Energy saving ideas from Congress--now that's a scary thought. 

Did you know that by 2014, everyone will have to use the compact florescent bulbs? 

What has happened to our freedom when Congress is telling us what kind of light bulbs to use and how to dispose of them?

A list of some food additives to avoid:

MSG is a food additive to avoid but it can sometimes be hard to determine if a food contains MSG due to some creative labeling from the food companies.  So here's a helpful little chart to find the hidden MSG. 

Another additive to avoid:  rBGH- which is a growth hormone often found in milk.  This additive is not required to be listed on the label of any product.  So, to avoid the rBGH growth hormone, buy only organic milk.  Or, as this article suggests, drink only unpasteurized raw milk.  I've heard of so many people who are switching to drinking raw milk from local (organic and trustworthy) farmers.  I'm a little afraid to swtich to it myself, but maybe I should consider it...........

Having too much of the following metals in your system can cause you to feel sick:

Mercury

Aluminum

Cadmium

Arsenic

Lead

Nickel

After reading this article, I worry even more about vaccinations.  It is a fact that SOME vaccines do contain one or both of the first two metals listed.  Then I began to get paranoid about cookware as we have a lot of stainless steel around our house.  And finally, I worried about the new metal water bottles that we ordered (since they were supposed to be so much safer than plastic). 

And then I started to worry that I worry too much.  When does it ever stop?  I cannot live in a bubble and avoid everything.  I will come into contact with "toxic metals," scary plastics, dangerous pesticides, harmful UV rays, yucky germs........the list is endless.  So how do I know what is most important?  I can't be paranoid about everything.  I need to prioritize my paranoias and only be paranoid and worry about the top 5 things on my list.  Or maybe I should focus on the positive and try to find some things that are safe and non harmful and actually good for you........do things like that even exist anymore? 

This is interesting!  Medical conditions and a list of the foods and vitamins to help heal those conditions. 

The Healing Foods Reference Guide

My husband and I really want to go organic as much as possible, but the rising food prices are making it even more difficult to be as organic as we want to be.  Food is expensive and many organic brands are even more expensive!!!!  So, here are some ideas for going organic while staying on your budget:

Go organic on the things that you eat the most

Only buy fruits and veggies that are in season

Buy local

But most importantly, go organic when it comes to animal products--meats, eggs, and dairy.  Animal products can contain more pesticides as non-organic veggies. 

And when buying fruits and veggies, make sure these ten are organic as they usually have the highest concentration of pesticides:

Peaches

Apples

Sweet Bell Peppers

Celery

Nectarines

Strawberries

Cherries

Lettuce

Grapes

Pears

And the one tip that's just not working for me.........grow your own stuff!  One look at my garden and you'll see why this tip is not for everyone.  So, for those of us that need to hit the farmer's market or grocery store....................clip some coupons, carry your calculator, and watch those specials!!!

I've been trying avoid plastics, but that's nearly impossible in our society when everything is packaged in some type of plastic.  Sooo, here are plastics by the numbers:

#1, #2, #4, and #5 are deemed "more safe" to use

#3, #6, and #7 should be avoided

This website looks like it has some great gardening and healthy cooking info.  Maybe it will help me with my dying garden (although it may be already too late.........)

According to a recent survey, most doctors would not take the following 8 medications themselves:

Advair

Avandia

Celebrex

Ketek

Prilosec and Nexium

Visine Original

Pseudoephedrine

So, if the doctors won't take these medications themselves, do they still prescribe them to others??

My mom who has gluten-intolerance is always looking for ways to get fiber other than whole grains..............so here's a handy little fiber chart she sent to me.  Nice to know.............This will be so helpful for making baby food for Jaxon--bring on the fiber!

Food	Serving Size	Fiber, in grams
Apple, unpeeled	1 medium	3
Apricots, dried	1/4 c	3
Banana	1 medium	3
Blueberries	1/2 c	2
Grapefruit	1/2 large	2
Orange	1 medium	3
Strawberries	1/2 c	2
Black beans	1/2 c, cooked	7
Hummus	1/2 c	5
Kidney beans	1/2 c, cooked	7
Lentils	1/2 c, cooked	8
Split peas	1/2 c, cooked	8
Barley	1/2 c, cooked	3
Brown rice	1/2 c, cooked	2
Whole-wheat bread	1 slice	2
Whole-wheat pasta	1/2 c, cooked	3

Here's another interesting article from Dr. Sears about milk.  In it are several things that I did not know..............

What’s the real deal on milk? Here’s my take…

Milk is one of Nature’s most nutritious foods. It’s packed with vitamins A, D, B6, B12, E, as well as calcium, beta-carotene, protein, life-giving enzymes, beneficial bacteria, and the right balance of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids you need, including conjugated linoleic acid, or CLA—an essential fat that’s great for your heart, brain, nervous system, and overall health.

CLA, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin E and carotenoids have all been linked to a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer.

For most of human history people enjoyed the benefits raw milk, fresh from the source, without any health problems. Even today, many native tribes enjoy raw milk, like the Masai of Africa.

It wasn’t unusual even up until the late nineteenth century for folks in this country to keep their own cow for milk. Then “pasteurization” and “homogenization” came along as the population grew and demand for milk increased. It enabled dairy farms to sell milk in quantity across great distances without having it spoil.

This is where the problems started. When you force raw milk through metal pipes at high temperature—pasteurize it—or through tiny holes at extremely high pressure—homogenize it—what you get is a lot less healthy product.

Pasteurizing and homogenizing dissolve healthy enzymes, eliminate a lot of the vitamin content, denature fragile milk proteins, destroy vitamin B12 and vitamin B6, kill beneficial bacteria, and make it easier for bad kinds of bacteria to flourish.

These process also make the healthy fat and cholesterol in milk more susceptible to rancidity and oxidation, and some research indicates that homogenized fats may contribute to heart disease.1

And that’s not all. Commercial milk comes from grain-fed cows. Cows were never meant to eat grains. The result is an imbalance in fats and nutrients in their meat—and milk.

And of course they’re pumped full of hormones and antibiotics. They eat grains laced with pesticides. They’re diseased animals. All of that stuff gets concentrated in their milk. In fact, back in 2004 the USDA performed tested a random number of commercial milk brands and found residues of seriously toxic pesticides in every single one.2

The obvious solution to the problem would be to get raw milk. But it’s illegal in twenty-two states. Luckily, there’s another option.

Here’s what I do: I go with organic milk from grass-fed cows. It’s not as nutritious as raw milk, but it’s far more nutritious than its commercial counterpart.

A new study out of Britain found that even when it’s pasteurized and homogenized, organic, grass-fed milk beats commercial milk by a country mile.3 It contains:

• 67 percent more overall antioxidant and vitamin content
  
  
• 60 percent more CLA9, one of the most beneficial forms of CLA, with potent cancer-fighting properties
  
  
• 39 percent omega-3s
  
  
• 32 percent less omega-6s

In other words, it’s nutritionally balanced as Nature intended.

You also want to choose “whole” milk. You will not be doing yourself any favors by choosing low-fat or fat-free milk. It turns out that when the fat is taken out of the milk all that’s left are the milk sugars which actually make it high glycemic.

In fact, here’s a tidbit for you…pig farmers give their pigs low-fat milk because they know it makes them fat.

So, stick to whole, organic milk. It’s becoming much easier to find these days. You can find it in health food stores and the organic departments of many grocery stores.

To Your Good Health,

Al Sears, MD

This is an article from the Health Ranger.  It lists some very unhealthy ingredients that are commonly found in many grocery items.  Interesting to read...............

Do you know which seven dangerous food ingredients to watch out for in your groceries? These are the "deadly seven," as I call them, and they can directly promote heart disease, migraines, obesity, outrageous food cravings, osteoporosis, diabetes and even birth defects.

The top three most dangerous ingredients I've found in my research are:

1) Sodium nitrite -- causes cancer, found in processed meats like hot dogs, bacon, sausage. Used to make meats appear red (a color fixer chemical).

2) Hydrogenated oils -- causes heart disease, nutritional deficiencies, general deterioration of cellular health, and much more. Found in cookies, crackers, margarine and many "manufactured" foods. Used to make oils stay in the food, extending shelf life. Sometimes also called "plastic fat."

3) Excitotoxins -- aspartame, monosodium glutamate and others (see below). These neurotoxic chemical additives directly harm nerve cells, over-exciting them to the point of cell death, according to Dr. Russell Blaylock. They're found in diet soda, canned soup, salad dressing, breakfast sausage and even many manufactured vegetarian foods. They're used to add flavor to over-processed, boring foods that have had the life cooked out of them.

Want to know more about the genuine dangers posed by toxic food ingredients and additives? I'll share more with you in this email, but first let me invite you to check out the tell-all book I've written on the subject: "Grocery Warning."

Grocery Warning exposes the truth that food companies will never admit to and the mainstream media will never print (because they receive advertising funds from food companies, of course!).

http://www.truthpublishing.com/GroceryWarning.html

It reveals, in shocking detail, exactly which ingredients compromise your health (and how they do it). Based on thousands of hours of research, and quotations from the top doctors, authors and nutritionists, Grocery Warning tells you the truth about foods and groceries that will empower you with life-changing information.

Did you know, for example, that:

• Feeding children hot dogs increases their risk of brain cancer by 300%?

• Strawberry yogurt, fruit punch and other red-looking grocery products are often colored with dead, ground-up cochineal beetles? The ingredient is called "carmine," and it's made from insects. It's listed right on the label of many of your favorite foods.

• Food companies now "hide" MSG in safe-sounding ingredients like yeast extract or torula yeast?

• Many Florida oranges are actually dipped in an artificial orange dye in order to make them more visually appealing? It's the same dye that's been banned for use in foods because of cancer risk.

• Girl Scout cookies are still made with hydrogenated oils that contain trans fatty acids?

• Many so-called "healthy" or vegetarian foods also contain the very same offending ingredients as conventional groceries?

• Eating just one serving of processed meats each day increases your risk of pancreatic cancer by 67%?

• One artificial color additive causes behavioral disorders in children? And that 80% of children diagnosed with ADHD can be outright cured of the condition in two weeks by avoiding certain ingredients?

• The #1 ingredient in Slim Fast meal replacement shake (powder form) is sugar?

• Some guacamole dips don't even contain avocado? Instead, they're made with hydrogenated soybean oil and artificial colors.

Everything I'm sharing here is absolutely true. It's all quite shocking, yes, but this is information you need to know if you want to feed yourself -- and your family -- foods that actually promote health instead of disease.

Check out the Grocery Warning System, complete with my book, audio bonus CD, reference charts, research compendium and more:

http://www.truthpublishing.com/GroceryWarning.html

The truth about metabolic disruptors

Nearly all modern diseases are caused by what I call "metabolic disruptors." These are common ingredients, such as white flour and sugar, that prevent your body from healing. Unfortunately, metabolic disruptors are used in almost all commercially prepared foods, which means most products on your grocer's shelves contribute to poor health. But if you know what to look for, you can fill your cart with foods that will help you live a longer more vibrant life.

That's why I created the Grocery Warning System. This system will give you the information you need to make the healthiest shopping choices at the grocery store. You'll learn which ingredients have been linked to disease, as well as important nutrients that have been shown to prevent and reverse cancer, heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and other degenerative diseases.

Here's what else you'll find in Grocery Warning:

• Which common ingredient has been shown to ravage the cardiovascular system and promote heart disease while destroying brain cells.
• Why some popular beverages have been linked to blindness and seizures, dementia, Alzheimer's and behavioral disorders.
• How a single food ingredient is killing more than 30,000 Americans each year and yet remains perfectly legal due to food industry politics and influence on federal regulators.
• How food manufacturers alter natural fats and convert them into disease-promoting ingredients that ravage your health and make it virtually impossible to lose weight, no matter what you eat!
• The one natural, alternative sweetener that has no calories, no blood sugar effects, no chemical toxicity, and tastes great!
• What "homogenized" means on milk products and the shocking truth of how this artificial alteration of dairy fats poses a very real threat to your health.
• How to reverse osteoporosis and other bone disorders through dietary and lifestyle changes that create high-density bones throughout your body.
• The truth behind the margarine scam and how the food industry convinced an entire nation to eat disease-promoting margarine for decades, based on shoddy scientific evidence and political influence.
• The one natural oil that's lacking from the diets of virtually all Americans, but can significantly improve brain function.
• Why at least one prominent doctor is accusing the FDA of committing crimes against humanity for not protecting the public from the immediate health dangers posed by three different ingredients found in virtually every grocery store.

To find out more about the Grocery Warning System, visit:
http://www.truthpublishing.com/GroceryWarning.html

Back to the "hidden" ingredients

So how do food companies manage to hide excitotoxins and taste additives to their foods? It's easy: They just keep changing the words to confuse consumers. Once customers learned to avoid MSG / monosodium glutamate, the food companies started using yeast extract.

And now, two years after I started sounding the alarm on yeast extract, many companies have switched to "torula yeast," which accomplishes the same thing. Other hidden sources of MSG include:

• Autolyzed vegetable protein
• Hydrolyzed vegetable protein

• Calcium caseinate

• Sodium caseinate

• Textured protein

The ingredients "stacking" trick

Food companies also use the ingredients stacking trick to intentionally leave you with the wrong impression about what's really in their food products.

For example, one company makes a nutrition bar that's absolutely loaded with sugar, but they way they've arranged the ingredients prevents sugar from appearing as the #1 ingredient. Instead, the first ingredient is rice. But looking down the label, you'll find all the following forms of sugar, all in the same nutrition bar:

• Sugar
• Sucrose
• High-fructose corn syrup
• Corn syrup solids
• Dextrose

Add all these up, and the #1 component in the bar is, indeed, sugar (or sugary substances). But the manufacturer has used ingredients stacking to make you think the top ingredient is actually rice.

It's a clever, dishonest technique used by food companies to lie with food labels.

Remember, the longer the ingredients label, the less healthy the food. Read those ingredients lists before buying foods, and if you discover chemical names that you can't pronounce, don't buy the food!

Learn more with Grocery Warning:
http://www.truthpublishing.com/GroceryWarning.html

To your health,
- Mike Adams, the Health Ranger

Here is a list of the healthiest foods.  According to this list, I'm not doing too bad!  But the best part of the list, you can click on each food item and get a breakdown of nutrients, health benefits............lots of fun things. 

Are you alkaline or acidic?  I remember doing the litmus paper tests in school and it was so much fun.  But I didn't really thing about how the foods I eat can upset my body's pH levels.  According to this article, if your body is more alkaline you may have more energy, while if you are more acidic, you may feel tired.  All the more reason to eat a balanced diet!!!!

Alkaline	Nearly Neutral	Acidic
Sea salt	Curry	Table salt
Mineral water	Ginger tea, fish, yogurt	Soft drinks, Beef, lobster, Ice cream
Soy sauce	Rice vinegar, Wild rice, oats, quinoa, brown rice, millet	White vinegar, Refined flour, barley, corn, rye
Citrus, melons, nectarines, pineapples, raspberries	Bananas, blueberries, dates, grapes, strawberries	Cranberries, pomegranates
Molasses	Honey, maple syrup	Corn sweeteners, refined sugar, artificial sweeteners
Asparagus, broccoli, daikon, lentils, kale, onions, parsnips, sweet potatoes	Beets, celery, lettuce, string beans, squash, turnip greens	Soybeans

I came across a list of 10 reaons NOT to vaccinate and even though the list relates to Australia, it could still be considered applicable in the US.

Vaccines have never been tested.

Vaccines contain toxic additives and heavy metals.

Vaccines are contaminated with human and animal viruses and bacteria.

Vaccines can cause serious immediate side effects.

Vaccines can cause serious long-term side effects.

Vaccines do not necessarily protect against infectious diseases.

Doctors, as paid salesmen for vaccine products, are no longer considered to be trustworthy arbiters of their safety and effectiveness.

Pharmaceutical companies have paid for almost all vaccine research to date.

Doctors and health professionals, rarely if ever, report vaccinen reactions.

Some childhood illnesses have beneficial aspects and therefore, prevention may not necessarily be in the best interests of the child. 

Those sound reasonable to me.  Then I saw this article which refutes many of the above-made points.  Who to believe???

We planted a small garden this year.  I thought we would try some strawberries, green beans, tomatoes, squash, and carrots.  Hmmm.....I must not have a green thumb. 

Nothing is growing well!  The tomatoes and green beans are sickly, the squash is at a standstill, and I'm not sure where the carrots and strawberries went.  They're missing...

Is growing a garden that difficult?  It must be!  Either I have the blackest thumb around, or maybe the weather had something to do with it.  We've had hail at least twice, torrential rains 3 times, wind gusts up to 60 miles an hour on several different occasions, and weather that is HOT one day and almost cold the next.  Or maybe the soil around here just isn't helping.  I think most of what we have is clay.  Maybe I didn't add enough potting soil or build my garden up tall enough.  Next year I could try making a big planter and filling it with better soil........I would still have to contend with the weather.  So maybe it's not me, mabye our soil is terrible and our weather is even worse. 

I have started to dread going to the doctor.  But today, I trudged down to the doctor's office for our 6-month checkup.  Jaxon is fine, he's gained weight (as if I couldn't tell) and he's grown quite a bit lengthwise (again, duh!), he seems to be eating well (I am VERY well aware of that one), he's developmentally on track (yes, I know), and he appears very healthy and is doing great.  Yay!  Gold star for me!  (So why did I feel like I just wasted over an hour of my day?)

Then the part that I had been dreading, "What have you decided about the vaccinations?"  Well, I gave him the same reply he's been getting at each appointment, "I'm going to hold off until I've done more research.  I don't  feel comfortable giving him any shots at this time."  Then.......wait for it....the "look."  Ohh, I'm getting so tired of getting that same look from my pediatrician.  I discussed some of the things I had been reading in my research.  He simply blamed the MMR vaccine and thought the others were "necessary and important."  He's entitled to his own opinion, and I can respectfully disagree. 

So here are my complaints.  1)  What is the purpose of the well-baby checkup every few months?  If my baby is well, then why am I exposing him to the multiple germs in the nasty doctor's office?  Am I not capable of assessing whether or not my baby is thriving?  2)  Why are they always pushing vitamins for my son?  And fluoride?  And writing me prescriptions for those things?  3)  Why do we have to go round and round about the shots at every appointment?

For complaint 1--I thought I would discuss with my doctor about coming back at the one year mark instead of the 9 month and one year.  I mentioned my idea.  The "look" again.  "That's a long time between check ups.  I would prefer to see him again at the 9 month and the one year."  My question, "Why?  What if we just call if we have a problem and then simply come back when my son is 1?"  His response, "That's what is recommended."  At that point I was simply tired of waiting in the waiting room, waiting in the room, and arguing.  But I wanted to know, who makes up these guidelines?  The AAP?  I KNOW I don't agree with them on much of anything.  The doctor?  Well, that's just more money to line his pockets.  The drug companies?  More opportunities for drugs to be pushed on me. 

So then I was thinking, I'll just cancel my 9 month appt and make one for a year.  But, I got too paranoid.  Parents seem to have no rights anymore.  What if my doctor reported me to someone.  I already won't vaccinate my son, now I won't even be a responsible parent and take him to his checkups.  Surely he can't report us to DHS or the child welfare people or someone like that.  But those are the things that I worry about.  I guess I could find a different doctor but there are 7 in my town and they all feel the same as my doctor.  I could use a nonpediatrian doctor.  But what if my son really did have a problem and that doctor missed it. 

For complaint 2-  I am so tired of hearing about fluoride.  When my doctor asks if I breastfeed, and I say yes, he launches into his "Vitamin D, fluoride, iron talk."  Sometimes I wonder if he wouldn't just recommend I use formula.  Breastmilk is so inadequate I guess!  I won't be filling that prescription.  Surprise surprise!  (I actually do give my son a vitamin for infant's and probiotics, but not the one prescribed).

For complaint 3- The vaccinations stress me more than anything else.  I just cannot feel comfortable about them after all my research (which is still ongoing).  Just today I read an article discussing problems with vaccinations.  I wish I knew someone else who didn't vaccinate.  I wish I could find a doctor who felt the same way.  I wish I could come to a more solid conclusion about whether I should or should not vaccinate.  Until then, I'll just struggle with fear and guilt I guess..................