Author: Natural News

Republished with permission from Natural News.

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Top Children’s Vitamin Brand Chock-full of GMOs, Aspartame and Other Deadly Ingredients

(NaturalNews – Ethan A. Huff) Do you know all the ingredients contained in the multivitamin you feed to your children? Thousands of American parents apparently do not, as one of the top selling multivitamins for children, Flintstones Vitamins, is loaded with genetically-modified organisms (GMOs), aspartame, aluminum, petroleum-derived artificial colors, and all sorts of other toxic additives that are literally poisonous to humans, and especially to children.

One would assume that because it is a “multivitamin,” and one marketed specifically to children, that it contains only nutritious ingredients in the most appropriate doses and nothing more. To the contrary, the Flintstones Vitamins brand, which is manufactured by global drug giant Bayer, contains a host of synthetic additives that are actually banned in many countries due to their toxicity not only in humans but also in the environment.

A quick look at the Flintstones Complete Chewables page, for instance, reveals a laundry list of additives that serve absolutely no nutritional purpose whatsoever. Refined sugars, sorbitol, ferrous fumarate, hydrogenated soybean oil, GM corn starch, and artificial, aluminum-based food colorings top the list of questionable additives in this particular children’s multivitamin. Also included in the mix is a host of synthetic compounds labeled as vitamins, all of which have minimal bioavailability.

“Bayer’s Flintstones vitamin brand is far from a natural product, and the consumer should be aware of the unintended, adverse health effects that may occur as a result of using it,” writes Sayer Ji on his health site GreenMedInfo.com about the issue. “It is important to hold accountable brands that refuse to label their products honestly, especially when they contain ingredients that have been produced through genetic modification.”

You can view the full ingredients list for Flintstones Complete Chewables here:
http://www.flintstonesvitamins.com

The rest of the Flintstones vitamin line is not much better. Flintstones Complete Gummies, which are labeled on the company’s site as having a “new formula,” contain many of the same toxic additives. Artificial flavors, coal tar-based artificial coloring agents, and synthetic isolated vitamin compounds are all present in this particular vitamin formula as well.

Many of the ‘vitamins’ used in Flintstones are considered hazardous substances in Europe

Interestingly, many of the ingredients promoted in Flintstones vitamins as helping children get their daily intake of nutrients are actually listed as hazardous or outright banned in places like the European Union (EU), where additive safety is taken more seriously. Cupric oxide, for instance, which is listed as a supposedly nutritional source of copper in Flintstones vitamins, is actually classified as a “hazardous substance” in the EU’s Dangerous Substance Directive.

Similarly, zinc oxide, which is often added to conventional sunscreen products, is listed as a substance that is “dangerous for the environment.” Not only is zinc oxide a poor choice for a zinc supplement as the human body can hardly recognize or use it, but the EU Dangerous Substance Directive considers the substance to be an environmental hazard – how, then, can it be considered healthy for children to ingest?

Then there is the issue of the extreme neurotoxicity of aspartame, which has no place in the human food supply, let alone in children’s multivitamins. And the same goes for artificial colors, which have been shown in scientific studies to trigger attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and various other behavioral disorders in children – why add these to vitamins in the first place?

Parents looking for an alternative to mainstream vitamins like Flintstones may want to take a look at whole food-based vitamin supplement brands like MegaFood, Garden of Life, and Pure Synergy. These brands use vitamins and nutrients derived from whole foods rather than laboratory concoctions, which means the body can assimilate them more effectively.

To learn more about the differences between whole food-based and synthetic vitamins, visit:
http://.healthkismet.com/whole-food-synthetic-vitamins

Sources for this article include:
http://www.greenmedinfo.com
http://www.naturalnews.com
http://.healthkismet.com/whole-food-synthetic-vitamins

Exercising Outdoors May Help Boost its Positive Health Effects in Children

(NaturalNews – J. Anderson) Mother Nature may have even more positive health powers than we thought! According to Coventry University research published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, children who exercise outside are significantly more likely to experience positive health effects post-exercise than if the exercise was inside.

The Study

The research was conducted on a group of 9- to 10-year-olds who had to complete multiple 15-minute cycling sessions. During one session, the children were shown pictures of a forest path which was synced to their bike; in another session, they were given no visual enhancement at all. After the session in which they were given “green stimulus,” the children experienced significantly lower blood pressure than when given no stimulus. The authors of the study noted that lower blood pressure can be attributed to a lower risk of healthy problems such as cardiovascular disease.

The lead researcher of the study, Dr. Michael Duncan of Coventry University had this to say regarding the results: “If there is indeed a correlation between viewing scenes of nature and a lower blood pressure post exercise, as indicated by our data, it could have very positive implications in encouraging public health practitioners to prescribe outdoor exercise to reduce health risk.”

Exercise in Children

Exercise in general is great for children, because it sets them up for a healthier adulthood by instilling a sense of a healthy lifestyle! In fact, research has gone so far as to hypothesize that a child’s “weight fate” is determined by age five! This means that children who are obese by this early age are more than likely to remain this weight for a large portion of their adult lives (this of course is not always true; with exercise and the proper diet, anyone can control their weight). Not only does exercise keep us physically fit, but research has shown that exercise in children (as well as adults) is vital in helping memory function too!

Although the study was done with visual stimuli and not an actual outdoor exercise experience, it does raise questions for future research on the subject. We know that exercise in general is amazingly healthy for all of us, but exercising outside could help boost those health benefits even more! From the data in the study provided, it does seem that children and adults alike could benefit from exercising more outdoors.

Sources for this article include:
http://www.coventry.ac.uk
http://www.naturalnews.com
http://www.naturalnews.com
http://science.naturalnews.com

Vitamin D Hailed in the Fight Against Heart Disease, Alzheimer’s Disease and Diabetes

(NaturalNews – John Phillip) Scientific research bodies extolling the amazing virtues of the prohormone vitamin D have been published in rapid succession to explain the preventive mechanism shown to prevent cardiovascular disease, diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease. Three independent reviews demonstrate that maintaining a vitamin D blood level between 50 and 70 ng/mL can provide optimal protection against many chronic diseases.

Researchers’ publishing in the journal Nutrition, Metabolism & Cardiovascular Diseases provide evidence that vitamin D is intrinsically involved in the homeostasis of the cardiovascular system. Disruption of the body’s natural stasis system contributes to diabetes, obesity, elevated blood lipids, high blood pressure, endothelial dysfunction, stroke and risk of coronary artery disease. Scientists advise supplementation of 4,000 to 8,000 IU of vitamin D per day to achieve optimal levels, far above the anemic 400 IU currently recommended.

Scientists at the University of Miami’s School of Medicine demonstrate a direct genetic link between low vitamin D levels and the development of amyloid proteins in the brain, commonly associated with Alzheimer’s disease. Reporting in the journal Neurobiology of Aging, researchers looked at gene signaling in relation to the vitamin D receptor in 492 late onset Alzheimer’s patients and 496 control subjects.

Vitamin D controls genetic receptors to guard against chronic disease

When vitamin D receptors were not activated on the surface of individual cells due to poor vitamin D saturation in the blood, precise gene signaling went awry that halted normal clearance of the dementia-related protein clumps. The team conducting the study concluded “Our findings are consistent with epidemiology studies suggesting that vitamin D insufficiency increases the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.”

Researchers in Spain evaluated the vitamin D status of 1,226 individuals in 1996. The participants were again tested eight years later, and vitamin D levels were contrasted with development of diabetes over the course of the study. The results, published in the journal Clinical Nutrition, found that those with vitamin D blood levels above 18.5 ng/mL had an 83 percent lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes during the eight-year period. No one in the study with a vitamin D score over 30 ng/mL developed type 2 diabetes.

It has become very clear from countless research studies published over the past decade that vitamin D qualifies among the most crucial and essential hormone-based nutrients. And still millions of people continue to place themselves at unnecessary risk by ignoring this information.

Most people above the age of twenty-one should supplement with a minimum of 2,000 IU of vitamin D every day and have their blood tested to ensure they reach the optimal range of 50 to 70 ng/mL. Extensive research provides more than sufficient evidence that maintaining a proper vitamin D level can dramatically lower the risk of heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease diabetes and many other chronic illnesses.

Sources for this article include:
http://www.nmcd-journal.com
http://www.wellnessresources.com
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
http://www.wellnessresources.com
http://www.sciencedirect.com

Your Favorite Organic Brands Could be Owned by Junk Food Corporations

(NaturalNews – Ethan A. Huff) Organic and natural foods are all the rage, but do you know where your favorite health food brands really come from? The Cornucopia Institute (CI), which advocates for real organic food produced on real family farms, has published an infographic that might come as a shock to millions of people who think that the food they buy comes from independent organic companies, when it really comes from the subsidiaries of junk food corporations.

According to CI, 81 independent organic processing companies existed in 1995 when the organic movement first started. However, today, that number has dropped to a mere 15, with the other 66 having been taken over, in recent years, by corporations such as PepsiCo, Inc. and ConAgra Foods, both of which spent millions in 2012 to defeat mandatory labeling requirements for genetically-modified organisms (GMOs).

“If you can’t beat ’em, buy ’em” seems to be the mantra of Big Food these days and CI’s infographic clearly illustrates this point. The Kellogg Corporation, for instance, which heavily markets cereal products containing processed sugar and GMOs to children, owns Kashi and Bear Naked, two food brands that claim to be healthy. Similarly, General Mills owns Cascadian Farm and Muir Glen, two prominent food brands taking up considerable shelf space at health food stores nationwide.

“Corporate consolidation of the food system has been largely hidden from consumers,” explains CI. “That’s changing, thanks to tools such as Philip H. Howard’s widely circulated ‘Who Owns Organic?’ infographic,” which can be accessed directly at the following link: http://www.Cornucopia.org

First released in 2003, the infographic may be slightly outdated today, as some of the corporate alliances listed may have changed, but the reality is that the organic market, which in 2012 was declared to be the fastest growing sector in the grocery industry, is an obvious target of Big Food. And why wouldn’t it be, considering its rapid growth and accelerating interest among consumers looking for healthy alternatives to junk food?

“The chart shows that many iconic organic brands are owned by the titans of junk food, processed food and sugary beverages — the same corporations that spent millions to defeat GMO labeling initiatives in California and Washington,” adds CI. “General Mills (which owns Muir Glen, Cascadian Farm and LaraBar), Coca-Cola (Honest Tea, Odwalla), J.M. Smucker (R.W. Knudsen, Santa Cruz Organic) and many other corporate owners of organic brands contributed big bucks to deny citizens’ the right to know what is in their food.”

Many major food processors are aligned with junk food conglomerates. Nearly all of the top 100 food processors in North America have ties to major conglomerates that are working against the interests of small-scale farmers and organic consumers. These food processors are slowly taking over many of the brands that those in the natural health food community have grown to trust over the years.

“Consumers who want food companies that embody more of the original organic ideals would do well to seek out products from independent organic firms,” says Dr. Phil Howard, an associate professor in the Department of Community Sustainability at Michigan State University. “Given the very uneven playing field they are competing in, independent organic processors are unlikely to survive without such support.”

CI has developed a series of reports that ranks the best sources of organic dairy, meat, vegetables, cereal and other foods in order to help consumers make better food purchasing decisions.

The Weston A. Price Foundation has also developed a shopping guide for mobile phones called Find Real Food that allows users to search for the highest quality and most nutrient-dense foods from the best sources:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/find-real-food/id716877330?mt=8

Sources for this article include:
http://www.Cornucopia.org/who-owns-organic
http://www.Carighttoknow.org/_45_million_aga…
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/find-real-food/id716877330?mt=8

Research Proves Emotional Wellbeing is Crucial to Good Physical Health

(NaturalNews – Reuben Chow) Much research over the years has shown that a positive emotional state actually has a very strong and profound impact on one’s physical health.

Endorphins and the immune system

Most people are aware of endorphins, the “feel-good hormones” in the body. Endorphins are a type of natural occurring substance known as peptides or neuropeptides which influence one’s mood, pain and pleasure. When released, they give rise to pleasurable responses not dissimilar to those linked to opiates.

What most people are probably unaware of is that endorphins can also be found in the immune system.

“The astounding revelation is that these endorphins and other chemicals like them are found not just in the brain, but in the immune system, the endocrine system, and throughout the body. When people discovered that there were endorphins in the brain that caused euphoria and pain relief, everyone could handle that. However, when they discovered they were in the immune system as well, it just didn’t fit, so these findings were denied for years. The original scientists had to repeat their studies many times to be believed,” said Candace Pert, PhD, former Chief of the Section on Brain Biochemistry of the Clinical Neuroscience Branch at the National Institute of Mental Health.

In other words, emotions are not just purely psychological, but actually have a direct impact on the functioning of different systems of the body, including the immune system.

According to Dr. Pert, viruses and neuropeptides use the same receptors to get into a cell. If there are more of the latter around, viruses would find it more difficult to penetrate cells.

Positive emotions and immunity

One’s mood and attitude has a great impact on his or her immune function. When optimistic and happy, one’s immunity is much stronger.

Several studies have shown that laughter and other positive emotional states can actually boost immune function. Indeed, laughter, play, love, faith, hope and self-acceptance help to boost and balance the immune system.

Even the use of therapies such as guided imagery, hypnosis and other meditative states has been revealed to improve immune function.

Other ways positive emotions improve health

More specific associations shown in other studies were stated by Jeanne Achterberg, PhD. For example, feeling helpless, hopeless, fearful, anxious or stressed all negatively affected health in one way or another. On the other hand, feeling secure and being able to cope actually countered the harmful effects of negative emotions, while feeling relaxed and joyful improved circulation to injured or painful areas of the body and boosted tissue repair.

A sense of control over a serious illness, attained via taking action, also helped to reduce fear and depression.

In one study, the animals trained to have a sense of control were most likely to fight off injected tumor cells, whereas those conditioned to experience helplessness were more likely to get cancer and die.

Research has also found that positive emotions helped to maintain blood pressure at healthy levels, while being optimistic helped to improve physical health and boost mental functioning. Other than boosting the immune system, laughing could help decrease inflammation.

Further, research suggested that having a sense of control, commitment and connectedness, plus looking at change as a challenge as supposed to a threat, helped to maintain good health even when placed under stress.

In addition, it was shown that meditation helped to produce beneficial changes in both the immune system and the brain.

Conclusion

Moral of the story? Laugh more, be more relaxed, choose to look at life more positively, learn to let go, and use therapies such as meditation and guided imagery to improve health.

Sources for this article include:

Trivieri, Jr., Larry, and Anderson, John W. Alternative Medicine: The Definitive Guide. 2nd ed. New York, USA: Celestial Arts, 2002. Print.

Murray, Michael, ND, and Pizzorno, Joseph, ND. Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine. 2nd ed. New York, NY: Three Rivers Press, 1998. Print.

Mercola, Joseph, Dr., and Pearsall, Kendra, Dr. Take Control of Your Health. Schaumburg, IL: Mercola.com, 2007. Print.