Archive for the ‘Food-Nutrition-Health’ Category

GMO ‘Arctic Apple” now in grocery stores

Wednesday, November 22nd, 2017

Frankenfood

by Catherine Haug, Nov 22, 2017 (Image, right, from OCA and used with permission)

HEADS-UP! I wrote about the pending introduction of the GMO Arctic Apple last year, and now it is in about 400 grocery stores in the Midwest, and will soon spread through the country. This apple is genetically engineered to resist browning when cut/sliced. Initially, this Arctic Apple will be sold cut – in 10-oz bags, but in the future could be sold whole. They will not be labeled as “GMO;” instead, you will need to use a cell phone to read the QR code.

This new variety, developed by Okanagan Specialty Fruits, are engineered to suppress the production of the enzyme polyphony oxides (PPO), that causes the browning of the apple’s flesh when exposed to air. 

While the assumption is that a browned apple is a bad apple, that assumption is not true.

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Canada’s new food guidelines draft: surprising and simple

Thursday, November 16th, 2017

By Catherine Haug, Nov 16, 2017

Our neighbor, Canada, released a draft of new and simple food guidelines for public comment in July of this year (1). Unlike the USA’s ‘food plate’ or ‘food pyramid’ recommendations by food group/category, Canada’s guidelines are simple and idea-based (although they do include a sample ‘plate’ (2)).  They also include an interactive “My Food Guide” (3), that can be tailored to reflect traditions and food choices of First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities.

These guidelines are good not only for humans but also for the planet, and do not play into the pockets of industrial lobbyists.

The following are a list of recommendations (from a Food Revolution article about the draft guidelines (4)): (more…)

How much glyphosate is in your body?

Sunday, October 29th, 2017

By Catherine Haug, October 29, 2017 (Image, right, by C. Haug based on similar image on an Oregon Right To Know email)

Monsanto’s Roundup contains the herbicide glyphosate, which is sprayed on crops all across the US. Those GMO crops that are Roundup-Resistant have the highest levels of glyphosate. Why should you care about this?

Glyphosate is a patented antibiotic, which means that when you consume foods that contain glyphosate, you are disrupting the microbiome in your gut by killing-off not only the bad bugs but also the good ones that your health depends upon. The good bacteria in your gut help you to digest your food, and play a major role for your immune system (among their many benefits).

When your microbiome is out of balance, you are at risk for many scary diseases including dementia, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, cancer, and more. Children with disrupted microbiome are more at risk for ADHD and autism. But its harm doesn’t stop there; as Hippocrates once stated, “All disease begins in the gut.” Science now knows that is because all disease can be traced back to your gut’s microbiome. (more…)

Dicamba pesticide for GMO crops causing trouble for trees and bees

Tuesday, October 24th, 2017

Frankenfood

By Catherine Haug, Oct 24, 2017 (Image, right, from Organic Consumers Association, used with permission; photo below from Bug-Guide)

GMO Alert!

When Roundup-resistant GMO crops like corn, soy, cotton and canola started to get sick, Monsanto developed Roundup Ready Xtend cotton and soy, and you can be sure that cotton and canola will follow. This new GMO is resistant not only to Roundup but also Dicamba herbicide. There is much concern that use of this herbicide may be even more troublesome for bees and certain trees. (more…)

“Food Evolution”: New GMO technology even worse than Roundup-resistance

Monday, August 28th, 2017

Frankenfood

By Catherine Haug, Aug 28, 2017 (Photo, right, from Organic Consumers Association (14), used with permission)

By now we should all be familiar with herbicide ag chemicals like Roundup, and harm they can cause to the herbicide-resistant crops on which it is sprayed. But the harm they cause to humans who eat those crops, and the soil in which they are grown, is not as well known. For example:

  • Roundup is a patented broad-spectrum antibiotic, which means that as the plant takes it up, it moves to the roots where it kills the soil microbiome that enable to plant to take up nutrients from the soil. This explains why after just a few plantings of the Roundup-resistant crops, they suffer root damage and do not yield a good crop. And other crops planted in the same soil likewise suffer root damage.
  • Its antibiotic nature also means that if you eat any part of a Roundup-resistant plant, you are taking up this antibiotic which then kills/damages the microbiome in your mouth and gut, lowering your resistance to disease and interaction between your brain and your primitive brain (the gut), which can ultimately lead to inflammation in both organs. Inflammation in the brain can manifest as depression, dementia and Alzheimer’s.

And while the harm of existing GMOs is more broad than this one example, new GMO technology pose even more harm. With advances in ag-chemical research, genetic modification techniques are even more sophisticated, and can do even more harm to nature as a whole, including humans. To me, this is downright scary – even more so than the worst horror film you could watch. (more…)

Just how clean is your laundry?

Wednesday, July 26th, 2017

Laundry Soap Ingredients and Equipment

By Catherine Haug, July 26, 2017 (photo, right, from Sheree’s presentation on making your own laundry soap)

Washing your dirty laundry in 140°F water with real soap (not detergents) does the best job of killing bacteria and fungus germs; tumble-drying them for at least 30 minutes in a hot dryer also helps to kill those germs. But many washable fabrics will shrink in such hot water, and others may require drip-drying, so how is one supposed to keep germs in check?

This concern is especially important when there is a sick person in the house.

According to Mercola (1) there are several ways of reducing the potential of passing along bacteria or fungi from one piece of your clothing to the next without using dangerous toxins or opening yourself up to damage from microwave radiation. I’ve added one of my own as well. (more…)