Aug 31, 2011

The Benefits of Flax Seeds

Flax (also known as common flax or linseed) (binomial name: Linum usitatissimum)  is native to the region extending from the eastern Mediterranean to India and was extensively cultivated in ancient Ethiopia and ancient Egypt.
Some call it one of the most powerful plant foods on the planet. There’s some evidence it may help reduce your risk of heart disease, cancer, stroke, and diabetes

Uses

Flax is grown both for its seeds and for its fibers. Various parts of the plant have been used to make fabric, dye, paper, medicines, fishing nets, hair gels, and soap. Flax seed is the source of linseed oil, which has uses as an edible oil, as a nutritional supplement and as an ingredient in many wood finishing products. It is also grown as an ornamental plant in gardens.

Flax seed

Flax seeds come in two basic varieties: (1) brown; and (2) yellow or golden. Most types have similar nutritional characteristics and equal amounts of short-chain omega-3 fatty acids. The exception is a type of yellow flax called solin (trade name Linola), which has a completely different oil profile and is very low in omega-3 FAs. Although brown flax can be consumed as readily as yellow, and has been for thousands of years, it is better known as an ingredient in paints, fiber and cattle feed. Flax seeds produce a vegetable oil known as flaxseed or linseed oil, which is one of the oldest commercial oils, and solvent-processed flax seed oil has been used for centuries as a drying oil in painting and varnishing.

Aug 30, 2011

Listerine Linked to an Increased Risk of Oral Cancer

Using Mouthwash Could Increase Risk of Cancer by Nine Times, claim Scientists

                  Studies have linked the high alcohol content of some mouthwashes to oral cancer. Now Oral Cancer Prevention International (OCPI), a New York company, has filed a law suit in New Jersey claiming that Johnson & Johnson, one of the world’s biggest companies, interfered with a distribution contract it had for the test as it did not want to lend credence to the link between mouthwash and the disease.
       According to the lawsuit, in February 2010 OCPI signed a contract with a company called OraPharma – which was then a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson – to distribute its cancer test, called the Oral CDx Brush Test. The test is designed to identify pre-cancerous cells in people’s mouths.
However OCPI alleges that Johnson & Johnson grew “extremely concerned about the implications” of an Australian study that linked mouthwashes to cancer.
       OCPI said that the multi-national did not want to “lend credence to the link between Listerine and oral cancer” by selling both products. The company went on to allege that Johnson & Johnson “induced OraPharma to breach the sales agreement” to suppress sales of the test “in order to protect sales of its mouthwash, Listerine”. 
Johnson & Johnson has said: “The company is confident that we have engaged in proper business practices and we look forward to the opportunity to resolve this matter through the legal system.”

Aug 27, 2011

Blueberries faked in cereals, muffins, bagels and other food products

The blueberries found in blueberry bagels, cereals, breads and muffins are REAL blueberries right? Wrong! Award-winning investigative journalist Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, exposes the deceptive chemical ingredients and dishonest marketing of "blueberry" products from big-name food and cereal companies. The blueberries, it turns out, are made from artificial colors, hydrogenated oils and liquid sugars. See more episodes at www.FoodInvestigations.com 


Blueberries have long been touted as a superfood, high in antioxidants, vitamin C, and manganese. And unlike other superfoods like acai berries, bee pollen, and wakame seaweed, blueberries are accessible and attractive, so they're an easy sell to anyone skeptical of health food.
So this reputation could be why blueberries are in so many packaged foods, from muffin mixes to salad dressings. They appear to add nutrition and deliciousness that might otherwise be lacking. Nevermind that actual, fresh blueberries are only in season about 2 to 3 months out of the year -- the blueberry harvest goes on all year at the grocery store.

But have you actually read the labels on those supposedly blueberry-filled products?
Some of them, like Target Blueberry Bagels and General Mills Total Pomegranate Blueberry Cereal, might be fooling consumers into thinking the food has something it doesn't. While manufacturers state they're still within the U.S.'s admittedly loose labeling laws, many of those blueberry-promoting products are made without genuine blueberries.
The Consumer Wellness Center recently produced a Food Investigations video that looked at the actual blueberry content of several widely available packaged foods. This expose shows how Kellogs, General Mills, Betty Crocker, and other brands advertise plump, whole blueberries in their cereals and mixes, but deliever dextrose, corn flour, partially hydrogenated soybean oil, sugar, citric acid, artificial flavor, and food colorings Blue #1 and Red #40 instead.

Aug 22, 2011

Breastfeeding . Why Human milk is irreplaceable?

World Breastfeeding Week  1–7 August 2011

      World Breastfeeding Week is celebrated every year from 1 to 7 August in more than 120 countries to encourage breastfeeding and improve the health of babies around the world. It commemorates the Innocenti Declaration made by WHO and UNICEF policy-makers in August 1990 to protect, promote and support breastfeeding.

      Breastfeeding is the best way to provide newborns with the nutrients they need. WHO recommends exclusive breastfeeding until a baby is six months old, and continued breastfeeding with the addition of nutritious complementary foods for up to two years or beyond.

Introduction to Breastfeeding

          Breast milk is thought to be the best form of nutrition for neonates and infants. The properties of human milk facilitate the transition of life from in utero to ex utero. This dynamic fluid provides a diverse array of bioactive substances to the developing infant during critical periods of brain, immune, and gut development. The clinician must be familiar with how the mammary gland produces human milk and how its properties nourish and protect the breastfeeding infant.

Aug 14, 2011

In China 1.3 million websites have been shut in 2010

Chinese web users are frequently blocked from accessing sites such as Youtube...

More than one million websites closed down in China last year, a state-run think tank has said. The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences said there were were 41% fewer websites at the end of 2010 than a year earlier.
Chinese officials have tightened regulations on the internet in recent years, and they launched a crackdown on pornography websites in 2009.
The academy's researcher said there was no link, insisting China had a "high level of freedom of online speech".
Liu Ruisheng said that despite the declining number of sites, the number of web pages had risen to 60 billion during 2010 - a 79% increase on the previous year.
"This means our content is getting stronger, while our supervision is getting more strict and more regulated," he said.
Civil rights campaigners have long railed against China's web censors, who impose controls known as the Great Firewall of China.
A number of websites are routinely blocked, such as the BBC's Chinese language service, and social media sites like Facebook, Youtube and Twitter.

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Aug 3, 2011

What Color Eyes Would Your Children Have?

           What Color Eyes Would Your Children Have? is an interactive eye color calculator which allows visitors to explore and learn about genetic inheritance. Using this online exhibit visitors can see the probabilities of their children's eye color or that of their parent's children. In addition, adjustments for populations that have predominantly brown or green eyes can be made.
          Working closely with The Tech Museum of Innovation, Ideum designed and developed this interactive application as part of the Understanding Genetics online exhibition. The program was developed using Macromedia Flash.

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