Why People Believe Invisible Agents Control the World

 

A Skeptic’s take on souls, spirits, ghosts, gods, demons, angels, aliens and other invisible powers that be…

Souls, spirits, ghosts, gods, demons, angels, aliens, intelligent designers, government conspirators, and all manner of invisible agents with power and intention are believed to haunt our world and control our lives. Why? Read more

With a wave of the hand

 

Go into any busy coffee shop and you are likely to see people engrossed in conversation, waving their hands around. A man at the counter describes the coffee he wants to buy – in a mug, not a to-go cup – and his hand takes a familiar shape, as if he were already holding the cozy mug. Nearby, two sisters laugh, as one tells a story about a trip to the barrier reef and all of the fish that she saw, her hands wiggling and darting in an invisible sea in front of her. The drive to gesture when speaking is fundamental to human nature. Read more

Are Selenium Levels Linked to Diabetes?

A new study finds that diabetics had higher levels of selenium, a mineral found in U.S. soil but also some dietary supplements

Americans with diabetes have high levels of selenium in their bodies, prompting some health experts to suspect that it could contribute to development of the disease. In response to their new findings, a research team has recommended that U.S. residents stop taking supplements that contain selenium. Read more

Inexpensive Magnesium Proves Impressive at Protecting the Brain

Magnesium is a powerhouse. It is inexpensive and is used to treat a vast array of medical problems, often better than any drug or medical procedure available. The latest feather in magnesium’s cap is its newly discovered ability to protect the brain and improve the neurologic outcomes of infants and adults who have had oxygen deprivation to their brains. Pretty impressive for a cheap mineral present in practically every multivitamin supplement on the market. Read more

African Tea May Treat Type-2 Diabetes

A simple tea, long used as treatment in traditional Nigerian medicine has shown great promise as a treatment for type-2 Diabetes mellitus. This tea is produced from an extract of Rauvolfia Vomitoria (poison devil`s-pepper) and the fruit of Citrus aurantium (bitter orange). Researches have recently begun testing this tea on patients with type-2 diabetes and the results are promising. Read more

Soy Protein Used in “Natural” Foods Bathed in Toxic Solvent Hexane

 

Virtually all “protein bars” on the market today are made with soy protein. Many infant formula products are also made with soy protein, and thousands of vegetarian products (veggie burgers, veggie cheese, “natural” food bars, etc.) are made with soy protein. That soy protein is almost always described as safe and “natural” by the companies using it. But there’s a dirty little secret the soy product industry doesn’t want you to know: Much of the “natural” soy protein used in foods today is bathed in a toxic, explosive chemical solvent known as hexane. Read more

The Look of a Winner

The emerging–and disturbing–science of how candidates’ physical appearances influence our choice in leaders

When we walk into a voting booth and cast our vote, we like to think that we are making a considered decision, based on the issues. After all, a properly functioning democratic system, which gives its citizens the power to choose their leaders and shape critical policies, requires that voters are, for the most part, rational and that society can trust them to make sound judgments. Read more

A Hundred Health Sapping Neurotoxins are Hidden in Packaged & Restaurant Food

What is it that stands between you and vibrant health? People who have spent a fortune on supplements, gotten plenty of exercise and bought high quality food still find themselves unable to answer this question. For many of them, the answer lies in neurotoxins hidden in even the most healthy sounding foods, including many foods labeled as organic. These ingredients often cause serious reactions, including migraines, insomnia, asthma, depression, anxiety, aggression, chronic fatigue, and even ALS. They may be responsible for the swelling numbers of children diagnosed as ADHD. Read more

Acupuncture Beats Western Medicine for Treating Low Back Pain

The results of the largest randomized back pain trial of its kind shows acupuncture clearly helps people with chronic low back pain more than standard medical care. But the results of the SPINE (Stimulating Points to Investigate Needling Efficacy) study, just published in the May 11, 2009 Archives of Internal Medicine, has some researchers scratching their heads over the remarkable findings. The reason the study’s results are so intriguing? Not just one but three different forms of acupuncture beat out western medicine in helping relieve low back pain. Read more

What Is The Best Way to Turn Plants into Energy?

The environmental case for ethanol from corn continues to weaken. Turning the food crop into ethanol would not be the best use of the energy embedded in the kernels’ carbohydrates, according to a new study in Science. That’s because fermenting corn into ethanol delivers less liquid fuel energy for internal combustion engines than does burning the kernels to generate power for electric motors. Read more

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