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With Halloween fast approaching comes a warning to parents and kids regarding Sherwood Brands Pirate’s Gold Milk Chocolate Coins imported from China .

The candy was sold primarily by Costco in bulk packages and may also have been sold as individual pieces at various dollar stores.

The chocolate contains melamine, which is the same chemical responsible for killing several babies in China, and sickening thousands more.

Sherwood Brand’s Pirate’s Gold Milk Chocolate Coins.

For additional details, please check here: http://www.snopes.com/food/warnings/coins.asp

If you have, or know anyone with cancer, watch these videos.

Organic products are free of artificial ingredients such as those made from petrochemicals, free of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO’s) and  are grown and produced using sustainable farming and production methods.  There is no better way to promote life, compassion, sustainability and health than by using your hard-earned dollars to purchase products that are safe for us, our pets, and our environment.

Click Here! For Free Shipping on Natural and Organic Products

FRIDAY NIGHT AT THE MOVIES:  Videos you need to watch to stay informed

Here’s an interesting video about the many chemicals in the water and beverages we drink.  This is an amazing video, full of facts you need to know.

Take a look around the room you’re in.  You’ll probably see lots of plastic stuff.  But petrochemicals are in almost everything, not just plastics.
Phthalates make perfumes stick around longer so they’re in just about everything scented.  Scented candles, air fresheners, cleaners, you name it. Phthalates can interfere with the normal sexual development of a fetus or infant. Studies have linked phthalate exposure in infants, especially males, to reduced testosterone and reproductive defects. Phthalates have recently been banned from toys in California, but they are allowed in clothes, and bed sheets.
Researchers measured phthalate concentrations in the urine of 163 infants between the ages of 2 and 28 months. They asked mothers how long their babies had spent playing with teething rings, pacifiers and other soft plastic products in the last 24 hours, and whether they had used body care products such as powders, creams, wipes, shampoos and lotions.

All the infants contained at least one variety of phthalate in their urine; 80 percent of them had seven or more. The urine of babies who had been exposed to lotions, shampoos or powders had four times the phthalate levels of children who had not been exposed to those products. Children under the age of eight months and those who used lotions had the highest phthalate levels
As far as “natural” scent goes, “natural means nothing other than that it probably smells like something in nature such as a green apple or rose or “fresh scent”, but it’s likely made from the same chemicals.
Many toothpastes include ingredients made from petroleum, such as artificial colors and mineral oil.
Petrochemicals are very prevalent in cosmetics. Examples include lip gloss, which is commonly made from petroleum oil, and nail polish, which contains petroleum-derived solvents such as toluene. Many cosmetics on the market contain harmful phthalates.
The benzene family of chemicals tends to have a sweetish aroma that is very popular among perfumers and fragrances. The benzenes are petroleum-based, so they’re cheap, easy to come by, and a known cause of leukemia.
According to the Environmental Working Group, “Fragrance formulas are considered to be among the top five known allergens and can trigger asthma attacks.”

After hearing numerous reports from people who believed that scented products were making them sick, Dr. Steinemann, an environmental engineer, conducted a chemical analysis of three best-selling air fresheners and three laundry products.  She says, “I was surprised by both the number and the potential toxicity of the chemicals that were found.” To avoid legal issues, Dr. Steinemann didn’t reveal any brand names of the products tested.

STUDY RESULTS:
•    In six products, Dr. Steinemann found nearly 100 volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
•    10 of the VOCs are regulated as either toxic or hazardous
•    Three are classified as carcinogenic hazardous air pollutants, which have no safe exposure level according to the EPA
•    One of the VOCs was methyl chloride, linked to nervous system, liver, and kidney damage in animals
•    Each of the six products contained at least one of the 10 toxic or hazardous VOCs
None of the product labels listed any of these VOCs, because U.S. laws don’t require manufacturers of household products to list contents.
Here are the results of another study done in the UK where researchers monitored VOC levels for one year in 170 homes where mothers spent their days at home with children.
STUDY RESULTS:
•    In homes where air fresheners were used daily, mothers averaged nearly 10 percent more frequent headaches than mothers in homes where air fresheners were used once a week or less
•    In the “daily” homes, mothers had more than 25 percent higher risk of depression
•    In the “daily” homes, infants were 32 percent more likely to suffer from diarrhea
•    Infants in the “daily” homes had a significantly higher rate of earaches than infants in “once a week” homes
Researchers noted that the daily use of air fresheners and other aerosol products created a gradual accumulation of VOCs.
Hair mousse, gels, and sprays commonly contain endocrine-disrupting pthalates. Synthetic hair dyes include petroleum-derived coloring chemicals as well as other harmful ingredients such as ammonia and lead. Synthetic hair dyes are known to penetrate skin and to cause cancer in laboratory animals.
Perfume and aftershave usually consist of a combination of chemicals, solvents, and natural essential oils in a base of alcohol, which can include toluene, ketone, and other hazardous substances. Approximately 95% of the ingredients in perfumes are derived from petrochemicals.
Many soaps contain petroleum-derived synthetic fragrances, artificial colors, and mineral oil that may cause skin rashes and other allergic reactions.
Many lotions, sunscreens and body care products contain pthalates, DEHP and DBP.. In animals, these chemicals are toxic to the liver, kidneys, testes, and the nervous system. DBP is used extensively in perfumes, nail polishes, lotions, and hair sprays.
Some sunblocks contain suspected carcinogens, including diethanolamine and related ingredients (DEA, TEA), padimate-o, and titanium dioxide. Other ingredients are suspected endocrine disrupters: benzophenone (oxybenzone), homosalate, octyl-methoxycinnamate (octinoxate), and the parabens (methyl-, ethyl-, butyl-, propyl-). Moreover, sunscreens can contain chemicals associated with skin irritation and rashes, including avobenzone (parsol 1789), benzophenone, octyl-methoxycinnamate, and PABA (para-aminobenzoic acid).
Not only are these chemicals bad for you, they’re bad for the environment. Diethanolamine has been found in waterways around the country, posing a threat to animals and humans. According to the National Toxicology Program, benzophenone has been found in surface water, groundwater, soil, and air, and may affect the liver and bone marrow of animals ingesting large amounts of contaminated water. This and other endocrine disruptors in sunblocks can also enter the water system when we swim or bathe, eventually winding up in fish, amphibians, and marine wildlife, and posing a threat to the animals’ reproductive cycles.
The basic ingredients used in cosmetics, skin and beauty products are mostly the same whether it’s purchased at a high end counter in a fancy package, or for a tenth of the cost at a low end store.
The future of our children and our Earth are at stake here. There is absolutely no reason to be using all these harmful chemicals.  Does it make sense to spend your hard-earned dollars on products that make you and your family sick while polluting the environment?  There are many natural and organic products available.  In the final post of this series I will list many organic sources for products, and also lots of cheap and natural alternatives such as using baking soda for toothpaste, vinegar for cleaning etc.

The amount of energy needed to produce the millions of pounds of toxic chemicals that we consume in the form of processed foods is ENORMOUS. In return we reap cancer, obesity, heart disease and destruction of the environment. On the other hand if we consume plain, fresh, unprocessed foods using sustainable agriculture and animal products from grass-fed animals, we reap health for ourselves, our pets and our planet.

Which do you choose?

We have already discussed the fact that the human body is not designed to assimilate artificial petrochemicals. This is COMMON SENSE. We do not commonly eat paint, rat poison, anti-freeze, brake fluid etc., but we seem to have no problem with ingesting the same toxic chemicals in our favorite foods, and beverages, or inhaling them in scented products, or rubbing them into our skin to be absorbed into the body. ALL MAN-MADE CHEMICALS ARE TOXIC, FOREIGN SUBSTANCES WHICH CAUSE DAMAGE TO US AND OUR ENVIRONMENT. There are no exceptions. If it is not found in nature, it is a foreign substance. There are plenty of natural poisons too, natural doesn’t necessary mean safe.

Pesticides, insecticides, herbicides, fumigants, and fungicides all contain petrochemicals. One way we ingest petrochemicals in food is from pesticides. Many widely used pesticides are classified by the EPA as probable or possible causes of cancer in humans; and many are known to cause damage to the nervous, reproductive and immune systems in laboratory animals. EPA pesticide regulations do not take into consideration potential chronic health effects from low-level exposures that do not cause immediate and obvious harm. The EPA also ignores potential combined effects from exposure to more than one chemical at a time. Current regulations do not consider exposure to vulnerable populations such as children and the immune-compromised.

Dairy products, apples, bananas, broccoli, cantaloupes, and carrots have among the highest rates of petrochemical residues

Chemicals from the petroleum manufacturing process enter our bodies through the foods we eat, especially meat and dairy products from feedlot and drylot animals. Chemicals such as pesticides and antibiotics tend to accumulate in milk and in animal flesh and fat. However, the meat and milk from GRASS-FED animals is safer, higher in nutrition and omega 3 fats, and also far less likely to carry e coli.

Coal tar and petrochemicals are the sources of the artificial colors that go into our foods, and these artificial coloring ingredients in the food supply contribute to all sorts of health problems, the most notable of which are the symptoms diagnosed as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a behavioral pattern often brought on by Yellow #2 food dye. Children are being fed these chemicals in such large quantities that they begin to have nervous system malfunctions that ultimately are misdiagnosed as ADHD, learning disabilities, or violent behavior.

Processed foods contain fragrances that are supposed to mimic real food. Diacetyl, a chemical that gives microwave popcorn its buttery flavor and aroma, also causes serious lung disease when heated and inhaled frequently. Diacetyl is being phased out of microwave popcorn, but not before many popcorn factory workers were permanently disabled by inhaling it.

Soda bottles, water bottles, peanut butter jars, and cooking oil bottles are made with PET: (polyethylene terephthalate) which migrates from the plastic containers to the contents:

Milk jugs, plastic bags, and yogurt cups are made with HDPE: (High-Density Polyethylene) which also migrates into the food that comes into contact with it.

Water bottles, salad dressing bottles, cooking oil bottles, mouth wash bottles, meat wrap, babies’ teething rings, pacifiers, nipples and toys contain PVC: Polyvinyl Chloride which leaches plasticizers (lead, cadmium, mercury, phthalates and the carcinogen, diethyl hexyphosphate)

Produce bags, and food storage containers contain LDPE (Low-Density Polyethylene)

Bottle caps, and drinking straws are made from PP: Polypropylene.

Meat trays, foam take-out food containers and foam cups as well as foam packing materials contain PS: Polystyrene.

Almost all food cans are lined with bisphenol A epoxy resin (sealant) and industry studies confirm that BPA is in canned foods and beverages. Studies of laboratory animals or cultured human cells have shown exposure to bisphenol A can cause neural and behavioral changes, precancerous growths in breast and prostate tissues, early onset puberty and other effects at very low doses. In addition, bisphenol A crosses the placenta and has been found in amniotic fluid and umbilical cord tissue, showing that there is no prenatal protection from a mother’s exposure.

The Environmental Working Group tested 97 cans of name-brand fruit, vegetables, soda, and other commonly eaten canned goods.

Of all foods tested, chicken soup, infant formula, and ravioli had BPA levels of highest concern. Just one to three servings of foods with these concentrations could expose a woman or child to BPA at levels that caused serious adverse effects in animal tests.

For 1 in 10 cans of all food tested, and 1 in 3 cans of infant formula, a single serving contained enough BPA to expose a woman or infant to BPA levels more than 200 times the government’s traditional safe level of exposure for industrial chemicals

British researcher David Melzer, M.B., Ph.D., of Peninsula Medical School in Exeter, and colleagues measured the BPA found in the urine of 1,455 adults between the ages of 18 and 74 years, using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) which was gathered in 2003 and 2004. Dr. Melzer and his team found that average BPA concentrations, adjusted for age and sex, were higher in those diagnosed with cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. In fact, even a slightly raised BPA concentration was associated with a 39 percent increased risk of having cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

Those with the highest BPA concentration had nearly three times the odds of heart disease and 2.4 times the risk of diabetes when compared with those with the lowest levels. What’s more, higher levels of BPA concentrations were also associated with abnormally elevated levels of three liver enzymes.

The non-stick coating on cookware also contains petrochemicals which leach into food. Researchers tested the milk from 45 different nursing mothers for two different varieties of perflourinated compounds (PFCs): perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), also known as C8. PFOA is used in nonstick coatings such as Teflon, while PFOS is an ingredient in stain-resistant fabric.

PFCs were found in the milk of every woman tested, at an average concentration of 131 billionths of a gram of PFOS and 44 billionths of a gram of PFOA per liter.

If we take a good look at all our “convenience” foods it may become apparent that they are no longer so convenient, especially when they are destroying our health, and ultimately life on this planet.

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Sixty BILLION TONS of plastic are produced every year.  That’s 60,000,000,000.

All plastic products are made from petrochemicals. As the name implies, a main ingredient in petrochemicals is OIL.

The average American uses 290 pounds of plastic every year.

Every hour Americans use and discard 2.5 million plastic bottles, totaling 22 billion a year.

According to Greenpeace, of the 25 billion pounds of plastic the US produces each year just 1 billion is recycled. Though many plastics can be recycled in principle, in practice sorting it into separate categories is too labor intensive to be viable. Many complex products like cell phones and computers have so many different plastic components that sorting out the various types would be too expensive.

What happens to the plastic that is not recycled?

Unlike naturally occurring compounds, plastic does not photo-degrade, it simply breaks up into ever-smaller pieces and lingers in the environment as an invisible toxic dust.

Unlike naturally occurring compounds, plastic does not bio-degrade, it simply breaks up into ever-smaller pieces and lingers in the environment as an invisible toxic dust.

In other words it stays around FOREVER. That’s 200,000,000 tons annually that we can’t get rid of, ever. Is that a problem? Depends on whether or not you’re interested in the continuation of life on this planet. If you are, and I sincerely hope so, please read on.

Close to 20% of discarded plastic ends up in the sea. There is an area known formally as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch or the Eastern Garbage Patch. It is 1,000 miles west of San Francisco, a swirling mass of plastic in an area twice the size of Texas. A study by the United Nations Environmental Program estimates that in this region there are 46,000 floating pieces of plastic for every square mile of ocean and the trash now circulates to a depth of 30 meters.

When the central section of the Garbage Patch drifts over the Hawaiian Islands, Waimanalo Beach on Oahu is coated with blue-green plastic sand while Midway Atoll – a major rookery for albatross – is now a PERMANENT trash heap. Greenpeace estimates that a million sea birds a year die from plastic ingestion, many of them chicks that have starved to death with bellies full of plastic cigarette lighters, toy soldiers and bottle caps. About 100,000 marine mammals also die. Sea turtles migrating past the Garbage Patch do not know the difference between a floating jellyfish and a floating plastic bag and frequently consume plastic bags. Scientists who study the Rubbish Vortex say there is little we can do to clean it up. Most of what is now there will eventually sink to the ocean floor where it will seriously disrupt ocean ecosystems.

Captain Charles Moore of the Algalita Marine Research Foundation, traveled over 100 km at random lengths in the North Pacific Gyre collecting samples of seawater. When the samples were analyzed he discovered that .there is six times more plastic by weight in this area than there is naturally occurring plankton. Fish and birds that feed on plankton are now dieing of starvation because they are consuming mostly plastic instead of plankton.

Nurdles are small pellets of plastic that are the base material for producing all the disposable plastic stuff we buy. 250 billion lbs of nurdles are shipped yearly and vast numbers are spilled in transit. One tenth of beach trash worldwide is nurdles and they have been found as far away as Antarctica. In the Rubbish Vortex, every single trawl netted nurdles. To an albatross, nurdles look a lot like clumps of roe and they are often mistaken for food and fed to infant birds. Nurdles also act as sponges for persistent organic pollutants such as DDT and PCB’s, oily toxins that don’t dissolve in water These plastic pellets have been found to accumulate up to one million times the level of these poisons – and they are entering the food chain from the filter feeders up

There is now a vast amount of plastic in our soil and food supply also, causing:

Structural damage to the brain

Hyperactivity, increased aggressiveness, and impaired learning

Increased fat formation and risk of obesity

Altered immune function

Early puberty, stimulation of mammary gland development, disrupted reproductive cycles, and ovarian dysfunction

Changes in gender-specific behavior, and abnormal sexual behavior

Stimulation of prostate cancer cells

Increased prostate size, and decreased sperm production

Scientists who study the problem say there is no solution except to cut down on our use of plastic. It is imperative that we do so in order to ensure the continuation of life on our planet. This is not an exaggeration, we MUST stop poisoning our environment. Every time we discard plastic items, we are potentially sentencing sea creatures and other wildlife to death.

References: 

I do not intend to instill fear in anyone. Fear is counterproductive. However, it is necessary to state with clarity and vision the wanton destruction that is occurring on this beautiful planet. It is absolutely imperative that the following information be assimilated and acted upon NOW or life as we know it will not survive another 60 to 70 years. This is a fact, not an opinion. I don’t sugar-coat distasteful subjects, nor do  I tread lightly when the future of our children and our planet are at stake.

Petro refers to oil, the kind that is non-renewable and drilled from the earth, a destructive process in itself.

Chemicals are man-made, the product of atomic and molecular changes. Petrochemicals are chemicals made from oil, natural gas or other fossilized hydrocarbons. When we think of an “oil crisis”, how many of us take into consideration the enormous amount of petrochemicals we produce and then dispose of every day?

Oil was formed from the remains of animals and plants that lived millions of years ago This is the reason it is considered “non-renewable”. Exploring and drilling for oil disturbs land and ocean habitats After crude oil is removed from the ground, it is sent to a refinery by pipeline, ship or barge. At a refinery, different parts of the crude oil are separated into usable petroleum products. Crude oil and natural gas are then refined into ethane, propane, and hundreds of other petrochemical products including fuel for your car. Refining means that the molecular structure is altered so that the oil no longer resembles anything found in nature. It is now a totally foreign toxic material that can never be changed back into its original form. It does not bio-degrade or photo-degrade. It cannot be removed from the environment, and it damages everything it comes into contact with. The following is a simplistic overview of the process of molecular change:

Atoms extracted from petrochemicals are formed into molecules known as monomers. There are many different types of monomers, which are then used to create polymers, large molecules consisting of repeating monomers. The polymers are often made into plastic pellets called nurdles. The nurdles are melted and dyed to form various plastic products. In the case of plastic bags, the repeating units (monomers) are ethylene, or ethane.

There are thousands of petrochemicals in ink, crayons, bubble gum, dishwashing liquids, deodorant, eyeglasses, records, tires, foods, toothpaste, ammonia, heart valves, the list goes on and on. The problem is that these chemicals are polluting our environment and we CAN”T GET RID OF THEM.

SInce the media almost invariably admonishes us that these petrochemical laden products are “healthy”, “necessary”, and just an everyday part of life that no one should think about or question, what is the problem? WHAT ARE THEY NOT TELLING YOU? There is the simple fact that we can NEVER get rid of them. But there’s more. A LOT more.

The manufacture and incineration of plastics such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC, commonly used in consumer product packaging and medical devices) is a major source of dioxin. Dioxins are also formed as byproducts of chemical processes involving chlorine, such as the manufacture of pesticides and the bleaching of paper.

Two of the most serious health effects of dioxin exposure are cancer and endocrine disruption. The petrochemicals that are so pervasive in our environment have especially adverse effects on rapidly growing fetuses and infants. Laboratory animals exposed before birth to one form of dioxin displayed physical deformities, retarded growth, and changes in physiology. Adverse effects on learning and behavior were also evident.

Many of the most studied plastics and other petroleum products are synthetic hormone disruptors known as xenoestrogens. They mimic the effects of estrogen in the body and disrupt normal hormone function and balance. “Xenoestrogen,” means it’s like the female hormone estrogen, except for two things: 1) it’s foreign to the body, which is what “xeno” means, and 2) it is way more harmful than our natural estrogen for everyone, male and female. Breast cancers are much more of a risk in women who carry a high burden of xenoestrogens, and both sexes are subject to a huge range of other harmful health effects.

Xenoestrogens come from factories, not food. But they wind up in food because they get into the environment, where toxic organic pollutants like DDT can persist for more than 50 years. Even pesticides banned in the US can make their way back to our homes by way of imported fruits, vegetables, and flowers. Xenoestrogens are found in most plastic products, most commonly in bottled water. If you’ve ever wondered why so many women (and often men) nowadays have huge breasts, little girls are developing at younger and younger ages, PMS is rampant, and breast cancer rates are soaring, look at the incredible amounts of petrochemicals we are pouring into our environment every day, and pay attention.

Hormonal compounds disrupt the endocrine system of both animals and humans. Exposure to these molecules, even at low concentrations, can have severely damaging effects on the environment, to organisms, and to humans. The cumulative effect of these compounds is difficult to estimate. They are an immense danger to the environment and to the human population

Over the last 20 years, breast cancer alone has claimed more American lives than the Vietnam war , the Korean war, World War I, and World War II combined. Cancer mortality has risen from 5% of American deaths a hundred years ago to 25% today. Overall lifetime cancer rates for Americans have risen from one in four people in 1960 to 1 in 2 for men and more than 1 in 3 for women. When so many petroleum products and derivatives are known carcinogens, it’s hard not to see a connection.

Every hour Americans use and discard 2.5 million plastic bottles, totaling 22 billion a year. The polycarbonate that these bottles are made from releases a chemical known as bisphenol A, also know as BPA. A full 90% of government studies found harmful health effects especially to children and expecting moms, and also for male sexuality and reproduction.

Men exposed to pesticides (also made from petrochemicals which disrupt hormones) are far more likely to have defective sperm and low sperm counts than men who are not exposed. This is even true for men who do not work on or live next to farms but are likely exposed to pesticides in drinking water. The male sperm count worldwide has diminished an astonishing 50% in the last 60 years. This is unheard of in the entire history of humankind. What will happen in the next 60 years if we continue on this destructive path?

The most far-reaching effects of hormone disrupters from petrochemicals are birth defects and miscarriages. Another effect is a disruption of beta cell function in the pancreas, which creates a pre-diabetes type condition of high blood insulin and insulin resistance.

If breast milk from American women were bottled and sold commercially, it would be banned by the US Food and Drug Administration because it is contaminated with more than 100 industrial chemicals, including dioxins and pesticides. This is still less toxic than baby formula laced with refined sugar and chemicals stored in a can with a plastic coating.

Petrochemicals tend to accumulate in body fat. The most notorious petrochemical in body fat is polystyrene; studies have shown that virtually all people in the United States carry polystyrene in their body fat. The International Agency for the Research on Cancer has classified styrene as possibly carcinogenic to humans. Possibly?

In a study in Mexico, pesticide-exposed children were less proficient at catching a ball, had lower stamina levels, more trouble remembering things, and were less able to draw accurate drawings of people. This study is one of many documenting the negative effects of petroleum products on the brain. However the overall effects of exposure to pesticides, plastics, and air pollution remain largely unstudied. Most of these chemicals have never been tested at all.

Every year over 5,500 people in the US die from asthma.. This rise can be traced to increased environmental pollution, from both household sources, industrial, and motor vehicle pollution. Also implicated are the plastics and other petroleum products used in homes and buildings, such as carpeting and insulation. The “outgassing” of plastics used in building products creates serious indoor air quality issues which are known to cause increases in asthma and other serious allergic reactions.

Common sense dictates that the human body was not designed to consume petrochemicals. So why are we putting petrochemicals in our foods? Why are we slathering them all over our bodies so they can be absorbed through the skin? Why are we breathing them in and giving them to our precious babies to chew on? Why are we pouring petrochemicals by the ton on our crops, yards and water supplies? Why are we mindlessly destroying our environment, our health and our futures?

It is time we became aware of the toxins, endocrine disruptors and carcinogens that we are producing by the ton every day. What do you see for the future of this beautiful Earth if we continue with this mindless destruction?

Resources:

Our Stolen Future: Are We Threatening Our Fertility, Intelligence and Survival? A Scientific Detective Story.

Lives Per Gallon: The True Cost of Our Oil Addiction

The Carbon War: Global Warming and the End of the Oil Era

The End of Nature

FREE DOWNLOAD HealthBookSummaries:Appetite For Profit:How the Food Industry Undermines Our Health

Humans have been living on this Earth for at least four million years. The sun has been shining for about 4.6 billion years and it has been shining on our Earth for most of that time. Strangely, no animal ever contracted skin cancer from being out in the sun and humans rarely did until about 50 years ago.

We have been told that this increase in skin cancer is due to a “hole” in the ozone layer. Actually there is no “hole”. However, the ozone layer is thinning in some areas, predominately at the South Pole in the fall and winter seasons. The ozone layer, approximately 10 kilometers (6 miles) above the earth, acts as a shield to prevent dangerous radiation from reaching the biosphere. There is also a minor amount of thinning in the northern hemisphere and little or none in the tropics.

The incidence of all forms of skin cancer are highest in the tropics, where there is virtually no thinning of the ozone layer.

In 1991 Professor Johan Moan of the Norwegian Cancer Institute found that the yearly incidence of melanoma in Norway had increased by 350% for men and by 440% for women between 1957 and 1984. He also determined that there had been no change in the ozone layer over this period of time. He concludes his report in the British Journal of Cancer by stating: “Ozone depletion is not the cause of the increase in skin cancers”. Unless these folks spent a fair amount of time hanging out in the Antarctic wearing bikinis, he is probably correct.

Skin cancer has increased all over the world, about 90% in the USA during 1974-1990. This skin cancer increase is too large (90%) compared with the expected value (40%) from ozone depletion. Also, cancer does not develop immediately after exposure to the sun. The sunburns may occur within hours; but cancer development and detection may take years or decades. If the depletion of the ozone layer over Antarctica is not causing the huge increase in skin cancer, what is?
It is interesting to note that chemical sunscreen was introduced in the late 1920’s and by 1936 the first commercially available sunscreen product was being sold by L’Oreal. Also, Monsanto began producing artificial chemicals in 1901. Why is this bit of information important?

First, let’s take a look at our skin, and the damage we do to it before we even go out into the sun.

There are an estimated 250 species of bacteria that reside on your skin. They are there for a reason. Sebum, secreted by the sebaceous glands in the skin, is an oily substance composed of wax monoesters, triglycerides, free fatty acids and squalene, and again, it is there for a reason. These bacteria and oily substances PROTECT the skin. We seem to have invented endless ways to destroy this protective barrier; starting with the water we bathe, shower and swim in. A survey by the Environmental Working Group found 141 unregulated chemicals and an additional 119 for which the Environmental Protection Agency has set health-based limits. Most common among the chemicals found were disinfection byproducts, nitrates, chloroform, barium, arsenic and copper, and of course chlorine, fluoride and PCBs , THMs and heavy metals. These chemicals not only strip the skin of its natural protection, they are absorbed through the skin and into the bloodstream where they continue to cause damage.

We also have a tendency to destroy this protective barrier with various chemicals and soaps. We slather our skin with every toxic chemical imaginable, most of which gets absorbed into our bloodstream. There are over 150 cancer-causing chemicals currently used in cosmetics. Although federal law requires products containing these ingredients to carry a written warning label, the FDA does not enforce this law. The FDA claims that these products are safe because they are not consumed orally. Can it be possible that the folks at the FDA are not aware of the many drugs that are administered through the skin because the skin is porous and allows most drugs and chemicals to be absorbed?

You would be amazed to find what the FDA allows to be sold as long as it says, “for external use only.” The assumption is that it will stay external and not be absorbed into the body, so its toxicity is irrelevant. Hello!! Who are we kidding? Sunscreen ingredients absorb into the blood, and most are linked to toxic effects. Some release skin-damaging free radicals in sunlight, some disrupt hormone systems, several are strongly linked to allergic reactions, and others build up in the body or the environment. According to the Environmental Working Group only 15% of 952 products analyzed actually block UVA and UVB radiation, remain stable in sunlight, and contain few toxic chemicals.

Here is a short list of some of the stuff we regularly put on our skin without a second thought. The toxic effects recognized by the FDA are included:

OXYBENZONE (BENZOPHENONE-)
(Active Ingredient)858%Developmental/reproductive toxicity, Violations, Restrictions & Warnings, Allergies/immunotoxicity, Persistence and bioaccumulation, Enhanced skin absorption, Biochemical or cellular level changes

PEG-100 STEARATE 479%Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive), Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs), Contamination concerns

(ETHYLENE OXIDE 1,4DIOXANETRIETHANOLAMINE767%Cancer, Allergies/immunotoxicity, Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive), Contamination concerns

(NITROSAMINES) MICRONIZED ZINC OXIDE
(Active Ingredient)276%Violations, Restrictions & Warnings, Persistence and bioaccumulation, Occupational hazards

TITANIUM DIOXIDE 173%Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive), Occupational hazards, Biochemical or cellular level changes

(HYDROQUINONE)OCTINOXATE (OCTYLMETHOXYCINNAMATE)
OCTINOXATE (ETHYLHEXYL METHOXYCINNAMATE)
(Active Ingredient)478%Allergies/immunotoxicity, Persistence and bioaccumulation, Enhanced skin absorption, Biochemical or cellular level changes

BUTYLPARABEN 477%Developmental/reproductive toxicity, Allergies/immunotoxicity, Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive), Biochemical or cellular level changes.

There are HUNDREDS more but I don’t want to bore you here, just WAKE you up!! Is it logical to cover yourself with this stuff, then go out into the sun and let it bake in? Geez, you can cause untold damage to your largest external organ AND your internal organs simultaneously!

The sun is NOT your enemy! Sure, in some areas at some times you will have to spend less time in the sun to avoid getting burned, but sunlight is VITAL Sunlight allows your body to produce natural vitamin D and increased melatonin, both of which are essential.

Vitamin D levels are linked to survival rates for cancer patients. Those people who live in sunnier southern latitudes and have higher vitamin D levels are less likely to die from cancer than people in northern latitudes.
Rates of major cancers such as colon, lung, breast and prostate increased from north to south, while survival rates decreased from north to south.

Vitamin D may protect against cancer by discouraging out-of-control cell reproduction and hindering the formation of new blood vessels for tumors. Receptors that respond to vitamin D have been found in almost every cell in your body, from your brain to your bones. Optimizing your vitamin D levels, (through safe sun exposure) could help you to prevent as many as 16 different types of cancer including pancreatic, lung, breast, ovarian, prostate, and colon cancers. Vitamin D does not just impact your cancer risk slightly; it can cut your risk by as much as 60 %.

The foods you eat have a tremendous influence over your skin’s sensitivity to sunlight. For example a B vitamin deficiency causes a heightened susceptibility to sunburn. In cultures that rely heavily on corn, such as our culture’s Standard American Diet which is corn-based, vitamin B deficiency is quite common. One of the first signs of niacin deficiency is skin sensitivity to sunlight and eventually the skin becomes rough, thick and dry with some darkly pigmented areas. Although some B vitamins are added to processed foods, they are chemicals, not food, and as such are not absorbed by the body.

The first stage of Pellagra (niacin deficiency) is extreme redness of skin exposed to the sun, this is where the term “redneck” came from, 18^th and 19^th century fieldworkers who were niacin deficient due to eating corn that was improperly processed, like the corn we eat today, except ours is often GENETICALLY MODIFIED also. Just one more reason to eat organic, whole foods.

This is not to say that you should not be cautious. A severe burn is obviously damaging. However, a mild sunburn is not dangerous as long as the skin has been allowed to retain its natural protective barrier and is not marinated in a chemical cocktail. A slight sunburn is your body’s natural way of letting you know that it’s time to get out of the sun, it also helps to remove the outermost layer of dead skin with fresh new skin, thus reducing wrinkles! People pay money for this, it’s called “dermabrasion” and “chemical peels”, you can have it done naturally at no charge by getting a mild sunburn.

Sunlight is vital to almost every living organism, and is our greatest ally in sustaining good health.

If you feel that you really need to use protection, of all brands the highest rated non-toxic sunscreen  is: KEYS SOAP SOLAR RT THERAPEAUTIC SUNBLOCK, SPF 30

Buy the best organic products here:

Quick, picture a cow in your mind…what do you see? If you’re like most people, you’ll picture a cow contentedly grazing in an endless expanse of green grass.

Cows have eaten grass ever since the first cows walked the face of the Earth. This is because they are ruminants. Ruminants eat GRASS. Their digestive systems are designed specifically to digest GRASS.

What happens when you feed a ruminant grains? They gain weight really fast. That’s also what happens when you eat a lot of grains. The problem with a ruminant eating grains is that it makes them sick and quite bloated. So bloated in fact that a hose must be put down their esophagus to relieve the pressure or the cow will die. Of course this causes some amount of stress on the poor cow. The cow also becomes much more prone to disease. Stress and incorrect diet have a tendency to do that. So now we have a fat, miserable, sickly cow who is then given massive amounts of antibiotics just to keep it alive until it can get to the slaughterhouse. Millions of pounds of antibiotics are added to animal feed in the US every year. Animals get more antibiotics than people, and people get a LOT.

An interesting thing about these antibiotics is that they a) screw up the animals intestinal flora, and b) cause antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria to flourish. Even more interesting is that they do the same thing to YOU.

This here picture is of a typical feedlot. These animals are crowded together, fed corn and other far grosser stuff like chicken litter (feces, feathers and bedding) blood, ground up pigs and chickens and of course “downed” animals (just guess), supplemented with antibiotics, and possibly artificial growth hormones.

Corn also causes the rumen to become unnaturally acidic which causes all kinds of problems including diarrhea, bloat, ulcers, liver disease, and weakening of the immune system that leaves the cow vulnerable to other diseases. As the acids cause deterioration of the rumen wall, bacteria enter the bloodstream and collect in the liver causing abcesses.

A corn-fed cow also has a new, acidic environment in its digestive track, unlike the alkaline environment of the grass-fed cow (its natural diet, remember?) Guess what grows well in this acidic environment?
If you guessed:
Escherichia coli 0157 (thats the one that can make people really sick or even dead)
and who wouldn’t …. ? You guessed correctly!!! Oh and there are a few more problems with corn-fed cows::

Measurable amounts of estradiol, progesterone, testosterone, zeranol, trenbolone acetate and melengesterol acetate, all hormones, are found in meat!
These chemicals do not biodegrade, they simply stay around forever causing proven sexual abnormalities in animals and humans.
OK while we’re on a roll here let’s a look at fat. Specifically the fat from a corn-fed versus a grass-fed cow.

Grass-fed cows produce 300 to 400% more conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), a natural and very beneficial fatty acid which your body requires for many purposes, one of which is to fight inflammation. Corn-fed cows on the other hand have insignificant levels of CLA but high levels of omega-3 fat, which promotes heart disease.

Another consideration is the source of the corn, which is quite often GENETICALLY MODIFIED. I will be writing a post on this lovely worldwide experiment/disaster in the near future. It will be my adventure into the ‘horror” genre of writing and it won’t even be fiction! You might just want to switch over to organic and grass-fed now…

Do you know how much of your supermarket meat is treated with carbon monoxide? Probably not, they don’t exactly display this information prominently. Or at all. I think they forget to tell you about the irradiation too. This is to keep filthy meat from sickly cows nice and sort of sterile. Did I mention growth hormones?

All of this pertains to pigs, chickens, turkeys etc, and you can watch the following video (if you can stomach it) to give you some idea of not only the filth and poisons you are ingesting with your meat, but the cruelty involved in the promotion of feedlot animals.

OK, I am not trying to discourage anyone from eating meat, although most of us could cut down. Everybody must make their own personal choices here. I do eat some meat, lots of farm fresh eggs, and I drink only raw milk from grass-fed cows. The thing is, you want to get your meat, eggs, and dairy (milk, ice cream, cheese, etc) from FREE ROAMING GRASS-FED animals. Well in the case of poultry they do eat bugs and some seeds and grain. LETS BOYCOTT THE FILTH, CRUELTY AND TOXINS FROM FEEDLOT ANIMALS. Here are some good books to read:

Pasture Perfect

Fish, Meat and Poultry: Dangers in our Food Supply

Here is where you can get meats from grass-fed animals: Bon Apetit!

The Whole Truth About Weight Loss

Before we get into this, let me tell you a little bit about myself. I am 51 years old and a mother of 7 kids. I am 5’ 3” slim and athletic and about 108 pounds. Now I’m not bragging here, just letting you know that I do know a thing or two about maintaining a healthy weight, even after having a bunch of kids.

The first thing that you need to understand is that most of what you’ve heard about weight loss is bogus. You are just not going to hear the truth, unless you really dig. The truth is not profitable.

Forget the food pyramid, its recommendations of 6 to 11 servings of REFINED carbohydrates is designed to make you fat. This is obvious, as the obesity epidemic came into full swing shortly after the food pyramid “guide” was thrust upon the public, as well as the push to use fake fats, fake sugars, fake foods (see a connection?) and the perfection of the feedlot.

I am not going to go into too many details, otherwise this blog will easily become a book, but I will recommend books that you can read to substantiate my facts. Also, please don’t use the cop-out that your genes are making you fat. Your genes are merely dumb storage facilities that do very little to influence your health. This is GREAT news as otherwise you’d be helpless to do anything about your health, or your weight, which, of course, isn’t true at all. You can read the book The Biology Of Belief: Unleashing The Power Of Consciousness, Matter And Miracles A few other points of interest: the only two species in ALL of nature that become fat are HUMANS AND THEIR DOMESTIC PETS.That should give you a little clue as to what makes you fat, it sure isn’t a natural, wholesome diet of raw foods! First, here’s all the stuff that makes you fat. 1) SODA and SUGAR Soda contains lots of sugar, usually in the form of High Fructose Corn Syrup All sugars cause a rapid rise in blood glucose, however fructose converts to fat more than any other sugar. To compensate for the rapid rise in blood sugar, (more…)

Everyday we are exposed to numerous chemicals, many without even knowing, that wreak havoc upon our health. These chemicals saturate our environment from the air we breathe to the water we drink. They’re in the homes we live in and the products we use for personal use and for cleaning.

Several everyday consumer products are made with toxic chemicals that can’t be found anywhere on the package label.

In one study, 40 household products such as hair coloring, lipstick and paints were tested for toxic chemicals. Out of these 40 products, evidence of the following chemicals was discovered (more…)