Being
well-nourished during a disaster can mean the difference between
powering through the event with strength, stamina and energy or plodding
through the situation barely able to put one foot in front of the
other.
One often overlooked component of the prepper’s pantry is protein. This vital nutrient:
Helps with the repair and building of muscle tissue
Helps the body heal from injuries
Provides long-lasting stamina
Helps boost the immune system
Protein
is stored throughout the body. It can be found in muscles, bones,
hemoglobin, myoglobin, hormones, antibodies, and enzymes. In fact,
protein makes up nearly 45% of the human body. Without a steady supply,
body functions will cease to operate effectively.
Protein is often
thought of as one of the more challenging items to stockpile for an
extended period of time. Most people think of a freezer full of juicy
steaks and roasts when they contemplate protein. They feel that the next
resort is tins of highly processed meat pieces. The good news is,
there are many ways to add muscle-building nutrients to your long term
food storage without resorting to a sodium laden closet full of Spam.
To see a breakdown of protein amounts in food sources, click here.
Although
pantry basics such as dry non-fat milk powder and powdered cheeses
offer protein for the diet, there are other food sources to consider.
Here are the top 5 healthy (and tasty) protein sources to add to your
stockpile: Beans
Beans are more than just a vegetarian staple. While beans can stand on their own
as a delicious protein source, adding beans to a dish that contains
meat can stretch your budget by providing lots of protein while using
less meat.
Due to their high fiber content, beans prevent blood
sugar levels from rising too rapidly after a meal, making this food
source an excellent choice for individuals with diabetes, insulin
resistance or hypoglycemia. Having a high fiber food source also helps
to slow the rate of absorption of carbohydrate thus making it a more
energy efficient food source.
Dried beans provide the most bang
for your food storage buck. They are one of the most low cost food
sources on the market. The canned variety will prove to be more fuel
efficient. Canned beans can often be purchased on sale. Plain canned
beans and beans in barbecue sauce can provide instant nutrition in the
event of a power outage. If you don’t want to eat beans that have been
processed, it’s easy to can your own. Click here for directions on preserving homemade pork and beans.
Store
dried beans in Mylar bags with oxygen absorbers, then placed the sealed
bags inside large plastic food grade buckets for added protection.
Click here for details. Chia Seeds
The Chia seedis
a tiny little powerhouse that can add a lot of benefits to your
long-term food storage while only taking up a small amount of space. The
word “Chia” is actually the Mayan word for strength. In ancient
cultures, they are considered the food of the warrior because of their
nutrient density and ability to sustain running messengers for long
durations without other food.
Chia seeds have double the amount of protein found in other seeds, as well as many other nutritional benefits.
2x the protein of other seeds
5x the calcium of milk
2x the potassium of bananas
3x the antioxidants of blueberries
3x the iron of spinach
Chia
seeds can be sprinkled dry on top of other foods, they can be sprouted
or they can be soaked to create a tasteless gel to stir into soups or
sauces.
Chia seeds can be stored for 2-4 years in a cool, dry place. They can be stored in large glass jars or Mylar bags.
Click here to learn more about the nutritional value and uses of Chia seeds. Read More Here
A unit of Swiss food giant Nestle is cutting prices for baby formula in
China by as much as 20 percent, it said after the government launched a
investigation into alleged price-fixing by foreign firms.
Wyeth Nutrition confirmed the investigation by China's top economic
planner, which has been reported by state media, and pledged to
"immediately" cut prices on some formula products by six to 20 percent,
according to a statement late Wednesday.
"Wyeth Nutrition has always respected and been willing to abide by
China's laws and regulations and is actively cooperating with the
anti-monopoly investigation into the company," it said.
The firm promised not to raise prices on new formula products for a year
and said it had improved marketing policies to ensure they were in line
with regulations.
The response came after media reports on Tuesday that the National
Development Reform Commission had launched a probe of foreign baby
formula makers for high prices, which it claimed resulted from a
monopoly-like situation.
But a 2008 scandal involving tainted formula that killed six children
and sickened more than 300,000 has prompted domestic consumers to shun
local brands and created huge demand for foreign products, both those
sold through normal channels and informally imported.
There’s a sense of urgency in the prepping community lately that is at an all-time high. Between the global elite warmongers, the impending financial collapse as the government makes plans to attach pension funds, the new viruses, Monsanto’s GMO seeds running amok and threatening the world’s food supply, and Big Food’s toxic food-like substances in the grocery stores with no regard for actual nutrition, it is clear that we are going downhill fast. The soothing ”everything-is-just-fine” propaganda is so blatant that even the most die-hard zombie is beginning to see that something is amiss and that a massive change is soon to take place.
Many of us have stocked our homes to the rafters with beans, rice, bullets, and band-aids. Each trip to the store adds more to our stockpiles as we try to get what we need before time runs out. Newbie preppers are feeling even more frantic, wondering how to prepare when each week it takes more money to put less in the grocery cart. (If you’re new to preparedness, here’s a little primer with some great links.)
With the situation looking more grim by the day, it is very clear that stockpiling is not enough. No matter how many cans of green beans you have stored away, one day they will run out. We have become so dependent on the “buy it as you need it” lifestyle that despite our food storage, there are still gaps that must be filled.
And the only way to fill these gaps is through that which is a step beyond prepping...self sufficiency.
Self sufficiency is defined as the ability to provide for oneself without the help of others. No amount of stockpiling gives you true self sufficiency. It is a combination of skills, supplies, attitudes and habits that mean the difference between a person with a great pantry and a true survivor.
Self-sufficiency is for…
The day the grocery stores close their doors or become so expensive that people cannot afford to shop
The day that the FEMA Camp gates open in only one direction
The day that the banks go on an indefinite holiday, after draining depositor savings accounts and pension funds
The day that electricity and heat on demand become so expensive that only the wealthy can afford them
The day that medical care no longer exists for the average person, or is directed by government death panels
The day that a natural disaster or false flag locks down the country and completely, irrevocably changes our way of life
The list could go on and on. These things are hurtling towards us and we must be ready. Self sufficiency, unlike prepping, doesn’t cost a lot of money – it’s about planning and acquiring basic skills and tools. It is about putting your plan into practice before you have no other option but to do so.
What would you do if you could never go to a store again? If you could never have utilities provided by a supplier again? What if you were truly on your own, forever?
For some situations, prepping just isn’t enough. If you don’t have plans for the following, you cannot consider yourself to be truly prepared.
Water
Clean drinking water is one of the most important requirements for survival. Now is the time to figure out how you will get water if your stored water runs out. Some ideas might be:
Rain barrels (which are beginning to be illegal in some states)
Less obvious water collection containers like pools and ponds (don’t forget the roof if you live in an apartment building
Water purification methods
Locate nearby lakes, rivers and streams
Wells (including non-electric pumps)
Food production
Many people believe that they will just be able to stick some seeds in the ground and feed their families year round. It isn’t that easy. You can only learn the foibles of your bit of ground through trial and error. It takes a lot more veggies than most people think to feed a family for a year. Anything from a blight to bad weather to a horde of hungry bunnies can wipe out all of your hard work and leave you without a bite to store away. Look into some of these methods:
Gardening in your backyard or on a balcony
An aquaponics or hydroponics system
Raising chickens and other micro-livestock
Sprouting
Hunting and foraging (a nice supplement to your diet but a risky plan for long term survival when everyone else has the same idea)
Full-scale farming
Rooftop gardening
Greenhouses and cold-frames
Food preservation
Not all of us are lucky enough to live in a place where we can grow food outdoors all year long. For the rest of us, food preservation is a lifeline in the winter. A few basic supplies and tools are needed. Just like food production, it’s important to practices food preservation and work out the kinks now, while you still have moderately affordable groceries as a back up. As well, this allows you to rely on healthy, non-GMO foods instead of the inexpensive, highly processed garbage at the stores. Learn the following skills:
Canning
Freezing
Dehydrating/drying
Pickling
Fermentation
Salting and curing
Root cellaring
Reduce dependence on utilities
Whether you live in the country or in a high-rise apartment, you need to take steps to reduce your dependence on electricity at the flip of a switch, water from the tap, heat from the thermostat, and cooking at the turn of a dial. As the divide between the rich and the poor widen, there could one day be a choice between food and electricity. Your priorities are:
Water
Sanitation
Heat
Electrical power
Lights
Refrigeration or other method of safe food storage
Cooking methods
Every situation is unique so start now to amass the necessary tools to meet your needs should the lights go out on a long term basis.
Personal defense
This is the sticking point for many people. But if you can’t defend your supplies, your home, and your garden, you don’t really have them at all – you are just using them until someone better armed or tougher comes and takes these things away from you. Look at Argentina’s economic collapse as an example of what could happen – violent crime there increased by 35% in one year. One study went so far as to call property crime a tool of redistribution: ”Overall, these results suggest that property crime has been used as a redistributive tool for the poorest to compensate for their impoverishment during the last decade and in particular during the ultimate crisis in Argentina.
Some solutions for personal defense:
Arm yourself and learn to use your weapon of choice
Stock up on ammo while it is still available
Have secondary methods of defense in which you are proficient
Learn basic hand-to-hand self-defense skills
Home security
Not only should you be prepared to defend your home, but you should try to avoid the fight in the first place by securing your property.
Make your property less accessible by fencing it
Install heavy doors in reinforced frames
Install sturdy brackets to hold a bar in place on either side of the doors
Growing thorny inhospitable plants under windows and on fences
Place alarms on windows and doors
Install security cameras (even if they are fake and just have a blinking light)
Keep a low profile – if no one else has lights or power, cover your windows thoroughly so that they cannot see that you have them
Don’t be ostentatious – keep your property looking similar to everyone else’s in your neighborhood
Keep all windows and doors securely locked
Consider the potential necessity of standing watch in shifts if the situation has thoroughly devolved
Change your perspective on finances
Devastating financial changes are coming to a location near you. Wouldn’t you prefer to make the cuts now and adjust accordingly, instead of having them forced upon you through evictions, foreclosures, repossessions, and other painful methods? Making some difficult changes now can provide a stable standard of living in a world that is going downhill at breakneck speed. By decreasing your monthly output, you can hang on to necessities.
Redefine what necessities mean to you
Get your money out of the banks
Convert fiat currency to tangibles like seeds, ammo, food, medical supplies, real estate, and precious metals
Don’t be in debt
Reduce your monthly expenditures to the bare minimum
Prepare for a potential barter-based economy – what skills do you have that could be traded for essential goods and services?
The economic collapse is not some far-fetched, end-of-the-world fantasy. It is the reality that is occurring all around us, incrementally. The collapse that has been occurring since 2008 has been one of 1000 small cuts as income goes down and expenses go up.
No matter how much food you buy, it may not be enough to get you through these difficult times. You must learn to be self-sufficient in order to remain free from the control of those who would offer you sustenance and shelter in return for your fealty.
Instead of a huge, life-changing calamity, consider that it may be the culmination of many small events, rising prices and lower incomes, and the deliberate erosion of our self-sufficiency by those who would control us that cause TEOTWAWKI. (The End Of The World As We Know It).
The lists above aren’t comprehensive – they are jumping off points to apply to your own situations. Wherever you are planted, you need to come to grips with the fact that the world as we know it is undergoing massive changes. Figure out now how to make the best of it and not only survive with your family, but thrive.
Ask the people in Greece whether they regret not having stocked up on food supplies when those items were abundantly available. Ask the people in Argentina whether they feel the need to be armed against roving gangs and home invaders.
Hunger, cold, crime and fear are the daily realities in many countries that once enjoyed a similar standard of living to that of the average North American. Our debt-based standard of living is unsustainable, and you must be able to connect these trends with what is happening in your own country in order to see the need for preparation.
Today, you still have stores at every corner, reliable utilities, and social safety nets in place. These may soon become a thing of the past and if you wait before preparing, your window of opportunity may slam shut.
I’m not suggesting that you stop prepping – your stockpile is vital insurance that can help to cushion you when things go downhill. But along with your food storage and your rocket stoves and your medical supplies, begin creating a self-sufficient lifestyle that will carry you far beyond what mere prepping ever could.
Daisy Luther is a freelance writer and editor. Her website, The Organic Prepper, offers information on healthy prepping, including premium nutritional choices, general wellness and non-tech solutions. You can follow Daisy on Facebook and Twitter, and you can email her at daisy@theorganicprepper.ca
U.S. health regulators should change the prescription guidelines for
opioid painkillers to prevent more people abusing the powerful and
addictive medicines, urged a group of medical and public health experts.
Thirty-seven health experts signed a petition to the Food and Drug
Administration, asking it to revise the prescription label for opioid
painkillers. They want to prohibit use of the drugs for moderate pain,
add a maximum daily dose, and only allow patients to take them for up to
90 days unless they are being treated for cancer-related pain.
Changing the label would not limit how doctors prescribe painkillers.
But it would stop pharmaceutical companies like Purdue Pharma, Endo
Health Solutions Inc and Pfizer Inc from promoting the drugs for
non-approved uses.
Some researchers say aggressive marketing by drug companies has
fueled overprescribing of opioids like oxycodone and methadone,
synthetic versions of opium that are currently used to treat moderate or
severe pain but are also highly addictive.
Overdose from prescription drugs is now the leading cause of
accidental death in the country, eclipsing car crashes and the combined
impact of cocaine and heroin. The Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention says the problem has become an epidemic.
The government has tried a multitude of strategies to combat the
problem, from targeting “pill mills” and pharmacies like CVS Caremark
Corp that are accused of peddling painkillers to addicts, to asking
drugmakers to pay for training courses that show doctors how to properly
prescribe the medicines.
But some researchers say the government has done little to address
drug companies’ marketing, which often encourages doctors to prescribe
the pills for chronic pain.
Dr. Andrew Kolodny, chair of the psychiatry department at Maimonides
Medical Center in Brooklyn and one of the petitioners, said he has many
patients who started off taking opioids for legitimate medical reasons,
but then became addicted when they stayed on them for too long.
“We don’t think drug companies should be allowed to advertise these
drugs as safe and effective for long-term pain, if we know very well
that they’re not,” said Kolodny, who is also president of Physicians for
Responsible Opioid Prescribing.
“The FDA has said there’s nothing they can do about this problem (of
painkiller abuse). But there is, and that’s a label change.” Read Full Article Here
Expanding Medicaid cuts death rates, study finds
By Lewis Krauskopf
State expansions of the Medicaid health insurance program for poor
Americans reduced adult mortality rates by more than 6 percent compared
with states that did not broaden eligibility for their plans, according
to a study released on Wednesday.
The findings published in the New England Journal of Medicine could
fuel a political furor over new plans for a nationwide expansion of Medicaid that erupted after the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling to uphold President Barack Obama’s healthcare law in late June.
In an unexpected move, the high court ruling also left it up to
states to decide whether to participate in the law’s broader eligibility
criteria for Medicaid that would extend insurance coverage to as many
as 16 million more Americans starting in 2014. At least five Republican
governors who opposed the healthcare law have vowed to opt out of the
expansion, saying the program will pose a huge financial burden.
The lead author of the study was Benjamin Sommers, an assistant
professor in health policy and economics at the Harvard School of Public
Health who is temporarily working as an advisor to the U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services. According to a disclosure note in the
study, the paper was conceived and drafted while Sommers was employed at Harvard and the findings do not reflect official U.S. government policy.
The study examined three states that substantially broadened Medicaid
eligibility for adults since 2000 — New York, Maine and Arizona. They
were compared to neighboring states that did not implement expansions —
Pennsylvania (for New York), New Hampshire (for Maine) and Nevada and
New Mexico (for Arizona). Read Full Article Here
Two men unlucky enough to get both HIV and cancer have been seemingly
cleared of the virus, raising hope that science may yet find a way to
cure for the infection that causes AIDS, 30 years into the epidemic.
The researchers are cautious in declaring the two men cured, but more
than two years after receiving bone marrow transplants, HIV can’t be
detected anywhere in their bodies. These two new cases are reminiscent
of the so-called “Berlin patient,” the only person known to have been
cured of infection from the human immunodeficiency virus.
These two cases, presented as a “late-breaker” finding on Thursday at
the 19th annual International AIDS Conference in Washington, D.C., are
among the reasons that scientists have been speaking so openly at the
event about their hopes of finding a cure.
“Everyone knows about this ‘Berlin patient’. We wanted to see if a
simpler treatment would do the same thing”, said Dr. Daniel Kuritzkes of
Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, who oversaw the study. The
widely publicized patient, Timothy Brown, was treated for leukemia with a
bone marrow transplant that happened to come from a donor with a
genetic mutation that makes immune cells resist HIV infection. The
transplant replaced his own infected cells with healthy, AIDS-resistant
cells. He is HIV-free five years later.
AIDS patients are susceptible to cancers, but they usually stop
taking HIV drugs before receiving cancer treatment. “That allows the
virus to come back and it infects their donor cells,” Kuritzkes said.
About 34 million people are infected with HIV, the virus that causes
AIDS, globally; 25 million have died from it. While there’s no vaccine,
cocktails of powerful antiviral drugs called antiretroviral therapy
(ART) can keep the virus suppressed and keep patients healthy. No matter
how long patients take ART, however, they are never cured. The virus
lurks in the body and comes back if the drugs are stopped. Scientists
want to flush out these so-called reservoirs and find a way to kill the
virus for good.
Brown, and now these two other men, offer some real hope.
Dr. Timothy Henrich and colleagues at Brigham and Women’s Hospital
launched a search about a year ago for HIV patients with leukemia or
lymphoma who had received bone marrow stem cell transplants. Bone marrow
is the body’s source of immune system cells that HIV infects and it’s a
likely place to look for HIV’s reservoirs.
“If you took an HIV patient getting treated for various cancers, you
can check the effect on the viral reservoirs of various cancer
treatments,” Kuritzkes, who works with Henrich, said. They found the two
patients by asking colleagues at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston
which, like Brigham and Women’s, is associated with Harvard Medical
School.
Both men had endured multiple rounds of treatment for lymphoma, both
had stem cell treatments and both had stayed on their HIV drugs
throughout. “They went through the transplants on therapy,” Kuritzkes
said.
It turns out that was key.
“We found that immediately before the transplant and after the
transplant, HIV DNA was in the cells. As the patients’ cells were
replaced by the donor cells, the HIV DNA disappeared,” Kuritzkes said.
The donor cells, it appears, killed off and replaced the infected cells.
And the HIV drugs protected the donor cells while they did it.
One patient is HIV-free two years later, and the other is seemingly uninfected three-and-a-half years later.
“They still have no detectable HIV DNA in their T-cells,” Kuritzkes
said. In fact, doctors can’t find any trace of HIV in their bodies — not
in their blood plasma, not when they grow cells in the lab dishes, not
by the most sensitive tests.
Can the patients be told they are cured?
“We’re being very careful not to do that,” Kuritzkes said. Read Full Article Here
Big uptick in scheduled births before due dates, Aussie study finds
By Kerry Grens
Expectant mothers in Australia are increasingly having their babies’
births scheduled weeks before their due date, according to a new study.
But that hasn’t lowered the risk of stillbirth, as some had hoped. In
fact, researchers found that babies born even just a few weeks before
their due date were slightly more likely to suffer from complications
such as respiratory distress and feeding issues.
“Without a medical indication that is strong and clear right now, a
planned delivery is not supported due to the fact that consequences
after birth are likely to be relevant and severe,” said Dr. Karna
Murthy, a pediatrics professor at Chicago’s Northwestern University, who
was not involved in the study.
A baby’s due date is 40 weeks after the first day of the mother’s
last period. For scheduled births, moms can be induced by medications
and deliver vaginally or have their babies via Cesarean section.
In some cases, there are good reasons to stop a pregnancy short and
deliver the baby early, such as if the mother has severe preeclampsia,
which is high blood pressure and protein in the urine.
The condition is risky for the health of the mom, and delivering the
baby early is considered a safer option than letting the pregnancy go
on.
In other cases, such as if the mom has diabetes or there are low
fluid levels around the baby, it’s not clear whether scheduling a birth
early is less risky than letting the mother go into labor on her own,
said Murthy.
“There is a widely held perception of a change in obstetric decision
making that has lowered the threshold at which and for which planned
birth occurs,” the researchers write in their report in the American
Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
The result is that preterm births have become more popular around the
world, with increases seen in both C-sections and inductions. In the
U.S., for example, about one of every three babies is now born through a
C-section.
To see whether planned births have also increased in Australia, and
if there are health benefits to planning births, Jonathan Morris at the
Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney and colleagues collected
information on all births in New South Wales, Australia, from 2001 and
2009. The study included only single births.
Births that were planned between 33 and 39 weeks of pregnancy rose
during the study period, from 19 percent of all births in 2001 to 26
percent in 2009.
Both inductions and C-sections became more popular; inductions rose
from nine percent of all births in 2001 to 11 percent in 2009, while
early, planned C-sections rose from 10 to 15 percent.
At the same time, severe health problems among newborns increased
slightly, from three percent of all births in 2001 to 3.2 percent in
2009.
Among the babies whose births were scheduled between 33 and 39 weeks,
4.5 percent had a major health complication and 43 out of every 10,000
died.
In comparison, 3.3 percent of babies whose moms went into labor
naturally and delivered between 33 and 39 weeks had a severe health
problem and 40 out of every 10,000 died. Read Full Article Here
Why married men are happier
Getty Images / Image Source
Married guys are happier post-nuptials than if they’d stayed bachelors, a new study finds.
By Kristen Domonell
Think bachelors have it made? It turns out married men are actually
happier after marriage than they would be if they stayed single,
according to researchers at Michigan State University.
The study looked at 1,366 people who weren’t married before
participating in the survey, got married at some point during, and
stayed married. Researchers compared the subjects to a control group who
was demographically alike in every way other than being married.
The results: “People, on average, aren’t happier following marriage
than they were before marriage, but they are happier than they would
have been if they stayed single,” says Stevie C. Y. Yap, a doctoral
candidate in the Department of Psychology at MSU and one of the study
authors.
“Just being in a well-adjusted, long-term romantic partnership with
someone may be the underlying mechanism,” says Yap. “It may not have to
do with the marriage itself, the fact that you step up to the altar and
say, ‘I do.’” (Want to know the secret to long-lasting love? Discover What Every Woman Wants.)
Happiness in a marriage might not always seem as exciting as when you
first meet your wife, says Marsha Lucas, Ph.D., a psychologist in
Washington, D.C. That’s because, as research proves, many
people have a baseline level of happiness they tend to return to after a
positive life event.
“During early romance, we’re getting all kinds of great, pleasurable
experiences that are giving us a bit of a hit of dopamine, stimulating
the brain areas involved with reward—even euphoria—as well as the
motivation to seek out and return over and over to that same source to
get some more,” she says. “After you’re married and the thrill has
settled, those big, constant hits of dopamine taper off, and like coming
down from a high, it can feel like a huge letdown.” (For more must-have
relationship advice delivered straight to your inbox, sign up for our free Girl Next Door newsletter.) Read Full Article Here
Sorry, But What We Told You Is Wrong
- Dr. Gifford Jones Sunday
Winston Churchill, Britain’s wartime Prime Minister, once remarked, “To every question there is a clear, concise, coherent answer that is wrong”.
In medicine there are also many questions, and all too often the
answers from experts are found years later to be wrong, sometimes with
devastating consequences.
A report in the Archives of Internal Medicine found that 13 percent of research articles published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine in 2009 reported reversals in medical findings involving drugs, screening tests and invasive procedures!
For example, for years we’ve been told that increasing good
cholesterol is a prudent move. But new research shows it does nothing to
protect against heart attack, strokes and early death.
Here’s another hummer. Doctors have urged men to have regular PSA
testing. Now, it’s reported that routine prostate-cancer screening is
less likely to save lives and more likely to cause substantial harm from
the treatment.
Do you ever cringe when you’re with a friend who has a
knuckle-cracking habit? Since we’ve been told this leads to arthritis,
why not bite the bullet and bluntly tell them to stop it. But in a
research study that reviewed hand X-rays of 215 people aged 50 to 59 the
incidence of arthritis was about the same in those who did or did not
crack their knuckles.
We’ve also been warned by health nuts, and everyone else, that for
good health we must drink at least eight glasses of water a day. This
feeling persists in spite of the fact that there’s never been any
scientific evidence of its benefit. The Institute of Medicine reports that most people get the water they need by letting thirst guide them. Read Full Article Here
Smokers produce unusually large amounts of two proteins that foster
production of bone-resorbing osteoclasts compared to non-smokers.
- American Chemical Society By Gary Guishan Xiao, Ph.D.
Almost 20 years after scientists first identified cigarette smoking
as a risk factor for osteoporosis and bone fractures, a new study is
shedding light on exactly how cigarette smoke weakens bones. The report,
in ACS’ Journal of Proteome Research, concludes that cigarette
smoke makes people produce excessive amounts of two proteins that
trigger a natural body process that breaks down bone.
Gary Guishan Xiao and colleagues point out that previous studies
suggested toxins in cigarette smoke weakened bones by affecting the
activity of osteoblasts, cells which build new bone, and osteoclasts,
which resorb, or break down, old bone. Weakening of the bones, known as
osteoporosis, can increase the risk of fractures and is a major cause of
disability among older people. To shed light on how cigarette smoking
weakens bones, the scientists analyzed differences in genetic activity
in bone marrow cells of smokers and non-smokers.
They discovered that human smokers produce unusually large amounts of
two proteins that foster production of bone-resorbing osteoclasts
compared to non-smokers. Experiments with laboratory mice confirmed the
finding.
The authors acknowledge funding from the Cancer and Smoking Related
Disease Research Program and the Nebraska Tobacco Settlement Biomedical
Research Program.
Alcohol – not marijuana – is the gateway drug, study shows
By J. D. Heyes, July 21 2012
(NaturalNews) For years Americans have been told that marijuana should
remain illegal because it is the ultimate “gateway” drug – that is, the
drug that most often leads to the abuse of other, more potent drugs. Not
so, according to a new study which says alcohol – not marijuana – is
the true gateway drug. Of three drugs or drug-containing substances –
alcohol, tobacco and marijuana – the study found that the former, not
the latter, led to more drug use. In examining a nationally
representative…
Chocolate can improve blood circulation, EFSA rules
By PF Louis, July 21 2012
(NaturalNews) The EFSA is the European Food Safety Authority, and it
considers it okay for a food to promote health benefits based on
scientific proof. This is not the attitude of USA’s Food and Drug
Administration. Our militantly aggressive FDA has the viewpoint that
only large pharmaceutical corporations can promote health benefits for
their toxic formulas that harm more than they help. Look out for the FDA
if any food group, such as walnut growers, cherry producers, and others
who have promoted…
By John McKiernan, July 21 2012
(NaturalNews) Most of us are now aware of the importance of Essential
Fatty Acids to our overall health and well being. What isn’t so commonly
discussed; however, is the relationship between EFAs and the sun. Don’t
be afraid of the sun It seems many people are so concerned with
covering themselves up from any sun exposure that they are missing out
on the important benefits of sunlight. Dr. Robert S. Stern, chair of the
Department of Dermatology at Harvard Affiliated Beth Israel Deaconess
Medical…
Why virgin coconut oil is superior to highly refined, processed coconut oil
By Donna Earnest Pravel, July 23 2012
(NaturalNews) Many people in the natural health community have been well
aware of the health benefits of coconut oil and other coconut products
for decades. More recently, “clean eaters” and people following an
ancestral diet have been replacing canola oil and other cooking oils
with coconut oil. Unfortunately, some people do not realize that certain
brands of coconut oil pose serious health risks. Innocent health
seekers may be consuming a product that makes them sick. Not all coconut
oil is…
http://healthypets.mercola.com/
Dr. Karen Becker, a proactive and integrative wellness veterinarian
interviews Dr. Michael W. Fox about the book Healing Animals & The
Vision of One Health. (Part 1 of 3)
Dr. Becker Interviews Dr. Michael W. Fox (Part 2 of 3)
My Dog… Playing dead… over and over again….This is how I did it…
My dog already knew now to sit and wait for food… if you don’t know
how to teach that… just wait till your dog stops moving (in the seated
position) and give him a treat. Do that about 30 times and he’ll
understand pretty quick.
Then what I would do is get the dog and lay him down by hand…the
first 20 or so time it was kinda tough and the dog would not
cooperate…but as you hold the dog down and after he stops resisting…say
“bang!” and give him a treat…. Keep doing that and the dog will “die”
the second you show him a treat..or when you say “BANG!” LOL…
10 Steps to a Housetrained Dog
The first rule of housetraining any puppy or dog is: never leave
your little guy or gal unattended. Consider crate training. Despite how
many people feel about “caging” their pet, crates actually work with a
dog’s natural instinct to be a den dweller. And that’s only one of the
benefits of crate training.
Consistent feeding times are very important during housetraining and
even afterwards. It’s much easier to predict when your dog needs to go
outside if he eats at specific times each day.
Another rule of housetraining: reward and reinforce good behavior,
and do not punish your pet for mistakes. If your dog goes potty indoors,
consider it your mistake – not hers. The goal of housetraining is to
set your pet up for success. She can’t be successful without your
consistent and patient guidance.
Read Full Article Here
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Positivity Mind and Body
Tom Campbell & Anthony Peake – Consciousness Creates Reality
Big Pharma’s Oxycontin addicts being forced to heroin; war on drugs is complete failure
By J. D. Heyes, July 21 2012
(NaturalNews) Is the suggestion that the so-called “War on Drugs,” begun
in the early 1980s, has turned out to be a complete failure? Not
really, when you consider the connection between Big Pharma and the
illicit drug trade. What? You didn’t know there even was a connection?
Well, there is, and if anything, maybe it could even be said that
current Big Pharma and other accepted medical practices have worsened
the illicit drug industry. It stems from a concerted effort within the
medical community…
New strategies for raising veggie-loving kids discovered via research
By PF Louis, July 21 2012
(NaturalNews) In addition to the normal aversions to fresh fruits and
vegetables displayed by many young children, there are the pervasive TV
and peer pressure enticements for sweet cereals, beverages, and stuff
the cookie monster liked. TV advertising, especially, attempts to con
parents into thinking those delightfully tasty items with cartoon
figures displayed on their packaging contain healthy nutrients as well.
Unless you consider food coloring and other toxic additives healthy,
that’s totally…
Australian woman wins multi-million dollar payout from Thalidomide drug distributor Diageo
By J. D. Heyes, July 23 2012
(NaturalNews) A woman in Australia won a multi-million dollar settlement
recently from a British Big Pharma firm, Diageo Plc., a local
distributor for the drug Thalidomide, which caused birth defects in
thousands of babies around the world in the 1960s, according to her
attorneys. Lynette Rowe, 50, was born without any limbs – no arms and no
legs – after her mother, Wendy, took the medication for just a single
month when she was pregnant. At the time she took it, Thalidomide, a
sedative, was being…
*********************************************************************************************** [In accordance
with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without
profit, for research and/or educational purposes. This constitutes 'FAIR
USE' of any such copyrighted material.]
Four years ago, undercover video recorded workers
on forklifts forcing “downer” cows into slaughter at the Hallmark and
Westland meat plant in Chino, CA, which at the time was a top supplier
to the USDA
The sting, by the Humane Society of the United States, put Hallmark
and Westland out of business. When USDA saw the undercover video, it
demanded the largest beef recall in U.S. history and it immediately cut
off Hallmark and Westland from the lucrative school lunch business.
The damaged meat going to the National School Lunch program was
also the subject of a $150 million lawsuit against Hallmark and
Westland.
Other animal rights organizations have pulled off their own stings
since the big one at Chino. These undercover investigations usually
involve sending someone in to get a job with the company being targeted.
Until now, whenever one of these undercover videos was released, it
usually meant whoever owned the animal facility where abuses were
filmed was in big trouble.
But not any more in Iowa. Within a few hours on Wednesday, the Iowa
Senate took up an “ag-gag” bill, made some amendments, and passed it on
a 40-10 vote. The House then immediately took up the Senate changes and
approved them without debate on a 69-28 vote.
The bill, House File 589, now on Iowa House File 589‘s
desk, is all but certain to be signed into law, and it will be the
first “ag-gag” law in America, says Nathan Runkle, executive director of
Chicago-based Mercy for Animals (MFA), an animal rights group that has
been active in Iowa.
The new law, if it passes constitutional muster, could turn the
tables on animal rights groups doing these undercover investigations. It
gives Iowa’s county sheriffs a long list of possible violations to
charge once it is disclosed that any filming or recording was done
without the permission of the animal facility owner.
If the Iowa law had been in effect in California in 2008, Hallmark
and Westland would have been able to go to court claiming status as
victims of “animal facility tampering” for an “amount equaling three
times all the actual and consequential damages” against “the person
causing the damages.”
“This flawed and misdirected legislation could set a
dangerous precedent nationwide by throwing shut the doors to industrial
factory farms and allowing animal abuse, environmental violations, and
food contamination issues to flourish undetected, unchallenged and
unaddressed,” says Runkle. ”This bill is bad for consumers, who want
more, not less, transparency in production of their food.”
Some of the more likely unconstitutional language was removed from the bill, but Runkle told Food Safety News
the intent of the legislation remains exactly the same – “to shield
animal abusers from public scrutiny and prosecute investigators who dare
to expose animal cruelty, environmental violations, dangerous working
conditions or food safety concerns.”
Animal rights organizations like HSUS and MFA – working with
investigators to expose violations – could themselves be prosecuted
under the new Iowa law. And, the law does not just apply to animal
facilities but also any “crop operation.”
Recent investigations by MFA in Iowa are certainly among those
getting the attention of lawmakers. In 2011, the Chicago animal rights
group turned its cameras on a large Iowa egg farm owned by Sparboe, and
an Iowa Select Farms pig operation.
It found over-crowding in battery cages, some containing dead hens,
on the egg farm, and at the pig operation sows being penned in
confinement cages and testicles being removed from piglets without
painkillers.
And in 2009, MFA exposed the Iowa-based Hy-Line Hatchery’s
practice of throwing more than 150,000 live male chicks into grinding
machines every day.
Runkle says passage of the ”ag-gag” law proves Iowa agriculture “has a lot to hide.”
“This law is un-American and a broad government overreach. It seeks
to shield animal abusers from public scrutiny and prosecute the brave
whistleblowers who dare to speak out against animal cruelty,
environmental pollution and corporate corruption.”
The new law shields animal abusers from public scrutiny, makes
criminals out of those who dare to expose cruelty to farm animals and
threatens the consumers’ right to know, according to the MFA.
Wayne Pacelle, president and chief executive of HSUS, has written Gov. Branstad, urging the Republican governor to veto HF 589.
”The intent of this bill is simple: shield animal agribusiness
from public scrutiny by punishing whistleblowers and protecting animal
abusers,” wrote Pacelle. “By signing this bill into law, animal
agribusiness will have unbridled and unchecked power over worker safety,
public health and animal welfare.”
Pacelle said the Iowa Senate and House rushed the bill through at a
speed rarely found in the legislative process. Normally, he said,
deliberations of such consequence take weeks, or at least several days.
Iowa’s sudden passage of an “ag-gag” law has brought together
opposition to these state measures by a broad spectrum of national
organizations, including animal rights, civil liberties, public health,
food safety, public health, environmental and other groups.
Many see HF589 as an unconstitutional infringement on First Amendment rights.
Ag-gag bills were introduced in four states last year, including
Iowa. None of those passed. This year, ag-gag bills have been
introduced in Utah, Nebraska, Minnesota, Missouri, Illinois, Iowa,
Indiana, Florida and New York.
The Florida bill was defeated. Except for Iowa, the others are pending.
The Wednesday night passage of the Iowa ag-gag bill came with
support from some of the state’s most powerful agricultural lobbyists
including: The Institute for Cooperatives, The Agribusiness Association
of Iowa, Iowa Select Farms, Iowa Cattlemen’s Association, Iowa Dairy
Association, Iowa Farm Bureau, Iowa Corn Growers Association and
Monsanto Co.
Under the new law, anyone making “a false statement or
representation” as part of an application of employment at an animal
facility could, after a first conviction, be charged with a class D
felony.
To produce a record of image or sound without the owner’s
permission is defined as the new crime of “animal facility
interference.”
