(NaturalNews – Danna Norek) Baking soda has long been heralded as a multipurpose wonder. Even with this sort of reputation, there are still several ways most people haven’t even thought of that it can be used as a natural and inexpensive alternative to so many of the necessities we rely on every day.

It is prudent to choose a brand of baking soda which states it is aluminum free. Some brands may be contaminated with aluminum. Although some have the opinion that it is only baking powder that contains aluminum (as a rising agent), it doesn’t hurt to play it 100 percent safe and choose a brand that asserts itself as free of this contaminant.

Mix baking soda with lemon juice as a natural gout remedy

Gout can be a painful and uncomfortable condition. Gout is caused when uric acid is overproduced by the body and builds up to high levels. It then is deposited into the joints, which causes painful swelling and inflammation. Mix roughly two tablespoons of fresh lemon juice with a teaspoon of baking soda for relief. It works by alkalinizing the urine and neutralizing uric acid.

Additionally, baking soda works as a general alkalinizing and pH balancing agent within the body. If the body is overly acidic, baking soda can actually provide a short term remedy to putting it back into an acid/alkaline balance. Health problems, disease and sickness typically abound when your body is overly acidic so it is important to keep it within a healthy pH range.

Of course you do have to be cognizant of the sodium content if you have any issues with high blood pressure. Usually a dosage of no more than a teaspoon at a time diluted in a glass of water is recommended.

As a natural cleaner

A mixture of lemon juice and baking soda also makes a wonderful semi-abrasive natural cleaner for surfaces such as bathroom and kitchen sinks, bathtubs and showers and other surfaces. The mixture of the two actually produces a bit of a fizz due to a natural chemical reaction. They also provide excellent natural antibacterial properties as well as serious cleaning capabilities.

As a natural itch remedy for bug bites and poison ivy

Baking soda may also be useful as an anti-itch remedy. Add just enough water to moisten the baking soda into a paste and rub on a bug bite, poison ivy, bee stings and even chicken pox to help with the itching.

Baking soda has the ability to absorb moisture and to draw toxins out of a bite or bump caused by an irritant under the surface. This can offer quick and effective relief when it comes to itching and the swelling that goes with it.

A natural yeast infection remedy

Women who suffer from yeast infections due to candida imbalances can use a baking soda douche to help kill the candida bacteria that causes the infection. It is also a natural remedy for itching, so you get not only an effective treatment for the infection itself but also treatment of the itching symptom.

Facial skin care uses

Baking soda makes a wonderful exfoliating scrub for the face and other parts of the body. It helps to smooth the skin and take the dead layers of skin off to reveal a fresher and more vibrant surface.

It also may be used in a paste to dab on acne. It acts as an antibacterial agent and helps to kill the bacteria that cause acne. It also helps to draw out excess oil and dry the acne out quicker while helping promote faster healing. It also may help with reducing redness.

Sources for the article include:

http://www.diet-for-gout.com
http://baking-soda.ezinemark.com
http://www.acnemagazine.com/good-natural-scrubs-for-acne-prone-skin/

(Dr. Mercola) Low-fat recommendations have led to a dramatic increase in sugar consumption, and excess sugar is a primary dietary factor in countless chronic disease states, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and Alzheimer’s.

By removing fat and adding sugar, the processed food industry has created a smorgasbord of made-to-order disease. The sugar, processed food, and beverage industries have been extremely reluctant to admit the health hazards associated with their sugar-laden products.

On the contrary, large sums of money have been spent, and scientific integrity has been tossed by the wayside, in order to convince you that sugar is fine, and if you have a weight problem, it’s because you’re not active enough.

To counter the propaganda provided by profit-driven industry interests, dozens of scientists at three American universities have created a new educational website called SugarScience.org,1 aimed at making independent research available to the public.

Sugar by Any Other Name Is Still Sugar…

The researchers point out that many are unaware of just how much sugar they’re consuming, as it’s oftentimes hidden under other less familiar names, such as dextrose, maltose, galactose, and maltodextrin.

According to SugarScience.org, added sugars hide in 74 percent of processed foods under more than 60 different names! For a full list, please see SugarScience.org’s “Hidden in Plain Sight” page.2

Mislead by shrewd advertisers, many are also still unaware of how too much sugar can disrupt your health and well-being. As reported by the New York Times:3

“The scientists who started SugarScience.org say they have reviewed 8,000 independent clinical research articles on sugar and its role in metabolic conditions that are some of the leading killers of Americans, like heart disease, Type 2 diabetes and liver disease.

The link between sugar and chronic disease has attracted increasing scientific scrutiny in recent years. But many studies have provided conflicting conclusions, and experts say part of the reason is that biased studies have clouded the debate.”

Have You Been Mislead by Biased Science?

A report published in PLOS Medicine in December 2013 looked at how financial interests influence outcomes in trials aimed to determine the relationship between sugar consumption and obesity.4

The report concluded that industry-funded studies end up reaching very different conclusions compared to those done by independent researchers… In all, studies that had financial ties to industry were five times more likely to present a conclusion of “no positive association” between sugar and obesity.

One of the researchers involved in the creation of SugarScience.org is Dr. Robert Lustig, a Professor of Clinical Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology at UC San Francisco.

He’s been on the forefront of the movement to educate people about the health hazards of sugar (and fructose in particular), for a number of years now. He believes the new website will help empower consumers by providing objective data. Dr. Lustig told the New York Times:

“The goal of this is to provide just the unbiased science in a way that the public can come to its own conclusions.”

How Much Sugar Is Too Much?

The American Heart Association and the World Health Organization (WHO) recommend limiting your daily added sugar intake to nine teaspoons (38 grams) for men, and six teaspoons (25 grams) for women. The limits for children range from three to six teaspoons (12 – 25 grams) per day, depending on age.

Four grams of sugar is equivalent to about one teaspoon, and I strongly recommend limiting your daily fructose intake to 25 grams or less from all sources, including natural sources such as fruit—regardless of whether you’re male or female. That equates to just over six teaspoons of total sugar a day.

If you’re among the 80 percent who have insulin or leptin resistance (overweight, diabetic, have high blood pressure, or taking a statin drug), you’d be wise to restrict your total fructose consumption to as little as 15 grams per day until you’ve normalized your insulin and leptin levels.

The average American consumes around 20 teaspoons of added sugar a day, which is more than three times the recommended amount. There’s simply no doubt that this overconsumption of sugar is fueling the obesity and chronic disease epidemics we’re currently struggling with.

We’re now seeing obesity in infants, strokes in eight-year olds, heart attacks in 20-year olds, and some 30-year olds require renal dialysis to stay alive. Teens are now getting gastric bypass surgeries. What used to be called “adult onset diabetes” is now more often called “type 2 diabetes,” as it is no longer reserved for adults. What is wrong with this picture? It’s the food. 

Instead of eating whole foods—real foods—the contemporary American diet typically consists mostly of sugar, highly processed grains, and a montage of chemicals that are anything but food. Children are surrounded by these fake foods every day, which have a very different effect on their bodies than real food.

The Processed versus Whole Food Experiment: A Visual Demonstration

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zi_DaJKsCLo
The video above features Stefani Bardin, who collaborated on a study to investigate how your body processes different kinds of foods. Stefani and her Harvard University collaborator swallowed an M2A capsule—a pill-sized recording device capable of recording eight hours’ worth of video as it travels through the intestinal tract. Another pill-sized device measured pressure, pH, and body temperature as it moved through the body. Two types of meals were investigated:

• Processed food meal: blue Gatorade, Ramen Chicken Noodle soup, and some Gummi Bears
• Whole food meal: Hibiscus drink, homemade chicken stock with handmade noodles, pomegranate/cherry juice Gummi Bears

The footage offers an interesting view of what really goes on in your gut when you eat processed food. One of the most obvious differences is that the processed fare takes FAR longer to break down. Processed foods are also loaded with sugars, trans fat, sodium, and various concoctions of chemicals that do not exist in nature—all of which can rapidly contribute to high blood pressure and deterioration of cardiovascular health, weight gain, and a slew of other symptoms.

Even ‘Health Foods’ Can Contain Shocking Amounts of Sugar

Getting back to the issue of sugar, exceeding the recommended daily amount is far easier than you might think. For example, just one 12-ounce can of regular soda may contain as much as 11 teaspoons of sugar.5 Even foods that are typically considered “healthy” can contain shocking amounts of added sugar, typically in the form of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). Fruit flavored yogurt, for example, can contain upwards of 19 grams of sugar; 12 grams of which is added sugar. For someone with insulin/leptin resistance, this alone will put you over your daily recommended limit for total sugar.

One problem with processed food is that when you look at the label, you have no way of knowing how much of the sugar is natural to the food itself, versus the sugar that was added. According to Dr. Lustig, it’s important to distinguish between natural food-based sugars versus added sugar, because clinical trials have shown that consuming HFCS can increase your risk factors for cardiovascular disease within as little as two weeks.

Food-based sugars are far less hazardous. Lactose, for example, which is a natural sugar found in dairy, does not cause any major harm, according to Dr. Lustig. Still, I believe that if you are insulin/leptin resistant, then limiting ALL forms of sugar, including natural food-based sugars, such as lactose, is advisable, until your insulin/leptin resistance has been resolved.

Your Body Can Only Handle a Limited Amount of Sugar

The main problem with sugar, and processed fructose in particular, is the fact that your liver has a very limited capacity to metabolize it. According to Dr. Lustig, you can safely metabolize about six teaspoons of added sugar per day. As mentioned, the average American consumes 20 teaspoons of added sugar a day.6 All that excess sugar is metabolized into body fat, and leads to all of the chronic metabolic diseases we struggle with, including but not limited to:

• Type 2 diabetes
• Cardiovascular disease
• Hypertension (high blood pressure)
• Dementia
• Cancer

According to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA)7 earlier this year, 10 percent of Americans consumed 25 percent or more of their daily calories in the form of added sugars. Most adults (71.4 percent) consumed got at least 10 percent of their daily calories from added sugar. The ramifications of this are significant. In this study, people who consumed 21 percent or more of their daily calories in the form of sugar were TWICE as likely to die from heart disease compared to those who got seven percent or less or their daily calories from added sugar. The risk was nearly TRIPLED among those who consumed 25 percent or more of their daily calories from added sugar. That means at least 10 percent of the US adult population are in this tripled-risk category…

Tips for Reducing Your Added Sugar Intake

The easiest way to dramatically cut down on your sugar and fructose consumption is to switch to a diet of whole, unprocessed foods, as most of the added sugar you end up with comes from processed fare; not from adding a teaspoon of sugar to your tea or coffee. Other ways to cut down on the sugar in your diet includes:

• Cutting back on the amount of sugar you personally add to your food and drink
• Using Stevia or Luo Han instead of sugar and/or artificial sweeteners. You can learn more about the best and worst of sugar substitutes in my previous article, “Sugar Substitutes—What’s Safe and What’s Not”
• Using fresh fruit in lieu of canned fruit or sugar for meals or recipes calling for a bit of sweetness
• Using spices instead of sugar to add flavor to your meal

Are You Ready to Take Control of Your Health?

Research coming out of some of America’s most respected institutions now confirms that sugar is a primary dietary factor driving chronic disease development. So far, scientific studies have linked excessive fructose consumption to about 78 different diseases and health problems,8 including heart disease and cancer. Having this information puts you in the driver’s seat when it comes to prevention.

As a general rule, a diet that promotes health is high in healthful fats and very, very low in sugar and non-vegetable carbohydrates, along with a moderate amount of high-quality protein. For more specifics, please review my free optimized nutrition plan, which also includes exercise recommendations, starting at the beginner’s level and going all the way up to advanced. Organic foods are generally preferable, as this also cuts down on your pesticide and GMO exposure. Many grocery stores now stock a fair amount of organic foods. The following organizations can also help you locate whole foods fresh from your local farm:

• Local Harvest — This Web site will help you find farmers’ markets, family farms, and other sources of sustainably grown food in your area where you can buy produce, grass-fed meats, and many other goodies.
• Eat Wild: With more than 1,400 pasture-based farms, Eat Wild’s Directory of Farms is one of the most comprehensive sources for grass-fed meat and dairy products in the United States and Canada.
• Farmers’ Markets — A national listing of farmers’ markets.
• Eat Well Guide: Wholesome Food from Healthy Animals — The Eat Well Guide is a free online directory of sustainably raised meat, poultry, dairy, and eggs from farms, stores, restaurants, inns, and hotels, and online outlets in the United States and Canada.
• FoodRoutes — The FoodRoutes “Find Good Food” map can help you connect with local farmers to find the freshest, tastiest food possible. On their interactive map, you can find a listing for local farmers, CSAs, and markets near you.

Last but not least, a number of substances in processed food (including sugar) are highly addictive, so if you need help to break free, you may want to consider using a tool such as the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT). A version of EFT specifically geared toward combating sugar cravings is called Turbo Tapping. For further instructions, please see the article, “Turbo Tapping: How to Get Rid of Your Soda Addiction.” The video below with EFT practitioner Julie Schiffman also demonstrates how to use EFT to fight food cravings of all kinds.

(Corucopia – Linley Dixon, PhD) Pet food quality varies significantly and all too often includes dangerous chemical additives. In many cases CONSUMERS get what they pay for, but price doesn’t always indicate high quality. The good news is that discriminating shoppers will soon have a new tool helping them to weed through product labels and separate the good from the bad.

The Cornucopia Institute has completed a thorough analysis of the pet food industry and will release a detailed report this winter.

Our study reveals that many complete DIET products significantly sway from the natural, wild diets of cats and dogs in terms of protein, fat and carbohydrate percentages. The majority of both dog and CAT FOOD product formulations contain too many grains and starches, including corn, wheat, rice, oats, peas, and potatoes. In addition, many products contain questionable and/or unnecessary ingredients.

Meanwhile, among the most common causes of death for both cats and dogs are diseases affiliated with poor diet including obesity, cardiovascular disease, gastrointestinal diseases and cancer.

Cornucopia’s report examines specific ingredients to avoid and includes a web-based buyer’s guide that will help CONSUMERS find high quality and safe pet foods. In the meantime, the following tips will help you get started finding the best food for your cats and dogs.

1. Avoid carrageenan:

You may be unknowingly harming your pets by feeding them wet food, even from the most expensive “premium” brands—despite extra care taken to find formulations high in animal-based proteins, low in fat and carbohydrates, and even USDA certified organic. Our research found that greater than 70% of canned pet foods contain carrageenan, a non-nutritive food stabilizer extracted from red seaweed. Peer-reviewed and published research indicates that carrageenan is known to cause intestinal INFLAMMATION with the potential to lead to cancer, even in small doses.

Carrageenan is a non-nutritive thickener and emulsifier that can easily be replaced by safer alternatives in pet foods, including tomato paste, guar gum, potato starch, pea starch, tapioca, and garbanzo bean flour.

New independent research (published in 2014) at the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center in Chicago, using both human and mouse epithelial cells, further demonstrates the mechanism by which inflammatory responses occur after carrageenan exposure using doses less than the anticipated average daily intake (50 mg/30 g mouse vs. 250 mg/60 kg person). This research demonstrates for the first time that carrageenan-induced INFLAMMATION occurs in both humans and mice, indicating that it is likely to cause a similar reaction in all mammals, including cats and dogs.

Pets that eat primarily wet food with carrageenan will consume daily doses of carrageenan in amounts known to cause INFLAMMATION. In fact, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in cats is the most common cause of vomiting and diarrhea.

Unfortunately, policy changes are often years behind the latest scientific research due to corporate lobbying and industry-funded studies that conflict with independent research.

Some pet food brands are now advertising that they do not include carrageenan, such as Zignature dog food and Weruva CAT FOOD. Meanwhile, Hill’s Science DIET contains carrageenan, despite the label stating the brand is “veterinary recommended.”

2. Buy organic (but without carrageenan):

Many high-end “natural” pet foods contain carrageenan—and even Newman’s Own Organics wet cat food (which is not actually certified organic but, rather, “made with” organic ingredients) contains the ingredient. Organic foods should be a safe haven from chemical residues, ANTIBIOTICS and questionable synthetic ingredients. Sadly, in this case, pet owners need to pay extra attention.

There are two USDA Organic wet dog food brands that do not contain carrageenan: Organix and Cocolicious. However, there are no certified organic cat food brands that do not use carrageenan in at least one of their flavors. It is important to read each product label; Organix cat food shredded chicken flavors, for example, contain carrageenan although the majority of the brand’s flavors do not.

3. Don’t fall for non-GMO claims (unless you see the USDA Organic label):

Some pet food brands, such as Wellness, advertise that they are “made with naturally GMO-free ingredients.” This is likely an intentionally misleading claim. Without the USDA Organic label, you can assume that the feed given to the livestock used to produce these pet food products is almost certainly GMO.

Wellness brand products do not display the USDA Organic seal. Over 90% of the soybean and corn currently produced in the U.S. is GMO. Though pet foods can test to be GMO-free, this does not mean that the meat animals were fed GMO-free feed throughout their life.

The USDA Food Safety Inspection Service has only recently approved a non-GMO label for meat only if that producer can prove all the animal feed required to feed the number of animals owned is GMO-free. This label is currently missing from all pet food brands, despite non-GMO claims. Thus, only the presence of the USDA Organic label reliably ensures that meat animals were fed non-GMO grain.

4. Avoid these ingredients, too:

Pet food manufacturers don’t advertise the fact that pet food is composed primarily from food industry waste. Animal fat and animal meat and bone meal (MBM) are common pet food ingredients that are products of rendering (boiling waste products to sterilize them). Animal fat and MBM often come from a mix of different animal species, including expired grocery store meat, animals that died on the farm, and RESTAURANT scraps, including used grease from deep-fat fryers.

Animal fat and MBM are the ingredients in pet food most likely to correlate with the presence of sodium pentobarbital, the drug used by veterinarians and shelters for euthanasia. Needless to say, these are not ingredients you want your dog and cat to be eating.

Corn gluten meal should also be avoided. It is used primarily as a cheap substitute for meat since cats and dogs are carnivorous and should have diets primarily based on meat.

In addition, synthetic preservatives should be avoided, including BHA, BHT, and propyl gallate, since research has linked them to several health concerns, including cancer. Natural preservatives, such as ascorbic acid (VITAMIN C C), tocopherols (vitamin E), and plant-based oils (such as rosemary oil), are better alternatives.

5. Home-cook your pet’s food:

One way to ensure a HEALTHY DIET for your companion animals is to cook for them yourself. Many chronic problems such as allergies, vomiting, diarrhea, and skin problems can be solved with homemade meals. Cornucopia’s report provides veterinarian-approved recipes and advice for cooking at home for both cats and dogs.

In conclusion, the pet food industry is no different than leading MARKETERS of human food when it comes to cheap substitutes and false health claims. Take matters into your own hands by reading labels and choosing high quality ingredients. Cornucopia’s soon-to-be-released report can help you.

A majority of Americans consume an “invisible” drug on a daily basis—a drug so harmful it’s been proven to cause serious health issues, including damage to your bones, teeth, kidneys, thyroid, and pineal gland.

Dozens of studies have shown it reduces IQ in children and damages your brain. Despite that, this drug is so pervasive that over 40 percent of American teens between the ages of 12 and 15 show visible signs of overexposure.1

The drug in question is fluoride—which is added to a majority of municipal water supplies across the US. It’s also found in a number of other products, most notably toothpaste and other dental treatments.

Sodium fluoride—which is a far simpler toxin than the fluoride compounds used for most water fluoridation—has been used for rat and cockroach poisons, so there is no question that fluoride is toxic.

Drugging Without Consent

Many fail to realize that fluoride is indeed a drug, and as such it is grossly inappropriate for it to be indiscriminately added to water supplies, as there’s no way to control the dose. Contrary to popular but misguided belief, fluoride is NOT an essential nutrient, and there is simply no such thing as “fluoride deficiency.”

In fact, if you decided you wanted to take fluoride, you’d have to get a prescription for it, and that prescription would specify the recommended dosage. Yet fluoride is added to municipal water supplies reaching nearly 211 million Americans, including infants and the elderly.

As of 2012, more than 67 percent of Americans receive fluoridated water,2 up from 66 percent in 2010.3 Of those, more than 11 million people receive fluoride at or above what has been deemed the “optimal” level, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

With few exceptions, most other countries do not fluoridate their drinking water.4Any sensible person would probably end up asking the same question. It’s illegal and unethical for a medical doctor to give you a drug without specifying dosage and failing to monitor your health for side effects.

How can water authorities be permitted to add a drug—and one with known toxic potential at that—to your drinking water? Your local water authority has absolutely no way of knowing who in your household is drinking it, how much, and how it’s affecting you. On top of that, they never received medical consent from anyone…

Incontrovertible Evidence Shows Water Fluoridation Is a Bad Idea

Many are also wholly unfamiliar with the history of water fluoridation. Far from being a scientifically proven health booster, it actually began as a solution to fluoride pollution generated by the Atomic Bomb Program and the aluminum industry in the mid-1940s.

The disposal of chemical waste by diluting it into water supplies across the country was cleverly “sold” to dentists and the general masses as a preventive strategy for reducing tooth decay.

This mass poisoning strategy, originally devised to overcome the costly and difficult logistics of toxic waste disposal, has been heralded as one of the top 10 greatest public health achievements of the 20th century.

They also believed this approach would ward off the threat of lawsuits from both farmers, whose crops and cattle were damaged by fluoride pollution and workers exposed to fluoride in the work place. In a sane world, public health policy would be based on sound and conclusive science. Unfortunately, that is not the case when it comes to water fluoridation.

In fact, despite overwhelming evidence demonstrating that swallowing fluoride is not an effective preventive strategy against tooth decay and may be causing significant health problems in many individuals, the practice of adding fluoride to municipal water supplies continues unabated.

Why does this practice continue when it flies in the face of all the current research? The answer to this question is just one of the countless shocking revelations featured in Professional Perspectives on Water Fluoridation.

The film, which features a Nobel Laureate in Medicine, scientists, dentists, medical doctors, and leading researchers in the field, reveals the science behind water fluoridation, the effects it has on your health, and why there is no logical or rational reason to continue fluoridating our water.

Would You Drink Shampoo to Clean Your Hair?

The only science that mildly supports the use of pharmaceutical-grade fluoride as a preventive against dental caries is topical use of fluoride (although even that is debatable, based on more recent findings).

There is really no scientific basis at all for ingesting fluoride to protect your teeth! In fact, when fluoride is taken internally, it actually damages your teeth, causing a condition known as dental fluorosis.

Outwardly visual signs of this condition include pitting and discoloration of your teeth. Today, 41 percent of American children between the ages of 12 and 14 have dental fluorosis.5 The consumption of fluoride has also been linked to:

This is what the science is telling us about the ramifications of fluoride ingestion. And, yet, rather than taking the precautionary approach and stopping fluoridation, policymakers continue to blindly forge ahead; refusing to give the scientific evidence the attention it deserves.

The CDC and ADA Warn Against Fluoridated Water for Infants

In November 2006, the American Dental Association (ADA) sent out an email to its members, recommending parents to use no- or low-fluoride water to make infant formula. This was a very reasonable recommendation, because an average glass of fluoridated water contains 250 times more fluoride than breast milk. A few days later, the CDC6 followed suit, but neither of them openly warned the public.

In 2011, a panel convened by the ADA’s Council on Scientific Affairs issued an updated report and clinical recommendations7, 8 on children’s fluoride intake from infant formula, which states that parents can continue using fluoridated water when reconstituting infant formula “while being cognizant of the potential risk for enamel fluorosis.” “When the potential risk for enamel fluorosis is a concern,” parents are advised to use fluoride-free water.

This still is not well-known however, so far from “being cognizant” of the risks, millions of parents are still using tap water to make up formula, completely oblivious to the potential ramifications. By fluoridating the municipal water supply, you doom many low income families to fail to protect their young children from this dangerous drug, even if they have this information, which most people do not.

Water Fluoridation—A Civil Rights Issue

Evidence suggests that minorities and low-income families are in fact being disproportionately harmed by water fluoridation, and two Atlanta Civil Rights leaders, Andrew Young and Reverend Dr. Gerald Durley have previously requested that Georgia legislators repeal the state’s mandatory water fluoridation law based on this fact. The reason why certain ethnic minorities may be disproportionately harmed is because fluoride’s toxicity appears to be exacerbated by:

• Inadequate nutrition, including lower intakes of iodine and calcium. Certain racial groups are more likely to be lactose intolerant than others and may therefore consume less dairy (a primary source of calcium) and more water. Included among these are Central and East Asians, Native Americans, African Americans, and Southern Indians. Thus these groups may be more heavily exposed to fluoride in water and other beverages than are Caucasian Americans, and their calcium intakes may be compromised, which may further exacerbate toxicity.
• Kidney dysfunction and diabetes, which are more prevalent among minorities than whites.
• Inadequate supplies of vitamin C, vitamin D, magnesium, and selenium.

According to CDC statistics,9 African American mothers are also the least likely to breastfeed their infants, compared to other ethnic groups. And while breast milk is very low in fluoride, infants fed formula mixed with fluoridated water may receive harmful amounts of fluoride. Water fluoridation was in fact a civil rights issue from the very beginning. Just take a look at this 1977 article in The Harvard Crimson10 and you’d think it was written today!

Virtually nothing has changed in the 37 years since that article was published, except for the emergence of additional research supporting fluoride opponents’ worst fears. Alveda King, niece of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. has also joined the fight against water fluoridation, stating on her blog:11

“This is a civil rights issue… No one should be subjected to drinking fluoride in their water, especially sensitive groups like kidney patients and diabetics, babies in their milk formula, or poor families that cannot afford to purchase unfluoridated water. Black and Latino families are being disproportionately harmed.” 

Get Informed, and Share What You Know

Knowledge is power, and you have the power to not only protect yourself, but also to help protect others once you know the truth. The United States is one of the few remaining developed countries in the world that still fluoridates a majority of its water supply. Don’t you agree it’s time for our policymakers to stop putting your and your family’s health at risk?

I strongly recommend viewing Professional Perspectives on Water Fluoridation. We can eliminate this harmful practice, but it’s going to take people like you to make it happen—so please watch the film to get the cold hard facts, and share it with everyone you know.

(NaturalNews – Dr. David Jockers) Life on Earth is a stressful endeavor for all living things. This stress provides an adaptive stimulus for plant and animal life to become stronger and more resilient. Certain herbs have adapted over centuries to have incredible immune-enhancing properties. Garlic, oregano and ginger are a few powerful immune-enhancing herbs.

All life in nature must protect itself continually from the elements and environmental stressors. This includes dramatic shifts in weather, microorganisms, UV light, etc. Herbs and plants have adapted with powerful antimicrobial and antioxidant capabilities to give them a survival advantage. When we consume these herbs, we benefit from the immune-enhancing adaptations.

Garlic:

Garlic is a pungent herb and one of nature’s natural antibiotics. Due to the powerful sulfur-containing nutrients and immune stimulators within garlic, it is classified as a superfood herb. Consumption of garlic daily may be one of the best defenses against infection and inflammatory-based disease.

Garlic contains over 100 biologically active components including alliin, allicin, alliinase and unique sulfur compounds. When garlic is crushed or chewed, it forces the allin and allinase enzyme together and causes a chemical reaction to produce allicin.

Allicin and sulfur-based compounds act as powerful antibiotic, antiviral and antifungal agents that have an incredible immune-stimulating effect.⁽¹⁾ Additionally, garlic is also used to lower blood pressure, cholesterol, and help prevent/reverse cancer.^{(2, 3)}

Researchers have found garlic to be more powerful at destroying pathogenic bacteria than the popular antibiotics penicillin and tetracycline. It is also very effective against viruses and yeasts like Candida. Garlic is also very potent at destroying tumor cells in the stomach, colon, breast and prostate among other regions.⁽⁴⁾ The sulfur compounds are also effective at detoxifying heavy metals such as mercury, lead and aluminum.⁽⁵⁾

Oregano:

Oregano oil is an extraordinarily powerful natural antibiotic. Oregano has been found in a recent study to be significantly better than all of the 18 currently used antibiotics in the treatment of MRSA staph infections.⁽⁶⁾ The strong phenol antioxidants destroy pathogenic bacteria, viruses and yeasts.

The USDA ranks oregano’s antioxidant capacity anywhere from 3 to 20 times higher than any other herb. Oregano has four times the antioxidant power of blueberries, 12 times that of oranges and 42 times greater than apples.

Oregano oil has been classically used as a disinfectant, an aid for ear, nose and throat/respiratory infections, candidiasis and any sort of bacterial or viral condition. Additionally, it works to suppress inflammatory mediators and cancer cell production.⁽⁷⁾ Oregano oil is more potent than the dried herb; however, the dried version still contains many powerful health benefits.

Studies have shown that carvacrol, a phenol antioxidant within oregano, has powerful anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial activity when applied to food or taken in supplement form. Oregano also contains rosmarinic acid which has very strong cancer-fighting properties.

Ginger:

This incredible superfood herb is 13th on the antioxidant list. Ginger is composed of several volatile oils that give it its characteristic flavor and odor: zingerone, shogaols and gingerols. These oils are powerful antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal, antiparasitic agents. In addition, it inhibits cancer cell formation while firing up our body’s own inborn ability to destroy the cancer cells formerly present.⁽⁸⁾

Ginger is classified as a carminative (reducing intestinal gas) and an intestinal spasmolytic (soothes intestinal tract) while inducing gut motility. Ginger is known to reduce fever-related nausea, motion sickness and feelings of “morning sickness.” Additionally, it helps aid in the production of bile, making it particularly helpful in digesting fats.⁽⁹⁾

Ginger is also an important part of a de-inflaming, natural pain-relief program. One compound called 6-gingerol has been shown to significantly inhibit the production of a highly reactive nitrogen molecule, nitric oxide, that quickly forms a dangerous free radical peroxynitrite. Additionally, ginger helps protect the body’s stores of glutathione, which is a potent antioxidant and free radical destroyer.⁽¹⁰⁾

Sources:
1) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
2) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
3) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
4) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
5) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
6) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
7) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
8) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
9) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
10) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
http://truthwiki.org/garlic
http://truthwiki.org/oregano
http://truthwiki.org/ginger

(Cornucopia – CivilEats – by Andy Bellatti) When it comes to nutrition and public health, the U.S. can learn a lot from Latin America. Over the past year, Mexico, Brazil, and several other countries in South and Central America have passed some very progressive policies, often placing public health interests above those of the food industry. This is particularly impressive given the expensive politicking the food industry has engaged in in Latin America against public health policies. Here are five recent efforts we should all be watching:

1. Bold Dietary Guidelines in Brazil

Earlier this year, Brazil broke new ground by releasing ten draft dietary guidelines which warned against processed foods and even addressed deceptive marketing by the food industry. This week, the nation released its final version.

The guidelines are, of course, written in Portuguese, but New York University professor Dr. Marion Nestle translated them into English.

Some examples of the succinct, yet powerful, messaging? “Limit consumption of ready-to-eat food and drinks,” “avoid fast food chains,” and “be critical of the commercial advertisement of food products.”

Our dietary guidelines are apolitical, vague, and meek, by comparison. They read: “Prevent and/or reduce overweight and obesity through improved eating and physical activity behaviors,” “maintain appropriate calorie balance during each stage of life – childhood, adolescence, adulthood, pregnancy and breastfeeding, and older age,” “increase vegetable and fruit intake.” Let’s hope next year’s update takes some cues from Brazil.

Read more about Brazil’s new guidelines in this story we ran in March, shortly after they were announced.

2. Fruit Vending Machines in Argentina

Earlier this month, Buenos Aires mayor Mauricio Macri announced that fruit vending machines will soon be installed at the 35 wellness centers that have opened throughout the country’s capital since June of 2012. These wellness centers–located in various parks and train stations–have doctors, nurses and nutritionists on staff, and provide people with a chance to have their weight, height, blood pressure, and blood sugar checked at no cost. Free nutrition counseling is also available, and some offer free yoga classes and walking groups. As of January 2014, half a million Buenos Aires residents took advantage of this public service.

And, soon enough, they’ll also be able to buy a piece of fruit on their way out, if they so choose. It sure is nice to see real food offered, as opposed to “healthwashed” processed offerings like baked chips, cookies with a dusting of whole grains, and diet sodas.

3. Front-of-package Warning Labels in Chile

Much to the disappointment of many large food producers, Chile has a new front-of-package labeling system that specifically points out what food and beverage products surpass government-established limits for calories, sugar, sodium, and saturated fat (via this black “excess of…” label on the front of packages).

What’s more, any product that is too high in any of those categories may not be sold in schools, and it is forbidden to target ads for said products to children under the age of 14.

There are some valid criticisms to this approach (mainly that by focusing on very specific nutrients “of concern,” food companies can technically reformulate minimally nutritious, highly-processed products in a way that manage to meet criteria without making them truly healthy). But this is nevertheless an important effort, as it is a front-of-package labeling scheme meant to deter the purchase of certain products.

4. Traffic Light Labeling in Ecuador

This small South American country recently instituted a traffic light labeling system for packaged foods. According to the Ecuadorian newspaper El Comercio:

August 29, 2014, was the deadline for 375 large and medium-sized companies to label the amounts of salt, fat, and sugar on their processed foods’ packaging. Labeling consists of a traffic light: red for products high in these values; yellow for medium values, and green for low values.”

Smaller companies have until November 29, 2014, to meet this new requirement.

Industry has long feared traffic light labeling and battled it globally for years with very expensive lobbying campaigns (no company wants its products to carry multiple red lights), so this is certainly a win for public health. The fact that all fat is lumped together is slightly problematic–imagine baked Cheetos getting a green light, while walnuts get a red light!–but at least this means that healthwashed items like children’s cereals with added corn dust for fiber will be called out for their high sugar content.

This image shows a pack of marshmallows available at an Ecuadorian supermarket, with both the traffic light labeling system (“high in sugar,” “low in fat”) as well as a “contains GMOs” (“contiene transgenicos”) label. Ecuador is one of 64 countries that has mandatory labeling of GMOs.

5. Soda Taxes in Mexico

Although domestically we now have a soda tax in Berkeley, CA (proposition E in San Francisco received 54.5 percent of the vote but not the 66.67 percent required to pass), our neighbor to the South passed a nationwide soda tax at the beginning of this year. It was an especially meaningful victory for public health advocates considering that Mexico is the world’s top consumer of soda (on average each person drinks 43 gallons per year), and that Coca-Cola aggressively forced its classic soft drink onto the native population of Chiapas.

Even better? The soda tax has proven effective. As the Wall Street Journal reported earlier this month:

A separate study conducted earlier this year by Mexico’s National Institute of Public Health measured the decline in sugary beverage consumption at 10 percent during the first three months of 2014, compared with the same period last year. That study also reported a 7 percent rise in purchases of beverages that aren’t subject to the new tax, such as plain bottled water and milk.”

When it comes to food policy, the United States should consider looking to “developing nations” for well-developed strategies.

Besides sharing time with family and friends over food, the primary ingredient of the American Thanksgiving holiday is gratitude. While it’s certainly good to have an annual holiday to remind us to express gratitude, there’s much to be said for the benefits of cultivating the spirit of thankfulness year-round.

People who are thankful for what they have are better able to cope with stress, have more positive emotions, and are better able to reach their goals. Scientists have even noted that gratitude is associated with improved health.

As noted in a previous article on this topic published in the Harvard Mental Health Letter,1 “expressing thanks may be one of the simplest ways to feel better:”

“The word gratitude is derived from the Latin word gratia, which means grace, graciousness, or gratefulness (depending on the context). In some ways gratitude encompasses all of these meanings. Gratitude is a thankful appreciation for what an individual receives, whether tangible or intangible.

With gratitude, people acknowledge the goodness in their lives. In the process, people usually recognize that the source of that goodness lies at least partially outside themselves. 

As a result, gratitude also helps people connect to something larger than themselves as individuals — whether to other people, nature, or a higher power.

…People feel and express gratitude in multiple ways. They can apply it to the past (retrieving positive memories and being thankful for elements of childhood or past blessings), the present (not taking good fortune for granted as it comes), and the future (maintaining a hopeful and optimistic attitude). 

Regardless of the inherent or current level of someone’s gratitude, it’s a quality that individuals can successfully cultivate further.”

Gratitude—It Does a Body Good

Dr. P. Murali Doraiswamy, head of biologic psychology at Duke University Medical Center once stated that: “If [thankfulness] were a drug, it would be the world’s best-selling product with a health maintenance indication for every major organ system.”2

One way to harness the positive power of gratitude is to keep a gratitude journal or list, where you actively write down exactly what you’re grateful for each day. In one study,3, 4 people who kept a gratitude journal reported exercising more, and they had fewer visits to the doctor compared to those who focused on sources of aggravation.

As noted in a previous ABC News article,5 studies have shown that gratitude can produce a number of measurable effects on a number of systems in your body, including:

http://www.youtube.com/embed/8-hZQ3FJkcg

Ways to Cultivate Gratitude

Cultivating a sense of gratitude will help you refocus your attention toward what’s good and right in your life, rather than dwelling on the negatives and all the things you may feel are lacking.

And, like a muscle, this mental state can be strengthened with practice. Besides keeping a daily gratitude journal, other ways to cultivate a sense of gratitude include:

• Write thank you notes: Whether in response to a gift or kind act, or simply as a show of gratitude for someone being in your life, getting into the habit of writing thank-you letters can help you express gratitude in addition to simply feeling it inside.
• Count your blessings: Once a week, reflect on events for which you are grateful, and write them down. As you do, feel the sensations of happiness and thankfulness you felt at the time it happened, going over it again in your mind.
• Pray: Expressing thanks during your prayers is another way to cultivate gratitude.
• Mindfulness meditation: Practicing “mindfulness” means that you’re actively paying attention to the moment you’re in right now. A mantra is sometimes used to help maintain focus, but you can also focus on something that you’re grateful for, such as a pleasant smell, a cool breeze, or a lovely memory.

Expanding the Science and Practice of Gratitude

Three years ago, the Greater Good Science Center at the University of California,6 in collaboration with the University of California, launched a project called “Cultivating Gratitude in a Consumerist Society.” This $5.6 million project aims to:

• Expand the scientific database of gratitude, particularly in the key areas of human health, personal and relational well-being, and developmental science;
• Promote evidence-based practices of gratitude in medical, educational, and organizational settings and in schools, workplaces, homes and communities, and in so doing…
• Engage the public in a larger cultural conversation about the role of gratitude in civil society. 

In 2012, 14 winning research projects were announced, with topics covering everything from the neuroscience of gratitude, to the role of gratitude for the prevention of bullying. The organization has a number of resources you can peruse at your leisure, including The Science of Happiness blog and newsletter,7 and a Digital Gratitude Journal,8 where you can record and share the things you’re grateful for. Scientists are also permitted to use the data to explore “causes, effects, and meaning of gratitude.”

For example, previous research has shown that employees whose managers say “thank you” feel greater motivation at work, and work harder than peers who do not hear those “magic words.” As noted in a previous Thanksgiving blog post in Mark’s Daily Apple:9“[R]esearch10 has shown that being on the receiving end of a person’s gratitude can boost subjects’ sense of self-worth and/or self-efficacy. It also appears to encourage participants to further help the person who offered the gratitude but also another, unrelated person in an unconscious ‘pay it forward’ kind of connection.”

Cultivating an Attitude of Gratitude as Part of a Healthy Lifestyle

Starting each day by thinking of all the things you have to be thankful for is one way to put your mind on the right track. Also, remember that your future depends largely on the thoughts you think today. So each moment of every day is an opportunity to turn your thinking around, thereby helping or hindering your ability to think and feel more positively in the very next moment.

Most experts agree that there are no shortcuts to happiness. Even generally happy people do not experience joy 24 hours a day. But a happy person can have a bad day and still find pleasure in the small things in life.

Be thankful for what you have. When life gives you a 100 reasons to cry, remember the 1,000 reasons you have to smile. Face your past without regret; prepare for the future without fear; focus on what’s good right now, in the present moment, and practice gratitude. Remember to say “thank you”—to yourself, the Universe, and others. It’s wonderful to see a person smile, and even more wonderful knowing that you are the reason behind it! And with that, I wish you all a Happy and Healthy Thanksgiving!