U.S. Says Food, Drug Inspection Access In China Improving
U.S. officials opened the first overseas Food and Drug Administration office in Beijing on Wednesday as they gear up for a long battle to ensure the quality of food, drug and feed imports from China....
Weight loss surgery before pregnancy may benefit both mother and child
Washington, Nov 19 : A new study ha revealed that obese women who have weight loss surgery before becoming pregnant have a lower risk of pregnancy-related health problems and their children are less likely to be born with complications.
Cancer patients upset they
Oncologists upset cancer patients by not telling them about the steep cost of drugs and treatment.
Fluoride in Drinking Water may Negatively Affect Health of Fetuses and Infants
(NaturalNews) Did you know that fluoride in our water supplies is the only chemical added for a specific medical purpose, i.e. to prevent tooth decay? All other chemicals are added for treatment purposes, to improve the quality and safety of tap water. And an expert has voiced his concerns over the potential negative impact of fluoride in drinking water on the health of fetuses and infants. Dr Vyvyan Howard is a medical pathologist and toxicologist, and also President of the International Society of Doctors for the Environment. In a short video clip put together by the Fluoride Action Network, he expressed his concern over the use of fluoride in our water supplies. About Dr Howard Over the last two to three decades, Dr Howard's research has centered on the effects of toxic substances on the development of fetuses and infants. This, of course, is a period of life whereby one is particularly vulnerable to certain external effects. So, how was Dr Howard's attention first drawn to fluoride? According to him, it was the "very very low levels" of the chemical found in human breast milk. This, he said, is due to a mechanism developed in the course of evolution, specifically for keeping the substance away from developing infants. "Nature has devised a system for keeping fluoride away from the infant, and we are circumventing that by putting fluoride into drinking water, and I think there are consequences," he said. What consequences? According to Dr Howard, fluoride is a developmental toxin. More specifically, it is a neurotoxin, and it may also affect the intelligence of the child. While the evidence may not yet be clear-cut, there do seem to be strong indications. Further, Dr Howard said that other studies have shown the possible ability of fluoride to affect hormonal systems and endocrine systems. In particular, it can influence thyroid levels, and that can have an impact on the IQ in children who are in the development phase. When thyroid levels are measured in the mother, being at the upper limit of the normal range of thyroid and being at the lower limit of the normal range brings about a difference in intelligence in the offspring. Where thyroid levels are concerned, we are thus "tinkering with quite a sensitive system". About Water Fluoridation Should fluoride be added to our water supplies? Dr Howard was quite clear about what he felt. "So, the evidence is out there for us to have to say that we got to be very careful. And my opinion is that there isn't a satisfactory one dose fits all solution through treating our population via tap water. There are going to be some members of that population which will be more disadvantaged than others, and they will obviously include the fetus and the infant, but at the other end of life, people who have got marginal kidney function will be more susceptible. And therefore, I don't think, on a precautionary basis, that we should be continuing the fluoridation of drinking water supplies," he said. And he had some strong words regarding the authorities who continue adding fluoride to water supplies, too. "If governments don't have ways of making sure that people in the areas that are fluoridated who are susceptible, like bottled fed babies, are actually stopped from being exposed in that way, then they have no right, really, to be using a mass medication like this," he added. According to the video clip, Dr Howard is one of over 1,750 professionals from various communities - medical, scientific, and environmental - to sign a statement "calling for an end to water fluoridation worldwide". Worried about the Teeth? There may be some of us who are worried about how removing fluoride from our drinking water might affect our teeth. But we may not need to be. An increasing number of studies have cast doubts on the benefits which water fluoridation can bring to the teeth. According to statistics from the World Health Organization, the tooth decay rates of countries which do not fluoridate their water supplies are just as low, or even lower, than those countries which do. Further, several studies published since 2000 have reported that there has been no increase in tooth decay rates noted in communities which ended water fluoridation. And we should also note that, in November 2006, the American Dental Association actually advised parents to avoid giving fluoridated water to babies. Babies who are exposed to fluoride have a higher risk of getting dental fluorosis, which is a permanent tooth defect arising when fluoride damages the cells which form the teeth. Fluoride's benefits result from topical contact with the teeth, and swallowing or ingesting it brings minimal benefit. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, fluoride's "predominant effect is posteruptive and topical". Posteruptive means "occurring or forming after eruption (as of the teeth)". Removing Fluoride from Our Water In fact, ingesting fluoride comes with many health risks. Besides affecting the brain and the thyroid gland, the bones and kidneys can also be negatively impacted. For those of us who are genuinely concerned about our health, and especially the health of our little ones, removing fluoride from our drinking water is imperative. Unfortunately, unlike for chlorine, boiling does not do the trick. An installation of a reverse osmosis filter, or carrying out of water distillation, may thus be necessary. Main Sources Fluoride Action Network video clip and website About the author Reuben Chow has a keen interest in the area of natural health and healing and carries out regular research on the topic. His website, All 4 Natural Health , offers a basic guide on natural health information. It details simple, effective and natural ways, such as the use of nutrition , various herbs , herb remedies , supplements and other natural remedies , to deal with various health conditions as well as to attain good health.
U.S. Army Shoots Live Pigs for Target Practice
(NaturalNews) People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has exposed a U.S. Army practice of shooting live pigs so that soldiers can treat their gunshot wounds. "Shooting and maiming pigs is as outdated as Civil War rifles," said Kathy Guillermo, director of PETA's Laboratory Investigations Department. The Army says that it needs to maintain the practice in order to train soldiers to treat battlefield wounds in conditions where access to doctors or medical facilities is limited. "It's to teach Army personnel how to manage critically injured patients within the first few hours of their injury," said Maj. Derrick Cheng, spokesperson for the 25th Infantry Division of the 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, stationed at Schofield Barracks in Honolulu, Hawaii. The practice was revealed when a soldier from the 25th Infantry became upset over plans to shoot live pigs with M16 rifles and M4 carbines, and tipped PETA off. "There's absolutely no reason why they have to shoot live pigs," said PETA spokesperson Holly Beal. PETA has called on the Army to stop using animals and its medical training, "as the overwhelming majority of North American medical schools have already done." Modern alternatives such as high-tech human simulators are easily available, the group said. But the Army has insisted that there is no substitute for "live-tissue training." "What we're doing is unique to what the soldiers are going to actually experience," Cheng said. In addition to objecting to the suffering and death undergone by the pigs themselves, PETA has noted that many of the soldiers being trained might also find the experience distressing, because the associate the pigs in their minds with their own pets. The group has called on its members to call an e-mail the Army in objection to live- tissue training. "We are not going to let it drop," Guillermo said. "We'll continue to press both Schofield and the Department of Defense for a ban on these trauma training exercises." Sources for this story include: ap.google.com.
Women Remain Uninformed about the Hazards of Mammograms
(NaturalNews) It takes a long wait to get a mammogram these days, sometimes up to a month. The waiting rooms are jammed despite the opening of new mammography centers. It is clear that more women than ever are operating under the delusion that mammograms reduce the risk of death from breast cancer, even in the face of overwhelming evidence that radiation causes all types of cancer including that of the breast. The more radiation a woman receives in her lifetime, whether it is during a dental exam, at an airport, or during her yearly mammogram, the more likely it is that she will develop breast cancer. In fact, the spiraling rates of breast cancer seen in the last 25 years may be directly tied to the increased use of mammography. The American Cancer Society (ACS) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) began to encourage the use of mammography in the early 1980's. Mammography fit right in with their financial objectives and even the advertising rhetoric at the time that urged "a checkup and a check". For the past 25 years, women have paid the price for compliance to a cancer industry that failed to have their best interests at heart. The harmful effects of radiation and mammograms have been known for decades In 1974, while mammography was in its infancy, the National Cancer Institute was warned by Professor Malcolm C. Pike at the University of Southern California School of Medicine that a number of specialists had concluded that "giving a women under age 50 a mammogram on a routine basis was close to unethical". This warning was ignored. Also in the 1970's, the Director of Biostatistics at Rosewell Park Memorial Institute for Cancer Research, Dr. Irwin Bross, headed a study involving data from 16 million people. This ground breaking study found that the main cause of the rising rates of leukemia was medical radiation in the form of diagnostic medical X-rays. Applying his findings to the breast cancer screening program, Dr. Bross later elaborated that "women should have been given the information about the hazards of radiation at the same time they were given the sales talk for mammography." In the early 1980's as the mammogram began to be rolled out to women across the country in the face of this research, the NCI and ACS jointly urged annual breast X-rays for women under age 50. Doctors assumed there was good evidence supporting the recommendations and became enthusiastically ordered mammograms for all their female patients, even though they should have know better. In 1985, the Lancet , one of the five leading medical journals in the world, published an article condemning the mammography recommendations under which "Over 280,000 women were recruited without being told that no benefit of mammography had been shown in a controlled trial for women below 50, and without being warned about the potential risk of induction of breast cancer by the test which was supposed to detect it. Dr. John Gofman, Professor Emeritus of Molecular and Cell Biology at the University of California at Berkeley, in the early 1990's found that three-quarters of the annual incidence of breast cancer in the United States was caused by earlier ionizing radiation, primarily from medical sources. He did not under estimate the role played by pesticides, synthetic hormones, fatty diets and other environmental stressors, stating "There is no inherent conflict or competition between carcinogens," because they multiply each other's carcinogenic effects. Dr. Gofman abhorred the fact that although X-rays and radiotherapy were among the few environmental contaminants known unequivocally to cause many forms of cancer, they were routinely recommended and used with many cancer patients although there was no proven benefit to survival. The media and the government health officials stayed silent regarding the mounting evidence that mammograms caused cancer, and the ACS and the NCI continued to recommend mammograms. In 1992 Samuel Epstein, professor at the University of Illinois Medical Center along with 64 other distinguished cancer authorities opposed this status quo thinking and warned the public about what the ACS and NCI were up to. The next month, the Washington Post broke the story into the mainstream media, exposing what the ACS and the NCI had done to countless women for several years. In this article Dr. Epstein was quoted, "The high sensitivity of the breast, especially in young women, to radiation induced cancer was known by 1970. . . the establishment ignores safe and effective alternatives to mammography." He saw this as a conscious, chosen, politically expedient act by a small group of people for the sake of their own power, prestige and financial gain, resulting in suffering and death for millions of women. He regarded them as committing "crimes against humanity". In December, 1992, the New York Times published facts about mammography and concluded that women were not being told the truth. In 1995, the Lancet again blasted the ACS and NCI mammography scam by concluding: "The benefit is marginal, the harm caused is substantial, and the costs incurred are enormous." Meanwhile, women's health advocate Susan Weed began to publish her findings. In Breast Cancer? Breast Health! The Wise Woman Way , she reports that "scientists agree that there is no safe dose of radiation. Cellular DNA in the breast is more easily damaged by very small doses of radiation than thyroid tissue or bone marrow; in fact, breast cells are second only to fetal tissues in sensitivity to radiation. As an added risk, one percent of American women carry a hard-to-detect oncogene which is triggered by radiation: a single mammogram increases their risk of breast cancer by a factor of 4-6 times." Sister Rosalie Bertell, a highly respected world authority on the dangers of radiation wrote that one rad of radiation increased breast cancer risk one percent and is the equivalent of one year's natural aging. "If a woman has yearly mammograms from age 55 to 75, she will receive a minimum of 20 rads of radiation. Women surviving the blast in Hiroshima absorbed 35 rads. As a result of all this pressure, Dr. Charles B. Simone, a former clinical associate in immunology and pharmacology at the National Cancer Institute finally came out and said "Mammograms increase the risk for developing breast cancer and raise the risk of spreading or metastasizing an existing growth. The annual mammographic screening of 10,000 women aged 50-70 will extend the lives of, at best, 26 of them; and the annual screening of 10,000 women in their 40s will extend the lives of only 12 women per year." Radiation is not the only danger posed to women by mammograms Although mammography is widely used for early cancer detection screening, remarkably little attention has been paid to the techniques of breast compression used in the mammography procedure, according to William Campbell Douglass, Jr., writing for the Weston A. Price Foundation . He saw that although the principal of handling cancer very gently so as not to spread it is widely accepted by the medical profession, it doesn't apply to breast screening. During mammography the techniques used are designed for maximum detection of abnormalities without regard to the possible consequences of the action. Douglass notes a survey that found mammographers used as much compression as the patient could tolerate and had no idea how much compression they were using. In fact, the guidelines for mammography state that "adequacy of the compression device is crucial to good quality mammography." That force is 300 newtons, the equivalent of placing a 50 pound weight on the breast. Cambell reports one animal study that found that the number of metastases will increase by 80 percent if the tumor is manipulated. A human study reported in the British Medical Journal found that death rates were increase by 29 percent in women whose breasts were squeezed during mammography. This is likely to be the result of the rupture of small blood vessels in or around small yet undetected breast cancers. This squeezing into the blood stream of malignant cells is why many women with breast cancer have cancer cells in their lymph nodes. Mistaken false positive diagnoses are common in pre-menopausal women and post-menopausal women on estrogen replacement therapy because the breast tissue of these women is dense and glandular in nature. These mistakes result in needless anxiety, more mammograms, and highly dangerous biopsies that will cause cancer cells to metastasize if indeed there is a cancer. For the group of women with multiple high-risk factors, such as a strong family history, prolonged use of contraceptives, early menarche, and no history of breast feeding, the cumulative risk of false positives increases to as high as 100 percent over a decade of screening due to this being the group most strongly urged to participate in multiple screenings. Over diagnosis and subsequent over treatment are major risks of mammography. The unchallenged use of screening has resulted in a huge increase in the diagnosis of ductal carcinoma-insitu (DCIS), a pre-invasive form of cancer which has about 40,000 diagnoses annually. DCIS is composed of micro-calcifications and treated by lumpectomy plus radiation or even mastectomy and chemotherapy. However, over 80 percent of DCIS do not become invasive if left untreated. The mortality rate from DCIS is the same as for women diagnosed and treated early and for those diagnosed later, following the development of invasive cancer. The Lancet reported that, since mammographic screening was first introduced, the incidence of DCIS, which represents 12% of all breast cancer cases, has increased by 328% for all women, and 200% of this increase is due to the use of mammography. The increase in incidence for women under the age of 40 has gone up over 3000%. Without any screening and intervention, many DCIS situations are able to be positively resolved by the body, leaving women in blissful ignorance of their situation. Mammograms fail to reduce breast cancer mortality Despite all evidence to the contrary, the mantra remains that routine mammography screening allows early detection and treatment of breast cancer and reduces mortality. In reality, the vast majority of breast cancers are unaffected by early detection, either because they are aggressive or because they are not. The aggressive cancers will continue to kill women no matter how much surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy they have, unless the source of their cancer is addressed. The cancers that are not aggressive suggest a well functioning immune system that would be compromised by traditional treatments. Cancerous tumors should serve as a wake up call. Mammograms divert women's attention from addressing the real issues The mammogram industry has made women passive participant in their own health. If the result of the mammogram is positive, the woman moves on to the next phase in the cancer machine. She has even more mammograms followed by biopsies. If a cancer is found she enters the belly of the machine where she undergoes surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. She is prescribed a regime of debilitating drugs to carry her through the rest of her life, and she is spit out the other end of the machine completely ignorant of what caused her to have cancer in the first place and what she can do to try to regain her health. If the result is negative, she breathes a sigh of relief, schedules another mammogram for next year, and goes about her business as usual. Again, she is given no information with which to empower herself about how to avoid cancer. In a world where women were well treated, these actions of the cancer industry would be abhorrent. In this kind of world, a woman would be allowed to discover breast irregularities on her own and come to treatment center where a physician would help her examine her physical situation, personal history and psychology, and lifestyle. A treatment protocol would be designed specifically for her based on her situation. This protocol would address how best to restore balance and health to all aspects of her body, mind and spirit. Sources: Samuel S. Epstein, Rosalie Bertell, and Barbara Seaman, "Dangers and Unreliability of Mammography," International Journal of Health Services . William Campbell Douglass, Jr. "Mammography Madness," The Weston A. Price Foundation . Chris Gupta, "The Depths of Deceit Mammography," Share the Wealth . Rcik Ensminger, "Alert - Mammograms Cause Cancer," Rense.com . James Howenstine MD, "Do Mammograms Cause Breast Cancer?" newswithviews.com . About the author Barbara is a school psychologist, a published author in the area of personal finance, a breast cancer survivor using "alternative" treatments, a born existentialist, and a student of nature and all things natural.
Dr. Paul Donohue: Supergerms demand respect
Dear Dr. Donohue: I have heard a lot about MRSA. Can you give me some more information about it? What can we do to prevent getting it? I am a high-school student from Mr. Sherman's Anatomy and Physiology class in San Jacinto High School, S.J., California.
Ellyce Field: Fun family picks for the week
It's a weekend to see the stars, get in the mood for Christmas and kick out the jams. Older elementary kids will love learning about the fall constellations at Independence Oaks' Wint Nature Center during their Saturday nighttime Star Party while the Festival of Trees in Allen Park and the Billy Jonas Family Concert at The Ark in Ann Arbor call for intergenerational family field trips.
Marney Rich Keenan: Book is mother's candid look at bringing up an autistic son
What inspired Annie Lubliner Lehmann to write a memoir about raising her autistic 25-year-old son Jonah was not a success story or a happily-ever-after ending. It was not a triumph over silence, a disappearance of the disability through diet or a breakthrough in the obsessive mind.
George Clooney to reprise E.R. role
Washington, Nov 18 : George Clooney is all set to reprise his Dr. Doug Ross character for the finale of medical drama E.R., according to former castmate Noah Wyle.
Why some ex-smokers develop lung cancer and some don
Washington, Nov 18 : Canadian researchers claim to have found an answer to why some former smokers develop lung cancer, while others don't - despite similar lifestyle changes.
Republican leader says party is no longer
Washington, Nov.18 : A Virginian Republic leader in the U.S. House of Representatives has said that his party is no longer "relevant" to voters and must stop simply espousing principles. Instead, it must craft real solutions to health care and the economy.
Ex-Test umpire Dickie Bird receives honorary degree
London, Nov.18 : Former Test cricket umpire Dickie Bird and retired chat show host Sir Michael Parkinson were conferred Honorary Doctors of Letters degrees by the University of Huddersfield in Yorkshire on Monday.
Canola Oil May Affect Breast Cancer Risk
Early research shows the type of oil a woman consumes during pregnancy could influence her daughter's breast cancer risk years later.
Broccoli May Help Smokers' Lungs
Smokers and former smokers who eat lots of broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables may be less likely than other smokers to develop lung cancer, new research shows.
Ginkgo Biloba Doesn't Prevent Dementia
The largest and longest study ever to examine the use of ginkgo biloba for the prevention of Alzheimer's and other dementias showed no evidence of effectiveness.
Cancer Drug Avastin Raises Blood Clot Risk
The life-extending cancer drug Avastin raises the risk of dangerous blood clots by 33%, an analysis of clinical-trial data shows.
FDA Panel: Toughen Dermal Filler Warnings
Dermal fillers injected to soften facial wrinkles should carry stronger and more specific warning labels about potential adverse effects, according to an FDA advisory panel.
Root Canal or Dental Implant?
Root canals and dental implants are equally successful, but implants may need more follow-up maintenance, a new study shows.
Cystic Fibrosis Patient Conquers NYC Marathon
The New York City marathon is 37-year-old Cris Dopher's Mount Everest. It's even more remarkable considering Dopher's lung capacity is 30 percent less than normal. Dopher was just 4-years-old when he was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, a genetic disease defined by a steady decline in lung function.
Windpipe transplant breakthrough
Doctors in Spain give a woman a new windpipe with tissue grown from her own stem cells, avoiding the risk of organ rejection.
Make-A-Wish Recipient Gives Wish Away To Charity
The Make-A-Wish Foundation of Colorado has granted 3,000 wishes to children with life-threatening illnesses, but this month the charity will mark a first in its 25 year history -- a local teenager will use his wish to help cure his disease.
Drugs' Heart Risk Is FDA's Biggest Worry: Official
The rise of serious heart risks in drugs that treat chronic conditions has become one of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's top worries and is changing how the agency weighs new medicines, a top FDA official said on Tuesday....
Diabetes drugs tied to lower prostate cancer risk
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Drugs used to control diabetes may lower the risk of prostate cancer, investigators at the University of Tampere in Finland report.
Larger calves tied to lower risk of artery build-up
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Calf circumference shows an inverse association with plaque build-up in the carotid arteries in the neck that supply blood to the brain, French doctors have observed.
U.S. Medicare wants limits for weight loss surgery
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Medicare, the U.S. government's largest payer of health care, said on Monday it does not plan to cover weight-loss surgery in diabetic patients who are not dangerously overweight, saying there is not enough evidence to show it can improve their health.
Many U.S. doctors plan to quit or cut back: survey
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Primary care doctors in the United States feel overworked and nearly half plan to either cut back on how many patients they see or quit medicine entirely, according to a survey released on Tuesday.
Canola oil diet lowers cancer risk for mom, baby
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Replacing corn oil with canola oil may lower cancer risk not only for women, but for their unborn babies, U.S. researchers reported on Tuesday.
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