In June 2005, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a whooping cough booster shot for adolescents and adults ages 11 to 64. Children have been receiving whooping cough vaccines since the 1940s, yet whooping cough, or pertussis, has been on the rise for the past 20 years, with cases rising from 11,647 in 2003 to 18,957 in 2004.
While very dangerous to young children, this bacterial infection is far less severe and dangerous in older children and adults with healthy immune system function and it is readily treated with antibiotics. Additionally, like all vaccines, the pertussis vaccine has long been the subject of controversy due to possible complications, such as potential autoimmune dysfunction and neurological damage.
So is a whooping cough booster for adults a good idea? Or is it a case of overly eager inoculators? Well, it seems to depend on whom you ask.
Let’s first take a look at whooping cough. Pertussis is a highly contagious bacterial illness that affects the respiratory system, provoking coughing fits that culminate in a unique, high-pitched "whoop." In the years that preceded what is now nearly universal vaccination of American infants with DTP (diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis), or more recently, DTaP (the acellular version of the vaccine that is associated with fewer side effects), this occasionally serious and potentially fatal illness was common in babies and young children.
The proponents of vaccination point to missing days of school or work and the FDA warns that adolescents and adults who become ill with whooping cough can pass it on to young babies who are not yet fully immunized. They also claim pertussis may be more common than the reported numbers suggest: Proponents of immunization say that the infection often goes undiagnosed (for example, it can be mistaken for bronchitis), and in reality, there may be as many as one to two million cases a year in adolescents and adults.
The hope of many public health advocates is that with widespread vaccination, whooping cough will go the way of polio and measles and be virtually eliminated in the US. But can this actually be achieved?
Those who are anti-vaccination ask: Is vaccination safe? Is it worth the health risks?
According to Barbara Loe Fisher, cofounder and president of the National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC) and coauthor of DPT: A Shot in the Dark (Avery), the same concerns apply to the adult pertussis booster as apply to infant vaccination: rare but possible side effects such as autoimmune and neurological disorders.
With an effectiveness rate for the DTaP version of the vaccine ranging from 55% to 90%, there are many known risks and possible rewards to consider before rolling up your sleeve. In Ms. Fisher’s opinion, if you have a personal or family history of vaccine reactions, convulsions or autoimmune disease, you should definitely think twice before getting a pertussis booster.
I have vaccinated many people, numbering in the hundreds. Today I am against vaccination generally, but can see some occasions when I consider it necessary and advisable. Such occasions are rare.
I can tell you that it is quite unusual to find a family or hospital doctor who really understands the science and the issues of vaccination. Mostly they simply parrot what they have been led to believe; they give the party line.
Ultimately you must decide for yourself and possibly also for your children. I strongly recommend that you do some research yourself and learn more about the pros and cons before reaching a conclusion. These days it is very important to become more informed about health matters because it is no longer appropriate to assume you can trust doctors to get everything right.
Carbohydrates (or carbs as they are widely known) are essential macronutrients. We all need them. Unfortunately there is so much confusion regarding carbohydrates that no one seems to know quite what the story is.
Some people condemn carbohydrates. They are blamed for many things, from making people overweight to destabilizing diabetics.
On the other hand some people swear by carbs. For example, those into high intensity sports are known to ‘carb load’ to ensure energy for endurance. Let’s see how this mixed picture can be clarified without making it complex.
Carbohydrates are foods that the digestive process breaks down into simple sugars. Some carbs break down much more quickly than others. The ones that break down more quickly are the simple carbohydrates. The somewhat slower to break down are called the complex carbohydrates.
Carbs are not inherently bad, as we’ve noted, carbohydrates are essential parts of a healthy diet. However, it is important to choose the right ones. The health secret here is to avoid those that cause your blood sugar and insulin levels to rise rapidly.
When you consume carbohydrates they are broken down into sugars which are absorbed into the blood stream. As your blood sugar level (BSL), also known as blood glucose level (BGL), rises it triggers release of insulin from the pancreas directly into the blood. Your cells need the insulin to be able to use the sugars.
Simple carbohydrates enter the blood too quickly, causing a too rapid rise in insulin. The sudden and large insulin release can quickly ensure all the circulating sugars are used up, resulting in a sharply lowered BSL which in turn commonly results in hypoglycemia (when your BSL is too low). Many people know the unpleasantness associated with hypoglycemia.
That means you should avoid all the following simple carbohydrates: sugar, flour, baked goods, white pasta, soft drinks, fruit juices, refined grains, corn, and starches (including white potatoes). Your carbs should come primarily from whole fruits and vegetables, nuts, seeds, and berries.
White or ordinary potatoes, even though they do have some vitamin and mineral content, are not good for you and eating too many is a big dietary mistake. If you enjoy potatoes, stick with yams or sweet potatoes. They have more nutritional value, and they won’t spike your blood sugar as much.
If you simply must have bread and pasta, choose products made from whole grains. Be warned however, if you are overweight or diabetic, it’s best to avoid all grains completely.
Now for the bad news. If you currently eat a lot of sweets, sugar-added drinks, bread, and pasta, cutting out these foods will not be easy. They put your emotions and your metabolism on an up-and-down rollercoaster that is very much like the effect of an addictive drug.
I encourage you to persist and after a few weeks you’ll feel like a new person. The weight will slip away, your hunger will become more regular and less pronounced, and you will undoubtedly notice an improvement in your energy levels, concentration, and mood.
So carbs are essential but you must choose them wisely. Simple carbs should be avoided. Replace them with whole food, complex carbohydrates like those listed above and you will reap many health benefits.
(This article was inspired by, and draws significantly from, a brief and insightful piece by Jon Herring, Health Editor of Early To Rise, a publication I highly recommend.)
A British study published in The Lancet revealed that children whose mothers were lacking in vitamin D grew up to have weak bones. Pregnant women who suffer from a vitamin D deficiency appear to give birth to children with long-lasting bone problems.
Vitamin D, commonly called the sunshine vitamin, helps build strong bones by regulating the amount of calcium in the body. So a pregnant woman needs sufficient levels of vitamin D (about 800 international units a day) to ensure enough calcium reaches the developing fetus.
The so-called sunshine vitamin is produced in the skin as a result of exposure to sunlight. It is also obtained through supplements and certain foods and beverages. The British researchers found that vitamin D deficiency is common in women of childbearing age, particularly during winter months when sunlight hours are reduced.
The researchers followed the children for nine years and found they still had a lower bone mass than other children. Cyrus Cooper, who was part of the research team, worries that these children are at risk of developing osteoporosis later in life.
Dr. Cooper, director of the MRC Epidemiology Resource Center in Southampton, said a study is now needed to see if supplements might overcome vitamin D deficiencies during the crucial period of pregnancy. "I would suggest a supplement of 400 international units" to help top up what a woman normally gets from sun exposure and diet, he added.
In some climates it is difficult for people to obtain sufficient skin exposure to direct sulight to ensure aqequate vitamin D is synthesized. Increasingly in climates where sunshine is abundant similar problems are being found due to over zealous use of sunscreen and direct sun avoidance. A large measure of screening and avoidance is important however, to maintain protection from sun damage that can result in skin cancer.
An excellent calcium supplement that achieves very high levels of bio-availability can be obtained via our HealthProductsSite. Do take a close look at it if you need additional calcium.
Last Saturday, Jan 7, Australian newspapers and affiliated news services ran stories about the "fresh" fruit and vegetable marketing practices of major supermarket chains. What they revealed was certainly not news to many of us.
Indeed, it is perfectly obvious to anyone who knows a little about growing regions and seasonal fruit and vegetable growing, nutrition and naturopathy. What they revealed was only a part of the nutrition story actually, but it is good to see this much information being widely circulated.
If you are not in Australia don’t feel too smug. The fact is I know this situation to be exactly the same in the U.S., Canada, the UK and New Zealand and I’m sure it is seen far more widely than these.
So what was the story? Well, they told us that fruit and vegetables bought from some supermarkets can be up to a year old.
The Daily Telegraph, a News Limited newspaper, commissioned research on the fruit which was bought last Thursday. They found produce on the shelves of a city Woolworths store like this:
- apples up to nine months
- pears three months old
- grapes three weeks old
- cherries two weeks old
According to the Sydney Postharvest Laboratory, which tested the fruit, it was of extremely mixed quality with strawberries, apples and peaches all showing low sugar levels.
This was not a one-off situation. Woolworths confirmed it sold apples stored for months at a time but said it tried to get the freshest produce possible. Coles also confirmed its apples may have been stored.
Nutritionists and consumers groups were concerned shoppers were being duped into believing the produce they bought was fresh. "Many consumers will not be aware just how long the fruit and veg they eat has been sitting in the supermarket and on the shelves," Australian Consumer Association food policy officer Clare Hughes told the newspaper.
It should be obvious to anyone who understands that fruit simply cannot be grown all year round. The newspaper said fruits that did not grow year long were often treated with chemicals which slowed down their natural ripening agent. Other examples of treating fruit included packing grapes with sulphur dioxide pads to delay the ripening.
Being exposed to additional chemicals is a real problem. Additionally, nutrients decline and are lost during storage time. By the time consumers eat their supposedly fresh produce it certainly contains far less nutritional value than when it was truely fresh.
Sydney Postharvest Laboratory director Stephen Morris said: "… Vitamin C and Vitamin E, as well as anti-oxidant levels, which can be cancer preventing can decline." And he’s almost right, they certainly do decline.
This is an important nutritional safety issue. Here’s three important pieces of advice for those who consume fruit and vegetables purchased from supermarkets. First, try to eat produce that you know is currently in season (don’t trust all the signs in supermarkets though, they frequently mislead). Second, wash everything thoroughly before you eat it or prepare it for a meal. This will help remove the external chemicals that are usually invisible but are normally on the produce. Third, take a complete and balanced nutritional supplement because even supposedly fresh, whole foods found in supermarkets tend to be nutritionally degraded.
Some of us have said for many years that using the contraceptive pill poses very high risks. Admittedly the numbers of women suffering sudden death by heart attack as a direct result of taking this class of medication has dropped dramatically since introduction of more sophisticated formulations, such as the mini-pill. However, artificial manipulation of such important biological function always does some harm.
Now a U.S. study has shown that prolonged use of the birth-control pill might dampen a woman’s sexual desire and could lead to other permanent physical changes. Doctors have, of course, known that the Pill can alter a woman’s production of some hormones including testosterone, which plays a critical part in sexual arousal. But they have assumed a woman’s hormones return to normal once she stops the oral contraceptive.
However, new research indicates there could be "long-lasting consequence of taking the Pill," Irwin Goldstein, lead author of the study in the Journal of Sexual Medicine, said.
Although testosterone is considered a "male sex hormone," women also need a certain amount of it. It not only affects female libido (sex drive), but it is also essential for strong bones and muscles as well as mental health, since women with below-normal levels of the hormone are more likely to suffer from depression.
The Pill affects testosterone in two ways. It:
- decreases the amount of testosterone produced in the ovaries.
- pumps up the production of a protein called sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG), which latches onto testosterone and essentially deactivates it.
The new study found that even when women stopped the Pill for six months, their SHBG levels were still elevated. That means these women would continue to be affected by low testosterone levels.
Dr. Goldstein, a urologist, said the research team is continuing to follow the 124 women who took part in the study. He said a longer study is needed to determine if the changes are permanent, and to see what effects such changes might have on a woman’s health.
Unfortunately Dr Goldstein has the ignorant and destructive mindset of orthodoxy. He is is former director of the Institute of Sexual Medicine at Boston University. Dr Goldstein said, "I guess you pick and choose your poisons as you go through life. You want contraception, so you give up these other things. But nobody realized there were more chronic consequences from taking the Pill."
I find Dr Goldstein’s comment quite interesting. It is an amazing admission of either profound ignorance, since such consequences have been part of the warnings from naturopathic practitioners for many years, or dishonesty. Perhaps it is some of both. You can make up your own mind.