5 Environmentally Friendly Ways To Increase Your Home’s Value

Who doesn’t love helping the environment?  We no longer want large water heaters or other expensive features. Smart buyers are looking for environmentally friendly choices. Water, specifically, is an area ripe for improvement.

The benefits of going green are twofold. First, it adds appeal and versatility to your home, offering unique value compared to other homes lacking these features. Secondly, of course, is that many of these items add actual financial value, both in terms of property value and savings on bills!

Whether you’re currently looking to sell, simply want to live a greener life, or just want to keep your options open in the future, these solutions offer fantastic benefits for everyone.

Harness The Rain

If you live in an area with plenty of rain, turn this to your advantage. Rain collectors can harness this resource for dish washing and other uses around the home, helping to cut down on water bills. However, this water isn’t entirely clean, so it can’t be used for drinking.

That being said, you can add a filter to purify the water for various home uses. This is often where the real value comes in, as it can then be used to provide free shower and tap water! Once you have an effective system set up, you’ll rarely need to use muniipal water.

Organic Gardens

A well-kept garden can do wonders for a home’s price tag, but an organic one also serves a purpose. Whether it’s a large vegetable patch or a simple raised bed, any garden can introduce organic crops. While these will improve your value, they’ll also provide tasty and healthy veggies in the meantime.

Just remember that a key to understanding property value lies in thinking like a buyer. A ready-to-go organic garden helps ease buyers into a better lifestyle and suggests at how green the wider property already is.

The Water Boiler

Even if you have an effective collection system for rainwater, every home still needs hot water. How you heat your water matters a great deal. Your average boiler uses gas or electricity, both of which are power-heavy, to heat water throughout the home.

An efficient boiler, on the other hand, helps save money and adds to the property’s value both financially and in terms of environmental awareness. It will also help improve your home’s energy efficiency, helping to create another vital selling point.

Natural Water Features

Speaking of the garden, how many homes these days feature a water feature of some sort? Most people may think of pools, but these require a lot of clean water and expensive pumps. Still, some simple landscaping can create features that use natural rain water, reducing your need for maintenance and imported water.

A fountain can recycle rainwater, for instance, while a pond serves as an aesthetically pleasing feature. Tastefully done, adding these add little touches to a well-finished garden, increases the value without added bills or running costs.

Water Usage

While cutting down on how much water you use will help keep bills low, it doesn’t influence your home’s value until you make some physical changes. Taps, pipes, and showers all use water, so determining just how much water they use is key.Eco showers speak for themselves, but what else can you do?

Tap inserts can be fitted in your kitchen and sink to ensure a full spray of water without wasting it at the same time. These little features help cut down on water without changing your lifestyle, making them easier to advertise and display if your home ends up on the market.

Similarly, for the extra passionate homeowners, a bathwater diverter can re-direct or collect used bath water into an outside container for use in the garden. If you combine this with a rainwater system, just think how effective this will be. These physical installations add instant value to your home as new buyers can easily see the savings.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=up9lgvZ83Ik

Conclusion

So, there you have it – 5 effective ways to help improve your property value and save the environment. How you choose to implement these depends on your home, of course. Not everyone has space for a pond, but even the smallest organic patch will help. Your home should proudly showcase its green lifestyle, making its water-savvy features tempting for anyone looking to buy in the area.

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5 Natural Remedies for the Common Cold

As soon as the temperature starts trolling down, the common cold returns. While it can’t always be prevented, it can be cured before it turns into severe infections like strep throat, bronchitis, and pneumonia.

A number of over-the-counter medications have proven to be dangerous. Even common medications like Tylenol can be dangerous if taken in high doses. Hence, the best solution is to count on natural treatments. These solutions are highly effective in treating the common cold, and they don’t leave you with any side effects.

Garlic

Garlic

It is the magic of antiseptic properties present in the garlic that help protect your immune system. You can fight back common cold and prevent it from coming back. A number of scientific studies have proved that the ‘allocine’ contained in garlic acts as a stimulator for the white blood cells and the oil in it opens up the respiratory passages. Hence, adding it to your diet in any form helps flush out all the toxins in the system. To prepare garlic soup, boil three to six chopped garlic cloves in one cup of water. You can add salt to it and drink the liquid two to three times a day.

Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV)

Apple Cider Vinegar

You can use it the way you like. Try an ACV tea or use it to gargle. All you have to do is add 2 tablespoons of ACV, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, and 1 tablespoon honey to a little hot water. If this appears to be too strong for you, dilute it by adding more hot water. You can repeat 3-4 times a day for better results.

Eucalyptus Oil

Eucalyptus Oil

It is the simplest thing you can do. A quick steam in the shower with few drops of eucalyptus oil can help you fight a cold. And if you have more time, you can go for an intense steam treatment. Pour 4-5 drops of eucalyptus oil in a glass bowl and add boiling water to it. Covering your head with a towel to trap the steam in, lean over the bowl and inhale deeply for 5-10 minutes. Make sure you repeat this twice a day. Basically, the steam opens up the nasal passages and you are free to breathe better.

Honey

Honey

This is another powerful soothing and healing agent that is widely available at home. You can use raw honey from untainted bees to boost immunity and treat several cold symptoms. The presence of an array of antioxidant, antibacterial, and antiviral nutrients, make honey a perfect cold medicine. It can be mixed with other cold remedies, too, like apple cider vinegar and lemon for faster results.

Cinnamon

Cinnamon

The effective healing properties of cinnamon help ease the pain of a dry or a sore throat.  Add one teaspoon of powdered cinnamon to a glass of water, and bring it to a boil. You can also add some pepper powder and honey to this for better results. The other way to use it is to add two to three drops of cinnamon oil to food or drink.

Don’t allow a cold get the best of you. Just take over with some simple natural do-it-yourself treatments and clear up your stuffy nose and soothe your scratchy throat!

Editor’s Note: Here’s a good recipe for anyone with a cold, check out Golden Milk Tea.

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More Scientists Against Vaccines

Stories of vaccine-injured children often start the same way. “I trusted my doctor. I didn’t know about vaccines then. I only wish I knew then what I know now.” Those with firsthand experience with vaccine side effects tend to learn a great deal about vaccines. Parents of vaccine injured children account for a large proportion of the anti-vaccine movement.

Many scientists are opposed to vaccines. Just like lay people, whether or not they are opposed to vaccines depends a great deal on how much they know about them and whether or not their livelihood depends on the vaccine industry.

Brian Hooker, PhD, PE

Brian Hooker is both a parent of a vaccine injured child and a vaccine researcher. As a scientist, he has devoted many years of his life to studying vaccines and corruption within the CDC.

Dr. Brian Hooker currently holds the position of Associate Professor and serves as the Math and Science Division Chair at Simpson University in California. He graduated from Washington State University in 1990 with a PhD in Chemical Engineering and is a licensed professional engineer in Washington. He is known for fighting against the CDC to reveal the data used in their studies on vaccines and helping to expose how the CDC has hidden data.

You know the CDC’s plan, not only their historic plan, but their ongoing plan, to absolve vaccines and vaccine components from anything related to the autism epidemic. You know, we don’t know what causes autism do we? But we know for darn sure tootin’ that it isn’t the vaccines and it can’t be the vaccines. Okay, which is completely illogical. There is no logic. If you don’t know what causes it, then it’s very, very, difficult to say that something doesn’t cause it.

Peter Fletcher, PhD

Dr. Peter Fletcher is a retired Chief Science Officer with the Department of Health in the United Kingdom. He also serves on the Committee on Safety of Medicine where he helped review drug safety trials and decide if new drugs, including new vaccines, were safe.

It appears that we are stuck with the term “autism” even though it is impossible to define with any precision. I suppose it does not matter as long as everyone understands that it is not a single abnormal condition but a cluster of different disorders having some signs and symptoms in common.

There is little doubt that what we might call “old fashioned” autism, as it was before 15 or so years ago, probably had predominantly genetic origins although even then other factors may have triggered the disorder.

There is absolutely no doubt that in the USA and the UK the number of cases of autism being diagnosed has reached epidemic proportions.

… The observed increase in autism in such a short period of time (15-20 years) therefore has to be real and to have external causality.

… It is of the utmost urgency that wide ranging research, with the aim of identifying possible external causal factors, be initiated without delay on an international basis.

… Instead of repeated denials of parents claims, could the skeptics of vaccination/toxic substances/immune challenge being causal discontinue their entirely negative attitude and give us something more positive? I could accept their disbelief if they supported it with convincing alternatives, but none have been forthcoming.

Shiv Chopra, PhD

https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL024246A37000FF12&v=X71F9UCdPN8#t=12

Dr. Shiv Chopra has been working in Canada for decades within the field of food safety. He holds a PhD in Microbiology from McGill University in Montreal. Dr. Chopra is known for his part in the successful fight to have bovine growth hormone banned in Canada. He continues to speak out on matters of public health including food safety and vaccines.

…the first vaccines that landed on my desk were rubella and later on, mumps, and some later versions of measles. I objected to it. I said, ‘I see problems in these because these are minor diseases and most people get immune by age 15. Why are we going to give these vaccines that have never been tested?’

I knew they were made in monkey kidney tissue and we have had problems with the polio vaccine…

… My suggestion was, why don’t we test women at the age of 15 and 16? Those who are not yet immune then may be given the vaccine?

Of course, the companies didn’t want that. They wanted 100 percent or at least 80 percent of the children vaccinated. That was the only way they were going to make money.

We now know from history that those vaccines have been used for more than 40 years and the diseases, all of them, are still here. Meanwhile, autism, diabetes, and all kinds of autoimmune diseases have increased.

We don’t know what damage we’re doing — actually we know that in association with those vaccines, chronic diseases in children have increased. But nobody is paying attention. Everybody is denying that.

Ironically, those vaccines have never been removed from the ledgers and DPT was never talked about. Again, medical people know, a lot of scientists know, the CDC, U.S., FDA, other departments, medical departments, medical professionals, they are all denying that all these infectious diseases had started to decrease in the early 1940s.

Veterinarians are effectively toxicologists.

Unlike medical people, we learn comparative medicine. So therefore, this is a way to compare and see what species do. The law is that every drug, any product that directly or indirectly gets into the human body, must be tested in at least two species of animals, one of which must be non-rodent. It must also be tested in pregnant animals. Then it also must be tested to see whether it produces cancer by lifetime studies in rats and mice and so forth.

[Recently] the United States Supreme Court said that if people get damaged, if the children get damaged due to vaccine, they can’t sue either the government or the companies — by what right?

Who is to decide to shove vaccines into people who don’t want it?

Theresa Ann Deisher, PhD

Dr. Theresa Ann Deisher holds a PhD in Molecular and Cellular Physiology from Stanford University. She has worked as a research scientist for more than two decades and currently presides as the President of the Sound Choice Pharmaceutical Institute and as the CEO of AVM Biotechnology. Her research over the years has focused on human therapeutics.

Vaccines manufactured using human fetal cells contain residual DNA fragments (50-500 bp) (Table I). It is possible that these contaminating fragments could be incorporated into a child’s genome and disrupt normal gene function, leading to autistic phenotypes

…Not only damaged human cells, but also healthy human cells can take up foreign DNA spontaneously. Foreign human DNA taken up by human cells will be transported into nuclei and be integrated into host genome, which will cause phenotype change. Hence, residual human fetal DNA fragments in vaccines can be one of the causes of autism spectrum disorder in children through vaccination. Vaccines must be safe without any human DNA contaminations or reactivated viruses and must be produced in ethically approved manufacturing processes.

Tetyana Obukhanych, PhD

Dr. Obukhanych holds a PhD in Immunology from Rockefeller University and completed postdoctoral training at Harvard Medical School as well as Stanford University.

I hold a PhD in Immunology. I am writing this letter in the hope that it will correct several common misperceptions about vaccines in order to help you formulate a fair and balanced understanding that is supported by accepted vaccine theory and new scientific findings.

Do unvaccinated children pose a higher threat to the public than the vaccinated?

It is often stated that those who choose not to vaccinate their children for reasons of conscience endanger the rest of the public, and this is the rationale behind most of the legislation to end vaccine exemptions currently being considered by federal and state legislators country-wide. You should be aware that the nature of protection afforded by many modern vaccines – and that includes most of the vaccines recommended by the CDC for children – is not consistent with such a statement.

… IPV (inactivated poliovirus vaccine) cannot prevent transmission of poliovirus (see appendix for the scientific study, Item #1). Wild poliovirus has been non-existent in the USA for at least two decades.

… Tetanus is not a contagious disease, but rather acquired from deep puncture wounds contaminated with C. tetani spores.

… Vaccinating for diphtheria cannot alter the safety of public spaces; it is likewise intended for personal protection only.

… In summary, a person who is not vaccinated with IPV, DTaP, HepB, and Hib vaccines due to reasons of conscience poses no extra danger to the public than a person who is. No discrimination is warranted.

How often do serious vaccine adverse events happen?

It is often stated that vaccination rarely leads to serious adverse events. Unfortunately, this statement is not supported by science. A recent study done in Ontario, Canada, established that vaccination actually leads to an emergency room visit for 1 in 168 children following their 12-month vaccination appointment and for 1 in 730 children following their 18-month vaccination appointment (see appendix for a scientific study, Item #5).

When the risk of an adverse event requiring an ER visit after well-baby vaccinations is demonstrably so high, vaccination must remain a choice for parents, who may understandably be unwilling to assume this immediate risk in order to protect their children from diseases that are generally considered mild or that their children may never be exposed to.

… Studies of measles outbreaks in Quebec, Canada, and China attest that outbreaks of measles still happen, even when vaccination compliance is in the highest bracket (95-97% or even 99%, see appendix for scientific studies, Items #6&7). This is because even in high vaccine responders, vaccine-induced antibodies wane over time. Vaccine immunity does not equal life-long immunity acquired after natural exposure.

… elimination of vaccine exemptions, currently only utilized by a small percentage of families anyway, will neither solve the problem of disease resurgence nor prevent re-importation and outbreaks of previously eliminated diseases.

1)…due to the properties of modern vaccines, non-vaccinated individuals pose no greater risk of transmission of polio, diphtheria, pertussis, and numerous non-type b H. influenza strains than vaccinated individuals do. Non-vaccinated individuals pose virtually no danger of transmission of hepatitis B in a school setting, and tetanus is not transmissible at all; 2) there is a significantly elevated risk of emergency room visits after childhood vaccination appointments attesting that vaccination is not risk-free; 3) outbreaks of measles cannot be entirely prevented even if we had nearly perfect vaccination compliance; and 4) an effective method of preventing measles and other viral diseases in vaccine-ineligible infants and the immunocompromised, immunoglobulin, is available for those who may be exposed to these diseases.

Taken together, these four facts make it clear that discrimination in a public school setting against children who are not vaccinated for reasons of conscience is completely unwarranted as the vaccine status of conscientious objectors poses no undue public health risk.

Stephanie Seneff, PhD

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3P6wVUH0pc

Dr. Stephanie Seneff is employed by MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory as a Senior Research Scientist. She holds a PhD in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from MIT. Her research has largely focused on nutrition and health through computer analyses of large datasets.

I’m a computer scientist so I can go look at the number crunching, looking at the words, statistical distributions and whatnot. You can find a lot of things out, looking at VAERS.

…I confirmed in my studies on VAERS database that MMR is associated with autism. I wrote a paper on that and I proposed at the time that possibly, and it was something that somebody else had also proposed, which was that the acetaminophen, it was given just to control the fever, kids are often given that around the vaccine, and that can become toxic to certain kids who can’t metabolize it properly.

… the glutamate in the vaccine that’s causing the problem and that the glutamate is much more toxic now because of the glyphosate. So all this is connecting up. And the same thing is true for the aluminum in the vaccines as well and people have talked a lot about the mercury and the mercury certainly is an issue and its very toxic. I look at the aluminum because that’s the one that’s gone up quite a bit. We have a lot of aluminum containing vaccines now that we didn’t have before so that fits with what’s going up in step with the autism increase, lots more aluminum containing vaccines. For example the HPV, which has just been introduced, the Gardasil they’re giving that to these kids, teenagers. That’s loaded with aluminum. And that’s a very nasty vaccine. I’ve looked at that one too and it has much, much more severe reactions to that one than to other vaccines that these kids are getting. Its a very toxic vaccine and totally unnecessary in my opinion and they can’t even prove that its actually doing what its claiming to do because its like 60 years later when you’re going to get this cervical cancer that its supposedly protecting you from, you know. I don’t know why anyone would think it’s a good idea to get that vaccine. Young girls’ lives are being destroyed. People are dying or they’re getting some debilitating autoimmune disease, you know, from that vaccine. It’s very clear from the data.

Conclusion

When researching scientists’ recommendations for public health policies in regards to vaccines, it is surprising how few of them support vaccination unless they work for the pharmaceutical industry.

In order for vaccines to be truly safe and effective, adverse reactions would be rare and breakouts of vaccine-preventable diseases among vaccine compliant populations would be rare or non-existent. Clearly, neither outcome is reality. The science does not support the statement that vaccines are safe and effective. This is not a scientific finding. This is a marketing slogan taught to doctors in medical school. If vaccine damage is a concern of yours, check out How To Detoxify and Heal From Vaccinations – For Adults and Children

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Useful Tips for Growing Food in the Big City

Living in the big city does not have to cause your green thumb to wilt. In fact, urban gardening projects are becoming more popular in these modern times, whether the gardening is done indoors, on a small patio outdoors, or the roof of the building in which you live.

Whether your passion is exotic fruit trees, herbs, or growing your own vegetables, there is something for everyone who likes running their fingers through a fresh bag of potting soil. The following tips will breathe new life into your big city gardening project.

Save on Gardening Containers

If you think you need to go out and buy a ton of planting pots to start your urban garden, you’ll appreciate these cost-saving alternatives, many of which you probably have on hand:

  • Plastic bottles from drinking water, fruit juice, and other liquids. Rinse the bottles thoroughly with plain water, and cut off the tops where the bottles start to narrow.
  • Plastic containers from yogurt, spreads, nuts, and other food items. Wash the containers, put the tops in the recycle bin, and you’ve got pots.
  • Buckets that are cracked or have lost their handles.  A severe crack can be mended with tape while a minor crack will be useful for drainage.
  • A shallow wading pool. Have fun by planting your crops in concentric circles or a spiral from the inside out.
  • Hanging flower pots left over from seasons gone by. They’re ideal for vertical gardening and can be placed on the ground, too.
  • Plastic kitchen bowls and cups. Turn items you’re likely to discard due to appearance into containers where something green will grow.

It is important to drill holes through the bottoms of containers that don’t already have them to allow drainage of excess water which might otherwise cause roots to rot, destroying the plant.

These and many similar items are easily modified for gardening purposes. A large low-rimmed plastic tub or storage container will also work for potting multiple plants in the same container. One thing you need to take into account, other than the obvious factor of plant size, is that different plants need different amounts of mulch. Choose plants accordingly and make sure the pot has enough space to spread the mulch nice and even. Organic mulches provide extra benefits. They add valuable nutrients and promote soil micro-organism activity for overall plant health.

The Role of Light in Your Plant’s Development

One of the critical, dynamic factors involved in indoor and outdoor plant growth is lighting. It is important to remember that different plants have different lighting requirements. According to the University of Illinois, plants exhibit three types of responses to light.

The first of these responses is photosynthesis. This process is how plants convert light into storable chemical energy necessary for a plant’s survival.

The second of these responses is phototropism. In the process of phototropism, plant growth hormones build up on one side of a plant’s stem. This buildup causes it to tilt in the direction of available sunlight.

The third reaction is photoperiodism. This fascinating response is controlled by a pigment in the leaves called phytochrome. The pigment changes form to determine how a plant will developmentally respond to receiving red light during dark periods. In short, this means that a plant has a reproductive cycle that reacts to the changes in the lengths of day and night.

What does all of this mean for your success with urban gardening? Here are a few tips and takeaways.

Know the light needs of the plants you’re growing. Most plants require full sunlight, especially if they are bearing fruit. The best place for fruit and veggie plants is outside. If you’re committed to growing them indoors, a bay window facing the sun might suffice. Otherwise, you’ll need to install grow lights.

On the other hand, a wide range of plants such as climbing hydrangea, Japanese rose, and columbine prefer partial to full shade. These do very well indoors near a window or glass door or outside where they get limited direct sunlight during the day.

The stems of plants growing near a window or against an outdoor wall might start bending toward the light. To keep the plant growing straight with a stem that is robust all around, rotate its container 90 degrees each day.

Any fruit-bearing plant will produce more abundantly with grow lights. The best solution is LED grow lights that use far less energy and create much less heat than conventional grow lights.The better you understand the role light plays in a specific type of plant’s development, the easier it will be to customize the light intake for each one.

Organizing Your Gardening Tools

When your space is limited, it is best to keep all your big city gardening tools organized for easy access. Here are three tool organizers used by urban gardeners:

  1. A small wooden box or crate repurposed for your tools.
  2. A pegboard on the wall, inside or outdoors, that also has floor space.
  3. A small gardening cart with a handle that includes storage inside and a lid for sitting on as you prune, pull weeds or pick fruit.

With Limited Space, Think Vertical

Depending on your living arrangements, you may have lots or very limited space for your big city garden. Urban-based agricultural projects range from expansive green roofing designs to a single square foot outdoors or an indoor garden. Fortunately, the ongoing development of urban gardening techniques means that just about anyone living in the city can have the thrill of making something grow! One of the most popular trends is known as vertical gardening, and you’ve got interesting options:

  • Use trellises for tomatoes, beans and other vine plants to climb and produce.
  • Arrange rows of hooks on a privacy fence or the outside wall of your home. For example hang one row at one meter and a second row at two meters. Hang baskets from the hooks, and use the top row for plants requiring full sun. The lower row will be ideal for plants preferring partial shade.
  • In similar fashion, attach rows of planting boxes to a fence or wall, and select appropriate plants for each row.

Create your Own Compost

Today’s urban lifestyle is often a green one, and making the most of leftover food scraps is part of it. Your local gardening centre will have home composting bins, most of which come with complete instructions, and the few additional supplies you’ll need.

Ideal items for home composting include:

  • Fruit and vegetable scraps.
  • Bread and similar products.
  • Coffee grounds and tea bags.
  • Grains.
  • Leaves that drop or are pruned from your plants.

Items you should not compost include:

  • Meat and meat products including bones, fat, skin. Fish or fish waste.
  • Dairy products.

Those who want to take home composting to the next level might consider using a composting toilet. That’s right, humanure, as many call it, is ideal for use in an urban garden! Composting toilets mean that waste isn’t really a waste after all.

Besides saving space, there are additional benefits of vertical gardening. Because the plants are elevated, weeding them and picking fruit and flowers is done without stooping. Inspecting for insects, pruning and weeding are less of a chore, too. There is little waste of fruit, since it won’t sit on the ground where it can rot, be eaten by pests, or be overlooked under foliage.

Conclusion

With the price of food constantly increasing, many residents of big cities are turning to gardens to reduce their grocery bills. Others simply appreciate the benefit of unadulterated, fresh, organic produce as a key component to a nutrient-dense diet. Whatever your reason for starting your big city garden project, knowing how to grow your own food is always a good skill to develop. You never know when it might come in handy.

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Web MD’s Ties with Monsanto and Big Pharma

When we look for medical information, whether or not we embrace alternative medicine, there are a few primary sources we tend to check out for the conventional treatment and the low down on any given illness. WebMD is at, or near, the top of that list, and it is clearly one of the most popular sites on the Internet.

We expect the information given on this WebMD to be clear, correct (within the limits of conventional medicine), and unbiased. Anyone with any knowledge about the way things really work will expect Big Pharma to have undue influence over the information presented because they have undue influence over doctors and every aspect of conventional medical treatment. We don’t expect to find Monsanto and the FDA also hiding behind the curtain.

But first, more about Big Pharma. In 2010, Dr. Mercola wrote about a self-test for depression that was presented on WebMD by Eli Lilly. The problem was, even if you marked no to every indicator, the test came up with the same result – “You may be at risk for major depression.” The test was completely bogus, unethical, and irresponsible. WebMD presents itself as the unbiased 3rd party, but it isn’t.

When an article is written by a sponsor, such as Monsanto, it is labeled as such. It says, “This content is from our sponsor. The sponsor has sole editorial control.” Does the typical reader realize they are reading an article that is clearly company propaganda and not content that WebMD necessarily supports? What site that was created to give its readers information publishes content they do not agree with? We don’t!

In addition, the site is used and abused by companies like Monsanto as shown by series of emails exchanged between Monsanto and Dr. Kevin Folta of the University of Florida. Monsanto approached Folta, asking him to publish their biotech propaganda as if it were his own on WebMD. Of course, he agreed – Monsanto gives his programs money.

The final surprise is the relationship between WebMD and the FDA. According to Dr. Mercola, the FDA’s first public-private partnership was with WebMD. The FDA states on their website:

  • FDA’s Public-Private Partnerships allow the FDA to partner with any number of a wide range of other organizations including, but not limited to, patient advocacy groups, professional societies, charitable foundations, industry members, trade organizations, academic institutions and other government and state entities.
  • FDA’s Public-Private Partnerships are science-driven, aim to improve the public health, and are structured to uphold the principles of transparency, fairness, inclusiveness, scientific rigor, and compliance with Federal laws and FDA policy.

The FDA does not, however, offer a list of their partners. But that’s a bit creepy, isn’t it? That a government agency created to provide oversight actually partners with private industry? Who’s watching who?

It’s always a good idea to follow the money connected to any source. WebMD makes lots and lots of money. Averaging 210 million unique users a month with 4.25 billion page views, WebMD reported a profit of $10 million from a revenue of $143.3 million for the first quarter of 2015. So if you choose to use the site in the future, keep these facts in mind, especially if you are seeking information on any controversial subject in which the pharmaceutical companies, the biotech companies, or the FDA may share an interest.

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Seven Easy Ways to Make Your Home More Energy Efficient

Wasteful energy consumption can cost homeowners thousands of dollars per year. Fortunately, there are many high-scale and budget-friendly approaches to amending this issue and making your home more energy efficient.

The tips below may seem surprisingly simple, at least in terms of how much you can save each year. It’s amazing how far some new light bulbs or a filter change can go toward reducing the cost of your energy bill — especially during particularly hot or cold months.

Here are seven ways to save money on energy costs:

Make Nighttime “Lights Off” Time

A device left on overnight here and there won’t make much of a dent in your electric bill, but consistently leaving your computer on standby or your TV blaring throughout the night can add up significantly. Make a list of devices in your home that consume energy and identify whether they are on during the night. In the instance of a computer, check for energy-saving settings that automatically shut your computer off if it idles for a certain period of time.

Change All Filters

From your air conditioning to your furnace, ensure all systems that use a filter are cleaned regularly. A blocked filter for any of these machines can result in it working harder, consequently using more energy. This is a very simple action, but it can save you money and help your system work much more efficiently.

Landscape With Energy in Mind

During the summer, homeowners can increase energy efficiency by planting trees and plants to serve as shading. If you place them in close proximity to your home’s windows, they can help keep out the heat, so you won’t have to spend nearly as much on air conditiong.

Use Energy-Minded Products

Fluorescent light bulbs use about one-third the energy of standard bulbs. Replacing all your home’s bulbs with energy-saving ones could result in substantial savings.

Update Old Electrical Appliances

Although your budget may not allow for an immediate upgrade, the tips above can help save on electrical costs. Those savings could be used to update old electrical appliances, replacing them with energy efficient upgrades. The impact of a new appliance can be massive. For example, 2001’s top-rated refrigerator uses 40% more energy than today’s top-tier refrigerators.

Insulate Wherever Possible

One of the simplest and most cost-effective ways to save on energy consumption is to ensure windows and other locations in your house are correctly insulated. If any unnecessary heat or cold is seeping through cracks or gaps, it’s wasting your AC or heat.

Also, be sure to caulk any doors, windows, holes, and cracks that may be letting cold or hot air seep through. This includes electrical outlets, which are prone to holes since they may lead to outside walls.

Also, if you have a fireplace, it’s advised to install glass doors. That way, chilly gusts don’t enter your living space through the chimney.

Use Ceiling Fans Wisely

Ceiling fans have more power than you may imagine. They spread hot or cold air around considerably, aiding heating or cooling systems to the point where significantly less energy is used.

Run ceiling fans counterclockwise to help circulate cold air back into a room and clockwise for warm air. This is a simple yet effective trick that can significantly increase a heating or cooling system’s energy efficiency.

These seven tips can help you make your residence a more energy-efficient one, in both the cold winter and hot summer months. You’ll start saving money, and you’ll be helping conserve important resources, too.

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Five Foods that Feed Cancer

Some foods can speed you to your grave. Rather than promote health and healing, some foods are known to feed cancer more than they feed you.

Soda

Sodas are known to be bad for you, but did you know they can cause cancer? Sodas are loaded with sugar, artificial flavors, artificial colors, and preservatives as well as other chemicals. Caramel coloring agents are added to the drinks to give it that brown color. This process can produce a possible carcinogen called 4-methylimidazole. Surprisingly enough, the FDA has yet to limit the amount of this chemical byproduct allowed in sodas. Researchers have found that just drinking one can of soda a day raises the risk of cancer and this affects between 44% and 58% of all Americans.

Processed Meat

Processed meats that include artificial preservatives, flavorings, and colors include bacon, sausage, hot dogs, salami, beef jerky, ham, canned meats, and meat-based sauces. The WHO found that daily consumption of 50g of processed meat results in an 18% increase in the risk of colorectal cancer. This is roughly equal to eating about 2 pieces of bacon a day. While this is not much, and eating processed meats does not directly translate into getting cancer, frequently eating large amounts of it does increase your risk. In order to lower your risk, it is better to avoid this type of meat. If you choose to eat lunchmeat, choose the brands that do not include nitrates, nitrites, and other chemicals.

Sugar

Sugar is highly processed and stripped of minerals. As a result, it is very acidic. An acidic pH benefits cancer growth. But sugar does more. It impairs the immune system and directly feeds cancer cells and tumors.

GMO’s

There are now many animal studies that show long-term consumption of GMOs to be harmful. A variety of deleterious effects have been documented: kidney damage, liver damage, infertility, reduced birth weight, birth defects, and cancer. GMOs also damage gut health, feed cancer, and lead to other illnesses.

Artificial Flavors, Colors, Sweeteners, Preservatives, and MSG

If you’re thinking of trading in the sugar laden soda for the zero calorie stuff, you may want to reconsider. Food-like products, that aren’t really food at all do more damage to the body and even promote more cancer growth than sugar and other junk food. Anything artificial is bad news for the body’s overall function, and this can be disastrous when battling cancer. For instance, MSG is a neurotoxin; it kills brain cells. In addition, all of these food-like products dramatically disrupt the function of the beneficial bacteria in our gut. If we eat processed foods filled with artificial ingredients, we are giving cancerous cells a chance to prosper.

Many chemicals are known to cause cancer, so it should not surprise us to find chemical laden food causes cancer – in more ways than one. Cancer doesn’t just happen due to some bodily malfunction. In order for cancer to progress to the point that it poses a threat, something is horribly wrong. More often than not, environmental toxins, usually from one’s diet, have caused imbalances in the body that have enabled cancer to grow. If you’re facing cancer or any other serious disease choose food wisely. If it’s not real food, don’t eat it.

For anyone who’s sick, whether it be cancer or almost any other disease, the first steps to eliminating disease are to fix the diet and heal the gut. Check out 80% Raw Food Diet and Gluten, Candida, Leaky Gut Syndrome, and Autoimmune Diseases.

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