Shoddy restaurants and produce growers are currently costing the US economy $152B.

Photo: "Insect World 2", by Andrzej Pobiedziński, Olsztyn, Warmińsko-Mazurskie, Poland

Links:
BusinessWeek
via ElspethJane

Now that cold+flu season is in full swing, I thought it would be a plus to the site for one of our commenters to have his say come up in a post.

Our pal Zach had a very detailed read of one of the full studies cited in the Cheeky Monkey Stomach Flu post awhile back.

He was nice enough to cook down some of the conclusions into his comment which is cited here:

"I am fortunate enough to have full access to the study that you mentioned, and was able to read the actual data.

First of all, it turns out that the infectivity studies were done in vitro, and as far as I can tell, only measured the ability of antibodies to react to the viruses, and not the ability of the virus to reach, bind to, or infect cells along the intestinal lining; although, it is a dense read, and I'm still going through it.

Lucky for all of us, [Activated] Charcoal was not only the best at adsorbing the viruses studied (and also the lowest at desorbing), but it reduced the infectivity by almost 5 times! That's the only material studied to do so.

Oh, and I can't find the study at the moment, but proteases were actually tested for enterovirus effectiveness in gerbils I believe, and it was found that proteases significantly INCREASE symptoms and virus levels, killing most of the rodents studied. Proteases might be an effective immune boosting tool once they reach your bloodstream, but they do you no good in the digestive tract. Another study showed this to be the same case for Salmonella."

I'm still going to be making good on my Human Guinea Pig promise of conducting the experiment on myself next time King Montezuma pays a visit.

-But after Zach's empassioned research+comment, I'm now going to try it with Activated Charcoal instead of Clay or even Protease/Enzyme stuff.

There you go! And again: big Thanks + Hat Tip to Reader Zach!

Photos:
"Ring-Tailed Lemur 1", by Nigel Clarke, Lisburn, UK
"Dogs 2", by Tony Hathcock

Links:
Clay-Eating Cheeky Monkeys And The Elusive Stomach Flu / Viral Gastroenteritis Remedy

Enyzmedica Virastop

Terramin Clays

Scientific Journal Links:
PubMed   ScienceDirect   BioInfoBank   NCBI   Clay In Digestive Disturbances (old)

Without increased precautions, these are probably the first of many confirmed cases in the future of death due to nanoparticle exposure.

It's a terrible thing to have been right about, but here's the original article where we called exactly this type of health risk about ~2 years ago: Nanotech Ultra...

Hit the Reuters Link for the full beans, here: Reuters-Nanoparticle deaths in China

Big Hat Tip to Dan at Dan Sherman Design (!) for sending this tip in, and who may or may not also be a science fiction writer.


Original Photo: "Silica", by the brilliant and intuitive Ann Kristin Edvartsen, avariz.carbonmade.com


Links:
Reuters-Nanoparticle deaths in China
Nanotech Ultra...
Dan Sherman Design
Ann Kristin Edvartsen

So above, you see the choices. Please have a look and click in with your thoughts.

Your Opinion Is Really Valuable!!!
Please share it and help out the site. Any other thoughts, put 'em in the comments section. Please vote only once.

Thanks Very Much + Best Regards!!,

Management

PS: Thanks Very Much also to everyone who participated in either email or in-person focus-group surveys!! -Including, but not limited to:

The Mad-Genius Yoda to my Ewok, Undisputed Welterweight Champion of The World, Mr. Seth Godin!!!
The Impossibly Generous, Cool, Positive, And I Admit, Much Better Looking Than Me, Mr. Guy Kawasaki!!!!!
Ellie Rountree
The Brilliant But Half-Cyborg Jon Bell
The Also-Brilliant and Resourceful Matt
Connie
Jay
Angel -who I wish I had a link for.
Pat
Monica
My 2 Favorite Reference Librarians
Mystery Lady + her friend Cindy who phoned it in from Portofino
Jackie -the only person besides me to actually get the current title; -thank God for you! :P
Gloria
Sandy, my legal advisor
2 surprisingly nice marketers out trying to destroy the world with crude oil
Matt's 2 CollegeHumor-loving friends
My favorite 80-hour work week PT intern + Friend

and others...

Note: This post will be moved up so it stays on the front page of the site, so if you notice changing dates, don't be alarmed.

-Hopefully one that won't kill everything else.

These odd little assassins are the things that eventually kill you in all Creutzfeldt-Jakob diseases, like Mad Cow Disease, and my personal favorite: Kuru. (arrrrgggh, BRAAIINNZZZZ!!!! ZOMMMBIEEEZ; grrrrh!)

The only problem is, they are Extremely Dangerous to study and they're also very tough; -it's even hard to clean them off the lab equipment.

For example: they cannot currently be bleached, heated, or otherwise removed from any tissue, the way you can kill parasites in food by cooking it.

They can only be 'removed' by destroying their structure, either through nasty chemicals like Sodium Hydroxide or burning them to a crisp.

I don't know if that would-be prion-killer is Enbrel, as in the Alzheimer's Reversal Post, but perhaps somewhere there is a biochemical Bruce Lee sitting on a shelf at Big Pharma, just waiting to be released.

Links:
Nature   SciAm   SCFP   SFGate

-Bummer.

If you believe that study.

There may be light at the end of the tunnel, though...

This post by UVA Med + Turner himself reveals something interesting about Echinacea versus other herbal supplements; especially tricky ones like Kava.

DUN, DUNN DUUUNNNNNN!!!! -There is No Standardization for Echinacea.

Yups, you read that right.

No standardization.

... A-HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!11!!!!

-Like saying a Hamburger could be made out of ANY part of a cow, and that there was No minimum protein, fat, +whatever, content recipe for that burger.

(OK, you win; -entirely possible at McDonald's. -Not very possible at an actual restaurant or supermarket)

((-or: Believe the Results of a Drug Study if the active concentration of every pill dispensed was all over the place.))

SO:
-How do you know what you're getting? -If the particular compounds have been identified at all? -Which of the 9 species were used? -What time of the year were they harvested? -What was the plant's condition? -If there's a difference between: Roots, Stems, Flower, Seeds, or Ill-Tempered Dalmatian Gremlins loitering in the neighborhood?

*Ask anyone who doesn't want Liver Damage from taking Kava, like the islanders who discovered it, and they'll tell you there's One Hell of a difference between the Root vs. the Leaves & Stems; (which they discard).

A Little History:
The Big E is a Native American folk remedy that's been used for thousands of years.
The people back then, whose Lives may have depended on its effectiveness, may have had a Particular way of prepping the stuff to use. -Ie: Fresh, dried, stems only, roots only, flowers but no seeds, etc. And their way of doing it probably had the highest success rate given the tools & techniques available.

{-cue Light in Tunnel:*BLING!*}
SO: I think that's one of the reasons why a Recent Meta-Analysis that reviewed 14 other previous studies on Echinacea, found that it was -on average- 58% effective in Butt-Whomping the common cold. (yes, Butt-Whomping is a Highly Scientific term).

They also found it was Even More effective if taken as a Preventative; -or with Vitamin C.

And as a few smart Digg commenters have opined: Herbal Tinctures (ie: alcohol solution) of the stuff may have a better guarantee at potency than just any old Capsule with green stuff in it.

So the next time, the SECOND I feel like I'm getting even a minor sniffle, I'll run the experiment on myself, using the Tincture forms of each plant part, by the most reputable herbal company I can find reviews on.
((((that is, Instead of Listening to Studies Conducted by People Affiliated With, or Once and Future Employees of, Big Pharma Companies (who as yet, have not cured the common cold). ))))

Note: Some of the Side-Effects of Echinacea are Allergic Reactions and Bad Interactions with Immune Disorders and Immune-oriented Drugs.

Photo 1: "Icy", by Linda6
Photo 2: "Ice Flower", by Sabine Simon, http://www.saflora.de.vu/

Links:
Turner+Pals @ NEJM   Digg-Echinacea-Colds   UVA-No Standards   Foxnews-Echinacea Review   Meta-Analysis @ The Lancet   Echinacea at e-herbal   Wikipedia-Echinacea   HerbDoc

FINALLY you don't have to go out all the way to the Health Food Store to get your hands on some non-lethal, non-sugar sweetener.

Years and years after the Nutrasweet corporation helped to scuttle Stevia into the "Supplements" category, even though it's been on the GRAS list in Europe for quite awhile, it -or at least MegaCorp Cargill's version of the sweetener is now GRAS as far as El Fed is concerned.

-> Which ~kinda sucks; because it was 'Big Business' that finally had to get this rather obvious notion actually -done-.

Otherwise: On a tasting note, Truvia is actually quite sweet. In my tea, you really Do have to use about 1/2 as much viz. sugar packets.

It melts Very fast, and the sweetness seems to come and go Very Quickly when compared with sugar. It does seem to leave a tiny fennel-like aftertaste and super-mild bitterness, both at the back of your throat.

*BUT: The Big Takeaway from this is: Now that Stevia has a Huge Corporation behind it, now it has a very good chance, and one that is broad in scope.

Because there is a large corp that can produce it in Massive Quantities and thus Lower costs and Proliferate it...

=>Very soon there may well be Several choices between commercial sweeteners out there. You might well be able to get things like Soda with everything from Cane Sugar, to the lovely HFCS, to Aspartame, to Splenda and now finally Stevia almost everyhwere you go.

And More+Healthier Choices is a Good Thing for All of us. -Even if it took Godzilla to push it through.


And Now A Word From Mr. Peter Tosh:



Truvia's Website   Truvia Press Release-FDA Sez OK (PDF)


NOTE: Neither metavitae nor its staff, etc. receives any compensation in any way from Truvia or Cargill, etc.

Thirst is often Mistaken For Hunger.

-Especially if they drink things that have diuretic properties, like coffee and caffeinated drinks, many people are going through the day partially dehydrated.

Since it is a Much Weaker Signal than Hunger, hydration often is supplanted for eating.

So: The next time you feel like you're hungry, check in with your body and see if you've had enough water or non-diuretic hydration during the day, and try a glass of water First.

You may end up being thinner in the long run if you develop this habit.


Photo: "Lonely Starfish 2", by Julia Starr


SciDirect-Relationships between human thirst, hunger...   Vanderbilt-HowMuchH20?   PatReeves-The Water Connection   DeseretNews-Hungry,Thirsty,Bored

Insomnia! Confusion? Headaches! -Oh My!

2008-India To Join CP Study Mosh Pit; -you know, 'cause all the cool kids are doing it, Mom!

2008-STUK,Finland: May Alter Proteins in Skin

2007-Cleveland: Damaged Sperm

2007-MTHR,UK: Could Be As Dangerous As Cigarettes

2007-UK: Cellphones Iz Killing Teh Bees, Man!

2006-Denmark: No Cancer

2005-WU Med Sch: No Cancer

2005-MTHR, UK: Ferrite Beads Stop Radiation

2005-UK: Possible Danger After a Decade, But No Acoustic Neuroma

2004-EU-Reflex: Damage DNA, But No Risk

2002-STUK, Finland: Damages Cells but Inconclusive Overall Risk

2000-FDA: No Clear Connection or Ionizing Radiation

Crazy People at Wacky Marketing-Type-"No wait, there's MORE!"-site, Danger911


Confused Yet? -Good.

Here's a fact: Some people who are exposed to asbestos don't get sick. Some get sick with very little exposure. It comes down to their susceptibility and their genetics.

Question: Do you really want to Roll the Dice on possible cancers in your head, just so you can flash teh iPwnz to teh sexxee laydeez?
--I'd rather throw odds on what my genetic suceptibility is for being able to Turn Right or Left, like Derek Zoolander; -NOT wacky odd forms of cranio-centric cancer. Hell, when I'm feeling REALLY adventurous, I'll even bet a Starbucks employee on whether my drink is Decaf or not!!!

The smartest thing seems to be as prudent as possible short of tinfoil helmets, because it could take an Awful long time for data -That May Not Even Apply To You- (remember: it's all Stats, Averages & Confidence Intervals) to eventually roll in.

CNN has a bit on Dr. Ronald Herberman, who is one of the only guys out there promoting some well-thought-out caution.

No conspiracy theories here, but I have routinely noticed the odd, hot-ish feeling and the mild, ultrasonic-like pain, after I've used a cellphone up against my head, even for a few minutes. Btw, I normally use a headset and keep the phone away from me.

Photos:
"maze", by gerard79
"mixed signals", by Craig Jewell, http://www.flickr.com/photos/craigjewell/
"a street icon", by Adam Troudart
"yield", by Bill Davenport, http://lightnshadow.blogspot.com/
"beto eyes", by Sebastian Pothe, http://www.pothegobbi.com/

NCI   CNET-SAR Chart (because it's there)

I soon found myself having very sensitive teeth.

I'd heard something awhile back about how even though it's sterile and clean, that actually drinking Distilled or Deionized Water is really bad for you.

And on another forum through some weird coincidence, it turns out a guy was killing his plants by watering them with distilled water.

->So: I thought, "What the hell, Sensodyne is only doing so much." -and I ordered up a few packets of Burton Water Salts via Williams Brewing that I remembered from my home-brewing experiments.

Strangely enough, I'd discovered that the water from the highly-filtered source made home brew that tasted like crap.

So, I figured out a dosage based on the calcs for Beer that I'd seen. Roughly 1/2 teaspoon per gallon of water.

-And sure enough, within about a week, week and a half my sensitive teeth were no longer sensitive at all.

So here's the question: if there are people in situations similar to mine, where they're not getting enough of the proper Calcium, Magnesium, and Potassium salts in their diet, can this treatment help them, too?

BIG NOTE: I tried things like Calcium supplement pills, TUMS Calcium, etc. and although they did help a bit, Nothing and I mean -Nothing- helped as much as having these mineral salts dissolved in my water.

Since I've been putting Burton Water Salts into my Extremely-Filtered, Ultra-Soft water, I haven't even taken Calcium supplements outside of a multivitamin since my teeth were fixed.

Some food for thought.

Obviously, if your situation is sensitive in any way to Calcium, Potassium, Sodium, or Magnesium, you're going to want to run everything by your doctor(s) before you make any decisions about your supplementation. Ex: Some blood-pressure medication does not do well with either Sodium or Potassium.

Photo: "salar", by getye1

Williams Brewing

Okay, I've had this more than once this year and it's been excruciating.
It's also No Fun to hear of your friends and relatives writing writhing in agony when waiting seems to be the only strategy & Advil + Pepto doesn't work that well.

So, with their bandmate Eddie, (he'd probably play bass) I'd like return to the Monkeys.

Animal Planet Moment: It turns out there are some localized troupes of Vervets or Macaques, or whatever; they're all Cheeky Monkeys anyway; who -Eat Clay- before and after consuming a certain vegetation.

When I was little, you might have inferred I was trying to learn their lesson -if not everything- via Darwin and his principle of Natural Selection; ie: "Is it lethal?" -"Dunno. -Eat it and find out!".

->Similarly, my band of Cheeky Vervets learnt their lesson the same way. Only the dumb ones died and I survived; go figure. -It turns out they can consume otherwise Toxic vegetation and still pull the nutrients out of it, --- If they just eat a little Clay with it, which soaks up all the poison right out of the greens.

How? The science is Absorption and Adsorption. Basically it means something that soaks other things up with both Huge Surface Area and Ionic Charges on the exposed molecules.

-And many types of clay have Both properties in truly Massive proportions.

->SO: I'm thinking, "Why can't I be a Cheeky Monkey, too?"

And since Antibiotics will not mitigate Viral Gastroenteritis/Stomach Flu, the answer could be: Finding The Right Clay; -right?

Kaopectate, which had Kaolin clay in the original formula, turns out is not recommended for Stomach Flu / Viral Gastroenteritis.

DAMN!

And when scientists studied other clays in cows, they had this to say:

"Results revealed that all the adsorbent agents had good to excellent capability of adsorbing rotavirus and excellent capability of adsorbing coronavirus. Percent adsorptions ranged from 78.74% to 99.89% for rotavirus and 99.99% for coronavirus; while sand (negative control) was <0.01%. A high affinity binding was present as determined by a low percent desorption (0.06–3.09%).
However, the adsorbent bound virus complex retained, and may have actually enhanced, infectivity." -sciencedirect

F***!

So it turns out, there is only mixed anecdotal evidence at best for Clay remedies:
"Having clay mixed with water is very good to prevent gastroenteritis." - healthguidance.org

"I continued to give her Bentonite for another day at least ans she seemed fine. Sunday morning she puked again as we were about to go out the door so I gave her another dose and that was the end of it. I'm impressed with bentonite clay!"- http://www.welltellme.com/discuss/index.php/topic,324.90.html

The only hope I have for clay is that the tests were done on cows. Since I have 4 fewer stomachs, maybe there’s a chance?

I Do still wonder if there's some type of Dosage Balance that can be struck to keep things 'moving' in the GI tract, but still ingest enough clay to ad/ab-sorb all the buggies.

***In other Weird but Promising anecdotal experiments I may try if Clay doesn’t turn out:

*One guy decided he was going to do the old hiker's, “sterilize my water with 2 drops Tincture of Iodine”, and he says that seemed to help. -Sounds dangerous but, hmmm...

*My truest Princess Leia moment comes down to the product Enzymedica has out called Virastop that a few people absolutely swore by. The page says it works on Protease. ***Honestly, this seems like the best hope so far.

Otherwise, this entry may just become a Work-In-Progress as time goes on, either being republished with new info; -or a string of linked articles on the subject.

***It is definitely prudent to at least be a little skeptical of all the wacky, rambling sites out there (shirleyswellness, cough, cough) that say clay can do everything from make your brain run faster, to jumpstarting a Volvo 240 Station Wagon.

****Also, remember if you take any kind of ad/ab-sorbent, it’s going to soak up EVERYTHING (depending on the electrical charge), including your vitamins, supplements and prescription medications. So be Extra sure to check with your doctors about exactly what you’re allowed to have and not have if you take medication of any kind.

Photo: "Lemur", by Quentin Houyoux
Image: "Smoking Chimp", Fox News Screencap
Photo: "Olivia Munn as Princess Leia", by Ken Vs. Ryu

Links:
Enyzmedica Virastop   Stomach Flu Discussion at WellTellMe

Regenerativenutrition-Gastroenteritis   Regenerativenutrition-Clay   Terramin Clays   Some Natural Recs at Yahoo Health AU

Scientific Journal Links:
PubMed   ScienceDirect   BioInfoBank   NCBI   Clay In Digestive Disturbances (old)

Wacky but Interesting Links:
Shirley's Wellness-Clay   Idaho Observer-Clay

BTW, Lemurs and Meerkats Are significantly more reliable than Monkeys.

Notes on Becoming A Famous Architect

Image, "Architect", from NOBAFA