Monday, December 20, 2010

Second Thoughts about Vasectomy

Interesting article at Catholic.org about the real facts about vasectomies -- facts not always shared in the mainstream press when I research this topic.  In describing some of the side-effects of this "simple, outpatient procedure":

"Pain, bruising, and swelling for up to two weeks are common post-surgery occurrences. Although less likely, bleeding and infection can occur. Patients can develop sperm granuloma – lumps caused by an immune response to leaking sperm – or chronic pain in and around the testes, a side effect called Post Vasectomy Pain Syndrome. Some research has even linked vasectomies with an elevated risk for prostate and testicular cancer. With these side effects on the table, a vasectomy does not appear to be the easy fix so many men desire"

While theologically I'm a reformed five-sola type, I do respect the Catholic perspective when it comes to getting the word out about the health risks of sterilization surgeries and the abortifacent effects of birth control pharma.  Its just unfortunate that the Catholic argument against these things seems based not as much on the Biblical blessing of large families as it is based on obedience to Papal writ.

Read more...

Friday, December 17, 2010

Does the Birth Control Pill Cause Abortions



Randy Alcorn's book about the link between the birth control pill and abortion.   Does the Birth Control Pill Cause Abortions? in its 8th Edition, comes with endorsements from ten physicians.  This is an important issue that few people seem to research or become notified by physicians or pharmacists.

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Food coloring in Christmas cookies

NaturalNews story about toxic food coloring additives.  I've tried to avoid red 40 and others for a long time, but this can be one of the more tricky ones, as its in so much stuff (even in unexpected products.)  Oddly, I don't have a label for "red 40" or "food coloring", so this will be the first one.  Probably not the last.

Read more...

Thursday, December 16, 2010

FDA reconsidering safety of mercury fillings

Article on the FDA re-investigating the safety of merciry fillings.  It's about time.  I love this part of the article:

"All the usual suspects insist mercury fillings are completely safe: TIME Magazine, the quack-busting critics who are quacks themselves, the ever-corrupt American Medical Association, FDA bureaucrats and of course the top officials of the dental industry. They acknowledge that mercury is a highly-toxic heavy metal that causes neurological damage, but they insist it's safe to put this metal in your mouth because somehow these metal fillings are impervious and won't release mercury into your body."

Read more...

Friday, December 10, 2010

Oikos yogurt - good yogurt... silly name

I tried out some Oikos yogurt today from HEB, and was impressed with the quality and taste.  Of course, I appreciate the fact that it's organic, and without rBST and pesticides, too.  The name is a little odd though, as oikos in Greek is "house".  I couldn't tell from their site why they called it this- I guess it was just put together in a house somewhere...  :)

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Triumph Over Disease by Fasting and Natural Diet - by Jack Goldstein

I read this book years ago and was fascinated by the message: natural healing from a severely degenerative case of ulcerative colitis through a controlled fast.  There is some remarkable material in this book, and even more fascinating to me is how LITTLE you ever hear about the health benefits of fasting from the medical community (presumably, there are just too many ties to the food industry and too much revenue to lose if everyone started fasting in order to heal.)

But the premise is simple enough: you fast, and by doing so you give your digestive system a "break", so that more energies can be focused to other systems like the immune system.  I really think there's something to this,  considering the vast amount of space and resources that the body has devoted simply to eating, metabolizing and digesting.  Worth checking out.

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Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Steel City Pizza

Not much to say here. Just some of the finest pizza I've ever tasted here at Steel City Pizza.  I don't get into football or the Steelers, but wow, they make a good pizza.

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Tuesday, November 23, 2010

3 Foods to Avoid That Skyrocket Your Risk of Cancer

Good information here about three foods that increase the cancer risk. I've known about the sodium nitrate - pancreatic cancer risk for awhile, and that one is included in the bunch. Hydrogenated oil is also up there as well.

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Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Another article on Wendy's "natural" french fries

Another article on the move of some fast food places towards more natural options. Healthy fast food is always a good thing, considering how much hyrdogenated garbage is generally available at these places.

Read more...

Monday, November 15, 2010

High fructose beverages tied to gout

Per the article, "According to Dr. Hyon Choi and colleagues from Boston University, drinking high fructose beverages increases uric acid levels in the blood, which eventually deposits into the joints where it causes gout."

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Thyroid symptoms with normal lab tests?

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Friday, November 12, 2010

High Fructose Corn syrup producers want to use the name "corn sugar"

The makers of high fructose corn syrup want to change their product name to "corn sugar".  But if, as they say, hfcs is harmless, why change the name?  All this means is another ingredient that I need to look out for and avoid, and another new Label to add to this blog.

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Back to Nature baked products

I've been eating a lot of Back to Nature products recently, and I've been impressed with the stuff they offer: tasty cookies and crackers made without hydrogenated garbage. I'm surprised that Walmart carries these, since it seems like most of what you'd find there would just be "Ritz"-style junk. The chocolate chunk cookies by Back to Nature are fantastic. A little costly, but worth it.

I wish more companies would get on the same wagon and produce more stuff like this. I was looking at a Quaker product, and I'm pretty sure that the Quakers never used high fructose corn syrup.

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Thursday, November 11, 2010

Three mercury fillings gone...

I chipped a molar last night and, as a result, visited the dentist today, and while he was fixing the tooth, he took out three ancient silver fillings with all their old mercury goodness and put in three porcelains. And of course, whenever I get stuff like this done, I go to visit fascinating sites like this one, to read about what has been in my mouth for nearly 30 years. Ah, fun. Of course, per the FDA, mercury fillings are all harmless.

I spoke with my dentist about this, and he's a decent guy who said that there are two sides to it: yes, there are studies that show that the mercury fillings aren't good for you (and he doesn't do them anymore) but on the other side, when you go through the steps to remove the fillings, you'll be wearing down more of the tooth and could compromise the integrity of the tooth in the process. In my case, I had a chipped tooth in the vicinity of these fillings so I had a valid excuse for the removal, but I would like to eventually get ALL of these things out of my mouth for good.

After the work, I jokingly told my dentist I'd stay away from the jawbreakers, to which he, in all seriousness agreed, "yes, stay away from the jawbreakers." Drat, that used to be my favorite thing at Cracker Barrel...

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Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Wendy's New Natural-Cut Sea Salt Fries

Wendy's is going to launch a new natural-cut fries with sea salt, which I think is frankly a move in the right direction. I'm sure there will probably still be something troubling about it, like the preservatives, artificial flavors, and whatever oil they use to cook it with (and the age/amount of re-usage of those oils) but all the same, I think this could be a good thing.

Problem is also the comment about "has 0 grams trans fat per serving." When I see this, I'm wary, because they are using FDA-approved lingo to say that the product may or may not have hydrogenated oil in it, but since the hydrogenated oil serving is so small per serving, it gets to sneak under the radar as officially "trans fat free". I'd be much more impressed if these were advertised as being made "without hydrogenated anything" (I've seen words to this effect used on some natural foods.)

Anyhow, I hope this trend continues, and although I do know better, I might try these with a Frosty sometime...

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Wednesday, November 3, 2010

SF Moves Closer to Happy Meal Toy Ban

Banning happy meals seems a little stupid to me (and a little bit fascist/police state). The better avenue would be to just have the surgeon general put a warning label on the side of these things.

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Botched Botox

Link to an article in Prevention magazine that I was reading while waiting at the grocery store. Normally I dismiss Prevention magazine as little more than pharmaceutical propaganda, but I thought this article was interesting. Actress Dana Delaney talks about how a Botox needle "hit a nerve and created a huge hematoma", basically killing one of the nerves and causing one of her eyes to droop (Not one of the things the doctor routinely mentions when they give out this stuff, I imagine.)

Years ago there was a guy in a church I attended who was a dermatologist, and while I thought the profession of being a skin doctor seemed like a decent medical profession, it turns out a majority of all he did was botox injections.

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Monday, November 1, 2010

Various no circumcision links

I generally stand against circumcision, not just because I don't see the medical value of it in the modern day of hygiene (conditions are a lot better than the nomadic, desert-dwelling Old Testament days) but more principally because the book of Galatians makes it very clear that if you are still circumcising that you don't understand the message of the gospel. The apostle Paul lays this out very clearly (this might be more of a post for my theological blog).

But in any case, here are some links to various resources on circumcision. I found several of these in a tract by the AAP, which I take with a grain of salt since I believe the AAP is big into the idea that all babies/children should be chock full of vaccines, regardless of the state of their immune system or various other factors that could affect health (e.g. environmental toxins, powerlines, second-hand smoke, junk food, infant formula, etc.) But again, I'm getting off topic. The links:

www.circumcision.org
www.nocirc.org
www.coloradonocirc.org

Read more...

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Abortion and Breast Cancer

Abortionbreastcancer.com is a very comprehensive site detailing the connection between abortion and birth control drugs and breast cancer.  Numerous scientific links, press releases and, most shockingly, the negative PR and spin that so much of this science receives from the mainstream media.  Powerful press depicts so much of this in a negative light, and yet here is the science showing the link.  Per some of the site comments, "(the) National Cancer Institute (NCI), our own federal agency charged with leading the 'war on cancer'... is the same NCI--regrettably--that has spearheaded the cover-up of the most avoidable risk factor for breast cancer: abortion.

A good site to bookmark and share.

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Nancy's Organic Nonfat Yogurt

Just tried some of the this yogurt the other day (HEB had coupons for it) and I was really impressed.  Nancy's yogurt is basically packaged with the completely-unsweetened yogurt in the bottom, and a fruit container on top, and you mix them together.  Not completely original, I know, but the yogurt part is completely sugarless - it's like eating homemade.  More impressive is the fact that the fruit additives are, basically, just that: fruit puree, and sweetened with honey along (not sugar or hfcs).  Very nice stuff, and worth trying.  Much better than the sugary alternatives out there.

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Monday, October 25, 2010

Prostate Cancer and Vasectomy

 From Causes, Natural History & Diagnosis of Prostate Cancer:
"The correlation of vasectomy and prostate cancer risk remains controversial. Although some studies have suggested that men who have undergone a vasectomy are at an increased risk of developing prostate cancer, many other studies have failed to show such a correlation"

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Breastfeeding and population size

Interesting article on the numerous positive effects of breast feeding, including comments about how it can affect population size.  I don't agree with all the conclusions, but I do find some of the negative effects of not breastfeeding to be noteworthy from the article, including things such as "lower IQ, poorer eyesight, more infections, higher risk of requiring orthodontics, higher risk of eczema and asthma and higher cholesterol, and they are more likely to be overweight and to develop diabetes"

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Williams and Conner Beef Jerky

I just had a chance to try some Williams and Conner Beef Jerky the other day, now that HEB is carrying this, and I was really impressed with the flavor.  I also appreciate that, unlike most junkier brands of beef jerky, this one avoids a full trifecta of junk additives (the big three in most jerky: MSG, sodium nitrate and high fructose corn syrup.)  While it does still have hfcs, this is forgivable since there's not much else junky in it.  Previously, I could only find brands like this at Whole Foods, so it's nice to see this making its way into HEB.

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Friday, October 22, 2010

Natural Pain Cures

Good article from Fox on some more natural pain cures (aspirin alternatives)

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Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Dangers of Multiple C-Sections

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Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Mercury in tuna and my letter to the FDA

Here's a quick note to the FDA that I sent today.  I'm not really expecting a reply, since its more of a rhetorical question, I think.  Also, here's an interesting article from Fox about someone suing a tuna company over mercury...


Hi,

I'm wondering, why hasn't the FDA done anything about the fact that all canned tuna fish seems to contain levels of mercury that, if enough tuna is consumed, the consumer is likely to contract mercury poisoning?  No warnings or regulations or anything.  I've noticed that its just sort of an understood fact that, if you eat tuna, you expect to get some sort of mercury in your body from the tuna - so why hasn't this set off any alarms with the FDA?  Mercury is ALWAYS bad in the human body, be it from tuna fish, dental fillings or from thimerasol in vaccines, so why aren't there any warnings from the FDA (either for the fish, or the fillings, or vaccines?)

It seems like the potential is there for people to get very sick from mercury, and the FDA should do more to warn people about this dangerous toxin in food, drugs, and dental fillings.

Read more...

Monday, October 18, 2010

Happy Meal Hamburgers Don't Decompose

Burgers that don't decompose.  Funny, and a little bit troubling...

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Saturday, October 16, 2010

Fresh Fruit

Some of the fruit served at one of the Disney resorts.  As much as I wasn't crazy about the overall Disney experience, I will admit this: some of their breakfast options were just fantastic.  Tons of fresh fruit, muffins, oatmeal, juice, waffles, etc.

Supposedly the parks all serve food without trans fat, but these days that can just mean a food manufacturer only using a tiny amount (less than a gram per serving) and then it slips in under the radar.  Not sure if its the same thing at the Disney parks or not (I did see a Snickers for sale at the Pirates of the Caribbean gift shop though...)

Read more...

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Hand sanitizers no better than ordinary soaps in battling colds or flu

Researchers found that test subjects who used the sanitizers had a 42 percent rate of coming down with a cold, versus 51 percent of the volunteers who didn't use them.

As for the flu, some 12 percent of volunteers who used a sanitizer got the flu, as compared with 15 percent who didn't use a hand sanitizer.


Article link.

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Friday, October 8, 2010

Fluoride Action Network

A fascinating site with a vast amount of information regarding the health dangers of fluoride, including resources addressing health effects resources, as well as connections to pollution and pesticides.  I've long been concerned about the fluoridation process with water (namely our own local water) and this site gives a lot of good resources with numerous links.  Worth checking out.

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Ginger effectively relieves even severe muscle pain, new research shows

According to a new study just reported in the Journal of Pain, published by the American Pain Society, daily doses of raw or heat-treated ginger effectively relieve muscle aches and discomfort -- and that includes even severe pain following strenuous exercise.  Article link.

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Thursday, October 7, 2010

New York City Wants To Ban Food Stamps For Sodas

New York City Wants To Ban Food Stamps For Sodas

Not a bad idea.  Reminds me of working at the ice cream store years ago, and seeing stamps used only for the purchase of ice cream and fudgsicles (and not eggs or milk, also sold in the same store.)

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Monday, October 4, 2010

Natural Brew Draft Root Beer

This blog has veered a little too much into vaccines and vasectomies and things like that, that I've gotten too far off the core idea initially behind this blog, and that's musing about food and nutrition.  Well, one thing worth mentioning is my love of root beer - not always healthy and probably not very wise with all the sugar, but if I'm going to have any vices, its not going to be cancerous foods or neurotoxic drinks, but rather a tasty root beer here and there.

Natural Brew Draft Root Beer is fantastic in that the ingredients are very genuine.  No HFCS, caffiene, aspartame and garbage, but rather things like sweet birch, licorice root, sarsaparilla, and real vanilla.  Whats so nice about this is the rich aftertaste - very flavorful and very delicious.  It is a tad on the pricey side, unfortunately, but it's a very tasty treat.

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Sunday, October 3, 2010

Doctor admits that most MDs know nothing about nutrition, health

This article reminds me about a DO I visited once and whom I asked about fasting, and if she had any information about the subject.  Her reply was simply, "Oh, you should always get three square meals every day..." and words to the effect that she knew nothing about nutritional fasting (or nutrition, for that matter.)  I think I've only once in my life met a doctor who showed any interest in what I ate - and that was the doctor who helped me cure my hives (the other doctor I saw wanted me to be on Zyrtec for the rest of my life, without making any mention at all about diet or nutrition.)

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Friday, October 1, 2010

Coffee, Tea Linked to Lower Risk of Brain Tumor

Coffee and tea lovers may have a decreased likelihood of developing the most common form of malignant brain tumor in adults, a new study suggests.  Hoorah!

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Bill Gates says vaccines can help reduce world population

"The world today has 6.8 billion people... that's headed up to about 9 billion. Now if we do a really great job on new vaccines, health care, reproductive health services, we could lower that by perhaps 10 or 15 percent."

That's a little bit alarming.  How to vaccines play into population control?  

Read more...

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

abort73.com

Abort73.com / 73-Logo (Royal) | Abort73.com

Abort73.com: Abortion Unfiltered

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Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Controversial STD drug tied to 16 more deaths

Article on the Gardasil vaccine and related complications, including the account of a 19 year old patient who experienced "Headache, nausea, dizziness, chilling, tiredness, shortness of breath, complained of chest pain, severe cramps." She died of "acute cardiac arrhythmia." Said the report, "Attempts to resuscitate her resulted in a sternal fracture, but were unsuccessful and the patient died."

Sadly, I used to see a physician who wrote a report on this vaccine saying it was harmless - even worse was that Gov. Rick Perry at one point wanted to mandate this vaccine for all girls in Texas.

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PainAfterVasectomy.org

Another informative site regarding post-vasectomy chronic pain, PainAfterVasectomy.org. Written by A. Ellis, MD, its intended for patients with post-vasectomy pain and for the physicians who treat them.

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Sunday, September 26, 2010

Modern Birth Control: Blessing or Barbarism?

Modern Birth Control: Blessing or Barbarism?

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Thursday, September 23, 2010

Could LASIK Lead to 'Permanent Vision Problems'?

Just plain creepy - shooting lasers in the eyes. Go with glasses, and if you like contacts, just WASH YOUR HANDS well and keep the cases clean!

Could LASIK Lead to 'Permanent Vision Problems'?

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Abbott recalls infant formula on bug contamination

Another good reason for breastfeeding...

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Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Testicular Pain Following Vasectomy: A Review of Postvasectomy Pain Syndrome

Article from the Journal of Andrology. Alarming to me is the comment from the conclusion, "Although the definitive cause for postvasectomy pain may be unclear, it is evident that traditional treatments such as antibiotics, excisional surgery, and chronic pain medication are unlikely to result in a successful outcome. "

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Monday, September 20, 2010

FDA to consider approval of modified salmon


The FDA approving the marketing of genetically engineered salmon seems like an all-around bad idea. Farmed salmon is already bad to begin with (I try to buy wild when I can afford it) and now the idea of having to avoid modified/engineered salmon is another thing to be concerned about.

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Thursday, September 9, 2010

BPA in Dental Sealants Raises Concerns

USNews reported that, based on new research, dental fillings and sealants can expose children to BPA; however, while exposure is believed to be “short-lived,” long-term risks are unknown.

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Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Energy drinks can cause caffeine intoxication


A little dated but still interesting information. This isn't really surprising at all.

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Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Harmful Effects of Soda on Your Body

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Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Dandelion and "weed walks"


Plenty of good information here about edible weeds, primarily dandelion. Its remarkable that we spend so much time and effort destroying this plant when its so abundant in healthy properties.

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Friday, May 14, 2010

Vasectomy Immunologic Consequences


Another informative site with a large collection of documentation on vasectomy risks - of interest to me are the immunological consequences. Per the site:

"When this barrier is broken by vasectomy and sperm are “presented” to the immune system, new anti-sperm antibodies are formed and the previous “normal” immune response becomes abnormal in strength, specific antibody types, and perseverance of response"

And that's for the rest of the life of a man, unless the surgery is somehow reversed, and even then its chancy if the reversal will work.

I've posted a number of links on vasectomy risks/complication and pain if, for no other reason, to serve as a reference for me later, but I would hope that men would do more research prior to getting surgery like this, to know what all the risks are.

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Surgical Sterilizations: "Fixing" Something That Is Not Broken


Here's an interesting, and somewhat terrifying, article that includes a collection of references about vasectomy complications. I've been researching this, and, much like aspartame, gardasil, and other things scientists tell us are perfectly "safe", I remain skeptical.

This reference caught my attention:

"Post vasectomy pain syndrome… can turn a previously fit man into a chronic invalid. Even if the operation was painless, and not accompanied by the bruising and immediate post-operative discomfort which is quite common, weeks, months or years after the operation, nagging pain begins at the site. Sometimes tender cysts, or lumps called granulomas, can arise around the cut ends of the vas, and even if further surgery is performed to cut them out, the pain persists. This can be one of the most difficult problems in andrology to treat, especially as the precise cause is usually unknown. More research is urgently needed to prevent and treat the condition…." Dr. Malcolm Carruthers, MD, Vasectomy - The Unkindest Cut of All, [Online], http://www.goldcrossmedical.com

Read more...

Friday, May 7, 2010

Oil spill may endanger human health, officials say

I've been following the stories about the oil spill in the gulf, being of interest to me as I live in a gulf state not too far off from where this is happening. This has been devastating news to read about, and my prayers are that they can get this taken care of quickly. It's troubling reading articles like this one about the potential health effects ranging from "temporary, minor nuisances such as runny noses and headaches to long-term risks such as cancer if contaminated seafood ends up in the marketplace." I'm not a big fan of shellfish in the first place, but I do occasionally enjoy seafood from the gulf. Not anymore, I guess...

I once read that "science is violence against nature", and that phrase comes to mind with a disaster like this. I wonder how much scientific research into fossil fuels and their utilization sees its ultimate fulfillment in environmental disaster like this one?

Read more...

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Lasik and chronic pain

I'm scheduled to see a retinal specialist about a retinal hole my ophthalmologist spotted during my last exam, and while waiting for this appointment I've been reading up on the web about this, and this has invariably led me to a number of sites about Lasik (since the retinal hole will be fixed with a laser). And in regards to Lasik, I've been fascinated to find some sites listing out the under-reported side-effects of Lasik, side-effects that go largely unmentioned by pharma-propaganda sites like WebMd (that instead just post wonky and debatable stories about how Lasik is potentially safer in the long term than contact lens wearing.... yeah right - inserting a clean contact lens daily doesn't pose the same risk of potentially burning away an optic nerve with a laser beam!)

Anyhow, I remain skeptical of laser surgery so I'll keep reading prior to my retinal exam. As I once heard someone in an optometrist office comment, "there isn't a lot of room for 'whoops!' in a procedure like laser surgery..." I think I prefer my optic nerves unsinged.


Here's one site listing out a comprehensive amount of information about the potential dangers of lasik surgery, and definitely worth checking out. Lots of good information, including this video...

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9 Ingredients to avoid in processed foods

An excellent, and surprisingly thorough, article on Shine listing out food additives to avoid in foods, including potential health side effects. Of course the list could have gone further: I would have included homogenized dairy products and any wheat products with processed, bleached flour, but all things considered, this was a good, comprehensive list.


Bravo to the author for including all of the variations of artificial sweetners as well. I would have liked to see all of the derrivatives of MSG listed, though, such as autolyzed yeast, yeast extract, etc.

I thought it ironic that the advertisement on the page featured an image of a cupcake that likely contained ingredients violating most of the ingredients listed in the article...
an example of a food containing most of the foods on this list

Read more...

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Neurotoxicity: Identifying and Controlling Poisons of the Nervous System - Free eBook
























Neurotoxicity: Identifying and Controlling Poisons of the Nervous System

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Saturday, April 3, 2010

Abortion's cancer link reaffirmed

Another study shows a link between abortion and breast cancer.


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Thursday, March 11, 2010

Is the Wi-Fi revolution a health time bomb?

As someone who is constantly surrounded by computers and wifi, this sort of article from the Independent is something I'll be keeping my eye on. Considering that wifi is everywhere, I've been wondering what sort of detriment this poses on health, namely cancer risks, and I'm going to continue to be researching into this more.

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Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Batgirl Re-Written


Just some silliness I reworded with PhotoShop...



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Stand Up To Cancer (with behavioral changes?)


At the mall the other day one of the mall TV screens was playing an add for a "Stand Up To Cancer" charity, featuring a determined Reece Witherspoon writing her name on the wall in support. And while I respect any charities and their efforts to research a cure for cancer, I checked out the site and what seems strangely absent to me is: what BEHAVIORAL changes are needed to combat cancer? Research is great, and of course screening and checks, but ultimately wouldn't the best way to stand up to cancer be through PREVENTION?

As evidenced by all the posts here so far, I'm a strong proponent in changing DIET as a means of improving health and avoiding disease, but the Stand Up site didn't really have anything on diet that I could find (or even behavioral changes, for instance.) I flipped through a number of pages on the site, because, frankly, I'd like to know what lifestyle changes could mean a lower cancer risk.

Additionally, I think about sites like abortionbreastcancer.com and the list of scientific studies linking abortion to breast cancer, and yet material like this is starkly absent from sites like Stand Up. Why? Are all of these studies just summarily dismissed as anecdotal? Or is it just the "wrong" science that doesn't belong to be heard?

I wish organizations like Stand Up the best, but I think it would be so much more impactful if sites like this focused on diet, nutrition and behavior - in other words, preventative measures to avoid cancer.

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Monday, March 8, 2010

Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein (HVP) and What is this stuff?

Another good article on NaturalNews about hydrolized protein in food. I've long puzzled over the similarity between MSG, autolyzed & hydrolized protein and yeast extract, and this article helps offer a little more insight into this.


I can usually tell if a food has MSG or similar family of strange chemical, as there's a distinct unnatural aftertaste in the mouth that follows eating the food. Aspartame and artificial sweetners have a similar effect as well. I would never experience this sort of mysterious after-effect flavor after eating something like an organic apple.

The article goes on to point out how the FDA has no problems with approving these food additives, and only really had issues when there was the possibility of a salmonella outbreak. Otherwise, it's perfectly "safe"?

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Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Think Twice: Global Vaccine Institute


Here's an excellent site with information about vaccines and the vaccine controversy. I especially like that the site has a category for studies, with the description that "Authorities often claim that "anti-vaccine" websites do not provide valid documentation. We provide hundreds of peer-reviewed studies from scientific and medical journals. Many of these studies link vaccines to the onset of new diseases."

Link: http://thinktwice.com/

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Monday, February 22, 2010

More doctors prefer the AK-Vaccine-47 rifle by Merck


This is just awesome...

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Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Panorama Organic Grass Fed Beef


I'm not a vegetarian, but at the same time, if I buy beef or chicken I'd prefer it to be from a more natural source (especially after watching the food-inc movie), and one of the sources for a really tasty grass-fed,organic burger is Panorama. I can find this at HEB thankfully, and I really apprecaite what this company is doing different. Per their site:

By raising only English breeds of cattle on organic grasses, legumes and range forage and in low-stress, humane conditions, Panorama is able to offer the most flavorful and tender grass-fed beef in the country. Our cattle are never implanted with hormones, fed animal byproducts or treated with antibiotics.

Burgers made with this meat are tasty and lean, and the price isn't that bad compared to normal shelf beef. I just wish that this was a little bit easier to find at stores.

I considered vegetarianism back in college, but the fact is I enjoy chicken, beef and fish enough that I couldn't ever make the switch. The other deterrent is the fact that research I've read suggests that "flexitarians", or those who only occasionally eat meat but mostly build their diets on plants, tend to live longer than vegetarians. Then there's always the B-12 argument too, that this can only be found in animal products, which seems to imply that we were not designed to be vegetarian. But that's just my own opinion.

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Monday, February 15, 2010

Aspartame renamed as ‘AminoSweet’?


I just read this article about the manufacturer of aspartame remarketing aspartame as "AminoSweet". It doesn't matter what they call it: if I eat/drink anything with it, it dries out my mouth and gives me a headache. It never ceases to amaze me how well this stuff sells, though. Every time I'm at the store, there are carts loaded with cases of diet sodas. Clearly this stuff sells, even though its safety is debatable.

Here's another amusing article about a lawsuit involving an ASDA grocery store labeling aspartame as "nasty". I'm in complete agreement.

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Friday, January 22, 2010

Pepsi Throwback - A Step in the Right Direction


As someone who occasionally enjoys a soda, yet at the same time avoids high fructose corn syrup, I'm glad to see that Pepsi has a 'throwback' product out now that uses SUGAR instead of high fructose corn syrup. I saw a case of it last night at the store and debated trying it out, but the fact is, I'd rather start with a single serving, instead of investing in a big box of soda.

The negative, though, is that the soda still has caffeine added to it, and I could do without that. The natural sodas I drink the Hansens generally don't use that stuff, and it would be nice if Pepsi would offer a decaf throwback (I didn't see anything on their site, but maybe it's out there.) Caffeine-free Mountain Dew with sugar might be interesting to try as well.

I know that soda isn't good for you, and I rarely drink it, but when I have a hankering for soda, I'd prefer it be a soda with without high fructose corn syrup.

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Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Broths Contain Mysterious Ingredients

I thought that this article was timely, considering I just wrote a review of Campbells' soup ingredients in an earlier post. I too have wondered about some of those mystery ingedients in soup as well...

Broths Contain Mysterious Ingredients

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Monday, January 11, 2010

Post-Vasectomy Pain Syndrome


I've recently been reading the content at dont fix it!, a site that addresses the issues of post-vasectomy disorders and related diseases, and I've been fascinated by the level of information presented here. This site is a wealth of information (that you cannot find at fringy and worthless sites like wikipedia and webmd.)

I'll admit that this procedure is something I've been tentatively considering as an option, but not anymore. I've only heard a few things in the past about chronic pain and potential dementia from the surgery, and this site offers a TON more information that's worth checking out and bookmarking. Considering how relatively new the surgery is (much like lasik), and even though a certain group of medical scientists and the quacks at the FDA give this their approval, this is one I opt to choose.

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Friday, January 8, 2010

The Campbell's soup challenge


I used to eat tons of Campbells soup growing up, and now I don't touch the stuff. Why? Because, I've learned, I can't pick up a can of Campbell's soup without finding some sort of junk in it. Every single one of their soups has AT LEAST one of the following elements that I routinely AVOID when buying food:

  • Hydrogenated oil
  • High Fructose Corn Syrup
  • Monosodium Glutamate

Even with some of their "natural" brand, they are still sneaky enough to add MSG in the form of either autolyzed protein or yeast extract, both being things I avoid.

So my challenge is, does there exist ANY Campbells soup product that doesn't contain one of those three things? Honestly, I don't think so. I've read through all of the labels and each soup has at least one of those.

Even the HEB brand of cream of mushroom soup, that I used to buy, now has an MSG-derrivative in it (for a brief window of time, the soup didn't have it.) which is really too bad.

So, much like my burrito wrap dilemma of a previous post, I'm actually resorting to making my own soup/soup stock for recipes. For dishes that call for cream of mushroom/cream of celery, I use the following:
  • 1/2 cup or so of whipping cream
  • 1/2 cup whole milk
  • quarter stick of butter
  • Some diced onion/garlic (whatever your own preference is)
  • Some salt/pepper/assundry spices
It's strange, but using that as a base, then combining with chicken/veggies/whatever, I can actually make a half-decent soup component to a meal/casserole.

Anyhow, Campbells people: I'll keep reading the labels, and maybe someday you'll surprise me with a REAL natural soup, and not just a pretend natural soup like you carry now.

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Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Mission burrito wraps and the quest for non-hydrogenated wraps


It can be a frustrating endeavor to find taco/burrito wraps that don't have hydrogenated oil or lard. Mission brand is one that I see the most of, and every single variety that I check at the store has the word "hydrogenated" in it. The word hydrogenated, be it partially, fully, or just plain, is an instant indicator for me to put said product back on the shelf again.

What I've found is that H.E.B. (a big Texas grocery chain) has a bakery that makes wraps without hydrogenated oils, and this is impressive, considering that its out of the same bakery that sells hydrogenated pastries galore. But what's odd is that, only ONE of the local H.E.B's actually carries these, and the other two ones near me do NOT! I can't figure that one out.

So the wrap quest continues. Of course, I could just make my own, and it's tempting to just do this from now on and just skip the headache. The mini recipe is along the lines of:

  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 cup milk
  • an egg
This makes a very runny batter, that you basically cook in a preheated iron skillet like a crepe. Considering how hard it is to find wraps without junk in them, I'm considering just using this method from now on.

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