Monday, June 15

Author: Catherine

Gene-edited Foods are Safe, Japanese Panel Concludes
19Mar By CatherineNo Comments
Genetically Modified Foods

Gene-edited Foods are Safe, Japanese Panel Concludes

Japan will allow gene-edited foodstuffs to be sold to consumers without safety evaluations as long as the techniques involved meet certain criteria, if recommendations agreed on by an advisory panel yesterday are adopted by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. This would open the door to using CRISPR and other techniques on plants and animals intended for human consumption in the country. “There is little difference between traditional breeding methods and gene editing in terms of safety,” Hirohito Sone, an endocrinologist at Niigata University who chaired the expert panel, told NHK, Japan’s national public broadcaster. Now, Japan appears set to follow the U.S. example. The final report, approved yesterday, was not immediately available, but an earlier draft was posted on the ...
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18Mar By CatherineNo Comments
Botanicals

DEA RAISES THE ALARM

A recent study published in Clinical Toxicology revealed that exposure to and use of kratom has dramatically increased over the past 7 years. The herbal supplement often used to overcome opioid pain and withdrawal has now become a drug of concern according to the DEA. It has been a part of the DEA’s list of drugs and chemicals of concern despite it being an herbal supplement. One of the major concerns about kratom is that it has never been approved for medical use by the FDA. But the danger lies in the fact that many believe it is safe because it is made of herbs. But Henry A. Spiller, MS, DABAT, co-author, and director, Central Ohio Poison Center at Nationwide Children’s Hospital strongly advise against such misperception. More at Canyon News.
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You Sound How You Eat: Speech Evolved As Diet Changed
18Mar By CatherineNo Comments
Diet

You Sound How You Eat: Speech Evolved As Diet Changed

A surprising new study has revealed that diverse sounds produced by human speech not only evolved after Neolithic times but also stem from biological alterations in the human bite as a result of eating softer diets. The findings contradict the theory that the range of human sounds has not changed since Homo sapiens emerged about 300,000 years ago. Linguistic diversity was also commonly thought to evolve independently of biological changes. In 1985, linguist Charles Hockett suggested that labiodentals – the class of speech sounds including ‘f’ and ‘v’ in English – might have evolved as diets became softer with the move away from hunting and gathering towards agriculture and industrialized food processing. These changes, he said, altered the human bite so that new sounds were easier...
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How Diet Became The Latest Front in the Culture Wars
17Mar By CatherineNo Comments
Diet

How Diet Became The Latest Front in the Culture Wars

The latest study warning us to eat less meat has brought angry skeptics out in droves. But who should we believe? Food, how to cook it, what it does to you and what growing or rearing it does to the planet are issues that crowd the media. And yet, as the clamor grows, clarity recedes. An estimated 820 million people went hungry last year, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation. A third of all people were vitamin-deficient. Two billion were classified as overweight and 600 million as obese. It’s also estimated that 1bn tonnes of food is wasted every year – a third of the total produced. A plethora of academic reports concerning food consumption and production have been published in recent years. The latest and arguably the most far-reaching is Food in the Anthropocene: ...
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15Mar By CatherineNo Comments
Botanicals

Commentary: Why We Should Regulate Kratom

KRATOM (Mitragyna speciosa) is a botanical product made from the leaves of a plant that is indigenous to Southeast Asia, where it has been used for centuries. As awareness of it has developed around the world, interest in kratom's psychoactive properties have grown. In the U.S., kratom is categorized as a novel psychoactive substance, or NPS, because unlike virtually any other psychoactive compound it can be both a central nervous system stimulant and depressant, depending on the dosage. At low doses of less than 5 grams it is a stimulant; at doses above 5 grams it produces depressant and analgesic effects like an opioid. It is sold as a powder, in capsules, as a liquid concentrate, and it is infused into chocolates. The key psychoactive compound in kratom was isolate...
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12Mar By CatherineNo Comments
Botanicals

Kraken Kratom Becomes First Company Named AKA GMP Qualified Kratom Vendor

Kraken Kratom, a national online kratom retailer based in Oregon, has been recognized by the American Kratom Association as the first company to achieve AKA GMP Qualified Vendor status. An online retailer of kratom and kava products, Kraken prioritizes quality, safety, compliance, and consumer satisfaction and has worked diligently to demonstrate adherence to Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) set forth by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). As the first company to receive this new qualification from the AKA, Kraken has solidified its reputation as a trusted kratom vendor and a leader in their industry. The AKA GMP Standards Program was created to establish a higher level of manufacturing processes for Kratom Vendors. AKA GMP participants have committed to implementing and follow...
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8Mar By CatherineNo Comments
Botanicals

Advocates decry Ohio pharmacy board vote to ban kratom

A group that advocates for consumer access to the herbal supplement kratom says the State of Ohio Board of Pharmacy erred in approving a proposal to ban the product that has been touted as way to fight the opioid epidemic. The board on Wednesday voted to approve its proposal to classify the Southeast Asian herb as a Schedule 1 Controlled Substance, which would place it in the same class as heroin, LSD and other illegal drugs. It now faces review by two other government bodies. The board was not swayed by scientific studies that the association presented refuting U.S. Food and Drug Administration findings, said C.M. Haddow, a public policy fellow at the Virginia-based American Kratom Association. Opposed to bans, the association is lobbying in Ohio and elsewhere for laws that would ma...
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8Mar By CatherineNo Comments
Botanicals

Medical Cannabis Sales In Waimea Approved

WAIMEA, Hawaiʻi - The second medical cannabis dispensary retail center on Hawaʻi Island has passed its final onsite inspection, state health officials say. (BIVN) – Big Island Grown Dispensaries has b...
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