Tyson Foods, the world's largest meat processor and the second largest chicken producer in the U.S., has admitted that it injects its chickens with antibiotics before they hatch and then labels them as raised without antibiotics.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has told Tyson to stop using the antibiotic-free label, but the company has sued for the right to keep using it.
Poultry farmers regularly treat chickens and other birds with antibiotics. But scientists have become increasingly concerned that the routine use of antibiotics in animal agriculture may accelerate the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
After Tyson began labeling its chicken antibiotic-free, the USDA warned the company that such labels were not truthful, because Tyson regularly treats its birds' feed with bacteria-killing ionophores. Tyson argued that ionophores are antimicrobials rather than antibiotics, and are not used on human patients.
Tyson suggested a compromise which was eventually accepted by the USDA -- they would use a label reading "raised without antibiotics that impact antibiotic resistance in humans."
Tyson's competitors: Perdue Farms Inc., Sanderson Farms Inc. and Foster Farms sued, and in May 2008, a federal judge ruled in their favor and told Tyson to stop using the label. Not long after, USDA inspectors discovered that in addition to using ionophores, Tyson was regularly injecting its chicken eggs with gentamicin, an antibiotic that has been used for more than 30 years.
The agency told Tyson that based on the new discovery, it would no longer consider the antibiotic-free label "truthful and accurate." Tyson objected again, claiming that because the antibiotics are injected before the chickens hatched, the birds can truthfully be said to be "raised without antibiotics."
Tyson has filed a lawsuit against the USDA, claiming that the agency had improperly changed the definition of "raised without antibiotics" to include the treatment of eggs.
Authors note, "another of the sick-assed crap pulled on the American people by big corporations! Boycott Tyson's Chickens!"
Sources:
Natural News November 9, 2008
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Today, I watched a honeybee
Today is the day before Thanksgiving. In Mexico Thanksgiving Day is not celebrated; perhaps the Mexican people have their own Day Of Thanksgiving. Perhaps, many of the people in Mexico do not feel such a holiday is worthy as there is much need here.
Today, the day before the United States Day of Thanksgiving, I was sitting on our second floor patio, overlooking the lake and enjoying the warm tropical sun, even though the air temperature was 53 degrees. I currently have bronchitis and laryngitis so I felt the sun would be healing therapy.
Directly below our patio is a large lemon tree. It reaches the second floor so it must be 10 or 12 feet tall and 20 feet or so in circumference. It is a "mature" tree, just as I am a "mature" human. The tree has a hundred or so lemons on it. Some are as small as apple seeds, some the size of pennies, some the size of fully mature fruit. The tree is life in miniature. The fruit is of all sizes, shapes, quality and color. Just as in our life. It is home to birds, spiders, caterpillars, various bugs, butterflies, moths and honeybees. In the summer we hang our canary cage on one of its limbs and it becomes a singing lemon tree.
Our tree blooms all year; even now during the cool months of late fall the tree is blooming. It bloomed and produced all summer during the tropical wet season. Now it has decided to try and produce during the cool, dry season. Such hope! Such optimism! Such life! I picked one of our lemons, peeled and ate the fruit and juice, while enjoying the sun. The juice was very tart, thus I knew it had a high quantity of vitamin C. It was slightly bitter, so I knew it possessed healing levels of limonene. Therefore, it should be helpful for my bronchitis and laryngitis.
While I munched on my fresh lemon, I leaned over the iron railing a saw a solitary honeybee working over the blossoms. A single bee, out on his own, working at a task nature had placed upon him. He was working in spite of the cool temperatures, infrequent blossoms and other obstacles. He worked patiently and deliberately. He went from blossom to blossom and stayed as long as it took for him to gather the nectar. At this time of year, the winter spiders have set their traps between twigs and leaves to gather their food to tide them through the winter months. I watched as the honeybee, deftly dipped under a web and escaping it's entrapment continued to the next blossom. To continue his work.
Since he was the only honeybee I saw, all the nectar gathering, all the rewards of his work would be for he and his hive. Bringing home the bacon, so to speak.
It reminded me of people who work at jobs that they have been directed to and they go do their jobs day after day, in spite of obstacles. Sometimes they work by themselves, sometimes when the "conditions" are not conducive, sometimes when they don't feel well, sometimes when all others have quit for the season. They do it because just as the honeybee does, there is work to do. So they do it. They do it for themselves and their families.
Honeybees are the unsung heroes of the natural world, they contribute so much to other species and gather so little respect. They are dying out (a massive die-off) as a species now, due to bacterial/viral infections, pesticides and the maniacal Genetically Modified Foods (GMO's) foods. When the honeybees are all gone, then we'll know how important they were for us. Just as the Navajo wise man asked, "When all the prairie dogs are gone, who'll sing for the rain?"
Our unsung heroes of our society; the traveling salesperson, the factory worker who produces widgets for sale, others who produce tangible items for our use, teachers-who used to be able to actually teach, instead now act as baby sitters, the small farmer who provided most of our food, the waterworks persons who have one of the most important jobs in the country which is providing clean and safe drinking water supply from an ever decreasing source, the herb collectors who could help keep people healthy, instead of just treating symptoms as doctors now do; these unsung heroes have fallen by the wayside. They no longer count in our new hero-worship. They have been cast in the waste bin of life. Producers are now an antiquated bunch. Useless, as the honeybee, in this new world which has come into being.
The new heroes in the US are now the military and Blackwater mercenaries proudly fighting in unprovoked and unnecessary wars wherever they feel the need, killing men, women and children who have done nothing wrong but are then named "insurgents" after their deaths, military types using drone aircraft to fire missles at Afghan wedding parties-killing all- and then tout statistics of killing "enemy combatants", police who use their tasers on anything that moves, laughing as if it is a game, instead of "talking" with someone, torturers on our government payroll who kidnap innocent people and torture them for years in the name of the United States people, the bankers who steal as much a they can while producing absolutely nothing out of nothing but they keep the goods, the stock traders who sell and make money from selling bundles of nothing to each other so all the vermin can make lots of money while those who are retired and trusted these rats watch their retirement disappear into overseas banks, the Congresscritters and Senators who receive most of their pay from lobbyists and then vote for laws to help only the lobbyists, while ignoring the poor and disappearing middle-class. The Treasury Secretary, who came from the same den of vipers on Wall Street, demands (and receives) unlimited amounts of money to spend as he sees fit to help his buddies in the treasury banks continue to make their billions from the taxpayers, sports "stars" who are paid multi-millions of dollars while contributing absolutely nothing to society and while these "stars" arrogantly ignore laws and common sense (some who see nothing wrong with raising pit-bulls to tear each other apart while these "stars" bet money on the winner! The media, especially Fox and CNN who are nothing more than paid government shills who will not or cannot tell the truth-what is really happening-to anyone. These are today's heroes. None of these creatures produce anything of value to anyone but themselves. They never have. They never will. They simply take. And if their lips are moving you can be sure they are lying!
My little honeybee that I watched this morning, goes about his life doing what he loves and helps many other species survive. Even when conditions are not good for him, he goes out each day and provides his way in the world as nature intended. He does not do harm to others, he does not steal, he does not lie. He shares what he produces for the good of the tribe. I respect him. I love him. I am thankful for him and what he contributes to the world.
I cannot say the same for the for the latter day "heroes" I mentioned above. They are the vermin of the earth. For them, I will not be celebrating Thanksgiving this year. I do not cheer their success. I will continue to be thankful each day as it unfolds and I will continue to watch as nature works its magic in small sequences and which never fails to amaze me. For this I am thankful.
Today, the day before the United States Day of Thanksgiving, I was sitting on our second floor patio, overlooking the lake and enjoying the warm tropical sun, even though the air temperature was 53 degrees. I currently have bronchitis and laryngitis so I felt the sun would be healing therapy.
Directly below our patio is a large lemon tree. It reaches the second floor so it must be 10 or 12 feet tall and 20 feet or so in circumference. It is a "mature" tree, just as I am a "mature" human. The tree has a hundred or so lemons on it. Some are as small as apple seeds, some the size of pennies, some the size of fully mature fruit. The tree is life in miniature. The fruit is of all sizes, shapes, quality and color. Just as in our life. It is home to birds, spiders, caterpillars, various bugs, butterflies, moths and honeybees. In the summer we hang our canary cage on one of its limbs and it becomes a singing lemon tree.
Our tree blooms all year; even now during the cool months of late fall the tree is blooming. It bloomed and produced all summer during the tropical wet season. Now it has decided to try and produce during the cool, dry season. Such hope! Such optimism! Such life! I picked one of our lemons, peeled and ate the fruit and juice, while enjoying the sun. The juice was very tart, thus I knew it had a high quantity of vitamin C. It was slightly bitter, so I knew it possessed healing levels of limonene. Therefore, it should be helpful for my bronchitis and laryngitis.
While I munched on my fresh lemon, I leaned over the iron railing a saw a solitary honeybee working over the blossoms. A single bee, out on his own, working at a task nature had placed upon him. He was working in spite of the cool temperatures, infrequent blossoms and other obstacles. He worked patiently and deliberately. He went from blossom to blossom and stayed as long as it took for him to gather the nectar. At this time of year, the winter spiders have set their traps between twigs and leaves to gather their food to tide them through the winter months. I watched as the honeybee, deftly dipped under a web and escaping it's entrapment continued to the next blossom. To continue his work.
Since he was the only honeybee I saw, all the nectar gathering, all the rewards of his work would be for he and his hive. Bringing home the bacon, so to speak.
It reminded me of people who work at jobs that they have been directed to and they go do their jobs day after day, in spite of obstacles. Sometimes they work by themselves, sometimes when the "conditions" are not conducive, sometimes when they don't feel well, sometimes when all others have quit for the season. They do it because just as the honeybee does, there is work to do. So they do it. They do it for themselves and their families.
Honeybees are the unsung heroes of the natural world, they contribute so much to other species and gather so little respect. They are dying out (a massive die-off) as a species now, due to bacterial/viral infections, pesticides and the maniacal Genetically Modified Foods (GMO's) foods. When the honeybees are all gone, then we'll know how important they were for us. Just as the Navajo wise man asked, "When all the prairie dogs are gone, who'll sing for the rain?"
Our unsung heroes of our society; the traveling salesperson, the factory worker who produces widgets for sale, others who produce tangible items for our use, teachers-who used to be able to actually teach, instead now act as baby sitters, the small farmer who provided most of our food, the waterworks persons who have one of the most important jobs in the country which is providing clean and safe drinking water supply from an ever decreasing source, the herb collectors who could help keep people healthy, instead of just treating symptoms as doctors now do; these unsung heroes have fallen by the wayside. They no longer count in our new hero-worship. They have been cast in the waste bin of life. Producers are now an antiquated bunch. Useless, as the honeybee, in this new world which has come into being.
The new heroes in the US are now the military and Blackwater mercenaries proudly fighting in unprovoked and unnecessary wars wherever they feel the need, killing men, women and children who have done nothing wrong but are then named "insurgents" after their deaths, military types using drone aircraft to fire missles at Afghan wedding parties-killing all- and then tout statistics of killing "enemy combatants", police who use their tasers on anything that moves, laughing as if it is a game, instead of "talking" with someone, torturers on our government payroll who kidnap innocent people and torture them for years in the name of the United States people, the bankers who steal as much a they can while producing absolutely nothing out of nothing but they keep the goods, the stock traders who sell and make money from selling bundles of nothing to each other so all the vermin can make lots of money while those who are retired and trusted these rats watch their retirement disappear into overseas banks, the Congresscritters and Senators who receive most of their pay from lobbyists and then vote for laws to help only the lobbyists, while ignoring the poor and disappearing middle-class. The Treasury Secretary, who came from the same den of vipers on Wall Street, demands (and receives) unlimited amounts of money to spend as he sees fit to help his buddies in the treasury banks continue to make their billions from the taxpayers, sports "stars" who are paid multi-millions of dollars while contributing absolutely nothing to society and while these "stars" arrogantly ignore laws and common sense (some who see nothing wrong with raising pit-bulls to tear each other apart while these "stars" bet money on the winner! The media, especially Fox and CNN who are nothing more than paid government shills who will not or cannot tell the truth-what is really happening-to anyone. These are today's heroes. None of these creatures produce anything of value to anyone but themselves. They never have. They never will. They simply take. And if their lips are moving you can be sure they are lying!
My little honeybee that I watched this morning, goes about his life doing what he loves and helps many other species survive. Even when conditions are not good for him, he goes out each day and provides his way in the world as nature intended. He does not do harm to others, he does not steal, he does not lie. He shares what he produces for the good of the tribe. I respect him. I love him. I am thankful for him and what he contributes to the world.
I cannot say the same for the for the latter day "heroes" I mentioned above. They are the vermin of the earth. For them, I will not be celebrating Thanksgiving this year. I do not cheer their success. I will continue to be thankful each day as it unfolds and I will continue to watch as nature works its magic in small sequences and which never fails to amaze me. For this I am thankful.
Friday, November 7, 2008
Alzheimer's Disease Natural Treatment
From Life Extension Foundation
www.lef.org
Neurofibrillary tangles, which are made of a protein called tau, are bundles of twisted filaments found within neurons. Tau is normally responsible for helping cells to function correctly; it delivers various substances throughout the cell. In people who have Alzheimer’s disease, tau becomes abnormally shaped and twists into pairs of helical filaments that gather in tangles. Because of the tangles, the neurons lose their ability to function, and the neurons eventually die. No one knows why this happens but there are probably several overlapping causes of Alzheimer’s disease.
There are many choices of both drugs and nutritional supplements available for patients with Alzheimer's disease. In light of new evidence that oxidative stress and inflammation are central to Alzheimer’s disease, people at risk of Alzheimer’s (or those who have early dementia) are advised to take supplements that reduce inflammation and oxidative damage. These include:
Curcumin—900 to 1800 milligrams (mg) daily
EPA/DHA—1400 mg daily of EPA and 1000 mg daily of DHA
Vitamin E—400 international units (IU) daily (with 200 mg of gamma-tocopherol)
Vitamin C—1 to 3 grams daily
Ginkgo biloba—120 mg daily
Acetyl-L-carnitine arginate—750 to 2000 mg daily
CoQ10—100 to 600 mg daily
N-acetylcysteine—600 mg daily
Aged garlic—1200 mg daily
Vinpocetine—15 to 20 mg daily
Green tea extract (93 percent polyphenols)—725 mg daily
B vitamins—A full complement of B vitamins (including folate, vitamin B6, and vitamin B12) to lower homocysteine. Specific suggested doses include 1000 micrograms (mcg) of vitamin B12, 250 mg of vitamin B6, and 800 mcg of folic acid.
Niacin—Up to 800 mg daily. Start slowly and take with food to avoid flushing.
Melatonin—1 to 3 mg each night
DHEA—15 to 75 mg daily. Have blood tested in 3 to 6 weeks to determine optimal dose.
Huperzine—50 mcg up to four times per week
Blueberry extract—500 to 2000 mg daily. If you eat blueberries, you don’t need to take this much blueberry extract.
Grape seed extract—100 mg daily
www.lef.org
Neurofibrillary tangles, which are made of a protein called tau, are bundles of twisted filaments found within neurons. Tau is normally responsible for helping cells to function correctly; it delivers various substances throughout the cell. In people who have Alzheimer’s disease, tau becomes abnormally shaped and twists into pairs of helical filaments that gather in tangles. Because of the tangles, the neurons lose their ability to function, and the neurons eventually die. No one knows why this happens but there are probably several overlapping causes of Alzheimer’s disease.
There are many choices of both drugs and nutritional supplements available for patients with Alzheimer's disease. In light of new evidence that oxidative stress and inflammation are central to Alzheimer’s disease, people at risk of Alzheimer’s (or those who have early dementia) are advised to take supplements that reduce inflammation and oxidative damage. These include:
Curcumin—900 to 1800 milligrams (mg) daily
EPA/DHA—1400 mg daily of EPA and 1000 mg daily of DHA
Vitamin E—400 international units (IU) daily (with 200 mg of gamma-tocopherol)
Vitamin C—1 to 3 grams daily
Ginkgo biloba—120 mg daily
Acetyl-L-carnitine arginate—750 to 2000 mg daily
CoQ10—100 to 600 mg daily
N-acetylcysteine—600 mg daily
Aged garlic—1200 mg daily
Vinpocetine—15 to 20 mg daily
Green tea extract (93 percent polyphenols)—725 mg daily
B vitamins—A full complement of B vitamins (including folate, vitamin B6, and vitamin B12) to lower homocysteine. Specific suggested doses include 1000 micrograms (mcg) of vitamin B12, 250 mg of vitamin B6, and 800 mcg of folic acid.
Niacin—Up to 800 mg daily. Start slowly and take with food to avoid flushing.
Melatonin—1 to 3 mg each night
DHEA—15 to 75 mg daily. Have blood tested in 3 to 6 weeks to determine optimal dose.
Huperzine—50 mcg up to four times per week
Blueberry extract—500 to 2000 mg daily. If you eat blueberries, you don’t need to take this much blueberry extract.
Grape seed extract—100 mg daily
Breakthrough With Alzheimers?
From Life Extension Foundation
http://www.lef.org/
B vitamin prevents memory loss in animal model of Alzheimer’s disease
An article in the November 5, 2008 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience revealed the discovery of researchers at the University of California, Irvine of a protective effect of nicotinamide, otherwise known as niacinamide (a form of vitamin B3), against memory loss in mice bred to develop a condition that mimics human Alzheimer’s disease. Nicotinamide is a member of a group of compounds known as histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors, which have been shown to enhance memory. The compounds have been demonstrated to exert a protective effect on the central nervous system in rodent models of Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
For the current research, Kim Green, Frank LaFerla and their associates used mice bred to develop brain deposits of amyloid beta as well as phosphorylated tau protein, which forms neurofibrillary tangles that occur in human Alzheimer’s disease patients. The team added nicotinamide daily to the drinking water of four-month-old Alzheimer’s mice and normal mice, while other groups of mice received untreated water for four months. Cognition testing to evaluate short term and long term memory in areas of the brain affected by Alzheimer’s disease was conducted at the beginning and end of the study.
The team found lower levels of phosphorylated tau in the brains of the Alzheimer’s mice that received nicotinamide, as well as an increase in proteins that strengthen the brain’s microtubules along which information travels within the brain’s cells. "Microtubules are like highways inside cells,” Dr Green explained. “What we're doing with nicotinamide is making a wider, more stable highway. In Alzheimer's disease, this highway breaks down. We are preventing that from happening."
While untreated Alzheimer’s mice demonstrated memory loss by the end of the experiment, those that received nicotinamide performed at the same level as the normal mice. Even in normal mice that received nicotinamide, cognition was slightly enhanced. "This suggests that not only is it good for Alzheimer's disease, but if normal people take it, some aspects of their memory might improve," noted Dr LaFerla, who is a professor of neurobiology and behavior at UC Irvine.
"Nicotinamide has a very robust effect on neurons," Dr Green added. "Nicotinamide prevents loss of cognition in mice with Alzheimer's disease, and the beauty of it is we already are moving forward with a clinical trial."
“The results presented here suggest that nicotinamide has a potential as a novel, safe and inexpensive Alzheimer’s disease therapy, either alone or in combination with amyloid beta-lowering therapies,” Dr Green and colleagues conclude.
http://www.lef.org/
B vitamin prevents memory loss in animal model of Alzheimer’s disease
An article in the November 5, 2008 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience revealed the discovery of researchers at the University of California, Irvine of a protective effect of nicotinamide, otherwise known as niacinamide (a form of vitamin B3), against memory loss in mice bred to develop a condition that mimics human Alzheimer’s disease. Nicotinamide is a member of a group of compounds known as histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors, which have been shown to enhance memory. The compounds have been demonstrated to exert a protective effect on the central nervous system in rodent models of Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
For the current research, Kim Green, Frank LaFerla and their associates used mice bred to develop brain deposits of amyloid beta as well as phosphorylated tau protein, which forms neurofibrillary tangles that occur in human Alzheimer’s disease patients. The team added nicotinamide daily to the drinking water of four-month-old Alzheimer’s mice and normal mice, while other groups of mice received untreated water for four months. Cognition testing to evaluate short term and long term memory in areas of the brain affected by Alzheimer’s disease was conducted at the beginning and end of the study.
The team found lower levels of phosphorylated tau in the brains of the Alzheimer’s mice that received nicotinamide, as well as an increase in proteins that strengthen the brain’s microtubules along which information travels within the brain’s cells. "Microtubules are like highways inside cells,” Dr Green explained. “What we're doing with nicotinamide is making a wider, more stable highway. In Alzheimer's disease, this highway breaks down. We are preventing that from happening."
While untreated Alzheimer’s mice demonstrated memory loss by the end of the experiment, those that received nicotinamide performed at the same level as the normal mice. Even in normal mice that received nicotinamide, cognition was slightly enhanced. "This suggests that not only is it good for Alzheimer's disease, but if normal people take it, some aspects of their memory might improve," noted Dr LaFerla, who is a professor of neurobiology and behavior at UC Irvine.
"Nicotinamide has a very robust effect on neurons," Dr Green added. "Nicotinamide prevents loss of cognition in mice with Alzheimer's disease, and the beauty of it is we already are moving forward with a clinical trial."
“The results presented here suggest that nicotinamide has a potential as a novel, safe and inexpensive Alzheimer’s disease therapy, either alone or in combination with amyloid beta-lowering therapies,” Dr Green and colleagues conclude.
Friday, October 31, 2008
How to Manage Your Cholesterol Without Taking Dangerous Statin Drugs
One of the worse frauds thrust upon patients by doctors is that high cholesterol causes heart disease. This is wrong. The basis for this lie is due to a long continuing study in Massachusetts called the Framingham Study. This study showed a connection between high cholesterol with a higher incidence of heart attacks. Reseachers and drug companies took this information and built an entire medical program around this connection. Pharmaceutical companies invested billions of dollars to find drugs to lower the levels of this demon called cholesterol.
Eureka, they found one.
It was based on a Chinese supplement made from Red Rice Yeast. This yeast which grows on the rice had been used for three thousand years in China for cardio vascular disease and it's health promoting effects. The drug companies took this supplement, changed its chemical structure a little, so they could patent it, since you cannot patent a natural substance. They then put this "new" drug on the market as the statin class drugs called Lipitor, Zocor and the other "or" drugs. In the best of Chutzpah, the drug companies then turned around and sued the supplement companies, which had been selling the red rice yeast for many years, for selling a drug and they won in court! Red Rice Yeast was removed from the market. Some Naturopathic Doctors continued to prescribed and provide this product to their patients.
But by changing the chemical structure of the red rice yeast so they could then patent it, they made a perfectly safe supplement used for thousands of years into a dangerous "new" drug. This new statin drugs causes such side effects as muscle pains, to muscle destruction, to kidney failure, to liver failure. But hey, that's okay the drug companies were making billions of dollars off these drug. A little damage to the patient was apparently "acceptable collateral damage".
They then sent their drug reps to teach MD's that cholesterol was the source of heart attacks and all the doctors had to do was prescribe Lipitor or Zocor or another statin and the risk would be reduced. "Oh, yea, the reps would say, we're having a convention in Maui, all expenses paid, for the top 10% of prescribers of our drug" or they would say, "we need an experienced doctor to write a research article for us (which was already pre-written for them) and we'll pay you a $10,000 honorarium". To help this scam out, the American Medical Association (AMA) passed a new recommendation, a few years ago, that the "healthy" level of total cholesterol in the blood would be reduced from 200 mg/DL to 180 mg/DL. Thus with this new recommendation...even more people can be placed in the risky category and placed on a statin drug. This will ensure more profit for the drug companies and more "lecture fees" and "free conventions" for the MD's.
What a scam.
Cardiovascular diseae is not a single component disease. There are many factors, more than is actually known by researchers, as to what caues cardiovascular disease and heart attacks in particular. The main cause of cardiovascular disease is INFLAMMATION! Not cholesterol! Plaque that builds up in arteries causing constriction are made up of many things: fibrin, calcium, dead cells and yes cholesterol. But if you listen to the drug companies the only cause is cholesterol and "We have the perfect drug for it!".
To prevent heart attacks you must stop the inflammation, not lower cholesterol.
Inflammation causes damage to the intima (inner lining) of the blood vessels which cause the blood flow to be turbulent, similar to rapids in a river. The body wants to stop this turbulence by laying a coat of "plaque" so the blood will flow smoothly again. If the inflammation is not addressed, the new plaque will become nicked by inflammatory agents (free radicals) and the blood will once again be turbulent. The body responds by laying down another layer of plaque.
As long as the underlying cause (inflammation) is not addressed the turbulence, plaque buildup will continue until the blood vessel is blocked (occluded) and a heart attack or stroke is initiated.
Cholesterol management
Elevated cholesterol is associated with a greater-than-normal risk of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease. While antioxidants can inhibit cholesterol from oxidizing onto the linings of the arteries, knowing and controlling your cholesterol levels is still an important step in preventing cardiovascular disease.
The following nutritional supplements offer synergistic benefits to assist dietary modification to help maintain healthy total serum cholesterol and HDL cholesterol levels for those already within healthy range.
In a later article I will address how to control the CAUSE of heart disease...inflammation.
For now, I would like to try and help those who are still drinking the kool-aide and believe cholesterol is the root of all cardivascular evil. The following information is from Life Extension Organization http://www.lef.org/ and contains their recommendation for controling cholesterol the safe way. Without the use of the physically damaging statin drugs. LEF has excellent research into disease processes and also the best supplements you can purchase. I am not associated in any way with LEF... but I've used their information and products through my medical career.
Good reading. My comments are written in italics.
Elevated cholesterol is associated with (associated with, not the cause of) a greater-than-normal risk of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease. While antioxidants can inhibit cholesterol from oxidizing onto the linings of the arteries, knowing and controlling your cholesterol levels is still an important step in preventing cardiovascular disease.
The following nutritional supplements offer synergistic benefits to assist dietary modification to help maintain healthy total serum cholesterol and HDL cholesterol levels for those already within normal range:
Policosanol, take one tablet twice per day with meals: one in the afternoon and one in the evening. Or Sytrinol, one capsule twice daily. (or red rice yeast)
Fiber, 4 to 6 grams before any high-fat meal. (especially, water soluble fiber such as oats, pectin)
Chitosan, three to six 500-mg chitosan capsules and one 1000 mg ascorbic acid capsule right before a high-fat meal.
Niacin, 1500 to 3000 mg a day (if tolerable).
Artichoke extract, 300 mg, 3 times a day. (keeps the liver healthy in producing and controlling cholesterol)
Garlic, 600 to 4800 mg a day.
Curcumin, 900 to 1800 mg a day. (Helps the liver and stops inflammation)
Gugulipid, 140 mg 1 to 2 times a day. (regulates blood sugar and thus controls cholesterol)
Green tea, 750 mg a day of green tea, 93% polyphenol extract.
Perilla oil, 6000 mg a day. We suggest taking six 1000-mg gel caps daily. If triglycerides are high, consider taking 4-8 softgels of fish oil (EPA/DHA).
Vitamin E, 400 to 800 IU daily (do not use Dl-Alpha vitamin E! Use vitamin E with D-alpha and tocotrienols and tocopherol)
Soy protein extract, 2 heaping teaspoons (5 to 6 grams) of soy powder daily.
Selenium, 200 to 600 mcg daily.
Herbal Cardiovascular Formula, two-six capsules daily with food in divided doses. (A Life Extension Supplement)
If you are interested in keeping your cholesterol with "acceptable" ranges the above will help you to do so.
Eureka, they found one.
It was based on a Chinese supplement made from Red Rice Yeast. This yeast which grows on the rice had been used for three thousand years in China for cardio vascular disease and it's health promoting effects. The drug companies took this supplement, changed its chemical structure a little, so they could patent it, since you cannot patent a natural substance. They then put this "new" drug on the market as the statin class drugs called Lipitor, Zocor and the other "or" drugs. In the best of Chutzpah, the drug companies then turned around and sued the supplement companies, which had been selling the red rice yeast for many years, for selling a drug and they won in court! Red Rice Yeast was removed from the market. Some Naturopathic Doctors continued to prescribed and provide this product to their patients.
But by changing the chemical structure of the red rice yeast so they could then patent it, they made a perfectly safe supplement used for thousands of years into a dangerous "new" drug. This new statin drugs causes such side effects as muscle pains, to muscle destruction, to kidney failure, to liver failure. But hey, that's okay the drug companies were making billions of dollars off these drug. A little damage to the patient was apparently "acceptable collateral damage".
They then sent their drug reps to teach MD's that cholesterol was the source of heart attacks and all the doctors had to do was prescribe Lipitor or Zocor or another statin and the risk would be reduced. "Oh, yea, the reps would say, we're having a convention in Maui, all expenses paid, for the top 10% of prescribers of our drug" or they would say, "we need an experienced doctor to write a research article for us (which was already pre-written for them) and we'll pay you a $10,000 honorarium". To help this scam out, the American Medical Association (AMA) passed a new recommendation, a few years ago, that the "healthy" level of total cholesterol in the blood would be reduced from 200 mg/DL to 180 mg/DL. Thus with this new recommendation...even more people can be placed in the risky category and placed on a statin drug. This will ensure more profit for the drug companies and more "lecture fees" and "free conventions" for the MD's.
What a scam.
Cardiovascular diseae is not a single component disease. There are many factors, more than is actually known by researchers, as to what caues cardiovascular disease and heart attacks in particular. The main cause of cardiovascular disease is INFLAMMATION! Not cholesterol! Plaque that builds up in arteries causing constriction are made up of many things: fibrin, calcium, dead cells and yes cholesterol. But if you listen to the drug companies the only cause is cholesterol and "We have the perfect drug for it!".
To prevent heart attacks you must stop the inflammation, not lower cholesterol.
Inflammation causes damage to the intima (inner lining) of the blood vessels which cause the blood flow to be turbulent, similar to rapids in a river. The body wants to stop this turbulence by laying a coat of "plaque" so the blood will flow smoothly again. If the inflammation is not addressed, the new plaque will become nicked by inflammatory agents (free radicals) and the blood will once again be turbulent. The body responds by laying down another layer of plaque.
As long as the underlying cause (inflammation) is not addressed the turbulence, plaque buildup will continue until the blood vessel is blocked (occluded) and a heart attack or stroke is initiated.
Cholesterol management
Elevated cholesterol is associated with a greater-than-normal risk of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease. While antioxidants can inhibit cholesterol from oxidizing onto the linings of the arteries, knowing and controlling your cholesterol levels is still an important step in preventing cardiovascular disease.
The following nutritional supplements offer synergistic benefits to assist dietary modification to help maintain healthy total serum cholesterol and HDL cholesterol levels for those already within healthy range.
In a later article I will address how to control the CAUSE of heart disease...inflammation.
For now, I would like to try and help those who are still drinking the kool-aide and believe cholesterol is the root of all cardivascular evil. The following information is from Life Extension Organization http://www.lef.org/ and contains their recommendation for controling cholesterol the safe way. Without the use of the physically damaging statin drugs. LEF has excellent research into disease processes and also the best supplements you can purchase. I am not associated in any way with LEF... but I've used their information and products through my medical career.
Good reading. My comments are written in italics.
Elevated cholesterol is associated with (associated with, not the cause of) a greater-than-normal risk of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease. While antioxidants can inhibit cholesterol from oxidizing onto the linings of the arteries, knowing and controlling your cholesterol levels is still an important step in preventing cardiovascular disease.
The following nutritional supplements offer synergistic benefits to assist dietary modification to help maintain healthy total serum cholesterol and HDL cholesterol levels for those already within normal range:
Policosanol, take one tablet twice per day with meals: one in the afternoon and one in the evening. Or Sytrinol, one capsule twice daily. (or red rice yeast)
Fiber, 4 to 6 grams before any high-fat meal. (especially, water soluble fiber such as oats, pectin)
Chitosan, three to six 500-mg chitosan capsules and one 1000 mg ascorbic acid capsule right before a high-fat meal.
Niacin, 1500 to 3000 mg a day (if tolerable).
Artichoke extract, 300 mg, 3 times a day. (keeps the liver healthy in producing and controlling cholesterol)
Garlic, 600 to 4800 mg a day.
Curcumin, 900 to 1800 mg a day. (Helps the liver and stops inflammation)
Gugulipid, 140 mg 1 to 2 times a day. (regulates blood sugar and thus controls cholesterol)
Green tea, 750 mg a day of green tea, 93% polyphenol extract.
Perilla oil, 6000 mg a day. We suggest taking six 1000-mg gel caps daily. If triglycerides are high, consider taking 4-8 softgels of fish oil (EPA/DHA).
Vitamin E, 400 to 800 IU daily (do not use Dl-Alpha vitamin E! Use vitamin E with D-alpha and tocotrienols and tocopherol)
Soy protein extract, 2 heaping teaspoons (5 to 6 grams) of soy powder daily.
Selenium, 200 to 600 mcg daily.
Herbal Cardiovascular Formula, two-six capsules daily with food in divided doses. (A Life Extension Supplement)
If you are interested in keeping your cholesterol with "acceptable" ranges the above will help you to do so.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Resveratrol May Improve Liver Health and Regulate an Obesity-Controlling Hormone
Resveratrol, a flavonoid from red wine has received a lot of attention from naturopathic physcians in the past 10 or 12 years. It seems maybe science is catching up. Resveratrol has been used as an anti-oxidant, helps control blood sugar for diabetics, and appears to reduce the profliferation of cancer. I have also used it to help people with the eye condition calle Age Related Macular Degeneration (ARMD). It strengthens blood vessels and helps with circulation of blood thus bringing nutrients and oxygen to cells which have been deprived.
Now a study is out concerning the use of resveratrol in fatty liver disease which seems to be caused by too high of alcohol consumptions and also poor diet. As a bonus, reseachers may have found a link in reducing the body's ability to make certain fats and to help burn it as energy instead of storing it.
Researchers report that the polyphenol resveratrol may stop the development of fatty liver disease, a condition associated with frequent alcohol consumption, and that it may influence the activity of an obesity-controlling hormone known as adiponectin.
The study authors divided mice into groups and fed all the animals a low-fat diet. One group of the mice consumed a diet supplemented with resveratrol, one group was supplemented with resveratrol plus alcohol, one group with only alcohol, and a control group consumed only the low-fat diet without alcohol or resveratrol.
The results indicated that resveratrol activated two molecules involved in cell signaling and the breakdown of fats in the liver: AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and sirtuin 1 (SIRT1). Alcohol is known to inhibit these molecules, leading to fat build-up and fatty liver, but resveratrol activated AMPK and SIRT1 in the livers of alcohol-fed mice.
Another interesting finding of the study was that the increased activation of AMPK and SIRT1 caused by resveratrol in alcohol-fed rats also was accompanied by changes in the levels of other molecules that control fat metabolism, including adiponectin, a hormone produced by fat cells, which helps to control obesity. By triggering these changes, resveratrol may stop fat from accumulating in the liver through reducing the production of fat and increasing the burning of fat already present.
According to the scientists, “Our study suggests that resveratrol may serve as a promising agent for preventing or treating human alcoholic fatty liver disease.”
Reference:
Ajmo JM, Liang X, Rogers CQ, Pennock B, You M. Resveratrol alleviates alcoholic fatty liver in mice. Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol. 2008 Oct;295(4):G833-42.
Now a study is out concerning the use of resveratrol in fatty liver disease which seems to be caused by too high of alcohol consumptions and also poor diet. As a bonus, reseachers may have found a link in reducing the body's ability to make certain fats and to help burn it as energy instead of storing it.
Researchers report that the polyphenol resveratrol may stop the development of fatty liver disease, a condition associated with frequent alcohol consumption, and that it may influence the activity of an obesity-controlling hormone known as adiponectin.
The study authors divided mice into groups and fed all the animals a low-fat diet. One group of the mice consumed a diet supplemented with resveratrol, one group was supplemented with resveratrol plus alcohol, one group with only alcohol, and a control group consumed only the low-fat diet without alcohol or resveratrol.
The results indicated that resveratrol activated two molecules involved in cell signaling and the breakdown of fats in the liver: AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and sirtuin 1 (SIRT1). Alcohol is known to inhibit these molecules, leading to fat build-up and fatty liver, but resveratrol activated AMPK and SIRT1 in the livers of alcohol-fed mice.
Another interesting finding of the study was that the increased activation of AMPK and SIRT1 caused by resveratrol in alcohol-fed rats also was accompanied by changes in the levels of other molecules that control fat metabolism, including adiponectin, a hormone produced by fat cells, which helps to control obesity. By triggering these changes, resveratrol may stop fat from accumulating in the liver through reducing the production of fat and increasing the burning of fat already present.
According to the scientists, “Our study suggests that resveratrol may serve as a promising agent for preventing or treating human alcoholic fatty liver disease.”
Reference:
Ajmo JM, Liang X, Rogers CQ, Pennock B, You M. Resveratrol alleviates alcoholic fatty liver in mice. Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol. 2008 Oct;295(4):G833-42.
Quercetin Studied for Its Immune-Boosting Effects
I have long used quercetin to stop inflammatory processes and for long-term relief of allergies. It is remarkable in that it produces no side effects and is absolutely safe. For respiratory allergies it takes 1 to 2 weeks for it's full effects to take place. Onions have high quercetin content so be sure to include them in your diet during "allergy season". An interestint point to make is it works so well that the OTC drug NasalCrom is made from quercetin. I recommend by-passing the drug and take the safer, less expensive supplemental form. I usually prescribed 1 to 2 grams (1,000mg - 2,000mg) and day in divided doses for my patients.
The following is a new study of yet another use for this special flavonoid. It has immune-boosting effects.
In a new study, quercetin was able to significantly strengthen immunity in animals exposed to the flu virus, consistent with the results of a human study released last year where the flavonoid had similar immune-enhancing effects.
Past studies have linked exercise stress to an increased risk for influenza. The flavonoid quercetin also has been reported to inhibit infectivity and replication of a broad spectrum of viruses and may offset the increase in susceptibility to infection associated with stressful exercise.
To further investigate quercetin’s possible anti-viral activities, researchers examined the flavonoid’s effects in mice that underwent stressful exercise then were exposed to influenza virus. The animals were assigned to one of four groups: exercise-placebo, exercise-quercetin, control-placebo, or control-quercetin. The exercise consisted of having the mice run until they were fatigued (approximately 140 min) on a treadmill for three consecutive days.
Quercetin (12.5 mg/kg) was administered through a stomach tube for 7 days before the mice were exposed to the virus. At 30 minutes after the last bout of exercise or rest, mice were intranasally inoculated with influenza virus. Mice were monitored daily for morbidity (time to sickness), symptom severity, and mortality (time to death) for 21 days.
Exercise stress was associated with an increased susceptibility to infection (morbidity, mortality, and symptom severity on days 5-7). However, quercetin made the animals less susceptible to viral infection after stressful exercise. The exercised mice not fed the quercetin experienced an increased susceptibility to infection of 91 percent, while quercetin was found to offset infection risk by 63 percent.
The illness rate in the mice that exercised and took quercetin was approximately equivalent to those that did not exercise, suggesting that quercetin supplementation stopped the immunity-lowering effects of the intense exercise.
According to the researchers, “These data suggest that short-term quercetin feedings may prove to be an effective strategy to lessen the impact of stressful exercise on susceptibility to respiratory infection.”
This study builds on an earlier human study where quercetin reduced illness and maintained mental performance in physically stressed subjects. Trained cyclists consumed 1,000 mg per day of quercetin (plus niacin and vitamin C) for five weeks. Another group of 20 cyclists were given a placebo. After three weeks, subjects rode a bicycle three hours per day for three days to the point of exhaustion.
After the exercise period, approximately 45 percent of the placebo-consuming cyclists became ill, while only 5 percent of the quercetin group suffered any illness. Furthermore, when given an alertness test, the quercetin-consuming subjects better maintained their ability to react after exhaustion. (Nieman DC, et. al. Research presented at the Southeastern Regional Meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine, Charlotte, N.C., February 9, 2007.)
Reference:
Davis JM, Murphy EA, McClellan JL, Carmichael MD, Gangemi JD. Quercetin reduces susceptibility to influenza infection following stressful exercise. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol. 2008 Aug;295(2):R505-9.
The following is a new study of yet another use for this special flavonoid. It has immune-boosting effects.
In a new study, quercetin was able to significantly strengthen immunity in animals exposed to the flu virus, consistent with the results of a human study released last year where the flavonoid had similar immune-enhancing effects.
Past studies have linked exercise stress to an increased risk for influenza. The flavonoid quercetin also has been reported to inhibit infectivity and replication of a broad spectrum of viruses and may offset the increase in susceptibility to infection associated with stressful exercise.
To further investigate quercetin’s possible anti-viral activities, researchers examined the flavonoid’s effects in mice that underwent stressful exercise then were exposed to influenza virus. The animals were assigned to one of four groups: exercise-placebo, exercise-quercetin, control-placebo, or control-quercetin. The exercise consisted of having the mice run until they were fatigued (approximately 140 min) on a treadmill for three consecutive days.
Quercetin (12.5 mg/kg) was administered through a stomach tube for 7 days before the mice were exposed to the virus. At 30 minutes after the last bout of exercise or rest, mice were intranasally inoculated with influenza virus. Mice were monitored daily for morbidity (time to sickness), symptom severity, and mortality (time to death) for 21 days.
Exercise stress was associated with an increased susceptibility to infection (morbidity, mortality, and symptom severity on days 5-7). However, quercetin made the animals less susceptible to viral infection after stressful exercise. The exercised mice not fed the quercetin experienced an increased susceptibility to infection of 91 percent, while quercetin was found to offset infection risk by 63 percent.
The illness rate in the mice that exercised and took quercetin was approximately equivalent to those that did not exercise, suggesting that quercetin supplementation stopped the immunity-lowering effects of the intense exercise.
According to the researchers, “These data suggest that short-term quercetin feedings may prove to be an effective strategy to lessen the impact of stressful exercise on susceptibility to respiratory infection.”
This study builds on an earlier human study where quercetin reduced illness and maintained mental performance in physically stressed subjects. Trained cyclists consumed 1,000 mg per day of quercetin (plus niacin and vitamin C) for five weeks. Another group of 20 cyclists were given a placebo. After three weeks, subjects rode a bicycle three hours per day for three days to the point of exhaustion.
After the exercise period, approximately 45 percent of the placebo-consuming cyclists became ill, while only 5 percent of the quercetin group suffered any illness. Furthermore, when given an alertness test, the quercetin-consuming subjects better maintained their ability to react after exhaustion. (Nieman DC, et. al. Research presented at the Southeastern Regional Meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine, Charlotte, N.C., February 9, 2007.)
Reference:
Davis JM, Murphy EA, McClellan JL, Carmichael MD, Gangemi JD. Quercetin reduces susceptibility to influenza infection following stressful exercise. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol. 2008 Aug;295(2):R505-9.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
