United Nations plans require biometric identification and birth registration for all humans on Earth

Most Americans are too busy to pay attention to the United Nations, let alone the actions of their own government. This is unfortunate considering the fact that the place is run by representatives of vile, authoritarian regimes that are always looking for ways to control their respective populations as well as those of other countries.

Many of these efforts are embodied broadly under an initiative known as Agenda 21, which was further exposed recently during a speech by Pope Francis. In an encyclical released over the summer, the pontiff lamented about environmental issues and concentration of wealth in too few hands in a document that actually reads more like a globalist political manifesto than a religious or scientific offering.

At the time, we provided some definition and detail into Agenda 21. Pushed by the United Nations, the agenda consists of a bevy of proposed regulations that have been years in the making and essentially strip individuals of their freedom while asserting centralized control over private property. The provisions amount to population control and reduction in certain areas deemed ripe for "sustainability"; control over local and national economies via the regulation of carbon emissions and other mechanisms of pollutants; and globalized central control over the financial decisions of businesses and especially landowners.

Chipping the global population

Now, as reported by Michael Snyder at Blacklisted News, the UN wants to essentially microchip everyone on the planet so that global elitist "managers" can track us all 24/7/365 by 2030, which is when the elitists undoubtedly believe they will have sufficiently pacified the populace.

Snyder drew in part upon a previous post of his at The Economic Collapse Blog where he discussed 17 new "Global Goals" adopted by UN representatives in late September.

Among those goals is this nugget: "By 2030, provide legal identity for all, including birth registration." [See it here and click on item 16, then view the drop-down menu].

"The United Nations is already working hard toward the implementation of this goal – particularly among refugee populations," Snyder writes. "The UN has partnered with Accenture to implement a biometric identification system that reports information 'back to a central database in Geneva.'"

Snyder referenced a piece posted at Find Biometrics, a "global identity management" firm, which states:

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is moving forward with its plans to use biometric technology to identify and track refugees, and has selected a vendor for the project. Accenture, an international technology services provider, has won out in the competitive tendering process and will oversee the implementation of the technology in a three-year contract.

Snyder points out that according to additional information published by Find Biometrics, the technology will be utilized by the UN to eventually encompass every man, woman and child on the planet – not just refugees.

They're taking the world for themselves, and that means taking it away from you

He also notes that none of the language being used by the planetary masterminds is selected at random. We are referred referred to by the UN and many governments as "global citizens"; our economies are becoming more and more integrated (hence the new Trans-Pacific Partnership – the latest effort to advance economic "globalization"); and the tnternet has created global interconnectivity.

Even worse, Americans – the most "independent" of all people – are going along with it.

"Decades ago, most Americans would have been up in arms over something like this," Snyder writes. "But now most people just seem to accept these changes passively. Very powerful secret societies and international organizations have been moving us in this direction for a very long time, and most Americans simply have no idea what is happening."

Much of our inattention can be blamed on other factors. For one, tens of millions of people are distracted because they are trying to eke out a living; others choose to be distracted, spending more time paying attention to what Hollywood is doing or what friends are saying on social media.

Meanwhile, the world is being shaped by the elite, which primarily involves taking it away from – and then managing – you.

Sources include:

BlacklistedNews.com

Agenda21.news

NaturalNews.com

TheEconomicCollapseBlog.com

FindBiometrics.com 

Source:  http://www.naturalnews.com/052061_biometric_identification_United_Nations_global_elite.html#ixzz3sLDsielj

Chickenpox Vaccine Now Causing Shingles Epidemic in Adults and Children

(NaturalNews) The rate of shingles has been increasing since the 1990s, and it is now estimated that about one in three adults will develop the disease in their lifetime. A certain number of these people will experience recurring outbreaks. About one in five of them will suffer severe and often debilitating pain known as postherpetic neuralgia (PHN).

Officially, the cause of this increase is unknown. Yet studies suggest that at least part of the explanation could be the chickenpox vaccine.

Chickenpox and shingles are caused by the same virus, which is known as varicella zoster. Shingles cannot occur in someone who has not been previously been infected with the virus, presumably resulting in a chickenpox infection. Why, then, would the vaccine against this virus be causing more severe outbreaks later in life?

Unintended immune consequences

Once infected with the varicella zoster virus, the body can never get rid of it. Instead, the virus hides from the immune system along a nerve root in the central nervous system. Shingles (also known as herpes zoster) occurs when some trigger (typically stress or reduced immune function) causes the virus to erupt out of the nerve root and travel to the skin. This leads to a painful rash that tends to last about a month. Although most people suffer only a single case of shingles in their lifetime, the disease can recur.

In addition to PHN, possible complications of shingles include bacterial skin infection, motor neuropathy, bladder impairment, meningitis, hearing loss, Hutchinson's sign and Ramsay Hunt Syndrome.

Alarmingly, shingles is now also starting to appear in children, which was virtually unheard of 20 years ago.

Researchers have suggested a simple explanation for why shingles rates might be on the increase, and at least some studies have supported this hypothesis: prior to the adoption of the chickenpox vaccine, nearly all children came down with chickenpox and thereby re-exposed the adults in their lives to the virus. This functioned as a "booster" to the immune system, thereby helping prevent reactivation of the virus in the form of shingles. Once vaccination became widespread, however, chickenpox rates fell and parents stopped getting the booster. When those parents started to hit the age of risk for shingles (50 and up), the rates of that disease started to climb accordingly.

Vaccine maker profits twice!

Is this merely a question of trading a childhood illness for an illness of old age? Not quite, because like any drug, both the chickenpox and shingles vaccines carry their own risks. Between March 1995 and July 1998, adverse events were reported for more than one in every 1,500 cases of chickenpox vaccination. About 4 percent of these were severe, including shock, brain inflammation (encephalitis), thrombocytopenia (a blood disorder) and death.

While some vaccine supporters claim that chickenpox vaccination will eventually solve the shingles problem because people who are vaccinated do not get the initial infection required to later develop shingles, it actually remains unclear if the live virus vaccine is sufficient to cause varicella zoster to colonize the nerve root. The vaccine is simply too new to answer that question.

To make matters worse, it is unclear how much benefit the chickenpox vaccine even provides. Chickenpox was simply never a dangerous disease, having a fatality rate of only 0.00135 percent. That is, the disease infected about 3.7 million children per year and killed about 50, most of them immunocompromised.

Finally, the effectiveness of the shot at preventing varicella zoster infection is only about 70 percent. Thus, chickenpox is essentially guaranteed to remain endemic in the population and so will shingles.

In the meantime, of course, Merck — the company that makes the chickenpox vaccine and created the problem to begin with — has its own convenient solution: The company also offers a vaccine for shingles.

Sources for this article include:
CDC.gov
DrGoldmanOnline.com^[PDF]
CDC.gov

Source:  http://www.naturalnews.com/052006_shingles_epidemic_chickenpox_vaccine_herpes_zoster.html#ixzz3ryeK8UOl

Frying your food in lard is healthier than using sunflower oil, say scientists

(NaturalNews) For many decades now, we've been fed a lot of misinformation about the foods we eat and which ones are healthy or not.

For example, since the early 20th century, we've been told that lard – rendered and clarified pig fat – is an unhealthy substance that should be replaced with vegetable oils.

Well, guess what? The truth is nearly the opposite. It's true that lard intake should be limited, but frying foods in lard is far more healthy than doing so in most vegetable oils, according to more recent studies.

In fact, when heated to frying temperatures, many vegetable oils actually release toxic substances which can cause a range of serious health problems, including cancer, dementia and heart disease.

Professor Martin Grootveld of De Montfort University at Leicester, whose field of expertise is bio-analytical chemistry and chemical pathology, was recently asked to conduct a study to determine which cooking oils are the healthiest.

His findings challenged the common wisdom regarding the use of saturated fats versus polyunsaturated fats. We have long been told that polyunsaturated fats, such as the ones found in sunflower oil, for example, are healthier than the saturated fats found in butter and lard.

From an article posted on the De Montfort University website:

When fats and oils are heated the molecular structure changes, producing chemicals called aldehydes that may cause heart disease and cancer.

Professor Grootveld's team found sunflower oil and corn oil produced aldehydes at levels 20 times higher than recommended by the World Health Organisation.

Grootveld and his team found that foods cooked in rapeseed oil, butter, goose fat or olive oil produced far less of the toxic aldehydes found in sunflower oil, corn oil and other commonly used vegetable oils.

So how did lard get a bad reputation?

Lard is only one of the foods we've been warned away from, and as with many supposedly "unhealthy" foods, the real reason is that someone wanted to sell us a replacement.

In the case of lard, we were lied to by Procter & Gamble, who wanted to sell its new product – Crisco – which was invented in a lab way back in 1907.

The short version of the story is this:

In 1906, Upton Sinclair's novel, The Jungle was published. The book was a somewhat sensationalist expose of the meat industry and conditions in the slaughterhouses of Chicago. It was technically a work of fiction, but his description of workers falling into boiling vats of lard was enough to seriously turn stomachs.

However disgusted by the thought of eating lard the public may have been after reading the book, there was no viable replacement on the market until Procter & Gamble began marketing vegetable shortening.

The company was interested in finding a way to sell the cottonseed oil it owned in vast quantities since the market for the candles it sold was shrinking due to the invention of the electric light bulb.

From NPR.com:

In 1907, a German chemist, E.C. Kayser, showed up at Procter & Gamble headquarters in Cincinnati with a marvelous invention. It was a ball of fat. It looked like lard. It cooked like lard. But there was no pig involved. It was hydrogenated cottonseed oil."

The company was able, through clever marketing, to convince an already "queasy" public (due to Sinclair's book), that its lab-created product was cleaner and healthier.

Procter & Gamble... launched an ad campaign that made people think about the horrible stories of adulterated lard. The ads touted how pure and wholesome Crisco was. The company packaged the product in white and claimed "the stomach welcomes Crisco."

The rest is history. In the 1950s, scientists further diminished lard's reputation by claiming that saturated fats caused heart disease. By that point, lard was becoming widely shunned.

The moral of this entire story is that whenever you are told that a product made in a lab is better for you than a natural substance that has been used for thousands of years, a bit of healthy skepticism may be in order...

Sources:

DMU.ac.uk

DailyMail.co.uk

NPR.org

Sourced:  http://www.naturalnews.com/052021_lard_canola_oil_cooking_oils.html#ixzz3ryXhiPfY

What Almond Milk, Calcium Pills and Zeolites Have In Common...

(NaturalNews) Did you know that calcium pills are linked to heart attacks? Were you aware that commercial almond milk is made with ground up inorganic oyster shells or limestone? Has anyone told you that zeolite powders are mined out of the ground from crushed rocks containing high levels of lead and aluminum?

The most important nutritional warning I can offer you today is to stop eating and drinking rocks.

In almond milk, cheap, low-grade calcium is mixed with water and carageenan (a thickener) to make a thick, whitish substance that visually resembles the color and texture of almond milk. Cheap calcium carbonate is added to almond milk to make it compete with the calcium content of regular cow's milk. But the result is a nutritional catastrophe: You're drinking inorganic, crushed oyster shells or limestone!

Cheap calcium pills are almost always contaminated with LEAD. They're derived from low-grade, inorganic sources of raw materials made almost entirely with calcium carbonate. This isn't the kind of calcium your body needs. In fact, calcium carbonate probably contributes to artery and kidney calcification. Ditch the cheap calcium pills and get calcium from high-grade sources or your food (plants).

Zeolites are mined out of the ground like rocks. They're made from aluminosilicates (high in aluminum) and typically contain very high concentrations of the heavy metal LEAD (typically 20 - 60 ppm). When swallowed in large, granular form, they pass right through your digestive tract undigested. That's because your weak stomach acid can't dissolve rocks. But when zeolites are crushed into fine powders, they release both aluminum and lead during digestion in your stomach. This greatly concerns me because people who eat zeolite powders have been shown to urinate increased levels of aluminum and lead, indicating these metals are likely getting absorbed into their blood.

Stop eating ROCKS and start eating REAL FOOD

I'm frequently astonished at how so many people in the health industry can be led astray from the basic fundamentals of mindful nutrition. It's not rocket science to realize that you should get your minerals from food sources, not rocks.

It's also not rocket science to realize that you probably shouldn't be swallowed rocks suspended in water through the use of carageenan or other thickeners. Suspended molecules of calcium carbonate does not equate to "milk."

And if you're hoping to eliminate toxic heavy metals from your body, it makes little sense to keep eating them every day in the form of fine powder zeolites.

Sadly, some of what's being offered in the food and dietary supplement industries is marketed to consumers in a misleading way, either denying consumers the knowledge of what the substance is really made of or wildly exaggerating claims of what the substance can really accomplish in the body. While there really are true "miracle" nutrients like vitamin D and resveratrol, cheap, low-grade, inorganic rocks probably aren't good for you to eat or drink on a regular basis.

To read further and learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/052039_almond_milk_calcium_carbonate_zeolites.html#ixzz3ryWm4Bs9

Natural Ginger is Up to 10,000 Times More Effective Than Chemo...

(NaturalNews) Ginger naturally contains a compound that is up to 10,000 times more effective than chemotherapy drugs at killing the cancer stem cells that make malignant tumors so dangerous, according to a study published in the journal PLoS.

The chemical, known as 6-shogaol, is produced when ginger roots are dried or cooked. The researchers found that 6-shogaol is active against cancer stem cells at concentrations that are harmless to healthy cells. This is dramatically different from conventional chemotherapy, which has serious side effects largely because it kills healthy as well as cancerous cells.

Cells responsible for 90 percent of cancer death?

Like other stem cells, cancer stem cells possess the ability to differentiate into various different cell types. In the case of cancer, stem cells differentiate into the various malignant cells that make up a tumor colony. Although they make up less than 1 percent of the cells in any given tumor, stem cells are impervious to nearly all known or experimental chemotherapy agents. These cells are also able to replicate indefinitely, and they are capable of splitting off from their originating colony to start new tumors elsewhere. They are key players in the process of metastasis, which is responsible for 90 percent of cancer-related deaths.

The persistence of cancer stem cells also explains why cancers can recur even after seemingly successful tumor eradication via chemotherapy, radiation or surgery.

"Cancer stem cells pose serious obstacle to cancer therapy as they can be responsible for poor prognosis and tumour relapse," the researchers wrote. "To add into the misery, very few chemotherapeutic compounds show promise to kill these cells."

Kills cancer cells on many fronts

The researchers found that 6-shogaol targets breast cancer stem cells along several different pathways, including reducing the expression of surface markers, altering the cell cycle to increase the rate of cell death, inhibiting tumor formation, directly inducing programmed cell death, and flat-out poisoning cancer stem cells (cytotoxicity).

The researchers then compared the cytotoxicity of 6-shogaol against human breast cancer stem cells with that of the widely used chemotherapy drug taxol. They found that while taxol did show cytotoxicity in a one-dimensional laboratory model of cancer ("monolayer"), it showed almost no effect in the three-dimensional ("spheroid") model that is now believed to be a more accurate model of real-world cancer tumors. 6-shogaol, however, was effective in both the monolayer and spheroid models.

The researchers then increased the taxol concentration by 10,000 times, but it still showed no effectiveness in spheroid model.

"[T]axol, even though was highly active in monolayer cells, did not show activity against the spheroids even at 10,000 fold higher concentration compared to 6-shogaol," the researchers wrote.

To read further and learn more:   http://www.naturalnews.com/052009_ginger_chemotherapy_cancer_treatment.html#ixzz3ryTPuUoT

Update of Blog

I've neglected my blog and have made the decision to resume posting information and articles again.

There were many factors due to my neglect:

1. I have had to move three times for various reasons which I do not wish to disclose at this time.

2. The pace of information, which I prefer to post, has made my head spin and at the rate of in which it is coming out so fast for me to keep up with and for sometime I felt overwhelmed.

3. Now is the time to pull up my bootstraps and get back into the fray, and post to this blog.

4. My heart (and mind) is back and ready to post the information the media is blacking out to protect our minds, health, families, and homes.

5. I have several issues going on within my life, on top of the above four reasons, and those will be covered in future forthcoming missives for reading and maybe learning material here.

As to those who have followed me in the past, or who have shared my posts on Pinterest, I wish to thank you for your support. In the past, I primarily posted health and environmental concerns, but now I feel the need to go further down the rabbit hole and post discoveries which - well frankly - concern me greatly, and will most likely concern you.

I only ask that you read what I offer and take it for what it is worth, if it helps you then great I have done what this blog is about, however if it does something else such as prepare you for what is, or may be, coming then great....just be forewarned that what I will be posting won't always be recipes, tonics and health tips. If you live within the USA then this is particularly aimed at those readers.

Thank you.
~K

GMO babies now being engineered in labs under guise of preventing incurable disease

Life, whether human or otherwise, is no longer sacred to many of today's scientists, who actually believe that tampering with the genetic blueprints of living beings will somehow improve humanity and create a better world. And this disturbing reality became ever more apparent recently when genetic butchers at Oregon Health & Sciences University (OHSU) announced their discovery of a way to manipulate the DNA of human embryos to obstruct normal gene transfer and create genetically "superior" babies that are supposedly less prone to disease.

According to the Chicago Tribune, these genetically-modified (GM) embryos are not yet intended to actually produce real, living children -- although it is only a matter of time before this nightmare becomes a reality (remember the movie Gattaca?) -- but they will be used in the present to investigate how babies of the future might avoid certain inherited diseases. By combining the genes of one man with those of two women, OHSU researchers claim they have devised a way to effectively replace "defective" genes with normal ones.

There are two types of genes contained in cells -- those found inside the nucleus of cells, which influence visible traits such as eye color and height, and those found outside the nucleus in energy-generating mitochondria, which do not influence visible traits, and are only passed along by the mother rather than the father. It is these exterior genes that OHSU scientists have learned to alter, reprogram, and literally block from being passed down from mother to child, which they claim could one day unveil ways by which inherited diseases might be avoided

Tampering with human genes will likely unleash a Pandora's box of health horrors

But is this genetic manipulation of the human genome safe and ethical? The answer to this, just like to all genetically-modified organisms (GMOs), is a resounding no, as nobody knows for sure what the long-term effects of vandalizing human genes really are until after the irreversible process has been set into motion. And yet this has not stopped OHSU researchers nor their British predecessors who conducted similar experiments back in 2008 from engaging in the abominable practice under the guise of supposedly preventing incurable diseases.

According to reports, the OHSU team that worked on the study, which was published in the journal Nature, is currently trying to gain federal approval to test the development of its GMO babies in actual women rather than in petri dishes, which will take such experiments to a whole new level of reality. It will presumably not be long after, should these "Frankenscientists" receive such approval, before GMO babies are normalized throughout society, and eventually perceived as genetically superior to normal babies with genetic "defects."

British news claims GMO babies are already being manufactured in women

The U.K.'s Daily Mail; however, reported recently that similar GMO babies are already in existence, having been created using similar techniques in women with fertility problems. According to that particular report, at least two babies born using gene-splicing techniques have already been confirmed to possess genes from three different parents, one father and two mothers.

"The fact that the children have inherited the extra genes and incorporated them into their 'germline' means that they will, in turn, be able to pass them on to their own offspring," wrote Michael Hanlon about the issue. "Altering the human germline -- in effect tinkering with the very make-up of our species ... could be used to create new races of humans with extra, desired characteristics such as strength or high intelligence."

Sources for this article include:

http://www.chicagotribune.com

http://www.naturalnews.com

http://www.dailymail.co.uk

Cinnamon Clove Scones with Raisins

Just about every part of the Cinnamon tree  is fragrant. I like using the Cinnamon Bark because it is the most potent and more complex than the Cinnamon Leaf. The common name of Cinnamon can also be Cassia Bark. Cassia is more readily available because it comes from China (meaning cheap cheap cheap). The Cassia Bark tends to be more potent that the Cinnamon Bark. Most of the what we see ground in the U.S. is Cassia Bark. True Cinnamon can actually be hard to find. If the country of origin is from Madagascar or Sri Lanka, then you know you have true Cinnamon. Many parts of the world bar Cassia from being labeled Cinnamon so customers know they are either getting Cassia or the Cinnamon Bark. Cinnamon Bark was discovered by Dutch spice traders in Sri Lanka.  It is a great digestive, high antimicrobial, antiseptic, astringent, and carminative properties.

Clove Bud is another plant where every part is aromatic. We also have Clove Leaf which is not as strong as the Clove Bud. Clove Bud is a native of the Molucca Islands aka Spice Islands. Before indoor plumbing people would carry around spiceballs of an orange or apple with cloves stuck all around.  It helped with the smells when you walked around the streets. Those are still used today to make spiced cider.In the third century BC one of the Han emperors in China ordered all courtesans in his court to place a few clove buds under their tongue to make their breath smell sweet. During the Byzantine time, a vessel of clove was the ultimate gift. The plant was highly coveted by the Dutch and Portuguese. They both tried  to keep it as a monopoly until the French were able to get away with a few seedlings. Clove and Cinnamon are two spices that are potent and need to be used conservatively especially using the essential oil.

Cloves are good to help tame the strong onion scent. Good in meat dishes as well with desserts. True Cinnamon is good in a lot of desserts and a great accompaniment with chocolate. Also good in a variety of meat dishes and gives beans an extra something too.

I thought I would post a recipe that is a great bread dish and good with a stew.

Dry Ingredients
3 1/2 cups flour 1/4 cup for bench flour
1/4 cup of sugar
2 Tbs. of baking powder
1 Tsp. of salt
8 Tbs. of cold butter

Wet Ingredients
1/4 cup of applesauce
1 cup of sour cream
5 drops of cinnamon essential oil
3 drops of clove essential oil
2 egg
1 cup of raisins
2 Tbs. milk

In a medium size bowl add the 3 cups of flour with the other dry ingredients. Stir together.
Cut in pieces of the butter with pastry cutter, fork, or hands until butter resembles peas in the flour mixture.

Combine wet ingredients together in a small mixing bowl. Stir until ingredients are well blended.
Add the wet ingredients a little bit at a time to flour mixture. Combine until it starts to form into a ball. (May not use all the liquid.)

Refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Flour hands and knead dough a few times over a floured surface with the bench flour. Do not over work it. Roll out dough 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Use a biscuit cutter or the rim of glass to cut round shapes. Lay on greased baking sheet. Put in preheated oven at 425 degrees. Bake for 12-15 minutes until golden brown. Makes 16-20 scones.

Happy Cooking!

Source: http://www.gritman.com/blog/cinnamon-clove-scones-with-raisins/

Buttermilk Lemon Verbena Pound Cake

Thinking about trying to make this for the Thanksgiving side buffet table....

~Ky

Lemon Verbena‘s ancient history goes as far back as Druids in religious ceremonies. It was considered the “Herb of Grace.” The name is  derived from ancient Celtic word “fer” meaning to drive away and “faen” for stone, the ability to expel kidney stones. Maximilian of Mexico renamed it Yerba. It is very common for Lemon Verbena to be adulterated with a cheaper lemon oils like Lemon Thyme or Litsea Cubeba. It has a nice lemon floral scent. I needs to be highly diluted if using it in a non-cooking or baking method. Even in baking or cooking one drop will usually do it.

This recipe I used for a light breakfast bread/cake for one of our classes. I used only 1/2 cup of sugar since I did not want it to be overly sweet. If you are using this for a dessert, you can increase the sugar to 1 cup.  The original recipe was created by Carolyn Weil.

For cake:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose unbleached flour

1 tsp. of baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, soften

1/2 cup of sugar

2 large eggs, room temperature

1/2 cup of buttermilk

1 drop of Lemon Verbena Essential Oil (not fragrance oil)

For Syrup:

Juice of 1 lemon

3 to 4 Tbs. of confectioner’ sugar

Heat the oven to 325 degrees. Spray loaf pan (8x5x3″) with non stick coating.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt until well blended. With an electric mixer or paddle attachment with a standing mix, beat the butter until it’s very pale and little tails have formed. Sprinkle sugar over the butter and beat until slightly fluffy. Scrape the sides of the bowl well. Add the eggs one at a time, beating until blended before adding the next one.

With the mixer on low, add 1/3 of the flour, mixing until almost combined; then add half the butter milk until just combined. Repeat ending with the flour. Just before all the flour is incorporated, switch to a stiff rubber spatula. Add one drop of Lemon Verbena and complete the mixing of the flour into the batter.

Scrape the batter into into the prepared pan and bake until cake is golden brown and a toothpick comes out with just a few crumbs when inserted in the center, 45-50 minutes. Let the cake cool on a baking rack for about 10 minutes. As it cools, stir together the lemon juice and confectioners’ sugar in a small bowl. Carefully invert the loaf pan, tap to release the cake.  Brush the syrup on the cake while it’s still warm. Cool completely on the rack before serving.

Happy Baking!

Source: http://www.gritman.com/blog/buttermilk-lemon-verbena-pound-cake/

Fluoride Content in Black Tea, White Tea, Green Tea, and Oolong Tea

Fluoridated water is already overexposing many of us, so avoiding teas that contain high levels of fluoride in addition is a very good choice. 

Many studies recommend consuming a large quantity of tea daily to see health benefits. However, the quality of the tea may be the most important factor to consider since higher quality, loose leaf tea corresponds to minimizing toxins such as fluoride. Green, black, white and oolong teas naturally have differing levels of fluoride in the leaves.

Fluoride in Tea

As the controversy swells regarding fluoride in drinking water, it's important to look at our diet to minimize other sources of fluoride.
For some tea leaves, the fluoride content is high. The type of tea and quality of tea, however, determine the level of fluoride present. Making a healthier choice in tea will both minimize fluoride intake and maximize overall health benefits.
There are varying levels of fluoride in some popular teas: black tea, white tea, green tea and oolong tea. First you will want to understand the potential dangers of fluoride.

Less Fluoride in Young Tea Leaves

The Camellia sinensis plant is what produces the tea leaves for white, green, black and oolong teas. When this tea plant grows, the roots absorb fluoride from the soil and deposit the majority of it in the leaves.
The tea plant in particular is much more efficient at this process than other plants.
Since older, more mature leaves have had more time for this deposition, they contain up to 20 times more fluoride than younger tea leaves.

Anit-Oxidant EGCG Level in Tea Leaves

The powerful anti-oxidant epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) present in tea is responsible for health benefits such as lowering LDL and has anti-cancer properties.
The level of EGCG decreases in more mature tea leaves, giving us further reason to prefer younger tea leaves.

Fluoride Content in Different Types of Tea

Type of Tea	Age of Tea Leaves	Fluoride Content	Notes
Green tea	mature	high	not allowed to oxidize, preserves flavonoids, catechins and polyphenols associated with health benefits
Black tea	mature	high	leaves oxidize after harvest to create unique flavors
Oolong tea	mature	medium/high	oxidation time between green and black tea to create smooth flavors
White tea	buds and young leaves	low	3x more antioxidants than green or black tea
Herbal tea	herbal tea is not made from a true tea plant	none	made from flowers, roots, herbs, etc.

See Linus Pauling Institute website for more detailed fluoride content of teas.

Quality of Tea and Fluoride Content

Younger tea leaves are used in higher quality teas and contain lower fluoride levels.
See the list from highest quality to lowest quality.
1. Loose leaf tea ~ Best Quality
2. Tea dust (tea bags)
3. Bottled tea (fluoride in water plus flouride in tea)
4. Brick tea (oldest leaves formed into brick shape) ~ Lowest Quality

Fluoride Content in Chinese Green Tea vs Japanese Green Tea

Soil in Japan is naturally lower in fluoride compared to China, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Therefore, Japanese green tea will naturally have lower fluoride levels than Chinese green tea.
WHO lists several areas of the world where high naturally occurring fluoride concentrations affect tea crops and drinking water: India, Sri Lanka, parts of Africa and the Middle East (more information).

So... What is the Healthiest Type of Tea?

We should be limiting our total exposure to fluoride from tea, based on the potential dangers associated with fluoride exposure and the high levels present in many types of tea. At the same time, incorporating benefits from different types of teas provides a wide variety of benefits.

• White tea is a true tea that contains high antioxidant power and has low fluoride levels, especially in loose-leaf form.
• Green tea health benefits are well-studied. To incorporate benefits of green tea in the diet, finding a loose leaf option from Japan or a loose leaf option with younger leaves will limit fluoride while providing benefit.
• Loose-leaf black tea and oolong tea from areas with lower environmental fluoride are best if you prefer black or oolong tea.
• The fluoride-free options are herbal teas, but then the health benefits from true tea are not felt.

 Source; http://melisann.hubpages.com/

Leukemia and Lymphoma linked to Aspartame in new landmark study on humans

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.

Confirmation of previous high quality research on animals

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.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23097267
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16507461
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17805418

About the author:
Ethan Evers is author of the award-winning medical thriller "The Eden Prescription," in which cutting-edge researchers perfect an effective, all-natural treatment for cancer, only to be hunted down by pharmaceutical interests which will stop at nothing to protect their $80 billion cancer drug cash machine. The Eden Prescription is based on the latest science and draws on real historical events stretching back to the beginning of the "War on Cancer." Ethan has a PhD in Applied Science.

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/037772_aspartame_leukemia_lymphoma.html#ixzz2B5kZJRSU

Eating a high-carb diet increases your chances of Alzheimer's, study finds

There are a number of reasons why a high-carb diet is not wise, but new research has added yet another reason why you cut down on the pasta: You are more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease.

A new study that was recently released found that older adults who load up on carbs have close to four times the risk of developing mild cognitive impairment.

Researchers also said that sugars played a role in the development of MCI, which very often serves as a precursor to Alzheimer's, according to study results published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease. By comparison, eating additional proteins and some fats can offer protection from MCI, USA Today said, citing the journal.

A team of scientists from Mayo Clinic tracked 1,230 people aged 70-89 and asked if they would provide information on what kinds of foods they at the previous year.

Stopping development of MCI is key

Among the group only the 940 people who showed no appreciable signs of cognitive impairment were asked to return in 15 months for follow-up examination. By the fourth year of the study, 200 of the 940 were beginning to show small signs of cognitive impairment, including problems with memory, judgment, thinking and language.

Lead author Rosebud Roberts, a professor in the department of epidemiology at the clinic, which is located in Rochester, Minn., said not everyone who develops MCI progresses to Alzheimer's disease, which affects some 5.2 million adults around the country. Those numbers are expected to triple by 2050, as Baby Boomers continue to age.

"The research field is trying to find things that can help reduce risk factors for pre-dementia problems," Roberts said, according to USA Today. "If we can stop people from developing MCI, we hope we can stop people from developing dementia. Once you hit the dementia stage, it's irreversible."

Among the foods regarded as complex carbohydrates: rice, pasta, bread and cereals. The digestive system turns them into sugars. Fruits, vegetables and milk products are simple carbs.

"A high-carbohydrate intake could be bad for you because carbohydrates impact your glucose and insulin metabolism," says Roberts. "Sugar fuels the brain, so moderate intake is good. However, high levels of sugar may actually prevent the brain from using the sugar - similar to what we see with Type 2 diabetes."

He said high sugar levels - which are prevalent in high-carb diets - could affect blood vessels in the brain, and might also play a role in the development of beta amyloid plaques, which are proteins that are toxic to brain health and are found in the brains of people who are affected by Alzheimer's. Scientists don't yet know what causes the disease; however, they do suspect a buildup of beta amyloid is a leading cause.

Study offers some hope

Here are some of the study's primary findings:

-- People whose diets were the highest in fat (nuts and healthy oils, for instance) were 42 percent less likely to develop cognitive impairment, while those who had the highest intake of protein (chicken, meat, fish) saw their risk reduced by 21 percent.

-- Many popular diets, including the Mediterranean (fish, protein from poultry and lots of plant-based foods and healthy fats) and Atkins (low-carb diet featuring plenty of meats), make pitches for multiple health benefits that are derived from lowering carb intake, which includes a reduced risk for heart disease, diabetes and improved brain health.

"This (study) is consistent with what we've seen in past published research on how a lower carbohydrate diet can help to reduce the risk of Alzheimer's," Colette Heimowitz, vice president of Nutrition and Education for Atkins Nutritionals Inc., told the paper.

While there currently is no treatment for Alzheimer's besides drugs, Roberts said the study at least offers some hope because "it shows a modifiable way we can reduce risk for the disease.

"It is important to eat a balance of protein, carbohydrates and fat," he added.

Sources:

http://www.usatoday.com

http://www.sfgate.com

Source: http://www.naturalnews.com/037746_Alzheimers_high-carb_diet_disease.html#ixzz2AqERwiZe

More drugs may be linked to meningitis outbreak: FDA

(Reuters) - Two other drugs made by the Massachusetts pharmacy at the center of a deadly meningitis outbreak may be linked to the disease, U.S. health regulators said on Monday, potentially widening the scope of the health crisis.

The Food and Drug Administration said it was looking into reports of a patient with possible meningitis who received an injection of a different steroid than the one found to have caused 15 deaths. It also said two transplant patients were infected with the rare fungus linked to the meningitis outbreak after receiving a heart drug also made by the New England Compounding Center (NECC) of Framingham, Massachusetts.

Nine more people have been diagnosed with fungal meningitis linked to possibly tainted vials of the injected steroid methylprednisolone, bringing the number of cases to 212, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). A Tennessee woman among these cases filed a lawsuit on Monday against NECC seeking $15 million in damages.

Read more here: http://www.reuters.com

A sip of soda: How soft drinks impact your health

Scientists have come up with a blue strawberry by splicing them with fish genes

Scientists are genetically modifying strawberries in order to allow them to resist freezing temperatures better. They're doing it by artificial transfer of genes from a species of fish called the Arctic Flounder Fish. The Arctic Flounder Fish produces an anti-freeze that allows it to protect himself in freezing waters.

They isolated the gene that produces this anti-freeze and introduced it to the strawberry. The result is a strawberry that looks blue and doesn't turn to mush or degrade after being placed in the freezer. While they're not in production, research is ongoing. Would you eat blue strawberries?

Source: http://buzz.naturalnews.com/000061-food-science-GMO.html

Ground under Fukushima Unit 4 sinking, structure on verge of complete collapse

Though the mainstream media has long since abandoned the issue, the precarious situation at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power facility in Japan is only continuing to worsen, according to a prominent Japanese official. During a recent interview, Mitsuhei Murata, the former Japanese Ambassador to both Switzerland and Senegal, explained that the ground beneath the plant's Unit 4 is gradually sinking, and that the entire structure is very likely on the verge of complete collapse.

This is highly concerning, as Unit 4 currently holds more than 1,500 spent nuclear fuel rods, and a collective 37 million curies of deadly radiation that, if released, could make much of the world completely uninhabitable. As some Natural News readers will recall, Unit 4 contains the infamous elevated cooling pool that was severely damaged following the catastrophic earthquake and tsunami that struck on March 11, 2011.

According to the Secretary of former Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan, the ground beneath Unit 4 has already sunk by about 31.5 inches since the disaster, and this sinking has taken place unevenly. If the ground continues to sink, which it is expected to, or if another earthquake of even as low as a magnitude six occurs in the region, the entire structure could collapse, which would fully drain the cooling pool and cause a catastrophic meltdown.

"If Unit 4 collapses, the worse case scenario will be a meltdown, and a resultant fire in the atmosphere. That will be the most unprecedented crisis that man has ever experienced. Nobody will be able to approach the plants ... as all will have melted down and caused a big fire," said Murata during the interview. "Many scientists say if Unit 4 collapses, not only will Japan lie in ruin, but the entire world will also face serious damages."

Because there are 31 nuclear units of a similar type to Unit 4 in the U.S., the American government has been downplaying the disaster to protect its own reputation, alleges Murata. This is, in fact, the primary reason why so little has been reported on the severity of Fukushima following the disaster. The American empire, in other words, does not want the world, nor the American people, to know that there is the possibility of literally dozens of Fukushima situations occurring on American soil, should the right disaster situations arise.

You can watch the full 3:51 minute translated interview with Murata at the following link:
http://youtu.be/-LCTv65aqgA

Sources for this article include:

http://enenews.com

http://www.naturalnews.com/035789_Fukushima_Cesium-137_Plume-Gate.html

Source: http://www.naturalnews.com/037556_Fukushima_power_plant_collapse.html#ixzz29hXBLVKD

Say goodbye to gluten: Over 200 clinically confirmed reasons to avoid wheat

This title is the same as a recent GreenMedInfo.com. It contains a list of over 200 health problems, with celiac disease at the top and including many more not normally associated with gluten intolerance.

The author and founder of GreenMedInfo.com, Sayer Ji, prefers the term gluten toxicity to gluten sensitivity or gluten intolerance... "in order to shift the focus away from the victim back to the aggressor, the gluten itself."

Sayer Ji's GreenMedInfo.com article lists all the disorders linked to gluten. They are hyperlinked to articles and abstracts of clinical studies recorded in MedLine since 1971.

Explaining the attack on wheat and other grains

Negative reports on wheat and other grains have risen considerably in the past decade. The dramatic rise of celiac disease, a chronic gut inflammation that destroys intestinal villi (tiny tubes) responsible for absorbing nutrients, has been a major focus.

The gluten toxicity that brings on Celiac disease and other autoimmune reactions is mostly from peptides contained in gluten known as gliadin proteins, which damage the intestinal tract.

In addition to Celiac disease, which if undetected leads to malnutrition that creates other diseases, gluten toxicity can result in several other manifestations of poor health, including chronic fatigue and mental disorders.

Lectins, sticky proteins common to all plants for self defense, are a prominent feature of wheat germ agglutinin (WGA). In addition to flattening out intestinal villi and causing Celiac, they can penetrate gut linings and create leaky gut.

Once lectins get into the blood stream, they can bind to leptin receptors, blocking the leptin sensitivity that lets you know you've had enough to eat, creating a sluggish metabolism, and disrupting insulin balance. In other words, it leads to obesity and diabetes.

So how did the "staff of life" become a weed of disease?

For starters, wheat is not the same today. It has been hybrid over time to resist fungus, grow more quickly, and be more pliable for industrial bread baking. 50 years or so ago, wheat contained only five percent gluten. Today, it is 50 percent gluten.

The food industry's concern for production efficiency and perception of consumer demands has focused on the bottom line with the usual disregard to the negative health consequences of fellow humans. Breads and other baked goods are hastily produced with additives and short cuts that are actually toxic.

In the UK, some of Europe, and North America, slightly different high speed methods of baking evolved over time. By adding "improvers" with usually toxic additives and mixing the dough violently, loaves of bread could be baked, cooled, and packaged within a few short hours.

Agricultural resources then sped up the hybrid process for wheat to accommodate the baking industry's mechanical requirements of pliable proteins, leading to the 10-fold increase of wheat's gluten since that time.

This situation has permeated almost all nations. There are some exceptions; for instance, most of Europe doesn't permit chemically bleaching flour to produce white bread. They use sunlight to "bleach" wheat.

Having your cake and eating it too

Not all of us are prepared to go strictly Paleo and exclude all grains and legumes. Some of us still prefer not to eat animals, and if the food supply bottom falls out, many aren't ready and able to kill and skin deer or other animals to survive.

Grains such as rice and dried legumes are easy to hoard and use for survival if the store shelves become empty overnight. The common concern for rice and legumes is phytates or phytic acid, which can block minerals from being absorbed in our bodies.

Overnight soaking, a prerequisite for cooking dry beans, has been known to minimize phytates, or phytic acid. Rice can be soaked overnight as well. The process of cooking itself reduces phytic acid.

Using sprouted wheat flour can ameliorate some of WGA's toxicity. Baking with sourdough starters instead of normal baker's yeast can help also, while combining both may be optimum (http://www.foodrenegade.com). It appears Whole Foods bakery does so.

Wheat's gluten toxicity is reduced by sourdough starters properly fermented for 24 hours or more. A University of Alberta Canadian cereal microbiologist, Michael Gaenzle, suggests that sourdough bread, homemade or from a trusted bakery, may be at least a solution for gluten toxicity.

He referred to a study where recovered Celiac patients suffered no consequences from eating fermented (sourdough) wheat bread for two days. Those who ate regularly produced wheat bread did have a relapse.

The demand for continuing at least a partial grain diet safely has inspired one company, Vitamin Research Products to offer a natural supplement called Lectin Lock, which they claim will help reduce WGA gummy lectins.

Chronic health issues may or may not be from WGA toxicity. Katherine Czapp, whose WATF article is linked below, suggests testing for Celiac disease with Enerolab. (https://www.enterolab.com/default.aspx)

Source: http://www.naturalnews.com/037575_gluten_wheat_grains.html#ixzz29hWIuFcM

The time between today and the day the global debt collapse reaches our shores is finite. The U.S. national debt clock shows a nation spiraling into financial oblivion. When Ron Paul says "Americans should be panicking" over the Fed's new QE unlimited policy of infinite money creation, he was actually holding back. In reality, Americans should have been protesting in the streets... everywhere!

But instead, they're going to deny reality, vote in the upcoming election, and pretend that whoever occupies the Oval Office has both the intention and the power to make any real difference. That belief is delusional, as is the belief that the national debt somehow doesn't really matter.

The delusions are, of course, leading us all directly into a head-on collision with history, where the global debt collapse unfolds at a quickening pace and becomes "real" for hundreds of millions of people in North America who have so far escaped the reality of the financial collapse happening across Europe. Before that day comes, here are 26 things you might want to get done.

26 things to get done before the global debt collapse

See a holistic dentist and get the mercury removed from your mouth.

Buy some hardcopy books so you have something to read when the power grid fails.

Move your money out of the big globalist banks.

Bury your gold and silver. Use an appropriate container to protect from moisture and don't forget to tell someone else where you've buried things, just in case you don't make it.

Get the heck out of the city and learn some country living skills.

Pay off as many assets as you can so you have a clear title to anything you don't want the banks to seize.

Get right with God or whatever spiritual focal point you practice.

Wrap up needed apologies or forgiveness. Don't allow regrets to burden you in a time of crisis.

Make color copies of all your important documents, then store them in a safe place. (BTW, a bank's safe deposit box is NOT a safe place. Those will all be looted.)

Get off prescription meds. Any dependence on prescription drugs is a death wish in a collapse scenario.

Stock up on diatomaceous earth (DE) to protect your garden vegetables. The stuff stores forever.

Stock up on extra glasses or contact lenses if you might need them.

Get fit, you'll need to be more fit if you hope to survive.

Take out some cash and start saving nickels. Why? Because nickels are actually still worth a nickel in terms of what they're physically made of.

Learn to use shortwave radio, or better yet get a radio operator's license.

Learn and practice basic gardening skills.

Learn how to raise chickens, goats or other small animals.

Buy a premium-quality set of basic gardening tools, even if you don't yet garden.

Get training on how to use your firearms. When you really need them, there won't be time to practice. If you want to practice on your own, buy the new book by Joe Nobody, entitled, "The Home Schooled Shootist" and start using it.

If you own rifles, sight them all in and use threadlock on anything that might work itself loose in a firefight. You don't want your gear falling apart when you need it most.

Plant some figs, aloe vera or other low-maintenance food-producing plants. Do it now to give these plants as much time as possible to start producing food.

Stock up on salt, colloidal silver and other hard-to-get items that you'll routinely need.

Spend more time outdoors to get used to sunlight exposure.

Store away an emergency seed kit.

Get a reliable guard dog who can help provide protection for your family and property.

Buy extra pairs of socks. You can never have too many pairs of quality socks. And you absolutely do not want to have to make them yourself later on.

Obviously, this list can go on forever, but these 26 things should be at the top of your "preparedness to-do list." Bang out as many as you can while staying healthy, informed, well stocked and as far away from high density population areas as possible. The cities will suffer the most in almost any conceivable debt collapse scenario, so take advantage of the relative tranquility that exists right now to move out of the city and get squared away out in the country.

Trust me, you'll be glad you did very, very soon. In terms of timelines, many smart people think we are on the verge of a sudden global debt collapse. Others think we're heading into a "slow collapse" that could accelerate over the next 2-3 years. Some people believe a lot is riding on the upcoming election, and what I'm hearing is that if Romney gets elected, many Obama supporters are going to riot in the streets. Whereas if Obama gets re-elected, U.S. business owners may very well revolt against the failed economic policies Obama has so far pursued. Either way, it's not a pretty picture. Either way, you need to get prepared now for the inevitable.

Source: http://www.naturalnews.com/037577_debt_collapse_checklist_preparedness.html#ixzz29hU3YhRt

Type 2 diabetes breakthrough: Imbalance in gut bacteria likely cause

We've all heard the news about the enormous, world-wide epidemic of type 2 diabetes. Not only is this form of diabetes (which results from the body's inability to effectively use insulin) soaring among adults, it is now hitting children and teens as well. The World Health Organization (WHO) says the cause is primarily excess body weight and weight physical inactivity.

But breakthrough research just published in the journal Nature strongly indicates another, bottom line cause has been discovered - an imbalance of "good" versus "bad" bacteria in the intestinal tract appears to trigger type 2 diabetes.

Sound familiar? Natural health advocates have long insisted that a healthy digestive tract is crucial to preventing and treating diseases and that making sure there's a healthy balance between the "good" bacteria and the disease-promoting kind is key. In recent years, this concept has been backed up by numerous studies linking the overuse of antibiotics, which wipe out the "good" germs in the gut, to serious ills. Researchers have also found that promoting a healthy internal flora rich in the "good" kind of bacteria is beneficial in a myriad of ways - including boosting the immune system to fight flu and treating Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. And research recently published by Austrian scientists in the Journal of Clinical Investigation suggests an unhealthy balance of gut flora could cause obesity and metabolic syndrome which have long been linked to type 2 diabetes.

"We have demonstrated that people with type 2 diabetes have a high level of pathogens in their intestines," lead researcher for the Nature study, Jun Wang from the University of Copenhagen's Department of Biology and Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research, said in a media statement.

The research team pointed out the 1.5 kilograms of bacteria that each of us carries around in our intestines have a huge impact on our well-being. If the equilibrium of what is known as this "microflora" in the gut is disrupted, health can suffer. For their study, the scientists zeroed in on the intestinal bacteria of 345 people from China. The 171 research subjects who had type 2 diabetes were found to have "a more hostile bacterial environment in their intestines" than those not suffering from the disease. The study suggests this kind of out-of-balance gut flora could increase resistance to different medicines as well as likely be the trigger for type 2 diabetes. The scientists identified specific biological indicators in the gut flora that could eventually be used to identify those at risk of type 2 diabetes as well as to diagnose the disease.

"We are going to transplant gut bacteria from people that suffer from type 2 diabetes into mice and examine whether the mice then develop diabetes," another of the lead scientists behind the project, professor Oluf Borbye Pedersen from the University of Copenhagen, stated.

What can you do to keep your internal flora healthy and balanced? For starters, avoid antibiotics as much as possible. Also, eat a healthy diet that includes prebiotics (naturally occurring substances found in thousands of plants species that foster a healthy environment in the colon that's hostile to the "bad" bacteria) and probiotics (the "good" bacteria that is found in fermented foods like kefir, yogurt and sauerkraut that can crowd out bad bacteria and replenish the "good" kind that can be wiped out by antibiotics).

Sources:

http://www.eurekalert.org/emb_releases/2012-09/uoc-gbc092512.php
http://www.eurekalert.org/emb_releases/2012-09/bs-bpa092612.php
http://www.jci.org/articles/view/58109
http://www.naturalnews.com/026265.html
http://www.naturalnews.com/031260_probiotics_Crohns_disease.html

About the author:
Sherry Baker is a widely published writer whose work has appeared in Newsweek, Health, the Atlanta Journal and Constitution, Yoga Journal, Optometry, Atlanta, Arthritis Today, Natural Healing Newsletter, OMNI, UCLA's "Healthy Years" newsletter, Mount Sinai School of Medicine's "Focus on Health Aging" newsletter, the Cleveland Clinic's "Men's Health Advisor" newsletter and many others.

 

Source: http://www.naturalnews.com/037336_type-2_diabetes_gut_bacteria_imbalance.html#ixzz27nLlvkJ9

Bleaching agent used in foamed plastics like yoga mats and shoe soles found in McDonald's McRib sandwich!

The fact that most fast foods are not a smart, healthy diet choice is well documented by now. Still, it never ceases to amaze us here at Natural News just what kind of harmful garbage fast food companies put in some of their most popular items.

Take the McRib sandwich from McDonald's. Considering its ingredients, it's a good thing that the fast food chain only offers it once in a while.

According to the restaurant's website, here are just three of the 70 chemicals and ingredients the sandwich contains: azodicarbonamide, ammonium sulfate and polysorbate 80.

Chock full of...chemicals

"These components are in small enough quantities to be innocuous. But it's still a little disconcerting to know that, for example, azodicarbonamide, a flour-bleaching agent that is most commonly used in the manufacture of foamed plastics like in gym mats and the soles of shoes, is found in the McRib bun," Time magazine reported, noting that the compound is banned in Europe and Australia as an additive to foods (the U.S., meanwhile, limits it to 45 parts per million in commercial flour products, according to an analysis of laboratory testing).

In fact, the United Kingdom's Health and Safety Executive has classified azodicarbonamide as a "respiratory sensitizer" that can potentially contribute to asthma via exposure on the job.

Why the attention? Because the sandwich has developed a sort of cult-like following since it was first introduced, writes Brad Tuttle at Time's Moneyland.

"Few fast food menu items can say they have their own Facebook page. Then again, few fast food items have experienced the roller coaster-like ups and downs of the McRib," he writes. "First introduced in 1982, the sandwich first disappeared in 1985, but then has periodically resurfaced in McDonald's in the U.S. and abroad. The McRib's cult-like following has generated not only Facebook pages, but McRib Locator websites and a Twitter account."

Perhaps if more Americans actually knew what was in a McRib they would be far less eager to find one. Besides the presence of a plethora of questionable ingredients, the sandwich itself is just over the top in terms of sodium content (980 mg - more than half of the daily recommended allowance) and saturated fat (10 g - not exactly heart-healthy).

Even 'healthy' fast food...isn't

The McRib revelations go hand in hand with earlier field research that has found fast food wanting in terms of providing consumers with a healthy choice - even when the same fast food restaurants are hawking supposedly "healthy" choices.

Again, consider McDonald's. New York Times food writer Mark Bittman wrote that the chain's Fruit & Maple Oatmeal, which was introduced in early 2011, isn't even marginally better for you, in terms of caloric intake, saturated fats, etc., despite being sold as a "bowl full of wholesome."

The oatmeal and McDonald's story broke late last year, when Mickey D's, in its ongoing effort to tell us that it's offering "a selection of balanced choices" ... began to sell the cereal. Yet in typical McDonald's fashion, the company is doing everything it can to turn oatmeal into yet another bad choice. ... A more accurate description than "100 percent natural whole-grain oats," "plump raisins," "sweet cranberries" and "crisp fresh apples" would be "oats, sugar, sweetened dried fruit, cream and 11 weird ingredients you would never keep in your kitchen."

Some people might even justify this by saying that buying the McDonald's version of oatmeal is at least much more convenient than making it at home, but many of those people likely have never made oatmeal at home. Besides, what about the waiting in line and the additional cost?

Other so-called "healthy foods" that are being misrepresented by fast-food chains include:

-- McDonald's Premium Caesar Salad with Grilled Chicken (220 cal., 6 g of fat and 5 g of sugar per serving - without the dressing).

-- Jamba Juice's Mango Mantra Light Smoothie (Mango-a-go-go contains 85g of sugar - far above the daily limit of 34g of added sugar for women and 36g for men that is recommended by the American Heart Association).

-- Subway's Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki Sandwich (contains 760 cal. and 2,020 mg of sodium - that's 520 mg more salt than the USDA recommends that children, those with high blood pressure, the elderly and African Americans should consume in an entire day; it also contains 34 grams of sugar, all you should reasonably have in a single day).

Sources:

http://healthland.time.com

http://www.ohsrep.org.au

http://healthland.time.com