GREEN GINGER & APPLE JUICE

Green Juice

Another day, another juice recipe! I’ve always been in awe of the beautiful green juices that you see flooded over the internet, or stacked on the shelves of cafes. So, inspired by these creations, I decided to make my own! This one packs in apples, kale, spinach, celery, cucumber, ginger and lime. The green vegetables create the wonderfully vibrant colour of the juice, and the apples give it some sweetness. I added in ginger to give the drink a nice heat that lightly hits the back of your throat when you drink it, and leave you feeling great. I also stirred in some Moringa powder for an extra superfood kick, which I got from Ankh Rah. You could use any superfood power you like, if you’re looking for an extra boost – or you can simply leave it out, as the juice is delicious as it is. If you’re adding a powder, I suggest whisking it in, or quickly blasting the juice in a blender so that you don’t get any lumps of the powder floating around.

Green Ginger & Apple Juice – Serves 2:

Ingredients:

4 apples (570g)

1 stick celery (45g)

1 cup (40g) spinach

1 cup (30g ) kale

15cm piece cucumber (175g)

5 cm piece fresh root ginger

1 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice

1 tsp moringa powder (or any other superfood powder) optional

Method:

1. Add the solid ingredients one at a time into your juicer, and then collect the juice into a jug. When this is done, add in the lime juice, and superfood powder. Stir/whisk all of the ingredients together until well mixed and smooth. Then, pour into glasses and serve.

http://harrietemily.com/green-ginger-apple-juice/

Properties of moringa: how to use for perfect skin

Ready? Go! The race for the perfect body for summer has officially begun after the Easter holidays. In a previous post I had already talked about the care of your legs for summer (you can read the full article here), and today I want to talk to you about the properties of a plant that can help us in this goal. The properties of moringa are many, here’s how to use it in order to have a perfect skin!

To get healthy-looking skin and bright hydration and exfoliation are fundamental. Well, the properties of moringa help us to make our skin shine. How many of you knew this “miracle tree”? I have learned through Ankh Rah, a site that allows you to purchase many natural products made from moringa, you can find from moringa oil to food and supplements up to the moringa soap. This is a brand new world for me.

This Coco Moringa soap uses a traditional recipe of Moringa and virgin coconut oil, all the ingredients are natural and leave your skin fresh and fragrant. Its properties are many: it is nutritious, antioxidant and has a purifying effect. An effective product for the daily care of our skin. What do you think about it? 

Have you already tried it?

Do You Know What’s Really In Your Tea?

By Food Babe

Tea is something I drink every single day. It’s sacred at my house – I even have a whole drawer devoted to it! I drink it because it is amazing for your health. There are so many varieties of tea that can improve digestion, metabolism and even prevent certain diseases. This investigation into tea ingredients has been in the making for a long time. What I’m about to share with you totally rocked my world forever and I’ll never look at tea in the same way again. Do you really want to The ancient Chinese tradition of drinking tea dates back thousand of years to the early Chinese dynasties and aristocrats who drank the beverage for its medicinal properties. In ancient times, leaves from the Camellia Sinensis (the tea plant) were either ground into a powder or placed as loose leaves directly into water to infuse it with herbal essence. Unfortunately, modern day tea is nothing like the unadulterated version of old tea. Many of today’s tea brands are operating under the guise of providing health benefits and promoting clean living, but are actually laden with pesticides, toxins, artificial ingredients, added flavors and GMOs.
know what’s in your tea?…Then read on.

Conventional Teas – An Abundance of Pesticides

Did you know that most tea is not washed before it is put it into bags? That means if the tea was sprayed with cancer-causing pesticides, those pesticides go directly into your cup. And this is the reason why tea is on my organic shopping priority list. To prove this point, here are some shocking facts about one of the most well-known tea brands – Celestial Seasonings.

A recent third-party analysis by Glaucus Research and discussed here found that 91 percent of Celestial Seasonings tea tested had pesticide residues exceeding the U.S. limits. For example, Sleepytime Kids Goodnight Grape Herbal contained 0.26 ppm of propachlor, which is a known carcinogen under California’s Propsition 65.

The “Wellness” tea line was found to contain traces of propargite, also a known carcinogen and developmental toxin. The FDA has already issued two warning letters to Celestial Seasonings in regard to poor quality control according to this source. Imagine what happens when pesticide-laden tea is steeped in boiling water.

If grocery store brands don’t provide a clean option for you, perhaps a high-end loose leaf tea would circumvent some of the issues of grocery store brands. Right? Wrong! Take Teavana, which is found in malls across North America for example. Teavana taps into tea culture with the “Teavana Experience.” Convincing their employees to take customers on a sensory journey – they open a huge canister of loose leaf tea and wave the top of the canister so you can smell the tea – touting all of the wonderful health benefits of tea complete with samples and manipulative demonstrations that end in an expensive visit to the tea shop. Is all the extra money worth it? Are customers getting a superior tea product? No.

Teavana tea was tested by an independent lab and 100 percent of it was found to contain pesticides. One tea in particular, Monkey Picked Oolong, contained 23 pesticides. 77 percent of the teas would fail European Union pesticide import standards, and would be banned from import. 62 percent of the teas tested contained traces of endosulfan, a pesticide that has been banned by the U.S., China, the E.U., and 144 other countries because it has been linked to impaired fertility and could harm unborn babies.

UPDATE (May 27, 2014): Glaucus Research funded the research done by Eurofins Scientific (an independent lab) and admits on their disclaimer that they are biased because they would make money if Hain’s stock declines. However – I am not sure that Eurofins’ research should be completely discounted on this point alone. Since I wrote this post, Celestial has been sued in a class-action lawsuit based on the pesticides that Eurofins found in their teas and for mislabeling of them as “100% Natural”.  The jury is still out on whether Eurofins’ research will be considered legit, as this case is still active in California.  The Plaintiffs contend that Celestial’s teas contain “pesticides, herbicides, insecticides, carcinogens, and/or developmental toxins (collectively, “Contaminants”)” and Celestial “did not dispute – and has never disputed – that the tea Products contained Contaminants. Nor has (Celestial) challenged the results of the Eurofins Tests” and “has not claimed that Eurofins was biased or that the Eurofins Tests were not, in fact, accurate”.   Even if it is determined that Eurofins’ research was not accurate – it’s important to note that Celestial’s tea that was tested is NOT organic and some of this tea is sourced from China.  Greenpeace issued a report on the alarming amount of pesticides found on tea from China, followed up by a detailed report on Lipton brand tea from China – in which they recommend only purchasing certified organic teato avoid these pesticides. Reference law documents: Complaint; Plaintiff’s Memo in Opposition to Motion to Dismiss. Case 8:13-cv-01757-AG-AN

Teas Can Contain Artificial Flavoring, Natural Flavors, and Hidden GMOs

Furthermore, a majority of Teavana teas contain added flavor – specifically “artificial flavoring.” If their tea is so high end, why would they be adding ingredients produced by fractional distillation and chemical manipulation of various chemicals like crude oil or coal tar? Coal tar in my tea? No, thanks.

Many popular tea brands get away with using the ingredient “natural flavors” to trick the consumer into thinking they are buying better, cleaner ingredients; however companies are just covering up the inferior taste and low quality of their tea. Fortunately, there are brands that are putting the kibash on the use of natural flavors and using all real ingredients. I was happy to learn that Ahmed Rahim, CEO of Numi Tea is just as disgusted by this ingredient as I am. He said to me “You can breakdown anything that is found in nature and if it ends up tasting like the flavor you wish to use – you can add it to any product and call it NATURAL FLAVOR on the ingredient label. It could come from a stone in the ground and you’d never know.” This is why when I see the words “natural flavor” listed on a label – I put the product down and run far far away. I want to know what I am eating! Don’t you?

Additionally, the added risk of consuming possible GMOs is not something many people think about when consuming teas. Before this investigation and witnessing tea companies using modified corn starch and soy lecithin in tea (additives likely made from genetically engineered corn and soy), I didn’t think about it either! I can’t imagine having a serious soy allergy, considering all the places companies try to hide it.

Why The Tea Bag & Packaging Matters

A recent article in The Atlantic discusses the “silky sachet” and “luxurious mesh bags” that hold loose leaf teas (like in brands Tea Forte and Mighty Leaf). Turns out, these modern day bags meant to showcase the tea leaves, are made of plastic.

PLA (polylactic acid) is a (likely GMO) corn-based tea bag material that has attracted major tea companies due to its nice look and its claims of biodegradability. Terms like “silky sachets” and “corn-based biodegradable tea bags” mislead customers into believing a product is more natural and sustainable than it really is. While the processing for PLA removes all traces of genetic material, it is still made with genetically modified corn. Although the actual tea bag is not an ingredient like teas and herbs, it is an element that is put into boiling water.

According to The Atlantic, tea bags are most commonly made from food grade nylon or polyethylene terephthalate (PET) which are two of what’s considered the safest plastics on the scale of harmful leaching potential. However, Dr. Mercola disagrees, he states:

“While these plastics are generally considered among the safest in terms of leaching potential, the molecules in these plastic tea bags may still in fact break down and leach out when steeped in boiling water…” Well, isn’t that how tea is prepared?

Another temperature consumers need to worry about in tea is the “glass transition” temperature. Here’s the science behind the glass transition temperature or, Tg, and why it becomes dangerous according to The Atlantic:

“That is the temperature at which the molecule in certain materials such as polymers begin to break down. As a rule, the Tg of a material is always lower than the melting point. In the case of PET and food grade nylon (either nylon 6 or nylon 6-6), all have a Tg lower than the temperature of boiling water. For example, while the melting point of PET is 482 degrees Fahrenheit, the Tg is about 169 degrees. Both nylons have a lower glass transition temperature than PET. (Remember that water boils at 212 degrees.) This means the molecules that make up these plastic tea bags begin to break down in hot water.”

So, while the plastic itself won’t melt in your tea, the glass transition temperature could potentially leak out harmful phthalates if there are such things in your tea. Another thing to worry about is that some of the newer tea bags are made with a variety of plastics. Some plastics are nylon, some are made of viscose rayon, and others are made of thermoplastic, PVC or polypropylene.

Beware of paper tea bags too, which can be worse than plastic tea bags.

GET THIS: Also according to Dr. Mercola, many “paper tea bags are treated with epichlorohydrin, a compound mainly used in the production of epoxy resins. Considered a potential carcinogen by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health2 (NIOSH), epichlorohydrin is also used as a pesticide. When epichlorohydrin comes in contact with water, it hydrolyzes to 3-MCPD, which has been shown to cause cancer in animals. It has also been implicated in infertility (it has a spermatoxic effect in male rats) and suppressed immune function.”

So what do you do the next time you want a cup of tea? Antioxidant rich teas aren’t going to do much to counterbalance the chemicals, additives and artificial flavorings in today’s modern teas.

First, I recommend looking at this chart below to see how your favorite tea brand stacks up:

And then when brewing and picking out the safest tea remember these tips:

1. Choose an organic & non-GMO certified brand of tea. (My favorites are Numi, Traditional Medicinals, and Rishi Tea (loose leaf)).

2. Check the ingredient list on the back of the tea package to make sure there are no added flavors, GMO ingredients like soy lecithin and corn starch added to the tea leaves.

3. Make sure the brand you buy uses a safe form of packaging material or buy loose leaf tea and use a stainless steel or glass tea strainer. Have the company verify that bags do not contain epichlorophydrin, and avoid plastic tea bags all together. (Numi and Traditional Medicinals are some of the only brands I trust in this category because they have publicly stated they do not use this harmful ingredient or GMO packaging and are Non-GMO Project verified.) 

4. The majority of restaurants use some of the most pesticide ridden tea and brands that have harmful packaging like Celestial Seasonings, Lipton, etc. Don’t fall victim to this. Bring your own tea when eating out or going to restaurants and ask for pot or cup of boiling water (remember to leave a good tip if you do this). I even do this at Starbucks because I like to vote with my dollars and not buy tea brands that are harmful. If you drink iced tea, brew your own at home and carry an insulated water bottle with you.

5. Remember these temps and times for brewing the perfect cup of tea

 If you know someone who loves to drink tea, please share this post with them. I was just as shocked as you probably are about all of this craziness – knowing what’s in our tea and what we put in our body matters! Let’s change the world together.

XOXO,
Food Babe
http://foodbabe.com

The Weight Loss Secret The Food Industry Doesn’t Want You To Know

By Food Babe

If I had known about this weight loss secret the food industry doesn’t want you to know about – I would have saved myself a ton of heartache, frustration and yo-yo dieting. It makes me incredibly sad that people out there are doing whatever it takes to get healthy, thin and look their best – but instead are facing an uphill battle because of what the food industry has done to our food and the way they are marketing it to us. 

We’ve all seen the 100-calorie portion sized snacks at the grocery store, and packaged diet foods and drinks labeled as “low-calorie”, “light”, and “zero” line the shelves. I personally know many people that crack open a Diet Coke in the morning (and again, and again throughout the day) and think that because it is “zero calorie” it’s the same as drinking water. Well – I’m here to tell you it’s not.

Many people believe that it really doesn’t matter where your calories come from, as long as you don’t eat too many of them you’re on the right track. However, I see things differently. When planning a meal, the thought “how many calories does this contain?” rarely crosses my mind anymore. I don’t count calories on a regular basis and you shouldn’t have to either if you start reading ingredient lists!

Not all calories are equal.

For example, I can eat one Twinkie loaded with GMOs, high fructose corn syrup, artificial colors, polysorbate 60, partially hydrogenated oil – and it will be 135 calories.  On the other hand, I can choose to eat a large pear full of fiber, phytonutrients, copper, vitamins C and K, and still ingest about 135 calories. Which would you choose? For me it’s an easy choice!  

Your body treats calories differently, depending on the source.

Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, a medical doctor and epidemiologist, has studied how different types of foods are digested by the body and their association with weight gain. He says that although calories release the same amount of energy in a laboratory, the human body is much more complex. According to Dr. Mozaffarian in the New York Times, “the evidence is very clear that not all calories are created equal as far as weight gain and obesity. If you’re focusing on calories, you can easily be misguided”.  This belief is echoed by Dr. Mark Hyman:

“It is true that, in a vacuum, all calories are the same. A thousand calories of Coke and a thousand calories of broccoli burned in a laboratory will release the same amount of energy.  But all bets are off when you eat the Coke or the broccoli. These foods have to be processed by your metabolism (not a closed system). Coke and broccoli trigger very different biochemical responses in the body—different hormones, neurotransmitters and immune messengers. The Coke will spike blood sugar and insulin and disrupt neurotransmitters, leading to increased hunger and fat storage, while the thousand calories of broccoli will balance blood sugar and make you feel full, cut your appetite and increase fat burning.  Same calories—profoundly different effects on your body”.

So many of us have been misled, and the Food Industry doesn’t want you to know the truth.

When I realized that junk food companies were teaching and catering to health professionals I was horrified (and some responsible dietitians are horrified as well). There’s a long list of companies and industry associations that are accredited to teach continuing education courses to registered dietitians, including General Mills, Kraft, and Pepsico. On Coca-Cola’s educational website – BeverageInstitute.org – they provide free accredited educational programs on GMOs, low-calorie sweeteners, and weight loss to “nurses, dietitians, health educators, and other health professionals”.

If that isn’t a conflict of interest, I don’t know what is!

Coca-Cola recently stated, “In 2014 alone, the number of courses completed by RNs, RDs, pharmacists and other HPs exceeded 300,000, and today more than 40,000 nurses know more about the safety and benefits of low-calorie sweeteners as a direct result of these programs”.  Their courses advocate the use of low-calorie artificial sweeteners and indicate that cutting calories is the key to managing your weight – regardless of where those calories come from. They obviously hope that their “educational programs” will encourage health professionals to recommend their low-calorie foods to future patients who are trying to lose weight – it’s great advertising for these junk food companies – and it works. Some registered dieticians are now telling people it’s okay to eat Hostess cupcakes if they are in a “100 calorie” pack and to go ahead and eat at Taco Bell if it’s “fresco-style”. This would be funny if it wasn’t true.  

The research behind these programs are largely funded (sponsored) by the junk food companies themselves and non-profit industry groups such as the International Food Information Council (IFIC), the International Life Sciences Institute and the Calorie Control Council. All the while, independent research is suppressed. It has been shown that industry-funded nutrition research is often biased “with implications to public health”.  As put by Marion Nestle, a nutrition professor and author:

“Sponsorship almost invariably predicts the results of research… results are highly likely to favor the sponsor’s interest. The companies are not buying the results, although it sometimes seems that way. Instead, it seems to me that researchers who are willing to accept grants from food companies tend to be less critical about the way they design their studies. I often notice that sponsored studies lack appropriately rigorous controls… As a rule, corporate funding discourages critical thinking – or promotes uncritical thinking – about the importance of individual foods or nutrients in healthful diets. Sponsored studies have only one purpose – to establish a basis for marketing claims. They are not carried out to promote public health”.

Going down the rabbit hole of the Calorie Control Council.

Many of the dollars being used to promote the belief that “all calories are equal” come from the Calorie Contro lCouncil. This is just a non-profit group of junk food and chemical companies that have banded together to sponsor research to provide “evidence-based claims” that their low-calorie processed food is good for you. They also offer free accredited educational courses to help drive their point home. Their members include Coca-Cola, Pepsi-Co, McNeil Nutritionals (Splenda), Nutrinova (Ace-K) and Ajinomoto USA (Aspartame) and they own several propaganda websites – including Aspartame.org and CaloriesCount.com. 

These new food inventions are ruining your health.

While cutting calories might help you lose weight in the short-term, it can be horrible for your long-term health. This is because the ingredients that the industry is packaging up for us are designed to increase their profits while expanding our addiction to their “food-like” concoctions – which eventually expands our waistlines too. Many packaged low-calorie diet foods contain ingredients that can rob us of our health, some cause us to eat more than we should and most of which you would never cook with at home:

• Artificial sweeteners
• Sugar
• Refined Flour
• Preservatives
• GMOs (soybean oil, canola, corn, corn syrup, etc)
• Trans-fats
• Partially Hydrogenated Oils
• MSG
• Hidden MSG
• Artificial Colors
• Natural and Artificial Flavors

For example, a Weight Watchers “Smart Ones” Lemon Herb Chicken Piccata meal rings in at just 250 calories, yet it contains a shocking number of harmful additives including sodium phosphate, partially hydrogenated oil, high fructose corn syrup, caramel coloring and a lot of hidden MSG. None of the ingredients are organic or non-GMO verified and it’s full of sugar and corn-derived ingredients. You’d think that “Chicken” would be the main ingredient, but “Cooked White Meat Chicken” is near the very bottom of the ingredient list. I could go on. I truly find it sad that anyone considers this healthy food!

Speaking of healthy, I checked out the ingredients on a container of Healthy Choice Country Vegetable Soup, which only has 100 calories. What could possibly be unhealthy about veggie soup? It turns out a lot. Their soup contains soybean oil, sugar, and hidden MSG. They can get away with the term “Healthy” on their label only because they meet the FDA definition of healthy – but definitely not mine. Try this Mexican Lentil Soup recipe instead.

Who doesn’t love ice cream? I know I do. When I found out there was a “skinny” ice cream on the market, I admit I was a little excited. That was until I read the box on Skinny Cow Mint Ice Cream Sandwiches and found a complete freak show of artificial colors (blue 1, yellow 5, caramel), and carrageenan on the ingredient label. Try this Coconut Milk Ice Cream recipe instead.


Many “diet” processed foods contain artificial chemical sweeteners because they’re low-calorie, such as in Yoplait 100-Calorie Greek Yogurt, sweetened with Splenda (linked to leukemia) and Acesulfame Potassium (Ace-K), which is processed with the carcinogen methylene chloride. Even the FDA admits that methylene chloride is used in the processing of Ace-K, but deemed it safe nonetheless: “where an additive has not been shown to cause cancer, even though it contains a carcinogenic impurity, the additive is not subject to the legal effect of the Delaney clause”. Not to mention that Yoplait also includes “sugar” that may be from GMO sugar beets and the milk likely comes from cows fed a GMO grain diet – there is nothing healthy about Yoplait! Try this Chia Fruit Salad Pudding instead.

When I began investigating packaged low-calorie foods I was outraged with what I found.  

This upset me because I know that most people are really trying to eat right. Many of you are trying to choose healthy food and believe that these packaged low-calorie foods are a good choice. I also know that many of you are ticked off about what’s happening in the food industry and upon reading my investigations and finding out the truth, you say:

“Tell me what I can eat!”

“That’s my favorite brand – oh no!”

“I was addicted to that!?”

“I just fed that to my child this morning – what am I suppose to do now?”

I’ve heard your concerns. It comes down to getting back into our kitchen and cooking real food at home, using the least processed ingredients as possible. When you eat whole foods – especially plant based foods that are low in sugar such as leafy greens, vegetables, and fermented foods, you optimize your gut bacteria (sources 1, 2, 3,4, 5). Recent research tells us that healthy gut bacteria is key to a healthy weight, and scientists are continuing to discover this phenomenon (sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10). Similar to how antibiotics (which destroy gut bacteria) are used to fatten up farm animals, it only makes sense that an unhealthy gut could fatten us up too.

There’s mounting evidence that artificial sweeteners, preservatives, pesticides, food packaging materials, high fructose corn syrup, colors and other food additives contribute to obesity (sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8). The effects are complex – some of these chemicals increase the number of fat cells, others expand the size of fat cells, and still others influence appetite, cravings, fullness, and how well the body burns calories.

When you eat crappy chemicals, your body becomes a fat, toxic waste dump.

Yale researches recently conducted a scientific review comparing popular diets and found that it’s best to just eat unprocessed food! They concluded that “A diet of minimally processed foods close to nature, predominantly plants, is decisively associated with health promotion and disease prevention….The case that we should, indeed, eat true food, mostly plants, is all but incontrovertible”. This seems so logical, yet it’s a radical idea. One thing is for sure, they are discovering what I’ve known all along – simply eating real food is where it’s at and I’m never turning back.  

Can you imagine if all of us simply stopped buying processed food full of additives? We would change the world!

I know that many of you don’t know where to start, or even how to cook (believe me, I’ve been there). I’ve figured out how to navigate this over-processed food world and I’m going to show you how to do it with ease, peace of mind and an easy to follow plan.

Do you know someone who is still counting calories? Please share this post with them! It’s time we get the truth out to everyone!

Xo,
Vani 

http://foodbabe.com

DIY Honey Shampoo

Wash your hair with honey!

If you had told me last year that my shelf of hair care products would be reduced to a homemade honey shampoo, I would not have believed you. Shampoo, conditioner, conditioning mask and painfully pricey anti-frizz serum… how could humble honey replace all of that?

Let me start at the beginning. This past year, I’ve been on a crazy hippie  journey to eliminate toxic products from my life. Now, I’m excited to say that all of my body care items are homemade and non toxic. This includes: toothpaste, deodorant, body moisturizer (a blend of coconut oil, emu oil and essential oils), facial oil, and facial toner. I tried numerous types of DIY shampoos, including the no ‘poo method, but I was never happy. They irritated my scalp or dried out my hair.  As a matter of fact, the no ‘poo method (baking soda + vinegar hair care) actually damages hair! 

DIY Honey Shampoo

Wash your hair with honey!

If you had told me last year that my shelf of hair care products would be reduced to a homemade honey shampoo, I would not have believed you. Shampoo, conditioner, conditioning mask and painfully pricey anti-frizz serum… how could humble honey replace all of that?

Let me start at the beginning. This past year, I’ve been on a crazy hippie  journey to eliminate toxic products from my life. Now, I’m excited to say that all of my body care items are homemade and non toxic. This includes: toothpaste, deodorant, body moisturizer (a blend of coconut oil, emu oil and essential oils), facial oil, and facial toner. I tried numerous types of DIY shampoos, including the no ‘poo method, but I was never happy. They irritated my scalp or dried out my hair.  As a matter of fact, the no ‘poo method (baking soda + vinegar hair care) actually damages hair! 

Why use Honey Shampoo?

I’ve been washing my hair with this DIY honey shampoo for the past month and I LOVE the results! First, my embarrassing and persistent dandruff  is clearing up. My hair is soft, shiny and it has become even more curly/wavy than usual. Finally, it is significantly less frizzy and I have no need to use an anti-frizz product. My scalp’s oil production has normalized and I can go 4 days between hair washing.

• The pH of the scalp is between 4 and 7, and the pH of honey is about 4. The slightly acidic nature of the honey balances the scalp and fights dandruff
• Raw honey is naturally antibacterial and antifungal, so honey washing can help treat a bacterial/fungal issues on the scalp
• Honey won’t strip the scalp and hair of the protective oils. As a result, hair will be less oily over time because the scalp will stop over-comensating with oil production (which happens when shampoos strip the scalp of all oils)
• Honey moisturizes the hair, and, since it doesn’t strip the hair of natural oils, hair will be softer with less frizz
• You will be able to go longer and longer between washings as your scalps oil production normalizes. Now, I only need to wash my hair every 4 days (and I’ve even gone a week between washing)!
• Honey washing is easy and fast!

DIY Honey Shampoo

Yield: Enough shampoo for 1 use - prepare as needed

Want to ditch the chemicals in regular shampoo and renew your scalp? Try this simple two-ingredient Honey Shampoo. Mix it up on a per serving basis to prevent spoilage.

Ingredients

• Raw honey (also called "unpasteurized" honey), I recommend this one
• Filtered water (see Instructions for measurements), I use and recommend this filter
• A few drops of essential oils, such as carrot seed oil, optional

Instructions

1. Make the shampoo "single serving" basis to prevent spoilage. Here's the basic ratio, but you can adjust it as desired: 1 Tbs. raw honey and 3 Tbs. filtered water. If necessary, slightly heat the mixture over very low heat to help dissolve the honey. Yes, this is really watery... that is how it is supposed to be.
2. If desired, add a few drops of essential oil. I like adding two drops of lavender essential oils and two drops of carrot seed oil. The essential oils add a light fragrance and also help with any flaky scalp issues. The carrot seed oil is very nourishing to the hair.
3. Wet hair, then massage a few tablespoons of the honey shampoo on the scalp. Massage well to distribute over the scalp. Don't worry about getting the mixture on the ends of the hair, just the scalp area. Rinse well. No need to follow with any conditioner.
4. If desired, you can follow with a DIY apple cider vinegar rise, recipe and instructions found here.

How to store the honey shampoo

 UPDATE: I had one reader tell me her shampoo grew mold after one week. I have not had this happen to me, but I don’t want anyone else to have this experience. After researching and hearing from readers, I learned that pure, raw honey will ferment when mixed with water and can foster mold growth.

So, that is why I have updated the post suggesting that you make it as you need it. It’s super quick to mix together right before you wash your hair.

Dun dun dun… The Honey Poo Transition Period

Nobody likes the term “transition period” but I have to mention it. When you switch from any type of sudsing shampoo (which is very stripping and drying to hair) to honey washing, your hair will probably be oily and dull after the first couple times of honey washing. It may even take a month or two for your scalp oil production to normalize when you switch from regular shampoo to honey washing. So for the first week, you may need to honey wash every day. Then you will find you can go every other day, then every second day, etc.

Honey Shampoo Updates and FAQs

After this post clocked in at the 350 comments mark in early September, I figured it was time for a follow-up. In my Honey Shampoo: Updates and FAQs post, I address some common questions and the changes I made to my hair care routine. I also give a couple of tips to make the transition period easier. Finally, I explain that natural hair care varies greatly from person to person and offer some other non-shampoo options to try if you don’t like Honey Shampoo.

Honey Shampoo doesn’t work for everyone

Hair care is PERSONAL and there isn’t a one-size-fits all. It comes down to your scalp, hair type, hair concerns, and more. If you browse through some of the comments here, you’ll find a wide range of responses. Some people experience immediately remarkable results while others deal with a transition period. For some, even after a month or two, they still struggle with oily hair (that is a sign that the Honey Poo Method is not for you).

Update as of January 2014: My natural hair care journey has been a long and adventurous one, as I tried the No Poo Method, then Honey Shampoo, then ACV rinsing. I went more than a year without purchasing shampoo. I was ready for a change and, quite frankly, was ready for the convenience of a pre-prepared shampoo. Finally, I found 100% raw hair care products that met my holistic philosophy. I was so amazed by my results with the products that I shared them on the blog with a review. While I still eagerly share this honey shampoo, because it works extremely well for many people, I have switched to this raw hair care method.

Have you experimented with natural hair care? Are you up for trying honey hair washing?

http://empoweredsustenance.com/diy-honey-shampoo/

Hemp-Seed Eating Village in China Holds Oldest, Healthiest People in the World

While there is a man in Bolivia said to be the oldest living person in the world, at 123 years of age, a village in China is boasting ages far older than the global average, and few suffer from any health problems. Scientists believe the secret is in their diet, which actually includes lots of hempseed.

It also helps that the water and air in Bama Yao, China are exceptionally clean, and that their food contains noticeably less fat, animal proteins, salt, and sugar than let's say, the standard American diet. But according to some experts, the villagers’ consumption of a superfood high in essential fatty acids (omega 3 and 6) is also part of the reason they live so long. Their primary source of receiving these fatty acids is through a diet rich in hempseed.

Life expectancy in Bama Yao is well over 100 years for its inhabitants, one of only five places on the planet where people can expect to live so healthfully for so long. Centenarian hot spots, called ˜blue zones' include Sardinia, Italy, Okinawa just off Japan, and Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica. Among these rare places, there is a commonality of lifestyle habits: they eat a plant-based diet, often with several super foods, invest heavily in family, get moderate exercise daily, and have a sense of faith and purpose in their lives.

It is well known that plant sterols and antioxidants can help reduce the risk of many cancers including breast and colon cancer, as well as control sugar levels in diabetics. Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids found in hemp seed are also full of plant-based protein, vitamins A, E, and D, and many B vitamins are“ all important antioxidants that help eliminate free radicals in the body.

Hemp seed is also rich in calcium, dietary fiber, and iron. The high amount of soluble fiber in hemp seed helps to prevent over-eating since it makes you feel full, longer, and it can help keep the digestive system healthy.

Furthermore, omega 3 and 6 ratios that are in balance also contribute to a healthy brain as we age. Omega 6 polyunsaturated fats are used by the body to make certain hormones and signaling molecules. Roughly speaking, the omega 6′s are the precursors for many of the molecules that make up our body’s inflammatory response. As an example – the omega 6 linoleic acid is a precursor for many molecules, among them the prostaglandins that the enzymes COX-1 and COX-2 work on. But these must be balanced with Omega 3s or we have some highly inflammatory chemicals running rampant in our body.

In hemp seed oil, the ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 is about 3:1. This favorable ratio helps to compensate, at least partially, for the general over-consumption of omega-6 fatty acids in the typical American diet, and likely leads to the overall anti-inflammatory health benefits that villagers in Bama Yao enjoy.

https://www.minds.com/blog/view/338192395596206080/hemp-seed-eating-village-in-china-holds-oldest-healthiest-people-in-the-world

More Doctors Confessing To Intentionally Diagnosing Healthy People With Cancer To Make Money

Why shouldn't Doctors lie when the entire cancer industry is one gigantic fabrication from start to finish? Is it any wonder that cancer societies worldwide put a far greater financial initiative on chemotherapy and radiation research than disease prevention techniques? 

Preventing disease doesn't make money, but treating disease certainly does.

Take Dr. Farid Fata, a prominent cancer doctor in Michigan who admitted in court one year ago to intentionally and wrongfully diagnosing healthy people with cancer. Fata also admitted to giving them chemotherapy drugs for the purpose of making a profit.

Were his patients shocked? You bet they were. Who would ever suspect a Doctor of faking a diagnosis to collect money. It's unconscionable. Yet it happens with cancer and almost every disease that medical doctors can generate income through kickbacks and commissions based on the volume of patients treated with specific pharmaceuticals. Like anything people are used as a comodity.

"Many of these unscrupulous Physicians are like businessmen without a conscience. The only difference is they have your health and trust in their hands--a very dangerous combination when money is involved," said Dr. Sayed Mohammed, a retired Oncologist who admits seeing the trend more than a decade ago.

"It is my choice," Fata said on Tuesday of his surprise guilty plea, which included rattling off the names of numerous drugs he prescribed for his patients over the years. In each admission, he uttered these words:

"I knew that it was medically unnecessary."

Fata was charged with running a $35-million Medicare fraud scheme that involved billing the government for medically unnecessary oncology and hematology treatments. The government says Fata ran the scheme from 2009 to the present, through his medical businesses, including Michigan Hematology Oncology Centers, with offices in Clarkston, Bloomfield Hills, Lapeer, Sterling Heights, Troy and Oak Park.

According to the government, Fata had a patient load of 1,200 people and received $62 million from Medicare; he billed for more than $150 million.

U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade said she plans to seek life in prison for Fata, calling his case is "the most egregious" health care fraud case her office has seen. She said Fata not only bilked the government -- which is typical in such cases -- but he also harmed patients.

Lying with Statistics

Prostate cancer is another great example which doctors falsely give prognoses about without giving patients the facts. A prostate (PSA) blood test looks for prostate-specific antigen, a protein produced by the prostate gland. High levels are supposedly associated with prostate cancer. The problem is that the association isn't always correct, and when it is, the prostate cancer isn't necessarily deadly. Only about 3 percent of all men die from prostate cancer. The PSA test usually leads to overdiagnosis -- biopsies and treatment in which the side effects are impotence and incontinence. Repeated biopsies may spread cancer cells into the track formed by the needle, or by spilling cancerous cells directly into the bloodstream or lymphatic system. More than 90% of Doctors who encourage cancer treatment for prostate cancer will generate a commission from each treatment the patient receives. It proves risky and often deadly in the long run for most people who don't understand how to take care of their health and are persuaded by false statistics.

Dozens of excellent large studies have been done on men who have had cancer discovered in their prostate with a biopsy. In over 97% of the cases this cancer either never spreads outside of the gland to cause harm or the patient dies of something else long before any evidence of cancer spreading outside of the prostate occurs. In that 3% where cancer is aggressive and harms the patient, it has already spread beyond the limits of surgical resection long before discovery; thus, these men are not helped by surgery either.

After at least seven years of post-college graduate medical education on the emotional, mental, and physical condition of the human being, you would expect a physician to be a powerhouse of goodwill for his or her patients. Unfortunately, too many doctors fail to keep the welfare of their customers at the forefront, as their main concern. The needs to boost their own egos, self-preservation, and the quest for more money often result in inappropriate care and harm to the patient.

Most women are often told that hysterectomies lead to many different cures for cancer and other ailments. This is misrepresenting the truth. The research done so far has demonstrated no improvement in survival regardless of the aggressiveness of many of these unnecessary treatments.

Breast cancer screenings also result in an increase in breast cancer mortality and fail to address prevention. Despite no evidence ever having supported any recommendations made for regular periodic screening and mammography at any age,malicious recommendations from the Society of Breast Imaging (SBI) and the American College of Radiology (ACR) on breast cancer screening are now suggesting that breast cancer screening should begin at age 40 and earlier in high-risk patients. Published in the Journal of the American College of Radiology (JACR), the recommendations released by the SBI and ACR state that the average patient should begin annual breast cancer screening at age 40. They also target women in their 30s if they are considered "high risk" as they stated.

The rate of advanced breast cancer for U.S. women 25 to 39 years old nearly doubled from 1976 to 2009, a difference too great to be a matter of chance and more about diagnoses.

A disturbing study published in the New England Journal of Medicine is bringing mainstream attention to the fact that mammography has caused far more harm than good in the millions of women who have employed it over the past 30 years as their primary strategy in the fight against breast cancer.

It always has been and always will be about the money. It is not time to recognize the trend?

Chemotherapy Does Not Heal The Body--It Slowly Destroys It

Chemotherapy boosts cancer growth and long-term mortality rates. Most chemotherapy patients either die or are plagued with illness within 10-15 years after treatment. It destroys their immune system, increases neuro-cognitive decline, disrupts endocrine functioning and causes organ and metabolic toxicities. Patients basically live in a permanent state of disease until their death. The cancer industry marginalizes safe and effective cures while promoting their patented, expensive, and toxic remedies whose risks far exceed any benefit. This is what they do best, and they do it because it makes money, plain and simple.

The reason a 5-year relative survival rate is the standard used to assess mortality rates is due to most cancer patients going downhill after this period. It's exceptionally bad for business and the cancer industry knows it. They could never show the public the true 97% statistical failure rate in treating long-term metastatic cancers. If they did publish the long-term statistics for all cancers administered cytotoxic chemotherapy, that is 10+ years and produced the objective data on rigorous evaluations including the cost-effectiveness, impact on the immune system, quality of life, morbidity and mortality, it would be very clear to the world that chemotherapy makes little to no contribution to cancer survival at all. No such study has ever been conducted by independent investigators in the history of chemotherapy. The only studies available come from industry funded institutions and scientists and none of them have ever inclusively quantified the above variables.

Why? Money, greed and profits run the cancer industry--nothing else. The cancer establishment must retreat from the truth to treat cancer because there will never be any profit for them in in eradicating the disease. There is no governing body in the world that protects consumers from being subjected to these toxic therapies or even known carcinogens in our foods our environment, because that too, will prevent the profits from rolling in. It's a business of mammoth proportions and must be treated as such. The most powerful anti-carcinogenic plants in the world such as cannabis must be demonized and be made illegal because they are so effective at killing cancer cells without side effects. Cannabinoids are so efficient at treating disease, that the U.S. Government patented them in 2003.

If a "magic bullet" were used FIRST by orthodox medicine, meaning the cut/burn/slash/poison treatments were avoided, a 90% true cure rate would be easy to achieve. But the fact is that the leaders in the medical community have absolutely no interest in finding a "magic bullet." A "magic bullet" would cost the drug companies hundreds of billions of dollars, and patients would have less hospitalization and less doctor visits, etc.

You might ask your oncologist why your chances of survival are only 3% (ignoring all of their statistical gibberish such as "5-year survival rates" and deceptive terms like "remission" and "response"), when your chance of survival would be over 90% if they used something like DMSO. Actually, bring up DMSO to any oncologist and most of them won't even talk to you about it. Why? Because DMSO is a natural product, cannot be patented and cannot be made profitable because it is produced by the ton in the wood industry.

Dr. Farid Fata is only a consequence of the system. Like him there are thousands of legally practicing Doctors and oncologists in the United States and abroad who are guilty of the same crimes, but because they fly below the radar, they are never caught.

As we continue playing this charade of making the public believe that poisons treat cancer, people will continue to die, and Doctors will continue to make money up to the day of their patient's death. Every once in a while, we may catch a few (of the many) like Dr. Fata, who self-destruct due to their own greed. We will claim they are outlaws, banish them and tarnish their reputations based on a perception that a healthy person should never be unnecessarily subjected to chemotherapy for money. So we can harshly judge and legally prosecute the Doctor who falsely prescribes poison to a healthy person for money, but we proudly accept the Doctor who prescribes poison to an unhealthy person for money. I find that truly mind blowing.

Sources:
justice.gov
freep.com
preventdisease.com
drmcdougall.com
medscape.com

Dave Mihalovic is a Naturopathic Doctor who specializes in vaccine research, cancer prevention and a natural approach to treatment.