The use of antibiotics in livestock is only one small part of how we are affected by this industry. According to a paper published in 1996, there are approximately 1.3 billion cattle on earth at any one time. They exist "artificially" in these vast numbers to satisfy the excessive human demand for their meat and byproducts. It takes an average of 2,500 gallons of water to produce a single pound of meat. According to Newsweek magazine, "the water that goes into a 1,000 pound steer could float a destroyer." In contrast, it takes only 25 gallons of water to produce one pound of wheat. Keep Reading...
In 2000, the National Academy of Sciences reported that 98,000 Americans are killed every year by medical errors. In 2004, a report by HealthGrades in an article by Medical News Today, estimates that it is closer to 195,000 deaths per year attributed to medical errors. This article can be viewed here. The vast majority were killed from mistakes in prescribing or administering drugs. The report put the cost of these errors at nine billion dollars! keep reading... Keep Reading...
The increased consumption of sugar in the US parallels the overall decline in the health of its citizens. In 1900, the average person consumed approximately 15 lbs. of sugar per year. Today, it is estimated that the average person consumes 150 lbs. of sugar per year. It is also estimated that 20% of all adult calories are derived from sugar. Sugar consumption has been linked to a variety of health problems such as colitis, mood swings, heart disease, hyperactivity, obesity and dental cavities. The manufacturing or refining process of sugar is believed to contribute to the negative effects of sugar on our bodies. Because natural sugar cane contains materials that can spoil, sugar cane juice is purified, filtered, concentrated and boiled down until the sugar crystallizes out of the syrup. Brown sugar is as devoid of nutrients as white sugar: It simply has a little molasses added back in for color. As a purified sugar, the refined white sugar becomes a "naked carbohydrate" because it has been separated from all its natural co-factors such as water, minerals, proteins, vitamins and fiber.... Click the title at the top to read the rest
The overuse of antibiotics during the past 50 years has caused bacteria to evolve that are antibiotic resistant. Resistance has occurred because 30-40 million pounds of these potent drugs are used every year just in the United States. Over 90 percent of this total is given to livestock to make them grow faster without the chance of dying from infection. Keep reading...
Frequently our best interests are secondary to profits. The worst offenders are industries that made lots of money and use it to lobby support in the government. Many organizations that fight for the social good are trying to get their message out, but with limited funds the task is difficult. The chiropractic profession has a long history of fighting the powers that be. In 1992, after a 16 year legal battle, five chiropractors finally settled a federal antitrust suit against the American Medical Association (AMA). This original suit filed in 1976 accused the AMA of willfully trying to undermine the credibility of Chiropractic and eliminate it as a profession. The AMA was found guilty in the US Court of Appeals in 1987. The verdict was upheld by the United States Supreme Court in 1992. What does this mean? The American Medical Association has been found to be a criminal organization. As part of the settlement some penalties were not revealed publicly, but the AMA had to cease from its public policy of undermining the chiropractic profession. keep reading...
Livestock is not the only food source that has been compromised. Today, genetically engineered foods are becoming more and more common. You have already consumed genetically altered food if you shop at a supermarket because many foods are genetically engineered and not labeled as such . Bioengineering may have some intriguing applications in the medical field, but in the food area, there are a number of issues that need to be given greater concern.
Genetic engineering (GE) is a technology that allows the mixing of genes of non-related species; for example, inserting genes from a fish into a raspberry. The genetic information from the fish is first attached to the genes of a virus or bacteria which is then inserted into the raspberry. The virus or bacteria will insert the fish genes into the genes of the raspberry permanently altering its genetic code. These genetic changes can then pass to the offspring of the permanently altered raspberry (or, perhaps, better called "fishberry").
The incidence of breast cancer has increased at an alarming rate. In 1950, one in twenty women got breast cancer. In 1960, one in fifteen women got breast cancer. Now, it's one in eight! There is a strong connection between toxic chemicals and breast cancer. A breast cancer study in Israel showed the concentration of toxic chemicals was higher in the malignant breast compared to the normal breast. After release of this study, Israel banned some of the chemicals found in highest concentrations including DDT and PCB. As a result, the breast cancer rates decreased. And the rate of breast cancer decreased even in women that had an increase in other risk factors, such as high alcohol and fat consumption, and low fruit and vegetable consumption.
It is a common misconception that margarine is a superior choice to butter because margarine is made from vegetable oil and vegetable oil is lower in cholesterol than animal fat such as butter. This is only half the story. Natural vegetable oil may be lower in cholesterol than butter but margarine is toxic to the body and can cause high cholesterol.
Margarine is a hydrogenated vegetable oil. This means that vegetable oil, which is normally liquid at room temperature, has undergone an artificial process to make it solid at room temperature. Going from liquid to solid may seem like an innocuous change. However, chemists and researchers are increasingly understanding the chemistry of this change and how it creates a false fat that (1) cannot be absorbed by the body and (2) causes internal damage.
