Tag: food

  • She OVERCAME 10 Diagnoses, 55 Allergies & Chronic Pain

    She OVERCAME 10 Diagnoses, 55 Allergies & Chronic Pain

    Health Freedom Idaho: Romy’s story is amazing, and is possible for many more children! Health Freedom Idaho is committed to protecting our access to a variety of practitioners to meet our individual health needs. 

    Romy’s Journey

    Romy was diagnosed at 7 yrs old with Chronic Neuro-Lyme Disease, Bartonella, Babesia, Mycoplasma, Chlamydia, EB, HV6, Strep, and multiple food and environmental allergies (IgE). She received Lyme congenitally from her mother, in utero, as well as receiving multiple exposures throughout her young life.

    Romy lived with 26 excruciating pain areas all over her body – muscles, joints, literally any skin surface was painful to the touch. Romy had a very scary experience with a Lyme-induced seizure on New Years Eve in the beginning of her journey.

    Romy had to be carried or transported in a stroller, shopping cart, or wheelchair in order to prevent fire-like pain shooting up from her calves.  This pain was so sharp and agonizing, she would scream.  She could walk about one block without triggering this pain.
    Full-body tics would prevent her from sleeping.  At one point she could not run but “gallop” and drag her foot behind her.  She experienced  facial tics and vocal tics, very swollen/painful throat, fatigue, sensory integration dysfunction, food/environmental allergies, thermoregulation problems, blurry/sandy eyes, encephalitis, and inflammation in every joint.

    Paranoia, clinginess, night terrors, OCD, aggression, fears, anxiety, and poor executive functioning.  She had a pounding, frontal headache for over two years.

    Interventions include Homeopathy & Dietary Changes

    Homeopathy proved to be an invaluable tool for Romy’s healing.  Homeopathy was the only modality that was effective in reducing Romy’s agonizing pain.

    After the microbial numbers were reduced to a more manageable level, herbs began to work.  Romy utilized an important herbal protocol on top of antibiotics.  Romy lost about 10 symptoms in 1 1/2 months.  After that, her family focused more on rebuilding and repair with supplements and other therapies.

    Romy was on long term antibiotics along with comprehensive herbal and homeopathy protocols as well as a healthy diet and lifestyle approach.

    Today

    Romy is symptom-free and takes accelerated classes as a sophomore in high school.  She’s also on the Constitution Team that competes with other high schools across the country.

    Romy makes her diet and a healthy life-style top priority.  She enjoys dance classes, kick boxing, rigorous workouts at the gym, and long walks on the weekend with her dog. She loves to cook with her dad and is a master at making green smoothies.  Her family grows vegetables and cooks almost every night.

    Romy’s mother recalls what she learned from her daughter’s healing journey: “Modern living demands being open and recognizing we are all individuals toting our own special blend of disease, metabolic deficiencies, lifestyle factors, genetics, toxic exposure, emotional baggage, what have you.  Modern living demands that we partake and manage our own health.  Every day there are hundreds of articles published on diseases.  No way our practitioners can be experts on everything like in the old days.  As a result, we must take ownership of our health and research and read every day.  We must bring our knowledge to the table.”

    And finally, “She is our little burst of light and love.  She has always been that way, so disarming. Even at her sickest, she could eek out a sweet smile, or weakly laugh at something funny.  Simply everything is better with her here with us,” recalls Romy’s mother. Read more of Romy’s story here.

     

    Romy’s story is amazing, but this is possible for many more children! Health Freedom Idaho is committed to protecting our access to a variety of practitioners to meet our individual health needs. 

  • January 2017 HFI Potluck

    January 2017 HFI Potluck

    Calling all our freedom loving friends! We’d love to start the new year off right with you at a group potluck dinner on Sunday, January 22nd from 5:30-8:00pm MST. 
    Please register for the event so that we can get an estimated count and can setup accordingly. 
    Please join us as we come together to share in a delicious meal and meet fellow freedom-loving Idahoan’s and their family!
    Come hear the plans HFI has in store for the upcoming year and how you can be a part of preserving your freedoms. This event is in conjunction with the “Day at the Capitol” event happening the following day. We will gather to prepare for the big day, share stories, and have a little fun with our friends and families. This event is potluck style and open to all individuals across the state. To make it easier for those traveling, our hope is that surrounding county members (Ada, Canyon, etc) will share in most of the of the food preparation.
    We truly look forward to seeing you and growing our HFI family!
    Register for the potluck at Eventbrite
  • New Year Bone Broth

    New Year Bone Broth

    Dr. Rosie Main:
    Now is the time I encourage my patients to make all things new and restore their bodies by recommitting to their health and renewing their minds by fasting and prayer. To do this I have them do a 5-7 day bone broth fast. I started doing bone broth for healing my own issues with Crohn’s years ago. I realized that my autoimmune issues with glucose sensitivity were due to my inflammation in my gut. I had a leaky gut that resulted in many other health issues. Years ago I began removing all inflammatory foods such as grain, sugar and toxins and began to heal my gut through bone broth.

    Bone broths have been used medicinally throughout the centuries to cure digestive disorders, cold and flu viruses, skin conditions, and a host of other infectious diseases. It was often referred to as the “Jewish Penicillin”, and can heal the body in a very short amount of time. In my personal experience- I have noticed clear skin and increased energy that I was truly not expecting! Currently I am doing for fasting purposes to help as I fast and pray yet be able to function physically with my work week. I am loving the benefits of it both spiritually and emotionally. Many people do it to help with autoimmune conditions caused by the leaking of undigested food that goes and stimulates the immune system to create antibodies that attack itself. We see many people with thyroid issues, arthritis, diabetes, lupus and many more new millennium diseases due to a leaky gut. A bone broth helps restore health as well as mental health since the gut is also considered the second brain. Serotonin is primarily produced in the gut and if inflammation exists in the gut, many issues like anxiety, insomnia and depression are found. Lastly doing a bone broth fast is soothing during this time of year and easy to prepare (see recipe below).

    Superfood Benefits and Reasons to Eat
    1. Strengthened Immune System: “Science validates what our grandmothers knew. Rich homemade chicken broths help cure colds. Stock contains minerals in a form the body can absorb easily—not just calcium but also magnesium, phosphorus, silicon, Sulphur and trace minerals. It contains the broken down material from cartilage and tendons–stuff like chondroitin sulphates and glucosamine, now sold as expensive supplements for arthritis and joint pain.” Taken from Sally Fallon “Why Broth is Beautiful”.
    Try it out, next time you are feeling a little down, drink some bone broth and notice the incredible difference how you feel! Or if you don’t even want to get to that point, start consuming it now and nourish that beautiful body!

    2. Glowing Skin and Strong Hair: Want the number one beauty secret that ancient women have discovered long ago? It promotes hair growth, fights aging, wrinkles, and even stretch marks? No, you do not have to pay hundreds to support a gorgeous body- just consuming nutrient dense foods will do the trick- bone broth being a major player!

    The collagen and gelatin in bone broth supports hair growth and rejuvenates the cells of the skin. Our bodies need certain building blocks to manufacture collagen. Gelatin is basically powdered collagen, providing our bodies with what it needs to make healthy skin and hair cells- naturally! You will see the results you are looking for.

    3. Strengthens Digestive System: Science has now confirmed the beneficial effects of gelatin taken with food. It aids in the digestion and has been used to treat numerous intestinal disorders. The gelatin in bone broth protects and heals the mucosal lining of the digestive tract and also helps aid in the digestion of nutrients.
    Bone Broth Recipe:
    Ingredients
    Calories: 379 per serving | Number of Serving: 3 Quarts
    2-4 pounds grass fed beef marrow and knuckle bones
    2 tblsp raw apple cider vinegar
    4 quarts filtered water
    3 garlic cloves, halved
    3 tumeric pieces, halved
    1 onion, quartered
    Pepper, sea salt, and any other desired spices

    Method

    Place bones in a pot or a crockpot (high temperature), add apple cider vinegar and water, and let the mixture sit for 2-4 hours so the vinegar can leach the mineral out of the bones.
    Add more water if needed to cover the bones.
    Reduce to a low simmer, cover, and cook for 24-72 hours (if you’re not comfortable leaving the pot to simmer overnight, turn off the heat and let it sit overnight, then turn it back on and let simmer all day the next day)
    Let the broth cool and strain it, making sure all marrow is knocked out of the marrow bones and into the broth.
    Add sea salt to taste and drink the broth as is or store in fridge up to 5 to 7 days or freezer up to 6 months for use in soups or stews.

    Please let me know if you need help following this plan or and health concerns!
    Go love……Go serve!
    Dr. Rosie Main, DC
    Main Health Solutions
    Host Maximized Living Radio 94.1

    Article references:

    http://bodyecology.com/articles/bone-broth#.UXmirYJVqGg

    New Year! New You!
  • We avoid the Stomach Bug with this essential that’s ALWAYS stocked in my “medicine bag”

    We avoid the Stomach Bug with this essential that’s ALWAYS stocked in my “medicine bag”

    I am a mom of many and I can not stand the sight or smell of puke. There is a lot of nasty stuff moms have to deal with, but the stomach bug is something I can’t handle well. Fortunately, we found a remedy that has been a sanity saver in my household. Activated Charcoal and Gripe Water are ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL for your medicine cupboard. This isn’t one of those things you can wait until you get sick and run to the store and get it.  You must have it ON HAND for the stomach flu. From our experience, there is a small window of opportunity to get it into you system to help reduce and even eliminate symptoms altogether.
    Our family “discovered” activated charcoal after many bouts of vomiting due to my youngest child’s sensitivities to chemicals and pesticides on his food. Unfortunately, even organic foods were making him ill. It was an internet search, that led me to a blog, and out of desperation we tried charcoal at the first sign of a food reaction. Amazingly, we reduced the vomiting from days and days to a couple hours and eventually timed it better to avoid any vomit at all.
    This is how OUR family uses it.
    2 capsules broken open into a teaspoon of gripe water (our favorite is Mother’s Bliss). The gripe water helps sometimes to settle the tummy just enough to allow the charcoal to stay down and start absorbing. We try to have a SIP of water to get the grit out of the mouth but sometimes all we could do is just that teaspoon full of the gripe water charcoal mix. Every 15 minutes a teaspoon full and within an hour he was feeling well enough to sit up in bed and watch a show. Two hours later, and a couple more teaspoons and gradual sips of water he was back to his happy self. No more ‘throw ups’ for a sensitive little guy.
    The Stomach Flu BANISHED!
    We had the opportunity to try it on the stomach flu that struck our house and YES! It worked with that as well. Unfortunately, the first two kids suffered the entire 3 days because we just didn’t catch it in time, but the other four of us got queasy, but nothing more. Same protocol every 15 minutes until nausea subsided…then adding spoonfuls of water.

    So, who does it work?

    Here’s the history that I found from an article at http://articles.perfectorigins.com/activated-charcoal-health-benefits/.

    The year was 1831.

    Professor Tourey stood before an auditorium packed with his esteemed colleagues at the French Academy of Medicine.

    He held up a glass filled with a murky gray liquid and announced that this potion contained 15 grams of the deadly poison strychnine — ten times the lethal dose.

    Then Professor Tourey did something that stunned and terrified his peers: he gulped down every drop of this lethal cocktail.

    The auditorium at the French Academy of Medicine erupted in frantic shouts and screams. Men stormed the stage, prepared to drag Professor Tourey to the nearby hospital… or the morgue.

    But remarkably, Professor Tourey wasn’t harmed by this apparently suicidal stunt. Why? Because he’d mixed the strychnine with activated charcoal.

    What Is Activated Charcoal?

    Activated charcoal is one of the world’s oldest and trusted detoxification methods.

    activated_charcoal

    It’s been used since ancient times in Chinese and Ayurvedic traditions as a potent antidote for poisons. Today, you’ll find activated charcoal in hospital ER rooms around the world.

    When a patient is rushed to an emergency room because of poisoning or a drug overdose, nurses and doctors give them activated charcoal.  Millions of lives have been saved because of this amazing detoxifying agent.

    But activated charcoal has health benefits that reach way beyond the ER room.

    If you’re interested in better digestive health, less gas and strong protection against nasty foodborne illnesses, then activated charcoal could be a good fit for your lifestyle.

    How Does Activated Charcoal Work?

    To understand how activated charcoal works you must first understand how it is made.

    You make activated charcoal by burning a carbon source such as wood, peat or coconut shells at extremely high temperatures (1,700 — 1,800 °F). This creates char. The char is then heated in a furnace at even higher temperatures in the presence of steam.

    The charcoal is “activated” because this process causes it to have a very fine particle size. These ultra-fine particles are peppered with millions of tiny pores. And these pores are the secret to activated charcoal’s amazing detoxifying properties.

    Activated charcoal works by adsorbing (trapping) poisons, heavy metals, and intestinal gasses in these pores. But it doesn’t absorb these toxins.

    Absorption is when a fluid permeates a solid or is dissolved by a liquid. Adsorption is a chemical reaction where elements bind to a surface.

    Once activated charcoal enters the body it acts like a “toxin magnet”.

    Because activated charcoal has a negative electrical charge it attracts and binds positively charged toxins like heavy metals and industrial toxins before they have a chance to cause harm.

    Importantly, the human body cannot metabolize activated charcoal. It passes through the digestive system like a million microscopic magnets, grabbing toxins as it goes.

    Eventually, this activated charcoal and its toxic payload is harmlessly passed out of your body when you use the bathroom.

    Your Turn: Have you ever used activated charcoal? If so, what did you think? Share in the comments below! 

    Portions of this article originally appeared at: http://articles.perfectorigins.com/activated-charcoal-health-benefits/.

    Dr. Charles is a Board Certified Chiropractic Physician who has certifications in wellness, nutritional response testing and killmode training protocols. Dr. Charles is a best selling author whose #1 weight loss book, “Fat Loss Factor”. has taken the Internet by storm in several countries around the world. His newest book, “Dare to Succeed”, was co-written with “Chicken Soup For the Soul” author Jack Canfield and has hit best seller status in 5 categories.

  • Harmful high fructose corn syrup gets a new name

    Harmful high fructose corn syrup gets a new name

    Big Food is at it again, fooling us with false advertisements to make us buy food we don’t want to consume. Most of today’s consumers are increasingly health conscious and want to avoid products that contain health-damaging ingredients. High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is one of the substances that has made a bad name for itself.

    This questionable sweetener which is much cheaper than regular sugar, and extends the shelf life of processed products – has been linked to many health problems such as heart disease, obesity, dementia, diabetes, cancer and liver failure. For this reason, many consumers have begun to check food labels and steer away from foods containing HFCS.

    But manufacturers have come up with a sneaky way to fool their customers so that they don’t have to change their money-making ways. Instead of removing this cheap, harmful ingredient, they have just changed its name on packaging to conceal it within their products. FDA decided in 1997 that food companies could review their own products and determine if they were safe or not. This self-regulatory system legally enables food companies to put profits above safety.

    Now they succeeded in changing the name of a form of HFCS called HFCS-90 to fructose or fructose syrup. Since fructose makes up the sugar content in fresh fruits, it sounds much healthier than HFCS, however, when we consume fructose in fruits, we consume it along with fiber, enzymes, minerals and vitamins.

    The toxic ingredient now called fructose, or fructose syrup, contains even higher concentrations of harmful HFCS, making it more of a health risk than regular HFCS. Regular HFCS (HFCS-42 or HFCS-55) contains either 42 or 55 percent fructose, while HFCS-90 contains 90 percent. Even though multiple scientific studies add to a growing body of evidence that indicates HFCS consumption may result in negative health consequences when compared to natural sugar, high concentrations of HFCS are still allowed in our food chain.

    Here are a few other deceptive names of HFCS that you should look out for: maize syrup, glucose syrup, glucose/fructose syrup, tapioca syrup, fruit fructose and crystalline fructose.

    Sources:

    OrganicAndHealthy.org

    LiveInTheNow.com

    NaturalNews.com

    Food & Nature Food companies hiding harmful high fructose corn syrup under new nameBy Waking Science | December 12, 2016

    Submitted by Amy Goodrich via Natural News,

  • Our Farmers Markets

    Our Farmers Markets

    From savoring produce at the peak of freshness to meeting the people who grow your food, there are countless reasons to support farmers markets. Most food found at the farmers market is minimally processed, and many of our farmers go to great lengths to grow the most nutritious produce possible by using sustainable techniques, picking produce right before the market, and growing heirloom varieties.

    Ashton
    Henry’s Fork Farmers Market
    Boise
    Boise Farmers Market
    Capital City Public Market
    Stage Stop Market
    Bonners Ferry
    Bonners Ferry Farmers Market
    Buhl
    West End Senior Center Wednesday Farmers Market
    Caldwell
    Caldwell Farmers Market
    Coeur d’Alene
    Barnyard Market
    Kootenai County Farmers’ Market

    Driggs
    Driggs Farmers Market
    Eagle 
    Eagle Saturday Market
    Emmett 
    Valley of Plenty Farmer’s Market
    Hailey
    Hailey Farmer’s Market
    Hayden
    Kootenai County Farmers’ Market
    Idaho Falls
    Idaho Falls Farmers’ Market
    Jerome
    Farmers Market at the Crossroads Point Business Center
    Kellogg
    Silver Valley Farmers Market
    Ketchum
    Ketchum Farmer’s Market
    Kuna
    Kuna Farmers Market
    Lewiston
    Lewiston Farmers Market
    McCall
    McCall Farmers Market
    Meridian
    Meridian Farmers’ Market and Bazaar
    Middleton
    Middleton Farmers Market
    Moscow
    Moscow Food Coop Tuesday Growers’ Market
    Moscow Farmers Market

    Mountain Home
    Mountain Home Farmers Market
    Nampa
    Nampa Farmers Market
    Pocatello
    Portneuf Valley Farmers Market
    Post Falls
    Post Falls Local Market
    Rexburg
    Rexburg Farmers Market
    Sandpoint
    Farmers Market at Sandpoint
    Shoshone
    Lincoln County Crossroad’s Farmer’s Market
    Rathdrum
    Rathdrum Farmers and Artisan Market
    Riggins
    Salmon River Canyon Farmers’ Market
    Twin Falls 
    Market on Main
    Twin Falls Farmers Market

    Victor
    Victor Farmers Market

    Are we missing a market? SHARE WITH US so we can update the list.
  • Kid-Friendly Cough Syrup

    Kid-Friendly Cough Syrup

    This Idaho family approved cough syrup is especially helpful with a congestion-related cough.

    The Components

    Lemon Juice

    Lemons are good for detoxing the body, in this case from an illness. They are also high in vitamin C, which is immune boosting. It is naturally anti-viral and anti-inflammatory. It’s also good for breaking up mucous that may be on the throat causing the cough.

    Honey

    Honey, especially raw honey, is well known for its many benefits. It is anti-bacterial, anti-viral, and full of antioxidants. If you’re careful with only slightly heating this and you buy local raw honey it should help even more with an allergy related cough due to honey’s ability to help arm your immune system for dealing with local allergens.

    Coconut Oil

    Coconut oil has many amazing properties, but the important ones here are the anti-bacterial, anti-microbial, anti-viral, and anti-inflammatory properties. All these make it perfect for fighting winter colds and viruses. It has even been shown that coconut oil can bolster the immune system by improving white blood cell counts, which directly fights viruses and infections.

    Together this syrup fights inflammation, bacteria, and viruses while soothingly coating the throat and breaking up mucous.

    How to Make It

    4 Tablespoons Lemon Juice

    1/3 Cup Honey (Preferably Raw)

    2 Tablespoons Coconut Oil

    Pic 1

    Place in a small pot and gently heat on a very low temperature, just enough to melt the coconut oil and warm the honey to mix easily.

    Pic 2

    For long term, you should store in the refrigerator but I leave it on the counter for a few days when there is illness in the house. Near the stove or warm crock pot (I use mine often for making broth when sick) will keep the coconut oil melted. Otherwise the coconut oil will solidify and you will need to melt it again before administering.

    Administer usually 3 times per day one tea spoon for child, and double dose for adults…

    Add-ins

    We’ve also added a bit of oregano oil into the syrup when fighting off something pretty bad. Oregano oil is an amazing natural antibiotic. Be sure to use a high quality essential oil for ingestion.

    Cayenne pepper or Apple Cider Vinegar can also nicely break up the mucous causing many coughs.

    This article originally appeared at: http://www.modernalternativehealth.com/2014/03/04/kid-friendly-cough-syrup/

    Another favorite source for natural treatments is Heather’s blog http://www.mommypotamus.com/

    How do you treat coughs at home? What other things would you add?

  • Five Ways to Reduce Your Exposure to Toxins in Food

    Five Ways to Reduce Your Exposure to Toxins in Food

    Food may go through a lot on its journey to your plate, sometimes in ways that are not beneficial to your health. Some things may occur before food is even planted or harvested. For example, crops can be treated with pesticides and fertilizers or transformed through hybridization or genetic engineering. And then there are toxic substances that are added to food either intentionally as ingredients or inadvertently as contaminants while food is being processed. While pesticides and genetically engineered foods can be mostly avoided by choosing organic, it can be challenging to avoid toxins added to food during processing and packaging.

    Researchers recently found almost two hundred chemicals of concern are used in food storage materials in the U.S. (1). Of these, I’ll focus this blog post on two types of chemicals: phthalates and bisphenol A (BPA), as well as its replacements. These chemicals are components in plastic wraps and food containers and give them flexibility and strength. They are also present in containers of small kitchen appliances like mixers, blenders, popcorn poppers, and water filtration pitchers.

    So, how are these chemicals a concern for your health? One of the major issues is that they act as hormone disruptors, meaning they interfere with your body’s natural cycles. Studies have shown that some phthalates have been linked to feminization of male fetuses in women who had higher levels in their blood stream during pregnancy (2). BPA has been shown to increase susceptibility to breast cancer or to act as an obesogen, which means that children exposed to higher levels as fetuses are more likely to gain weight later in their lives than those exposed to lower levels (3,4). Please note that products labeled ‘BPA-free’ may have alternatives that have also been shown to be disruptive to hormone cycles (5).

    So how do you avoid these chemicals in your diet? Several recent studies give some guidance both on ways to avoid them and how hard it can be to do so. Two of these studies tracked levels of BPA and phthalates in people’s urine before and during an intervention where they were asked to eat only unprocessed, unpackaged food. In one study, the levels of these chemicals dropped by more than half during the week they ate unprocessed food (6). In the other study, there were some sources of chemicals that they hadn’t expected and the reductions weren’t as successful (7). In another study, volunteers were asked to eat one serving of canned soup daily for five days. Their BPA levels went up by 1000% (e.g. a 10-fold increase) during that time (8).

    Because problematic chemicals aren’t well regulated in our food and consumer products, such as the ‘BPA-free’ products containing replacements that can be as toxic as the original, I recommend using non-plastic alternatives for cooking and storage of food and water, like stainless steel, glass, and low-lead ceramic containers. Also, it’s a good idea to use mesh and canvas bags when buying produce and bulk foods and become a collector of glass jars (i.e. canning and food jars) for storage.

    I offer these simple steps for reducing your exposure to toxins in food, whether they were added during processing, packaging, or from environmental contamination:

    1. Avoid processed and packaged food, including canned foods and beverages.
    2. Choose organic food whenever possible to reduce exposure to pesticides.
    3. Cook and store food in stainless steel, glass and ceramic and avoid plastic containers and nonstick pans.
    4. Minimize consumption of animal fats (meat, cheese, and butter), as they accumulate toxins like PCBs and dioxins (9).
    5. Avoid char on food (yup, even in barbecue), since it’s highly carcinogenic (10).

    References

    1. Geueke, B, et al. (2014). “Food contact substances and chemicals of concern: a comparison of inventories. Food Additives & Contaminants: Part A. Vol 31:1438.
    2. Swan SH, et al (2005). “Decrease in anogenital distance among male infants with prenatal phthalate exposure.Environmental Health Perspectives Vol 113:1056.
    3. Bhan, A, et al. (2014). “Bisphenol-A and diethylstilbestrol exposure induces the expression of breast cancer associated long noncoding RNA HOTAIR in vitro and in vivo.The Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Vol. 141:160.
    4. Trasande, L, et al. (2012). “Association Between Urinary Bisphenol A Concentration and Obesity Prevalence in Children and Adolescents.Journal of the American Medical Association. 308:1113.
    5. Bienkowski, B. and Environmental Health News (2013). “BPA Replacement Also Alters Hormone.
    6. Rudel, R, et al. (2011). “Food Packaging and Bisphenol A and Bis(2-Ethyhexyl) Phthalate Exposure: Findings from a Dietary Intervention.Environmental Health Perspectives. 119:914.
    7. Sathyanarayana, S. et al. (2013). “Unexpected results in a randomized dietary trial to reduce phthalate and bisphenol A exposures.Journal Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology. Vol. 23:378.
    8. Carwile, JL, et al (2011). “Canned Soup Consumption and Urinary Bishphenol A: A Randomized Crossover Trial.Journal of the American Medical Association. 306:2218.
    9. Kalantzi, OI, et al. (2001). “The global distribution of PCBs and organochlorine pesticides in butter.”  Environmental Science & Technology. 35:1013.
    10. Massachusetts General Hospital (2011). “Can eating grilled foods really increase cancer risk?” 01/Jul/2011

    Photo: “Rusty tin cans” © 2013 by Beverley Goodwin. Used under Creative Commons License.

    —This article originally appeared at: https://eatingrules.com/reduce-toxin-exposure-in-food/

  • How to avoid the ORGANIC lie.

    How to avoid the ORGANIC lie.

    When you load up your shopping cart with organic leafy greens, are you getting more nutritional benefits than consumers on the other side of the produce aisle? More than half of Americans now believe organic food is healthier than conventionally-grown produce, even though there is no evidence to prove it.

    Fifty-five percent of Americans said they believed organic food to be more nutritional, a recent Pew Research Center study found — and of the 40% of Americans who say that “some” of the food they buy is organic, 75% do so because they believe it is healthier.

    “That is what 20 years of intensive marketing will do,” said Steve Savage, an agriculture expert and writer on farming and sustainability. Organic farming sales hit record highs in 2015, up 11% from the previous year at $43.3 billion, and is now more profitable than traditional farming. Despite the craze for organic food, Savage says there is no proven scientific reason to believe there are health benefits to opting for it. One 2012 study from Stanford University reviewed 237 top papers on the topic and found no evidence of a significant difference in health benefits between produce grown organically versus conventionally grown food.
    read more of this article at: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/is-organic-food-really-healthier-2016-12-01

    When the Soil Association, a major organic accreditation body in the UK, asked consumers why they buy organic food, 95% of them said their top reason was to avoid pesticides. They, like many people, believe that organic farming involves little to no pesticide use. I hate to burst the bubble, but that’s simply not true. Organic farming, just like other forms of agriculture, still uses pesticides and fungicides to prevent critters from destroying their crops.

    Confused?

    There are over 20 chemicals commonly used in the growing and processing of organic crops that are approved by the US Organic Standards. And, shockingly, the actual volume usage of pesticides on organic farms is not recorded by the government. Why the government isn’t keeping watch on organic pesticide and fungicide use is a good question, especially considering that many organic pesticides that are also used by conventional farmers are used more intensively than synthetic ones due to their lower levels of effectiveness. According to the National Center for Food and Agricultural Policy, the top two organic fungicides, copper and sulfur, were used at a rate of 4 and 34 pounds per acre in 1971 1. In contrast, the synthetic fungicides only required a rate of 1.6 lbs per acre, less than half the amount of the organic alternatives.

    The sad truth is, factory farming is factory farming, whether its organic or conventional. Many large organic farms use pesticides liberally. They’re organic by certification, but you’d never know it if you saw their farming practices. As Michael Pollan, best-selling book author and organic supporter, said in an interview with Organic Gardening, “They’re organic by the letter, not organic in spirit… if most organic consumers went to those places, they would feel they were getting ripped off.”

    What makes organic farming different, then? It’s not the use of pesticides, it’s the origin of the pesticides used. Organic pesticides are those that are derived from natural sources and processed lightly if at all before use. This is different than the current pesticides used by conventional agriculture, which are generally synthetic. It has been assumed for years that pesticides that occur naturally (in certain plants, for example) are somehow better for us and the environment than those that have been created by man. As more research is done into their toxicity, however, this simply isn’t true, either. Many natural pesticides have been found to be potential – or serious – health risks.2 

    In the end, it really depends on exactly what methods are used by crop producers. Both organic and conventional farms vary widely in this respect. Some conventional farms use little to no pesticides. Some organic farms spray their crops twice a month. Of course, some conventional farms spray just as frequently, if not more so, and some organic farms use no pesticides whatsoever.

     To really know what you’re in for, it’s best if you know your source, and a great way to do that is to buy locally. Talk to the person behind the crop stand, and ask them about their methods. This is the ONLY way to be certain of what you’re eating.

    read more about Organic Myths at https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/science-sushi/httpblogsscientificamericancomscience-sushi20110718mythbusting-101-organic-farming-conventional-agriculture/