Friday, May 29, 2009

The dangers of drinking too much cola

Did you hear Jim Carrey on television saying he controls his mental issues with supplements ?????
I have a friend who has been doing that for years. I love that it's being talked about now, can certainly help a lot of us that have issues and feel the chemicals making us worse.......then there is the news that says:
Drinking too much cola can increase the risk of a muscle problem called hypokalemia, experts warn.

In people with hypokalemia, a drop in blood potassium levels results in problems with vital muscle functions. Symptoms can range from mild weakness to serious paralysis, say Greek researchers who conducted a review of people who drank between two to nine liters of cola a day.

Two of the patients were pregnant women who were admitted to hospital with low potassium levels. One was a 21-year-old woman who drank up to three liters of cola a day and complained of fatigue, appetite loss and persistent vomiting. An electrocardiogram revealed she had a heart blockage, and blood tests showed she had low potassium levels, the researchers explained in a news release.

The second pregnant patient, who'd consumed up to seven liters of cola a day for 10 months, had low potassium levels and was suffering from increasing muscular weakness, the researchers noted.

Both patients made a rapid and full recovery after they stopped drinking cola and took oral or intravenous potassium. The case studies are described in the June issue of the International Journal of Clinical Practice.

"We are consuming more soft drinks than ever before, and a number of health issues have already been identified including tooth problems, bone demineralization and the development of metabolic syndrome and diabetes," and there's increasing evidence that excessive cola consumption leads to hypokalemia, Dr. Moses Elisaf, of the University of Ioannina, said in the news release.

Elisaf said the three most common ingredients in cola -- glucose, fructose and caffeine -- can contribute to hypokalemia.

"The individual role of each of these ingredients in the pathophysiology of cola-induced hypokalemia has not been determined and may vary in different patients," Elisaf said. "However, in most of the cases we looked at for our review, caffeine intoxication was thought to play the most important role. This has been borne out by case studies that focus on other products that contain high levels of caffeine but no glucose or fructose."

However, "caffeine-free cola products can also cause hypokalemia because the fructose they contain can cause diarrhea," Elisaf said
.
Now my first reaction on reading this was why would anybody in their right mind want to drink 7 litres of cola a day until I realized I used to be one of those simple-minded people....amazing what we do to ourselves.....I wonder if that's why I shake?
KNOWLEDGE IS POWER!

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

ARUGULA GOOD FOR GASTRIC ULCERS?

Great News ! When a favourite food of MINE is found to be great for something it makes me very happy.....
A salad herb – Rocket, better known as Arugula (Eruca Sativa) has depicted anti-ulcer properties, confirmed a Saudi Arabia-based research group.
The team noticed that Rocket extract depicts antisecretory, cytoprotective and anti-ulcer activities against experimentally-induced gastric lesions in rats.
The anti-ulcer properties are probably due to prostaglandin mediated activity and/or through antioxidant and anti-secretory properties.
Gastric ulcer is a common illness affecting millions worldwide, and despite several revolutionized treatments available for peptic ulcers and gastrointestinal disorder, there is no complete cure for the disease. Also, long-term use of drugs is believed to lead to several adverse affects. Hence, a more effective and safe anti-ulcer agent is the need of the hour.
Now to me arugula makes all salads taste better, so I love hearing this......I have found over the past 3 years that staying on track and eating a certain way is so difficult sometimes as the" wrong "food just calls my name and although I guess there is no proof medically that eating according to your blood type is better for you , I have found that eating this way makes me feel good, eating coconuts and tomatoes just doesn`t make me feel good like how a day of cho cho juice and raw ackee and greens does... That's because tomatoes and coconuts are not for my blood type (B).
When I have fruit all morning, eat according to my blood type for lunch and dinner preferably raw,a glass of raw almond milk sometime during the day, with my teas in between, my body just looks and works perfectly.Once I succumb to the call of what I KNOW I`m not supposed to eat, e.g cashew or sunflower seeds (whether I`m eating raw or not I get cravings and have to fight to get back on track).
I also think one of the major reasons I feel so bad when I go off track is because not only am I fairly clean (non-toxic) but because a lot of what I am eating I didn`t grow in my garden, or get from somebody who I knew grew it organically and I didn`t fix it myself or watch it being fixed, so I`m filling myself with GMO`S, which I told you about before....they are everywhere and in everything.
We need not wait for the results before taking the doctors advice to avoid Genetically Modified(GM) foods. People can stay away from anything with soy or corn derivatives, cottonseed and canola oil, and sugar from GM sugar beets—unless it says organic or “non-GMO.” There is a pocket Non-GMO Shopping Guide, co-produced by the Institute for Responsible Technology and the Center for Food Safety, which is available as a download, as well as in natural food stores and in many doctors’ offices,(IN THE USA)we need to do this for ourselves,our health depends on it!

Sunday, May 24, 2009

Cooking with plant oils

Whenever I tell people not to cook with their Extra Virgin Olive Oil they always look at me like I came out of the ark..well if REAL AGE.COM tells you,you might listen right?
Here is the information - PLEASE NOTE I DON`T AGREE WITH WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT CANOLA OIL - AS I WROTE SOME TIME AGO IT IS NOT A HEALTHY OIL IN MY OPINION.... I`ll stay with the raw food people who say too much oil is not good for you.......read and decide for yourself!
Olive, canola, peanut, sesame, grapeseed . . . these five heart-smart plant oils have one terrific thing in common: They’re rich in monounsaturated and/or polyunsaturated fats, which have cholesterol-lowering benefits. But overheat them and those healthy perks may go up in smoke. Cooking at high enough temperatures to set off smoke means the oil’s breaking down, losing nutrients, and releasing potentially carcinogenic free radicals. And when oil hits its “smoking point,” food cooked in it tastes off. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t cook with these healthful oils. Just pick and choose what you use. Here’s how.

Extra-virgin olive: It’s so heat-sensitive that chefs usually recommend not cooking with it -- it’s too delicate and too expensive. Instead, cook with pure or virgin olive oil, which can take much higher heat. Use them to quickly saute vegetables in a hot pan or slowly roast them in the oven -- just spritz lightly with olive oil, and then roast at 325–350 degrees Fahrenheit for an hour or so, till fork-tender.

Canola:
This is a superb cooking oil. It has the least saturated fat of any vegetable oil (about half that of olive and peanut oils); it’s virtually tasteless, so you can use it in anything; and its high smoking point (400 degrees Fahrenheit or more) makes it perfect for hot cooking, like stir-fries and sautes.

Peanut: It’s also known for a high smoking point (around 440 degrees Fahrenheit). And if you choose refined peanut oil, it too is nearly tasteless. On the other hand, if you want the yummy, peanuty flavor that makes Southeast Asian dishes so delicious, cook with refined oil, but add a few drops of roasted peanut oil just before serving.

Sesame:
Refined light sesame oil has a high smoking point (about 450 degrees Fahrenheit), which makes it terrific for stir-fries, though it doesn’t add much flavor. For that, choose dark sesame oil but -- because its smoking point is a fairly low 350 degrees Fahrenheit -- reserve it for drizzling on Asian noodle dishes or miso soup.

Grapeseed: Although a tad pricier than most grocery-store plant oils, grapeseed oil’s neutral flavor won’t overwhelm even the most delicate fish or vegetables. Yet its relatively high smoking point (about 420 degrees Fahrenheit) means it’s fine for brushing on fish or vegetables before grilling. Grapeseed oil is also low in saturated fat and high in vitamin E.
The biggest benefit of keeping your cuisine well-oiled with these healthier options? Eating only healthful fat can make your RealAge 3.4 years younger."
This weekend when everybody is barbecuing try and stay healthy as I realize that doing the right thing in the wrong way hurts, or using the wrong things to try and stay healthy.......The more I learn the more I realize that I really didn`t have a chance with MY lifestyle...The fact is when you are grilling you are not to char the meat..... how did I like it? Charred of course!
THERE IS A REASON FOR EVERYTHING IN LIFE!

Friday, May 22, 2009

CANCER CURES

For those of you who have not read it , I have copied below an excellent commentary on the article entitled "Cancer is a fungus" written by Mark Wignall that had us all fascinated. The commentary is a great read on cancer cures ......AND IT COMES FROM A DOCTOR...mark you it's a doctor with cancer, but really explaining to us that there are so many types of cancer and some respond to chemo and some do not meanwhile shooting down the "cure" being promoted by Dr. Simoncini.
It just proves to me that we need to prevent instead of repent.....if you have a cancer that can be helped by chemo or radiation after surgery - choose the new chemo not the one that kills every cell in our body but the new ones that are less toxic and are made to target specific areas. You need to talk to your oncologist and if he/she doesn`t know find someone who knows, it's your body and you need to make sure your new cells grow back healthy.
The only way to do that is to change your lifestyle and cut out processed foods and GMO`S (genetically modified organism) out of your diet.
Sanjay Gupta was on American Morning discussing alternatives....looks like this lady running away with her son,over the court-ordered chemo has caused lots of debate.
Take the time to read Dr. Lofters commentary reproduced in full below:
I had intended not to respond publicly to the article by Mark Wignall on "Cancer is a fungus", but after reading Part 2 decided that I should do so to set the record straight and because I believe Mr Wignall has some influence with the average reader.

President Thabo Mbeki held very erroneous views on the cause of AIDS and this has led his country to enormous grief. Although not as influential as Mr Mbeki, Mr Wignall may have a similar effect on some readers as Mr Mbeki had in South Africa.

Let me first begin by stating categorically that a conspiracy does not exist between doctors and pharmaceutical companies to prevent "cures", like the one being promoted by Dr Simoncini, from being made available to patients as we are all interested in huge profits. In fact, let me tell you how you can obtain Dr Simoncini's miracle drug very easily. Look in your kitchen cabinet for baking soda and if you have a container, you are well on your way to curing cancer. Sodium bicarbonate is baking soda. It is not even a good treatment for Candida albicans. Doctors and their loved ones also get cancer and I would not have undergone a bone marrow transplantation for my cancer, if baking soda would have done the trick.

As both a recipient of, and the prescriber of chemotherapy, I will be the first to admit that chemotherapy is not something that one enters into lightly. Chemotherapy has side effects, some of which are serious and debilitating and can sometimes cause death. Every oncologist I know explains the risks and benefits of chemotherapy before it is administered and in all institutions I know of in Canada, a consent form stating that the risks and benefits have been explained, has to be signed by the patient prior to starting chemotherapy. Why then did I and countless others pursue this avenue? The simple answer is that it works.

Chemotherapy alone can cure metastatic (cancer that has spread) choriocarcinoma, and testicular cancer (remember Lance Armstrong). It can also cure a significant number of patients with other malignancies, including Hodgkin's Disease and childhood acute leukaemia. When given as an adjunct to surgery it can prevent many patients with breast and colon cancer from dying of their disease.

What will not cure cancer is baking soda, asparagus, sour sop seeds or drink, laetrile, pycnoginol and whatever the latest "natural" remedy being marketed by "natural healers" who have found the cure doctors and Big Pharma do not want you to know about. What I should also state is that not everyone has the same experience with chemotherapy, and many patients have asked me if it was doing them any good because they had no side effects. What is also not equally known is that we often advise patients not to have chemotherapy because the benefit is likely to be less than the risks. Chemotherapy cannot cure metastatic cancer (with a few exceptions), but can improve significantly the quality of life and duration of life for many patients. I am living proof.

Most people think of cancer as one disease. It is not. There are many types of cancer which arise from different tissues and so behave, and are treated differently. Even seemingly similar cancers are not all the same. It is now recognised that there are different types of breast cancer having different prognoses, for example HER2 positive breast cancer and triple negative breast cancer. With this knowledge, patients with HER2 positive breast cancer are now being treated with a new agent, Herceptin, which has significantly improved the chances of cure after surgery. Research is now leading to personalised treatment although we are still years away from this being a reality. Therefore similar to the situation where people are treated with different blood pressure and pain medications, it would be far-fetched to think that all the different types of cancer can be treated in the same manner.

Dr Simoncini believes (and that what it is: a belief) that candida causes cancer. There are no scientific data to support his view. Cancer is caused by mutations in a person's DNA and that can lead to uncontrolled growth and spread. To learn more readers may find the following website useful: www.cancerquest.org.

As for Dr Simoncini's claim that he has presented papers at the International Oncology Convention, I checked for the website of this organisation and it turned out to be about Dr Simoncini himself. The information at this site can be found in Mr Wignall's opening paragraphs. As usual there is a link to buy CDs. At his official website he presents a detailed and obfuscating explanation of his "theory", testimonials from patients as well as promoting his book. His Eureka moment came when he realised that psoriasis is caused by a fungus (this is not true, it is an auto-immune disease) and is incurable, so therefore if cancer is incurable it must also be caused by a fungus. By his logic AIDS is incurable, so should it not be caused by a fungus? As I have shown cancer is not incurable, so even on that score he is wrong. It should also be pointed out that Dr Simoncini can no longer practise medicine in Italy as he has been struck from the registry. In 2006 he was found guilty by an Italian court of wrongful death by his treatment, and fraud. He is appealing his conviction. He went further and set up a clinic in the Netherlands and this has now been closed by the authorities.

Lastly, while I agree that at times the various pharmaceutical companies seem to put profit before patients, where would we be without them? I have often been a vocal critic of drug companies, but without them the many diseases that are now successfully treated, allowing us to live longer and better lives, would still be the scourge of mankind. Where would we be without antibiotics and vaccines, to name but two groups of agents? Let us criticise and be sceptical, but do not mislead.
Dr. W S Lofters, MBBS, FRCPC, is a Jamaican associate professor in the Department of Oncology, Queen's University, Canada.

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

The chemo, salt and sugar debate

HERE WE GO AGAIN! According to the Associated Press, a state judge in Minnesota "ruled that a 13-year-old cancer patient must be evaluated by a doctor to determine if he would benefit from restarting chemotherapy over the objections of his parents. The judge, John Rodenberg, found that the patient, Daniel Hauser, had been “medically neglected” by his parents. Judge Rodenberg gave the Hausers until Tuesday to select an oncologist. Daniel was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma and stopped chemotherapy in February after one treatment. He and his parents opted instead for “alternative medicines” based on religious belief"
Thank God I don't live in America and still have freedom as to whether I want chemo or not.........whenever we are sick there is enough pressure from friends and family who are scared and if Doctor says so it must be so, I don`t need pressure from the State too.........
As an adult you should be able to choose for yourself, just like the people who don`t want blood transfusion, it's their choice.If you are going to die so be it! YOUR CHOICE....YOUR LIFE! When you choose to kill yourself with chemo why doesn`t the state step in?
Maybe what they should be doing is watching more closely what we are consuming.........THAT`S what they need to step in and change.
A new study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition shows how much weight we gain from sugar-sweetened beverages.out of seven beverages which included 100%juice,milk,and alcohol,only the sugar-sweetened beverages which are sodas and juices with added sugar had an effect on weight change.I wish they had done a study on the beverages that have Splenda etc. so we can find out just what effect those have on us.
The other day in Jamaica,the Government raised the taxes on some things including salt -not a popular move at all - well I think they should have raised the tax on sugar too - we use much too much salt and sugar!
It's 2009 -- have we heeded the call to cut down or cut out salt and sugar or do we only listen after we are diagnosed with hypertension or diabetes?
What happen to "prevention better than cure"?
Well Melinda Beck recently did an excellent piece in WSJ entitled "Why We Need A Diet Less Rich in Sodium " in which she reports that a typical American consumes about 3,400 milligrams of sodium per day. Beck states "That's well beyond the 2,300 mg recommended by the U.S. Dietary Guidelines. And it's 15 times as much as the human body requires. Average sodium intake has increased about 50% since the 1970s. That's largely because we're eating more convenience foods. And, as makers of processed food have cut fat and sugar from their products, they've often added more salt to restore flavor.
How bad is all this sodium for your health?
Excess salt has been linked to osteoporosis, kidney damage and stomach cancer. Worse, it raises blood pressure, a key factor in heart attacks and strokes, which kill about 850,000 Americans a year.
"After smoking, high blood pressure is the leading cause of preventable illness and death," says New York City Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden, who is urging makers of packaged foods and restaurants nationwide to gradually reduce their sodium content by 50% over the next 10 years. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that such a reduction could save 150,000 lives and $18 billion in health-care expenditures a year.
Some 50 million Americans have hypertension (that is, blood pressure readings consistently at or above 140/90 mm/Hg). Another 20 million are prehypertensive (with blood pressure from 120/80 to 139/ 89 mm/Hg). Hypertension is more common among African-Americans than whites, and nearly 90% of Americans eventually develop it as they age.
With that in mind, the CDC is urging anyone who has hypertension, is African-American or over age 40 -- nearly 70% of the U.S. population -- to follow a stricter guideline of just 1,500 mgs a day."

WHOA!!!!!
Don`t you realize that the flavour has to come from somewhere so if it's fat free they add sodium as sodium-free means less than 5% sodium.... plus salt adds texture and is used as a preservative so you really think it's not being used? People - you know the main thing most food producers are thinking about is their bottom line! We really have to be smart about our choices. I sit with friends who add salt before they taste their food what's up with that?
And I`m sorry I don`t trust restaurants that say they use 'no MSG'.... you mean they are making a fresh pot of chop suey just for me? I think not! They all have that 'Accent' container in their kitchens.....I remember how my mother loved that .....made everything taste better...if only we knew!
Beck indicates in her article "A few critics don't think a broad reduction in sodium is warranted. Michael Alderman, a professor of medicine and public health at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in Bronx, N.Y., says it hasn't been conclusively shown that cutting salt intake across the population would save lives, and it could have unintended consequences. Lowering salt can cause kidney problems and contribute to insulin resistance in some cases, says Dr. Alderman, who is an unpaid consultant to the Salt Institute, an industry group.
Darwin Labarthe, director of the CDC's Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention, counters that there's a very broad consensus that reducing salt would cut the risk of heart attacks and strokes, and there is little evidence of harm.The American Heart Association, the American Medical Association and the World Health Organization all urge lower salt consumption".

While they fight it out - you should control your intake - remember when a product says "less sodium", it's loaded with salt, so don`t add salt, why do you think you feel so bloated when you eat out?
Also when you are cooking at home cut the recommended amount of salt in recipes in half or use more herbs and spices.....YOUR TASTE BUDS WILL GET USED TO IT ... and your health will thank you ......TRUST ME!

Monday, May 18, 2009

Meet the Press rating slump

Last week NBC's "Meet the Press" suffered its lowest ratings since David Gregory became moderator, dipping below the 3 million viewer mark for the first time since August 2007. Meanwhile, CBS' "Face the Nation," averaged 2.74 million total viewers, and ABC's "This Week," averaged 2.62 million total viewers.
Last month, Fox News Sunday's Chris Wallace told the Washington Post that "the throne is empty" (in regards to Tim Russert's successor as the Sunday morning TV king). The LA Times also wrote that "Meet the Press" may soon lose the top spot in the Sunday morning ratings.
BUT I TOLD YOU THAT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN , NUH TRUE?
There is no way David Gregory could come even close to Tim Russert,in fact I think they should have put his son Luke on, and we all would have tuned in to watch him grow in the position.....I don`t even remember it's on....I watch FACE THE NATION and if GEORGE has anything spectacular on I watch him as I think his wife is funny.....go figure!

Saturday, May 16, 2009

Farrah`s Story........

I just finished watching Farrah`s Story and one thing hasn`t left my mind, while undergoing therapy and being sick as a dog, throwing up.... what is on her bedside table? Yes u guessed it...... a can of coke.......
Not to mention all the pie cooking at christmas,i shudder to think of the sugar!
I heard her ask about alternative treatments but I wondered as I watched if while she was having these treatments in Germany, if she had changed her diet, thrown away the coke, went totally on raw food, would she have had a vein left? Can any one get chemo for 3 years and survive? When they had lasered her tumours would the one by her anus have kept growing back if they had controlled what she ate so she made healthy cells instead of growing back cancerous cells?
So many questions.........so little time......Cheerios was just asked to change their labels on their packaging as the picture of the heart on their boxes suggests it's good for our heart when it's no such thing.
Please read this article by Melinda Beck that I recently came across on what's really in a lot of 'healthy' foods as when some us try and think we are eating healthily, she explains that "it's easy to be fooled by our assumptions and the ways that food manufacturers play on them " .....it's a sad sad world..........

Friday, May 15, 2009

MEK MI HOL U HAN !

Here is a video doing the rounds on UTUBE for you to enjoy over the weekend.......it is a Jamaican folksong, popularized by Louise Bennett (the Honorable Miss Lou) as performed by the Grand Valley State University Varsity Men in February of 2009 and should warm the heart of every Jamaican.Not a black face to be found, and I must say thank God for my 'DJ ' friend in the middle as he has some good Jamaican rhythm.....
Enjoy......

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

EAT LESS RED AND PROCESSED MEAT

Findings from a new study suggest that the deaths of one million men and perhaps half a million women could be prevented over the course of a decade just by eating less red and processed meats, according to estimates prepared by Dr. Barry Popkin, who wrote an editorial accompanying the study that followed more than 500,000 individuals between the ages of 50 to 71 over a 10 year period.
A recent NY Times article reports "To prevent premature deaths related to red and processed meats, Dr. Popkin suggested in an interview that people should eat a hamburger only once or twice a week instead of every day, a small steak once a week instead of every other day, and a hot dog every month and a half instead of once a week". I THINK ALL OF THE RED MEAT EATING SHOULD BE ONCE A MONTH AS A TREAT, AND PROCESSED MEATS NEVER because if you try and eat properly for the whole month your taste buds will start changing.
The NY Times article also states "In place of red meat, non-vegetarians might consider poultry and fish. In the study, the largest consumers of “white” meat from poultry and fish had a slight survival advantage. Likewise, those who ate the most fruits and vegetables also tended to live longer".
People tell me all the while they don`t know what to eat while chomping on white flour crackers for "gas" and drinking their sugar loaded sodas.....if you are doing this in 2009 GOD HELP YOU......The "gas" comes from your digestive system not being able to digest your food because of what you`ve been putting in it.I did a blog on digestive enzymes - we all need them and if we are not making enough we need to supplement. White flour crackers can`t help.....and you didn`t get "gas" because you're hungry or "didn`t have hot tea this morning".
A member of my staff when asked why her skin was breaking out so severely told me "I guess it's the soda,"- Wow!
It makes you want to give up really.......but I'm plodding on - here are some things you should try and have in your diet according to information from AOL health.
Mushrooms - my raw food people don`t want us eating fungi but it seems to be very good for your immune system and I always say everything in moderation ...so enjoy
Flaxseed oil - flaxseed is one of the only plant sources of omega3 but the flaxseed themselves have the added benefit of fiber. The Natural Cancer Institute says they also have preventative cancer properties .
Figs - 6 dried figs have 774 mg. of potassium
Lychee - they have very high polyphenols(they work actively in our bodies to prevent disease)
Papaya - has antioxidants which are cancer-fighting food components and the enzyme papain that helps us digest proteins.
Kale - my favourite, it has the highest antioxidant rating of any vegetable and is ridiculously low in calories...... another cancer fighter because of a substance called indoles and it's loaded with bone-building vitamin K.
Sardines - another of my favourites... It's the best kept secret in the world ....I remember a holistic practitioner telling me years ago that it's the most complete food ....I don`t know how true that is but sardines with garlic, onions and pepper thrown over brown rice cooked with millet can`t be beat.It's a cheap, easily available source of protein and rich in omega 3.
Blueberries - this is a superfood - no joke about it, it has anti-aging and cholesterol lowering properties.
Green Tea is a superstar beverage, fights against cancer and aids weight loss.
Apples -loaded with pectin.Red Delicious has the most antioxidant value,it also has nutrients that helps support strong and healthy bones.
Coconut oil - it has the healthy saturated fat called MCT medium chain trigllyecerides.It also contains lauric acid, a natural antiviral.
Guava -those of us in Jamaica will be happy to know this has 5 times the vitamin C of oranges in addition to daily fiber benefits.

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Omnivore's Dilemma - Michael Pollan

Today I am giving you an excerpt from the Michael Pollan book Omnivore's Dilemma. This book is a must-read for all of us who are interested in knowing about what we are putting in our body--
Organic, as it is used on food labels, while it still means chemical-pesticide-free, doesn't mean quite what it used to. And then there's the so-called free range chicken:in Jamaica we would call it 'peel neck fowl' the one that our granny had running in the back garden - that same one!
According to Pollan *:
"The organic movement, as it was once called, has come a remarkably long way in the last thirty years, to the point where it now looks considerably less like a movement than a big business. Lining the walls above the sumptuously stocked produce section in my Whole Foods are full-color photographs of local organic farmers accompanied by text blocks setting forth their farming philosophies. A handful of these farms still sell their produce to Whole Foods, but most are long gone from the produce bins, if not yet the walls. That's because Whole Foods in recent years has adopted the grocery industry's standard regional distribution system, which makes supporting small farms impractical. Tremendous warehouses buy produce for dozens of stores at a time, which forces them to deal exclusively with [huge] farms. ...

"The question is, ... just how well does [today's organic] hold up under close reading and journalistic scrutiny? [Not that well]. At least that's what I discovered when I traced a few of the items in my Whole Foods cart back to the farms where they were grown. I learned, for example, that some (certainly not all) organic milk comes from factory farms, where thousands of Holsteins that never encounter a blade of grass spend their days confined to a fenced 'dry lot,' eating (certified organic) grain and tethered to milking machines three times a day. ...

"I also visited Rosie the organic chicken at her farm in Petaluma, which turns out to be more animal factory than farm. She lives in a shed with twenty thousand other Rosies, who, aside from their certified organic feed, live lives little different from that of any other industrial chicken. Ah, but what about the 'free-range' lifestyle promised on the label? True, there's a little door in the shed leading out to a narrow grassy yard. But the free-range story seems a bit of a stretch when you discover that the door remains firmly shut until the birds are at least five or six weeks old--for fear they'll catch something outside--and the chickens are slaughtered only two weeks later."
* Omnivore's Dilemma, Penguin, Copyright 2006 by Michael Pollan, pp. 134-140.
Those of us who have shopped at 'Whole Foods' kinda knew that anyway if we read labels......I`ll stay at the farmers markets here and there and hope and pray for the best,but guess what my little farm is doing well....we`ve had chocho,tomatoes,now we are having pak choy and sweet peppers blossoming,trust me IT WORKS IF YOU WORK IT!

Thursday, May 7, 2009

YOUR ECONOMY

There is no "THE Economy" only "YOUR Economy"......just like the swine flu, please make sure you arm yourself with information on Your Economy and don`t get it all from Wolf Blizter and Anderson Cooper......
We are not ALL going to drown in debt..nobody in their right mind should have bought a house without paying down something. How can that work? Common sense should have told them that..We women can`t have 3 sizes of clothes with tags still on them hanging in our closets waiting on our weight to magically disappear.Credit cards weren`t made for that,and I`m sorry its obscene for one pair of shoes to cost US$750...a Hermes Berkin bag cost US$5000 and there is a waiting list for it.I know we get what we pay for and in my day cheap was made in Brazil,now it's made in China......cheap is cheap ....but expensive does not have to mean ridiculous!
This world needed to realign a long time ago. How can there be people who have 3 and 4 homes fully staffed, a boat and a plane, carrying Hermes bags in every colour driving Bentley's`s and Maserati's`s while right in the Great USA people starve and live without running water and not by choice!
It has never made sense to me...I watch Warren Buffet driving his older model car, living in the same house he has always lived in for years, and Wolfe remarking on it as if it's so strange.... why? Because many people with quarter of Buffet's money certainly live very different from him.
You can`t take it with you! I have always thought money was to make you comfortable while you help others..seems as if I was wrong!
I have sat and watched while people get caught up in the drama of life so they end up pleading poverty....all these 'get rich quick' schemes have made a lot of people who thought they would never have to work again, have to be going out now looking work and not finding any.....age, baby, age, this is a youth run world...baby boomers your boom is over!
I think that all this seeking of money and worry over the economy is because we think money will make us happy.
Eckart Tolle says " Don`t seek happiness.If you seek it, you wont find it, because seeking is the antithesis of happiness. Happiness is ever elusive, but freedom from unhappiness is attainable now, by facing what is, rather than making up stories about it."
We just have to face life head on,we can`t run away from it,being depressed because the bank is coming for the house - this makes no sense. Live in the now and do something about it ...Our deepest unhappiness comes from our perception of what's happening so don`t listen to all the "bad news"the only news is your news,and it's always good,because you have the power to make it so.
Eckart also says "The primary cause of unhappiness is never the situation but your thoughts about it....Instead of making up stories,stay with the facts.For example,"I`m ruined" is a story.It limits you and prevents you from taking effective action."I have 50 cents in my bank account" is a fact....facing facts is always empowering."

Monday, May 4, 2009

Barbara is gone........

Below is a poem written by JAMES VAN DYKE . The son of my friend Barbara, who died last week requested that it be read as a tribute to his mother at her funeral......His name is Michael Sam and he is 13 years old ... if more of us understood death like this, it would go a long way in easing the pain of losing a loved one which is usually unbearable, especially when that person was larger than life.

I am standing upon the seashore.

A ship at my side spreads her white sails to the morning breeze

and starts for the blue ocean.


She is an object of beauty and strength.

I stand and watch until at length she hangs

like a speck of white cloud

just where the sea and sky come down to mingle with each other.


Then someone at my side says,

"There, she is gone!"

Gone where?

Gone from my sight . . . that is all.


She is just as large in mast and hull and spar

as she was when she left my side

and just as able to bear her load of living freight

to her destined port.


Her diminished size is in me, not in her.


And just at the moment

when someone at my side says,

"There she is gone!"

there are other eyes watching her coming . . .

and other voices ready to take up the glad shout . . .

"Here she comes!"

And that is dying.
Thank you Michael Sam ....hearing this being read did help especially the fact that it came from you. If you can see it this way why can`t I understand this ? Why is it so hard ? Is it because it all happened so fast? Is it because she was so full of life you didn`t think she COULD die? Is it because she managed all of us as only she could? It is all this and more......
B., Obama successfully made his first 100 days and you were not here to see it.
How could you ?

Saturday, May 2, 2009

PANDEMIC REAL OR DRAMA ?

Personally I don't believe that the swine flu is a pandemic ... I think it's fear that's causing people to panic more than anything else.
The media is spreading fear for news sake....I saw somebody react to the fact that Sanjay Guptha and Anderson Cooper have gone to Mexico. Why shouldn`t they go ? It's news...... and they are covering FLU. They look like 2 strong guys to me so I don`t think they have compromised immune systems therefore I`m sure they will be fine.
Suppose I wanted to spread Abundance and Joy like a pandemic... no way would I be able to do it ....... I'm afraid it's not as easy to spread joy as it is to spread fear.
People instead of spreading panic why not tell your friends that if they eat properly and build their immune systems they have NOTHING to fear!
Swine flu is just another form of the flu that is highly contagious. Avoid people who are coughing, wash your hands for 2 full minutes top and bottom and between fingers, cover your mouth when you cough. If you get the flu there are 2 drugs that will take care of it so call your doctor within 48 hours and stay away from the emergency room as that's how it spreads. Go to your bed drink lots of fluids and rest while taking your meds.
With all the things we deal with on a day to day basis such as stress, fear, excitement, bad food, anger, sorrow, pollution,recession, job losses, and layoffs, now add a flu scare and we are fit to be tied. It is touching every corner of life, and when it hits family and friends it's very difficult not to feel the fear and despair spreading.Let's take the proper precautions but also try and lighten up a bit like the Jamaica Observer's cartoonist Clovis ....
Awareness is also the key, be aware of the presence of fear,depression and despair. We have to be aware of these things to change them. Awareness of fear dissolves IT.
Knowing the facts also dissolves fear.....
NOW MORE THAN EVER WE NEED TO LIVE IN THE NOW......IF WE STOP GETTING CAUGHT UP IN THE DRAMA WE WOULD UNDERSTAND HOW MUCH THAT'S GOING ON AROUND US IS NOT REAL!