GMO Labeling Bill Passes Senate – Did Whole Foods Sell Us Out?

On Thursday, July 7th, the senate voted 63-30 to approved a bipartisan compromise bill for a federal labeling of food made with genetically modified organisms. The bill is moving to the House of Representatives next.

Proponents of the bill say the law will be good for consumers, allowing shoppers to know what they’re getting, and the bill will provide a national standard for labeling.

There are three labeling options. Companies can label the food product as genetically modified or they can use a symbol that denotes GMOs, an on-pack symbol, the bar code, or the unreadable QR product code. When companies choose to label only through the QR code (and we guess that’s what most will do), the customer is expected to scan the barcode with their smartphones or call an 800 number.

Critics are quick to point out that this law will wipe out existing labeling laws like Vermont’s current legislation that does require clear and conscious GMO labeling. Also, this bill could exempt certain genetically modified foods from any kind of GMO labeling.

Proponents of labeling insisted that nothing short of text on packages would do. Some, including Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont and erstwhile presidential candidate, also raised concerns over the definition in the bill for determining which foods would require labels, a sign that if the bill becomes law, legal challenges will almost certainly follow.” – New York Times

For example, if a biotech product is genetically engineered with items ‘found in nature,’ (such as bacteria), then it can be passed as a natural food product. Other GMOs, which cannot yet be detected by current technology, would also pass as whole foods under the new law. This would include foods made with non in vitro recombinant DNA techniques.” – Natural News

The USDA Secretary would also have the power to determine what concentration of GMO ingredients would fall under the labeling law, so it’s not unlikely consumers may ingest GMOs even after verifying that the QR bar Code says no GMO.

Even if the customer has a phone and a QR bar code app, and wants to take the time to scan the product, more often than not, cell phones don’t work at all or the internet is extremely slow inside a grocery store. Some grocery stores don’t even allow cell phones (This is true for Dekalb Farmer’s Market in Decatur Georgia. Be sure to check them out if you haven’t).

The law will not go into effect for two years if it does make it all the way to be signed into law. Consumers will have to wait, and no other states will be able to legislate labeling in the meantime.

Is Whole Foods in Cahoots With Monsanto?

Walter Robb, the CEO of Whole Foods backs the new bill, saying:

The alternative is that Vermont goes into effect and then there’s a number of other states behind that, it makes it difficult for manufacturers to be able to label and label to that different standard…

And I think the way she’s put the bill together, which is to give manufacturers choices, is I think the marketplace and the customers will take it from here… so obviously, I think she’s done a great piece of work… we are already are out there further with our commitment to full transparency by 2018. We’re not gonna… we’re looking at how these two live with each other, but we’re already past that, but I think in this day and age, to come together, to create some sort of a reasonable standard that manufacturers can… and gives the customer a lot more information is a pretty good thing.”

Whole Foods backed the bill. As Walter made clear, Whole Foods is looking out for their food manufacturers first and foremost. Whole Foods has helped champion the idea of food transparency, but the company would not get behind previous, more conscious legislation to label GMO foods. This bill’s ambiguous text leaves a lot to be interpreted, and it is clear this is a bill written by the food companies in an attempt to appease the public without actually affecting GMO sales.

Conclusion

If the bill passes into law, is it a step in the right direction? Maybe. It depends on how the legislation plays out. The bill, as it is now, leaves so much up for interpretation. The harder the public pushes for transparency, the more likely the bill will get better for consumers along the way, or get replaced by something better. Regardless, the best way to avoid GMOs is to avoid buying processed, manufactured food. Stick to the produce section in grocery stores (whole produce GMOs are very rare), visit your local farmer’s markets and get to know the farmers (not the guys who buy food from distributors and pretend to be farmers, get to know the actual farmers). And grow your own food! It’ll be interesting to see what happens with labeling whole produce if the bill passes and more foods do get genetically modified.

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Autism, Gut Health, Obesity, the MMR Vaccine, and Andrew Wakefield

In recent years, scientists have learned more about the microbes residing in the human gut and how they affect health and wellbeing. We have learned that microbes outnumber human cells in the body – roughly 90% microbes to 10% human cells. We know the microbes in our gut help digest our food and in the process help create vitamins, neurotransmitters, and hormones. We know 80% of our immunity begins in the gut. We are beginning to understand the link between the gut, autoimmune diseases, and neurological syndromes.

Earlier studies confirmed that bacteria in the gut of obese people is different than normal intestinal flora. Thin people have a diverse and plentiful microbial ecosystem in their gut, whereas obese individuals do not. Some particular strains in obese people even differ from those who are lean. Transplanting these microbes can cause obesity in mice studies. Further studies will tell us if the reverse is true, if transplanting healthy microbes can reverse obesity.

Next, we learned that maternal obesity was associated with alterations in the gut microbiome of their babies. Then scientists performed statistical studies that revealed children born to obese mothers showed an increased risk of neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Then the question arose – Does the intestinal microbiota and what has been known as the gut brain axis play a part in neurodevelopmental disorders? Could altered gut microbiota induce autistic behaviors?

The answer is a resounding yes. A new study clearly showed that mice born to obese mothers were missing several strains of bacteria in their guts. Behavior equivalent to autism in humans become prevalent in this group. When given the missing bacterial species, oxytocin levels and synaptic dysfunction were corrected and social deficit behaviors were reversed, but not all symptoms were eliminated.

This fascinating study clearly linked gut health and autism, and opened the door to further research as well as prevention and treatment options for obesity and autism.

How many children have been sacrificed to protect the pharmaceutical industry in the last 20 years?

This is not the first time that gastrointestinal disease has been associated with autism. An earlier investigation into the connection between gut health and autism began 20 years ago. Unfortunately, the causal factor for that study was not maternal obesity. Instead, the MMR vaccine appeared to be the common cause of the intestinal disease in most of the children, but like the recent study, the intestinal disease was clearly tied to the autism.

A Fresh Look at Dr. Andrew Wakefield

It all began on May 17th, 1995, when Dr. Andrew Wakefield received a call from a mother who told him that her child was developing normally before receiving an MMR vaccination. After the vaccine, her child regressed into autism and began suffering from terrible gastrointestinal problems. She told him there were other children she knew of with the same story.

In February 1998, Dr. Andrew Wakefield, Prof. John Walker Smith, Dr. Simon Murch, and 10 other co-authors published a case study of 12 children in the Lancet, a British Medical Journal. The case study of these 12 autistic children with gastrointestinal disease stated the following:

“Findings: Onset of behavioral symptoms was associated, by the parents, with measles, mumps, rubella vaccination in 8 of the 12 children.” Lancet 1998

The researchers were correctly reporting information as collected, as they would in any case study. But Wakefield went on to publicly bring attention to the possibility that the MMR vaccine might be a causal factor in autism, and he recommended that parents choose the individual measles, mumps, and rubella shots (spaced out over time) rather than the MMR combination vaccine.

The individual shots, which were available in both the UK and the USA at the time of Wakefield’s recommendation, were soon discontinued (within 6 months in the UK). The publication, the publicity, and the controversy caused an uproar. Dr. Wakefield was blamed for a sharp decline in vaccine compliance in the UK and to some extent in the U.S.A.

Dr. Wakefield contends that the decline in the MMR was matched by an uptake of the individual shots before they were discontinued, that vaccine compliance was not actually affected until the individual shots were discontinued. He believes the blame for the decline in the vaccination rate should rest with those who chose to discontinue the individual vaccines.

The controversy Dr. Wakefield stirred was probably enough to make him a target, but he increased his risk by agreeing to serve as an expert witness for parents of autistic children who were entering litigation.

Then the United Kingdom General Medical Council regulatory board (GMC), the licensing board for physicians in England, ruled that the study and the published paper were fraudulent. Ten of the authors signed a letter retracting the claim that the MMR vaccine caused autism, even though the paper stated no such conclusion. Wakefield, Smith, and Murch refused to sign the paper and were brought up before the GMC on misconduct charges.

In an interview, Andy Wakefield said,

At the GMC, there were 3 defendants: Professor Walker Smith, who was at the time the world’s leading pediatric gastroenterologist, a very senior man with an impeccable record, an unimpeachable career, one of his juniors, Dr. Simon Murch, and… and myself. All three of us were found guilty.

“Simon Murch did not lose his license, but Walker Smith and I lost our license. He was then funded to appeal in the English high court. I did appeal but I … for financial reasons… it was impossible for me to pursue that. And it was not a primary objective after that to restore my license. There were more import things to do.

“But Professor Walker Smith did appeal and at that appeal, the first time this case had ever come before a proper judiciary…a proper judge… and the judge destroyed the General Medical Council’s decision.

“He said effectively they were incompetent. They were not in a position to judge the evidence. That they made mistakes; they got the facts wrong. They misrepresented the evidence. And worse of all, they were biased. They had made up their minds from the outset that we were guilty. And he completely overturned their decision and said in effect this must never happen again.

“Walker Smith was completely reinstated and all charges against him utterly dismissed. Ninety percent of the charges against Walker Smith were the same charges as those against me. The paper should have been reinstated and yet the Lancet editor refused to do that in order to protect his reputation and his job.”

It was 2012 when Professor Smith won his appeal against the GMC and his license to practice medicine was restored. The story, according to Wakefield, was published in one newspaper. How many children have been sacrificed to protect the pharmaceutical industry in the last 20 years?

Andy Wakefield continues to defend the paper he and his co-authors published, and he continues to state the need for the MMR vaccine to be discontinued and individual shots to be manufactured and distributed in its place. He recently came back into the news as the director of the film Vaxxed: From Cover Up to Catastrophe, a film about the CDC whistleblower, Dr. William Thompson who revealed data was removed from a study that confirmed a link between the MMR vaccine and autism.

Though Andrew Wakefield is alive and well, when Del Bigtree, the producer of Vaxxed, discussed Wakefield’s past, the loss of his license, position, and influence in this critical area of research, he sounds like he is delivering a eulogy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rR4br7WrkqA

The world lost one of the greatest scientific minds of our times when Andy Wakefield was taken from us. This was a man who was doing studies that were going to lead to healthier vaccines and better ways to take care of the health of our children. That, unfortunately, was going to cost a lot of money for the vaccine industry, and they cared a lot more about their industry and their money than they did the health of children. And so I can confidently say, that I am proud to be working on this picture about the CDC whistleblower with Andy Wakefield.”  – Del Bigtree interview for ABC World News Tonight 3/26/16

Conclusion

Clearly, evidence that our health is dependent on our gut microbiome keeps growing. Leaky gut syndrome leads to a host of illnesses including autoimmune diseases. The microbiome is linked to mental illness, obesity, and immunity. And now, we once again are seeing a clear link with autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders on the autism spectrum.

Whether adult or child, a healthy gut is fundamental to a healthy life. And gut health begins with diet. A prebiotic diet with 80% fresh, raw, organic produce helps establish and maintain a healthy microbiome. We need to avoid antibiotics along with artificial flavors, colors, and preservatives. Eliminate MSG and GMOs. Limit or eliminate processed sugar and gluten. Eat real food, not nutrient stripped processed food. Avoid pesticides.

We can rebuild a healthy gut through diet as we detox from heavy metals and the chemicals that disrupt and kill healthy bacteria in our gut. We can kill off the overgrowth of Candida that causes us to have a permeable gut. We can choose to live a healthy lifestyle and we can help our children live a healthy lifestyle. Some of those choices will be hard. Do we continue to eat the standard American diet? Do we keep poisoning our food and our bodies with glyphosate and GMOs? Do we use conventional soaps and shampoos filled with chemicals? Do we follow the current vaccine schedule? With the looming prediction that 1 of every 2 children will have autism if we continue on this path, we need to make the right decisions now.

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CDC Alert: Candida Auris – Our Latest Superbug Creation

Fungal infections caused by Candida are the most common type of fungal infections in the world. Fiercely opportunistic, Candida is a part of everyone’s intestinal flora. It doesn’t actually cause problems unless it takes over and crowds out the good bacteria. Then it causes numerous health issues. Four different species of Candida make up the majority of fungal infections in the United States: Candida albicans, Candida tropicalis, Candida glabrata, and Candida parapsilosis. If you catch them early, most of these Candida infections can be taken care of with an adjustment in diet.

A Possible Scenario

The conventional medical treatment for Candida involves pharmaceuticals. Somewhat effective in killing Candida, these drugs also kill other microbes in the intestinal tract and leave you without enough beneficial bacteria to fight off other new infections.

The Center for Disease Control has issued a clinical alert to U.S. healthcare facilities asking them to be on the lookout for one such infection associated with high mortality, a resilient species of yeast called Candida auris that has shown resistance to three major classes of antifungals.

The New, Interesting Fun Guy on the Block

Identified in 10 countries worldwide, including the U.S, Japan, South Korea, and the United Kingdom, Candida auris causes invasive infections in the ear, bloodstream, and wounds. It has also shown up in the respiratory tract and in urine tests.

It may be underreported. Advanced testing facilities are needed to isolate and confirm Candida auris since it closely resembles other species of Candida. There’s speculation that Candida auris is not a new species as much as it is a result of the medical community’s unintentional and highly successful super-bacteria and fungus breeding program.

The Hospital is a Petri Dish

So why the clinical alert from the CDC, as opposed to a general notice? Tests of Candida auris outbreaks in healthcare facilities in other countries have been very closely related genetically, suggesting that the healthcare facilities are where the fungus is developing and thriving. 

pathogen memeConsider the sad irony. The fungal and bacterial pathogens that pose the most risk to us are the result of the healthcare and farm industries.

The origin of the average yeast infection isn’t a mystery, as Candida exists in everyone’s personal microbes. But the evolution of a common garden variety microbe into a species associated with a high mortality rate gets a boost from the lack of competition and the survive and thrive environment of a hospital. Go to the hospital for a yeast infection, take medication and wipe it out (along with a lot of your beneficial microbes), and you might pick up something new while you are even less equipped to fight pathogens. Convenient, no?

Are We Prepared for What’s Next?

There was one confirmed case of Candida auris in the U.S. in 2013 (although due to the lack of definitive testing, that number is likely to be higher). Sure that’s one case. But if only one confirmed case in the United States is enough for the CDC to issue a clinical alert, what does that say about this particular infection?

Bacteria and fungi are becoming increasingly resistant to drug therapy and last resort medications, and it stands to reason that the evolution of parasites and other microbes will follow close behind. In the twenty years since the first identification of Candida auris, the fungus is rapidly burning a hole through standard treatments. It’s past time to stop making drug therapy the first response. If the symptoms of these conditions continue to be merely managed and repeat infections are treated rather than addressing their causes with real change and education, everyone will be affected, not just the people who have to check into the hospital.

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How Himalayan Salt Lamps Work

Have you been wondering what the deal is with those salt lamps? It’s not just the nice ambient light. Salt lamps actually help filter the air, removing dirt, pollen, bacteria, viruses, pet dander, mold spores, positive ions, and more. Right now, salt lamps seem to be all the rage within the natural health community. Users report a dramatic change in the quality of air in their home, leading to many health benefits.

Reported health benefits of Himalayan salt lamps include:

  • Improves difficulty with breathing
  • Reduces allergy symptoms
  • Less stress due to a calming and soothing effect
  • Better cognitive function, ablility to concentrate
  • Less fatigue when working for long periods around other electronics
  • Fewer headaches and migraines
  • Reduced symptoms from many autoimmune diseases like rheumatism and arthritis.
  • Skin is healthier, more supple
  • Insomnia is relieved (though those who suffer from insomnia may not do well with the light on at night; reviews are mixed on this issue)
  • Fresher air that smells better and feels better to breathe
  • A better overall sense of health and wellbeing

See for yourself. If you typically sit and work at a computer for your job, this will be easy. Put a salt lamp on your desk next to you for a day and compare the difference. Anyone who is in tune with their body will be able to feel it easily, but understanding why this happens is a bit more complicated, but very illuminating (pun intended).

(you can purchase salt lamps here)

Recommended: Best Supplements To Kill Candida and Everything Else You Ever Wanted To Know About Fungal Infections

Positive and Negative Ions

An ion is a molecule that, through environmental influences, has lost or gained an electron. The names seem a little backward from our perspective. Positive ions have a negative effect on us while negative ions have a positive effect. Positive ions are usually carbon dioxide molecules that have been stripped of an electron. Negative ions are usually oxygen molecules that have gained an electron. Negative and positive ions are drawn to each other. They bind to neutralize.

Positive ions are created by electrical equipment: clothes dryers, computers, hair dryers, vacuum cleaners, microwaves, televisions, electric stoves, wireless networks, etc. They are also created by pollution. City air is filled with positive ions.

Negative ions are abundant in nature, especially in forests, near the ocean, and near waterfalls. They are created by the movement of water, by sunlight, and by the Earth’s radiation. When you sit beside a waterfall or stand on the beach near the ocean, you breathe in air that just seems to fill you with energy. This is the effect of negative ions.

Incidentally, old growth forests produce many more ions than young forests.

The trouble is, with our lives predominantly spent in offices, houses, and cars, we’re blocking out nature’s negative ions while we produce positive ions that bombard our bodies virtually every minute of every day.

EMFs, like daylight, and blue and white lights, depress the conversion of serotonin to melatonin, and melatonin is what the body needs for quality sleep.

Recommended: Best Supplements To Kill Lyme and Everything Else You Ever Wanted To Know About Lyme Disease

The Positive Health Benefits of Negative Ions

This is what most sellers of salt lamps focus on.

Bacteria, mold, and yeast flourish in a positive ion environment. Many allergens and other air pollutants are positively charged, and the positive ions themselves are believed to have a detrimental effect on our health as well. Research is really just getting started in this area, and it is a source of much debate and contention. A this point, we do know that at least there are serious health issues with some people when exposed to EMFs.

Negative ions will “detoxify” the air. The negative ions attach to the positively charged particles in large numbers, causing mold spores, pollen, pet dander, cigarette smoke, bacteria, viruses, odors, dust, and other hazardous airborne particles to become too heavy to stay airborne. But negative ions by themselves seem to provide health benefits as well. This surfeit of negative ions has long been associated with improvements in mood and physical health. It’s still early, but research conducted in the last decade is now starting to show that negative ions have a net positive effect on our health (aside from the aforementioned benefits of neutralizing the air). Ideally, we should be spending most of our time in nature not only to get away from positive ions, but to immerse ourselves in negative ions.

One of the most tantalizing hints regarding negative ions and health surfaced when German researchers discovered a link between catecholamine regulation and lifespan after depriving experimental animals of negative ions. First, researchers at the Goldstein and Lewin Dept. of Medical Research in Stahnsdorf, Germany isolated mice and rats in air-tight, sealed acrylic cases. Next, they filtered the ambient air to remove all negative ions from the sealed cases. Their research led to the discovery that a prolonged deficiency of negative ions led to an accelerated rate of death for the experimental animals. Examination of the animals led researchers to conclude that the results ‘…strongly suggest that animal death is related to disturbances in neurohormonal regulation and pituitary insufficiency.'” – NutritionReview.org

Outdoor conditions away from the city have an average ratio of 40% positive ions to 60% negative ions. Inside our homes and offices, there’s a huge buildup of excess positive ions. This is why we have static electricity inside buildings. Rub your feet on carpet and touch a doorknob and you might get a shock, but you won’t be able to repeat this process out in a forest.

Recommended: Sugar Leads to Depression – World’s First Trial Proves Gut and Brain are Linked (Protocol Included)

Common building materials that contribute to electrostatic buildup include carpets, vinyl, plastics, drapes made with synthetic materials, wallpaper, paints, varnishes, dimmer switches, poorly wired homes (not up to current code), smart meters, and much more. Fluorescent lighting is a huge source of EMFs. Forcing people to work or attend school under this fluorescent lighting was one of the worst ideas of the 20th century. Most of our buildings also have poor ventilation and low humidity which allows static energy to build up.  As if that wasn’t enough, the ductwork, copy machines, printers, computers, and other devices that ground will actually ground off the beneficial negative ions, leaving a greater number of positive ions.

Bacteria, mold and yeast flourish in a positive ion environment. Ductwork, copy machines, computers and other devices ground off negative ions resulting in a greater number of positive ions. The grounding off of negative ions in HVAC systems contributes to bacteria and mold growth in the air distribution network. Frequent cleaning of ductwork and sanitizing it with a non-toxic citric cleanser can eliminate a predisposition to ‘sick building syndrome,’ but will not solve negative ion depletion.”  – Richard Crowther

How Do Salt Lamps Generate Negative Ions?

Salt attracts moisture. The small amount of heat given off by the light bulb inside of the block of salt creates heat, evaporating the moisture. This evaporation action, as previously mentioned, will reduce the amount of positive ions in the room, which in turn increases the amount of negative ions, and many also believe the evaporation process itself also creates additional negative ions. There’s some debate on this issue. Salt lamps may not actually literally generate negative ions themselves. Regardless, we do know for sure that they do reduce the amount of positive ions in the air, increasing the ratio of negative to positive ions by way of attracting positively charged water molecules and exhausting neutral vapor into the air.

When a negative ion comes in contact with a positive ion they neutralize one another. Negative ions attach themselves to the positively charged molecules floating in the air and the molecules become too heavy to remain airborne. And as they fall, they take the airborne allergens and toxins with them, as mentioned in an earlier paragraph.

If salt lamps produce negative ions, even a very large salt lamp will only produce them in a small radius. But as mentioned, after some time, the room will be full of negative ions. A negative ion generator would produce far more negative ions in the room more quickly. On the other hand, ionizers are more expensive, they aren’t as pretty to look at. Salt lamps definitely do remove positive ions, and salt lamps offer other benefits, too. While the ions are what most people who sell salt lamps have been focusing on lately, consider negative ions from salt lamps as an added benefit. They have much more to offer.

Salt, Water Vapor Attraction, and Evaporation

Water vapor is in the air we breathe. Indoor humidity carries a positive charge. Airborne pathogens (bacteria, viruses, mold, fungus, etc.) and other irritants and toxins use the airborne water molecules (humidity, vapor) to travel onto our skin and into our lungs.

Salt is hygroscopic, which means that it attracts and holds water molecules from the surrounding environment. The bigger the block of salt, the more water vapor it attracts, carrying with it the airborne contaminants. When the salt is heated, more vapor is attracted to the salt lamp, and the water is then dispersed back. Particles are left stuck to the salt lamp. The pathogens die while the heat from the light bulb causes the water to evaporate back into the air.

Recommended: How to Detox From Plastics and Other Endocrine Disruptors

The ambient air surrounding a salt lamp is measurably cleaner by the transformation cycle of hydrogen and oxygen, as well as sodium and chloride ions. This characteristic is especially helpful for relieving the symptoms associated with asthma and allergies in general.

The range for the wattage of bulb that should be used is pretty wide, but large salt lamps need more wattage to produce desired results but too much wattage will retard the lamp’s ability to absorb the water from the air.

Every week or so turn off your salt lamp, let it cool off for an hour, and wipe the lamp with a barely damp cloth.

Electromagnetic Oscillation

An electromagnetic field surrounds the Earth.  All life on this planet depends on this electromagnetic field of vibration. This field is known as the Schumann resonance frequency. The frequency of this electromagnetic field resonates at 7.83 Hz (cycles) per second. We also know that our brains (and we believe our entire body and all other mammals) operate on this frequency.

In its neutral state, a salt crystal exhibits the very same frequency oscillation value, just under 8 Hz. EMFs caused by electronic devices have very diverse, chaotic frequency values. As mentioned above, we now know that these frequencies disturb our natural electric field, which upsets the natural development of our cells, unbalances our hormones, disrupts our natural sleep rhythm, and promotes illness. We are electrical beings, and the wrong electrical energy surrounding us robs our bodies of energy we use to live.

The atomic structure of salt is neutral. It is believed that salt lamps are a natural amplifier of frequencies around 7 to 10 Hz and can neutralize those harmful, chaotic, electromagnetic wavelengths caused by electronic devices.

Himalayan Salt Lamp Color Therapy

The light emitted from a salt lamp may not strike most people as a substantial health benefit, but light color has huge effect on our lives!

  The Healing Effect of Light Colors on our Body and Mind:

  • Pink – Supports loving emotions, trust, compassion.
  • Brown – Supports emotional balance and emotional clarity, a “grounded” feeling.
  • Orange – Facilitates a feeling of security, beneficial to our nervous system, and helps to activate the kidneys and bladder.
  • Yellow – Encourages mental comprehension, and activates the pancreas, liver, and gall bladder.
  • Red – Strengthens the heart and blood circulation, contributes to a feeling of alertness.
  • Blue – Raises energy levels, suppresses melatonin, boosts mental clarity, and elevates mood.
  • White – This is balanced light which includes all of the other colors. White light has a cleansing and detoxifying effect on the body.

Consider our sunsets and sunrises and the different colors that come out of the sky. It makes perfect sense that we react to colors the way we do.

While we recommend LED lights over fluorescent lights for health reasons, it should be know that LED lights emit a blue light. It looks very white to most, and some bulbs look whiter than others, but it’s still a blue light to our body, which is great for daytime, but should be totally avoided as the sun goes down. This blue light from our computers, TVs, cell phones, and other electronics, inhibit the release of melatonin, which causes sleep disturbances and leads to other hormonal imbalances.

Salt lamps don’t emit blue light. The soft pink, brown, and/or orange light of a Himalayan salt lamp is soothing. The specific oscillation values of salt crystal lamps depend upon the crystalline color structure of the salt.

Some people choose to sleep with the lamp on. Some lamps have dimmers, but dimmer switches may put out enough EMFs to counteract the lamp’s effects when the lamp is turned down low. Some people say it helps to leave the light on while sleeping, but while it certainly is not as disruptive as some of the other light spectrums, no light is usually considered best for facilitating deep sleep.

It does make sense to use the light of a salt lamp before and after bedtime. If you want to leave the lamp on all night, but don’t want to see the light, try this: When you’re just about to go to sleep, move the lamp behind something and drape some dark fabric on the lamp, like a hand towel.

Recommended: Holistic Guide to Healing the Endocrine System and Balancing Our Hormones

Where and How To Use Himalayan Salt Lamps

To receive the maximum benefit from salt lamps, position them close to you in places you frequent. For instance, if you work at a desk, put one on your desk, closer to you than your computer and other electronic devices. If possible, place one in every room.

Remember the salt attracts moisture and the light bulb evaporates that moisture. If the light is not turned on for several hours a day, it will become wet, enough to cause a puddle. If your lamp will be turned off for a long period of time, wrap it well in plastic, sealing out humidity.

As mentioned previously, it’s a good idea to unplug the lamp once a week to let it cool off, and wipe it off with a damp rag. Don’t use a damp or wet rag on the lamp when it is hot.

How to Choose a Himalayan Salt Lamp

There are plenty of low priced salt lamps on Amazon, at Walmart, etc. Most of them work (check reviews), and if you’re unsure, a cheap one may be a good place to start. But cheap salt lamps really are a pain in the butt. A high-quality salt lamp looks much better, should last for decades, and you’ll see its worth in comparison to a cheap lamp. Cheap lamps have cheap bases that break in no time, bulb fixtures that don’t stay in, and the larger lamps often come with a bulb that doesn’t have enough wattage.

Every Himalayan salt lamp is unique. The shape and colors vary. Generally, the darker shades of pink and orange are considered higher quality. Cheap lamps are usually a very light pink and typically have visible black deposits within them.

The bigger the size, the bigger the effect. The weight of a salt lamp is a good indicator as to how well it can clean the air. Price is, of course, a factor, so if your budget is limited, use these salt lamp sizes as a rough guide:

  • On a desk, a smaller crystal salt lamp between 5 and 10 pounds is large enough as long as the lamp is positioned closer to you than the computer itself. If this sort of positioning isn’t possible, 10-15 pounds may be a better choice.
  • For small- to medium-sized bedrooms that do not have heavy EMF loads (no TV, etc.), 5 to 10 pounds is enough.
  • For larger rooms, 10 pounds and up will yield the most benefit. If possible, get a very large lamp for large rooms and open office environments.

The shape of the lamp does not affect its ability to clean the air, but the type of surface area is important. Polished salt lamps like orbs and pyramids, while very pretty and still very beneficial, do not have as much surface area as the roughly chiseled versions.

Conclusion

If your lamp isn’t warm or drips too much water, particularly in humid environments, try increasing the wattage of its light bulb. Also, remember that you need to use light bulbs that produce some heat. This is no place for the eco-friendly LED. Most cheap salt lamps within the 6-12 pound range and any good quality salt lamp will come with the right kind of light bulb, but you will need to replace them.

Start with one salt lamp. Chances are, you’ll end up with at least one for every major room in no time.

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How To Prevent and Treat Vaginal Infections Naturally

You squirm in your chair as you feel that itch, along with an annoying, burning sensation. Oh no, not again…

Experience has taught you it will quickly get worse.

What Causes Vaginal and Vulvar Irritation and Infections?

Why does this keep happening? What can you do to prevent it? There are several causes of vaginal infections and vulvar discomfort.

  • Chafing and other physical reactions
  • Allergic Reactions and Reactions to Chemicals
  • Bacterial Infections
  • STDs
  • Parasites
  • Yeast Infections

Chafing

No matter how much you like the look, tight fitting clothes are not a great idea if they rub and chafe your nether parts. If those skinny jeans and those tight undies and thongs are rubbing you the wrong way, trade them for loose fitting alternatives. When the body’s flora is out of balance, damage quickly leads to infection. Skin irritation is damage to the skin. The skin needs to breathe without being in contact with toxic fabrics. Cotton breathes. Your nylon undies may be beautiful, but comfortably fitting cotton underwear helps air circulate and helps those delicate tissues heal. (Organic is best of course.)

Allergic and Chemical Reactions

Along with unnatural fibers like nylon, personal care and contraceptive products may be causing you problems as well. Soap, bubble bath, perfumes, douche solutions, vaginal lubricants, and contraceptive foam or creams are toxic and can cause irritation that leads to infection.

Soap and Bubble Bath

Stick with organic soap and consider unscented varieties until you have completely determined the cause of your problem. When you do use scented soaps, make sure the scent is from an essential oil, not a chemical cocktail. Aside from the current problem, you don’t want to slather your body with chemicals every day. Your skin absorbs whatever you put on it and draws it into your bloodstream.

Antibacterial soaps also lead to increased body odor because they kill the friendly bacteria on the skin that keeps the nasty bacteria in check. This is the same process that goes on in your gut. The friendly bacteria help keep your skin healthy. Quit killing them! After a few weeks of using organic soap, you’ll notice an amazing reduction in body odor provided you eat a diet of whole, healthy foods. And the gentle cleansing action of the right products will certainly help to heal irritated skin.

Read the label on your bubble bath or any other products added to your bath water. If it’s not free of sugar and organic, toss it. You’ll find that on the right diet and the fewer bath products you use, the better your skin will look and feel.

Perfumes, Sprays, Douches

Aside from perfumes included in soaps, many women spray or dab their under-regions with perfume, use douches, or use vaginal sprays. Stop. Just stop!

Your body knows how to cleanse itself. With few exceptions, you do not ever need to douche. If you think douching works as a contraceptive, think again. It doesn’t. So why would you ever want to rinse out your vagina with water and chemicals?

Do not use any perfumes or sprays. If you heal your body from the inside out (through a healthy diet) and wash with organic soap, you will not smell like your favorite flower, but you will smell great – like nature intended. If not smelling human is important to you, try essential oils.

Bacterial Infections

An amazing number of women were never taught to wipe from front to back. Wiping from back to front moves fecal matter into the vaginal area and the urethra, causing bacterial infections in the vagina and the urinary tract. While this is not at all likely when the body’s microflora is balanced, chances are if you’re reading this article your flora is not as healthy as it should be. Bacterial infections are said to be the most common vaginal infections, and many speculate that wiping incorrectly is the reason.

Anal to vagina sex without thoroughly washing first is also a cause of bacterial infection. If your lover argues that it is all natural and nothing to be concerned about, he’s wrong. Vaginas were not meant to handle feces, and feces, even from the healthiest body, can easily infect a vagina after the irritation of intercourse.

STDs

STDs such as trichomonas, gonorrhea, and chlamydia can result in vaginitis with a heavy foul-smelling discharge, or they may have little to no symptoms. If you are sexually active with multiple partners or have reason to suspect your partner may be, get tested regularly and use protection.

If you have any symptoms of vaginitis, it is always a good idea to rule out STDs.

Parasites

Like any other part of the body, parasitical infections are a possibility. Trichomonas, listed above as an STD, is a protozoan parasite. Other parasites that can cause problems include pinworms, scabies, and lice.

Yeast Infections

Yeast infections, caused by Candida, are an all too common cause of vaginal infections. These recurrent infections are usually treated with over the counter medication that may address the current infection, but never addresses the underlying cause. They’re also generally pretty slow to take effect.

How To Prevent Vaginal Infections

Diet is the basis to health and the key to preventing almost every disease. Feed the body the nutrients it needs to function at an optimum level. Detoxify the body to reduce the chemical and toxic load that interferes with proper metabolism and endocrine function. Exercise to move the lymph and aid the immune system. Ground yourself, soak in sunlight, and get enough sleep. Add a little joy to your life and you have the perfect combination.

The truth is, your vagina has its own ecosystem, much like and always influenced by the gut. Just like your gut, your vagina has a natural balance of bacteria, yeast, and other microflora. If you do something that sends that balance out of whack, you pay the price with an overgrowth of “bad” bacteria, yeast, or other nasty intruders such as a parasite or a virus. And one of the interesting characteristics of “bad” bacteria is that they don’t seem to mind co-mingling with parasites and fungi. Healthy bacteria doesn’t like to compete with anything that doesn’t belong. Healthy bodies have healthy immune systems in large part due to a plethora of beneficial microflora. People with balanced, healthy flora are not prone to infections. If they do become infected, infections are mild and quickly resolved.

So if you are a woman who is prone to vaginitis, your overall health needs a boost. Sugar is probably a factor. Sugar feeds Candida, bacteria, viruses, and parasites. If your gut is filled with an overgrowth of Candida, this yeast will affect your vagina and may also cause athlete’s foot and patches of infection on your skin. Dairy, drugs, and alcohol are also factors, and mercury toxicity promotes fungal growth and other infection as well. (Vaccines, mercury fillings in the mouth, too much contaminated seafood, etc.). Physical health and mental health begin with gut health, as the gut houses much of the immune system and produces neurotransmitters essential for healthy brain function and mood.

To regain your health, stop eating sugar and dairy (specifically, don’t consume pasteurized cow dairy) and eliminate artificial flavors, colorings, preservatives, MSG, GMOs, trans fats, and most of the processed food in your pantry. Eat whole, fresh, organic foods, mostly produce, and mostly vegetables. Shoot for 80% raw. If you achieve this goal, your diet will be filled with nutrients and enzymes and the prebiotic foods that restore gut health.

What Not To Do

Avoid Antibiotics

Just as oral antibiotics wreak havoc on the gut microbiome, they will affect the vaginal bacterial balance as well, resulting in an overgrowth of Candida.

Avoid Alcohol

Alcohol can wash away almost all of your gut flora, the good guys and the bad guys. The problem is that it doesn’t kill Candida spores (almost nothing does). So while it seriously damages the entire digestive system, it leaves behind all those Candida spores to go to work on the damage. In addition, alcohol raises your blood sugar levels and now you have a large amount of sugar in the blood traveling around ready and waiting to feed Candida as they evolve from their spore form.

No More Yogurt

With one exception, Bio-K plus, yogurt is not a great probiotic. Stomach acid is designed to kill bacteria. When you eat yogurt, you end up with dairy and sugars in the gut that feed whatever is there to feed. Good bacteria love produce. The bad guys love sugar, dairy, and damaged cells. That’s their food. Limit the fruit and cut out anything else that feeds them.

How To Naturally Treat a Vaginal Infection

As mentioned above for prevention, a truly healthy diet is essential. First and foremost, eat right. A sugar binge can cause exponential growth of a yeast, bacterial, viral, or parasitical infection. With supplements and the right diet, a vaginal infection can typically be cured within a few days.

If you suffer from reoccurring vaginal infections it’s time to get serious about fixing the gut. See Candida, Gut Flora, Allergies, and Disease for more on gut health. Below are a few supplements that can wipe out any vaginal infection fast, and we recommend treating for all typical types of infection (bacterial, fungal, parasitical) even if you think it’s just one, because when the body is prone to infection there’s always more than one type of infectious microbe just waiting for its opportunity to flourish.

Be sure to check out the further reading section as well, and along with supplements, follow the information here, Detox Cheap and Easy Without Fasting – Recipes Included, for a powerful and fast detox protocol. Just following the guidelines for the detox will in most cases eliminate all infection, balance everything, and get the body completely well, typically within a week or two, but supplements radically speed up the process.

Recommended Supplements:
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Wicked Energy Bars Review

There are very few packaged, process foods that I will eat. I’m not one to frequent the “health food” section where all the snack foods without HFCS are shelved. You’ll find me in the produce section. That’s after I’ve been to the farmer’s market and foraged, of course.

I used to love a good “nutrition” bar, though. I remember when I thought Power Bars were healthy. Then I went through a Cliff Bar phase for a couple of years. It took a while (baby steps), but I eventually realized that prepared foods made by companies did not make me feel good. Learning about health and wellness taught me why they aren’t good for us; the main reason is they’re loaded with sugar!

Of all the bars I’ve known, I couldn’t think of one that I would consider “healthy.” Healthier, as in far healthier than your conventional energy bars maybe, but not actually “healthy.” Not until now.

Josh Eichel emailed me and asked me to check out his new energy bars. I had just finished doing squats, and I was hungry for something fast and easy. Josh couldn’t teleport me one of his energy bars, and he used way too many exclamation points in his email (you know how those fitness dudes are, right?), but I was interested in food bars at that moment because I felt a twinge of nostalgia for the old days when I would do a heavy set of weight lifting followed by 5 or  6 energy bars.

Although I said yes, I was sure I was going to see the ingredient list and take a pass. I was wrong.

Josh, currently a student at Northeastern University in Boston, started his business, All In Nutrition, in April 2015. Like me, Josh wasn’t pleased with the unhealthy products sold as nutrition bars and energy bars. He wanted an energy bar that wasn’t sugar-laden junk food. Instead of doing the sensible thing (stop eating them or just make your own) he started his business. Take a look at the ingredients:

Wicked Dark Chocolate Cayenne Energy Bars

  • GMO-Free, Grass Fed Whey Protein from New Zealand
  • Sunflower Seed Butter
  • Organic Dates
  • Organic Cacao Chocolate Chips, Organic Cacao Nibs
  • Organic Cocoa
  • Gluten-Free Whey Protein Crisps
  • Sunflower Seeds
  • Coffee
  • Green Tea
  • Chile Powder and Cayenne Pepper
  • Binding agents are Organic Vegetable Glycerin and GMO-Free Prebiotic Fiber

Wicked Maple Energy Bars

  • Vermont Maple
  • GMO-Free, Grass Fed Whey Protein from New Zealand
  • Organic Cashew Butter
  • Organic Dates
  • Gluten Free Whey Protein Crisps
  • Almonds
  • Three seed blend of Chia seeds, Flax seeds, and Pumpkin seeds
  • Goji Berries
  • Coffee
  • Green Tea
  • Chlorella
  • Spirulina
  • Stevia
  • Binding agents are Organic Vegetable Glycerin and GMO-Free Prebiotic Fiber

The ingredients list is pretty impressive. I asked for a sample and received two bars a few days later. After I ate them,  I was sad. I was sad because he didn’t send me more than two.

Are these Maple and Chocolate Wicked Energy Bars Good For You?

Many people view energy bars as a nutritious meal replacement. For a health nut like me who lives off of salads, makes super healthy smoothies for desert, soaks and sprouts nuts, and doesn’t generally eat chocolate unless it’s raw, these bars are a treat. In fact, they’re a well-deserved treat after a good workout routine, but they aren’t a replacement for a healthy meal. As store bought energy bars go, it doesn’t get much better, but I do have a couple of nitpicks.

Cooking chia and flax eliminates health benefits. Ideally, the seeds and nuts should be sprouted, most or all ingredients should be raw, and though stevia is doing much of the sweetening, the dates and maple syrup do contain too much sugar for anyone who is battling a health issue.

On the other hand, the whey protein in Wicked Energy Bars is the best whey protein I know of, all of the ingredients are fantastic, the taste of both bars is really very good, and most importantly, my body felt good eating one after a workout.

I like them so much, I am adding them to Green Lifestyle Market. We’ll either sell them or I’ll eat them. Either one is fine with me.



How Bacteria Is Evolving – Should We Be Worried? (the answer is yes!)

Ah, bacteria, the original cockroach. No matter what you use to try and annihilate it, it keeps coming back, stronger than before. Strains of bacteria like listeria, campylobacter, and salmonella caused food poisoning affecting one in six people in the U.S. The bacteria resistant to the “antibiotic of last resort” has arrived in the U.S., and researchers in Canada have discovered a newly evolved, heat-loving strain of E. coli that survives temperatures high enough to cook meat medium-well. If harmful bacteria were to go into business, the stock would be climbing and the future would look terrific.

Dealing With the Usual Suspects

Gonorrhea is showing signs of resistance to last resort treatment in 10 different countries, and there are no new antibiotics in development to treat it.

Chipotle has suffered business setbacks. Blue Bell Creameries are permanently closed. Most recently, General Mills has recalled a full lot of their Gold Medal flour. The common thread? E. coli, listeria, salmonella, and all of those pesky bacteria responsible for over four million pounds of food being recalled in the U.S. in 2015 and food poisoning affecting roughly 48 million people.

The methods for detecting bacteria and pathogens in our food have become more sophisticated, so it’s likely there have been many unrecorded outbreaks in the past. But then again, the number of cases attributed to the most well-known bacteria that cause food poisoning (like listeria, salmonella, or E. coli), have remained steady over the years, while campylobacter bacteria and rare Vibrio infections are on the rise. When increased detection and better food safety standards still do not result in a decline in pathogens, where does that leave us?

Soooo…Fire?

From food safety 101 we know that food is only considered safe when we heat it enough to kill off harmful bacteria. But what do you do when the bacteria has mutated to withstand those temperatures, like the strain of E. coli discovered by Canadian researchers?

Food safety literature recommends heating beef to 160 degrees, although they also note that 140 degrees is a sufficient temperature to kill harmful bacteria in less than a minute. But the new strain of E. coli does not die. In fact, it lived for over an hour at a temperature of  140 degrees. Right now, 16 genes with this mutation are present in about 2% of E. coli strains (good and bad), but with the other evolutionary strides bacteria have been making, who knows what will happen!

Fire’s Out. Soooo…Antibiotics?

People in the U.S. can now look forward to the newest shot fired in the bacteria vs. antibiotic war, now that bacteria has been found to be immune to colistin, a long-acknowledged “antibiotic of last resort”. Constant use of antibiotics has encouraged bacteria to evolve, to build up an immunity to these drugs.

An entire group of antibiotics – sulphonamides – is being phased out due to bacteria resistance. Gonorrhea is showing signs of resistance to last resort treatment in 10 different countries, and there are no new antibiotics in development to treat it.  Stories like these are becoming more and more common as our extensive use of antibiotics continues to breed stronger bacteria. We respond with new antibiotics and the next generation of the bacteria is more resistant than before. When it ends, do you really think we’re going to end up on top?

Can We Actually Control the Bacteria?

If your reaction to hearing all of this bad news about bacteria is to scream something along the lines of, “Kill it with fire!” you’re not alone. Solutions like antibiotics, antibacterial soaps, and hand sanitizers came with a price. They became part of the problem.

There are no easy answers here. Ideally, we will stop treating livestock with unneeded antibiotics. We will stop the indiscriminate use of antibiotics to treat infections and seek alternative treatments whenever possible. Maybe we will go so far as to change our diets to build immunity and encourage our natural, protective bacteria to thrive.

Are we past the point that these changes will be enough. Is our microbial world going to end up a cautionary tale a la Jurassic Park? Keep in mind that we can’t just seal off the island.

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