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Ancient Greek physicians prescribed garlic. Egyptian herbalists favored licorice. For Oprah, the cold-fighting concoction of choice is the juice of freshly crushed cranberries.

Cranberries are rich in health-boosting antioxidants, including vitamin C and flavonoids (which can act as anti-inflammatories). And fresh cranberry juice offers all its nutrient content with none of the high-fructose corn syrup and other additives found in many store-bought brands.

You can buy fresh cranberries at local markets from October through December. The berries freeze well, so you can thaw them for juicing throughout the year. Eight ounces of berries combined with a pound of red grapes (seeded or seedless; you can also substitute three to four apples for the grapes) make 16 ounces of all-natural, fortifying juice.

Read more on Oprah.com >>

Labels: cold remedies, oprah

Did you know that national statistics on youth aging out of foster care indicate that one in four becomes homeless within two years and one in four males become incarcerated? Did you know that approximately 60% of children placed into foster care are there because of neglect? Did you know that right now in Georgia there are over 9,000 children living in foster care?

On October 14th the Casey Family Programs, Georgia Department of Human Services and 12 community partners, including Families First, launched Raise Me Up - a powerful, national multimedia campaign that calls on citizens to raise their hands to offer support to children in foster care. Govenor Sonny Perdue and First Lady Mary Perdue attended the event at the State Capital Building in Atlanta and spoke about their personal experience fostering eight children.

As a lead local partner in launching this ambitious campaign, Families First will play a key role in harnessing the vast potential of people who want to serve - by fostering or adopting children, volunteering to work directly with foster youth, or raising awareness about foster care in our community.

Donate Now buttonPlease join Families First and our partner organizations by getting involved and helping Georgia's foster children. You don't have to raise foster children to raise them up - you just have to raise your hand and say you'll help. Visit www.RaiseMeUp.org today and find out how you can get involved. You can also make a tax-deductible donation to Families First so that we can continue ensuring the success of children in jeopardy.

This year, many families are struggling to make ends meet, and this holiday season will be particularly challenging. Families First assists hundreds of families who are supporting children in foster care or face significant life issues that put their children at risk. To lessen this burden, you can choose to adopt a family for Thanksgiving and the December holidays.

Labels: adopt family, families first, foster children, raise me up

Please help strengthen America's toxic chemicals standards. Of the 82,000 chemicals available for use in the U.S., only about 200 have been required to be tested for safety.

Every American alive today, including newborn babies, has hundreds of chemicals flowing through our blood. Some of these are linked to increases in prostate and breast cancers, diabetes, heart disease, lowered sperm counts, early puberty and other diseases and disorders.

Yet the burden placed on the Environmental Protection Agency under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) is so onerous that they have only succeeded in banning one group of chemicals, PCBs, from the marketplace.

It's time to reform and strengthen TSCA.

Here is Congressional testimony from EDF toxic chemicals expert Richard Denison.

Testimony [PDF] (February 2009)

"It doesn't take a scientist to realize that the Toxic Substances Control Act is badly broken," said Dr. Richard A. Denison, a senior scientist at Environmental Defense Fund and former member of the EPA's National Pollution Prevention and Toxics Advisory Committee (NPPTAC). "The now-daily barrage of headlines about the dangers posed by yet another chemical used in common consumer products - like the toxic flame retardants used in furniture that virtually all Americans now carry in their bodies - is a direct manifestation of the utter failure of our current chemicals policy."

Denison testified before the Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Other organizations testifying in support of major TSCA reform include the Learning Disabilities Association of America, the United Steelworkers and WE ACT for Environmental Justice (West Harlem Environmental Action).

"Congress needs to act now, lest the United States risk falling further behind the rest of the developed world, which has already taken steps to ensure the safety of the chemicals and chemical products we make and use every day," noted Denison. "Without prompt action, we also risk becoming a dumping ground for unsafe products produced elsewhere in the world."

Labels: Richard A. Denison, Toxic Substances Control Act, toxins

Did you know that cancer will soon be the leading killer of women and men worldwide? Already, cancer kills more people annually than malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDs combined.

Last year, 7.6 million people died from cancer. By 2020 that number will double, and by 2030 cancer will account for over 17 million deaths - mostly in poor and developing countries.

Remarks by Ambassador Nancy G. Brinker

I have known so many who survived cancer, and so many who did not. I think often these days of one friend in particular who is in the struggle now, and recently wrote to me. He has his grandfather's name, Winston Churchill. And in this different kind of war, to overcome cancer, he carries the same spirit of defiance and strength.

Winston wrote: "To those who, like myself, fall victim to this sinister, unseen disease that seeks to invade our bodies, I would merely say that all the resources of mind and body must be mobilized to defeat the enemy and never give in!" And Winston, we know you will never give in.

So in the global fight against cancer, too, let us be ambitious, and fearless, and united.

Governments around the world must truly understand the scope and scale of the cancer threat...and the life-saving potential of screening, early detection, treatment, and research.

Take Action: Sign this petition >>

Labels: cancer, hope, susan g komen

"We know that industry lobbyists are spending $1.4 million a day to lobby Congress"

That's what we said on Thursday when a reporter asked MomsRising members and their kids were on the Hill demanding healthcare reform. Unfortunately, some groups are willing to do whatever it takes to stop Congress and the President. And with the recent announcement that the Senate will not vote on the bill until after the August recess, it looks like they may be winning.

Did You Know?

The U.S. is one of only five countries of 168 studied that doesn't mandate some form of paid maternal leave, putting us on par with Papua New Guinea, Lesotho, and Swaziland.

In terms of women, those women who are lucky enough to have health insurance are still more likely than men to have health coverage that has too many gaps, from large deductibles and co-pays to life-time limits, and the exclusion of needed services (like maternity, for example) altogether. Women are also more likely than men to face challenges paying for their medical bills - making them more likely to skip necessary medical care. And then there's gender rating - the insurance industry practice of charging women more than men for the exact same coverage.

I have to agree with the Baltimore Sun who published an article which had the title "Do health reform right instead of doing it quickly". If time is taken and money pushing is received like a bacterial invasion rather than a wanted handout then I think good can come from a strong reform across the board.

Labels: healthcare, momsrising, reform

Cancer patients and survivors have some of the most challenging experiences with our health care system, at a time in their lives when they are most vulnerable.

Federal and state programs that provide support to under served people with cancer are dramatically underfunded, leading to huge gaps in access to treatment. Even cancer patients with health insurance find that because of high cost sharing, annual and lifetime maximums, and other limitations, they may be exposed to extremely high out-of-pocket costs. If a cancer patient has to cut back on hours or leave their job to undergo treatment, they often face the prospect of losing their health insurance. And, cancer survivors face some of the largest hurdles for reentering the workforce or seeking private insurance, because they have a so-called preexisting condition.

Cancer costs the U.S. $228 billion each year in medical costs and lost productivity. It claims more than 565,000 lives each year and inflicts incalculable physical pain and emotional distress on cancer patients and their families.

We must take this opportunity to address the needs of cancer patients by making a strong investment in the fight against cancer. This investment will provide a short-term stimulus the economy needs today, while building a foundation for a healthier, more productive workforce in the future.

As Congress considers health care reform legislation, our elected officials have a unique opportunity to address the long-standing concerns of people with cancer, which have all too often been overlooked by the U.S. health care system.

There's no time to waste.

Labels: cancer, healthcare

Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep is a normal stage of sleep characterized by rapid movements of the eyes.

Because REM is a mixture of encephalic (brain) states of excitement and muscular immobility, it is sometimes called paradoxical sleep. It is generally thought that REM-associated muscle paralysis is meant to keep the body from acting out the dreams that occur during this intensely cerebral stage.

We examined the role of REM on creative problem solving, with the Remote Associates Test (RAT). Using a nap paradigm, we manipulated various conditions of prior exposure to elements of a creative problem.

A study done by Dr Sara Mednick, assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of California San Diego and the VA San Diego Healthcare System, and colleagues, on the positive effects of napping was published online in the 8th June issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

The researchers said their findings are important because they show that sleep, and REM sleep in particular, helps the brain to form "associative networks".

Mednick said:

"For creative problems that you've already been working on -- the passage of time is enough to find solutions."

"However," she added, "for new problems, only REM sleep enhances creativity."

The researchers discovered that it looks as if REM sleep stimulates associative networks helping the brain to make new and useful connections between unrelated ideas, the key to creativity.

Denise J Cai, Sarnoff A Mednick, Elizabeth M Harrison, Jennifer C Kanady, and Sara C Mednick

PNAS published online before print June 8, 2009

Labels: rem, sleep