Dangers of homeopathy

I've already written about homeopathy and outlined how ineffective it is. Now, I'll try to describe the dangers of homeopathy, which can also be applied to other forms of alternative medicine.

Homeopathic remedies have no physiological effects on humans or on any other living being. Their alleged effectiveness is just placebo effect. By themselves, homeopathic remedies pose no danger, they are pure water or other inert substance, unless they are contaminated. Alternative medicine can even be beneficial in some cases, such as for example pain relief. It is better to rely on placebo effect to suppress the pain than solely on pain medications.

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The danger comes in cases of severe illness when patients may delay visiting real doctor and getting real treatments or even decide to rely on solely alternative medicine. This is real problem. Homeopathy and alternative medicine in general are getting increasing popularity worldwide. It is all to easy in today's world to put together a website and start advertising some fake products.

This is one example of those. They claim that poisonings by toxic metals can be cured with homeopathy. These poisonings can be very serious and potentially life threatening. Homeopathy can do nothing to help and if a patient decides to take homeopathic approach instead of going to a real doctor the consequences can be grave. Unfortunately there are thousands of websites like this and the most unscrupulous ones even claim that modern medicine is some sort of big conspiracy designed to make us sick.

Homeopathy actually kills people. Whatstheharm.net has a list of more than 400 people who died because they used homeopathic treatment instead of real medicine. Most of those people are adults, but sadly, there are many children and babies on the list, all of whom died because their parents failed to use their brains.

Coca Cola - bladder cancer

Coca Cola and many other soft drinks are really bad for us. Here’s is another reason why you should avoid the  - Coca Cola significantly increases the risk of developing bladder cancer.

According to the American Cancer Society 70 000 adults in the US are diagnosed with bladder cancer each year and more then 14 000 people die each year. Older adults and men are at higher risk of getting this type of cancer, but team of scientists at the University of Birmingham has found, after conducting study on 900 people, that Coca Cola and other soft drinks, when consumed regularly, significantly increase the risk of developing cancer. Caffeine seems to be the chief culprit here because it interferes with the body’s ability to destroy cancerous cells.

Source - Live Strong

Don't drink Coca Cola, it's bad for you

Coca Cola is a soft drink sold in entire world. It is produced by a very powerful and rich corporation which has one of the best marketing experts on the planet. This is the only way to explain how not-to-tasty drink with numerous  detrimental effects is still being produced and consumed around the world.

Dangers of High Fructose Corn Syrup and BVO are well documented and widely discussed, so I’ll skip them here. I’ll focus on something that’s relatively unknown.

Coca Cola softens the bones and it can cause Esophageal cancer.

Calcium gives strength to our bones, without it, our bones would be bendy and unable to hold their structure. Calcium is also vital for muscle and brain functions. Coca cola leeches calcium out of our bodies in two different ways. First, phosphoric acid directly binds calcium. Second: there is a three stage process - 1) Carbonation causes irritation of stomach, 2) Stomach uses calcium as an antacid to combat the irritation and 3) because stomach has used calcium from blood and the levels of calcium have dropped, our body must get calcium from somewhere in order to function properly and the only available source at this time is in our bones.

If esophagus is exposed to acid reflux for long periods of time, the damage inflicted to the cells of esophageal wall can be so great that they turn cancerous.  Esophageal cancer is particularly dangerous form of cancer, five year survival rates are only about 13%.

Coca Cola and other carbonated drinks increase the risk of developing esophageal cancer by causing regurgitation which forces acidic stomach content up and into esophagus. In this way the lower esophagus is constantly bathed in stomach acid and since esophageal lining is not resistant to acid the cells get damaged.

Think about this when you grab a bottle of Coca Cola next time.

Sunburns, remedies that work and those that don't

With the winter behind us and the days becoming longer and warmer we are going to see more and more sunburns. How can this condition be treated, what remedies work and what don’t and most importantly, how can this be prevented?

Sunburn is not much different from any other thermal injury, like a burn on a hot stove. It causes pain, makes the skin red and may even produce blisters. Redness is what medical professionals call first degree burn. If there are blisters then it is a second degree burn. These conditions can be serious if they involve large areas of the body, but sunburns are usually localized.

First of all I must point out that sunburns are 100% preventable. More importantly they should always be prevented. Pain and discomfort will only last a while, but each sunburn damages the skin permanently. Each sunburn will cause your skin to age prematurely and each sunburn increases the risk of developing skin cancer. So, wear a large brimmed hat, long sleeved shirts, long pants/skirts, use sun screen and most importantly avoid being exposed to the sun when it is high in the sky. Don’t go out in the middle of the day.

Now, what to do if you get sunburn? First of all, cool down the burnt area. Use compresses soaked in cold water. Pain can be alleviated with some ibuprofen or Tylenol. Hydrocortisone cream can help, especially if it was cooled down in a fridge. If you have blisters LEAVE THEM ALONE. Piercing or popping blisters will only make matters worse.

There are countless folk remedies for sunburn that simply don’t work, or even worsen the condition. Mentioning them all in one article is impossible, so I’ll just name a few.

Food products: tomato juice, potato slices, mayonnaise, mustard, milk, honey, vinegar, eggs, butter, cooking oil, etc
Medications: hydrogen peroxide, vitamins, alcohol, milk of magnesia, shaving cream, toothpaste, etc
Others: bleach (oh, my God), whiskey, vodka, laundry detergent

Risk of Pancreatic Cancer increased by charred meat

According to the American Association for Cancer Research meat cooked at high heat, to the point of charring or burning could increase the risk of pancreatic cancer. This finding was linked to consumption of well and very well done meats prepared by grilling, frying or barbecuing according to Kristin Anderson, Ph.D., associate professor at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health. Meat cooked in this way contains carcinogens that are not present in meat that is baked or stewed.

A prospective analysis was conducted by Anderson and colleagues which included 62 581 participants. She said, "My research has been focused on pancreatic cancer for some time, and we want to identify ways to prevent this cancer because treatments are very limited and the cancer is often rapidly fatal". After nine years the research identified 208 cases of pancreatic cancer. Meat cooked at high temperatures was generally linked with an increase risk. Subjects who liked very well done steak were nearly 60% as likely to get pancreatic cancer that those who consumed steak less well done or didn’t eat steak at all. Those with highest consumption had 70% higher risk than those with the lowest intake.

According to Anderson those who enjoy fried or barbecued meat should turn down the heat or cut off charred portions. Meat should be cooked sufficiently to kill bacteria without excess burning. Precursors of carcinogenic compounds could be reduced further by microwaving the meat for a few minutes and discarding the juices before cooking it on the grill.