How a 15 year old is advancing cancer detection

It is pretty rare that I am inspired by teenager. I mean I don't have any kids of my own so maybe that will change when I do. Usually they piss me off (except my beautiful niece and nephew). They dress like they don't give a S-H-I-T about anything and care of nothing except Teen Mom TV drama bullshit. For the most part.

But this kid is different. His name is Jack Andraka, and he's 15. He gives me hope that there are still intelligent human beings that will pass on their good genes and carry the rest of the morons along with them.

Watch this short Ted Talks video... this guy is going to make waves in the field of cancer research.

The GMO Experiment

If you've been reading me for a while, you might have read my rants on how aweful GMO (Genetically Modified Organisms) are. Well this video documents what's wrong with our food (the fact that GMO's are in everything!!) very well. I won't write much because the video is pretty detailed about the negative effects and what you can do about getting them out of your diet.

If you like the video, please help them out by voting them as the "Top Transformational Video of 2012". Vote here by Feb 3rd (Sunday)!

McRib is back...YUCK!

There are so many things wrong with this sandwich I don't even know where to start. McDonald's only saving grace is that it doesn't offer the sandwich all the time. Thank you McDonald's for not allowing us to purchase another disastrous option most of the time. 

Let me preface this by saying that I do eat meat... however, I am picky about where it comes from. And the McRib shouldn't even be allowed to be called meat.

Richard Mandigo, the professor from the University of Nebraska, who developed the "restructured meat product" that the McRib is actually made of, described it as:

Restructured meat products are commonly manufactured by using lower-valued meat trimmings reduced in size by comminution (flaking, chunking, grinding, chopping or slicing). The comminuted meat mixture is mixed with salt and water to extract salt-soluble proteins. These extracted proteins are critical to produce a "glue" which binds muscle pieces together. These muscle pieces may then be reformed to produce a "meat log" of specific form or shape. The log is then cut into steaks or chops which, when cooked, are similar in appearance and texture to their intact muscle counterparts. ... Such products as tripe, heart, and scalded stomachs are high in protein, completely edible, wholesome, and nutritious, and most are already used in sausage without objection. (Original Source)

Yummmmm. Restructured meat products are going to the top of my ABSOLUTELY DO NOT F**KING EAT LIST.

According to the current box labeling, the sandwich consists of just five basic components - a pork patty and BBQ sauce with pickle slices, onions and a sesame bun.
But, as Time magazine points out, a closer examination of McDonald's own list of ingredients reveals that the sandwich contains a total of 70 ingredients, including azodicarbonamide, a flour-bleaching component that is often used to produce foamed plastics (think gym mats and the soles of shoes). In fact, "the compound is banned in Europe and Australia as a food additive," says Time. Other ingredients include ammonium sulfate and polysorbate 80. (Original Source)

Why does anything need 70 ingredients? PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE... do not eat this! If you want something covered in BBQ sauce at least get something in it's original form like a chicken wing or real ribs... not something that was conjured up in a laboratory and made of chemicals in a factory. These should come with a warning label like cigarettes do. This will cause: cancer, heart disease, chronic inflammation, digestive issues, arthritis, obesity, diabetes, and on and on and on...

YUCK!

Breast Cancer Insanity

There's nothing better than checking my email first thing in the morning and reading an article about another young girl deciding to remove her breasts because she is trying to prevent breast cancer. 

Allyn Rose is on the left

Astounding: Miss America contestant will have both breasts removed, and she doesn't have cancerOriginal Source

Allyn Rose, 24, has announced she'll have a double mastectomy after the Miss America pageant is over.

She doesn't have cancer.

"If I were to win [the contest]...I would have this incredible platform to speak to my generation..." Rose said.

http://www.washingtonpost.com

Rose has been making the rounds of media outlets, announcing her intention, promoting what can only be called the medically-assisted culture of self-mutilation.

Read Mike Adams' devastating article about the new study showing mammograms produce vast over-diagnosis of non-existent cancers, leading to cut-burn-poison treatments.

http://www.naturalnews.com

The case of Allyn Rose goes even beyond that. She has received no diagnosis of cancer. This is now a growing trend: precautionary mastectomies.

In Rose's case, it's about a marker, called Wiskott-Aldrich, which signals a very rare immune disorder, almost always found in boys.

Rose has been called a carrier. She is without symptoms.

But because this marker is said to run in her mother's family, because her mother died at a young age, as a result of breast cancer, and because, we are told, breast cancer "runs in her mother's family," Allyn Rose has decided to have both her breasts removed.

Medical literature claims a high correlation between this Wiskott-Aldrich marker and cancers. But breast cancer specifically?

The director of the Wiskott-Aldrich foundation, Dr. Sumathi Iyengar, told the Washington Post's Reliable Source there was only some anecdotal evidence pointing to a possible connection.

I spoke with Dr. Iyengar and she was much more emphatic, stressing there is "no evidence" proving a link between the Wiskott-Aldrich marker and breast cancer.

On this basis, a healthy young woman of 24 is having both her breasts removed; she has been hailed as a hero; and she will go on the road and function as a promoter for her cause.

Naturally, Allyn Rose is working with the Susan Komen Foundation, notorious for its propaganda about the need for mammograms and "early diagnosis" and treatment.

What message will Rose be sending to young impressionable girls who want to gain status, recognition, and praise? The answer is obvious. Suddenly, popularity and acclaim are just one surgery away.

Major media outlets are playing along, of course. Where are the medical reporters raising objections? Nowhere.

Jon Rappoport
Original Source 

WTF??? Does no one see how horribly messed up that is? The Susan Komen Foundation should be shut down and everyone arrested for promoting this absurdity. This poor (by poor I mean stupid) girl is getting her breasts removed because she thinks it will prevent her from getting cancer. Nothing, aside from lifestyle changes will prevent anyone from getting cancer! If she has an impaired immune system she should start juicing. She's only 24. Ugghhhh! 

I hope she doesn't win Miss America for the sole reason that if she does she's going to start spewing her garbage about how every young girl should get a double mastectomy before she is even diagnosed with breast cancer. 

I'm done with my rant. Have a nice day!

It's about that time...

It's the start of Christmas season again. Maybe not for all of you, but we are starting to set up the stands so we can start selling the Christmas trees the day after Thanksgiving. Just another one of the many random things I am involved in. For those of you who were reading last year, I am extremely busy this time of year so naturally one of the things that falls off is how often I can cook.

I got a little ahead of the game and prepared a few things so that I don't have to eat fast food on the road for the next 8 days. I'm going to bring my handy-dandy green juices along with me, some fruit, and the fruit nut bars that I made!!! I used to get these from Lisa (and if you are in Monmouth County, NJ I highly recommend her if you want raw foods but don't have the time to prepare or don't know how).

I have been meaning to call her (Lisa if you are reading this... I need to order some things from you!!!) but I keep forgetting, so in lieu of her fruit nut bars I tried to make my own. I had a bunch of dried fruit and nuts hanging around. I have no idea how she makes them so I winged it.

Here's what I put in (although I'm pretty sure any dried fruit/nut combination would work):

• raw almonds
• raw cashews
• raw macadamia nuts 
• raisins
• dates
• water

All you do is put the combo in a food processor, chop until super fine consistency, add a little water so the mixture balls up, spread out on a baking sheet into one big square, refrigerate overnight. I'm not sure if you are supposed to score them before or after. I didn't score them before so I'll let you know how it goes. 

Some other ingredients I didn't think about until after: shredded coconut &dark chocolate chips!!!

These are great to-go snacks and you can make a huge batch of them and they last for a really long time when refrigerated.

Healing Cancer World Summit

I wrote about this about a year ago, and I think it's so important that I'm going to let you know about it again, because the Healing Cancer World Summit is running it's second annual event right now.

This summit focuses on "alternative" medicine doctors, cancer researchers, and cancer survivors. I put alternative in quotes because many of the views of these doctors are the opposite of the main stream views on cancer treatments. However, I believe that the views of these contributors are the new "main stream" treatment of cancers. 

Here is the post where I summarized last years' Healing Cancer World Summit contributors, and here is the link where you can sign up to hear this years' contributors. If you or someone you love are facing a cancer diagnosis or battling a cancer, this may be the most important information you will be exposed to. 

I'll tell you what (and I've said this before), if I were to be diagnosed with cancer I would 100% be looking for an "alternative" treatment to the conventional cancer treatments: surgery, chemo, and radiation. That is how strongly I believe in what these doctors, holistic practitioners, cancer survivors are promoting. 

Knowledge is power. I would love to hear your opinions about all this, positive or negative.

Judging the Competition

While at Whole Foods I picked up one of their fresh pressed raw juices. While it didn't taste anything like ours and had different ingredients I would like to comment on a something. I really should be comparing WF juice to our Recipe #2, however I don't have any more here in my hotel room, and there isn't much difference in the color between the two.

If you notice Raw Generation juice is darker than the Whole Foods juice. That means more greens! When you are drinking a green juice you want it to be dark green right? Notice the number of  dark green ingredients in each!

Whole Foods Ingredients:

• apples
• spinach
• cucumber
• celery
• parsley
• lemon
• lime
• ginger

Raw Generation Ingredients:

• wheatgrass
• kale
• spinach
• collards
• Swiss chard
• apples
• lemon

And the color difference... both in frosted bottles.

When you are buying green juices, look at the ingredients. A lot of the juice companies that are popping up pack majority of the bottle with fruits/vegetables that put off a lot of juice like apples, cucumber, celery. While we use apple juice in our recipe #2, half of the bottle is filled with juice of 5 dark greens leafy vegetables: wheatgrass, kale, collards, spinach, and Swiss chard. 

Whole Foods juice: $5.45 (2 greens)

Raw Generation juice: $4.99 (5 greens)

There you have it! You get more greens with Raw Generation juices. 

Beets... the red headed step child of root vegetables

hahahahhahaa, when I went to Google a picture of a red head a lot
of pictures came up about gingers stealing souls LOL had to put one up

I happen to be fond of red heads because we have a lot of them in our family, however, somewhere along the way they got a bad wrap. Kind of like beets. I just started using beets in some of my juices and like them in small amounts in addition to apples, lemon, carrots, and ginger. That makes a really tasty juice that is super detoxifying.

I just came across a video for a beet salad that looks amazing! I've been itching to experiment with beets in salads lately, and plan on doing so once I get home. Yes, still in LA. Take a look. Hope this inspires someone to start using beets!

On the road again...

So tomorrow I'm going to L.A. for a conference filled with health coaches. These are my people. I went to the same conference back in May and had the most amazing 3 days and met a bunch of like-minded people. This conference couldn't have come at a better time because I've been really lacking creative motivation with everything in my life. I kind of feel stuck. Like, I know there are things I want to be creating and developing for Raw Generation, but I feel scattered. Part of it is because I am in the thick of our other seasonal business so my days are split between juice and Christmas trees.

I've also been completely unmotivated to cook which makes for a really dull blog about cooking. Sorry! I guess it should be expected that after a solid 14 months of cooking and writing I temporarily ran out of things to cook and write about....

Lately, my regimen of eating healthy consists of juicing at least once a day, eggs for lunch w/ chopped up veggies, and whatever I feel like picking on for dinner (last night I had air-popped pop corn with butter). I've been eating like a bird.

Hopefully this conference gives me the much needed creative motivation. Otherwise, I'm going to have to rename the blog to 'Plenty of Things to Do & NO THYME'.

The New Flu Shot

1000 x better than a flu shot

For those of you who are unaware...it is not really necessary to get a flu shot. People get sick because they have compromised immune systems. So all you have to do is work on building your immune system and you can avoid getting sick.

P.S. every time I have gotten a flu shot I have gotten the flu. When I don't get the flu shot, I don't get the flu. Go figure. You can see why I am against getting the flu shot.

How do I build my immune system? 

1) Take a vitamin D supplement every day. Check our Vitamin D guide for details about choosing the proper dosage.

2) Get as much sunlight as you can for as late into the year as you can manage. Even getting sunlight on just your face helps produce more vitamin D in your body. (I go tanning in the winter for a few minutes a few times a week)

3) Drink immune-boost beverages like Raw Generation Juices, which contains a blend of dark greens including wheatgrass! Get much needed vitamins and minerals in one bottle (or shot of wheatgrass juice). (shameless plug!)

4) Get regular exercise to boost your circulation and immune strength. This exercise should be frequent and moderate. Do not over-stress yourself at the gym, or your immune system will be temporarily compromised. 

5) Take supplements especially designed to protect your respiratory tract. These include Lomatium, Osha, Elderberry and more.  

6) Eat more meals that are rich in pungent spices. Eat more curry, which is rich in turmeric. Eat more ginger. Eat more cilantro, rosemary, thyme and other rich spices. This includes cloves and nutmeg, two spices you'll typically find in eggnog drinks. These spices boost immune function and taste great, too! 

7) Clean up your diet. If you're eating cheese and drinking processed milk, those substances are to be avoided during the winter influenza season, especially. In many people, cheese and dairy products tend to cause sinus stuffiness, which is really a lack of sinus circulation. This can make you more susceptible to physically catching and harboring a virus floating around. 

8) Boost your trace minerals intake, especially zinc. Both zinc and selenium are hugely important for immune function. Zinc is especially well known for functioning as a shield support against many viral attacks. One of the best ways to boost your trace minerals intake is to switch to a natural sea salt or a high-mineral salt.  

9) Move your lymph! Rebounders (mini trampolines) are great for this purpose. Jumping rope also works, as does just hopping in place for a few minutes each day. You can also do arm rotations and other simple movements to keep your lymph circulating. Lymph movement is crucial for immunity. 

10) Take immune-protective herbs such as goldenseal, garlic, echinacea, osha root and elderberry.  

11) Get plenty of sleep. A lack of sleep compromises the immune system. 

12) Reduce your levels of chronic stress, if possible. Stress also compromises your immune system, and it even "uses up" nutrients in your body, leaving you nutritionally depleted. 

13) Laugh a little! Watch some comedy movies, or spend some fun time with family and friends. Laughter boosts immune function at many levels. It's good for your body and your mental health. Find creative ways to expose yourself to comical situations and you'll benefit as a result. :-)

Instead of getting the flu shot... try a daily wheatgrass shot! I drink at least a bottle of our Recipe #2 each day (which includes wheatgrass).

Prop 37: My Humble Opinions

On November 6, 2012, California voters will decide whether to require labeling of food products containing ingredients derived from genetically modified organisms (Prop 37). It is all I have been hearing about lately, and while I am completely against genetically modified foods, I am also completely against the government forcing companies to do anything about it. 

Here's why...

1. When the government gets involved in business it imposes tremendous costs on industry X, Y, or Z. This is often "in the best interest of the public", but it actually hurts everyone because it takes the responsibility and necessity of being informed away from the people. It tells people "don't worry the government will take care of you." 

2. The more regulations, the higher the cost. I'm sure that Prop 37 doesn't just effect companies that are producing foods including GMO's. There will for sure be collateral damage. Food will inadvertently become more expensive and the food available will not be any more valuable for the extra cost. 

3. The food industry is in bed with the government. I'm afraid that this monster is too big to tame overnight. There are a handful of corporations that own and control majority of the major food brands. They lobby in Washington, donate to politicians who will help them, have huge budgets. This is not to say that I don't believe that a few people can create a huge change (revolution if you must)... given the right circumstances a one person can change everything. But getting the government involved is not going to get GMO's out of our food. 

So what do you do? 

In light of the fact that most of the items at any given grocery store (including Whole Foods) contain genetically modified ingredients, you stop buying them. Companies are run off of profits. If the company loses profits it changes it's product(s) or it goes out of business. As much as it is important for everyone to not be eating genetically modified foods, it is more important for YOU to stop eating. And YOU don't need the government to tell you what is or is not genetically modified.

I'll tell you in a nutshell:

• any product containing corn that is NOT organic
• any product containing soy that is NOT organic
• any product containing canola oil that is NOT organic
• any product w/ high fructose corn syrup in it
• any product w/ hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils in it
• any meat that was not humanely raised
• any dairy that comes from animals not humanely raised
• any fish that was not wild caught

Why the animals? Because they are fed corn and soy, and whatever they eat, we eat. 

The more fresh fruits and vegetables you buy, the less processed junk you will buy. It's that simple. But just because it's simple doesn't mean it's easy. 

It took me being completely grossed out by certain foods to cut them out of my diet- cold cuts, conventional meat, conventional dairy, factory farmed meat, most processed/packaged "foods" that are sold in the grocery store. It's hard to get over  what you are used to, but it gets easier the more you know about the reality of our food industry.

What will it take you to start changing the things you put in your mouth?

Ethnic Food vs. American Food

I was having a conversation with my sister the other day about the amazing food we've eaten in other countries.  I have no idea how we got on this topic, but I have to admit it is one of the more intelligent conversations we've had in a while.

Anyway, she asked me if I liked Indian food, and I said 'yes, actually there hasn't been an ethnic food I've tried and not liked- ever!' One of the things our food (in America) is really lacking is spice. I'm not talking about hot pepper spicy, I'm talking about using different spices. That is one of the great things about eating different ethnicity's foods. A lot of other countries still use their traditional spices for cooking. And they still cook with traditional methods... i.e. everything is not deep fried.

We were both marveling at the fact that the food we've eaten in other countries is different too...it's real. Most of the food we eat here is heavily processed and either sweet, salty, or sour in taste. There are 3 other tastes that most American's don't even know about- bitter, pungent, and astringent.

When I was in the Bahamas I ate conch at least twice a day- prepared in all different ways. When I was in Puerto Rico I ate rice, beans, beef, and tropical fruit. Even the prepared foods were more homemade than the homemade foods most people eat here.

I encourage you all to start experimenting with different spices when you cook (hopefully you are cooking at least something :) I recently started buying all sorts of random spices as I came across them, and have come up with some very tasty combinations along the way. Spices are sooo very healthy for us all.

Here's a list of some common (and some not so common) spices.

IN SEASON: October

sweet potatoes

It's been a few months since I've written about what is in season... basically because during the summer almost everything is in season and it's easy to get lots of fresh produce. October is one of my favorite months not only because it is my birth month or Halloween but because the weather is always amazing and I instinctively want to start cooking again. During the summer I naturally want to cook less, eat less, and as of late eat a lot of raw fruits and veggies.

pumpkins

butternut squash

broccoli

spinach

lettuce

cranberries

apples

pomegranates

grapes 

Even though we live in America and it's possible to get every kind of fruit and vegetable all year round, it is still better to eat what's in season. Theoretically produce is more nutritious when it is in season (whether that is the case today with all the pesticides and junk is another topic for another day). And nature always provides the foods we need to thrive in each season. Until very recently we ate with the seasons. Roots, berries, greens, sprouts in the spring. Fruit and greens in the summer. Root vegetables, apples, squash, greens, nuts in the fall. Nuts, meats, root vegetables, and grains in the winter.

One of my long term goals is to continue to eat more and more with the seasons. I have been working on it over the past year and have come pretty close to now craving what is in season. I still get thrown off with "American" foods, especially on the weekends, but I am finding that certain foods are more or less appealing to me during certain times of the year. 

Stay tuned for some new recipes from me!

I'M SHOCKED! GMO's found to be deadly over entire lifespan

I have thought for a while that GMO crops are going to be found harmful to our health. Looks like they have. I hate to say I told you so, but ...

This video is short, but if you are looking for more evidence there is tons of it out there. Just look around for a few minutes. This is pretty serious stuff, and I hate to see the "unexplained" rates of cancer skyrocket in the years to come. 

The best thing you can do is get rid of and stay away from the big GMO crops: 

• corn (found in almost everything)
• soybeans (found in almost everything)
• canola (vegetable oils)
• sugar beets (refined white sugar & molasses)
• conventional meat (fed GMO corn and soy)
• farm raised fish (fed GMO corn and soy)

CHECK FOOD LABELS! Unless it is labeled "certified organic", "GMO free", or in the case of meat "humanely raised" those ingredients are more likely than not genetically modified. If I hadn't done this already I would start today: slowly stop buying food products with these toxic ingredients and start buying real food that will help you counteract the effects likely already underway from the 15 + years of eating GMO foods. 

The more I learn, the more clear it is that real food does not make people sick. Food like ingredients and food "products" make people sick. Heavily processed foods make people sick. Sugary foods make people sick. Fake foods make people sick. Every now and again is fine, but all day everyday people eat junk food and it adds up. People are paying the price down the road for fast, cheap food.

Who's going through their cabinets tonight?

Checking In

Well, I'm off for another bachelorette weekend with the most amazing people! But before I go, I thought I would do a little checking in since it's been a while. As those of you who read this blog know, I went through a bit of a funk in the past few weeks. I felt stuck, slightly bored, and frustrated. Thankfully I'm out of it and things are looking up!

While I was in said funk I got so fed up that I started doing anything I could to snap myself out of it. One of the things that I did was start reading Spontaneous Happiness by Dr. Andrew Weil. It was not what I expected, but it helped to know that other people go through the same things that I do (i.e. spontaneous bad moods that last weeks). The book is called Spontaneous Happiness, but there was a lot of talk about spontaneous unhappiness.

Anyway, in his book he asks a series of questions so you can figure out where you are. Read on...

Q: Do you have any illnesses? Symptoms that concern you?
A: Not that I'm aware, but my right elbow mysteriously started hurting about a week ago and was made worse when I tripped and superman-ed the boardwalk the other day. LOL thankfully it was in the afternoon when no one was really around.

Q: Are you regularly taking any dietary supplements or herbal remedies?
A: Yes, FIBER! You don't want to know what happens when I don't.

Q: Are there any illnesses that run in your family?
A: Yes, cancer, both sides, various types; also thyroid issues.

Q: On a scale of 1 - 10, with 1 being very unhealthy and 10 being very healthy, rate your present state of health.
A: Well I have always been prone to getting sick very easily, and have to seriously watch how I take care of myself, but in the grand scheme of things I would consider myself a 7 or 8. Compared to the "typical American" I would consider myself a 10.

Q: Have you ever been diagnosed with a mood disorder?
A: Lol, no but if a doctor could read my thoughts at the height of my PMS episodes I'm sure I could be diagnosed with multiple mood disorders.

Q: Have you ever suffered from depression or anxiety?
A: YES & YES. Mild bouts of depression have coincided with the times that I have had really bad general anxiety. Thankfully, I learned how to get rid of the daily anxiety I suffered with, and when if flairs up I can usually talk myself out of it.

Q: Do you think you eat a healthy diet?
A: On the weekdays yes, weekends are questionable. But I'm sure everyone thinks they eat healthier than they do.

Q: How much caffeine do you consume?
A: Hardly any now. I have always been a big coffee drinker (I LOVE IT!) but when I went through the attacking anxiety program I learned that caffeine is a big anxiety trigger so I decaffeinated myself. Now I only drink half calf if I absolutely am exhausted and can't take a nap.

Q: Do you have good friends?
A: YES! THE BEST!

Q: Do you get stuck in thought patterns that make you depressed or anxious?
A: Ummm, yes and yes. I am a pro at playing out a scenario in my head before it happens, and twisting myself up imagining the worst. It never happens in real life the way it happens in my head. Now when I catch myself doing that I say, "STOP! You're doing it again" (in my head of course). I don't talk to myself out loud thank god.


This was just a few of the pages of questions. It's good to write these things down in black and white. It's nice to be honest with yourself and really know how and why you feel the way that you do, see how far you've come and be able to laugh at yourself from time to time. 

Off to have some much needed fun with the girlies at the beach!

NYC soda ban wrong on so many levels

I know this is a few days late...some may consider it yesterday's news... but it's worth mentioning for a few reasons.

First of all any time the government steps in to "fix" a problem they unknowingly create 10 more. They think that banning regular sodas will fix the obesity problem when it is not the government's job to fix (nor do I think it will create any positive effect what-so-ever). If people want to be obese let them. If they want to drink themselves into an early grave let them. Who are we to judge how someone else is supposed to live their life? This may sound like I don't care and am a little cruel, but I assure you that is further from the truth. I just don't believe that the government's place is to tell us what is or is not healthy for individuals or the "public" (which is just a group of individuals).

This will be the case with banning high fructose corn syrup (in regular sodas). The fact of the matter is that aspartame in diet soda's is just as bad as, if not worse than, high fructose corn syrup. No it doesn't make you fat, but according to many it is considered a neurotoxin. Which means that since regular sodas are being banned, people will be forced into drinking more neurotoxins aspartame.

HFCS may cause diabetes and obesity, but aspartame causes neurological damage and early-onset Alzheimer's. But that's just what New York needs, it seems: A wave of crabby soda-drinking senior citizens who are half blind and can't remember where their apartment building is located. (Or has that already happened?) - Natural News

Boy am I glad that I stopped drinking soda a long time ago, because either way you go- regular or diet- it is completely unhealthy. Once in a while is ok, but the way some people drink soda :/ ... it's bad.

Health Effects of Aspartame

Eye
-  blindness in one or both eyes
-  decreased vision and/or other eye problems such as: blurring, bright flashes, squiggly lines, tunnel vision, decreased night vision
-  pain in one or both eyes
-  decreased tears
-  trouble with contact lenses
-  bulging eyes 

Ear
-  tinnitus - ringing or buzzing sound
-  severe intolerance of noise
-  marked hearing impairment 

Neurologic
-  epileptic seizures
-  headaches, migraines and (some severe)
-  dizziness, unsteadiness, both
-  confusion, memory loss, both
-  severe drowsiness and sleepiness
-  paresthesia or numbness of the limbs
-  severe slurring of speech
-  severe hyperactivity and restless legs
-  atypical facial pain
-  severe tremors
-  Psychological/Psychiatric
-  severe depression
-  irritability
-  aggression
-  anxiety
-  personality changes
-  insomnia
-  phobias 

Chest
-  palpitations, tachycardia
-  shortness of breath
-  recent high blood pressure
-  Gastrointestinal
-  nausea
-  diarrhea, sometimes with blood in stools
-  abdominal pain
-  pain when swallowing 

Skin and Allergies
-  itching without a rash
-  lip and mouth reactions
-  hives
-  aggravated respiratory allergies such as asthma 

Endocrine and Metabolic
-  loss of control of diabetes
-  menstrual changes
-  marked thinning or loss of hair
-  marked weight loss
-  gradual weight gain
-  aggravated low blood sugar (hypoglycemia)
-  severe PMS 

Other
-  frequency of voiding and burning during urination
-  excessive thirst, fluid retention, leg swelling, and bloating
-  increased susceptibility to infection 

Additional Symptoms of Aspartame Toxicity include the most critical symptoms of all
-  death
-  irreversible brain damage
-  birth defects, including mental retardation
-  peptic ulcers
-  aspartame addiction and increased craving for sweets
-  hyperactivity in children
-  severe depression
-  aggressive behavior
-  suicidal tendencies  

Aspartame may trigger, mimic, or cause the following illnesses:
-  Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
-  Epstein-Barr
-  Post-Polio Syndrome
-  Lyme Disease
-  Grave’s Disease
-  Meniere’s Disease
-  Alzheimer’s Disease
-  ALS
-  Epilepsy
-  Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
-  EMS
-  Hypothyroidism
-  Mercury sensitivity from Amalgam fillings
-  Fibromyalgia
-  Lupus
-  non-Hodgkins
-  Lymphoma

- Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) 

If you think you are addicted to soda, try replacing one soda a day with water...every week replace one more soda with water until you are just drinking water. Try to watch for any positive changes in how you feel. I bet you will see a difference.

Garden Oppression

I heard about this story somewhere along my travels and it popped into my life again so I thought I would write about it because it makes me mad, and sad, and happy. This mom decided to turn her front yard into a garden where she can grow her own food. Shortly after that she was hit by a S-H-I-T storm of flack from the local government who claimed her garden was an eyesore and not in compliance with local zoning regulations.

"I’ve spent an unhealthy amount of time planning, researching, advocating, documenting, and otherwise defending my front yard urban garden. Moments I could have better spent with my infant son, Kae. He arrived on February 4th, 2012, and at seven pounds even, weighed as much as my heart. Within a month of his arrival, I had decided to turn a large portion of my front yard into an edible landscape. Though it has been a battle ever since, I have no regrets. He was my inspiration to begin with, and it has been my sole motivation to protect his health and freedoms. This has become a cause, not an endeavor. I broke ground when he was 35 days old. 

A lawn, though seemingly lacking, has quite an ecosystem lurking just below the surface. Insects and worms that aerate, living in harmony with beneficial microbes among the roots of the ever browning zoysia grass. Rather than removing the lawn, I amended it into the earth. I could only go about 4″ deep the first time I cultivated the 25′x35′ area. I worked under the topsoil three full times before the sod had broken up and spread evenly. I then added roughly 15 lawn and garden bags of various tree leaves I collected. Last fall’s foliage was evenly dispersed and tilled into the ever improving “dirt”. Composted goat and horse bedding finally killed the 10 years young tiller. In all, every inch of the now redefined “soil” had been overturned roughly 8 times. 

In hopes of making my garden an art form and not an eyesore, I installed a mulch border around the entire perimeter of the soon to be yarden. This was held in place by heavy duty lawn edging, meticulously   wrapped around the outer edge. I sowed the seed of each edible and medicinal plant within. I positioned a flower and ornamental amaranth row along the sidewalk. I placed lush herbs to the east, squash and melons to the west. In between, rows of bush beans, various peppers, and more than a dozen tomato varieties. Hundreds of non- GMO, heirloom seeds. Towards the house, two small corn patches, infused with vining beans, and several grains including chia, flax, camelina, sesame seed, oats, and another amaranth. More than fifty different species and varieties, all sown strategically to benefit both themselves, and the outlook of the neighborhood. 

I’ve since laid landscaping cloth and wood mulch around many of the plants, and along the walk paths between. Weeding has been minimal, and watering has been greatly reduced by mulching. I’m pulling my first meals from previously unused space. Several pounds of green beans, a couple peppers, and various herbs have graced my dinner table so far, along with salads of amaranth and other greens. As dozens of quarter size tomatoes began to swell in the summer heat, I built a double trellis to support their ever increasing weight. Nearly everything is in bloom, and the beauty of the space intensifies more and more with each passing day."

On top of wanting to grow healthy cheap food for herself and her family, she is facing real illness and needs the healthy food that she is growing. It makes me mad that our government has come to harassing people who want to grow their own food on their own property. It makes me sad that she has to deal with this on top of being a new mom and trying to make herself healthier. It makes me happy that she is fighting them every step of the way. If you feel the way I do go over to her blog vegetableyarden.wordpress.com and drop some words of encouragement.

I hope she keeps fighting, wins, and continues to grow her own food.

Featured on the Institute for Integrative Nutrition's blog!

This was super exciting news to wake up to yesterday morning. I wasn't fully prepared to handle the amount of emails and comments I got in regards to this so I spent most of the day replying back to people about Raw Generation- not a bad start to this week!

Here's the blog post featuring me and Raw Generation.

Health Coach Starts a Family Juicing Business
Posted on September 8, 2012 by Dorry Tolson Original Source 

At Integrative Nutrition, we are honored to play a role in helping you discover your passion for healthy living. Each student takes a different path after graduation, and today we are shining our spotlight on 2012 graduate Jessica Geier.  

Jessica’s interest in health and nutrition began when her grandmother was diagnosed with cancer. She channeled her nurturing spirit by preparing nutritious, healing meals to help her grandmother through treatment. Jessica has since paired her education from the Health Coach Training Program with her father’s entrepreneurial background, and together they created a fulfilling new business in Neptune, New Jersey!  

What were you doing prior to enrolling at Integrative Nutrition? 

I finished my graduate degree in 2007 and immediately jumped into a job as an architectural intern. I knew right away that this work wasn’t fulfilling, but I stuck it out as long as I could. After nine months, I quit my internship and tried out a couple of other jobs. It was exciting at first, but after the learning curve wore off, I was right back where I was before: feeling like I wasn't doing what I was meant to do in life.
After those jobs, I started working with my father. He is an entrepreneur and at the time, he had a few small businesses that I was helped him systematize. I started to get that same feeling again, and realized it was time to find a fulfilling career.  

What led you to explore the Health Coach Training Program? 

Just after I started working with my father, his mother – my grandmother – was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. She moved in with my dad and I took over the role of cooking. I started researching everything I could find to learn about feeding her nourishing meals that would keep her strong to get through chemo.  

This is where my understanding of food and health began to change. After she passed away, I realized that I needed to change the way I was taking care of myself, or more accurately, not taking care of myself, so that I could prevent disease in my future. I was scared because cancer runs on both sides of my family.  

How did your life change after enrolling? 

Shortly after I enrolled in the program, I knew I was in the right place. I met people who were on the same page with me, people who believed the same things that I did. As I learned new information each week, I became more confident that I was doing the right thing. I was doing something that I felt proud of, something that would change my life and the lives of those around me.  

For the first time I was incorporating what I love – cooking and food, with something I believe in – nutrition and healthy living. I knew I could create a career in Health Coaching that would allow me to do what I love every single day.  

What are you doing now? 

Around the time I enrolled at IIN, my father and I were talking about what business we wanted to develop. We were exploring a few options, but the one that I was drawn to was a fresh pressed juicing company. At that time I was sharing with him everything I was learning about the benefits of food on our overall health, and he was starting to get on board. It didn't take much to convince him that juicing was the way to go. Thus, Raw Generation Juices was born!  

It’s wonderful that you had the courage to start your own business! Did you ever experience any doubt, and if so, how did you work through it?  

I was confident about the growing market for fresh pressed juices, especially with my newfound network within the Integrative Nutrition community. I knew that my role as head of marketing would be something I could really dig my teeth into and enjoy. 

What makes Raw Generation unique? 

Before we started our company, my father was an on again, off again juicer. After a while, he became discouraged with the time it took and the mess it made. He had looked for a company that sold leafy green juices, but there were none in our area! This was one of our motivations to start Raw Generation.  

Tell us more about the products you offer. 

Raw Generation sells leafy green vegetable juice blends. We started focusing on the dark green leafy vegetables (kale, collards, spinach, Swiss chard, & wheatgrass) because of the immense health benefits they offer. We currently offer a few signature blends, and we will be expanding our line while keeping all of our juice blends at least 50% leafy green vegetables, including organic wheatgrass juice.  

What do you love about your work? 

I love that I can get up every morning and honestly say that I am spreading health and happiness in the world. I am also helping myself become healthier on a daily basis. I had heard that when you are doing something you love, it doesn't feel like work. I believe that now. 

Stocking up for Fall

I hope everyone had a wonderful long weekend! The weather didn't cooperate for my 3 day beach binge but that's ok. I had one great beach day and two lazy days of sleeping and going for long lunches with my sister. And so I am back to business. No more "it's summer" excuses :(

Since I barely cook in the summer, my pantry is seriously lacking some things. I need to stock up because with cooler weather coming, I need to be prepared to cook myself some warming foods.

What to stock your pantry with:

• beans
• grains (rice, quinoa, barley)
• raw nuts- all of them
• dried fruit
• Amy's organic soups (for those days when I'm just too damn busy)
• canned vegetables
• cooking oils (olive, coconut, almond)
• restock spice cabinet
• meat from the farm

With those things, I should be able to successfully make just about any variation of soup, stew, or sauce that I can think of. As much as I hate when the warm days disappear, I do look forward to the change of seasons. 

What is your favorite cool weather meal?

Corn, Candy, & Your Meat

As if we need another reason to eat locally and humanely raised meat. This is the latest shortcut large scale farmers are taking to cut their costs because of the rising costs of corn. For those of you who weren't aware there has been a huge drought this summer which has devastated corn crops. And guess what is in almost everything that we eat (if you eat packaged/processed foods)?

CORN

Desperate Farmers Turn to Feeding Their Cattle Candy Loaded with Corn Syrup
Tuesday, August 21, 2012 by: J. D. Heyes for Natural News (Original Source) 

Desperate times call for desperate measures, and no question the current drought spanning much of the nation's mid-section has left many a farmer desperate. For some cattle; however, things are pretty sweet at the moment.

That's because as feed becomes harder to get and more expensive, some farmers are turning to an odd dietary supplement: Candy.

Struggling with spiking corn prices (corn is a major ingredient in cattle feed) due to the drought's devastation on this year's corn crop, ranchers have found it increasingly expensive to feed cattle that aren't necessarily worth their weight, so to speak.

So it's in that environment that one rancher has come up with a rather bizarre alternative.

Farmer Joseph Watson, at Mayfield's United Livestock Commodities in Mayfield, Ky., has tweaked a recipe for success. "Just to be able to survive, we have to look for other sources of nutrition," he told CNN.

'Sweet' deal for rancher, candy distributors

Watson, who has 1,400 head of cattle, is no longer feeding them corn. Grain prices are just too high to keep it on hand. So earlier this year, he started buying second-hand candy.

"It has a higher ratio of fat than actually feeding straight corn," Watson said. "It's hard to believe it will work but we've already seen the results of it now."

Which begs the question - do veterinarians practice dentistry? But we digress.

Here's how Watson pulls this off. He mixes candy with an ethanol byproduct and a mineral nutrient. And thus far, he says, cows haven't shown any health problems from consuming so much candy. In fact, he says, his cows are gaining weight - like they should.

"This ration is balanced to have not too much fat in it," he said.

What's more, he's paying well below premium prices for his new sweet "feed." Watson says he gets his candy at discounted rates because it's no longer fit to sell to the public. Also, in buying the candy, he is helping the candy distributors too.

"Salvage is a problem for a lot of these companies and they're proud to have a place to go with it," he said.

Speaking of ethanol...

The drought's impact on corn prices is affecting more than just cattle ranchers. It's also affecting consumers, because as corn prices go up, so do prices for the products in which corn is an ingredient. In fact, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture figures, the drought has caused corn prices to jump 60 percent since June, to more than $8 a bushel.

And one such product is corn-based ethanol, which - via federal mandate - is blended into the gasoline we burn.

Farm consortiums have asked the Environmental Protection Agency to temporarily waive part of the mandate requiring the corn-based ethanol blend, because, they argue, doing so will make more corn available for feed and other commodities, thereby lowering prices for those items.

"The range of impact of an [Renewable Fuel Standard] waiver goes from zero to $1.30 per bushel for corn," Wally Tyner, an energy policy specialist at Purdue University, said of a new study indicating corn prices could fall under certain conditions if the waiver was issued.

The EPA is said to be examining the issue. Under its normal schedule, the agency has until October "to gather information on the extent of any economic harm done by the original Renewable Fuel Standard level and to decide if it will issue a waiver," said a report in the Southwest Farm Press, an industry publication. "For consumers, the decision could affect what they pay for fuel and food."

And of course, anything that would lower prices consumers pay for commodities is sweet.

Welp, I guess since feeding humans a diet high in sugar has worked so well, we ought to give it to our animals. Do I even need to explain how F-ed up this is? If you haven't already I would seriously look into buying your meat from a local farmer, or you could just give up meat and start eating candy bars yourself, because that old saying "you are what you eat" is right.

Another thought just crossed my mind. I'm not even sure how it's cheaper to feed them candy because all commercial candy has corn syrup in it which is a byproduct of corn. And, I don't know if you've looked at the price of candy lately, it's not cheap!

Who's with me on this one?