08.29.09
Posted in Uncategorized at 1:00 am by Pit
Natural Treatment Strategies for AIDS/CFS/CFIDS
AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome), CFS (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome), and CFIDS (Chronic Fatigue and Immune Deficiency Syndrome) are diseases that have a common cause: they are brought about by a combination of exposure to toxic chemicals and drugs that suppress immune system function, along with bacterial, fungal, and common viral infection. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the pharmaceutical industry have vested interests in preventing people from knowing the truth about these illnesses: that they have a common cause and that there are naturopathic ways to treat them effectively.
"Food Safety" Bill Ties U.S. to Codex
The problem is that Codex is dominated by Europe and Europe is putting into place an increasingly restrictive regime on supplements. Under this regime, a supplement containing more beta carotene than a couple of carrots is deemed dangerous, as is a supplement containing more lycopene (0.5mg) than might be found in a day’s consumption of tomatoes. Just to make it sillier, lycopene as a food additive is approved without limit by the world body Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) despite the European limit on supplement use.
Codex: Agents of Disinformation
History has it that whenever there is a process of historic change underway, the status quo engages agents of disinformation in order to slow down this process. The case of the liberation of human health from the monopoly of pharmaceutical drugs, and the incorporation of science based natural health approaches into public health policies, is no exception.
Video:Antimicrobial peptides: Dr. John Cannell on vitamin D
Nuisance or nutrient? Kudzu shows promise as a dietary supplement
Kudzu, the nuisance vine that has overgrown almost 10 million acres in the southeastern United States, may sprout into a dietary supplement. Scientists in Alabama and Iowa are reporting the first evidence that root extracts from kudzu show promise as a dietary supplement for a high-risk condition — the metabolic syndrome — that affects almost 50 million people in the United States.
Estrogen mimicking hormones transform males
A host of common chemicals is feminizing males of every class of vertebrate animals, from fish to mammals, including humans.
Book:Poisoned Profits
With indisputable data, the Shabecoffs reveal that the children of baby boomers—the first to be raised in a truly toxified world—have higher rates of birth defects, asthma, cancer, autism and a frightening range of other neurological illnesses from ADHD to mental retardation, compared to previous generations.
They reveal that one out of two pregnancies fails to come to term or results in a less than healthy child. Premature births and infertility are on the rise as this generation matures, while the ratio of male babies dwindles.
UK Food Standards Agency Study Proves Organic Food Is Better
My own reading of the FSA report uncovered its startling result - which seems to have escaped the attention of the authors of the report and the FSA - actually in favour of organic food, despite all the methodological biases against such a finding. The FSA has long had an anti-organic policy, and this latest attempt at discrediting organic food may turn out to be the strongest endorsement of organic that anyone could have made.
Despite these methodological flaws, the review did detect three highly significant differences out of 11 nutrients that favoured the organic...
Video:HOMEGROWN REVOLUTION - Radical Change Taking Root
This self produced, short music video was shown at Peter Seller's Cultural Art's class at UCLA followed by a short presentation by urban farmer, Jules Dervaes founder of Path to Freedom.
What GM Firms Don't Want Farmers to Know
"For many decades prior to genetic engineering, farmers relied on university agriculture extension scientists to perform tests comparing new and standard crop varieties. But it is increasingly difficult for university scientists to conduct these important tests on GE varieties, because they are prohibited from doing research on GE crops without company permission."
Cellphones and Brain Tumors: Reasons for Concern?
A new report, “Cellphones and Brain Tumors: 15 Reasons for Concern, Science, Spin and the Truth Behind Interphone,” was released today by a collaborative of international EMF activists.
The report, sent to government leaders and media, details eleven design flaws of the 13-country, Telecom-funded Interphone study. The Interphone study, begun in 1999, was intended to determine the risks of brain tumors, but its full publication has been held up for years. Components of this study published to date reveal what the authors call a ‘systemic-skew’, greatly underestimating brain tumor risk.
Obesity drug fears investigated
Orlistat went on sale under the brand name Alli without the need for a prescription in the UK in April.
The US Food and Drug Administration has received more than 30 reports linking the drug to serious liver injury.
Florida Child-welfare panel: Drugs misused on foster kids
Florida's mental health system for foster kids relies far too often on drugs, with little oversight, according to a draft report on the suicide of 7-year-old Gabriel Myers.
To those who think this is an isolated instance - Florida alone? Think again.
Merck's HPV Gardasil Vaccine: Risks, Benefits, Marketing
"Whether a risk is worth taking depends not only on the absolute risk, but on the relationship between the potential risk and the potential benefit. If the potential benefits are substantial, most individuals would be willing to accept the risks. But the net benefit of the HPV vaccine to a woman is uncertain. Even if persistently infected with HPV, a woman most likely will not develop cancer if she is regularly screened. So rationally she should be willing to accept only a small risk of harmful effects from the vaccine."
Tamiflu causes sickness and nightmares in children
Studies of children attending three schools in London and one in the South West showed that 51-53 per cent had one or more side-effects from the medication, which is offered to everyone in England with swine flu symptoms.
UK: Doctors may refuse swine flu vaccine
A survey of GPs published on Healthcare Republic, the website of GP magazine, found that up to 60% of GPs may decline vaccination. Although the numbers who responded were small – 216 GPs – they are in line with a much bigger survey of nurses published a week ago by Nursing Times, which found that a third of 1,500 nurses would refuse vaccination.
Hong Kong: Half of health workers reject swine flu shot
About half of Hong Kong's health workers would refuse the swine flu vaccine, new research says, a trend that experts say would likely apply worldwide. In a study that polled 2,255 Hong Kong health workers this year, researchers found even during the height of global swine flu panic in May, less than half were willing to get vaccinated.
Video:Don't Inject Me (the Swine Flu Vaccine Song) by the Health Ranger
This song was written in protest of the widespread swine flu vaccinations now being pushed around the world.
Video:Are Vaccines REALLY Safe?
- Mary Tocco challenges parents and doctors who believe that vaccines are safe for children to take those same vaccines, merely adjusted for body weight...
- - -
YOU CAN CONTRIBUTE to this health news collection.
Just tell me about a link you think is interesting. Email me at (sepp -at- lastrega -dot- com)
twitter (healthsupreme)
facebook (facebook.com/hasslberger)
And there is much more information out there...
There is a lot I cannot cover but other sources for this kind of information exist and are active.
You can subscribe to the Zeus Newsletterhere. Appears twice monthly. If you would like to see some samples of Louise's collection of informative links, here are the archives. She also has a weekly newsletter all about homeopathy - Zeus Homeopathy News.
Dr Mercola's health blog, Mike Adams' Natural News and the One Click Group in the UK have good health information. The Dr Rath Foundation is also putting out a weekly collection of health related news. Here is the link to their Newsletter Archive.
The Alternative Medicine Yahoo Group and the healthfreedom ning group are places to discuss and exchange information on what is happening in the world of natural health.
For the influence of electromagnetic waves from radio, mobile phones and other radio emitting devices, check out the emr-updates group on Yahoo. Genetic modification and issues around agriculture and foods are reported on the Organic Consumers Association site.
A few sites to keep up to date with the other side of world affairs, the stuff you won't necessarily find on your tv or in the papers:
http://therealnews.com/
http://www.whatreallyhappened.com
http://www.commondreams.org
http://www.globalresearch.ca/
http://www.truthout.org/
... and remember ...
The individual is supreme and ... we find our way through intuition
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Posted in Uncategorized at 1:00 am by Pit
FDA sued over excessively restrictive rule making on food supplements
The Alliance for Natural Health, together with Durk Pearson and Sandy Shaw, as well as the Coalition to End FDA and FTC Censorship have sued the FDA over its excessively restrictive stance on supplements and the information that may be given about their health benefits. Three distinct actions were filed within days from each other:
ANH sues FDA over suppression of free speech on selenium health benefits
The suit seeks declaratory and injunctive relief on the grounds that FDAs June 19, 2009 decision to suppress selenium/cancer-risk reduction claims infringed on the organizations right to speak freely about truthful health information.
ANHs US arm files suit against FDA over new GMP rule
The suit aims ultimately to reverse the disproportionate burden of the FDAs new cGMP (current Good Manufacturing Practice) rule which may otherwise lead to mass closure of smaller dietary supplement manufacturers, reduced consumer choice as well as significant price hikes for products remaining on the market.
ANH-US files 3rd suit against FDA for suppression of antoxidant claims
The action has been lodged by Jonathan W Emord of Virginia-based law firm, Emord & Associates and seeks declaratory and injunctive relief on the grounds that FDAs June 19, 2009, decision to suppress claims that antioxidants reduce the risk of cancer infringes on ANH-US right to speak freely about truthful health information, thereby violating the First Amendment.
Codex Alimentarius: Petition to UK Government
We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to oppose the adoption of the Codex Alimentarius (WHO/UN) proposals for restriction of the presently freely available herb/vitamin/mineral food supplements. The principle of self medication with herbal/vitamin/mineral food supplements would be restricted to 'prescription only' status, if the Codex Alimentarius is applied in this country.
Since the NHS priorities are ill health diagnosis and treatment, the good health preservation that supplements provide will be inaccessible to the majority of our population and the cost to the NHS will increase, and the health of the population will decline.
If you are a resident of the UK and are concerned, follow the link to sign...
Carnitine supplements reverse glucose intolerance in animals
Carnitine is made in the liver and recycled by the kidney, but in some cases when this is insufficient, dietary carnitine from red meat and other animal foods can compensate for the shortfall.
After just eight weeks of supplementation with carnitine, the obese rats restored their cells' fuel- burning capacity (which was shut down by a lack of natural carnitine) and improved their glucose tolerance, a health outcome that indicates a lower risk of diabetes.
NAC protects against severe malaria
In a study to be published in the next issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), researchers at the Instituto Gulbenkian de Cincia, in Portugal, show that an anti-oxidant drug [it's actually an aminoacid, N-Acetyl-Cysteine] can protect against the development of deadly forms of malaria.
This finding suggests that there might be alternative therapeutic approaches to treat malaria, which, unlike the current ones would not aim at killing the parasite directly, but rather at strengthening the health status of the host, so that the host could kill parasite and survive. This type therapeutic approach should provide potent protection against severe forms of malaria and thus save lives without favouring the appearance of resistant strains of Plasmodium.
'Moreover, one might be able to apply the same strategy to a range of other infectious diseases and impact on the treatment of not only malaria but a variety of other infectious diseases, a line of research we are actively pursuing at the Instituto Gulbenkian de Cincia.'
Folic acid -- mandatory fortification may be unnecessary
Persistently present levels of unmetabolized folic acid found in the population indicate that introducing mandatory food fortification may result in an 'overdosing' effect. A study of blood donors, new mothers and babies, published in the open access journal BMC Public Health, has found that most already get enough folic acid from voluntarily fortified foods.
Gut Reaction: 'Good' Microbes Under Attack
In tests on mice, Vincent Young at the University of Michigan Medical School found that a certain antibiotic permanently decreased the diversity of the animals' "microbiota"the trillions of microscopic bugs that inhabit the gut and which may be very beneficial.
The study was published in June in the journal Infection and Immunity.
"We may be doing long-term damage to our close friends," said Dr. Young, 46 years old, referring to the good bugs.
"The gut is an ecosystem, just as much as the rainforests and the oceans," he said. "We're finally getting a better understanding of how this ecosystem assembles and responds to ecologic stress." Dr. Young said the gut ecosystem needs to be preserved and that changing the ecosystem through stresses such as antibiotics "could irreversibly change the ecosystem, with deleterious results."
Great discovery ... and it might well lead to better health and prevention of many ills. To be fair, this is exactly what natural health advocates have been saying for decades, but it is good to see a decidedly mainstream publication like the Wall Street Journal get it right.
Nestle Reports Decline in Bottled Water Sales
The company's bottled water division, which packages and sells water under several brands including Arrowhead, Calistoga, Deer Park, Poland Spring, and Perrier, among others, recorded a 3.7 percent decline in volume.
"Around the world, but especially in the United States, consumers are recognizing that bottled water is an unnecessary burden on their wallets, the environment, and the communities from which it is taken and sold at thousands of times its actual value.
Cell phones and brain tumors: a review including the long-term epidemiologic data
The results indicate that using a cell phone for 10 years or more approximately doubles the risk of being diagnosed with a brain tumor on the same ("ipsilateral") side of the head as that preferred for cell phone use. The data achieve statistical significance for glioma and acoustic neuroma but not for meningioma.
US Department of Agriculture Says Biotech is Compatible with Organic
A governmental decision to change organic regulations to permit the use of biotechnology could have far-reaching policy implications for global agriculture.
Allowing producers to gain organic certification for biotech crops could encourage the development of a new type of environmentally sustainable agricultural production with greater benefits for the consumer.
It seems they should be joking, but I fear the campaign to make biotech (genetic modification) broadly acceptable and to even contaminate organic agriculture with it is a deadly serious affair...
Monsanto's Roundup More Deadly to Liver Cells than Active Ingredient Alone
Very low doses of some types of the herbicide Roundup can disrupt human liver cell function; the formulations' toxicity may be tied to their "inactive" ingredients rather than the active weed-killing ingredient glyphosate.
Fight Cancer with Human Breast Milk?
Svanborg and her group began to analyze breast milk more thoroughly and eventually discovered that the actual component of breast milk that was killing cancer cells is a protein called alpha-lactalbumin (sometimes called alpha-lac). In January 1999, they finally released results demonstrating that in the acid environment of an infants stomach, the normal alpha-lac protein changed shape and transformed into a killer of cancer cells (or other potentially harmful cells, such as pneumonococcus bacteria). Her research group named the altered protein, HAMLET, for Human Alpha-lactalbumin Made Lethal to Tumor cells.
Rodale Institute: Organic Food Still the Best Nutritional Choice
"Media spin has largely missed the point of this tightly focused study using existing data. It is a blip, not a cataclysm, in the ongoing effort to grasp the complexities of how organic food-from healthy soil and natural systems-differs from food grown with synthetic fertilizers and pesticides," LaSalle explained.
The study, funded by the UK Food Standards Agency, formally acknowledges data demonstrating significant nutritional advantages for organic. It said in its analysis, however, that the evidence was insufficient, under its protocol, to proclaim organic superiority.
Is Aspartame About to Be Banned?
Aspartame has been passed as fit to consume by more than 100 countries around the world, but there is evidence that each of aspartames chemical components can have toxic effects. It is curious that studies on the safety of aspartame funded by the industry invariably find in favor of aspartame, but independently funded work almost always finds quite the opposite.
Cancer Prevention Coalition Calls on FDA to Ban Aspartame
Under the explicit provisions of the 1958 Delaney Law, which requires an automatic ban on carcinogenic food additives, the Coalition is calling on Dr. Margaret Hamburg, the newly appointed Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and public health advocate, to promptly ban the continued use of aspartame.
Perhaps the real question that should be asked here is: Has Aspartame Outlived its Usefulness? With both Coca Cola and Pepsi getting in gear with a stevia-based sweetener, are the wheels now being set in motion to 'allow' aspartame to be banned ... to make way in the market for the newly patented replacement sweeteners?
Asda wins 'nasty aspartame' case
On Wednesday Asda won its court battle with Japanese food company Ajinomoto, who sued the supermarket chain for calling the artificial sweetener aspartame nasty.
Nanotechnology and the Enclosure of the Chemical Elements
So, if you go down in size, if you get small enough, you don t even know, that the nanoparticle is there. You put it on your skin (suncream), they can sink into your skin and evolve through your body and companies cannot even measure the size, actually. There is no international standard yet for how to measure the size. There is three different ways you can do it
.
The governments start to think about how to regulate this. In South Africa next year, there will be a meeting of major governments trying to make some progress on nanotech-regulation. We have been told by the US- government, that they think, that they will need till 2017 before coming to a global agreement on basic standards. But in 2015 there will be plenty of things on the market
Alternative to antibiotics under development
Published in the journal Molecular Cell, the study shows that disrupting quorum sensing or the way bacteria communicate collective information, such as population density, can stop bacteria from killing a host organism.
Glaxo Had Ghostwriting Program To Promote Paxil
"An internal company memo instructs salespeople to approach physicians and offer to help them write and publish articles about their positive experiences prescribing the drug.
Known as the CASPPER program, the paper explains how the company can help physicians with everything from 'developing a topic,' to 'submitting the manuscript for publication.'"
The Medical Paradigm Is Fatally Flawed
Once a product or service has been corporatized, every aspect of it is addressed for its ability to exact profits. Medicine is no different. By joining the corporate paradigm, medicine has ceased to be primarily a force for wellbeing. Any flaw found, such as a drug's side effects, is turned into yet another profit center.
Anti-Depressants Double Suicide Risk In Young Adults
It's of course old news at this point that anti-depressants can induce both suicidality and suicidal ideation--hence the FDA-mandated black box warnings on anti-depressants--but this study does address mounting attempts, most recently in June, by some researchers to cast doubt on the warnings, especially for young adults aged 18 to 25.
Another woman survives antiretroviral drugs
Onnie Mary Phuthe is a young Botswana woman who realized the harm that antiretroviral drugs were doing her, stopped taking them, and has regained her health.
Polio surge in Nigeria after vaccine virus mutates
Polio, the dreaded paralyzing disease stamped out in the industrialized world, is spreading in Nigeria. And health officials say in some cases, it's caused by the vaccine used to fight it.
In July, the World Health Organization issued a warning that this vaccine-spread virus might extend beyond Africa. So far, 124 Nigerian children have been paralyzed this year - about twice those afflicted in 2008.
So the great push to "eradicate polio" actually ends up spreading a mutant virus
increasing the polio death toll. So much for the loudly touted vaccine campaigns pushed by the WHO.
Swine flu likely to be just as mild in autumn judging from pandemic history, say experts
US experts have admitted the swine flu is harmless and is likely to stay harmless, making the necessity for forced mass vaccinations on WHOs instructions look even more questionable.
There is evidence the deadly second wave of the Spanish Flu of 1918 was caused by vaccinations and not by a virus mutation...
Could Catching Swine Flu Be Good For You?
Some doctors say that catching swine flu now, while it is mild, could prevent a more serious infection later by building immunity in those sickened by the new flu virus.
"In the U.K. and Europe and America, it is spreading so fast that it is very likely that most people will be exposed to or get swine flu, and this will help them develop immunity before the second wave," said Dr. Raymond Ng, a doctor with OT and P, a family practice in Hong Kong. That second wave could be a mutated, more lethal flu. "Having some immunity gives us some protection against this virus," Dr. Ng said.
Doctors in Mexico City Cured 2009 Swine Flu with Homeopathy
These doctors included historically documented observations regarding the 1918 flu pandemic. For historical references they used "... the thesis written by Dr. Manuel Mazari to obtain his qualification at the Escuela Libre de Homeopata de Mexico: "Short Study of the Last Influenza Epidemic in Mexico City (1918)", as well as reports published by the Ministry of Health, news published in the media in general, and some clinical cases mentioned by homeopathic physicians".
"In homeopathy there are no specific medicines for a particular nosological picture (for which the most common symptoms are taken into account). But in epidemics, due to the common causative agent, susceptibility of the population in this particular moment, and the repetition of symptoms, a group of the most useful remedies can be deduced. The remedies determined in this way are called the Genius Epidemicus. They consist of a group of medicines with symptoms most similar to those presented by most patients suffering this flu."
Live Attenuated Swine Influenza Vaccine for Children Safety in Question
AstraZeneca will produce a genetically engineered live attenuated vaccine through its global biologics unit, MedImmune, using cell culture or eggs. The MedImmune vaccine will be used primarily for children, to be delivered as a nasal spray. The nasal spray vaccine against pandemic H1N1 influenza has been fast tracked for global distribution.
The live-attenuated vaccine appears more effective than the inactivated virus vaccine, but it resulted in significantly higher rates of severe adverse events. Furthermore, there is evidence that the live vaccine is highly genetically unstable in warm body cells and that has not been thoroughly evaluated in the children vaccinated .
Swine flu jab linked to killer nerve disease: Leaked letter reveals concern of neurologists over 25 deaths in America
The letter from the Health Protection Agency, the official body that oversees public health, has been leaked to The Mail on Sunday, leading to demands to know why the information has not been given to the public before the vaccination of millions of people, including children, begins.
It tells the neurologists that they must be alert for an increase in a brain disorder called Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS), which could be triggered by the vaccine.
Ten Things You're Not Supposed To Know About The Swine Flu Vaccine
Let's not beat around the bush on this issue: The swine flu vaccines now being prepared for mass injection into infants, children, teens and adults have never been tested and won't be tested before the injections begin. In Europe, where flu vaccines are typically tested on hundreds (or thousands) of people before being unleashed on the masses, the European Medicines Agency is allowing companies to skip the testing process entirely.
Swine flu pandemic is already over, declares Swiss immunoloigst
Professor Stadler said in an interview widely printed in the Swiss media last week: "The dangerous pandemic virus has mutated to a normal summer flu."
- - -
YOU CAN CONTRIBUTE to this health news collection.
Just tell me about a link you think is interesting. Email me at (sepp -at- lastrega -dot- com)
twitter (healthsupreme)
facebook (facebook.com/hasslberger)
And there is much more information out there...
There is a lot I cannot cover but other sources for this kind of information exist and are active.
You can subscribe to the Zeus Newsletterhere. Appears twice monthly. If you would like to see some samples of Louise's collection of informative links, here are the archives. She also has a weekly newsletter all about homeopathy - Zeus Homeopathy News.
Dr Mercola's health blog, Mike Adams' Natural News and the One Click Group in the UK have good health information. The Dr Rath Foundation is also putting out a weekly collection of health related news. Here is the link to their Newsletter Archive.
The Alternative Medicine Yahoo Group and the healthfreedom ning group are places to discuss and exchange information on what is happening in the world of natural health.
For the influence of electromagnetic waves from radio, mobile phones and other radio emitting devices, check out the emr-updates group on Yahoo. Genetic modification and issues around agriculture and foods are reported on the Organic Consumers Association site.
A few sites to keep up to date with the other side of world affairs, the stuff you won't necessarily find on your tv or in the papers:
http://therealnews.com/
http://www.whatreallyhappened.com
http://www.commondreams.org
http://www.globalresearch.ca/
http://www.truthout.org/
... and remember ...
The individual is supreme and ... we find our way through intuition
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08.19.09
Posted in Uncategorized at 7:00 am by Pit
The fastest way to lose motivation is to set unrealistic weight loss goals for yourself before you even start your weight loss program, ask yourself some simple questions-"What do you want to achieve from this weight loss program?" and "How much weight or inches do you want to lose in a day, a week or a month". Remember that each small goal you achieve will propel you closer to your final destination. But if you set unrealistic goals, you will only end up in frustration and disappointment when they are not achieved, even when you are making significant progress at removing belly fat.
Now is the time to start a new lifestyle and start getting rid of your junk food, your soft drinks in the refrigerator, those puddings and those chocolates you stash in your drawer! Make a new list of the food you need and start stocking up on them in large quantities. Include vegetables, fruits, healthy snacks, mineral waters and vitamins and mineral supplements you will need to remove belly fat.
Give yourself a pat on the back and create a reward system for your weight loss program. For instance, you may want to get yourself a new adult toy, a new tool or even a new suit if you reach a certain point in your efforts to remove belly fat.
This is the most important meal that you should never miss. Skipping breakfast means that you are programming your brain to think that you are hungry, starved and deprived, this will only cause you to feel lethargic and when the pressure is too much, you may decide to embark on an eating binge. This is sheer suicide to your effort to remove belly fat!
For long lasting effects and to boost the effectiveness of the best weight loss programs, this is one important activity you must make a part of your routine. No weight loss program can be successful without a good exercise program. Choose a good exercise program that lets you burn fat and gives you a good cardiovascular workout at the same time.
Always get enough sleep during your program to remove belly fat. A normal adult needs approximately 7-8 hours of sleep a day. This helps to keep your bodily systems working in perfect order, which is crucial to the success of your program to remove belly fat.
This is important in any weight loss program and you should make relaxation a crucial part of your schedule. Meditation, relaxation and affirmations can help boost your confidence and make the process of removing belly fat more enjoyable.
By following these simple tips, you can start seeing results in your efforts to remove belly fat. Be consistent and make them part of your lifestyle and success in your weight loss program is assured.
Weight loss is something that a lot of us have to face. It is indeed a difficult task to accomplish. The point of this article is to prepare yourself for what is to come. When your mind is set on the goal and the appropriate preparation is in place accomplishment is sweet victory.
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08.18.09
Posted in Uncategorized at 7:00 am by Pit
(Seventh in a Series)
Help Pride and independence often tell us the story we want to hear: we can do this on our own, we know we can; we don't need any help.
That may well be true if you only have ten or so pounds to lose to get into last year's dress for a party. Live on lemon juice for a week or two while you treadmill yourself ragged for two hours a day. Sure, you'll get into that dress-though you probably won't again a couple of weeks after the party.
If, however, you're facing a long-term weight loss project of fifty, seventy-five, one hundred pounds or more-and especially if you've tried, and failed, a few times already-it's time to swallow your pride and acknowledge that, yes, you could do with a hand here.
The ability to accept help, freely and without resentment, is undervalued. Few have it innately. Most have to work at it. And as a long-term dieter, you had better acquire this skill sooner rather than later.
Once you have come to terms with needing a hand, however, you will find that such hands abound.
Weight Loss Sites This paragraph opens with a warning: there are so many Internet sites devoted to weight loss that you can easily spend the rest of your days perusing them all and never quite get around to losing weight.
Also, many weight loss sites are pure money making schemes, praying on your need (getting more and more desperate as time, and failed diets, pile up) to lose weight. The best way to detect such sites is by their promises, which are always a little over the top, and always stress how easy it will be, if only you spend $50 a week with them.
This is a dead giveaway, for long-term weight loss is not easy.
But there are many helpful sites as well, providing all manner of tools and tips. FitDay and SparkPeople are two of the best. There are, however, many excellent sites. Just search for what you need in terms of information and support, and watch out for outlandish promises.
Nutritionists If you have the financial resources to afford one, or the insurance coverage to provide one, a nutritionist can be of invaluable help to you. An experienced nutrition professional has been there and done that with almost any scenario and can provide excellent, and real, advice to follow.
Doctors It goes without saying that if you have medical problems, or even concerns, of any kind, you need to consult-and gain the support of-your doctor before you set out on a long term weight loss program.
Many medical problems-although causes may appear to lie elsewhere-tend to resolve once you reach a healthy weight, for the body is an amazingly efficient self-healing organism. Once it no longer has to cope with and battle the ills of being overweight, it can turn its attention to other, medical, problems, and more often than not successfully resolve them.
Still, you need to enlist your doctor on your team. If your current doctor is less than enthusiastic about your weight loss efforts, it might serve you well to recruit a new one who is. The support guidance of a medical professional is an invaluable resource.
Loved Ones Possibly the most important support you will need, especially over the course of a long-term weight loss project, is members of your family and friends, whether an old roommate, significant other, co-worker, parent, or child.
Knowing that those who love your are squarely in your court and willing to do anything to help you, can make all the difference; can in fact, make or break the success of long-term weight loss.
Successful Dieters Another priceless source of support comes from those who have successfully lost the amount of weight you are setting out to lose. They have been there and done that on the field of battle, and they have won. They know what problems you will face, and they know how to overcome them.
Not unlike sponsors in an Anonymous group, they can offer you very real and applicable advice to virtually any situation. And they will, just like your loved ones, be firmly on your side against the mountain that often seems quite impossible to climb.
Seek them out by any means, and stay in weekly, if not daily contact, to benefit from their experience. It cannot be overvalued.
Help Revisited The fact that you may have tried many times to lose weight, but has yet to succeed, is a clear indication that pride must be swallowed, and help must be sought and accepted-whether freely or grudgingly, it doesn't really matter.
This can be hard to do, but for the sake of your own health and happiness, you must do it; you'll find that it is nowhere near as hard as trying to go it alone.
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08.17.09
Posted in Uncategorized at 8:52 pm by Pit
NEW DELHI: India may soon get its own vaccine for swine flu, or the H1N1 virus, that has killed hundreds across the globe this year. Three domestic biotech firms Serum Institute, Bharat Biotech and Panacea Biotech have submitted their plans to launch the vaccine by March 2010, an official in the health ministry said. The companies have already started the preliminary research and they have submitted a detailed timeline for developing the vaccine to the drug regulator, he said, requesting anonymity.
The countrys top drug regulator Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) had allowed the three biotechnology companies to procure seed strains from labs in the US and the UK in July 2009. One of these companies has made real progress and we believe by the end of this year, we will have something in hand, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) director general VM Katoch said.
According to Mr Katoch, Serum institute is planning to start immunogenicity tests on the vaccine in August itself and the animal toxicity tests will commence from November 2009. Panacea Biotech and Bharat Biotech have also submitted their plans to the ministry. ET first reported that drug regulator has given approval to three domestic biotech firms to start tests and analyses to develop a vaccine for swine flu.
Meanwhile, the government is also planning to fast-track the trials of the vaccine. The phase I, which generally takes at least one month, may be completed in 14 days and we are planning to club phases II and III so that the vaccine can be launched at the earliest, a ministry official close to the development said.
While the Serum Institute is developing an egg-based vaccine, the other two are developing cell line vaccines, Mr Katoch said. However, the companies refused to comment on the present status of the research of the vaccine. A company official from Panacea Biotech said that the discussions with the drug regulator are going on and the company will soon make a presentation to the drug regulator to update on the development of the vaccine.
Once the companies submit their preliminary test and analysis data, they will have to apply for potency test, pre-clinical trials and finally clinical trials before launching the medicine in the market. The companies have been asked to regularly brief the drug regulator and the government on the status of the research of the vaccine, the ministry official said. The government is also considering to involve ICMR to conduct human trials of the vaccine to have more candidates to test the vaccine. We do not want to compromise on the quality of the vaccine. ICMRs participation will ensure that safety measures are taken care off, the ministry official said.
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