Caution: Some soft drinks may seriously harm your health

0 comments Posted by uniquelyme at 6:06 AM

Caution: Some soft drinks may seriously harm your health

Expert links additive to cell damage

By Martin Hickman

A new health scare erupted over soft drinks last night amid evidence they may cause serious cell damage. Research from a British university suggests a common preservative found in drinks such as Fanta and Pepsi Max has the ability to switch off vital parts of DNA.

The problem - more usually associated with ageing and alcohol abuse - can eventually lead to cirrhosis of the liver and degenerative diseases such as Parkinson's.

The findings could have serious consequences for the hundreds of millions of people worldwide who consume fizzy drinks. They will also intensify the controversy about food additives, which have been linked to hyperactivity in children.

Concerns centre on the safety of E211, known as sodium benzoate, a preservative used for decades by the £74bn global carbonated drinks industry. Sodium benzoate derives from benzoic acid. It occurs naturally in berries, but is used in large quantities to prevent mould in soft drinks such as Sprite, Oasis and Dr Pepper. It is also added to pickles and sauces.

Sodium benzoate has already been the subject of concern about cancer because when mixed with the additive vitamin C in soft drinks, it causes benzene, a carcinogenic substance. A Food Standards Agency survey of benzene in drinks last year found high levels in four brands which were removed from sale.

Now, an expert in ageing at Sheffield University, who has been working on sodium benzoate since publishing a research paper in 1999, has decided to speak out about another danger. Professor Peter Piper, a professor of molecular biology and biotechnology, tested the impact of sodium benzoate on living yeast cells in his laboratory. What he found alarmed him: the benzoate was damaging an important area of DNA in the "power station" of cells known as the mitochondria.

He told The Independent on Sunday: "These chemicals have the ability to cause severe damage to DNA in the mitochondria to the point that they totally inactivate it: they knock it out altogether.

"The mitochondria consumes the oxygen to give you energy and if you damage it - as happens in a number if diseased states - then the cell starts to malfunction very seriously. And there is a whole array of diseases that are now being tied to damage to this DNA - Parkinson's and quite a lot of neuro-degenerative diseases, but above all the whole process of ageing."

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) backs the use of sodium benzoate in the UK and it has been approved by the European Union but last night, MPs called for it to investigate urgently.

Norman Baker, the Liberal Democrat chair of Parliament's all-party environment group said: "Many additives are relatively new and their long-term impact cannot be certain. This preservative clearly needs to be investigated further by the FSA."

A review of sodium benzoate by the World Health Organisation in 2000 concluded that it was safe, but it noted that the available science supporting its safety was "limited".

Professor Piper, whose work has been funded by a government research council, said tests conducted by the US Food and Drug Administration were out of date.

"The food industry will say these compounds have been tested and they are complete safe," he said. "By the criteria of modern safety testing, the safety tests were inadequate. Like all things, safety testing moves forward and you can conduct a much more rigorous safety test than you could 50 years ago."

He advised parents to think carefully about buying drinks with preservatives until the quantities in products were proved safe by new tests. "My concern is for children who are drinking large amounts," he said.

Coca-Cola and Britvic's Pepsi Max and Diet Pepsi all contain sodium benzoate. Their makers and the British Soft Drinks Association said they entrusted the safety of additives to the Government.

CONCLUSION ON STUDY ON THE MUTAGENICITY OF SODIUM BENZOATE AND POTASSIUM SORBATE

COM/08/S2 - May 2008

1. Sodium benzoate (E211) and potassium sorbate (E202) are two examples of organic acid food preservatives based on benzoic and sorbic acids. Benzoic acid and its sodium, potassium and calcium salts and sorbic acid and its potassium and calcium salts are permitted for use in a wide range of foods in the EU. These preservatives have been subject to a risk assessment by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA).^1,2

2. In 1999, a study was published in Free Radical Biology and Medicine by Professor Peter Piper, then from University College London, which raised the possibility that these preservatives may be mutagenic to the yeast mitochondrial genome. ³

3. This study used genetically modified yeast cells in an in vitro system to demonstrate the effects of potassium sorbate and sodium benzoate on the respiratory capabilities of the cells. Yeast superoxide dismutase (SOD) mutant S. cerevisiae cells were incubated with the two preservatives and the effects observed using a halo assay. The author concluded that the test substances produced an increased number of respiratory-deficient yeast cells under aerobic conditions which indicates that damage was occurring to the mitochondrial DNA in the yeast cells.

4. Using a postal consultation, COM members were asked by the Food Standards Agency to comment on the paper by Professor Piper whilst taking into account the large package of other toxicological data available on these preservatives.

5. Members were interested in the hypothesis presented by Professor Piper but were of the opinion that direct extrapolation of these results from SOD mutant yeast cells to mammalian cells in vivo was not possible. Members considered that mammalian mitochondria in vivo have sufficient anti-oxidant and DNA repair mechanisms to deal with any oxidative stress that may be attributed to the action of these preservatives in addition to that normally seen through the normal respiratory activities of the cell. The SOD mutant cells used in the study by Professor Piper have a significantly attenuated anti-oxidant and DNA repair response and therefore had a greater susceptibility to oxidative DNA damage.

6. In conclusion, COM members noted the evaluation of sorbates and benzoates by JECFA and were aware of the large package of toxicology data, including rodent carcinogenicity studies. COM members concluded that the study by Professor Piper did not suggest a need for a full re-evaluation of the mutagenicity data on benzoates and sorbates. On the basis of this conclusion, no further in vivo mutagenicity testing of these two preservatives was considered necessary at this time.

May 2008
COM/08/S2

Are You Cooking with Motor Oil?

0 comments Posted by uniquelyme at 4:58 AM

Are You Cooking with Motor Oil?

Al Sears, MD

There is a food in your home right now whose name translates to Canadian Oil and millions of people use it every day to prepare their family’s meal. Are you?

What’s worse is that the food product is promoted as a healthy alternative to other cooking oils.
Here are a few of the risks my research turned up on one of the commercial food industry’s favorite ingredients:

Heart attack
Stroke
Heart lesions
High blood pressure
Vitamin deficiencies
Hemorrhaging
Free radical damage
Retarded growth

I’m talking about canola oil.

This is something that’s been marketed for years as a “good” alternative to butter, lard, and other edible fats...but a group of chemists practically made it up from scratch. It isn’t found anywhere in Nature. Chances are you’ve eaten a lot of it without knowing it. You’ll find it in restaurants and kitchens all over the country...and it’s a potential killer.

Today, I’ll tell you what you need to know about canola oil, and give you a safe, natural alternative that’s actually good for you.

Meet the Canola Plant

Think about it: olive oil comes from olives. Peanut oil comes from peanuts. So where does “canola oil” come from?

Here’s a hint: the kind of “plant” it comes from doesn’t need sunlight, soil, or rain to thrive.

The word “canola” is an industry invention. And once you know where it really comes from, you’ll understand why the industry had to come up with a new name for it.

Canola is an artificial, processed oil made from rapeseed, a flowering plant of the brassica family, which includes cabbage, rutabagas, broccoli and turnips. “Rapeseed” comes from the Latin word for turnip, “rapum.” Not an especially appealing name.

It also turns out that for most of human history people didn’t think of it as an especially appealing food, either.

Asians used rapeseed oil to light their lamps for centuries. Then during the Industrial Revolution in the 18th century, machinists found that it worked well as an engine lubricant. It even played a crucial role in combat operations for the US Naval fleet during World War II.

Today it’s used in all kinds of industries. It happens to be a great insect repellent. You’ll also find it in synthetic rubbers, ink, even soap...

Your Salad Dressing Could Be Toxic

You may be wondering how rapeseed oil turned into “canola” oil—and how it came to be considered a food in the first place.

It all started with the mainstream medical establishment and food industry’s obsession with so-called “bad” fats. Back in the late 70s, they were looking for something to replace corn and soybean oil.

They’d promoted these oils for years as more healthy than traditional fats like butter, lard, or palm oil. But new science was emerging indicating that the oils they were peddling to the public were actually unhealthy.

There were other healthy options available, like olive oil. But olive oil was too expensive to use because it wasn’t a major crop. And it doesn’t blend well into most mass-produced, processed foods. So the industry went looking for something inexpensive, “healthy,” plentiful that would be easy to store, transport, and include in commercial food production.

That’s how rapeseed oil made it onto the industry’s radar screen. It had been widely used in Asian countries. It was cheap, easy to grow, and there was a readily available source nearby, in Canada, where it was farmed in abundance.

Scientists found that it was rich in what they considered healthy vegetable fats, including omega-3. But there was a big problem: two thirds of the fat in rapeseed oil is “erucic acid.” This is a dangerous toxin that can cause deadly heart lesions.

Then in 1978 a few Canadian agricultural specialists figured out how to breed a strain of rapeseed that was low in erucic acid.1 Suddenly, the industry had its new “healthy” alternative. And that’s how it eventually got its name: “canola” stands for “Canadian oil, low acid.”

The problem is that canola doesn’t really resemble the rapeseed oil found in Asia. In places like India and China, they traditionally pre-cooked the seeds before they extracted the oil, and they used stone presses to make it. They sold it soon after they made it, so it was fresh and pure. The process was entirely natural.

Compare that with the industrial processes used to make canola here: high temperature pressing in metal vats; blasting with chemical solvents to remove the oil; bleaching; soaking in acid; and “deodorizing,” since some of the omega-3 in the oil goes rancid and creates a foul odor.

Traces of these chemicals remain in the oil, particularly hexane. Hexane’s a component of gasoline. It’s used to make shoes, leather products—even roofing! Its toxic effects on the body are well known. It causes nerve damage,2 and the gas emissions from industrial hexane can cause cancer. In fact, the Environmental Protection Agency issued regulations on commercial hexane use in 2001 because of the serious cancer risks.3

They Can’t Back Up Their Claims

One of the problems with all the industry’s health claims about canola is that there are virtually no studies of canola’s effects on humans. But the research done in animal studies paints a grim picture.

Canola has been shown to retard growth and cause heart lesions in rats.4 Newborn piglets fed a formula with canola oil developed a vitamin E deficiency in one study. Vitamin E’s a key ally in overall heart health, protects eyesight, and acts as a powerful antioxidant. They also suffered from sustained bleeding, because a diet high in canola lowered their platelet count (platelets are what help your blood to clot and stop hemorrhaging).5

Another recent study found that canola worsens high blood pressure, and stroke in rats genetically prone to these health conditions.6

Yet we’re still hearing about how good canola is for you. Millions of Americans are pouring this stuff on their salads or eating foods fried in it, thinking it’s great for their health. They may as well be eating their shoes.

Try This Truly Healthy Oil From Nature, Not Industry

For some reason, the word still hasn’t gotten out on this, but there’s a natural plant-based alternative to canola that’s plentiful, and safe for all kinds of cooking. It’s easily digested, free of toxins... and actually comes with a host of major health benefits.

It’s coconut oil.

I still scratch my head over why this isn’t the best-selling edible oil in the world. The fact is that conclusive clinical evidence of its health-promoting power has been around for over 30 years.

Coconut oil has the power to

Power overall heart health
Boost your metabolism
Raise your antioxidant levels
Promote weight loss
Strengthen your immune system
Stimulate healthy thyroid function
Maintain healthy cholesterol balance

You can even use it as a skin care product. It helps to moisturize and keeps your skin elastic, radiant, and youthful.

Unlike canola, coconut oil actually protects the heart by keeping fat and cholesterol in your bloodstream in proper balance. One study looked at native island tribes in the South Pacific whose diets were heavy in coconut oil.7

They had perfect serum lipid and cholesterol profiles at the start of the study. But once they migrated to New Zealand and stopped using coconut oil, their total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol increased, and their HDL cholesterol (the good kind) decreased.

It’s also been shown to ramp up your body’s ability to convert fat into energy, increasing your metabolism and actually helping you to lose weight.

The most recent research also suggests that the natural health-promoting compounds in coconut oil can actually prevent free radical damage.8

Finally, coconut oil contains lauric acid, one of the key building blocks of your immune system and a powerful anti-viral/anti-microbial.

In other words, you should make coconut oil one of the staples in your kitchen. Unlike olive oil, coconut oil’s stable at very high temperatures, so you can put it on salad or fry with it. It won’t start to smoke and burn your food like olive oil

I recommend finding an organic, extra virgin brand at your local health food store or on line. These give you all the health benefits and are free of any industrial contaminants.

____________________

1 RK Downey. “Genetic Control of Fatty Acid Biosynthesis in Rapeseed.” Journal of the American Oil Chemists Society. 1964. 41:475-478.
2 Hathaway GJ, Proctor NH, Hughes JP, and Fischman M. Proctor and Hughes' chemical hazards of the workplace. 3rd ed. 1991. New York, NY: Van Nostrand Reinhold.
3 Anuradee Witthayapanyanon and Linh Do. “Nanostructured Microemulsions as Alternative Solvents to VOCs in Cleaning Technologies and Vegetable Oil Extraction.” 2005. National Center For Environmental Research.
4 Trenholm et al. “An Evaluation of the Relationship of Deitary Fatty Acids to Incidence of Myocardial Lesions in Male Rats.” Canadian Institute of Food Science Technology Journal. 1979. 12(4):189-193
5 Kramer et al. “Hematological and lipid changes in newborn piglets fed milk-replacer diets containing erucic acid.” Lipids. 1998. 33(1):1-10.
6 Ratnayake et al. “Influence of Sources of Dietary Oils on the Life Span of Stroke-Prone Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats.” Lipids. 2000. 35(4):409-420.
7 Prior et al. “Cholesterol, coconuts, and diet on Polynesian atolls: a natural experiment: the Pukapuka and Tokelau Island studies.” American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 1981. 34:1552-1561.
8 Nevin and Rajamohan. “Virgin coconut oil supplemented diet increases the antioxidant status in rats.” Food Chemistry. 2006. 99(2): 260-266.

Save Expectant Mothers from Mandatory Drugging with Antidepressants

0 comments Posted by uniquelyme at 8:29 AM

Stop the Mothers Act: Save Expectant Mothers from Mandatory Drugging with Antidepressants

by Mike Adams

(NaturalNews) Big Pharma is pushing hard for passage of The Mothers Act, a bill that would require all pregnant women to be "screened" for depression and then drugged with patented antidepressant drugs. The bill is being reintroduced by Sen. Harry Reid, who is reportedly attempting to include it in a legislative package called the "Coburn Omnibus Bill."

Antidepressants are linked to violent thoughts and suicidal behavior in expectant mothers and new moms. Rather than treating the root cause of maternal depression -- nutritional deficiencies -- the medical industry wants to put expectant mothers on dangerous psychotropic drugs that may impact the health of their newborns.

NaturalNews interviewed one mother who, after being forcefully put on antidepressant drugs, began to hallucinate murdering her newborn. When she sought help at the local hospital, they doubled her dose of SSRIs and had her arrested and held against her will. Later, once she realized the drugs were causing her violent thoughts, she stopped taking the drugs and her violent hallucinations vanished within days.

This woman, Amy Philo, founded UNITE (www.UniteForLife.org) and is organizing grassroots opposition to The Mothers Act in order to protect women (and their children) from mandatory medications with psych drugs.

NaturalNews urges readers to contact their Senators in Washington (see below) and voice their opposition to The Mothers Act.

To learn more about this issue, watch this YouTube video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUiszFyIby4

Also, visit Amy Philo's website at www.UniteForLife.org

Also consider printing and signing the following letter, then faxing it (or mailing it) to your Senator:

Letter of opposition to the Mothers Act

DON'T LET THE 110th CONGRESS BE RESPONSIBLE FOR INCREASING ANTIDEPRESSANT-RELATED BIRTH DEFECTS AND INFANT DEATHS.

DO NOT PASS THE MOTHERS ACT AS PART OF AN OMNIBUS PACKAGE.

The MOTHERS Act is a highly controversial bill, considering the growing public awareness that antidepressants have serious and even deadly side effects. This bill, if passed, will assuredly increase the number of pregnant women and new mothers being put on antidepressant drugs. There are already too many pregnant women being put on antidepressants evidenced by the FDA's adverse reaction reports (MedWatch) listed below. This bill will assuredly increase the number of pregnant women and new mothers being prescribed antidepressants documented by the U.S. FDA to cause suicidal ideation, mania, worsening depression and birth defects. FDA's MedWatch System (Adverse Drug Reactions) Already Has Overwhelming Evidence of Spontaneous Abortions, Premature Babies and Birth Defects from SSRI Antidepressants:

Doctors, other health care providers, pharmacists, lawyers and consumers filed the following adverse drug reaction reports with the FDA's MedWatch system during 2004-2007 concerning pregnant women taking antidepressants (the most common and recommended treatment for women diagnosed with postpartum depression). In all the reports below, antidepressants were cited as the primary suspected drug to have caused the adverse reaction in pregnant women:

145 spontaneous abortions
150 premature babies
208 babies born with heart disease
218 babies born with defects

The FDA states that only 1-10% of side effects are even reported to their MedWatch database. Using a median range of 5% being reported, the actual number of pregnant women experiencing adverse reactions to antidepressant drugs is estimated as follows:

2,900 spontaneous abortions
3,000 premature births
4,160 babies born with heart disease
4,360 babies born with birth defects

The "Melanie Blocker-Stokes Postpartum Depression Research and Care Act," also known as "The MOTHERS Act" was named after Melanie Stokes, a new mother who was subjected to a cocktail of psychiatric drugs and electroshock after being diagnosed with post-partum depression. It was only after she had been administered drugs documented by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to cause suicidal ideation that she committed suicide. There is too much controversy over antidepressants to pass any legislation that could increase the administration of these drugs to pregnant women and new mothers. Do not allow the pharmaceutical interests to put new mothers and their unborn children at risk. Do not pass the MOTHERS Act.

Signed

___________________________

Printed Name:

___________________________

Address & Phone Number

___________________________

Cigarettes, Lies, and Pet Food Advertising

0 comments Posted by uniquelyme at 9:45 AM

Cigarettes, Lies, and Pet Food Advertising

by Susan Thixton

(NaturalNews) It's difficult to imagine that cigarettes and lies have any connection with pet food -- but when you look closely at the advertising tactics of some pet foods, look closely at the ingredients in those pet foods -- you'll find cigarettes, lies, and pet food fits perfectly together.

To give you an example of the connection, we're looking closely at an extremely popular cat food, sold in every grocery across the country. The pet food manufacturer is one of the most popular and largest producers of pet food, selling cat and dog foods all over the world. I can't give you the pet food name, so I've made up a name and I've change some of the wording from the information provided on the pet food bag. But, and this is a really big but(t), the ingredients provided below are the actual ingredients of the real cat food. And dog owners -- the same tricks apply to dog food.

I'm using the pretend pet food name of 'Yummy Good - Super Seafood Dry Cat Food' instead of the actual cat food name. Just like many pet foods, on the front of the Yummy Good Super Seafood Cat Food bag is a photo of the most beautiful cat you've ever seen -- his coat almost glows in the picture. Bright big eyes, mischievous face -- this cat looks like the picture of health. Your eyes are instinctively drawn to the picture. Right above it you notice the pet food name, Yummy Good, with a big red heart next to it. The 'yummy' and the heart leads you to believe this cat food not only tastes good, but somehow you are providing love by feeding it. Under the beautiful cat picture you notice 'Super Seafood with Ocean Fish, Albacore Tuna, Salmon, and Crab Flavors'. And you think 'wow, look at all the fish in this cat food... it's so healthy!' To seal the deal, you read "100% Complete Nutrition" and "with Healthy Omega's".

'This has got to be a great food for my cat... all those different kinds of fish, complete nutrition, omega's, and it's named Yummy!' You pull the bag of Yummy Good Super Seafood from the shelf, and being a good pet parent, you read a little more about it on the back of the bag. You read that this food offers 'Healthy Skin and Coat promoted by Omega Essential Oils', 'Clear Healthy Vision supported by vitamins and minerals', 'Healthy Immune System supported by Complete Nutrition' and 'Strong, Lean Muscles supported by High Quality Protein'. Sold! 'Wow my cat is gonna love me for this!'

While you might think you discovered this cat food by a natural shopping process, it's actually an expertly scripted sale. It's exactly how most pet owners decide on a brand of cat or dog food, unknowing participants in the consumer/pet food sales process. Pet owners are precisely led down an expertly scripted path –- inadvertently purchasing and feeding their pets popular brands of cat or dog foods assuming the best of nutrition is being provided to their pet.

So now let's look at the actual ingredients of one of the most popular cat foods in the U.S. -- the pet food I re-named Yummy Good Super Seafood. First, you should know that ingredients listed on pet food labels are listed by pre-cooking weight -- heaviest to lightest. So by pre-cooking weight, the first five or so ingredients are the heaviest and make up the majority of the food. Knowing that, here are the first five ingredients of a real cat food sold in grocery stores all over the U.S. that I've changed the name to Yummy Good Super Seafood Cat Food: "Ground yellow corn, corn gluten meal, poultry by-product meal, meat and bone meal, animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols (form of Vitamin E)".

* 'Ground yellow corn' is the first ingredient -- no seafood there and corn has little to no nutritional value to cats or dogs.

* 'Corn gluten meal' is the second ingredient -- gluten is often used as a binder or thickener for pet foods. No seafood again and no nutritional value to the pet.

* 'Poultry by-product meal' is the third ingredient... hmmm, still no seafood. By-products are animal pieces that are considered unsuitable for human consumption, sort of the garbage of the meat processing industry. Poultry by-products consist of animal pieces like chicken feet and turkey heads, providing little to no nutritional value to the pet.

* 'Meat and bone meal' is the fourth ingredient. What? Still no seafood? Meat and bone meal, if you can imagine it, is an even worse pet food ingredient than by-products. This ingredient is the garbage from anything and everything animal -- things like euthanized sick animals, diseased animal tissue, or even expired grocery store meat. As you can guess, it provides little to no nutritional value to the pet (cat or dog).

* And our fifth ingredient is 'animal fat preserved with mixed tocopherols'. When chicken feet, turkey heads, cow intestines and expired grocery store meat are cooked (in the pet food industry it's called rendered), the fat that rises to the top becomes the pet food ingredient animal fat. The pet owner (and even the pet food manufacturer) has no idea what types of animals the fat comes from and worse yet, this common pet food ingredient has been determined by the FDA to be most likely to contain pentobarbital (the drug used to euthanize animals). In other words, you can pretty much assume that the pet food ingredient animal fat contains euthanized animals and the drug used to end their life. Again, no seafood and little to no nutritional value to the pet.

This is perplexing -- the majority of an actual cat food (the first five ingredients) that I renamed Yummy Good Super Seafood -- contains no seafood. Surely the next five ingredients will be the 'good stuff'. Well, let's see... here are the next five actual ingredients of a popular cat food with Seafood in the name: "soybean meal, animal liver flavor, phosphoric acid, calcium carbonate, salt". Still no seafood. Actually, still no quality nutrition provided to cats in ten ingredients! The first ten ingredients make up a huge majority of a pet food, a guesstimate with this cat food would be around 85%. So the largest majority of an extremely popular cat food I've re-named Yummy Good Super Seafood Cat Food contains no seafood and provides little to no nutrition to a cat. It isn't until the twelfth ingredient on the list that we find what the name implies -- seafood -- and that's right before the artificial coloring of the cat food.

Think about that just for a moment. Think about the weight of the food coloring you use when you color Easter eggs. The couple of drops of coloring you put into the water -- think about how much those couple of drops of food coloring weigh. Now imagine a piece of salmon or Albacore Tuna that weighs just slightly more than a couple of drops of food coloring. That's how much seafood is in this bag of cat food.

Amazing huh? And remember, these are the actual ingredients of a cat food that is sold in every grocery store across the country, a pet food that I assure you would be recognized by every U.S. pet owner. A cat food that touts Seafood in the name, containing probably far less than one small piece of Albacore Tuna or Salmon in a ton or more of cat food. A pet food that claims 'Healthy Immune System supported by Complete Nutrition' and 'Strong, Lean Muscles supported by High Quality Protein', when actually there is only a sliver of high quality protein/nutrition in the food.

As surprising as it might be, this is all perfectly legal and common practice in the pet food and pet treat industry. It's simply advertising. The existing rules of the pet food industry allow "unqualified claims, either directly or indirectly" on pet food labels. Misleading yes, but it's nothing new to advertising.

Twenty or so years ago, the tobacco industry sold pretty much the same story to consumers. Similar to this pet food claiming 'Ocean Fish, Albacore Tuna, Salmon, and Crab Flavors', Camel Cigarettes for example had slogans such as 'Slow down - Pleasure up', 'More Doctors Smoke Camels than any other cigarette', and 'For Digestion's Sake – Smoke Camels'.

The tobacco industry got caught at their game, but the pet food industry continues on, following some of the exact steps that worked so perfectly for cigarettes. Former effective tobacco marketing techniques such as continuity programs rewarding tobacco loyal consumers with 'Camel Cash' and 'Marlboro Miles' to exchange for coupons or brand wear t-shirts and hats is commonplace today with pet product consumers. To build a stronger bond with smokers, tobacco companies sponsored sporting and entertainment events. Pet Food Industries have taken that one step further. Not only is every major pet event attached to a pet food name (marketing by association to the best dogs or cats in the country to a particular brand of pet food), but almost every veterinarian graduating in the last twenty or so years has been affected by pet food corporate marketing. Veterinary students up to present day at almost every veterinary college in the U.S. are commonly taught dog and cat nutrition by pet food manufacturers -- nutrition classes based on what each manufacturer wants them to know, not pet nutrition based on unbiased science and research. Twenty years ago this would be similar to R.J. Reynolds employees teaching third year medical students respiratory function classes.

Pet food has even joined the TV game show world. Auditions have already begun for the 'Meow Mix Game Show' set to air on Game Show Network in November 2008. It's known as "branded entertainment"; an advertising tactic that has been commonly utilized for many years.

Twenty plus years ago tobacco advertising monies also controlled the media. Numerous behind-closed-door meetings have been reported between major television, radio, and print media with tobacco representatives pointing out that bad 'press' would be frowned upon and tobacco would consider removing the millions of advertising dollars provided to the media companies should bad press stories be published. For years, these tactics prevented consumers from knowing the truth about tobacco risks. Today, we can only assume the media's blind eye to rendered euthanized animals and dangerous chemical preservatives being common to many pet foods is due to the same strong arm tactics. The pet food Industry's million dollar plus advertising budgets provided by pet food high profits (a 'seafood' cat food made with corn and by-products provides a great deal more profit than a 'seafood' cat food made with real seafood) continue to keep pet owners in the dark.

How much of an impact does pet food advertising have? In 1989 a Surgeon General's report regarding the impact of cigarette advertising stated "familiarity of tobacco advertising and promotion may contribute to an environment in which tobacco use is perceived by users to be socially acceptable, or at least less socially objectionable and less hazardous than it is in fact." Study after study has proven Cigarette advertisements capitalize on the consumers' misperception of risk factors associated with smoking. In fact, the many studies of tobacco advertising effects on consumers resulted in the eventual end of tobacco advertising.

No one knows the true impact pet food advertising has on the health of pets. No study has ever been done. But using the example provided above -- with one of the most popular cat foods in the country, a cat food that touts 'Seafood' in the name and blazons 'Ocean Fish, Albacore Tuna, Salmon, and Crab Flavors' across the label (and knowing that this cat food has an unimaginable tiny amount of seafood actually in it) -- you can guess the effects on a cat's health. It was proven with cigarettes the power of advertising and it's basically proven with pet food when such an inferior cat food is a leader in national cat food sales. Familiarity of pet food advertising and promotion surely seems to contribute to an environment that these pet foods are perceived as healthy and premium.

Cigarette smokers today at the very least are informed; they make their smoking or non-smoking decisions based on science, not manipulating advertising. Pet owners are not provided the same privilege. Pet owners continue to unknowingly purchase cat and dog foods whose ingredients cannot match the advertising claims. Remember that even if the pet food label says Yummy or Seafood or even Super, the ingredient list might tell a completely different story. The front of a bag or can of pet food is just marketing, it in no way gives a "petsumer" enough information and/or sound information to judge the actual quality of nutrition that is provided to the pet in the food.

Until misleading pet food advertising is outlawed just as cigarette advertising was, pet owners must read the ingredient list, understand a few common pet food ingredient definitions, and ask a few questions of the pet food manufacturer. Briefly, look for cat and dog foods that contain no 'by-products', no 'meat and bone meal', no 'animal fat', and very little mention of grains (corn, wheat, or soy). Call the manufacturer and ask if any ingredients originate outside the U.S. (avoid pet foods that utilize Chinese imports) and get an assurance that the meat quality is a human grade. There are many quality pet foods out there, pet owners have to look a little further, but the reward to your pet's health far outweighs the minimal effort to find them.

About the author

Susan Thixton has an international pet people following providing dog and cat lovers a trusted source for pet food and pet food ingredient information. She's been called courageous, perseverant, even "the Caped Crusader for Pets" for her 16 year study of pet food. Susan Thixton is the author of hundreds of pet industry articles and the 2006 released book Truth About Pet Food (currently being updated for a second edition). She developed and publishes the pet product consumer magazine Petsumer Report and is a frequent speaker and radio guest all over the U.S. and Canada with more than 70 appearances in the last 2 years.
If you are looking for straight forward pet food information that can have an almost immediate impact on your pet's health - subscribe to the free newsletter, and subscribe to Petsumer Report to see reviews of close to 700 dog and cat foods and treats (adding 40+ each month). Susan Thixton's 'truth' will help you find a safer, healthier dog or cat food that could add years to your pet's life. http://www.TruthAboutPetFood.com

Why Some Children Fail

0 comments Posted by uniquelyme at 5:48 PM

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs Explains Why Some Children Fail

by Barbara L. Minton

(NaturalNews) Dr. Abraham Maslow synthesized a large body of research resulting in his master creation, the Hierarchy of Needs. This hierarchy, beautiful in its simplicity, describes the stages of human development through which each of us passes on the way to becoming fully functioning, responsible adults ultimately moving toward the pinnacle of achievement attained by humans.

There are seven stages in the hierarchy, which Maslow conceptualized as a pyramid. He saw everyone beginning life at the bottom level, with only a few reaching the top. Each step up the scale represents a major triumph over the challenges of development, and advancement to the next step is entirely dependent on mastery of the step before it. Here are the steps on Maslow's scale:

* Transcendence

* Self-Actualization

* Aesthetic Needs

* Need to Know and Understand

* Esteem Needs

* Love and Belonging Needs

* Safety Needs

* Physiological Needs

At the physiological level is the need for air, water, nourishment, good health, activity, rest, and avoidance of pain. The developing child requires a belly of nourishing food and a clean diaper before he is in any condition to move on to a higher stage of development such as playing patty-cake with his parents. Some of these needs may be specific to the child. For example, a child deficient in a particular nutrient will develop a specific hunger for foods containing that nutrient.

At the safety and security level the physiological needs have largely been taken care of and the child is confident that they still continue to be taken care of. He becomes increasingly interested in finding safe circumstances, stability and protection. As an example, he may run to his parent when he sees a dog he doesn't know. It is at this level where he develops a need for structure, order, and limits. It is also here that he develops fears and anxiety. He may worry about someone breaking into his home, a monster in his closet, or a drive by shooting in his neighborhood.

At the love and belonging level the child needs others to love and to provide him with a sense of belonging. At this level, some sort of family stability is needed in order for the child to invest love in someone else. If his care giving parent dies or is incarcerated and he is placed in a series of foster homes, he may not attain the feeling of stability required for emotional investment. If it appears that no one wants to make a lasting commitment to him, he may be unable to love himself. This sense of belonging is threatened when parents divorce. And at this level, loneliness and social anxiety may become manifest.

At the esteem level the child searches for feelings of self-worth. Maslow noted two versions of the esteem need, one he saw as of a lower order and the other as of a higher order. The lower need is for the respect of others. This involves the need for status, fame, recognition, attention, reputation, appreciation, respect and dominance. The higher form involves the need to respect one's self. This includes feelings of confidence, competence, achievement, mastery, independence and freedom. Clearly Maslow saw the achievement of self-respect as being more important than achieving the respect of others. It is at this level that low self-esteem and feelings of inferiority may manifest. Maslow, like many other psychologists, believed that low self-esteem was at the root of most psychological problems.

These four levels were considered by Maslow to be deficiency or instinctual needs. If the child is deficient at any of the four levels, he becomes highly compelled to fulfill that need. But if he has all his needs fulfilled at each level, he feels nothing and is not at all compelled by them.

The remaining four needs are growth needs able to be acted upon only if the deficiency needs are fully met. Once the growth needs are engaged, they continue to be felt and may become stronger as they are fed.

At the need to know and understand level the child develops his cognitive potential. This is the level on which schools would like to operate, and it is actually the level on which many schools in comfortable neighborhoods function because the deficiency needs of their students have been met. Here the child is able listen, speak and explore in his quest to understand and make meaning from the world around him.

At the aesthetic level the child approaches and appreciates symmetry, order and beauty. He becomes able to invest emotion into his learning.

At the self actualization level the child is a child no longer and has become a self-fulfilled, fully functioning individual able to accept responsibility for his own life. At this level, the individual has come near to achieving his full potential, to be the person he was born to be. This is the stated goal of the educational system. Only a small percentage of the world's population is truly, predominantly, self-actualizing.

At the transcendence level the individual Maslow describes achieves a motivation that surpasses ego driven behavior. The few who achieve this level see life as a journey in which the means are often more important than the ends. They are comfortable around all people but enjoy solitude. People at this level are capable of deep personal relationships yet enjoy autonomy. They resist enculturation and are not susceptible to social pressure. They are acceptant of themselves and others, and enjoy spontaneity and simplicity. They are appreciative, creative and ethical.

We who live in abundance and relative safety may not fully realize that these are not the conditions under which many children in our country live. We have been told by our politicians and media that the reason children fail is because their teachers are not held accountable, or their schools are not up to standard. It is this sort of thinking that has allowed for the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB).

Implicit in this act is the assumption that if instruction is standardized and confined to a few core subjects, students will learn the curriculum and achieve at prescribed levels. Standardized instruction with results measured by standardized tests is the prescription for schools with failing children.

The concept that schools in which a number of children fail are failures themselves has made it into legislatures. Recent state takeovers of school districts in Little Rock, Philadelphia, Boston and St. Louis have shown how easy it is to assign blame without any attempt to grasp the real reasons for failure of their children.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs offers a simple, clear and resonant explanation for why children fail. His four deficiency needs must be fully met before the child is in any condition to benefit from his school experience. He must have nourishing food, a consistent home with heat in the winter, and the feeling of being safe before his mind is free to learn at school. Can you imagine what it is like to be awakened during the night by gunshots in your neighborhood, get up in an apartment where the heat has been cut off, or walk to school through a neighborhood of abandoned buildings where someone might pull you in? How can you achieve the self-esteem needed for learning when you know that your family is on the bottom of the economic pile, or your parent has just been arrested?

Many of the children who have been unable to fulfill the needs necessary for school achievement live in the inner cities that are so well represented on lists of failing school districts. Sadly, there is no acknowledgement of the conditions under which they live, and the impact of these conditions on their lack of school achievement. When underperforming schools lose funding it is the social workers, counselors and psychologists whose jobs are the first to be cut. Yet these are the people who act as the front line for helping children who are unable to meet their deficiency needs.

Perhaps we can excuse our legislative bodies for NCLB and for state takeovers. Many legislative members have no idea of the realities facing many of America's school children. And for those who are too busy dealing with other important issues, it becomes too tempting to assume a direct cause / effect relationship and assume that if a child is failing at school, it must be the teacher's fault.

Sources:

W. Huitt Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, Educational Psychology Interactive Valdosta, Ga.

Dr. C. George Boreree "Abraham Maslow, Personality Theories

Al Seckel: Your brain is badly wired -- enjoy it!

0 comments Posted by uniquelyme at 4:59 PM

15 Questions to Discover Your Life Purpose

0 comments Posted by uniquelyme at 6:54 AM

15 Questions to Discover Your Life Purpose

The following are a list of questions that can assist you in discovering your purpose. They are meant as a guide to help you get into a frame of mind that will be conducive to defining your personal mission.

Simple Instructions:

* Take out a few sheets of loose paper and a pen.
* Find a place where you will not be interrupted. Turn off your cell phone.
* Write the answers to each question down. Write the first thing that pops into your head. Write without editing. Use point form. It’s important to write out your answers rather than just thinking about them.
* Write quickly. Give yourself less than 60 seconds a question. Preferably less than 30 seconds.
* Be honest. Nobody will read it. It’s important to write without editing.
* Enjoy the moment and smile as you write.

15 Questions:

1. What makes you smile? (Activities, people, events, hobbies, projects, etc.)

2. What are your favorite things to do in the past? What about now?

3. What activities make you lose track of time?

4. What makes you feel great about yourself?

5. Who inspires you most? (Anyone you know or do not know. Family, friends, authors, artists, leaders, etc.) Which qualities inspire you, in each person?

6. What are you naturally good at? (Skills, abilities, gifts etc.)

7. What do people typically ask you for help in?

8. If you had to teach something, what would you teach?

9. What would you regret not fully doing, being or having in your life?

10. You are now 90 years old, sitting on a rocking chair outside your porch; you can feel the spring breeze gently brushing against your face. You are blissful and happy, and are pleased with the wonderful life you’ve been blessed with. Looking back at your life and all that you’ve achieved and acquired, all the relationships you’ve developed; what matters to you most? List them out.

11. What are your deepest values?
Select 3 to 6 (See list of words to help you | list in pdf) and prioritize the words in order of importance to you.

12. What were some challenges, difficulties and hardships you’ve overcome or are in the process of overcoming? How did you do it?

13. What causes do you strongly believe in? Connect with?

14. If you could get a message across to a large group of people. Who would those people be? What would your message be?

15. Given your talents, passions and values. How could you use these resources to serve, to help, to contribute? ( to people, beings, causes, organization, environment, planet, etc.)

Putting it all together: Creating Your Personal Mission Statement

“Writing or reviewing a mission statement changes you because it forces you to think through your priorities deeply, carefully, and to align your behaviour with your beliefs”

– Stephen Covey, ‘7 Habits of Highly Effective People’

A personal mission consists of 3 parts:

* What do I want to do?
* Who do I want to help?
* What is the result? What value will I create?

Steps to Creating Your Personal Mission Statement:

1. Do the exercise with the 15 questions above as quickly as you can.

2. List out actions words you connect with.

a. Example: educate, accomplish, empower, encourage, improve, help, give, guide, inspire, integrate, master, motivate, nurture, organize, produce, promote, travel, spread, share, satisfy, understand, teach, write, etc.

3. Based on your answers to the 15 questions. List everything and everyone that you believe you can help.

a. Example: People, creatures, organizations, causes, groups, environment, etc.

4. Identify your end goal. How will the ‘who’ from your above answer benefit from what you ‘do’?

5. Combine steps 2-4 into a sentence, or 2-3 sentences.

This information is found at: http://thinksimplenow.com/happiness/life-on-purpose-15-questions-to-discover-your-personal-mission/

Simpleology

0 comments Posted by uniquelyme at 6:17 AM

Simpleology

1) The First Law: The Law of Straight Lines

* If you want to get a particular result, don't add any extra steps. Take the simplest and most direct route.

2) The Second Law: The Law of Clear Vision

* To hit a target, you need to see it clearly. Before you start, create a clear vision of *exactly* what you want.

3) The Third Law: The Law of Focused Attention

* To hit a target, you must focus sufficient attention on it until you hit it.
* If a surgeon were going to give you a heart transplant, would you want him to be watching a ball game on TV at the same time?

4) The Fourth Law: The Law of Focused Energy

* To accomplish something, you must focus sufficient energy on it until you have done so.
* A knife is sharp because it has focused energy. Just as the sharper the knife, the greater the cutting power, energy becomes more and more powerful the more you focus it.

5) The Fifth Law: The Inescapability of Action/Reaction

* You are always acting, even if you think you are not
* For every action we take, there is some reaction
* There is no such thing as procrastination or laziness--they are just ineffective actions masquerading as inaction.
* To get whatever you want, stop performing the actions that don't bring about your desired result and start performing the actions that do.

This information is found at: http://thinksimplenow.com

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