For acne, try these handy tips.
 
Your mother probably already told you this:  “Don’t touch!”  Touching spreads breakouts.  Squeezing causes inflammation and scarring.
 
Try ice.  As soon as you feel a pimple beginning, wrap an ice cube in saran wrap and hold it on the pimple for a few minutes.
 
Apply apple cider vinegar or fresh lemon juice on pimple sores at bedtime for 2 to 3 weeks.
 
A mix of tomato paste and non-fat powdered milk dabbed on pimple and left on for 10 minutes can reduce spot.
 
Diluted tea tree oil (1 drop of pure essential oil on wet cotton ball) dabbed on pimple can be very drying.  Don’t over do this dose.
 
For wrinkles and aging skin, try these handy tips.  Much more economical than a trip to the spa but the same ingredients they use.
 
Try a mask of aloe vera gel and vitamin E oil once a week.  Very healing.
 
Another good mask: egg whites, honey, red wine.  Mix well and leave on for 20 minutes.
 
One more mask recipe:  1 tsp kelp granules mixed with 1 tbsp aloe very gel.
 
One more:  fresh papaya rubbed onto your face provides great enzymes.
 
One more: whip egg whites and yogurt and apply as mask.

GREENFIELD, Mass. (May 6, 2010)—. The President’s Cancer Panel Report released on May 6 exhorts consumers to choose food grown without pesticides or chemical fertilizers , antibiotics, and growth hormones to help decrease their exposure to environmental chemicals that can increase their risk of contracting cancer. Organic products avoid the use of these chemicals.

“Exposure to pesticides can be decreased by choosing, to the extent possible, food grown without pesticides or chemical fertilizers…Similarly, exposure to antibiotics, growth hormones, and toxic run-off from livestock feed lots can be minimized by eating free-range meat raised without these medications,” according to the landmark report, “Reducing Environmental Cancer Risk: What We Can Do Now,” submitted to President Obama by Dr. LaSalle Leffall, Jr., an oncologist and professor of surgery at Howard University, and Dr. Margaret L. Kripke, an immunologist at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.

“Organic production and processing is the only system that uses certification and inspection to verify that these chemicals are not used on the farm all the way to our dinner tables,” said Christine Bushway, Executive Director of the Organic Trade Association (OTA).

Organic production is based on a system of farming without the use of toxic and persistent pesticides (herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides) and synthetic fertilizers. Organically produced foods also must be produced without the use of antibiotics, synthetic hormones, genetic engineering and other excluded practices, sewage sludge, or irradiation. Organic foods are minimally processed without artificial ingredients, preservatives, or irradiation to maintain the integrity of the food. In addition, animal confinement in feedlots is prohibited.

“Consumers should know that organic foods have the least chemicals applied in their production and the least residues in the final products. Thus, those seeking to minimize their exposure to these chemicals and follow the recommendations of the President’s Cancer Panel can look for the USDA Organic label wherever they shop,” said Bushway.

“The American people—even before they are born—are bombarded continually with myriad combinations of these dangerous exposures,” the panel wrote in a letter to President Obama. It added. “The Panel urges you most strongly to use the power of your office to remove the carcinogens and other toxins from our food, water, and air that needlessly increase health care costs, cripple our Nation’s productivity, and devastate American lives.”

It added, “Many known or suspected carcinogens first identified through studies of industrial and agricultural occupational exposures have since found their way into soil, air, water and numerous consumer products…Some of these chemicals have been found in maternal blood, placental tissue, and breast milk samples from pregnant women and mothers who recently gave birth. Thus, chemical contaminants are being passed on to the next generation, both prenatally and during breastfeeding.”

“OTA is gratified to see a prestigious scientific panel recognize what the organic farmers and the organic community have realized about environmental health and organic agriculture for decades, and we applaud them for taking on this critical issue,” Bushway added.

The full report is available online.

The Organic Trade Association (OTA) is the membership-based business association for organic agriculture and products in North America. Its members include growers, shippers, processors, certifiers, farmers’ associations, distributors, importers, exporters, consultants, retailers and others. OTA’s Board of Directors is democratically elected by its members. OTA’s mission is to promote and protect the growth of organic trade to benefit the environment, farmers, the public and the economy (www.ota.com).

By Barbara Haumann, 413-376-1220

Following closely on the heels of the President’s Cancer Panel Report exhorting consumers to choose food grown without pesticides or chemical fertilizers , antibiotics, and growth hormones to help decrease their exposure to environmental chemicals that can increase their risk of contracting cancer, a study published in today’s issue of the journal Pediatrics concludes that exposure to organophosphate pesticides at levels common among U.S. children may contribute to the prevalence of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in these children.

“Studies have increasingly shown the importance of minimizing young children’s exposure to even low levels of chemical pesticides. This study adds to that wealth of knowledge and arms parents with information that helps them reduce their children’s pesticide intake,” said Christine Bushway, OTA’s Executive Director, pointing out that the use of organophosphates is prohibited in organic production.

The article reported findings from a study examining the association between urinary concentrations of metabolites of organophosphates and ADHD in children ages 8 to 15. Using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, researchers led by Maryse Bouchard, a researcher in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health at the University of Montreal, analyzed the levels of pesticide metabolites in the urine of 1,139 children and found children with above-average levels had roughly twice the odds of being diagnosed with ADHD.

As the largest study of this kind so far, it reminds consumers that organophosphates were originally developed for use in chemical warfare because they are known to be toxic to the nervous system. Organophosphate compounds are used in agriculture to kill pests.

“Organic food production and processing is the only system that uses certification and inspection to verify that these chemicals are not used,” Bushway added. “Those seeking to minimize their exposure to these chemicals can look for the USDA Organic label wherever they shop.”

The abstract of the paper published in the journal Pediatrics is accessible online.

For more information on organic, go to OTA’s consumer web site, www.organicitsworthit.org.

By Kurt Perkins

I was asked to write a piece on keeping kids ‘prescription free’ for the summer.  Before we talk about the logistics, I have to make 2 disclaimers.  One, I’m not a parent.  I’ve been married just over 2 years with kids being planned for the future.  I do take care of and consult with a lot of kids in my private practice and coach parents on ways to optimize their health so they don’t have to be put on drugs.

Two, I’m not a medical doctor.  I’m a wellness expert with a background in biochemistry and genetics.  I cannot legally tell, inform, or instruct you to get off prescription drugs.  What I can say is that the body is intelligently designed to live an abundant life without the use of drugs, both legal and illegal. 

In my 6 years of practice, seeing thousands of families, I can honestly say that I have never had a parent enjoy putting a child on medication, no matter the condition, whether it’s ADHD, asthma, allergies, headaches, infection, and even cholesterol.  Parents want to feel like they have done their best and by putting a child on medication, many often times feel like they have failed. 

I want to make it loud and clear that you are NOT a bad parent for putting your kid on drugs.  What I can say is that you may be an uninformed parent.  You are constantly getting bombarded with messages from only one side of the scenarios regarding symptoms and treatment options to create ‘health.’

What I would like to challenge is the notion and belief that there is disease.  To explain this, I need to get a little sciencey and make you pull out your mental library of physiology; how the body works.  If you remember back to biology, in order for a cell to stay healthy, it must stay balanced.  To stay balanced, you have to provide good things and avoid the bad things. 

I will refer to the bad things as those that are toxic or deficient.  For example, if a plant is wilting, you know to give it sunlight, water, and nutrients.  If the plant was missing the appropriate amount of sunlight, it would be deficient, therefore causing it to wilt.  Your job as the plant keeper is to make sure it stays sufficient. 

Your other job as the plant keeper is to make sure your neighbor isn’t dumping diesel fuel on your lawn, poisoning the plants.  You could be doing a perfect job of creating sufficiency but if your neighbor is poisoning the plant, there will be problems.  You must create purity as well. 

The division in paradigm is that medicine calls those problems ‘disease.’  In my world of wellness physiology, I call them ‘intelligent adaptive physiology.’  If you address what is causing the adaptations, the cell (your child) will return to balance (health).  Medicine will label that problem with a diagnosis and most likely prescribe a chemical (a toxin) to treat that diagnosis.  Never in the history of the world has adding toxic chemicals to the human body, produced a being to be well.  In my world, I ask what the person is deficient or toxic in and address those. 

Forget about this summer, if you want to keep your kids drug free, you MUST learn to ask a different set of questions.  Instead of asking, “what does my kid have, how do I treat it?” ask “in what area is my child deficient or toxic?”

People will express that adaptive physiology differently.  In one kid, it could look like behavioral problems.  For another child, it could look like asthma.  And for another, it may be a acne.  The diagnosis or label doesn’t matter, it’s figuring out what you and your child are missing and creating purity and sufficiency. 

To figure out how to create purity and sufficiency, let’s go back to the plant analogy.  If your plant is wilting, you instinctively give it water, nutrients, sunlight, and avoid poisons to nurse it back to health.  But how do you keep a healthy plant healthy?  The exact same way.  You give it water, nutrients, sunlight, and avoid poisons. 

You and your kids are no different.  What we as humans require are the same for all humans.  There’s a physical component, a chemical component, and a mental/emotional component.  When we are not providing these in sufficient and pure levels, the body adapts.

If it’s hard to remember physical, chemical, and emotional, just remember health is based on how we move, eat, and think.  Summer is the perfect time to start these changes but for changes to occur in a child, it begins with the parent.  YOU MUST ROLE MODEL!!!  

To begin the journey of role modeling behavior, start by adding, never taking away.  Think of the fight you have when you take away your child’s favorite toy.  It’s a disaster and nobody is happy.

If you want your kids to eat vegetables, you must eat more than you feed them.  If you want your kid to get off the couch and go play outside, you must play more and more enthusiastically outside.  If you want your kids to say ‘thank you,’ you must thank them for all great actions they perform.  If you don’t want your kids to eat the cake and ice-cream, don’t buy it for yourself. 

How I start each morning is by adding.  I start with a glass of water.  Then I add my exercise.  Following my workout, I do my daily reading and then write in a journal for which I am grateful.  Don’t start your day by depriving yourself.  This type of change is fleeting.

For behavior to change, you must first change your beliefs.  To change your beliefs, you must learn to ask the right questions.  If you need help, contact me.  This summer won’t be your greatest because you accomplished a lot but because it’s the summer you made a decision to change for a lifetime of summers.  Have fun, be safe, and create purity and sufficiency.

Purple is my favorite color.  This predisposes me to love all things purple.  So when it comes to food, blueberries get my attention for several reasons.  Besides their luscious color and their delicious taste, they are one of the most therapeutic plants on the planet.

Purple and indigo colored food of all kinds is high in a flavonoid called anthocyanins.  Anthocyanins are very high in antioxidants.  Because oxidative stress and the free radicals that are produced by oxidation are linked with so many degenerative processes, not surprisingly, the fruit of the blueberry plant and its antioxidant capacity have been shown in research to reduce aging symptoms in general.

Oxidation essentially wears down the tissues of the body.  Just like your old car that had oxidized or rust spots on it, our bodies can also “rust out.”  Oxidation is caused by everything from just plain breathing to being exposed to toxins either by choice (processed foods, alcohol, drugs, tobacco, etc.) or by environmental features (smog, paint fumes, farm chemicals in food, etc.).

The natural design of our bodies allows these oxidative processes or “fires” to be quenched through the anti-oxidants in our foods.  Water, for example, has very high antioxidant capacity. Measurements vary but below is a list of the 20 highest antioxidant capacity foods as identified by a recent USDA study (1).  Eating from this list is a very good idea for most people.  Notice especially the rating of the blueberry.

1. Small red bean (dried), 1/2 cup
2. Wild blueberry, 1 cup
3. Red kidney bean (dried), 1/2 cup
4. Pinto bean, 1/2 cup
5. Blueberry (cultivated), 1 cup
6. Cranberry, 1 cup (whole)
7. Artichoke (cooked hearts), 1 cup
8. Blackberry, 1 cup
9. Prune, 1/2 cup
10. Raspberry, 1 cup
11. Strawberry, 1 cup
12. Red delicious apple, 1
13. Granny Smith apple, 1
14. Pecan, 1 ounce
15. Sweet cherry, 1 cup
16. Black plum, 1
17. Russet potato, 1 cooked
18. Black bean (dried), 1/2 cup
19. Plum, 1
20. Gala apple, 1

To  be more specific about blueberries (both the fruit and the leaves), research has shown their positive impact on:

A close European cousin of the American blueberry (Vaccinium pallidum and Vaccinium corymbosum)  is called bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus).  Bilberry leaf has been researched to show similar results to the blueberry.

A therapeutic dose of blueberry fruit is one cup per day.  Not a bad prescription, eh?

_{(1) American Chemical Society. “Largest USDA Study Of Food Antioxidants Reveals Best Sources.” ScienceDaily 17 June 2004.}

_{(2) “Anthocyanins and Blueberries,” Nutrition Week, October 3, 1997;27(38):7/Doctor’s Guide to Medical and Other News, September 25, 1997;3.}

_{(3) “Blueberry-induced changes in spatial working memory correlate with changes in hippocampal CREB phosphorylation and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels,” Williams CM, El Mohsen MA, et al, Free Radical Biol Med, 2008 May 2.}

_{(4) “Cellular antioxidant activity of common fruits,” Wolfe KL, Kang X, et al, J Agric Food Chem, 2008; 24(56): 8418-26.} 

_{(5) “Blueberries May Reverse Some Aging,” Sison A, Medical Tribune, October, 1999;40(17):4.}

_{(6) “Antioxidant Activity of Berry Phenolics on Human Low-Density Lipoprotein and Liposome Oxidation,” Heinonen IM, et al, J Agric Food Chem, 1998;46(10):4107-4112.}

_{(7) “Blueberry fruit polyphenolics suppress oxidative stress-induced skeletal muscle cell damage in vitro,” Hurst RD, Wells RW, et al, Mol Nutr Food Res, 2010 March; 54(3): 353-63.}

_{(8) “Dietary flavanols and flavanol-rich foods intake and the risk of breast cancer,” Adebamowo CA, Cho E, et al, Int J Cancer., 2005; 114(4): 628-33.} 

Blueberry Smoothy

A simple way to take your “blueberry medicine” is to add the fruit to a protein drink.  Choose a low sugar, low carbohydrate protein powder such as rice, whey, or soy.  Add your protein powder to the blender with 1 cup fresh or frozen organic blueberries.  Perhaps 1 small banana, two or three ice cubes, and then 12-16 ounces water, rice milk, soy milk, almond milk or a mixture of all of the above. 

Blueberry or Bilberry Leaf Tea

A tea is prepared by combining 1 cup boiling water and 1–2 teaspoons of dried leaves and steeping for 15 minutes. Drink 1-3 cups/day to take advantage of the health benefits

“I am the Allower of my own Wellbeing”

A natural health newsletter written by Sherry Dell, PhD, CN

Volume 3, Issue 4
May, 2010

Purple is my favorite color.  This predisposes me to love all things purple.  So when it comes to food, blueberries get my attention for several reasons.  Besides their luscious color and their delicious taste, they are one of the most therapeutic plants on the planet.

Purple and indigo colored food of all kinds is high in a flavonoid called anthocyanins.  Anthocyanins are very high in antioxidants.  Because oxidative stress and the free radicals that are produced by oxidation are linked with so many degenerative processes, not surprisingly, the fruit of the blueberry plant and its antioxidant capacity have been shown in research to reduce aging symptoms in general.

Oxidation essentially wears down the tissues of the body.  Just like your old car that had oxidized or rust spots on it, our bodies can also “rust out.”  Oxidation is caused by everything from just plain breathing to being exposed to toxins either by choice (processed foods, alcohol, drugs, tobacco, etc.) or by environmental features (smog, paint fumes, farm chemicals in food, etc.).

The natural design of our bodies allows these oxidative processes or “fires” to be quenched through the anti-oxidants in our foods.  Water, for example, has very high antioxidant capacity. Measurements vary but below is a list of the 20 highest antioxidant capacity foods as identified by a recent USDA study (1).  Eating from this list is a very good idea for most people.  Notice especially the rating of the blueberry.

1. Small red bean (dried), 1/2 cup
2. Wild blueberry, 1 cup
3. Red kidney bean (dried), 1/2 cup
4. Pinto bean, 1/2 cup
5. Blueberry (cultivated), 1 cup
6. Cranberry, 1 cup (whole)
7. Artichoke (cooked hearts), 1 cup
8. Blackberry, 1 cup
9. Prune, 1/2 cup
10. Raspberry, 1 cup
11. Strawberry, 1 cup
12. Red delicious apple, 1
13. Granny Smith apple, 1
14. Pecan, 1 ounce
15. Sweet cherry, 1 cup
16. Black plum, 1
17. Russet potato, 1 cooked
18. Black bean (dried), 1/2 cup
19. Plum, 1
20. Gala apple, 1

To  be more specific about blueberries (both the fruit and the leaves), research has shown their positive impact on:

A close European cousin of the American blueberry (Vaccinium pallidum and Vaccinium corymbosum)  is called bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus).  Bilberry leaf has been researched to show similar results to the blueberry.

A therapeutic dose of blueberry fruit is one cup per day.  Not a bad prescription, eh?

_{(1) American Chemical Society. “Largest USDA Study Of Food Antioxidants Reveals Best Sources.” ScienceDaily 17 June 2004.}

_{(2) “Anthocyanins and Blueberries,” Nutrition Week, October 3, 1997;27(38):7/Doctor’s Guide to Medical and Other News, September 25, 1997;3.}

_{(3) “Blueberry-induced changes in spatial working memory correlate with changes in hippocampal CREB phosphorylation and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels,” Williams CM, El Mohsen MA, et al, Free Radical Biol Med, 2008 May 2.}

_{(4) “Cellular antioxidant activity of common fruits,” Wolfe KL, Kang X, et al, J Agric Food Chem, 2008; 24(56): 8418-26.} 

_{(5) “Blueberries May Reverse Some Aging,” Sison A, Medical Tribune, October, 1999;40(17):4.}

_{(6) “Antioxidant Activity of Berry Phenolics on Human Low-Density Lipoprotein and Liposome Oxidation,” Heinonen IM, et al, J Agric Food Chem, 1998;46(10):4107-4112.}

_{(7) “Blueberry fruit polyphenolics suppress oxidative stress-induced skeletal muscle cell damage in vitro,” Hurst RD, Wells RW, et al, Mol Nutr Food Res, 2010 March; 54(3): 353-63.}

_{(8) “Dietary flavanols and flavanol-rich foods intake and the risk of breast cancer,” Adebamowo CA, Cho E, et al, Int J Cancer., 2005; 114(4): 628-33.} 

Blueberry Smoothy

A simple way to take your “blueberry medicine” is to add the fruit to a protein drink.  Choose a low sugar, low carbohydrate protein powder such as rice, whey, or soy.  Add your protein powder to the blender with 1 cup fresh or frozen organic blueberries.  Perhaps 1 small banana, two or three ice cubes, and then 12-16 ounces water, rice milk, soy milk, almond milk or a mixture of all of the above. 

Blueberry or Bilberry Leaf Tea

A tea is prepared by combining 1 cup boiling water and 1–2 teaspoons of dried leaves and steeping for 15 minutes. Drink 1-3 cups/day to take advantage of the health benefits

Well, it’s that time again when we are all sitting cozy and warm, dreaming of the day when we can turn over the soil for the first time and get our vegetable gardens going. The catalogs are a steady stream in the mail and we can hardly wait to plant that new award winning tomato. But what if you don’t have a garden?, With all the emphasis on getting more vegetables in our diets, maybe you are thinking that this just might be the year that you decide to put in your first garden. I gotta tell you, there is something great about getting in the soil and planting seeds and watching over your garden until you see the fruits of your labors. Nothing in this world tastes better than a tomato that you grew yourself. Or maybe you’re wanting to teach your children about the miracles that occur when seeds are planted and the life cycle of plants.
Whatever your reason, I am going to tell you some of the basics you will need to know to have a successful garden and, believe me, it is not as hard as you might think. With a little planning and some thought, you will have produce that you can eat all summer long. You can also investigate organic gardening on the internet and your local library. Most of the tips I will give you are going to be organic or “green”. I don’t like to use chemicals in my garden even for the bugs. I feel like it defeats the whole purpose of having a garden.

Making Your Garden Bed
Ok, let’s get started! First you need to decide where you are going to put your garden. It needs to have lots of sun and a southern exposure is best. Is the area that you want to plant in covered with lawn? Well, we will deal with that in a minute. First, measure your space and then get some graph paper and plot it out. Make sure you take into account where existing plants are already and where the fences are on your property. Fences can be a help or a hindrance, a help in that you can let some of your vine plants grow up the fence and a hindrance if they shade part of your garden but you can always plant cool loving plants there in the shade, like spinach and lettuce. Now stake out your area. To get rid of the grass, all you need to do is lay down a thick layer of newspaper and weight it down with rocks. Water this every day and, in a couple of weeks, the newspaper will have smothered your grass and you will be ready to turn everything, newspaper included, over into your soil. You are going to need to dig down about 8-10 inches unless you want to grow potatoes, then you will need to go down at least a foot because potatoes grow underneath the plant. Ok, now you have your dirt exposed and you will need to figure out what kind it is. What I mean is you could have sand or clay and, if you are really lucky, you will just have plain old dirt. Most garden centers or your county extension office will test your soil for you and tell you what amendments you will need. By amendments, I mean compost or manure or peat moss or maybe even sand.
What To Plant
Now comes the fun part, picking out what you would like to grow. Since this is your first garden, I would pick 4-5 different easy to grow things. Some suggestions would be lettuce, spinach, carrots, onions, and tomatoes. Now everyone grows squash in their gardens and they are very easy to grow but unless you love zucchini or have family and friends that will take your overflow, I would stick to one or two plants of these. Herbs are also very easy to grow and they also make pretty landscaping for your yard, if that is what you would like to grow. Herbs don’t even require you to have a real garden, they can be planted in your flower beds along with your annuals. I love going to my garden center to pick out my plants but plants can be started indoors with seeds if that is something you are willing to do. I prefer to go to the gardening center so I can buy varieties that are know to grow here in Colorado. But I love my seed catalogs also and the ones I get are free. Here are a few web sites where you can request catalogs. These are the ones I prefer but there are lots and lots of catalogs out there that you can request, some even carry heirloom seeds that your grandmother and grandfather used to plant in their gardens.
Burgess Seed and Plant Company and Farmer’s Seed and Nursery both have websites where you can order a catalog or order direct from them. http://www.DirectGardening.com and my other choice is Gurney’s seed and Nursery Co. http://www.Gurneys.com. I found them fair and reliable and they all have a one year guarantee on all plants that you buy from them. Try and pick varieties that you have seen growing at your local garden center if possible but there are many varieties that will grow in your area that you can only get from the seed companies. I still laugh when I remember when I called my local extension office and asked if we could grow Pecan trees here. He said sure they would grow here but I would not get any nuts. I asked why and was told that it did not get cold enough here. He told me I could try though, that some parts of our county did get cold enough and other parts did not. My point here is that your county extension office can be your best friend and most even have master gardener programs, if you would love to do that. Also, whether you are ordering from a catalog or buying from your garden center, check growing times. This is important, you would hate to have your first pumpkins to only get so big before the first frost kills them off.

Planting Time
Ok now you have your plants and seeds and you are ready to plant. Read the backs of your seed packages very carefully because these will explain how to plant and how far apart to plant your seeds. Also seed packets always have handy tips to go along with the planting instructions. If you are planning on growing carrots or other tiny seeds, use a old salt shaker. Put the seeds in the shaker and just shake your way down your rows. Follow the directions on the plant stakes that come with your seedlings. They also will tell you how far apart to grow your vegetables. Once your seeds are planted, lightly water your whole garden. The best time for planting seeds is in the morning and it is best to plant seedlings in the cool of the evening. Now give the whole garden a light watering. Plants need a lot of water for the first couple of weeks. Once you see that your plants are growing big and strong, you will want to mulch your garden. This helps to keep down weeds. Now here in Colorado where we grow cattle, getting some old hay or straw to mulch with is not a big deal. In other areas of the country, you might want to use wood chips or sawdust. Again check with your county extension office or your garden center on what would be best for your area. We have also used old newspapers for mulch. Now is the time to drag out that old hose that was leaking to make a drip irrigation system. This is really easy. With a large nail or awl, make holes at intervals in your hose on one side. Then lay the hose between your rows. Cover with mulch and attach the hose to your spigot and turn the water on to very low dribble. Now your plants are being watered continueously and you don’t have to worry about watering.
Garden Pests
Now there will come a time in your growing season that the bugs are going to make their appearance. They will love your vegetables as much as you will but here are some easy things that you can do that will kill those pesky creatures and keep your plants safe from nasty chemicals. Tomato bugs and worms can be killed by handpicking them off and dropping them into an old coffee can filled with water or beer. Soapy water sprayed on plants will kill aphids and other little plant sucking bugs. Try to stay away from chemicals if you can, they poison our earth and our soil. You can keep ants out of your garden by surrounding the perimeter with cayenne pepper.
Harvest Time
Now it is time to harvest, I hope you enjoy your vegetables as much as I enjoyed writing this very basic guide for you. Remember to keep it “green” and have fun! You may find that this art of gardening becomes your passion.

About The Author: Debra Frick is a mother of 5 and a grandmother to 8 grandsons and one granddaughter. She is a published author and poetress. Recycling and saving money are her passions. She also loves crocheting and cooking. She is also a pet rescue volunteer and has many pets of her own.

I‘ll bet most of you haven’t eaten many turnips in your lives. They grow bitter as they mature and are not widely cultivated, so not highly available. Try a baby turnip, coming into season in early June, and you’ll be hooked. Sweet, juicy and crunchy, you don’t need to cook them to enjoy their flavor. The edible greens are a great substitute for spinach. Color ranges from white to purple-tinged.

Turnips are high in vitamins A, C, E and K as well as folate, iron, manganese and calcium. An interesting note: lower amounts of calcium are found in vegetable sources, however what is there is more absorbable than that in protein and dairy sources, a good thing for vegetarians! Turnips are also a good source of other trace vitamins and minerals and provide excellent dietary fiber and protein.

Turnips grow in rich well-drained soil. They do well in the same bed with onions and peas. Plant seeds as soon as the soil can be worked. Turnips can handle light freezes. Because they are a brassica, rotate related crops so that they are not grown in the same location more than once every three years. The seed packet gives the best planting advice.

Harvest when the roots are 3” or less in diameter. Turnips less than an inch in diameter, can be eaten without peeling. Peel the more mature ones. Then roast, steam lightly, add to pot pies and stews or cook and mash them with potatoes.

If you grow for greens, harvest them while the roots are less than an inch in diameter or greens can be bitter. Steam or sauté the greens, just as you would spinach.

Turnip Parsnip Gratin
Cooking Light, November 2009
8 servings (serving size: 1 gratin)
A mandoline will slice the veggies into uniform thickness and make quick work of it. Use a flavorful aged Gruyère cheese.

3 ¾ c. (1/8-inch-thick) slices peeled turnip
3 ¾ c. (1/8-inch-thick) slices peeled parsnip
6 c. water
Cooking spray
1 c. whole milk
1/3 c. fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
2 T. all-purpose flour
1 t. kosher salt
½ t. freshly ground black pepper
1 c. (4 oz.) shredded Gruyère cheese
2 T. butter
¼ c. panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)

1. Preheat oven to 400°. Meanwhile, combine first 3 ingredients in a large saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 7 minutes or until almost tender. Drain; let stand 5 minutes. Arrange about½ c. vegetable mixture into each of 8 (5 ½”) round gratin dishes coated with cooking spray.

2. Combine milk, broth, flour, salt, and pepper in a saucepan over medium-high heat; bring to a simmer. Cook 4 minutes, stirring constantly with a whisk until thick. Remove from heat; add cheese, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Spoon about 3 tablespoons sauce over each serving.
3. Melt butter in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add panko; toast 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Sprinkle breadcrumb mixture evenly over cheese mixture. Place dishes on a baking sheet. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown on top. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Nutritional Information: Calories: 196, Fat: 8.8g (sat 5.1g,mono 2.5g,poly 0.5g), Protein: 7.6g, Carbohydrate: 22.8g, Fiber: 5.3g, Cholesterol: 26mg, Iron: 0.9mg, Sodium: 424mg, Calcium: 236mg
Through Cultivate Health, Michele Mukatis works with individuals who want to improve their health and the health of the planet through gardening, both for landscape beauty and edibles.  She can be reached at www.CultivateHealthColorado.com

There are studies proving that organic produce is more nutritious than conventional. Conversely, there are studies that prove the opposite. In light of that, here are other compelling reasons why you might want to switch to purchasing organic produce.

#1 Organic produce does not use chemical pesticides. Truly, pesticides are meant to kill. There is every possibility that ingesting foods laden with pesticides will compromise your body and could even kill the “friendly” bacteria in your gut that helps you digest food.

Additionally, many pesticides used on crops are dangerous to human health. Many farm laborers on conventional farms must wear protective clothing or they become sick.

#2 Chemical fertilizers are not allowed on organic fields. Chemical fertilizers deplete the topsoil because they give nothing back to the soil and do not promote soil health. The run-off from chemical fertilizers has created a huge dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico, which, in turn, compromises the fish we eat. In order to have healthy soil, we need to add back what we take away, which is where compost stars. Additionally, farms
 grazing livestock that use their lands for crop production are healthier than those growing a monocrop with no natural inputs to give back to the soil. Healthy soil means healthy plants that can take better care of themselves when an infestation occurs. 
#3 Organic produce is not genetically modified. We do not know if GMOs are safe for consumption. The crops with the highest GMO use are soy, corn, wheat, rice and cotton, some of which are in most processed products. Because of the health problems our population is facing, it’s a good idea to avoid GMOs until we truly know they are safe.

#4 Organic Foods are actually less expensive. When you consider damage to human health and the environment, we pay somewhere along the line. Most conventional foods are artificially inexpensive because they are subsidized by the government, so you’re still paying for them, just not in the checkout line.
Get to know a local farmer and consider helping on the farm. It’s healthy for your body to be outside and do physical labor and it creates a connection to where your food comes from, the best reason for going organic! 
© May 2010, Cultivate Health LLC, All Rights Reserved Through Cultivate Health Michelle works with people  who want to improve their health an call to schedule a free Health History consultation or to talk about gardening, both for landscape beauty and edibles. www.CultivateHealthColorado.com

Procter and Gamble announced on Wednesday, May 5, 2010 that they have signed a contract to buy Natura Pet Products Inc, a privately held pet food company based in Davis CA. 

 Natura’s product line includes

• Innova
• Evo
• Healthwise
• Karma

 While P & G’s product line includes

• IAMs
• Eukanuba

 According to P & G this acquisition will complement their existing holistic and natural (don’t get me started on this word) brand.

 I’m curious if this will have a “karma” repercussions, especially after the posting “error” on Thursday, May 6 that practically took down the stock market.

Here are some comments from our readers

This is what I would classify as a “Natural Pet Food Tragedy”!

Natura had been a true pillar of the industry. For a long time, this company did the research, set the standards and raised the bar for other pet food manufacturers. They were true innovators and their integrity had been second to none in the industry. They had many “firsts” in pet food/nutritional technology.

They were the first to…

Offer an all natural, human grade ingredient pet food.

(INNOVA)

Offer a limited, single carb/single meat protein food line.  (California Natural).

Offer a 95% Certified Organic Pet Food

(Karma)

Offer a Grain Free Pet Food

(EVO)

Those were the biggest breakthroughs, but there were many more. There was no other company that did so much research. There were no other people who cared so much.

I learned so much from them, all the way back to a couple of years before I opened my store. I was Tim Petersen’s (Petersen Pet Provisions, now Petersen Nutrition) very first salesman. At that time, I had the distinct pleasure of riding for a whole week with Ronn Walthers, who was a highest level, national sales manager for Natura. We traveled the Front Range selling and detailing the Natura Lines, which at that time were only INNOVA and California Natural. That week was one of the most profound learning experience sessions in my life. I had done much “homework” going back to my earliest days in the pet industry, but learning and selling the Natura lines gave my knowledge a whole new life. 10 years ago, I opened “Mike’s Natural Pet Market” in Colorado Springs. INNOVA and California Natural were my first flagship lines of pet foods. The learning from Natura never stopped. There was always something new, and it always made sense. They were often imitated by other brands, but never copied.

Until now, Natura has always been a huge part of my business. Yes…sadly, I say…until now. Everyone at Natura always reiterated…no, it was more than that…in truth, they repeatedly drove the point home that they would never, never, ever sell out. They would never be in the superstores because they “truly valued and needed the independent retailer, who would take the time and speak about their products and everything they stood for”.

The news this week of their sale to P&G Pet Care came to me directly from two P&G sales reps who were in my store, trying to sell me IAMS and Eukanuba on Wednesday morning. That revelation was like a sharpened, flaming telephone pole through the heart. Yes, I do take this that personally. As for “how will this affect the industry?”…I know that first off, this is a major blow to every independent pet food store in the nation. Some will lose heart and actually just go out of business. Some will scramble to sell and leave all this behind them. As always, the toughest will survive, and do so by selling alternative brands that are still backed with the integrity of a family or a tight knit community that cares.

My prediction is that Natura will be in the superstores chains within a year, perhaps in the same aisle as their IAMS and Eugeniaba lines. (Remember a year from know, who told you so.) The top people at Natura have told us store owners and their own employees that they have been guaranteed by P&G that the integrity of the Natura lines will be upheld. P&G has supposedly also stated that they are focused on the independent retailers. This is a fairy tale! In the same breath, P&G has stated to the Naturera folks that they look to get much growth in sales in the Natural Pet Foods segment of the industry. This will not occur in independent pet stores. P&G is not wired that way. That is simply not possible. That growth will happen in big box, mass market and superstores like Petco and PetSmart. When was the last time you picked up “Pampers” or “Tide” in an independent grocery or drug store?

The absolute saddest part of this is how it will affect the innocent pets. As P&G did with IAMS and Eukanuba, As Colgate Palmolive did with Science Diet, As Mars did with Nutro, as Nestle did with Purina (and on the list goes), the Natura products that were so very special will be cheapened with inferior ingredients. It will have to happen that way, because that is the only way that they can increase profits for the stockholders.

At the end of the day, I can’t help but wonder…How much money is integrity worth?

How many million dollars does it take to find true happiness?

What was your magic number, John, Ann, Peter and the rest of you?     
Mike

Money talks.  Don’t they already own Iams?  Mars candy company recently bought Royal Canin and they already own some very prestigious dog specialty foods.  Hills owns Science Diet, so who owns Pedigree?

Regarding how it will affect the industry, the money spent will end up in different bank accounts.  And the specialty shops will find their precious foods in the isles of Wal-Mart.  What else is new?  Regarding how it will affect the food, that’s a different story possibly.  “They” say wait three years for the takeover to get to the back burner and then they’ll play with the formula.  Of course, that’s just hearsay.

Bob Warren

By Kurt Perkins
http://drkurtrant.blogspot.com/2010/02/mmr-perspective.html
www.mychirorocks.com
All over the news there have been stories how Lancet, the British medical journal, has discredited and voided out the research done by Dr. Andrew Wakefield.  In the Lancet article, Wakefield made a mere SUGGESTION that there MAY be a connection between autism and the MMR vaccine, BUT further studies had to be performed, this was back in the late ‘90s.  That was it, and this was career suicide for him ever since.  To do further studies, he had to do his OWN research.  This is where the supposed ‘conflict of interest’ has come in the news.  A group paid him to do research.  In case you don’t know, it costs money to do research, so he got paid to work.  Read on as we discuss the conflict of interest perspective from the leading pro-vaccine front man.
I’ve waited a week to comment on this issue because I was waiting to see if Dr. Paul Offit was going to make an appearance and he, in fact, did this morning on CBS’s morning program (2/3/10).  I waited because Dr. Offit is the vaccine industries highest paid unofficial spokes person.  Dr. Profit Offit has earned close to $10 million in royalties from the Rotateq vaccine and stands to earn $13-$35 million over the life of the vaccine patents, the one he invented, as well as voted into the child’s mandatory vaccine schedule.
This is the same man that said a baby could tolerate 100,000 vaccines safely.  He also took home $29 million from the sale of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) as part of a $182 million sale of its worldwide royalty interest in the Merck Rotateq vaccine to Royal Pharma.  The amount could be as high as $42 million, based on an analysis of current CHOP administrative policies.
Perspective on conflict of interest is always necessary, especially from a group such as the vaccine industry that has billions and billions of dollars to bury any contrary thought or notion that challenges their cash cow dogma.  Ask this question.  If everyone stopped getting the MMR vaccine, would Dr. Wakefield make any money from those decisions?  On the contrary, how much money would the vaccine industry lose if everyone stopped getting MMR?  The CDC states there were just over 4 million births in 2009.  That would be a huge loss to the vaccine industry if the MMRs were stopped.  Can you image a guaranteed 4 million new customers every year that would buy your product more than once?  Of course, the vaccine industry is going to nullify any accusation that vaccines cause harm.
Prior to the MMR vaccine being given at 12-15 months of age, a child could receive up to 25 doses of vaccines.  You can find the vaccine schedule on the CDC’s webpage.  What poisonous ingredients do those vaccines contain?  How would you like a healthy dose of mercury, aluminum, formaldehyde, MSG, and anti-freeze.  Don’t believe me?  Check out the CDC’s page
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pinkbook/downloads/appendices/B/excipient-table-2.pdf
I’m going to propose that even if a child did not receive the MMR vaccine, autism rates would still sky rocket just like they have the past 20-30 years.  I also propose that mercury is not the only culprit.  Do some research and look at the symptoms of heavy metal toxicity, such as aluminum.  A lot of it sounds like autism type disorders to me.  When vaccines are developed, they are not tested if they cause problems, just if they supposedly can prevent a minor illness most often seen in a culture where sanitation, hygiene, and lack of nutrition are problems.  Not the case in the USA.
My final piece of perspective MMR PERSPECTIVE to challenge you is from the wellness paradigm.  In wellness, dis-ease happens from 2 manners, deficiency, or toxicity.  The human body is an eco-system.  We are animated earth.  There is nothing in the human body that is not Earth, unless man puts it in like mercury, formaldehyde, anti-freeze, or monkey kidney tissue.  For humans to thrive, we must eat, move, and think in a manner that is required for proper genetic expression.  Our cells desire to maintain balance and only become imbalanced when overtaken by deficiency or toxicity.  This is the basis of physiology, not a controversial topic at all.  In the case of vaccines, adding chemicals to the body to prevent minor illness has had a massive trade in overall health.  ‘Science’ will hang onto the notion that mercury does not cause autism, yet they are asking the wrong questions.
The correct question should be, ‘by adding chemicals and viruses to the human eco-system in a way that nature would never allow, will the eco-system flourish or get sick?’  If you look around, the answer is we get sick.  Just in kids, cancer, diabetes, auto-immune disorders, asthma, allergies, and AUTISM are at all time highs and getting worse.  But science will look at the fact that fewer kids get chicken pox or fewer cases of diarrhea and call that success.  It’s absurd and idiotic to say that’s a success when you see the trade off end result.  Are vaccines the only culprit?  Absolutely not, but from a human physiology/eco-system paradigm, vaccines will never move a cell towards balance which promotes growth and repair.  If you want more info regarding vaccines, there are many books.  I always recommend ‘The Sanctity of the Human Blood’ by Dr. Tim O’Shea.  Don’t worry, I get ZERO kick backs for recommending his book.  Another book, not so much a vaccine book but diving into the world of toxicity is called ‘Excitotoxins’ by Dr. Russell Blaylock.  A third book that is great is called, ‘The Virus and the Vaccine’ by Bookchin and Schumacher.  Again, I have no financial ties to these books, so it doesn’t matter to me if you read them or not.  What matters to me is that you get informed from sources that are not tied to the vaccine industry but are well referenced.
Remember that health is a choice, a whole choice and nothing but a choice.  BUT, those choices can only be made accurately if you ask the right questions.
Dr Perkin can be reached at 719.598.6955 or www.mychirorocks.com