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Parents in Brazil are refusing to feed their children products made using genetically-modified sugar, according to an article at Food & Water Watch. Halloween is just around the corner, and unbeknownst to many American parents, foods like Kellogg’s cereal and Hershey’s chocolate may be made with sugar from genetically-modified sugar beets, warns Kisha Lewellyn Schlegel in a report at NewWest.net. There are many reasons that parents of American children need to be concerned.

Why Would They Use GM Sugar Beets?

Not surprisingly, it’s all about the money. These sugar beets have been genetically altered so that they can withstand regular applications of a weed killer made by Monsanto known as RoundUp. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently increased the allowable residue of the active ingredient of the weed killer (known as glyphosate) on beetroots by a whopping 5000%. Those scientists at the EPA are really doing their jobs protecting everyone, eh?

What’s The Trouble With Glyphosate?

So, what’s the trouble with the weed killer residue? Probably the biggest issue is that there have been studies linking glyphosate exposure to cancer and other health problems. Of course, there is also the Network of Concerned Farmers, a group of farmers who believe that glyphosate can create “super weeds” that are resistant to herbicides. Then, of course, there is a concern that these frankenfood crops may be responsible for the gene pollution of other crops and plants.

Monsanto Hires a Team of Lobbyists - Parents Must Take Action!

While the sugar industry is trying to keep their use of genetically-modified sugar beets quiet, Monsanto has hired a whole team of lobbyists to work on their behalf. This is why it is very important for concerned parents to make their views known before it is too late! Contact Nancy Pelosi at AmericanVoices@house.gov, and tell her that laws are needed to protect consumers from genetically-modified sugar beets. It is also important to send faxes to lawmakers. One can (at the time of this writing) send two free faxes per day at FaxZero.com right from any computer with an Internet connection (see terms and conditions at the site). Consumers should never have to worry about getting cancer from eating a piece of Halloween candy. (Even if parents are strict about what their children eat at home, it’s hard to police what they might be given at at class parties at school.) Why not send a free fax to two different lawmakers every single day? If enough people complain, lawmakers will have to listen. E-mail or fax this article to lawmakers today.

Don’t Support Child Slave Labor

Unfortunately, there is another reason to be concerned about the candy one purchases. According to an article by Dr. Edward Group, two of the companies that rule the chocolate industry (M&M/Mars and Hershey’s) purchase much of their cocoa from the Ivory Coast. Unfortunately, Ivory Coast cocoa farms use child slave labor to work their farms. Parents must consider whether they really want their children indulging in sweets made at the expense of other children.

Dr. Group: Put Your Money Where Your Health Is

Dr. Group believes parents can make their voices heard by voting with their dollars, by purchasing only organic chocolate and candy products. Dr Group asks parents to ask themselves if they would buy a chocolate bar if the label on the product said: “Consuming this candy bar may cause cancer - contains sugar from genetically engineered beets, cocoa harvested by child slaves, and harmful pesticides and fungicides.” Sounds much less appealing, doesn’t it?

About the author
Joanne Waldron is a computer scientist with a passion for writing and sharing health-related news and information with others. She runs the Naked Wellness: The Gentle Health Revolution forum, which is devoted to achieving radiant health, well-being, and longevity.

Source: http://www.naturalnews.com/024608.html

What happens when 12 000 people send their intention for peace at the same time, eight days long, for 10 minutes a day, directed at the same region? Well, according to preliminary results of the first intention experiment directed by Lynn McTaggart, this does have a significant influence on the overall peace levels. A few weeks ago the first global peace intention experiment took place, this was part of the largest mind-over-matter experiments in history. The architect of the experiments is Lynn McTaggart, author of the bestselling books “The Intention Experiment” and “The Field”. The aim of the experiment is to “test the power of group intention to lower violence in a succession of areas around the world noted for high levels of violence.” Today, one month after the first experiment, the preliminary data starts rolling in…

Collective thought has the power to change the world

In 2006-2007 Lynn McTaggart has scientifically demonstrated, with a series of experiments, that a ‘group mind’ can:

• Make seeds grow twice as high as normal
• Change basic physical properties of leaves
• Alter the essential structure of water
• Change physical properties in a plant and a human being

McTaggart is one of the pioneers in the world today who offers scientific demonstrations that collective thoughts have the power to change the world. The studies mentioned above have been presented at the Society for Scientific Exploration annual meeting in June 2008.
Leading physicists and psychologists from the University of Arizona, Pennsylvania State University, St. Petersburg Technical University, the International Institute of Biophysics and the former PEAR lab at Princeton University, have all worked with Lynn McTaggart.

Peace Intention experiments?

The peace intention experiments where sparked by the large number of Transcendental Meditation (TM) studies that where conducted. These showed, that if a critical mass of people regularly meditated in a certain area, the crime rate goes down. One of those studies attempted to use meditation to diminish the Palestininan conflict in 1983. It showed, that fatalities in Lebanon fell by 76 per cent on days with a high number of meditators. Although the TM studies where highly successful, The Peace Intention Experiment goes one step further, by letting the group send a specific intention, instead of general meditation.

The scientific team, responsible for maintaining the strict protocal and measuring violence levels before and after, includes:

• Dr. Robert Jahn, former dean of engineering at Princeton University and former director of the PEAR Lab
• Psychologist Brenda Dunne, also formerly of the PEAR Lab
• Psychologist Gary Schwartz of the University of Arizona, and director of the Laboratory for Advancement of Consciousness and Health, who has run many healing energy experiments
• Psychologist Roger Nelson, formerly of Princeton University, and director of the Global Consciousness Project
• Dr. Jessica Utts, professor of statistics at the University of California at Davis, considered the world’s leading statistician of consciousness research

The pilot study: Sri Lanka

11 468 Participants
The first peace intention experiment started on September 14th and ran for eight consecutive days, on which at least 11 468 people took part. The participants came from more than 65 countries, top ranking countries were the US, Canada, the UK, the Netherlands, South Africa, Germany, Australia, Belgium, Spain and Mexico.

Target: the Wanni region in Sri Lanka
The experiment focused on the Wanni region. For most people, a quit unknown part of the earth. Nevertheless, they have suffered a civil war for 25 years, with more suicide bombing then anywhere.

How to get 11 468 people together
The intention experiment set up a website, where the participants could login just before the daily experiment began. The web pages flipped over automatically and guided the participants through the experiment. The experiment schedule looked like this:

• 0:00 Power Up, prepare yourself mentally for the study.
• 0:05 Page automatically flips over. Study intention target
• 0:10 Page flips over. Experiment begins.
• 0:20 Experiment ends. Join the Intention Experiment forum.

During the experiment phase, the website played nice, relaxing music and showed images of Sri Lankans in peace. The intention was the following:

“My intention is for peace and cooperation to be restored in the Wanni region of Sri Lanka and for all war-related deaths and violence to be reduced by at least 10 per cent”

Positive results – Some preliminary statistics

Jessica Utts, professor of Statistics at University of California at Irvine, is responsible for the statistical processing of the experiment’s data.
Before the intention study, the Wanni Region has averaged 102 deaths per week. Strangely enough, according to Lynn McTaggart, the intentions had the initial effect of increasing violence. Since there was a last surge of attacks by the Sri Lankan government, who wanted to quash the Tamil Tiger rebels once and for all. This brought on 461 murders in the eight days of the experiment, which is a great increase. Luckily, the data does not end here…

In the 24 days following the experiment, violence levels immediately plunged down and stayed low ever since. The weekly average death rate in the Wanni region dropped by
49 per cent!

Interestingly enough, the Eastern part of Sri Lanka, experienced the same evolution. The death rate heightened during the experiment period, and then fell by 68.4 per cent.

These statistics are given by Lynn McTaggart directly in her newsletter. However, they are preliminary, once there are more numbers available, the long term effect will become visible.

Participant responses

The experiment was followed by discussions in the specially set up web forum, where lots of people spoke about the lovely feelings of peace they experienced during the intention. One topic that came up a few times was the surprising use of low-energy words in the intention:

“My intention is for peace and cooperation to be restored in the Wanni region of Sri Lanka and for all war-related deaths and violence to be reduced by at least 10 per cent”

A lot of people found it hard to visualize a reduction of war. Whereas an increase in peace would be much easier to picture. Just try not to think about a pink elephant… In line with the philosophy of best selling author Yvonne Oswald PhD, we can say that if you think about the word “war”, you will put this vibration out into the world, it doesn’t matter if you think about “less war” or “less death”, the vibration of this low energy word will remain present.
Lynn McTaggart did respond to this, suggesting a possible change for the future (non-pilot) studies.

Healing the earth

McTaggart’s valuable research is not only useful to create global peace. She has been working with Dr. Rustum Roy, to create a mass experiment to purify polluted water, by using thoughts to mutate bacteria. Another extremely interesting project of McTaggart is conducted together with the University of Arizona, where they are constructing a miniature ecosystem and are attempting to lower the temperature inside. If this experiment has significant effect, it would mean that our collective thoughts could tackle global warming… So start thinking positive today!

Sources
thepeaceintentionexperiment.com
theintentionexperiment.com
Lynn McTaggart’s Newsletter

About the author
Dorien Herremans MSc is the founder of projects such as http://raw-vegan.org (business directory, recipes, videos, blogs, etc), http://rawvegancounter.com and http://rawvegandating.com . She is also editor of http://newearthnews.org.

Source of Article: http://www.naturalnews.com/024576.html

Ruth Ann Plourde suddenly interrupted the workshop as her class was trying to recreate the graceful but agonizingly slow T’ai Chi forms she’d taught moments before. “How’s the monkey chatter now?” she asked. “Are you feeling in the present?”

No doubt about that. It took all one’s concentration to put the right foot out in front, lean into it, and simultaneously do the choo-choo move with the arms. No one was thinking about irritations at work, the price of gas, or picking up the kids. At the end of the class participants said they felt focused and relaxed.

An assistant professor of holistic health at the University of St. Catherine, Plourde teaches T’ai Chi and Qigong classes and brings the exercises into the workplace through her company, “Innergize.” She was one of more than 30 holistic health teachers giving hour-long introductory workshops and presentations at “Restore,” a conference held recently at the Aveda Institute in Minneapolis attended by several hundred women and a handful of men.

Warren King, a licensed acupuncturist and specialist in auricular medicine (based on taking cues from the energy emanating from a patient’s ears to detect and treat illness) focused much of his talk on environmental toxins and how they affect our health. “You might be taking your neighbor’s drugs,” he offered, underlining the revelation that scientists have found traces of prescription drugs in drinking water tested around the country. King believes many common illnesses can be traced to arsenic in chicken, mercury fillings in our teeth, rocket fuel in tap water, and the prevalence of parasites, particularly among travelers to the tropics. Coupled with a diet of unprocessed and simple foods, “80 to 90 percent of the time herbs or homeopathic medicine can kill off” the toxins or parasites that are causing chronic fatigue, nausea or PMS, said King.

Several healing touch practitioners volunteered to give 15-minute sessions throughout the day, including Aimee Prasek, an organizer of the event and alum of the holistic health studies program at the University of St. Catherine. Healing Touch is an energy therapy that uses gentle hand techniques, on or off the body, that are thought to open the patient’s energy field and get the energy moving to accelerate healing of the body, mind and spirit. (Click here for image of Kathy Kerber, a nurse and healing hands practioner in Minneapolis demonstrating healing touch. http://www.fleshandstone.net/thumbnail….)

While some people feel no sensation under healing touch, others describe a sensation of flowing energy, relaxation, feeling supported or nurtured, and they may sense images and colors. Some patients may feel an emotional release or have a sudden insight into their lives. And some might elicit an unexpected stomach gurgling or need to cough during an energy session. “That’s typical,” said Prasek. “Things are opening up and moving around.”

Patients and healthy individuals have been turning to alternative healing methods such as energy work, meditation and yoga for years, and in the case of chiropractic, for decades. Now conventional Western medicine is getting on board with what it calls “complementary and alternative medicine” or “CAM.” (The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine defines CAM as “a group of diverse medical and health care systems, practices, and products that are not presently considered to be part of conventional medicine.”)

Conventional or not, most leading teaching hospitals and major universities now offer CAM training programs and despite tighter budgets, hospitals are launching new holistic healing centers for patient care. Sponsors of Restore included the University of Minnesota, the Mayo Clinic, Abbott Northwestern, and the University of St. Catherine, among two dozen other CAM-focused organizations and businesses.

Brent Bauer, MD, director of the Mayo Clinic’s complimentary and integrative medicine program, said “physicians are slowly coming around” to acknowledging the benefits of CAM. He highlighted key findings of published studies undertaken by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, Mayo Clinic, MD Anderson Cancer Center, and other giants in health care research that provide evidence that alternative health therapies like acupuncture, meditation and yoga help reduce pain, improve overall quality of life, and reduce stress. That’s significant since stress is accepted as a leading contributor to many diseases as well as premature aging.

Most traditional medicine practitioners are unwilling to say that CAM does more than reduce stress because it’s currently next to impossible to gather evidence, measure, or quantify changes that take place during alternative healing, especially those based on moving one’s energy field.

Taking the leap of experiencing a healing modality such as healing touch, Qigong or acupuncture requires an open mind, but not a leap of faith nor a turning away from conventional medicine. In fact, many nurses and a growing number of doctors are trained in CAM therapies and offer them in their practices. Almost everyone approaches their first energy healing session with some skepticism. We’ve been programmed that illnesses and injuries are treated with surgery and drugs. There’s been little advocacy of preventative health care beyond the fundamentals of eating a healthy diet and getting adequate exercise.

So now CAM is coming into the mainstream and conventional medicine is following the trend. Might we soon see national TV ads for FDA-approved natural herbs, 1-800 phone healings and meditations that will help you reach a state of non-thinking bliss alongside the ads for Cialis?

Kathlyn Stone is an independent journalist in St. Paul, MN covering health care news and policies for public and professional audiences. She is the publisher of FleshandStone.net.

Source: http://www.naturalnews.com/024540.html

Bee colonies are disappearing in worrying numbers across the globe. Beekeepers in America, the UK, Scotland, Germany Switzerland, Spain, Portugal and Greece are all seeing their hives vanish in worrying numbers.

Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) is when a hive’s inhabitants suddenly disappear, leaving only queens, eggs and a few immature workers. Usually there is an obvious reason for the collapse, such as sickness or a predator attack. However, in this current epidemic, there doesn’t seem to be a straight forward answer.

Furthermore, many of the beekeepers also reported that other bees, animals and moths stayed away from the abandoned nests, which is not what normally happens. This may indicate a very serious problem.

Bees are arguably one of the most essential insects on the human food chain. Most of the world’s crops depend on pollination by bees. They are the main pollinator of hundreds of types of crops, nuts, flowers, vegetables and fruits. The implication of this widespread disappearance is alarming.

Albert Einstein once said that if the bees disappeared, “man would have only four years of life left”.

Possible Reasons for the Dying Bee Populations

There is no conclusive reason that this is happening. Theories include genetically modified foods, pesticides, stress and global warming.

But one of the most popular theories is that electromagnetic radiation given off by cell phones and other hi-tech gadgets is causing this worrying phenomenon. The theory is that radiation interferes with bees’ navigation systems, preventing them from finding their way back to the hive, which is a hallmark trait of bees.

And there is actual evidence to back this up. German research has long shown that bees change their natural patterns of behavior near power lines.

In addition, a study at Landau University has found that bees do not go back to their hives when cell phones are placed nearby. Dr Jochen Kuhn, who carried it out, said this could provide a “hint” to a possible cause.

Cell Phones and Humans

So if mobile phones are causing bees to disappear, what are they doing to our health?
While proof is not absolutely conclusive, there is mounting evidence that cell phones are dangerous to people.

Most research on cancer is still too early to set in stone. But an official Finnish study found that people who used the phones for more than 10 years were 40 per cent more likely to get a brain tumor on the same side as they held the handset.

Swedish research has shown that radiation from cell phones kill off brain cells. This is incredibly worrying, and may be one of the many reasons that dementia is on the rise. Furthermore, we have no idea what will be the fate of all the young people today who are the first generation to have their own cell phones and use them regularly.

Most experts warn that children under eight should not use cells under any circumstances.
Studies in India and the US have shown that men who use cell phones very regularly have reduced sperm counts.

Last but not least, there is actually a new syndrome that is increasingly being seen by doctors which is a sort of texting Repetitive Strain Disorder (RSI) of the thumb.

What Can We Do?

Even if we choose to not have a cell phone ourselves, the cell masts are all around us causing us stress. But choosing to use the land line as much as possible and ensuring that children don’t use them is a good start.

Eating a diet that is seriously high in antioxidants is another huge stride in warding off the affects of cell phones. They are what protect us against cellular damage from all environmental toxins. Raw cacao, pomegranates, blueberries, and broccoli sprouts are some of the most antioxidant rich foods.
Having plenty of plants around is said to soak up radiation in houses.

There are a number of devices out there to that have been said to protect against electromagnetic radiation. These may come in the form of necklaces you can wear and gadgets you stick on your phone. Most of them are not scientifically proven, but many people claim they feel much better when wearing them.

About the author
Sheryl is a kinesiologist, nutritionist and holistic practitioner.
Her website www.younglivingguide.com provides the latest research on preventing disease, looking naturally gorgeous, and feeling emotionally and physically fabulous.

Source: http://www.naturalnews.com/024524.html

As you walk down the grocery aisles, you are bombarded with whole grain cereals, breads and other bakery products. Major companies have a big TV campaign promoting their whole grain cereals. Aside from the fact that many of these are loaded with sugar and few are 100% whole grain, are these foods really good for you? Unfortunately, these aren’t doing your body much good and could actually be harming you. Grains, nuts and legumes, being seeds, are not “ready to eat”. The fiber from untreated whole grains is very harsh and can actually increase digestive difficulties, especially in those who persist in eating a SAD (Standard American Diet). This can lead to irritable bowel, Crohn’s disease and inflammatory bowel disease as well as increased constipation, diverticulitis and many more disorders of the gastro-intestinal tract.

Grains fall into two general categories:
1) Gluten containing grains such as rye, barley and especially wheat. These grains should not be consumed unless they have been been soaked, sprouted or fermented (these processes will be discussed later in the article). Oats are actually gluten free but if grown in the US, they are contaminated with gluten as they are grown and processed side by side with wheat. Celtic oats are safe.

2) Gluten free grains such as buckwheat, rice, quinoa and millet are, on the whole, more easily digested. These grains however, still contain other anti-nutrients which should be neutralized.

Gluten, along with other proteins in grain, is very difficult to digest. A diet high in unfermented whole grains, particularly wheat, puts an enormous strain on the whole digestive system. Eventually, the GI system breaks down and you end up with allergies, celiac disease, mental illness, chronic indigestion and Candida albicans overgrowth to name just a few. Symptoms of candidiasis and gluten intolerance overlap significantly because the undigested sugars promotes overgrowth of Candida albicans. There is now even evidence of a link between gluten intolerance and multiple sclerosis.

During the process of soaking and fermenting, gluten and other difficult-to-digest proteins are partially broken down into simpler components that are more readily available for absorption.
Approximately 1 in 200 people around the world have actual celiac disease, an auto-immune disease where the body’s immune system attacks itself when exposed to gluten. However, a conservative estimate places gluten intolerance as affecting 1 in 7 people. Some studies indicate 1 in 3 or 4. Gluten intolerance is poorly understood, and rarely diagnosed by physicians . When you complain of symptoms that are actually gluten intolerance, you are most likely to be told you have reflux, irritable bowel or that you are depressed. These symptoms are overlooked because gluten intolerance is so poorly understood and the symptoms vary widely, affecting every part of your body. Some of these symptoms include: diarrhea, flatulence, bloating and generalized gastro-intestinal discomfort. Other symptoms often reported are headaches, mouth ulcers, weight gain or weight loss, a poor immune system, and chronic skin problems like dermatitis and eczema. Anemia is often also present.

Gluten intolerance is poorly understood, and rarely diagnosed by physicians
Because it is highly unlikely you will get the correct diagnosis from your physician unless you actually have celiac disease, you can test yourself through an elimination diet. You will have to be extremely conscientious because wheat/gluten is hidden in most processed foods, medications and even supplements. Here is one site which shows you what to look for if you are avoiding gluten: http://gfkitchen.server101.com/FoodstoA… If you have determined you are gluten intolerant or have been diagnosed with Celiac disease, complete abstinence from gluten is imperative to healing. Gluten intolerance is known to lead to other food sensitivities. Some people with gluten intolerance (not celiac) may be able to introduce sprouted grains back into their diet after at least a year of strict abstinence.

Other important antinutrients:
The other problem with untreated grains (and nuts,seeds and most legumes)is that they contain substances called “anti-nutrients”; in other words they contain substances which block or inhibit obtaining nutrition from them. The main anti-nutrient is phytic acid (or phytate). Phytic acid is the principal storage form of Phosphorus in plant tissues. The highest levels are found in the hulls. Phytates are known to inhibit the absorbtion of essential minerals such as calcium, magnesium, iron and zinc. Because phytates bind to these minerals in the GI tract, they are eliminated instead of absorbed. Phytates contribute to mineral deficiencies in anyone who relies primarily on these foods for their mineral intake. Deficiencies are most likely to occur in vegans, infants and children, the elderly and in people of developing countries who rely on grains for most of their nutrtion, especially if little or no animal protein is consumed. Along with mineral deficiencies, these people are especially vulnerable to developing a niacin deficiency leading to pellagra. Pellagra is characterized by the “4 D’s”: Diarrhea, Dermatitis, Dementia, and Death.

Besides phytates, grains contain other antinutrients such as enzyme inhibitors which can inhibit digestion and put stress on the pancreas; tannins, which irritate the digestive tract; complex sugars which the body cannot break down; and gluten and related proteins which humans have difficulty digesting. Anti-nutrients are present because they prevent germination until conditions are right for growth and survival. Plants need moisture, warmth, time and slight acidity in order to sprout. Soaking grains and legumes or slow sour dough fermentation imitates nature.

Neutralizing antinutrients:
All of these substances can be neutralized by several methods, however, the whole grain products you find at the grocery store, and even most at the local health food store have not been treated. Cooking grains only slightly decreases the amount of phytic acid. Soaking grains/nuts/legumes in an acidic medium for 12 to 24 hours will effectively neutralize phytates as does sprouting which is more involved and actually entails sprouting or germinating the grain or legume. Fermenting, as in preparing a true sourdough, will also neutralize antinutrients.

Sally Fallon, author of the book Nourishing Traditions and follower of Dr. Weston A. Price’s teachings, is a huge advocate of soaking and goes into great detail in the book. This is an excellent book for beginners. Dr. Weston A. Price was a dentist who studied “native” nutrition as it affected various cultures’ teeth. He was the first person to warn of the dangers of consuming large amounts of either refined or improperly prepared grains. An excerpt from page 452:
“Soaking allows enzymes, lactobacilli and other helpful organisms to break down and neutralize phytic acid. As little as seven hours of soaking in warm acidulated water will neutralize a large portion of phytic acid in grains. The simple practice of soaking cracked or rolled cereal grains overnight will vastly improve their nutritional benefits. Soaking in warm water also neutralizes enzyme inhibitors, present in all seeds, and encourages the production of numerous beneficial enzymes. The action of these enzymes also increases the amounts of many vitamins, especially B vitamins”.

Humans only have one stomach and much shorter intestines than animals that subsist on plant matter. These animals have as many as four stomachs and an extremely long (by comparison) intestinal tract. Human anatomy allows us to eliminate animal products before they putrefy in the gut but leave us poorly adapted to a diet high in grains. When grains are properly prepared through soaking, sprouting or fermenting, the friendly bacteria of the microscopic world begin the process of digestion for us in a bowl. These are the same lactobacilli that do their work in the first and second stomachs of the herbivores and found in the intestines of healthy people. We can survive quite well without grains, and giving up grains altogether is an option that will not only aid digestion, but help heal insulin resistance and other problems. This is an option few people are willing to choose, so here is how to make grains as healthy as possible.

Preparing Grains
Changing the way you eat grains requires advance planning, but only a few extra minutes of actual preparation time. For non-gluten containing grains, simply put the whole grain in a bowl with enough water to cover. Add a tablespoonsful of whey, lemon juice or vinegar and leave covered at room temperature for at least 6 to 12 hours. You can get whey simply by draining yogurt (or kefir) through a tightly woven cloth. The clear liquid that drains is whey. Drain, add your cooking liquid and cook as usual. This will take you less than 5 minutes and the grain will be ready for cooking when you get home from work or get up the next morning.
Gluten containing grains require more preparation. Grains need to be soaked and sprouted, a process which takes 2 to 4 days. After germination, they are ready to cook with no further soaking, or the can be dried and ground into flour. The process sounds difficult and daunting, but really isn’t. If you are interested in doing this yourself, check out this site: http://organicfanatic.blogspot.com/2008…

In todays busy world there are many alternatives. If you make your own bread with purchased whole grain flours, simply start a day early. Substitute buttermilk, kefir or yogurt for part of the liquid. Make your dough as usual, put in a covered bowl and allow to rest for 24 hours. I’m not going to give an exact recipe because you will have to experiment to find what works for you. The acid in the above foods is needed to break down gluten and phytates while the live bacteria in the above cultures actually begins the digestion process for you.

The easiest option is to buy your grain products already made from sprouted grains. Ezekial bread is available in almost all health food stores and even some grocery stores. Other brands are Alvarado Street Bakery and Manna Breads. There are other brands depending on where you live. You can get bread, hamburger buns, even tortillas. You can also buy flour that has been made from sprouted grains.
Sources:
http://www.westonaprice.org/foodfeature…
http://www.foodintol.com/celiac.asp
http://www.diagnose-me.com/cond/C212360.htm
Gilani GS, Cockell KA, Sepehr E.
Health Canada, Nutrition Research Division, Bureau of Nutritional Sciences, Banting Research Centre (AL: 2203 C), Tunney’s Pasture, Ottawa, ON, K1A 0L2, Canada. sarwar_gilani@hc-sc.gc.ca

About the author
Patty Donovan was in a wheelchair and could only walk around her house with a cane. She was on over 20 medications. When told to “take the morphine, get in the wheelchair and learn to live with it” by a neurosurgeon, she knew her life had to change. She is now almost a fanatic when it comes to healing through the use of “whole foods” and and natural remedies. Since that time, she has spent countless hours researching nutrtion and alternative health. After spending 30 years in the allopathic health care industry in both pharmacy and as an RN, she brings a unique perspective to Natural News readers. Since committing to this new life style, she no longer uses even a cane, has gotten off over 20 medications, lost over 50lbs and returned to work.

Source: www.naturalnews.com

People who practice meditating on feelings of compassion increase the activity of sections of the brain associated with empathy, according to a study conducted by researchers from the University of Wisconsin at Madison.

“There is such a thing as expertise when it comes to complex emotions or emotional skills, such as the one of cultivating benevolence,” said lead researcher Antoine Lutz. “That raises the possibility that you can train someone to cultivate this positive emotion.”

The researchers took functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans of the brains of 16 veteran meditators, including some Tibetan monks, and 16 people from the United States with no meditation experience. The novices were given basic training in meditation practice before beginning the study.

The fMRI scans measured the blood flow in participants’ brains as they either meditated or did not meditate on compassionate feelings while hearing a series of sounds designed to elicit emotional responses.

In the group of expert meditators, blood flow increased to the insula, associated with visceral emotional response, when the sound of a woman’s scream was played while they were meditating.

While they were not meditating, the experts still experienced more activity in the right temporal-parietal juncture than the novices did when hearing a woman scream or a baby laugh. This area of the brain is believed to play an essential function in helping interpret others’ emotions.

“The way you are going to understand the emotion of someone else is by somehow simulating, experiencing the emotion,” Lutz said. “It makes sense that we found some activation of the brain region which is critical for the experience of an emotion.”

The researchers are following up on their findings with a long-term study into whether and how the brain can be trained to experience empathy over time. In addition, they are studying whether different kinds of meditation, such as simple concentration vs. concentration on compassion, have different effects.

Source: www.naturalnews.com

Housing prices may be crashing, but there’s a new green networking trend that is picking up momentum in neighborhoods across the U.S. Citizens are abandoning expectations that the government is going to implement truly sustainable policies, and they are banding together to create their own green communities and neighborhoods. One example is the Nubanusit Neighborhood in New Hampshire, which is a green neighborhood of single family homes and multiplex units that share an organic farm, office space and common space. According to Lono Hunter, resident of the eco-neighborhood, “In terms of actually living in a way that can help the environment, I think you need the power of numbers.” The U.S. Green Building Council is picking up on the trend and says it will begin applying a version of its Leadership in Energy Environmental Design (LEED) rating system to entire neighborhoods starting in 2009.

Source: www.organicconsumers.org

People who practice meditating on feelings of compassion increase the activity of sections of the brain associated with empathy, according to a study conducted by researchers from the University of Wisconsin at Madison.

“There is such a thing as expertise when it comes to complex emotions or emotional skills, such as the one of cultivating benevolence,” said lead researcher Antoine Lutz. “That raises the possibility that you can train someone to cultivate this positive emotion.”

The researchers took functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans of the brains of 16 veteran meditators, including some Tibetan monks, and 16 people from the United States with no meditation experience. The novices were given basic training in meditation practice before beginning the study.

The fMRI scans measured the blood flow in participants’ brains as they either meditated or did not meditate on compassionate feelings while hearing a series of sounds designed to elicit emotional responses.

In the group of expert meditators, blood flow increased to the insula, associated with visceral emotional response, when the sound of a woman’s scream was played while they were meditating.

While they were not meditating, the experts still experienced more activity in the right temporal-parietal juncture than the novices did when hearing a woman scream or a baby laugh. This area of the brain is believed to play an essential function in helping interpret others’ emotions.

“The way you are going to understand the emotion of someone else is by somehow simulating, experiencing the emotion,” Lutz said. “It makes sense that we found some activation of the brain region which is critical for the experience of an emotion.”

The researchers are following up on their findings with a long-term study into whether and how the brain can be trained to experience empathy over time. In addition, they are studying whether different kinds of meditation, such as simple concentration vs. concentration on compassion, have different effects.

Source: http://www.naturalnews.com/024445.html

This year saw the first commercial planting of genetically modified (GM) sugar beets in the United States, with that sugar to hit the food supply soon after.

Farmers across the country will soon be planting Monsanto’s Roundup Ready sugar beet, genetically engineered for resistance to Monsanto’s herbicide glyphosate (marketed as Roundup). John Schorr, agriculture manager for Amalgamated Sugar, estimates that 95 percent of the sugar beet crop in Idaho will be of the new GM variety in 2008, or a total of 150,000 out of 167,000 acres.

Approximately 1.4 million acres of sugar beets are planted in the United States each year, primarily in Minnesota and North Dakota’s Red River Valley, as well as the Pacific Northwest, Great Plains and Great Lakes areas.

In response to the anticipated flood of GM sugar onto the food market, the consumer group Citizens for Health has launched an email campaign to pressure three major sugar and candy companies to refuse the new product. In 2001, American Crystal Sugar, Hershey’s and M&M Mars all promised that they would not use GM sugar; Citizens for Health is asking consumers to email those companies from the group’s Web site and urge them to keep that promise.

“Since half of the granulated sugar in the U.S. comes from sugar beets, the infiltration of GE sugar beets represents a significant alteration of our food supply,” Citizens for Health says on its Web site. “Unlike traditional breeding, genetic engineering creates new life forms that would never occur in nature, creating new and unpredictable health and environmental risks.”

In 1999, candy companies’ refusal to purchase GM sugar scuttled Monsanto’s first attempt to introduce Roundup Ready sugar beets.

On another front, a coalition of farmer and environmental groups is seeking to block the planting of the GM beets through a federal lawsuit. The plaintiffs in the case - the Center for Food Safety, High Mowing Organic Seeds, the Organic Seed Alliance and the Sierra Club - are represented by lawyers from the Center for Food Safety and Earthjustice.

In 2005, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) changed the classification of Roundup Ready sugar beets from regulated to deregulated, meaning that the GM beets could be planted without a special permit. But the lawsuit alleges that the USDA failed to properly conduct an environmental review into the impacts of this deregulation.

“The law requires the government to take a hard look at the impact that deregulating Roundup Ready sugar beets will have on human health, agriculture and the environment,” said Greg Loarie of Earthjustice. “The government cannot simply ignore the fact that deregulation will harm organic farmers and consumers, and exacerbate the growing epidemic of herbicide resistant weeds.”

Critics point out that Roundup Ready crops encourage increased chemical use, with dangerous effects on both human health and the environment. In addition to contaminating soil and water, pesticides leave potentially dangerous residue on food plants themselves.

Citizens for Health says that this is a particular concern in light of the Environmental Protection Agency’s recent compliance with a Monsanto request to increase the allowable levels of glyphosate residue on sugar beet roots by 5000 percent.

“Sugar is extracted from the beet’s root, and the result is more glyphosate pesticide in our sugar,” the group said.

Another concern is that such plants encourage the development of “superweeds” that are resistant to Roundup.

“Just as overuse of antibiotics eventually breeds drug resistant bacteria, overuse of Roundup eventually breeds Roundup-resistant weeds,” said Kevin Golden of the Center for Food Safety. “When that happens, farmers are forced to rely on even more toxic herbicides to control those weeds.”

USDA data reveals that in the 10 years after the 1994 introduction of Roundup Ready crops, herbicide use increased by 15 times. This has led to a concurrent increase in superweeds. While no cases of Roundup-resistant weeds were known in the U.S. corn belt in 2000, this year the roster of such weeds includes marestail, common and giant ragweed, waterhemp, Palmer pigweed, Cocklebur, lambsquarters, morning glory and velvetleaf.

Ninety-nine percent of U.S. superweeds are resistant to Roundup.

GM crops may also cross-breed with non-GM plants of the same or closely related species. The primary seed-growing region for sugar beets - the Willamette Valley of Oregon - is also a major seed-growing area for the closely related organic chard and table beets. Since all these species are wind pollinated, the chances of contamination are very high.

“Contamination from genetically modified pollen is a major risk to both the conventional and organic seed farmers, who have a long history in the Willamette Valley,” said Matthew Dillon, director of advocacy for the Organic Seed Alliance. “The economic impact of contamination affects not only these seed farmers, but the beet and chard farmers who rely on the genetic integrity of their varieties.”

Crops contaminated by cross-pollination with GM varieties can no longer be certified organic.

Since corn syrup is an even more widely used sweetener than sugar and the majority of corn grown in the United States is also Roundup Ready, food safety advocates note that nearly all sweetened food in the United States will soon be GM. Because U.S. law does not require labeling of GM ingredients, consumers of products from candy to breakfast cereal will soon be unknowingly exposed to engineered sugar, with unknown health consequences.

“As a consumer, I’m very concerned about genetically engineered sugar making its way into the products I eat,” Neil Carman of the Sierra Club said.

Sources for this story include: www.citizens.org, www.organicconsumers.org.

Article from www.naturalnews.com