So where does all of this extra salt come from? According to Heart Healthy Magazine, “Roughly 10 percent of the salt in our diet comes from the salt we add ourselves (the salt we season with while cooking or sprinkle at the table) and 10 percent is naturally occurring. The vast majority of salt—amounting to about 80 percent of daily intake—comes from processed foods. Salt is added to processed foods to achieve a (very salty) taste profile. In many situations adding salt is what makes cheap, un-tasty food palatable. Salt also is added for stability and preservation reasons. But the amount of salt added is clearly above and beyond what’s required for the safety and function of the food supply. The simple math leads to the conclusion that going easy with the salt shaker is hardly going to put a dent in the unhealthy amount of salt in the typical American diet. It’s also hard to trust our taste buds when salt is involved. Some foods taste quite salty because the salt is on the surface, while other sodium-saturated dishes don’t taste salty at all because other flavors and textures (namely, lots of fat and sugars) cover up the salt.”

You can add great flavor to any of your dishes without salt. Here are just a few suggestions and alternatives to your meals. Getting active is another great way to keep your heart strong. Grab some friends and head to the park. Not only is this a great way to get your heart pumping (safely and within your limits), but you can also catch up on the latest gossip, a great stress reliever! President Obama has proclaimed February as American Heart Month. February 5, 2010 was National Wear Red Day, I hope you all wore red to show your support. But wearing red to show your support is not limited to one day a year. Wear red and share your ideas and tips with everyone, everywhere.

“…Artificial sweeteners like saccharin (Sweet’N Low), sucralose (Splenda) or aspartame (NutraSweet) are lab-created chemicals that are food-additives; they should not be considered “food.”

Some experts think that artificial sweeteners belong to a class of harmful chemicals called “excitotoxins” which can make brain cells fire like crazy, damaging or killing them. They can cause free radical damage in nerve cells. I wonder – if in time- we will find a connection between people who use excessive amounts of the pretty packets with those who experience conditions stemming from their head, for example, depression, panic attacks, seizures, Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease and even manic depression.

I am particularly annoyed that many diabetes educators promote artificial sweeteners to people with diabetes, Why? Because some preliminary studies point to their detrimental effect on blood sugar and pancreatic function. Even more disturbing, a Duke University study has concluded these compounds may actually contribute to obesity, not weight loss!

The artificial sweetener story gets confusing because a few studies insist that human consumption is safe. So here is some research which explains why I shy away from non-natural sweeteners:

–A 2008 study published in Preventative Medicine concluded that, “Regular use of artificial sweeteners for 10 years or more was positively associated with urinary tract tumors.”

–In January 2009, the trial began for McNeil-PPC, Inc. versus the sugar industry. Makers of Splenda have to defend themselves against claims that they used false advertising or deceptive marketing campaigns in order to convince Americans that Splenda is natural and safe because it comes from sugar. (It may start out that way, but the end product does not occur in nature, hence the trouble.)

–A 2008 Duke University study published in The Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health concluded that sucralose contributes to obesity, destroys your healthy camp of intestinal bacteria and may interfere with absorption of prescription drugs.

–A study by researchers at the University of Florida found that aspartame may increase the frequency of migraines by up to 50 percent.

–At higher temperatures, a compound in aspartame converts to formaldehyde and then to another chemical which could spark neurological symptoms that could be mistaken for multiple sclerosis. “

Source

1. Denny’s
2. Chili’s
3. Baskin-Robbins
4. Carl’s Jr.
5. Continue Reading

“The final implementation earlier this month of Turkey’s ban on smoking was hailed as a huge victory for public health. On billboards all around Istanbul, smiley-faced bubbles floated across clear blue skies alongside messages such as “Hello to a smoke-free Turkey.” But one environmental engineer says it will take more than banning cigarettes in enclosed spaces to truly clear the air.

While some have portrayed the ban as part of a broader anti-vice campaign by the Islamist-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP) government, Eylem Tuncaelli sees it more as a way for political leaders to avoid dealing with the country’s real air-pollution problems.

Industrial pollution causes cancer too
“Unfortunately, it is impossible to speak of smoke-free air space in Turkey,” Tuncaelli, the president of the Istanbul branch of the Environmental Engineers’ Chamber (ÇMO), told the media-advocacy group Bianet. “People are facing the risk of cancer even without being exposed to cigarette smoke.”

In Dilovası, an industrial city in the Marmara region, levels of air-borne toxins are 30 times higher than European Union standards, Tuncaelli said, adding that 32 percent of deaths in the area in recent years have been attributed to cancer.

300,000 tons of sulfur oxide
In the southwest city of Yatağan, a coal-fired power plant has spewed more than 300,000 tons of sulfur dioxide into the air since it opened in 1982. Environmentalists have called for the facility to be shut down.

Tuncaelli says environmental laws are often not enforced, allowing factories to get away with not controlling or filtering their emissions. Adds the engineer: “If the ‘smoke-free air space’ slogan is meant to be supported, it is much more important to reduce air pollution caused by the industry before banning cigarettes.” Via: “Smoke-free Air Space? What About Dilovası and Yatağan?”

source

“1. He makes snide jokes at your expense. Although boorish and rude, the occasional zinger isn’t an automatic ticket to the Abusers Hall of Fame.

But aiming poison barbs in your direction and then brushing it off – like “Can’t you take a joke?” – shows a lack of respect. “It’s a sign of emotional distancing, which can very quickly turn into abuse,” says Gilda Carle, Ph.D., (aka Dr. Gilda), an advice columnist on Match.com and author of He’s Not All That (Collins).

Emotional abuse can become physical with very little notice. Just ask Aimee, 41, of San Francisco, who was in an abusive relationship for eight years – while working at a battered women’s shelter! It was so subtle, says Aimee (whose name was changed to protect her privacy). “It went from unhealthy to pathological in such tiny increments that I accepted every little increment completely.”

By the time it crossed over into physical abuse, “I couldn’t name it. I was in absolute denial,” she says.

2. The relationship is on the fast track. He’s infatuated with you and is already talking commitment. But slow down. A light-speed lothario often has something to hide, says relationship therapist Joyce Morley-Ball, Ed.D. (aka Dr. Joyce).

If he’s quick to say “I love you” and soon makes plans for moving in, getting married and having a baby, he may be trying to lock up the relationship before you can see what he’s really about.

He knows you’re less likely to leave him after you get involved, she says.

3. Nothing is ever his fault. That speeding ticket? The cop had it in for him. The job he lost? The boss had a grudge against him. The promotion he didn’t get? The woman who did must have been sleeping with the boss. Maybe your guy has the worst luck ever. Or consider this: The man who never takes responsibility for any of his actions may be quick to blame you when he ultimately loses control of his temper – and his fists. “If you hadn’t done _____, I wouldn’t have hit you.”

If he can get you to believe it’s your fault, he’s off the hook in his mind. So take notice of his blame list – you could be next.

4. You’re always making excuses for his behavior. He’s tired. He had a hard week. He’s under a lot of pressure. He’s only like that when he’s had too much to drink. Sure, these excuses may explain the rare social gaffe and could, in fact, be true. But if you’re regularly trying to explain away rude, violent or disrespectful behavior, you could be emotionally abused.

“There’s this wall of denial that we put up when we’re in a relationship, and we all do it to some extent,” Sugg says. “But you shouldn’t have to explain away someone else’s behavior.”

It’s just like a slap in the face, she says. “How many of those slaps would you take?”

5. You bend over backward so he doesn’t get upset.
Are you walking on eggshells because of his hair-trigger temper that erupts for everything big (a blown deal) to small (his beer warm)?

See the other signs of abuse

“If you’re a Whole Foods shopper who occasionally peruses the market’s free pamphlets and brochures, you might know a thing or two about the dangers of irradiated food–at least, that’s where I learned about it. We hear a lot of talk about harmful ingredients: dyes, preservatives, trans fats, and HFCS, for instance, but little is mentioned about this equally harmful process that can alter the molecular composition of the food you eat, damaging valuable vitamins, minerals, and enzymes, all in the name of making said food safer.

During irradiation, food is exposed to ionizing radiation in an effort to destroy microorganisms, viruses, bacteria, or insects that could be dangerous if consumed by people. In addition to sanitizing our food, irradiation can also be used to prevent sprouting, delay ripening, or increase juice yield–in other words, messing with a fruit or vegetable’s natural life process or progression. How exactly does irradiation achieve all these things? By damaging the DNA of the food in question, basically stunting any growth.

Considering how much time and effort is spent attempting to halt or reverse DNA damage to our own cells, then, it’s ironic that … ”

Continue reading

When DEET was used in studies by scientists at Duke University, prolonged topical use on rats resulted in their brain death. How does that translate into human topical use? The DEET industry has always questioned these studies but have clearly known that DEET has a negative effect on health.

Whatever the case and to simply play it safe, keep yourself and your family safe: Stay away from products containing DEET. It’s that logical.

Click here to see a slideshow featuring DEET-free products.

“A lot of Americans think they’re eating a healthy diet these days. But it’s easy to be fooled by our assumptions and the ways that food manufacturers play on them.

Take chicken. The average American eats about 90 pounds of it a year, more than twice as much as in the 1970s, part of the switch to lower-fat, lower-cholesterol meat proteins. But roughly one-third of the fresh chicken sold in the U.S. is “plumped” with water, salt and sometimes a seaweed extract called carrageenan that helps it retain the added water. The U.S. Department of Agriculture says chicken processed this way can still be labeled “all natural” or “100% natural” because those are all natural ingredients, even though they aren’t naturally found in chicken.

Producers must mention the added ingredients on the package — but the lettering can be small: just one-third the size of the largest letter in the product’s name. If you’re trying to watch your sodium to cut your risk of high blood pressure, heart attack and stroke, it pays to check the Nutrition Facts label. Untreated chicken has about 45 to 60 mgs of sodium per four-ounce serving. So-called enhanced or “plumped” chicken has between 200 and 400 mgs of sodium per serving, almost as much as a serving of fast-food french fries.

Adding salt water became widespread when big discount stores began selling groceries and wanted to sell chicken at uniform weights and prices. Plumping packaged chicken helps even out the weight. But that means consumers are paying for added salt water at chicken prices — an estimated $2 billion worth every year, according to the Truthful Labeling Coalition, a group of chicken producers that don’t enhance their products.

Makers of enhanced chicken, including some of the biggest U.S. producers, say many consumers prefer it in blind taste tests and that it stays moister. Ray Atkinson, a spokesman for Pilgrim’s Pride, says the company sells both enhanced and unenhanced chicken because consumers ask for it. He also notes that even at 330 mg of sodium, the enhanced chicken qualifies for the American Heart Association’s mark of approval…..”

Read the whole article

Scientists now know enough about the long-term consequences of ingesting these powerful chemicals to advise that we minimize our consumption of pesticides.

What’s the Difference?
EWG research has found that people who eat the 12 most contaminated fruits and vegetables consume an average of 10 pesticides a day. Those who eat the 15 least contaminated conventionally-grown fruits and vegetables ingest fewer than 2 pesticides daily. The Guide helps consumers make informed choices to lower their dietary pesticide load.

Will Washing and Peeling Help?
Nearly all the studies used to create these lists assume that people rinse or peel fresh produce. Rinsing reduces but does not eliminate
pesticides. Peeling helps, but valuable nutrients often go down the drain with the skin. The best approach: eat a varied diet, rinse all produce and buy organic when possible.

How Was This Guide Developed?
EWG analysts have developed the Guide based on data from nearly
87,000 tests for pesticide residues in produce conducted between
2000 and 2007 and collected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture
and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. You can find a detailed
description of the criteria EWG used to develop these rankings and
the complete list of fruits and vegetables tested at our dedicated
website, www.foodnews.org.

Now, more about the politics of the price of tomatoes from gourmet.com:

“Driving from Naples, Florida, the nation’s second-wealthiest metropolitan area, to Immokalee takes less than an hour on a straight road. You pass houses that sell for an average of $1.4 million, shopping malls anchored by Tiffany’s and Saks Fifth Avenue, manicured golf courses. Eventually, gated communities with names like Monaco Beach Club and Imperial Golf Estates give way to modest ranches, and the highway shrivels from six lanes to two. Through the scruffy palmettos, you glimpse flat, sandy tomato fields shimmering in the broiling sun. Rounding a long curve, you enter Immokalee. The heart of town is a nine-block grid of dusty, potholed streets lined by boarded-up bars and bodegas, peeling shacks, and sagging, mildew-streaked house trailers. Mongrel dogs snooze in the shade, scrawny chickens peck in yards. Just off the main drag, vultures squabble over roadkill. Immokalee’s population is 70 percent Latino. Per capita income is only $8,500 a year. One third of the families in this city of nearly 25,000 live below the poverty line. Over one third of the children drop out before graduating from high school.
Immokalee is the tomato capital of the United States. Between December and May, as much as 90 percent of the fresh domestic tomatoes we eat come from south Florida, and Immokalee is home to one of the area’s largest communities of farmworkers. According to Douglas Molloy, the chief assistant U.S. attorney based in Fort Myers, Immokalee has another claim to fame: It is “ground zero for modern slavery.”

The beige stucco house at 209 South Seventh Street is remarkable only because it is in better repair than most Immokalee dwellings. For two and a half years, beginning in April 2005, Mariano Lucas Domingo, along with several other men, was held as a slave at that address. At first, the deal must have seemed reasonable. Lucas, a Guatemalan in his thirties, had slipped across the border to make money to send home for the care of an ailing parent. He expected to earn about $200 a week in the fields. Cesar Navarrete, then a 23-year-old illegal immigrant from Mexico, agreed to provide room and board at his family’s home on South Seventh Street and extend credit to cover the periods when there were no tomatoes to pick.

Lucas’s “room” turned out to be the back of a box truck in the junk-strewn yard, shared with two or three other workers. It lacked running water and a toilet, so occupants urinated and defecated in a corner. For that, Navarrete docked Lucas’s pay by $20 a week. According to court papers, he also charged Lucas for two meager meals a day: eggs, beans, rice, tortillas, and, occasionally, some sort of meat. Cold showers from a garden hose in the backyard were $5 each. Everything had a price. Lucas was soon $300 in debt. After a month of ten-hour workdays, he figured he should have paid that debt off.

But when Lucas—slightly built and standing less than five and a half feet tall—inquired about the balance, Navarrete threatened to beat him should he ever try to leave. Instead of providing an accounting, Navarrete took Lucas’s paychecks, cashed them, and randomly doled out pocket money, $20 some weeks, other weeks $50. Over the years, Navarrete and members of his extended family deprived Lucas of $55,000.

Taking a day off was not an option. If Lucas became ill or was too exhausted to work, he was kicked in the head, beaten, and locked in the back of the truck. Other members of Navarrete’s dozen-man crew were slashed with knives, tied to posts, and shackled in chains. On November 18, 2007, Lucas was again locked inside the truck. As dawn broke, he noticed a faint light shining through a hole in the roof. Jumping up, he secured a hand hold and punched himself through. He was free.

What happened at Navarrete’s home would have been horrific enough if it were an isolated case. Unfortunately, involuntary servitude—slavery—is alive and well in Florida. Since 1997, law-enforcement officials have freed more than 1,000 men and women in seven different cases. And those are only the instances that resulted in convictions. Frightened, undocumented, mistrustful of the police, and speaking little or no English, most slaves refuse to testify, which means their captors cannot be tried. “Unlike victims of other crimes, slaves don’t report themselves,” said Molloy, who was one of the prosecutors on the Navarrete case. “They hide from us in plain sight.”

And for what? Supermarket produce sections overflow with bins of perfect red-orange tomatoes even during the coldest months—never mind that they are all but tasteless. Large packers, which ship nearly $500 million worth of tomatoes annually to major restaurants and grocery retailers nationwide, own or lease the land upon which the workers toil. But the harvesting is often done by independent contractors called crew bosses, who bear responsibility for hiring and overseeing pickers. Said Reggie Brown, executive vice president of the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange, “We abhor slavery and do everything we can to prevent it. We want to make sure that we always foster a work environment free from hazard, intimidation, harassment, and violence.” Growers, he said, cooperated with law-enforcement officers in the Navarette case…”

Read the rest of this article

“1. If you hate crowds and lines, shop at dinnertime (5 to 9 p.m.) or even later. Only 4 percent of shoppers hit the aisles between 9 p.m. and 8 a.m. Least-crowded day of the week? Wednesday.

2. Go ahead and reach way back for the fresh milk. Everybody does.

3. Coupons with a bar code are easy to scan. The other ones take an eternity. But if you’re willing to wait …

4. That star fruit has been here a lot longer than the broccoli. Familiar produce turns over more quickly than exotic things.

5. “The more products you see, the more you are likely to buy,” says Marion Nestle, author of What to Eat. “That’s why the aisles are so long and the milk is usually in the far corner.”

6. Like employees with a good attitude? Shop at chains that are employee-owned, suggest customer-satisfaction surveys. When employees have a stake in the profits, it shows in their attitude.

7. The “grazers” order food at the deli, eat it as they’re shopping, and get rid of the wrappers before they check out. We also call that stealing.
8. I’m not just selling groceries, I’m selling real estate. Look high and low-literally-for good values from smaller manufacturers who can’t afford to stock their products in the eye-level sweet spot.

9. We’re marketing to your kids too. That’s why we put the rainbow-colored cereals and other kiddie catnip at their eye level.

10. Be wary of “specials.” When people see signs with numbers-”8 for $10!” “Limit: 5 per customer”—they buy 30 to 100 percent more than they otherwise might have.

11. The baby formula is locked up because thieves resell it on the black market. Ditto for the cough and cold medications, smoking-cessation products, razor blades, and batteries.

12. Driving your Ferrari to the Piggly Wiggly and want to avoid shopping-cart dents? Park far, far away.

13. You’ll end up tossing 12 percent of what you buy.”

Read 16 more things your grocer hides from you

“1. Sugar can suppress the immune system.

2. Sugar upsets the mineral relationships in the body.

3. Sugar can cause hyperactivity, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, and crankiness in children.

4. Sugar can produce a significant rise in triglycerides.

5. Sugar contributes to the reduction in defense against bacterial infection (infectious diseases).

6. Sugar causes a loss of tissue elasticity and function, the more sugar you eat the more elasticity and function you loose.

7. Sugar reduces high density lipoproteins.

8. Sugar leads to chromium deficiency.

9 Sugar leads to cancer of the ovaries.

10. Sugar can increase fasting levels of glucose.

11. Sugar causes copper deficiency.

12. Sugar interferes with absorption of calcium and magnesium.

13. Sugar can weaken eyesight.

14. Sugar raises the level of a neurotransmitters: dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine.

15. Sugar can cause hypoglycemia.

16. Sugar can produce an acidic digestive tract.

17. Sugar can cause a rapid rise of adrenaline levels in children.

18. Sugar malabsorption is frequent in patients with functional bowel disease.

19. Sugar can cause premature aging.

20. Sugar can lead to alcoholism.

21. Sugar can cause tooth decay.

22. Sugar contributes to obesity

23. High intake of sugar increases the risk of Crohn’s disease, and ulcerative colitis.

24. Sugar can cause changes frequently found in person with gastric or duodenal ulcers.

25. Sugar can cause arthritis.

26. Sugar can cause asthma.

27. Sugar greatly assists the uncontrolled growth of Candida Albicans (yeast infections).

28. Sugar can cause gallstones.

29. Sugar can cause heart disease.

30. Sugar can cause appendicitis.

31. Sugar can cause multiple sclerosis.

32. Sugar can cause hemorrhoids.

33. Sugar can cause varicose veins.

34. Sugar can elevate glucose and insulin responses in oral contraceptive users.

35. Sugar can lead to periodontal disease.

36. Sugar can contribute to osteoporosis.

37. Sugar contributes to saliva acidity.

38. Sugar can cause a decrease in insulin sensitivity.

39. Sugar can lower the amount of Vitamin E (alpha-Tocopherol in the blood.

40. Sugar can decrease growth hormone.

41. Sugar can increase cholesterol.

42. Sugar can increase the systolic blood pressure.

43. Sugar can cause drowsiness and decreased activity in children.

44. High sugar intake increases advanced glycation end products (AGEs)(Sugar bound non-enzymatically to protein)

45. Sugar can interfere with the absorption of protein.

46. Sugar causes food allergies….”

Continued reading the 100 MORE reasons!

Here’s an excerpt:

“Almost half of tested samples of commercial high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) contained mercury, which was also found in nearly a third of 55 popular brand-name food and beverage products where HFCS is the first- or second-highest labeled ingredient, according to two new U.S. studies.

But an organization representing the refiners is disputing the results published in Environmental Health….” continue reading

“We all love to eat, but the ugly reality is that some foods can make you sick. We’re not talking about salmonella here; none of what’s listed below should send you directly to the hospital with a debilitating illness, though Jeremy Piven recently claimed to have mercury sickness from a diet too rich in sushi. While the verdict is still out on Piven’s poisoning, certain foods, when eaten too frequently, can pose a very real health risk over time (especially if you are thinking of having a baby or if you are feeding a small child).

The dangers of these foods range from PCBs in certain fish, to large trace amounts of pesticides on fresh fruit and veggies. This past year, the National Institutes of Health even linked long-term pesticide exposure to diabetes. To avoid these health risks, we came up with a list of ten foods to beware, both for your health and for the health of the environment.

“Austin, Texas, Dec. 20, 2000: “Natural gas is hemispheric. I like to call it hemispheric in nature because it is a product that we can find in our neighborhoods.” (Source: Treehugger)

Washington, D.C. March 13, 2001: “There are some monuments where the land is so widespread, they just encompass as much as possible. And the integral part of the–the precious part, so to speak–I guess all land is precious, but the part that the people uniformly would not want to spoil, will not be despoiled. But there are parts of the monument lands where we can explore without affecting the overall environment.” (Source: Slate)

Washington, D.C., January 6, 2009: “The new steps I’ve announced today are the capstone of an eight-year commitment to strong environmental protection and conservation.” Check out this interesting graphic from the Natural Resources Defense Council illustrating the last eight years in environmental policy…

New Delhi, India, Mar. 2, 2006 “Obviously, nu-que-lar power is, uh, a renewable source of energy, and the less demand there is for non-renewable sources of energy, like fossil fuels, the better it off it is for the American people.” Well, he got the second part right, but nuclear energy produced from uranium is, uh, not renewable as far as we know… (Source: Treehugger)

Washington, D.C., June 8, 2005: “We’re spending money on clean coal technology. Do you realize we’ve got 250 million years of coal?” (Source: Slate)

Michigan, September 2000, explaining his energy policies: “I know the human being and fish can coexist peacefully.” (Source: AP)

A Freudian slip made while addressing Australian Prime Minister John Howard at the APEC Summit, Sept. 7, 2007: “Mr. Prime Minister, thank you for your introduction. Thank you for being such a fine host for the OPEC summit.”

And a bonus: “[It's] time for the human race to enter the solar system.”

While we’re talking about W, let’s give him a little help to pack up his junk at the Whitehouse. He needs to clear out for Obama. Click here: Help Bush Pack

“What are the 5 Most Harmful Ingredients Commonly Found in Nutrition Bars?

1. Trans fats are listed as “partially hydrogenated” oils in a packaged food’s ingredients list. Trans fats have been shown to increase total cholesterol and contribute to heart disease. They also spur inflammation, an over-activity of the immune system that has been implicated in heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and other chronic conditions.

The good news is that as of January 1, 2006, trans fats are required by law to be enumerated in a food’s Nutrition Facts Panel. Despite ever increasing public awareness, however, trans fats still have a place on the FDA’s “GRAS” (generally regarded as safe) list so watch out for their continued use.

2. Fractionated Palm Kernel Oils are an increasingly popular ingredient in bars today. They are commonly used to help stiffen chocolate coatings that would otherwise not be solid a room temperature. This “fractionation” process dramatically raises the saturated fat content of the oil, and confers many of the same anti-melting shelf stability aspects of trans fats.

It appears that fractionated oils may be taking the place of trans fats in certain products, stepping in as public awareness about trans fats rises. While more research is needed to determine the extent of the health risks of fractionated oils, it’s clear that they confer a higher level of saturated fat and a poorer quality fat profile overall.

3. Sorbitol, Mannitol, & Maltitol are sweeteners known as sugar alcohols. Manufacturers of candies and many sports bars use sugar alcohols as a replacement for conventional sugar or high fructose corn syrup. These sugar alcohols taste sweet, but have less of an impact on blood sugar levels compared to traditional cane sugar. Unfortunately there are several myths and popular misconceptions surrounding sugar alcohols.

Myth 1: Sugar alcohols are calorie free. This is unfortunately false. The most commonly used sugar alcohols have between 50-75% of the calories per gram of table sugar.

Myth 2: Sugar Alcohols only slightly raise blood sugar. While it’s true that most sugar alcohols have a lower glycemic index (or effect on blood sugar) than traditional table sugar, the effect is hardly negligible.

Despite fewer calories per gram, Sugar alcohols can raise blood sugar anywhere from 50-100% of the amount expected from table sugar alone. This means that some sugar alcohols may contribute to blood sugar swings & crashes normally associated with “traditional” sugary snacks & treats.

Myth 3: Sugar alcohols have no side-effects. Untrue! Sugar alcohols are not fully digested and absorbed by the body, so some of the compounds remain in the gut and are allowed to pass to the colon; an area sugars are normally never allowed to enter.

These sugars can pull extra water into the colon via osmosis, leading to diarrhea and cramping. They can also be fermented by the bacteria that normally inhabit this area of the digestive tract, leading to increased flatulence. The “threshold” or amount required to produce this effect varies from person to person.

So, not all sugar alcohols are created equally.

4. High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) is a high glycemic sweetener, equivalent to sucrose (table sugar) in the degree of sweetness and calories per gram. While the research is unclear about whether or not HFCS is more harmful to health…” continue reading

“More than 90% of homes in the US have a microwave oven. Builders routinely install these ovens in new homes and hardly a restaurant is without one. They are fast, convenient, economical, and ideally suited to the fast pace of modern lifestyles. There is only one problem with microwave ovens—they are extremely hazardous to your health. It is hard to conceive of any reasonable person who would eat microwaved foods if they understood the hazards. Obviously, very few people truly comprehend these hazards. And no one is rushing to educate them! Let’s have a look at some of the problems with this technology:

In 1991, an early clue that microwaved food is not safe came to public attention in the form of a …” continue reading

Some info from at-Largely:

“Mike Connell set-up the alternate email and communications system for the White House. He was responsible for creating the system that hosted the infamous GWB43.com accounts that Karl Rove and others used. When asked by Congress to provide these emails, the White House said that they were destroyed. But in reality, what Connell is alleged to have done is move these files to other servers after having allegedly scrubbed the files from all “known” Karl Rove accounts.

In addition, I have reason to believe that the alternate accounts were used to communicate with US Attorneys involved in political prosecutions, like that of Don Siegelman. This is what I have been working on to prove for over a year. In fact, it was through following the Siegelman-Rove trail that I found evidence leading to Connell. That is how I became aware of him. Mike was getting ready to talk. He was frightened.”

Graham writes: “Unfortunately, he won’t get to talk. He died in a plane crash yesterday.”

[source]

So, while the evidence will not be unveiled by Mr. Connell, it does exist somewhere and others know it. Hmmmmm. Will there be more “ACCIDENTS”? What will happen next? Will anyone find thse emails? Let’s just say that evil has no limits and this will probably be swept under the rug, like many “accidents” involving the death of people JUST ABOUT TO TESTIFY. It’s sad, isn’t it? The Bush administration is a petty, deceitful, amoral, evil, murderous government, if ever I knew one.

This is murder, plain and simple – and this is truly a sad state of the world.

“Want to know what organic chickens are fed? If it’s soy meal from China — a cheap source of protein — it may also contain melamine.

That’s what happened with 300 tons of soy meal being fed to organic chicken in western France. Authorities discovered the soy meal contained an astonishing 50 times the maximum limit of melamine: 116mg per kg of soy meal.

This cheap Chinese soy meal was delivered to 127 “organic” chicken farms in France. Nobody yet knows how many organic chicken farms in the U.S., Canada, U.K. or Australia might also be feeding their chickens toxic levels of melamine.

This is part of the dangerous widening of the melamine scandal I predicted earlier today: Melamine contamination is now reaching into the meat supply, and it could even include organic meats such as beef, pork and chicken.

The truth is, nobody knows if meats sold in the U.S. are……..

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Alternative Cures: The Most Effective Natural Home Remedies for 160 Health Problems

Watch the video now

From treehugger:

“Phthalates, the plasticizer used to make vinyl soft, have been known to be a gender-bender that has been shown to affect the masculinity of rats. Even the Bush Administration, not renowned for its defence of the public against the chemical companies, has banned it from childrens’ toys.

Now new research has found new evidence of “phthalate syndrome”- smaller penises, and undescended or incompletely descended testicles- in humans. Shanna Swan, director of the Center for Reproductive Epidemiology at the University of Rochester’s school of medicine, who led the research, says phthalates are “”probably reproductive toxins and should be eliminated from products gradually because we don’t need them.”

Chemical Industry dismisses threat

Of course the American Chemistry Council, representing the companies that make the chemical (Exxon Mobil, BASF, Ferro Corp., and Eastman Chemical) warns us to be “cautioned against over-interpreting any individual study.”

Screw that; among guys, penis size is serious stuff. Martin Mittelstaedt of the Globe and Mail writes:

“Scientists have been investigating the possible effects on boys of phthalates because rodent studies have shown the chemical has the peculiar ability to shorten the space between the anus and the genitalia in male mice exposed during fetal development. This space, known as anogenital distance or AGD, is normally about twice as long in young male mice than in females. For mice, AGD is considered a measure of masculinity and a way to determine the sex of the pups. Scientists are so confident of the effect that they’ve given the impact of the chemical on male rodents a name – phthalate syndrome.

Surveys of children have also found that …..”

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“With Breast Cancer Awareness month fully upon us once again, retail stores have been invaded with everything pink, including “pink ribbon” candies and personal care products made with blatantly cancer-causing ingredients. Retail grocery stores like Safeway even hit up customers for donations at the cash register, promising to raise funds to find “the cure for cancer.”

The Truth: Nearly 100% of the funds are used to recruit more ……”

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“The line of asthma treatment depends on the types of triggers, your sensitivity to them and the severity of asthma. The treatment includes both conventional asthma cure and natural remedies. In chronic asthma, your physician would generally recommend asthma inhalers for immediate use in asthma attacks. However, if you don’t have a chronic condition, there are some good alternative medicines for asthma that include herbal and homeopathic remedies. These are safe, effective and affordable, and worth a try. Let’s see what they are:
a. Foods or supplements:

Eating fruits and raw vegetables appear to improve asthma. And foods or supplements that contain magnesium, quercetin, vitamin C, omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin B6, are all beneficial for optimal lung health and to ward off asthma food allergy. Magnesium causes airway dilatation that counteracts asthma’s constriction. Foods rich in magnesium include red cabbage, red bell peppers, tangerines, kiwi fruit, oranges, strawberries, potatoes, spinach, barley, almonds, to name a few. Quercetin’s antioxidant properties help to neutralize the damaging effects of pollution which can aggravate asthma.

Good sources of quercetin are green cabbage, cranberries, grapes, pears, apples, spinach, garlic, onions and grapefruit. Vitamin C also has a positive effect on bronchial function. Omega-3 fatty acids, found in salmon, tuna and trout, are helpful in reducing bronchial swelling and help in asthma prevention. Vitamin B6, contained in sweet potatoes, sunflower seeds, tuna, salmon, pork, potatoes, turkey, chicken, etc., decreases wheezing and other bothersome causes of asthma.
b. Homeopathy:

According to a new research on homeopathic asthma medication, if patients are given exceedingly small homeopathic doses of the allergens, it can provide significant relief within the first week of treatment. However, the common homeopathic drugs in use are pulsatilla nigricans, carbo vegetabilis and phosphorus.
c. Acupuncture:

Lungs and overall immune system can be improved through the Chinese science of acupuncture. Acupuncture for asthma decreases the sensitivity to allergens, improves lung strength and reduces stress, proving a boon for asthma suffers. Many acupuncturists also use Chinese herbs to supplement the acupuncture treatments.
d. Yoga and meditation:

Since, stress can weaken the immune system and reduce body’s ability to ward off the asthma triggers, it needs to be addressed specifically. By adopting yoga you can improve circulation and reduce stress. Meditation can also lower blood pressure and reduce stress. Following these disciplines will help prevent stress and save you from increased sensitivity to triggers and severity of an asthma attack.

A strong body and strong immune system can certainly help reduce asthmatic symptoms and the frequency of asthmatic episodes. The good news is natural asthma remedies help you achieve this state. But, consult your physician, if you’re opting for the natural line of treatment. [source]

“Definition

The prostate consists of 3 lobes which manufacture seminal fluid. The tube which empties the bladder passes over the middle lobe. In later life, the prostate gland often becomes enlarged and causes problems by closing off the exit of urine from the bladder. This urine retention often starts by a decrease in the force of the stream of urine leaving the body. Prostate blockage of the flow of urine because of infection or cancer can be very serious — even to the point of causing uremic poisoning within the body. The cause of enlargement of the prostate gland is the collection of mucus and sediment in the gland. Often the male hormones produced by the body are not enough to keep the prostate gland functioning well. The nitrates and nitrites in processed meats, hot dogs, baloney, and other cold cuts have a particularly important role in the formation of cancer of the prostate in the male.

Herbal Aids

General Instructions: Before (or instead of) arriving at the decision to submit to the knife and have the prostate gland surgically removed, may we offer the following suggestions: In any form of cell-deterioration, the Blood Stream Formula should be used to help clean up the blood stream. Of course the bowel must be cleared up first and foremost. Then, as a specific aid to the prostate area the following formula has aided in removing infection, sediment and the like. Male Urinary Tract: Dr. Christopher’s Prostate Formula, Cayenne, ginger, golden seal root, gravel root, juniper berries, parsley root or herb, uva ursi herb, and ginseng root. These capsules can be taken in the morning and at night, and they are best taken with parsley tea. Change the diet to the mucusless diet, and drink plenty of distilled water and fruit and vegetable juices. Cancerous tumors have a very difficult time growing when there is the presence of organic potassium in the body, so the tinctures of black walnut or elderberry or any other foods high in potassium can be helpful here, providing that the bowel is in good condition so that proper assimilation can take place. The Hormonal Changease: Dr. Christopher’s Herbal Hormone Formula will help the body produce the necessary hormones for proper functioning of the glands. It consists of Black cohosh, Sarsaparilla, ginseng, licorice, false unicorn, blessed thistle and squaw vine. Don’t worry if the formula contains estrogens as well as hormones. The body will select the substances it needs and will discard the rest in a natural formula such as this.

Gravel Root is used principally as a therapeutic agent for the urinary-genital areas, influencing the kidneys, liver, bladder, prostate gland and uterus. It relaxes moderately, stimulates, and tones the pelvic viscera and mucous membranes (helping to cast off any sediments that have settled on surfaces). It is good when used alone, or in combination with other herbs. Its popularity (note the name) has been due to its powerful solvent effect on stony deposits in the kidneys (here it can do the work alone, but its effects are improved with other herbal agents in combination). Gravel root is one of the greatest herbs to use for any kidney and urinary problem, and it is also great as a tonic and stimulant. As a nervine, it is reputed to influence the entire sympathetic nervous system.

Prostate Urinary Troubles: See formula using gravel root, marshmallow, parsley, juniper, lobelia, cayenne and golden seal.

Herbal Kidney Aid: See formula using cayenne, ginger, golden seal, gravel root, juniper berries, marshmallow, parsley and uva ursi. This will dissolve the stones that are in the kidneys, as well as clean out other sedimentation and infection in the prostate. Mix the powders and place in No. 2 capsules and take two morning and night.

Male Urinary Tract: Dr. Christopher’s Prostate Formula: (This is the same as in # 3 but already made into capsules). In case of malfunction we suggest this combination to help assist the male: cayenne, ginger, golden seal root, gravel root or queen of the meadow root, juniper berries, marshmallow root, parsley root or herb, uva ursi leaves. This will help dissolve the stones that are in the kidneys, as well as help clean out other sedimentation and infection in the prostate. Mix the powders and place in No. 0 capsules and take two or more morning and night, with parsley tea when possible….

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“… bees are still dying from symptoms that have been identified as Colony Collapse Disorder. Not many, yet. But this is when it starts. So let’s look at what’s going on.

Viruses
Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus was implicated early on, but so far it hasn’t moved past the ‘found in some samples’ role. Continuing greenhouse research, where individual honey bees are infected with the virus definitely shows that the pathogen kills bees. But so do a host of other viruses that were found in the initial samples. The jury is still out on IAPV, at least until newer studies are published.

Other researchers are studying viruses, some known, some not, but so far nothing concrete has turned up … or at least nothing that anybody is talking about. That’s the trouble with science … too often the information gets sat on until the results are published … not reviewed and given the green light but actually put on paper (or turned into electrons to grace your computer screen) and released. Some publishing outlets are quicker, some slower but all have the same criteria. So if there’s something out there we’ll just have to wait.

Pesticides
Some of the early work — simply collecting samples of bees, wax, larvae, and pollen — are finally coming to the top of the pile and the results, some of which have been explored here, have been eye-opening, and mostly downright scary. Beekeeper-applied chemicals to control varroa certainly are hugely evident in the samples collected … not unlike the termite chemicals, lawn chemicals, garden chemicals, pet chemicals, and all the rest that we walk in, swim in, eat, touch and absorb everyday in our homes, work and play. Pesticides, to no one’s surprise, are abundant in our lives and equally abundant in the lives of our honey bees.

One of the unknowns, or maybe-unknowns, are the effects that those well-publicized new pesticides are having. They have made international headlines and definitely can’t be overlooked. And advocacy group, Beyond Pesticides, commented recently on these, and said that two of the primary active ingredients of concern are clothianidin and imidacloprid, both in the neonicotinoid family of chemicals. They are systemic pesticides, meaning the chemical is incorporated into plant tissue and can therefore be present in pollen and nectar, which is of particular importance to bees. They also have long persistence in the soil and can be absorbed by multiple generations of crops, increasing the likelihood of exposure for bees. Meanwhile, the manufacturers claim the chemicals safe and have data to prove it. But others in France and Germany claim just the opposite and are doing everything in their power to rid the world of these new poisons, and in the U.S. the EPA stands in the middle … and may soon be standing in court defending their role in approving these chemicals for use.

Nutrition
But there’s more going on than just pesticides, though those are definitely destructive. Other discoveries came from those samples taken earlier. One surprise was the nutrition deficiencies that were discovered … some of the bees that were sampled definitely were not in the best health because they had not had enough good food to eat. That, too, is a management concept that beekeepers are already turning around. This summer smart beekeepers are making protein supplements available … some of the new diets are being explored, new diets have been concocted, and more diets are on the drawing board, so to speak, and for the most part all seem to have given our bees a boost. Almost anything is better than nothing, and good food can solve a lot of problems, whether it’s your diet, your child’s daily bread, or a honey bee’s ration. That there were so many bees in diet-deficiency seems at first odd, perhaps, but bees have slowly declined for several years, and monoculture agriculture has continued to increase during the same time.

But not only protein-deficiencies were evident … carbohydrates, too were found wanting. Not so much volume, but quality. Is high fructose corn syrup as bad, or good, for bees as it is, or isn’t for us? Some seem to think HFCS is evil incarnate, no matter who or what eats it. Others have shown that if the HFCS is made well, and then that quality preserved and protected it’s just fine. Meanwhile, some beekeepers are switching to plain old sugar … sucrose solution … and seem to see better results. But sugar costs more.

Other Diseases
The new disease … that Nosema cerane thing … isn’t anywhere near being solved either. What is it, how do you diagnose it, how do you treat it, when do you treat for it … all questions needing answers and nobody is looking it seems. Well, not quite. Researchers in Europe are studying this I understand … but again, nothing has been published … so bees die of a disease that we can’t treat. Is this CCD? Hmmmmm. Don’t know.

Which brings up the tired old song of research funding. I talked about the $4.1 million grant delivered recently, and I looked at the scientists receiving the money. One industry spokesperson (me) recently said, mostly in jest, that once that money was spread out over all the scientists, over all the years, each would receive about a buck and a half … That’s not quite true, but the concept shouldn’t be ignored. So far, USDA has been monumentally slow in getting things moving. They have a couple of large scale, actually profoundly practical studies going … funded by existing money, not the new money that was supposed to come down from the farm bill … at least so far. But this begs the question … if the money is being used for these studies, what isn’t getting done? Well, we don’t know, do we?

Colony Collapse Disorder hasn’t gone away. Beekeepers are harvesting honey, if they have some to harvest. They are beginning plans for moving south or west for wintering or pollination, and wondering if they again will have to scratch to get bees to meet pollination contract promises. Or is this the year it would be better to stay home? Honey prices are strong, moving is even more expensive this year, and all that stress … maybe home is where the honey bee is should get more attention.

But one more thing has come to light. Organization.

With all the noise made about lack of funding, one question keeps coming up … why aren’t beekeepers doing some of this funding? Why is it only the government that should do this? Good question.

Research Funding
And here’s the answer. There are four major funding sources within the beekeeping industry that have already made significant contributions to finding the answers to Colony Collapse Disorder. More — way more, actually — than government sources, and more is on the way. And if you are looking to help solve this critical problem and want to know how … stay tuned. We’ll open a whole set of doors and introduce you to the best of the beekeeping world.”

[source]

You may be surprised to hear that:

- Soy is NOT a miracle food.
- Soy is NOT the answer to world hunger
- Soy is NOT a panacea
- Soy has NOT even been proven safe

Additionally, soy is linked to: malnutrition, digestive distress, infertility, birth defects, cancer, heart disease, thyroid dysfunction, heavy metal toxicities, cognitive decline, immune system breakdown and reproductive disorders. Are you alarmed yet?

You might be asking these questions: Why have we been lied to? What can I do about it now? What can I eat that is safe, healthful and nutritious? What can I feed my children without worrying about harmful substances? Don’t wonder anymore and find out more. Educate yourself for the sake of you and your loved ones.

People who would be interested in The Whole Soy Story: The Dark Side of America’s Favorite Health Food: Americans at risk for cancer, heart disease, osteoporosis and painful menopausal symptoms who wonder if it is true that soy might offer protection; environmentalists who are alarmed by the growing numbers of estrogens and estrogen mimickers in the environment and have begun to wonder about the phytoestrogens in soy; concerned parents who want to know whether soy formula is good for your infants and whether soy foods are good for your children; people suffering from diagnosed or as yet undiagnosed thyroid disease who fears that soy might be the cause; baby boomers who have heard that soy is the dietary fountain of youth; people afflicted with those diseases who wonder if soy might offer a cure; vegetarians who are not enjoying radiant good health and have begun questioning whether the “meat without a bone” is as good at taking care of their nutritional needs; Americans eating soy foods whether you like it or not; homemakers and dietitians who think the price is right but wonder how “the bean supreme” stacks up against meat nutritionally…

Find out more about Soy

Rice bran – a so-called “superfood” – might contain dangerous amounts of a natural poison.

A new study suggests that rice bran, the shavings left over after brown rice is polished to produce white rice grains, contains “inappropriate” levels of arsenic. Andrew Meharg at the University of Aberdeen, UK, and colleagues found that the levels of arsenic in rice bran products available on the internet and used in food-aid programmes funded by the US government would be illegal in China – the only country in the world to have standards for how much arsenic is permissible in food.

Meharg’s team are calling on the European Union and the US to follow China’s example and update food standards for arsenic.

Arsenic is a natural carcinogen, present in drinking water around the world including in Australia, the US and many developing countries.

In previous work, Meharg has shown that brown rice contains more arsenic than polished white rice (Environmental Science and Technology, DOI: 10.1021/es702212p).

Nutritional drink

In the new study, Meharg and colleagues purchased brown rice from China and Bangladesh and polished part of it in the same way that it would be to produce commercial white rice. They found that 1 kilogramme of brown rice contained on average 0.76 mg of arsenic in its toxic inorganic form. The rice also contained some non-toxic, organic arsenic. The polished white rice grains contained 0.56 mg inorganic arsenic per kg, whereas the rice bran contained 3.3 mg per kg on average.

On the surface, this appears to be good news: the bran shavings are usually discarded except in Japan, where they are used in traditional pickling recipes. But in recent years a number of rice-bran products have come onto US and European markets, mainly targeted at health-food consumers. They are labelled “superfoods”: the bran is high in antioxidants, vitamins, mineral nutrients and fibre. Producers say it is the largest wasted agricultural food resource on the planet, with 60 million metric tonnes of it discarded worldwide each year.

Some companies have produced a powdered version with a long shelf life at room temperature. Mixed with water, these “rice-bran solubles” make a nutritional drink and have been distributed as food aid to malnourished children in Malawi, Guatemala, Nicaragua and El Salvador. There are plans to further expand the aid programmes in Latin America, India and the Caribbean.

Meharg and his colleagues purchased nine commercial rice-bran products online, including rice-bran solubles from NutraCea, a company that participates in food-aid programmes, and analysed their arsenic content. The products contained between 0.48 mg/kg and 1.16 mg/kg of inorganic arsenic. China recently updated its standards, and set the limit to 0.15 mg of inorganic arsenic per kg of food.

Risk analysis

“The arsenic concentrations reported are worrisome, but the risk assessment is complex,” says Philippe Grandjean, professor of environmental health at Harvard University’s School of Public Health.

Indeed, “safe” standards for arsenic intake are controversial. The risk of skin, lung, bladder and kidney cancer increases proportionally with arsenic intake, which has lead toxicologists to the conclusion that there is no “safe” limit. But risks must be weighed against the benefits gained from drinking water and eating certain foods that contain the poison.

NutraCea has carried out a pilot project distributing their rice-bran solubles to 67,000 pre-school children in Guatemala. They monitored the nutritional state of 150 children. Whereas at the beginning of the trial, 37% were deemed malnourished, that dropped to 5% after taking 15 g of the rice bran 5 days a week for 6 months. The project was funded by the US Agency for International Development USAID and the Christian Children’s Fund.

Marie Vahter, an environmental toxicologist at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden who has done extensive studies on the health effects of arsenic believes the nutritional benefits do not necessarily outweigh the risks, given the availability of other supplements. “Recent reports indicate increased fetal and infant mortality due to fairly low-level arsenic exposure via drinking water,” says Vahter. Arsenic also impairs brain development and impairs the body’s ability to repair DNA.

Unwanted substances

“Rice-bran solubles are not the only way of getting nutrients to malnourished children,” argues Meharg. “If aid agencies want to go down the bran solubles route why not wheat, oat or barely bran solubles. All these crops have ten times less total arsenic than rice and are just as nutrient rich.”

“One would expect dietary supplements to be virtually free of unwanted substances like arsenic, especially when aimed at children, who are particularly vulnerable to arsenic,” says Grandjean.

Drinking water limits on arsenic levels are more widespread than food limits, despite animal studies showing that the body does not distinguish between arsenic derived from food and from drink. Water limits tend to be based on the World Health Organization’s “provisional” guideline limit of 0.01 mg of arsenic per litre of drinking water – although the WHO itself admits that “based on health criteria” the guideline would be less than this. It says the value is restricted by measurement limitations, hence its provisional nature.

According to China’s standards, all of the rice-bran products tested by Meharg would be illegal. According to the UK’s 50-year-old standards, two of the nine products are safe – yet all can be purchased online in the UK. The US has no standards for arsenic levels in food, and has a limit of 0.01 mg/l in drinking water.

“We totally agree with the overall message that it is important to set standards for inorganic arsenic in our food,” comments Walter Goessler, an arsenic expert at the Karl-Franzens University in Austria.

“Rice-bran solubles are being produced by commercial companies who profit from this commodity,” says Meharg.

At the time of going to publication, NutraCea had not replied to New Scientist’s request for comment.

[source]

From newsobserver:

“A Bayer CropScience pesticide is at the center of a legal battle for research data that could help explain what’s killing U.S. honeybees in large numbers.

The lawsuit, filed Monday in a Washington, D.C., federal court, accuses the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency of hiding the honeybee data.

The Natural Resources Defense Council sued after the EPA missed a deadline to respond to a Freedom of Information request the council submitted July 17.

It’s not unheard of for federal regulators to take years to fulfill an FOIA request. But in the case of Bayer’s pesticide chlothianidine, the Natural Resources Defense Council decided to push hard.

“It’s an aggressive suit,” said the group’s spokesman, Josh Mogerman. “But in a scientific mystery that threatens the U.S. food supply, business as usual is not acceptable.”

Dale Kemery, an EPA spokesman, declined comment until the agency fully reviews the lawsuit.

John Boyne, a spokesman at Bayer CropScience’s U.S. headquarters in Research Triangle Park, said some of the data the Natural Resources Defense Council is seeking was published in a scientific journal a year ago.

“I don’t know why they filed the lawsuit,” Boyne said.

Chlothianidine is made to coat corn, sugar beets and sorghum seeds and protect them from pests. But the chemical has the potential to be very toxic for bees. Three months ago, German regulators banned chlothianidine and related chemicals after the family of pesticides was blamed for the destruction of about 11,000 bee colonies earlier this year.

The EPA approved the use of chlothianidine in 2003 on the condition that Bayer submit safety data, including how the use of the pesticide affects hives over the life of a honeybee.

“We met all the requirements of the conditional approval,” Bayer spokesman Boyne said. Results of a field study that monitored the long-term effects of chlothianidine on honeybees were published in the June 2007 Journal of Economic Entomology, Boyne added.

The NRDC thinks the data from that study might show whether chlothianidine plays a role in the sudden loss of millions of U.S. honeybee colonies.

The phenomenon, also known as colony collapse disorder, threatens a significant portion of the U.S. food supply. About one out of every three mouthfuls in the U.S. diet stems from crops pollinated by bees.”

“Think smoking is bad for you? Try just breathing. Louisiana scientists have discovered a group of previously undetected air pollutants that when inhaled exposes the average person to 300 times more free radicals than that of one cigarette in a day.

Scientists have long suspected that free radicals from tobacco smoke can damage human cells and accelerate the progression of cancer or cardiovascular disease among other health-related problems. These free radicals, which are highly reactive compounds that form during the burning of fuels and photochemical processes, usually last for about a second and then disappear. However, the new class of pollutants is unlike atmospheric free radicals and can linger in the air for days or longer as well as travel far distances.

Scientists, who termed the air pollutants persistent free radicals (PFRs), say they form on fine airborne particles, usually the main culprit behind air pollution alerts in a lot of cities. Even worse are the particles with metals like copper and iron, which are more likely to persist. When inhaled, the lungs and other tissues absorb the PFRs, causing health effects similar to smoking. While more research is needed to tie PFRs to certain diseases, scientists believe this could explain why 10 to 15 percent of those diagnosed with lung cancers are non-smokers.” [Source]

What can you do with this information?
It can get you to think about finding a better and less polluted environment to live in. I know this is easier said than done, but think about your health, and the health of your kids and loved ones. Make it a goal to get away from the pollution!

“Despite the many public efforts to promote physical activity and good nutrition in recent years, despite the constant warnings about the obesity crisis, Americans just keep getting fatter. According to an annual state-by-state look at the problem, adult obesity rates increased in 37 states in the past year, and only the District of Columbia saw a decrease—down a mere 0.1%. More than 25% of adults are now obese in 28 states, up from 19 states last year.

In 1991 no state had an obesity rate above 20%. Today more than 20% of adults are obese in every state except Colorado, where the number stands at 18.4%, according to the survey by two nonprofits, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Trust for America’s Health. Mississippi, the worst performer of all 51 on the list (which includes the District of Columbia), stands at 31.7%. Similarly disturbing increases were found in the percentage of adults with Type 2 diabetes, a weight-related disease. The survey found higher incidence of diabetes in 26 states. Four states are above 10%…..” Read the rest

From healthbot:

• In The First 10 minutes: 10 teaspoons of sugar hit your system. (100% of your recommended daily intake.) You don’t immediately vomit from the overwhelming sweetness because phosphoric acid cuts the flavor allowing you to keep it down.
• 20 minutes: Your blood sugar spikes, causing an insulin burst. Your liver responds to this by turning any sugar it can get its hands on into fat. (There’s plenty of that at this particular moment)
• 40 minutes………Read the rest
  

“Massachusetts health authorities are warning consumers not to eat ground beef bought from Whole Foods Markets over the last two months after seven infections have been linked to meat bought there, some after a national recall.

The state Department of Public Health today confirmed the seventh E. coli case linked to ground beef. The people who fell ill — five of whom were hospitalized — had all eaten ground beef from Whole Foods last month. Preliminary results indicate that the ground beef products were part of a nationwide recall of meat produced by Nebraska Beef Ltd. because of possible E. coli contamination.

“A review of records from Whole Foods indicates that some of the stores received product from the recall list,” the state said in a release. “At this time, it is not known why the food listed under the USDA recall was sold to the public after the recall date.”

In a statement, Whole Foods said it will “continue to work with state and federal authorities as this investigation progresses, and looks forward to providing its customers with the high quality products that they have come to expect.”

The products involved include ground beef and ground beef patties from the stores’ meat counters as well as packaged meat found in the stores’ cooler. Any meat bought between June 2 and August 6 should be thrown out, state officials said. Consumers should also check their freezers for meat they may have bought last month and frozen for later use.

E. coli can cause bloody diarrhea, dehydration, and in the most severe cases, kidney failure. The very young, the elderly and persons with weakened immune systems are the most susceptible to foodborne illness.

Ground beef cooked to an internal temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit kills the bacteria.” [source]

“Digging into retirement accounts before retiring is a big no-no. Americans should heed two methods to safeguard savings: set aside a liquid cushion and buy disability insurance.

Concerned about being laid off this year? Hey, it’s a legitimate worry. David Wyss, chief economist for Standard & Poor’s, believes as many as 750,000 Americans will lose their jobs in 2008. That’s why financial planners always advise keeping at least six months’ worth of expenses in a liquid account, like a money-market—advice astonishingly few Americans take. Have you ever worried about becoming disabled? Surprisingly, few Americans have disability insurance either, another huge concern.

Nearly 1 in 5 Americans will become disabled for one year or more before the age of 65, according to the Life Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping consumers make smart financial decisions. The number of workers who become disabled has risen by 35% since 2000, according to the Social Security Administration.

Because more Americans know of someone who has been affected by a disability, there is increasing concern about this issue. In fact, a recent survey by Berkshire Life Insurance found that 25% of Americans are worried about losing their jobs within the next six to 12 months because of weakening economic conditions, while 28% are concerned about losing their income because of an accident or illness that would make them unable to work.

The study also revealed that 41% of employees with 401(k) or similar retirement accounts would be willing to borrow from such accounts to cover lost income.

“Taking money from your retirement accounts before you retire is like robbing yourself to pay yourself,” says Larry Hazzard, a senior vice-president at Berkshire Life. “It’s generally not a good idea to stop contributions to your retirement accounts because you….” RRead the rest

Planet Earth

The premiere episode, “From Pole to Pole,” serves as a primer for things to come, placing the entire series in proper context and giving a general overview of what to expect from each individual episode. Without being overtly political, the series maintains a consistent and subtle emphasis on the urgent need for ongoing conservation, best illustrated by the plight of polar bears whose very behavior is changing (to accommodate life-threatening changes in their fast-melting habitat) in the wake of global warming–a phenomenon that this series appropriately presents as scientific fact.

With this harsh reality as subtext, the series proceeds to accentuate the positive, delivering a seemingly endless variety of natural wonders, from the spectacular mating displays of New Guinea’s various birds of paradise to a rare encounter with Siberia’s nearly-extinct Amur Leopards, of which only 30 remain in the wild.

With so many of Earth’s natural wonders on display, it’s only fitting that the final DVD in this 5-disc set is devoted to Planet Earth: The Future, a separate 3-part series in which a global array of experts is assembled to discuss issues of conservation, protection of delicate ecosystems, and the socio-economic benefits of understanding nature as a commodity that returns trillions of dollars in value at no cost to Earth’s human population.

At a time when the multiple threats of global warming should be obvious to all, let’s give Sir David the last word, from the closing of Planet Earth’s final episode: “We can now destroy or we can cherish–the choice is ours.”

Get Planet Earth now

“Travelers beware: U.S. agents now have the authority to seize and retain laptops indefinitely, according to a new policy detailed in documents issued by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

As part of border search policy, government agents are now authorized to seize electronic devices and inspect documents in them, the document states. The electronic devices might include laptops, cell phones, portable music players or storage devices such as portable hard drives.

Agents with U.S. Customs and Border Protection will also be allowed to translate and share documents with other government agencies.

The DHS document, issued July 16, appears to state publicly a policy that has already existed. Laptops and electronic devices have been subject to search in the past, and travelers have reported not getting their devices back. The policy has drawn strong criticism from lawmakers and nonprofit groups, who charged that the searches were invasive and a violation of an individual’s privacy rights. Computers contain a vast amount of private information about family, finances and health, which could be easily copied and stored in government databases, the Electronic Frontier Foundation has complained.

The policy document states that being able to examine documents and electronic devices is crucial for “detecting information concerning terrorism, narcotics smuggling … contraband including child pornography, and … other import or export control laws.”

The new DHS policies allow customs agents to analyze the contents of laptops without any suspicion of wrongdoing, U.S. Senator Russ Feingold said in a statement.

“The policies that have been disclosed are truly alarming,” Feingold wrote.

The policy could blur the distinction between “search” and “seizure,” which could also allow DHS officials to steal personal documents from laptops it has retained, Feingold wrote.” [source]

“Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger of California signed a bill banning trans fats in restaurant food, making California the first U.S. state to ban the use of the cooking oils linked to artery-clogging cholesterol.

The new law, modeled after a ban implemented in New York City, prohibits the use of partially hydrogenated oils, which contain trans fats, by the state’s 87,000 restaurants beginning in 2010 and in all baked goods sold in the state starting in 2011.

Trans fats, found in processed and fried food, candies and cookies, are vegetable oils that are treated with hydrogen to extend the shelf life of products. The oils have been linked to LDL cholesterol that clogs the arteries. New York began a ban on trans fats in all restaurants in December 2006.

“Consuming trans fat is linked to coronary heart disease, and today we are taking a strong step toward creating a healthier future for California,” Schwarzenegger said in a statement.

Diets high in trans fats increase the risk of heart disease, obesity and diabetes, according the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Web site.

Restaurant companies including McDonald’s and KFC already use cooking oils in the U.S. that are free of trans fats.”

At least 1,013 people died of overdoses in several U.S. cities from 2005 to 2007 after illegally injecting the highly potent painkiller fentanyl, U.S. officials said on Thursday.

The fentanyl, at least some of which came from Mexico, was sold illegally by drug dealers on U.S. streets, sometimes mixed with cocaine and heroin, according to a report issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Chicago area had the most deaths with 349, followed by Philadelphia with 269, the Detroit area with 230. Other deaths were reported in St. Louis, Missouri, and the states of Delaware and New Jersey. Emergency medical personnel reported finding some victims with the needle still in their arms, not having completed the injection because the drug was so powerful, said retired CDC public health service officer Dr. Stephen Jones, who wrote the report.

The fentanyl caused perhaps hundreds of other deaths not reflected in the official tally of 1,013 deaths, Jones said in a telephone interview. “I think this is an extraordinary episode of fatal drug overdoses. But it’s got to be recognized as part of the bigger problem of the increasing numbers of drug overdose deaths in the United States.”

The number of deaths from drug overdoses and other cases of unintentional drug poisonings jumped from 11,155 in 1999 to 22,448 in 2005, the CDC noted, with powerful painkilling drugs playing an important role. The fentanyl used in Chicago and Detroit was believed to have come from an illicit production facility in Toluca, Mexico, that was shut down by authorities in May 2006, the CDC said. Fentanyl is used medically to treat pain in cancer patients and others but also is abused for recreational use. “One gram of pure fentanyl can be cut into approximately 7,000 doses for street sale. Manufacture of (fentanyl) requires minimal technical knowledge, and recipes for making (fentanyl) are available on the Internet,” according to the report.

“The unknowns of what somebody can obtain on the streets and misuse are a very obvious message from this outbreak,” Nick Reuter of the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration said in a telephone interview. Jones said the recent deaths marked the worst known outbreak of U.S. fentanyl deaths. An earlier series of deaths in the 1980s included at least 110 fatal overdoses, he said

“4 out of 5 sunscreens contain chemicals that may pose health hazards or don’t adequately protect skin from the sun’s damaging rays. Some of the worst offenders are leading brands like Coppertone, Banana Boat, and Neutrogena.

1. Keys Soap Solar Rx Therapeutic Sunblock, SPF 30
2. Trukid Sunny Days Facestick Mineral Sunscreen UVA/UVB Broad Spectrum, SPF 30+
3. California Baby Sunblock Stick No Fragrance, SPF 30+
4. Badger Sunscreen, SPF 30
5. Marie Veronique Skin Therapy Sun Serum
6. Lavera Sunscreen Neutral, SPF 40
7. Vanicream Sunscreen, SPF 35
8. UV Natural Sunscreen, SPF 30+
9. Sun Science Sport Formula, SPF 30
10. Soleo Organics Sunscreen all natural Sunscreen, SPF 30+

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“A group of islands with the potential to develop into a tourist paradise has been named as the country least equipped to withstand the effects of climate change.

The Comoros Islands in the Indian Ocean, between Mozambique and Madagascar, are a small nation of sparkling blue lagoons and picture-postcard beaches. But the country is politically unstable and a report published today says it is the world’s most vulnerable country to the future impacts of global warming such as increased storms, rising sea levels and agricultural failure.

At the other end of the scale, Canada is the best place to move to if you want to be a climate change survivor in the decades ahead (although Britain is also a good place to be as a warming atmosphere takes hold).

The best-to-worst rankings are revealed in the first-ever climate change vulnerability index, produced by Maplecroft, a British consultancy which specialises in the mapping of risk. Its study, The Climate Change Risk Report, looks in great detail at global warming risks in 168 countries.

Africa is the most vulnerable region, and eight of the 10 most vulnerable countries are African, with the Comoros Islands followed by Somalia and Burundi in second and third places. Only five non-African countries are in the 20 most vulnerable. They are Yemen, Afghanistan, Haiti, Pakistan and Nepal.

As might be expected…”

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A Totally Lawless Regime

Think about this question: In the 21st century what regime is more lawless than the Bush Regime?

Everyone is entitled to his own answer. The only answer I can come up with is the Zimbabwe regime of Robert Mugabe. Voted out of power in the last election, the great man hasn’t left. Zimbabweans are going to have to vote again, and the great man has said that any vote that is not for him will be cancelled by a bullet.

Does anyone remember how determined the British and the Americans and everyone else was to turn Rhodesia over to Mugabe in order to save Rhodesia from the evil Ian Smith? What a fool everyone was.

But before we laugh at those fools, we had best laugh at ourselves, or cry.

It is now an incontrovertible fact, known all over the world, that George W. Bush and his regime lied through their teeth in order to launch wars of aggression against Afghanistan and Iraq, and that the Bush regime is doing the same thing again in hopes of launching an attack on Iran.

There have been a number of memoirs from high ranking Bush appointees who cannot stand all the lies. Bush’s first Secretary of the Treasury, Paul O’Neill, told us that an invasion of Iraq was on the agenda prior to 9/11. There is the leaked Downing Street Memo in which the head of British Intelligence told the British Prime Minister and his cabinet that the Americans have decided to attack Iraq and are creating the “intelligence” to justify the attack.

And now we have the White House’s own spokesman from 2003-2006, Scot McClellen, ratifying what we all already knew, that President Bush deceived us and led us into war based entirely on lies and fabrications, and that he, Scott McClellen, was deceived into issuing a false public denial that top Cheney aide Scooter Libby and White House operative Karl Rove were involved in committing a felony under US law by revealing the identity of a covert CIA operative, Valerie Plame.

As a consequence of Bush’s lies, there are a million dead Iraqis, mostly women and children, and four million displaced Iraqis, 4,100 dead American soldiers and tens of thousands of seriously wounded. No one knows how many dead in Afghanistan. And there is the ongoing Israeli slaughter of Palestinians and Lebanese that has fallen under the rubric of the “war on terror.”

The only ones pleased with these wars are the American neoconservatives, the Israeli right-wing, the US corporate military-security complex, and Osama bin Laden.

The Bush regime has created enormous hatred and disrespect for the United States. A recent world wide poll found that George W. Bush ranks at the bottom of world leaders as one of the least trusted along with US Pakistani puppet Musharraf and the Iranian president, Ahmadinejad, who has the disadvantage of being the victim of demonization by the US and European corporate-controlled media, which serves as ministries of propaganda for the governments that control their broadcast licenses. The American and European media lie for their living.

The two leaders with the highest approval rating are UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

So, the old adversary, Russia, now has a more respected leader than the “leader” of the Great Free Nation, a Great Free Nation that has sat on its hands while its “leader” destroyed America’s civil liberties, America’s reputation, the jobs of Americans, and committed the US to a course of war crimes punishable by the International Criminal Court at the Hague.

A number of readers took issue with my recent column, “Elect Obama or Fall Into Tyranny.” Echoing former Alabama Governor George Wallace, readers said Obama would make no difference. But that is what I wrote.

My point was not that Obama would make any difference, as he has put himself and his administration into the hands of Wall Street and the Israel Lobby. I said that the American people could make a difference by rejecting the Republicans, as it was the only accountability that the Republicans were likely to suffer.

If Americans return a Republican regime, Americans will validate the right of the president to violate with impunity US and international law. Americans will validate the use by the president of the United States of deception and lies in order to initiate wars of aggression, aggression that is a war crime under the Nuremburg standard established by the US. Americans will validate the infringement of US civil liberties in the name of “safety” and “national security.” Americans will disembowel the US Constitution and leave themselves at the total mercy of the government.

Reelecting Republicans means the end of the United States as a land of liberty.

I am sympathetic to the argument that we, as a country of liberty, are near our end regardless. Look at the Democrats. Today, June 20, the House of Representatives, which the voters gave to the Democrats in the 2006 congressional elections in order to end the pointless barbarity that the US has brought to Iraq, voted the largest war-spending bill ever. The “antiwar” Democrats completely collapsed, giving the warmonger Brownshirt Republican regime everything it wanted.

The House Democrats, led by “impeachment-is-off-the-table” Nancy Pelosi, added to the Democratic Party’s shame by passing today, June 20, a bill that shields from punishment the criminal Bush regime and the telecommunications corporations that the Bush regime coerced into committing felonies under US law by cooperating in Bush’s illegal spying on American citizens.

The great hope of the Founding Fathers, the people’s house, the House of Representatives, has passed an illegal and unconstitutional retroactive law making acts legal which were illegal when they were committed.

If a Democratic House of Representatives will pass a retroactive law in order to legalize the criminal violations of a Republican regime, the same House will pass a retroactive law making illegal what you did legally yesterday. No one is any longer safe in America. By abandoning the US Constitution, Republicans and Democrats have made America as potentially unsafe as Zimbabwe for anyone who takes exception to the government.

The total collapse of the Democratic Party and the House of Representatives signals the end of liberty and democracy in America. Henceforth, led by the Republican Federalist Society, we will gravitate toward the beautiful regime of “energy in the executive” that has been achieved in Zimbabwe by Robert Mugabe.

Paul Craig Roberts was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury in the Reagan administration. He was Associate Editor of the Wall Street Journal editorial page and Contributing Editor of National Review. He is coauthor of The Tyranny of Good Intentions.He can be reached at: paulcraigroberts@yahoo.com

“Tyramine
Mechanism: amino acid and vasodilator
Found in: aged cheese, wine, chocolate, smoked, cured or pickled meat, processed meats, tofu, some fruits and vegetables such as eggplant, avocado, bananas and raspberries

Food Additives: Nitrites, MSG
Mechanism: preservative that excites neurons and has been linked to the onset of migraines; research is inconclusive.
Found in: Chinese food, cheese powders such as Doritos, Campbell’s soups, potato chips, frozen meals, and some salad dressings

Aspartame
Mechanism: artificial sweetener that research has linked to onset of migraines, though mechanism is unknown. Some believe it’s linked to serotonin. It’s been shown to cause neurons to fire spasmodically, burning out neurons.
Found in: diet drinks and foods

Alcohol: contains Histamines
Mechanism: histamines stimulate the immune system
Found in: wine and beer, some cheese, beef, pork, bananas”

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Famed Charles Manson prosecutor and three time #1 New York Times bestselling author Vincent Bugliosi has written the most powerful, explosive, and thought-provoking book of his storied career.

In The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder, Bugliosi presents a tight, meticulously researched legal case that puts George W. Bush on trial in an American courtroom for the murder of nearly 4,000 American soldiers fighting the war in Iraq. Bugliosi sets forth the legal architecture and incontrovertible evidence that President Bush took this nation to war in Iraq under false pretenses—a war that has not only caused the deaths of American soldiers but also over 100,000 innocent Iraqi men, women, and children; cost the United States over one trillion dollars thus far with no end in sight; and alienated many American allies in the Western world.

As a prosecutor who is dedicated to seeking justice, Bugliosi, in his inimitable style, delivers a non-partisan argument, free from party lines and instead based upon hard facts and pure objectivity.

A searing indictment of the President and his administration, The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder also outlines a legally credible pathway to holding our highest government officials accountable for their actions, thereby creating a framework for future occupants of the oval office.

Vincent Bugliosi calls for the United States of America to return to the great nation it once was and can be again. He believes the first step to achieving this goal is to bring those responsible for the war in Iraq to justice.

Get the book: The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder

“Whether genetically modified (GM) foods are safe or beneficial is still controversial, but some people would prefer to avoid them until the evidence is clear. Most foods we eat may contain ingredients derived from genetically modified organisms (GMOs)–everything from baby formula and food to our dairy to even our meat. If you live in Europe, avoiding GM foods is easier since laws require labeling. However in the US and Canada food manufacturers are not required to label if their food is genetically modified or not. As such, here are some guidelines for steering clear of GMs in your diet, if that is your choice.

Become familiar with the most common applications of genetic modification. These are the products (and their derivatives) that you have to be the most careful with:

Soybeans – Gene taken from bacteria and inserted into soybeans to make them more resistant to herbicides. See How to Live With a Soy Allergy for more information on avoiding soy products.
Corn – Gene added/transferred to make crop more resistant to pesticides. May be present in high fructose corn syrup which is prevalent in a wide variety of foods in America.
Tomatoes – Genetically modified to limit production of substances that cause rotting
Rapeseed (canola) – Gene added/transferred to make crop more resistant to pesticides
Sugar cane – Gene added/transferred to make crop more resistant to pesticides
Sweet corn – Gene taken from bacteria and inserted into corn so they produce an insecticide

Rice – Genes implanted from daffodils and bacteria for higher amounts of Vitamin A; also known as “Golden Rice”
Canola – oil from rapeseed.
Cotton – Used for making cottonseed oil.
Dairy – Cows injected with GE hormone rBGH/rBST; possibly fed GM grains and hay.

Buy food labeled 100% organic. The US and Canadian governments do not allow manufacturers to label something 100% organic if that food has been genetically modified or been fed genetically modified feed. However, you may find that organic food is often expensive. Also, just because something says “organic” on it does not mean that it does not contain GMs. In fact, it can still contain up to 30% GMs, so be sure the labels say 100% organic.

This applies to eggs, as well. Eggs labeled “free-range”, “natural”, or “cage-free” are not necessarily GE-free; look for eggs to be 100% organic.[1]

Purchase beef that is 100% grass-fed. Most cattle in the U.S. are grass-fed, but spend the last portion of their lives in feedlots where they may be given GM feed. If you’re looking to stay away from GMOs, make sure the cattle 100% grass-fed or pasture-fed (sometimes referred to as grass-finished or pasture-finished). The same applies to meat from other herbivores such as sheep. There is also the slight possibility that the animals were fed GM alfalfa, although this is less likely if you buy meat locally. With non-ruminants like pigs and poultry that cannot be 100% grass-fed, it’s better to look for meat that is 100% organic.

Seek products that are specifically labeled as non-GM or GMO-free. However, it is rare to find products labeled as such. You can also research websites that list companies and foods that do not use genetically modified foods.[2]

Shop locally. Although more than half of all GM foods are produced in the US,[3] most of it comes from large, industrial farms. By shopping at farmers’ markets, signing up for a subscription from a local Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm, or patronizing a local co-op that stresses GM-free food, you may be able to avoid GM products and possibly save money at the same time.

More and more small farms are offering grains and meat directly to customers, in addition to the usual fare (vegetables, fruit, herbs).

Shopping locally may also give you the opportunity to speak to the farmer and find out how he or she feels about GMOs and whether or not they use them in their own operation.

Buy whole foods. Favor foods that you can cook and prepare yourself, rather than foods that are processed or prepared (e.g. anything that comes in a box or a bag, including fast food). What you lose in convenience, you may recover in money saved and satisfaction gained, as well as increased peace of mind. Try cooking a meal from scratch once or twice a week–you may enjoy it and decide to do it more often.

Tips
If you have the land, time, and resources, grow your own food. As long as you make sure you’re not buying GM seeds, you’ll know for sure that the food which comes from your garden is not genetically modified.

At chain and non-chain restaurants, you can ask which, if any, of their foods contain GMs, but the wait and kitchen staff are not likely to know.”

From wikihow

The 24-Hour Pharmacist- is the perfect pill for anyone seeking insight on overall health from a resource that is thorough and fun to read. With chapter titles such as “Frazzled, Frustrated and Freaked Out: Coping with Anxiety and Stress” to “More Jiggle, Less Joint Pain: What You Can Do About Arthritis” you get the sense that the author well knows what course to recommend but also truly enjoys educating others. One feature I found especially enlightening were the sections in each chapter entitled “Suzy’s Secrets From Behind The Counter”. Here is where she (Suzy) offers great little insights to live by with a perspective that only a pharmacist can give. One good example of this is in the chapter about weight loss where she explains that some drugs can make you hungry. Included in her list are sedatives and tranquilizers, antidepressants, allergy pills, female hormones and diuretics. Wow, who knew?

Read more about it here: The 24-Hour Pharmacist

“While some vitamin supplements can boost your health, others may actually harm.

Wild Claims
Google “vitamins” and you get 50 million results and the wildest claims you can imagine. That’s almost six times more than what you get for “Brad Pitt,” but the descriptions are just as breathless. As you navigate the maze of sites, you see phrases claiming vitamin supplements can “increase energy,” “stimulate brain function” and “improve sex drive.” There are promises of “reversing cancer” and “removing plaque” from your arteries. It all helps explain why Americans shell out $7.5 billion a year on vitamins, hoping to prolong life, slow aging and protect against a bevy of illnesses.

But new research not only refutes many of these claims, it also shows that some of these vitamins may in fact be harmful.

A February report in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that taking antioxidant vitamins actually increased a person’s risk of dying by up to 16 percent.

A study by researchers at the University of Washington last May found that high doses of vitamin E taken over ten years slightly elevated lung cancer risk in smokers.

Researchers at the National Cancer Institute found that men who took more than one multivitamin daily had a higher risk of prostate cancer.

Antioxidant Paradox
The antioxidant study, in particular, surprised a lot of people and has prompted a heated debate. Antioxidants such as vitamins A, beta carotene (another form of vitamin A), E and C have long enjoyed a reputation as disease fighters because they’re thought to protect against free radicals that can damage….”

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“Products containing high fructose corn syrup cannot be considered ‘natural’ and should not be labeled as such, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has said.

The decision is likely to cause a massive stir in the food and beverage industry, where a discreet battle has been raging over the status of the controversial sweetener.

High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is derived from corn, and used primarily to sweeten beverages. The trade group Corn Refiners Association and numerous industry members have long maintained that HFCS is a natural sweetener.

However, the sugar industry is more critical, as HFCS comes into direct competition with sugar as a sweetener. Industry group Sugar Association, as well as consumer groups such as the Center for Science in the Public Interest categorically maintain that HFCS cannot be considered natural because its chemical bonds are broken and rearranged in the manufacturing process.

The debate raged on for one simple reason: FDA does not define the term ‘natural’, and it has therefore been left open to different interpretations.

However, in response to an inquiry from FoodNavigator-USA.com, the regulatory agency examined the composition of HFCS, which it said is produced using synthetic fixing agents.

“Consequently, we would object to the use of the term ‘natural’ on a product containing HFCS,” the agency’s Geraldine June said in an e-mail to FoodNavigator-USA.com. June is Supervisor of the Product Evaluation and Labeling team at FDA’s Office of Nutrition, Labeling and Dietary Supplements.

FDA on ‘natural’

FDA has received two petitions to define the term ‘natural’ – one from the Sugar Association, and one from bakery firm Sara Lee.

Although the agency had not provided a formal response to these petitions, it told this publication that it has no plans to define the term in the near future, due to limited resources. “We’re not sure how high of an issue it is for consumers,” it said.

Nevertheless, FDA does have a longstanding policy regarding the use of the term. This states that a ‘natural’ product is one that has not had any artificial or synthetic substances added to the product that would not normally be expected to be in the food – including artificial flavors or color additives, regardless of source.

FDA also does not currently restrict the use of the term ‘natural’ except on products that contain added color, synthetic substances and flavors as provided for in Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), section 101.22.

FDA on HFCS

Although FDA provides no definition or detailed guidelines for the use of the term ‘natural’, it said it has a system in place for manufacturers with doubts to approach it and ask for guidance on the use of particular ingredients.

Under this system, FoodNavigator-USA.com submitted an inquiry about HFCS.

FDA responded that HFCS is prepared from a high dextrose equivalent corn starch hydrolysate by partial enzymatic conversion of glucose (dextrose) to fructose using an insoluble glucose isomerase enzyme preparation.

The glucose isomerase enzyme preparation is fixed (rendered insoluble) using safe and suitable immobilization/fixing agents, it said.

“The use of synthetic fixing agents in the enzyme preparation, which is then used to produce HFCS, would not be consistent with our (…) policy regarding the use of the term ‘natural’,” said Geraldine June.

“Moreover, the corn starch hydrolysate, which is the substrate used in the production of HFCS, may be obtained through the use of safe and suitable acids or enzymes. Depending on the type of acid(s) used to obtain the corn starch hydrolysate, this substrate itself may not fit within the description of ‘natural’ and, therefore, HCFS produced from such corn starch hydrolysate would not qualify for a ‘natural’ labeling term,” she concluded.

HFCS and industry

Although FDA’s conclusion may not be welcome by some industry members, who would have liked to have promoted their HFCS-containing products as ‘natural’, it will at least prevent any future misinterpretations.

Last year for example, both Cadbury Schweppes and Kraft faced lawsuits after making ‘natural’ label claims on beverages that contained high fructose corn syrup. Both companies changed the labeling of their products before any legal action was taken.

The market for ‘natural’

The quest for natural foods and beverages has burgeoned on the back of an overall consumer move towards healthier nutrition.

According to Mintel’s Global New Products Database, ‘All Natural’ was the third most frequent claim made on food products launched in the US in 2007, appearing on 2,617 products. It ranked fourth most popular claim for beverages, used on 542 items.

In Europe, 878 ‘All Natural’ food products and 509 beverage products were launched last year.

Additionally, the Natural Marketing Institute reported in 2004 that 63 percent of US consumers have a preference for natural foods and beverages. In 2006, a Harris Interactive survey found that 83 percent of people wanted a government definition of the term.”

“Whoever coined the term “necessary evil” might have been thinking of pain. No one wants it, yet it’s the body’s way of getting your attention when something is wrong. You’re probably sufficiently in tune with your body to know when the pain is just a bother, perhaps the result of moving furniture a day or two before or eating that third enchilada. It’s when pain might signal something more serious that the internal dialogue begins:

“OK, this isn’t something to fool around with.”
“But I can’t miss my meeting.”
“And how many meetings will you miss if you land in the hospital?”
“I’ll give it one more day.”
Etc.
You need a guide. WebMD consulted doctors in cardiology, internal medicine, geriatrics, and psychiatry so you’ll understand which pains you must not ignore — and why. And, of course, if in doubt, get medical attention.

No. 1: Worst Headache of Your Life
Get medical attention immediately. “If you have a cold, it could be a sinus headache,” says Sandra Fryhofer, MD, MACP, spokeswoman for the American College of Physicians. “But you could have a brain hemorrhage or brain tumor. With any pain, unless you’re sure of what caused it, get it checked out.”

Sharon Brangman, MD, FACP, spokeswoman for the American Geriatrics Society, tells WebMD that when someone says they have the worst headache of their life, “what we learned in medical training was that was a classic sign of a brain aneurysm. Go immediately to the ER.”

No. 2: Pain or Discomfort in the Chest, Throat, Jaw, Shoulder, Arm, or Abdomen
Chest pain could be pneumoniaor a heart attack. But be aware that heart conditions typically appear as discomfort, not pain. “Don’t wait for pain,” says cardiologist Jerome Cohen, MD. “Heart patients talk about pressure. They’ll clench their fist and put it over their chest or say it’s like an elephant sitting on their chest.”

The discomfort associated with heart disease could also be in the upper chest, throat, jaw, left shoulder or arm, or abdomen and might be accompanied by nausea. “I’m not too much worried about the 18-year-old, but if a person has unexplained, persistent discomfort and knows they’re high risk, they shouldn’t wait,” says Cohen. “Too often people delay because they misinterpret it as [heartburn] or GI distress. Call 911 or get to an emergency room or physician’s office. If it turns out to be something else, that’s great.”

He tells WebMD that intermittent discomfort should be taken seriously as well. “There might be a pattern, such as discomfort related to excitement, emotional upset, or exertion. For example, if you experience it when you’re gardening, but it goes away when you sit down, that’s angina. It’s usually worse in cold or hot weather.”

“A woman’s discomfort signs can be more subtle,” says Cohen, who is director of preventive cardiology at Saint Louis University School of Medicine. “Heart disease can masquerade as GI symptoms, such as bloating, GI distress, or discomfort in the abdomen. It’s also associated with feeling tired. Risk for heart disease increases dramatically after menopause. It kills more women than men even though men are at higher risk at any age. Women and their physicians need to be on their toes.”

No. 3: Pain in Lower Back or Between Shoulder Blades
“Most often it’s arthritis,” says Brangman, who is professor and chief of geriatrics at SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, N.Y. Other possibilities include a heart attack or abdominal problems. “One danger is aortic dissection, which can appear as either a nagging or sudden pain. People who are at risk have conditions that can change the integrity of the vessel wall. These would include high blood pressure, a history of circulation problems, smoking, and diabetes.”

No. 4: Severe Abdominal Pain
Still have your appendix? Don’t flirt with the possibility of a rupture. Gallbladder and pancreas problems, stomach ulcers, and intestinal blockages are some other possible causes of abdominal pain that need attention.

No 5: Calf Pain
One of the lesser known dangers is deep vein thrombosis (DVT), a blood clot that can occur in the leg’s deep veins. It affects 2 million Americans a year, and it can be life-threatening. “The danger is that a piece of the clot could break loose and cause pulmonary embolism [a clot in the lungs], which could be fatal,” says Fryhofer. Cancer, obesity, immobility due to prolonged bed rest or long-distance travel, pregnancy, and advanced age are among the risk factors.

“Sometimes there’s just swelling without pain,” says Brangman. “If you have swelling and pain in your calf muscles, see a doctor immediately.”

No. 6: Burning Feet or Legs
Nearly one-third of the 20 million Americans who have diabetes are undiagnosed, according to the American Diabetes Association. “In some people who don’t know they have diabetes, peripheral neuropathycould be one of the first signs,” says Brangman. “It’s a burning or pins-and-needles sensation in the feet or legs that can indicate nerve damage.”

No 7: Vague, Combined, or Medically Unexplained Pains
“Various painful, physical symptoms are common in depression,” says psychiatrist Thomas Wise, MD. “Patients will have vague complaints of headaches, abdominal pain, or limb pain, sometimes in combination.”

Because the pain might be chronic and not terribly debilitating, depressed people, their families, and health care professionals might dismiss the symptoms. “Furthermore, the more depressed you are, the more difficulty you have describing your feelings,” says Wise, who is the psychiatry department chairman at Inova Fairfax Hospital in Fairfax, Va. “All of this can lead the clinician astray.”

Other symptoms must be present before a diagnosis of depression can be made. “Get help when you’ve lost interest in activities, you’re unable to work or think effectively, and you can’t get along with people,” he says. “And don’t suffer silently when you’re hurting.”

He adds there’s more to depression than deterioration of the quality of life. “It has to be treated aggressively before it causes structural changes in the brain.”"

“In 1968 a Chinese-American physician wrote a rather lighthearted letter to The New England Journal of Medicine. He had experienced numbness, palpitations and weakness after eating in Chinese restaurants in the United States, and wondered whether the monosodium glutamate used by cooks here (and then rarely used by cooks in China) might be to blame.

The consequences for the restaurant business, the food industry and American consumers were immediate and enormous. MSG, a common flavor enhancer and preservative used since the 1950s, was tagged as a toxin, removed from commercial baby food and generally driven underground by a new movement toward natural, whole foods.

“It was a nightmare for my family,” said Jennifer Hsu, a graphic designer whose parents owned several Chinese restaurants in New York City in the 1970s. “Not because we used that much MSG — although of course we used some — but because it meant that Americans came into the restaurant with these suspicious, hostile feelings.”

Even now, after “Chinese restaurant syndrome” has been thoroughly debunked (virtually all studies since then confirm that monosodium glutamate in normal concentrations has no effect on the overwhelming majority of people), the ingredient has a stigma that will not go away.

But then, neither will MSG.

Cooks around the world have remained dedicated to MSG, even though they may not know it by that name. As hydrolyzed soy protein or autolyzed yeast, it adds flavor to the canned chicken broth and to the packs of onion soup mix used by American home cooks, and to the cheese Goldfish crackers and the low-fat yogurts in many lunchboxes.

It is the taste of Marmite in the United Kingdom, of Golden Mountain sauce in Thailand, of Goya Sazón on the Latin islands of the Caribbean, of Salsa Lizano in Costa Rica and of Kewpie mayonnaise in Japan.

“It’s all the same thing: glutamate,” said Dr. Nuripa Chaudhari of the University of Miami, who was part of the first research team to identify human glutamate receptors.

In September Dr. Chaudhari will take part in the University of Tokyo’s centenary celebrations honoring Prof. Kikunae Ikeda’s 1908 discovery of glutamate flavor. The Japanese company Ajinomoto turned that discovery into crystalline powder form, MSG, and patented it in 1909.

“Just like salt and sugar, it exists in nature, it tastes good at normal levels, but large amounts at high concentrations taste strange and aren’t that good for you,” Dr. Chaudhari said.

If you live in the United States and like spicy tuna rolls, Puerto Rican roast pork or Thai noodles, there is a good chance you are eating, and enjoying, MSG. And if you are the kind of cook who likes to keep a globe-trotting kitchen, well, then, some of these MSG-laden ingredients may deserve a place in your cupboard.

“I don’t cook with MSG because that’s not my training, but it definitely has its place,” said Zak Pelaccio, a New York chef whose ride to fame has been greased with Kewpie mayonnaise. One of the dishes that put him on the map was a sandwich of roasted salmon on pumpernickel bread slathered with wasabi aioli: wasabi from a tube and the mayonnaise.

In regions where meat and meaty flavors have been out of reach for most cooks, MSG has long filled the gap.

“My father called Maggi sauce la segunda venida, the second coming, because he was not a very good cook and it saved him,” said Irma Cecilia Sanchez, a home health aide from Puebla, Mexico, who was waiting in line at a taco truck on the Upper West Side. Maggi sauce is a 19th-century Swiss creation, a general flavor enhancer now made with MSG, sweeteners and extracts.

Her mother died when …”

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Gorton’s Inc. recalled about 1,000 cases of frozen fish in 10 states on Friday after confirming items a Pennsylvania woman reported finding in her food were pills.

Gorton’s voluntarily recalled the product as a precaution while a laboratory conducts further tests to determine the nature of the pills. The results are expected early next week.

“Obviously product alteration is a very serious matter,” said Jud Reis, vice president of marketing for the Gloucester, Mass.-based company. “We are conducting a full investigation into the source of the problem.”

Tracy Rowan, of New Freedom, called police after she bit into one of the pills Sunday about the same time her daughter realized one was in her fish, too. On Friday, Reis said the material was some sort of pill, not compressed batter or bread crumbs as suspected.

“It’s kind of frightening to not only find something in your mouth, a foreign object,” Rowan said Friday. “But then basically my heart stopped when my daughter said, ‘I have one in my mouth, too,’ and pulled it out.” She described them as beige and aspirin-sized.

Rowan, her daughter and son spent about 3½ hours getting checked out in an emergency room. None of them has gotten sick, and Reis said the company knows of no other incidents.

Rowan’s 9-year-old daughter cooked and served the food, and they had eaten more than half of their fillets when they encountered the pills. Her 10-year-old son reported tasting something bitter and spit it out, but it’s unclear whether that also was a pill, she said.

Rowan said her daughter was adamant that she did not alter the fillets and that the pills found inside do not match any medicine in her home. The fish was purchased from a Giant supermarket in Shrewsbury.

“Kids are kids, but I went through here and I don’t have a single thing that matches that,” said Rowan, 47, a health care company project manager.

The recall is for Gorton’s 6 Crispy Battered Fish Fillets, 11.4 ounces. The UPC Code is No. 44400157770, with a date code of 7289G1 and best-if-used-by date of April 2009.

The fish was sent to nine other states: Alabama, California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas. Reis said the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration were investigating.

Consumers who purchased the fish can call Gorton’s at (800) 896-9479

From the phosphate mines in Idaho to the oil fields in China, Twinkie, Deconstructed demystifies some of the most common processed food ingredients— where they come from, how they are made, how they are used—and why. Beginning at the source (hint: they’re often more closely linked to rock and petroleum than any of the four food groups), we follow each Twinkie ingredient through the process of being crushed, baked, fermented, refined, and/or reacted into a totally unrecognizable goo or powder—all for the sake of creating a simple snack cake.

An insightful exploration of the modern food industry, if you’ve ever wondered what you’re eating when you consume foods containing mono- and diglycerides or calcium sulfate (the latter a food-grade equivalent of plaster of paris), this book is for you.

Find out more about the book

“Most Utah consumers want to know what’s in their food and how it is produced. Some prefer vegetables and fruit that are grown without pesticides, and milk and meat that are produced with no growth hormones.
Food grown under those conditions and other federally mandated standards can be labeled “certified organic.” with a description of the required production standards.
That’s not to say non-organic food is unsafe or inferior. The two are simply produced differently, and consumers have a fundamental right to make a choice. To do that, they have to have the information contained on food labels. But a Utah House member who is also a non-organic dairy farmer wants to restrict labeling for organic foods, keeping important information out of the hands of consumers.
Rep. Kerry Gibson, R-Ogden, says that labeling milk as having been produced without the use of the bovine growth hormone rBST is “misleading” and implies that non-organic products are not as safe as those labeled organic.
That’s bunk. And self-serving bunk at that.
Gibson and others, including Monsanto, the company that produces rBST and makes a lot of money selling it to farmers, are proposing a Utah Agriculture Department rule change. The new rule would prohibit milk being labeled “rBST-free” or any food labels or ads that make any claim, true or otherwise, that can’t be proven by an “analytical test.”
That’s bunk, too.
The label “Made in Utah” would be prohibited, since such a claim cannot be verified by an analytical test. A sentence on a soup can reading “just the right herbs and spices in a flavorful broth” would have to be verified by an analytical test.
The rule would allow milk to be labeled…”

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“Prozac, the bestselling antidepressant taken by 40 million people worldwide, does not work and nor do similar drugs in the same class, according to a major review released today.

The study examined all available data on the drugs, including results from clinical trials that the manufacturers chose not to publish at the time. The trials compared the effect on patients taking the drugs with those given a placebo or sugar pill.

When all the data was pulled together, it appeared that patients had improved – but those on placebo improved just as much as those on the drugs.

The only exception is in the most severely depressed patients, according to the authors – Prof Irving Kirsch from the department of psychology at Hull University and colleagues in the US and Canada. But that is probably because the placebo stopped working so well, they say, rather than the drugs having worked better.

“Given these results, there seems little reason to prescribe antidepressant medication to any but the most severely depressed patients, unless alternative treatments have failed,” says Kirsch. “This study raises serious issues that need to be addressed surrounding drug licensing and how drug trial data is reported.”

The paper, published today in the journal PLoS (Public Library of Science) Medicine, is likely to have a significant impact on the prescribing of the drugs. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) already recommends that counselling should be tried before doctors prescribe antidepressants. Kirsch, who was one of the consultants for the guidelines, says the new analysis “would suggest that the prescription of antidepressant medications might be restricted even more”.

The review breaks new ground because…”

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Genetic Roulette: The Documented Health Risks of Genetically Engineered Foods – “When I worked at Monsanto, I warned both scientists and executives that our GM foods may cause disease, but no one was even willing to listen, let alone investigate the unpredicted side effects. For them, it was all about profit. Now our whole population is threatened by the serious dangers described in Genetic Roulette.” —Kirk J. Azevedo, DC

The Gmo Trilogy And Seeds of Deception Set – DVD 1: Unnatural Selection: This stunning, award-winning documentary by Bertram Verhaag and Gabriele Kröber reveals harsh consequences of genetic engineering on three continents. Vandana Shiva, Andrew Kimbrell, Percy Schmeiser and others, describe uncontrollable, self-replicating GM contamination, failed crops, farmer suicides, and new GM animals that threaten natural populations. DVD 2: Hidden Dangers in Kids’ Meals: Genetically Engineered Foods: Shocking research results, inadequate regulations and warnings from eminent scientists explain why GM foods are dangerous and should be removed from kids’ meals.

Seeds of Deception: Exposing Industry and Government Lies About the Safety of the Genetically Engineered Foods You’re Eating – Recent news headlines have focused on the disagreement between the U.S. and Europe over genetically modified foods: the U.S. exports them, but the European Union doesn’t want to import them, believing their safety remains unproven. Are genetically modified foods safe? Longtime anti-GM foods campaigner Smith presents the “opposing” case. He offers cases where GM produced results that were at best unexpected (increased starch content in potatoes), at worst grotesque (pigs without genitals). He describes how one corporation reportedly tried to bribe Canadian government scientists into approving genetically engineered bovine growth hormones they deemed unsafe; how some scientists have reported their careers were threatened as a result of their refusal to approve certain GM products in the U.S.; and how “conflicts of interest, sloppy science, and industry influence” can distort the approval process. The cases Smith presents are scary and timely, but he explores only one side of the story. Readers looking for a balance consideration of genetically modified foods will want to look elsewhere.

Beware of the Coming Food Apocalypse! GMOs – GMOs – Beware Of The Coming Food Apocalypse! — is such a warning. Our food supply is being threatened by a new and highly controversial technology that is being unleashed upon us whether we like it or not. Unless a massive protest against this radical new science arises from the people, it may very well be too late for the human race. This book will make you angry; this book will get you mad, but it is a story that must be told. Please share it with everyone you love.

Your Right to Know: Genetic Engineering and the Secret Changes in Your Food – More than half of America’s processed grocery products — from corn flakes to granola bars to diet drinks — contain genetically altered ingredients. They are unlabeled and untested, and we are eating them. Your Right to Know is a complete, full-color reference guide outlining how unmarked genetically modified foods go from the factory to the family dining table, and what consumers can do about the health risks they present. This accessible guide is for concerned parents — as well as anyone concerned about genetically altered foods — who want to know more about the potential health risks, the organic alternatives, and the methods available to counter the corporate takeover of the food we eat

Genetically Engineered Food: A Self-Defense Guide for Consumers – The 1995 outbreak of “mad cow” disease in Europe provoked public attention to genetically engineered or modified food, a concern that has spread to the U.S. Cummins and Lilliston, food safety advocates, examine the scientific, political, economic, and health issues. With billions of dollars in profits at stake, the biotech food industry promises that new technology will end world hunger and improve public health and the environment. Cummins and Lilliston weigh those promises against the unpredictability of the new technology, and the fact that much of it hasn’t been adequately tested for safety and that its products are being distributed without labeling. Genetically modified organisms are so common that they are part of the average consumer’s daily intake in food from breakfast cereals to infant formula to margarine. The authors include information on what consumers can do, from smart shopping to grassroots lobbying, to reduce the threat of genetically engineered food. This is a thorough and well-researched look at an issue of growing public concern.

REGULAR mobile phone users are up to 50 PER CENT more likely to develop mouth cancer, boffins claim.
And those using phones in the countryside may be even more at risk – because handsets give off more radiation in areas with poor coverage.

Experts linked mobile use to cancer of the paratoid salivary gland – located close to where a phone is held to the ear.

They studied 500 patients with this kind of tumour then compared their mobile use to that of 1,300 healthy people…

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Bayer AG has sent a drug that is infected with the HIV virus to France, Japan, and, Spain and is being used by and infecting children in those counties with HIV. The stench doesn’t stop there. Congress has knowingly allowed Bayer to continue to sell this death product to Europeans without conscience in the name of making a buck. So glad the media warned us *cough* *cough*.Do you still trust your government? I can tell you this. Thats the last time I buy any Bayer product….

Watch the video

There was an experiment with three groups of rats: one group ate corn flakes and water; another group ate a cardboard box (the cereal box but no cereal) and water; and the third group ate regular rat chow.

You are gonna love the results: As would be predicted, the rats that ate rat chow were in perfect health throughout the experiment. The rats that ate the box and water eventually died of malnutrition. Duh. And the most shocking result: the rats that ate corn flakes and water developed
schizophrenic behavior, threw fits, bit each other and finally went into convulsions and died. But they died BEFORE the rats that died from malnutrition! See??!

Do you think that eating processed food causes violent behavior in people?

That’s a rhetorical question.

[source]

When Victoria Inness-Brown contacted me about “explosive information” concerning aspartame (Equal,NutraSweet) the controversial, artificial, chemical sweetener, I didn’t know what to expect. Despite overwhelming scientific evidence of aspartame’s danger to human health (tires have been recalled for less) it remains in 6,000 food, drink and medicinal products.

Who could imagine a private citizen would do an aspartame experiment with 108 rats for 2 years and 8 months?

The late Dr. Adrian Gross explained that rodent experiments are the means to find out what a particular substance will do to human beings.

Look at Victoria’s pictures of her animals that ingested the equivalent amount of aspartame (in human terms) of less than one diet coke a day, until their spontaneous death. Importantly…

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1. Outback Steakhouse Aussie Cheese Fries with Ranch Dressing

2,900 calories
182 g fat 240 g carbs

Even if you split this “starter” with three friends, you’ll have downed a dinner’s worth of calories before your entree arrives. Follow this up with a steak, sides, and a dessert and you could easily break the 3,500 calorie barrier.

Front-load: Start your meal with a protein-based dish that’s not deep-fried. A high-protein starter helps diminish hunger without putting you into calorie overload. At Outback, that translates to either the Seared Ahi or the Shrimp on the Barbie.

2. Chili’s Awesome Blossom

2,710 calories
203 g fat 194 g carbs
6,360 mg sodium

Hard to believe that a single onion can wreak so much nutritional havoc, but batter and fry anything and serve it with a rich dipping sauce and your bound to do some damage.

Start properly: At Chili’s, take a detour to the “Sides” menu and try the Garlic & Lime Grilled Shrimp. 4 shrimp will only cost you 160 calories.

3. On the Border Stacked Border Nachos


2,740 calories
166 g fat 191 g carbs
5,280 mg sodium

The only way you should ever consider eating these is if you’re rolling with a crew of eight.

Turn away: You won’t find a decent option on the appetizer menu. Instead, turn to the Chicken Tacos on the entee portion of the menu; at 250 calories a pop, they make as good a start to your meal as you can hope for.

4. Macaroni Grill Spaghetti and Meatballs with Meat Sauce

2,430 calories
128 g fat 207 g carbs
5,290 mg sodium

This meal satisfies your calorie requirements for an entire day.

Downsize the Devastation: Ask for a lunch portion of this dinner dish (or any pasta on the menu, for that matter), and request regular tomato sauce instead of meat sauce. You’ll cut the calories in half.

See the whole list of 20

“The World Health Organization warned in a new report Thursday that the “tobacco epidemic” is growing and could claim 1 billion lives by the end of the century unless governments dramatically step up efforts to curb smoking.

In its first comprehensive report on tobacco use in 179 countries, the U.N.s health agency said governments around the world collect more than $200 billion in tobacco taxes every year but spend less than one-fifth of 1 percent of that revenue on tobacco control, it said.

“We hold in our hands the solution to the global tobacco epidemic that threatens the lives of 1 billion men, women and children during this century,” WHO Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan said in an introduction to the report.

The WHO Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic 2008 calls on all countries to dramatically increase efforts to prevent young people from beginning to smoke, help smokers quit and protect nonsmokers from exposure to second hand smoke.

It urges governments to adopt six “tobacco control policies” – raise taxes and prices of tobacco; ban tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship; protect people from second hand smoke; warn people about the dangers of tobacco; help those who want to quit smoking; and monitor tobacco use to understand and reverse the epidemic.

Chan announced the report Thursday at a news conference with New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, whose foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, helped fund it with a $2 million grant. The report examines the tobacco policies of 179 countries for the first time, Bloomberg said.

According to the report, nearly two-thirds of the world’s smokers live in 10 countries: China, which accounts for nearly 30 percent, India with about 10 percent, Indonesia, Russia, the United States, Japan, Brazil, Bangladesh, Germany and Turkey.

It forecast that more than 80 percent of tobacco-related deaths will be in low- and middle-income countries by 2030.

Dr. Douglas Bettcher, director of WHO’s Tobacco Free Initiative, said WHO estimates 5.4 million smoking-related deaths a year, rising to more than 8 million a year by 2030 if nothing is done. That adds up to 175 million between 2005 and 2030. Beyond that, he said, deaths will continue to rise and statistical projections put the death toll at near 1 billion by the end of the century.

Tobacco use is growing fastest in low-income countries, the report said, “due to steady population growth coupled with tobacco industry targeting, ensuring that millions of people become fatally addicted each year.”

It warned that “the shift of the tobacco epidemic to the developing world will lead to unprecedented levels of disease and early death in countries where population growth and the potential for increased tobacco use are highest and where health care services are least available.”

According to the report, 74 countries still allow smoking in health care institutions and about the same number allow smoking in schools. More than half the countries, with two-thirds of the world’s population, allow smoking in government offices and workplaces, and only 20 of 179 countries have complete bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship.

“The tobacco epidemic is growing – it is shifting toward developing countries, with tobacco use growing fastest in low-income countries,” Chan said.

For the tobacco industry to survive, and keep existing customers hooked and attract new customers, “it spends tens of billions of dollars a year on advertising, promotion and sponsorship,” WHO said.

Michael Pfeil, vice president for communications for Lausanne, Switzerland-based Philip Morris International, said the company advocates “for tough, fair, cohesive regulation of the industry” and believes many countries need to do more. The company has operations in 160 countries.

He said regulations Philip Morris supports mirror some core provisions of the U.N. anti-smoking treaty that came into force last year. These include mandatory health warnings, restrictions on advertising including bans in some media, and minimum age laws for smoking, he said.

“We’re going to continue to spend money,” Pfeil said in a telephone interview. “I think we have a duty as a commercial entity to continue to grow our business, but … our interest is in marketing to adult smokers who are smoking competitive products.”

David Howard, spokesman for R.J. Reynolds, the second-largest cigarette manufacturer in the U.S., said the company is responsible in its advertising and warns consumers of the risk of smoking.

“The best course of action for any tobacco consumer concerned about their health is to quit,” he said.”

Related: The one reason to quit smoking

Those popular breakfast cereals are industrially processed and have high levels of salt, sugar, preservatives, dyes and fat – which can dramatically increase a person’s risk of developing serious health problems in later life. Processed cereal, cereal bars, bread and cookies contain large amounts of salt, sugar and hydrogenated fats. Oftentimes people are unaware of the amounts they are actually eating, which can be very dangerous for their health.

Let’s see. What are some potential problems with eating these breakfast cereals. Shall I count the ways?

1. Strokes – Consuming large amounts of salt, sugar and hydrogenated fats increases the risk of having a stroke.

2. Teeth Problems – All that sugar can lead to serious dental issues, and we know what that means. Do you want yourself and your kids to have false teeth for the rest of your/their lives?

3. Preservatives – BHT, BHA, and TBHQ are common preservatives found in in beverages, ice cream, candy, baked goods, soup bases, potatoes, breakfast cereals, dry mixes, enriched rice, animal fats and shortenings containing animal fats. They may also be listed as “anti-oxidants” because they prevent the fats in food from oxidizing or spoiling. These preservatives cause allergic reactions and are known to affect kidney and liver functions, brain function and may also convert other ingredients into cancer-causing substances.

4. MSG is not a good message to the body – MSG, also known as monosodium glutamate, is linked to infertility and brain damage lab animals and people who’ve eaten MSG complain of headaches, chest pains and numbness.

5. Sugars, (high-fructose) Corn Syrup , refined starches and sweeteners (NutraSweet, Equal, Sweet’n Low, Sucralose, Acesulfame-K) rob your children of their health, and artificial sweeteners have been linked to brain damage, MS, Lupus and other central nervous disorders.

6. Pesticides – pesticides, hormones and synthetic food additives have been known to affect brain development, behavior and learning abilities in kids.

So, what SHOULD you eat? Stay tuned. I’ll write about that in another blog post…

Cases in the US have doubled in recent decades and it seems fructose, a type of sugar, may be to blame, the British Medical Journal study reports.

UK experts said those with gout would be advised to cut out sugary drinks.

About 1.5% of the UK population currently suffers from gout and there has been an increase in numbers over the last 30 years – although the condition is more associated with Victorian times.

The symptoms of painful, swollen joints, mainly in the lower limbs, are caused when uric acid crystallises out of the blood into the joints.

US and Canadian researchers said the increase in cases had coincided with a substantial rise in the consumption of soft drinks…”

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Related: Why you should give up soda (pop)

Opponents of biotech crops said on Wednesday they were filing a lawsuit to challenge the USDA’s deregulation of Monsanto Co’s genetically engineered sugar beet because of fears of “biological contamination” and other harm to the environment.

The Center for Food Safety, the Sierra Club and two organic seed groups said the lawsuit involved the United States Department of Agriculture’s approval of Monsanto’s glyphosate-resistant sugar beet, which is engineered to withstand treatment of Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide.

The “Roundup Ready” sugar beets are slated to be grown on a commercial scale for the first time in the United States this year, the groups said.

Neither Monsanto nor USDA officials could be reached immediately for comment.

The groups said the wind-pollinated biotech sugar beets will cross-pollinate and contaminate conventional sugar beets, organic chard and table beet crops.

As well, the groups said the biotech sugar beets will increase …

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[via groovy green]

There’s a process to attempt to shield the market from these blood diamonds but it’s worked with only marginal success. However, since we know that a diamond is a girl’s best friend and there will be no slowing down of diamond purchases – the best way to be a conscientious diamond and fine jewelry consumer is to shop at places like Brilliant Earth. They believe that luxury goods need not come at great human or environmental cost. Their items are conflict free diamond jewelry from Canada, founded on the highest standards of social and environmental responsibility. Brilliant Earth donates 5% of its profits to directly benefit local African communities harmed by the diamond industry.

Will a TV show be canceled because it features an attorney who successfully argues that a mercury-containing flu vaccine caused autism in one kid?

On Monday, the American Academy of Pediatrics will release the contents of a foreboding letter sent last week to ABC/Disney executives, demanding they cancel the January 31 premiere of a new legal drama series, Eli Stone, because it features a family attorney who successfully argues in court that a mercury-containing flu vaccine caused autism in one child.

The letter, signed by AAP President Renee Jenkins, borders on near-hysteria over a fictional television entertainment. It ominously warns that ABC “will bear responsibility for the needless suffering and potential deaths of children from parents’ decisions not to immunize based on the content of the episode.”

Dr. Jenkins calls on ABC to cancel the episode but, anticipating a refusal, urges executives to run a disclaimer that “no scientific link exists between vaccines and autism,” if the offending network “persists” in airing the show.

I share the AAP’s concern that parents should not be driven away from protecting their children from dangerous, even deadly diseases. But parents are far too smart to base such an important decision as immunization on the “content of the episode” of a single drama on broadcast television.

In fact, if I were Dr. Jenkins, I would be far more concerned about real news happening in the real world — events that not only suggest the possibility of some sort of link between mercury, vaccines and autism, but might alarm parents more than any fictional account written for ratings-grabbing mass entertainment.

If I were Dr. Jenkins, instead of fretting over a fake family engaged in a mock trial held in a make-believe court on some LA soundstage, I would be up at night wondering why the Federal Government recently conceded a real vaccine-autism lawsuit in a real court and will soon pay a real (taxpayer-funded) settlement to a real American family and a very real child with autism….

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Would the French call it Poisson ou poison?

Industrially farmed in Vietnam along the Mekong River, Pangas or whatever they’re calling it, has only been recently introduced to the French market. However, in a very short amount of time, it has grown in popularity in France. The French are slurping up Pangas like it’s their last meal of soup noodles. They are very, very affordable (cheap), are sold in filets with no bones and they have a neutral (bland) flavor and texture; many would compare it to cod and sole, only much cheaper. But as tasty as some people may find it, there’s, in fact, something hugely unsavory about it. I hope the information provided here will serve as very important information for you and your future choices. Here’s why I think it is better left in the shops (and not on your dinner plates):

1. Pangas are teeming with high levels of poisons and bacteria. (industrial effluents, arsenic, and toxic and hazardous by-products of the growing industrial sector, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), DDT and its metabolites (DDTs), metal contaminants, chlordane-related compounds (CHLs), hexachlorocyclohexane isomers (HCHs), and hexachlorobenzene (HCB)). The reasons are that the Mekong River is one of the most polluted rivers on the planet and this is where pangas are farmed and industries along the river dump chemicals and industrial waste directly into it. To Note: a friend lab tests these fish and tells us to avoid eating them due to high amounts of contamination. Regardless of the reports and recommendations against selling them, the supermarkets still sell them to the general public knowing they are contaminated.

2. They freeze Pangas in contaminated river water. Ew.

3. Pangas are not environmentally sustainable, a most unsustainable food you could possibly eat – “Buy local” means creating the least amount of environmental harm as possible. This is the very opposite end of the spectrum of sustainable consumerism. Pangas are raised in Vietnam. Pangas are fed food that comes from Peru (more on that below), their hormones (which are injected into the female Pangas) come from China. (More about that below) and finally, they are transported from Vietnam to France. That’s not just a giant carbon foot print, that’s a carbon continent of a foot print.

4. There’s nothing natural about Pangas – They’re fed dead fish remnants and bones, dried and ground into a flour, from South America, manioc (cassava) and residue from soy and grains. This kind of nourishment doesn’t even remotely resemble what they eat in nature. But what it does resemble is the method of feeding mad cows (cows were fed cows, remember?) What they feed pangas is completely unregulated so there are most likely other dangerous substances and hormones thrown into the mix. The pangas grow at a speed light (practically!): 4 times faster than in nature…so it makes you wonder what exactly is in their food? Your guess is as good as mine.

5. Pangas are Injected with Hormones Derived from Urine – I don’t know how someone came up with this one out but they’ve discovered that if they inject female Pangas with hormones made from the dehydrated urine of pregnant women, the female Pangas grow much quicker and produce eggs faster (one Panga can lay approximately 500,000 eggs at one time). Essentially, they’re injecting fish with hormones (they come all of the way from a pharmaceutical company in China) to speed up the process of growth and reproduction. That isn’t good. Some of you might not mind eating fish injected with dehydrated pee so if you don’t good for you, but just consider the rest of the reasons to NOT eat it.

6. You get what you pay for – and then some. Don’t be lured in by insanely cheap price of Pangas. Is it worth risking your health and the health of your family?

7. Buying Pangas supports unscrupulous, greedy evil corporations and food conglomerates that don’t care about the health and well-being of human beings. They only are concerned about selling as many pangas as possible to unsuspecting consumers. These corporations only care about selling and making more money at whatever cost to the public.8. Pangas will make you sick – If (for reasons in #1 above) you don’t get immediately ill with vomiting, diarrhea and effects from severe food poisoning, congratulations, you have an iron stomach! But you’re still ingesting POISON not poisson.Final important note: Because of the prodigious amount of availability of Pangas, be warned that they will certainly find their way into other foods: surimi (those pressed fish things, imitation crab sticks), fish sticks, fish terrines, and probably in some pet foods. (Warn your dogs and cats and hamsters and gerbils and even your pet fish!)

Watch this Report on Pangas (in French) (Video excerpt from Capitale on M6, which aired about 3 months ago)

Links: Buying fish in France, Le Panga, nouvelle abération de la mondialisation ?

“Parents who feed their children ready-made puddings are unwittingly giving them excessive amounts of salt, according to health campaigners.

Nearly half the recommended daily salt intake for a young child is hidden in one serving of supermarket-bought jam roly poly, treacle sponge or sticky toffee pudding, a report reveals.

The research, carried out by Consensus Action on Salt and Health, also found that savoury food aimed at children, such as baked beans and sausages, contain levels of salt that are “dangerous” to their health.

Children aged four to six should eat no more than 3g (0.1oz) of salt a day, according to Government guidelines.

Those aged between one and three should have no more than 2g a day.

But CASH found that a can of Morrisons baked beans has 2.8g of salt, nearly the daily limit for a six year old, while a Waitrose Cornish pasty contains more than their maximum recommended intake at 3.2g.

Other foods have a surprisingly large amount of salt. A bowl of Rice Krispies contains more salt than a bag of crisps, around 0.65g compared to 0.5g.

A serving of butter-flavoured microwave popcorn has 2.2g of salt, two-thirds the recommended daily amount of salt for a six-year-old…”

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Guys, that should be a great incentive to NOT get fat.   [source]

Recent laboratory tests found so much mercury in tuna sushi from 20 Manhattan stores and restaurants that at most of them, a regular diet of six pieces a week would exceed the levels considered acceptable by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Sushi from 5 of the 20 places had mercury levels so high that the Food and Drug Administration could take legal action to remove the fish from the market. The sushi was bought by The New York Times in October.

“No one should eat a meal of tuna with mercury levels like those found in the restaurant samples more than about once every three weeks,” said Dr. Michael Gochfeld, professor of environmental and occupational medicine at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in Piscataway, N.J.

Dr. Gochfeld analyzed the sushi for The Times with Dr. Joanna Burger, professor of life sciences at Rutgers University. He is a former chairman of the New Jersey Mercury Task Force and also treats patients with mercury poisoning.

The owner of a restaurant whose tuna sushi had particularly high mercury concentrations said he was shocked by the findings. “I’m startled by this,” said the owner, Drew Nieporent, a managing partner of Nobu Next Door. “Anything that might endanger any customer of ours, we’d be inclined to take off the menu immediately and get to the bottom of it.”

Although the samples were gathered in New York City, experts believe similar results would be observed elsewhere.

“Mercury levels in bluefin are likely to be very high regardless of location…”

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