There were some interesting numbers thrown around today about the fastest growing segment of the beverage industry, and it isn't bottled water either. At prices comparable to a "designer" cup of coffee, energy drinks grossed more than $1 billion in sales last year. So it's not very surprising young people consider energy drinks "the coffee" of their generation, serving as a stay-awake stimulant for all-night studying or partying.

But are they really healthy for you?

Take Red Bull, probably the most popular brand of the bunch. The typical 8-ounce can contains 80 mg of caffeine, comparable to a cup of coffee, but more than twice as much as the typical 12-ounce can of soft drink. And when young people aren't drinking them at the office to stay awake, they're mixed with alcohol at the local bar to become "Vodka Bulls" or "Yager Bombs" to keep them going on the dance floor.

However, that caffeine/alcohol mix been deadly in some parts of the world. So much so, some European countries have banned sales of Red Bull, following several deaths of people who mixed the energy drink with alcohol. Nevertheless, Red Bull remains an "approved product," according to FDA guidelines anyway.

Even more disturbing: Anheuser-Busch, one of the nation's leading beer distributors, has been test-marketing B(E), a caffeinated beer with ginseng and guarana, in Boston and other cities for the past three months.

In reality, people really don't need that artificial rush of energy when, by nature, they aren't tired or sluggish in the first place. So let's put the blame for the popularity of these drinks where it belongs: Sedentary lifestyles, poor eating habits, negative emotions and no exercise regimen come immediately to mind.

Folks, there's no quick fix cure that will improve your energy levels, perhaps other than a lethal one. Here's some steps you can take to optimize your health right now:

• Increase your intake of omega-3 fats.
• Optimize your diet based on your body's unique metabolic type.
• Eliminate grains and sugars from your diet.

WGAL-TV February 4, 2005

Boston Globe February 2, 2005

If you read this blog regularly, you know one of my favorite topics to write about is the undeniable link between physical health and your emotions. Needless ongoing stress, in the form of worry, can make people, particularly Caucasians, an easy target of Alzheimer's disease later on, according to a new study. The likely culprit: Chronic elevations of stress hormones that may damage regions of the brain regulating behavior under stress and memory.

Researchers asked some 1,100 people (age 65 or older) about their tendency toward worry and stress, then examined them three to six years later to determine if they had developed Alzheimer's disease. People who appeared prone to feeling distressed were more than twice as likely to develop Alzheimer's disease during that time period.

However, researchers were very adamant about emphasizing the connection between the two doesn't mean one causes the other. I don't have those same concerns because, in nearly all of the patients I've seen, stress was a key factor in the cause of their illnesses. In fact, stress affects the immune system in many destructive ways. It can also lead to negative impacts on these functions:

• Blood pressure
• Cholesterol
• Brain chemistry
• Blood sugar levels
• Hormonal balance

Since you cannot eliminate stress, you can work to provide your body with tools to compensate for the bioelectrical short-circuiting that can cause the serious disruption of many of your body's important systems.

One tool I've found to be invaluable for handling stress is the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), the energy psychology tool I use daily in my practice. EFT is a form of psychological acupressure, based on the same energy meridians used in traditional acupuncture to treat physical and emotional ailments for more than 5,000 years, but without the invasiveness of needles. Learn how to use it by downloading my free EFT manual.

Yahoo News February 4, 2005

A growing number of experts are beginning to understand the true implications behind a recent World Health Organization (WHO) study that found established growth tables used to chart a baby's development may be overestimating how quickly infants should be putting on weight. In many cases, parents may be overfeeding their babies. That fact alone may explain why adults are fatter than ever, fueling the worldwide obesity epidemic.

The discrepancy stems from feeding babies formula versus breast milk based on child development growth charts and studies more than two decades old. Because formula-fed babies gained weight faster, doctors were concerned about the health of infants who drank breast milk and grew more slowly. In fact, those same charts suggested many breastfed children were failing to thrive, even after just two or three months, although breast milk provides babies with the best possible combination of nutrients.

The target weights for 2- and 3-year-olds were about 20 percent too high, according to the WHO study of some 8,000 children in six countries. For example, the outdated charts recommend a 1-year-old can weigh up to about 28 pounds, 2 pounds heavier than the true healthier weight, which is why the WHO will release new growth charts based on breast-fed babies by year's end.

Gaining weight at a normal is only one of many reasons why new mothers should breastfeed their babies:

• Strengthens a baby's immune system.
• Improves brain function.
• Calms their emotions.
• Reduces a mother's risk of cancer.
• Helps mothers return to their pre-pregnancy weight faster.
• Saves time and money.

For important information about providing the proper nutrition for your baby, I strongly recommend reading one of the more popular articles on my Web site: the infant formula fortification protocol.

BBC News February 4, 2005

Growing demand in all things "natural" and "organic" has pushed some fast-food restaurants into a new arena: "Natural" chicken. On the national scene, Panera Bread and Chipolte already sell natural chicken sandwiches and dishes at a slight higher price than their regular fare and fast-food giant Arby's will soon follow suit.

Arby's is currently testing its "All Chicken Chicken" in salads and sandwiches in four states and plans to sell it in all their locations nationwide by the end of 2005. That is, if enough "natural" chicken is available to Arby's and others.

The main reason behind the push: Health concerns about meats ranging from E. coli bacteria to mad cow disease. In fact, one restaurant executive believes consumers want more information about the food they eat. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, placing the "natural" label on chicken means it is minimally processed and contains no hormones, antibiotics or artificial ingredients.

This push for "natural" products is certainly a good step in the right direction, and somewhat convenient if you're in a huge hurry. But they aren't as good for your health as free-range, organic chicken. The big difference? Free-range chickens have plenty of room to roam and eat their entirely natural diets and grow and live free of stress. This will make all the difference in terms of their health and taste value to you.

If you're looking for some good ways to cook whole foods on the run -- and keep your day job -- I strongly recommend reviewing Colleen Huber's excellent article on this topic.

USA Today February 4, 2005

Yesterday, I wrote about the power of positive emotions and how they can delay the aging process naturally in relation to a study about joy and humor and the ability to see life's "bigger picture." I came across another study this morning that I believe ties both in a huge way. Researchers have found youth doesn't always triumph over age. Fact is, the aging process actually improves certain abilities, according to the study. Older people appear to be better and faster at grasping the big picture than their younger counterparts.

Using computer-generated stimuli, scientists monitored how much time subjects needed to process information about the direction in which a set of bars moved. When the bars were small, or projected in low contrast, younger subjects took less time to see the direction of motion. But, when the bars were larger, and in high contrast, older subjects outperformed the younger ones.

These results go beyond the "odd case" of older people merely having better vision than younger people, however, because it may say something about how aging affects the way signals are processed in the brain, researchers said. The implication: The ability of one older brain cell to inhibit another is reduced. It's that kind of mental acuity that allows older people to really see the larger picture, while younger people have more inhibited brains that only see the big things. I believe this clarity of vision comes from a positive place deep within us that works in concert with our body to promote better health.

If you're having trouble with the details, I strongly recommend learning the Emotional Freedom Technique, the energy psychology tool I use in my practice every day. This noninvasive tool will help sharpen your mind and promote improved physical health.

Science Blog February 3, 2005

Ever wondered what you might look and feel like in five years, if you stopped exercising and retired to "couch potatodom," started drinking heavily and indulged in any and every food craving you desired, every chance you got? If you can't imagine that, a "high-tech mirror" of sorts will do it for you.

Scientists at Accenture Technology's lab in France have replaced that mirror "on the wall" with a flat-screen LCD TV linked to a set of cameras and a super-charged image-processing computer. The system captures images of the subject taken all over a subject's house about his or her daily habits that are sent to a computer to build a lifestyle profile. And it will record the time you spent sitting on a couch and all those trips to the cookie jar too.

After the computer creates a profile, this system creates a digitally modified image showing the unhealthy effect of all those bad habits five years down the road, with the press of a button. Accenture says its system will feature several options for visual feedback. For example, if you eat and drink too much, your image will be modified to account for the extra weight, early wrinkles and poor skin.

The company hopes to complete its "mirror" by mid-year, if the behaviour recognition and image processing software can be finished in time. They want their system to work in real time, giving the user a genuine sense of looking into a mirror and seeing the ghosts of today's excesses being projected into the future.

Can you imagine what kind of image that mirror would reveal, if you made the conscious decision to optimize your diet according to your body's unique metabolic type and began an exercise program today?

New Scientist February 2, 2005

You may recall one of the more popular articles I've posted in recent months: A pair of studies that demonstrate how positive emotions can lead to a far healthier quality of life as well as slow down the aging process. Along those same lines comes a new study from the University of Michigan that demonstrates how emotions like joy and humor work to help people better understand "the big picture" that can eliminate societal problems like racial bias.

Joy and happiness go far to promote the long-term survival and big-picture thinking that makes people more gregarious and inclusive and notice more details about the world around them. Viewing the world this way prevents people from thinking, for example, members of other races "all look alike," according to the lead researcher. On the other hand, negative emotions create a kind of "a tunnel vision" that's only useful for short-term situations, like the immediate danger one might feel being chased by a dangerous animal.

To simulate the quick glance of a stranger, scientists flashed photos of individuals for about a half second in random order after reading a book or watching a movie that would influence their emotions positively, negatively or neutrally. Although participants recognized members of their own race 75 percent of the time, they only noticed members of another race 65 percent of the time. However, researchers found positive emotions boosted that recognition of cross-race faces about 10 to 20 percent, eliminating the gap.

Just another great example conventional medicine is starting to come around to my way of thinking, meaning the strong connection between the healing process and emotional health. If you read my blog often, you know how much I believe the spirit within us works in concert with our bodies to strengthen the whole person. And that negative thoughts and emotions eventually hurt your body in some way.

Some tools to help you maintain a positive outlook and improve your overall health:

• Journaling
• Meditation
• Prayer
• The Emotional Freedom Technique

EurekAlert February 1, 2005

Last week, I posted a blog about the flattening market for erectile dysfunction medications in this country to a mere $1.2 billion. A new study may explain one of the reasons why: Erectile dysfunction can be the first and earliest sign of a more serious cardiovascular condition.

Traditionally, erectile dysfunction has traditionally been seen as a secondary complication to heart disease, diabetes and other vascular illnesses. However, key findings in various clinical research studies have shown erectile dysfunction was often present prior to the diagnosis of these other conditions. This strong association is now being considered an important barometer of a man's overall cardiovascular health and an early symptom of a more generalized vascular problem, according to the study.

The early recognition of erectile dysfunction, particularly among African-Americans and Hispanics, may lead to an earlier diagnosis of previously undetected cardiovascular risk factors and subclinical vascular disease, according to the study. That's extremely important, considering African-American men have a higher likelihood (20 percent) of erectile dysfunction problems than Caucasians.

If erectile dysfunction is a problem for you, there are several inexpensive, safe and healthy alternatives, none of which include taking a drug.

• The neurotransmitter that causes the sexual message, in men and women, is acetlycholine (ACH). With too little ACH, sexual activity goes down. One way to safely and effectively enhance ACH levels in the body is to take choline supplements (1,000-3,000 mg) and vitamin B5 (500-1,500 mg).
• Studies have shown active men who engage in regular physical activity lowered their risk of experiencing erectile dysfunction. So start an exercise program guys!
• Optimize your diet based on your body's unique metabolic type.
• Because erectile dysfunction can worsen due to stress and anxiety, take control of your emotions by learning the Emotional Freedom Technique, the proven energy psychology tool I use daily in my practice.

Science Daily February 2, 2005

Journal of Sexual Medicine Volume 2, Issue 1 January 2005

The boom in new biotech crops appears to be waning, perhaps due to government regulation, according to a report by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI).

These days, the group reports new biotech crops can twice as long to be approved. That slowdown may likely explained by the dual approvals necessary at the federal level by the FDA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to approve them. The slowdown, CSPI reports, has been particularly acute since 2000 when three or fewer crops were approved by both agencies.

Over the past decade, however, biotechnology has become a huge presence in the American agriculture scene in terms of the percentage of biotech crop acreage being planted, according to Department of Agriculture statistics.

• Soy -- 82 percent
• Cotton -- 76 percent
• Canola -- 75 percent
• Corn and papaya -- 46 percent
• Summer squash -- 19 percent

And, since 1996, biotech crops have exploded by a factor of 47 globally.

Despite the decrease in biotech approvals reported by CSPI in this country, I'm still greatly concerned about this issue. For instance, a recent study found you have a 70 percent chance of picking a food with genetically modified (GM) ingredients off the shelf at your local grocery store. At least seven out of every 10 items have been genetically modified. And, that's far different than the perception consumers have about knowingly eating such foods...

If you want to learn more about the problems with GM foods, I strongly recommend reading the incredible series, Seeds of Doubt, written by staffers at the Sacramento Bee. I also encourage you to learn more about the simple ways you can avoid GM foods.

USA Today February 3, 2005

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a destructive and painful disease that makes the joints stiffen and swell. Failing to treat it could condemn a person to a lifetime of misery, as much of the damage of RA is irreversible. Once the joints are destroyed there is no way to bring them back. That pain also masks other unrecognized damage in the form of more silent, unrecognized heart attacks and sudden cardiac deaths, according to a new Mayo Clinic study.

Moreover, RA patients not only have a higher risk of coronary heart disease than those in the general population, but they are far less likely to complain of chest pains. Even worse, this higher risk could be present even before a RA diagnosis.

By the numbers:

• In the two years prior to their diagnosis, RA patients were three times more likely to have been hospitalized for an acute heart attack and five times more likely to have an unrecognized heart attack.
• Most RA patients didn't have a history of chest pain.
• After their diagnosis, RA patients were twice as likely to experience unrecognized heart attacks and sudden cardiac deaths.

Even worse, these increased cardiac events could not be explained by an increase in traditional heart disease risk factors such as elevated cholesterol, blood pressure and body mass index, diabetes and alcohol abuse, researchers said.

There are a number of natural remedies I've documented on my Web site that can relieve RA symptoms and protect your heart at the same time:

• Individualizing your diet with metabolic typing principles is an absolutely amazing way to improve the results of treating RA, as it is an autoimmune disease.
• Energy psychology tools like the Emotional Freedom Technique are important to use, because we rarely find someone with a serious autoimmune disease like RA who has no emotional wounds to overcome.
• Optimize your nutrition by balancing your ratios of omega-3 and omega-6 fats by taking a high quality fish or cod liver oil.
• Start exercising!

EurekAlert February 3, 2005

Another sign people are starting to pay closer attention to the healthier eating habits of the Far East: Kelp seaweed, the kind you find walking along the beach, may be emerging as a new cancer-fighting food, specifically to treat breast cancer, according to a new study.

Scientists discovered a diet containing kelp seaweed, a little studied nutrient, lowered levels of the potent sex hormone estradiol in rats, raising hopes it may decrease the risk of estrogen-dependent diseases. The type of kelp used in this study -- bladderwrack seaweed (Fucus vesiculosus) -- is closely related to wakame and kombu, the brown seaweeds most commonly consumed in Japan and the primary form of kelp sold in this country.

Prior studies have shown Japanese women have longer menstrual cycles and lower serum estradiol levels than their Western counterparts, which researchers say may contribute to their lower rates of breast, endometrial and ovarian cancers.

Researchers randomly divided 24 female rats into three groups that received either a high (70 milligrams) or low dose (35 milligrams) of dried, powdered kelp for four weeks (roughly equivalent to the amount of brown seaweed eaten by people in Japan) or none at all. After taking daily vaginal swabs to monitor the rats' menstrual cycles, researchers found their estrous cycles increased from an average of 4.3 to 5.4 days for the low dose kelp group, and to 5.9 days for the high dose kelp group.

Overall, dietary kelp resulted in a 37 percent increase in the length of a rat's estrous cycle. Why is that so important? Human studies have linked longer menstrual cycles to a lower risk of breast, ovarian and endometrial cancers. By having fewer periods, researchers say, less time is spent overall in phases where hormone levels and breast and endometrial cell proliferation are at their highest.

Journal of Nutrition 35:296-300, February 2005

Science Blog February 2, 2005

If you're having a rough week and you enjoyed a very popular video clip I posted last year -- a classic meeting between Jerry Seinfeld and Superman -- watch this clip to learn more about an innovative alert system every man should be aware of for his own protection. And everyone's enjoyment...

This is strictly for entertainment purposes. However, if you're a woman suffering from the conditions described amusingly in this video clip, review this previous story for more information that can really help you safely, sanely and without drugs.

AG.com February 2, 2005

Alzheimer's disease is so incredibly difficult to treat once patients are in its advanced stages, I'm not at all surprised most physicians -- and family members -- throw up their hands in total frustration and take the easy way out. Meaning toxic drugs being used to calm them down.

More often than not, drugs can often do far more harm than good. The same is true even when it comes to using drugs to lessen the behavioral problems that come with Alzheimer's disease, according to a new study featured in this week's Journal of the American Medical Association. They just don't work that well, but doctors feel enormous pressure to prescribe them anyway... Why?

• Drugs like Prozac and Tegretol don't offer much relief, if any, researchers said, because they were designed for "treating" younger people, not older patients with advanced Alzheimer's.
• Medications available to "treat" memory problems associated with Alzheimer's (cholinesterase inhibitors) did ease some symptoms. However, the more disruptive patients never seemed to get enough relief from them.
• The atypical class of antipsychotic drugs (risperidone or olanzapine) made patients more sleepy but increased their risk of a stroke too.

The best treatments researchers found were far safer and saner than drugs: The natural calming power of pets as well as music therapy.

Journal of the American Medical Association Vol. 293 No. 5, February 2, 2005 596-608.

USA Today February 2, 2005

One of the more persistent health myths going: Health "experts" and the media preaching the dangers of sun exposure to your health. That's completely wrong because everyone needs sunshine to maintain their optimal health. A pair of new studies go along way toward debunking the mythical link between skin cancer and sun exposure.

In a Danish study on lymphoma, ultraviolet rays from the sun and sun lamps reduced a patient's risk of developing cancer by as much as 40 percent. The findings were based on interviews with some 6,000 patients, including more than 3,000 who suffered from non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Researchers at the University of New Mexico -- studying the influence of sun exposure on the mortality rate of patients suffering from malignant melanomas -- found those with higher levels of sun exposure were less likely to die than their fellow melanoma patients who didn't. The authors believe sun exposure increases the production of vitamin D which reduces one's risk of cancer.

Glad to read conventional medicine may be finally coming around to the fact that maintaining optimal vitamin D levels -- by having them tested -- is one of the most important things you can do to prevent and treat cancers.

The safest way to do that is through sun exposure, but many of us are not able to do that in the winter, and some of us prefer to stay indoors in the summer. For those who don't get enough, taking a high-quality fish or cod liver oil is a reasonable alternative, and more important than any supplement because it is an essential food.

BBC News February 1, 2005

I devote much of my writing time on this blog and Web site to keep you informed about the horrible effects the conventional health care paradigm can have on your body and mind and to share my insights about safer, healthier means to keep you and yours out of harm's way. A new study demonstrates, rather starkly, how the rampant greed displayed throughout this poor excuse for "a health care system" devastates the sick in a far different way: In their pocketbooks.

An estimated 700,000 households are forced to file for bankruptcy protection every year thanks to medical problems, which amount to about half of all bankrupcies in the U.S. Among the 2 million people affected by the withering touch of bankrupcy as a result of medical calamities: 700,000 children and 600,000 spouses, elderly parents and other dependents.

More astonishing facts:

• More than 75 percent of the families who filed for bankruptcy had health insurance. Still, about a third had lost their coverage temporarily by the time they had filed.
• People who suffered the highest out-of-pocket costs (about $18,000): Those who had medical coverage but lost it during the course of their illness.
• Many families were bankrupted by medical expenses well below the catastrophic thresholds of high deductible plans that are increasingly popular with employers.

With the cooperation of bankruptcy judges in five states, researchers sent questionnaires to 1,771 filers and reviewed their court records. Illness and medical bills contributed to at least 46.2 percent, and as many as 54.5 percent, of all bankruptcy filings.

I'm convinced most of this financial devastation could have been avoided had the conventional health care mindset -- an environment in which professionals are "addicted" to expensive, toxic and unnecessary cures -- focused on treating conditions that get to the true heart of disease. That's the short version of the vision my staff and I work toward making a reality every day.

EurekAlert February 2, 2005

Health Affairs February 2, 2005 (free full text article)

Last week, I read an amusing item about what a British researcher called "the worst day of the year." His mathematical calculations -- based on foul weather, debt, fading Christmas memories, failed resolutions and a lack of motivation -- estimated we've just passed our worst day: Jan. 24. Didn't buy that one then, but thought it was worth a chuckle.

A new study by Japanese researchers made me reconsider my initial reaction. Seems that, of the seven days of the week, Mondays could indeed be the most dangerous of them all. Some interesting factoids:

• Blood pressure readings are higher on Mondays than at any other time of the week.
• Deaths from heart attacks and strokes tend to peak on Monday morning.
• There are 20 percent more heart attacks on Mondays than any other day.

To record changes over the course of a week, researchers fitted 175 patients with a device that measures their blood pressure round-the-clock. The results showed a surge in readings in those getting ready to go back to work on a Monday morning. However, patients who slept through that time didn't experience an increase, suggesting work-related stress is to blame.

Not surprising, because the way we perceive and tolerate the obstacles in our lives -- stress -- is completely tied into the ongoing state of our health. In fact, it's a key factor for nearly all the patients I see because it plays a major role in their immune systems, and often leads to higher blood pressure and cholesterol levels too.

You can work to provide your body with tools to compensate for the bioelectrical short-circuiting that can cause serious disruption in many of your body's important systems. I've found the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), the energy psychology tool I use daily in my practice, can be very useful to battle the dual effects of stress and depression. A form of psychological acupressure, EFT is based on the same energy meridians used in traditional acupuncture to treat physical and emotional ailments for more than 5,000 years, but without the invasiveness of needles.

I strongly urge you to review my free online manual to learn how to use this effective tool.

There's no questioning the power of prayer either. So many studies have documented it and the science that proves its healing power is very solid.

BBC News January 31, 2005

A powerful story featured in today's Los Angeles Times -- quickly becoming one of my all-time favorite newspapers in the world -- reports "far-reaching reforms" will be implemented by the National Institutes of Science (NIH) today, aimed at ending any questions regarding conflicts of interest. Among them:

• All staff scientists will be banned from accepting any consulting fees or other income from drug companies, professional societies and other outside entities.
• Employees must divest drug industry stock holdings.
• Government employees will be allowed to accept paid outside positions as physicians at hospitals or in other clinical settings and fees in some circumstances from universities for teaching or writing and editing services.

These reforms far surpass measures once proposed by current NIH director, Dr. Elias A. Zerhouni. These rules could be altered after a year, but most officials believe the changes to be permanent.

Just in the nick of time too. The Department of Health and Human Services has opened an investigation on one NIH researcher who accepted more than $500,000 from a drug company without seeking the required permission or reporting the income to the agency from 1998-2003.

Los Angeles Times February 1, 2005

Los Angeles Times January 28, 2005

Up to now, the only definitive way to diagnose Alzheimer's disease has been to study brain tissue during an autopsy, much too late to do anything about it. A new test developed by two researchers at Northwestern University could help physicians diagnose and treat Alzheimer's much earlier in the game. The bio-barcode assay test, said to be up to 1 million times more sensitive than others, detects a protein in the brain -- amyloid-beta-derived diffusable ligand (ADDL) -- associated with Alzheimer's. (The same test was used last year to detect a marker for prostate cancer.)

Researchers compared samples of spinal fluid from 30 patients, evenly divided between those who did and didn't have Alzheimer's. Researchers detected some level of ADDL in each patient, implying a baseline of the protein exists. Also, the concentration of ADDL increases as the disease gets worse, so the progression of Alzheimer's could be followed.

Nevertheless, scientists weren't ready to proclaim victory just yet, citing the need for the process to be repeated on more patients and more studies on ADDL levels in relation to other diseases related to memory loss.

Why is this test called "bio-barcode"? To detect ADDL, researchers used nanoscale particles that had antibodies specific to these small soluble proteins. Some particles were magnetic and others of gold with strings of DNA attached. These antibodies bind to ADDL, sandwiching the protein between the two particles. Then, ADDL is removed from the solution magnetically and the hundreds to thousands of DNA strands attached to the gold particles serve as a barcode because they can be used to label the specific target with standard detection methods.

Not surprising people are so interested in tests like this one, considering the recent spike in Alzheimer's cases foreshadows a potential "public health disaster" that could potentially turn into an unmanageable health care crisis. What's important for you to understand: Alzheimer's disease is not a normal part of aging, and there are natural and safer ways to reduce your chances of succumbing to it.

• Eat a nutritious diet based on your body's unique metabolic type.
• Develop a daily exercise routine.
• Avoid mercury at all costs.
• Avoid aluminum.
• Challenge your mind.

USA Today February 1, 2005

Did Pfizer knowingly conceal a study that casts its controversial COX-2 inhibitor Celebrex in an unfavorable light? The Public Citizen's Health Research Group (PCHRG) seems to think so. They accused the pharmaceutical giant yesterday of hiding a study that found patients were more likely -- 3.5 times in fact -- to suffer from a stroke, heart attack or other cardiovascular problems.

Sidney Wolfe of the PCHRG notified the FDA that his group, not so surprisingly, had found the lost study last week after his group petitioned the agency to ban Celebrex and Bextra, the remaining COX-2 inhibitors available domestically. However, he found it on a Web site run by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers Association (PhRMA).

Pfizer claims it didn't hide the study, and that it was presented five years ago at a meeting and sent to the FDA the following year. But the study of some 400 Alzheimer's patients in which Celebrex was never submitted to a medical journal for review either. Moreover, Wolfe was skeptical of the study posted on the PhRMA site, because the point of randomized trials is to eliminate patient differences that could affect the results.

With all this evidence piling up, it makes me feel, one day in the not-too-distant future, these COX-2 inhibitors could be off the market entirely, not that people ever really needed them to relieve their pain. If you're having problems with pain, I urge you to review one of my more popular articles on the seven safe ways to protect your heart with natural alternatives.

Yahoo News January 31, 2005

USA Today February 1, 2005

A couple of weeks ago, a consumer group took its dispute with the makers of Splenda over misleading claims in its advertising -- that blurred the line between natural and artificial -- to the Federal Trade Commission. Now, a number of lawsuits have sprung up disputing those same claims, including class-action cases filed by individual consumers, the Texas Consumer Association and one more obvious plaintiff: The Sugar Association.

The assault began after Merisant, the maker of Equal, filed its lawsuit on Nov. 26, arguing McNeil Nutritionals' claim that Splenda is "made from sugar, so it tastes like sugar."

Not so surprisingly, here's the response from a McNeil spokesperson about the lawsuits, apart from the claim consumers are "naturally" choosing their low-calorie product over the real thing: "We have never represented Splenda as being natural." (Take a look to the right at the accompanying image and judge for yourself if that's true.)

Imagine how hard it would be to sell Splenda if McNeil, a division of pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson, had to replace the "Made From Sugar" tag line beneath its logo to "Made from dextrose, maltodextrin and 4-chloro-4-deoxy-alpha, D-Galactopyranosyl-1, 6-dichloro-1, 6-dideoxy-beta, D-fructofuranoside"?

Despite the controversy, Splenda controls more than half of the national market for low calorie sweeteners, based on dollar volume. And its use in processed foods seems to be growing exponentially, to the degree McNeil isn't making enough of it.

Before you take the Splenda "plunge," consider whether you want to expose your body to these awful side effects:

• Diarrhea
• An aborted pregnancy
• Atrophy of lymph follicles in the spleen and thymus
• Reduced growth rate
• Decreased red blood cell count

I can't stress enough how important it is, for the health of you and your family, to review my extensive Splenda testimonials pages, filled with heartbreaking stories about the toxic effects this artificial product has inflicted. You'll be glad you did.

Yahoo News January 31, 2005

The Beverage Network January 31, 2005

Making wiser and safer alternative choices about your health decisions is apparently becoming much more mainstream these days, according to this awesome piece in today's New York Times, my favorite newspaper in the world.

The article discusses the personal journeys of three women whose health conditions were often mishandled and, not surprisingly, ignored in lieu of treatments that often did them or their loved ones no good, and sought out alternative treatments that were, for the most part, effective. The commonalities of their experiences speak volumes about the shift in thinking about what constitutes good health care:

• They were affected in some way by a personal health care crisis or death that spurred them to scrutinize the conventional health care paradigm and take better responsibility for their health.
• Conventional health care physicians weren't interested in what their patients believed their problems to be, reducing them to a diagnosis to be solved, cured or, in one case, ignored, rather than being treated.
• Naturopathic physicians, on the other hand, listened to their patients and observed their patients, ultimately helping them.

No wonder almost half of all American adults have opted for alternative treatments at least once in 2004, a jump from 42 percent a decade ago, another sign my vision for a better and safer health care paradigm is quickly becoming a reality.

If you want to learn more about naturopathy and what it can do for you, please read future naturopathic doctor Colleen Huber's excellent piece I posted on my Web site late last year.

New York Times February 3, 2006 Registration Required

If you read my blog regularly, I post frequent warnings about some the health-harming side effects connected to "one-stop-cures" like gastric bypass, weight-loss medications and even over-the-counter pain relievers. A recent study has finally acknowledged some dangerous side effects I posted six years ago on my Web site: The use of anticholinergic drugs may mimic the early signs of dementia.

Anticholinergic medications are often prescribed to "cure" problems such as incontinence, anxiety, stiffness and sleep problems, seemingly at the expense of one's cholinergic system, consisting of neurotransmitters that regulate much of our mental functioning, particularly related to memory, according to the lead researcher.

Of more than 350 elderly patients monitored over eight years for the study, 10 percent of them had been using anticholinergics for a while. Patients who used them generally had poorer cognitive abilities, and 85 percent were diagnosed as having mild cognitive impairment, more than twice the percentage of patients who didn't take them.

The best way to protect and enhance your health so you won't need to rely on toxic, health-harming drugs and procedures begins with a decision on your end to make some lifestyle changes. You'll begin to move in the right direction if you pay closer attention to what foods your body burns best. You can find out by taking my free online test that will help you determine your body's unique metabolic type.

British Medical Journal February 1, 2006

MSNBC January 31, 2006

It's no secret strong negative emotions hurt you physically, as a number of studies have shown high levels of anger can lead to heart problems, including coronary heart disease. Incidents of anger may also dangerously elevate a patient's risk of injury dramatically, and men in particular.

Based on a study of more than 2,000 patients treated in an emergency room after falls, car accidents and other traumas, the presence of anger dramatically raised the risk of physical injury by almost a factor of eight among men!

Researchers compared the emotional state of patients just before the accidents that led to their emergency room visit, as well as the previous day. In turn, patient responses were compared to those collected in a random sampling of adults.

For women, only extreme bouts of anger and hostility triggered an increased risk of injury, but men felt it far worse. Being extremely angry raised a man's risk of injury almost eight times and even moderate anger created a spike in physical harm. Interestingly and despite the phenomena of road rage in recent years, scientists found no proof anger increased a patient's risk of being in a car accident.

Folks, there's no question stress harms your health in so many ways, inside and out. But the best treatments for negative emotions don't come in the form of a drug. Among the many natural treatments available to you, the Emotional Freedom Technique -- the energy psychology tool used in my practice daily -- is among the most effective at getting to the heart of your problem.

Annals of Family Medicine, Vol. 4, No. 1, January/February 2006: 63-68

MSNBC February 1, 2006

Yesterday, I told you about a new book that takes a hard look at all the promises made by the Baby Bells who were paid through our tax dollars to create a high-speed internet infrastructure throughout America that never happened.

This follow-up piece (free text link below) looks at the other side of the problem, and one that affects Americans directly: U.S. residents and businesses pay two to three times as much for slower and poorer quality service than countries like South Korea and Japan. Since 2001, according to the International Telecommunications Union, the United States has fallen from fourth to 16th in the world in broadband penetration.

What passes for broadband in the United States is "the slowest, most expensive and least reliable in the developed world." While about 60 percent of U.S. households do not subscribe to broadband -- because it is either unavailable where they live or they cannot afford it -- most Japanese citizens can access a high-speed connection that's more than 10 times faster than what's available here for just $22 a month.

In fact, Japan is now rolling out ultra-high speed access at more than 500 times what the FCC considers to be "broadband" in this country.

By now, you've probably figured out America has become a follower -- not a leader -- in the broadband economy ahead, and the economic ramifications are profound.

Digital Communities

A few months ago, an insightful report in the British Medical Journal argued brilliantly that antidepressants offer no meaningful benefit and emotional problems can be better handled without taking a toxic drug. Here's another health-harming reason to stay away from them: Antidepressants may affect your immune system too.

Antidepressants like Prozac work to blunt depression by allowing serotonin to linger around nerve junctions in the brain. Serotonin, according to new research, has another important function, as a signaling molecule between dendritic and T cells, two kinds of immune cells.

Dendritic cells pick up serotonin where inflammation arises, then passes it on to T cells that influence the development of new cells. Treating those cells with Prozac blocked the movement of serotonin from dendritic to T cells.

More evidence you should be avoiding antidepressants altogether, and using safer, healthier options that have nothing at all to do with taking a pill, to treat the true cause of your problem.

Blood, Vol. 107, No. 3, February 1, 2006: 1010-1017

Yahoo News January 27, 2006

You know the lack of sunshine, especially during the colder months of the year, can jump-start Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). Those effects can be particularly profound for those of you who work nights, hardly ever get enough sunshine and may be oversleeping or overeating as a result.

Add drowsiness to the list of problems, based on a small study of 16 patients attempting to stay awake during the night at Boston-based Brigham and Women's Hospital.

Researchers found a simple solution to their sluggishness which, not surprisingly, had nothing at all to do with taking a drug. Exposing them to short-wavelength light blue light did the trick in treating their fatigue immediately.

That's why I'm constantly reminding you the light that hits your skin every day has a powerful impact on your health as well as your energy level. If you're having problems with constant sluggishness -- day or night -- consider making an investment in the full spectrum light boxes I sell in my Web store. These full spectrum light boxes offer the very same healthy "ingredients" you'd naturally receive in the sunshine, including the full spectrum of color as well as infrared and the three ultra violet wavelengths.

Apart from the full spectrum light boxes I sell in my Web store, no light source, not even "regular" or "natural" light bulbs or fluorescent light bulbs, can make that claim.

Live Science February 1, 2006

Sleep, Vol. 29. No. 2, February 1, 2006: 161-168

Billions of people are drugged legally and needlessly throughout the free world, while more simpler, safer and healthier solutions are attacked and ignored, despite their proven efficacy. If that sounds familiar to you, those safer non-drug solutions are a major cornerstone of my vision for reforming the current and fractured health care paradigm.

I stumbled across a great example of an unwarranted attack on natural treatments in a American Academy of Dermatology press release that casts considerable doubt on all the recent studies touting sunshine as your best source of vitamin D.

Two so-called "expert" dermatologists advise patients to get their vitamin D from fortified processed foods and nutritional supplements instead of unprotected sun exposure. Moreover, anyone who says otherwise "is doing a tremendous disservice to the public."

Fact is, sunshine is the best and most natural way to get all the vitamin D you need, so long as you do it in moderation -- starting slowly with 5-10 minutes a day and adding more time as the weeks go by.

And, if you have a tough time getting an ample amount of sunshine every day -- especially during the cold of winter -- rather than lean on health-harming processed foods, take a high quality, vitamin D enriched cod liver oil instead.

Yahoo Finance January 30, 2006

Seems the debate over drinking alcohol for medical reasons has escalated a great deal over the past year, with the latest study touting its ability to lower your risk of diabetes. However, alcohol consumption -- in concert with smoking -- may be the cause of several cancers, according to a report from the International Agency for Research on Cancer.

Fact is, the more you drink, the greater risk you have of cancers to the larynx, esophagus, liver, colon and breast. And cancer may be linked to lung and pancreatic cancer too.

By the numbers, "a sizeable proportion" of cancer cases can be attributed to alcohol intake throughout the world, and, in particular, eastern Asia and central and eastern Europe. The news is worse for developing countries, as almost 2 million deaths were linked to alcohol.

Nevertheless, scientists were quick to advise patients not to stop drinking completely, as they believe moderate alcohol consumption protects against cardiovascular disease. That said, I remain highly skeptical of such findings, and believe the alcohol contained in wine, beer and liquor is a neurotoxin that can poison your brain. And, the presence of alcohol can seriously harm your hormonal balance too.

Yahoo News January 30, 2006

Despite the obstacles erected by big business interests, I remain excited about the promise of cheap wireless Internet access via city-funded WiFi networks. Unfortunately, cheap is relative, considering Americans may have already paid through the nose to the tune of $200 billion for promised upgrades to existing broadband infrastructures that never happened.

That's the essence of a new e-book, The $200 Billion Broadband Scandal, written by Bruce Kushnick (a telecom analyst for nearly a quarter-century), outlining the scam job that allowed the Baby Bells to push for tax concessions and other financial perks at the state level. In return, customers got higher phone bills and nothing else in return, and certainly not robust broadband networks.

Besides detailing how the Baby Bells exerted pressure on state regulatory agencies to loosen up their purse strings, Kushnick paints an alarming portrait of America's digital future. One in which Japan and Korea are now taking the lead in the digital world in terms of innovation because greedy American telephony executives were too busy lining their own pockets with cash and fattening up their stock prices at the expense of America's financial health, squandering the future of our children for thicker wallets.

Sounds much like the shell game drug companies play in recycling "new and improved versions" of older drugs just to maintain patents on their health-harming products and keep that steady flow of cash coming.

MuniWireless.com February 1, 2006

Fatal Flaws in New Review of Omega-3 / Cancer Prevention Link

Last week the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) published a piece that could have dire health consequences for you if you decide to follow its conclusions.

It provided the results of a new review of previous studies containing data on people's estimated intake of omega-3 fatty acids and their health. The authors of this "meta-analysis" concluded that omega-3 fatty acids are not likely to prevent cancer. Unfortunately, due to the sensationalist nature of these "findings," it is picking up steam in the mass media and being presented there as truth when in fact it is anything but the truth.

The main issue is that experts consider the data analyzed for this study inadequate and unreliable. World renowned fatty acid researcher William E. M. Lands, Ph.D., and widely cited omega-3/cancer researcher W. Elaine Hardman, Ph.D. have pointed out multiple flaws with the previous studies analyzed, such as:

• Failed to determine or consider two key factors: omega-6 intake and overall dietary patterns over time.
• Did not distinguish between intake of plant omega-3s versus intake of marine omega-3s, or between lean and fatty fish, whose omega-3 content can vary by factors of 10 to 20.
• Participants' diets were relatively low in fish (e.g., one-half serving per week), hence also low in marine omega-3s in many of the studies that showed no cancer-preventive benefit.
• Cancers take years or decades to develop, but most of the population studies took only brief snapshots of participants' dietary habits.

Meanwhile, extensive and strong evidence has shown that omega-3 from fish can indeed help prevent cancer. Furthermore, other studies have demonstrated it can be very highly effective at helping to fight depression, fight inflammatory diseases, allergy prevention, and at fighting many other diseases as well.

In my two-decades-plus of clinical experience as a physician, I have witnessed this same strong correlation between fish oil and improved health. Regularly consuming fish oil and clean, healthy fish is one of the strongest recommendations I make, as Americans are so dangerously deficient in omega-3s from marine life.

WARNING: Fish would be one of the planet's healthiest foods except for one very dangerous and sad issue -- nearly ALL fish from ALL sources (ocean, lakes, rivers, & farm-raised) is now highly contaminated by mercury and other toxins. I most strongly urge you NOT to eat any fish unless you are absolutely certain it has been proven free of dangerous levels of mercury, PCBs, etc.

One fish I DO highly and confidently recommend (the ONLY one I personally trust and consume) is the Vital Choice line of fresh and canned wild Red salmon. Their salmon comes from pristine Alaskan waters, tastes delicious, and I have personally had their salmon laboratory-tested.

I encourage you to check out and try the Vital Choice line of wild red salmon now, including the filets, smoked salmon, kosher lox and more!

Vital Choices VOLUME 3 ISSUE 59

What to Do if Your Finger is Cut Off

Accidents do happen, and in the tragic event that one or more of your fingers is severed, knowing what to do can make the difference between saving or losing your digit.

You usually have between six and 12 hours to have the finger reattached, so acting fast is essential. As soon as an accident occurs, you should:

• Gather all parts of the severed finger, no matter how small. The surgeon may need them.
• Put the finger and any parts on ice and wrap it in plastic wrap.
• Place the finger in a jar or cup with lid.
• Do not put it in water, as this will cause it to shrivel.
• Call an ambulance and/or get to the emergency room as quickly as possible.

"Replanting" surgeries can be very successful if these steps are followed (as long as there is not extensive damage to the muscles). In fact, a 62-year-old woman recently had six of her fingers sliced off in a work accident. Surgeons were able to reattach all of her fingers after a 17-hour operation -- this was the first time so many fingers have been reattached in one procedure.

BBC News January 27, 2006

More and More Families Unable to Afford Health Care

A report by the Commonwealth Fund reported what you may already be experiencing first-hand: many U.S. families are struggling to keep up with health care costs. The report found some startling results, specifically that, as of 2002:

• Some 15 percent of U.S. families (18 million households) had high out-of-pocket health-care costs, relative to their income.
• When premiums were included, 23 percent of U.S. families, or 27 million families, were faced with high costs.

The report is based on an analysis of national date from 1996 to 2002. Along with finding that health care costs are rising at a much faster rate than income, the report found:

• Out-of-pocket health-care spending increased an average of 35 percent between 1996 and 2002, while the average family income grew only 20 percent.
• Increasing numbers of people are finding health insurance unaffordable, and those that do have it may be "barely hanging on."

Of course, this isn't really breaking news, as most people are all too familiar with these rising costs -- and it doesn't look like it will be leveling out anytime soon. Health care in the United States is expected to rise to $3 trillion by the end of the decade.

Fortunately, you can avoid much of these costs by taking responsibility for your own health -- and lowering your chances of needed to visit a doctor, take medication or have surgery in the first place. If you're wondering how to do this, my nutrition plan would be a great place to start.

Yahoo Health News February 1, 2006

Soy Has Little, if Any, Effect on Heart Disease, Hot Flashes

Many consumers view soy protein as the (relatively) new "wonder" food for the heart -- but as I've been saying for some time, this is far from the truth. Now my assertion is being confirmed by the American Heart Association, who issued a statement saying:

Soy protein in the diet or from nutritional supplements has little or no effect on the risk factors for heart disease.

The committee reviewed 22 studies and found that large amounts of soy protein in the diet only reduced bad LDL 3 percent and had no effect on good HDL cholesterol, lipoprotein(a) or blood pressure.

Further, soy isoflavones had no effect on lowering LDL cholesterol or other lipid risk factors such as triglycerides or HDL cholesterol, nor on "hot flashes" during menopause.

As for claims that soy isoflavones are useful for treating and preventing breast, endometrial and prostate cancer, the committee said, "Evidence of benefit from clinical trials is meager and cautionary with regard to a possible adverse effect. For this reason, use of isoflavone supplements in food or pills is not recommended."

Circulation January 17, 2006

Science Blog January 30, 2006  

 Vegetable Oil Fats Accelerate Cancer Growth

Omega-6 fatty acids, which many Americans eat a lot of, accelerate the growth of human prostate tumors. This is similar to a study I posted last year, which also found that omega-6 fats promote prostate cancer growth. The current study found that the fats caused human prostate tumors in cell culture to grow twice as quickly as tumors to which omega-6 fats had not been added.

Omega-6 fatty acids are found in vegetable oils, including:

• Corn
• Canola
• Soybean
• Sunflower

Americans currently consume over 25 times the level of omega-6 fats as the beneficial omega-3 fatty acids. Further, the researchers pointed out that the rate of prostate cancer in the United States has increased steadily along with intake of omega-6, suggesting a possible link between diet and prostate cancer.

Compounding the problem is that the vegetable oils become even more dangerous when they're heated for cooking. Damage done by frying starts at about 320 degrees Fahrenheit and goes up exponentially as the temperature rises.

The nature of chemical reactions is that for every 10-degree rise in temperature, the rate of chemical reactions (with oxygen, light and metals) at least doubles, and may even triple or quadruple.

How can you best avoid this dangerous problem? Avoid dangerous vegetable oils and choose healthier oils to eat (olive oil and coconut oil) and cook with (coconut oil).

Cancer Research February 1, 2006 66, 1427-1433

Food Navigator February 1, 2006

Something as simple as a human touch can make all the difference when it comes to healing. Of course, married couples, particularly the happier ones, enjoy this and many other health benefits just by being together. A new study has found a wife under extreme duress can feel immediate relief merely by holding onto the hand of her husband.

Researchers tested this premise on 16 happily married couples, screened for their compatibility. Female patients were placed inside an MRI machine, aware they would receive periodic but mild shocks to an ankle. Brain images showed all the signs of emotional distress, yet all that activity took a nosedive when a husband touched his wife's hand. The touch of a stranger's hand also provided relief, just not as much.

Moreover, couples who scored high on the compatibility scale and were extremely close enjoyed the most benefits, including the ability to diminish pain.

These results certainly support a study I posted last year about one's healing properties being slowed in part to marital conflicts. Just a great example of your body's ability to adjust the way it reacts to pain.

Another way to handle the stressors in your life that never completely go away: Learn how to use a proven energy psychology tool like the Emotional Freedom Technique.

Arizona Central January 30, 2006

New York Times January 31, 2006 Registration Required

I've reminded you often contact with pollution -- even tiny amounts of it -- can be so devastating to your family's health, especially ones who haven't been born yet. The damage pollution does to your health is even worse when obesity is a factor.

Canadian researchers based their study on the direct effect pollution -- in the form of low sulfur residual oil particles less than 2.5 microns collected downstream from an Alabama power plant -- had on healthy rats as well as those bred to be obese and insulin-resistant.

On a second exposure to pollution, the arteries of the less healthy rats contracted strongly and directly, making them far more prone to cardiovascular calamities such as heart attack as compared to healthier rats, a finding that was very surprising to the lead researcher.

With the epidemic of obesity getting worse by the second along with air we breathe, it's vitally important for you to take control of your health today by making some common sense lifestyle changes, and staying away from quick-fixes like gastric bypass and useless, toxic drugs.

If you're willing to make changes and trying to decide where to begin, know this: Eating the right diet based on your body's unique metabolic type and getting the proper amount of exercise are equally important.

Toxicological Sciences January 11, 2006

EurekAlert January 30, 2006

Last week, the EPA urged companies ban their use of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) -- a chemical used in making Teflon -- albeit voluntarily. An independent scientific review panel advising the EPA took it a step further yesterday, ruling Teflon and other non-stick and stain-resistant chemicals are "likely" carcinogens.

The panel's findings went beyond the EPA's current stance in two other major areas:

• Future risk assessments involving PFOA should include its contribution to various cancers (liver, pancreatic, testicular and breast).
• PFOA's effect on hormones as well as the immune and nervous systems must also be included in any risk assessment down the road and shouldn't be limited by age, species or gender.

The major upshot of the panel's final recommendations, according to the Environmental Working Group, was their belief far more stringent reporting was inarguable and "just good science." And it's rare for the EPA to overturn a review by an advisory board.

Of course, DuPont objects to the report, seeing nothing wrong with the EPA's for-right-now stance that PFOA poses no cancer risk to humans.

As I said last week, regardless what the EPA rules, I urge you to take matters into your own hands by enacting a ban on cookware and paper products tainted with PFOA.

Yahoo News January 30, 2006

EPA.gov Free Full PDF Report

Here's the latest "weapon" conventional medicine has devised to fight the obesity epidemic, and it may be just as health-harming as gastric bypass procedures: Inserting a balloon in a patient's stomach.

If this sounds comical to you, believe me, it's not funny at all. In the hopes of reducing the quantity of food a patient eats, a doctor inserts a round, silicon balloon down a patient's throat and into the stomach. Then, the balloon is inflated with a saline solution and sits in the stomach. Six months later, the balloon is deflated and removed before the stomach has a chance to break it down. The balloon also contains methylene blue, a dye used to stain parts of the body before or during surgery.

The obesity surgeon who has performed 700 of these balloon procedures over the past six years in Italy, claims his technique allows patients to shed as much as 44 pounds over six months. However, the Italian doctor admits the weight loss is only temporary, as it does nothing to treat the real problem -- making better and safer lifestyle decisions.

By the way, the balloon procedure is being tested in this country too, despite the fact that its long-term effect on patients hasn't been determined yet.

Fact is, the great majority of Americans will become overweight, and sooner than later if nothing is done. The good news is that you have plenty of free tools on my Web site to make the transition to optimal health an easy one. The best way to get started is to learn what foods your body burns best based on your unique metabolic type by taking my free online test today.

You may recall a Swedish report identified the subtle mental problems that come with Alzheimer's disease -- small reductions in memory, verbal ability and perception -- may appear as long as a decade prior to a diagnosis. One method I recommend for beating dementia -- challenging your mind -- cuts your risk by 46 percent, according to an Australian study.

Based on reviews of 22 worldwide studies involving some 29,000 patients, increasing one's brain reserve -- entailing complex mental activities like education, lifestyle pursuits and occupational complexity -- reduces one's risk of dementia and Alzheimer's significantly, even late in life.

The lead researcher explains the value of brain reserve much the same way I do about genes controlling your health in that it "is not a static property, nor is it determined by early life experiences such as the level of education, socio-economic depravation or poor nutrition. It's never too late to build brain reserve."

To learn about other natural ways to protect your mind and body from the ravages of Alzheimer's, I urge you to read my most recent article that outlines my health-affirming protocol.

EurekAlert January 25, 2006

When the value of vitamin D merits a lengthy story in USA Today -- including an interview with Dr. Michael Holick -- you know it signals conventional medicine and the media are finally paying more serious attention about its many natural benefits.

Just to show you how slow the "experts" are on the uptake, my staff and I began touting vitamin D many benefits four years ago (one more reason you should subscribe to my free eHealthy News You Can Use newsletter).

As illustrated in the USA Today piece, there are differences in opinion about how much vitamin D you really need and what your best sources for it are, aside from the sun. As far as how much, optimal vitamin D levels lie in the very small range. That's why I strongly urge you to have your blood checked by a doctor right away.

The USA Today piece also lists a number of dietary sources for vitamin D -- pasteurized milk, salmon and tuna -- all of which are problematic on their own. Your best nutritional source for vitamin D during the winter months is a high quality cod liver oil.

USA Today January 30, 2006

I started paying attention to the drastic upward rise in oil company profits late last year, particularly the ExxonMobil conglomerate, the world's largest. At the time of my last post, company profits had shot up an amazing 75 percent over the third quarter to some $9.9 billion, then a record for an American company.

ExxonMobil left last quarter's numbers in the dust, with today's announcement of profits rising almost 10 percent to $10.7 billion, despite a slight decrease in production, again thanks to the barrage of hurricanes that devastated the Gulf Coast. Overall, the company's net income for the year rose a startling 43 percent to about $36 billion.

Did those profits help anyone other than shareholders, whose stock climbed nearly $6? Did it help you pay your bills any faster? Are most of the people victimized by Katrina any better off than they were last fall? And, are those increases earmarked for Iraqis to help them rebuild their country?

Worth thinking about the next time you fill up your SUV...

USA Today January 30, 2006

A petabyte is a large drive, one million gigabytes big. If you can' t imagine how big that is think of it this way: Many of us own PCs and laptops with 100-gigabyte drives now. A petabyte drive would have the storage capacity of 10,000 of these drives.

If you type "petabyte drive" into Google, you will see my site has the number one link for this term because, three years ago, I predicted you would have a petabyte drive on your desktop. I strongly recommend reading this article as you will see the amazing power a petabyte drive has.

Now, it is 2006, we are four years away from my prediction, and currently drives are sitting at the half-terabyte mark (I personally have a terabyte array in my home computer). I'm not sure if we will make desktop petabyte drives in four years, but if we do, I can guarantee you that it won't cost $4 million to own one.

EMC has launched its first petabyte array, a version of the company's flagship Symmetrix DMX-3 system that includes nine room-filling cabinets of drives. The Symmetrix DMX-3 system is built around 500GB drives.

The petabyte version includes a whopping 2,400 of them and goes for about $4 million. Of course, if your needs are more modest, you can always opt for one of EMC's "entry level" systems: A two-cabinet version that will give you a mere 480TB of storage is available for just $250,000.

ZDNet UK January 26, 2006

Although this news item is lightyears away from the whole health care paradigm, I believe it's worth sharing to give you a clearer look at how the U.S. military plans to step up its information operations and is learning how to fight the war on terrorism electronically by manipulating the flow of information.

The basis for the report is the Information Operations Roadmap, a recently declassified document (free PDF report link below) acquired by the National Security Archive at George Washington University.

Part of this "roadmap" is the dissemination of propaganda through various channels, including military briefings with journalists. What should alarm you: An acknowledgment in the document that information intended for foreign audiences as part of the military's psychological operations -- including public diplomacy -- is being reported by the media as news to Americans too.

The American media first became aware of the practice last year when the Pentagon paid a private company to plant news stories supportive of U.S. policies in Iraqi newspapers. Nevertheless, military propaganda still makes it back to America and military analysts say that shouldn't be happening. However, analysts have no clue what those boundaries should be or how to establish them.

Just a reminder, this article did not appear in American newspapers but in the British Broadcasting Corp. Web site, and that current U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld signed off on it.

BBC News January 27, 2006 Free Full PDF Report

If you keep forgetting where you put your car keys, don't blame it on a "senior moment" or a lack of intelligence. Finding those keys may depend on how quickly your brain filters out irrelevant information, according to a new study.

What matters isn't the size of your memory, which is strongly connected to intelligence. It's your visual working memory in synch with neural mechanisms in your brain that filters the important information from the irrelevant, researchers said.

This finding was quickly proven in experiments in which scientists recorded the brain activity of patients who were asked to recall specific shapes and colors -- remember two and forget two others -- while performing computer tasks. Without fail, patients possessing low capacity visual working memory remembered all the shapes and sizes researchers mentioned. Those with a better memory, however, dismissed the "unimportant" information scientists asked them to forget.

How well your memory performs has everything to do with making healthier lifestyle choices, so here's a few to help you get started:

• Add raw egg yolks to your diet.
• Right-size your intake of omega-3 fats by taking a high quality fish or cod liver oil daily.
• Get moving on an exercise program.
• Eat as many fruits and vegetables high in folic acid as you can.

EurekAlert November 23, 2005

Collision Detection November 29, 2005

Nature November 24, 2005

One of the more popular high-tech articles I've posted in recent months dealt with the real yet theoretical possibilities of time travel. An interesting piece I found while surfing the Net explains that time travel is synonymous with movement faster than the speed of light, one of the more striking aspects of special relativity.

If you enjoy wading through the physics of time travel via the prism of faster than light travel -- complete with multi-colored graphs -- you'll be amazed just how much energy people expend to advance our body of knowledge about a theory.

The Culture.org September 12, 2003

I don't have much use for video games, and you shouldn't either. They feed the epidemic of childhood obesity that keeps kids glued to the couch for hours and away from the playground and better health. However, West Virginia officials have put video games to good use as a tool to keep youngsters moving.

One of the "leading states" in the country for a very embarrassing reason -- high levels of obesity -- West Virginia launched a pilot plan about a year ago, installing the "Dance Dance Revolution" video game in 20 middle schools, believing kids between ages 10-14 are at the right time in their development to learn how to make the best decisions for their health.

The game involves kids moving their feet around a mat based on what symbols they see on a monitor, not unlike a high-tech game of "Twister" set to music. Thankfully, this game isn't designed to replace physical education classes, rather to give students one more fun activity they can do instead of playing sports they don't like, officials said.

The game has turned out to be a big hit, as it will be installed in the state's 157 middle schools soon, and expand to all 753 schools within three years. Perhaps, schools can pay for this activity by using some of the money they extort from kids addicted to soft drinks they sell in cafeteria vending machines.

MSNBC January 25, 2006

You know resveratrol-rich grapes are an effective, natural weapon in your arsenal for fighting Alzheimer's disease. Add black currents to the list, and particularly those grown in Great Britain.

Black currants contain anthocyanins and polyphenolics, antioxidant compounds that pack a potent protective effect on neuronal cells against stressors caused by dopamine and amyloid-b, the peptide associated with Alzheimer's.

These compounds protect a patient from Alzheimer's at the cellular level early on by influencing gene expression in learning and memory that benefits cell signaling pathways and, subsequently, communication between neuronal cells, according to researchers.

By the way, black currants grown in the UK are better for you because they tend to be darker, meaning they have more potent anthocyanins. For more ways to fight Alzheimer's naturally, I urge you to review my extensive list of guidelines.

HealthCentral.com January 23, 2006

EurekAlert January 23, 2006

With the Northern Hemisphere still feeling the effects of winter -- colder temperatures and shorter days -- you're probably not getting enough sunshine to generate the amount of vitamin D you need to stay hea