Learning God's Healthy way to a better Life!
Is Cancer a fungus?
This is an interesting video to listen to. It's about Cancer being a fungus. The video is 45 minutes long, but if you look around the site you may find the 20 minute version if you don't have 45 minutes. It's very interesting to listen to. The Dr. says Sodium Bicarbonate or Arm & Hammer baking soda kills Cancer.
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Asian Herb Inspires Cancer Drug
A compound used in Chinese and Japanese herbal medicine has paved the way for blocking the growth of cancers that were until now considered “undruggable.” The herb, called “honokiol,” is a natural compound found in magnolia cones, and researchers are at the stage of licensing it for testing in people.
A team led by Jack Arbiser, MD, PhD, at Emory University School of Medicine began studying honokiol in 2003 when it was discovered it could inhibit tumor growth in mice. The team focused on treatment of a family of genes called “Ras,” whose mutation triggers the growth of several types of cancers. “We found that it is particularly potent against tumors with activated Ras,” Arbiser says. Ras genes are the cancer-stimulators medicinal chemists had previously classified as “undruggable,” and they are mutated in almost a third of human cancers.
Read More...Does too much sun cause melanoma?
Is sun exposure a major cause of melanoma?
We are continuously bombarded with messages about the dangers of too much sun and the increased risk of melanoma (the less common and deadliest form of skin cancer), but are these dangers real, or is staying out of the sun causing us more harm than good?
Two experts debate the issue on BMJ.com today.
Sam Shuster, a consultant dermatologist at Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, says that sun exposure is the major cause of the common forms of skin cancer, which are all virtually benign, but not the rarer, truly malignant melanoma.
Shuster says that the common skin cancers develop in pale, sun exposed skin and are less frequent in people who avoid the sun and use protection. In contrast, melanoma is related to ethnicity rather than pigmentation and in 75% of cases occurs on relatively unexposed sites, especially on the feet of Africans. Melanoma occurrence decreases with greater sun exposure and can be increased by sunscreens, while sun bed exposure has a small inconsistent effect. Therefore, he concludes, any causative effect of ultraviolet light on melanoma can only be minimal.
Read More...Study: Low-Carb Diet Best for Weight, Cholesterol
ATLANTA -- The Atkins diet may have proved itself after all: A low-carb diet and a Mediterranean-style regimen helped people lose more weight than a traditional low-fat diet in one of the longest and largest studies to compare the dueling weight-loss techniques.
A bigger surprise: The low-carb diet improved cholesterol more than the other two. Some critics had predicted the opposite.
"It is a vindication," said Abby Bloch of the Dr. Robert C. and Veronica Atkins Foundation, a philanthropy group that honors the Atkins' diet's creator and was the study's main funder.
Five Breast Cancer Myths
When someone well-known such as Christina Applegate is diagnosed with breast cancer, many adult women become concerned as to what the future holds for them.
While it's true that 1 out of 8 American women will be diagnosed with breast cancer at some point in her lifetime, there are also a lot of misconceptions about the disease floating around.
Although Applegate is just 36 years old, the fact remains that breast cancer is more likely to strike women over the age of 50.Read More
The 'Asian-Greek Paradox' and the 400,000 “Premature” Deaths
By Robert R Barney
Norfolk, Va -- 
Robert A. Levy, senior fellow in constitutional studies at the Cato Institute and Rosalind B. Marimont, a retired mathematician and scientist, formerly with the National Institutes of Health have published a paper examining the claim of 400,000 deaths attributed to cigarette smoking each year by the United States government. Their finding will shock probably everyone of you, even if you are convinced that cigarettes kill millions. The findings are amazing. For example are you aware that 45% of these deaths attributed to smoking are for people OVER 75? This means that according to our own government statistics, nearly 50% of the people who “die from smoking” do so after the average non-smoker dies! Are you aware that these same stats show that 60% of this 400,000 figure are over 70 years old? Now another shocker… Almost 20% of this death toll from smoking (80,000 deaths a year) occur to those over 85!
Do these statistics bother you? They bother me and I am a nonsmoker. They bother me because again, our government vilifies those that they want to tax and regulate. The horrible truth about why the United States went after big tobacco has more to do with President Johnson’s “Great Society” and the civil rights legislation than it did for our health. The same government that put cigarettes into soldiers C-rations to keep soldiers alert and awake in WWII, know was attacking the product by 1964. Why? As you will discover, it had more to do with Democrat politics than it did health.....Read More
Is HPV Vaccine to Blame for a Teen's Paralysis?
About a month after being vaccinated against the cervical cancer-causing HPV virus, 13-year-old Jenny Tetlock missed the lowest hurdle in gym class, the first hint of the degenerative muscle disease that, 15 months later, has left the previously healthy teenager nearly completely paralyzed. Did the vaccine, Gardasil, cause her condition? Her father, Philip Tetlock, a psychology professor at UC-Berkeley's Haas School of Business, has embarked on an odyssey to find out whether the vaccine or random coincidence is to blame.
Read More...Berries good for beauty, well-being
While the back-to-school-sale season is almost upon us, don't let go of savoring the fresh tastes of summer berries that can help boost your health all year.
Blueberries, strawberries, raspberries and blackberries are all concentrated sources of plant compounds called polyphenols. Other polyphenol-rich foods such as dark chocolate, tea and red wine have been shown to benefit heart health. And now the news is in about berries. A study published recently in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition shows that eating a moderate amount of berries can benefit heart health three ways.
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Nutrition researchers in Finland added berries twice a day to the diet of middle-aged men and women. After eight weeks, tests showed lower blood pressure, higher HDL "good" cholesterol and less platelet aggregation, potentially preventing blood clots. So, adding beautiful blueberries to pancakes or sweet and colorful strawberries to smoothies not only adds eye appeal to the menu, it's a heart- healthy move, too.
Among the lowest in calories per ounce of any foods, berries are chock-full of nutrients, most notably vitamin C and the blood pressure-lowering mineral potassium. One cup of strawberries (53 calories) contains more than 100 milligrams of vitamin C, almost as much as a cup of orange juice. Strawberries are also rich in a potent plant compound called elagic acid, which is being studied for its anti-oxidant and anti-cancer properties.
One cup of blueberries (80 calories) offers similar amounts of vitamin C, potassium, folate and fiber. Recently, researchers at Tufts University analyzed 60 fruits and vegetables for their anti-oxidant capability. Blueberries came out on top, rating highest in their capacity to destroy cell-damaging free radicals. Anthocyanin, the blue-red pigment in blueberries and strawberries, is another powerful plant anti-oxidant that works with vitamin C to protect and repair skin cells. So, a bowlful of berries is good for health and beauty.....Read More
Alzheimer 'Breakthrough' Tempts Families to Improvise
What would you do if had an incurable disease and heard that something simple and common may help -- a chemical found at a pet store, or in an allergy drug, or a breakthrough injection a man in California developed?
The similarities between an active ingredient in a potential Alzheimer treatment and the chemical methylene blue, commonly used as a blue dye, may lead some people to improvise, researchers fear.
(Glowimages/Getty Images)It's the sort of dilemma Alan Romantowski, a former airline pilot, faces with each news story about Alzheimer's disease treatments.
"It is tempting; I'm taking ginseng, fish oil, ginkgo and all the over-the-counter things that the doctors say don't have any proof that it helps, but it doesn't hurt," said Romantowski, 55, who is suffering from the early stages of the disease.
And not all of the solutions Romantowski has sought have been from a pharmacy. Earlier this week, he says, he "was just about packing my bags to California" to try an unproven treatment that involved injections into his head -- that is, until his doctor let him know that the so-called breakthrough treatment he heard about in California was "wacky" and unproven. ...Read More
A Deadly Duo:
Sleep Apnea and Cardiac Risk
Heart Groups Urge More Research on Connections
Should sleepless nights keep you awake worrying about your heart? A new study about sleep apnea and heart attacks may say yes. Obstructive sleep apnea is long established as a risk factor for many cardiovascular conditions, including arrhythmia and high blood pressure, in addition to its association with diabetes and obesity. Now, researchers have found a link between sleep apnea and nighttime heart attacks. The study is one of many that has two major cardiac organizations calling for more research on the connection. Think you or a loved one might have sleep apnea? Ask your doctor about a sleep study to diagnose it.
Heart Groups Urge More Research on Connections
Should sleepless nights keep you awake worrying about your heart? A new study about sleep apnea and heart attacks may say yes. Obstructive sleep apnea is long established as a risk factor for many cardiovascular conditions, including arrhythmia and high blood pressure, in addition to its association with diabetes and obesity. Now, researchers have found a link between sleep apnea and nighttime heart attacks. The study is one of many that has two major cardiac organizations calling for more research on the connection. Think you or a loved one might have sleep apnea? Ask your doctor about a sleep study to diagnose it.
Prostate Cancer Linked to X-Rays
British researchers have linked prostate cancer with X-rays. A study conducted by the University of Nottingham shows a connection between diagnostic radiation and elevated risk of young-onset prostate cancer, which affects about ten percent of men diagnosed. Young-onset prostate cancer is by definition found in men before the age of sixty....Read More
Boosting Potassium May Lower Blood Pressure
Research shows that boosting levels of potassium in the diet may lower a person's risk of developing high blood pressure and may decrease blood pressure in people who already have "hypertension."
High blood pressure remains the chief reason for visits to doctors' offices and for prescription drug use in the U.S., two researchers from Nashville, Tennessee note in a special supplement to The Journal of Clinical Hypertension this month.
Dr. Mark C. Houston, from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and Dr. Karen J. Harper from Harper Medical Communications, Inc. in Nashville, also point out that a healthy intake of potassium is thought to be one reason why vegetarians and isolated populations have a very low incidence of heart disease.
In isolated societies consuming diets low in sodium and high in fruits and vegetables, which have and therefore high levels of potassium, hypertension affects only 1 percent of the population, they note. In contrast, in industrialized societies, where people consume diets high in processed foods and large amounts of dietary sodium 1 in 3 persons have hypertension.
The typical American diet contains about double the sodium and half the potassium that is currently recommended in dietary guidelines. Low potassium intake is thought to contribute to the prevalence of high blood pressure in Americans.
Based on their review of published studies on the topic, Houston and Harper say if Americans were to boost their potassium intake, the number of adults with known high blood pressure could fall by more than 10 percent. In 2006, the American Heart Association issued new guidelines calling for Americans to get 4.7 grams per day of potassium.
"An increase in potassium with a decrease in sodium is probably the most important dietary choice (after weight loss) that should be implemented to reduce cardiovascular disease," Houston and Harper contend.
Some studies also show that diets containing at least 500 to 1,000 milligrams magnesium daily and more than 800 milligrams of calcium daily may help lower blood pressure and the risk of developing high blood pressure.
"A high intake of these minerals through increased consumption of fruits and vegetables may improve blood pressure levels and reduce coronary heart disease and stroke," Houston and Harper conclude.
SOURCE: Journal of Clinical Hypertension, July 2008.
Behavior Problems Linked to Cell Phones
Children whose mothers used cell phones frequently during pregnancy and who are themselves cell phone users are more likely to have behavior problems, new research shows.
The finding "certainly shouldn't be over interpreted, but nevertheless points in a direction where further research is needed," Dr. Leeka Kheifets of the UCLA School of Public Health, who helped conduct the study, told Reuters Health. "It's a wonderful technology and people are certainly going to be using it more and more," she added. "We need to be looking into what are the potential health effects and what are ways to reduce risks should there be any." ...Read More
12 Babies die during vaccine trials in Argentina
Buenos Aires, Jul 10, 2008
At least 12 babies who were part of a clinical study to test the effectiveness of a vaccine against pneumonia have died over the past year in Argentina, the local press reported Thursday.
The study was sponsored by global drug giant GlaxoSmithKline and uses children from poor families, who are "pressured and forced into signing consent forms," the Argentine Federation of Health Professionals, or Fesprosa, said.
"This occurs without any type of state control" and "does not comply with minimum ethical requirements," Fesprosa said.
The vaccine trial is still ongoing despite the denunciations, and those in charge of the study were cited by the Critica newspaper as saying that the procedures are being carried out in a lawful manner.
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Incision-Free: New Procedure Offers Stomach Stapling Without Surgery
A revolutionary new weight loss procedure... Stomach stapling without surgery!Watch the Video
Cargill rolling out natural, no-calorie sweetener .. Stevia
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Featured Broker sponsored link
By Martinne Geller
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Agribusiness giant Cargill Inc is starting to roll out Truvia, its natural, no-calorie sweetener on Wednesday, and expects the product to be on grocery shelves across the U.S. sometime this fall.
Truvia is made from certain compounds in the leaves of stevia, a shrub native to Paraguay, and will provide a natural alternative to artificial sweeteners including Sweet 'N Low, Equal and Splenda.
Read More...Sex Builds Better Health Eight Great Ways
When you have S-E-X on your mind, chances are H-E-A-L-T-H is the last thing you’re thinking about – but the two actually go hand-in-glove! Sex promotes both our physical and psychological health, according to experts, and here are eight ways it helps: .....Read More
Rapid Rise Seen in Fatal Medication Errors at Home
CHICAGO -- Deaths from medication mistakes at home, like actor Heath Ledger's accidental overdose, rose dramatically during the past two decades, an analysis of U.S. death certificates finds.The authors blame soaring home use of prescription painkillers and other potent drugs, which 25 years ago were given mainly inside hospitals....Read More
What's In Your Food?
Andy Rooney Takes A Gander At Food Ingredients
CBS
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Ever wonder what's inside some of your favorite grocery items? As Andy Rooney found out, you may be surprised what isn't in some foods. More...
Viagra...Now for Babies
Not only can Viagra help...well, you know...but it has also been used as a life-saving medication for babies born with weak lungs.
In August of 2007, Lewis Goodfellow was born at 24 weeks, weighing only 1lb 8oz. One of his lungs failed, making it so he was not getting enough oxygen in his bloodstream.
Read More...Statins May Spur Dementia
Statin drugs, which are used to lower cholesterol, may adversely affect a particular group of brain cells important to the health of aging brains, according to researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center. “There has been a great deal of discussion about a link between statins and dementia, but evidence either way has been scant,” said Steven Goldman, M.D., Ph.D., the research team leader. “This new data provides a basis for further exploration.”Read More
FDA: Avoid Jalapenos From Mexico, Not US
WASHINGTON -- Only jalapeno peppers grown in Mexico seem to be implicated in the nationwide salmonella outbreak, the government announced Friday in clearing the U.S. crop.Read More
U.S. Rushes to Change Workplace Toxin Rules
Political appointees at the Department of Labor are moving with unusual speed to push through in the final months of the Bush administration a rule making it tougher to regulate workers' on-the-job exposure to chemicals and toxins.Read More
Limiting Fructose May Boost Weight Loss
One of the reasons people on low-carbohydrate diets may lose weight is that they reduce their intake of fructose, a type of sugar that can be made into body fat quickly, according to a researcher at UT Southwestern Medical Center.Read More
How Independent Are Vaccine Defenders?
(CBS) For years some parents and scientists have raised concerns about vaccine safety, including a possible link to autism and ADD. Many independent experts have sided with government officials and other scientists who say there's no possible connection. But how "independent" are they? CBS News investigative correspondent Sharyl Attkisson shares here's what she found.Read More
Soy foods 'reduce sperm numbers'
A regular diet of even modest amounts of food containing soy may halve sperm concentrations, suggest scientists.
The study, published in the journal Human Reproduction, found 41 million fewer sperm per millilitre of semen after just one portion every two days.
The authors said plant oestrogens in foods such as tofu, soy mince or milk may interfere with hormonal signals.MORE.......
Alzheimer’s in a Can?
Sugary beverages are part of the American way of life, but five or more cans a day may raise the risk of Alzheimer’s disease, according to a new study by the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.
The research team, using mice genetically predisposed to develop Alzheimer’s-like symptoms, added a 10 percent solution of sugar water to the diet of half the mice being tested. Over 25 weeks, the sugar-water mice gained 17 percent more weight than the controls. They also developed insulin resistance and had a higher cholesterol count. Read More
AIDS among Latinos on the rise
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SAN YSIDRO, Calif. - AIDS rates in the nation's Latino community are increasing and, with little notice, have reached what experts are calling a simmering public health crisis. Though Hispanics make up about 14 percent of the U.S. population, they represented 22 percent of new HIV and AIDS diagnoses tallied by federal officials in 2006. According to a survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation, Hispanics in the District have the highest rate of new AIDS cases in the country. |
A Test of Justice for Rape Victims
Every two minutes, someone is raped in the United States. Every year, more than 200,000 rape victims, mostly women, report their rapes to police. Most consent to the creation of a rape kit, an invasive process for collecting physical evidence (including DNA material) of the assault that can take up to six hours. What most victims don't know is that in thousands of cases, that evidence sits untested in police evidence lockers.... Read More
Poison in Baby’s Carrier and Your Easy Chair
A well-known toxic chemical may lurk in everything from your easy chair to your baby’s bassinet—and manufacturers don’t have to tell you about it. The chemical is a flame retardant called “chlorinated Tris,” and it was used in children’s pajamas until 1977, when studies showed it caused cancer in animals. However, it’s turning up again with increasing frequency in upholstered furniture, car upholstery, paint, mattresses, and even baby carriers....Read More
Patients Don't Know Exercise Cuts Colon Cancer Risk
Many experts now consider colon cancer a largely preventable disease, but a new study finds that primary care doctors might not always inform patients about one important step they can take to reduce their risk: becoming more physically active....Read More
Health Officials: Don't Eat Lobster Tomalley
AUGUSTA, Maine -- Maine officials are advising consumers to avoid eating lobster tomalley after tests revealed high levels of toxins in some lobsters.
The Maine Center for Disease Control said Friday that lobster meat is perfectly safe but that people should not eat the tomalley _ a soft green substance found in the body of the lobster.
High levels of toxic algae known as red tide have been recorded along Maine's coast this summer, forcing the state to close many areas to clam and mussel harvesting. Tomalley functions as the lobster's liver by serving as a natural filter for contaminants that are in the water.
Editors note: Of course if you believed God, one would never ever even consider eating a lobster!
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has advised consumers for many years not to eat tomalley, which is considered a delicacy by some.
RAW MILK is the way GOD intended it!
The Revolution Will Not Be Pasteurized:
Inside the raw-milk underground
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The agents arrived before dawn. They concealed the squad car and police van behind trees, and there, on the road that runs past Michael Schmidt’s farm in Durham, Ontario, they waited for the dairyman to make his move. A team from the Ministry of Natural Resources had been watching Schmidt for months, shadowing him on his weekly runs to Toronto. Two officers had even infiltrated the farmer’s inner circle, obtaining for themselves samples of his product. Lab tests confirmed their suspicions. It was raw milk. The unpasteurized stuff. Now the time had come to take him down.
Schmidt had risen that morning at 4 a.m. He milked his cows and ate breakfast. He loaded up a delivery, then fired up the bus. But as he reached the end of the driveway, two cars moved in to block his path. A police officer stepped into the road and raised his hand. Another ran to the bus and banged on the door. Others were close behind. Eventually twenty-four officers from five different agencies would search the farm. Many of them carried guns.
China grows 'Super Vegetables' with Seeds from Outer Space
While most governments are reacting to the global food shortage by growing more food, the Chinese have decided to grow the same amount of fruits and vegetables, but with A TWIST: giant versions of standard food staples: 210-pound pumpkins, 2-pound tomatoes, and cucumbers that are over 2-feet long -- that are currently feeding families in 22 of China's provinces, and governments in Europe, Japan and elsewhere are taking notice.
This weird, believe-it-or-not scenario becomes even more fantastic as it turns out that the reason these foods can grow so huge is because they've been sent to outer space. The seeds get blasted into outer space, and, after they return, transform into enormous eatables -- but no one knows why.
The China Academy of Sciences, working with the then Soviet Union, first started looking at the benefits of growing seeds in space in 1987. Then two years ago the Shijian-8, the first recoverable satellite designed solely to carry space seeds, was blasted into outer space on China's Long March rocket. On board were more than 2,000 seeds.Read More
'Super berry' poses risk to UK's tomato and potato crops
Health gurus promote the goji's benefits, but illegally imported plants could spread disease to other crops
Goji berries might look innocuous, but the current craze for this "superfood" – fuelled by the endorsement of celebrities such as Kate Moss and Sir Mick Jagger – could devastate Britain's multimillion-pound tomato and potato crops.Read More
"Caffeine Intoxication" Cases On Rise
Teens, Energy Drinks Among Sources Of Concern, Expert Says
(CBS) More and more caffeine abuse victims are showing up in the nation's emergency rooms.
A recently-released report from University of Massachusetts Medical School noted 4,600 caffeine-related calls to the American Association of Poison Control Centers in 2005, the most recent data available. More than half involved people under 19, and 2345 required treatment in a health care facility.
"As (caffeinated) drinks become more and more popular, and caffeinated beverages in general, and as the use of them sort of spills over into younger crowds, we're noticing more calls into poison control centers, and more and more of those people are being recommended to go to their local health care facility to get some at least observation and possibly management and treatment," U-Mass Med School toxicologist Richard Church, one of the study's authors, told Early Show co-anchor Maggie Rodriguez Thursday.Read More
Study: Low-carb diet best for weight, cholesterol
ATLANTA - The Atkins diet may have proved itself after all: A low-carb diet and a Mediterranean-style regimen helped people lose more weight than a traditional low-fat diet in one of the longest and largest studies to compare the dueling weight-loss techniques.
A bigger surprise: The low-carb diet improved cholesterol more than the other two. Some critics had predicted the opposite.
"It is a vindication," said Abby Bloch of the Dr. Robert C. and Veronica Atkins Foundation, a philanthropy group that honors the Atkins' diet's creator and was the study's main funder.Read More
U.S. Still Fails Healthcare Test
The United States fails on most measures of health care quality, with Americans waiting longer to see doctors and more likely to die of preventable or treatable illnesses than people in other industrialized countries, a report released on Thursday said.
Americans squander money on wasteful administrative costs, illnesses caused by medical error and inefficient use of time, the report from the nonprofit Commonwealth Fund concluded.Read More
Allergic to Water?
Yes, it’s possible. And, yes, it can be miserable.
By Dr. Rob for MSN Health & Fitness
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Q: My eldest son, who is 15, seems to be allergic to water. This has just come on within the last year. When he takes a shower his chest itches really badly. He also gets this way when he swims. We took him to the dermatologist’s office and saw a physician’s assistant who said it just must be the soap, and to change the soap and things will be fine. It’s been frustrating for him; it isn’t the soap or laundry detergent because my family is a sensitive family and we use All Free and Clear for the laundry and Dove sensitive skin soap. I happen to have cold urticaria (a form of hives that’s caused by cold exposure). Do you have any idea what this might be? Could this be a form of cold urticaria? Do you know what we can do for him?
Read More...Skin Cancer: How to Spot the Bad Spots
Melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer. It metastasizes in one-fifth of patients who have it.
There is no doubt a sun-kissed, summertime glow will boost your confidence and make you look and feel healthier. But, like all good things, the sun is good only in moderation, as dangerous UVA and UVB rays can lead to skin cancer. So, how do you recognize the signs of skin cancer, especially since humans always have some sort of pre-existing beauty mark, mole or sun spot? “The way to be aware of it is the ABCDs,” said Dr. Jody A. Levine, a dermatologist from Plastic Surgery & Dermatology of NYC. They are: A – Asymmetry B – Border irregularity C – Color variety D – Diameter greater than 5 millimeters Read MoreThis is why you must stay informed!
Mom Uses Internet to Diagnose Daughter Whose Illness Baffled Doctors
A young British girl, who was left bedridden for six months after doctors failed to diagnose her, has finally received the proper treatment thanks to the Internet and her mother, the Daily Mail is reporting.
Dominique Fisher, 35, of Whitefield, Greater Manchester, England, took her daughter, 13-year-old Danielle Fisher to see the doctor in October after she began suffering from severe headaches and fatigue. Over the next six months, Danielle was diagnosed with a variety of possible illnesses including meningitis, Epstein-Bar virus, a tumor, and even psychological problems — all of which turned out to be wrong, the paper reported.Read MoreHow to buy organics while on a budget
As grocery prices soar, more shoppers are looking for bargains
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Valeria Zaitsevia buys bread at the Bread Alone organic whole grain bakery stand at the Union Square Farmers Market in New York.
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If you’re like me, your household budget is getting clobbered by the one-two punch of $4-plus-a-gallon gasoline and higher food prices. Most of us can find a way to drive less, but we all have to eat.
To stretch their food dollars, people are changing the way they shop. For some, that means buying fewer organic products or taking them off the shopping list entirely.
“The statistics aren’t available yet, but there’s definitely been trading down by consumers in many areas,” says Brian Todd, CEO of The Food Institute, a non-profit organization in Elmwood, N.J., that tracks supermarket trends. “Consumers are going from national brands to private labels and from more expensive produce, and that would include organics, to lower-priced produce,” he says.Read More
Live Longer, Healthier, & Better
The untold benefits of becoming a Christian in the ancient world.
Rodney Stark
Constantine, the first Christian to rule Rome, governed for 31 years and died in bed of natural causes at a time when the average imperial reign was short and emperors' lives usually came to violent ends.
That he lived to old age illustrates a more general, if not widely known, early Christian achievement: Christians in the ancient world had longer life expectancies than did their pagan neighbors.
Modern demographers regard life expectancy as the best indicator of quality of life, so in all likelihood, Christians simply lived better lives than just about everyone else.
In fact, many pagans were attracted to the Christian faith because the church produced tangible (not only "spiritual") blessings for its adherents.
Why Christians lived longer
Chief among these tangibles was that, in a world entirely lacking social services, Christians were their brothers' keepers. At the end of the second century, Tertullian wrote that while pagan temples spent their donations "on feasts and drinking bouts," Christians spent theirs "to support and bury poor people, to supply the wants of boys and girls destitute of means and parents, and of old persons confined to the house."
Similarly, in a letter to the bishop of Antioch in 251, the bishop of Rome mentioned that "more than 1,500 widows and distressed persons" were in the care of his congregation. These claims concerning Christian charity were confirmed by pagan observers.
"The impious Galileans support not only their poor," complained pagan emperor Julian, "but ours as well."
The willingness of Christians to care for others was put on dramatic public display when two great plagues swept the empire, one beginning in 165 and the second in 251. Mortality rates climbed higher than 30 percent. Pagans tried to avoid all contact with the afflicted, often casting the still living into the gutters. Christians, on the other hand, nursed the sick even though some believers died doing so.
The results of these efforts were dramatic. We now know that elementary nursing—simply giving victims food and water without any drugs—will reduce mortality in epidemics by as much as two-thirds. Consequently Christians were more likely than pagans to recover—a visible benefit. Christian social services also were visible and valuable during the frequent natural and social disasters afflicting the Greco-Roman world: earthquakes, famines, floods, riots, civil wars, and invasions.
Girl power
Women greatly outnumbered men among early converts. However, in the empire as a whole, men vastly outnumbered women. There were an estimated 131 men for every 100 women in Rome. The disparity was even greater elsewhere and greater still among the elite.
Widespread female infanticide had reduced the number of women in society. "If you are delivered of a child," wrote a man named Hilarion to his pregnant wife, "if it is a boy, keep it, if it is a girl discard it." Frequent abortions "entailing great risk" (in the words of Celsus) killed many women and left even more barren.
The Christian community, however, practiced neither abortion nor infanticide and thus drew to itself women.
More importantly, within the Christian community women enjoyed higher status and security than they did among their pagan neighbors. Pagan women typically were married at a young age (often before puberty) to much older men. But Christian women were older when they married and had more choice in whom, and even if, they would marry.
In addition, Christian men could not easily divorce their wives, and both genders were subject to strongly enforced rules against extramarital sex.
To cities filled with the homeless and impoverished, Christianity offered charity and hope. To cities filled with newcomers and strangers, Christianity offered immediate fellowship. To cities filled with orphans and widows, Christianity provided a new and expanded sense of family.. Christian women benefitted further from their considerable status within the church. We have it from the apostle Paul that women held positions of leadership, as was confirmed by Pliny the Younger, who reported to Emperor Trajan that he had tortured two young Christian women "who were called deaconesses."
Urban sanctuary
Yet the early church attractedand held members of both sexes, and not just because it offered longer life and raised social standing. Christianity also offered a strong community in a disorganized, chaotic world.
Greco-Roman cities were terribly overpopulated. Antioch, for example, had a population density of about 117 inhabitants per acre—more than three times that of New York City today.
Tenement cubicles were smoky, dark, often damp, and always dirty. The smell of sweat, urine, feces, and decay permeated everything. Outside on the street, mud, open sewers, and manure lay everywhere, and even human corpses were found in the gutters. Newcomers and strangers, divided into many ethnic groups, harbored bitter antagonism that often erupted into violent riots.
For these ills, Christianity offered a unifying subculture, bridging these divisions and providing a strong sense of common identity.
To cities filled with the homeless and impoverished, Christianity offered charity and hope. To cities filled with newcomers and strangers, Christianity offered an immediate fellowship. To cities filled with orphans and widows, Christianity provided a new and expanded sense of family.
In short, Christianity offered a longer, more secure, and happier life.
The emotional benefits of martyrdom
It seems obvious that in periods of persecution, church membership would decrease dramatically. In fact, persecutions rarely occurred, and only a tiny number of Christians were ever martyred—only "hundreds, not thousands" according to historian William H. C. Frend. Usually only bishops and other prominent figures were singled out for martyrdom. The actual threat to rank-and-file Christians was quite small.
However, the martyrdoms played a crucial role in cementing the faith of early believers. Persecution eliminated the "free-rider" problem common to many new religions. Those who stayed in the church believed strongly in the tenets of the faith because it was "expensive" to do so.
Anyone who has participated in a cause that demands great sacrifice will understand that services conducted in those early house churches must have yielded an intense, shared emotional satisfaction. Shared risk usually brings people together in powerful ways.
Compassion equation
It was not simply the promise of salvation that motivated Christians, but the fact that they were greatly rewarded in the here and now for belonging. Thus while membership was "expensive," it was, in fact, "a bargain." Because the church asked much of its members, it followed that it gave much.
For example, because Christians were expected to aid the less fortunate, they could expect to receive such aid, and all could feel greater security against bad times. Because they were asked to nurse the sick and dying, they too would receive such nursing. Because they were asked to love others, they in turn would be loved.
In similar fashion, Christianity mitigated relations among social classes, and at the very time when the gap between rich and poor was growing. It did not preach that everyone could or should be socially or politically equal, but it did preach that all were equal in the eyes of God and that the more fortunate had a responsibility to help those in need.
Good theological news
Converts not only had to learn to act like Christians but to understand why Christians acted as they did. They had to learn that God commanded them to love one another, to be merciful, to be their brother's keeper. Indeed, they had to understand the idea of "divinity" in an entirely new way.
The simple phrase "For God so loved the world … " puzzled educated pagans, who believed, as Aristotle taught, that the gods could feel no love for mere humans. Moreover, a god of mercy was unthinkable, since classical philosophers taught that mercy was a pathological emotion, a defect of character to be outgrown and overcome.
The notion that the gods care how we treat one another would also have been dismissed as patently absurd by all sophisticated pagans.
When we examine the gods accepted by these same sophisticates, they seem trivial in contrast with "God the Father," and wicked incompetents compared to "His Son." Yet to many pagans, this new teaching was more than absurd. It was also good news.
Behind all these tangible, sociological, and intellectual motives, of course, Christians believe the Holy Spirit prodded and persuaded pagans to believe. Christian conversion, after all, is ultimately a spiritual affair. But is it too much to imagine that God perhaps used the tangible to influence the spiritual?
Rodney Stark is professor of sociology and comparative religion at the University of Washington, and author of The Rise of Christianity: A Sociologist Reconsiders History (Princeton University Press, 1996).
Copyright © 1998 by the author or Christianity Today International/Christian History magazine.Permission granted for re-print...
Click here for reprint information on Christian History.
Woman Wakes After Heart Stopped, Rigor Mortis Set In
GOD STILL WORKS MIRACLES!
Val Thomas’ doctors honestly can’t explain how she is alive today. Thomas, who lives in West Virginia, is being called a medical miracle after she suffered two heart attacks and had no brain waves for more than 17 hours; reports NewsNet5.com. Thomas’ heart stopped around 1:30 a.m. Saturday and doctors said she had no pulse. Rigor mortis started to set in, and she was placed on a respiratory machine. "Her skin had already started to harden and her fingers curled,” Thomas’ son, Jim, told NewsNet5.com. “Death had set in.” Thomas, 59, was rushed to a West Virginia hospital, where she was put on a special machine to induce hypothermia. This would allow her body to cool down for 24 hours before they would warm her up again, doctors explained. However, Thomas’ heart stopped again after the procedure. Her family said their goodbyes and Thomas’ tubes were removed, but she remained hooked on a ventilator as the possibility of organ donation was discussed. However, Thomas woke up 10 minutes later and started talking. “The nurse said, ‘I’m so sorry, Mrs. Thomas,’ and mom said, ‘That’s OK, honey, that’s OK,’” Jim Thomas said. Val Thomas was transferred to the Cleveland Clinic so that specialists could check her out, but doctors said they could find nothing wrong with her. “I know God has something in store for me, another purpose,” Val Thomas said. “I don’t know what it is, but I’m sure he’ll tell me.”
Click here to read the full story from NewsNet5.com.
And in another Miracle...
A BABY girl came back to life two hours after she was pronounced dead after falling into a river in the UKStress Hormone Affects Immune System
A new UCLA study suggests the decline in an individual’s immune system after facing chronic stress is due to the stress hormone cortisol. Scientists found that cortisol suppresses immune cells’ ability to activate their telomerase, an enzyme within the cell that keeps immune cells young by preserving their telomere length and ability to continue dividing.
Every cell contains a tiny clock called a telomere, which shortens each time the cell divides. Short telomeres are linked to a range of human diseases, including HIV, osteoporosis, heart disease and aging. Read More
Man Dies from Drinking Water!
So when do we put warning labels on water bottles?
A 44-year-old man died after drinking 9.6 liters of water in eight hours, the equivalent of four-and- a-half soda bottles, London’s Daily Mail reported Tuesday. Andrew Thornton, of Bradford, England, was drinking the cold water to relieve his sore gums, which were brought on by gum disease, according to an inquest. Thornton drank the water to avoid taking painkillers, said his mother, Alice, 65 Read MoreLadies, give your breasts a rest, research says
Permission to skip self-exams a relief for some, perplexing for others
msnbc.com
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By Diane Mapes
Like many women, I’ve felt guilty about my slipshod breast exams for years. Sure, I’ll give the girls a good once-over in the shower now and then, but I’ve never diligently gone through all the motions (circular and otherwise), month in and month out.
So it was with a certain amount of relief that I read a new analysis confirming that the breast self-exam (or BSE) truly doesn’t make much of a difference after all. Read More
Did You Know All the Drugs in Your Milk?
Dairy products from cows treated with Monsanto's genetically engineered bovine growth hormone (rBGH or rBST) could sharply increase the risk of cancer and other diseases, especially in children.
The chemicals are already banned in most industrialized nations, and it was approved in the United States on the backs of fired whistleblowers, manipulated research, and a corporate takeover at the FDA. This film (split into two parts above) includes footage prepared for a Fox TV segment that was canceled after a letter from Monsanto's attorney threatened "dire consequences."
Read More...Are There Deadly Superbugs in Your Pork?
There’s plenty of medical research that backs up religious advice to avoid the “other white meat,” pork. Scientists are beginning to detect antibiotic-resistant bacteria in pork, pigs and some veterinarians, raising the issue of whether these so-called superbugs might find a new route to infect farmworkers or even people who eat pork.
Read More...
Coke Or Water?
Coke Or Water?
YOU DECIDE!
Wonder why so many are sick?
WATER
- 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated.
(Likely applies to half the world population.) - In 37% of Americans, the thirst mechanism is so weak
that it is mistaken for hunger. - Even MILD dehydration will slow down one’s metabolism as 3%.
- One glass of water will shut down midnight hunger pangs
for almost 100% of the dieters studied in a University of
Washington study. - Lack of water, the #1 trigger of daytime fatigue.
- Preliminary research indicates that 8-10 glasses of
water a day could significantly ease back and joint pain
for up to 80% of sufferers. - A mere 2% drop in body water can trigger fuzzy short-term
memory, trouble with basic math, and difficulty focusing on
the computer screen or on a ! printed page. - Drinking 5 glasses of water daily decreases the risk of
colon cancer by 45%, plus it can slash the risk of breast
cancer by 79%., and one is 50% less likely to develop
bladder cancer. Are you drinking the amount of water
you should drink every day?
Coke or Water
COKE
- In many states the highway patrol carries
two gallons of Coke in the trunk to remove blood from
the highway after a car accident. - You can put a T-bone steak in a bowl of Coke
and it will be gone in two days. - To clean a toilet: Pour a can of Coca-Cola into the
toilet bowl and let the "real thing" sit for one hour,
then flush clean. The citric acid in Coke removes
stains from vitreous china. - To remove rust spots from chrome car bumpers:
Rub the bumper with a rumpled-up piece of Reynolds
Wrap aluminum foil dipped in Coca-Cola. - To clean corrosion from car battery terminals: Pour
a can of Coca-Cola over the terminals to bubble
away the corrosion. - To loosen a rusted bolt: Apply a cloth soaked in Coca-Cola
to the rusted bolt for several minutes. - To bake a moist ham: Empty a can of Coca-Cola into
the baking pan, wrap the ham in aluminum foil, and bake.
Thirty minutes before ham is finished, remove the foil, allowing the drippings to mix
with the Coke for a sumptuous brown gravy. - To remove grease from clothes: Empty a can of Coke
into the load of greasy clothes, add detergent, and run
through a regular cycle. The Coca-Cola will help loosen
grease stains. It will also clean road haze from your
windshield.
FOR YOUR INFORMATION:
- The active ingredient in Coke is phosphoric acid.
It will dissolve a nail in about four days. Phosphoric
acid also leaches calcium from bones and is a major
contributor to the rising increase of osteoporosis. - To carry Coca-Cola syrup! (the concentrate) the
commercial trucks must use a hazardous Material place
cards reserved for highly corrosive materials. - The distributors of Coke have been using it to clean
engines of the trucks for about 20 years!
Now the question is, would you like a glass of water?
or Coke?
Hidden Names for MSG
Foods always contain MSG when these words are on the label:
MSG
Gelatin
Calcium Caseinate
Monosodium glutamate
Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein
Textured Protein
Monopotassium glutamate
Hydrolyzed Plant Protein
Yeast Extract
Glutamate Autolyzed Plant Protein
Yeast food or nutrient
Glutamic Acid Sodium
Caseinate Autolyzed Yeast
Foods made with the following products often contain MSG.
Malted Barley (flavor) Flavors, Flavoring Modified food starch
Barley malt Reaction Flavors Rice syrup or brown rice syrup
Malt Extract or Flavoring Natural Chicken, Beef, or Pork, Flavoring"Seasonings" (Most assume this means salt, pepper, or spicesand herbs, which sometimes it is.) Lipolyzed butter fat
Maltodextrin Soy Sauce or Extract "Low" or "No Fat" items
Caramel Flavoring (coloring) Soy Protein Corn syrup and corn syrup solids (somecompanies use another process to make their product, saying itis MSG free)
Stock Soy Protein Isolate or Concentrate Citric Acid (when processed fromcorn)
Broth Cornstarch Milk Powder
Bouillon Flowing Agents Dry Milk Solids
Carrageenan Wheat, rice, or oat protein Protein Fortified Milk
Whey Protein or Whey Anything enriched or vitaminenriched Annatto
Whey Protein Isolate or Concentrate Protein fortified "anything" Spice
Pectin Enzyme modified "anythng" Gums
Protease Ultra-pasteurized "anything" Dough Conditioners
Protease enzymes Fermented "anything" Yeast Nutrients
Are you crazy enough to succeed?
Obsessive and compulsive behaviors can make you — or break you
By Jeremy Katz
updated 12:01 p.m. ET, Sun., July. 13, 2008
I sit in the glass-walled nurses' station, waiting for my day to begin. A steady stream of people — all living with obsessive-compulsive disorder, or OCD — approach the half door and utter some variation of "I have to go to the bathroom." The attractive young woman on duty smiles and hands over a small quantity of toilet paper, a squirt of soap in a specimen cup, and a paper towel with a cheery "Here you are!" This is what grade school must have seemed like to George Orwell. Read More
Beijing takes dog off the menu for Olympics
I guess they figured Michael Vick wasn't coming
BEIJING (Reuters) - Beijing has asked hotels and restaurants in the city to take dog meat off the menu for the duration of next month's Olympics and September's Paralympics.Read More
Russert's Death Saved My Life, Man Says
NBC newsman Tim Russert's sudden death last month gave some of his fellow baby boomers a scare when it comes to their own health and mortality. In a New York Times article, an ABC News producer credits Russert with saving his life, helping him to recognize his own heart attack before it was too late.
Teen Pregnancies Spike to 15-Year High
Children Having Children
Joe Raedle, Getty Images
Joe Raedle, Getty ImagesThe teen pregnancy rate is up for the first time since 1991, according to a report released Friday by the National Institutes of Health. In 2006, the number of teenage girls between the ages 15 to 17 having babies rose to about 139,000 from about 133,000 in 2005.
1 of 5PHOTOS
Melanoma Surges Among Young Women
The Dark Side of Sunscreens?
Phil Cole, AP
Phil Cole, APDo you think slathering on a high-SPF sunscreen is enough to ward off harmful sunrays? Think again, says a consumer advocacy group that found four out of five brand-name sunscreens inadequately protect users or contain ingredients that may be unsafe.
1 of 5PHOTOS
Alternative Treatments Reduce Cholesterol Better than Statins
A group of Pennsylvania researchers have found that fish oil and red yeast rice reduce cholesterol better than statin drugs. The medical profession pushes statin drugs believing they can help prevent cardiovascular disease, and are now considering prescribing them to children as young as eight. But many patients refuse to take them, either because they don’t believe they are safe or because of their high cost. As many as 40 percent of patients who receive prescriptions for statin drugs take them for less than a year.Read More
Aspirin Dangerous and Ineffective for People With Heart Failure
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Researchers stated that just because heart failure patients stand a greater chance of experiencing a heart attack or stroke doesn't automatically make them appropriate candidates for antithrombotic therapy. Study Comparing Blood-Thinning Therapies to no Antithrombotic Therapy |
People who are diagnosed with heart failure and follow a treatment regimen that includes blood thinners such as aspirin or coumadin could be putting their health into more danger.
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