Franken Rice

The Rice with Human Genes

By SEAN POULTER

Last updated at 08:57am on 6th March 2007


The first GM food crop containing human genes is set to be approved for commercial production.


The laboratory-created rice produces some of the human proteins found in breast milk and saliva.


Its U.S. developers say they could be used to treat children with diarrhoea, a major killer in the Third World.


The rice is a major step in so-called Frankenstein Foods, the first mingling of human-origin genes and those from plants. But the U.S. Department of Agriculture has already signalled it plans to allow commercial cultivation.


The rice's producers, California-based Ventria Bioscience, have been given preliminary approval to grow it on more than 3,000 acres in Kansas. The company plans to harvest the proteins and use them in drinks, desserts, yoghurts and muesli bars.


The news provoked horror among GM critics and consumer groups on both sides of the Atlantic.

You can read the rest of this article here.

STOP the INSANITY! Gardasil Vaccine is Being Considered For Boys!

If it wasn't insult enough that the Gardasil vaccine was pushed on young school girls, now they are promoting this vaccine for boys. Gardasil is a vaccine for the human papillomavirus and was marketed to women and young girls to protect against cervical cancer (which is somewhat of a leap in itself). It is only for certain strains of HPV and does not protect against many other strains. Thus, protection from HPV and potential cancer is limited.

Now Merck is claiming it should be given to boys who might engage in oral sex and put themselves at risk for cancer of the throat. If this doesn't ring alarms that Merck is trying to cash in on selling garbage medicine to people, I don't know what will.

It's all so crazy! Anyone else think so?

Three Girls Died, Others Hospitalized, After HPV Vaccine

Amid controversy over state legislatures in the U.S. requiring young girls to take Gardasil, Merck's new vaccine for human papillomavirus (HPV), severe side effects are being reported.

1,637 adverse reactions have been reported by Judicial Watch, a public interest watchdog, including three girls who died shortly after receiving the immunization. Judicial Watch obtained the reports from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration using the Freedom of Information Act.

In Australia, 25 girls who had just received their first injection of the vaccine experienced headache, nausea, and dizziness. In some cases, the problems were so severe that they were hospitalized. Shares of the vaccine's Australian developer, CSL, fell after the incident was reported in the news.

British Medical Journal June 9, 2007;334:1182-1183



Natural Health Girl's Comment:

It really is sad that so many people are going to be victims of this vaccine. It seems there are adverse reactions that are happening immediately after receiving the Gardasil shot. But, what is the future like for those who receive this immunization? Will there be other health issues that arise? Will these young women have trouble conceiving children in the future? Noone knows the affects of this vaccine, or any vaccine for that matter.

At some point, people have to start saying "enough is enough".

Whole Food Vitamins

Are Your Vitamins Natural or Synthetic?

Whole food vitamins are nutrients gained from food sources.

Many vitamin supplements on the market are actually synthetic. If a vitamin is synthetic, it has been created in a laboratory as a chemical compound copy of the molecular structure of natural vitamins.

Your body was designed to assimulate balanced nutrients from food. Little if any benefit is derived from synthetic vitamins.

It is estimated that only 10% of Americans eat the recommended amount of 5-9 servings of fruits and vegetables a day. Even if you are eating a diet consisting of lots of fruits and vegetables, you may still be lacking the proper nutrients to facilitate a disease free body.

Modern non-sustainable farming practices have depleted the nutritional value of our food by over farming, chemical spraying and hybridization of seeds. The Department of Agriculture even recognizes that our current food supply is inferior in nutritional content to decades past.

Are your supplements synthetic or whole foods?


Get the benefits of whole food supplementation.

• Only buy vitamins that are additive, filler and synthetic free.


• Support sustainable agriculture for a healthier you and a healthier planet by purchasing supplements made with organic whole foods.

Learn more about real live nutrition from whole food supplements.

Great Tasting, Power-Packed, Nutrient Dense, Complete Live Wholefood Products


When I was first introduced to these living food products, I honestly was not interested. However, after trying a sample I was hooked. I was also very impressed with the integrity of the company and these products. I highly recommend checking out the links above.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me. I'd be more than happy to share free samples with you.

Say “Yes” to Organic Clothing and "NO" to Pesticides and Herbicides

Do you buy organic clothing?

More and more people are thinking and learning about the foods they are putting into their bodies. However, except for caring about designer labels, it's not really a priority for most people to pay attention to the farming and manufacturing practices of the clothing industry.

Slowly, the clothing market is starting to pay attention to the organic movement and organic clothes are becoming more available but still on a small scale.

Perhaps the more people become aware of the harm being done by the current conventional fiber market, the more the organic fiber market will grow.

Here are some points that might make you want to support the organic clothing industry if you don't already.

**The EPA has deemed seven of the pesticides used in the cotton production in the U.S. as carcinogenic to humans.

**According to Organic Products Retailer, the conventional cotton market uses 25 percent of the insecticides being used and 10 percent of pesticides. This has a huge impact on cotton workers, the environment and for the consumer wearing these materials.

**Children are at greater risk for health problems from exposure to pesticides and other chemicals than adults.

**“Millions of children in the US receive up to 35% of their estimated lifetime dose of some carcinogenic pesticides by age five through food, contaminated drinking water, household use, and pesticide drift.”


There are a lot of scary statistics and facts when you start looking into the farming practices of conventionally grown cotton. To make a t-shirt or pair of jeans, one pound of chemical fertilizers and pesticides are used.

At what point, will our mainstream society realize that we can’t continue to allow these toxic chemicals to be used on everything we eat, wear, breath, drink and touch?

Let's reduce the amount of toxic sprays being put on our land, into our water supplies and our bodies.

Copyright 2007 Kelly Hoffman http://www.natural-health-girl.com/organic-clothing.html

Be "Refined" Sugar Free

Refined Sugar Is Not So Sweet

Do we have to be sugar free to truly be healthy? Most people generally agree that too much sugar in the diet is not healthy. But, is there a difference with the sugars we use? Just as with all foods in nature, the farther we take them from their original state in nature, the more harmful they seem to be for our bodies.

The body needs the minerals left intact in the sugar cane in order to utilize the sugar. Natural sugar has the minerals left in it. Refined sugar does not, and actually leaches minerals from the body. So again, keep the diet as close to nature as possible.


What type of sweeteners are best?

It's best to substitute refined sugars with natural sweeteners like fresh squeezed fruit juice, dates, raisins, raw honey or stevia.

Additional healthy sugar choices are organic natural raw sugar cane, like Muscovado sugar and Sucanat. Both of these are less processed and keep more of the nutritional benefits, and they won't leach nutrients from your body. Of course, still use sweeteners in moderation.


Toxic Artificial and Refined Sugars Cause Health Problems

Artificial sweeteners are dangerous and toxic, and processed sugars like high fructose corn syrup are huge contributors to society’s declining health. For example, migraines and seizures have been linked to artificial sweeteners, and high fructose corn syrup is a big factor in diabetes.

Too much refined processed sugar in the diet leads to imbalances and yeast overgrowth in the body’s system. These problems can and do very often lead to a spiraling cycle of ill health.

The addictive qualities of refined sugar make it a very challenging substance to eliminate from one’s diet. Not to mention that you find it in almost every prepared food you buy from the typical grocery store.

Some health professionals have likened refined sugars to being as addictive as cocaine and heroin! Refined sugar is a non-nutritive carbohydrate that leaches vitamins and minerals from the body. It also significantly compromises the immune system.

One might think that it takes high doses of refined sugar to create problems, when in fact what is considered “normal” refined sugar ingestion is damaging.

The physical problems created by eating refined sugar are wide and varied some of which include hypoglycemia, diabetes, candida yeast overgrowth, heart disease, cancer, insomnia, headache, kidney and liver enlargement, bad breath, lethargy, muscle aches, behavior disorders and too many more to mention.

You don't have to give up all of life's pleasures with eating. It just takes a little substituting and some simple rethinking of what you've been conditioned to use.

Your body will thank you for becoming "refined" sugar free with simple changes. You will probably even find that you like the natural sweeteners even better.

So rejoice! You don't have to be totally sugar free to be healthy.

Copyright 2007 Kelly Hoffman www.natural-health-girl.com

Take This Candida Questionaire and See If You Have A Yeast Problem.

Candida Questionaire

Are Your Health Problems Yeast Connected?

Use this questionaire as a helpful tool to see if your body is well balanced or if candida yeast infection might be an issue for you. When you reach the end of the candida questionaire, add up any "yes" answers. Your score will help you determine the possibility (or probability) that your health problems are yeast connected.

1. Have you taken repeated or prolonged courses of antibacterial drugs? (Many natural health practioners say that if you answer "yes" to this question alone that your chances of having a yeast overgrowth issue is very high.)



2. Do you drink tap water treated with chlorine and or fluoride?



3. Have you been bothered by recurrent vaginal, prostate or urinary infections?



4. Do you have troubles with mastitis while breastfeeding? Does your baby have thrush?



5. Do you have infertility issues?



6. Do you experience bothersome itchiness...nose, eyes, ears, head, feet, rectum?



7. Do you feel "sick all over," or have other health issues that the cause hasn't been found yet?



8. Are you bothered by hormone disturbances,including PMS, menstrual irregularities, sexual dysfunction, sugar craving, low body temperature or fatigue?



9. Are you unusually sensitive to tobacco smoke, perfumes, colognes and other chemical odors?



10. Are you bothered by memory or concentration problems? Do you sometimes feel "spaced out" or have "brain fog"? Frequent headaches?



11. Have you taken prolonged courses of prednisone or other steroids; or have you taken "the pill" for more than 3 years?



12. Do some foods disagree with you, give you heartburn, upset stomach, irritable bowel or trigger allergy symptoms?



13. Do you suffer with constipation, diarrhea, bloating or abdominal pain?



14. Does your skin itch, tingle or burn; or is it unusually dry; or are you bothered by rashes (includes such things as exzema, jock itch, fungus under fingernails or toenails, or athlete's foot)?

Scoring: Each of these questions are strong indicators of candida infection. If you answered "yes" 3 or 4 times, chances are good that you have a candida infection. If you answered "yes" 5 or more times, chances are high that your health problems are yeast connected.

I trust you've found this candida questionaire helpful.

Dentist Nightmare! Don't Choose the Wrong Dentist! My Story...

I’ve debated a lot about whether to share this bad dental experience of mine. But, I’ve finally decided to share it and the hard lesson that I’ve learned. The consequences of this lesson still need to be worked out. In spite of that, I’m going to pass along what has happened to me so that maybe someone else will benefit or be spared the same outcome.

When you start learning about natural health, eventually you will come upon information about amalgam dental fillings (the silver ones) and the debate of their affect on one’s overall health. More and more dentists in the U.S. are moving away from amalgam fillings. Some will say that they don’t feel they are a healthy option, and others will just tell you that they promote composites (the white fillings) because they are cosmetically a nicer looking choice.

Amalgams in some countries have been restricted or banned, such as in Sweden and France. England, Austria, Denmark and Finland have also taken proactive steps against the use of amalgam fillings.

You can also find lots of testimonials of people who say that their health improved when they had their amalgams removed. Many of these are from people who had serious debilitating health issues. It would seem that such a drastic improvement in health would make for a strong testimonial, but there are still those that argue that amalgams are safe. Who to believe?

With my own health issues, the question of whether my amalgams were playing a role seemed to come up on many occasions. Thus, getting them removed was something I wanted done. I’m leading up to my hard lesson, so bear with me.

We all know how expensive dental work is, especially when you consider all members of your family. Well, recently my husband and I were made aware that you could get dental work done in Mexico for 50-75% less than you could in the U.S. At first I didn’t think much of this, because it just didn’t seem like something we would do. But, for whatever reason certain things just started to fall into place and more and more it seemed like a good idea. We knew several people who had gone to Mexico and done this very thing. They also knew people who chose this option as well. So, we were getting good reports that Mexico had this great opportunity for getting affordable dental work. Wow! What a neat opportunity to get our amalgams out along with some other dental work that we needed done.

Well, we started on a search of who to go to. We had one recommendation but were pulled in another direction because of insurance and language issues. We finally ended up choosing a woman dentist who was advertised as a oral surgeon with great credentials. She also advertised that she accepted U.S. insurance. So, the decision was made we were on our way and not to mention, it seemed like a great opportunity for a vacation to warmer weather. Silly thought trip to the dentist and vacation in one sentence but it made sense to us at the time.

At this point there were no red flags, or any that we saw that is. The first trip to the dentist we chose in Los Algodones, Mexico was filled with a little nervousness, because we weren’t familiar with driving over the Mexican border. We felt out of our element for sure. When we arrived at the dentist’s office, we noticed that it was one of the bigger nicer offices in Los Algodones. There were other American patients waiting to be seen. The male receptionist was very nice and spoke great English. We saw our dentist as she came out to speak with him. She was friendly and said hello. Everything seemed good so far. Then, the receptionist called us up and asked us if it mattered which dentist we saw. We told him we came specifically for the main dentist and we wanted her. That seemed settled. No cause for concern.

My husband and I were escorted back and my daughter was attended to by the receptionist. He was very nice to her and kept her company. No need to worry about her he said. Plus, there were several grandma figures surrounding her that said they would watch over her. All seemed very pleasant.

The main dentist came in and did an oral exam, visited with me very minutely and pointed out that they would get to work on the crowns that needed done first. I liked her and she assured me that all was going to be okay. She left quickly and then another gentleman came in. This was a surprise to me. This did make me a bit uncomfortable as I thought the main dentist would be working on me, but for whatever reason I let go of my reservations. Neither he nor his assistant spoke to me in English and I didn’t speak Spanish, so I was out of my element and had no way to communicate with them. This was rather uncomfortable.

I can’t remember if the x-rays they took were before or after the initial exam, but they did do only a few x-rays.

The first day there was a very difficult one for me. They had a hard time getting my mouth numb and so by the third round of shots, I was very anxious. My husband also experienced this, but with his second round of shots was made numb. This wasn’t a pleasant experience, but I also rationalized this away, because I had this experience before at a dental visit when I was younger. I had not had this experience though with more recent dental visits as an adult.

To shorten the story, I won’t go into all the minute details, but I’ll try to give a broader overview. Anyways, I had to return for dental work three times. All three days were hard ones for me filled with a lot of discomfort and pain. I know going to the dentist is not fun, but after going to the dentist again here recently closer to home, I now know that the pain I went through was unnecessary. Also, throughout the three days, I saw the main dentist for only brief periods of time. She would check in with me very quickly and then she was on to someone else.

The final day there she did the most work on me that she had done the whole three days. I felt somewhat comforted, because she was the one that put on the crowns and checked to make sure my fillings were all good and that my bite was correct. She assured me that she wanted it all to be perfect without mistakes.

I’ll also mention that on the second and third visits there, her office was very busy. We also visited with several people (Americans) who were back for more work. One gentleman had been coming for five years and had brought family members. He thought this dentist was wonderful.

Again, any reservations I had I let subside. The wisest choice we made the whole time was to not get our daughter’s teeth worked on there, because we thought they were just not delicate enough. We didn’t want her to go through a painful experience. I am SO VERY thankful that we made that decision.

Now, the hard lesson part of the story. Upon returning home, we still thought we had made a good decision. I was still having pain, but it seemed like with all the work that I had done that it was probably normal. My husband was slowly feeling less pain, and so, all seemed fine with him.

However, he is now concerned that his bite might be off from high spots on his fillings, because he finds his jaw feeling tight and he catches himself clenching his teeth. He is scheduled for an exam here at home, and so this yet has not been determined.

For me, the pain was not subsiding and it was keeping me up at night. Also, a week and a half after the crowns were put on, one fell off. Thus, I had to make a dental appointment to address these issues. We researched several dental offices locally and finally made a decision to go to one that was close to home and was advertised as top notch.

That dental visit has transformed my impression of what a real top quality dental office and patient visit should be about. The technology was top notch and the staff was amazingly gentle and compassionate. The dental hygienist spent quality time learning my story. (She didn’t make me feel degraded for my poor decision of getting my teeth done with the Los Algodones dentist.) She respected my natural, holistic approach to health and did everything she could to accommodate my beliefs and my concerns.

They paid attention to small considerate details like putting vitamin E oil on my lips while they were working on me and giving me protection for my eyes. She asked how I felt about fluoride and how I felt about this and or that. She made sure other staff members understood my situation and how I felt. They explained to me every step of the way what they were doing and why. The dentist drew pictures for me, so I could understand what he thought needed to be done with my teeth. They consoled me when I cried after hearing the bad news that my teeth had been badly handled and that they recommended that some of the work be redone.

He told me that he felt I may have received crowns on teeth that didn’t need it. From x-rays, they said it appeared that amalgam material had been left in my teeth. They said the crowns were badly done and were going to cause me tissue problems if I didn’t get them fixed. I learned that the cement used to hold the crowns was all over many of my teeth and they commented that it was just "shotty" work.

The next day, my husband and I learned from paperwork of previous dental visits in 2006 that the Los Algodones dentist had crowned teeth that had not been suspect before and that she ignored teeth that had been labeled problem areas. This just doesn’t make sense to us. I never thought a dentist could be so negligent.

So, I now have to go to a specialist for tissue work. Then, I need to go to our new dentist for replacement of the crowns on my teeth that never needed crowns in the first place. I also have to go to fix a fractured tooth that is causing me pain. Hopefully, this is the only tooth that is causing the pain, because if it’s not, they don’t know which other dental work to suspect. They said they have no way of knowing if the fillings were done appropriately or if they were contaminated.

This wonderful idea has now turned into a nightmare for me, both in the real world and in my dreams. I’ve had one nightmare of my teeth crumbling.

I am very sad and having a hard time letting go of the fact that I was so naive. I’m always an advocate for people to be proactive in their health. How did I allow myself to become so passive and trusting of someone I knew nothing about?

The reason I am sharing my story is so that others can learn from it. Trust me when I say that I am very embarrassed to admit the mistakes that we made over our dental visit to Mexico. I’ve allowed several of my teeth to be ground down that didn’t need it and instead of saving money, this whole ordeal is going to cost us more. So you see, somehow I have to make this bad situation worth while.

Please, please whatever you do when it comes to your body, take the time to really research things out. Get second or third opinions. Understand the procedure that you are about to embark on and make sure you really believe it is necessary.

If at any time, whether it is with a doctor, a dentist or any area of your life for that matter, if you feel uncomfortable, say "STOP" and take more time to think about it. Never feel obligated in ANY situation to go forward if something scares you or gives you reason for concern. It doesn’t matter if you’ve traveled half way around the world. Don’t justify your fears away. Take time to really make sure whether they are rational or irrational fears. Ask questions and make sure you understand what’s going on. If you don’t, say "STOP" and don’t do anything until you do understand.

And NEVER give up a body part, including a tooth easily. Many professional dentists and doctors will say certain body parts are okay to remove, but your body will never be the same once that part is gone. That part held a very important function and how will your body operate once it’s gone. Make sure you know all the ins and outs of those types of questions.

The health of your teeth correlates directly with the health of the rest of your body. Don’t take dental work lightly. I did and I never will again.

I also need to mention that I do believe there are wonderful dentists in Mexico. We just happened to not choose the right one. I know of many horror stories of dentist in the U.S. as well. A few of them from my own family members. So, it’s not so much the "where" but "who" that you choose.

For information about alternative dental work visit Dr. Hal Huggins website at http://www.hugginsappliedhealing.com/

Be well in body and mouth!
Kelly

"Education is when you read the fine print. Experience is what you get when you don't."

"There is no instinct like that of the heart." ~Lord Byron