Pill to cure diabetes

Following a new study recently published in the journal Diabetes, Cornell University believes they may be one step closer to treating diabetes with a human probiotic pill. Lead researcher, Professor John March and his team discovered that using a pill containing common bacteria found in the human gut can shift the control of glucose levels from the pancreas to the upper intestine. This initial research was carried out using diabetic rats but Prof March believes, “If it works really well in people, it could be that they just take the pill and wouldn’t have to do anything else to control their diabetes.” (Ed. One wonders given the current evidence for requiring multi-intervention approaches, if that comment wasn't more about getting in the next tranche of funds than an attempt to reflect a likely future?) The results of this research has left the team preparing to move onto the next stage - testing higher doses of the engineered probiotic in diabetic rats in order to see whether it can completely reverse the condition. A spokesman for the website diabetes.co.uk said, “Successful treatment makes all the difference to long-term health, and achieving balanced diabetes treatment can be the key to living with both type 1 and type 2 diabetes.”

Danish government to increase organics

The Danish government is planning “to double its organic farmland by 2020 and to increase demand for organic food”. Denmark’s retail sector is said to be the most developed in the world, “with organic products accounting for 8% of total grocery spending”. Økologiplan Danmark — the new 67 point government plan has a strong focus on “increasing the amount of organic food served in the public sector, including using more organic ingredients in the 800,000 meals served each day in day care centres, government institutions and hospitals”. Food and Agriculture Minister Dan Jørgensen is reported to have said, “in order to achieve our goals, which are the most ambitious in the West, the public sector needs to lead the way”.

French government bans WiFi in pre-school childcare facilities

Stop Smart Meters UK tell us that the French Parliament have just passed a law “addressing the serious issues of electromagnetic fields and electromagnetic hypersensitivity”. France’s Le Monde reported on the development last week. Stop Smart Meters UK said, “While the new law does not go far enough, it is a bold move and the first of its kind in the world”. Provisions include an ANFR “national dialogue committee on levels of public exposure to electromagnetic fields” (ANFR is France’s equivalent regulator to the Federal Communications Commission). The committee will provide information to all stakeholders, and will “compile a annual census of atypical exposure locations and periodically report on measures taken to reduce exposure at such locations”. Other measures include that “any advertisement for cell phones must mention, clearly and legibly, the recommended use of an accessory device that reduces exposure of the head to radio frequency radiation”, and for wireless internet/WiFi to be “prohibited in places dedicated to the welcome, rest, and activities of children under 3 years of age”.

BMJ author ponders possible link between US AFM outbreak and polio vaccine

We thought that the response by a retired paediatrician under a recent article in the British Medical Journal entitled “Do we need a new approach to making vaccine recommendations?” may be worthy of mention. Under the heading “Vaccines and the U.S. Mystery of Acute Flaccid Myelitis”, Allan S Cunningham ponders the outbreak last summer of the mysterious polio-like illness that has affected 107 children in 34 states. Sadly only one child has recovered, and there has been speculation that the illness may be related to an outbreak of enterovirus D-68, which affected 1153 children from about the same time.

In his response, Cunningham recollects “provocation poliomyelitis” — a “paralytic polio following intramuscular injections, typically with vaccines”, documented during the 1949 British polio epidemic, “when the risk of paralytic polio was increased 20-fold among children who had received the DPT injection (BMJ 2:1--July 1, 1950)”. He warns “AFM may result from a direct virus attack on the spinal cord, or by an immune attack triggered by a virus, or by something else. If a polio-like virus is circulating in the U.S., the possibility of its provocation by one or more vaccines has to be considered”.

The World Health Organization (WHO) acknowledge that vaccine-virus can genetically change into a form that can paralyse, and WHO figures show that the incidence of Acute Flaccid Paralysis has rocketed relative to that of polio since 1996. See also ANH-Intl News Alerts: Week 45, 2014.

GM folate rice tested on rats

Researchers from Ghent University in Belgium have carried out a 12 week rat feeding study to test the effects of a genetically engineered ("biofortified") rice line aka GM folate rice. The study has just been published in Molecular Nutrition and Food Research. After 12 weeks, the researchers concluded, “Using an animal model, we demonstrated that biofortified folate rice is a valuable source of dietary folate, as evidenced by folate determination in plasma and RBCs, the alleviation of anemia and counteraction of pronounced hyperhomocysteinemia”. The researchers wrote that consumption of the rice “may be helpful to fight folate deficiency”.

It is of concern to note that this feeding study was carried out a few years after researchers from the same university carried out an “experimental auction” study in China involving (possibly the same?) GM ‘biofortified’ rice variant with a higher folate content, which was published in 2012. This study was entitled “Determinants of willingness-to-pay for GM rice with health benefits in a high-risk region: Evidence from experimental auctions for folate biofortified rice in China”. The researchers wrote, “We investigate willingness-to-pay for folate enriched GM rice with health benefits. Fourteen auctions are organized with 252 women in a folate deficient region of China”. They concluded, “Our findings lend support for the large potential of biofortified staple crops in high-risk regions, even if these involve GM technology”.

Probiotics for colds and flu

A new study published in the British Journal of Nutrition shows that a greater proportion of healthy days and a lower reporting of cold or flu can be achieved if the probiotic strain Bifidobacterium bifidum R0071 is regularly consumed. The team of the randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study noted that acute psychological stress has been shown to be positively associated with a cold and flu incidence. Over a 6-week period academically stressed undergraduate students received either Lactobacillus helveticus R0052, Bifidobacterium longum ssp. infantis R0033, Bifidobacterium bifidum R0071 or placebo, and asked to record the intensity for nine cold/flu symptoms. The trial found that, “the percentage of participants reporting ≥ 1 d of cold/flu during the 6-week intervention period was significantly lower with B. bifidum than with placebo,” and the researchers concluded, “daily intake of bifidobacteria provides benefit related to cold/flu outcomes during acute stress.”

Monsanto testing GM wheat

The Institute for Responsible Technology (IRT) has warned that Monsanto is again working on a GM wheat variety. It's a market that can't be ignored by Big Biotech, given wheat is a staple for a large segment of the world's population. We are told that “one particular 10-foot-by-20-foot growth chamber on the fourth floor of Building GG” at Monsanto’s Chesterfield Village Research Center is filled with young GM wheat plants. IRT writes “the plants are part of the experiment to create a new strain of GMO wheat that will be resistant to three kinds of herbicides–glyphosate, glufosinate, and dicamba”. Monsanto abandoned the idea of introducing Roundup Ready wheat in 2004. It’s said they decided not to seek approval “because the market wasn’t ready for it”. Then in 2013, rogue GMO wheat was found in Oregon. This led to Japan and South Korea suspending wheat imports over fears of GM contamination. A strain of GM wheat was also found subsequently in Montana. IRT advise that US citizens contact their elected representatives at both the federal and state levels, and to let them know how you feel.

Vaccinations: are you an advocate — or an extremist?

Vaccinations are all over the media at the moment and, as ever, it’s a contentious issue. President Barack Obama has been recommending that parents get their children fully vaccinated. He believes the science is “pretty indisputable” and that “there is every reason to get vaccinated, but there aren’t reasons to not.” Sen. Rand Paul has also been voicing his views, but these present grave concerns; he’s cited personal knowledge of kids "who wound up with profound mental disorders" and therefore chose to have his kids injections delayed and staggered over several months. Both he and another presidential candidate, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, are facing scrutiny over the fact that they think parents should have some input when it comes to vaccinating their children.

Unhindered parental education about potential vaccine risks (and benefits) as well as parental consent over the vaccination of their children is still under massive challenge in the USA, Australia and elsewhere.  In Australia, pro-vaccine extremists issued bomb threats against expert vaccine educator, and ANH-USA President Emeritus, Dr. Sherri Tenpenny. Dr Tenpenny was forced to call off her healthy living talks on her recent tour of Australia after these threats and persistent calls for violence against the venue owners and their families. 

This isn’t where the coverage ends. There has reportedly been a measles outbreak at Disneyland, and a confirmed case at the University of Minnesota — even though the student had had two doses of the MMR vaccine, according to the state health department.

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