November 2010
1 post
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Phosphorus toxicity causes jaw necrosis
A feared side effect of the new osteoporosis drugs is necrosis of the jaw - when I asked my MD about this, I was told - it’s extremely rare and we don’t really know the cause. Well, listen to this, which has been known since 1926:
“The most striking result of phosphorus poisoning is a necrosis of the jaw bone called “phossy jaw.” Suppurative ulceration of the gums...
July 2010
1 post
“Whoever is led to believe that species are mutable will do good service by...”
– C. Darwin, Origin of Species, Chapter XIV
May 2010
2 posts
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More reason to cut the fat! →
Asthma is just one of a host of inflammation-associated diseases that are exacerbated by “The American Diet” i.e. saturated fat and sugar. We’ve been studying this at a molecular level and the actual molecular steps that the excess fat triggers can be traced from mouth to overactive immune cell to tissue damage. Scary. If everyone could see these fat-activated cells chewing up...
April 2010
1 post
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More reason to get plenty of calcium! →
Over the years, we’ve continued to better understand the many ways calcium works in the body - it’s not just for bones - and a majority of adults in the US do not get enough! While supplements help, you need to make sure you are also getting the right proportion of magnesium, vitamin D and phosphorus, which tends to be easier done by consuming foods rich in calcium along with some...
March 2010
2 posts
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Can Food be Medicine? Catch the talk! →
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You wonder why drugs cost so much??
From a recent article in Nature Medicine: Pharma spends big to buy influence
Despite the slumping economy, the US pharmaceutical and health products industry spent a whopping $267 million in 2009 on lobbying efforts—more in one year than any other single industry ever. Steven Findlay, a health policy analyst for Consumers Union in Washington, DC, says that most of this extra expenditure—12% more...
February 2010
6 posts
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Pesticides linked to Parkinson's - take action... →
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How to shovel snow safely!
<h1>How To Shovel Snow Properly Without Hurting Your Back</h1><p>This might sound ridiculous to some, but one of the main causes of back pain and back injury is doing something as simple as shoveling snow the wrong way. Many people who never exercise and wouldn’t consider lifting weights go out and shovel thousands of pounds of snow numerous times each winter.</p>...
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Another obesity drug bites the dust!
The European Medical Authority’s (EMEA) decision to pull sibutramine from the market was based on data from the SCOUT clinical trial, which found that the risk of heart attack or stroke associated with sibutramine’s use far outweighs its benefits. This leaves only one prescription weight-loss agent on the European market—Roche’s Xenical, (also marketed as GlaxoSmithKline’s Alli - a half-dose...
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What is "Generally Recognized as Safe" (GRAS)?
A ‘GRAS’ designation is a classification used by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to indicate that a substance is considered safe as for human consumption within certain restrictions. To qualify, the ingredient is evaluated by an independent panel of experts qualified to read and interpret all available scientific information both public and private about the material, and...
A Spoonful of Vinegar Helps the Sugar Go Down →
Note the unanticipated weight loss as well!! This kind of research is something the drug companies would just rather disappear! What?! Something Cheap and Natural does just as well as hugely expensive and toxic synthetic drugs??? how can that be! ;-)
January 2010
11 posts
3 tags
Lazy snobs and conflict-of-interest →
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Exercise makes you smarter →
I’ve read studies on this and done related research and it’s really quite remarkable! The mechanisms aren’t fully known, but likely relate to better oxygen delivery, lower cortisol (stress hormone) and an improved ability to respond to inflammatory triggers and infections.
zelimages:
axelrod:
“The study, which was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of...
7 tags
A great exercise to help your bones! →
Also lots of other good info on Vivian’s site - she’s done an excellent job of distilling a rather complex literature and capturing the key points, the controversies and the questions!
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What? Lifestyle more important than genetics for...
What a surprise!!! You mean eating the typical American high fat/high sugar diet and little or no activity is bad for them and they can’t just blame it all on their genes? Wonder how much it cost to figure that one out!
Study just out in the British Medical Journal reports that the so-called Cambridge and Framingham type 2 diabetes risk models, which are based on non-genetic factors such as...
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Check out the exciting AWIS-CJC events past and... →
The Association for Women in Science is an organization who’s mission is to be a voice, a mentor, and a network to promote equal opportunity in Science, Technology, Engineering and Medicine - www.awis.org
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Want to be a better person? Commune with nature.
Want to be a better person? Commune with nature.
Paying attention to the natural world not only makes you feel better, it makes you behave better, finds a new study to be published October 1 in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.
“Stopping to experience our natural surroundings can have social as well as personal benefits,” says Richard Ryan, coauthor and professor of...
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Junkfood avoidance tip-of-the-day:
Go for something spicy, with lots of crunch and a little bit of creaminess - like salsa mixed with a little bit of lowfat cream cheese and eaten with celery sticks - this satisfies the palate and the cravings much more effectively than celery alone without loading on calories!
6 tags
“What, sir, would you make a ship sail against the wind and currents by lighting...”
– Napoleon Bonaparte ; When told of the Robert Fulton steamboat
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Another bullet for personalized... →
Perlgen had some nifty technology and ideas, but, evidently we just aren’t quite there yet with sufficient science to validate the commercialization of these assays for the major diseases. MY guess? At least 5 more years of intense research will give us one new opportunity for real-world application of pharmacogenomics. All the epigenetic phenomena are creating a blur around what we thought...
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Check out this podcast on the nutrition research... →
I didn’t actually realize I was being recorded for a podcast, so I’m not as smooth as I could have been answering the questions, but overall I think it came out pretty good!
December 2009
13 posts
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Yay Dad!
If my 87 year old father can walk a mile at least 3 times a week and average 1/2 mile every day - YOU CAN TOO - staying active is the Ultimate anti-aging strategy! Get up and move folks - after all that Christmas pudding lord knows we need it! ;-)
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Santa's Names From Around The World
zelimages:
England - Father Christmas Estonia - Jouluvana Finland - Joulupukki (Old Man Christmas) France - Pere Noel Germany - Weihnachtsmann (Christmas Man), Nikolaus Hawaii Kanakaloka Hungary Mikulas (St. Nicholas) Netherland - Kerstman Iceland - Jolasveinn Italy - Babbo Natale Japan - Santa Kurousu,Hoteiosho ( A god or priest who bears gifts) Lithuania - Kaledu Senu Mexico - San Nicolás,...
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Erin Majors quote
Our CEO had this kind of funny idea about giving each other quotes, songs or poems instead of monetary gifts since we are a small, struggling company just trying to survive. We each drew names and I got Kristin, our research assistant. Thinking about her personality, what came to mind was “Learn from yesterday, Live for today, Hope for tomorrow” by Albert Einstein (even more...
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“A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle”
– Erin Majors
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“Learn from yesterday, Live for today, Hope for tomorrow”
– Albert Einstein
WellGen-RFI Ingredients collaboration! →
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GET UP NOW!!!
Your body’s big enemy? You’re sitting on it
Most of us spend our days on our behinds — and it’s killing us
By Selene Yeager
Womens Health
updated 7:38 a.m. ET, Wed., Dec . 9, 2009
You might not want to take the following stat sitting down: According to a poll of nearly 6,300 people by the Institute for Medicine and Public Health, it’s likely that you spend a stunning 56 hours a...
Great info about the health benefits of black tea! →
For a way to get all the good stuff without the caffeine see here:
www.te-ame.com
Swiss fine drug firms $5.7M for price-fixing -... →
I hope the fine stands up - about time somebody started to take on the ‘legal’ drug cartel!
November 2009
21 posts
How to turn an Interview into a Job | eHow.com →
Excellent recommendations - from one who’s been on both sides of the hiring situation!
1 tag
Happy Thanksgiving to all!
so many things to be grateful for every day. my Dad will be 87 on Friday - he is really quite remarkable, even if I am biased :-) He still paints watercolors that are amazing (I’ll post some of them sometime), and both he and my Mom still drive, do all their own home cooking (and I mean from scratch old fashioned real food, including home-made bread!!!). Will also get to see a friend from...
Fear
For probably the first time in my life, believe it or not, I am dreading going to work on Monday. Seriously, knock-down drag-out dread. Biotech hell they call it. CEO coming back from a ‘fundraising’ trip in Europe. We’re all on salary reduction and wondering if/when we will have a next paycheck. So that could be disturbing, but what am I afraid of? He’s been away two weeks...
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Great Gift Ideas For Firefighters - and those who... →
zelimages:
All sorts of great gift ideas for the firefighter, both male and female. All original photography from a 30 year veteran firefighter.
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Another good reason to try Stress Manager! →
A new paper by Kim et al. in the journal Free Radical Medicine and Biology on the benefits of the amino acid found in tea, L-theanine, on preserving memory in mice injected with beta-amyloid protein. If you’re interested in trying a product that gets you the L-theanine and the polyphenols in tea without the caffeine, go here:
www.te-ame.com
8 tags
History matters! →
Also
www.keepmilltownhistoric.org
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“If we are what we eat, be delicious!”
– a billboard on I95 N. of Philadelphia
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Pharma or Food?
It really bothers me that it is so difficult to get reimbursed for food products that help people manage ore even prevent disease without resorting to toxic drugs. Even forms of vitamins that are more bioavailable and highly studied that can significantly reduce the incidence of problems such as osteoporosis, diabetes, vision loss and dementia cannot be reimbursed. But you can get a drug like...
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An Appetite for (or against) inflammation →
Good summary and review of the USNews&World Report article - if all those fruits and veggies don’t agree with your tummy, you might need a little extra - try here: www.te-ame.com
4 tags
Participate in World Diabetes Day! →
Type 2 diabetes CAN be conquered - it does Not require new discoveries, billions of dollars of drug research or years of regulatory hurdles. All it requires is healthy eating, exercise, enough rest and the committment to action.