Organic Consumers Association (OCA)has a Coming Clean Campaign to which is working for organic integrity in skin care products. It is important to know what is really in the products we are purchasing and how they are affecting our health. Since there is no certification standard for organic labeling in the body care industry, it is much easier to put misleading claims on a product. Below is the list of the organic cheaters and winners that is posted on OCA's website. You just might be surprised at who is on the list and who is not.
ORGANIC CHEATERS:
◦Avalon "Organics"
◦Desert Essence "Organics"
◦Earth's Best "Organic"
◦Eminence "Organic" (Except Few w/USDA Seal)
◦Giovanni "Organic"
◦Goodstuff "Organics"
◦Head "Organics"
◦Jason "Pure, Natural & Organic"
◦Kiss My Face "ObsessivelyOrganic"
◦Nature's Gate "Organics"
◦Physicians Formula "Organic" Wear
◦Stella McCartney "100% Organic"
CERTIFIED USDA ORGANIC
◦Alteya Organics
◦Baby Bear Shop
◦Badger
◦Brittanie's Thyme
◦Bubble and Bee Organic
◦Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps
◦Earth Mama Angel Baby
◦Indian Meadow Herbals
◦Intelligent Nutrients
◦Kimberly Parry Organics
◦Little Angel
◦Mercola
◦Miessence Certified Organics
◦Nature's Paradise
◦OGmama and OGbaby
◦Organicare
◦Organic Essence
◦Origins Organics
◦Purely Shea
◦Rose Tattoo Aftercare
◦SoCal Cleanse
◦Sensibility Soaps/Nourish
◦Terressentials
◦Trillium Organics
◦Vermont Soap
Source: Organic Consumers Association
Visit Environmental Working Group to find out the Hazard Score for each of the products listed above.
.
4 Ekim 2012 Perşembe
Organic Skin Care Winners and Losers
7 Steps to Wean You Off Processed Foods
Real Food Has Curves, a new book written by Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough, offers a 7-step plan for weaning yourself off processed foods:
1. Seek true satisfaction.
Enjoy genuine flavors, rather than fat, sugar, and salt added to mask the metallic taste of chemical additives.
2. Read labels wisely.
You can find food with "real" ingredients in the supermarket if you read labels carefully.
3. Relish what's on your plate.
Devote time solely to enjoying the pleasures of eating.
4. Wean yourself off excess salt, fat, and sugar.
You can also cook with smaller amounts of these ingredients by using natural substitutes like strong spices.
5. Give your palate time to change.
You'll gradually lose your taste for excessively sweet and salty foods.
6. Go for high-quality foods.
Look for products that contain the least amount of processed ingredients.
7. Treat yourself well by not skipping meals.
Try eating three meals a day at fairly regular times, plus a mid-afternoon snack. . And here is the rest of it.
SOURCE: U.S New & World Report, June 4, 2010
Cell Phones and Brain Tumors: 15 Reasons for Concern
Information Source: ElectromagneticHealth.org
Concern 1:
Industry’s own research showed cellphones caused brain tumors
Concern 2:
Subsequent industry-funded research also showed that using a cellphone elevated
the risk of brain tumors (2000-2002)
Concern 3:
Interphone studies, published to date, consistently show use of a cellphone for
less than 10 years protects the user from a brain tumor
Concern 4:
Independent research shows there is risk of brain tumors from cellphone use
Concern 5:
Despite the systemic-protective-skewing of all results in the Interphone studies,
significant risk for brain tumors from cellphone use was still found
Concern 6:
Studies independent of industry funding show what would be expected if wirelessHere is the beginning of my post.
Concern 7:
The danger of brain tumors from cellphone use is highest in children, and the younger a child is when he/she starts using a cellphone, the higher the risk
Concern 8:
There have been numerous governmental warnings about children’s use of cellphones
Concern 9:
Exposure limits for cellphones are based only on the danger from heating.
Concern 10:
An overwhelming majority of the European Parliament has voted for a set of changes based on “health concerns associated with electromagnetic fields.”
Concern 11:
Cellphone radiation damages DNA, an undisputed cause of cancer.
Concern 12:
Cellphone radiation has been shown to cause the blood-brain barrier to leak
Concern 13:
Cellphone user manuals warn customers to keep the cellphone away from the body even when the cellphone is not in use
Concern 14:
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) warning for cordless phones
Concern 15:
Male fertility is damaged by cellphone radiation
Read the full article here
Who Is the Worst Corporate Abuser of 2010?
Do you know who will be the next winner of the Corporate Hall of Shame award? Corporate Accountability International, is an organization which has been waging winning campaigns to challenge corporate abuse for more than 30 years.
They are asking for our help. It is a simple task- make your voice heard by voting for the corporation you believe has acted the most irresponsibly. Then, pass the information along to family and friends, and ask them to vote as well. If you have a blog, post the information there. Adding the link to your Facebook page or other social network sites you belong to will also bring more people to the campaign.
Go Right to The Voting Booth...but please read on...
Last year more than 10,000 votes were cast. Big Oil polluter Exxon Mobil took the prize for stalling crucial action on climate change, and making record oil profits while externalizing its environmental costs.
"Over the years, the Hall of Shame has not only cast a light on a range of corporate abuse, it has moved corporations to cut political contributions and adopt new codes of conduct." Together, we can work to make a difference.
So by now you must be really curious as to who was nominated for this year's award? Ok, now--drum roll please---up for this year's dishonorable award are the following:
2010's Nominees for the Corporate Hall of Shame
1. bp
2. Monsanto
3. Nestle
4. Mc Donald's
5. Goldman Sachs
6. Pfizer
7. Chase
8. Chevron
9. Or Your Write In
They are definitely all worthy of induction into the Hall of Shame, but my personal favorite villain and who I voted for was Monsanto. Through the years they have acted so negligently. Monsanto’s abuses are legendary. They have been involved in destroying our food system, ranging from spreading toxic pesticides to bankrupting small farmers to fighting against labeling restrictions for genetically engineered foods. So how is all this possible? Why Monsanto, with their far reaching hands and deep pockets exploits the system by creating a revolving door between its senior leadership and the federal agencies responsible for regulating its products.
I am sure you have your own favorite among the candidates on this list. So please take the time to cast your vote.
Our single voice alone often gets lost in the background, but collectively it sends a loud unsettling frequency through the air that can have the effect we wish to accomplish on those who hold the reins of the power to change. We must always remember- we have the power to make a difference.
Here is the link to Corporate Accountability International that will get you into the voting booth.
.
Benefits of Probiotics
SOURCE
Because of the many functions shown below of probiotics, studies are showing that probiotics are beneficial in the treatment of many chronic illnesses that seem to have nothing to do with each other.
Among their many functions are:
• Lowering the intestinal pH
• Controlling growth of pathogens like the H Pylori Bacteria and Intestinal Candida
• Taking up space on the intestinal wall to prevent bad bacteria from adhering
• Production of essential nutrients like Vitamin B12 and Omega 3 Fatty Acids
• Regulation of the levels of IgE and IgG antibodies in immune responses
• Binding and metabolizing Environmental Toxins
• Regulation of intestinal motility
• Mucus production
3 Ekim 2012 Çarşamba
Speaking 2 languages may delay getting Alzheimer's
New studies suggest bilingual ability increases executive control in the brain, which could fight mental disease
Mastering a second language can pump up your brain in ways that seem to delay getting Alzheimer's disease later on, scientists said Friday.
Never learned to habla or parlez? While the new research focuses mostly on the truly long-term bilingual, scientists say even people who tackle a new language later in life stand to gain.
The more proficient you become, the better, but "every little bit helps," said Ellen Bialystok, a psychology professor at York University in Toronto.Much of the study of bilingualism has centered on babies, as scientists wondered why simply speaking to infants in two languages allows them to learn both in the time it takes most babies to learn one. Their brains seem to become more flexible, better able to multitask. As they grow up, their brains show better "executive control," a system key to higher functioning -- as Bialystok puts it, "the most important part of your mind."But does that mental juggling while you're young translate into protection against cognitive decline when you're old?Bialystok studied 450 Alzheimer's patients, all of whom showed the same degree of impairment at the time of diagnosis. Half are bilingual -- they've spoken two languages regularly for most of their lives. The rest are monolingual.The bilingual patients had Alzheimer's symptoms and were diagnosed between four and five years later than the patients who spoke only one language, she told the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.Being bilingual does nothing to prevent Alzheimer's disease from striking. But once the disease does begin its silent attack, those years of robust executive control provide a buffer so that symptoms don't become apparent as quickly, Bialystok said."They've been able to cope with the disease," she said.Her work supports an earlier study from other researchers that also found a protective effect.What is it about being bilingual that enhances that all-important executive control system?Both languages are essentially turned on all the time, but the brain learns to inhibit the one you don't need, said psychology professor Teresa Bajo of the University of Granada in Spain. That's pretty constant activity.That's not the only area. University of British Columbia psychologist Janet Werker studies infants exposed to two languages from birth to see why they don't confuse the two, and says bilingual babies learn very early to pay attention better.Werker tested babies in Spain who were growing up learning both Spanish and Catalan. She showed the babies videos of women speaking languages they'd never heard -- English and French -- but with the sound off. By measuring the tots' attention span, Werker concluded that babies could distinguish between English and French simply by watching the speakers' facial cues. It could have been the different lip shapes."It looks like French people are always kissing," she joked, while the English "th" sound evokes a distinctive lip-in-teeth shape.Whatever the cues, monolingual babies couldn't tell the difference, Werker said Friday at the meeting.But what if you weren't lucky enough to be raised bilingual? Scientists and educators know that it becomes far harder to learn a new language after puberty.Partly that's because adults' brains are so bombarded with other demands that we don't give learning a new language the same attention that a young child does, Bialystok said.At the University of Maryland, scientists are studying how to identify adults who would be good candidates to master a new language, and then what types of training are best. Having a pretty strong executive control system, like the lifelong bilinguals have, is among the good predictive factors, said Amy Weinberg, deputy director of the university's Center for Advanced Study of Language.But people don't have to master a new language to benefit some, Bialystok said. Exercising your brain throughout life contributes to what's called cognitive reserve, the overall ability to withstand the declines of aging and disease. That's the basis of the use-it-or-lose-it advice from aging experts who also recommend such things as crossword puzzles to keep your brain nimble."If you start to learn at 40, 50, 60, you are certainly keeping your brain active," she said.Published at: SalonScientists Discover Mice's Hearts Can Heal Themselves, Are Other Mammals Next?
New research published online today in the journalScience found that newborn mice can regenerate working heart tissue.So what's the big whoop? Scientists already knew that certain amphibians and fish could regenerate cardiac tissue.Well that, it turns out, is what inspired researchers at the Southwestern Medical Center in Texas to consider the possibility that mammalian hearts could also regenerate. Given the similarities in the hearts of adult zebrafish -- which can regrow tissue -- and immature mammals, researchers wondered if they couldn't "conserve," as they put it, the same mechanisms of regeneration in mice.The results? Within 21 days of scientists surgically removing a portion of the left ventricular apex from newborn mice, the tissue had completely regenerated. The problem, though, is that researchers found mice lost the capacity to regenerate cardiac tissue by the time they were seven days old.The potential implications, the scientists report, is this: "For a brief period after birth, the mammalian heart appears to have the capacity to regenerate." Which means, according to The Guardian, potentially very good things for heart attack sufferers."Now that we know that the mammalian heart indeed possesses the potential to regenerate, at least early in life," Eric Olson, one of the study's authors told The Guardian, "we can begin to search for drugs or genes or other things that might reawaken this potential in the adult heart of mice and eventually of humans."Shared from: The Huffington Post