Earlier this year, I shared compelling information with you about polyunsaturated fats spurring the formation of cataracts, a common problem faced by the elderly. At the time, I also told you the amount of antioxidants -- specifically the lack of them -- also contributed greatly to cataracts.

Researchers have discovered an antioxidant-rich diet of fruits and vegetables may prevent the breakdown of a crucial mechanism, called the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway, that clears damaged proteins away from eye lenses. When too many of these damaged proteins accumulate, cataracts can grow on the eye.

This ubiquitin-proteasome pathway helps balance a healthy concentration of proteins within cells. Ubiquitin is a protein that identifies damaged proteins ripe for removal and attaches itself to them. These "conjugated" proteins then latch onto proteasomes (protein-degrading enzymes) finish the job of clearing away vision-sapping debris.

Because free radicals attack ubiquitin and other healthy proteins in the eye, the antioxidants contained in vitamins C and E can play an important role in protecting that pathway.

A good source of vitamins C and E, as well as beta carotene: Kiwi fruit.

USDA Agricultural Research Service August 2, 2005

USDA Agricultural Research Service August 2005 Free Full Text Article

Because you know how much I enjoy sharing innovative technology with you, a suburban school district in Dallas has enlisted the aid of a virtual cafeteria to battle the epidemic of childhood obesity.

The Carrollton-Farmers Branch school district recently launched its Virtual Cafeteria Web site to show kids, teachers and parents what's being served at their school every day. The site also calculates nutritional information on a virtual lunch tray, including calories, fat grams, protein and vitamins.

What I like about the site: A virtual cafeteria worker appears on screen and comments on the various choices a child can make -- both good and bad. For example, a cookie rates a Whoa! response, meaning it shouldn't be eaten less often. On the other hand, choosing a salad merits a Congratulations!

My hope is that parents get more involved in what their children eat at school by sitting with them at home and helping them make smarter choices. And they need to ensure their children get enough exercise, considering some kids aren't getting the activity they need at school.

Fact is, a parent must become a good role model to nurture these healthy behaviors. After all, it is completely unfair to your children to show them how to get more exercise and eat better if they don't see you doing those same things.

MSNBC August 25, 2005

Earlier this month, I told you about the horror story surrounding the accidental use of hydraulic fluid to clean surgical instruments at two Duke University hospitals and how it harmed the health of at least 50 patients treated there. File this one away in that same folder...

A Texas company has recalled its line of Medline-labeled, alcohol-free mouthwashes and hygiene kits used in hospitals, medical centers and long-term care centers. Nothing unusual, except the mouthwash was contaminated with Burkholderia cepacia (B. cepacia). Patients with weakened immune systems or chronic lung diseases (particularly cystic fibrosis) who are exposed to this bacteria may be more susceptible to infections.

Even worse, the B. cepacia bacteria are often resistant to common antibiotics. These products were subsequently pulled after illnesses were reported in Texas and Florida hospitals.

I post accounts like these often, just to remind you how mistakes committed in hospitals contribute to the number of needless and preventable deaths each year in this country.

WLTX-TV August 29, 2005

Newsinferno.com August 27, 2005

In another example of how your emotions can affect your physical health for the negative, merely mentioning the word wheeze to an asthma sufferer can activate more severe symptoms, according to a new study.

Scientists used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to scan the brains of six mildly asthmatic patients who inhaled either ragweed or dust-mite extracts. During those scans, patients were shown three words: Wheeze, loneliness and curtains. Then, researchers measured their patients' lung function as well as molecular signs of inflammation in their sputum

Scans revealed those asthma-related reminders stimulated responses in two sectors of the brain related to lung functioning and inflammation. Both the anterior cingulate cortex and insula are involved in transmitting information about the physiological condition of the body, such as shortness of breath and pain levels, scientists said. Moreover, these regions of the brain have strong connections with other structures essential in processing emotional information.

Sounds just as compelling as a recent study that found depression can independently lead to insulin resistance and the high levels of blood glucose that result from it.

Some natural treatments that can help you deal with the emotions that affect your physical and mental health:

• Taking a high quality fish or cod liver oil daily.
• Learning the Emotional Freedom Technique.
• Committing to an exercise program.

EurekAlert August 29, 2005

In a bit of a surprise, California Attorney General Bill Lockyer has decided to pursue a petition filed by the Environmental Law Foundation last month against the makers of French fries and potato chips.

Lockyer's office filed a lawsuit in a Los Angeles Court late last week to force nine fast-food and snack companies to include warnings that their cooked potato products contain higher levels of acrylamide, a white, odorless and potentially cancer-causing chemical.

It's about time, considering the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment has estimated consumers of French fries are exposed to as much as 125 times the amount of acrylamide that requires a warning under Proposition 65 regulations.

The laundry list of defendants are, no doubt, familiar to you:

• McDonald's
• Frito-Lay
• Wendy's
• Proctor & Gamble

Just another reason to remind you, if you want to avoid toxic byproducts, I urge you to read my piece about the five worst foods you can eat.

Los Angeles Times August 27, 2005 Registration Required

Not so surprisingly, University of Illinois researchers have found you can boost the beneficial effects of exercise and lose more fat when you eat a diet rich in protein. What's more, a high-carbohydrate, low-protein diet can even reduce the effectiveness of your exercise regimen!

Scientists divided 48 adult women into two groups, based on different diet and exercise regimens: One who consumed a diet based on the largely flawed food pyramid that contained high amounts of carbs and the other who ate the same amount of calories but substituted high-protein foods for all the extra carbs.

Patients were also divided in terms of exercise. One group added two or three sessions of walking per week, and the other five sessions lasting 30 minutes along with two weight-training sessions.

Although both sets of patients dropped weight, the high-protein exercisers dropped more of it and almost all of it was fat.

The results led researchers to conclude the current food pyramid doesn't provide enough leucine, an essential amino acid that helps adults maintain healthy muscle mass. Moreover, to enjoy the benefits researchers observed, you'd have to eat 9-10 grams of leucine a day by eating high-protein foods, and not with a supplement.

Journal of Nutrition, Vol. 135, No. 8, August 2005: 1903-1910

Medical News Today August 29, 2005

Sad to say, it's not at all surprising coffee, by far, is the leading source of antioxidants in the average American diet, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Scranton.

The top five sources of antioxidants consumed by Americans every day based on comparisons of more than 100 different foods (by milligrams):

1. Coffee (1,299)
2. Black tea (294)
3. Bananas (76)
4. Dry beans (72)
5. Corn (48)

Here's the real kicker: The leading source of antioxidants, based on the study, is dates, not coffee! So, I caution you to save the money you'd planned to spend on those extra decaf mochas, and start adding better, more natural sources of antioxidants, like the ones below.

• Nuts (pecans, walnuts, hazelnuts)
• Spices (ground cloves or cinnamon and oregano)
• Vegetables (artichokes)
• High fiber, low sugar fruits (blueberries, cranberries and blackberries)

EurekAlert August 28, 2005

If you'd forgotten about McDonald's promise to drop trans fats from their menu of largely fatty fried foods, at the risk of legal action, I really don't blame you, as that was probably what the fast-food giant was hoping for all along.

With no replacement for trans fats in sight, a California judge approved a settlement between McDonald's and the group BanTransFats.com last week for $8.5 million for the company's failure to let the public know in 2003 that it hadn't found a safer trans fat substitute.

The lion's share of the settlement ($7 million) will go to the American Heart Foundation which will spend it on programs to teach consumers about trans fats. The remainder will be spent by McDonald's so they can inform the public about its failure to meet its 2003 deadline.

If it sounds like McDonald's got off with just a slap on the hand, you're right, especially compared to the damage trans fats can do to your health, a recent message restaurants in New York City received loud and clear.

Besides, I wonder if you'll ever see a commercial or an ad anywhere admitting McDonald's was guilty of anything, except on late-night TV?

Chicago Sun-Times August 27, 2005

Thought you'd enjoy reading this interesting piece from Mike Adams' awesome NewsTarget.com site about why diet and exercise work hand-in-hand to help you lose weight and keep it off.

Losing weight isn't merely a function of calorie-cutting, and Mike knows better than most: Once upon a time, he was quite obese! However, under all the body fat you're carrying around, you probably have strong muscles and a sturdy skeleton. In other words, the heavier you are, the stronger your muscles must be just so you can move around.

The trick is to keep your muscles and bone mass in place while losing the body fat that's slowing you down. If you don't make an effort to balance the two, however, you'll lose muscle mass and your metabolism will start to slow down. So you could end up lighter, but because you're not burning up the calories you once did, any sort of overeating will trigger another weight gain.

Fortunately, you have plenty of free resources available on my Web site that can help you get started on the right exercise plan. I suggest viewing exercise like a drug that needs to be prescribed precisely to achieve maximum results.

I encourage my patients to gradually increase the amount of time they are exercising 60 to 90 minutes a day. Initially, the frequency is daily. This is a treatment dose until they normalize their weight or insulin levels. Once normalized, they will only need to exercise three to four times a week.

Get started, either by reviewing my beginner's exercise page, or the array of articles I've posted from contributing editors Dr. Ben Lerner and Paul Chek.

NewsTarget August 27, 2005

Did you know the average American owes $145,000? Yes, every one of us...

That's what it would take to pay for Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, the trifecta of entitlement programs for the elderly and poor that balloons as people age. And that number doesn't take into consideration what you've actually accumulated in personal debts from credit cards, mortgages, cars and the like. Even worse, Americans save less than $1 of every $100 they earn, while spending almost $2 billion a day on gadgets, cars and imported clothes than the rest of the world.

If that's not a recipe for disaster, I can't imagine, outside possibly at category 4 hurricane, what it would be.

You'd think the younger generation would've seen through this fragile house of cards long ago, but their insatiable I-want-it-now! hunger for things -- and conveniently forgetting the consequences -- only mirrors the obesity epidemic.

A number of experts believe the financial calamity is avoidable, but it's going to be tough. One of the best things you can do to prevent those failing financial numbers from harming your family is to get healthy as quickly as you can. Here's my prescription for beating the statisticians:

• Metabolic type
• Exercise and lower insulin
• Replace trans fats with fish oil
• Clean water
• One hour of sunshine every day
• Learn to sleep well
• Avoid artificial sweeteners

Seattle Post-Intelligencer August 28, 2005

Patients who undergo an angioplasty or heart bypass surgery may increase their chances of developing Alzheimer's disease, not completely unexpected considering a 2001 study found such procedures may prompt mental declines.

The reason for the increased risk of Alzheimer's: The stress and trauma surrounding such procedures. In fact, coronary bypass patients alone had a frighteningly high 70 percent increased risk of developing Alzheimer's

Also, patients who suffered a mental decline after their heart procedures and subsequently recovered weren't out of the woods either. Researchers believe their recovery may be masking a problem caused by the heart surgery. And, as patients age, this could trigger progressive cognitive deficits, associated with mild impairments, a precursor to Alzheimer's.

The best way to avoid the risk of Alzheimer's disease after a heart procedure pretty simple. "Bypass" heart disease altogether by making some simple lifestyle changes:

• Start an exercise program.
• Take a high quality fish or cod liver oil daily
• Take control of the negative emotions that can devastate your health by learning the Emotional Freedom Technique.
• Get tested for CRP.
• Optimize your diet based on your body's unique metabolic type.

Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, Vol. 7, No. 4, August 2005: 319-324

Science Blog August 25, 2005

You may recall a study I posted earlier this year about the epidemic of kidney disease in this country. Based on a 2000 report of the U.S. Renal Data System, kidney disease affects some 20 million Americans -- almost twice the number from a decade ago -- and many have no idea their health is at risk.

An interesting story in the Washington Post (free text link below) should shock those who live in the DC area, in particular, to get checked out for kidney disease: The rate for new cases of end-stage kidney disease in the 20019 Zip code alone are 44 times higher than the national average!

Race plays some part in this epidemic, at least in Washington D.C., as African-Americans are up to four times more prone to suffer from kidney disease (blacks also outpace whites in diabetes and hypertension, the leading causes of kidney problems). But that doesn't explain the far smaller numbers of kidney disease in Miami or Chicago where many African Americans live too.

In any event, you can lower your risk of kidney disease by avoiding these things:

• Over-the-counter pain medications like aspirin.
• Statin drugs such as Crestor.
• Distilled water.
• Mercury.

Washington Post August 22, 2005

As you recall, Merck lost the first of, what experts expect to be, countless Vioxx lawsuits to the tune of some $253 million in a Texas courtroom a week ago. At the time of the ruling, the word "settlement" wasn't in Merck's vocabulary. Staring at nearly 5,000 more lawsuits to contend with and many more to come, however, the mega-drug company may be having second thoughts...

Both the Wall Street Journal and New York Times (free link below) have reported Merck is considering settling an underdetermined number of cases involving patients who took Vioxx for more than 18 months and demonstrated no risk factors for strokes or heart attacks.

Makes great sense, considering Merck's former strategy about taking every Vioxx case to trial blew up in their faces when Texans awarded the widow of Robert Ernst more than a quarter billion dollars last week (although state caps on lawsuits reduced the award to $26 million).

Still, general counsel, Kenneth Frazier, says Merck's not interested in any sort of class-action settlement, but that could change in a hurry if the lawsuits keep piling up. Experts predict the New Jersey drugmaker could be staring at as many as 50,000 of them before it's all said and done. That's certainly possible, considering the number of Vioxx cases jumped by more than 600 in the past month.

We'll see what happens between now and the next trial convening in September, involving a man who suffered a heart attack after taking Vioxx for a short time, in New Jersey.

CBS MarketWatch August 26, 2005

The Lakeland (Fla.) Ledger August 26, 2005

New York Times August 26, 2005 Registration Required

Earlier this year, Seattle topped the list of America's fittest cities, based on a popular survey released annually by Men's Fitness. About halfway down the "fittest list" is Portland, Ore., which may really be the epicenter of one the healthier states to live in, according to a report by the Trust for America's Health (free report link below).

Colorado may be the "leanest" state in the report (16.4 percent), but Oregon held the unique distinction of being the only state whose percentage of obese residents stayed the same (21 percent). Nevertheless, the report was criticized by the state epidemiologist who estimated the percentage of obese adults at nearly three times that number (59 percent).

What was more interesting about the news report than the numbers, however, were some of the reasons Oregonians kept obesity at bay. For example, the state's urban design plan encourages residents to ride their bikes to work. In fact, some employers offer monthly financial incentives to workers if they ride their bikes to work at least 80 percent of the time.

Additionally, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the number of farms in the state increased by a surprising 50 percent, meaning Oregonians likely had better access to fresh fruits and vegetables which promotes healthier eating.

The trick is to promote better health habits as a natural daily outcome, and living in a town like Portland could certainly help. But you don't have to live there to optimize your health, especially if you take advantage of the free resources available on my Web site.

Some areas you'll want to explore as you learn better health habits:

• Learning how to eat based on your body's unique metabolic type.
• Finding an exercise program that works best for you.
• Dealing with the emotional stumbling blocks that prevent you from succeeding by learning the Emotional Freedom Technique.

MSNBC August 24, 2005

Trust for America's Health Free Full Text Report

Battling Fibromyalgia With Acupuncture

Here's a new way to treat fibromyalgia, a frequently disabling muscle condition that affects more women than men, that has nothing to do with taking a potentially toxic drug like duloxetine: A brief regimen of acupuncture can give sufferers up to a month of relief from some of its more devastating symptoms.

Mayo Clinic scientists tested the effect of acupuncture on 50 patients who were moderately debilitated and hadn't responded to traditional treatments. Patients were divided into two groups: Those who received six acupuncture sessions and the rest who were given "simulated" acupuncture treatments over two to three weeks.

Although physical functioning didn't improve, other symptoms -- pain, fatigue and anxiety -- did, and especially among those who got the "real thing." The most dramatic improvements were felt by patients after a month.

But after seven months, the pain, fatigue and anxiety returned, prompting researchers to suggest scheduling ongoing acupuncture treatments may provide more sustained relief.

Other natural treatments for fibromyalgia:

• Addressing your emotions by learning the Emotional Freedom Technique.
• Eating a healthier diet by choosing foods based on your body's unique metabolic type.
• Starting an exercise plan today!

Yahoo News August 25, 2005

According to a study of some 35,000 Swedish patients, those who describe themselves as nervous or anxious stand a better chance of being hospitalized after a failed attempt at suicide. Not terribly surprising, until I learned the number of people who reported anxiety or nervousness had jumped over more than a decade's time from 12 to 22 percent.

Almost 14 percent of women reported experiencing light problems with nervousness, anxiety and uneasiness and nearly 4 percent said their problems were severe, while the numbers for men were about half that.

From there, the news gets worse for men.

Males who experienced severe worries or anxieties were more than nine times as likely to be hospitalized after a suicide attempt. And, those risks increased with time in men by a factor of 15 during a decade-long follow-up period.

Moreover, men who reported severe anxiety or nervousness had a higher mortality rate from any cause, in comparison to a long standing illness or smoking, scientists said. On the other hand, a long illness had more to do with increased suicide attempts and mortality rate among women than negative emotions.

Results like these ought to hammer home the role negative emotions play in your physical health, just as they do in slowing down physical healing.

The trick when it comes to dealing with stress is how to adjust your body's ability, not to eliminate, but tolerate it. You can do just that by learning the Emotional Freedom Technique, the energy psychology tool I use in my practice.

And, instead of reaching for an antidepressant to "cure" what ails you, I strongly recommend balancing your daily ratio of omega-3 and omega-6 fats by taking a high quality fish or cod liver oil daily.

Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, Vol. 59, No. 9, September 2005: 794-798

MSNBC August 22, 2005

You may hear about new research determined the region of the brain where daydreaming and creative thought rests may also be the same areas targeted by Alzheimer's disease. That's made some consider the possibility of a link between Alzheimer's and the kind of thinking people do when they're not engaged in purposeful mental activity.

After comparing the complex brain patterns of young adults while they were daydreaming with the location of amyloid plaques in the brains of Alzheimer's patients, scientists found what they called a remarkable correlation between the two.

Although scientists warned it's way too early to ban daydreaming just yet, this connection may play an important part in understanding how daily mental and physical activity plays an important hand in the course of neurological disease.

Still, this clashes with one of my six safe and healthy guidelines for preventing Alzheimer's disease, and one of the easiest: Challenging your mind by learning something new or doing crossword puzzles.

But it also strengthens my view that one's emotional state can also be a major contributor to Alzheimer's, as a study I posted earlier this year found.

Journal of Neuroscience, Vol. 25, No. 34, August 24, 2005: 7709-7717

MSNBC August 24, 2005

A couple of years ago, I posted a brief satire about the FDA's approval of a prescription placebo to treat a "wide range of conditions." What was once considered a joke or a sham effect, however, may be more real and powerful than conventional medicine ever gave it credit for...

A new study has found proof the mere belief in a pill's ability to relieve pain -- the placebo effect -- is enough to allow the brain to release endorphins, the body's natural pain-fighting chemicals.

Researchers studied the effect by injecting salt water into the jaws of 14 healthy men while they were receiving positron emission tomography (PET) scans. During one scan, a patient was told he would receive pain medication, just not that it was a placebo injection. Then, during subsequent scans, patients were asked to rate the pain they were feeling on a 0-100 scale.

After telling the men the placebos were coming, it took higher amounts of salt water to maintain the same level of pain. Overall, nine of the 14 participants were labeled "high" responders, meaning they felt a stronger placebo effect than the rest of were considered on the "low" side.

Research like this should prompt the conventional medical community to reconsider calling the placebo effect something else. In fact, it might be more accurate to refer to this as the psychological manifestation effect, which is really the power of one's mind to manifest into reality what one's consistent and persistent thoughts are.

And why I often remind you having a positive mental attitude affects your health for the good.

Forbes.com August 24, 2005

Journal of Neurology, Vol. 25, No. 34, August 24, 2005: 7754-7762

ABC News, August 24, 2005

Earlier this year, I shared compelling information with you about polyunsaturated fats spurring the formation of cataracts, a common problem faced by the elderly. At the time, I also told you the amount of antioxidants -- specifically the lack of them -- also contributed greatly to cataracts.

Researchers have discovered an antioxidant-rich diet of fruits and vegetables may prevent the breakdown of a crucial mechanism, called the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway, that clears damaged proteins away from eye lenses. When too many of these damaged proteins accumulate, cataracts can grow on the eye.

This ubiquitin-proteasome pathway helps balance a healthy concentration of proteins within cells. Ubiquitin is a protein that identifies damaged proteins ripe for removal and attaches itself to them. These "conjugated" proteins then latch onto proteasomes (protein-degrading enzymes) finish the job of clearing away vision-sapping debris.

Because free radicals attack ubiquitin and other healthy proteins in the eye, the antioxidants contained in vitamins C and E can play an important role in protecting that pathway.

A good source of vitamins C and E, as well as beta carotene: Kiwi fruit.

USDA Agricultural Research Service August 2, 2005

USDA Agricultural Research Service August 2005 Free Full Text Article

Because you know how much I enjoy sharing innovative technology with you, a suburban school district in Dallas has enlisted the aid of a virtual cafeteria to battle the epidemic of childhood obesity.

The Carrollton-Farmers Branch school district recently launched its Virtual Cafeteria Web site to show kids, teachers and parents what's being served at their school every day. The site also calculates nutritional information on a virtual lunch tray, including calories, fat grams, protein and vitamins.

What I like about the site: A virtual cafeteria worker appears on screen and comments on the various choices a child can make -- both good and bad. For example, a cookie rates a Whoa! response, meaning it shouldn't be eaten less often. On the other hand, choosing a salad merits a Congratulations!

My hope is that parents get more involved in what their children eat at school by sitting with them at home and helping them make smarter choices. And they need to ensure their children get enough exercise, considering some kids aren't getting the activity they need at school.

Fact is, a parent must become a good role model to nurture these healthy behaviors. After all, it is completely unfair to your children to show them how to get more exercise and eat better if they don't see you doing those same things.

MSNBC August 25, 2005

As long as I've written about obesity's horrible toll on this nation's health and budgets, I've reminded you about an important contributor to this epidemic: Doctors who fail to advise their patients to lose weight. Expect that "don't ask/don't tell" approach to continue, after an obese woman filed a complaint against a New Hampshire doctor, claiming his stern warning to lose weight was hurtful.

Dr. Terry Bennett's advice was simple and direct: You need to get on a program, join a group of like-minded people and peel off the weight that's going to kill you. The woman's complaint was investigated by the New Hampshire Board of Medicine who asked Bennett to take a "medical education" class. After Dr. Bennett refused to take the class and admit he made a mistake, the New Hampshire board referred the woman's complaint to the state attorney general's office.

The range of punishment for the doctor who has practiced medicine for some four decades ranges from a reprimand to losing his medical license in New Hampshire.

Most recently, Dr. Bennett has received support from the unlikeliest of sources: Patients he's treated, some of whom are or who have been obese. In fact, the movement to exonerate Dr. Bennett has been spearheaded by a woman who lost more than 150 pounds under his care and after a similar discussion.

If we don't turn the tide on obesity very soon, our children may live shorter lives than their parents, which has much to do with why I started this Web site in the first place.

WMUR-TV August 22, 2005

Washington Post August 24, 2005

Earlier this month, I told you about the horror story surrounding the accidental use of hydraulic fluid to clean surgical instruments at two Duke University hospitals and how it harmed the health of at least 50 patients treated there. File this one away in that same folder...

A Texas company has recalled its line of Medline-labeled, alcohol-free mouthwashes and hygiene kits used in hospitals, medical centers and long-term care centers. Nothing unusual, except the mouthwash was contaminated with Burkholderia cepacia (B. cepacia). Patients with weakened immune systems or chronic lung diseases (particularly cystic fibrosis) who are exposed to this bacteria may be more susceptible to infections.

Even worse, the B. cepacia bacteria are often resistant to common antibiotics. These products were subsequently pulled after illnesses were reported in Texas and Florida hospitals.

I post accounts like these often, just to remind you how mistakes committed in hospitals contribute to the number of needless and preventable deaths each year in this country.

WLTX-TV August 29, 2005

Newsinferno.com August 27, 2005

In another example of how your emotions can affect your physical health for the negative, merely mentioning the word wheeze to an asthma sufferer can activate more severe symptoms, according to a new study.

Scientists used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to scan the brains of six mildly asthmatic patients who inhaled either ragweed or dust-mite extracts. During those scans, patients were shown three words: Wheeze, loneliness and curtains. Then, researchers measured their patients' lung function as well as molecular signs of inflammation in their sputum

Scans revealed those asthma-related reminders stimulated responses in two sectors of the brain related to lung functioning and inflammation. Both the anterior cingulate cortex and insula are involved in transmitting information about the physiological condition of the body, such as shortness of breath and pain levels, scientists said. Moreover, these regions of the brain have strong connections with other structures essential in processing emotional information.

Sounds just as compelling as a recent study that found depression can independently lead to insulin resistance and the high levels of blood glucose that result from it.

Some natural treatments that can help you deal with the emotions that affect your physical and mental health:

• Taking a high quality fish or cod liver oil daily.
• Learning the Emotional Freedom Technique.
• Committing to an exercise program.

EurekAlert August 29, 2005

In a bit of a surprise, California Attorney General Bill Lockyer has decided to pursue a petition filed by the Environmental Law Foundation last month against the makers of French fries and potato chips.

Lockyer's office filed a lawsuit in a Los Angeles Court late last week to force nine fast-food and snack companies to include warnings that their cooked potato products contain higher levels of acrylamide, a white, odorless and potentially cancer-causing chemical.

It's about time, considering the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment has estimated consumers of French fries are exposed to as much as 125 times the amount of acrylamide that requires a warning under Proposition 65 regulations.

The laundry list of defendants are, no doubt, familiar to you:

• McDonald's
• Frito-Lay
• Wendy's
• Proctor & Gamble

Just another reason to remind you, if you want to avoid toxic byproducts, I urge you to read my piece about the five worst foods you can eat.

Los Angeles Times August 27, 2005 Registration Required

Not so surprisingly, University of Illinois researchers have found you can boost the beneficial effects of exercise and lose more fat when you eat a diet rich in protein. What's more, a high-carbohydrate, low-protein diet can even reduce the effectiveness of your exercise regimen!

Scientists divided 48 adult women into two groups, based on different diet and exercise regimens: One who consumed a diet based on the largely flawed food pyramid that contained high amounts of carbs and the other who ate the same amount of calories but substituted high-protein foods for all the extra carbs.

Patients were also divided in terms of exercise. One group added two or three sessions of walking per week, and the other five sessions lasting 30 minutes along with two weight-training sessions.

Although both sets of patients dropped weight, the high-protein exercisers dropped more of it and almost all of it was fat.

The results led researchers to conclude the current food pyramid doesn't provide enough leucine, an essential amino acid that helps adults maintain healthy muscle mass. Moreover, to enjoy the benefits researchers observed, you'd have to eat 9-10 grams of leucine a day by eating high-protein foods, and not with a supplement.

Journal of Nutrition, Vol. 135, No. 8, August 2005: 1903-1910

Medical News Today August 29, 2005

Sad to say, it's not at all surprising coffee, by far, is the leading source of antioxidants in the average American diet, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Scranton.

The top five sources of antioxidants consumed by Americans every day based on comparisons of more than 100 different foods (by milligrams):

1. Coffee (1,299)
2. Black tea (294)
3. Bananas (76)
4. Dry beans (72)
5. Corn (48)

Here's the real kicker: The leading source of antioxidants, based on the study, is dates, not coffee! So, I caution you to save the money you'd planned to spend on those extra decaf mochas, and start adding better, more natural sources of antioxidants, like the ones below.

• Nuts (pecans, walnuts, hazelnuts)
• Spices (ground cloves or cinnamon and oregano)
• Vegetables (artichokes)
• High fiber, low sugar fruits (blueberries, cranberries and blackberries)

EurekAlert August 28, 2005

If you'd forgotten about McDonald's promise to drop trans fats from their menu of largely fatty fried foods, at the risk of legal action, I really don't blame you, as that was probably what the fast-food giant was hoping for all along.

With no replacement for trans fats in sight, a California judge approved a settlement between McDonald's and the group BanTransFats.com last week for $8.5 million for the company's failure to let the public know in 2003 that it hadn't found a safer trans fat substitute.

The lion's share of the settlement ($7 million) will go to the American Heart Foundation which will spend it on programs to teach consumers about trans fats. The remainder will be spent by McDonald's so they can inform the public about its failure to meet its 2003 deadline.

If it sounds like McDonald's got off with just a slap on the hand, you're right, especially compared to the damage trans fats can do to your health, a recent message restaurants in New York City received loud and clear.

Besides, I wonder if you'll ever see a commercial or an ad anywhere admitting McDonald's was guilty of anything, except on late-night TV?

Chicago Sun-Times August 27, 2005

Thought you'd enjoy reading this interesting piece from Mike Adams' awesome NewsTarget.com site about why diet and exercise work hand-in-hand to help you lose weight and keep it off.

Losing weight isn't merely a function of calorie-cutting, and Mike knows better than most: Once upon a time, he was quite obese! However, under all the body fat you're carrying around, you probably have strong muscles and a sturdy skeleton. In other words, the heavier you are, the stronger your muscles must be just so you can move around.

The trick is to keep your muscles and bone mass in place while losing the body fat that's slowing you down. If you don't make an effort to balance the two, however, you'll lose muscle mass and your metabolism will start to slow down. So you could end up lighter, but because you're not burning up the calories you once did, any sort of overeating will trigger another weight gain.

Fortunately, you have plenty of free resources available on my Web site that can help you get started on the right exercise plan. I suggest viewing exercise like a drug that needs to be prescribed precisely to achieve maximum results.

I encourage my patients to gradually increase the amount of time they are exercising 60 to 90 minutes a day. Initially, the frequency is daily. This is a treatment dose until they normalize their weight or insulin levels. Once normalized, they will only need to exercise three to four times a week.

Get started, either by reviewing my beginner's exercise page, or the array of articles I've posted from contributing editors Dr. Ben Lerner and Paul Chek.

NewsTarget August 27, 2005

Did you know the average American owes $145,000? Yes, every one of us...

That's what it would take to pay for Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, the trifecta of entitlement programs for the elderly and poor that balloons as people age. And that number doesn't take into consideration what you've actually accumulated in personal debts from credit cards, mortgages, cars and the like. Even worse, Americans save less than $1 of every $100 they earn, while spending almost $2 billion a day on gadgets, cars and imported clothes than the rest of the world.

If that's not a recipe for disaster, I can't imagine, outside possibly at category 4 hurricane, what it would be.

You'd think the younger generation would've seen through this fragile house of cards long ago, but their insatiable I-want-it-now! hunger for things -- and conveniently forgetting the consequences -- only mirrors the obesity epidemic.

A number of experts believe the financial calamity is avoidable, but it's going to be tough. One of the best things you can do to prevent those failing financial numbers from harming your family is to get healthy as quickly as you can. Here's my prescription for beating the statisticians:

• Metabolic type
• Exercise and lower insulin
• Replace trans fats with fish oil
• Clean water
• One hour of sunshine every day
• Learn to sleep well
• Avoid artificial sweeteners

Seattle Post-Intelligencer August 28, 2005

Patients who undergo an angioplasty or heart bypass surgery may increase their chances of developing Alzheimer's disease, not completely unexpected considering a 2001 study found such procedures may prompt mental declines.

The reason for the increased risk of Alzheimer's: The stress and trauma surrounding such procedures. In fact, coronary bypass patients alone had a frighteningly high 70 percent increased risk of developing Alzheimer's

Also, patients who suffered a mental decline after their heart procedures and subsequently recovered weren't out of the woods either. Researchers believe their recovery may be masking a problem caused by the heart surgery. And, as patients age, this could trigger progressive cognitive deficits, associated with mild impairments, a precursor to Alzheimer's.

The best way to avoid the risk of Alzheimer's disease after a heart procedure pretty simple. "Bypass" heart disease altogether by making some simple lifestyle changes:

• Start an exercise program.
• Take a high quality fish or cod liver oil daily
• Take control of the negative emotions that can devastate your health by learning the Emotional Freedom Technique.
• Get tested for CRP.
• Optimize your diet based on your body's unique metabolic type.

Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, Vol. 7, No. 4, August 2005: 319-324

Science Blog August 25, 2005

You may recall a study I posted earlier this year about the epidemic of kidney disease in this country. Based on a 2000 report of the U.S. Renal Data System, kidney disease affects some 20 million Americans -- almost twice the number from a decade ago -- and many have no idea their health is at risk.

An interesting story in the Washington Post (free text link below) should shock those who live in the DC area, in particular, to get checked out for kidney disease: The rate for new cases of end-stage kidney disease in the 20019 Zip code alone are 44 times higher than the national average!

Race plays some part in this epidemic, at least in Washington D.C., as African-Americans are up to four times more prone to suffer from kidney disease (blacks also outpace whites in diabetes and hypertension, the leading causes of kidney problems). But that doesn't explain the far smaller numbers of kidney disease in Miami or Chicago where many African Americans live too.

In any event, you can lower your risk of kidney disease by avoiding these things:

• Over-the-counter pain medications like aspirin.
• Statin drugs such as Crestor.
• Distilled water.
• Mercury.

Washington Post August 22, 2005

As you recall, Merck lost the first of, what experts expect to be, countless Vioxx lawsuits to the tune of some $253 million in a Texas courtroom a week ago. At the time of the ruling, the word "settlement" wasn't in Merck's vocabulary. Staring at nearly 5,000 more lawsuits to contend with and many more to come, however, the mega-drug company may be having second thoughts...

Both the Wall Street Journal and New York Times (free link below) have reported Merck is considering settling an underdetermined number of cases involving patients who took Vioxx for more than 18 months and demonstrated no risk factors for strokes or heart attacks.

Makes great sense, considering Merck's former strategy about taking every Vioxx case to trial blew up in their faces when Texans awarded the widow of Robert Ernst more than a quarter billion dollars last week (although state caps on lawsuits reduced the award to $26 million).

Still, general counsel, Kenneth Frazier, says Merck's not interested in any sort of class-action settlement, but that could change in a hurry if the lawsuits keep piling up. Experts predict the New Jersey drugmaker could be staring at as many as 50,000 of them before it's all said and done. That's certainly possible, considering the number of Vioxx cases jumped by more than 600 in the past month.

We'll see what happens between now and the next trial convening in September, involving a man who suffered a heart attack after taking Vioxx for a short time, in New Jersey.

CBS MarketWatch August 26, 2005

The Lakeland (Fla.) Ledger August 26, 2005

New York Times August 26, 2005 Registration Required

Earlier this year, Seattle topped the list of America's fittest cities, based on a popular survey released annually by Men's Fitness. About halfway down the "fittest list" is Portland, Ore., which may really be the epicenter of one the healthier states to live in, according to a report by the Trust for America's Health (free report link below).

Colorado may be the "leanest" state in the report (16.4 percent), but Oregon held the unique distinction of being the only state whose percentage of obese residents stayed the same (21 percent). Nevertheless, the report was criticized by the state epidemiologist who estimated the percentage of obese adults at nearly three times that number (59 percent).

What was more interesting about the news report than the numbers, however, were some of the reasons Oregonians kept obesity at bay. For example, the state's urban design plan encourages residents to ride their bikes to work. In fact, some employers offer monthly financial incentives to workers if they ride their bikes to work at least 80 percent of the time.

Additionally, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the number of farms in the state increased by a surprising 50 percent, meaning Oregonians likely had better access to fresh fruits and vegetables which promotes healthier eating.

The trick is to promote better health habits as a natural daily outcome, and living in a town like Portland could certainly help. But you don't have to live there to optimize your health, especially if you take advantage of the free resources available on my Web site.

Some areas you'll want to explore as you learn better health habits:

• Learning how to eat based on your body's unique metabolic type.
• Finding an exercise program that works best for you.
• Dealing with the emotional stumbling blocks that prevent you from succeeding by learning the Emotional Freedom Technique.

MSNBC August 24, 2005

Trust for America's Health Free Full Text Report

Battling Fibromyalgia With Acupuncture

Here's a new way to treat fibromyalgia, a frequently disabling muscle condition that affects more women than men, that has nothing to do with taking a potentially toxic drug like duloxetine: A brief regimen of acupuncture can give sufferers up to a month of relief from some of its more devastating symptoms.

Mayo Clinic scientists tested the effect of acupuncture on 50 patients who were moderately debilitated and hadn't responded to traditional treatments. Patients were divided into two groups: Those who received six acupuncture sessions and the rest who were given "simulated" acupuncture treatments over two to three weeks.

Although physical functioning didn't improve, other symptoms -- pain, fatigue and anxiety -- did, and especially among those who got the "real thing." The most dramatic improvements were felt by patients after a month.

But after seven months, the pain, fatigue and anxiety returned, prompting researchers to suggest scheduling ongoing acupuncture treatments may provide more sustained relief.

Other natural treatments for fibromyalgia:

• Addressing your emotions by learning the Emotional Freedom Technique.
• Eating a healthier diet by choosing foods based on your body's unique metabolic type.
• Starting an exercise plan today!

Yahoo News August 25, 2005

According to a study of some 35,000 Swedish patients, those who describe themselves as nervous or anxious stand a better chance of being hospitalized after a failed attempt at suicide. Not terribly surprising, until I learned the number of people who reported anxiety or nervousness had jumped over more than a decade's time from 12 to 22 percent.

Almost 14 percent of women reported experiencing light problems with nervousness, anxiety and uneasiness and nearly 4 percent said their problems were severe, while the numbers for men were about half that.

From there, the news gets worse for men.

Males who experienced severe worries or anxieties were more than nine times as likely to be hospitalized after a suicide attempt. And, those risks increased with time in men by a factor of 15 during a decade-long follow-up period.

Moreover, men who reported severe anxiety or nervousness had a higher mortality rate from any cause, in comparison to a long standing illness or smoking, scientists said. On the other hand, a long illness had more to do with increased suicide attempts and mortality rate among women than negative emotions.

Results like these ought to hammer home the role negative emotions play in your physical health, just as they do in slowing down physical healing.

The trick when it comes to dealing with stress is how to adjust your body's ability, not to eliminate, but tolerate it. You can do just that by learning the Emotional Freedom Technique, the energy psychology tool I use in my practice.

And, instead of reaching for an antidepressant to "cure" what ails you, I strongly recommend balancing your daily ratio of omega-3 and omega-6 fats by taking a high quality fish or cod liver oil daily.

Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, Vol. 59, No. 9, September 2005: 794-798

MSNBC August 22, 2005

You may hear about new research determined the region of the brain where daydreaming and creative thought rests may also be the same areas targeted by Alzheimer's disease. That's made some consider the possibility of a link between Alzheimer's and the kind of thinking people do when they're not engaged in purposeful mental activity.

After comparing the complex brain patterns of young adults while they were daydreaming with the location of amyloid plaques in the brains of Alzheimer's patients, scientists found what they called a remarkable correlation between the two.

Although scientists warned it's way too early to ban daydreaming just yet, this connection may play an important part in understanding how daily mental and physical activity plays an important hand in the course of neurological disease.

Still, this clashes with one of my six safe and healthy guidelines for preventing Alzheimer's disease, and one of the easiest: Challenging your mind by learning something new or doing crossword puzzles.

But it also strengthens my view that one's emotional state can also be a major contributor to Alzheimer's, as a study I posted earlier this year found.

Journal of Neuroscience, Vol. 25, No. 34, August 24, 2005: 7709-7717

MSNBC August 24, 2005

A couple of years ago, I posted a brief satire about the FDA's approval of a prescription placebo to treat a "wide range of conditions." What was once considered a joke or a sham effect, however, may be more real and powerful than conventional medicine ever gave it credit for...

A new study has found proof the mere belief in a pill's ability to relieve pain -- the placebo effect -- is enough to allow the brain to release endorphins, the body's natural pain-fighting chemicals.

Researchers studied the effect by injecting salt water into the jaws of 14 healthy men while they were receiving positron emission tomography (PET) scans. During one scan, a patient was told he would receive pain medication, just not that it was a placebo injection. Then, during subsequent scans, patients were asked to rate the pain they were feeling on a 0-100 scale.

After telling the men the placebos were coming, it took higher amounts of salt water to maintain the same level of pain. Overall, nine of the 14 participants were labeled "high" responders, meaning they felt a stronger placebo effect than the rest of were considered on the "low" side.

Research like this should prompt the conventional medical community to reconsider calling the placebo effect something else. In fact, it might be more accurate to refer to this as the psychological manifestation effect, which is really the power of one's mind to manifest into reality what one's consistent and persistent thoughts are.

And why I often remind you having a positive mental attitude affects your health for the good.

Forbes.com August 24, 2005

Journal of Neurology, Vol. 25, No. 34, August 24, 2005: 7754-7762

ABC News, August 24, 2005

As long as I've written about obesity's horrible toll on this nation's health and budgets, I've reminded you about an important contributor to this epidemic: Doctors who fail to advise their patients to lose weight. Expect that "don't ask/don't tell" approach to continue, after an obese woman filed a complaint against a New Hampshire doctor, claiming his stern warning to lose weight was hurtful.

Dr. Terry Bennett's advice was simple and direct: You need to get on a program, join a group of like-minded people and peel off the weight that's going to kill you. The woman's complaint was investigated by the New Hampshire Board of Medicine who asked Bennett to take a "medical education" class. After Dr. Bennett refused to take the class and admit he made a mistake, the New Hampshire board referred the woman's complaint to the state attorney general's office.

The range of punishment for the doctor who has practiced medicine for some four decades ranges from a reprimand to losing his medical license in New Hampshire.

Most recently, Dr. Bennett has received support from the unlikeliest of sources: Patients he's treated, some of whom are or who have been obese. In fact, the movement to exonerate Dr. Bennett has been spearheaded by a woman who lost more than 150 pounds under his care and after a similar discussion.

If we don't turn the tide on obesity very soon, our children may live shorter lives than their parents, which has much to do with why I started this Web site in the first place.

WMUR-TV August 22, 2005

Washington Post August 24, 2005

Last month, I told you about low dose aspirin not being the cancer preventative many assumed. A study in this week's Journal of the American Medical Association (see link below) has found taking over-the-counter (OTC) analgesics like aspirin or ibuprofen in high doses for a decade can sharply lower colorectal cancer, but such "relief" comes at a much steeper price. They also increase one's odds of serious stomach or intestinal bleeding.

Women who took two 325-miligram aspirin a day lowered their colon cancer risks, but only after taking them for a decade. Based on a closer look at the numbers, however, only one or two cases of colon cancer might be prevented in a town of 10,000, researchers said.

Even worse, taking at least 14 aspirin a week could cause as many as eight cases of stomach or intestinal bleeding severe enough to warrant hospitalization and even a blood transfusion.

Just another reason for me to remind you, making simple lifestyle changes can lower your cancer risks far more safely and effectively than any pill. Simple strategies than will decrease your risks by 62 percent:

• Stop smoking today.
• Schedule periodic cancer screenings.
• Increase the amount of exercise you do every day.
• Eat healthier foods (ideally based on your body's unique metabolic type.

But if you want to virtually eliminate those risks, I urge you to review my extensive list of major recommendations.

Journal of the American Medical Association, Vol. 294, No. 8, August 24-31, 2005: 914-923

USA Today August 24, 2005

Yesterday, I told you about Google's new and improved Desktop Search tool. Today's bombshell is a doozy: The Internet giant is launching Google Talk, its own version of instant messaging and computer-to-computer voice chat services, of course, for free.

Google Talk tied very closely to Gmail, since you need a Google e-mail account to use it. Until now, Gmail accounts were available by invitation only. As of yesterday, however, all that has changed. Now anyone can get a Gmail account, and can use Google Talk. But to prevent spammers and other abusers from snapping up Gmail accounts by the thousands, Google has designed a clever safeguard: When you apply for a Gmail account, you must provide a cellphone number.

Google sends a code to your phone, which you use to complete the registration. (Actually, you don't have to own a cellphone, if you know somebody who owns one. They can get the code for you, because each cellphone number is good for a number of registrations, just not hundreds of them.) And at 900KB, it's tiny and fast download.

Three caveats:

• Google Talk is being released as a beta version that works on PCs running Windows 2000 and XP, meaning Apple users will have to wait a little longer for a Mac-compatible version of their own.
• Unlike Skype, Google Talk's phone service only connects users to other computers, not land lines.
• You won't be able to use the instant messaging portion of Google Talk to connect with Yahoo Messenger or AIM (AOL's Instant Messenger) users.

The last caveat is the most important because Google Talk is based on an open, published standard that the company is making available to all in hopes of creating a single unified network one day.

Miami Herald August 24, 2005 Registration Required

PC World, August 24, 2005

If you've been keeping up with Splenda news through my Web site, you know the great sales job McNeil Nutritionals has done to make sucralose -- a sweetener that's anything but natural -- more palatable to the public, and lately with the help of the FDA.

Now, Splenda is invading our schools, thanks to a joint agreement with PTO Today, a firm that offers marketing, fund-raising help to parent groups serving kindergarten, elementary and middle school kids. The campaign will encourage parents and kids to use Splenda in preparing low-sugar treats for future bake sales. Some "perks" of the campaign:

• Providing recipes for school bake sales.
• Offering tips on how to incorporate fitness into a healthy eating plan.
• Distributing a free bake sale kit, "Sweet Success: The Better Bake Sale Kit" for school parent groups.
• Sponsoring an "Ultimate Bake Sale" contest.

It's another great move, among many, considering the average consumer hasn't a clue about the side effects of Splenda. And if you believe -- just because the FDA approved it -- Splenda is at all safe for you, I urge you to review my extensive testimonials page, chock full of heartbreaking stories about the toxic effects this artificial sweetener may inflict.

Splenda has been linked to a number of toxic side effects, including shrunken thymus glands (up to 40 percent shrinkage), enlarged liver and kidneys, reduced growth rate, aborted pregnancy and diarrhea.

Yahoo Finance August 23, 2005

Last week, you probably read Mike Adams' awesome essay -- a biting parody of what would happen to the auto industry if it operated like the mega-drug companies did -- in my eHealthy News You Can Use newsletter (if you aren't a subscriber to my free newsletter, there's no better time to do so than right now).

This newest parable tells a tale of a group of doctors who wanted to create art, first by learning what it's made of. But, as most of you know, art, like music, is far more than words or notes or colors on a printed page.

These doctors, like the six blind men described in John Godfrey Saxe's popular poem, understood part of the process, but were so clueless by what was in front of them all along, they were unable to appreciate art for what it can do for the heart and soul.

Just like my belief that conventional medicine -- so focused on needless drugs and tests -- very often fails to find the real problem, as so aptly described in a fish story I ran about a year ago.

NewsTarget.com August 17, 2005

If you ever wondered why the obesity epidemic is hitting our kids the hardest, here's a reason that may have more to do with the presence of fast food restaurants in my hometown, but less to do with the food they serve: It's all a matter of location, location, location...

Harvard researchers found an astounding 80 percent of the schools in Chicago are located within a half-mile of at least one fast-food restaurant. Even worse, it's probably intentional based on statistical mapping techniques that found there were nearly three times the number of fast food restaurants less than a mile away from Chicago schools than would be typically expected if they were distributed more randomly.

Of course, representatives from McDonald's denied any responsibility, noting the study didn't compare the proximity of fast food restaurants to a student's eating habits, even though childhood obesity rates have soared over the past quarter-century.

That problem is particularly acute in Chicago, considering kids who start kindergarten here are more than twice as likely to be overweight than children who live in other areas.

The problem has never been in our ability to distinguish healthy from unhealthy, but instead to make better choices. The failure to do so is what makes people unhealthy, not what is or isn't available at McDonald's, but their proximity to our schools certainly doesn't help either.

Some ways to prevent your child from becoming a statistic in the obesity epidemic:

• Set a good example for your kids and http take a more active hand in their health.
• Get your kids away the couch and outdoors playing.
• Move the TV out of their bedroom and limit what time they spend in front of it.
• Replace the sugary juice and soft drinks with clean water.

American Journal of Public Health, Vol. 95, No. 9, September 2005: 1575-1581

Chicago Sun-Times August 23, 2005

Without any doubt or question, the future of mobile phones are in dual-mode, cellular/Wi-Fi models (take a peek at the Motorola M1000 to the left). More than 2.5 million Americans have VoIP (voice over internet protocol) phone service right now and that number is exploding. Next year, WiMax will be widespread.

WiMax can transmit up to 30 miles. WiMax's greater range and higher bandwidth gives service providers the ability to offer broadband Internet access directly to homes without having to worry about the problems that can arise when laying down a physical connection over the "so-called" last mile, which connects homes with a service provider's main network. This will virtually eliminate the need for wired Internet and radically lower prices.

So you will have the ability to connect wirelessly to the Internet nearly everywhere in the country in the next few years. So rather than use your cell phone, you will connect to the Internet wirelessly and use VoIP as an alternative to your cell phone carrier.

Just as many people dropped their land lines nearly everyone will be dropping their cell phone carriers. The reason? Rock bottom prices. Just remember that VoIP has no taxes and, just like your home Internet connection, they include unlimited calls for your monthly service fee.

So you can call anywhere in the United States and Canada for one low monthly fee. If you have to call internationally the rates are typically 3 cents a minute. Compare that to the nearly universal $1 per minute or more for most international cell phone calls.

USA Today August 24, 2005

Last month, I told you about low dose aspirin not being the cancer preventative many assumed. A study in this week's Journal of the American Medical Association (see link below) has found taking over-the-counter (OTC) analgesics like aspirin or ibuprofen in high doses for a decade can sharply lower colorectal cancer, but such "relief" comes at a much steeper price. They also increase one's odds of serious stomach or intestinal bleeding.

Women who took two 325-miligram aspirin a day lowered their colon cancer risks, but only after taking them for a decade. Based on a closer look at the numbers, however, only one or two cases of colon cancer might be prevented in a town of 10,000, researchers said.

Even worse, taking at least 14 aspirin a week could cause as many as eight cases of stomach or intestinal bleeding severe enough to warrant hospitalization and even a blood transfusion.

Just another reason for me to remind you, making simple lifestyle changes can lower your cancer risks far more safely and effectively than any pill. Simple strategies than will decrease your risks by 62 percent:

• Stop smoking today.
• Schedule periodic cancer screenings.
• Increase the amount of exercise you do every day.
• Eat healthier foods (ideally based on your body's unique metabolic type.

But if you want to virtually eliminate those risks, I urge you to review my extensive list of major recommendations.

Journal of the American Medical Association, Vol. 294, No. 8, August 24-31, 2005: 914-923

USA Today August 24, 2005

Yesterday, I told you about Google's new and improved Desktop Search tool. Today's bombshell is a doozy: The Internet giant is launching Google Talk, its own version of instant messaging and computer-to-computer voice chat services, of course, for free.

Google Talk tied very closely to Gmail, since you need a Google e-mail account to use it. Until now, Gmail accounts were available by invitation only. As of yesterday, however, all that has changed. Now anyone can get a Gmail account, and can use Google Talk. But to prevent spammers and other abusers from snapping up Gmail accounts by the thousands, Google has designed a clever safeguard: When you apply for a Gmail account, you must provide a cellphone number.

Google sends a code to your phone, which you use to complete the registration. (Actually, you don't have to own a cellphone, if you know somebody who owns one. They can get the code for you, because each cellphone number is good for a number of registrations, just not hundreds of them.) And at 900KB, it's tiny and fast download.

Three caveats:

• Google Talk is being released as a beta version that works on PCs running Windows 2000 and XP, meaning Apple users will have to wait a little longer for a Mac-compatible version of their own.
• Unlike Skype, Google Talk's phone service only connects users to other computers, not land lines.
• You won't be able to use the instant messaging portion of Google Talk to connect with Yahoo Messenger or AIM (AOL's Instant Messenger) users.

The last caveat is the most important because Google Talk is based on an open, published standard that the company is making available to all in hopes of creating a single unified network one day.

Miami Herald August 24, 2005 Registration Required

PC World, August 24, 2005

If you've been keeping up with Splenda news through my Web site, you know the great sales job McNeil Nutritionals has done to make sucralose -- a sweetener that's anything but natural -- more palatable to the public, and lately with the help of the FDA.

Now, Splenda is invading our schools, thanks to a joint agreement with PTO Today, a firm that offers marketing, fund-raising help to parent groups serving kindergarten, elementary and middle school kids. The campaign will encourage parents and kids to use Splenda in preparing low-sugar treats for future bake sales. Some "perks" of the campaign:

• Providing recipes for school bake sales.
• Offering tips on how to incorporate fitness into a healthy eating plan.
• Distributing a free bake sale kit, "Sweet Success: The Better Bake Sale Kit" for school parent groups.
• Sponsoring an "Ultimate Bake Sale" contest.

It's another great move, among many, considering the average consumer hasn't a clue about the side effects of Splenda. And if you believe -- just because the FDA approved it -- Splenda is at all safe for you, I urge you to review my extensive testimonials page, chock full of heartbreaking stories about the toxic effects this artificial sweetener may inflict.

Splenda has been linked to a number of toxic side effects, including shrunken thymus glands (up to 40 percent shrinkage), enlarged liver and kidneys, reduced growth rate, aborted pregnancy and diarrhea.

Yahoo Finance August 23, 2005

Last week, you probably read Mike Adams' awesome essay -- a biting parody of what would happen to the auto industry if it operated like the mega-drug companies did -- in my eHealthy News You Can Use newsletter (if you aren't a subscriber to my free newsletter, there's no better time to do so than right now).

This newest parable tells a tale of a group of doctors who wanted to create art, first by learning what it's made of. But, as most of you know, art, like music, is far more than words or notes or colors on a printed page.

These doctors, like the six blind men described in John Godfrey Saxe's popular poem, understood part of the process, but were so clueless by what was in front of them all along, they were unable to appreciate art for what it can do for the heart and soul.

Just like my belief that conventional medicine -- so focused on needless drugs and tests -- very often fails to find the real problem, as so aptly described in a fish story I ran about a year ago.

NewsTarget.com August 17, 2005

If you ever wondered why the obesity epidemic is hitting our kids the hardest, here's a reason that may have more to do with the presence of fast food restaurants in my hometown, but less to do with the food they serve: It's all a matter of location, location, location...

Harvard researchers found an astounding 80 percent of the schools in Chicago are located within a half-mile of at least one fast-food restaurant. Even worse, it's probably intentional based on statistical mapping techniques that found there were nearly three times the number of fast food restaurants less than a mile away from Chicago schools than would be typically expected if they were distributed more randomly.

Of course, representatives from McDonald's denied any responsibility, noting the study didn't compare the proximity of fast food restaurants to a student's eating habits, even though childhood obesity rates have soared over the past quarter-century.

That problem is particularly acute in Chicago, considering kids who start kindergarten here are more than twice as likely to be overweight than children who live in other areas.

The problem has never been in our ability to distinguish healthy from unhealthy, but instead to make better choices. The failure to do so is what makes people unhealthy, not what is or isn't available at McDonald's, but their proximity to our schools certainly doesn't help either.

Some ways to prevent your child from becoming a statistic in the obesity epidemic:

• Set a good example for your kids and http take a more active hand in their health.
• Get your kids away the couch and outdoors playing.
• Move the TV out of their bedroom and limit what time they spend in front of it.
• Replace the sugary juice and soft drinks with clean water.

American Journal of Public Health, Vol. 95, No. 9, September 2005: 1575-1581

Chicago Sun-Times August 23, 2005

Without any doubt or question, the future of mobile phones are in dual-mode, cellular/Wi-Fi models (take a peek at the Motorola M1000 to the left). More than 2.5 million Americans have VoIP (voice over internet protocol) phone service right now and that number is exploding. Next year, WiMax will be widespread.

WiMax can transmit up to 30 miles. WiMax's greater range and higher bandwidth gives service providers the ability to offer broadband Internet access directly to homes without having to worry about the problems that can arise when laying down a physical connection over the "so-called" last mile, which connects homes with a service provider's main network. This will virtually eliminate the need for wired Internet and radically lower prices.

So you will have the ability to connect wirelessly to the Internet nearly everywhere in the country in the next few years. So rather than use your cell phone, you will connect to the Internet wirelessly and use VoIP as an alternative to your cell phone carrier.

Just as many people dropped their land lines nearly everyone will be dropping their cell phone carriers. The reason? Rock bottom prices. Just remember that VoIP has no taxes and, just like your home Internet connection, they include unlimited calls for your monthly service fee.

So you can call anywhere in the United States and Canada for one low monthly fee. If you have to call internationally the rates are typically 3 cents a minute. Compare that to the nearly universal $1 per minute or more for most international cell phone calls.

USA Today August 24, 2005