Health & Fitness

This article was previously published September 5, 2018, and has been updated with new information.

Sucralose (sold under the brand name Splenda) was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1998¹ as a tabletop sweetener and for use in products such as baked goods, nonalcoholic beverages, chewing gum, frozen dairy desserts, fruit juices and gelatins.

It's also permitted as a general-purpose sweetener for processed foods. (In the European Union, sucralose is known under the additive code E955.)² The approval was given after the FDA supposedly reviewed more than 110 animal and human safety studies, but of these 110 studies, only two were done on humans, and the longest one lasted just four days.

I knew the approval of sucralose was a nearly identical mistake that the FDA made with aspartame, which is why I wrote my book, "Sweet Deception," in 2006, despite the fact Johnson & Johnson threatened to sue me if I published it. It is certainly vindicating to see the studies confirm what I wrote about in my book over 12 years ago. And the video I made above was shot over seven years ago.

Artificial sweeteners like aspartame and sucralose may have zero calories, but your body isn't fooled. When hit with a "sweet" taste, your body expects calories to follow, and when this doesn't happen, it causes biochemical distortions that can result in weight gain, metabolic dysfunction and other health problems.

Sucralose Decimates Your Gut Microbiome

Different artificial sweeteners have been found to wreak havoc in a number of different ways. Aspartame, for example, has a long list of studies detailing harmful effects ranging from brain damage to preterm delivery. Sucralose, meanwhile, has been found to be particularly damaging to your gut. Research³ published in 2008 found sucralose:

• Reduces gut bacteria by 50%, preferentially targeting bacteria known to have important human health benefits (consuming as few as seven little Splenda packages is enough to have a detrimental effect on your microbiome)
• Increases the pH level in your intestines
• Is absorbed into and accumulates in fat tissue

In response to this study, James Turner, chairman of the national consumer education group Citizens for Health issued the following statement:⁴

"The report makes it clear that the artificial sweetener Splenda and its key component sucralose pose a threat to the people who consume the product. Hundreds of consumers have complained to us about side effects from using Splenda and this study … confirms that the chemicals in the little yellow package should carry a big red warning label."

Sucralose Is Metabolized and Stored in Your Body

Needless to say, the industry has vehemently defended sucralose (and all other chemical sweeteners), stating that it rapidly passes unmetabolized through your body and therefore has no biological effects. Alas, recent research has punched yet another giant hole in the argument that sucralose is a biologically inert chemical, showing it is in fact metabolized and that it accumulates in fat cells.

The study⁵ in question was published in the online version of the Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health August 21, 2018. An interview with the authors can be found on Inverse.⁶

Ten rats were given an average dose of 80.4 milligrams (mg) of sucralose per kilo per day (k/day) for 40 days. According to the researchers, this dosage is "within the range utilized in historical toxicology studies submitted for regulatory approval in North America, Europe and Asia."

Urine and feces were collected daily from each rat, and were analyzed using ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC–MS/MS), which "revealed two new biotransformation products that have not previously been reported."

Research Calls for New Safety Review of Sucralose

The two metabolites are acetylated forms of sucralose that are lipophilic, meaning they dissolve in and combine with fats. Sucralose itself is far less lipophilic, which has been part of the safety argument. According to the authors:

"These metabolites were present in urine and feces throughout the sucralose dosing period and still detected at low levels in the urine 11 days after discontinuation of sucralose administration and six days after sucralose was no longer detected in the urine or feces.

The finding of acetylated sucralose metabolites in urine and feces do not support early metabolism studies, on which regulatory approval was based, that claimed ingested sucralose is excreted unchanged (i.e., not metabolized).

The historical metabolic studies apparently failed to detect these metabolites in part because investigators used a methanol fraction from feces for analysis along with thin layer chromatography and a low-resolution linear radioactivity analyzer.

Further, sucralose was found in adipose tissue in rats two weeks after cessation of the 40-day feeding period even though this compound had disappeared from the urine and feces."

So, not only is sucralose metabolized, these metabolites accumulate in your fat tissues, where they remain for "an extended period of time" after you stop consuming sucralose. In all, these findings led the authors to conclude:

"These new findings of metabolism of sucralose in the gastrointestinal tract and its accumulation in adipose tissue were not part of the original regulatory decision process for this agent and indicate that it now may be time to revisit the safety and regulatory status of this organochlorine artificial sweetener."

Sucralose Is Not an Inert Compound

Previous research has also noted that sucralose is not a biologically inert compound, as claimed. In the 2013 paper,⁷ "Sucralose, a Synthetic Organochlorine Sweetener: Overview of Biological Issues," the authors state, in part:

"Sucralose and one of its hydrolysis products were found to be mutagenic at elevated concentrations in several testing methods … Both human and rodent studies demonstrated that sucralose may alter glucose, insulin and glucagon-like peptide 1 levels. Taken together, these findings indicate that sucralose is not a biologically inert compound."

Importantly, the study also notes that "Cooking with sucralose at high temperatures … generates chloropropanols, a potentially toxic class of compounds." Yet, Splenda is frequently recommended for cooking and baking,⁸ and is often used in processed foods in which high heat was involved.

Chloropropanols, which are still poorly understood, are thought to have adverse effects on your kidneys and may have carcinogenic effects.⁹ However, it's worth noting that chloropropanols are part of a class of toxins known as dioxins, and dioxins are known to cause cancer and endocrine disruption.

Sucralose May Cause Liver Damage

Another study¹⁰ published online August 2, 2018, in the journal Morphologie, found sucralose caused "definite changes" in the liver of treated rats, "indicating toxic effects on regular ingestion." According to these researchers, their findings suggest "sucralose would be taken with caution to avoid hepatic damage."

In other words, regularly using Splenda could damage your liver. Here, adult rats were given a much higher (yet nonlethal) oral dose of sucralose — 3 grams (3,000 milligrams) per kilo body mass per day for 30 days, after which the animals' livers were dissected and compared to the livers of unexposed controls. According to the authors:

"Experimental rats showed features of patchy degeneration of hepatocytes along with Kupffer cells hyperplasia, lymphocytic infiltration, sinusoidal dilatation and fibrosis indicating a definite hepatic damage on regular ingestion of sucralose. Sinusoidal width was also found to be increased in experimental animals as compared to controls."

Studies have also linked sucralose consumption to:

Genotoxicity (DNA damage) and potentially adverse epigenetic effects.11 According to this paper, the acceptable daily intake set for sucralose may in fact be hundreds of times too high to ensure safety

Shrinkage of the thymus, up to 40 percent12,13

Enlargement of the liver and kidneys14,15

Calcification of the kidneys16,17

Increased leukocyte populations (immune system cells) in the thymus and lymph nodes18

Migraines19

Altered glucose, insulin and glucagon-like peptide-1 levels and responses,20 which raises your risk for Type 2 diabetes. A study21 published in the journal Diabetes Care confirmed that, compared to controls, obese patients using sucralose experienced a greater incremental increase in peak plasma concentrations of glucose, a greater incremental increase in insulin and peak insulin secretion rate, along with a decrease in insulin clearance. According to the authors, "These data demonstrate that sucralose affects the glycemic and insulin responses to an oral glucose load in obese people who do not normally consume non-nutritive sweeteners"

Alterations in P-glycoprotein (P-gp) levels, which could result in medications used in chemotherapy, AIDS treatment and treatments for heart conditions being shunted back into the intestines, rather than being absorbed by your body22

Commonly Reported Side Effects of Splenda

If you start searching for adverse events reports, you'll find scores of people reporting a variety of side effects from using Splenda. The following are common symptoms, usually noticed within a 24-hour period following consumption of a Splenda product:

Skin — Redness, itching, swelling, blistering, weeping, crusting, rash, eruptions or hives (itchy bumps or welts)

Lungs — Wheezing, tightness, cough or shortness of breath

Head — Swelling of the face, eyelids, lips, tongue or throat; headaches and migraines (severe headaches)

Nose — Stuffy nose, runny nose (clear, thin discharge), sneezing

Eyes — Red (bloodshot), itchy, swollen or watery

Stomach — Bloating, gas, pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or bloody diarrhea

Heart — Palpitations or fluttering

Joints — Joint pains or aches

Neurological — Anxiety, dizziness, spaced-out sensation, depression

Are You Having a Reaction to Splenda?

To determine if you're having a reaction to artificial sweeteners — be it Splenda, aspartame or any of the others — take the following steps:

1. Eliminate all artificial sweeteners from your diet for two weeks
2. After two weeks, reintroduce your artificial sweetener of choice in a significant quantity (about three servings daily)
3. Avoid other artificial sweeteners during this period
4. Do this for one to three days and take notice of how you feel, especially as compared to when you were abstaining from artificial sweeteners
5. If you don't notice a difference in how you feel after reintroducing your primary artificial sweetener for a few days, it's a safe bet you're able to tolerate it acutely, meaning your body doesn't have an immediate, adverse response. Just know that this doesn't mean your health won't be damaged in the long run
6. If you've been consuming more than one type of artificial sweetener, repeat steps 2 through 4 with the next sweetener on your list

If you do experience side effects from an artificial sweetener (or any other food additive for that matter), please report it to the FDA (if you live in the U.S.). It's easy to make a report — just go to the FDA Consumer Complaint Coordinator page, find the phone number for your state and make a call to report your reaction.

Keep in mind that some medications may contain sucralose as well, even if it's not listed on the label. If you continue to experience any of the symptoms above even though you're avoiding Splenda and other artificial sweeteners, then it may be worth investigating whether any of the medications you're taking contain artificial sweeteners.

Splenda Has Never Been Proven Safe for Human Consumption

The FDA claims they reviewed over 100 studies conducted on Splenda. What I cover in my book, “Sweet Deception,” is what they don't tell you in that: a) only six of these studies were human trials — and only two of them were published before the FDA approved sucralose for human consumption — and b) the remaining animal studies actually revealed potential health problems, including:²³

• Decreased red blood cells (a sign of anemia) at levels above 1,500 mg/kg/day
• Increased male infertility by interfering with sperm production and vitality, as well as brain lesions at higher doses
• Spontaneous abortions in nearly half the rabbit population given sucralose, compared to zero aborted pregnancies in the control group
• A 23 percent death rate in rabbits, compared to a 6 percent death rate in the control group

Even more shocking, the absorption of Splenda into the human body was studied on a grand total of eight men. Based on that study,²⁴ the FDA allowed the findings to be generalized as being representative of the entire human population, including women, children, the elderly and those with any chronic illness — none of whom were ever examined.

Healthier Sugar Substitutes

Two of the best sugar substitutes are from the plant kingdom: Stevia and Lo Han Kuo (also spelled Luo Han Guo). Stevia, a highly sweet herb derived from the leaf of the South American stevia plant, is sold as a supplement. It's completely safe in its natural form and can be used to sweeten most dishes and drinks.

Lo Han Kuo is similar to Stevia, but it's a bit more expensive and harder to find. In China, the Lo Han fruit has been used as a sweetener for centuries, and it's about 200 times sweeter than sugar. A third alternative is to use pure glucose, also known as dextrose.

Dextrose is only 70% as sweet as sucrose, so you'll end up using a bit more of it for the same amount of sweetness, making it slightly more expensive than regular sugar. Still, it's well worth it for your health as it does not contain any fructose whatsoever. Contrary to fructose, glucose can be used directly by every cell in your body and as such is a far safer sugar alternative.

from Articles https://ift.tt/Wb9nwi7
via IFTTT

January 23, 2022, an estimated 30,000¹ to 50,000² Americans gathered in Washington, D.C., for a “Defeat the Mandates” rally.^3,4,5 The crowd marched from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial, where dozens of speakers⁶ — scientists, doctors, academics, media personalities and COVID jab victims — gave a series of inspiring talks intermixed with musical performances. As reported by The Defender:⁷

“After two years of being told to do what ‘Fauci says’ and comply with coercive COVID mandates because it’s ‘the only way out’ of an otherwise endless pandemic, Americans of every race, creed, sexual orientation, political affiliation and vaccination status joined forces Sunday to say, ‘Enough!’

More than 30,000 people traveled from all over the country for the ‘Defeat the Mandates’ rally to defend our inalienable Constitutional rights and protest vaccine mandates, government overreach, censorship and more.

The COVID pandemic has revealed broken systems, including our healthcare system, media and government. With truth, justice and the American way in crisis, rally-goers called for a return to basic values.”

The video at the top of the article features the speech given by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Below is Fox News’ coverage of the event and an interview with one of the co-organizers of the event, Will Witt, a PragerU commentator. Other sponsors included the Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance, World Council for Health, the Vaccine Safety Research Foundation and Children’s Health Defense.⁸

Interspersed in the sections below, you’ll also find the speeches by Dr. Robert Malone, Dr. Peter McCullough, Dr. Pierre Kory and Steve Kirsch, founder of the COVID-19 Early Treatment Fund.

Kennedy’s ‘Defeat the Mandate’ Speech

Kennedy began by applauding the courage of “doctors of conscience,” who from the beginning of the pandemic have been attacked and harassed simply for speaking the truth and doing what their vocation demands. He also discussed the “information chaos” that has been a hallmark of the pandemic response:

“The orchestrated confusion and fear by manipulating PCR tests, overamplifying them, by changing the metrics for how death certificates are calculated; the complete absence of any good information on case fatality rates or infection fatality rates.

These are all the things that our public health agencies ought to be telling us so we can ... evaluate the risk, the treatment and prophylactic protocols. We weren’t given any of that information. The information we were given were badly, badly manipulated.”

For example, he says, we were not told about age-stratified risks. The risk of dying from COVID for those over 70 is 1,000 times greater than for those under the age of 70, and for children, the risk of dying from COVID is statistically no different than zero. These facts were suppressed and the media convinced us the risk was equally great for everyone, and this prevented us from having a rational conversation about pandemic responses.

Pfizer’s Trial Data Proves Its COVID Jab Isn’t Safe

Kennedy then went on to review Pfizer’s trial data, which the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, after vowing transparency, wanted 75 years to release. Data released so far show that six months into what should have been a five-year trial, they ended the trial by unblinding the placebo group and giving them the real COVID shot.

What this means is that we can never know the long-term impacts of this injection, as they got rid of the controls. Still, the data is revealing. In those six short months, 21 of the 22,000 volunteers in the vaccine group died, compared to 17 in the placebo group. Extrapolating from that data, we can conclude that if you take the jab, you have a 21% increased chance of dying over the next six months.

Now, how could Pfizer conclude that the shot was 100% effective? Because only one person died from COVID in the vaccine group, whereas two people in the placebo group died from COVID, and two is 100% greater than one. This is what’s known as “relative risk.”

“It is a deceit!” Kennedy said. “The important thing for people to understand is ‘absolute risk.’ This is what absolute risk tells us: They have to give 22,000 people the vaccine to protect one person from death from COVID.

And if you have to give 22,000 people the vaccine to prevent one death, you better make sure the vaccine doesn’t kill anybody. Because if it kills one person, you have canceled out all the benefits.”

Well, in this case, we saw that the vaccine group had four more deaths than the placebo group. So, the data tells us that the jab is killing more people than it can save. The most common cause of death in the vaccine group was heart attack.

A total of five people had a fatal heart attack in that group, compared to just one in the placebo group. So, in conclusion, for every COVID death they prevent, these shots are causing four excess heart attack deaths. And, indeed, heart attacks are among the top most-reported adverse events.

The Seeding of Hatred Is Bearing Fruit

While some object to comparisons being made between our current situation and the Nazi regime, such comparisons are unmistakably spot-on. Those who object may be doing so because it hits too close to home.

Not only do media and our own government accuse people who stand up for the Constitutional right to bodily autonomy of being “domestic terrorists,”^9,10 a shockingly large portion of Democrats also favor draconian penalties for the unvaccinated — including corralling them into internment camps.

A recent Rasmussen poll¹¹ show 77% of those who identify as Democrats support vaccine mandates, compared to just 22% of self-identifying Republicans.

Of Democrats, 55% also favor fines for the unvaccinated, 59% think unvaccinated people should be placed under house arrest, 48% say government should be allowed to fine or even imprison anyone who questions the effectiveness of the COVID jab, 45% approve of segregating the unvaccinated into some sort of internment camp, and 29% endorse removing children from parents who refuse the jab. As noted by comedian JP Sears, who emceed the rally:¹²

“I don’t know much, but one of the things I do know is mandates and freedom they don’t mix. They’re like oil and water. They can’t occupy the same space at the same time.”

Media and Celebrities Have Misused Their Influence

As it stands, it appears half of all so-called “Democrats” have been brainwashed into supporting nihilistic totalitarianism, the complete rejection of established laws, democracy and constitutional rights.

We shouldn’t come down on them too hard, though, because the media have done such a fantastic job at brainwashing people with fear — fear of an invisible virus, fear of each other, fear of their own families. Everyone’s an enemy. Even those who are the image of health itself are portrayed as potential death dealers.

More than anyone else, the media bear responsibility for stirring up this hate, creating political division and polarizing Americans against each other. And for what? So that the media’s puppet masters can then pretend to “save” us from ourselves with their “Build Back Better” plan and Great Reset.

A number of celebrities have also misused their status to promote unwarranted hatred and segregation based on medical choices. Among them, Star Trek actor George Takei, who in mid-August 2021 took to Twitter to share his despise for the unvaccinated:¹³

“The willfully unvaccinated who wind up in hospitals from COVID should not receive priority medical care over other very sick or injured people who are as much in urgent need of medical care.”

Media Try to Foment Civil War to Protect Their Puppet Masters

The globalist puppet masters want a civil war, and they’ve used the media to program people for it. A quick online search for “civil war”¹⁴ shows the media are busily pumping out articles “predicting” that civil war is imminent, this time between people in each individual state, rather than state against state. Don’t fall for it.

The whole thing is a sham; it’s sheer projection of what the “Build Back Better” authoritarians are doing against their own people. They want us at each other’s throats so we won’t be at theirs. It’s obscene, really — truly Orwellian doublespeak. 

The good news is that more and more people are waking up to the insanity, realizing where the problem actually lies. Our problem is not with each other, regardless of political affiliation or medical status. Our problem is with leadership that refuse to adhere to the U.S. Constitution, which spells out the rights of all Americans and upon which this nation was founded. As noted by Kennedy in his rally speech:

“We have witnessed over the last 20 months a coup d’état against democracy, and the controlled demolition of the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights starting with the censorship … If you give the government the license to silence its critics, you have given them the capacity to commit any atrocity they want and to obliterate all the amendments and rights of the Constitution.”

You’re Being Starved of Crucial Information

The media have proven useless in this pandemic. Worse, they’ve proven to be an enemy of the people, withholding crucial, life-saving information while fomenting suspicion, fear, hatred and medical bigotry. As noted by Kory in his speech:

“Every time I try to speak out or we try to publish a paper, the medical journals reject them, retract them. They won’t review them. You are being starved of critical information. The media ignores us. They’ve captured the television stations and newspapers. They will not allow any information about nonprofit, low-cost medication to reach the masses. And people are dying.”

The media have been known as “the Fourth Estate” for the reason that they have the power and capacity for advocacy and the framing of political issues. Whether intentionally or through ignorance, the media have misled the people, resulting in needless death and suffering.

Rather than investigating and shedding light on important issues and concerns, they’ve hidden and suppressed one side of the story and twisted the other side out of all proportion. I honestly don’t know if they will ever recover. Of course, they have plenty of help from Big Tech, which suppresses and hides anything that contradicts the official narrative, making sure the “Mockingbird” press is all you see wherever you look.

If You Want to Preserve Humanity, Do Not Comply

There are no easy answers to this. There are no solutions that will be pain-free. If you want to be free, and ensure freedom for your children and grandchildren, then you must be willing to be inconvenienced and uncomfortable in the short-term. You must continue to speak out, wherever you can, and peacefully refuse to comply with freedom-robbing unconstitutional edicts.

You need to realize that freedom is not free. It’s not given willingly by those who want to lord over the many. Again and again, throughout history, people have had to fight in various ways to get it, and fight again to keep it when it was threatened. Our forefathers shed their blood and sacrificed all they had so that you could live in a free nation. Over time, that freedom was slowly eroded, piece by piece.

Now, the end result of giving in a little here and a little there is staring us in the face. We’re now close to losing everything. We’re close to losing ownership over our very own bodies, and when that goes, what do you have left, really?

Historically, a slave was someone who did not have the right to refuse a demand by his or her master. They had no bodily autonomy. Their body belonged to their master. Without bodily autonomy, we will all be slaves, whether we can identify our master or not. Like slaves of old, we’re also close to losing the right to our own children. What then?

We’re losing the right to work, get an education, the right to buy food even, or obtain basic medical care. What kind of life is this? Is this the kind of world you want to leave for your children?

It’s not even a question of whether the COVID jabs are safe or dangerous. It doesn’t matter. Even if they were safe for everyone (and they’re not), the idea that you’d have to get a medical intervention — ANY medical intervention — in order to “earn” the right to buy milk or watch a movie is simply revolting.

It’s anti-human at its core. So, if you deem yourself human at all, you have an obligation to act accordingly, and to resist, denounce and refuse to comply with attempts to strip us of our humanity.

from Articles https://ift.tt/jhDkYdx
via IFTTT

Oregano (Origanum vulgare) is usually associated with Italian cooking. The perennial plant is part of the mint family (Lamiaceae) and is native to Mediterranean and western Asian countries. Today, it's one of the most widely used herbs and is even one of the herbs found in chili powder.¹

Although popular in Greece and Italy, it was not brought to the U.S. until after World War II when pizza began trending, increasing the sale of the herb by 5,200% between 1948 and 1956.²

Another variety of oregano more familiar to Mexican meals is called Mexican oregano (Lippia graveolens). It is from a different botanical family and is sometimes called Mexican marjoram, likely since oregano is a close relative of marjoram.

Marjoram is in the same genus as oregano, but it is a different species with a gentler aroma and flavor. Oregano can be used fresh or dried, but marjoram is best used fresh.³ Dried oregano has a subtler flavor than the pungent taste of the fresh leaves.⁴

Origanum vulgare is a perennial plant that grows up to 3 feet high and 2 feet wide.⁵ It is easily grown in your garden, enjoys full sun and is a low maintenance plant that attracts butterflies. It blooms between July and October with pinkish-purple or white flowers.

Oregano essential oils have been studied extensively as the plant and oil have a rich history in traditional medicine,⁶ beginning in the Middle Ages when the leaves were chewed to help reduce the pain of rheumatism, toothache and indigestion. The ancient Greeks used it to treat skin conditions and the herb was used in China for fever and upset stomach.

Oregano Is a Potent Antioxidant With High ORAC Value

The herb is rich in phenols, which are natural phytochemicals that have beneficial antioxidant effects.⁷ The two most abundant are thymol and carvacrol.⁸ An antioxidant is a term used to describe a compound that counteracts unstable molecules. These are called free radicals and are naturally produced during oxidative metabolism.

One lab analysis of the antioxidant ability of foods is called the Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC). The measurement was used to demonstrate that foods high in antioxidant capacity could help slow the process of aging in the brain and body.⁹

The U.S. Department of Agriculture¹⁰ reported studies published in 1999 that showed high-ORAC foods could help prevent long-term memory loss, raise antioxidant serum levels and protect capillaries in an animal model against oxygen damage. Nutritionist Ronald L. Prior, Ph.D.,¹¹ contended:¹²

"If we can show some relationship between ORAC intake and health outcome in people, I think we may reach a point where the ORAC value will become a new standard for good antioxidant protection."

According to Natural Products Insider, in 2012, the USDA removed the ORAC Database for Selected Foods citing evidence that the values have no relevance to the effect of specific compounds on human health.¹³ According to the USDA "ORAC values are routinely misused by food and dietary supplement manufacturing companies to promote their products and by consumers to guide their food and dietary supplement choices."

Prior, who was the senior researcher at the USDA for 35 years, disagrees, calling it unfortunate that ORAC has sometimes been misused,¹⁴

“… but that does not necessarily mean that the information is not useful if used appropriately. In too many cases, the goal has been to obtain the highest antioxidant value. It is not always the case that more is better and, in some cases, using individual antioxidant compounds, more may be detrimental."

The list of foods has since been taken offline but is available for download.¹⁵ Fresh oregano has an ORAC value of 13,970 and dried herb a value of 175,295. A comparison list of fresh herbs places oregano just below marjoram, thyme and sage in a list of herbs.¹⁶

Separating the phytochemicals from plants and using them individually raises the potential of experiencing side effects. The antioxidant compounds found in the whole oregano plant or essential oil work synergistically to provide a host of health benefits from the antioxidant, antimicrobial, antiviral and antifungal properties.¹⁷

Have You Considered Oil of Oregano for the Common Cold?

According to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health,¹⁸ each year there are more than 1 billion people who contract a cold in the U.S. and up to 20% of people got the flu. Rhinovirus is one of the most common viruses that cause the common cold.¹⁹ However, other viruses can also cause cold symptoms, including coronaviruses such as SARS-CoV-2.²⁰

A few studies have evaluated the efficacy of oregano essential oil or oregano oil extract against upper respiratory infections. One 2019 study²¹ looked at a blend of oregano, thyme and salvia oils against upper respiratory tract viruses, including adenovirus 5, rhinovirus, influenza and RSV. The blend showed strong antiviral activity against rhinovirus and two of the three strains of influenza.

Rosmarinic acid has been identified as a major antioxidant in oregano,²² and research²³ has demonstrated it can inhibit seasonal allergic rhinoconjunctivitis in patients using two independent mechanisms — inhibition of the inflammatory response and scavenging reactive oxygen species.

Data²⁴ also show that French oregano tablets rapidly reduced symptoms in patients with the common cough and cold. The research found that it was effective in a dose-dependent manner and was superior to the conventional treatment used during the study.

Oregano Supports Your GI Tract

Your immune system is largely supported by the beneficial bacteria in your gastrointestinal tract, referred to as your gut microbiome. Oregano oil can have an impact on supporting your gut microbiome and treating bacterial overgrowth.

Norovirus triggers nearly 1 in every 5 cases of gastroenteritis that lead to diarrhea and vomiting.²⁵ Each year approximately 900 people die from norovirus in the up to 21 million cases reported.²⁶ Using cell cultures from small animals,²⁷ researchers²⁸ found that carvacrol can drop viral infectivity within 15 minutes of exposure.

Oregano oil and carvacrol are also active against bacterial agents in the kitchen that can lead to food poisoning. For example, another study²⁹ found oregano essential oil could remove staphylococcus aureus biofilms on stainless steel.

Finally, oregano oil also shows activity against small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO). This condition can develop after surgery, disease or medications have slowed the intestinal tract, which then sets up a breeding ground for harmful bacteria.³⁰ Excess harmful bacteria can cause malnutrition, diarrhea and weight loss.

In one review of the literature,³¹ researchers found that more than 38% of people with irritable bowel syndrome also had SIBO. Another study³² gathered participants who tested positive for SIBO and offered herbal therapy or rifaximin, currently used for traveler’s diarrhea caused by E. coli.³³

The results showed that 46% using the herbal treatment with oregano oil had a negative follow-up as compared to 34% using the medication. In the participant group, 31.8% showed no response to rifaximin and were subsequently offered herbal rescue therapy. Of those, 57.1% had a negative follow-up after completing the treatment. The researchers concluded:³⁴

“Herbal therapies are at least as effective as rifaximin for resolution of SIBO by LBT [lactulose breath test]. Herbals also appear to be as effective as triple antibiotic therapy for SIBO rescue therapy for rifaximin non-responders. Further, prospective studies are needed to validate these findings and explore additional alternative therapies in patients with refractory SIBO.”

Oregano Oil Treats Several Skin Conditions

Nearly 25% of all fungal infections worldwide are caused by dermatophytes.³⁵ Skin infections are difficult to treat and are growing resistant to conventional medications. One study³⁶ published in 2020 evaluated the efficacy of a wide range of essential oils against Microsporum and Trichophyton, two common fungi responsible for athlete's foot and ringworm. They found that of the 65 essential oils tested, oregano was in the top five most potent.

Another study³⁷ found the combination of oregano oil, heat and salt was an effective treatment for athlete's foot caused by Trichophyton mentagrophytes. And another team of researchers³⁸ successfully used oregano and thyme essential oils as a fumigant against fungi attacking stored grain, finding it was an effective alternative to chemicals.

The anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties of oregano oil make it an option for treating acne and eczema. One study³⁹ evaluated this alternative treatment in the lab and an animal model, finding when oregano was formulated as a nanoemulsion it exhibited superior healing and antimicrobial properties as compared to the antibiotic control.

Wound infections present a significant health care challenge, costing Medicare up to $96.8 billion every year.⁴⁰ One study⁴¹ demonstrated that the combination of turmeric and oregano extracts may be an effective addition to wound care dressings for diabetics and non-diabetics. Using relatively low concentrations, it demonstrated antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties.

A second study⁴² incorporated oregano essential oil into antimicrobial wound dressings and found concentrations at 5% inhibited all the tested strains of bacteria, including Staphylococcus aureus, MRSA and E coli.

Pain and Swelling Respond to Oregano Oil

A chronic inflammatory response is a characteristic symptom of rheumatoid arthritis. Researchers have studied the effect carvacrol can have on the suppression of the inflammatory response. In 2010,⁴³ researchers found that carvacrol could manipulate heat shock proteins in the lab and in an animal study to boost protective T-cell responses and down-regulate the inflammatory response.

Later, researchers⁴⁴ used an animal model to demonstrate the phytonutrient carvacrol could reduce pathogenic T-cell responses, which suggested it offered a novel opportunity to develop “a dietary based intervention in chronic inflammatory diseases.”

By 2018, researchers⁴⁵ were looking at the effect carvacrol had on fibroblast-like synoviocytes, which play a role in the chronic inflammatory process found in rheumatoid arthritis. The researchers discovered the phytochemical could inhibit the production of inflammatory cytokines and prevent the activation of several pathways that may be involved in inflammation.

The anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties of oregano oil have made it a popular addition to skincare products. One study⁴⁶ looked at the biological activity in a human skin cell model and found evidence that suggests oregano essential oil not only is a promising candidate as an anti-inflammatory, but one with anticancer properties as well.

Take Care When Choosing Your Oil

Oregano oil can be purchased as an extract or an essential oil.⁴⁷ The essential oil is made from dried shoots and leaves and is extracted using steam distillation. The essential oil can then be mixed with a carrier oil and used on the skin.

Oregano oil extract, also called oil of oregano,⁴⁸ can be made at home by simply adding chopped leaves to olive oil and heating the mixture in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes to release the natural oil from the oregano leaves. This is stored for one to two weeks before the leaves are drained, and the oil is stored in an airtight container. Oil of oregano can also be purchased in liquid or capsule form.

When purchasing your oregano oil, take care to check the label to make sure it’s made by a trusted manufacturer that sells pure, organic oils, as many “bargain” brands can be adulterated. Also remember that oregano oil must be used with a carrier oil. My top carrier oil choices are olive, coconut or jojoba. When you’re ready to use it, remember to test it on a small area of your skin, first, to be sure you don't have a local allergic reaction.

Clinical herbalist Michelle Lynde writes⁴⁹ that the ideal ratio when diluting oregano oil for topical use is one part oregano oil to three parts carrier oil. A few drops of essential oil can also be added to a vaporizer or diffuser to help relieve the symptoms of allergies, sinusitis, chronic bronchitis and coughs.

However, the oil should be avoided by women who are pregnant or nursing, and it should not be given to babies or children. People who have high blood pressure or a heart condition should also avoid using oregano oil.

from Articles https://ift.tt/ilMrABG
via IFTTT

High doses of a widely-used drug used in the hormonal treatment of conditions such as excessive hair growth, early puberty, prostate cancer, are linked to an increased risk of meningioma -- the most common type of benign brain tumor, finds a new study of over 8-million patients.

from Top Health News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/IPtYhNp

A research team has investigated in detail how messenger substances signal inflammation during the removal of damaged cells in the body. Using high-resolution microscopy methods, the researchers were able to show that two proteins interact dynamically with each other and thus determine whether a dying cell triggers an inflammatory reaction in the body.

from Top Health News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/XYqNhDn

People over age 65 at the highest risk for severe COVID-19 have often been the least likely to receive monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) -- a highly effective treatment for the disease -- both across and within U.S. states, according to new research.

from Top Health News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/0Kwo9M5

Smoking cannabis leads to lung damage, but in a different way to tobacco, new research has found. The findings come from the long-running Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study, which has documented cannabis use and measured lung function throughout adult life up to age 45 in more than 1,000 individuals born in Dunedin, New Zealand in 1972/73.

from Top Health News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/NMFfBwz