angiEmedia

The US Senate is at its typical deceitful antics again. Senators are once again debating more repressive legislation, this time in the form of the Food Safety Accountability Act of 2010. This legislation is designed in part to silence those who cite research on foods and supplements that have beneficial effects to health. The main sponsor of the legislation, Senator Patrick Leahy (Democrat from Vermont), claims he’s trying to protect Americans from unsafe contaminants in foods and supplements. But the legislation is so defective that, if passed, it will almost certainly be used by the FDA to continue to attack, persecute, and shut down companies and organizations that publish citations of scientific research that shows their food and supplement products are beneficial.

If after reading this article you are persuaded that this new legislation has some problems and should not pass in its present form, please take action by contacting your Senators to oppose the bill. It takes just a couple of minutes to do this.

FDA Happy to Sacrifice Your Health, Life, and Freedom for Its Money and Power

Why does the FDA want to silence these people? Simple, they are a threat to its income and influence.

Innovative food and supplement companies sell a wide variety of highly beneficial products that often out-perform expensive and side-effect laden drugs at a fraction of the cost. The FDA would rather have you buying the latest and greatest statin drug to lower your LDL cholesterol, not eating healthy foods and taking cheap and effective supplements like niacin, plant sterols, red yeast rice, and fiber supplements that all have scientific backing for lowering LDL cholesterol without the dangerous side effects of statins.

Why does the FDA prefer statins? Again, follow the money. Statin makers are big pharmaceutical companies. They pay billions in fees to the FDA to approve these drugs. The FDA is addicted to these fees. While the drug companies “complain” about the high fees, they are actually very happy to participate in this plot because it enables them to introduce pricey new products every year, many of which work not much differently from the dozens of similar products already on the market, and keep smaller competitors from cutting into their markets. The FDA is a very good business partner in that it helps create drug monopolies and destroy any competition that may arrive before it can take too big a cut out of big pharma and FDA profits.

Small companies can’t afford $1 billion plus drug approval processes that take several years, even more than a decade, to get a drug approved. So many small companies that want to offer consumers products to help solve their health problems have turned to foods and supplements as the only route available to them.
Read more…

On July 29, 2010, the British Medical Journal published a flawed study of the usage of calcium supplements and associated risk of heart attack. The study misleadingly concluded that use of calcium supplements increases the risk of heart attacks by 27% and has no significant effect on overall mortality. The authors advise that the use of calcium supplements in treating or preventing osteoporosis should be reconsidered. Some in the media are broadcasting this study as a reason to stop using calcium supplements.

Please don’t stop your calcium supplements before reading more about the serious flaws in this study!

A major problem with this study is that it excluded people taking vitamin D, magnesium, and other common ingredients in bone protection products. As a result, the study participants generally had low levels of nutrients that are associated with lower risk of diseases such as atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease and are directly tied how calcium is used in the body. These nutrients all work together to keep calcium in the bones where it belongs, rather than building up calcium deposits in the vascular system and heart that can contribute to cardiovascular disease and heart attacks.
Read more…

Nursing infants should be able to spend quality time, including overnights, with their fathers. Yet some mothers try to use nursing as an excuse to block contact between infants and their dads. Courts should be fully aware that there are plentiful means to ensure a good supply of breast milk for use by fathers caring for infants.

Robert Franklin of Fathers & Families recently penned the posting Expert: No Conflict Between Breastfeeding and Shared Parenting about an article from a breastfeeding advocate who claims fathers are trying to assert in court that breastfeeding is inappropriate behavior:

(Breastfeeding Court Letter, by Katherine A Dettwyler, Ph.D., Anthropology)

In addition, my research has been used to counter charges of child abuse and “inappropriate parenting behaviors” in many court cases, especially involving divorce and custody disputes, where fathers may accuse the mother of “inappropriate parenting by virtue of extended breastfeeding” as a strategy to gain custody of children, or may simply claim that ‘continued breastfeeding’ is not relevant to shared custody arrangements.

At this point (2005), all of the research that has been conducted on the health and cognitive consequences of different lengths of breastfeeding shows steadily increasing benefits the longer a child is breastfed up to the age of 2 years, and no negative consequences. No research has been conducted on the physical, emotional, or psychological health of children breastfed longer than 2 years. Thus, while there is no research-based proof that breastfeeding a child for 3 years provides statistically significant health or cognitive benefits compared to breastfeeding a child for only two years, there is no research to show that breastfeeding a child for 3 years (or 4-5-6-7-8-9 years) causes any sort of physical, psychological or emotional harm to the child. This has recently been confirmed in the 2005 American Academy of Pediatrics “Recommendations for breastfeeding the healthy term infant” (see below).

Read more…

The FDA misled consumers for years about the protection conferred by sunscreen products. Their flawed SPF rating system disregarded the risk of skin damage from UV-A light, the type of UV light most likely to penetrate deep into the skin and cause damage. Old product labels usually disclosed only UV-B protection, mentioning nothing about UV-A and UV-C light. While new product labels on many sun protection products have recently started to disclose the type of UV light against which protection is effective, fundamental weaknesses with sunscreens remain. Consumers often do not apply enough sunscreen or fail to apply it to areas that will receive significant sun exposure. For instance, a white T-shirt may let through a large amount of UV light yet many people will only apply their sunscreen to exposed bare skin. Even when properly applied, perspiration and water exposure can cause the protection to be uneven and incomplete.

In recent years, a few companies have introduced products that allow consumers to gain the benefit of significant sun protection from oral supplements that cause protection to be distributed throughout the skin. One such product is Life Extension’s Enhanced FernBlock with Sendara.
Read more…

April 12, 2010 is the last day of the latest Life Extension Overstock Sale. Overstock sales are a great way for people who are thinking about joining Life Extension to try out their products and service before spending $75 (the typical annual fee) for signing up as a member as they are one of the few times nonmembers can buy products at the same price as members.

Low vitamin D levels have long been tied to malnourishment and resultant health problems such as rickets that involve weak bones. But what is surprising to many is that recent research on vitamin D has found that most people are deficient in vitamin D. In particular, those with dark skin such as African-Americans are at particularly high risk for low levels of vitamin D and a wide range of common health problems including obesity, diabetes, asthma, autism, and depression that research is showing are likely related to insufficient vitamin D.

Vitamin D Deficiency Epidemic Tied to Obesity and Diabetes Epidemics

The mainstream media has been reporting lately on Michella Obama’s efforts to improve nutrition for kids. She is focusing on reducing calorie-laden foods such as soft-drinks and fast-food, increasing the consumption of healthier foods such as vegetables, and getting kids to trade in some of their sedentary activities such as watching TV for exercise. Yet she and her associates appear to be paying little attention to the widespread vitamin D deficiency epidemic that is increasingly being tied to the epidemics of obesity and diabetes.
Read more…

If you’re shopping for vitamins and nutritional supplements, you might like to know Puritan’s Pride is offering an additional 10% off plus free shipping on April 9. This is above and beyond its “buy 2 get 3 free” pricing, but for one day only. Now would be a great time to click on over to Puritan’s Pride, enter your order, and then during check-out be sure to enter the coupon code TAPSSD5 to get the additional savings.

One Day Only – 10% OFF any order + Free Shipping at Puritan’s Pride Vitamins!
Enter code: TAPSSD5 at checkout.
Valid: April 9, 2010
Read more…

I was recently alerted to the actions of Senator John McCain who is sponsoring the misleadingly named Dietary Supplement Safety Act (DSSA). This flawed legislation should concern anybody who wants to be able to manage their own healthcare free from unreasonable prohibitions and cost-inflation caused by the United States government. It should also concern anybody alarmed by the out of control healthcare costs in the county. While McCain’s primary intent appears to be to assist the US sports industry from stomping out illegal steroid use, his legislation is irresponsible, destructive, and won’t fix the problem. This article explains why DSSA is flawed and if passed would be harmful yet not solve any real problems. It also explains how you can easily contact your legislators via two web sites to relay your disapproval of DSSA.

Read more…

Message from Life Extension:

The Life Extension 21st Annual Super Sale has been extended through Midnight (ET), Monday, February 8, 2010!

Due to an overwhelming response from our loyal supporters, we are delighted to extend this once-a-year event. We want to give you every opportunity to maintain or begin an optimal health regimen at the lowest prices of the year.

Don’t wait a minute longer, stock up on new products, best sellers, plus all the essentials. All scientifically formulated with the finest ingredients on the market. All backed by our 100% Satisfaction Guarantee! And all at the best prices of the year. Now that’s value you don’t want to miss!

So don’t be left out of this incredible sale! We’ve given you all the right reasons to order and start enjoying a road to a longer, healthier life. Call toll-free 1-800-544-4440. Our operators are waiting to assist you 24/7. www.lef.org

Act fast – Super Sale only comes once a year and we’ve extended it for your convenience until February 8, 2010! Don’t miss out. Stock up now!
USE CODE: SSX901E

I’ve been a fan of the nutritional supplement DMAE (dimethylaminoethanol or dimethylethanolamine) for some time. Some women swear by it for reducing wrinkles and age spots, especially when applied in cream form. However, I believe this nutrient has a much wider and more important use than skin care. That use is boosting brain function in people experiencing problems with sleep, focus, and attention.

When I started taking DMAE years ago, I noticed about an hour reduction in the number of hours of sleep I needed each day to feel rested. I also noticed improved ability to concentrate. As with any supplement, your results may vary due to many factors including diet, weight, biochemistry, genetics, dosages, and perhaps random chance. That said, if you’ve got concerns about excessive sleepiness, trouble focusing, and problems maintaining attention, it’s my opinion that DMAE is worth a look as it is an inexpensive dietary supplement with a long track record.

DMAE is especially worth consideration by parents who are being threatened by schools, CPS, and courts with removal of child custody because of their children’s problems with educational achievement due to problems with attention, focus, and hyperactivity. These kids are often diagnosed with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). Mainstream doctors prescribe Ritalin for this condition, but sadly this drug has killed hundreds of children while safe alternatives such as DMAE are widely ignored. Furthermore, problems with attention and school performance can often be traced back to social problems like the impact of bad parenting and child abuse endemic to divorces. You may be a fine parent, but your child could be stressed out from custody exchange conflicts and mommy-bashing or daddy-bashing from the other parent who is far from fine. The result may be a misbehaving child who seems hyperactive and gets categorized as an ADHD case to be medicated.
Read more…