Month: December 2008

by Sherry Baker

(NaturalNews) After decades of attempting to fight AIDS with experimental vaccines and drugs, scientists have recently discovered how several natural substances could be powerful weapons against the disease. For example, in mid-November, UCLA AIDS researchers published research concluding that the herb astragalus contains a substance with the potential to possibly replace the side-effect plagued HAART (highly active antiretroviral therapy) currently used to treat AIDS patients.

Now Penn State immunologists say they've documented how a micronutrient could help battle AIDS. Their findings, just published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, show how selenium could dramatically put the brakes on the replication of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

Selenium is needed by the body to maintain normal metabolism. It's also increasingly being studied for its anti-cancer properties. Although other nutrients usually bind to proteins, selenium actually becomes incorporated into proteins, forming what are called selenoproteins. These selenium-containing proteins are believed to slow the spread of infections. However, when HIV infects a person, the virus manages to degrade selenoproteins, probably due to a protein, dubbed Tat, produced by the HIV virus. In particular, Tat seems to target a selenoprotein known as TR1.

But there may be a way to get around this degradation of selenoproteins — supplementation with selenium. "Since HIV targets the selenoproteins, we thought that the logical way to deal with the virus is to increase the expression of such proteins in the body," K. Sandeep Prabhu, assistant professor of immunology and molecular toxicology at Penn State, said in a statement to the press.
To test their idea, the scientists isolated blood cells from human volunteers who did not have HIV. Then they infected those cells with the virus and added a form of selenium called sodium selenite to the cell culture.

The result? The added selenium inhibited the replication of the HIV virus at least 10-fold, in comparison to cell cultures with no added selenium. The scientists also selectively reduced the production pf the selenoprotein TRI. When there was less selenium-containing protein, the HIV virus replication soared 3.5 times. Bottom line: The research confirms that an increase in selenium in cells zaps replication of HIV while a reduction in the amount of selenium-containing TR1 protein gives the virus a boost.

"We have found that increasing the expression of proteins that contain selenium negatively affects the replication of HIV. Once we fully understand the function of these selenium proteins, it will give us a handle to come up with more effective drugs," said Dr. Prabhu in the prepared statement for the media.

Two more new studies offer additional evidence that selenium may impact the immune system. German scientists from St. Josefs-Hospital in Wiesbaden recently published a study in the Swedish medical journal Acta Oncologica that suggests the micronutrient could help prevent prostate cancer and prostate enlargement. The researchers found that whole blood selenium levels were significantly lower in all men tested who had prostate cancer or benign prostate hypertrophy (which can cause difficulty with urination) and concluded, "our findings may support the recommendation of selenium supplementation" to help prostate health . What's more, a study just published in the journal Molecular Nutrition and Food Research suggests enzymes that contain selenium have anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory effects that could make them important in preventing prostate and colorectal cancers.

Too much selenium in can cause a condition called selenosis, resulting in loss of hair, nail problems, nausea, irritability, fatigue, and mild nerve damage. However, selenium toxicity is extremely rare. A lack of selenium may, in fact, be far more common and potentially more dangerous to health. According to the National Institutes of Health, people age 14 and older should take in about 44 micrograms of selenium a day. Good sources of the micronutrient include Brazil nuts, eggs, brown rice, whole wheat bread and pasta, walnuts and oatmeal.

by Sheryl Walters

(NaturalNews) What if you could find a magic potion that would sweeten your tea, create mind blowing delicious cakes and dramatically improve your health? You may be surprised to find that bees create this amazing elixir in the form of honey. That's right, raw, unadulterated honey is nature's oldest sweetener and it also promotes true, radiant health. Thousands of years before the invention of white sugar, people used honey to enhance their food and support their bodies.

But don't be fooled by the sticky jar that is sitting in your cupboard. Most honey is highly processed, over heated and chemically refined, leaving it lifeless and free of any benefits. Excessive heating destroys the valuable enzymes, vitamins, and minerals, as well as the unique phytonutrients that make honey the super food that it is.

Raw Honey is Filled with Health Promoting Goodness

Raw honey is loaded with vitamins and is particularly high in minerals which are vital for maintaining health including calcium, iron, zinc, potassium, phosphorous, magnesium, copper, chromium, manganese and selenium. Amino acids are contained in honey, which are nature's building blocks. Incredible plant compounds are found in honey that gives the immune system a giant boost. This magic potion is also highly alkalizing and helps the body maintain a balanced PH.

Raw honey is full of enzymes . Enzymes are essential for absorbing food, rebuilding the body, cellular health, and nearly all other biological processes.Once a food is heated, there are absolutely no enzymes left.

Honey is packed with Antioxidants

You may be surprised to discover that raw honey contains many of the same antioxidants as green leafy vegetables like spinach, kale and broccoli. This isn't to say that it is a replacement for veggies, but it is certainly worth adding to your diet as a way to fight aging and disease causing free radicals and live vibrantly.

Some of these antioxidant powers of raw honey are:

•Flavonoids which are powerful antioxidants that increase energy and boost overall wellbeing.
•Pinocembrin is a unique flavonoid that is unique to honey and has been shown to improve cognitive function among other benefits.
•Pinostrobin is another flavonoid that the enzyme activity in the body, which is essential for absorbing food and enjoying good health, especially as we age.

Raw Honey May Fights Cancer!

A study was conducted in order to find out if raw honey could health stop the growth of tumors. They injected mice with cancer cells and discovered that those mice who took honey orally before the injections were less likely to form the tumors and tumors appeared to shrink after being injected with bee venom and propolis. Researchers suggest they bee products may cause cell suicide, which helps the immune system fight the development of tumors.

Anti Bacterial
Honey has been shown to have an antimicrobial effect against bacteria and other unwanted invaders. Raw honey is being used by doctors in the UK to treat mouth and throat cancer patients to reduce their chances of contracting bacterial infections. It has also been used to speed up the healing of wounds caused by Caesarean sections as well as other types of wounds.

Other Incredible Benefits of Raw Honey Include:

A bounty of medical studies have found that honey can help heal ulcers, as well as offering relief from diarrhea, insomnia, sunburn, and sore throats. It also boosts energy levels and keeps you from getting colds, the flu and other illnesses. It promotes the growth of "good" bacteria in your intestinal tract.

It is food for the heart since it reduces homocysteine levels and promotes circulation. It can also help calm soothe, and promote a good night's sleep, not to mention it sweetens your tea and transforms your cakes!

by Mike Adams

(NaturalNews) Up to 90 percent of the infant formula sold in the United States may be contaminated with trace amounts of melamine, the toxic chemical linked to kidney damage, according to recent tests. The FDA's test results, which the agency hid from the public and only released after the Associated Press filed a Freedom of Information Act request, showed that Nestle, Mead Johnson and Enfamil infant formula products were all contaminated with melamine.

The AP is also reporting that Abbott Laboratories conducted its own in-house tests that detected trace levels of melamine in its formula products. Together, these infant formula manufacturers make about 90 percent of the infant formula sold in the United States.

Prior to these test results being made public, the FDA had published a document on its website that explained there was no safe level of melamine contamination in infant formula. Specifically, the FDA stated, "FDA is currently unable to establish any level of melamine and melamine-related compounds in infant formula that does not raise public health concerns."

Once tests found melamine in U.S.-made formula products, however, the FDA changed its story. As of today, the FDA has now officially declared melamine to be safe in infant formula as long as the contamination level is less than one part per million (1 ppm).

Astonishingly: The FDA has no new science to justify its abrupt decision declaring melamine to be safe!

Rather than being based on science, the FDA's decision appears to be based entirely on creating cover for U.S. infant formula manufacturers whose products were found to be contaminated with melamine. The "acceptable" level of contamination (1 ppm) is conveniently just above the levels found in U.S. infant formula products, thus placing U.S. infant formula in the "safe" contamination level category.

And yet the FDA has conducted no safety testing whatsoever to determine whether 1ppm of melamine is safe for infants to consume. There is no science involved in this decision whatsoever. Rather than this decision being based on science, the FDA is once again resorting to politically-motivated decisions that seek to protect the profits of Big Business rather than the safety of infants and children.

Recall that the FDA also recently declared Bisphenol-A to be safe for infants to consume, even while countries like Canada banned the chemical from baby bottles. The FDA, it seems has never met a corporate-sponsored chemical it didn't like.

But the FDA's own tests on Mead Johnson infant formula reveal it to contain 245 ppb, or 1600% more than what would be expected to exists due to melamine contamination from manufacturing equipment.

There are two really important questions that any intelligent consumer should be asking about all this:

Question #1) If the manufacturing and packaging equipment is contaminated with melamine, does this mean that ALL food products containing milk protein are similarly contaminated? The same companies that make infant formula also make Slim Fast, Ensure and Boost — all are milk protein-based meal replacement products containing many of the same ingredients as infant formula. Are they contaminated with melamine, too?

Question #2) If manufacturing and packaging machinery should only result in melamine contamination levels of 15 ppb, and yet 245 ppb were found in the infant formula, then where did all the extra melamine come from? The FDA has no explanation for this and seems to hope people will forget to ask.

I offer two theories to explain the melamine contamination of these products. Obviously, the contamination could not be caused by the manufacturing and packaging of the product, because the melamine levels already found in U.S. infant formula products greatly exceed the expected levels from such manufacturing and packaging. The following two theories may explain the additional levels of detected melamine.

Theory #1: The infant formula is adulterated with melamine

This is what happened in China: Infant formula manufacturers added melamine to their milk protein to bulk up the product without adding much cost (melamine is much cheaper than milk protein). Because melamine's chemical profile is strikingly similar to milk protein, it can often fool simple protein analysis tests and appear to be legitimate.

If infant formula products use any milk protein from China, it could very easily have been adulterated with melamine. However, this is just a theory, and NaturalNews has no evidence that U.S. infant formula manufacturers actually used milk protein from China. Thus, we do not believe Theory #1 to be correct. Theory #2, below, seems more likely.

Theory #2: U.S. dairy operations are using animal feed contaminated with melamine

Because melamine is passed through cow's milk, the contamination of U.S. dairy cows with melamine through their feed could result in high melamine concentrations in the resulting milk proteins.

China has already admitted that melamine has been detected in alarming quantities in animal feed there, and tests have already shown chickens to be contaminated with the chemical. The question today is this: Do U.S. dairy farms use animal feed containing ingredients imported from China?

If so, then we may have a problem here that's much, much bigger than infant formula. We may have a dairy industry that's producing melamine-contaminated milk, which could mean that virtually all milk, yoghurt, butter and cheese produced in the U.S. might be contaminated with some level of melamine.

Again, NaturalNews has no proof that this is the situation, but the melamine must have come from somewhere. It didn't just spontaneously generate in the infant formula as the FDA would seemingly want us to believe. If the milk proteins in infant formula are contaminated with melamine, then it stands to reason that the milk proteins used throughout the food supply may also be contaminated.

We may, indeed, be looking at an industry-wide problem here. Powdered milk, meal replacement products and even milk protein drinks may all be contaminated with melamine at levels similar to the infant formula products.

Because you have to follow the logic here: Either the infant formula manufacturers ADDED melamine to their products (highly unlikely), or the entire milk product industry has a melamine problem.

You can't logically conclude that these infant formula manufacturers somehow got all the melamine-contaminated milk proteins but everybody else got melamine-free milk proteins. Milk proteins are a commodity in the food industry, and milk from thousands of different cows can all be mixed together in a single pound of milk protein. What could be happening here is that one dairy farm may have highly-contaminated cows because it used cheap feed fillers from China.

At this point, this is all just a theory, but it's a theory that makes sense. It makes a lot more sense than the FDA's theory that there's no problem and babies should just keep drinking melamine (and Bisphenol-A, for that matter…) and the press should stop asking questions.

Secret tests and public lies

There's no doubt that these infant formula manufacturers are pursuing the very same contamination theories I'm describing here. They're probably scrambling to test their milk protein sources, trying to figure out where all the extra melamine is coming from.

As usual, they'll try to keep the test results secret, preventing this from exploding into a much larger public health issue. The FDA, for its part, will continue to conduct any actual science in secret, preventing the public from knowing the tests results unless it is sued by organizations like the AP.

That's assuming the FDA conducts any science at all, because now the FDA believes it can declare contaminants to be safe at a level it just invents on the spot, without conducting any science whatsoever. The FDA is playing "Wheel of Fortune" with public safety (http://www.naturalnews.com/023681.html), and it's relying on guessing games – rather than actual science – to declare safety levels of chemicals it doesn't even understand.

The upshot of all this is really quite simple: People who feed their babies manufactured, mainstream infant formula products are fools! If there was ever a reason to breastfeed your baby, this is it. And if you're looking for truly safe infant formula products, go with natural brands such as Genesis Organics Goat Milk Formula (www.GenesisOrganics.com) or other "natural" brands that don't use cheap cow's milk proteins.

After all, it's quite clear at this point that the FDA doesn't care about your baby's health. You're the only one who can protect your baby from melamine. The FDA flat out refuses to do so. In fact, it's doing the opposite by declaring melamine to be safe!

So stop buying conventional infant formula products and start feeding your baby what it was meant to consume: Human breast milk from a healthy, well-nourished mom who eats lots of omega-3 oils and superfoods.

That's the best infant formula in the world. And by the way, human babies shouldn't be drinking bovine milk in the first place. The whole infant formula industry was a scam long before melamine came along. Now it's a contaminated scam.