Month: June 2012

All types of alcohol are abundant for chilling out or unwinding. Need a pick me up? Grab a coffee to go with some pastry. Or maybe on a hot day grab an overly large soda with chips. Those ubiquitous yummy fast foods and processed snack foods are laced with sugar and monosodium glutamate (MSG), and the more you eat, the more you want.

Meanwhile, your emotional and mood neurotransmitters, dopamine, serotonin, norepinephrine, and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) are being stimulated artificially. There's not enough nutrition to compensate the short thrill or chill from your spiking blood sugar, stressing your endocrine system, or feeding low grade infections, which all add up to destroying health over time.

Another trap to escape is the habit of eating bleached white flour grains. Most pasta, breads, and pizzas fall into the category. Those temporary pleasant feelings require more snacking and drinking with less and less intake of wholesome foods. Then you've become a junk food junky.

Healthy foods that naturally influence moods
Unless one's junk food diet has led to obesity or some form of diabetes, a heart condition, or liver problems, it's not easy to get off junk/processed food and beverages cold turkey. But if you are a meat eater, humanely raised unadulterated turkey meat can help.

Turkey contains tryptophan, a neurotransmitter that boosts serotonin to help us feel good. Milk does that also, but it's wise to find a raw milk source if you consume it. High protein foods, including fish and eggs, boost dopamine and norepinephrine production, which is good for concentration, alertness, and stabilizing mood swings.

Bananas boost dopamine and serotonin output, as well as avocados, whole grains, and vegetables. Any omega-3 source food, such as avocado, sardines, fresh cold water salmon, flax, and chia seeds will help the brain balance out while reducing inflammation everywhere.

When it comes to replacing those bleached white flour breads, muffins, or bagels, Ezekiel products offer sprouted whole grain breads without preservatives. That's why you'll find them in health food store freezers. Most European dark breads, rye or pumpernickel, are good. Read labels to avoid chemical preservatives or buy from a trusted bakery.

Whole Foods bakery doesn't use potassium bromate to bake their breads. Potassium bromate releases bromides (bromine) that replace iodine in the thyroid gland, creating mental and physical problems, including cancer. Whole Foods bakery offers a sourdough sprouted whole wheat bread that's as healthy as bread can get.

GABA is a neurotransmitter that calms things down. Manic behavior, anxiety, irritability, aggressiveness, and insomnia are all signs of this GABA deficiency. A balanced intestinal flora helps with that.

Probiotic supplements and foods can help restore intestinal flora balance to create gut health to positively influence both neurological and physiological health issues. All fermented foods, kefirs, and yogurts, especially homemade, are great probiotic providers. Sorry, most commercial yogurts and kefirs fall way short.

No one knows how proper intestinal flora balance affects behavior better than Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride, MD. She created the GAPS (gut and psychology syndrome) diet to cure her young autistic son. She has written a book titled Gut and Psychology Syndrome (http://www.gaps.me/).

Her book explains the gut – brain relationship while outlining a diet to balance the gut-brain connection for curing a wide range of maladies from allergies to autism. Amazing, but Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has known of this connection for some time.

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It's long been known that restaurant portions are larger than most nutritionists would advise, but a new study says it may be worse than thought, according to a new study. According to research conducted by the RAND Corporation, a staggering 96 percent of the chain restaurants examined serve larger-than-recommended portions, with the majority of main entrees falling below one-third of the Department of Agriculture's (USDA) estimated daily energy needs.

"If you're eating out tonight, your chances of finding an entree that's truly healthy are painfully low," said lead researcher Helen Wu, assistant policy analyst at RAND, in an interview with USA Today.

Wu and her research team, which published their results in the journal Public Health Nutrition, looked at 28,433 regular menu items and 1,833 children's menus at 245 restaurant chains around the nation between February and May 2010. The team then looked at USDA recommendations for the maximum daily allowances of calories, fat, saturated fat and sodium, and then divided those figures by three to get the government's recommendation for a single meal.

The majority of the dishes fell below the USDA's 667-calorie limit for a meal. But they also fell short of the requirements for sodium, fat and saturated fat; according to Uncle Sam, those should not exceed 767 mg per meal.

Misleading healthy food strategies?
The restaurant industry says it's doing what it can to help consumers make healthier choices. Eateries are "employing a wide range" of strategies to assist diners, says Joan McGlockton, vice president of food policy at the National Restaurant Association.

"Among them: putting nutritional information on menus, adding more healthful items and launching a 2011 program at nearly 100 brands in more than 25,000 locations that offers children's meals in line with 2010 dietary guidelines," USA Today reported.

But those strategies can be misleading, says Wu.

"Many items may appear healthy based on calories, but actually can be very unhealthy when you consider other important nutrition criteria," Wu said in a separate interview with the Los Angeles Times.

Do you like those deep-fried mushrooms and breaded cheese sticks? Well, one of the worst menu items, according to the study, is the appetizer, a food item that many people often eat as their main course. They are stuffed with calories, averaging 813 calories apiece as compared to the 667-calorie main entree. Chicken wings with dip were big belly busters. "I'm not ordering chicken wings anymore," Wu told the Times.

Also, so-called family restaurants are worse, even, than fast-food places, if you can believe that. The study found entrees at family restaurants, on average, contained more calories, fat and sodium than fast-food eateries. In fact, entrees at family-style eateries posted 271 more calories, 435 more milligrams of sodium and 16 more grams of fat than fast-food places, Wu said.

The study also found that kids' "specialty" drinks also pack in the calories. In fact, many specialty drinks on the kid's menu have more calories from fat and saturated fat than regular drinks. While regular menu-drinks contained an average of 360 calories, those on the kid's menus averaged 430, mostly because those menus contain a lot of milkshakes, floats and other calorie-rich fare.

Information is king
One more thing. Just because restaurants may seem like they're forthcoming regarding the caloric content of their food doesn't mean the information they are putting out is, well, accurate.

"Restaurants that made nutrition information easily accessible on websites had significantly lower energy, fat and sodium contents across menu offerings than those providing information only upon request," the researchers said.

So high is the caloric content at some restaurants, the entrees far surpass the recommended daily allowance of calories.

The USDA is set to publish new rules requiring restaurant chains of 20 or more to publish calorie counts on menus and provide even more in-depth nutritional information if requested by a patron.

"It's a start, because before diners didn't have any information at all," Wu said.

Seau (pronounced SAY-ow), a 12-time Pro Bowler who played in the NFL for 20 seasons, most of those seasons being for the San Diego Chargers and New England Patriots, was found dead of a self-inflicted .357 magnum gunshot wound to his chest at his home in Oceanside, Calif., May 3.

At 43 years old and just a few years out of the league, initial reports speculated that he just missed the game of football too much.

But later reports noted that Seau, whom most friends remembered as an upbeat guy, had long suffered from a sleep disorder, and as such, was a regular user of Ambien, the most prescribed Big Pharma drug for those who have trouble nodding off at night.

'Yes son, I'm fine'
In the days leading up to his death, Seau partied, bar-hopped, flirted, lifted weights, and lifted spirits. It was his nights that were problematic, however.

His 11-year-old son, Hunter, reported a strange event to his mother, Seau's ex-wife Gina, shortly before his father killed himself. According to a USA Today report, Hunter told his mother he woke up one morning early, around 3 a.m., to let out Rock, a pit bull-mastiff mix. Seeing his father's bedroom light on, he looked inside and saw his father, wide awake, sitting on the bed staring at the television.

Only, the TV wasn't on.

"Dad, are you okay?" Hunter asked, according to Gina.

"Yes, son," his father answered. "I'm fine."

Only, he wasn't. Seau was a long-time sufferer of sleeplessness; he used Ambien a lot, and not always as directed.

On the national level, there has been some discussion about head injuries – concussions – with NFL players, and whether repeated head blows like those regularly incurred on the football field may have led to depression and chronic pain in some of them, including Seau, even if he never reported a concussion in his two decades of play. So much so that dozens of players have sued the league over the injuries, claiming the NFL hid information that chronic traumatic brain injuries can cause a wide range of problems, including the kind of insomnia that Seau suffered.

In fact, says University of North Carolina concussion researcher Kevin Guskiewicz, sleep disorders are common among people who have experienced traumatic brain injury.

Big Ambien user who still couldn't sleep with it
Several friends confirmed that Seau was a big Ambien user. The packaging says not to take the drug if you're drinking, which Seau often did. It also says not to take it if you can't get a full night's sleep on it.

"He told me he usually woke up around 1 or 2 and couldn't go back to sleep," says friend Nancy Emsley, who worked out often with Seau at a local gym, adding that she told him he needed to get eight hours sleep after taking an Ambien.

"He just rolled his eyes," she told USA Today.

"I know he's had a very difficult time sleeping over the year," Mark Walczak, who played with Seau on the Chargers in the early 1990s, said of Seau, who retired after the 2009 season. "I think it's gotten worse and worse. Lack of sleep creates huge anxiety."

He said he saw Seau take a sleep aid during a visit to Miami in September 2005, when Seau played for the Dolphins.

Though approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Ambien's prescribing information includes warnings that suicidal thoughts or actions have been reported by depressed patients using that class of drugs.

Pitocin is a synthetic form of Oxytocin and is released into the system via IV, delivering the drug in a steady flow instead of in secreted bursts, which is how the body releases natural Oxytocin. This results in stronger contractions, which may decrease blood flow and can cause distress to both the mother and baby increasing the likelihood of a C-section. Mind body techniques such as yoga, relaxation, imagery, and meditation offer both psychological and physiological benefits to both mother and baby. These techniques help to improve comfort during labor, and shorten the duration of the overall labor time.

Yoga is one of the most popular forms of exercise during pregnancy and combines gentle stretching, relaxation and breathing techniques. This ancient practice increases internal awareness and focus that helps create confidence and trust in your body while also bonding with your baby. It can lower blood pressure and prevents and relieves aches and pains that impinge on the body during pregnancy. Yoga builds stamina, relaxes the pelvis, and helps the baby transition into an optimal birthing position.

The relaxation response can significantly improve your overall health and well being. Research has shown that when the relaxation response is used on a daily basis it can reduce feelings of depression, anxiety, and chronic pain, as well as improve blood pressure, immunity, and self-esteem. Relaxation helps to create endorphins, which help to decrease pain during labor, whereas fear causes the release of stress hormones and catecholamine that can increase pain and duration of labor. Meditation and imagery can be effective methods of helping to achieve complete and total relaxation.

Meditation helps to create melatonin, which is released into the bloodstream during stress inducing times. It also produces endorphins that have very powerful pain relieving effects, similar to morphine. The more dedicated the woman is to her prenatal meditation, the less afraid she will be of preconceived pain prior to the onset of labor. This will allow the woman to be less disturbed by any actual pain felt which creates feelings of joy. Frequent practice results in higher levels of endorphins during labor.

Imagery and visualization are other powerful tools for women to practice prior to labor. Envisioning a successful labor can help build confidence in the woman's ability to birth naturally without medical interventions coming into play. Tight and tense muscles can prevent the body from opening, which is essential in order for labor to progress. Practicing imagery and visualization towards the end of your pregnancy and during labor helps to condition the mind and reduce stress and anxiety.

In addition to helping make pregnancy and labor easier, these modalities also help the post-partum body recover quicker. These techniques prevent and treat post partum depression and anxiety by allowing the mother some time to herself to nurture her mind-body connection. With so many physical and hormonal changes going on during this time, it is beneficial for the mother to take some time to decompress and build awareness with her changing body to adapt to each new stage of motherhood.

by: J. D. Heyes

(NaturalNews) A dramatic rise in obesity rates across the country in recent years has led to a parallel increase in new cases of diabetes, but not everyone who develops the chronic illness will need medication to deal with it. Some diabetes can be better controlled through the use of vitamins, contends noted pharmacist Stuart Lindsey.

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According to Lindsey, who in January wrote a column entitled Confessions of a Frustrated Pharmacist which was critical of pharmaceutical orthodoxy, current medical treatments for diabetes are "among the least successful in medicine," and that's despite the billions of dollars spent treating and researching the disease every year.

"Medicine has succeeded in making diabetes very expensive for the patient while making the disease a cash cow for the numerous businesses that cater to the diabetic," he wrote in a new column recently. "We should expect to see some improvement in diabetic treatment, but in fact the basic protocols haven't changed much in twenty years."

And, Stuart says, current research doesn't seem to be getting any closer to a cure. In fact, he notes that many a scientist have made entire careers out of "researching" diabetes.

Motivated by need, not greed
So what has motivated this "frustrated pharmacist" to find a cure or better treatment for diabetes?

"My interest in the lack of results from standard treatment of diabetes came into sharp focus when pain in my feet led to my being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes," he writes (Type 2 is the less serious form of diabetes and doesn't require insulin injections like the more serious Type 1, but Type 2, left untreated, can develop into Type 1). That pain, it turns out, was neuropathy, a condition caused by nerve damage – common to diabetics.

"From my observations at work, I already knew that the drug treatments for peripheral neuropathy were questionable," Stuart writes. "Introducing amitriptyline, gabapentin and Lyrica, which are sedatives and pain killers, made the people sleep a lot. Medically, it's obvious that sedating nerves doesn't solve anything. When such patients step up to daily long term narcotics and finally get some pain relief, they still haven't solved their problems."

So, Stuart was determined to find a way to mitigate his diabetes rather than just cover up the symptoms. To do so, he began studying just how blood glucose levels and blood sugar affected the diabetes-prone body. His research led him to a 2005 paper written by a researcher in the United Kingdom named Paul Thornally. His paper talked about how many diabetic patients have a deficiency of thiamine (B-1).

"Elevated blood sugar promotes a type of toxicity in the kidneys that causes thiamine to be excreted by the kidney at a rate much higher (sixteen to twenty-five times higher) than normal, leading to an acute deficiency of thiamine," Stuart wrote, quoting for the paper. "From other studies, it is known that deficiencies in all B vitamins, as well as vitamin C and D are common in diabetics. This can cause most of the symptoms of Type 2 diabetes, which include: polyneuropathy, nephropathy (kidney damage), retinopathy (eye damage) and eventually heart failure.

"This raises the question of whether the symptoms are from diabetes or acute beriberi?" he said.

After receiving his diagnosis, the curious pharmacist rejected the standard medical treatments being recommended by his doctors, who wanted to place him on statins, metformin and Byetta. Instead, after reading Thornalley's theory regarding vitamin deficiencies in diabetics, Stuart started a regimen of vitamin and mineral supplements.

"Although the pain in my feet was quite severe, I wanted to avoid the regular drug regimen because it relied upon taking lots of pain killers that don't cure the problem. I reasoned that when the body's B vitamin levels are depleted due to high blood sugar, replenishing body stores through diet alone is difficult, so supplementation will be necessary," he said.

So Stuart began taking a dietary supplement of thiamine (benfotiamine, 250mg 4 times a day); vitamin B-6 (250mg/day); pyridoxal 5 phosphate (P5P, 100mg/day); magnesium (aspartate, citrate, malate, or chloride); and acetyl-l-carnitine (1000 mg/day) – "depending on the severity of my peripheral neuropathy symptoms." He later added vitamin C to reduce inflammation and prevent oxidation from high levels of blood sugar. His doctor didn't approve of the regimen but was curious nonetheless, said Stuart, who promised his doctor he would begin the standard treatment if his way didn't work.

Nutrients don't cure but they can work to mitigate the damage
The results came pretty quickly. He said within a week the most "overt" neuropathy symptoms – the shooting pains in his ankles – were mostly gone. Other symptoms also mostly disappeared, including the numbness in his toes and overall foot pain.

"Now I know this treatment may not be a cure for diabetes. But it is a valid and reasonably inexpensive way to control the symptoms, which are held at bay as long as you keep your thiamine levels high. If you quit taking thiamine and the other B vitamins, the symptoms come roaring back," he said.

Despite warnings that his health would begin to deteriorate – kidney problems, pancreatic problems, eye trouble – he went on self-treating. Two years later, he got his results: Good news. Mostly.

Two key elements – Creatinine and Microalbumin levels – were in the "low, normal" range, though his fasting blood sugar levels (those taken during periods of fasting) are still high, as is his overall blood sugar levels. But he believes his nutritional supplementation has staved off, though not cured, his condition.

"In my case, the unusual positive results are evidently due to my nutritional approach. I substituted supplements of several essential nutrients for pharmaceuticals and stayed in relatively good health. And I continue to try supplementing with other nutrients such as antioxidants which are known to help prevent diabetes," Stuart writes. "This suggests that the health issues are actually caused by nutritional deficiencies that can be easily prevented."

by: Rosemary Mathis

(NaturalNews) On the heels of the Vioxx scandal Merck & Co. has apparently manufactured another marketplace dud with Gardasil. After receiving fast-track approval from the FDA in 2006, Merck's aggressive 'One More Girl' marketing campaign catapulted HPV into the collective consciousness as a serious health issue. Almost overnight, medical consumers went from not knowing HPV existed to fear of infection with the dreaded virus. Presto! HPV pandemonium was born.

Vaccine Protocol

That's what happened to Brett Sigworth of Stow, Massachusetts. He tells CBS/Boston that after applying Banana Boat Sport Performance spray-on sunscreen before barbecuing, his body literally caught fire.

"I sprayed on the spray-on sunscreen, and then rubbed it on for a few seconds. I walked over to my grill, took one of the holders to move some of the charcoal briquettes around and all of a sudden it just went up my arm," he said.

Flames spread from there.

"I went into complete panic mode and screamed. I've never experienced pain like that in my life," he said.

There is a warning label, but is it too vague?

Thank goodness he wasn't alone. Acting quickly, his friends and girlfriend worked to put out the flames in an act that no doubt saved his life. But not before the lotion did its damage.

Sigworth received second-degree burns (the most painful) on his chest, ear and back in a pattern that corresponds with where he applied the sunscreen. The worst of the burns are around his neck, a very dangerous place because of the proximity to his mouth; breathing in the flames would have likely caused swelling in his esophagus and could have closed off his airway, essentially choking him internally.

Two weeks later, reports said, Sigworth's skin was still healing.

Doctors said if he had remained on fire just a few seconds more, the burns would have been even more severe, perhaps due to the penetrating nature of the sunscreen.

"There is no warning that says this product is flammable when applied to your skin or for a period of time when applied to skin," Sigworth said. "I think if people were told this is flammable for two minutes on your skin afterward, people wouldn't use it."

According to reports, the labeling on the sunscreen actually does say the spray is flammable and that it should not be used near an open flame. It makes sense when you think about it, because the product is oil-based.

However, the label doesn't elaborate on the flammability of the spray after it is applied.

Either way, the company is at least trying to be responsive and responsible.

"We were concerned to hear about Brett's experience," the company said in the statement to CBS Boston. "At Banana Boat, we take these matters very seriously and will begin a prompt investigation as we continue to strive to deliver products of the highest quality to our consumers."

Not the first freak burn accident with sunscreen

Apparently, however, Sigworth's experience is not unique.

Fire inspector Quvondo Johnson of the Los Angeles County Fire Department said in an interview with CBS Los Angeles that his department has responded to calls from similar incidents because such sprays contain propellants – flammable gases – in them.

"If it's an open flame, it will ignite whether it's on your skin, whether it's on your clothes, whether it's in the air," he said.

Perhaps the best advice, Johnson says, is to actually read – and heed – the label on such spray sunscreens and stay away from open flames.

Barbequing meat on a grill is one thing, but you should be able to enjoy summer – and the healthy benefits of the sun – without barbequing yourself.

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/036110_sunscreen_flammable_chemicals.html#ixzz1xCuWQRkK

Vaccine Protocol

Perceived by many as an unbiased source of health information, the professor of surgery at Columbia University and host of The Dr. Oz Show, Dr. Oz is now on the record as openly spreading fear and propaganda about vaccines in order to convince his followers to get them.

In a piece co-written with Dr. Michael Roizen, who just so happens to have worked with Dr. Oz to create the pharma-backed RealAge.com scam (http://www.naturalnews.com/027647_RealAge_scam.html), Dr. Oz claims that he interviewed 150 experts from both sides of the vaccination issue, and determined that vaccines are safe and necessary.

He goes on to suggest that some parents' decision not to vaccinate was responsible for the 2010 whooping cough outbreak that reportedly afflicted more than 21,000 children, 22 of whom died. But as we reported previously, most of the children stricken by this outbreak had actually been vaccinated against whooping cough (http://www.naturalnews.com).

Nevertheless, Dr. Oz continues by making the same false implications as the rest of the mainstream medical system, that so-called "herd immunity" is stunted when some children are not vaccinated. He then urges his followers to get vaccinated for the "protection [of] the whole community."

Dr. Oz is a Big Pharma shill
Though at times he appears to promote alternative forms of medicine that are not widely accepted by the medical establishment, Dr. Oz has shown himself to be nothing more than a Big Pharma shill that now pushes vaccines and other unproven quackery on the public as valid medicine.

This is hardly shocking in light of the fact that Dr. Oz has a financial stake in the drug industry, which was revealed back in 2009 during the time when the phony H1N1/swine flu scam was occupying the statist airwaves (http://www.naturalnews.com/027451_vaccine_RealAge_technology.html.

In an interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper that has mostly been removed from the internet, Dr. Oz admitted that his wife and children would not be receiving the H1N1 vaccine. Most copies of this interview with Dr. Oz have been pulled from the internet, but the clip in question begins around the one-minute mark of the linked YouTube video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGwiquLgcjk

You can also check out this thorough review of Dr. Oz's involvement in promoting the very H1N1 vaccine that his wife and children would not be receiving:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04gaxcrVRxY

None of this is really all that surprising, considering Dr. Oz was exposed for quietly holding shares in SIGA Technologies, a vaccine technology company that has an obvious interest in vaccine promotion. Dr. Oz even sat on its SIGA's board of directors, if that tells you anything about his interests in promoting vaccines.

The Dr. Oz show is also highly funded by pharmaceutical interests, as is most television news these days. So even if he seemed to somewhat oppose at least some vaccines several years ago, he is obviously being muzzled for the benefit of his corporate overlords, and thus cannot be trusted as a source of unbiased health information.

Also, be sure to check out the June 7th edition of the Robert Scott Bell Show entitled Dr. Oz — Hypocrite, Sell Out or Horribly Misinformed? You Decide:
http://www.robertscottbell.com

Sociopaths are masters at influence and deception. Very little of what they say actually checks out in terms of facts or reality, but they're extremely skillful at making the things they say sound believable, even if they're just making them up out of thin air. Here, I'm going to present quotes and videos of some legendary sociopaths who convinced everyday people to participate in mass suicides. And then I'm going to demonstrate how and why similar sociopaths are operating right now… today.

Why cover this subject? I've seen a lot of people get hoodwinked, scammed or even harmed by sociopaths, and it bewilders me that people are so easily sucked into their destructive influence. I want to share with NaturalNews readers the warning signs of sociopaths so that you can spot them, avoid them, and save yourself the trouble of being unduly influenced by them.

Much of this information is derived from the fascinating book, The Sociopath Next Door (http://www.amazon.com/Sociopath-Next-Door-Martha-Stout/dp/0767915828), which says that 4% of the population are sociopaths. The book is a fascinating read.

10 signs for spotting a sociopath
#1) Sociopaths are charming. Sociopaths have high charisma and tend to attract a following just because people want to be around them. They have a "glow" about them that attracts people who typically seek guidance or direction. They often appear to be sexy or have a strong sexual attraction. Not all sexy people are sociopaths, obviously, but watch out for over-the-top sexual appetites and weird fetishes.

#2) Sociopaths are more spontaneous and intense than other people. They tend to do bizarre, sometimes erratic things that most regular people wouldn't do. They are unbound by normal social contracts. Their behavior often seems irrational or extremely risky.

#3) Sociopaths are incapable of feeling shame, guilt or remorse. Their brains simply lack the circuitry to process such emotions. This allows them to betray people, threaten people or harm people without giving it a second thought. They pursue any action that serves their own self interest even if it seriously harms others.

#4) Sociopaths invent outrageous lies about their experiences. They wildly exaggerate things to the point of absurdity, but when they describe it to you in a storytelling format, for some reason it sounds believable at the time.

#5) Sociopaths seek to dominate others and "win" at all costs. They hate to lose any argument or fight and will viciously defend their web of lies, even to the point of logical absurdity.

#6) Sociopaths tend to be highly intelligent, but they use their brainpower to deceive others rather than empower them. Their high IQs often makes them dangerous. This is why many of the best-known serial killers who successfully evaded law enforcement were sociopaths.

#7) Sociopaths are incapable of love and are entirely self-serving. They may feign love or compassion in order to get what they want, but they don't actually FEEL love in the way that you or I do.

#8) Sociopaths speak poetically. They are master wordsmiths, able to deliver a running "stream of consciousness" monologue that is both intriguing and hypnotic. They are expert storytellers and even poets. As a great example of this in action, watch this interview of Charles Manson:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIfGj_55FHI

#9) Sociopaths never apologize. They are never wrong. They never feel guilt. They can never apologize. Even if shown proof that they were wrong, they will refuse to apologize and instead go on the attack.

#10) Sociopaths are delusional and literally believe that what they say becomes truth merely because they say it! Charles Manson, the sociopathic murderer, is famous for saying, "I've never killed anyone! I don't need to kill anyone! I THINK it! I have it HERE! (Pointing to his temple.) I don't need to live in this physical realm…"

Watch Charles Manson saying this at the 3:05 mark of this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIfGj_55FHI

How to dispel illusion and get to the truth
Sociopaths are masters at weaving elaborate fictional explanations to justify their actions. When caught red-handed, they respond with anger and threats, then weave new fabrications to explain away whatever they were caught doing.

A sociopath caught red-handed with a suitcase full of cash he just stole, for example, might declare he had actually rescued the money from being stolen by someone else, and that he was attempting to find its rightful owner. He's the hero, see? And yet, in reality, he will simply pocket the money and keep it. If you question him about the money, he will attack you for questioning his honesty.

Sociopaths are masters are presenting themselves as heroes with high morals and philosophy, yet underneath it they are the true criminal minds in society who steal, undermine, deceive, and often incite emotional chaos among entire communities. They are masters at turning one group of people against another group while proclaiming themselves to be the one true savior. Wherever they go, they create strife, argument and hatred, yet they utterly fail to see their own role in creating it. They are delusional at so many levels that their brains defy logical reasoning. You cannot reason with a sociopath. Attempting to do so only wastes your time and annoys the sociopath.

Tip for exposing sociopaths: Start fact-checking something they claim
One simple method for dispelling sociopathic delusion is to start fact checking their claims. Do any of their claims actually check out? If you start digging, you will usually find an inconsistency. Confront the suspected sociopath with the inconsistency and see what happens: Most sociopaths will become angry or aggressive when their integrity is questioned, whereas a sane person would simply be happy to help clear up any misinformation or misunderstanding.

Beware of fact-checking the sociopath by asking other people under his or her influence. A sociopath will usually have a small group of cult-like followers who not only believe their fictional tales, but who actually internalize those fictions to the point where they rewrite their own memories to be consistent with them. If a guru-style sociopath talks about his "levitation sessions" over and over again, some of his believers will sooner or later start to form false memories in which they imagine seeing him levitate off the floor. So if you ask those people, "Did you actually ever see this person levitate?" They will enthusiastically say, "Yes!" Because in their own minds, that illusion has become something indistinguishable from a vivid memory.

That's why fact-checking a sociopath requires evidence from outside his circle of influence. Does anything he say actually check out in the real world, outside his sphere of direct control? If not, you've probably spotted a sociopath.

Sociopaths never answer facts; they always attack the messenger
Another very valuable red flag to recognize when trying to spot a sociopath is to see how they deal with attacks on their own integrity. If a sociopath is presented with a collection of facts, documents and evidence showing that he lied or deceived, he will refuse to address the evidence and, instead, attack the messenger!

As an investigative journalist who exposes some of the most despicable sociopaths on the planet, I've been attacked on every front imaginable: I'm a secret government agent, they say. Or I'm an alien from planet Zorg. I've heard it all, and while the accusations vary wildly, the pattern is the same: Attack the messenger but refuse to answer the documented allegations.

If you really try to nail a sociopath down to answering a documented allegation, they will quickly turn on you, denounce you, and declare that you too are secretly plotting against them. Anyone who does not fall for the brainwashing of the sociopath is sooner or later kicked out of the circle and then wildly disparaged by the remaining members of the cult group.

Inventing bizarre tales
One of the easiest signs to spot is how sociopaths exaggerate things to an irrational absurdity. In the sociopath's world, every explanation is more intense and more heroic-sounding than the way it really went down. Where a normal person might say, "I vomited last night," a sociopath would say, "I vomited up a 27-foot tapeworm!"

And a truly psychotic sociopath might even add details such as, "And then the tapeworm climbed up the wall and jumped on me and tried to strangle me!"

You might laugh at such an explanation, but I know lots of similar examples that have been believed by irrational cult followers.

Every story the sociopath weaves, often on the spur of the moment, is impossible to either confirm or deny. No one can prove him wrong, since they weren't there, so he can spin whatever details into the story he wants. "After eating this, I had a three-hour ejaculation!" Or, "The Dalai Lama wanted to anoint me as a spiritual leader, but I declined, telling him that I only needed faith, not any official recognition."

How can anyone disprove such a claim? They can't. So the sociopaths relies on these un-provable, unsubstantiated claims to build up a false aura of authority, spirituality or knowledge. This creeps up on followers like a serpent, slithering into their brains and taking hold of their belief systems before they realize what has happened.

As a survivor of the Jim Jones "Jonestown" mass suicide says in a PBS documentary video (see link below), "Everything was plausible [at the time], except in retrospect the whole thing seems bizarre."

That's how sociopaths operate. As they're speaking, they capture your imagination and sound reasonable, even authoritative. But in the clear light of day, what they are actually saying is absurd… even dangerous.

But no matter what fictions are presented by the sociopath, they always present him in the light of a hero — sometimes even a saint — who sacrifices his life for the good of others. He often talks of "healing" or "detoxification" or being "cleansed." When he is exposed by truth-tellers, he merely accuses the truth-tellers of being secret undercover agents. When he is accused of sexual assault by one of his own followers (a common occurrence in these circles), he denounces her as an enemy or a spy.

The ultimate destination of a sociopath is to destroy himself and take as many willing victims with him as possible. This is the Jim Jones scenario: Drink the Kool-Aid laced with poison, and thereby prove your worth to your entire cult group.

A common theme of poison, sainthood, redemption
Interestingly, many sociopaths do indeed center their actions around a bizarre food or drink theme, often demanding their members eat or drink poisonous or highly offensive substances that no rational person would otherwise consume. The Heaven's Gate cult, for example, was led by a classic sociopath named Marshall Applewhite. He managed to convince 38 followers to kill themselves by eating applesauce laced with phenobarbital.

Watch the fascinating video of Applewhite here and ask yourself: Would you follow this man to your own grave? (Other people did!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqSZhwu1Rwo

Notice how Applewhite speaks with authority, clarity and some level of charisma. Notice the intensity of his eyes? This is another common trait among sociopaths (including Manson, above). Remember, this man gained such influence over his followers that they voluntarily killed themselves in order to maintain his approval!

As Wikipedia explains: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heaven%27s_Gate_%28religious_group%29#Ma…)

On March 19–20, 1997, Marshall Applewhite taped himself speaking of mass suicide and asserted "it was the only way to evacuate this Earth." The Heaven's Gate group was against suicide but they believed they had no choice but to leave Earth as quickly as possible. After claiming that a space craft was trailing the comet Hale-Bopp, Applewhite convinced 38 followers to commit suicide so that their souls could board the supposed craft. Applewhite believed that after their deaths, a UFO would take their souls to another "level of existence above human," which Applewhite described as being both physical and spiritual. This and other UFO-related beliefs held by the group have led some observers to characterize the group as a type of UFO religion. In October 1996, the group purchased alien abduction insurance to cover up to 50 members at a cost of $10,000.

The cult rented a 9,200-sq.-ft. mansion, located at 18241 Colina Norte (later changed to Paseo Victoria), in a gated community of upscale homes in the San Diego-area community of Rancho Santa Fe, California from Sam Koutchesfahani, paying $7,000 per month in cash. The thirty-eight Heaven's Gate members, plus group leader Applewhite, were found dead in the home on March 26, 1997. In the heat of the California spring, many of the bodies had begun to decompose by the time they were discovered. The corpses underwent autopsies, where cyanide and arsenic were found. The bodies were later cremated.

The suicide was accomplished by ingestion of phenobarbital mixed with applesauce or pudding, washed down with vodka. Additionally, plastic bags were secured around their heads after ingesting the mix to induce asphyxiation. Authorities found the dead lying neatly in their own bunk beds, faces and torsos covered by a square, purple cloth. Each member carried a five-dollar bill and three quarters in their pockets. All 39 were dressed in identical black shirts and sweat pants, brand new black-and-white Nike Decades athletic shoes, and armband patches reading "Heaven's Gate Away Team" (one of many instances of the group's use of the Star Trek fictional universe's nomenclature). The adherents, between the ages of 26 and 72, are believed to have died in three groups over three successive days, with remaining participants cleaning up after each prior group's death.

This episode speaks directly to the mind-altering power of sociopaths. Their delusions can be so convincing that followers will even kill themselves in order to stay in alignment with the expectations of the group. I know of a fringe health sociopath operating right now who has killed several of his own followers, but of course he always blames them for their own deaths. It's never his fault, you see.

Sadly, even when one sociopath kills himself (and takes a few of his followers with him), there is always another sociopath waiting to take his place, seeking power, influence, and sometimes fame. It is common for sociopaths to strongly desire to be on television shows or to desperately seek out opportunities for short-term fame, often from engaging in bizarre acts or staging strange events. This is one of the ways in which they recruit followers to join their cult.

Jim Jones and drinking the Kool-Aid
The most horrifying master of sociopathic delusion was, of course, Jim Jones who convinced 900+ people to kill themselves by drinking poisoned Kool-Aid.

And people loved him for it! They felt inspired, excited, healed and guided. Jim Jones was their savior, their prophet. They believed his every word, and they paid for their foolish belief with their lives.

Watch this powerful PBD documentary video about Jonestown:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7IxGGfpSWk

As Jim Jones proved, people can be easily swept up into an irrational belief in a guru or prophet who quite literally plans to murder them. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonestown)

This is the other dominant factor we see in dangerous sociopaths: An odd obsession with dead things, rotting things, putrid things… things that would cause a normal, mentally balanced person to shrink away in horror. Jim Jones, for example, was fascinated with death and would reportedly murder small animals and then hold funerals for them.

Jones was a master at invoking spiritual concepts and presenting himself as spiritually evolved. This is another common theme among sociopaths, and you see it among Applewhite, Manson, Jones and even present-day sociopaths who are operating in America right now.

Historically, perhaps the best example of a delusional sociopath was none other than Adolf Hitler. He showed all the classic signs: A brilliant orator, a congenital liar, a complete lack of compassion for others, a dominant, aggressive personality, and the invoking of spirituality to justify his actions. The Nazi Swastika symbol, in fact, is a derivation of the Flower of Life symbol derived from sacred geometry. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KMxmJVtp2Y)

The modern sociopath: A threat to us all
Sociopaths aren't just a relic of history; I see their kind operating today, in 2012. A surprising number of people continue to fall for the delusional (but convincing) web of lies spun by wordsmithing sociopaths who may operate in almost any area of society: Science and physics, New Age circles, fringe health, self improvement and even "pop" spiritual development.

People from all walks of life allow themselves to be fooled by these sociopaths, buying into their false narratives, toxic products and destructive behavioral patterns, all driven into their heads through a complex web of social engineering, linguistics and emotional influence. Most people are completely unaware they have been mesmerized into these cult groups, just like the Jonestown people were completely unaware… or the Heaven's Gate crowd.

There are people today, right now, who are zealous members of fringe cults that advocate drinking toxic metals dissolved in sulfuric acid, eating rotten meat festering with deadly bacteria, playing with poisonous snakes or even dehydrating yourself in a sweat lodge to the point where you suffer hallucinations that are then interpreted as "spiritual guidance."

These cults are operating right here in America, and they are led by sociopaths who follow in the footsteps of monsters like Jim Jones and Marshall Applewhite. Some of today's cult followers will pay for their misplaced faith with their lives. Others will eventually come to their senses and wonder how they could have been so completely blinded by a false prophet.

Seven rules for personal empowerment (without joining a cult)
The most shocking realization to take home from all this is that people who live under the spell of a sociopath almost never realize it until after the spell has been broken. Just as the worshippers of Jim Jones believed his organization to be based in love, life and light, people today who worship sociopathic, charismatic leaders usually have no idea they have already surrendered their will to someone who does not have their best interests at heart.

This is why, here at NaturalNews, I have always taught people the following authentic principles of responsibility and power:

#1) Think for yourself. Be skeptical of everything. Most people, corporations, governments and institutions are lying to you. There is much good in the world, but there is far more selfishness and greed which is falsely presented as that which is good.

#2) Follow your inner truth, not some external guru. Any guru who demands your obedience is a false prophet. A real teacher is one who empowers you and sets you free to explore your life experience with complete freedom tempered by a code of morals and personal responsibility.

#3) Serve in the protection of life, with or without a church or spiritual group. You can protect life every day in your own garden. Resist the seduction of profit and power that comes from serving darkness (i.e. working for Big Pharma). Seek to protect life, which is sacred and precious.

#4) Value all living things, including animals and plants. You are their shepherd. Protect the diversity of life and the integrity of the continuation of life. (For example, resist GMO and plant only non-hybrid seeds.)

#5) Live an authentic life. Practice what you teach. Walk your talk. Do not speak with one face and then secretly act out another. Spiritual strength comes from spiritual authenticity, and even if the world isn't aware of what you do when no one is looking, God and the universe most certainly are. Karma counts.

#6) Defend the innocent. Stand your ground against bullies. Resist tyranny. Promote freedom, liberty and justice. Help others when you can, and seek to empower others with the skills and knowledge they can use to support themselves rather than creating dependency.

#7) Tell the truth. It is powerful… perhaps the most powerful thing in the universe. The truth unfailingly outshines lies and deceptions. And even when the people around you may not see the truth, the greater universe does. By telling the truth, you empower yourself in all areas of your life, and you bring yourself closer to true spiritual understanding.