is a video of the new CPR technique which is much simpler, less intimidating, and you don't need to be certified to do it.

Please share this with everyone you know.  You never know, a life may be saved utilizing this new procedure.

Please watch this and forward it to your friends and family if you haven't already done so.  
http://tinyurl.com/2fx8r59

Learn Sarver Heart Center's Continuous Chest Compression CPR

Every three days, more Americans die from sudden cardiac arrest than the number who died in the 9-11 attacks. You can lessen this recurring loss by learning Continuous Chest Compression CPR, a hands-only CPR method that doubles a person’s chance of surviving cardiac arrest. It’s easy and does not require mouth-to-mouth contact, making it more likely bystanders will try to help, and it was developed at the University of Arizona College of Medicine.
"This video is worth sharing," said Gordon A. Ewy, MD, director of the UA Sarver Heart Center and one of the research pioneers who developed this method.

http://tinyurl.com/2fx8r59

thanks
Lou & Debbie

High Fructose Corn Syrup is now Getting a Name Change…

High Fructose Corn Syrup is now Getting a Name Change…

I got this from LiveScience, we can’t ever let our guard down.  Now when your shopping your going to have to really read the labels.

High-Fructose Corn Syrup Getting Rebranded as Corn Sugar

The good news: Consumption of high-fructose corn syrup is at a 20-year low.
The bad news: The folks who make this insidious sweetener aim to re-brand it to boost sales.
High-fructose corn syrup is cheaper than cane sugar and acts as a food preservative, too, so the food industry loves the stuff. But it’s been added to so many foods — yogurt, cereal, bread, drinks and even condiments — that researchers have fingered it as a culprit in the obesity epidemic.
The Corn Refiners Association has in the past marketed high-fructose corn syrup as natural. Our Bad Medicine columnist Christopher Wanjek argues otherwise.
“High-fructose corn syrup could be all-natural if cornstarch happened to fall into a vat of alpha-amylase, soak there for a while, then trickle into another vat of glucoamylase, get strained to remove the Aspergillus fungus likely growing on top, and then find its way into some industrial-grade D-xylose isomerase. This funny coincidence didn’t happen in nature until the 1970s in a lab somewhere in Japan.”
Now the Corn Refiners Association plans to ask the FDA to allow high-fructose corn syrup to be called simple “corn sugar” instead, AP reports. And already the group is advertising it with that name. The adds also claims there’s no difference between corn sugar and cane sugar. Hmm.
Till next time...