Monday, February 20, 2023

Sleeping time

Our modern lifestyle, which glamorizes constant internet connectivity and round-the-clock activity, conspires to keep us awake far longer than is healthy
 

The standard recommendation for adults is to get seven to eight hours of sleep per night. Teenagers need around nine hours, while younger school-age children may need upward of 11 hours
 

Healthy sleep consists of 5 general stages, each stage lasting 5 to 15 minutes, with a complete cycle (light, deep and REM sleep) taking between 90 and 120 minutes. You cycle through these stages four to six times each night, and this cycling is tremendously important, from both a biological and psychological perspective

So far, 51 DNA markers that appear to influence sleep have been found, including markers for long and short sleep duration, morning and evening personalities, insomnia, and high or low sleep efficiency
 

Sleep deprivation has a number of concerning health ramifications, including the promotion of diabetes, excess weight, heart disease, cancer and cognitive decline, just to name a few

Read the full analysis by Dr. Mercola


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Sunday, February 19, 2023

Hearing loss a growing problem

Unsafe listening practices in young people using personal listening devices (earbuds) and attending loud venues increase their risk of hearing loss, which one study estimates will affect 1 billion 12- to 34-year-olds worldwide
 

The effects of noise pollution do not stop at hearing loss; heart attack, stroke, reduced cognitive function, stress and early death are also possible. Not only that, hearing loss increases the risk of depression and dementia

Wireless earbuds increase the risk of exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMF) or nonionizing radiation, which 250 scientists worldwide have petitioned the United Nations to address, as it is associated with genetic damage, learning and memory deficits, neurological disorders and cellular stress
 

You can protect your hearing and lower your EMF exposure by avoiding Bluetooth and Wi-Fi devices, using a battery-powered alarm clock, switching to a steam convection oven from a microwave and avoiding "smart" devices such as appliances, thermostats and TVs

Read the full analysis by Dr. Mercola


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Egg shortages artificial?

Egg prices have more than doubled compared to what they were a year ago, with a median cost of $4.25 for a dozen

As of January 2023, more than 58 million birds in 47 states have been killed due to avian flu outbreaks

The egg shortage began amidst a series of mysterious fires and other disasters at U.S. food processors 

Some farmers have stated chicken feed made by Purina may have been altered to contain lower amounts of protein and minerals, leaving chickens unable to lay eggs
 

A report from the Rockefeller Foundation, released in July 2020 and predicting a coming food crisis, calls for the creation of a centralized “nutrition security system”

Read the full analysis by Dr. Mercola


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Saturday, February 18, 2023

Road salt does more harm than good

In the U.S., 20 million tons of salt are used for highway deicing annually

Chloride does not break down in water, so once it enters waterways and groundwater it becomes a “permanent pollutant, ” putting freshwater ecosystems at risk

Chloride concentrations related to road salt increased in 84% of U.S. streams tested

Freshwater ecosystems are becoming salinated, leading to decreased biodiversity of aquatic animals and plants

In Minnesota’s Twin Cities metro area, 27% of wells monitored in the area’s shallow aquifers had chloride levels that exceeded the EPA drinking water guidelines

Using best management practices, such as proper storage, anti-icing, pre-wetting and storm-speci¦c applications may help reduce road salt usage

Read the full analysis by Dr. Mercola 

 

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Fighting COVID-19 with junk food bans

Underlying health conditions like obesity, heart disease and diabetes have emerged as key factors in COVID-19 severity and fatalities. Obesity doubles your risk of being hospitalized for COVID-19 and raises your risk of death anywhere from 3.68 times to 12 times depending on your level of obesity
 

More than a dozen states in Mexico have decided to combat the pandemic by banning the sale of junk food to minors
 

Two-thirds of Mexicans who died from COVID-19 related complications had underlying medical conditions such as obesity, diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular problems. Officials say dietary changes are necessary to protect youth from developing comorbidities that increase COVID-19 severity and risk of death 


Research shows that among 18- to 49-year-olds hospitalized due to COVID-19, obesity is the most prevalent underlying condition. Processed foods, junk foods and soft drinks are key culprits in the development of obesity
 

In Huntington, New York, town officials have urged residents to “go on a diet because [with] COVID-19, you’re twice as likely to have a poor outcome if you’re obese. ” The U.K. has also vowed to target obesity as part of the country’s coronavirus prevention strategy by restricting junk food ads

Read the full analysis by Dr. Mercola 


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Friday, February 17, 2023

Vegetarian Food & Pregnancy

Heart & Soil, a company founded by Dr. Paul Saladino to help people return to the way our ancestors ate, produced a 20-minute video discussing the health bene¦ts of eating an animal-based diet when women are pregnant or want to become pregnant

Returning to the nutritional roots of eating fewer carbohydrates, no processed foods and an animal-based diet can help mitigate the effects of environmental toxins, such as ubiquitous plasticizers, are the core components of Heart & Soil

Data show that infertility rates have been rising for decades in what Shanna Swan, Ph.D., calls "the 1% effect, " describing declining sperm count, testosterone and fertility and rising testicular cancer and miscarriage — all at about 1% per year 


It is crucial to note that fake meat is not meat but ultraprocessed food with genetically engineered components; the industry claims it has a smaller carbon footprint than CAFO meat, but exchanging one broken system for another is not the answer
 

Ultraprocessed foods are high in toxic chemicals, lack nutrition and are high in carbohydrates, all of which negatively impact pregnancy outcomes. They also contain linoleic acid that damages insulin sensitivity and produces heart disease, dementia and obesity

Read the full analysis by Dr. Mercola
 

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Social Credit System determining lives?

China started rolling out a social credit system in 2018, which awards and subtracts points for certain types of behavior
 

Google is the largest monopoly the world has ever seen, and its data-siphoning tentacles reach deep into our everyday lives, collecting data on every move you make and conversation you have, whether online or in the real world
 

By the end of 2021, approximately 1 billion cameras will be watching public movements across the globe. Cities are also inviting residents and businesses to plug their private surveillance cameras into their police network, which expands the surveillance system even further

To make sense of all this footage, video analytic software and arti¦cial intelligence are used. Video analytic capabilities include ¦ght and fall detection, loitering and motion recognition, dog walking, jaywalking, toll fare evasion and lie detection

There are now proposals suggesting all of this data, in combination with AI-enabled analytics systems, could be used for “predictive policing” as illustrated in the 2002 movie “Minority Report, ” where suspected perpetrators are arrested before actually committing the crime

Read the full analysis by Dr. Mercola

 

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