Oregano is a healing herb and natural anti-biotic

Oregano is a wonderful, aromatic herb that is native to the Mediterranean. It is thought to have originated in the mountainous regions of Greece, Turkey and Italy. It was named by the Ancient Greeks “Mountain Joy.” Oregano is one of the most powerful healing herbs and…

A unique Thanksgiving (Opinion)

(NaturalNews) In Hawaii, there is a very significant word. That word is Makahiki. The definition of makahiki is as follows: “A period of several months, which was celebrated each fall (Nov – Feb) in ancient Hawaii with athletic contests, religious rites, and payments of tribute to chiefs and during which all warfare was tabooed”. Basically, this was the longest celebration ever. The Hawaiian’s then and all of us here now have so much to be thankful for. We live in a tropical paradise, we are surrounded by sun, cooling trade winds, soothing rains, majestic mountains, never ending waves, fertile soils, and incredible indigenous fruits and vegetables that are to die for. In ancient Hawaiian times, Thanksgiving was a daily happening. There was always receiving and giving. Somehow, when the Pilgrims thrust their belief system on the Indians, they told them to celebrate Thanksgiving by slitting the throat of an innocent turkey and then cooking it and eating it. Of course, back then, that turkey was not top heavy due to all the growth hormones shoved into it. But still it was loaded with heaps of cholesterol and saturated fat, which no one then knew was associated with high risks of heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes, and other chronic diseases that now kill 1.3 million Americans a year. Even now the American Dietetic Association has admitted that “vegetarian diets tend to be lower in saturated fat and cholesterol and have higher levels of dietary fiber, magnesium and potassium, vitamins C and E, folate, carotenoids, flavenoids, and other phytochemicals”. So, this Thanksgiving, why not take a walk on the wild side and give thanks by preparing a meal that is heart-healthy, compassionate, and friendly to all involved – one that is totally plant-based? Although it has taken eons to achieve, the California and Hawaii legislatures recommended that their schools offer a daily vegetarian lunch option and many other states are also considering similar options. Aside from the adverse health effects previously listed, consider this: mad cow disease comes from these naturally vegetarian cows forced to eat the remains of the dead, dying, diseased, decaying cows, road kill, poultry remains and genetically modified feeds. What, you thought that these people that raise these animals to kill them would give them organic feed? No way! The cheaper the feed, the higher the profit. So, back to the adverse health effects: turkeys are pumped full of antibiotics because they are always diseased due to the “caring” and “heartfelt” way they are made ready for slaughter. Yet, with all those antibiotics pumped into them, we, the humans, are becoming more resistant to the antibiotic medicines we receive to ward off illnesses. Gee, could there be a connection here? According to the CDC (Centers for Deceit Control and Procrastination), “resistant bacteria may be transferred to humans through the food supply or direct contact with animals”. Likely, when you are treated with an antibiotic to which the bacteria is resistant, the antibiotic not only doesn’t work but it makes your illness worse and requires you to get yet another dose of another antibiotic. Nothing like all those synthetic chemicals to keep your immune system nice and strong. To add insult to injury, upwards of 90% of poultry become infected with E.coli during slaughter, 39 – 75% of the poultry in grocery stores are still infected when you buy them despite the chlorine baths they undergo before leaving the slaughterhouse. And then 70 -90% are infected with campylobacter. Nothing like inviting the family over for food poisoning. Now, if you think that these turkeys spend their lives in a cushy penthouse suite you are grossly mistaken. Would you believe that the 300 million turkeys killed each year spend their entire lives in large, cramped sheds so tight that they spend most of their time rubbing against each other with hardly any room to move? Imagine, 25,000 birds crammed into a shed, barely any ventilation, and their eyes and lungs burned from the fumes of their nitrogen-enriched doo-doo. The good news – one in ten turkeys die on the factory floor. Ok, so much for the health ramifications. What about the environmental effects? Where do you think most of the 10 billion pounds of doo-doo dropped by the 7,300 factory farms in 33 states ends up? Would you believe the streams and eventually the drinking water? And why? Because of the water run-offs that leach into the water table from the piles of untreated manure from its use as a crop fertilizer. When you add in other factors, livestock as a whole accounts for 9% of the carbon dioxide derived from human-related activities and creates an even much larger share of greenhouse gases. What does the future hold? How about going to 465 million tons of global meat production by 2050? And that’s more than double the 229 million tons of 2001. What’s more disturbing is that milk is estimated to go from 580 million tons to 1,043 million tons with most of the consumers being lactose intolerant. Who cares as long as it sells? Did you know that there are manure “lagoons” that store untreated doo-doo that create enormous amounts of methane that contribute the most to global warming? So, cooling the earth is easy – reduce flesh consumption. We, in the good ol’ USA, lead the world in the consumption of flesh products. We also lead the world in arthritis, cancer, diabetes, stroke and all kinds of other good stuff. Imagine what the possibilities could be if we cut back drastically. How then could we reduce factory farming? If we cut way back on poultry consumption there would be less birds to factory farm. Let’s cut to the chase: turkeys are bred to gain large amounts of weight in a very short period of time. Like us, they suffer heart attacks, broken bones, disease and premature death. And if you think “range free” is a better option you are grossly mistaken. To qualify for “range free” all they have to do is open one door in a football field sized dormitory, let in a bit of light, and presto, The USDA says that’s “range free”. Regardless of how they are raised they all end up at the same slaughterhouses, hung upside down by their legs, their throats slit, and then dumped into boiling water to de-feather them even if still fully conscious. So, this Thanksgiving why not have all the fixings you usually have except substitute tofu for the turkey? Hear me out. If you slice the tofu in ? to ? inch slices and fry it or bake it and then add some nutritional yeast to it and pour the gravy you would normally pour on the turkey, it will blow your mind as to how good it is. Doing this will improve your physical health, your compassion, will help the planet and give that innocent turkey you would have eaten another day. It will then be a truly Happy Thanksgiving for your body, a turkey, and the planet. Aloha!

Mysterious white goo repeatedly found blanketing cancer-stricken Turkish city — are chemtrails to blame?

(NaturalNews) Residents of Dilovasi, an industrial suburb just outside of Istanbul, Turkey, have been looking for answers concerning a mysterious substance that, on numerous occasions, has been found covering cars, trees, clotheslines, and vegetable gardens throughout the city. Milliyet , a Turkish newspaper, reports that government officials are currently trying to identify the source of this sticky goo, which has reportedly made a number of people ill and ruined local crops. According to Hurriyet Daily News (HDN), the Scientific and Technical Research Council of Turkey is conducting an investigation into the matter, but only after local media began to report that the substance could not be washed or removed from clothes, crops, and other contaminated items. “My products were worth at least 20,000 Turkish Liras (about $10,695), but they are all destroyed now. Cabbage, leeks, and other produce items were ruined by the goo. I cannot sell these to anyone. I have to throw them away. This substance also covered the windows of my greenhouse and it blocks the sunshine,” said Alaattin Illik, a Dilovasi resident and greenhouse owner. According to Digital Journal , local officials in Dilovasi, which is a heavy industrial area with roughly 200 industrial plants around the area, have been accused of covering up the severity of toxic pollution in the area. This fact is made evident by the higher-than-usual cancer rate in the area, which is roughly 30 times higher than the national average. But another possible explanation for the unidentified chemical blankets is “chemtrails,” a chemical spraying program in which jets deliberately release various materials into the stratosphere. Following days of heavy chemtrail spraying, anomalous materials and substances similar to the kind found in Dilovasi have been observed in a variety of places around the world. Unlike normal jet exhaust contrails that dissipate quickly, chemtrails linger in the sky and often spread into artificial clouds. In some instances, these chemtrails actually leave behind what appears to be particle dust residue, spider web-like filaments, and slimy goo similar to what is being found in Dilovasi (http://www.willthomas.net/Chemtrails/Articles/chemtrails_over_america.htm). Be sure to watch the following segment from a 1997 episode of Unsolved Mysteries where residents of Oakville, Wash., were sickened by unidentified goo falling from the sky: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvRusfXUaW4 Sources for this article include: http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=white-material-to-be-searched-by-officials-2011-11-09 http://www.treehugger.com/corporate-responsibility/chemical-snow-blankets-cancer-hit-turkish-town.html

Subway nutrition information – it may not be as healthy as you think

(NaturalNews) Subway presents itself as a healthy alternative to eating burgers. Compared to most fast food restaurants, the Subway franchises offer more menu choices which are lower in calories, carbs, fats and sodium. Also, the company website offers more complete nutritional facts than many of the other well-known fast food establishments. However, like many food purveyors, Subway ignores the issue of GMOs and hormones. Website Information Subway’s website includes a printable PDF chart listing allergy and food sensitivity information related to 12 categories: eggs, fish, dairy/lactose, peanuts, sesame, shellfish, soybeans, tree nuts, wheat/gluten, sulfites, autolyzed yeast/hydrolyzed vegetable protein and nitrates. If you have multiple food sensitivities, and/or have a restricted diet for other reasons, you will have to look carefully at the chart to find menu items which fit within your personal dietary guidelines. For example, someone seeking to avoid all 12 of the listed allergens can choose between their Veggie Delite Salad and their Roast Beef Salad. Since the company does not specify that the roast beef comes from an organic farm, it is probably safe to assume the cows were fed with hormones. If you eat eggs and fish, and don’t live in Minnesota or Florida, where hydrolyzed vegetable protein is added to fish, or don’t mind a little of this petroleum-derived food additive, you can also order the Tuna Salad. The more of the above-listed allergens you feel comfortable including in your meal, the more your menu choices expand. If you are OK with consuming wheat, you can add a Veggie Delite Turkey Breast sandwich to your choices. If you want to include dairy and soybean products as well as wheat, you could also order the Meatball Marinara. Not listed on the allergens list, however, is the fact that the marinara sauce contains high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). This information is provided on a separate PDF page listing ingredients for each menu item, so you have to do a little preliminary research before your meal (although it is to Subway’s credit that they provide the information at all, many chains provide no ingredient lists). Also, you can probably assume that neither the meat nor the cheese is hormone-free. The Subway website does not mention the issue of whether their foods derive from GMOs. Making Choices Subway is a good example of how difficult it is to find truly healthy food at an affordable price. Unless you can afford to eat at a restaurant which offers only organic ingredients with no GMO’s or hormones, dining out is an exercise in research, careful choices and compromises. Compared to most chains, Subway does a good job of providing complete nutritional information. However, the chain exists within the matrix of the mainstream food industry, dependent at least in part on the choices of the companies which supply its breads, vegetables, sauces, cheeses and meats. Basically, restaurants have two choices: the healthier but more challenging option is to work only with providers who eschew GMO, hormones and industrial “food” ingredients like HFCS and autolyzed yeast, and/or make as many foods in-house as possible. The more common choice, especially among chains, involves going the easy route and serving some of the pseudo-foods which are prevalent in the chemical-food industry. Compared to many of its competitors, Subway does a good job of providing nutritional information and a range of choices which allow consumers at least to limit their consumption of harmful substances. Within the context of the nutritional desert of the fast food industry, Subway may be your best bet. However, before you visit one of their stores, take the time to look carefully at the ingredients and weigh your choices carefully. Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subway_%28restaurant%29 http://www.subway.com/nutrition/nutritionlist.aspx http://www.subway.com/Nutrition/Files/NutritionValues.pdf http://www.subway.com/Nutrition/Files/US_Allergen_chart.pdf http://www.subway.com/Nutrition/Files/usProdIngredients.pdf

Burden of osteoporotic fractures increases dramatically in the Middle East and Africa

Osteoporosis is a serious and growing problem throughout the Middle East and parts of Africa, according to new research. Gathering data from 17 countries in the region as well as Turkey, “The Middle East & Africa Regional Audit” is a landmark report examining epidemiology, costs and burden in individual countries as well as collectively across the region.

Tennessee passes law criminalizing posting of any image that someone finds offensive

(NaturalNews) Just when you thought lawmaking in America couldn’t get any more ridiculous comes a new piece of legislation that quite possibly could be the most outrageous, if not unconstitutional law ever passed. The geniuses in the Tennessee legislature passed a bill which makes it a crime to “transmit or display an image” online that is likely to “frighten, intimidate or cause emotional distress” to anyone who sees it. Gov. Bill Haslam perpetuated the idiocy when he signed it into law last week. As if the United States didn’t already jail more people than Russia or China , persons found guilty of violating this new legal monstrosity could face a year in prison along with a $2,500 fine. Only, who gets to decide what is likely to “frighten, intimidate or cause emotional distress” to someone? Doesn’t everyone find something emotionally stressful or frightening? Couldn’t someone find a picture of a teddy bear, a flower or even a baby offensive and distressing? What’s more, the “victim” need not even be the intended recipient of the image. ” Anyone who sees the image is a potential victim. If a court decides you “should have known” that an image you posted would be upsetting to someone who sees it, you could face months in prison and thousands of dollars in fines,” says a report detailing the provisions of the bill. Besides the obvious insult to personal liberties and the sheer lunacy of this act, it also gives state law enforcement authorities unprecedented access to personal online communications. “The government can get access to ‘images or communications’ posted to a social networking site by offering ‘specific and articulable facts,’ suggesting that the information sought is ‘relevant and material to an ongoing criminal investigation,’” said the report. So much for any pretense of privacy. Legal experts are already predicting this piece of “legislation” won’t stand. In fact, since Tennessee is within the legal purview of the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court, “it is bound by that court’s Warshak decision, which held that the Fourth Amendment requires the government to obtain a full search warrant in order to access e-mail communications,” the report said. It boggles the mind how such legislation can even be introduced, much less passed and signed into law. The collective I.Q. of the entire Tennessee legislature must have fallen three dozen points or more after this turkey hit the books. We can almost hear the lawyers stampeding to court over this one. If we could buy stock in the outcome of court cases, it would be hard to pass up investing in this sure thing.

Gourmet "truly raw" organic almond butter now available from Sicily

(NaturalNews) Thanks to efforts by the USDA and the Almond Board of California, it is illegal for commercial almond producers in the United States to sell raw almonds. The almonds now have to be fumigated with chemicals or pasteurized (cooked) to meet “food safety requirements” that really have nothing to do with food safety but everything to do with killing your food. See my related CounterThink Cartoon at: http://counterthink.com/The_Killing_of_California_Almonds.asp Because of this unfortunate situation, health-conscious consumers in the USA who love almonds and almond products (such as almond butter) have been forced to purchase almonds from other countries. You see, almond growers in Italy can sell raw almonds to the USA without any problem. That’s perfectly legal. Only U.S.-based producers are required to kill their almonds with heat or chemicals. (Just another brilliant move in Washington to destroy the livelihoods of U.S. farmers, isn’t it?) In any case, it now turns out that the best truly raw almond butters come from Sicily, Italy, where the “tuono” and “correnta” varieties are known for their robust aromas and flavors. They are the gourmet almonds of the world, and they’re used quite liberally in the Mediterranean Diet. I love almond butter. It’s a delicious and highly nutritious natural nut butter that I use on everything from raw sandwiches to mouth-watering desserts. Now, through a special arrangement we’ve once again managed to put together for you, we’ve acquired a few thousand jars of raw, organic almond butter from Sicily, made from some of the finest almonds in the world. And as you’ve come to expect, we’ve managed to make this available directly to you at a ridiculously good price. You see, since the USDA required that all California almonds be fumigated or pasteurized, the price of raw almonds has skyrocketed. A 16 oz. jar of truly raw almond butter can now set you back $25 at retail. Crazy, huh? We’re trying to bring that price back down to Earth with the fantastic pricing we’re able to achieve due to our large reach and low overhead. While supplies lies, we’ve got 16 oz. glass jars of organic, raw almond butter from Sicily for just $13.95 ! (That’s a savings of nearly 40% over the usual retail price of $22.95.) Click here to take advantage of this special now . This is for the good stuff! This is truly raw, truly organic, gourmet Italian almond butter made from Sicilian almonds. Raw almond butter doesn’t get any better than this! (Taste it yourself and you’ll see!) The price, though, does get better: When you purchase a 3-pack of this raw almond butter, the price per jar drops to just $12.56 per jar, or a 45% discount off the usual retail price. Click here for the 3-pack special of this raw almond butter . As with all our store specials, this is only good while supplies last. (We received a single shipment of a few thousand fresh jars, and when they’re gone, they’re gone…) While you can probably find a better price on pasteurized, non-organic almond butter , I’m confident you won’t find a better price on raw, organic, non-fumigated almonds that are truly raw and nutritionally intact. This is “premium” almond butter at a non-premium price. And unless the Almond Board of California reverses its decision requiring the fumigation of California almonds, you’ll probably never see a price this low again on truly raw almond nut butter. Historical information about almonds Here’s some interesting information about almonds, provided by our supplier of this remarkable raw almond butter: Almonds are mentioned as far back in history as the Bible. The Bible’s “Book of Number” tells the story of Aaron’s rod that blossomed and bore almonds, giving the almond the symbolism of divine approval. Through history , almonds have maintained religious, ethnic and social significance. They were a prized ingredient in breads reserved to Egypt’s pharaohs. Their exact ancestry in unknown, but almonds are thought to have originated in China and Central Asia. Explorers ate almonds while travelling the “Silk Road” between Asia and the Mediterranean. Before long, almonds trees flourished in the Mediterranean, especially in Spain and Italy. Almonds were central to many cultural traditions around the world. In classical times Romans presented gifts of sugared almonds to important dignitaries as well as personal friends. At weddings they also tossed almonds to the bride and groom as a symbol of fertility. Today, Italians and Americans give guest at weddings a bag of sugared almonds, representing children, happiness, romance, good health and fortune. In Sweden, cinnamon-flavored rice pudding with an almond hidden inside is a Christmas custom. Find it, and good fortune is yours for a year. Cultivating almonds it’s a tradition that comes from afar. The earliest varieties of almonds were found in China carried by traders down the ancient silk road to Greece, Turkey, and the Middle East. Nestled between the Sierra Nevada mountains and the Pacific Coast Ranges is California’s fertile Central Valley, home to one of the oldest and most beautiful flowering fruit trees. Unlike other flowering fruit trees that bear edible fruit, this tree’s “pearl” is the delicious nut found inside the fruit, the almond. Botanically, the sweet almond is considered a stone fruit, closely related to the cherry, plum, apricot, and peach. The almond’s botanical name comes from the Greeks who called them “amygdalon.” Almonds are a surprisingly source of calcium: Although we would have to consume 330 calories’ worth of almonds to get a significant quantity of this bone-supporting mineral, almonds are higher in calcium than all other nuts. Almonds are also a significant source of magnesium, and they supply a healthy amount of vitamin E. These sweet, versatile nuts have the highest dietary fiber content of any nut or seed; like all nuts, almonds are a good source of protein and they are cholesterol free. Vitamin E, considered a powerful antioxidant, is plentiful in almonds. They’re also high in magnesium, containing even more than spinach. They’re abundant in phosphorus, potassium, iron, zinc, copper, manganese, and trace amounts of the B vitamins thiamine and riboflavin. Click here to see all the NaturalNews Store specials . (And enjoy your raw almond butter!)