Children should not be treated routinely with flu drugs such as Tamiflu because there is no clear evidence that they prevent complications and the medicines may do more harm than good, British researchers said on Monday.
They called for a reconsideration of the widespread use of antivirals among those under 12 in light of an analysis of clinical data from previous seasonal flu outbreaks showing scant benefits and potentially harmful side effects.
Governments around the world have built up large stockpiles of Roche’s Tamiflu and GlaxoSmithKline’s Relenza to deal with the H1N1 swine flu pandemic.
In Britain, hundreds of thousands of doses of Tamiflu have been handed out to people with the disease, around half of whom are children.
But Dr. Matthew Thompson from the University of Oxford said that, while antivirals shortened the duration of flu in children by around a day, they didn’t reduce asthma flare-ups or the likelihood of children’s needing antibiotics.
Tamiflu also was linked to an increased risk of vomiting, which can be serious in children because it can result in dehydration.
The analysis was based on a systematic review of seven clinical studies looking at use of Tamiflu and Relenza in seasonal flu outbreaks in 2,629 children aged 1 to 12 years.
There is no reason to think that the conclusions would not apply to the present relatively mild outbreak of swine flu, Thompson said.
Fellow Oxford researcher Dr. Carl Heneghan told reporters, “The strategy of giving out this treatment in a mild infection is inappropriate.”
The researchers also found that 13 people need to be treated to prevent one additional case, meaning that antivirals reduce transmission by a modest 8 percent.
“While morbidity and mortality in the current pandemic remain low, a more conservative strategy might be considered prudent, given the limited data, side effects such as vomiting, and the potential for developing resistant strains of influenza,” they wrote in the British Medical Journal.
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“We demand the systematic publication of the results of these tests, which we could only obtain on a case by case basis by taking legal action… It [the study] brings to light a significant underestimation of the initial signs of diseases like cancer and diseases of the hormonal, immune, nervous and reproductive systems, among others… The health crises may be more important than the international financial crisis because of the lack of transparency of the regulators.”
Source: An alarming study published in the Journal of Biological Science this week points toward serious health hazards from genetically engineered foods and pesticides. The research, conducted by scientists from France, Italy, New Zealand, U.K. and U.S., corroborates the decade-long criticism by public interest organizations such as the Organic Consumers Association, Greenpeace, and Friends of the Earth that European Food Safety bureaucrats and the U.S. FDA have used unreliable tests to assess the safety of food and products containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs). GMOs are now found in more than 80% of (non-organic) foods sold in conventional grocery stores in the U.S., as well as the majority of animal feed in the EU.
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Summer means strawberry season throughout the northern United States. Fresh, juicy and sweet berries can be readily found in markets and farm stands. They make excellent snacks and desserts.
Strawberries are rich sources of phenolic antioxidants that can help:
1. reverse inflammation
2. aid in weight loss
3. reduce the risk of chronic disease.
Strawberry extracts may have direct anti-inflammatory effects, helping to inhibit the activation of genes and enzymes that promote inflammation.
Most of this benefit is due to another group of phenolic antioxidants called anthocyanins, which give ripe strawberries their lush red color. Anthocyanins may decrease the risk of heart disease and stroke by protecting blood vessels from the effects of wear and tear.
The ellagic acid and anthocyanins found in strawberries may aid weight loss in at least three ways:
1. Chronic inflammation blocks the hormones involved in keeping you lean. Foods like strawberries help restore normal function to weight-reducing hormones.
2. Anthocyanins can actually increase the body’s production of a hormone called adiponectin, which stimulates your metabolism and suppresses your appetite.
3. Both ellagic acid and anthocyanins can slow the rate of digestion of starchy foods, controlling the rise in blood sugar that follows a starchy meal. This effect can help control blood sugar in people with adult-onset (Type 2) diabetes.
You can eat fresh or frozen strawberries as a snack or dessert anytime. Add plain, fat-free organic yogurt for a creamy topping and chopped walnuts or ground flax seed for crunchiness.
I recommend organically grown strawberries, besides the fact that conventional strawberries have one of the highest amounts of herbicides and pesticides, organic strawberries have been shown to have higher levels of vitamin C.
Microwaves seriously deplete the nutrients in your food. This is no surprise as all heating methods have a similar effect. However, microwave heating appears to produce the greatest losses.
Microwaves are high frequency electromagnetic waves that alternate in positive and negative directions, causing vibration of molecules up to 2.5 billion times per second. This creates friction and heat that can destroy the fragile structure of vitamins and enzymes.
Consuming microwaved foods may also cause pathological changes in your body. Once a food’s structure is altered, it cannot perform the desired function in your body. Clinical studies show that microwave heating of milk or cooking of vegetables is associated with a decline in hemoglobin levels. These reductions may contribute to anemia, rheumatism, fever, and thyroid deficiency.
To learn more, read The Hidden Hazards of Microwave Cooking.
Here is another good article about using microwaves
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