HEALING FOODS

August 31, 2008 at 12:38 pm (Health and wellness)

Black Raspberries Slow Cancer By Altering Hundreds Of Gene
http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/berrygene.htm
 
New research strongly suggests that a mix of preventative agents, such as those found in concentrated black raspberries, may more effectively inhibit cancer development than single agents aimed at shutting down a particular gene.
 
Researchers at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center examined the effect of freeze-dried black raspberries on genes altered by a chemical carcinogen in an animal model of esophageal cancer.
 
The carcinogen affected the activity of some 2,200 genes in the animals’ esophagus in only one week, but 460 of those genes were restored to normal activity in animals that consumed freeze-dried black raspberry powder as part of their diet during the exposure.
 
These findings, published in a recent issue of the journal Cancer Research, also helped identify 53 genes that may play a fundamental role in early cancer development and may therefore be important targets for chemoprevention agents.
 
“We have clearly shown that berries, which contain a variety of anticancer compounds, have a genome-wide effect on the expression of genes involved in cancer development,” says principal investigator Gary D. Stoner, a chemoprevention researcher with Ohio State’s Comprehensive Cancer Center who studies dietary agents for the prevention of esophageal cancer.
 
“This suggests to us that a mixture of preventative agents, which berries provide, may more effectively prevent cancer than a single agent that targets only one or a few genes.”
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EMR

August 31, 2008 at 12:00 am (News and politics)

Are Cell Phones the Next Cigarettes?
 
cell phone, mobile phoneMobile phones have been around for more than 20 years and are now used by more than 3 billion people. Yet questions linger over whether mobile phones can contribute to health problems, including cancer. Cell phones have only been mainstream products for 10 years or so, and it may take much longer than that for adverse effects to show up.
 
New studies on health and cell phones are tough to get going. In the United States, most research on the topic was discontinued at the beginning of the decade, largely because industry groups and government considered the questions resolved and haven’t been willing to finance new studies.
 
But scientists are concerned that cutting off studies could be a mistake.
 
"It was 15, 20 years after people began smoking that we saw concerns associated with it," says Michael Kelsh, principle scientist and epidemiologist for Exponent, a scientific consulting firm. "Down the road, the same could happen with phones."
The latency period for brain tumors can be 10 to 15 years.
Sources:
 
    * MSN Money August 8, 2008
Horrendous Health Threat Inside Your Body?

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Markets

August 29, 2008 at 11:30 am (Food and drink)

Buying Local Should Include Buying Organic

locally grown food, organicA few years ago, most customers at farmers’ markets would ask how vegetables and herbs were grown. Customers were concerned about organic growing habits and pesticide use on farms, and inquired about the methods used to grow the produce they were purchasing.

Today, the question is asked more rarely. Consumer priorities and the main farm-production question that growers hear is related to place: "Where is your farm?"

Customers used to worry about how food was produced; now they worry about where it is from. The power of one captivating idea — local — has quickly eclipsed the power of another — organic.

But the organic movement confronted industrial agriculture’s use of pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers that devastated local ecosystems. It addressed the health of migrant farm workers and the health of people who ate foods with pesticide residues or milk with growth hormones.

The local-oriented movement may be avoiding engagement with many of the problems associated with the industrial food system that organic as a movement specifically sought to address.
Sources:

    * Grist August 11, 2008

A Special Labor Day Sale in Your Honor – Save 15% on Everything!

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Fat Factor

August 29, 2008 at 10:43 am (Health and wellness)

Will All Americans Be Fat in 40 Years?
If the trends of the past three decades continue, it’s possible that every American adult could be overweight by 2048. The figure might sound impossible, but two-thirds of the population is already overweight.

The new projections are based on government survey data collected between the 1970s and 2004. If the trends of those years continue, the researchers estimate that 86 percent of American adults will be overweight by 2030, with an obesity rate of 51 percent. By 2048, all U.S. adults could be at least mildly overweight.

The health care costs directly related to excess pounds would also double each decade, reaching $957 billion in 2030 and accounting for one of every six health care dollars spent in the United States.

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Food Fight

August 28, 2008 at 12:25 am (News and politics)

 
Join South Central Farmers in their fight to regain their garden
 
For more than a decade a 14-acre plot at 41st Street and Alameda in industrial South Central Los Angeles was utilized as a community garden feeding over 350 families, until it was bulldozed by the new owner, Ralph Horowitz, of Libaw-Horowitz Investment Company (“LHIC”). The farmers formed “South Central Farmers Feeding Families” (“SCFFF”) to battle to regain their land, arguing that it was illegally sold to Horowitz by the City of Los Angeles. SCFFF has filed suit against the company, extending the timeline for the sole public hearing which was held on July 23, 2008.
 
By July 23rd the significance of the issue and the strong support for the SCFFF was bolstered by 1,700 signatures (including 130 letters from local residents) insisting that an Environmental Impact Report be submitted to the City Planning Department. The South Coast Air Quality Management District had already determined that the proposed warehouse would be extremely polluting and hazardous to the health of both nearby residents and those upwind of the site. This clear message from the District to “specifically prohibit” the construction of this operation cannot be ignored by the City. The 350 families who were suddenly left without their primary source of sustenance now face blatant health risks, all with the signature of the City. Jan Perry, their city councilwoman, is a proponent of this poisonous warehouse in her district.
 
Tezozomo, who is one of the organizers of the SCFFF, declared, “It has become clear that we must be demanding more than just the Environmental Impact Report. We need to demand that the warehouse be shut down! Under no certain terms will the community accept 2700 trucks daily spewing diesel particulate matter that can kill us! Under no certain terms will we accept our children, our schools; Nevin, Carver, Jefferson, our parks; Ross Snyder Recreation, our pedestrian areas; Vernon Metro Station, Alameda Swap meet to be ‘exhausted by diesel’ particulate matter."
 
Supporters of Shut Down include the Center for Biological Diversity, the Natural Resources Defense Council, The Green Party USA, the Bus Riders Union, The Progressive Democrats of Los Angeles, and Communities for a Better Environment. To join this growing list, sign up and donate at www.southcentralfarmers.org, spread the word by posting links to that website and to www.southcentralfarmers.com, and call or email Jan Perry, councilwoman for South Central at jan.perry@lacity.org asking her to SAVE THE FARM.
 
Sources: 

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Modern Equipment

August 26, 2008 at 12:06 pm (Health and wellness)

CELL PHONE DANGERS
 

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ElectroMagnetic Radiation

August 26, 2008 at 12:04 pm (Health and wellness)

Are You Allergic to Wireless Internet?

Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity Syndrome (EHS) is a condition in which people are highly sensitive to electromagnetic fields. In an area such as a wireless hotspot, they experience pain or other symptoms.

People with EHS experience a variety of symptoms including headache, fatigue, nausea, burning and itchy skin, and muscle aches. These symptoms are subjective and vary between individuals, which makes the condition difficult to study, and has left experts divided about the validity of such claims.

More than 30 studies have been conducted to determine what link the condition has to exposure to electromagnetic fields from sources such as radar dishes, mobile phone signals and, Wi-Fi hotspots.

Did You Know the Main Chemical Used in Sun Lotions May Be TOXIC?

Between your sunscreen and your bug repellant, I’m convinced you may be slathering your body with the equivalent of a ‘toxic waste dump’. Discover the truth about these two common substances — and what you can do now to have a fun and nontoxic summer season.

Find Out More

Dr. Mercola’s Comments:

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VEGES

August 25, 2008 at 11:15 am (Health and wellness)

Broccoli Reverses Diabetes Damage
Eating broccoli could reverse the damage that diabetes inflicts on heart blood vessels. The key is most likely a compound in the vegetable called sulforaphane.

Sulforaphane encourages production of enzymes that protect the blood vessels, and reduces the number of molecules that cause cell damage — known as Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) — by up to 73 percent.

People with diabetes are up to five times more likely to develop cardiovascular diseases such as heart attacks and strokes — both of which are linked to damaged blood vessels.

 
Sources:
 

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LEGISLATION

August 24, 2008 at 1:56 am (News and politics)

»

July 30, 2008

Congress approves phthalate ban

Good news for parents and children everywhere: Congress has agreed to a ban on three dangerous phthalates in products made for children under 12. The decision came in spite of the chemical industry’s desperate (and well-funded) attempt to shut the provision down. Exxon-Mobil alone spent a significant portion of its $22 million lobbying budget on the project, according to Lyndsey Layton at The Washington Post.

The provision, which would also require extensive testing of three other types of phthalates before potentially banning them, is a part of a major piece of legislation overhauling the Consumer Products Safety Commission. Although President Bush has said that he disagrees with the phthalate ban (no surprise there), I’m willing to speculate that it would probably be hard for him to veto the entire bill, since its purpose is to protect American consumers.

This is, of course, a major step in the right direction, but is it a harbinger of major change to come? Andy Igrejas of the Pew Charitable Trusts told Layton,

"The debate over this one set of chemicals is a referendum on a broken system. Congress saw just how screwed up the system is in protecting people from chemicals, especially children."

Meanwhile, Layton writes that the ban "signals an important crack in the chemical industry’s ability to fend off federal regulation and suggests that the landscape may be shifting to favor consumers." Here’s hoping they’re right — we’re about due for a landscape shift.

Photo by Nat.

Posted by Amanda at 8:29 AM

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EAT CHEAP

August 24, 2008 at 12:18 am (Food and drink)

Ten Healthiest Foods Under $1
By Dr. Mercola
 
(Part #1*)
HOW MUCH For That Bag of Groceries?
 
You can’t tune into the news today without hearing about the rising cost of living, be it gas for your car, heat for your home, or food for your family. Many baby boomers are giving up — or at least stretching out — food luxury items such as those coveted fancy coffees, because their pocketbooks are thinning, along with their hairlines.
In this report, I will give you some ideas for selecting delicious, nutritious items that won’t empty out your bank account.
 
In 2007, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for all food rose by 4.0 percent, the highest annual increase since 1990. The CPI for food is forecast to increase another 4.5 to 5.5 percent in 2008 as retailers continue to pass down higher commodity and energy costs to consumers in the form of higher retail prices.[i]
 
Most of you are aware of how the skyrocketing cost of oil is driving food prices rapidly skyward, but you might not be aware of the huge role biofuels have played in this increase. According to a confidential World Bank report, biofuels alone have forced global food prices up by 75 percent.[ii] According to an Iowa State University study published in May 2008, food prices have climbed an average of $47 per person since last July due to the ethanol surge alone.[iii]
 
Of course, you don’t need me to tell you that your food bill has gone through the roof. Is there anything you can do to stretch your food dollar, without having to sacrifice nutrition?
 
Fortunately, you can still find many affordable, nutritious foods at your farmers market or local nutrition store, or even at the corner grocery. With a little creative use of your dollar, you can enjoy the best foods while getting the most “bang for your buck”.’
 
(*Part #2 to follow)

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