12 striking contradictions between Adya Clarity and the core health principles of raw foods living
November 3, 2011 by
Filed under Minerals, Organic Foods, Supplements
(NaturalNews) As recent events surrounding Adya Clarity (black mica extract) have revealed, a great many people within the raw food community departed from their usual advocacy of plant-based minerals and natural foods in a rush to consume (and promote, in some cases) a product made by dissolving rocks in chemically-manufactured sulfuric acid and then packaged in plastic bottles. This substance was sold as a dietary supplement accompanied by numerous claims that it would pull heavy metals out of your brain, eliminate kidney stones, reverse arthritis, and even give you the minerals your body was lacking (the two most common minerals / metals in Adya Clarity, for the record, are iron sulfate and aluminum sulfate). I’m not going to re-hash the whole story about Adya Clarity here, because we’ve already covered that. Instead, this story is about the surprising contradictions that were witnessed in all this — contradictions that saw a great many people departing from their own inner wisdom about natural living. Here are 12 striking contradictions which are finally starting to be fully realized by all involved. (Note: For the record, the raw food community offers fantastic advice on juicing, plant-based diets, superfoods nutrition and many other extremely valuable areas of nutritional knowledge. This incident was a “freak” abberation from their usual advocacy of things that are very healthful.) 12 contradictions surrounding Adya Clarity #1) The raw food community believes: You should pursue an alkaline diet. But Adya Clarity is acidic! It’s actually made with sulfuric acid. It’s so acidic that the materials safety data sheet (MSDS) warns that handling the raw materials should only be done with “…acid-proof tools made of plastic or stainless steel.” #2) The raw food community believes: You should get your minerals from live plants / raw plants. But Adya Clarity delivers minerals from dead rocks! #3) The raw food community believes: You should eat local. But Adya Clarity is mined near Fukushima and imported from Japan. #4) The raw food community believes: Your food should come from nature, or a home garden, not a food factory. But the primary non-water ingredient in Adya Clarity is sulfuric acid, which is typically manufactured in a CHEMICAL FACTORY. #5) The raw food community believes: We should avoid aluminum cookware and aluminum foil. But Adya Clarity contains over 1,000PPM of aluminum sulfate, dissolved in sulfuric acid, and you’re supposed to drink it! #6) The raw food community believes: Vaccines are dangerous because they contain aluminum and mercury. But Adya Clarity contains high levels of aluminum and iron in their sulfated forms! And it was marketed as a “mineral supplement” so powerful that if you sat in a bathtub with Adya added to the water, the minerals would ” penetrate to your bone marrow ,” claimed the founder of Adya, Inc. #7) The raw food community believes: Your food should be natural, unprocessed and never packaged in plastic. But Adya Clarity is made from industrially-mined rocks that are processed with sulfuric acid, then bottled in plastic. #8) The raw food community believes: Making too much money is evil. Products and services should be offered at fair prices. But Adya Clarity was bottled at around $5 a bottle and sold for $149! Some distributors are still refusing to give refunds to customers who want them, clearly indicating where they stand on the integrity question. #9) The raw food community believes: Foods should be labeled with their GMO content because full disclosure is required. But Adya Clarity was deliberately mislabeled to avoid any mention of the concentration of aluminum. This has been explained away by Adya, Inc. as something they deliberately chose not to do because they didn’t want to. If full disclosure is demanded of Monsanto, shouldn’t it also be demanded of people who sell health supplements? #10) The raw food community believes: The pharmaceutical industry is evil because they always lie to us. But Adya, Inc. misrepresented their own product by deliberately printing a misleading label! They also deceived US Customs by importing raw materials under the description of “Battery Acid.” #11) The raw food community believes: You should never drink tap water because it contains added chemicals like fluoride and chlorine. But Adya Clarity adds metals to water. It is essentially a “water additive” containing primarily iron sulfate and aluminum sulfate as its two most common metals. It’s even openly marketed as a way to “absorb” its minerals. But why would raw foodies want to drink iron and aluminum in their sulfated form? It is astonishing that some raw foodies returned to drinking tap water when they used to drink spring water! #12) The raw food community believes: The “scientific evidence” supporting the safe use of vaccines is largely fraudulent and fabricated. Therefore, you can’t trust vaccines. (This is true, by the way.) But Adya Clarity was openly marketed, advocated, sold and consumed with no scientific evidence to support its use for internal consumption. Doesn’t it seem odd to point the finger at the vaccine industry for fudging the evidence and then turn around and drink this stuff without having any evidence whatsoever to support its safe and effective use for internal use? Getting back to basics Raw Foods advocate David Wolfe has always taught us to “get our minerals through food.” And he’s right! Dr. Gabriel Cousens is a long-time advocate of juicing and eating sprouts, both of which are outstanding sources of plant-based minerals (organic minerals that have been transformed by plants into human-compatible minerals). At the Tree of Life Rejuvenation Center in Arizona, he achieves phenomenal results in helping people reverse diabetes in just a few days or weeks by teaching them nutritional fundamentals and getting them off processed junk food and animals products. His successes are legendary and well documented (I’ve personally interviewed many of his patients who quite literally reversed type-2 diabetes through a plant-based diet and lots of juicing). Given how successful raw foods has been at helping many people get off a destructive processed food diet, the obvious question is this: Why did the raw foods community just ABANDON its own principles with Adya? Was the community just hoodwinked into thinking this magical, “magnetic” product was a cure-all in a bottle? And if so, isn’t that exactly what we WARN people about believing when it comes to pharmaceuticals and vaccines? If we are to claim any level of integrity, we cannot act in a way that is contrary to the core principles we teach . The core principles of raw foods are valid and very valuable: Get your minerals (and your medicine) from plants. Grow as much of your own food as you can. Avoid processed, factory-made foods and especially processed animal products (like pasteurized milk). Get back in touch with nature. Pursue a diet of LIVING plants, not dead stuff in a bottle. Any time we depart from these simple, fundamental truths, we are headed for trouble. We lose our way, and we eventually lose our integrity. Restoring that integrity merely means returning to the path of what is true: Mother Nature grows medicine for us. Plants are living systems. The best water is clean (unpolluted) spring water with nothing added to it. Whom to believe? Believe in the core principles of natural living From time to time, someone will always come along with a bottle of something, and they will claim it’s magical, and they will sound convincing. While goods things can certainly come in bottles (goji juice, for example), remember that something in a bottle is NEVER as good as something living, right out of nature . Even the goji juice in a bottle is pasteurized, so it’s no longer living. This has also been a core principle taught in the raw foods community: Eat wild foods . People like David Wolfe, Peter Ragnar and Daniel Vitalis are strong advocates of wild foods foraging and consumption, and there’s a reason for that: Wild foods have the strongest life force, the strongest nutrition and the strongest medicine of all foods. If someone goes out and harvests wild foods for you, then puts it in a bottle or a bag, that’s one step removed from the wild, but it’s still far better than processed grocery store food. However, if someone goes out and mines a bunch of rocks and metals, then dissolves them into sulfuric acid and says, “Here, drink this!”, we all need to realize that’s not natural! And it certainly isn’t in alignment with the valuable wisdom the raw foods community has to offer. Remember: If you ever have questions, if you’re not sure what to believe, just recall the basics . Food from nature. Minerals from plants. Water from springs. Consume living plants, not dead rocks. “Miracle” cures come and go, but the basics never really change. Remembering these fundamentals will keep us all on the path of lifelong health and longevity.
Adya Clarity – how to intelligently read the label and calculate possible toxic exposures to excess iron and aluminum
October 30, 2011 by
Filed under Minerals, Organic Foods
(NaturalNews) There is a lot of conversation on the ‘net about Adya Clarity following our publishing of information questioning its composition, labeling and safety (http://www.naturalnews.com/034005_Adya_Clarity_consumer_alert.html). Readers have rightly been calling for pictures, documents and charts that help explain Adya’s labeling. They want to know whether they might be consuming excess iron and aluminum if they have been taking the “super shots” as widely demonstrated in the Adya Clarity marketing videos and materials. To help answer this, we have assembled a short collection of information for your review. Labeling and MSDS problems MSDS stands for “Material Safety Data Sheet.” The Adya Clarity “MSDS” is really a sheet on Themarox, which is the raw material that is diluted 10:1 to create Adya Clarity. Notice this isn’t even an official MSDS, it’s just a text document that looks it was just typed in by someone. Where is the original MSDS? Adya, Inc. has not provided one. This is all they provided to us: http://www.naturalnews.com/files/Adya-Clarity-MSDS.pdf Keep in mind that Adya Clarity is imported as “battery acid” http://www.importgenius.com/importers/adya-international-inc An “official” MSDS actually looks like the following document, which shows the hazardous effects of aluminum sulfate , which is one of the mineral compounds found in Adya Clarity: http://www.deltachemical.com/PDFS/DeltaAlumSolid.pdf Here is the MSDS for iron sulfate , which is also found in Adya Clarity at 2,000 PPM: http://www.sciencelab.com/msds.php?msdsId=9924056 Note the mention of hazardous toxic effects including: “Potential Acute Health Effects: Hazardous in case of skin contact (irritant), of eye contact (irritant), of ingestion, of inhalation. The substance may be toxic to kidneys, liver, cardiovascular system, central nervous system (CNS). Repeated or prolonged exposure to the substance can produce target organs damage – Chronic Effects on Humans: May cause damage to the following organs: kidneys, liver, cardiovascular system, central nervous system (CNS). Special Remarks on Chronic Effects on Humans: May affect genetic material (mutagenic)…” Here’s the ingredients label from a 32 oz. bottle of Adya Clarity. Notice how the PPM concentration of aluminum is missing? Notice how’s there’s no mention of sulfuric acid, the top ingredient other than water? Notice the mention of barium and cadmium? (Do you realize what these are?) http://www.naturalnews.com/images/Adya-Clarity-Ingredients.jpg This label also suggests that Adya should be ingested (used internally) with the following: “Add 1 teaspoon per 1 gallon of water, stir and enjoy the crisp, clean taste of Adya Clarity water.” Here’s the directions label from a 32 oz. bottle of Adya Clarity: http://www.naturalnews.com/images/Adya-Clarity-Directions.jpg Interestingly, this label says “And while the minerals are clumping these impurities together, they are also activating the oxygen within the water. What does oxygenated water mean? That it is ready to go to work in your body to provide oxygen for you!” Or, I suppose, you could just breathe instead. Miraculously, human lungs actually extract oxygen right out of the air, and then deliver it to your blood! For free, no less. To their credit, Adya does caution people on this label with: “Do not use without properly diluting.” However, I have the Adya founder (and Adya distributors) on numerous videos promoting Adya to be consumed in the form of “super shots” (taken with no dilution). They even show shot glasses while they’re talking about taking Adya shots and how good those “super shots” are for you. Here’s how to convert mg/Liter to PPM: http://www.unitconversion.org/concentration-solution/milligrams-per-liter-to-parts-per-million-ppm-conversion.html Why does 1PPM equal 1mg/L of a solution? Here’s an explanation: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090405002320AAd7WCu Metals toxicity chart Here’s a must-see chart on the levels of iron, aluminum, and magnesium that are allowed in safe drinking water (http://water.epa.gov/drink/contaminants/index.cfm) according to something called the National Secondary Drinking Water Regulations . This chart also shows the level of these elements in Adya Clarity, along with another column showing the total mg of these elements you will consume in one shot glass of Adya Clarity. A “shot glass” is typically 1 to 1.5 ounces. We are showing it here based on 1 ounce. As you review this chart, keep in mind that the iron in Adya is “iron sulfate” and not free elemental iron. The aluminum is in the form of “aluminum sulfate” and not free aluminum. When these substances meet the strong acid in your stomach, however, all that changes. Element EPA safe drinking water limit PPM in Adya Clarity mg in 1 “super shot” Toxicity begins at Symptoms of toxicity Iron 0.3 PPM (1) 2000 PPM (4) 60.6mg 45mg (2) Irritability, neurological (3) Aluminum 0.2 PPM (1) 1090 PPM (4) 33mg unknown Brain poison, neurological damage (5) (6) (7) Sulfuric acid unknown 5,000 PPM (4) 151.5mg unknown n/a Magnesium unknown 400 PPM (4) 12mg 300-400mg n/a (1) http://water.epa.gov/drink/contaminants/index.cfm (2) http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/iron (3) http://www.drhoffman.com/page.cfm/120 (4) Adya provided MSDS http://www.naturalnews.com/files/Adya-Clarity-MSDS.pdf (5) http://www.med.nyu.edu/content?ChunkIID=164929 (6) http://proliberty.com/observer/20071207.htm (7) http://www.frankmckinnon.com/aluminum Additional notes on the toxicity of metals “All metals can cause disease through excess. Approximately 95% of an aluminum load becomes bound to transferrin and albumin intravascularly and is then eliminated renally [through the kidneys]. Up to this time, no biological function has been attributed to this metal, and, more importantly, aluminum accumulation in tissues and organs results in their dysfunction and toxicity.” http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/165315-overview “The average person consumes between 3 and 10mg of aluminum daily.” (But just one shot of Adya Clarity contains 33mg of aluminum sulfate…) http://www.vitawise.com/Nutritional_Healing/aluminum%20toxicity.htm There are over 2,000 references in the National Library of Medicine about aluminum toxicity. Here’s a summary of some of the more interesting ones: http://www.hbci.com/~wenonah/hydro/al.htm “While the body is able to excrete aluminum in its natural form, the element, like mercury, is toxic to all lifeforms when concentrated in their tissues. No living systems use aluminum as part of a biochemical process. It has a tendency to accumulate in the brain and, to a lesser extent, in the bones. It is considerably less toxic than mercury, arsenic, lead or cadmium, but it appears to be more persistent than any of them. The danger is one that only manifests itself over long periods of time. It is certainly prudent to avoid as many known sources as possible. However, in today’s world, aluminum cannot be completely avoided; it is in our water, our food, the air we breathe, the soil and numerous pharmaceutical products including vaccines.” http://proliberty.com/observer/20071207.htm Action items I have spoken to a naturopathic doctor, a medical doctor and a biochemist about Adya Clarity. In the strongest words, they gave me the following information to pass along in the interest of public safety: Action item #1) If you are currently ingesting Adya Clarity, STOP ingesting it immediately . Action item #2) If you have been taking Adya internally, have your blood levels checked for possible toxic overload of metals, especially iron (and possibly aluminum). Action item #3) If you are diagnosed with an iron overload, seek medical advice. You can typically reduce iron load by giving blood . Ask your doctor for other ways to reduce iron load. And keep reading NaturalNews for more updates on Adya Clarity. Several people who sold or marketed Adya are already stepping forward and wanting to tell their stories of how all this could have happened. We will be bringing you those interviews and articles in the coming days here on NaturalNews.
NaturalNews issues consumer alert about Adya Clarity, imported as battery acid and sold for internal consumption
October 28, 2011 by
Filed under Minerals, Organic Foods, Supplements
(NaturalNews) A product called Adya Clarity has been sweeping across the natural health community in the last year or so. It has been sold with recommendations for internal use — taking “super shots” — and often accompanied by wide-ranging claims that it treats cancer, kidney stones, hormone regulation, arthritis, and that it removes radiation and heavy metals. Because so many readers have been asking me about Adya Clarity, I decided to look further into the issue. I was aided by some timely tips that came my way which I began to check out as an investigative journalist. What I found — much of which is detailed in this report — absolutely shocked me. But what do YOU think? Read my report and decide for yourself. Unsubstantiated health claims The claims that Adya Clarity is good for treating kidney stones, hair loss, arthritis and even cancer are, I discovered, entirely unsubstantiated for this product. There is simply no reliable clinical evidence supporting Adya Clarity to be safe or effective for any health condition whatsoever. Furthermore, there are many facets of this story that have raised red flags in my mind as the editor of NaturalNews. For starters, Adya Clarity is primarily composed of sulfuric acid, iron sulfate and aluminum sulfate. Before being diluted and bottled, Adya Clarity starts out as Themarox , a mineral deposit mined in Japan just a few dozen miles away from Fukushima . This Themarox has a very acid pH value, near 0.5. In this state, aluminum sulfate is present in a concentration of 10.9 grams per liter, according to our research. To make Adya Clarity, Themarox is diluted at roughly 10:1, raising the pH and diluting the sulfuric acid. Once bottled, Adya Clarity contains the following concentrations of metals and minerals, according to its label: Iron: 2,000 PPM Magnesium: 400 PPM Calcium: 250 PPM Potassium: 200 PPM Manganese: 20 PPM … and so on. Do you see what’s missing from this list? The aluminum sulfate . By my calculations, given that the aluminum sulfate starts out at 10.9 grams per liter, the diluted form of Themarox — Adya Clarity — contains roughly 1.2 grams per liter of aluminum sulfate. This is 1200 mg per liter, which is almost exactly 1200 PPM (parts per million). (Source: The MSDS provided to me by Adya, Inc. as a Word document, see below. This also corresponds to the PPM of aluminum claimed by the manufacturer, Shimanishi Kaken Co.,Ltd.) Curious as to why aluminum sulfate was not listed on the label in the appropriate order of concentrate (under Iron and above Magnesium), I contacted Matt Bakos, the owner and importer of Adya Clarity and asked him this question. The reason he didn’t list aluminum concentration on the label underneath iron, he told me, was because “I don’t want to.” He said it was listed as a “trace mineral” and that was sufficient. There was no need to list the 1200 PPM of aluminum in Adya because it “is not required,” he told me. I bet many of the people who paid $100+ per bottle for Adya Clarity would also be interested to learn there’s quite a significant concentration of aluminum in the product they may have already begun ingesting. So I pressed further. When challenged on this a second time, Bakos became angry and rather belligerent with me on the phone, and what began as a conversation quickly devolved into something of a screaming competition between he and I. When I suggested that the product name “Adya CLARITY” should achieve “clarity” on the label by offering full disclosure of its mineral and metal content, he became further outraged and ultimately accused me of not knowing what I was talking about and then threatened to involve his lawyers. To me, these are classic red flags of people about which I have serious reservations. When I ask honest questions and instead of getting answers I get angrily attacked, I know something’s up. This is doubly true given that I am well known as a friend of the nutritional products industry — someone who consistently shares good news about products that offer substantial benefits and safety to informed consumers. (I’ve been doing this for eight years. This isn’t new territory for me.) By the end of this conversation, it was clear to me that I was not dealing with a person who was willing to provide reasonable answers to legitimate safety questions. I have this entire conversation recorded and on the record, with Bakos’ permission no less, and I reserve the right to publicly release this recording if I think it serves the public interest. (I am not ashamed of my use of profanity in this context, which will become crystal clear to you if you hear this recording. It got quite heated.) Imported as “battery acid” One of the tips NaturalNews received on this story claims that Adya, Inc. was importing Adya Clarity under the description of “battery acid.” I could hardly believe this was true, so I checked it out myself. What I found was surprising but true: On the ImportGenius.com website, a query of “Adya Inc” from Coldwater, Michigan turns up numerous entries of imported materials from the SHIMANISHI KAKEN CO. in Japan to ADYA INC in Coldwater Michigan. The contents of these shipments? INORGANIC CHEMICALSHS CODE 3824 BATTERY FLUID ACID You can see this yourself at: http://www.importgenius.com/importers/adya-international-inc If you join this website to view more records, you will find other importation records with these descriptions and dates: SHIMANISHI KAKEN CO. LTD. ADYA INC. 9/21/2011 3,060 Tokyo Los Angeles California MOL LOIRE INORGANIC CHEMICALS BATTERY FLUID ACID HS CODE 3824.90 SHIMANISHI KAKEN CO. LTD. ADYA INC. 8/23/2011 1,920 Tokyo Los Angeles California VIRGINIA BRIDGE INORGANIC CHEMICALSHS CODE. 382490 SHIMANISHI KAKEN CO. LTD. ADYA INC. 5/31/2011 1,180 Tokyo Los Angeles California VICTORIA BRIDGE INORGANIC CHEMICALS THEMAROX HS CODE 3824.90 SHIMANISHI KAKEN CO. LTD. ADYA INC. 2/23/2011 1,420 Tokyo Long Beach California MOL LOIRE SULPHURIC ACID THEMAROX HS CODE 3824.90 SHIMANISHI KAKEN CO. LTD. ADYA INC. 12/22/2010 905 Tokyo Long Beach California VIRGINIA BRIDGE INORGANIC CHEMICALSHS CODE 3824.90 BATTERY FLUID ACID What these import records appear to indicate is that Adya, Inc. is importing materials which are described as battery acid . What’s wrong with that? Well, Adya Inc. is not in the battery business. They are in the business of selling an acidic liquid as a water additive labeled for human consumption. It is rather evident that the “battery acid” liquid claimed on the shipping manifests is, in fact, the raw material ingredient for Adya Clarity. “Super shots” for internal use The Adya Clarity product has also been widely promoted by Adya Inc distributors as something for internal use, via the taking of “super shots.” The Adya Clarity bottle label even directs customers to consume the product: “Add 1 teaspoon per 1 gallon of water, stir and enjoy the crisp, clean taste of Adya Clarity water,” it says. This clearly implies drinking the water containing the Adya Clarity (how else would you “taste” and “enjoy” it?) Thus, the product label itself is promoting the product for internal use . Much of the promotional material also recommends Adya Clarity for internal use. This is an oft-repeated message in the videos and webinars used to promote the product. Click this Bing search for more examples of Adya Clarity being promoted for internal use: http://www.bing.com/search?q=adya+clarity+super+shot Adya Clarity is a food? During my recorded conversation with Matt Bakos, he insisted that Adya Clarity was a “food” and compared it to eating bananas and other fruits. This, on its face, is absurd. Not by any stretch of reason is Adya Clarity a “food” anymore than, say, uranium is a food because it is also mined out of the ground. Adya Clarity is derived from a mineral deposit to which sulfuric acid is added. Adya Clarity does not grow on trees or bushes. In fact, it is derived from rocks mined near Fukushima and pulled right out of the ground, then combined with sulfuric acid as part of its manufacturing process. Adya Clarity might be described as a collection of industrial chemicals used for water purification, which is of course almost exactly what was described on the shipping documents with the phrase, “INORGANIC CHEMICALS.” Adya Clarity has been widely mislabeled In my interview with Bakos, he claimed that the current labeling of Adya Clarity is incorrect because “someone hacked into their computers” causing all their labels to carry incorrect information. (Really? Don’t you check your labels before printing them? Or before labeling the products? Or before shipping out the products? Is there really this much lack of quality control at Adya Inc? This is truly concerning…) I asked Bakos if he had issued a product recall as a result of the mislabeling. He explained no, there was no need because the product was not “contaminated” with anything. So I asked if there was an effort under way to email all the customers and inform them of the mislabeling. Again, he said no, giving an unsatisfactory explanation of why this was not necessary. So I asked if his new labels appropriately listed the amount of aluminum contained in Adya, in the appropriate order of concentration, underneath Iron and above Magnesium. He replied that no, aluminum was not listed there because he “didn’t want to” list it there. Instead, it was listed under “trace minerals” along with other trace minerals and elements. Now, to be fair, there is a trace amount of aluminum in lots of things, including Himalayan salt, bananas, and even some brands of baking powder (among other foods). A trace level of aluminum is not typically a concern, although cumulative levels of aluminum do begin to become a concern if consumed regularly. On that note, 1,200 PPM of aluminum sulfate — when people are drinking “super shots” of this liquid — is very concerning to me, just out of a sense of caution and basic knowledge of biochemistry. That Bakos admittedly made a conscious decision to avoid listing aluminum sulfate in its 1200 PPM concentration on the label, and instead put aluminum in the “trace minerals” section of his product’s label, smacks of deliberate deception. Why would Adya go out of its way to hide the aluminum concentration in Adya Clarity even though the other macro minerals and metals are clearly listed with their accompanying concentrations? It appears that there’s not as much “clarity” with Adya Clarity as we might have hoped. Where is the official MSDS? Everywhere I turned to ask more questions about Adya Clarity, I found unsatisfactory answers. When I inquired about the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS), which is required for all hazardous materials being transported in large quantities, I was given a Word document which looks like somebody just typed it up on their own. That’s very different from an official MSDS, which should look more like this (from an unrelated website): http://www.sciencelab.com/msds.php?msdsId=9927253 The MSDS I was given could have been easily modified in a text editor. Even then, it contains the following warnings: Handling and storage; Handle with acid-proof tools made of plastic or stainless steel. The workers should wear acid-proof clothes and gloves. The products should be stored in acid-proof containers such as plastics. These containers should be stored indoor location. Iron overload? Adya Clarity contains 2,000 PPM of iron , according to the label. Consuming it in “super shots” in the way Adya has been marketing could mean introducing high levels of iron into your diet, and many Americans are already in a state of toxic iron overload, says Dr. Richard Kunin, a highly celebrated biochemist and expert researcher who spoke with NaturalNews after reviewing the Adya Clarity label. “I’m concerned about the iron content. A lot of people are sensitive to an overdose of iron, and if they’re eating oatmeal in the morning, they’re getting 10mg of iron right there. It all adds up. I’m seeing people who have too much iron, This is a very big problem,” Kunin told NaturalNews. Even worse, there is a genetic iron overload condition called hereditary hemochromatosis which causes some people to experience acute iron toxicity even from relatively mundane levels of iron intake. Dr. Richard Kunin told NaturalNews that 18mg of iron intake each day is the upper safety limit on a day-to-day basis, but Adya Clarity “super shots” can add 10mg per day (depending on the size of the shots, of course) to the iron intake of a typical consumer who may have already consumed their iron limit for that day. This is especially prevalent among the vegetarians and vegans to which Adya Clarity has been widely marketed. According to the NIH, for example, just 3/4ths cup of oatmeal contains 18mg of iron all by itself! (http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/iron) If you start your morning with 3/4ths cup of oatmeal, then you add a “super shot” of Adya Clarity to your morning coffee, you could be consuming 23 mg of iron even before you finish breakfast. By the end of the day, you could easily exceed 40mg or 50mg of iron in just one day through the consumption of vegetarian foods and a couple of Adya Clarity “super shots.” That’s because many foods favored by vegetarians are also high in iron, including: Soybeans – 8.8mg of iron in one cup Lentils – 6.6mg of iron in one cup Kidney beans – 5.2mg of iron in one cup If you look at the typical diet of a vegetarian or vegan, it’s not difficult to imagine that many people could be consuming 30 – 40mg of iron in a day. If you add another 10mg of iron on top of that through Adya Clarity “super shots,” you could very easily put yourself in a state of acute iron toxicity , from which the best known remedy is blood letting to eliminate excess iron. “[Excess] iron is what kills babies,” Dr. Kunin told me. “They eat iron pills and die. Adults overload and end up with un-diagnosable illnesses. I’m seeing iron overload in twenty percent of my patients. We’re talking about a big problem here.” What really happens when you take too much iron? “In the body, the iron starts oxidizing everything; it will oxidize vitamin C, it will go to the liver where iron will be accumulated and over time make people more susceptible to hepatitis, either viral or chemical,” says Kunin. “The iron will then act as an amplifier, promoting an inflammatory response in the liver, and likewise in the kidneys,” Dr. Kunin continued. “If it accumulates in the brain, it makes any other chemical insult to that part of the brain even worse. It’s linked to arthritis, and in men it can go right to the gonad and cause you to lose your potency.” For the record, Dr. Kunin has not yet had time to study Adya Clarity’s effects in the human body (Adya is still a relatively new product). He is merely expressing his well-informed views about biochemistry and the impact of dietary iron on human health. Given that Adya Clarity contains a relatively high level of iron (it’s the most concentrated mineral in the product, with aluminum the second), it only makes sense to consider the health effects of increased dietary intake of iron, especially if consuming liquids with iron concentrations of 2,000 PPM. Is it detox? Or is it something else entirely? I was given a link to a testimonial about Adya Clarity that raises more questions about iron toxicity. One person on the Listen2YourGut.com website writes (http://www.listen2yourgut.com/blog/does-adya-clarity-black-mica-extract-work/): “So just watched [the] webinar as well and was interested in the supposed benefits. And before I decided to buy (and while the webinar was playing) I was doing research on the internet. Has anyone experienced any of the side effects detoxification mentioned in the videos? Such as the blackened finger tips and lead taste in the mouth or the kidney stones?” This raises red flags for me, as “blackened finger tips and lead taste in the mouth” are potential signs that could very well indicate metal toxicity . I find it further concerning that positive effects of Adya Clarity are often described as evidence that the product works, while negative effects that people experience are often explained away as “detoxification experiences.” Not everything is a detox, folks. Sometimes there is a far more worrisome explanation for such experiences. Adya marketed with recommendations for internal use Adya Clarity has been marketed with direct recommendations for consuming it every 12 hours, using text like this: “As far as super shots are concerned; taking a super shot is an off label use. Mix 1 teaspoon of ADYA in 1 oz. of water. If this is too strong to the taste, you can use more than 1 oz of water. Drink one Supershot immediately upon waking in the morning. Repeat every 12 hours.” See more examples of Adya Clarity promoted with “super shots” through this Bing search: http://www.bing.com/search?q=adya+clarity+super+shot To their credit, the marketers of Adya Clarity did at least recommend that customers “consult with a doctor or medical professional before someone decides to use super shots.” Also, for the record, I do not believe that the marketers of Adya Clarity would knowingly sell a product they thought was harmful. Much of the information in this article is likely to be a surprise to those who have been marketing Adya Clarity. More information will no doubt come to light after the publication of this article, and NaturalNews plans to continue to cover this story. Action items: What should you do if you bought Adya Clarity? If you purchased Adya Clarity, what should you do with this information now? First, I suggest you think twice before ingesting any inorganic material. Ask the commonsense questions you should ask about any non-food product that is being aggressively promoted: What’s in this? Is it safe to consume? How does anybody know it’s safe? Is there a track record of safe use? Is there an independent source that can corroborate the product’s safety without being financially involved in the product? If you can’t get green light answers on these questions, I would recommend avoiding consuming that product. Second, listen to your intuition: Is the marketing too good to be true? Is it being heralded as a “miracle” cure for whatever ails you? Certainly, there are supplements that are almost miraculous in nature, such as vitamin D, or astaxanthin, or even phytonutrients like resveratrol. But “miracle” nutrients are rare, and they usually come from living systems (plants, for the most part), not from rocks. While both trace minerals and macro minerals have a crucial role to play in human health — I’ve promoted many trace minerals myself — when they are mixed with relatively high concentrations of aluminum and iron, any biochemist or nutritionist would naturally begin to ask some commonsense questions about ingesting that product on a regular basis. Third, if you bought Adya Clarity merely to cleanse water due to its coagulation action, then it will obviously still function in that way, and there’s no need to return it or ask for a refund. It can conceivably function as an emergency water filtration technology. But as a side note, you can purchase aluminum sulfate from Amazon.com for just a few dollars a pound. Iron sulfate and magnesium sulfate are similarly inexpensive. If you’re only looking to treat dirty water with coagulation minerals, you can do it for a whole lot less money by simply purchasing bulk minerals on the internet. For example, here’s 4 pounds of aluminum sulfate for less than ten bucks: http://www.amazon.com/Bonide-Aluminum-Sulfate-4-Lb/dp/B003A56KWY I wouldn’t personally use this Bonide Aluminum Sulfate to filter water, however. It’s made as a plant fertilizer. I would prefer to use a ceramic water filter or a Big Berkey filter, or something with a carbon block in it, perhaps. There are lots of good water filters on the market today, and many of them produce clear, drinkable water at just a few cents per gallon. Aluminum sulfate’s use as a chemical flocculant Aluminum sulfate, of course, has long been used in municipal water treatment facilities as a “chemical flocculant” or “coagulant.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aluminium_sulfate) This is one of the observed properties of Adya Clarity — when you pour it into a glass of dirty water, many of the impurities in the water coagulate and then, over 24 hours or so, they settle to the bottom of the container, leaving the water above these coagulants less polluted. In municipal water treatment facilities, aluminum sulfate is often used for the same purpose in one stage of the water filtration process. But importantly, there is another stage after that which REMOVES the coagulated metals and minerals so that they don’t enter the water supply. No one in a water treatment facility would recommend you actually drink the coagulant! Yet Adya Clarity implies this behavior on its label, where it says you add Adya Clarity to water and then “enjoy the crisp, clean taste of Adya Clarity water,” without mentioning that you should never drink the coagulated gunk in the bottom of the glass. Deadly aluminum sulfate poisoning in the UK In 1988, a 20-ton load of aluminum sulfate was accidentally dumped into the municipal water supply in a town in the UK . What followed was a mass poisoning of the citizens in a 140-square-mile area. As reported in the Dailymail (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-502442/A-lethal-cover-Britains-worst-water-poisoning-scandal.html) : “As she starts to walk, it is with a heavy limp and within 50 yards she is so exhausted that her entire body shakes uncontrollably. After Angela finally reaches the local coffee shop, the trembling of her swollen legs is so bad that the table rocks haphazardly, threatening to spill her mug and croissant onto the floor. No wonder, near to tears, she declares bravely: “When I am dead, I want an autopsy done on my body. It might help all the people who, like me and my two children, drank the water in Camelford all those years ago.” For she and her family were victims of one of Britain’s most high-profile public health scandals in which victims complained of brain damage, memory loss and joint problems.” Also from the story: …dead women had “high levels” of aluminium in their brains… …Hundreds began to suffer effects after drinking or bathing – including skin peeling, hands and lips sticking together, hair turning green and fingernails blue. …By nightfall that day, people were vomiting and had diarrhoea. Next morning, many had skin burns, aching joints and mouth ulcers that took weeks to heal. …A few months later Angela became ill. …She was diagnosed with cancer of the lymph glands of the leg. She had an operation to remove the resulting malignant growth on her left thigh. She has since undergone another operation to remove a new growth on the same leg.” Notably, the fingernails turning blue being reported in this story as a result of aluminum sulfate poisoning is strikingly similar to the “blackened finger tips” eluded to earlier in this story, which has been described as a “detoxification” effect. (http://www.listen2yourgut.com/blog/does-adya-clarity-black-mica-extract-work/) Of course, the level of toxic exposure to aluminum sulfate that occurred in the UK was at extremely high levels — far higher than what a person would likely experience from consuming “super shots” of Adya Clarity. Yet this historical event demonstrates what can happen when aluminum sulfate is consumed in toxic quantities. It’s not a pretty picture. Read that full story, if you wish, at: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-502442/A-lethal-cover-Britains-worst-water-poisoning-scandal.html My 15 concerns about Adya Clarity In all, this investigation into Adya Clarity (also called “black mica extract” or Themarox) has left me with numerous concerns that I consider to be quite serious. Here are my top 15 concerns: #1) I am concerned that Adya Clarity is mined just a few dozen miles from the Fukushima nuclear power complex that recently suffered a meltdown and spewed radiation into the atmosphere. I would hope that the supplier of Adya would publicly post a verifiable radiation test report to dismiss any such concerns about possible radiation contamination. #2) I am concerned that the founder of Adya, Inc. describes Adya Clarity as a “food” when it is clearly not a food but rather derived from a collection of mined minerals combined with sulfuric acid. #3) I am concerned that the concentration of aluminum in Adya Clarity appears to have been hidden from customers on the label by listing it in “trace minerals” when in fact it is the second most common element in the product, just after iron. #4) I am concerned that the Adya Clarity manufacturer has such poor quality control measures in place that they admittedly shipped out a very large number of mislabeled Adya Clarity products — and then did not feel any obligation to alert customers to this mislabeling. #5) I am concerned that Adya Clarity is being marketed for internal consumption when there is no clinical evidence or even published scientific papers that have been made available to NaturalNews which supports the safety of the Adya Clarity product for internal consumption. #6) I am concerned that the high level of iron in Adya Clarity may result in acute iron toxicity in some individuals who take “super shots” of Adya, especially if they are genetically predisposed to iron toxicity. #7) I am concerned that Adya Clarity is imported as “battery acid” but sold as a health supplement for internal use. #8) I am concerned that the level of aluminum in Adya Clarity may present a health hazard when consumed on a regular basis, as aluminum is well known to potentially accumulate in the human body and contribute to a variety of neurological disorders. We do not yet conclusively know this to be a fact, but neither do we know it to be safe, and that’s the point. We should follow the “precautionary principle” when considering the internal consumption of non-food items containing concentrations of aluminum or other metals known to exhibit potentially harmful effects. #9) I am concerned that when asked why he did not list the concentration of aluminum on the Adya Clarity label, the founder of the company told me, essentially, “Because I didn’t want to.” To me, this indicates a callous disregard for full disclosure to customers and a reckless abandonment of fundamental ethical principles that should always be present when marketing nutritional supplements labeled for internal use. #10) I am concerned that the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) I received from Adya Clarity appears to be nothing more than a non-official Word document and does not resemble the traditional MSDS documents typically accompanying hazardous substances. as a Word document, it could have easily been modified or edited to eliminate information that the importer did not want other people to see, in much the same way that the label was designed to avoid listing the concentration of aluminum. #11) I am concerned that both children and expectant mothers may be especially at risk due to high consumption of both iron and aluminum, and yet there are no warnings or cautions that accompany the Adya Clarity product which would reasonably inform a pregnant women (or a mother of a child) to exercise caution in the use of this product. #12) I am concerned that the unsubstantiated health claims being used to market Adya Clarity cast a shadow of doubt over the entire natural products industry which, in most cases, sells very safe, effective and well-documented products for consumption. #13) I am concerned that in a time when most of us are trying to remove heavy metals, aluminum and other contaminants from our water (fluoride, BPA, etc.), Adya Clarity is being sold with the message that we need to add something to our water — something that contains aluminum. This is especially concerning given that aluminum is one of the adjuvants used in vaccines, which is one of the reasons informed consumers seek to avoid vaccine injections. #14) I am concerned that those who are marketing Adya Clarity did not exercise fundamental due diligence in determining the evidence-based safety of this product before marketing it for internal use. #15) I am concerned that the Adya Clarity label contains no warnings about iron consumption and no warnings for cumulative aluminum consumption. My principles and ethics As the editor of NaturalNews, I have an obligation to keep my ear to the ground and pay attention to what’s going on in the natural health industry. In the past, I have exposed the deceptive marketing practices of companies like General Mills, which sells “blueberry – pomegranate” cereal that contains no blueberries or pomegranates! (http://www.naturalnews.com/031053_General_Mills_Total_cereal.html) I have helped expose dangers of vaccines and the aluminum contaminants in those vaccines, which many people believe help explain why vaccines may cause autism and other neurological disorders. Day after day, we here at NaturalNews seek to share information about health-enhancing products that are safe and effective while exposing dangerous chemicals in foods, cosmetics, medicines and environmental products that threaten human health. In my years as NaturalNews editor, I have seen it all: The good guys who really offer remarkable health solutions, and the con artists who are selling quack products just to make a quick buck. I’ve seen products hyped way beyond their true merit and sold with outrageous claims that simply have no basis in fact, and at the same time I’ve seen humble nutrients like vitamin D — which are truly miraculous — never get the real publicity they deserve as truly amazing cures. When I talk to people and start getting evasive answers about their products, red flags start to pop up in my head. An honest company selling a mineral complex like Adya, I believe, would have been happy to provide me with an official MSDS and some documentation supporting the safety of their product when ingested. An honest company would have honestly labeled their product to achieve full disclosure and not resorted to hiding one element by burying it in the “trace minerals” section of their label. I personally did not find Adya, Inc. to be forthright in providing answers to my reasonable questions, nor in providing any reliable evidence whatsoever to support the idea that their product may be safely ingested on a regular basis. My conclusions Based on my research and considerable history in the natural products industry, it is my belief that the Adya Clarity product is mislabeled, and I have a question of whether Adya Clarity as it is sold today may stand in violation of California Proposition 65 due to its aluminum content. Based on the evidence I have gathered, I believe the product presents a potential risk of harm to some individuals if consumed in accordance with the way in which it has been labeled and marketed. Everything I have stated in this article is believed to be accurate and true. If any factual mistakes are brought to my attention, I will correct them in a timely manner and issue all appropriate corrections. For the record, I have no financial stake in Adya Clarity, neither its success nor failure. I do not sell or promote any competing product. I am willing to testify under oath in a court of law to the statements and findings I have made herein. I write this out of concern for the safety of NaturalNews readers who deserve to hear the full story on this increasingly popular dietary product. I am committed to taking whatever action is necessary to further investigate this story and help contribute to the safety of consumers who have put their trust in the natural products industry. Watch NaturalNews for more updates on this topic, and thank you for your interest in this subject.
Enjoy the health benefits of raw cheese (Opinion)
October 15, 2011 by
Filed under Organic Foods
(NaturalNews) Cheese is one of America’s favorite foods. The saturated fats involved in cheese give it a rich flavor and a comfortable feel. This popular food can be extraordinarily good; however, it is often highly processed and made out of an inferior dairy supply. Choose raw cheese from grass-fed cows for the incredibly good taste and the powerhouse of nutrients. Cows naturally eat grass; however, 90% of dairy cows are raised in a tight, confined stall and fed a diet of genetically modified corn and soy. This grain diet is not genetically congruent for the cow’s internal ecosystem and the cows build sickness and disease. They become very acidic, which creates an ideal breeding ground for infectious bacteria such as E Coli. In the mainstream dairy feedlots, illness and infection are very common. Powerful antibiotics are used to keep infectious bacteria down, but these also damage the natural micro flora the animals need to maintain good health. This creates an even lower natural immunity and contaminates the dairy with antibiotic substances and other dangerous chemicals. The majority of industrial farms utilize Bovine hormone injections to increase size and weight. Increasing hormone levels boosts milk production. This also increases levels of utter infection, pus formation, antibiotic residue and a cancer accelerating hormone called IGF01. Grain-Fed Dairy Products are Inflammatory Grain-fed cows produce dairy and cheese that is very high in omega 6 fatty acids. The average ratio for a cow on a grain-fed diet is roughly 25:1 (omega 6:3). This is genetically incongruent for all mammal species. Humans should naturally have an omega 6:3 ratio around 4:1 or 2:1. When these ratios become skewed, they trigger cellular inflammation and accelerated cellular degeneration. This environment causes an individual to become highly inflamed and to build degenerative disease. When the cows have this acidic, inflammatory environment, they become very thirsty. They drink significantly more water than grass-fed cows (as there is natural hydration in the grass). This water helps to increase dairy production, but the milk is thinner and less tasty. Years ago, a well-treated cow may have lived close to 20 years. Consider that the typical cow begins lactating around age 2; that is 18 years of dairy production. In 1950, typical cows lived around 10-15 years. Today, the average dairy cow in an industrial farm lives 5 years (3 years of lactation). During these 5 years, the cows are massively fed and stressed to produce the absolute maximal amount of dairy. Natural grass-fed cows produce between 3-5,000 gallons of milk a year while grain-fed, hormone injected cows can easily produce over 20,000 gallons a year. This is a huge advantage for dairy production because they can feed the cows on government subsidized grains while massively producing dairy. Grass-fed Dairy is Anti-Inflammatory: Cheese from 100% grass-fed cows has a perfect omega 6:3 ratio of 2:1. It also contains 5x the amount of Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA), which is an extraordinarily powerful cancer fighting nutrient. CLA is known to boost metabolism and fat burning while enhancing natural immunity. This form of cheese is also a great source of highly bioavailable calcium and magnesium, amino acids and vitamin A, D3, and K2. Raw cheese is naturally processed through old world traditions. This means that the cheese process begins minutes after the morning milking. Because the milk is so fresh, it isn’t necessary to pasteurize it. The natural heat (around 101.5 degrees F) involved in the cheese-making process preserves the naturally beneficial enzymes in the milk which aid in the digestion of lactose and in the absorption of protein, calcium and other critical nutrients. Raw cheese also has a richer and deeper flavor than pasteurized dairy. Sources for this Article Include: http://www.ejnet.org/bgh/nogood.html http://www.kennyscountrycheese.com/ Mendelson A. “The Astonishing Story of Real Milk,” Mother Earth News, October/November 2011. Pg 34-39. http://products.mercola.com/produce/cheese/
Help put an end to water fluoridation by signing official ‘We the People’ petition
October 10, 2011 by
Filed under Organic Foods
(NaturalNews) The Fluoride Action Network (FAN), a nonprofit group dedicated to ending the practice of artificial water fluoridation, has created an official petition aimed at putting a stop to federal government support of fluoridation, and eventually ending the harmful practice altogether. But in order to get an official government response, FAN must receive at least 5,000 signatures by October 26, 2011. The White House recently created a new online portal called We the People that lets Americans voice their concerns and requests through petitions. Anyone can create a petition and, if a petition reaches or exceeds the minimum signature threshold, the government says it will issue an official response to it, and may even decide to comply with its requests. Ever since the controversial practice of water fluoridation first began in the US around 1945, many medical experts, including dentists, have decried it as ineffective and dangerous. Topical fluoride treatments, which some say help to prevent tooth decay, are far different from actually ingesting fluoride chemicals — and yet the government continues to peddle the lie that drinking fluoride helps improve oral health. But this flimsy house of cards is collapsing, and people are learning the truth about fluoride. Many towns and communities across the US have stopped fluoridating their water in recent days, despite the federal government’s position that water fluoridation is one of the “ten great public health achievements” of the 20th century (http://www.fluoridealert.org/communities.aspx). The FAN petition correctly points out that consuming fluoride is dangerous, and can cause dental fluorosis, lowered IQ, and bone cancer, among other diseases. Nearly half of American children between the ages of 12 and 15 suffer from dental fluorosis, for instance, which is actually a form of tooth rot that visibly discolors teeth. Adding fluoride chemicals to water supplies is also a form of forced medication, as the substances added have never been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as safe. In fact, the US government’s National Research Council (NRC) admits that young children, the elderly, and those with certain health conditions are especially prone to damage caused by fluoride ingestion. As of this writing, FAN has already achieved more than 62 percent of the 5,000 signatures it needs to get an official government response to its petition. With your help, FAN will not only reach the 5,000 signatures by October 26, but will greatly exceed it, sending a clear message to the Feds that the people do not want fluoride in their water. To view and sign the FAN petition, visit: https://wwws.whitehouse.gov/petitions#!/petition/prohibit-all-federal-agencies-promoting-endorsing-or-funding-fluoridation-public-drinking-water/SRYL4NwC Sources for this article include: http://www.fluoridealert.org/baby-steps.aspx
Texas city puts an end to water fluoridation
October 1, 2011 by
Filed under Organic Foods
(NaturalNews) A city of roughly 100,000 people and home of Texas A&M University, College Station, Tex., is definitely no backwoods town. In fact, Money magazine named the city, which is located in a metropolitan area populated with more than 200,000 people, the 11th most educated city in the US. And now that city officials have decided to axe fluoride from the water supply, people everywhere are taking notice. One by one they are falling like dominoes — the cities across America that have decided to stop injecting a toxic, endocrine-disrupting halogen into their water supplies, that is. According to a recent announcement by WTAW NewsTalk 1620, six of the seven city council members in “Aggieland” voted to end artificial water fluoridation, a practice that has been taking place there for more than two decades. The decision will not only save College Station more than $40,000 a year, which is what it costs to purchase fluoride chemicals from industrial waste producers, but it also means that, officially, there will be no more cities in the Bryan – College Station metropolitan area that fluoridate their water supplies. College Station joins a host of other towns and cities across the US that are ending the practice as well, including Spring Hill, Tenn. (http://www.naturalnews.com/033479_fluoridation_Nashville.html), Pottstown, Penn. (http://www.naturalnews.com/033496_Philadelphia_water_fluoridation.html), and potentially even New York City (http://www.foodconsumer.org/newsite/Environment/fluoridation_0908110833.html). With momentum building, now is the time for concerned citizens everywhere who live in fluoridated communities to bombard their city officials with information about the dangers of fluoride, and about why removing it is in the best interests of public health. Together, we can put an end to this archaic and barbaric practice. The Fluoride Action Network (FAN), a nonprofit group devoted to broadening public awareness about the toxicity of fluoride, has put together a helpful Top Ten Arguments Against Water Fluoridation guide that will be useful in persuading officials to reconsider water fluoridation. You can view that report here: http://www.fluoridealert.org/top-10-reasons-against-fluoride.aspx FAN has also put together a piece called Why we are Opposed to Water Fluoridation , which contains a wealth of useful information about fluoride, as well as signatures from over 3,000 health professionals who are in agreement about fluoride’s toxicity, and the need to immediately remove it from water supplies: http://www.fluoridealert.org/opposed-water-fluoridation.aspx Be sure to investigate the entire FAN website, which is loaded with useful fluoride information: http://www.fluoridealert.org/ Sources for this story include: http://www.kbtx.com/home/headlines/128651668.html http://www.wtaw.com/2011/09/22/college-station-council-votes-to-stop-adding-fluoride-to-water-supply/
Cat. 4-equivalent Typhoon Roke slams Japan, Fukushima live video feed taken offline
September 23, 2011 by Health Blogger
Filed under Organic Foods
(NaturalNews) The Japanese people simply cannot catch a break, as yet another massive natural disaster has severely ravaged many portions of western and central Japan, and dumped heavy amounts of rain on areas in the northeast, including near the crippled Fukushima nuclear facility. The equivalent of a category 4 hurricane in terms of its power and wind speeds, Typhoon Roke made landfall in southern Japan on Wed., Sept. 21, where it traveled up through central Japan, including Tokyo, before weakening slightly and grazing the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. CBS News has reported that at least 200,000 Japanese households lost power after the storm, and a more recent report from the UK’s Guardian says that at least 16 people are now reported to be dead or missing. Many areas of central Japan remain flooded. Transportation in Tokyo was suspended, and several other areas experienced severe landslides. “The hotels in the vicinity are all booked up so I’m waiting for the bullet train to restart,” said 60-year-old businessman Hiromu Harada, who works in Tokyo, to the Guardian . According to Kyodo news of Japan, as many as 5,000 stranded individuals slept inside Tokyo and Shizuoka bullet train stations overnight as a result of the storm. Meanwhile, up at Fukushima, which is located roughly 100 miles-or-so north of Tokyo, officials at the crippled Fukushima nuclear facility are insisting that the storm did not cause any major damage to the plant. The only thing destroyed, they claim, was a security camera outside which just happens to be the same one that provides a continuous live feed of reactors 1 – 4, all of which either melted through or exploded back in March. According to the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) website, the live feed of the plant was suspended at 8:37 pm on Sept. 21, and was restored the next morning at 10:00 am. TEPCO officials added that contaminated water levels have been continuing to rise, but that plant operators are “watching the situation very closely to make sure that [the water] stays there” (http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/nu/f1-np/camera/index-e.html). Based on the series of disastrous events that have taken place thus far, 2011 is shaping up to be one of the most tumultuous periods of natural disasters, particularly in Japan. Earlier in the month, Typhoon Talas shredded through Japan as well which, according to CBS News , killed at least 90 people. Sources for this story include: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/09/21/501364/main20109337.shtml http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/sep/22/typhoon-roke-fukushima-nuclear-plant
Sucralose found in drinking water supply of more than 28 million Americans
September 23, 2011 by Health Blogger
Filed under Organic Foods
(NaturalNews) If you’ve been diligently avoiding the consumption of chemical sweeteners like sucralose, you may be alarmed to learn that researchers have found sucralose lurking in the drinking water supply of more than 28 million Americans. A recent study tested water samples from 19 water treatment plants in the United States serving more than 28 million people. Researchers analyzed the samples for the artificial sweetener sucralose. Samples tested positive for sucralose in the source water of 15 out of 19 plants. Furthermore, treatment failed to remove the sucralose from the drinking water: sucralose was also found in the finished drinking water from 13 out of 19 plants. Researchers determined that current water treatment methods fail to effectively remove sucralose from our water supply, leaving millions of Americans to unknowingly consume this artificial sweetener every single day. Why is Sucralose in Our Drinking Water? When a person ingests sucralose, a large percentage of it is not broken down and is instead excreted as waste. This waste goes through the water treatment plant, where the sucralose remains intact and goes on to become part of our drinking water supply. Because sucralose has become one of the most widely used artificial sweeteners in commercial soft drinks and snack foods, it is no wonder that it is making an appearance in our drinking water. If sucralose consumption continues to rise, it stands to reason that everyone drinking public water will be ingesting more of this chemical sweetener as well – whether they want to or not. Sucralose is Not Safe for Consumption The public should be aware that the majority of the studies on the safety of sucralose are funded by the creators of the most popular sucralose product on the market. The conflict of interest is obvious and the results of these studies are clearly biased in favor of sucralose. Independent studies aren’t nearly so positive. Questions about the negative impact sucralose has on male fertility, red blood cell count, kidney health, gut flora balance and body weight are serious concerns generated from the results of these studies. Many researchers and health experts are convinced that sucralose should never have been deemed safe for human consumption. Common sense dictates that any chemically-processed food is unfit for human consumption. The fact that these substances are now running rampant through our water supply is an atrocity that violates our right to choose what we put into our own bodies. Sources for this article include: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/09/20/why-are-millions-of-americans-getting-this-synthetic-sweetener-in-their-drinking-water.aspx http://naturalsociety.com/sucralose-contaminating-nations-drinking-water/ http://www.greenmedinfo.com/article/sucralose-found-drinking-water-tested-low-rate-removal-11-and-serving-28-million-people
Secret recordings emerge over Operation Fast and Furious and the ATF’s conspiracy to put more guns into the hands of Mexican drug gangs
September 20, 2011 by Health Blogger
Filed under Organic Foods
(NaturalNews) You just gotta love the audacity of the U.S. federal government and its active staging of crimes in order to achieve political goals. Operation Fast and Furious is the most recent example of a U.S.-run criminal conspiracy pursued for the ultimate purpose of dismantling the Bill of Rights. It involved ATF agents running a criminal scheme that sold literally tens of thousands of guns to Mexican drug gangs, after which the government planned to call for “gun sales restrictions” following the wave of gun violence that would inevitably result. There was only one problem with the government’s evil plan, however — some ATF agents blew the whistle, and then the whole conspiracy exploded in their faces. Now even the mainstream media — which usually won’t touch government conspiracies — is all over Operation Fast and Furious. Heck, the LA Times even has an entire special section dedicated to it, and the paper is actually producing some decent stories on the subject: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/atf-fast-furious-sg,0,3828090.storygallery One of their newest stories reports, “Top Mexican officials say the U.S. kept them in the dark. One official was stunned to learn that the cartel hit men who killed her brother had assault rifles from Fast and Furious in their arsenal.” (http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-mexico-fast-furious-20110920,0,5544168.story) And for all those who say they don’t believe in “conspiracy theories,” well, it turns out they were all just naive, as usual. Here’s a conspiracy fact right in your face — and the government has now been forced to admit to it! Even CBS is breaking some of the news on all this, including publicizing newly-released secret audio tapes that reveal Agent MacAllister and Howard (the gun dealer) expressing concern that “…whistleblower ATF special agent John Dodson has further evidence that could be damaging to the government.” (http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-31727_162-20108240-10391695.html) This is total government criminality caught in action, folks. And if you really want the whole story on Operation Fast and Furious, read up on InfoWars.com: http://www.infowars.com/insider-cia-orchestrated-operation-fast-and-furious/ The mainstream media bought into the cover story What’s clear about Operation Fast and Furious is that it involved not only the ATF but also the White House. The LA Times and other mainstream media papers are incorrectly reporting it as a “failed sting operation,” but that’s just the cover story. In reality, Operation Fast and Furious was a raging success! It achieved its stated goal which was placing thousands of rifles and pistols into the hands of Mexican drug gangs, then hoping enough violence would spill over into the USA that the American people would call for gun sales restrictions. Whether you admire the Second Amendment or not, you’ve got to admit this is a particularly insidious conspiracy because it has the government directly promoting sales of weapons to criminals. Normally when you walk into a gun store, you can’t buy a weapon without passing an FBI background check. So there’s a safety mechanism in place to prevent guns from being purchased by felons or non-citizens. But in this conspiracy operation, the ATF specifically told gun store owners (such as Lone Wolf in Arizona) to sell guns to criminals even if they didn’t pass the background checks. This is just one example of how the U.S. federal government has become a criminal organization that promotes gun violence in America. Remember the conventional cover story for all this? That the guns were going to be “tracked” to see where they ended up? There’s just one problem with this whole story: There were no tracking devices installed on any of the guns being sold to criminals. Thus, the whole idea of tracking these guns is ludicrous, and the government’s official cover story falls apart (yet again). The purpose of Fast and Furious wasn’t to TRACK guns but to ARM CRIMINALS and then hope enough bodies would pile up that the government could call for restrictions against the Second Amendment. In fact, even though the government has been caught red handed in this operation, it has already begun to roll out the gun sales restrictions it planned all along! Documents acquired by InfoWars (and also separately by NaturalNews) reveal that gun shops throughout Arizona, New Mexico and Texas have been ordered by the ATF to report any sale of more than one rifle or pistol to any single person. Thus, even though the FBI already runs background checks on purchasers of firearms, the ATF is now creating a second layer of burdensome paperwork on many sales of firearms. Importantly, this adds no additional background check security to the gun purchasing process, which is already subjected to FBI approval anyway. Even worse, this entire process is being done completely outside the law, using solely the regulatory bullying of the ATF itself — the very same agency that is technically a rogue government agency steeped in criminal behavior . A lawless government Did you ever notice how the federal government never faces any consequences when it breaks the law, but if you or I sold guns to Mexican drug criminals, we’d be facing decades in prison? As we’ve all seen from numerous examples, the government today is a lawless, criminal gang that breaks its own laws with impunity. We now know that the U.S. government staged the 9/11 terror attacks and brought down the WTC 7 building using planned demolition charges. This isn’t even questioned by any rational person anymore, as thousands of architects and engineers have gone public in stating that WTC 7 was, without question, a demolition job (http://www.ae911truth.org). We also know that the government conspired to put tens of thousands of weapons directly into the hands of criminal drug gangs. Time and time again, the federal government actively plots to break the law in order to crush freedom and usurp power. Yet the mainstream media largely doesn’t cover any of this, and the mainstream sheeple of America are for the most part too dumbed-down to even believe what’s really happening. There’s no telling what the government is planning and plotting right now in its evil scheme to destroy our civil rights and unleash a total police state in America. What Operation Fast and Furious really proves is that the U.S. federal government will openly endanger innocent lives and break any laws it wants in pursuit of crushing freedom in America. It’s not even about the guns, you see. It’s about the tactics that the U.S. government now uses to achieve its political aims. Rather than going to the People and asking for their rational views on security versus freedom, the government stages its own catastrophes and crimes in order to get people to REACT so that freedoms can then be stolen from everyone. Isn’t that what “the terrorists” were accused of doing? Remember when George Bush said that terrorists targeted America because “they hate freedom”? But it turns out the real haters of freedom are the rogue agents within the federal government itself. The real roots of modern-day terrorism, it seems, are more easily found in Washington D.C. than Iraq or Syria. We were just following orders, sir Are there good agents in the federal government? Absolutely there are. It was ATF agents who blew the whistle on the ATF conspiracy in the first place. There are FBI agents who do good work to help protect America from legitimate threats. At every level of law enforcement, there are men and women who put their lives on the line with great courage and a real sense of duty . Yet sadly, there are just as many government agents who are ready and willing to commit serious crimes as long as they are told to do so. They make no distinction between good or bad and merely “follow orders.” That’s how we ended up with Operation Fast and Furious, which was no doubt the brainchild of a bunch of gun haters at the White House who decided it was somehow okay for them to break the law as long as they were wrongfully framing (and blaming) gun shops. In their minds, you see, the ends justify the means , so they believe they can commit any and all crimes necessary to achieve their final goal, which might have nothing at all to do with guns. It might be a goal of crushing the raw dairy industry or keeping hemp illegal . Or even outlawing home gardens . There’s no telling what our federal government will do next in its out-of-control desire to crush freedom and destroy our rights. It could stage its own terrorist attacks, unleash bombs in major U.S. cities, poison the water supply or even stage the deaths of U.S. Navy Seal Team members… and it would do it all with a straight face, claiming to be “protecting America” even though it is destroying America from the inside out. (http://www.naturalnews.com/033545_government_terrorism.html) This is why Big Government is so inherently dangerous. When it becomes so large and powerful that it can run criminal conspiracies with impunity, it’s only a matter of time before the government itself becomes the enemy of freedom and spends more time figuring out how to destroy the nation than protecting it. See the related CounterThink cartoon on all this at: http://counterthink.com/Fast_and_Furious.asp
Mother Nature’s thirst-quenching sports drink comes from twigs and leaves: Rooibos
September 9, 2011 by
Filed under Organic Foods
(NaturalNews) Do you know anyone still drinking Gatorade or other popular sports drinks? If so, you may want to turn them on to Rooibos , an amazing thirst quencher (and a potent source of health protective flavonoids) made by Mother Nature. Gatorade, Powerade and other sports drinks are made with liquid sugars (glucose and fructose), artificial coloring chemicals (like red #40), citric acid and emulsifiers such as brominated vegetable oil . Anyone who knows anything about nutrition quickly realizes these are not healthful, wholesome ingredients. I’ve also released a popular video about Vitamin Water , exposing the truth that even Coca-Cola’s own attorneys admit the drink isn’t a “healthy” beverage: www.FoodInvestigations.com Rooibos , on the other hand, is made by Mother Nature. It’s the powdered extract of the Aspalatus linearis plant which grows prolifically in South Africa. Remarkably, it’s a completely caffeine-free plant that nevertheless tastes like an amazing tea beverage or even a sports drink , simply by adding it to water and mixing in your favorite sweetener such as stevia. Rooibos, by the way, synergizes extremely well with stevia. Even if you don’t normally like stevia, when mixed with Rooibos the flavor of the combination suddenly makes stevia far more delicious, and I’ve had many people rave about this simple combination (rooibos + water + stevia). Loaded with health-supportive phytonutrients In addition to the fact that Rooibos contains no caffeine, it’s loaded with phytonutrients such as Aspalathin, Quercetin and Luteolin. It also contains Orientin, Isoorientin, Vitexin, Isovitexin, Chrysoeriol, Catechin, Isoqurecetin, Hyperoside and Rutin. (You can look these up to see their supportive health benefits.) No doubt some combination of these plant-based nutrients (none of which are found in Gatorade or Powerade, by the way) explains why Rooibos is such a powerful thirst quencher. I drank it almost every day throughout the Texas drought we’ve had over the past few months, and I discovered this drink keeps you hydrated in a way that plain water simply doesn’t. No wonder so many professional football teams and sports enthusiasts are also discovering Rooibos to be a powerful, performance-enhancing sports drink. Click here to see Rooibos on sale at the NaturalNews Store Getting the good stuff Watch out for Rooibos that’s cut with fillers such as maltodextrin or lecithin. Ideally, you want to get pure Rooibos with no fillers, additives or sweeteners of any kind. Another huge issue of concern is radiation — much of the Rooibos brought into the United States is irradiated by the FDA . So getting a supply that isn’t irradiated is very, very tricky — it has even been challenging for our own supplier who recently had to reject a large batch because he tested it and found evidence that it had been irradiated. So he had to order the same batch over again, which fortunately arrived in a non-irradiated state. (Most companies don’t even bother to check if their ingredient are irradiated, by the way. Only the most quality-conscious companies even pay attention to this.) No caffeine, no chemicals Rooibos powdered extract is made from the leaves and twigs of the Rooibos plant, which is grown entirely without pesticides or synthetic chemicals of any kind. It only takes a tiny amount of Rooibos powder mixed with water to make a deep red “tea-like” beverage that quenches thirst like nothing else. You can also mix it with any kind of milk (almond milk, cow’s milk, rice milk, etc.), add a touch of sweetener, and you’ve got a delicious milk tea beverage that’s super smooth. This is a rare, exquisite herbal extract with a unique nutritional profile that just isn’t found in any other herb or superfood. Because its potent flavonoids are so important to protect, it’s packed in Miron Swiss Violet Glass which protects it from UV light. Absolutely no chemicals are used to create this extract: No solvents, nothing. In addition, nothing is added to this product. There are no fillers. It is 100% Rooibos powdered extract and nothing else, period. Our supplier of this extraordinary tea is ImmunoLogic (www.Immunologic.net), and you can watch an introductory video about the owner, Clive Buirski, at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wth4M8S6PsM Right now, we have a very limited supply of Rooibos Powdered Extract in our store, and we’ve discounted it to try to bring you the best price possible. Click here to see Rooibos on sale at the NaturalNews Store It’s available only while supplies last: http://store.naturalnews.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=100370