Health Freedom:

Diabetes Rate in USA
Doubles due to Obesity
 
By:  Stein Reinberg
 
The rate of new cases of type 2 diabetes has nearly doubled in the United States in the last decade, with most new cases appearing in southern states, federal officials reported Thursday.

New diagnoses of type 2 diabetes rose from 4.8 per 1,000 people from 1995 to 1997 to 9.1 per 1,000 people from 2005 to 2007. These new cases mirror the increase in obesity rates, and obesity is a leading cause of the blood sugar disease, officials said. MORE

The Healing Power of Sweet Potatoes

The healing power of the sweet potato: another good food that has received a bad name, taking blame for weight gain. The sweet potato is one of the most nutritious foods you can eat. It can help preserve your memory, control diabetes and reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer. Sweet potatoes are more than just a filling food. Scarlet O'Hara had a 19-inch waist, which she kept by eating the sweet potato her nanny prepared for her before filling up on party fare. She could truthfully say, "Why I can't eat a .... More

Raising HDL May Be More
Important Than Lowering ADL
 
When it comes to lowering your cholesterol, what the B vitamin niacin does in your liver may be the key to better heart health, according to research out of University of California, Irvine and the Long Beach, CA VA Centers'  Atherosclerosis Research Center.  This cell study indicates that niacin may help maintain adequate HDL cholesterol (the good kind) levels in the blood by hindering the liver from removing HDL from the blood, thus maintaining high plasma HDL levels.

The Anti-Aging Bottom Line: B vitamins are essential for... MORE

Bush Administration Promotes Alli, Senior Citizen Sickness Follows
 
By:  Charles Benninghoff

Washington, DC – President George W. Bush has clearly crossed the line into the sickness business judging from recent decisions of the Federal Drug Administration (FDA), an agency which is now firmly run by his appointees.
 
Even President Bush’s closest advisors come exclusively from Big Business and that, of course, is something to be expected during a Republican administration but in the case of health, his most recent appointment paints a brilliant picture of Bush paying homage to his liege lord – Big Pharma. As a result our health is at risk!  More

It Pays to be Plant-wary Even
When Plants Have Health Benefits
 

A Walk In the Country, A Brief Retreat, Gardening - All Better Than Anti-Depressants Alone

Feeling down in the dumps lately?

Just grab a backpack and head into the nearest woods. For, a walk in the country is an effective alternative to chemical anti-depression treatment, a leading mental health charity said on Monday, calling on British doctors to prescribe outdoor activities.   More

Cherries Provide Arthritis Relief
Says Foundation...

Tart cherries (the variety sold as dried, frozen and juice) are one of the richest sources of anthocyanins, which have anti-inflammatory properties that are similar to some types of pain relief medications.

For years, tart cherries have quietly grown a fan base of arthritis suffers who routinely consumed the fruit to help soothe their symptoms. Although this anecdotal evidence has existed for decades, there now appears to be science behind the cherry folklore. More

Boston Psychiatrist says "NO!" to Big-Pharma

Six years ago, a psychiatrist and textbook author who trained at a major Eastern medical school, found himself in demand by drug companies. Like a great many prominent psychiatrists, he was offered generous sums to give instructional talks about medications at lunches and dinners with his colleagues. But then his conscience rebelled. More

Chelation Therapy Gains
Foothold In Canada as
Heart Disease Treatment

An Ottawa doctor is running a clinical trial for a heart disease therapy that has been used in North America for more than 50 years, but is considered by many physicians to provide no health benefits.

Although data recently released from Statistics Canada showed that instances of heart disease are decreasing, it is still responsible for a large percentage of deaths. Of the approximately quarter of a million Canadians who died in 2004, nearly a third succumbed to heart disease.  More

Further Beneficial Links In
Coffee Drinking Found

Drinking coffee can help ward off type 2 diabetes and may even help prevent certain cancers, according to panelists discussing the benefits -- and risks -- of the beverage at a scientific meeting. "We're coming from a situation where coffee had a very negative health image," Dr. Rob van Dam of the Harvard School of Public Health, who has conducted studies on coffee consumption and diabetes, told Reuters Health. Nevertheless, he added, "it's not like we're promoting coffee as the new health food and asking people who don't like coffee to drink coffee for their health." More

Researchers from the Medical College of Georgia report that green tea may aid senior citizens who suffer with diabetes or dry mouth, both of which are auto-immune diseases.
 
Researchers studied an animal model for type I diabetes and primary Sjogren’s Syndrome, which damages the glands that produce tears and saliva. They found significantly less salivary gland damage in a group treated with green tea extract, suggesting a reduction of the Sjogren’s symptom commonly referred to as dry mouth. Dry mouth can also be caused by certain drugs, radiation and other diseases. Approximately 30 percent of elderly Americans suffer from degrees of dry mouth, says Dr. Stephen Hsu, a researcher in the MCG School of Dentistry and lead investigator on the study. Only 5 percent of the elderly in China, where green tea is widely consumed, suffer from the problem. MORE

New UCI Study Shows
American HDL-C Levels Low

Irvine, CA - Despite some improvements to lower "bad" cholesterol levels, people with c

San Juan Capistrano, CA – An in-depth analysis conducted by us of current and ongoing health research has revealed secrets to youthfulness apparently missed by professionals conducting the studies.

The Canadian, Swedish and American research reviewed was conducted by allopathic practitioners who, our analysis reveals, sometimes completely missed the point. More

Dementia Hastened by Calcium & Vitamin D Found in Dairy

Calcium and vitamin D in dairy products may be helping to cause brain damage and dementia in older men and women, new US research suggests. Scientists believe too much calcium can narrow blood vessels in the brain, leading to neural damage. The effect may be compounded by vitamin D, which regulates calcium retention.  More

Got Milk?  If you do, you probably have acne, too!

Despite being widely discussed in the medical literature for almost a century, the connection between milk and acne was merely anecdotal until a Harvard study of thousands of nurses showed an undeniable link. 

So, with the information in this article of great interest to anyone afflicted with this condition, you may make the RESULTS of the research work for you.

Positive Steps to take for better Joint Health Discussed
 

Osteoarthritis seems to respond to an increased dietary intake of glucosamine sulphate and fish oils, while those with gout benefit from the intake of the herb celery and avoidance of alcohol and offal meats such as liver according to recent published articles.  More

Tight Diabetic Control Yields
No Long-Lasting Detriments,
Study Finds

By tightly controlling the blood sugar levels of diabetics, even with the attendant risk of dangerously low levels of blood glucose, a recent study finds that the procedure does not damage mental abilities, researchers said on Wednesday.

Patients did not suffer in tests of intelligence, memory, coordination, language and other mental abilities, the researchers reported in this week's issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. More

Green Tea Helps Arthritis
New University Study Finds

A study by researchers at the University of Michigan Health System has suggested that a compound in green tea may provide therapeutic benefits to people with rheumatoid arthritis.

The study analyses a potent anti-inflamm-atory compound de-rived from green tea. Researchers found that the compound called pigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) -inhibited the production of several molecules in the immune system, that contribute to inflammation and joint damage in people with rheumatoid arthritis.  More

To Lower Cholesterol,
You Should Eat Pistachios

One or two handfuls of the nuts can make a big enough difference to lower the risk of heart disease, say scientists.

Volunteers who ate three ounces of pistachios a day for one month lowered their total blood cholesterol by 8.4%.  More