What Really Causes Heart Disease. Superbugs in Meat. Food as a Commodity. Chemicals In Poultry. Lethality of Roundup. What is a GMO? Argentina's Bad Seeds. North Pole. MADD.

 

For “Foodie Friday”:

Heart Surgeon Speaks Out On What Really Causes Heart Disease  By Dr. Dwight Lundell

“We physicians with all our training, knowledge and authority often acquire a rather large ego that tends to make it difficult to admit we are wrong. So, here it is. I freely admit to being wrong. As a heart surgeon with 25 years experience, having performed over 5,000 open-heart surgeries, today is my day to right the wrong with medical and scientific fact.

I trained for many years with other prominent physicians labeled "opinion makers." Bombarded with scientific literature, continually attending education seminars, we opinion makers insisted heart disease resulted from the simple fact of elevated blood cholesterol.

The only accepted therapy was prescribing medications to lower cholesterol and a diet that severely restricted fat intake. The latter of course we insisted would lower cholesterol and heart disease. Deviations from these recommendations were considered heresy and could quite possibly result in malpractice.

It Is Not Working!

Simply stated, without inflammation being present in the body, there is no way that cholesterol would accumulate in the wall of the blood vessel and cause heart disease and strokes. Without inflammation, cholesterol would move freely throughout the body as nature intended. It is inflammation that causes cholesterol to become trapped.

 
Inflammation is not complicated -- it is quite simply your body's natural defense to a foreign invader such as a bacteria, toxin or virus. The cycle of inflammation is perfect in how it protects your body from these bacterial and viral invaders. However, if we chronically expose the body to injury by toxins or foods the human body was never designed to process,a condition occurs called chronic inflammation. Chronic inflammation is just as harmful as acute inflammation is beneficial.

What thoughtful person would willfully expose himself repeatedly to foods or other substances that are known to cause injury to the body? Well, smokers perhaps, but at least they made that choice willfully.
The rest of us have simply followed the recommended mainstream diet that is low in fat and high in polyunsaturated fats and carbohydrates, not knowing we were causing repeated injury to our blood vessels. This repeated injury creates chronic inflammation leading to heart disease, stroke, diabetes and obesity.

Let me repeat that: The injury and inflammation in our blood vessels is caused by the low fat diet recommended for years by mainstream medicine.

 
What are the biggest culprits of chronic inflammation? Quite simply, they are the overload of simple, highly processed carbohydrates (sugar, flour and all the products made from them) and the excess consumption of omega-6 vegetable oils like soybean, corn and sunflower that are found in many processed foods.”  More at:  http://www.sott.net/article/242516-Heart-Surgeon-Speaks-Out-On-What-Really-Causes-Heart-Disease

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Study finds antibiotic-resistant bacteria

“More than half of samples of ground turkey, pork chops and ground beef collected from supermarkets for testing by the federal government contained bacteria resistant to antibiotics, according to a new report highlighting the findings.

The data, collected in 2011 by the National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System — a joint program of the Food and Drug Administration, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — show a sizable increase in the amount of meat contaminated with antibiotic-resistant forms of bacteria, known as superbugs, like salmonella, E. coli and campylobacter.

“The No. 1 misunderstanding about antibiotics in animal agriculture is that it is not understood well enough that antibiotics are used to keep animals healthy, period,” says Randall Singer, a professor of veterinary science at the University of Minnesota.”"  More at: http://www.agweek.com/event/article/id/20833/

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Organic Food Is Not Discount Food

“Organic food isn't cheap, and the real thing never will be. The concept of mass-produced organics is fraudulent. It runs counter to both the ethos & reality. They cannot be produced by Agribusiness-style farmers who keep producing the same crop year-on-year. As long as food is treated as a commodity, then we have degraded the basic substance of our bodies and minds.

Food as a Commodity

Treating food as nothing but a commodity destroys it. Shortcuts will continue to be used to avoid the inherent problems of mass production. Methods are put in place to disguise the harm. The fact that most so-called fresh vegetables in supermarkets—including ones defined as "organic"—are anything but fresh is ignored:

• They've often traveled thousands of miles.
• They've spent who-knows-how-much time just sitting in gas storage, which makes them look like they're still fresh, but does absolutely nothing to stop the deterioration of nutrients, resulting in "foods" that still have calories, but are becoming devoid of nutritional value.
• They're disguised to look fresh and lovely. They're waxed and dyed.
• They're being irradiated to give an appearance of freshness—but that process also destroys nutrients.
• They're grown on depleted soils, resulting in far lower nutrient levels.

Beyond those problems, you can never know if fruits and vegetables have been contaminated by the effluent from modern CAFOs—concentrated animal feed operations. These examples of institutionalized cruelty result in turning healthy meats into the equivalent of poisons:

• CAFO animals are fed unnatural diets to fatten them up. This results in animals being in constant pain as their systems struggle to digest what's unnatural to them. It does not result in normal healthy meat.
• They are highly stressed living in horrific concentrations, with little room to move and no natural interaction with their species—so you eat their stress hormones.
• They often live in their own filth. You can imagine the implications of that on their health and yours.
• They're given drugs, including both antibiotics and ractopamine, to cause both rapid and massive growth. Ractopamine is a poison, and it puts animals in pain—which shouldn't be surprising if you experienced growth pain as an adolescent.
• These problems result in very sick animals prone to disease. Therefore, they are massively and routinely given antibiotics to mask their ill health. 

Foods are routinely being sterilized now. This does nothing to prevent the problem and destroys much of the nutritional value, while also harming the food's quality, even to the point of creating toxins, which are then eaten by people.”    More at:  http://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/organic-food-not-discount-food

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At chicken plants, chemicals blamed for health ailments are poised to proliferate

USDA poultry inspector Jose Navarro. (COURTESY OF NAVARRO FAMILY )

“When Jose Navarro landed a job as a federal poultry inspector in 2006, he moved his wife and newborn son to a rural town in Upstate New York near the processing plant, believing it was a steppingstone to a better life.  Five years later, Navarro was dead. The 37-year-old’s lungs had bled out.

His death triggered a federal investigation that raised questions about the health risks associated with a rise in the use of toxic, bacteria-killing chemicals in poultry plants. Agriculture Department health inspectors say processing plants are turning to the chemicals to remove contaminants that escape notice as processing line speeds have accelerated, in part to meet growing consumer demand for chicken and turkey.”  More at: http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-04-25/politics/38803667_1_poultry-plants-amanda-hitt-chemicals

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Lethality of Roundup 'Weedkiller' Extends Beyond Plants To Humans

“A shocking new study finds that glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup herbicide, "...may be the most biologically disruptive chemical in our environment," capable of contributing to a wide range of fatal human diseases.

These effect, according to the researchers, can contribute to causing or worsening "...most of the diseases and conditions associated with a Western diet which include gastrointestinal disorders, obesity, diabetes, heart disease, depression, autism, infertility, cancer and Alzheimer's disease."

This new report may help to explain why over 30 adverse health effects associated with Roundup herbicide exposure have been identified in the peer-reviewed and published literature so far. The full report in PDF form can be obtained here. Please help us spread this information, as well as our Roundup Toxicity Research and GMO Research pages, by sharing them with other concerned individuals and groups.”  More at: http://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/lethality-roundup-weedkiller-may-extend-beyond-plants-humans-study-shows

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Whole Foods Vows to Label GMOs by 2018

“Whole Foods recently announced the health food giant will make labeling of genetically engineered (GE)(GMO) ingredients mandatory in its American and Canadian stores by 2018.

(Whole Foods stores in Great Britain already require GE foods to be labeled.) Many expect other retailers to follow suit.” More at:  http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/03/19/whole-foods-gmo-labeling.aspx

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What is a GMO? Explained in 1 Minute

“For your friends that still think that genetically engineered food is as natural as breathing, send them this video, What is a GMO?, (an excerpt from Genetic Roulette — The Gamble of Our Lives) to learn about the spider-goat, the cowhide-pig and other ways that the biotech scientists want to replace nature.”

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Roundup Remix

““Roundup™ was patented as an herbicide in 1974 by Monsanto. We know that Roundup™ has been used exclusively to kill weeds. Could it be linked with cancer, birth defects, endocrine disruption and nutrient deficiency in the world? Watch this video, Roundup Remix, that explains what the active ingredient, glyphosate, does to the plants, animals and ultimately to humans.
Roundup Remix is an excerpt from the incredible, life-changing, full length documentary Genetic Roulette—The Gamble of Our Lives http://geneticroulettemovie.com.”

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Argentina's Bad Seeds and GMO Crops

“Argentina’s population is being sickened by massive spraying of herbicides on its genetically engineered soya fields. Glyphosate, the main ingredient in Roundup, is blamed for the dramatic increase in devastating birth defects as well as cancer. Sterility and miscarriages are also increasing

A 2012 nutritional analysis of GMO versus non-GMO corn shows shocking differences in nutritional content. Non-GMO corn contains 437 times more calcium, 56 times more magnesium, and 7 times more manganese than GMO corn

GMO corn was also found to contain 13 ppm of glyphosate, compared to zero in non-GMO corn. The EPA standard for glyphosate in American water supplies is 0.7 ppm, and organ damage in animals has occurred at levels as low as 0.1 ppm

GMO corn contains extremely high levels of formaldehyde—about 200 times the amount found toxic to animals

Unfortunately, President Obama recently signed into law a spending bill that included a devastating provision that puts Monsanto above the law. The provision limits the ability of judges to stop Monsanto and/or farmers from growing or harvesting genetically engineered crops, even if courts find evidence of potential health risks.”

“I see new-born infants, many of whom are malformed. I have to tell parents that their children are dying because of these agricultural methods. In some areas in Argentina the primary cause of death for children less than one year old is malformations.”"     Complete article at: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/04/09/argentina-gmo-crops.aspx

Video at: http://bcove.me/h1cny84g

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GMO Virus: Silent Killer? | Interview with Alexis Baden-Mayer

“Abby Martin talks to Alexis Baden-Mayer, Political Director for the Organic Consumers Association, about a recent discovery by the European Food Safety Authority, which found a viral gene unsafe for human consumption in almost all GMOs.”

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Bill Maher Talks Monsanto, Genetically Modified Food (GMOs)

“Political comedian Bill Maher weighed in on Monsanto and GMOs on the June 22 2012 episode of Real Time with Bill Maher - panel included Nick Gillespie, Rachel Maddow, Mort Zuckerman & Mark Ruffalo.”  (Some bad words spoken!)

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http://www.nongmoshoppingguide.com/

 

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On This Day:

Fletcher lands on the North Pole, May 3, 1952:

“A ski-modified U.S. Air Force C-47 piloted by Lieutenant Colonel Joseph O. Fletcher of Oklahoma and Lieutenant Colonel William P. Benedict of California becomes the first aircraft to land on the North Pole. A moment later, Fletcher climbed out of the plane and walked to the exact geographic North Pole, probably the first person in history to do so.

In the early 20th century, American explorers Robert Peary and Dr. Frederick Cook, both claiming to have separately reached the North Pole by land, publicly disputed each other's claims. In 1911, Congress formally recognized Peary's claim. In recent years, further studies of the conflicting claims suggest that neither expedition reached the exact North Pole, but that Peary came far closer, falling perhaps 30 miles short. In 1952, Lieutenant Colonel Fletcher was the first person to undisputedly stand on the North Pole. Standing alongside Fletcher on the top of the world was Dr. Albert P. Crary, a scientist who in 1961 traveled to the South Pole by motorized vehicle, becoming the first person in history to have stood on both poles.”

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MADD founder's daughter killed by drunk driver, May 3, 1980:

“On this day in 1980, 13-year-old Cari Lightner of Fair Oaks, California, is walking along a quiet road on her way to a church carnival when a car swerves out of control, striking and killing her. Cari's tragic death compelled her mother, Candy Lightner, to found the organization Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), which would grow into one of the country's most influential non-profit organizations.

When police arrested Clarence Busch, the driver who hit Cari, they found that he had a record of arrests for intoxication, and had in fact been arrested on another hit-and-run drunk-driving charge less than a week earlier. Candy Lightner learned from a policeman that drunk driving was rarely prosecuted harshly, and that Busch was unlikely to spend significant time behind bars. Furious, Lightner decided to take action against what she later called "the only socially accepted form of homicide." MADD was the result. (Charged with vehicular homicide, Busch did eventually serve 21 months in jail.)

In 1980--the year Cari Lightner died--some 27,000 alcohol-related traffic fatalities occurred in the United States, including 2,500 in California alone. After founding MADD, Lightner began lobbying California's governor, Jerry Brown, to set up a state task force to investigate drunk driving. Brown eventually agreed, making her the task force's first member. In 1981, California passed a law imposing minimum fines of $375 for drunk drivers and mandatory imprisonment of up to four years for repeat offenders. President Ronald Reagan soon asked Lightner to serve on the National Commission on Drunk Driving, which recommended raising the minimum drinking age to 21 and revoking the licenses of those arrested for drunk driving. In July 1984, she stood next to Reagan as he signed a law reducing federal highway grants to any state that failed to raise its drinking age to 21 (a change that was estimated to save around 800 traffic deaths annually); by the following year, all 50 states had tightened their drunk-driving laws.

MADD had expanded to some 320 chapters and 600,000 volunteers and donors nationwide by 1985, when Lightner parted ways with the organization. MADD went on to wage a campaign to lower the nation's legal blood alcohol content from 0.1 percent to 0.08. The group won a major victory in 2000, when the Clinton administration passed a law tying federal highway funds to states' adoption of the 0.08 standard. By that year--the 20th anniversary of MADD's founding--alcohol-related fatalities had dropped some 40 percent over two decades, and states with the toughest drunk-driving laws were beginning to treat alcohol-related fatalities as murder.”

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From me:  As you may, or may not know, my granddaughter was killed by a drunk driver, so the stopping of drunk drivers is near and dear to my heart.   RIP Susan.  We miss you.

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Yesterday:

Misty and I had our walk while we were waiting for Jay.

The work on the roof extension is slow.  Up and down the ladder, moving the ladder, measuring, marking, getting angles and bevels just right, then cutting the boards, and back up the ladder to fasten them, so it doesn’t show much progress.

The expected cold spell came in, so I had to put on a sweater, very different from the previous day.