Archive for the ‘News’ Category
Organic vs. Conventional Soy: Boycott Non-Organic, GMO, Hexane-Processed Soy
August 7th, 2009 | 
Author: Many times we are asked about adding soy to the diet.
The debate has many sides to the conversation, however, there was an interesting article about non-organic soy at the Organic Consumers Association website titled Boycott Non-Organic, GMO, Hexane-Processed Soy Organic vs. Conventional Soy written by Alexis Baden-Mayer, Esq., Organic Consumers Association, July 1, 2009
Here is the article for your review and if you wish to read more please select the article link title listed above.
We at the Organic Consumers Association are often asked, “Which foods should one only eat organic?” At the top of our list is soy. There are few agricultural crops more dangerous to humans and the environment than conventional soy. Non-organic soy is:
GENETICALLY MODIFIED More than 90 percent of US soy is genetically modified. While genetic engineering is widely believed to be intended to increase yields, genetically modified soybeans, the world’s most widely planted GM crop, have consistently lower yields than conventional soy.
SPRAYED WITH PESTICIDES Soy is genetically modified to withstand massive applications of Monsanto’s RoundUp pesticide. According to the Center for Food Safety, U.S. government data reveal a huge 15-fold increase in the use of glyphosate on soybeans in the U.S. from 1994 to 2005, driven by the adoption of the Roundup Ready version of the crop. Increasing weed resistance to glyphosate has led to rising use of other toxic chemicals. In the U.S., the amount of 2,4-D (a component of the Vietnam War defoliant Agent Orange) applied to soybeans more than doubled from 2002 to 2006.
PROCESSED WITH HEXANE Before being added to food, soy processors, including Archer Daniels Midland and Solae, use a toxic petroleum-derived solvent called hexane to extract the oil and protein. When hexane is released to the environment it degrades to produce greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change. Hexane can cause dizziness and irritation and, with long-term exposure, nerve damage. It is regulated as a volatile organic compound, a class of compounds that contributes to smog problems. Hexane is highly flammable and a toxic hazard to workers. Hexane regularly results in explosions at soy processing plants that kill and injure workers and endanger surrounding neighborhoods. Hexane explosions have occurred at the Minnesota Soybean Processors plant (May 2009), a soybean oil factory in the Brazilian city of Formosa (March 2009), the Arkansas Riceland Foods plant (2006), the Iowa Ag Processing, Inc., plant (2003), the Canadian CanAmera Foods plant (2002), and the Indiana Central Soya plant (1994).
FUELING FACTORY FARMS Soybean husks go to factory farms to feed animals that would never eat soy in nature — or on a traditional farm, for that matter. Worldwide, 85 percent of soy is produced for animal feed, mostly for pigs and poultry.
SUBSIDIZED BY TAXPAYERS The whole process is supported by taxpayers through federal farm subsidies.
MAKING US FAT While soy still has that crunchy granola reputation for being a health food ingredient, most of the soy in the American diet is found in junk food, especially processed and fast foods made with soy lecithin and “partially hydrogenated soybean oil” (trans fat). There is hardly a deep-fat fryer or multi-ingredient processed food product in the nation that doesn’t contain soy.
In 2008, the US produced 20.8 billion pounds of soy oil.
To your good heath & longevity.
Ira Marxe
“The Good Health & Wellness Guy”
Copyrighted © 2009 – All Rights Reserved
Why Is Obesity 9.1% of All U.S. Medical Costs?
This week there has been several articles written about obesity and the medical costs associated with treating this major health problem.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced on Monday, July 27th, 2009 that new data is showing that costs have topped $147 billion in 2008 alone.
Costs have doubled in the past decade to treat obesity and per a Wall Street Journal article”…the prevalence of obesity rose 37% between 1998 and 2006, and medical costs climbed to about 9.1% of all U.S. medical costs, the researchers said”…and…”obese people spent 42% more than people of normal weight on medical costs in 2006, a difference of $1,429, the study found. Prescription drugs accounted for much of the increase.”
To help shed more light on this topic here are several current news articles that span a wide mixture of opinions on the obesity topic.
- Please Explain: Obesity
- Rising Childhood Obesity
- More on Obesity: Is the Government to Blame?
- The Thins Versus the Fats
- Do ‘Fat Taxes’ Work?
To your good heath & longevity.
Ira Marxe
“The Good Health & Wellness Guy”
Copyrighted © 2009 – All Rights Reserved
Posted in Health Care, News, Obesity | 
Tags: Health Care, medical costs, Obesity, weight loss | 
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Medical Versus Alternative Breakthroughs
Researchers and scientists throughout the world are constantly working to unlock the secrets of the human body to find ways to save and prolong life — and to improve the quality of life as well.
New discoveries occur so fast, it is hard to keep up with them.
Within the medical community you will find doctors who follow a nutritional path to healing and doctors who maintain that there is no scientific evidence that alternative treatments are successful.
Unfortunately, for the public, there are more researchers and scientist working for big pharmaceutical companies than there are independent researchers.
It is clear from past and present evidence that big pharma is constantly seeking to make a quick buck which interferes with the truth. So— buyer beware!
It has been well documented by organizations such as OCA and Public Citizen that all too often medical doctors rely on what is told them by pharmaceutical reps, while others have no time to research alternatives.
That is why doctors don’t think that alternatives work.
Doctors don’t realize that Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Diet, Health Care, News, Prevention |
Tags: alternative treatment, healing, nutrition |
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Our Health Care System Is Broken?
Recent headlines —- “Our Health System is Broke”. So what’s new?
Our government says it will give this a high priority and fix the system. Biggest joke of the year.
Why? Because our government no more wants to fix the system then it wants to cut its salaries in half.
Just about every senator and congressman or woman is being paid off, big time, in one form or another, through political contributions, favors, bribes, etc., by pharmaceutical and medical related companies.
The same is true for the agricultural giants and food processing giants.
Check out the history of Medicare costs. Every time the government fixed the system, it cost you and me a bundle more money.
The US has the costliest health system in the developed world. You would think then that Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Health Care, News, Prevention |
Tags: costs, drug companies, Health Care, health system, medicare |
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