Health Freedom Groups Join in Launch of Grassroots Health Revolution Petition

by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor

(NaturalNews) A new petition calling for revolutionary health care reforms and health freedoms was launched today at www.HealthRevolutionPetition.org. The petition -- which is endorsed by NaturalNews, the Organic Consumers Association, the Life Extension Foundation, the American Association for Health Freedom and other health freedom groups -- calls for an end to FDA and FTC oppression of free speech about dietary supplements. Its ten provisions also call for full income tax deductions on health-enhancing products and services, a halt to the psychiatric drugging of children, the end of mandatory vaccination policies and the legalization of healing practices across the country. (The carrying out of natural anti-cancer therapies, for example, is currently outlawed in the United States.)

The banning of GMOs from the food supply and the requirement that the EPA investigate the environmental impact of discarded pharmaceuticals is also in the petition. In all, it calls for an end to the era of Big Pharma domination over health care and usher in a new era of nutrition-oriented, preventive health care strategies that can prevent as much as 70 percent of degenerative disease in America today, saving the nation hundreds of billions of dollars in "disease maintenance" costs.

Notably, the petition also calls for an "immediate investigation" into a revolutionary new health care system developed by Mike Adams, called Citizens In Charge (http://www.healthrevolutionpetition...). This system eliminates all health insurance, provides health care coverage to all U.S. residents, proactively invests in disease prevention, eliminates wasteful paperwork and health care administration, drastically reduces health care costs, eliminates virtually all government intervention in health care and produces far better health care outcomes at significantly reduced costs.

The "Citizens In Charge" health care system is characterized as a "socialized-free-market" system of health care coverage, combining the universal coverage of socialized medicine with the personal economic decisions of free market behavior. The system also sports a national database of health service providers where the quality of their services is rated by customers. The result? A national knowledge base of customer-generated ratings of what really works to improve health care outcomes at reduced costs.

The Health Revolution Petition was created by NaturalNews.com editor Mike Adams (the "Health Ranger"), a vocal opponent of Big Pharma and the FDA, and a strong supporter of nutrition, natural health and green living. Many health freedom attorneys and advocates contributed to the text of the petition, refining its language to better protect the freedoms of the People while limiting government intervention in the key health decisions that are best left to local citizens and their health care providers.

"This petition lends a voice to all the millions of Americans who believe in disease prevention over disease maintenance, nutrition over pharmaceuticals and naturopathic health care instead of interventionist, orthodox medical care that emphasizes drugs and surgery instead of commonsense self care," said Adams. "Conventional medicine, the FDA and the drug companies have collectively become such a danger to the health and safety of the American people that revolutionary, grassroots action is now required to protect our families and our children against these out-of-control, profit-minded institutions that routinely trade American lives for profits."

The petition aims to gather 100,000 signatures in 2009, after which it will be distributed to each member of Congress as well as President Obama and his staff. A special, signed printout of the petition is being delivered to the office of Rep. Ron Paul, who has consistently served as a champion of health freedom for many years.

http://www.naturalnews.com/025719.html

Forget C, D may be the vitamin for cold and flu protection: Study

Nutraingredients.com, 25-Feb-2009

Increased levels of vitamin D may protect against common respiratory infections such as cold and flu, according to new findings from the US.
According to findings of a study with about 19,000 adults and adolescents, people with the lowest average levels of vitamin D were about 40 per cent more likely to have a recent respiratory infection, compared to those with higher vitamin D levels.
The findings, published in this week’s Archives of Internal Medicine, indicated that increased intakes of the sunshine vitamin may be an important way to prime the immune system against disorders like the common cold.
“To our knowledge, this is the first population-based study to evaluate and demonstrate an association between serum 25(OH)D level and [upper respiratory tract infections],” wrote lead author of the study Adit Ginde, MD from the University of Colorado, Denver.
“The association seems to be robust, with a clinically and statistically significant association present in all seasons and when controlling for potential confounders.”
Out with C, in with D?
In background information in their paper, Ginde and his co-workers note that for many decades, consumers have looked to vitamin C for the prevention and treatment of upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs) “despite the lack of convincing evidence of benefit in community populations”.
Furthermore, the segment of cold and/or flu prevention, and ‘immune boosting’ remains among the top reasons that Americans take vitamin and herbal supplements. The study represents the first to report a ‘robust’ association between vitamin D and respiratory health.
Vitamin D refers to two biologically inactive precursors - D3, also known as cholecalciferol, and D2, also known as ergocalciferol. Both D3 and D2 precursors are hydroxylated in the liver and kidneys to form 25- hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D), the non-active 'storage' form, and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D (1,25(OH)2D), the biologically active form that is tightly controlled by the body.
Benefits for those most at risk
While low vitamin D levels were associated with increased risks of cold and flu in ‘healthy’ people, the researchers noted that low levels were linked to even higher risks in people with chronic respiratory disorders, such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and emphysema.
The observations were based on data from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III). Blood samples from the 18,883 adults and adolescents allowed the researchers to measure 25(OH)D levels.
The lowest average vitamin D blood levels, defined as less than 10 nanograms per milliliter (ng/mL) of blood, were associated with a 40 per cent increased risk of respiratory infection, compared to the highest average levels of 30 ng/mL or higher.
The links were observed in all seasons, said the researchers. For people with a history of asthma, low vitamin D levels were associated with a risk of respiratory tract infection five times more than those with high levels, while the among COPD patients, respiratory infections were twice as common among those with vitamin D deficiency.
“A respiratory infection in someone with otherwise healthy lungs usually causes a few days of relatively mild symptoms,” explained senior author of the study, Carlos Camargo MD, DrPH, from MGH Department of Emergency Medicine.
“But respiratory infections in individuals with an underlying lung disease can cause serious attacks of asthma or COPD that may require urgent office visits, emergency department visits or hospitalizations. So the impact of preventing infections in these patients could be very large.”
The researchers said that clinical trials to test vitamin D supplements to boost immunity and fight respiratory infections are being planned.
“While it's too early to make any definitive recommendations, many Americans also need more vitamin D for its bone and general health benefits. Clinicians and laypeople should stay tuned as this exciting area of research continues to expand,” said Ginde.
In terms of the mechanism, Ginde and his co-workers note that the vitamin plays a defining role in the production of a type of protein called cathelicidins that are found in many cells including microphages that play a role in immunity.
The science builds for vitamin D
Commenting on the study, Andrew Shao, PhD, vice president, scientific and regulatory affairs, for the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), a supplements trade association, said it adds to growth of science supporting the benefits of vitamin D.
“The majority of Americans continue to fall short in getting adequate amounts of vitamin D through diet alone. Given that vitamin D is relatively low in most foods, and there are serious risks associated with excessive sun exposure, dietary supplements are an important alternative to achieving a sufficient intake,” said Dr Shao.
“While this study on its own does not mean that higher vitamin D intake will ensure that you don’t get an upper respiratory tract infection this winter, it is consistent with, and adds to, the relatively new body of evidence showing that vitamin D plays a critical role in immune function.”
Source: Archives of Internal Medicine
2009, Volume 169, Issue 4, Pages 384-390
“Association Between Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Level and Upper Respiratory Tract Infection in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey”
Authors: A.A. Ginde, J.M. Mansbach, C.A. Camargo Jr
Forget-C-D-may-be-the-vitamin-for-cold-and-flu-protection-Study

Calcium may slash colorectal cancer risk: Study

Nutraingredients.com, 25-Feb-2009

Increased intakes of calcium from the diet and supplements may reduce the risk of colorectal cancer by up to 23 per cent in women, says a new study from the US.
Men also benefit from increased intakes of the mineral, with high intakes linked to a 16 per cent reduction in colorectal cancer risk, according to findings from the National Cancer Institute published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
The researchers, led by Yikyung Park, arrived at the conclusions after analyzing data from 293,907 men and 198,903 women participating in the National Institutes of Health-AARP Diet and Health Study. The findings support the current US dietary guidelines to consume 1,200 milligrams of calcium for adults age 50 and older, and three cups per day of low-fat or fat-free dairy products.
"Our findings suggest that calcium intake consistent with current recommendations is associated with a lower risk of total cancer in women and cancers of the digestive system, especially colorectal cancer, in both men and women," wrote Park and his co-workers.
The potential benefits for calcium, usually in combination with vitamin D mineral combination in relation to colorectal cancer is somewhat controversial, with some studies reporting benefits while others report null results.
Indeed, back in 2006 results from the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) stated that daily supplements of vitamin D and calcium 'had no effect' on the risk of colorectal cancer. The results were questioned however and independent cancer experts said at the time that the claims should be interpreted in the light of the complexities of the study.
New data
Park and his co-workers analysed data from the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study using food frequency questionnaires. The participants reported their consumption of dairy and other foods and their use of supplements.
They were subsequently followed for an average of seven years, during which 36,965 cases of cancer were diagnosed in men and 16,605 in women. While no association between calcium and the total risk of cancer was observed in men, the researchers noted that the risk decreased up to approximately 1300 mg/d, after which no further benefits were observed.
When the researchers considered only cancers of the digestive tract, both dairy food and calcium intakes in both men and women were associated with reduced risks.
Indeed, men with the highest average daily intakes of around 1,530 mg/d had a 16 per cent lower risk of these types of cancer, compared to men with the lowest average daily intakes of around 526 mg/d.
For women, the highest average intakes of calcium (1,881 mg/d) were associated with a 23 per cent lower risk of such cancers, compared to women with the lowest average intakes (494 mg/d). Furthermore, the decreased risk was particularly pronounced for colorectal cancer, said the researchers.
However, no association between calcium and dairy food intakes were observed for prostate, breast or any cancer in another anatomical system besides the digestive system, they added.
"Dairy food, which is relatively high in potentially anticarcinogenic nutrients such as calcium, vitamin D and conjugated linoleic acid, has been postulated to protect against the development of colorectal and breast cancer," wrote the authors.
The mechanism behind the potential benefits of calcium has not been fully elucidated with respect to cancer, but previous studies have reported that the mineral may reduce abnormal growth and induce normal turnover among cells in the gastrointestinal tract and breast. Additionally, it may also bind bile and fatty acids, thereby reducing damage to the mucous membrane in the large intestine, added the researchers.
Just one piece of the puzzle
The results were welcomed by Andrew Shao, PhD, vice president, scientific and regulatory affairs, for the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), a supplements trade association.
“What this means for consumers is that there may be benefits to calcium supplementation that go beyond bone health; but more research is still needed to help explain the observed differences in gender and to better assess the effects on other non-digestive cancers,” said Dr. Shao.
“It’s also interesting to point out that the women in this study who had the highest calcium intakes - and lower risks of cancer - had lower body mass indexes, tended to be physically active, and were less likely to smoke cigarettes or drink alcohol.
This further reinforces the notion that good health is truly a combination of overall healthy practices - and vitamins and other supplements are an important part of that formula.”
Cancer stats
Colorectal cancer accounts for nine per cent of new cancer cases every year worldwide. The highest incidence rates are in the developed world, while Asia and Africa have the lowest incidence rates.
Source: Archives of Internal Medicine
2009, Volume 169, Issue 4, Pages 391-401
“Dairy Food, Calcium, and Risk of Cancer in the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study”
Authors: Y. Park, M.F. Leitzmann, A.F. Subar, A. Hollenbeck, A. Schatzkin
http://www.nutraingredients.com/Research/Calcium-may-slash-colorectal-cancer-risk-Study

Amino acids against acrylamide – choice is critical for effects: Study

Nutringredients.com, 25-Feb-2009

Using amino acids to compete with, and reduce, the sources of acrylamide should focus on the common additive cysteine, according to results from Belgium.
According to a study published in the journal Food Chemistry, L-cysteine may reduce the concentration of acrylamide by more than 99 per cent.
“Selectively increasing the free amino acid pool to compete with asparagine for available carbonyls and/or to enhance the elimination of acrylamide has already been proposed as a possible mitigation mechanism for acrylamide generation,” explained lead author Kristel de Vleeschouwer from the Leuven Food Science and Nutrition Research Centre (LFORCE) at the Catholic University of Leuven.
The study taps into the trend of reducing acrylamide in foods, as the industry aims to improve the public perception about food safety, which has suffered in recent years.
Acrylamide is a suspected carcinogen that is formed during by heat-induced reaction between sugar and an amino acid called asparagine. Known as the Maillard reaction, this process is responsible for the brown colour and tasty flavour of baked, fried and toasted foods.
The compound first hit the headlines in 2002, when scientists at the Swedish Food Administration first reported unexpectedly high levels of acrylamide, found to cause cancer in laboratory rats, in carbohydrate-rich foods.
Since the Swedish discovery a global effort has been underway to amass data about this chemical. More than 200 research projects have been initiated around the world and their findings co-ordinated by national governments, the EU and the United Nations.
New data
Using the model asparagine-glucose control system, de Vleeschouwer and her co-workers tested the effects of two amino acids, glutamine and cysteine, on acrylamide formation.
The researchers report that adding glutamine into the system produced the undesirable effect of slightly increasing the acrylamide yield.
On the other hand, cysteine had a “pronounced reducing effect (greater than 99 per cent) on the acrylamide yield”, they said.
This reduction was due to an additional acrylamide elimination reaction dependent on the cysteine concentration, said de Vleeschouwer.
However, “speculations have been made in literature concerning the exact mechanism(s) by which these amino acids affect acrylamide formation/elimination, but mechanistic studies are, however, lacking”, added the researchers.
Care needed
While the cysteine addition could reduce acrylamide levels in this model system, the authors urged caution with regarding to extrapolation of the results to finished foods, since “such treatment certainly also has an effect on the favourable qualities of colour, texture and flavour that are associated with heat-treated foods.
“Therefore, it would be advisable to first determine the mechanism by which different amino acids act on acrylamide formation and elimination reactions […]
“This will allow prediction of the impact of (pre)treatments with amino acids on the kinetic parameters of acrylamide formation and elimination on the one hand and of reactions responsible for colour and flavour on the other hand,” they concluded.
Enzymes leading anti-acrylamide approaches
The most attention for acrylamide reduction or removal has focussed on the potential of asparaginase enzymes to tackle the problem. The two main players in this area, DSM and Novozymes, both launched their solutions for use by the food industry in 2007, after having licensed the application rights from Frito Lay and Proctor and Gamble.
DSM's Preventase and Novozyme's Acrylaway are said to work in the same way: they convert asparagine into another amino acid called aspartic acid, thus preventing it from being converted into acrylamide. The effect is a reduction in acrylamide in the final product by as much as 90 per cent.
While Preventase is derived from Aspergillus niger, Acrylaway comes from a different strain, Aspergillus oryzae.
Source: Food Chemistry
Pages 535-546
“Role of precursors on the kinetics of acrylamide formation and elimination under low moisture conditions using a multiresponse approach – Part II: Competitive reactions”
Authors: K. De Vleeschouwer, I. Van der Plancken, A. Van Loey, M.E. Hendrickx
Amino-acids-against-acrylamide-choice-is-critical-for-effects-Study

Long hours link to dementia risk
Long working hours may raise the risk of mental decline and possibly dementia, research suggests.
The Finnish-led study was based on analysis of 2,214 middle-aged British civil servants.
It found that those working more than 55 hours a week had poorer mental skills than those who worked a standard working week.
The American Journal of Epidemiology study found hard workers had problems with short-term memory and word recall.
“ This should say to employers that insisting people work long hours is actually not good for your business ”
Professor Cary Cooper
University of Lancaster
Lead researcher Dr Marianna Virtanen, from the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, said: "The disadvantages of overtime work should be taken seriously."
It is not known why working long hours might have an adverse effect on the brain.
However, the researchers say key factors could include increased sleeping problems, depression, an unhealthy lifestyle and a raised risk of cardiovascular disease, possibly linked to stress.
The civil servants who took part in the study took five different tests of their mental function, once between 1997 and 1999, and again between 2002 and 2004.
Those doing the most overtime recorded lower scores in two of the five tests, assessing reasoning and vocabulary.
Cumulative effect
The effects were cumulative, the longer the working week was the worse the test results were.
Employees with long working hours also had shorter sleeping hours, reported more symptoms of depression and used more alcohol than those with normal working hours.
Professor Mika Kivimäki, who also worked on the study, said "We will go on with this study question in the future.
"It is particularly important to examine whether the effects are long-lasting and whether long working hours predict more serious conditions such as dementia."
Professor Cary Cooper, an expert in workplace stress at the University of Lancaster, said it had been long established that consistently working long hours was bad for general health, and now this study suggested it was also bad for mental functioning.
He said: "This should say to employers that insisting people work long hours is actually not good for your business, and that there is a business case for making sure people have a good work-life balance.
"But my worry is that in a recession people will actually work longer hours. There will be a culture of "presenteeism" - people will go to work even if they are ill because they want to show commitment, and make sure they are not the next to be made redundant."
Harriet Millward, deputy chief executive of the Alzheimer's Research Trust, said: "This study should give pause for thought to workaholics.
"We already know that dementia risk can be reduced by maintaining a balanced diet, regular social interactions and exercising both our bodies and minds. Perhaps work-life balance should be accounted for too."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7909464.stm

An Angry Heart Can Lead To Sudden Death

ScienceDaily (Feb. 25, 2009) — Before flying off the handle the next time someone cuts you off in traffic, consider the latest research that links changes brought on by anger or other strong emotions to future arrhythmias and sudden cardiac arrests, which are blamed for 400,000 deaths annually.  New research published in the March 3, 2009, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology finds that anger-induced electrical changes in the heart can predict future arrhythmias in patients with implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs).
While previous studies have demonstrated an increased incidence of sudden cardiac death during times of population stress such as earthquake and war, this study provides the first evidence that changes brought on by anger and other strong emotions can predict arrhythmias and may link mental stress to sudden cardiac arrest--which accounts for over 400,000 deaths each year.
"It's an important study because we are beginning to understand how anger and other types of mental stress can trigger potentially lethal ventricular arrhythmias, especially among patients with structural heart abnormalities," says Rachel Lampert, M.D., F.A.C.C., associate professor, Yale University School of Medicine.
Researchers studied 62 patients with ICDs who underwent monitoring during a mental stress test. Patients who had coronary artery disease or dilated cardiomyopathy (a condition in which the heart muscle are enlarged) and a standard indication for ICD were recruited from the Yale Electrophysiology practice. The mental stress test, conducted in a laboratory setting shortly after ICD implantation (about 3 months), asked patients to recall a recent situation in which they were angry or aggravated. T-wave alternans (TWA), a measure of the heart's electrical stability, was analyzed during this test. Researchers then followed patients for a mean of 37 months to determine which had arrhythmias requiring termination by the ICD.
Patients with ICD-terminated arrhythmias during follow up (16%) had higher TWA induced by anger compared with those patients who did not have future arrhythmias. Even when other clinical factors that predispose patients to higher TWA levels and/or higher risk of ventricular tachycardia/ventricular fibrillation were controlled for (e.g., heart failure or history of arrhythmia), anger-induced TWA remained a significant predictor of arrhythmias, which led to a heightened risk of up to ten times that of other patients.
"What remains unclear is how this new T-wave alternans test relates to traditional exercise TWA testing," according to Eric J. Rashba, M.D., professor of Medicine, Stony Brook University Medical Center. "It may be that combining exercise TWA tests with newer mental stress TWA tests may help clinicians better select patients likely to have arrhythmia and, in turn, benefit from a defibrillator; however, more study is needed."
In contrast to exercise, mental stress doesn't elevate one's heart rate much, suggesting that changes seen with mental stress may be due to a direct effect of adrenaline on the heart cells. Therefore, mental stress testing could provide an alternative to atrial pacing for patients unable to exercise, according to Dr. Lampert.
"More research is needed, but these data suggest that therapies focused on helping patients deal with anger and other negative emotions may help reduce arrhythmias and, therefore, sudden cardiac death in certain patients."
Rachel Lampert, Vladimir Shusterman, Matthew Burg, Craig McPherson, William Batsford, Anna Goldberg, and Robert Soufer. Anger-Induced T-Wave Alternans Predicts Future Ventricular Arrhythmias in Patients With Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillators. J Am Coll Cardiol, 2009; 53: 774-778 DOI: 10.1016/j.jacc.2008.10.053
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090223221235.htm