Enough with the COVID-19 insanity!

OK! Enough of this fear mongering!

The economic and social damage done by this 'self-isolation' mania far outweighs the health benefits. More people die daily of smoking and obesity-related disease than 'the virus'. Half of Canadians live paycheque to paycheque. The economic damage done this 'Isolationism' and the resulting thousands of layoffs will result in people losing their homes, not paying their rent, or affording food or contributing to their children's education, suicide, and marital breakdowns.

Let us go back to work, to school, to living our lives. Just like every flu season - resources should be focused on the very young, the very old, people who are immune- compromised and health care workers.

Everyone else - let's get back to our lives - wash our hands - keep them away from our face and stay home if we're sick with 'the virus', the regular flu, measles, mumps or the common cold.

If our politicians really care about the health of Canadians - start by banning cigarettes and sugar-saturated beverages.

Congrats to the Centre for Science in the Public Interest for forcing sodium legislation

A typical TV dinner such as this one (1,460 mg of salt) , or some other frozen meal can contain half of a person's recommended daily intake (2,300 mg of salt or more than 100% for a person with hypertension.

"For 39 years, CSPI has been working to reduce the amount of sodium used in packaged and restaurant foods.  We’ve petitioned the Food and Drug Administration repeatedly, and last year we even hauled the agency into federal court (for the second time) to force it to take action.

Today we’ve achieved a historic breakthrough:  The FDA has just published sodium-reduction targets for 150 categories of packaged and restaurant foods.  The targets are voluntary—not mandatory as we and the Institute of Medicine had asked for—but to have the government set official benchmarks for how much sodium is acceptable in various food categories is going to have a major impact on the food supply.  If achieved, these reductions will save tens of thousands of lives each year from preventable heart attacks and stroke, as well as billions of dollars in medical expenses."

Read the FDA's annoucement HERE... the read the story in the Centre for Science in the Public Interest

Music helps babies learn to speak

"Babies who engage in musical play may have an easier time picking up language skills, suggested a study Monday.

U.S. researchers compared nine-month-old babies who played with toys and trucks to those who practiced banging out a rhythm during a series of play sessions.

They found that the musical group showed more brain activity in regions involved with detecting patterns, an important skill when it comes to learning language."

I can't remember singing to my children - it was a long, long time ago - but I do remember singing to my grandchildren Zyg and Mila when they were just infants. I hope it helped them.

Read the story on CTV News

Seniors! Benadryl or Gravol can rot our brains

Common drugs, such as Benadryl and Dimetapp, could be harming the brains of seniors, a new study has found.

Prolonged use of certain drugs called anticholinergics is linked to physical changes in the brain, according to Shannon Risacher, an assistant professor of radiology and imaging at the Indiana University School of Medicine

“The concern is that taking these drugs may increase your risk of dementia,” Risacher says. “Particularly in people with a family history of dementia.”

What's the bottom line?..... AVOID ALL DRUGS - instead EXERCISE and EAT WISELY.... and that applies to people of any age.

Read the story on CTV News

Want to remain a healthy adult? Consume more protein

"A new study suggests that adults should eat significantly more protein than national guidelines currently recommend, and that portions should be split evenly throughout the day.

The high-protein diet, outlined in a joint study by the University of Mississippi and researchers at McMaster University, could help stave off muscle and strength loss in aging adults.

Researchers say the sweet spot is 30 grams to 45 grams of protein eaten one to two times per day -- but one researcher suggests a person could see benefits with three to five meals at that amount. (For scale, an average chicken breast contains about 25 to 30 grams of protein.)

And remember to incorporate a healthy percentage of veggie based protein in your daily intake. That is unless you're particularly fond of growth hormones, mercury, and antibiotics.

Read the story on CTV News

Wow! Asthma suffers may not even have asthma

"Ottawa Hospital respirologist Dr. Shawn Aaron, a senior scientist at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, published a study in the Canadian Medical Association Journal in 2008, that found many Canadians who believe they have asthma have never been properly tested for the condition."

"But he says, for those without asthma, inhalers’ side effects are not worth it. Those side effects can include oral thrush, which is a buildup of fungus in the mouth, voice hoarseness, and easy bruising. Long-term use can cause growth suppression in children, cataracts, osteoporosis and glaucoma.

The bottom line, Aaron says, is that patients who suspect they have asthma should insist on proper spirometry testing. And he wants his fellow physicians to take the time to do the proper testing to ensure they get their diagnoses right."

Read the story on CTV News

Eat crap + no exercise = suffer and die says World Health Organisation

The world is facing an "unrelenting march" of diabetes which now affects nearly one-in-11 people, the World Health Organization (WHO) says.

In a major report it warned cases had virtually quadrupled from 108 million in 1980 to 422 million in 2014.

High blood sugar levels are a major killer - linked to 3.7 million deaths around the world each year, it says. And officials said the numbers would continue to increase unless "drastic action" was taken.

Toss out that fried chicken, donut and can of Coke and read the story on BBC News 

Study says air pollution causes premature births in America

"One in 10 babies in the United States is born prematurely, before 37 weeks of pregnancy. Preterm birth is the leading cause of death for children under five and is linked to numerous health problems that persist throughout life. Many factors can contribute to preterm birth but air pollution -- particularly fine particulate pollution -- is increasingly being linked to the incidence of premature birth in the US and elsewhere around the world. According to a study published this week in Environmental Health Perspectives."

Read the story in Truth-Out then check out the Environment Health Perspectives report 

Customers and chefs are demanding ethically harvested seafood

Steve Vilnit, marketing director for Maryland-based seafood wholesaler J.J. McDonnell, said that business has grown in the eight years since the company started providing restaurants with more information about the backstory of their fish.

"I think what we're seeing is the chefs caring more about where their products come from," Vilnit said. "We're seeing more and more restaurants that won't buy product unless you tell them where the product was harvested, and with what kind of gear."

Read the story on CTV News

Hoooray to the people of Vermont state for their GMO labelling law

 

"The Food and Drug Administration says GMOs, which can include food made from seeds that were engineered in laboratories to have certain traits, are safe, but labeling advocates say not enough research has been done and they have a right to know what's in their food. They also say the use of GMOs has led to big increases in herbicide use.

A 2014 Associated Press-GfK poll found that 66 per cent of Americans supported labeling of genetically modified food."

 Pead the story on CTV News
..... then please send an email to your local politician and tell her/him that you have the right to know what is in your food and want GMO labeling.
 

The College of Family Physicians refuses to educate doctors about painkillers

"The College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC) is rejecting a call by the national association representing medical regulators to make a course on safe opioid prescribing mandatory for family doctors.

The Federation of Medical Regulatory Authorities of Canada made the request to the CFPC as a way to help reduce inappropriate prescribing of powerful opioid painkillers, which are highly addictive and linked to serious side effects and death. Canada is the world’s second largest consumer of opioid painkillers, such as oxycodone and hydromorphone, and many addiction experts agree that too many pills are being prescribed."

Please email Dr. Francine Lemire and tell her that you oppose her organisations stand and support the FMRAC's attempts to educate doctors about dangerous prescription drugs.

Read the story in the Globe and Mail

Are you a diabetic just waiting to happen?

"For decades, more and more Californians have put on weight and fallen sick with diabetes, prompting warnings that the disease was spiraling out of control.

Now experts have data showing just how bleak the situation is.

Researchers from UCLA determined that 55% of California adults have either diabetes or pre-diabetes, a condition in which blood glucose levels are higher than normal but not high enough to be considered diabetic, according to a study published Thursday.

Experts already knew that about 9% of people in the state have diabetes. But previous estimates had put the rate of pre-diabetes at about 33%, lower than the 46% calculated by UCLA researchers."

.....Read the story in the Los Angeles Times

American men spend millions on breast reduction surgery

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons reports.....

"Overall, the number of U.S. plastic surgery procedures rose 115 percent between 2000 and 2015, and the trend doesn't seem to be slowing down. According to the ASPS, there were 15.9 million surgical and minimally invasive cosmetic procedures performed in 2015 -- 2 percent higher than in 2014.

Of the 1.7 million surgical procedures performed in 2015, the top five were breast and butt augmentation, liposuction, nose reshaping, eyelid surgery and tummy tuck."

Now I'm sure that of those 1.7 million there were a dozen or so folks whose medical condition required nose reshaping or eyelid surgery, but overeating, under-exercising and vanity were responsible for the remainder of those millions of procedures.

The report also says that, last year, 27, 000 men had breast reduction surgery!!!

Guys - since I hit the floppy age of 65 I have to confess that everyday I too submit to a breast reduction and shaping procedure - it's called push ups and chest flys.

Scientists have found a way for our bodies to fight cancer

"Scientists at the UCL Cancer Institute have developed a method, reported in Science journal, for finding unique markings within a tumour - its "Achilles heel" - that the immune system can target.

But the approach would be expensive, need designing for each individual and has not yet been tried in patients.

Experts said the idea made sense but could be more complicated in reality.
However, the researchers believe their discovery could form the backbone of new treatments and hope to test it in patients within two years."

That's great news. Now that we are on our way to finding a cure, let's focus on prevention by ridding our air and water and soil of poisons, eating nutritious foods, and banning all forms of smoking.

Read the story in BBC News

Self-absorbed, low-esteem people love tattoos

According to a 2010 Ifop survey (a French marketing survey company), one in 10 French people -- and nearly a quarter of 18 to 24-year-olds -- have a tattoo.

For sociologist David Le Breton, author of "Signs of Identity: Tattoos, Piercings and Other Body Markings", the need to alter their appearance is a "a way of saying, 'It's my body and I can do what I like with it.'

"For teenagers it is a way of taking back their bodies that they don't believe they were responsible for creating.

In the United States, according to a Harris Poll study in 2012, one adult in five now has at least one tattoo, and while there is no federal law regulating tattoos or other body art or modifications, most of the 50 states allow tattoos for minors provided they have parental consent.

In Europe, some 100 million residents have tattoos, or 10 to 20 percent of the adult population, according to figures cited in the publication "Tattooed Skin and Health", which was published in 2015 for a medical congress entitled the Second European Congress on Tattoo and Pigment Research, held in Belgium."

Wow!

Hey, self-absorbed, low-esteem people, rather than inject dye under your skin in order to get people to notice you, try wearing a distinctive scarf, hat, or even better, a lovely smile.

"Taking back my body'" !!! What does that even mean?

Perhaps the time, and pain, and the billions we spend every year on tattoos would be better spent taking back the planet because if we Earthlings continue to destroy Mother Earth at the rate we have, we and our tattoos won't be around long anyway.

Read the story on CTV News

Fellow Old Folks! We take too many drugs - stop it!

Fellow Seniors! We are clearly not taking care of our bodies and minds. And not only do we have only ourselves to blame but we can't look to 'governing organisations' for help or sympathy.

Take for instance the Canadian Institute for Health Information who just released a report that ONLY 39% of residents in long-term care facilities were prescribed an antipsychotic drug in 2014.

And that's supposed to be good news?

Fact is that drug-crazy doctors and institutions are more than happy to prescribe medication for real or imagined physical and mental ailments, many of which have resulted from us not EXERCISING and NOT EATING PROPERLY and POLLUTING OUR BODIES.

CTV News quotes Barbara Farrell, co-founder of the Canadian Deprescribing Network, as saying that the report shows that, among seniors over 85 years old, approximately 39 per cent of us are taking more than 10 types of drugs.

It is said that "the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now." Well the same applies to taking care of our bodies. Now would be the second best time to start.

What's more important to you? Time or Money?

Researchers at the University of British Columbia .... "found that prioritizing to have more time at the expense of having less money, was associated with greater happiness," she added, noting that this finding was observed even when controlling for income levels and marital status.

The researchers also found that older people were more likely to say they valued their time compared to younger people."

Take some time and read the story on CTV News

I too hate noise, so I must be German

"Culture is at the heart of German attitudes to sound. Since the nature-loving symphonies of Bach and Beethoven, or Goethe, who eulogised the wild and its hunters within, German culture has been interwoven with complex ideas towards quiet.

When synced sound became available to Germany's expressionist film directors in the 1920s, says Lutz Köpnick, of Vanderbilt University, purist directors were vehemently opposed to the "talkies".
"They were very virulent, hesitant to embrace sound, because it ruined the beauty of the cinematic image," he says."

Read the story on BBC News

Congrats to Christa Bruneau-Guenther and Feast Cafe Bistro

"A Cree woman is hoping to take advantage of the movement toward eating healthier food sourced closer to home with a new restaurant serving indigenous cuisine.

Christa Bruneau-Guenther recently opened Feast Cafe Bistro in Winnipeg’s West End neighbourhood.

The entrepreneur said she first realized the value of quality food while working as a day-care provider."

Read the story on CTV News

Which drugs are safe for pregnant women?

What drugs are perfectly safe for a pregnant woman (or anyone of us) to take? Well the answer is none! All drugs have side effects. But check out what Ms. Anthes has to say in her article....

 

 

"While we don’t know the risk that many drugs pose to a fetus, that doesn’t mean that pregnant women have to fly completely blind. A teratogen is a substance that derails fetal development. Teratology information Services have made it their mission to keep track of whatever information is available on the fetal safety of a wide range of drugs and other substances."

Check out the article on Feedspot by Emily Anthes, of mosaicscience