Owner: Mercola Health Blog URL:http://v.mercola.com Join Date: Tue, 05 Jun 2007 03:35:15 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: Health Updates and Natural Health Information by Dr. Joseph Mercola Site statistics:Click here
Is Goji Juice Really as Good as it is Being Promoted As? 2007-06-04 13:13:42 That’s the million-dollar question being asked, and answered, in this video, which exposes the truth about the latest health craze sweeping across Canada and into the United States.
Goji juice is hyped as the cure-all remedy for 34 different ailments, including arthritis, diabetes and cancer. But the truth is both shocking and infuriating, as they uncover the lack of nutritional value of the goji juice in the lab.
Earl Mendel—the well-respected author of the Vitamin Bible—is the face of Himalayan Goji, and he’s making some pretty hefty claims about the berry. And that’s the problem. Upon probing, he admits he’s talking about the berry—not necessarily the juice!
Himalayan Goji juice is not sold in stores, but rather through a multi-level marketing plan. At about $50 per bottle, there’s lots of money being made, but there does not seem to be enough proof to back up the amazing health claims of the juice itself.
CBC News Marketplace January 24, 2007
Read more:Juice
Is Raw Milk Right For You? 2007-06-04 13:13:27
This is Dr. Mercola, and today's video update is about raw milk. Is it good for
you or isn't it? If you've been on our website for a while, you know I've been
a strong advocate of raw milk. I learned about it initially through the pioneering
work of the Weston-Price Foundation. I've seen enormous benefit for many patients
in my practice, and I strongly recommend it for a number of reasons.
There's a lot of confusion around this subject because many confuse organic
milk with raw milk. Of course, raw milk is going to be superior almost every
time. The problems begin with pasteurization of milk. Milk contains a very fragile
protein, and proteins are composed of little amino acids and little strings.
That is their one-dimensional shape. But they also have a two dimensional shape
when they bend backwards and forwards. In addition, they have a three-dimensional
shape. They have a tertiary structure in space which puts them in a unique,
three-dimensional co Read more:Right
Finally Science Confirms the Secret Key to Weight Loss 2007-06-04 09:59:45 This is one of the most important posts I have written on health so I want you to carefully read this.My site has been around for over 10 years and from day one I have been extolling the importance of insulin in nearly all chronic degenerative diseases. Well now we have a landmark study confirming that insulin is the central part of the weight-loss equation.There are over 200 million Americans who are overweight, and collectively they are carrying around an extra 5 BILLION pounds of excess fat.What the Boston researchers specifically found was that those who secreted high insulin levels had a far more difficult time losing weight than those who secreted low levels of insulin.I am very grateful that these researchers produced this landmark confirmation of insulin truth. Unfortunately, they completely blew the interpretation of what they found. So let me help you sort through the researchers’ confusion.Like most scientists they want to attribute the problem to your genes. They want you Read more:Finally
, Science
, Weight
, Weight Loss
Most Vitamins Are Now Made In China 2007-06-04 09:44:00 You may be surprised to know that China
is actually one of the largest exporters of many drugs and vitamins. About 90 percent of all Vitamin C sold in the United States is from China, for example. They also produce 50 percent of the world's aspirin and 35 percent of all Tylenol. Ditto for the majority of Vitamins
A, B12 and E.
Hot on the heels of the poisoned pet food scandal, and reported instances of toxic food and toothpaste, all eyes are now turning toward the Chinese vitamin market. How safe are they?
The industry in China appears to be split between top-notch operations and bottom-of-the-barrel producers. Since the United States does not require country-of-origin labels for any of our drugs, foods or supplements, there is no telling where that vitamin you are taking came from.
China also suffers from the same conflict of interest that we are seeing here in the United States, where the regulators have financial interest in the industries they are supposed to regulate
When Doctors Strike, Fewer People Die 2007-06-03 20:15:00 In 1973 doctors in Israel staged a month-long strike and during that month, mortality fell by 50 percent. A couple of years later, a two-month work stoppage by doctors in the Columbian capital of Bogotá led to a 35-percent decline in deaths. And during a “work slowdown” by doctors in Los Angeles protesting against the sharp increase in premiums for liability insurance, the number of deaths fell by 18 percent. Once doctors were back at work full time, mortality immediately jumped back to the previous level. Every year, 1.2 million Britons are hospitalized as a result of improper medical care. In the United States – where 40,000 people are shot to death each year – the chance of getting “killed” by a doctor is three times greater than being killed by a gun. And every year significantly more people die from an infection sustained while in the hospital than as a result of traffic accidents. Over 20 years ago the American culture critic Ivan Illich wrote that health care has be Read more:Doctors
, Fewer
Drug Company's Latest Tricks to Control Congress 2007-06-01 13:55:43 The pharmaceutical companies clearly manipulate Congress
with their overwhelming lobbying, but it’s always interesting to see the details of just how these schemers operate.Case in point, drug company giant Eli Lilly has made a temporary shift in their contributions to favor the new Democrat congressional majority. The company has already given nearly $60,000 in all to both parties in the first four months of 2007.To really cover their bases, Eli Lilly has also planted key lobbyists with influence, such as one of their in-house lobbyists who used to be the top GOP aide on the Senate Judiciary Committee.In all, the pharmaceutical and health-products industry has spent more on lobbying -- over $1 billion -- in the last decade than any other industry. Their influence is just massive. Eli Lilly alone spent $3.7 million on lobbying last year, and employed 40 lobbyists to represent its interests. This year, they’ve already hired on three new outside lobbying firms.But as pervasive as the Read more:Control
Finally a Simple and Easy Alternative to Dangerous Microwave Ovens 2007-06-01 13:41:32
Today, I'm going to show you how to cook a whole roast chicken in less than half the time it would take in a regular oven. I roast a lot of whole chickens, and one of the things that's always frustrated me is the amount of time that they take to cook, at least a couple of hours in the oven for the average chicken. I don't know about you, but I don't like standing around waiting for two hours for my dinner to cook. So I was very excited when I discovered the Aroma Oven, a fantastic invention.
It's a little convection oven. In case you don't yet know the difference between a convection oven and a regular oven (which I didn't, I must admit), a convection oven pulls in air from the outside, heats it up and then churns it all around the food inside. Whereas, a regular oven just heats up the air that's already in it. So, the convection oven can cook food a lot faster and a lot more evenly than a regular oven can.
The Aroma Oven is a fantastic piece of equipment. Don't just use Read more:Alternative
, Finally
, Ovens
, Simple
How to Annihilate E-Mail Overload 2007-06-01 11:50:35 I frequently get anywhere from 150 to 200 e-mails a day, and going through them tends to consume a large portion of my time. I suspect this e-mail overload is affecting a lot of you, too, and I’m always on the lookout for tips to managing e-mail quickly, but still effectively.This LifeHack.org article has some excellent tips to keep e-mail from managing your life, such as:You don’t need to respond to every e-mailYou must set time limits (15 to 30 minutes) on your e-mail, because you simply can’t spend ALL day doing itYou should filter your e-mails into three categories: important, reports/information, othersYou should schedule times to e-mail, once, twice or up to three set times a dayMeanwhile, for more simple tips on dealing with your e-mail, be sure to check out my recent video on How to Radically Reduce the Time You Spend on E-mail. It covers a great, time-saving strategy that I learned about in Four-Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss -- an excellent book if you’re interested in
Some Cows Can Now Make Skim Milk 2007-06-01 11:49:00 In a move that experts say will “completely revolutionize the dairy industry,” entire herds of dairy cows may soon be producing only skimmed milk. The cows have genes that give them this ability naturally, and scientists plan to breed them to produce commercial herds.Also in the works is a breed of cow that will produce milk with the special characteristics necessary to make “spreadable butter” (straight from the fridge).Milk from these “skim cows” would be perfect for carb nutritional types who thrive on low-fat diets, but would be terrible for protein types, who would do best eating the higher-fat cream.Of course, in my opinion the only way that anyone should be drinking milk is if it’s raw, and these new commercial breeds (set to be available by 2011) will almost assuredly be producing milk that will be pasteurized.As always, your best bet for finding truly healthy milk is to locate a dairy farmer who produces raw milk near you. And remember, it’s not necessary to wa
Gel Made From Your Blood Heals Wounds Better Than Antibiotics 2007-06-01 11:47:43 An innovative gel, made from patient’s own blood cells, heals wounds faster and more effectively than antibiotics. Autologous platelet gel, or APG, is made from platelet cells, which naturally work to stop bleeding when blood vessels are punctured.In your body, platelets form a clump at the wound site, release chemicals to make blood clot and then form a scab to start the healing process. The gel is made by concentrating blood into a rich plasma with high levels of platelets that is thick enough to rub on wounds.In one small study, wounds treated with APG healed completely in close to 80 percent of cases, compared to just 50 percent of cases treated with antibiotics.A separate study showed the gel to heal wounds faster than those treated with an antibiotic ointment.The gel may one day help to prevent infections with hospital superbugs and help people with diabetes who suffer from chronic ulcers.While APG is being worked out, though, there are already some great options to help wounds Read more:Antibiotics
, Blood
, Heals
Google Super-Brain to Harvest Human Behavior 2007-06-01 09:50:22 Google is planning to build a powerful “human database” computer, and has full backing from the U.S. government to do so. What is the database going to do? Provide a “general life assistant” that will be able to predict what you might need before you even realize it.It will be personalized to:Target specific people who are interested in certain subjectsPredict market trends, fashions and even fluctuating moods and human behaviorProvide you search results that you may want (but didn’t necessarily ask for), such as where to buy a certain book at the lowest price By, quite literally, organizing the world’s information, Google says they can make life easier and even better. But critics say the database is an “Orwellian style threat to civil liberty and human privacy” that will “harvest all our most intimate daily habits.”Whether or not the human database will turn out to be a panacea or a threat to life as we know it remains to be seen … but if you look at the photo b Read more:Behavior
, Brain
, Google
, Harvest
, Super
Rare Pouch-Like Cloud Formations 2007-05-31 12:49:06 Nature is an amazing place, and I am continually amazed at the many wonders it creates. Among them, these mammatus clouds photographed over Hastings, Nebraska.Mammatus clouds are rare, pouch-like structures that form in sinking air, often near a thunderstorm. Mammatus are usually associated with severe weather, but they do not mean a tornado or other major storm is approaching. Often, mammatus clouds appear after the worst part of a thunderstorm is over.If you’re as fascinated by nature photos as I am, and clouds in particular, you’ll likely also enjoy these images of clouds that look like fire. University of Nebraska-Lincoln High Plains Regional Climate Center Read more:Cloud
, Pouch
What's Really in a Twinkie? 2007-05-31 12:46:03 The next time you pick up a Twinkie
, consider this: out of the laundry list of, often unpronounceable, ingredients, eight come from domestic corn, three from soybeans and others from Chinese refineries and Chinese factories. More specifically, some of the ingredients, such as thiamine mononitrate, come from Chinese petroleum.Disturbing? Yes. But perhaps even more so is the fact that the LA Times author of this article said Twinkies contain “other unexpected ingredients that are much harder to trace.” Ingredients coming from American food additive "manufacturers" who buy their chemicals from distributors without asking where they came from. The distributors are guilty, too, because they buy from importers, who buy from exporters, who also do not identify their real sources.Of course, Twinkies are not the only food (if you can call them that) on your grocery store shelves that contain a sampling of strange chemicals from around the world. Most all processed foods, from salad dressing
26 Reasons Why You are Biased 2007-05-31 10:34:15 Bias exists everywhere, on the news, in magazines, in your doctor’s office -- and even in your own head. Cognitive bias is a term that describes your mind’s preconceived notions about reality, and their effect on the way you think and act.This becomes very clear when you apply it to nutrition and diet, for instance how many people accept the incorrect notions that all dietary fat is bad, and pasteurized milk is good.We are all so engrained with our own past experiences that it may be nearly impossible for anyone to make truly neutral decisions. Don’t believe me? Check out this sampling of widely accepted cognitive biases (and click the link below for the full list of 26):Bandwagon Effect: The tendency to do (or believe) things because many other people do (or believe) the same. Endowment Effect: The tendency for people to value something more as soon as they own it.Status Quo Bias: The tendency for people to like things to stay relatively the same.Mere Exposure Effect: The tenden Read more:Reasons
The FDA Has Blood on its Hands 2007-05-30 20:42:57 Congressman Ron Paul (R-Texas) says, “enough is enough,” to the Big Pharma Bullies running the FDA. He has introduced bill H.R. 2117 (the Health Freedom Protection Act) into the House of Representatives, which would effectively stop the FDA from censoring truthful claims about the health benefits of dietary supplements.
He wants to put an end to the federal bureaucrats’ meddling with your right to choose healthy alternatives over harmful and deadly patent drugs, and believes Americans should not be prevented form learning about simple ways to improve their health.
This bill puts the burden of proof on the FDA/FTC when it comes to proving that a label or advertisement is false and misleading. As it stands now, the manufacturer has to satisfy an unobtainable standard of proof—as was the case with the American cherry growers a few years ago. The FDA went on a witch-hunt after the growers used evidence from studies funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, to state that cher Read more:Blood
, Hands
Do Your Family Members Not Believe You About Health? 2007-05-30 18:46:00
Dr. Mercola here. In today's video, I'll be sharing an interesting story with
you about my own family. A few weeks ago, I went to a birthday party for my
niece. I hadn't seen my family for a while, and it was a nice opportunity to
get together with them.
As I was sitting next to my small niece, I found it really interesting that
she was having some dessert, some really great strawberries, and she was dipping
them in piles of Equal, or NutraSweet. It was a real challenge for me to watch
her do that. This is my brother's daughter. I love my brother dearly, but he
and his wife don't really understand the dangers of NutraSweet. But I just bit
my tongue and let my niece continue to consume Nutrasweet-coated strawberries.
Now, in case you are unaware of the dangers of NutraSweet, you may want to
read my book called, Sweet Deception. It's a phenomenal book that really goes
into specific details, primarily about sucralose, but also about all of the
Read more:Family
, Health
, Members
Could Sun-Avoidance be the Missing Link Explaining Rampant Autism? 2007-05-30 11:38:00 With
autism
soaring in America, increasing at
a rate of more than 20 percent per year, the need for answers is both vital
and urgent. Mercury
in early childhood
vaccines has been pointed out as one
main culprit. An additional theory that makes a whole lot of sense is the link
between rampant vitamin
D deficiency and the proportionate
jump in autism.
The Vitamin D Council observes that sun-avoidance
has increased in the last 20 years as the medical community started warning
about the dangers of sun exposure. They believe there is a link. The vitamin
D receptor appears in a wide variety of brain tissue early in the development
of the baby, and activated vitamin D receptors increase nerve growth in the
brain.
Just recently, the National Institutes of Mental
Health concluded that it is vital that the mother get enough vitamin D while
pregnant in order for the baby’s brain to develop properly. The child must also
get enough vitamin Read more:Autism
, Avoidance
, Missing
, Rampant
Another Reason Not to Buy Food From Wal-Mart 2007-05-30 10:19:49 China has morphed—seemingly overnight—into a dangerous juggernaut run amok into kitchens across America. They’ve jumped onboard the organic food train, and are seizing the opportunity to expand their already massive exports market by adding fresh produce. The real price for cheap strawberries year-round, however, may end up being your health.
Just consider this: in the first three months of this year, imports of fresh fruit from China grew by 279 percent and fresh vegetables by 66 percent. This kind of explosive growth of imported fresh produce from, literally, the other end of the earth, has the potential for some pretty dire health ramifications.
Wal-Mart is the nation’s largest food retailer. They are also China’s eighth-largest trading partner. Unfortunately, Wal-Mart does not appear to have your best interest at heart, as they spearhead the campaign against stricter food regulations, port inspections and country of origin labeling.
China is now almost as known for i Read more:Reason
How to Drive Like a Cop 2007-05-30 10:04:34 Although I don’t condone learning how to drive like a cop in order to get away from one, the information gathered by Joe Hollingsworth for this AOL Autos article offers up quite a few driving tips that, with some practice, might make you a safer driver. Some common sensical—but rarely thought of—tidbits could even save your life.
Driving with your hands at 3 and 9 o’clock at all times falls in the “heard that already” category, but the reason for it may not be completely understood. Once you find out that the airbag can snap off your arms if they’re draped across the steering wheel, that old advice takes on a whole new meaning now, doesn’t it?
He also points out why you’d be wise to keep your side windows either all the way up, or all the way down, at all times. Let’s just say the word “guillotine” is referred to, which conjures up an appropriately gory mental image, ensuring that that advice stays firmly in place for future reference. So read up. And keep yo
Who Else Wants to Eliminate the IRS? 2007-05-30 08:40:00 Congressman Ron Paul (R-Texas)—perhaps the only elected official who actually insists on holding true to what our Founding Fathers intended for this country—brings home the message loud and clear in this 2008 electoral video.
Ron Paul speaks on the importance of bringing back the Constitution—issues like abolishing the income tax and the IRS, eliminating the U.S. Federal Reserve in order to restore “real money” (instead of printing more as we run out and calling it inflation), the proper place for our military force, and calls for a return of our civil liberties.
As one of the sanest political voices finally getting some airtime, he speaks about what America was—and what must be restored. Don’t miss it. And if you want to quit paying income taxes … well, now you know who agrees with you.
YouTube May 13, 2007
Drink Soda and Damage Your DNA 2007-05-29 12:17:58 Sodium benzoate, a preservative used in large quantities in soft drinks like Sprite, Dr. Pepper and Oasis, may cause severe damage to DNA and increase your risk of related diseases like Parkinson's while accelerating the aging process.Sodium benzoate appears to damage the “power station” of cells, known as the mitochondria, according to a British aging expert at Sheffield University. His studies found that the preservative can “totally inactivate” and “knock out” cells’ mitochondria, which causes the cells to seriously malfunction. The end result is an increased risk of a slew of diseases.Sodium benzoate has also come under fire because, when combined with the vitamin C in many soft drinks, it forms benzene, a cancer-causing chemical linked to leukemia. In one study, at least five brands of soft drinks were found to contain excessive benzene levels.Sodium benzoate is used freely in the United States and the UK. Fortunately, you can protect your health from this dangerous Read more:Damage
, Drink
If You Hate Digital Rights Management as Much as I Do, Watch This Video 2007-05-29 11:13:00 Cory Doctorow is the co-editor of one of the most-read blogs in the world, Boing Boing. He is my activist equivalent in the fight for liberalizing copyright laws.If you hate digital rights management as much as I do, you will love this one-hour talk he gave at Google. Cory provides an articulate and eloquent discussion of the fraud and deception that the recording industry is seeking to place on the public.
Read more:Digital
, Management
, Rights
Magnets Can Strengthen Your Mind 2007-05-29 11:12:04 I’ve written about magnets to help with depression and even to avoid shark attacks, but now researchers have uncovered another potential: warding off Alzheimer’s disease and age-related mental decline.Stimulating the brain with magnets -- or transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) -- has been used experimentally for brain disorders including schizophrenia, and stroke. During TMS, a magnetic coil induces electric fields in brain tissue, which activates or deactivates groups of neurons. It’s thought that this process, called long-term potentiation (LTP), may help to strengthen brain circuits, thereby aiding learning and memory.Indeed, in a study on mice, TMS enhanced LTP in all areas of the brain, and increased the production of certain stem cells that are known to play a role in memory and mood regulation.This type of magnet therapy sounds promising, but the best option when it comes to Alzheimer’s and mental decline is to avoid it entirely. Mental decline is NOT a normal part o Read more:Magnets
QA: Are There Safer Less Costly Ways to Treat Ulcers? 2007-05-22 13:15:34 Q: Our son had a previous bout with H Pylori and was prescribed a regime of antibiotics. Now, in Iraq, he is having severe stomach pain. We don't know how much the Army doctors will be able to help him. Can you suggest something, please? M/M Vandenhouten svandenhouten@suddenlink.netA:
Dr. Mercola here, welcoming you to another Question & Answer Video Update. Today's question comes to us from Sandy of Leander, Texas. Sandy's son was diagnosed with H. pylori and was treated with antibiotics for an ulcer. He's now serving in Iraq and having stomach pain once again. Sandy wonders if there are any alternatives for the Army doctors there, in treating her son.
Well, Sandy, yes there are. I want to use this opportunity to describe the whole process around ulcers and their treatment, so you have a proper perspective.
Interestingly, up until the early 1980's, almost all physicians believed that ulcers were caused by stress and too much acid. But there was a family physician in Aus
QA: Are You Taking the Right Type of Omega-3 Fats? 2007-05-21 18:34:35 Q: In your opinion is chia seed and effective source of omega-3? How does it compare with an animal source, such as krill oil? If it compares favorably, would you consider offering it? if not familiar with chia seed, see https://www.chiaseedandoil.com/faqs.htmA:
This is Dr. Mercola, welcoming you to another Question & Answer Video Update. Today, we have an important question from Duane from Reston, Virginia, who asks about the difference between chia seeds and Krill Oil as sources of omega-3 fats. Certainly, almost all of you have heard about, and understand, the enormous benefits omega-3 fats play in our lives, especially related to prevention of degenerative diseases and staying optimally healthy. Each and every one of us need a regular source of omega-3 fats, and if we don't get them in our diet, we'll suffer severe health consequences. So, that's the first important point to understand.
Now, we get into the subtleties of how to apply this nutritional principle. Interesti Read more:Omega
, Right
, Taking
QA: Highly Effective Treatments for Rheumatoid Arthritis That Virtually No Physicians Are Using 2007-05-09 15:42:22 Q: Is it possible that an over prescribed use of ANTIBIOTICS over a number of years could lead to the autoimmune disease RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS? I share your passion to find the root cause of such diseases. Thank you so much your health information is invaluableA: Learn from my nearly 20 years of helping more than 3000 patients with autoimmune diseases like MS and RA, that are a radical improvement over conventional approaches.
Video Transcript:
Dr. Mercola here, welcoming you to another Question & Answer Video Update. Today’s question comes to us from Brian in London, who wonders if the overuse of antibiotics can actually be a cause of rheumatoid arthritis.
I happen to have a great deal of interest in rheumatoid arthritis, extending back to my initial encounter with it, after I had viewed a segment about it on 60 Minutes in the late 1980’s. Dr. Brown, who spoke in this piece, had a very controversial treatment for this disease, which involved the use of antibiotics to trea Read more:Arthritis
, Rheumatoid
, Rheumatoid Arthritis
, Virtually
QA: How to Tell if You're at Risk for Sudden Death 2007-05-06 16:03:31 Q: Often we read about a man around age 50 falling over dead from Sudden
Cardiac Death Syndrome. This is the “one step” heart attack when the decedent’s heart suffers a severe arrhythmia, causing death in seconds, even if the deceased led a healthy life. I have learned from you that a properly balanced level of Omega-3 fats, and sufficient hydration, are essential to normal heart rhythm, but is there is anything else a man can do to protect himself from this seemingly unpredictable deadly event?A:
AdblockGreat question. Your point about hydration really refers more to OVER hydration as noticed in a number of people who drank too much during endurance events. However, the number one symptom of heart disease is sudden death so it would be great to have some reliable indicators. From my perspective there are three VERY powerful predictors. If these are normal, the likelihood of dying from heart disease is extremely unlikelyThe predictors are all lab tests First is a fasting Read more:Sudden Death
QA: Supplements 2007-05-06 15:50:17 Q: I am torn about what is the best to take as far as your supplements. I can't afford all of them, but which is better overall: Radical Fruits, or Krill Oil? Is it safe to take all of them every day together if I could? Please help. Thanks!
A: They are all safe to take, but if you only took one of them a good source of omega-3 fats would be the best so I would recommend krill oil. Radical Fruits can be used every day but if you need to economize you can only take it immediately prior to when you do vigorous exercise as that is when many of the free radicals will be generated.
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