Hundreds of beef cattle contaminated by Fukushima radiation have been shipped all over Japan, inspection finds

(NaturalNews) The Fukushima Prefecture, a roughly 5,300 square mile region in Japan where the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear facility is located, recently conducted an area-wide inspection of local farms after discovering levels of radioactive cesium three-to-six times higher than maximum safety thresholds in some beef cattle. To their surprise, they also found that 14 different farms throughout the region had shipped 554 heads of cattle across Japan that had eaten highly-radioactive rice straw. According to reports, the rice straw eaten by the cattle contained up to 500 times more radioactive cesium than the legal limit. And these cattle had been shipped to ten different Japanese prefectures, including Tokyo and Hyogo, which represent two of the most highly populated regions in the nation. Many farmers allegedly did not get the memo that continuing to feed cattle with straw, grass, and other feed exposed to open air was dangerous, and that it had been discouraged by the Japanese government. “It was announced soon after the disaster when there was neither electricity nor gasoline and roads were disrupted,” said Jiro Ohsaki, an official from the Fukushima prefecture government, concerning the apparent misunderstanding among farmers in the area concerning radioactive feed. “[S]ome farmers did not understand that the category of grass and other feed includes rice straw.” The Fukushima prefecture plans to inspect all 4,000 of Fukushima’s cattle farms by August 3. The central government in Japan also plans to implement restrictions on beef cattle shipments following the disturbing discovery. Back in April, NaturalNews reported that the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had found radiation in US milk supplies that exceeded EPA maximums by as much as 2000 percent (http://www.naturalnews.com/032048_radiation_milk.html). And various other reports indicated that radiation had also been found in rainwater, leafy greens, tea, and seafood in various parts of the world (http://www.naturalnews.com/Fukushima.html). Though the mainstream media seems to have all but forgotten about the Fukushima disaster and its ongoing consequences, radioactive fallout continues to be a problem throughout Japan, and likely throughout other parts of the world — including the US — as well. Sources for this story include: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/18/us-japan-nuclear-idUSTRE76F09J20110718

Watermelons explode in China as farmers apply too many growth chemicals to their crops

(NaturalNews) Beyond melamine in the powdered milk and plastic in the rice, Chinese farmers have managed to achieve a little more food history with a new chemical monstrosity: Exploding watermelons . This was accomplished by applying a chemical growth promoter to the melons. A day later, one farmer saw 180 watermelons explode. Other farmers lost up to two-thirds of their watermelon crops as the melons exploded in the field. The growth chemical used on watermelons is also used on grapes and other crops, even in the United States, by the way. It’s called forchlorfenuron , and research shows that it is implicated in human cancers and neurological disorders (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18713753). It’s routinely used on melons and other crops grown in China. Any chemical for an extra dollar of profit China is best known around the world for using any chemical whatsoever — no matter how toxic — to make an extra buck. In China, clever hucksters will use black dye to paint regular sesame seeds so they look like black sesame seeds which bring a premium price. When harvesting rare fish that fetch a high price per pound, Chinese fishermen have been known to inject the fish with mercury to increase their weight. The Communist Chinese culture, which utterly lacks any ethics, religion, spirituality or any principles of respecting life, is the source of all this food insanity. The culture is very similar to modern-day conventional scientists in America who also believe there is no such thing as consciousness, free will, spirit or soul (http://www.naturalnews.com/032359_The_God_Within_documentary.html). Without any belief in religion, karma or a spiritual existence after death, Chinese farmers have no philosophical foundation from which to respect life. This is why China is poisoning itself in a sea of toxic chemicals . This is why Chinese powdered milk producers will poison their own neighbors by putting melamine in the mix. This is also why China will soon give rise to a generation of mutants suffering from widespread infertility and physical deformities. Mainland Chinese rivers are so toxic that no one dare bathe in them anymore. You’d probably die from convulsions. The land is heavily sprayed with obscene quantities of toxic pesticides, fungicides and growth accelerators. While there are certified organic suppliers in China who are legitimately cultivating healthful foods, the bulk of the food and supplements coming out of China are so extremely toxic that eating them is risking death. That watermelons are exploding in the fields there is no surprise. The real surprise is that Chinese couples are still able to have babies at all. Give it another generation and that may no longer be the case.

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.

Eat brown rice to prevent high blood pressure, lower heart attack risk

(NaturalNews) The rate of cardiovascular disease is much lower in Japan than in the U.S. and now scientists at the Cardiovascular Research Center and Department of Physiology at Temple University School of Medicine in Philadelphia think they know why. People in Japan eat rice virtually every day and rice — especially the brown and only partially “polished” varieties — contains a natural compound that appears to guard against high blood pressure and heart disease. Brown rice is already well known as a healthy food choice because it’s a good source of fiber, B vitamins and other nutrients. But new research just presented by Temple University researcher Satoru Eguchi at the American Physiological Society’s Experimental Biology conference held in Anaheim, California, reveals another powerful health benefit. A specific natural compound found in a layer of tissue surrounding grains of brown rice inhibits an endocrine protein known as angiotensin II. In excess, angiotensin II can trigger serious cardiovascular problems. This is enormously significant news because angiotensin II is a well documented culprit in the development of hypertension and atherosclerosis. Angiotensin II constricts arteries, increases blood pressure and forces the heart to work harder. It also thickens and stiffens the walls of the heart and blood vessels. Big Pharma has created a huge industry producing angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) — prescription drugs that lower blood pressure by putting the brakes on angiotensin II. Sold under brand names such as Atacand, Teveten, Avapro and Cozaar, the medications are designed to block angiotensin II, thereby relaxing blood vessels so blood pressure is lowered. But the side effects of these drugs can be serious and even deadly. They include fetal harm (possibly death) if the drugs are taken during pregnancy, dizziness, blurred vision, fainting, decreased sexual ability, infection, chest pain, swelling, trouble breathing and more. The new discovery about rice indicates brown rice or even half-milled rice could be a natural, side-effect free angiotensin II blocker. Dr. Eguchi, an associate professor of physiology, and his colleagues investigated the subaleurone layer of Japanese rice. Located between the white center of the grain and the brown fibrous outer layer, this sub-layer of rice is loaded with oligosaccharides (complex carbohydrates known to benefit the digestive system) and dietary fibers. But when brown rice is polished to turn it into white rice, this subaleurone layer is ripped off, taking away some of the nutrients. However, the subaleurone layer is preserved not only in brown rice but also in two types of rice popular in Japan — half-milled (Haigamai) rice or incompletely-milled (Kinmemai) rice. The Temple research team, working with conjunction with scientists at the Wakayama Medical University Department of Pathology and the Nagaoka National College of Technology Department of Materials Engineering in Japan, removed subaleurone tissue from Kinmemai rice and ran a variety of lab tests that demonstrated the components of this rice layer inhibited angiotensin II activity in cultured vascular smooth muscle cells. Bottom line: the subaleurone rice layer could offer powerful protection against high blood pressure and atherosclerosis by blocking the endocrine protein that can trigger those conditions. “Our research suggests that there is a potential ingredient in rice that may be a good starting point for looking into preventive medicine for cardiovascular diseases,” Dr. Eguchi said in a media statement. “We hope to present an additional health benefit of consuming half-milled or brown rice (as opposed to white rice) as part of a regular diet.” For more information : http://www.healingfoodreference.com/brown_rice.html http://www.newswise.com/articles/brown-rice-and-cardiovascular-protection