GreenRay Solar offers amazingly simple, inexpensive solar panel technology for your home or business

(NaturalNews) Not everyone gets excited about the idea of installing solar panels at their home or business. Sure, solar panels may help to cut costs in the long run and establish some level of “off the grid” self-sufficiency, but they are typically expensive and require complex installation and maintenance efforts. But GreenRay Solar, a Westford, Mass.-based solar company, has developed a revolutionary new integrated, simplified solar technology called the SunSine AC Module that produces up to 25 percent more energy than most current technologies, but at a fraction of the effort and cost. Most photovoltaic (PV) solar systems produce a direct current (DC) electrical charge that requires highly specialized installation and maintenance efforts, which translates into higher costs. According to GreenRay, between 30 and 40 percent of the total cost of most solar systems covers just the laborious design and installation process required by these DC systems. GreenRay’s unique alternating current (AC) system, on the other hand, is simpler and less expensive. Besides being far safer than DC systems, the patented SunSine system is one of the only plug-and-play solar technologies available. Since all the components are integrated into each cell panel, consumers can use as many or as little cells as they want without having to get the system specially calibrated to function properly Each SunSine panel is its own individual appliance, in other words, working fully and completely by itself. But the panels can also be attached to one another very simply, and operate at full capacity in a network as well. In contrast to most DC systems that have to be specially configured based on size and climate to power a single central converter, GreenRay’s system works optimally whether you have one panel or 20 panels, and in any climate conditions. Once attached to the main electrical distribution panel, SunSine AC Modules are configured to good to go right out of the box. Another great thing about the SunSine AC Module system is that, if you produce more energy than you use, the excess power goes back to your energy provider. So not only would you have no electric bill in this scenario, but you would actually get paid for the energy you provide back to your electric utility. To find out more about the SunSine AC Module solar system, please visit: http://www.greenraysolar.com.

Mushrooms made into green packing material

(NaturalNews) It sounds like a futuristic sci fi idea: a non-toxic, earth friendly packing material that grows itself and, after it’s used, makes a great garden compost. But this isn’t fiction — it’s mushrooms. With support from the National Science Foundation (NSF), two former Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute undergraduates, Gavin McIntyre and Eben Bayer, came up with the idea to make a composite of mushroom roots that could be used as a packing foam substitute. Their product, which they dubbed Mycobond, is now hitting the market and, according to a NSF press statement, has several advantages for the environment. First of all, the manufacture of Mycobond requires just one eighth the energy and one tenth the carbon dioxide of traditional foam packing material. In fact, most of the manufacturing process is virtually energy-free with the mycelia (the vegetative parts of the mushrooms which consist of masses of branching, thread-like hyphae) simply growing by digesting agricultural starter material (mostly cotton seed or wood fiber) in a dark, room temperature environment. The growth take place within a molded plastic structure which can be customized for whatever needs to be packed with the mushroom material. That means no energy at all is required for shaping the products. “We don’t manufacture materials, we grow them,” McIntyre explained in a statement to the media. “We’re converting agricultural byproducts into a higher-value product.” The material has another economic benefit as well, he added, because the cost of mushroom packing material isn’t tied to the price fluctuations of synthetic materials that are derived from sources like petroleum. “All of our raw materials are inherently renewable and they are literally waste streams,” McIntyre said. “It’s an open system based on biological materials.” Once fully formed, each Mycobond piece is heat-treated to stop the growth process and then delivered to the customer. Bayer and McIntyre, whose business is called Ecovative, are working to turn the entire process into a packaged kit that will eventually allow shipping facilities, and even homeowners, to grow their own Mycobond materials. With support from NSF, McIntyre and Bayer are also developing an even less energy-intensive method to sterilize the agricultural waste starter material they use. Sterilization is a necessary step for enabling the mycelia to grow because it kills any spores that would compete with the growing-for-packing-material mushrooms. McIntyre and Bayer have been using a steam-heat sterilization process but they’ve now come up with a treatment made from cinnamon-bark oil, thyme oil, oregano oil and lemongrass oil that will allow the Mycobond mushroom product to grow in the open air, instead of their current clean-room environment. “The biological disinfection process simply emulates nature in that it uses compounds that plants have evolved over centuries to inhibit microbial growth,” McIntyre said in a press statement. “The unintended result is that our production floor smells like a pizza shop.” For more information: http://ecovativedesign.com/ http://www.research.gov/

Tocotrienols (rice bran solubles) deliver a powerhouse of plant-based nutrition

(NaturalNews) Among all the superfoods available today, some are quite well known such as acai and spirulina, but others are lesser known even though they offer remarkable nutritional density. One of these “little known” superfoods is rice bran solubles — it’s a super delicious and highly nutritious superfood that delivers a powerhouse of health supporting nutrients. But to understand why it’s so nutritious, you have to first check out the structure of a grain of rice. A grain of rice has three parts: There’s the endosperm , or the energy compartment which is made mostly of carbohydrates. This is what gives the rice seed its calories to grow into a plant. Then there’s the rice germ . This contains the miniature plant embryo which sprouts a tiny plant when the seed germinates. Finally, there’s the rice bran . This is the real nutritional powerhouse of the rice grain — the bran contains proteins, minerals, vitamins and healthy plant-based fats. This is the “nutritional storehouse” of the rice grain, providing the most important nutrients the sprouting rice plant needs to power its immune system, root system, circulatory system and other important plant metabolic functions. See more about rice in this short animation: http://www.riceromp.com/animations/ricecomposition.cfm Commercial rice lacks its natural nutrition White rice lacks the germ and the bran. It’s all removed from commercial white rice because the germ and bran portions of rice typically don’t have much of a shelf life. The potent oils in the rice bran, in particular, tend to go rancid quickly because they are real food, and real food usually has a short expiration. But through a technological innovation that first surfaced in the 1990’s, one pioneering company was able to stabilize rice bran , giving it a long shelf life while maintaining its powerful nutrients. This gave rise to a new superfood called “stabilized rice bran” or, more commonly, “soluble rice bran.” This soluble rice bran superfood contains naturally occurring Vitamin A (Beta Carotene), Vitamin B1 (Thiamin), Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin), Vitamin B3 (Niacin), Vitamin B5 (Pantothenic Acid), Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine), Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid), Vitamin D, Vitamin E, Folic Acid, Biotin, Choline, and Inositol. It also contains naturally occurring Calcium, Potassium, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Iron, Zinc, Manganese, Copper, Iodine and other trace minerals. It does not contain the carbohydrate portion of rice, nor does it contain the fiber. This is basically the nutrients of the rice grain without the carbs and the fiber. Note carefully that these nutrients are not added to the product. These are the natural plant-based vitamins and minerals in their original plant form . And most nutritionists agree that plant-based forms of vitamin and minerals are biologically superior to synthetic forms or rock-based forms (many calcium supplements, for example, are just ground-up sea shells… no wonder those are bad for you!). An amazing taste with a thousand uses in your favorite meals and recipes Beyond the stunning nutritional composition, Rice Bran Solubles taste fantastic. It’s like eating a rich, nutty protein mix of some kind, sort of like a whole-grain Chex cereal but even better. You can literally eat it with a spoon right out of the container. Or you can blend it with any smoothie, sprinkle it on yogurt or natural ice cream, toss a spoon into a bowl of cereal, add it to any bread, crust or pastries, etc. Obviously, it’s better not to cook this because you’ll lose some of the nutrition, but you can cook it if you want (although I prefer to eat it uncooked). People who are into superfoods know all about this product, which is also called Tocotrienols , referring to the full-spectrum E vitamins it delivers. This is one of the most impressive natural sources of high-density superfood nutrition. Combine it with things like spirulina, acai berries and chia seeds, and you have an amazing assortment of nutrients for supporting your good health. Remember, too, a lot of superfoods are rich in plant pigments and vitamin C, but very few superfoods deliver a high amount of vitamin E. Tocotrienols contains full-spectrum vitamin E as well as over 100 additional antioxidants. It’s a powerhouse of real nutrition derived from real food. An amazing discount for NaturalNews readers Everybody who’s into superfoods wants some Tocotrienols. It’s one of the best sources of nutrients like natural vitamin E that aren’t commonly found in other superfoods. (Berries, for example, contain virtually no vitamin E.) If you Google the term “rice bran solubles” right now, you’ll find that companies are selling it online for over $21 for 6.4 ounces. That’s a price of $3.28 per ounce . Because part of my mission with these product review stories is to get you these valuable products at really good prices, we’ve put together a deal so incredibly good, you won’t want to miss it: Right now at the NaturalNews Store, you can get 16 ounces of our Tocotrienols (rice bran solubles) for just $24.95 . If you do the math, that’s $1.56 per ounce , or nearly 54% less than the price you’d find elsewhere. You simply won’t find a better price on this anywhere. We’ve heavily discounted this in order to make it more affordable for NaturalNews readers, and especially to help people try this if they’ve never experienced Tocotrienols before. The price gets even better with a 3-pack: Just $1.40 per ounce when you buy three. Click here to see these specials at the NaturalNews Store right now. This is one of the very best deals you’ll find on a superfood product anywhere. And it’s a superfood you can immediately start to use throughout your own foods as well as your kids’ foods, too! That’s because the taste is kid-friendly. You can even bake this right into cookies or add it to a pancake mix. Yes, it tastes that good. It’s extremely versatile in your favorite recipes, and it increases the nutritional density of almost anything you might add it to. You could be feeding your family superfoods and they wouldn’t even know it! This special price is good while current supplies last at the NaturalNews Store: Click here to see these our store specials now . Also, by the way, we also have a ridiculously good special on organic raw nori sheets (you know, for making sushi rolls): They’re more than 50% off the typical price, and they’re only available while supplies last. Use the link above to see these, too. Why our store success benefits you I’m really happy, by the way, that we can keep bringing you these incredible values on superfoods. Usually customers pay a premium price for foods that are good for you, but through our NaturalNews Store, we’ve done a consistent job of bringing you some of the very best superfoods across the entire industry at prices that are virtually unbeatable. Thank you for your continued support, because the higher volumes we can purchase from suppliers, the better deals we can get to pass on to you. So every time you purchase a product from our store, you help give us the leverage to negotiate even deeper discounts from our suppliers in the future, and that comes back to you in the form of reduced prices, again and again, on the products you love most. That’s our goal: To keep bringing you astonishingly good deals on superfoods that are so good, you’d normally expect to pay double the price. But at the NaturalNews Store, you don’t have to. We make superb nutrition affordable. I can’t wait to see what we’ll have in store for you in the future. Thank you for your continued support.

Healing herbs revealed on NaturalNews Talk Hour

(NaturalNews) This week’s NaturalNews Talk Hour presents “Rainforest Herbs – How to Heal Naturally”. The Amazon Rainforest is one of the richest places on earth. We’ll reveal the most powerful nutritional treasures in the world. Clear your mind, increase your energy and improve your health with a deeper understanding about healing herbs. Click Here to discover 3 powerful healing herbs. (must see video) Our show begins this Thursday evening at 6pm Pacific / 9pm Eastern, and registration is FREE. Simply enter your email address in the registration form on the right column of this page and you’ll receive call-in details for the show. Thank you Jonathan and Mike for the constant feed of life changing and empowering information… All you both do is so greatly appreciated…thank you! – Regina Discover the Amazon Rainforest The Amazon rainforest, also called the “Lungs of Our Planet” is one of the world’s greatest natural resources. Its rich vegetation continuously turns carbon dioxide into oxygen. About 30% of the earth’s oxygen is produced by the Amazon rainforest. The Amazon rainforest gets its name from the Amazon River, the life force of the rainforest. It starts in the Peruvian Andes, and travels east over the northern part of South America. It connects with the Atlantic Ocean in Belem, Brazil. Over 4,000 miles long, the river basin covers nearly 3 million square miles, and goes through Brazil, Columbia, Peru, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, and the three Guyanas. Click Here to discover 3 powerful healing herbs. (must see video) Jonathan Landsman, Host of the Talk Hour says, “Get ready to experience greater clarity of mind, sustainable energy and a stronger immune system. Our next guest, Richard Cicchetti represents a unique blend of experience, wisdom and compassion. We’ll talk about healing, herbs and how to support an eco-friendly lifestyle.” Stop the Insanity Today, over 20% of the Amazon rainforest has been destroyed and is gone forever. Trees are being killed for raising cattle, mining and logging. In the last 50 years, over half of the world’s rainforests have been destroyed by fire and logging. Experts estimate that 130 species of plants, animals, and insects are lost every day. In other words, the rainforest could be completely destroyed in less than 40 years – we must educate ourselves, share this information and prevent its destruction! This week’s guest: Richard Cicchetti, Rainforest Herb Expert Richard Cicchetti – “Rainforest Herbs – How to Heal Naturally” Thu. July 15th Richard Cicchetti, Founder of NATURALUTIONS is dedicated to supporting people in their desire to improve their health and lifestyle. For over 50 years, he has been passionate about nutrition and living green. His ability to teach and support others how to maintain a high level of health and well being will be inspiring for everyone. Get Your FREE Report. LIVE audience members will be offered a FREE gift. Connect with other NaturalNews readers, listen to great health content and have fun with us. Space is limited. Be sure to call a few minutes early to reserve your spot on the show. Register now using the email form in the right column, and you will be emailed show details. Register Now!

Several Grounds That Make Nos Energy Drink Becomes The Most Preferred Drink

Nos energy drink is very popular among ordinary people that even school children will know what it is by name. The product is keen on being on the limelight and the manufacturers have, quite successfully, used merchandising methodologies to hold them in the upper rankings.
However, the question on everybody s mind is whether it is [...]

Texas leads the pack in wind power generation

(NaturalNews) The race to develop alternative energy sources to offset traditional ones has been intensifying as states look to take advantage of federal incentives. Wind energy in particular is quickly becoming a hot new market, and none other than Texas is ahead of the game in this particular sector. Texas tops Iowa, Washington and California in wind energy generation, harboring a capacity of nearly 10,000 megawatts in 2009. According to data, roughly five percent of Texas energy is now produced by wind, an impressive statistic considering that it has been achieved in less than a decade. When Texas first deregulated electricity in 1999, it established a requirement that 2,000 megawatts of power be derived from wind by 2009. It was the first state to make such a move. Texas achieved , and exceeded , this goal by 2005, and is set to reach production of 10,000 megawatts of renewable energy by 2025. Texas’ Public Utility Commission is currently working on constructing a matrix of new transmission lines across the state that will accommodate the full capacity of the state’s wind power potential. Since the grid can only handle a certain amount of wind energy in its current format, the system has to be expanded in order to handle the load. The network is expected to be finished sometime between 2013 and 2015, and by the time it reaches completion, it will be able to handle up to 18,000 megawatts of wind power at its peak output. But because wind energy can be fickle, literally “changing with the wind,” it is difficult to rely solely on it for energy production. But Texas is forging the way in developing technologies that help to forecast the weather and control the storage of wind energy to accommodate changing weather patterns. Interestingly, Texas is having considerable success with wind because it cut itself off from the rest of the nation during the New Deal of the 1930s. While other states were partnering to share energy and transmission lines with one another, Texas exempted itself from partnerships and remained independent. Other energy providers in Texas are not so pleased with the success of wind power, particularly because it is heavily subsidized by federal grants that keep it artificially inexpensive. Many of them, including natural gas providers, are having a tough time competing and think that wind energy should have to survive on its own without the need for subsidies. They also believe that wind energy providers should help pay for the cost of meeting reserve requirements when the wind is not blowing. Basically, the consensus is that the wind industry should have to abide by the same standards as everyone else in the energy sector. The good news is that legislators are working with the industry to establish fair guidelines that will keep everyone happy and allow for the continued growth of clean, renewable energy. Sources for this story include: http://www.nytimes.com/cwire/2010/04/08/08climatewire-is-texas-writing-the-book-on-wind-power-35036.html

Corporate atrocities against nature may ultimately destroy human civilization

(NaturalNews) What’s most striking about the present BP oil catastrophe is not that it is an aberration but rather part of a dangerous pattern of mankind’s propensity to destroy nature. To destroy life in a large region of an ocean isn’t even new: The world already has over two hundred “dead zones” where fish can’t live because the ocean water has no more oxygen left thanks to the runoff effects of man-made chemicals. Not content with mere deforestation and the vast destruction of biodiversity on land, Man has now expanded to destroy the oceans through overfishing, ocean acidification from CO2 emissions, agricultural runoff, flushing pharmaceuticals down the drain and unleashing crude oil directly into the ocean waters. It almost seems as if mankind were somehow bent on destroying itself by first destroying everything else on the planet just to see what happens. Human beings, by any honest accounting, are repeat offenders engaged in crimes against nature . This article, by the way, isn’t some clever way to try to push us all toward a U.N.-controlled world government where every human action is regulated by environmental cops; it’s merely an observation of what’s really happening right now on our planet. I’m a Constitutionalist and remain strongly opposed to UN control as much as any properly-informed American. In no way do I support suppressing our individual freedoms or liberties. In fact, the problems here are not with the People but rather with the corporations . The criminal corporations It is the corporations that are committing these crimes against nature: Big Pharma’s mass poisoning of the waters, BP’s oil catastrophe crime against the planet in the Gulf Coast, the manufacture of Depleted Uranium shells by wealthy “defense” contractors, factory farming by meat producers, the poisoning of our farms by Monsanto and its campaign to dominate nature with genetically modified seeds… you get the picture. If you really look hard at the issues, it’s the corporations who are destroying our planet and thereby destroying future survivability for the rest of us. It is the corporations, in essence, that are the criminals who are now destroying the very world around us, and if We the People continue to let these corporations engage in such actions, it won’t be long before we wake up and find ourselves enslaved in a Corporatocracy that has stolen from us the very world in which we had hoped to raise our children. What is abundantly clear now is that corporations will do anything to make money, from the cruel and inhumane factory farming of cows to dumping millions of gallons of toxic chemicals in the ocean to try to sink the dead sea animals in the Gulf. Corporations would set fire to the entire planet if that act could somehow boost profits by 50% next quarter. The unbridled greed that drives these corporations is simply incompatible with sustainable life on our planet. Through their careless, greed-driven actions, corporations are threatening YOUR life and the lives of your children. I say enough is enough. An armed revolt against the corporations? There is already some mainstream talk about arresting the CEO of British Petroleum for his crimes against nature. It will never happen, of course, because these corporations wield too much power over government entities. We’ve seen it time and time again: Corporations are almost never held accountable for their crimes. It is becoming increasingly clear that any action to hold these corporations accountable for their actions must come from the People — most likely in the form of a dedicated revolt, or perhaps even an armed “mass citizens’ arrest” of the corporate criminals. Imagine ten thousand armed, angry citizens from Texas, Louisiana and Florida converging on the BP headquarters in Houston, led by a local Sheriff, marching in and arresting all the top CEOs of British Petroleum. That’s the kind of action that needs to start taking place if any justice is ever to be found in our modern world of corporate corruption and government collusion. When it comes to corporate crimes, the justice system has utterly failed. The corporations that commit crimes are almost never held responsible. Consider the aftermath of the Goldman Sachs fiasco in 2008 – 2009, when Wall Street banksters ripped off the American people to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars, and then got bailed out by the U.S. government with trillions of dollars in gift money. How is that justice? Similarly, after drug giant Pfizer was found to have committed massive marketing fraud that violated federal law, the company was deemed “too big to fail” and was simply given a free pass by the government to stay in business, defrauding customers, states and nations. Pfizer set up a shell company to take the fall for its crimes, then went right back to business as usual. Read the story on CNN if you want to learn more: http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/04/02/pfizer.bextra/index.html As CNN reports: Imagine being charged with a crime, but an imaginary friend takes the rap for you. That is essentially what happened when Pfizer, the world’s largest pharmaceutical company, was caught illegally marketing Bextra, a painkiller that was taken off the market in 2005 because of safety concerns. When the criminal case was announced last fall, federal officials touted their prosecution as a model for tough, effective enforcement. “It sends a clear message” to the pharmaceutical industry, said Kevin Perkins, assistant director of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division. But beyond the fanfare, a CNN Special Investigation found another story, one that officials downplayed when they declared victory. It’s a story about the power major pharmaceutical companies have even when they break the laws intended to protect patients…” Whether it’s Big Pharma, Big Oil, Big Food or Big Agriculture, every large and powerful corporations gets away with murder because laws are never properly applied to them. BP is destroying an entire ocean — and the livelihoods of millions of people — and will probably get off with a large fine and a slap on the wrist. In two years, it will all be back to business as usual, polluting the oceans, destroying life and ignoring safety rules and regulations once again while the American people suffer. More dangerous than terrorists Corporations are a greater threat to our lives than terrorists . That much should be clear by now: When corporations poison our food supply with toxic chemical ingredients; when they poison our bodies with fraudulently-marketed pharmaceuticals; when they poison our oceans with careless oil drilling… they are threatening our lives and our livelihoods. They are destroying the only world we know, and they are proving themselves to be far more dangerous to our collective future than any terrorist organization. The real terrorists, it turns out, have “Inc.” after their name. And if we really want to go after the terrorists who present a clear and present danger to our health and lives, we must rise up against the corporate machine that now controls our media, our food, our sick-care system, our patents, our elected officials and our energy. We must gather our forces to make legally-justified citizens’ arrests of those at the top who are responsible for these atrocities against nature and the People. We must unite out of a common desire for survival against the corporate criminals who are destroying our very futures as we speak. We must seek the aid of the local Sheriffs, Constables and community law enforcement officials who would join us in making these arrests, and then we must march on the corporate headquarters of these criminal corporations, right through their front doors and into their corporate offices where arrests will be made at gunpoint. And why gunpoint? Because corporations do not respect law, nor ethics, nor morality, nor compassion towards others. They only respect one thing: force . So we must reluctantly use force — backed by the common sense of common law — to make these corporations stop destroying our planet and our livelihoods. I’m not saying we march in there and shoot them; I’m saying we march in and arrest them and bring them to trial in local courts, with local jurors who can make local commonsense decisions about what to do with these criminal corporate executives. The feds cannot be trusted on this. We must deal with these corporations on a local level, with the widespread support of the everyday people whose lives are being destroyed by these corporations. The extinction of the human race This is more than just holding corporations accountable for specific crimes such as poisoning the Gulf Coast; it’s about our very survival . We’re not merely talking about small, local damage to specific regions or industries here — we are talking about the possibility of the extinction of the human race. If the world’s powerful corporations are allowed to continue operating as they have done, they will destroy our world and cause the collapse of human civilization . We cannot survive when suffocated under a cloud of chemical toxicity, financial fraud, genetically-modified seeds and widespread environmental destruction. Corporations are incapable of acting within the guidelines of long-term sustainable living. Their power and reach are now so great that they have the capacity to destroy modern civilization (which is quite fragile already). Rising up against the corporations now means fighting for our very survival . What BP has made as clear as day is that we must now make a choice: We can choose to appease powerful corporations and exempt them from any real enforcement of rules, regulations or common sense; or we can take a stand against them, arrest their top executives, shut down their operations, revoke their corporate charters and set course in a new world without the destructive influence of endless greed backed by incessant profit-taking. The worship of profit has become a scourge on human civilization. Unbridled greed is now our curse. “Economic activity”, taken as a lone figure without the context in which it was generated, holds no measure of real value, and it should never been pursued for its own sake. We must now shift our consciousness to a new era of the protection of life . We must value quality of life , not imaginary numbers in a bank account, and quality of life is a complex, interdependent equation that necessarily involves the sustaining of all the diverse ecosystems that now remain on our planet. For humans to live sustainably, happily and abundantly, we must stop destroying nature and start protecting it. We must be its steward, not its exploiter. And those corporations engaged in the mass destruction or poisoning of living ecosystems must be courageously arrested as criminals and prosecuted for their crimes against both the People and the planet. There is no other way that we will survive the next century. Poisoning our planet on such a massive scale in an inexcusable act. We the People will either rise up against it, or we shall be destroyed by it. I, for one, am willing to fight for our survival. Because I don’t want human civilization to just be a sorry footnote in the history of life on planet Earth.

Study shows how radiation causes breast cancer

(NaturalNews) It’s well-established that exposure to ionizing radiation can trigger mutations and other genetic damage and cause normal cells to become malignant. So it seems amazing how mainstream medicine frequently dismisses the idea that medical imaging tests from mammograms to CT scans could play much of a role in causing breast cancer. Take this example from the web site for Cornell University’s Program on Breast Cancer and Environmental Risk Factors: In answer to the question “Is ionizing radiation a cause of breast cancer?”, the Cornell experts say “Yes” and note “.. female breast tissue is highly susceptible to radiation effects.” But then they pooh-pooh the possible hazard from mammography x-rays saying the risk …”should not be a factor in individual decisions to undergo this procedure. The same is true for most diagnostic x-ray procedures.” If that’s not confusing enough, they turn around and state: “Nonetheless, unnecessary radiation exposures should be avoided and continued vigilance is required to ensure that the benefits associated with specific procedures outweigh the future risks.” Why radiation causes breast cancer Common sense suggests there is plenty of reason to be worried about radiation causing breast cancer. And now there’s a new reason to be concerned. Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have discovered that radiation exposure can alter cells’ microenvironment (the environment surrounding cells). And that greatly raises the odds future cells will become cancerous. The reason is that signals from a cell’s microenvironment, altered by radiation exposure, can cause a cell’s phenotype (made up of all its biochemical and physical characteristics) to change by regulating or de-regulating the way a cell uses its genes. The result can be a cell that not only becomes pre-cancerous but that passes this pre-malignant condition on to future cells. “Our work shows that radiation can change the microenvironment of breast cells, and this in turn can allow the growth of abnormal cells with a long-lived phenotype that have a much greater potential to be cancerous,” Paul Yaswen, a cell biologist and breast cancer research specialist with Berkeley Lab’s Life Sciences Division, said in a statement to the press. “Many in the cancer research community, especially radiobiologists, have been slow to acknowledge and incorporate in their work the idea that cells in human tissues are not independent entities, but are highly communicative with each other and with their microenvironment,” he added. For their study, Yaswen and his research teams used human mammary epithelial cells (HMECs), the cells that line breast ducts, where most breast cancers start. When placed in a culture dish, the vast majority of HMECs display a phenotype that allows them to divide between five and 20 times until they become what is known as senescent, or unable to divide. However, there are also some variants of these cells which have a phenotype that allows them to continue dividing for many weeks in culture. Known as a vHMEC phenotype, this type of breast cell arises spontaneously and is more susceptible to malignancy because it lacks a tumor-suppressing protein dubbed p16. To find out what radiation exposure does to the cellular environment and how it could impact the future of cell behavior, the Berkeley Lab scientists grew sets of HMECs from normal breast tissue in culture dishes for about a week. Then they zapped each set with a single treatment of a low-to-moderate dose of radiation and compared the irradiated cells to sets of breast cells that had not been irradiated. The results, just published in the on-line journal Breast Cancer Research , showed that four to six weeks after the radiation exposure, the normal breast cancer cells had stopped dividing far earlier than they would have normally — and this premature cell senescence had accelerated the outgrowth of vHMECS. “However, by getting normal cells to prematurely age and stop dividing, the radiation exposure created space for epigenetically altered cells that would otherwise have been filled by normal cells. In other words, the radiation promoted the growth of pre-cancerous cells by making the environment that surrounded the cells more hospitable to their continued growth,” Yaswen explained in the press statement. The researchers pointed out that the levels of radiation used in their experiments were not as much as a woman would be exposed to during a single routine mammogram but were comparable to those a woman could receive during a CT scans or radiotherapy “and could represent sources of concern.” Of course, women are often pushed to get annual mammograms, raising their overall radiation exposure through the years. And, as NaturalNews has reported, previous research has already provided compelling evidence linking mammography to breast cancer. For example, a report published in the Journal of the American Medical Association’s Archives of Internal Medicine found that the start of screening mammography programs throughout Europe has been associated with increased incidence of breast cancer (http://www.naturalnews.com/024901.html). And a Johns Hopkins study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute concluded radiation exposure from mammograms could trigger malignancies in women at risk for genetic breast cancer (http://www.naturalnews.com/025560_cancer_brst_cancer_mammograms.html). For more information: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20146798 http://envirocancer.cornell.edu/factsheet/physical/fs52.radiation.cfm#mammog

Top new whole food bars

(NaturalNews) The market for food bars is seemingly endless. Countless companies now produce bars which they claim are the best, most wholesome bars available. But which ones are truly everything they say they are? This year, several companies have unveiled new lines of food bars that are worthy of mention. These bars are free of genetically-modified ingredients (GMOs), artificial sweeteners and processed fillers, and are either completely or mostly organic. None of them contain any refined sugars or artificial sweeteners. The companies that produce these bars have demonstrated a genuine commitment to honesty in both the way they conduct business and the methods by which they produce their products. This means sourcing ingredients of the highest quality and nutritional content and maintaining operations that are environmentally-friendly. This is by no means an exhaustive list, but it does represent some of the most impressive new whole food bars available. They were evaluated primarily based on taste, nutritional content and ingredient quality. It is also important to note that the companies represented here did not pay for these endorsements. These products truly are some of the best in their class and we simply want to share this valuable information with our readers. Greens Plus 22 Days Energy Bars To complement its already stellar lineup of energy and food bars, the makers of Greens Plus are introducing a new line of certified organic, vegan energy bars called “22 Days”. Hatched from the notion that it takes 21 days to break a habit (and thus 22 to start a new one), these delicious bars are made with raw, organic superfoods. They are gluten-, dairy- and soy-free and come in four flavors: Cherry Chocolate Bliss, Enlightened Pumpkinseed, Goji Mate Firecracker and Daily Mocha Mantra. The bars contain between six and eleven grams of hemp and rice protein each depending on the type. They are lightly sweetened with things like organic raw agave syrup and organic tropical blossom honey. Organic evaporated cane juice is also used in the flavors containing chocolate. The bars are also rich in various raw, organic superfoods like goji berries, almonds, hemp seeds, pumpkin seeds, cashews and dates. Overall, these bars taste amazing. They are not too sweet and each variety is rich in flavor. In other words, you can actually taste the luscious ingredients and not be overpowered with too much of one ingredient, too much sweet or too much salt. Also, 22 Days bars are made using sunflower lecithin, an excellent alternative to soy lecithin. For more information, please visit www.22daysnutrition.com. Sequel Naturals Vega Food Bars Brendan Brazier, formulator of the Vega product line, is passionate about his line of products, which includes his whole food bars. These bars are mostly raw, plant-based and alkaline-forming. This year’s newest offering, the Vibrancy bar, is a unique new bar that is raw, organic and enzymatically-active. Like all Vega bars, the Vibrancy bar is plant-based, but what sets it apart from the others is its sprouted ingredients like buckwheat and almonds which add a unique enzymatic element. Vega Vibrancy bars are loaded with essential fatty acid (EFA) oils like hemp seed oil, flax seed oil, pumpkin oil, coconut oil, green tea seed oil, pomegranate seed oil, and many others. They also contain a rich array of green foods like spirulina, wheat grass, dulce, kelp, chia and kale. They are very lightly sweetened and rich in complex flavor, making them a welcomed alternative to many of the other food bars available on the market. For more information, please visit www.sequelnaturals.com/vega. Macro Greens Superfood Bars The makers of Macro Greens and Macro Reds superfood supplement powders have come up with some delicious new food bars that combine powerful, whole food ingredients with great taste. Each raw, organic bar contains either Macro Greens or Macro Reds as well as a host of other nutritious ingredients like brazil nuts and dates. They are also chock full of probiotics, antioxidants, herbs, fiber and enzymes. Free of corn, soy, wheat, GMOs and preservatives, these bars are healthy and alkalizing. They are gently sweetened and rich in flavor and come in three delicious flavors: Lemon Ginger, Berri Berri, and Chocolate and Cinnamon. For more information, please visit www.macrolifenaturals.com. Betty Lou’s Just Great Stuff Bars Betty Lou’s new line of Just Great Stuff bars are loaded with delicious blends of organic fruits, vegetables and nuts. The fruits and vegetables have been freeze-dried, which according to Betty, is a superior method of delivery that ensures the preservation of delicate nutrients. Betty also uses sunflower lecithin rather than soy lecithin in the bars that contain lecithin. Just Great Stuff bars are gluten-free and vegan, and they contain strong antioxidant ingredients like cacao, acai and goji berries. They are also USDA certified organic. For more information, please visit www.bettylousinc.com.

Top soy-free protein bars

(NaturalNews) When it comes to finding the right protein bar to supplement a healthy lifestyle, it can be difficult to find one that is soy-free. Many health-conscious individuals have decided to skip the soy because, in its unfermented state, it mimics estrogen in the body. Excessive amounts of it, especially in men, can be detrimental to hormones and ultimately to health. Aside from organic, most conventional soy is also genetically-modified (GMO), which causes health problems of its own. However finding premium quality, soy-free protein bars can be a challenge since many of the ones available on the market tend to contain protein that is at least partially composed of soy, if not entirely. So where can one find a soy-free protein bar that is both nutritious and delicious? Organic Food Bar Organic Food Bar is one of the best food bar companies in the industry. It sources the highest quality ingredients for its various food bars, one of which contains a whopping 22 grams of protein per bar. The protein in the Organic Food Bar Protein variety comes primarily from almond butter and brown rice protein, both of which are organic. In fact, everything in the bar is organic, including the dates, sesame seeds, agave nectar, Bio Sprouts and Biodynamic raisins. The company emphasizes the fact that its ingredients are the cream of the crop and are purchased fresh every month , only the best ingredients are used to produce its delicious bars. Organic Food Bar’s entire lineup is impressive, as is the fact that this company was one of the first to create organic food bars. The bars are delicious, lightly-sweetened and nutritionally superior to many of the other bars out there. For more information, please visit www.organicfoodbar.com. Perfect Foods Bars Another excellent food bar is the Perfect Foods Bar, a line of food bars created by Dr. Bud Keith, a nutritionist, and his wife Barbara. They originally developed their bars as a healthy snack for both themselves and their 13 children. Perfect Foods Bars are handmade with organic peanut butter, organic raw untreated honey, a soy-free protein blend, an array of whole food powders, and a handful of healthy oils rich in essential fatty acids (EFAs). The bars are gluten- and soy-free, contain no refined sugar, and are alkaline-forming. They also contain an excellent 2:1 ratio of omega-3s to omega-6s. The bars do contain milk and egg proteins in addition to rice protein, so they are not suitable for vegans. However they have a high ratio of protein to carbohydrates and are great for non-vegans. The bars tends to be somewhat sweeter than some other brands, but the sugar content is comparable with the others in its category. The company plans to release an almond butter-based bar this summer. For more information, please visit www.perfectfoodsbar.com. Sequel Naturals Vega Whole Food Bars The Sequel Naturals Vega line of whole food bars is a nutritional powerhouse that packs a decent protein punch. While not as rich in protein as the other brands, the bars have a decent amount of protein and exceptionally high nutritional content. Vega’s Whole Food Vibrancy Bars have nine grams of protein per bar while its Whole Food Energy Bars have ten grams of protein per bar. Both bars are loaded with plant-based nutrients, enzymes, antioxidants, EFAs, probiotics and fiber. These are one of the most potent superfood bars on the market. For more information, please visit www.sequelnaturals.com/vega.

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