Tag Archives: health

GMO’s & Organ Damage

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3 Approved GMOs Connected to Organ Damage

15th January 2012

By Rady Ananda – foodfreedom.wordpress.com

In what is being described as the first ever and most comprehensive study of the effects of genetically modified foods on mammalian health, researchers have linked organ damage with consumption of Monsanto’s GM maize.

Three varieties of Monsanto’s GM corn – Mon 863, insecticide-producing Mon 810, and Roundup® herbicide-absorbing NK 603 – were approved for consumption by US, European and several other national food safety authorities. The data used for this approval, ironically, is the same data that independent researchers studied to make the organ damage link.

The Committee of Independent Research and Information on Genetic Engineering (CRIIGEN) and Universities of Caen and Rouen obtained Monsanto’s confidential raw data of its 2002 feeding trials on rats after a European court made it public in 2005.

The data “clearly underlines adverse impacts on kidneys and liver, the dietary detoxifying organs, as well as different levels of damages to heart, adrenal glands, spleen and haematopoietic system,” reported Gilles-Eric Séralini, a molecular biologist at the University of Caen.

Although different levels of adverse impact on vital organs were noticed between the three GMOs, the 2009 research shows specific effects associated with consumption of each, differentiated by sex and dose.

Their December 2009 study appears in the International Journal of Biological Sciences (IJBS). This latest study conforms with a 2007 analysis by CRIIGEN on Mon 863, published in Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, using the same data.

Monsanto rejected the 2007 conclusions, stating:

“The analyses conducted by these authors are not consistent with what has been traditionally accepted for use by regulatory toxicologists for analysis of rat toxicology data.”

[Also see Doull J, Gaylor D, Greim HA, et al. “Report of an expert panel on the reanalysis by Séralini et al. (2007) of a 90-day study conducted by Monsanto in support of the safety of a genetically modified corn variety (MON 863).” Food Chem Toxicol. 2007; 45:2073-2085.]

In an email to me, Séralini explained that their study goes beyond Monsanto’s analysis by exploring the sex-differentiated health effects on mammals, which Doull, et al. ignored:

“Our study contradicts Monsanto conclusions because Monsanto systematically neglects significant health effects in mammals that are different in males and females eating GMOs, or not proportional to the dose. This is a very serious mistake, dramatic for public health. This is the major conclusion revealed by our work, the only careful reanalysis of Monsanto crude statistical data.”

Other problems with Monsanto’s conclusions

When testing for drug or pesticide safety, the standard protocol uses three mammalian species. The subject studies only used rats, yet won GMO approval in more than a dozen nations.

Chronic problems are rarely discovered in 90 days; most often such tests run for up to two years. Tests “lasting longer than three months give more chances to reveal metabolic, nervous, immune, hormonal or cancer diseases,” wrote Seralini, et al. in their Doull rebuttal. [See “How Subchronic and Chronic Health Effects can be Neglected for GMOs, Pesticides or Chemicals.” IJBS; 2009; 5(5):438-443.]

Further, Monsanto’s analysis compared unrelated feeding groups, muddying the results. The June 2009 rebuttal explains, “In order to isolate the effect of the GM transformation process from other variables, it is only valid to compare the GMO … with its isogenic non-GM equivalent.”

The researchers conclude that the raw data from all three GMO studies reveal novel pesticide residues will be present in food and feed and may pose grave health risks to those consuming them.

They have called for “an immediate ban on the import and cultivation of these GMOs and strongly recommend additional long-term (up to two years) and multi-generational animal feeding studies on at least three species to provide true scientifically valid data on the acute and chronic toxic effects of GM crops, feed and foods.”

Human health, of course, is of primary import to us, but ecological effects are also in play. Ninety-nine percent of GMO crops either tolerate or produce insecticide. This may be the reason we see bee colony collapse disorder and massive butterfly deaths. If GMOs are wiping out Earth’s pollinators, they are far more disastrous than the threat they pose to humans and other mammals.

Further Reading

Health Risks of GM Foods, Jeffrey M. Smith
Failure to Yield: Evaluating the Performance of Genetically Engineered Crops, Union of Concerned Scientists
Impacts of Genetically Engineered Crops on Pesticide Use: The First Thirteen Years, The Organic Center

About the Author

Holding a B.S. in Natural Resources from The Ohio State University’s School of Agriculture, Rady Ananda’s work has appeared in several online and print publications. Using years of editorial experience and web publishing, Rady now promotes the ideas and work of a select group of quality writers and artists at Food Freedom and COTO Report.

from:    http://wakeup-world.com/2012/01/15/3-approved-gmos-connected-to-organ-damage/

Round Up Resistant Super Weeds

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Monsanto Defeated by Super Weeds

Posted By Dr. Mercola | December 13 2011 | 24,456 views

By Dr. Mercola

Twenty-one weed species around the world are now resistant to glyphosate, up from zero in 1996 — the year Monsanto started marketing its genetically engineered Roundup Ready crops.

Glyphosate, now the world’s bestselling weed killer and the key ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide, is emerging as one of the most dangerous Monsanto products to date, in part because super weeds are emerging at an alarming rate.

A briefing by GM Freeze noted that in the United States, the worst-affected country (which is not surprising since the U.S. also leads the world in GM crop acreage), 13 resistant weed species cover more than 11 million acres, mostly those planted with Monsanto’s genetically modified (GM) soy, corn and cotton crops.

The weeds are not only making Monsanto’s promises that their GM crops would reduce pesticide use completely laughable — since farmers are being forced to use multiple, and more, pesticides to keep weeds in their GM crops under control — but also are turning out to be a very big thorn in Monsanto’s proverbial side; one that ironically might turn out to threaten the very GM crops that created them.

Investors Warned About Monsanto’s Super Weeds

As GM Freeze reported, one investment company is now advising its clients to sell Monsanto shares because of the company’s problems with weed resistance, which are arguably set to snowball even further out of control in the very near future. Monsanto’s competitors, biotech giants like Dow and Bayer CropScience, are chomping at the bit to take over where Monsanto has failed, and already have released GM seeds with tolerance to multiple herbicides designed to be used on their own or in rotation with Roundup Ready crops in a last-ditch attempt to delay resistance from developing.

(No word yet on how these companies intend to deal with the new generation of super weeds that will inevitably develop in response to the new herbicide cocktail … )

So this dark cloud’s silver lining is the fact that, with super weeds becoming an undeniable threat that can no longer be ignored, the powers that be may be forced to acknowledge that GM crops are not all they’ve been cracked up to be. And Monsanto is also being shaken to its core by the grand scope of this environmental catastrophe.

GM Freeze reported:

“Monsanto is taking the problem of the rapid development of glyphosate resistance very seriously, as it represents a threat to their main sources of income.

… Monsanto has embarked on major changes in weed management in RR crops, which still includes the use of glyphosate on its own, but also in combination with other herbicides. This is increasing herbicide usage on these crops. So instead of the promised decrease in pesticide use on GM crops, the arrival of resistant weeds has resulted in herbicide use increasing on RR crops. Analysis of USDA data has found increases in herbicide use in all the crops where RR maize, cotton and soyabeans varieties dominate.

… Previous attempts to control resistant weeds by increasing the rate at which glyphosate is applied have proved unsuccessful, yet Monsanto appears to have no intention of taking responsibility for the failure of their technology.”

GM Crops Have Failed to Deliver … and That’s an Extreme Understatement

Herbicide tolerant (Roundup Ready) GM crops were supposed to control weeds and GM Bt crops were intended to control pests. Instead of controlling weeds and pests, GM crops have led to the emergence of super weeds and super pests

And despite claims that genetically modified organisms (GMOs) will lower the levels of chemicals (pesticides and herbicides) used, this clearly has not been the case. This is of great concern both because of the negative impacts of these chemicals on ecosystems and humans, and because there is the danger that increased chemical use will cause increasing numbers of pests and weeds to develop resistance, requiring even more chemicals in order to attempt to manage them.

According to Jeffrey Smith with the Institute for Responsible Technology, by 2004 farmers used an estimated 86 percent more herbicides on GM soy fields compared to non-GM fields. Unfortunately, Monsanto’s plan to circumvent the inevitable development of more superweeds is to douse fields with more and more chemicals.

The Institute of Science in Society reported:

“As Einstein famously quoted, ‘no problem can be solved with the same consciousness that created it.’ That is precisely what Monsanto is doing: advocating more and more herbicides to be used. New guidance published by the company to manage resistance includes:

  • The use of a cocktail of pesticides including 2,4-D, prior to sowing crop seeds
  • The production of GM seeds expressing tolerance to more than one pesticide. DuPont has already commercialised seeds tolerant to glyphosate and glufosinate. Monsanto has recently announced an agreement with the German pesticide and biotechnology company BASF to develop crops stacked with glyphosate and dicamba tolerant genes
  • The use of herbicides that remains active in the soil, killing any seedlings as they germinate, including sulfentrozone

The consequences of increasing herbicide use are likely to put the environment and people at further risk.”

Why Glyphosate is a Health and Environmental Disaster

Glyphosate is the world’s bestselling weed killer, and it’s found in more than 30 percent of all herbicides — an extremely disturbing scenario considering the data showing it to be an immense threat to human health and the environment.

GM expert Jeffrey Smith has reported that glyphosate promotes the formation of certain types of fungi that are dangerous to people and contaminate food and animal feed. One such fungi, the Fusarium fungus, has been linked to plague epidemics, cancer, infertility and animal diseases. Residues of Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide found in GM food and feed have also been linked to cell damage and death, even at very low levels. Researchers have also found it causes membrane and DNA damage, and inhibits cell respiration.

And in one animal study, rats given 1,000 mg/kg of glyphosate resulted in a 50 percent mortality rate, and skeletal alterations were observed in over 57 percent of fetuses!

Research published last year shows that glyphosate causes birth defects in frogs and chicken embryos at far lower levels than used in agricultural and garden applications.

The malformations primarily affected the:

  • Skull
  • Face
  • Midline and developing brain
  • Spinal cord

Other independent scientific research has also found that glyphosate causes:

Endocrine disruption DNA damage
Developmental toxicity Neurotoxicity
Reproductive toxicity Cancer
Liver Damage Kidney Damage

 

Many of these effects were apparent at much lower doses than the typical levels of pesticide residues found in food … Yet despite the evidence of widespread human exposure, which strongly suggests that the precautionary principle should be applied, regulators are turning a blind eye.

for more, go to:    http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/12/13/monsanto-defeated-by-super-weeds.aspx?e_cid=20111213_DNL_art_2

Keeping Veggies Viable

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Increase The Shelf Life of Your Fruit & Veg..Without Using Toxic Plastic Products

Eating more fruits and vegetables is a requirement for every healthy eater.

But when you buy more fresh produce, do you end up throwing away more than you eat?

Would you like to increase the shelf life of your fruits and veggies without having to use toxic plastic products that harm both the environment and you?

In today’s economy you can’t waste money on food that will rot the day after you bring it home.

Plastic food wraps and their negative effects on the environment and human health.
  • PVC: Some food cling wraps (especiallyused at the deli counter) are polyvinylchloride (PVC), which is not only very environmentally toxic, it’s also laced with phthalates. Source
  • BPA and phthalates: BPA and phthalates have been found in several types of plastic food containers and storage bags, increasing the possibility that you absorb them by storing food in plastics.Source
  • Wildlife hazard: Film plastics like bags and cling wraps pollute landscapes and oceans where they pose choking, suffocating, intestinal blockage threats to wildlife. They also add to the great Pacific Ocean plastic island where they wrap around coral, killing these vital organisms.Source
  • Non–renewable: Whether it’s made from #3 PVC or #4 LDPE or low-density polyethylene (another common material used to make plastic wrap products), these plastics are derived from petroleum, making them inherently non-renewable.
  • Non-recyclable: Although it is technically possible to recycle these plastics, most curbside recycling programs will not accept plastic wraps. Learn more about recycling soft plastics.
HOW TO STORE VEGETABLES WITHOUT PLASTIC

These tips are from the Berkley Farmer’s Market which is a Zero Waste market! Here is a printable PDF of their original tip sheet.

Always remove any tight bands from your vegetables or at least loosen them to allow them to breathe.

Artichokes – Place in an airtight container sealed, with light moisture.
Asparagus – Place them loosely in a glass or bowl upright with water at room temperature. (Will keep for a week outside the fridge)
Avocados – Place in a paper bag at room temp. To speed up their ripening, place an apple in the bag with them.
Arugula – Like lettuce, should not stay wet! Dunk in cold water and spin or lay flat to dry. Place dry arugula in an open container, wrapped with a dry towel to absorb any extra moisture.
Basil – Is difficult to store well. Basil does not like the cold, or to be wet for that matter. The best method here is an airtight container/jar loosely packed with a small damp piece of paper inside, left out on a cool counter.
Beans – Shelling open container in the fridge, eat ASAP. Some recommend freezing them if not going to eat right away
Beets – Cut the tops off to keep beets firm, (be sure to keep the greens!)by leaving any top on root vegetables draws moisture from the root, making them loose flavor and firmness. Beets should be washed and kept in and open container with a wet towel on top.
Beet greens – Place in an airtight container with a little moisture.
Broccoli – Place in an open container in the fridge or wrap in a damp towel before placing in the fridge.
Broccoli Rabe – Left in an open container in the crisper, but best used as soon as possible.
Brussels Sprouts – If bought on the stalk leave them on that stalk. Put the stalk in the fridge or leave it on a cold place. If they’re bought loose store them in an open container with a damp towel on top.
Cabbage – Left out on a cool counter is fine up to a week, in the crisper otherwise. Peel off outer leaves if they start to wilt. Cabbage might begin to loose its moisture after a week , so, best used as soon as possible.
Carrots – Cut the tops off to keep them fresh longer. Place them in closed container with plenty of moisture, either wrapped in a damp towel or dunk them in cold water every couple of days if they’re stored that long.
Cauliflower – Will last a while in a closed container in the fridge, but they say cauliflower has the best flavor the day it’s bought.
Celery – Does best when simply places in a cup or bowl of shallow water on the counter.
Celery root/Celeriac – Wrap the root in a damp towel and place in the crisper.
Corn – Leave unhusked in an open container if you must, but corn really is best eaten sooner then later for maximum flavor.
Cucumber – Wrapped in a moist towel in the fridge. If you’re planning on eating them within a day or two after buying them they should be fine left out in a cool room.

Eggplant – Does fine left out in a cool room. Don’t wash it, eggplant doesn’t like any extra moisture around its leaves. For longer storage, place loose, in the crisper.

Fava beans – Place in an air tight container.
Fennel – If used within a couple days after it’s bought fennel can be left out on the counter, upright in a cup or bowl of water (like celery). If wanting to keep longer than a few days place in the fridge in a closed container with a little water.
Garlic – Store in a cool, dark, place.
Green garlic – An airtight container in the fridge or left out for a day or two is fine, best before dried out.
Greens – Remove any bands, twist ties, etc. most greens must be kept in an air-tight container with a damp cloth, to keep them from drying out. Kale, collards, and chard even do well in a cup of water on the counter or fridge.
Green beans – They like humidity, but not wetness. A damp cloth draped over an open or loosely closed container.
Green Tomatoes – Store in a cool room away from the sun to keep them green and use quickly or they will begin to color.
Herbs– A closed container in the fridge to kept up to a week. Any longer might encourage mold.
Lettuce – Keep damp in an airtight container in the fridge.
Leeks – Leave in an open container in the crisper wrapped in a damp cloth or in a shallow cup of water on the counter (just so the very bottom of the stem has water).
Okra – Doesn’t like humidity. So a dry towel in an airtight container. Doesn’t store that well, best eaten quickly after purchase
Onion – Store in a cool, dark and dry place, good air circulation is best, so don’t stack them.
Parsnips – An open container in the crisper, or, like a carrot, wrapped in a damp cloth in the fridge.
Potatoes – Like garlic and onions, store in cool, dark and dry place, such as, a box in a dark corner of the pantry; a paper bag also works well.
Radicchio – Place in the fridge in an open container with a damp cloth on top.
Radishes – Remove the greens (store separately) so they don’t draw out excess moisture from the roots and place them in a open container in the fridge with a wet towel placed on top.
Rhubarb – Wrap in a damp towel and place in an open container in the refrigerator.
Rutabagas – In an ideal situation a cool, dark, humid root cellar or a closed container in the crisper to keep their moisture in.
Snap peas – Refrigerate in an open container
Spinach – Store loose in an open container in the crisper, cool as soon as possible. Spinach loves to stay cold.
Spring onions – Remove any band or tie and place in the crisper.
Summer Squash – does fine for a few days if left out on a cool counter, even after cut.
Sweet peppers – Only wash them right before you plan on eating them as wetness decreases storage time. Store in a cool room to use in a couple a days, place in the crisper if longer storage needed.
Sweet Potatoes – Store in a cool, dark, well ventilated place. Never refrigerate sweet potatoes they don’t like the cold.
Tomatoes – Never refrigerate. Depending on ripeness, tomatoes can stay for up to two weeks on the counter. To hasten ripeness place in a paper bag with an apple.
Turnips – Remove the greens (store separately) same as radishes and beets, store them in an open container with a moist cloth.
Winter squash – Store in a cool, dark, well ventilated place. Many growers say winter squashes get sweeter if they’re stored for a week or so before eaten.
Zucchini – Does fine for a few days if left out on a cool counter, even after cut. Wrap in a cloth and refrigerate for longer storage.

HOW TO STORE FRUIT WITHOUT PLASTIC

Apples – Store on a cool counter or shelf for up to two weeks. For longer storage in a cardboard box in the fridge.
Citrus – Store in a cool place, with good airflow, never in an air?tight container.
Apricots – On a cool counter to room temperature or fridge if fully ripe
Cherries – Store in an airtight container. Don’t wash cherries until ready to eat, any added moisture encourages mold.
Berries – Don’t forget, they’re fragile. When storing be careful not to stack too many high, a single layer if possible. A paper bag works well, only wash before you plan on eating them.
Dates – Dryer dates (like Deglet Noor) are fine stored out on the counter in a bowl or the paper bag they were bought in. Moist dates (like Medjool) need a bit of refrigeration if they’re going to be stored over a week, either in cloth or a paper bag? as long as it’s porous to keeping the moisture away from the skin of the dates.
Figs – Don’t like humidity, so, no closed containers. A paper bag works to absorb excess moisture, but a plate works best in the fridge up to a week un?stacked.
Melons – Uncut in a cool dry place, out of the sun up to a couple weeks. Cut melons should be in the fridge, an open container is fine.
Nectarines – Similar to apricots, store in the fridge is okay if ripe, but best taken out a day or two before you plan on eating them so they soften to room temperature.
Peaches – And most stone fruit, refrigerate only when fully ripe. More firm fruit will ripen on the counter.
Pears – Will keep for a few weeks on a cool counter, but fine in a paper bag. To hasten the ripening put an apple in with them.
Persimmon –Fuyu (shorter/pumpkin shaped): store at room temperature. Hachiya (longer/pointed end): room temperature until completely mushy. The astringentness of them only subsides when they are completely ripe. To hasten the ripening process place in a paper bag with a few apples for a week, check now and then, but don’t stack?they get very fragile when really ripe.
Pomegranates – Keep up to a month stored on a cool counter.
Strawberries – Don’t like to be wet. Do best in a paper bag in the fridge for up to a week. Check the bag for moisture every other day.

from:    http://wakeup-world.com/2011/09/08/increase-the-shelf-life-of-your-fruit-veg-without-using-toxic-plastic-products/

Natural Reference Websites

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4 Powerful & Extensive Natural Reference Websites.

The creator of Natural News Mike Adams, has complied four of the most extensive natural reference websites I have ever seen. This is a free public service to promote health freedom and empower consumers with information about the healing power of foods. Nature’s foods contain powerful medicine in the form of phytonutrients, and knowing how to use those natural medicines empowers people with the information they need to be healthier, happier and free from the ravages of chronic disease.

HealingFoodReference.com lists all the top healing foods along with the diseases or disorders they may help. It also lists the nutrients found in each food and which body systems may be helped (like the immune system or circulatory system). You can search for healing foods by food name or by disease name (like “osteoporosis”).

HerbReference.com lists medicinal herbs and their uses, covering Amazon herbs, Western herbs, Chinese herbs and even medicinal mushrooms from Japan.

NutrientReference.com is a reference database of healing nutrients, including vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids and phytonutrients like anthocyanins or saponins. Using this online reference site, you can find out which nutrients help certain health conditions, or even which foods contain specific nutrients.

SupplementReference.com is the smallest of these sites, listing dietary supplements like psyllium, glucosamine and others that don’t quite qualify as individual nutrients. Currently, this site is sparse, but we are working on adding new supplements as quickly as we can. In time, we plan to list actual recommended products in this database as well.

All of these reference sites are hyperlinked to each other where appropriate. So you can click around and explore all the healing properties of foods, herbs, nutrients and supplements, or you can look up a particular health condition (like “depression”) and see what’s good for that.

* This information is intended only as a general reference for further exploration, and is not a replacement for professional health advice. These pages  do not provide dosage information, format recommendations, toxicity levels, or possible interactions with prescription drugs. Accordingly, only use this information under the direct supervision of a qualified health practitioner such as a naturopathic physician.   

from:    http://wakeup-world.com/2011/07/05/4-powerful-extensive-natural-reference-websites/

Recycle Project for Hotel Soap

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Kristi York Wooten

Founder of SustenanceGroup.org, Music and Culture Critic, Women’s Activist

Recycling 100 Tons of Hotel Soap to Keep Kids Healthier

Have you ever wondered what happens to all those little bars of soap in hotels? You use them once or twice during a stay and then they’re discarded the next day. Thanks to Global Soap Project, an Atlanta-based nonprofit founded by humanitarian worker Derreck Kayongo, more than 100 tons of soap has been collected from hundreds of U.S. hotels and recycled into new bars that are sent to the people who need it most. The process, which involves collecting soaps from hotels and scraping, pulverizing, heating, and repurposing them into new bars, also includes lab testing to ensure purity before they’re shipped to vulnerable populations in places like Haiti and Africa. GSP, which started in Kayongo’s basement a few years ago, is now receiving national attention, thanks to his recent nomination as a 2011 CNN Hero. Below, I caught up with the Hero nominee to find out more about his livesaving suds.

How did you first get the idea to re-process soap?



I grew up in Uganda watching my father make soap, and unfortunately we got a war that forced us to become refugees in Kenya. While in Kenya, I saw firsthand what it means not to have amenities like soap, and that stayed with me. Years later, when I came to the USA and checked into a hotel, there in the room I saw three bars of soap. This did not include all the shampoos! After going through a refugee experience of not having amenities like soap and then landing in a country that throws soap away to the tune of 800,000 million bars a year, the idea of recycling the soap was birthed in my mind.

Why is soap necessary and important to vulnerable populations?



Soap is the first line of defense against “opportunistic” diseases such as diarrhea. Even the CDC says that if you put a bar of soap in the hands of a child and an adult you could mitigate deaths from diarrhea by about 40%! These diseases can be fatal, especially when they find vulnerable populations like HIV/AIDS patients who have weak immune systems. Simply put, soap is a very important tool in public health.

2011-11-10-AP_Story_Photo1.jpg

Derreck Kayongo in his soap collection warehouse in Atlanta. Photo by Eric Guthrie. Photo courtesy of Global Soap Project.


Is it expensive to ship the soap?



Not for Global Soap, because we partner with organizations that already have containers going to places like Ghana, where we’ve shipped 20,000 bars of soap to the jails there. So the key is to work with NGOs like Medishare or churches that have missionaries taking goods to Africa, which doesn’t cost GSP a dime.

Would you also consider teaching people in developing countries the soap-making process?



GSP would love to grow into that space some day of teaching, for example, women’s groups how to make soap so they can also self-actualize. At this point, however, we are working hard to develop an “airtight” process of recycling soap from the hotels and ensuring its safe delivery to the relevant populations that need it.

How did your background in humanitarian work prepare you for this?



This is an important question, because it speaks to the technical side of the story. I am not just a passionate individual, I have been fortunate to work for such great organizations like CAREand Amnesty International, where I’ve learned to analyze the root causes of poverty and find ways of empowering communities through innovation. One needs a serious skill set in order to build a serious institution to fight the issue at hand. CARE, especially, has taught me that — and I am so thankful.

What have you learned from the CNN Heroes experience so far?


I have learned that when you don’t give up on an issue, it has a chance to be understood and recognized in the public eye. When you start your journey, know that there are people out there who are willing to join your journey and help you out. Those people, for me, have been the redoubtable board members who’ve stood by me through thick and thin, as well as my family, who’ve sacrificed their time and money to let me develop this vision into a practical idea.

for more, go to:    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kristi-york-wooten/africa-soap-_b_1086072.html?ref=impact

Healing Benefits — People and Animals

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In the Company of Animals, Healing for Humans

By KAREN JONES
Published: November 1, 2011

SOPHIE is a goat whose taste in books leans toward popular best sellers, says Solana Mejia-Schnaufer, who reads aloud to her several times a week. “I know she likes ‘The Hunger Games’ because she didn’t try to eat it. That wasn’t true of ‘Animal Liberation.’ ”

Ann Johansson for The New York Times

A FRIEND Solana Mejia-Schnaufer, who has battled depression, said Sophie, a goat, had helped with her recovery.

Miss Mejia-Schnaufer, 21, and Sophie met at the Gentle Barn, a six-acre ranch in Santa Clarita, Calif. The facility heals and rehabilitates abused farm animals and invites visitors with emotional and physical challenges to interact with them. Bonding with Sophie was “a life-changing experience,” says Miss Mejia-Schnaufer, whose battle withdepression and eating disorders led to a suicide attempt this year. She credits Sophie, a rescue from an abusive petting zoo, with making her recovery possible.

“Before I came to the Gentle Barn, nothing gave me hope that life was worth living,” she says. “But when I met Sophie, I thought she had the most incredible calm and open energy. There was this flow of love back and forth between us that I was feeling so in need of.”

Today Miss Mejia-Schnaufer volunteers at the Gentle Barn and has also become Sophie’s “special person,” visiting her at least twice a week to share companionship and a good book. “Sophie is like my totem that I carry around with me all the time,” she says. “Knowing I can see her has kept me alive.”

The Gentle Barn is the fulfillment of a childhood dream, says its founder, Ellie Weiner: “I was one of those children that brought stray and injured animals home. My parents were not amused.” She adds that it was her love of animals that helped her through her own abusive childhood. “The animals saved me and healed me. If they could do that for me, then they could do it for others.”

In 1999, Ms. Weiner opened the barn doors to visitors, and she is well known for her programs for “at risk” youth, arranged through local family and children’s services. Here, inner-city gang members, drug addicts and abused youngsters can feed a cow, hug a pig or just try to find peace in a pastoral setting. Before groups meet the animals, Ms. Weiner, or her husband, Jay Weiner, tell their stories of abuse and recovery.

This is critical to reaching troubled children, says Jamie Lynn Cantor, children’s services administrator for the Department of Children and Family Services in northwest Los Angeles County. “They hear the recovery stories of these animals who, after their horrific abuse, have learned to love and trust again. More important, they learn there is hope for the future, and they can have a life filled with love and people to love them. They are not hopeless anymore.” Ms. Cantor has been bringing groups of children in foster care to the Gentle Barn since 2008. She has seen many of them bond with a miniature pony named Bonsai, whose former owner, an alcoholic, beat him brutally.

“I can’t tell you how many kids would identify with this and say, ‘My mom used to do that.’ ” She adds that, though it took three years before Bonsai would trust people again, today he is a playful pony with a particular affinity for children with special needs.

“This is very unlike traditional therapy. There is no probing or rules,” says Ms. Cantor, who recalls a young boy who befriended an enormous pig named Biscuit. “The boy had been sexually abused and was very withdrawn. As soon as he saw this pig, he started to open up a bit. He laid there next to Biscuit for two hours, hugging him and talking to him. This sad little boy experienced some healing and left smiling.”

Ms. Cantor is compiling information for a survey she calls “Healing Youth Through Animals.” So far, she says, the results of one visit to the Gentle Barn “reflect significant improvement in the youth’s happiness, self-esteem, as well as decreases in anger, anxiety, hopelessness, depression and loneliness.”

Dan McCollister is community relations director of Pacific Lodge Youth Services in Woodland Hills, Calif., a nonprofit facility that offers treatment for teenage males on probation. Most residents are gang members “on the cusp of a major life decision,” says Mr. McCollister. “If they don’t change a few key things, they might end up spending their life in jail.”

He adds that because boys join gangs at a young age, his organization faces years of negative conditioning. Twice a month, he brings groups to the Gentle Barn as part of his activities schedule. “We have between six and nine months with them to make something positive click. The Gentle Barn is a great catalyst for that.”

During one visit, there was a “very tough, very hard” gang member who stood silent while hearing the story of a horse that had suffered repeated beatings, says Mr. McCollister. It was later learned that the youth’s arms had been broken repeatedly by his father while growing up. “The young man in question was later spotted in the back of the stable crying and softly petting the horse on the head, saying over and over, ‘No one is going to hurt you now.’ ”

Mr. McCollister emphasizes that a visit to the Gentle Barn “can blow a kid’s mind, show them compassion and empathy and, best of all, let them know that their story isn’t fully written. They can still change and lead a happy, meaningful life.”

According to Mr. Weiner, it takes about $50,000 a month to operate the Gentle Barn. Financing comes from individual donations, through the Web site, private family donations, corporate grants and foundations. Major donors include Ellen DeGeneres, Toyota, CBS, William Morris Endeavor and Princess Cruises.

In addition, the Gentle Barn is developing a reality television show with Ms. DeGeneres. Ms. Weiner says her goal is “to see a Gentle Barn in every major city around the world.” She adds, “I would love to give people a chance to hug a cow, give a pig a tummy rub, snuggle with a turkey and see that we are really all the same. Every day I do this work, I get to witness a miracle.”

from:  http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/02/giving/at-the-gentle-barn-animals-and-people-find-healing-together.html?_r=1&ref=health

fr/Judith Orloff: Laws of Energetic Attraction

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The 4 Laws of Energetic Attraction

Dr. Judith Orloff
a message from Dr. Judith Orloff
Monday, 10 October, 2011  (posted 19 October, 2011)

Are you longing for relationships that do your heart good and generate stronger connections? In my book, Positive Energy I discuss how to radically improve your health and relationships by bringing positive people and situations into your life. Knowing about energy can transform your ability to build positive relationships, prevent loneliness and ward off fatigue. By making the energetic shifts described here, you can draw good things to you.

Law No. 1: We attract who we are

The more positive energy we give off, the more we’ll receive. Ditto for negativity. It works like this: Love attracts love. Grumpiness attracts grumpiness. Passion attracts passion. Rage attracts rage.

First, define what being positive does and doesn’t mean for you in terms of attitude and behavior. Don’t worry if you’re far from a positive place. It’s an evolution. Give thought to what you value most in yourself or other. You can then strengthen these traits in yourself, and attract the same.

The idea is to find reciprocally nourishing interactions, not to win a popularity contest. (Of course, it feels good to be liked. But I’ve seen this need turn into addiction.) The following exercise will help you boost your positive signals.

*Identify your best qualities and project them to the world. Before meeting new people or going to important events, prime yourself. Think, “I’m not going to focus on my insecurity but on a strength like my sensitivity, compassion or humor; I’m going to feel and trust the positive energy inside me. I’m going to claim my full power.” Such selective attention puts your best parts front and center.

Law No. 2: Intuition clarifies smart choices

Relationships are tricky; they can be a big blur even when your eyes are open. We’ve learned to draw conclusions from surface data: how nice someone seems, looks or is educated, or how a situation adds up on paper. But attraction goes deeper; to make it work for you, other ingredients must be considered. Respect your intuitions about relationships and identify those that highlight compatible matches.

What may obscure the picture is anxiety or intense sexual attraction. If so, go slow until you get a keener intuitive read. In my book, Positive Energy I give exercises to help train you to act from instinct, not impulse.

*Tune in. Choose a relationship or situation that needs clarification – perhaps you’re confused about a friendship or vacation. Run it by your intuition criteria: Do you feel troubled and nervous or energized and safe?

*Act on vibes. Insecurity, ego, lust or stubbornness can obscure your better judgment. If a person feels positive, explore the possibilities. If the vibes are mixed, take a pass or at least wait. If all you sense is negative, have the courage to walk away, no matter how tempting the option seems. Then observe how listening to energy in this way leads you to the juiciest opportunities.

Law No. 3: Seeing the best in people magnetizes them

Instead of reflexively accentuating the worst in a person or situation, choose to energize positive qualities. The object isn’t to flatter, make nice, be politically correct or ignore intuitive red flags – nor to deny someone’s dark side or placate abusers. Your goal is to mine the gold in positive relationships and elevate the communication in more difficult ones.

We want to have the goodness in us acknowledges. If you want to connect with someone, notice his or her assets. Let’s say a co-worker is snitty. Realize that happy people don’t act this way. So instead of being snitty back or constantly miffed, redirect the energy. Comment on the long hours she puts in, or her dynamite shoes. Use this approach for a week – as well as the ones below – and watch the vibes change.

*Tell at least two people you love what you’re grateful for about them.

*Tell at least two people you don’t love what you’re grateful for about them.

*Adjust your perception. Spend an afternoon noticing the positive qualities of everyone you meet.

*Praise other people’s abilities.

Law No. 4: Soulful giving generates abundance

Giving is supposed to feel good; if not, something’s wrong. Soulful giving enlarges your capacity to be more caring – you give for the joy of it, expecting nothing in return. In contrast, codependent giving bleeds life force; it’s driven by obligation, guilt or a martyr-complex, and it leaves the giver feeling sucked dry, unappreciated and put upon.

You want to give for reasons that energize you, not because you’re taking inappropriate responsibility for others. The following strategies will generate bountiful vibes for you and the receiver. If you give from your heart, your vitality will soar.

*Give spontaneously. Any time is right to offer simple tokens of appreciation to friends or colleagues; a candle, rose, small plant, fragrant soap or funny card.

*Give anonymously. Walk an old lady across the street; hold open an elevator; let a car go before you in traffic; or do something nice behind the scenes for someone, but don’t get found out. Such good deeds add light to your energy field and ultimately draw the same goodness back to you. As a 14-year-old friend told me, “The best way to cheer yourself up is to cheer up someone else.”

Use these “laws” to mobilize excellence and kindness in your relationships. Emphatically say “no” to anything that doesn’t further the heart. Cheer each success. Don’t cheat your joy by jumping too quickly to the next ambition. Instead, pledge to value even the tiniest of triumphs. That’s what the art of positive living is about.

Judith Orloff MD is bestselling author of the new book Emotional Freedom: Liberate Yourself From Negative Emotions and Transform Your Life (Three Rivers Press, 2011) upon which these tips and article are based. Her insights in Emotional Freedom create a new convergence of healing paths for our stressed out world. An assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at UCLA, Dr. Orloff’s work has been featured on The Today Show, CNN, and in Oprah Magazine and USA Today.

More on Safety of GMO’s

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This Food Knowingly Causes Cancer in Rats – Are You Eating it?

Posted By Dr. Mercola | October 05 2011 |

By Dr. Mercola

When it comes to products with the potential to devastate the planet, Monsanto takes the cake.

This company has single-handedly created some of the most destructive products known to man, including polychlorinated biphenyls, known as PCBs, and dioxin (Agent Orange). They are also the world leader in genetically modified (GM) seeds — and if we don’t take action soon, the entire planet could soon become contaminated with these toxic seeds, leading to the complete destruction of the natural food supply.

United States Chooses to Ignore the Precautionary Principle, Embrace Monsanto’s GM Foods

Dr. Philip Bereano has spent the last three decades looking into genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in foods, crops, animals, and humans—both nationally, here in the United States, and internationally. His work led him to participate in the negotiation of two international treaties under the United Nations that dealt with issues relating to GMOs.

In my interview with him earlier this year, he shared his perspective on the safety of GM foods — or rather the lack thereof.

“First of all, we need to understand what we mean by the word safe. Actually, in terms of the academic literature, “safe” refers to “an acceptable level of risk.” It doesn’t refer to situations where there is no risk. Most of us drive in cars all the time and consider it to be safe even though we know that people are killed and injured in automobiles frequently. We have to understand that safe equals acceptable risk.

The problem with calling genetically engineered organisms safe is that there are no valid risk assessments being done on them. There is no research, really, being done into the health or environmental effects of a genetically engineered organism. Certainly no work that is published in the open peer-reviewed literature, or that isn’t proprietary. Corporations promoting these things claim that they have done research, but you can’t get any information on it because it’s all claimed to be proprietary.

Under what is known now as the precautionary principle—which is what your grandparents used to teach you about “looking before you leap”—the only prudent course of action is to NOT proceed with something which has potential risks and only potential benefits until you know a little bit more about it.”

The United States is one country, however, that has fully embraced GM foods on a regulatory level, and does not appear to have any intentions of following the precautionary principle. GM corn, soybeans, canola, and sugar beets have made their way into approximately 80 percent of current U.S. processed grocery store items, now that up to 90 percent of several U.S.grown crops are grown with genetically engineered seed.

So if you live in the United States, you have most certainly already been exposed to GM foods — most likely a lot of them.

Meanwhile, GM seeds are banned in Hungary, as they are in several other European countries, such as Germany and Ireland. These countries have chosen NOT to allow their land to be used as a testing ground in a massive uncontrollable experiment, which is essentially what the introduction of GM crops is.

Not surprisingly, according to information from Wikileaks, there are also indications that the U.S. State Department has been active in defending Monsanto in other countries, particularly in response to the French documentary, “The World According to Monsanto,” which condemned Monsanto’s criminal behavior.

Do You Know the Risks of GMOs?

GM foods are, from my perception, one of the most significant threats that we have against the very sustainability of the human race. Why? In a nutshell, these toxins are being linked to a growing repertoire of assaults against human health and the environment – and they are already migrating into fetal blood, which means future generations are now at risk.

Some GM crops, such as GM sugar beets and certain varieties of GM corn and soy, are engineered to withstand otherwise lethal doses of Monsanto’s herbicide Roundup. Other GM crops, such as Bt corn, are designed to produce their own pesticide internally.

Earlier this year, Cry1Ab, a specific type of Bt toxin from GM crops, has for the first time been detected in human and fetal blood samples. It appears the toxin is quite prevalent, as upon testing 69 pregnant and non-pregnant women who were eating a typical Canadian diet (which included foods such as GM soy, corn and potatoes), researchers found Bt toxin in:

  • 93 percent of blood samples of pregnant women
  • 80 percent of fetal blood samples
  • 69 percent of non-pregnant women blood samples

According to Jeffrey Smith:

“There’s already plenty of evidence that the Bt-toxin produced in GM corn and cotton plants is toxic to humans and mammals and triggers immune system responses. The fact that it flows through our blood supply, and that is passes through the placenta into fetuses, may help explain the rise in many disorders in the US since Bt crop varieties were first introduced in 1996.

In government-sponsored research in Italy, mice fed Monsanto’s Bt corn showed a wide range of immune responses. Their elevated IgE and IgG antibodies, for example, are typically associated with allergies and infections. The mice had an increase in cytokines, which are associated with “allergic and inflammatory responses.”

As you may know, chronic inflammation is at the root of many increasingly common diseases, such as diabetes and heart disease. Food allergies are also skyrocketing, as is infertility, which could also be a potential side effect of GM foods, based on results from animal studies. Monsanto insists that GM foods are no different from conventionally grown varieties, but the research does NOT support this claim. Here is just a sampling of the unsavory findings associated with GM foods:

to read more and see the videos, go to:   http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/10/05/has-any-company-ever-harmed-the-planet-more-than-this.aspx?e_cid=20111005_DNL_art_1

Benefits of Dark Chocolate

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The “Junk Food” that May Help Slash Your Risk of Cardiovascular Disease by 37%

Posted By Dr. Mercola | September 21 2011

By Dr. Mercola

A recent meta-analysis sought to evaluate the association between chocolate consumption and the risk of developing cardiometabolic disorders. “Cardiometabolic disorders” is a term that represents a cluster of interrelated risk factors that promote the development of coronary heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes.

These risk factors include:

  • Hypertension
  • Elevated fasting glucose
  • High cholesterol levels
  • Abdominal obesity
  • Elevated triglycerides

In the featured analysis, researchers pooled the results of seven studies that collectively included more than 114,000 participants. Five of the seven studies reported a beneficial association between chocolate consumption and reduced risk of developing cardiometabolic disorders.

Bear in mind that not all chocolate is created equal. I’ll review that in more detail below. As a general rule, any time “chocolate” is evaluated for its health benefits, we’re dealing with dark unprocessed chocolate and/or raw cacao—not your average processed milk chocolate candy bar. That said, the featured analysis found that the highest levels of chocolate consumption were associated with:

  • 37 percent reduction in cardiovascular disease, and
  • 29 percent reduction in stroke

The authors concluded that:

“Based on observational evidence, levels of chocolate consumption seem to be associated with a substantial reduction in the risk of cardiometabolic disorders.”

Chocolate, Good for Your Cardiovascular Health

This isn’t the first time researchers have lauded dark chocolate as a heart-healthy choice. Five years ago, researchers discovered that small amounts of dark chocolate can cut your risk of heart attackbecause, like aspirin, chocolate has a biochemical effect that reduces the clumping of platelets, which cause blood to clot. Platelet clumping can be fatal if a clot forms and blocks a blood vessel, causing a heart attack.

Then, in 2008, researchers found that specially formulated raw cocoa powder has the potential to prevent cardiovascular disease in diabetics. Diabetic patients were given a special high-flavonol cocoa drink for one month, which brought their blood vessel function from severely impaired to normal. The improvement was actually as large as has been observed with exercise and many common diabetic medications.

More recently, researchers also discovered that a compound in dark chocolate, called epicatechin (a flavonoid), may protect your brain after a stroke by increasing cellular signals that shield nerve cells from damage. A stroke is similar to a heart attack, but occurs when the blood supply to your brain becomes blocked or reduced, as opposed to blocking the blood supply to your heart. This deprives your brain of necessary oxygen and nutrients, causing your brain cells to begin to die within minutes. Certain antioxidants such as epicatechins (which are also found in tea, red wine, and certain fruits and vegetables) may offer significant benefits to stroke victims.

In that study, the animals that ingested epicatechin 1.5 hours prior to an induced stroke suffered significantly less brain damage than the ones that had not been given the compound. It appears the antioxidant stimulates two pathways known to shield nerve cells in your brain from damage, so when the stroke hits, your brain is “on standby,” if you will, ready to protect itself because these pathways are activated. According to the lead author, even a small amount of cacao may be sufficient to reap this protective health benefit!

Beware: Not All Chocolate is Created Equal

As mentioned at the beginning, these types of health benefits are mainly due to the high amounts of antioxidants present in pure cocoa, and any time you process the cocoa it loses its nutritional value. Hence, don’t expect to get these kinds of results from regular chocolate candy. Few chocolates still contain the active ingredient. This means that the chocolate that offers the greatest health benefits is also the kind that few people find truly mouthwatering, as it is very bitter – NOT sweet.

to read more, go to:    http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/09/21/can-eating-this-sweet-treat-decrease-risk-of-the-1-cause-of-death.aspx?e_cid=20110921_DNL_art_1

Doctors, Preconceptions, and God Complex

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Decoding the God Complex

By 
Published: September 27, 2011

Medical schools are starting to train doctors to be less intimidating to patients. And patients are starting to train themselves to be less intimidated by doctors.

We haven’t completely gotten away from the syndrome so perfectly described by Alec Baldwin’s arrogant surgeon in the movie “Malice”: “When someone goes into that chapel and they fall on their knees and they pray to God that their wife doesn’t miscarry or that their daughter doesn’t bleed to death or that their mother doesn’t suffer acute neural trauma from postoperative shock, who do you think they’re praying to? … You ask me if I have a God complex. Let me tell you something: I am God.”

But there have been baby steps away from the Omniscient Doctor. The federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has begun a new campaign to encourage patients to ask more pertinent questions and to prod doctors to elicit more relevant answers.

“I used to think, ‘He’s a doctor. Who am I to ask a question?’ ” Bill Lee, a Baltimore man who has suffered 10 heart attacks, says in a video on the agency’s Web site urging people to speak up.

Patients have more options, a flood of Internet information and a bombardment of drug ads listing side effects — and that can be terrifying. It adds to the general anxiety level that health insurance costs are rising sharply and that President Obama’s health care law seems headed toward the Supreme Court.

The “experts” are always issuing guidelines, which are soon contradicted by another set of “experts.” It happened with the recommended age for regular mammograms, and it’s happening with guidelines on hormone replacement for postmenopausal women.

First, estrogen was going to be the fountain of youth. Then hormone replacement therapy was going to spell doom, causing heart disease, stroke and breast cancer. And now, as The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, “some experts are reaching a more nuanced view of the risks and benefits and concluding that hormone therapy may still be a good option for healthy women in their 50s, depending on their symptoms, family history and worst fears.”

Each patient, a Michigan gynecologist told The Journal, is like a Rubik’s Cube, and must get an individual solution.

That is also the message of a new book, “Your Medical Mind: How to Decide What Is Right for You,” by Jerome Groopman, an oncologist, and his wife, Pamela Hartzband, an endocrinologist, both members of the Harvard faculty and staff physicians at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.

Few people have done as much to demystify medicine as Dr. Groopman, who has written four other books and lots of New Yorker essays aiming to help doctors understand that patients are often neglected allies with good intuition, and to help patients get confidence and control by understanding how doctors think.

Like a Middle East peace broker, he aims to lower the stress level and bring together two sides who perpetually misunderstand each other.

With his white beard, 6-foot-5 stature and friendly manner, the Queens native certainly looks trustworthy. Stephen Colbert once accused Groopman of “trying to look like God.”

And I can say from personal experience — since I’ve known him, he’s provided guidance that helped save the lives of three members of my family — that he is a fierce, sensitive and generous patient advocate. (And an aficionado of Irish literature.)

Dr. Hartzband and Dr. Groopman warn against excessive reliance on overreaching so-called experts and nebulous metrics and statistics.

“The answer often lies not with the experts but within you,” they write, adding that the Albert Einstein line is apt: “Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted.”

The authors stress that “the best” and “informed” can be subjective terms, and that your prognosis can often look very different if you “flip the frame” of reference.

They try to decode the Orwellian language that prevents physicians and patients from cooperating, and show how doctors can project their own preferences on patients.

They interview patients who are Doubters and Minimalists, who may agree with Voltaire’s view that “the art of medicine consists in amusing the patient while nature cures the disease.” And they interview Believers and Maximalists, who go for radical treatments too quickly. They confess that they have a mixed marriage: Dr. Hartzband tends to be a Doubter (her mom’s mantra was “Doctors don’t know everything”) while Dr. Groopman tends to be a Believer (a status that got shaken when he jumped into a spinal fusion operation that had “disastrous consequences.”)

“The unsettling reality,” they write, “is that much of medicine still exists in a gray zone, where there is no black or white answer about when to treat or how to treat.”

But they are both optimists who warn against the “focusing illusion” — focusing on what will be lost after a colostomy, mastectomy, prostate surgery or other major procedures.

“The focusing illusion,” they write, “neglects our extraordinary capacity to adapt, to enjoy life with less than ‘perfect’ health.”

from:    http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/28/opinion/dowd-decoding-the-god-complex.html