Healthy Living News

Green: The Next Generation

The future looks sunny! Generation Y (a.k.a. millennials, born 1980s to early 90s) is more likely than older generations to support clean energy and environmental protection and to accept climate science, according to new Pew polling. In overwhelming numbers, 82% of Gen Y want more federal funding for renewsbles, with Generation X (born 1961-81) and Baby Boomers close behind. Younger Americans are also less likely to support offshore oil drilling and expanded nuclear power.

It's the old folks, the so-called Silent Generation (aged 66-83), that are slowing the pace of change.

Grist reporter Lisa Hymas comments, "There's long been talk about how gay rights will continue to advance as homophobic old codgers die off. Now it looks like the goal of a cleaner, greener society will get a boost" from the younger generations coming into their own.

SOURCE: http://www.grist.org/climate-energy/2011-11-07-gen-y-and-gen-x-get-it-right-on-the-environment-old-folks-dont

Cheap Green Power

The bankruptcy of solar companies like Solyndra are an anomaly. David Roberts of Grist reports that solar photovoltaic energy is on target to be the cheapest source of electricity for most of the world by 2018. A nuclear or coal fired plant designed today could be obsolete before it goes online. "Putting aside ideological considerations or any concern over climate change, just for purely practical reasons, if you were involved in major energy investment decisions, wouldn't you want to make sure you were looking at least 10 years down the road?"

Indeed! Futurist Jeremy Rifkin proclaims, "In this coming era, hundreds of millions of people will produce their own green energy in their own homes, offices, and factories and share it with each other in an 'energy Internet'... The democratization of energy will [fundamentally reorder] human relationships...."

SOURCES: Ode, October/November 2011
http://www.grist.org/solar-power/2011-10-13-solar-getting-cheap-fast-very-serious-people-pay-attention



Occupy Wall Street, with satellite encampments in hundreds of cities worldwide, has garnered more support than any populist movement since the 1970s. Occupy protestors have a multiplicity of grievances which boil down to a matter of fairness. Tough times have fallen hardest on the poor and middle classes, while the top one percent has amassed 40 percent of our nation's wealth. The Occupy 99% include students, enviros, and antiwar protesters, but also trade unionists, seniors, military, and even some Tea Partiers. This is a seismic shift, with new political fault lines breaking top to bottom as well as right to left.

Legendary performer and activist Harry Belafonte applauds the Occupy movement for its "application of non-violence" in continuing the civil rights struggle. Attorney and author Glenn Greenwald says that the Occupy movement puts a "healthy fear" into power elites. Billionaire Warren Buffett declares that the rich should pay their "fair share."

To date hundreds of protestors have been arrested, and several have been seriously injured, but Wall Street bankers have gotten off scot-free. While the major media focuses on police actions, important questions remain unasked: How can protest translate into legislative reform? How do the 99% limit corporate influence on the political process? Will Occupy become an "American Spring"? Stay tuned....


Label Genetically Modified Foods!

Does your food contain GMOs? An estimated 80% of processed foods sold in the U.S. contain genetically modified organisms.

Incredibly, Americans have been denied their basic right to know because of a flawed regulatory system that relies on corporate science without adequate peer-reviewed testing and oversight. A recent poll shows that 93% of Americans support mandatory labeling of GMOs.

Research sponsored by the Union of Concerned Scientists has shown that the widespread adoption of genetically engineered crops has led to increased herbicide use in the United States, while falling short of the biotech industry's promises for higher crop yields and more efficient fertilizer use.

Already more than 40 countries around the world require labeling of foods that contain GMOs. While Americans who live in the "land of the free" have no idea what's in our food, citizens in Australia, Brazil, the European Union, Japan, Russia, and even China have the legal right to know.

In 2007 candidate Obama favored labeling GMOs, promising to "let folks know whether their food has been genetically modified because Americans should know what they're buying." However, the Obama administration has ramped up approval of GMO crops, including Monsanto's Roundup Ready GMO alfalfa, Roundup Ready GMO sugar beets, GMO sweet corn, Syngenta's GMO ethanol corn and a Scotts MiracleGro variety of GMO grass for lawns. And approval for GMO salmon is currently pending with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The Center for Food Safety filed a petition with the FDA, and now more than 400 businesses, co-ops and organizations are calling on the FDA to immediately implement mandatory labeling of genetically modified foods.

Contact the FDA at www.fda.gov.

SOURCES: Credo Action, a publication of Working Assets
Union of Concerned Scientists, www.ucsusa.org.

Cell Phone Debate Rages

A major study of nearly 360,000 cell phone users in Denmark found no increased risk of brain tumors with long-term use. Although the data is reassuring, the investigators noted that the design of the study focused on cell phone subscriptions rather than actual use, so it is unlikely to settle the debate about cell phone safety. A small to moderate increase in risk of cancer among heavy users of cell phones after 10 years or longer still "cannot be ruled out," the investigators wrote.

The findings, published in the British medical journal BMJ, came five months after a World Health Organization panel concluded that cell phones are "possibly carcinogenic." In 2010 a 13-country study called Interphone had also found no overall increased risk but reported that the heaviest users had a 40 percent higher risk of glioma, an aggressive type of brain tumor. However, since the incidence of glioma is relatively rare, individual risk remains negligible.

Anders Ahlbom, a professor of epidemiology at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden and an author of the editorial, said that research on the subject should continue.

Moreover, technical experts from the U.K., U.S., Austria, Sweden and Australia, say the science behind the study is faulty and they remain very concerned.

"From the way it was set up originally, this deeply flawed study was designed to fail to find an increased risk of brain tumors tied with cell phone use," said Dr. Devra Davis, president of Environmental Health Trust, an American education and advocacy group. "In order for any study of a relatively rare disease like brain tumors to find a change in risk, millions must be followed for decades." Davis said the Danish study fails to consider the rapidly changing nature of cell phone use and excluded many frequent users.

Skeptical of corporate science, one blogger added, "We can't trust the research." As the debate rages on, we suggest you take precautions: Turn your phone off when not in use, and use a headset whenever possible.

SOURCES: New York Times, Oct 20, 2011
http://www.torontosun.com/2011/10/24/scientific-dispute-over-cellphone-safety-rages-on
http://www.alternet.org/story/153299/radiation_from_cell_phones_and_wifi_are_making_people_sick_—_are_we_all_at_risk?page=entire

Are You Wired To Receive God's Transmissions?

Is God just in our heads? Mental Floss reports that Dr. Michael Persinger, a neuroscientist at Laurentian University, has devised cyber headgear he whimsically named the "God Helmet," which inspires visions of an ethereal being.

When current is sent in a precise pattern through the right temporal lobe, 80 percent of wearers reported feeling the presence of "another," while those with religious leanings claimed it was God.

Persinger attributes this "sensed presence" to science, a neurological phenomenon known as "interhemispheric intrusion." When the right temporal lobe is stimulated, the left lobe, which defines our sense of self, interprets this abnormal activity as a separate consciousness. "This doesn't mean that God doesn't exist... What it tells us is that the God experience comes from brain activity." Are you tuned in?

Perhaps God hardwired our brains to be receivers. Dean Hamer, a geneticist at the National Institutes of Health, discovered a genetic marker for faith, a "God gene." In 2004 he published his findings in the book The God Gene: How Faith Is Hardwired into Our Genes. Predictably, traditional believers were not pleased. One Anglican priest protested, "The idea of a God gene goes against all my theological convictions." But why not? After all, if God created the whole universe, isn't genetics also His handiwork?

SOURCE: Mental Floss, Nov-Dec 2011.

Average American Lifestyles

The average American consumes 22 teaspoons of sugar each day.

The average American consumes 110 pounds of red meat yearly.

The average American watches over 4 hours of TV each day.

The average American exercises almost 20 minutes a day, but there really isn't an "average American." Most Americans don't exercise at all, while 17% exercise over one hour daily.

The average American takes 11.5 prescription drugs annually.

SOURCES: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32543288/ns/health-diet_and_nutrition/t/cut-back-way-back-sugar-says-heart-group/#.TsGRIEbCSs0
http://planetgreen.discovery.com/games-quizzes/american-diet-quiz/do-you-eat-an-average-american-diet.html
http://www.csun.edu/science/health/docs/tv&health.html
http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1674995_1683300_1683301,00.html
http://www.forbes.com/2009/08/17/most-medicated-states-lifestyle-health-prescription-drugs.html

Test All Nine-year-olds For Cholesterol?

In response to epidemic levels of obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, major medical groups are now recommending that every child should be tested for high cholesterol between ages 9 and 11. This recommendation is in new guidelines from an expert panel appointed by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute and endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Autopsy studies show that some children already have signs of heart disease even before they have symptoms. By the fourth grade, 10 percent to 13 percent of U.S. children have high cholesterol, defined as a score of 200 or more. High cholesterol tends to be correlated with increased incidence of heart disease.

The guidelines say that cholesterol drugs most likely would be recommended for less than one percent of kids tested. Most children found to have high cholesterol would be advised to control it with diet and physical activity, "positive lifestyle choices," said Dr. Gordan Tomaselli, president of the American Heart Association.

Still, there is resistance to putting children on cholesterol lowering drugs for life. Another group of government advisers, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, is not ready to recommend universal screening. One of its leaders, Dr. Michael LeFevre, wants to see more evidence that treatment actually prevents heart attacks, rather than just nudging down the cholesterol score. "Some of the argument is that we need to treat children when they're 14 or 15 to keep them from having a heart attack when they're 50, and that's a pretty long lag time," he said.

Roy Benaroch, MD, offers additional concerns: "Drawing blood to test cholesterol on all nine-year-olds is not an entirely benign procedure. It will be scary. It will be expensive. And for almost all of the children with elevated cholesterol, the advice will be to improve dietary and exercise habits. Which is already being recommended for all children. So what's the point of the universal testing?

"One other aspect of the report is going to raise a few eyebrows. Of the 14 [members of the expert panel], eight have significant financial ties with drug manufacturers, including many that produce and sell cholesterol-lowering drugs.... The prescription pad is sitting right there. It will be tempting."

Here's our take: Let's first fight obesity with better school lunches. More fresh fruit and veggies. And longer recess for more exercise.

SOURCES: http://blogs.webmd.com/childrens-health/2011/11/is-cholesterol-screening-for-kids-a-good-thing.html
AP, November 11, 2011.

Should Vitamins Be Regulated?

The Week reports that taking over-the-counter nutritional supplements may do more harm than good. A new study shows that many common supplements—including multivitamins, folic acid, magnesium, iron, and zinc—do nothing to lengthen the lives of those who take them, and may actually be shortening them.

After following nearly 39,000 women aged 55 and older for almost 20 years, researchers found that those who regularly took multivitamins—something many doctors recommend to their patients—were 2.4 percent more likely to die of any cause over that period than those who didn't. Iron appeared to be especially dangerous: The more of it women took, the more lethal its effects. Only calcium supplements were found to actually reduce death rates slightly.

University of Minnesota researcher Jaakko Mursu tells Reuters that while the study didn't explain why vitamins might be having a negative health impact, it did lead him to a simple piece of dietary advice: Eat "as many vegetables and as much fruit as you can. Natural foods provide all the vitamins people need."

Our take is that not all supplements are equal, as some fat soluble vitamins are indeed dangerous in excess, while others pass harmlessly through the body, making for expensive urine but posing no particular health hazard. Dosage is an issue, too. People with health concerns may substitute vitamins for medical advice, megadosing to extreme.

Is it dangerous to self-medicate? Possibly, but this makes the case for better education, not more government regulation. Besides, do you want a bureaucrat limiting your choice of supplements?

SOURCE: The Week, October 20, 2011.

When "100 Percent" Orange Juice Isn't

One consumer had a whole lot of fun trying to get a straight answer from Tropicana Customer Service as to what "natural flavors" are in their 100% orange juice. Here's Kristina's story:

Kristina: Hi! ...The label on your juice product says its 100% juice but lists "natural flavors, ingredient not found in regular orange juice." Could you please let me know what, besides juice, is in your product?

Customer Service: It's natural flavors, natural flavors come from anything in nature.
Kristina: Can you please tell me what the specific "natural flavors" are that are added to your orange juice?

CS: Natural flavors can be anything from nature.

Kristina: OK, but if it says "100% juice" doesn't that have to mean that the natural flavors are from another source of juice?

CS: No, its from anything in nature; it could be from dairy.

Kristina: Dairy? ...It says 100% juice?!

CS: Well, its not from dairy, because dairy is a top eight allergen and we would have to list that on the label, but I am saying it COULD be from dairy.

Kristina: Can you please divulge what that said ingredient is?

CS: The product you have is from concentrate, any drink from concentrate has natural flavors....

The "natural flavors" in Tropicana might be aroma chemicals designed to improve the taste of substandard oranges. Alas, FDA standards are quite loose here. Read Fast Food Nation for a detailed explanation of what does and does not constitute "natural." As another consumer blogs, "The fact is we deserve to know what we are paying for and what we are consuming." If you want 100%, unpasteurized, real juice, squeeze your own!

SOURCES: http://mobile.omg-facts.com/view/Facts/41184
http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/food/not-so-sweet-even-quot-100-percent-pure-quot-orange-juice-is-artificially-flavored-2517432

Support For Legalizing Pot at All-time High

More Americans than ever before support the legalization of marijuana usage.

In a new Gallup poll, 50 percent of respondents in a nationwide survey said they believed it was time to make pot legal. About 46 percent came out against it. Last year, Gallup found that 70 percent of Americans approved of the use of medical marijuana.

Support for legalizing marijuana tended to be stronger among younger, more liberal groups. Legalization received 62 approval among those aged 18 to 29, but got only 31 percent approval among those 65 and older. Liberals were twice as likely as conservatives to favor legalizing marijuana.

In a release, Gallup writes: "When Gallup first asked about legalizing marijuana, in 1969, 12 percent of Americans favored it, while 84 percent were opposed. Support remained in the mid-20s in Gallup measures from the late 1970s to the mid-1990s, but has crept up since, passing 30 percent in 2000 and 40 percent in 2009 before reaching the 50 percent level in 2011.

If the steady climb in public support for marijuana legalization continues at its current pace, politicians will soon have to address the laws that fly in the face of that movement in opinion.

SOURCE: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/10/17/national/main20121705.shtml

Healthy Debating

Debating is good mental exercise, according to a new study from Columbia University. The key to a healthy exchange is to criticize ideas, not people.

SOURCE: Prevention, September 2011.

Botox Erases Brain Power

Botox can erase facial wrinkles, but it may also lessen social intelligence, too. A new study shows that women who have injected botox on their faces lose some ability to interpret the expressions of others. That's because when we take in people's grins or grimaces we unconsciously mimic them, allowing us to better interpret their emotional state. Botox blank expressions effectively shut down this mechanism.

SOURCE: Prevention, September 2011.

Sexy Creative Types

According to a British study of 425 professional artists, creative people have sex twice as often as the rest of us. "It could be that very creative types lead a bohemian lifestyle and tend to act more on sexual impulses and opportunities, often purely for experience's sake, than the average person would," Daniel Nettle of Newcastle University tells Reuters. The study also found that the number of sexual partners increased as creative output went up. Explaining the satyric reputations of Picasso, Lord Byron, and Dylan Thomas, Nettle opined, "Lots of acclaim, and lots of women."

SOURCE: The Week: Confidential Intelligence Briefing.

Depression Home Remedy

This could be taped to almost any bathroom mirror:

  1. There are at least two people in this world that you would die for.
  2. At least 15 people in this world love you in some way.
  3. The only reason anyone would ever hate you is because they want to be just like you.
  4. A smile from you can bring happiness to anyone, even if they don't like you.
  5. Every night, SOMEONE thinks about you before they go to sleep.
  6. You mean the world to someone.
  7. You are special and unique.
  8. Someone that you don't even know exists, loves you.
  9. When you make the biggest mistake ever, something good comes from it.
  10. When you think the world has turned its back on you take another look.

Share this message with a loved one... or a stranger who needs a little cheering up!

 


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