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

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

What A Unique Way To Present This…SUGAR

What A Unique Way To Present This…SUGAR 4.2 grams = 1 teaspoon of sugar = 1 cube!

Someone ought to get an award for this. We know the facts, but this brings it into perspective quickly, doesn’t it? Each cube is a teaspoonful. Now someone needs to do this with salt!

Steak Lover Venus Williams Goes Vegan

Steak Lover Venus Williams Goes Vegan

Feb 18, 2012 Don Porter Venus Williams is swearing off steak. Venus was diagnosed with Sjogren's syndrome (pronounced show-grins) this past summer, MD"S describe this health issue as "an incurable immune system disorder" that caused her to pull out of the U.S. Open in August. Due to the recommendation of her sister, Serena, Venus began looking into Diet changes to Beat these health issues, which are ALL DIET related & allowed to exist by the American Medical Assoc (AMA) Doctors. Chemically laden foods overwhelm our immune systems and create massive health issues along with MASSIVE revenues for the NO HEAL NO CURE Parasitic medical ind. They place fancy names to our overwhelmed immune systems Such as Sjogren's syndrome, fibromyalgia, overall fatigue, dry mouth and dry eyes, etc. The AMA & Dr's. NEVER seek or choose to deal with the CAUSES of Illnesses'. If we don’t align car’s front end – tires wear until we correct the CAUSE of tire wear. Must align our bodies with Organic Plant Based Diets! If we put gasoline in a diesel car or diesel in a gasoline car – They won’t run No oil/grease in car – what happens? - Problems? Correct the real CAUSE of Health problems.

The 7-time Grand Slam winner decided to give up meat and dairy opting for a raw, vegan diet to help manage her symptoms. Those include overall fatigue, dry mouth and dry eyes. Williams is hoping the new eating regimen will help ease the inflammation in her joints, fatigue, dryness, & related something many have found to benefit ALL health issues.. The disease is similar and causes chronic pain and fatigue. In fact, many patients with Sjogren's also have fibromyalgia and some initially diagnosed with fibromyalgia also have Sjogren's. ALL of these issues are DIET CAUSED !!! Making food smell good, look good, taste good, be addictive, and LAST a Long time is done with powerful chemicals that disrupt & overwhelm our Immune Systems. Venus had been feeling fatigue and other symptoms going back years, but doctors weren't able to identify the cause until a month before the U.S. Open. As they are ignorant revenue driven & dangerous controlled (by the AMA) fools. "I would go to the doctor and start crying. I couldn't help it," Venus told People magazine. "I just want a chance to play on the same field as other people, I want to feel normal, but as frightening as the diagnosis was, it was also a relief." Despite the terrible news, Venus tried to press on and play in the tournament, which she had won twice before. "I couldn't raise my arm over my head, the racket felt like concrete," she said. "I had no feelings in my hands. They were swollen and itchy. I realized it would be a miserable show." Now Venus is trying to battle the Diet caused Health issues and battle her way back onto the court with a quality diet.. She defeated Serena in an exhibition match in Nov, but is taking some time off to rest up and avoid worsening her condition. In a show of sisterly solidarity, Serena has also chosen to follow Venus' raw, vegan diet. That means both Williams sisters will be dining on whole fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and grains -- nothing bottled, boxed or canned. And the raw distinction means nothing can be heated above 116 degrees or the nutritional value is believed to be compromised.

I beat Stage IV Metastasized Prostate Cancer with an Organic Plant Based Diet (NO Chemicals), Bill Clinton lost 23 pounds, is @ his High School weight, & feels better than he has in decades "ALL from Dr. Esselstyn's Plant Based Diet". Anyone can do what I did - Just stop consuming chemicals ! They overwhelm our Immune Systems. Anyone can be like I am, or Bill Clinton, along with thousands of others JUST STOP eating chemicalized Fast or Packaged Foods, red meat, dairy, filter your water, breathe deeply, low heat foods & exercise !!! Organic is Best with a Plant Based Diet.

Why You Should Avoid Fast Food at All Costs

Why You Should Avoid Fast Food at All Costs Mike Barrett NaturalSociety Read more: http://naturalsociety.com/why-you-should-avoid-fast-food-at-all-costs/#ixzz1qt5ITPVT It is no secret that the average American diet is in completely in the slumps. Consuming packaged foods, fast food, artificially enhanced products, and especially low quality cheap food is the norm, but is it any wonder that being overweight while also falling victim to a host of illnesses is also the norm. Being raised in this era of poor health makes it difficult to know what is truly healthy and unhealthy. Food has drastically changed since decades ago, and so parents often aren’t aware of the severe decline in food quality. Fast food in particular is one of the primary reasons for the drastic health decline seen today.

If you haven’t already, take a couple of hours to watch the films Super Size Me or Fast Food Nation. After watching these films, you can see first hand how fast food causes severe damage to your body – even if you don’t consume it for every meal of every day like in one of the films. Fast food is nothing but a concoction of harmful and health-damaging chemicals which can easily be understood if you were to think for a moment how any restaurant could offer a double cheeseburger for only $1. Most recently it was uncovered that these $1 cheeseburgers, along with the rest of McDonald’s’ beef and chicken, were actually harnessing ‘pink slime’ scrap meat covered with ammonium hydroxide. Not only does this fake meat provide no nutritional value at all, but it is chemically contaminated from ammonia, the toxic cleaning agent found under the sink. The meat is actually fat trimmings and connective tissue that are separated from the bone – scrap meat that is not fit for human consumption. The ammonia treatment is in response to the danger of contamination from salmonella or E. coli, but the scrap meats themselves are more likely to contain pathogens. Despite the chemical treatment, the meat is still in the line of fire for contamination. Additionally, McDonald’s McNuggets contain 7 different ingredients making up the ‘meat’, many of which contain sub-ingredients. Instead of using real meat, the ingredient list utilizes sodium phosphate, safflower oil, wheat starch, dextrose, and autolyzed yeast extract – a particularly dangerous substance very similar to the toxic MSG. Along side with these ingredients comes the use of dimethylpolysiloxane, a silicon substance used as an anti-foaming agent and often found in breast implants and silly putty.

Of course the use of these ingredients is not limited only to McDonald’s. In fact, all of the fast food restaurants are guilty of using them. The worst part? They are aware of the destructive nature behind these ingredients, but truly couldn’t care any less. The truth behind such a statement can be exemplified by Taco Bell’s attempt to create a drive-thru diet where individuals would supposed to lose weight by eating fast food. It was only a few years ago when Taco Bell announced the “Drive-Thru Diet”, where they showcased their foods low in fat. But what they don’t tell you is that even if their food has 9 grams of fat, it is still made up of numerous ingredients contributing to the global health decline. While the reasons for the influx of fast food consumption are many, one primary one is the usage of psychological advertising. Being one of the most powerful tools to reach both the conscious and subconscious, advertising plays a huge role in how society is ran today, and that includes which foods we eat. What’s more, children are much more influenced by what they see and hear, and research proves it. A study conduced late in 2011 showed that 71 percent of children will choose junk food like french fries over apple slices when given coupons for each of them. The number dropped only to 55 percent when parents encouraged children to choose the apple slices. But the desired reach does not stop at direct advertising and influence.

Reminder: Don’t forget to like us on Facebook to be the first in the know! A new children’s educational book has recently been launched by the Council for Biotechnology Information, educating young children on the ‘numerous benefits’ of genetically modified food. Of course genetically modified food has time and time again been shown to cause human and environmental harm, but still the attempt to brainwash young children is carelessly made. The advertising for such food is also heavily tied in with fast food, as virtually all fast food is constructed with genetically modified food and ingredients. These are but only a few of the countless reasons to never ingest fast food. Read more: http://naturalsociety.com/why-you-should-avoid-fast-food-at-all-costs/#ixzz1qt59P68M

Is sugar toxic ? CBS Special

(CBS) Is sugar toxic? Watch the Segment » Dr. Sanjay Gupta reports on new research showing that beyond weight gain, sugar can take a serious toll on your health, worsening conditions ranging from heart disease to cancer.

Web Extras • Is sugar toxic? • Sugar and kids: The toxic truth • Calories: not all created equal (CBS News) If you are what you eat, then what does it mean that the average American consumes 130 pounds of sugar a year? Sanjay Gupta reports on new research showing that beyond weight gain, sugar can take a serious toll on your health, worsening conditions ranging from heart disease to cancer. Some physicians go so far as to call sugar a toxin. ________________________________________ The following script is from "Sugar" which aired on April 1, 2012. Dr. Sanjay Gupta is the correspondent. Denise Schrier Cetta and Sumi Aggarwal, producers. The chances are good that sugar is a bigger part of your daily diet than you may realize which is why our story tonight is so important. New research coming out of some of America's most respected institutions is starting to find that sugar, the way many people are eating it today, is a toxin and could be a driving force behind some of this country's leading killers, including heart disease. 60 Minutes Overtime Sugar and kids: The toxic truth » As a result of these findings, an anti-sugar campaign has sprung up, led by Dr. Robert Lustig, a California endocrinologist, who believes the consumption of added sugars has plunged America into a public health crisis. Dr. Sanjay Gupta: Is sugar toxic? Dr. Robert Lustig: I believe it is. Dr. Sanjay Gupta: Do you ever worry that that's-- it just sounds a little bit over the top? Dr. Robert Lustig: Sure. All the time. But it's the truth. Dr. Robert Lustig is a pediatric endocrinologist at the University of California, San Francisco and a pioneer in what is becoming a war against sugar. Motivated by his own patients -- too many sick and obese children - Dr. Lustig has concluded that sugar, more than any other substance, is to blame. Dr. Sanjay Gupta: What are all these various diseases that you say are linked to sugar? Dr. Robert Lustig: Obesity, type II diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease itself. Lustig says the American lifestyle is killing us. Dr. Sanjay Gupta: And most of it you say is preventable? Dr. Robert Lustig: Seventy-five percent of it is preventable. While Dr. Lustig has published a dozen scientific articles on the evils of sugar, it was his lecture on YouTube, called "Sugar: The Bitter Truth," that brought his message to the masses. [YouTube Video: I'm standing here today to recruit you in the war against bad food.] By "bad food" Dr. Lustig means the obvious things such as table sugar, honey, syrup, sugary drinks and desserts, but also just about every processed food you can imagine, where sugar is often hidden: yogurts and sauces, bread, and even peanut butter. And what about the man-made, often vilified sweetener, high fructose corn syrup? Dr. Sanjay Gupta: Is it worse than just table sugar? Dr. Robert Lustig: No. 'Cause it's the exact same. They are basically equivalent. The problem is they're both bad. They're both equally toxic. Since the 1970s, sugar consumption has gone down nearly 40 percent, but high fructose corn syrup has more than made up the difference. Dr. Lustig says they are both toxic because they both contain fructose -- that's what makes them sweet and irresistible. Dr. Robert Lustig: We love it. We go out of our way to find it. I think one of the reasons evolutionarily is because there is no food stuff on the planet that has fructose that is poisonous to you. It is all good. So when you taste something that's sweet, it's an evolutionary Darwinian signal that this is a safe food. Dr. Sanjay Gupta: We were born this way? Dr. Robert Lustig: We were born this way. Central to Dr. Lustig's theory is that we used to get our fructose mostly in small amounts of fruit -- which came loaded with fiber that slows absorption and consumption -- after all, who can eat 10 oranges at a time? But as sugar and high fructose corn syrup became cheaper to refine and produce, we started gorging on them. Americans now consume 130 pounds per person a year -- that's a third of a pound every day. Dr. Lustig believes those sweeteners are helping fuel an increase in the most deadly disease in America: heart disease. For years, he's been a controversial voice. [Kimber Stanhope: Here is our oral isotope...] But now, studies done by Kimber Stanhope, a nutritional biologist at the University of California, Davis are starting to back him up. She's in the middle of a groundbreaking, five-year study which has already shown strong evidence linking excess high fructose corn syrup consumption to an increase in risk factors for heart disease and stroke. That suggests calories from added sugars are different than calories from other foods. Dr. Sanjay Gupta: The mantra that you hear from most nutritionists is that a calorie is a calorie is a calorie. Kimber Stanhope: And I think the results of the study showed clearly that is not true. Stanhope's conclusions weren't easy to come by. Nutrition studies are expensive and difficult. Stanhope has paid groups of research subjects to live in this hospital wing for weeks at a time, under a sort of 24-hour lockdown. They undergo scans and blood tests - every calorie they ingest, meticulously weighed and prepared. Kimber Stanhope: They're never out of our sight. So we do know that they are consuming exactly what we need them to consume. Dr. Sanjay Gupta: And they're not sneaking any candy bars on the side. Kimber Stanhope: Yeah, right, exactly. For the first few days, participants eat a diet low in added sugars, so baseline blood levels can be measured. [Research assistant: So remember you guys have to finish all of your Kool-Aid. ] Then, 25 percent of their calories are replaced with sweetened drinks and Stanhope's team starts drawing blood every 30 minutes around the clock. And those blood samples? They revealed something disturbing. Dr. Sanjay Gupta: And what are you starting to see? Kimber Stanhope: We found that the subjects who consumed high fructose corn syrup had increased blood levels of LDL cholesterol and other risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Dr. Sanjay Gupta: How quickly did these changes occur? Kimber Stanhope: Within two weeks. Kimber Stanhope's study suggests that when a person consumes too much sweet stuff, the liver gets overloaded with fructose and converts some of it into fat. Some of that fat ends up in the bloodstream and helps generate a dangerous kind of cholesterol called small dense LDL. These particles are known to lodge in blood vessels, form plaque and are associated with heart attacks. Dr. Sanjay Gupta: Did it surprise you when you first got these results back? Kimber Stanhope: I would have to say I was surprised because when I saw our data, I started drinking and eating a whole lot less sugar. I would say our data surprised me. So imagine, for these healthy young people, drinking a sweetened drink might be just as bad for their hearts as the fatty cheeseburgers we've all been warned about since the 1970s. That's when a government commission mandated that we lower fat consumption to try and reduce heart disease. Dr. Sanjay Gupta: So with the best of intentions, they say, "Time to reduce fat in the American diet?" Dr. Robert Lustig: Exactly. And we did. And guess what? Heart disease, metabolic syndrome, diabetes and death are skyrocketing. Dr. Lustig believes that's primarily because we replaced a lot of that fat with added sugars. Dr. Robert Lustig: Take the fat out of food, it tastes like cardboard. And the food industry knew that. So they replaced it with sugar. Dr. Sanjay Gupta: This idea that sugar increases this particularly bad LDL, the small dense particles that are associated with heart disease. Do most doctors-- do they know this? Dr. Robert Lustig: No, they do not know this. This is new. And it turns out, sugar has become a major focus in cancer research too. Lewis Cantley, is looking at the connection. Dr. Sanjay Gupta: If you limit your sugar you decrease your chances of developing cancer? Lewis Cantley: Absolutely. Cantley, a Harvard professor and the head of the Beth Israel Deaconess Cancer Center, says when we eat or drink sugar, it causes a sudden spike in the hormone insulin, which can serve as a catalyst to fuel certain types of cancers. Lewis Cantley: What we're beginning to learn is that insulin can cause adverse effects in the various tissues. And of particular concern is cancer. Why? Nearly a third of some common cancers -- including breast and colon cancers -- have something called insulin receptors on their surface. Insulin binds to these receptors and signals the tumor to start consuming glucose. Lewis Cantley: This is your body... Every cell in our body needs glucose to survive. But the trouble is, these cancer cells also use it to grow. Lewis Cantley: So if you happen to have the tumor that has insulin receptors on it then it will get stimulated to take up the glucose that's in the bloodstream rather than go into fat or muscle, the glucose goes into the tumor. And the tumor uses it to grow. Dr. Sanjay Gupta: So you've just seen that tumor turn blue which is essentially reflective of glucose going into it. Lewis Cantley: That's right. Dr. Sanjay Gupta: So these cancers, much in the same way that muscle will say, "Hey, I'd like some of that glucose, the fat says, "I would like some of that glucose," the cancers have learned how to do this themselves as well? Lewis Cantley: Yes. So they have evolved the ability to hijack that flow of glucose that's going by in the bloodstream into the tumor itself. Lewis Cantley's research team is working on developing drugs that will cut off the glucose supply to cancer cells and keep them from growing. But until there's a breakthrough, Cantley's advice? Don't eat sugar. And if you must, keep it to a minimum. Lewis Cantley: In fact-- I-- you know, I live my life that way. I rarely eat sugar. Dr. Sanjay Gupta: When you see a sugary drink or if I were to offer you one, what-- with all that you know, what's going through your mind? Lewis Cantley: I probably would turn it down and get a glass of water. But for most of us, that's easier said than done... Eric Stice: It turns out sugar is much more addictive than I think we had sort of realized early on. Eric Stice, a neuroscientist at the Oregon Research Institute, is using functional MRI scanners to learn how our brains respond to sweetness. Eric Stice: Sugar activates our brain in a special way. That's very reminiscent of, you know, drugs like cocaine. That's right. Cocaine. Dr. Sanjay Gupta: Let's give it a shot... I climbed into the MRI scanner to see how my brain would respond. That's a straw that's been rigged to deliver a tiny sip of soda into my mouth. Eric Stice: Stay as still as you can, ok? Just as it hit my tongue, the scanner detected increased blood rushing to certain regions of my brain. In these images, the yellow areas show that my reward region is responding to the sweet taste. Dopamine - a chemical that controls the brain's pleasure center - is being released, just as it would in response to drugs or alcohol. Dr. Sanjay Gupta: So dopamine is released. That sort of makes me feel good. I'm experiencing some pleasure from having this Coke. Eric Stice: Right, that euphoric effect. Dr. Sanjay Gupta: So far be it for people to realize this 'cause sugar is everywhere, but you're saying this is one of the most addictive substances possibly that we have? Eric Stice: It certainly is very good at firing the reward regions in our brain. Eric Stice says by scanning hundreds of volunteers, he's learned that people who frequently drink sodas or eat ice cream or other sweet foods may be building up a tolerance, much like drug users do. As strange as it sounds, that means the more you eat, the less you feel the reward. The result: you eat more than ever. Eric Stice: If you overeat these on a regular basis it causes changes in the brain that basically it blunts your reward region response to the food, so then you eat more and more to achieve the same satisfaction you felt originally. With all this new science emerging, we wanted to hear from the sugar industry, so we visited Jim Simon, who's on the board of the Sugar Association, at a sugar cane farm in Louisiana. Dr. Sanjay Gupta: Would it surprise you that almost every scientist that we talked to in researching this story told us they are eliminating all added sugars. They're getting rid of it because they're concerned about the health impacts. Jim Simon: To say that the American consuming public is going to completely omit, eliminate, sweeteners out of their diet I don't think gets us there. Simon cautions that eliminating sugar wrongly vilifies one food, rather than working towards the long-term solution of reducing calories and exercising. Dr. Sanjay Gupta: You know, a lot of people, Jim, are saying that sugar is different. That it is bad for your heart and is causing a lot of the problems we're talking about. It is addictive and in some cases might even fuel cancers. What would you - I mean you've looked at this. You must have looked at some of these studies. What do you say about that? Jim Simon: The science is not completely clear here. Dr. Sanjay Gupta: But some of that's, but some of these studies exist. I mean, what is a consumer, what are they to make of all that? Jim Simon: Well, I would say to them, that they've got to approach, their diet in balance.

Dr. Robert Lustig agrees -- we need a balanced diet -- but his idea of balance is a drastic reduction in sugar consumption. To that end he co-authored an American Heart Association report recommending men should consume no more than 150 calories of added sugars a day. And women, just 100 calories. That's less than the amount in just one can of soda. Dr. Robert Lustig: Ultimately this is a public health crisis. And when it's a public health crisis, you have to do big things and you have to do them across the board. Tobacco and alcohol are perfect examples. We have made a conscious choice that we're not going to get rid of them, but we are going to limit their consumption. I think sugar belongs in this exact same wastebasket.

Dandelion gets scientific acceptance as an antioxidant and "novel" cancer therapy

Dandelion gets scientific acceptance as an antioxidant and "novel" cancer therapy Sat, March 31, 2012 by: Donna Earnest Pravel Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/035418_dandelion_cancer_therapy_herbs.html#ixzz1qnrIglFX (NaturalNews) Dandelion is the bane of immaculate lawn enthusiasts, but holds healing secrets that few people realize. Dandelion is a delicious super-food to add to salads and soups. It contains substantial vitamins and a host of plant-based minerals, especially potassium. The herb stimulates the flow of bile from the liver into the gall bladder, making dandelion a key ingredient in liver cleanse formulas. It helps to break down liver fats and is an effective diuretic. The scientific community has been frenetically studying dandelion recently, due to encouraging evidence that dandelion suppresses the growth and invasive behavior in several types of cancer. Scientists "approve" dandelion extract as an effective oxidative stress inhibitor Scientists at the University of Annunzio Chieti-Pasaca in Italy compared extracts of tumeric, dandelion, rosemary, and artichoke in a study released in 2010. The researchers acknowledged the positive effect that these herbs have on the liver and gallbladder, and wanted to compare their anti-proliferation (spreading), antioxidant (combating free radical activity), and protective effects. While tumeric had the greatest antioxidant effects, dandelion also had these qualities. The scientists confirmed that these herbs are useful healing aids in modern phytomedicine.

The oxidative stress-reducing effects of dandelion extract was tested on rats with liver damage from carbon tetrachloride (CCl4), a chemical used in fire extinguishers and refrigerants which is highly toxic to the liver. Water-based dandelion extract, or dandelion tea, was observed to significantly reduce the amount of oxidative stress and inflammation present in the livers of rats. Medical researchers are enthusiastic about the effects of dandelion on various cancers Medical science is finally beginning to accept the positive results from natural dietary supplements in healing cancer. Just in the past few years, clinical research has been published stating the benefits of herbal supplements such as dandelion for cancer. Here are a few studies: The International Journal of Oncology published a 2008 clinical study showing the positive effects of dandelion leaf tea. Dandelion leaf tea decreased breast cancer cells, but dandelion root tea did not. Researchers went on to test prostate cancer cells and found similar results. The scientists concluded that dandelion extract may be considered a "novel" anti-cancer agent. The Journal of Ethnopharmacology published a study in January 2011 which tested the effects of dandelion root tea on leukemia cells. The study showed that dandelion root tea killed leukemia cells through a process called apoptosis. It is believed that dandelion root tea signals a "kill switch" on leukemia cell receptors. Researchers found it "interesting" that dandelion root tea did not transmit the same "kill switch" signal to healthy cells. These scientists also believed that dandelion should be considered a "novel" non-toxic anti-cancer agent. The International Journal of Oncology published a 2011 report that a dietary supplement containing dandelion as one ingredient suppresses the growth of prostate cancer cells. In yet another 2011 study performed with dandelion, dandelion root extract was clinically proven to induce apoptosis in human drug-resistant melanoma cells without poisoning or damaging healthy cells. Once again, tests proved that dandelion root extract should be considered a "novel" and non-toxic therapy for even drug-resistant forms of cancer. Sources for this article include: Medline.gov. "Antiproliferative, protective and antioxidant effects of artichoke, dandelion, tumeric, and rosemary extracts and their formulation," L. Menghini, et al. International Journal of Immunopathology and Pharmacology April-June 2010; 23(2): 601-10. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20646355 Wiley Online Library.com. "Amelioration of oxidative stress by dandelion extract through CYP2E1 suppression against acute liver injury induced by carbon tetrachloride in Sprague-Dawley rats," Chung My Park, et al. Phytotherapy Research, September 2010; 24(9): 1347-1353. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ptr.3121/abstract Spandidos Publications.com. "Suppression of growth and invasive behavior of human prostate cancer cells by ProstaCaidTM: Mechanism of activity," J. Jang, et al. International Journal of Oncology. June 2011; 38(6): 1675-82. http://www.spandidos-publications.com/ijo/38/6/1675 Pubmed.gov. "Evaluation of aqueous extracts of Taraxacum officinale [dandelion] on growth and invasion of breast and prostate cancer cells," S.C. Sigstedt, et al. International Journal of Oncology, May 2008; 32(5): 1085-90. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18425335 Pubmed.gov. "Selective induction of apoptosis through activation of caspase-8 in human leukemia cells (Jurkat) by dandelion root extract," P. Ovadie, et al. The Journal of Ethnopharmacology. January 2011; 133(1): 86-91. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20849941 Pubmed.gov. "The efficacy of dandelion root extract in inducing apoptosis in drug-resistant human melanoma cells," S.J. Chatterjee, et al. Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2011; 2011: 129045. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21234313 About the author: This article is provided courtesy of Donna Earnest Pravel, owner and senior editor of Heart of Texas Copywriting Solutions.com. Get free biweekly tips on natural healing and herbs by visiting her blog, Bluebonnet Natural Healing Therapy. Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/035418_dandelion_cancer_therapy_herbs.html#ixzz1qnpceg00