Welcome

Who says we have to suffer...to live a healthy happy vibrant life?

Red wine and dark chocolate... might seem decadent...but these guilty pleasures also might help us live longer...and healthier lives. Red wine and dark chocolate definitely improve an evening..but they also contain resveratrol..which lowers blood sugar. Red wine is a great source of catechins..which boost protective HDL cholesterol. Green tea? Protects your brain..helps you live longer..and soothes your spirit.

Food for Thought, the blog, is about living the good life...a life we create with our thoughts and our choices...and having fun the whole while!

I say lets make the thoughts good ones..and let the choices be healthy...exciting...and delicious! Bon Appetit!

Thursday, May 16, 2013

Study Finds 97% Consensus on Human-Caused Global Warming in the Peer-Reviewed Literature




You might think that 97% consensus among the scientific community would motivate our intelligent US public to demand some sensible changes to energy policies… BUT WAIT… 57% of the public is NOT yet ready to accept the science of man made global warming. Why not? Because of pseudonews organizations 
(Yes Fox and Drudge, I’m talking about you) promoting the fossil fuel funded, pseudo-science talking points designed to keep said 57% of the public slumbering on in a mind numbed delusional state of false security. And those same fossil fuel lobbyists get voters to keep their fossil fuel elected puppets in Washington to maintain oil, gas, coal, carbon based energy policies at status quo, choking the atmosphere with CO2 emissions at an unprecedented rate. Frack you if you don’t fall into line. Sunscreen anyone? Gas mask?

Quoting comment from the study, which you can read here.

"The public perception of a scientific consensus on man-made global warming is a necessary element in public support for climate policy (Ding et al 2011). However, there is a significant gap between public perception and reality, with 57% of the US public either disagreeing or unaware that scientists overwhelmingly agree that the earth is warming due to human activity (Pew 2012). Read the Pew study here.
Contributing to this 'consensus gap' are campaigns designed to confuse the public about the level of agreement among climate scientists. In 1991, Western Fuels Association conducted a $510 000 campaign whose primary goal was to 'reposition global warming as theory (not fact)'. A key strategy involved constructing the impression of active scientific debate using dissenting scientists as spokesmen (Oreskes 2010). The situation is exacerbated by media treatment of the climate issue, where the normative practice of providing opposing sides with equal attention has allowed a vocal minority to have their views amplified (Boykoff and Boykoff 2004). While there are indications that the situation has improved in the UK and USA prestige press (Boykoff 2007), the UK tabloid press showed no indication of improvement from 2000 to 2006 (Boykoff and Mansfield 2008).
The narrative presented by some dissenters is that the scientific consensus is '...on the point of collapse' (Oddie 2012) while '...the number of scientific "heretics" is growing with each passing year' (Allègre et al 2012). A systematic, comprehensive review of the literature provides quantitative evidence countering this assertion. 
The number of papers rejecting man-made global warming is a miniscule proportion of the published research, with the percentage slightly decreasing over time. Among papers expressing a position on man-made global warming, an overwhelming percentage (97.2% based on self-ratings, 97.1% based on abstract ratings) endorses the scientific consensus on man-made global warming."

References
Ding D, Maibach E W, Zhao X, Roser-Renouf C and Leiserowitz A 2011 Support for climate policy and societal action are linked to perceptions about scientific agreement Nature Clim. Change 1 462–5
Oreskes N 2010 My facts are better than your facts: spreading good news about global warming How Do Facts Travel? ed M S Morgan and P Howlett (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press) pp 135–66
Boykoff M T and Boykoff J M 2004 Balance as bias: global warming and the US prestige press Glob. Environ. Change 14 125–36
Boykoff M T 2007 Flogging a dead norm? Newspaper coverage of anthropogenic climate change in the United States and United Kingdom from 2003 to 2006 Area 39470–81
Boykoff M T and Mansfield M 2008 ‘Ye Olde Hot Aire’: reporting on human contributions to climate change in the UK tabloid pressEnviron. Res. Lett. 3 024002

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

CoEnzyme Q-10 for healthy teeth and gums!

CoEnzyme Q-10 for healthy teeth and gums!
Keeping your smile healthy may depend on antioxidants!

A new study on periodontal disease shows the importance of using the energy supplement CoEnzyme Q-10 on a daily basis. 

Researchers have found that coenzyme Q10 when applied topically to teeth for 28 days can reduce plaque induced gingivitis. 

The authors conclude "Promising results were obtained after the application of coenzyme Q10 as well as when it was used as an adjunct to scaling and root planing for treatment of plaque induced gingivitis".

Periodontal disease is an inflammatory disease process resulting from the interaction of a bacterial attack and host inflammatory response. Arrays of molecules are considered to mediate the inflammatory response at one time or another, among these are free radicals and reactive oxygen species (ROS).

Periodontal pathogens can induce ROS overproduction and thus may cause collagen and periodontal cell breakdown. When ROS are scavenged by antioxidants, there can be a reduction of collagen degradation.

Ubiquinol (a highly absorbable form of coenzyme Q-10) serves as an endogenous antioxidant which increases the concentration of Coenzyme Q-10 in the diseased gingiva and effectively suppresses advanced periodontal inflammation.

The pharmacology of coenzyme Q-10 indicates that it may be an agent for treatment of periodontitis. On the basis of on new concepts of synergism with nutritional supplements and host response, coenzyme Q-10 may possibly be effective as a topical and/or systemic role or adjunctive treatment for periodontitis either as a stand-alone biological or in combination with other synergistic antioxidants (i.e., vitamins C and E).

Read about the study here.

Monday, May 13, 2013

Over 5,000 Children's Products Contain Toxic Chemicals Linked to Cancer and Hormone Disruption.



Over 5000 children's products contain toxic chemicals linked to cancer, hormone disruption and reproductive problems, including the toxic metals, cadmium, mercury and antimony, as well as phthalates and solvents. A new report by the Washington Toxics Coalition and Safer States reveals the results of manufacturer reporting to the Washington State Department of Ecology. Read the whole report here.