by Anthony Gucciardi
Natural Society
February 18, 2013
If there was ever a nation that could see the purpose behind organic, sustainable farming, it would be a nation that is composed mostly of farmers. Such a place does exist, and it soon may be the first nation to go 100% organic, paving the way for others to do the same on a global scale.
The Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan is known for a high level of citizen happiness, but it is doing something even more noteworthy in the near future. With Prime Minister Jigmi Thinley making a major announcement regarding the organic farming project at the Rio+20 Conference on Sustainable Development which took place last month, the move has made national headlines. It’s called the National Organic Policy, and it is fueled by the simple concept that working ‘in harmony with nature’ will yield the most powerful results — all without sacrificing human health or the environment.
What this comes down to is no GMO, no pesticides, no herbicides, no fluoride-based spray products, no Monsanto intrusion at all, and a whole lot of high quality food available for the 700,000 citizens of Bhutan. Food that, at one time, was simply called ‘food’. In the statement to other policy makers, Prime Minister Jigmi Thinley explained the move:
“By working in harmony with nature, they can help sustain the flow of nature’s bounties.”
Bhutan’s land currently supplys most corn, rice, fruits, and some vegetables, and it is perfectly positioned to begin developing 100% organic farming. In addition to containing a population that is mostly farmers, it also has extremely rich lands that are truly beyond what many consider organic.
Some lands in Bhutan have not even been touched with harsh chemicals of any kind, and traditional techniques are utilized to produce high yields without Monsanto dipping into the pockets of family farmers. This is in sharp contrast to India’s farming community, which has been shafted by Monsanto and subsequently nicknamed the ‘suicide belt‘ due to the rampant suicides that can be blamed in part by Monsanto-induced financial ruin.
Australian adviser to Bhutan, Andre Leu, explains:
“I don’t think it’s going to be that difficult given that the majority of the agricultural land is already organic by default.”
The shift is certainly inspiring, but it also reminds us about the true lunacy of designating foods as ‘organic’ and ‘traditional’ in modern society. These Bhutan farmers are not growing magic beans or enchanted corn, they are growing real food. Actual food as it was grown for thousands of years. It’s only now, with the advent of ways in which we can toxify our crops, do we value organic as if it were some privilege or act of class. When it comes down to it, we just want real food.
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About Anthony Gucciardi:
Google Plus Profile Anthony is an accomplished investigative journalist whose articles have appeared on top news sites and have been read by millions worldwide. Anthony’s articles have been featured on top health & political websites such as Reuters, Yahoo News, MSNBC, and Bloomberg. Anthony is also a founding member of
Natural Attitude, a leading developer of super high quality spagyric formulations.
February 20, 2013 | Categories: Bhutan, food, health, news, tyranny, victories | Leave a comment
Wil Spencer, Naturopath
VibrantBees.com
October 29, 2012
Dr. Wil Spencer from Vibrant Bees discusses Colony Collapse Syndrome and other diseases Bee Keepers are dealing with and how products from Vibrant Bees are helping Bee Keeper restore their Colonies health to full capacity.
February 17, 2013 | Categories: food, health, news, science, videos | Leave a comment
by Elizabeth Renter
Natural Society
February 11, 2013
The human body is a complex system of interrelated parts. You can’t have an imbalance in one area of the body and not have that imbalance affect the entire whole. And researchers have demonstrated that your gut health, way down in your stomach, may play a role in your behavior and even your risk of depression or anxiety, further demonstrating why whole-body health is so vitally important.
The gut, or digestive system, is home to a complex balance of trillions of bacteria. They live in harmony, for the most part. But illness, disease, or antibiotics can all throw this fine balance off. And when your gut bacteria are not finely tuned, the effects include digestive problems including irritable bowel syndrome, to mental health problems like depression. Some research has even indicated late onset autism is related to gut health.
The most recent research, however, suggests that an imbalance caused by antibiotics could have profound effects on our behavior and mood.
As published in Gastroenterology, the researchers disrupted the gut bacteria of otherwise healthy mice by injecting them with antibiotics. They found the resulting imbalance to cause the mice to become less cautious and anxious. It also resulted in an increase in something called brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which is linked to depression and anxiety.
Then, to further their findings, they took healthy mice who exhibited passive behavior and injected them with bacteria from mice with a “higher exploratory” behavior. They found those passive mice became far more active. In other words, the change in gut bacteria again had a significant impact on behavior.
Interestingly, the changes weren’t permanent—the mice returned to their normal selves when the antibiotics were discontinued and the gut bacteria once again became balanced.
So, what does this mean for us. Well, in science-speak, it’s important to note that the same findings have yet to be tested in humans. However, the research indicates that things like depression and mood or behavioral changes could be due to an upset in gut bacteria. Actually, the imbalance of gut microbiota is even directly linked to chronic illness, including obesity and inflammation.
In addition, a disruption in the bacteria of the gut can lead to serious digestive problems and candida. You can prevent all of this by avoiding antibiotics whenever possible, but also by consuming foods with probiotics to help restore and maintain the delicate bacterial balance. These foods include fermented ones like sauerkraut, kefir, miso, and tempeh.
Additional Sources:
MedicalXpress.com
February 12, 2013 | Categories: food, health, news, science, studies | Leave a comment
by geobear7
Food Freedom News
February 4, 2013
By WorldTruthTV
As few as one diet soda daily may increase the risk for leukemia in men and women, and for multiple myeloma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma in men, according to new results from the longest-ever running study on aspartame as a carcinogen in humans. Importantly, this is the most comprehensive, long-term study ever completed on this topic, so it holds more weight than other past studies which appeared to show no risk. And disturbingly, it may also open the door for further similar findings on other cancers in future studies.
The most thorough study yet on aspartame – Over two million person-years
For this study, researchers prospectively analyzed data from the Nurses’ Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study for a 22-year period. A total of 77,218 women and 47,810 men were included in the analysis, for a total of 2,278,396 person-years of data. Apart from sheer size, what makes this study superior to other past studies is the thoroughness with which aspartame intake was assessed. Every two years, participants were given a detailed dietary questionnaire, and their diets were reassessed every four years. Previous studies which found no link to cancer only ever assessed participants’ aspartame intake at one point in time, which could be a major weakness affecting their accuracy.
One diet soda a day increases leukemia, multiple myeloma and non-Hodgkin lymphomas
The combined results of this new study showed that just one 12-fl oz. can (355 ml) of diet soda daily leads to:
- 42 percent higher leukemia risk in men and women (pooled analysis)
- 102 percent higher multiple myeloma risk (in men only)
- 31 percent higher non-Hodgkin lymphoma risk (in men only)
These results were based on multi-variable relative risk models, all in comparison to participants who drank no diet soda. It is unknown why only men drinking higher amounts of diet soda showed increased risk for multiple myeloma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Note that diet soda is the largest dietary source of aspartame (by far) in the U.S. Every year, Americans consume about 5,250 tons of aspartame in total, of which about 86 percent (4,500 tons) is found in diet sodas.
This new study shows the importance of the quality of research. Most of the past studies showing no link between aspartame and cancer have been criticized for being too short in duration and too inaccurate in assessing long-term aspartame intake. This new study solves both of those issues. The fact that it also shows a positive link to cancer should come as no surprise, because a previous best-in-class research study done on animals (900 rats over their entire natural lifetimes) showed strikingly similar results back in 2006: aspartame significantly increased the risk for lymphomas and leukemia in both males and females.
More worrying is the follow on mega-study, which started aspartame exposure of the rats at the fetal stage. Increased lymphoma and leukemia risks were confirmed, and this time the female rats also showed significantly increased breast (mammary) cancer rates. This raises a critical question: will future, high-quality studies uncover links to the other cancers in which aspartame has been implicated (brain, breast, prostate, etc.)?
There is now more reason than ever to completely avoid aspartame in our daily diet. For those who are tempted to go back to sugary sodas as a “healthy” alternative, this study had a surprise finding: men consuming one or more sugar-sweetened sodas daily saw a 66 percent increase in non-Hodgkin lymphoma (even worse than for diet soda). Perhaps the healthiest soda is NO SODA AT ALL.
Sources for this article include:
http://www.naturalnews.com
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23097267
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16507461
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17805418
February 6, 2013 | Categories: food, health, news, science, studies | Leave a comment
by PF Louis
NaturalNews
June 26, 2012
(NaturalNews) Eczema is an irritating skin disease that ranges from chronic, itchy minor rashes to raging acute eczema flare-ups with open, oozing sores that require bandaging.
Eczema is often attributed to some sort of food or airborne allergy and can be minimized by determining the allergens and adjusting accordingly. Most eczema sufferers resort to using pharmaceuticals pills, creams, or steroids.
Of course, what many tend to ignore is that improving life style choices of diet and exercise does more to curb skin problems than topical or oral pharmaceuticals.
Eliminating chemically sprayed veggies and fruits, processed foods (even so-called “natural” cereals), junk foods, sugars, and artificial sweeteners goes a long way toward curing chronic, adverse health of any type, including skin conditions.
Minimizing stress and adding moderate exercise has also proven to be effective. Sweat can act as a trigger or exacerbate eczema. So avoid sweating whenever possible or shower immediately afterward sweating.
Increase your omega-3 intake with avocadoes, fresh salmon or tuna from unpolluted waters, eggs, organic raw nuts, and organic hemp, chia or flax seeds. Two tablespoons or more of flax seeds need to be ground with a coffee grinder just before consuming them.
While you’re working on a permanent cure, there are natural, homemade applications that help relieve symptoms without the dangerous side effects of prescribed or over the counter (OTC) pharmaceuticals.
Ten home remedies for symptomatic relief
(1) Organic cold pressed virgin coconut oil is better than those pricey creams that a dermatologist offers.
(2) Apply vitamin E oil, especially natural D-alpha tocopherol with mixed natural tocopherols. You can break open gel capsules for the oils. Avoiding synthetic vitamin E oil is tricky. So read labels closely, research, or ask a reliable sales person. Avoid vitamin E acetate.
(3) Make a strong brew of chamomile tea from fresh dried herbs by steeping for 15 minutes minimally. Apply to the eczema area with gauze for 20 minutes. This can be done more than once daily to relieve acute symptoms.
(4) Aloe vera gel, especially when mixed with vitamin E oil, is a useful symptom remedy. Gels from freshly cut aloe vera leaves are optimum.
(5) Ten drops of gentian tincture before each meal helps the digestive system eliminate toxins that can irritate the skin. Take as often as needed.
(6) Cut thin slices of a whole organic cucumber and allow the slices to soak for at least two hours. Filter the liquid and apply it with a clean cloth or gauze where needed.
(7) Place 50 grams of ground horsetail plant or herbs in a quart or liter of water and boil for 10 minutes, allow some cooling, then filter the liquid into your bath water for a 10 minute bath.
(8) Flower power: Make a tea of calendula, a marigold flower, with five drops of lavender essential oil added, then apply to the affected area twice a day until the irritation is relieved.
(9) Skin three organic carrots and boil them till they’re soft. Mash until you get a smooth paste, and then apply to affected areas for 15 minutes. Rinse with cool water when finished.
(10) Mix a tablespoon of medical or food grade ground juniper berry (3), with a tablespoon of sage and a tablespoon of thyme into a cup of boiling water, cover and let stand for five or more minutes. Drink the whole cup after your main meal.
For a complete natural cure from eczema, look over two different books via embedded links within source articles (1) and (2) below. There is no connection to Natural News or this author with either book sale.
Sources for this article include:
(1) http://www.homeremediesforeczemax.com/
(2) http://www.squidoo.com/homeremediesforeczema
(3) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juniper_berry
(4) http://www.skincarephysicians.com/eczemanet/types.html
January 26, 2013 | Categories: food, health, news, science | Leave a comment
by Mike Barret
NaturalSociety
April 20, 2012
Headaches are one of the most common ailments, striking virtually every single person – even on a daily basis. A bad headache can completely ruin your day, and in many cases escalate stress levels significantly. It may not seem like a serious health concern but when you do have a splitting headache, you will find it difficult to concentrate while physical functions will also be negatively affected. Instead of turning to pharmaceutical pain relievers, try utilizing some natural home remedies for headaches.
If you’re someone who regularly experiences headaches, you may find it difficult to resist the grabbing for an over the counter pain reliever. Before becoming overly dependent on these pharmaceuticals, you should consider using natural solutions. These could successfully alleviate the pain without ingesting pharmaceutical drugs that can cause adverse side-effects. Here are some home remedies for headaches.
For the first and easiest solution, try increasing water consumption. This type of pain can be caused by constricted blood vessels which prevent proper blood circulation and results to throbbing and pain. Water can resolve dehydration and improve blood circulation. In addition to guzzling down water once you begin to feel a headache, increase overall water consumption on a daily basis.
Interestingly, peppermint oil can also help in reducing headache pains. The same effect can also be achieved by using lavender oil. It is the combination of the soothing scents and environment-feel that allows you to relax and eventually lose the intense pain. To achieve faster results, you can also rub or gently massage your head and the areas surrounding the painful area. The stimulation will allow better blood circulation as well.
If you have been experiencing chronic headaches for days, then it is time to recognize how fruit can make one of many great home remedies for headaches. Eating apples in the morning for at least a week can give you impressive positive results, while creating a paste out of freshly pounded lemon fruit can also be the perfect solution. The lemon paste should be applied on the painful area. If your headache is caused by sinusitis, grab a pot and boil some ginger. Inhaling the vapor could be enough to help. In addition to relieving pain from headaches, ginger has also been shown to be a cancer fighter.
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January 26, 2013 | Categories: food, health, news, science | Leave a comment
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