Reasons for drinking raw milk and avoiding processed milk

(NaturalNews, 5th October 2013) Until the early 20th century, raw milk - natural milk sourced straight from the cow - was considered both a safe, nutritious drink and a medicine. Doctors would routinely prescribe it for a plethora of chronic ailments ranging from indigestion to constipation, and many cultures regarded it as a perfect food. After all, just as eggs provide all the nutrients needed to grow a healthy chick, milk provides all the nutrients needed to grow a healthy calf.

In this article, you'll find out why raw milk was held in such regard by every culture that consumed it. You'll also find out how today's processed milk, which has undergone pasteurisation and homogenisation, compares to it in the nutrition department.

Three remedies for Alzheimer's Disease

(NaturalNews.com, 5th October 2013 by J D Heyes) Medical science still has not figured out the puzzle of Alzheimer's disease, but there are some natural remedies that medical researchers say could offer substantial relief: colostrum, ashwagandha and turmeric.

Video: "Cancer: The forbidden cures"

This article includes a video "Cancer: The forbidden cures", produced by the filmmaker Massimo Mazzucco. This video describes cures for cancer which are inexpensive and come from nature, but have been thwarted and suppressed by the drug-based medical profession and the pharmaceutical industry who cannot patent these natural cures.

A call to reform or repeal the EU Directive on Herbal Medicines

This article calls for either the amendment or repeal of the EU Traditional Herbal Medicinal Products Directive (2004/24/EC), the THMPD in short, enacted back in 31/03/2004 and in force as of 01/05/2011. This directive has licensing requirements for safety and quality, but also imposes steep costs typically between €97 000 (£80 000) and €145 600 (£120 000) due mainly to the cost of testing. This is because the licensing requirements are intended to be similar to those for pharmaceutical drugs. Not a single license is in place for Ayurvedic medicine or traditional Chinese medicine which have both been in use for thousands of years, along with herbal remedies from all over the world including the Amazon basin.

More research verifies powerful anti-cancer properties of turmeric

(NaturalNews.com, Friday 3rd May 2013) A growing body of research continues to pile up, showing that turmeric (Hindi: हल्दी "haldi") and its naturally occurring compounds have potent anti-cancer properties.

The turmeric root is one of the most important spices and traditional medicines across vast sections of Asia, and has been for hundreds of years. Indeed, turmeric has been used in India for millenia, and is central to Indian cuisine and also a major part of ayurvedic medicine. Scientists attribute many of turmeric's health benefits to the trio of naturally occurring chemicals known as curcuminoids, which give the root its characteristic yellow-orange color. The name curcumin, which technically refers to only one of the curcuminoids, is sometimes also used to refer to the entire group.

Although many studies have been performed on curcumin rather than on turmeric root itself, it is important to note that the body absorbs curcumin much more effectively from the root than from supplements.

GM soya increases poverty, threatens health in South America

Further to our previous articles about organic food, and about Monsanto and GM, this post is about an article in GM Watch, which in turn showed an English translation of the original Svenska Dagbladet (or SvD for short) news article about the disastrous effects of GM soya cultivation in South America. Indeed, the conversion of South American agriculture to large-scale, industrial farming of genetically modified soya harms the environment, increases poverty, and threatening human health, two leading advocates for small farmers' rights have said to SvD during a visit to Sweden.

E-numbers: which ones to avoid

In this article, we look at E-numbers, and give a guide on which ones to avoid for various reasons, most importantly health reasons and keeping healthy, but also to avoid non-vegetarian, non-vegan, allergens, or forbidden foods for example.  And some highly recommended resources for further reading is given here. 

Of course, the best policy still remains to eat organic, fresh, and where possible local, and remember that too much of anything is bad (even food hitherto good for our health) - indeed one should only eat the amount required (whether that's the food, the drink, or individual additives within the food or drink). 

Additives with an E-number are not always artificial (for example curcumin and lycopene have their own E-numbers and are derived from natural sources), although many are (including aspartame, tartrazine, and many more).

Videos: Monsanto and GM

This article shows two videos about Monsanto and genetic modification (GM). The first film is a trailer: The world according to Monsanto, an award winning investigative documentary.  The second video clip is by Greenpeace explaining why biodiversity needs to be protected and why GM as practised by Monsanto (and others, but Monsanto has a 90% share in the market) threatens biodiversity, food security, and sustainable agriculture.

In praise of organic food

We have all heard of organic food, food produced with either no or minimal toxic chemicals, food "the way nature intended it to be". Organic food is in fact exactly how humans have eaten for millenia, it is only since the 20th Century that "conventional" food as we know it, involving toxic and polluting synthetic chemicals in the form of pesticides, insecticides, and fertilisers, and ghastly factory farming, all collectively known as intensive farming, have existed. This article explains not only why organic is best, but also suggests where to get organic.

Avoiding harmful chemicals

There are various artificial and harmful chemicals used in all sorts of products we use or consume, whether its the food we eat, the homes we live in, or in cosmetics. I have read a special report by the Guardian called Chemical World which looks at such chemicals in these products, including the problems they can cause and question marks over their long term safety, and also recommends completely natural alternatives.

How to read articles about health

Like many others I have an interest in health and frequently come across health articles in the mainstream media. One of the questions I have recently been asking myself is which stories I can trust, as there are occasionally unusual and contradictory claims (to put it kindly). It then came as a pleasant surprise to stumble across the following PDF article by Dr Alicia White called "How to read articles about health and healthcare".