Watchman News

Experts predict that as a result of the so-called JUPITER study, which seemed to show that the statin drug Crestor lowers the risk of heart attacks and strokes in those with high levels of inflammation, will lead to millions of people being put on statin drugs.

But the benefits were actually tiny — about 0.72 percent of the statin takers in the trial had a heart attack or stroke, compared with 1.5 percent of those taking placebos.
Instead of a statin drug that comes with dangerous side effects, try these six measures instead:

Stop smoking. Smoking hardens the arteries and increase inflammation. But research shows you can reverse all the damaging effects to your arteries within 10 years of quitting.

Think olive oil, fish, and nuts. People who stick with a Mediterranean-style diet based on fruits, vegetables, nuts, and olive oil can lower their levels of inflammation. It works by increasing the amount of foods you eat that are rich in omega-3 fats, which fight inflammation.

Get active. Exercise a great way to lower inflammation without any of the side effects associated with medications.

Shrink your waist size. If you’re a woman with a waist measurement of over 35 inches or a man with a waist of over 40 inches, you probably have high inflammation. Whittling a few inches off the waist by reducing your portions and increasing activity can go a long way toward solving that problem.

Get enough sleep. A new study shows that elderly people with high blood pressure who sleep less than 7.5 hours a night have dramatically elevated chances of having a stroke or heart attack. Other research has shown that both too little and too much sleep increases inflammation. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine says most adults need between seven and eight hours of sleep each night.

Reduce stress. High levels of stress hormones can lead to the release of excess inflammatory chemicals.

Two scientists told the U.S. House Subcommittee on Domestic Policy that use of cell phones may raise the risk of brain cancer. The concern came from Dr. Ronald Herberman, director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, and Dr. David Carpenter, director of the Institute for Health and the Environment at the University of Albany.
The two scientists cited a major study recently presented by Dr. Lennart Hardell of Örebro University in Sweden, which stated that people using cell phones doubled their risk of developing brain cancer and acoustic neuromas, a tumor that damage the hearing nerve.
The study also showed that people who started using cell phone before the age of 20 years were more than five times as likely to develop brain cancer.
The European Parliament recently voted 522 to 16 to urge ministers across Europe to impose stricter limits for exposure to radiation from mobile and cordless phones, wi-fi and other radiation-generating devices — in part because children are particularly vulnerable to the risk.

Cholesterol-lowering “statin” drugs often come with side effects. The most frequently reported consequence is fatigue, and about 9 percent of patients report statin-related pain.
The results of a new study show that statins at higher doses may also affect the ability of the skeletal muscles — which allow your body to move — to repair and regenerate themselves.
The study examined the proliferative capacity of human satellite cells when exposed to the statin simvastatin. They found that higher end concentrations of the drug led to reduced proliferation, which would likely negatively affect the muscle’s ability to heal and repair itself.

Alarming new research indicates that children and teenagers are five times more likely to get brain cancer if they use cell phones. The study is raising fears that today’s young people may suffer an epidemic of the disease in later life.The Swedish research was reported this month at the first international conference on cell phones and health. It came from a further analysis of data from one of the biggest studies carried out on the cell phone/cancer link, headed by Professor Lennart Hardell. Professor Hardell told the conference that “people who started mobile phone use before the age of 20” had more than five-fold increase in glioma, a cancer of the glial cells that support the central nervous system.The risk to young people from household cordless phones was almost as great. Cordless phones caused a fourfold increase in risk.Young cell phone users were also five times more likely to get acoustic neuromas, disabling tumors of the auditory nerve that often cause deafness.

A pill intended to lower cholesterol levels has been linked to an increased risk of cancer.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is reviewing data from a trial which found a “larger percentage” of patients treated with the drug Inegy died of cancer. The FDA is expected to issue its conclusions within six months.
Inegy combines the widely-used statin drug simvastatin with a new medication called ezetimibe. Ezetimibe works in a different way from statins. Statins block cholesterol made in the liver, while ezetimibe blocks the absorption of cholesterol in the gut.

Just one can of the popular stimulant energy drink Red Bull can increase your risk of heart attack or stroke. The effect was seen even in young people.
The caffeine-loaded beverage causes blood to become sticky, a pre-cursor to cardiovascular problems such as stroke.
One hour after drinking Red Bull, your blood system becomes abnormal, as might be expected from a patient with cardiovascular disease.
Red Bull is banned in Norway, Uruguay and Denmark because of health risks.

Every person who takes up running has been confronted by a “helpful” critic who is more than happy to reel off the reasons running will ruin your life. Here’s a look at three questionable claims about running and health:
1. Running will give you a heart attack or other heart problems. It is true that exercise temporarily raises the odds of a heart attack while you’re mid-workout, but doing it consistently reduces that risk over the long haul, leading to a net benefit. Going for a run most days of the week is doing far more good than bad for your heart.
2. Running will ruin your bones and joints. A study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found no evidence of accelerated rates of osteoarthritis among long-distance runners. Weight-bearing exercise like running helps stave off osteoporosis by maintaining bone mineral density.
3. Running will kill you before your time. According to a study in the Archives of Internal Medicine, running and other vigorous exercise in middle age is associated with a longer life. Not only that, it will make your later years more pleasant by reducing disability.

You need to see this video about the rapidly emerging dangers from cell phone radiation.  
Here Dr. Charlie Tia, a preeminent Australian neurosurgeon discusses what he believes is a contributing factor to this exponential increase in brain tumors among children: excessive exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMF), and electromagnetic radiation (EMR) from mobile phones and other electrical and electronic equipment and appliances.

Demand for granite countertops has increased tenfold over the past decade. As their popularity has grown, so have the types of granite available. And along with increased sales volume and variety, there have been more reports of “hot” or potentially hazardous countertops, particularly among the more exotic varieties from Brazil and Namibia.
Allegations that granite countertops may emit dangerous levels of radon and radiation have been raised periodically over the past decade. Health physicists and radiation experts agree that most granite countertops emit radiation and radon at extremely low levels.
But with increasing regularity in recent months, the EPA has been receiving calls from radon inspectors and concerned homeowners about granite countertops with radiation measurements several times above background levels.

Krill oil is made from krill, a small, shrimp-like crustacean that inhabits the cold ocean areas of the world. Despite their small size, krill make up the largest animal biomass on the planet. There are approximately 500 million tons of krill roaming around in northern seas.
Krill oil, like fish oil, contains omega-3 fats such as eicosapentanoic acid (EPA) and docosahexanoic acid (DHA). However, in fish oil, these omega-3 fats are found in the triglyceride form. In krill oil, they are found in a double-chain phospholipid structure. The fats in human cell walls are in the phospholipid form.
The phospholipid structure of the EPA and DHA in krill oil makes them much more absorbable. Krill oil also contains vitamin E, vitamin A, vitamin D, and canthaxanthin, which is a potent antioxidant.

The antioxidant potency of krill oil is, in terms of ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorptance Capacity) values, 48 times more potent than fish oil.
The astaxanthin found in krill oil provides also excellent protection against ultraviolet light and UV-induced skin damage.

Toronto’s department of public health has advised teenagers and young children to limit their use of cell phones, in order to avoid potential health risks. The advisory is the first of its kind in Canada.
Officials have warned that because of possible side effects from radio frequency radiation, children under eight should only use a cell phone in emergencies, and teenagers should limit calls to less than 10 minutes.
For many years, most government health agencies were dismissive of any risk. But with more studies, a pattern is emerging that suggests people who have used their cell phones for a long period of time are at greater risk of certain kinds of brain tumors.

Food additives and poor diet could help explain poor school performance, criminal behavior, alcoholism, and the growing numbers of Alzheimer‘s patients.
According to Dr. Russell Blaylock, high sugar content and starchy carbohydrates lead to excessive insulin release, which in turn leads to falling blood sugar levels, or hypoglycemia. Hypoglycemia causes the brain to secrete glutamate in levels that can cause agitation, depression, anger, anxiety, panic attacks and an increase in suicide risk.
The glutamate that causes this is identical to the flavor-enhancing monosodium glutamate (MSG) and its chemical cousins, which are found in thousands of food products, further exacerbating the problem.
Repeated hypoglycemic episodes increase the risk of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer‘s disease, Parkinson‘s and ALS (Lou Gehrig‘s). In children, hypoglycemia often leads to hyperactivity. In both children and adults, it can cause violent and aggressive behavior. In older people, there can be mental confusion.
An anti-hypoglycemic diet would consist of lean meat and lots of fresh vegetables. Another key is limiting sugars and starches.

For the first time, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has recommended that some children as young as 8 should be given cholesterol-lowering drugs to ward off future heart problems.

Dr. Stephen Daniels, who is on the academy‘s nutrition committee, says the new advice is based on mounting evidence that damage leading to heart disease, the nation‘s leading killer, begins early in life.
The drug treatments would be targeted at kids at least 8 years old who have too much LDL, or “bad,” cholesterol along with other risky factors, including obesity and high blood pressure.

Cholesterol screening is also now being recommended for kids with a family history of high cholesterol and those who are overweight, obese or have other heart disease risk factors. Screening should take place after age 2 but no later than age 10, according to the AAP.

By Dr. Mercola

Flip-flops may throw off your stride and cause pain in your lower legs and feet, according to researchers at Auburn University in Alabama.

Researchers recruited 39 college-age men and women, and measured how the participants walked on a special platform wearing thong flip-flops. On another day, the same participants walked across the platform wearing their own athletic shoes.

When the participants wore flip-flops, they took shorter strides and their heels hit the ground with less vertical force. When people walk in flip-flops, they apparently alter their gait, which may explain why lower leg and foot problems can occur in people who wear such shoes frequently.
Throwing on a pair of flip-flops to putter around your garden or walk along the beach is an integral part of summer for many people. However, according to Tony Bruno — a certified Muscle Activation Techniques Specialist — wearing flip-flops can not only cause dysfunctional changes and pain in your foot, these changes can resonate all the way up to your head, neck, and jaw. 
This happens because your toes try to grip into bottom of the flip-flop to hold them on your feet. Look at your toes in flip-flops. The distal part of your toe is trying to flex down (planter flex) to hold the flip-flop on, while the other part of your toe (middle) is trying to bridge up (dorsi flex).  

Unfortunately, this is the opposite of what your toes should be doing at that time. This improper toe action shortens natural stride, prevents the natural “locking” of your foot, and forces your hip and leg musculature to work harder, forcing some muscles to shut down. Muscle Activation Techniques is one of the ways to “turn on” the muscles that are shut down from improper foot wear and other compensations. 
Hammer toes are the result of years of compensation from the intrinsic (small) foot muscles and long term flip-flop wear can contribute to this. So if you want to avoid hammer toes, you may want to reconsider wearing flip-flops. 

Are You a ‘Cow-Walker’ or a ‘Fox-Walker’?

One of the classic works on the topic of going barefoot is Take Off Your Shoes and Walk by Simon J. Wikler D.S.C. In it, he explains that improperly shaped shoes — including high heels and pointed toes — are responsible for modern-day foot troubles. In fact, the book describes a study from the late 1950s that found children who were allowed to go barefoot had:

Greater agility
Denser muscles on the bottom of their feet
Less deformed toes
Greater flexor strength
More ability to spread the toes
More flexibility of the gluteal and hamstring muscles

Meanwhile, an article last year suggested that shoes lead to what’s called “cow-walk.” 

Cow-walk puts tremendous pressure on your joints.It starts with the squeezing of your foot inside the shoe and continues with a constant jarring the knees as they’re locked straight upon the pole-driving impact of the heel. This force travels straight up your spine, all the way up your neck.

In contrast, “fox-walking” is the walk of the natural hunter-gatherer — the graceful flow of your body in total synchronization. Your knees are bent rather than locked, the ball of your foot touches the ground first, followed by your heel, in a virtually soundless step motion. 

If you’ve ever seen a baby walking barefoot, they actually display the correct walking technique that we adults have lost touch with.

Should You Go Barefoot?

Bunions are non-existent in barefoot populations of the world, but from a practical perspective, going barefoot all the time is just not an option for most people. But you can certainly do so inside of your home or backyard — and you may even feel some benefits, particularly from walking on a natural surface.

If you decide to go barefoot, do it slowly, progressing to more and more time spent without shoes. Also, when you start going barefoot it is best to initiate on naturally softer ground like grass and sand, not cement or hardwood. When the muscles and joints of the foot are “stable” your body can handle progressively more time barefoot. 
There have been some very compelling studies suggesting that when you are “grounded,” free electrons can easily come up from the earth and essentially nullify free radicals in your body. Ancient philosophies call this life-force energy Chi (also called Qi or Prana) and believe it can be absorbed through the soles of your feet automatically and unconsciously when walking barefoot.

So walking barefoot — on clean, natural surfaces — could be an easy way to contribute to your overall health.

Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity Syndrome (EHS) is a condition in which people are highly sensitive to electromagnetic fields. In an area such as a wireless hotspot, they experience pain or other symptoms.
People with EHS experience a variety of symptoms including headache, fatigue, nausea, burning and itchy skin, and muscle aches. These symptoms are subjective and vary between individuals, which makes the condition difficult to study, and has left experts divided about the validity of such claims.
More than 30 studies have been conducted to determine what link the condition has to exposure to electromagnetic fields from sources such as radar dishes, mobile phone signals and, Wi-Fi hotspots.

Hairdressers and barbers are at increased risk of developing cancer as a result of their use of hair dyes. These risks could also extend to personal use of the dyes.

A panel of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) in Lyon, France reviewed the evidence and found a consistent risk of bladder cancer in male hairdressers and barbers. A second review of the evidence on personal hair dye use found some studies suggested a possible association with bladder cancer, lymphoma, and leukemia.

However, the panel found that the evidence was inadequate to classify the carcinogenicity of personal hair dye use.

Not all fatigue or tiredness is due to thyroid malfunction, so how do you tell the difference?

Thyroid-related fatigue begins to appear when you cannot sustain energy long enough, especially when compared to a past level of fitness or ability. If your thyroid foundation is weak, sustaining energy output is difficult. You will notice you just don’t seem to have the energy to do the things you used to be able to do.

Some of the key symptoms of thyroid fatigue include:

Feeling like you don’t have the energy to exercise, and typically not exercising on a consistent basis.

A heavy or tired head, especially in the afternoon, as your head is a very sensitive indicator of thyroid hormone status.

Falling asleep as soon as you sit down and don’t have to do anything.

If you wake up energized, maintain decent energy throughout the day, are able to maintain mental alertness/sharpness, have energy as needed to meet demands, and your muscles feel fit, you do not have thyroid-related fatigue. However, the more you do not feel like this, the greater chance there is a thyroid-related problem.

The Daily Green offers this handy guide on the various types of plastic:Number 1 Plastics — PET or PETE (polyethylene terephthalate)

Found In: Soft drinks, water and beer bottles; mouthwash bottles; peanut butter containers; salad dressing and vegetable oil containers; ovenable food trays.
Recycling: Pick up through most curbside recycling programs.
Recycled Into: Polar fleece, fiber, tote bags, furniture, carpet, paneling, straps, (occasionally) new containersIt poses low risk of leaching breakdown products. Recycling rates remain relatively low (around 20 percent), though the material is in high demand by remanufacturers.Number 2 Plastics — HDPE (high density polyethylene)

Found In: Milk jugs, juice bottles; bleach, detergent and household cleaner bottles; shampoo bottles; some trash and shopping bags; motor oil bottles; butter and yogurt tubs; cereal box liners
Recycling: Pick up through most curbside recycling programs, although some only allow those containers with necks.
Recycled Into: Laundry detergent bottles, oil bottles, pens, recycling containers, floor tile, drainage pipe, lumber, benches, doghouses, picnic tables, fencingHDPE carries low risk of leaching and is readily recyclable into many goods.Number 3 Plastics — V (Vinyl) or PVC

Found In: Window cleaner and detergent bottles, shampoo bottles, cooking oil bottles, clear food packaging, wire jacketing, medical equipment, siding, windows, piping
Recycling: Rarely recycled; accepted by some plastic lumber makers.
Recycled Into: Decks, paneling, mudflaps, roadway gutters, flooring, cables, speed bumps, matsPVC contains chlorine, so its manufacture can release highly dangerous dioxins. If you must cook with PVC, don‘t let the plastic touch food. Never burn PVC, because it releases toxins.Number 4 Plastics — LDPE (low density polyethylene)

Found In: Squeezable bottles; bread, frozen food, dry cleaning and shopping bags; tote bags; clothing; furniture; carpet
Recycling: LDPE is not often recycled through curbside programs, but some communities will accept it. Plastic shopping bags can be returned to many stores for recycling.
Recycled Into: Trash can liners and cans, compost bins, shipping envelopes, paneling, lumber, landscaping ties, floor tileHistorically, LDPE has not been accepted through most American curbside recycling programs, but more and more communities are starting to accept it.Number 5 Plastics — PP (polypropylene)

Found In: Some yogurt containers, syrup bottles, ketchup bottles, caps, straws, medicine bottles
Recycling: Number 5 plastics can be recycled through some curbside programs.
Recycled Into: Signal lights, battery cables, brooms, brushes, auto battery cases, ice scrapers, landscape borders, bicycle racks, rakes, bins, pallets, traysPolypropylene has a high melting point, and so is often chosen for containers that must accept hot liquid. It is gradually becoming more accepted by recyclers.Number 6 Plastics — PS (polystyrene)

Found In: Disposable plates and cups, meat trays, egg cartons, carry-out containers, aspirin bottles, compact disc cases
Recycling: Number 6 plastics can be recycled through some curbside programs.
Recycled Into: Insulation, light switch plates, egg cartons, vents, rulers, foam packing, carry-out containersPolystyrene can be made into rigid or foam products — in the latter case it is popularly known as the trademark Styrofoam. Evidence suggests polystyrene can leach potential toxins into foods. The material was long on environmentalists‘ hit lists for dispersing widely across the landscape, and for being notoriously difficult to recycle. Number 7 Plastics — Miscellaneous

Found In: Three- and five-gallon water bottles, ‘bullet-proof‘ materials, sunglasses, DVDs, iPod and computer cases, signs and displays, certain food containers, nylon
Recycling: Number 7 plastics have traditionally not been recycled, though some curbside programs now take them.
Recycled Into: Plastic lumber, custom-made productsA wide variety of plastic resins that don‘t fit into the previous categories are lumped into number 7. A few are even made from plants (polyactide) and are compostable. Polycarbonate is number 7, and is the hard plastic that has parents worried these days, after studies have shown it can leach potential hormone disruptors.

Inhaled diesel exhaust triggers a stress response in the brain. This could have damaging long-term effects on brain function in people living in areas with high traffic pollution.
Small particles of soot, or nanoparticles, can travel up the nose and lodge in the brain. It is conceivable that this could interfere with normal brain function and information processing.
10 male volunteers, aged 18 to 39, were placed in a room filled with exhaust from a diesel engine for one hour. After about 30 minutes, EEG brain wave patterns displayed a stress response, suggesting changes in information processing in the brain cortex.

Victoria Inness-Brown’s family was addicted to diet soda. After researching the effects of aspartame, she strongly believed the artificial sweetener might one day lead to their illness or even their early deaths.
So she decided to perform her own aspartame experiment — with 108 rats for 2 years and 8 months. Daily, she fed some of the rats the equivalent, for their body weight, of two-thirds the aspartame contained in 8-oz of diet soda.
Eleven of the females who took aspartame — 37 percent — developed tumors, some of massive size.
For details and photos of Inness-Brown’s amazing experiment, click the link below.