Death In The Air

Death In The Air: "HIV/AIDS may have been man-made, a concern currently being considered by the U.S. General Accounting Office in response to requests made by Ohio attorney Boyd Ed Graves and Democratic Congressman, James A. Traficant, Jr. His investigation involves the theory that HIV emerged from laboratory experiments conducted during the 1960s and early 1970s when biological weapons contractors intermingled immune-suppressive viruses during a “Special Virus Cancer Program” administered by the National Cancer Institute."

Leonard Horowitz

Leonard Horowitz: "Ebola-Nature, Accident or Intentional?, Viruses: AIDS and Learn about the ancient, newly discovered 'healing codes' that can repair DNA. Find out who hid these codes in the Bible and using them today for good and evil. Rejoice in the discovery of the electro-magnetic sound frequencies for creation, destruction and miracles. Learn everything you need to know about vaccines that could have given rise to cancer, chronic fatigue, MS, ADD, Autism and other immune system disorders. Learn about the documented evidence from a leading vaccine developer who states that vaccines had been heavily contaminated with cancer viruses. Learn what you can do to protect yourself and your family."

Namaste March 09 | Chopra Center

Namaste March 09 | Chopra Center:

In addition, here are 7 empowering steps you can take in your life right now:

1. Develop a meditation practice today. Start with one of our guided meditations or find a PSM teacher in your town. Or you can learn to meditate at a Chopra Center workshop or retreat.
2. Take the dosha quiz and understand your mind-body constitution to bring balance into your life.
3. Experience nature – touch a natural body of water, walk on grass, sit under a tree, stand in the rain.
4. Write a poem about how great you are.
5. Commit one act of love today – make amends to someone you’ve hurt; forgive someone who hurt you (in person, on the phone, or in writing).
6. Take a step toward clarity by making one powerful decision right now – it can be a baby step . . . throw something out that no longer serves you, wash your car, get rid of paper congestion, clean a closet, a room, or even a drawer. Give away an item of clothing.
7. Perform a vital physical practice – go to a yoga class, learn pilates, go for a vigorous walk, practice deep breathing for 15 minutes, nourish yourself with a massage treatment.

Compassion Meditation Research

The Power of Compassion Can good thoughts for the well-being of others also keep you healthy? For centuries people have turned to various forms of meditation to quiet their minds, improve their concentration, decrease anxiety, soothe pain and facilitate healing. Research led by a Tibetan Buddhist teacher and an American physician adds yet another benefit to that already impressive list -- their study found evidence that practicing a particular kind, called compassion meditation, may help reduce the type of inflammatory responses to stressful interpersonal situations that have been linked to the development of both mental and physical diseases. People who practiced compassion meditation regularly also had less distress and anger in response to stress. CHANGING THE WAY WE SEE OTHERS At Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, 61 healthy students were randomly assigned to one of two groups. One group participated in six weeks of twice-weekly classroom training in a non-religious version of compassion meditation while the other group (the control group) spent a similar amount of time in health discussions. Meditation teacher Geshe Lobsang Tenzin Negi, PhD, director of the Emory-Tibet Partnership and a study author, explained that lojong (as the meditation practice is called) means training or transforming the mind. Where we're all conditioned to identify certain people as friends and others as enemies, lojong teaches us to challenge those assumptions. "It helps us see that others are no different from ourselves, that all people have the same problems and common aspirations," he explained. "It has a cognitive component that teaches us to reshape our relationships with ourselves and others to better connect each of us to all of humanity." To perform lojong meditation, students first learned how to do "meditative concentration" on their breathing, which helps stabilize the mind and refines their attention. Next they practiced mindfulness and meditation, to train them to increase their non-judgmental awareness of thoughts and bodily sensations and were instructed to focus on the universal desire of all people to be happy and avoid suffering. Finally, the students sent out their desire for happiness in a circle that expanded outward... first on themselves... then on loved ones... then to strangers... and finally, to those whom they disliked. They were instructed to concentrate on generating compassion for all people. These students were also given a CD to use to help them practice compassion meditation at home daily, keeping online records of when they meditated and for how long. A control group spent classroom time in group discussion about issues related to the physical and mental health of college students. Topics included stress management, substance abuse, sexual behavior and health, and depression and anxiety. This group also participated in role-playing exercises and mock debates on the topics they studied. As a way to maintain an equal time requirement with the meditation group for at-home participation, students in the control group were asked to write weekly opinion papers, two to three pages in length, on self-improvement topics. Study participants were recruited from their Emory University health education class and randomly assigned to either the meditation or the control (health discussion) group. A SURPRISING OUTCOME At the end of the study, students in both groups were asked to participate in a "stressful task" based on a widely used laboratory psychosocial stress test. Researchers measured their biological responses, including blood levels of the stress hormones cortisol and  interleukin 6 (IL-6), which is a marker of inflammation. The researchers anticipated a difference between the meditators and the control group, but that actually turned out to be insignificant, said Charles Raison, MD, assistant professor in Emory's department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and senior author of the study. What was significant, however, was a reduction in inflammatory markers that correlated with how frequently subjects meditated. The more often subjects practiced compassion meditation, the lower the levels of inflammation in their blood after the stress test. WHY THE RESULTS MATTER We know that inflammation puts wear and tear on the body and that has a cumulative negative effect on health. Dr. Raison called it "promising" to see that engaging in a discipline that helps retrain the mind to be more compassionate not only makes people kinder, but also healthier. His co-author Dr. Negi agrees, noting that by teaching a broader acceptance of others, this type of compassion meditation can be "an instrument of health that might be of benefit to people in all walks of life." For more information on how to do a lojong practice, look for books including Start Where You Are: A Guide to Compassionate Living (Shambhala Library), by Pema Chödrön... Emotional Awareness: Overcoming the Obstacles to Psychological Balance and Compassion (Times), by the Dalai Lama and Paul Ekman, PhD... and Quiet Mind: A Beginner's Guide to Meditation compiled by Susan Piver (Shambhala). Source(s): Charles Raison, MD, is an assistant professor, department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, Emory University School of Medicine. Lobsang Tenzin Negi, PhD, (also known as Geshe Lobsang Tenzin Negi) is senior lecturer in religion and director, Emory-Tibet Partnership.

Don't Believe Everything the Media Says

Medical Studies: Don't Believe Everything the Media Says JoAnn E. Manson, MD, DrPH Harvard Medical School hen the media reports on medical news, complex research gets reduced to sound bites -- which may be misleading. Find a full account of the study (try www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus) and ask... Are this study's results consistent with other evidence? Accuracy usually involves consistent results from different researchers... using different types of studies... and involving different people. Example: The link between smoking and lung cancer that has been seen in so many studies. Is it an observational study or a randomized clinical trial? An observational study tracks behavior and health outcomes without intervening in participants' lives. This can uncover "associations" but cannot prove a cause-and-effect link. Example: The apparent health benefits of vitamin supplements seen in observational studies simply may reflect that people who choose to use such supplements tend to have more healthful habits overall. In a randomized clinical trial, researchers actively intervene by assigning participants at random to receive treatment or a placebo -- making this the "gold standard" of research. Is it an animal study? Animal studies allow far greater control than human studies -- but results from other species may not apply directly to people. How many participants were there? The larger the study, the less likely its findings are due to chance. How long did the study last? A long-term study may detect risks or benefits that go unnoticed in shorter studies. Example: Hormone therapy using estrogen plus progestin increases risk for breast cancer -- but only after four to five years. A two-year study would not uncover this relationship. Did the study look at actual disease outcomes? Because it takes years for certain diseases to develop, many studies examine "markers" of disease. Example: Lower cholesterol levels suggest a reduced risk for heart disease -- though cholesterol reductions do not always lead to actual decreases in heart disease risk. Research looking at concrete outcomes, such as the occurrence of heart attacks, is more reliable. Who were the participants? A study is less valid if participants are not typical of the people who use the therapy. Example: The first clinical trial of estrogen therapy to reduce heart disease was done on men, not women! What does increased risk really mean? It is scary to hear that a risk factor (such as exposure to a toxin) increases risk for a certain disease by, say, 50%. But suppose that two cases of disease normally occur per 10,000 women who haven't been exposed to the toxin. In that case, a 50% increase would mean that toxic exposure leads to three cases per 10,000 women -- which isn't so scary. Bottom Line/Women's Health interviewed JoAnn E. Manson, MD, DrPH, a professor of medicine and women's health at Harvard Medical School and chief of the division of preventive medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital, both in Boston. She is one of the lead investigators for two highly influential studies on women's health -- the Harvard Nurses' Health Study and the Women's Health Initiative. Dr. Manson is the author, with Shari Bassuk, ScD, of Hot Flashes, Hormones & Your Health (McGraw-Hill).

Simple elixir called a 'miracle liquid' - Los Angeles Times

Electrolyzed water cleans, degreases -- and treats athlete's foot. The solution is replacing toxic chemicals.

By Marla Dickerson
February 23, 2009

It's a kitchen degreaser. It's a window cleaner. It kills athlete's foot. Oh, and you can drink it.

Sounds like the old "Saturday Night Live" gag for Shimmer, the faux floor polish plugged by Gilda Radner. But the elixir is real. It has been approved by U.S. regulators. And it's starting to replace the toxic chemicals Americans use at home and on the job.

• 

  Photos: Miracle liquid

• 

  Creating magic water.

  
  The stuff is a simple mixture of table salt and tap water whose ions have been scrambled with an electric current. Researchers have dubbed it electrolyzed water -- hardly as catchy as Mr. Clean. But at the Sheraton Delfina in Santa Monica, some hotel workers are calling it el liquido milagroso -- the miracle liquid.
  
  That's as good a name as any for a substance that scientists say is powerful enough to kill anthrax spores without harming people or the environment.
  
  Used as a sanitizer for decades in Russia and Japan, it's slowly winning acceptance in the United States. A New York poultry processor uses it to kill salmonella on chicken carcasses. Minnesota grocery clerks spray sticky conveyors in the checkout lanes. Michigan jailers mop with electrolyzed water to keep potentially lethal cleaners out of the hands of inmates.
  

In Santa Monica, the once-skeptical Sheraton housekeeping staff has ditched skin-chapping bleach and pungent ammonia for spray bottles filled with electrolyzed water to clean toilets and sinks.

"I didn't believe in it at first because it didn't have foam or any scent," said housekeeper Flor Corona. "But I can tell you it works. My rooms are clean."

Management likes it too. The mixture costs less than a penny a gallon. It cuts down on employee injuries from chemicals. It reduces shipping costs and waste because hotel staffers prepare the elixir on site. And it's helping the Sheraton Delfina tout its environmental credentials to guests.

The hotel's kitchen staff recently began disinfecting produce with electrolyzed water. They say the lettuce lasts longer. They're hoping to replace detergent in the dishwasher. Management figures the payback time for the $10,000 electrolysis machine will be less than a year.

"It's green. It saves money. And it's the right thing to do," said Glenn Epstein, executive assistant at the Sheraton Delfina. "It's almost like fantasy."

Actually, it's chemistry. For more than two centuries, scientists have tinkered with electrolysis, the use of an electric current to bring about a chemical reaction (not the hair-removal technique of the same name that's popular in Beverly Hills). That's how we got metal electroplating and large-scale production of chlorine, used to bleach and sanitize.

It turns out that zapping salt water with low-voltage electricity creates a couple of powerful yet nontoxic cleaning agents. Sodium ions are converted into sodium hydroxide, an alkaline liquid that cleans and degreases like detergent, but without the scrubbing bubbles. Chloride ions become hypochlorous acid, a potent disinfectant known as acid water.

"It's 10 times more effective than bleach in killing bacteria," said Yen-Con Hung, a professor of food science at the University of Georgia-Griffin, who has been researching electrolyzed water for more than a decade. "And it's safe."

There are drawbacks.

Electrolyzed water loses its potency fairly quickly, so it can't be stored long. Machines are pricey and geared mainly for industrial use. The process also needs to be monitored frequently for the right strength.

Then there's the "magic water" hype that has accompanied electrolyzed drinking water. A number of companies sell so-called ionizers for home use that can range from about $600 to more than $3,000. The alkaline water, proponents say, provides health benefits.

But Richard Wullaert, a Santa Barbara consultant, said consumers should be careful.

"Some of these people are making claims that will get everybody in trouble," said Wullaert, whose nonprofit Functional Water Society is spreading the word about electrolyzed water. "It's time for some serious conferences with serious scientists to give this credibility."

Most of the growth has happened outside the United States.

Russians are putting electrolyzed water down oil wells to kill pesky microbes. Europeans use it to treat burn victims. Electrolyzing equipment is helping to sanitize drinking water in parts of Latin American and Africa.

The stuff is a simple mixture of table salt and tap water whose ions have been scrambled with an electric current. Researchers have dubbed it electrolyzed water -- hardly as catchy as Mr. Clean. But at the Sheraton Delfina in Santa Monica, some hotel workers are calling it el liquido milagroso -- the miracle liquid.

That's as good a name as any for a substance that scientists say is powerful enough to kill anthrax spores without harming people or the environment.

Used as a sanitizer for decades in Russia and Japan, it's slowly winning acceptance in the United States. A New York poultry processor uses it to kill salmonella on chicken

It's big in Japan. People there spray it on sushi to kill bacteria and fill their swimming pools with it, eliminating the need for harsh chlorine. Doctors use it to sterilize equipment and treat foot fungus and bedsores. It's the secret weapon in Sanyo Electric Corp.'s "soap-less" washing machine.

Now Sanyo is bent on cleaning up Japan's taxis with a tiny air purifier that fits into a car's cup holder. The device uses electrolyzed water to shield passengers from an unwelcome byproduct of Japan's binge-drinking business culture: vomit.

"There was some concern about the spreading of viruses and bacteria via the taxi, not to mention the . . . stinky smells," Sanyo spokesman Aaron Fowles said.

Sanyo's taxi air washer isn't yet available in the U.S.; commuters will have to hold their noses for now. But the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency have approved electrolyzed water for a variety of uses.

PuriCore of Malvern, Pa., and Oculus Innovative Sciences of Petaluma, Calif., have developed treatments for chronic wounds. Albuquerque, N.M.-based MIOX Corp. sells municipal water-purifying systems. EAU Technologies Inc. of Kennesaw, Ga., caters to both ends of a dairy cow, with alkaline water to aid the animal's digestion and acid water to clean up its manure.

Integrated Environmental Technologies Inc. of Little River, S.C., is working with oil companies to keep wells free of bacteria and with high schools to sanitize sweaty wrestling mats and grungy football equipment that spread skin infections.

Electrolyzer Corp. of Woburn, Mass., is going after the hospitality market. The Sheraton Delfina purchased one of its machines. So has the Hyatt Regency Chicago and the Trump International Beach Resort near Miami.

Patrick Lucci, Electrolyzer's vice president of marketing, likes to bombard prospects with scientific studies, then give 'em the old razzle-dazzle. He'll swig the processed salt water before he mops the floor with it.

"Try that with bleach," he said.

The unit in Santa Monica looks a little like an oversized water heater, with two tanks side by side -- one for making the hypochlorous acid sanitizer, the other for the sodium hydroxide cleanser.

Rebecca Jimenez, director of housekeeping, heard grumbling from the cleaning staff when the hotel brought the machine in last fall. Housekeepers doubted that the flat, virtually odorless liquids were really doing the job. Some poured the guest shampoos into their bottles to work up a lather.

"If it doesn't suds up, it doesn't work," Jimenez said. "That's the mentality."

Still, she said, most have come around and are enjoying working without fumes and peeling skin.

Minnesota food scientist Joellen Feirtag said she was similarly skeptical. So she installed an electrolysis unit in her laboratory and began researching the technology. She found that the acid water killed E. coli, salmonella, listeria and other nasty pathogens. Yet it was gentle enough to soothe her children's sunburns and acne.

She's now encouraging food processors to take a look at electrolyzed water to help combat the disease outbreaks that have roiled the industry. Most are dubious.

"This sounds too good to be true, which is really the biggest problem," said Feirtag, an associate professor at the University of Minnesota. "But it's only a matter of time before this becomes mainstream."

marla.dickerson@latimes.com

Sustainable Future: Search results for water

Trees for Water

Forests play a major role in the water cycle and help stabilize water tables and maintain freshwater supplies. They do this by promoting precipitation, providing shade and mulch to reduce surface evaporation, and slowing down rain run-off (giving it time to soak into the soil).

"Trees regulate water supply, keeping it available for their own needs and for those of other plants, for humans and other animals. The roots of the great forest trees penetrate deeply into the earth and draw up great quantities of water which pass through the trees and out through the leaves to create "oceans of the air". Thus the water is kept available for rain. Trees may deprive plants grown immediately beneath but help those at a distance. Forest height and the cooling effect of the water transpired by the leaves can promote rain in the same way as mountain ranges that force the rain clouds to rise and cool. Paul Schreiber, the meteorologist, estimated that a region covered with forest increased rainfall to the same degree as elevating it 350ft.

When rain falls on forest canopies, its force is broken by the leaves and branches so that it seeps gently through the forest debris to replenish the water tables below. Sinking wells where there are no tree belts in the area to maintain water tables can be a dangerous living off capital. Water running off of bared hillsides carries away the soil, not only depriving the uplands but also silting up dams and reservoirs and causing rivers to flood." -- from the essay Trees for a Future