Cinnamon – Ceylon Vs Cassia, Health Benefits, and Other Interesting Facts

Cinnamon comes from the bark of evergreen trees of the genus cinnamomum. When cinnamon is harvested, the bark is stripped and sun dried. As it dries, cinnamon curls into a well-known shape, called quills. If not ground, it is then sold as whole cinnamon or cinnamon sticks.

Contents

Cinnamon was once one of the most highly sought after commodities on the planet. This spice has been in use for thousands of years as a medicine, as an embalming agent, as a means of preserving food, and as a flavoring enhancing spice. The earliest reports of cinnamon date back to ancient Egypt in 2000 B.C. The Egyptians used both cinnamon and the related spice, cassia, as embalming agents. Cinnamon was also used in the Old Testament as an ingredient in anointing oil.

Tales of Cinnamon’s Origin

Europeans were aware that cinnamon was shipped from the Red Sea through the trading ports of Egypt, but where exactly it came from was a mystery. In an effort to maintain their trade monopoly, Arab traders wove elaborate stories about the origins of cinnamon. These stories further helped to justify cinnamon’s scarcity and exorbitant prices.

Sier de Joinville believed the fanciful stories he was given of cinnamon’s origin. Joinville told his king in 1248 that cinnamon was pulled up in nets at the source of the Nile, all the way out at the edge of the world.

An Arab, Herodotus, came to believe that the mythical cinnamologus birds gathered cinnamon sticks from a distant unknown land. The cinnamologus birds made their nests so high in the mountains that no one could climb them. According to this myth, the method of collection was to leave large chunks of ox meat below these nests and wait for the birds to collect them. When the birds gathered the meat into the nest, the increased weight would cause them to collapse, enabling people to gather the cinnamon sticks at the base of the mountain.

Another wild cinnamon origin story claimed that cinnamon was harvested within deep canyons, relentlessly guarded by monstrous snakes.

The 1st century Roman philosopher, Pliny the Elder, reasoned that cinnamon hails from Ethiopia. Cinnamon, he reasoned, was carried on rafts bereft of oars or sails and propelled by “man alone and his courage.”

Wars and Exploration for Cinnamon

Exploration of the new world was primarily motivated by a desire to expand the spice trade. At the time of Columbus’ expedition, cinnamon was at the height of its demand. Expanding the spice trade was one of the primary reasons for Columbus’ expedition. Columbus sent back what he thought was cinnamon from the New World. It was not cinnamon, however. Cinnamon country had yet to be found.

European efforts to find the source of cinnamon fell short until 1518 when the Portuguese located cinnamon at Ceylon (now known as Sri Lanka). With ruthless precision, the Portuguese conquered the island kingdom of Kotto and enslaved the population in order to monopolize the cinnamon trade.

The Portuguese maintained control of the region for a century, until the occupied people allied with the Dutch in 1638 to wrestle control of the region away from the Portuguese. Their combined efforts were successful, and they eliminated Portuguese control of the region. The Dutch made the island kingdom beholden to them for their military aide. The island people traded one European oppressor for another. The Dutch held the cinnamon monopoly for the next 150 years.

The British later conquered Ceylon in 1784. However cinnamon had begun to be cultivated in other parts of the world, and by the year 1800 it was no longer the rare precious commodity it once was.

Cinnamon Varieties

cinnamon comparisonThere are hundreds of types of Cinnamon, but there are only four varieties used for commercial purposes. The cinnamon known as “true cinnamon” is Ceylon cinnamon. This is the only variety that many other countries refer to as cinnamon. Other varieties are known as cassia.

Other cinnamon varieties, which are much more common in North America, are easier to produce and less expensive than Ceylon cinnamon. Cassia (Chinese) cinnamon, Saigon cinnamon, and Korintje are typically all lumped in together and referred to as cassia cinnamon, though they are each distinctively different. Each of these three closely related spices are much stronger and more pungent than Ceylon cinnamon.

In North America, when cinnamon is used as an ingredient or sold on the shelves as simply “cinnamon”, it is typically Korintje or cassia (Tung Hing).

Ceylon Cassia Korintje Saigon
Other Names Cinnamomum Verum, Sweet Cinnamon, True Cinnamon, Mexican Cinnamon, Cinnamomum Zeylanicum Chinese Cinnamon, Tung Hing Padang Cassia, Indonesian Cinnamon Vietnamese Cassia, Vietnamese Cinnamon
Scientific Name Cinnamomum Verum Cinnamomum Aromaticum Cinnamomum Burmanni Cinnamomum Loureiroi
Country of Origin Sri Lanka (90%), India, Madagascar, Brazil, and the Caribbean China Indonesia Vietnam
Taste Mild, sweet Spicy, bitter Spicy, pungent Spicy, slightly sweet
Color Light to medium reddish brown Dark reddish brown Dark reddish brown Dark reddish brown
Aroma sweet, complex Intense, pungent Intense, spicy, pungent Spicy
Price Expensive Cheap Cheap Medium
Coumarin  0.017 g/kg 0.31 g/kg 2.15 g/kg 6.97 g/kg

Ceylon Cinnamon

Ceylon cinnamon is grown in Sri Lanka, Madagascar, Brazil, India, and the Caribbean. This variety is more popular in much of Europe, Latin America, Mexico, the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia. Indian curries and desert recipes of the lighter variety that call for cinnamon are typically referring to Ceylon cinnamon. Ceylon is the sweetest and mildest tasting and the lightest in color. It’s also three to four times more expensive than the other varieties.

Ceylon has less coumarin than the other varieties, and is often recommended above others by the alternative health community and many conventional doctors as well, since coumarin can cause liver damage in high dosages (more on that below).

Cassia Cinnamon (Chinese Cinnamon)

It can get a little confusing here since all three non-Ceylon varieties are often referred to as cassia cinnamon, while the Chinese Cinnamon is often referred to as cassia cinnamon. In other words, Cassia cinnamon may refer to Chinese cinnamon or it may refer to one of the other non-Ceylon cinnamons: Saigon cinnamon or Korintjr cinnamon.

Today, Tung Hing, the Chinese cinnamon is mostly grown in China, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam. This variety is spicy, bitter and very intense.

Saigon Cinnamon

Known as Vietnamese cinnamon or Vietnamese cassia, Saigon cinnamon’s scientific name is Cinnamomum Loureiroi. It comes from an evergreen tree indigenous to Southeast Asia. Saigon cinnamon is closely related to Chinese cinnamon. Saigon cinnamon has around 1-5% essential oil content and 25% cinnamaldehyde in the essential oil, which is the highest of all the cinnamon species.

Saigon cinnamon’s bark is similar to that of Tung Hing, but with a more pronounced and complex aroma. In Vietnamese cuisine, Saigon cinnamon bark is an important ingredient in many dishes including pho, the well-known noodle soup.

Saigon cinnamon has a volatile oil content of around 7%, which gives it a very bold and robust flavor that is ideal for cooking and for use in sauces.

Korintje Cinnamon

Fragrant Korintje cinnamon is as intense and spicy as Chinese cinnamon, but it is also a bit smoother. Korintje cinnamon from Indonesia accounts for most of the cinnamon imported into the U.S. Although lacking the depth of Chinese cinnamon, the flavor is smoother. Korintje cinnamon is a common choice for commercial bakeries in North America because of its good flavor and lower cost.

Coumarin in Cinnamon and Liver Damage

Ceylon cinnamon benefits are marketed as superior to the less expensive Cassia spices primarily due to Ceylon cinnamon’s ultra low levels of a chemical called coumarin, a blood thinner that is toxic to the liver and prevalent in much higher levels in the three cassia spices. It’s not anything most people need to worry about; the risk for any damage with normal or even much higher than normal consumption of cassia cinnamon is negligible.

For flavoring food, go with any and all varieties and discover what works best for each food. As a medicinal supplement though, if you want to take regular, relatively large doses, it may make sense to stick with Ceylon cinnamon for this purpose.

It should also be known that any cinnamon in very large doses will make one sick. Check out the cinnamon challenge; the objective is to film oneself swallowing a spoonful of ground cinnamon in under 60 seconds without drinking anything:

We don’t recommend trying it. The cinnamon challenge is a little risky. If you are taking cinnamon as a supplement in capsule form, it’s typically a good idea to take it with food, and don’t overdo it.

Health Benefits of Cinnamon

While there are definitely color, taste, and texture variations between Ceylon, Cassia, Korintje, and Saigon cinnamon, the differences in respect to health benefits are minor.

Nutrients – One teaspoon of Cinnamon Powder has up to 16% of the U.S. recommended daily allowance for Manganese, 5% for fiber 3% for iron, and 3% for calcium.

Cinnamon, Blood, and Inflammation Reduction

Cinnamon helps reduce unwanted blood platelet clotting, which can result in inadequate blood flow, and is a common symptom of various diseases and overall poor health. Cinnamon inhibits the release of arachidonic acid (an inflammatory fatty acid) and reduces its formation. Cinnamon also removes blood impurities and helps to improve blood circulation due to the presence of a blood-thinning compound.

Cinnamon Is a Powerful Antimicrobial Spice

Cinnamon is antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, and antiparasitic.

Cinnamon can be used as a food preservative. Just a few drops of cinnamon essential oil to approximately 3 ounces of carrot broth inhibited the growth of the food-borne pathogenic Bacillus cereus for at least 60 days in the refrigerator. When the broth was refrigerated without the addition of cinnamon oil, the bacteria flourished.

Multiple studies have shown cinnamon’s effectiveness with a multitude of viruses including but not limited to HIV, herpes, and the adenovirus. Cinnamon even shows promise with cancer.

Cancer Preventer

Studies have shown that cinnamon and cinnamon oil shows promise with treating tumors, gastric cancers, melanomas, leukemia, colon cancer, and lymphoma cancer.

Antioxidant

Cinnamon a powerful antioxidant. In a study that compared the antioxidant activity of 26 spices, cinnamon wound up as the clear winner, even outranking “superfoods” like garlic and oregano. In another study, cinnamon, anise, ginger, licorice, mint, nutmeg, vanilla, and artificial preservatives were looked at to see which compounds prevented oxidation most effectively. Mint came in first; cinnamon came in second.

Blood Sugar, Diabetes, and Cinnamon

Cinnamon stabilizes blood sugar levels, which can help with weight loss, and can also prevent, and even help reverse, diabetes and hypoglycemia. Cinnamon actually slows the rate at which the stomach empties after meals, reducing the rise in blood sugar after eating. Cinnamon also stimulates insulin receptors and inhibits an enzyme that inactivates insulin receptors while it enhances muscle cells’ insulin-signaling pathways, which increases the body’s ability to properly utilize glucose.

One study found Cassia cinnamon was almost twice as effective as the same amount of Ceylon cinnamon for controlling blood sugar. On the other hand, if you are concerned about coumarin consumption, you could double your Ceylon cinnamon dosage and not even come close to the high Coumarin levels found in Cassia Cinnamon. The general consensus is that approximately 1/2 of a teaspoon a day of cinnamon is effective for normalizing blood sugar.

Lowering LDL Cholesterol and Triglycerides

Studies have found that regular consumption of cinnamon is associated with a statistically significant decrease in levels of LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, and an increase in HDL cholesterol (known as the good cholesterol).

A controlled study was done with 60 people with type 2 diabetes. One group received cinnamon daily while the other group was giving a placebo. Forty days later, all of the cinnamon group showed reduced blood sugar levels down by 18-29%; reduced triglycerides, down by 23-30%; reduced LDL cholesterol, down by 7-27%; and reduced total cholesterol, down by 12-26%. The placebo group saw no significant changes.

Cinnamon and the Brain

Folklore says the smell of cinnamon can cure the winter blues. No studies support this except for an interesting study that found the scent of cinnamon reduced driver irritability.

Cinnamon boosts the activity of the brain and removes nervous tension and memory loss. Researchers have proven that cinnamon improves cognitive abilities such as attention span, virtual recognition memory, working memory, and visual-motor response. Just the aroma or just the taste of cinnamon, can stimulate cognitive function.

Cinnamon consumption may delay the effects of, slow the effects of, and even reverse some of the effects of Alzheimer’s. In addition, some parents are using cinnamon to treat their children with ADHD.

Ways to Use Cinnamon

There are various essential oils extracted from various parts of the tree (not just the bark), and various species (as mentioned above) to choose from.

Cinnamon Stick Tea

      1. 5 cups water in a metal pot or glass kettle
      2. Add one cinnamon stick (3 inch length)
      3. Cinnamon sticks should be boiled slowly. Set the heat setting to as low as possible to sustain a low, slow boil and cook 15 to 25 minutes.
      4. Let it steep/rest for 15 minutes.
      5. You may reheat before serving. It yields just over a cup.

Enhanced Golden Milk Tea Recipe

This is a new twist on an ancient way of experiencing the benefits of turmeric. Ideally, use all fresh, unadulterated herbs whenever available.

      • 1 cup of warm Coconut Milk
      • 1 tablespoon of freshly grated turmeric with skin
      • 1 teaspoon ground Cinnamon
      • 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger with skin
      • 1 pinch of black pepper
      • Pinch of cayenne pepper

Mix it all up and drink. I you prefer to drink it warm, only heat the coconut milk; be careful not to cook the other ingredients. Add the other ingredients when the coconut milk is cool enough to drink to preserve enzymes and other fragile micronutrients.

Household Disinfectant and Odor Neutralizer

Cinnamon has been proven to be good at killing bacteria including, e-coli and salmonella. Cinnamon oil kills bacteria that create odors as well.

Mix 10 drops of cinnamon essential oil in 2 cups of water in a spray bottle and use to disinfect counter tops, sinks, cabinets, doorknobs, toys etc.

Place three drops of cinnamon essential oil mixed with water on a diffuser to neutralize odors in a large room within minutes.

Tooth and Gum Health

Antibacterial properties of cinnamon remove harmful bacteria without damaging teeth or gums. Try using cinnamon with homemade mouthwash and toothpaste recipes. Also, try oil pulling with coconut oil and a few drops of cinnamon oil. See Homemade DIY Oral Health.

Insect Repellant

Cinnamon essential oil can be used for head lice treatment and to repel (or kill) ants, bed bugs, dust mites, roaches, and mosquitoes.

Skin Infections Like Athlete’s Foot

Try cinnamon oil on any topical skin infection, including athlete’s foot. It’s antimicrobial properties make quick work out of fungus.

Digestion

Cinnamon is very effective for treating indigestion, nausea, vomiting, upset stomach, diarrhea and flatulence. Cinnamon eliminates excess gas from the stomach and intestines, removes acidity, kills pathogens and acts as a diuretic to stop diarrhea. It relieves irritable bowel syndrome, reduces morning sickness, and is often referred to as a digestive tonic.

Menstruation

Cinnamon has been shown to provide relief from menstrual discomfort and cramping.

Breastfeeding

Regular consumption of cinnamon after childbirth delays menstruation, especially when combined with breastfeeding. Many believe that cinnamon promotes healthier breast milk as well.

Massage

Cinnamon is also an anti-inflammatory substance that combined with carrier oil for massage, and when consumed, can help soothe and remove stiffness in muscles and joints.

Wound Healing

Cinnamon oil acts as a coagulant to stop excess bleeding and kills infectious pathogens, facilitating the healing process.

Conclusion

The cinnamon in your pantry is most likely many years old, stale, and of little potency. Stale cinnamon has reduced flavor and health benefits. It may be time to go cinnamon shopping. Be sure to check out garlic, turmeric, ginger, and more below.

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GMO Science – Understanding How GMOs Are Created, and What Prominent Scientists Are Saying

According to the World Health Organization, GMOs are “Organisms in which the genetic material has been altered in a way that does not occur naturally.”

Genetically modified organisms are organisms built with genes from more than one species. The process involves laboratories and scientists followed by regulators, lawyers and lobbyists. There is nothing natural about it. So when biotech argues that the techniques for creating GMO crops are just like traditional crop breeding techniques, those statements are blatantly false.

The First Frankenfoods

One of the first GMO crops to be put on the market was Bt-corn. Bt-corn was made a few decades ago by combining the genes of a bacterium, Bacillus thuringiensis, with the DNA of corn. This genetic modification was engineered to create corn that produces pesticide. Every cell now produces a new protein never before seen in corn, the Bt endotoxin or Bt protein. The toxin is produced in sufficient quantities to kill insects.

The Bt protein or Bt endotoxin must be ingested in order for it to kill. After ingestion, the Bt protein binds to the insect’s digestive tract. It can no longer feed, and in a matter of hours its gut breaks down, and bacteria from its digestive tract flood the insect’s body. It dies of septicemia, eaten from within.

The Bt toxin has been found in human blood and in pregnant women and their fetuses. This means that these toxins are not only making their way into our bodies, our bodies are not fully eliminating them.

Other examples of GMOs include adding a gene from a fish into tomatoes and strawberries to protect them from freezing. Goats have been injected with spider genes in order to produce milk that contains proteins more durable than Kevlar. Also rice has been injected with human genes to manufacture pharmaceuticals.

Methods to Create GMOs

Genetically modifying plants and animals are typically created using one of three methods: the gene gun, the plasmid method, and the vector method.

Gene Gun

The gene gun literally shoots genetic material into the targeted cells. Genetic modification using the gene gun begins with either a young plant, or with cells grown in a culture. The gene gun, using specially prepared bullets, bombards the cultured cells or the young plant. The bullets are coated with microscopic gold or tungsten particles that contain segments of DNA. Once the microscopic particles are inside the nucleus of cells, the DNA can merge into the genes of the young plant or the genes of the cells in a tissue culture.

It is interesting to note that the young plant (now called a chimera) will retain most of its physical characteristics, but the plant grown from a cell culture may grow to look very different from the original plant.

The Plasmid Method

The plasmid method, the most common method, uses bacteria to modify an organism. Plasmids are a type of DNA found in bacteria. The process involves bathing the plasmids in enzymes, encoding the bacteria for antibiotic resistance, and then fusing the plasmids into target bacteria. The culture is then treated with antibiotics that kill all of the unmodified bacteria.

The Vector Method

The vector method uses a modified virus to alter the genes of the target cells. The genes to be modified or removed are isolated. The virus is altered to be less destructive and to carry the genetic payload. The virus then infects the target cells with altered genes. The infection modifies the cells’ genetic structure. As the cells multiply, all copies of the cells will express the modified genes.

Artificial Selection Vs. GMOs

Biotech argues that genetically modifying food is no different than artificial selection. Irrefutably, both processes change the genes of plants and animals.

But artificial selection and natural selection carry genes within populations that are constrained by species. Genetically modified foods have no such constraints. Genes from different species are put together to make new organisms. Let’s take a closer look at artificial selection.

What is Artificial Selection

Artificial selection is a process by which natural evolutionary processes are altered by human intervention. Current estimates place the beginning of life at 3 ½ to 4 billion years ago. This long time span is what accounts for the rich diversity of life on Earth. More than 99.9% of all species that have existed on this planet are now extinct. Of those that remain, the plants and animals most useful to us have been domesticated. Instead of survival of the fittest, think survival of the friendliest and survival of the most nutritious and delicious. With our help, the evolution of these plants and animals was put on fast forward.

Through artificial selection (also called artificial breeding) we have bred plants and animals that are in almost all cases so different from their wild counterparts as to be unrecognizable.

Wild carrots, and wild lettuce are, by today’s standards, inedible. Wild carrots produce natural pesticides, which are good for carrots and bad for us, so we bred that trait out of carrots. Wild carrots also provide fewer calories, and less nutrition than their domesticated counterparts. Wild lettuce contains latex. As you might have guessed, latex tastes horrible, and it irritates our digestive tract.

The main limitation of selective breeding is that the organisms to be bred must be closely related, usually of the same species. If not of the same species, they must be very closely related and share a recent common ancestor, such as dogs and wolves, or wild boars and pigs. Attempts to breed more distant relations such as horses and donkeys or lions and tigers usually produce sterile offspring, or no offspring at all. (A mule is bred from a male donkey and a female horse. A hinny is bred from a female donkey and a male horse. Less commonly known, a liger is an animal bred from a male lion and a female tiger. The progeny of a female lion and a male tiger is called a tigon.)

This radical alteration of plants and animals has been going on for a long time. Selective breeding has a proven track record. It isn’t perfect, and agronomists still have a lot to learn to learn in order to improve upon it, but we have been doing it for thousands of years. Without the domestication of plants and animals we could not support our population, not nationally and definitely not globally.

The changes made to domesticated plants and animals over time do alter genes. Desired traits are selected and undesirable traits are selected against. To say this modifies genes is semantically correct, but so does natural selection, but it is not the same thing as genetic modification.

Despite this limitation, it is incredible what can be achieved via artificial selection. We can produce purple potatoes, black tomatoes, yellow watermelon, over 300 breeds of dogs, and more than 800 breeds of cows. Heirloom fruits and vegetables, commercial cultivars, and hybrids have all been realized through artificial selection.

The GMO Debate and Prominent Scientists

Neil Degrasse Tyson argues that all foods are genetically modified, and that people have an irrational fear of these new foods. Bill Nye echoes the same sentiments. Both have begun publicly supporting GMOs. Neither individuals are experts on genetics, nutrition, health, or biology. Dr. Tyson is an accomplished astrophysicist. Bill Nye earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. Both individuals studied under Carl Sagan, and the late Carl Sagan had something very different to say about genetic engineering.

“Fortunately, we do not know, or at least do not yet know…how to assemble alternative sequences of nucleotides…to make alternative kinds of human beings. In the future, we might well be able to put nucleotides together…in any desired sequence…to produce human characteristics we think desirable. A disquieting and awesome prospect.” – Carl Sagan

“Biology is more like history than it is like physics. You have to know the past to understand the present. There is no predictive theory of biology just as there is no predictive theory of history. The reason is the same both subjects are still too complicated for us.” – Carl Sagan

A Geneticist Weighs In – David Suzuki

David Suzuki agrees that biology and genetics (a subfield of biology), are unpredictable. He doesn’t think that GMOs have been adequately tested, and he says that biotech has put us all in great experiment by prematurely introducing GMOs to the food supply.

“The problem is this: geneticists follow the inheritance of genes in what we call a vertical fashion. You breed a male and a female. You follow their offspring. You breed them. You follow it on down, within a species. What biotechnology allows us to do is to take genes from this organism and move it, what we call horizontally, into a totally unrelated species. …What biotechnology allows us to do is to switch genes from one to the other without the biological constraints.” -David Suzuki

“The problem is this you see, it’s very, very bad science. We assume that the principles governing the inheritance of genes vertically applies when you move genes laterally or horizontally. There is absolutely no reason to make that conclusion. We have to do more experimentation.” – David Suzuki

Biotech claims that they are thousands of studies proving the safety of GMOs. Many short-term studies, up to 90 days, do show their products are safe. Many long-term studies, show a very different outcome.

Dr. Goodall’s Informed Opinion

Before Jane Goodall’s work our definition of mankind was “man the toolmaker.” Dr. Goodall has made many important scientific discoveries. She proved that chimpanzees use tools, that they eat meat, and that they have a complex social system. She is a highly respected scientist.

She is well informed on GMOs, so her opinion of them is not borne of ignorance. Dr. Goodall has publically accused GMO supporters of fraud, and says that they are the ones who are “anti science”. She has warned Britain and Europe not to lower GM safeguards, and she has condemned politicians for endorsing “Frankenstein food.”

“I pursued nature to her hiding-places. Who shall conceive the horrors of my secret toil, as I dabbled among the unhallowed damps of the grave, or tortured the living animal to animate the lifeless clay?” Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein

When the GMO Studies Are Not Funded By Industry…

A two-year study in France has shown that rats didn’t get cancer in the first 90 days of being fed GMO corn, they began to get cancer after four months. The journal, which published the study, retracted it.

The scientists stand by their results, and they believe that the editorial appointment of Richard Goodman, a former Monsanto employee, is the reason behind the retraction. The study has been criticized for what kind of rats was used, but these are the same kind of rats used in many Monsanto studies.

There have also been long-term studies that show disruption of reproduction due to GMOs with low fertility and high infant death rates in rats and mice.

And while articles will state that there is no evidence, even anecdotal evidence of disease or problems due to GMO livestock feed, this is another lie. Farmers have complained about their animals’ poor health and sterility due to GMO feed.

GMO Contamination

Biotech said they could contain GMOs, but this was another lie. GMOs contaminate other varieties by cross-pollination. This contamination typically comes from natural sources. Birds, insects, wind, and weather can carry pollen or seeds from GMO crops many miles to other farmer’s fields. When this happens, if the farmer isn’t growing the same GMO crop, he isn’t considered the victim, he is often sued for patent violation. The usual procedure is a settlement agreement that forces the farmer into silence.

GMO wheat was not approved by the FDA, but a field of GMO wheat was found in Montana, well after the GMO crop was ordered to be destroyed.

The South Korean government bans the cultivation of GMO crops, but GMOs have been found growing in their country; especially along shipping routes. South Korea imports animal feed, and they import GMO crops, but they do prohibit growing GMOs. Now they have no choice; GMOs are growing themselves.

Many countries have banned the cultivation of GMOs, and most countries require GMOs to be clearly labeled. Canada and the U.S. do not currently require GMO labeling, except in a few states. There is currently a bill called the Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act, which would eliminate state’s rights to label GMOs.

The Labeling Double-Standard

Biotech has opposed GMO labeling for consumers, but they are certainly pro-labeling when it comes to their seeds. When farmers buy their seed, they extensively label it, and they explain the many restrictions placed on their seeds. One of the restrictions is that farmers are prohibited from growing non-GMO crops alongside GMO crops, making it impossible to compare yields. Biotech claims GMOs increase yield, but this is another lie as proven by crop yields across the world.

One of the more common genetic modifications renders a plant immune to Round Up. This allows the farmer to spray Round Up in large amounts all over his or her field to kill weeds. Unfortunately, this process has resulted in Round Up resistant weeds, and it increases herbicide residues in the crops. Recently, the World Health Organization said the widespread use of Round Up is a main cause of the rising cancer rates worldwide.

How To Avoid GMOs

Avoiding GMOs won’t be easy for most people who eat prepackaged, processed foods. The NON-GMO project verified label is helpful. It means the ingredients are 99% GMO free. Organic also means 99% GMO free. More than 80% of processed foods contain GMO ingredients. If you buy processed foods, buy organic.

Trader Joe’s sells GMO foods, though their name brand items do not contain them.

Whole Foods talks a good game, but so far they have done nothing except provide some organic options. Exclusively organic restaurants are few and far between, and unfortunately, almost any other restaurant will be serving GMO food. The most common GMOs are canola oil, soy (including milk and oil), corn (including high fructose corn syrup), cottonseed oil, zucchini, yellow squash, papaya, aspartame (which is produced from genetically modified bacteria) and sugar (from sugar beets).

Conclusion

Despite what biotech would have you believe, it is not unscientific to reject GMOs. The rest of the world is not too keen on genetically modified foods, and the scientific community is divided on the issue. The majority of scientists appear to support GMO technology, but there is a lot of money involved in supporting it and nothing but hardship for those who dare oppose it. Many scientists are harshly criticized, censored, and have their funding disappear if they are critical of biotechnology.

Censorship has no place in science, and in order for science to thrive, scientific inquiry must be given free reign. If allowed, science is ultimately self-correcting, but not when scientists are coerced into supporting commercial interests before science. This is exactly what is happening.

The belief that GMOs are harmful to human health certainly has scientific validity. Despite what biotech companies would have us believe, we evolved to eat food, not chemicals. We evolved to eat organisms that came from the earth, not organisms that came from a laboratory.

What We Can Do About It

In a free society, it should be easier to opt out of this GMO experiment. We should have the right to choose what we put into our bodies and not have it chosen for us.

We can vote with our dollars, but not when we are kept in the dark.

Please contact your representative and senators (also check out How To Contact Congress) now and let them know you want to see all GMO foods labeled. Ask them to vote against the Food Safety and Labeling Act, which would deny states the right to require GMO labeling.

 

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All About Fleas – Natural Remedies – Inside and Out

Spring is here and here come the fleas.

When your cat or your dog starts scratching and little red bumps appear on your ankles and itch like crazy, a flea infestation is already underway. Although there are more than 2,500 types of fleas (with about 325 species in the U.S.), you are probably dealing with the cat flea, one of the peskiest creatures known to cats, dogs, or people.

Fleas can consume up to 15 times their weight in blood. They are so tiny, this doesn’t seem like much, but a serious infestation can cause your pet to suffer from anemia (which could be life-threatening, especially for puppies or kittens) or to suffer from a mild to severe allergic response. Fur loss, chewed skin, scabs, and hot spots may result. Some animals exhibit a severe reaction to a single fleabite. Animals also swallow fleas, which can result in tapeworms.

Fleas are interesting little critters. These wingless, 6-legged monsters can jump 100 times their height and 10,000 times in a row, the entire length of a football field.

Cat fleas are not the type associated with plague or murine typhus; but rat fleas associated with these diseases can be found in the southwestern United States, so eradication of rodent infestation and their fleas is also important.

Life Cycle of a Flea

Adult females lay 25-40 eggs a day, up to 2,000 eggs in their lifetime. Though the eggs are laid on the host, they are not glued to the pet’s hair. They fall off easily when the animal shakes, moves, or scratches. They hatch in two to five days and enter stage one of three larval stages, which together last a total of seven-fourteen days. Pupae usually develop into adults within one or two weeks, but they can lie dormant in this stage until the vibration of an animal or human stimulates them. The typical warm weather life cycle for a flea is three to four weeks.

Cat fleas are also a problem for the farm, as they feed on livestock (especially cows and pigs) and chickens. Adult fleas survive the winter and begin their reproductive cycle as weather warms up in the spring and summer.

Conventional Treatment

Conventional treatment involves toxic ingredients – toxic to both animals and humans. Pest control companies spray their noxious sprays in and around our homes, we set off indoor bombs to fumigate, and we put toxic collars, sprays, powders, and treatments on our pets. Then we wonder why our animals develop cancer.

We may spend hundreds of dollars on treatments and see no discernable progress in eradicating an infestation before resorting to alternative, healthy ways to control fleas.

Alternative Treatments For Our Pets

Raw Food Diet

All health, for all animals, begins with diet. Just as a healthy diet is the basis for human health, a truly healthy diet is the basis for your pet’s health. If you want your pet to achieve optimum health and vitality, begin with an organic, raw diet. This one choice will eliminate most of your parasite problems. Parasites prefer unhealthy, malnourished animals. (To learn how to make your own cat or dog food, see the third link below.)

The addition of small amounts of garlic to raw food helps to repel fleas (but do not overdo garlic in animal food. Some say it will interfere with their red cell production). Diatomaceous earth will help eliminate parasites from the gut (remember ingested fleas can cause tapeworms to grow in the gut), omega 3 oils aid in skin health and sleek shiny fur, and total nutrition powder will boost nutrition.

Make sure to add a little oil-coconut oil is and omega 3 oil.

Essential Oils and Other Repellents

Peta suggests the following spray to repel fleas on dogs: “…add five drops each of tea tree oil, citronella oil, rosemary oil, peppermint oil, and eucalyptus oil to one cup of water, shake it, and put it in a spray bottle.”

Another dog spray recipe follows:

Put 3 cloves of garlic, the peels from 1 orange and 1 grapefruit, 1 tablespoon of rosemary and 1 pint of water into a blender. Blend until liquefied, and then heat the concoction at a simmer for 20 minutes. Allow it to cool and strain. Put the liquid in a spray bottle and spray your pets before they go outside.

Cats don’t do as well with essential oils. Lemon water or vinegar water sprayed on the skin or food grade diatomaceous earth used as a powder on the skin will do the trick.

To make lemon water, use one sliced up lemon to a pint of water. Bring it to a boil and let it sit in the pan overnight. To make vinegar water, just mix one part vinegar to three parts water.

Alternative treatment for the indoors

Boric Acid is a long time standard, a powder that can be beaten into the carpets and sprinkled on the floor and other furnishings. Though it has been touted as a natural way to combat fleas and kill other insects, including roaches, it is not entirely non-toxic. It is best to use it in cracks and crevices where children and animals are not exposed.

The first line of defense indoors, is vacuuming and washing bedding. Vacuum, vacuum, vacuum. Place the used bag in a zip-locked plastic bag and freeze it. Re-use and refreeze until you seal it and throw it away.

Wash your pet’s bedding, daily if possible. If your pet sleeps with you, wash your bedding daily or as often as possible. Remember, up to 40 eggs from each adult female flea are falling off your pet each day.

You can sprinkle Diatomaceous earth on the carpets. Do take care not to inhale it and remove your animals from the area. Leave it on carpets for a few hours before vacuuming and use a mask. Do not use the variety that has been chemically treated for swimming pools. Peta suggests salt or borax can also be used. Just leave it on carpets for a day before vacuuming. These three substances help dry out larvae, thus killing them.

Outdoor Treatment

Diatomaceous earth can also be sprinkled around the perimeter of the house and any areas where you suspect or have seen fleas.   You can also spray beneficial nematodes on lawns and around shrubs. They are safe for beneficial garden dwellers like ladybugs and earthworms, and they are non-toxic to children, and pets. They eat the fleas. Problem solved.

Conclusion

The best way to defeat fleas is to be proactive. Wash your animal’s bedding regularly and spray or powder your pet. If you had an infestation last year, treat the yard.

Learn how to make your own Total Nutrition Powder (great for you or your pet!).

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Is the Paleo Diet a Fraudulent Fad or the Healthiest Diet to Hit Mainstream? Could It Be Both?

Paleo Diet’s Origins

The paleo diet has been around for more than forty years, but recently, it has enjoyed resurgence in popularity. At present, it is one of the most popular diet trends in America.

This comeback in popularity is due in part to its new supporters, including the Crossfit movement and Hollywood celebrities like Megan Fox, Jessica Biel, Miley Cyrus, and Matthew McConaughey.

Dr. Loren Cordain is one of the original researchers and authors backing the Paleo diet. His work in evolutionary medicine led him to believe that our early ancestors, homo sapiens, ate diets consisting mostly of meat (55% or more) though this claim has little to no grounding in archaeological research.

The first book modeled after this concept was written in the1970s. These books popularized the movement.

  • The Stone Age Diet
  • The Paelo Diet “Lose weight…eating the food you were designed to eat”
  • The Primal Blueprint “Reprogram your genes…maximum longevity”
  • The New Evolution Diet “Evolution Diet”
  • NeaderThin “Eat like a caveman”

Paleo Diet Recommendations – Eating Like a Caveman

The Paleo diet argues that modern diets make us very ill, and in order to improve our health, we need to eat a diet that more closely resembles the diet that our Paleolithic ancestors ate from 2 ½ million years ago to 10,000 years ago.

Paleo diets vary somewhat from book to book. The overall concept is the same, though there is some variation in what foods are to be avoided. Recommendations regarding meat consumption differ as well.

In many ways, the paleo diet is the exact opposite of the USDA’s food pyramid; the original government guidelines for a healthy diet. Paleo diets say fats are okay, but grains are not. In a paleo pyramid, meat makes up the base. Starchy vegetables and grains that make up the top of the pyramid are the foods to be avoided or minimized.

Many paleo followers hold to the belief that through the majority of human history we were primarily meat eaters. In truth, we ate more plants than meat.

Paleo Diets Recommendations

  • Meats & eggs,
  • Seafood & fish
  • Seeds & nuts
  • Leafy greens
  • Regional produce
  • Tubers such as sweet potatoes and yams (In moderation)

Only grass-fed or free-range meat and wild caught seafood are recommended due to the fact that grain-fed animals and farmed fish are less healthy than animals fed their natural diet.

Other Prohibited Foods

  • All processed foods
  • Dairy
  • Grains (no wheat, no pasta, no cereals)
  • No sugars, no fructose, or grain sweeteners
  • No beans

Most of the paleo diets exclude oils that are extracted through the use of chemicals or other unnatural means.

Since grains and processed foods are forbidden, the diet is naturally gluten free. Paleo dieters strongly recommend that everyone avoid gluten. They argue that nearly everyone is gluten intolerant.

Paleo diets avoid calorie counting. Proponents claim that Paleo foods are more nutritious and filling, so people are less likely to overeat, thus there is no need to count calories.

Paleo proponents claim the paleo diet reduces inflammation, lowers blood pressure, reduces oxidative stress, and provides increased protection against neurodegenerative diseases. Paleo proponents also stand behind the Paleo diet as a treatment for diabetes. The diet is said to reduce glucose and insulin levels.

Paleo Diet’s Lack Of Authenticity

Although it is a great idea to emulate the diet of our ancestors to improve our health, it is not possible to eat exactly like our ancestors did even 20,000 years ago, much less 2 million years ago. The majority of plants and animals that made up early man’s diet are either long extinct or are so different as to be unrecognizable.

In many cases, harmful or undesirable characteristics have been bred out of our domesticated plants. Wild foods are often full of substances to deter predation. Some plants produce natural pesticides, others have thorns, and many produce toxic substances of all kinds. The process of domestication of plants minimizes or eliminates negative or undesirable traits. It also increases desirable traits. Domestication has increased nutrient levels, calories, and digestibility. It has also improved the efficiency of cultivating these plants both through increased practicality and productivity.

Though most of the changes in our food crops are beneficial, there are also plants and animals that have been declining in quality. GMO fruits, vegetables, and dairy; mercury laden, polluted, and radiated seafood; and factory raised livestock are far more toxic and less nutritious than their organic counterparts. All conventionally raised produce is less nutritious than organic produce.

The Real Paleo Diet

Human beings have been able to survive in a variety of climates. There are some indigenous populations, such as people living in arctic areas, who ate a lot of meat because they had limited access to plant resources. In areas where more plants were available, comparatively more plants were eaten. And many plants are unique to a region. People used the resources available to them to survive. These factors alone make it clear that there was not one paleo diet, but many. What they ate in common was a diet filled with whole, fresh, organic foods.

Also, a fact rarely emphasized in the paleo diet is that our ancestors ate organ meats and bone marrow. Bone marrow was a good source of easily assimilated calcium. Bone stock and bone marrow are not commonly eaten in modern day cuisine, though many health advocates have recently recommended them.

Foraging For Produce

In order to eat a true paleo diet, we would have to return to foraging for food. Unfortunately, time is not the only negative factor involved.

Some edible plants have poisonous look-alikes. One mistake with mushrooms, or berries, or some other type of wild plant could prove fatal. Some plants are only to be eaten in small amounts, because when consumed in large amounts, they can be harmful. Another serious obstacle to everyone adopting a foraging lifestyle is that the world’s ecosystems could not withstand 7 billion people abruptly switching over to hunting and gathering. There are simply too many of us for that to work. Our species still must utilize a more intensive guided approach to producing our food, such as gardening, farming, and aquaculture.

There are many truisms to the Paleo approach. We should attempt to emulate the diet of our ancestors, at least in regards to the big picture. A paleo diet had lower grain and carbohydrate consumption, more protein, and more fiber, than modern diets. Paleo diets were made up of fresh foods, many of them raw. On the downside, real paleo diets were actually less diverse, and less healthy than the best diet available to us today.

A diverse, fresh, organic, 80% raw, plant-based diet is the healthiest diet. A full 80% of your diet should consist of fresh, raw, organic produce – more vegetables than fruit. Your diet should also include omega 3 fatty acids (fish oil, flax seed oil, or an oil blend) as well as other healthy fats such as olive oil and coconut oil. Seeds and nuts should be soaked to release enzymes. All meat should be organic and beef should be grass fed. Remember, when you are eating at the top of the food chain, you are essentially eating whatever that animal ate. If you eat a diseased malnourish animal that was fed GMO grains and shot full of antibiotics and growth hormones, will it benefit you and your health?

To truly be healthy, avoid all processed foods. Do not eat artificial flavors, colors, or preservatives. No BHA, BHT, MSG, or GMOs. No trans fats. No processed sugar. Limit caffeine.

There is a benefit to the paleo diet mindset. We do need to return to eating natural unadulterated foods. Just keep that 80% raw fresh produce in mind if your ultimate goal is true health and vitality. Check out the 80% Raw Food Diet and learn how to make your own Total Nutrition Powder for a nutritional boost of vitamins and minerals.

Recommended Supplements:
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The Way We Used To Eat – The Real Paleo Diet

Without a doubt, our food used to be very different than the food we eat today. Our prehistoric diet consisted of fresh fruit, wild vegetables, roots, wild herbs, nuts, seeds, honey, some wild grains, seafood, and meat. We, as well as our primate antecedents that came before us, evolved to thrive on this plant based diet.

For literally millions of years, we consumed a diet rich in nutrients, low in toxins, high in fiber, and rich in fats. As good as that diet was, it wasn’t ideal. Many prehistoric foods had naturally occurring toxins in them and were lower in nutrients than the best foods available today. Plus, humans were restricted to the foods available in the area they foraged.

In modern times, we can improve upon our prehistoric diet, provided the core concept resembles the same ratios of macronutrients. These ratios of nutrients changed dramatically for the first time, ten thousand years ago when we adopted agriculture. It was then that our diet, and our society, changed forever.

Agriculture spread from one society to another, gradually becoming the dominant subsistence strategy. Farming further reduced variety and increased grains, a change that resulted in a significant decline in health. There is a lot of evidence to support the notion that a high carbohydrate diet, especially when compounded over generations, has a dramatically detrimental effect on human health and vitality. This decline in health can be seen across time and across many cultures.

The average Spanish conquistador was dwarfed in size by the average North American Native American. Spaniards ate a diet high in carbohydrates and low in protein, with limited fruits and vegetables. Native Americans of North America consumed many plants, some fruits and nuts, wild game, some carbohydrates (mostly from squash and corn), and for many tribes, plenty of seafood. The natives in North America could look down on the Spaniards by as much as a half a foot.

South American Natives and Mexican natives are and were significantly smaller in stature than their Northern counterparts. South American Natives relied on agriculture. With farming came a denser population whose diet focused on grains, leading to much higher carbohydrate consumption and less access to meat, nuts, herbs, and vegetables.

The effect that diet has on size is fascinating. Many people attribute genetics to differences in size. Among individuals with a similar diet, this is true. But between populations, like the American population and the Mexican population, diet, over generations, greatly contributes to the average difference in size. Although the effect diet has on size is very interesting, diet has many more profound effects on all aspects of health. Differences in diet lead to different diseases.

Many experts predict that our current population will not live as long as previous generations. Diabetes, heart disease, strokes, hypertension, kidney disease, and obesity are all on the rise, and these diseases are predicted to noticeably shorten the American lifespan. But the story of the American diet doesn’t end there. Our diet did not go from the best in the world to one of the worst overnight, and it won’t go back to the best quickly, either. To understand where we are going, and how diet affects us, it is helpful to understand where we have been and how our diet has affected us in the past.

Freedom has long been lauded as the reason why so many Europeans crossed the ocean. Though religious freedom was certainly a factor, food was probably the bigger incentive. During the time period when Europeans were first settling America, Europe was a very crowded continent. Farming opportunities for European settlers in America were the best in the world. Europeans came in droves to realize the American dream, the dream of being able to feed one’s family, to live in abundance, an abundance of food. It was a modest dream to be sure, but when you can’t feed your family or your family is fed in a substandard manner, it is a dream worth great risk and sacrifice to achieve.

Within generations, a profound difference in size and prosperity emerged between Americans and their European counterparts. This difference in size can still be seen today, but the size gap between Americans and Europeans during modern times is disappearing.

In the early 1800s, most Americans lived on or near farms. Foods were restricted by seasonal availability, and cooking was done on an open hearth, a labor-intensive method.

In 1820, the cast iron stove was introduced. For Americans living in the 1800s this was as timesaving as a microwave is versus a modern day oven. Unlike a microwave, a cast iron stove didn’t eradicate nutrients anymore than the previous cooking method did, it just saved time.

In 1892, the U.S. government collected height and weight data on a representative sample of U.S. men. In white males aged 40-69 years old, obesity was estimated to have been at 4%.

From that time to modern times, a number of changes happened to our food supply, including how food is prepared, how it is produced, its availability, and what foods we choose to eat.

These are some of the changes:

  • 1910s – Hydrogenated (trans fats) were introduced into the food supply
  • 1920s – Gas and electric stoves became common
  • 1920s – Refrigerators became common
  • 1920s – Canned foods and frozen foods were introduced

In the early 1900s, foods like Nathan’s Hot Dogs, Oreo Cookies, Wonder Bread, Yoo-Hoo, Wheaties, Kool-Aid, VanCamp’s Canned Pork and Beans, and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups were introduced into the American diet and became very popular.

Trans fats dramatically extend the shelf life of foods. Proctor & Gamble learned methods for hydrogenating cottonseed oil from a German scientist. This fat was originally intended for soap, but it resembled lard, so Proctor & Gamble successfully marketed it as Crisco. (The name comes from crystallized cottonseed oil.)

New technologies not only allowed for easy storage of food, they also allowed for a more diverse diet, a diet less beholden to seasonal availability. For the sake of convenience, many more ready- to-eat foods were developed. Refrigeration technology did not just change the foods in the home, it changed the foods available in stores and restaurants as well. And refrigerated train cars, in use since the 1840s, allowed for shipping foods long distances.

Refrigeration and electricity created a technological platform from which commercialized food became more commonplace. This change is important because it is not as profitable for commercially prepared food to be healthy as it is for it to simply taste good and have a long shelf life. It is easier and more profitable for food manufacturers to misrepresent their foods as healthy, than it is for them to actually be healthy.

Consider these ads:

Sugar Ads

This misrepresentation is achieved by focusing on a few upsides to commercially prepared foods while blatantly ignoring the numerous downsides. Food manufacturers don’t attempt to convince us how great sugar is anymore. Their methods have grown more sophisticated. For instance, “fat free” while loaded with sugar; zero trans fat, when high in other fats; “all natural,” when genetically modified; made with real blueberries, when everything else was made in a lab; and my personal favorite, “fortified with vitamins & minerals,” which means this Frankenfood is so dead that in order for it to have any nutrition at all, the manufacturer had to add the cheapest, most unnatural vitamins and minerals known to man.

A Changing Food Budget

In 1889, 93% of all food spending was for food consumed at home. In 2009, only 51% of all food spending was spent on food to be consumed at home. Of the food purchased to be consumed at home, much of it was highly processed and commercially prepared.

Changing Activity Levels

While the standard American diet drastically changed, so did the physical activity levels of the average American. Two hundred years ago, most professions were physically demanding and exercise was a way of life. Over time, this has dramatically changed. Some Americans exercise a few times a week, but it is common for many to never exercise at all.

Obviously, this has had profound effects on American health.

Trading one Disease for Another

The first alarms were sounded in the late 1970s. A senate committee pushed its “Dietary Goals for the United States” urging Americans to eat less fat. It was thought that red meat, eggs, and dairy were killing us.

By the 1980s, nearly a million Americans were dying of heart disease each year.

Again, Americans were told to eat less fat and eat more carbohydrates. These recommendations were built into a monument and lauded to the public as the salvation for American health: The Food Pyramid.

The Food Pyramid recommended carbohydrates as the staple of a healthy diet. Fat was a killer, or so we were led to believe, therefore recommendations for fat intake were drastically reduced. A $150 million dollar study, which pushed the same message, came fast on the heels of these recommendations. The study said to eat less fat and avoid foods high in cholesterol in order to reduce your risk of heart disease.

Americans followed this advice and consumption of grains and sugar rose. Americans are now sicker than before. Deaths from heart disease have dropped a bit, but obesity and diabetes rose dramatically.

Whole milk has been banned from most of our public schools, but strawberry milk, chocolate milk, and soda machines are usually available. Whole plain yogurt is usually difficult to find in a grocery store, but low fat, sugar filled, artificially flavored, artificially colored options are everywhere. The prevailing belief is that these low fat options are healthier, even when loaded with sweeteners, than whole milk.

Though deaths from heart disease have declined, cardiovascular disease remains the nation’s number # 1 killer. According to Time Magazine, diabetes has increased 166% from 1980 to 2012. The low-fat trend was directed toward lowering cholesterol. And yet, few realize that high fructose corn syrup, found in nearly every processed food, is today’s leading cause of high cholesterol.

A Downward Trend

In every measurable way, Americans are in worse health than ever before. It is widely predicted that our lifespan is shortening; the generations that came before us will outlive us, and we are likely to outlive the generations that succeed us.

Most Americans simply want to lose weight, but some aspire to be healthier as well. For either goal or both goals, many Americans have lost confidence in government guidelines and have begun to look for other diets to follow. In the absence of sound advice from the government, many have turned elsewhere for ways to lose weight or to improve their health.

This has led to waves of diet fads, diets that rise and fall in popularity. These are some of the more popular diets:

  • The Pritikin diet
  • The Atkins diet
  • The Gluten Free diet
  • The South Beach diet
  • The Mediterranean diet
  • Weight Watchers
  • The Zone Diet
  • Volumetrics
  • Raw Food Diet
  • NutriSystem
  • Macrobiotic Diet
  • The Paleo Diet

Many of the diets have been designed and championed by doctors.

The Pritikin diet basically echoes government recommendations, with less meat. The South Beach diet is very similar, with fewer carbs and more lean meats like fish and poultry. The Atkins diet is a protein-based weight loss plan that is low in nutrition and very unhealthy. It has been called a nutritionist’s nightmare. The gluten free diet works best if there is a reason for one to avoid gluten. Otherwise, unless one cuts back on carbs, it is unlikely to be beneficial to anyone trying to lose weight. Weight Watchers stresses eat what you want but in moderation and constantly count calories.

The Mediterranean diet is a seafood, wine, veggie, and whole grain weight loss plan similar to South Beach. The Zone diet suggests a rigid focus on macronutrients in regards to protein, carbs, and fat. Nutrisystem is the ultimate have someone else do it for you plan with all meals pre made and pre measured. Volumetrics promotes a focus on fruits and vegetables. Because of their fiber content, they make you feel more full. The raw food diet allows for unlimited raw vegan food.

These were among the most popular diets. Many diet fads were highly restrictive, absurd, dangerous, and downright scary like the grapefruit diet, the cabbage soup diet, the vinegar diet, and the liquid diet. Other approaches included the T.V. frozen dinner diet and even a Twinkie diet. The most dangerous and harmful diets were the diets that weren’t even based on food like the cigarette diet (whenever you’re hungry, just smoke), the eat sweets before a meal diet, or, even more crazy, the tapeworm diet, the baby food diet (substitute some of your meals with baby food), and worst of all the cotton ball diet, which recommended that you actually eat cotton balls dipped in juice. This is a choking hazard and can cause intestinal blockages, both of which can kill you. It was crazy, but these were all diets were practiced by some Americans.

Despite the variety of diets, popular and obscure, safe and dangerous, on average, Americans are fatter than ever before. Most Americans eat slightly less red meat and eat more lean meat, but they eat more sugar and more highly processed and refined foods. The CDC predicts that by 2030 up to 42% of the U.S. population will be obese, and 11% will be severely obese.

Experts do not agree on the health effect of grains and sweets. In Georgia, the only cereals WIC will pay for are cereals that contain some kind of sugar – corn sugar, sugar cane, or sugar from beets. Fruit juice sweetened and unsweetened cereals are considered health food and are not eligible for purchase under the program.

Over time, some foods have gone up in demand, while others have fallen in popularity. Sugar consumption from sugar cane has dropped 35% while corn based sweeteners (mostly high fructose corn syrup) consumption has risen by 8,853%. It’s not that Americans choose to eat corn syrup, they choose to eat processed foods, and high fructose corn syrup is added to nearly every processed food.

The current government guidelines are only a little different than the original food pyramid. The current recommendations are still high in grains, but the recommendation for fruits and vegetables is higher.

Conclusion

We recommend a diverse, whole food, plant-based diet. A full 80% of your diet should consist of raw, fresh, organic produce – more vegetables than fruits. Meats should be organic. Nuts and seeds should be soaked or sprouted. Grains should be limited and gluten should be avoided if any illness is present. Dairy should be organic and raw or limited. Omega 3 fatty acids from flaxseed oil, fish oil, or a blended oil and oily fish should be added to your diet. Clean water is also essential.

You should avoid all artificial flavors, colors, and preservatives; MSG; high fructose corn syrup; trans fats; and GMOs. Seriously limit or eliminate all processed sugar.

For more information about a truly healthy diet, read the 80% Raw Food Diet. Boost your nutrition with increased vitamins, minerals, and nutrients, learn how to make your own Total Nutrition Powder.

Recommended Supplements:
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Top 5 Shampoo Alternatives and How They Stack Up

If you’ve ever taken a look at the ingredients of a typical shampoo bottle, you’ve probably felt deep confusion, and even a bit of alarm.

Last year, I did something I’ve strangely never done before – I read the ingredients listed on my bottle of Pantene Pro-V shampoo and realized I understood only one ingredient: water. The rest was a mumbo jumbo of hard-to-pronounce chemicals that I spent my apres-shower hour googling.

Turns out several of these ingredients are skin irritants (sodium lauryl sulfate, sodium laureth sulfate) and a few that are much more dangerous. The worst offender, methylisothiazolinone, was found in recent animal studies to be toxic to brain cells, even for brief exposures at low concentrations. And I was using this stuff every day!

Well, no more. I was determined to end my chemical shampoo slavery and find better, all-natural options for my hair, scalp, and body.

Here’s what I found during my journey into shampoo alternatives, in no particular order. If you’re also planning a break-up with shampoo, you’ll want to give this a read.

Baking Soda, aka Bicarbonate of Soda

Baking soda was the first shampoo alternative I tried, mainly because there was a big tub of it already lying around in the kitchen, waiting for a purpose.

To use it, you’ll want to dissolve a teaspoon of baking soda in a cup of water, slowly pour it over your hair, give yourself a little head massage to work the mixture through your strands and then wash it all out.

How does baking soda stack up? Honestly, it’ll leave your hair feeling squeaky clean but also a little dry, brittle and rough. This effect mostly has to do with the fact that baking soda is highly alkaline with a pH of 9.0 while wet hair is naturally a little more acidic with a pH of around 4.5 to 5.5. Since alkalines tend to open hair cuticles (while acids close them), the very alkaline baking soda opens up your cuticles and allows the hair to absorb too much water, resulting in raised and jagged cuticles that make your hair feel rough and brittle.

Overall, baking soda may be too harsh for most people since normal hair needs a shampoo (alternative) with a pH between 4.5 and 6.7. For those with oily hair, however, a more alkaline solution works great in balancing things out so if you’ve got oily locks – baking soda might be great shampoo alternative for you. Just make sure you don’t use it too often!

Apple Cider Vinegar

The above baking soda is very alkaline, and when used alone, it can leave your hair feeling dry and brittle. Add in acidic apple cider vinegar, however, and you’ve got a much better pH-balanced shampoo and rinse combo!

To use apple cider vinegar, mix it in a ratio of 2 tbsp of vinegar to 1 cup of water. After you’ve “shampoo-ed” with your baking soda mixture, apply your apple cider vinegar solution on the length of your hair. There’s no need to apply it near your roots. Wash out.

And don’t worry about smelling vinegar-y all day – the smell goes away as soon as your hair’s dry.

Castille Soap

Much like baking soda, Castille soap is very alkaline and will leave your hair looking brittle and dry if you use it alone. Also like baking soda, Castille soap is ridiculously good at multi-tasking. You can use the stuff as a shampoo, body wash, laundry detergent, and dishwashing soap. So if you’re looking to condense a lot of your soapy needs down to one product, Castille soap just might be your answer. Just make sure you use it with a balancing acidic rinse like apple cider vinegar and again, don’t use it too often!

Clay

Both Bentonite and Rhassoul are healing, detoxing clays that are used for everything from tightening pores to removing toxins from the body. But did you know they also make great shampoos?

Clays make the perfect shampoo alternative since they’re chock full of nourishing minerals, provide deep cleansing, and leave your hair both clean and conditioned. They’re also pH-balanced – a mixture of 1 tablespoon of Rhassoul clay and 8 ounces of water has a pH of around 6, which is pretty close to your hair’s natural pH.

To use, mix clay with water until you get a consistency resembling an egg yolk. Wet your hair and then wring it out. Slowly pour the mud mixture over your head and work it through to the tips. Give yourself a little mud shampoo pack for around 5 minutes and wash everything out.

If you want, feel free to add an apple cider vinegar rinse afterward!

Coconut Milk and Aloe Vera Gel

This coconut milk and aloe vera gel shampoo alternative is also pH-balanced and is perfect for those of us with dry, damaged hair.  Coconut milk is very soothing for dry, itchy scalps and the saturated fats in it help repair damaged hair.

The only downside to this shampoo alternative is that it goes bad. Fast. The best solution to make it last is to make a big batch and then freeze most of it into “shampoo cubes.”

To make this shampoo alternative, you’ll need a can of coconut milk and around 2 cups of pure aloe vera gel. Simply whisk the two ingredients together until they’re fully mixed and then pour the mixture into ice cube trays and freeze them. You can take a cube out the night before you plan to use it and leave it in a bowl in the fridge to thaw. If you don’t use the whole cube (you probably won’t), put the leftovers in the fridge.

The thing about swearing off shampoo is that it opens you up to a whole world of natural shampoo alternatives you might never have thought to try. And once your hair adjusts to the fact that it’s free of shampoo for good – you’ll be pleasantly surprised to find that it doesn’t need store-bought shampoo to stay clean, hydrated, and gorgeous. Plus, you’ll get a kick out of telling strangers who compliment your hair that you actually haven’t shampooed for months!



Arthritis – How To Relieve the Pain and Heal Naturally

Arthritis is painful inflammation of one or more joints in the body. There are more than 100 types of arthritis, though the best-known types are osteoarthritis (which breaks down cartilage), rheumatoid arthritis (which is an autoimmune disorder affecting the lining of the joints), and gout (caused by deposits of urate crystals in the joints).

Any form of arthritis can both emotionally taxing and physically limiting due to pain and stiffness. Over time, damage to the joints can be extensive.

As with any disease, the first essential step is to change your diet. Every cell in the body requires two things: nutrition and detoxification. The proper diet achieves both; it gives the body dense nutrition and aids the body in daily detoxification.

What to eat:

  • Eat a wide variety of nutrient dense, organic whole foods, not processed foods.
  • Eat lots of produce – more vegetables than fruits; 80% of your food should be fresh, raw, organic produce!
  • If you eat meat, always eat organic
  • Omega 3 fatty acids – oily fish, fish oil, blended Omega 3 oil, flax seed oil, flax seeds
  • Soak nuts and seeds before eating them
  • Eat raw garlic, cilantro, and turmeric regularly to help detoxify
  • Add nutrition powder to your daily diet

What not to eat:

  • Artificial flavorings, colors, or preservatives
  • MSG
  • GMOs
  • High fructose corn syrup
  • Sugar (in its many forms)
  • Gluten

Stop all dairy for two weeks then challenge yourself with it (eat a lot of it). See what happens. If you feel ill, see dark circles under your eyes, or experience diarrhea, stop eating dairy.

Doc Shillington recommends the following vitamins and supplements for anyone suffering from arthritis:

See the first link below for the rest of Doc Shillington’s protocol.

When we are ill, especially with anything autoimmune, it is very likely that we are suffering from leaky gut syndrome and Candida. It is vital to stop eating gluten and to get Candida under control so the gut can heal. The goal is to heal your gut followed by every other cell in your body.

Again, this is primarily accomplished by diet and aided by supplements. If you suffer from vaginal yeast infections, itchy skin, raw skin, athlete’s foot, nail fungus etc. these are definite signs that Candida is a problem. [See the second link below.

How to relieve the pain of arthritis

Step one is filling the body with dense nutrients. Step two is getting those nutrients into each and every cell of the body while cleansing each cell of waste and toxins. To accomplish this both blood and lymph need to work in harmony to bathe each cell.

Hot and cold hydrotherapy

Hot and cold hydrotherapy not only relieves pain, it aids the body in healing. It is simple and easy to do but it takes some fortitude. Alternate hot and cold water on the afflicted area for 20 minutes. Start with hot water for a minimum of two minutes then switch to cold for two minutes, back and forth. End with cold.

Hot water drives the blood to the surface of the skin. Cold water drives it deep into tissues. This agitation of the blood helps to cleanse the tissues, much like the agitation of a washing machine. See Hot and Cold Hydrotherapy.

Exercise

Exercise is important. You need to move. The afflicted joints need to move. Exercise is also necessary to move your lymph. Lymph aids the blood in removing toxins and waste from the cells and their surrounding fluids.

Massage

A good masseuse can also help with both pain and healing. Massage aids with circulation of both blood and lymph.

Epsom Salts Bath

If done correctly, Epsom salts baths can be very beneficial. The first thing is to use enough salts. The second issue is to soak for 40 minutes. The first 20 minutes draws out toxins. During the second 20 minutes, you soak up magnesium and sulfates.

The amount to use is determined by weight to a standard size bath:

  • 60-100 lbs: 1 cup
  • 100-150 lbs: 1½ cups
  • 150-200 lbs:  2 cups
  • For each addition 50lbs, add another ½ cup

Herbs That Ease Arthritis Pain

All disease begins and ends on a cellular level. Nutrition, circulation, and detoxification are the core elements to end the pain and damage caused by arthritis. The first step to eliminating almost any disease is here: How To Kill Candida and Balance Your Inner Ecosystem. Many other ailments, including arthritis in the elbows, wrists, knees, hips and shoulders are caused by, and/or exacerbated by thyroid problems as well. Check out Understand Hypothyroidism – Prevention and Natural Remedies.

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