Monday, July 4, 2011

Radiation-induced depression looms on the horizon

by Katy O'Marron
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(NaturalNews) As radiation seeps from Fukushima, people will need to be on the defense for radiation-induced depression.

Long distance radiation harms the physical body primarily through free radical damage. Free radicals are molecules which have unpaired electrons, and when the body is exposed to radiation, huge amounts of free radicals are produced in the system. "In fact," Dr. Barry Sears writes, "the best example of a rapid overproduction of free radicals occurs in victims exposed to atomic radiation."

Radiation directly affects the brain through free radical attack. Free radicals cause massive damage in the body, disrupting chemical processes by robbing electrons from other molecules throughout the organism. Free radical damage has a long list of symptoms, and one of those side effects is fat oxidation. Dr. Barry Sears notes: "the brain is exceptionally vulnerable to free radical attack. Fifty per cent of the dry weight of the brain is lipid, and about one-third of the lipid is composed of polyunsaturated essential fatty acids making it the most likely target for free radical attack." When oxidization alters essential fatty acids, it affects the very composition of the brain itself.

Radiation induces depression, not only by attacking the brain directly, but by promoting undesirable hormonal imbalances in the brain. Oxidation produced by free radicals ruins the essential fatty acids as raw materials that the body needs for hormone production. If hormones, such as serotonin and endorphins required for maintaining mental health are disrupted, depression will result.

A recent article in the Los Angeles Times talked about the high level of depression and suicides among those living within the dark shadow of Chernobyl. The Japanese, who already suffer from high rates of suicide, will need to take aggressive precautionary measures against radiation-induced depression as it permeates into the environment. Radiation levels will also be slowly rising in the United States as plumes drift across the pacific from Fukushima to America.

Depression levels will also rise then, as the radiation poisons the air and worms its way into the food chain. A comprehensive anti-oxidant supplement regime is more important now than ever before. Diet can also play a big role in maintaining healthy hormone levels. Hormone manipulation through diet can directly affect mood and depression. Manipulating hormones is the key to the Zone Diet, discussed at length in the Zone books by Dr. Barry Sears. A fascinating amount of chemical and hormonal processes can be controlled via the hormone insulin. Perhaps those principles may prove to be a guideline in the prevention of radiation damage within the body as well.

References:
In the Chernobyl disaster zone, life--and death--is still bleak
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationw...
http://www.naturalnews.com/z031987_...
The Anti-Aging Zone by Dr. Barry Sears, Ph.D. p.p. 41, 110

Hexane may be lurking in the soy protein found in popular food bars

by Kas McNally

(NaturalNews) Protein bars, breakfast bars, really anything in bar form just makes sense in our dine while dashing society. The question is, what is it you're really eating? Most of these bars claim to offer healthy, wholesome energy, but what you may not have realized is that the process to create "soy protein isolate," which is often a primary ingredient in protein bars, utilizes a toxic solvent called Hexane.

Hexane is an industrial waste by-product of gasoline that, according to the EPA, can cause polyneuropathy in humans. Hexane is primarily used as a solvent to extract edible oils from seed and vegetable crops, such as soybeans, as well as a solvent for glues, varnishes and inks. Hexane is also used as a degreaser in the printing industry and as the liquid in low temperature thermometers.

Sounds yummy, doesn't it? So, if you're wondering why you rarely see "organic" soy protein, this is one of the reasons. Additionally, soy protein typically comes from genetically modified plants. Even non-genetically modified raw materials may contain small amounts of GMO-parts, claims GMO-Compass.org, because a total separation of conventional and GM soybeans is technically impossible.

In an effort to help you make smart "bar" choices, I spent a few quality hours in Whole Foods researching just which bars you may want to avoid and which ones you might want to check out. I was surprised to find that the majority of bars available do not contain soy protein. It would seem the newer brands of bars are becoming more savvy in their ingredient offerings. I was impressed enough to walk away with a few bars of my own. Here's the lowdown.

Bars With Soy Protein:

Kashi Go Lean: Chocolate Peanut Butter and Chocolate Caramel contain soy protein.

Odwalla: Isolated Soy Protein is the #1 ingredient in their Original Super Protein Bar and their Chocolate Peanut Butter bar. Other flavors available did not contain soy protein.

Honey Stinger: Contains soy nuggets made up of soy protein isolate, rice flour, malt and salt.

Luna

Zone Perfect: Contains soy protein nuggets.

Balance

Clif bars: All bars available contained soy protein except Clif Kids bars.

ThinkThin: Their soy crisps are made from soy protein isolate.

Powerbar/Powerbar Pria

*NuGO: Contains soy protein but claims to use organic hexane-free soy crisps.

Bars Without Soy Protein:

Kind: The Blueberry Pecan bar, for example, is full of fruits and nuts, non-gmo glucose, chicory fiber and 5 grams of protein.

18 Rabbits: A granola bar with such fun flavors like Cheeky Cherry Chocolate and Haute Diggity Date. They're one of the lowest in sugar at 12 grams.

Perfect Foods: One of my favorites! Look for it in the refrigerated section.

Vega Whole Food Energy Bar: Is made from raw alkaline plant-based superfoods such as hemp protein.

Pro Bar Superfood Slam: Is a whole food meal bar with organic acai and wheat grass, 7 grams of protein and lots of fruits like papaya and pineapple.

Garden of Life: Their Organic Super Seed bar contains 18 sprouted grains including spelt and offers a probiotic blend.

Thunderbird Energetica: Their Cherry Walnut Crunch is made with sweet potato, turmeric and Hawaiian black lava salt. Unique, to be sure! I found them on the bottom shelf, so you may have to search for it.

Raw Organic Food Bar: One of quite a few products that are specifying non-GMO ingredients. This one also comes with quinoa. My interest is piqued.

Vibrant Health: While their Green Vibrance Original Meal Bar sounds appealing with almond butter, honey, carob, cherries, raisins and sunflower seeds and dark chocolate, nowhere on the label do they describe the "Green Vibrance" ingredient. Although green in the health food industry usually brings to mind positive images, there are a lot of green things I wouldn't want to stick in my mouth.

Greens: Their Peanut Butter bar is full of super foods and exciting ingredients like organic alfalfa grass, Echinacea root extract, Siberian eleuthero root extract and Montana bee pollen but not a lot of protein. Their Daily Mocha Mantra, which contains hemp protein, was highly recommended by Eric, the Whole Foods employee, because it's delicious and high in Omega 3's.

Larabar: Very clean with few ingredients. My favorites are Banana Bread and Apple Pie.

Raw Revolution: Their Chocolate and Coconut offers organic flax seeds, 7 grams of protein from cashews, sunflower seeds and almonds.

Although it seems that companies are starting to use better ingredients, it's always important to read food labels. Just because you buy it at the health food store doesn't mean it's healthy.

Fukushima in the US? Flood berms break around Fort Calhoun nuclear plant, ten-mile evacuation zone declared

by Ethan A. Huff, staff writer

(NaturalNews) The American public is largely being kept in the dark about the escalating Midwest flood disaster, which has now been further intensified by reports that a major nuclear plant near Omaha, Neb., has been breached by flood waters.

A few weeks ago, NaturalNews reported that an electrical console at the Fort Calhoun Nuclear Facility had caught fire, and that the plant's nuclear cooling pools had subsequently lost power for about an hour (http://www.naturalnews.com/032672_n...). Now, an AquaDam berm around the facility has reportedly been mysteriously punctured and deflated, which has sent several feet of flood water directly into the plant.

The unfolding situation at Fort Calhoun reads a lot like the Fukushima disaster. Officials have been downplaying the severity of the situation from the start, and yet it has only continued to get worse, despite their empty promises. First it was the fire, then the loss of power, then the establishment of a no-fly zone around the plant, then the breaking of the berm, and now the apparent flooding of various facilities with no end in sight.

A ten-mile evacuation zone has also been declared around the plant, despite the fact that little to no information about it can be found online or in the news (http://blog.alexanderhiggins.com/20...).

According to a recent report by ENENEWS, flood waters have actually cut off the main power supply at the plant, which is now running on backup diesel generators (http://enenews.com/ft-calhoun-nuke-...).

Without power, of course, the plant's electrical systems will be unable to properly cool both the reactors and the spent fuel rods, which reports say are not effectively protected from flood waters (http://www.prisonplanet.com/berm-pr...).

The following video clip from KJKN-TV ABC 8 News in Lincoln, Neb., tells a sobering story all on its own. In it, you will see shocking, recent images of the Fort Calhoun plant completely submerged under water (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zos...).

And like they did during the early days of Fukushima, officials here continue to repeat the mantra that everything is safe, and that nothing will go wrong. But based on their track record of honesty -- not to mention the obvious disastrous conditions at the flooded, powerless facility -- can they really be trusted?

Much of the snowpack from last winter's heavy storms has yet to melt, and what has already melted is responsible for much of the intense flooding that is currently taking place all across the Midwest, including in the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan, and throughout the US states of Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, and Missouri.

With more snowmelt and water surges on the way in July, as well as continued heavy rain and storms across the region, rising flood waters are far from over -- and the already-at-capacity dams and levees that line the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers will more than likely not be able to hold it all (http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manit...).

At this point in time, there are still a whole lot of questions without answers. Why is the mainstream media spending most of its time focusing on corrupt politicians and upcoming election candidates when what appears to be the worst flood situation ever to hit North America is unfolding as we speak?

Why is nobody talking about the four major reservoirs along the Missouri River held by dams that are all virtually at maximum capacity and in dire straits? And why is there practically no mention by any major, or even local, news sources about the Fort Calhoun evacuation zone?

Those living along the river, and particularly in areas near the troubled nuclear facilities, may want to perform due diligence and prepare immediately for a worst-case scenario. It is clear that authorities and the media are not being forthcoming about what is actually happening, and they may flat out be lying to us all. With this in mind, it is important to be prepared for a worst-case scenario.

Stay tuned as we will do our best to mine all available information about this escalating crisis as it becomes available, and present it to you, our readers, for consideration.

Sources for this story include:

http://articles.cnn.com/2011-06-28/...

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index....

http://www.naturalnews.tv/v.asp?v=C...

I guarentee this is no accident. It was planned in advance or if it wasn't it is as Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel says," Don't let a good crisis go to waste."

Massive wildfires threaten to ignite 30000 barrels of plutonium waste at New Mexico nuclear weapons facility, EPA on radiation alert

by Jonathan Benson, staff writer

(NaturalNews) Threats of radioactive disaster from what is shaping up to be the largest wildfire in the state's history are escalating, as heavy winds and plenty of dry brush have fueled flames to within 50 feet of New Mexico's Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), home of the first atomic bomb.

Crews claim there are currently no fires burning on the lab's 36 square mile property, but the entire town of Los Alamos, population 11,000, has been evacuated, and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is now on radiation alert in the area.

As of Sunday, the massive wildfire had already burned up nearly 145 square miles of land across New Mexico, or 92,735 acres, which is just a few hundred acres short of the massive Dry Lakes fire that swept Gila National Forest in 2003.

But the current wildfire's proximity to the nuclear facility is particularly troubling because there are about 30,000 55-gallon drums of radioactive plutonium waste on the site that, according to some reports, are not particularly well-protected.

"The concern is that these drums will get so hot that they'll burst," said Joni Arends, executive director of Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety. "That would put this toxic material into the plume. It's a concern for everybody."

EPA is now monitoring for radiation the giant smoke plume that has been building and spreading across the area as a result of the fire. Because the nuclear facility itself has conducted countless nuclear experiments, some experts say that nuclear-contaminated soil, in addition to the waste drums, could also be disrupted by the fire, releasing old, but deadly, radioactive waste into the plume.

LANL officials claim that everything is under control, and that the nuclear waste drums are at a low risk of catching fire or exploding from high heat because several canyons allegedly separate them from the current location of the fire. Fire officials have also been burning out dead zone areas in between the fire and the plant in the hopes that doing so will eliminate the brush fuel needed by the fire to spread any closer.

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Philosophical Musings on the Juxtaposition of the Words "Commercial" and "Food"

by Sherry L. Ackerman, Ph.D.

(NaturalNews) So, how did it happen? How did we all get complacent enough to accept the phrase "commercially produced food" without even blinking an eye? How did Uncle Sam, in WWII public service announcements, go from advising the US public "to garden" to later telling the post-911 US public "to shop". And, not just to shop, but to shop for food.

Food is the hub of the wheel. It's the one thing that we all have in common: we all have to eat. And, we are what we eat. Recent statistics regarding the number of people with early onset cancer, degenerative disease, diabetes and dementia all point to a decline in the quality of our food. "Commercial" anything is about profit, not quality. So, when food becomes a profit motive, a lot goes out the door.

Some of the things that fly out the door are health, money (yours, not theirs), environment and energy. Big Agriculture is unconcerned about the environmental carnage left behind by pesticides, GMO crops, soil depletion or erosion.Big Agriculture is unconcerned about how much fuel it takes to run those mega-machines to produce, harvest and transport crops. And, Big Agriculture doesn't care how much food costs you and your family. They care about directing profits to already rich corporate interests.

Most of the food in your supermarket travels thousands of miles in trucks or planes to get from the farm to the shelves. Think about how much fuel us used to transport those items. What kind of impact does that have on the environment? When you purchase food at the store, you're also paying for the cost of shipping, packaging and storing that food. What kind of impact does that have on your wallet?

While organic foods have grown in popularity, many commercially available foods are still sprayed with pesticides, herbicides and preservative formulas to prevent disease and spoilage. The USDA currently allows "57 trace pesticides" in foods labeled organic. Are you scared (or angry) yet? Not only can these chemicals pose health risks to you, they also impact the environment through air and water pollution.

The concept of "commercial food" really gets at the heart of the differential identified by Scott Nearing. Nearing made a clear distinction between "use production" and "market production". Use production is when you produce something (in this case, food) for your own household's use. Market production, obviously, is producing for sale on the open market. Nearing argued, and I agree, the "use production" was, in the Big Picture, the most efficient and effective economic model.

By growing and preserving your own food, for example, you'll save money. Food grown from seed costs a lot less than store-bought. By preserving your harvest you can reduce the amount of food you throw away due to spoilage. There is no packaging. There are no middle managers. In addition, you can save the seeds from the fruits of your plants and replant them next year. By following these practices you could feed yourself indefinitely.

Food that you grow yourself just tastes better. Food in markets, even health food stores, is often in cold storage for up to a month before being sold. Fresh food is more nutritious and has better flavor than the stuff that comes from the store.

I grow my own food. I "get my groceries off the ground". When I walk through my garden and cut fresh greens for salad--and eat them no more than an hour later--the benefits of Nearing's "use economy" are evident. Nothing, absolutely nothing, that I can buy at a market (even a Farmer's Market) comes close to the level of quality that I can produce right outside my window.

It's my vision that more and more people will wave goodbye to "commercial food" and replace it with a "use economy" model. If Uncle Sam won't tell us to GARDEN anymore, we'll just do it ourselves!

Thankfully as Christians unless we can create our own garden, we must rely on the Lord to protect and preserve us. Even with our garden they can come along and pass laws that would make gardening illegal. We know how they operate so our complete trust is in the Lord. He will show us what to do.

6/18/2011 -- ☢ Nebraska 'meltdown' rumors -- going up to take measuremen...

The Father's Eye

Why do you let the troubles of tomorrow
Bring sorrow to your heart and burdens too
For if the Father's eye is on the sparrow
Then surely He will care for you
He knoweth and careth, each burden He beareth
For if the Father's eye is on the sparrow
Then surely He will care for you.

Song sung by Pastor David J. Meyer

Saturday, June 18, 2011

6/18/2011 -- 330am CST -- VERY Severe weather -- KS, MO, IL, KY, IN, OH

6/18/2011 -- WOW! @ 5m40s -- "doppler pulse" beam attack & man made VOR...

Apple assumes role of Big Brother by developing patent to automatically disable iPhone cameras at concerts (and police or government abuse incidents?)

by Ethan A. Huff, staff writer

(NaturalNews) As annoying as many are, the steady stream of garbled, shaky video clips of musical concert performances that get uploaded to YouTube every day could become a thing of the past, at least for Apple iPhone users. According to a recent report from Business Insider, Apple has filed a patent for new technology that is capable of automatically disabling iPhones from being able to video record live concerts, which in turn prevents users from violating copyright laws by eventually sharing such videos with others.

The patent, which many see as a major assault against personal freedom, explains that in the presence of certain infrared signals, an iPhone could be controlled by outside sources to shut down its video capturing capabilities. Though posited in light of copyrighted musical performances, such technology could also be used to disable iPhones from filming police abuse scenarios such as what took place back in May at the 2011 annual Wheeler Block Party at Western Illinois University (http://www.naturalnews.com/032318_b...), or the recent case of Miami police who gunned down Raymond Herisse and destroyed a witness' camera phone (http://www.naturalnews.com/032655_p...).

Even the technology's assumed purpose of simply deterring the illegal filming of concerts, however, is disconcerting. If Apple ends up incorporating this type of technology into iPhones, the company will essentially assume control over its customers' personal devices. And if this control gets into the hands of the wrong people, there is no telling the extent to which one's iPhone will literally be controlled and managed by Big Brother.

Imagine if your personal computer (the iPhone is a type of personal computer, actually) suddenly stopped loading websites like NaturalNews, or literally prevented you from watching certain video clips that expose the truth about what is going on in the world (such as those found at NaturalNews.TV), simply because some outside force sent an infrared signal that disabled it, outside of your control of course. This is the type of territory into which Apple is now treading, and it is a disturbing type that deserves concerted opposition both from Apple users and from the public.

Sources for this story include:

http://www.businessinsider.com/ipho...