Category: Health Tips

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Telomeres

Yesterday I was reviewing the data that I had compiled in my book, http://www.defeatdegenerativedisease.com. Specifically the section on Telomeres, the caps on the ends of your DNA strands that reflect the speed at which you age, after I came across this bit of data:
A study led by Eli Puterman, PhD, found that non-exercising women with histories of childhood abuse had shorter telomeres than women who did not experience such abuse. Interestingly enough, abuse victims who exercised vigorously at least three times a week showed NO such link! It appears that regular exercise effectively negated the detrimental effects of childhood abuse trauma on their telomeres.
And once again it was brought home to me how important exercise is to our overall well being, health and longevity.
I now have 5 persoanl trainers I know who are passionate about genuinely helping you enjoy optimal health. Here are their contact details:
Michael Wilson 0413 344 948 (Glebe\Ultimo\Pyrmont\Broadway) http://www.enlivenfitness.com.au/
Alex Bastianon 0402 815 131 and Ryan McTeigue 0438 696 341 (Caringbah)
Rob Charlwood 0418 225 200 (Petersham\Marrickville\Newtown) http://www.azzurrawellness.com.au
Rudi and Tracey Marashlian (Los Angeles) http://www.gofitnow.com
Bumped into Michael this morning and he told me he has an insane special on at present, 10 weeks training and a personal consultation for $20! How could you not? He has arranged this at http://ezdeals.com.au/ but their site is down for maintenance at present so just give him a call and chat to him personally.

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Smile Broadly – It Adds 7 Years to Your Life

Smile and you’ll live longer.
BIG smile? Longer still.
Wayne State University researchers, in the US, collected photos of 230 Major League Baseball players who started their careers before 1950. Independent reviewers, who were not aware of the study’s purpose, categorized the photos, sorting each into one of three groups: non-smilers, smilers, and big smilers.
When the smile rankings were matched against each player’s lifespan, researchers found a very strong link between smiling and longevity.
These were the average lifespans:
* Non-smilers: 72.9
* Smilers: 75
* Big smilers: 79.9
Of course, this doesn’t offer proof that a frequent smile will actually help you live longer. But consider this: Some Zen Buddhists believe that starting every morning with a good long laugh is equal to the calming effect of several hours of meditation. And studies have shown that smiling or laughing prompts the release of endorphins and serotonin — brain chemicals that improve mood.
No guarantees a smile will add seven years to your life, but you know what they say: at least people will wonder what you’ve been up to.
From a Health Sciences Institute newsletter.

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Conflicts of Interest Not Revealed in Call for $3.5 Billion More for Mental Health Funding

While “The Independent Mental Health Reform Group” calls for an extra $3.5 billion to be spent on mental health in its “A blueprint to Transform Mental Health,” concerns were raised over the inappropriate use of the term “independent” in the name of this group. Even a cursory inspection of the main group members, who are part of a high profile promotional media campaign to take a larger slice of the health budget, revealed conflicts of interest with drug companies who also profit from increased budgetary allocations. Some group members already directly advise the Federal Government. Present/past conflicts of interest of this “independent group” include:

Ian Hickie has served on professional advisory boards convened by Bristol-Myers Squibb & Eli Lilly. [1] Hickie received $70,000 from Bristol Myers Squibb to develop the depression checklist for the depression-training program for GPs, called SPHERE which he founded. Pfizer also fund SPHERE. Wyeth, Servier and AstraZeneca have also funded Hickie. [2]

Patrick McGorry has received unrestricted research grant support from Janssen- Cilag, Eli Lilly, Bristol Myer Squibb, Astra-Zeneca, Pfizer, and Novartis. He has acted as a paid consultant for, and has received speaker’s fees and travel reimbursement from, all or most of these companies. [3]

Sebastian Rosenberg, former CEO of the Mental Health Council, is currently the Director of the mental health business ConNetica, whose website lists one of its “Private Sector Customers” as Eli Lilly. [4] Rosenberg worked for the Mental Health Council between 2005 and 2010. The Mental Health Council in 2004 signed a Memorandum of Understanding with 5 drug companies. This agreement has continued every year. The 2009/10 Annual Report lists out Eli Lilly, Pfizer, Wyeth and AstraZeneca as the drug companies currently on this Memorandum of Understanding. [5]

John Moran and Mathew Hamilton work for Orygen (youth mental health organization) with McGorry. Orygen acknowledge Bristol Myers Squibb Australia, AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly and Janssen-Cilag on their website for funding support of research and service development activities [6] and Pfizer lists Orygen as receiving funds for educational events in 2010. [7]

The most recent call for funds includes over $1 billion for 15 Early Psychosis Centres and expansion of headspace – both part of McGorry’s Orygen who has conflicts of interest with drug companies. [8] [9]

The demand for further funds comes with the startling admission that Australia cannot produce any outcome reports for the billions already spent from past mental health budgets, a inability which doesn’t seem to plague other areas of health.

In the report “A blueprint to Transform Mental Health,” the authors state: “Australia is currently outcome blind in mental health, unable to assess the real impact of current $5.5bn annual spending”. This highlights the considerable controversy within the psychiatric profession over the efficacy of current programs in place. The calls for increased funding when mental health funding is at a highest ever, site “lack of money” as the excuse of lack of documented outcomes. This must prompt politicians to start looking at the programs themselves and to look at who is profiting from constant increased funding with no discernable improvement.

An immediate investigation and audit needs to be conducted into any mis-management, lack of efficacy of programs despite millions being poured into them and the sheer waste of funding on programs that cannot show any outcome. If current spending were effectively being used, mental illness rates would be falling not increasing.

CCHR’s Shelley Wilkins says, “Pharmaceutical company conflicts of interest do not serve the people who need help. No-one with any drug company conflicts of interest should be on any committee which advises the government. There are many highly qualified mental health consultants with absolutely no drug ties that could be listened to.”

The Church of Scientology and Professor of Psychiatry Dr Thomas Szasz established CCHR to expose psychiatric violations of human rights.

[1] “Is Depression Over Dagiagnosed? No,” Prof. Gordon Parker and Ian Hickie, BMJ, 18 Nov. 2007. Also on http://sydney.edu.au/bmri/news/BMJ2007_Hickie.pdf
[2] http://www.mja.com.au/public/issues/191_07_051009/hic109639_fm.html
[3] http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/337/aug04_1/a695
[4] http://connetica.com.au/about
[5] http://www.mhca.org.au/documents/MHCA%20AR10%2029-11.pdf Page 21
[6] http://rc.oyh.org.au/ResearchCentreStructure/otherfunding
http://rc.oyh.org.au/sites/all/files/2007%20ORC%20Report.pdf Page 58
[7] http://medicinesaustralia.com.au/files/2010/06/20100618-EER-rep-Pfizer-Jan-Mar-2010.pdf
[8] http://www.eppic.org.au/
[9] http://www.headspace.org.au/media/101064/coe3461_es_bpdtreatment_v2.pdf

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Lessons From a Doctor in Afghanistan

Physician Kevin Patterson noticed something during his work as an internist-intensivist at the Canadian Combat Surgical Hospital in Kandahar, Afghanistan. The Afghan soldiers, police and civilians he treated had very different bodies from those of the Canadians he treated in his home country. Patterson has become convinced that the effects of urbanization are making people everywhere in the world both fatter and sicker. http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/04/15/how-western-diets-are-making-the-world-sick.aspx

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Self-Funded Study Found HUGE Tumors from Aspartame

Victoria Inness-Brown conducted a personal two and a half-year experiment on the effects of aspartame, probably the worst of the artificial sweeteners on the market.

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GMOs Linked to Organ Disruption in 19 Studies

A new paper shows that consuming genetically modified (GM) corn or soybeans leads to significant organ disruptions in rats and mice, particularly in livers and kidneys. By reviewing data from 19 animal studies, Professor Gilles-Eric Séralini and others reveal that 9% of the measured parameters, including blood and urine biochemistry, organ weights, and microscopic analyses (histopathology), were significantly disrupted in the GM-fed animals. The kidneys of males fared the worst, with 43.5% of all the changes. The liver of females followed, with 30.8%. The report, published in Environmental Sciences Europe on March 1, 2011, confirms that “several convergent data appear to indicate liver and kidney problems as end points of GMO diet effects.” The authors point out that livers and kidneys “are the major reactive organs” in cases of chronic food toxicity.
The GM soybean and corn varieties used in the feeding trials “constitute 83% of the commercialized GMOs” that are currently consumed by billions of people. While the findings may have serious ramifications for the human population, the authors demonstrate how a multitude of GMO-related health problems could easily pass undetected through the superficial and largely incompetent safety assessments that are used around the world. http://cryptogon.com/?p=21734