Thursday, January 11, 2018

Do You Know The 20 Deadly Cancer Signs? (#19 Will Shock You)

 
When you’re in doubt about something related to your health, your best bet is to pop down to the doctor. They’re the experts when it comes to diagnosing health problems, and you’ll usually walk out with at least some idea of what’s ailing you.

But there’s definitely something to be said for learning to recognize basic warning signs yourself. For starters, a little self-diagnosis saves you having to truck into the doctor’s office every other week. For seconds, knowing how to read the health signs may actually save your life one day.
This is very much true for many forms of cancer. Different cancers can manifest in a myriad of ways, and it’s often difficult even for doctor’s to make an accurate diagnosis at first glance. These cancers can also quickly spread if left untreated, so noting the signs and acting fast is paramount.
This is where we come in. While the information contained in this post can never be construed as the advice of a medical professional, it can certainly help you to be more aware of certain cancer signs and take action accordingly. Read on, if you value your health!

1. Shortness of breath or wheezing
If you’re having trouble breathing or finding that your breaths are coming out in gasps or wheezes, go and get checked out — this could be a sign of lung cancer.
2. Chronic coughing or chest pain

A cough that simply refuses to go away, despite colds and flu being but a distant memory, suggests a possibility of several different cancers, including leukemia and lung cancer. Chest pain that begins to spread to shoulder and arm can also indicate possible lung cancer.
3. Swollen face
Patients diagnosed with lung cancer commonly present with a swollen face, due to the fact that lung tumors block the flow of blood to the face. If you have a swollen face that refuses to go away, go and get it checked out.
4. Back pain
Back pain is commonly attributed to inflammation of the spine or local muscular issues, so it’s rare for a person to consider cancer when back pain persists. But many patients suffering from liver cancer report having back pain, as do those with breast cancer — generally due to the cancerous tumor pressing against the spine and chest.
5. Discolored nails
Less-than-perfect nails might seem like nothing to worry about, but certain types of discolorations and imperfections in nails can underlie something more sinister. Nails that lose their pink color and start to turn white may indicate liver cancer, while brown or black dots on nails can suggest skin cancer.
6. Painful or sporadic periods
Women who experience painful or erratic periods may want to get a transvaginal ultrasound, as this is sometimes a symptom of uterine cancer.
7. Regular infections and fevers
Leukemia impairs the body’s infection-fighting cells, making a person more susceptible to infections such as sore throats and bronchitis. Frequent low-grade fevers and even headaches can also imply leukemia.
8. Bruises and inability to stop bleeding
Patients suffering from leukemia often report frequent bleeding from gums and nose, and often see blood in their stools and urine. People with leukemia are also much easier to bruise, even from the slightest bumps.
9. Swollen lymph nodes
Swollen lymph nodes in the armpits, neck and groin can indicate leukemia, which causes the lymph nodes to enlarge.
10. Abdominal pain
A frequently upset stomach and chronic abdominal pain may indicate colorectal cancer.
11. Lower abdominal fat
Rapid weight gain in the lower abdominal area and what appears to be bloating may be signs of ovarian cancer.
12. Swollen or sore breasts
If you have red, swollen or sore breasts, consult your doctor. Any one of these can indicate breast cancer.
13. Variations in nipple size and shape
If there’s something strange going on with your nipples, it could indicate breast cancer. Common symptoms include nipple pain, inverted nipples, red or scaly nipples, and nipple discharge other than breast milk.
14. Difficulty swallowing
Throat cancer, otherwise known as pharyngeal or laryngeal cancer, is often linked to an inability to swallow. Difficulty swallowing can also indicate lung cancer.
15. Pelvic pain
Pelvic cramps and swelling can indicate both leukemia and ovarian cancer, due to the enlargement of the spleen.
16. Fatigue
While fatigue can indicate a wide range of health problems, it’s also a common symptom of various forms of cancer.
17. Bloody stool
It’s fair to say that you know something bad is afoot when you see blood in your poop — but it could be worse than you think. Those suffering from colorectal cancer often report bloody stools, so if this is you, get it checked out ASAP.
18. Jaundice
Yellowing of the skin and eyes, otherwise known as jaundice, can indicate liver cancer.
19. Clumsiness
If you start to find yourself constantly dropping things, stumbling, feeling off balance or losing control of your arms and legs, this may be a sign that a brain tumor is developing. Other common signs are problems with speaking, swallowing or controlling your facial expressions.
20. Numbness
If you begin to lose feeling in any part of your body, including your face, consider consulting a doctor. This may indicate the development of a brain tumor, which is nothing to be ignored.
— Liivi Hess

Wednesday, January 10, 2018

The Noodles That Cause Chronic Inflammation, Weight Gain, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s

raman noodlesInstant noodles are one of the most popular go-to lunch or dinner for people who do not have too much time on their hands or money. Most of you probably do not consider them to be a healthy food, but you do not think that they are bad for your health like a burger or a fast-food burrito. However, according to an experiment done by Braden Kuo, a doctor at the Massachusetts General Hospital, we should definitely think twice the next time we are about to buy instant noodles.

What the Experiment Showed?

The doctor used a tiny camera to check out what is happening in the stomach and digestive tract after the consumption of instant noodles. After two hours, the noodles remained intact in the stomach, which caused additional pressure on the digestive system that is forced to work much longer to breakdown this highly-processed food.
When food remains too long in the digestive tract, it starts affecting the absorption of nutrients. Unfortunately, instant noodles have no nutritional value at all. They contain a lot of harmful additives like TBHQ that can never be good for your health.

The Detrimental Effects of TBHQ

Though it is often listed as an antioxidant, it is definitely not. This is a synthetic chemical that has antioxidant characteristics that prevent the oxidation of fat and oil and it also serves to prolong the shelf life of processed foods.
It is commonly found in the chicken nuggets of McDonald’s, the peanut butter cups by Reese, in Red Baron’s frozen pizza, and many other products. Believe it or not, this chemical is also present in lacquers, pesticides, and varnishes, but cosmetics and perfumes as well. It serves to extend the rate of evaporation and to better the stability.
The FDA requires that this chemical does not exceed 0.02 percent of its oil and fat content. Nevertheless, the best option is to avoid the exposure completely. Namely, one gram of this “antioxidant” can cause collapse, a feeling of suffocation, delirium, tinnitus, nausea, and vomiting. Other health problems associated with it are liver problems, problems with reproduction, and biochemical changes at low doses.

Instant Noodles and Metabolic Syndrome

According to another study, women who ate more instant noodles had a higher chance of metabolic syndrome, that is, 68 percent, than the women who did not. The symptoms they experienced were high blood pressure, high levels of blood sugar, central obesity, high levels of triglycerides, etc. These symptoms make you more prone to diabetes and heart problems. What’s more, the participants who consumed these noodles had a decrease in the intake of nutrients like protein, calcium, iron, potassium, and vitamins A and C.

The Content of Instant Noodles

Monosodium glutamate
This excitotoxin can damage the nerve cells and even cause death. It can also trigger brain dysfunction and problems with learning, as well as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.
Glutamic acid
This harmful substance can cause problems with weight gain and lead to obesity.
All in all, the best option would be, as previously mentioned, to avoid consuming instant noodles altogether. You benefit in no way because they have no nutrients and your exposure to serious health problems is much bigger.
Originally posted: http://simpleorganicmedicine.com/noodles-chronic-inflammation-weight-gain-parkinson/
Filed UnderCancer • Featured

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MERCURY in BLEACHING CREAM


WORLD MERCURY PROJECT.com



JANUARY 09, 2018

Beauty May Be Only Skin Deep but Mercury Toxicity is Systemic

By the World Mercury Project Team

The use of skin bleaching products to eliminate blemishes and achieve a lighter skin tone is increasingly popular in many parts of the world. Complex sociocultural and commercial forces prompt consumers (predominantly but not exclusively women) to believe that altering their skin tone with these products is not only desirable but fashionable. According to market researchers, the global market for skin-lightening products will reach US$23 billion by 2020, which would represent almost 17% of that year’s total projected cosmetics sales.
Regardless of prevailing national and international health regulations, many skin-lightening products contain inorganic mercury compounds. Cosmetics manufacturers include mercury because it inhibits production of the enzyme responsible for making melanin. Product labels may list compounds such as mercurous chloride, ammoniated mercury and others, or manufacturers may add mercury without listing it as an ingredient at all. Regular use of mercury-containing skin-lightening creams carries a very real risk of mercury poisoning.
…these factors leave uninformed consumers at the mercy of an industry interested in hanging on to its high profits.
In the U.S., the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) purports to regulate the use of mercury in cosmetics, allowing the metal to be present “in a trace amount of less than 1 part per million [ppm]” or if mercury’s presence “is unavoidable under conditions of good manufacturing practice.” In reality, however, cosmetics companies “are wholly responsible for the safety of their own products and for making sure they adhere to the FDA’s guidelines.” In other countries where cosmetics manufacturing takes place, the regulatory environment may be even muddier. All of these factors leave uninformed consumers at the mercy of an industry interested in hanging on to its high profits.

How much mercury?

Studies have measured the mercury content of skin-lightening creams in a range of settings. These analyses have detected high concentrations of mercury (measured in different ways) that most often are well in excess of what regulators consider allowable:
  • An analysis of over 500 skin-lightening products manufactured in 32 countries and available to consumers identified dozens of mercury-containing products, almost half (45%) of which had mercury levels over 10,000 ppm.
  • A study of 15 skin-lightening creams purchased in pharmacies and retail outlets in Trinidad revealed that all products contained mercury, no matter where they were manufactured (European Union, United Kingdom, India or Jamaica). One sample contained 14,000 times the FDA limit (1 ppm).
  • In China, analysis of a skin-lightening product identified a mercury concentration over 19,000 times higher than the FDA limit.
  • In Saudi Arabia, 45% of skin-lightening creams tested (n=38) contained mercury “well above” the 1 ppm level.
  • Canadian study analyzed 35 imported soaps and creams obtained at ethnic beauty shops in Montreal—all exceeded the threshold established by Canada (0.6 micrograms per kilogram or μg/kg) for “acceptable impurities.”
  • An investigation of mercury poisoning in Mexican-Americans who used skin-lightening creams manufactured in Mexico found that the products’ mercury content ranged from 2.0% to 5.7% by weight.
What’s worse, skin-lightening products pose a threat not just to the direct users but to other household members who are not using the products.
Skin problems are (ironically) among the health problems that may result from ongoing topical application of mercury-containing skin products, along with damage to the kidneys, central nervous system and other organs. What’s worse, skin-lightening products pose a threat not just to the direct users but to other household members who are not using the products. An investigation conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found “focal elevations” in mercury vapor concentration “near furniture where creams were stored, and near items frequently touched by cream users.”

The immigrant connection

Internationally, prevalence studies show that use of skin-lightening products is extensive, including 26% to 67% of adult females surveyed in various West African countries, half (50%) of adults in Ghanaian fishing communities and almost seven in ten (69%) sampled university students in Thailand. But what happens when individuals from a region where the practice is prevalent migrate to a vastly different socioeconomic and cultural environment?
The answer, as researchers in immigrant destination communities in North America and Europe have shown, is that many migrants take their skin-lightening practices with them. Thanks to an array of informal distribution and social media channels, immigrants also continue to import toxic skin products from their home countries, sometimes illicitly. A survey of pregnant women in Sweden found that 2.6% of the women reported using easily obtainable skin bleaching products. Whereas 14% of the overall sample was foreign-born (representative of the 15% of Swedes who are born elsewhere), two-thirds (67%) of the women using skin bleaching products came from Africa, Asia or the Middle East. All but one woman had been using a skin-lightening product for at least three years. In a separate, qualitative component of the same study, women from Africa and Asia agreed that immigration had not curtailed the practice of skin bleaching, which they described as “a common daily activity, similar to ‘brushing one’s teeth.’” A respondent from Burundi stated that “some women even apply these products to their children in Sweden…so they do not get dark.”
In the U.S., a 2004 survey of New York City residents that measured mercury concentrations in urine identified 13 individuals—all either Hispanic or black women and all but one foreign-born—with mercury concentrations that equaled or exceeded “reportable” levels. Skin-lightening creams were the primary source of mercury exposure in nearly all cases. Additional analyses showed that Caribbean-born blacks and Dominicans were the two subgroups with the highest overall urine mercury levels. The Department of Health subsequently seized skin-lightening creams from New York area stores that contained illegal levels of mercury.
Whereas the New York study identified Caribbean- and Dominican-origin individuals as being at highest risk for exposure to mercury-containing skin creams, the risk profile may be different in other U.S. regions. Minnesota, for example, harbors the largest Somali diaspora in the U.S. (A neighborhood in Minneapolis even goes by the nickname “Little Mogadishu.”) Minneapolis health department officials became concerned about Somali women’s use of mercury-containing skin creams after interviewing seven women who reported using the creams on “their entire body twice during the day and once in the evening, even when they are pregnant or breastfeeding.” Although Minnesota bans the sale of mercury-containing cosmetic products, the investigators were able to easily obtain (at ethnic markets and malls) creams and soaps that contained extremely high levels of inorganic mercury ranging from 4.08 ppm to 33,000 ppm.
Although there are many indications that vaccines are a major part of Somalis’ autism story, it also stands to reason that reproductive-age women’s heavy and long-term use of mercury-containing skin products could contribute to adverse neurological outcomes such as autism.

Risks for children

In the Twin Cities Somali community, autism rates are disproportionately high, affecting an estimated 1 in 32 Somali children. U.S.-based Somali children with autism also are more likely to have a severe intellectual disability than children with autism from other racial/ethnic groups. In Sweden, investigators identified a similarly alarming prevalence of autism in children of Somali background. Although there are many indicationsthat vaccines are a major part of Somalis’ autism story, it also stands to reason that reproductive-age women’s heavy and long-term use of mercury-containing skin products could contribute to adverse neurological outcomes such as autism.
Sadly, women who use skin-lightening cosmetic products appear to be uninformed and, therefore, unconcerned about the products’ mercury content. In the Swedish study, immigrant women described side effects as “overrated” or unsubstantiated and appeared unworried about potential effects on their children. A study of Saudi women found that half of the current users of skin-lightening products “were ready to use any bleaching cream that gives fast results, even if the components were unknown,” and many current users applied bleaching products during pregnancy and lactation.
Mothers’ attitudes might be different if they knew that mercury (whether absorbed or inhaled) passes to the fetus through the placenta and to nursing infants through breast milk. Prenatal exposure to mercury is of particular concern because the fetal central nervous system is especially vulnerable to effects of mercury exposure. Moreover, infants and children can be exposed to mercury if they touch a parent who uses mercury-containing skin products and then put their fingers or hands into their mouths, or if they breathe in mercury vapors from product outgassing.

Both research and action needed

In the current globalized zeitgeist, skin bleaching is on the rise around the world—including in reproductive-age and older women, men and young people. Reasons for using skin-lightening products seem to range from emulating pop icons to pursuing socioeconomic privilege. Struggling to catch up, public health experts increasingly agree on the pressing need to pay more research attention to the dangerous presence of mercury in skin-lightening products, including evaluating the toxicological risks of concurrent exposure to multiple toxic ingredients in addition to mercury. For the sake of future generations, it is also vital to assess the short-term and long-term effects of skin-lightening product use on pregnancy outcomes and children’s health.

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