Fact check: how well does your birth control work?

Hello, how are you today? If you’ve got a uterus, maybe the answer is “not so great” – especially if you’ve heard reports about Donald Trump’s latest appointee. The woman tipped for a key family planning role, Teresa Manning, has previously worked with an anti-abortion group as well as an anti-LGBT rights lobbying group.

If Manning is appointed as deputy assistant secretary for population affairs at the Department of Health and Human Services, she would have oversight of the federal program that provides contraceptive services to low-income and uninsured women and men.

Manning, who is a law professor, has said “family planning is something that occurs between a husband and a wife and God, and it doesn’t really involve the federal government”. I won’t be fact-checking that statement (because it’s tricky to prove who does and who does not have a direct line to chat to God), but rather Manning’s claim that contraception doesn’t work well.

Here’s Manning’s statement in full which she gave in full during a radio interview:

Its efficacy is very low, especially when you consider over years – which, a lot of contraception health advocates want to start women in their adolescent years, when they’re extremely fertile, incidentally, and continue for 10, 20, 30 years. The prospect that contraception would always prevent the conception of a child is preposterous.

Let’s fact-check this.

Step 1: Do an internet search for “contraception efficacy rates”. You’ll very quickly land at this summary published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It shows that the effectiveness of contraception varies depending on which method is being used.

They range from spermicide (which is the least effective, with about 28 out of every 100 women who use it becoming pregnant on average within the first year of typical use) to the hormonal implant (which is the most effective, with one out of every 200 women becoming pregnant in the first year of typical use).

Step 2: Check the reliability of your source. While Wikipedia is certainly not the most accurate site on the internet, the thousands of editors who regularly work there can be more inclined to dig up criticism than the standard “about” page on a website.

The Wikipedia page on the CDC offers few leads about a corrupt, biased organization – rather, the CDC is simply described as a federal agency whose “main goal is to protect public health and safety through the control and prevention of disease, injury, and disability in the US and internationally”. The organization doesn’t seem to have an interest in overstating the effectiveness of contraception.

Step 3: Understand the terms used. The CDC talks about “typical use” and that seems kind of important, so I repeat the same internet search but this time with those two words added in there.

I land at this New York Times page, which has been built using data compiled by James Trussell from the Office of Population Research at Princeton University and also the Brookings Institution. Here’s how they define typical use:

“This is the norm, reflecting the effectiveness of each method for the average couple who do not always use it correctly or consistently.”

That makes sense. It is part of the reason why methods that require planning (eg “Babe, do you have the spermicide?”) or some other action before or during sex (“Don’t worry, I’ll pull out in time”) are much less effective than those that don’t (hormonal implants, intra-uterine devices and sterilization require much less upkeep).

Perfect use, by the way, is defined as:

“A measure of the technical effectiveness of each method, but only when used exactly as specified and consistently followed. Few couples, if any, achieve flawless contraceptive use, especially over long time periods.”

If 100 women were to use the pull-out or withdrawal method “perfectly”, 34 of them would wind up pregnant within 10 years (yep, that’s the 10-year use period Manning mentioned). But even with perfect use, there’s still a significant gap between different contraceptive methods. If those same women were to use a hormonal implant, chances are only one would be pregnant at the end of 10 years.

By appointing Manning, an opponent of Planned Parenthood, Trump takes another step towards his goal: defunding it. As a result, the availability of contraception such as the hormonal implant will be curtailed.

Step 4: Find a sexually active woman and listen to what she has to say. Ask her whether she wants to have the freedom to choose.

Would you like to see something fact-checked? Send me your questions! mona.chalabi@theguardian.com / @MonaChalabi

Fact check: how well does your birth control work?

Brexit, gun control and feminist science fiction on 2017 Orwell prize longlist

Naomi Alderman is the only novelist to make it on to the longlist for the 2017 Orwell prize for outstanding political writing, in a year when George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four is once again troubling the bestseller lists.

Alderman’s The Power heads a 14-strong list of books that span anthropology, politics, memoir and history for an accolade considered Britain’s most prestigious for political writing, which comes with a cash award of £3,000. Described as The Hunger Games crossed with The Handmaid’s Tale, Alderman’s dystopian novel examines the roots and impact of misogyny by reversing the gender roles in a future society ruled by women. The novel has also been longlisted for the 2017 Bailey’s prize for women’s fiction, and shortlisted for the Wellcome Trust science writing prize.

No overall theme emerges from the longlist, which includes four books by women. Helen Pearson, whose The Life Project is an account of the UK’s pioneering cohort studies run since 1946, is listed beside Somali FGM campaigner Hibo Wardere for her memoir Cut, co-written with Anna Wharton. Irish revisionist historian Ruth Dudley Edwards is longlisted for The Seven, one of four of history books on the list. It tells the story of the seven founding fathers of the Irish state.

FGM campaigner … Hibo Wardere, co-author of Cut with Anna Wharton. Photograph: Alicia Canter for the Guardian

Other history books on the list are Easternisation, by the chief foreign affairs commentator of the Financial Times, Gideon Rachman – the winner of the Orwell prize for political journalism last year – who documents the shift of global power to Asia; John Bew’s biography of the postwar Labour prime minister Clement Attlee, Citizen Clem; along with And The Sun Shines Now, a vivid account by Hillsborough survivor Adrian Tempany of the football disaster’s impact on the game and wider society.

Joining them on the longlist is Black and British: A Forgotten History, David Olusoga’s landmark history of Britain’s black community, which has also been shortlisted for the inaugural Jhalak prize for writers of colour.

Fellow Jhalak nominee and Guardian editor-at-large Gary Younge is also longlisted for Another Day in the Death of America, which documents the lives of 10 people killed by guns in the US on 23 November 2013. Author Gillian Slovo described the book as “a gripping account of the conditions that turn so many of America’s powerless into victims”.

Hisham Matar, the Libyan writer who was shortlisted for the Baillie Gifford prize for non-fiction, is again nominated with The Return, his account of his father’s kidnapping at the hands of Muammar Gaddafi’s government.

Tour de force … nominee Rory Stewart beside Hadrian’s Wall. Photograph: Murdo MacLeod for the Guardian

More recent politics is also documented in the books All Out War, Tim Shipman’s account of the 2016 EU referendum; Island Story, Londoner JD Taylor’s story of biking around Britain to discover other sides to UK identity; Enough Said, a look at the evolution of political language by the former BBC director-general Mark Thompson; and The Marches by Rory Stewart, Tory MP and son of a spy, who reflects on his relationship with his father and its political contexts as he walks along Hadrian’s Wall.

Announcing the longlist, the judges – Financial Times comment editor Jonathan Derbyshire, playwright and author Bonnie Greer, writer and broadcaster Mark Lawson and critic Erica Wagner – praised the list for offering “a clear and calm perspective on Britain and its place in the world”.

“The books reflect many aspects of Orwell’s literary character and interests: fiction, journalism, football, language and landscape,” the judges added.

The shortlist will be announced on 15 May, with a winner revealed at a ceremony during University College London’s festival of culture on 8 June.

The Orwell Prize for Books 2017 longlist

The Power by Naomi Alderman (Viking)

Citizen Clem by John Bew (Quercus)

The Seven by Ruth Dudley Edwards (Oneworld)

The Return by Hisham Matar (Viking)

Black and British by David Olusoga (Macmillan)

The Life Project by Helen Pearson (Allen Lane)

Easternisation by Gideon Rachman (The Bodley Head)

All Out War by Tim Shipman (HarperCollins UK)

The Marches by Rory Stewart (Vintage, Jonathan Cape)

Island Story by JD Taylor (Repeater)

And the Sun Shines Now by Adrian Tempany (Faber & Faber)

Enough Said by Mark Thompson (The Bodley Head)

Cut by Hibo Wardere, in collaboration with Anna Wharton (Simon & Schuster)

Another Day in the Death of America by Gary Younge (Guardian Faber)

Brexit, gun control and feminist science fiction on 2017 Orwell prize longlist

Successful male contraceptive gel trial brings new form of birth control closer

A male contraceptive gel has been found to work reliably in a trial in primates, bringing the prospect of an alternative form of birth control for humans closer.

The product, called Vasalgel, is designed to be a reversible and less invasive form of vasectomy and in the latest study was 100% effective at preventing conception. A blob of the gel is injected into the sperm-carrying tube, known as the vas deferens, and acts as a long-lasting barrier.

Previous tests in smaller animals showed the procedure could be easily reversed by breaking up the gel using ultrasound.

Catherine VandeVoort, of the California National Primate Research Centre and the study’s lead author, said: “Men’s options for contraception have not changed much in decades. There’s vasectomy, which is poorly reversible, and condoms. If they knew they could get a reliable contraceptive that could also be reversed I think it would be appealing to them.”

The Parsemus Foundation, a non-profit organisation that funded the work, said it plans to start a human trial as soon as funding is secured, based on the promising monkey results.

“One of the great things about the monkey model is that the male reproductive tract is very similar to humans and they have even more sperm than humans do,” said VandeVoort. “Chances are, it’s going to be effective in humans.”

How Vasalgel male contraceptive works

After decades of minimal progress on male contraceptives, a range of different approaches now appear to be showing promise. A World Health Organisation investigation, published last year, found that a male hormonal contraceptive jab was as effective as the female pill. However, scientists are still working to overcome unwanted side-effects including depression, acne and soaring libido that are linked to hormone-altering gels, pills and injections.

By contrast, the Vasalgel procedure does not interfere with sperm production and hormone levels in the body remain unchanged, meaning such side-effects are not an issue. As with a vasectomy, sperm continues to be produced in the testes, but rather than being ejaculated, it dissolves and is naturally absorbed by the body.

Unlike vasectomy though, in which the tube is snipped and the two ends cauterised, the Vasalgel procedure should be reversible, potentially making it an attractive option for a wider range of men.

“They wouldn’t have to worry about it on a day-to-day basis,” said VandeVoort. “This would be more akin to an IUD [the coil] in women.”

In the study, published in the journal Basic and Clinical Andrology, 16 male rhesus monkeys were given injections of the gel and then returned to their group, which included between three and nine breeding females.

The monkeys were monitored for at least one breeding season and about half the monkeys lived alongside females for two years, during which time there were no conceptions and side-effects, such as inflammation, were minimal.

Angela Colagross-Schouten, lead veterinarian on the project, said: “We were impressed that this alternative worked in every single monkey, even though this was our first time trying it.”

The same team are now hoping to confirm that the procedure is fully reversible in monkeys.

Successful male contraceptive gel trial brings new form of birth control closer

Have Diabetes? Use these 5 Remarkable Foods to Control It Today

Diabetes mellitus is a group of metabolic diseases characterized by high blood glucose levels over prolonged period resulting from defects in insulin secretion, insulin action, or both. Uncontrolled blood glucose levels would typically lead to raised blood glucose levels, termed as chronic hyperglycemia.

The chronic hyperglycemia of diabetes is associated with long-term complications due to oxidative damage, which is thought to cause dysfunction, and failure of various organs, especially the eyes, kidneys, heart, nerves, and blood vessels.

Oxidative damage

The resulting ailments/diseases caused by oxidative damage can always be a major concern for diabetics and their caregivers since they are debilitating in nature, thus, diabetes is termed as a degenerative disease.

Several factors can contribute to hyperglycemia in diabetics, including food and physical activity choices, illnesses, nondiabetes medications, or skipping or not taking enough glucose-lowering medication (for those depending solely on anti-diabetic drugs).

Controlling blood glucose at all time should be a top priority for diabetics.  The following nutritious foods are believed to be beneficial when included in your diabetes diet to help lower blood sugar, reduce inflammation, and gain other health benefits including slowing down oxidative damage.

Sweet potatoes

A certain variety of white skin and flesh sweet potato (Caiapo), has been suggested to improve diabetic symptoms in individuals with type 2 diabetes. Studies have found that the Caiapo sweet potato may decrease fasting blood glucose and LDL-cholesterol levels, as well as increase insulin sensitivity.

In the USA, you can use Beauregard variety of sweet potatoes, which makes up about 85 percent of the production in North Carolina are said to contain essentially the same protein patterns as a commercial dietary supplement known as Caiapo.  A study found glycemic index of raw skin and boiled flesh of Beauregard variety of sweet potatoes to be about 31.

Note: Other varieties including orange and purple ones are not be suitable as their glycemic indices are high.

Soybean, brown rice, and corn

Mix thoroughly equal parts of ground organic soybean, brown rice, and corn in a bowl. Take a teaspoonful with water, twice daily.

The mixture is thought to help control blood glucose levels in diabetics.

Studies are not available at this moment to back the suggestion. Still, even though it is based on anecdotal evidence, no harm for you to try. The glucose-lowering effect of the mixture might due to synergistic effects of various nutrients, including proteins, vitamins, and minerals.

Cinnamon and clove

Studies have shown that both cinnamon and clove can help lower blood glucose in diabetics.       Mix equal parts of cinnamon dan clove. Take a ½ teaspoon with water, twice daily. The herbs may also help improve lipid profile (triglycerides, LDL, HDL, Total cholesterol).

Some people may experience dry throat after taking the mixture and feel warm all over the body. Take the suggested dose of the mixture along with a ½ teaspoon of Gotu Kola, which also possesses anti-diabetic activity. Prolonged used of Gotu Kola is said to help improve lipid profile too.

Coconut oil

A teaspoonful of virgin coconut oil (VCO), taken first thing in the morning is believed to help control blood glucose levels in diabetics. The mechanism how it does that is not known. Take a teaspoonful of VCO, twice daily.

One of the proposed mechanisms for the formation of diabetes Type 2 is downregulation (cell membranes produce fewer insulin receptors) of insulin receptors resulting from high insulin levels (hyperinsulinemia), which in turn, cause the cells to produce fewer GLUT4 (glucose transporter type 4, responsible for bringing in glucose into the cells).

Thus, regular VCO intakes can possibly repair this impaired mechanism, first by joining other lipids to become part of the lipid bi-layer structure. This may result in the process of upregulating (cell membranes produce more insulin receptors) of insulin receptors, consequently, more GLUT4 is produced by the cell. The more GLUT4 is produced, the more glucose is taken in into the cell.

Green vegetable smoothies

Smoothies consists of half-boiled broccoli, unripe banana with peel (also half-boiled), and other green vegetables (optional) can also be very helpful in controlling blood glucose levels. Take a ½ cup, twice daily. At the same time, you may also take ¼ cup of fresh milk or coconut milk.

Studies in diabetics have indicated that broccoli may reduce insulin levels and protect cells from harmful free radicals resulting from metabolism.

As for unripe banana, it offers low glycemic index as it contains less sugar and more resistance starch. Resistance starches are long chain glucose resistant to digestion in the upper part of your digestive system. Even, microbiota in the small intestine cannot metabolize it.

However, good news is microbiota in your large intestine can convert resistance starches into invaluable chemicals including butyrates, which is used as a fuel that provides energy for epithelial cells of the colon (colonocytes).

Studies have demonstrated that feeding resistant starch to microbiota may be linked to improved metabolic health, hence, resulting in blood sugar control.

In fact, the latest research finding based on a study on blood sugar control in women with type 2 diabetes has indicated some interesting results: participants supplementing with resistant starch had better blood sugar control than those who didn’t over an 8-week period.

In my opinion, therefore, unripe banana together with its peel can possibly have a bright future as an agent to control high blood glucose in diabetics.

Have Diabetes? Use these 5 Remarkable Foods to Control It Today

The Corporations Control the Government

With all the infusions of former Monsanto people to government positions (Michael Taylor – FDA Food Czar; Elena Kagen – Supreme Court; Clarence Taylor – Supreme Court; Hilary Clinton – former Monsanto law firm lawyer and never to be president of the USA (thank God!), anyone that sees the light will have their bulbs burned out.

The Food industry has found a receptive congress come in its fight against mandatory labeling of genetically modified foods.

Republicans and Democrats on a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee questioned whether requiring a label on any packaged food including GMOs – or foods grown form seeds engineered in labs – would be misleading to consumers since there is little scientific evidence that such foods are unsafe.
The food industry has made a similar argument and all opinions are based upon Monsanto doing their own testing and assuring safety.

Of course reports like the Eric-Giles Seralini study from France proving the growing of cancer tumors in rats after being exposed to glyphosate for three years, or the Tizhe_et_al., 2014 report showing how oral exposure to glyphosate leads to renal and hepatic toxicity, or the Schultze_et_al., 2014 report from Switzerland showing that despite banning the import and cultivation of GM crops years ago, there are still detectable levels of GM canola growing in the country, or the report furnished by Dr. Stephanie Seneff, PhD at MIT University showing how glyphosate exposure relates to autism in children and how by 2025, half of all children will be autistic, is vehemently ignored.

Congress has shown increasing interest in getting involved in the labeling debate as the food industry has faced a potential patchwork of state laws that require it.

The hearing previewed GOC (Government of the Corporation) efforts to push legislation next year that would reaffirm that such food labeling are voluntary, overriding any state laws that require them.

The bill, introduced by Rep. Mike Pompeo, R-Kan., has the backing of the food industry.

Even Democrats on the panel appeared concerned about the unintended effects of requiring GMO labeling on food packages, though they stopped short of endorsing the Pompeo bill.

Rep. Henry Waxman of California, the top Democrat on the Energy and Commerce Committee, said he is concerned that labeling could be “inherently misleading”.

Rep. G.K. Butterfield of North Carolina, a heavily agricultural district that has lakes of pig doo doo, said he is worried that the costs of labeling would be passed on to consumers. Imagine the horror if food prices rose by $ .01?

Oh yeah, Butterfield has co-sponsored the voluntary labeling bill with Pompeo.

Rep. Frank Pallone of New Jersey, who will replace the retiring Waxman as the committee’s top Democrat, said he was weighing both sides of the issue.

“If the labeling could result in higher food costs, then maybe that’s not a risk we want to take, he said.
Consumer advocates pushing for the labeling say that shoppers have a right to know what is in their food, arguing that not enough is known about the effects of the technology and have pushed several state efforts to require labeling, with the eventual goal of having a federal standard.

Vermont became the first state to require labeling this year, passing a law in May that will not take effect because it did not survive Monsanto’s legal challenges.

Maine and Connecticut passed laws before Vermont, but those measures got killed also. The Maui, Kauai, and Hawaii counties labeling bills that passed “by the people”, also got killed by Monsanto’s judiciary payoffs.

Currently, the Fraud and Drug Administration does not require labeling for GMOs. Michael Landa, head of the FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (now that’s an interesting name for an agency within an agency), testified that the agency believes that engineered foods on the market are safe.

The agency has a safety review process for GMO crops but it isn’t required (Michael Taylor strikes again!).

Landa said the agency does not require labeling because it has so far found no basis to conclude that GMOs “differ from other foods in any meaningful or uniform way or pose any different or greater safety concern than foods developed by traditional breeding” (spoken by a true “hooker”!).

Genetically modified seeds are engineered to have certain traits, like resistance to the inundation of herbicides or the proliferation of plant diseases and the majority of the country’s corn and soybean crop, now approved to be sprayed with the active ingredient of Agent Orange, is going to animal feed.

Modified corn and soybeans are also made into the ever-popular processed food ingredients like corn oil, cornstarch, high fructose corn syrup and soybean oil.

Labeling advocates say the issue is about transparency, not safety.

Scott Faber, head of the national Just Label It campaign, testified that consumers want to know what they are buying and how the food was produced. He said that advocates are not seeking a warning label, but a “factual, non-judgmental disclosure” on the back of all food packages that contain GMO ingredients.

The food industry has faced pressure from all retailers as consumer awareness of GMOs has increased and the conversation about modified ingredients has grown louder.

Whole Foods, in an attempt to give their consumers the impression that they care, announced in 2013 that it planned to label GMO products in all of its U.S. and Canadian stores by 2018.

Yet, over a year later they still sell all the same products. One would think that they would have started inquiring from all their suppliers and not reordered products not labeled nonGMO or Certified Organic. Do you think their lack of integrity caused their profits to go down the toilet?

And last but not least, Thomas W. Dempsey Jr., president and CEO of the Snack Food Association said, “Mandatory labels would disrupt the supply chain”.

On several occasions, Dr. Stephanie Seneff appeared as a guest on my radio show discussing her finding the connection between glyphosate and autism and how organic sulfur crystals reverse autism. Those show can be heard on my website, www.healthtalkhawaii.com, under Podcasts.

But now, yet another winner. Hawaii is in the process of installing a rail system. Unfortunately, it is steel on steel with no other choices. Why? Because all involved – politicians and corporate hookers – stand to profit from kickbacks.

Check this out: in a City Council rail hearing, Councilman Ikaika Anderson, aka Pinocchio, said, “When I spoke with the FTA I was told that if Hawaii chose other than steel on steel the federal government would take back the $ 200 million they gave to Hawaii for their rail project”. He said this early in 2011.

Having this on tape I asked him via email, who he spoke with at the FTA and where I could find written substantiation of his comment. He refused to answer multiple times.

So I did my own research and in 2015 I connected to Terease McMillen at the FTA. I was told that the Feds would take their money back only after we signed our agreement with them, which happened at the end of 2012. What that meant was that we had almost two years to change from a venue costing $ 300 million a mile to $ 65 million a mile.

This is a classic case of political corruption and dishonesty all to make a buck at the expense of the people.

To add insult to injury, the Honolulu City Council wants approval of serving three to four consecutive four year terms. Hell, it sure beats a day job!

Aloha!

To learn more about Hesh, listen to and read hundreds of health related radio shows and articles, and learn about how to stay healthy and reverse degenerative diseases through the use of organic sulfur crystals and the most incredible bee pollen ever, please visit www.healthtalkhawaii.com, or email me at heshgoldstein@gmail.com or call me at (808) 258-1177. Since going on the radio in 1981 these are the only products I began to sell because they work.
Oh yeah, going to www.asanediet.com will allow you to read various parts of my book – “A Sane Diet For An Insane World”, containing a wonderful comment by Mike Adams.
In Hawaii, the TV stations interview local authors about the books they write and the newspapers all do book reviews. Not one would touch “A Sane Diet For An Insane World”. Why? Because it goes against their advertising dollars.

The Corporations Control the Government

"Birth control is a political act": the pre-Trump contraception rush starts now

On Wednesday morning, gynecologist Deborah Ottenheimer went to work determined not to talk about the election. “I never do that,” she says. “You just never know where people are at.” But as her doors opened, she quickly realised she wouldn’t have a choice. “Every single patient that walked in burst into tears,” she says. “Women and girls were sobbing. Just sobbing. Everybody was wrecked.”

Ottenheimer’s New York City clinic treated nearly 40 patients the day after Donald Trump was elected, and the only thing more unusual than their tears was that so many of them had the same question: “Should I get an IUD?”

Feminists, queer and transgender activists gather to protest against Donald Trump. Photograph: Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images

This tiny T-shaped plastic-and-copper coil, designed to stop an egg and sperm from surviving in the womb, has become an unlikely weapon on the frontline of women’s rights. “These are not people who were thinking about it already – or were unhappy with their current method,” Ottenheimer says. “These people were afraid.”

In fear of what a Trump presidency might mean for reproductive rights, thousands of women have taken to social media to urge each other to seek out access to IUDs, a form of birth control that can last anywhere from three to 12 years. Trump has promised to defund Planned Parenthood, the reproductive health organisation that provides contraception to many women around the US, and dismantle the Affordable Care Act, which guarantees access to contraception. Depending on the brand, an IUD inserted before Trump’s inauguration guarantees that a woman is protected from unwanted pregnancy for the duration of his presidency and beyond. “It’s a ‘fuck you’ to this president to get birth control that will outlast him,” said Margot Judge, a 25-year-old from New York who is considering getting an IUD this week.

Since the election, Ottenheimer says she has continued to be overwhelmed with requests about the device, and she is not alone. Planned Parenthood has reported a spike in inquiries while Google reported a “massive peak” in searches for “IUD” this week. And while this step towards self-protection is a measure of reassurance, plenty of women remain deeply uncertain about what the future holds.

Planned Parenthood supporters rally for reproductive healthcare. Photograph: Nick Ut/AP

“For me, my motivation is fear,” says Jennifer, 35, from Maryland. “For the past eight years, we’ve seen expanded healthcare and more acknowledgement of reproductive rights – but I remember how tense things were under George Bush. So, for me, there’s a sense that I need to protect myself because I don’t think lawmakers will.”

Jennifer has thought about getting an IUD before, but feels urged to get one now. She says that the panic she has noticed among women after the election has left her feeling unsettled about making a decision. “I don’t like the feeling of being painted into a corner. I feel like I am being rushed, like I’m having to make a decision right now that I would like to be more thoughtful about.”

Even without the threat of a pussy-grabbing president, IUDs make a lot of women anxious. They are the third most popular form of contraception in the US – and the most effective form of reversible contraception available – but it requires a medical procedure, and tales of perforated uteruses, heavy bleeding and painful cramps have long sent women running to the pill instead.

A mass rally on the fourth day after the election. Photograph: Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images

However, gynaecologists insist complications are rare. Ottenheimer says that, while there are other forms of long-term birth control such as the implant (inserted in the arm, lasting up to 3 years), IUDs are a “really good option” for most women. Clare Lyons, a registered nurse who urged women to get an IUD on the night of the election, says that IUDs are “incredibly safe” and that women should get informed about whether it might be a good option for them. “Ultimately, my message is to make an appointment with a provider; figure out what is best for you.”

Ayelet Bitton, a 25-year-old software engineer from San Francisco, has read a few horror stories about IUDs, which have always held her back from getting one. But now she is re-evaluating. “I used to say I didn’t want to deal with getting it inserted, or the fear that it might be dislodged. But now I want to reconsider all of that,” she says. “Because the stress of something going wrong with my IUD is a lot less than the stress I’ll have if this other stuff happens.”

Hannah Weinberger is also reconsidering the downsides. The 26-year-old from Amaeus, Pennsylvania, is an avid cyclist. She was once put off having the procedure to avoid physical side-effects that could stop her from cycling. But now that has changed. “My strong feelings about being able to take control of my body mean that temporary discomfort doesn’t [matter] very much to me any more.”

Most women cite two reasons for wanting to get an IUD: wanting to take advantage of their current right to free contraception, and uncertainty about rising costs of contraception in the future. But there’s another reason, too.

A #GOPHandsOffMe protest outside Trump Tower. Photograph: Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images

“Contraception is a feminist issue,” Weinberger says. “Getting an IUD means I have a tool in my body that the government can’t touch. Making my own choice about what my body can and cannot do in the face of an administration that wants to change that is a political act.”

And let’s be clear, this administration does very much want to change that. Although Trump has flip-flopped on abortion and has seemingly softened his perspective on Obamacare, Mike Pence, his beady-eyed running mate, has been vehemently opposed to reproductive rights throughout his political career. He signed a whopping eight anti-abortion bills into law in fewer than four years as governor of Indiana, including one that mandated women hold funerals for their aborted foetuses and allowed hospitals to deny abortions to women even if they would die without care.

So, while an IUD is a form of armour that women can use to shield themselves against Pence and Trump’s crusade to control their bodies, there’s still reason for women to be anxious about their future in Trumpland.

“Even if I decide to get an IUD today,” Jennifer says, “how do I know that in a few years I’ll be able to see someone to get it taken out?”

"Birth control is a political act": the pre-Trump contraception rush starts now

3 Ways To Control Sugar Cravings

3 Ways To Control Sugar Cravings

Control and reverse hypoglycemia NATURALLY

If symptoms of hypoglycemia increase discomfort, patients generally take a teaspoonful of sugar. However downward fluctuating blood glucose levels does not require eating more sugar. On the contrary, all dietary recommendations and home remedies for controlling hypoglycemia do not revolve around taking higher sugar intake but in trying to stabilize sugar levels, so that the body enjoys a constant source of energy during the day.

So, check out what nature provides:

Licorice root:
Licorice root is a very good natural cure for alleviating symptoms of low blood sugar. It helps increase blood sugar levels in the body. Cut the root in pieces and add to boiling water and boil this for five minutes, then drink it once a day.

Licorice also relieves stress related to low blood sugar levels. Person with high blood pressure should avoid licorice as it is known to increase blood pressure. Even otherwise, it should be taken in moderate quantity.
Apple:
Apples are very effective for people with low blood sugar as it is rich in chromium and magnesium, both of which are known to regulate blood sugar level. Two apples should be taken after meal everyday for better results.
Wild yam: Wild yam is a very effective natural cure for low blood sugar, as it controls the level of insulin in the body, thereby increasing the sugar level in the blood. Yam should be boiled in water and left for an hour before drinking. The dried powdered root can be made into a paste, and this paste should be added to a glass of warm water and consumed.

Molasses:
Molasses is a very useful natural cure for low blood sugar. Drinking extract of molasses provides the required glucose during exertion. Take a little molasses and add to a glass of warm water, drink this at least twice daily to improve blood sugar level.

Dandelion root:
Dandelion root contains large amounts of calcium, which helps in proper functioning of pancreas and liver, which helps to keep the correct blood sugar levels. Powder the root and mix the powder in a glass of warm water, take this mix daily for better results. A concoction made of this root can be taken twice daily.

Parsley:
Parsley helps in improving the functions of liver and pancreas, making it a very effective natural cure for low blood sugar. Juice extracted from the leaves of parsley can be taken daily to rejuvenate liver and pancreas. Parsley leaves can also be steeped in hot water and taken internally once a day for beneficial results in Hypoglycemia.

Tomatoes:
Tomatoes contains lycopene which is a potent antioxidant which help in improving functioning of liver and pancreas. Drinking fresh tomato juice, twice daily, for two weeks, is very effective way to alleviating pancreatic disorders which cause low blood sugar. Fresh tomatoes also can be included in the diet for better results.

Sunflower seeds:

Sunflower seeds are a rich source of poly-phenols, which help remove destructive oxidants from liver and pancreas. In particular, chlorgenic acid promotes synthesis of glycogen in the liver and is very beneficial in regulating sugar levels in the blood. Sunflower seeds can be eaten in raw form or can be powdered and added to water, taking sunflower seeds daily, is a very effective natural cure for low blood sugar.

Pumpkin seeds:
Pumpkin seeds are a rich source of several micronutrients including iron, magnesium and manganese. It is also known to prevent deposition of calcium oxalate in the kidney and helps in regulating functioning of kidney. This helps regulating the blood sugar level and is effective in treatment of Hypoglycemia. Powder pumpkin seeds and mix in a glass of milk or warm water and drink for beneficial results.

Gentian root:
Gentian root is very useful natural cure for low blood sugar as it boosts the sugar level in the body. Take gentian root and dip in boiling water, to make a concoction and drink this twice daily.

Barley:
Barley is a first-rate food for patients if type 2 diabetes or people diagnosed with low blood sugar. Barley is a rich source of essential minerals, vitamins and dietary fibers. In particular, Barley contains magnesium and beta-glucan which helps in regulating glucose absorption in blood.

Balanced meal for low blood sugar individuals:
An ideal diet for low blood sugar patient should be well balanced with enough nuts, fruits and fresh vegetables and carbohydrates. Seeds and nuts should be taken in raw form and grains and seeds, like buckwheat, should be cooked. Beans and legumes will provide balanced protein as well.

Chromium:
Research has shown that a balanced intake of chromium is very important for regulating GTF (Glucose Tolerance Factor), which is responsible for balanced metabolism of glucose. Thus chromium helps stabilize blood sugar both in cases of hypo and hyperglycemia. A normal adult requires a daily chromium intake of 200 mcg to maintain optimal blood sugar level in the body. This can be taken as a supplement or from food rich in chromium such as brewer’s yeast, potatoes, peas, whole wheat bread, rye bread and wheat germ.

Magnesium:
Magnesium helps prevent falling of blood sugar levels in people with hypoglycemia. A healthy adult requires round 340 mg of magnesium in his daily intake. Food rich in magnesium include artichoke, banana, dry figs, barley, oat bran, prune juice, almonds, brazil nuts, cashews, beans, broccoli, pumpkin seeds, soybean, spinach, sweet potatoes and potatoes.

Vitamin B3:
Vitamin B3 (niacin) has been found beneficial in regulating level of blood sugar in hypoglycemic people. Food rich in Vitamin B3 include portabella mushrooms, asparagus, green peas, sunflower seeds, and avocados.

Dietary fibers:
Dietary fibers allow sugars to be absorbed more slowly, which regulate glucose in the blood. Person with low blood sugar should consume around 25-40 g of dietary fiber per day. Psyllium, oat bran, apple pectin, whole meal cereals and ground flax seed are rich in fiber.

Proteins: Proteins provide the body with a more consistent source of energy that sugar or fat. This is because they are absorbed less rapidly than fats (lipids) and sugars (carbohydrates). Protein intake should constitute 15-20% of total energy intake while fat should constitute around 30%. Always keep nuts and seeds, handy to fill your protein needs on the go. Bear in mind that all vegetables contain protein. They are the same as

Proteins provide the body with a more consistent source of energy that sugar or fat. This is because they are absorbed less rapidly than fats (lipids) and sugars (carbohydrates). Protein intake should constitute 15-20% of total energy intake while fat should constitute around 30%. Always keep nuts and seeds, handy to fill your protein needs on the go. Bear in mind that all vegetables contain protein. They are the same as protein found in flesh foods except that are far cleaner.

Other Vitamins:
Vitamins like C, E and B complex help normalize blood sugar level in the body, thus making it a very effective natural cure for low blood sugar. The prescribed daily doses are: Vitamin C (2000- 5000mg), Vitamin B (50mg) and Vitamin E (1600 IU). Increase the vitamins intake in the diet, to maintain proper blood sugar levels.

Preventing fluctuations in blood glucose levels

Taking regular small snacks, (about once every two hours) helps prevent fluctuations in blood glucose levels. Snacks should be rich in carbohydrates (15-30 g per snacks), dietary fibers (2-3 g) and proteins (3-9 g). It is important to take a snack early, before feeling the loss of energy. Eat a little more if you exercise.
Foods to be avoided in Low Blood sugar
Concentrated sugars get rapidly absorbed in blood and cause a sudden increase in blood sugar followed by a sharp decline which can be very dangerous. Concentrated sugars are the most important food content to be avoided. One must try to completely eliminate intake of concentrated sugar. If it cannot be eliminated totally,
at least it should not be eaten alone. In any case, the amount of sugars should not exceed 5 g per serving.

Other foods to avoid include
♣ Refined and processed foods.
♣ Canned foods
♣ Alcohol (especially on empty stomach), tea and caffeinated foods
♣ Carbonated drinks
♣ Foods high on salt
♣ Drink plenty of water: People with low blood sugar should drink plenty of water to keep the body hydrated and to flush out toxic radicals from the body. Drinking water also helps in cleaning bowel movements by dissolving surplus intake of dietary
fibers.
♣ Take small and regular meals: Person with low blood sugar levels should take small and regular meals throughout the day rather than taking three large meals a day. This helps in keep the levels of sugar in the blood to normal.
♣ Take meals at fixed times. This distributes energy absorption equally throughout the day. It is important not to skip any meals and not to fast.
♣ Physical activity: Exercise and relaxation are good ways to reduce stress that is a primary cause of hypoglycemia attack. Exercise promotes release of adrenalin and other vital hormones that help regulate and control blood sugar. Regular exercise is recommended. Exercise regularly but moderately. Avoid strenuous or intense exercises.
♣ Relaxation activities: Hypoglycemia patient should avoid stress and relax as much as possible. Yoga, Meditation, progressive muscle relaxation and deep breathing exercises are beneficial in curbing low blood sugar induced stress.
♣ Sufficient sleep should be ensured.

Conclusion
If symptoms of hypoglycemia are seen, always consult a naturopathic doctor. The MDs are brainwashed by the pharmaceutical industry and can seldom be trusted. Hypoglycemia can usually be cured if the exact cause is diagnosed. Hypoglycemia is also cured in many cases by a simple reorganization of the foods you eat.

Aloha!

To learn more about Hesh, listen to and read hundreds of health related radio shows and articles, and learn about how to stay healthy and reverse degenerative diseases through the use of organic sulfur crystals and the most incredible bee pollen ever, please visit www.healthtalkhawaii.com, or email me at heshgoldstein@gmail.com or call me at (808) 258-1177. Since going on the radio in 1981 these are the only products I began to sell because they work.
Oh yeah, going to www.asanediet.com will allow you to read various parts of my book – “A Sane Diet For An Insane World”, containing a wonderful comment by Mike Adams.
In Hawaii, the TV stations interview local authors about the books they write and the newspapers all do book reviews. Not one would touch “A Sane Diet For An Insane World”. Why? Because it goes against their advertising dollars.

Control and reverse hypoglycemia NATURALLY

6 Ways to Control Pet Allergens in Your Home

Your pet is like a member of the family, but friends and family with allergies might have a tough time with this particular family member when visiting. However, there are things you can do to reduce dander in your home, whether you have a dog, cat, or even a bird.. Watch the video to learn ways to minimize allergens in your home to help reduce the risk of developing allergies yourself and trigger allergy symptoms in visitors.

RELATED: 15 Hypoallergenic Dogs and Cats

Don’t have time to watch? Read the full transcript: 

Minimize contact: Keep your pet outdoors as much as possible. Also bar pets from bedrooms where people with allergies sleep.

Keep pets off the couch: Keeping pets off carpets, upholstered furniture, and beds can reduce exposure to dander.

Clean, clean, clean: Dusting as often as possible will keep pet at bay. And be sure to use vacuums equipped with a high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter or double bags.

RELATED: 12 Ways Pets Improve Your Health

Swap carpet for wood: Replacing wall-to-wall carpets with wood floors will make it easier to remove dander.

Bathe your pet: Research shows that frequently bathing your pet reduces the allergens found in their dander.

Clean the cages: Birdcages and rodent cages should be cleaned at least once a week.  Litter boxes should be cleaned frequently and moved out of living areas. If possible, keep cages and boxes in a shed or garage outside.

6 Ways to Control Pet Allergens in Your Home

Oregano & Rosemary Control Blood Sugar Spike & Prevent Diabetes

Oregano & Rosemary Control Blood Sugar Spike & Prevent Diabetes

How We Control Our Genetic Expression

Genetics and Epigenetics

There are certain genes that have been passed on from previous generations that we cannot change no matter how hard we try.  These may include eye colour, skin colour, height, etc.  They are ingrained in our DNA.   DNA is made out of two long strands that contain genetic information.   A gene is a part of DNA that is passed down from your parents. To be more specific, genes are grouped into units called chromosomes.  As you may recall from your high school science class, humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes. One set of chromosomes for each pair comes from a person’s mother, and the other set of chromosomes comes from the father.  Genetics can be defined as “The study of genes, heredity, and genetic variation in living organisms.”   1   It must be noted that while you have inherited your genes, many factors play a role in determining how your genes are expressed.  Although we may have the gene that could trigger a disease, lifestyle, diet and environmental factors play a much greater role in that issue actually coming to fruition.   This is what is known as “epigenetics”.  This emerging field has garnered the attention of cell biologists, doctors, scientists, and nutritionists.  What many people referred to as a life sentence for unfavourable gene formation is now being modified and altered by the way in which you live your life.  This puts the onus and accountability back in the hands of the individual and the decisions they make each and every day.

In my practice, I tend to hear and see people who blame their lack of progress on their parents, siblings, genetic makeup, etc.  They say they are big boned, hot tempered, impatient, or moody.  As I have just described, this may be true for some people but the typical ratio I see is 10 percent to 20 percent of your results are genetic while 80 percent to 90 percent are lifestyle, environmental and nutrition based.  This means that you can control around 80 percent of what happens to you.   “Modern genetics has expanded beyond inheritance to studying the function and behavior of genes. Gene structure and function, variation, and distribution are studied within the context of the cell, the organism (e.g. dominance) and within the context of a population. Genetics has given rise to a number of sub-fields including epigenetics and population genetics. Organisms studied within the broad field span the domain of life, including bacteria, plants, animals, and humans.”  2

We must take a step back and first look at how your parent’s and even your grandparent’s lifestyle and nutrition decisions affected your DNA.  The science is just starting to show that their decisions on type of food, living environment, etc. played a significant role in forming your DNA sequence.  Professor Mark Hanson, University of Southampton, says, “Aspects of our early lives stay with us for the rest of our lives and set the control mechanisms of our body processes such as appetite and our predisposition to lay down fat or exercise. These are set early and are affected by a mother’s diet, physical composition and even aspects of a father’s lifestyle.  The environment during development affects gene expression and thereby the setting of physiological control systems that stay with us for the rest of our lives. They affect the way the genes we have inherited from our parents actually operate and can be influenced by aspects of mother’s and father’s diet and lifestyle.” 3 Now that we can thank our parents for setting the genes in motion with their decisions, we will also review how our own lifestyle actually expresses them.

Responsibility and ownership of your own life will invariably fall back on you and that is exactly how it should be.  We control our destiny and I am going to explain how our own decisions actually alter our genes and the subsequent results.  “In terms of heart disease, we were able to show, for the first time, that it could be reversed by changing lifestyle, and these improvements occurred much more quickly than had once been thought possible. Usually within hours, and almost always within days to weeks, your heart can receive more blood flow. As a result, we found over a 90 percent reduction in the frequency of angina or chest pain.  People not only felt better but also, in most cases, they were better in every way we could measure. Their hearts received more blood flow and pumped more normally. The arteries that feed the heart became measurably less clogged in one year and showed even more improvement after five years. Using cardiac positron emission tomography (PET) scans, we found that 99 percent of the patients in our research were able to stop or reverse the progression of heart disease simply by changing lifestyle, without drugs or surgery. These findings may capture people’s imagination—so often, people think there is not much they can do, what I call genetic nihilism: “Oh, it’s all in my genes, what can I do?” Well, it turns out you can do a lot, more quickly than we had once realized and to a much greater degree than had been thought possible.“ 4  This research is revolutionary and confirms the suspicions that your daily decisions affect the chances of activating specific genes and consequently serious illness.

Mike, FDN, PT

www.mikedaciuk.com

info@mikedaciuk.com

About the Author:

After completing his Degree at Ryerson University and spending 15 years in Corporate, he graduated from the Functional Diagnostic Nutrition program in California and is now the CEO of Interactive Body Balance where he oversees a vibrant functional medicine health practice. Transitioning from Corporate to the entrepreneurial paradigm has involved seeing patients and clients via the conventional method but also virtually. He has authored the popular self-help book titled “The Transformation From Within” and the Functional Medicine Book ” How To Restore Your Health”, hosts the highly ranked ITunes Podcast called Interactive Body Balance, is creating multiple online health courses while also presenting to audiences around the world.

Sources for Article

1. Griffiths, Anthony J. F.; Miller, Jeffrey H.; Suzuki, David T.; Lewontin, Richard C.; Gelbart, eds. (2000).“Genetics and the Organism: Introduction”.An Introduction to Genetic Analysis(7th ed.). New York: W. H. Freeman. ISBN 0-7167-3520-2.


2. Hartl D, Jones E (2005)


3. http://www.physoc.org/press-release/2013/your-children-could-inherit-your-lifestyle-their-genes


4. https://edge.org/conversation/dean_ornish-changing-lifestyle-changes-gene-expression

How We Control Our Genetic Expression

Take Control of You For You

There is an important question that begs an answer: is modern medicine the best approach to wellness?

Unfortunately, the unexamined assumption has been yes, but the truth is “not completely”. In some instances of emergency medicine and specific conditions like trauma, fast-growing tumors, and acute heart attacks and strokes, medicine is able to intervene in the disease process, mend broken bones, and stabilize people with heart attacks, etc.

However, 20 years ago the government Office of Technology Assessment clearly stated that only 10-20 % of medical and surgical procedures have been scientifically proven. This means that 80-90% are not.

In our conscious or unconscious need as human beings to be “taken care of”, we have submitted ourselves to modern medicine. In doing so we must also accept the dark side of medicine.

This trade-off may explain why we seem to be so quick to ignore the mounting evidence that medicine is the number one killer in America. An aging population wants nothing more than to know how to create a longer and healthier life span and turns to medicine for the answers.

However, medicine, purported to base itself on science, has not entered the field of anti-aging or wellness, and is completely ill equipped to even give an opinion.

At this point, it might be propitious to quote Voltaire, who lived from 1694-1778. He said: “Doctors are men who prescribe medicines of which they know little, to cure diseases of which they know less, in human beings of whom they know nothing”.

Medicine is becoming quite adept at causing iatrogenic (caused by medical intervention) injury. Every year, over the past 20 years, studies have surfaced showing a growing number of people injured by Rx drugs, including treatment with toxic drugs used for non-life threatening conditions such as synthetic hormone replacement therapy.

As these studies slowly came before us, as a society we still held on to the notion that medicine was working in our best interest.

No one took the time or trouble to compile all the statistics.

No one identified the various areas of medicine, each of which causes iatrogenesis. When the different injuries and deaths were added up, the final number was incredible.

In a recent compilation of deaths due to properly prescribed drugs, drug errors, surgical mistakes, medical procedure mistakes, bedsores, malnutrition in nursing homes, and hospital based infections, it was found that iatrogenic medicine is the leading cause of death in America.

According to research done by the Nutrition Institute of America under the auspices of Dr. Carolyn Dean and Gary Null, it was found that the 2001 heart disease rate was 699,697; the annual cancer death rate was 553,251. But the annual iatrogenic rate was 783,936. And that’s just the deaths.

The number of people injured annually by Rx drugs is almost 3 million; the number of unnecessary antibiotics prescribed annually for viral infections is over 20 million; the number of unnecessary hospitalizations annually is over 9 million; and we really have no way of knowing how many premature deaths can be attributed to overuse of X rays.

Be prepared for another shock. Most studies that care to delve into the topic of what mistakes actually get reported are pretty clear that only 5%, or 1 in 20 errors, are recorded in black and white. We also know that about 20% of mistakes can end up in death, so the undisclosed 3/4 million deaths may be just the tip of the iceberg.

To add insult to injury, drugs are synonymous with modern medicine. “Drugs” and “medicine” are interchangeable words in the dictionary and in most people’s minds, and it’s hard to believe that drug-based medicine is only about 100 years old because of its pervasive hold on our society.

With the discovery of the “Germ Theory”, medical scientists convinced the public that infectious organisms were the cause of illness, not their lifestyle and dietary choices.

Finding the “cure” for these infections proved much harder than anyone imagined. Right from the beginning, chemical drugs promised much more than they delivered. But far beyond not working, the drugs also caused incalculable side effects.

The drugs themselves, even when properly prescribed, have side effects that can be fatal. Fully half the drugs prescribed are eventually pulled from the marketplace due to undeniable side effects.

By then, the drug companies have laughed all the way to the bank pocketing billions of dollars in profits from and unsuspecting society and are busily marketing the next catastrophe.

The leading causes of adverse drug reactions are antibiotics (17%), cardiovascular drugs (17%), chemotherapy drugs (15%), and analgesics and anti-inflammatory agents (15%).

It is, however, probably impossible to estimate the morbidity and mortality due to drugs such as synthetic hormone replacement therapy and birth control pills taken by millions of Americans.

NBC’s “Dateline” wondered if your doctor is moonlighting as a drug rep. After a year-long investigation, they reported that because doctors can legally prescribe any drug to any patient at any time for any condition, drug companies heavily promote “off-label”, and frequently inappropriate and non-tested, uses of these medications in spite of the fact that these drugs are only approved for specific indications for which they have been tested.

How modern medicine has become to be the number one killer in America is as incredible as it is horrifying.

Doctors don’t think of themselves as killers, but as long as they promote toxic drugs and don’t learn non-toxic options, they are virtually pulling the trigger on helpless patients and transforming the Hippocratic Oath into the Hypocritic Oath.

So, what can you do to escape this dependence on modern medicine? Well, maybe there really is no escape but there sure can be a decrease in the dependence by putting your health back in your hands.

If you are eating the flesh of rotting cow bodies, or rotting pig bodies, or rotting fowl bodies, or rotting fish bodies, or dairy products, you need to stop.

If you are eating refined grains like white flour products and white rice, you need to switch to whole grains like whole wheat bread, brown rice, red rice, millet, buckwheat, etc.

If you are eating the menstrual cycle of chickens (eggs), you need to stop.

If you are eating malasadas and donuts, which are nothing more that balls of white flour covered in sugar and cooked in grease, you need to stop.

If you are shopping in supermarkets and not reading labels, you need to start.

The rule is two-fold: if you can’t pronounce it, don’t eat it; and, if man made it, don’t eat it.

If you are still ingesting embalming fluid through diet drinks containing Aspartame, you need to stop. If you are using “Splenda” (sucralose) as a sweetener, which is produced from chlorine, you need to stop.

Everything you are preparing to eat can be transformed into nutritious food by switching the ingredients. Whole for refined, tofu and analogs for flesh, organic for pesticide, insecticide and GMO laden soy, rice and almond for dairy milk, and egg-less for egg mayonnaise.

If you don’t have a clue, get some vegetarian cookbooks, shop in natural food stores where free recipes are there for the taking. Listen to “Health Talk” on my website – www.healthtalkhawaii.com. Feel free to contact me at any time at heshgoldstein@gmail.com.

You are and should be responsible for your health. Not your doctor, not your health care provider, not your neighbor, you!

Besides, don’t you think that all that money you spend on prescription drugs could be put to a more enjoyable use if it were at your disposal?

Remember, the marathon of life starts with the first step. Don’t be afraid to take that step.

Aloha!

To learn more about Hesh, listen to and read hundreds of health related radio shows and articles, and learn about how to stay healthy and reverse degenerative diseases through the use of organic sulfur crystals and the most incredible bee pollen ever, please visit www.healthtalkhawaii.com, or email me at heshgoldstein@gmail.com or call me at (808) 258-1177. Since going on the radio in 1981 these are the only products I began to sell because they work.
Oh yeah, going to www.asanediet.com will allow you to read various parts of my book – “A Sane Diet For An Insane World”, containing a wonderful comment by Mike Adams.
In Hawaii, the TV stations interview local authors about the books they write and the newspapers all do book reviews. Not one would touch “A Sane Diet For An Insane World”. Why? Because it goes against their advertising dollars.

Take Control of You For You

Florida mobilizes to control mosquitos causing "unprecedented" Zika outbreak

A 500 square foot area in the Wynwood neighborhood of Miami, Florida is now the epicenter of the US fight against Zika, as federal and state health officials said at least 15 people were infected with the virus by local mosquitoes.

Officials said more diagnoses could be made in the coming days. The cases represent the first Zika infections transmitted by mainland American mosquitoes. The city began aerial spraying against the mosquitoes, a technique whose effectiveness is hotly criticized.

Related: Scientists edge closer to creating effective Zika virus vaccine

“Zika is unprecedented,” said Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Dr Tom Frieden, at a press conference Thursday with Florida governor Rick Scott and state health officials. “We’ve never before had a mosquito-borne disease that can cause birth defects.”

Frieden said his top priority is to lower mosquito populations in the area. The mosquito that transmits the disease, Aedes aegypti, lives in and around homes, and can breed in containers as tiny as a bottle cap.

“It’s not going to easy, this is a difficult mosquito to control,” said Frieden. “Coffee cup, paint can, bucket for collecting rainwater … trash that can support a little bit of water when it rains” all will need to be emptied, Frieden said, and “a major effort to clean that entire effort” will be undertaken.

“What we want to see is mosquito counts coming down,” he said.

Related: Houston’s mosquito hunters take on Zika: ‘We cannot spray our way out’

Scott also repeatedly emphasized that Florida is still “safe” for the roughly 110 million tourists that travel to the state each year, even as officials warned pregnant women not to visit the Wynwood neighborhood.

Zika is believed to cause microcephaly, or abnormally small heads and severe developmental problems, in babies whose mothers are infected with the disease.

There is no specific treatment for the virus, no vaccine and little is known about how it impacts children not born with apparent birth defects. It is also sexually transmitted and can cause an autoimmune disorder that can lead to paralysis called Guillain-Barré.

Already, Miami has the longest mosquito season of any major city in the country, according to a new analysis by Climate Central. On average, just 28 days per year are inhospitable to mosquitoes in Miami, an increase of 20 days since 1980.

And although the recent infections in Miami are the first to be transmitted by local mosquitoes, cases of Zika have entered the US for months now. The CDC confirmed more than 1,800 infections in people returning to from travel. In Puerto Rico, more than 5,500 people have been infected with the virus.

Despite ample warning from experts that Zika would reach, and likely infect, American mosquitoes, Congress was unable to pass any appropriations to combat the disease.

A bipartisan effort by Florida’s senators, Republican Marco Rubio and Democrat Bill Nelson, to fund President Obama’s request for $ 1.9bn in Zika funding was quickly quashed. A Senate proposal for $ 1.1bn also failed, and a House proposal loaded with “poison pill” abortion politics riders also failed.

Instead, the Health and Human Services Administration raided other budgets to fund Zika vaccines and mosquito control efforts across the country, including monies originally allocated to fight Ebola. Already scarce dollars are expected to run out before the National Institutes of Health is able to begin the second phase of Zika vaccine clinical trials this fall.

“Now that the United States is in the height of mosquito season and with the progress in developing a Zika vaccine, the need for additional resources is critical,” HHS secretary Sylvia Burwell wrote in an 3 August letter requesting additional funding.

Public outcry has also hampered what some experts believe is one of the best answers to a complicated problem – aerial spraying. Local resistance in Puerto Rico has so far stopped fumigation with a CDC recommended chemical called naled.

The mosquito that carries Zika also carries a range of viruses, including Dengue fever and chikungunya. When Aedes mosquitoes spread Dengue fever through Puerto Rico in 1987, the pesticide naled was also used in a mass spraying campaign on the island.

The man who ran a study on that spraying, and the former head of the CDC’s dengue branch, Duane Gubler, told the University of Minnesota Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy that the mosquito’s habitat in trash cans, closets and indoors makes mass spraying challenging at best.

“Successful spraying against Aedes depends on too many factors. Do people have their windows open? What rate is the wind speed? What is the weather?” Gubler told CIDRAP in July. “Spraying doesn’t kill larvae, and naled isn’t a residual insecticide. You’d have to spray weekly to make an impact.”

Miami-Dade county mayor Carlos Gimenez told the Miami Herald that even he had heard conflicting accounts of using naled.

“Some say it’s effective. Some say it’s not that effective. But it’s been recommended by the state and the federal government and we’re going to do it,” Gimenez told the Miami Herald.

“If it has a success rate of 10%, 20%, 30%, then that’s 30% more than what we had before.”

Even the company that makes naled admitted potential drawbacks.

“Resistance is always a potential in a living ecosystem,” Jeff Alvis, a business manager at Amvac Chemical told Chemical & Engineering News in February, about its effectiveness.

In Florida, state officials have tested 2,400 people for Zika across several counties. Officials also said that at least one other case in south-west Florida is also being investigated, but called it “unrelated”.

“As long as there is Zika spreading anywhere, pregnant women should protect themselves against mosquito bites,” said Frieden.

Florida mobilizes to control mosquitos causing "unprecedented" Zika outbreak