News briefs and interesting links
Could it be that the very test used to screen for breast cancer “mammography” might increase your risk of getting the disease? This seems to be the conclusion reached in a recent National Institutes of Health (NIH) report that lists radiation exposure from medical screening tests as a risk factor.
Thermography, a radiation-free imaging procedure, seems to increasingly be a valid alternative as new technologies develop. Unfortunately it not endorsed by mainstream medicine but you can read about it at http://www.redflagsdaily.com/aziz/2006_feb20.php (This site requires nominal fee for subscription. If you are a patient ask to see the article when stopping by my office).
I have said it for years: Ritalin and other ADD drugs are another huge medical crisis waiting to happen. These drugs are classified as amphetamines, or are cocaine-like substances, and we know the harmful effects that both of these can have. Why would the ADD drugs be spared these same problems? Now, after identifying 51 deaths from these medications, the FDA is requiring a warning on these medications regarding possible cardiovascular effects. You can find detailed information at www.nytimes.com/2006/02/10/health/policy/10drug.html?ex=1142571600&en=6eb7d48be77b7687&ei=5070
Does your child get sick a lot? Consider vitamin D deficiency as a possible culprit. In a 1994 study, 27 children who suffered repeated infections were given 60,000 units of vitamin D once a week for six weeks. Not only were there no side effects or toxicity, but within a few weeks “infections were fully controlled and no recurrences were reported” (J Trop Pediatr. 1994 Feb; 40 (1): 58). In this study, vitamin D levels were not tested; however, today we can easily and inexpensively test levels of the active form of vitamin D (25-hydroxy vitamin D) and determine supplement needs based on results. In addition, it is likely that the same benefits can be achieved with a fraction of the dose used in the study.
Did you believe that even though you, or your child, are on a gluten- and casein-free diet McDonald’s fries are the one treat you could still indulge in? Well, sorry to disappoint you! On top of what I’ve been saying for years – that the fries are loaded with toxic hydrogenated fats – McDonald’s has now admitted that their fries contain both milk and wheat products. Read about this at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11326937/print/1/displaymode/1098/
If you think there are enough vaccines already being pushed on children, you’re in for another surprise. A new Rotavirus vaccine is due to be added to immunization schedules for babies aged 2, 4 and 6 months. This new vaccine comes seven years after an earlier version of it was withdrawn for causing potentially life-threatening intestinal blockages. If you’re not sure what Rotavirus is, you probably heard of it as the “stomach flu.” Of course now that the vaccine is coming out, so are stories that the stomach flu kills hundreds of Americans every year. I don’t know about you, but I am wondering when this madness is going to end. I thought you’d also like to know that this vaccine is scheduled to cost more than $300 for the series.
If you agree with much of what I write, but sunscreen is one thing you still believe in, then keep reading: fish that feed near river outlets where suntan lotions are washing out were found to change sex from male to female! Although other chemicals may be partly responsible for this, scientists believe that Oxybenzone – a chemical found in sunscreens and a strong estrogen mimic – is the primary culprit.
According to these same researchers, we humans are exposed to this chemical three times: once when we apply it to our skin, a second time through drinking water, and finally through the fish we eat. If you think that applying the stuff to your skin is safe because the skin is out there, consider that the particles containing this chemical in some creams were found to be so small that they permeate right through the skin into blood and even reach the brain. Meanwhile researchers expect the rate of melanoma to triple over the next 30 years even though people are using sunscreen on a daily basis, not just at the beach. If you’d like more of this good news go to http://news.independent.co.uk/environment/article340237.ece.
Aspartame was approved over twenty years ago and is now used in more that 6,000 products with more than 200 million people consuming it on a regular basis. While you might assume that if it is so widely used it must be safe, new studies suggest that it might cause cancer after all. These studies were performed on rats and I agree that you can feed almost anything to a rat in some ridiculous amount and cause something bad to happen, but in this study rats were dosed according to average human intake. Nevertheless they ended up developing a wide range of cancers. So why didn’t we find this out sooner?
Apparently in earlier studies the rats were being sacrificed too early for the cancers to develop. Read more about the Aspartame rat study at http://www.ehponline.org/docs/2006/114-3/ss.html.
Interestingly, as negative news on aspartame begins to spread, many companies are switching to Splenda, the newest synthetic sweetener. I just wonder how long it will take before similar studies start to appear for Splenda as well.
Here are a few links you may find interesting:
• Natural products for the home for allergic individuals: http://www.janices.com/index.cfm
• Organic foods online. This might make most sense if you can get a group of people to order together: http://www.ozarkcoop.com/
• This site contains information and resources for non-toxic pest control: http://www.getipm.com/
• In case you are shopping for a far infrared sauna, Janice Welch bought one from this site. It is a great deal less expensive than those from some other major brands and she loves it: http://www.luxsauna.com/proddetail.php?prod=LTG-2
