Eating Tofu to Fight Tumors?
October 20th, 2010
Time – Healthland
By: Alice Park
Soy may be good for the heart, but if you’re trying to keep the ticker healthy and happen to be a breast cancer patient as well, then it’s not so clear how beneficial soy products may be for you.
The studies so far haven’t helped. Soy contains isoflavones that are similar to estrogen in chemical structure, and when these isoflavones bind to estrogen receptors on cells, they can either stimulate or inhibit estrogen-driven functions in tissues. That explains why some studies have shown that eating soy can reduce the risk of recurring breast tumors, while others have shown that soy foods can increase the chances that a cancer will return.
Now researchers from China report that soy lowers the risk of recurring breast cancers among women with estrogen-positive tumors, just the cancers that might be more sensitive to soy’s tumor-promoting effects. Comparing the volunteers who ate the least amount of these foods including tofu, to those eating the most (eight times the daily dose), the researchers found that the high consumers lowered their risk of having a recurrent breast tumor by 33%.
“This study helps us to move one step forward from where we are now,” says Dr. Banu Arun, co-director of clinical cancer genetics at MD Anderson Cancer Center, in commenting on the results. “It shows potential beneficial effects, so it helps us to move forward with other studies that need to be done that might include more patients and will give us additional information about why soy is beneficial, and why higher doses might be more effective.”
The heaviest soy consumers in the trial ingested about 59 mg of isoflavones a day, while the lowest consumers still got about 6.5 mg a day. The average American only eats about 1 mg to 3 mg daily. That’s an important consideration for U.S. women at risk of breast cancer who are thinking of increasing their soy milk or tofu consumption, says Arun. “The effect of taking soy might be different in the western patient population where they aren’t eating as much soy. This [Chinese] patient population was primed with soy and its good effects, so there may be a favorable milieu in the tissue so after breast cancer they continue to see its benefits. But perhaps in breast tissue or other organs that haven’t been exposed to soy before, all of sudden starting to increase soy consumption might have other effects; we don’t know.”
The findings hint that there may be some ways in which the isoflavones are beneficial, particularly since the subjects in the trial were all taking hormone-based drugs to treat their cancer. Some experts have speculated that soy may enhance the activity of these medications in inhibiting tumor growth, and if that’s the case, then further studies like this one might expose which doses and which regimens of soy are most effective in fighting cancer.
In the meantime, is it safe for women worried about breast cancer to eat tofu and other soy foods? Yes, says Arun. “I wouldn’t say don’t eat soy. Moderate consumption should be fine. I just wouldn’t convert to a soy rich diet yet to reduce breast cancer recurrence since we don’t have the data yet for a western population.”
Click here for the full report from Time
Vitamin B12 May Reduce the Risk of Alzheimer’s Disease
October 19th, 2010
AOL Health
By: Marrecca Fiore
Mounting evidence suggests that vitamin B12 may play a role in protecting the brain against Alzheimer’s disease and in reducing the risk of memory loss.
The latest research, published in the Oct. 19 issue of the journal Neurology, followed 271 Finnish residents ages 65 to 79 for seven years. None of the study participants had symptoms of dementia or Alzheimer’s disease at the start of the study.
Researchers from the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden, tested blood samples of the participants for homocysteine, an amino acid associated with vitamin B12, and for levels holotranscobalamin, which is the active portion of B12, according to a statement from the study authors.
High levels of homocysteine in the blood have been associated with a higher risk of Alzheimer’s, but increased levels of B12 can lower homocysteine levels. During the course of the study, 17 participants developed Alzheimer’s disease. And study authors found that for each micromolar increase in homocysteine concentration, the risk of Alzheimer’s disease was increased 16 percent.
They also found that each picomolar (1 picomolar equals 1 million micromolar) increase in concentration of the active form of vitamin B12 reduced risk of the disease by 2 percent.
“Our findings show the need for further research on the role of vitamin B12 as a marker for identifying people who are at an increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease,” said study author Dr. Babak Hooshmand, of the Karolinska Institutet, in a statement. “Low levels of vitamin B12 are surprisingly common in the elderly. However, the few studies that have investigated the usefulness of vitamin B12 supplements to reduce the risk of memory loss have had mixed results.”
A study conducted by Oxford University researchers and released in September looked at the effect of three common B vitamins on homocysteine levels.
For that study, researchers looked for signs of “mild cognitive impairment,” which can be a precursor to Alzheimer’s disease, in the brains of 168 elderly volunteers.
During a two-year period, the volunteers were given a single pill each day containing B12, folate and B6 at 300 times the U.K.’s recommended daily intake of B12, four times the recommended intake of folate and 15 times that of B6.
Brain scans taken before and after the Oxford trial showed that the brains of patients taking the vitamins had shrunk .76 percent each year, while the brains of those in the placebo group shrank by 1.08 percent annually. Brain shrinkage is a symptom of mild cognitive impairment.
Hooshmand, of the Swedish study, says further research is needed to determine whether B12 really does ward off Alzheimer’s disease. In the meantime, the vitamin, which can be found in fish, poultry and other meat products, “should be used solely as a supplement to help protect memory,” Hooshmand added.
Click here for the full report from AOL Health
Alcohol Gene ‘Could Help Curb Alcoholism’
October 19th, 2010
BBC News
By: Michelle Roberts
Experts say they have found a “tipsy” gene that explains why some people feel alcohol’s effects quicker than others.
The US researchers believe 10% to 20% of people have a version of the gene that may offer some protection against alcoholism.
That is because people who react strongly to alcohol are less likely to become addicted, studies show.
The University of North Carolina said the study aims to help fight addiction, not pave the way for a cheap night out.
Ultimately, people could be given CYP2E1-like drugs to make them more sensitive to alcohol – not to get them drunk more quickly, but to put them off drinking to inebriation, the Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research journal reported.
Straight to the head
Lead researcher Professor Kirk Wilhelmsen said: “Obviously we are a long way off having a treatment, but the gene we have found tells us a lot about how alcohol affects the brain.”
Most of the alcohol people consume is broken down in the liver, but some is metabolised in the brain by an enzyme which the CYP2E1 gene provides coded instructions for.
People who have the “tipsy” version of CYP2E1 break down alcohol more readily, which explains why they feel the effects of alcohol much quicker than others.
The researchers made their discovery by studying more than 200 pairs of students who were siblings and who had one alcohol-dependent parent but who did not have a drink problem themselves.
They gave the students a mixture of grain alcohol and soda that was equivalent to about three average alcoholic drinks. At regular intervals the students were then asked whether they felt drunk, sober, sleepy or awake.
The researchers then compared the findings with gene test results from the students.
This revealed that CYP2E1 on chromosome 10 appears to dictate whether a person can hold their drink better than others.
Professor Wilhelmsen says more research is now needed to see if the findings could be used to make new treatments to tackle alcohol addiction.
“Alcoholism is a very complex disease, and there are lots of complicated reasons why people drink. This may be just one of the reasons,” he added.
Don Shenker, of the charity Alcohol Concern, said that, in most cases, alcohol abuse stemmed from social problems, with alcohol used as a prop.
Professor Colin Drummond, an expert in addiction at London’s Institute of Psychiatry, said it was likely to be combination of genes and environment.
“It is well recognised that alcohol dependence runs in families,” he said.
He said research suggests having an alcoholic parent quadruples a person’s risk of developing a drinking problem.
Click here for the full report from BBC News
Is Asthma a Symptom of Vitamin D Deficiency?
October 19th, 2010
Natural News
By: David Gutierrez
Low vitamin D levels may make asthmatic children significantly more likely to suffer from severe attacks, according to a study conducted by researchers from Harvard Medical School and published in the Journal of Allergy & Clinical Immunology.
The researchers took blood samples from 1,024 children with mild-to-moderate asthma who were enrolled in a study of two inhaled asthma drugs, budesonide and nedocromil. The children were then followed for four years.
For the purposes of the study, vitamin D insufficiency was defined as a blood level less than or equal to 30 nanograms per milliliter. Although it currently takes levels lower than 11 nanograms per milliliter to be classified as a deficiency, doctors increasingly believe that levels of 30 nanograms per milliliter or higher are required for optimal health.
The researchers found that children with vitamin D insufficiency were significantly more likely to suffer from severe asthma attacks than children with higher levels of the vitamin. During the course of the study, 38 percent of vitamin D-insufficient children had to be hospitalized at least once due to an asthma attack, compared with only 32 percent of vitamin-sufficient children.
Vitamin D did not appear to protect children from moderate asthma symptoms; in fact, lower vitamin levels appeared to be correlated with a slightly lower risk of moderate symptoms. The researchers were unable to explain this effect.
Scientists have long known that vitamin D plays a crucial role in the development and maintenance of healthy teeth and bones. More recently, they have discovered that the vitamin plays a vital role in regulating the immune system, and that low levels may increase the risk of allergies, infection, autoimmune diseases, cancer, and heart disease.
The researchers in the current study suggested that the vitamin may help regulate the body’s inflammatory response, perhaps even by enhancing the potency of anti-inflammatory hormones. They found that vitamin D appeared to be more protective among participants who were taking budesonide, a synthetic anti-inflammatory hormone.
Click here for the full report from Natural News
Chocolate Compounds Fight High Cholesterol
October 19th, 2010
Natural News
By: Jonathan Benson
Chocolate has received a lot of attention for being a treasure trove of nutritional goodness. Polyphenols in cacao beans are linked to promoting heart, brain, and liver health, which has sparked renewed interest in chocolate as a medicinal food. And a new study adds to the growing list of benefits, showing that chocolate polyphenols also help to lower bad cholesterol.
Published in the journal Diabetic Medicine, the study tested the effects of polyphenol-rich chocolate in a group of 12 volunteers with type-2 diabetes. After 16 weeks, the researchers from Hull University in the U.K. discovered that the polyphenols helped lower participants’ bad cholesterol levels while raising good cholesterol levels.
“Chocolate with a high cocoa content should be included in the diet of individuals with type-2 diabetes as part of a sensible, balanced approach to diet and lifestyle,” said professor Steve Akin, author of the study.
Back in August, NaturalNews covered a Swedish study that found similar results. It also showed that high-flavanol chocolate that has been minimally processed is much different than the highly-processed chocolate candy sold in most grocery stores.
Actual cacao beans are rich in vital nutrients, including alkaloid bitters like theobromine (a different substance than the harmful bromine chemical), which stimulates the heart muscle and dilates blood vessels. This compound and others provide demonstrable benefits in lowering high blood pressure and maintaining healthy arteries.
Processed chocolate, however, has been stripped of most or all of these nutrients. Add in the bad fats and refined sugars and you are left with a chocolate product that is actually bad for your health. So when consuming chocolate, be sure to look for unprocessed, superfood varieties like those made by Transition Nutrition, Empowered Chocolate, Sacred Chocolate, and WildBar.
Click here for the full report from Natural News
Eating a Variety of Functional Foods Works Best to Prevent Disease
October 19th, 2010
Most food and dietary supplement studies evaluate the effects of a single item on health, which ultimately fails to properly identify how different foods works together with one another to promote health. But a new study out of Lund University in Spain has found that eating a variety of health-promoting foods has a synergistic effect on preventing disease and promoting wellness.
Inger Bjorck, professor of food-related nutrition at Lund and head of the University’s Antidiabetic Food Centre, and colleagues fed 44 healthy, but overweight, people a specific food regimen for four weeks. The diet consisted of antioxidant-rich, low glycemic index (GI) foods like omega-3-rich oily fish, blueberries, almonds, cinnamon, vinegar, and certain whole grains.
Each of these foods is known in isolation to perform functions like reducing bodily inflammation, lowering blood pressure, and preventing type-2 diabetes, but researchers wanted to know how each of these worked together with one another to promote health. What they found was that overall, bad cholesterol levels were reduced by 33 percent, blood lipid levels dropped by 14 percent, and blood pressure fell by eight percent.
“The results have exceeded our expectations!” said Bjorck. “I would like to claim that there has been no previous study with similar effects on healthy subjects.”
In her book Food Synergy: Unleash Hundreds of Powerful Healing Food Combinations to Fight Disease and Live Well, Elaine Magee explains that nutrients work together with one another at the molecular level to provide health benefits.
“We now know that synergy does exist at the micronutrient level, in various combinations of vitamins and minerals,” she explains. “These nutritional partnerships also explain, in part, why some research that has focused on only one nutrient may not have had the expected health results.”
Click here for the full report from Natural News
How to Avoid Airport Body Scanners
October 20th, 2010
Natural News
By: Mike Adams
I encountered my first airport naked body scanner while flying out of California today, and of course I decided to “opt out” of the scan. You do this by telling the blue-shirted TSA agents that you simply wish to opt out of the body scanner. Here’s what happened after that:
A TSA agent told me to step to the side and stay put. He then proceeded to shout out loudly enough for all the other travelers and TSA agents to hear, “OPT OUT! OPT OUT!” This is no doubt designed to attract attention (or perhaps humiliation) to those who choose to opt out of the naked body scanner. I saw no purpose for this verbal alert because the same TSA agent who was yelling this ultimately was the one who patted me down anyway.
For the pat down, first I was required to walk through the regular metal detector. From there, I was asked if I wanted to be patted down in a private room, or if I didn’t mind just being patted down in full view of everyone else. Not being a shy person in the first place, I told the agent I didn’t need a private room.
He then explained to me that he was going to pat down my entire body, including my crotch and my buttocks, but that he would use the back of his hands to pat down the crotch and buttocks areas. This is probably designed to make the pat-down seem less “personal” and more detached. That way, air passengers can’t complain of being felt up by TSA agents who might get carried away with the pat-down procedure. He asked if it hurt for me to be touched anywhere, and I told him no, at which point he proceeded with the pat down.
It was a well-scripted pat-down, covering all the areas of my body, including a mild crotch sweep (it wasn’t especially invasive or anything, as doctors will do far worse during a physical exam). He swept my arms, legs, hips, back of the neck, ankles and everywhere else. To the TSA’s credit, this guy was fast, efficient and only used a light touch that was in no way disturbing. But it did take an extra five minutes or so compared to walking through the naked body scanner.
Speaking of the naked body scanners, as I was having my crotch swept by the back of the hand of this TSA agent, I was observing other air travelers subjecting themselves to the naked body scanners. They were told to walk into the body scanner staging area and then hold their arms in the air in a pose as if they were under arrest. They were told to freeze in this position for several seconds (perhaps 10 seconds) during which they were being blasted with ionizing radiation that we all know contributes to cancer.
The TSA, of course, will tell you that these machines can’t possibly contribute to cancer. But they said the same thing about mammograms, and we now know that mammograms are so harmful to women’s health that they actually harm ten women for everyone one woman they help. So I’m not exactly taking the U.S. government at its word that naked body scanner radiation is “harmless.”
As these air travelers were being scanned, their naked body images were appearing on a screen somewhere, of course. Some TSA agent was examining the naked body shape and contours of all these people, and even though we were told by the TSA that the image viewing machines cannot store images, we have since learned that the machines actually do have the capability to store those images. In addition, rogue TSA employees could simply use their cell phones to take snapshots of what they see on the screen. There are no doubt rules against such behavior, but it’s bound to happen sooner or later.
Meanwhile, my own security screening was proceeding fully clothed. I don’t want to broadcast my naked butt cheeks on the TSA’s graphic monitors, thank you very much!
Very few people opt out of the naked body scanners
The most fascinating part about this entire process was not the verbal broadcast of my opt out status, nor having my crotch swept by the latex-covered back hand of some anonymous TSA agent, but rather the curious fact that I was the only one opting out. Although I must have watched at least a hundred people go through this particular security checkpoint, there wasn’t a single other person who opted out of the naked body scan.
They all just lined up like cattle to have their bodies scanned with ionizing radiation.
To me, that’s just fascinating. That when people are given a choice to opt out of being irradiated, they will choose to just go along with the naked body scan rather than risk standing out by requesting to opt out.
You see, I’m not convinced that the TSA’s naked body scanners enhance air travel security at all. Previous security tests conducted by the FAA show quite clearly that the greatest threat to airplane safety isn’t from the passengers but from ground crews, where bombs and other materials can be quite easily smuggled onto planes.
But even though naked body scanners may not enhance air travel security, they do accomplish something far more intriguing: The successful completion of an experiment in human behavior. If you were to pose the question “Will people line up like cattle to be electronically undressed in front of government security officers?” The answer is now unequivocally YES!
Most people, it turns out, will simply do whatever they’re told by government authorities, even if it means giving up their privacy or their freedoms. Almost anything can be sold to the public under the guise of “fighting terrorism” these days, including subjecting your body to what is essentially a low-radiation CT scan at the airport!
I don’t know about you, but I don’t think I should be required to subject myself to ionizing radiation as a condition of air travel security. Of course, the more technically minded readers among you might counter by saying that high-altitude travel is, all by itself, an event that subjects you to low levels of ionizing radiation (which is true). But that’s all the more reason to not add the body’s radiation burden any more than necessary. Americans already get far too much radiation from CT scans and other medical imaging tests (not to mention mammograms). Do we really need to dose peoples’ bodies with yet more radiation every time they board an airplane?
Trusted traveler program?
I don’t know why the TSA never pursued its “trusted traveler” program. I actually suggested this years ago, and there was word that the TSA was working on something similar. The way it worked was very different from the current system. Under the current system, every person entering an airport security line is assumed to be a terrorist, and it is only through the various security screenings that you are eventually deemed to be innocent. This is a “guilty until proven innocent” approach to air security, and it’s the system in place all across America (and around the world) today.
Under a trusted traveler program, people who pass rigorous background screening procedures, criminal history checks and other similar tests would be assumed innocent unless suspected of being guilty. They might carry “trusted traveler” cards linked to a federal database so that their status could be verified as they pass through a security checkpoint. They might even have their fingerprint scanned at that checkpoint in order to biometrically verify their identity.
For whatever reason, the TSA is no longer pursuing any such trusted traveler program (at least not to my knowledge). Perhaps the agency just figures it can trust no one. Hence the need to have everybody line up in front of the naked body scanner machines and raise their arms in a humiliating “I’m being arrested” pose.
It’s actually just like the scene from the movie called The Fifth Element starring Bruce Willis. Remember the scene where the cops are searching the apartment block and they use an X-ray scanner to see through the walls? As they search the apartment building, they announce that all residents must face the wall and place their hands inside the yellow circles on the wall. This scene eerily resembles what the TSA makes U.S. travelers do right now.
And virtually no one protests. That’s the really amazing part about this.
Seasonal flu shots offered at the airport, too
After completing my security pat-down, by the way, I entered the terminal where I walked by a kiosk offering a seasonal flu shot. There was a big sign claiming that the flu shot would prevent you from catching the flu, and a nurse of some sort stood right behind the kiosk, ready to inject you with a vaccine for just $35.
First the naked body scanners, and then the flu shot propaganda. It reminded me that the U.S. government really is trying to push people into self-destructive behaviors that will ultimately benefit the sick-care industry. After all, the more cancer and Alzheimer’s disease people develop (from radiation and vaccines, of course), the more business gets generated for Big Pharma.
I know enough about health and freedom to avoid these little disease bombs, but most Americans don’t know enough to resist the propaganda. They just allow themselves to be irradiated, injected and poisoned, and they think it’s all okay because the government tells them it’s good for them.
It’s odd that people trust the government when the government doesn’t trust them at all. If the government treats you like a criminal, a terrorist, a lab rat and a vaccine depository, doesn’t that only prove they don’t honor you as a sovereign individual?
And that sends a powerful message confirming that the U.S. government has forgotten it is supposed to serve the People, not rule over them.
Just wait and watch how this gets even worse. Today, you can opt out of the TSA’s naked body scanners, but after a year or two — once the sheeple get comfortable with giving up all their freedoms — these scans will become mandatory. That’s the day I give up air travel for good.
Gee, I sure will miss having my crotch swept by the latex-covered back hand of some anonymous TSA agent who’s wasting taxpayer money by treating me like a terrorist.
Click here for the full report from Natural News
Drinking Tea Cuts Risk of Heart Disease by One-Third
October 20th, 2010
Natural News
By: David Gutierrez
Drinking several cups of tea or coffee daily appears to cut your risk of heart disease by more than one-third, Dutch researchers have found.
“It’s basically a good news story for those who like tea and coffee,” said lead researcher Yvonne van der Schouw. “These drinks appear to offer benefits for the heart without raising the risk of dying from anything else.”
The study appeared in Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology, a journal of the American Heart Association.
Researchers followed 40,000 healthy people for 13 years, then compared rates of heart disease with consumption of coffee and tea. They found that participants who drank between three and six cups of tea per day were 45 percent less likely to die from heart disease than those who drank less than a cup a day.
Drinking coffee or larger amounts of tea was also protective against death from heart disease, but not as strongly. People who drank more than six cups of tea a day reduced their risk by 36 percent compared with the low tea-drinking group, while those who drank between two and four cups of coffee daily reduced their risk by 20 percent compared with those who drank either more or less coffee. These effects remained after researchers adjusted for other heart disease risk factors, such as smoking and exercise level.
Neither coffee or tea consumption appeared to affect the risk of dying from any other cause, including stroke or cancer.
The study did not include people already suffering from heart disease, so its results cannot be generalized to such high-risk populations.
“But for healthy people, it appears that drinking coffee and tea is not harmful and it may even offer some benefits,” van der Schouw said.
Part of the study’s significance lies in the fact that the most popular tea consumed in the Netherlands is black tea, while most prior studies have focused on the benefits of green tea.
“The perception has been that green tea is the ‘healthy’ tea, but this study suggests black tea may be just as good for the heart,” said nutrition professor Rachel K. Johnson of the University of Vermont. “That will be good news to people like me who are not big green tea lovers.”
Johnson is also an American Heart Association spokesperson.
In the United States, levels black tea consumption are significantly higher than green tea consumption.
Johnson notes that while the consumption levels found to be beneficial in the study might seem high, they are relatively easy to achieve.
“Iced tea is very popular in some parts of the country, especially in the summer,” she said. “Just make sure to go easy on the sugar. I would hate for people to get the message that they should be drinking more sugar-sweetened beverages.”
Scientists remain unsure why tea, and to a lesser extent coffee, appear to offer heart protective benefits. Research thus far has focused on a family of plant chemicals known as polyphenols, particularly the flavonoids. Studies on individual flavonoids and on other foods containing them (such as red grapes and wine, dark berries, red beans and dark chocolate) have confirmed their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and other health-promoting benefits
Ellen Mason of the British Heart Foundation noted that while tea and coffee in moderation may provide some heart benefits, they cannot undo the effects of an unhealthy lifestyle.
“It’s worth remembering that leading a healthy overall lifestyle is the thing that really matters when it comes to keeping your heart in top condition,” she said. “Having a cigarette with your coffee could completely cancel any benefits, while drinking lots of tea in front of the TV for hours on end without exercising is unlikely to offer your heart much protection at all.”
Click here for the full report from Natural News
Drug Companies Skew Trial Data to Trick the Public
October 20th, 2010
Natural News
By: Jonathan Benson
Tampering with drug trials is nothing new for the pharmaceutical industry, but recent reports explain just how far drug companies are willing to go to make an ineffective, unsafe drug look safe and effective. A recent BBC report explains that in many countries, drug companies are not even required to publish all safety study data when submitting to journals, so they typically submit only the ones that appear positive while burying the negative ones.
NaturalNews has covered several reports about drug trial deception, including a report from back in August about how drug companies manipulate their own trial data to manufacture good results. When study participants get injured or die during a trial, for instance, drug companies will often just remove them from the final trial results so that the results appear favorable.
But sometimes trial results are so negative that not even the best manipulation tactics can cover them up. So drug companies simply pretend they never took place and conduct new ones until they get the desired results.
Published in the British Medical Journal, the new study on how drug companies routinely mislead the public with garbage drug trials mentions the case of GlaxoSmithKline’s (GSK) antidepressant drug Seroxat. According to the study, GSK hid information about how the drug causes suicidal behavior and made the public believe it was safer than it actually is.
Pfizer’s reboxetine drug is also mentioned, with researchers from the German Institute for Quality and Efficiency noting that there is significant unpublished trial data showing that the drug does not even work. When compared to placebo, trial participants experienced equal results, proving the drug to be useless. Add to that the fact that the drug comes with serious side effects, and it becomes clear that the drug is nothing but quackery.
In the U.S., drug companies are supposed to publish all trial data, but it is not a requirement in the U.K. Though many in the U.K. are working to make it a requirement, drug companies will likely continue to manipulate that trial data either way.
Click here for the full report from Natural News
Animal Microchips Linked to Causing Cancer
October 20th, 2010
Natural News
By: Ethan A. Huff
Many veterinarians recommend them, and most animal shelters require them. Identification microchips injected into the necks of cats and dogs are touted as useful in recovering lost pets because the devices store owner and medical information. But are they safe? A new lawsuit against Merck & Co., Inc., maker of the HomeAgain pet microchip, says they are not, noting that they can cause cancer to develop in pets.
Featured at www.ChipMeNot.org, a website launched to raise awareness about the harm caused to animals by microchips, the lawsuit alleges that Merck’s HomeAgain pet microchip induces cancerous tumors in pets. According to the suit, the defendant’s cat developed cancer after getting a chip implant, and according to reports, other animals have gotten cancer after getting chipped as well.
“Based on the alarming number of microchip-induced cancers we’re discovering, I predict this lawsuit will be just the tip of the iceberg,” said Dr. Katherine Albrecht, a consumer advocate and expert on side effects associated with implantable microchips. “Merck and organizations that advocate pet chipping should take this lawsuit seriously and start warning pet owners of the risk of microchip-induced cancer.”
According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, potential health risks associated with implantable microchips include “adverse tissue reaction”. Based on data from the British Small Animal Veterinary Association, this can include “swelling”, “infection”, “abscesses”, and “tumors”.
Albrecht presented a paper on the subject called “Microchip-Induced Tumors in Laboratory Rodents and Dogs: A Review of the Literature 1990-2006″ at the June conference of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers that documents the increasing number of animals being harmed by microchips. Currently, there is no repository of data on adverse events associated with microchips in the U.S., but Albrecht organization, CASPIAN, is filling that void by compiling such information and making it available to the public.
Click here for the full report from Natural News
