How sugar may make you stupid

How sugar may make you stupid - 



Bad news sugar lovers: a diet high in fructose won’t just make you fat, it may also make you stupid, according to research out of California.

A steady high-fructose diet disrupts the brain’s cognitive abilities, leading to poor learning and memory retention, says a study by Fernando Gomez-Pinilla, a neurosurgery professor at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and Rahul Agrawal, a visiting UCLA postdoctoral fellow from India.

“This type of diet. . . (affects) the transmission of information across cells. . . learning and memory and practically any type of brain function depends very much on how transmission is transported across cells,” Gomez-Pinilla said in an interview with the Star.

Health concerns

Their study, published in the May 15 edition of the Journal of Physiology, looked at high sugar consumption, focusing less on naturally occurring fructose in fruits and more on the fructose in high-fructose corn syrup.

Research has already proven a high-fructose diet leads to a slew of health concerns, including obesity, diabetes and fatty liver.

The U.S. is the world’s largest consumer of sweeteners.

High-fructose corn syrup, which acts as a preservative and sweetener, is found in a variety of processed foods, from soft drinks and baby food to salad dressings and condiments.

The average American consumes approximately 21 kilograms of cane sugar and 16 kilograms of high-fructose corn syrup annually, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Role of fatty acids

Gomez-Pinilla and Agrawal studied two groups of rats, both of which drank a fructose solution in their drinking water for six weeks. One of the groups also consumed omega-3 fatty acids, from flaxseed oil and a DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) capsule. Omega-3 fatty acids have been found to guard against heat disease, high cholesterol and mental conditions such as bipolar disorder and depression, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center.

Both rat groups were trained on a maze for five days before starting their new diet. After six weeks, Gomez-Pinilla and Agrawal retested the rats on the maze to monitor brain function and memory retention, noting the rats that consumed the fructose solution without the omega-3 fatty acids had problems with how they were able to think and recall routes in the maze.

Those rats also showed a resistance to insulin, a hormone that regulates sugar levels in the body.

“Rats fed on a (omega-3 fatty acids) deficient diet showed memory deficits in a Barnes maze, which were further exacerbated by fructose take,” the authors write.

They found that a rich diet of omega-3 fatty acids counteracted the negative affects of fructose.

Implications for humans

In terms of humans, Gomez-Pinilla predicts such changes in the brain to happen within six months to a year.

“The implication(s) here (are) the high consumption and the chronic consumption for man,” Gomez-Pinilla said, adding research needs to be done on the specific affects on humans.

“We don’t know yet how long (the damage) can last.”

The war on unhealthy food choices is a growing. In September, New York City announced it would ban sugar-filled drinks larger than 16-ounces from concession and fast-food stands, restaurants and movie theatres.

In Canada, a push on healthy eating is on the rise as the country grapples with the fact that 31.5 per cent of Canadian children aged 5 to 17 are either overweight or obese, according to a Statistics Canada report released in September.

“Diabetes is very prevalent in western society. It’s known already there is an (epidemic) of diabetes, which is highly related to a consumption of foods high in sugar,” Gomez-Pinilla said.

Gomez-Pinilla advocates a nutrient-rich dietthat includes omega-3 fatty acids and a proper mix of healthy choices to offset the dangers of fructose.

Foods that are rich in omega-3 fatty acids include flaxseed oil, some types of fish, such as salmon, and nuts.

Read more -
http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/1273659--how-sugar-may-make-you-stupid

Goats released on football field forces high school to move football game -

Goats released on football field forces high school to move football game - 



A small herd of goats caused plenty of problems for a North Carolina high school hoping to play a home football game on senior night.
The Shelby Star reports that nearly a dozen goats were released in the Burns High School stadium in Cleveland County Thursday night or Friday morning. School officials say the goats caused enough of a mess to force the game against Rutherfordton-Spindale Central to be moved.
The prank raised concern because of a recent outbreak of E. coli cases associated with the Cleveland County Fair west of Charlotte this month. Burns Athletic Director Eddy Taylor said health department officials came to the school and told them the game would have to be moved.
Other activities scheduled at Burns on Friday also had to be moved.


Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/sports/2012/10/20/goats-released-on-football-field-forces-high-school-to-move-football-game/?test=latestnews

Hamster Placed In Police Protective Custody Following DUI Stop -

Hamster Placed In Police Protective Custody Following DUI Stop - 




Local authorities placed a hamster into protective custody after its owner, an intoxicated driver, was arrested.

Early Tuesday morning, three officers with the Beaverton Police pulled over 27-year-old Nicole Huey after suspecting her of driving while intoxicated, according to Oregon Live.

During the 12:30 a.m. stop, officers reportedly observed the hamster – whose name is not known – placed in her lap.

It was the only other occupant in the car, the website learned.

When Huey stepped out of the car, she placed the hamster on the dashboard. At that point, officers allegedly attempted to take the animal as well.

According to Officer Mike Rowe, the task was easier said than done.

“It took three officers to capture the furry little passenger,” Rowe was quoted as saying on the department’s Facebook page. “It appeared that the hamster wanted to stay in the vehicle, and it put up a good fight trying to avoid capture.”

The hamster was reportedly taken to the Emergency Veterinary Clinic of Tualatin. Huey was arrested for driving under the influence and held at Washington County Jail.

Upon her release, she reclaimed the animal from the clinic, according to Oregon Live.

Read more -
http://seattle.cbslocal.com/2012/10/18/hamster-placed-in-police-protective-custody-following-dui-stop/

Twitter and Facebook ‘harming children’s development’ -

Twitter and Facebook ‘harming children’s development’ - 



Young people’s brains are failing to develop properly after being overexposed to the cyber world at an early age, it was claimed.

Baroness Greenfield, professor of pharmacology at Oxford University, said a decline in physical human contact meant children struggled to formulate basic social skills and emotional reactions.

She criticised the “unhealthy” addiction to Twitter among some users who resort to increasingly nasty outbursts under the “sanitised and often anonymous guise of the web”.

In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, she also raised concerns over the “narcissistic” nature of sites such as Klout, which measures users’ popularity and influence on social networks.

The comments come just 24 hours after teachers warned that over-exposure to technology was damaging children’s ability to concentrate in the classroom.

Read more -
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/9620117/Twitter-and-Facebook-harming-childrens-development.html

SURVEY: 40% Of Americans Have $500 Or Less In Savings… -

SURVEY: 40% Of Americans Have $500 Or Less In Savings… - 



A survey of about 1,100 Americans finds that more than 4-in-10 respondents admit they don’t have more than $500 in readily accessible savings.

The survey is a kind of departure for CreditDonkey.com, a website that compares credit card deals. Not respondents all were poor. Some had big houses, big mortgages or 401(k)s, but still no more than five Benjamins to rub together right now.

Jill Michal, president and CEO of the United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey, reacts to the lack of liquid assets.

“It doesn’t shock me, but it does scare me. You know, we often say that the reason so many people fall off the edge in a tough economy is that they’re standing way too close to it, and I think this is a perfect demonstration of that.”

Michal says there’s a lack of training in personal finances.

“This is about life skills. It’s not just about arithmetic and reading, but we have to be able to teach the next generation that we have to be able to save for our own futures and we have to be able to save for those risks that could come our way.”

Michal says United Way has programs that teach work- and life-skills, although she thinks a lot of this ought to be done in schools or homes.

In addition to the emergency savings question, the survey found that 54% of respondents don’t have a savings plan in place, and 45% are afraid they’ll never be able to save.

Read more - 
http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2012/10/19/survey-40-percent-of-americans-have-500-or-less-in-savings/

52-foot 'Big Tex' catches fire, burns to crisp... - at State Fair of Texas -

52-foot 'Big Tex' catches fire, burns to crisp... - at State Fair of Texas -

55 Facts About The Debt And U.S. Government Finances That Every American Voter Should Know -

55 Facts About The Debt And U.S. Government Finances That Every American Voter Should Know - 



The future of the United States of America is being systematically destroyed by our politicians, but unfortunately most Americans don’t really grasp exactly what is happening.  30 years ago, our national debt had just crossed the one trillion dollar mark.  Just recently, it crossed the 16 trillion dollar mark.  Prior to every election, politicians from both parties swear up and down that they will do something about our exploding debt, but it never happens.  Once again this year, our politicians are making all kinds of grand promises about getting U.S. government finances under control.  But they are also promising all kinds of new plans and programs which are going to cost a lot more money on top of what we are already spending.  For the average American, all of this can be incredibly confusing.  That is why I have put together a list of facts about the debt and U.S. government finances below.  These are things that every voter should know.  The federal government is stealing more than a trillion dollars a year from our children and our grandchildren, and they are spending that money in some of the most foolish ways that you could ever imagine.  We have accumulated the largest mountain of debt in the history of the world, but our politicians just can’t help themselves – they appear to be absolutely addicted to spending money.  If we continue on the path that we are currently on, our entire financial system and our entire economy will be destroyed by all of this debt.  Time is running out and urgent action is needed to address this crisis.
Many of our founding fathers attempted to warn us about the dangers of government debt.  For example, Thomas Jefferson once said the following…
I wish it were possible to obtain a single amendment to our Constitution. I would be willing to depend on that alone for the reduction of the administration of our government to the genuine principles of its Constitution; I mean an additional article, taking from the federal government the power of borrowing.
Where would we be today if such an amendment had been added to our Constitution?
How much brighter would our future be if the federal government had been forced to only spend what it took in all these years?
Those are very good questions.
The following are 55 facts about the debt and U.S. government finances that every American voter should know….
#1 While Barack Obama has been president, the U.S. government has spent about 11 dollars for every 7 dollars of revenue that it has actually brought in.
#2 During the fiscal year that just ended, the U.S. government took in 2.449 trillion dollars but it spent 3.538 trillion dollars.
#3 During fiscal year 2011, over a trillion dollars of government money was spent on 83 different welfare programs, and those numbers do not even include Social Security or Medicare.
#4 Over the past four years, welfare spending has increased by 32 percent.  In inflation-adjusted dollars, spending on those programs has risen by 378 percent over the past 30 years.  At this point, more than 100 million Americans are enrolled in at least one welfare program run by the federal government.  Once again, these figures do not even include Social Security or Medicare.
#5 Over the past year, the number of Americans getting a free cell phone from the federal government has grown by 43 percent.  Now more than 16 million Americans are enjoying what has come to be known as an “Obamaphone”.
#6 When Barack Obama first entered the White House, about 32 million Americans were on food stamps.  Now,nearly 47 million Americans are on food stamps.  And this has happened during what Obama refers to as “an economic recovery”.
#7 The U.S. government recently spent 27 million dollars on pottery classes in Morocco.
#8 The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently spent $300,000 to encourage Americans to eat caviar at a time when more families than ever are having a really hard time just trying to put any food on the table at all.
#9 During 2012, the National Science Foundation spent $516,000 to support the creation of a video game called “Prom Week”, which apparently simulates “all the social interactions of the event.”
#10 The U.S. Department of Agriculture gave the largest snack food maker in the world (PepsiCo Inc.) a total of 1.3 million dollars in corporate welfare that was used to help build “a Greek yogurt factory in New York.”
#11 The National Science Foundation recently gave researchers at Purdue University $350,000.  They used part of that money to help fund a study that discovered that if golfers imagine that a hole is bigger it will help them with their putting.
#12 If you can believe it, $10,000 from the federal government was actually used to purchase talking urinal cakes up in Michigan.
#13 The National Science Foundation recently gave a whopping $697,177 to a New York City-based theater company to produce a musical about climate change.
#14 The National Institutes of Health recently gave $666,905 to a group of researchers that is studying the benefits of watching reruns on television.
#15 The National Science Foundation has given 1.2 million dollars to a team of “scientists” that is spending part of that money on a study that is seeking to determine whether elderly Americans would benefit from playing World of Warcraft or not.
#16 The National Institutes of Health recently gave $548,731 to a team of researchers that concluded that those that drink heavily in their thirties also tend to feel more immature.
#17 The National Science Foundation recently spent $30,000 on a study to determine if “gaydar” actually exists.  This is the conclusion that the researchers reached at the end of the study….
“Gaydar is indeed real and… its accuracy is driven by sensitivity to individual facial features”
#18 Back in 2011, the National Institutes of Health spent $592,527 on a study that sought to figure out once and for all why chimpanzees throw poop.
#19 The U.S. government spends more on the military than China, Russia, Japan, India, and the rest of NATO combined.  In fact, the United States accounts for 41.0% of all military spending on the planet.  China is next with only 8.2%.
#20 In a previous article, I noted that close to 500,000 federal employees now make at least $100,000 a year.
#21 In 2006, only 12 percent of all federal workers made $100,000 or more per year.  Now, approximately 22 percent of all federal workers do.
#22 If you can believe it, there are 77,000 federal workers that make more than the governors of their own states do.
#23 During 2010, the average federal employee in the Washington D.C. area received total compensation worth more than $126,000.
#24 The U.S. Department of Defense had just nine civilians earning $170,000 or more back in 2005.  When Barack Obama became president, the U.S. Department of Defense had 214 civilians earning $170,000 or more.  By June 2010, the U.S. Department of Defense had 994 civilians earning $170,000 or more.
#25 During 2010, compensation for federal employees came to a grand total of approximately 447 billion dollars.
#26 If you can believe it, close to 15,000 retired federal employees are currently collecting federal pensions for life worth at least $100,000 annually.  That list includes such names as Newt Gingrich, Bob Dole, Trent Lott, Dick Gephardt and Dick Cheney.
#27 During 2010, the federal government spent $33,387 on the hair care needs of U.S. Senators.
#28 During 2010, U.S. Senators pulled $72,370 out of the “Senate Restaurant Fund”.
#29 During 2010, an average of $4,005,900 of U.S. taxpayer money was spent on “personal” and “office” expenses per Senator.
#30 In 2013, 3.7 million dollars will be spent to support the lavish lifestyles of former presidents such as George W. Bush and Bill Clinton.
#31 During 2011, the federal government spent a total of 1.4 BILLION dollars just on the Obamas.
#32 When you combine all federal government spending, all state government spending and all local government spending, it comes to approximately 41 percent of U.S. GDP.  But don’t worry, all of our politicians insist that this is not socialism.
#33 As I have written about previously, less than 30 percent of all Americans lived in a home where at least one person received financial assistance from the federal government back in 1983.  Today, that number is sitting at an all-time high of 49 percent.
#34 Back in 1990, the federal government accounted for just 32 percent of all health care spending in America.  This year, it is being projected that the federal government will account for more than 50 percent of all health care spending in the United States.
#35 The number of Americans on Medicaid soared from 34 million in 2000 to 54 million in 2011, and it is being projected that Obamacare will add 16 million more Americans to the Medicaid rolls.
#36 In one of my previous articles, I discussed how it is being projected that the number of Americans on Medicare will grow from 50.7 million in 2012 to 73.2 million in 2025.
#37 If you can believe it, Medicare is facing unfunded liabilities of more than 38 trillion dollars over the next 75 years.  That comes to approximately $328,404 for each and every household in the United States.
#38 In the United States today, more than 61 million Americans receive some form of Social Security benefits.  By 2035, that number is projected to soar to a whopping 91 million.
#39 Overall, the Social Security system is facing a 134 trillion dollar shortfall over the next 75 years.
#40 When Barack Obama first took office, the U.S. national debt was about 10.6 trillion dollars.  Now it is about 16.2 trillion dollars.  That is an increase of 5.6 trillion dollars in less than 4 years.
#41 The federal government has now run a budget deficit of more than a trillion dollars for four years in a row.
#42 If right this moment you went out and started spending one dollar every single second, it would take you more than 31,000 years to spend one trillion dollars.
#43 If you were alive when Jesus Christ was born and you spent one million dollars every single day since that point, you still would not have spent one trillion dollars by now.
#44 Some suggest that “taxing the rich” is the answer.  Well, if Bill Gates gave every single penny of his entire fortune to the U.S. government, it would only cover the U.S. budget deficit for 15 days.
#45 If the federal government used GAAP accounting standards like publicly traded corporations do, the real federal budget deficit for 2011 would have been 5 trillion dollars instead of 1.3 trillion dollars.
#46 The United States already has more government debt per capita than Greece, Portugal, Italy, Ireland or Spain does.
#47 At this point, the United States government is responsible for more than a third of all the government debt in the entire world.
#48 The amount of U.S. government debt held by foreigners is about 5 times larger than it was just a decade ago.
#49 Between 2007 and 2010, U.S. GDP grew by only 4.26%, but the U.S. national debt soared by 61% during that same time period.
#50 The U.S. national debt is now more than 37 times larger than it was when Richard Nixon took us off the gold standard.
#51 The U.S. national debt is now more than 5000 times larger than it was when the Federal Reserve was first created.
#52 The U.S. national debt jumped more on the very first day of fiscal year 2013 than it did from 1776 to 1941 combined.
#53 Historically, the interest rate on 10 year U.S. Treasuries has averaged 6.68 percent.  If the average interest rate on U.S. government debt rose to that level today, the U.S. government would find itself spending more than a trillion dollars per year just on interest on the national debt.
#54 A recently revised IMF policy paper entitled “An Analysis of U.S. Fiscal and Generational Imbalances: Who Will Pay and How?” projects that U.S. government debt will rise to about 400 percent of GDP by the year 2050.
#55 Boston University economist Laurence Kotlikoff is warning that the U.S. government is facing a gigantic tsunami of unfunded liabilities in the coming years that we are counting on our children and our grandchildren to pay.  Kotlikoff speaks of a “fiscal gap” which he defines as “the present value difference between projected future spending and revenue”.  His calculations have led him to the conclusion that the federal government is facing a fiscal gap of 222 trillion dollars in the years ahead.
Please share this article with as many people as you can.  Time is running out to fix these problems.

Read more - 
http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/55-facts-about-the-debt-and-u-s-government-finances-that-every-american-voter-should-know

STUDY: Face-licking dogs spread disease-causing bacteria... -

STUDY: Face-licking dogs spread disease-causing bacteria... - 



For lovers of canine companions, one may be getting more than just unconditional affection from those sloppy dog kisses.

A new study published in the journal Archives of Oral Biology found that dog owners had a higher rate of a certain disease-causing bacteria in their mouths. So those who are turned off by the sticky mess may have more evidence to back their stance.

Japanese researchers examined dental plaque from 66 dogs and 81 people who came to an animal clinic or training school in 2011.

They found "periodontopathic bacteria" -- the microscopic little guys that can make someone (or some pet) more susceptible to diseases in the mouth and around the teeth -- in more than 70 percent of the dogs.

In the people, the researchers found that between 16 percent and 30 percent of them also had the germs.

But humans weren't the only victims. Researchers found that exchanges of germs went just as easily from owner to dog as dog to owner.

"These results suggest that several periodontopathic species could be transmitted between humans and their companion dogs, though the distribution of periodontopathic species in both is generally different," the researchers wrote in the study.

Remember that next time Scruffy shows some love.

Read more - 
http://www.wtop.com//267/3083113/Should-you-let-your-dog-kiss-you

Elk banished from 100 Mile Ranch B.C. after falling in love with Cow -

Elk banished from 100 Mile Ranch B.C. after falling in love with Cow - 



Somewhere east of this Cariboo community wanders an enormous bull elk, stripped of its six-point antlers and a misplaced attraction for one of Greg Messner’s cows.

The elk, a loner that had been turning up at the century-old 100 Mile Ranch to check out Messner’s herd for three years, was relocated earlier this month for its own safety and for the probity of the cow.

“He stuck around for a couple of days the first year,” said Messner, whose wife has had the ranch in her family for its entire history.

“Then last year, he was just hanging around again for a couple of weeks and not really doing anything, just hanging around and looking at the cows. This year, he decided to go for it.”

Messner said the elk’s visits have been a curiosity. Elk are so rare in the area that Messner and anyone else who stopped by to have a look at the impressive creature in the pasture simply call it The Elk.

“It’s kind of like the Queen,” Messner explained. “There’s only one of them.”

This year, the beast decided to stay a while and ended up mingling in the herd for about two months during its rutting season.

One of Messner’s cows was also in heat and the pair became a freakish but constant spectacle.

“If you were there watching, it would be an X-rated movie. Several times a day,” Messner said through a chuckle.

“He was pretty aggressive. He’d put his head down with his great big antlers and poke the little calves and push them away and send them for a little ride once in a while and flick them around.”

Messner estimated the elk at about six feet tall and four feet wide and weighing about half a tonne.

He said he finally called a biologist at the University of Northern British Columbia after inquiries from neighbours about whether his cow could have been impregnated by the elk.

“He had a huge rack, but he was too well-endowed by chromosomes,” Messner said.

Messner was told an elk has eight more chromosomes than a cow, making the likelihood of a hybrid calf a near impossibility.

But it wasn’t the amorous nature of the elk that finally prompted Messner to break up what he called “the harem” in his pasture.

The ranch is bordered by the highway and cars were stopping as passengers tried to get a look at the amorous ungulate, which from time to time would hop from one side of the pasture fence to the other.

Messner said the final straw was when hunters turned up, the lure of a six-point rack potentially dangerously enticing.

“Trucks were pulling over and people were watching this poor elk through the scope of their gun and people were doing U-turns on the highway. It was becoming a real dangerous situation.”

Messner called in the conservation officer. He, the officer and two RCMP officers sedated the elk and removed its antlers to make it less appealing to hunters and less of a threat to the cows should it decide to return.

The elk was then loaded into a truck and taken about 20 kilometres out of town, towards the mountains.

“I kind of think he will be back next year,” said Messner.

Read more - 
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/1273175--elk-banished-from-100-mile-ranch-b-c-after-falling-in-love-with-cow

Shedding Pounds Could Ease ‘Pain At The Pump’ - losing weight could save you money at the gas pump -

Shedding Pounds Could Ease ‘Pain At The Pump’ - losing weight could save you money at the gas pump - 




Are you looking for another good reason to shed a few pounds? According to a new study, losing weight could save you money at the gas pump.

The study, conducted by Allstate Insurance and the Cars.com website, shows that for every 50 pounds inside a vehicle fuel efficiency decreases by one-percent.

Researchers say eventually manufacturers will get rid of CD players, which weigh five pounds, and replace them with MP 3 players. Cars.com editor in chief Patrick Olsen said the issue of spare tires, in a vehicle and around your waist, should also be considered.

“Well every American spare tire is adding to their cost. So they need to find ways to get rid of the one in the trunk and the one on them,” he said. “So that’s why it’s important whether just for yourself and health reasons, but also it’s gonna have an impact on how much it costs you to fill your car up for the entire year.”

In relation to vehicles, Olsen said in the future he sees manufacturers reducing vehicle weight by replacing the spare tire with an air pump or quick patch solution.

It’s also predicted that booklet forms of vehicle owner’s manuals will be replaced with flash drives.

With more than one-third of U.S. adults considered obese, passenger weight has only been growing. According to the study, between 1960 and 2002, an extra one billion gallons of gasoline were used due to the weight gain of motorists.

Read more - 
http://atlanta.cbslocal.com/2012/10/15/shedding-pounds-could-ease-pain-at-the-pump/