Current Health News You Can Use

Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients, April, 2001 by Joseph M. Mercola

This column will highlight recently published articles in the major peer-reviewed medical journals that have practical relevance for you. If you have access to e-mail you can receive the most recent and expanded weekly version of this column. All you need to do is go to www.mercola.com and follow the instructions. This newsletter is FREE with no ads and your address is not shared with anyone. It is published every Sunday. Back issues of the newsletter are also available on the web site and is a search engine to locate items in the 7,000 pages of information that are posted on the site.

Don't Be Chicken of the Egg

The egg has been much maligned over the years with the popularity of low-fat diets. However, there is little if any connection between dietary cholesterol and blood cholesterol levels. In addition, eggs are an excellent dietary source of many essential (e.g., protein, choline) and non-essential (e.g., lutein/zeaxanthin) components which may promote optimal health.

The cause of recent declines in egg consumption can be traced to a "food scare" that began all the way back in the 1960s. For over 35 years eggs have been the icon for the fat, cholesterol and caloric excesses in the American diet, and the message to limit eggs to lower heart disease risk has been widely circulated. As a matter of fact, people who reported eating 4 eggs/wk had a significantly lower mean serum cholesterol concentration than those who reported eating 1 egg/wk.

Journal of the American College of Nutrition October, 2000 (Supplement)

COMMENT: Eggs are one of the most nutritious foods you can eat. However, it is important that you eat organic eggs. This is not necessarily cage-free or "free range" eggs. Organic eggs will say so on the box (or you will know from the person who raises the chickens). An egg is considered organic if the chicken was fed only organic food and will not have bioaccumulated high levels of pesticides from the grains (mostly bioengineered corn) fed to commercial chickens. One must be cautious and not eat eggs every day as they have high potential for developing an allergy. With respect to preparing the eggs, raw eggs may not be the problem you think they are (see below). But whatever method you use, the less exposure to oxygen and heat, the better the egg will serve as source of good nutrition.

Black Cats are Much More Likely than Lighter Colored Cats to Trigger Allergic Reactions

Researchers found that dark-colored cats were four times more likely to trigger symptoms such as sneezing, wheezing and overall misery than light-colored cats. Compared to non-cat owners, people who let their dark cats into the bedroom were nearly 20 times more likely to have moderate or severe allergy symptoms.

Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (publication pending)

COMMENT: Nothing earth shattering here, but I thought it was interesting how some urban legends, or old wive's tales, such as those about black cats, may have a kernel of truth embedded in them. In this case it seems that those with allergies should avoid cats, but if for some reason they absolutely have to have them, it appears that a white cat would be best.

Why You Should Not Get Flu Shots

First off, toxic chemicals and virus strains grown on living tissue are not designed to be in the human body, even when they're packaged in sterile glass vials. The following items are in the flu vaccine: Ethylene glycol (antifreeze); Phenol, also known as carbolic acid (this is used as a disinfectant, dye); Formaldehyde, a known cancer-causing agent; Aluminum, which is associated with Alzheimer's disease and seizures and also cancer producing in laboratory mice (it is used as an additive to promote antibody response); Thimerosal (a mercury disinfectant! preservative) can result in brain injury and auto immune disease; Neomycin and Streptomycin (used as antibiotics) have caused allergic reaction in some people. When one digs into the vaccine history (check out the Swine Flu vaccine if you want a real horror story) and scientific research (especially in Europe), it quickly becomes apparent that nobody really knows what these toxic stews of chemicals and microorganisms do in the human body.

COMMENT: I have heard some authors state that there is a direct correlation of the number of flu shots one has and the incidence of Alzheimer's. This would be due to the aluminum and mercury that is in every flu shot.

Abstracted Cram www. chetday.com

Let the Sunshine In -- Especially When Pregnant

Although genes play a large role in a person's final adult height, new research suggests that the amount of sunlight that a woman is exposed to during her pregnancy may have a lot to do with it as well. Several recent studies have reported a causal association between stature and month of birth. Perinatal exposure to sunlight has been suggested as the principal factor underlying this relationship, although the mechanisms involved remain a matter of debate. The findings confirmed that "prenatal sunlight is one of the most significant determinants of height," conclude the researchers, although they are unsure of the trimester of greatest influence.