The Plain Truth's: Your Health Today ONLINE: May 2012

Your Bottled Water May Not Come From a Spring

By IVAN PENN
St. PETERSBURG TIMES

Published: Saturday, March 22, 2008 at 3:42 a.m.

Last Modified: Saturday, March 22, 2008 at 3:42 a.m.

ST. PETERSBURG | If you buy a bottle of Zephyrhills Brand Natural Spring Water, it may not come from Zephyrhills.

It may not even be "natural spring water," it may be well water.

Better read the fine print.

People identify with their waters.

In the Tampa Bay area, it's Zephyrhills and the spring in Pasco County. Northeasterners love their Poland Springs water, the product of a retreating glacier in Maine some 20,000 years ago. In the mid Atlantic region, Deer Park of Oakland, Md., was king. It was from a boiling spring at a vacation resort and spa in the Appalachian Mountains of Maryland, a spa visited by four U.S. presidents.

Out west, it was Arrowhead from the San Bernardino mountains. The Midwest gave us Ice Mountain and Ozarka.

But over the years, Nestle Waters North America, the largest water-bottling corporation in the country, has bought them all.

The subsidiary of the Swiss company that brought us the Crunch bar and Quik chocolate milk says consumers look for a brand based on its quality. That's what the company delivers with water products.

"What you find, people are loyal to the taste and the brand," said Jim McClellan, a spokesman for Nestle Waters. "They associate a brand with a taste, not necessarily a location. Most people don't know where Deer Park is located."

THE NAME GAME

Taking advantage of the power of its brands, Nestle has remade the bottled water industry. In some cases, the source of the water no longer fits the name on the bottle.

The 'new AIDS of the Americas': Experts warn of deadly insect-borne disease that can cause victims' hearts to explode

A little-known life-threatening illness caused by blood sucking insects has been labelled the ‘new AIDS of the Americas’ by experts.
The parasitic illness called Chagas Disease has similarities to the early spread of HIV, according to a new study.
Similar to AIDS, Chagas is difficult to detect and it can take years for symptoms to emerge, according to experts writing in the journal PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases.

The new AIDS? A parasitic illness called Chagas disease has been dubbed the 'new AIDS of the Americas' by experts. It is usually transmitted from the bite of blood-sucking insect species called Triatome bugs, which include 'Kissing bugs' (Triatomids)

An estimated 10 million people worldwide are infected with most sufferers in Bolivia, Mexico, Columbia and Central America, as well as approximately 30,000 people in the U.S., reported the New York Times.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2151815/Chagas-disease-New-AIDS-Americas-cause-victims-hearts-explode.html#ixzz1wNlmffb2

Sunscreen and Vitamin D Facts

More and more studies show that people don’t have enough vitamin D, which is produced when sunlight hits our skin. Does this mean we should stop using sunscreen? Should we decrease the SPF (sun protection factor)? Or should we continue using sunscreen and take vitamin D supplements?

The truth about vitamin D and sunscreen is complicated. I don’t believe the heated rhetoric of this debate, and I believe that moderation is the best approach. Humans have evolved to live outside and get sun. The problem is that our skin has evolved in several parallel pathways so that it can get more or less sun depending on the latitude it has adapted to live in. Darker skin has evolved for more sun exposure, while lighter skin has evolved for more northern latitudes. If a light-skinned person is put in a sunny environment, their skin won't have the protection it needs and will tend to get burned. Over the long term this exposure will manifest as skin cancers, precancers, and premature aging including wrinkles.

Very few light-skinned Americans are getting enough vitamin D. This can and should be measured on an annual basis, especially for those that live in a climate that does not expose them to much sun light. If you have a low vitamin D level, you can plan a strategy that supplements it with oral vitamin D, and this can be done with your physician. There are a few different forms of vitamin D, and the one that you should monitor is called 25 (OH) D. According to the National Institute of Health, a level of about 20 ng/ mL is appropriate for most people. Having a level higher than this can predispose to formation of kidney stones because vitamin D will increase calcium absorption. Less than this level can affect bones and other vital structures.

Read more: Sunscreen and Vitamin D Facts
Important: At Risk For A Heart Attack? Find Out Now.

11 Reasons Laughter Really May Be the Best Medicine of All

We’ve all heard the old saying that laughter is the best medicine, but new research is demonstrating that there may be some serious weight behind the adage. Numerous studies have shown that laughter can have a powerful effect on your well-being, happiness, and overall health and longevity, often in ways of which you aren’t even aware. Want to learn more? Read through our list of the health benefits of laughter to get a quick education on the matter. You may just find yourself wanting to watch a comedy, call up a funny friend, or even take a laughter yoga class after learning all the amazing benefits a good laugh can offer your overall health.

The 11

Home Cooking Increases Longevity, Cambridge Study Shows

For those of you who use your stove for shoe storage, nota bene: all that wasted time with an inactive kitchen could be shortening your lifespan. In fact, a new study found that people who cook up to five times a week were 47 percent more likely to still be alive after 10 years.

“It has become clear that cooking is a healthy behavior," said lead author Professor Mark Wahlqvist in a statement. "It deserves a place in life-long education, public health policy, urban planning and household economics."

The research team, made up of Taiwanese and Australian researchers, published their work in Public Health Nutrition, a Cambridge University journal after looking at a group of 1,888 men and women over age 65 who lived in Taiwan. At the start of the study, they interviewed each participant about several lifestyle factors, including cooking habits, household circumstances, shopping habits, diet, education, transportation and smoking.

During the initial survey, researchers found that 43 percent of participants never cooked, while 17 percent cooked one to two times per week, 9 percent cooked three to five times in a week and 31 percent cooked five or more times a week.

After 10 years............ More>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Royal Jelly Royally Problematic for Evolutionists

I’m sure you’ve all tasted honey. I like to put honey on my rolls at dinner along with a little butter. I also like to substitute honey for the jelly in a peanut butter sandwich. But more than anything, I like to take a spoon full of honey and just eat it plain.
Did you know that honey is made from the pollen and nectar of flowers? The worker bees fly about busily collecting all of the pollen and nectar they can and return it to the hive, where other bees convert it into the sweet sugary liquid we all love.
Did you also know that honey is the only food known to man that never goes bad? When honey sits very long, the sugar in it starts to crystalize and it gets thick and hard to use. Sadly, many people throw sugared honey away thinking it is no longer usable. But if you heat the honey up by placing the container in a pot of boiling water for a few minutes, the sugar crystals dissolve and your honey thins out like it was when you first got it. If you remember this, you will never have to throw honey away ever again.

LINK:

Caffeine fix it: How a regular cup of coffee could help you live longer

Too much caffeine used to be considered a bad thing. Now researchers say drinking coffee could extend your life.
They found following a study of 400,000 aged between 50 and 71, the more coffee you drink, the less likely you are to die from a number of different ailments.
These include heart disease, respiratory disease, stroke, injuries, accidents, diabetes and infections, but not cancer.

Experts say moderate coffee consumption of 4-5 cups of coffee per day is safe and may be associated with certain health benefits

The US research published in The New England Journal of Medicine adds to evidence that coffee drinkers appear to enjoy better health.

More...

Researchers at the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Maryland, say they cannot establish whether coffee is the cause of a lowered risk of death, but they found a link.
The research followed a large number of people, 229,000 men and 173,000 women, taking part in a diet and health study between 1995 and 2008.

Researchers say drinking coffee could extend your life as you are less likely you are to die from a number of different ailments

Participants were classified according to the amount of coffee they drank at the start of the study, into groups drinking up to six cups a day or more, and non-coffee drinkers.
There were 52,000 deaths during the period, with an ‘inverse association’ between coffee consumption and death.

This means those drinking greater amounts of coffee had an ever reducing risk of dying.
About one third of coffee drinkers were consuming decaffeinated coffee and the findings held for this group.
Experts say for this reason it is unlikely it is the caffeine ingredient giving health benefits, but there are known direct biological effects from antioxidants and magnesium contained in coffee.
Dr Euan Paul, executive director of the British Coffee Association said ‘This important research adds to the overwhelming weight of evidence which demonstrates that moderate coffee consumption of 4-5 cups of coffee per day is safe and may be associated with certain health benefits.
‘Whilst more research is required to determine whether the inverse association seen in this study is causal, these results are particularly encouraging because they build on previous research which has also suggested an inverse association between coffee consumption and total and cause-specific mortality.
‘Pregnant women should continue to moderate their caffeine intake to 200mg per day in line with NHS guidelines.’

8 Healthy Foods

Final exams are here again and you’ve probably locked yourself in your room or a study cubby surrounded by books, notes, and junk food. There’s something very comforting (and convenient of course) about shoveling chips and candy into your mouth as you try to memorize historic dates, analyze poetry, and go over lectures you don’t remember ever attending. But putting a little bit of thought into what you eat can actually help your brain hold onto that information and keep you sane until your finals are over. Start with these eight foods and see if you don’t start feeling more alert, focused, and able to retain information.

Carrot sticks
High blood sugar is known to impair memory, meaning all those sweets you want to eat while you study could actually be holding you back. Even some salty foods, like pretzels, are high on the glycemic index, meaning they make your blood sugar rise quickly. Instead, reach for snacks with a low glycemic index like carrot sticks. You’ll be able to memorize things more easily and you’ll make your mother happy by eating your vegetables!
Acai berries

THE LIST

Hi-tech lithium batteries hidden in remote controls can burn holes in children's throats - and cases have quadrupled in a decade

Injuries caused by lithium-ion batteries have quadrupled in a decade
66% of parents have never heard of dangers
Most common injuries come from swallowing batteries from remote controls
Symptoms start off similar to common cold
Can cause severe injuries or even death

Eating fish may reduce risk of Alzheimer's by lowering levels of protein linked to the disease

Eating fish and other foods containing omega-3 fatty acids may lower the risk of Alzheimer's disease, new research suggests.
The oily compounds, which combat inflammation, appear to lower blood levels of a protein linked to Alzheimer's, scientists have found.
Researchers in the US studied 1,219 people over the age of 65 who were free of dementia.

Another reason to eat fish: Scientists have found that omega 3 contained in fish, such as sardines, lower a protein that is linked to Alzheimer's disease

Participants were asked questions about their diet, and had their blood tested for beta-amyloid.
The protein clumps together in the brains of people with Alzheimer's and is one of the key hallmarks of the disease.

FDA: Medical Test Radiation Dangerous for Kids

The government is taking steps to help ensure that children who need CT scans and other X-ray-based tests don't get an adult-sized dose of radiation.

Too much radiation from medical testing is a growing concern, especially for children, because it may increase the risk of cancer later in life.

Wednesday, the Food and Drug Administration proposed guidelines urging manufacturers to design new scanners to be safer for the youngest, smallest patients — and put new advice on its website to teach parents what to ask about these increasingly common tests.

"We are trying to ensure that patients get the right dose at the right time, and the right exam," FDA physicist Thalia Mills told The Associated Press.

Read more: FDA: Medical Test Radiation Dangerous for Kids
Important: At Risk For A Heart Attack? Find Out Now.

Some Sunscreens Might Actually Promote Skin Cancer

Millions of people slather on sun screen when they head for the beach or spend extended time outdoors in the summer, in hopes of reducing the risk of skin cancer. But could they actually be increasing the risk?
Researchers at Missouri University of Science and Technology believe it's possible.
Zinc oxide, a common ingredient in sunscreens, undergoes a chemical reaction that may release unstable molecules known as free radicals. Free radicals seek to bond with other molecules, but in the process, they can damage cells or the DNA contained within those cells. This in turn could increase the risk of skin cancer.
Dr. Yinfa Ma, Curators’ Teaching Professor of chemistry at Missouri S&T, and his graduate student Qingbo Yangalso found that the longer zinc oxide is exposed to sunlight, the greater the potential damage to human cells.

MORE>>>>>>>>

Are Shoppers Getting Sick from Their Reusable Shopping Bags?

It seems like shoppers can't keep up with the ever-changing warnings from studies and researchers. First, customers were told to immediately stop using plastic bags for environmental reasons and use reusable mesh bags. Some localities like Montgomery County, Maryland even charge customers for using plastic, paper, or any other old-school shopping receptacle.
The latest consumer warning, this one from an Oregon research group, suggests that reusable shopping bags can carry and pass along the dreadful and very painful stomach flu virus. It's not the first such warning. In April, a study found that only 15 percent of shoppers routinely wash their reusable shopping bags, thus creating a breeding zone for harmful bacteria.

MORE>>>>>>>

10 Powerful Life Lessons to Learn from the Placebo Effect

The relationship between our minds and our bodies is exceedingly complex, and often functions in ways that we simply haven’t yet found a way to understand or explain in purely scientific terms. For decades, studies on the placebo effect have shown that patients who believed they were getting a treatment responded in ways that were similar or the same to those who were actually getting a treatment, showcasing an unexpected level of power of the brain over the body.

While the placebo effect itself is a fascinating topic of study, there are a lot of very practical and perhaps even inspirational lessons that can be taken away from this phenomenon and applied to everyday life. Here are just a few that we think are especially powerful that offer insights into motivation, mindfulness, and even happiness that we can all stand to benefit from.

Belief is often more powerful than reality.
When researchers study the placebo effect, they often find that those who aren’t given a particular treatment improve in many of the same ways as those that are, simply because they believe that they are being treated, not because they’re getting any real medical help. While believing things, even very strongly, doesn’t always cause them to be true, it can have a marked impact on how we see and experience the world, often much more so than things that are regarded as fact. Belief can, in many ways, be a much more powerful force than reality, coloring our perceptions, pushing us forward, and changing what we feel is possible to accomplish.

THE REST- CLICK HERE

‘Human Body Parts Store’: Lab Growing Synthetic Parts for Transplant

Lab Growing First Synthetic Nose for Transplant

Synthetic windpipe that was transplanted into a patient last year. (Photo: UCL)

Last summer, the first synthetic organ– a windpipe — was grown in laboratory setting and transplanted into a patient. Now, the University College London’s (UCL) Department of Nanotechnology and Regenerative Medicine is taking on another “world first:” growth of a nose.
Warren Pole for the Daily Mail recently got a tour of the lab where he saw the nanotechnology-driven little shop of synthetic human body parts first hand. Led on the tour by Professor Alexander Seifalian, Pole describes seeing a transplant nose and ear growing in “red goo.”
Lab team member Adelola Oseni explains to Pole that while others have tried to tackle synthetic organs before, the material used doesn’t hold shape like those in the “human body parts store.“ Oseni said this nose should hold up because ”it’s an entire nose shape made out of polymer.”
Check out photos of the synthetic parts here.
Here’s more on the material and transplant technology:

MORE>>>>>>>>

Dental filling of the future kills bacteria and regenerates tooth

The dreaded trip to the dentist to replace a worn-out filling could soon be a thing of the past, thanks to a dental breakthrough.
Scientists have used nanotechnology to create the first cavity-filling composite that kills harmful bacteria and regenerates tooth structure lost to decay.

Rather than just limiting decay with conventional fillings, the new material controls harmful bacteria, which co-exist in the natural colony of microorganisms in the mouth.

The tooth hurts: Scientists expect their new type of dental filling to last far longer than the current standard

It also works to remineralise the tooth, said study leader Professor Huakun Xu from Maryland University School of Dentistry.
He said: 'Tooth decay means that the mineral content in the tooth has been dissolved by the organic acids secreted by bacteria residing in biofilms or plaques on the tooth surface.
'These organisms convert carbohydrates to acids that decrease the minerals in the tooth structure.'

How red wine prolongs life: Scientists uncover how 'miracle ingredient' boosts body’s cell energy

Scientists claim to have discovered the secret of how an ingredient in red wine could be the key to a longer life.
The ‘miracle ingredient’ resveratrol credited with anti-ageing powers, and the ability to work against cancer, heart disease and obesity, really does boost the body’s supply of cell energy, claim researchers.
But it is only ‘switched on’ in the presence of a gene called SIRT1 that is the key to longevity and energy.
Previous studies have shown the plant compound resveratrol improves the health of mice fed a high-fat diet and increases their lifespan.
But there has been controversy about whether it really does hold back the march of time, with conflicting results from some studies.
Now US scientists say they have solved the mystery and brought closer the prospect of a drug that would give the equivalent health benefits of 8,000 bottles of red wine.
They found the ingredient boosts the activity of mitochondria, the cell’s energy supplier, which is essential for longevity and overall health.
Lead researcher Professor David Sinclair of Harvard Medical School, Boston, said ‘The results were surprisingly clear.
‘Without the mitochondria-boosting gene SIRT1, resveratrol does not work.’ The latest study showed how resveratrol enhances the energy-generating activity of cells via a longevity gene called SIRT1.

But resveratrol only works when a gene called SIRT1 is present - but it's not known if all humans have it

Researchers are already looking at molecules that mimic the effect of resveratrol by targeting SIRT1. Such compounds could form the basis of future drugs that extend disease-free lifespan.
The effect of resveratrol on SIRT1 had been demonstrated in yeast, worms and flies before but never on higher animals.
The experiments involved a new strain of laboratory mouse whose SIRT1 gene can be successfully switched off.

Pesticides May Cause Lower Intelligence

When pregnant women are exposed to moderate levels of a common pesticide, their children may experience lasting changes in brain structure linked to lower intelligence, a US study said Monday.

The study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences examined New York City pregnant mothers who were tested for exposure to chlorpyrifos, or CPF, which is widely used for pest control in farms and public spaces.

The women in the study, which included 369 subjects total, took part prior to 2001 when CPF was banned from household use in the United States, though the chemical continues to be used worldwide in agriculture.

Read more: Pesticides May Cause Lower Intelligence
Important: At Risk For A Heart Attack? Find Out Now.

Gene test that could predict breast cancer years before it strikes

A genetic test could help predict breast cancer many years before it develops, scientists claim.
Their study shows the risk can double in women whose genes have been changed by exposure to environmental factors such as hormones, radiation, alcohol, smoking and pollution.

The findings could lead to a blood test that will identify those most at risk of breast cancer and other forms of the disease, the researchers say.

Breakthrough? The findings of a new study suggest that women whose genes have been altered by environmental factors carry double the risk of developing breast cancer

In the study, blood samples were taken from 1,380 women of various ages who had not developed breast cancer.

The researchers investigated whether the alteration of a single gene by a process called methylation can predict whether women are at more risk of breast cancer.

Garlic is 100 times more powerful than two popular antibiotics

A garlic ingredient is 100 times more powerful than two popular antibiotics at fighting one of the leading causes of food poisoning, say scientists.
The compound, diallyl sulphide, is able to pierce a protective 'biofilm' employed by the food bug that makes it hard to destroy.
Tests showed diallyl sulphide was as effective as 100 times bigger doses of the antibiotics erythromycin and ciprofloxacin.
It was also able to work in a fraction of the time taken by the drugs.
The discovery is said to open the door to new treatments for raw and processed meats, and food preparation surfaces.
'This is the first step in developing or thinking about new intervention strategies,' said researcher Dr Michael Konkel, from Washington State University in the US, who has been investigating Campylobacter for 25 years.
'Campylobacter is simply the most common bacterial cause of food-borne illness in the United States and probably the world.'
Symptoms of Campylobacter infection include diarrhoea, cramping, abdominal pain and fever.
The bacteria also trigger nearly a third of cases of a rare paralysing disorder called Guillain-Barre syndrome.
Most Campylobacter infections stem from eating raw or undercooked poultry or foods that have been cross-contaminated via dirty surfaces and utensils.
The research is published in the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy.

Campylobacter infection include diarrhoea, cramping, abdominal pain and fever

Campylobacter infection symptoms include diarrhoea, cramping, abdominal pain and fever

The scientists looked at diallyl sulphide's ability to kill Campylobacter bacteria when they join together to form a slimy biofilm.
This makes the bugs 1,000 times more resistant to antibiotics than free-floating bacterial cells.
The compound easily penetrated the protective film to kill the microbes by targeting a metabolic enzyme.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2137934/How-garlic-prevent-dicky-tummy-Ingredient-100-times-powerful-fighting-food-poisoning-antibiotics.html#ixzz1tePCUOUL