Happy Earth Day Mother Earth!

Today is the 41st Earth Day! I encourage everyone to respect and protect Mother Earth, not only on this day but everyday!

We can all help keep our earth safe and protected. Considering we are the ones who use this precious resource as our source of life as well. If we feel we do not have the time or ability to take care of our planet, our planet may just decide that it no longer has the resources needed to give us clean air, food, and water. In this day and age we see this becoming an increasing problem, all over the world. This is directly our problem, as we as humans are the ones who have caused this. So it is also up to us to fix it, if we want to continue using earth's precious resources to supply us with the very things we need to survive.

I encourage everyone to do what you can or do a little more than you may be doing already to help protect and restore our planet. It doesn't have to be hard, just start small and work towards bigger things later!

Some of the things you can do now:

• Turning off lights, TVs, computers, and other appliances when not in use. Unplug cellphone chargers and any other appliance you may not be using at the time. These items continue to draw power even when not turned on. 
• Same with water. Turn off faucets while in the middle of brushing teeth. Take shorter showers or buy a lo-flow water saver shower head. Plant more plants in your yard which need less water than a lawn does, if you are someone who like to water your lawn. In the market for a new washer and dryer? Try a front loader that uses much less water. Give up plastic bottled water. This industry uses mass amounts of energy to produce bottled water. Buy a filter for your home faucet and some stainless steal bottles and you will have the same water that these companies are bottling and selling. Plus you'll save money!
• Recycling, including batteries, cellphones, and other materials that you may have to take somewhere to have recycled.
• If you live in town, try riding a bike or walking instead of driving to run small errands.
• Plant a garden and start composting.
• Buy more organic food. By eating more organic, less pesticides and chemical fertilizers are used in farming practices. Pesticides, herbicides, and chemical fertilizer all end up in our water system, including groundwater. They cause our soils to erode, create oxygen depletion in water so fish cannot survive, they deplete the soil of much needed nutrients so our food is not as healthy, kill bees which are needed to pollinate crops, and much worse. We eat them too!
• Buy food locally grown. Not only does this support our own families in our own communities, it also using less energy to truck food all over the country.
• If you are financially able, I encourage you to check into some of the alternative energy solutions available. Solar, wind, and geothermal power, have made some drastic improvements in the past few years, making it a much more affordable and available power source.

As you can see, these are just a few easy options to get started in protecting Mother Earth. If we all try together we can keep this planet a wonderful source of life for us all!

Happy Earth Day!

MSG - Another Dangerous Toxin Added To Food

MSG otherwise know as monosodium glutamate is a food additive and flavor enhancer used in approximately 95 percent of all processed foods. It was developed by the Japanese in 1908. Health problems associated with MSG began to be studied in the 1950's. Considering the amounts of processed foods people consume today, it shouldn't come as a surprise to some that MSG may be one of many things that are contributing to America's health crisis. MSG is considered one of the 3 most toxic additives in our food system today. It affects nearly everyone in some way because free glutamic acid (the amino acid that increases in blood concentration when MSG is consumed) is used throughout the body as a chemical messenger and neurotransmitter.

MSG may well be one of the biggest factors in America's obesity problem. Scientists inject rats at birth to fatten them up and it has proved to work very well. Searching for "MSG Obese" in pubmed.gov will return over 100 studies that substantiate this. If you are trying to lose weight avoid MSG and all of it's forms.

In addition to causing obesity MSG is also implicated in many other problems and diseases of the human body. Allergic responses, asthma, high blood pressure, headaches, brain damage (because it is a nuerotoxin), disruptive to the digestive system, endocrine problems, ringing in the ears, irregular heartbeat, hypoglycemia, thyroid disfunction, nervous system problems, diabetes, and vision problems are just a few areas affected by MSG. There are links to many other diseases affected by the use of  it such as, autism, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, and rage/panic disorder, to name a few.

Monosodium Glutamate is also called by other names or is hidden in other additives. Hydrolyzed vegetable protein, hydrolyzed plant protein, monopotassium glutamate, calcium caseinate, textured protein, glutamate, glutamic acid, and vegetable protein extract are just a few of these sources- view full list.

The list of foods containing MSG is exhaustive and some foods contain more of it than others. So I will include this link: List of foods to avoid. You may be very surprised to see how prevalent MSG is in almost all foods. Eating fresh whole foods is one of the best ways to avoid consuming this toxic substance.


Other links:
Sign the petition - Ban MSG
http://www.msgtruth.org/
MSG - Slowly Poisoning America
http://www.carbohydrateaddicts.com/msg.html

FDA Panel Votes On Food Dyes And Hyperactivity

Just recently a consumer group is urging the FDA to ban or at least warn consumers of the dangers of food dyes. The biggest question seems to be whether or not the dyes contribute to hyperactivity as one of the main problems associated with use.

Manufacturers are saying they are safe, but The Center for Science in the Public Interest, argues there is plenty of data stating otherwise. Today a Food and Drug Administration advisory panel voted 57 percent  to 43 percent not to ban or warn consumers. The advisory panel recommened the agency further study the link between food dyes and hyperactivity. The FDA will consider this panels advice in coming months while it makes it's decision.

Some FDA staff reviewers said in a preliminary report that scientific evidence so far suggested some children with ADHD may be affected by the food coloring. According to government statistics, up to 5 percent of children are affected by this disorder.

The debate over artificial food dyes had been going on for decades. Additionally artificial food coloring use has jumped dramatically in the last decade.

Other than contributing to hyperactivity, it has been proven that artificial food dyes can also cause other allergy symptoms. For more information see my previous post on  Allergies To Common Food Dyes.

Time For Garden Planning

Spring is here and summer is right around the corner. For many of us who live in a northern climate, we may still have snow. Even though it may be chilly out, now is the perfect time to begin planning your garden. You may not be able to plant yet, but you can get a head start. 

Whether you are a seasoned pro or just a beginner, gardening can be very rewarding. Digging in the earth brings us a little bit closer to mother nature. It can provide fresh healthy fruits and vegetables, while reducing your grocery bill. It can also be used as a stress reliever for many people. Flower gardens are beautiful to look at. By planning your garden out ahead of time it makes it much easier to maintain throughout the growing season.

Here are a few links to get you started in your planning. Happy Planting!

Mother Earth News - Garden Planner
Companion Planting With Vegetables and Flowers
Kitchen Garden Planner
 Organic Gardening

New Pathogen Threatens Our Food System

A new highly destructive pathogen has been recently uncovered. This pathogen has been discovered in high concentrations in Roundup Ready crops such as corn and soybeans. It is suspected that this pathogen could have far reaching consequences to our food supply as well as our health.

This animal pathogen discovered by a team of plant and animal scientists and COL (Ret.) Don M. Huber from Emeritus Professor, Purdue University and APS Coordinator, USDA National Plant Disease Recovery System (NPDRS), believe this finding should be treated as an emergency and immediate moratorium be placed on the deregulation of Roundup Ready crops, until further study can be done.