Daisy Luther ~ Mysterious Deaths In Alabama: Could They Be Related To Monsanto’s Bt Cotton Crops?

The Daily Sheeple May 23 2013

SEAlabamaMedCenterRT reported Wednesday on a bizarre spate of respiratory illnesses in Alabama

A mysterious respiratory illness has claimed the lives of two people in southeast Alabama, and caused five other hospitalizations. The illness has left health officials baffled, who have no idea what this disease is or where it originated.

The mysterious illness has sickened its victims with flu-like symptoms, including a shortness of breath, fever, and coughing. Of the seven people who were hospitalized with the new disease, two have died, Alabama Department of Public Health spokeswoman Mary McIntyre told AP.

While the cause is currently unknown, it’s interesting to note that Southeastern Alabama’s cotton fields are in full bloom this time of year – and that some of these crops are Bt cotton. Bt cotton is a genetically modified cotton that contains a Bacillus thuringiensis (or Bt) pesticide within the plant.

There is no proof that this is related to the mysterious illnesses in Alabama, however, history shows us that serious illnesses occurred in India wherever Bt cotton was grown.

When Monsanto’s cotton was planted in India, two stories were presented.

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Christina Sarich ~ Shankhpushpi – Ayurvedic Healing Herb For More Than A Dozen Ailments

NaturalSociety May 23 2013

An herb widely used in Ayurvedic medicine as a brain tonic and memory enhancer, shankhpushpi has been used for centuries as a means to promote higher intelligence and a more expanded world view. In a more physical sense, the herb can help to eliminate hypertension, anxiety, asthma, stress-related disorders, epilepsy, insomnia, urinary disorders, hyperthyroid disease, constipation, and numerous neurodegenerative diseases including dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. The herb works primarily by supporting the central nervous system.

Shankhpushpi – Supporting the Central Nervous System

Shankhpushpi grows on rocky and sandy surfaces particularly in North India and belongs to the Convolvulaceae family. Its flowers range in color from a perfect white to blush pink color.

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Christina Sarich ~ Are GMO Crops Producing Health-Compromising, Fake Hormones In Your Body?

NaturalSociety May 23 2013

If you’ve been following NaturalSociety, then you’re probably aware of chemicals known as endocrine disruptors. While we naturally produce hormones, there are various chemicals and agents that disrupt this production. Unfortunately, lurking in many of our food crops is something called a xenoestrogen (foreign estrogen) which mimics the real deal in our bodies, affecting our endocrine systems negatively. This type of xenohormone can cause all kinds of problems, including increased risk of various cancers, hampered fertility, lower sperm count, thyroid disorders, diabetes, endometriosis, and early onset puberty.

Xenoestrogens interfere with the natural estrogen in our body, as well as the natural balance of estrogen and progesterone. Phytoestrogens can do the same thing, but most of us don’t eat so many mushrooms (a primary source of phytoestrogens) that there would be a big problem.

Xenoestrogens, however, come from over 70,000 different chemicals that have a known affect on our hormonal systems. DDT is a big culprit as are numerous fertilizers, herbicides and fungicides used by the non-organic farmers of the world. GMO crops are a huge problem, because they require larger and more pervasive use of these pesticides. Corn, soy, sugar beets, cottonseed oil, zucchini, alfalfa, and Hawaiian papaya are all predominantly grown using genetically modified seed.

Ethan A. Huff ~ Study: Deadly ‘Superbug’ MRSA Now Being Found At U.S. Wastewater Treatment Plants

NaturalNews May 22 2013

Using reclaimed water to irrigate lawns, parks, gardens, and various other types of landscaping is common in many communities across the U.S., particularly in areas prone to water shortages and drought. But a new study headed by researchers from the University of Maryland School of Public Health suggests that this practice may no longer be safe, as antibiotic-resistant “superbugs” like methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) are now being detected in both influent and effluent water samples at wastewater treatment plants nationwide.

Study author Amy R. Sapkota, an assistant professor at the Maryland Institute for Applied Environmental Health, and her colleagues, some of whom came from the University of Nebraska Medical Center, collected wastewater samples from two mid-Atlantic and two Midwestern wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) for their study, and analyzed them for the presence of superbugs like MRSA. The team drew samples of influent, which is the raw sewage directly fed into a treatment plant, as well as effluent, which is partially treated wastewater that is commonly recycled for irrigation purposes.

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PF Louis ~ Discover The Seven Most Nutrient-Dense Foods On Earth

NaturalNews May 22 2013

The superfood tag is awarded to nutrient-dense foods, which pack more nutrients or antioxidants per bite than most other foods. Superfoods are food, not just nutritional extracts, minerals, or vitamins sold as supplements to food, such as B complex capsules, etc.

One may survive on a couple of superfoods, but as meals they aren’t very fulfilling. Nevertheless, as foods, the body accepts them more easily than most extracted supplements. So eat good food with added superfoods as well.

Here are seven to consider

(1) Chlorella is treated by most as a supplement. But it is a food, actually. Around the end of WW II, it was considered as a solution for world hunger because it’s so easy to culture and harvest from fresh water ponds or man-made pools.

That idea was abandoned because chlorella cell walls were too tough to digest. But a technique has been developed to break the cell walls mechanically without damaging the algae.

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Elizabeth Renter ~ How To Clean Your Liver With 5 Natural Liver-Cleansing Tips

NaturalSociety May 22 2013

Your liver is like the maid of your body, cleaning up all the toxins you put into it, and therefore keeping all internal systems running smoothly. The modern diet, environmental pollutants, and our increasing dependence on toxic personal care products have put our livers on serious overtime. For this reason, it’s important to know how to clean your liver thoroughly and effectively – oh, and naturally.

Your liver works to cleanse the blood and remove toxic substances that we’ve eaten, inhaled, or rubbed on our bodies. When it is overworked—as it is in many modern adults—or when you are under a significant amount of physical or even mental stress, your liver can struggle to keep up.

“The thousands of enzyme systems that are responsible for virtually every body activity are constructed in the liver,” explains Dr. Karl Maret, M.D. “The proper functioning of the eyes, the heart, the brain, the gonads, the joints, and the kidneys are all dependent on good liver activity. If the liver is impaired from constructing even one of the thousands of enzyme systems the body requires, there is an impairment in overall body function and a resultant greater metabolic stress on the individual.”

How to Clean Your Liver – No Products Required

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The Miracle of Tea Tree Oil: 80 Amazing Uses for Survival

Before It’s News May 21 2013

Essential oils have been used for healing and medicinal purposes for centuries and most certainly long before we had pills, capsules and big pharma to take care of our medical woes.  And while there is a place for manufactured pharmaceuticals in our survival medicine kit, there exists the possibility that none will be available or that they will be in such scarce supply that they should be reserved for only the most dire of circumstances.

For that reason, many preppers and individuals seeking self-reliance are learning to use essential oils to manage the both routine and not-so-routine maladies that occur in daily life.  There are about a dozen or so essential oils that belong in every survival kit including tea tree, peppermint, lavender, clove,rosemary and lemon among others. All of these essential oils have healing properties but today I would like to focus on just one, tea tree oil.

A Brief History Of Tea Tree Oil

Melaleuca_armillaris tea tree flowerIt is believed that the Aborigines of Australia have been using the leaves of the indigenous Malaleuca Tree (whose leaves are used to make tea tree oil) in their medications for centuries. They inhaled the oils from the crushed leaves to treat coughs and colds, sprinkled crushed leaves on their wounds and used an infusion of soaked leaves to treat sore throats or skin ailments.

Use of the oil itself, as opposed to the un-extracted plant material, did not become common practice until researcher Arthur Penfold published the first reports of its antimicrobial activity in a series of papers in the 1920s and 1930s. In evaluating the antimicrobial activity, he found that tea tree oil was 11 times more active thanphenol.

The commercial tea tree oil industry was born shortly thereafter although interest in tea tree oil ebbed  after World War II, presumably due to the development of effective antibiotics and the waning image of natural products. Interest was rekindled in the 1970s as part of the general renaissance of interest in natural products.

80 Uses Of Tea Tree Oil For Survival

For thousands of years, the derivatives of the Malaleuca Tree have been effective in treating a wide variety of ailments.  Here are 80 reasons why you should use it, too!

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Laura Bruno ~ Book Review: Will Allen’s “The Good Food Revolution”

Laura Bruno’s blog May 21 2013

A few weeks ago, we enjoyed the privilege of listening to Will Allen, CEO of Growing Power, at the Nanovic Institute’s “The Future of Food” Symposium. On our way back from lunch, David and I got the chance to speak privately with Will, so we decided to buy his book and have him sign it. I expected to learn about urban farming and community outreach, but little did I know how riveting I’d find “The Good Food Revolution”!

I’ve lost track of how many diverse people I’ve suggested to read this book — just in the past week! Not only does Will share the expected tips about composting and working with urban youth, but “The Good Food Revolution” offers an in-depth history of: sharecropping, the Great Migration, African American culture, family farms, agriculture, family life, country and urban living, and professional basketball. Will tells his family’s story and left me wanting to know his mother, father and grandmother, as well as the white woman who rented them his childhood home. Although he addresses racism head-on, this book –and Growing Power — act as bridges between cultures, and Will himself embodies that inclusiveness. Rather than preaching color blindness, “The Good Food Revolution” masterfully highlights each person’s humanity. Race becomes a factor, but we see, through Will, each person as an individual who has a unique story and special gifts to share.

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Brandon Turbeville ~ Pesticide Content In Food Less Regulated Than Vitamins and Minerals

Govt Slaves May 21 2013

In the past, I have written numerous articles dealing with Codex Alimentarius and its guidelines regarding vitamin and mineral food supplementsfood irradiation, and genetically modified (GM) food.

I have also written about the unfolding agenda to implement Codex standards on a global scale to the detriment of all those who value clean, healthy food and the ability to make their own choices regarding what they do or do not eat.

In keeping with the theme of these previous reports, it is important to note the official Codex position on pesticide content in food and, specifically, the content of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs).

Indeed, for those who are familiar with the aforementioned Codex standards, it may not come as a surprise that dangerous pesticides and persistent organic pollutants (POPs) largely escape the application of rigorous standards that vitamins and minerals receive.

While it may be common knowledge to many, there are just as many who are unaware of the extent to which pesticide residues exist in the average unit of food. The fact is that virtually any and all pesticides used in food production eventually end up in the food itself, even in the animals that consume that food as feed. Logically, these pesticides end up in the systems of those that consume these plants and animals.

Even at this stage of scientific capabilities, the full extent to which these pesticides are damaging to humans is not fully known, at least at the level of the general public. However, for many of these chemicals there is clear research linking them to adverse health effects, while for others the status is less clear, largely due to lack of compiled data.

At the very least, it is safe to say that these pesticides are not healthy and are potentially hazardous to human health. Yet, due to the large amount of pesticides in existence, the detailed testing of all these individual substances has never been conducted. The scientific research that does exist, however, is clear that pesticides do cause adverse effects in humans.

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The Importance Of Blood Flow And The Symbolism Of Circulating Blood

NaturalSociety May 20 2013

Blood is the ‘water’ of our body’s rivers. The expression “my life’s blood” comes to mind, because the circulating blood is what keeps our immune system healthy and our heart pumping. It literally gives life.

What Happens When the Blood Can’t Flow?

If you accompany this realization with the work of DNA biologist, Bruce Lipton, who believes our DNA is affected and even permanently changed by our emotions, then a hardened heart would certainly leave us open to disease, since our blood cannot flow through it. When the emotion of love doesn’t stream through our veins, neither do the important T-lymphocyte cells of the immune system, regulated by the thymus, an important endocrine gland situated behind the heart.

Emotions Hormones and Blood

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Elizabeth Renter ~ How To Prevent Gallstones Naturally Through Diet

NaturalSociety May 18 2013

Gallstones are painful pebble-like objects that form in the gallbladder, which occur when bile stored in the gallbladder hardens. This happens for a variety of reasons, but mainly when the bile contains too much cholesterol, bilirubin, or salts. While an estimated 20 million people in the U.S. suffer from gallstones, they are more common in women, overweight people, and those who lose weight too quickly. Gallstones also run in the family. If you want to know how to prevent gallstones, the good news is that there are simple, natural solutions.

How to Prevent Gallstones Through Diet

Traditional medicine usually resorts to surgery to remove gallstones or medications designed to dissolve them. The latter method can take days or even months to dissolve the stones. Preventing them first is quite obviously the best option.

A healthy gallbladder depends on a healthy body, and keeping the gallbladder healthy begins with a proper diet. Juicing on a daily basis can help drastically, delivering high impact nutrients in a concentrated and quick form. Several online sources say beets are especially useful in the prevention and even treatment of gallstones or a gallbladder attack. They are even recommended for the pain associated with gallstones.

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Tess Pennington ~ If Flood Water Touched My Food, Can I Still Use It?

Ready Nutrition May 2013

Dear Tess, Help! Our basement flooded and the water got on some of our emergency food? Can I save it? ~ Angela

Hi Angela,

I’m sorry to hear about your home being effected by a flood. Some food can be saved if it has been exposed to flood waters. Floodwater often contains infectious organisms, including intestinal bacteria such as E. coli, Salmonella, and Shigella; Hepatitis A Virus; and agents of typhoid, paratyphoid and tetanus. It also may be contaminated by agricultural or industrial chemicals or by hazardous agents present at flooded hazardous waste sites.

According to the FDA, “undamaged, commercially-prepared foods in all-metal cans or retort pouches can be saved if you remove the labels, thoroughly wash the cans, rinse them, and then disinfect them with a sanitizing solution consisting of 1 tablespoon of bleach per gallon of potable water. Finally, re-label containers that had the labels removed, including the expiration date, with a marker.”

Moreover, because other food sources could have been tainted, do not eat any food that may have come into contact with flood water. If in doubt, throw it out! Further, do not eat food packed in plastic, paper, cardboard, cloth, and similar containers that have been water damaged. Foods and beverages with  screw-caps, snap lids, crimped caps (soda bottles), twist caps, flip tops, and home canned foods should also be discarded, if they have come in contact with flood water. These containers cannot be disinfected.

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Elizabeth Renter ~ Medicinal Uses Of Lemon Balm: Grow Your Own Medicine

Natural Society May 18 2013

An easy to grow and wonderful smelling plant, lemon balm has many healing applications and medicinal uses. If you grow your own herbs and plants to use for cooking and healing, then lemon balm is one plant you must have in your growing herb garden. You can cook with it, perfume with it, and heal with it. So, what’s not to love?

Background and History

Native to southern Europe and the Mediterranean, but now found growing in the wild across the globe, lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) is a member of the mint family (like oregano, thyme, and peppermint, of course). Though while the leaves are shaped similarly to others in the mint family, slightly thickened with deep veins, one thing that sets lemon balm apart is its scent. The herb has a sweet lemony smell, which likely made the plant all the more popular over the years.

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