With fears regarding terrorism rising, full-body scanners may soon be in airports all over the world. What then, about your exposure to radiation? At this stage, depending on the machine used, estimates are that you will be exposed to around 10 microRem of radiation per scan; equivalent to flying for two minutes at 30,000 feet.

Source: Wellbeing Magazine Vol 126

Aside from their general health benefits, animal studies have suggested that blueberries increase neuron-to-neuron communication in the brain, improve glucose use in the brain & are involved in memory function. So researchers tested the effects in humans: participants in their 70s who were showing early signs of memory loss had to drink 2 1/2 cups of blueberry juice daily for 12 weeks compared with placebo. Those who had drunk the blueberry juice showed improved paired associate learning & improved word list recall. There was also a trend toward reduced depressive symptoms & lower glucose levels. The results suggest that blueberries may be a way to ward off memory loss - if you can remember to take them.

Source: Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry

Fresh organic inexpensive food direct from farmers - Sign up now!

Nutritional website on vegetables from France - excellent resource articles, nutritional content of vegetables, article on how to encourage children to eat vegetables etc.

Nanotechnology involves the use of tiny particles which can penetrate through a membrane that normally would not allow it to enter. Many cosmetics and skincare products are now using this technology to their advantage eg. to reduce a white film left on the skin surface or enhance aborption of certain ingredients. However, the concern is that there can be a build up of these chemicals in the body as the skin's previous protective barrier is constantly overrided. The effect of these chemicals or of other unwanted or toxic ingredients in the product can have damaging effects. Some specialists view them as so dangerous in fact, that they are becoming known as "universal asbestos".

The toxic cosmetic & skincare ingredients include known carcinogens such as:
- Ethylene oxide
- Dioxane
- Nitrosamines
- Formaldehyde
- Acrylamide

Check all your products that they do not contain these chemicals and avoid skincare products that use nanotechnology.

A long-term study of > 6,500 people in northern California found that those who wre overweight at age 40 were more likely to succumb to dementia in their 70s. A long-term study in Sweden found that, compared to thinner people, those who were overweight in their 40s experienced a more rapid, and more pronounced, decline in brain function over the next several decades. Consistent with this, the brains of obese people often show signs of damage. The obvious question is: can obesity-associated brain damage be reversed? No one knows the answer but a healthful diet and plenty of exercise, have repeatedly been shown to protect the brain.

Source: Panaxea - World Medicine www.panaxea.com

Computerised tomography (CT) medical scans cause at least 29,000 cases of cancer & 14,500 deaths in the United States every year, according to a study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

The researchers estimated that 3 yr old female receiving an abdominal CT scan has a 1/500 risk of developing cancer as a direct result. The risk decreases to 1/1000 by age 30 & 3/10 000 by age 70.

Rosaleen Parsons of the Fox-Chase Cancer Centre suggests that patients keep their medical records to avoid unnecessary repetition of tests & ask their doctor about alternatives to radiation-based scans.

Source: NaturalNews.com, Wed, April 21, 2010 by: David Guitierrez.

Source: www.usatoday.com

"U.S federal authorities recommended...that doctors suspend using Rotarix, one of two vaccines licensed in the U.S. against rotavirus, saying the vaccine is contaminated with material from a pig virus," CNN reports.
The Rotarix vaccine, which is made by GlaxoSmithKline and was approved by the FDA in 2008, has already been given to about 1 million U.S children along with 30 million worldwide. The vaccine was found to contain DNA from porcine circovirus 1.

Source: CNN March 22, 2010

Disturbing Findings in Rotarix and Two Other Common Childhood Vaccines

Dr.Eric Delwart, the researcher, found nearly 40% of the vaccines they tested contained viral contaminants.

Why did the independent team of scientists, who found the contamination, notify the vaccine manufacturer first rather than also immediately reporting their finding directly to the FDA?

What about the significance of finding bird viral DNA in measles vaccine and the monkey viral DNA in RotaTeq vaccine?

Even without a potential contamination scare, there are serious risks to every vaccine. So before vaccinating you really need to be certain that the benefits will outweigh those risks.

The CDC estimates that, by age 3, almost every child has had a case of rotavirus.

According to NVIC:

"Today, even though almost all US infants receive vaccines for rotavirus, and despite efforts to improve the management of childhood rotavirus-associated diarrhea, hospitalisations of children in the U.S with the disease have not significantly declined in the past two decades."

Along with showing little benefit for a disease that is typically entirely treatable with fluids and rest, a recent drug review by the FDA found that Rotarix is associated with a significant increase in pneumonia-related deaths in children, compared to a placebo.

Source: Dr. Mercola - www.mercola.com

OpEd piece from the Washington Examiner, Barbara Hollingsworth sets the record straight about Gardasil:
"Cervical Cancer accounts for less than 1 percent of all cancer deaths - so it was somewhat suprising when the U.S Food and Drug Administration fast-tracked approval of Gardasil, a Merck vaccine targeting the human papilloma virus that causes the disease.

As of the end of January 2010, 49 unexplained death following Gardasil injections have been reported to the Centres of Disease Control and Prevention's Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System. By contrast, 52 deaths are attributed to unintended acceleration in Toyotas, which triggered a $2 billion recall."

There has been no recall fro Gardasil, however.

Unfortunately, Merck denies any of the deaths are related to its vaccine, and the parents involved can't prove they were.

India has suspended Gardasil vaccination and DNA India reports the program was marred by controversy after 4 deaths and complications among 120 girls were reported after vaccination. The girls complained of stomach disorders, epilepsy, headaches and early menarche.

Sources:
Washington Examiner March 30, 2010
DNA India April 8, 2010

Further, at least 50% of sexually active men and women acquire HPV infection at some point in their lives - and 90% of the time the virus clears up on its own within 2 years, and does not lead to cancer.

Source:
Dr. Mercola - www.mercola.com

PepsiCo is ditching high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) in Gatorade along with the results of a scathing new study from researchers at Princeton. For years, the Corn Refiners Association has been arguing that HFCS is a perfectly natural product that is equal to other forms of sugar. A Princeton research team has again demonstrated that all sweeteners are NOT equal when it comes to weight gain. Rats drinking HFCS gained significantly more weight than those with access to table sugar, even when their overall caloric intake was the same.

Long-term consumption of HFCS also led to abnormal increases in body fat, especially in the abdomen & a rise in circulating blood fats called triglycerides. Two other recent studies have also linked HFCS to liver disease, increased uric acid, decreased kidney function and the risk of chronic kidney disease increased > 150% in those who had >1 soda/day.

Sources:
News at Princeton March 22, 2010
Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior February 26, 2010
Kidney International April 2010; 77(7):609-16
Hepatology January 28, 2010