It has taken a long while for the truth about the ill-health effects of Fluoridation to come to the fore.  Now, however, something may finally be done to end this deceptive practica, and you can help.

Here is where you can find out WHY it is so important to stop this wholesale pollution of the Nation's water supply.

Adverse health effects of Fluoride

Here is where you can sign the petition to have Congress step in and rectify the situation.

Years ago I had a beautiful Aston Martin, which at one point had a crumpled front bumper.  As I drove around, I could feel the thoughts of the men who were looking at the car covetously:  mutter mutter - no woman would be allowed to drive a car like that. I felt I should afix a placard to the damage reading - the truth - MY BOYFRIEND DID THIS.

So I am delighted to see that a new study has concluded that women are better drivers than men.  To quote "This study demonstrates that tasks requiring mental flexibility favour women over men, an area previously not considered to elicit strong sex differences. Driving could be a good example of how this is applied to everyday life."

It’s all down to hormones…

Add another plus for moderate coffee consumption.  Not only does it help with diabetes - see my previous post - but it appears to lower risk of liver cancer (hepatocellular carcinoma or HCC).

This study takes into account both  the fact that liver cancer is at a relatively high level in Japan, and that the Japanese are not heavy coffee drinkers to make a convincing case.  

As was the case in the previous study, how the coffee was brewed,  what degree of roast or what kind of bean was used, or whether cream and sugar were added is not specified - all facts it would be handy to know!

 Influence of Coffee Drinking on Subsequent Risk of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

A lengthy study in the August 13, 2007 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine found that vitamins E and C, when taken together, result in a significant reduction in the risk of strokes (31 percent) and heart attacks (22 percent).  This even though the doses used were pretty low.

When I saw the results of this study, I was very happy.  Now, I thought to myself, the media will HAVE to acknowledge the connection between supplements and heart health.

It feels a bit strange to be antiquated and naive at the same time!

No-one who follows the news can have missed the headlines that state unequivocally there is no connection between antioxidant use and better heart health for women.  Though a few of them did grudgingly add that there appeared to be some benefit for stroke.

Well, I confess willingly that I could not unravel the truth from the deception better than Mike does at News Target, so here is his take on the situation.

Unraveling the lies about the antioxidant study on vitamins E and C

Talk about spinning your wheels - or perhaps wings! Some scientists with nothing else to do have discovered that Viagra helps hamsters overcome jet lag.  Only mind you, if they are travelling west to east. 

No mention of whether it only helps male hamsters.

Plenty of mention of the possible side effects involved. No mention of the fact that melatonin, at a fraction of the cost and NONE of the side effects, is readily available and has no sense of direction or gender. I can imagine which one the flight attendants, at least, might prefer to be used!

Viagra and jet lag 

Facts about  Melatonin

I have much respect for Jenny Thompson at HSI and her research, but I also love her because she  tickles my funny bone with her style of writing. 

You may recall in some of my articles, and in previous posts, that I have frequently pointed out to you that the decisions of the giant food manufacturers are made, not with our health in mind, but rather with  an eye to the bottom line of the company. 

A case in point would be the recent revelations about Dasani and Aquafina - and I am sure they are not the only ones.  I commented on this in 2004.

Read on for further confirmation!

Remember in the very first Star Wars when Obi Wan Kenobi used his Jedi mind trick? He waved his hand and told a storm trooper, "These are not the droids you're looking for." To which the trooper replied, "These are not the droids we're looking for." And of course, the droids in question were exactly the droids they were looking for.

I think someone at Kellogg Cereal Company might be a Jedi master.

Kellogg recently avoided a lawsuit by agreeing to adjust the nutritional standards of its cereals as well as its policies for advertising to kids. In an Associated Press article, Kellogg CEO, David Mackay, offered this take on the change: "We feel the Kellogg Nutrient Criteria set a new standard for responsibility in the industry." (The article didn't mention if he actually waved his hand when he said this.)

Another quote in the article comes from Michael F. Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest (one of the parties that brought the lawsuit): "By committing to these nutrition standards and marketing reforms, Kellogg has vaulted over the rest of the food industry."

Vaulted over the rest of the food industry? He didn't add, "These are not the droids we're looking for," but he might as well have.

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The new zero
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To avoid a lawsuit, Kellogg executives came up with a simple plan: They'll reformulate their products according to this new set of nutritional guidelines for each individual serving of each product:

* Maximum of 200 calories
* Zero trans fatty acids
* Maximum of 2 grams of saturated fats
* Maximum of 230 mg of sodium
* Maximum of 12 grams of sugar

Now...stand aside and make way for a festival of caveats.

Eggo frozen waffles will be exempt from the sodium requirement. Why? Who knows? Maybe the powerful executives in Kellogg's Eggo Division just won't budge on the sodium issue.

Any sugar that comes from fruit, vegetables, or dairy will not be factored into the sugar calculation.

Zero trans fatty acids? Riiiight. Except when the FDA is doing the math. As I've noted in previous e-Alerts, the FDA allows food manufacturers to claim zero trans fats if a product contains less than 0.5 grams of trans fats per serving. Zero point four - it's the new zero!

And here's my favorite caveat: If Kellogg nutritionists are unable to reformulate a product to meet these new guidelines, then the company won't market the unchanged product to kids who are under the age of 12. And there's a caveat to this caveat: If more than half of any Web, TV, radio, or print audience is made up of kids over the age of 12, then it's okay to market to that audience, even if a substantial percentage of the audience is under 12.

Wow. That's some impressive vaulting all right.

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Knee slappers
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For some real humor, lets take a quick look at two of the "nutrition" guidelines Kellogg has laid down, along with one glaring omission.

We'll start with 12 grams of sugar. That's about three teaspoons of sugar. And Kellogg wants us to believe that's a "healthy" portion for kids under the age of 12. Currently, a single 3/4-cup serving of Kellogg's Frosted Flakes contains almost 12 grams. And if you've ever seen a kid pour his own cereal, you know that 3/4 of a cup is a serving size invented by an adult who doesn't have a clue.

The 2-gram limit for saturated fats is mostly irrelevant for cereals, which already contain very small amounts. But of course, in mainstream thinking, saturated fat is the boogieman. And when you're talking Kellogg, you're talking seriously mainstream processed foods.

And carbs? Hellooo? The new guidelines completely ignore refined carbohydrates - arguably the most harmful nutrition factor when it comes to promoting childhood obesity. And does Kellogg deliver refined carbs? DO they! Care to guess the carb content in a single strawberry Pop-Tart? Thirty-seven grams. And that comes packed with 16 grams of sugar. And that's a Pop-Tart with no frosting!

So here's how it's going to go... Kellogg will shrink serving sizes to postage stamp sized portions to qualify for the per-serving nutrition requirements (would you like a quarter of a Pop-Tart?), or they'll just throw in the towel with products that don't conform to the new guidelines and market them to kids who are 12 and older - along with all those kids under the age of 12 who watch TV with their older siblings.

Even Obi Wan's mind trick couldn't wave away the absurdity of this "new standard of responsibility."

Just a quick note to say that we have reluctantly. in view of recent HUGE changes in shipping rates, had to raise the level for free shipping. 

Orders under $75 will now qualify for our minimum shipping charge of $4.95;  over $75 after discount - shipping for orders weighing less than 3# will still be free, with only a handling charge of $1.75 added.

Thank you - we know you will understand that this was unavoidable!

This is a fascinating interactive tool to see how obesity rates have changed where YOU live!  The figures are pretty depressing, so brace yourself. 

Vital State-istics