Deepak Chopra – Social Networks & Global Brain – The Rabbit Hole.
I found this encouraging video on D. A. Hartleys site http://friendnature.wordpress.com/ and had to share it. Hope you will enjoy it as much as I did 
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What’s next in Europe – Patents for Vegetables?
Monsanto (Photo credit: arbyreed)
Would you prefer fresh food or engineered food from a factory? You may have already come across these news, but I wanted to share it anyway.
According to an Avaaz http://www.avaaz.org
Monsanto has found a loop-hole in European law and want to apply for patents for vegetable seeds. Once I collected my bottom jaw from the floor, I read the full story on the Avaaz website.
Here is a small excerpt
“It’s unbelievable, but Monsanto and Co. are at it again. These
profit-hungry biotech companies have found a way to gain exclusive
control over the seeds of life – the source of our food. They’re
trying to patent away varieties of our everyday vegetables and fruits
like cucumber, broccoli and melons, virtually forcing growers to pay
them for seed and risk being sued if they don’t.”
The main reason it troubles me to think that this could be true is, that not only are they tampering with what mother nature has provided, now they want to own it as well. This surely can not bode well for a healthy diet, let alone an organic diet.
Please take the time to read the full story here http://www.avaaz.org/en/monsanto_vs_mother_earth_loc/?bnTJebb&v=23932
and don’t forget to sign the petition should you feel strongly enough about wanting to stop big companies taking over our food from seed stage.
Related articles
- Monsanto and Co. are at it again.They are trying to patent every day vegetables. Please sign this petition from AVAAZ.org (friendnature.wordpress.com)
- Monsanto attempting to patent everyday seeds in Europa! SIGN AGAINST IT!!!!! (dalternative.wordpress.com)
- Monsanto and Co. are at it again (imagesonconcretewordsonpaper.wordpress.com)
- Monsanto versus Mother Earth (vancouveranimalrightscampaigns.wordpress.com)
In case you want to be a writer
If this indeed is your (or mine) sorry state of affairs, there is no better, more true advice but the one Charles Bukowski has given us ... and every day I hope to remember it:
so you want to be a writer?
by Charles Bukowski
if it doesn't come bursting out of you
in spite of everything,
don't do it.
This I think is great advice if you are one of those writers who just can not sit still when the weather is warm or rainy and you just have to be out in it rather than sitting on your bum :)
Nutritional Medicine in Europe – soon too be an endangered species?
Dietary supplements (Photo credit: Andrei Z)
| This article may be reprinted free of charge provided 1) that there is clear attribution to the Orthomolecular Medicine News Service, and 2) that both the OMNS free subscription link http://orthomolecular.org/subscribe.html and also the OMNS archive link http://orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/index.shtml are included. |
| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Orthomolecular Medicine News Service, April 6, 2013 Clamping Down on Nutritional Information
|
Related articles
- How BigPharma plans to steal your supplements to hook you on their toxic drugs (therefusers.com)
- Why you want to know what your doctor doesn’t know? (icontrolmyhealth.wordpress.com)
Consumerism – nothing much in big boxes.
Ethical consumerism isn’t cheap! (Photo credit: Tom Raftery)
Consumerism is a social and economic order that encourages the purchase of goods and services in ever-greater amounts.(Wikipedia)
As you might all remember, I have spent nearly all of last month in the Snowy Mountains – mostly famous because of the poem about ‘The man from Snowy River’ by Banjo Paterson.
What this time away really brought home in my contemplations is Consumerism. As we all know, experiences bring about change and understanding grows. This in turn hopefully leads to a change in behaviour. Sometimes even a tourist tailored holiday might do this, but all too often the impressions are drowned out by the five stars. All in all, these types of holidays often are driven by consumerism also, buy buy buy…
Once we are back home, we get sucked back into the humdrum of life and not much sticks with us and even the memory of places fades just like photos used to. Hence my delay in returning to the humdrum so I can actually digest what happened.
It is the kind of time away, when you have the chance to live in the land or area you are visiting, that makes experiences go much deeper.
Consumerism and my dislike for it has become an even bigger topic for me since I left for the Snowys then it was before. It is very much tied in with my strong believe that nature is a great healer, especially when it comes to mental health and that we need to look after nature a lot better than we are doing now.
While hiking up to the top of a hill and becoming absorbed into the scenery, I thought, that what we are doing to nature really makes as much sense as for a baby to try kill its own mother, whilst still in the womb.
Anyway, back to the topic – consumerism. Food obviously becomes an issue, when you live a minimum of two hours away from any kind of shop and the house you are going to live in has no edible garden. So off we went to the supermarket to buy provisions for two for three weeks. This was when it all started, all those little bits of food in plastic bags and cardboard boxes, or worse both. I started fretting about what to do with all the rubbish once we have eaten the food. Outside the major city centres recycling has not been introduced. Recyclables and un-recyclables are all dumped in a hole dug in a paddock somewhere. Cringe ! Well, I could go into driving to a recycling station four or five hours away weekly, but then there is the petrol – best not get too complicated in my thinking . We found a better solution anyway.
Why, I ask you do we need all this blasted packaging in the first place? Often, even in the past, I thought gosh I’d love a supermarket where you can take your pantry containers with you and fill them up. Does rice really taste better or is it of a better quality when it comes in a fancy coloured bag or box? Even mushrooms have to be prepacked in plastic despite existing knowledge that mushrooms don’t like to be stored in plastic!
Packaging is only a part of consumerism, but most disturbing, as it creates such a pain for nature. Quite frankly, it drives me crazy.
Crazy enough to really start hunting down a supplier who will sell you more than a handful of anything in a box big enough to live in. Oh, and make my own where I can. Even though I never enjoyed cooking and preserving etc. at all, but there comes the time when you really have to walk the talk, or be the change you want to see.
Does anyone have any contacts where food can be bought without all the showy rubbish? Please share them here.
Related articles
- Reduce, Reuse, Recycle (threeteaspoonsaday.com)
- Home Connections: Cardboard Box Creations (phippsscienceeducation.org)
- Conscious Consumerism- Exercise Your Power (modernnatural.wordpress.com)
Nutritional Update
Health (Photo credit: 401(K) 2013)
I will be travelling for the next 3 weeks and unable to post regular updates and really want to leave you with some very worthwhile information to tap into
The health Delusion – Free Webinar
Nutrition scientists Glen Matten and Aidan Goggins are the authors of the award-winning book The Health Delusion, which won the 2013 Medical Journalists’ Association award for best consumer health book. It is essential reading for anyone wishing to untangle the complex and confusing web of mixed nutrition and public health messages and recommendations constantly emerging from both government and media. It’s also a very readable and handy guide, with tips on what we should really be doing to achieve and maintain optimum health in the 21st century.
Their book is the inspiration for our next webinar. We are delighted that both authors will be present at the webinar, discussing with our nutrition scientist Sophie Tully the latest findings on what is required to stay healthy and diminish the risk of chronic disease in the modern world. Aidan and Glen will touch on a broad range of topics, from antioxidants to exercise, fad diets to foetal development, veganism to dairy and meat, and fat to prescription drugs. They also discuss the tools we need to understand, interpret and use evidence-based science to optimise health. This webinar is FREE for anyone wishing to know what ‘health’ really means, whether you are a health-conscious consumer, a practitioner wishing to revise or expand your knowledge, or you are just plain interested.
FREE webinar: The Health Delusion – 12th March 2013 6.00pm – 7.00pm BST
Key topics:
- Discover the latest findings on what is required to stay healthy in the modern world
- Find out how to reduce the risk of chronic disease in the 21st century
- Learn about maintaining optimal health at every stage of life through diet, the correct supplements, and much needed lifestyle changes
- Put forward your questions during the Q&A session at the end
How to sign up
To register interest to attend, log on to our Webinars page and select ‘The Health Delusion’ or call 01223 421434 for further information.
We will send you an event invitation and instructions on how to join the presenters on the day with a unique webinar link.
Wishing you good health,
The Igennus Team
and
The Better Man Project: The Book Has Arrived
The book is out! Click the following link to find it on Amazon! http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B89PDJU (Can also be found on iTunes and Kobo)
Salvestrols – a bitter pill to swallow?
English: Nutrigenomics: bring disease, cancer, diet and genetics together (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Remember being told that anything that tastes bad is good for you; the truth is a bitter pill to swallow and so on? That may have been correct before we learned about Salvestrols. Now we know that even the sweet things in life can be good for you.
But before we talk about Salvestrols, let’s talk about why fruit and vegetables may be just the thing to beat one of the biggest adversaries of modern life.
Cancer is a word that has the power to scare most of us. Despite reported advances in cancer research it still stands synonymous to ‘death sentence’ in most people’s vocabulary. Screening is the tool of choice for earliest possible detection and the most advertised method of prevention. But is there anything else you can do, real prevention?
There certainly are many ways to help prevent the risk of developing cancer and at the same time make you feel good all round. Stop stressing, stop smoking, stop drinking, exercise more, minimise the use of contact with environmental poisons and of course eat a healthy diet. Not just any healthy diet, let’s make that an organic diet.
And that’s where we return to Salvestrols. Here is the story in a nutshell.
The term Salvestrols comes from the Latin word salve (to save) and is used as a family name for a bunch of phyto chemicals (natural chemicals found in plants), which form part of their immune system. Resveratrol is probably the most widely known, it is produced as a defence mechanism in red grape skins. But there are others in the Salvestrol family.
Salvestrols become active in the body once they are metabolised by cells which carry the enzyme marker CYP1B1. Once Salvestrols are metabolized by these cells, the cells die. Healthy cells do not carry this marker. The punch line is that all cancer cells in humans carry CYP1B1, no matter what type of cancer may develop from them.
Salvestrols are found in fruits, vegetables and herbs – there is however a ‘but’ to this story. Scientists found through stringent and time-consuming testing, that the western diet is significantly low in Salvestrols.
John Deere 4730 Self-Propelled Sprayer (Photo credit: basicbill)
Why? Modern farming (use of fungicides for one) and food processing techniques destroy the naturally occurring Salvestrol content in food. That is why an organic diet is so important. Organically grown foods rely on their Salvestrols, as part of their immune system, to defend themselves against threats, such as fungi.
Here we were thinking that eating organic is only for the taste buds and richer in vitamins and minerals. Thanks to the dedicated work of Prof. Gerry Potter and Professor Dan Burke over the last 20 years we are now aware of an even better reason.
Many of the foods containing Salvestrols are bitter, but there are plenty of sweet things on the list as well.
Don’t forget to put plenty of the following in your organic shopping bag
Berry Harvest from Parents’ Garden (Photo credit: VancityAllie)
Red fruits and all berries – strawberries, raspberries, grapes, cranberries, red currants, plums, as well as black currants, blueberries, blackberries, apples, pears and pineapples.
All green vegetables, particularly the cabbage species and broccoli, don’t forget Kales, Peas and Beans.
Then grab some artichokes, red and yellow capsicum, avocado, watercress, asparagus.
If you still have room, go for bean sprouts, celery, salad rocket, pumpkins, squashes, gourds, marrows, zucchini, cucumbers, melons, gherkins.
Season with, basil, parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, mint, lemon verbena, redbush, skullcap, dandelion, plantain and basil.
To keep the Salvestrol content high, please don’t boil your treasures in water.
If you are interested in reading case histories from patients diagnosed with cancer, please go to
http://www.beating-cancer-gently.com/support-files/salvestrolcasestudies2.pdf
Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine Vol 25, No. 1, 2010 (with authors Brian A. Schaefer, D.Phil.,Catherine Dooner, B.A, M. Danny Burke, Ph.D, Gerard A. Potter, Ph.D)
Or a more detailed and technical article on Salvestrols and CYP1B1, please go to
http://www.hans.org/magazine/173/Salvestrols-A-Natural-Defence-Against.html
to read the article by Professor Dan Burke, PhD.
Mitochondria – Your Cellular Mojo
A diagram showing a mitochondrion of the eukaryotic cell. Mitochondria are organelles surrounded by membranes, distributed in the cytosol of most eukaryotic cells. Its main function is the conversion of potential energy of pyruvate molecules into ATP. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Mitochondria could be explained as cellular mojo. Each cell in your body has a mitochondria and once these little energy production units don’t function to well anymore for some time, people generally begin to complain about being:
Stressed out, flat, lethargic, tired, overwhelmed, fatigued, disinterested, drained, carrying the world on their shoulders, have a thousand things to do, but can’t be bothered doing anything……..are diagnosed with depression because of this.
Loss of energy for life and living is generally blamed on suffering from depression however; this might just be an easy way out, a one second answer to a five-hour question. The question being: Why have I lost my mojo? Or What stops mitochondria from working well?
Toxic environments
With this I don’t just mean environmental toxins, but also living in psychologically toxic environments, as these can rob you of your energy just the same. They are hard to handle and in this way create stress on an emotional and therefore physical level. Remember we are body, soul and mind. These three factors intermingle, interplay and impact on each other and are directly influenced by our environment.
But, back to a physically toxic environment – the world we live in. Pollutants, heavy metals, pesticides and herbicides are in our food. Washing fruit and vegetables before consumption is generally recommended, but it does not get rid of all that is on them. In fact, the test results available on the pesticide content of food is determined after washing them.
Read more here
http://health.yahoo.net/experts/healthykidshealthyfamily/are-you-eating-too-many-pesticides
http://www.panna.org/issues/food-agriculture/pesticides-on-food
They do influence the working efficiency of our mitochondria. A poison used to block weed growth in fruit and vegetable crops for instance impairs the plants chloroplast function. The crux being, that mitochondria are structurally similar to chloroplasts and are also inhibited in their function when we ingest these poisons.
English: Outline of Mitochondria and Chloroplast (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
What makes it worse is that these poisons are often not effectively excreted by the body and have a tendency to build up, leaving our cells bathed in toxic cocktails.
Is there something you can do about this?
Yes, of course there is, firstly eat organic where you can. Secondly help your body expel the toxins and thirdly build up and support good mitochondrial function.
How ?
Your naturopath can help you cleanse and refresh your systems with herbal compounds – try and save your money and don’t buy cheap imitations often available in shops. Once cleansed introduce good bacteria into your gastro intestinal system and keep them alive with a healthy diet and supplements if needed. As well as a good amount of clean water.
Green tea (organic) is also an excellent way to support your mitochondria – Cheers
Melatonin
Overview of biological circadian clock in humans. Biological clock affects the daily rhythm of many physiological processes. This diagram depicts the circadian patterns typical of someone who rises early in morning, eats lunch around noon, and sleeps at night (10 p.m.). Although circadian rhythms tend to be synchronized with cycles of light and dark, other factors – such as ambient temperature, meal times, napping schedule and duration, stress and exercise – can influence the timing as well. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Supplementing or not supplementing Melatonin has been discussed for some time now. Having been promoted as the new wonder anti-ageing drug and jet lag cure in the mid 90’s via talk shows and other media has certainly not helped its standing. More so, this type of promotion has rather reduced it to fad level. Since then it has been removed from over the counter sales to prescription only, in many countries, which is probably a good thing.
Not because it is inherently bad, but purely because self diagnosis in reaction to TV shows is surely not the way to go. The commonly held believe, that anything that is natural cannot be harmful is a wide-spread misconception – see the cannabis culture. Other than that, many people still believe in ‘more is better’, a concept that completely side steps individual need and nature’s guideline that the poison is in the dose.
Cutting a long story short, Melatonin is a hormone produced from the amino acid, tryptophan, via serotonin in the pineal gland. Its production and secretion is understood to be limited to between 9 p.m. and 8 a.m.
The mental health connection is often loosely made from the fact, that it is made and excreted within the brain and that it has to do with serotonin. Sometimes we tend to forget that the brain regulates many functions and is not exclusively dedicated to Mental Health. In part this misconception has possibly been brought about by the biomedical model, which closely ties the brain to Mental Health and serotonin imbalance as the sole reason for depression.
What then does melatonin influence?
It has been identified to help regulate inflammation when stress plays a role – with the over secretion of cortisol, melatonin balance tends to go out of kilter and very often in these instances sleep tends to become a problem. What needs doing here is to decrease cortisol levels, rather than increasing Melatonin.It appears to have anti – oxidant properties, that is probably the bit that got the ‘forever young culture’ all stirred up.
And, it is tied in with neuro transmitter action (dopamine, GABA, opioid analgesia, glutamine neuroprotection and serotonin modulation). Interestingly enough an excess of Melatonin is highlighted in the info I have come about. In excess there may be a reported chronic reduction in core body temperature, alertness, mental performance, metabolic functions and a tendency to sleep.
Melatonins’ treatment relevance has also been tied to epilepsy, autism, ADHD, depression, SAD, decreasing Chemo side effects, cardio health and migraines.
No doubt Melatonin plays a large role in brain health and general health, let’s face it otherwise our body would not produce it, but rather than insisting on over the counter availability for self-treatment, you could always try to eat the building blocks the body uses to make it in the first place.
Tryptophan
For vegetarian / vegan choices check here
http://nutritiondata.self.com/foods-011079000000000000000.html?maxCount=60
http://nutritiondata.self.com/foods-012079000000000000000.html?maxCount=7
http://nutritiondata.self.com/foods-016079000000000000000.html?maxCount=36
All failing and you do believe, that you may need to boost your Melatonin levels, it is always worthwhile to contact a qualified practitioner.
Related articles
- Supplements could mean better sleep for those taking beta-blockers (time4sleep.com)
- The pineal gland and melatonin (ideasolar.wordpress.com)
- Is Melatonin an Effective Cancer Treatment? (lef.org)
- The Emotional Benefits of Triathlons: The science behind the reasons triathlons make us feel so good. (josephhavey.wordpress.com)
- Melatonin experiences anyone? (crazyinthecoconut.co.uk)
Caraway (Carum Carvi)
The use of Caraway (Carum Carvi) in cooking and baking may be enjoying a bit of a comeback, after having found little use in modern western cuisine. Its popularity in some European countries in their traditional meals (e.g. sauerkraut) remained, possibly due to a long tradition of medical uses, mostly for stomach complaints. Caraway is usually referred to as a seed, but Wikipedia notes that it is actually classed a fruit.
Middle Eastern traditions also still embrace Caraway; there it is also known as Persian cumin. I have stumbled over some promising Arabic studies, which identify additional benefits, for endocrine function and auto immune disease. The benefit in thyroid disorders has prompted me to read up on it again, due to the fact that thyroid disorders play a role in mental health.
You can read up on its long traditional and historical use here –
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caraway
Caraway contains Terpenes, which are organic compounds with medicinal functions and biological actions, found in plants. The essential oil in caraway contains ketone, carvone, limonene and carvacrol.
Caraway seeds are a powerhouse of macro and micronutrients. Read more here
http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/spices-and-herbs/175/2
For the calorie conscious – 100 grams of caraway seeds has 333 calories, with the added bonus of not containing cholesterol. Rich in non refined carbohydrates, proteins, fats and fiber; and containing B vitamins (folate, niacin, pyridoxine, thiamine and riboflavin), vitamins A, C, E, K. But that’s not all, sorry for sounding like a steak knife advertisement, but those little guys got me quite excited.
They also supply plentiful amounts of calcium, magnesium, potassium, iron, phosphorus, manganese and zinc and the antioxidants beta-carotene, beta cryptoxanthin and lutein zeaxanthin.
The benefits from caraway seeds and the oil derived from them are substantial, read more here
http://www.nutrition-and-you.com/caraway-seed.html
Smokers, alcohol and heavy food connoisseurs who occasionally overindulge, will be pleased to know that resulting complaints such as flatulence, indigestion and hyperacidity are well taken care of by Caraway.
It may decrease risk of gastrointestinal cancer, stomach ulcers, IBS, as fiber content binds toxins and increases bulk of stool, helping elimination.
Ayurvedic medicine utilizes their potent essential oil constituents carvone and limonene for gastrointestinal problems and in the prevention of other disease and conditions.
Caraway’s relative Black Cumin – Nigella sativa (some literature tends to confuse these two a bit, so look out for their Latin names) is also notable, read more here
http://www.elnaggarzr.com/en/main.php?id=17
I have not tried the tea myself, but found a recipe in my old lecture notes J
Boil a teaspoon of the seeds in a liter of water, simmer 15 minutes, strain and drink.
There are no reported adverse side effects of using caraway seed supplements in normal dosage. However, consuming excessive amounts of caraway seed oil for an extended period of time may cause kidney or liver damage.
And a final note on Caraway – antioxidants protect against cell damage and are whispered to slow the effects of ageing and related problems, such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.
Related articles
- Slow Cooker Bavarian Pork Sirloin Tip Roast with Sour Cream Gravy (kalynskitchen.com)
- Pressed Red Cabbage Caraway Slaw Recipe (rawlivingfoods.typepad.com)
