I see more and more clients having issues with their thyroid. There are many factors involved, but what it all boils down to over and over again according to research is that our bodies can not tolerate the chemical load our “modern” world has placed on it. To avoid nitrates, eat more organic foods, less processed foods, especially lunch meats and packaged, preserved meats, they are loaded with nitrites. Also, if you are a man or love a man in your life, nitrates have been positively linked with prostrate cancer as well.

* By Ward, MH, BA Kilfoy, PJ Weyer, KE Anderson, AR Folsom and JR Cerhand
Environmental Health News, June 29, 2010

Nitrates in drinking water and food increase risk of thyroid cancer and thyroid hormone disease.

Long-term exposure to nitrates through food and water may increase a woman’s risk of thyroid disease, finds a study of older women in Iowa. Public water supplies contaminated with nitrates increased the risk of thyroid cancer in the women. Eating nitrates from certain vegetables was linked to increases in thyroid cancer and hypothyroidism, one type of thyroid disease.

This is the first study to show a link between nitrates and thyroid cancer in people, although nitrates have been shown to cause thyroid tumors in animal studies.

Thyroid cancer is the eighth most common cancer among women. In the United States, the incidence of thyroid cancer has increased steadily since 1980.

Nitrate is a common contaminant of drinking water, particularly in agricultural areas where nitrogen fertilizers are used. High rates of fertilizer application may also increase the natural nitrate levels found in certain vegetables, such as lettuce and root crops.

Researchers from the National Institute of Health studied 21,977 older women in Iowa who had used the same water supply for more than 10 years. They determined cancer incidence using the state health registry. They estimated nitrate intake from public drinking water sources using a public database of nitrate measurements. Dietary intake was measured through questionnaires. Since nitrate levels in private well water were not available, all private well users were combined into one group.

The results show a nearly three-fold increase in thyroid cancer risk for women with more than five year’s use of a public water supply that had nitrate levels of 5 milligrams per liter (mg/L) or above. The maximum contaminant level of nitrate in drinking water is currently set at 10 mg/L in the United States. There was no evidence of elevated thyroid cancer risk among private well users.

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(NaturalNews) The search for healthy, natural sweeteners sometimes seems to involve a whirlwind of information. I’ve been writing about stevia since 1997 — back in the day when the FDA was actually seizing stevia products and threatening to arrest the owners of stevia companies. But today, stevia is now widely accepted as a safe, natural sweetener. That doesn’t make it super popular, however: Many people complain about the aftertaste of stevia, and it doesn’t melt or cook like sugar does.

So the search goes on. For several years, many people in the natural health community have been turning to agave nectar, a low-glycemic sugar made from the bulbous roots of agave plants. While agave has a wonderful taste and a relatively low glycemic index, it has also been embroiled in controversy about whether it is truly “natural” or even low glycemic. Some agave nectar providers have, in the past, even been accused of adulterating the product with high-fructose corn syrup (although my sources tell me this practice has ceased for mainstream U.S. suppliers).

Now a new choice for a natural, wholesome sweetener emerges, and it has tremendous promise. It’s called palm sugar.

Why palm sugar is the next big thing in natural sweeteners

Palm sugar is a nutrient-rich, low-glycemic crystalline sweetener that looks, tastes, dissolves and melts almost exactly like sugar, but it’s completely natural and unrefined. It’s acquired from the flowers growing high on coconut trees, which are opened to collect their liquid flower nectar. This nectar is then air-dried to form a crystalline sugar that’s naturally brown in color and naturally rich in a number of key vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients, including potassium, zinc, iron, and vitamins B1, B2, B3 and B6.

It is never refined or bleached like white sugar. So the nutrients it was made with are still there. That’s rare for sweeteners, most of which are highly refined. Even stevia is highly refined in its white powder form (real stevia is a green herb).

The amazing caramel and butterscotch taste of palm sugar

Remarkably, even though palm sugar cooks, dissolves and melts just like regular sugar, it has a far superior taste. As Wikipedia states, “The taste of pure coconut palm sugar resembles that of brown sugar, yet with more rounded caramel and butterscotch notes, without the metallic ending flavor that brown sugar has. It has a rich flavor.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palm_sugar)

I completely agree with that assessment. Palm sugar adds a special richness to almost any recipe. I’ve been using it in smoothies, and I know raw food chefs who are thrilled about using it in raw food desserts (palm sugar is not raw, by the way, but neither is agave nectar). You can use palm sugar as a replacement for regular white sugar in any recipe. You’ll get improved taste, improved nutrition and a lower overall glycemic index for the finished food.

Palm sugar is not a calorie-free sweetener. It has calories like any carbohydrate, but due to its relatively low glycemic index, its calories are absorbed into the bloodstream at a significantly slower rate than regular refined sugar. This property should be of interest to anyone who is monitoring their blood sugar levels and attempting to avoid blood sugar spikes. Palm sugar isn’t medicine; it’s a food with a surprisingly low GI, considering its sweet taste.  It has a glycemic index of 35. By comparison, the GI of honey is 55 – 60, and high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is 62. Maltodextrin, a common powder often added to many sweeteners, has a GI of 105! (http://www.snac.ucla.edu/pages/Reso…)

At just 35, our palm sugar has a glycemic index very similar to milk or cooked carrots. And yet it’s a super delicious sweetener!

One disadvantage: The price

As with many healthy products, the price is higher than conventional, processed “junk” products. Highly-refined cane sugar is dirt cheap because it can be mass produced in sugar factories that churn out huge quantities of that white, nutritionally-devoid powder known as “table sugar.”

But creating something healthier is more complex. Climbing coconut trees to harvest the nectar of their flowers is difficult work, and drying the liquid into crystals takes time (and patience). Palm sugar isn’t fast sugar. It’s slow sugar that takes time to grow, harvest, and dry. Not coincidentally, it also takes time for its complex carbohydrates to be disassembled during digestion, which is why it has a lower glycemic index.

Organic palm sugar usually costs anywhere from $8 – $10 per pound in the USA. There is an issue with adulteration when purchasing palm sugar overseas: Some low-integrity companies adulterate it by mixing in cane sugar.

My experience with palm sugar

As you know, I only recommend products I use myself. I’ve been experimenting with organic palm sugar for about two months now, and I’m really happy with the results. When used as a sweetener in smoothies, it doesn’t give me the “sugar jitters” that more refined sugars used to do. (I used to be borderline diabetic myself, so I’m very aware of how sugars impact the way I feel.)

It also doesn’t make my teeth feel sensitive the way agave nectar sometimes can. I don’t know if you’ve ever experienced this side effect from agave nectar, but it’s something I’ve noticed. I still recommend agave nectar, by the way, because it has many good properties. But it does seem to make my teeth feel funny from time to time. (I’d be interested to hear if you’ve ever felt this, too…)

Palm Sugar mixes really well with water, but it doesn’t mix 100%. There are a small number of palm sugar solids that do end up at the bottom of the smoothie shaker bottle, but this is no big deal as you can just shake it again. (I use a Blender Bottle to shake up my smoothies.)

The future of palm sugar

With everything I’ve learned about palm sugar over the last several months, I expect this to become the next “big thing” in natural, organic sweeteners. Before too long, we’ll begin to see it in health food bars and superfood smoothies.

You may even begin to see it next year in natural food products such as healthy cereals. I’ve come to really appreciate one cereal company called Nature’s Path, and palm sugar is the kind of natural ingredient they may be interested in researching more. (They already have some really great natural cereal products.)

But you don’t have to wait for the food products industry… you can try it yourself in your own smoothies and recipes! Enjoy your palm sugar. I think you’ll really like this natural, nutrient-rich organic sweetener.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
Editor of NaturalNews.com

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The sun is coming, we are going to be out and about, but don’t forget the sunscreen if you are going to be outside for a long period.

(go slather-less if you are going to only be in the sun short term and soak up that necessary vitamin D)

Click here to see how your current sunscreen rates!

Thanks to EWG, there is a updated database of the most safe, chemical free sunscreens available out there. Toss all of your banana boat garbage and go chemical free this summer!

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Why Should I Cleanse?

Millions of us suffer from disease, sickness and pain because we simply don’t know this truth about our own health: our bodies are not properly eliminating poisons and environmental toxins. The colon’s job is to hold waste before it is evacuated from the body and to reabsorb water from the waste. Years of poor eating habits, low-fiber diets, sedentary living and other lifestyle choices can slow the digestive processes. If waste sits in the colon too long, toxins build up there and are eventually absorbed back into the body.
A toxic colon eventually leads to a toxic liver, which pollutes the tissues  and the bloodstream, making a person very sick.

Do You Have Any of These Symptoms:

Aches & Pain
Allergies – Sinus
Anemia
Arthritis – Rheumatism
Body Odor – Bad Breath
Brittle Nails & Hair
Blood Pressure (Hi or Lo)
Can’t Concentrate – Memory Loss
Circulation Problems
Cold Hands or Feet
Depression
Fatigue – Exhaustion
Fibroids – Endometriosis
Gas – Constipation
Headaches
Hot Flashes – Menopause
Infertility
Insomnia
Irritability
Low Sex Drive
Menstrual Irregularities
Nausea
Nervousness
Overweight – Obesity
Pot Belly
Swelling Legs & Feet
Skin Problems

These are some of the many types of problems that toxicity in the body can cause. Thee are many poisons which can be found in a toxic colon and in  many cases, these toxins can seep out of the colon and poison the rest of the  body through the bloodstream which nourishes all organs.

Here’s a list of some poisons found in a toxic colon:
Phenol, Cadaverin, Agamatine, Indol, Sulphurretted Hydrogen, Cresol, Butyric Acid, Botulin, Putrescin, Urrobilin, Histidine, Ammonia, Muscarine, Methylmercaptan, Indican, Methygandinine, Idoethylamine, Sulpherroglobine, Ptomarropine, Pentamethy Lendiamine, Neurin, Sepsin

Poisons from the colon can:
- Weaken and stress the heart
- Go to the skin and cause blemishes, paleness, psoriasis, liver spots, wrinkles
- Irritate the lungs and cause foul breath
- Go to the brain and disturb mental function
- Go to the joints and cause pain and stiffness
- Go to the muscles and cause weakness and terrible fatigue
- Rob you of your youth and ruin your health

Reasons to keep the colon clean:
- Prevents constipation and disease of the colon
- Eliminates waste such as fatty tissue, cholesterol, cellulite, toxins, mucus, hardened fecal matter, harmful drug residue
- Controls your weight
- Increases your energy level
- For the glow of health inside and out that shows with clear skin, bright eyes, and shiny hair
- Helps deal with our Polluted Environment

We live in an environment of polluted air, water and soil; a surrounding full of chemicals, preservatives, pesticides, additives and other potential toxins. Ideally these toxins are processed by the liver, dumped into the large intestine (or colon) and eliminated from the body. But when this process malfunctions, serious problems arise that no simple laxative can cure.

Autointoxication

Autointoxication is defined as a state of being poisoned by toxic  substances produced within the body. So, the second reason for concern about colon health involves auto-intoxication, or self-poisoning. When the digestive system doesn’t work properly, auto-intoxication may set in. This happens  when food begins to break down without being eliminated. Proteins putrefy and
rot, carbohydrates ferment, and oils and fats turn rancid. The body becomes poisoned from its own waste.

Doctors Promote Cleansing

“If the colon is not working properly, toxins must exit the body through other routes: the kidneys, the skin, the breath. Many of these patients  have bad halitosis, body odor, etc. When a person becomes ill from colon disease, he or she may develop a variety of symptoms, including headaches, muscle aches, fatigue, autoimmune diseases like lupus or rheumatoid arthritis, cancer or cardiovascular diseases.” William L. Cowden, M.D., internist, classical specialist in internal medicine and cardiology
“I like to think of colon cleanses as whole-body cleanses. Cleansing the colon helps virtually every tissue and cell in the human body. Laxative  herbs are important, and they are the major component of many cleanses. Many cleanses contain too much of strong laxative herbs, which results in cramps. Consequently, people won’t use the cleanse. I think it’s better to use a combination of well-proven herbs that can balance each other and provide a more desirable product.” Alvin B. Segelman, Ph.D., CNS, pharmacognosist
“The body is designed to move the bowels every time we eat. It’s called the gastro-colic reflex. After we eat, the stomach gets the signal that it’s distended, and it sends a nervous energy to our colon telling it to make room. But in western civilization we live on tight schedules. And it’s a little inconvenient to get a call of nature right after lunch when you’re supposed to be back at work. So we have taught our bodies not to do that. When food becomes backed up in the colon, serious problems can develop.” Marvin D. Berman, gastrointerologist, former assistant professor of  medicine at Harvard Medical School.

Diet during the cleanse: No red meat, alcohol, sugar, caffeine, fried food or fast food, no artificial sweetners (stevia is okay). NSP stevia now comes in packets just like the “pink and blue stuff” stock #1381-6).  Eat lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, chicken, fish and turkey, whole grains, rice, beans, eggs are okay too if you like them.  Drink lots of water.  A good rule of thumb is 1/2 of your body weight in ounces of water. To replace coffee try the NSP Herbal beverage stock #1600-1.

Cleansing Options:
*Clean Start 14-day Program-Stock # 3993-8-Wild Berry  flavor or Apple/Cinnamon flavor stock #3992-6.
Tiao He 10-day Chinese Cleanse-stock #3050-5
Para-Cleanse with Paw Paw for Targeting Parasites-stock #4115-7
Liquid Cleanse #3193-1
Candida Clear #958-7

If you have any questions or need help ordering, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

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By Sylvia Booth Hubbard

We’re addicted to soft drinks. According to the National Soft Drink Association, Americans drink more than 600 servings (12 ounces each) every year, and consumption is approaching a quart each day for every man, woman, and child. Males between the ages of 12 and 29 guzzle one-half gallon of “liquid candy” every day. Supersizing a soft drink to 32 ounces is a quarter of the recommended total daily calories for the average woman.

All of that soda is taking a great toll on our health. Obesity is the most obvious effect. During the past 30 years, as our consumption of soft drinks has increased, the rate of obesity has soared.

In fact, Dr. David Ludwig, a Harvard endocrinologist, said that sweetened drinks are the only specific food that clinical research has directly linked to weight gain.

“Highly concentrated starches and sugars promote overeating, and the granddaddy of them all is sugar-sweetened beverages,” Ludwig told CNN.

The sugar provides huge amounts of calories, but also creates a vicious cycle. “It’s rapidly absorbed, which raises blood sugar and in effect causes the body to panic,” Ludwig said. When the body releases insulin to metabolize the sugar, blood sugar drops. The body responds by releasing a hormone called ghrelin, which causes hunger and provokes us to eat even more.

Sodas can cause other health problems including:

• Diabetes. Not only does being overweight increase the odds of developing Type 2 diabetes, some researchers at Rutgers believe that high-fructose corn syrup, an ingredient in most sugar-sweetened sodas, may start a series of events in the body that leads to diabetes.

• Osteoporosis. Phosphoric acid, which give drinks their “bite,” leaches calcium from the bones.

• GI problems.”Sodas contain an array of chemical acids as additives, such as acetic, fumaric, gluconic, and phosphoric acids, all of them synthetically produced,” Dr. Judith Valentine told the Global Healing Center. “Drinking sodas, especially on an empty stomach, can upset the fragile acid-alkaline balance of the stomach and other gastric linings, creating a continuous acid environment. This prolonged acid environment can lead to inflammation of the stomach and duodenal lining which becomes quite painful. Over the long term, it can lead to gastric lining erosion.”

• Dental problems. Phosphoric acid, which causes bone loss, also causes tooth enamel to erode.”Dentists are reporting complete loss of the enamel on the front teeth in teenage boys and girls who habitually drink sodas,” said Valentine.

• Brain disorders. More than 92 side effects are associated with aspartame, a sugar substitute used in diet sodas. They include brain tumors, emotional disorders, and epileptic seizures.

• Pancreatic cancer. Drinking two or more soft drinks a week increases the risk of developing pancreatic cancer by two-fold compared to people who do not drink soft drinks, says a recent report in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention. “The high levels of sugar in soft drinks may be increasing the level of insulin in the body, which we think contributes to pancreatic cancer cell growth,” said Mark Pereira, Ph.D., and senior author of the study.

• Reproductive health. Additives in soft drinks can interfere with the body’s delicate hormone balance. And a recent Danish study found that men who drank a quart or more of cola daily had sperm counts 30 percent lower than in those men who didn’t drink soft drinks.

• High blood pressure. A study found fructose — a form of sugar found in soft drinks and junk food — raises blood pressure.

• Kidney stones. The same phosphate that rots teeth and leaches calcium from the body has been proposed as a contributing factor in the formation of kidney stones. And a study published in the journal Epidemiology found that drinking two or more colas daily — regular or artificially sweetened — doubled the risk of chronic kidney disease.

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• Study Proves Three Monsanto Corn Varieties’ Noxiousness to the Organism
  By Le Monde with AFP
  Truthout, December 11, 2009
  Straight to the Source

Editor’s Note: Please click here to read the study. For more information on Monsanto’s unsafe GMO crops, please visit OCA’s Millions Against Monsanto Campaign page.

A study published in the International Journal of Biological Sciences demonstrates the toxicity of three genetically modified corn varieties from the American seed company Monsanto, the Committee for Independent Research and Information on Genetic Engineering (Criigen, based in Caen), which participated in that study, announced Friday, December 11.

“For the first time in the world, we’ve proven that GMO are neither sufficiently healthy nor proper to be commercialized. [...] Each time, for all three GMOs, the kidneys and liver, which are the main organs that react to a chemical food poisoning, had problems,” indicated Gilles-Eric Séralini, an expert member of the Commission for Biotechnology Reevaluation, created by the EU in 2008.

Caen and Rouen University researchers, as well as Criigen researchers, based their analyses on the data supplied by Monsanto to health authorities to obtain the green light for commercialization, but they draw different conclusions after new statistical calculations. According to Professor Séralini, the health authorities based themselves on a reading of the conclusions Monsanto has presented and not on conclusions drawn from the totality of the data. The researchers were able to obtain complete documentation following a legal decision.

“Monsanto’s tests, effected over 90 days, are obviously not of sufficient duration to be able to say whether chronic illnesses are caused. That’s why we ask for tests over a period of at least two years,” explained one researcher. Consequently, the scientists demand a “firm prohibition” on the importation and cultivation of these GMOs.

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Fall is fast approaching!  The kids are in school and cold and flu season are upon us.
Cleansing is a healthy way to give the body an ‘oil change’ to support the immune system and ward off invaders.
NSP’S Tiao He Cleanse and CleanStart programs cleanse the body of toxins and promote healthy immune systems

Autointoxication—A New Angle on Cleansing

Manager Extra  by David Skousen
“Have you ever heard someone say, ‘I feel toxic?’ It’s an old expression and a true one because the person is toxic or poisoned from his or her own body waste.” So say Jennifer Weiss and Vena Burnett in their book, Colon Cleansing—The Best-kept Secret!

The human body is resilient, and it possesses many protective mechanisms that automatically spring into action against poisons in the body. But the constant onslaught of toxic waste can overwhelm even the strongest body.

The Source of Toxins
We all know environmental toxins such as heavy metals and caustic air pollutants surround us. Some of these also pollute our food in the form of pesticides, herbicides and additives. Most people do not realize that in addition to these threats, everyone has the potential of generating his own toxins from natural biological processes. In fact, even the most highly nutritious food must be digested properly or the body may become autointoxicated (self-poisoned). When toxins get into the blood, doctors called this toxemia.

autointoxication  \o-to-in-täk-se-‘ka-shen\ n : a state of being poisoned by toxic substances produced within the body.

Toxins Can Take You Down
The digestive system acts as a miniature chemical factory, extracting nutrients from food. Nutrients are inspected by the liver before being allowed into the bloodstream. Ideally, the liver will also neutralize toxins eaten inadvertently. Thereafter, each cell can easily and safely absorb what it needs.

Several digestive compounds (saliva, enzymes, secretions) work in stages to efficiently break down food particles. But when these digestive elements are in short supply, they cannot properly process a meal, and even the best entrees can ferment and putrefy.

Improperly digested food or backed-up colon waste will continue to break down by means of billions of bacteria waiting to feed on toxic waste. This process creates potent chemicals that irritate the colon and, even worse, enter the bloodstream where they become a hazard to every cell in the body.

To defend itself, the body’s immune system quickly attempts to neutralize these toxic compounds. Other body systems become alert to the danger, adding stress to the kidneys, liver and the lymph system. In some cases, the body may generate a fever, perspiration, vomiting or diarrhea to rid itself of a meal gone bad.

If these toxins are not properly removed, they can wear down the body over time, causing immunity to drop. Various symptoms of toxic overload may appear, including:

· Allergies
· Arthritis
· Asthma
· Bad breath
· Constipation
· Depression
· Fatigue
· Headaches
· Hemorrhoids
· High blood pressure
· Indigestion
· Insomnia
· Nervousness
· Obesity
· Parasites
· Prostate problems
· Rash
· Sinus congestion
· Skin problems
· Varicose veins

Avoiding Autointoxication
Autointoxication due to improper digestion may be safely diffused by making simple changes.
1. Improve your diet to strengthen all of the body’s systems.
2. Reduce stress.
3. Cleanse the intestinal system gently but thoroughly.
4. Rebuild digestive strength with natural supplements to help the body process food more thoroughly.
5. Increase your intake of pure water to help dissolve and flush out toxins.

A recent study carried out at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, Wash., revealed that women who drink at least five glasses of water daily were able to lower their risk of colon cancer by 45 percent!

Following this outline can strengthen every cell and benefit the immune, lymph, respiratory and other body systems.

Give Yourself a CleanStart
In addition to improving your lifestyle and eating better, try using the convenient, effective 14-day CleanStart program to safely clear out toxic waste buildup. This remarkable program has already helped thousands to feel the relief of purging hidden colon waste, the seedbed of disease.

Keeping on Keeping On
UltimateBuild is a comprehensive daily program of vitamins, minerals, herbs, antioxidants and fiber. It makes an excellent companion to CleanStart as it helps to minimize further toxic buildup and revitalize the digestive organs. Everyone can benefit by using this daily program regularly.

Benefits of the CleanStart/UltimateBuild Program
• Promotes normal bowel evacuation.
• Benefits the urinary system (another cleansing feature).
• Supports digestion.
• Supports gallbladder function.
• Encourages friendly flora.
• Performs consistently and safely.
• May increase a feeling of wellbeing.
• Increases ability and efficiency of the body’s cells to generate energy.
• Supplies 10 g fiber daily to help reduce risk of cardiovascular disease.

When preparing the CleanStart or UltimateBuild drink mix, use a shaker for best results. A hand-held electric blender also works well. Or, simply pour the powder and juice into a large empty herb bottle with a tight-fitting lid and shake for several seconds.

Diet during the cleanse: No red meat, alcohol, sugar, caffeine, fried food or fast food, no artificial sweetners (stevia is okay). NSP stevia now comes in packets just like the “pink and blue stuff” stock #1381-6).  Eat lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, chicken, fish and turkey, whole grains, rice, beans, eggs are okay too if you like them.  Drink lots of water.  A good rule of thumb is 1/2 of your body weight in ounces of water. To replace coffee try the NSP Herbal beverage stock #1600-1.

Cleansing Options:
*Clean Start 14-day Program-Stock # 3993-8-Wild Berry  flavor or Apple/Cinnamon flavor stock #3992-6.
Tiao He 10-day Chinese Cleanse-stock #3050-5
Para-Cleanse with Paw Paw for Targeting Parasites-stock #4115-7
Liquid Cleanse #3193-1
Candida Clear #958-7

(to purchase any supplements mentioned above, click on the supplements link to the right)

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Green cleaning doesn’t have to be expensive. In fact, it can be very inexpensive if you have a few non-toxic products on hand. You can find some of the basics listed below. These are some of the things our great-grandmothers probably used to keep their homes clean for their families.

• Baking Soda can be used in place of harsh and toxic cleansers. It also deodorizes and softens water. You can use it to clean your oven by sprinkling it on the oven floor, spraying with water until damp and letting sit overnight. Scrub in the morning and you’ve got a clean oven!
• Castile Soap is great for disinfecting, cutting grease and it is a great all-around cleaner. The term castile tells you that the soap is vegetable, rather than animal-based.
• Lemon Juice is effective for bleaching, deodorizing, cutting grease and removing stains.
• Olive Oil is a great furniture polish.
• White Vinegar actually kills bacteria, as well as deodorizing and cutting grease and wax buildup. It also removes mildew and dissolves hard water lime buildup on the inside of teapots. Just add four ounces of vinegar to a pot of water and boil. Rinse well.
• Cornstarch will clean windows and pick up spills on your carpet, especially the ones from juice, coffee and wine.

If you would like to create your own safe cleaning solutions, here are some ‘recipes’ for you (I also like to add disinfecting essential oils to my cleaning recipes, tea tree, eucalyptus, lemon, lavendar and many others are great for cleaning):

A Safe Softscrub

Mix ½ cup of baking soda with enough vegetable-based liquid soap to create a frosting-like mixture. Use with a sponge to wash your surfaces. Doesn’t leave any grit and rinses easily.
You can make this as you need it, or store it in a covered glass jar with 1 teaspoon of vegetable glycerin, which will help keep it moist.

Non-Toxic Widow Cleaner

1/4-1/2 teaspoon natural liquid detergent
3 tablespoons vinegar
2 cups water
Spray bottle
Mix all of the above ingredients in a spray bottle and shake it up. The soap in this recipe cuts the wax residue from the commercial brands you might have used in the past.

Oven Cleaner

1 cup or more baking soda
Water
A squirt or two of natural liquid detergent
Wet the bottom of your oven generously and then cover all the grime with baking soda. The surface should be totally white. Spray some more water over the top and let the mixture sit overnight. Wipe up the grease the next morning. When the worst is cleaned up, go ahead and wipe up the rest with a sponge and a little castile soap. Using enough baking soda and water is the key – no skimping.

All-Around Cleaner

1/2 teaspoon washing soda
A dab of natural liquid soap
2 cups hot tap water
Mix the ingredients in a spray bottle until the washing soda is dissolved. Spray and clean!

Furniture Polish

1/2 teaspoon oil, such as olive (or jojoba, a liquid wax)
1/4 cup vinegar or fresh lemon juice
After mixing the ingredients in a glass jar you can use on a soft rag to wipe onto wood surfaces. Keep covered when not in use and store indefinitely.

Vinegar Deodorizer

Straight 5 percent vinegar in a spray bottle is a great deodorizer to use on your cutting board, on the counters and in the bathroom. You can let the vinegar sit on the cutting board overnight without wiping. The smell will dissipate. It is also great for getting the toilet rim clean.

Mold Cleaner

Combine 2 teaspoons of tea tree oil and 2 cups of water in a spray bottle. Shake well and spray on moldy areas. Do not rinse. Vinegar also works well to kill a lot of mold. Just spray at full strength and let sit.

Both of these homemade products have strong odors, but they dissipate and they are much safer than the majority of mold products on the market.

Written by Angelle Batten M.A., H.H.C.
Source – http://www.nourishmd.com

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Thanks to MSN Health & Fitness contributor Jean Weiss, a list of the most medically questionable and harmful additives in everyday foods has been compiled to educate the masses. There are several that may be recognizable due to news reports and popular opinion, but others may be new to some and worthy of notation.

1. Sodium nitrite
2. BHA & BHT
3. Propyl gallate
4. Monosodium glutamate
5. Trans fats
6. Aspartame
7. Acesulfame-K
8. Food colorings (Blue & , Red , Green , Yellow )
9. Olestra
10. Potassium bromate
11. White sugar
12. Sodium chloride

There are many reasons that some people choose to shop and eat a completely organic range of foods, but the primary reason seems to center around the additives in various non-organic food items. Those additives have been studied and linked to various diseases, and instead of taking the chance that unhealthy preservatives and flavorings might be integrated into grocery store items, people often opt for the strictly organic route so as to avoid them altogether.

But everyone cannot afford the prices of organic foods or the time it takes to shop at specialty markets for them. Thus, becoming informed about the additives in everyday food items can make for an easier shopping experience and healthier items being ingested by everyone. In addition, a mass boycott of foods that contain such additives could prompt food manufacturers to remove such harmful ingredients from their products in the future.

HealthNews Dozen
Top 12 Food Additives to Remove From Your Diet
By Jennifer Newell
Health News, June 29, 2009
Straight to the Source

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Children should not be treated routinely with flu drugs such as Tamiflu because there is no clear evidence that they prevent complications and the medicines may do more harm than good, British researchers said on Monday.

They called for a reconsideration of the widespread use of antivirals among those under 12 in light of an analysis of clinical data from previous seasonal flu outbreaks showing scant benefits and potentially harmful side effects.

Governments around the world have built up large stockpiles of Roche’s Tamiflu and GlaxoSmithKline’s Relenza to deal with the H1N1 swine flu pandemic.

In Britain, hundreds of thousands of doses of Tamiflu have been handed out to people with the disease, around half of whom are children.

But Dr. Matthew Thompson from the University of Oxford said that, while antivirals shortened the duration of flu in children by around a day, they didn’t reduce asthma flare-ups or the likelihood of children’s needing antibiotics.

Tamiflu also was linked to an increased risk of vomiting, which can be serious in children because it can result in dehydration.

The analysis was based on a systematic review of seven clinical studies looking at use of Tamiflu and Relenza in seasonal flu outbreaks in 2,629 children aged 1 to 12 years.

There is no reason to think that the conclusions would not apply to the present relatively mild outbreak of swine flu, Thompson said.

Fellow Oxford researcher Dr. Carl Heneghan told reporters, “The strategy of giving out this treatment in a mild infection is inappropriate.”

The researchers also found that 13 people need to be treated to prevent one additional case, meaning that antivirals reduce transmission by a modest 8 percent.

“While morbidity and mortality in the current pandemic remain low, a more conservative strategy might be considered prudent, given the limited data, side effects such as vomiting, and the potential for developing resistant strains of influenza,” they wrote in the British Medical Journal.

Copyright Reuters

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