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Europe Bans Bee-Harming Pesticides; US Keeps Spraying | Mother Jones

May 15th, 2013 by

Europe Bans Bee-Harming Pesticides; US Keeps Spraying

—By Tom Philpott| Fri May. 3, 2013 3:00 AM PDT

Darios/Shutterstock

On Monday, the European Commission voted to place a two-year moratorium onmost uses of neonicotinoid pesticides, which are a widely used class of chemicals suspected of contributing to a severe global decline in honeybee health.

In the wake of Europe’s decisive action, the US Environmental Protection Agency dithered. Well, it did release a joint report with the US Department of Agriculture on Thursday, generated from a “National Honey Bee Health Stakeholder Conference” the two agencies held last fall. The report fingered no single culprit behind colony collapse disorder, the name for the steep annual bee die-offs that have been stumping beekeepers since 2006. Instead, it pointed to a “complex set of stressors and pathogens,” including poor nutrition (mainly from loss of flowering weeds due to increased herbicide use), viruses, gut parasites, and, yes, pesticides. But it includes a summary of a presentation by USDA scientist Jeff Pettis noting that “several studies” have shown that low-level exposure to neonics make bees more vulnerable to the common gut parasite Nosema. (Pettis himself is the coauthor of one of those studies.)

Yet, as Natural Resources Defense Council senior scientist Jennifer Sass put it in a Thursday blog post, the joint EPA/USDA report limits itself to “recommendations about best management practices and technical advancements for applying pesticides to reduce dust,” while avoiding “recommendations that would reduce the overall sales and profits for chemical makers.”

Nor does the report express much urgency; it promises an “action plan [that] will outline major priorities to be addressed in the next 5-10 years.”

In the United States, neonic-treated crops cover a land mass equivalent to as much as twice the size of California.

Meanwhile, the European Commission’s decisive action came amid what the Guardian called a “fierce behind-the-scenes campaign” to stop it from Syngenta and Bayer, the Europe-based chemical giants that market them. The move was prompted by a January report by the European Food Safety Authority, which identified “high acute risks” for bees from exposure to neonic-treated crops like corn and sunflower. And studies from independent researchers implicating neonics in declining bee health have mounted.

Even before the decision, France, Italy, Slovenia, and Bayer’s home country, Germany, had all suspend use of the chemicals pending more research on bee health. Now neonics will face severe restriction in all 27 European Union countries for two-year period starting December 1, 2013, during which time the commission will continue its assessment of their impact.

The move trains a harsh light on the EPA, which approved the chemicals based on what its own scientists have called flawed research and is currently reviewing them in light of the threat to bees and other pollinators. Earlier this month, an agency spokesperson told CBS News that the review would take five years—meaning that they’ll continue to be used widely on farmland in the US during that period. As I reported a while back, neonic-treated crops cover between 150 million to 200 million acres of farmland in the US each year—a land mass equivalent to as much as twice the size of California.

I contacted the EPA to ask whether the EC decision might speed the agency’s timeline on reassessing neonics and their threat to bees. The response, in an emailed statement: “At this time, the data available to the EPA do not support a moratorium.” The time frame for completing the reassessment remains in place, the statement added, with this caveat: “If at any time the EPA determines there are urgent human and/or environmental risks from pesticide exposures that require prompt attention, the agency will take appropriate regulatory action, regardless of the registration review status of that pesticide.”

via Europe Bans Bee-Harming Pesticides; US Keeps Spraying | Mother Jones.

Posted in Environmental Health, Food - Diet Health Advice, General, Health Controversies, Informative, Political, Science | No Comments »

Food Health Europe vs US

May 15th, 2013 by

7 Dodgy Food Practices Banned in

Europe But Just Fine Here

—By Tom Philpott

Eiffel Tower: Iakov Kalinin/Shutterstock, Spray can: Knumina Studios/Shutterstock, Skull:Arcady/Shutterstock,

Last week, the European Commission voted to place a two-year moratorium on most uses of neonicotinoid pesticides, on the suspicion that they’re contributing to the global crisis in honeybee health (a topic I’ve touched on here, here, here, and here). Since then, several people have asked me whether Europe’s move might inspire the US Environmental Protection Agencyto make a similar move—currently, neonics are widely used in several of our most prevalent crops, including corn, soy, cotton, and wheat.
The answer is no. As I reported recently, an agency press officer told me the EU move will have no bearing on the EPA’s own reviews of the pesticides, which aren’t scheduled for release until 2016 at the earliest.

All of which got me thinking about other food-related substances and practices that are banned in Europe but green-lighted here. Turns out there are lots. Aren’t you glad you don’t live under the Old World regulatory jackboot, where the authorities deny people’s freedom to quaff  atrazine-laced drinking water, etc., etc.? Let me know in comments if I’m missing any.
1. Atrazine
Why it’s a problem: A “potent endocrine disruptor,” Syngenta’s popular corn herbicide has been linked to a range of reproductive problems at extremely low doses in both amphibiansand humans, and it commonly leaches out of farm fields and into people’s drinking water.
What Europe did: Banned it in 2003.
US status: EPA: “Atrazine will begin registration review, EPA’s periodic reevaluation program for existing pesticides, in mid-2013.”

2. Arsenic in chicken, turkey, and pig feed
Why it’s a problem: Arsenic is beloved of industrial-scale livestock producers because it makes animals grow faster and turns their meat a rosy pink. It enters feed in organic form, which isn’t harmful to humans. Trouble is, in animals guts, it quickly goes inorganic, and thus becomes poisonous. Several studies, including one by the FDA, have found heightened levels of inorganic arsenic in supermarket chicken, and it also ends up in manure, where it can move into tap water. Fertilizing rice fields with arsenic-laced manure may be partially responsible for heightened arsenic levels in US rice. 
What Europe did: According to the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, arsenic-based compounds “were never approved as safe for animal feed in the European Union, Japan, and many other countries.”
US status: The drug giant Pfizer “voluntarily” stopped marketing the arsenical feed additive Roxarsone back in 2011. But there are still several arsenicals on the market. On May 1, a coalition of enviro groups including the Center for Food Safety, the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, and the Center for Biological Diversity filed a lawsuit demanding that the FDA ban them from feed.

3. “Poultry litter” in cow feed
Why it’s a problem: You know how arsenic goes inorganic—and thus poisonous—in chickens’ guts? Consider that their arsenic-laced manure is then commonly used as a feed for cows. According to Consumers Union, the stuff “consists primarily of manure, feathers, spilled feed, and bedding material that accumulate on the floors of the buildings that house chickens and turkeys.” The “spilled feed” part is of special concern, because chickens are often fed “meat and bone meal from dead cattle,” CU reported, and that stuff can spill into the litter and be fed back to cows, raising mad cow disease concerns.
What Europe did: Banned all forms of animal protein, including chicken litter, in cow feed in 2001.
US status: The practice remains unrestricted. US cattle consume about 2 billion pounds of it annually, Consumers Union’s Michael Hansen told me last year.

4. Chlorine washes for poultry carcasses
Why it’s a problem: As the US chicken industry has sped up kill lines in recent years, it has resorted to heavier use of chlorine-based washes to “decrease microbial loads on carcasses,” the Washington Post recently reported, quoting a previously unreleased USDA document. As I’ve noted, the USDA is preparing to release new rules that would speed up kill lines still more as well as allow companies to douse every carcass that comes down the line with antimicrobial sprays, “whether they are contaminated or not.” According to the Post, poultry workers face a “range of ailments” to the practice, including “asthma and other severe respiratory problems, burns, rashes, irritated eyes, and sinus ulcers and other sinus problems.”
What Europe did: The EU not only bans the practice, but refuses to accept US poultry that has been treated with antimicrobial sprays.
US status: As stated above, the USDA is preparing to roll out new rules that will increase the practice.

5. Antibiotics as growth promoters on livestock farms
Why they’re a problem: Antibiotic use has surged on US animal farms in recent years—and now accounts for 80 percent of all antibiotic use. Meanwhile, meat sold in US supermarkets is rife with antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
What Europe did: In the EU, all antibiotics used in human medicines are banned on farms—and no antibiotics can be used on farms for “nonmedical purposes,” i.e., growth promotion.
US status: The FDA is floating new rules that would ban antibiotics as growth promoters—but the regulation would be voluntary.

6. Ractopomine and other pharmaceutical growth enhancers in animal feed
Why it’s a problem: Fed to an estimated 60 to 80 percent of US hogs, ractopomine makes animals grow fast while also staying lean. Unfortunately, it does so by mimicking stress hormones, making animals miserable. The excellent food safety reporter Helena Bottemiller looked at FDA documents and found that between its introduction in 1999 and 2011, the drug had killed 210,000 pigs—”more than any other animal drug on the market.” Pigs treated with it, she found, suffer from ailments ranging from hyperactivity and trembling to broken limbs and the inability to walk. (Beef cows are fed similar drugs, as are turkeys.) Traces of these pharmaceuticals routinely end up in our meat—and according to Bottemiller, their effects on humans are little-studied.
What Europe did: Europe not only bars its own producers from using ractopamine, it alsorefuses to allow imports of meat from animals treated with it—as do China and Russia.
US status: Rather than trying to rein in ractopamine use, the Obama administration is actively seeking to force Europe and other nations to accept our ractopamine-treated pork.

7. Gestation crates
Why it’s a problem: The sows that breed the hogs confined in US factory farms spend nearly their entire lives stuffed into crates “so small the animals can’t even turn around or take more than a step forward or backward,” the Humane Society of the United States reported. An undercover HSUS investigation of a sow facility run by pork giant Smithfield in 2010 found, among other horrors, this:

“The animals engaged in stereotypic behaviors such as biting the bars of crates, indicating poor well-being in the extreme confinement conditions. Some had bitten their bars so incessantly that blood from their mouths coated the fronts of their crates. The breeding pigs also suffered injuries from sharp crate protrusions and open pressure sores that developed from their unyielding confinement.”

What Europe did: Banned them, effective this year.
US status: Pork giants Smithfield, Cargill, and Hormel have pledged to phase them out; several fast-food chains including McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s, and Subway have promised to stop buying from suppliers who use the crates; and nine states have banned the practice, HSUSreported. But the practice remains widespread, and as industry flack Rick Berman recently put it, a large swath of the pork industry “has no plans to stop using standard sow housing.”

Posted in Environmental Health, Food - Diet Health Advice, General, Health Conditions, Health Controversies, Informative, Political, Science | No Comments »

President Obama Signs Monsanto Protection Act – EcoWatch: Cutting Edge Environmental News Service

Mar 28th, 2013 by

Food Democracy Now!

It is with great sadness and a heavy heart that we regret to inform you that late last night President Barack Obama signed H.R. 933, which contained the Monsanto Protection Act into law. This is an outrage that will not go unanswered.

While we are still waiting to hear from the administration all the final details, we understand at this time that Section 735, the Monsanto biotech rider, is intact.

President Obama knowingly signed the Monsanto Protection Act over the insistence of more than 250,000 Americans who signed an urgent letter asking that he use his executive authority to veto H.R. 933 and send it back to Congress to remove the Monsanto Protection Act from the bill. Regretfully, President Obama failed to live up to his oath to protect the American people and our Constitution.

Now that Congress has passed and President Obama has signed into law, the Monsanto Protection Act, Food Democracy Now! urgently requests that the President issue an executive order to support the mandatory labeling of genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

We want to thank everyone who made tens of thousands of calls to Congress and the White House and we understand that people are upset, but now is not the time to be quiet.

If leadership in Washington, DC can betray the public behind closed doors, it’s time that the American public gain the right to transparency about what they are eating and the food they’re feeding their families every day.

Not only is GMO labeling a reasonable and common sense solution to the continued controversy that corporations like Monsanto, DuPont and Dow Chemical have created by subverting our basic democratic rights, but it is a basic right that citizens in 62 other countries around the world already enjoy, including Europe, Russia, China, India, South Africa and Saudi Arabia.

In addition, mandatory labeling of GMO foods is something that President Obama promised while on the campaign trail in 2007 to Iowa farmers when he said on Nov. 10 in Des Moines: “Here’s what I’ll do as president … we’ll let folks know whether their food has been genetically modified because Americans should know what they’re buying.”

It’s time that President Obama hold true to his campaign promise to Iowa farmers and the American people by issuing an executive order to label GMOs in our food products immediately. The American people need real leadership in Washington, DC, not more backroom deals by corporate lobbyists that subvert our democracy.

The passage of the Monsanto Protection Act is another sign of how out of touch Congress and the White House are with the sentiment of the America public. The insertion of the biotech rider in a backroom deal with corporate lobbyists and Senate leaders is a new low. Since losing a court case in 2010 to Center for Food Safety for the unlawful planting of GMO sugar beets, Monsanto and other biotech companies have been desperate to find a way around court mandated environmental impact statements required as a result of a U.S. district court’s ruling.

There is a fierce urgency in the fight over the Monsanto Protection Act for family farmers and food activists across the country as 13 new genetically engineered crops await approval at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and AquaBounty’s GMO salmon could be approved by the Food and Drug Administration next month. The passage of this rider in an unrelated budget spending bill could open the floodgates for these new approvals, even if the budget agreement only lasts for the next six months.

Any new approvals could threaten the livelihoods of America’s farmers, as the approval of even a single one of these untested crops can lead to widespread contamination of farmers’ crops, bringing economic harm to farmers and contamination to our seed supply.

For the past year, family farm advocates and legal experts have fought to stop the Monsanto Protection Act, another special interest corporate giveaway that fundamentally undermines the federal courts’ ability to protect family farmers and the environment from potentially hazardous GMO crops that have not been proven safe.

We recognize that there are narrow-minded people out there who do not think that a six-month provision that subverts our Constitution and judicial authority for another corporate handout to Monsanto is worth shutting down the federal government, but here at Food Democracy Now! we disagree.

We are greatly encouraged by the quarter million American people who have signed this letter and the tens of thousands of phone calls to Congress and the White House to demand that our basic rights are upheld by our elected officials, particularly our President. This is a sign of how urgent citizen participation is to maintaining a democracy.

Click here to make a call to the White House and let President Obama and your members of Congress know how upset you are and that it’s time for GMO labeling.

Visit EcoWatch’s GENETICALLY MODIFIED ORGANISM page for more related news on this topic.

Posted in Environmental Health, Food - Diet Health Advice, General, Health Controversies, Informative, Political | No Comments »

UK Finally Makes Smart Decision to Protect Children. Why Doesn’t the US?

Jan 17th, 2011 by

UK Finally Makes Smart Decision to Protect Children. Why Doesn’t the US?: “UK Finally Makes Smart Decision to Protect Children. Why Doesn’t the US? Mercola Natural Health Articles 1/16/11 10:00 PM Dr. Joseph Mercola Ministers of parliament and senior advisers in the UK government ruled against the flu vaccine for children under 5. This decision comes even though a flu epidemic is currently striking the UK.

Possibly they took a look at what Dr. Hugh Fudenberg, one of the world’s leading immunologists, has had to say on the flu vaccine. Fudenburg found that anyone who had more than two flu vaccines between 1970 and 1980 has a far higher chance of having Alzheimer’s in old age.

 

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According to Vaccine Truth:

‘Perhaps the UK government has learnt their lesson. Instead of vaccination they have decided to bring back last year’s Swine Flu ads with the caption ‘Catch it, Bin it, Kill it’ … The message is the best way to combat the flu is a lesson in hygiene.’

Sources: Vaccine Truth December 31, 2010 Mail Online December 31, 2010

Dr. Mercola’s Comments:

UK children under 5 will not be receiving the flu shot this season, thanks to a ruling by UK ministers and senior government advisers.

After canceling the immunization program for children aged 6 months to 5 years in 2010, they have decided to continue on with the no-flu-shot plan for this age group, citing that vaccination would not have any significant gains.

This was a wise government decision because flu shots are typically ineffective and can be risky for many people, including children, the elderly and virtually every age group in between.

U.S. Still Recommends Flu Shots for Kids, Despite Serious Red Flags

Physicians in America have been insisting that every child age 6 months to 18 years get an annual flu shot for several years now, but health officials have now ramped up those recommendations, telling EVERY person over the age of 6 months get a flu shot EVERY year, healthy or not, low risk or high.

What will receiving a flu shot every year every year of your life do to your immune system?

With all of those vaccinations, will you be more susceptible to influenza-related complications and death? Will children, who are already subjected to 48 doses of 14 vaccines from day of birth through age six, be at added risk for developing chronic health problems from being given a flu shot every year throughout elementary, junior high and high school?

We really don’t know.

Health officials have leapt ahead with recommendations of ‘flu shots for all’ without safety studies — so by getting a flu shot, you are effectively offering yourself, or your child, up as a laboratory rat. In other words, YOU are the safety study!

This year’s seasonal flu shot is a combination vaccine that contains two regular strains of influenza and the new 2009 pandemic H1N1 ‘swine flu’ vaccine — you will not be given the choice to take the seasonal and swine flu vaccines separately.

This is the same type of flu vaccine that Australia suspended during its most recent 2010/2011 flu season for use in children under the age of 5 because it caused a surprisingly high number of reports of children suffering high fevers, vomiting and febrile convulsions. By June of 2010, more than 1,000 adverse reactions in children under the age of 5 had been reported.

Flu shots are also heavily recommended to pregnant women, even though, as the National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC) reports:

‘Influenza vaccines are Category C drugs, which means that animal reproduction studies have not been conducted and it is not known whether these vaccines can cause fetal harm when administered to a pregnant woman or if they can affect reproduction capacity.’

Unfortunately, the push to vaccinate every man, woman and child in the United States is getting stronger.

New Jersey has passed a law requiring all children attending daycare or pre-school to get an annual flu shot, and some health care workers are being fired if they refuse to get an annual flu shot.

This can only be viewed as the prelude to a much larger campaign that, in the future, may end up dictating whether you will be allowed to enter a college or university to get higher education, get a job, or even travel . Simply put, this trend of mandating annual influenza vaccinations must be resisted and stopped.

Health Care Reform Bill Threatens Schoolchildren With Flu Vaccines

Making it even more difficult for parents to opt OUT of flu vaccination for their children, section 2524 of the health care reform bill includes a program called ‘No Child Left Unimmunized Against Influenza.’

As part of this program elementary and secondary schools across the United States will be used as ‘influenza vaccination centers’ where kids can learn to read and get their flu shots all in one day.

You can read about the program for yourself right in the bill, starting on page 1,391, but the text reads:

‘The program under this section shall be designed to adminster vaccines consistent with the recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control on Immunization Practices (ACIP) for the annual vaccination of all children 5 through 19 years of age.’

For now the program is voluntary, however a similar scenario that took place during the swine flu outbreak left many children vaccinated ‘accidentally’ without their parents’ consent.

As Organic Health Advisor reported:

One woman who circled ‘no’ on a permission slip regarding the H1N1 swine flu vaccine found out later that her 5-year-old daughter had been administered the nasal mist swine flu vaccine at school. A 7-year-old Ohio boy, who has had problems with medications, was also vaccinated for the H1N1 swine flu at school against his parents’ wishes. At least three children in New York City were ‘mistakenly’ given the H1N1 swine flu vaccine without permission. A 6-year-old girl with epilepsy was given the H1N1 swine flu vaccine without permission at school and ended up in the hospital as a result. Another 7-year-old boy in Kentucky was also given the H1N1 swine flu vaccine at school ‘by accident.’ Individual schools will have a choice of whether or not they’re going to participate in the ‘No Child Left Unimmunized Against Influenza’ program, so it’s a good idea to call your school board and find out where they stand on this issue (while sharing your concerns about turning schools into flu vaccination clinics).

Flu Shots Have Never Been Proven Effective

Flu shots simply do not work as the vaccine manufacturers would like you to believe.

For example:

Giving young children flu shots appeared to have no impact on flu-related doctor visits or hospitalizations during two recent flu seasons, according to a study published in the Archives of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine. The flu vaccine is no more effective for children than a placebo, according to a large-scale, systematic review of 51 studies, published in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. NO studies have conclusively proven that flu shots prevent flu-related deaths among the elderly. A study published in the Lancet found that influenza vaccination was NOT associated with a reduced risk of pneumonia in older people. (Many of the ‘flu’ deaths the government claims happen each year are actually caused by diseases like pneumonia, and NOT the flu.) Research published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine also confirms that there has been no decrease in deaths from influenza and pneumonia, despite the fact that vaccination coverage among the elderly has increased from 15 percent in 1980 to 65 percent today. So make no mistake, if your child gets a flu shot he can still get the flu (or flu-like symptoms). This is because it only protects against certain strains, and sometimes the type A and type B influenza strains that are selected to be in the annual flu shot do not match the strains that actually circulate. So it’s anyone’s guess about which flu viruses will be in your area.

What is known, however, is that flu shots will actively depress your immune system, which may make it even more likely that you’ll get sick.

Vaccines Suppress Your Immune System

During the peak of flu season is a time when you want your immune system functioning at its optimal level. But as soon as you get a flu shot, or any other vaccine, the effectiveness of your immune system diminishes, and may not return to normal for weeks to months. Here are just some of the ways vaccines impair and alter your immune response:

Some components in vaccines are neurotoxic and may depress your immune and brain function, particularly heavy metals such as mercury preservatives and aluminum adjuvants The lab-altered vaccine viruses themselves may further impair your immune response Foreign DNA/RNA from animal tissues can wreak havoc in your body and trigger autoimmunity in some people Vaccines may alter your t-cell function and make you more susceptible to chronic immune dysfunction and chronic illness Vaccines can trigger allergies by introducing large foreign protein molecules into your body that have not been properly broken down by your digestive tract (since they are injected). Your body can respond to these foreign particles in the form of an allergic reaction So to achieve questionable temporary immunity against a few of the many viral strains of influenza, you are lowering your defense against millions of other pathogens while exposing yourself to the vaccine side effects. These include, as NVIC reports:

‘The 2009 pandemic H1N1 ‘swine flu’ vaccine and the 2010/11 seasonal influenza vaccine containing the pandemic H1N1 component have generated increased reports of Guillain Barre syndrome (GBS), Bell’s Palsy, and idiopathic thrombocytopenia purpura (ITP); convulsions and narcolepsy.’

Many flu vaccines in the U.S. also still contain the mercury preservative thimerosal in amounts above federal safety guidelines!

If You’re Hurt by Vaccines You Have Little Legal Recourse

Prior to October 1, 1988, if you or your child were injured by a vaccine you were allowed to file a lawsuit against a vaccine manufacturer to receive compensation for harm arising from the vaccine.

Since then legislation was passed stating anyone who is injured and wishes to receive compensation is required to apply through The National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (NVICP), the so-called ‘vaccine court,’ prior to pursuing a lawsuit.

NVICP was ‘established to ensure an adequate supply of vaccines, stabilize vaccine costs, and establish and maintain an accessible and efficient forum for individuals found to be injured by certain vaccines.’

But when you read between the lines, you discover what this really means is that a program has been put into place to protect vaccine manufacturers and NOT to look out for those injured by vaccines.

According to Barbara Loe Fisher of NVIC, who along with other vaccine-choice advocates is calling on Congress to revamp, and possibly even repeal, this fatally flawed program:

‘. two out of three children are turned away for federal compensation.’

If a child becomes seriously injured or even dies after receiving a vaccine, the vaccine makers are completely shielded — and IF they are ever awarded compensation through NVICP, it is the taxpayers who pay, not the vaccine makers.

As the PPJ Gazette recently reported:

‘A common misconception is that vaccine liability funds are supplied by the manufacturers, yet I discovered that they are financed by the consumers with a $0.75 to $3.75 surcharge per dose applied as an excise tax. The manufacturers deposit this surcharge fee to the vaccine fund and deduct it as an expense from their taxes.’

But again, most cases heard by the vaccine court are turned down for compensation. The PPJ Gazette continues:

‘To apply for damages as a result of vaccines, you must first submit to the [Vaccine Liability] ‘fund.’ Your case will then be handed over to the Vaccine Liability Court, which consists of a panel of 3 to 5 selected individuals called ‘Special Masters.’

The Special Masters may or may not lack a medical background and may or may not lack knowledge of Constitutional due process laws. This is the panel that will ‘hear’ your case to decide whether it has any merit. There is no jury.

If your case is determined to have merit, you can receive compensation. If the Special Masters rule against you or you are not satisfied with their decision, you then have the option of filing your case with a federal or state court. You will likely be financially ruined by this time. It is rare for federal and state courts to even agree to hear vaccine cases and rarer still for them to rule against Vaccine Court.’

So, make no mistake about it. You had better be very informed about the potential risks before receiving a vaccine, or allowing one to be administered to your child, because if something goes wrong you will have a very hard time holding the vaccine manufacturers accountable.

9 Top Tips to Stay Flu-Free

Most of the ‘flu like’ illness that people experience is not associated with type A or type B influenza strains but with other types of viruses and bacteria. Even so, between 5 and 20 percent of Americans do get influenza in the average flu season and the majority of them have uncomplicated cases and develop natural immunity to the strains they were infected with that lasts for years!

Unfortunately, if public health officials and drug companies marketing vaccines have their way, your children and grandchildren won’t be allowed the opportunity to develop this important natural immunity to type A and type B influenza strains.

Healthy children rarely suffer complications from influenza and, in fact, may rarely get it in the first place. Instead of continuing to get a flu shot that has been proven ineffective and has questionable safety, the real way to prevent the flu is through optimal lifestyle and nutrition, as follows.

Optimize your vitamin D levels. As I’ve previously reported, optimizing your vitamin D levels is one of the absolute best strategies for avoiding infections of ALL kinds, and vitamin D deficiency is likely the TRUE culprit behind the seasonality of the flu — not the influenza viruses.

One Japanese study revealed that a group of children taking vitamin D3 was 58 percent less likely to catch influenza A. That’s a higher effectiveness than any flu vaccine can claim, and doesn’t come with a barrage of potentially devastating side effects.

So I would STRONGLY urge you to have your and your children’s vitamin D level monitored to confirm your levels are at a therapeutic level, which is between 50-65 ng/ml.

Avoid sugar and processed foods. Sugar decreases the function of your immune system almost immediately, and as you likely know, a strong immune system is key to fighting off viruses and other illness. Be aware that sugar is present in foods you may not suspect, like ketchup and fruit juice. Get enough rest. Just like it becomes harder for you to get your daily tasks done if you’re tired, if your body is overly fatigued it will be harder for it to fight the flu. Be sure to check out my article Guide to a Good Night’s Sleep for some great tips to help you get quality rest. Have effective tools to address your stress. We all face some stress every day, but if stress becomes overwhelming then your body will be less able to fight off the flu and other illness.

If you feel that stress is taking a toll on your health, consider using an energy psychology tool such as the Emotional Freedom Technique, which is remarkably effective in relieving stress associated with all kinds of events, from work to family to trauma.

Exercise. When you exercise, you increase your circulation and your blood flow throughout your body. The components of your immune system are also better circulated, which means your immune system has a better chance of responding to challenges that can lead to illness. You can review my exercise guidelines for some great tips on how to get started, and I also suggest learning the phenomenal Peak 8 exercises as well. Take a good source of animal-based omega-3 fats like krill oil. Increase your intake of healthy and essential fats like the omega-3 found in krill oil, which is crucial for maintaining health. It is also vitally important to avoid damaged omega-6 oils like trans fats found in most processed foods, as it will seriously damage your immune response. Wash your hands. Washing your hands will decrease your likelihood of spreading a virus to your nose, mouth or other people. Be sure you don’t use antibacterial soap for this — antibacterial soaps are completely unnecessary, and they cause far more harm than good. Instead, identify a simple chemical-free soap that you can switch your family to. Eat garlic regularly. Garlic works like a broad-spectrum antibiotic against bacteria, virus, and protozoa in the body. And unlike with antibiotics, no resistance can be built up so it is an absolutely safe product to use. However, if you are allergic or don’t enjoy garlic it would be best to avoid as it will likely cause more harm than good. Avoid hospitals and vaccines. I recommend you stay away from hospitals unless you’re having an emergency, as hospitals are prime breeding grounds for infections of all kinds, and could be one of the likeliest places you could be exposed to flu bugs. “

 

(Via Mercola Natural Health Articles.)

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Posted in Advanced Medicine, Conventional Medicine, Drug Warnings, General, Health Conditions, Health Controversies, Health Treatments, Informative, Political, Research, Vaccinations | No Comments »

The Year in Pills

Dec 28th, 2010 by

Martha Rosenberg: The Year in Pills: “2010′s Hall of Shame

The Year in Pills

By MARTHA ROSENBERG

2010 will go down as the year the diet pill Meridia and pain pill Darvon were withdrawn from the market and the heart-attack associated diabetes drug Avandia was severely restricted.

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But it was also the year the Justice Department filed the first criminal, not civil, charges against a drug company executive. Lauren Stevens, a former VP and assistant general counsel at GlaxoSmithKline, hid some 1,000 instances of GSK-paid doctors illegally promoting Wellbutrin to other doctors, say authorities.

It was also the year prominent psychiatrists Charles Nemeroff and Alan Schatzberg were accused of writing an entire book for GSK called Recognition and Treatment of Psychiatric Disorders: A Psychopharmacology Handbook for Primary Care.

Here are the drugs which make 2010′s Hall of Shame.

Yaz and Yasmin

Soon after Bayer launched the pill Yaz in 2006, billing it as going ‘beyond birth control,’ 18-year-olds were coming down with blood clots, gall bladder disease, heart attacks and even strokes. FDA ordered Bayer to run correction ads that detail the drugs’ risks though Yaz sales are still brisk. In fact, financial analysts attribute a third quarter slump to a Yaz generic coming online, not dangerous side effects.

Lyrica, Topamax and Lamictal

In August FDA ordered a warning on the seizure drug Lamictal for aseptic meningitis (brain inflammation) but it is still the darling of military and civilian doctors for unapproved pain and migraine uses. All three drugs increase the risk of suicidal thoughts and behaviors according to their mandated labels, in addition to the memory and hair loss patients report.

Humira, Prolia and TNF Blockers

The drug industry’s highly promoted biologic drugs are made from genetically engineered hamster cells and suppress the immune system, inviting tuberculosis and several cancers. Yet Humira is advertised to healthy people for ‘clearer skin’ and Prolia is advertised to prevent osteoporosis in healthy women.

Chantix

After 397 FDA cases of possible psychosis, 227 domestic reports of suicidal behaviors and 28 actual suicides, the government banned pilots, air-traffic controllers and interstate truck and bus drivers from taking the antismoking drug Chantix in 2008. Its neuropsychiatric effects were immortalized when New Bohemians musician Carter Albrecht was shot to death in 2007 in Texas by a neighbor after acting aggressively on the Chantix.

Ambien

The sleeping pill Ambien was immortalized as the drug Tiger Woods reportedly cavorted with his consorts on and former US Rep. Patrick Kennedy crashed his Ford Mustang on, while driving to Capitol Hill in the middle of the night to ‘vote’ in 2006. Law enforcement officials say it has increased traffic accidents from people who drive in a black out and don’t even recognize arresting officers.

Tamoxifen

Is it a coincidence that Tamoxifen maker AstraZeneca founded Breast Cancer Awareness Month and makes carcinogenic agrochemicals that cause breast cancer? As a breast cancer prevention drug, an American Journal of Medicine study found the average life expectancy increase from Tamoxifen was nine day . Public Citizen says for every case of breast cancer prevented on Tamoxifen there is a life-threatening case of blood clots, stroke or endometrial cancer.

Lipitor and Crestor

Why is Lipitor the best selling drug in the world? Because every adult with high LDL or fear of high LDL is on it. And also 2.8 million children, says Consumer Reports. All statins can cause muscle breakdown called rhabdomyolysis. And Crestor is so linked to the side effect, Public Citizen calls it a Do Not Use and the FDA’s David Graham named it one of the five most dangerous drugs before at a Congressional hearing.

Boniva

Boniva and other bisphosphonate bone drugs are a good example of FDA approving once unapprovable drugs by transferring risk onto the public’s shoulders. The list of dangers on the label includes waiting 60 minutes before eating or drinking anything except plain water, never taking the drug with mineral water, sparkling water, coffee, tea, milk, juice or other oral medicine, including calcium, antacids, or vitamins and not lying down after you take it.

Prempro

Pfizer’s hormone drug Prempro is linked to a 26 percent increase in breast cancer, 41 percent increase in strokes, 29 percent increase in heart attacks, 22 percent increase in cardiovascular disease and double the rate of blood clots. But its cognitive and cardiovascular ‘benefits’ are being tested right now at major universities to debut an HT ‘Light,’ hoping the public has a short memory.

Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft, SSRIs

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRIs) antidepressants like Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft and Lexapro probably did more to inflate drug industry profits than Viagra. But many say the drugs have also inflated police blotters. In addition to 4,200 published reports of SSRI-related violence, including the Columbine, Red Lake and NIU shootings, SSRIs can cause serotonin syndrome and gastrointestinal bleeding when taken with certain drugs. Paxil is linked to birth defects.

Effexor, Cymbalta, Pristiq, SNRIs

Selective norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) are like their SSRIs chemical cousins except their norepinephrine effects can modulate pain, which has ushered in your-depression-is-really-pain, your-pain-is-really-depression and other crossover marketing. SNRI’s are also harder to quit than SSRIs. 739,000 web sites address ‘Effexor’ and ‘withdrawal.’ Seroquel, Zyprexa, Geodon, atypical antipsychotics

The antipsychotic Seroquel tops 71 drugs on the FDA’s January 2010 adverse event report and is linked to unexplained troop deaths and many research scandals. But it’s the fifth biggest-selling drug in the world. Atypical antipsychotics cause weight gain and diabetes, the tardive dyskinesia they are marketed to prevent and death in the demented elderly. Yet FDA approved Zyprexa and Seroquel for children last year and the new atypical antipsychotic, Latuda this year. Maybe the FDA is bipolar.

Ritalin, Concerta, Strattera, Adderall and ADHD Drugs

ADHD drugs rob ‘kids of their right to be kids, their right to grow, their right to experience their full range of emotions, and their right to experience the world in its full hue of colors,’ says Anatomy of an Epidemic author Robert Whitaker. But they are a gold mine for the drug industry. During an August conference call with financial analysts, Shire specialty pharmaceuticals president Mike Cola lauded the ‘very dynamic ADHD market,’ and the ‘co-administration market’ (in which kids don’t need one drug but several.

Gardasil and Cervarix Vaccines

A pharma-government plot to inoculate the public with dangerous vaccines? Maybe not but why are governors like Texas’ Rick Perry mandating vaccination of girls for HPV? And why was University of Queensland lecturer Andrew Gunn silenced when he questioned the Gardasil vaccine? The HPV vaccine doesn’t work for all viral strains, requires a boo$ter and is linked to 56 US girls’ deaths as of September, according to the CDC.

Foradil Aerolizer, Serevent Diskus, Advair and Symbicort

Unlike drugs that look safe in trials and develop ‘safety signals’ postmarketing, the long-acting beta agonists (LABA), salmeterol and formoterol, found in many asthma drugs, never looked safe. Studies link them to an increase in asthma deaths, especially in African-Americans and children. They may have contributed to 5,000 deaths said Dr. David Graham at FDA hearings about the controversial asthma drugs.

Singulair and Accolate, leukotriene receptor antagonists

Leukotriene receptor antagonists also never looked safe. Original FDA reviewers said asthma control ‘deteriorates’ on Singulair and it may not be safe in children. Last month, Fox TV reported Singulair, Merck’s top selling drug, is suspected of producing aggression, hostility, irritability, anxiety, hallucinations and night-terrors in kids, symptoms that are being diagnosed as ADHD. It is huckstered to parents by the trusted educational service Scholastic, Inc. and the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Martha Rosenberg can be reached at: martharosenberg@sbcglobal.net “

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Snoring Remedy Often a Matter of Trial and Error – NYTimes.com

Dec 11th, 2010 by

Snoring Remedy Often a Matter of Trial and Error – NYTimes.com: “Snoring: What to Do When a Punch in the Shoulder Fails By WALECIA KONRAD Published: December 10, 2010.
A 43-year-old internist in Atlanta and the mother of twin 4-year-old boys, has a common, if sometimes embarrassing, health problem. She snores — loudly. And she has tried to fix it with a variety of things, including a machine that blows air down her throat and an oral appliance that looks something like a mouthguard worn by a hockey player.

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Tami Chappell for The New York Times Dr. Elizabeth Walton at her home in Atlanta with an oral appliance she uses for sleep apnea. Well

Share your thoughts on this column at the Well blog. Go to Well » Related

More Articles in This Series The appliance works, and Dr. Walton is finally sleeping more easily. (So is her partner.) And because she was told she had obstructive sleep apnea, a more serious disorder than simple snoring, her treatments have been mostly covered by insurance.

Still, she estimates she has spent hundreds of dollars in deductibles, co-payments and fees.

Dr. Walton would have preferred not to go through so much expensive trial and error: ‘Unfortunately, it’s the nature of this condition.’

Almost half of the adult population snores at least occasionally. Snoring occurs when air flows past relaxed tissues in the throat, causing them to vibrate. Nasal congestion can also contribute to the racket.

‘We laugh and joke about snoring,’ said Dr. Nancy A. Collop, president elect of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, ‘but it can be pretty annoying and disruptive to couples.’

What’s more, while ordinary snoring in itself does not present health problems, it may be a sign of a sleep apnea, as it was in Dr. Walton’s case. Patients suffering from sleep apnea have airways that are so obstructed they stop or nearly stop breathing during sleep.

The lack of oxygen wakens them, usually with a gasp, frequently during the night. ‘All people with sleep apnea snore,’ said Dr. Collop, ‘but not all people who snore have sleep apnea.’

If you find you suffer from plain old snoring and not sleep apnea, do not expect insurance to cover your treatments. How far you decide to go will depend on a combination of what you and your spouse are comfortable with, what works for you and what you can afford.

Here are a few ways to determine which treatment is right for you or the loud sleeper in your family:

THE GIMMICKS Search for snoring remedies on the Web and you will find dozens of products, including special pillows, mouth and nose devices, special throat exercises and even advice on learning to play the didgeridoo, a wind instrument, to strengthen throat muscles and tissues. By and large, these products are marketed without much evidence of results.

‘For the most part, you can save your money,’ said Dr. Collop. Instead, she and other sleep experts recommend that most patients start with lifestyle changes that may reduce or eliminate snoring. All are free or low-cost.

¶Lose weight. Extra weight can restrict throat tissue and cause snoring, so losing weight is often advised for overweight snorers.

¶Sleep on your side. When you lie on your back, the base of your tongue and soft palate fall to the back wall of your throat, often causing snoring.

¶Avoid alcohol before bed. Alcohol or sedatives can relax throat muscles and make snoring worse. Avoiding alcohol three or four hours before going to sleep can help, said Dr. Collop.

¶Clear nasal passages. This is relevant only for people whose snoring starts in their noses. Take a hot shower before bed, or use a saline solution to help clear nasal passages. Check for allergens and dust mites in your bedroom, especially if you are congested only at night. Over-the-counter nasal strips that you put on the outside of your nose before bed may also help. They cost $10 to $12 for a pack of 30.

If none of this eases your snoring, you will need to see a doctor to be evaluated for sleep apnea. About 50 percent of people who snore loudly have the condition. Other symptoms include daytime sleepiness and extensive fatigue.

A SLEEP STUDY To find out if you have sleep apnea, you will most likely need to spend the night in a sleep clinic, where specialists will track your blood oxygen levels, breathing and other movements to see if you are waking frequently at night.

These tests are often covered by insurance if your doctor suspects sleep apnea. They can cost from $1,500 to $3,000, depending on where you live and how extensive your study is.

If you do not have insurance coverage or you cannot afford the co-pay, ask your doctor about performing some of the tests at home with special equipment. If you must go to a sleep lab without coverage, ask for a price similar to what an insurer would pay, not what you would be billed as a private patient.

THE MASK One of the most effective treatments for sleep apnea, continuous positive airway pressure, or CPAP, pronounced SEE-pap, also eliminates garden-variety snoring. But since it is a pressurized mask that forces cold air to the lungs, many patients find it uncomfortable or annoying and end up abandoning the treatment. With a price tag ranging from $1,500 to $2,500 for a CPAP machine, that can be an expensive experiment, especially for uninsured patients.

If you use a CPAP machine, do not give it up without talking to your doctor. He or she may be able to make the device more comfortable by adding a heated humidifier. There are also some newer, more advanced versions that apply less pressure and may be more comfortable.

ORAL APPLIANCES These are form-fitting mouthguards that usually move your lower jaw forward to increase space around your airways. One of these devices finally worked for Dr. Walton.

A dentist who specializes in sleep medicine fits an appliance to your mouth, usually for $1,500 to $3,000. That price should include all follow-up visits and any adjustments that need to be made, said Dr. Sheri Katz, president of the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine.

Studies show that custom-fit appliances ease mild to moderate sleep apnea in about 75 percent of patients and snoring in 80 to 90 percent of patients who use them regularly, said Dr. Katz. Dental insurance rarely covers the devices, but medical insurance often will if they are used to treat sleep apnea.

THE LAST RESORT Removal of excess tissue in the throat and nose, whether it is through traditional surgery or newer methods, is a fairly drastic and expensive step. Some procedures can be painful and cause serious side effects.

In a procedure called uvulopalatopharyngoplasty, a surgeon trims and tightens excess tissue in the airway while you are under general anesthetic.

In an outpatient procedure called laser-assisted uvulopalatoplasty, a laser is used to remove your uvula and shorten your soft palate. This procedure has not been proven to improve sleep apnea, but it is used to get snoring under control.

Two newer procedures are available. Somnoplasty relies on radio frequency to remove some of the soft palate. This is also done on an outpatient basis and is generally considered less painful than other snoring surgery. The Pillar procedure involves implanting polyester fibers in the soft palate to stiffen the tissue and decrease vibrations. This is usually done in a doctor’s office under local anesthesia and is less invasive than other surgical treatments.

More data is needed on the long-term effectiveness of the two newer procedures. And like the other treatments discussed, only those surgeries prescribed to help you with a diagnosed case of obstructive sleep apnea will be covered by insurance.”

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