Friday, April 29, 2016

High sugar diet found to be as damaging to your brain as being abused

High sugar diet found to be as damaging to your brain as being abused

Imagine constantly being yelled at, physically harmed, and witnessing traumatic events on a daily basis. Obviously, such abuse and stress http://evil.news/ isn't healthy or enjoyable, so you'd do your best to try to avoid such situations, right?

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Well, according to a recent study published in Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience, people are willingly putting themselves through such abuse every single day. However, this isn't about domestic violence or other high-stress situations, but rather all about the junk foods they're eating. Specifically, the study's researchers focused on how sugar can alter a part of the brain called the hippocampus, which is related to stress and memory. Interestingly, they found that a high-sugar diet http://dreddyclinic.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=84&t=4465 alters this portion of the brain in a way that closely mimics the changes that occur when one is exposed to abusive and stressful situations in the early developmental stages of life.(1,2)

That's right, when it comes to your brain, consuming a high-sugar diet is akin to being abused. Still want that soda and candy bar?

Experts say controlling excessive sugar intake could reduce 'burden of psychiatric disorders'

In a Daily Mail article discussing their findings, study authors Jayanthi Maniam and Margaret Morris elaborate on the eye-opening issue. "People who were exposed to early life trauma have changes in the structure of their hippocampus. In humans, those consuming the most 'western' diet had smaller hippocampal volumes, in line with data from animal models."(1)

The authors express concern over the fact that many people do not shun sugar http://dreddyclinic.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=119&t=35285; in fact, quite the opposite is true. "The changes in the brain induced by sugar are of great concern given the high consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages, with particularly high consumption in children aged nine to 16 years."(1)

Further elaboration in Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience states the following: "... early life adversity and high sugar diet http://www.dreddyclinic.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=21 may independently increase the risk for psychopathology later in life. ... The similarity in the hippocampal molecular deficits induced by sugar and early life stress is of great concern given the cheap and easy accessibility of sugar-sweetened beverages ... Manipulating the later environment of those exposed to early life adversity, and controlling the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages across the community may be an effective way to curtail the burden of psychiatrichttp://www.dreddyclinic.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=39 disorders."(2)

Those are some powerful words, folks. The fact that excessive sugar consumption may be linked to psychiatric disorders http://www.psychiatry.news/, is not something to ignore.

After all, it's perfectly logical.

More and more proof that sugar is addictive and mind-altering

Sure, we know that too much of the refined stuff contributes to obesity http://slender.news/, diabetes and other health problems, but worse than that, it can alter brain function and personality. In fact, it's downright addictive.

For example, studies have found that sugar acts as a stress suppressant. If you think there's nothing wrong with that, consider that sugar has been shown to make comfort-craving people become addicted. The fact that sugar diminishes stress levels in the brain http://www.dreddyclinic.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=34 makes stressed out folks reach for sugary sodas and similar junk foods all the more, reinforcing a seemingly never-ending chain of unhealthy behaviors.(3)

Other studies continue to expose the harms associated with consuming so much refined sugar. Researchers from the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA have also noted the hazards associated with consuming too much sugar and fructose. Published details indicate that they wreak havoc on memory and cognition in teens and young adults, making the strong case that what a person eats is directly related to the brain's ability to function optimally.(4)

The bottom line, as shown by numerous studies, including this more recent one by Jayanthi Maniam and Margaret Morris, is that refined sugar and the junk foods filled with it can severely compromise the brain and body. Do your best to avoid added sugars by eating fresh, whole foods http://fresh.news/, and plenty of nuts and seeds, and try to help friends and family members eat in the same sensible manner.

Sources for this article include:

(1) http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-3450298/High-sugar-diet-damaging-brain-extreme-stress-ABUSE.html

(2) http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fnmol.2015.00086/full

(3) http://dreddyclinic.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=31328

(4) http://dreddyclinic.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=28249

(5) http://dreddyclinic.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=33515



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Climate change profiteers have so far created a $53 billion market based on FEAR and FRAUD

Climate change profiteers have so far created a $53 billion market based on FEAR and FRAUD

It used to be that pharmaceuticals were one of the biggest profiteering frauds http://bigpharma.fetch.news/ in the global market (besides warmongering). But "climate change," and the ever-present fear of it http://globalwarming.fetch.news/, has created a whole new market for carbon dioxide "trading," that analysts at Thomson Reuters Point Carbon say is now worth $53 billion worldwide.

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The value of global markets for carbon dioxide, says the group, rose by about nine percent last year, bringing the total to just shy of 50 billion euros. And this amount is expected to climb even further in 2016, as the United States and other North American countries are forced into the new "global warming" paradigm of carbon taxes and creditshttp://www.greenwashing.news/.

North America is precisely where the biggest gains in CO2 value were seen in 2015, rising an astounding 220 percent to about 10.6 billion euros compared to 2014. This is due to the massive expansion of the Western Climate Initiative (WCI) scheme, which now covers transportation fuel emissions.

Also known as "cap-and-trade," the scheme involves government-mandated use and emissions restrictions for CO2, a concept that stems from the idea that carbon dioxide is somehow responsible for a disastrous situation known as "climate change http://globalwarming.fetch.news/." But rather than focus on the worst climate offenders – which include factory farming, confined animal feeding operations and industrial chemicals http://www.chemicals.news/ – cap-and-trade initiatives are targeting everyday consumers.

The program has also been accused of making climate conditions worse, due to the fact that it's routinely abused as a way for corrupt entities to make money, while doing little to curb environmental pollution. We've been saying this all along – that, and the fact that carbon http://www.dreddyclinic.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=117&t=31717 is good for the environment, when properly sequestered in soils where it should be.

Cap-and-trade has led to more pollution, carbon emissions

According to a report by the Stockholm Environment Institute, carbon credit schemes in Europe have already led to an increase in emissions of about 600 million tons. Particularly in Russia and the Ukraine, companies intentionally generated more "climate warming" chemicals http://www.climatesciencenews.com/, so that they could then "destroy" them in order to claim carbon credit cash.

Cap-and-trade should also make people immediately think of Enron, the now-defunct energy company that just so happens to have been one of the first major traders in carbon credits http://dreddyclinic.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=115&t=24921. This commodity exchange, explains the report, allowed Enron's stock prices to rise to unrealistic levels very quickly, which in turn eventually led to the company's failure, along with the collapse of the coal industry http://collapse.news/.

"We were surprised ourselves by the extent [of the fraud]; we didn't expect such a large number," stated one of the co-authors of the paper, Anja Kollmuss, to BBC News. "What went on was that these countries could approve these projects by themselves [since] there was no international oversight, in particular Russia and the Ukraine didn't have any incentive to guarantee the quality of these credits."

And yet, the carbon credit market continues to boom, despite mounds of evidence showing that it doesn't work and has no, or only negative, effects on the overall amount of emissions released into the atmosphere. It's no better than any of the other commodities scams http://www.corruption.news/ we've seen over the years, that basically invite fraudulent activity.

"As researchers we can not prove the fraud, we can just point to the facts," Kollmuss adds about the three projects in particular that she and her team evaluated. "[W]hen they could gain credits they immediately increased production of [polluting] greenhouse gas in order to destroy them, and that lead [sic] to them getting many more credits than if they had produced it like they did before."

Sources for this article include:

http://www.trust.org/item/20160111163149-qarsz/?source=jtOtherNews3

http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/08/26/enron-environmentalism-the-carbon-credits-scam-pumps-millions-of-tonnes-more-greenhouse-gases-into-the-atmosphere/

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/dec/12/james-hansen-climate-change-paris-talks-fraud

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-34042115


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Wednesday, April 20, 2016

China is harvesting organs from prisoners while they are still alive

China is harvesting organs from prisoners while they are still alive

It's tough being a political prisoner in China, and in more ways than one. You can be beaten, tortured, starved, neglected – and have your organs removed, even against your will.

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As noted by the The Anti-Media and Newsweek, the government in Beijing is facing increased global scrutiny and outcry over new allegations that authorities regularly harvest the organs of political prisoners.

Several respected investigators from around the world who have been looking into the allegations have come to agree that thousands of prisoners have had organs taken by the Chinese state – forcefully, and often without anesthesia. Many of the victims are members of the banned religious sect Falun Gong, a forbidden group that was created in 1992 (the official state religion in China is no religion, because its communist leaders want the people to worship them). As such, admitted members of the sect are regularly persecuted by the government.

As reported by The Anti-Media:

Religious persecution is a serious threat for many people in China — in spite of the fact that the Communist government does not espouse an official state religion.

No anesthesia

Over the years, various communist regimes http://www.tyranny.news/ in Beijing have jailed members of a number of dissident groups including Falun Gong, Christians and Tibetans. Many of the incarcerated have charged their captors with severely abusing them, including forced organ harvesting http://dreddyclinic.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=117&t=28340. The mistreatment and forced procedures date back at least to the 1990s and is said to include the extraction of corneas, kidneys and livers.

"It is known that Chinese surgeons perform the removal procedure [on political prisoners] and sometimes the 'donor' has still been alive during this process—the organ-removal process is what actually kills them," researcher Katrina Bramstedt told Newsweek.

Adds The Sydney Morning Herald:

A former Chinese hospital worker and doctor's wife, whose identity was withheld, [said] that her husband had removed the corneas of 2000 people while they were still alive. Afterwards the bodies were secretly incinerated.

Not surprisingly, China has the second-highest transplant rate in the world, with amazingly short transplant wait times of just two-to-three weeks.

"Somebody's being killed for the organs," human rights lawyer David Matas told the Morning Herald. "There's no other way to explain what's happening."

Chinese officials have denied that organs are being taken from anyone other than volunteers. That said, Chinese President Xi Jinping has said the transplant program would be ended by August, and blamed former security chief Zhou Yongkang for any problems.

However, in an SBS Dateline episode titled http://www.sbs.com.au/news/dateline/story/human-harvest-chinas-organ-trafficking "Human Harvest: China's Organ Trafficking," one Chinese medical student said he recalled seeing blood still pumping out of one "donor" whom he said was still alive when he cut into the body. He added that he removed that individual's liver and two kidneys, and said the procedures under which he operated were unusually sloppy and quick.

'Still alive'

"The documentary revealed how patients are secretly placed into incinerators in hospital boiler rooms while they are still alive — after organs are removed from their bodies," The Anti-Media noted.

The documentary noted further that, during an eight-year investigation, the Chinese government removed some 11,000 organs from political prisoners without putting them under anesthesia every year.

A United Nations investigation http://www.falunhr.org/reports/UN2008/UN-OrganHarvesting-07-08.pdf[PDF] in 2008 also concluded that the government was harvesting the organs of political prisoners.

The report said that "organ harvesting has been inflicted on a large number of unwilling Falun Gong practitioners at a wide variety of locations, for the purpose of making available organs for transplant operations.

"Vital organs including hearts, kidneys, livers and corneas were systematically harvested from Falun Gong practitioners at Sujiatan Hospital, Shenyang, Liaoning province, beginning in 2001."

Sources:

http://theantimedia.org/china-harvesting-organs-thousands-political-prisoners-alive/

http://www.newsweek.com/china-forces-its-political-prisoners-sell-body-parts-421799

http://www.smh.com.au/world/chinas-gruesome-live-organ-harvest-exposed-in-documentary-20150407-1mgabb.html


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Saturday, April 16, 2016

Food addiction more than willpower, a serious disease suffered by many

Food addiction more than willpower, a serious disease suffered by many

With her image blurred and identity shared only as "Mary," a 58-year-old woman told NBC Today about her serious struggles with food during a segment called, "Secret Struggle: Addicted to Food". However, her issue is unlike many people who often crave some extra potato chips on occasion or indulge in another bowl of ice cream.

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Instead, Mary says her relationship with food is "a 24-hour obsession," explaining that the worse she felt, the more she'd eat. For Mary, eating "more" meant consuming several super-sized fries in addition to numerous fast food burgers . . . in one sitting. In a similar fashion, another food addict shared his story on the segment, saying, "Everyone says to take it one day at a time . . . I like to think about it as one convenience store at a time."

The severity behind food addictions

Indeed, the addiction to food is a real issue, despite the social stigma that eating disorder expert Dr. Ira Sacker says involves thoughts of obese people as having a lack of willpower. He explains that people jump to conclusions about overweight people, overlooking the fact that food http://www.dreddyclinic.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=18addiction is a disease in which a person constantly thinks about food, is unable to control cravings and plans binges, including ones that may involve eating in secrecy. "Food addictions," Dr. Sacker says, "begins as disordered eating and as it gets worse, becomes an eating disorder."

Using a recovery approach based on the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous, Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous is an international recovery program that aims to help people with their food obsessions so they can live healthier lives. They describe food addiction http://dreddyclinic.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=34676 as "an illness of the mind, body, and spirit for which there is no cure" and have steps in place to help others address every level of their particular food issue. According to Bloomberg Businessweek, research has linked junk food addiction to being just as serious as drug addiction. In fact, brain imaging scans have shown that the changes in brain circuitry are the same in drug addicts as they are in obese individuals.

Global Healing Center® is a leading natural health provider offering natural and organic supplements, cleanses, and a wealth of free natural health articles.

Ramani Durvasula, PhD, Professor of Psychology at California State University in Los Angeles is also a Licensed Clinical Psychologist. Her advice for those struggling with food addictions is to seek the help of health care providers, mental health practitioners, and to consider group therapy, all of which can address the emotional issues that are often at the root of such disordered behaviors.

Sources for this article include:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amoFgf-v0Ow&feature=youtu.be

http://www.foodaddicts.org/fa-facts

http://www.dreddyclinic.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=26754

http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/faq-facts-about-food-addiction?page=2

About the author:
A science enthusiast with a keen interest in health nutrition, Antonia has been intensely researching various dieting routines for several years now, weighing their highs and their lows, to bring readers the most interesting info and news in the field. While she is very excited about a high raw diet, she likes to keep a fair and balanced approach towards non-raw methods of food preparation as well. 

Read more: http://rawandnaturalhealth.com/author/antonia/


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Friday, April 15, 2016

Europeans warned to avoid drinking milk or eating vegetables

Europeans warned to avoid drinking milk or eating vegetables

The radiation risk from Fukushima is "no longer negligable," says CRIIRAD, the French research authority on radioactivity. It is now warning expectant mothers and young children to avoid drinking milk or rainwater. They should also avoid certain types of vegetables and cheese due to the dangerously high levels of radiation they may contain thanks to the radioactive fallout spreading across the globe (http://www.euractiv.com/en/health/radiation-risks-fukushima-longer-negligible-news-503947).

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CRIIRAD now says that eating these items qualifies as "risky behavior." And yet, in practically the same sentence, the organization claims there is "absolutely no need" for anyone to take iodine tablets.

That's right: There's so much radiation in the food that you probably shouldn't eat it. But all that radiation is so harmless that you don't need to protect yourself from it with iodine. It's amazing how these people think they can have it both ways.

The institute goes on to say that drinking rainwater might be dangerous, but standing in the rain is perfectly safe. There's actually some sense to this, as ingesting radioactive water is indeed far more dangerous than merely being drenched in it. But U.S. nuclear authorities make no such distinction, by the way.

Here comes the mass irradiation of the food supply

Despite these warnings, the real issue that few are willing to acknowledge so far is that Fukushima fallout will continue for many more months. And during this fallout, there will be a cumulative load of radiation http://www.dreddyclinic.com/findinformation/rr/radiationsickness.php raining down upon the grasses, fruits and vegetables that make up the global food supply. How high those levels get is anyone's guess, and those animals that feed upon those grasses -- such as cattle, goats and sheep -- will tend to further concentrate the radioactivity, producing milk and meat products that are far more radioactive than the grasses upon which they fed.

Global Healing Center® is a leading natural health provider offering natural and organic supplements, cleanses, and a wealth of free natural health articles.

This is a very sad circumstance, of course, because it means that the corn-fed, factory-farmed cattle will probably be LESS radioactive than the open-range grass-fed cattle whose beef products are usually far better for you. Although I'm not personally someone who consumes beef, I'm a big supporter of those who choose grass-fed beef over the corn-fed factory farmed beef.

Bring your Geiger counter to the fresh produce section

What I'm beginning to wonder in all this, however, is how high the radioactivity of the entire food supply is going to become. Are we looking toward a day when we have to being Geiger counters to the grocery store?

Will we soon have two bins of apples at the store called "Pre-Fukushima" and "Post-Fukushima?"

And for all those people who have already stored food http://dreddyclinic.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=18, good for you! All the food you stored before Fukushima is obviously not radioactive, and there may come a day when non-radioactive food commands a huge price premium.

For those still looking to acquire and store non-radioactive healthy foods, check out http://www.StorableOrganics.com where you can find organic foods and superfoods sealed in steel cans for long-term emergency preparedness. The entire inventory there is "Pre-Fukushima," by the way.

For those who haven't stored any food, you might start thinking about what you're going to eat if Fukushima suffers yet another explosion and a massive cloud of radioactive isotopes gets dropped onto the food production lands of the world. This situation will only get worse before it gets better.

And sadly, even growing your own food is no solution to all this, because your own gardens are just as susceptible to radiation fallout as commercial crop lands. Only those who grow food in greenhouses will be largely protected from the fallout. Maybe it's a good time to buy some sprouting seeds, too, because you can sprout seeds in your own kitchen and grow them free of radiation. In just 3 days, you can turn a pile of seeds into a nutritious sprout salad. Add some avocado and balsamic vinegar and you have a delicious lunch!


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Friday, April 8, 2016

Rose Water Benefits, History, and Uses

Rose Water Benefits, History, and Uses

Centuries ago, a rose treasured for its decorative beauty was found to have healing properties and has played an important role in society ever since. Rosa Damascena Mill, also known as Damask Rose, is best known as the flower that we just call a rose. It is cultivated all across the world and used for religious ceremonies, fragrance, flavor, and even medicine. Rose water, or the “hydrosol” of the rose, is made by crushing and distilling Damask rose petals to produce essential oil.

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History of Rose Water

History credits the discovery and refinement of rose water to a 10th Century Persian scientist by the name of Avicenna. The Crusades brought rose water to Europe’s attention and made it a profitable source of trade for the Persians. In the Middle Ages, rose water was used to clean one’s hands before eating, and physicians prescribed it to prevent fainting, strengthen organs, and protect the heart.

Traditional Uses of Rosa Damascena

Rose water has traditionally been used to relieve occasional indigestion and constipation, ease menstrual bleeding, and reduce redness and swelling. Rose water also fights harmful organisms and can help ease coughing and throat irritation http://dreddyclinic.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=33697. [1]

In aromatherapy, rose water helps to soothe headaches and calm the nerves. In one study, researchers found that rose oil (rose water usually contains 10-50% distilled rose oil) encouraged normal blood pressure and promoted relaxed breathing. The participants who received the rose oil described the effect as calming and relaxing. [2]

Many food recipes from China, India, and the Middle East use rose water. It adds a pleasant flavor to syrups and jellies and can even be sprinkled over rice, puddings, and cakes. [3]

Other types of rose are under evaluation to determine if they offer similar benefits. Polish scientists found that oil from Rosa rugosa helps reduce skin and eye irritation. [4]

Benefits of Rose Water For Your Skin

Rose water is great for toning and hydrating the skin http://dreddyclinic.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=118&t=34151. It is safe and effective for all skin types and helps balance natural oil production. Rose water encourages circulation and encourages a clear, bright complexion.

Organic rose water, made from organic rose petals of Rosa damascene from India, is actually part of the formula for Aquaspirit®http://www.dreddyclinic.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=118&t=30720, Global Healing Center’s refreshing body and face mist. We’ve received a lot of positive feedback from people who’ve had amazing results with this product.

What’s your favorite use for rose water? Leave a comment below and share your thoughts with us.

by Dr. Edward Group DC, NP, DACBN, DCBCN, DABFM

References:

1. Boskabady MH, Shafei MN, Saberi Z, Amini S. Pharmacological Effects of Rosa Damascena http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3586833/. Iranian Journal of Basic Medical Sciences. 2011;14(4):295-307.
2. Hongratanaworakit T. Relaxing effect of rose oil on humans http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19370942. Nat Prod Commun. 2009 Feb;4(2):291-6.
3. BBC. Rosewater recipes http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/rosewater. Last accessed 02-26-2016.
4. Maciag-Krajewska A, Kalemba D. Composition of rugosa rose (Rosa rugosa thunb.) hydrolate according to the time of distillationhttps://www.researchgate.net/publication/273307530_Composition_of_rugosa_rose_Rosa_rugosa_thunb_hydrolate_according_to_the_time_of_distillation. Phytochemistry Letters (Impact Factor: 1.45). 11/2014; 11. DOI: 10.1016/j.phytol.2014.10.024.


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