My "WHY"

In this post, I wanted to take a minute to share WHY I'm committed to sharing this blog, and taking it to the "next level" when it comes to exposure.  As those of you who read it know, my family's life was changed forever, first with my wife Debbie's breast cancer diagnosis last year, and then this year with my son Kyle's brain tumor diagnosis this year.  These life changing events forced me to turn my back on "Corporate America" to become a full time caretaker, family manager and researcher.  This research was for the sole purpose of finding ways to protect the health of my loved ones throughout their journeys to recovery.  That journey is an ongoing one.

As I continued to spend long nights researching everything that could be useful in this fight, it occured to me that keeping what I learned to myself would be a disservice to everyone that I knew, and well beyond that.  From that vision, "True Food Knowledge" was born.  

Unfortunately, we live in a society that doesn't do us any favors when it comes to protecting us from the things that my family has had to face, and that has become increasingly evident in recent years.  An organization like the FDA which most people believe is there to protect them does the exact opposite.  They protect the interests of major corporations and the profits that they stand to lose if our true health interests are served.   They protect organizations like the pharmaceutical giants and the AMA that promises to "First, do no harm" to their patients, yet they constantly elect to perform surgery when its often not needed, and prescribe drugs with harmful side effects which are intended to be taken for life.  The variety of treatments that we have as options in this country for the illnesses that we face result in more deaths annually than the symptoms themselves.

Then there's the major food companies.  While one would think that the FDA would regulate what makes its way into our food supply to protect us, the exact opposite happens here as well.  The FDA is nothing but a revolving door for people who have spent their time with big bio-tech companies like Monsanto, major food companies, and the pharmaceutical industry.  The odds are stacked against us when it comes to the choices that we have to eat, and that's exactly why we're the sickest country on the face of the planet!

My "WHY" is to take what I've learned, and am continuing to learn every day, and to help be part of the solution.  It's only through education that we can take our health back as a nation, and that's what this site is about.  I spent the weekend in Las Vegas with a marketing expert by the name of Connie Ragen Green   learning everything that I can about taking that effort to the next level, and spreading the word as far and as wide as possible.  Through a grass roots effort by sites like this and a number of others that continues to grow every day, the truth about how to take control of our health will get out.  You will be able to get this info from me on this site and a new blog site that I'll be setting up, and by a number of other methods that I'll be sharing with you.  This is my new passion, my mission, and purpose, and I'm dedicated to sharing it with as many people as I can, in as many ways possible.  

Until we have widespread, easy access to healthy food choices, and a medical system that focuses on prevention rather than their current profitable treatment model, you'll be hearing from me on a consistent basis.  Stay tuned.  There's a lot more to come!

To your family's health!

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What yogurt should I be eating?

What yogurt should I really be eating?  Unfortunately, this isn't an easy question to answer.  This post will cut through all of the confusion for you.  When you are asking this question there are things that you should want to avoid, I've compiled a list below.  If you're like me and you want to know the research, it's all there and detailed in previous posts that I refer to.  If you're pressed for time (like most of us are) and simply want to get to the link of how each yogurt graded out, it's provided toward the bottom.

1. High Fructose Corn Syrup.  You'll want your family to steer clear of this one for all of the reasons outlined in my January 31st blog post entitled "Downfalls of High Fructose Corn Syrup".  Link here

2. Aspartame.  All of the terrible side effects of this poisonous ingredient which is also found in most gum and nearly every diet soda can be found in my February 7th blog post entitled "Aspartame, how it was approved and what it does."  Link here

3. Artificial Colors.  The downfalls of this ever present ingredient in our food supply can be found in my February 2nd blog post entitled "Six ingredients to stay away from".  Link here

4. GMO Ingredients.  GMO stands for Genetically Modified Organism.  Consuming these can compromise your immune system, break down your digestive process, damage your DNA and a host of other ramifications.  I cover this in more detail in my April 9th blog post entitled "Consequences of the Monsanto Act passing."  Link here

5. Milk Protein Concentrate.  MPCs are created by putting milk through an filtration process that
strips smaller molecules to create a dry product that is forty percent protein or more. This is much
easier and cheaper to ship but lacks the nutrients of unprocessed dairy products.

6. GM Feed for Cows.  This is when the milk used in the making of the yogurt is from cows that are fed GM (Genetically Modified) feed .  Meat or milk from animals that are fed these transfers to us when we consume it.

I had crossed off all of these criteria when it came to choosing our yogurt except for this last one when it came to settled on Chobani.  Unfortunately, I recently learned that they are likely using milk from cows being fed GM feed.  For that reason, they will not make it into our shopping cart until they make the change. We're moving on to Stonyfield as they are given an "A grade" and lack any of the things to avoid listed above.

Here's the list of how each company graded:

What yogurt should I eat?

I would stick to only the options that are given an "A grade" on this list for the sake of your family's health!

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* Information in this blog provided by http://gmoinside.org/how-does-your-yogurt-stack-up-when-it-comes-to-gmos/

KEEP CANCER OUT OF YOUR LIFE

It's been a long time coming for me to get back to blogging on ways to keep you and your family healthy! With the summer behind us, it's time to get back to sharing with everyone.  It's been a challenging summer for us to say the least, which is why it's been a while since posting.  For those of you who follow this blog, the main motivation for starting it was my wife's breast cancer diagnosis last fall.  Well, our family was hit again this summer when my youngest son Kyle (14) was diagnosed with a brain tumor this summer. 

It was crushing for us to say the least, and our lives will never be the same as a result.  He has recently started chemo, but has also started high school and is not only playing soccer for the freshman team, but was named team captain as well.  His attitude has been amazing, and it has positively impacted everyone that he comes in contact with who knows his story.  My wife Deb's breast cancer recently took a turn for the worse when the cells migrated to her lymphatic ducts.  We had to switch gears (and oncologists) to start with a new plan of action to defeat her cancer and move forward.  

Going through this experience has changed me completely, and my only focus now is to learn everything that I can about this dreaded disease to cure my family in the least invasive and most successful way possible, while sharing what I know with everyone that I can.  Along with our challenges, we have heard too many other families facing similar issues.  When I recently heard about a 17 year old girl having to face a double mastectomy, I was crushed.  It simply doesn't have to be this way if we educate ourselves more about the causes.

I have learned so much about cancer over the last year, and want everyone to know that we can turn the tide against the rise in cancer.  But if you or someone you know gets it, it doesn't have to be a death sentence if you simply understand the causes, what to do (and not to do) if you do get it, and most importantly, how to avoid getting it in the first place!  This is my new life's mission along with promoting overall health and wellness to everyone that I can reach. Implementing these strategies allowed my wife to get through some of the worst chemo that you can face, and is allowing my son to live a relatively normal life while facing his regimen. 

Along the way, I have learned that when it comes to what we allow in our food, and how we treat illness in this country, our current system is completely broken.  For as long as we can remember, our medical establishment has preached that the only way that cancer can be treated is with the BIG 3, surgery, chemotherapy and radiation.  Well I'm here to tell you that this couldn't be further from the truth.  The FDA, the big drug companies, and nearly all doctors who practice oncology would like you to think that, but when you understand cancer for what it is, you realize you need much more than just these to overcome cancer.  Some people have even beaten cancer altogether without resorting to any of these.  It's been done countless times.  Our family has elected to go the integrative route, incorporating SOME of what the doctors recommended, while also implementing a more integrative / holistic approach to improve results.

Over the next few months, I will be sharing a number of things with you that I think will help to maintain the health and well being of your families by doing the most important thing that you can.  STRENGTHENING YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM to the highest level possible.  There are so many things working against us when it comes to doing this, but there are things that we can do to fight back, and we will cover these in detail in subsequent posts.  For now, I want to highlight something promising that recently was shared by Johns Hopkins when it comes to beating cancer.  It is the closest thing to truth that I have seen come out of the "medical establishment" when it comes to this topic, and it gives me hope that we might finally be turning a corner.  Here's what they had to say:

AFTER YEARS OF TELLING PEOPLE CHEMOTHERAPY IS THE ONLY WAY TO TRY AND ELIMINATE CANCER, JOHNS HOPKINS IS FINALLY STARTING TO TELL YOU THERE IS AN ALTERNATIVE WAY …


1. Every person has cancer cells in the body. These cancer cells do not show up in the standard tests until they have multiplied to a few billion. When doctors tell cancer patients that there are no more cancer cells in their bodies after treatment, it just means the tests are unable to detect the cancer cells because they have not reached the detectable size.

2. Cancer cells occur between 6 to more than 10 times in a person's lifetime.

3. When the person's immune system is strong the cancer cells will be destroyed and prevented from multiplying and forming tumors.

4. When a person has cancer it indicates the person has multiple nutritional deficiencies. These could be due to genetic, environmental, food and lifestyle factors.

5. To overcome the multiple nutritional deficiencies, changing diet and including supplements will strengthen the immune system.

6. Chemotherapy involves poisoning the rapidly-growing cancer cells and also destroys rapidly-growing healthy cells in the bone marrow, gastro-intestinal tract etc, and can cause organ damage, like liver, kidneys, heart, lungs etc.

7. Radiation while destroying cancer cells also burns, scars and damages healthy cells, tissues and organs.

8. Initial treatment with chemotherapy and radiation will often reduce tumor size. However prolonged use of chemotherapy and radiation do not result in more tumor destruction.

9. When the body has too much toxic burden from chemotherapy and radiation the immune system is either compromised or destroyed, hence the person can succumb to various kinds of infections and complications.

10. Chemotherapy and radiation can cause cancer cells to mutate and become resistant and difficult to destroy. Surgery can also cause cancer cells to spread to other sites.


11. An effective way to battle cancer is to STARVE the cancer cells by not feeding it with foods it needs to multiply.

What cancer cells feed on:

a. Sugar is a cancer-feeder. By cutting off sugar it cuts off one important food supply to the cancer cells. Note: Sugar substitutes like NutraSweet, Equal, Spoonful, etc are made with Aspartame and it is harmful. A better natural substitute would be Manuka honey or molasses but only in very small amounts. Table salt has a chemical added to make it white in color. Better alternative is sea salt or Himilayan salt.


b. Milk causes the body to produce mucus, especially in the gastro-intestinal tract. Cancer feeds on mucus. By cutting off milk and substituting with unsweetened soy milk, cancer cells will starved.

c. Cancer cells thrive in an acid environment. A meat-based diet is acidic and it is best to eat fish, and a little chicken rather than beef or pork. Meat also contains livestock antibiotics, growth hormones and parasites, which are all harmful, especially to people with cancer.

d. A diet made of 80% fresh vegetables and juice, whole grains, seeds, nuts and a little fruits help put the body into an alkaline environment. About 20% can be from cooked food including beans. Fresh vegetable juices provide live enzymes that are easily absorbed and reach down to cellular levels within 15 minutes t o nourish and enhance growth of healthy cells.

To obtain live enzymes for building healthy cells try and drink fresh vegetable juice (most vegetables including bean sprouts) and eat some raw vegetables 2 or 3 times a day. Enzymes are destroyed at temperatures of 104 degrees F (40 degrees C).

e. Avoid coffee, tea, and chocolate, which have high caffeine. Green tea is a better alternative and has cancer-fighting properties. Water--best to drink purified water, or filtered, to avoid known toxins and heavy metals in tap water. Distilled water is acidic, avoid it.

12. Meat protein is difficult to digest and requires a lot of digestive enzymes. Undigested meat remaining in the intestines will become putrified and leads to more toxic buildup.

13. Cancer cell walls have a tough protein covering. By refraining from or eating less meat it frees more enzymes to attack the protein walls of cancer cells and allows the body's killer cells to destroy the cancer cells.

14. Some supplements build up the immune system (IP6, Flor-ssence, Essiac, anti-oxidants, vitamins, minerals, EFAs etc.) to enable the body's own killer cells to destroy cancer cells. Other supplements like vitamin E are known to cause apoptosis, or programmed cell death, the body's normal method of disposing of damaged, unwanted, or unneeded cells.

15. Cancer is a disease of the mind, body, and spirit. A proactive and positive spirit will help the cancer warrior be a survivor.

Anger, unforgiving and bitterness put the body into a stressful and acidic environment. Learn to have a loving and forgiving spirit. Learn to relax and enjoy life.

16. Cancer cells cannot thrive in an oxygenated environment. Exercising daily, and deep breathing help to get more oxygen down to the cellular level. Oxygen therapy is another means employed to destroy cancer cells.

I am impressed with the fact that someone in the medical community is finally stepping up and addressing actual causes of cancer vs. simply wanting to treat it.  As you can see from this article, cancer is simply a symptom of our immune systems breaking down and allowing these cells that we all carry to multiply into tumors.  This can be attributed to stress, toxins in our food, toxins in products that we put on our skin, and in our cleaning products, etc.  If we keep our immune systems high, our levels of stress low, avoid these toxins as much as possible, and stick to a moderate workout routine of some sort, our chances of ever having to face this in our lives becomes minimal.  

Our family has not only addressed many things discussed in this article in our lives, but has gone even further.  Despite her setbacks, Deb will tell you that she's never been healthier as a result of the changes that we have made.  Despite facing chemotherapy, Kyle's immune system is being kept very high through eliminating the bad things and implementing the good things in his diet.  I have implemented most of these strategies as well, and have never felt better in my life.  We will cover all of this in detail in the weeks and months to come.

Please share this blog with anyone that you know that is facing illness (especially cancer), as we take our mission seriously to help as many people possible with maximizing their chances of winning their fight.  If it is something pressing that can't wait, and they would like to contact either of us personally, they can do so at the following contact info:

Marty Loughlin
marty.loughlin@gmail.com
815-690-3810

Deb Loughlin
kvdeb@yahoo.com
815-690-3910

We're looking forward to sharing what we've learned in the face of our challenges, and making a difference in people's lives!!

Yours in health,

Marty

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DO THESE THINGS AND SUBSTANTIALLY LOWER BREAST CANCER RISK

With the recent announcement by Angelina Jolie to have her breasts removed due to having a defective BRCA1 gene, it seems as though the topic of breast cancer is on every one's mind these days.  When you consider that her decision is front and center on every news station and magazines like People, it's hard not to think about it.  The reality is that only about TWO PERCENT of breast cancer occurrences, so the chances of being faced with her decision are minimal.

But what about the other 98% of women?  Unfortunately, my wife Debbie was stricken with this terrible disease last year, and it seems as though you can't find many women these days who don't have a family member or close friend who hasn't had to face this diagnosis.  Why is this on the rise?  Unfortunately, there are a number of factors for this, but rather than talk about the causes, I'd like to focus on what can PROACTIVELY be done by women to SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER their chances of becoming one of the growing statistics.

While our medical community prefers to focus on higher cure rates through better treatment, wouldn't it make more sense to focus on the things that one can do to avoid it altogether?  My family has learned so much about how to do that since hearing the dreaded statement, "you have cancer" last October.  In the last six months, Deb has bravely battled through 16 rounds of chemotherapy with surgery and radiation still to come.  I often think, "If I had only known then what I know now, could we have avoided this?".  While I can't change our journey, my hope is that we can help as many women we know to avoid it as possible.  With that said, let's dive into some proactive ways that you can do just that!

• Avoid sugar, especially fructose. All forms of sugar are detrimental to health in general and promote cancer.Fructose, however, is clearly one of the most harmful and should be avoided as much as possible.
• Optimize your vitamin D. Vitamin D influences virtually every cell in your body and is one of nature's most potent cancer fighters. Vitamin D is actually able to enter cancer cells and trigger apoptosis (cell death). If you have cancer, your vitamin D level should be between 70 and 100 ng/ml. Vitamin D works synergistically with every cancer treatment I'm aware of, with no adverse effects. 

• Get plenty of natural vitamin A. There is evidence that vitamin A also plays a role in helping prevent breast cancer.  It's best to obtain it from vitamin A-rich foods, rather than a supplement. Your best sources are organic egg yolks, raw butter, raw whole milk, and beef or chicken liver.
• Lymphatic breast massage can help enhance your body’s natural ability to eliminate cancerous toxins. This can be applied by a licensed therapists, or you can implement self-lymphatic massage. It is also promotes self-nurturance.
• Avoid charring your meats. Charcoal or flame broiled meat is linked with increased breast cancer risk. Acrilamyde —a carcinogen created when starchy foods are baked, roasted or fried—has been found to increase breast cancer risk as well.
• Avoid unfermented soy products. Unfermented Soy is high in plant estrogens, or phytoestrogens, also known as isoflavones. In some studies, soy appears to work in concert with human estrogen to increase breast cell proliferation, which increases the chances for mutations and cancerous cells.
• Improve your insulin receptor sensitivity. The best way to do this is by avoiding sugar and grains and making sure you are exercising, especially with Peak Fitness.
• Maintain a healthy body weight. This will come naturally when you begin eating right for your nutritional type and exercising. It's important to lose excess body fat because fat produces estrogen.
• Drink a half to whole quart of organic green vegetable juice daily. We use a Vita-mix which keeps all the beneficial fibers of the fruits and vegetables we use intact.  A less expensive alternative to the Vita-mix that does a great job is the Nutri-Bullet.  
• Take Juice Plus Daily

  

• Get plenty of high quality animal-based omega-3 fats, such as krill oil. Omega-3 deficiency is a common underlying factor for cancer.

• Curcumin. This is the active ingredient in turmeric and in high concentrations can be very useful adjunct in the treatment of breast cancer. It shows immense therapeutic potential in preventing breast cancer metastasis.  We throw a piece of turmeric into our smoothies every day.
• Avoid drinking alcohol, or at least limit your alcoholic drinks to one per day.  
• Breastfeed exclusively for up to six months. Research shows breastfeeding can reduce your breast cancer risk.
• Avoid wearing underwire bras. There is a good deal of data that metal underwire bras can heighten your breast cancer risk.
• Avoid electromagnetic fields as much as possible. Even electric blankets can increase your cancer risk.
• Avoid synthetic hormone replacement therapy. Breast cancer is an estrogen-related cancer, and according to a study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, breast cancer rates for women dropped in tandem with decreased use of hormone replacement therapy. (There are similar risks for younger women who use oral contraceptives. Birth control pills, which are also comprised of synthetic hormones, have been linked to cervical and breast cancers.)
If you are experiencing excessive menopausal symptoms, you may want to consider bioidentical hormone replacement therapy instead, which uses hormones that are molecularly identical to the ones your body produces and do not wreak havoc on your system. This is a much safer alternative.
• Avoid BPA, phthalates, parabens and other toxic xenoestrogens. These are estrogen-like compounds that have been linked to increased breast cancer risk.  This includes ditching the cosmetics, shampoos, soaps and deodorants that have these.  Here's an example of the deodorant my wife now uses that is paraben free:
  

• Make sure you're not iodine deficient, as there's compelling evidence linking iodine deficiency with breast cancer. Dr. David Brownstein, author of the book Iodine: Why You Need It, Why You Can't Live Without It, is a proponent of iodine for breast cancer. It actually has potent anticancer properties and has been shown to cause cell death in breast and thyroid cancer cells.

By being proactive in these areas rather than simply hoping to not become a statistic, you can DRASTICALLY REDUCE your chances of facing this dreaded disease.  My hope is that we can begin to share more of a dialogue about prevention rather than so called "awareness".

That starts with sharing this post with everyone that you know via all types of social media.  Your decision to do so may have an impact on someone's health and well being!  Thanks!

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Much of the information in this blog was shared from the following article:

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/05/27/angelina-jolie-double-mastectomy.aspx?e_cid=20130527_DNL_ProdTest3_art_1&utm_source=dnl&utm_medium=email&utm_content=art1&utm_campaign=20130527ProdTest3

"THE FOOD REVOLUTION" offers a free online summit

When it comes to your family's health, do you want to:

• GET INFORMED?
• PRIORITIZE YOUR HEALTH?
• MAKE CHOICES THAT EMPOWER YOU, YOUR FAMILY AND YOUR WORLD?
• STOP BEING VICTIMIZED BY JUNK FOOD MANUFACTURERS?
• PUT AN END TO FOOD DECEPTION ON YOUR PLATE?
• TAKE BACK YOUR RIGHT TO HEALTHY FOOD AND TRUTHFUL INFORMATION?

Starting this Saturday, April 27th through May 5th, we all have an unbelievable opportunity learn from 24 of the top experts in the field of nutrition and wellness about how to do just that.  "The Food Revolution" is an online summit that you can log onto and simply listen and learn (for FREE and without having to leave home).

The Food Revolution Summit is for you if...

• You feel concerned about what's happening with our food.
• You want your family to have access to good nutrition.
• You don't want to get cancer, diabetes, or heart disease.
• You like to shop at farmer's markets or to buy locally grown food.
• You're disturbed by factory farms and genetically engineered food.
• You love animals.
• You want to find out how what you eat connects to the health of the planet.
• You want your family and friends to eat better but you don't want to seem like a nag.
• You love food - perhaps you're a bit of a foodie - or you love to cook!
• You want to enjoy food you can trust for a lifetime. 

Did you know that...

• Genetically engineered food is unlabeled, inadequately tested, and you're probably eating it every day.
• Some scientists have linked genetically engineered foods to toxic and allergic reactions in people; to sickness, sterility and fatalities in livestock; and damage to virtually every organ studied in lab animals.
• If you don't count French fries, ketchup or pizza as vegetables, more than half of Americans eat no vegetables at all.
• Thanks to the American diet, a child born today in the U.S. has a one in three chance of developing diabetes.
• Toxic pesticides developed as agents of war and linked to cancer and birth defects are routinely poured on farmland, and traces of them wind up in the food you eat.
• The same food choices that are good for you can be good for the planet, for farm workers, and for your great grandchildren.

Their speakers will share their expertise in areas like:

• Heart disease is the #1 killer, but it can be prevented and even reversed without drugs, surgery or excessive exercise. Find out how.
• Discover the nutrition that can help you prevent (and sometimes even cure) cancer.
• What are the top foods to avoid if you want to protect yourself and your family from GMOs?
• Recent reports say soy is toxic. Is it true? What's the real story?
• Which fats are healthy for you, and which are so hazardous that they should come with warning labels?
• Find out about affordable superfood breakthroughs that can give you health and vitality.
• Most vegetarians thrive. But over the years, some get sick or change course. Are they lacking vital nutrients?
• What are the health benefits and common pitfalls of a plant-strong diet?
• Type 2 diabetes is destroying lives, but it is completely preventable. Get empowered with the blood sugar solution!
• Which micronutrients are the most important for a strong immune system?
• How can you know if you are allergic to certain foods, and what can you do about it if you are?
• Multi-vitamins could be hazardous to your health. Find out why!
• Millions of people are eating raw or mostly raw diets. Is this a nutritional breakthrough, or a dangerous fad?
• Organic foods are increasingly popular. Are they worth the cost?
• Modern factory farms are breeding antibiotic resistant bacteria. This is killing tens of thousands of Americans every year. Find out what you can do about it.
• Use of the herbicide Roundup has increased three-fold since 1997. What doesn't Monsanto want you to know about its real health and environmental impact?
• You can help save the environment with your spoon and fork. You can actually stop big-agribusiness and build a better world by eating right.
• Find out how to be a positive influence on others. Yes, you can get your family to eat healthy like you instead of looking at you like a nut. We'll give you tips.
• Find out how you can stock a healthy pantry without spending a fortune.

To get signed up and attend the event, simply go to their sign up page at:

http://www.foodrevolution.org/summit?orid=127261&opid=18

Why This Summit is So Vital Right Now...

1) Our current food system is a mess and our health is suffering because of it.
Cancer and other diseases are becoming so widespread they seem normal! Large-scale industrialized food production is wreaking havoc on our forests, topsoil, air, water, and climate. Farm animals are being treated with incredible cruelty, and farm workers are often exploited. Genetically engineered (GMO) "Frankenfoods" are being shoved down our throats without knowledge or consent. Meanwhile, people are eating more and more artificial food --and getting fatter and sicker. In fact, more people are chronically ill than at any time in the history of the world.

2) Everyone has an opinion, but that doesn't mean every "expert" is reliable... or truthful. Despite an awesome volume of medical research that has come in over the last 60 years, the average physician receives only 24 hours of nutritional education in all their years of medical school. Advertisements try to sell us nutritional ideas, breakthrough gimmicks and pseudo-scientific diets that have little basis in reality. Many of these supposed "facts" are dangerously misleading, or just plain wrong.

3) People are rising up and making a change, and they are here to help.
Today there's a huge growing demand for natural, organic, sustainable, fair trade, humane, plant-strong, and healthy foods. In cities around the world, we're seeing more and more farmer's markets, and more young people getting back into farming. Grocery stores (even big national chains) are displaying local, natural and organic foods with pride. The global and local movements for healthy food have never been stronger. From the ground to our tables, food should be cruelty-free and fair trade and we want to see that become the new norm.

Join the millions of people who are concerned about the future of food who want reliable, up to date information from a source they can trust.

Again, to get signed up and attend the event, simply go to their sign up page at:

http://www.foodrevolution.org/summit?orid=127261&opid=18

If you know somebody who's health has deteriorated, or is suffering from illness, please consider sharing this vital information by clicking any of the "share" buttons below to have them learn how to improve their situation through good nutrition!

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CONSEQUENCES OF THE MONSANTO PROTECTION ACT PASSING

 

Just recently, the "Monsanto Protection Act" was passed into law, effectively putting Monsanto above the law.  I wanted to outline who Monsanto is, what the law is, how it was passed, and what it means to you and I and our loved ones' collective health if we continue to eat the GMO's (Genetically Modified Organisms) that they are responsible for.

First, let's take a look at Monsanto.  They are one of the world's largest Biotech companies at over $42 Billion in market cap per year.  Their enormous growth can be attributed to very effectively cornering the market on much of the world's genetically modified seed supply used to grow crops, and the poisonous pesticides used to fertilize them.  Here's a link to a great breakdown of some of the wonderful contributions that Monsanto has supplied us over the years:

http://gmo-awareness.com/2011/05/12/monsanto-dirty-dozen/

This link also goes into their introduction of GMO's (genetically modified organisms) to our food supply beginning in the 1990's.  Today, over 85% of the corn and 90% of the soybeans that go into the food supply in our nation are genetically modified, which translates to about 80% of the processed foods you'll find in your grocery store having GMO's in them.  Nearly all fast (fake) food carries GMO's as well.  What are GMO's, how do they effect us, and what can we do to avoid them?  Here's a brief explanation from the foremost expert on the adverse effects of GMO's, Jeffrey Smith, followed by a parody on GMO's:

The animated film does a great job (in a humorous and somewhat scary way) of outlining exactly how Biotech's like Monsanto are treating the population at large like guinea pigs with their pesticides and GMO crops.  Their goal is nothing short of squashing all organic farming worldwide and cornering the food market with their GMO farming methods.

How do we stop this?  With our wallets!  As was mentioned, you can go to http://www.nongmoshoppingguide.com/ to find foods that do not have GMO's.  You can also download the "Shop Non GMO" app to your IPhone, or the "Fooducate" app to your android phone.  Both of these apps allow you to scan the barcodes in your grocery store to determine if the foods carry GMO's.  I also look for the "Non GMO Verified" label on products that I buy, and the "Certified Organic" seal on products which do not carry GMO's.

My family has removed GMO's from our house by focusing on eating only whole foods, organic produce, and by removing all processed foods.  It took a while for me to understand how to navigate the GMO landmine that is our local grocery store, but with the Fooducate app, I was able to figure it out pretty quickly. 

Why are GMO's allowed into our food supply in the first place?  Unfortunately, money talks in America and our politicians have long been a part of the problem.  Take a look at John Stewart's explanation of how the Monsanto Protection Act was sneaked past us by our elected officials including President Obama.  This despite over 200,000 people including myself signing a petition against its passage:

So essentially, even if someone were to bring a successful lawsuit against Monsanto that proves the harmful side effects of their seed, farmers would be guaranteed to harvest and profit from these crops and they would still be able to find their way into our food supply as a result of this passing.

Unfortunately, our country has been woefully ignorant about GMO's and all of the negative health issues that they cause when compared with the rest of the world.  Europe has imposed mandatory GMO labeling as has Australia, Japan, and most other industrialized nations.  The main problem stems from the FDA only requiring safety studies from the Biotech companies themselves before approving the product for consumption by the public.  This is worse than having the fox guard the chicken coop!

We recently had a chance to finally pass meaningful legislation for mandatory GMO labeling with Prop 37 in California last November and it was defeated with 53% of the vote.  How can this take place when polls show that over 90% would like to see mandatory GMO labeling?  Monsanto and a number of our largest food suppliers contributed over $40 million to a smear campaign against it on TV to defeat it.  Unfortunately, it worked.   Here's a link to a list of the biggest contributors to defeat Prop 37 with the most to lose if it had passed:

http://www.carighttoknow.org/tags/syngenta

Take a look at the outcry of anger about GMO's in other countries across the world:

It's time our county joins the fight, and tells our politicians that they shouldn't sell out our health for lobbying $$$ from big biotech's like Monsanto.  What are the consequences if we ignore this?  How many people do you know that are contracting life threatening diseases lately without getting answers as to the true cause?  

I know that my wife recently contracting cancer at her age was a wake up call for our family, and my new purpose in life is to help as many people as possible to live a healthy life through healthy eating. For more detailed information on the specific health impacts of GMO's in your diet, you can visit the following link:

http://gmo-awareness.com/all-about-gmos/gmo-risks/ 

The father of medicine, Hippocrates, said it best when he stated, "Let thy food be thy medicine, and thy medicine be thy food."  We have the ability to positively impact our health and the health of our loved ones by following this simple plan:

• Avoid GMO's in our diet whenever possible using the tools provided in this post.
• Boycott the companies that contributed to defeat mandatory GMO labeling.
• Insist that our elected officials support mandatory GMO labeling and vote for it when it comes up!  Support the cause.
• Help to inform everyone that you care for about this topic.

That starts with sharing this post with everyone that you know via all types of social media.  Your decision to do so may have an impact on someone's health and well being!  Thanks!

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REDUCE HEART ATTACK & STROKE RISK BY REDUCING THIS

Everywhere you turn, whether it be on grocery store shelves, or any variety of restaurant, we are bombarded with high salt options more than ever before.  Why do we have this obsession with this age old ingredient?  We love our flavor!  Ironically, the more salt we eat, the more we damage our taste buds which requires us to use even more of it over time!

The American Heart Association recently dropped their recommended daily amount of sodium intake from 2300 mg to 1500 mg.  The average daily dietary intake of sodium in the U.S. today sits at more than two times that amount at about 3500 mg per day.  Again, we like our taste, and the food industry is happy to fill that need, even if its to our detriment health wise.  

What are the consequences of having a high sodium diet?  Most notably, raising blood pressure which leads to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.  Americans have a 90% chance of developing high blood pressure in their lifetimes.  Every year in the U.S., 780,000 people die from heart disease.  Coronary heart disease causes 1 out of every 6 deaths in the U.S. every year.  On average, someone dies from heart disease every 39 seconds.  

To put this in perspective, the amount of annual deaths related to heart disease is the equivalent of 9-11 occurring 260 times annually.  Sadly, the vast majority of those deaths are entirely preventable if people would just be willing to change their diets instead of the popular choice of using prescription medications which don't address the root cause and only treat the condition.

I am in disbelief at the number of people I hear that are having heart attacks at younger and younger ages in this country.  I'm sure all of you reading this post can think of loved ones or your friend's loved ones who were lost at an early age to this, the number one cause of death in our country today.  Let's take a look at how we can make sure that we and our loved ones don't fall pray to this silent killer by taking control of our diets.  Here's three helpful tips to help you fight heart disease:

1. Change what you eat when eating out (especially fast food).  Let's say I'm in a hurry at lunchtime and decide to swing through a Burger King drive through for a quick lunch.  If I order a Whopper with cheese and a large fry, I've just taken in more than the recommended daily of sodium at over 2100 mg in one meal!  

Don't think that this isn't the case at most sit down restaurants as well.  You need to take control by learning what the sodium amounts are in each of the options offered by the restaurant you're going to.  Let's say you're going to Olive Garden for dinner and decide to go with their Chicken Parmesan.  Seems pretty harmless, right?  Wrong.  You just doubled your recommended daily allowance of sodium at 3380 mg!  If you had gone online and Googled "Olive Garden nutrition" and pulled up their PDF listing of entrees with nutritional information, you would have known that.  Instead, you may have gone with the spaghetti w/ meat sauce at 1340 mg, the Venitian apricot chicken at 1290 mg, or better yet, the herb grilled salmon at 360 mg.

This is the case with almost all dine out options.  You just need to arm yourself with information before dining out.  A good tip is to simply go online before dining out and Google the name of the restaurant and the word nutrition after it.  Many restaurants will offer a PDF that shows the nutrition information for all of their dishes.  Here's the example I used for Olive Garden:

http://www.olivegarden.com/core_content/pdfs/olive_garden_nutrition.pdf


2. Check out the labels for sodium content at the supermarket.  This one seems pretty obvious, but most people just throw it in the cart if it looks good without taking the time to look at this.  If you take more time to do this the next time you go shopping, I'll bet you'll be amazed at how much sodium is in some of your favorites.  Look for lower sodium alternatives if you are.

3. Incorporate foods that naturally prevent cardiovascular problems and lower cholesterol.  Here's a list of natural foods that significantly reduce your cholesterol and your chances for developing heart disease:

- Berries such as blueberries, blackberries, raspberries and strawberries

- Beans are high in soluble fiber, which reduces blood cholesterol levels

- Monosaturated fats which are also known as the "good fats".  These can be found naturally in avocados, flax seeds, chia seeds, nuts, and cold water fish like salmon.  These decrease inflammation, and lower saturated triglyceride levels.

- Dark leafy greens like spinach, kale, chard, and arugula are high in fiber and loaded with antioxidants.  These are natural heart disease fighters.

- Whole grains such as oats, whole wheat, brown rice, quinoa, and other unprocessed grains contain fiber, and minerals which reduce the risk of heart disease.

Other things that we can do to significantly lower our risk of heart disease:

- Lower our intake of highly salted chips and crackers

- Reduce the amount of fried foods that we eat

- Limit the amount of processed meats we eat such as sausages, hot dogs, etc.

- Make red meat such as steak and burgers a "once in a great while" aspect of our diet

- Substitute whole wheat pasta for refined pasta which is high in fat and calories

- Substitute low fat frozen yogurt over ice cream which is high in fat and sugar

- Avoid doughnuts.  There is NOTHING beneficial about eating these.

The bottom line is that heart disease is the number one killer in our country and many of those deaths are preventable.  A high salt diet (along with bad cholesterol and highly processed foods) is the main culprit.  The average American lives on a 90% processed and 10% whole food diet.  If we were all committed to making the majority of our diets whole foods, and the minority processed, high salt options, we would see the annual death toll from heart disease drop by the hundreds of thousands every year.  Cut the salt, cut the cholesterol, and watch your blood pressure drop!

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