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Selenium Curbs AIDS Virus, may Fight Cancer

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.

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Featured Articles

Make Sure You Buy Your Honey Raw

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!

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Laughter, The Best Medicine

Texas Hill Country Healthcare

(Your own personal nurse is optional.)

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Featured Articles

90 Percent of U.S. Infant Formula May Be Contaminated with Melamine

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!

Protecting Big Business instead of American babies

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.


Where did the melamine come from?

Laughingly, the FDA claims the 1ppm of melamine in U.S. infant formula must have come from the manufacturing machines or food packaging equipment. And yet the AP is reporting that the expected level of melamine contamination from manufacturing equipment is only 15 ppb (parts per billion).

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.


Two theories of melamine contamination

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.

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Living By Grace

Table of Love

Contributed by Debra Kay Yarbrough

This will really help everyone struggling right now about what to do where to go.  Pray this brings peace to each of you.

Isaiah 26:3-4; 27:5

“You will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace whose mind [both its inclination and its character] is stayed on You, because he commits himself to You, leans on You, and hopes confidently in You.  

So trust in the Lord.  Commit yourself to Him, lean on Him, hope confidently in Him –  forever; depend on God and keep at it because  the Lord God is an everlasting Rock the Rock of Ages and your everlasting strength and in Him you have a sure thing.

… let them take hold of My strength and make complete surrender to My protection, let them come to me for refuge; let them make peace with Me! Yes, let them make peace with Me!”

Dear Father:

It is all too easy to get caught up in the busy-ness of the season and get our eyes off of You.  Then, we wonder why we are so stressed out!  Here is the answer – You will guard us and You will keep us in PERFECT peace and in CONSTANT peace – if we will just keep our minds on You!  That means we are committing ourselves to You.  We are leaning upon You.  

When we are tired and worn out, we tend to find something to lean against.  Something that will hold our weight.  Something that will not hurt us if we place our weight upon it.  When we find something to lean upon, we have already decided to trust this object.  We have unconsciously placed our hope in this thing we are going lean upon.  It is one thing to say “Boy, am I beat!  This load I am carrying is heavy! I can’t sit down, I wonder what I can lean upon?  Oh, there is a table.  It is sturdy, it can support me and whatever I am carrying in my arms.”  But what if I look at that table, I know it will support me.  I see other people leaning against that table as proof that it will do the job.  The table will not hurt me and it will give me some relief.  I can actually place my load upon the table!  But I choose not to lean against the table.  I just stand in the middle of the room holding that heavy load, becoming weaker and weaker by the moment – and I don’t have too!  There is a perfectly good table waiting, ready and willing to help me out.  In fact, the table was placed there specifically for my use!  I know it is there for that purpose but I do not claim the benefits of having a table.  Eventually, I will not be able to carry that heavy load.  I will become too weak and will fall and everything I am carrying will scatter and be a big mess unless I put down the load and rest against the table.  But if I decide to make use of what has been provided for me and I place the load down, then I have committed to this table.  I have proven that I trust the table to meet my need.

Jesus, You came for us.  You were placed here on earth, just for us.  You said You would carry our heavy load.  You said You would carry us!  You said we should lean upon You.  We carry very heavy loads.  We carry loads such as stress on the job, people coming against us, telling lies about us.  There are those in a love-less marriage.  Others, their children are in a state of rebellion.  There are financial loads, emotional baggage of the past we can’t or won’t get rid of, schedules to meet, presents to buy, parties to give and parties to attend, all the rushing and running about, and on and on and on.  There are many who have the heavy load of having lost a love on and the place in out heart carved out for them feels both empty and heavy at the same time.  Then there are those who are sick or have loved ones who are sick.  The list goes on and on and on.

You are the table.  We see that You are here to help us.  You want us to release the weight of the load and allow You to support us.  We may say “I know You can carry me, Lord, but I will just stand here and do it all myself!”  How foolish!  We will fall under the weight of the load.  The stress will overtake us and cause even more fatigue, not to mention take away the joy of Christmas.  The joy of celebrating You.  When we fall, everything we have been carrying scatters all over the place and makes a big mess!

Lord, give us the strength to let go.  Give us the courage to not only say we know You can carry us and our load, but to take that step of faith and actually commit to You by giving You our everything.

Father, we do trust You.  Today, we lean upon You, Jesus.  Our hope is not in this world, not in our government, not in our families – our hope is in You, Jesus.  You are our everlasting Rock.  The Rock of Ages.  The Rock that does not roll!  Jesus, You are our Strength.  Our Strength in our weakness.  You are our Peace – Jehovah-Shalom.

Today, we commit to trusting in You, Lord – forever.  We depend wholly upon You, Father.  We take hold of Your strength and we make a complete surrender to Your protection.  We come to You looking for a refuge.  Looking for a place of rest.  Looking for restoration, refreshment, quietness and peace.  That sweet peace that can only come from You.

We are going to stay focused on You, Jesus.  We let go of all anxiety, all fears, all anger, all unforgiveness.  Help us to know when we have crossed the line, so to speak, from thinking about a problem or situation, over into worry.  Worry brings on fear and anxiety which in turn brings on stress which has an effect on our bodies, our minds and even our spirit-man.  We know You do not want us to ignore potential problems.  We are not to pretend these things exist.  No, what we are to do is say “Father, here is a problem.  I can do this or that, go here or there, but I really do not know what is the best solution.  Lord, I need Your wisdom.  Guide me in this situation.  Help me to know who to act or react.  Give me favor with those involved.  Use me as a witness to those involved.  Lord, I refuse to allow stress and worry and anxiety to take over my life.  I give the whole situation over to You.  I trust You, Jesus, to carry the burden.  You said we are to lay our burdens down at the foot of the cross.  You will take them from there.  Our part is to trust You.  Our part is to stay focused on You. We give it all over to Your care and keeping.”

And Lord, we do.  We release the weight of whatever is trying to hold us down.  We are not going to allow stress to take over.  We are going to rejoice in Your Birth, Jesus, and rejoice in the victory You have given us in our lives.  Give us the discipline we need in order to resist the temptation to worry about a problem.  We trust You to guide us and lead us and show us what to do when the time is right.  Open our ears to hear Your Voice.  Open our eyes to see Your leading.  Open our hearts to receive Your peace.  That peace that passes all understanding.  A peace the world cannot understand.  Peace to live.  Peace to love.  Peace to give and peace regardless of what is going on in us or around us.  We know You are in control.  

You told us to focus on whatever is lovely and loveable.  Whatever is good and right.  You said every good gift and every perfect gift comes from You, Father.  There is so much in this world to focus on which is lovely and loveable, good and right.  When worry tries to take over our thoughts, we are going to get our thoughts back on You.  That is where our strength comes from, where our peace is born, where our joy takes root.

Thank You, Jesus, for Your Peace, for Your Strength and most importantly, for giving Your Life for us.

In Jesus’ Name…Amen