A Natural Environmental Health Facts Ezine

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"A NATURAL ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH FACTS Ezine" Here to Inform and Help You Become Healthier and Happier while Achieving Quality Longevity!

http://www.antibiotic-alternatives.com
Email Lena
928-636-9425
Wednesday May 18, 2005
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Watch for Monday's "Ask Lena Health Q & A edition.
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=> IN THIS ISSUE!
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==> Editors' Ranting & or Warnings
==> Something To Think About
==> Health Thought for the day!
==> Showcase Health Spotlight
==> Monthly Spotlight Ads
==> Today's Health Tip
==> Food of The Week
==> Health Today
==> Environmental Report
==> Life Changing Information

Greetings and thank you for subscribing! I do hope your weekend will be a restful and relaxing one!

Over half of the month disappeared and I can't seem to keep up with the speed with which it's going. If you find yourself feeling the same way make sure your immune system is at top peak, if not you may end up very ill!

If you have a question or comment (good or bad) send it to me... Click Here
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Take charge of you and your family's health before it takes charge of you!
Lena

==> Find An Alternative Health Professional
==>Latest Product Recalls - I'm appalled at the number of things, particularly medications, recalled weekly/daily neither your doctor nor your news stations are telling you about, so how are you going to know? Look here for DAILY Product Recall Site
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http://www.thehungersite.com Share your LOVE here!

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Something To Think About
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Infant Allergies

Almost 80 percent of children with asthma show some allergic symptoms during their first year, but it isn't always possible to identify the allergens involved.

That's why Harvard Medical School and the University of Virginia Medical School, worked together to find common factors in infants who had wheezing episodes in their first year of life.

As reported in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, low-birth weight infants are likely to have wheezing episodes. So are infants who develop respiratory infections in their first year of life, and infants whose mothers smoke.

The one risk factor that stood out -- independent of one's health history or family income -- your infant is likely to develop wheezing if you have cockroaches in the home.

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We accept all advertisements in good faith, but the advertisers are completely responsible for the content and accuracy of their advertisements. We do not give any warranties and accept no responsibility. The editor and publisher suggest that you exercise due diligence!
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Look What A Balance of Minerals Can Prevent!

*Acne - zinc, sulfur
*Anemia - iron, cobalt, copper, selenium
*Arthritis - calcium, copper, magnesium, potassium, boron
*Asthma - manganese, zinc, potassium
*Brittle nails - iron, zinc
*Birth defects - zinc, copper, cobalt, selenium, magnesium, manganese

*Cancer - selenium, germanium
*Candida (yeast infection) - zinc, selenium
*Heart disease - calcium, copper, magnesium, potassium, selenium
*Chronic Fatigue & Fibromyalgia - zinc, selenium, chromium, vanadium
*Constipation - iron, magnesium, potassium
*Cramps - calcium, sodium

*Depression - calcium, copper, iron, sodium, zinc, chromium
*Diabetes - chromium, vanadium, zinc
*Digestive problems - chlorine, chromium, zinc
*Eczema - zinc
*Goiter (low thyroid) - iodine, copper
*Hair loss - copper, zinc

*Graying hair - copper
*Hyperactivity - chromium, zinc, magnesium, lithium
*Immune system weakness - zinc, selenium, chromium
*Impotence - selenium, zinc, manganese, calcium, chromium
*Infertility - calcium, zinc, selenium, chromium, copper, cobalt, manganese
*Liver dysfunction - cobalt, selenium, zinc

*Low blood sugar - chromium, vanadium, zinc
*Memory loss - manganese
*Muscular weakness - selenium, potassium, manganese
*Nervousness - magnesium
*Osteoporosis - calcium, magnesium, boron
*PMS - zinc, chromium, selenium

*Receding gums - calcium, potassium, magnesium, boron
*Sexual dysfunction - selenium, zinc, manganese
*Wrinkles/sagging (aging) – copper

Linus Pauling, PhD a top scientist and two-time Nobel Prize winner stated:
"YOU CAN TRACE EVERY SICKNESS, EVERY DISEASE, AND EVERY AILMENT TO A MINERAL DEFICIENCY"

Read the 1936 statement of fat bellies on the horizon

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Take Tylenol at Your Own Risk

Evidence that drugs are associated with a mass of negative health effects continues to mount: Researchers found that regular use of the over-the-counter painkiller acetaminophen was linked to higher rates of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), as well as reduced lung function.

Experiments involving animals suggested that acetaminophen might lower antioxidant activity in the lungs; however, whether such results translated to an effect on human respiratory disease was unknown. That was until ...

Researchers Evaluated Data

... from the Third National Health Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) from 1988-94. Participants involved in the study were asked whether they had taken acetaminophen, aspirin and ibuprofen during the previous month. Among the 13,492 participants:

-Almost 7 percent had asthma.
-Some 12 percent suffered from COPD.
-Almost 3 percent were plagued with both.
Of the group, 4.3 percent of the participants said they used acetaminophen on a daily basis, compared to 8.2 percent who used aspirin and 2.5 percent who used ibuprofen.

Researchers concluded acetaminophen use was linked to asthma and COPD--its risk increased in relation to the dosage. And while lung function was also impaired by the daily use of acetaminophen, taking aspirin or ibuprofen was not linked with respiratory illness.

May 1, 2005;171:966-971 American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine

Monkey's Aren't So Dumb!

April 2004 found me in Hawaii and loving the fruits available. One of the things I enjoyed most was the banana. It was a bit different than what we get here in the U.S. but it was oh so sweet and tasty. As I reminisced my trip and about that great treat while there I thought what better food for the week?

Bananas could be called the food to healing and health! Over the years as the doctors I worked with put patients on blood pressure medications - which remove a multitude of minerals and vitamins, but the medical profession only recognizes potassium as the mineral necessary to health ? I was instructed to tell the patient to be sure and eat lots of potassium rich foods in particular a banana or two a day.

In my search about bananas last year I found great prevention and healing properties in them? Also that Bananas contain three natural sugars, sucrose, fructose and glucose, and when combined with fiber, bananas produce an instant, sustained, and substantial boost of energy. Research has shown that just two bananas provide enough energy for a strenuous 90-minute workout.

According to a recent survey of people suffering from depression found that many felt much better after eating a banana. This is because bananas contain tryptophan, a type of protein the body converts into serotonin, which makes you alert, improves your mood, and generally make you feel happier. So eat and expect less depression!

PMS may be averted by eating bananas. The vitamin B6 in bananas regulates blood glucose levels, which is responsible for some of PMS symptoms and eating does affect your mood (among other things).

Anemia medication: Bananas are high in iron, which stimulates the production of hemoglobin in the blood, which helps anemia.

Blood Pressure leveler: This unique tropical fruit is extremely high in potassium yet low in salt making it the perfect food to lower blood pressure. So much so, the US Food and Drug Administration has permitted the banana industry to officially claim the fruit's ability to 'reduce the risk of blood pressure and stroke.' So is it the bananas doing the job or the medication the doctor gave you?

Brain Power increased: 200 students at a Middlesex, UK school were helped through exams by eating bananas at breakfast, at break, and during lunch to boost their brainpower. Research has shown that the potassium-packed fruit can assist learning by making pupils more alert.

Constipation prevention: High in fiber, bananas in the diet can restore normal bowel movement without laxatives.

Hangover cure: One of the quickest ways of curing a hangover is to make a banana milkshake sweetened with honey. The banana calms the stomach and, with the help of the honey, builds depleted blood sugar levels, while the milk soothes and re-hydrates the system.

Stomach calmer: Bananas have a natural antacid effect in the body, so if you suffer from heartburn, try eating a banana for soothing relief.

Morning Sickness treatment: Snacking on bananas between meals helps keep blood sugar levels helping to avoid morning sickness. Morning sickness is caused from a lack of B vitamins more often than blood sugar fluctuations and since bananas have the B's eat one?

Mosquito bite treatment: Before reaching for the insect bite cream, try rubbing the affected area with the inside of a banana skin. Many people find it amazingly successful at reducing swelling and irritation.

Nerves calmed: Bananas are high in B vitamins that help calm the nervous system.

Overweight and work too much? Studies at the Institute of Psychology in Austria found work pressure leads to gorging on comfort food like chocolate and chips. Out of 5,000 hospital patients, researchers found the most obese were in high-pressure jobs. The report concluded that to avoid panic-induced food cravings and control blood sugar levels, snacking on high carbohydrate foods every two hours kept levels steady

Ulcers calm down: Bananas can prevent intestinal disorders because of the soft texture and smoothness. It is the only raw fruit that can be eaten without distress in sensitive health situations. It also neutralizes over-acidity and reduces irritation by coating the lining of the stomach. Experts say that bananas strengthen the surface cells of the stomach lining, forming a sturdier barrier against noxious juices.

Temperature control: Many cultures see bananas as a "cooling" fruit that lowers both the physical and emotional temperature of expectant mothers. In Thailand, for example, pregnant women eat bananas to ensure their babies are born with a cool temperature.

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD): Bananas help SAD sufferers because they contain the natural mood enhancers, tryptophan and Vitamin B's.

Calm smoking withdrawals: Bananas can also help people trying to stop smoking. B6 and B12 in bananas, as well as potassium and magnesium, help the body recover from the withdrawal effects.

Stress leveler: Potassium is a vital mineral, which helps normalize the body's heartbeat, sends oxygen to the brain, and regulates the body's water balance. When we are stressed, our metabolic rate raises reducing potassium levels. These levels can be rebalanced by eating a high-potassium banana.

Cut Stroke Risk: According to research in The New England Journal of Medicine, eating bananas as part of a regular diet can cut the risk of death by strokes as much as 40%!

Warts: It is said if you want to destroy a wart, take a piece of banana skin and place it on the wart (with the yellow side out). Tape the skin in place with a Band-Aid or surgical tape. Takes a while but will take care of the virus that causes warts, hence the removal of the wart.

Grow Beautiful Rose Bushes with Bananas: Blend the soft part of the banana skin in a blender full of water and pour on the base of your rose bushes to promote healthy roots and new growth.

Eating fresh fruits and vegetables results in a basic detoxification diet. So, eat as many raw and pure, unprocessed and uncooked foods as you can each day and make bananas one of those raw fruits.

BANANA SMOOTHIE

3 ripe frozen bananas
4-5 T peanut butter (all natural creamy or chunky)
1 T ground flaxseed
2 T honey
1 c. skim or 1% milk ( Use soy milk)

Place all ingredients in a blender and puree well and serve.
NOTE: I add strawberries, pineapple chunks, frozen fresh peaches and frozen grapes to this as an added fiber and alternate taste.

Enjoy your nutritious healthy food!
Lena

Do they really want to know? If actions speak louder than words the answer would be. NO! Money taken from Medicare that has cut Medicare benefits for the elderly to almost nil...

F.B.I. Said to Misuse Funds for Health Fraud Cases
By ROBERT PEAR
May 16, 2005

WASHINGTON, May 15 - Money earmarked by Congress for investigating health care fraud appears to have been shifted improperly to other purposes, like fighting terrorism, Congressional auditors say in a new report.

The report, to be issued this week by the Government Accountability Office, says health care cases got short shrift from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which was supposed to use the money exclusively to investigate fraud against Medicare, Medicaid and other health programs. The money came from an account in the Medicare trust fund.

The bureau was unable to show that it had used the money for the intended purpose, the report said, noting that F.B.I. agents "previously devoted to health care fraud investigations were shifted to counterterrorism activities" in the last three years.

Moreover, it said, the bureau "was unable to track overall costs related to health care fraud investigations." As a result, it said, the bureau and taxpayers had "minimal assurance" that all the money - $114 million a year - was properly spent.

Senator Charles E. Grassley, Republican of Iowa, who requested the study, said, "It's inexcusable that the government cannot account for millions of dollars set aside to fight health care fraud."

Mr. Grassley, the chairman of the Finance Committee, which has authority over Medicare and Medicaid, said the F.B.I. and its parent agency, the Justice Department, "have an obligation to taxpayers to make sure that money directed to fighting health care fraud is, in fact, used to fight health care fraud."

The auditors said the F.B.I. and the Justice Department needed tighter controls over the use of money earmarked for health care investigations. The agencies agreed.

Joseph L. Ford, the bureau's chief financial officer, said the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, "demanded an instant, 100 percent commitment toward counterterrorism," and he recalled that "almost every F.B.I. agent in the world" had been required to work on those cases. But, he said, the bureau is again focusing on health care fraud, "one of its top white-collar criminal investigative priorities."

Mr. Ford said the bureau had contributed to the success of many prominent cases against health care providers, including the investigation of the nation's largest for-profit hospital chain, now known as HCA Inc. The company and its subsidiaries paid the government hundreds of millions of dollars to resolve charges of filing false claims and fraudulent cost reports.

But Mr. Ford acknowledged that the bureau needed to improve its own financial controls.

Federal spending on Medicare and Medicaid totaled $474 billion last year, slightly more than one-fifth of the federal budget, and their cost is projected to double in a decade.

Medicare, the insurance program for the elderly and disabled, pays more than one billion claims a year. The Bush administration says that last year, 9.3 percent of the claims were paid in error, resulting in overpayments of $19.9 billion to doctors, hospitals and other health care providers. The number of claims and payments will grow rapidly when Medicare begins to cover prescription drugs on Jan. 1.

The government does not have comparable data on improper payments under Medicaid, the program for low-income people. But the accountability office lists Medicaid as "a high-risk program, because of growing concerns about the quality of fiscal oversight."

Congress beefed up efforts to detect health care fraud by establishing a separate program, with its own source of money, in 1996. The money in the account comes, in part, from criminal fines and civil penalties imposed on hospitals, doctors and other health care providers who have violated federal law.

After reviewing the bureau's work over the last four years, the Government Accountability Office said the "F.B.I. had no effective mechanism in place" to ensure compliance with the 1996 law, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.

The bureau's estimates of spending for health care investigations were based on data that could not be fully verified, the report said. Some of the data, it said, had been "reported from memory" because no records could be found.

The F.B.I. did not disclose how many agents were working on health care cases. But the accountability office said the total fell below the number budgeted by 31 percent in 2002 and by 26 percent in 2003. Figures for 2004 were not available.

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Pesky Plant may be put to good use!

Study: Herb Helps Curb Binge Drinking
May 17, 2005
By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN

BOSTON (AP) - The hardy, invasive kudzu vine, introduced to this country decades ago to control soil erosion, could have what it takes to curb binge drinking, new research suggests.

Kudzu, an ever-expanding plant considered a pest in much of the South, appears to contain a compound that can be effective in reducing alcohol intake among humans.

Researcher Scott Lukas did not have any trouble rounding up volunteers for his study, published in this month's issue of Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.

Lukas' team at Harvard-affiliated McLean Hospital set up a makeshift "apartment" in a laboratory, complete with a television, reclining chair and a refrigerator stocked with beer.

Findings show that subjects who took kudzu drank an average of 1.8 beers per session, compared with the 3.5 beers consumed by those who took a placebo.

Lukas was not certain why but speculated that kudzu increases blood alcohol levels and speeds up its effects. More simply put, the subjects needed fewer beers to feel drunk.

"That rapid infusion of alcohol is satisfying them and taking away their desire for more drinks," Lukas said. "That's only a theory. It's the best we've got so far."

In 2003, David Overstreet and other scientists found the herb to be effective in reducing alcohol intake on rats.

"There's a lot of anecdotal evidence from China that kudzu could be useful, but this is the first documented evidence that it could reduce drinking in humans," said Overstreet, who described Lukas' work "groundbreaking."

Lukas recruited 14 men and women in their 20s to spend four 90-minute sessions consuming beer and watching TV. Researchers selected people who said they regularly consumed three to four drinks per day.

After the first session, some subjects received capsules of kudzu, others a placebo.

"Unbeknownst to them, I was weighing that mug of beer every time they took a sip," Lukas said. "We actually got a sip-by-sip analysis of their drinking behavior."

None of the subjects had any side effects from mixing kudzu with beer.

"It's perfectly safe, from what we can tell," Lukas said. "Individuals reported feeling a little more tipsy or lightheaded, but not enough to make them walk into walls or stumble and fall."

Though kudzu won't turn drinkers into teetotalers, Lukas said, he hopes it can help heavy drinkers to cut back.

"That way, they're a lot closer to being able to cut down completely," he said.

Lukas' study was inspired by Dr. Wing Ming Keung, a pathology professor at Harvard Medical School who has studied kudzu's potential medical applications.

Keung, not directly involved in Lukas' study, said he has extracted a compound from kudzu root that he hopes to turn into a drug for reducing alcoholics' cravings.

"The most urgent need is helping people who cannot help themselves, who need a drug to help them stop drinking," Keung said.

McLean Hospital