Health Archive

The Rise of ‘Adult Onset’ Diabetes in Children

by Mark Hyman, MD, via The Huffington Post

OreosNever before in human history have we seen "adult onset" or Type 2 diabetes in children. There has been a more than 1,000 percent increase in Type 2 diabetes in children over the last two decades.  Fifteen years ago 3 percent of new cases of diabetes in children were Type 2 diabetes. Now it is 50 percent.  Forty percent of children are now overweight and 2 million are morbidly obese, exceeding the 99th percentile for weight.

Scientists say that we have only 3,600 cases of Type 2 diabetes in children. Nonsense. Almost all of those 2 million morbidly-obese kids have either pre-diabetes or diabetes or what we should call "diabesity." In adults, 25 percent of diabetics and 90 percent of pre-diabetics are not diagnosed. In children, most of the cases are missed.

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Have Corporations Hijacked Academic Research?

by Jill Richardson, via AlterNet.org

Corporate influence of academic researchHere’s what happens when corporations begin to control education.

"When I approached professors to discuss research projects addressing organic agriculture in farmer's markets, the first one told me that 'no one cares about people selling food in parking lots on the other side of the train tracks,’” said a PhD student at a large land-grant university who did not wish to be identified. “My academic adviser told me my best bet was to write a grant for Monsanto or the Department of Homeland Security to fund my research on why farmer's markets were stocked with 'black market vegetables' that 'are a bioterrorism threat waiting to happen.' It was communicated to me on more than one occasion throughout my education that I should just study something Monsanto would fund rather than ideas to which I was deeply committed. I ended up studying what I wanted, but received no financial support, and paid for my education out of pocket."

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UCLA Study Finds Sugar and High Fructose Corn Syrup Can Hamper Learning

Another sweet surprise: UCLA Study Finds Sugar and High Fructose Corn Syrup Can Hamper LearningAttention, college students cramming between midterms and finals: Binging on soda and sweets for as little as six weeks may make you stupid.

A new UCLA rat study is the first to show how a diet steadily high in fructose slows the brain, hampering memory and learning—and how omega-3 fatty acids can counteract the disruption. The peer-reviewed Journal of Physiology publishes the findings in its May 15 edition.

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HBO Takes on the Weight of the Nation

by Sarah Henry, via Grist.org

The Weight of the NationHBO has a history of tackling important American healthcare crises. In recent years, the cable network has taken on addiction and Alzheimer’s to much critical acclaim. And now the network has turned its attention to another huge health problem: Obesity and its enormous economic, emotional, social, and health cost on individuals, families, communities, and the country at large.

As Americans have gained weight in recent years, rates of diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and other obesity-related health problems have also skyrocketed. Type 2 diabetes (once known as “adult-onset diabetes”) rates are soaring among kids. And this is a generation that may well die at a younger age than their parents, largely because of medical concerns associated with excess weight.

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Going Wild to Counter Bee Colony Collapse

by Enrique Gili, via Grist.org

BeehiveIn 2009, lifelong beekeeper Dan Harvey faced an existential crisis when he lost 
much of his honeybee stock to colony collapse disorder (CCD). So the former Vietnam-era Special Forces veteran did what came naturally: He took to the deep dark woods of the Pacific Northwest, searching for answers to his predicament.

Harvey began by hunting for wild and feral bees living near his home in Port Angeles, Wash. (These bees have escaped from commercial colonies and find refuge in the tall timber and glens enveloping the Olympic Peninsula). For years, he crossbred the feral bees he captured with honeybees in order to produce hybridized hives that would be well-suited to the dank climes of the temperate rainforest region.

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10 Ways to Spring Clean GMOs Out of Your Home

Guest post by Courtney Pineau, Communications Manager of the Non-GMO Project

Most major breakfast cereals contain GMO ingredientsIn our household, spring cleaning is often inspired by those first days of springtime sun when I discover the cobwebs and dust bunnies that have been hiding in the shadows all winter. It’s amazing what a little light can expose. Spring cleaning our diets is the same way–when you look a little closer you often find that your food contains unwanted GMO ingredients. I hope these spring cleaning tips help you find new ways to nourish your family with healthy non-GMO foods.

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Battling Illness on Public Transportation

via Rice University

UV Air filter systemThe best place to enjoy a breath of fresh air may be a city bus, if Rice University students have their way. A team of graduating seniors has created a system for public transit that would continually clear the air of pathogens that can lead to tuberculosis (TB), flu and pneumonia.

The CityBusters—Joseph Spinella, Jerry Lue, Sundeep Mandava, Grace Ching and Shidong Chen, all seniors—have installed a $500 device on a METRO bus in Houston that has proven effective at killing 99.8 percent of the pathogens that circulate through the air-filtering system. The device, called FluProof, incorporates high-powered ultraviolet lamps that sterilize the air on the fly.

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The Costs of the Obesity Epidemic

by Sharon Begley, Reuters, via The Huffington Post

Obesity is causing massive increases in unexpected costsU.S. hospitals are ripping out wall-mounted toilets and replacing them with floor models to better support obese patients. The Federal Transit Administration wants buses to be tested for the impact of heavier riders on steering and braking. Cars are burning nearly a billion gallons of gasoline more a year than if passengers weighed what they did in 1960.

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Are There Drugs in Your Chicken Dinner?

by Richard Schiffman, via The Huffington Post

Banned drugs are being found in factory-farmed chickensIn 2005, the antibiotic fluoroquinolone was banned by the FDA for use in poultry production. The reason for the ban was an alarming increase in antibiotic-resistant campylobacter bacteria in the meat of chickens and turkeys -- "superbugs," which can lead to a lethal form of meningitis that our current antibiotics are no longer effective against.

Antibiotic-resistant infections kill tens of thousands of people every year, more than die of AIDS, according to the Infectious Diseases Society of America. This problem is on the rise because antibiotics are recklessly overused, especially in the commercial livestock industry, where 80% of all antibiotics manufactured in the U.S. end up.

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Making Childhood Obesity Our Business

by David Katz, MD, via The Huffington Post

"Food" marketed to kidsThere was an expression, once commonly used, to describe a situation in which it was easy to exploit people: "like taking candy from a baby." As with all such similes, the illustration itself was meant to be the extreme, self-evident case. Stealing a baby's candy is something so outrageously objectionable that all decent people must oppose it. It would concern anyone, and everyone. It would be everybody's business.

We don't hear that expression much any more for fairly obvious reasons. There is, if anything, far too much "candy"—and variations on the theme of candy, such as soda, sugary cereals, and so on—to go around; and too much of it in particular heads right into the mouths of our babes. The new-age problem is selling far too much candy to babies (well, children, really). That, too, is objectionable!

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Are Plastics in the Oceans Being Hidden by the Winds?

by Nancy Gohring, University of Washington

Pieces of plastic debris found in the oceans are smaller than many people think. Most are measured in millimeters. Sea Education Association While working on a research sailboat gliding over glassy seas in the Pacific Ocean, oceanographer Giora Proskurowski noticed something new: The water was littered with confetti-size pieces of plastic debris, until the moment the wind picked up and most of the particles disappeared.

After taking samples of water at a depth of 16 feet (5 meters), Proskurowski, a researcher at the University of Washington, discovered that wind was pushing the lightweight plastic particles below the surface. That meant that decades of research into how much plastic litters the ocean, conducted by skimming only the surface, may in some cases vastly underestimate the true amount of plastic debris in the oceans, Proskurowski said.

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Is There a Link Between the Growth of Autism and Environmental Poisons?

by Eleanor J. Bader, via AlterNet.org

Landfills contain massive amounts of environmental contaminationIf horror is your genre, environmental writer Brita Belli’s The Autism Puzzle, is the book for you. Her terrifying look at the chemicals we eat, drink and breathe is guaranteed to make your hair stand on end.

We should thank her for it.

Statistics released earlier this spring by the Centers for Disease Control revealed that one in 88 U.S. born toddlers has an autism spectral disorder—from the less severe Asperger’s Syndrome to the so-called classical form of the ailment. Worse, it’s not just a North American phenomenon; Belli also reports a 57 percent spike in Asia and Europe.

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Why is FDA “Concerned” about Vitamins with Proven Safety Records?

by Dr. Joseph Mercola

Vitamins are foodVitamins, minerals and herbal supplements have a tremendously safe track record, yet they are often singled out as being potentially dangerous by government agencies like the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

This – the notion that dietary supplements are unsafe -- is the premise behind the FDA's Draft Guidance on New Dietary Ingredients, which would require the supplement industry to prove the safety of natural ingredients that, in many cases, have been on the market and used safely for decades.

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Is Your Favorite Natural Brand Owned by a Mega Corporation?

by Loren Berlin, via The Huffington Post

Toms of Maine logoIf you've recently traded in your Colgate toothpaste for a tube of Tom's of Maine in an effort to be more environmentally friendly, your money is still going to the same company.

Tom's of Maine, a popular line of natural toiletries, is owned by Colgate-Palmolive -- a Fortune 500 company with $15 billion in revenues last year.

Tom's of Maine is not the only earthy beauty company backed by a major American corporation. Rather, it's a common trend in the world of personal care products.

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Argentine Mother Causes Landmark Changes in Pesticide Rules

Sofia Gatica (center) and members of her group blockading airial sprayingSofia Gatica of Argentina is the 2012 winner of the Goldman Environmental Prize for South America.

Argentina is the world’s third largest exporter of soybeans. Every year, the industry spreads over 50 million gallons of agro-toxins—namely glyphosate, the key ingredient in Monsanto’s widely-used herbicide Roundup, and endosulfan—through aerial spraying over farmland.

While Monsanto claims there is no risk to humans, a 2008 scientific study found that even at low concentrations, glyphosate causes the death of human embryonic, placental and umbilical cells. Endosulfan is a highly toxic pesticide that has been banned in 80 countries because of its threats to human health and the environment. In May 2011, it was added to the UN list of persistent organic pollutants to be eliminated worldwide.

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Fluorescent Fish Provides New Insights into the Impacts of Pollution

via University of Exeter

Understanding the damage that pollution causes to both wildlife and human health is set to become much easier thanks to a new green-glowing zebrafish. Created by a team from the University of Exeter, the fish makes it easier than ever before to see where in the body environmental chemicals act and how they affect health. Credit: University of ExeterUnderstanding the damage that pollution causes to both wildlife and human health is set to become much easier thanks to a new green-glowing zebrafish. Created by a team from the University of Exeter, the fish makes it easier than ever before to see where in the body environmental chemicals act and how they affect health.

The fluorescent fish has shown that oestrogenic chemicals, which are already linked to reproductive problems, impact on more parts of the body than previously thought.

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New Study Links Autism to HFCS and Industrial Food

by Katie Rojas-Jahn and Renee Dufault, FIHRI, via Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy

The epidemic of autism in children in the United States may be linked to the typical American diet according to a new study published online in Clinical Epigenetics by Renee Dufault, et. al. The study explores how mineral deficiencies—affected by dietary factors like high fructose corn syrup (HFCS)—could impact how the human body rids itself of common toxic chemicals like mercury and pesticides.

The release comes on the heels of a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that estimates the average rate of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) among eight year olds is now 1 in 88, representing a 78 percent increase between 2002 and 2008. Among boys, the rate is nearly five times the prevalence found in girls.

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How to End Your Food Cravings

by Mark Hyman, MD, via The Huffington Post

Double burgerI'm a food addict. We all are. Our brains are biologically driven to seek and devour high-calorie, fatty foods. The difference is that I have learned how to control those primitive parts of my brain. Anyone can this if they know how. In this article, I will share three steps to help you counteract those primitive parts of your brain that have you chasing high-calorie, nutrient-poor foods. But before you can update your brain's biological software, you've got to understand why it developed in the first place.

Calories = Survival

The brain's desire to binge on rich food is a genetic holdover from the days of hunter-gatherers. Given what scientists know today about our early ancestors it makes sense that our brains are hardwired to fixate on high-calorie foods.

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Can We Cure Diabetes with a Knife? Not Really

by Mark Hyman, MD, via The Huffington Post

Cure Diabetes with a Knife? Not ReallyTwo seemingly groundbreaking studies, published this week in the New England Journal of Medicine found that Type 2 diabetes, or "diabesity," could be cured with gastric bypass surgery. The flurry of media attention and medical commentary hail this as a great advance in the fight against diabetes. The cure was finally discovered for what was always thought to be a progressive incurable disease. But is this really a step backwards? Yes, and here's why.

No one is asking the most obvious question. How did the surgery cure the diabetes? Did the surgeons simply cut out the diabetes like a cancerous tumor?

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The Implications Beyond Pink Slime

by David Katz, MD, via The Huffington Post

Pink slimeAs those who know me best will attest, I am far from crude. If anything, I tend to err the other way—with an excess of Monkish fastidiousness. It is in deference to that inclination, and on the chance you may share it, that I warn you in advance of a departure this conversation requires. I am about to use the word "snot" in a less-than-pleasant context.

I was having dinner in an airport restaurant last week, around the time nutrition news was slathered in pink slime. Two young businessmen were sharing a meal and spirited conversation at a nearby table. I was not listening in, and don't know what their conversation was about. But I couldn't help but notice, out of the corner of an eye, that one of them was repeatedly dipping a fork into a small plastic container of salad dressing, before spearing some portion of his salad.

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Are Lawn Pesticides Endangering Our Children?

by Lynn Peeples, via The Huffington Post

Children can be easily exposed to lawn pesticidesWhen they started feeling woozy barely an hour into their batting practice, Alan Gorkin and his son Tristan, then 12 years old, didn't think too much of it. But as they packed up to leave the grassy field across the street from Tristan's school in Wilton, Conn., they spotted a little yellow sign warning that more than spring was in the air: The field had been sprayed with pesticides the day before.

"Parents should have a choice over whether their kids are exposed to pesticides or not," says Gorkin, who manages an organic farm in the area.

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McDonald’s Now Sells to Kids Through Goats

Guest post by Michele Simon and Kelle Louaillier

The McDonald's GoatTo call McDonald’s latest advertising campaign aimed at children cynical doesn’t give enough credit to the fast food giant and its ad agency, Leo Burnett. The company says the new series of ads starting this month is part of McDonald’s “nutrition commitment to promote nutrition and/or active lifestyle messages in 100 percent of its national communications to kids.”

How will the purveyor of Big Macs, fries and Coke accomplish this lofty goal? Perhaps by explaining that McDonald’s is an occasional treat? Or that sharing home-cooked meals is one of the best ways for families to ensure good eating habits? Perhaps McDonald’s could educate kids about the federal MyPlate recommendations to make half your meal fruits and vegetables?

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Fire Safety and the Chemicals in Your Couch

by Valeri Pacino, via Grist.org

Burning couch. Photo by S. F. Pitman.Eureka! In a legislative dogfight of global significance, the California legislature will consider a bill this spring to modernize the “12-second rule,” the state’s obscure furniture flammability standard that fails to protect us from fires even while it poisons homes across North America.

Late last month, Rep. Holly Mitchell (D-Los Angeles) introduced AB 2197 [PDF], a bill that will bring California’s flammability standard into line with 35 years of independent fire safety science and 20 years of research by the U.S. government.

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What Is a Calorie?

by David Katz, MD, via The Huffington Post

One cup of cooked spaghetti noodles has 220 caloriesA calorie is, incontrovertibly, now and forever, a calorie. Well, a kilocalorie actually. Back to that in a minute.

Not every gallon of gasoline poured into the tank of every car produces the same travel distance. But that does not induce us to ask: Is a gallon a gallon? Of course a gallon is a gallon; it is a precise and clearly defined unit of volume not up for debate. We recognize that variation in the fuel efficiency of cars can change what happens when a gallon of fuel is burned. But it was still a gallon of fuel.

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Study Says Fracking Air Pollution May Impact Health

via University of Colorado Denver

Fracking wellIn a new study, researchers from the Colorado School of Public Health have shown that air pollution caused by hydraulic fracturing or fracking may contribute to acute and chronic health problems for those living near natural gas drilling sites.

"Our data show that it is important to include air pollution in the national dialogue on natural gas development that has focused largely on water exposures to hydraulic fracturing," said Lisa McKenzie, Ph.D., MPH, lead author of the study and research associate at the Colorado School of Public Health.

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