NewsTrust - Wellness - Most Recent Stories: Opinion (Independent)

Pollinator decline & pesticides

Tue, 24 May 2011 00:00:00 -0700

panna.org - May. 24 (Advocacy) - While wild pollinators like bats and bumble bees are also facing catastrophic declines, managed honey bees are the most economically important pollinators in the world. According to a recent U.N. report, of the 100 crops that provide 90% of the world's food, over 70 are pollinated by bees. In the U.S. alone, honey bees’ economic contribution is valued at over $15 billion

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Toxicity, Alzheimer's and Autism

Sat, 19 Mar 2011 00:00:00 -0700

readersupportednews.org - Mar. 19 (Interview) - Dr. Haley is a leading international expert on mercury toxicity. Kennedy and Haley discuss what exposure to mercury is doing to the human race, especially the connection between mercury and both Alzheimer's and autism. Kennedy has championed numerous environmental causes but he said this about the link between toxic vaccines and autism, "This is the most important issue I've ever worked on."

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Purple Hearts On Death Row: War Damaged Vets Should Not Be Executed By the State

Fri, 04 Dec 2009 00:00:00 -0800

AlterNet - By Karl R. Keys, Bill Pelke - Dec. 04 (Opinion) - Soldiers are coming home traumatized by the carnage they've seen. As veterans, we believe those who commit crimes due to severe mental problems should be treated, not killed.

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Health Care Reform: Time to Go All In

Tue, 11 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0700

OurFuture.org - By Robert Borosage - Aug. 11 (Opinion) - It is time to go all in to support comprehensive health care reform. The stakes have gotten prohibitive. Republicans have essentially bet the House on it. Obama, for all intents and purposes, has wagered the White House agenda. The insurance and drug companies are pouring in dough. This month will be telling. The debate in congressional districts across the country in August will go far in determining what kind of reform we get -- or whether we get any reform at all.

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"The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite"

Mon, 03 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By David Kessler, Amy Goodman, Anjali Kamat - Aug. 03 (Interview) - A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns that the direct medical costs of obesity total about $147 billion a year. That amounts to nine percent of all US medical costs. It's also over $50 billion more than the annual spending on cancer. In the midst of this national focus on obesity, today we'll speak to David Kessler, who has spent the last seven years trying to understand how the food industry has changed American eating habits, made certain foods difficult to resist, and helped create the country's number one public health issue. [includes rush transcript - partial]

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Public Transit Users More Likely to Reach Physical Activity Targets

Fri, 17 Apr 2009 00:00:00 -0700

obesitypanacea.blogspot.com - By Travis Saunders - Apr. 17 (Interview) - By building activity into your daily routine, you can ensure that you’re getting at least some physical activity on even the busiest days. . . . Although taking public transit may not seem like the most obvious way to increase your physical activity levels, a recent study by Ugo Lachapelle and Larry Frank at the University of British Columbia suggests that this might be the case.

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Inequality is Unhealthy

Mon, 30 Mar 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By DR. STEPHEN BEZRUCHKA, Amy Goodman, Juan Gonzales - Mar. 30 (Interview) - Americans think that it’s healthcare that produces health, when there really is very little evidence for that. What turns out to be really important is the nature of caring and sharing in society. And the best factor that really impacts that is the degree of inequality. Where societies are more unequal, people don’t look out for one another, they look out for themselves. Where societies are more equal—and economic equality is the thing that is most important in this—people look after each other, society looks after each other, and pretty well everyone does better. There’s almost nothing that is better in a society that tolerates the extreme levels of inequality in the United States. And so, we end up dying younger than people in all the other rich countries, despite spending half the world’s healthcare bill.

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Why Do Conservatives Hate Your Children?

Sun, 22 Mar 2009 00:00:00 -0700

AlterNet - By Joseph Romm - Mar. 22 (Opinion) - CQ Politics reports that the House GOP "offered six principles Wednesday that they say will guide them as they formulate an alternative to the president's ambitious plans": The principles reflect the minority's long-held views. GOP leaders said they will oppose any tax increases, either on income or energy, and will fight a cap-and-trade program to curb carbon dioxide emissions in order to combat global warming. Instead, the Republicans reiterated their "all of the above" energy proposals that stress new domestic oil and gas production and development of alternative energy sources. Here we have in one paragraph the essence of conservatives' long-held energy policy — the Big Energy Lie and the willful effort to destroy the health and well-being of your children and grandchildren and 50 generations after that:

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Put Single-Payer on the Table

Tue, 10 Mar 2009 00:00:00 -0700

TruthDig - By Amy Goodman - Mar. 10 (Opinion) - Critical mass is building behind a single-payer system. From Nobel Laureate in Economics Joseph Stiglitz, who told me, “I’ve reluctantly come to the view that it’s the only alternative,” to health-care providers themselves, who witness and endure the system’s failure firsthand. Geri Jenkins of the newly formed, 150,000-nurses-strong United American Nurses-National Nurses Organizing Committee (nnoc.net) said: “It is the only health-care-reform proposal that can work. ... We are currently pushing to have a genuine, honest policy debate, because we’ll win ... the health insurers will collapse under the weight of their own irrelevance.”

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Better Than Sex

Sun, 15 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Greater Good - By Christine Carter - Feb. 15 (Review) - Might be that sitting with your legs crossed repeating stuff like “May all beings be free from suffering,” is a little too far-out for you. I’m a scientist for crying out loud, so you can imagine how I might feel meditating while surrounded by prominent neuroscientists, which I recently did on a 7-day silent meditation retreat. Except that I actually didn’t feel silly. Why? Because there is new scientific research that demonstrates the incredible power of loving-kindness meditation: No need to be self-conscious when this stuff might be more effective than Prozac. Also called metta, loving-kindness meditation is the simple practice of directing well-wishes towards other people.

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Dr. Jeffrey McCombs: A Toxic World?

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Huffington Post - By Dr. Jeff McCombs, DC - Oct. 29 (Opinion) - Some people think that the body is adequately equipped for detoxification, but if it were, we wouldn't have words like carcinogen, teratogens, reproductive toxicants, and endocrine disruptors.

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Research Indicates One in Four Thousand Humans Are Carriers of Mad Cow-Like Disease

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700

organicconsumers.org - Oct. 21 (Statement) - research suggests 1 in every 4,000 people might harbour vCJD in their blood, though 95% of them may never actually develop the full blown disease. Variant CJD is a rare and fatal human neurodegenerative condition and is a Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy (TSE) or prion disease - because of the characteristic spongy degeneration of the brain - it is strongly linked to exposure, probably through food, to a TSE of cattle called Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE).

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Doctors to Candidates: Enact Single-Payer Health Reform

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Common Dreams - By Steffie Woolhandler, M.D. - Oct. 06 (Advocacy) - Over 5,000 U.S. physicians have signed an open letter calling on the candidates for president and Congress "to stand up for the health of the American people and implement a nonprofit, single-payer national health insurance system." Noting that the nation's private-insurance-based model is failing by denying needed medical care to millions, wasting resources and driving up costs, the doctors say that a publicly financed system is "the sole hope for affordable, comprehensive coverage."

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Population, Family Planning and Presidential Priorities

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700

rhrealitycheck.org - By Jeffrey Locke - Oct. 02 (Opinion) - Despite decades of success in creating healthier families and a healthier planet, we in the SR/RH and environmental communities are now left to wait and see whether international family planning programs meet the foreign assistance and funding priorities of the next President. As my Togolese brethren would say, "On verra" - we will see.

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Louise McCready: Alexandra Guarnaschelli Talks About Dorito and Heirloom Tomato Sandwiches and the Power of the Pocketbook

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Huffington Post - Sep. 23 (Opinion) - "If you want a Dorito, great. But, if you want an heirloom tomato, you should be able to have that too. If you want a Dorito and heirloom tomato sandwich, you should be able to have that. I think I consider that, as a chef, as a right as basic as health care and I guess that's what I'm going to work for, finding a way to contribute to, not just buying from, local farmers."

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Has American Society Gone Insane?

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0700

AlterNet - By Bruce E. Levine - Sep. 11 (Opinion) - In The Sane Society (1955), Fromm wrote, "Yet many psychiatrists and psychologists refuse to entertain the idea that society as a whole may be lacking in sanity. They hold that the problem of mental health in a society is only that of the number of 'unadjusted' individuals, and not of a possible unadjustment of the culture itself." Is American society a healthy one, and are those having difficulties adjusting to it mentally ill? Or is American society an unhealthy one, and are many Americans with emotional difficulties simply alienated rather than ill?

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The Misshapen Mind: How the Brain's Haphazard Evolution Left Us with Self-Destructive Instincts

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700

AlterNet - Aug. 25 (Opinion) - The Misshapen Mind: How the Brain's Haphazard Evolution Left Us with Self-Destructive Instincts

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Weapons Plutonium Fuel Test Fails

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Union of Concerned Scientists - Aug. 04 (Press Release) - Citing the recent failure of an experimental plutonium fuel assembly test at a South Carolina nuclear plant, two watchdog groups today called on the Department of Energy (DOE) to suspend a risky, multibillion dollar program that would use 37 tons of surplus nuclear weapons plutonium for U.S. nuclear reactor fuel.

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Eyeroo Corporation Commemorates 100th Television Production

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Eyeroo Corporation - By Brett Tomberlin - Jul. 03 (Press Release) - IRVINE, CA July 3, 2008- Eyeroo Corporation marks a milestone this week, its 100th television production, with the Friday edition of "World Health News Today", airing July 4th, 2008. In 2006, Eyeroo Corporation debuted its original health oriented programming with "Your Cancer Today", which provides information to a global audience on cancer diagnosis, treatment and current research breakthroughs. To date, 75 episodes have been produced and aired and the program is about to begin its fourth season. World Health News Today, anchored by Don Baillargeon, debuted on June 1st, 2008. Airing Monday through Friday, the July 4th episode this week will mark the series' 25th episode, bringing the total of Eyeroo Corporation productions to 100. World Health News Today presents the latest news in health. This week, the program is featuring a Focus on Vision. Susan Bressler, M.D., of the Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins University discusses treatment and prevention of age-related macular degeneration. Other reports on the subject include Lasik surgery and new technologies to assist the sight challenged. In other news, Rudy Tanzi, Ph.D, from Massachusetts General Hospital, shares the latest research on Alzheimer's disease. A recent increase in premature births in the U.S. and U.K. is analyzed by Dr. Alan Fleischman, the Medical Director of the March of Dimes, appearing via satellite from New York. Ovarian cancer symptoms are outlined by Robyn Andersen, M.D., from Seattle's Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center. Your Cancer Today and World Health News Today are produced at the Eyeroo Studios in Irvine California and are distributed throughout the USA, the Caribbean, Western Europe, Israel and parts of Africa and Asia in approximately 179 million TV homes (this includes the overlap of broadcast boundaries). Each program may also be viewed over the Internet. For World Health News Today, visit news.eyeroo.com. Your Cancer Today is online at YourCancerToday.com. Think Health, Think Eyeroo. ABOUT THE EYEROO CORPORATION The Eyeroo Corporation was formerly Your Cancer Today, Inc., incorporated in 2005, to develop fifteen health-related television shows and websites for the global market. Its first television series and website, Your Cancer Today, aired in June 2006 to provide information to a worldwide audience on cancer diagnoses, treatment, and current research breakthroughs. The series is now in its 3rd season airing domestically and internationally. Eyeroo plans to unveil three additional daily 30-minute health series which are scheduled for late 2008 with more shows covering various health related topics in 2009-2010.

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Calorie-ality Check in NYC

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Huffington Post - By Joel Schwartzberg - Jun. 19 (Opinion) - It's been two months since New York City restaurants with 15 or more nationwide outlets were compelled by law to publicly display calorie counts on all their products at the point of purchase. This is particularly hard on Starbucks: Not only are the drinks outed, but those killer pastries as well.

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Lorre White, The Guru of Luxury: The Bounce Back Book: How to Thrive in the Face of Adversity, Setbacks and Losses

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0700

The Luxury Blog - By karen salmansohn, lorre white - Jun. 02 (Opinion) - Karen has another inspiring book about little things you can do to make big changes in your life. As Lorre always says "Luxury is for everyone. It is something that brings positive emotion and does not have to cost anything". This new book shows small ways that you can bring about possitive change through recognizing and appreciating the luxuries around you.

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Cognitive biases as public policy

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Mind Hacks - Apr. 16 (Opinion) - The LA Times has an interesting article on whether the sorts of decision-making biases identified by behavioural economists should be used to promote public policy objectives. The idea is based on the fact that we are more likely to choose certain options depending on how they're presented. In fact, supermarkets take advantage of this in how they lay out their products to maximise the chances of us buying the premium brands.

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Meditating makes the brain more compassionate

Sun, 30 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Neuroanthropology - By Greg Downey - Mar. 30 (Review) - Scientific American's Mind & Brain website has a discussion of a recent study of meditation, Meditate on This: You Can Learn to Be More Compassionate. The original research article that this piece is discussing, 'Regulation of the Neural Circuitry of Emotion by Compassion Meditation: Effects of Meditative Expertise' by Antoine Lutz, Julie Brefczynski-Lewis, Tom Johnstone, and Richard J. Davidson, is available on-line at the Public Library of Science (here). The research team investigated the activity of the insula and anterior cingulate cortices, areas implicated in empathetic reactions to others' suffering, when people voluntarily sought to feel compassion. In other words, the research team looked at whether a set of brain areas which are active when people see other people suffering and feel empathy might be intentionally activated in situations where subjects imagined compassion; could will or conscious thought be used to summon up brain activity that looks like a reaction to suffering that is almost automatic in most people? (Lots of caveats here, but you get the gist.)

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Crazy U.S. Thinking: Rampant Sexually Spread Diseases and No Talk About Sex!

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0700

AlterNet - By Lara Riscol - Mar. 28 (Opinion) - Fueling the myth that sexual health education causes promiscuity is blood sport in traditionalists' sex-driven culture war. "In our abstinence-only world today, people sometimes confuse providing sexual education with promoting sexual activity for young people," says Deb Levine. Debra Hauser, executive vice president for Advocates for Youth, agrees. "Even enlightened educators fear that parents and administrators will react negatively to a curriculum that promotes healthy sexuality -- that the perception will be that they are condoning or promoting sex," says Hauser, whose group lobbies for the stalled REAL Act to provide unprecedented funding for sex ed that goes beyond today's disease-prevention model. "The perception of many is that [sex ed] needs a heavy-handed message that teaches sex is likely to lead to negative outcomes. Thirty years of public health research shows that teaching young people about healthy sexuality does not promote sex."

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Better

Sun, 16 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Positive Psychology News Daily - By Kathryn Britton - Mar. 16 (Review) - Dr. Gawande is a surgeon and a columnist for the New Yorker. In Better, he writes about performance in medical settings, in particular about what it takes to get better -- at washing hands to avoid spread of infection, at childbirth, at care for the wounded from the battlefield, at vaccinating children in India, at dealing with medical mistakes, at treating chronic disease such as cystic fibrosis, and so on.

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