Millions of preventable infections occur at U.S. hospitals every year, and hundreds of thousands of patients needlessly die or become severely diseased from them. And up until now, hospitals have not been required to disclose this information to the public. But a new government initiative that threatens to pull a portion of Medicare funding if hospitals fail to start reporting this crucial information will have most of them in compliance beginning January 1, 2011, according to a recent report.

Hospital-related infections are the sixth leading cause of death in the U.S., according to government figures. Many patients admitted to hospitals for routine surgeries or other procedures end up contracting infections from dirty equipment or from hospital staff that failed to maintain proper hygiene. Roughly 250,000 serious infections are caused by catheters every year, for instance, and 31,000 of those result in death. Read more...

AyurGold for Healthy Blood

Food combining--best to eat fruits on their own, or as a meal, not combined with other foods

The principle behind food combining is that different food classes require different enzymes, different rates of digestion, and different digestive pHs (http://www.dreddyclinic.com/integrated_med/pH.php) for proper digestion. If the foods of the different food classes are combined incorrectly, the specific requirements for their proper digestion tend to cancel each other.

For example, flesh foods require an acid media for digestion, whereas milk is highly alkaline, so it can neutralize the acid required for digesting the flesh foods. Fruit digestion results in the release of an alkaline secretion, which neutralizes the acid secretions, needed for protein digestion. Because of this, it is not a good idea to eat fruits and proteins at the same meals. Some foods are digested faster than others. If fast-digesting foods like fruits are held up in the digestive system for a longer time than necessary through being combined with foods that digest more slowly, fermentation takes place. For this reason, it is good for digestion to eat fruit and starches, which are digested slowly at different meals. Read more...

Immunice for Immune Support

Researchers are zeroing in on specific nutrients and natural therapies that not only can prevent and heal disease but promote longevity. For example, as NaturalNews previously reported, a research team from Nu Skin Enterprises, Inc., and LifeGen Technologies found that Cordyceps sinensis (Cs-4), a traditional Chinese mushroom, is a powerful anti-aging food that could lengthen lifespan (http://www.dreddyclinic.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=24075). And University at Buffalo endocrinologists recently documented for the first time that resveratrol, a phytochemical found in red grapes, grape juice and red wine, has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties in humans and may promote human longevity, too (http://www.dreddyclinic.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=20422). Read more...

Detox centers , spa detox ,detox the body

The old adage that it takes more muscle power to frown than to smile may finally be put to rest, at least in terms of how using those muscles affects the aging process. According to Heike Hoefler, a German fitness trainer, actively working facial muscles by smiling helps to reduce wrinkles, lines, and other appearances of aging.

"Active facial gymnastics is super effective," Hoefler is quoted as saying in China Daily. "It can reduce expression lines."

And that is exactly what she helps her class participants achieve. By teaching them how to smile more through the use of various smiling exercises, Hoefler is helping her students to avoid things like "anger lines" between the eyebrows, wrinkles around the mouth, and horizontal forehead lines.

Facial skin is composed of a tapestry of elastic and collagen fibers that bind with water to give it a firm, toned appearance. But as a person ages, these fibers become increasingly less able to bind with water, resulting in sagging skin, wrinkles, and other undesirable appearances. Read more...

Detox and cleanse, Toxins cleanse, Liver detox

Earlier this year, we reported the kind of story that almost seems too far-fetched to be true. According to a study by University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) researchers that was published in the American Journal of Public Health, unneeded, expensive mammograms are regularly pushed on elderly women who are incapacitated and dying from Alzheimer's disease or other forms of dementia, especially if the patients still have assets of $100,000 or more.

Think the cancer screening industry couldn't get any greedier than that example? Think again. Another study, just out in the October 13 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) concludes a sizeable proportion of terminally ill cancer patients are being subjected to common, expensive (and often painful) cancer screening tests. And these tests provide virtually no benefit whatsoever to those dying of cancer -- although they do hike up medical bills and profits for health care providers. Read more...

Prostate Care

Joel Fuhrman, M.D.
No matter how many different dietary theories there are out there, pretty much everyone agrees that vegetables are “good for you”. But how good they truly are has been debated – there are plenty of observational studies linking vegetable consumption to favorable health outcomes, but other studies have made headlines by casting doubt on how powerful plant foods are for preventing disease. The data from these observational studies is often flawed simply because the majority of people in the Western world don’t eat enough vegetables to have a measurable impact on their risk of chronic disease – only about 25% of Americans eat the recommended three one-cup servings of vegetables each day.[1] Also, total vegetable consumption isn’t necessarily an accurate indicator of the healthfulness of one’s diet, since some vegetables are far more nutrient-dense than others. Read more...

Diet detox , detox patch , kidney detox

Here's good news that's just in time to help you avoid the temptation of sugary goodies served up at holiday parties. If you feel your willpower weakening as you pass the desserts piled high, just tighten up your muscles -- flex any of them, including your finger or calf muscles. Sound crazy? Not according to new research. Scientists have found that firming muscles literally shores up self-control.

Researchers Iris W. Hung of the National University of Singapore and Aparna A. Labroo of the University of Chicago collaborated on a study that put volunteers through a range of self-control dilemmas revolving around accepting immediate pain for long-term gain. For example, in one study participants held their hands in an ice bucket to demonstrate pain resistance and, in another, the research subjects had to drink a healthy but awful-tasting vinegar drink. Read more...

Detox product, detox foods

(HealthDay News) -- Positive factors such as meaningful relationships with others and a sense of purpose can help reduce the negative health impacts of having less schooling, a new study suggests.

It is known that lack of education is a strong predictor of poor health and a relatively early death, researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison pointed out. But their new study, published online Oct. 18 in the journal Health Psychology, found that peace of mind can reduce the risk.

"If you didn't go that far in your education, but you walk around feeling [good], you may not be more likely to suffer ill-health than people with a lot of schooling. Low educational attainment does not guarantee bad health consequences, or poor biological regulation," study co-author and psychology professor Carol Ryff said in a university news release.

Ryff and her colleagues measured levels of the inflammatory protein interleukin-6 (IL-6) in participants in the Survey of Midlife in the United States, a long-term study of age-related differences in physical and mental health. High levels of IL-6 are associated with a number of health problems, such as cardiovascular disease, stroke, diabetes, metabolic syndrome and some cancers. Read more...

Detox product, detox foods

Today, March 23, 2010 is the 22nd annual
American Diabetes Association Alert Day,
and the American Diabetes Association reports sobering statistics:

Over 20 million people in the United States have type 2 diabetes. That doesn't count the 6 million who have diabetes and don't know it yet.1 Type 2 diabetes has been called the most challenging health problem of the 21st century. The dangerously high prevalence of overweight and obesity is at the heart of this problem.
In the last five months, over 600,000 people have been diagnosed with diabetes. That's one person every 20 seconds.2 The ADA is correct – it is time to stop diabetes. The problem is they have no idea how to do this. They have no idea that in over 90% of patients, type 2 diabetes can be effectively and relatively quickly reversed through my nutritarian diet-style and exercise. Read more...

Body cleansing, Detox cleanse, Body detoxify, Body detoxification

By Ann Cahill, Europe Correspondent

THE world’s top scientists appealed yesterday for new regulations on everyday chemicals which they say are making 15% of European couples infertile.

They claim they regulations are also causing a quarter of the population to suffer allergies and have tripled birth defects in the past 20 years.

Professor Dominique Belpomme, representing 500 scientists, warned: Chemical pollution represents a serious threat to children and to man’s survival.

Since our own health, that of our children and of future generations is under threat, the human race itself is in serious danger. The French cancer expert was one of 30 people and organisations putting their case for and against REACH, the proposed new laws on chemicals drawn up by the European Commission.

At present only new chemicals have to be assessed for their effects on people’s health and the environment, which makes up less than 3% of those in everyday use.

The chemicals, used in everything from air fresheners and glues to furniture and ceramics, would have to be tested and registered. Read more...

Cancer prostate, Prostate Care

It is a well known fact that acids in the mouth cause tooth decay. One of the best dentifrices is plain old baking soda (pHour
Salts) and sea salt (pHlavor liquid sea salt).

But, acids in the mouth are a continuing insult throughout the day from the foods that we eat. That is why the saliva glands, stomach, pylorus glands, gall bladder and pancreas release plain old baking soda to buffer and alkalize the food and liquids that we are eat. The release of baking soda on the food and liquids that we put into our mouth is in preparation of that food becoming the foundational stem cells that become our blood and then our body cells.

Most folks think that the mouth and stomach are releasing enzymes or acids to digest the food or liquids we eat. This is medical myth. The enzymes or acids in the mouth come directly from the foods and liquids that we eat and the salivary glands, in response to these acids, release alkaline buffers to neutralize those enzymes or acids. This is the reason I DO NOT recommend taking vinegar, HCL supplements and acidic digestive enzymes. They destroy the alkalinity of the alimentary canal and set the stage for dis-ease! Read more...

Lose weight quick

(HealthDay News) -- Injecting a therapeutic molecule into muscle appears to jump-start the production of a crucial protein that's missing in patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, British researchers report.

The treatment so far is only applicable to about 13 percent of people with the debilitating and ultimately fatal disease, but scientists are hopeful that similar molecules might expand the treatment to a wider range of patients.

Duchenne muscular dystrophy affects about one in 3,500 males, and involves a progressive wasting of muscle due to a genetic inability to produce the protein dystrophin, a key component of muscle structure. No treatments are available for the illness, and most of those affected die by age 30.

Recently, molecules called antisense oligonucleotides have shown some promise. These molecules work by "skipping over" portions of the defective gene that would otherwise block dystrophin production. Read more...

Cancer prostate

(NaturalNews) For the first time, a long-term health study has demonstrated that the Mediterranean diet may help diabetes patients control their blood sugar without the use of medication.

"A Mediterranean-style diet is a very important part in the treatment of diabetes," said endocrinologist Loren Greene of New York University Medical Center, who was not involved in the study. "We knew that, but there just hasn't been a good study to confirm this before."

In a study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, researchers assigned 215 overweight, adult residents of Naples, Italy, to adhere to one of two diets. Participants in one group were assigned to follow a Mediterranean diet -- eating large quantities of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and certain healthy fats such as olive oil; favoring lean protein sources such as nuts, poultry and fish; and gaining no more than half their daily calories from carbohydrates. Read more...

Lose weight quick

SAN FRANCISCO -- September 9, 2010 -- A method that is widely used to predict the risk of a major coronary event may over- or under-estimate risk for millions of patients in the United States, according to a study appearing online first in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.

The method in question is the simplified version of the so-called Framingham model, which is used to estimate a patient's 10-year risk of a myocardial infarction (MI), stroke, or other coronary event based on risk factors such as age, cholesterol levels, blood pressure, and smoking.

National guidelines recommend using the risk estimates generated by the Framingham model to classify patients as among 1 of 3 risk groups. Guidelines recommend more aggressive strategies to treat cholesterol in patients classified into higher-risk groups.

The original Framingham model uses a complicated mathematical equation to calculate risk, while the simplified version is based on a point system, with a certain number of points for each risk factor. Read more...

Heart Care

These days, common diseases present themselves completely different from what they used to be like in former times – and many other diseases appear far more frequently than they did 20 to 50 years ago.

For instance, there are viruses found now, which did not exist before – and they cause new diseases. Bacteria – much feared in earlier days - today, appear completely differently, and are frequently significantly more aggressive, due to the deployment of antibiotics. Ancient diseases – former scourges of mankind – such as tuberculosis or poliomyelitis have almost disappeared.

However, the largest increase found these days is with autoimmune diseases that cause the body to turn against its own organs. Suchlike diseases are, for instance, polyarthritis, colitis ulcerative, MS, and probably also prostatitis. Furthermore, this applies to the formerly rare autoimmune thyroiditis (Hashimoto-thyroiditis), which is currently the fastest growing disease within the US. Unfortunately, it is frequently believed that the cause for those diseases is unknown. However, we do know that all those conditions are based upon various partial causes, which – in combination – actually release the respective disease. Usually, those partial causes are not even sought to be identified. Read more...

Healthy blood

(HealthDay News) -- Exposure to the plastics chemical bisphenol A (BPA) can affect men's testosterone levels, a new study has found.

BPA is used in a large number of consumer products, including food and drink containers. A number of countries have moved to ban the use of the chemical in the manufacture of baby bottles and other feeding items.

In the new study, an international team of researchers analyzed data from 715 Italian adults, aged 20 to 74. They found that their average BPA exposure was more than 5 micrograms per day, which is slightly higher than recent estimates for the U.S. population.

Higher BPA exposure was statistically associated with hormone changes in men; specifically, small increases in levels of testosterone in the blood, according to David Melzer, professor of epidemiology and public health at the Peninsula Medical School in Exeter, U.K., and colleagues. Read more...

Detox and cleanse

(HealthDay News) -- Injection drug users, particularly those with HIV, need to be carefully monitored for poor kidney function and considered for medical treatments when appropriate, researchers report.

In a new study, U.S. scientists analyzed the presence of proteinuria (excess excretion of protein in the urine, which can lead to kidney failure and an increased risk of cardivascular disease) in 902 injection drug users, including 273 who were HIV-positive. Overall, about one-quarter of the injection drug users had proteinuria and the prevalence was nearly three times higher among those with HIV (45 percent) than among those who were HIV-negative (16 percent).

Along with HIV infection, other factors that were linked to a higher prevalence of proteinuria were being unemployed, older age and having diabetes, hepatitis C infection or high blood pressure, said Shruti H. Mehta, of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and colleagues. Read more...

Aging system

Some of us have a lot to learn about health and our cave-dwelling ancestors

Newspaper section: Mylife http://www.bangkokpost.com/advance-search/?papers_sec_id=12
A life with success and wealth is a desirable one. But a long life of suffering is definitely a miserable one.

While we are still young, we usually think of life as easy and with happy moments. That's why many people, particularly the young, tend to spend their lives living recklessly. For instance, many spend a lot of time smoking, drinking, not getting enough quality sleep and pushing themselves beyond their limits.

Then they wonder why they start to lose their precious youthful looks sooner than they thought they would.

Some examples of the signs include: Their faces look dry and sunken, their eyes lose their glistening sparkle and dark patches develop around them.

This phenomenon is something is commonly called "human metamorphosis".

To live a careless life is the quickest way to turn a young homosapien into an ageing one. They can even look elderly even in their teens.
Read more...

Immunice Support

I just read in your article on "inflammatory responses" that coconut oil is one item to avoid. If I apply coconut oil to my skin to address dryness, can it make its way into my system and cause any problems?

The reason I recommend avoiding coconut oil in the diet is because it is a highly saturated fat (it's one of the few saturated fats that doesn't come from animals). Like other saturated fats, coconut oil can raise cholesterol levels and, therefore, should play only a very limited role, if any, in your diet. In the past, coconut oil was widely used in movie popcorn, candy bars and commercial baked goods but has been phased out of many of these products because of consumer opposition to unhealthy tropical oils.

And incidentally, despite the ongoing internet buzz that coconut oil can promote weight loss, there's no scientific evidence to back up those claims. Lauric acid, the main fatty acid found in coconut oil, has shown positive effects as an anti-viral agent in treating herpes, but all in all, I recommend avoiding dietary sources of coconut oil. Read more...

Healthy blood, blood disorders

(HealthDay News) -- A new study finds that men are more likely to cheat if their income is much lower than what their wife or female partner makes, while women are more likely to fool around if they make more than their husband or male partner.

The findings suggest that disparities in moneymaking play a significant role in infidelity, at least among the young couples they studied.

"With women, they were less likely to engage in infidelity the less money they make relative to their husband," said study author Christin Munsch. "But for men, the less money you make relative to your spouse, the more likely you are to engage in infidelity."

Munsch, a graduate student at Cornell University, said she came up with the idea of studying the effects of income on infidelity after hearing from a friend who has cheated on his partner. He told Munsch that "she made all the money, she had all the friends, and he'd moved up there to be with her. He felt completely powerless."

While there's been previous research into infidelity, it didn't look into differences in income among couples, Munsch said. Read more...

Female Sexual health