"The Scientist"has published interesting new research connecting the neurotransmittor Serotonin to aspects of Autism.

While the research appears to have been done with a view to promoting Prozac as a treatment for autism, I  find it valuable because it is another example of the importance of homeostasis in the brain, a state which is encouraged by the presence of sufficient Omega 3 fatty acids, in particular DHA.   This is apparently true of the developing brain as well as the ageing brain.

Prozac for Autism

The Vitamin lady writes about ADD and Autism

Lipid Homeostasis .... in the development of Alzheimer's Disease

"Better a dish of bitter herbs in a house where there is love than a stalled ox and hatred therewith"

It may be a bit of a leap from that to the fact that onions which don't make you cry when you chop them, do not have the health benefits of those that do.  But it's a fact.

Onion a day keeps doctor away?

Please note that it is the shallot or  onion that brings tears when you cut it, and adds pungency not sweetness to the dish, that is the healthful kind.  I notice that many of the onion available now are the sweeter ones - are we turning into a nation of culinary wimps??

In a wonderful book called "The Cook and the Gardener", about a young American cook who spends a summer at a chateau in France, and finally wins the trust of the ancient French gardener, Amanda Hesser tells of a lady who was NEVER ill, and who would slice a raw onion each day, put it between 2 slices of bread and eat it.  She comments "She was certainly healthy, but I think she had a very loving husband!" 

Picking on cholesterol as the villain in heart disease not only ignores the lack of evidence for such a  connection, but also ignores its importance in the functioning of the human body.  Certainly very high cholesterol is indicative of problems in body balance, but choosing lower and lower levels to vilify is, in my opinion, dangerous in the extreme.

A study in the Lancet (2001; 358:351-355) stated that their study confirms previous findings of increased mortality in elderly people with low serum cholesterol, and shows that long-term persistence of low cholesterol concentration actually increases risk of death. 

I was horrified when they considered making statins over-the-counter, but could not say it better than Dr. Malcolm Kendricks:

We are sleep-walking into what could be a major medical disaster. Most people, and most doctors, are unaware – or don’t seem to care – that statins should never ever be taken by a women of child-bearing age. The risk, it would seem, is greater than that posed by thalidomide, and no-one seems to be the least bit bothered. ‘Yeh, whatever.’

Yet, when statins go OTC it is absolutely certain that women of childbearing age will take them, knowing nothing of this risk. It is equally certain that a number of these women will become pregnant, and many of these pregnancies will result in horribly deformed children....

But these defects shouldn’t exactly come as a surprise. Cholesterol is essential for the development of neural tissue, so we should expect to find that if the mother is taking a drug that inhibits cholesterol synthesis at a time when the fetus is developing – horrible developmental abnormalities will occur. Such as failure of the brain to develop in the right way, or duplication of the spinal cord.

For more complete details of the birth defects caused by statins consider reading the New England Journal of Medicine, April 8, 2004: pages 1579 – 1582. It’s a letter by Robin J Edison and Maximilian Muenke.

Now, a discovered connection between statins and Parkinson's disease (more than 3 times the risk) should alert everyone to the dangers not only of the medication, but of trying to achieve unrealistically low levels of cholesterol.

New Study To Test Statin-Parkinson's Link

The Vitamin Lady wrtes about a Natural Aproach to Cholesterol Balance - you will find a link to Dr. Kendricks book, "The Great Cholesterol Con" there.

Years ago, when nutrition first became my passion, I found it interesting to note how far in advance of human nutrition ANIMAL nutrition was!  Now, it seems that the same will hold true of the official attitude towards vaccinations. 

Anyone who has a cat or dog, should be aware of these changes, which are listed here:

New Vaccination Protocol

Note the part where it suggests veteranarians may be against the change for financial reasons:  be firm!

Now if only the objections to the effect on young children of unnecessary and burdensome vaccinations can be heard ...

I am merely an interested observer in the political process, since I am not a citizen - nor likely to be, until I can afford to pay a lawyer to overcome my lack of a birth certificate!

I have watched with wonder the Obama phenomenon.  A remark by a local lady, usually reserved and well-bred - that she wants to have his babies, pretty much sums it up.  He has charisma, but does he have anything else? 

He certainly has the usual political ability to twist the truth to suit his message, which I thought those of you who are hesitating might like to know.

A “more complicated truth” on lobbyist campaign contributions

Just a quick posting of a handy guide for information about ingredients in cosmetics:

Cosmetic Safety database

I will be the first to admit that the issue of flu shots is contentious:  on the one hand, my belief is that they are not effective at preventing the flu, on the other - they do seem to mitigate some of the concomitant health problems (bronchitis, penumonia) which can be killers. 

However, I do find it interesting that apparently the proponents of flu shots have to exaggerate their results to get people to comply.

Benefits Of Flu Vaccine Substantially Overestimated Says Study

The Vitamin Lady writes about natural ways to protect against the Flu

This information is so important, and has received so little attention, that I amposting it in its entirey here without further comment.

Dr. Ralph Moss, of the Newsletter THE MOSS REPORT at www.cancerdecisions.com writes a carefully structured last-word-on-the subject report.  He has a more detailed report available for purchase here: https://webssl.cancerdecisions.com/list/optin.php?form_id=29

 NEW STUDY CLARIFIES ROLE OF ANTIOXIDANTS
 DURING RADIATION TREATMENT

An important paper on the interaction of antioxidants and radiation
therapy was recently published in the International Journal of Cancer.
Interestingly, despite the significance of its findings, this study has
received virtually zero attention from the scientific community or the
media.

 As background, in April 2005, Isabelle Bairati, MD, PhD, and her
colleagues at the Hôtel-Dieu de Quebec Research Centre and the Universite
Laval completed a ten-year study on the interaction of antioxidants and
radiation therapy. This was hailed as the first placebo-controlled,
double-blind, randomized trial assessing the effect of supplementation with
antioxidant vitamins during radiation therapy. The study concluded that
supplements of synthetic beta-carotene (30 mg per day) or alpha tocopherol
(400 IU per day) had a harmful effect on cancer patients. In particular, the
authors claimed that the cancer recurrence rate was 40 percent higher among
patients who had been randomly assigned to the supplementation arm of the
trial. They therefore called on patients and physicians to exert caution in
using antioxidants until new evidence could be provided by future trials.

 Kedar Prasad, PhD, and other proponents of the concurrent use of
antioxidants during cancer treatment criticized the Bairati paper. They were
disappointed that Bairati and colleagues had used ordinary alpha tocopherol
as their choice of vitamin E when Prasad's previous work had shown that it
was not just alpha tocopherol but alpha tocopherol succinate that had the
anticancer efficacy. They also felt that natural forms of the vitamin were
more effective than synthetic, drug store-type vitamins. But, by and large,
the medical world accepted the Bairati trial as definitive proof that
antioxidants interfered with radiation therapy. Word spread like wildfire in
oncology circles, confirming a long-held belief that antioxidants interfered
with standard cancer treatments such as radiation and chemotherapy. The take
away message, as stated in a Universite Laval press release, was that
"Supplements May Speed Up Development of Cancer." Advocates of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) were confounded by this large and impressive study.

 But now the other shoe has dropped.

 In December 2007, Dr. Bairati and her Quebec colleagues published a major
modification of their previous conclusions. Further analysis revealed, they
said, that the danger of synthetic antioxidants was limited to one
particular sub-population: cigarette smokers - specifically, those who
continued to smoke during radiation treatment. The authors analyzed the
outcome in 540 patients who had been given radiation for head and neck
cancers. During the follow-up period, 119 patients had a recurrence of their
disease and 179 died. Smokers were the group with the worst prognosis.
However, astonishingly, smoking in the period leading up to or following
radiation therapy did not modify the effects of the two supplements. It was
only smoking during the course of radiation therapy that led to a
statistically significant increase in the risk of a recurrence. It was a
large enough increase to skew the statistics for the group as a whole,
leading to the erroneous conclusion that antioxidants interfered with
radiotherapy in the general patient population.

 Statistically, increased risk is generally expressed as a "hazard ratio"
(abbreviated HR). In this study, current smokers had an HR of 2.41 for
recurrence, in other words more than double the chance of a recurrence
compared to the rest of the patient population. The HR for death from any
cause was a similar 2.26. But the hazard ratio for dying of their initial
head and neck cancer was a whopping 3.38 in patients who got radiation,
smoked and also received a single synthetic antioxidant.

 "These results could best be explained by the hypothesis that the combined
exposures reduced the efficacy of radiation therapy," Bairati and her
colleagues now say. "Particular attention should be devoted to prevent
patients from both smoking and taking antioxidant supplements during
radiation therapy" (Meyer 2007).

 According to the National Cancer Institute, 85 percent of head and neck
cancers are linked to tobacco use. (Alcohol use further exacerbates this
trend.) This has been widely known for years, and so it is shocking that
there are still people so hopelessly addicted to tobacco that they not only
continue to smoke after they've been diagnosed with head and neck cancer but
continue to smoke right through their radiation therapy. It was in this
subset of particularly unhealthy individuals that antioxidants were
associated with an increased risk of disease progression. As Bairati and
colleagues suggest, such individuals should definitely not compound their
problems by then taking a synthetic antioxidant.

But the more important lesson for patients and practitioners is that
antioxidants do NOT generally interfere with the effects of radiation
therapy, as was previously suggested. They do NOT increase the risk of a
recurrence, of death from head and neck cancer, or of overall mortality in
the average patient. In this updated study, the harmful effect of synthetic
antioxidants was entirely limited to those relatively few tobacco-addicted
patients who continued to smoke during their radiation therapy. Thus, the
major premise underpinning oncologists' condemnation of antioxidants during
radiation therapy has crumbled, although few seem to have noticed so far.

Remember the old saying, that when you are a hammer, everything looks like a nail?  That's what we have to bear in mind when we hear the dermatologists warning against sun exposure:  all they are thinking about is skin.

Now a new study positively states, that the cancer protecting benefits of modest sun exposure generally, far outweigh the particular risks of skin cancer from over-exposure.

Sun Exposure Cuts Cancer Risk at 16 Sites, Study Says

Researchers calculated that given the same amount of time spent outside, people living just below the equator in Australia produced 3.4 times more vitamin D than people in Britain and 4.8 times more than Scandinavians.

Consider also Cod Liver Oil or Vitamin D3 (Cholecalciferol) capsules

This was sent to me by a caring friend, and is so relevant I am sharing it with you.  Please pass it on!

 I was aware that female heart attacks are different, but this is the best
 description I've ever read .

 Women and heart attacks (Myocardial infarction).  Did you know that women
 rarely have the same dramatic symptoms that men have when experiencing heart
 attack...you know, the sudden stabbing pain in the chest, the cold sweat,
 grabbing the chest & dropping to the floor that we see in the movies.

 Here is the story of one woman's experience with a heart attack.

 "I had a completely unexpected heart attack at about 10:30 pm with NO prior
 exertion, NO prior emotional trauma that one would suspect might've
 brought it on. I was sitting all snugly y & warm of a cold evening, with my
 purring cat in my lap, reading an interesting story my friend had sent me, and
 actually thinking "A-A-h, this is the life, all cozy and warm in my soft,
 cushy Lazy Boy with my feet propped up." A moment late, I felt that
 awful sensation of indigestion, when you've been in a hurry and grabbed a
 bite of sandwich and washed it down with a dash of water, and that hurried bite
 seems to feel like you've swallowed a golf ball going down the
 esophagus in slow motion and it is most uncomfortable. You realize you shouldn't
 have gulped it down so fast and needed to chew it more thoroughly and this time
 drink a glass of water to hasten its progress down to the stomach. This was
 my initial sensation---the only trouble was that I hadn't taken a bite of
 anything since about 5:00 PM.


 "After that had seemed to subside, the next sensation was like little
 squeezing motions that seemed to be racing up my SPINE (hind-sight,it was
 probably my aorta spasming), gaining speed as they continue racing up and
 under my sternum (breast bone, where one presses rhythmically when
 administering CPR). This fascinating process continued on into my throat and
 branched out into both jaws.


 "AHA!! NOW I stopped puzzling about what was happening--we all have read
 and/or heard about pain in the jaws being one of the signal of an MI
 happening, haven't we? I said aloud to myself and the cat, quote; "Dear God,I
 think I'm having a heart attack !" I lowered the foot rest, dumping the cat
 from my lap, started to take a step and fell on the floor instead. Thought
 to myself "If this is a heart attack, I shouldn't be walking into the next
 room where the phone is or anywhere else.......but, on the other hand,if I
 don't, nobody will know that I need help, and if I wait any longer i may not
 be able to get up in moment."


 "I pulled myself up with the arms of the chair, walked slowly into the next
 room and dialed the Paramedics... I told her I thought I was having a heart
 attack due to the pressure building under the sternum and radiating into my
 jaws. I didn't feel hysterical or afraid, just stating the facts. She said
 she was sending the Paramedics over immediately, asked if the front door was
 near to me, and if so, to unbolt the door and then lie down on the floor
 where they could see me when they came in.


 "I then laid down on the floor as instructed and lost consciousness, as I
 don't remember the medics coming in, their examination, lifting me onto
 gurney or getting me into their ambulance, or hearing the call they made to
 St. Jude ER on the way, but I did briefly awaken when we arrived and saw
 that the Cardiologist was already there in his surgical blues and cap,helping
 the medics pull my stretcher out  of the ambulance. He was bending over me
asking questions (probably something like "Have you taken any  medications?")
 but I couldn't make my mind interpret what he was saying, or
 form an answer, and nodded off again, not waking up until the Cardiologist
 and partner had already threaded the teeny angiogram balloon up my femoral
 artery into the aorta and into my heart where they installed 2 side by
 side stints to hold open my right coronary artery.


 "I know it sounds like all my thinking and actions at home must have taken
 at least 20-30 minutes before calling the Paramedics, but actually it took
 perhaps 4-5 minutes before the call, and both the fire station and St.Jude
 are only minutes away from my home, and my Cardiologist was already to go to
 the OR in his scrubs and get going on restarting my heart (which had stopped
 somewhere between my arrival and the procedure) and installing the stents .


 "Why have I written all of this to you with so much detail? Because I want
 all of you who are so important in my life to know what I learned first
 hand."


 1. Be aware that something very different is happening in your body not
 the usual men's symptoms, but inexplicable things happening (until my
 sternum and jaws got into the act ). It is said that many more women than
 men die of their first (and last) MI because they didn't know they were
 having one, and commonly mistake it a s indigestion, take some Maalox or
 other anti-heartburn preparation, and go to bed, hoping they'll feel better
 in the morning when they wake up....which doesn't happen. My female friends,
 your symptoms might not be exactly like mine, so I advise you to call the
 Paramedics if ANYTHING is unpleasantly happening that you've not felt
 before. It is better to have a "false alarm" visitation than to risk your
 life guessing what it might be!


 2. Note that I said "Call the Paramedics". Ladies TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE!
 Do NOT try to drive yourself to the ER--you're a hazard to others on the
 road, and so is your panicked husband who will be speeding and looking
 anxiously at what's happening with you instead of the road. Do NOT call your
 doctor--he doesn't know where you live and if it's at night you won't reach
 him anyway, and if it's daytime, his assistants (or answering service) will
 tell you to call the Paramedics. He doesn't carry the equipment in his car
 that you need to be saved! The Paramedics do, principally OXYGEN that you
 need ASAP. Your Dr. will be notified later.


 3. Don't assume it couldn't be a heart attack because you have a  normal
 cholesterol count. Research has discovered that a cholesterol elevated
 reading is rarely the cause of an MI (unless it's unbelievably high, and/or
 accompanied by high blood pressure.) MI's are usually cause by long-term
 stress and inflammation in the body, which dumps all sorts of deadly
 hormones into your system to sludge things up in there. Pain in the jaw can
 wake you from a sound sleep. Let's be careful and be aware. The more we
 know, the better chance we could survive...


 A cardiologist says if everyone who gets this mail sends it to 10 people,
 you can be sure that we'll save at least one life.


 **Please be a true friend and send this article to all your friends you care
 about** I just did!!