At a press conference on May 19, Dr. Arthur Robinson announced the release of the names of 32,000 scientists who have signed a strongly worded petition dissenting from the position taken by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and other scientific organizations.
Signers include more than 9,000 Ph.Ds, although only a relatively small percentage of the signers are climate scientists.
Most signatures were obtained by mailing to lists of university professors and a compendium that constitutes a “Who’s Who” of American scientists.
Sources:
Association of American Physicians and Surgeons May 20, 2008
HumanEvents.com May 20, 2008
The debate over global warming is very similar to the propaganda machine started by tobacco giant Philip Morris in 1992, as they went to work on discrediting an EPA report attributing dangerous health problems to smoking. That was when the term “junk science” became part of the lexicon.
To smoking advocates, junk science referred to scientific, peer-reviewed studies linking smoking to cancer, whereas "sound science" meant studies supporting the tobacco industry's claims that the link was inconclusive, principles soon used by global warming advocates to blur the debate in a similar fashion.
Are We Focusing on the Real Issues at Hand?
Personally, I think it’s quite clear that global warming is a natural cyclic occurrence that is not solely created by man. To ignore these cycles and focus exclusively on data that supports global warming as a man-made phenomenon doesn’t solve the problems associated with global warming, but it does create brand new financial and political platforms.
The Two Biggest Lies:
1) That Scientists have reached a consensus
There is MUCH more dissent about this issue that is commonly reported, and only 5% of the most recent consensus ARE EVEN CLIMATOLOGISTS!
Also science IS NOT A DEMOCRACY, it is not done by census nor convention. It is lead by FACT. If you took a consensus 500 years ago leading scientists would have said the earth was flat and the sun revolved around it!!!
2) That rising carbon monoxide levels correlate with global warming. They simply don't!! Carbon monoxide has been increasing for 50 years and has exploded in the last 10, but the warming has continued at the same rate. Sun spot activity actually correlates better! (more on that later)
However, that does NOT mean I’m for continuing polluting the world as we are today.
Naturally, we would all be healthier with less pollution and environmental toxins of all kinds. But these are things we need to address because they are health hazards in and of themselves, not necessarily because they’re heating up the planet and must be strictly controlled and enforced by some small empirical ruling group who will make the decisions to save us from ourselves.
I believe in more self-responsibility by individual citizens, and better, cleaner, safer alternatives. Not just more governmental taxes and fines while letting business go on as usual and ignoring real health-benefiting solutions.
The issue of global warming is indeed a hot topic – just reading through the unusually prolific and fervent opinions in the in most public discussion forums will give you a taste for how divided people are on this issue.
Opinions, and “supporting evidence” abounds; covering the entire spectrum from ‘man had nothing to do with it and therefore we need to do nothing to clean up our atmosphere,’ to ‘man is solely responsible, and we have to take severe and drastic measures to stop its progression.’ There are studies that purportedly support both sides of the argument, with each side saying that “the debate is over.” But as Lawrence Solomon said in the Financial Post, “How many scientists does it take to establish that a consensus does not exist on global warming?”
Does the Sun Influence Climate on Earth?
There are clear correlations between the ebb and flow of sunspots and the temperature here on earth. When the frequency of sunspots rises, earth’s temperature rises as well. When they disappear, the earth cools. During the Maunder Minimum, a 50-year period when the sun was uncommonly quiet, the earth fell into what’s referred to as The Little Ice Age.
Right now, we’re heading into a big sunspot cycle. It started in January 2008, with the onset of a reversed-polarity sunspot. So, in the next several years, we’re likely to experience many record high summer temperatures, and warmer than normal winters. The glaciers will continue retreating.
And then, when solar cycle 25 hits ten to twelve years later, the overheating will subside, and we may even experience a minor ice age.
Who Does the Idea of Man-Made Global Warming Benefit?
(I mean besides the asshole Al Gore)
I haven’t taken a stance on why, exactly, political global warming activists are doing what they’re doing. But I’m not ruling out the possibility that there are vast financial gains involved that will be made even though it won’t change the inevitability of the natural occurrence of global warming, which will be followed by a natural global cool-down.
One of the dangers, as I see it, is that by being distracted by fear mongers, we might not focus on the real issues at hand: securing safe and healthy foods to eat; ensuring safe water supplies; figuring out alternative, non-polluting sources of energy as oil becomes a scarce commodity and poor air quality is choking many parts of the world literally to death.
And, fixing the fatally flawed health care system in the United States, which will only get worse as the climate changes, regardless of what or who’s at fault.
On May 29th, the Associated Press announced that the White House had finally produced their U.S. global warming report, under court order, after refusing to release it for four years. This 271-page report includes predictions of increased smog-induced deaths, water shortages across the United States, a need for billions of dollars in more power plants, increased food- and waterborne diseases, and last but not least, a disproportionate disparity between the poor, the elderly, and the uninsured, compared to those who can afford health care insurance.
These are the issues we need to focus on changing.
We can’t do anything about the inner workings of the sun, but we can work toward creating a cleaner and healthier environment for all, and you can work on creating optimal health for yourself and your family, and make the necessary preparations for surviving and staying safe in these changing times.
Do your own research and form your own opinions.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Is this why losing weight is so hard??
I haven't added a post here in a month due to my daughter's surgery and surrounding issues. She is doing fine and I hope to return to a normal routine.
From an article reporting on a recent obesity study:
Scientists have discovered why overweight people find it so hard to lose weight; the difference in the number of fat cells between lean and obese people is established during childhood. Although overweight people replenish their fat cells at the same rate as thin ones, they have around twice as many fat cells total.
This means that the number of fat cells in a person remains the same, even after a successful diet.
Until now, it was not clear that adults could make new fat cells. Many believed that fat mass was increased solely by incorporating more fats into already existing fat cells. In fact, people constantly produce new fat cells.
Fat cells are replaced at the same rate that they die, about 10 percent every year. Obesity is determined by a combination of the number of fat cells and their size; they can grow or shrink as fat from food is deposited in them.
Sources:
The Telegraph May 4, 2008
Nature May 8, 2008; 453(7192):169 (Free Full Text Article)
Nature Genetics May 4, 2008 [Epub ahead of print] (Free Full Text Article)
Keeping up with this kind of twisted logic is difficult, but somebody’s got to do it. The alternative is to allow articles like this to cloud the minds of otherwise intelligent folks like you into thinking that weight has nothing to do with your lifestyle choices, and everything to do with the number of fat cells your parents so rudely handed down to you via the family gene pool.
According to the author of this Telegraph story, scientists have now discovered why it’s so difficult for overweight people to lose weight – they somehow ended up with nearly twice as many fat cells as their slimmer counterparts during childhood, which can be linked to a genetic aberration.
And from this revolutionary knowledge, new treatment protocols (read: drugs) to attack the signals and genes in fat cells that control the formation of new cells, and/or gene manipulation, will undoubtedly be born. As Dr. Spalding said, "Until now it was not clear whether there was fat cell turnover in adults. Now we have established this does occur, we can target the process.”
What’s Wrong With This Thinking?.
In fact, fat cells around your hips and bottom (subcutaneous fat) “communicate” and affect your metabolism in an entirely different way than the fat cells around your waistline and inner organs According to those findings, a heavier bottom actually protects you from developing metabolic syndrome and diabetes, because your subcutaneous fat aids your metabolic functioning, whereas visceral fat around your gut predisposes you to those same diseases.
So what could you reasonably assume might happen, were you to take drugs to eliminate fat cells, or fat cell renewal throughout your body?
Who knows?
But if the history of pharmaceuticals has taught us anything, it’s that the only thing that’s certain is that side effects are highly unpredictable.
And as far as the faulty gene theory goes, science has already debunked the "bad genes" theory showing that good nutrition can overcome this predisposition!
But, gene therapy is such a lucrative dream. No Big Pharma-funded scientist can bear to watch that dream die.
What’s Fat Got to Do With It?
Contrary to the popular belief that fat cells should be banished, they are a very important metabolically active part of your body, producing hormones that impact your brain, liver, immune system and even your ability to reproduce. Yes fat cells are not just some inert storage product that has no real purpose except as a fuel reserve.
What’s more, the hormones your fat cells produce impact how much you eat and how much fat you burn.One of these hormones is leptin, which sends signals that reduce hunger, increase fat burning and reduce fat storage. You might recognize this word because once these hormones are discovered, fly by night weight loss product companies soon incorporate these words into products to try to convince you they are the modern up to date new magic bullet of science.
So using this hormone normally functioning fat cells are communicating properly and can “hear” this message of hunger or lack of hunger.
If you eat a diet that is too high in sugar and grains, the sugar gets metabolized to fat (and is stored as fat in your fat cells), which in turn releases surges in leptin. Over time, if your body is exposed to too much leptin, it will become resistant to it (just as your body can become resistant to insulin).And when you become leptin-resistant, your body can no longer hear the messages telling it to stop eating and burn fat -- so it remains hungry and stores more fat.
Leptin-resistance also causes an increase in visceral fat, sending you on a vicious cycle of hunger, fat storage and an increased risk of heart disease, diabetes, metabolic syndrome and more.
As Sadaf Shadan states in the scientific journal Nature, there are two contributing factors to an increase in fat mass: the number of fat cells, and how much fat each of them stores (their volume).
So essentially, you can have fewer fat cells and still be overweight because each cell is “maxed out,” if you will, or alternatively, you can have more fat cells overall and be at an ideal weight simply because your fat cells are functioning properly and not storing excess fat.
Either way, you’re in control here.
What Genetic Mutation Disaster Happened in the 60’s?
Interestingly enough, man has not always struggled with obesity.
According to historical analysis, presented in the policy research study: Pub. 757, Public Policy in Global Health and Medical Practice, 2006, obesity began it's climb to become the second leading cause of unnecessary death, back in the 1960’s.
Did man suddenly experience a mass genetic mutation at that time, giving rise to one of the leading health problems of today?
No.
Cultural changes, dietary changes and technological changes had a major impact on the evolution of obesity from then on. Americans, as well as many other countries, now live in a society that encourages excessive food intake, including non-food food-stuffs like processed foods and snacks, and discourages physical activity.
If inappropriate diet and sedentary lifestyles created the problem, how can it be cured by messing around with your genes, or removing fat cells, either surgically or pharmaceutically?
Do You REALLY Want to Lose Weight?
Yes, it’s true:
“The worst part of eating healthy and getting in shape is that you usually have to get out of bed yourself to do it”
There is no Magic Pill. Some might help kick-start things temporarily, but they can’t keep you there.
There are, however, four tenets of long-term optimal health and weight that remain the same, regardless of the cause:
Eat a healthy diet that’s right for you, paying very careful attention to keeping your insulin levels down
Get plenty of sleep
Manage your stress
Exercise
Remember, obesity is a direct result of poor dietary choices and insufficient exercise.
Final Thoughts
People often ask me why I do this work. Am I not just wangling my own wares like everybody else?
Well the answer is quite simply that I’ve seen far too much needless suffering through my years in medical practice. Absolutely needless suffering -- whether in the form of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, stress, you-name-it –because people were carefully manipulated and deceived by our current modern culture from the get it know pain free look good world to the total reliance on corn for our entire system of food production.
The real tragedy is that they never explored the simple options that could relatively easily reverse their illness. The paradox is that most of these alternatives are as free as the air you breathe. Changing your eating habits, getting to bed at a decent hour, learning to say “no” when you’re overloaded, and going for a walk will cost you nothing. But the rewards can be priceless.
Some people insist I was misguided to recommend sun exposure daily to assure appropriate vitamin D levels but the science seems to be bearing these beliefs out.
I believe information is more powerful than pills when it comes to creating and maintaining optimal health.
So stay informed, be the change, and spread it around as widely as you can.
From an article reporting on a recent obesity study:
Scientists have discovered why overweight people find it so hard to lose weight; the difference in the number of fat cells between lean and obese people is established during childhood. Although overweight people replenish their fat cells at the same rate as thin ones, they have around twice as many fat cells total.
This means that the number of fat cells in a person remains the same, even after a successful diet.
Until now, it was not clear that adults could make new fat cells. Many believed that fat mass was increased solely by incorporating more fats into already existing fat cells. In fact, people constantly produce new fat cells.
Fat cells are replaced at the same rate that they die, about 10 percent every year. Obesity is determined by a combination of the number of fat cells and their size; they can grow or shrink as fat from food is deposited in them.
Sources:
The Telegraph May 4, 2008
Nature May 8, 2008; 453(7192):169 (Free Full Text Article)
Nature Genetics May 4, 2008 [Epub ahead of print] (Free Full Text Article)
Keeping up with this kind of twisted logic is difficult, but somebody’s got to do it. The alternative is to allow articles like this to cloud the minds of otherwise intelligent folks like you into thinking that weight has nothing to do with your lifestyle choices, and everything to do with the number of fat cells your parents so rudely handed down to you via the family gene pool.
According to the author of this Telegraph story, scientists have now discovered why it’s so difficult for overweight people to lose weight – they somehow ended up with nearly twice as many fat cells as their slimmer counterparts during childhood, which can be linked to a genetic aberration.
And from this revolutionary knowledge, new treatment protocols (read: drugs) to attack the signals and genes in fat cells that control the formation of new cells, and/or gene manipulation, will undoubtedly be born. As Dr. Spalding said, "Until now it was not clear whether there was fat cell turnover in adults. Now we have established this does occur, we can target the process.”
What’s Wrong With This Thinking?.
In fact, fat cells around your hips and bottom (subcutaneous fat) “communicate” and affect your metabolism in an entirely different way than the fat cells around your waistline and inner organs According to those findings, a heavier bottom actually protects you from developing metabolic syndrome and diabetes, because your subcutaneous fat aids your metabolic functioning, whereas visceral fat around your gut predisposes you to those same diseases.
So what could you reasonably assume might happen, were you to take drugs to eliminate fat cells, or fat cell renewal throughout your body?
Who knows?
But if the history of pharmaceuticals has taught us anything, it’s that the only thing that’s certain is that side effects are highly unpredictable.
And as far as the faulty gene theory goes, science has already debunked the "bad genes" theory showing that good nutrition can overcome this predisposition!
But, gene therapy is such a lucrative dream. No Big Pharma-funded scientist can bear to watch that dream die.
What’s Fat Got to Do With It?
Contrary to the popular belief that fat cells should be banished, they are a very important metabolically active part of your body, producing hormones that impact your brain, liver, immune system and even your ability to reproduce. Yes fat cells are not just some inert storage product that has no real purpose except as a fuel reserve.
What’s more, the hormones your fat cells produce impact how much you eat and how much fat you burn.One of these hormones is leptin, which sends signals that reduce hunger, increase fat burning and reduce fat storage. You might recognize this word because once these hormones are discovered, fly by night weight loss product companies soon incorporate these words into products to try to convince you they are the modern up to date new magic bullet of science.
So using this hormone normally functioning fat cells are communicating properly and can “hear” this message of hunger or lack of hunger.
If you eat a diet that is too high in sugar and grains, the sugar gets metabolized to fat (and is stored as fat in your fat cells), which in turn releases surges in leptin. Over time, if your body is exposed to too much leptin, it will become resistant to it (just as your body can become resistant to insulin).And when you become leptin-resistant, your body can no longer hear the messages telling it to stop eating and burn fat -- so it remains hungry and stores more fat.
Leptin-resistance also causes an increase in visceral fat, sending you on a vicious cycle of hunger, fat storage and an increased risk of heart disease, diabetes, metabolic syndrome and more.
As Sadaf Shadan states in the scientific journal Nature, there are two contributing factors to an increase in fat mass: the number of fat cells, and how much fat each of them stores (their volume).
So essentially, you can have fewer fat cells and still be overweight because each cell is “maxed out,” if you will, or alternatively, you can have more fat cells overall and be at an ideal weight simply because your fat cells are functioning properly and not storing excess fat.
Either way, you’re in control here.
What Genetic Mutation Disaster Happened in the 60’s?
Interestingly enough, man has not always struggled with obesity.
According to historical analysis, presented in the policy research study: Pub. 757, Public Policy in Global Health and Medical Practice, 2006, obesity began it's climb to become the second leading cause of unnecessary death, back in the 1960’s.
Did man suddenly experience a mass genetic mutation at that time, giving rise to one of the leading health problems of today?
No.
Cultural changes, dietary changes and technological changes had a major impact on the evolution of obesity from then on. Americans, as well as many other countries, now live in a society that encourages excessive food intake, including non-food food-stuffs like processed foods and snacks, and discourages physical activity.
If inappropriate diet and sedentary lifestyles created the problem, how can it be cured by messing around with your genes, or removing fat cells, either surgically or pharmaceutically?
Do You REALLY Want to Lose Weight?
Yes, it’s true:
“The worst part of eating healthy and getting in shape is that you usually have to get out of bed yourself to do it”
There is no Magic Pill. Some might help kick-start things temporarily, but they can’t keep you there.
There are, however, four tenets of long-term optimal health and weight that remain the same, regardless of the cause:
Eat a healthy diet that’s right for you, paying very careful attention to keeping your insulin levels down
Get plenty of sleep
Manage your stress
Exercise
Remember, obesity is a direct result of poor dietary choices and insufficient exercise.
Final Thoughts
People often ask me why I do this work. Am I not just wangling my own wares like everybody else?
Well the answer is quite simply that I’ve seen far too much needless suffering through my years in medical practice. Absolutely needless suffering -- whether in the form of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, stress, you-name-it –because people were carefully manipulated and deceived by our current modern culture from the get it know pain free look good world to the total reliance on corn for our entire system of food production.
The real tragedy is that they never explored the simple options that could relatively easily reverse their illness. The paradox is that most of these alternatives are as free as the air you breathe. Changing your eating habits, getting to bed at a decent hour, learning to say “no” when you’re overloaded, and going for a walk will cost you nothing. But the rewards can be priceless.
Some people insist I was misguided to recommend sun exposure daily to assure appropriate vitamin D levels but the science seems to be bearing these beliefs out.
I believe information is more powerful than pills when it comes to creating and maintaining optimal health.
So stay informed, be the change, and spread it around as widely as you can.
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