FDA Orders Homeopathic HCG Products to Stop Being Sold!

December 6th, 2011

Nasdaq

By: RTT News

US Food and Drug Administration and Federal Trade Commission issued seven warnings letters to companies selling over-the counter “homeopathic” HCG weight loss products, in a move aimed at removing such products from the markets.

Human chorionic gonadotropin or HCG is a hormone produced by the human placenta and found in the urine of pregnant women. Currently, there are no FDA-approved HCG drug products for weight loss. HCG is FDA-approved only as an injectable prescription drug for the treatment of some cases of female infertility and other conditions.

In the warnings letters, the agencies warn companies of violating federal law by selling unapproved products and making unsupported claims for the substances.

The companies have 15 days to notify the FDA of steps taken to correct the violations, with noncompliance likely to result in legal action.

Click here to read the full report from Nasdaq

Many Have Little To No Savings As Retirement Looms

December 6, 2011

USA Today

By Matt Krantz

For many Americans, the golden years are quickly taking on a tin-like hue. After a vicious decade of no growth for the stock market, including two 401(k)-eating bear markets and persistently sky-high unemployment, more Americans are finding themselves in their 50s and 60s with practically no money saved for retirement.

“We were in our 30s, blinked, and now we’re our parents’ age,” says Alan Tipps, a corporate jet pilot who typically earns more than $100,000 a year when he’s working. But Tipps, 52, has been laid off three times during the past four years, and says that has forced him to burn through what was in his 401(k) just to “keep the lights on” in his home in Portales, N.M.

Investors of all ages have suffered. But for those close to retirement, it’s been especially tough, because they’re faced with taking distributions from investment portfolios that in some cases are a fraction of their peak value. Forced early retirements and the near extinction of pensions are making things worse, creating a generation of aging investors in which some have little or no plans for how they’re going to pay for retirement.

It gets more ominous, given the other changes Americans are facing. Declining property values have drained home equity that many retirees might have counted on. Meanwhile, the number of people reaching retirement age is soaring as the Baby Boom generation ages.

Saving early and often is the way Americans typically fund their retirement, the biggest financial obligation most will face. Pensions for many have become a thing of the past. Retirement needs vary greatly, but the numbers are universally huge. A 65-year-old retiree would need to have $1.1 million saved to draw $50,000 a year in inflation-adjusted dollars, assuming 3% inflation and a 5% annual return from investments. That’s if the investor is lucky enough to get a 5% return, which, given the flat-line returns of stocks the last decade, might give some pause.

Click here for the full report.

New Research Finds Possible Reason For Obesity And Type 2 Diabetes Epidemics In Kids: Lack Of Vitamin D

December 6, 2011

Natural News

By S. L. Baker

“Everyone should be taking vitamin D3. The experts say 5,000 – 10,000 IUs every day. It’s also super cheap. Try it in the liquid serum variety. A $10-$25 bottle will literally last you about six months.” –KTRN

deficiency and past research has also revealed an association between low vitamin D levels and cardiovascular disease as well as type 2 diabetes. But exactly why obesity and diseases such as type 2 diabetes are related to vitamin D deficiency isn’t fully understood.

To try to unravel this mystery, the new study looked for correlations between vitamin D levels and markers of abnormal glucose metabolism and blood pressure. It also looked for links between vitamin D levels and dietary habits in obese children.

The scientists measured vitamin D levels, blood sugar levels, serum insulin, body mass index (BMI) and blood pressure in 411 obese youngsters. The study also included 87 non-overweight children in a control group. Dietary information — including daily intake of soda, juice and milk, average daily fruit and vegetable intake, and whether or not they routinely skipped breakfast — was also collected for all the research subjects.

Click here for the full report.

Fighting Breast Cancer With Flaxseeds

December 6, 2011

Disease Proof

By Joel Fuhrman, M.D.

“You don’t need chemotherapy, radiation, or mammograms. They are causing the cancer to begin with.” –KTRN

Plant lignans are one of the four classes of phytoestrogens (isoflavones, lignans, stilbenes, coumestans), phenolic compounds that are structurally similar to the main mammalian estrogen, estradiol.1 Plant lignans are modified by bacteria in the human digestive tract into enteroligans. It is important to recognize the role of healthy bacteria in this process, because antibiotics can destroy beneficial bacteria in the gut resulting in long-term reduction in enteroligans.2 Eating commercial meats exposes us to antibiotics, as does the overuse and inappropriate prescribing by physicians.

Flaxseeds are the richest source of plant lignans, having about 8 times the lignan content of sesame seeds [note that flaxseed oil does not contain lignans – they bind to the fiber]. The other plant foods on the list have about one-tenth or less the amount of lignans as sesame seeds per serving.2,3 Chia seeds are also a rich source of lignans, however the exact amount is still debatable, so that number will be made available at a later date.

Click here for the full report.

Choline: The Nutrient That Improves Your Memory

December 6, 2011

Men’s Health

By Cassie Shortsleeve

“You could also try KT’s Mega Memory course too.”  –KTRN

We’ve all been there: The awkward, why can’t I remember your name scenario. And while plenty of products claim to erase the wrinkles on your face, Boston University scientists have found a nutrient that protects your brain from aging, too.

The researchers discovered that people with a diet rich in choline—a nutrient in the vitamin B family—scored significantly higher on both verbal and visual memory tests, according to a study of 1,300 adults. Brain scans showed that subjects with high-choline diets were also less likely to show the signs associated with dementia.

Research from the USDA has also shown choline lowers blood levels of the amino acid homocysteine—which, when present in high levels, can lead to heart disease, cancer, and dementia. Extra choline also helps in constructing the “memory” neurotransmitter (acetylcholine).

Click here for the full report.

Why Is Chocolate Healthy?

December 6, 2011

Drxe.Com

By Dr. Josh Axe

“Finally some good news. Mmm, chocolate!” –KTRN

If you’re like me, you love to eat chocolate! Chocolate lovers rejoiced when the benefits of anti-oxidants found in chocolate and other foods began to be marketed. But in reality, the potential benefits of anti-oxidants in processed chocolate are slim to none.

But unprocessed, dark chocolate is actually great for you. It’s very high in anti-oxidants and flavanols.

Let’s take a look at how anti-oxidants and flavanols work in our bodies.

Free radicals are unbalanced compounds created by cellular processes in the body, especially those that combat environmental toxins. These compounds can run wild, creating damage in the body and interrupting normal physiological functioning.

Anti-oxidants are compounds that are believed to neutralize free radicals and protect the body from such damage. Anti-oxidants include vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals—helpful plant compounds.

Flavonols are one of these antioxidant phytochemicals that may protect us from damage caused by aging and environmental toxins.Flavonols are a type of flavonoid found in chocolate and cocoa.

Dark chocolate Flavonols are said to promote heart health and reduce the risk of cancer. Flavonols may also help lower blood pressure and improve blood flow to the brain and heart.They may reduce cholesterol levels and arterial plaque. Some studies suggest that flavonols may reduce stickiness in blood platelets, reducing the risk of stroke, say Cleveland Clinic and University of Alabama doctors.

Chocolate manufacturers have gone hog-wild marketing these health claims for their products, but these assertions warrant another look. Sometimes things that seem too good to be true really are.
Studies on Chocolate

These studies have been conducted with chocolate that contains high levels of flavonols. Unfortunately, the chocolate that most of us eat has been processed in ways that destroys flavonols.

Cocoa is naturally bitter and very strong-tasting (as anyone who’s tried a taste of baker’s chocolate knows!) Chocolate-makers mellow this flavor by processes such as alkalizing, fermenting, roasting and adding milk and/or sugar, all of which can destroy flavonols, alter our ability to use them or negate their health effects with unhealthy additives.

Most studies of the beneficial effects of chocolate are simply observational: they’re not clinical trials.They’ve looked at people who eat chocolate and measure health effects without accounting for other dietary aspects or lifestyle habits. So a person that eats a bit of chocolate every week and is healthy might also be the person that works out three times a day or avoids other processed foods like the plague.

Click here for the full report.

Romney Staff Spent Nearly $100,000 To Hide Records

December 6, 2011

Reuters

By Mark Hosenball

“Mitt Romney – the candidate who hides records.  Just like every politician. Nothing interesting to see here.   Keep moving.” –KTRN

Mitt Romney spent nearly $100,000 in state funds to replace computers in his office at the end of his term as governor of Massachusetts in 2007 as part of an unprecedented effort to keep his records secret, Reuters has learned.

The move during the final weeks of Romney’s administration was legal but unusual for a departing governor, Massachusetts officials say.

The effort to purge the records was made a few months before Romney launched an unsuccessful campaign for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008. He is again competing for the party’s nomination, this time to challenge Barack Obama for the presidency in 2012.

Five weeks before the first contests in Iowa, Romney has seen his position as frontrunner among Republican presidential candidates whittled away in the polls as rival Newt Gingrich, the former speaker of the House of Representatives, has gained ground.

When Romney left the governorship of Massachusetts, 11 of his aides bought the hard drives of their state-issued computers to keep for themselves. Also before he left office, the governor’s staff had emails and other electronic communications by Romney’s administration wiped from state servers, state officials say.

Those actions erased much of the internal documentation of Romney’s four-year tenure as governor, which ended in January 2007. Precisely what information was erased is unclear.

Republican and Democratic opponents of Romney say the scrubbing of emails – and a claim by Romney that paper records of his governorship are not subject to public disclosure – hinder efforts to assess his performance as a politician and elected official.

Click here for the full report.

GlaxoSmithKline Pays US Government Record $3 Billion For Illegally Marketing Drugs

December 6, 2011

Natural News

By Ethan A. Huff

“So GSK makes $43 billion profit and the government fines them $3 billion.  It’s a win/win for GSK.  The real question is why the CEO of the company is not in jail?”  –KTRN

The pharmaceutical industry is notorious for getting away with murder, both figuratively and literally, without so much as a slap on the wrist from the justice system. And a recent settlement involving drug giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) only further exposes the fact that Big Pharma is free to break the law as long as it pays off Big Government, its partner in crime.

The latest dog and pony show involves the US government addressing GSK’s illegal activity over the years in peddling its deadly chemical cocktails. After being exposed for illegally marketing drugs, paying off doctors to promote dangerous drugs, and manipulating scientific data to get dangerous drugs approved, GSK has essentially been pardoned by the US government in exchange for $3 billion.

Sure, $3 billion might sound like a lot of money to most people. But GSK raked in roughly $43 billion in revenue just last year. So this settlement is a mere drop in the bucket for GSK, and it really does nothing to satisfy the demands of justice. It does, however, conveniently transfer $3 billion in payoff money to the federal government, which has allowed GSK to get away with its crimes for years.

NaturalNews readers will recall the 2010 Senate Finance Committee report that exposed GSK for deliberately hiding evidence about the dangers of its diabetes drug Avandia. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) worked hand-in-hand with GSK to downplay Avandia’s dangers, effectively preserving billions of dollars in yearly revenue for GSK from the sale of the “blockbuster” drug (http://www.naturalnews.com/028233_G…).

There are literally tens of thousands of lawsuits currently pending against GSK over Avandia, not to mention countless known instances of the company’s blatant criminal activity in marketing it. But did the FDA ever decide to pull Avandia from the market to protect consumers? Of course not. And there is no indication that any of GSK’s executives will be held personally responsible for such crimes, either.

“Who at Glaxo is going to jail as a part of this settlement?” asked Patrick Burns, spokesman for Taxpayers Against Fraud, an advocacy group for whistleblowers. “Who in management is being excluded from doing future business with the US government?”

Click here for the full report.

Are Americans in Line for Guantanamo?

December 6, 2011

TruthOut

By Ray McGovern

“The National Defense Authorization Act is very scary and goes completely against the constitution.  What’s worse is that almost every member of congress voted yes for the bill.  Is this still the USA?” –KTRN

Ambiguous but alarming new wording, which is tucked into the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and was just passed by the Senate, is reminiscent of the “extraordinary measures” introduced by the Nazis after they took power in 1933.

And the relative lack of reaction so far calls to mind the oddly calm indifference with which most Germans watched the erosion of the rights that had been guaranteed by their own Constitution. As one German writer observed, “With sheepish submissiveness we watched it unfold, as if from a box at the theater.”

The writer was Sebastian Haffner (real name Raimond Pretzel), a young German lawyer worried at what he saw in 1933 in Berlin, but helpless to stop it since, as he put it, the German people “collectively and limply collapsed, yielded and capitulated.”

“The result of this millionfold nervous breakdown,” wrote Haffner at the time, “is the unified nation, ready for anything, that is today the nightmare of the rest of the world.” Not a happy analogy.

The Senate bill, in effect, revokes an 1878 law known as the Posse Comitatus Act, which banned the Army from domestic law enforcement after the military had been used —and often abused — in that role during Reconstruction. Ever since then, that law has been taken very seriously — until now. Military officers have had their careers brought to an abrupt halt by involving federal military assets in purely civilian criminal matters.

But that was before 9/11 and the mantra, “9/11 changed everything.” In this case of the Senate-passed NDAA – more than a decade after the terror attacks and even as U.S. intelligence agencies say al-Qaeda is on the brink of defeat – Congress continues to carve away constitutional and legal protections in the name of fighting “terrorism.”

Click here for the full report.

Hank Paulson’s Inside Jobs

December 6, 2011

Reuters

By Reuters

What on earth did Hank Paulson think his job was in the summer of 2008? As far as most of us were concerned, he was secretary of the US Treasury, answerable to the US people and to the president. But at the same time, in secret meetings, Paulson was hanging out with his old Goldman Sachs buddies, giving them invaluable information about what he was thinking in his new job.

The first news of this behavior came in October 2009, when Andrew Ross Sorkin revealed that Paulson had met with the entire board of Goldman Sachs in a Moscow hotel suite for an hour at the end of June 2008. He told them his views of the US and global economies, he previewed a market-moving speech he was about to give, and he even talked about the possibility that Lehman Brothers might blow up. Maybe it’s not so surprising that Goldman Sachs turned out to be so well positioned when Lehman did indeed do just that a few months later.

Today we learn that the Goldman meeting in Moscow was not some kind of aberration. A few weeks later, on July 28 2008, Paulson met with a who’s who of the hedge-fund world in the headquarters of Eton Park Capital Management — a fund founded by former Goldman superstar Eric Mindich.

Click here for the full report.

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