Natural Food Certifiers says No More Kosher GMOs

Times are changing, and many organizations and people are denouncing genetically modified foods and demanding real, untainted foods to be available to all consumers. Natural Food Certifiers, a certification company that does vegan, organic, kosher, and gluten free certifications, is the latest company to jump on the anti GMO bandwagon.

Natural Food Certifiers just recently announced that genetically modified foods will not be certified as kosher under their “Apple K” kosher certification program.  A press release stated:

NFC was very proud to introduce the first “Natural Only” kosher supervision,” said NFC Director Rabbi Reuven Flamer. “It’s a logical application of our principle, ‘Start Naturally. Stay that Way.’ Therefore, the Natural Apple K cannot be placed on a product that contains GMOs,” Flamer explained.

“While according to the strict letter of Kosher food law a GMO food ingredient is not prohibited, in our view it is not natural.  Additionally, there is a Torah (religious)-based law to ‘guard your health’. GMOs are the number-one growing concern among health-conscious consumers and for businesses in the natural and organic food market, as well as in the conventional food industry,” said Rabbi Flamer.

“Recent studies show that GMOs may cause various kinds of health problems from digestive disturbances to food allergies, and that GMOs require more herbicides, which is really the opposite reason why GMOs were touted to be so environmentally helpful in the first place,” Rabbi Flamer added. “For all of the many reasons that GMOs raise a red flag, consumers simply don’t want them in their foods, and our clients want to accommodate their customers.”

Natural Food Certifiers says that they will phase out GMO foods, including any foods with any genetically modified ingredients, from their kosher certification over the next 12 months.

Recommended Supplements (These supplements help detoxify GMOs):

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Vitamin B Deficiency and Developmental Disorders

B Vitamins, Stuttering, and Temper Tantrums

My four-year-old grandson was a hyperactive fusser with a low melting point. He seemed to be going through the terrible twos at four. Nearly every time he was told to do something he didn’t want to do, he shouted, “I don’t want to!” and followed his outburst with ear-splitting wailing.

Coming from a counseling background, I was pretty sure where that behavior came from: inconsistent parenting, giving in to bad behavior. You know the immediate judgments that come to mind. But this was not the case. When I moved in with my son and his family, I witnessed my grandson’s parenting first hand. More than that, I participated. No matter how consistent, no matter how calm and firm we were, the behavior continued. Worse than that, his inability to handle frustration was escalating.

One day, out of the blue, he began to stutter. Within a few days, it was full blown. “I…I…I…I  wa… wa…want… to go.”  Sometimes the stutter was on both ends of the sentence. It didn’t matter if he was having fun and playing or if he was calmly trying to relay information, the stutter took over his speech.

We’d always had bedtime difficulties and they were getting worse. It was hard to get him down, hard for him to go to sleep, and hard for him to stay asleep. Add to that the fact that when his eyes popped open in the morning, he shot out of bed no matter how long he had slept.

Having raised two hyperactive children, I knew the drill. Perfect diet. Lots of sleep. But these kids were eating an organic diet with loads of fresh fruits and veggies. But sleep? Him? Not so much. The hyperactivity itself was interfering with his sleep, and everyone else’s.

When my hyperactive sons were young, B vitamins helped immensely. They helped all of us. They helped the kids sleep and they kept me from having a nervous breakdown. I discussed this with my son and his wife and we decided to give a B vitamin complex a try. We bought what we believe to be the best: Thorne Research’s vitamins. No additives or fillers.

Within four days, the stuttering was reduced by half. Within six days, it stopped altogether. Bedtimes became manageable. Within two weeks we experienced the first no-fuss bedtime and a smiling child who was willing to raise his arms in the air to yell, “Yay, bedtime!”

Now I don’t want to mislead anyone. It’s two months later, and he still fusses. But what was once a roar is now a moan or a whimper and fussing only happens a few times a day instead of 25 or 30 times a day. Redirection or an occasion time out is handling the behavior just fine. He is sleeping much better. Meltdowns are a thing of the past and so is stuttering, even when he went without B vitamins for several weeks.

After this success, it occurred to me to google B vitamins and stuttering. I found that one small study had been done that showed a positive correlation. But there was very little info out there on the subject.

Editor’s note: In a case like this, I recommended a good fat supplement in conjunction with high quality complex B vitamins. UDO’s 3-6-9 with DHA is one of the best out there. A B vitamin deficiency in someone who is eating well and not consuming stimulants is likely to involve a fat imbalance as well.

Recommended Supplements:

 Further Reading:



Natural Hair Loss Baldness Remedies and Cures

Hair loss is caused by genetics, hormones, or poor circulation of the scalp (usually all three). Excess dandruff can cause hair loss, but this, too, is a sign of poor scalp circulation. Poor scalp circulation is a sign of overall poor blood circulation. Poor blood circulation is a sign of poor health.

Spending a few hours a day upside down while massaging the scalp would be the fastest way to promote hair growth, but it’s not very practical.

It is possible to stop hair loss and even reverse it with proper health and increasing blood flow to the scalp. The natural remedy for hair loss, first and foremost, is to restore the body to optimum health, making sure the kidneys are functioning properly, the liver is detoxified, the colon is clean and healthy, the body is not overrun by Candida, and blood circulation is not impeded by toxins.

Also, make sure you are consuming a diet high in plants like potatoes, bell peppers, sprouts, and cucumbers, all of which are high in silicon.

Nutrition Deficiencies

Make sure your diet is not deficient in iron, zinc, B vitamins, omega 3s, trace minerals, amino acids, or salt (not refined salt, but colorful mineral rich sea salt).

Natural Remedies

In addition, you can speed up the process with a few of these natural hair loss remedies:

  • Apply olive oil and/or coconut oil to the ends of your hair, brush into scalp every night before bed. And wash your hair with baking soda and rinse with apple cider vinegar every day.
  • Use hot and cold hydro therapy on the scalp to increase blood flow. Gently tap (with the back side of your brush) parts of scalp showing hair loss 50 times.
  • Lay down with the head hanging off the bed and brush hair from the scalp to the ends 100 times a day. It should be noted that brushing your hair too much without promoting good scalp health with diet and other therapies may result in more hair loss.
  • Consider using Morocco Method hair care. Use their hair detox kit, which works amazingly well. Or, skip the shampoo all together.
  • This Inexpensive Easy Detox will improve the body’s blood circulation and decrease inflammation.
  • Soak Amla Powder with water in cast iron overnight. Use this to wash your hair the following morning. Use this natural remedy three times a week.
  • Saw palmetto has been proven as effective or more effective then Rogain at stopping and reversing hair loss. Even better than just saw palmetto, check out Shillington’s Prostate Formula (other ingredients within this formula also help stimulate hair regrowth).
  • And remember that a poor diet and smoking anything can lead to hair loss. Eat more raw produce.

Onion Juice Reverses Alopecia and Gray Hair

Onion juice has been used for centuries treat thin graying hair and alopecia. Onion juice has many benefits to the hair follicles:

Onions are rich in sulphur and other compounds that are great for killing infections. Onion juice kills germs, parasites, some fungal infections; all can cause hair loss. Onions remove hydrogen peroxide buildup and reduce inflammation while providing enzymes, vitamins, minerals, and other nourishment to regenerate hair floccules.

Studies have shown that daily onion juice applied topically can reduce and reverse greying and regrow hair. You can juice or crush the onion. Apply the onion juice daily to your scalp and lightly massage or brush it in. Leave the onion Juice on the scalp for 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Start with a small amount, it’s tricky and it’s messy.

Conclusion

Baldness, or at least some hair loss, is unavoidable for some. But in most cases, hair loss is a sign of poor health and is therefore reversible. Restoring the body’s health can be a difficult lifestyle change, but the rewards are worth the effort. Hair regrowth is merely one of the benefits.

A very common cause of alopecia in men and women is hypothyroidism. If you have symptoms that could indicate a thyroid problem, check out Hypothyroidism – Prevention and Natural Remedies.

Recommended Supplements:
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Natural Remedies for Depression

You can’t watch TV these days without seeing advertisements for pharmaceutical treatments for depression. The current ads offer drugs to take in addition to the drugs you’re already taking that aren’t working. This would be funny if depression wasn’t widespread, incapacitating, and potentially fatal. It would be funnier still if these pharmaceuticals weren’t linked to an increased likelihood of suicidal or homicidal behavior. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual IV, commonly known as the DSM IV is the diagnostic manual used by mental health professional to classify mental illness. (It is currently undergoing revision and will soon be released as the DSM V).

There are several classifications for depression:  Adjustment Disorder with Depressed Mood, Dysthymic Disorder (which the DSM V seeks to reclassify as Chronic Depressive Disorder), Major Depressive Disorders, and Bipolar Disorders. The DSM V proposes the inclusion of Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder.  If you’ve been paying attention to big pharma ads, you know there is already a pill to treat Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder, before it has been officially included as a diagnosis. There is no blood test, no microscopic evidence, no litmus test to diagnose depression. Diagnosis is based on subjective reporting and objective observation. Feelings of sadness, worthlessness or inappropriate guilt, sleep disturbances, appetite disturbance, and thoughts of death or suicide are pervasive and on-going.

It is interesting to note that opposing symptoms are included. Sleep disturbance can be either insomnia or excessive sleep. Appetite can be diminished or increased. Either psychomotor agitation or retardation can be present. Grieving (which may be diagnosed as an Adjustment Disorder with Depressed Mood) may include all of the symptoms of depression, but not the duration. Clinical Depression can be episodic or on-going. And Seasonal Affective Disorder is, of course, seasonal. If depressive symptoms are not due to grief, what is the cause? Conventional medical treatment targets brain chemistry.  Once again, they are treating the symptom, not the cause.

The Foundation for any Natural Remedy for Depression

The brain is a body organ, and like everything else on the body, it’s health is dependent on gut health. As with any symptom of dysfunction or disease, health begins with proper nutrition, exercise, and detoxification. Eliminate all processed foods, refined sugar, sugar substitutes, corn syrup, artificial flavorings, colors, preservatives, MSG, hydrogenated oils, caffeine, alcohol, nicotine, drugs, and GMOs. Avoid allergens and soy. Eat a diet rich in fresh, raw, organic vegetables and fruits (more vegetables than fruit).

Related: How To Heal Your Gut

Get some vitamin D. Sunlight is the best source. But if you suffer from depression seasonally, you probably need light therapy or vitamin D supplementation as well. Also consider healthy fatty acids and B vitamins (a complex, not just one or two). Heavy metals, mold, fungi, and environmental toxins are common contributors to depression. Stop using any and all artificial fragrances, including (but is not limited to) cologne, perfume, soap, shampoo, candles, air fresheners, household cleaners, and detergents. Complete a full body detox or a Candida cleanse.

Exercise. Yes, we know it’s the last thing you want to do when you’re feeling lethargic due to depression. But studies have shown that exercise alone can be as effective as pharmaceuticals in treating depression. Which is better for you? Get good sleep. Get up in the morning and get outside into the early morning light. This is a great time for a walk. Early morning light will help set your internal clock if you suffer from insomnia. Forcing yourself out of bed is essential if you are sleeping round the clock. Now, the part that’s hard to face.

sleepEvery chronic condition is to some extent a subconscious or conscious choice. We chose our lifestyle, our diet, our partners, our commitment to health. Anyone suffering from an ongoing illness owes it to themselves to ask the hard question: “What am I getting out of this? What does being depressed do for me?” Until we face the truth and discover what being ill gives us, it is nearly impossible to make the changes required to recover.  When the illness we face is depression or anxiety, facing this truth is essential. No one beats depression unless they really want to. In today’s society, we tend to adopt a self-indulgent victim mentality. Too often we define ourselves by our losses or traumas. “I am a rape victim.” I am an incest survivor. I am a quadriplegic.” These labels and, too often, the support groups designed to help us, perpetuate the victim mentality. Psychotherapy is a wonderful tool designed to help you gain insight and develop new behaviors and thought processes. But therapy is limited by the skill of the clinician and the motivation of the client. Choose a therapist well, one who understands the mind-body connection. And do the work.

Related: Running Without Knee Pain

Exercise: The Best Natural Remedy for Depression

There are so many choices. Each option has important benefits. All exercise decreases stress hormones and increases endorphins, which are natural chemicals in the body responsible for elevating one’s mood. Exercise also releases adrenaline, serotonin, and dopamine. All of these natural chemicals are essential to proper mental health. Here we’ll list our top four choices for fighting depression naturally. And we recommend, if possible, to exercise outdoors and in nature. hiking High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is an excellent regimen. HIIT builds speed and power very quickly and is awesome for getting the body to release a lot of endorphins. It’s also a great choice for someone who is trying to find excuses for not working out, as it takes much less time than a good yoga session or a long run. Weight lifting helps increase testosterone. Low testosterone can cause depression for both men and women. Weight lifting can also show fast results in muscle tone and physical appearance, which can boost self-esteem, an issue for most anyone suffering from depression.

Yoga is an amazing exercise that rejuvenates, energizes, heals, and balances the body, mind, and spirit. Cardio is well known for its benefits, but making it a hobby for life has wonderful rewards. Bicycling, running, and swimming are a few of the easiest, least expensive, most rewarding hobbies there are (though obviously bicycling can get a bit more expensive, the more you get into it). Ever heard of a “runner’s high?” It’s an amazing feeling. It takes time to get into the kind of physical condition to reach the runner’s high, but it’s such an amazing, surreal, euphoric feeling. Words cannot do it justice.

Supplements For Depression

Herbs

Nutrition

Aromatherapy for Natural Depression Remedies

Bergamot, peppermint, sandalwood, ylang-ylang, cedarwood, geranium, sage, jasmine, and lavender are known for helping to elevate mood.

Candida and Depression

If you are depressed while you suffer from regular yeast infections or athletes foot, or have taken antibiotics recently, there is a connection. Our brains are inextricably tied to our gastrointestinal tract and our mental well being is dependent on healthy intestines. Depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety, and a host of other mental illness from autism to ADHD can be caused by an imbalance of gut microbes like fungi, and “bad” bacteria. Read more at How Candida Leads to Depression.

Conclusion

If depression is affecting you, you need a plan of action. A “to do” list can help you get started. The time for contemplation is over. It’s time to act. Now. One step at a time. Kill the candida, and take B and D vitamins, first and foremost. Stay busy, stick with that to do list, and do everything you can to get yourself outside, connected to nature, with sunlight, exercising. The rest will usually take care of itself.

Recommended Supplements:
Further Reading:


Human Revolution…GMO Right 2 Know Yes on Labeling Tour!

Our good friend, Jason Taylor of  The Source Project, is here in the US and he is traveling with Human Revolution.

Jason uses his video camera to document the truths behind our food supply. His work takes him from his home in the UK to the palm fields of Uganda and the shores of Goa. He tells the story of the farmers, the fishermen, and the real people who are being affected by corporate greed, environmental destruction and industrialized agriculture.

Human Revolution is a political rocker who is using music as a medium to spread the word about the unjust, unhealthy, and unlawful practices behind GMOs. His latest tour is titled, GMO Right 2 Know Yes on Labeling Tour!  The goal of the tour is to raise awareness and  educate people about the dangers GMO’s pose to both consumer health and to farmers and get the word out to voters in California to vote YES on labeling this November!  Human’s California tour is sponsored by Dr. Bronners Magic Soap.

We’re going to be following The Human Revolution here on OLM through Jason’s lens. Keep an eye on our blog and facebook page to see what The Human Revolution is up to and help spread the word by sharing the videos, photos, and blog posts with your friends! Let’s help Jason and Human get GMOs labeled in the state of California and throughout the world.

Click here for The Human Revolution tour schedule. 

Visit Jason Taylor’s website to see all of his work.

 

Recommended Supplements (These supplements help detoxify GMOs):

Further Reading:


Homemade Calcium and Magnesium

Bonus – How to Eat Raw Eggs Safely

For decades, the need for Calcium and Magnesium for growing and maintaining a healthy body has been well established. Absorbing these nutrients isn’t so easy. Most mineral supplements come from inorganic matter that is not bioavailable. In fact, taking a calcium or a calcium magnesium supplement will often do you more harm than good.

raw egg shelledThe fact is that most supplements on the market are toxic. It doesn’t matter how many milligrams of calcium a supplement has if it causes kidney stones. And while supplementing your diet with calcium can rid the body of many common health ailments, taking the wrong kind of calcium overtaxes the body and can actually cause arthritis and many other degenerative diseases. The only inorganic Cal-Mag formula to date that I know of that benefits the human body comes from this lemon-egg recipe. All the rest are junk.

Lemon Egg Recipe – the best organic calcium supplementation

  1. Carefully place whole, clean, uncooked, uncracked, organic eggs in a clean wide-mouth jar or glass container. How many eggs is up to you, but the lemon juice needs to cover the eggs.
  2. Cover the eggs with freshly squeezed organic lemon juice (concentrated lemon juice is pasteurized and should never be used as a substitute).
  3. Cover the jar loosely and place it in the refrigerator. A few times during the day, gently – very gently – agitate the liquid in the jar. As the Calcium from the shells is leached by the lemon juice, bubbles will appear around the eggs.
  4. Approximately 44 to 48 hours later, when the bubbling has stopped, carefully remove the eggs from the jar, being sure not to break the egg membranes. Replace the lid tightly on the jar containing the liquid and shake the mixture. You now have “Lemon Egg”. I love to drink it straight or mix 2oz in my smoothies. It can also be used for recipes calling for lemon juice as well. If there is no more than twice as much lemon juice per egg volume I take a tablespoon to two of the lemon mixture and up to six if I don’t eat enough vegetables.

One whole medium sized eggshell yields about 750 – 800 mgs of elemental calcium plus other microelements, including but not limited to magnesium, boron, copper, iron, manganese, molybdenum, sulphur, silicon, zinc,  (27 elements in total). The composition of an eggshell is very similar to that of our bones and teeth.

Calcium-magnesium is not the only homemade supplement you can make. Check out our Homemade Vitamin C article.

How to Eat Raw Eggs Safely

If you’re looking for a way to eat raw eggs safely, without the risk of salmonella, this recipe can double as egg safety protocol! The lemon juice kills the salmonella leaving you with just the egg itself (like in the picture). Great for smoothies and any other recipe that calls for raw eggs.

It should be noted, we do not recommend the consumption of factory farmed eggs under any circumstances, raw or cooked. Salmonella is not an issue in healthy eggs produced by healthy, trulycage-freee, organic chickens.

Alternatively, instead of discarding shells after cooking eggs, as long as the shells weren’t cooked (no boiled egg shells for this), you can put those in lemon juice as well (thank you AeRhee Lee at Healing Foods to Go).

egg calcium infograhic

 

Recommended Supplements:
Further Reading:


Homemade Vitamin C

Make your own vitamin C at home, and make it better than any store-bought vitamin C

Vitamin C Recipe

So you may not know that almost all of the vitamin C supplement manufacturers are making their vitamin C from genetically engineered corn. What! You exclaim. How am I supposed to get enough vitamin C into my family if I don’t buy store bought supplements? Answer: You make your own! What you are about to read is something that the giant pharmaceutical companies don’t want you to see.

Even the health food stores don’t want you to know about this secret. You can make your very own vitamin C supplement that is ten times better than anything you could buy in a store at NO EXTRA COST TO YOU!

Does it have a 1,000 mg of vitamin C per dosage? Nope. Does it have the USRDA amount per dosage? Not at all. Has it been approved by the FDA?  Absolutely not!

What homemade vitamin C does have is live enzymes that allow the vitamin C to be 100% assimilated into your body.  It has its own natural source of rutin, hesperidin, and bioflavonoids. It’s easily acquired, easy to make, and even tastes good, too. It’s just orange & lemon peels.

It’s that easy. Any organic orange or lemon peels left over from the fruit you  buy will do the trick.  Save all of your peels after you eat the inside of the fruit and cut them into thin strips. Place them on a plate on your dining room table and let them dry at room temperature for a couple of days until dry and crisp. You can also dehydrate the peels with a food dehydrator and then store them for about a year in a dry container. For consumption, one idea is to break up peels into smaller pieces and mix them with your favorite tea. This makes the tea taste great, but the downside to this approach is that heat destroys the enzymes. A better option is to place the peel strips into your coffee grinder and grind them into a powder (which won’t hurt the enzymes) and use to mix with your early morning smoothie. One rounded teaspoon will supply you with more organic vitamin C complex, rutin, hesperidin, and bioflavonoids than your body needs for the day, regardless of your size. And this homemade citrus peel powder mixed in your blender with some fresh organic apple juice tastes good too.

Check out these articles if you are looking for tips to boost your immune system, or heal from chemotherapy. Also, be sure to read up on Leaky Guts and Autoimmune Diseases.

Recommended Supplements:
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