Asthma May have Link to Acetaminophen

November 06, 2009

Eurekalert

New research shows that the widely used pain reliever acetaminophen may be associated with an increased risk of asthma and wheezing in both children and adults exposed to the drug. Researchers from the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada, conducted a systematic review and metaanalysis of 19 clinical studies (total subjects=425,140) that compared the risk of asthma or wheezing with acetaminophen exposure.

The analysis showed that the pooled odds ratio (odds ratio for all studies combined) for asthma among users of acetaminophen was 1.63. The risk of asthma in children who used acetaminophen in the year prior to asthma diagnosis or in the first year of life was elevated to 1.60 and 1.47, respectively.

Furthermore, results showed a slight increase in the risk of asthma and wheezing with prenatal use of acetaminophen by mothers. Researchers speculate that acetaminophen’s lack of inhibition of cyclooxygenase, the key enzyme involved in the inflammatory response of asthma, may be one explanation for the potential link between acetaminophen use and asthma.

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Martial Arts – Fighting Arthritis

November 06, 2005

Guardian

The traditional Chinese exercise of Tai Chi can relieve the pain of arthritis of the knee, according to a new study. After a 12-week course of Tai Chi, people also had less difficulty with everyday tasks such as using the stairs.
What do we know already?

Osteoarthritis of the knee is very common in older adults. Among those over the age of 55, an estimated 10 percent have frequent knee pain caused by this joint disease, which can also lead to stiffness, limited movement, and a decreased quality of life.

Many people rely on painkillers to cope with the pain of osteoarthritis. Although exercise and physiotherapy can help, the improvements are often modest. However, specialists think Tai Chi is one type of exercise that might be particularly helpful.

Tai Chi features slow, rhythmic movements designed to bring about mental relaxation and enhance balance, strength, and flexibility. For people with osteoarthritis of the knee, this mind-body focus might improve their physical symptoms as well as helping them cope better mentally. Researchers have done a long-term study to learn more.
What does the new study say?

The study compared two groups of people aged 55 or older. One group met twice weekly for Tai Chi classes. The other group met twice weekly for general wellness instruction and stretching exercises. Both groups were asked to practise their exercises at home for at least 20 minutes a day.

At the end of 12 weeks, people in the Tai Chi group had a 75 percent drop in their pain, on average, and a 72 percent improvement in their ability to do everyday tasks (such as using stairs). People in the wellness and stretching group also reported improvements, but these were much lower than in the Tai Chi group.

The researchers used questionnaires to score people’s symptoms, as well as their mental state, quality of life, and other indicators of wellbeing. Besides doing better on pain and physical function, the Tai Chi group also had greater improvements in depression and overall health.

The researchers followed up with participants 24 and 48 weeks after the start of the study. Less than half of the people in each group still did their exercises at 48 weeks, and much of the differences between the groups had diminished by this time. However, the Tai Chi group continued to have significantly better depression scores, suggesting these improvements might be longer lasting.

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Wall Street Vaccinated Before Sesame Street

November 06, 2009

Natural News

By Mike Adams

It seems the financial bailout isn’t the only bailout happening on Wall Street these days. News has now leaked that investment firms Goldman Sachs and Citigroup both received preferential H1N1 swine flu vaccines even while local clinics that treat school children had no supply. The uproar is reminding the public just how much special treatment Wall Street banks get — both financially and medically — while everyday people are hung out to dry.

Not only that, but taxpayers got to foot the bill for those H1N1 vaccines handed to Wall Street insiders. It’s yet one more way in which the general public is being screwed over (yet again) by the swine flu vaccine agenda.

There’s one politically incorrect question in all this that’s just begging to be asked, and let’s assume for the moment that H1N1 vaccines actually work to save lives even though they don’t: If a dangerous viral pandemic sweeps through the nation, killing people left and right, are Wall Street investment bankers really the people we want to save first?

Seriously. Doesn’t it seem that school children should get the medicine first and Wall Street insiders should get it last?

The CDC claims that the vaccines sent to these Wall Street companies should have only been given to “high-risk people” who worked there. Sure they were, because we all know that Wall Street companies adhere to the highest standards of ethics, morality and civic responsibility. These people are shining examples of glorious human beings who always do the right thing, even if it requires giving up something for the benefit of someone else, right? And if they were on a sinking Titanic, they’d give up the life boats to the poor women and children, right?

But the real story here isn’t that H1N1 vaccines are now being preferentially given to the rich instead of the school children. The real story is that people are panicking to get their hands on a complete joke of a vaccine — a chemical cocktail that has never been subjected to even a single scientific test proving it actually works. People are lining up, in other words, to attain supply of something that’s totally useless.

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Pom-up the Volume – Pomegranate Douses Inflamation

November 06, 2009

Natural News

By David Gutierrez

Emerging research continues to strengthen the evidence that pomegranate extracts can be used to treat chronic inflammation, and the diseases that go along with it.

Short-term inflammation is a normal immune response, but chronic inflammation has been linked to a number of diseases including heart disease, cancer, diabetes, arthritis, dementia and autoimmune disorders. Scientists are increasingly coming to believe that pomegranate helps combat inflammation, in part due to its exceptionally high content of antioxidants, particularly those in the ellagitannin family, such as punicalagins and punicalins.

Prior research has already suggested that pomegranate may help prevent a number of inflammation-linked diseases. It has been shown to reduce the risk of breast cancer, to slow or even stop the formation of prostate tumors in mice, to increase the amount of oxygen available to the heart and to fight the onset of heart disease by preventing LDL (“bad”) cholesterol from oxidizing. Long-term consumption of pomegranate juice has also been linked to improvement in the symptoms of erectile dysfunction.

A research team from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland was the first to demonstrate that pomegranate extract can act directly to combat inflammation. In a 2005 study, they showed that when injected into human cells, pomegranate extract lowered inflammation and levels of enzymes that can cause cartilage to break down, as in arthritis.

The researchers followed this up with a study, published fall of 2008 in the Journal of Inflammation, in which they fed 175 milliliters of pomegranate extract to four rabbits, then compared them with two rabbits who had been given only water. All the rabbits were experiencing chronic inflammation.

The researchers found that the levels of antioxidant markers significantly increased and the levels of inflammation markers significantly decreased in the rabbits after they were given pomegranate extract.

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Color My World – Phytochemicals in Fruits Good for You

November 06, 2009

Natural News

By S. L. Baker

Phenolics. Flavonoids. Carotenoids. Quercetin. Phloridzin. What do these scientific names have in common? They are all types of phytonutrients, also called phytochemicals, found in fruits, vegetables, grains, legumes, nuts, and teas. And they may decrease the risk of not only minor illnesses like colds but also many of the major killers on the planet — including cancer and heart disease. Scientists have only identified a few of the suspected vast number of these natural compounds in foods that protect and build health. But two facts are clear. First, most Americans don’t get enough phytonutrients in their daily diet for optimum health and, second, there’s an easy strategy to boost your phytonutrient intake — simply eat a mix of more naturally colorful foods.

The recently released Phytonutrient Report, sponsored by the supplement company Nutrilite, used National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES) and USDA data to analyze what people in the U.S. typically eat each day. Because the same compounds that give plant foods various colors are related to phytonutrient content, the report divided consumption into five categories of colors — green, red, blue/purple, yellow/orange and white.

For example, the phytonutrients, isothiocyanate, lutein and isoflavones are known to be abundant in green foods such as spinach and broccoli and lycopene and ellagic acid are found in red fruits and vegetables like watermelon and tomatoes. White plant foods like onions and garlic are rich in allicin and quercetin. Anthocyanidins and resveratrol are found in purple and blue foods like grapes and blueberries while alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, hesperitin and beta-cryptoxanthin are most often in yellow/orange foods such as carrots and oranges.

The Phytonutrient Report concludes there is a phytonutrient gap in every color classification. Specifically, 88% of Americans are eating too few foods in the blue/purple category, 79% are missing out on an adequate intake of yellow and orange foods, and 78% don’t have enough red veggies and fruits in their diets. In addition, 69% lack enough daily green plant foods and 86% lack enough white plant foods.

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Potassium is Also Good for Blood Pressure

November 06, 2009

Natural News

By Mike Adams

High blood pressure isn’t a disease, it’s just a noticeable symptom of a physiological imbalance with a biological cause. One of the most common biological causes of this symptom is a mineral deficiency.

Specifically: Potassium.

Potassium is a crucial mineral for restoring healthy blood pressure balance in your body, and when you don’t have enough potassium, symptoms can start to emerge that may eventually be diagnosed and labeled as “high blood pressure.”

Here, we bring you a collection of useful information about how potassium can help regulate and normalize your blood pressure.

Potassium and high blood pressure
The sudden death that can occur in fasting, anorexia nervosa or starvation is often a result of heart failure caused by potassium deficiency. Many population studies have found links between low potassium intakes and an increased risk of high blood pressure and death from stroke. Increasing the amount of potassium-rich foods in the diet can lead to a reduction in high blood pressure. The ratio of sodium to potassium in the diet appears to play an important role in the development of high blood pressure. The typical Western diet is low in potassium relative to sodium.
- The New Encyclopedia of Vitamins, Minerals, Supplements and Herbs by Nicola Reavley

The effects of either low potassium or high potassium can be life-threatening. Since potassium is necessary to the healthy functioning of nerves, cells, and membranes, it is an important electrolyte to monitor. Low potassium is a major cause of cardiac arrhythmia; diuretics for the treatment of high blood pressure or congestive heart failure may interfere with potassium absorption and excretion. Although potassium supplementation is usually not necessary, individuals on diuretics or laxatives or who have excessive diarrhea may require extra potassium.

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I appreciate, respect and thank you for all that you do…

Hi Kevin,

I would like to tell you that I have purchased Your Wish Is Your Command and am listening to it and taking notes. This is truly a great treasure. I am very enthusiastic about learning and applying the information provided! Thank you very much!

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank you for all the books you recommend! The book “End the Fed” has definitely changed my political perception. I have bought a few other books, as well, and I am very enthusiastic to finish reading them all and will continue buying and reading the books you recommend because I believe, trust, and admire you. Ever since the first time I saw you on TV, I have admired your courage and the risks that you take and the willingness to give us so much information.

I appreciate you. I respect you. And I thank you for all that you do!!!

Thank you for helping other people’s lives…

Hey Kevin,

I’m 23 years old and love listening to your show. Your show, for some reason, makes me real happy and get so excited every time I hear Your Wish Is Your Command.

I just want to say thank you. Thank you for helping other people’s lives.

I will soon live the life I’ve always wanted because I CAN BE DO AND HAVE EVERYTHING AND ANYTHING I WANT IN THE WORLD. THANK YOU!!!!!!!! YOU ROCK!!!!!

Gabriel Diaz
Bronx, NY

Is Must See TV Bad for You?

November 06, 2009

Natural News

By David Gutierrez

Television viewing before bed is a significant contributor to chronic health problems, according to a study conducted by researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and presented at the annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies.

Although most adults need at least seven to eight hours of sleep per night, as many as 40 percent of U.S. adults fail to get this much. Lack of sleep is a major contributor to chronic health problems, including obesity, heart disease and depression.

In an attempt to find easy ways for people to get more sleep, researchers surveyed 21,475 people over the age of 15 on their activities in the two hours immediately before going to sleep and the two hours immediately after waking up. They found that most people went to work within two hours of waking up, while nearly 70 percent spent at least part of the two hours before bed watching television.

On average, people in the United States spend one of their last two waking hours in front of the television set. While the researchers expected this result, they were surprised to find that people were significantly more likely to set their bedtime based on TV schedules rather than sleepiness or a need to get up at a certain hour.

“They just wait till the show ends” before going to sleep, researcher Mathias Basner said.

“Given the relationship of short sleep duration to health risks, there is concern that many Americans are chronically under-sleeping due to lifestyle choices,” researcher David Dinges said.

The researchers also found that people living in the Mountain or Central time zones, where most TV shows play an hour earlier, tend to get more sleep than those living in the Pacific or Eastern zones.

Click here for full report

You don’t have to have money to eat & live right…

Kevin,

I read your Natural Cures book around four years ago and after reading just a little, it changed my life. I went into my kitchen and threw out everything, including my food, pots, and microwave. I then went to various health stores to purchase pure water to drink and bathe in until I was able to purchase a water filter. I also purchased organic fruits and vegetables. After a week of this, I felt great and wanted to smoke no more!! Four years later, I feel better by the day and am still learning more and more!

I just want people to know you don’t have to have money to eat and live right. I am poor and in debt due to child support, but am rich in health and spirit and am a living example to my children.

Thank you, Kevin!
Michael Conti

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