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Is Corporate Agribusiness Killing Us?

A new strain of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), once found only in pigs, now accounts for more than 20 percent of all human MRSA infections in the Netherlands.The heavy use of antibiotics in industrialized livestock operations can account for resistant bacteria, such as MRSA. The new strain of MRSA, known as NT-MRSA, has so far primarily affected pig farmers and cattle farmers, and regions of the Netherlands with high densities of pig and cattle farms. The new strain has a high hospitalization rate, and can make people severely ill.The Union of Concerned Scientists has estimated that 70 percent of all the antibiotics used in the United States are used as livestock feed additives. The United States does not systematically test pigs, cattle, and other food animals for MRSA, despite almost 100,000 annual MRSA infections in the United States, of which almost a fifth are fatal.
Sources:
Organic Consumers Association December 6, 2007

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THE HEALING CODES changed the lives of thousands of people around the world

Thousands Have Gotten Sick from Gardasil HPV Vaccine

Gardasil, the cervical cancer vaccine recommended for girls as young as 12 years old, is causing side effects ranging from seizures and numbness to dizzy spells, fainting and paralysis.More than 17 girls a week in Australia have experienced such reactions after receiving the vaccination, but the country’s Department of Health and Aging refuses to release their details.Further, as of November 30, 2007, 496 adverse reaction reports were filed with Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Association (TGA). Of them, 468 had the cervical cancer vaccine as the sole suspected cause.In the United States, up to 1,700 women have reported adverse reactions from Gardasil, including at least seven deaths.To date, more than 10 million doses of Gardasil have been distributed worldwide.TGA noted that the safety of Gardasil was being monitored by officials in Australia and overseas, and that the adverse reactions are consistent with those expected from any vaccine.
Sources:
News.com.au December 3, 2007

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ANTIDEPRESSANTS AND VIOLENCE

Antidepressants and Violence
This shocking compilation of video clips will show you the negative side effects of antidepressants. They have caused suicides, violence, and homicidal actions even to the point of school shootings. In addition, they can lead to addiction and withdrawal ...
December 17, 2007

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12 Top Places You Risk Getting Infected


In some cases, you may encounter these places numerous times a day. In others, your exposure will be more sporadic. But either way, the following locations are some of the most germ-infested in the entire United States.
1. Your kitchen sink: With more dirt than a typical bathroom, and over 500,000 bacteria per square inch in the drain, your kitchen sink basin and faucet are teeming with germs.
2. Airplane bathrooms: Never mind the fecal bacteria that’s commonly found on door handles and faucets, the worst part is the tornado of germy particles that’s spewed into the air when you flush the toilet.
3. Wet laundry (even after it’s been washed): A dirty pair of underwear contains about a gram of ***, and this gets spread around the entire load of laundry very quickly. It’s not until you dry the clothes that the germs are destroyed.
4. Drinking fountains: All public drinking fountains are loaded with germs, but those in schools -- which contained anywhere from 62,000 to 2.7 million bacteria per square inch of the spigot -- were the worst.
5. Shopping cart handles: While you’re innocently shopping for groceries, your hands are grasping a handle covered in saliva, bacteria and fecal matter from dozens of people.
6. ATM buttons: Think about how often these buttons are touched everyday. Now think about how often they’re cleaned. This explains why one study found an average of over 1,200 bacteria on the average ATM key.
7. Your handbag: Women, your purse is likely overrun with thousands, and even millions, of bugs like salmonella, E. coli, staph bacteria and more. Makes you think twice about putting your handbag on the floor, and then plopping it down onto your kitchen counter, doesn’t it?
8. Playgrounds: Your typical children’s playground is covered in bodily fluids like blood, mucus, saliva and urine.
9. Mats and machines at health clubs: Yoga mat? Elliptical machine? Think bacteria factory. Such mats and cardio machines have been found to contain antibiotic-resistant staph bacteria and more.
10. Your bathtub: Bathtubs contain more than 100,000 bacteria per square inch, some of which you have just washed off your own body.
11. Your office phone: Phones get coated with germs from your mouth and hands, to the tune of over 25,000 germs per square inch.
12. Hotel-room remote control: This little remote has been used by hundreds of other people, and likely wasn’t thoroughly disinfected in between.
Sources:
Health.com

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Black Cohosh Stops Breast Cancer Growth

A new laboratory study, published in Phytomedicine, suggests that extracts from black cohosh, an herb most commonly used to reduce menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes, may stop breast cancer cells in their tracks. This adds more evidence to a small but growing body of research suggesting that black cohosh could have a use in breast cancer prevention.Black cohosh (Cimicifugae racemosae rhizome), is a perennial plant native to North America, is a member of the buttercup family. It has long been a popular alternative to hormone replacement therapy (HRT) in many countries. In the UK, 9 million days’ worth of black cohosh supplements were purchased in 2004.The inhibition of the growth of breast cancer cells was related to an induction of programmed cell death (apoptosis).
"These results corroborate the results of our previous studies indicating that the growth inhibitory effect of actein or an extract of black cohosh is associated with activation of specific stress response pathways and apoptosis," wrote the researchers, referring to their studies published earlier this year in Anticancer Research and the International Journal of Cancer.Although the results are promising, further research is needed to determine whether the herb can be effectively used as a breast cancer chemopreventive agent.
Sources:
FoodAndDrinkEurope.com November 13, 2007
Phytomedicine October 31, 2007 [Epub Ahead of Print]
Anticancer Research March-April, 2007;27(2):697-712
International Journal of Cancer November 1, 2007;121(9):2073-83


The 10 Most Insane Medical Practices in History

If you’ve ever questioned whether your doctor really knows what he or she is talking about, these shocking medical practices of years gone by will give you some fodder for your suspicions.Although they may sound unbelievable, these medically approved remedies were at one time all the rage.
1. Children’s soothing syrups. Used for teething and nursing infants, and also to “cure colic, cramps, dysentery, canker sores and pain,” these syrups were “soothing” because they contained morphine, chloroform, codeine, heroin, opium and cannabis.
2. Mercury. This toxic metal that can cause heart and lung problems, psychotic reactions, delirium, tremors, chest pain and more, was used for centuries to treat everything from cuts to constipation.
3. Heroin. If you had a cough in the late 19th century, a dose of heroin would fix it. This now illegal, extremely addictive drug was originally developed and sold by Bayer … as a cough suppressant.
4. Lobotomies. During the first half of the 20th century, lobotomies were used to destroy the prefrontal cortex of the frontal lobe of your brain. (This is the area of your brain that controls thinking, personality traits and decision-making.) They were used for years to treat everything from schizophrenia to depression, anxiety and moodiness -- until it was discovered that it often caused mental retardation.
5. Hard-core diet remedies. In the 1950s and ‘60s, women took diet pills that were made of amphetamines to lose weight.Curious about the other five insane medical practices? The link below has the full list.
Sources:
Cracked

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Merck Unblinds AIDS Study

Two international trials of Merck & Co. Inc.’s experimental AIDS vaccine were stopped after researchers realized the vaccine did not prevent infection with the AIDS virus.Instead, indications suggest that the vaccine may actually raise the risk of infection, though it cannot cause an HIV infection itself.Now, Merck has announced that it will “unblind” the study, and let the thousands of volunteers know who received the active vaccine and who got a dummy shot.Researchers have begun counseling volunteers that they could now be at a higher risk of contracting HIV.The AIDS vaccine trials were conducted in the United States, Peru, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, Australia and South Africa.
Sources:
Reuters November 13, 2007

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Doctors Are Clueless About Medication for Kids

A decade after the U.S. government began trying to ensure that prescription drugs used to treat children are safe, doctors still have very little information to guide them.
For many years, the testing of drugs on children was regarded as unnecessary and unethical, but this resulted in medications being given to children with no testing at all. In 1997, the FDA Modernization Act gave companies six extra months to sell a drug without competition if they studied it in children, and the 2003 Pediatric Research Equity Act authorized the FDA to require companies to test new drugs on children before they are approved for sale.
But even today, about two-thirds of the thousands of medications given to children remain untested on them.
What little has been discovered thus far has been troubling. A highly effective adult migraine drug turned out to be worthless in children, and sometimes caused serious side effects such as strokes. An asthma inhaler could stunt children's growth, and a narcotic patch routinely used to relieve pain could cause fatal overdoses.
Sources:
Washington Post November 23, 2007