Principle of astrology proven to be scientific: planetary position imprints biological clocks of mammals

(NaturalNews) Mention the word “astrology” and skeptics go into an epileptic fit. The idea that someone’s personality could be imprinted at birth according to the position of the sun, moon and planets has long been derided as “quackery” by the so-called “scientific” community which resists any notion based on holistic connections between individuals and the cosmos. According to the conventional view, your genes and your parenting determine your personality, and the position of planet Earth at the time of your birth has nothing to do with it. Then again, conventional scientists don’t believe the position of the moon has anything to do with life on Earth, either. They dismiss the wisdom that farmers have known for ages — that planting seeds or transplanting living plants in harmony with the moon cycles results in higher crop yields. Even the seeds inside humans are strongly influenced by the moon, as menstruation cycles and moon cycles are closely synchronized (28 days, roughly). Researchers demonstrate scientific principle of astrology Skeptics must be further bewildered by the new research published in Nature Neuroscience and conducted at Vanderbilt University which unintentionally provides scientific support for the fundamental principle of astrology — namely, that the position of the planets at your time of birth influences your personality . In this study, not only did the birth month impact personality; it also resulted in measurable functional changes in the brain . This study, conducted on mice, showed that mice born in the winter showed a “consistent slowing” of their daytime activity. They were also more susceptible to symptoms that we might call “Seasonal Affective Disorder.” The study was carried out by Professor of Biological Sciences Douglas McMahon, graduate student Chris Ciarleglio, post-doctoral fellow Karen Gamble and two additional undergraduate students, none of whom believe in astrology, apparently. They do, of course, believe in science, which is why all their study findings have been draped in the language of science even though the findings are essentially supporting principles of astrology. “What is particularly striking about our results is the fact that the imprinting affects both the animal’s behavior and the cycling of the neurons in the master biological clock in their brains,” said Ciarleglio. This is one of the core principles of astrology: That the position of the planets at the time of your birth (which might be called the “season” of your birth) can actually result in changes in your brain physiology which impact lifelong behavior. Once again, such an idea sounds preposterous to the scientifically trained, unless of course they discover it for themselves, at which point it’s all suddenly very “scientific.” Instead of calling it “astrology,” they’re now referring to it as “seasonal biology.” How to discredit real science It all reminds me of the discovery of cold fusion in 1989 by Fleishmann and Pons, who were widely ridiculed by the arrogant hot fusion researchers who tried to destroy the credibility (and careers) of cold fusion researchers (http://www.naturalnews.com/025925_cold_fusion_Amazon_research.html). After the very idea of “cold fusion” was attacked and demolished by these arrogant scientists, it soon returned under a new name: Low-Energy Nuclear Reactions (LENR). LENR has now been verified as true by none other than the U.S. Navy — along with hundreds of other researchers around the world (see link above). And yet, even today, the conventional scientific community still insists cold fusion doesn’t exist and cold fusion researchers are frauds. Just as there is a solid scientific basis for LENR, there is a scientific basis for astrology, too. The relationship between the Earth, Moon and Sun naturally alter light exposure, temperature, gravitational pull and other conditions that may be sensed by living organisms. To believe in astrology, all that’s really required is to grasp the basic concepts of the interrelationships between all living things. Does the position of the sun or moon influence life on Earth? Of course it does: Life as we know it wouldn’t even exist without the moon tugging on Earth and preventing its rotational axis from shifting around to the point where radical changes in seasonal temperatures would make life far more challenging. (The moon, in other words, is one of the key “stabilizers” of life on planet Earth because it tends to stabilize the seasons and keep the Earth on a steady rotational plane.) None of this, of course, means that the position of Saturn today is going to make you win the lottery or find a new love. That’s the tabloid version of astrology, not real astrology. Don’t confuse tabloid astrology with real astrology Even astronomy has its tabloid versions, too, which are entirely non-scientific. For example, every model of our solar system that I’ve ever seen is a wildly inaccurate tabloid version of reality, with planet sizes ridiculously exaggerated and planet distances not depicted to scale. These silly, non-scientific solar system models imprint a kind of solar system mythology into the minds of schoolchildren and even school teachers. Virtually no one outside the communities of astrophysics and astronomy has any real grasp of the enormity of not merely our solar system, but of our galaxy and the space between neighboring galaxies. To show a giant sun the size of a basketball, with a depiction of the Earth as a marble-sized planet three inches away is the astronomical equivalent of a gimmicky horoscope claiming you’re going to win the lottery today because you were born under the sign of Pisces. Both are fictions. And both are an insult to real science. In fact, even the whole idea that an “electron” is a piece of physical matter, made up of other “particles” is an insult to real science. The sobering truth of the matter is that “particle physics” doesn’t have much to do with actual particles at all. It’s all about energies that might, on occasion, vibrate in just the right way so that they momentarily appear to take on the illusion of a particle as measured by our observers — observers who inevitably alter the outcome of the entire experiment, by the way, once again proving the interrelated nature of things in our universe, including observer and experiment. The horoscope predictions in the Sunday paper — as well as much of the hilarious mythology found in the modern description of an atom — are both simplified, comic-book versions of a larger truth — the truth that we live in a holistic universe where every bit of physical matter, every bit of energy and every conscious mind impacts the rest of the universe in subtle ways. There is no such thing as an individual who is isolated from the cosmos, because we are of the cosmos and we exist as the physical manifestations of energies that, for our lifetimes, are momentarily organized as beings. We are made of star stuff, says Carl Sagan. He he’s right: We are not only made of star stuff, we are influenced by that stuff, too. And finally, modern science is beginning to catch up to this greater truth that astrologers have known since the dawn of human existence on our tiny planet.

Health Ranger: Fifteen important things I’m thankful for on this Thanksgiving

(NaturalNews) I always enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday because it reminds me to be thankful for what we have. And today, I’m publishing a list of 25 things I’m personally thankful for this year. Just for the record, though, I want to say that I am personally opposed to the widespread killing of factory-farmed turkeys for the Thanksgiving holiday. That is an atrocity against animals, and I take no part in that. (I’m eating a vegetarian meal this Thanksgiving.) Nevertheless, I do like to use this holiday as a time to remember to be thankful for the many things we are blessed with. Here’s my list of the top 15 things, in no particular order, that I am thankful for this Thanksgiving. My top 15 things to be thankful for #1 – Free Speech . Without the Free Speech protections provided under the U.S. Constitution and its Bill of Rights, NaturalNews simply would not exist. Free Speech allows us to pursue other freedoms while exposing the lies of Big Government and corrupt corporations. #2 – Superfoods . Today we have access to more amazing superfoods than at any other time in the history of the world. If we choose, we can be healthier today than our grandparents could have ever dreamed! #3 – NaturalNews readers . I’m incredibly thankful for all the readership and support from NaturalNews fans and readers. Without your feedback, suggestions and support of our sponsors, our work would be impossible and we simply wouldn’t exist. #4 – Medicinal plants and seeds . Mother Nature provides so many answers for us that we haven’t even begun to tap into the full wisdom of medicinal plants. The long-term answers for human survival are to be found in nature, not in synthetic chemicals. #5 – Sunshine . Without the sun, we wouldn’t even be alive, of course. Sunlight gives us vitamin D, mood enhancements, warmth and energy for the plants that sustain life on our planet. #6 – The internet . Yes, the internet. Without it, we would all be information slaves to the corporate-controlled media. But the internet has shifted the playing field to where small, independent publishers like NaturalNews can reach millions of readers without the corporate control that persists in the mainstream media. #7 – Human immune system. I don’t know about you, but I’m extremely thankful for my immune system. When given proper nutrients, it works better than any medical technology in the world, far surpassing the efficacy of vaccines, drugs or anything made by Man. My immune system has kept me healthy and symptom-free through the Bird Flu, the Swine Flu and seasonal flu, and I never get vaccinated . (Why would I?) #8 – Intelligent, informed people . Even though we live in a world of zombie people who forgot how to think for themselves, I’m always impressed by the amazing number of truly intelligent, thoughtful individuals I do meet — people who are natural-born skeptics and who intelligently question everything going on around them in order to arrive at the deeper truths of our world. Kudos to all of you, as I believe you are the individuals who represent the future of human civilization. #9 – The mainstream media . I’m thankful for the mainstream media because it is a daily source of humor, and laughter is good for your immune system. By reading the hilarious stories published in the MSM, you can actually help prevent the flu! #10 – Our good health . I am thankful for the health I have — and the health YOU have — so that each day we may continue our important work of educating others, sharing the good news about natural health and enjoying our long lives as healthy, happy people. #11 – Animal friends . Don’t you love having animals as companions? Let’s all continue to spread the word about how intelligent animals are so that we can work to enlighten others to the simple truth that animals have consciousness . #12 – Organic foods and small family farms . I’m thankful for organic foods and small family farms, including raw milk producers . I’m also thankful for CSA organizations who provide local, organic food grown on local farms. #13 – God, nature and a greater creative force . Call it what you wish — God, Mother Nature, the Creator, etc. — but I’m thankful that we are blessed with a greater creative power in the universe. #14 – U.S. soldiers and veterans . I’m thankful for the fact that soldiers have helped defend the freedoms and interests of America in the past several decades, and I only hope that our government would use these soldiers less and bring them home more. #15 – Human consciousness . I’m especially thankful we have human consciousness, otherwise this would all be some sort of meaningless exercise carried out by automatons. Interestingly, most “skeptics” in the so-called “scientific” community literally do not believe there is such a thing as consciousness, so they technically have nothing to be thankful for! Bonus item #1 – The strong nuclear force “cosmic coincidence.” I’m thankful that the strong nuclear force isn’t slightly stronger, because if it were, the universe would have no hydrogen, which means virtually no stars, no water (H2O, remember?) and no life. We live in a universe full of life that would not be possible if the strong nuclear force constant were off by a mere 2%. Happy Thanksgiving! Watch my Thank You video message I’ve recorded a special “Thank You” video message for NaturalNews readers. You can watch it at: http://naturalnews.tv/v.asp?v=3DE64215CB0EA0A4AFDD26F844F45D86 Enjoy!

TSA security officers flunk physics

(NaturalNews) Since publishing my story about the TSA’s naked body scanners and the “opt out” procedure (http://www.naturalnews.com/030100_naked_body_scanners_airport.html), I’ve received a steady stream of reports from people who are traveling, all of whom are now choosing to opt out of the scanners. The reports coming in demonstrate an amazing ignorance among TSA security screeners about how the naked body scanners actually work. One report from a very credible source (a famous health author whom I know quite well) reveals that TSA officers told her the naked body scanners don’t even emit X-rays. “It’s a myth,” the officer said. “There are no X-rays from those machines.” Really? Then how do they work? Are they MAGIC? Do TSA officers cast a magic Spell of X-Ray Vision on the air travel passengers like some sort of Dungeons and Dragons adventure? (Or maybe the TSA officers simply buy those X-Ray vision glasses advertised in the back of comic books and use those to gawk at passengers.) That the TSA’s own employees don’t even know these machines emit radiation is a real whopper. But of course it only makes sense: They’ve probably been told this by the TSA because no person in their right mind would actually work 8 hours a day standing next to a machine that emits radiation every few seconds (no matter how seemingly small the dosage). Even dentists and chiropractors who use low-dose radiation to take images of your bones still flee the room or hide behind heavy metal shields before zapping you (as they should). Being exposed to ionizing radiation on a regular basis is inarguably a health hazard. More TSA lies Another TSA officer told another contact of mine that the naked body scanner machines are “incapable of storing images.” This, of course, is very different from even the official TSA line which now claims the ability of the machines to store images have been “turned off.” All such machines are delivered by the manufacturer with image storage features built right in, as we previously reported: http://www.naturalnews.com/029378_full_body_scanners_images.html How are we, the public, to know whether the image storage capabilities have been turned back on again? I bet we’ll find out one day that one of these machines was accidentally left in the “store images” configuration and has been piling up tens of thousands of photos of naked air travelers. It gets personal In many cases that have been reported to me, when air travel passengers request to opt out of the naked body scanners, they are humiliated and nearly accused of being insane by TSA officers who keep questioning why they won’t go through the scanner. Some TSA officers even start debating with people as if they are somehow trying to convince them the scanners are perfectly safe. One TSA agent told a female passenger that the naked body scanner “is perfectly safe even if you’re pregnant” and that it “wouldn’t be harmful to the baby.” Really? How do they know? Sure, they say the radiation levels are so low that you actually get more radiation just from flying at high altitude, but how do they know the radiation from the machine is calibrated correctly? CT scans are commonly found to be way off their configurations, to the point where they actually leave radiation burns and cause people’s hair to fall out (http://www.naturalnews.com/029232_radiation_medical_scans.html). Are we really to trust that the TSA has configured these machines correctly? It is especially difficult to trust an agency that hires people to run X-ray-emitting scanners who don’t even know their scanners emit X-rays! How do you explain to a typical TSA agent that the naked body scanner might be dangerous if the guy is so ignorant that he doesn’t even realize the machines emit X-rays? It’s almost like we need to walk through the airport now with a book called Physics 101 . And when we see these TSA agents, we need to sit them down and go through the laws of the universe. Okay, here’s how gravity works, and that’s why you’re sitting down and not floating away into high orbit. And now, here’s electromagnetic wave theory which explains how things like visible light, microwaves, radio waves and X-rays work. And here’s why X-rays penetrate matter better than light waves, and so on. Of course, they might think you were a terrorist. Try to explain anything intelligent and they’ll think you’re trying to trick them in some clever way. Because, let’s face it, these agents are not the cream of the crop in the IQ department. They don’t know much about X-rays or technology, but they’ve been convinced that making you go through the naked body scanner is somehow, somewhere, making some sort of difference “for the greater good…” although if you ask them how, they wouldn’t be able to explain that, either. It all reminds me of the use of X-rays by shoe stores in the early 20th century. They used to have X-ray machines where you could try on a shoe then place your foot under the X-ray emitter while seeing the “fit” of your bones through a viewing scope. It was all billed as perfectly safe and healthy. “Advanced,” even! Of course, a few decades later, some scientists figured out that this was promoting serious cancers in the feet, and these machines were eventually banned — but not without a lot of protests from shoe companies who insisted the machines were totally safe! Yes, this is true history. It’s not a myth. See the photos of the “shoe-fitting fluoroscope” right here: http://www.orau.org/ptp/collection/shoefittingfluor/shoe.htm The people pushing the most dangerous X-ray machines have always insisted they were safe!

If bumper stickers reflected the way people really think (comic)

(NaturalNews) They won’t admit it in person, but most guys think war is fun to watch on TV . That’s why wars are packaged as entertainment. There’s even a documentary on the topic called “Militainment, Inc.” by Roger Stahl that can tell you more (http://www.mediaed.org/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi?preadd=action&key=135). Most people don’t really do anything to prevent cancer or cure cancer, but they want you to think they care about cancer by posting pink-ribbon bumper stickers on their cars or buying gimmicky “pinkwashing” pink products. Most people say they support individualism and independent thought, but when it comes down to it, they really just want you to fit in and follow the herd. Similarly, people claim they want to protect the environment — just not right now. Let the next generation protect the environment. We’ve got more mining or drilling to do! What people really believe may surprise you These are some of the provocative topics in my CounterThink Cartoon entitled If bumper stickers reflected the way people really think . As mid-term elections are nearing in the U.S., I thought it would be interesting to explore some of the real beliefs that people hold when they go to the voting polls. For example, while they won’t really admit it in public, most people strongly support increased debt spending because it benefits them today while shifting the debt burden to their children. So why not have a bumper sticker that just tells the truth? Other people believe a larger government will somehow solve all their problems, as if sending your hard-earned money to a bunch of bureaucrats ever solved anything. This is the thinking behind the recent health care reforms which, as people are beginning to notice, have so far only caused health insurance premiums to sharply rise, costing employees yet more money for a system of “sick care” that has proven itself to be an utter failure. Now, the good news is that these bumper stickers don’t represent everybody — they only speak to the beliefs of the masses. Among those of us who are more aware, there are sharp, educated individuals who understand and follow principles of personal health responsibility . (Most NaturalNews readers share that belief.) There are some who understand the importance of fiscal responsibility and paying for our expenses rather than burdening future generations with our debt. Many people are actively working to protect the environment right now, either through activism or public education, because they recognize and understand the importance of keeping our planet a viable biosphere for abundant life. Some people, similarly, recognize the need to protect our freedoms rather than surrendering them all in the name of “increased security.” You’ll notice, by the way, that these issues cross all political boundaries and speak to the key topics of Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians and other parties. This is not a pro-party political cartoon, it’s a pro-thinking political cartoon that challenges us all to think about what we truly believe and why we vote the way we do in the polls. Short-term thinking is bad for humanity Sadly, the voters in America (and most other countries) are dominated by short-term thinkers who want the benefits right now without having to consider the long-term consequences of their actions. Our outrageous national debt parallels the “ecological debt” that has been placed on the planet through pollution and habitat destruction. Both will require a very painful long-term payback that people won’t want to face. Such is the nature of truth and consequences. Both economics and environmental chemistry follow certain laws of nature, and those laws have a nasty way of biting you in the rear if you ignore them for very long. By the way, mathematicians and physicists will recognize the license plate number in this cartoon. It is an approximation of one of the most important numbers in our universe, and it signifies that what goes around comes around . I have a feeling that the voters in America aren’t going to like what comes around in the next couple of decades as the issues we’ve all tried to circumvent start to come due. I’m just happy that there are so many intelligent, informed and caring people still remaining in the world who visit sites like NaturalNews and who are working tirelessly in various non-profits, websites, video campaigns and other efforts to literally help save the world. We need more activism in our world on the really big issues. But most of all, we need people to improve the way they think and learn how to take a longer-term view of the consequences of our present-day actions. Any civilization dominated by short-term thinking is doomed to destroy itself. Only a long-term view (as in centuries) and an investment in a brighter future can rescue us from the pitfalls of short-sightedness.

Amazon Kindle DX product review: Why it will change the way you read books

(NaturalNews) As a journalist who is often quite critical of the actions of large corporations, what I’m about to say here may strike you as a bit surprising. For the past several months, I’ve been using and testing the Amazon Kindle DX book reader, and as you’ll see in this review, I have reached the conclusion that this is not merely a great product, but a life changing product that can greatly enhance your knowledge or reading enjoyment. Here’s why… The emergence of mass-printed physical books transformed the world from an age of ignorance into an age of… well… disinformation if you read conventional history books. But that’s beside the point. With the power of the printing press, the mass replication of books put reading material into the hands of virtually all first world citizens. And this resulted in a ripple effect of knowledge expansion while making “entertainment reading” available to citizens of the world for the first time. This, in turn, gave rise to fiction, science fiction, poetry, and even (gosh!) romance novels. But physical books, as useful as they truly are, still suffer from several significant drawbacks: They’re heavy, they grow mold in damp climates, they wear out, and — here’s the worst part — you can’t hold the book and turn the pages using just one hand if you’re lying down and reading in bed, or on the beach, or wherever you want to read. It is for this “page turning” reason that my own reading of books dropped off sharply over the last couple of years. Several years ago, I had read over 600 books on health and nutrition, but in the last two years, I had only read a dozen or so. Why was this happening? It turned out that at times when I suddenly found myself with time for reading, I didn’t have any books around . These are times like waiting in line somewhere, or sitting in a hotel room when traveling for events, etc. Sometimes I would actually drive out to the nearest book retailer and buy a couple of books just for the weekend. Another problem was that I wanted to read at the gym, on a cardio machine without having to hold the book with both hands. This is impossible with a physical book, but with the Amazon Kindle DX, it’s easy. You only have to click one button to turn the page, but aside from that, it’s totally hands free . Solving six big problems all at once The Amazon Kindle DX solves six big problems with physical books, it turns out: • Problem #1) Carrying them around with you . The Amazon Kindle allows you to carry as many as 3,000 books at once , all inside an object that’s about the size and weight of a clipboard. • Problem #2) Waiting for them to arrive after ordering them . I’ve been a long-time customer of Amazon.com and have probably purchased quite literally over a thousand books there (not an exaggeration). But even with Amazon’s PRIME shipping option, you still have to wait two days to get your book. But with the Kindle, your book arrives in about 60 seconds over their “whisper” network which uses cell phone technology to grab your book. The amazing thing about this is that it requires no setup, no configuration, no fees, and no effort on your part. It’s like magic, really: You buy the book online, and *poof!* The book magically appears on your Amazon Kindle a minute later, with zero effort on your part. It’s beyond streamlined. This book delivery technology works so well that you don’t even know it’s there. And that’s the point, actually. Great technology is technology that gets out of the way and allows you to accomplish what you want without thinking about how it works or having to fiddle with it. • Problem #3) Holding the pages open . I already mentioned this earlier: Physical books require you to hold them open with two hands (usually). The Kindle can be read hands-free. • Problem #4) Storing and finding your books . Do you have a massive library of books in your house like I do? Have you ever failed to find a book you wanted to read because your collection is just too large? I’ve had that problem. The Kindle solves that problem instantly. All your books are on one device, and you can flip through your inventory in seconds to find the book you want. • Problem #5) Bookmarking . Do you like to read ten books at once, a little at a time? I do that. I’ll read a chapter here, a chapter there, and I’ll jump around from one book to another. But this creates a problem: Where did I leave off on each book? The Kindle automatically remembers your last-read page in each book , so you can pick up right where you left off with every single book in your collection. It’s simple but brilliant. • Problem #6) Trying before you buy . Did you ever spend good money on a book from Amazon.com and then, after you received it, you discovered it wasn’t that good after all? With the Kindle, you can try before you buy by downloading a free sample of most books. Typically you’ll get the first chapter, which you can read to make your decision on whether you want to buy the rest of the book. It’s yet another small but brilliant improvement in the way we decide what books to buy. I’ve used it regularly on my Kindle. Those are six significant problems with books that are solved by the Amazon Kindle. These are hugely important issues to most people who read a lot of books, and I think these reasons are primarily why Amazon has hit a home run with its Kindle technology. The downside of Kindle Now, I’m the first to admit not everything is perfect with the Kindle. Amazon has hit a few hiccups such as that time when the company remotely deleted copies of the book “1984″ from customer’s Kindle devices due to a licensing mix-up. I even wrote an article calling for a boycott of DRM technologies and joining with librarians who are taking a stand against copy-protected intellectual property. This is one reason why I didn’t buy a Kindle until recently. That all happened in 2009. In the time since, Amazon has learned from its mistakes, apologized to its users and put in place new guidelines to prevent such mistakes from happening again. The company seems to be on the right track, doing the right things with Kindle and making the device more open. For example, this may not be widely known, but I’ve tested it, and the Kindle can read TXT files, too . I have a lot of books as text files that I’m reading on Kindle that way, too (but I prefer to just buy books from the Amazon stores because they’re formatted better). Another problem with Kindle books is that some of the OCR is really sloppy . OCR stands for “Optical Character Recognition,” and this is the process by which physical books are converted into digital files if the publisher doesn’t provide the original manuscript text in a digital format. To “OCR” a book, you basically chop off the binding and run it through a scanner then process the whole thing with OCR software that produces a text file. This seems like an easy process but it’s far more complicated than you might suspect. All the hyphenation throughout the book, for example, must be manually removed after the OCR processing. Also, superscripts sometimes get “flattened” which can cause huge problems in books of a scientific nature. For example, I was recently reading a scientific text about cosmology (the study of the structure of the universe) when I kept noticing the author referring to really small numbers as being “huge beyond imagination!” A line might say something like “10117 is such a huge number that we can’t even begin to comprehend it.” And I was thinking, well gee, it’s not that much larger than ten thousand. How hard could it be to comprehend 10,117? You may have guessed what I eventually did, which is that this number was originally 10 to the power of 117 or written more like this: 10 117 . Or 10 ^ 117. This is quite a ways off from 10,117 which is only about 10 ^ 4. Clearly, Amazon needs improved quality control on its OCR efforts, but it’s a huge task, and I’m sure they’re doing the best they can to make things better. A third potential drawback to Kindle books is that you are essentially tied in to Kindle devices or other Amazon-provided readers that run on your PC, Mac or various mobile devices. I don’t really see this as a huge limitation, but it’s something to consider. If Amazon.com ever went out of business some day (which seems entirely unlikely anytime soon as it’s one of the most successful retailers in the world), you might not be able to access your online library. In such a remote scenario, however, your Kindle would still work just fine and you’d be able to read all the books that were already on it. Is the Kindle easy on your eyes? If you’ve never read a book on a Kindle, you might suspect the reading display would be difficult for your eyes. Reading a book on a laptop or a mobile device, after all, is less than perfect. But thanks to e-Ink technology, the pages on the Kindle actually look brighter in bright light or even direct sunlight. I find that the Kindle is easier to read than a physical book! Plus, you can change the font size on the fly and choose a larger or smaller font depending on what you prefer. This is a very big deal for those with less-than-perfect vision who need larger font sizes. (I’ve been blessed with perfect vision and don’t use glasses or contacts, but even then, I don’t like really tiny text fonts.) The battery life of the Kindle, by the way, is quite impressive. If you turn off the wireless on the device, it can last weeks on a single charge. Turning on the wireless connection saps the batteries in as little as a couple of days, however, so I only turn it on when I need to download a new book. Environmental aspects There are still some questions I have about the manufacturing of the Kindle: Is it compliant with RoHS? That’s the global standard for reduction of hazardous substances. I did a little research on this and from the best I could find, the Kindle’s internal memory is lead-free and RoHS compliant, but I couldn’t determine a similar status for the rest of the components. On the environmental side, the Kindle is arguably a net reducer of industrial pollution simply due to the fact that buying books using bits and bytes is more eco-friendly than buying physical books made by printing toxic ink on dead trees. (And then shipping them around the country by burning fossil fuels.) So even if the Kindle isn’t 100% green and clean on the inside, it is almost certainly contributing a net benefit to the environment simply by the physical book-buying behavior it allows users to avoid. Five stars from the Health Ranger In conclusion, I give the Amazon Kindle DX a rare five-star rating from the Health Ranger . This is a rating I don’t think I’ve ever given to an electronic device. I don’t give this lightly, and I only decided to write this after using the Kindle for several months to see how it would impact my life. For me, this device: • Makes reading easier. • Allows me to read at more times in more places. • Allows me to carry hundreds of books anywhere. • Allows me to buy almost any book I want in sixty seconds. … and above all, it resulted in me reading and enjoying more books on a regular basis. I’ve read fiction, scientific books, health books and much more on the Kindle, and it has become an essential item that I won’t leave home without. Here’s a link to the exact same Amazon Kindle DX that I bought in July: http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-DX-Wireless-Reader-3G-Global/dp/B002GYWHSQ (I don’t earn anything off this link.) Enjoy more reading!

Avandia diabetes drug placed under severe FDA restrictions in US as European regulators ban it outright

(NaturalNews) The diabetes drug Avandia, shown to raise heart attack risk by 40 percent in a paper published in the New England Journal of Medicine , was banned today across many European countries in a coordinated global announcement. The FDA didn’t quite ban the drug but placed it under severe restrictions that will all but guarantee the drug’s sales in the United States drop to almost zero. Specifically, the FDA’s new restrictions require that doctors and patients first “try every other diabetes medication” before turning to Avandia as a last resort. And even then, they must acknowledge being made aware of the drug’s serious risks. The Avandia scam Avandia has been the subject of seemingly endless accusations and criticisms from both alternative and conventional medicine practitioners. Just here on NaturalNews.com, we reported how the FDA’s own scientists backing Avandia’s so-called “safety” had financial ties to the drug manufacturer (http://www.naturalnews.com/029268_financial_ties_Avandia.html). We exposed the Avandia fraud (http://www.naturalnews.com/029252_Avandia_fraud.html) and revealed how GSK hid evidence that Avandia was harming users (http://www.naturalnews.com/028233_GlaxoSmithKline_Avandia.html). We reported how California sued GlaxoSmithKline for false advertising over the drug (http://www.naturalnews.com/028918_false_advertising_Big_Pharma.html) and how even the FDA knew of Avandia’s dangers years ago but did nothing (http://www.naturalnews.com/021864.html). Notably, some of these stories were published as far back as 2007 . The FDA, we now know, knew about the dangers of Avandia as early as 2003 but chose to ignore the drug’s dangers in a bid to protect the profits of the drug industry. Tens of thousands likely died There’s no telling exactly how many diabetes patients actually died from the FDA’s lack of enforcement action on this drug, but realistic estimates based on Cleveland Clinic cardiologist Steven Nissen’s work point to many tens of thousands of people dying needlessly from heart attacks. Meanwhile, Avandia hasn’t cured a single case of diabetes . That’s because the drug doesn’t really cure anything. It only suppresses symptoms of diabetes while ignoring the underlying causes of diabetes. Today’s decision by the FDA is seven years too late for all those likely tens of thousands of people who are dead. And even today, after all the evidence that has surfaced and all the shocking revelations about this drug, the FDA still can’t bring itself to ban the drug because it’s just too deeply in bed with Big Pharma. European regulators have simply banned it. They don’t want their people dying from a drug that exhibits a scientifically-validated and highly significant increase in heart attacks. But the FDA, it seems, is always willing to sacrifice a few thousand more lives for the benefit of Big Pharma profits. There’s almost never a drug too dangerous for the FDA to keep on the market in one way or another. The role of patients Still, you can’t blame the drug companies and the FDA for everything. Patients who died from Avandia side effects have a role in their own deaths, too. The typical diabetes patient (but not everyone) is an overweight, sedentary dead foods eater who won’t exercise, won’t eat healthy foods and lives on high sugar, processed dead foods. (Most of the, by the way, drink diet soda laced with aspartame, too.) Astonishingly, many have been convinced by doctors and pharmaceutical advertising that they can counteract their atrocious lifestyle choices by popping a chemical pill. Most of these patients foolishly believe that their health rests in the hands of their doctor and not their own actions. They believe they can keep eating junk foods and liquid sugars while somehow a magic little pill will warp the rules of the universe and exclude them from the laws of biological cause and effect. In that way, these diabetes patients who rely on medications play an often overlooked role in their own disease. Sure, Big Pharma and the FDA are at fault for misleading people, but people can’t put all the blame on pharma when they are the ones swallowing these lies, pretending they can keep pursuing a diabetes-causing lifestyle while somehow escaping the consequences of their actions. People who were victimized by Avandia and GSK allowed themselves to become victims . No one forced them to swallow any pills. They did so willingly and often quite eagerly. They chose to take medications instead of eating right as others have done to reverse their diabetes. Drew Carey, for example, reversed his diabetes through changes in diet and exercise, not by taking chemical medications. As adults, people have the responsibility to check the safety of what they swallow. One search of “Avandia safety” on Google at a public library would have turned up an enormous amount of information warning people not to take this drug, even as far back as 2006. And frankly, any person who still trusts Big Pharma and the FDA today — after all the scandals, scams and corruption that has been reported in the media — is probably living in a fantasy land and needs a reality check. To swallow anything made by a pharmaceutical company is to swallow one great big lie. And that lie may very well kill you.

FDA censorship of nutritional science threatens health of all Americans

(NaturalNews) Concerned about breast cancer? There are three nutrients that virtually eliminate your risk of the disease, even if you carry “breast cancer genes.” Wondering how to cure arthritis? A combination of four different nutrients virtually eliminates arthritis symptoms. Afraid of diabetes? Five different nutrients, all available right now, can help prevent diabetes for mere pennies a day. And that’s just the beginning… Nutritional cures exist for nearly every major disease, but the FDA doesn’t want you to know about them. So it has censored truthful, scientifically-proven information about these substances in order to keep you ignorant about nutritional cures. Watch my short public service announcement to see more (38 seconds): http://naturalnews.tv/v.asp?v=544BD1D89A151956D37B2A70A55F4BA1 When one U.S. company offering cherry concentrates began linking to government-funded studies that concluded cherries reduce the symptoms of arthritis, they received a threatening letter from the FDA, demanding they remove the links from their website or face “criminal prosecution.” (http://www.naturalnews.com/019366.html) Similarly, the FDA went on the attack to censor the truth about walnuts , claiming that “walnuts are unapproved drugs” when they are accompanied by truthful, scientific descriptions about their benefits for heart health (http://www.lef.org/featured-articles/FDA-Says-Walnuts-Are-Illegal-Drugs.htm). Diamond Foods, a distributor of walnuts, posted a collection of peer-reviewed scientific evidence on its website that described the health benefits of walnuts. In return, here’s part of the utterly illogical set of demands Diamond Foods received from the FDA which claim that “walnuts are drugs”… “Based on our review, we have concluded that your walnut products are in violation of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the Act) and the applicable regulations in Title 21, Code of Federal Regulations (21 CFR). …Based on claims made on your firm’s website, we have determined that your walnut products are promoted for conditions that cause them to be drugs because these products are intended for use in the prevention, mitigation, and treatment of disease. …Because of these intended uses, your walnut products are drugs within the meaning of section 201 (g)(1)(B) of the Act [21 U.S.C. 321(g)(B)]. Your walnut products are also new drugs under section 201(p) of the Act [21 U.S.C. 321(p)] because they are not generally recognized as safe and effective for the above referenced conditions. Therefore, under section 505(a) of the Act [21 U.S.C. 355(a)], they may not be legally marketed with the above claims in the United States without an approved new drug application.” In other words, telling the truth about walnuts turns you into a criminal according to the FDA. And if you tell the scientifically-validated truth about how walnuts can help reduce high cholesterol, that act magically transforms your walnuts into unapproved drugs. And much the same is true when you’re talking about green tea or pomegranates or superfoods . If you dare discuss the health benefits of any food or natural substance while you are selling such items, you will be branded a criminal by the FDA, threatened with criminal prosecution and potentially have your company raided by the FDA along with armed law enforcement agents with guns drawn. Only junk foods are good for you At the same time the FDA is attacking health foods, it openly allows ridiculous health claims on processed dead junk foods. Frito-Lay potato chips, for example, are allowed to carry claims that they are “heart healthy.” So while genuinely health foods like walnuts and pomegranates cannot make health claims, processed dead foods like potato chips may openly carry FDA-approved health claims! Are you following this yet? Real food is bad for you. But junk food is good for you. That’s what the FDA wants you to believe. The FDA, you see, doesn’t want you to learn the truth about healthy foods. This agency wants you to remain as ignorant as possible about the scientifically-validated health benefits of natural foods, supplements and superfoods while allowing you to be inundated with false and misleading health claims on processed dead junk foods like potato chips. And can you guess the point of all this? It’s fairly obvious, isn’t it? The point is to keep Americans in a never-ending state of chronic degenerative disease that will result in a windfall of profits for the drug companies the FDA actually serves. This is why natural food producers aren’t allowed to even link to scientific articles about their foods. The FDA, you see, is in the business of censoring nutritional science . See more in my short video: http://naturalnews.tv/v.asp?v=544BD1D89A151956D37B2A70A55F4BA1 Can’t tell the truth about green tea, either On August 30, 2010, the FDA sent warning letters to manufacturers of green tea beverages, warning them about making health claims about green tea. One such beverage made by Canada Dry carried a claim that the drink is “enhanced with 200 mg of antioxidants from green tea and vitamin C.” In its threatening warning letter, the FDA insisted that green tea and vitamin C “are not nutrients with recognized antioxidant activity.” (http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gPahcLPBLnbdWEyGVIiV9P4en0FQD9I38FIO0) Huh? Vitamin C isn’t an antioxidant? That’s funny, because outside the halls of the FDA offices, vitamin C has antioxidant activity and properties. The laws of chemistry, apparently, are suspended within the FDA’s jurisdiction. All the universal laws of physics cease to exist when the FDA is in charge, and they are instead replaced with the FDA’s distorted opinions of what those laws should actually be. Antioxidants don’t exist. Vitamins are inert substances. Foods contain no medicine. Only pharmaceuticals have biological effects within the human body. These are the far-fetched laws of the universe according to the FDA. In its never-ending march on nutritional science, the FDA also went after Lipton teas , whose website linked to four scientific studies concluding that green tea has a cholesterol-lowering effect. The FDA warned the Lipton company to remove the links, claiming that they were “misleading” and were effectively making claims that Lipton tea could treat a “disease.” But what if green tea really can help prevent a disease and the FDA just doesn’t want you to know about it? That’s actually the case with many plant-based nutrients that have powerful protective effects against disease. But according to the FDA’s official position, there is no such thing as a food, nutrient or supplement that can prevent or treat any disease . Vitamin C doesn’t prevent scurvy. Vitamin D doesn’t prevent rickets. Vitamin B3 doesn’t prevent pellagra, according to the FDA. Vitamins are biologically useless substances unless they’re patented by drug companies in which case they are magically transformed into “therapeutic chemicals” that may be sold to patients at monopoly prices. The FDA actually believes that fresh, unprocessed foods have no health benefits whatsoever. That’s why no health claims are allowed on such things. But dead processed foods like breakfast cereals can prevent disease, according to the FDA. That’s why the agency has allowed such products to carry a multitude of health claims. It’s all part of the FDA’s censorship of science about nutrients, foods and supplements. Rather than promoting real scientific knowledge, the FDA is censoring the science to keep the public as ignorant as possible. In this way, the FDA is an enemy of nutritional literacy because it aims to keep people in the dark about the health benefits of foods, supplements and nutrients. And because nutritional literacy is crucial to the long-term survival of America, the FDA, through its campaign of enforced nutritional illiteracy, is effectively an enemy of America . The agency has already accomplished incalculable harm to America’s population and her economy. And the FDA is just getting warmed up! Now it wants to “step up its enforcement” of so-called “false” food labeling. This is just a cover story to clamp down on truthful health claims the FDA wants to censor. It is through scientific censorship policies like those practiced at the FDA that America may fall to ignorance, disease and medical bankruptcy . The FDA is actually accelerating America’s downfall by isolating people from the nutritional knowledge that could prevent disease, reduce health care costs and save billions of dollars in unnecessary medical costs. For example, can you imagine the cost savings alone if we as a nation could prevent just one percent of all cancers? According to the National Institutes of Health, cancer costs the USA $228.1 billion in 2008. That’s nearly a quarter of a trillion dollars . Now imagine the savings if we could find a miracle nutrient that could reduce all cancers by three-quarters? That would save America $171 billion per year (not to mention saving human lives at the same time). And here’s the good news: Such a nutrient already exists! It’s cheap, safe and readily available. But the American Cancer Society won’t talk about it, the FDA won’t approve it and your doctor almost certainly won’t recommend it. Want to know what it is? Read this article if you don’t already know: http://www.naturalnews.com/021892.html How to end the FDA’s reign of ignorance and censorship of nutritional science First off, I highly recommend reading Jonathan Emord’s outstanding book on this subject entitled Global Censorship of Health Information (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0982059531). This is a hugely important book on the subject from one of the industry’s intellectual giants: attorney Jonathan Emord. Secondly, if you’re in the USA, support the Free Speech about Science Act , a new effort to end FDA censorship over truthful, scientifically-validated health claims for vitamins, foods and nutritional supplements. Click the following link to learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/028879_censorship_healing_foods.html Finally, recognize that we are beginning to defeat the FDA in court. In particular, the Alliance for Natural Health recently emerged victorious against the FDA in court over the agency’s effort to censor truthful information about how selenium can reduce your risk of cancer . (http://www.naturalnews.com/028929_FDA_health_claims.html) Now we need more companies to stand up to FDA tyranny and take this rogue agency to court in order to stop its campaign of censorship and oppression against the natural products industry. Just to be clear about what is a valid health claim Just to be clear, in no way am I advocating that natural products companies should be able to just think up whatever health claims they want and emblazon their product packages with such things. We need to insist that health claims be “scientifically validated.” For example, if a cherry company could cite five studies published in peer-reviewed scientific journals that conclude cherries can help ease the symptoms of arthritis, then it should be perfectly acceptable for that company to place corresponding claims on its packaging: “Cherries have been shown to reduce the symptoms of arthritis.” (With an appropriate citation on its website that points to the qualifying scientific studies.) Almost everyone who believes in common sense would agree that this is a sensible approach to allowing health claims on foods and supplements. Yet the FDA’s position is that foods and supplements are not allowed to carry any health claims — even if such claims are scientifically validated and true! The FDA absurdly insists that no food, no herb, no vitamin and no supplement can possibly have any biological effect on the human body… and if it does, then that magically transforms it into a “drug” requiring $400 million in testing and clinical trials before it can be approved by the FDA. And even then, it would only be available by prescription. Do you see the catch-22 here? It’s sort of like the old “floating witch” test in the witch hunt days: If you float, you’re a witch and you get burned at the stake. If you sink, you die but you are declared innocent. The FDA pulls the same thing with nutritional supplements: If it doesn’t work, then it’s inert and will be tolerated. But if it actually works, then it’s now a “drug” and will be outlawed as an “unapproved drug.” I’m not making this up. This is precisely how the FDA operates at present. It’s a logic trap that I believe has been specifically designed to discredit the entire nutritional supplements industry while promoting the “benefits” of pharmaceuticals — most of which we now know were falsified through pure scientific fraud, by the way. Watch my short video to learn more about FDA censorship: http://naturalnews.tv/v.asp?v=544BD1D89A151956D37B2A70A55F4BA1 And share this video with others. Everyone deserves to know the truth about nutrition and health. The FDA cannot keep us all in the dark forever. With your help, we will shine the light of truth on this issue and end the era of nutritional illiteracy that has cost America trillions of dollars and destroyed millions of lives.

Heirloom cacao is ancient treasure of chocolate from the Ecuadorian rainforest

(NaturalNews) Most people have never eaten real chocolate. Sure, we’ve all wolfed down plenty of “chocolate” candies, bars and cakes. But as you’ll see here, very little of that is actually made from real chocolate. Virtually all the chocolate used in modern foods is derived from a hybridized cacao plant that lacks the phytochemical potency that gives real chocolate its many beneficial properties. So even though almost everyone has tasted chocolate, very few people have actually experienced true heirloom cacao from the original, phytonutrient-rich plants. Cacao originated in a region now spanning the border of Ecuador and Colombia. Its plants were discovered thousands of years ago, and the cacao fruit and seeds have been used throughout South American culture for as long as human history can remember. Heirloom cacao is called Arriba Nacional or just “Arriba” for short. That’s the real cacao from Ecuador, harvested from heirloom plants growing just the way they grew thousands of years ago. In comparison, virtually all the chocolate used in candy bars, chocolate chips, chocolate cakes, breads and so on is derived from the hybridized plant called CCN-51 — a pale shadow of the heirloom “Arribe Nacional” cacao it was supposed to replace. Most consumers have no idea the chocolate they’ve been eating is “watered down” with what is effectively a cheap, weakened cacao substitute. And if you’ve been eating that watered down chocolate all your life, you’re in for a real surprise when you get your hands on “Arribe Nacional” cacao, which has a deeper, more complex and “floral” flavor profile. My first taste of real chocolate My first experience of real chocolate was enjoyed in Ecuador, where I lived on and off for two years. One day I drove to a nursery in Zamora, a small city to the East of Loja (in Southern Ecuador). There, we picked fresh cacao pods right off the trees, sliced open the tops and began to eat the cacao fruit . Here’s a picture of me holding cacao pods from Zamora: http://www.naturalnews.com/Valley-of-Longevity-Property/photos/17.jpg Yes, cacao trees have fruit. It’s a thin layer of sweet fruity flesh surrounding the cacao bean, sort of in the way a lychee fruit has a layer of delicious white fruit flesh surrounding its central seed. Cacao fruit tastes a little bit like fresh lychee fruit, in fact, with a hint of chocolate flavor in it. Once you eat the fruit, you’re left with cacao seed pods. This is where “chocolate” comes from. The seed pods are usually ground into a fine powder, with the oils being mechanically separated from the non-oil substances which are then subjected to a combination of drying, fermentation and cooking (depending on who’s doing the processing), creating a finished cacao powder. This fine cacao powder is what goes into fine chocolates, often sweetened with sugars or enriched with milk fats. Hence the name “Milk chocolate.” However, the higher cost of heirloom chocolate has kept it out of the hands of all but the most selective chocolate artisans. The number of chocolate-making shops in America that use real heirloom cacao in their confections probably numbers less than ten. That’s why virtually no one in North America has ever tasted real chocolate before. How I met the founder of Pacari In Ecuador, there’s a company producing 100% heirloom cacao that’s truly raw (never goes above 118 degrees during processing), truly organic and “single origin” meaning it’s all from one region and not blended with other cacaos from other countries. That company is called Pacari , and its founder, Santiago, introduced me to his line of heirloom cacao one evening at a raw foods gathering at Matt Monarch’s house in the Valley of Longevity near Vilcabamba, Ecuador. There, I had the opportunity to taste 100% raw, unsweetened, full-potency heirloom cacao — and it was a superfood experience that forever changed my perception about just how powerful and even enlightening superfoods can be. Food of the Gods? You see, the best-known active ingredient in cacao is a bitter alkaloid called theobromine . The Latin prefix “theo” is of course the same root as in the word “theology,” meaning the study of God. Bromine comes from “broma” which, in the variation of “brosi” is Latin for “food.” Theobromine, then, is literally translated into “food of God” or “food of the Gods.” Why would cacao be named “food of the Gods?” If you just eat regular watered-down chocolate, you’ll probably never know. To really attain a deeper experience of cacao, you must eat the heirloom variety that’s naturally high in theobromine and other alkaloids. And once you do that, your experience may give you a greater understanding of why, over the last several thousand years, the indigenous people of South America have used superfoods like cacao to support their connection on a spiritual level. In the cultures of South American people, eating heirloom cacao is not merely an act of consuming calories. Nor is it a form of entertainment as is often pursued in first-world countries. Rather, eating heirloom cacao is a way for them to connect with the universe . It is a deeply spiritual experience, to be savored and honored, not to be wolfed down with processed sugar and ice cream. Throughout the cultures of South America, food was a way in which people were able to gain insight into the universe around them . I realize it seems odd in our modern cultures to think of food as a source of enlightenment or wisdom, but this idea was pivotal for South American cultures, and it actually makes good sense: Since we become what we eat , to eat the seed pods of a sacred plant is to become one with that plant . Certain plants alter brain chemistry and function, expanding consciousness and inviting us to explore alternate realities before returning to their physical world, blessed with the gift of new experiential insight. Such is the nature of the “sacred plant journeys” also routinely practiced by medicine healers (shamans) of South American cultures. While cacao is not a psychedelic plant, it is well known as a source of unique antioxidants and bitter alkaloids that may support healthy moods while brightening your day. Maybe this is why this superfood was called the “food of the Gods.” Straight from Ecuador: 100% organic, raw heirloom cacao Now, after five thousand years of history, YOU can experience Arribe Nacional heirloom cacao straight from the rainforests of Ecuador. Thanks to our connections in Ecuador, we were able to coordinate with Santiago to receive a large shipment of this unique heirloom cacao, straight from Ecuador. This is the real stuff: Pure heirloom cacao, truly raw (not just a false claim, but really truly raw), truly organic and harvested with the help of local farmers in a genuinely fair manner that honors their livelihoods. (The Pacari company works in many ways to help support local cacao farmers, and while it’s not yet certified as “Fair Trade,” they are working in that direction.) Right now, we have available for immediate shipment from our store: • Raw “Arribe” Cacao Beans • Raw “Arribe” Cacao Paste • Raw “Arribe” Cacao Butter • Raw “Arribe” Cacao Nibs • Raw “Arribe” Cacao Powder • A combination “chef’s pack” of Powder, Nibs, Butter and Paste (regular price is $83.80, but for this article we’ve marked it down to just $54.72, a nearly 35% savings ) Click here to see these products in the NaturalNews Store . These are all single-source, straight from Ecuador, made 100% of heirloom cacao plants, organic and raw. Just as importantly, this is perhaps the finest cacao you will ever taste in the world . It is one of life’s “bucket list” experiences to ingest this plant and tune in to how it is interacting with your body and mind. To miss out on this plant that our world has to offer is to truly miss out on one of life’s real gems. I regret to have to mention this, but not everything described as “Arribe” in the cacao world is truly Arribe. Some cacao producers will blend a small amount of Arribe into a batch of largely hybridized CCN-51 cacao, then they’ll label the final product “Arribe” cacao. That’s like calling your salad dressing “Olive Oil Dressing” when it’s really made from 90% soybean oil and only 10% olive oil. Our Arribe cacao is 100% truly Arribe with no misleading blending. Additionally, all the products have absolutely no sweeteners, no filler, no preservatives, no GMOs, no soy, no wheat… nothing! Just pure, raw heirloom cacao from Ecuador to you. As a result, don’t expect this to taste like a candy bar. It doesn’t! This is not candy. This is a potent superfood in its purest form, unadulterated and uncooked. It is the closest thing you can find to venturing into the Ecuadorian rainforest and harvesting your own wild cacao pods. This raw cacao is grown in Ecuador, harvested by Ecuadorian farmers, then processed by hand in small batches. It’s never cooked! The result is some of the finest cacao you will ever encounter on our planet. When you get some of this, consider it a treasure. I recommend not feeding it to anyone who isn’t enlightened enough to appreciate what they are consuming. Most children, in particular, are expecting sweet “junk” chocolate and will likely not appreciate “Arribe” heirloom cacao. And if you do give this as a gift to someone, please explain the history of heirloom cacao to them so they understand what a magnificent food treasure they are consuming. This is the stuff of Kings and Queens. Just a few hundred years ago, only ultra-wealthy royalty would have had access to such exotic foods. Today, we can all experience it! Pick some up here at the NaturalNews store . And enjoy this heirloom cacao. This may be some of the finest superfood you are likely to be able to source anywhere in the world.

Can you really eat your way to happiness? The mood food connection

(NaturalNews) Yes, you really can eat your way to happiness, but perhaps not in the way you might first imagine. By “happiness,” I mean lasting happiness, not the fleeting kind of sensory happiness that might be experienced from sucking the cream filling out of a twinkie. And that’s the distinction that really matters here: When I talk about happiness, I’m talking about sustainable happiness , not a brief moment of spurious excitement that soon reverses itself and leads to depression. You see, a lot of people try to eat their way to happiness by eating the “instant joy” foods like ice cream, donuts, cookies and yes, even twinkies. Sugar can, indeed, make us momentarily uplifted because this refined molecule temporarily boosts blood sugar and actively alters brain chemistry. But like any drug, the depression after it wears off is far worse than the brief happiness it appeared to give us. And in the worst cases, we sometimes fall into a pattern of treating that mental rut with yet another hit of sugar to try to keep the happiness going. This downward cycle of sugar dependence leads us to long-term obesity, diabetes and depression. As author Timothy Brantley says in The Cure: Heal Your Body, Save Your Life : “How did these foods affect their moods? Food Group A (Standard American Diet). The subjects all had radical energy fluctuations, staying in a cycle of having to manipulate to produce quick energy after a radical drop. The subjects all remarked that they never realized how addicted they were to sugar and other stimulants, like caffeine, simply to function. The roller-coaster effect on their energy swung them into high and low moods, and many of them got sick consistently.” (http://www.naturalpedia.com/book_The_Cure_Heal_Your_Body_Save_Your_Life.html) The Standard American Diet is obviously not the solution we’re looking for. But what works better? Foods for long-term happiness Fortunately, there are a huge number of other foods that promote long-term happiness . That’s what this article is about: Sharing with you the good news on foods that can support healthy moods and promote a positive outlook on life for the rest of your life . And I have to say that list starts with omega-3 oils . High-quality omega-3s provide one of the most powerful and sustainable boosts to healthy moods of any commonly-available food. Read up on omega-3s at NaturalPedia: http://naturalpedia.com/omega-3s.html You can get omega-3 oils from fish, quality marine oil supplements like Moxxor, chia seeds, flax seeds and other quality nutritional supplements. Beware of grocery store foods that claim to be “made with omega-3s” because the actual quantity of omega-3 oils in those foods is usually so tiny that it hardly matters to your daily nutritional intake. Enjoy healthy nuts Pecans are extremely beneficial to supporting not just healthy moods but healthy brain function as well. It’s the oils in the nuts that do the trick. Read more at http://naturalpedia.com/pecans.html Other nuts can also be strongly supportive of healthy moods in the long term: Almonds, pistachios, macadamia nuts and walnuts all have powerful health-supporting properties that affect brain function and therefore mood experiences, too. Eat more raw nuts and you’ll create better brain balance for the long term! Adaptogens and green tea Green tea seems to provide a subtle mood lift without all the problems of typical stimulants. Just make sure you’re getting decaffeinated green tea, and check your source to make sure it doesn’t suffer from fluoride contamination (some green tea products grown in certain countries have been known to carry a lot of fluoride). Adaptogenic herbs are also very, very good at helping your neurology better handle stress. This can often translate into an easier day, reduced stress and improved moods. Adaptogens include ginseng, ashwagandha, rhodiola, cordyceps mushroom and many others. Learn more about adaptogens at NaturalPedia: http://www.naturalpedia.com/adaptogens.html Herbal tonics for mood support While we’re in the realm of herbs, there are several herbal tonic products that are well known to help support healthy moods. St. John’s Wort has been clinically shown to work as well as antidepressant drugs to ease symptoms of depression. I usually take it with dandelion or yellow dock to provide additional liver support. Learn more about St. John’s Wort at NaturaPedia: http://www.naturalpedia.com/St_Johns_wort.html Several Traditional Chinese Medicine herbal formulas are also known to help support healthy moods. Chinese herbs are always used in combination, never in isolation, but one herb that’s found in many mood-supporting formulas is Bupleurum . The history and use of this herb is quite fascinating. Check it out here: http://www.naturalpedia.com/Bupleurum.html Eat lots of fresh fruits and veggies In addition to the omega-3 oils, nuts and herbs mentioned here, focus on consuming large quantities of fresh fruits and vegetables. You simply cannot over-eat fresh fruits and vegetables, so eat all you want. They’re loaded with mood-lifting nutrients that can also help prevent cancer, heart disease and diabetes. Be sure to buy organic produce wherever possible! What to avoid This section can be summed up in just two words: Sugar, Caffeine . Seriously. If you want to maintain healthy moods, it’s crucial to avoid refined sugar and caffeine from all sources . That means no caffeinated coffee, no donuts, no cookies, no Pepsi, etc. These two chemicals do more to destroy healthy moods in the long term than probably any other chemicals in the food supply. And yet, ironically, they are precisely the two chemicals that people reach for to try to get short-term mood lifts . They do provide short-term boosts, much like a drug. Heroin might make you feel good in the short term, too, but it’s highly addictive and causes huge health problems over the long haul. Sugar and caffeine are similarly addictive and problematic; except they’re legal and you don’t inject them with a syringe. (Well, at least I hope not.) If you suffer from mood swings or depression right now, the first and most important change you need to make in your diet is to eliminate refined sugars and caffeine . The second change to make is to start bringing in mood-enhancing health foods such as omega-3s, raw nuts and lots of fresh produce. But the really important step is to find new ways to enjoy your feed by expanding your experience of all the amazing tastes to be found in the universe of foods provided by Mother Nature. If you’ve never tried raw food cuisine , definitely check it out at a local raw food restaurant (or find a raw food chef in your area). You’ll be amazed at the new spectrum of tastes and sensory experiences provided by raw foods — and you’ll experience huge long-term health benefits from the raw foods, too! Stay happy with healthy foods Yes, food can make you happy , but only if you focus on consuming health-enhancing foods that are natural, non-refined and packed with nutrients. Don’t compromise your mental experience of life by turning to sugar, caffeine and other short-term stimulants. Or if you’re on those right now, find ways to slowly transition off them while embracing some of the healthier choices I’ve covered here. In the long term, you’ll discover that healthy foods = healthy moods . But give it time: It may take 30 days of eating right before you really feel the full effects with improved mood. Foods are not isolated chemicals that kick in right away. Transitioning to a healthier body and brain with healthy food takes some time. But it’s time well spent. After all, you get to eat your way to a more positive outlook on life . And that sounds kinda fun anyway, doesn’t it?

Why intelligent life in the universe is likely to be hostile

(NaturalNews) Famed physicist Stephen Hawking recently made headlines by explaining that even though extraterrestrial intelligence very likely exists in the universe, we probably don’t want to meet aliens any time soon. “If aliens ever visit us,” Hawking said, “I think the outcome would be much as when Christopher Columbus first landed in America, which didn’t turn out very well for the Native Americans.” I agree completely. In fact, I’ve been considering writing an article on this subject for quite some time, but thought it would be construed as “too pessimistic” by many readers. But now that Hawking has opened the door on this topic, here’s my take on it. The most successful societies are the conquerors Sad as it may seem, peaceful societies never accomplish much in the way of spreading their culture, expanding their reach or populating new lands (or planets). All the really peaceful cultures on planet Earth — Tibetan Buddhists, Amazonian tribes, Native American Indians, Indigenous Australians — were unilaterally wiped out by far more aggressive and violent cultures. The Earth today is dominated by those religions and cultures that were expansionary and aggressive in their ways. Aggressive populations always tend to destroy peaceful populations, taking over their lands and resources, eventually ruling their people. In looking at the universe, it’s not difficult to realize that peaceful, docile planetary populations are extremely unlikely to ever visit other planets. They’re not looking to expand and they’re quite content with where they are. So happy aliens , so to speak, are almost certainly not the kind of aliens we are likely to see zipping around the universe and arriving at our doorstep. Angry, war-like aliens, on the other hand, are always looking to expand and conquer. They are the ones who will “succeed” in the universe because they will constantly expand their reach, take over other planets, and exploit more resources to drive their war machines. These are the aliens we are far more likely to meet. That’s Stephen Hawking’s point, too. What happens when alien conquerors discover Earth? If you believe there are intelligent extraterrestrials zipping around the universe at faster-than-light travel, then you quickly realize it won’t take long before they discover Earth — a luscious planet filled with water, one of the most precious resources in the known universe. Earth also contains various precious metals, too, that would likely be extremely important for alien technologies. Just as the U.S. invades other countries to acquire supplies of oil, extraterrestrial aliens may decide to invade planet Earth to take our water, metals or even our DNA. This is not an outlandish thought: It’s actually the most likely context of any meeting with aliens. We should assume, in other words, that if aliens actually come to visit Earth, they will almost certainly be looking to exploit our planetary resources for their own continued imperialistic expansion because only the expansionary aliens are likely to find us in the first place. And in such an encounter, it is extremely likely that alien weapons technology would vastly out-perform our own defensive technologies, essentially leaving our planet defenseless. A few Patriot missiles, in other words, won’t stop alien anti-matter blasters or whatever they happen to be firing our way. (Or they could probably just unleash an engineered pandemic to wipe us out without destroying the natural habitat on the planet.) It’s also extremely likely that these expansionary, imperialistic aliens won’t value human life. Do modern American soldiers value the lives of Iraqi civilians? Did the crew of Christopher Columbus value the lives of Native American Indians? Not at all: The legacy of Columbus that’s not taught in history lessons is that the man was a slaughterer of Native American Indians who engaged in the most heinous crimes against the “savages.” That America actually continues to celebrate the Columbus Day holiday is yet another powerful demonstration of how our culture worships violence, destruction and expansionary imperialism. Earthlings will likely be considered “savages” by any sufficiently-advanced alien race. We should expect to be treated by them no more compassionately than the way in which we have treated indigenous populations that inhabit our own planet. What about an enlightened alien race? It would seem more optimistic, of course, to suppose that some extraterrestrial intelligence might be “enlightened.” They would come to us in peace, the thinking goes, and they would share their technology with us to cure cancer, end all disease, or whatever. This is some fairly naive thinking, actually. If you look around our own planet, you see that the peaceful “enlightened” societies like the Tibetan Buddhists are routinely overrun (murdered, imprisoned, etc.) by far more aggressive and militaristic societies like the Communist Chinese. If you look at the history of planet earth (or even just the more recent history of North America), enlightened populations haven’t fared very well. Most have been all but eradicated from the face of our planet, in fact, or placed on desolate reservations that were only chosen because they were perceived to have no value in terms of natural resources. Peace, in other words, doesn’t get you anywhere in the physical universe (although it probably scores you karma points in other ways). Given any collection of neighborhoods, towns, cities, nations or worlds, those who are most militaristic, violent and expansionist are the most likely to end up dominating (and populating) the available living spaces. Natural selection on the scale of the entire universe, in other words, favors those who destroy others. Because of this unfortunate reality, we should only really expect to meet intelligent extraterrestrials who are looking to destroy us. This isn’t a radical idea… it’s actually the most logical conclusion. I’m not advocating all this, by the way. It’s just a sad reality of our physical universe. I wish the more enlightened civilizations were more successful, but I don’t see any evidence of that. Besides, Earthlings aren’t really enlightened yet either. We are still basically an infantile race of arrogant men with silly ideas about medicine, nature, sustainability and technology. As we haven’t yet learned to value the life of plants and animals on our planet, why should we expect some alien race to value our lives? Has the invasion already begun? (Humor section) Here’s a radical idea: What if the aliens have already arrived and are working among us to destroy the human population right now in preparation for alien colonization? This horrifying idea is portrayed quite dramatically in the recent television series “V” which is actually a remake of a series of the same name from the 1980′s in which alien reptilian visitors were taking over Earth by posing as earthlings. See Wikipedia . In the V series, aliens that look like humans take over key positions in politics, health care and law enforcement, then they methodically enslave the human race. The reason I mention this is because some writers and public speakers such as David Icke have, for years, claimed that a reptilian race of aliens already lives among us, and that people in key positions of power are actually reptilians. Obama is a reptile, the thinking goes, and so was Bush. It’s hard to know what to make of such assertions. It would seem that if such lizard people actually existed, somebody would have snapped a photo of one by now, or a video would have appeared on YouTube. Or a lizard skull would have been apparent on a CT scan somewhere along the line. Unless, of course, you think that the reptilian alien conspiracy goes so deep that key information censors on the internet (Google) are actually reptilian aliens themselves. Come to think of it, the founders of Google, Sergey Brin and Larry Page, do look a little bit like iguanas (http://scrapetv.com/News/News%20Pages/Technology/images/sergey-brin-larry-page.jpg), but that’s probably just coincidence. Or is it?

« Previous Page — Next Page »