The Michael Jackson Diet That Could Have Saved Him from Death by Western Medicine

The Michael Jackson Diet That Could Have Saved Him from Death by Western Medicine

The Michael Jackson Diet That Could Have Saved Him from Death by Western Medicine

Men With Low Testosterone Face Greater Depression

Older Men With Low Testosterone Face Greater Depression Risk
Three times more likely to have mood disorder than those with higher hormone levels

(HealthDay News) -- Low testosterone levels in older men are associated with an increased risk of depression, an Australian study says.

Between 2001 and 2004, researchers at the University of Western Australia in Perth studied 3,987 males aged 71 to 89. The men provided demographic and health information and were tested for depression and cognitive difficulties. The researchers also checked the men's testosterone levels.

The 203 men who met the criteria for depression had significantly lower total and free (not bound to proteins) testosterone levels than those who weren't depressed. After controlling for other factors, such as cognitive scores, education level and body-mass index, the researchers concluded that men in the lowest quintile (20 percent) of free testosterone were three times more likely to have depression compared to those in the highest quintile.

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The findings were published in the March issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry.

While more research is needed to determine how low hormone levels may be linked to depression risk, the study authors believe it may be caused by changes in the levels of neurotransmitters or hormones in the brain.

"A randomized controlled trial is required to determine whether reducing prolonged exposure to low free testosterone is associated with a reduction in prevalence of depression in elderly men," the researchers wrote. "If so, older men with depression may benefit from systematic screening of free testosterone concentration, and testosterone supplementation may contribute to the successful treatment of hypogonadal (with low hormone levels) older men with depression."

Between 2 percent and 5 percent of people are affected by depression at any given time, according to background information in the study. Women are more likely than men to be depressed, but that difference disappears at about age 65. A number of previous studies have suggested that sex hormones may be a factor.

More information

The U.S. National Institute of Mental Health has more about men and depression.
-- Robert Preidt

SOURCE: JAMA/Archives journals, news release, March 3, 2008

Yes, Virginia..there is a Satan Clause

More than a decade ago a Christmas Day message of cheer and hope disclosed the brightest light against cancer ever found with the mineral selenium -- a nutrient called a trace element due to being needed in such a tiny amount. The story made the front page on newspapers across America.

Worse-than-Grinch groups are trying to grab that treat with a dastardly trick just in time for Halloween this year.

The National Cancer Institute has made its official pronouncement in conjunction with others that selenium supplements do not benefit the prostate.

“We do not recommend supplements", said Dr. Peter Greenwald after the phenomenal success of the selenium study of the 1990s. Greenwald was then as now director of the National Cancer Institute's (NCI) Division of Cancer Prevention and Control.

Yes, the man in charge of cancer prevention studies for the United States has a predetermined bias against nutrition supplements.

“We do not recommend supplements” is the Satan clause.

Where there’s a will there’s a way

The first action of NCI was inaction. They tried to ignore selenium hoping the subject would go away (ignorance has been a primary part of the NCI for decades).

Selenium continued to get attention for its cancer prevention possibilities so NCI took an old page from its anti-nutrient playbook.

Decades ago a strong link was established for high levels of the nutrient beta carotene in food against lung cancer in a long term study.

A second study was set up – and set up is the operative phrase here -- but a man-made, synthesized form of beta carotene was used rather than a 100 per cent whole food form of beta carotene.

There is a difference – and you’re body knows the difference – between 100 per cent whole food nutrients and man-made, synthetic varieties of nutrients (so-called).

Man-made forms of nutrients look different under the microscope than the forms that are grown in food – formed only as The Almighty can form them through (and with) life.

Man-made forms of nutrients also act differently than the 100 per cent whole food nutrients.

Nutrients formed through life processes are always superior to those made by man. Usually there is a significant difference. Sometimes the difference is small. On occasion the man-made variety may even cause harm.

The beta carotene study that utilized the man-made variety was stopped early because preliminary results revealed a notable increase in lung cancer among those taking it rather than a decrease in lung cancer as had been noted in the study with dietary beta carotene.

The experts (so called) determined that beta carotene could be dangerous as it increased lung cancer. If that were the case then healthful eating habits would be comparable to cigarette smoking for cancer risk.

The facts of the matter were that synthetic beta carotene was the problem and not the actual nutrient beta carotene.

Tragically, man-made varieties of nutrients make up the vast majority of all supplements in the marketplace.

The NCI concocted a selenium study using a man-made variety of selenium rather than using a 100 per cent whole food selenium such as that which demonstrated the tremendous success of the previous study.

The form of selenium used by NCI has been found to have a very insignificant antioxidant activity – especially when compared to 100 per cent whole food selenium such as was used in the successful study.

High dose use of vitamin E was also added to this study.

One of the first things I learned in my selenium studies dating back to the 1970s was that if it was combined with high dose vitamin E usage then the antioxidant activity of the selenium was greatly reduced.

So this new NCI study utilized a variety of selenium with low antioxidant activity that was then mixed with high dose vitamin E which further diminishes antioxidant activity of selenium.

Oh, and the vitamin E used was a man-made, synthetic variety.

The new study was reported this week as stopped years short of completion because no positive benefit had been seen. However, benefits are not likely to show up in a short period of time.

There are many other deficiencies in this latest study. I’ve seen less holes in Swiss cheese than in this NCI prostate cancer study with selenium and vitamin E.

Call me ‘Prophet’

Ever since the new NCI selenium (and vitamin E) study was started only a few years ago I have said you don’t have to wait for results of this one. I could already tell you that they were not going to have the success of the previous study due to poor quality supplements and poor study design. The only way this study was well designed was for failure.

Also, I had noted that I wouldn’t be surprised if they somehow ascribed some harm from selenium.

Sure enough the NCI noted a very small increase in diabetes among those using selenium though they admitted it was so small a difference as to be inconsequential and “may be due to chance”. Yet they hung the suspicion out very prominently.

Yup, call me ‘Prophet’.

Tangled web

The very successful selenium cancer study of more than a decade ago was dismissed by Dr. Peter Greenwald who noted multiple studies of selenium and cancer would be necessary before coming to any conclusions. Yet he is now satisfied to conclude selenium is of no value after only ONE other study – and an exceedingly flawed study at that.

A drug, finasteride (Proscar/Propecia) was noted to still be able to reduce prostate cancer incidence though it was noted that side effects limit its use.

What was not noted is that the side effects include loss of prostate functions, greater amounts of more aggressive prostate cancers and even death.

OOPS!

With friends like Dr. Peter Greenwald and his NCI cohorts who needs enemies?

Yes, Virginia, Dr. Peter Greenwald’s “We do not recommend supplements” is the Satan clause.

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Check for reference:

Link here.

Link here.

Christopher C. Barr writes Naturally Speaking from Arkansas: The Natural State … naturally! You may write him at P. O. Box 1147, Pocahontas, Arkansas 72455 or by e-mail at servantofYHVH@hotmail.com.

If you want the antioxidant protective benefits of Whole Food Grown Seleneium, then you need to get on the Innate Response Selenium shown below.

Sugar Now Being Made from Genetically Modified.......

(NaturalNews) This year saw the first commercial planting of genetically modified (GM) sugar beets in the United States, with that sugar to hit the food supply soon after.

Farmers across the country will soon be planting Monsanto's Roundup Ready sugar beet, genetically engineered for resistance to Monsanto's herbicide glyphosate (marketed as Roundup). John Schorr, agriculture manager for Amalgamated Sugar, estimates that 95 percent of the sugar beet crop in Idaho will be of the new GM variety in 2008, or a total of 150,000 out of 167,000 acres.

Approximately 1.4 million acres of sugar beets are planted in the United States each year, primarily in Minnesota and North Dakota's Red River Valley, as well as the Pacific Northwest, Great Plains and Great Lakes areas.

In response to the anticipated flood of GM sugar onto the food market, the consumer group Citizens for Health has launched an email campaign to pressure three major sugar and candy companies to refuse the new product. In 2001, American Crystal Sugar, Hershey's and M&M Mars all promised that they would not use GM sugar; Citizens for Health is asking consumers to email those companies from the group's Web site and urge them to keep that promise.

"Since half of the granulated sugar in the U.S. comes from sugar beets, the infiltration of GE sugar beets represents a significant alteration of our food supply," Citizens for Health says on its Web site. "Unlike traditional breeding, genetic engineering creates new life forms that would never occur in nature, creating new and unpredictable health and environmental risks."

In 1999, candy companies' refusal to purchase GM sugar scuttled Monsanto's first attempt to introduce Roundup Ready sugar beets.

On another front, a coalition of farmer and environmental groups is seeking to block the planting of the GM beets through a federal lawsuit. The plaintiffs in the case - the Center for Food Safety, High Mowing Organic Seeds, the Organic Seed Alliance and the Sierra Club - are represented by lawyers from the Center for Food Safety and Earthjustice.

In 2005, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) changed the classification of Roundup Ready sugar beets from regulated to deregulated, meaning that the GM beets could be planted without a special permit. But the lawsuit alleges that the USDA failed to properly conduct an environmental review into the impacts of this deregulation.

"The law requires the government to take a hard look at the impact that deregulating Roundup Ready sugar beets will have on human health, agriculture and the environment," said Greg Loarie of Earthjustice. "The government cannot simply ignore the fact that deregulation will harm organic farmers and consumers, and exacerbate the growing epidemic of herbicide resistant weeds."

Critics point out that Roundup Ready crops encourage increased chemical use, with dangerous effects on both human health and the environment. In addition to contaminating soil and water, pesticides leave potentially dangerous residue on food plants themselves.

Citizens for Health says that this is a particular concern in light of the Environmental Protection Agency's recent compliance with a Monsanto request to increase the allowable levels of glyphosate residue on sugar beet roots by 5000 percent.

"Sugar is extracted from the beet's root, and the result is more glyphosate pesticide in our sugar," the group said.

Another concern is that such plants encourage the development of "superweeds" that are resistant to Roundup.

"Just as overuse of antibiotics eventually breeds drug resistant bacteria, overuse of Roundup eventually breeds Roundup-resistant weeds," said Kevin Golden of the Center for Food Safety. "When that happens, farmers are forced to rely on even more toxic herbicides to control those weeds."

USDA data reveals that in the 10 years after the 1994 introduction of Roundup Ready crops, herbicide use increased by 15 times. This has led to a concurrent increase in superweeds. While no cases of Roundup-resistant weeds were known in the U.S. corn belt in 2000, this year the roster of such weeds includes marestail, common and giant ragweed, waterhemp, Palmer pigweed, Cocklebur, lambsquarters, morning glory and velvetleaf.

Ninety-nine percent of U.S. superweeds are resistant to Roundup.

GM crops may also cross-breed with non-GM plants of the same or closely related species. The primary seed-growing region for sugar beets - the Willamette Valley of Oregon - is also a major seed-growing area for the closely related organic chard and table beets. Since all these species are wind pollinated, the chances of contamination are very high.

"Contamination from genetically modified pollen is a major risk to both the conventional and organic seed farmers, who have a long history in the Willamette Valley," said Matthew Dillon, director of advocacy for the Organic Seed Alliance. "The economic impact of contamination affects not only these seed farmers, but the beet and chard farmers who rely on the genetic integrity of their varieties."

Crops contaminated by cross-pollination with GM varieties can no longer be certified organic.

Since corn syrup is an even more widely used sweetener than sugar and the majority of corn grown in the United States is also Roundup Ready, food safety advocates note that nearly all sweetened food in the United States will soon be GM. Because U.S. law does not require labeling of GM ingredients, consumers of products from candy to breakfast cereal will soon be unknowingly exposed to engineered sugar, with unknown health consequences.

"As a consumer, I'm very concerned about genetically engineered sugar making its way into the products I eat," Neil Carman of the Sierra Club said.

Sources for this story include: www.citizens.org, www.organicconsumers.org.