Category: Resyndicated

Spicy Shocker: You Will Not Believe What’s in Conventional Spices

(DrFrankLipman – Andrea Donsky) Last year I was invited to an editor’s summit in New Mexico hosted by Heel Inc. While out for dinner one night, I was sitting next to two people I had just met hours earlier, Suzy and Sam Cohen (Suzy is America’s Pharmacist and a best selling author and Sam is her amazing husband, a chiropractor and president of her company). The waiter took our orders, and when my meal arrived I reached into my purse and pulled out a tiny salt shaker that I carry around with me because I refuse to eat bleached white table salt. My salt shaker had high quality, air-dried sea salt which contained 75+ minerals. When I looked over at Suzy, she had a huge smile on her face, and not a moment later, pulled out her own tiny salt shaker that contained the same salt as mine! As you can imagine, we became instant friends.

Although salt is technically not a spice, but rather a mineral, it’s still something we add to food to improve its taste. I’m very picky about the salt and spices I add to my food. Like salt, spices are used to provide and enhance flavor in the food we eat. Many of us use spices in place of salt to reduce our salt intake. I learned a long time ago that spices were at the top of the list of foods we should choose to eat organic because of their high concentration of pesticides. However, as if pesticides weren’t enough of a reason to buy organic spices, I recently learned that there are others reasons to buy organic spices as well.

According to Thomas Fricke, co-founder and president of ForesTrade, an organic spice company in Brattleboro, Vermont, “Virtually all conventional spices sold in the United States are fumigated [sterilized] with hazardous chemicals that are banned in Europe.”

Why am I not surprised?!

Sterilizing Spices with Toxic Chemicals and Radiation

When spices come in from the fields to be dried, they can be contaminated with all sorts of junk, like insects, mold, yeasts, and pathogens like salmonella. It’s for this reason that conventional spice producers choose to sterilize their spices with toxic chemicals. One particularly scary sterilizing agent used is called ethylene oxide, a gas that can leave behind a residue that’s carcinogenic.

And then there’s irradiation, which was approved for use on spices in 1983. This is another method for killing bacteria and food borne illnesses like salmonella. Foods are irradiated by being passed through a radiation chamber on a conveyor belt. The spices actually pass through a radiation beam. Spices are currently regulated by the FDA for the highest allowable radiation amounts of any food.

Because harmful chemicals and irradiation are not allowed to be used for certified organic products, organic spice companies, on the other hand, use steam to sterilize their spices rather than toxic chemicals or radiation.

Yet another reason to choose organic over conventional.

Fillers, Preservatives, and GMOS

Conventional spices can also include fillers so they end up being far more than just the initial dried spice that you thought you were getting. It’s cheaper to use less spice and more cheap fillers like GMO corn. Here are some of the fillers in conventional spices:

  • Artificial colors
  • Artificial flavors
  • Anti-caking agents that keep them from clumping together.

Read More on Artificial Colors.

How to Buy Healthy Spices

  • Buy organic whenever possible to avoid irradiation (which is banned in USDA certified organic foods) as well as pesticides and chemical sterilizing agents.Buy spices as you need them as they lose their zing after a certain period of time so buying them in smaller amounts enables you to use them up before they go bland.
  • Buy spices in smaller amounts.I personally prefer to buy the spices I use on a regular basis in bulk (like oregano, rosemary, and basil), and the ones I don’t use as often, or haven’t yet experimented with, in smaller amounts (so I’m not left with a huge amount if I don’t end up using much of them).

Natural Health Benefits of Adding Beauty in the Home

(NaturalPapa – Regi Waters) Although many people associate the positive health benefits of art with creating it themselves, psychologists and other medical professionals have also indicated that simply viewing art on a regular basis can also provide you with several perks. Therefore, it is a good idea for fathers to consider purchasing art prints to place in their home. Even if you are not very familiar with the art world, you can easily pick out a few eye-catching prints by utilizing an online art store.

Here are a few ways that art can benefit you and your family:

  1. Bright Colors can Increase an Infant’s Cognitive Abilities – According to psychologists, exposing a baby to a wide variety of colors will enable their brain to make more neuron connections than their peers who do not receive the same level of visual exposure. In other words, placing art prints on your walls that contain bright colors can actually help your child become more intelligent. This is definitely a great way to give them a good head start in life, and you can provide them with this important opportunity without needing to spend a lot of money.
  2. Art can Reduce Their Stress Level – Although many people believe that young children do not have a high amount of stress in their lives, it is important to recognize the fact that they do deal with factors on a daily basis that can cause them to feel stressed out. For example, if they have an older sibling, they could feel stress based around the idea that they could be picked on at any moment. Therefore, it is vital to take steps to help reduce the level of stress that is felt by each member of your home.
  3. Viewing Art can Increase Creativity – Having a creative outlet is a great way for a child to relieve their anxiety and increase their self-esteem. Fortunately, research has proven that simply viewing art will enable the viewer to become more creative. In other words, placing art prints on your walls is an investment in your child’s overall future creativity. When you consider how often they will be called upon to be creative in the future, it is easy to understand why you should help them build their level of creativity at a young age.
  4. Art Boosts Mental Health – There have been several studies conducted that have proven that there is a link between viewing art on a regular basis and having a positive mental outlook. In fact, developing an appreciation for art can help the viewer ward off feelings of depression. When you add this to the fact that art can also reduce stress, increase creativity and increase a child’s mental faculties, it is no wonder that so many people make the decision to place colorful art prints in their home.

Now that you understand all the positive benefits of art, it is a good idea to consider purchasing art prints for each child’s room and any shared areas of your home. By doing this, you will help give your child a good basis for positive mental health, and you will also encourage them to develop an appreciation for art and other cultures.

Organic Fashion: Should We Worry About Toxins in Our Clothes?

(DrFrankLipman – Mia James) If you eat a mostly organic diet and increasingly use organic skincare and cleaning products, it probably feels like a logical next step to buy organic clothing. But because of the higher prices and limited availability of organic garments, you may wonder if it’s worth it—what’s the real risk of clothing produced the conventional way? Let’s take a look at what “organic” means when it comes to fashion.

Are There Chemicals In Your Shirt?

If you pull on an article of clothing, let’s say a 100% cotton, blue T-shirt with some kind of print on it, are there chemicals lurking in the fabric? Unfortunately, yes, although they might not be what you’d think. Rather than coming from the cotton itself, most of the toxins in the T-shirt come from what happens long after the pesticides have been sprayed on the crops. Ever wonder what the “new” smell is on clothing, a smell that sometimes even sticks around after a washing? Your favorite shirt might contain one or more of the following chemicals:

  • Azo dyes. These synthetic colorants may release carcinogenic amines (ammonia derivatives), and have been recognized as human bladder carcinogens. Azo dyes are also environmental pollutants.
  • Formaldehyde. This known carcinogen is used prevent clothing from wrinkling. Many popular brands of baby clothes are shown to contain formaldehyde in concentrations as high as 18,000 ppm (parts per million). Supposedly, exposure up to 20 ppm is safe for babies, but I’d rather have zero, thank you!
  • Nonylphenol ethoxylates. These cheap, hormone-disrupting surfactants are sometimes used by the textile industry, and wind up in our water supply when we launder clothing that contains them.
  • Perfluorochemicals. PFCs work beautifully to repel water and stains, but they also break down into a toxic blood contaminant that’s linked with tumor growth and reproductive problems. PFCs are found in wrinkle-, stain-, and water-resistant clothing items, including those with Scotchgard and Gore-Tex tags.
  • Phthalates. Yes, these notorious hormone-disruptors are even in our clothing, often found in either in the dyes or in plastisol prints.

What About Pesticides?

Organic growing methods mean a lot to the environment, as well as to all the hands that actually work among the plants. Cotton that is not grown organically is treated with pesticides, herbicides, and chemical fertilizers. Harvesting organic cotton is much safer for the workers who pick it, and those living near cotton crops won’t have pesticides in their water sources.

But in terms of the person wearing the clothing? The toxins used to farm the fiber are almost certainly washed out in the processing of the fiber, so you’re unlikely to get much pesticide exposure by wearing those clothes. I still tell my clients to wash clothing before their kids wear it, because young children are especially vulnerable to the harmful effects of pesticides.

What the “Organic” Label on Clothing Means

Frankly, seeing an “organic” tag on clothing used to be all but meaningless, since manufacturers could take organically grown cotton and treat it with all of the chemicals listed above before selling it. Starting in 2011, however, clothing labeled as organic must be certified by the National Organic Program. In particular, you should look for clothing that is certified by GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard)–this means that the fibers are organic, and also that the garment contains no toxic finishes, dyes, chlorine, or formaldehyde, among other restrictions. The GOTS certification also ensures that the clothing you’re purchasing didn’t employ child labor, and all workers were paid a living wage.

The Bottom Line on Organic Clothes

Although pesticide exposure from your T-shirt is probably negligible, there are a host of other noxious chemicals used in the clothing manufacturing process, many of which remain even after repeated washings. Look for GOTS-certified clothing to ensure your purchases are safe for the environment, the workers who made the garment, and the person wearing it. For recommended brands of organic baby clothes, check out this Safe Baby Clothing Guide.

Natural Childbirth is Key to Beginning Life With a Strong Immune System

(NaturalNews – David Gutierrez) Children delivered by cesarean section (C-section) may end up with hampered immune systems, according to a study conducted by researchers from the University of Copenhagen and published in the Journal of Immunology on July 10.

“The study shows that [mice] delivered by Caesarean section had developed a lower number of cells that strengthen the immune system,” researcher Camilla Hartmann Friis Hansen said.

C-sections linked to hampered immune function

A C-section consists of surgically removing a child from a mother’s abdomen, rather than allowing the child to emerge naturally through the birth canal. Although C-sections are medically recommended only in cases where a vaginal delivery would threaten the mother or child’s life, U.S. C-section rates have now reached record highs.

This trend has been widely attributed to the fact that C-sections offer increased profit and convenience for doctors. But studies have shown that C-section deliveries carry health costs.

“Babies born via C-sections have an increased chance of having to be administered into the NICU [neonatal intensive care unit] and suffer from breathing problems,” said Maureen Corry, Executive Director of Childbirth Connection. “Mothers are more likely to have a major infection, they are at higher risk for embolisms, for bleeding, and for long term consequences… some of which can be life threatening.”

Studies have also shown that children delivered by C-section have a different composition of microorganisms (flora) in their guts from children delivered vaginally. Given the role that intestinal flora play in regulating many of the body’s systems, this difference may account for some of the long-term health effects observed in C-section children, including higher rates of allergies and asthma and a 20 percent higher risk of diabetes.

Body less able to recognize harmless bacteria

In the new study, researchers compared the immune development of mouse pups delivered via C-section with pups delivered vaginally. They found that the C-section mice had significantly lower levels of a type of immune cell that plays a key role in preventing the immune system from attacking harmless bacteria or the body’s own cells.

These findings are particularly important because autoimmune disorders such as allergies, type 1 diabetes and Crohn’s disease are characterized by improper immune reactions that target harmless substances or the body’s organs. The researchers now hope to study whether mice delivered via C-section are predisposed to autoimmune diseases.

“The experiments on mice may give us an idea of what would be interesting to study in more detail in clinical trials, so that in the long term, we may be able to develop methods for strengthening the immune system in newborns who are predisposed to autoimmune diseases,” Professor Axel Kornerup Hansen said.

The study also appears to support the hygiene hypothesis, which posits that exposure to harmless substances and microorganisms from the environment (such as the natural flora of the mother’s birth canal) plays a key role in developing the immune system of newborns and children. According to this hypothesis, an overly sterile environment can actually harm the immune system.

A study conducted by researchers at Henry Ford Hospital and presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology in 2013 also suggests that C-sections may interfere with healthy immune development. In that study, researchers found that, by age two, children delivered via C-section were more likely to demonstrate an elevated immune response when exposed to common allergens. This “sensitization” is considered the first step in developing allergies.

“This further advances the hygiene hypothesis that early childhood exposure to microorganisms affects the immune system’s development and onset of allergies,” lead author Christine Cole Johnson said. “We believe a baby’s exposure to bacteria in the birth canal is a major influencer on their immune system.”

Sources for this article include: 
http://healthsciences.ku.dk
http://www.naturalnews.com
http://www.naturalnews.com
http://www.naturalnews.com
http://science.naturalnews.com