Dr. Mercola thanks readers whose calls and letters to the FDA over mercury dental amalgam drew what an FDA publication called unprecedented organized opposition to a final rule, and quotes Michael Bender of the Mercury Policy Project calling the ruling inconsistent.
Food Consumer
Government
FDA MedWatch:Portex Uncuffed Pediatric-Sized Tracheal Tubes
Smiths Medical and the FDA announced a nationwide voluntary recall of Portex uncuffed pediatric tracheal tubes in 2.5, 3.0 and 3.5 mm sizes, after some were made with internal diameters slightly smaller than labeled, risking airway obstruction or inability to ventilate.
Vitamins
Study reveals new role of vitamin C in skin protection (press release)
University of Leicester and Portuguese researchers found that a vitamin C derivative, ascorbic acid 2-phosphate, promoted wound healing and protected the DNA of human skin cells in culture, building on the group's earlier evidence that vitamin C supplements upregulate DNA repair.
Cooking
Healthy Recipes:Cauliflower with Mustard and Minced Dill
AICR pairs cauliflower with Dijon mustard, dill and lemon juice in place of the usual butter or cheese, noting the vegetable is high in antioxidants and vitamin C and contains sulforaphane, which is released when it is cut or chopped.
Cooking
Healthy Recipes:Dressing Up Green Salads
AICR argues the dressing is what makes a salad memorable, and recommends keeping it light, one tablespoon of vinaigrette per two cups of greens, and cutting vinegar with fruit juice to soften its sharpness without wilting the leaves.
Recipes & Dining
Healthy Recipes:Crusted Cod with Hot Paprika
An American Institute for Cancer Research recipe gives cod a crisp smoked hot paprika crust, with cilantro, parsley and a touch of saffron for balance. The notes cover cod's omega-3s and vitamins A and D, and advise buying paprika in small amounts and storing it airtight.
Farmers Markets
Nutrition Notes:Farmers’ Markets: Worth the Trip
Karen Collins of the American Institute for Cancer Research offers practical advice for farmers' market shoppers: compare prices, since staples may not undercut grocery stores, favour highly seasonal items, buy in bulk with friends, and bargain fairly near closing time.
Food
Fruit, vegetables better cognitive performance
A German study of 193 people aged 45 to 102 found those eating more fruit and vegetables each day scored higher on cognitive tests and carried more antioxidants in their blood.
Disease
2008-2009 Influenza Season Week 35 ending September 5, 2009
CDC surveillance for the week ending September 5, 2009: 20.5% of specimens tested positive for influenza, 97% of subtyped A viruses were 2009 H1N1, one pediatric death was reported, and eleven states plus Guam saw widespread activity.
Drug
Vivus Set to Apply for FDA Approval for Qnexa
Vivus plans to seek FDA approval for Qnexa, a combination of phentermine and Topamax. Across two late-stage trials of 1,267 and 2,487 patients, those on the drug lost about 9% of body weight, nearly double the 5% the FDA requires, and lowered blood lipids and blood sugar.
Miscellaneous
Suicide: A National Concern
Marking World Suicide Prevention Day, the piece opens with “Janie,” a Midwestern high school sophomore whose therapist called her mildly depressed months before she killed herself. Her mother says Janie knew how to answer questions so she would not be hospitalized.
Cooking
Healthy Recipes:Crunchy Zucchini and Potato Cakes
Zucchini and russet potato cakes bound with bread crumbs and egg, seasoned with garlic, onion and rosemary and topped with Parmesan. The piece adds tips on russets: pick firm ones with shallow eyes, store them dry and dark, and don't wash or refrigerate them.
Cooking
Health Recipes:Lemon Drops
Dana Jacobi found a Lemon Drops recipe in Mary Meade’s 1952 blender cookbook and updated it, cutting fat and substituting whole-wheat pastry flour. She advises unsalted butter, dough dropped in 3/4-inch buttons and a dark-colored baking sheet.
Biotics
Probiotics Protect You from Gut Parasites
Scientists studying Toxoplasma gondii found gut bacteria help stimulate the body's defenses against the parasite. Mercola adds that probiotics occupy space in the intestine and may keep disease-causing bacteria and parasites from attaching to the intestinal wall.
Vitamins
Vitamin D and H1N1 Swine Flu *****
Dr. John Cannell's newsletter argues that adequate vitamin D strengthens innate immunity by prompting hundreds of antibacterial peptides, and that the 36 U.S. children who had died of swine flu were much more likely to be vitamin D deficient, a pattern he says the CDC missed in its own data.
Disease
Why do People Die from the Flu?
Influenza is blamed for about 36,000 U.S. deaths a year, more than 90 percent of them elderly. The piece explains the virus itself is not fatal: deaths usually follow secondary bacterial or viral pneumonia in people with weakened immunity, often as the patient seems to be recovering.
Obesity
Is it Possible to be Fit AND Overweight?
Steven Blair of the Cooper Institute is cited saying overweight but fit people have half the death rate of normal-weight people who are unfit. The piece lists the conditions attached — no smoking, 30 minutes of daily activity, no major risk factors — and says sedentary and fit cannot mix.
Miscellaneous
Scientists recycle fat into "liquid gold"
Stanford researchers turned fat removed by liposuction into induced pluripotent stem cells. They say the fat cells reprogram more efficiently and are ready right away, where skin cells need three weeks in culture, and they avoid mouse feeder cells and cross-species contamination.
13770 stories