As promised this link will take you to Dr. Connelly's site and all the supporting documents mentioned on yesterday's show:

http://www.bodyrx.com/PGXEmails/PGXEmails.html

More evidence that children who get less sleep and are later to bed are at greater risk of disease and obesity. A study published by Janice F. Bell, PhD, MPH, of the University of Washington School of Public Health in Seattle, and Frederick J. Zimmerman, PhD, of the University of California Los Angeles shows that children who get less sleep are more prone to obesity. Nothing new here but its worth saying again and again for parents who continue to allow their children to stay up late at night.

"Getting less sleep at night predisposed kids younger than 5 at study enrollment to overweight or obesity five years later" stated Bell. Fewer hours of sleep also correlated with weight for older kids up to age 13.

Interestingly, simply getting your child to get to bed earlier may actually treat childhood obesity. Napping however had no effect. We are hardwired to sleep when the sun goes down. Our circadian rhythm which is controlled by the suprachiasmatic nuclei promotes hormonal pulses that allow children to stay lean and grow properly. It also reduces carbohydrate urges during the day.

When you combine proper sleep with physical activity you are gifting your child with a future devoid of disease and obesity. I could go on quoting the statistics from the study but all that needs to be said is this. If you are a parent and you are allowing your child to stay up late to watch a favorite TV show , get caught up on homework, or just because you don't feel like putting up with the fuss.... you are derelict of your paternal duties. Why not just let them smoke cigarettes?

The FDA approved the steps to add the H1N1 Vaccine to the standard flu shot. So this means that during the 2010 - 2011 period anyone getting a "seasonal flu vaccine" will also be getting an H1N1 vaccine as well! In the past these were kept separate.

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommended the change based on evidence that yearly flu shots are a "safe and effective preventive health action with potential benefit in all age groups," and concerns that a "substantial proportion" of young adults may be susceptible to H1N1-like viruses that continue to circulate. Substantial proportion? Continues to circulate? It looks like the H1N1 virus has joined the ranks of Elvis and Big Foot.

I already covered the fact that there's was NO PANDEMIC.. even according to the World Health Organization - the group credited with fanning the flames that a Pandemic was eminent - in a recent blog post here. And from the looks of it, vaccines are doing nothing to ward off flu related deaths. One simply needs to look at the number of deaths each year from the seasonal flu - between 250,000 and 500,000 worldwide!

So why would the FDA agree to include the H1N1 strain in the new seasonal vaccine? Well..... maybe its because so many pharmaceutical companies invested in producing an H1N1 vaccine that NO ONE USED and now they're trying to find ways to recover their unearned profits!

The seasonal flu vaccine will be marketed as Afluria (CSL Limited), Agriflu(Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics), Fluarix(GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals), FluLaval(GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals), FluMist(MedImmune Vaccines, Inc), Fluvirin(Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics Ltd), and Fluzone/Fluzone High-Dose(Sanofi Pasteur, Inc). Safety labeling for Afluria will be updated to inform physicians and clinicians about the increased rate of fever and febrile seizure seen in young children receiving the shot. Most were under 5 years of age. Wait, isn't it the very young and very old who are supposed to get the seasonal flu shot? And it has known side effects in the very young? What the hell!

Well I don't know about you but I haven't had a seasonal flu shot since the one time I got one around 1985 when I lived in Vegas. During a conversation with my mother she asked if I was getting it. I said no. She said I should. So like any good Italian boy I listened. I got the shot and the next day was so sick I was in bed for a week. Never Again! But that's just me. If you're thinking about getting the seasonal flu shot you may want to consider the new risks of being exposed to the H1N1 strain. Maybe if no one gets the NEW seasonal flu shot the FDA will get the idea that we don't want to be exposed to the H1N1 strain and the pharmaceutical companies will remove it next season. Remember what I've always said. We vote with our dollars.

I subscribe to several databases and Continuing Education groups that are specifically designed for physicians and pharmacists. I get a glimpse at what the medical orthodoxy and pharmaceutical industry is up to that way. This morning I received an email from one with several newsworthy topics. One was a poll asking physicians whether marijuana should be lagalized or not.

The poll was titled Time to Legalize Pot? :
Marijuana has been shown to be effective in glaucoma and pain control -- most recently for neuropathic pain -- and has been okayed for medical use in several states.

I was first curious to see how so many physicians would vote on this topic. The poll question was: Is it time to decriminalize marijuana for medical purposes nationwide? The answer choices were:

1. Yes
2. Yes, but only for select conditions
3. Yes, completely not just for medical use
4. No

I voted in order to see the results and much to my surprise almost as many physicians had voted Yes as did Yes, completely not just for medical use! 37% of physicians voted Yes for medical use and 32% voted Yes, completely - medical and non medical use! I was quite surprised because I always thought most physicians were a bit more prudish.

Of course I also voted Yes, completely not just for medical use. Its hypocritical to allow the sale and consumption of alcohol or tobacco and outlaw marijuana use. We see in the state of California that the loosening and legalized use of marijuana has not led to debauchery and havoc. Cannabis is being studied for it anti-cancer properties. Its an amazing sleep aid with none of the side effects seen in pharmaceutical sleep aids.

Time to let go of old stigmas I think. Makes one wonder if more physicians aren't enjoying the benefits of marijuana in the privacy of their own homes?