Dead Sea Herbs

100% natural herb products for skin care, Fungi Treatment, Pain Relief and Relaxation

Site Search:
It’s been found in baby bottles, water bottles, and cans, but here’s a new item to avoid that contains the estrogen-mimicking chemical Bisphenol A: paper receipts. Science News reports that John C. Warner of the Warner Babcock Institute for Green Chemistry has found that both carbonless copy papers and the thermal imaging papers that form most receipts today are coated in a powdery layer of the chemical. He believes that our exposure to BPA through receipts is many times greater than through bottles or cans.
So why should you be concerned about BPA? Recent studies of the chemical have found that, when ingested, it is linked to diabetes, heart disease, liver toxicity, and birth defects. Warner told Science News that BPA found on receipts is dusted off on the fingers, where it either makes its way to food, or is absorbed through the skin.
“When people talk about polycarbonate bottles, they talk about nanogram quantities of BPA [leaching out],” Warner observes. “The average cash register receipt that’s out there and uses the BPA technology will have 60 to 100 milligrams of free BPA.” By free, he explains, it’s not bound into a polymer, like the BPA in polycarbonates. It’s just the individual molecules loose and ready for uptake.
As such, he argues, when it comes to BPA in the urban environment, “the biggest exposures, in my opinion, will be these cash register receipts.” Once on the fingers, BPA can be transferred to foods. And keep in mind, he adds, some hormones—like estrogen in certain birth-control formulations—are delivered through the skin by controlled-release patches. So, he argues, estrogen mimics like BPA might similarly enter the skin.
I think you should avoid receipts if you don’t need them.
But it can be harmful for people who handle receipts for living-cashiers for example.
So what is your opinion?

Isotonic Resveratrol

Drink your Resveratrol

TUESDAY, May 11 (HealthDay News) — Strenuous exercise appears to stop the body’s cells from killing themselves as they’re programmed to do, a new study suggests.

Researchers found that cells of people who had just run a marathon didn’t engage in what is called apoptosis — the natural death of cells.

“Apoptosis is a normal physiological function dependent on a variety of signals, many of which can be modulated by strenuous exercise. Here, we’ve shown for the first time that exercise modulates expression of the sirtuin family of proteins, which may be key regulators of training,” study lead author Gabriella Marfe, of the University of Rome, said in a news release.

Marfe and colleagues took blood samples from 10 male athletes who’d taken part in a 42-kilometer run and found a shift in the balance between expression of pro- and anti-apoptotic genes after the race.

The researchers think that proteins in the sirtuin family may play a protective role in preventing cell death through exercise.

So should you go out for a run? Be careful if you haven’t been training, Marfe said. “Untrained amateur athletes often do hard training without professional advice. Such intense and exhaustive exercise can be harmful to health,” she said. To achieve beneficial effects, the authors recommend that exercise be part of a lifelong regimen with expert medical advice and supervision.

The study was published May 10 in the journal BMC Physiology.

More information

St. George’s University of London has more about apoptosis.

I do not run marathons. But I take Resveratrol in isotonic form. Resveratrol promotes apoptosis (programmed cell death) in unhealthy cells

SOURCE: BioMed Central, news release, May 10, 2010

June 10, 2010

Sun is life

Sun is good for you

I have a question to all of you:

How do you feel about sunlight? Does it cheer you up.

Do you like to be tan? Does sun tan look good?

Of course we have to be aware of the possible risks and damages from sun (especially for tanners, who overexposure themselves), but we can’t be let to believe that sun doesn’t do anything good. Sun is the reason we live!

Because of sun this planet is alive!

This is the reason you feel good about the Sun. Sun made all of us.

For years we have been told to cover up in the sun to cut the risk of getting skin cancer. But now it has come to light that sun is actually good for the body.
Recent studies have shown that a sensible amount of UV light reduces your risk of several cancers and health conditions. It’s all thanks to Vitamin D, which is made through our bodies through the action of UVB rays on our skin.
Professor Michael Holick of Boston University School of Medicine is the author of “The UV Advantage” book. “We get about 90 to 95% of our vitamin D from the sun,” says Holick.
He advises people should get 5 to 15 minutes of sun exposure three times a week to boost vitamin D levels.

Tanning controversy

More recently, some researchers have advised that tanning in moderation may be healthier than is commonly believed. Edward Giovannucci, professor of medicine and nutrition at Harvard states that according to his research, people who have sufficient vitamin D due to UV exposure, and other intake, may prevent 30 deaths for each one caused by skin cancer.[14] His research also suggests that diet accounts very little for vitamin D3 necessary for curbing cancer. Michael Holick, Boston professor of dermatology, claimed that moderate exposure to sunlight probably reduces risk to many forms of cancer, diabetes, seasonal affective disorder, and other diseases.[15] These researchers are vigorously opposed by most dermatologists, for example, Dr. Elewski, president of the American Academy of Dermatology, argued that minutes of exposure to sunlight can be dangerous, and that people can get all the vitamin D they need through supplements. Large clinical studies have found vitamin D produced both through exposure to sunlight and through dietary supplements dramatically decreases cancer risk, and helps cancer recovery. See Vitamin D for more details.

By TODD NEALE
June 5, 2010
Eating a Mediterranean diet — one high in fruits, fish, and vegetables and low in saturated fat — is associated with a reduced likelihood of asthma in children, a large observational study reaffirmed.
Overall, choosing foods increasingly similar to a Mediterranean diet was associated with a lower prevalence of both wheeze and asthma, Dr. Gabriele Nagel, of Ulm University in Germany, and colleagues reported in the June issue of Thorax.
In contrast, children who ate burgers at least three times a week had increased odds of having asthma.
“Fast food is rich in industrially hydrogenated vegetable fats such as margarine and meat from ruminant animals which are dietary sources of trans-fatty acids,” the researchers noted. “There is some evidence that dietary intake of trans-fatty acids is associated with asthma and atopy [allergic sensitivity].”
The findings support previous studies that identified links between increased consumption of fish, fruits, and vegetables with reduced asthma symptoms, although the researchers noted that causal connections could not be established.
Also here is more information on ongoing research
These are the findings of a study to be presented this week at the American Thoracic Society ATS 2010 International Conference in New Orleans that is taking place from May 14th to 19th.
Dr. Lisa Wood, a research fellow of the University of Newcastle, New South Wales, and colleagues monitored asthma patients after they ate low and high fat meals and found that within hours of eating the high fat meal they were showing signs of airway inflammation not seen when they ate the low fat meal, and the high fat meal also appeared to inhibit their response to the asthma reliever Ventolin (albuterol).
Rates of asthma have gone up in westernized countries in recent decades, and experts suggest environmental factors like lifestyle and diet may be an important factor, especially since westernized diets have considerably more fat than more traditional ones.
Previous research shows that high fat diets stimulate the immune system, causing higher levels of inflammation markers in the blood. However, the researchers believe this is the first study to examine how a high fat meal may affect airway inflammation.
The high fat, high calorie meal of fast food burgers and hash browns contained about 1,000 calories, with over 50 per cent of them coming from fat.
The low fat, low calorie meal of reduced fat yogurt contained about 200 calories, with only 13 per cent of them from fat.
Wood said the study was important because it was the first to show a high fat meal can produce this effect.
For more information: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/newsletters.php for details.
All this supports what everyone knows already -fatty food is bad for you.

Cancer?

Author: Nathan
June 6, 2010

“Those who fail to take the time to be healthy
will ultimately have to take the time to be sick.”
~ Dr. James Chappell
Cancer does not develop for some unknown reason. Once you understand why and how it develops, and learn how to support your body so that it may more effectively fight cancer, it may never be too late to get healthy again. (No matter what type, they have the same underlying causes.)
Cancer is a natural process where, to put it simply, an overworked and weakened immune system cannot kill it as fast as it is multiplying. Toxin, carcinogens, radiation, even viruses, combined with an unhealthy internal environment , and in conjunction with a weakened immune system, cause more cells to turn cancerous, and allows them to thrive.
Cancer is a perfectly natural process. A very small percentage of cells in every person who has ever lived turn cancerous. And the body usually gets rid of those cancerous cells before they do harm. This process has been going on for eons. It is only when more cancer cells are being created than the body can get rid of that the problem comes. With increased toxins, viruses, carcinogens, etc. our immune systems have become significantly overworked and weakened.
Cancer, above all other diseases, has countless secondary causes. But, even for cancer, there is only one prime cause. Summarized in a few words, the prime cause of cancer is the replacement of the respiration of oxygen in normal body cells by a fermentation of sugar.
18 things that CAUSE cancer: (in no particular order)
Smoking cigarettes
Drinking non-organic milk or eating non-organic dairy products
Hydrogenated oils and trans fatty acids
Mammography radiation
Chemotherapy and radiation
Perfumes and fragrance products
Cosmetics and personal care products
Home cleaning products, including laundry detergent, dryer sheets, etc.
Plastic food containers – includes plastic lining inside food cans
Sodium nitrite – found in most processed meats
Pesticides, PCBs, chlorine and other chemicals
Acrylamides (formed during high-heat food processing such as frying)
Watching television / lack of exercise
Severe emotional distress or relationship stress
Refined sugars / refined grains
Dry cleaning chemicals
Hair color chemicals
Nail polish remover
22 things that PREVENT cancer:
Anti-cancer foods
Green tea
Medicinal mushrooms – reishi, shiitake, agaricus blazei, etc.
Lycopene and tomatoes
Infra-red saunas and sweat lodges – because sweating expels toxins
Chlorella
Pomegranate seeds
Rainforest herbs – There are many anti-cancer rainforest herbs, including graviola and Cat’s Claw (Una de Gato).
Juice detoxification
Acupuncture – helps move blood and chi (body’s energy)
Sprouts – ALL sprouts are anti-cancer. Best sprouting machine is the EasyGreen Automatic Sprouter (use any search engine to find resellers)
Red clover – Helps cleanse the blood. Find from any supplement maker.
Deep breathing / oxygenation / stress reduction
Yoga, Tai Chi or Pilates – These all boost lymph circulation
Cacao – (real chocolate)
Therapeutic massage – helps move lymph, boost circulation
Mint – grow your own (the easiest plant to grow)
Apricot pits / laetrile / vitamin B17

May 29, 2010

So what do we do?

We do need the sun exposure for vitamin D production but how much sun is too much?

Here are some suggestions from US News and World report.

Coinciding with the first week of summer, a study published today underscores the importance of getting adequate amounts of sunlight for its vitamin D-boosting benefits. The research, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, shows that those with the lowest vitamin D levels have more than double the risk of dying from heart disease and other causes over an eight-year period compared with those with the highest vitamin D levels. The researchers cite “decreased outdoor activity” as one reason that people may become deficient in vitamin D. Another recent study found an increased risk of heart attacks in those with low vitamin D levels.
The sunshine vitamin may protect against a host of diseases, including osteoporosis, heart disease, and cancers of the breast, prostate, and colon. What’s more, sunlight has other hidden benefits—like protecting against depression, insomnia, and an overactive immune system.
Given all the upsides of basking at least briefly in the summer sun, many experts now worry that public-health messages warning about skin cancer have gone overboard in getting people to cover up and seek the shade. U.S. News got in touch with Robyn Lucas, an epidemiologist at Australian National University who led a study published in the February issue of the International Journal of Epidemiology . Her finding: Far more lives are lost to diseases caused by a lack of sunlight than to those caused by too much.
Sun protection messages arose in response to rapidly increasing rates of skin cancers, and they were an essential public-health message. But we now recognize that some sun exposure is important for health, at the very least, to maintain healthful vitamin D levels. (Sunscreen blocks out nearly all UV radiation.) Taking this into account, the Cancer Council of Australia has eased its sun protection message a little over the last few years and now recommends that if you’re out in the sun for relatively short periods, with a UV index less than 3, which indicates a moderate amount of UV rays hitting your area on a given day, then sunscreen and other sun protection (like hats and protective clothing) are not required. Beyond this, I believe we all need a little unprotected time in the sun during the middle hours of the day when the sun is at its highest and UV-B rays can penetrate the atmosphere.

May 28, 2010

Summer is here!
Let’s go to the beach. Get some suntan. Most of us like to be tan.
It looks good.
But than the controversy.
Too much sun is bad. Is it? How much is too much?
Is it sun tan or sunburn that is bad?
Or maybe the sun screen lotion?
In my opinion in many cases the remedy is creating more problems that it is solving.
Especially for small kids.

BOSTON — A new study shows many sunscreens may not protect your skin, and some are even dangerous to your health.
NewsCenter 5’s Shiba Russell reported that researchers inspecting nearly 800 different brands of sunscreens found that barely one-quarter of them offered adequate sun protection.
According to the Environmental Working Group, more than half of the products they looked at broke down after minutes in the sun, according to a Boston Herald report.
Some products contained questionable substances, such as oxybenzone, which mimics the hormone estrogen which doctors have linked to cancer. Only 13 percent were found to block UVB rays and not UVA rays.
The study only gave three of the top 10 selling brands good ratings and all were for babies. They included the Blue Lizard Australian Suncream SPF 30/Baby, California Baby Water-Resistant Hypo-Allergenic Sunscreen SPF 30-plus and Aveeno Baby Sunblock Lotion Continuous Protection SPF 55.

Do Chemical Sunscreens Increase Cancer?
Worldwide, the greatest rise in melanoma has been experienced in countries where chemical sunscreens have been heavily promoted  The rise in melanoma has been exceptionally high in Queensland, Australia  where the medical establishment has vigorously promoted the use of sunscreens. Queensland now has more incidences of melanoma per capita than any other place on Earth. (Garland, Cedric F., et al. Could sunscreens increase melanoma risk? American Journal of Public Health, Vol. 82, No. 4, April 1992, pp. 614-15).

Dr. Gordon Ainsleigh in California believes that the use of sunscreens causes more cancer deaths than it prevents. He estimates that the 17% increase in breast cancer observed between 1981 and 1992 may be the result of the pervasive use of sunscreens over the past decade (Ainsleigh, H. Gordon. Beneficial effects of sun exposure on cancer mortality. Preventive Medicine, Vol. 22, February 1993, pp. 132-40). Recent studies have also shown a higher rate of melanoma among men who regularly use sunscreens and a higher rate of basal cell carcinoma among women using sunscreens (Garland, Cedric F. et al. Effect of sunscreens on UV radiation-induced enhancement of melanoma growth in mice. Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Vol. 86, No. 10, May 18, 1994, pp. 798-801 :Larsen, H.R. “Sunscreens: do they cause skin cancer.” International Journal of Alternative & Complementary Medicine, 1994; 12(12): 17-19; Farmer K.C. & Naylor, M.F. “Sun exposure, sunscreens, and skin cancer prevention: a year-round concern.” Ann Pharmacother, 1996; 30(6):662-73)
So the short answer-nobody knows for sure. Unfortunately.

Some creams promising to lighten skin, eliminate age spots and zap freckles contain high levels of mercury, a toxic metal that can cause severe health problems, a Tribune investigation has found.

The newspaper sent 50 skin-lightening creams to a certified lab for testing, most of them bought in Chicago stores and a few ordered online. Six were found to contain amounts of mercury banned by federal law.

Of those, five had more than 6,000 parts per million — enough to potentially cause kidney damage over time, according to a medical expert.

The market for skin lighteners is booming in the U.S. and abroad. Some people of Asian, Hispanic and African heritage use the creams because lighter skin is often considered a status symbol in their cultures. Many consumers, including Caucasians, use the creams to diminish age spots or to even out skin tone, while others want to lighten their entire face or bodies.

Sales of lightening products in the U.S. are expected to increase nearly 18 percent by 2015, reaching $76 million annually, according to market researcher Global Industry Analysts.

Consumers can’t know for sure which creams are tainted. Stores across the city sell dozens of brands, many of them made overseas. The six creams that tested high in the Tribune tests were manufactured in Lebanon, China, India, Pakistan and Taiwan.

The creams were bought at a variety of stores: a large beauty-supply store in the Uptown neighborhood, an herbal medicine shop in Chinatown, an East Indian beauty salon on Devon Avenue, a grocery store also on Devon, and a small African shop on 79th Street.

Researchers say people are affected differently by mercury, depending on the amount and duration of exposure, among other variables. Daniel Hryhorczuk of the University of Illinois School of PuOrganic Skin Care Kitblic Health said the amounts of mercury found by the Tribune were troubling and could lead to kidney damage at the least.

“Those are very high levels,” he said.

Do you have a choice? Yes! Do your own research. Know what you are buying. Here is one:

Every conventional white cream is in fact an emulsion of water with fatty materials.  Such an emulsion necessarily contains stabilizers and preserving ingredients.Scientists have found new evidence to show you why you should think carefully about using products that contain stabilizers and preserving ingredients.The products we suggest contain exclusively edible ingredients, of vegetal origin.  They contain no preserving ingredients, artificial fragrances or solvents. 

Salba is a grayish-white seed new to the U.S., but it’s been around a long time. There are many reasons why I consider it a super nutritional star for women’s hormonal health. It has the highest known whole-food source of omega-3 fatty acids found anywhere in nature. It contains a perfect 1:4 ratio of omega-3s to omega-6s. That ideal ratio is required for optimal health and hormones: regulating heart rate, blood pressure, blood clotting, fertility, immune support, and reduction of inflammation. Inflammation is now understood to play a major role in chronic illnesses, including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. Inflammation is also a factor in many women’s hormonal issues, such as endometriosis, fibroids, ovarian cysts, PMS, fibroids, and fibrocystic breasts. Studies have shown that eating a diet high in omega-3 fatty acids reduces your risk of breast cancer. Salba also has the highest fiber content of any food; insoluble fiber is important for hormone balance. It helps to decrease estrogen overload by binding to the extra estrogen in the digestive tract. This extra estrogen is later eliminated from the body through the feces.

What vitamins and minerals are most women lacking?
In general, women are really deficient in minerals. Most women need to supplement with magnesium, selenium, chromium, and iodine. Our endocrine glands need these minerals. In the vitamin department, women (and men) are generally very deficient in vitamin D. This vitamin, which is really a hormone, is critical for immune support, cancer prevention, preventing depression, and even preventing Alzheimer’s.

It seems that Americans are looking for a SUPER food or supplement to fix their health problem.
Great. At least we are looking.
But why not to take care of your health while you are still healthy?
What is wrong with prevention?
Good supplements will certainly help.
But it is not enough!
Get your butt of the couch. Don’t pig out. Forget fast food joints.
Educate yourself about chemicals in your life.
And finally take your supplements if you like.

Pure Water

Filtered water

Reporter
msnbc.com
It is hard to argue the fact that waste management has become a large problem in the world, with landfills growing to enormous sizes and recycling rates remaining dismally low. The number of plastic bottles produced by the bottled water industry and subsequently discarded by consumers has only exacerbated this problem.

According to a 2001 report of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), roughly 1.5 million tons of plastic are expended in the bottling of 89 billion liters of water each year.

Besides the sheer number of plastic bottles produced each year, the energy required to manufacture and transport these bottles to market severely drains limited fossil fuels. Bottled water companies, due to their unregulated use of valuable resources and their production of billions of plastic bottles have presented a significant strain on the environment.

The authors of the WWF report suggested that water bottles be washed and reused in order to lessen their negative impact on the environment.
Unfortunately, reusing plastic bottles further compromises the quality of the water, due to the fact that more and more phthalate leaches its way into the water as the bottle gets older. In another suggestion, the authors recommended that bottled water companies use local bottling facilities in order to lessen fuel expenditures for transportation needs.
Regrettably, local bottling further compromises water quality due to the reduced health standards for in-state bottled water production and consumption. It seems there is no feasible solution to this problem. The bottled water industry causes a severe strain on the environment, but solutions to this environmental damage significantly lessen the quality of water in the bottles.
Bottled water, due to several factors, is clearly not a healthier or purer alternative to tap water. Also, bottled water is outrageously expensive when compared to the cost per gallon of tap water. If one is choosing only between tap water and bottled water, tap water is plainly the more economical, and, in many cases, the healthier choice. Despite this assertion, tap water does not remain without its problems.
The concerns over the quality and safety of tap water that sparked the growth of the bottled water industry are still entirely present.
Tap water is nowhere near free from dangerous contaminants.
The most recent and innovative solution to the problems of low water quality has come about in the age of water filters.
Water filters currently provide the best and healthiest solution to the problems of both bottled water and tap water.