Sugar, Aspartame and Tobacco?

This is a list of claims about Aspartame that seems we're being poisoned at every turn. 
 Dr Aseem Malhotra is an interventional cardiologist and the founding member and science director of Action On Sugar, a group of specialists concerned with sugar and its effects on health.  



Action on Sugar has been campaigning to reduce population consumption of sugar by 40% over the next few years to reverse the obesity epidemic. 

 



Dr Malhotra, one of the most vocal campaigners against sugar industry and Big Food, tells Rema Nagarajan why sugar is the new tobacco.










Read: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/science/You-dont-need-added-sugar-in-diet--it-has-no-nutritional-value/articleshow/29275239.cms



Health Basics: What is Aspartame?

Sunday, December 04, 2011
by: S. D. Wells
Tags: aspartame, sweetener, side effects

   
 
(NaturalNews)
Over a billion people consume aspartame in their foods and beverages across the world, believing it to be a safe ingredient, but what they probably don't know is that aspartame currently accounts for over 75% of all side effects complaints received by the FDA's Adverse Reaction Monitoring System (ARMS) for the past 4 years. 

It is banned by health-conscious countries all over the world, especially where there is a national healthcare system in place.

Aspartame is best known by the brand names NutraSweet, Equal, Sweet One and Spoonful.

Aspartame is a synthetic chemical combination which is comprised of approximately 50% phenylalanine, 40% aspartic acid, and 10% methanol. Aspartame is found in thousands of foods, drinks, candy, gum, vitamins, health supplements and even pharmaceuticals. (http://www.wellsphere.com/wellpage/aspartame...)...

Each of the three ingredients in Aspartame poses its own dangers and each is well documented as causing a long list of side effects and dangerous health conditions. Watch for the ingredient Acesulfame Potassium, which is just another name for Aspartame.

Phenylalanine: Even a single use of Aspartame raises the blood phenylalanine levels. High blood phenylalanine can be concentrated in parts of the brain and is especially dangerous for infants and fetuses. Because it is metabolized much more efficiently by rodents than humans, testing and research on rats alone is not sufficient enough to denounce the dangers of Aspartame for human consumption. Excessive levels of phenylalanine in the brain cause serotonin levels to decrease, leading to emotional disorders like depression.

Aspartic Acid: Aspartic acid is considered an excito-toxin, which means it over stimulates certain neurons in the body until they die.  
Much like nitrates and MSG, aspartic acid can cause amino acid imbalances in the body and result in the interruption of normal neurotransmitter metabolism of the brain. (http://www.holisticmed.net/aspartame/aminoac...)

Methanol becomes Formaldehyde (Embalming fluid): The most prominent danger of Aspartame is that when ingested, the methanol (wood alcohol) is distributed throughout the body, including the brain, muscle, fat and nervous tissues, and is then metabolized to form formaldehyde, which enters cells and binds to proteins and genetic material (DNA). Methanol is a dangerous neurotoxin and a known carcinogen, which causes retinal damage in the eye, interferes with DNA processes, and can cause birth defects. (http://aspartame.mercola.com/)

The EPA's recommended limit of consumption of Methanol is 7.8 milligrams per day, but a one liter bottle of an Aspartame-sweetened beverage contains over 50 mg of methanol. Heavy users of Aspartame-containing products consume as much as 250 mg of methanol daily, which is over 30 times the EPA limit.

Suspiciously similar to the symptoms of Fibromyalgia and Multiple Sclerosis,  
Aspartame's long list includes:

- dizziness, 
- headaches, 
- behavioral changes, 
- hallucinations, 
- depression, 
- nausea, 
- numbness, 
- muscle spasms, 
- weight gain, 
- rashes, 
- fatigue, 
- irritability, 
- insomnia, 
- vision problems, 
- hearing loss, 
- heart palpitations, 
- breathing difficulties, 
- anxiety attacks, 
- slurred speech, 
- loss of taste, 
- tinnitus, 
- vertigo, 
- memory loss, and 
- joint pain. 

Also, many illnesses can be worsened by ingesting Aspartame, including chronic fatigue syndrome, brain tumors, epilepsy, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, mental retardation, and especially diabetes.

Birth defects: According to Dr. Louis Elsas, Pediatrician Professor of Genetics at Emory University, Phenylalanine can concentrate in the placenta, causing mental retardation of a fetus. 

Also, formaldehyde in the blood stream of a pregnant woman can cause her immune system to target the fetal tissue as a foreign substance and destroy it, the result being a miscarriage. This can happen before she even knows she is pregnant.
(http://www.dorway.com/dr-elsas.txt)

Aspartame is known to cause weight gain

Products labeled Diet, Light or Zero most likely contain at least one of the major synthetic sweeteners, and Aspartame is used more widely than the three carcinogenic S's: Sucralose, Sorbitol and Saccharin. 

Nearly all diet sodas, gum and most candy (not chocolate - yet) are loaded with Aspartame. (http://buildingbodies.ca/diet-pop-dangers-an...)

Some chewing gum brands contain only synthetic sugars, which are acid creating. The body in turn creates fat cells to store that extra acid, and this is why many people who consistently eat Aspartame will ironically put on weight.

Natural sugar-free alternatives: Xylitol and the Brazilian Stevia leaf (Not Truvia) are natural and do not cause side effects or nerve damage; however, truly effective weight loss starts with organic vegetables and cardio exercise. 

To be safe, simply avoid all "diet foods" and moderate sugar intake. (http://www.healingdaily.com/detoxification-d...)

Sources for this article include:

http://www.holisticmed.net/aspartame/aminoac...

http://www.healingdaily.com/detoxification-d...

http://www.unhinderedliving.com/aspartame.ht...

http://www.dorway.com/dr-elsas.txt

http://buildingbodies.ca/diet-pop-dangers-an...

http://www.thenhf.com/article.php?id=833

http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/art...

http://www.wnho.net/fdas_approval_of_asparta...

http://www.wellsphere.com/wellpage/aspartame...

http://www.wellsphere.com/men-s-health-artic...

http://www.sweetpoison.com/aspartame-side-ef...

http://www.issplendasafe.com/

www.alsearsmd.com/aspartame-ant-poison-fda-c...

http://www.sweetpoison.com/aspartame-case-hi...

http://www.mothering.com/community/t/638389/...

   
 



Learn more: 

http://www.naturalnews.com/034320_aspartame_sweetener_side_effects.html

Vitamin D-deficient ballet dancers

Supplements 'beneficial' for vitamin D-deficient ballet dancers

Saturday 30 November 2013 - 12am PST

---

Sports Medicine / Fitness

Bones / Orthopedics

Featured Article Academic Journal

---

Current ratings for:

Supplements 'beneficial' for vitamin D-deficient ballet dancers

It is widely known that a lack of sunlight can sometimes cause a deficiency in vitamin D. But how does a lack of this vitamin affect athletes who train indoors, especially during the winter months? To find out, researchers in the UK studied vitamin D-deficient ballet dancers and observed whether supplementation helped.
 
The study, published in the Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, was conducted through a collaboration between researchers at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital (RNOH), the University of Wolverhampton and dancers at the Birmingham Royal Ballet.

These three institutions are founding partners of the National Institute of Dance Medicine and Science (NIDMS).

To conduct their study, the team split 24 elite classical ballet dancers into two groups. During the 4-month study, one group took oral supplementation of vitamin D3 to the tune of 2,000 IU per day, while a control group did not take any supplements.

Isometric muscular strength and vertical jump height were measured at the start and end of the study. Additionally, the in-house medical team recorded any injuries the dancers experienced.

The researchers found that the dancers who took vitamin D supplements showed greater improvements in muscle strength and vertical performance, while also experiencing fewer injuries, compared with the control group.
Dr. Roger Wolman, consultant in rheumatology, sport and exercise medicine at the RNOH, says:

"Vitamin D is important for bone development and has a wide range of functions. In a deficient state, dancers are at increased risk of bone injuries, and this latest research indicates an increased risk of muscle injury, which can be detrimental to their health and their careers."

Following on from their findings, the researchers suggest that medical staff and instructors monitor vitamin D levels in dancers throughout the whole year and provide supplements for them during winter months.

This can help their serum levels return to normal, they say, ultimately leading to improvement in overall performance.

'Findings could cover other sports'

Ballet dancers from the Birmingham Royal Ballet participated in the study, which revealed vitamin D supplements improved their muscle strength and resulted in fewer injuries.
Photo credit: RNOH

 

The National Health Service (NHS) in the UK notes that vitamin D has several important functions, including regulating calcium and phosphate in the body.

While a lack of it can lead to bone deformities, such as rickets, we can get it for free from the sun - vitamin D is made by our body under the skin as a reaction to sunlight.

However, individuals who live in areas of the world with low annual levels of solar irradiation have difficulty getting enough sunlight for their body to efficiently manufacture the vitamin.
The alternative - vitamin D supplementation - has been widely debated in the medical community.

While some researchers have shown that vitamin D could help treat asthma or even help prevent hypertension, others have warned that raising vitamin D levels in healthy people may be potentially harmful.

Still, the researchers from this latest study say supplementation may be the way to go for dancers.

"These findings could also be extrapolated to cover other sports and training activities that take place indoors," Dr. Wolman adds.
Helen Laws, NIDMS Manager at Dance UK, says:

"Traditionally dancers spend between 6 and 8 hours training indoors for 6 days a week throughout the year, and they need to be able to execute highly technical movements during high intensity periods of training and when performing.
This study provides important advice on performance enhancement as well as offering vital insights into the overall health and well-being of dancers."

NIDMS, the first specialist dance clinic in partnership with the NHS, provides a novel approach to the health care of dancers. Injury treatment of dancers costs the dance sector an average of £900,000 ($1.4 million) each year.
Written by Marie Ellis

Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without the permission of Medical News Today.

---

• References
• Additional Information
• Citations

The influence of winter vitamin D supplementation on muscle function and injury occurrence in elite ballet dancers: A controlled study, Wyon MA, Koutedakis Y, Wolman R, Nevill AM, Allen N, Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, published online 2013, Abstract

Visit our Sports Medicine / Fitness category page for the latest news on this subject.

Please use one of the following formats to cite this article in your essay, paper or report:
MLA
Ellis, Marie. "Supplements 'beneficial' for vitamin D-deficient ballet dancers." Medical News Today. MediLexicon, Intl., 30 Nov. 2013. Web.
30 Nov. 2013.


---

APA
Ellis, M. (2013, November 30). "Supplements 'beneficial' for vitamin D-deficient ballet dancers." Medical News Today. Retrieved from
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/269535.


---

Please note: If no author information is provided, the source is cited instead.

Rate this article (click to rate)

Supplements 'beneficial' for vitamin D-deficient ballet dancers

Source: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/269535.php

Link to Alzheimer's

 



Find out more: http://ow.ly/r4t8W via AsianScientist Magazine

Serenity Parayer Adapted for ADD

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; 

The insight to prioritize wisely what I want to change; 

The patience to resist trying to control everything I could, had I the energy and time; 

The courage and skill to change the things I have chosen to change; 

And the wisdom to know the differences among all these.

- Dr. Edward Hallowell   

Life is short.

What is Life?

It is the flash of a firefly in the night.

It is the breath of a buffalo in the winter time.

It is the little shadow which runs across the grass

and loses itself in the Sunset."

 Crowfoot on his deathbed, April 1890

 

Alzheimer's Protection

Some people do brain exercises to stave off this building epidemic...


Studies say fasting twice a week staves off Alzheimer's


 By Makiko Kitamura / Bloomberg News


LONDON -- For the past year, Stuart Adams has been fasting twice a week. While he has lost 15 pounds, the real reason he's depriving himself is to stave off brain disorders including schizophrenia and Alzheimer's disease.

"There's a virulent strain of madness running through my family, and I reckoned my chances of going down that route were pretty high," said Mr. Adams, 43, a freelance translator and interpreter in London who learned of a possible link between Alzheimer's and diet while watching a BBC documentary last year. "Anything that could help with that was of great interest."

Because there is no cure for Alzheimer's, which afflicts more than 35 million people, any possibility of prevention holds huge potential. 

Mr. Adams was inspired to try the diet last year after the BBC documentary called "Eat, Fast and Live Longer" cited a study in mice that suggested intermittent fasting could delay the onset of cognitive disorders.

The study was led by Mark Mattson, professor of neuroscience at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and senior investigator at the U.S. National Institute of Aging. Mr. Mattson is planning a new project to measure how fasting twice a week for two months affects human brain function and early signs of Alzheimer's.

While this and other similar diets are gaining in popularity even as they spawn a steady outpouring of new books on the subject, some experts have doubts.

"This is part of a never-ending carousel of diet books," said Kelly Brownell, former director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University and now dean of the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University.
"There will be some buzz and then the diet will go away, never to be heard of again."

Nonetheless, the studies and the books keep coming. Another examination into the fasting-dementia link will be led by Krista Varady, an associate professor of kinesiology and nutrition at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Her research focuses on alternating a normal diet with eating 500 or 600 calories every other day. Nutritionists recommend men consume about 2,500 calories a day and women 2,000 calories.

While research on fasting diets and dementia still has a long way to go, the early evidence is promising.

The mouse study led by Mr. Mattson found that intermittent fasting may have protected the function of brain cells, even if it didn't reduce levels of the plaque and tangles that are typical signs of Alzheimer's.

At the same time, fasting is increasingly seen as playing a role in the prevention of other diseases including breast cancer and diabetes.

That's paved the way for a flurry of how-to books including Ms. Varady's "The Every-Other-Day Diet," which goes on sale Dec. 24. Competing with that is "The Fast Diet" by science journalist Michael Mosley, who was behind the BBC documentary Mr. Adams watched, and lifestyle writer Mimi Spencer. Their regimen is known as the 5:2 diet.

There's also "The 2-Day Diet" by dietitian Michelle Harvie and Tony Howell, a professor of oncology at the University of Manchester in England. Their approach was developed specifically to help prevent breast cancer, for which obesity is a known risk factor.

Health experts say fasting diets can't substitute for eating healthy foods.

"In general, intermittent fasting is a good thing if it's done properly," said Dean Ornish, a professor of medicine at the University of California at San Francisco and a physician consultant to former President Bill Clinton. "But if you're already eating very healthily, then you may not need to do that."

In a study conducted with Mr. Mattson and published this year, they found the two-day diet led to greater drops in body fat and insulin resistance in women with high breast-cancer risk after three months, compared with a diet where calories are cut every day, suggesting that intermittent fasting is an easier approach to follow.

The bottom line, though, is that any fasting diet needs to be undertaken thoughtfully, including eating healthy foods on non-fasting days, Ms. Harvie said.









Link:  http://www.post-gazette.com/news/healthscience/2013/11/03/Studies-say-fasting-twice-a-week-staves-off-Alzheimer-s/stories/201311030147

Prostate Diseases

2013 Annual Report on Prostate Diseases

• Description
• Contents
• Excerpt
• Customer Reviews (9)

Most men eventually develop some type of prostate problem, and when they do there are usually no easy solutions. The three most common prostate problems are benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), prostatitis, and prostate cancer. Men with the same condition and symptoms might opt for very different treatments — or choose to do nothing at all.

A number of exciting new treatment options have emerged for prostate diseases, including new medications and refined surgical techniques. But daunting challenges remain. A major disappointment has been in the area of chemoprevention — an approach that uses drugs or supplements to try to reduce risk of prostate cancer. Two leading contenders — 5-alpha reductase inhibitors and vitamin E supplements — not only don’t seem to prevent prostate cancer but actually may increase risk of developing it. And in a major development, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force has recommended against routine prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening — arguing that for most men screening does not save lives and causes more harm than benefit.

That’s why this unique publication is more than a primer on prostate conditions; it includes roundtable discussions with experts at the forefront of prostate research, interviews with patients about their treatment decisions, and the latest thinking on complementary therapies.

The goal of this publication is not to relate easy answers. Rather, our mission is to provide you with the information you need to understand the current controversies, avoid common pitfalls, and work with your doctor to make informed choices about your prostate health.


Prepared by the editors of Harvard Health Publications in consultation with Marc B. Garnick, M.D., Clinical Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, and Hematology/Oncology Division, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. 136 pages. (2013)

More Like This

What to do about Erectile Dysfunction

With all the ads on TV and in magazines heralding pills to treat erectile dysfunction (ED), it’s tempting to think that treatment for ED begins and ends with Viagra, Levitra, and Cialis. But it’s important to be aware that many men can ease, or even reverse, ED by making simple lifestyle changes — such as losing excess weight and quitting smoking — that also are likely to boost their overall health and reduce their chances of developing diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and metabolic syndrome. This report offers a comprehensive review of these treatments, as well as the causes of erectile dysfunction and how ED may be an early warning sign for other serious health problems.
Learn more »

A Guide to Men's Health Fifty and Forward

A Guide to Men’s Health Fifty and Forward, this Special Health Report offers steps and strategies to lessen — or prevent — threats to your well-being and longevity. It provides a wide-ranging, clear-eyed look at the leading causes of death for men at midlife and beyond. It examines those factors that put you at risk for a variety of problems and explains the important measures you can take to reduce those risks.
Learn more »

Harvard Health Publications

• About Us
• Our Blog
• Privacy Policy
• Shipping Policy 
•  

why men have deep voices

Roar of the rutting stag: why men have deep voices
Saturday, October 05, 2013 4:06 PM

The behaviour of rutting stags helps explain why men have evolved descended larynges

It's the rutting season. From Richmond Park to the Isle of Rum, red deer hinds will be gathering, and the stags that have spent the past 10 months minding their own business in bachelor groups are back in town, with one thing on their minds. A mature male that has netted himself a harem is very dedicated. He practically stops eating, focusing instead on keeping his hinds near and his competitors at bay. If you're a red deer stag, one of the ways you make sure that your adversaries know you mean business – and that you're big – is roaring. And you don't let up. You can keep roaring all day, and through the night too, twice a minute, if necessary.

While female red deer prefer the deeper roars of larger stags, roaring also appears to be part of how stags size one another up, before deciding whether or not to get engaged in a full-on physical fight. Most confrontations are settled without locking antlers. In male red and fallow deer, the voicebox or larynx is very low in the throat – and gets even lower when they roar.

Strap-like muscles that attach to the larynx contract to drag it down towards the breastbone – lengthening the vocal tract and deepening the stag's roar.
Deepening the voice exaggerates body size.

Over generations, stags with deeper roars presumably had more reproductive success, so the position of the larynx moved lower and lower in the neck. When a red deer stag roars his larynx is pulled down so far that it contacts the front of his breastbone – it couldn't get any lower.

In human evolution, much is made of the low position of the larynx in the neck. So much, in fact, that it has been considered to be a uniquely human trait, and intrinsically linked to that other uniquely human trait: spoken language. 

But if red and fallow deer also have low larynges, that means, first, that we're not as unusual as we like to think we are, and second, that there could be other reasons – that are nothing to do with speaking – for having a descended larynx.

The relative position of the larynx tends to be lower in men than in women, and as far as speaking goes, this may actually be a disadvantage. The human female vocal tract is capable of making a larger range of discrete vowel sounds than the male. It's safe to assume that the comparatively low position of the male voicebox hasn't evolved to improve the production of intelligible speech.

But when we listen to someone speaking, we gain far more information than is contained in just the words themselves. Even though we may not always be aware of it, we size people up by their voices. The deep human male voice, exaggerating body size just as it does in stags, could have come about because women found men with low voices more attractive – perhaps we could call this the "Barry White effect".

This isn't just idle speculation; a recent study from the University of Aberdeen found that women expressed a preference for deep voices. It also turned out that women tended to remember information better when they'd been told it by a man with a low voice.

But it could also be that men, like stags, have evolved low voices in order to deter sexual competitors. In support of this idea, it's been found that men modulate the pitch of their voices when they're in competition with one another, as revealed by a dating game, played in the interests of science, at the University of Pittsburgh. Male students were pitted against an unseen male rival in order to win a date. Each participant had a conversation with the adversary, so they had an opportunity to "size him up".

The results of those conversations were fascinating: participants who believed themselves to be more physically dominant than their rival lowered their voices. But students who thought they were less dominant raised their voices to a higher pitch. The men were sizing each other up, just like rutting stags. But they were also changing their voices in a way that suggests they were – without being aware of it – managing the confrontation to avoid conflict. A man who thought he was more dominant lowered his voice to emphasize his dominance and intimidate his competitor. A man who thought he was likely to lose the game, just by listening to his adversary, spoke in a higher voice: don't bother fighting me – you've won, mate.

The low voice of men, like stags, is a trait that probably evolved through sexual selection. 

This isn't just about being attractive to the opposite sex, it's also about beating same-sex rivals. A deep voice may prove an advantage in both cases, helping a man to exclude other, apparently less dominant men, from the mating game, as well as making him more attractive to the opposite sex. 

A win-win situation. 

Unless, of course, you're a well-built man with a mellifluous tenor voice, who's bucked the trend, or a woman who prefers Justin Timberlake or John Lennon to Jim Morrison or Eddie Vedder.

This is biology, after all – variability is what makes it so interesting.
    Evolution
    Animal behaviour
    Dating
    Biology

Alice Roberts

theguardian.com © 2013 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds







Link: http://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/new-review/discover/rss

Wise Canary

 

"The starting point of all achievement is desire. "

Silence is Golden

 

The past cannot be changed.
The future is yet in your power."
- Hugh White


The sad truth is that most evil is done by people who never make up their minds to be good or evil.
- Hannah Arendt

STANFORD ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PHILOSOPHY

http://plato.stanford.edu/