Statins: lowered intelligence, depression, suicide and waste of money

clipped from www.mailonsunday.co.uk Challenging convention: Lowering your cholesterol was meant to be a good thing but studies now suggest they may affect intelligence and raise the risk of suicide But cholesterol is also produced by the brain, where it is used to release vital chemicals called neurotransmitters that carry messages between brain cells. Now a study by Iowa State University suggests that statins inhibit this vital process. When brain cells are deprived of cholesterol, they are five times less effective at releasing chemical messengers, says the research, published in the highly respected journal Proceedings Of The National Academy Of Sciences. it's an expensive waste of time that leaves millions of people falsely reassured and which may have damaging side-effects. 'Research shows that in people over 69 who've had no symptoms of diabetes, angina, stroke or heart attack, statins don't reduce mortality. 'It's a sheer waste of money

Recent Shocking Studies: Milk Causes Osteoporosis!

clipped from www.nutralegacy.com The Evidence Among the risk factors for osteoporosis has always been reduced calcium consumption. This is why the U. S. government has frequently increased the minimum standards for calcium intake over the years. However, some studies now suggest that at least some of the calcium sources may not be so beneficial after all. Women in the United States have the highest risk of developing osteoporosis, but women in parts of the world with low milk and calcium intake actually have a much lower chance of developing this problem. In Japan, for example, dairy as part of the diet was almost non-existent until recently. And only now are the rates of osteoporosis among women increasing. China has shown similar results. In that country, osteoporosis is still very uncommon, even though dairy products are not a part of the diet of most Chinese people. you should carefully weigh all of the benefits and risks associated with calcium and with milk.

How Exercise Improves Learning

My rave about the book Spark

The body and the brain are one. To be human is to move, because plants don't need brains.

clipped from mindbodyfitness.suite101.com In his book, Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain, John J. Ratey M.D. provides undeniable proof that exercise benefits not only the body but the brain as well. Exercise Promotes Neurogenesis Neuroscientists have recently uncovered a strong connection between exercise and cognitive function. Studies show that exercise promotes neurogenesis, the growth of new neurons in the brain. For years, it was believed that the number of neurons in the adult brain remained a fixed entity. In Spark, new research shows otherwise. Exercise Increases Levels of BDNF in the Brain In the past 15 years, neuroscientists have discovered the significance of a group of proteins known as brain-derived neurotrophic factor or BDNF which builds and nourishes the infrastructure of cell circuitry in the brain. Exercise Enhances the Machinery of Learning Promoting neurogenesis and BDNF levels in the brain, exercise produces far too many benefits on the machinery of learning to be ignored.

Study: Obesity As Bad For Your Health As Smoking

clipped from www.huffingtonpost.com LONDON — Being obese can take years off your life and in some cases may be as dangerous as smoking, a new study says. British researchers at the University of Oxford analyzed 57 studies mostly in Europe and North America, following nearly one million people for an average of 10 to 15 years. During that time, about 100,000 of those people died. He said that obese people were also two thirds more likely to die of a heart attack or stroke, and up to four times more likely to die of diabetes, kidney or liver problems. They were one sixth more likely to die of cancer. Astrup worried that rising obesity rates may reverse the steep drops in heart disease seen in the West. "Obesity is the new dark horse for public health officials," he said. "People need to be aware of the risks they're taking when they gain weight."

LOOKING PAST BLOOD SUGAR TO SURVIVE WITH DIABETES,

VERY INFORMATIVE.

clipped from www.nytimes.com Looking Past Blood Sugar to Survive With Diabetes Dave Smith of Fairmont, Minn., did not realize his diabetes put him at high risk for heart disease. Dave Smith found out he had Type 2 diabetes by accident, after a urine test. Graphic Medication for Complex Diabetes Virgil Umbarger of Yakima, Wash., gave up checking blood sugar six times a day; now he checks it once or twice. He relaxes by working in his orchard. clipped from graphics8.nytimes.com Few diabetics do enough to protect themselves. Dave Smith thought he had been managing his symptoms when he suffered a heart attack. Taking Diabetes to Heart clipped from www.nytimes.com This series examines the leading causes of illness and death in the United States: heart disease, cancer, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes and Alzheimer’s. “Whoa, look at the sugar in here,” his doctor told him. Mr. Smith’s blood sugar level was sky high and glucose was spilling into his urine. That was about nine years ago, and from then on Mr. Smith, like so many with diabetes, became fixated on his blood