Vitamin D Deficiency Causes Mental Decline

A new study published in the Journal of Geriatric Psychology and Neurology reveals that vitamin D deficiency leads to significant mental decline as people age.
The study followed 2,000 people aged 65 and above, comparing their vitamin D levels to their degree of cognitive impairment. Those with the highest vitamin D levels had the least cognitive impairment while those with the lowest vitamin D levels had the greatest cognitive impairment.

If allowed to progress, cognitive impairment is usually diagnosed as dementia or Alzheimer's disease. Modern medicine has no real answers for treating either one: Their pharmaceuticals don't work and they still refuse to teach patients about the importance of vitamin D.
Notably, vitamin D is also the most impressive anti-cancer vitamin of all: It has been shown to halt nearly 4 out of 5 cancers all by itself. (http://www.naturalnews.com/021892.html)
The population of advanced nations is universally vitamin D deficient due to spending most of their time indoors, resulting in a sunlight deficiency. This study correlating vitamin D with cognitive impairment may explain why the people of these nations have become so mentally impaired over the last few generations.
One or two generations ago, when their parents or grandparents used to work outside on their own farms, sunlight exposure was much higher. Cancer rates were low and mental function was much higher. But as societies "advanced," their workers moved indoors, into offices with fluorescent lights. Vitamin D deficiency skyrocketed while IQs plummeted.
That's why today we have the most cognitively impaired population any advanced nation has ever seen (a fact that should be obvious by observing the way people vote). The remedy, of course, is supplementary vitamin D through various fish oil products or straight vitamin D3 supplements. But medical experts are still trying to keep vitamin D a secret, hoping that the population won't catch on and start taking vitamin D supplements (which would largely put the cancer industry out of business).

 

via http://www.naturalnews.com/News_000691_vitamin_D_cognitive_impairment_Alzheimers.html

New Research Confirms Vitamin D Blocks Formation of Breast Cancer

(NaturalNews) Women with a higher vitamin D intake may be a quarter less likely to die from breast cancer than women with lower levels, scientists have found.
In a study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, researchers from Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto analyzed the vitamin D intake of 759 breast cancer patients and 1,135 women without breast cancer, accounting for both dietary intake and vitamin D production from exposure to sunlight. They found that women with a higher vitamin D intake had a 24 percent lower risk of acquiring hormone receptor-positive breast cancer than women with a lower vitamin intake.
"Few epidemiologic studies have considered the association between vitamin D and hormone-receptor-defined breast cancer," the researchers wrote.
Hormone receptor-positive breast tumors have their growth stimulated by the female sex hormones estrogen and progesterone, and are the most common form of breast cancer diagnosed in the United States.
The researchers also found that women with higher vitamin D intake had a 26 percent lower risk of developing hormone receptor-negative tumors, however, and a 21 percent lower chance of developing mixed-receptor tumors, which are receptive to only one hormone type. Unlike the correlation with receptor-positive tumors, these correlations were not statistically significant.
"This study suggests that vitamin D is associated with a reduced risk of breast cancer regardless of [hormone receptor] status of the tumor," the researchers wrote.
Breast cancer is the second most common and the fifth most lethal cancer in the world, with more than one million new diagnoses and 500,000 deaths each year. In the United States, 180,000 women are diagnosed with the disease and 40,000 are killed every year.
The current study is not the first to suggest that vitamin D intake may affect breast cancer risk and prognosis. In fact, the idea has been around since the 1940s, when researchers noted that cancer deaths increased with distance from the equator.
Technically a hormone, vitamin D is produced naturally by the body when the skin is exposed to sunlight. It has long been known to be critical for proper calcium absorption and bone health, and deficiency can lead to rickets in children and osteoporosis in adults.
Just 15 minutes of sun on the face and hands is considered to provide enough vitamin D for an average light-skinned individual, with 20 to 30 minutes needed for darker skinned people. Because the sun is weaker farther from the equator, however, many people are not able to synthesize all the vitamin D they need themselves, especially during winter months when the days are shorter. For people in those circumstances, dietary vitamin D is also available from certain fatty fish, in fortified grain and dairy products, and in the form of supplements.
Research has linked vitamin D deficiency to an increased risk of a wide variety of cancers, including cancers of the breast, colon, esophagus, pancreas and prostate. Another study conducted by University of Toronto and Mount Sinai Hospital researchers found that women who were vitamin D deficient at the time of breast cancer diagnosis had a 75 percent higher risk of death than women with adequate levels, and a 100 percent higher risk of having their cancer metastasize.
Recommended daily vitamin D intake remains controversial, with the governments of Canada and the United States recommending only 200 IU per day for children and 400 IU per day for adults, the amounts long accepted as necessary to stave off bone and dental problems. Recent research suggests that much higher levels are needed to protect against cancers, diabetes, heart disease and autoimmune disorders, however, leading the Canadian Cancer Society and other groups to recommend 1,000 IU per day for adults.

 

via http://www.naturalnews.com/025397.html

Fix the top 6 causes of clutter

If you're ready to make a clean sweep of your house, help is here. Experts share the six main reasons why people can't seem to let go of their stuff and their smartest tricks for outwitting that primal hoarding instinct. Prepare to clear out -- for good!

The obstacle: 'If I get rid of this wedding vase, I'll feel guilty'

The solution: People feel a responsibility to be good stewards of things, says Randy Frost, a professor of psychology at Smith College, in Northampton, Massachusetts, and a coauthor of "Buried in Treasures" (Oxford University Press). Especially items they've been given by or inherited from a loved one. Getting rid of a present feels like disrespecting the giver. But remember the true meaning of gifts.

"When you receive a present," says Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan, an interior designer in New York City and the founder of ApartmentTherapy.com, "your duty is to receive it and thank the giver -- not to keep the gift forever."

That goes for items you inherit. "Ask yourself, 'How many things do I really need to honor this person's memory?'" says Frost. Select a few objects with strong associations to your late grandmother, say, and keep them in places where you'll see them. Let the rest go to people who want them more than you do.

Likewise, don't be shy about admitting a mistake you made and moving on. The $120 pair of heels you bought last spring that pinch? Cut yourself some slack and give them away. Real Simple: How to Donate Old Clothes

A look at your love-hate relationship with the possessions that surround you, and how to overcome them

The obstacle: 'But I might need seven sleeping bags one day'

The solution: Everyone fears tossing something out only to realize -- six months, a year, or five years down the road -- that she shouldn't have. Keeping things around "just in case" makes people feel safe.

If your main problem is an overflowing closet, try the "packing for a trip" trick. It goes like this: You're packing for a month's vacation -- you'll need both dressy and casual clothes, for warm and cool weather, and you can fill two big suitcases.

Then take all the other things and place them on a rack in your basement or attic. If you want to wear any of those exiled clothes in the coming days, grab them. But as the months go by, you'll be shocked at how few of those clothes you need or even think about. From there, it's a baby step to a Goodwill bag.

Still have separation anxiety? Box up the stuff you're not quite able to part with and write on the outside, open six months later. Then tuck it away in your basement, attic, or storage facility. If a year from now you find that you didn't miss the items, it will be much easier to part with them.

The obstacle: 'I think this brooch/chair/ugly knickknack might be valuable again'

The solution: When you hear the appraisers on "Antiques Roadshow" say that someone's grandmother's old Bakelite bracelets would now fetch $500, it's easy to wonder whether your vintage piece might be worth a bundle. Stop guessing and find out what the item in question is truly worth.

Take a 10-minute spin on eBay, searching for an item similar to yours. (Click on "Advanced Search," then "Completed Listings Only.") If the sale prices look promising -- or if you can't find equivalent items -- consider having the item appraised by an expert. Many local auction houses will do this for free in the hopes that you will sell the item through them later. (Google "auctions" and your city to find an auction house near you.)

For the greatest certainty, hire an independent appraiser through the American Society of Appraisers or the Appraisers Association of America. Be sure to ask for an estimate first. Real Simple: How to sell old clothes online

Remember -- for something to be considered valuable, it must be in tip-top shape. "People think their old baseball cards or "National Geographics" are worth money," says professional organizer Caitlin Shear. "But that's true only if they're packaged in a Mylar sleeve and in pristine condition."

The obstacle: 'If I put the bills away, I'll never pay them on time'

The solution: Many clutterers have gotten into the habit of organizing their world visually and spatially, says professor Randy Frost. They're afraid that if they put stuff away, they won't remember it, because they won't see it. "But it's a perception of order," he says, "not real order."

You may initially recall that the electric bill is next to the potted plant on the kitchen counter, but it will soon be buried by other items you need to have in plain sight, too, like invitations and permission slips.

Even hard-core clutterers can train themselves to complete tasks without obvious visual cues, says Frost. For starters, if you're used to leaving things in piles, designate a logical home for every object. Set up automatic e-mail reminders to help you remember to pay bills. In addition, if you feel as if out of sight is out of mind, make transparency your friend. Take items destined for closets, the garage, or the basement and store them in clear plastic bins so you can always see what's there. Real Simple: Where to keep important documents

The obstacle: 'I want this chartreuse muumuu to go to a good home'

The solution: People often want to find just the right place for their belongings. The problem is, trying to find just the right place can be paralyzing, says interior designer Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan. And while you wait, say, for your niece to move into a starter apartment, your old love seat and dinette set gather dust.

To satisfy your desire for perfect placement, look for a charity with which you feel a strong connection -- perhaps a shelter for women. To identify a worthy one near you, visit charitynavigator.org, a nonprofit research group that evaluates charities based on how effectively they use donations. Go to the Advanced Search page, select "Human Services" charities, and type in your ZIP code. Contact the three- or four-star charities that interest you and ask if they accept donations.

If that sounds like too much trouble, call your nearest house of worship and inquire whether it has a clothing drive coming up. Ask if the donation is tax-deductible, and get a receipt.

The obstacle: 'I want to declutter, but I can't get motivated'

The solution: This may be due to a phenomenon known as delayed discounting, says Daniel Hommer, M.D., chief of brain imaging at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, in Bethesda, Maryland, and an expert on motivation. It works like this: If it takes a long time to reach a goal, you value that goal less than if you could reach it quickly -- making it harder to get started. Make projects small and rewards immediate, says Hommer.

After you organize a distinct area, dress it up -- add decorative paper to the bottom of a now spartan toiletry drawer, for instance. Keep at it and your home will become not only more orderly but also more beautiful.

via http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/homestyle/01/20/rs.top.causes.of.clutter/index.html