The Plain Truth's: Your Health Today ONLINE

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.