Garlic Helps With Hypertension
November 22nd, 2010
BBC
By: Helen Briggs
Garlic may be useful in addition to medication to treat high blood pressure, a study suggests.
Australian doctors enrolled 50 patients in a trial to see if garlic supplements could help those whose blood pressure was high, despite medication.
Those given four capsules of garlic extract a day had lower blood pressure than those on placebo, they report in scientific journal Maturitas.
The British Heart Foundation said more research was needed.
Garlic has long been though to be good for the heart.
Garlic supplements have previously been shown to lower cholesterol and reduce high blood pressure in those with untreated hypertension.
In the latest study, researchers from the University of Adelaide, Australia, looked at the effects of four capsules a day of a supplement known as aged garlic for 12 weeks.
They found systolic blood pressure was around 10mmHg lower in the group given garlic compared with those given a placebo.
Researcher Karin Ried said: “Garlic supplements have been associated with a blood pressure lowering effect of clinical significance in patients with untreated hypertension.
“Our trial, however, is the first to assess the effect, tolerability and acceptability of aged garlic extract as an additional treatment to existing antihypertensive medication in patients with treated, but uncontrolled, hypertension.”
Experts say garlic supplements should only be used after seeking medical advice, as garlic can thin the blood or interact with some medicines.
Ellen Mason, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, said using garlic for medicinal purposes dates back thousands of years, but it is essential that scientific research proves that garlic can help conditions such as raised blood pressure.
She said: “This study demonstrated a slight blood pressure reduction after using aged garlic supplements but it’s not significant enough or in a large enough group of people to currently recommend it instead of medication.
“It’s a concern that so many people in the UK have poorly controlled blood pressure, with an increased risk of stroke and heart disease as a consequence. So enjoy garlic as part of your diet but don’t stop taking your blood pressure medication.”
Click here for the full report from the BBC
Eating Fruits and Vegetables Cuts Cancer Risk
November 22nd, 2010
Express.co.uk
Eating a wide variety of fruit and vegetables every day can slash the risk of developing lung cancer by a quarter, a study revealed yesterday.
Smokers in particular can cut their risk but the variety they eat is just as important as the quantity.
Those eating eight or more different types of fruit and veg can reduce their chances of developing epidermoid carcinoma of the lung by up to 23 per cent.
At least eight types a day is key and more beneficial than eating only four a day, says the study compiled by 10 leading cancer research centres across Europe.
Researchers believe it may be possible to cut the risk by a further four per cent for each new kind of fruit or veg added to the daily diet.
Maria Jose Sanchez Perez, the Spanish co-author of the study, said: “Aside from the amount consumed, a varied diet reduces the risk of developing this cancer – above all in smokers.”
Click here for the full report from Express.co.uk
Homeland Security Chairman to TSA: ‘Reconsider’ Pat-Downs
November 22, 2010 by Andrew
Filed under Government
November 22nd, 2010
The Hill
By: Kevin Bogardus
House Democrats have asked the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to “reconsider” agency screeners’ new invasive pat-downs of airline passengers.
In a letter Friday to TSA Administrator John Pistole, Reps. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, and Shelia Jackson Lee (D-Texas) said the agency should rethink the new screening procedures in light of the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, typically the busiest travel time of the year.
“While we agree that security measures should be enhanced in the wake of recent attempted terrorist attacks on the aviation system, we are concerned about new enhanced pat down screening protocols and urge you to reconsider the utilization of these protocols. With Thanksgiving Day marking the beginning of the busiest travel season of the year, this request is timely,” Thompson and Jackson Lee write in their letter.
The new pat-down screenings have faced a public uproar as airline passengers have complained about their invasiveness. Combined with new body scanners at security checkpoints that capture naked body images, the TSA has found itself under increased public scrutiny.
The lawmakers say members “expressed concern” about the pat-down procedures when they were briefed on them in September. They ask Pistole for a number of documents, such as a privacy impact assessment, regarding the new pat-down procedures and say TSA screeners need more training, citing an inspector general report detailing weaknesses in the agency’s training program.
Thompson and Jackson Lee criticize the agency in their letter. They say TSA should have done a better job of informing the public about the new screening procedures while also making sure to better protect their civil rights.
“Before implementing this new more invasive pat down procedure, as a preliminary matter, TSA should have had a conversation with the American public about the need for these changes. Even before that conversation, TSA should have endeavored to ensure that these changes did not run afoul of privacy and civil liberties,” they write.
Click here for the full report from The Hill
Chocolate Beats Drugs In Lowering Blood Pressure
November 22nd, 2010
Natural News
By: John Phillip
High blood pressure is a critical concern as it significantly raises the incidence of vascular disease and stroke. As a result of stress, poor diet and lifestyle, enzymes in our body produce a substance known as angiotensin II that causes blood vessels to narrow and blood pressure to increase. Standard medical practice is to prescribe ACE inhibitors to slow the action of these enzymes, often with mixed results and always with dangerous side effects. Researchers have now confirmed that natural flavanols found in cacao from chocolate effectively lower blood pressure.
Natural Flavanols from Cacao Effectively Regulate Blood Pressure
Researchers have known for some time that the active catechins and procyanidins in many fruits, vegetables and green tea promote health and protect against disease through a variety of biochemical mechanisms. The results of a study published in the Journal of Cardiovascular Pharmacology explain how flavanols from cacao and dark chocolate inhibit the action of angiotensin to influence the body`s fluid balance and effectively regulate blood pressure.
Study Demonstrates Blood Pressure Lowering Effect of Chocolate
The study involved ten men and six women aged 20 to 45 who were fed 75 grams of unsweetened chocolate with a cacao content of 72%. Blood samples were taken before and again after eating the sample chocolate to analyze the activity of the ACE enzyme. Researchers were amazed to find that the enzyme activity was reduced by 18%, effectively lowering dangerous blood pressure as well or even better than many pharmaceuticals.
The lead author concluded, “Our findings indicate that changes in lifestyle with the help of foods that contain large concentrations of catechins and procyaninides prevent cardiovascular diseases.” It`s important to note that the results were produced using unsweetened cacao as found in many specialty dark chocolates. The same benefits would not be conferred with commonly available sweetened milk chocolate and semi-sweet varieties.
Flavanols From Chocolate Increase Nitric Oxide, Relax Blood Vessels
Information reported in the journal BMC Medicine combines the results of 15 independent studies on the vessel dilating effects of flavanols from chocolate. Researchers found that moderate consumption of chocolate with a high percentage of cacao showed significant blood pressure reduction in people with high blood pressure, and no effect on individuals with normal pressure readings. Flavanols increase the natural formation of endothelial nitric oxide that exhibits a relaxing effect on blood vessel walls and lowers blood pressure.
Cacao from chocolate is shown to be yet another example of how a natural compound can promote health and prevent disease. Flavanols and catechins are chemical compounds found in unprocessed foods that are essential to human health. When consumed or supplemented as part of a whole food diet they demonstrate reduced risk of disease without the damaging side effects commonly seen with pharmaceuticals.
Click here for the full report from Natural News
Facebook Can Cause Asthma Attacks?
November 22nd, 2010
Natural News
By: Ethan A. Huff
The social networking site Facebook is causing a new wave of physical and mental health problems, say researchers from Italy. According to their analysis, scientists say that Facebook has become “a new source of psychological stress” that is capable of inducing asthma attacks, particularly in those with preexisting asthmatic conditions.
Published in the British medical journal Lancet, the study cites the case of an 18-year-old man who experienced severe asthmatic symptoms due to using Facebook. After discovering that his ex-girlfriend had removed him from her “friends” list and moved on from the relationship, the man began having breathing problems, followed by an asthma attack. And every time he logged on and tried to pry his way back into her life, the symptoms returned.
“The [experience] seemed to induce dyspnea, which happened repeatedly on the patient accessing [his ex-girlfriend's] profile,” said doctors about the experience. Dyspnea, a condition in which a person experiences difficulty in breathing, can be aggravated by various life occurrences. But in the man from the study, his “peak expiratory flow” of air dropped by as much as 20 percent after using Facebook, which suggests that using the site can be hazardous to health.
Doctors say the best way to avoid Facebook-induced asthma attacks is to simply stop using the site. In fact, with the help of his psychologist, the man in the study was able to successfully stop logging in — and his asthma attacks then stopped as well.
The nature of Facebook encourages users to essentially broadcast every detail of their entire lives to their friends, family members, coworkers, neighbors, and even complete strangers. But the widespread negative effects of this massive new social experiment are only just beginning to be realized.
Click here for the full report from Natural News
Pesticide Exposure Causes Attention Problems in Children
November 22nd, 2010
Natural News
By: David Gutierrez
Children who are exposed to organophosphate pesticides in utero are significantly more likely to develop attention problems later in life, according to a study conducted by researchers from the University of California-Berkeley and published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.
The researchers tested the urine of pregnant Mexican-American women living in California’s Salinas Valley, a major agricultural region, for pesticide metabolites. Their children were then followed for five years, being regularly tested for pesticide metabolites and attention disorders. Attention was evaluated through parental questionnaires and standardized tests.
The researchers found that while only a weak connection between attention problems and prenatal pesticide exposure was observed by age three, by age five a significant correlation was observed.
A tenfold higher concentration of organophosphate metabolites in a mother’s urine corresponded to a 500 percent increase in her child’s risk of being diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). A higher concentration of metabolites in a child’s urine was also correlated with an increased risk of diagnosis, though not as strongly.
A previous study found that children with high levels of organophosphate metabolites in their urine were nearly 100 percent more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD as children with no detectable metabolites. Organophosphates and other pesticides have also been linked to other nervous system disorders, such as Parkinson’s disease.
“There has been a linkage between early pesticide exposure and a later loss of dopamine-producing cells in the substantia nigra, a pathology associated with Parkinson’s disease,” write Peter J. Whitehouse and Daniel George in their book The Myth of Alzheimer’s.
A connection between pesticide exposure and nerve-related disorders is not surprising, since many pesticides — including organophosphates — are designed to disrupt insect nervous systems. One of the neurotransmitters that they target, acetylcholine, is also found in the human brain.
Approximately 40 different organophosphate pesticides are currently approved for use in the United States.
Click here for the full report from Natural News
Pomegranates Provide Protection Against Tissue Damage
November 22nd, 2010
Natural News
By: Jonathan Benson
The health benefits of eating pomegranates are numerous, and a new study presented at the American Society of Nephrology’s 43rd Annual Meeting and Scientific Exposition in Denver, Colo., has discovered yet another. According to the report, the potent antioxidant profile of pomegranates helps to reduce inflammation, prevent damage caused by oxidative stress, and minimize complications associated with kidney disease and its conventional treatment protocols.
For the study, researchers administered either pomegranate juice or a placebo drink to 101 patients undergoing dialysis for kidney disease. Patients consumed the drinks three times a week for an entire year. At the end of the evaluation period, patients in the pomegranate juice group had less infections that required hospitalization, and reduced oxidative damage to cells caused by harmful free radicals.
In addition to specific improvements related to kidney disease, patients also experienced reduced blood pressure and an overall improvement in factors associated with a healthy heart. These improvements are specifically important for kidney disease patients since most end up dying from cardiovascular-related events.
“Considering the expected epidemic of chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients in the next decade, further clinical trials using pomegranate juice aimed at reducing the high cardiovascular morbidity of CKD patients and their deterioration to end-stage renal disease should be conducted,” said Dr. Batya Kristal, one of the authors of the study.
According to another recent study covered by NaturalNews, pomegranates also help to prevent the artery stiffening that leads to decreased blood flow and circulation. Published in the journal Clinical Nutrition, that study showed that after three months of taking pomegranate extract, patients reduced arterial wall thickening by 35 percent, and cholesterol oxidation levels by an astounding 90 percent — both of which improve cardiovascular health.
Click here for the full report from Natural News
Microwave Popcorn Contains Dangerous Chemical
November 22nd, 2010
Natural News
By: S.L. Baker
Would you like salt, butter — and a helping of perfluorinated carboxylic acids (PFCAs) with your popcorn? You may say “yes” to the first two ingredients and “certainly not!” to the last one. But the problem is, if you are eating microwaved popcorn or packaged snack foods, you are most likely getting dosed with these potentially toxic chemicals without any choice.
PFCAs, the best known of which is perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), have been found to accumulate in the blood of people, as well as in wildlife, worldwide. PFOAs are the breakdown products of chemicals used to make non-stick and water-resistant and stain-repellant products that coat kitchen pans, some clothing and food packaging. In research just reported in Environmental Health Perspectives, University of Toronto (U of T) scientists have concluded PFCAs, which are found in virtually all junk food wrappers and microwave popcorn bags, migrate into food and are then ingested by people.
No one knows exactly what the long-term health risks are from exposure to these chemicals. But earlier this year, Japanese scientists at Osaka University published an animal study in the journal Prostaglandins, Leucotrines and Essential Fatty Acids showing that PPCAs impact the function of platelets — components of blood that are important for regulating bleeding and clotting in the body.
“We suspected that a major source of human PFCA exposure may be the consumption and metabolism of polyfluoroalkyl phosphate esters or PAPs,” Jessica D’eon, a graduate student in the U of T Department of Chemistry, said in a statement to the media. “PAPs are applied as grease proofing agents to paper food contact packaging such as fast food wrappers and microwave popcorn bags.”
For their U of T study, D’eon and Scott Mabury, the lead researcher and a professor in the U of T Department of Chemistry, exposed rats to PAPs either orally or by injection. Then the animals were monitored for a period of three weeks to document the concentrations of the PAPs and PFCA metabolites, including PFOA, in their blood. Because human exposure to PAPs was calculated by the scientists in an earlier study, the research team used the PAP concentrations observed in human blood together with the PAP and PFCA concentrations observed in the rats to come up with figures on human PFOA exposure from PAP metabolism.
“We found the concentrations of PFOA from PAP metabolism to be significant and concluded that the metabolism of PAPs could be a major source of human exposure to PFOA, as well as other PFCAs,” Mabury said in the press statement. “This discovery is important because we would like to control human chemical exposure, but this is only possible if we understand the source of this exposure.”
Mabury pointed out that some people claim the contamination of humans with PFCAs is simply the result of exposure to past chemical exposure, instead of chemicals currently found in food wrappers and home products. But the U of T research shows that’s a false assumption.
“In this study we clearly demonstrate that the current use of PAPs in food contact applications does result in human exposure to PFCAs, including PFOA. We cannot tell whether PAPs are the sole source of human PFOA exposure or even the most important, but we can say un equivocally that PAPs are a source and the evidence from this study suggests this could be significant,”Mabury concluded.
Click here for the full report from Natural News
I Want Your Story!
November 19, 2010 by KT
Filed under Kevin's Blog
I want to help you fight for your rights… AND WIN!
If you were subjected to a TSA issue… if you have felt victimized by the FDA or FTC… if a politician has lied to you…if you have felt unfairly treated by banks because of your credit score…if your credit card interest rates rose without notification… if something has happened to YOU by a government agency or international company, I want to know about it!
If YOU are a victim, I want to help YOU! The situation in this country is out of control! You can make a difference! Let’s take the fight to them! I am here to help you! I will guide you!
Andrew, you are NOT alone!
Send your story to support@ktradionetwork.com!
- KT
More Proof That The Media Is Nothing But A Joke
November 19, 2010 by Andrew
Filed under Government
November 19th, 2010
Politics Daily
By: Christopher Weber
Certain Fox News commentators better hope they don’t run into their co-worker Sarah Palin in the network cafeteria, after being caught on live mics mocking the former Alaska governor’s new reality show.
In a clip sure to make the Internet rounds, panelists Judith Miller and Liz Trotta are seen in a commercial break during the weekend program “Fox News Watch” giggling over negative reviews given the debut of “Sarah Palin’s Alaska” on TLC.
Trotta, a conservative commentator, refers to a Palin article by The New York Times’ Alessandra Stanley.
“Alessandra Stanley had the best line,” Trotta says. “She said the new show is like ‘The Sound of Music,’ without the Nazis, without the romance, and without the music.”
After the panel cracks up, Miller says she likes the review by Hank Stuever in The Washington Post, who opens his commentary with Palin screaming her husband’s name.
“He said the sound of a voice when warning you to heed the bears — would actually scare the bears,” chortles Miller.
“Absolutely right. Absolutely right,” Trotta laughs.
Among her many other jobs, Palin is a commentator and host on Fox News.
Click here for the full report from Politics Daily
