News
Health Map Tracks Infectious Diseases
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HealthMap, a team of researchers, epidemiologists and software developers at Children’s Hospital Boston founded in 2006, is an established global leader in utilising online informal sources for disease outbreak monitoring and real-time surveillance of emerging public health threats.
XMRV Researcher Jailed
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As many readers and people with an interest in Chronic Fatigue will have read over the last few months, the researcher Judy Mikovits has been having a hard time finding labs to replicate her controversial findings regarding the XMRV virus.
Diet and Nerves: The Impact of Maternal Feeding on Newborn Intestinal Permeability
A possible link between what a mother eats during pregnancy and the risk of her child developing allergies has been identified in new research published in Septembers; The Journal of Physiology.[1]
This paper identified that if the maternal diet is rich in PUFA’s or poly unsaturated fats such as those found in flaxseed, walnuts and fish their offspring’s digestive tract develops differently than in those progeny lacking these PUFAs.
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Fever: It’ll Help You Fight off Infection
One of the key naturopathic and Darwinian medicine concepts[i],[ii] is that suppression of a normal response by the body to a pathogen may reduce the effectiveness of outcome.
Naturopathic Medicine is a form of alternative medicine based on a belief in vitalism, which posits that a special energy called vital energy or vital force guides bodily processes such as metabolism, reproduction, growth, and adaptation. Naturopathic philosophy favours a holistic approach, and, like conventional medicine seeks to find the least invasive measures necessary for symptom improvement or resolution, thus encouraging minimal use of surgery and unnecessary drugs.[iii]
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Mega Dose Vit D – Really?
Vitamin D supplementation, and what levels to use are common discussions amongst Nutritional Therapists. I have written a number of commentaries and reviews on this subject over the last couple of years and a recent paper published in the Journal: Joint Bone Spine presents a very interesting take on mega supplementation to restore Vit D status.[1]
Rather than looking at the results as a directive for vigorous upfront Vit D supplementation, as there are obvious considerations that make this as a universal approach very questionable, it remains clinically relevant, and may provide a degree of confidence. What is of greater interest is the rapidly declining levels of serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D (25OHD) after the first month and the differences noted in the weight of the patient.
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Bile Acids – Wide Ranging Benefits Including Psoriasis
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Bile. Also known as gall. Memorialised as “that green monster” in Shakespeare. Bile is a bitter-tasting, dark green to yellowish brown liquid produced by our liver, stored in the gallbladder, and known to aid in the digestion of lipids and fats in the small intestine. Bile acids are actually steroids derived from cholesterol.
Methylfolate and Methyl B12 Play a Profound Role in Health
Read the rest of this page »Surprising new research demonstrates that diabetic neuropathy, an extremely painful condition, may respond to supplementation with the active forms of three b vitamins: methyl B12, methylfolate, and the active form of vitamin B6 (pyridoxal-5′-phosphate). In a 2011 study in the Review of Neurological Diseases, researchers reported that eleven diabetic patients with diabetic neuropathy were placed on these three supplements, and tested by means of punch biopsy before treatment and after six months of treatment. An astounding 73% of patients showed actual improvement in tissue on biopsy, and 82% reported reduced frequency and intensity of pain and numbness.(1)
Vitamin Studies Spell Confusion for Patients
If it’s Monday, it must be bad news about multivitamin day — or was that Wednesday? No, Wednesday was good news about vitamin D, not so good news about vitamin E — if you’re confused, join the club.
A recent American Medical association paper suggested that vitamins are a threat rather than an advantage to peoples lives.[1]
The Alliance for Natural Health have undertaken a quick analysis of the paper and sum up the findings:
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Current Opinion from IOM on Autism and Vaccination
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Some parents and families of children with autism believe that the Measles/Mumps/ Rubella (MMR) vaccine caused their children’s autism. These parents report that their children were “normal” until they received the MMR vaccine. Then, after getting the vaccine, their children started showing symptoms of autism. Because the symptoms of autism (an increasingly common neurodevelopmental problem) begin to occur around the same time as the child’s MMR vaccination, parents and families see the vaccine as the cause of the autism. However, just because the events happen around the same time does not mean that one caused the other. Although children receive many other vaccines in addition to the MMR vaccine, these other vaccines have not been identified as possible causes of autism.
Cholesterol-Lowering Foods Beat Low-Saturated Fat Diet
Eating a predominantly vegetarian diet focused on lowering cholesterol — and getting advice on how to do so effectively — can drop LDL levels more than a diet focused only on reducing saturated fat, researchers found.[1]
A diet rich in cholesterol-lowering foods dropped LDL by 13% to 14% over six months, depending on the level of accompanying counselling, compared with a drop of just 3% for patients on a control diet.
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