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!

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Sunday December 03, 2006
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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 (Sunday only)
==> Health Today
==> Environmental Report
==> Life Changing Information

As much of the country is freezing and winter weather socks them in it's time to take stock of your health habits. Are you building your immune system or tearing it down with those habits? Be serious about your health for without it you have nothing to look forward to and certainly a shortness of your life. Need help evaluating what you are doing right or wrong? Let us know what you are doing or taking to further your health and if changes need to be made we can advise! email now for evaluation!

At the risk of boring you I am going to ask a very important question; Are you taking a day of rest? It's important to do so!

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Remember ANEH Facts archives now exist Click Here
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Your Home Business Coach Archives Click Here

==> 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
===> Help The World Without Spending!
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http://www.thehungersite.com Share your LOVE here!

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Something To Think About
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Ultrasound Method May Supplant Biopsies
By CARLA K. JOHNSON, Associated Press Writer
December 1, 2006

CHICAGO -- An experimental ultrasound technique that measures how easily breast lumps compress and bounce back could enable doctors to determine instantly whether a woman has cancer or not -- without having to do a biopsy.

In a small study of 80 women, the technique, called "elastography," distinguished harmless lumps from malignant ones with nearly 100 percent accuracy.

If the results hold up in a larger study, elastography could save thousands of women from the waiting, cost, discomfort and anxiety of a biopsy, in which cells are removed from the breast -- sometimes with a needle, sometimes with a scalpel -- and examined under a microscope.

"There's a lot of anxiety, a lot of stress, a lot of fear involved" with biopsies, said Susan Brown, manager of health education for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. "And there's the cost of leaving work to make a second appointment. If this can be done instead of a biopsy, there would be a real cost reduction."

Up to 1 million biopsies are performed each year on suspicious breast tissue detected by mammograms and self-exams, but as many as eight out of 10 of these biopsies find that the lumps are benign.

Biopsies can cost $200 to $1,000, depending on whether some fluid or an entire lump is removed, and it can take days or weeks to get the results. The cost of elastography is not yet clear, but some experts said the procedure might run $100 to $200. And it can yield results in minutes.

When checked against biopsies of women's breast tissue, the ultrasound technique correctly identified 17 out of 17 cancerous tumors, and 105 out of 106 harmless lesions. The findings were reported at a national radiology meeting in Chicago this week.

Word from the International Journal of Aging and Human Development, by way of a study done at Hofstra University in New York. Researchers studied the "inner ages" of various volunteers -- in other words, how old they felt, regardless of what their drivers' licenses said. They found that the signs of a happy, youthful inner age were:
being venturesome, giving advice and keeping fit.
But the signs of being old and unhappy were: "taking advice, being a homebody and having health worries."

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Give The Gift Of Health!

Balance is the Key To Health

Look What A Balance of Minerals Could 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

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Pfizer Ends Cholesterol Drug Development
Dec 3, 2006
By THERESA AGOVINO

Pfizer Inc. (PFE) said Saturday it has cut off all clinical trials and development for a cholesterol drug that was supposed to be the star of its pipeline because of an unexpected number of deaths and cardiovascular problems in patients who used it.

The world's largest drugmaker said it was told Saturday that an independent board monitoring a study for torcetrapib, a drug that raises levels of HDL, or what's commonly known as good cholesterol, recommended that the work end because of "an imbalance of mortality and cardiovascular events."

The news is devastating to Pfizer, which had been counting on the drug to revitalize stagnant sales that have been hurt by numerous patent expirations on key products. It has said it was spending around $800 million to develop Torcetrapib.

There were already concerns about the drug because a recent study showed it triggered a slight increase in blood pressure, but it was unclear if that was behind the patient deaths and cardiovascular problems.

Pfizer said it is asking all clinical investigators conducting trials to warn patients to stop taking the drug immediately.

According to Pfizer spokesman Paul Fitzhenry, 82 patients taking the combination of torcetrapib died, compared to 51 deaths in the arm of the study where patients were taking Lipitor alone. Each arm of the study had 7,500 patients. Pfizer said that the study didn't raise any questions about Lipitor's safety.

Just two days ago, Pfizer had said it hoped to file an application with the Food and Drug Administration for approval of torcetrapib by the second half of next year. But despite the loss of the drug, Pfizer reiterated it would return to sales growth by 2009 and that it would achieve high single-digit earning growth in 2008.

However, Pfizer said the loss of the product would mean an acceleration of cost cutting measures it promised in October, which were already supposed to extend beyond the promise it made last year to slash $4 billion in expenses by 2008.

Earlier this week, Pfizer said it would cut 20 percent, or 2,200 positions, from its U.S. sales force, in a move analysts said could save the company between $400 million and $500 million annually. Pfizer said at the time more details on how it would transform the company would be announced in January.

New York-based Pfizer had expected to sell torcetrapib in combination with Lipitor, which lowers bad cholesterol and is the company's - and the world's - best-selling drug. At an analysts meeting on Thursday, Pfizer emphasized that it has 242 research programs and other promising drugs in the pipeline, but analysts remained focused on Torcetrapib and said Pfizer would struggle without it.

Patent expirations will cost the company $14 billion in annual sales between 2005 and 2007, the company said. Lipitor, which had $12.2 billion in sales last year, may lose patent protection by 2010.

Pfizer's decision to end the drug's development highlights the perils of drug development and safety, which have been under a harsh spotlight since Merck & Co. (MRK) withdrew pain killer Vioxx from the market two years ago.

Dr. Philip Barter, chairman of the steering committee overseeing the study, said in Pfizer's release that the findings of the data safety monitoring board Torcetrapib were a surprise "in light of prior study results."

"We believed that the study was coming along as expected, and this new information was totally unexpected and disappointing, given the potential benefits of this drug," said Barter, Director of the Heart Research Institute in Australia.

Strange shape, strange names but great taste!

Last week I wrote about a sister to this fruit! Today is the original thing!

I just tried this strange pear/ball/grapefruit shaped thing last year just because it would make for less toxins in my body as it has a thick skin making it less likely to be full of pesticide chemicals. The name was strange food? MANY… I found out that it carries names like; pomelo = pummelo = Chinese grapefruit = shaddock! Pronunciation: PUHM-uh-low - The French name for this fruit is chadec. The current Malayan names are limau abong, limau betawi, limau bali, limau besar, limau bol, limau jambua, Bali lemon, and pomelo. The names throughout the world is extensive and too many to put here but if you are interested in all of them Click Here

I'll call it a Pummelo as that is what the name on the box says... Pummel is the largest of the citrus fruits with a shape that can be fairly round or slightly pointed at one end similar to a pear - the fruit ranges from nearly round to oblate or pear-shaped. They range from cantaloupe-size to as large as a 25-pound watermelon and have very thick, soft rind. The one I bought was sort of pear shaped and about 10 inches across... It is known in the western world mainly as the principal ancestor of the grapefruit The pummelo is popular in the Asia and is new to California but rarely seen in the Eastern United States.

It's sweeter than a grapefruit. The skin is greenish yellow and slightly bumpy with the feel of citrus skin; flesh color ranges from pink to rose.

The pulp is milder and sweeter than its closest cousin, the grapefruit. Pummelos are available mid-January through mid-February from California. Can be used in the same manner as any other citrus fruit.

Said to be native to southeastern Asia and all of Malaysia; It is said to grow wild on river banks in the Fiji and Friendly Islands. It is said to have been introduced into China around 100 B.C. It is much cultivated in southern China - Kwang-tung, Kwangsi and Fukien Provinces - and especially in southern Thailand on the banks to the Tha Chine River; also in Taiwan and southernmost Japan, southern India, Malaya, Indonesia, New Guinea and Tahiti.

The pummelo is also called shaddock after an English sea captain, Captain Shaddock, who introduced the seed to the West Indies in the 17th Century from the Malay Archipelago. The seeds produced fruit somewhat smaller than the current grapefruit, more like an orange. The size of the fruit and the fact that it grew in bunches or clusters like grapes prompted a 19th century naturalist to liken the new fruit to grapes, with which it has no botanical relationship whatsoever.

Some say the grapefruit is a cross between an orange and the pummelo (or shaddock), while others believe that grapefruit is a natural mutant (sometimes referred to as a small shaddock) derived from the seeds Captain Shaddock brought to the West Indies.

Pummelo skin is also used medicinally in some cultures. For instance, in the Philippines and Southeast Asia, decoctions of the leaves, flowers, and rind are given for their sedative effect in cases of epilepsy, chorea and convulsive coughing. The hot leaf decoction is applied on swellings and ulcers. The fruit juice is taken as a febrifuge. The seeds are employed against coughs, dyspepsia and lumbago. Gum that exudes from declining trees is collected and taken as a cough remedy in Brazil.

As for the nutrients in a Pummelo? There are many as with other citrus and used extensively for medicinal uses in the Asian countries...

I prefer mine raw as it is very tasty, just slightly sweeter than a grapefruit with a very similar taste. I shall be eating many more of them but I have been unable to find out the exact nutrients but I suspect they are very near to most citrus fruits in nutrient content….

It is well worth it!
Lena

HOW TRUTHFUL OR SAFE CAN THESE STUDIES BE? Money seems to run the world above all else, and I've watched it up close and personal for too many years.

Financial ties found among clinical trials More than a third of those overseeing studies report monetary links to pharmaceutical or medical firms.
By Denise Gellene,
November 30, 2006

More than one-third of experts charged with overseeing clinical trials at medical schools and research hospitals have financial ties to companies that sell pharmaceuticals and medical devices, according to survey results released Wednesday.

The report found that nearly 7% of experts discussed or voted on clinical studies sponsored by companies they had relationships with or by competitors of those companies - a conflict of interest under federal rules.

The survey, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, is the first to provide a broad look at financial conflicts of interest among people who sit on institutional review boards.

The review boards, whose members may include doctors, nurses and community residents, are charged with ensuring the scientific validity of clinical trials and protecting the safety of patients who participate in them.

Every institution that conducts human research and receives federal funds is required to have an institutional review board.

The influence of industry on medical research is a growing concern, with much of the recent scrutiny directed at physicians who conduct and report on clinical trials in which they have a financial interest.

In July, the Journal of the American Medical Assn. tightened its disclosure policies after several cases in which authors of research reports failed to reveal their financial ties to drug companies.

For the latest study, researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital and the University of Massachusetts sent surveys to 893 review board members at 100 institutions and got 574 responses.

The participants were anonymous.

Thirty-six percent said they had at least one financial relationship with a company during the previous year.

Such relationships included corporate funding of research, consulting for a company, receiving royalties for an invention, owning stock, and sitting on a corporate board.

More than 85% of survey respondents said their colleagues' relationships didn't influence their decisions.

One-third of review board members said either their institution did not have a formal process for disclosing financial ties, or that they didn't know of such a process.

Eric G. Campbell, a health policy expert at Massachusetts General Hospital and lead author of the study, said it wasn't possible to eliminate relationships between academia and industry.

Scientists rely on companies for research funding, and companies rely on academic centers to test new products.

Because of this, review boards need to strengthen their disclosure policies and do a better job of policing conflicts, Campbell said.

The failure of some board members to recuse themselves when they had a conflict of interest was worrisome, he added.

Susan L. Rose, executive director of USC's Office for the Protection of Research Subjects, said academic institutions had been reassessing their policies and discussing the need for mandatory disclosures.

Members of USC's review board disclose their conflicts at every meeting, but the practice isn't required, she said.

"Mandatory disclosure is the gold standard," said Rose, who was not involved in the study.

In a related report in the journal, patients in cancer-research trials said they would not have changed their minds about participating in the studies had they known in advance about the financial ties between researchers and drug companies.

Senior author Dr. Ezekiel J. Emanuel of the National Institutes of Health said patients did not want the additional burden of sorting out conflicts of interest and they assumed that an "oversight system" was in place to protect their interests.

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Wildfire smoke sickens young, research finds

Even non-asthmatic children experience respiratory problems when exposed to soot and gases from blazes, USC study says.
By Marla Cone,
December 1, 2006

When wildfires sweep through Southern California, more than houses, trees and firefighters are in danger. Children, even healthy ones without asthma, suffer serious respiratory symptoms from breathing smoke, according to a USC study to be published today.

The researchers questioned the parents of nearly 5,000 children after the October 2003 wildfires that burned more than 1,000 square miles in Southern California, creating plumes of smoke.

Wheezing, coughing, colds, bronchitis, sore throats, sneezing and irritated eyes were among the children's symptoms. Many parents reported that their sons and daughters missed school and visited doctors' offices because of these problems.

The study suggests that children can stay healthier during wildfires if they limit outdoor activity and take other precautions recommended by public health agencies.

Asthmatics suffered the most symptoms, but there was also a high frequency of respiratory problems among children without the disorder ? so much so that many seemed as if they had asthma, the researchers reported in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

"One thing this study shows us is that during severe wildfires, children who do not have asthma may be experiencing what it is like to live with asthma," said Dr. Nino Kunzli, lead author of the study and an associate professor of preventive medicine at USC's Keck School of Medicine.

The study, involving first-, second-, and 12th-graders in 16 cities, is the first large-scale investigation of the consequences of wildfires on children's health.

Questionnaires were filled out by 4,609 parents who are participating in a long-term project researching the health effects of air pollution in Southern California and on the Central Coast.

Twelve of the communities were directly affected by the fires or had dense smoke. Of those, Upland, Mira Loma and San Bernardino recorded the worst smoke levels, although Long Beach, Riverside, San Dimas, Glendora and Anaheim were among others with smoky air.

During two weeks in 2003, multiple fires roared through all six Southern California counties, burning 1,200 square miles and destroying 3,640 homes.

Smoke hovered over the Los Angeles Basin for days, and airborne particulates reached 10 to 20 times usual levels. In addition to pieces of soot that can irritate airways and lodge in lungs, smoke contains toxic gases.

"We confirmed very substantial effects of wildfire smoke exposure on eyes as well as upper and lower respiratory symptoms, in both asthmatics and non-asthmatics," the study says. The increase in respiratory problems was strongest among children without asthma, apparently because asthmatics took preventive action, such as staying indoors, wearing masks and using air conditioners.

Kunzli said non-asthmatics reported as many health problems on the smoky days as asthmatics do on smoke-free days.

Parents of one of every five non-asthmatic children reported that the children were coughing during the fires, compared with one of every two to three asthmatic children. About 7% reported wheezing by non-asthmatic children, while for asthmatic children, it was one-third. About 13% of all the children missed school.

The health problems for non-asthmatic children were somewhat unexpected, said Jean Ospital of the South Coast Air Quality Management District, which co-funded the study.

"We generally think people with chronic diseases are more sensitive, but this shows that we're all sensitive to the effects of smoke and we have to worry about everyone, not just people with asthma," he said. "This study reinforces what we think is the right thing to do, to advise people to avoid exposure to smoke whenever they can."

Sneezing or stuffy noses were the most frequent symptom, reported by 41% of the parents, followed by irritated eyes, reported by more than 35%.

Although it's not unusual for children to suffer frequent stuffy noses and coughs, the rates of such symptoms rose substantially in the smokiest areas.

Parents of children in the communities with the highest particulate levels reported three times more eye irritation and twice as much coughing, nose symptoms and sore throats than those in less smoky areas. Also, those who smelled smoke indoors for more than six days reported wheezing and other respiratory problems two to five times more frequently than those with low smoke exposure. Asthma attacks increased 63% in the smoky areas.

Dr. Sverre Vedal of the University of Washington said in an editorial accompanying the report that it may seem obvious that people suffer respiratory problems during wildfires. He said, however, that the study was important to determine who is most susceptible and the full range of their symptoms.

But Vedal said there are likely biases in the data, because the researchers relied on parents' memories and focused on specific symptoms. "Although we know there are health impacts from exposure to wildfire smoke, we remain uncertain about the range and severity," he wrote.