Lee Euler, Editor Cancer Defeated | |
Are "Frankenfoods" Really All that Scary? Those who make and eat GM (genetically modified) foods say they're the answer to mass starvation and disease. Those who shun GM technology say it'll be the cause of mass starvation and disease. They call these foods "Frankenfoods," with a nod to Frankenstein, the monster humanoid created by runaway, out-of-control science. GM food is a hot-button issue right now. The subject arouses intense emotions, often based on a minimum of information. Most important of all is the question of how GM foods might affect our long-term health. Let's first look at the facts. Continued below. . .
When food meets technology GM foods come from genetically modified organisms (GMOs). They consist of food organisms that were modified via molecular biology techniques that promote selective breeding. GMOs undergo much more specific changes than what you get from standard, Luther-Burbank-style mutation breeding, which is time-consuming and not always accurate. The goal behind genetic food modification is to increase desired traits in food sources. For instance a plant such as corn might be modified to produce higher resistance to weed killers and better nutritional content. The science involved is incredible, but scary. For example, a plant geneticist can take a highly drought-tolerant plant, identify the gene that's responsible for drought tolerance, and insert it into a plant that doesn't have it. The new plant then becomes drought-tolerant. Not only can scientists transfer genes from plant to plant, they can also transfer genes between plants and non-plant organisms. The best example of this happened when plant geneticists created a strain of corn that produced its own pesticides against insects. They did it by taking Bacillus thuringiensis (B.t.), which is a natural bacterium that makes proteins lethal to insect larvae, and inserting the B.t. gene into corn. The bulk of GM foods are staple foods like soybean, corn, rice, and canola. Some animal products have been developed, though none are on the market as of this writing. GM foods first entered the market a mere 15 years ago in 1996. By 2010, 10% of the world's crop land was planted with GM crops, and most of those were in North America. And yet it could save the world… The world population is now at 7 billion, on track to double in 50 years. This means having enough food to go around is a big concern. GM advocates say genetically modified food is the answer. For one, GM plantings increase the production of food per acre, which is important since the world is running out of farmland. Plus, GM plants have better pest and disease resistance and can tolerate herbicides. For that matter, GM plants can be created to tolerate cold, drought, and salinity. This means we can grow food in places previously unfit for crops, like the desert, or areas with high salt content. Benefits go beyond even that. Proponents say GM foods can improve nutrition in third world countries by injecting staple foods — like rice — with more vitamins and minerals. And right now, researchers are working to develop GM foods with edible vaccines. Since medicines and vaccines cost a lot to produce, store, and ship to the people who need them most (for instance, people in poor countries), it makes a lot of sense to embed those vaccines in something like a potato. There's also a pro-environmental side. To date, plants like poplar trees have been genetically engineered to clean up heavy metal pollution from contaminated soil. In this case, what we don't know might really hurt us Of course, there's a downside. The biggest one is that we just don't know what the long-term effects of GM foods will be. Already, there's evidence of unintentional harm. A study in Nature showed that pollen from B.t. corn caused high mortality rates in monarch butterfly caterpillars. Even though monarch caterpillars eat milkweed plants, not corn, the fear is that pollen from B.t. corn could contaminate milkweed plants on neighboring fields and destroy the caterpillars. (I should point out this topic is being debated heavily by both sides since the study wasn't conducted under natural field conditions.) Regardless of the study's accuracy, it's not yet possible to make a B.t. toxin that only kills crop-damaging pests while sparing the good insects. On top of that, there's a concern that insects will just become resistant to B.t. crops, or any other kind of crop genetically-modified to create its own pesticide. There's also a concern about gene transfer to non-target species. People are worried the crops that are weed-resistant will crossbreed with weeds to create a "superweed" that withstands all weed killers. But the biggest and scariest disadvantage to GM crops are the unknown human health risks. Life-threatening allergies among children in the U.S. and Europe to things like peanuts and strawberries are a constant concern for millions of parents. The introduction of new genes into our food could create a new allergen. Another potential hazard is the risk that bacteria in our guts could pick up antibiotic-resistant genes found in GM foods. (These are genes added to GM plants as "markers" to tell food geneticists which plants have exotic genes.) It's feasible that this type of transfer could prompt the spread of disease-causing bacteria that are immune to antibiotics. GMOs are already leading food production Regulation is also a problem. In the United States, three different government agencies preside over GM food issues: the EPA looks at environmental safety, the USDA decides whether GM foods are safe to grow, and the FDA decides whether GM foods are safe to eat. Not only does that add layers of bureaucracy to the issue, it also puts the safety of our health in the hands of politicians or, perhaps worse, unelected bureaucrats. In March of 2011, an alliance of consumers, family farmers, and those against corporate agriculture protested what they call the consolidation of our nation's food system. They claim Monsanto, the main producer of GM seeds, effectively controls the U.S. commercial seed market. The alliance charges that the company has bought up independent seed companies, and that it continues to spike prices. They accuse Monsanto of market dominance and worry that seed diversity in this country will decline. Note: Monsanto is the company behind some of the biggest herbicide-resistant GM plants, those grown from "Roundup Ready" seeds. Right now, this trait — resistance to weed-killers -- is embedded in the majority of all soybeans and corn grown in the U.S. The idea is that a crop can be sprayed with Round-Up, killing the weeds but sparing the corn or soybeans. Unfortunately, the weeds are evolving and have developed resistance to Round-Up, much the way bacteria have developed resistance to antibiotics. The top three GMO users, the U.S., Argentina, and Brazil, produce 81% of the world's total corn supplies and 89% of the soybean supplies. China and India are adopting the technology, though Indian citizens are campaigning against this change. Most of Europe is largely opposed to GMOs. Is this the end of true, organic food? I've seen reports that wildlife, such as migrating birds, will not touch GMO corn when grown right next to non-GMO corn. As a matter of fact, no animals appear to consume GM food by choice. What do these animals sense that we're missing? So what I wonder is, when we eat foods genetically altered to produce chemicals designed to kill other forms of life, what type of effect will that have on us? You're probably already eating GMOs, even if you don't realize it. The FDA doesn't require labels on GM foods. Unless you eat and drink organic foods exclusively, you're eating GMOs. If you eat anything pre-packaged and processed, or any foods with corn, soybeans, canola oil, or high fructose corn syrup, you're probably eating GMOs. There's no sign this is going to change. Even Whole Foods agreed to sell GMO, herbicide-resistant alfalfa in January of 2011. Heads of other organic proponents like Organic Valley and Stonyfield Farm have also said they're not opposed to the mass commercialization of GM crops. Will there be any true organic food left at all in another decade? I don't know, but I do know that the quality of the food we eat more or less governs our health. There are no long term studies to assure us, for certain, that GM foods are harmless. We don't know enough at this point. It strikes me as a gamble. A friend of mine who's a biochemist tells me the gene for herbicide resistance "expresses" only in the leaves and stalk of the corn plant, not in the ear which produces the corn kernels we actually eat. It's analogous to a human brain cell being different from a human bone cell — different genes express in different parts of an organism while remaining dormant in the rest of the body. This is the main support for the position that GM foods are safe. The herbicidal gene is present in the part of the corn plant we eat — all of an organism's genes are present in every cell of that organism -- but the gene isn't actually doing anything. This is some comfort, but it's well short of ironclad proof of safety. |
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Genetically modified foods: Safe to eat?
The 4th Annual Maryland Crab Bowl Live Saturday On US Sports Radio
The 4th Annual Maryland Crab Bowl The Mid Atlantic Football Foundation (MAFF) is pleased to announce the 4th Annual Maryland Crab Bowl Powered by Under Armour, December 17th, 2011 at 12:00 pm, at Bowie State University. The Crab Bowl is Maryland’s only statewide all-star game, and in its four year history boasts well over 190 active alumni throughout the country at virtually all levels of college football. Listen to the Maryland Crab Bowl Live On US Sports Radio We kick it off with the Glory Days Grill Warmup Show at 11:05am EST Kickoff at 12noon EST Get Tickets US Sports Radio Your Radio Home Of #10 Ranked (USA Today)DeMatha High School Stags Your radio home of Cool Sports and Talk: Cool Sports: DeMatha High School Football and Basketball Bowie State University Football and Basketball D.C. Divas Football coming Summer 2012 The Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League Hot Talk: The US Sports Coaches Show Pro Bodybuilding Weekly Pro MMA Radio The Sports Journey Featuring Pro Player Shows: -The Anthony Armstrong (Washington Redskins) Show -The Terrence Austin (Washington Redskins) Show -The Darrel Young (Washington Redskins) Show -Michigan Regional Sports And Much More! Sports, Health, Fitness Blogs, Headlines and More! Coming Up On US Sports Radio! Thursday December 22, 2011 7:05pm EST DeMatha High School Basketball: Vs. St. Mary's Ryken Click Here To Listen |
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Recent, not past physical activity lowers premature death risk
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) -- Even if you've been a couch potato all your life, starting regular exercise may still help you live longer, according to results of a study published in the November issue of the American Heart Journal.
"We found that recent physical activity levels are much more important predictors of overall mortality than are distant levels of physical activity," reports a team of researchers from the University of California at Los Angeles, the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Sepulveda, California, and Boston University in Massachusetts. The researchers, led by Dr. Scott E. Sherman of the Sepulveda Veterans Administration, studied the records of 2,372 men and women from the Framingham Heart Study, which began in 1948. Participants had estimated their physical activity at assessments during two time periods: 1956-1958 and 1969-1973. For this study, the investigators looked at overall mortality and at the incidence of cardiovascular disease in the 16 years following the second evaluation. All participants were free of cardiovascular disease when the follow-up period began. The men and women who had reported being most active at the second assessment were about 39% to 42% less likely to die over the follow-up period than those who reported being least active, after age and other factors were accounted for. Activity levels reported during the distant past -- the first evaluation -- did not predict later risk of dying. Sherman's team also looked at the relationship between activity level and cardiovascular disease, but these results were not as clear. Distant activity seemed to be related to a lower rate of cardiovascular disease in men, but to a higher rate in women. "There is no obvious explanation for why this should be so," the authors note. The researchers add that this study does not provide information about how much exercise is needed to produce these benefits. They conclude, however, that "for sedentary patients, it may never be too late to start exercising."
"We found that recent physical activity levels are much more important predictors of overall mortality than are distant levels of physical activity," reports a team of researchers from the University of California at Los Angeles, the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Sepulveda, California, and Boston University in Massachusetts. The researchers, led by Dr. Scott E. Sherman of the Sepulveda Veterans Administration, studied the records of 2,372 men and women from the Framingham Heart Study, which began in 1948. Participants had estimated their physical activity at assessments during two time periods: 1956-1958 and 1969-1973. For this study, the investigators looked at overall mortality and at the incidence of cardiovascular disease in the 16 years following the second evaluation. All participants were free of cardiovascular disease when the follow-up period began. The men and women who had reported being most active at the second assessment were about 39% to 42% less likely to die over the follow-up period than those who reported being least active, after age and other factors were accounted for. Activity levels reported during the distant past -- the first evaluation -- did not predict later risk of dying. Sherman's team also looked at the relationship between activity level and cardiovascular disease, but these results were not as clear. Distant activity seemed to be related to a lower rate of cardiovascular disease in men, but to a higher rate in women. "There is no obvious explanation for why this should be so," the authors note. The researchers add that this study does not provide information about how much exercise is needed to produce these benefits. They conclude, however, that "for sedentary patients, it may never be too late to start exercising."
Monday, December 12, 2011
NCAA Womens Basketball SHEPHERD KEEPS BOWIE STATE WINLESS WITH 65-54 VICTORY
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Sunday, December 11, 2011
Is Living With A Smoker Hazardous to Your Health?
Is Living with a Smoker Hazardous to Your Health? | |
Date Released: 12/12/2011 | |
Is Living with a Smoker Hazardous to Your Health? Old joke: Q: Do you mind if I smoke? I guess a lot of folks feel that way about smokers. The habit has been banned practically everywhere. If you're a smoker these days, you pretty much have to do it outside or in the privacy of your own home or car. The premise is that breathing in someone else's tobacco smoke can harm a non-smoker's health, too. But is it true? Or just an over-reaction? I review the evidence below. But first, I'm proud to announce we've just published a new Special Report called The 31-Day Home Cancer Cure. It's a quick summary of a new plan for beating cancer, written by a top cancer expert. He's spent years studying the subject, and this report is confined to the very best things a cancer patient can do on his own. More details on this new Special Report are in the sidebar just below, or you can click here. Main article continued below. . .
Inhaling environmental tobacco smoke is called passive smoking. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)1, exposure to secondhand smoke has been linked to the development of asthma, bronchitis, ear infection and pneumonia in children. Adults may notice some short-term effects in the form of coughing… eye irritation... headaches… nausea… and sore throats. I can't be around it myself for a long period of time. It irritates my eyes to the point where I get "pink-eye" (aka conjunctivitis). So it suits me that there's less smoke around these days. Worse still, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that non-smoking adults who breathe secondhand smoke are at increased risk for heart attack. The U.S. Surgeon General says that living with a smoker increases a nonsmoker's chances of developing lung cancer by 20 to 30 percent. In fact, passive smoking causes about 3,400 lung cancer deaths each year among adult nonsmokers in the United States. This is based on a straightforward comparison of households where there's a smoker to households where there isn't. It's pretty persuasive. Here's why passive smoking is so dangerous… Secondhand smoke is a mixture of gases and particles that smokers exhale as well as those released from the burning end of a cigarette. According to the National Cancer Institute3, secondhand smoke contains more than 7,000 chemicals—many of which are toxic and about 70 of which are carcinogens. Let's take a look at ten terrible toxins lurking in secondhand cigarette smoke. We'll start with…
Whew! That's just 10 of the thousands of chemicals you're inhaling with every breath of secondhand smoke. But some folks would have you believe that members of the scientific and medical communities are merely blowing smoke when they warn you about inhaling these toxins… Wanna guess how the tobacco industry weighed in? The tobacco industry responded to the claims of the medical establishment by funding their own scientific studies to exonerate passive smoking. For example, a 2003 study4 published in the British Medical Journal claimed that no causal relationship could be established between environmental tobacco smoke and tobacco-related deaths. The study also found that the association between secondhand smoke and diseases like heart disease and lung cancer may be "considerably weaker than generally believed." These conclusions sharply contrast with declarations made by the EPA, the U.S. National Toxicology Program, the U.S. Surgeon General, and the International Agency for Research on Cancer—who have all classified secondhand smoke as a known human carcinogen. A few simple steps can help you avoid becoming a passive smoker! So what can you do to protect yourself? Well if you're a smoker, try to limit your smoking to outdoor areas away from other people. And if you're not a smoker, you're probably grateful for government regulations and other policies that restrict smoking on airplanes, in workplaces, some restaurants and other public venues. One sure thing is that every step you take to reduce your exposure to cigarette toxins can certainly help prevent your good health from disappearing in a puff of smoke. |
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Bodybuilding.com's Feature Body Transformation Cynthia G
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Friday, December 9, 2011
NCAA Mens Basketball: #20 BOWIE STATE POUNDS PITT-JOHNSTOWN 80-69
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Thursday, December 8, 2011
Washington D.C. Area Sports Update 12/08/11
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The Gluten Shocker, Doctors shocked by this 31-day home cancer cure
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Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Don't Let Being A Caregiver Make YOU a Patient!
Who's Caring for the Caregiver?,br>
It's not only the patient who faces serious physical and emotional challenges flowing from a cancer diagnosis. The illness and its effects can also take a toll on family and friends who support the sick loved one. Here are some ideas on how to lighten the load a bit. . .
Continued below. . .
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According to the Family Caregiver Alliance (FCA), roughly 44 million American families and friends are unpaid caregivers for another adult. It's they — not paid professionals -- who are providing about 80 percent of the long-term care in the United States.
Even the most willing and capable of caregivers can be subject to feelings of anger, exhaustion, loneliness and sadness as they confront the daily challenges of caring for a cancer patient.
This is why it's vital that caregivers look out for themselves while nursing the cancer patient to ensure they can continue to help the one in need. If you're a caregiver, you need to avoid burnout.
Let's consider some practical strategies.
We'll start by looking at the kind of responsibilities you might have to shoulder when attending to the needs of a cancer patient.
Guess who's doing most of the work
A study from the Journal of Family Nursing1 reported results from a survey given to 750 cancer caregivers participating in the University of Pennsylvania Family Caregiver Cancer Education Program.
The researchers noted that these individuals are typically:
* Female (82%)
* Married (71%)
* Living with the patient (54%)
* Over 50 years of age (47%)
Thus, most caregiving is done by married women, quite often they're old enough to join AARP, and more than half the time they're living with the patient. This doesn't make me feel particularly proud, and I'm inclined to say the men need to pitch in.
Caregivers are often required to perform a variety of tasks, including feeding, bathing, dressing and providing companionship for the patient. Primary caregivers might also be called upon to:
* Dispense medications.
* Handle insurance problems.
* Provide transportation to medical appointments.
* Talk to doctors and other medical professionals about the patient's progress.
* Train other family members to provide care when necessary.
The American Cancer Society says a good caregiver is typically the person who knows everything that is going on with a patient. But this person also will help the patient to stay involved and make informed decisions.
This may sound like a serious workload—even when you're a willing participant! This is why it's important to ask for help to relieve stress and to keep you from feeling overwhelmed.
There's no shame in asking for HELP!
The Journal of Family Nursing study emphasized that providing care for a loved one with cancer can have a noticeable impact on the caregivers' physical, emotional, and financial health.
The authors emphasized the need for caregivers to seek help when needed—be it from other family and friends or even from professional counselors.
When you ask others for help, it takes some of the pressure off of you. It can also free up time for you to attend to your own health concerns and personal matters.
Keep in mind that even when people offer to help, they don't always know what kind of help you as a caregiver might need. The American Cancer Society (ACS) suggests these tips for getting help from family and friends:
1. Make lists of things you need. This could include help with cleaning, cooking, shopping, yard work, etc.
2. Hold regular family meetings to provide information on the patient's health status and care to less involved family members.
3. Ask family and friends for specific dates/times when they are available to assist. Be clear about what you need from each person.
4. To help yourself stay organized, keep notes of who has completed which tasks.
Remember that when you ask for help it also helps your loved one too! When you get help in caring for his or her needs, you'll be healthier and more energetic to provide assistance yourself.
It can also help ease any feelings of guilt the patient may have about the time you're sacrificing for them. Plus, you'll be able to tap into skills of others that you might not have.
Once you've enlisted the aid of other family and friends, you might find you have a little extra time to…
Help yourself to some TLC!
The National Cancer Institute (NCI) suggests several things caregivers can do to care for themselves. For one thing, NCI says it's important that you do something for yourself every day.
This could be a small thing like spending some time with a favorite activity or hobby…
… or staying connected with friends for support…
If you had health concerns of your own before becoming a caregiver, NCI stresses the need for you to keep up with your own medical appointments, prescriptions, and diet.
Keep in mind that the added stress and responsibility of caring for a cancer patient can cause new health problems. Make sure to tell your doctor if you notice any changes in your body.
A cancer diagnosis can also provoke a number of questions, fears and concerns. Many caregivers have benefitted greatly from joining a support group.
These groups provide a forum for caregivers to talk about their feelings, as well as share advice and ways they cope with the illness. Some folks come just to listen. For many people, it helps just to know they aren't alone.
Cancer is a life-changing event—both for cancer patients and the ones who care for them during their health crisis. As you lend your energy, love and time to help someone cope with cancer, you might discover inner strength and skills you never knew you had!
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