Well I am not sure how big a sample group they had but it seems that the survivors of the Spanish flu of 1918 are immune to this years Swine Flu Pandemic.

University of Wisconsin researcher Yoshihiro Kawaok has discovered that survivors of the 1918 flu pandemic are immune to the current swine flu pandemic, although they are not necessarily immune to seasonal flu (Associated Press).

This seems to confirm further that the 1918 pandemic and the current swine flu are both anomalies; they are more similar in presentation to each other than either one is to seasonal flu. Read the rest of this entry »

Looking to make a change and lose some weight? I have reviewed the top diet on the internet and you can go and read over 200 comments people have made about why this diet has worked well for them, as well as some of the problems.

Tags: antibodies, healthiest immune systems, initial illness, New York Times, pneumonia, researcher, secondary infection, Swine Flu, University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, Yoshihiro Kawaok

If you’re like me, you’ve looked high and low for the weight loss secret that will help you melt the pounds away for good. Does that hidden dieting trick exist? Could a high protein, low fat diet give me the edge I need to stay slim for life?

As I considered the high protein, low fat dieting approach I was surprised to learn how popular it is. Many brand name companies even produce packed meals and snacks tailored to the high protein, low fat dieter’s needs.

Of course, ease and availability are only a small piece of the bigger picture. What I wanted to know is, does it really work? Could adding more lean proteins like lean beef and fish and limiting processed, high fat foods give me the results I wanted?

Surprisingly, studies comparing the results of a high protein, low fat diet and a high carbohydrate, low fat diet have shown both yield similar weight loss, but the protein-focused diet reduces more actual fat mass. This is great news because, when it really comes down to it, I want to lose fat, not just “weight”.

I was also pleased with the reported health benefits of a high protein, low fat diet. Some of the health benefits I discovered that are associated with this diet include reduction in glucose and insulin levels, and a reduction in cholesterol. I also found that Folate and vitamin B-6 levels were increased by the diet.

High protein diets have often been criticized for potentially causing damage to the kidneys. I was happy to learn that many studies have refuted this claim. The official recommendation is no more than 2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight.

Low-fat sources of protein-rich food are easy to locate and, fortunately, pretty tasty too. Beans, eggs, lean meats, and even tofu are excellent sources of protein. Some high protein, low fat dieters add protein supplements to their diet as well.

Even after reading studies that demonstrated that a low fat, protein-focused diet really does work, I was still curious about how and why more protein and less fat produced such great results. As I learned, the magic is in the complex way in which our bodies handle protein.

The first way protein helps with weight loss is by creating a more “full” and satisfied feeling. The real trick, however, comes in digestion. Proteins contain the chemical nitrogen, which the body likes to retain because of its usefulness in producing antibodies.

Because of this, the body would rather turn protein into carbs (for later fuel) instead of fat. It’s the complex process the body uses to digest and store protein that uses up extra energy, also known as burning calories.

Protein is also essential for rebuilding muscle mass, and those new muscles are calorie burning machines too. It seems higher protein and lower fat is exactly what the body wants for high performance.

Tags: antibodies, chemical nitrogen, energy, low fat diet, protein-rich food

The Native American herbal medicine tradition is often overlooked these days in favor of Chinese or Ayurvedic traditions. This is a great pity when all of the herbs used by the native healers grow wild in the USA. Instead of growing them in our gardens, we pay hundreds of dollars to have the equivalent shipped to us in bottles from China or India. At the same time, we ignore many of the other lessons that Native American healing has for us.

Traditionally it was believed that the power of herbal medicine to heal rests partly in the plants, partly in the healer and partly in the person being healed. Today, conventional western medicine encourages us to believe that all power lies with the doctors and the medication. We do not take any share of the responsibility for our own sickness or healing, and that is a great mistake.

While some plants certainly have medically observable effects, it is also true that our attitude when we use a remedy has a great deal of power. Belief that the treatment will help you is important, and so is having a genuine wish to get well that is not undermined by a desire for the attention that being sick can get us.

The power of herbal treatments used by Native American people was reinforced by the trust that they had in the spiritual, almost magical, power of the healers. The medicine man or shaman was chosen according to his birth position in society and his natural talent. Often there would be a family connection with medicine and tribal religion. It might be considered that blind faith in modern doctors would have the same effect, but it does not because the spiritual aspect is missing.

Medicine was seen as a question of dealing with the spirit as much as the body, and many ceremonies were practiced both by healers and also by the person being treated or his or her family. A major effect of the ceremonies that the healer performed was to increase his awareness and concentration so that even without any of the laboratory tests that are done these days, he could correctly diagnose the problem and see the best remedy – not just for the disease, but for the person. Ceremonies undertaken by the afflicted person would cleanse the body and mind to prepare them to make the best possible use of the remedy when it was taken.

This spiritual aspect of herbal medicine is completely ignored today. We take herbal remedies in much the same way that we take chemical medications, assuming that the substance has all of the power and we have none.

In fact, many doctors as well as alternative medical practitioners today would agree that it is the sick person who does the healing, and not the remedy. The body’s ability to heal itself, known as homeostasis, is at the root of all recovery. It works by expelling toxins, fighting back against disease with antibodies. All that medication does is to help the process along and remove obstacles to recovery.

If we can get away from the mainstream western view that the body and mind or spirit are two separate things, the importance of a spiritual aspect to healing becomes very clear. The state of the sick person’s mind is as important in the recovery process as the state of his body.

This does not mean that we have to perform tribal dances or complicated rituals. We can replace them with other spiritual practices including meditation and prayer. But studying the spiritual aspect of Native American herbal medicine can help us shift our focus and understand that in a sense, we always have to heal ourselves.

Tags: antibodies, chemical medications, China, Herbal Remedies, India, meditation, United States

I found this article at the Today Show site on NBC. Celiac disease: What to look for on food labels
Millions in the U.S. suffer from bad food reactions, and celiac disease can be the cause. ‘Today’ food editor Phil Lempert offers a 101 on this condition

Celiac disease, more commonly known as gluten intolerance, affects one in 133 Americans. This lifelong disease causes intestinal problems when eating gluten, which is the common name for offending proteins in wheat (including durum, semolina, spelt, kamut, einkorn, and faro), rye, barley and oats. Gluten is like poison to people with celiac disease.

Celiac affects those who are genetically susceptible. In fact, if one member of a family has celiac disease, about one out of 10 other members of the same family are likely to have it as well. Some may harbor the tendency for a while without getting sick, but then stress, physical injury, infection, childbirth or surgery can actually “activate” the disease. The disease mostly affects people of European (especially Northern European) descent, but recent studies show that it also affects Hispanic, Black and Asian populations as well.

Because of the broad range of symptoms celiac disease presents, it can be difficult to diagnose. The symptoms can range from mild weakness, bone pain, and aphthous stomatitis to chronic diarrhea, abdominal bloating, and progressive weight loss. Those with celiac disease who consistently consume gluten can increase their chances of developing gastrointestinal cancer by a factor of 40 to 100 times that of the normal population. Furthermore, gastrointestinal carcinoma or lymphoma develops in up to 15 percent of patients with untreated or refractory celiac disease. Celiac disease should be quickly and properly diagnosed so it can be treated as soon as possible. Testing is fairly simple and involves screening the patient’s blood for antigliadin (AGA) and endomysium antibodies (EmA), and/or doing a biopsy on specific areas of the intestines.
Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: antibodies, aphthous stomatitis, bad food reactions, bloating, carcinoma, Celiac, celiac disease, diarrhea, food, food allergy, food editor, food starch, free food allergy buddy cards, gastrointestinal cancer, lifelong disease, lymphoma, NBC, on food, pain, pharmacist, Phil Lempert, surgery, the Today Show, United States, www.celiac.org, www.foodallergybuddy.com