Dr. Mercola relays claims from Ayurvedic tradition and recent reports that the basil known as Tulsi strengthens the body's defenses against viral illness and may speed recovery from swine flu. He drinks Tulsi tea himself, chiefly as an adaptogen.
Food Consumer
Environment
Approaching Epidemic: Brain Damage from Mobile Phone Radiation
International EMF activists published a report listing eleven design flaws in the Telecom-funded Interphone study, including counting portable phone users as unexposed and excluding many tumor types, people who had died or were too ill, and children. They argue it understates brain tumor risk.
Food Chemicals
Foods high in iron
A primer on iron: what it does in oxygen transport and energy metabolism, who runs short of it, and how supplements or hereditary conditions tip into overload. Beef, oysters, shrimp and tuna lead the animal sources; molasses, beans, lentils, tofu and cashews the plant ones.
Diet
How to prevent prostate cancer?
A roundup of earlier reports on diet and prostate cancer, covering plant-based diets, black tea, lycopene with soy isoflavones, and a Japanese study in which men drinking five or more cups of green tea a day were 48 percent less likely to develop advanced disease.
Obesity
Obesity linked to advanced prostate cancer
A Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention study of 84,000 men by Brenda Hernandez found those overweight or obese in young adulthood faced higher risk of advanced prostate cancer. Because it is not a trial, it cannot show that obesity causes the added risk.
Diet
Does obesity raise prostate cancer risk?
Brenda Hernandez examined health data on 84,000 men and found those obese or overweight at 21 had lower risk of localized, low-grade prostate cancer, while heavy weight gain in young adulthood tracked with advanced, high-grade disease in white men.
Watch-List
Video Shows Price of Cheap Eggs: Chicks Ground Up Alive
Hidden-camera footage from Mercy For Animals at Hy-Line Hatchery in Spencer, Iowa shows newborn male chicks, worthless to the egg industry, fed alive into grinding machines, alongside a debeaking procedure that burns off part of each chick's beak.
Miscellaneous
Making a dent in the obesity epidemic
An Institute of Medicine and National Research Council report says 16.3 percent of Americans aged two to 19 are obese, and urges local governments to act: zoning limits on fast food near schools, less screen time in after-school programs, and taxes on high-calorie foods and drinks.
Diet
Mediterranean diet beats low-fat diet in diabetes management
Italian researchers followed 215 type 2 diabetes patients for four years: 44% on a low-carbohydrate Mediterranean diet needed blood sugar medication, against 70% on a low-fat diet. Mediterranean dieters also lost 4.4 more pounds and had better cholesterol.
Disease
Swine flu not likely to mutate into "superbug": scientists
University of Maryland researchers found ferrets exposed to three viruses were twice as likely to catch H1N1 as other strains, and that H1N1 settled deeper in the respiratory tract. Daniel Perez says the pandemic virus will likely outcompete seasonal strains; he calls the findings preliminary.
Miscellaneous
Elmo starts government job
HHS has enlisted Elmo and Gordon of Sesame Street for public service ads teaching children hand-washing and sneezing habits to slow swine flu. The reformatted spots promote flu.gov and will run nationwide on donated airtime.
Miscellaneous
How could doctors convince people of the need to get swine flu shots?
Only 48 percent of 389 Hong Kong health workers surveyed said they would accept a pre-pandemic H1N1 vaccine, citing worries about side effects, efficacy and timing. Similar reluctance turned up in a British Columbia focus group study and US surveys.
Miscellaneous
Warning: Swine Flu Shot Linked to Killer Nerve Disease
A leaked UK Health Protection Agency letter told neurologists to watch for a rise in Guillain-Barre Syndrome linked to the swine flu vaccine. It cited the 1976 US campaign, pulled after ten weeks once the nerve-disease link became clear.
Cooking
Healthy Recipes:Spinach and White Bean Pizza
A pizza built in under 30 minutes on a pre-baked whole-wheat crust, with pureed navy beans and garlic standing in for heavy cheese and topped with spinach, sun-dried tomatoes and Parmigiano-Reggiano: 260 calories and 9 g fiber a serving.
Food
Natural foods "cocktails" may treat cancer
Linus Pauling Institute researchers found chlorophyllin, a chlorophyll derivative, was 10 times more potent than the chemotherapy drug hydroxyurea at killing colon cancer cells, stalling them in the DNA synthesis phase until they died. They hope to pair it with conventional drugs.
Miscellaneous
The Downside of Woodstock's Free Love
A look back at Woodstock lists what 1969 lacked: no texting, no ATMs or credit cards, no credit ratings, no Ticketron, $18 for three days and hitchhiking as transport. The author argues the real difference from today's festivals is the musicians, not the missing gadgets.
Politics
Largest organic factory farm operator once again accused of illegal activity (PR)
The Cornucopia Institute filed a USDA complaint alleging that Aurora Dairy's High Plains operation near Kersey, Colorado fails to graze cattle as organic standards require. Aurora was found in willful violation of organic rules in 2007; family farmers want swift enforcement.
Drug
New drug beats warfarin in reducing stroke risk
A study presented in Barcelona found the experimental anti-clotting drug dabigatran cut stroke risk in 18,000 patients with atrial fibrillation more than warfarin did. Patients on dabigatran were also slightly more likely to suffer a heart attack or stomach pain.
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