Thursday, May 24, 2012

Average American Diet – Infographic

Average American Diet – Infographic Mike Barrett NaturalSociety May 17, 2012 input by Don Porter Unfortunately, Americans have some of the worst diets in the world, and everyone else knows it. With the average American consuming 24 lbs of artificial sweeteners, 29 lbs of french fries, and over 600 lbs of dairy per year, the average American is in a state of crisis. The average American diet is heavily responsible for the escalating obesity rates and is ultimately contributing to the development of illness and diseases. The Average American Diet According to the below infographic, the average American consumes about 1 gallon of soda per week, which equates to more than 18 fluid ounces, or 1.5 sodas per day. These sodas are loaded with sugar, with a 12oz can containing 35-45 grams – an amount that exceeds the recommended daily intake of ~15 grams. What’s more, these sugars are typically in the form of high-fructose corn syrup, one of the cheapest, and most health-hazardous forms of sugar that can be used.
Another concerning number in the average American diet is the amount of artificial sweeteners consumed; this includes substances like aspartame, Splenda, Sweet N’ Low, and Equal. None of these artificial sweeteners are healthful, and are even having a negative impact on your health. •One study found that 67% of female rats exposed to aspartame developed tumors roughly the size of golf balls or larger. •Is Splenda safe? This toxic sweetener also has many dangers. Some effects associated with Splenda are shortness of breath, joint pains, eye irritation, swelling of facial muscles, ski breaking out into hives or rashes, and more. •Saccharin, best known as Sweet ‘N Low has been shown to have carcinogenic links. During the 1960′s, studies on rats indicated saccharin was related to bladder cancer, but the FDA has allowed saccharin to remain as a food additive.
Needless to say, there are many more problems associated with the average American diet. While consumption of food shown in weight (as the inforgraphic shows) isn’t the absolute best way to pinpoint the issues with any diet, the numbers do give us a representation and idea of how much we’re eating. If you want to compare generalizations between nations around the world, take a look at what the world eats.
Read more: http://naturalsociety.com/average-american-diet-infographic/#ixzz1voAGAvEj

Astragalus, the unsung cancer fighter

Astragalus, the unsung cancer fighter May 21, 2012 by: Craig Stellpflug (NaturalNews) Astragalus is a traditional Chinese medicinal herb that has been around for over 4,000 years. Astragalus is an adaptogenic, nontoxic herb and plant extract that helps the body resist the damaging effects of stress while restoring normal physiological function. Astragalus aids adrenal function, digestion, metabolism, combats fatigue and increases stamina. Astragalus is very effective in helping people with AIDS and has even proven to have an anti-tumor effect and can increase the efficacy of chemotherapy.
A native plant of China, astragalus is officially known as astragalus membranaceus: AKA Milk Vetch Root and Huang Qi. Astragalus is a perennial plant that grows up to 4 feet tall. The root of the plant has a sweet taste and contains choline, flavonoids, amino acids-gamma aminobutyric acid, canavanine, beta-sitosterol, saponins (astragalosides) and oil. The primary actions of astragalus are adaptogenic and immunomodulating. The secondary actions are anti-inflammatory, anti-viral, cardiotonic, diuretic and hepatoprotective. Medicinal Use Astragalus is an herb that has actions in nearly all of the body systems. It is used to treat chronic colds, Epstein Barr Virus, HIV and candida by preventing infection recurrence. Astragalus stimulates bone marrow blood cells while enhancing deep immune strength. Studies show that the polysaccharides in astragalus increase phagocytosis (the engulfing of microorganism invaders by the immune system), increase production of immunoglobulins and macrophages and modulate the pituitary-adrenal cortical activity. Astragalus protects the kidneys and lungs from damage from autoantibody complexes, regulates sweating, decreases fatigue and increases tolerance to stress. Astragalus protects against oxidative damage by increasing mitochondrial function without increasing the mitochondrial oxygen consumption. In the liver, astragalus is a mild choleretic and also increases repairs in chronic viral hepatitis while reducing inflammation and other symptoms. Astragalus also lengthens telomeres for longevity (TA 65 is a very pricey extract made from Astragalus that is touted to reduce all the effects of aging and mimics pretty much all the benefits of the inexpensive herb form of astragalus). Astragalus even increases motility of human sperm. Astragalus is considered to be a cardiac tonic. In the cardiovascular system, the saponins in astragalus inhibit lipid peroxidation in the myocardium and one study using patients with angina revealed that cardiac output increased after two weeks of treatment. Astragalus strengthens left ventricular function and reduces free radical damage in patients after a heart attack and increases super oxide dismutase activity in cardiac muscle. Astragalus: the unsung cancer fighter Studies at the Univ of Houston have shown that astragalus can improve immune function in cancer patients by increasing T-cell counts. Astragalus increases the ability of NK cells and T-cells to kill cancer cells while switching on the anti-tumor activity of Interleukin-2. In chemotherapy treatments astragalus provides anti-neoplastic activity and decreases immunosupression. Astragalus reduces the consequences with both chemo and radiation of fatigue, weight loss, anemia, nausea and loss of strength while increasing WBC production for leucopenia (a common side effect of immunosuppressive therapy), thereby decreasing life-threatening infections.
EAT ORGANICFOR EFFICIENT IMMUNE FUNCTION Even though this incredible herb is listed on the Botanical Herbs Board Exams and in the Compendium of Pharmacological Actions of Medicinal Plants and Their Constituents, naming the benefits of astragalus can bring a warning letter from both the FDA and FTC, as Dr. Andrew Weil found out when he listed the benefits of taking astragalus to prevent the swine flu. So don't expect to see any of this information on a vitamin or herb label. Despite what modern medicine and the FDA says, healing did occur long before pharmaceuticals were invented. True health comes by good foods, minerals, herbs, fasting and cleansing. Astragalus is a good guy for natural health! Sources: Compendium of Pharmacological Actions of Medicinal Plants and Their Constituents, Compiled and copyrighted by Eric Yarnell, ND Actions of Medicinal Plants 2007 Eric Yarnell, ND. Zhang CZ, Wang SX, Zhang Y, Chen JP, Liang XM. "In vitro estrogenic activities of Chinese medicinal plants traditionally used for the management of menopausal symptoms." J Ethnopharmacol 2005;98(3):295-300. Nutrition 740 notes Spring 2006, Dr. Mona Morstein, SCNM http://www.cancertutor.com/WarBetween/War_Cure_Rates.html http://cms.herbalgram.org/herbclip/pdfs/121581-151.pdf About the author: Craig Stellpflug is a Cancer Nutrition Specialist, Lifestyle Coach and Neuro Development Consultant at Healing Pathways Medical Clinic, Scottsdale, AZ. With 17 years of clinical experience working with both brain disorders and cancer, Craig has seen first-hand the devastating effects of vaccines and pharmaceuticals on the human body and has come to the conclusion that a natural lifestyle and natural remedies are the true answers to health and vibrant living. You can find his daily health blog at www.blog.realhealthtalk.com and his articles and radio show archives at www.realhealthtalk.com Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/035924_astragalus_cancer_prevention.html#ixzz1vb3EM5uX

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

America: Slouching Towards Third World Status

America: Slouching Towards Third World Status Posted: 05/20/2012 6:24 pm Will Truthiness Destroy America? "The best lack all conviction, while the worst Are full of passionate intensity" -- "The Second Coming", William Butler Yeats Yeats' lines aptly describe our current age of political mediocrity. As we consider our politicians, we can hardly say that they're our best. And the worst of them are full of passionate intensity, with passions driven by ideology, rather than fact-based analysis. The United States has been in decline relative to other countries for the last 30 years. On key metrics, we've fallen behind our peer group of industrialized countries, such as the UK, France, Germany, and Japan. Am I exaggerating? Well, according to the Corruption Perception Index, we rank 24th in the world (only slightly better than Qatar) for public sector corruption. We rank 25th (way behind our peer group) in the OECD for math scores among 15-year-olds. Over the past 30 years, our national debt has grown from about 30% of GDP to over 100%, and will become much worse based on current trends. In a recent survey of 10,000 Harvard Business School Alumni, "66% of respondents see the U.S. falling behind emerging economies." It is difficult to find many encouraging metrics. If the above statistics don't convince you, visit the New Delhi International Airport, then compare it with our JFK or Newark International Airports. In many areas, our infrastructure is an embarrassment, already inferior to that of many third world countries. These facts (and many others) have escaped Romney, Santorum and our current group of Republican leaders. Obama and the Democrats aren't doing significantly better at confronting these challenges. In the 19th century, America aggressively compared itself against the world, and aspired to be "best in class." We were an early adopter of kindergarten because we saw evidence that it would improve educational outcomes. In 1862, the U.S. was suffering through the Civil War, but Congress still had the foresight to pass the Land Grant Colleges Act, which created some of our finest universities. This investment was made because it was important for our country's growth, and the U.S. clearly lagged behind Europe in college and university education. Today, many of us suffer from what Thorstein Veblen called "trained incapacity" and John Dewey described as "occupational psychosis." We filter the world through our own ideological training, believing only what fits our story. Or, as Stephen Colbert, cultural commentator and 2008 Peabody Award winner commented: It used to be, everyone was entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts. But that's not the case anymore. Facts matter not at all... What is important? What you want to be true, or what is true?... Truthiness is 'What I say is right, and [nothing] anyone else says could possibly be true.' Many Americans still have an almost cult-like belief that America is the greatest nation on earth. They systematically reject evidence suggesting we have significant room for improvement. Sounds overly-dramatic? When opposing Pres. Obama's health care reform proposals, Speaker of the House John Boehner repeatedly proclaimed (with passionate intensity) that America has the "best health care system in the world." Boehner is correct only if you exclude the entire developed world from the comparison. The U.S. ranks 50th for longevity and 49th for infant mortality, where we're barely ahead of Belarus, Croatia and Lithuania.
I defy anyone to name a single important health care metric where the U.S. is considered a best-practice example as a nation. The only thing we lead the world in... is cost of health care. We have the world's most expensive health care system. For example, our health care system costs almost twice Canada's, but we produce inferior results. For Boehner to say we have the best health care system in the world, and not be laughed out of office, is at best 'trained incapacity' or 'occupational psychosis.'
Boehner doesn't have to support Obama's health care reform plan. Obama's reforms might make things worse. But, let's have an actual debate grounded in facts, without inventing (and propagating) falsehoods about the current system.
China has been one of the most successful countries economically of the last 30 years. It's fitting then to quote the architect of its economic renaissance Deng Xiaoping: "It doesn't matter whether a cat is white or black, as long as it catches mice." For too many Americans, what matters is not whether the policy works, but whether it fits our preconceived ideologies. It's the ultimate irony that we need to take the advice of a communist hardliner to put aside ideology, and focus on fact-based pragmatic solutions. Otherwise we'll continue our slouch towards Third World status.
About the Author: Steven Strauss was founding Managing Dir of the Ctr for Economic Transformation at the NYC Economic Development Corp (NYCEDC). He is an Advanced Leadership Fellow at Harvard Univ for 2012. He has a Ph.D. in Management from Yale nd over 20 years' private sector work experience. You can follow him on twitter at: @Steven_Strauss. Follow Steven Strauss on Twitter: www.twitter.com/steven_strauss

Thursday, May 17, 2012

5 foods you would never eat if you really knew what they were

5 foods you would never eat if you really knew what they were May 15, 2012 by: S. D. Wells Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/035870_weird_foods_ingredients.html#ixzz1uxTbOSkz (NaturalNews) What if when you were seated at your favorite restaurant, they handed you a menu which listed all of the REAL ingredients in every dish, without any fluff or "pretty" names for the food you might opt out of eating otherwise? It seems as though the United States is one of the most talented countries at ruining a good thing, and over the past 20 to 30 years, food and beverages are no exception. "May I tell you about our specials?" "Yes, please." Today we are featuring one of the corporate favorites; chemical-washed connective tissue with pus-milk cheese, topped with hormone-laden special sauce on a bleached bun (cheese burger with non-organic ketchup and mayo). It comes with a 16 ounce, ice cold glass of carbonated, aborted fetal cell soda (Pepsi). (http://www.naturalnews.com) If you have a more sophisticated palette, we're also serving steroidal, grain-fed, antibiotic-laden cow thigh muscle (filet mignon) with any two sides of genetically modified vegetables smothered in drawn animal fat (butter). If you're not a flesh lover, we've got the ultimate sea creatures for you; genetically modified and deformed fish from an overcrowded chemical pond, super-sized with artificial growth hormones (farm-raised salmon), plus all-you-care-to-eat cancer-causing corn (GMO corn), with free refills of any synthetic, IBS and migraine causing diet drink. Or, try our buffet of ocean scavengers from radioactive ocean, hand wrapped in abused pig (shrimp wrapped in bacon). Oh, and I see you've brought your young ones along this evening. They will love our kids menu, which features assorted animal parts minced and smoked with nitrates on high calorie/zero nutrient sugar bread (hot dog on a bun) and all they can drink of our diabetes causing, high fructose corn syrup soda pop. Here is a wake-up call --Beef, pork, turkey, chicken, milk and eggs are not grown in a package at the grocery store. Most of them are all loaded up with MSG and colored with toxins to make them look good and stay shiny for weeks on the shelf. Sometimes you even see a picture of a happy cow above the dairy or butcher section at the grocer. The cow is usually driving a milk truck or holding some milk bottles like the good 'ole milk man. Or you see some cute mother hen walking her chicks down a pasture across some pretty green grass, all happy-go-lucky, enjoying their lives out in Mother Nature. This Americanized, reverse psychology style of marketing keeps your mind off the fact that most animals are jacked up with hormones, living in confined quarters, never seeing the sun, or their parents, and most likely collapsing from sickness onto a cement slab covered in their own feces. That's why corporate America has to use antibiotics on the animals, so e-coli and salmonella outbreaks don't cripple the meat and dairy industries. Plus, most animals are fed GMO corn by-products, which are basically sugar and ferment in their insides, causes stomach and intestinal infections. If you are what you eat, then you are a walking infection, immune to antibiotics and heading for GMO bred cancer. You are what you eat Don't be distracted and fooled by the packaging, the preservatives and the artificial colorings used by food manufacturers to make toxic foods look appealing. It's all an evil plan so you won't think about the living breathing animals, which have eyes, brains and a mother and father.
Are you a pet lover? Do you have a cat or a dog which you adore? Did you know that pigs are smarter than dogs? That's why they don't call it pig on the shelves at the store. It's only pork, bacon, sausage or ham. And you won't find the word cow on anything either; it's only beef, steak or hamburger. It is truly surprising that chicken is still called chicken, and turkey is turkey. People are creating their own immunity to the hard truths. Even if you grew up on a farm and your parents taught you how to slaughter the animals for sale or consumption, you certainly weren't shooting them up with drugs, abusing them, letting them live in their own feces and allowing them to suffer needlessly. If you absolutely must consume meat or dairy, keep it Kosher and organic, and give yourself a fighting chance at staying healthy. Sources for this article include: http://www.naturalnews.com -- http://www.polyfacefarms.com/ http://programs.webseed.com/Dont_Eat_Cancer__TV.htm http://www.naturalnews.com/032659_arsenic_chicken.html http://www.ghorganics.com/GM%20food%20can%20cause%20cancer.htm http://www.holisticmed.com/aspartame/ - http://www.diabeteshealth.com http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/beautiful-truth/ --- http://www.forksoverknives.com/about Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/035870_weird_foods_ingredients.html#ixzz1uxT4RFAx

Saturday, May 5, 2012

Three Shocking Ways Packaged Foods Are Contaminated

Three Shocking Ways Packaged Foods Are Contaminated Posted: 05/3/2012
Packaged foods acquire long shelf lives when their chemical properties are manipulated so that bacteria cannot grow. While this gives a perception of safety and sterility, it actually means that ingredients of any quality can be used and the food will never go bad. Low-quality ingredients can be left over from previous years, handled less carefully, and processed more quickly. These ingredients are cheap and make packaged food products highly profitable -- but they are full of contaminants. Typically, the only measure of contamination is bacterial count. Ingredients that go in fresh foods cannot have more than 25,000 viable cells of aerobic bacteria per gram. Packaged foods, however, can use ingredients with bacterial counts 40 times that or more. While these dormant germs can cause severe digestive discomfort and illness, there are many more dangerous food contaminants that go unnoticed.
1. Processed Foods Carry Residues of Refining Chemicals Most ingredients in packaged foods are not whole foods -- meaning that they contain only a part of the original food. Chemicals are often used to extract these partial-food ingredients, and these compounds leave residues in the food. Solvent chemicals are some of the harshest. The trustworthy-sounding preservative Vitamin E (Tocopherol) is produced from petroleum through the condensation of the toxins trimethylhydroquinone and isophytol. Soy-protein isolate is produced by bathing soybeans in a by-product of gasoline. The use of crude solvents to process food is not new and they can have serious health consequences. In the 1930s, more than 58,000 people lost major control of their limbs by using the medical tincture ginger jake. While the only listed ingredients were alcohol and ginger, the ginger was extracted using toxic tri-orthocresyl phosphate, present in up to 2 percent of the finished product. Impure ingredients are common. Many food additives, such as food dyes (covered in the previous post) can contain up to 13 percent impurities that develop from manufacturing. These include the carcinogens 4-aminobiphenyl, benzidine, and dozens of other chemicals.
2. Contaminants are Legally Allowed (Under Thresholds) Contrary to popular belief, food ingredients do not need to be clean; their contaminants just have to be below certain thresholds. Allowable substances in food include rat hairs, insects, mold, animal excrement, maggots, and more. Nearly a quarter of cows in a given farm can have udder infections that leak pus and blood into milk before it becomes unsellable. Even the fatal pesticide cyanide, the constituents of Agent Orange, and lead and arsenic have thresholds. These thresholds were not established until 1961 and, shockingly, the simple use of a chemical before that date is considered sufficient evidence that it is safe. Many allowable chemicals do not easily break down in the body, can accumulate to harmful concentrations, and their effects may appear only later in life. Because few of these substances occur naturally in food, knowledge of how they affect long-term health is very limited. The fact that threshold chemicals are not carefully monitored means that tainted ingredients don't easily raise flags. Nearly all of the world's supply of common additives like ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) and wheat gluten are produced in China, which has had several recent food safety scares. Imports are regularly found to contain excessive or unexpected toxins, yet the rarity of testing means most goods pass through regardless. 3. Manufacturing Processes Introduce Grime
The contaminants harbored by food ingredients accumulate significantly when dozens of ingredients are combined to make food products. During the manufacturing process, new types of exposure emerge. Nearly all packaged food processing utilizes conveyer belts, and most belts are oiled to prevent food from sticking. This oil festers in equipment, harbors airborne and mechanical detritus, and ends up coating the food. The containers used for finished food products can have a huge impact as well. In the late 19th century, tin cans were sealed with lead solder leading to numerous deaths from lead poisoning. Today, aluminum cans are lined with epoxy resins that leak Bisphenol A into food and drinks. Canada has declared this chemical toxic and the FDA warns about exposing it to infants and children. Cans not lined with epoxy are used to pack acidic foods, which corrode and absorb the metal. The widespread use of plastic film is just as hazardous. Clear wrappers leach toxic phthalate esters into foods. The solvent-based matte varnish technique used overseas to print glossy wrappers transfers harsh chemicals to the food-contact side of the package when the film is stored in a roll. These beautiful, toxic packages are also the tools of food propaganda, which will be the subject of the next post on how packaging claims are recklessly misleading. Choose Single-Ingredient, Unprocessed, Perishable Foods (Produce) Between ingredients with high bacterial counts, residual chemical solvents, below-threshold toxins, manufacturing grime, and leaching packaging, the more processed and preserved foods are, the more contaminants start to add up. It's no coincidence that the most pervasive food allergens, like gluten, soy, and peanuts, also happen to be the cheapest, highest volume, and most processed foods. We are not suddenly becoming allergic to the 10,000-year-old staples of the human diet -- these foods are being overrun by contaminants. Eating any processed food is a gamble and is not your healthiest choice. Try to avoid eating packaged products as part of your daily routine. Instead, focus on eating mainly unprocessed, perishable foods like whole fruits and vegetables. If your food doesn't spoil, it's not fresh -- and chances are part of it is not even food. Follow Corey Rennell on Twitter: www.twitter.com/COREfoods