Many healthy Cereals Filled with GMO Ingredients

(NaturalNews) For far too long, breakfast cereal makers have carried out highly deceptive product labeling and positioning campaigns through the use of the term "natural." Consumers are easily misled by this term, believing it to mean the product is free from pesticide chemicals and genetically engineered ingredients. But an explosive new investigation by the Cornucopia Institute (www.Cornucopia.org) — the same group that exposed the widespread use of hexane solvents in soy protein — is set to send shockwaves through the "natural" products industry by revealing which so-called "natural" brands actually contain high levels GMOs and toxic chemical pesticides.

NaturalNews is helping the Cornucopia Institute break this story with exclusive articles and email alerts going out to hundreds of thousands of subscribers. This story is being shared on Facebook and Twitter, and on the NaturalNews Radio Network (www.NaturalNewsRadio.com).

This story will also be covered this Thursday on the Alex Jones Show (www.InfoWars.com), when a representative from the Cornucopia Institute will be interviewed on live national radio. You can help spread the word about this important story by sharing this article.

Before you view the Cornucopia’s test results below, there are three important things you need to know about GMOs:

#1) There is GE contamination in almost everything. Even "non-GMO" food products almost always contain trace levels of GMOs (often between .01% and 0.5%). A test for the mere presence of GMOs is not considered conclusive. What’s important is the level of GMOs in a particular food item. Some of the "natural" items tested by the Cornucopia Institute showed GMO contamination levels between 28 and 100 %, which means the key ingredients in those cereals are most definitely genetically engineered from the source (and it’s not just a chance contamination from some other nearby field).

#2) All GMO tests are merely a "snapshot" that can change over time. Foods that test free of GMOs today may contain higher levels tomorrow due to supply line errors, contamination, supply source changes, and so on. At the same time, foods that test at high levels of GMOs today may test at lower levels in the future or even for different batches from the same manufacturer. Sometimes manufacturers are lied to by their suppliers. Some manufacturers test for GMOs in every batch, but others take a "don’t ask don’t tell" approach where they don’t test because they’d rather not know.

#3) Products may be "enrolled" in the Non-GMO Project and still contain GMOs before they are "verified." The Non-GMO Project has two designations for products. There are products which are "enrolled" which means they are "on the path" to becoming free of GMOs but may not have achieved it yet. Thus, it is true that products "enrolled" in the Non-GMO Project may still contain substantial levels of GMOs. Products that meet far more stringent supply line audits and GE testing requirements are granted the label "Verified" by the Non-GMO Project.

You got all that? It’s a lot to keep in mind. GMOs are a complicated issue. But one thing is certain: Most "natural" breakfast cereals contain surprisingly high levels of genetically engineered ingredients. This is why it’s crucial to shop for certified organic breakfast cereals from companies like Nature’s Path, whose products are 100% certified organic and free from GMOs.

All these concerns about GMOs don’t even cover residues of toxic and carcinogenic pesticides in the grains used to produce "natural" breakfast cereals. The Cornucopia report cites extensive USDA testing and research revealing which "natural" grains and ingredients may be routinely contaminated with chemical pesticides. Synthetic pesticides are banned in organic production with oversight by independent certifiers and USDA accreditation, so organic is once again the way to go if you wish to avoid pesticide residues.

Here’s what the test results reveal

The Cornucopia Institute’s "Cereal Scorecard" (http://www.cornucopia.org/2011/10/n...) reveals some truly astonishing facts about what’s in our breakfast cereal:

• Kashi brand cereals (Kellogg’s) contains "high levels" of GMOs. Not just a trace of GMOs, in other words, but a high level meaning the key ingredients are genetically engineered from the get-go. In fact, NaturalNews has learned that test results reveal 100% of the soy used in tested boxes of Kashi cereal was genetically engineered soy.

• Mother’s brand cereals (PepsiCo) contains "high levels" of GMOs. Test results revealed 28% of the corn to be genetically engineered.
• Whole Foods’ 365 brand Corn Flakes contains "high levels" of GMOs (more than 50% GE corn).

• Barbara’s Bakery Puffins cereal was also shown to contain more than 50% genetically engineered corn.

• Both Barbara’s Bakery Puffins and Whole Foods 365 Corn Flakes are "enrolled" in the Non-GMO Project, says Cornucopia (see below). Note that this does not mean "verified" by the Non-GMO Project, which is a different designation. Still, the term "enrolled" in the Non-GMO Project may imply to many shoppers that the products are free from GMOs. This is something NaturalNews will address later, as it is a concern for both us and many readers who have long believed that any affiliation with the Non-GMO Project meant the same thing as "GMO free," which it does not.

• One of the shining examples honest organic cereal is Nature’s Path, whose products are all certified organic, contained no significant GMO contamination and are clearly made with entirely non-GMO ingredients.

• As the report states: Numerous “natural” products were indeed contaminated with high levels of GE ingredients, sometimes as high as 100%: Kashi GoLean, Mother’s Bumpers, Nutritious Living Hi-Lo, and General Mills Kix.

• Kashi Heart to Heart Blueberry cereal costs more than Nature’s Path Organic Blueberry Cinnamon Optimum Cereal, and yet the grains used in Kashi cereal were found by the USDA, to typically contain residues of all the following pesticide chemicals: phosmet, carbaryl, azinphos methyl, malathion, chlorpyrifos methyl, chlorpyrifos. (Note: This does not mean these Kashi cereals were tested for each of these chemicals, only that these chemicals are admitted by the USDA to be found in the non-organic grains used to manufacture Kashi cereals.)

• Quaker Oats states that it is an "all-natural" product. But Quaker Oats (a unit of PepsiCo) manages a processing plant that emits roughly 19,000 pounds of sulfuryl fluoride yearly. Sulfuryl fluoride is a toxic greenhouse gas used to treat crops like oats in storage.

• "Natural" Peace Cereal Wild Berry Crisp is produced from conventional commodity ingredients commonly containing the neurotoxin phosmet and the carcinogen captan in 11% and 55% of samples, respectively.

• Mom’s Best Naturals Raisin Bran cereal contains "natural" (non-GMO) ingredients that are commonly contaminated with malathion and phosmet chemicals, both of which are neurotoxins.

• Several Bear Naked and Kashi products contain conventional soy protein. Soy protein in this country is nearly universally hexane-extracted. The "hexane bath" that the soybeans are immersed in consists of more than 50% n-hexane, which is a known neurotoxin, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/033838_break … _GMOs.html

Low Vitamin D Linked to Early Menstruation

By Dr. Mercola

In the 19th century the onset of menstruation occurred around the age of 15. Now the average age of the first period, or menarche, is around 12. The time during and before puberty is one of rapid development and change, which is why even months matter when it comes to first menstruation. Early puberty can set the stage for emotional and behavioral problems, and there is evidence that suggests these girls are also at increased risk of diabetes, heart disease and other cardiometabolic diseases, as well as cancer.

So this is a concerning trend that could have major public health implications in coming generations if it continues.
Scientists have brought forth a number of potential explanations for the rising rates of early puberty — hormones and pesticides in food, chemicals in plastic and personal care products, obesity — but one that deserves special attention, especially if you have a young daughter right now, is vitamin D.

Is Vitamin D Deficiency the Missing Link in Early Puberty?

It has been suggested that girls who live closer to the equator start puberty at a later age than girls who live in Northern regions. Since this indicates a potential connection with sun exposure, researchers decided to investigate whether vitamin D was, in fact, related.

Upon measuring vitamin D levels in 242 girls aged 5-12, researchers from the University of Michigan School of Public Health found that those who were deficient were twice as likely to start menstruation during the study period as those with higher levels.
Specifically, among the vitamin-D-deficient girls, 57 percent started their period during the study, compared to 23 percent with adequate vitamin D. However, researchers defined adequate vitamin D as ≥30 ng/mL, which is actually still a deficiency state! For optimal health, vitamin D levels should be a minimum of 50 ng/mL, which means the number of vitamin-D-deficient girls with early puberty was probably much higher than the study reported.

read more here

FDA unleashes scheme to outlaw virtually all supplements

(NaturalNews) In the wake of hundreds of dietary supplements recently being outlawed across the EU, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has quietly unleashed a regulatory scheme that, if fully implemented, could ban virtually all dietary supplements in the USA that were formulated after 1994.

That means nearly all superfoods, multivitamins, detox supplements, and medicinal herbal products we have all come to depend on to prevent disease and boost our immune health could soon be stripped from store shelves and outlawed across the nation. I call it the "End Game" of the FDA’s war against humanity: Phase one was the enforcement of nutritional ignorance by threatening and raiding companies that dared to make truthful health claims on their own websites (http://www.naturalnews.com/021791.html). Phase two involves "nuking" the entire dietary supplements industry by simply denying the use of nearly all the ingredients presently used in supplement products.

On the front lines of health freedom

The discovery of this new End Game strategy by the FDA to outlaw virtually all dietary supplements comes to us from the Alliance for Natural Health, the leading health freedom non-profit group in America, and the group that consistently reports fact-based information on how the FDA and FTC are squashing health freedom in America. Their most recent announcement, entitled FDA’s New Sneak Attack on Supplements (http://www.anh-usa.org/fda-new-snea...) explains how this new assault on your freedom is being engineered by the FDA.

Here’s the brief story of where this comes from and how the FDA is now waging a new war on our vitamins, herbs and supplements:
In 1994, after years of armed raids, oppression and censorship by the FDA, Congress passed a law known as DSHEA. This is the law that essentially forced the FDA to stop regulating dietary supplements out of existence, and groups such as the Life Extension Foundation (http://www.LEF.org) were instrumental in helping get this law passed in 1994.

But one of the little-known sections of the law required dietary supplement manufacturers to "notify" the FDA any time they used a new ingredient in their formulations. However, the details on how supplement companies were supposed to abide by these notification guidelines (called "NDI" or New Dietary Ingredient rules) were never published by the FDA, and since 1994, this entire section of DSHEA has remained essentially unenforced (or selectively enforced).

Now, suddenly, the FDA has decided it wants to enforce NDI, and its enforcement of this technicality would essentially amount to the FDA denying permission to use nearly all dietary supplement ingredients introduced since 1994. So last Friday, the FDA proposed its new rules on NDI — on the Friday before a long weekend, no less, which is a common tactic government uses when it wants to do something that nobody notices — and these new rules run the risk of being adopted as active regulations, threatening virtually the entire dietary supplement industry with an eventual shutdown.

read more here

sign the petition here

ovarian cancer screening doesn’t save lives

(NaturalNews) There’s no denying ovarian cancer is usually a terrible disease. A stealthy malignancy, it’s often misdiagnosed as indigestion and by the time ovarian cancer is actually discovered by a doctor, the disease may have spread extensively. According to the National Institutes of Health, ovarian cancer is the fifth most common cancer among women and causes more deaths than any other type of female reproductive cancer.

So it might seem like a potentially life-saving move to have all women 55 and older — the age group that suffers most often from this form of cancer — screened regularly for the disease with transvaginal ultrasound and the blood test that measures serum cancer antigen 125 (CA-125).

These are expensive tests but, if they could save the lives of women by pinpointing ovarian malignancies early, they are certainly worth it. After all, the screening tests should save countless lives, right?

Unfortunately, according to new research headed by Saundra S. Buys, M.D., of the University of Utah Health Sciences Center, Salt Lake City, that assumption is wrong. What’s more, the tests can lead to unneeded surgeries and serious complications in women who actually have no cancer at all.

But the study came to another surprising — and positive — conclusion, too. It turns out that not all ovarian cancers may be deadly or even need treatment.

For the study, which was just published in the June 8 issue of JAMA, Dr. Buys and her team investigated studies of almost 80,000 women to compare outcomes between women who received standard health care with no specific testing for ovarian cancer, unless they had overt symptoms, and those who received regular, ovarian cancer screening. The results showed no reduced risk of death from ovarian cancer for those aggressively screened for the disease when compared to women who received usual care.

However, the study did reveal a big difference between the health outcomes of the women in the two groups. Those receiving the cancer screenings had an alarming increase in invasive medical procedures and associated harms as a result of being screened.

In all, there were 3,285 women who turned out to have false-positive results. And of these, over 1,000 were subjected to surgery (32.9 had their ovaries removed as part of the diagnostic workup). Among these 1,080 women, 163 (15 percent) experienced a total of 222 distinct major complications.

Bottom line: the research team concluded there is no evidence from clinical trials to support regular screening for ovarian cancer at this time. The authors of the study also stated that even an optimized program of annual screening may be insufficient to detect cancers early enough to prevent deaths.

read the rest here

How Much Vitamin D3 Does a Nursing Mother Need?

Vitamin D Council   (from an email)

May 3, 2011

Dear Readers:

It is with deep regret that I accept the resignation of Dr. Bruce Hollis from the Board of Directors of the Vitamin D Council. We thank Professor Hollis for his service.

For those who do not know, Professor Hollis is the scientist who provided the best reason to keep your vitamin D level around 50 ng/ml. Some scientists say 20 ng/ml is good enough because parathyroid hormone (PTH) is pretty much suppressed with levels of 20, other scientists say levels should be 30 because calcium absorption is maximized with that level. That is, PTH suppression and calcium absorption are biomarkers for adequate vitamin D blood levels.

Professor Hollis provided another biomarker, one every woman – and most men – can immediately accept as the best biomarker yet: how much vitamin D does a woman need to be sure that her breast milk has adequate vitamin D? When you think about it, that’s about as good as biomarkers get.

Professor Hollis answered that question in his research, finding that when a lactating woman has vitamin D blood levels of 40-50 ng/ml, her breast milk finally has enough vitamin D to support the vitamin D levels of her nursing infant. At levels below 40, the vitamin D content of breast milk becomes unpredictable. I’d say Bruce’s discovery is more important than PTH or calcium absorption. I also say the women (and men) on the recent vitamin D FNB panel should be ashamed of themselves for apparently not knowing this.

I always wondered how that could be, after first learning in medical school that human breast milk – unlike the breast milk of wild mammals – has little or no vitamin D. How could Nature’s perfect food be void of the pre-hormone needed for infant growth and development? Bruce answered the question, breast milk is not void of it, it is just that virtually all modern lactating women are void of it.

FDA Warns – Do NOT Use Benzocaine

The FDA has notified healthcare professionals and patients that they are receiving reports of methemoglobinemia, a serious and potentially fatal side effect, associated with benzocaine products.

The condition can occur when benzocaine is used either as a spray used during medical procedures to numb the mouth and throat, or as over-the-counter gels and liquids used to relieve pain from conditions such as teething and canker sores.

Methemoglobinemia is a condition in which the amount of oxygen carried through the blood stream is greatly reduced. In severe cases, methemoglobinemia can result in death.

According to Drugs.com: "Methemoglobinemia has been reported with all strengths of benzocaine gels and liquids, and cases occurred mainly in children aged two years or younger who were treated with benzocaine gel for teething."

Dr. Mercola’s Comments:

This will probably come as a surprise to most people, but it’s just another example of how all drugs have potentially serious side effects—even those sold without a prescription and/or used topically as opposed to being swallowed.

The Potentially Lethal Side-Effect of Benzocaine

Benzocaine is a local anesthetic commonly used as a topical pain reliever. You can also find it in cough drops, throat sprays, and gels or liquids used for teething and canker sores (cold sores).

However, you need to be careful when using these products, especially on children. The FDA is now sounding the alarm as they continue receiving reports of methemoglobinemia, which is a potentially life threatening side effect of the drug.

This side effect has been reported with all strengths of benzocaine gels and liquids, including a single dose of benzocaine throat spray. They’re now advising against the use of benzocaine products on children under the age of two, as most of the cases included infants given teething gel containing benzocaine.

Methemoglobinemia is a condition in which the amount of oxygen in your blood stream is greatly reduced. In severe cases, it can result in death.

Signs and symptoms of this severe adverse reaction include:

• Pale, gray or blue colored skin, lips, and nail beds
• Headache
• Lightheadedness
• Shortness of breath
• Rapid heart rate
• Fatigue

Symptoms can appear at any point, either after the initial or any subsequent application, but usually become apparent within minutes to hours of application.

read the rest here

Destroy Urinary Tract Infections Without Antibiotics or Cranberry Juice

*SNIP*

But there is a great discovery that has come from the cranberry juice-urinary tract connection. The active ingredient in cranberry juice responsible for its benefit to your urinary system has been identified and isolated—and that is D-mannose.

D-mannose can be derived from berries, peaches, apples, and some other plants. Pure D-mannose is amazingly 10-50 times stronger than cranberry, non-toxic and completely safe, with NO adverse effects.

Why drink sugary cranberry juice if you can get the active ingredient instead, with none of the damaging metabolic consequences?

D-mannose can help cure more than 90 percent of all UTIs within 1 to 2 days!

The condition euphemistically called “Honeymoon Cystitis” is now preventable—no abstinence required.

D-Mannose: An Example of a Healthful Sugar

D-Mannose is not a drug. It’s a naturally occurring sugar, closely related to glucose and you even produce it in your body. And very importantly, it does NOT produce the metabolic stresses that fructose does because it’s more like glucose, which every cell in your body is designed to use.

Your body absorbs D-mannose much more slowly than glucose, and the D-mannose does not convert to glycogen or get stored in your liver. Only very small amounts of D-mannose are metabolized, so it doesn’t interfere with blood sugar regulation.

Most of the D-mannose is filtered through your kidneys and routed to your bladder, then quickly excreted in your urine.

D-mannose helps to nourish your healthy flora because it doesn’t affect “friendly” bacteria. It doesn’t kill any bacteria—it just renders them unable to stay in your urinary tract.

When you take antibiotics for a urinary tract infection (UTI), the good bacteria are killed along with the bad, which is why you can develop secondary yeast infections and digestive problems.

But how can a natural sugar combat a UTI?

The answer lies in how bacteria adhere to the inside of your bladder.

Read the rest here

Soy Formula a Bad Choice

*SNIP*

Soy formula sits on the same shelf next to formula made from cow’s milk, and well-intentioned mothers have listened to doctors who told them that soy formula is an ideal alternative for colicky babies or those who are unable to tolerate milk based formulas.

However, according to a report done by Claire McCarthy of Harvard Medical School, very few babies benefit from soy formula, and I’m going to go one step further than that: soy formula is the absolute most dangerous food you can give your baby.

Let me explain why you should never feed your infant soy formula, what your alternative options are, and the best remedies for colic and diarrhea.

This article will also explain why most commonly-consumed soy products are anything but a health food for parents as well.

Birth Control Pills in a Bottle

In a recent article, I expose the truth about soy foods and the negative effect they are having on you and your family’s health. If your baby drinks soy formula, he or she is at risk for serious health problems.

It is estimated that infants fed soy formula have 13,000 to 22,000 times the amount of estrogen in their little bodies than infants fed other types of formula or who are breast fed.

In fact, infants fed soy formula take in an estimated three to five birth control pills’ worth of estrogen every day, depending upon the particular batch of formula and whether your baby is a big eater.

What does this mean?

Let’s take a look at the risks associated with this astronomical amount of hormone in your child’s developing body. Infants fed soy formula have an increased risk of:

Food allergies and digestive distress 
Behavioral problems
Asthma
Thyroid disorders
Early puberty and fertility problems (including anovulatory cycles; the inability to menstruate)
Cancer — It’s also important for pregnant women to avoid eating non-fermented soy, as a high estrogenic environment in utero may increase their child’s subsequent breast cancer risk. Boys could increase their prostate cancer and testicular cancer risk. Vegan moms who use soy as both milk and meat replacements AND are trying to take in more protein are at very high risk.

much more to read here.

 

Prostate cancer screening has zero benefit

(NaturalNews) Don’t let anyone from the cancer industry lie to you about PSA screening: The test is completely bogus and offers zero improvement in your lifespan. That’s the conclusion from a 20-year study that followed over 9,000 men. After 20 years of follow-up, guess what the results were? No significant difference in the rate of death between those screened for prostate cancer versus those who weren’t.

In other words, prostate cancer screening is really a bogus test used to exploit men’s fear and recruit them into unnecessary and potentially harmful cancer treatments. That’s why the cancer industry uses the PSA test, of course: It’s a powerful recruiting tool! It scares men into agreeing to expensive, high-profit treatments which are then billed to their insurance companies, Medicaid or Medicare. (Gee, no wonder our health care system is bankrupting the nation…)

This study, by the way, was published in the British Medical Journal. I don’t personally trust the BMJ on most issues, since it seems to so strongly favor vaccines and pharmaceuticals in its selective publication of research. But that’s what makes this so remarkable: Even the BMJ is effectively admitting that PSA tests don’t work!

Why are hospitals still using a bogus quack test for prostate cancer?

Given that the PSA test simply doesn’t work, it makes you wonder: Why are hospitals are cancer centers still using the PSA test? Isn’t that quackery to keep using something that doesn’t work while marketing it to patients as if it did work? It’s not just false advertising — it’s bad medicine! And if it were being done in any other industry, someone would probably get arrested.

read the rest here

Dr. Brownstein – Japan Radiation Update 4

This is my fourth post about the Japanese nuclear disaster. First, I have to give credit to the U.S. government for suggesting that U.S. citizens move further away (50 miles) from the radiation danger. This action would serve to verify the severity of the crises.

I believe this crisis should highlight the need for each of us to take a more active role in our own health care decisions. It is important to take the proper steps to achieve your optimal health before a crisis arises. Many times these steps include eating a healthy diet and taking the correct supplements. My experience has shown that ensuring an adequate iodine level is one piece of the puzzle to obtaining your optimal health.

More… http://drdavidbrownstein.blogspot.com/