Thursday, September 17, 2009
Sunday, September 13, 2009
IMPORTANT ARTICLE: GM seeds threaten food supply, claim researchers
By Caroline Scott-Thomas
11-Sep-2009 Link to full article below
Modern seed companies are reducing crop diversity – and this could have serious consequences for food supply as the climate heats up, researchers claimed at the World Seed Conference in Rome this week.
This is the second time in a week that researchers have raised fears about the impact of climate change on crops. According to a study published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences last week, climate change could result in severe shortages of two of America’s most important grains – corn and soy. Although yields increase with temperature up to 29C for corn and 30C for soybeans, there is a sharp decline in yield above these thresholds, they said.
Now fresh concerns have been raised that food manufacturers could find it more difficult to source ingredients in the future, as researchers from the International Institute of Environment and Development (IIED) have suggested that large-scale seed companies could squeeze out traditional plant breeding.
To read the full article: http://www.foodnavigator-usa.
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Washing without water
From The Economist print edition
Sep 3rd 2009
Link to full article below
Environment: A washing machine uses thousands of nylon beads, and just a cup of water, to provide a greener way to do the laundry
Xeros Water? Who needs it?
SYNTHETIC fibres tend to make low quality clothing. But one of the properties that makes nylon a poor choice of fabric for a shirt, namely its ability to attract and retain dirt and stains, is being exploited by a company that has developed a new laundry system. Its machine uses no more than a cup of water to wash each load of fabrics and uses much less energy than conventional devices.
The system developed by Xeros, a spin-off from the University of Leeds, in England, uses thousands of tiny nylon beads each measuring a few millimetres across. These are placed inside the smaller of two concentric drums along with the dirty laundry, a squirt of detergent and a little water. As the drums rotate, the water wets the clothes and the detergent gets to work loosening the dirt. Then the nylon beads mop it up.
To read the full article: http://www.economist.com/
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IMPORTANT ARTICLE: Even Your Metal Water Bottle May Contain BPA!
Do you use a metal water bottle because you think it’s safer than plastic? A leading manufacturer of metal water bottles has just admitted some varieties contain BPA!
by www.SixWise.com
Link to full article below
In an attempt to avoid the chemical toxin bisphenol-A (BPA) common in plastic water bottles, many consumers have made the switch to metal water bottles made from aluminum, stainless steel or another combination of metal.
If you’re new to the issue, BPA mimics the female hormone estrogen and may affect fertility and promote cancer. And just last year it came out that BPA may also lead to heart disease, diabetes and liver problems.
The chemical, which is widely used in plastic water bottles, can leach out of plastic during everyday use and even low levels have been linked to negative health effects.
To read the full article:
http://www.sixwise.com/
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Gov't Program Offers Energy Advice to Churches
A new Energy Star program will rate green churches and houses of worship, and help them cut energy costs.
By Emily Main
RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA Link to full article below
Use online tools to find ways to conserve energy at your religious facility.
As beautiful as old, historic churches can be, they're also old, drafty, and energy inefficient. It's not just churches, either. There are roughly 370,000 houses of worship in this country, encompassing buildings of all faiths, from synagogues to temples to mosques, that have unique energy requirements which collectively cost $3 billion a year on utility bills. High energy costs also take a higher toll on the environment, a increasingly important concern with the rise of self-identified ecofriendly congregations and green churches.
To read the full article: http://www.rodale.com/green-
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Time-starved working parents reach for convenience
By Caroline Scott-Thomas
09-Sep-2009 Link to full article below
Parents with poor working conditions are less likely to make healthy choices like preparing home-cooked meals and taking healthy food to work and more likely to rely on convenience options, says a pilot study.
The study, published in the latest issue of the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, examined the food choices of 50 parents on low to moderate incomes and compared those choices with their working conditions.
It found that those who had higher workloads, less control at work or lower job security tended to make less healthy food choices, and were more likely to use quick-to-prepare meals like canned, frozen or boxed entrees, to order takeaways, or to skip meals altogether.
To read the full article: http://www.foodnavigator-usa.
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Chocolate cravings: Not due to hormones, says study
By Stephen Daniells
09-Sep-2009 Link to full article below
A woman’s craving for chocolate as she approaches the menopause is not down to hormones, but more a reaction to the stress and discomfort of the menopause, suggests new research.
While food cravings are experienced by over 75 per cent of both men and women, the increased incidence in the fairer sex, particularly around the time of the menopause and particularly for chocolate, has “not been explored”, according to scientists from the University of Pennsylvania.
To read the full article:
http://www.foodnavigator-usa.
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Consumers stay loyal to organic food
By Nick Hughes
04-Sep-2009
Link to full article below
US shoppers are staying loyal to organic food even though the majority admit to having changed their cooking and eating habits because of the state of the economy.
Three in four shoppers said they continued to purchase natural and/or organic foods in the same quantities as they always have, according to the results of Whole Foods Market’s annual Food Shopping Trends Tracker survey, carried out by Harris Interactive.
Although 76 percent of consumers are unwilling to compromise on the quality of the food they buy regardless of price, nearly two thirds (65 percent) said they would like to be able to buy organic and natural foods within their budgets.
To read the full article: http://www.foodnavigator-usa.
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Wednesday, September 9, 2009
WHY ALL SHOULD EAT ONLY RAW FOODS ALWAYS
Please visit his site...It is EXCELLENT: www.healself.org
DIET-WE SHOULD ALWAYS EAT A CONSTRUCTIVE & BENEFICIAL UNPROCESSED, RAW FOOD DIET TO HELP PREVENT OUR EVER BECOMING SICK & TO HELP HEAL OURSELVES FROM ANY DISEASE
WHY ALL SHOULD EAT ONLY RAW FOODS ALWAYS
Our inherent intelligence, our God within, is always talking to us. If we "feelingly meditate" and pay attention to our inherent intelligence, we will always know homeostatically, the best foods to eat, when and how much to eat. If we depend on our "civilized" ideas of how to eat, we will become sick. We should eat as constructive and beneficial a diet as is possible. We should eat only natural foods, that we would eat in the wild. We should eat only fresh, natural, unprocessed, raw foods that are palatable to us and that agree with us, with all the essential minerals and essential nutrients. Every bit of agricultural exploitative commercialization and soil depletion, bioengineering, experimental breeding, processing, cooking, hybridizing, mutation and pollution, destroys vitamins, enzymes, minerals, nucleic acids, chlorophyl, damages fats and makes the fatty matter a local irritant. This agricultural exploitative commercialization and soil depletion, bioengineering, experimental breeding, processing, cooking, hybridizing, mutation and pollution, excessively stresses every cell of our bodies, results in our impaired nutrition and results in our impaired health.
WHAT IS COOKED FOOD NUTRITION?
What is nutrition? Nutrition means all the processes and functions that are necessary for the assimilation of our foods we eat. Nutrition is the physiological process our inherent intelligence conducts, as our inherent intelligence transforms foods we eat, into material for our bodies own growth and maintenance. Nutrition means that every part of the human body, renews and repairs itself, by its own intrinsic power to absorb nutritive material from the surrounding medium and assimilate, organize, and transform it into material identical with its own, and endow it with vital properties, if it is supplied with appropriate food. Nutritional deficiencies create imbalances in our bodies chemistry.
WHAT IS COOKED FOOD DETOXIFICATION?
Detoxification is the final expulsion of waste materials through the various excretory organs. Detoxification takes place in the human body continually from birth throughout life. Detoxification stops at time of death of the human body.
COOKING FOODS DESTROYS ENZYMES, IS ENERVATING & SHORTENS LIFESPAN
Please read this entire article as it is excellent: http://healself.org/Diet.html
Web Site: http://www.healself.org E-mail: drbernarr@aol.com
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Pineapple - Benefits
Pineapple is one of those foods that is heaven to eat. A good, juicy ripe pineapple can satisfy a sweet craving as well as any chocolate bar. In addition to being a delicious food, there are many health benefits of pineapple.
| Pineapple is Loaded with Vitamins and Minerals |
Pineapple Strengthens Bones
One of the benefits of pineapple is that it helps to build healthy bones. Pineapples are rich in manganese, a trace mineral that is needed for your body to build bone and connective tissues. Just one cup of pineapple provides 73% of the daily recommended amount of manganese. The benefits of pineapple can effect the growth of bones in young people and the strengthening of bones in older people.
Pineapple is Good for Colds and Coughs
While many people often take extra vitamin C or drink extra orange juice when they have a cold, few consider eating pineapple. The benefits of pineapple when you have a cold or cough are the same as the benefits of orange juice, but there is an additional benefit of pineapple. Bromelain, which is found in pineapples, has been found to help suppress coughs and loosen mucus.
Rooibos - Some of the benefits
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Blueberries - mmmmmm
A Canadian study has found that enhanced blueberry juice helped manage, and even prevent, obesity and diabetes in mice - a finding researchers are hoping will lead to similar results in humans.
Researchers at the University of Montreal said they've discovered that blueberry juice transformed by a bacteria found on the skin of the fruit halted the progression of the two conditions in mice.
Pierre Haddad, a pharmacology professor at the university, said the bacteria quadrupled the amount of antioxidants in the juice - boosting what is already thought to be helpful in protecting the body against certain harmful molecules.
The researchers found the juice reduced blood sugar levels in the rodents, which is critical to the onset of both conditions.
"This has great potential," Haddad said Tuesday in Montreal. "Our discovery is major because it opens the door to a lot of possibilities for helping people with obesity and diabetes."
The group of mice was predisposed to Type 2 diabetes, a chronic condition of the pancreas that can lead to cardiovascular problems, blindness and kidney complications. It is linked to diet and can be brought on by obesity.
The researchers suspect that the fermented juice reduced the mice's caloric intake and sugar levels, helping to stop the onset of the two conditions that have become epidemic in North America.
Haddad said sugar levels in the group dropped by one-third after the mice were given the enhanced juice, made from low-bush blueberries that are grown in various parts of Canada.
About 60 per cent of the mice in the test group had normal blood sugar levels after consuming the juice, with the remaining 40 per cent registering levels indicative of diabetes.
"Consumption of fermented blueberry juice gradually and significantly reduced high blood sugar glucose levels in diabetic mice," said Tri Vuong, the study's lead author.
"After three days, our mice subjects reduced their glycemia levels by 35 per cent."
If shown to be safe for humans, it could provide an important natural tool in controlling weight and managing blood sugar levels in people who have had Type 2 diabetes for years.
Haddad said it's not yet clear why the juice prevented diabetes or helped control blood sugar levels in mice with diabetes, adding that they haven't drawn a definitive link to the juice's increased antioxidants.
He said they will do further research to see if there are any harmful effects and, if not, try to begin testing on people.
Haddad, who also works with the Aboriginal Anti-Diabetic Medicines group in Montreal, said the findings could help slow the spread of conditions that have reached epidemic rates in North America, particularly among native populations.
"The rates of diabetes have just exploded there from less than five per cent to almost one in five people in the north of Quebec," he said.
Haddad said researchers are also looking at the juice's effects on certain types of cancer and neurological conditions.
