Can Your Wind Reveal if You Have Cancer?

old fartScientists believe the gases in our body can reveal a range of diseases such as colon cancer and irritable bowel syndrome.

But attempting to ‘scientifically analyse people’s farts’ – either by using a breathalyser or looking at feces – can prove tricky.

Now one engineer claims he has come up with two methods to do this that are far more effective; fecal fermentation and gas-sensing capsules.

Fecal fermentation involves incubating feces in conditions similar to those found in the large intestine.

To do this scientists place a spoonful of feces in a jar, and place a lid on it. Continue reading →

The 25 Easy Resolutions to Transform YOUR Health

Here are 25 easy resolutions that could keep you fighting fit

Making major lifestyle changes your New Year’s resolutions is all well and good – if you manage to stick to them. But surveys suggest that most resolutions have bitten the dust by February, with one poll from Cancer Research UK revealing four in ten of us ditch our resolutions within two weeks.

It might be better to think small, as tiny modifications are easier to achieve. And if a healthy action becomes habit, it could last a lifetime. Here are 25 easy resolutions that could keep you fighting fit for years to come…

Put your toothbrush in the dishwasher

You can rinse your brush head every few days under boiling water or in the dishwasher

You can rinse your brush head every few days under boiling water or in the dishwasher

Toothbrushes can be a breeding ground for bacteria. Scientists at Manchester University found that the average toothbrush contains ten million germs, including a high percentage of potentially dangerous bacteria such as E. coli.

To help kill these bugs, Dr Ron Cutler, a microbiologist at Queen Mary University of London, recommends rinsing the brush every few days under boiling water. Or you could make a habit of putting the family toothbrushes in the dishwasher (top rack) every week. Continue reading →

The Breast Cancer Racial Gap

Debrah Reid, who has breast cancer, at home in Memphis, where mortality risk is greater for blacks. Credit Ruth Fremson/The New York Times

Debrah Reid, who has breast cancer, at home in Memphis, where mortality risk is greater for blacks. Credit Ruth Fremson/The New York Times

A troubling racial divide in breast cancer mortality continues to widen in most major cities around the country, suggesting that advances in diagnosis and treatment continue to bypass African-American women, according to new research.

An analysis of breast cancer mortality trends in 41 of the largest cities in the United States shows that the chance of surviving breast cancer correlates strongly with the color of a woman’s skin. Black women with breast cancer — whether they hail from Phoenix or Denver, Boston or Wichita, Kan. — are on average about 40 percent more likely to die of the disease than white women with breast cancer. Continue reading →

Archaeologists find 3,200-year-old skeleton with cancer

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Archaeologists have found a complete 3,200-year-old skeleton, pictured, with cancer. The find could help show how the disease has evolved

Wealthy young man’s bones could help show how the disease evolved.

Archaeologists have found a complete 3,200-year-old skeleton with cancer and say the discovery could help show how the disease has evolved.

The remains of the wealthy man, believed to have been between 25 and 35 when he died, were found in a tomb close to the River Nile in Sudan last year.

The bones showed evidence of metastatic carcinoma – cancer which has spread from where it started.

Analysis proved it came from a malignant soft-tissue tumour and spread across large parts of the body, making it the oldest ‘convincing’ example of metastatic cancer ever found, the authors of the study said. Continue reading →

High cholesterol LOWERS the risk of diabetes

New study reveals why taking statins may be harmful

People with high cholesterol are less likely to have type 2 diabetes, which could help explain why taking lipid-lowering statins may trigger the disease

People with high cholesterol are less likely to have type 2 diabetes, which could help explain why taking lipid-lowering statins may trigger the disease

People with high cholesterol are less likely to have diabetes, which may help explain why statins may trigger the condition.

Researchers found rates of type 2 diabetes among 25,000 patients with inherited hypercholesterolemia – a genetic disorder leading to high cholesterol levels – were significantly lower than among their unaffected relatives.

Some studies suggest people taking cholesterol-lowering agents face an increased risk of up to 46 per cent of developing diabetes, with higher risk linked to higher doses of the drugs.

However, experts say the absolute risk of diabetes is lower than the benefits of statins in cutting heart attacks and deaths. Continue reading →

Could olive oil be the latest weapon against cancer?

An ingredient in extra virgin olive oil- oleocanthal- kills cancerous cells

olive oil

An ingredient in extra virgin olive oil, oleocanthal, kills human cancer cells without harming healthy ones

Following a Mediterranean diet has long been regarded as the key to a long and healthy life.

And now scientists may have found one of the key reasons why.

An ingredient in extra virgin olive oil, oleocanthal, kills human cancer cells without harming healthy ones, researchers found. Continue reading →

Frankie the dog ‘sniffs out thyroid cancer’

A dog has been used to sniff out thyroid cancer in people who had not yet been diagnosed, US researchers say.

Dogs have 10 times the number of smell receptors as people

Dogs have 10 times the number of smell receptors as people

Tests on 34 patients showed an 88% success rate in finding tumours.

The team, presenting their findings at the annual meeting of the Endocrine Society, said the animal had an “unbelievable” sense of smell. Continue reading →

New Test Predicts a Woman’s Chance of Surviving Breast Cancer

Images track hotspots in tumours where the immune system attacks disease cells

breast_cancer_imagingA new test can predict the survival chances of women with breast cancer by analysing images of ‘hotspots’ where the immune system is attacking the tumour.

Scientists have employed techniques previously used in detecting crime hotspots to track how strongly the immune system is working.

The test identified women’s chances of treatment keeping the disease under control – those at low risk survived 50 per cent longer before the cancer spread.

So far the test is being trialled only on women with a type of breast cancer called oestrogen receptor negative (ER negative), which affects up to one in three patients and is particularly hard to treat. Continue reading →

Have Benefits of Statins Been Exaggerated?

Advocates distorted statistics and downplayed side-effects say experts

lipitorThe benefits of taking statins have been exaggerated, two leading experts claim.

They say the cholesterol-lowering medicines – hailed as miracle drugs when they hit the market 20 years ago – are not as safe or effective at preventing heart attacks as patients have been led to believe.

Although they can dramatically cut cholesterol levels, they have ‘failed to substantially improve cardiovascular outcomes’, says an analysis of data in clinical trials. Continue reading →

World Health Organization warns people are eating twice as much sugar as they should be

red_sugarAdults and children must cut amount of sugar they consume every day in fizzy drinks and sweet foods to lower their risk of obesity and tooth decay, the World Health Organization said.

People should reduce the amount to less than 10 percent of their daily energy intake — about 50 grams or 12 teaspoons of sugar for adults which is about half the current rate in North and South America, experts at the U.N. body told Reuters. Continue reading →

Olive Oil is the Healthiest Choice When it Comes to Frying Food

olive_oilA new study published October 22 (2014) reinforces once again that olive oil is one of the best oils for cooking compared to other seed oils. Researchers based their conclusion on a few different factors, including nutritional content and the oil’s ability to maintain quality under high temperatures.

Published in the American Chemical Society’s (ACS) Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, scientists note that various oils have different physical, chemical and nutritional properties that can be degraded under high heat and repeated use.

Many cooking oils can become impaired while heating in the pan or frying, and the food that you’re cooking can actually also lose its nutritional content, making your choice of oil critical for producing a healthy dish. Continue reading →

Is Decaffeinated Really A Healthy Choice?

Editor’s Note: We are no longer certain that the Swiss Water Method is safe, so please disregard our recommendation until we have an opportunity to do further research. For now, our recommendation is to avoid all decaffeinated tea and coffee.

pouring_coffee_2Decaffeinated drinks have been touted as a healthy alternative for several decades at the behest of the chemical industry, but these drinks are often more dangerous than the unmodified versions.

Early decaffeination efforts were abruptly terminated because of the toxic solvents that were used in the process (benzene, chloroform, and trichloroethylene). Of course, the F.D.A. is okay with benzene being inside your soft drinks (Coke, Pepsi, etc.), where it can be found in remarkably high amounts, and inside all of your microwaved foods. Money from its industry partners makes all the difference. In the early days of decaffeination, the new industry was not lucrative enough to buy F.D.A. safety studies. Continue reading →

Ji: Plants Cure Cancer, Not Chemicals

veggie_tableUnbeknownst to most, a Copernican revolution has already taken place in cancer theory. Today, the weight of evidence indicates that plants and not chemicals are the solution for reversing the global cancer epidemic.

Our understanding of what causes cancer has undergone something akin to a Copernican revolution in the past decade. Biological fatalism has been the predominant force in medicine over the past half century, where most conditions including cancer were believed predestined ‘in the genes,’ and therefore impossible to reverse. Instead of looking for root cause resolution of disease (RCRD), we resigned ourselves to ‘finding it early’ and in the case of cancer, when doing so (even when it was benign), we waged war against it, quite literally using weapons grade materials (mustard gas- and nuclear materials-derived agents). Now, however, in this post-Genomic era, factors above (epi-) the control of the genes – epigenetic factors – are taking center stage; these include environmental exposures, stress, nutritional factors, and various lifestyle-based variables that are within the ambit of our control and volition, and which are often reversible. Continue reading →