Natural Communities Magazine A magazine devoted to the local natural wellness culture.

609 North Main S
Viroqua, WI 54665
http://viroquafood.coop/
 608-637-7511

Even the best diet may not give an animal everything it requires

By SHAWN MESSONNIER / Special Contributor to The Dallas Morning News

Dear Dr. Shawn: After reading The Natural Health Bible for Dogs & Cats, I know that you’re a big believer in using supplements. But since I feed my dog what I think is a good natural diet, is supplementation still important?

Answer: I’m a big believer in feeding the proper diet AND combining the best diet with whatever supplements your pet requires. I’m assuming that your pet is healthy and does not have any specific needs that I should address. The foundation of any holistic health program starts with a natural diet, preferably free from by-products and chemicals. Even the best diet may not provide everything your pet needs to maintain health. This is because diets are formulated for the “average” pet, and I’ve yet to see an “average” pet. Evidence from studies supports the benefits of vitamin and mineral supplementation. This is especially true for pet foods that are not natural or holistic. Many foods lack nutritional enhancement, and the ingredients used are by-products from human-grade materials that aren’t fit for human consumption and are deficient in important nutrients. The diet is a starting place, and supplements are used depending upon a pet’s specific needs.

Here are some recommendations that will be true for all pets:

• The supplement should be produced by a company with a good track record. Ideally, the manufacturing company will have the stamp of approval from the National Animal Supplement Council (www.NASC.cc). The supplement should be scientifically formulated.
• The supplement should be formulated with the finest all-natural human-grade ingredients.
• Supplements should be economical to allow you to enhance your pet’s diet and ensure the pet is getting all essential nutrients daily. A little bit of money spent maintaining health is better than spending a whole lot of money to treat illness.
• The supplement should be easy to give to your pet; using a supplement as a treat is better than having to force a pill down. There are many good supplements your doctor might recommend; one of my favorites that I recommend in my practice on a daily basis is by Pet-Togethers and is called PetCentrx “Vim & Vigor”. It’s a wellness formula for pets. By using this high quality supplement, along with feeding a great diet, you’re ensuring your pet’s long term health and wellness.

Dr. Shawn Messonnier is the author of “8 Weeks to a Healthy Dog” and “The Natural Health Bible for Dogs & Cats.” Send questions to Paws & Claws Animal Hospital, 2145 W. Park Blvd., Plano, TX, 75075, e-mail him at shawnvet@sbcglobal.net

Source: dallasnews.com

Vim & Vigor Daily Supplements

“The Pet-Togethers supplement, Vim & Vigor, is my FAVORITE supplement for dogs and cats. It comes in a delicious treat form (chewable treat for dogs, flavored powder for cats.) I use it to maintain health in my healthy patients (and in my own pets!) and it’s my starting supplement for pets with any illness.”
- Dr. Shawn Messonnier, DVM
-Dr. Shawn, is a natural pet vet and the author of several books on natural health for pets. He is the host of the weekly award-winning radio show, “Dr. Shawn-The Natural Vet”, on Martha Stewart Radio SIRIUS channel 112 on Tuesdays from 8:00 PM to 10:00 PM (EST).

---

Vim & Vigor - Nothing Short of a Miracle! “Vim & Vigor” formula for dogs and cats is serious nutrition that provides serious results. Nothing will convince you more of the incomparable benefits of PetCentrx than personally witnessing the miracles in your feline. If your pet is like many today with nutrient deficiencies, you can expect remarkable changes within just a few weeks, including:

• More Energy
• Healthier Appearance
• Greater Mobility
• Stronger Bones and Muscles
• Fewer Veterinarian Visits
• Happier Disposition
• Greater Rest
• Better Digestion
• Fuller Life

Visit the Pet-Togethers web site.

Click (here) to read dr.shawn’s latest article.

A compact fluorescent light is a type of energy-saving bulb that fits into a standard light bulb socket or plugs into a small lighting fixture, and right now, compact fluorescents seem to be gaining in popularity. But did you know they can also be toxic to your home and the environment?

Fluorescent lights are filled with a gas containing low-pressure mercury vapor and argon, or sometimes even krypton. The inner surface of the bulb is coated with a fluorescent coating made of varying blends of metallic and rare earth phosphor salts. Fluorescent light bulbs are more energy efficient than incandescent light bulbs of an equivalent brightness, and the efficiency of fluorescent lighting owes much to low-pressure mercury photon discharges. But fluorescents don’t produce a steady light, and they burn out more quickly when cycled frequently; they also contain items such as fluorine, neon, and lead powder as well as mercury.

Measuring the environmental impact of mercury use in a particular product is more complicated than you might think. Mercury is an essential element in millions of fluorescent lamps throughout the world, and as those lamps are thrown into landfill, the mercury can escape and contribute to air and water pollution. (It can easily leach into groundwater supplies.)

According to www.lightbulbrecycling.com, each year an estimated 600 million fluorescent lamps are disposed of in U.S. landfills, amounting to 30,000 pounds of mercury waste. Astonishingly, that’s almost half the amount of mercury emitted into the atmosphere by coal-fired power plants each year. It only takes 4mg of mercury to contaminate up to 7,000 gallons of freshwater, meaning that the 30,000 pounds of mercury thrown away in compact fluorescent light bulbs each year is enough to pollute nearly every lake, pond, river and stream in North America (not to mention the oceans).

Controlling the waste

Many state governing agencies have adopted their own regulations regarding the disposal of fluorescent lights. In California, Minnesota, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin, it is unlawful for anyone to dispose of fluorescent bulbs as universal waste. These laws are based on the well-documented toxicity of the heavy metal mercury.

Mercury (also called ‘quicksilver’) is a heavy, silvery transition metal most commonly found in thermometers, barometers, and other scientific apparatus. It is used in the electrical industry and in laboratory and medical instruments. Mercury is a known neurotoxin, and elevated blood mercury levels may lead to retardation and deformities in children. Chest pains, dyspnea, coughing, hemoptysis, and sometimes interstitial pneumonitis leading to death may follow acute inhalation exposure to mercury vapor. In America, 1 in 6 children born every year have been exposed to mercury levels so high that they are potentially at risk for learning disabilities, motor skill impairment and short-term memory loss.

If Americans adopt the use of even more compact fluorescent light bulbs, this ratio is like to substantially grow. Breaking one mercury light bulb in your home can contaminate your home to such a degree that hazardous materials experts are needed to remove the mercury. (At great cost, too. A typical mercury removal effort involving the breaking of a single fluorescent light can cost several thousand dollars.) The idea of allowing mercury to be placed in an easily breakable consumer product is fraught with public safety risks. In fact, it required a special exemption from the EPA to allow mercury-fluorescent lamps to be sold to consumers in the first place.

When a fluorescent light breaks, its vapors quickly escape and can be inhaled and absorbed through the skin. Most compounds of mercury are toxic, especially its organic compounds (such as methyl mercury).

A researcher at the University of Illinois at Springfield sums up the basic point behind these fluorescent bulbs: “People need to understand that these bulbs are considered “hazardous” and can cause long term damage to not only the environment, but if broken can cause health problems with people as well. Mercury has the ability to cause humans, as well as animals, serious health problems such as permanent nerve and kidney damage if exposed.”

Alternatives to mercury-containing compact fluorescent lights

Fortunately, consumers no longer have to bring mercury into their homes through the use of fluorescent lights. There are now sensible alternatives. One of the most eco-friendly options is LED light bulbs which are not only mercury free, they’re also 300% more energy efficient than fluorescent lights (and about 1000% more efficient than incandescent lights).

Unlike incandescent light bulbs, which light up regardless of the electrical polarity, LEDs will only light with positive electrical polarity. LEDs produce more light per watt than do incandescent bulbs, and have an extremely long life span (usually about 50,000 hours). One manufacturer has calculated the ETTF (Estimated Time To Failure) for their LEDs to be between 100,000 and 1,000,000 hours, mostly depending on the operating temperature (the cooler the environment, the longer LEDs last). Fluorescent tubes, in contrast, are typically rated at about 10,000 hours, but in practical application, they only last about 2,000 - 3,000 hours. Incandescent light bulbs typically burn out every 1,000 hours. LEDs mostly fail by dimming over time, rather than with the abrupt burnout of incandescent bulbs.

One great advantage about LEDs is that they are difficult to damage with external shock. Fluorescent and incandescent bulbs, on the other hand, are easily broken if dropped on the ground.

LED lights contain absolutely no mercury or toxic chemicals, and conventional LEDs are made from a variety of inorganic semiconductor materials. They don’t generate RF wavelengths that cause radio interference, or emit ultraviolet (UV) light — so LEDs will not readily attract bugs and other insects.

Source: www.newstarget.com

Pet Togethers website
 866-638-7381

110 W. Court St.
Viroqua, WI 54665
www.driftlessfairtraders.com
 608-630-1548

The idea that sunscreen prevents cancer is a myth. It’s a myth promoted by a profit-seeking tag-team effort between the cancer industry and the sunscreen industry. The sunscreen industry makes money by selling lotion products that actually contain cancer-causing chemicals. It then donates a portion of that money to the cancer industry through non-profit groups like the American Cancer Society which, in turn, run herart-breaking public service ads urging people to use sunscreen to “prevent cancer.”

The scientific evidence, however, shows quite clearly that sunscreen actually promotes cancer by blocking the body’s absorption of ultraviolet radiation, which produces vitamin D in the skin. Vitamin D, as recent studies have shown, prevents up to 77 of ALL cancers in women (breast cancer, colon cancer, cervical cancer, lung cancer, brain tumors, multiple myeloma… you name it). Meanwhile, the toxic chemical ingredients used in most sunscreen products are actually carcinogenic and have never been safety tested or safety approved by the FDA. They get absorbed right through the skin (a porous organ that absorbs most substances it comes into contact with) and enter the bloodstream.

The benefits of sunscreen are a myth. Proponents say sunscreen prevents sunburn, but in fact, the real cause of sunburn is not merely UV exposure: It is a lack of antioxidant nutrition. Start eating lots of berries and microalgae (spirulina, astaxanthin, blue-green algae, etc.), and you’ll build up an internal sunscreen that will protect your skin from sunburn from the inside out. Sunburn is actually caused by nutritional deficiencies that leave the skin vulnerable to DNA mutations from radiation, but if you boost your nutrition and protect your nervous system with plant-based nutrients, you’ll be naturally resistant to sunburn. The same nutrients, by the way, also protect the optic nerve and eyes from radiation damage. That’s why the consumption of berries and carrots, for example, has historically been associated with healthy eye function. (The same nutrients that protect the eyes also protect the skin.)

Medical nonsense

If sunscreen is so bad for humans, you might ask, then why do so many doctors recommend using it? This might be hard for you to believe, but it wasn’t too long ago that doctors routinely recommended smoking cigarettes, too. The Journal of the American Medical Association, in fact, ran numerous ads promoting Camels as “recommended by more doctors than any other cigarette!” Doctors talked up the “benefits” of smoking cigarettes, urging people to start smoking in order to improve brain function or even — get this — make their teeth stronger!

The truth is doctors are easily influenced by commercial interests and can be readily convinced to recommend practically any product, no matter how toxic, unhealthy or deadly to consumers. Just look at how many doctors wrote prescriptions for Vioxx, for example, after being visited by a Vioxx drug rep pushing it as a “miracle drug” for joint pain.

Also keep in mind that doctor-prescribed medications are the fourth leading cause of death in America today. About 100,000 Americans die each year from following the advice of their doctor. Does it really make any sense to get your health advice from a group of professionals who kill more Americans each year than all the terrorists have ever killed in the history of this country? Besides, doctors know that if they start recommending sunlight and vitamin D, they’ll lose patients and profits because people will start getting well and have no need to keep visiting the doctor. Vitamin D, as you will learn in our free report, The Healing Power of Sunlight and Vitamin D, prevents not only cancer, but also diabetes, osteoporosis, depression, heart disease and obesity. It’s the miracle nutrient of the millennium, and yet the entire medical profession tries desperately to pretend that vitamin D has no biological function whatsoever. Hence the support of sunscreen (the anti-vitamin D product).

Sunscreen directly promotes vitamin D deficiency. You show me a person who regularly uses sunscreen, and I’ll show you a person who’s on the road towards cancer and other degenerative diseases. People who use sunscreen are killing themselves and they don’t even know it!

The sunscreen marketing con

The marketing of sunscreen is another great example of consumer product companies fabricating a need in order to sell a high-profit product made mostly with toxic chemicals. There is no need for sunscreen, but the cancer industry and sunscreen manufacturers have created a fictitious need through a campaign of fear and disinformation, hypnotizing practically the entire population into believing one of the most ridiculous ideas in the universe: that sunlight is bad for human health.

Think about it. Our ancestors did not have indoor lighting; they exposed their skin to the sun regularly. They didn’t run and hide from the sun, they used it as nourishment to generate a crucial vitamin that supports human health in a multitude of ways. The idea that “the sun is bad for you” makes about as much sense as “water is bad for you” or “the Earth is flat.” This persistent myth was invented, marketed and publicized by an industry that profits from a gullible public believing demonstrable falsehoods.

But why would the cancer industry go along with the deception, you might ask? Because the continued commercial success of the cancer industry depends on more people getting cancer. In previous articles, I’ve clearly shown that the cancer industry has no interest whatsoever in preventing cancer. The industry, in fact, takes steps to interfere with prevention efforts and thereby ensure the growth in the number of future cancer patients.

The American Cancer Society, for example, still will not recommend that anyone take vitamin D supplements, even though the vitamin can prevent nearly 4 out of 5 cancers. The cancer industry simply has no interest in preventing cancer. It is only interested in treating cancer and profiting from those treatments. (That’s why genuine cancer cures have been routinely suppressed, censored or discredited in the United States.)
The promotion of sunscreen products is a way for the cancer industry to ensure future profits from the treatment of cancer. The more people use sunscreen products, the more they’ll get cancer. And that’s due to two primary reasons: 1) Sunscreen blocks vitamin D production, a nutrient that strongly prevents cancer, and 2) Sunscreen products almost always contain cancer-causing chemicals that are absorbed through the skin and enter the bloodstream where they cause severe DNA damage, leading to cancer.

Seven important questions about sunscreen

The next time you see some public service advertisement urging you to smother yourself and your children with sunscreen chemicals, think hard before taking action. Ask yourself these seven commonsense questions:

1) Is the sun really dangerous to humans? If so, how did humans survive for the last 350,000 years on planet Earth?

2) Have the chemicals used in sunscreen products ever been safety tested or approved by the FDA? (The answer is no.)

3) Who financially benefits when you keep buying and using sunscreen products?

4) What is the environmental impact of sunscreen chemicals washing off into the ocean, a lake, a swimming pool or being washed down the drain in your shower?

5) Sunscreen manufacturers say the skin doesn’t absorb their chemicals. If that’s true, then how do nicotine patches work? How do transdermal drugs get absorbed through the skin if sunscreen chemicals don’t? (Answer: ALL these chemicals get absorbed through the skin. The skin is not selective about what it chooses to absorb.)

6) If the sun is so dangerous, then why is the vitamin generated by sunlight (vitamin D) so healthy for humans? Why would humans evolve a mechanism for generating a vitamin from sunlight if we weren’t supposed to be exposed to sunlight in the first place?

7) If sunlight is so dangerous, then why is virtually every living creature on planet Earth dependent on sunlight for survival? Plants use sunlight to generate their nutrition, too, and most animals eat either plants or other animals that originally ate plants. Nearly all life on planet Earth is powered by sunlight. Why does the cancer industry believe sunlight causes death when, in reality, sunlight delivers life?

Once you answer these questions, the reality of the situation becomes obvious: Sunlight is good for you, and sunscreen is a hoax.

Action items

Be sure to read our free report on this: The Healing Power of Sunlight and Vitamin D. This provides tips on how to safely gauge your level of exposure to sunlight. Don’t just rush out and get burned; boost your nutrition and work up a natural tan as nature intended.

See the article: Vitamin D slashes cancer risk by 77 percent.

Visit our topic page on Vitamin D.

If you choose to buy sunscreen, only buy natural sunscreen products containing no petrochemicals! One brand I recommend is Caribbean Blue Natural Basics “Sun Shield.” You can find more at www.gocaribbeanblue.com

Smearing berries on your skin also works as a natural sunscreen, as does smearing aloe vera gel on your skin. Amazon Herb Co. distributors use a product called Camu C Serum as a natural suncreen. It works great! http://www.amazondreams.amazonherb.net

The best sunscreen, however, is an internal sunscreen built with nutrition. Eat chlorella, spirulina, goji berries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, astaxanthin, carrots and nutrient-rich superfoods to boost your skin’s natural UV protection (takes about 30 days of nutrition to boost skin levels).

About the author:

Mike Adams is a natural health researcher and author with a passion for sharing empowering information to help improve personal and planetary health. He is a prolific writer and has published thousands of articles, interviews, reports and consumer guides, impacting the lives of millions of readers around the world who are experiencing phenomenal health benefits from reading his articles. Adams is a trusted, independent journalist who receives no money or promotional fees whatsoever to write about other companies’ products. In 2007, Adams launched EcoLEDs, a manufacturer of mercury-free, energy-efficient LED lighting products that save electricity and help prevent global warming. He also founded an environmentally-friendly online retailer called BetterLifeGoods.com that uses retail profits to help support consumer advocacy programs. He’s also a noted pioneer in the email marketing software industry, having been the first to launch an HTML email newsletter technology that has grown to become a standard in the industry. Adams also serves as the executive director of the Consumer Wellness Center, a non-profit consumer protection group, and pursues hobbies such as Pilates, Capoeira, nature macrophotography and organic gardening. Known on the ‘net as ‘the Health Ranger,’ Adams shares his ethics, mission statements and personal health statistics at www.HealthRanger.org

Research from a British university suggests that sodium benzoate, a common preservative found in many soft drinks, has the ability to switch off vital parts of DNA.

This could eventually lead to diseases such as cirrhosis of the liver and Parkinson’s.

When a UK professor of molecular biology and biotechnology tested the impact of sodium benzoate on living yeast cells, he discovered that it was damaging important DNA in the cells’ mitochondria.

Mitochondria serve as the “power stations” for cells, and damage to them can lead to serious cell malfunctions associated with aging and age-related disease. The damage caused by sodium benzoate was great enough to cause the mitochondria to stop functioning.

Sodium benzoate occurs naturally in berries in small amounts, but is used in large quantities to prevent mold in soft drinks such as Sprite, Diet Pepsi, Coca-Cola, and Dr Pepper. It is also added to pickles and sauces.

The Independent May 27, 2007

Dr. Mercola’s Comment:

I am still shocked every time I reflect on the fact that the number one source of calories in America comes from soda. To me it is an absolutely mind-boggling fact. Of course, all I have to do to knock my senses back to reality is go to a standard grocery store on a busy weekend and see what people are stuffing in their shopping carts.

We clearly have a long way to go to share even the most fundamental, basic nutrition concepts to the typical highly deceived and manipulated consumer. This new danger from sodium benzoate is simply one among many, as sodas are among the worst possible “foods” you can consume.

Professor Peter Piper, the UK expert who discovered the problem, says that the soft drink preservative can “totally inactivate” and “knock out” cells’ mitochondria. The end result is an increased risk of a slew of diseases.

Sodium benzoate has previously also come under fire because, when combined with the vitamin C in many soft drinks, it forms benzene, a cancer-causing chemical linked to leukemia. In one study, at least five brands of soft drinks were found to contain excessive benzene levels.

Sodium benzoate is used freely in the United States and the UK. Fortunately, you can protect your health from this dangerous substance by not drinking soda (and not allowing your kids to either).

This is one of the easiest — and most significant — things you can do for your health; and aside from the good news that you won’t have to worry about damaging your DNA, giving up soda (if you drink it) can reduce your risk of diabetes, obesity, and cancer.

So put down the can of soda, and pick up a glass of clean water instead.

Source: www.mercola.com

About Face Winona
Skin Care services

About Face Winona is devoted to enhancing the skin’s natural health so that you can look and feel your best at any age and of any gender.

We specialize in anti-aging skin care procedures that when combined with proper nutrition, exercise, hydration, and a healthy lifestyle promote the youthful appearance of the skin and aid in total well being.

About Face offers relaxing as well as clinical facial and body procedures geared towards slowing down the natural aging process in order to obtain the optimum health of the skin. Our goal is to work closely with the client to ensure that all of his/her needs are met in a caring, relaxing, and nurturing environment. In order to individualize each procedure to skin specific needs, a careful consultation is performed and the skin is cleansed and closely examined.

We are happy to design a program of “in spa” and at home care which will address conditions specific to the client and offer procedures designed to increase circulation and promote the production of elastin and collagen, the “building blocks” of firmness, elasticity, and skin tone.

Located within GQ
Winona Mall
By Appointment
 507-454-1580