Update: News channel 5 confirms door-to-door questioning of food supplies in Tennessee while canneries downplay initial reports

(NaturalNews) Citizens in Tennessee are being asked by government workers to divulge details about their preparedness plans in a door-to-door “assessment” program reported by Janet Kim from local news channel 5 (http://www.newschannel5.com/story/15948523/door-to-door-assessment-for-disaster-preparedness). During this assessment, government workers ask residents 22 questions about their preparedness status. NaturalNews has confirmed through reliable sources that these include questions about emergency food supplies. Fortunately, this effort is being done by a Tennessee group of state employees who are widely recognized throughout the preparedness community as being “good guys” who are truly just trying to help people get prepared. They are not interested in confiscation or anything of the kind, according to our sources. It’s a local community preparedness support effort. On another front, three days ago Oath Keepers reported that their chapter president in Tennessee was told by a local cannery federal agents were demanding customer lists (http://www.naturalnews.com/034371_food_storage_federal_agents_customer_list.html). This account quickly went viral across alternative news websites, and the news exploded across the ‘net. The Tennessee cannery that originally relayed that account to Oath Keepers has backed off their account and is now telling customers who call that federal agents never visited their cannery. Oath Keepers has posted an update confirming this (http://oathkeepers.org/oath/2011/12/09/1oath-keepers-alert-federal-agents-demand-customer-lists-from-mormon-food-storage-facility/). The change in this first-hand account has many people scratching their heads, as this story was confirmed face-to-face by none other than Oath Keepers Tennessee Chapter President Sgt. Rand Cardwell, a USMC veteran (Desert Storm) with a solid reputation. There is virtually no possibility that Sgt. Rand Cardwell invented this story, as he is widely known to be a trustworthy individual who honorably served his country as a U.S. Marine. A far more likely explanation may be found in the Patriot Act itself, which features a sneak-and-peek with a gag order provision that allows federal agents to conduct searches of any facility and then gag the witnesses from speaking about it for at least one year, after which they may challenge the gag order. The existence of this sneak-and-peek gag order is widely acknowledged and easily verified through common web searches. Even NPR reported on it several years ago: http://www.npr.org/news/specials/patriotact/patriotactprovisions.html Another possibility is that the original source at the Tennessee cannery may have been instructed to remain silent by higher ups either within their own organization or, theoretically, the Mormon Church with which the cannery is affiliated. This is only speculation, of course. We no longer have access to any further fact-checking because nobody from that cannery is talking. NaturalNews has long admired the preparedness philosophy of the Mormon Church and its members, most of which are far better prepared for an economic collapse than people of any other organized religion. Who is getting prepared? The smart folks The bottom line is that government officials are taking a curious interest all of a sudden in the preparedness status of the American people. Whether for innocent reasons or for nefarious purposes, this is a new focus of both state and federal government, and it indicates that somebody up the chain of command is very interested in knowing WHO is preparing and HOW they’re getting prepared. My advice to NaturalNews readers is to connect with a Mormon cannery in your area and help support their operations. Such canneries frequently offer food storage skills and advice, in addition to offering you quality stored goods at affordable prices. Most Mormon-run canneries graciously open their doors to people of any religious denomination, and for that they deserve tremendous credit. NaturalNews will continue to investigate this story and bring you any important developments. In the mean time, we encourage all our readers, in Tennessee and elsewhere, to get yourself prepared for what’s coming . Because there will very likely come a day when the federal government begins to look at stored food, cash, and ammunition as “signs of terrorism.” The government already flags people who “pay with cash” as being engaged in suspicious activity — just try to buy an airplane ticket with cash and see what happens if you don’t believe me. Similarly, those who buy quantities of firearms are already being flagged and tracked by the ATF. The federal government runs elaborate infiltration and spying schemes to ensnare raw milk farmers (http://www.naturalnews.com/033428_FDA_secret_war.html). For that same government to start asking questions about who has stored food isn’t even a stretch. It fits their pattern of spying on their own people even as the government tries to encroach upon more freedoms we all once took for granted. Stay prepared, folks. The economic tsunami is headed our way, and there’s a whole lotta paper currency that may end up being worth no more than the paper it’s printed on. For now, I think it’s safe to purchase stored food without drawing too much attention to yourself, but you’ll probably get a much better value if you buy it locally from regional canneries where you don’t have to pay the large shipping costs. Do I have 5-gallon buckets full of spelt and brown rice? You bet I do. And I got ‘em from a Mormon cannery in Idaho.

Update: News channel 5 confirms door-to-door questioning of food supplies in Tennessee while canneries downplay initial reports

(NaturalNews) Citizens in Tennessee are being asked by government workers to divulge details about their preparedness plans in a door-to-door “assessment” program reported by Janet Kim from local news channel 5 (http://www.newschannel5.com/story/15948523/door-to-door-assessment-for-disaster-preparedness). During this assessment, government workers ask residents 22 questions about their preparedness status. NaturalNews has confirmed through reliable sources that these include questions about emergency food supplies. Fortunately, this effort is being done by a Tennessee group of state employees who are widely recognized throughout the preparedness community as being “good guys” who are truly just trying to help people get prepared. They are not interested in confiscation or anything of the kind, according to our sources. It’s a local community preparedness support effort. On another front, three days ago Oath Keepers reported that their chapter president in Tennessee was told by a local cannery federal agents were demanding customer lists (http://www.naturalnews.com/034371_food_storage_federal_agents_customer_list.html). This account quickly went viral across alternative news websites, and the news exploded across the ‘net. The Tennessee cannery that originally relayed that account to Oath Keepers has backed off their account and is now telling customers who call that federal agents never visited their cannery. Oath Keepers has posted an update confirming this (http://oathkeepers.org/oath/2011/12/09/1oath-keepers-alert-federal-agents-demand-customer-lists-from-mormon-food-storage-facility/). The change in this first-hand account has many people scratching their heads, as this story was confirmed face-to-face by none other than Oath Keepers Tennessee Chapter President Sgt. Rand Cardwell, a USMC veteran (Desert Storm) with a solid reputation. There is virtually no possibility that Sgt. Rand Cardwell invented this story, as he is widely known to be a trustworthy individual who honorably served his country as a U.S. Marine. A far more likely explanation may be found in the Patriot Act itself, which features a sneak-and-peek with a gag order provision that allows federal agents to conduct searches of any facility and then gag the witnesses from speaking about it for at least one year, after which they may challenge the gag order. The existence of this sneak-and-peek gag order is widely acknowledged and easily verified through common web searches. Even NPR reported on it several years ago: http://www.npr.org/news/specials/patriotact/patriotactprovisions.html Another possibility is that the original source at the Tennessee cannery may have been instructed to remain silent by higher ups either within their own organization or, theoretically, the Mormon Church with which the cannery is affiliated. This is only speculation, of course. We no longer have access to any further fact-checking because nobody from that cannery is talking. NaturalNews has long admired the preparedness philosophy of the Mormon Church and its members, most of which are far better prepared for an economic collapse than people of any other organized religion. Who is getting prepared? The smart folks The bottom line is that government officials are taking a curious interest all of a sudden in the preparedness status of the American people. Whether for innocent reasons or for nefarious purposes, this is a new focus of both state and federal government, and it indicates that somebody up the chain of command is very interested in knowing WHO is preparing and HOW they’re getting prepared. My advice to NaturalNews readers is to connect with a Mormon cannery in your area and help support their operations. Such canneries frequently offer food storage skills and advice, in addition to offering you quality stored goods at affordable prices. Most Mormon-run canneries graciously open their doors to people of any religious denomination, and for that they deserve tremendous credit. NaturalNews will continue to investigate this story and bring you any important developments. In the mean time, we encourage all our readers, in Tennessee and elsewhere, to get yourself prepared for what’s coming . Because there will very likely come a day when the federal government begins to look at stored food, cash, and ammunition as “signs of terrorism.” The government already flags people who “pay with cash” as being engaged in suspicious activity — just try to buy an airplane ticket with cash and see what happens if you don’t believe me. Similarly, those who buy quantities of firearms are already being flagged and tracked by the ATF. The federal government runs elaborate infiltration and spying schemes to ensnare raw milk farmers (http://www.naturalnews.com/033428_FDA_secret_war.html). For that same government to start asking questions about who has stored food isn’t even a stretch. It fits their pattern of spying on their own people even as the government tries to encroach upon more freedoms we all once took for granted. Stay prepared, folks. The economic tsunami is headed our way, and there’s a whole lotta paper currency that may end up being worth no more than the paper it’s printed on. For now, I think it’s safe to purchase stored food without drawing too much attention to yourself, but you’ll probably get a much better value if you buy it locally from regional canneries where you don’t have to pay the large shipping costs. Do I have 5-gallon buckets full of spelt and brown rice? You bet I do. And I got ‘em from a Mormon cannery in Idaho.

Report: Antibiotics can permanently destroy gut flora balance, leading to lifelong illness

(NaturalNews) Overuse and overprescription of antibiotic drugs has become a widely known culprit in causing the emergence of antibiotic-resistant “superbugs,” as well as the onset of digestive and other health problems, caused by the elimination of beneficial gut flora. But a new review published in the journal Nature suggests that such gut flora alterations could be permanent. Professor Martin Blaser from New York University’s (NYU) Langone Medical Center has been studying the long-term effects of antibiotics on gut flora, which has already confirmed a definitive link between antibiotics and the disruption of beneficial bacteria in the digestive system. But what his research also seems to confirm is the possibility that such disruption might be permanent, at least in some individuals, and thus carry with it lifelong health consequences. “Early evidence from my lab and others hints that, sometimes, our friendly flora never fully recover,” writes Blaser in his shocking editorial. “These long-term changes to the beneficial bacteria within people’s bodies may even increase our susceptibility to infections and disease. Overuse of antibiotics could be fueling the dramatic increase in conditions such as obesity, type 1 diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, allergies and asthma, which have more than doubled in many populations.” Blaser suggests that, even at this preliminary stage, restrictions be put in place to clamp down on the rampant overprescription of antibiotics to young children and pregnant women, a misguided practice that is likely responsible for causing each new generation to “[begin] life with a smaller endowment of ancient microbes than the last.” If antibiotics truly are responsible for causing a permanent imbalance of gut microbiome in some people, then supplementation with probiotics may also be necessary throughout such individuals’ entire lives in order to simply maintain a normal, healthy balance. At this point in time, vastly reducing the prescription rates of antibiotics to people of all ages — and particularly to young children and pregnant mothers — is of first priority. Along with this is a much-needed ban on the use of growth hormones and antibiotics in conventional cattle-raising operations, which end up in the food products eaten by millions of Americans every single day. Be sure to read the entire synopsis of Blaser’s new report in Nature over at Wired : http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/08/killing-beneficial-bacteria/

Dead body of woman found hanging from balcony of pharmaceutical company CEO’s mansion

(NaturalNews) The body of 32-year-old Rebecca Nalepa was recently found hanging dead off the balcony of the historic Spreckels mansion in Coronado, Calif., which is owned by Arizona based Medicis Pharmaceutical Corp. CEO Jonah Shacknai. The woman’s hands were tied tightly behind her back, her feet were bound, and she was completely nude — but officials say they have not been able to determine whether the incident is a homicide or a suicide. Very little has been released about the case so far as authorities are apparently trying to figure out how to proceed with it. But it has been revealed that Nalepa was Jonah’s girlfriend, and Jonah’s brother, Adam, was the one who found the body. He allegedly called 911 on Wednesday after discovering it, as he was admittedly living in the guest house on the property. “Because of the unique and bizarre circumstances of this incident, it has yet to be determined if this will become a criminal matter or remain as a death investigation,” said San Diego County sheriff’s Capt. Tim Curran in a statement. Though it is technically possible, a victim found with tightly bound hands and feet, and who is completely nude hanging from a noose dead, most likely did not kill herself. Again, there have been cases where suicide victims tied their own hands prior to hanging themselves, but more often than not, such a scenario is indicative of foul play. It remains to be seen how the case is handled, but the details that have already been revealed point to the possibility of a coverup in the works. Drug companies are powerful, as most NaturalNews readers know, and they hold a lot of sway over law enforcement and the government (think FDA drug approval process). Here is to hoping that a proper investigation will be conducted, and that justice will be served. Sources for this story include: http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2011/07/15/nude-woman-found-dead-at-socal-mansion-of-pharmaceutical-firm-ceo/

Are american children to be used in medical experiments to test anthrax vaccine?

(NaturalNews) The highly controversial and potentially lethal anthrax vaccine may be tested on US children if the federal government gets its way. Although adverse event reports related to the vaccine among adult test subjects have included hospitalization, disability and even death, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) is exploring the possibility of testing the vaccine on children. Nicole Lurie, the assistant secretary for preparedness and response at the DHHS, recently requested that the National Biodefense Science Board submit an evaluation of safety issues related to testing the anthrax vaccine on children. The DHHS frames the possible testing as an issue of biodefense preparedness. However, the possibility of pediatric testing of the vaccine both ignores the vaccine’s dangers, and raises the specter of class- and/or race-based selection of medical test subjects which has haunted US health agencies for over a century. Even in the months in 2001 when letters containing anthrax were mailed to several congressional leaders, heightening national fears during the post-9/11 period, Bill First, a physician and then-Senate Majority Leader, urged caution in use of the anthrax vaccine. He told CNN: “There are very real and potentially serious side effects from the vaccine and anyone who elects to receive the vaccine needs to be made aware of that. I do not recommend widespread inoculation. There are too many side effects and if there is limited chance of exposure- the side effects would far outweigh any potential advantage.” A 2007 report by the CDC, along with the Vaccine Healthcare Centers of the Department of Defense and the watchdog group Government Accountability estimated that “between 1 and 2 percent” of vaccinated military personnel, experienced “severe adverse events, which could result in disability or death.” If a vaccine with this kind of reputation is to be tested on children, one has to wonder which children. It is fairly certain those young test subjects won’t be the offspring of high-ranking government officials or corporate vice presidents and CEOs. The history of medical testing carries a taint of racism, classism and opportunism, as health officials select those with less education and fewer choices to be unwitting guinea pigs in medical experiments supposedly in the name of scientific advancement. You don’t have to be a conspiracy theorist or history professor to have heard of the notorious 40-year long Tuskegee experiments in which the US Public Health Service withheld syphilis treatment from infected black men to measure the effects of the disease. In October of 2010, President Obama apologized to Guatemala for tests during the 1940s when the US Public Health Service used prostitutes deliberately infect 700 prisoners, soldiers and patients with emotional and mental problems with syphilis both through visits with prostitutes and pouring bacteria for the disease onto skin abrasions on the subjects’ bodies. Vaccine testing has its own special place in the annals of this kind of integrity-free medical research. In the early 1960s, mentally disabled children at a residential state school in New York were deliberately infected with viral hepatitis so that they could be test subjects for the disease. A 1978 CDC test for a hepatitis B vaccine which sought “promiscuous homosexual male” volunteers has some interesting connections to both HIV and the previously rare opportunistic diseases associated with the AIDS virus. As recently as 1990, the CDC and Kaiser Pharmaceuticals gave 1,500 black and Hispanic 6-month old infants an unlicensed measles vaccine without the approval and consent of their parents. (For more detail of these stories and other true-life medical experimentation horror stories, see http://www.naturalnews.com/022383.html). Sources for this article include: http://www.ahrp.org/cms/content/view/802/9/ http://bioprepwatch.com/news/243663-expert-calls-for-research-into-safety-of-anthrax-vaccine-in-children http://anthraxvaccine.blogspot.com/2011/05/lets-test-anthrax-vaccine-in-children.html http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2010/10/president-obama-apologizes-to-guatemalan-president-for-shocking-tragic-reprehensible-syphilis-study.html http://www.cdc.gov/tuskegee/timeline.htm

A 100-year battle awaits Fukushima while suicide workers are needed to keep up the rescue efforts

(NaturalNews) The unfolding of the Fukushima catastrophe continues to worsen. Here are today’s most important developments: • A nuclear expert is now warning that it will take 50 to 100 years before the spent nuclear rods at Fukushima will cool enough to be removed from the site. In the mean time, Japan must keep pouring water on the fuel, and that creates highly radioactive water that’s being flushed directly into the ocean. So now we’re looking at the possibility of a century-long radiation leak (http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/04/01/3179487.htm). • The groundwater underneath the Fukushima nuclear power facility is now showing 10,000 times the level of radiation normally allowed by government authorities. This is from iodine-131 measured at 15 meters below one of the reactors. (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/03/31/501364/main20049240.shtml) • You’ve probably already heard that there have been efforts to use robots to help solve the Fukushima crisis, but those efforts have failed. Then again, who needs robots when you can just pay humans to do the same deadly work? Reuters is now reporting that a U.S. recruiting company is signing up U.S. workers to go to Fukushima and work on-site there as part of the crew that’s trying to save the reactors (http://ca.news.yahoo.com/exclusive-wanted-u-workers-crippled-japan-nuke-plant-20110331-165506-832.html). Why would anyone agree to do such a thing? Because they’re being promised extra pay , if you can believe that. You gotta wonder, of course, how these people think they’re going to be able to spend all that extra money if they’re half-dead from radiation poisoning. But hey, if they get paid one dollar for every millirem of radiation they absorb, they could soon be Fukushima’s new millionaires! • The world’s largest concrete pumping truck is headed to Japan as part of a plan that can only be the beginning of the total surrender of Fukushima (http://chronicle.augusta.com/latest-news/2011-03-31/srs-concrete-pump-heading-japan-nuclear-site). The only reason you need to pump that much concrete is if you’re building a giant Chernobyl-like entombment of the Fukushima facility. But who’s going to keep spraying the spent nuclear fuel rods with water in the mean time? (Nobody knows…) • Due to the failure of Fukushima, Tokyo will be experiencing rolling blackouts all summer long. Tokyo’s power has been reduced by roughly 20 percent due to the Fukushima catastrophe (http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/03/31/japan.blackouts/index.html?hpt=T2). • Fukushima workers who have been desperately trying to bring the reactors back under control have said they expect to die due to their repeated exposure to extremely high levels of radiation. Oh, but the Fukushima deniers claim radiation is safe and that no one has even been harmed by it! (Seriously…) (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/japan/8419808/Japan-nuclear-crisis-Fukushima-50-expect-to-die.html) • Remember, health authorities have been screaming for decades that sunlight exposure is potentially deadly because of the radiation exposure. But Fukushima fallout, we’re now told, is perfectly safe for you! I guess only the sun is dangerous, not nuclear fuel rod meltdowns. How’s that for public health policy? Check NaturalNews.com for even more daily reporting on the developing situation with Fukushima.

Think pink to prevent dementia: natural pigment astaxanthin protects brain

(NaturalNews) It’s time to “think pink”. No, that’s not just the familiar marketing slogan used to promote breast cancer awareness (and, it can be argued, to push the multi-million dollar breast cancer industry). Instead, thinking pink is something that could literally save your brain. Scientists have documented that daily supplements of the natural pigment astaxanthin reduces the accumulation of compounds called phospholipid hydroperoxides (PLOOH) which are known to accumulate abnormally in the red blood cells (erythrocytes) of people with dementia. Bottom line: the researchers from Tohoku University who are behind the study believe the pink pigment may well “contribute to the prevention of dementia.” That’s great news because the mind-robbing malady known as dementia is a growing problem in the U.S. — and mainstream medicine and Big Pharma have come up with little help and hope for the condition. In fact, according to the Alzheimer’s Association, about 5.4 million Americans currently have the best known and most feared kind of dementia, Alzheimer’s disease (AD). That number is expected to rise as the population ages. Astaxanthin is a phytochemical known as a carotenoid. Like many carotenoids, it is a colorful, fat soluble pigment. Astaxanthin is found in types of microalgae and fish that eat them — including salmon and trout as well as krill, shrimp, crayfish and other crustaceans. Its what gives salmon its pink color. The new Japanese study, just published in the British Journal of Nutrition , involved thirty healthy subjects between the ages of 50 and 69 who were randomly assigned to receive or 6 or 12 mg of astaxanthin or a placebo each day for 12 weeks. The results showed that PLOOH levels in erythrocytes plummeted in the people taking the astaxanthin supplements — falling 40% and 50% in the 6 and 12 mg groups, respectively, compared with no change in the placebo group. “The present randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled human trial shows that when human subjects ingest astaxanthin, it is absorbed, distributed and accumulated in erythrocytes, where it exhibits antioxidative effects (inhibition of erythrocyte PLOOH),” the researchers stated in their paper. “This possibility warrants the testing of astaxanthin in other models of dementia with a realistic prospect of its use as a human therapy.” Previous research has shown that astaxanthin reduces the oxidative damage caused by LDL (the “bad” type of cholesterol), so it may reduce the formation of plaque in arteries. The natural pigment also appears to boost the immune response by increasing the number of antibody producing cells. What’s more, research has indicated astaxanthin could protect the skin from sunburn and may offer some protection from skin cancer, too. For more information: http://www.nutritionsociety.org/node/236

Food prices to skyrocket, riots could follow, suggests USDA

(NaturalNews) When the upswing in commodity prices eventually makes its way throughout the food system in mid-to-late 2011, food prices are sure to spike with levels potentially reaching those of 2008, announced U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) economist Ephraim Leibtag at the agency’s annual Outlook Forum. And if conditions escalate rapidly, there is also the potential for food riots and other civil unrest. The USDA is predicting a 3.5 percent increase in food prices in 2011, which is about twice the overall inflation rate but less than the 2008 increase, according to a recent Reuters report. In 2008, food prices rose 5.5 percent, which represents the highest increase since 1990. But the possibility of food prices dramatically rising in 2011 like they did in 2008 is a definite possibility. “Given that it’s still earlier in the year, I’m prone to be conservative on the side of the forecast,” said Leibtag. “It’s a possibility,” he added, concerning the likelihood of massive inflation in food costs like was seen in 2008. Leibtag also explained the agency’s expectation of a four percent rise in costs for meats, poultry, and fish; a 3.5 percent increase for fruits and vegetables; a four percent increase for cereals and bakery products; and a three percent increase in sugar and sweets costs. All increases represent anywhere from a 20 to 60 percent increase over last year’s increases. In 2008, food shortages and rapid price increases led to riots in 25 different countries around the world. And the same may happen again, including even in the US, due to factors like the devaluation of the dollar, crop losses, rising oil costs, and other economic factors (http://www.naturalnews.com/031408_food_prices_inflation.html). The warning serves as a wake-up call to Americans to take back their land and begin growing more food on the local and regional scale. According to statistics from Farm Aid, a family farming advocacy group, roughly five million US farms have been lost since the 1930s, and about 330 farmers every week leave their land. If this trend continues, the situation will only worsen. Factory farming operations have essentially replaced local farming throughout the country. And government policies like subsidization of genetically-modified (GM) crops only continues to drive small-scale farmers off their land and exacerbate the problem. To learn more about how to support local farming and regain food independence, visit: http://www.farmaid.org Sources for this story include: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110224/wl_canada_nm/canada_us_usda_forum_foodprices http://www.farmaid.org

Possibility Living

Possibility Living In this guide for spirit, mind, and body, internationally known minister Robert A. Schuller and natural health specialist Douglas Di Siena weave scripture, spirituality, natural health advice, and inspiring true-life stories together in a practical, innovative approach to living wholly, healthfully, and happily. By taking positive steps, such as eating a natural diet, [...]

Tonsillectomies cause kids to gain excess weight

(NaturalNews) When kids complain of sore throats and their tonsils appear infected, the condition known as tonsillitis, doctors are often quick to urge the surgical removal of these clumps of lymphatic tissue found on both sides of the throat. Tonsils are also cut out when babies and young children are found to have enlarged tonsils that are sometimes linked to heavy or raspy breathing, especially at night. In fact, tonsillectomy is the most common major surgery performed on children and it’s a huge money-maker for mainstream medicine. Why remove tonsils instead of using less invasive treatments to fight an infection? The reasoning goes that surgery will prevent future tonsillitis. After all, it’s a no-brainer that if tonsils no longer exist, they can’t become infected. But what’s rarely discussed is the fact tonsils are actually part of the body’s immune system; they fights infection and trap germs coming in through the mouth and nose. And now there’s another reason to think twice about having your child’s tonsils surgically removed. Having a tonsillectomy could lead to obesity. According to a new report just published in the February 2011 issue of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery , youngsters subjected to tonsillectomy, with or without the removal of their adenoids (adenoidectomy), are at increased risk for becoming overweight after the operation. In all, the researchers analyzed studies involving 795 children from birth to 18 years old, described as normal weight or overweight, who had a tonsillectomy or an adenoidectomy, or both. In almost 50% of the children, the primary reason for surgery was listed as “disordered breathing” that was blamed on enlarged tonsils. In one group of 127 children, body mass index (BMI) increased by 5.5 to 8.2% following the removal of tonsils. In a second group that included 419 patients, standardized weight scores increased dramatically in the vast majority of the young patients. Another group included three studies with 249 patients — and 50 to 75% of these kids gained weight after adenoidectomy. Lead author of the paper, otolaryngology specialist Anita Jeyakumar, MD, suggested that the weight gain could be blamed on parents who over-feed their child after surgery. She also hypothesized that children with chronic tonsillitis might eat less due to sore throats and other symptoms , so when their tonsils are removed, the kids feel like eating more. But this doesn’t explain why the youngsters would become overweight and sometimes downright obese after the operation. Although the new study doesn’t delve into the possibility that the actual removal of the tonsils could play a role in the weight gain, the findings raise more questions than answers. For example, could the tonsils play an as yet undiscovered role in metabolism? Or does the removal of part of the body’s immune system spur weight gain? For more information: http://www.entnet.org/ http://www.naturalnews.com/tonsils.html

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