Millians of Americans drink tap water with radioactive elements at levels that may increase the risk of cancer, according to as systems nationwide analysis of by the Environmental Working Group (EWG).

The study says 171 million Americans deal with this level of contamination in their tap water, which is more than 50% of the population in the U.S.

Radiation in tap water is known to be a serious health threat, especially with pregnancies. The Environmental Protection Agency’s established legal limits for radioactive elements in tap water are badly outdated, but President Trump’s nominee to be the White House environment czar doesn’t see care if systems comply with the standards, as “outdated and inadequate” as they are.

The nominee, Kathleen Hartnett White, former chair of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, admitted in a 2011 interview that the commission falsified data to make it appear that communities with excessive radiation levels were below the EPA’s limit. She said she did not “believe the science of health effects” to which the EPA subscribes, placing “far more trust” in the work of the TCEQ, which has a reputation of setting polluter-friendly state standards and casually enforcing federal standards.

EWG’s Tap Water Database compiles results of water quality tests for nearly 50,000 utilities nationwide. EWG mapped the nationwide occurrence of radium which is the most common radioactive element found in tap water.

From 2010 to 2015, more than 22,000 utilities serving over 170 million people in all 50 states reported the presence of radium in their water.” EWG

Related Reading: What’s the Best Water for Detoxifying and For Drinking?

Related Reading:

• Studies Show How to Treat & Reduce Recurring UTIs Without Antibiotics
• Symptoms of Dehydration & Benefits of Proper Hydration
• Inexpensive, Easy Detox – The One Gallon Challenge
• How Plumbing (Not Vaccines) Eradicated Disease

More people want to consume meat in a more humane or ethical way, and grass-fed beef has been a large part of that equation. The grass-fed beef market is on the verge of a crisis though, as the levels of protein in the grass for grazing have decreased by 20 percent over the last twenty-five years. Jonah Ventures of Boulder, CO analyzed 50,000 cow pies from Texas and found that the nutritional content of the grass is down, leading to smaller cattle. According to Joe Craine, the co-owner and a researcher at Jonah Ventures, “If we were still back at the forage quality that we would’ve had 25 years ago, no less 100 years ago, our animals would be gaining a lot more weight…”

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

Two Likely Reasons

Researchers haven’t pinpointed the exact reason for the declining nutritional content of grass, but there are two likely suspects. Grass-fed, grain-finished cattle are moved from the prairie to a feedlot for the last 90 to 160 days of their lives. This move takes away cow pies, the best means of returning valuable nutrients back to the soil.

Another reason for the decline of nutritious? The increasing amount of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere is causing plants to grow larger, more quickly with the same nutrient content. According to Irakli Loladze, a mathematician studying the effect of CO2 on pants for 15 years, “Every leaf and every grass blade on earth makes more and more sugars as CO2 levels keep rising…We are witnessing the greatest injection of carbohydrates into the biosphere in human history―[an] injection that dilutes other nutrients in our food supply.”

It All Begins With Food

There aren’t many people talking about what happens when our food is no longer able to sustain us. As many beef farmers are now finding out, that time is fast approaching. It doesn’t really matter why the grass is no longer as nutritious. The most important thing here is that it’s happening to the cows, and it will happen to us.

Recommended Reading:

• Detox Cheap and Easy Without Fasting – Recipes Included
• Start Eating Like That and Start Eating Like This – Your Guide to Homeostasis Through Diet
• How to Make the Healthiest Smoothies – 4 Recipes
• Holistic Guide to Healing the Endocrine System and Balancing Our Hormones

Source:

• Soaring Popularity Of Grass-Fed Beef May Hit Roadblock: Less Nutritious Grass – NPR
• Grass-fed beef is threatened by nutritionally-deficient grass – TreeHugger
• Climate Change Causing Less Nutrition, More Sugar In Our food – Organic Lifestyle Magazine
• A Look At The Grain-Finished Vs. Grass-Finished Beef Debate – Grill Beast

The ibuprofen dosage commonly taken by high-level male athletes can afflict their testicles with a condition seen often in elderly men and linked to lower fertility.

According to a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, heavy daily usage of the ibuprofen “alters human testicular physiology” which results in a disorder called compensated hypogonadism.

Must Read: How To Heal Your Gut

The study involved 31 men under the age of 35 and took place in Denmark and France. They looked at 1,200 milligrams of ibuprofen daily, which is the maximum limit to be taken regularly as directed. Within two weeks the amount of testosterone production was contingent upon the amount of ibuprofen in their blood. This disorder is also linked to depression and strokes.

We report a univocal depression of important aspects of testicular function, including testosterone production, after use of over-the-counter ibuprofen.”

Related: Aspirin, Ibuprofen, Acetaminophen – Why They All Are Unsafe

Symptoms are reversible when the ibuprofen was taken for a brief amount of time. More research is needed to understand effects of taking such ibuprofen dosages over longer periods like athletes often do.

Source:

• Ibuprofen use linked male infertility study finds

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and their egg supplier are currently facing a federal lawsuit for misleading consumers by selling organic eggs with packaging that claimed the birds had access to the outdoors. The lawsuit alleges that Cal-Maine Foods Inc., the megastores’ supplier and also the largest egg producer in the country, defined outdoor access as an enclosed structure with screens allowing outdoor air. Wal-Mart has not reviewed the allegations, but according to spokesman Randy Hargrove, “We hold our suppliers to high standards and are committed to providing our customers the quality products they expect.”

Animal Welfare Standards and Consumer Demands

It’s difficult to determine if this lawsuit will go anywhere, especially in light of the USDA’s recent rejection of more humane animal welfare standards. The Organic Livestock and Poultry Practices, intended to allow natural behaviors and reduce stress, was permanently shuttered half a year before it could go into effect. Wal-Mart and Cal-Maine Foods Inc could argue that it has met organic standards as they currently are in an attempt to justify the higher price. The companies would likely win

Where is the consumer in all of this? Demands for verifiably organic, humane, and high-quality products are skyrocketing, making organic foods the largest growing food market. A business like Wal-mart would be crazy not to take advantage of that, but millennials value integrity and the allegations in this lawsuit make it clear that could be an issue for the retail giant. The lawsuit says “Consumers paying more for these eggs have been deceived…The theoretical ability to view the outdoors is not the same as having access to it.”

We Want to Know

As a consumer, how does this make you feel? Do you stop purchasing eggs from Wal-Mart? From Cal-Maine Foods Inc? Is that even possible? Cal-Maine Foods Inc, a company who markets its brands, Egg-Land’s Best, Land O’ Lakes, Farmhouse, and 4-Grain, to a quarter of the population through megastores Wal-Mart and Publix?

How do we eat healthy food in an ethical way within our current food system?

Recommended Reading:

• Detox Cheap and Easy Without Fasting – Recipes Included
• Start Eating Like That and Start Eating Like This – Your Guide to Homeostasis Through Diet
• How to Make the Healthiest Smoothies – 4 Recipes
• Holistic Guide to Healing the Endocrine System and Balancing Our Hormones

Source:

• U.S. lawsuit says Wal-Mart deceived buyers of organic eggs – Reuters
• Years in the Making, Organic Animal Welfare Rules Killed by Trump’s USDA – Civil Eats
• Cal-Maine Foods pursuing more acquisitions – wattagnet.com

Vermont is set to legalize adult use of marijuana. The House of Representatives voted on the 11th of Janurary to legalize possession and home cultivation of marijuana plants. The measure would not allow marijuana sales, but the Green Mountain State is poised to make history as the first state in the nation to legalize marijuana by legislation, as opposed to being done by the popular vote. Vermount will become the ninth state in the country to allow recreational marijuana.

Every other state, California, Colorado, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Maine and Massachusetts, along with Washington, D.C., bypassed reluctant lawmakers to legalize recreational marijuana via ballot initiative.

Republican Gov. Phil Scott is planning to sign the bill this week. The legislation would allow adults (21 and up)  to possess up to one ounce of marijuana or five grams of hash, and for the cultivation of up to two mature and four immature plants in one’s home. It would remain illegal to smoke cannabis in a public place or while operating a vehicle.

The bill doesn’t permit commercial sales.

All eight states that legalized marijuana via ballot initiatives have or will soon have regulated sales and cultivation up and running. Only Washington D.C., which legalized adult use in 2014, doesn’t have a regulated market. While selling cannabis products is technically not permitted in D.C., a thriving ‘gift economy’ has emerged thanks to a loophole: A store can sell a T-shirt for $45, and give some cannabis as a ‘gift’ with the purchase.”

Sources:

• Vermont Senate gives final OK to marijuana bill, governor’s desk next – USA Today
• Vermont Is the First State to Legalize Marijuana Through Legislation – Freedom Leaf

Scientists from Baylor University in Texas have found compelling evidence linking the recent rise of virulent Clostridium difficile infections to a widely used sugar additive, trehalose. Antibiotic-resistant C. diff infections are one of the biggest challenges facing the healthcare industry, with the Centers for Disease Control reporting that in a year, the bacteria kill 15,000 people within thirty days of infection. Baylor researchers noticed that the C. diff epidemic exploded within two years of trehalose’s FDA approval and determined that two particular bacteria strains, RT027 and RT078, were capable of using trehalose as their sole carbon source.

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

Why Trehalose?

Trehalose is a disaccharide sugar found naturally in mushrooms, shrimp, and many insects. Prior to 2000, trehalose as an alternative food additive was too expensive to be widely used. However, a Japanese company introduced a way to extract the sugar, and it is now added to a wide range of food products, like ice cream, fruit, frozen foods, baked goods, and various beverages.

Researchers were not able to identify trehalose as the reason for the C. diff epidemic. After all, only two strains of C.diff thrived on trehalose. Those strains, RT027 and RT078, didn’t experience an increase in the number of bacteria. However, the RT027’s enhanced ability to metabolize trehalose resulted in more C. diff toxins, making the bacteria more virulent.

Related: Healthy Sugar Alternatives & More

We Know What Doesn’t Work

Not all C. diff develops into a serious or life-threatening infection.  But the link between trehalose and the virulence of C. diff bacteria makes the case that these infections are of our own making. When we eat sugar or processed food (trehalose is almost always both), we feed potentially harmful bacteria and overwhelm beneficial bacteria. Previous research has also linked serious cases of C. diff with antibiotic use, a treatment methodology that wipes out the beneficial bacteria necessary for gut balance.

Related: Sugar Industry Has Had Evidence Linking Sugar to Heart Disease for Nearly Half a Century

This new study appears to confirm the information we already have – the standard Western diet of processed, sugary foods has serious consequences.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpRUfv-ioNU

Sources:

• How C. Diff Infections Decrease with Fewer Antibiotics – Organic Lifestyle Magazine
• A popular sugar additive may have fueled the spread of not one but two superbugs – LA Times
• Food Additive May Be Worsening Clostridium Difficile Epidemic – American Council on Science and Health
• Nearly half a million Americans suffered from Clostridium difficile infections in a single year – CDC.gov

United States children are 70 percent to die before adulthood than kids born into modern, wealthy democratic countries, according to the new Health Affairs study.

The research indicates that since 1961, more than 600,000 children would have been saved by having been born in another wealthy country.

In all the wealthy, democratic countries we studied children are dying less often then they were 50 years ago. But we found that children are dying more often in the United States than in any similar country.” – Ashish Thakrar, the study’s lead author

It really seems to be the impact of our fragmented health care system,” Thakrar says. “Mothers who are qualifying for Medicaid for the first time because they’re mothers might be seeing doctors for the first time. They might not have a family physician, or a clear support system.”

Between 2001 and 2010, researchers found a 76 percent increased of death for infants in the U.S. compared to 19 peer countries. The US also maintains an infant death rate from extreme prematurity three times that of its peer countries. Read more at Vox.com

Must Read:

• How To Detoxify and Heal From Vaccinations – For Adults and Children
• Common Bad Parenting Advice You Should Ignore
• SIDS and SUID
• Shaken Baby Syndrome – Child Abuse or Vaccine Injury?
• A History of Bad Medical Advice
• A Burden of Guilt – Learning About Vaccine Dangers the Hard Way