France Bans Private Sale of Glyphosate

France is the latest country to ban the private sale of Monsanto’s favorite carcinogen – glyphosate. France has been in the alternative news quite a bit lately, asking the makers of Nutella to stop using palm oil, insisting all new rooftops be covered in solar panels or plants, and mandating the donation of all supermarket food waste. This new move by their Ecology Minister is the latest result of their forward thinking.

The French aren’t the only people around the world waking up to the effects of Roundup. Governments are now more likely to look for independent research to explain the uptick in the rates of diseases like cancer. Monsanto continues to bleat about the safety of glyphosates and their inability to harm humans, claiming that “the dose makes the poison.” With the levels of glyphosates on the rise in our food, our soil, our air, and water, at what magic point does the saturation of our environment turn from harmful to poison? Are we willing to wait until that switch has been flipped with no hope of going back?

The List of Governments Waking Up Keeps Growing

The fight against GMOs and Monsanto has made waves the world over, and as the United States deals with a food system where 80 percent of products now likely contain GMOs, Europe continues their crackdown against the damage caused by Monsanto and all of their products. While most of the focus has been on Monsanto crops, the tremendously influential study from the International Agency for Research on Cancer has caused many to consider banning all of their products. The Netherlands, Bermuda, and Sri Lanka preceded France in banning over the counter sales of Roundup. It is worth noting that Bermuda and Sri Lanka have prohibited the use of glyphosates in all applications, including commercial ones, unlike the Dutch and the French.

Monsanto Maintains the Same Response as Always

It’s business as usual for the PR department of Monsanto, as they continue to refine their denial skills. Glyphosate was introduced as Roundup in the 1970s, and in that time it has expanded to become the most produced weed killer is the world. As Monsanto is a company willing to throw their financial weight around, it’s been easy for government institutions to look the other way, and it was easy to keep the public in the dark before the Internet. In 1985, the Environmental Protection Agency listed glyphosate as a possible carcinogen. Six years later the memo had been changed, despite several scientists supporting the original classification. With it officially listed as a 2A carcinogen, it’s become more difficult to accept Monsanto’s manipulation in the face of growing public outrage.

Monsanto’s variations on the theme that “glyphosate is non-toxic” are endless. They frequently argue that studies that find any fault with their products ignore important information. Some statements have referred to Roundup as low risk to human health, but that has been the extent of any admission of guilt.

It’s time to acknowledge that Monsanto is an irresponsible corporation with enough money, power, and manipulation to sway government agencies. Nothing will change until the public steps up and says, “Enough!” The tipping point is near – that point at which our planet is too saturated with environmental disruptors. Groups like Occupy Monsanto and March Against Monsanto are great place to start if we are ready to step up and heal our environment.

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Chipotle Removing More Unnatural Ingredients – Sourdough Culture to Replace Tortilla Preservatives

Chipotle made waves earlier this year when they announced that they would be eliminating GMOs from their menu. After eliminating GMO cornstarch from its tortillas, the company is now further streamlining its tortilla recipe in an attempt to offer its customers a product as close to a homemade tortilla as possible. From an admittedly short list of eleven ingredients, Chipotle’s downsizing its ingredient list even further to a mere four: whole-wheat flour, oil, salt, and water.

Mass-producing this tortilla presents a number of problems, chief among them taste, shelf life, and logistics. Early test runs have created tortillas with the elasticity needed for burritos and a nutty taste most likely be attributed to Chipotle’s decision to use more health-conscious whole-wheat flour. But when a company is serving upwards of 800,000 tortillas a day, taste and texture are not the only concerns. It needs to produce a product that is consistent and always available. The typical means to increase shelf life would be the addition of preservatives to the product. Being health conscious, Chipotle said no to preservatives and found a solution both simple and elegant: sourdough.

The Oldest Leavened Bread

Fermentation is one of the earliest forms of food preservation. Sourdough has rich history as the first leavened bread, and its use of naturally occurring yeast has made it accessible to anyone since it was recognized. Using this time-tested method for insuring its bread would last longer, Chipotle is able to keep the shelf life its tortillas without lab derived chemicals and provide a healthier product that appeals to the informed consumer.

Lactobacilli bacteria is responsible for the unique sourdough flavor as it ferments the bread, breaking down gluten and other proteins. The bacteria also acts as a probiotic. This breakdown makes sourdough easier to digest than breads made with conventional yeast, making sourdough bread a potential option for those who are unable to easily digest modern bread products.

Of course there are logistical issues, as sourdough requires a consistent temperature, a quiet place to develop, and the time to properly ferment. Starting and maintaining a sourdough culture can be a daunting task. A tortilla factory is accustomed to expanding commercial dough balls with yeast and then immediately pressing, baking, and packaging tortillas for sale. So far Don Pancho Authentic Mexican Foods in Salem, Oregon, which is serving as the test factory, is dealing with the logistics needed for fermentation by designating a separate room where the sourdough cultures can ferment before being shaped and baked. Chipotle plans on perfecting the process then expanding it throughout the entire chain, region by region.

Our Food Conversation

Chipotle’s commitment to serve “Food with Integrity” is the culinary equivalent of the canary in the coalmine – can fast food be both healthy and profitable?

Though the average diner may not have entered the conversation about what’s in our food, where it’s coming from, and what our planet can actually sustain, there is a growing number of people who want quality, healthy dining options.

This conversation needs to continue on an increasingly larger scale. Though Chipotle has always been a part of this conversation due to their transparency, they entered it in a big way when they banned GMOs. It’s up to us to reward this business for its courage and integrity. Remember, as always, we vote with our dollars.

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Powassan Virus, a Deadly Tick Disease

Lyme disease is not the only disease spread by ticks. Powassan is scarier and deadlier than it’s predecessor. And it’s spreading.

Unlike Lyme disease, a bacterial infection, Powassan is a virus, one that can cause encephalitis, a brain infection that is often fatal.

History of Powassan

The Powassan virus was discovered in 1958 in Powassan, Ontario. Since that time, two types of the virus have been found in North America, with fewer than 60 cases attributed to the virus from 1958-2010, though it is possible that cases of viral encephalitis or meningitis were not identified as Powassan and this numbers somewhat underreported. The concern, however, comes from the fact that 22 cases of Powassan were reported between 2008-2013 in Minnesota alone. A new variant of the virus has spread to deer ticks and cases are showing up in New Hampshire, New York, and Massachusetts. These numbers suggest a definite spread of this disease in the wild.

Powassan Infection and Symptoms

Powassan is spread by tick bites; it is not spread from person to person. When a person is bitten by a tick that transmits Lyme disease, the tick transfers the bacteria over a 24-hour period. When a person is bitten by a tick with Powassan virus, transmitting the virus takes no more than an hour.

The incubation period varies from one week to one month. There are people who are infected with this virus who never exhibit symptoms. For those who do, symptoms include difficulty with speech and loss of coordination, fever, vomiting, confusion, weakness, headache, hallucinations, and seizures. The virus can result in encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) or meningitis (inflammation of the membranes that surround the spinal cord and the brain).

There is no cure or specific treatment for the virus. For severe cases, hospitalization and supportive treatment (IV, respiratory support, medications to reduce brain swelling) are given.

According to the CDC, 10% of encephalitis cases caused by Powassan are fatal and half of the survivors suffer from permanent neurological symptoms such as memory problems, muscle wasting, and headaches.

Prevention of Tick Bites

The CDC suggests staying on paths in the woods and avoiding the bushy, overgrown areas with high grass. Their most prudent advice is to thoroughly inspect your body (everywhere, including the belly button and your hair) after being in woodsy areas. Inspect pets and gear as well. Run clothes through a drying cycle to kill ticks that may be attached.

The conventional suggestion is to wear long sleeves and long pants tucked into socks and to spray clothing and gear with toxic repellents; however, natural alternatives are available.

Natural Tick Repellents

Several essential oils repel ticks. A few drops of rose geranium, one behind each knee, on each ankle, and behind the neck will convince ticks you are not a good meal.

There are a number of essential oils that repel ticks and mosquitoes as well. Nan Martin of Experience Essential Oils recommends this recipe for dogs and humans:

Tick Spritz Recipe

  • 1 cup of Distilled water
  • 2 Drops Geranium Essential Oil
  • 2 Drops Palo Santo Essential Oil
  • 1 Drop Myrrh Essential Oil
  • 4 Drops Grapefruit Essential Oil
  • 1 Drop Peppermint Essential Oil
  • 1 Drop of Thieves Hand Soap or Castile Soap (emollient)

Place in a spray bottle and shake. Spritz when needed

(Don’t use essential oils on cats!)

Anti-Virus Protocol

If you have been bitten by a tick, this is the time to follow the healthiest and cleanest diet. Remember that sugar feeds viruses and bacteria. There are several natural means to boost your immune system. Check out How Viruses Work and How to Prevent Them Naturally and Make Your Immune System Bulletproof With These Natural Remedies.

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Oxygen, Alkalinity – The Key to Reversing Disease

It’s Always the Oxygen… Really…

The Framework

Think of life in the ocean or an aquarium. Our bodies are just bags of “seawater” full of aquatic cells. The water matrix must be well oxygenated to support fish and cells alike. Oxygen delivery depends on a well charged “inner ocean,” and generating that charge depends on oxygen delivery. Real simple. Call me Capt. Obvious.

The universe is a rainbow manifestation born of a singular primal energy that divided itself into a duality of opposites: protons/electrons, acids/alkalies, north pole/south pole, yin/yang, here/there and the boy/girl thing we all deal with daily. They animate our world… to prevent boredom I suppose. Viva la difference! Likes repel each other while opposites desire union in a redox dance, the incessant exchange of electrons, the movement of energy, the spark of life.

We can measure this “sexual” tension as body voltage, oxidation-reduction potential (ORP) or pH.  Bottomline, it is energy that drives all life processes.

The major determiner of bio-energy is O2 delivery to cytoplasm and mitochondria where it generates metabolic ATPs  (ATP is the carrier molecule that transfers electrons/energy resulting from cell respiration) …and then sponges-up acidic protons to conserve those electrons, that energy.

If you work from this foundational premise, the puzzle of health and healing unravels nicely. Then the only question is how to correct basic conditions… to move more oxygen… to maximize energy levels and minimize losses… to prevent or heal disease. The charge environment that comes of efficient energy production invites more oxygen to produce more energy, so la la la, the life goes on.

The Way It Used to Be

While scientific studies focus on individual diseases, generalized diets and therapeutic elements like drugs or even natural supplements, they ignored the overall context of life and its basic requirements. All chronic disease really arises from a singular root cause; acidity>hypoxia>energy shortage>enzyme error>cell failure… aka inflammation and oxidative stress. This includes all the “diseases” conventionally identified through downstream symptoms and secondary etiologies. Heart disease, arthritis, depression, infection, cancer, etc. are then conventionally “diagnosed” and treated individually like some evil entity apart from the low energy environment that created them.

The Way It Will Be

The Forbidden approach works on correcting energy levels/body charge at the most basic level to establish conditions necessary for optimal oxygen delivery and energy production so normal biochemistry can proceed. Cells are perfectly capable of both maintaining and restoring function and mounting immune responses when given enough energy. This presents a problem for highly trained doctors and the medical industry who depend on selling thousands of drugs, diagnostics and procedures for hundreds of “different” diseases…after failing miserably at preventing them.

Electrons!

Mitochondria mine solar-energized electrons from carbon bonds (in food) and the conversion to ATP largely fuels our biochemistry and maintains body charge (-40 to -50mv/pH 7.35-7.45). A strong body charge protects cell molecules from being destroyed by acids, oxidants, radiations, free radicals: inflammation/oxidation. Inflammatory immune response, on the other hand, though powered the same way, produces powerfully oxidizing hydrogen peroxide and singlet oxygen (ROS) that destroy pathogens and unwanted cell debris.  Life swings in the balance.

Oxygen is a switch hitter depending on its atomic states and so can act as a metabolic oxidizer, a more powerful immune oxidizer in singlet radical configuration, or as an “antioxidant” as it turns acidic protons to water when it mops-up after the process of respiration. Oxygen recharges pH buffers and conserves electrons.

So big picture, this means that over-fueled/under-oxygenated cells will become acidic and further repel and deplete oxygen. If unable to get enough oxygen to neutralize metabolic acids, charge terrain will degrade, electrons will be stolen from DNA and structural molecules, energy production will be frustrated, and then cells become dysfunctional, diseased, susceptible to pathogens, decompose, or become anaerobic and cancerous.

This view of health and healing hides in plain sight in high school biology/chemistry texts, but has become forbidden knowledge camouflaged in medical industry fear-peddling, intentional disinformation, and by discrediting the competition.

So how do we nudge the redox (oxidation/reduction) balance to create the correct conditions and move more O2?

Skill-set Index

Master these simple skills and practices used by some of the most successful alternative physicians and natural health experts.  They are inexpensive and can be done at home, in the garden and in the kitchen…if one studies and applies.

Breathe

Slow deep breathing allows CO2 to build which improves oxygen release by RBCs.  Hyperventillation/rapid breathing delivers lots of oxygen and blows off CO2 alkalizing the blood (and normally doesn’t induce fainting).

Breathing exercises use both extremes and many in between. It’s free, so why not explore and experiment? Skin, scuba, and hookah diving offer unseen benefits.

HBOT and other enhanced oxygen applications have been found to help overcome almost every ailment from concussions to sports injuries including conventional hospital treatments for gangrene, but are sorely, and negligently underutilized.

Breathing air under pressure saturates blood plasma with O2 above and beyond RBC’s capacity….pure oxygen under pressure delivers even more. HBOT use is quite common elsewhere in the world.The use of promising high-pressure therapies in the U.S. was sabotaged by the medical establishment and has gone the way of Linus Pauling, Vitamin C, and Chiropractic.

“Orval J Cunningham, a professor of anaesthesia at the University of Kansas in the early 1900s observed that people suffering from circulatory disorders did better at sea level than at altitude and this formed the basis for his use of hyperbaric air. In 1918, he successfully treated patients suffering from the Spanish flu with hyperbaric air. In 1930, the American Medical Association forced him to stop such hyperbaric treatment, since he did not provide acceptable evidence that the treatments were effective.”  (Wikipedia entry; HBOT)

I often marvel at the immense size of whales and how they carry sea level air to great depths with 10s of atmospheres of pressure. This jams their blood plasma and cells with high levels of O2 and can only account for their tremendous bulk.  I also wonder what special chemistries allow terrestrial elephants to attain such proportions?  Recall the age of dinosaurs with 35%+ atmospheric oxygen… when living large really meant something.”

Earthing

Contact with Mother Earth passes her negative charge into the body. Perfect. Try going barefoot and swimming at every opportunity.  Grounded bed sheets and many other helpful applications are also available.

Sunshine

Photons raise electron energy levels wherever they strike and power photosynthesis in plants and Vitamin D synthesis in humans. Dr. Gerald Pollack has shown that light, radiant heat, and acoustic energy structure our 99% water, alkalize it, and enhance charge potentials that give living organisms stronger “batteries.” Fresh research (links below; chlorophyll/humans-photosynthesize) concludes that we utilize solar photon energy directly.

Nutrition

Modern processed foods are literally predigested with complex fat, protein, and carbohydrate molecules being oxidized, altered, or broken down into too easily absorbed units. This circumvents normal digestion, ruins bacterial balance in the gut, and causes leakage. The flood of fuel into cells then overtakes oxygen availability resulting in a drop in pH, voltage, and biochemical function, not to mention it is fattening and creates glycations and autoimmune problems.

Grass fed and unprocessed organic ingredients contain the most “life force” or in actuality way more photon energized electrons. A nutrient-dense real food diet satisfies appetite in smaller amounts than deficient factory foods ever can.

Balance acid-forming and alkalizing foods and cook gently, sticking with low glycemic choices and those rich in balanced omega/saturated fats, diverse proteins, fiber, vitamins, minerals and antioxidant polyphenols.

Membrane Musts

One must build an oxygen expressway into cells and so must consider the quality of red blood cells, electrolytes and the charge of blood… up to and through membranes which must be constructed of the proper saturated and omega fats, not trans or other damaged oxidized polyunsaturates.

Membranes must present a charge gradient to transport oxygen and materials, and that depends on adjacent H2O/H3O2 structure, viscosity, electrolytes, and the conductivity of pristine fat molecules as well as vigilant protection of those fat molecules from oxidation by maintaining well-charged fluids.

Supplements

Vitamin C is more than a vitamin though it performs dozens of essential functions; it’s a bulk electron source!!! 

Baking soda or sodium bicarbonate, a giant medicine in its own right, is an alkalizing source of pH buffering bicarbonate which releases beneficial CO2 and swings between bicarbonate and carbonic acid with every breath and is also active in the kidneys.When ascorbic acid (pure Vitamin C) is mixed with baking soda, ascorbic acid is neutralized and becomes sodium ascorbate to flood the system with electrons.

When ascorbic acid (pure Vitamin C) is mixed with baking soda, ascorbic acid is neutralized and becomes sodium ascorbate to flood the system with electrons.Large serum spikes in ascorbate levels also generate oxidizing hydrogen peroxide in a Fenton Reaction which yields singlet oxygen, the selfsame oxidant naturally produced in an inflammatory immune response.

Large serum spikes in ascorbate levels also generate oxidizing hydrogen peroxide in a Fenton Reaction which yields singlet oxygen, the selfsame oxidant naturally produced in an inflammatory immune response.Orally or via IV, Vitamin C should be considered a core element of any protocol.

Orally or via IV, Vitamin C should be considered a core element of any protocol.Magnesium and potassium are essential electrolytes (most have good levels of calcium and sodium) that form charge gradients and also buffer pH. Magnesium is found in red blood cells where it helps carry oxygen and relaxes the heart muscle for more efficient pumping which is key to oxygenating the system. Rebuilding magnesium reserves takes time and concerted effort.

Magnesium and potassium are essential electrolytes (most have good levels of calcium and sodium) that form charge gradients and also buffer pH. Magnesium is found in red blood cells where it helps carry oxygen and relaxes the heart muscle for more efficient pumping which is key to oxygenating the system. Rebuilding magnesium reserves takes time and concerted effort. Cysteine and glutathione are electron rich pH buffers increased via NAC and MSM sulfur. Taurine is another acid fighter.

Cysteine and glutathione are electron rich pH buffers increased via NAC and MSM sulfur. Taurine is another acid fighter. Niacin and nicotinic acid compounds NAD+/NADH are essential electron-proton ping-pong players that soak up excess protons and deliver electrons in metabolic energy production. Niacinamide has recently been found to prevent some skin cancers.

Niacin and nicotinic acid compounds NAD+/NADH are essential electron-proton ping-pong players that soak up excess protons and deliver electrons in metabolic energy production. Niacinamide has recently been found to prevent some skin cancers. Official medicine dismissed many of these cheap therapies with extreme prejudice. I have only listed a few, but you get the idea and point of view of oxygen and electrons and the primary importance of body charge.

Official medicine dismissed many of these cheap therapies with extreme prejudice. I have only listed a few, but you get the idea and point of view of oxygen and electrons and the primary importance of body charge.

All vitamins and minerals are important, but conventional intake numbers are bogus, many times too little too late. The whole idea of minimum nutrient requirements bows to the high priests of pharma and the czars of industrial food. Confusion rules the subject, so we must quantify our own needs based on nutrient contents of our particular diet, hair analysis, levels of inflammation and any apparent symptoms.

Megadosing of Vitamins C, B3 (niacin) and B12 is common in alternative literature and even short term loading of Vitamin A, D and E have been reported.

Synergistic benefits accrue when combinations are used like adding Vitamin E, K2, NAC, and RALA to Vitamin C megadose along with minerals since their charges and effectiveness are maintained through Vitamin C’s electron benevolence.  This is quantitative chemistry where quantity counts and excess quantity pushes equilibria…a good thing.

GMI has frequent articles reminding us of valuable nutrient sources to bring to the kitchen to enhance one’s intake of phytos, healthy fats and protein sources.  Polyphenol-rich items (see link below) like turmeric, citrus flavonoids and green tea enable oxygen delivery by knocking off damaging hydroxyl radicals that would otherwise oxidize membrane fats and cell structures.

In a perfect world with a higher oxygen content and pure foods in magnificent variety, one could be free of health worries and supplements. Unfortunately, man in his infinite ignorance has created an artificial food supply, burned forests and fossil fuels, and spilled his chemistry set to the extent he has acidified, contaminated, and inflicted oxidative stress and mass extinctions upon the entire planet.

Emotional

Stress is an acidic, out-of-control emotion commonly described as fear, shame, guilt, and anxiety which excites the sympathetic nervous system and dumps cortisol.  Improving body charge helps the mind-bulb glow brighter as do love, gratitude, and the attitude of sharing.  Beware of the mass media anxiety machine.

Lifestyle Activity

Exercise accelerates circulation, oxygenation, and the removal of wastes like maintaining the aquarium or the ebb and flow of the tides that prevent stagnation.  It keeps the heart in shape and the mind calm. Quality sleep releases melatonin, a powerful antioxidant, and relaxes all energy gobbling tension.  Sleep apnea deprives the body of oxygen when it needs it most for restorative processes. The symptoms are exaggerated examples of O2 deprivation with (often misdiagnosed and mistreated) circulatory distress and edema that magically disappear when normal breathing and deep sleep are restored.

Metals/Toxins

These are charge killers – avoid and detox. Hair analysis identifies metal loads such as mercury, cadmium, arsenic, and aluminum which source free radical oxidants, encourage infections, and result in chronic inflammation.  Many people are surprised by their accumulations and mineral deficiencies. I’ve used Eidon/Biotrend Labs with satisfaction and there are others.  It is only a matter of mailing a hair sample with a check and waiting for results so you really know where you stand. Then try to account for ingested metal sources and mineral levels.

AC/DC

There are a number of electronic, magnetic, laser and acoustic devices that have shown effectiveness in conditions across the board: electric brain stimulators and acupuncture techniques, various magnetic wraps, pulsed laser therapy for joints, frequency generators to raise vibrations, and sound machines that heal stubborn ulcerations. Each supplies or modulates different forms of energy.

So

Aging is not much fun if you suffer with chronic disease(s) and pain. It is sad to see so many spend their later years (along with their life’s savings) at the doctor’s office and the drug store. To avoid this fate, you must attend to the maintenance of your own body.  Give your cells the same conditions you would supply a goldfish: clean, well-oxygenated, pH balanced, properly-charged fluids so they will have plenty of energy to function at healthy levels.

Forbidden Protocol

A common sense approach, based on solid science, provides an organizational framework and skill guide to correct body chemistry via thousands of well-known healthy practices and natural therapies.

Goals

  • antioxidize/add electrons
  • alkalize
  • oxidize pathogens
  • correct nutrient/vitamin/mineral levels
  • detox metals and organic toxins
  • get sunshine
  • breathe and exercise
  • quiet the mind
  • allow time for results
  • have a purpose
  • enjoy life…

Author’s Note:

What with man’s propensity to burn things and use our oceans as an open sewer, it always seemed implausible for geo-science to conclude that global oxygen levels are “remarkably stable.”

New analyses of atmospheric O2 disagree with this conventional view and point to industrial practices that deplete oxygen even faster than they raise CO2 concentrations.
Interestingly the study states; “In humans, failure of oxygen energy metabolism is the single most important risk factor for chronic diseases including cancer and death.” – O2 Diving Towards Danger Point – Institute of Science in Society

Check out other Articles by Capt. Randall on GreenMedInfo.

 

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Plastic Microbeads – They’re In Face Wash, Body Scrubs, Toothpaste, and Our Food

Microbeads were introduced into products like face washes and toothpaste as an extra scrubbing agent. These tiny pieces of plastic were originally added to personal care products as a cheaper replacement for natural exfoliators like walnut husks and diatomaceous earth.

What Are They?

Microbeads are usually made with polyethylene or polypropylene, two of the more commonly used plastics. A single tube of face wash can contain more than 300,000 beads. In a 7oz bottle of face cleanser, roughly three-quarters of an ounce is microbeads. Each of these beads is smaller than 1mm, which is 5 times smaller than the traditional definition of microplastic. Deliberately designed to be rinsed down the drain, their tiny size allows them to slip past water filtration services. This is how they end up in bodies of water, fish stomachs, and our own bodies.

Related: How to Detox From Plastics and Other Endocrine Disruptors

Environmental and Health Issues Caused by Microbeads

Much of the data regarding microbeads and their effect on the environment comes from the Great Lakes. The New York state attorney general released a report on microbeads that stated, they found as much as 19 tons of microbeads are discharged into NY waters. In Lake Ontario, the most contaminated of the Great Lakes, 1.1 million microbeads per square kilometer were found in the lake bed. It is believed that wildlife mistake the tiny plastic particles for fish eggs and get them lodged in their digestive tracts. Not only do these beads cause damage as they end up in the environment, but the damage is magnified by the plastic’s ability to absorb pollutants like industrial chemicals, phthalates, PCBs, and estrogen-disruptors. These toxins are then passed on to the animals that consume them – seagulls, turtles, fish, and humans.

The initial push for legislation against microbeads came from the dental industry after professionals began finding bits of blue plastic stuck in patients’ mouths. Microbeads leave the mouth at greater risk of infections like gingivitis and periodontal disease due to their ability to absorb industrial chemicals and bacteria. Microbeads also may be hormone disruptors, which makes it even more upsetting to have them lodged between your teeth and gums. The American Dental Association cites a lack of clinical evidence supporting the health risks of the microbeads, conveniently mirroring the stance of major retailers.

Related: Microplastics in Sea Salt – A Growing Concern

How to Find and Avoid Microbeads

The FDA maintains that microbeads are safe and they are even approved for uses in food (Think about it; the FDA is totally cool with you eating bits of plastic). The good news is, many companies are noticing the public and state pressure concerning the safety of microbeads and are removing them from their products. Many of them are still in the process of removing them, though, and knowing how to read your ingredients can help you avoid microbeads right now. Polyethylene is the most important ingredient to look for. Other ingredients that indicate the presence of micro beads are polypropylene, poly-e-terephthalate, and polymethyl methacrylate. Some of the major brands using microbeads in their face wash, body scrubs, and toothpastes include:

  • Proctor and Gamble (this includes Crest and Olay)
  • Johnson & Johnson (this includes Neutrogena and Aveeno)
  • L’Oreal (this includes Garnier and the Body Shop)
  • Proactiv
  • Nivea
  • Estee Lauder (this include Clinique)
  • Discount lines from Walgreens, CVS, and other retailers

Obviously not every product has them, which makes it even more important to check out the ingredients of personal care products you use. Using wildcrafted or organic personal care products from a trusted business also eliminates the health and environment pollution of microbeads.

Legislation Regarding Microbeads

Illinois is the first state to have legal action in place concerning non biodegradable microbeads. Starting in 2017, microbeads will be phased out of all products until the total ban of them in 2019. Colorado, Maine, and New Jersey have laws resembling Illinois’. Michigan, Minnesota, Oregon, Wisconsin are close behind with similar bills having been presented to their legislation. One issue with these bills is the fact that they leave the possibility open for companies to claim that their microbeads are actually “biodegradable.” California is addressing that issue by approving a bill that will ban microbeads in all forms. If that bill makes it into law, it could be the end for microbeads because of the prohibitive cost of making microbead-free products for only one state. The businesses that don’t see anything wrong with microbeads despite growing evidence otherwise are only going to stop using them when it becomes too costly to use them in their manufactured products.

Internationally, non-government organizations have been quicker to sound the microbead alarm. In 2011, a Dutch NGO, the North Sea Foundation, began asking major businesses to remove microbeads from their products due to their negative environmental impact. Companies responded to initial entreaties with vague, unsubstantiated claims about the safety of their products. In 2012, the North Sea Foundation joined with the Plastic Soup Foundation to create Beat the Microbead, a campaign to end the use of microbeads. This campaign has met success worldwide, with the biggest coup coming when international corporate giant Unilever agreed to stop using microbeads in its global portfolio with 2015 as its target year. This campaign is a great example of how grassroots activism can make a difference using consumer pressure to have a positive impact on harmful business practices.

Microbeads might seem like a tiny thing to be worried about, but the ripple effects from them can have a big impact. The wildlife in the Great Lakes is already feeling it, as every time they mistake a microbead for dinner they ingest a piece of plastic that will add to their demise. In the human health arena, maintaining your oral health is important to your overall health. Digestion starts in the mouth, and wedging teeny tiny pieces of plastic along your gumline is a horrible way to treat yourself. States are slowly coming around to the idea that these microbeads are not only dangerous, but unnecessary. There are alternates to these products, and who doesn’t want to feel good about the personal care products they use?

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Unique Soil Based Organisms Improve Your Health

For most of the history of mankind, we lived in close contact with the Earth. The majority of our diet consisted of foods and water that had soil clinging to it.  This soil was not an inert substance; it was a dynamic mineral rich, probiotic infused source of electrochemical energy.  The unique, soil-based probiotic, bacillus subtilis, was one of the key components that gave the soil its powerful nutritional benefits.

Humans are the only species on the planet that does not intentionally consume soil.  Our ancestors always had soil in their diet through picking produce out of the ground and drinking from lakes, rivers, and streams.  Many original doctors and medicine men used dirt in their various healing concoctions. Today, we intentionally attempt to sterilize our food and avoid the consumption of soil.

Bacillus Subtilis and Our Immune System

Bacillus subtilis is an ubiquitous bacterium that is commonly found in water, soil, air, and decomposing plant residue.  This bacterium is called a human soil organism (HSO) and has an extraordinary ability to survive harsh environments.  It produces an endospore that allows it to endure extreme conditions of heat, dryness, humidity, and acidity in the environment.

B subtilis is fully resistant to bile salts and can handle the harsh stomach acid environment, which allows it to get into the digestive system and colonize.  It has beneficial effects in the digestive system. 1,2,3  Research has revealed that supplemental B subtilis improves symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome. 4

B subtilis is able to suppress the growth of harmful pathogens, strengthen the mucosal biofilm, and enhance the growth of other good probiotic strains such as lactobacillus species in the gut microflora. 5,6

Soil Based Organisms and Our Innate Immunity

As our ancestors were exposed to trillions of organisms every day through their dirt consumption, they were strengthening their microbiome and their immune system.  They were exposed to many different pathogenic organisms to which their immune system learned how to adapt and destroy.

If the pathogenic load was too strong, the individual would get sick and sometimes they would die.  This was obviously tragic and was a leading cause of death.  However, those who didn’t die often had robust immune systems that were well-adapted to the harsh pathogens around them.

Modern Technology and Improving Immunity

With modern technology, we are not exposed to these natural microbes.  The use of our technology can reduce the pathogenic load we are exposed to in order to prevent sickness and infectious fatalities, meanwhile, providing the proper stimulation to our immune system.

One such way to gain these benefits is the inclusion of human soil organisms in our natural diet.  This would include growing much of our own food in gardens and consuming it right out of the ground with little cleaning.  We could also drink water from clean rivers, lakes, springs, and streams. (Editor’s note: If we could find clean sources. Most are contaminated with giardia and other parasites as well as pollutants.)

Finally, one can use naturally fermented foods and supplement with probiotics containing HSO’s such as bacillus subtilis.  Most probiotics on the market only contain the lactobacillus and bifido bacterium species.  These are fantastic for the health of the small and large intestine, but some individuals struggle with a sensitivity to these microorganisms.

It is wise to find a probiotic supplement with HSO’s such as bacillus subtilis, which is hyposensitive and easy for most individuals to tolerate.

Sources:
  1. Improved growth and viability of lactobacilli in the presence of Bacillus subtilis (natto), catalase, or subtilisin – Pub Med
  2. Improved growth and viability of lactobacilli in the presence of Bacillus subtilis (natto), catalase, or subtilisin – Pub Med
  3. Evaluation of Bacillus subtilis strains as probiotics and their potential as a food ingredient. – Pub Med
  4. Effect of Bacillus subtilis PB6, a natural probiotic on colon mucosal inflammation and plasma cytokines levels in inflammatory bowel disease. – Pub Med
  5. Sticking together: building a biofilm the Bacillus subtilis way – Pub Med
  6. Soil Organisms: Bacillus Subtilis – Organic Fitness


SB 792 – Will California Childcare Workers face mandated Vaccinations?

California lawmakers have proposed another bill regarding vaccines, a bill (SB 792) that requires every adult employed by a daycare center, preschool, or home daycare center to be immunized.

In its first form, the SB 792 specified immunizations for influenza, measles, and pertussis (whooping cough). The current version mandates every scheduled shot on the CDC Adult vaccination schedule, with the exception of the HPV vaccine and the flu shot. The HPV vaccine is not required, the flu vaccine is optional.

The 2015 recommended immunization schedule for adults is as follows:

  1. Flu (Influenza)
    1. Annual
  2. Td/Tdap (Tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis)
    1. One dose as an adult with booster TD (tetanus) shots every 10 years.
    2. It specifically states that you should schedule this shot during your 3rd trimester of pregnancy to protect your baby from whooping cough.
  3. Shingles (Zoster)
    1. At age 60.
  4. Pneumococcal – one or both – ask your healthcare professional
    1. PCV13 – one dose between 19 and 65, one dose at 65.
    2. PPSV23 – one or two doses between 19 and 65, one dose at 65.
  5. Meningococcal
    1. One or more doses – ask your healthcare professional
  6. HiB (Haemophilus influenza type b)
    1. One or 3 doses- ask your healthcare professional

If you did not receive the MMR, HPV, and Chicken Pox vaccinations as a child, the following recommendations apply unless your health records show you contracted the diseases. Due to the fact the MMR is a combined vaccine, you would have to prove you contracted all three: measles, mumps, and rubella. A blood test can also confirm immunity, though this is not mentioned in the CDCs adult vaccination schedule.

  1. MMR (Measles, Mumps, Rubella)
    1. One or two doses between 19 and mid 50s
    2. The MMR is not to be given during pregnancy.
  2. HPV (Human papillomavirus)
    1. Women – 3 doses between the age of 19-26
    2. Men – 3 doses between 19-21 and 3 doses between 22-26
  3. Chicken Pox
    1. Two doses

The number of doses, as shown, for many of these vaccines is to be determined by the health care professional. Other than the flu shot, adults who work in day care will be forced to follow the adult immunization schedule or be fired from their jobs.

Possible Results of forced vaccination

Vaccination shedding from the MMR and the chicken pox vaccine will expose others (including the children in their care) to measles, mumps, rubella, and chicken pox. In addition, vaccines may result in illness, neurological damage (which may be lifelong), or death, yet childcare workers will not be given the choice to take that risk if they want to retain their jobs. Childcare workers will lose their personal freedom as well as their religious freedom while being forced to take a health risk for vaccines that are not 100% effective.

Mainstream media, which is for all intents and purposes a mouthpiece for Big Pharma (their biggest client for advertising sales) continues to report the party line, “Vaccines are safe and effective.” But the United States Government has paid out more than 3 billion dollars to vaccine victims.

According to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System more than 30,000 vaccine related injuries are reported each year, and 707 American citizens have died due to vaccines (not counting an untold number of SIDS deaths that be connected) since 2000.

And finally, we are told to place our trust in the pharmaceutical companies who make these vaccinations – these same companies who have paid $19.2 billion dollars in fines for criminal and civil cases of fraud in the last 5 years. Merck is currently facing new charges of fraud for falsifying data in order to meet the efficacy rate for a vaccine.

Other than drafting citizens into the military, there is no other situation in which our government forces its citizens to risk their life or their health. We can only hope these bills do not pass. Vaccination should remain a choice, both for adults and for their children.

Sources: