Rather Be Healthy

Do you really know what’s in all the food you’re eating that’s imported from China? If you don’t, you’re actually in good company: The FDA only inspects 1% – 2% of all the food imported from China, so they don’t know either. Even when they inspect a shipment, they rarely test it for heavy metals, pesticides, PCBs or other toxic contaminants.

Mark A. Kastel, Senior Farm Policy Analyst at The Cornucopia Institute, added emphasis to this point as he testified this week in The House Committee on Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia and Emerging Threats, saying, “We don’t trust, for good reason, the Chinese to supply ingredients for our dog and cat food. Why should we trust Chinese exporters for the food that we are feeding our children and families?”

It’s a good question. Especially when, as Kastel adds, Chinese food is being routinely found to contain “unapproved chemicals, dyes, pesticides and outright fraud (fake food).”

Heavily contaminated food from China
As Natural News has already reported, food from China is frequently found to contain alarming levels of heavy metals (arsenic, cadmium, lead, mercury) and other contaminants. Politically, China is a communist dictatorship where freedom of speech is completely outlawed. Environmental regulations are virtually never enforced. The culture is one of total deception where lying, cheating, stealing or committing fraud to get ahead is considered completely acceptable — because that’s how government is operated there. The moral decay of China is directly reflected in the alarming dishonesty of the food supply. (Yes, a country’s food exports will reflect its cultural and political philosophies. Freedom produces healthy food. Oppression and communism produces deceptive, deadly food.)

And yet, even with all this being widely known, Chinese farms are rarely inspected by organic certifiers. “U.S. certifiers are unable to independently inspect farms and assure compliance to the USDA organic food and agriculture standards that are required for export to the U.S.” explained Kastel in testimony. “These imports should not be allowed to reach our shore until and unless we have a system in place to assure consumers they are getting what they pay for. Just like U.S. grown organic commodities, the safety of these products must be rigorously overseen by independent inspectors.”

Read Kastel’s full testimony here.

Counterfeit ingredients are the new norm in China
Also testifying at the hearing was Patty Lovera, the Assistant Director of Washington, D.C.-based Food & Water Watch. The news on food fraud out of China “is a steady stream of controversies ranging from adulteration with counterfeit ingredients like melamine in dairy products, to widespread outbreaks of animal diseases like avian flu, and high levels of pesticide residues,” Lovera testified. “Just last week, news reports described a Chinese government campaign to break up a fake meat operation, leading to arrests of more than 900 people accused of passing off more than $1 million of rat meat as mutton.”

See Natural News coverage of the fake rat meat scandal here.

You are eating far more food from China than you think
Why does any of this matter? Because you’re eating far more food from China than you probably think.

Not only do retailers like Whole Foods sell “certified organic” food grown in China, the vast majority of superfood powders sold in North America use raw materials purchased in bulk from China. Nutritional supplements, herbs and vitamins are often made using materials from China.

Not everything from China is bad, but in our own lab tests here at Natural News, we’ve been shocked to discover just how frequently products from China are contaminated with metals, chemical solvents and pesticide residues. We have rejected dozens of suppliers in our own search for clean ingredients to use in our product formulations, and we’ve even had to send back product that showed up at our warehouse and simply didn’t meet our stringent quality control requirements. (True fact: We recently had to return several thousand pounds of goji berries to one supplier after discovering the product failed our quality control review.)

But here’s the even scarier part in all this:

I am repeatedly told I’m the ONLY person asking these questions
When I talk to suppliers of raw materials, I am repeatedly told that I am the only person asking them for heavy metals tests, pesticide tests and product samples to send to our own lab.

This happens over and over again. From this, I have learned there is virtually NO due diligence being conducted by natural products retailers. Most retailers simply buy and sell, shipping boxes and moving product while turning a blind eye to the truth about what they are buying and selling. They literally do not care whether their products are contaminated with heavy metals. They just want to sell, sell, sell!

Even more shockingly — and I seem to be the only journalist reporting this jaw-dropping fact — there are currently NO LIMITS set by the USDA for contamination of certified organic foods. A product may be USDA organic and still contain deadly levels of mercury, arsenic or lead. The USDA does not test or even regulate heavy metals in foods via its organic certified program!

So you can be shopping at a famous natural products retailer and you might pick up a product carrying the USDA Certified Organic logo, thinking, “This is certified healthy and safe by the U.S. government.” You are being lied to. That product could be grown in China in a field of mercury runoff from an industrial factory. It could contain ridiculously high levels of mercury, arsenic, PCBs and even chemical solvents. You could be eating pure death while paying a premium for it!

This is not an attack on the USDA, by the way. Their organic certification program is surprisingly good for the scope of what it attempts to accomplish. But understand that USDA organic certifies a process, not a result. At the farm level, it means foods are not intentionally grown with pesticides and herbicides, but it does not say anything whatsoever about heavy metals contamination of food production fields in China.

Massive organic food FRAUD
In truth, what’s really happening right now on a global scale is a massive organic food fraud. Food is grown in China and certified organic even though no U.S. inspectors even visit the farms. That food is then imported into the U.S. and almost never inspected. It’s packaged and sold at top dollar in natural foods retail stores, emblazoned with the USDA Organic label.

But nowhere along the way — except in extremely rare cases — is that food ever tested for heavy metals or other contaminants. This is why Mark Kastel correctly states this food can’t even be trusted “for dog food,” much less to feed yourself and your family.

Make no mistake about it: China is a nation full of immoral, unethical liars and deceivers. (Taiwan, on the other hand, is very different and has a much stronger moral code as well as basic human decency.) Remember: I speak Mandarin Chinese. I’ve lived in the Chinese culture. I’ve traveled throughout Asia and even given numerous public speeches to Chinese audiences. At the same time, I’ve investigated and written about food and food safety for more than a decade. Very few people are as qualified to tell you the truth about what’s really in your food coming out of China, and I can tell you that I don’t trust it.

In fact, the only way I will eat anything from China is if I subject it to extensive testing and verify that contamination levels are acceptably low. There are some great products out of China that are completely safe and healthy. Certain medicinal mushrooms, for example, are produced in China and are very clean. Some producers of goji berries are very honest and clean. There are no doubt organic growers who are producing very clean products in China, but these would be the exception, not the rule. By default, we must all now assume that anything from China is heavily contaminated.

Almost universally, food grown in North America is cleaner and less contaminated. This isn’t true 100% of the time, but usually so.

Toxic Chinese agriculture puts honest U.S. farmers out of business
The sad part about all this is that food from China is economically displacing U.S. and Canadian farmers who are generally far more honest and ethical in their farming practices. So while U.S. farmers are being put out of business for following the rules set by the EPA, FDA and USDA, the Chinese farmers are selling us contaminated, toxic “organic” food frauds produced by breaking all the rules!

That’s why I say grow local, buy local and eat local as much as possible. And until China cleans up its act on food contamination, do your best to avoid food from China. I don’t trust it unless EVERY BATCH is comprehensively lab tested and those lab tests are made public.

Props to Cornucopia’s Mark Kastel for having the courage to lay a lot of this out in congressional testimony. Rest assured Congress will never ask me to testify on food contamination because I would describe a truth so horrifying that people would stop eating for days…

P.S. The reason all your dogs and cats are dying from diabetes and cancer these days is because you’re giving them highly toxic pet treats imported from China. They are loaded with toxic solvents and industrial chemicals that cause permanent liver and kidney damage, among other devastating side effects. You can find these toxic, colorful pet treats sold at all the major pet store retailers. They are selling you PET DEATH and making a tidy profit doing so.

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BREAKING: European Commission to criminalize nearly all seeds and plants not registered with government

A new law proposed by the European Commission would make it illegal to “grow, reproduce or trade” any vegetable seeds that have not been “tested, approved and accepted” by a new EU bureaucracy named the “EU Plant Variety Agency.”

It’s called the Plant Reproductive Material Law, and it attempts to put the government in charge of virtually all plants and seeds. Home gardeners who grow their own plants from non-regulated seeds would be considered criminals under this law.

The draft text of the law, which has already been amended several times due to a huge backlash from gardeners, is viewable here.

“This law will immediately stop the professional development of vegetable varieties for home gardeners, organic growers, and small-scale market farmers,” said Ben Gabel, vegetable breeder and director of The Real Seed Catalogue. “Home gardeners have really different needs – for example they grow by hand, not machine, and can’t or don’t want to use such powerful chemical sprays. There’s no way to register the varieties suitable for home use as they don’t meet the strict criteria of the Plant Variety Agency, which is only concerned about approving the sort of seed used by industrial farmers.”

Virtually all plants, vegetable seeds and gardeners to eventually be registered by government
All governments are, of course, infatuated with the idea of registering everybody and everything. Under Title IV of the proposed EU law:

Title IV Registration of varieties in national and Union registers
The varieties, in order to be made available on the market throughout the Union, shall be included in a national register or in the Union register via direct application procedure to the CVPO.

Gardeners must also pay fees to the EU bureaucracy for the registration of their seeds. From the proposed law text:

The competent authorities and the CPVO should charge fees for the processing of
applications, the formal and technical examinations including audits, variety denomination, and the maintenance of the varieties for each year for the duration of
the registration.

While this law may initially only be targeted at commercial gardeners, it sets a precedent to sooner or later go after home gardeners and require them to abide by the same insane regulations.

Government bureaucracy gone insane
“This is an instance of bureaucracy out of control,” says Ben Gabel. “All this new law does is create a whole new raft of EU civil servants being paid to move mountains of papers round all day, while killing off the seed supply to home gardeners and interfering with the right of farmers to grow what they want. It also very worrying that they have given themselves the power to regulate and licence any plant species of any sort at all in the future – not just agricultural plants, but grasses, mosses, flowers, anything at all – without having to bring it back to the Council for a vote.”

As a hint of the level of insane bureaucracy that gardeners and vegetable growers will be subject to under this EU law, check out this language from the proposed EU law:

Specific provisions are set out on the registration in the Union variety register and with regard to the possibility for the applicant to launch an appeal against a CPVO decision. Such provisions are not laid down for the registration in the national variety
registers, because they are subject to national administrative procedures. A new obligation for each national variety examination centre to be audited by the CPVO will be introduced with the aim to ensure the quality and harmonisation of the variety registration process in the Union. The examination centre of the professional operators will be audited and approved by the national competent authorities. In case of direct application to the CPVO it will audit and approve the examination centres it uses for variety examination.

Such language is, of course, Orwellian bureaucraticspeak that means only one thing: All gardeners should prepare to be subjected to total government insanity over seeds, vegetables and home gardens.

RealSeeds.co.uk warns about any attempt to actually try to understand the law by reading it:

You cannot just read the first 5 pages or so that are an ‘executive summary’, and think you know what this law is about. The executive summary is NOT what will become the law. It is the actual Articles themselves that become law, the Summary has no legal standing and is just tacked on as an aid to the public and legislators, it is supposed to give background information and set the proposed legislation in context so people know what is going on and why.

The problem with this law has always been that the Summary says lots of nice fluffy things about preserving biodiversity, simplifying legislation, making things easier etc – things we all would love – but the Articles of the law actually do completely the opposite. And the Summary is not what becomes the law.

For example, the Summary of drafts 1, 2 & 3 talked about making things easier for ‘Amateur’ varieties. But the entire class of Amateur vegetables – which we have spent 5 years working with DEFRA to register – was actually abolished entirely in the Articles right from the start. Yet the Summary , and press releases based on it, still talked about how it will help preserve Amateur varieties! The Summary is completely bogus. Do not base your views of the law on it!

So, be warned. By all means, read it yourself. But you have the ignore the Summary as that is not the Law, and does not reflect what is in the Law.

As you might suspect, this move is the “final solution” of Monsanto, DuPont and other seed-domination corporations who have long admitted their goal is the complete domination of all seeds and crops grown on the planet. By criminalizing the private growing of vegetables — thereby turning gardeners into criminals — EU bureaucrats can finally hand over full control of the food supply to powerful corporations like Monsanto.

Most heirloom seeds to be criminalized
Nearly all varieties of heirloom vegetable seeds will be criminalized under this proposed EU law. This means the act of saving seeds from one generation to the next — a cornerstone of sustainable living — will become a criminal act.

In addition, as Gabel explains, this law “…effectively kills off development of home-garden seeds in the EU.”

This is the ultimate wish of all governments, of course: To criminalize any act of self-reliance and make the population completely dependent on monopolistic corporations for their very survival. This is true both in the USA and the EU. This is what governments do: They seize control, one sector at a time, year after year, until you are living as nothing more than a total slave under a globalist dictatorial regime.

An online petition has already been started on this issue and has garnered nearly 25,000 signatures so far.

NOAH’S ARK and 240 other organizations from 40 European countries have also initiated an “open letter” appealing to Brussels bureaucrats to stop the insanity. Click here for a translated version of their petition.

I saw this coming
By the way, I am on the record predicting this exact scenario. Read Chapter Three of my fiction book, “Freedom Chronicles 2026.” (Read it FREE, online.) It depicts a seed smuggler living in a time when seeds are criminalized and people earn a living as professional seed smugglers.

In my book, a woman uses a specially-crafted breast prosthesis to smuggle seeds to “underground gardeners” in full defiance of laws crafted by Monsanto. A vast underground network of grassroots gardeners and scientists manage to put together a “seed weapon” to destroy GMOs and take back the food supply from evil corporations.

Mark my words: Seeds are about to become contraband. Anyone who grows their own food is about to be targeted as a criminal. The governments of the world, conspiring with corporations like Monsanto, do not want any individual to be able to grow their own food.

This is about total domination of the food supply and the criminalizing of gardeners. And this is what big government always does after centralizing sufficient power. All governments inherently seek total control over the lives of everyone, and if you don’t set boundaries and limits for government (i.e. the Bill of Rights), it eventually runs roughshod over all freedoms and liberties, including the freedom to grow your own food.

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All the controversy over the past few years regarding Whole Foods Market and its dubious position on genetically-modified organisms (GMOs) seems to have fizzled following the company’s recent announcement that, by 2018, all GMOs sold in its stores will have to be properly labeled. But in the meantime, are Whole Foods patrons, and particularly those who purchase food at one of its many “fresh” food bars, being duped into paying a premium for products that contain GM canola oil and other unhealthy additives?

If you frequent Whole Foods, you more than likely have been beckoned, at least once, by the siren calls emanating from one of its enticing fresh food buffets, which are typically overflowing with piping-hot fresh vegetables, delectable casseroles, tender meat dishes, and other savory, gourmet delights. And for the most part, these and the many other offerings at Whole Foods fresh bars truly are fresh, containing minimal additives that might cause potential health problems for you and your family.

But the key word here is minimal – and sometimes this minimal is really more like excessive, especially when it comes to those food items that were marinating in a seductive infusion of spices, oils, and other tasty flavor-enhancers prior to landing in those stainless steel chafers. Though the vast majority of the ingredients found in each meal item at a typical Whole Foods fresh bar are, indeed, fresh and healthy, it is Whole Foods’ excessive use of canola oil, refined flours, and other ingredients that defy the company’s own claims about its food offerings.

Most canola oil comes from GM sources, and this ingredient is prevalent at Whole Foods
If you take some time to peruse those neatly-presented ingredient labels at a typical Whole Foods “hot” bar – that is, the bar containing all the warm meal items as opposed to the salad bar – one of the first things you will notice is that many of them contain canola oil. In some cases, an item will contain healthy oils such as olive oil or even coconut oil, but in most cases, canola oil seems to be Whole Foods’ cooking oil of choice.

Why is this such a big deal? Canola oil, as you may well already know, is almost always derived from GM canola if not specifically labeled as organic. And as of this writing, there is no indication that Whole Foods uses either organic or non-GM canola in any of its food items, which means many customers are unknowingly ingesting a toxin that may lead to allergies, diminished immunity, and even cancer.

“It is now believed that rapeseed (canola) has a cumulative effect, taking almost 10 years before symptoms begin to manifest,” writes journalist Vanessa Runs about the dangers of canola. “One possible effect of long-term use is the destruction of the protective coating surrounding nerves, called the myelin sheath. This is like having raw, open wires in the body,” she adds, noting that canola oil consumption has also been linked to depleting vitamin E inside the body, as well as inhibiting the proper metabolism of foods and blocking normal enzyme function.

Tell Whole Foods to remove canola oil from its fresh bar
Many people are still greatly misinformed about canola oil, which is presumably why Whole Foods continues to use it in their fresh bar foods. But canola oil is not safe, especially when it comes from GM canola plants, and it has no business being used by a so-called “natural” grocery chain that claims to use “nothing artificial, ever.”

Those concerned about the continued use of canola oil by Whole Foods are urged to contact the company and ask that it remove canola oil and replace it with a healthier alternative, such as grass-fed butter or ghee, lard, coconut oil, or olive oil. You can contact Whole Foods by visiting:
http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/customer-service

You can also leave a comment on the company’s Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/wholefoods?fref=ts

Sources for this article include:

Traditional Diet, Holistic Health and Green Living

http://vanessaruns.com

http://blog.fooducate.com

http://www.smallfootprintfamily.com

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3 So-Called “Healthy” Foods that You Should STOP Eating (if you want a lean healthy body)

by Mike Geary, Certified Personal Trainer, Certified Nutrition Specialist
Author of the best-seller: The Truth About Six Pack Abs

I was reading a statistic in a nutrition book recently, and this is going to shock you…

Now before I tell you the statistic, let’s keep an important fact in mind… according to well renowned nutrition author Michael Pollan, and his amazing book called In Defense of Food, humankind has historically consumed approximately 80,000 different species of edible plants, animals, and fungi, and approximately 3,000 of those have been widespread foods of the human diet.

Now get ready for a shocking and appalling statistic…

Currently, the average adult eating a typical modern western diet in countries such as the US, Canada, Australia, etc consumes approximately 67% of their total caloric intake from only 3 foods — CORN, SOY, AND WHEAT (and their derivatives).

What would be considered a reasonably healthy amount of corn, soy, and wheat in the human diet? Based on hundreds of thousands of years of human history, and what the natural diet of our ancestors was (indicating what our digestive systems are still programmed to digest most effectively), this would probably be in the range of about 1% to 4% MAX of our total calories from corn, soy, and wheat.

Considering that modern humans are eating 67% of their total calories from corn, soy, wheat… you can see why we have massive problems in our health, and our weight!

It’s not a surprise that we have so many intolerances and allergies, specifically to soy and wheat (and gluten intolerance)… the human digestive system was simply never meant to consume these substances in such MASSIVE quantities.

Keep in mind that these massively high levels of corn, soy, and wheat in our modern human diet is a relatively new phenomenon that originated from the economics of the multi-billion dollar corn, soy, and wheat industries. It really HAS been all about the money… NOT about our health!

By “derivatives” of corn, soy, and wheat, this means the food additives such as:
•high fructose corn syrup (HFCS)
•corn oil
•soybean oil (hydrogenated or plain refined)
•soy protein
•refined wheat flour
•hundreds of other food additives such as maltodextrin, corn or wheat starch, soy lecithin, mono and diglycerides, etc, etc

This doesn’t surprise me… consider how much soda or other sweetened drinks (with loads of HFCS) that the average person drinks daily… this is a LOT of calories from just 1 sole corn derivative. Even marinades, salad dressings, ketchup, breads, and 100’s of other foods contain loads of belly-fattening HFCS!

Also think about how many processed foods we have that are either fried in soybean or corn oil… and even if the foods are not fried in these oils, these oils are additives to almost every processed food… chips, candies, cakes, salad dressings, tomato sauces, burrito wraps, corn chips, breaded chicken, etc, etc. This is a LOT of calories from these 2 other corn and soy derivatives… both of them EXTREMELY UNHEALTHY!

On top of that, think about how much breads, cereals, pastas, muffins, and other highly processed wheat products that most people consume each day. Again, this is LOADS of unhealthy, blood-sugar spiking, nutrient-poor calories, that more than half of the population has some degree of intolerance to anyway.

It gets even worse!

Not only are we eating 67% of our total calories from corn, soy, and wheat… but because of the economics involved (specifically with cheap corn and soy) we are also feeding most of our farm animals corn and soy now too… again amplifying the amount of corn and soy that passes through the food chain and (from a biochemical standpoint) ends up in our bodies.

Probably the 2 worst examples of this blatant mismanagement of our food supply is how our factory farmed chickens and cows are fed.

Cows are fed mostly corn in factory feedlot farms, even though their digestive systems are only meant to eat grass and other forage. This makes the cows sick (hmm… E-coli anyone?), alters the omega-6 to omega-3 ratio of the fats to unhealthy levels, and also diminishes the healthy CLA fats that would occur naturally in grass-fed beef. All of these problems go away if our cows are fed what they were made to eat naturally – grass and other green forage!

Our chickens are also fed a diet of mostly corn and soy and crowded in tight pens in horrendous conditions… when the fact is that a chicken was meant to roam around the outdoors eating a mixture of greens, insects, worms, seeds, etc. When chickens are kept inside in tight quarters and fed only grains, it leads to an unhealthy meat for you to eat, and less healthy eggs compared to free-roaming chickens allowed to eat an outdoors diet.

Our food supply has gotten so screwed up that we’re even feeding our salmon and other farmed fish corn and soy…again because of the economics involved. How ludicrous is this, considering that fish are meant to eat a diverse diet of smaller fish, worms, bugs, etc. Again this makes farm raised fish unhealthy in terms of nutrition compared to their wild counterparts. If you want to see something even scarier about farm-raised fish, watch this quick video about the toxic fish you might be buying.

So even when you’re eating chicken, beef, and fish, you’re still essentially getting even MORE corn and soy into your body (from a biochemical standpoint) …considering that the cows, chickens, and farmed fish ate mostly soy and corn.

So it’s actually WORSE than just 67% isn’t it!

Why is it so unhealthy to consume 2/3rds of our calories from corn, soy, and wheat?

Well, this section could encompass an entire book, so to keep this short, I’ll just throw out a few random reasons…
•Skews the ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fats in our diet to as high as 30:1, when a natural ratio of 1:1 to 2:1 in our ancestral human diet is considered healthy.
•Problems with gluten intolerance (related to heavy wheat consumption that is rampant)
•Problems with weight gain, blood-sugar swings, and reduced insulin sensitivity (and progression of diabetes) due to excessive refined corn and wheat flours, as well as HFCS in our diet
•Soy and corn are the most genetically modified crops (which also allows more pesticides and herbicides to be used, which are usually “xenoestrogens”)
•Many of the pesticide and herbicide residues in these crops are xenoestrogens, which can increase “stubborn” belly fat
•Soy products and derivatives contain a double-whammy of xenoestrogens as well as phytoestrogens… again creating an environment in your body for fat storage, carcinogenic effects, and even “man boobs” for some men in very severe cases
•The feeding of corn and soy to animals reduces the health and nutritional benefits (and micronutrient levels) of those animal products
•and the list could go on and on and on…

So how do you avoid all of this overwhelming amount of corn, soy, and wheat in our food supply, and finally take control of your weight and your health?

1. Don’t purchase processed foods! It all starts with your grocery cart discipline… choose only 1-ingredient foods such as fruits, veggies, beans, eggs (free roaming), nuts, seeds, and meats from grass-fed or free roaming animals that are raised correctly. Organic is preferred. Only resort to junk foods or processed foods on a 1-day per week “cheat day” but ONLY when dining out… that way, the processed foods aren’t in your house to tempt you.

2. Get most of your carbs from fruits and veggies instead of grains.

3. Avoid store bought salad dressings as they almost always contain soybean oil and HFCS (instead, try my homemade healthy salad dressing)

4. Make sure that your tomato sauces don’t have HFCS and soybean oils… look for sauces made with olive oil instead. Remember to avoid unhealthy canola oils too!

5. If you like guacamole (one of the healthiest snacks on the planet!), try veggie sticks with guacamole instead of genetically-modified, oil-soaked corn chips

6. If you like hummus, try veggies sticks with hummus instead of pita chips or other bread.

7. Reduce your cereal, bread, and pasta intake by having these foods only on “cheat days” and stick to more of the 1-ingredient foods I mentioned in #1 above. Try some of these healthy snacks as good alternatives (yes, I know that one of the 13 snacks on there has sprouted grain, which is fine on occasion).

I could go on with more examples, but I think that’s good for now.

So with all of this said… Is my diet perfect? Well, no of course not! Nobody is perfect, and I can give in to temptation on occasion just like anybody else.

However, I’d estimate that my corn/soy/wheat consumption is only about 2-4% of my total caloric intake compared to 67% for the average person. The way that I achieve this is to simply not bring any corn, soy, or wheat products into my house, so I’m never tempted by it. Therefore, at least 6 days/week, I eat virtually no corn/soy/wheat, except for the occasional piece of sprouted grain toast a couple times a week (which is a better option than typical “whole grain” bread).

I do, however, give in and sometimes eat breads, pasta, and even corn chips, etc. when I’m dining out. I see these as my cheat meals and try to do this no more than once per week. I still completely eliminate sodas and deep fried foods though…they are just TOO evil!

Please share this article with your friends and family on email, Facebook, Twitter, blogs, forums, etc… this is one of the MAJOR reasons that we are so unhealthy and overweight as a society… 67% of our calories from just 3 foods (and their derivatives) is an appalling statistic! Don’t give in to the marketing machine that is the corn, soy, and wheat industries! Take control of your OWN health instead of letting big corporations take control of your health.

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Research has shown that pesticides and other agricultural chemicals are neurotoxins and can cause disruptions to your neurological system and your brain. The reason why neurotoxins still enjoy widespread use on our fresh food supply is really more about the bottom line for farming operations than it is about the science of human health.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) considers 60 percent of herbicides, 90 percent of fungicides, and 30 percent of insecticides to be carcinogenic. All of these toxins are permitted on conventional farms, and any number of them can end up on your plate when you purchase conventionally-grown fruits and vegetables.

The increased use of genetically engineered Bt hybrid plants1 and soil insecticides also increases the chemical load in food — particularly processed foods.

These man-made neurotoxic chemicals can bioaccumulate in your body, as they resist breaking down in water and also accumulate and store in fat, where they can remain for long periods of time.

In short, this means your body has a very hard time getting rid of them once they enter your body. The answer, of course, is to limit your exposure as much as possible, giving your body a chance to eliminate the toxins you do inadvertently ingest. One food that can help with detoxification is fermented foods.

Updated Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce

Your best bet is to buy only organic fruits and vegetables, as synthetic agricultural chemicals are not permissible under the USDA organic rules. That said, not all conventionally grown fruits and vegetables are subjected to the same amount of pesticide load.

And with food prices rising, many are looking for ways to buy the healthiest foods possible at the lowest cost.

One such way would be to focus on purchasing certain organic items, while “settling” for others that are conventionally-grown. To do this, I recommend familiarizing yourself with the Environmental Working Group’s (EWG’s) annual Shoppers’ Guide to Pesticides in Produce.2

Of the 48 different fruit and vegetable categories tested by the EWG for the 2013 guide, the following 15 fruits and vegetables had the highest pesticide load, making them the most important to buy or grow organically:

Apples

Celery

Cherry tomatoes

Cucumbers

Grapes

Hot peppers

Nectarines (imported)

Peaches

Potatoes

Spinach

Strawberries

Sweet bell peppers

Kale

Collard greens

Summer squash

In contrast, the following foods were found to have the lowest residual pesticide load, making them the safest bet among conventionally grown vegetables. Note that a small amount of sweet corn and most Hawaiian papaya, although low in pesticides, are genetically engineered (GE). If you’re unsure of whether the sweet corn or papaya is GE, I’d recommend opting for organic varieties:

Asparagus

Avocado

Cabbage

Cantaloupe

Sweet corn (non-GMO)

Eggplant

Grapefruit

Kiwi

Mango

Mushrooms

Onions

Papayas (non-GMO. Most Hawaiian papaya is GMO)

Pineapple

Sweet peas (frozen)

Sweet potatoes

What to Look Out for in the Meat Isle

Many people are still in the dark about the vast differences between Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) and organically-raised, grass-fed or pastured meats, both in terms of contamination and nutrient content. It’s important to understand that when you raise animals in a CAFO — away from the animals’ natural environments and diets — you dramatically increase the risk of pathogenic contamination that can make you ill.

Take beef, for example. Most CAFO cows are fed grains (typically genetically engineered grains, which make matters even worse), when their natural diet is plain grass. Grain diets create a much higher level of acidity in the animal’s stomach, which E. coli bacteria need to survive. Meanwhile, E. coli contamination is actually quite rare in organic beef for this reason — the cows just aren’t susceptible to those kinds of disease-causing bacteria and viruses when they eat what they were designed to eat.

Also beware that bacterial contamination of meat-glued steak — a cost-saving scam that is far more common than you might think — is hundreds of times higher than a solid piece of steak; therefore, if you cook your steak rare, which is ordinarily the most healthful way to cook your meat, you’re at a much greater risk of contracting food poisoning.

You’d think that since the meat is being raised in ways that are known to encourage disease-causing organisms, there’d be stringent requirements on testing. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. For example, there is no federal requirement for meat grinders to test their ingredients for E.coli prior to selling them. And most retailers do not test either. In August 2008, the USDA issued a guideline urging meat processors to test their ingredients before grinding. But the guideline is only optional and has been met with criticism and resistance from the meat industry.

Want Safer Meat? Buy Organic Pastured/Grass-Fed

It’s no surprise then to discover that pathogenic contamination of meat products is quite high. What’s worse, the routine use of low-dose antibiotics in CAFO’s has led to a dramatic and rapidly rising presence of antibiotic-resistant pathogens.

According to a recent NPR report,3 data published by a joint government program4 from tests conducted on supermarket meat samples collected in 2011 by the National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System, reveals the presence of several disease-causing bacteria, including the super-hardy antibiotic-resistant versions of salmonella, Campylobacterand E. coli. After analyzing the data, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) highlighted some of the startling implications in its own report,5 aptly named “Superbugs Invade American Supermarkets.” The EWG points out that many of the meats tested contained “startlingly high levels” of antibiotic-resistant bacteria on:
•81 percent of ground turkey
•69 percent of pork chops
•55 percent of ground beef
•39 percent of chicken breasts, wings and thighs

One of the best ways to avoid contaminated meat is to avoid meat from animals raised in confined animal feeding operations (CAFO’s), aka “factory farms,” and buying organic, pastured or grass-fed meats instead. Growth promoters such as antibiotics are not permitted in organic animal farming, and organically-raised animals are also healthier as a result of being pastured, so overall you’re getting far “cleaner,” healthier meat.

“To be safe, consumers should treat all meat as if it may be contaminated, mainly by cooking thoroughly and using safe shopping and kitchen practices (see EWG’s downloadable Tips to Avoiding Superbugs in Meat),”6 EWG suggests.7

Beware of Pesticides in Chinese Imports, Study Warns

Another related study warns about the pesticide load found in produce imported from China. The analysis was done by Food Sentry, an American food inspection analyst. After analyzing close to 1,000 reported food violations spanning 73 countries, China was identified as having the most violations. A second study focused on the Chinese violations only, over a 15-month period. As reported by Food Navigator,8 pesticides were the number one complaint. Thirty-two pesticides were identified in Chinese fresh produce and spices, in excess of the permissible amounts. Chinese seafood was also found to be high in antibiotics and other drugs. Other chemicals found in levels exceeding allowable amounts in food included:
•Sulfur dioxide
•Sulfites
•Formaldehyde
•Coloring dyes
•Sodium saccharine

The most concerning chemical was sodium hydroxide, aka caustic soda or lye, found in dairy. Excessive lead levels were also found in kelp and cardamom, and infant formula was found to contain excessive levels of mercury. According to Food Navigator:

“The study also found that economically motivated adulteration — the intentional adulteration of a food for economic gain — continues to be an issue in China. Examples of this included counterfeit eggs that were man-made from various substances and chemicals, synthetic shark fin, synthetic abalone and counterfeit peanut oil made from other oils.”

USDA Ruffles Feathers with New Poultry Inspection Policy

While all manner of food fraud and contamination issues continue to rise, the White House administration is about to dramatically scale back the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) oversight of chicken- and turkey slaughterhouses. As reported by Mother Jones:9

“Currently, each factory-scale slaughterhouse has four USDA inspectors overseeing kill lines churning out up to 140 birds every minute. Under the USDA’s new plan, a single federal inspector would oversee lines killing as many as 175 birds per minute. That would mean there are three fewer inspectors for a production line running 25 percent faster…

[O]n April 10, the administration released a prospective USDA budget indicating that the agency plans to implement the new rules by September 2014. And in testimony before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture on April 16, Vilsack said the rules would be finalized ‘very soon,’ declaring that the plan ‘will allow the poultry industry to continue to be profitable, and allow us [the USDA] to save some money as well.'”

The USDA is expected to save $90 million over three years by reducing the number of inspectors. But these savings are dwarfed by the savings to be made by the poultry industry — dominated by Tyson, Pilgrim’s Pride, Purdue, and Sanderson — which stands to save nearly $257 million annually.

Illogically enough, the USDA claims this plan will actually improve poultry product safety and prevent anywhere from three to five thousand foodborne illnesses per year. How could that be, you may wonder. The answer lies in new rules that would permit poultry producers to put all the poultry through an antimicrobial wash, using chlorine and other chemicals. The lone USDA inspector will continue what has been done in the past, which is to visually inspect the birds for obvious surface defects and fecal contamination.

Needless to say, I cannot recommend eating anything that has been washed in chlorine and antimicrobial chemicals. We already have a problem with antibiotics causing antibiotic-resistant pathogens when used in the animals’ feed. I cannot foresee the situation getting anything but worse by dousing each bird in antimicrobials on the outside as well…

Healthy Shopping Guidelines

Buying your food from a local organic source is the ideal way to ensure that it’s both fresh and high-quality. I strongly advise you to avoid wilted vegetables of any kind, because when vegetables wilt, they lose much of their nutritional value. In fact, wilted organic vegetables may actually be less healthful than fresh conventionally farmed vegetables.

For tips on cleaning your fruits and veggies, please see my previous article: 7 Tips for Cleaning Fruits, Vegetables. Regardless of where you shop, the following tips and guidelines can teach you the tricks of healthy shopping, whether you’re shopping at Whole Foods or a regular grocery chain:

Learn to identify:

High-quality food — Whether you’re shopping at a supermarket or a farmer’s market, here are the signs of a high-quality, healthy food:

Grown without pesticides and chemical fertilizers (organic foods fit this description, but so do some non-organic foods)

Not genetically modified

Contains no added growth hormones, antibiotics, or other drugs

Does not contain any artificial ingredients, including chemical preservatives

Fresh (keep in mind that if you have to choose between wilted organic produce or fresh conventional produce, the latter may be the better option)

Did not come from a confined animal feeding operation (CAFO)

Grown with the laws of nature in mind (meaning animals are fed their native diets, not a mix of grains and animal byproducts, and have free access to the outdoors)

Grown in a sustainable way (using minimal amounts of water, protecting the soil from burnout, and turning animal wastes into natural fertilizers instead of environmental pollutants)

Organics – There are a few different organic labels out there, but only one relates directly to foods: the USDA Organic seal. It’s the best way to ensure you’re getting what you pay for when shopping organic.

The labeling requirements of the NOP10 apply to raw, fresh products and processed products that contain organic agricultural ingredients. In order to qualify as organic,11 a product must be grown and processed using organic farming methods that recycle resources and promote biodiversity. (For the complete National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances under the USDA organic label, see this link.)

Genetically modified foods – Avoiding genetically engineered (GE) food is just as important for your health as seeking out high-quality organics. In fact, they go hand-in-hand. Unfortunately, GE ingredients are everywhere, so whenever you use pre-made, pre-packaged, processed foods of any kind, genetically modified organisms (GMO’s) becomes an issue. The ResponsibleTechnology.org has created a Non-GMO Shopping Guide, available for free at NonGMOShoppingGuide.com.12 By making sure to avoid all GM food products, you will actively help change not just your own health for the better, but the entire food industry.

Other health-harming ingredients – This is quite a bit trickier, since there are a vast number of additives, preservatives and food colorings that can wreak havoc with your health in the long term. However, I would suggest starting with the most obvious culprits, including MSG, artificial sweeteners, and fructose. Here are helpful guidelines for each:
•MSG – A great resource on how to find hidden sources of MSG, please see the website MSGMYTH.com13 for detailed listings
•Fructose – Any time you see ‘corn syrup’ or any variation thereof, on the label, avoid it, especially if it’s at the top of the list of ingredients.
•In his book, The Sugar Fix, Dr. Richard Johnson reviews the effectiveness of reducing fructose intake to help prevent or treat obesity. His book also provides detailed tables showing the content of fructose in different foods, including whole foods, like fruits – an information base that isn’t readily available elsewhere.

ALL artificial sweeteners should be avoided, including:
•Aspartame (Equal, NutraSweet, Canderel, and AminoSweet)
•Sucralose (Splenda)
•Acesulfame K (Sunett, Sweet One)
•Saccharin (Sweet ‘N Low, Sugar Twin)

To optimize your diet you need to educate yourself on what ‘healthy food’ really is. It’s the only way to ensure you won’t keep falling for harmful processed food fads like no- or low-fat (which usually means it’s loaded with harmful fructose or sugar instead), or no or low sugar diet foods (which instead contain artificial sweeteners, which are even worse for you). There are few, if any, shortcuts to real health and it all starts with what you feed your body, so make educated choices. Lastly, for tips on how to prolong the shelf life of fresh produce, see my previous article Where Do You Store Produce In Your Fridge For Maximum Shelf Life?

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Systemic insecticides known as neonicotinoids have become the fastest growing insecticides in the world. Two prominent examples, imidacloprid and clothianidin, are used as seed treatments in hundreds of crops. Virtually all of today’s genetically engineered Bt corn, for instance, is treated with neonicotinoid insecticides.

Bee colonies began disappearing in the United States shortly after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) allowed these new insecticides on the market, and a debate has since been raging over whether or not these chemicals are indeed contributing to the serious honeybee die-offs that have been occurring around the world.

Now the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has released a report that may put the debate to rest, as they’ve ruled neonicotinoid insecticides are essentially “unacceptable” for many crops.

Is This the ‘Death Knell’ for Neonicotinoids?

The European Commission asked EFSA to assess the risks associated with the use of three common neonicotinoids – clothianidin, imidacloprid and thiamethoxam – with particular focus on:
•Their acute and chronic effects on bee colony survival and development
•Their effects on bee larvae and bee behavior
•The risks posed by sub-lethal doses of the three chemicals

One of the glaring issues that EFSA came across was a widespread lack of information, with scientists noting that in some cases gaps in data made it impossible to conduct an accurate risk assessment. Still, what they did find was “a number of risks posed to bees” by the three neonicotinoid insecticides.

The Authority found that when it comes to neonicotinoid exposure from residues in nectar and pollen in the flowers of treated plants:1

“…only uses on crops not attractive to honeybees were considered acceptable.”

As for exposure from dust produced during the sowing of treated seeds, the Authority ruled “a risk to honeybees was indicated or could not be excluded…” According to certain environmental groups, the ruling could be the “death knell” for neonicotinoid pesticides.2

Pesticides Also Linked to Honeybee Colony Failures

Exposure to pesticides has been associated with changes in bee behavior and reductions in colony queen production, both of which could have detrimental impacts on the life of the colony. Last year, the impact of pesticides on individual bee behavior, and its subsequent impact on the colony as a whole, was also revealed. Bees given access to two commonly used agricultural pesticides (neonicotinoid and pyrethroid) were adversely affected in numerous ways, including:3
•Fewer adult worker bees emerged from larvae
•A higher proportion of foragers failed to return to the nest
•A higher death rate among worker bees
•An increased likelihood of colony failure

The researchers said:

“Here we show that chronic exposure of bumble bees to two pesticides (neonicotinoid and pyrethroid) at concentrations that could approximate field-level exposure impairs natural foraging behavior and increases worker mortality leading to significant reductions in brood development and colony success.

We found that worker foraging performance, particularly pollen collecting efficiency, was significantly reduced with observed knock-on effects for forager recruitment, worker losses and overall worker productivity. Moreover, we provide evidence that combinatorial exposure to pesticides increases the propensity of colonies to fail.”

What Makes Neonicotinoid Pesticides so Toxic?

Neonicotinoid insecticides are known as systemic chemicals because they disrupt the central nervous system of insects, leading to paralysis and death. It’s been suggested that even sub-lethal doses of the insecticides may be negatively impacting bees.

Because neonicotinoids are water soluble and very pervasive, they get into the soil and groundwater where they can accumulate and remain for many years and generate long-term toxicity to the hive. They enter the vascular system of the plant and are carried to all parts of it, as well as to the pollen and nectar. Neonicotinoids affect insects’ central nervous systems in ways that are cumulative and irreversible. Even minute amounts can have profound effects over time.

One of the observed effects of these insecticides is weakening of the bee’s immune system. Forager bees bring pesticide-laden pollen back to the hive, where it’s consumed by all of the bees. Six months later, their immune systems fail, and they fall prey to secondary, seemingly “natural” bee infections, such as parasites, mites, viruses, fungi and bacteria. Pathogens such as Varroa mites, Nosema, fungal and bacterial infections, and Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus (IAPV) are found in large amounts in honeybee hives on the verge of collapse.

In addition to immune dysfunction and opportunistic diseases, the honeybees also appear to suffer from neurological problems, disorientation, and impaired navigation. These effects have great consequence, as a bee can’t survive for more than 24 hours if she becomes disoriented and unable to find her way back to the hive.

Bayer Downplays EFSA’s ‘Death Knell’ Report

Bayer, a leading manufacturer of the neonicotinoid pesticides at the heart of the debate, has gone on record stating EFSA’s report “did not alter existing risk assessments and warned against ‘over-interpretation of the precautionary principle.'”4 In other words, it sounds as though they’d rather farmers continue using their pesticides without question, even if there are major concerns that they’re decimating bee populations worldwide. Bayer also noted that they are ready to work with the European Commission to address any “perceived data gaps.”

In fact, Bayer plans to open the North American Bee Care Center by July 2013. The Center is intended to be a research hub as well as promote “the active promotion of bee-responsible use of Bayer products along with communication activities worldwide.”5

Of course, it’s highly unlikely that any forthcoming research from Bayer’s North American Bee Care Center will find pesticides at fault… already, a report funded by the chemical industry has come out stating that banning neonicotinoid pesticides would cost farmers more than $980 million in lost food production.6 Yet, if these chemicals truly are killing off bee colonies, we stand to lose much, much more than that…

Bees Pollinate 70 Percent of the World’s Food

There are about 100 crop species that provide 90 percent of food, globally. Of these, 71 are pollinated by bees.7 In the United States, a full one-third of the food supply depends on pollination from bees. Apple orchards, for instance, require one colony of bees per acre to be adequately pollinated. So if bee colonies continue to be devastated major food shortages could result. There is also concern that the pesticides could be impacting other pollinators as well, including bumblebees, hoverflies, butterflies, moths and others, which could further impact the environment.

If honeybees disappear, so, too, will all of these other innovations and any new developments that may be honeybee-inspired in the future, such as these contributions to human health, including:
•Playing an important role in human medicine; raw honey, which has potent anti-inflammatory and anti-infective properties, is being used for wound healing and treating coughs, while “stun” chemicals from bee stings are being looked at as an effective anesthetic for humans.
•Propolis, the “caulk” honey bees use to patch holes in their hives, may slow the growth of prostate cancer and has powerful immune-modulating effects, along with potent antioxidant and anti-microbial action, and healing, analgesic, anesthetic, and anti-inflammatory properties.
•Bee pollen, which is often referred to as a superfood because it contains a broad range of nutrients required by your body. About half of its protein is in the form of free amino acids that are ready to be used directly by your body and can therefore contribute significantly to your protein needs.
•Honeybees have helped make scientific discoveries in many fields, including the aeronautics industry, which used the design of the six-sided honeycomb to help design aircraft wings; honeybee communication systems have even been adopted by computer programmers to help run Internet servers more efficiently.8

Do You Want to Get Involved to Help Protect Honeybees?

The documentary film Vanishing of the Bees recommends four actions you can take to help preserve our honeybees:
•Support organic farmers and shop at local farmer’s markets as often as possible. You can “vote with your fork” three times a day. (When you buy organic, you are making a statement by saying “no” to GMOs and toxic pesticides!)
•Cut the use of toxic chemicals in your house and on your lawn, and use only organic, all-natural forms of pest control.
•Better yet, get rid of your lawn altogether and plant a garden. Lawns offer very little benefit for the environment. Both flower and vegetable gardens provide excellent natural honeybee habitats.
•Become an amateur beekeeper. Having a hive in your garden requires only about an hour of your time per week, benefits your local ecosystem, and you can enjoy your own honey!

If you are interested in more information about bee preservation, the following organizations are a good place to start.
•Pesticide Action Network Bee Campaign9
•The Foundation for the Preservation of Honey Bees10
•American Beekeeping Federation11
•Help the Honey Bees12

If you like what you read, please consider donating to help support my blog, even as little as $5 will help.

The formaldehyde level of GMO corn is unspeakable
Comparison of GMO and non-GMO corn – the real statistics will astound you!

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/040210_GM_corn_March_Against_Monsanto_glyphosate.html#ixzz2SWiPpO73

As Monsanto parades their genetically modified seed, throwing it out like candy into the fields, future generations are being subjected to nutritionally void, disease-causing food. As the government protects the GMO industry, with its recent signing of the “Monsanto Protection Act”, the republic’s health interests are being discarded.

A 2012 study, called the Corn Comparison Report, was recently released by Profit Pro and published on the website for Moms Across America March to Label GMOs – a group dedicated to raising awareness about the dangers of genetically modified organisms.

The Corn Comparison Report detailed the nutritional deficiencies of GMO corn compared to regular organic corn. The report reveals the stunning levels of glyphosate in GMO corn and the amount of vital nutrients that have been drawn out.

GMO corn: nutritionally void
The nutrition statistics for GMO corn are bone chilling. Here is what the report indicates:

• Organic corn has 14 ppm of manganese. GMO corn has only 2 ppm.
• Real corn has 7 times more manganese!
• Organic corn has 6130 ppm of calcium. GMO is stripped down to 14 ppm.
• Real corn has 437 times more calcium!
• Organic corn has 113 ppm of magnesium. GMO corn is vacant, with only 2 ppm.
• Real corn has 56 times more magnesium!

GMO corn contains alarming glyphosate levels
The amount of formaldehyde and glyphosate in GMO corn is unbelievable. To break it down, American EPA standards allow glyphosate in water of up to .7ppm. European tests indicate that animals begin experiencing liver damage at .0001 ppm of glyphosate in water. Putting these two statistics together, America’s water levels contain glyphosate that is 7,000 times greater than the amount required for animal liver damage!

GMO corn takes that statistic up yet another notch. GMO corn contains 13 ppm of glyphosate, or the equivalent of 130,000 times more toxicity than EPA water standards!

The formaldehyde level of GMO corn is unspeakable
In a similar study on GMO corn, Dr. Huber found out that animals avoid GMO corn at all costs. When given a choice between both GMO and non GMO varieties of corn, animals always go for the real organic corn. Huber also found out that .97ppm of formaldehyde is toxic to animals. The GMO corn he tried to give the animals contained 200 times that amount!

This begs the questions:

• Why is something this toxic fed to humans?
• Why would humans touch the stuff in the first place?
• Are people devolving?
• Have their instincts been shut down?
• Is their intuition numb?
• Are they distracted by pretty labels and promises of safety?

March against GMOs
Genetically modified organisms are an open invitation to disease, cancer, and infertility. What a person consumes is what they become. Eating nutrient-void, formaldehyde-laden GMO corn is beckoning a disease-ridden population. There is enough evidence out now that explains the horror of genetically modified food. Any corporation that feeds this genetically modified system to the people should be tried for crimes against humanity.

Sadly, Monsanto and other biotech giants may have just been pardoned from their crimes against humanity. Through recent lobbying with the federal government, Monsanto was able to protect their GMO industry and get Congress and President Obama to pass a provision that exempts them from GMO liability. This law was signed into motion on March 26 and allows biotech companies like Monsanto to bypass federal approval tests and plant their GMO crops despite well known health risks. This provision frees biotech companies from their liability to the people and from judicial accountability.

This leaves justice, freedom, and the future of health in the people’s hands.

A worldwide March against Monsanto is scheduled May 25th 1013.
http://occupy-monsanto.com/march-against-monsanto-may-25-2013/

Sources for this article include

http://www.momsacrossamerica.com

http://rt.com/usa/toxic-study-gmo-corn-900/

http://www.atlantaprogressivenews.com

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Did You Know…

… that fenugreek can help build muscles, burn body fat and protect against type 2 diabetes and heart disease?

Fenugreek is more than just a flavorful spice to add to chicken, curries and salads. It’s been a century-old favorite among ayurvedic practitioners and herbalists for treating ailments from digestive upsets to ED in men. Recent research highlights another benefit of fenugreek—muscle strength… and perhaps a leaner, trimmer figure as a bonus.

Fenugreek’s Muscle-Building Moxy

A study published in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition shows that fenugreek can increase muscle strength and decrease body fat percentage. For the study, 49 men were separated into 2 groups: The control group received a placebo while the variable group supplemented with fenugreek extract. Both groups underwent a strength-training workout 4 days a week for 8 weeks.

At the end of the study, the men supplementing with fenugreek exhibited a greater increase in lean body mass and a reduction in overall body fat percentage.

Fenugreek’s Diabetes Defense

Studies have confirmed that fenugreek does indeed help defend against and treat Type 2 diabetes. Fenugreek keeps blood sugar levels balanced by slowing the absorption of sugars in the stomach and stimulating insulin. Fenugreek has also been found to lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels, ensuring added defense against diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. If you are currently taking medication to control or prevent diabetes or heart disease, consult your physician before adding fenugreek to your treatment plan.

Fenugreek’s Hermaphroditic Versatility

Fenugreek offers benefits to both men and women. Rich in saponins—potent plant phytochemicals—fenugreek is thought to stimulate male hormones, thereby treating ED.

Researchers from the Centre for Integrative Clinical and Molecular Medicine discovered that men who supplement with a twice-daily extract of fenugreek over 6 weeks showed a 30% increase in performance in the bedroom.

Fenugreek has long been used as an herb that induces childbirth and promotes milk flow in breast-feeding women. It also helps balance hormones in females, and is renown for its ability to soothe the symptoms of PMS and menopause. Proponents say fenugreek also helps grow new breast cells for fuller breasts.

Fenugreek’s Mixed Bag of Tricks

Centuries of empirical evidence attest to the healing powers of fenugreek. It helps cure digestive problems such as upset stomach, diarrhea, constipation and loss of appetite. Naturopaths commonly treat kidney ailments with fenugreek, which is believed to reduce the presence of calcium oxalate in kidney stones. It also cures more common conditions such as chapped lips, baldness, boils, and mouth ulcers.

You can spice your favorite foods up with fenugreek, which has a similar taste and odor to maple syrup, or you can supplement in extract form. Experts say that fenugreek is safe with no adverse side effects (apart from a possible odor to your urine). Pregnant women should always speak to their health care providers about any supplement or medicine—remember, fenugreek has been known to induce childbirth.

If you like what you read, please consider donating to help support my blog, even as little as $5 will help.

China food scandal: Rat meat sold as lamb meat

When it comes to lying, cheating, deceiving and scamming people about their food, no country is more accomplished than China, home of the melamine infant formula scandal and foods contaminated with high levels of heavy metals.

Now a new scandal adds one more milestone to the list: Chinese authorities say they broke up a 900-person criminal ring that harvested meat from rats and other animals to be modified and sold as lamb meat. This “rat meat” appeared in markets in Jiangsu province and Shanghai.

Unwitting consumers routinely purchased the meat, not knowing they were eating “rat steaks” at home.

Beyond the obvious gross factor of the discovery, the rat meat used in the scam was obviously never safety tested or inspected. It may have been, like many other foods in China, heavily contaminated with heavy metals and toxic chemicals. Rats, after all, don’t live the cleanest lifestyles.

“Despite years of food scandals — from milk contaminated with an industrial chemical to the use of industrial dyes in eggs — China has been unable to clean up its food supply chain,” reports USA Today.

Here’s why China has an epidemic of food fraud
To date, Natural News is the only publication to tell the full story on why this is happening. Perhaps that’s because I speak a fair amount of Chinese and previously lived in Asia. I know the Chinese and Taiwanese cultures better than most.

And the simple truth behind all this is that China is a nation of spiritually void athiests who have no morals or ethics. Religion is outlawed in China, and as a result there is absolutely no moral compass taught to the Chinese people. I’m not saying organized religion is the answer to all of society’s ills, but at least at a basic level, religion teaches a moral compass that simply doesn’t exist in Chinese culture.

Because of this lack of a moral compass, it is routine in China to find a street vendor of so-called “stinky tofu” (an actual food item served on the street) using sewer water as their water source. It’s routine to find foods from china colored with toxic ink to make them appear more valuable. (For example, sesame seeds are often doused with black ink to sell them as black sesame, which is more costly than white sesame). It is routine for chicken egg producers in China to feed their chickens toxic petrochemical food coloring chemicals in order to alter the color of the eggs.

In China, the idea of killing thousands of babies in order to make extra money on infant formula isn’t even abhorrent. It’s normal. The idea of cheating your customer with fake meat is commonplace. Cheating, dishonest and deceit are the norm — not the exception — in China.

Communist police state
Remember, China is a communist military dictatorship — essentially a police state. They do not have a Bill of Rights. They do not allow freedom of religion or even spiritual practice of any kind. They quite literally arrest, torture and execute people who practice meditation (Falun-Gong) and yoga.

China is a country of tremendous government evil, and that’s exactly where Obama is trying to push America — into a state of moral relativism where those who believe in moral values are attacked, demonized and eventually even arrested. This is why the Pentagon recently announced it will court martial soldiers who profess their Christian faith.

In fact, a top athiest consultant to the Pentagon unleashed an astonishingly evil rant against those of Christian faith that mirrored exactly the kind of condemnation you’d normally hear in China. He said:

“We face incredibly well-funded gangs of fundamentalist Christian monsters who terrorize their fellow Americans by forcing their weaponized and twisted version of Christianity upon their helpless subordinates in our nation’s armed forces.”

A culture of death and deception destroys every corner of society
I realize that to some readers it may seem like a stretch to go from rat meat in food to a discussion of religious freedom in a police state dictatorship like China, but in truth they are strongly related.

This is about a culture of death and deception. China, after all, is a one-child policy country where millions of baby girls are murdered each year. China is a nation where organs are routinely harvested from political prisoners and where people are routinely tortured and executed for speaking out against their government. If all this information is new to you, that’s because the U.S. press never reports any of these truths about China.

In fact, all the movies produced in Hollywood today are reviewed and approved by Chinese officials before being allowed to be released into U.S. theaters. This includes the new Iron Man movie and World War Z. China now determines what you see in the movie theater, and you’re never allowed to see anything critical of China.

It is no coincidence that this level of deception, destruction and death would creep into the food supply. After all, people who would murder their own baby girls in order to have a son under a one-child policy would think nothing of selling rat meat as lamb meat.

Where there is no moral compass, there are no limits to the indignity and injustice of human behavior.

Where there is a culture of death, deceit, destruction and demonization of morality, you will always find dishonesty in every sector of society: food, finance, government, business, technology, education and everything else.

So don’t be surprised to find China selling rat meat, or rat burgers, or even McRatguts with special dipping sauces made from human feces. In a culture devoid of all liberties, morals, religious freedoms and human dignity, the food supply will inevitably reflect the death and deception that characterizes the culture.

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McDonald’s hamburgers loaded with preservatives, fillers, and other chemicals

A Utah man’s recent discovery of an old fast food hamburger hiding in a coat pocket serves as a reminder to us all about why we continue to choose fresh foods as close to their natural states as possible over processed foods. What began as a month-long experiment to see how long it takes for a basic McDonald’s hamburger to decompose turned in a shocking revelation for David Whipple, whose 14-year-old McDonald’s hamburger still looks almost exactly the same today as it did back in 1999 when he first purchased it.

Mirroring a similar experiment involving a McDonald’s Happy Meal in the 2004 documentary Super Size Me, Whipple set out back in 1999 to see how long it would take for a McDonald’s hamburger to grow mold and decompose, normal processes that typically occur in natural foods. After one month, the McDonald’s hamburger appeared mostly unchanged, and Whipple eventually forgot about it. Several years later, however, his wife discovered the hamburger in a coat pocket and observed that it still had not changed in appearance, texture, or even smell.

“It wasn’t on purpose,” Whipple is quoted as saying about the now 14-year-old hamburger by ChristianPost.com. “I was showing some people how enzymes work and I thought a hamburger would be a good idea. And I used it for a month and then forgot about it. It ended up in a paper sack in the original sack with the receipt in my coat pocket tossed in the back of my truck and it sat there for, I don’t know, two or three months.”

“My wife didn’t discover it until at least a year or two after that. And we pulled it out and said, ‘Oh my gosh, I can’t believe it looks the same way.'”

Whipple held onto the hamburger for many more years, according to reports, and eventually garnered the attention of the TV show The Doctors, which invited him on the show to feature the eerily-preserved hamburger. As can be seen in the following video clip, the hamburger itself, other than having a dry appearance, has maintained its brown, meat-like color all these years. And the bun, which normally would have molded if it had been made of real bread, is still a toasty golden color with a white inside:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com

“If the mold won’t eat it, if fungus won’t eat it, if bugs won’t eat it, maybe we shouldn’t be eating it,” stated Dr. Jim Sears, M.D., a pediatrician and co-host of The Doctors, after seeing the burger.

McDonald’s hamburgers loaded with preservatives, fillers, and other chemicals
In response, McDonald’s has since claimed that the reason its burgers do not mold, decay, or change in any perceivable way over time is because they are dried while being cooked and toasted. But this explanation fails to address why even the bun does not mold or decompose.

The real reason why McDonald’s food in numerous tests does not decompose appears to be its high content of preservatives, filler ingredients, and other chemicals that not only keep the highly-processed food appearing fresh, but also detract living organisms from actually eating it. As explained on the blog World’s Oldest Hamburger, a McDonald’s hamburger bun contains at least 20 different additives beyond just the flour, salt, water, and yeast typically used in creating breads.

According to reports, Whipple and his wife have been offered large sums of money for their preserved hamburger, including a $5,000 offer by an East Coast radio station that wanted to use it for a shock promotional campaign. But the couple has held on to the novelty hamburger, and currently keeps it in a small tin shaped like a hamburger.

Sources for this article include:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com

http://www.christianpost.com

http://oldesthamburger.blogspot.com/

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