Dr. Sanjay Gupta praises fish oil supplements |

Dr. Sanjay Gupta praises fish oil supplements |

It’s always good to know that doctors take the supplements they’re recommending. It’s even better when the most famous doctor on the planet is recommending them.

Enter Dr. Sanjay Gupta, he of CNN fame and the man President Barack Obama initially tabbed to be Surgeon General of the United States. In a recent post on his blog “Paging Dr. Gupta,” the world-renowned medical correspondent called fish oil supplements “one of the few vitamins and supplements I take,” adding that “there’s plenty of scientific evidence to show [they] can be a powerful tool in preventing disease.”

Fish oil supplements contain omega-3 fatty acids, which have been shown to reduce a person’s risk of heart attack and heart disease and protect against stroke, dementia and other cognitive problems.

Dr. Gupta goes on to say that people should consult their physicians, since increased levels of fish oil can have side effects and do impact certain medications. Good to know, though, that the world’s most famous doc understands how combining a healthy diet with proper supplementation is a benefit to all.

Try these pharmaceutical grade fish oil supplements.  Click Here

Vitamin D may play key role in immune system activation

Vitamin D may play key role in immune system activation

By Stephen Daniells, 08-Mar-2010

Related topics: Research, Vitamins & premixes, Immune system

Insufficient levels of vitamin D may reduce our immune system’s ability to react to infection, says new research from Denmark.

Vitamin D is necessary to trigger T cells – the immune system’s killer cells – into action, and insufficient levels of the vitamin mean the cells remain dormant and inactive, according to findings published in Nature Immunology.

“Scientists have known for a long time that vitamin D is important for calcium absorption and the vitamin has also been implicated in diseases such as cancer and multiple sclerosis, but what we didn't realize is how crucial vitamin D is for actually activating the immune system – which we know now,” said scientists from the University of Copenhagen.

The study adds to an ever growing body of science supporting the benefits of maintaining healthy vitamin D levels.

In adults, it is said vitamin D deficiency may precipitate or exacerbate osteopenia, osteoporosis, muscle weakness, fractures, common cancers, autoimmune diseases, infectious diseases and cardiovascular diseases. There is also some evidence that the vitamin may reduce the incidence of several types of cancer and type-1 diabetes.

According to the Copenhagen-based researchers, activated T cells can become one of two types of immune cell: Killer cells that attack and destroy all cells carrying traces of a foreign pathogen; or helper cells that assist the immune system in acquiring "memory". If the cell is not activated it is known as a naïve cell.

For their research, researchers led by Professor Carsten Geisler examined the expression of a specific molecule (PLC-gamma1) that would enable the cell to deliver an antigen specific response. They found that naïve T cells had very low expression of PLC-gamma1 and that triggering of the T cell led to a 75-fold increase in PLC-gamma1 expression. Their data also showed that induction of PLC-gamma1 was dependent on vitamin D.

“When a T cell is exposed to a foreign pathogen, it extends a signaling device or 'antenna' known as a vitamin D receptor, with which it searches for vitamin D,” explained Prof Geisler. “This means that the T cell must have vitamin D or activation of the cell will cease. If the T cells cannot find enough vitamin D in the blood, they won't even begin to mobilize.”

The findings could help us combat infectious diseases and global epidemics, said Prof Geisler. Indeed, last year the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) confirmed that it will be investigating the role of vitamin D in protection against swine flu.

Source: Nature Immunology
Published online ahead of print, doi: 10.1038/ni.1851
“Vitamin D controls T cell antigen receptor signaling and activation of human T cells
Authors: M.R. von Essen, M. Kongsbak, P. Schjerling, K. Olgaard, N. Odum, C. Geisler

Health: Fat-Burning Drink - cbs3.com

Try this out

Health: Fat-Burning Drink - cbs3.com

Health: Fat-Burning Drink

Reporting
Stephanie Stahl

PHILADELPHIA (CBS 3) ―

numSlides of totalImA AA drink that burns calories and fat to speed up weight loss now has some new flavors.

"I thought I looked good in these pants," said Lisa Valentino-Pinto.

Lisa Valentino-Pinto says these used to be her favorite jeans, a size 28.

"I could fit my son in there," she shows us.

Lisa has lost 170 pounds over the last year, topping the scale at 300 pounds.

"I just totally started working out, made better choices when I go out to eat and totally got rid of a lot of fattening foods in my house," she told us.

She also started drinking Celsius, an energy drink. On the label that claims to burn an additional 100 calories.

"It gives you a boost of energy, it makes you workout to your fullest," Matt Triboletti, her trainer.

Trainer Matt Triboletti is now recommending it to all his clients.

They work out at peak performance the whole session rather than burning out half way through.

Some of the energy boosting ingredients in Celsius include chromium, b vitamins, caffeine and green tea.

"They work together to create this longer calories burning effect in your body," said inventor Janice Haley.

Janice Haley, one of the inventors of Celsius, says they've paid for peer reviewed studies showing it works.

"This last study shows that when you drink Celsius 15 minutes before you exercise, you're going to burn 93.8 more fat and gain 50 percent more muscle," she told us.

Becky Dilks, a dietician at Temple, says the drinks ingredients, especially the caffeine, comparable to two cups of coffee.

"Nothing is going to work like a miracle. There is no one solution to weight loss," she said.

For Lisa, Celsius was an extra boost she needed to lose that last 50 pounds, with revved up work outs and there's an added benefit for her.

"It totally curbs my appetite," Lisa told us.

It was hard work going from this to this just in time for her 40th birthday.

"It's a great feeling. I turned all my friends on to it," she said.

Celsius works best with exercise - but Janice says it will burn extra calories - even if you don't work out.

It costs about $2 a can and is available in some health stores and online
Get your Celsius HERE

Tap water contaminant 'castrates' frogs - USATODAY.com

I have heard people say...
You either have a water filter or You are the water filter.
Read this article about tap water.
It is amazing what a simple water filter in your house can do.


Tap water contaminant 'castrates' frogs - USATODAY.com

By Liz Szabo, USA TODAY

An herbicide that contaminates the tap water consumed by millions of Americans has been found to produce gender-bending effects in male frogs, "chemically castrating" some and turning others into females, a study shows.

Frogs in the experiment were exposed to amounts of the weedkiller atrazine that are comparable to the levels allowed in drinking water by the Environmental Protection Agency, says lead researcher Tyrone Hayes of the University of California-Berkeley.

The study was released Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

In Hayes' earlier studies, atrazine caused male frogs to begin growing eggs in their testes. In this experiment, 10% of the males exposed to atrazine — one of the most commonly used herbicide in the world — actually changed sex; some were able to breed and lay eggs. Nearly all of the other males had low testosterone and sperm levels, which made them unable to reproduce, Hayes says.

The experiment can't tell scientists whether atrazine affects humans in a similar way, Hayes says. But it does raise new questions about the safety of atrazine, which other studies have linked to human birth defects, low birth weight, prematurity and low sperm count.

The EPA said in October that it planned to reassess atrazine's safety, including its cancer risk. The European Union has banned the chemical.

About 75% of stream water samples and 40% of groundwater samples contain atrazine, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental advocacy group, detected atrazine in 90% of tap water samples from 139 water systems. Inexpensive faucet-top water filters can remove the chemical, says Jennifer Sass, a scientist with the group.

Several water systems in Illinois, where atrazine is commonly used on corn and other crops, are suing the chemical's manufacturers, asking them to pay the cost of taking the herbicide out of drinking water.

The principal scientist for Syngenta Crop Protection, the leading manufacturer of atrazine, says the chemical is safe. Company-sponsored studies that met rigorous EPA standards found atrazine has "no effect on frog sexual development," Tim Pastoor says.

He criticized the new study and notes that Hayes tested only one dose of atrazine. A stronger study would have exposed frogs to several doses and noted any trends, he says.

Given that atrazine has survived years of scrutiny by the EPA, Pastoor says, he sees no reason to re-examine atrazine's safety now. "As far as we're concerned, it's unnecessary," he says.

Although scientists still have many questions about atrazine, Sass says, the chemical should be phased out as a precaution.

If you are looking for a simple point of use water filter
Simply click here and it will take you to the various water filters available

or just go to http://www.marketamerica.com/customizeme/ and type in water filters