Exercise Might Boost Kids' Academic Ability

From: Yahoo!/HealthDay News (3/12)

Children's processing speed increased by 9% following a form of academic activity and 10% after engaging in physical activity, but only 4% with both, Italian researchers reported in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. The study also found mental activity boosted concentration skills by 13%, physical activity by 10% and both by 2%.

http://news.yahoo.com/exercise-might-boost-kids-academic-ability-160208165.html;_ylt=AkG_rJfJvSEDXzvlIiq4FOGPscB_;_ylu=X3oDMTNoOXA0bGRmBG1pdAMEcGtnA2QyZjQ1YmQ1LWQ4MDAtMzVhYi05NTYwLWE1OTliMDdhMzA1NARwb3MDMQRzZWMDbG5fUGFyZW50aW5nX2dhbAR2ZXIDNDYzYjBmNTAtNmM5OC0xMWUxLThiZmQtMjQ1YmYyNzA3YjA4;_ylv=3

Scientists find correlation between autism and aluminum in vaccines

Michael Wagnitz: Scientists find correlation between autism and aluminum in vaccines

http://host.madison.com/ct/news/opinion/column/michael-wagnitz-scientists-find-correlation-between-autism-and-aluminum-in/article_61a5c82c-4fc7-5a17-96d7-10356f19b13f.html

New study finds arsenic in infant formula, cereal bars - organic brown rice syrup as a sweetener

From Consumer Reports (2/16):

Arsenic has been found in some foods that use organic brown rice syrup as a sweetener, including infant formula and cereal bars, according to a new study by researchers at Dartmouth College. The majority of the detected arsenic, a contaminant often found in rice, was the type that is known to be a human carcinogen.

http://news.consumerreports.org/health/2012/02/new-study-finds-arsenic-in-infant-formula-cereal-bars.html

TAKE ACTION!

TAKE ACTION!

From the Autism Action Coalition:

First Bill to Stop the DSM-V. Get One in Your State

Take Action! http://capwiz.com/a-champ/issues/alert/?alertid=61066986&queueid=%5Bcapwiz%3Aqueue_id%5D

Protect your Child's Education, Healthcare, Services

Last week we said we’re not gonna take the self-appointed “experts” at the American Psychiatric Association (APA) putting our kids hard fought access to a free and appropriate education, health care, Medicaid and vitally needed services on the line because they think they have cooked up a better definition of autism. This week we are proud to announce that the Autism Action Network has been successful in our effort to introduce the first legislation in the US that puts the brakes on the APA’s self-serving drive to throw our kids lives into chaos. Assemblymember Tom Abinanti (D-Greenburgh) of New York has introduced Assembly Bill A 9180, which will define “autism” under New York state law as the currently used criteria set out in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual-IVr (DSM-IVr), the definition that has been in use since 1994.

If we can do it in New York you can do it in your state. Please click on the Take Action link to send your state legislators a copy of A 9180 and ask them to introduce similar legislation in your state.

Autism Action Network has been warning for two years about the potential for huge disruption that would come from the DSM-V, and our fears were confirmed a couple of weeks ago when the Child Study Center at Yale announced that their analysis of the DSM-V autism criteria would result in 55% of people with autism losing their current diagnosis. Imagine what insurance companies could do with that. Imagine what a school district that wants to put your child into a completely inappropriate setting could do. Never mind the fact that the redefinition will completely invalidate the comparability of any epidemiology and provide the foundation for another twenty years of claims that “we just aren’t sure if the autism rate is really going up.” And to date the APA has been unable to come up with a single reason of how this would benefit anybody with autism in anyway.


Your child’s education, healthcare and services are on the line. This is the most serious threat facing the autism community and the only way we can stop it is if you get active.

GARDISIL VACCINE

WE DO NOT AS YET RECOMMEND THE GARDISIL VACCINE FOR TEENAGE BOYS OR GIRLS

From Reuters (2/27):  AAP policy statement recommends HPV shots for boys

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/27/us-hpv-shot-recommendation-boys-idUSTRE81Q0NZ20120227

Frequent intake of sweets may lead to tolerance similar to addiction

From ABC News (2/24):

Researchers at the Oregon Research Institute in Eugene found that adolescents who consumed more ice cream over the preceding two weeks enjoyed milkshakes less, according to brain scans. "We believe that means the more an individual is consuming a high-fat, high-sugar and high-energy food, they develop a tolerance of it in a similar fashion that you see happening with drug addiction or alcohol addition," researcher Kyle Burger said.

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/ice-cream-addicting-oregon-study-suggests-brain-reactions/story?id=15786564#.T0453vW2aI8

Omega-3 supplements in early childhood may lower future heart risk

From The Sydney Morning Herald / Australian Associated Press (2/20):

An Australian study in the journal Pediatrics found that children who were given sunflower oil supplements and omega-6 fatty acid-rich margarines and cooking oil during their first five years of life had thicker arterial walls at age 8, while those who were given omega-3 fatty acid supplements and canola-based margarine and cooking oil did not. The researchers said that small babies are more at risk for cardiovascular disease in adulthood and omega-3 fatty acid supplements could protect them against heart attack and stroke.

http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/omega3-reduces-heart-risk-in-babies-20120220-1tiyl.html