The Newfound Link Between Probiotics and Your Weight

"Probiotic supplements during the first trimester of pregnancy can help women lose weight after their child’s birth, according to new findings.

Major Confusion on How to Do Breast Checks

"Is there a right way to check your breasts for early signs of cancer? Many women remain confused as experts now say there is no evidence that rigorous monthly "self-examination" -- widely recommended in the United States -- reduces breast cancer deaths. Plus, it can lead to unnecessary biopsies."

Is Insulin Condemning You to a Premature Death?

"In the U.S., over 70 million people -- one in four -- have diabetes, and the conventional medical treatments currently being provided are killing people. However, there are natural, effective treatments that can control, and in the case of type 2 diabetes, even reverse the disease."

More from Origen: catechesis on martyrdom

"Then in the beginning when you were going to be instructed, it would have been rightly said to you, 'And if you be unwilling to worship the Lord, choose, this day whom you will worship, whether the gods your fathers worshiped in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites among whom you dwell on the land.' And the catechist might have said to you, 'But as for me and my house, we will worship the Lord because he is holy' (Josh. 24:15). He does not have any reason to say this to you now; for then you said ' And the people answered and said, God forbid that we should forsake the LORD, to serve other gods; For the LORD our God, he it is that brought us up and our fathers out of the land of Egypt ... and preserved us in all the way wherein we went' (Josh. 24:16-17). Moreover, in the agreement about religion long ago you gave your catechist this answer, 'We also will worship the Lord, for He is our God' (Josh. 24:18). If, therefore, the one who breaks agreements with men is outside any truce and alien to safety, what must be said of those who by denying make null and void the agreements they made with God, and who run back to Stan, whom they renounced when they were baptized? Such a person must be told the words spoken by Eli to his sons, 'If one man sin against another, the judge shall judge him: but if a man sin against the LORD, who shall entreat for him?' (I Sam. 2:25)"

Origen, An Exhortation to Martyrdom

A distinction between "bowing down" and "worshipping"

"Suppose, however, that the One who says, 'You shall not make for yourself a graven image or any likeness, and the rest' (Ex. 20:4) implies that there is a difference between 'You shall not bow down to them' and 'You shall not worship them.' Then perhaps the person who really believes in idols worships them; but the one who does not believe but pretends to worship them through cowardice, which he calls an accommodating temper, so that he may seem to be religious like most other people does not worship idols but only bows down to them." (Origen, An Exhortation to Martyrdom)

Compare these thoughts with II Kings 5. In the narrative of Naaman the Syrian, when he was cleansed of leprosy, Naaman confesses to Elisha: "Thy servant will henceforth offer neither burnt offering nor sacrifice unto other gods, but unto the LORD. In this thing the LORD pardon thy servant, that when my master goeth into the house of Rimmon to worship there, and he leaneth on my hand, and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon: when I bow down myself in the house of Rimmon, the LORD pardon thy servant in this thing."

In other words, Naaman knows that he will bow down in the house of the false god; he will not worship there.

Active and retired top military brass met to discuss what really happened on 9/11

From the Wayne Madsen Report:

"WMR has learned from a well-informed source that in the months after the 9/11 attacks, a group of retired and active duty military officers, with ranks as high as general, met in an informal and hush-hush working group to discuss what actually occurred on September 11, 2001.

WMR has been told that those who met did not believe, in whole or in part, the official line that 19 Arabs nationals armed with box cutters hijacked four U.S. passenger planes and flew three of them into the World Trade Center and Pentagon."

What failure is not

"You may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing that we call failure is not the falling down, but the staying down."

Mary Pickford
1893-1979, Actress and Producer

What you're really made of

"I guess that one of the most important things I've learned is that nothing is ever completely bad. Even cancer. It has made me a better person. It has given me courage and a sense of purpose I never had before. But you don't have to do like I did...wait until you lose a leg or get some awful disease, before you take the time to find out what kind of stuff you're really made of. You can start now. Anybody can."

Terry Fox
1958-1981, Canadian man (with an artificial right leg) who ran across Canada to raise money for cancer research.

Thomas Sowell: on street beggars

"When I think of the people with serious physical or mental handicaps who nevertheless work, I find it hard to sympathize with able-bodied men who stand on the streets and beg. Nor can I sympathize with those who give them money that subsidizes a parasitic lifestyle which allows such men to be a constant nuisance, or even a danger, to others."

Thomas Sowell: on Barack Obama

"One of the most important talents for success in politics is the ability to make utter nonsense sound not only plausible but inspiring. Barack Obama has that talent. We will be lucky if we escape the catastrophes into which other countries have been led by leaders with that same charismatic talent."

Making Headway Against Autoimmune Diseases with Low Dose Naltrexone

Imagination

"Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere."

Albert Einstein
1879-1955, Physicist

Nothing you can't do

"There is nothing you can't do, if you set your mind to it. Anything is possible."

Rick Hansen
Wheelchair Athlete, Speaker and Author

The glory of human nature

"Do you see then to what height of glory human nature has been raised? Is it not from earth to heaven? Is it not from corruption to incorruption? How hard would not someone toil in order to become the intimate friend of a corruptible king here below? But we, although we were alienated and hostile in our intent by evil deeds, have not only been reconciled to God the Father, through our Lord Jesus Christ, but we have also soared aloft to sonship, and now our nature is worshipped in the heavens by every creature seen and unseen."

St Ephrem - Catechesis 7

The coming of the Holy Spirit

"In His ineffable wisdom the Son of God deigned to communicate step by step to His Disciples an understanding of the truths of His saving faith; for their human hearts could not grasp it all at once. And in the discourses He had already spoken to them He had, as I showed you in my last sermon, made known to them many things concerning the Oneness of His own divinity with that of the Father; making clear that there was no separation between Them; so that even the words He spoke to them were not, He declared, His but the Father’s: And the word which you have heard, is not mine; but the Father’s who sent me (John 14.14). In this sentence He makes it abundantly clear that all who reject the teaching of His Only-Begotten Son reject the teaching of the Father also; since the Son says that the words He spoke are not His but the Father’s; and from this it follows that if they are the words of the Father, they are also the words of the Son; for He declares: All things whatsoever the Father hath are mine (John 16.15)."

On the Promised Coming of the Paraclete
St. Gaudentius, Bishop of Brescia

When the disciples remembered

"When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said."

John 2.22

The new and improved library

From Bill Myers:

"Until recently, my wife and I typically spent $300 a month on
books and magazines and DVD rentals.

Once a week, we'd take a trip to the local Barnes & Noble or
Books-a-Million bookstore, and load up on the latest novels and
magazines.

Rarely did we get out of these bookstores without spending a
hundred dollars or more - each and every week.

But a few months back, we found something better and far less
expensive than Barnes & Noble, or Books a Million or even Amazon.

We found our local library.

Don't laugh. Libraries have come a long way from what you may
remember from your school days.

For example, our local library has a website where we can search
their catalogs, then reserve, renew and even request books,
magazines and DVDs.

This means we can sit at home, find the best sellers or DVDs we
want at Amazon, and then reserve them at our local library.

As soon as these items become available, the library sends us an
email, and they hold the item until we pick it up - all for free.

So instead of going to the local bookstores or Amazon, these days
we just head to the library and pick up the books or DVDs or
magazines we want - without spending a penny.

It may not sound like a big deal - but going to the library is
likely to save us close to $4,000 this year - money that can be
used for other things - like adding to my boat fund.

If you have a local library, you might want to check it out. You
may be surprised with what you find.

One final point - our local library (like most) has free wifi.

This means whenever your internet connection is down, or you just
want a quiet place with internet, you can head to your local
library."

How Light Helps Fight Psoriasis

"Ultraviolet light is a proven treatment for psoriasis, and sunshine itself can also beat back the chronic autoimmune disorder of the skin."

New Research Shows Vitamin D Can Dramatically Increase Athletic Performance

"According to a new review of research, evidence suggests that adequate treatment of vitamin D deficient athletes could dramatically improve their performance. Activated vitamin D is a steroid hormone which regulates more than 1,000 human genes. Recent research indicates that intracellular vitamin D levels in numerous human tissues, including nerve and muscle tissue, are increased when inputs of its substrate, the prehormone vitamin D, are increased."

Vitamin D May Make Seniors Smarter

"Getting more of the "Sunshine vitamin" may make you brighter later in life, according to a study that bolsters evidence vitamin D may help older people stay mentally fit."