MERS Epidemic Threatens Hajj

MERS virus causes Saudi Arabia to warn some Muslims to avoid hajj pilgrimage

The deadly coronavirus, which has killed 38 people in Saudi Arabia, may make the annual religious journey to Mecca too risky for pregnant women, children, seniors and people with underlying health problems, Ministry of Health officials said in a statement.

BY DAVID KNOWLES / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

TUESDAY, JULY 16, 2013, 3:46 PM

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With millions of Muslims expected to travel to Mecca, Saudi Arabia for this year's hajj, the country's Ministry of Health has issued a warning over the MERS virus. 

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This year’s hajj may not be for everyone.

Citing concerns over the deadly MERS coronavirus, the government of Saudi Arabia is urging elderly Muslims and those with underlying health problems to postpone their plans to attend this year’s religious pilgrimage in Mecca.

RELATED: DEADLY NEW CORONAVIRUS A 'SERIOUS RISK' IN HOSPITALS: STUDY

In a statement released over the weekend, the Saudi Ministry of Health warned off pregnant woman, children, the elderly and “those suffering chronic illnesses, like heart, kidney, respiratory diseases, and diabetes,” the AFP reported.

On its website, the ministry said the warning was part of “preventive measures special to the MERS coronavirus,” which has so far killed 38 people in the kingdom, the largest number reported in any country so far.

RELATED: MERS VIRUS DEATH TOLL RISES IN SAUDI ARABIA

In all, 45 of the 81 people known to have been infected with MERS have died, and the World Health Organization convened emergency talks last week on the virus.

Millions of Muslims are expected to travel to Saudi Arabia in October to participate in one of Islam’s holiest rites, and this is the first time that the country’s Ministry of Health has issued travel warnings.

It remains unclear how MERS is spread, but it is believed to be an airborne virus that causes flu-like coughing, breathing difficulties and can lead to sudden kidney failure.

In 2012, more than three million Muslim pilgrims packed Mecca’s Sacred Mosque.

DKnowles@nydailynews.co

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/mers-virus-muslims-hajj-article-1.1400249#ixzz2ZFkvuWYr

The Wheat - Autism Link

The rise in autism and related conditions matches the rise in GMO wheat and other foods. Is there a possible link? Could the solution to autism be as simple as wheat avoidance?

Activist Post: New Study Confirms Wheat-Autism Link

New Study Confirms Wheat-Autism Link

Sayer Ji

Activist Post

As the autism epidemic continues to accelerate, one of the least well known contributing factors goes mostly unnoticed: wheat consumption. 

A new study published in the open access journal PLoS is reinvigorating the debate over what are the primary causes of the accelerating autism epidemic. Whereas too many within the conventional medical establishment, failing to identify a singular cause, apathetically label the condition "idiopathic," i.e. cause unknown, or worse, "caused by unknown defective genes," there is a growing awareness that a multitude of environmental factors including vaccines, chemical exposures, C-sections, antibiotics, genetically modified food, and food intolerances are essential in both understanding and treating this disturbing affliction.

The point therefore is not to prove one thing the cause (e.g. "autism genes"), and another not the cause (e.g. vaccines), as if it were strictly some kind of academic sport or past time, rather, to acknowledge possible contributing factors, and eliminate them whenever possible as a precaution.

The new study titled, "Markers of Celiac Disease and Gluten Sensitivity in Children with Autism," explored the possible association between gluten sensitivity and autism, which previous research has confirmed only inconsistently.[i]

They described their aim as follows: "[T]o assess immune reactivity to gluten in pediatric patients diagnosed with autism according to strict criteria and to evaluate the potential link between autism and celiac disease."

They discovered that children with autism had significantly higher levels of IgG antibodies to gliadin, the primary immunotoxic protein in wheat, compared with unhealthy controls. They also found that the IgG anti-gliadin antibody response was significantly greater in the autistic children with gastrointestinal symptoms in comparison to those without them. The elevated IgG antibodies indicate: 1) that their immune systems are identifying gliadin proteins as "other." 2) that gliadin is not being properly broken down through digestive processes and are entering through a compromised intestinal tract ("leaky gut") into the blood.

It has been theorized that when the immune system forms antibodies against gliadin, these antibodies cross react with self-structures within the nervous system. Known as molecular mimicry, this break down of immunological self-tolerance can contribute to wide range of neurological problems including neuropathy, ataxia, seizures, and neurobehavioral changes including mania,schizophrenia and autism. Anti-gliadin antibodies are therefore a possible cause of autoimmune neurological damage. One study published in the Journal of Immunology in 2007 found that anti-gliadin antibodies crossreact with the neurological protein class known as synapsin I, providing a molecular mechanism behind how an immune reaction to gliadin could contribute to neurological degeneration.

Beyond Celiac Disease: Wheat Causes Far More Harm Than Commonly Understood

When the researchers looked at levels of celiac disease specific blood markers (i.e. antibodies to deamidated gliadin and TG2), they did not differ between patients and controls. Moreover, there was no observed association between the HLA-DQ2 genetic locus of celiac disease susceptibility and increased anti-gliadin antibodies. This is an important finding, as many look upon wheat intolerance or sensitivity as a rare disorder without a clearly defined mechanism of action like celiac disease. They would rather not believe that wheat, which is a glorified grain in wealthier countries, could contribute to a wide range of diseases. Our project, for instance, has identified over 200 potential adverse health effects of gluten consumption. One does not therefore have to have classically defined celiac disease, or "wheat allergy," to experience adverse effects associated with gluten-grain consumption.

The authors of the study concluded:

A subset of children with autism displays increased immune reactivity to gluten, the mechanism of which appears to be distinct from that in celiac disease. The increased anti-gliadin antibody response and its association with GI symptoms points to a potential mechanism involving immunologic and/or intestinal permeability abnormalities in affected children.

Scientists are cautious, and they should be. For those who are suffering with an autistic child or family member, however, a gluten free diet might be worth exploring now, even if the link is only considered tentative from the perspective of the peer-reviewed clinical literature. One remarkable example of the potential for a gluten free diet to generate great improvement can be viewed on GreenMedTV.com:Boy Recovers from Autism After Going Gluten Free.

Interesting in learning more about this topic? Read:

Wheat: A Missing Piece in the Autism Puzzle

From Autism to Anorexia, It's All About the Gut

The Dark Side of Wheat

[i] Nga M Lau, Peter H R Green, Annette K Taylor, Dan Hellberg, Mary Ajamian, Caroline Z Tan, Barry E Kosofsky, Joseph J Higgins, Anjali M Rajadhyaksha, Armin Alaedini. Markers of Celiac Disease and Gluten Sensitivity in Children with Autism. PLoS One. 2013 ;8(6):e66155. Epub 2013 Jun 18. PMID:23823064

This article first appeared at GreenMedInfo.  Please visit to access their vast database of articles and the latest information in natural health. 

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Vaccination Causes Autism – Here’s What They Know…

Monsanto Still Testing GM Wheat

New Study Links GMO Food To Leukemia

USDA Was Storing Monsanto’s Unapproved GM Wheat in Seed ...

Glyphosate and Roundup’s Implications on Modern Diseases

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Mother Brings Baby Back to Life ( video)

We often hear of the awesome power of love! Here is a case where love is powerful enough to revive a dead baby! Absolutely incredible!


Mother Brings Baby Back to Life With Two Hours Of Loving Cuddles
Posted on July 1, 2013 by Soren Dreier Author: Daily Mail / Video
 It was a final chance to say goodbye for grieving mother Kate Ogg after doctors gave up hope of saving her premature baby. She tearfully told her lifeless son – born at 27 weeks weighing 2lb – how much she loved him and cuddled him tightly, not wanting to let him go. Although little Jamie’s twin sister Emily had been delivered successfully, doctors had given Mrs Ogg the news all mothers dread – that after 20 minutes of battling to get her son to breathe, they had declared him dead. Having given up on a miracle, Mrs Ogg unwrapped the baby from his blanket and held him against her skin. And then an extraordinary thing happened. After two hours of being hugged, touched and spoken to by his mother, the little boy began showing signs of life. At first, it was just a gasp for air that was dismissed by doctors as a reflex action. But then the startled mother fed him a little breast milk on her finger and he started breathing normally. ‘I thought, “Oh my God, what’s going on”,’ said Mrs Ogg. ‘A short time later he opened his eyes. It was a miracle. Then he held out his hand and grabbed my finger. ‘He opened his eyes and moved his head from side to side. The doctor kept shaking his head saying, “I don’t believe it, I don’t believe it”.’ The Australian mother spoke publicly for the first time yesterday to highlight the importance of skin-on-skin care for sick babies, which is being used at an increasing number of British hospitals. In most cases, babies are rushed off to intensive care if there is a serious problem during the birth. But the ‘kangaroo care’ technique, named after the way kangaroos hold their young in a pouch next to their bodies, allows the mother to act as a human incubator to keep babies warm, stimulated and fed. Pre-term and low birth-weight babies treated with the skin-to-skin method have also been shown to have lower infection rates, less severe illness, improved sleep patterns and are at reduced risk of hypothermia. Mrs Ogg and her husband David told how doctors gave up on saving their son after a three-hour labour in a Sydney hospital in March. The doctor asked me had we chosen a name for our son,’ said Mrs Ogg. ‘I said, “Jamie”, and he turned around with my son already wrapped up and said, “We’ve lost Jamie, he didn’t make it, sorry”. ‘It was the worse feeling I’ve ever felt. I unwrapped Jamie from his blanket. He was very limp. ‘I took my gown off and arranged him on my chest with his head over my arm and just held him. He wasn’t moving at all and we just started talking to him. ‘We told him what his name was and that he had a sister. We told him the things we wanted to do with him throughout his life.’ Jamie occasionally gasped for air, which doctors said was a reflex action. But then I felt him move as if he were startled, then he started gasping more and more regularly. ‘I gave Jamie some breast milk on my finger, he took it and started regular breathing.’ Mrs Ogg held her son, now five months old and fully recovered, as she spoke on the Australian TV show Today Tonight. Her husband added: ‘Luckily I’ve got a very strong, very smart wife. ‘She instinctively did what she did. If she hadn’t done that, Jamie probably wouldn’t be here.’

The Brain's Cleaning Process: The Glymphatic System

How does the brain clean itself? Now, new research may have an answer. The build up of toxins in the brain like amyloid B is associated with Alzheimer's Disease. Could fasting and other practices like yoga help the brains cleaning system work better?

What Do Thoughts Look Like?

Here is the first ever video  visualization of the formation of a thought.  The brain being examined is that of a fish, but the basics are the same for people as well. Enjoy. Imagine what your thoughts look like as you watch the video!

Shocking Plane Radiation On Flight From Chile To US

One must now consider that air flights are unsafe due to high atmospheric radiation which can reach more than 10 times normal at 30,000 feet. The upper atmosphere is full of the radiation spewing out from Fukushima. On my last 3 flights I got sick. Now I know why!
Check out this report below:


Shocking Plane Radiation On Flight From Chile To US