Moringa Seeds/Pods Health Benefits

Moringa is called the Miracle Tree for good reason. Moringa leaves, pods, flowers, fruits, roots, bark, and Moringa seeds can all be utilized. It is estimated that at least 300 diseases can be cured by taking this supplement along with hundreds of other health benefits thanks to its more than 90 nutrients, 46 different antioxidants, and all 8 essential amino acids. Here is a more in-depth look at the health benefits of Moringa leaves and seeds.

Moringa is rich in many vitamins, including Vitamin A, several forms of Vitamin B, Vitamin C, Vitamin D and Vitamin E. In fact, it has more of these vitamins than a variety of foods that all claim to be excellent sources of them, such as carrots, oranges and milk. These vitamins provide a number of recognized health benefits.

Moringa leaves have a few specific benefits that must be touched on as well. Protein is a vital nutrient found in the leaves of this tree. There is twice as much calcium in Moringa leaves than in milk. Iron is found in large quantities in Moringa leaves as well. In fact, there is three times as much iron in this plant than in spinach. Along with these specific nutrients, the leaves can be consumed to stimulate your metabolism, thus aiding in weight loss. This is possible because Moringa provides energy without sugar. The leaves can also be used to beautify your skin, thus they are commonly taken as supplement by women looking for healthier skin.

Moringa seeds have a number of benefits specific to them as well. They contain iron, just like Moringa leaves, and they also contain amino acids along with anti-inflammatory and antiseptic properties. That means if you have minor injuries like bruises, cuts or burns, you will heal faster when you take Moringa supplements. Along with these specific health benefits, you can even put its seeds in dirty water and they will attract the impurities and make the water drinkable. They are often manufactured in perfumes and aromatherapy products because of the refreshing aroma they provide.

All of the amazing health benefits of Moringa leaves and seeds make them a regular in the diets of people who live where they grow in Asia, Africa and South America. As far as science is concerned, Moringa is a new find. As far as herbalists are concerned, this plant has been benefiting them for generations.

When seeds are crushed into a powder, they act as a natural flocculent which can be used to purify dirty water, eliminating between 90-99% of bacteria.
The Moringa seeds yield edible oil. Seeds cake, from the oil extraction, can be used in the same way. It has also potential to improve nutrition, boost food security, foster rural development, and support sustainable land care.

GROWING MORINGA SEEDS

Cultivation of moringa - Easy instructions
1. Find a sunny place. 2. Make square holes in the ground 30 to 60 cm deep 3. Fill the hole with loose ground 4. Plant the seed 1 cm deep 5.Give the ground some water but not too much, otherwise the seed may rotten. 6. Within 1-2 weeks the Miracle springs out the ground! :-)

Cultivation of moringa - Expert


Moringa oleifera is believed to be native to sub-Himalayan tracts of northern India but is now found worldwide in the tropics and sub-tropics. It grows best in direct sunlight under 500 meters altitude. It tolerates a wide range of soil conditions, but prefers a neutral to slightly acidic (pH. 6.3-7.0), well-drained sandy or loamy soil. Minimum annual rainfall requirements are estimated at 250mm with maximum at over 3,000mm, but in waterlogged soil the roots have a tendency to rot. (In areas with heavy rainfall, trees can be planted on small hills to encourage water run-off). Presence of a long taproot makes it resistant to periods of drought. Trees can be easily grown from seed or from cuttings. Temperature ranges are 25-35 degrees Celsius (0-95 degrees Fahrenheit), but the tree will tolerate up to 48 degrees in the shade and it can survive a light frost.

Moringa seeds have no dormancy period, so they can be planted as soon as they are mature and they will retain the ability to germinate for up to one year. Older seeds woll only have spotty germination. Moringa trees will flower and fruit annually and in some regions twice annually. During its first year, a Moringa tree will grow up to five meters in height and produce flowers and fruit. Left alone, the tree can eventually reach 12 meters in height with a trunk 30cm wide; however, the tree can be annually cut back to one meter from the ground. The tree will quickly recover and produce leaves and pods within easy reach. Within three years a tree will yield 400-600 pods annually and a mature tree can produce up to 1,600 pods. Copicing to the ground is also possible, and will produce a Moringa bush is no main new growth is selected, and the others eliminated.

IN THE NURSERY:
Use poly bags with dimensions of about 18cm or 8" in height and 12cm or 4-5" in diameter. The soil mixture for the sacks should be light, i.e. 3 parts soil to 1 part sand. Plant two or three seeds in each sack, one to two centimeters deep. Keep moist but not too wet. Germination will occur within 5 to 12 days, depending on the age of the seed and pre-treatment method used. Remove extra seedlings, leaving one in each sack. Seedlings can be out-planted when they are 60-90cm high. When out-planting, cut a hole in the bottom of the sack big enough to allow the roots to emerge. Be sure to retain the soil around the roots of the seedling. To encourage rapid germination, one of three pre-seeding treatments can be employed:
1. Soak the seeds in water overnight before planting.
2. Crack the shells before planting.
3. Remove shells and plant kernels only.

IN THE FIELD:
If planting a large plot it is recommended to first plough the land. Prior to planting a seed or seedling, dig a planting pit about 50cm in depth and the same in width. This planting hole serves to loosen the soil and helps to retain moisten in the root zone, enabling the seedlings’ roots to develop rapidly. Compost or manure at the rate of 5kg per pit can be mixed with the fresh topsoil around the pit and used to fill the pit. Avoid using the soil taken out of the pit for this purpose: fresh topsoil contains beneficial microbes that can promote more effective root growth. The day before out planting, water the filled pits or wait until a good rain before out-planting seedlings. Fill in the hole before transplanting the seedling. In areas of heavy rainfall, the soil can be shaped in the form of a mound to encourage drainage. Do not water heavily for the first few days. If the seedlings fall over, tie them to stick 40cm high for support.


DIRECT SEEDING:
If water is available for irrigation (i.e., in a backyard garden), trees can be seeded directly and grown anytime during the year. Prepare a planting pit first, water, and then fill in the pit with topsoil mixed with compost or manure before planting seeds. In a large field, trees can be seeded directly at the beginning of the wet season.


GROWING FROM CUTTINGS:
Use hard wood, not green wood, for cuttings. Cuttings should be 45cm to 1.5m long and 10cm thick. Cuttings can be planted directly or planted in sacks in the nursery. When planting directly, plant the cuttings in light, sandy soil. Plant one-third of the length in the ground (i.e., if the cutting is 1.5m long, plant it 50cm deep). Do not over water; if the soil is too heavy or wet, the roots may rot. When the cuttings are planted in the nursery, the root system isslow to develop. Add phosphorus to the soil if possible to encourage root development. Cuttings planted in a nursery can be out-planted after 2 or 3 months.


SPACING:
For intensive Moringa production, plant the tree every 3 meters in rows 3 meters apart. To ensure sufficient sunlight and airflow, it is also recommendedto plant the trees in an east-west direction. When the trees are part of an alley-cropping system, there should be 10 meters between the rows. The area between trees should be kept free of weeds.

Trees are often spaced in a line one meter or less apart in order to create living fence posts. Trees are also planted to provide support for climbing crops such as pole beans, although only mature trees should be used for this purpose since the vine growth can choke off the young tree. Moringa trees can be planted in gardens; the tree’s root system does not compete with other crops for surface nutrients and the light shade provided by the tree will be beneficial to those vegetables which are less tolerant to direct sunlight. From the second year onwards, Moringa can be inter-cropped with maize, sunflower and other field crops. Sunflower is particularly recommended for helping to control weed growth.[1] However, Moringa trees are reported to be highly competitive with eggplant (Solanum melongena) and sweet corn (Zea mays) and can reduce their yields by up to 50%.


PINCHING THE TERMINAL TIPS:
When the seedlings reach a height of 60cm in the main field, pinch (trim) the terminal growing tip 10cm from the top. This can be done using fingers since the terminal growth is tender, devoid of bark fiber and brittle, and therefore easily broken. A shears or knife blade can also be used. Secondary branches will begin appearing on the main stem below the cut about a week later. When they reach a length of 20cm, cut these back to 10cm. Use a sharp blade and make a slanting cut. Tertiary branches will appear, and these are also to be pinched in the same manner. This pinching, done four times before the flowers appear (when the tree is about three months old), will encourage the tree to become bushy and produce many pods within easy reach. Pinching helps the tree develop a strong production frame for maximizing the yield. If the pinching is not done, the tree has a tendency to shoot up vertically and grow tall, like a mast, with sparse flowers and few fruits found only at the very top.


For annual Moringa types, directly following the end of the harvest, cut the tree’s main trunk to about 90cm from ground level. About two weeks later 15 to 20 sprouts will appear below the cut. Allow only 4-5 robust branches to grow and nib the remaining sprouts while they are young, before they grow long and harden. Continue the same pinching process as done with new seedlings so as to make the tree bushy. After the second crop, the trees can be removed and new seedlings planted for maximum productivity.

For perennial Moringa types, remove only the dead and worn out branches every year. Once in four or five years, cut the tree back to one meter from ground level and allow re-growth. Complete copicing is


WATERING:
Moringa trees do not need much watering, which make them ideally suited for the climate of places such as Southern California. In very dry conditions, water regularly for the first two months and afterwards only when the tree is obviously suffering. Moringa trees will flower and produce pods whenever there is sufficient water available.

If rainfall is continuous throughout the year, Moringa trees will have a nearly continuous yield. In arid conditions, flowering can be induced through irrigation.


FERTILIZING:
Moringa trees will generally grow well without adding very much fertilizer. Manure or compost can be mixed with the soil used to fill the planting pits. Phosphorus can be added to encourage root development and nitrogen will encourage leaf canopy growth. In some parts of India, 15cm-deep ring trenches are dug about 10cm from the trees during the rainy season and filled with green leaves, manure and ash. These trenches are then covered with soil.

This approach is said to promote higher pod yields. Research done in India has also showed that applications of 7.5kg farmyard manure and 0.37kg ammonium sulfate per tree can increase pod yields threefold.[3]

Biodynamic composts yield the best results, with yield increases of of to 50% compared to ordinary composts.


PESTS AND DISEASES:
Moringa is resistant to most pests. In very water-logged conditions, Diplodia root rot can occur. In very wet conditions, seedlings can be planted in mounds so that excess water is drained off. Cattle, sheep, pigs and goats will eat Moringa seedlings, pods and leaves. Protect Moringa seedlings from livestock by installing a fence or by planting a living fence around the plantation. A living fence can be grown with Jatropha curcas, whose seeds also produce an oil good for soap-making. For mature trees, the lower branches can be cut off so that goats will not be able to reach the leaves and pods. Termites can be a problem, especially when cuttings are planted.

Among approaches recommended to protect seedlings from termite attack:

· Apply mulches of castor oil plant leaves, mahogany chips, tephrosia leaves or Persian lilac leaves around the base of the plants.

· Heap ashes around the base of seedlings.

· Dry and crush stems and leaves of lion's ear or Mexican poppy and spread the dust around the base of plants.

In India, various caterpillars are reported to cause defoliation unless controlled by spraying. The budworm Noordia moringae and the scale insects Diaspidotus sp. and Ceroplastodes cajani are reportedly able to cause serious damage. Also mentioned as pests in India are Aphis craccibora, the borer Diaxenopsis apomecynoides and the fruit fly Gitonia sp. Elsewhere in the world, where Moringa is an introduced tree, local pests are less numerous.

HARVESTING:
When harvesting pods for human consumption, harvest when the pods are still young (about 1cm in diameter) and snap easily. Older pods develop a tough exterior, but the white seeds and flesh remain edible until the ripening process begins.

When producing seed for planting or for oil extraction, allow the pods to dry and turn brown on the tree. In some cases, it may be necessary to prop up a branch that holds many pods to prevent it breaking off. Harvest the pods before they split open and seeds fall to the ground. Seeds can be stored in well-ventilated sacks in dry, shady places.

For making leaf sauces, harvest seedlings, growing tips or young leaves. Older leaves must be stripped from the tough and wiry stems. These older leaves are more suited to making dried leaf powder since the stems are removed in the pounding and sifting process.

The leaves, seeds, oil, flowers, bark, sap, roots, are used in traditional medicine in several countries.

Moringa seeds have several beneficial uses.

As Food
Moringa seeds can be eaten, either alone or along with the entire pod The seeds can be roasted and eaten like nuts. They can also be used in cooking the same way one would use peas or beans.

Oil
The seeds contain a high-quality oil which can be used for cooking and for lubrication.

Moringa Oil

Water purification
The Moringa seeds can be used to remove impurities from dirty water and help make it drinkable.

Houshold Water Purification

Large Scale - Water Purification
Water Softening
A study has found that the seeds not only can help purify water, but also soften it.

Fertilizer
The "seed cake" that is left over after crushing the seeds for oil extraction or water purification can then be used as a fertilizer.



COOKING THE PODS

Recipe Idea

When young, horseradish tree pods are edible whole, with a delicate flavor like asparagus. They can be used from the time they emerge from the flower cluster until they become too woody to snap easily (the largest ones usable in this way will probably be 12 to 15 inches long and 1/4 inch in diameter). At this stage, they can be prepared in many ways. Here are three:



Cut the pods into one-inch lengths. Add onion, butter, and salt. Boil for ten minutes or untiltender. Steam the pods without seasonings, and then marinade in a mixture of oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, garlic, and parsley.

Steam the pods without seasonings, and then marinade in a mixture of oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, garlic, and parsley

An acceptable mock asparagus soup can be made by boiling the pods and onion until tender. Add milk, thicken, and season to taste.

COOKING THE PEAS

The seeds (peas) can be used from the time they begin to form until they begin to turn yellow and their shells begin to harden. Only experience can tell you at what stage to harvest the pods for their peas. To open the pod, take it in both hands and twist with your thumbnail; slit open the pod along the line that appears. Remove the peas with their soft winged shells intact and as much soft white flesh as you can by scraping the inside of the pod with the side of a spoon. Place the peas and flesh in a strainer and wash well to remove the sticky, bitter film that coats them. (Or better still, blanch them for a few minutes, then pour off the water before boiling again in fresh water).

Now they are ready to use in any recipe you would use for green peas. They can be boiled as they are or, seasoned with onion, butter and salt, much the same as the leaves and young pods. They can be cooked with rice as you would any bean. In India, the peas are prepared using this recipe:

12-15 horseradish tree pods

1 medium onion, diced

4 cups grated coconut

2 bouillon cubes

2 inches ginger root

4 tablespoons oil or bacon grease

1 clove garlic

2 eggs, hard-boiled

salt and pepper to taste

Blanch both peas and pods, drain. Remove milk from 2-1/2 cups grated coconut by squeezing water through it two or three times. Crush ginger root and garlic, save half for later. Mix peas, flesh, coconut milk, ginger root and garlic together with onion, bouillon cubes, oil, salt and papper. Bring to a boil and cook until the peas are soft - about 20 minutes. Fry remaining half of crushed ginger root and garlic in 2 tablespoons of oil. Dice eggs. Add coconut, ginger, garlic and eggs to first mixture. Heat through. Serves

What Are the Dangers of Preservatives?

Manufacturers use preservatives in many products that people consume and depend on for health. Many companies also use them in cosmetics. The intent of preservative use is well-meaning, because they prevent botulism, mold and bacteria, which gives products a longer shelf life and protect people from illness. Unfortunately, many preservatives have dangerous side effects that cause cancers, hyperactivity, nervous system damage and other problems. It should be noted that many studies incorporate feeding massive amounts of a preservative to laboratory rats, so some preservatives consumed in small amounts may not be as dangerous as some studies suggest.

Sodium Benzoate
Many soda manufacturers use sodium benzoate to prevent mold. This chemical can damage mitochondria in cells, which leads to neuro-degenerative diseases. Professor Andrew Kemp from the University of Sydney mentions in an editorial for the May 24, 2008, edition of the "British Medical Journal" that children "were significantly more hyperactive after they ate a mixture of food colorings and a preservative [sodium benzoate]."

Health & Safety Support Policies, Risk Assessment, Training UK Wide. Prompt, reliable service www.PhoenixHSC.co.uk
Sponsored Links
Sodium Nitrate
Sodium nitrate, which is found in many packaged meats like hot dogs, sausages and bacon, is used as a curing agent. The curing of meats reduces the possibility for botulism-causing bacteria. Although MeatSafety.org, a website sponsored by the American Meat Institute trade association, says that sodium nitrate is "safe in the levels used" according to a study done by the U.S. National Toxicology Program, some studies link pancreatic and lung cancers to an increased consumption of meats containing sodium nitrate.

Propyl Gallate
Food manufacturers use propyl gallate as a stabilizer in packaged meats, dried milk, candy, potato chips and baked goods. It is also used in cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. The National Toxicology Program, an agency in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, reports that this preservative causes prostate inflammation and tumors of the thyroid, brain and pancreas.

Thimerosal
Manufacturers of vaccines use thimerosal, which is 49.6 percent mercury, as a preservative to prevent the growth of microorganisms. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) documents that in 1999, the Public Health Service issued statements "urging vaccine manufacturers to reduce or eliminate thimerosal in vaccines as soon as possible." The National Network for Immunization Information cites that "mercury can interfere with the developing nervous system." Although thimerosal is no longer used in childhood vaccinations in the United States, it is still extensively used in many flu vaccinations.

Potassium Bromate
Many bread companies still use potassium bromate to strengthen bread dough. Although countries like Britain and Canada banned the preservative as a carcinogen because significant evidence shows that it causes cancerous kidney and thyroid tumors in rats, it is still found in some baked goods in the United States. Potassium bromate is especially dangerous if the food product is not baked long enough at a high enough temperature.

BHA & BHT
Food manufacturers use BHA (butylated hydroxyanisole) and BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene) to prevent oxygenation. This keeps many breads and snack foods fresh for longer periods of time because the fats cannot turn rancid from exposure to oxygen. The Center for Science in the Public Interest cites studies which show that BHA causes cancer in animals. It also asserts that the safety of BHT is unproven.

Dangers of Irradiated foods

Irradiated herbs, seasonings and spices are exposed to HALF A BILLION chest X-ray's worth of gamma radiation. This information is clearly publicized by the USDA and FDA.

The FDA presently supports the use of Cobalt-60 culled from nuclear reactors on all domestically produced conventional food. The level of gamma-radiation used starts at 1 KiloGray -- equivalent to 16,700,000 chest x-rays -- and goes all the way up to 30KiloGray (500,000,000 chest x-rays or 10,000 times a human lethal dose).

According to Green Med Info:

“Despite the irresponsible promotion of this process as safe, food irradiation destroys much of the vitamin content of food, produces a number of toxic byproducts: formaldehyde, benzene, and formic acid, as well as unique radiolytic products, e.g. 2-alklycyclobutanoes, that have been demonstrated to be cytotoxic (damages cells), genotoxic (damages DNA), and carcinogenic (causes cancer) in test tube and animal studies.”
Sources:
Green Med Info June 20, 2011

Green Med Info

Nutrition and Cancer 2002;44(2):189-91

Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry October 5, 2005;53(20):7826-31

Food and Chemical Toxicology December 2007;45(12):2581-91




You're probably well aware that certain foods, like milk and juices, at your grocery store are pasteurized -- a process that uses heat to kill off bacteria from your food, and in the process destroys nutrients and denatures the food. But you may not know that foods may also be irradiated -- a process that exposes your food to radiant energy, including gamma rays, electron beams and X-rays.

Irradiation was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1963, and today is used on more than 40 food products dispersed throughout 37 countries. If this sounds a bit alarming to you, you are not alone. After nuclear disasters like the Fukushima meltdown in Japan, radiation poisoning to food is one of the primary health concerns. So how is it that food processors can expose your food to radiation on purpose, in the name of food safety?

Are There Health Risks to Eating Irradiated Food?
The FDA claims, "Irradiation is an important food safety tool in fighting foodborne illness," noting that the sources and amounts of radiation applied to foods are not strong enough to cause the food to become radioactive. They also state that "food irradiation does not significantly change the nutrient content, flavor, or texture of food." However, as Sayer Ji, found of GreenMedInfo.com, states:

"The FDA presently supports and actively promotes the use of Cobalt-60 culled from Nuclear Reactors as a form of "electronic pasteurization" on all domestically produced conventional food.

The use of euphemisms like "food additive" and "pasteurization" to describe the process of blasting food with high levels of gamma-radiation cannot obviate the fact that the very same death-rays generated by thermonuclear warfare to destroy life are now being applied to food to "make it safer" …

This is not a hypochondriac's rantings, as we aren't talking here about small amounts of radiation. The level of gamma-radiation used starts at 1KiloGray (equivalent to 16,700,000 chest x-rays or 333 times a human lethal dose) and goes all the way up to 30KiloGray (500,000,000 chest x-rays or 10,000 times a human lethal dose)."

As you might suspect, exposing food to the equivalent of hundreds of millions of x-rays does not appear to be an innocuous act. Alternatively, evidence to date suggests it may be having a detrimental effect on the health of those who consume it.

A New Class of Food Contaminants
2-alkylcyclobutanones (2-ACBs) are radiolytic derivatives of triglycerides found exclusively in irradiated food. The compounds are generated proportionally to fat content of the food and the dose of absorbed radiation.

Research in animals suggests the compounds may promote tumor growth and colon cancer, and studies show 2-alkylcyclobutanones are able to cross the intestinal barrier, enter into the bloodstream, and be stored in the fat tissue of an animal. The compounds have also been shown to be cytotoxic and genotoxic, which means they may damage cells and DNA, respectively. Studies on human cells also revealed potential cancer-causing effects, with researchers concluding "this compound may be regarded as a possible risk factor for processes in colon carcinogenesis related to initiation and progression."

More Reasons to be Wary of Irradiation
Needless to say, the research to date is raising major red flags that irradiation is NOT as safe as food safety officials would have you believe. In addition to the formation of potentially toxic 2-ACBs, irradiation leads to the formation of furan from ascorbic acid, fructose, sucrose, or glucose. Furan in foods has been linked to liver toxicity, including carcinogenicity.

Another study found that cats developed "mysterious" and "remarkable" severe neurological dysfunction, including movement disorders, vision loss and paralysis, after being fed a diet of irradiated foods during gestation. When they were taken off the irradiated foods, they slowly recovered. This is a major clue that irradiated foods deserve some serious regulatory scrutiny, but unfortunately they have already infiltrated the food system. And it's not as though this concerning evidence was just recently brought to light. One paper on potential dangers, prepared for the meeting of the Joint FAO/IAEA/WHO Expert Committee on Irradiated Food, dates back to 1969. The author stated:

" … irradiation can bring about chemical transformations in food and food components resulting in the formation of potential mutagens."

Does Irradiation Actually Mask Filthy Food Production?
The FDA is quick to state that "Irradiation is not a substitute for good sanitation and process control in meat and poultry plants. It is an added layer of safety." But it is, in essence, a tool to wipe out bacteria, parasites and other potential pathogens that linger in food. This means food manufacturers have an out of sorts … After all, they're going to nuke everything later anyway, so why go to the trouble of actually growing your food in sanitary conditions to begin with?

Irradiation is essentially a very effective medium for masking filthy conditions in slaughterhouses and food processing plants. The foundational solution to this problem lies in preventing contamination at the source -- on the farm, during processing and shipping, and so on -- not in wiping out pathogens later using questionable technological interventions like radiation! There simply shouldn't be any need for irradiation, as there simply shouldn't be E. coli in your lettuce or Salmonella in your poultry in the first place.

So why is there?

Our "global food system," which encourages farming on a massive scale, poses steep problems for food safety. Not only can one batch of contaminated spinach or peppers easily sicken people across an entire country, but it's very difficult to trace a contaminated food back to its source … and even harder to then pinpoint the source of the contamination.

Public health agencies like the FDA use the term "field-to-fork continuum" to describe the path any given food takes on the way to your plate, and during any of the following steps, contamination is possible:

•Open field production
•Harvesting
•Field packing
•Greenhouse production
•Packinghouse or field packing
•Repacking and other distribution operations
•Fresh-cut/value-added processing
•Food service and retail
•Consumer
As you can see, the more steps your food goes through before it reaches your plate, the greater your chances of contamination becomes.

But again, the solution is not to subject your foods to radiation to make them "safe" … they should be safe from the get-go, and this is one of the primary reasons why I encourage you to think long and hard about the sources of your food. If you are able to get your food directly from the field or after harvest, such as directly from a farmer or farmer's market, you knock out five potential operations that could expose your food to contamination, not to mention you'll have assurance the food has not been irradiated.

Do You Want to Avoid Irradiated Foods?
In the United States, the following foods may be irradiated:

Fresh meat and poultry (including whole or cut up birds, skinless poultry, pork chops, roasts, stew meat, liver, hamburgers, ground meat, and ground poultry) Wheat and wheat powder White potatoes
Many spices Dry vegetable seasonings Fresh shell eggs
Fresh produce


Fortunately, the FDA currently requires that irradiated foods include labeling with the statement "treated with radiation" or "treated by irradiation" and the international symbol for irradiation, the radura:



However, there are exceptions:

•Irradiated meat used in another product (such as sausage) does not have to contain the radura image on the package (it does have to list irradiated meat in the ingredients, though).
•Restaurants are not required to disclose the use of irradiated foods. So be aware that any time you eat out, you have no way of knowing if your food has been irradiated.
You can also avoid irradiation by choosing locally grown, organic foods as much as possible. Certified organic foods may not be irradiated, and foods from a small, local farm are unlikely to be either. So, as I've said many times before, supporting the small farmers in your area and, as much as possible, getting your food from these types of high-quality, small-scale local sources is one of the simplest ways to access pure, unadulterated food.





Related Links:
Irradiated Food Causes Brain Damage

FDA Allows Irradiation of Produce

What are the Most Common Food Infections?

90 Year-Old Powerful Natural Cancer Therapy You've Probably Never Heard Of

If you're a regular reader, you're probably well aware of the link between the foods you eat and your risk of cancer. But for those of you who may be just joining us, suffice to say that virtually everything you put into (or onto) your body can either help or hinder your natural healing mechanisms, and thereby influence your risk of cancer.

This is not an "alternative" view at all. Rather, even the conservative American Cancer Society states that one-third of cancer deaths are linked to poor diet, physical inactivity, and carrying excess weight.

Once you understand this, it is not a stretch to embrace the teachings of the Gerson Therapy, which has helped thousands of people recover from so-called incurable diseases, including cancer.

What is The Gerson Therapy?
The Gerson Therapy, developed by Dr. Max Gerson in the 1920s, is focused on the concept that you have the power to heal yourself, and it uses non-toxic methods, including organic foods, juicing, detoxification and supplements, to activate this healing potential.

As stated by the non-profit Gerson Institute:

"The Gerson Therapy is a powerful, natural treatment that boosts your body's own immune system to heal cancer, arthritis, heart disease, allergies, and many other degenerative diseases. One aspect of the Gerson Therapy that sets it apart from most other treatment methods is its all-encompassing nature.

An abundance of nutrients from thirteen fresh, organic juices are consumed every day, providing your body with a superdose of enzymes, minerals and nutrients. These substances then break down diseased tissue in the body, while enemas aid in eliminating the lifelong buildup of toxins from the liver. With its whole-body approach to healing, the Gerson Therapy naturally reactivates your body's magnificent ability to heal itself - with no damaging side-effects."

The Gerson Research Organization maintains a collection of reports documenting the research behind the Gerson Therapy as well as the role of diet on cancer, and you can hear anecdotes from patients who have improved using the therapy in the video above, as well as read case studies here.

Many of the success stories include people whose conventional doctors gave no hope for recovery, who were able to overcome their disease against all odds using not toxic cancer drugs but natural fruits and vegetables. The system is not a miracle cure for everyone, and even the Gerson Institute states that "No treatment works for everyone, every time" … but most conventional physicians offer only ONE route for cancer treatment -- drugs, radiation and surgery -- while ignoring or discounting alternative options such as this.

The Problem with Conventional Cancer Treatment
Unfortunately, the leading cancer treatments in the United States are notoriously toxic and come with devastating, including lethal, side effects. Conventional medicine is so desperate to give the illusion of fighting the good fight that many of these drugs are used despite the fact that they're not really doing much to prolong or improve the quality of life of those diagnosed with cancer.

The best-selling (and extremely expensive) cancer drug Avastin, for example, was recently phased out as a treatment for metastatic breast cancer after studies concluded its benefits were outweighed by its dangerous side effects. Treating a disease that is in large part caused by toxins with toxins seems ignorant at best.

Cancer is, by and large, mostly a man-made disease, the tragic result of humans veering too far off course and avoiding health-sustaining diets and activities, while embracing a highly unnatural sedentary, stress-filled lifestyle with exposure to excess chemicals around every corner.

Among the primary culprits fueling our cancer epidemic are:

Pesticide- and other chemical exposures Processed and artificial foods (plus the chemicals in the packaging) Wireless technologies, dirty electricity, and medical diagnostic radiation exposure
Pharmaceutical drugs Obesity, stress, and poor sleeping habits Lack of sunshine exposure and use of sunscreens


I strongly believe that cancer rates are escalating because modern medicine is in no way, shape or form addressing these underlying causes of most cancers. Instead, most of the research is directed toward expensive drugs that target late stages of the disease and greatly pad the drug companies' wallets -- but simply do not prevent or "cure" cancer.

If ever there was an area in which an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure it is cancer. I strongly believe that if you are able to work your way up to the advanced health plan, you will virtually eliminate the risk of most cancers.

This is what sets the Gerson Therapy apart from conventional cancer treatments as well. Even though there are some aspects of this program that conflict with my own views, such as the consumption of fruits and fruit juices, there is no doubt that it is far less toxic than most conventional treatments. And, unlike chemotherapy and cancer drugs, it is seeking to address the underlying systemic causes of cancer and activate your body's ability to heal itself.

Why Haven't You Heard of the Gerson Therapy?
Some of you may have heard of the Gerson Therapy, but the vast majority have not. In fact, most alternative cancer treatments are belittled, discredited or completely ignored by the mainstream press and public health agencies.

Why?

Most public health organizations are bought and paid for by the very same companies whose products contribute to cancer … or are heavily financed by the cancer drug industry. This includes even generally well respected organizations like the American Cancer Society.

In the report titled American Cancer Society —More Interested In Accumulating Wealth Than Saving Lives, Dr. Samuel S. Epstein, chairman of the Cancer Prevention Coalition, plainly lays to bare the many conflicts of interest that hamper the effectiveness of this organization.

For example, the ACS has close financial ties to both makers of mammography equipment and cancer drugs. But that's just for starters. Other conflicts of interest include ties to, and financial support from, the pesticide-, petrochemical-, biotech-, cosmetics-, and junk food industries—again the very industries whose products are the primary contributors to cancer!

Once you realize that these conflicts of interest are there, it becomes quite easy to understand why the ACS never addresses the environmental components of cancer, and why information about avoidable toxic exposures are so conspicuously absent from their National Breast Cancer Awareness campaigns.

"This is no accident," Dr. Epstein writes. "Zeneca Pharmaceuticals--a spin-off of Imperial Chemical Industries is one of the world's largest manufacturers of chlorinated and other industrial chemicals, including those incriminated as causes of breast cancer.

Zeneca has also been the sole multimillion-dollar funder of the National Breast Cancer Awareness Month since its inception in 1984, besides the sole manufacturer of Tamoxifen, the world's top-selling anticancer and breast cancer "prevention" drug, with $400 million in annual sales. Furthermore, Zeneca recently assumed direct management of 11 cancer centers in U.S. hospitals. Zeneca owns a 50 percent stake in these centers known collectively as Salick Health Care."

It's no small irony that the cancer drug Tamoxifen has been found to cause cancer and increase risk of death, while several top-notch preventive strategies and many safe and effective cancer treatments are ignored.

The ACS, along with the National Cancer Institute, virtually exclusively focus on cancer research and the diagnosis and chemical treatment of cancer. Preventive strategies, such as avoiding chemical exposures, and potential cures, such as the Gerson Therapy, Dr. Nick Gonzalez's nutritional approach or medical marijuana, receive virtually no consideration at all.

My Top 12 Tips for Cancer Prevention
Cancer is devastating far too many families and taking many way before their time. It's time to fight back and take control of your health by following the cancer-preventive lifestyle changes below.

Avoid Fructose and Sugar

It's quite clear that if you want to avoid cancer, or are currently undergoing cancer treatment, you absolutely MUST avoid all forms of sugar -- especially fructose -- and this is largely due to its relation to insulin resistance.

According to Lewis Cantley, director of the Cancer Center at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center at Harvard Medical School, as much as 80 percent of all cancers are "driven by either mutations or environmental factors that work to enhance or mimic the effect of insulin on the incipient tumor cells," Gary Taubes reports.

Some cancer centers, such as the Cancer Centers of America, have fully embraced this knowledge and place their patients on strict low-sugar, low-grain diets. But conventional medicine in general has been woefully lax when it comes to highlighting the health dangers of this additive.

As a standard recommendation, I strongly advise keeping your TOTAL fructose consumption below 25 grams per day including fruits. But for most people it would also be wise to limit your fructose from fruit to 15 grams or less, as you're virtually guaranteed to consume "hidden" sources of fructose if you drink beverages other than water and eat processed food.
Optimize Vitamin D

There's overwhelming evidence pointing to the fact that vitamin D deficiency plays a crucial role in cancer development. Researchers within this field have estimated that about 30 percent of cancer deaths -- which amounts to 2 million worldwide and 200,000 in the United States -- could be prevented each year simply by optimizing the vitamin D levels in the general population.

On a personal level, you can decrease your risk of cancer by MORE THAN HALF simply by optimizing your vitamin D levels with sun exposure. And if you are being treated for cancer it is likely that higher blood levels—probably around 80-90 ng/ml—would be beneficial.

If the notion that sun exposure actually prevents cancer is still new to you, I highly recommend you watch my one-hour vitamin D lecture to clear up any confusion. It's important to understand that the risk of skin cancer from the sun comes only from excessive exposure.
Exercise

If you are like most people, when you think of reducing your risk of cancer, exercise doesn't immediately come to mind. However, there is some fairly compelling evidence that exercise can slash your risk of cancer. One of the primary ways exercise lowers your risk for cancer is by reducing elevated insulin levels, which creates a low sugar environment that discourages the growth and spread of cancer cells.

For example, physically active adults experience about half the incidence of colon cancer as their sedentary counterparts, and women who exercise regularly may reduce their breast cancer risk by 20 to 30 percent compared to those who are inactive.

It's important to include a large variety of techniques in your exercise routine, such as strength training, aerobics, core-building activities, and stretching. Most important of all, however, is to make sure you include high-intensity, burst-type exercise, such as Peak 8.

These exercises activate your super-fast twitch muscle fibers, which can increase your body's natural production of human growth hormone. For detailed instructions, please see this previous article.
Get appropriate amounts of high quality animal-based omega-3 fats.
Eat according to your nutritional type. The potent anti-cancer effects of this principle are very much underappreciated. When we treat cancer patients in our clinic this is one of the most powerful anti-cancer strategies we have.
Have a tool to permanently erase the neurological short-circuiting that can activate cancer genes. Even the CDC states that 85 percent of disease is caused by emotions. It is likely that this factor may be more important than all the other physical ones listed here, so make sure this is addressed. My particular favorite tool for this purpose, as you may know, is the Emotional Freedom Technique.
Only 25 percent of people eat enough vegetables, so by all means eat as many vegetables as you are comfortable with. Ideally, they should be fresh and organic. Cruciferous vegetables in particular have been identified as having potent anti-cancer properties. Remember that carb nutritional types may need up to 300 percent more vegetables than protein nutritional types.
Maintain an ideal body weight.
Get appropriate amounts of high-quality sleep.
Reduce your exposure to environmental toxins like pesticides, household chemical cleaners, synthetic air fresheners and air pollution.
Reduce your use of cell phones and other wireless technologies, and implement as many safety strategies as possible if/when you cannot avoid their use.
Boil, poach or steam your foods, rather than frying or charbroiling them. Better yet eat as many of your foods raw as you can.
Looking for Alternative Cancer Treatment?
Only you can determine what type of treatment to seek if you are struggling with cancer; if alternative treatments make sense to you, please be sure to listen to my interview with Dr. Nick Gonzalez, a physician focused on alternative cancer treatment using a three-pronged nutritional approach similar to the Gerson Therapy.

You can also view the highly popular video of Dr. Burzynski and article that we ran three weeks ago, which now has half a million views.

The Stunning Effect of This Single Vitamin on CANCER...

What if a cure for cancer has been right here all along? What if the very agency charged with protecting your health is the one keeping you from that cure?

A Lawless, Rogue Agency Out of Control
Ten years ago a former New York State assemblyman, Daniel Haley, wrote a scathing exposé on how the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) systematically shuts the door on effective and non-toxic products, many for cancer.

The FDA is the chief agency in charge of protecting and promoting Americans' health and safety. But in 10 stunning, true stories in his book, "The Politics of Healing," Haley describes how the FDA has suppressed and banned natural health cures – eight of them for cancer. He later wrote about two additional cancer cures that worked, which the FDA also disallowed.

The FDA even admitted that one of these treatments, discovered by Dr. Stanislaw Burzynski, was successful with some of the most incurable forms of cancer. I shared this with you in a recent article that showed his film, but stories like this are far too common, and you can't help but wonder how many people have died while the FDA denied them cancer treatments that work.

Haley brazenly calls the FDA a rogue, out of control agency that has lied in Congressional testimonies, deliberately falsified data, and destroyed evidence to prohibit cures like Burzynki's from coming to market. The FDA's loyalties are to the drug industry, not to individuals, Haley says.

His claims mirror those of Dr. David Graham, who once worked in the FDA's Office of Drug Safety. In 2004 Dr. Graham blew the whistle on six drugs that were harming people, including Vioxx, but instead of acting on his warnings, Graham's superiors pulled him off his job. He fought back in a PBS television special when he told how he'd been chastised at the FDA for thinking the FDA served the public. The "FDA is there to serve the drug industry," Graham said his supervisors told him.

'Virtually Every' Drug Company Now Targeting Cancer Therapies
Today, the FDA continues to serve its client, Big Pharma, by making sure that toxic chemotherapy, along with surgery and radiation, are the only cancer treatment options legally available to you. This industry is huge, with 139 cancer treatment drugs in the pipeline just for women alone. All told there are over 900 experimental cancer therapies under investigation. No wonder so many pharmaceutical companies are ramping up their cancer drug research!

According to the New York Times:

"Virtually every large pharmaceutical company seems to have discovered cancer, and a substantial portion of the smaller biotechnology companies are focused on it as well. Together, the companies are pouring billions of dollars into developing cancer drugs."

Note they said drugs, not cures. That's because this industry isn't set up for a cure, even though they say that's what they're looking for. It's also why economic forecasts predict 20 million new cancers by 2025, with the $50 billion-a-year cancer treatment business increasing by 15 percent a year. Pfizer alone projects its annual cancer drug returns will be $11 billion by 2018.

The Truth about Vitamin D
Everyone's talking about vitamin D right now, especially since the Institute of Medicine's Food and Nutrition Board (FNB) updated their recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for it. The truth is that most Americans are deficient in vitamin D, and studies show that vitamin D supplementation can both prevent and kill many infections and diseases, including cancer.

Vitamin D isn't actually a vitamin, although scientists refer to it as such. It's actually a steroid hormone that you get from sun exposure, food sources and/or supplementation. The term refers to either vitamin D2 or D3, but according to the National Vitamin D Council, D3 (chemical name 25-hydroxy vitamin D) is real vitamin D, and is the same substance produced naturally through your skin by sun exposure.

Older research appears at odds on whether your body cares which form of D it's getting. But a study in the January 2011 Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism found that D3 is 87 percent more effective than D2, and is the preferred form for treating vitamin D deficiency. It's measured in international units (IU's) in nanograms per milliliter, or ng/mL. The Vitamin D Council believes that a person's D3 levels should be at least 50 ng/mLfor your body to function properly. (To determine whether you might be deficient, you need to get your vitamin D levels tested, and ideally, you'll want to get tested regularly thereafter to ensure you're maintaining optimal levels year-round.)

Fourteen famous vitamin D researchers gave the FNB this information, but the FNB apparently ignored the information that the researchers presented because their "updated" RDA levels ended up being so pitifully low that it's doubtful it can significantly impact Americans' deficiency, let alone fight off diseases like cancer and heart disease.

Experts Protest 'Impossible' New RDA Levels
Depending on your age, the new recommendations are 600 to 800 IUs a day for adults and between zero and 600 IUs a day for children. The FNB also said that taking vitamin D in amounts of 10,000 IUs or more could be dangerous – but that's ridiculous, seeing that a 30-minute dose of sunshine can give an adult more than 10,000 IUs! Since countless studies indicate that much higher levels of vitamin D are required for optimal health, it's no surprise that experts lost no time denouncing the FNB's recommendations.

"It's almost impossible to significantly raise your vitamin D levels when supplementing (at the FNB levels)," the Vitamin D Council posted on its website.

Hidden Agendas and Conflicts of Interest
Suspecting that conflicts of interest and hidden agendas played a part in this, the Vitamin D Council filed Freedom of Information (FOIA) requests so they could examine the FNB's notes on the process. They're still waiting on an answer, but I'm wondering if it doesn't have something to do with the fact that over 1,350 clinical trials on vitamin D are currently being conducted by major drug companies, all based on the prevention or cure of many illnesses and diseases, including 388 for cancer.

Yes, cancer.

From breast to prostate, to colorectal to brain cancers, and even basal cell carcinoma (skin cancer), Drug companies such as Pfizer and Merck are currently either sponsoring or collaborating on clinical trials based on the premise that vitamin D administered orally, intravenously or topically (for skin cancer) may either prevent or cure cancer. Cancer foundations and institutes are all in on the clinical study game as well, such as the National Cancer Institute and the National Institutes of Health. Even the U.S. Department of Defense and the Department of Veteran Affairs are studying ways to prevent and cure cancer with vitamin D!

What's really interesting is that several of these studies are using vitamin D in amounts of 50,000 IUs a day or more – which flies strongly in the face of the FNB's claims that self-supplementing with 10,000 could be dangerous to your health. Since recent studies show that supplements of up to 40,000 IUs a day don't appear to be toxic, and that doses as low as 400 IUs a day are too low to even maintain skeletal health, let alone prevent cancer,

The FDA's Definition of Drug vs. Supplement
Over 800 studies already show that vitamin D could have cancer-prevention and/or treatment possibilities. But the problem is that it's a natural substance that can't be patented as a simple supplement, meaning there's no real revenue in it, compared to a prescription brand drug. That's why many drug studies involving vitamins of any kind hinge on how the FDA defines drugs and supplements.

A drug is defined as a product meant for the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of a disease. A supplement is defined as a product that is meant to simply "supplement" or "enhance" a normal diet within the daily allowances recommended by the FDA. Drugs – and retailers who sell supplements are not allowed to tell you that vitamin D can possibly "prevent, mitigate or cure" cancer without having the FDA accuse them of selling a drug that hasn't been approved through the proper FDA process.

Again, Follow the Money if You Want to Know the Truth
That process of getting a drug to market costs an average $359 million and takes nearly 10 years– with a good portion of the money going directly to the FDA through user fees. Over the years these fees have become a major funding source for the FDA. What drug companies get in return is faster FDA reviews and drug approvals.

As a result, a kind of you-scratch-my-back-I'll-scratch-yours scenario has ensued, with drug companies maintaining major leverage over the FDA when it comes to protecting their revenue sources, including making sure the $60 billion-a-year supplement business doesn't get in the way of drug sales. The history of FDA laws and regulations on file at Harvard Law School, explains how years ago an FDA task force long ago established this policy

"… to ensure that the presence of dietary supplements on the market does not act as a disincentive to drug development."

So how does this relate to too-low RDA levels for vitamin D?

A look at the clinical trials shows that most of them involve "high-potency" D3 supplements, which puts them in the drug category if it turns out they can mitigate, treat or cure cancer. And that means they can be patented – and sold to you as prescriptions at sky-high prices.

Drug Companies Are Elbowing Their Way into Your Healthcare Plan
Another way that Big Pharma has moved in on the cancer industry is through pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), which administer drug benefits for about 95 percent of all patients with prescription drug coverage. PBMs decide which drugs flow through the healthcare system. Supposedly they choose the best drugs and prices for your plan. But what if I told you that the businesses that sell the drugs have been helping to decide which drugs your PBM pays for?

Regulators have been working hard to nip conflicts of interest in the bud, but over the years numerous court cases have shown that drug companies and PBMs working together has led to higher prices and limited drug choices – and allegations of price-setting through secret deals with pharmaceutical companies.

Official Agencies Wedded to Toxic Chemotherapy
I have an employee who was diagnosed with breast cancer last year. After her mastectomy, she was told she had several months of chemotherapy and radiation ahead of her. But she sought a second opinion at a renowned cancer treatment center – and learned that chemotherapy was NOT going to be part of her treatment plan because her type of cancer doesn't respond to chemotherapy.

"And since chemo is poison, why would we want to poison you for no reason?" the oncologist told her.

That's right – a person in the business of "selling" cancer treatment actually said he wasn't going to poison her "for no reason" – something I consider unusual in an industry that is wedded to toxic chemotherapy. The employee was pronounced cancer-free four months later, without chemo or radiation, which may leave you wondering, as it did me, how many patients die every year from toxic chemotherapy they got but didn't need?

Some experts believe that as much as 25 percent, or more, of patients who undergo chemotherapy are killed by it. Dr. Vincent Speckhart, a former U.S. Air Force flight surgeon and oncologist, was so concerned about deaths from chemo that he told a Congressional committee:

"After 13 years of using FDA-approved chemotherapy protocols, I concluded that such therapies were extremely toxic, poorly tolerated, and not effective in prolonging survival in most solid tumors of adults. In 1983, my patients began to request therapies other than chemotherapy. I agreed, and without even knowing it, I became an 'alternative practitioner' and was red-flagged by opponents of this form of therapy."

In other words, if you're a physician who divorces the status quo of cancer treatment, you'd better watch out. In his book, Haley talks about how this "gross government intrusion into the healing arts," costs thousands – and perhaps millions – of lives and facilitates the drug industry by squelching people like Dr. Speckhart and Burzynski.

Arm Yourself with Knowledge to Protect Your Healthcare Freedom
It doesn't help that the FDA as well as other "official cancer medicine" agencies have a swinging door of employees going back forth between the agency and Big Pharma to work. In a new book, "National Cancer Institute and American Cancer Society: Criminal Indifference to Cancer Prevention and Conflicts of Interest," former Cancer Prevention Coalition president Dr. Samuel S. Epstein shows just how bad the conflicts are.

Quoting former NCI director Samuel Broder, Epstein says "the NCI has become a government pharmaceutical company." And the ACS, Epstein says, is more interested in "accumulating wealth than saving lives." With close ties to cancer treatment businesses, the ACS has a track record that "clearly reflects conflicts of interest" when it comes to cancer treatment policies and prevention strategies, Epstein alleges.

And so it goes… So, what you can do to protect yourself from getting cancer, or what can you do if you already have it? The good news is that knowledge is power, and there are things you can do for yourself, right now, not to only to prevent cancer, but to make sure you have the right cancer treatment if you do get it.

Because cancer is almost wholly a man-made disease, it's especially important to recognize that you do have power over many things that could cause you to get cancer. Taking control of your health will put you in a position to make the best health decisions possible if you do get cancer.

Here's a list to get you started on a cancer prevention plan:

Normalize your vitamin D levels with safe amounts of sun exposure. This works primarily by optimizing your vitamin D level. Ideally, monitor your vitamin D levels throughout the year.
Control your insulin levels by limiting your intake of processed foods and sugars/fructose as much as possible.
Get appropriate amounts of animal-based omega-3 fats.
Get appropriate exercise. One of the primary reasons exercise works is that it drives your insulin levels down. Controlling insulin levels is one of the most powerful ways to reduce your cancer risks.
Eat according to your nutritional type. The potent anti-cancer effects of this principle are very much underappreciated. When we treat cancer patients in our clinic this is one of the most powerful anti-cancer strategies we have.
Have a tool to permanently erase the neurological short-circuiting that can activate cancer genes. Even the CDC states that 85 percent of disease is caused by emotions. It is likely that this factor may be more important than all the other physical ones listed here, so make sure this is addressed. My particular favorite tool for this purpose, as you may know, is the Emotional Freedom Technique.
Only 25 percent of people eat enough vegetables, so by all means eat as many vegetables as you are comfortable with. Ideally, they should be fresh and organic. Cruciferous vegetables in particular have been identified as having potent anti-cancer properties. Remember that carb nutritional types may need up to 300 percent more vegetables than protein nutritional types.
Maintain an ideal body weight.
Get enough high-quality sleep.
Reduce your exposure to environmental toxins like pesticides, household chemical cleaners, synthetic air fresheners and air pollution.
Reduce your use of cell phones and other wireless technologies, and implement as many safety strategies as possible if/when you cannot avoid their use.
Boil, poach or steam your foods, rather than frying or charbroiling them.
You also can help by voicing your opposition to the FDA's censorship of alternative cancer treatments by sending a letter to your Congressional representatives and asking them to support H.R. 1364, a bill to amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act concerning the distribution of information on legitimate scientific research in connection with foods and dietary supplements. Call or write your Congressman now, and stop the censorship of your right to alternative cancer therapies and possibly a cure.

The Western World Needs Moringa Too.

“Why doesn’t everybody in the world already know about this?”



This is a common reaction that people have when they discover the astounding nutritional benefits of Moringa.



According to recent nutrition studies, Moringa ranks among the top natural products in providing nutrition, vitamins, antioxidants as well as vital proteins. The Moringa plants comes from the Moringa tree founds, among other regions in the world, in the Indian subcontinent.



In India, the Moringa plant has had a long history of success according to India’s age-old medicinal tradition known as Ayurveda (meaning “the science of life”). Ayurveda texts note that the Moringa plant contains more than 90 different kinds of nutrients.



While Moringa has as yet been little known to American audience, many civilizations across the globe have turned to the Moringa plant for sustenance and as remedies for ailments. Above of all, this plant is also known to maintain good health.



PER 1 GRAM



Vitamin C As much as 7 Oranges - An antioxidant required for at least 300 metabolic functions in the body. X7

Vitamin A – as much as 4 Carrot - Important for eyes, skin, bone health, and more. X4

Vitamin B – as much as 4 servings of Pork - Maintains health of nerves, liver, muscles, brain, and more. X4

Vitamin E – as much as 4 servings of Black Sesame - Prevents cell damage, oxidation, and more. X4

Calcium – as much as 4 servings of Milk - Vital for strong bones, teeth, transmission of nerve impulses, and more. X4

Protein – as much as 2 servings of Yogurt - Necessary for growth, development, proper acid-alkali balance, and more. X2

Potassium – as much as 3 Bananas - Important for healthy nervous system, regular heart rhythm, and more. X3

Zinc – as much as 2 Oysters - Promotes healthy immune system, healing of wounds, reproductive health, and more. X2

GABA – more than 30 servings of Brown Rice - Gamma-Amino butyric Acid, an amino acid, is needed for proper brain function and more. X30

Polyphenol – more than 8 servings of Red Wine or 11 servings of Dark Chocolate - Plant compounds that have antioxidant properties to scavenge free radicals and more. X8

Why Do Vegetables Become Contaminated in the First Place?

The foundational solution to this problem lies in preventing it at the source -- on the farm, during processing and shipping, and so on. There simply shouldn't be E. coli in your lettuce or Salmonella in your tomatoes.

So why is there?

Our "global food system," which encourages farming on a massive scale, poses steep problems for food safety. Not only can one batch of contaminated spinach or peppers easily sicken people across an entire country, but it's very difficult to trace a contaminated food back to its source … and even harder to then pinpoint the source of the contamination.

Public health agencies like the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) use the term "field-to-fork continuum" to describe the path any given food takes on the way to your plate, and during any of the following steps, contamination is possible:

Open field production
Harvesting
Field packing
Greenhouse production
Packinghouse or field packing
Repacking and other distribution operations
Fresh-cut/value-added processing
Food service and retail
Consumer
As you can see, the more steps your food goes through before it reaches your plate, the greater your chances of contamination becomes. If you are able to get your food directly from the field or after harvest, such as directly from a farmer or farmer's market, you knock out five potential operations that could expose your food to contamination.

There is, of course, also potential for contamination directly in the farm field.

For instance, the 2006 spinach scare that sickened hundreds across the United States was initially blamed on wild pigs that spread E. coli bacteria by trampling fences around a spinach field in California. But it was also suggested that other sources may have been to blame, specifically contaminated water including runoff, flooding or irrigation water.

Even the FDA notes that the best solution to food-borne illness resulting from fresh produce lies in preventing it at the source:

"Once fresh produce has been contaminated, removing or killing the microbial pathogens while maintaining the fresh attribute of the produce is very difficult. Prevention of microbial contamination at all steps in the field-to-fork continuum is preferable to treatment to eliminate contamination after it has occurred."

The Agency has developed draft guidance intended to reduce the contamination potential for tomatoes, melons and leafy greens, but these suggestions either do not go far enough or are not being followed by food producers, as contamination is still occurring. Further, there are countless other produce items being grown with little regard for food safety, and the risk that a contaminated pepper or tomato could wind up on your dinner plate remains omnipresent.

Does Washing Your Produce Make it Safe?
The FDA offered seven basic tips to help clean your fruits and veggies, and one of them was to wash produce under plain running water.

But is this actually helpful?

Well, washing under running water will certainly do away with grime and visible dirt on the surface, but this isn't necessarily the source of contamination. Rather, most pathogenic bacteria are going to be invisible, and they can at times exist inside the plant, where no amount of washing can touch them.

Further, microbes on fruits and veggies often form into tightly knit packs called biofilms. Salmonella, E. coli and other types of infectious bacteria live together in biofilms to stay out of harm's way, and once attached they can be difficult to remove, especially on produce with rough surfaces, such as spinach or cantaloupe.

On the other hand, washing your produce will help to remove some pesticides. So if you buy conventionally grown produce, I do recommend you wash it in clean water, not so much to remove bacteria but to help take off some pesticides. (It won't remove them all, but it may help).

The other issue is that most produce is waxed after harvest to withstand the long journey to market and to protect against the many hands that touch it.

Wax seals in pesticide residues and debris, which make them even more difficult to remove with just water. To reach the contaminants buried beneath the surface of your vegetables and fruits, you need a cleanser that also removes the wax, which is what my fruit and vegetable wash does.

In some cases, removing the peel may also help to get rid of bacteria, but keep in mind that often the skin is where the majority of the nutrients are so you'll want to eat it for optimal nutrition.

Many may know that I have not been very fond of alkaline water makers in the past. While I am still opposed to some of the large multi-level brands, I have been more carefully evaluating their claims and have actually been very impressed with the ACID water they produce. Most of the units can either create alkaline or acid water. The acid water is not designed for drinking but it is an excellent cleaning and sterilizing agent and may be the ideal way to clean any contaminated vegetables.

These units are typically well over $1,000 though so it would not make sense to purchase one for this purpose but if you have one you certainly could use it for that. If you don't then a high-quality vegetable wash, like the one we carry, would be more cost effective.

One FDA "Tip" to Ignore: Irradiation
In 2008 the FDA published a final rule allowing the use of irradiation on fresh iceberg lettuce and spinach. They call this a "safe measure for safer" produce, but dousing your veggies with ionizing radiation, which is what irradiation is, is nothing more than a last-ditch attempt by the FDA to make their supervision and certification of the crumbling food system appear safe.

This way, agribusiness can continue to grow and process spinach and lettuce in the filthiest conditions imaginable, and it will still be perfectly safe for you to eat it, thanks to the varying doses of radiation.

The FDA maintains that irradiated foods are no different from non-irradiated foods (which is not surprising considering they also consider meat from cloned animals the same as non-cloned meat). Clearly, they have done an excellent job of ignoring the alarming data on food irradiation that has spanned over four decades.

Reproductive dysfunction, chromosomal abnormalities, liver damage, and strange gene-damaging chemicals have all been linked to irradiation.

The FDA also notes that "irradiation does not take the place of washing," so what, then, is the point?

Currently, irradiated foods must be labeled with either the statement "treated with radiation" or "treated by irradiation," and the international symbol for irradiation, the radura. That might change in the future, but for now I suggest avoiding all foods that contain these labels, or buying organic, as organic food is not irradiated.

Is There Any Way to Find "Cleaner" Produce?
No one wants to worry that their fresh produce is contaminated with disease-causing microbes, and the last thing you want to do is avoid eating health-boosting veggies due to this fear. Instead, the key to making sure that any food you eat is safe is to get it from a high-quality source. I can't stress the importance of this enough.

When you get your produce from small farmers that raise their food in natural settings using clean water, as opposed to massive agribusiness conglomerations that use sewage sludge as fertilizer, there is very little risk in eating these foods raw. The same goes for meat, eggs, and raw dairy products, as well.

Choosing organic produce can also add at least some level of quality, as organic crops cannot be grown with synthetic pesticides or sewage sludge-based fertilizers, nor can they be irradiated.

I suggest browsing through my Sustainable Agriculture resource page to find farmer's markets, family farms and other sources of safe, high-quality food. Not only are these sources likely to grow their crops in more sanitary conditions than a conventional agribusiness farm, but there's a better chance that it will also be locally grown.

The closer you are to the source of your food, the fewer hands it has to pass through and the less time it will sit in storage -- so the better, and likely safer, it will be for you and your family.