EU Food Authority approves Fluoride in Supplements - NewsGrabs 8 February 2009
EU Food Authority double standard: Fluoride source approved for use in Supplements
The opinion [approving calcium fluoride as a nutrient source] appears to be in stark contrast with the over-cautious evaluation of vital nutrients (vitamins and minerals) in progress. A scientific dossier proving the safety of those nutrient sources is required before EFSA will consent to their use in supplements, and limiting dosages are being considered to make sure there is not a shadow of a possibility of an 'adverse effect'.
Fluoride: Now it can be added to our food
The ANH’s medical director, Dr Damien Downing, says: “It’s bad enough brushing your teeth or rinsing your mouth with fluoride. But opening up its usage to food supplements, when it’s very difficult to control how much other fluoride a person is being exposed to, is utterly irresponsible.”Comment by a friend who campaigns against fluoridation of the water supply in Ireland: "A strict legal interpretation would argue that these medicinal qualities are not supposed but actual. The EU Medicines Directive defines a medicine as any substance for which a claim is made 'to prevent or treat a disease in humans'."
Fluoride - ANH Open Letter to the European Food Safety Authority
Our view is that EFSA’s methodologies do not adequately reflect the known science and so are sometimes unnecessarily cautious. In other cases, such as in the case of the sodium monofluorophosphate opinion, EFSA appears to have gone the other way, giving a positive opinion by using different methodologies that could expose some population groups, notably children, to significant risks.
The EU regulatory pressure pot: a major threat to our future health
The regulatory pressure pot that aims to stop 500 million Europeans accessing therapeutically useful natural health products is approaching bursting point.Within two months we should see what vitamin and mineral dosages the European Commission aims to set as maximums across the EU.
January 2010 then signals the delayed ban of a host of vitamin and mineral forms that won't have been ‘proven’ safe or bioavailable.Simultaneously, the very same pressure pot wants to deliver us more and more genetically engineered food, increasingly being shown to pose very significant risks both to our health and the environment.
Sweden: Government bans all use of mercury
"Sweden is now leading the way in removing and protecting the environment from mercury, which is non-degradable. The ban is a strong signal to other countries and a Swedish contribution to EU and UN aims to reduce mercury use and emissions," said Swedish Minister for the Environment Andreas Carlgren.The Government's decision means that products containing mercury may not be placed on the Swedish market. In practice, this means that alternative techniques will have to be used in dental care, chemical analysis and industry.
Vitamins: It's Dose that Does It
Thousands upon thousands of nutritional research studies provide evidence that vitamins do help prevent and treat serious diseases, including cancer and heart disease, when the nutrients are supplied in sufficiently high doses. High doses are required. Low doses fail. Says cardiologist Thomas Levy, M.D.: "The three most important considerations in effective vitamin C therapy are dose, dose, and dose. If you don't take enough, you won't get the desired effects."
Vitamin D linked to better muscle power
After controlling for differences in the girls' body weight, the girls with the highest vitamin D levels had the highest jump speeds, jump height, power and force.This potential muscle advantage adds to the growing list of evidence positioning vitamin D as a super nutrient. Well known for its role in keeping bones strong, vitamin D is now being hailed for so much more. Emerging science suggests vitamin D may also help protect against diabetes, hypertension, heart disease and certain cancers. It may also support a healthy immune system to ward off infections, and some preliminary evidence suggests it may affect longevity.
Vitamin D 'helps control MS genes'
A UK and Canadian team found that vitamin D helps to control a gene known to increase MS risk, the PLoS Genetics journal reports.It suggests that vitamin D supplements taken during pregnancy and early in life could prevent the disease.
This is an indication that our genes do not "fix things" for life, but react to environmental factors, such as the availability of sunlight (vitamin D) to 'switch' one way or another.
Gut bacteria can manufacture defences against cancer and inflammatory bowel disease
In a paper published in the journal Microbiology, researchers from the University of Aberdeen Rowett Institute of Nutrition and Health and from the MTT Agrifood Research Institute in Finland report initial studies showing that bacteria in the human gut convert linoleic acid, a naturally-occurring fat in the diet, into a form called conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) which is absorbed by the gut wall.And that is by far not the only good thing those healthy gut bacteria manufacture. I always said it - go easy on those antibiotics!
Diet key to blood pressure
It's not clear how fruits and veggies exert their effect, though it likely has something to do with vitamin and mineral content. A new study from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute sheds light on this, suggesting that higher vitamin C levels are linked to healthy blood pressure. In the Growth and Health Study, 242 girls ages 8-11 were followed for 10 years, and their blood pressure and vitamin C blood levels were measured regularly.Researchers found that the girls with the highest blood levels of vitamin C had lower systolic and diastolic blood pressures. It wasn't clear if the vitamin was helping to lower blood pressure or there was a marker for some other healthy nutrient.
Are we selling personalized medicine before its time?
We may be a long way off from using genetics to reliably gauge our risks for specific diseases, say researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health in a study published on Feb. 5 in the online journal PLoS Genetics. Yet, many companies currently offer personalized genetic testing for diseases like cancer, heart disease and diabetes, and tout the ability of DNA testing to predict future health risks.
Canada Natural Products Legislation: Bill C-51 Is Back As Bill C-6
Not surprisingly this is exactly the kind of strategy that was expected, given that Bill C-52 (which was very much like the original C-51) got though while the masters of deception had us busy with C-51."Bill C-6 gives powers to inspectors to stop the importation or sale of a product and to seize property and documents, based entirely on the inspector’s “belief” that a product may be harmful. There is no requirement for the inspector to produce any documented proof nor scientific evidence of harm. There is a requirement to get a warrant if the goods and evidence to be seized are in a personal dwelling; however, such warrant could be issued over the telephone by a judge who would base his decision entirely on the unsubstantiated “belief” of the inspector.."
Just How Corrupted Has American Medicine Become?
After reading "The Neurontin Legacy -- Marketing through Misinformation and Manipulation" in the January 8, 2009 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, one may conclude that (1) America's prisons would be put to better use incarcerating drug company executives instead of pot smokers, and (2) society may need a return of public scorn via the pillory for those doctors who are essentially drug-company shills.Drug-company corruption of American medicine is of course not news. What is news is that such corruption has become so egregious, so transparent, and so embarrassing that the New England Journal of Medicine, perhaps the most influential American medical journal, is now stating that "drastic action is essential to preserve the integrity of medical science and practice and to justify public trust."
Pharma advertising biases journals against food supplements
Researchers from Wake Forest University School of Medicine and the University of Florida found that "in major medical journals, more pharmaceutical advertising is associated with publishing fewer articles about dietary supplements". They also found that more pharmaceutical company advertising resulted in the journal having more articles with "negative conclusions about dietary supplement safety".
Life Extension Foundation on the FDA - Would You Tolerate This Abuse?
It is now time again to educate Congress about the urgent need to reform the FDA. I plan to use the enormous success of long distance phone deregulation to help persuade the public and Congress that today's health care cost crisis will largely disappear if we return to free market principles in health care.To persuade Congress to address this monumental problem, a Petition to Reform the FDA has been drafted.
Our first mission is to collect so many names on the Reform FDA Petition that it compels Congressional action. We will hand deliver the Petition to Congressional leaders and urge them to enact comprehensive FDA reform.
Obama's New Chef Skewers School Lunches
In May, over a meal of locally-produced beef and barley soup, Mr. Kass lamented the sorry state of the National School Lunch Program, which provides low-cost or free lunches to schoolchildren. He noted that what gets served up to kids is influenced by government agricultural subsidies. As a result, he says, meals served to students are low in vegetables and disproportionately high in fat, additives, preservatives and high-fructose corn syrup. (He also links the high consumption of sugary foods and food additives to learning difficulties and attention deficit disorder, although the medical community remains divided on that issue.)
Principal Says Banning Sugar Made Students Smarter
According to Butler, standardized test scores increased 15 percent at the school within the first year of the program. She said discipline problems decreased by 23 percent. Student health has improved and obesity at the school has been virtually eliminated.
5 Food Films That Deserved an Oscar Nomination
While these food films flew under the Academy's radar, at least when it came time to nominate, that doesn't mean they all didn't deserve a nod, or at least a closer look.If you watch all of these films you'll understand where our food system stands today, a little bit about how it got that way, and you'll have some insight into what it might look like in the future. There's a scary, uncertain future built on greed and there's a bright, progressive future built on community. I reckon we end up with the latter, and I hope these films help you make choices to become a part of that future.
Video: Artificial Sweeteners Cause Weight Gain
A study shows that consuming foods sweetened with artificial sweeteners actually leads to more weight gain than if one consumes foods with regular sugar. I want to also add even though it is not mentioned in this video that aspartame which is present in many artificial sweeteners is a carcinogen (it causes cancer). I am in agreement that conventional white sugar is unhealthy (although not as unhealthy as artificial sweeteners). One tablespoon of conventional white sugar ...
Battle Against Genetically Modified Sugar Beets
A lawsuit filed last year to stop sales of Monsanto's Roundup Ready genetically modified sugar beet seed will be argued in a US District Court of Northern California on April 3. Frank Morton, owner of Wild Garden Seeds and a plaintiff in the lawsuit, says the GM beets threaten his livelihood. Morton produces seed for organic chard, table beets, and other vegetables in Oregon's Willamette Valley where seed for the GM beets is also grown.Cross pollination between GM sugar beets and related plants, such as chard and table beets, is a major threat in the Willamette Valley where sugar beets are the predominant crop. Morton says there are many areas where chard and sugar beet fields are "rubbing up against one another." The two plants cross pollinate because they are the same species.
Pfizer's Plan to Buy Rival Wyeth Could Mean Bad News for Patients, Physician Says
The core problem with American medicine isn't really access or cost. It's that medical knowledge itself has been turned into a commodity, produced and disseminated with the primary goal of optimizing profits rather than health. Eighty-five percent of clinical trials are now commercially funded, and the odds are four to five times greater that the commercially funded trials will conclude that the sponsor's drug is the treatment of choice compared with noncommercially funded trials of exactly the same drugs, according to a lecture given at Harvard Medical School in October by Dr. Catherine D. DeAngelis, the editor in chief of the Journal of the American Medical Association.That's just the beginning...
Trovan Case in the US: Pfizer and Nigerian Officials Both Charged
A recent ruling allows the Nigerian plaintiffs (or their survivors) to file suit in the United States. What had been less clear to me is that the charges brought concern both illicit behavior by Pfizer as well as complicity by some number of Nigerian officials.I do not know whether it was alleged they were "on the take," but earlier studies suggest that pharma ranks number one in bribery used overseas. Braithewaite (1984) - certainly no radical - writes that "the pharmaceutical industry has a worse record of international bribery and corruption than any other industry."
The 'Trovan Case', for those who don't remember, deals with what Nigerian officials say were unauthorized trials of a new antibiotic that Pfizer ran in that country, which caused several deaths and other damaging effects on the test subjects. I continue to be intrigued by the similarity of Pfizer's Trovan experiments with what is described by John Le Carré in his novel "The Constant Gardener".
Evelyn Pringle: SSRI Pushers under Fire
For years, the research that showed SSRI antidepressants (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) were dangerous and practically useless was kept hidden, while the studies published and presented to potential prescribers painted a glowing picture of success. These days, a person would be hard pressed to find someone who does not have a family member or friend labeled mentally ill and taking drugs like Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft, Lexapro and Celexa, or their chemical cousins Effexor, Cymbalta and Wellbutrin.
Ritalin may cause changes in the brain’s reward areas
“Methylphenidate, which is thought to be a fairly innocuous compound, can have structural and biochemical effects in some regions of the brain that can be even greater than those of cocaine,” says Kim. “Further studies are needed to determine the behavioral implications of these changes and to understand the mechanisms by which these drugs affect synapse formation.”
Canada: Over 800 complaints on quit-smoking drug
A drug commonly used to help people quit smoking is the focus of more than 800 complaints from Canadian users, many of them reporting mood swings, depression or suicidal thoughts.One of the people to report a complaint to Health Canada, Erin Kerr of Hamilton said she was on Champix for a couple of months to try to quit smoking when she noticed dramatic changes in her personality — she had become intolerant, argumentative, emotional, and then one day, suicidal.
Psychiatry's 'Shock Doctrine': Are We Really OK With Electroshocking Toddlers?
You might think that before any child receives a series of 70 to 170 volts of brain zappings and is thrown into seizures, every other non-traumatic therapy would have been attempted. You might think that before using ECT, in addition to trying every type of psychotherapy, there would also be an exhaustive effort to find a therapist with whom a kid might genuinely connect. You might think all this, but you would be wrong. It is not unusual for psychiatrists to simply prescribe one drug, then another drug, then several drug combinations (called "cocktails"), and if those fail, recommend ECT.
Video: Rick Simpson's CROSS-CANADA CRUSH CANCER TOUR CANCELLED
Rick Simpson, the man who cured cancer with hemp oil and the force behind RUN FROM THE CURE: THE RICK SIMPSON STORY, was to go across Canada to raise awareness of hemp medicine to all Canadians. In this video, Rick Simpson addresses the lack of funding, the resources that would be required to do a country-wide tour. He gives an overview of current plans and provides an insight into the larger picture of hemp prohibition and who profits from it.
Breast cancer risk drops after women stop hormone use
Studies repeatedly have linked long-term use of postmenopausal hormones to an increased risk of breast cancer, but new research suggests that the risk falls markedly within two years of quitting treatment."It looks like after a couple of years a woman is pretty much back to normal," says Rowan Chlebowski, lead author of a study today in The New England Journal of Medicine. "That's very encouraging."
Top Scientists Ask Journal "Science" To Retract Original AIDS Papers
(thirdd of three recent articles in the Rock Creek Free Press)
Thirty-seven doctors, senior researchers and attorneys have asked the journal Science to retract four articles published in 1984 that supposedly established that HIV was the cause of AIDS. The articles, by a group led by Dr. Robert Gallo, have drawn criticism for some time. An investigation in the early 90s by the US Department of Health and Human Services concluded that the lead paper was “fraught with false and erroneous statements.”
Secret British MMR Vaccine Files Forced Open By Legal Action
In the US Federal Court children are being compensated after findings they developed autism and other injuries. The British government has prevented its child citizens being compensated and treated. Money and politics override child health safety. 20 years on children continue to be injured. Starting in 1986 Canada, to 1988 Japan and the UK to the present this previously unpublished account is definitive carefully researched and accessible.The problem is not just autism and not just the MMR vaccine. What else are we not being told?
UK Vaccine Hearings: A Sudden Silence Descends on the GMC as Miss Smith Stops Hammering
My latest report of the GMC hearing is up on the CryShame web site (www.cryshame.com). With the end of the this section of the hearing just finished, the case against the three defendants has been put and their defence argued. In March the counsel will give their closing speeches for which, time wasting to the last, the GMC has allowed at least a month. With Dr Wakefield's counsel due to speak only for a couple of days, and with Miss Smith asking for an extra week for preparation already - having had four years - everyone is wondering how the prosecution will organise their filibuster.Following the closing speeches, and a months recess in April, it looks as though the 'deliberations' or the verdict will go on over a two month period and that the longest whitewash in history might finish after constant interruptions in August. We, the supporters of the three doctors on trial and the parents, should be prepared for this last period, we can assume that the GMC will arrange for the media to be there whenever there is an 'iffy' verdict. We have to create our own media outlets for the verdicts and ensure that we get the truth out.
Martin Walker's report on the hearings of the UK General Medical Council against three doctors accused of violating a sacred principle: "Thou shalt not talk bad about vaccines"... They had found that the measles virus introduced with vaccines was possibly implicated in the development of autism. Instead of further studies, the British Medical Council is bringing all its might to bear in a multi-year and multi-million-pound proceeding to silence what it believes unwarranted criticism of the vaccine once and for all.
Vaccine Court: Hepatitis B Shot Caused MS
The most recent case was announced about a week ago. In it, the Court ruled that the victim, an adult female, had contracted a form of demyelinating disease and MS, and eventually died, after receiving the Hepatitis B vaccine series. It was just the most recent case in a rash of rulings...
Video: Is HPV Vaccine Safe?
Cell phone use linked to brain tumors - Russian scientist
"We have a very cautious attitude as regards children, our future generation. There is data suggesting that brain tumors could develop," Yury Grigoryev, a leading scientist at the Burnazyan medical biophysical center, told a RIA Novosti press conference.Grigoryev cited Swedish research data, which he said showed that if a child uses a cell phone from 8 to 12, then the risk of developing a brain tumor by the age of 21 increases fivefold.
Biofuels more harmful to humans than petrol and diesel, warn scientists
"The dialogue so far on biofuels has been pretty much focused on greenhouse gases alone," said David Tilman, a professor at the department of ecology, evolution and behaviour at the University of Minnesota. "And yet we felt there were many other impacts that were positive or negative not being included. We wanted to expand the analysis from greenhouse gases to at least one other item and we chose health impacts."The health problems caused by conventional fuels are well studied and stem from soot particles and other pollution produced when they are burned. With biofuels, the problems are caused by particles given off during their growth and manufacture.
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More information out there...
There is much I cannot cover but other sources for this kind of information exist and are active.
...
Dr Mercola's health blog and Mike Adams' Natural News have good health information.
The Alternative Medicine Yahoo Group and the healthfreedom ning group are places where you can discuss and exchange information on what is happening in the world of natural health.
For the influence of electromagnetic waves from radio, mobile phones and other radio emitting devices, check out the emr-updates group on Yahoo.
A few sites to keep up to date with the other side of world affairs, the stuff you won't necessarily find on your tv or in the papers:
http://therealnews.com/
http://www.whatreallyhappened.com
http://www.commondreams.org
http://www.globalresearch.ca/
http://rawstory.com/
http://www.truthout.org/and remember ...
The individual is supreme and finds its way through intuition
posted by Sepp Hasslberger on Sunday February 8 2009
updated on Wednesday August 15 2012URL of this article:
http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/sepp/2009/02/08/eu_food_authority_approves_fluoride_in_supplements_newsgrabs_8_february_2009.htm