Epidemic obesity hurting US health, economy -- report

It appears the US is facing a... heavyweight crisis.

Click here.

WASHINGTON -- Two-thirds of US adults and some 25 million children are obese or overweight, and the fatness of the land is harming Americans' health and threatening US competitiveness, a report published Monday showed.

"In the past year, obesity rates have continued to rise in 31 states. Eighty-five percent of Americans believe that obesity is an epidemic," the Trust for America's Health (TFAH) said in its fourth annual "F as in Fat" report.

The rate of adult obesity more than doubled in percentage terms in the past 25 years across the United States, growing from 15 percent in 1978-80 to 32 percent in 2003-04, the report said.

In the same period, childhood obesity increased more than three-fold.

Poor nutrition and physical inactivity were putting Americans at greater risk for developing diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and stroke, and even some forms of cancer.

How to Determine Your Cardiovascular Health

In a previous post, I have provided a link to what triggers heart attacks. Now you may want to find out how to prevent heart attacks from happening.

Click here.

You may have gotten to a point in your life where you're asking, "Where is my health going and why am I in this handbasket?" Or you may be saying, "I feel fine and want to make sure I stay that way."

The fact is, the majority of Americans older than 40 years already have a major health problem. Another disconcerting fact is that the majority of illnesses are subclinical, meaning they smolder under the surface for many years before they are recognized. Whatever your condition, sickness or apparent health, accurately assessing your current health is the proper place to start on your journey to vibrant health.

Since cardiovascular health is key to health in general -- and the lack of it is so common -- it is where I'd like to begin a health review. Heart disease is the #1 killer of Americans, followed, in order of prevalence, by cancer, stroke, emphysema, and accidents.

But every 34 seconds an American dies of heart disease!

Consequently, we all know someone with heart disease, or we have it ourselves. If you're interested in avoiding or ending personal experience with this disease, I have good news for you: the majority of the causes of cardiovascular disease are in our control.

The first and foundational step in gaining or maintaining cardiovascular health is accurately measuring your current condition. Once that is clearly understood, an effective treatment or preventative plan can be made. In this article, we'll review the most important factors indicating cardiovascular health or disease. Collect the information and grade yourself.

What Causes Heat Attacks?

Click here.

Anger really can trigger a heart attack. But then, so can getting sick, being too hot, being too cold, air pollution, lack of sleep, grief, overeating, natural disasters, exercise and sex.

In fact, simply waking up is the worst thing you can do if you're trying to avoid a heart attack.

Heart attacks, strokes and cardiac arrests seem to come out of the blue, but actually most occur upon rising in the morning, according to the July 2007 issue of the Harvard Heart Letter.

Well, I sure don't want not waking up due to those conditions! Better do something before such a fate befalls you, for there is not likely second chance!

Beware of Fosamax

Cases of Jaw Bone Death Caused by Fosamax often Unreported

According to the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (the surgical sector of dentistry), there may be "serious underreporting" of Bisphosphonate-Related Osteonecrosis of the Jaw (BRONJ) from Merck, the manufacturer of Fosamax.

Fosamax is supposed to help increase bone density and it is mostly prescribed to menopausal women suffering from osteoporosis. But in the jawbone, this drug does the reverse and actually destroys bone.

Although jaw bone death is uncommon, it is a terrifying side effect and difficult to treat. Many patients taking Fosmax have no idea that problems with their jaw could be linked to this drug.

From drug manufacturer Merck, which made the banned anti-inflammatory drug Vioxx, comes Fosamax, a drug so toxic they actually had to rewrite the recommended dose from "daily" to "weekly" for "your convenience." Of course, like all drugs, Fosamax has side effects, and one of its side effects is osteonecrosis of the jaw, of death of the jaw bone, a condition that is hard to treat.

Instead of taking Fosamax, why not take Bone Formula, our newest Pharmanex product that contains all known nutrients that are beneficial to the bones at the right dosage with no side effects.

Pharmanex's Bone Formula is a well-developed blend of vitamins, minerals, and other potent ingredients which helps maintain proper bone structure and function.

Bone Formula provides 500 mg of calcium and 100 IU of vitamin D per daily dosage. Both ingredients are important factors in maintaining proper structure and function of healthy bones.

Unlike other products, Bone Formula has the following benefits: easy to swallow capsules, trace elements boron and silicon which have important roles in bone metabolism, provides vitamin C for normal collagen structure and function.

A free way to boost your health

Just walk. Click here for details.

These days, it's easy for people to get confused about exercise -- how many minutes a day should they spend working out, for how long and at what exertion level? Conflicting facts and opinions abound, but one Mayo Clinic physician says the bottom line is this: walking is good, whether the outcome measurement is blood pressure, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, joint problems or mental health.

Unlike a health club membership or personal trainer, walking "is there for everyone," Dr. Levine says. "Walking doesn't cost you anything, you can do it barefoot and you can do it now, this minute."

I personally prefer walking to riding a vehicle especially if the trip is just a short distance away. I use shoes that are comfortable to walk with. And I do brisk walking whenever possible.

Walking is an easy exercise that one can do daily. Unfortunately, things that are easy to do are also easy not to do, so better take the initiative to make a habit of walking.

Walking is good for you, people. Best of all, it's free.

China's former drug safety head executed

Click here.

BEIJING (Reuters) - China on Wednesday hailed the swift execution of the nation's former drug safety chief as a warning to corrupt officials while detailing a web of graft that thrived for years without punishment.

Zheng Xiaoyu, former head of the State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA), dominated television and print news a day after he was executed for taking some 6.5 million yuan ($850,000) in bribes to let medicine companies slip past his regulatory net.

Unfortunately, we are not in China. So we are unlikely to witness the same punishment for those corrupt officials.

Mike Adams of Newstarget made this cartoon pertaining to the ludicrous situation.

A.K.A Monosodium Glutamate

If you're like me who would rather avoid food that contains MSG, then this is a great guide for you since MSG is known in a an amazing number of names, probably to confuse and fool consumers.

Click here.

However they name it, MSG is still a toxin that is used to enhance taste.