Tobacco is a mood-altering, addictive drug
that kills 500,000 Americans a year (200 million worldwide)
Costs $400 billion each year, according to "Smoking and Health
Review," (1992).
The American Lung Association says tobacco contains more than 4,000
chemicals, 60 of which causes cancer.
Some of the 'killers' are radioactivity, arsenic, ammonia, lead,
formaldehyde, nitrogen dioxide, cadmium, phenol, benzene and hydrogen
cyanide (the 'gas chamber' gas that poisons the respiratory enzymes)
````````````````````````````````````````````````````` "A NATURAL ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH FACTS Ezine"
Here to Inform and Help You Become Healthier and Happier while Achieving Quality
Longevity!
Watch for Monday's "Ask Lena Health Q & A edition.
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============================ => IN THIS ISSUE!
============================
==> Editors' Ranting & or Warnings
==> Something To Think About
==> Health Thought for the day!
==> Today's Health Spotlight
==> Monthly Spotlight Ads
==> Today's Health Tip
==> Food of The
Week
==> Health Today
==> Environmental Report
==> Life Changing Information
Middle of the week but it seems like the beginning. Am I
getting old or what? My father says 88 isn't old so how can 67 be old?
Mystery I guess... Time seems to be zipping along at warped speed and I
cannot seem to keep up with it anymore.
I am writing a new book, tentatively named "Pearls Of Health Wisdom"
so that may be why time seems to be moving too fast for me. This will be
a FREE ebook for everyone to have and gain some insight into health and
how they may be contributing to an unhealthy body. As soon as I finish
this ezine today I will be back to writing so you can get it in a few
weeks. I'm Still Always available to Help so don't hesitate to call or
email me!
If you have a question or comment (good or bad) send it to me...
Click Here
==>Latest Product Recalls
I'm appalled at the number of things, particularly
medications, recalled weekly/daily neither your doctor nor your
news stations are saying, so
how are you going to know? Look here DAILY...Drug Recalls! Product
Recall Site Here
==================================
Something To Think About
============================
Scientist: FDA Pushed Stance on Drug Use
Sep 23, 2004
By DIEDTRA HENDERSON
WASHINGTON (AP) - A government epidemiologist said Thursday that his
bosses asked him to soften his recommendation that antidepressant use by
children be discouraged because of increased suicidal behavior among
young people who took the drugs.
During discussions with his managers at the Food and Drug Administration
in March, "alternative conclusions were offered to me, which I declined
to incorporate into my written document," said Andrew Mosholder, who
works in the FDA's Division of Drug Risk Evaluation.
Instead of discouraging the use of all but one antidepressant, Prozac,
for children, he was told to suggest that children use such medication
"with caution," Mosholder told a House subcommittee.
Mosholder said his reviews showed that Prozac, the only drug approved to
treat depressed children, also posed the least risk for depressed
children.
It's standard for superiors to review conclusions to ensure they're
supported by the evidence, countered Dr. Paul Seligman, acting director
of the agency's Office of Drug Safety, outside the hearing room.
"That was done in this case. There was never any pressure to change what
he wrote," Seligman said. He termed managers' comments as "suggested
language" that Mosholder could adopt or ignore. "He chose not to use
it."
As is normal, the managers voiced their dissenting views in a cover
letter, Seligman said.
An FDA advisory committee recommended last week that all antidepressants
come with the agency's strongest warning, in a black box on the label,
that the drugs increase suicidal behavior in children and teenagers.
Among other suggestions, it said parents should be given detailed
guidance on how to balance that risk with the benefit of treating
depression.
The FDA often follows its advisers' recommendations but is not bound by
them.
On Thursday, some members of the House subcommittee accused the FDA of a
pattern of deception.
"No agency charged with protecting the public health should have behaved
with such indifference to the public safety as is evidenced in this
case," said Rep. Peter Deutsch, D-Fla.
Mosholder told the panel that by last December his work confirmed his
preliminary analysis that found that children taking Paxil and seven
other antidepressants suffered increased suicidal behavior more often
than children taking sugar pills.
That finding was confirmed by an FDA senior reviewer who found that for
every 100 children taking antidepressants in controlled clinical trials,
an additional two to three experienced increased suicidal tendencies.
Mosholder said the FDA deferred action on his recommendations so it
could confirm, through internal and external analyses, that the warning
signs were legitimate.
http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/news/2004/NEW01116.html
=======================
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY!
=======================
A recent study of 663 cancerous women published in the
Archives of Surgery reveals that those subjects whose cancerous breast
tumors were needle biopsied - in other words, intentionally ruptured for
diagnostic purposes - were 50% more likely to subsequently develop
cancer of the lymphatic nodes located under the armpit than women whose
tumors were removed outright (also not something I'd always
recommend, but that's another story).
For those in the back row (or those with their fingers in their ears,
like mammographers), I'll shout: That's TWICE AS LIKELY to develop
lymphatic cancer after disruption of the cancerous tumor.
Now, I ask my critics, in light of this startling (but not to me)
finding, is it really so unreasonable for me to maintain that extreme
compression of the breast might possibly cause cancerous growths to
release malignant cells into nearby tissues that might otherwise have
remained contained in a tumor until such time as detection and treatment
could occur?
Let me ask another question: Does this sound unreasonable to YOU?
Always reasonable, and always "rupturing" the mainstream's myths,
William Campbell Douglass II, MD
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====================================== We accept all advertisements in good
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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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===========================
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TODAY'S HEALTH TIP
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Acupuncture Moves Toward the Mainstream
By ANAHAD O'CONNOR
September 28, 2004
Three years ago, Alfred Szymanski could not seem to get his blood
pressure under control. He ran 10 miles a week, stuck to a healthy diet
and was on a hypertension medication, all to no avail. His doctor
suggested switching medications, but Mr. Szymanski, wary of side
effects, decided to try something he had always wondered about:
acupuncture.
After three 20-minute sessions, each covered by his medical plan, his
blood pressure plunged 20 points.
"Every time I left I was so relaxed; it was like euphoria," said Mr.
Szymanski, 61, who lives in New York. "My blood pressure stayed down for
quite a while."
Acupuncture, long shunned by mainstream medicine but for centuries
considered the crown jewel of alternative therapy, is slowly gaining
ground in doctors' offices around the country. While some experts still
question its effectiveness, studies in recent years - including one at
Duke last week - have thrown scientific weight behind its benefits,
supporting its usefulness in alleviating conditions from morning
sickness to carpal tunnel syndrome.
In the past few years, the number of hospitals offering acupuncture and
other alternative therapies has doubled. At the same time, postgraduate
training programs in alternative medicine have sprung up at universities
around the country, most recently at Harvard and the University of San
Francisco.
"There's a greater demand for these programs now because so many
physicians are interested in learning acupuncture," said Dr. Nader E.
Soliman, an anesthesiologist in Rockville, Md., and president of the
American Academy of Medical Acupuncture. "A lot of physicians who used
to be extremely reluctant to refer patients for the treatment are now
doing it regularly."
Patients curious about alternative medicine and increasingly skeptical
of the drug industry are also seeking out the procedure, experts say.
A visit to an acupuncturist can cost $50 to $100. For people working at
the right companies, however, it runs a lot less. More and more
employers looking for low-cost additions to medical plans are embracing
the treatment. Nearly 50 percent of workers with benefits received
coverage for it in 2004, compared with just over 30 percent two years
ago, according to a survey this month by the Kaiser Family Foundation
and Health Research and Educational Trust.
The trend, it seems, is not limited to humans. In a society of people
attached to their pets, it may be no surprise that veterinarians around
the country say they are also seeing a greater demand for the service.
Dr. Barbara Royal, a vet in private practice in Chicago, says she has
been fully booked virtually since the day she received her acupuncture
license eight years ago. "People were desperate for it," she said.
Dr. Royal uses the technique mostly on cats and dogs hobbled by
arthritis, but recently she has been summoned to treat more exotic
animals. At Brookfield Zoo in Chicago, she regularly uses acupuncture to
alleviate arthritis in a 1,600-pound Bactrian camel, now able to run
again for the first time in years.
"I think the trend in animals is correlating with what's happening in
humans," she said. "There's a holistic movement out there, and if people
have found something that works for them, they want it for their pets,
too."
But as acupuncture slowly blends into the mainstream, some experts are
calling for tighter regulation. Dr. Joseph J. Fins, a member of the
White House Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Policy
two years ago, said that while acupuncture was relatively safe and
effective, there was no system for tracking harmful side effects.
Without closer monitoring, he said, a careless acupuncturist who reuses
needles that become infected with hepatitis, for example, might easily
go unnoticed.
"Because of how many people are using it, it's important that we have
some kind of surveillance system in place," said Dr. Fins, who is chief
of the division of medical ethics at Weill Medical College of Cornell
University in New York City. "There's no real mechanism to collect
information about the safety and efficacy of these treatments. It's the
same problem with over-the-counter supplements." www.nytimes.com
~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~
FOOD OF THE
WEEK
~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~
An herb to entice and give your food great flavor
but also a great natural health builder!
Fenugreek herb aka Greek hay!
Not something you would eat by itself but used as seasoning with a huge
benefit in doing so. Grows as and stallwart 2 to 3 foot tall annual herb
with light green leaves and small white flowers. The seed pods contain
10 to 20 small, flat, yellow-brown, pungent, aromatic seeds to a pod.
The seeds have a strong aroma and somewhat bitter taste, variously
described as similar to celery, maple syrup, or burnt sugar. One of the
spices the Egyptians used for embalming, and the Greeks and Romans used
it for cattle fodder (animal feed hence the Latin name foenum graecum
meaning Greek hay).
Historically a native to southern Europe, the Mediterranean region, and
Western Asia, is cultivated from Western Europe to China for the
aromatic seeds, and is still grown for fodder in parts of Europe and
northern Africa. It was grown extensively in the imperial gardens of
Charlemagne. It is necessary ingredient in Indian curries. Both seeds
and leaves are used!
Store in a cool, dry place for maximum of 6 months. Uncooked fenugreek
seeds have an unpleasant, bitter taste, so the seeds are usually roasted
and ground before use to decrease the bitterness. The seeds are very
hard, and difficult to grind, a mortar and pestle works best. Seed
extract is used in imitation vanilla, butterscotch and rum flavorings,
and is the main flavoring in imitation maple syrup. Also used in breads
in Egypt and Ethiopia. Ground seeds and/or leaves, can give a nice lift
to some bland vegetarian dishes and especially flavorful with lamb. Also
good in marinades. Generally, a nice unusual flavor to experiment with
to achieve some different effects. Use very young shoots with only a few
leaves and some watercress for a nice salad addition. Fenugreek seeds
are also used in candy, baked goods, ice cream, chewing gum and soft
drinks. The seeds can be roasted and used as a coffee substitute. Once
used as a yellow dye. The leaves are dried and used as an insect
repellent in grain storage units.
In various areas of North Africa the seeds (ground into a paste) were
traditionally eaten by women to gain weight, in combination with sugar
and olive oil. The seeds are still used for weight gain in Libya and
other areas. They are also an important source of diosgenin, which is
widely used in the production of steroids (probably accounts for the
weight gain ability), sex hormones, oral contraceptives and veterinary
medicines.
Rich in vitamins and minerals, and because it is a seed and a legume, it
is high in protein, which makes it very useful in vegetarian diets.
Those Vitamins are A, B12, B6, E, D, C, K, Retinol, Alpha Carotene, Beta
Carotene, lycopene, Lutein+Zeaxanthin, Beta & gamma & delta Tocopherols,
Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin, Folic Acid and Pantothenic Acid. Also rich
in minerals; Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium, Sodium,
Zinc, Copper, Manganese and Selenium.
Known Health Benefits: Lowers blood sugar: Fenugreek has important implications for
diabetics. Studies have shown that it helps stabilize blood sugar
control in people with either type 1 or type 2 diabetes. But if you're
currently on medication for diabetes, inform your physician if you
decide to try fenugreek. It is so effective; its hypoglycemic effect
could be dangerous if taken suddenly and in high doses. But when
monitored by a physician, it could be part of your natural management of
blood sugar.
Lowers "bad" cholesterol: Fenugreek is apparently able to sort
out the good from the bad when it comes to cholesterol. 25 g a day was
consumed for a 24 week-study, HDL (good) cholesterol showed a 10 percent
total increase, while LDL (bad) levels steadily decreased throughout the
testing period.
Aids digestion: Fenugreek stimulates the pancreas and can aid in
digestion. However, too much can cause diarrhea -- something to watch
out for and back off on your dose if it occurs.
The medicinal properties are in their highest concentration in the
seeds, which have a bitter taste that improves when toasted.
Comes in powder, capsules and gum forms or in
combination with other medicinal herbs.
If you've been thinking about branching out in the kitchen, you might
want to try some Middle Eastern or North African dishes that are heavily
spiced with fenugreek.
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^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^
LENA'S COMMENT: I usually save my comments
for the end of a piece but I think this one requires beginning
comments! Is it real or is it bought? Investigation has found
certain non-profit groups aren't exactly what they would have
you believe. Non-profits are being bought and paid for for
financial and political gain! Politics have risen to the top in
the worst way and they call it "unrestricted educational grant".
Read the investigative reporter below!
Drug (Money) Traffic
By Kelly Hearn, AlterNet. Posted September 28, 2004.
In order to elect politicians friendly to the pharmaceutical
industry, its trade group has quietly funneled millions of
dollars to non-profits - in violation of the law, says a
watchdog group.
The pharmaceutical industry's main trade association quietly
gave $41 million to "stealth PACs" in 2002 and failed to mention
most of it to the IRS, according to a report issued by a
watchdog group.
Public
Citizen says four non-profit groups, so-called 501(c)(4)s
for the IRS code under which they operate, were heavily financed
by The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA),
a gargantuan trade association representing more than 40 of the
world's most recognized drug companies. The groups, which pitch
themselves as advocacy groups for senior citizens, but are not
obligated to disclose funding sources, apparently used the
millions of dollars to broadcast TV ads and send out direct mail
brochures supporting political candidates friendly to drug
industry interests.
That, in itself, is not illegal. But not reporting the financing
or not disclosing political activity may be illegal.
Public Citizen, basing its allegations on federal disclosure
forms and tax filings, asked the IRS last week to investigate
PhRMA for not disclosing a combined $31 million it gave two of
the groups, United Seniors Association and 60 Plus.
It also accused all four non-profits - the other two being
Seniors Coalition and America 21 - of lying to the tax
authorities about the extent of their political efforts.
But even if the IRS takes PhRMA to task, observers say it won't
mean a hill of beans.
The association's wealth and political leverage are near
impossible to overstate. The primary industry mouthpiece on
Capital Hill, PhRMA counts among its members some of the world's
biggest corporations, including Eli Lilly and Company, Bayer
Corporation Pharmaceuticals Division and Merck & Co. From 1991
to 2002, members of PhRMA spent $558 million dollars on
political contributions, lobbying and advertising, according to
Common Cause, a citizen advocacy group which tracks money in
politics. And last year alone, in order to shape the Medicare
prescription drug bill, PhRMA spent more than $16 million on
lobbyists, according to Public Citizen.
If found to be in violation of tax law, however, the groups
which PhRMA funded could lose their cherised non-profit status.
Court Rosen, a PhRMA spokesperson, says the association doesn't
discuss advocacy tactics or make its contributions public. "But
any contributions we make are always within the letter and
spirit of the law," he says.
And contributions it will make.
PhRMA will spend what it can to keep friends in Congress. That's
because its members so heavily depend on government favors.
Patents, tax credits and deductions, taxpayer-funded scientific
research - these are the life-affirming taxpayer gifts to
industry. Also helpful are laws that shut out lower cost foreign
imports of drugs, keep cheaper generic drugs off the market, and
push government regulators out of drug price negotiations' laws
that PhRMA-friendly lawmakers have handed up over the years.
Keeping warm ears in Congress means getting the right propaganda
to voters, but in nuanced ways.
"Names like 60 Plus Association, Seniors
Coalition and United Seniors Association
have a far more pleasant connotation that the Pharmaceutical
Research and Manufacturers of America," says Taylor Lincoln of
Public Citizen. "The first list of names smacks of alliances of
concerned citizens, presumably largely volunteers, while PhRMA
sounds like what it is, a trade association for a for-profit
industry."
And even though PhRMA and the non-profit groups did not disclose
their financing, Public Citizen researchers, in making their
case, connected what they say were obvious dots.
In 2002, for example, United Seniors got $20 million from a
single undisclosed source, a sum constituting 79 percent of its
total revenue that year. PhRMA acknowledged providing an
"unrestricted educational grant" to United Seniors the same
year. Similarly, about $11 million of the $12 million budget of
60 Plus flowed from one source in 2002. PhRMA said it also gave
an "unrestricted educational grant" to 60 Plus that year.
United Seniors Association, which did not respond to an
interview request by press time, is active in this year's
election cycle. Public Citizen claims the group has sponsored TV
ads in at least 17 House races, praising candidates who
supported the PhRMA-backed Medicare drug law passed by Congress
in 2003. That law is widely considered to be a gift horse for
the pharmaceutical industry.
In a letter sent last week, Public Citizen asked IRS
Commissioner Mark Everson to open a special investigation of
PhRMA and the non-profit groups. The key allegation is that the
groups undertook enough political activity to breach a
prohibition against making political activity their primary
purpose. The letter, signed by Public Citizen President Joan
Claybook, also claimed PhRMA "failed to disclose its grants to
USA and 60 Plus, perhaps as much as $20.1 million and $11
million, respectively, to whom it is known to have given money
in 2002."
Another claim is that all the non-profit groups claimed zero
political expenditures to the IRS, asserting instead that their
2002 communications were not intended to influence elections.
"These claims do not seem plausible given the content of the
groups, television commercials and direct mailings, the timing
of their messages, and the groups' decisions to direct the
messages disproportionately to voters who lived in particularly
competitive election districts," the letter stated.
***Kelly Hearn is a correspondent for The Christian Science
Monitor and a former science and technology writer for UPI.
Based in Washington DC and Telluride, CO, he is currently
investigating the political influence of major pharmaceutical
companies.
Organic Farming Studied As Demand Rises
By JONATHAN DREW
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Organic farming sounds simple - no chemical
fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides or genetically engineered plants.
But succeeding at it can be complicated. A recent wave of research at
universities around the country seeks to take some of the guesswork and
financial uncertainty out of the practice.
"There's so many things that interact naturally that you can't control
that you could with chemicals. I think you could spend a whole lifetime
learning how," said Dale Dyko, who raises corn, spelt - a type of wheat
- and soybeans on about 30 acres in Xenia in western Ohio.
Organic food sales almost tripled from 1997 through 2003 to $10.4
billion, according to the Organic Trade Association. Organic fruits and
vegetables account for most of the sales, while organic meats and snack
foods - such as corn chips and rice cakes - are two of the fastest
growing segments.
"Organic agriculture is just a growth culture within all agricultural
industries," said Matt Kleinhenz, the lead researcher on a study at Ohio
State University. "Scientifically and practically we don't know enough
about it."
The U.S. Department of Agriculture says it has been increasing its
financial support of organic farming research at universities and other
organizations since 2000. Funding for one program has increased nearly
fourfold to about $1.9 million from 2000, said Philip Schwab, a policy
adviser with the agency.
However, organic farming makes up only a small part of U.S. agriculture.
Certified organic crops were grown on 562,486 acres in 2002, a fraction
of the 300 million acres on which all crops were harvested, according to
the USDA's census.
Making money at farming has for generations meant using chemicals to
kill weeds, fight off insects and disease and otherwise wrench
predictable results from soil and plants. Going organic - and thus
abandoning use of nearly all chemicals - unleashes a different set of
variables.
"Conventional ag is a little bit more like a recipe. You know what to
pour out of the bag," said Nancy Creamer, director of the Center for
Environmental Farming Systems at North Carolina State University.
Farmers like Ed Snavely, who switched from traditional to organic
methods in 1986, say they have relied on advice from other growers and
trial and error to develop their techniques.
Snavely monitors temperature and soil moisture and scrapes his fingers
through the dirt looking for young weeds just below the surface that
look like tiny, white hairs to decide when to attach the tools to his
tractor that will rip the weeds from the soil.
He'll typically do so three times before planting his crops, which
include corn, buckwheat, soybeans and hay, and four times after
planting. Waiting even a day too long can allow the weeds to grow too
big to manage easily, he said.
Snavely used to kill weeds on his 100 acres in Knox County by spraying
chemicals, which required only one trip through the fields.
"With most of your conventional farmers, it's plant, spray and forget.
If you're going to go organic, you can't plant and forget. You've got to
be out there walking your fields," he said.
Going organic can also be a financial risk. In subtracting nearly all
chemicals, farmers say they also subtract from their profits in the
first few years. It takes time to master a new way of farming.
Compounding the problem, a farmer who switches from conventional growing
methods has to wait three years to obtain certification from the
government, a label that helps ensure higher prices.
Snavely said he would have benefited if more scientific data had been
available when he first made the switch.
"I took some big yield reductions because I didn't know what I was
doing," he said.
Current studies aim to generate data that can be accessed through the
Internet or obtained from university and government employees who
consult with farmers.
Cathy Eastman, vegetable entomologist at the Illinois Natural History
Survey, leads a study that uses three different crop strategies and
three kinds of soil enrichment. Scientists from five different fields
are studying plant and soil health and how to control weeds and insects.
Kleinhenz and other researchers at Ohio State are studying how farmers
can survive a transition to organic farming from conventional farming.
They are examining economics, horticulture, soil biology, plant diseases
and other issues.
The researchers are looking at four different ways of switching to an
organic method over three years: leaving the ground fallow, growing hay,
growing a series of vegetables in open air and growing a series of
vegetables under plastic tunnels.
Each method is tested with and without composted manure, giving
researchers a total of eight plots to test.
Among their initial findings: manure has improved soil fertility faster
than expected and weeds have produced fewer seeds in the fallow fields,
indicating that the weed population would probably decline more quickly
there.
North Carolina State's Creamer said the organic farming studies will
also benefit conventional farmers. A study she's leading tests how crops
grow after the removal of each of three chemicals - a herbicide,
pesticide and chemical fertilizer.
"A lot of conventional farmers have been waiting for the universities to
confirm some of the existing anecdotal evidence," she said. www.ota.com
http://www.csrees.usda.gov/
============================================== $ INFORMATION THAT COULD CHANGE YOUR LIFE $
==============================================
====================================== We have accepted 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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