Natural Reflux Remedy Without That Pesky Purple Pill

Natural Reflux Remedy Without That Pesky Purple Pill

HEALTHY LIVING, NATURAL REMEDIES

by Sarah TheHealthyHomeEconomist December 30, 2013

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Acid reflux or gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is at epidemic levels today. Not only do many adults suffer from it, but children and even infants frequently do as well in ever increasing numbers.

According to the Society of Thoracic Surgeons:

The term gastroesophageal reflux describes the movement (or reflux) of stomach contents back up into the esophagus, the muscular tube that extends from the neck to the abdomen and connects the back of the throat to the stomach. Because the stomach manufactures acid as an aid to digestion, this phenomenon is often referred to as acid reflux. Most people experience acid reflux from time to time as heartburn, a burning sensation below the breast bone that occurs after eating or at night. When the frequency of acid reflux is much greater than normal, or complications develop as a result of acid reflux, the condition is known as gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD.

Now that we know what reflux or GERD actually is, let’s examine what causes this chronic and sometimes debilitating condition and how to resolve it without dependence on drugs.

Contrary to conventional thought, it is not too much stomach acid that is causing the discomfort.  In fact, according to Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride MD, the nexus of the problem is too little stomach acid which causes the food that is consumed to sit and putrefy in the stomach instead of being immediately and properly broken down by hydrochloric acid produced by the digestive glands.

This putrification process generates a secondary acidic environment. This is the acid that people experience as reflux, but the truth of the matter is that if the stomach produced adequate acid to begin with to digest food properly, acid reflux would never occur in the first place!

The uncomfortable result of this secondary acid in the stomach is that the Lower Esophageal Sphincter (LES) gets paralyzed, allowing both acid and partially digested food to flow back up into the esophagus. Hence the acid in the back of the throat and the related discomfort.

While the putrefication of the food in the stomach from a lack of hydrochloric acid itself generates an acidic environment, it’s not the kind we need for digesting food optimally in order for us to be nourished by it. Toxins are generated and the surrounding tissue is affected and ultimately damaged – especially the sphincter which opens and closes to allow passage of food from the esophagus to the stomach.

Of course this cannot be a good thing on a long-term basis and it’s only natural that complications would develop over time, the worst being esophageal cancer.

Besides the typical burning in the throat sensation, acid reflux sufferers also typically experience slow digestion which makes metabolism very inefficient.  A healthy digestive system uses about 30% of the body’s energy on a daily basis.  As a result, any major reduction in its capacity will tire you out quickly.

Sleepy after meals anyone?

So what’s to be done? According to lectures by Dr. Campbell-McBride, it is actually ridiculously simple.

Help the stomach produce more natural acid to prevent the problematic, secondary acid from occurring!

Whatever you do, don’t suppress the stomach’s efforts by shutting down what little beneficial acid it is producing with TUMS, a purple pill, or any other medication – over the counter or otherwise.

Reflux medications are a monster cash cow for the drug companies, but it’s at the expense of the long-term health of the consumer, even if there is some short-term relief because there is less secondary, putrified acid to be refluxed up the esophagus. The toxins are still being produced and the damage is still being done to your sphincter.

Reflux Remedy: Cabbage to Encourage Normal Stomach Function

Your natural production of stomach acid can be stimulated and enhanced easily, safely and cost-effectively with cabbage.

Yes – cabbage!

Cabbage is a reflux remedy as it naturally stimulates the production of hydrochloric acid (HCL) to permit digestion to proceed normally without a secondary wave of acid from paralyzing the sphincter and causing putrifying stomach contents to erupt back into the throat.

You can juice it and drink some before eating or make yourself some good old coleslaw (you know, the kind grandma used to make – or at least someone in your ancestry if you go back far enough). Or, here it comes, just eat some traditionally fermented sauerkraut. Not the canned or jarred stuff on the shelf at the supermarket.

It’s as simple as that. Sauerkraut, especially, is treasured traditional tucker in various parts of Europe. And now I understand why.

So, in order to have a comfortable digestive experience all day long, start in the morning by eating a quarter cup or so of sauerkraut five minutes before your meal. Dr. Natasha’s orders! Just be sure that first meal is a good one, such as eggs fried in butter with some cooked veggies on the side and maybe a little homemade broth for good measure.

If you’re eating processed cereals with skim milk, pop-tarts or doughnuts for breakfast, forget about the cabbage as nothing will help. Just take your purple pills.

Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist

- See more at: http://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/natural-reflux-remedy/#sthash.T9bA3YNy.dpuf

Dilgo Khyenste Rinpoche home video.

http://chronicleproject.com/stories_444.html

Fermenting Foods—One of the Easiest and Most Creative Aspects of Making Food from Scratch

Fermenting Foods—One of the Easiest and Most Creative Aspects of Making Food from Scratch

December 29, 2013 | 130,760 views

Download Interview Transcript

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By Dr. Mercola

Ninety percent of the genetic material in your body is not yours but belongs to the bacteria that outnumber your cells 10 to 1.  These bacteria have enormous influence on your digestion, detoxification and immune system.

Sandor Katz is a self-described “fermentation revivalist,” and has published two books on this topic, along with a third on the underground food movement. He’s a native of New York and a graduate of Brown University. Sandor currently lives in Tennessee, where he pursues his interest by presenting workshops around the world on fermentation.

Fermented food is something I too have become quite passionate about, and I firmly believe it’s an absolutely essential factor if you want to optimize your health and prevent disease. The culturing process produces beneficial microbes that are extremely important for human health as they help balance your intestinal flora, thereby boosting overall immunity.

Moreover, your gut literally serves as your second brain, and even produces more of the neurotransmitter serotonin—known to have a beneficial influence on your mood—than your brain does, so maintaining a healthy gut will benefit your mind as well as your body.

Fermented foods are also some of the best chelators and detox agents available, meaning they can help rid your body of a wide variety of toxins, including heavy metals.

“It wasn’t until I was in my 20s... that I first began to learn about and observe some of the digestive benefits of eating live culture fermented foods,” Sandor says.

“It was another decade after that when I left New York City, moved to rural Tennessee, and got involved in keeping a garden that I first had a reason to investigate the practice of fermentation. All of the cabbages were ready at the same time, and I thought I should learn how to make sauerkraut. I did a little bit of research in cookbooks and started making sauerkraut. Thus began my investigations into fermentation about 18 years ago.”

Starter Cultures versus Wild Ferment

When fermenting vegetables, you can either use a starter culture, or simply allow the natural enzymes in the vegetables do all the work. This is called “wild fermentation.” Personally, I prefer a starter culture as it provides a larger number of different species and the culture can be optimized with species that produce high levels of vitamin K2, which research is finding is likely every bit as important as vitamin D.

For this past year, we’ve been making two to three gallons of fermented vegetables every week in our Chicago office for the staff, which they can enjoy with the lunch we provide as an employee benefit.

We use a starter culture of the same probiotic strains that we sell as a supplement, which has been researched by our team to produce about 10 times the amount of vitamin K2 as any other starter culture... When we had the vegetables tested, we found that in a four- to six-ounce serving there were literally 10 trillion beneficial bacteria, or about 100 times the amount of bacteria in a bottle of high potency probiotics.

There are about 100 trillion bacteria in your gut, so a single serving can literally “reseed” 10 percent of the bacterial population of the average person’s gut! To me that’s extraordinary, and a profoundly powerful reason to consider adding fermented vegetables as a staple to your diet.

You don’t have to use a starter culture however. Wild fermentation is fermentation based on microorganisms that are naturally present in the food you’re fermenting. It’s just as simple as using a starter culture, but it will take a little longer for it to ferment.

“It’s very predictable when you salt and submerge vegetables [in their natural juices or brine]. The bacteria that will initiate at fermentation are always Leuconostoc mesenteroides. Then it’s a successive process whereby, as the pH changes and as the environment changes, different strains of bacteria come into dominance...” Sandor explains.

“Typically, in a mature sauerkraut, the late-stage bacterium that’s dominant is Lactobacillus plantarum. It’s a very predictable succession, what happens with raw vegetables, [but] the specific strains will always be somewhat different depending on the vegetables you’re using and the environment that you’re doing it in.”

To Salt or Not to Salt?

Whether or not to use salt also largely comes down to personal preference. While it’s not a necessity, Sandor does provide some compelling reasons for adding a small amount of natural, unprocessed salt—such as Himalayan salt—to your vegetables. For example, salt:

• Strengthens the ferment’s ability to eliminate any potential pathogenic bacteria present
• Adds to the flavor
• Acts as a natural preservative, which may be necessary if you’re making large batches that need to last for a larger portion of the year
• Slows the enzymatic digestion of the vegetables, leaving them crunchier
• Inhibits surface molds

Again, natural unrefined salts are ideal as they contain a broad spectrum of minerals, and the fermentation process makes the minerals more bioavailable—a win-win situation!

“Just now, I’m getting near the bottom of a 55-gallon barrel of sauerkraut that I made last November mostly out of radishes. That would not be possible without the addition of salt,” Sandor says.  “You can make sauerkraut, and then you can ferment for several weeks in a cool environment. Maybe you could get to several months. But what would happen eventually to a salt-free kraut is that enzymes in the vegetable would basically digest the fiber of the vegetables. It would just turn into a mush, which is not at all appealing to me.” 

What Type of Container Should You Use?

There’s no need to over-think or spend large amounts of money on containers. The material they’re made of is important however. You do NOT want to use plastic or metal. Plastics are loaded with chemicals you don’t want leaching into your food, such as bisphenol-A (BPA) and phthlalates. Metal is also inadvisable as salts can corrode the metal. Even if you don’t add salt, most vegetables have some natural salts in them. Good options include:

• Glass jars (wide-mouthed Mason jars are ideal, so that you can get your whole hand in there to press down the vegetables)
• Ceramic crocks
• Wooden barrels

I completely agree with Sandor’s sound general advice here:

“My main message that I would encourage your viewers and listeners to remember is you don’t need to buy anything special. You need a head of cabbage or a couple of pounds of vegetables, and beyond that everything you need is already in your kitchen. Whatever tools or devices you typically use to chop or shred vegetables, you can use that. Add some salt, mix it around, squeeze it with your hands for a couple of minutes, and stuff it into a jar.

Beyond that, you could use any kind of shredding device you like: a mandoline, a food processor, a continuous feed food processor, or a specialized cabbage-chopping device. You could buy beautiful elegantly designed crocks. But you have everything that you need to get started in your kitchen. Don’t let the beautiful crock that you don’t have yet be the reason why you don’t start doing this.

I think it’s really important to recognize that you don’t need anything special to start a fermentation practice. You might decide you want to play with starter cultures, but you don’t need starter cultures to get started. You might decide that you want to invest in a crock, but you don’t need a crock to get started.

If you take two pounds of vegetables, you can stuff a quart-sized jar with those. Just chop them up. Shred them. They can be extremely fine, or they can be coarse and chunky. It doesn’t matter. Lightly salt them to taste or else weigh them and measure out 1.5 percent salt. I prefer to salt them lightly to taste.”

Two Helpful Tips...

As Sandor explains, an important step in the process is to squeeze the vegetables before packing them into the jar. You don’t need any fancy tools for this; just use your hands. “Bruising” the vegetables in this way allows the cell walls to break down and release their juices. Capture the juice in the jar you’re going to ferment your vegetables in. Then stuff as many veggies into the jar that will fit. You want to stuff them in as tightly as possible, forcing out any air pockets that might ruin the batch. The brine should cover the vegetables.

Sandor then simply covers the jar with the lid and leaves it on the kitchen counter. A helpful tip I learned from Caroline Barringer is to top off the jar with a cabbage leaf, tucking it down the sides. Again, make sure the veggies are completely covered with the natural brine you squeezed out of the vegetables (or add a small amount of celery juice), and that the juice is all the way to the top of the jar to eliminate trapped air.

To speed up the fermentation, store the jars in a warm, slightly moist place for 24 to 96 hours, depending on the food being cultured. Ideal temperature range is 68-75 degrees Fahrenheit; 85 degrees max. You don’t want it too hot, as heat will kill the beneficial microbes. Don’t tuck them away in a dark closet and forget about them, though! As Sandor explains:

“The reason why you don’t want to just put it in the closet and forget about it is that it’s going to produce pressures, especially in the first couple of days. You want to relieve that pressure by opening the jar for a second. In that way, you don’t get a huge accumulation of pressure and risk the possibility of the jar exploding – or what’s more likely to happen, if you’re using a canning jar, where the glass is thick and the lid is thin, it will just contort the top. But it’s best to consciously release the pressure.”

The second tip is to smell and taste your ferment regularly. There’s really no objective moment when the fermentation is ready, so go ahead and taste it at frequent intervals, starting after about 48 hours. Then keep on tasting it every few days or a couple of times a week as it matures. It typically takes about a week for the optimal amount of fermentation to occur. Resist the temptation to eat out of the jar, however, as this can introduce undesirable organisms from your mouth into the jar. Instead, always use a clean spoon to take out what you're going to eat, then, making sure the remaining veggies are covered with the brine solution, recap the jar.

When the flavor is to your personal liking, transfer the jars into the refrigerator to dramatically slow the progression of the fermentation. Keep in mind, the vegetables will tend to get increasingly sour as time goes on, but according to Sandor, you could let the vegetables ferment for weeks and even months without worrying about them spoiling—after all, that’s what the fermentation process does: It preserves food without refrigeration.

Some additional info on how to ferment vegetables can be found here.

On Allowing Your Creative Juices to Flow

There is no food that cannot be fermented. As Katz states in a recent NPR article1, bread, coffee, pickles, beer, cheese, yogurt and soy sauce are all examples of foods that have been fermented at some point during their production process. That said, not every vegetable will produce equally delicious results, and not every food is as easily fermented as vegetables, but your imagination is really the only limit when it comes to what you can concoct.

“If you ferment summer squash, which are very watery, they will tend to get soft and mushy much faster than any other kind of vegetable would,” Sandor says. .. You can certainly ferment kale and other dark green vegetables, but the high levels of chlorophyll in these vegetables produce a really strong flavor in fermentation. I prefer to use dark green vegetables as a minor ingredient rather than as the primary ingredient. Then I feel like that strong flavor can become a nice accent.

But if it’s pure dark green vegetables, that flavor’s a little bit too strong for me, although I have heard from other people who really, really love it. In a way you can only learn what you like by experimenting.

My biggest batch every year has been from radishes. I have a farmer friend who uses daikon radishes as a cover crop over acres and acres of his land. He invites me to pick a truckload full of daikon radishes. And I augment that with some cabbages, some chili peppers and garlic, and make a 55-gallon barrel full every year... Then you can also ferment whole vegetables. The difference with whole vegetables is that you can’t pull the water out of them, so you need to mix up a brine – salty water – and ferment them in the salty water.

... I met a woman whose grandmother was from a town in Poland, where they used mashed potatoes in their sauerkraut. And I love making mashed potatoes sauerkrauts. What I do is I steam potatoes, I mash them up, cool them to body temperature, and then I layer the mash potatoes in with my salted cabbage. That makes a beautiful sauerkraut. You can really be experimental and go wild. You can add things other than vegetables.

... In German tradition, juniper berries are often used. I’ve been tasting wildly experimental krauts with curry seasonings and things like that. Really, the only limitation is our imagination, once we understand the underlying principles of getting the vegetables submerged.”

A Word of Caution Regarding Meat Fermentation

As just mentioned, while virtually any food can be fermented, and the fermentation process automatically renders the food exceptionally safe since the probiotics produced kill any pathogens present, a disclaimer regarding fermenting meats is worth taking note of.

“Fermenting vegetables is an intrinsically safe practice. In the United States, according to the USDA, there’s never been a single case of food poisoning reported from fermented vegetables. There is no danger. The food itself is a strategy for protection. Fermented vegetables are safer than raw vegetables,” Sandor says. “With meat, I can’t say this. The word “botulism,” which is the most feared food poisoning form of all, comes from the Latin word “botulist” or sausage. Until the advent of canning, which was in the 19th century, it was from fermented sausages that people knew about the rare food poisoning disease of botulism.

There’s a little bit more of a learning curve. Another limitation with fermentation of meat for preservation process is the acids, which are what enable certain fermented foods to preserve so well. Acids are produced from carbohydrates, and meat fundamentally lacks carbohydrates. There’s a tiny bit of glycogen, but not enough to support a significant fermentation and formation of lactic acid. Typically, when salami is produced, the meat and the fat are minced or ground. And then they’re mixed with a tiny bit of sugar. The sugar is really what is fermented by the lactic acid bacteria and creates the acidic environment that is able to preserve the meat.

It’s not through acidification alone that the meat is preserved. It’s a combination of acidification, drying (the meat is partially dried), and salting (the meat is always salted). Any one of these mediums could preserve the meat, either making it very, very dry as in something like jerky, making it very, very salty as in a food like prosciutto, or very highly acidic.”

More Information

To learn more, pick up one of Sandor’s books, The Art of Fermentation: An In-Depth Exploration of Essential Concepts and Processes from Around the World, or Wild Fermentation: The Flavor, Nutrition, and Craft of Live-Culture Foods.

You can also find more information on his website at WildFermentation.com.

Gas Stoves Found to be More Dangerous Than We Thought

Gas Stoves Found to be More Dangerous Than We Thought

Posted by Mary West

Both amateur and professional cooks alike love cooking with natural gas. But although these stoves provide cooking flexibility, they emit chemicals that are harming your health.

A new study published in Environmental Health Perspectives finds gas stoves give off unhealthy levels of noxious combustible by-products. After collecting data on homes in Southern California, researchers estimated the levels of carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and formaldehyde the average home cook using a natural gas range is exposed to daily.

Emissions of CO and formaldehyde were generally low, but emissions of NO2 surpassed the acceptable limits for outdoor air established by the Environmental Protection Agency. This means cooks are being exposed to an even greater concentration, since indoor home cooking is done in an enclosed setting.
No public health organization sets limits for indoor air quality.

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Health Hazards of Natural Gas

These odorless and colorless emissions can cause inflammation of the lungs, narrowing the breathing passages and complicating existing lung conditions. The pollutants can exacerbate allergies, and regular exposure can lead to asthma, wheezing and chronic cough along with bronchitis and respiratory infections.

In 1996, The Lancet reported that the use of gas stoves was linked to impaired lung function, particularly in young women. Moreover, women who used gas stoves experienced twice the amount of respiratory problems of women who used electric stoves.

Dr. Gopal Allada, pulmonologist at Oregon Health and Science University tells KATU News that long-term exposure can worsen diseases like pneumonia and emphysema. The emissions can even aggravate heart disease, he adds.

Those who are chemically sensitive are especially vulnerable to the emissions. Natural gas can worsen chemical sensitivity, leading to intolerance and more adverse reactions to the gas itself as well as to other chemicals in the environment. A study shows that when gas stoves were removed from the homes of people afflicted with this malady, their health and the health of their family members improved.

Also read

- 2 Life-Changing Supernutrients You Should Be Taking

- DIY Home-Air Cleansing: 6 House Plants That Improve Air Quality According to NASA

- There are 12 Hormone-Altering Chemicals You Must Avoid

Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

When you own a gas stove, the possibility for CO poisoning is always present. Tragically, this event claims the lives of 500 Americans each year. Initial symptoms include breathlessness and headache. Continued exposure can lead to extreme fatigue, dizziness and nausea in addition to confusion and incoordination. Prolonged exposure can cause fainting and death. Be sure you have a CO detector in the kitchen.

9 Ways To Minimize Your Risk

1. Always turn on the fan when you cook and keep it on the highest setting.

2. Cook on your back burners because you are cooking directly under your range hood.

3. If your fan vents back into the house rather than to the outside, open a window.

4. Cook with a blue gas flame. If you see an orange flame, it means you need to have your stove adjusted properly.

5. Have a qualified contractor inspect your gas range and keep it maintained.

6. For those renovating their homes, a conduction cooktop is an improvement. It uses magnetic energy so you will not have noxious combustion by-products. However, you will still have some pollution from heating food and cooking oil, as in all types of stoves.

7. Do not use your gas range to heat your home.

8. Do not line the inside bottom of the oven with aluminum foil.

9. Make sure your gas appliance is design certified and installed to code.

Sources:

http://www.rodalenews.com/cooking-gas

http://www.katu.com/news/problemsolver/Are-you-cooking-up-a-health-hazard-in-the-kitchen–232788761.html

http://www.environmentalhealth.ca/summer01gas.html

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/02/health-risks-of-cooking-with-gas/

http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/1206429/

Mary West is a natural health enthusiast, as she believes this area can profoundly enhance wellness. She is the creator of a natural healing website where she focuses on solutions to health problems that work without side effects. You can visit her site and learn more at http://www.alternativemedicinetruth.com. Ms. West is also the author of Fight Cancer Through Powerful Natural Strategies.

Beyond Food As Medicine - Exclusive Video - Watch Now!

Beyond Food As Medicine - Exclusive Video - Watch Now!Beyond Food As Medicine - Exclusive Video - Watch Now!

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Diet and Exercise May Impact Your Kidney Stone Risk

Diet and Exercise May Impact Your Kidney Stone Risk

December 27, 2013 | 17,277 views

By Dr. Mercola

Kidney stones will impact one in 10 people at some point during their lives, and this incidence is steadily increasing.

Each year, more than half a million people go to emergency rooms due to kidney stones,1 as, even though they most often pass without damage, they can quickly cause extreme pain.

What is becoming increasingly clear is that kidney stones are closely linked to lifestyle choices.

In fact, while only about 25 percent of kidney stones occur in those with a family history of them, making genetics only a small contributing factor, other lifestyle-associated conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes, and obesity are known to raise your risk.

New research has also strengthened this connection, showing that your diet and exercise habits can significantly influence your kidney stone risk.

Exercise, Avoiding Overeating May Lower Your Risk of Kidney Stones

In a study involving more than 84,000 postmenopausal women, it was found that those who exercised had up to a 31 percent lower risk of kidney stones.2 The link persisted even with only small amounts of physical activity.

Specifically, the research showed a lower risk from three hours a week of walking, four hours of light gardening or just one hour of moderate jogging. Diet-wise, women who ate more than 2,200 calories per day increased their risk of kidney stones by up to 42 percent, while obesity also raised the risk.

It should be noted that even though obesity increases kidney stone risk, weight loss surgery that alters your digestive tract actually makes them more common as well. After weight loss surgery, levels of oxalate are typically much higher (oxalate is the most common type of kidney stone crystal).

What Are Kidney Stones?

Kidney stones form when minerals in your urine crystallize, forming a "stone." Typically, compounds in your urine inhibit these crystals from forming. Some people form stones when their urine contains more crystal-forming substances, such as calcium and uric acid, than the available fluid can dilute. This can happen when your urine is highly acid or highly alkaline.

The conditions allowing kidney stones to form are created by problems in the way your body absorbs and eliminates calcium and other substances.

Sometimes, the underlying cause is a metabolic disorder or kidney disease, although certain drugs, such as Lasix (furosemide), Topomax (topiramate), and Xenical, can also promote kidney stones. Many times, it is a combination of factors that creates an environment favorable to stone formation.

According to the National Kidney Foundation:3

"A kidney stone is a hard object that is made from chemicals in the urine. Urine has various wastes dissolved in it. When there is too much waste in too little liquid, crystals begin to form. The crystals attract other elements and join together to form a solid that will get larger unless it is passed out of the body with the urine.

Usually, these chemicals are eliminated in the urine by the body's master chemist: the kidney. In most people, having enough liquid washes them out or other chemicals in urine stop a stone from forming. The stone-forming chemicals are calcium, oxalate, urate, cystine, xanthine, and phosphate."

What Are the Signs of Kidney Stones… and Should You Seek Medical Help?

If your kidney stone is very small, it may pass out of your body without your noticing. But if the stone is large enough to cause irritation or blockage in your urinary tract, it will generally cause severe pain. Severe pain around your lower back is usually one of the primary signs of a kidney stone, but other symptoms also include:

• Persistent abdominal or side pain
• Blood in your urine
• Nausea or vomiting
• Fever and chills
• Foul-smelling or cloudy urine

If you suspect you have a kidney stone, you should seek medical help – even though treatment may not be required. Kidney stones can range in size from a grain of sand to larger than a golf ball, and if a stone fails to pass, permanent damage to your urinary tract can result.

So this is not something to ignore – not that you could easily ignore such a painful episode – but in most cases the best solution is letting the stone pass on its own. This might take days or even weeks in some cases, but the key is to drink enough pure water – NOT soda or fruit juice – to decrease the concentration of solids in your urine to the point that the stone will be dissolved.

Most kidney stones will pass on their own without medical intervention, but in some cases, such as if a stone blocks the flow of urine, damages kidney tissues, or is simply too large to pass on its own, you may need more aggressive treatment.

There are several medical procedures and surgical techniques that can be used to treat kidney stones, but the risks are high enough that physicians typically shy away from them, unless there's no other choice. Fortunately, there are now some more advanced options other than surgery, such as extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy. This treatment entails being submerged in a tub of water where sound waves traveling through the liquid shatter the stones. They then pass as gravel through your urine in a few days or weeks.

You Can Drastically Lower Your Risk of This Painful Condition

Once you have had one kidney stone attack, your chance of recurrence is high, perhaps more than 50 percent. So, as with most health conditions, prevention is the best route of attack for kidney stones. Fortunately, there's much you can do toward this end, as many of the primary causes are linked to lifestyle choices. As The National Kidney Foundation reported:4

"Possible causes include drinking too little water, exercise (too much or too little), obesity, weight loss surgery, or eating food with too much salt or sugar. Infections and family history might be important in some people. These are the usual causes in most people."

5 Lifestyle Strategies to Reduce Your Kidney Stone Risk

Kidney stones can be excruciatingly painful and they also increase your risk of developing chronic kidney disease. The good news is that there's plenty you can do to reduce your risk…

1. Drink Plenty of Water
2. The number one risk factor for kidney stones is not drinking enough water. If you aren't drinking enough, your urine will have higher concentrations of substances that can form stones. The National Kidney Foundation recommends drinking more than 12 glasses of water a day, but a simpler way to know if you are drinking enough water is to check the color of your urine; you want your urine to be a very light, pale yellow.
   Every person's water requirement is different, depending on your particular system and activity level, but simply keeping your urine light yellow will go a long way toward preventing kidney stones. Remember to increase your water intake whenever you increase your activity and when you're in a warmer climate.
   If you happen to be taking any multivitamins or B supplements that contain vitamin B2 (riboflavin), the color of your urine will be a very bright, nearly fluorescent yellow and this will not allow you to use the color of your urine as a guide to how well you are hydrated.
3. Make Sure You Get Adequate Magnesium
4. Magnesium is responsible for more than 300 biochemical reactions in your body, and deficiency of this mineral has been linked to kidney stones. It also plays an important role in your body's absorption and assimilation of calcium, as if you consume too much calcium without adequate magnesium, the excess calcium can actually become toxic and contribute to health conditions like kidney stones.
   Magnesium helps prevent calcium from combining with oxalate, which is the most common type of kidney stone.
   Green leafy vegetables like spinach and Swiss chard are excellent sources of magnesium, and one of the simplest ways to make sure you're consuming enough of these is by juicing your vegetables. Vegetable juice is an excellent source of magnesium, as are some beans, nuts like almonds, and seeds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, and sesame seeds. Avocadoes are also a good source. These foods are also high in potassium, which will normalize your sodium/potassium ratio and also help.
5. Avoid Sugar, Including Fructose and Soda
6. A diet high in sugar can set you up for kidney stones, since sugar upsets the mineral relationships in your body by interfering with calcium and magnesium absorption. The consumption of unhealthy sugars and soda by children is a large factor in why children as young as age 5 or 6 are now developing kidney stones.
   One South African study5 found that drinking soda exacerbates conditions in your urine that lead to formation of calcium oxalate kidney stone problems. Sugar can also increase kidney size and produce pathological changes in your kidney, such as the formation of kidney stones. According to The National Kidney Foundation, you should pay particular attention to keeping your fructose levels under control:6
   "Eating too much fructose correlates with increasing risk of developing a kidney stone. Fructose can be found in table sugar and high fructose corn syrup. In some individuals, fructose can be metabolized into oxalate."
   
7. Exercise
8. You're more prone to kidney stones if you're bedridden or very sedentary for a long period of time, partly because limited activity can cause your bones to release more calcium. Exercise will also help you to resolve high blood pressure, a condition that doubles your risk for kidney stones. As the featured study found, even low amounts of exercise may be beneficial to reducing your risk.
   You can find my comprehensive exercise recommendations, including how to perform highly recommended high-intensity interval training (HIIT), here.
9. Eat Calcium-Rich Foods (But Be Careful with Supplements)
10. In the past, kidney stone sufferers have been warned to avoid foods high in calcium, as calcium is a major component of the majority of kidney stones. However, there is now evidence that avoiding calcium may do more harm than good. The Harvard School of Public Health conducted a study of more than 45,000 men,7 and the men who had diets rich in calcium had a one-third lower risk of kidney stones than those with lower calcium diets.
    It turns out that a diet rich in calcium actually blocks a chemical action that causes the formation of the stones. It binds with oxalates (from foods) in your intestine, which then prevents both from being absorbed into your blood and later transferred to your kidneys. But be careful to avoid calcium supplements; it is best to get your calcium from calcium-rich foods.
    So, urinary oxalates may be more important to formation of calcium-oxalate kidney stone crystals than is urinary calcium. It is important to note that it is the calcium from foods that is beneficial – not calcium supplements, which have actually been found to increase your risk of kidney stones by 20 percent.8 Check out my nutrition plan for a simple, step-by-step guide for what types of foods to eat to reduce your risk of kidney stones and other chronic and acute health conditions.

There is No Such Thing as a Safe Vaccine and there Never Will Be

There is No Such Thing as a Safe Vaccine and there Never Will BeThere is No Such Thing as a Safe Vaccine and there Never Will Be

by Paul Fassa

December 22nd, 2013

Updated 12/22/2013 at 3:20 am

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Making vaccines safe by removing their toxins (greening), or telling people they have a right to look at vaccine ingredients before deciding whether to vaccinate or not may be the politically correct form of vaccination resistance. It does help avoid some of the wrath from vaccination high priests. However, the very nature of our immune systems and what vaccinations do to artificially stimulate immunity makes safe vaccinating an oxymoron.

The Fallacy and Dangers of Artificial Immune Stimulation

Bypassing our normal immune system pathway and inserting an artificial immune response stimulant (vaccination) with or without added toxins has inherent dangers. Few articulate this better than Dr. Suzanne Humprhies.

“The doctor was never taught in medical school how to take care of an immune system, so what you end up with is a whole society, from start to finish, that doesn’t know how an immune system works, that doesn’t know how to take care of it, does not know how to replenish the nutrients and minerals that are needed, when it fails, it’s God’s fault. We need a vaccine. They think Mother Nature is flawed.”

Dr. Humphries explains further that the only thing a vaccine accomplishes as an immune response is the appearance of an antibody, and an antibody is only one small aspect of all the human immunity factors. Injecting diseased matter through the skin into the blood bypasses the normal immune system and creates an immune imbalance that can, and often does, result in infection from the disease it purports to protect.

Read: Exposing the Vaccination for Immunity Fraud

Dr. Humphries also discusses how infants have a developing immune system. A healthy mother’s breast milk offers the most protection during the baby’s first year (as much as 80% protection), largely by supporting intestinal flora. Injecting them with contaminants within the first few months presents both immediate and long term damage to their developing immune systems.

Other immunity disruptions occur from vaccinations. The result of inter-reacting vaccine ingredients cascading through one’s body is often ill health effects hat show up later if not sooner. The facts are that the USA has the largest childhood vaccination schedule, yet ranks higher in infant mortality and poor childhood health than all other developed nations.

This deathbed statement reportedly made by Pasteur is ignored by the medical mafia: “Bernard (Bechamp) was right; the pathogen is nothing; the terrain is everything.” Unfortunately, killing and artificially “protecting” against germs is more profitable. The trade-off for this illusion of immunity is increased auto-immune disease , vaccine injury, permanent disability, and death.

Other Popular Stories:

1. Suppressed Study Shows Vaccine Dangers: Vaccinations Stimulate Autoimmune Diseases
2. If Publicized, this Study Would be a Vaccination Schedule Bombshell
3. New Bill to Mandate Flu Vaccine for New Jersey Health Care Workers
4. What to do Before and After Receiving a Vaccine | Helping to Block the Immune Response
5. Vaccine Danger: Merck is Big Pharma’s Vaccine Monsanto
6. A Vaccine for Stress? Vaccine Madness is Rampant

Read more: http://naturalsociety.com/never-be-safe-vaccine-never-will/#ixzz2oic2ndyJ 

Follow us: @naturalsociety on Twitter | NaturalSociety on Facebook

TOP NEWS Fukushima radiation hits San Francisco By DNA | December 26, 2013

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Fukushima radiation hits San Francisco

By DNA | December 26, 2013TOP NEWS Fukushima radiation hits San Francisco By DNA | December 26, 2013

Addison's Disease in Dogs

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Addison's Disease in Dogs

Maya's Story

Maya, a five-year-old Border Collie (pictured), presented symptoms of lethargy and occasional vomiting and diarrhea. She was a dog who loved doing agility trials, but who had become much slower in her performance. Her blood profile was normal, but a very astute doctor kept investigating, and when "Maya" flatlined her ACTH stim test, a diagnosis of Addison's was made. Talk to your veterinarian if you notice any changes in your pet's behavior or see symptoms of lethargy or vomiting.

Addison's disease is an endocrine disorder where the adrenal glands, near the kidneys, fail to produce enough hormones.  This disease is relatively uncommon (approximately one case per 3000 dogs) but it is more common in dogs than humans. It is very rare in cats. 

The common symptoms of Addison's are lethargy, occasional vomiting or diarrhea, weakness, low body temperature, low heart rate, and shaking. The symptoms are often vague, may be intermittent, and can be attributed to many other causes. The problem is probably under-diagnosed; the doctor must have a high degree of clinical suspicion. The disease can be fatal if left untreated.

Addison's usually affects young to middle-aged dogs, but can occur in any age. About seventy percent of cases are female.  Some breeds are more likely to be affected: Great Danes,  Newfoundlands, Portuguese Waterdogs, Rottweilers, German Shepherds, Westies, Wheaten Terriers, Springer Spaniels, but the breeds with the highest rates are Standard Poodles, Leonbergers, and Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retrievers. 

A regular blood profile may have changes that suggest Addison's, especially certain alterations in the electrolytes.  The specific test for the disease is an ACTH stimulation blood test. This test involves two blood draws, one before, and one an hour after an injection of a drug named Cortrosyn. Both of these samples are sent to the reference lab, and the results are compared to one another. A normal animal will respond to the Cortrosyn by a big increase compared to the first sample. An Addisonian animal will not have an increase.

Treatment is either with an oral daily drug, Florinef, or an injectable drug, Percorten, that is given every 25 days. Most veterinarians use Percorten now as it provides better, smoother control of the disease, and does not rely on owner memory and compliance every day.  A version of the disease called atypical Addison's may need only oral prednisone. Talk to your veterinarian if you have any concerns about your pet's health.

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Cell Phone Use Linked to Lower Grades, Anxiety, and Much Worse...

Cell Phone Use Linked to Lower Grades, Anxiety, and Much Worse...

December 19, 2013 | 198,877 views

By Dr. Mercola

Mounting research raises tremendously important questions about the long-term safety of saturating ourselves in electromagnetic frequencies. As a result, at least a dozen countries around the world have begun to adopt a precautionary approach toward cell phone use and other wireless technologies.

For example, two years ago, a Council of Europe committee concluded that “immediate action was required to protect children” after examining the evidence.1 Russian officials have issued the recommendation that all children under the age of 18 should avoid using cell phones entirely. And the UK, Israel, Germany, India and Finland also urge citizens to err on the side of caution with respect to their children’s use of cell phones.

Most recently, Belgium adopted new cell phone regulations2 prohibiting the sale of mobile phones designed for, and marketed to children under the age of seven.3 The regulations take effect in March 2014. Retailers and internet marketers will also be required to disclose the specific absorption rate (SAR) of the phones they sell, and must display posters with recommendations for safer cell phone use.

Qualifying the new regulations, officials said, “But it is not the intention to use it for hours at a time: the way in which you use your mobile phone also determines your exposure.”

Such measures, while not going far enough to ensure safety, are at least a step in the right direction. I firmly believe the health ramifications of our modern technologies need to be properly assessed before coming to market—and addressed, the sooner the better. Pre-market testing and post-market surveillance should be the norm for any technology with biological consequences.

With Whom Does Responsibility of Safety Reside?

Alas, in the US, both the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) have chosen to ignore the evidence of health risks associated with cell phones. As noted by the Environmental Working Group in a recent guide4 to safer cell phone usage:

“The FCC adopted radiation standards developed by the cell phone industry 17 years ago. These standards, still in use, allow 20 times more radiation to reach the head than the rest of the body. They do not account for risks to children.”

Camilla Rees, MBA of ElectromagneticHealth.org says clarification is also needed about where exactly responsibility and accountability reside on this subject between the FCC and FDA:

“If the FCC says it relies on the safety expertise of the FDA, and states it considered opinions from the FDA in setting its safety guidelines, but the FDA officially does not review the safety of radiation-emitting consumer products such as cell phones and PDAs before they can be sold, as it does with new drugs or medical devices, then where is the responsibility for assuring safety actually domiciled?”

She asks, in a long piece on this subject:

"On what basis does the FCC, a communications commission charged with regulating interstate and international communications, not a health agency, have authority to ascertain safety and establish safety guidelines, such as the SAR limit for cell phones, in the first place? On what basis has the FCC assumed this responsibility?"

No Regulatory Agency Currently Looks at Biological Effects...

If the SAR value is a measure of the power or heating effects from a phone, and is a physics measure unrelated to biology, what regulatory agency is looking at the biological effects? This would include biological effects from all forms of radiation being emitted by a cell phone, including

1. The heating effects (that the SAR attempts to reflect)
2. Non-heating effects from the frequencies and modulation, and
3. Low frequency (ELF) fields emitted by the devices.

Has responsibility and accountability on this issue conveniently fallen through the cracks? Parallels can and have been drawn between the tobacco industry’s longstanding efforts to hide the truth about the health effects of smoking, and the wireless industry’s denial’s of harm without evidence of safety—and despite a plethora of scientific evidence of harm!

Frequent Cell Phone Use Promotes Anxiety and Poor Academic Performance

In one recent study, researchers from the College of Education, Health and Human Services at Kent State University in Ohio reported that frequent cell phone use appears to be associated with reduced academic performance, anxiety and unhappiness in college students. As reported by Medical News Today:5

“Not decrying the usefulness of the smartphone to today's college students, which allows them to stay in touch with family and friends and easily browse the Internet, the researchers suggest there is merit in considering what potential harms they may pose.”

The study, published in the journal Computers in Human Behavior6 surveyed more than 500 college students to assess their cell phone usage and then compared it to their grades and clinical anxiety- and life-satisfaction tests. Cell phone usage levels were linked to both GPA scores and anxiety levels in a “dose” dependent manner. The higher a student’s cell phone use, the lower their grades and the higher their reported anxiety level.

While it could be argued that perhaps people who are more anxious tend to spend more time on their smartphones, or that fiddling around on your phone too much will have a more or less obvious adverse effect on your academic performance, the authors urge students to consider the impact their cell phone use may be having on their grades, mental health and well-being.

This includes negative effects on activity levels. Earlier this year, researchers from the same University found that higher cell phone use was linked with reduced physical activity and fitness.7 Apparently, portability does not mean that people actually use them while staying active... According to the authors, “their findings suggest that cell phone use may be able to gauge a person's risk for a multitude of health issues related to an inactive lifestyle.”

Can Cell Phones Cause Cancer?

This is a Flash-based video and may not be viewable on mobile devices.

While still lagging behind many other countries, local authorities around the US are starting to pay more attention to these issues. For example, in November, 2012 the city of Pembroke Pines, Florida passed a resolution to warn its residents about the potential risk of cancer related to cell phone radiation. As reported by WCSH68 at the time:

“The resolution, believed to be the first of its kind in the state, encourages residents to keep their cellphones at least one-inch away from their bodies, use a headset or speakerphone and send messages by text or email... The resolution was passed after resident Jimmy Gonzalez told the commission about his brush with cancer, which he believes was caused by his cell phone.

Gonzalez had a cancerous tumor above his left ear removed in August 2011, a year after he'd had another tumor removed from his left hand. Gonzalez, an attorney who used to use his cellphone for several hours a day, is now cancer-free. "Do I have 100 percent scientific study that can say well this is what caused it?" Gonzalez said. "No, but I can't think of anything that would explain this otherwise.”

I believe such concerns are valid. While the reporter of that story did not mention any of the evidence supporting Gonzalez’ suspicion, mounting research indeed suggests there is such a link. For example, a review of 11 long-term epidemiologic studies published in the journal Surgical Neurology9 by leading international brain surgeons and scientists revealed that using a cell phone for 10 years or longer approximately doubles your risk of being diagnosed with a brain tumor on the same side of the head where the cell phone is typically held.

Professor Mild, lead researcher of that particular study, cautioned that the danger may be even greater than what they found because cancers need a minimum of 10 years to develop.  Children and teens are at greatest risk, as their thinner skulls allow more radiation to penetrate into their brains.10 Lloyd Morgan, Senior Research Fellow, Environmental Health Trust, says,

“There are many studies which have significant risks for brain cancer, acoustic neuroma, parotid gland cancer, and leukemia from wireless (cell and cordless) phone use. In totality, there is strong evidence for each of these tumors. I am convinced that this will lead to a pandemic of wireless phone induced tumors. While there is a decades long average latency time (30-40 years for brain cancer), we have already seen a doubled risk of glioblastoma in Australia, Denmark, and the United States in the previous 10 years.

“Assuming that long-time use of wireless devices affects 10% of the users with one of more of these cancers (similar to long-term smokers and lung cancer). It would mean, at minimum, 10% of such users will be diagnosed with one or more of these tumors. Thus, possibly 30% of such users would have at least one of these 4 cancers.

“Should this occur it would create a calamity like the world has not seen since the black plagues of the 13th century. Maybe it will only be 5% or even 1%. No matter the assumption, the result will have profound ramifications for our society.”

At the ElectromagneticHealth.org program on “Cell Phones & WiFi: Are Children, Fetuses and Fertility at Risk” in June, leading NY State public health physician, Dr. David Carpenter, MD, said, “The strongest evidence for EMF effects are the science showing the connection between cell phone use and brain cancer. Brain cancer rates are double for people who’ve been using cell phones for 10 years or more, appearing on the side of the head where they hold their phones, and risks are 5x greater for children using cell phones under the age of 20 compared to those over the age of 50.”

Radiofrequency Fields Currently Classified as “Possibly Carcinogenic”

More importantly—and I cannot fathom how WCSH6 news station missed this one—the World Health Organization (WHO)/International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified radiofrequency electromagnetic fields as “possibly carcinogenic to humans” (Class 2B) in May of 2011.11 The classification—which also covers lead and chloroform—came in part in response to research showing wireless telephones increase the risk for brain cancer. According to the press release:12

“Dr Jonathan Samet (University of Southern California, USA), overall Chairman of the Working Group, indicated that "the evidence, while still accumulating, is strong enough to support a conclusion and the 2B classification. The conclusion means that there could be some risk, and therefore we need to keep a close watch for a link between cell phones and cancer risk."

"Given the potential consequences for public health of this classification and findings," said IARC Director Christopher Wild, "it is important that additional research be conducted into the long‐term, heavy use of mobile phones. Pending the availability of such information, it is important to take pragmatic measures to reduce exposure such as hands‐free devices or texting. "

Since then, additional research has further strengthened the link between cancer and radiofrequency (RF) fields. According to Dr. Anthony Miller, who was on the IARC committee, the accumulated evidence is now strong enough to suggest RF fields really should be classified as a 2A or “probable carcinogen.”

A study published in September 2013, “Case-control study of the association between malignant brain tumors diagnosed between 2007 and 2009 and mobile and cordless phone use” by Hardell et al also confirmed previously reported results showing an association between cell phones and malignant brain tumors, suggesting RFs from cell phones may play a role in both the initiation and promotion of cancer.

And another study by Hardell et al, published in December 2013, using the Bradford Hill criteria for establishing causality in long-term users of cell phones, showed that the evidence available suggests that RF-EMF exposure from mobile (and cordless) phones should be regarded as an IARC class 1 human carcinogen. Alasdair Philips of Powerwatch (U.K.) says, “The criteria on strength, consistency, specificity, temporality, and biologic gradient for evidence of increased risk for glioma and acoustic neuroma were fulfilled.”

To learn more, I highly recommend listening to the excellent Media Teleclass on Cellphones and Brain Tumors moderated by Camilla Rees, MBA of www.ElectromagneticHealth.org. Listen for yourself to experts who are independent of the telecom industry and close to the science. The teleclass features Devra Davis, PhD, MPH, David Carpenter, MD, Lloyd Morgan, BS and Joel Moskowitz, PhD.

Other Health Hazards Linked to Cell Phone Use

Experts in the area of the biological effects of electromagnetic frequencies (EMF) and wireless technologies believe there’s virtually no doubt that cell phones and related gadgets are capable of causing not only cancer but contributing to a wide variety of other conditions, from depression and diabetes to heart irregularities and impaired fertility.  For example, the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health13 (ANSES) recently published an expert appraisal and risk assessment of radiofrequencies, linking cell phone use to:

• Sleep disturbances
• Male infertility
• Cognitive problems
• Brain Tumors

In their 2-year review of the RF science (10/15/13), where they warn the public to reduce exposure to mobile phone radiation, they say:

“…Against a background of rapid development of technologies and practices, ANSES recommends limiting the population's exposure to radiofrequencies – in particular from mobile phones - especially for children and intensive users, and controlling the overall exposure that results from mobile phone masts."

Regarding wireless devices, ANSES says:

• For intensive adult mobile phone users (in talk mode): use of hands-free kits and more generally, for all users, favoring the purchase of phones with the lowest SAR values
• That all common devices emitting electromagnetic fields intended for use near the body (DECT telephones, tablet computers, baby monitors, etc.) display the maximum level of exposure generated (SAR, for example), as is already the case for mobile phones.

Regarding ambient fields, ANSES has recommended:

• Reducing the exposure of children by encouraging only moderate use of mobile phones
• Continuing to improve characterization of population exposure in outdoor and indoor environments through the use of measurement campaigns
• New mobile phone network infrastructures be subject to prior studies concerning the characterzation of exposures
• Study of consequences of multiplying the number of relay antennas in order to reduce levels of environmental exposure
• Documenting existing installations causing the highest exposure to the public and investigating how these exposures can be reduced by technical means

One 2008 study 14 linked cell phone use to an 80 percent increased risk of emotional problems and hyperactivity in children.  Scientists have also found that microwaves transmitted by cell phones and other wireless devices can:

Harm your blood cells	Damage your eyes
Damage your DNA	Contribute to salivary gland tumors
Cause nerve cell damage15	Cause decreased bone density in the pelvic region
Possibly accelerate and contribute to onset of autism	Lead to electromagnetic hypersensitivity
Trigger Alzheimer’s disease	Affect your heart rate and blood pressure

How is all of this possible? In a nutshell, human beings are influenced by all kinds of electromagnetic fields. Energy, frequencies, sounds, and vibrations are all around us, even if you can’t hear them, see them or sense them in any way, and they can have a profound impact on your health. Those found in nature can be profoundly healing. But today, these natural frequencies and rhythms are being drowned out by wholly unnatural wireless transmissions and emissions. Michael Gilbert, a leading New York integrative health practitioner, explains, from a nervous system perspective, why the energy from wireless devices is harmful, how we can actively work with our nervous systems to modulate this unnatural energy, and why cultivating variability in our lives is essential in a wireless age:

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In a wireless world, how can one keep a nervous system rhythmic so energy flows best? - Michael Gilbert, Integrative Body Worker from ElectromagneticHealth.Org  PLUS

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The Spectrum of Frequencies that Surround You

Dr. Martin Blank, PhD—an experienced researcher of the cellular and molecular effects of electromagnetic fields at Columbia University—gave an informative speech in which he explains how electromagnetic fields affect your DNA. His explanation sheds light on the truly profound implications of our current situation. When looking at a spectrum chart of frequencies, you’ll find that cell phones operate in the middle of the spectrum, in the microwave section of the Radiofrequency range. Below it are radio frequencies from radio and tv, and at the bottom of the spectrum you have Extremely Low Frequencies known as ELF, which include fields from electrical wiring and household appliances, for example. All of these frequencies are within the non-ionizing radiation range.

Above that is infrared and frequencies in the ionizing range, which include ultraviolet (UV) rays, x-rays, gamma rays and cosmic radiation. Some of these frequencies exist in nature while others are man-made.  

Just one of the many reasons why we need to thoroughly investigate the biological repercussions of broadcasting a range of these frequencies is that technologies keep shifting upward, using higher and higher frequencies.The reason for this is because the higher the frequency, the more information you can transmit, but also potentially, in some cases, the more biologically active.

It’s quite clear that ionizing radiation causes significant damage to your body, but scientists are wrong when they claim you cannot get any kind of biological reaction as long as you stay within the non-ionizing range of frequencies as the radiation is not hot enough to heat tissues. The claim has been that non-ionizing radiation cannot cause harm because there’s not enough energy in this range to knock an electron out of an atom.

It’s true that there’s an insufficient amount of energy to dislodge an electron, “but boy, you can get a lot of biological reactions in the non-ionizing range!” Dr. Blank says. To learn more, I highly recommend reviewing my previous article The Hardcore Science of How Cell Phones and Other EMF Damages You.

One of the core issues is use of the SAR, a measure of power, as a measure of safety. The SAR is anything but a measure of safety as there are many other risks besides heating, and even the way one uses the phone can impact the SAR exposure. (See previous Mercola article by Camilla Rees, “Top Safe Cell Phones that Aren’t Safe”) But even the means of measuring the SAR, or heating, are inadequate and misleading, as has been demonstrated by Memorial Sloan-Kettering scientist, David Gultekin, PhD., in a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Gultekin, using NMR or nuclear magnetic resonance imaging, shows effects on brain tissue are not uniform, but instead there are hot spots in the brain tissue where the temperature can increase up to 5 degrees C in about 12 minutes. Importantly, Gultekin says “The volume of the hot spot generated by absorbed cell phone radiation depends on the antenna power level and the irradiation time”. Thus, the very basis for determining SAR levels are ‘safe’, from the thermal perspective, may not, as it turns out, be safe at all. This research was conducted on animal brain tissue. Human in vivo studies are expected to prove the inadequacy of current means of measuring SAR for assessing thermal effects and safety.

Please remember, also, that there are very important new risks from ‘wearable wireless’ devices. These include eyewear, like Google Glass, smart watches, wireless pedometers, etc. This category, according to Wall Street analysts, is projected to grow from $2-3 billion today to $50 billion in 2-3 years. Unlike a cell phone against the head, for example, radiation impacting the eye has no skull to even partly shield the wireless radiation, and both the radiation and heating levels can be substantial.

See “Does Wearable Technology on Holiday Shopping List Pose Health Risks?,” with comments from Dr. Gultekin, Hugh Taylor, MD from Yale University, Joel Moskowitz, PhD from University of California, Berkeley and Martin Blank, PhD from Columbia University, all weighing in on wireless and wearable wireless risks.

Steps You Can Take to Protect Yourself and Your Family

In the end, all the evidence points to the fact that our current safety standards are completely inadequate. Our rapidly expanding wireless technologies must be properly evaluated, first of all, the ALARA principle (“As Low As Reasonably Achievable”) should be invoked in development of RF technologies, and the Precautionary Principle must be invoked, protecting the public from exposure to harm, as a matter of social responsibility, when scientific investigation has found possible risks.  While you can’t completely avoid radiation in today’s wireless world, if you’re ready to give up your cell phone, you can virtually eliminate that one hazard, at least. If you’re not prepared to take that step, you can minimize your exposure by heeding the following advice:

• Children Should Never Use Cell Phones: Barring a life-threatening emergency, children should not use a cell phone, or a wireless device of any type. Children are far more vulnerable to cell phone radiation than adults, because of their thinner skull bones.  See “Children’s Health Expert Panel: Cell Phones & WiFi—Are Children Fetuses and Fertility at Risk?” for an overview of the risks to children. http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/09/21/cell-phone-wifi-radiation.aspx
• Reduce Your Cell Phone Use: Turn your cell phone off more often. Reserve it for emergencies or important matters. As long as your cell phone is on, it emits radiation intermittently, even when you are not actually making a call.
• Use a Land Line at Home and at Work: Although more and more people are switching to using cell phones as their exclusive phone contact, it is a dangerous trend and you can choose to opt out of the madness.
• Reduce or Eliminate Your Use of Other Wireless Devices: You would be wise to cut down your use of these devices. Just as with cell phones, it is important to ask yourself whether or not you really need to use them every single time, and be on alert for addiction.
• If you must use a portable home phone, use the older kind that operates at 900 MHz. They are no safer during calls, but at least many of them do not broadcast constantly even when no call is being made. Note the only way to truly be sure if there is an exposure from your cordless phone is to measure with an electrosmog meter, and it must be one that goes up to the frequency of your portable phone (so old meters won’t help much). See meters at emfsafetystore.com.16 You can pretty much be sure your portable phone is a problem if the technology is DECT, or digitally enhanced cordless technology.
• Use Your Cell Phone Only Where Reception is Good: The weaker the reception, the more power your phone must use to transmit, and the more power it uses, the more radiation it emits, and the deeper the dangerous radio waves penetrate into your body. Ideally, you should only use your phone with full bars and good reception. Also seek to avoid carrying your phone on your body as that merely maximizes any potential exposure. Ideally put it in your purse or carrying bag.
• Don’t Assume One Cell Phone is Safer Than Another.There’s no such thing as a “safe” cell phone, and rankings by SAR are misleading people into thinking some phones are safe.
• Keep Your Cell Phone Away From Your Body When it is On: The most dangerous place to be, in terms of radiation exposure, is within about six inches of the emitting antenna. You do not want any part of your body within that area.
• Use Safer Headset Technology: Wired headsets will certainly allow you to keep the cell phone farther away from your body. However, if a wired headset is not well-shielded -- and some of them are not -- the wire itself acts as an antenna attracting ambient information carrying radio waves and transmitting radiation directly to your brain.
• Make sure that the wire used to transmit the signal to your ear is shielded. The best kind of headset to use is a combination shielded wire and air-tube headset. These operate like a stethoscope, transmitting the information to your head as an actual sound wave; although there are wires that still must be shielded, there is no wire that goes all the way up to your head.
• Respect Others Who are More Sensitive: Some people who have become sensitive can feel the effects of others' cell phones, iPads, and other gadgets in the same room, even when it is on but not being used. If you are in a meeting, on public transportation, in a courtroom or other public places, such as a doctor's office, keep your cell phone turned off out of consideration for the 'second hand radiation' effects. Children are also more vulnerable, so please avoid using your cell phone near children.

Bitter Melon why one should eat it.

Sunday, 19 August 2012

AMPALAYA Health Benefits and Side Effects

Also known as Bitter Gourd or Bitter Melon is common in Southeast Asia, Amazon and in the Caribbean. Even before, folks believed and used Ampalaya as an effective cure to different illnesses. Fruits and leaves are both edible and is a good source of Vitamins. Good source for beta-carotene, Vitamin B, Iron, Calcium and Phosphorus.

In Southeast Asian countries such as the Philippines, the Department of health approved and endorsed Ampalaya as an alternative medicine for diabetes mellitus 2. The study has been certified by the Philippine Institute of Traditional and Alternative Health Care (PITAHC).

Clinical studies shows that ampalaya contains hypoglycemic properties found greatly in its fruit which is very effective in lowering sugar level in the body. Its efficacy is equivalent to medicine used to treat diabetes. The study revealed that a 100 milligram per kilo dose per day is comparable to 2.5 milligrams of the anti-diabetes drug Glibenclamide taken twice per day. 

 Seeds and leaves can be pounded to treat wounds

 scalds and burns. Its powerful antibiotic properties is very effective in disinfecting cuts, scrapes, wounds and minor burns. Decoction of Ampalaya leaves and roots can be used as astringent for hemorrhoids.

Eating ampalaya can help prevent heart attack and stroke. It helps relaxing the vascular system walls helping blood to flow without restrictions from narrow passageways.

Its enzymes and nutrients can help to counter react the effects of alcohol and toxins to our body thus helps to maintain proper functionality of Spleen and Liver. Juice from ampalaya leaves and grounded seeds may serve as antiparasitic drug, it helps to expel intestinal parasites, can also be used in the treatment for dysentery,diarrhea,and chronic colitis.Grounded seeds can be taken 3x a day until ailments subsides.

It controls mucus build-up and the on-set chest congestion by restraining minor inflammation in the respiratory system making it effective to treat symptoms of colds such as coughing and fever.

By proper eating and including to healthy diet, it will help boosts immune system. It can help expel and regulates free radicals in the body and may prevent and protects us against diseases and certain cancers.

"Because of its purgative property large dozes of Ampalaya juice may cause pregnancy abortion" 

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HEALTHY LIVING, NATURAL REMEDIES

by Sarah TheHealthyHomeEconomist December 21, 2013

Many of you will be traveling and possibly eating food in the coming days that perhaps you would not normally eat at home.

Hey, I understand.  You just can’t help that Aunt Martha uses evaporated milk for her pumpkin pie and canned gravy for the turkey.  I get it!

When your eating/sleeping schedule gets mangled due to holiday travel plans, sinus pain, congestion, or worse, a sinus infection can quickly crop up and cause discomfort and misery especially if flying is part of the itinerary.

Here’s a very easy way to keep those sinuses clear and you breathing free during these times of stress and off the wagon eating.

Prevent Sinus Infections with this Easy Tip

Most folks don’t realize that beneficial flora, also known as good bacteria, seek to dominate and protect every tissue of your body, not just your gut!  There are plenty of beneficial bacteria in your mouth, throat, nasal passages and ears too.

When you get a sinus infection, the balance of good bacteria to bad (pathogenic) bacteria – including candida – becomes imbalanced with the baddies taking over with lots of mucus and possibly even an infection the result.

To prevent this from happening, after brushing/flossing your teeth at night before you go to bed, empty a probiotic capsule into your mouth, swish it around in your mouth, and swallow.   It is very important to not drink anything – even water – after you do this.

Enough probiotic residue will be left in your mouth after swallowing and these good little critters will migrate while you sleep all through your nasal passages, guarding the roost and helping to make sure no pathogens have an opportunity to take over and start plugging up the works.

Where to Get Therapeutic Grade Probiotics

Be aware that not all probiotics are of the same quality. If a probiotic needs refrigeration, for example, don’t buy it.  Probiotic cultures should be hardy enough to be shelf stable with no refrigeration necessary.  A wide variety of strains should also be contained.

To locate a quality and therapeutic strength probiotic that will actually work for you, check my resources page, which links to sources for the therapeutic strength probiotic I have personally used for years and have found very effective.

Already Have a Sinus Infection?

Use a ceramic neti pot (I like this one) plus your probiotic of choice to help clear up an existing sinus infection fast with no antibiotics. Click here for a detailed how-to.

Happy Holidays and safe travels!

Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist

Source:

Gut and Psychology Syndrome: Natural Treatment for Autism, Dyspraxia, A.D.D., Dyslexia, A.D.H.D., Depression, Schizophrenia, by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride MD

Picture Credit