Month: January 2009

by Patty Donovan

(NaturalNews) As the disappearance of honeybees continues, researchers are trying desperately to discover the cause of Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). General concensus at this point is that there is more than once cause and the latest culprit may be genetically modified crops. This is one area of research being neglected as mainstream scientists insist GM crops are safe.

For the last 100 years, beekeepers have experienced colony losses from bacteria, (foulbrood), mites (varroa and tracheal) and other pathogens. These problems are dealt with by using antibiotics, miticides and and other methods of pest management. Losses are slow and expected and beekeepers know how to limit the destruction. This new mass die-off is different in that it is virtually instantaneous with no warning of the impending collapse.

John McDonald, a bee keeper in Pennsyvania with a background in biology, speculated that genetically modified crops could play a role in CCD. Although the government constantly reassures us that these genetic manipulations are safe for both humans and the environment, his hope is that looking more closely at these issues might raise questions about those assumptions.

The common bacterium, bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) supplies the most commonly used segment of transgenic DNA. Bt has been used for decades by farmers and gardeners to control crop damage from butterfy larvae. Now, instead of spraying this bacterium directly on the crops, where it is eaten only by the target insects, the genes containing the insecticidal traits are incorporated into the genome of the plant itself. As the genetically modified plant grows, these Bt genes are replicated in every cell of the plant, including pollen. Therefore, every cell of each GM plant contains its own poison aimed to kill the target insect. The target insects consume some portion of the plant, then once ingested, the toxin produced by the Bt genes causes crystallization in the guts of boring larvae and thus death. The primary toxin is a protein called Cry1Ab. In the case of field corn, the targeted insects are stem and root-borers and butterfly larvae.

Although scientists "assure" us that bees (hymenopterans) are not affected, there are Bt variants available that target beetles, flies and mosquitoes. There is indisputable proof that Cry1Ab is present in beehives. Beekeepers spray Bt under hive lids to control the wax moth because the larvae cause messy webs on the honey. Canadian beekeepers have noted the disappearance of this moth even in untreated hives, apparently the result of bees ingesting Cry1Ab while foraging in GM canola plants.

Bees forage heavily on corn flowers to obtain pollen for the rearing of young bees. These pollen grains also contain the Bt genes of the parent plant, because they are present in the cells from which pollen forms. Mr. McDonald believes it may be possible that while Cry1Ab has no direct lethal effect on young bees, there may be some sub-lethal effect, such as immune suppression, acting as a slow killer.

Tens of millions of acres of genetically modified crops are allowing the Bt genes to move off crop fields and contaminate other flowers from which bees gather flowers. "Given that nearly every bite of food that we eat has a pollinator, the seriousness of this emerging problem could dwarf all previous food disruptions".(John McDonald) He proposed an experiment to compare colony losses of bees from regions where there are no GM crops to losses of colonies where they are exposed. He wanted to put test hives where GM crops are so distant from the hives that the foraging worker bees would have no exposure to GM crops. Researches readily dismissed his ideas and no one followed through with such an experiment.

At this point, he decided to do his own investigation at his own expense. He established 8 colonies in new wooden hives to ensure no possible disease transfer from old hives. The bees were fed continuously with sugar syrup until the hives were placed at the selected locations.

"At both sites the flowers of goldenrod provided ample pasturage, with the honey flow commencing in the middle of August and tapering off by the second week in October. Medium-depth empty honey storage supers (a super is the part of the beehive used to collect honey) were put on the hives at this time in addition to the three brood chambers already there. By the simple expedient of lifting the hives from behind, progress could be roughly monitored.

This monitoring showed that the hives of the farmland bees, while numerous, were not gaining weight. Meanwhile, the non-farm colonies steadily gained weight. This part of the experiment was terminated Oct. 14 with the removal of the honey storage supers, with these results: The farmland bees had not even started to work in the honey supers and will require extensive feeding before winter sets in. The non-farm bee colonies produced, in total, nearly 200 pounds of extra honey in addition to about 150 pounds per hive stored in the over-wintering brood supers. These colonies will be left in place to see whether the die-off of last season is repeated. These results should encourage new research to determine what factor or factors are present in farm country to cause such a discrepancy in honey production." John McDonald

John McDonald is a beekeeper in Pennsylvania. He welcomes comments or questions about the bee problem at [email protected].

Another study indicating that Bt may be contributing to the death of honey bees was undertaken in Mexico. This study compared the effects on young adult honeybees of 2 concentrations of Cry1AB (3 and 5000 parts per billion) to a chemical pesticide, imidacloprid. 3 different effects were evaluated by the researchers:

1. Survival of honeybees during sub-chronic exposure to Cry1Ab.
2. Feeding behavior.
3. Learning performance at the time that honeybees become foragers.

Neither test concentration of Cry1Ab had lethal effects on the honeybees, however, when exposed to the higher concentration, feeding behavior was affected. The bees spent longer ingesting the syrup which contained the Cry1Ab which could mean smaller amounts of pollen would be collected. These bees also had impaired learning performance. Honeybees normally do not continue responding to an odor when no food is present, but should be discouraged and seek other sources. These bees continued responding to the odor which again, could affect pollen gathering efficiency. This study indicates that although Bt is not directly lethal to honeybees, it could indirectly lead to colony death due to failure to collect enough food to sustain the hive.

These findings may be the key to the difference in honey production in Mr. McDonald's experiment. Bt appears to have non-lethal effects which become apparent only when the lethal effect is absent. Although not directly lethal to non-target organisms, the toxins from the Bt gene potentially puts non-target insects such as honeybees at risk.

Brand name companies that manufacture a bulk of the products being sold in American supermarkets, fast food restaurants, convenience stores, gas stations and drug stores have redefined traditional foods and beverages. Providing the public with high quality, nourishing products is the last thing corporate executives care about. In the never-ending pursuit of greater profits and the pressure to meet consumer trends, food and beverage manufacturers are poisoning the masses with toxic, nutritionally devoid, and dangerous products. Pleasing Wall Street investors and addicting consumers to brand name products to make them come back to buy over and over again is what the game is all about.

Most foods and beverages being sold on the market should be classified as deadly poisons. In any given year common foods and beverages claim more victims than any terrorist organization. Most products contain genetically modified ingredients, artificial growth hormones, antibiotics, artificial sweeteners, artificial flavors, artificial colors, preservatives, additives, bleaches, dyes, excitotoxins, neurotoxins, heavy metals, synthetic vitamins, inorganic minerals, emulsifiers, stabilizers, solvents, hydrogenated fats, pesticides, herbicides, and other toxic compounds that were never intended for human consumption.

Why are the FDA, EPA, and USDA allowing this to occur? The answer is they are in cahoots with the corporations that are doing these things to our food supply. Major government agencies allow corporate interest groups to buy legitimacy with the American public. The federal government, on behalf of the big corporations, is rubber stamping toxic warfare to be conducted against the American people by allowing many of these potentially harmful products on the market. Unless you understand the seriousness of these problems and take action yourself, chances are likely that you will succumb to some kind of illness or health problem and exit this planet prematurely.

In an attempt to shed light on these subjects and alert our readers to the landmines that should be avoided, CRUSADOR sat down with food investigator and whistleblower David Migdal. In this power-packed interview Migdal blows the lid off of the food industry’s lies that are killing and sickening millions of people every year. If you care about what you put into your body, or if you’d like to inform a friend or family member about the problems with the foods and beverages they are consuming, the following interview will go a long way in letting you know what to avoid and why.

CRUSADOR:  David thanks for the time you’re giving me to share your thoughts on what’s occurring with a vast majority of the foods and beverages being sold to consumers. You seem to be able to zero in on the most important issues and distill out the facts. Tell our readers how you started looking into what’s wrong with our foods and beverages and why you feel so passionate about alerting others to their dangers?

I really owe my start to my parents. When I was young they both became heavily involved in the health food movement. This was back in the 1970’s when many people thought you were a little odd for eating health food. Having an investigator’s mindset and following along the path that my parents started me on, I began looking intently at every aspect of food and food ingredients about ten years ago. This led me on a long trail that I still haven’t gotten to the end of.

I think most people know very little about the dangers inherent in the products they are consuming. We are being negatively impacted by more chemicals, toxins and artificial ingredients than any generation that has ever lived. What has been the result of this assault? Cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, stroke, obesity, birth defects, and other health problems have never been greater. Just look at the number of people hooked on pharmaceutical drugs as a result. We should look at the things we’re eating and drinking before resorting to pharmaceutical drugs that do very little to correct a health problem.

CRUSADOR:  What are some of the leading problems you’re finding with many of the foods and beverages on the market?

This interview would be far too long if we tried to cover everything. We can touch on some key issues like genetic engineering, the dangers of conventional dairy products, artificial ingredients, food irradiation, food additives, neurotoxins added to products and things like that.

CRUSADOR:  Let’s begin with genetic engineering since you brought that up. I wrote a book about this problem titled “GMOs – Beware of the Coming Food Apocalypse!” What I discovered about genetic engineering enraged me. What’s your take on this issue? Is it really a serious problem that we need to be concerned about?

Absolutely. The entire human race has been turned into a genetic experiment. This all started back in the mid 1990’s when Monsanto and a few other biotech companies thought they knew what was best for our foods and started manipulating milk production with cows and the genetic traits of key crops like soy, corn, cotton and canola. Tinkering with genes and doing things with foods that God never intended is a gross violation of creation in my opinion.   In a little over ten years we’ve gone from very few genetically altered products being on the market to having almost 70 to 80% of the products now sold in supermarkets containing at least one ingredient that came about through genetic engineering. There are no laws that mandate that food companies have to tell us which ingredients are genetically engineered. We’ve been denied our right to know what’s going into a product. The FDA doesn’t believe we need to be concerned; they claim that a product is the same as long as its nutritional make-up is the same. This means that if a tomato is still red and has the same relative protein, fat and carbohydrate content that a conventional tomato has, it’s not important what genes were inserted onto its DNA. The EPA says these foods are safe even though genetic engineering has turned some crops into pesticide breeding factories. Other crops have been manipulated to make them immune to herbicides like Roundup. Genetic engineering isn’t about creating better products that benefit humanity. In my opinion it is a huge scam and it’s being used to destroy farmers and allow a handful of corporations like Monsanto to control all food production on planet earth.

The sad truth is we really don’t know what the long-term consequences are going to be from eating foods manipulated through genetic engineering. There were no human safety studies done to validate these products to be safe. The government never required it and the biotech companies tried to bury any field tests they conducted that showed a potential problem. There are hundreds of well respected scientists who question genetic engineering. Some say there may be a link to cancer from these foods. Our DNA could be altered and send incorrect messages to our cells that cause mutations because we’re now eating genes that we never ate before.

Researches like Jeffrey Smith, author of the book “Seeds of Deception” and "Genetic Roulette" says that there is evidence to show that gut flora has been found to contain the bacterial genes used in altering genetically engineered crops. Well, is that a concern? Gut flora and digestion is what keeps us alive. We don’t have a clue what effect these genes may have on our flora or our digestive system in the long run. We’ve got sick crops, sick animals and sick people that have all been harmed in some way or another by genetic engineering yet we’re turning a blind eye as though everything is fine. The only way to avoid the problem for sure, at least for now, is to go organic. That’s a lot more expensive though. What about people that can’t afford organic, especially with an economy that has turned upside down? I guess they’ll just have to continue eating genetically engineered foods and play the crapshoot. People should be outraged that they have been forced to eat genetically engineered foods without knowing it and without knowing what the possible consequences could be. Don’t look to the government for answers. They’re just the gatekeepers and mouthpiece for the big corporations.   

CRUSADOR:  Let’s touch on the issue of dairy since it follows along the lines of genetic engineering. What’s wrong with a lot of our milk, cheese, yogurt and butter?

All someone has to do is visit a commercial dairy farm that raises dairy cows and they’d be in for a shock. We’re not talking about healthy cows grazing on good grass and producing high quality milk. Cows are compacted into tight spaces and force-fed a diet of genetically engineered grains that don’t agree with their body. Rarely do these animals see the light of day. Many are injected with a powerful genetically engineered hormone called rBGH or Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone. This hormone is a genetically engineered replica of the natural growth hormone somatotropin that is produced in a cow’s pituitary gland. Cows injected with rBGH produce up to 30% more milk. Unfortunately, the end result is a lot of sick cows because this process is something entirely unnatural. This is cows on steroids! To treat the sick cows, the entire herd is given powerful antibiotics and other drugs. We’re told from the government that very little if any of these by-products make their way into dairy products consumed by humans. However, in 1990 the government raised the standard for antibiotic residues in milk from one part per hundred million to one part per million. That’s a hundred-fold increase! Did you know that the largest users of antibiotics are dairy farmers? To think that these by-products aren’t making their way into dairy products is absurd.

Robert Cohen, author of the controversial book “Milk – The Deadly Poison” says that the new milk from cows treated with rBGH contains increased levels of these same potent growth factors. Could this be one of the reasons why young girls and boys are going through puberty at a much earlier age than before? According to Cohen, “After cows were injected with this hormone, their milk contained increased levels of another hormone, insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I), the most powerful growth hormone occurring in nature. The greatest biological coincidence of all time had occurred. IGF-I was identical between cows and humans. No other hormone known to science is identical between another species of animals and humans. IGF-I is the lone exception, containing 70 amino acids in the same gene sequence in humans and bovines. When we drink milk we are taking in the most powerful hormone naturally produced by our own bodies. However, the survival of this growth hormone in milk is safeguarded by naturally occurring mechanisms unique to milk.”   

I haven’t even touched on pasteurization and homogenization and what it has done to traditional milk. One of the first things anyone should do if they are dealing with a health problem is to get off all dairy. Not just milk either. I’m talking about butter, sour cream, yogurt, cheese, whey protein, half and half and anything else produced from cow’s milk. If you aren’t sick and you prefer to stay on dairy, you should purchase the organic milk and dairy products that are available predominately in health food stores although many grocery chains are starting to cater to this market too. Organic Valley has some of the best products on the market. There is a movement towards raw milk and there are many success stories of people getting their health back from drinking it. I would caution you to be careful before drinking raw milk, though. You better be sure where it’s coming from and how it was produced and start drinking very small amounts. Milk was never designed to be consumed in quarts or gallons by the day.

CRUSADOR:  Tell us about MSG. Is this ingredient really masqueraded in thousands of foods, especially fast foods, along with soda and some bottled drinks? If so, why are manufacturers using it and are there other names it shows up as on labels?

The answer to your question is yes, MSG is found in so many products that are on the market that there would be a famine if the government ever mandated that this ingredient be removed. It is so common that you literally have to avoid all fast food restaurants, almost all brand-name packaged, boxed or canned foods, and most soda and bottled drinks. MSG is the acronym for monosodium glutamate. Technically speaking, MSG is approximately 78% free glutamic acid, approximately 21% sodium, and up to 1% contaminants.

According to the Price-Pottenger Nutrition Foundation, “MSG is a food additive that enhances flavors in food. It virtually has no flavor of its own, but neurologically causes people to experience a more intense flavor from the foods that they eat containing the substance. To millions of consumers, it means experiencing an adverse effect from the additive and possible adverse health effects in the future. To the food industry, it means increased profits, a simple way to balance taste in a product line and mask unwanted tastes, and to make otherwise unpalatable foods acceptable. In particular, MSG helps replace flavor lost by elimination of fat in many low-fat and no-fat foods.”

I will take what Price-Pottenger said one step further. MSG addicts people to a food or beverage. That’s one of the main reasons why it is used. The FDA requires food manufacturers to label monosodium glutamate. Unfortunately, there are a whole host of other ingredients that are found on labels that contain free glutamic acid and are used deceptively by manufacturers to mislead consumers that may want to avoid this toxic agent. Here’s a list of ingredients found on many labels that usually contain MSG that you need to be aware of:

Natural flavoring, natural flavors, yeast extract, autolyzed yeast, textured protein, hydrolyzed protein, seasonings, sodium caseinate, gelatin.

Any time you see one of these ingredients on a product label, even if it’s in a health food store, you should consider avoiding it if you don’t want to consume MSG. The words “Natural Flavoring” or “Natural Flavors” are some of the most deceptive ingredients listed on the labels of many foods and beverages. The Code of Federal Regulations mandates that the terms “Flavors,” “Natural Flavors,” or “Flavorings” may not include MSG, hydrolyzed proteins, and autolyzed yeast. Each of these must be declared on the label by its common name rather than hidden within another blanket.

However, manufacturers have some clever and deceptive ways to get around these regulations. Companies are able to bypass these laws by changing the molecular structure of the chemical they are trying to hide, until its previous name no longer exists. If there is one molecule difference with MSG, and the chemical mixture tastes like a “natural flavor,” that is all they need to call it one and not MSG.

So, let’s take this issue to the beverage industry. All Coke and Pepsi products for example, list either “Natural Flavors” or “Natural Flavoring” as an ingredient. Here’s an interesting thing to ponder if you know how to read labels. A can of Coke has 50 milligrams of sodium and a can of Pepsi has 35 milligrams, yet sodium is not listed as an added ingredient. How could that be? Where does the sodium come from?

Have you ever heard about Coke’s secret formula? Coca Cola guards their unique flavor under lock and key. The answer is it is masqueraded under the name “Natural Flavors.” Natural Flavors could contain a number of different ingredients, possibly even MSG, aspartame or other dangerous additives. I’m not stating as fact that Coke or Pepsi have MSG in them, but I will say that all of this is highly suspicious when these tricks are allowed to go on by the government. Since most of the unquestioning public is misled by the word “Natural” they have no idea what manufacturers are doing with their products. This is one of the dirty little secrets occurring in the food and beverage industry. There is so much mystery behind ingredients that it’s not easy to identify everything that could contain MSG or free glutamic acid. The main way to get around it is to avoid all fast food, soda, processed foods, candy bars, chips, and sweets.  Otherwise, it’s a crap shoot.

One of the leading experts on the dangers of MSG and other artificial food ingredients is Dr. Russell Blaylock, M.D., author of the book “Excitotoxins – The Taste That Kills.”  Blaylock says that MSG literally stimulates neurons to death, causing brain damage of varying degrees. Blaylock contends that there is scientific evidence that proves MSG and other excitotoxins like aspartame can cause brain damage in your children, affect your nervous system, and even precipitate many of the neurodegenerative brain diseases such as Parkinson’s disease, ALS, and Alzheimer’s disease. In Blaylock’s book, he talks about the findings of Dr. John W. Olney, M.D., a neuroscientist working at the Department of Psychiatry at Washington University in St. Louis.  Dr. Olney tested MSG on animals and Blaylock says: “His findings indicated that MSG was not only toxic to the retina, but also to the brain. When he examined the animals’ brains he discovered that specialized cells in a critical area of the animals’ brain, the hypothalamus, were destroyed after a single dose of MSG.”

If you wish to live a long, healthy, prosperous life on this earth, then MSG is one ingredient that you need to avoid at all costs. The government knows it’s bad and so do the manufacturers, but neither of them have an interest in eliminating this poison from the market. MSG is a guaranteed slush fund for manufacturers. People literally become addicted to their products. The government will not do anything to jeopardize its relationship with the food and beverage industry, some of its largest donors and lobbying groups that pump big money into campaigns. It’s a win-win all the way around. Plus the pharmaceutical industry just loves all the clients they’re getting from the side effects of this poison.

CRUSADOR:  What can you tell us about aspartame?

Aspartame is probably one of the most toxic substances you can put into your body. Trying to avoid consuming aspartame is like trying to find your way through a maze. If the food giants can’t get you with their genetically engineered foods and MSG, then they’ve got aspartame as their clean up hitter. Aspartame is found in thousands of different products on the market, everything from gum, breath mints, diet soda, tea, sports drinks, candy bars, yogurt, protein powders, ice cream, children’s vitamins, cake mixes, coffee creamers, toothpaste, mouthwash, ad infinitum.

Aspartame is made up of three chemicals: aspartic acid, phenylalanine, and methanol. Aspartame is the generic name for the more common brand names NutraSweet and Equal. Like MSG, aspartame is also classified as an excitotoxin and a neurotoxin. There is no single substance that has ever been used like aspartame that has caused as many adverse side effects in people. There are over 92 different documented symptoms listed by the FDA as being caused by aspartame. Things like Headaches/migraines, dizziness, seizures, nausea, numbness, muscle spasms, weight gain, rashes, depression, fatigue, irritability, tachycardia, insomnia, vision problems, hearing loss, heart palpitations, breathing difficulties, anxiety attacks, slurred speech, loss of taste, tinnitus, vertigo, memory loss, and joint pain are just a few of the long list of problems associated with aspartame.

Leading health advocate Dr. Joseph Mercola has an excellent story posted on his website regarding the dangers of aspartame titled “Aspartame: What You Don't Know Can Hurt You.” (http://www.mercola.com/article/aspartame/dangers.htm) One of the big concerns with aspartame is that it releases methanol in the body. In Mercola’s story he reports that:

“Methanol/wood alcohol is a deadly poison. Some people may remember methanol as the poison that has caused some ‘skid row’ alcoholics to end up blind or dead. Methanol is gradually released in the small intestine when the methyl group of aspartame encounters the enzyme chymotrypsin.

The absorption of methanol into the body is sped up considerably when free methanol is ingested. Free methanol is created from aspartame when it is heated to above 86 Fahrenheit (30 Centigrade). This would occur when aspartame-containing product is improperly stored or when it is heated (e.g., as part of a ‘food’ product such as Jello).
Methanol breaks down into formic acid and formaldehyde in the body. Formaldehyde is a deadly neurotoxin. An EPA assessment of methanol states that methanol ‘is considered a cumulative poison due to the low rate of excretion once it is absorbed. In the body, methanol is oxidized to formaldehyde and formic acid; both of these metabolites are toxic.’ They recommend a limit of consumption of 7.8 mg/day. A one-liter (approx. 1 quart) aspartame-sweetened beverage contains about 56 mg of methanol. Heavy users of aspartame-containing products consume as much as 250 mg of methanol daily or 32 times the EPA limit.”

The amazing absurdity regarding aspartame is that it actually causes weight gain and increased appetite. The main reason for using aspartame in so many products on the market is to make them taste very sweet and enticing without getting the extra calories or carbohydrates. Aspartame plays all kinds of tricks with your hormones and metabolism. It causes unstable blood sugar levels, which increases the appetite and causes cravings for sweets/sugar.
 
Consider the following position statement from Sandra Cabot, M.D. that appears on the following website, http://suewidemark.netfirms.com/aspartam.htm: “When you ingest the toxic chemical aspartame it is absorbed from the intestines and passes immediately to the LIVER where it is taken inside the liver via the liver filter. The liver then breaks down or metabolizes aspartame to its toxic components – phenylalanine, aspartic acid and methanol. This process requires a lot of energy from the liver which means there will be less energy remaining in the liver cells. This means the liver cells will have less energy for fat burning and metabolism, which will result in fat storing. Excess fat may build up inside the liver cells causing ‘fatty liver’ and when this starts to occur it is extremely difficult to lose weight. In my vast experience any time that you overload the liver you will increase the tendency to gain weight easily.”

CRUSADOR:  That’s amazing research that you’ve pulled together. I can’t believe aspartame is still on the market and I’m even more amazed that so many people continue to shove this neurotoxin down their throat knowing how bad it is. It’s almost as if people have a death wish and don’t care. What about another popular artificial sweetener that seems to be taking over where aspartame left off – Splenda? What can you tell us about this?

Splenda is another artificial sweetener disaster. I guess after aspartame got barraged with so much bad press, even though it’s still being used and found in an increasing number of products, Splenda seems to be the next substitute killer to take its place. Splenda is the brand name for sucralose. Like aspartame, Splenda was rushed through the approval process with the FDA before closer scrutiny was given to it. Sucralose is a chlorinated sucrose derivative. Since when has chlorine ever been good for the human body? Splenda is starting to show up everywhere and like aspartame, so are the problems arising from its use. Anyone who would like to learn more about Splenda should do a search on www.google.com and they will find all kinds of eye opening facts.

CRUSADOR:  Let’s take a look at sugar and high fructose corn syrup. These products are ubiquitous in the food and beverage industry. How bad is sugar and should we avoid it as much as possible?

I’m glad you asked me that, Greg. I would be doing an injustice if I didn’t also condemn the high amounts of sugar and high fructose corn syrup found in so many products. While they may not be neurotoxic like aspartame or MSG, they do have a very damaging effect on the body over the long haul.

For starters, sugar is one of the most acidifying substances you could ever put into your body. Sugar will throw off your pH and is the fuel source that harmful microorganisms feed on like bacteria, viruses, and parasites. Sugar even fuels cancer. Studies show that the average American consumes 175 LBS. of sugar per year. That’s an astounding number. Corn syrup is just a trick name like I’ve already explained with other ingredients. Corn syrup is garbage. Rarely will you ever see just the words “corn syrup” appearing on a label. In most products it is “high fructose corn syrup.” This is corn syrup that has been spiked with sugar. High fructose corn syrup is the second ingredient in all non-diet bottled soda next to the first ingredient – water. This means that you’re basically drinking pure sugar water with chemicals added to it. High fructose corn syrup is found in many foods as well, including all bread in fast food restaurants and most bread found in the grocery store.

Nancy Appleton wrote a few excellent books exposing the sugar industry. In her one book, “Lick The Sugar Habit,” she says that sugar disrupts all body chemistry; severely weakens the immune system, and is implicated in over 100 health problems including diabetes, allergies, heart disease, and obesity. For example, sugar upsets the balance of minerals, increases triglycerides, interferes with the absorption of calcium and magnesium, weakens eyesight and causes tooth decay. It even impairs the structure of DNA, causes free radicals, damages and over-stresses the pancreas, makes bones brittle, causes depression, and slows down the ability of the adrenals to function. If you think your body can handle that, Greg, then I say, “Eat up and enjoy all the sugar you want.”   

CRUSADOR:  Tell us about the health dangers of refined salt and why it should be avoided?

The salt used in almost all manufacturing today, especially with fast foods and processed foods, is not the kind of salt that your body recognizes as biocompatible. This salt typically contains bleaching agents, anti-caking agents, leaching agents and other processing agents, which are all chemical agents that can harm your body. This form of salt is nutritionally worthless and quite toxic to the body because all of the vital trace minerals that are typically present in salt before it is processed are stripped away. This is why most salt has a white, uniform appearance.

Food manufacturers and fast food chains use this form of toxic salt because it is dirt cheap and it literally addicts people to their food, similar to MSG. Most Americans consume more than double the recommended daily amount of sodium per day due to a steady diet of processed foods, beverages and bottled drinks. All salt, unless it is unrefined and has all of the vital trace minerals left in it, is a poison. Over time it will deaden your sense of taste so your mind is tricked into thinking foods and beverages only taste good if they are loaded with salt.  If the big corporations producing most of our foods and beverages really cared about people’s health they would go out of their way to manufacture wholesome, high quality products that benefit the human body instead of poisoning them with substances that they know are harmful.    

Everything we have heard about salt being bad and causing high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke has truth to it because we are talking predominantly about refined salt devoid of minerals. In fact, it gets even worse. In the spring of 2005 Sydney University scientists proved that salt has a dangerous adrenalin-inducing effect on people suffering from high blood pressure, or hypertension. According to U.S. Fulbright scholar Dr. Virginia Brooks and Professor Roger Dampney from Sydney’s Department of Physiology, when people get a fright, their sympathetic nervous system is activated and they experience a rush of adrenalin. But people with high blood pressure experience a sustained increase in sympathetic nerve activity when they consume dietary salt. Their collaborative research has produced new data to support the hypothesis that dietary salt activates the brain in hypertension sufferers, producing sustained increases in sympathetic nerve activity, or what is commonly called the ‘fight/flight’ response.

CRUSADOR:  What can you tell us about food irradiation? Is this really as common as I have heard and what effect does it have on food and a person’s health?

Like so many other things, Greg, irradiation is another serious concern and it’s being done to more and more products every day. The reasoning behind irradiation is that it can reduce or eliminate bacteria such as E. coli and other harmful organisms that may be present in meat or on products we buy like fruits, vegetables, spices, and herbs. Currently, irradiation is done using radioactive gamma sources, usually cobalt 60 or cesium 137, or high energy electron beams. Opponents of irradiation claim serious health concerns because it creates super energized free radicals and alters the molecular structure of the food. When the molecular structure of food is changed from something that is biocompatible with the human body to something that the body cannot recognize, the body will not obtain nutritional benefits because the food has become a foreign substance.  Irradiation creates a host of new chemicals and has been shown to destroy enzymes, antioxidants, vitamin A, thiamin, B2, B3, B6, B12, folic acid, C, E, and K. Amino acid and essential polyunsaturated fatty acid content may also be affected.

The FDA states on their website that:  “During irradiation, foods are exposed briefly to a radiant energy source such as gamma rays or electron beams within a shielded facility…. The Food and Drug Administration has approved irradiation of meat and poultry and allows its use for a variety of other foods, including fresh fruits, vegetables, and spices. The agency determined that the process is safe and effective in decreasing or eliminating harmful bacteria. Irradiation also reduces spoilage bacteria, insects and parasites, and in certain fruits and vegetables it inhibits sprouting and delays ripening. For example, irradiated strawberries stay unspoiled up to three weeks, versus three to five days for untreated berries.”

FDA law currently states that irradiated foods are required to bear a radura logo with either the statement “treated with radiation” or “treated by irradiation.”  However, many herbs and spices imported to the U.S. from the orient, specifically China and India, are being irradiated and making their way into thousands of supplements and food products that don’t specify they have been irradiated on their packaging. If you break irradiation down, it’s really just a band-aid for improper farming and food processing. The main reason why there would be harmful bacteria or parasites on meats, fruits, vegetables or herbs is that they came in contact with feces somewhere along the way. America imports so many foods from different areas of the world that have very low farming standards that irradiation is held out as an efficient way to protect the public. We should be holding farmers and meat packaging plants to higher standards instead of allowing their feces contaminated products on the market or accepting irradiation as some beneficial alternative to protect us.

CRUSADOR:  Since you just mentioned feces contamination with some of the meat, tell us why there are so many problems with the meat that’s on the market today, unless it is organically raised and comes from a high quality health food store like Whole Foods?

Like I stated earlier about dairy production, if people ever witnessed what took place inside a slaughterhouse or witnessed how most of the conventionally raised animals are taken care of at the farm they would be horrified. Factory farming has been the cause of many health problems both in animals and humans. The days of the small mom and pop farm raising healthy animals on healthy foods and healthy fields rarely exist any longer. From farm to fork virtually every aspect of the meat packing industry is now in the hands of large agribusiness conglomerates. Many of the workers at the farms and in the meat processing plants are illegal aliens. In fact, during some of the recent immigrant protests that took place, Tyson Foods was forced to shut down entire plants. Plant standards are extremely low. No longer can anyone believe that in the United States there is adequate inspection and control of slaughterhouses.

For example, chickens are crammed into huge caged warehouses under controlled lighting to cause them to produce two eggs a day instead of one. Rarely, if ever, will they see real sunlight in their lifetime. During their short life span they are force-fed a diet of unhealthy food while eating their own feces and that of other birds. The air smells so bad and the environment is so unsanitary that large amounts of antibiotics are given to the already sick chickens to prevent them from dying. The animals are also pumped full of growth enhancing drugs to get them to market much faster. Once at the slaughterhouse it’s a gruesome mess of feathers, blood and feces. It would take me far too long to get into the entire subject but the same kinds of problems exist with raising beef and pork. Like we’ve been discussing throughout this entire interview, Greg, all of these issues are having a negative impact on people’s health and must be acknowledged if longevity and wellness are in your future.    

CRUSADOR:  Let’s pick up on some other food additives — things like artificial colors, flavors, preservatives, etc…

The very word “artificial” should be enough to alert you to danger. Why would you want to put something artificial into your body? Artificial means man-made poison. Let’s look at color in a little more detail. If you look at the composition of light, it consists of the seven colors of the rainbow. When you put all seven colors together it makes pure white light. Those seven colors manifest in a number of ways in our world. One distinguishing way is through the foods that are produced from the earth. Just look at the vast array of color in fruits, vegetables, and herbs. Why is it that these foods are so healthy for us? It’s because they transfer light energy to our cells. The human body was specifically designed to process and absorb full spectrum light whether it’s through our eyes, skin or mouth. Our cells, DNA, and every other biochemical process in the body require light to function at a high state of health.

So why are products with artificial colors so bad? They are incapable of transferring light energy to our cells and actually work to block light. They are man-made colors that make a food or beverage appear attractive and healthy when quite the opposite is true. If you do your own research and look at the data you will discover a number of health concerns with artificial colors. Most artificial colors are cancer-causing carcinogens derived from petroleum by-products. They should never be used to color a food or drink.

Artificial flavors are just as bad. Many of the artificial flavors have MSG and aspartame in them. There could be hundreds of different compounds in an “artificial flavor.” It’s another way to masquerade dangerous chemicals. The laboratories that produce artificial flavors keep their formula under lock and key. To them, it could mean the difference between success and failure with a product. Artificial flavors allow manufacturers to take a bland or bad tasting product and turn it into something palatable. I contend that the more artificial ingredients a person consumes the more they will dislike natural products. Artificial flavors manipulate your sense of taste in an unnatural way.
 
Chemical preservatives are very harmful to the human body and another major problem with processed foods. There are over a thousand different additives with foreign sounding names that are approved by the FDA. While preservatives may be in minute amounts in a lot of products, regularly consuming processed foods and beverages will overload the body with a toxic brew of unknown chemicals. The reasoning and logic behind preservatives comes down to the greed factor again. Manufacturers want products to stay fresh for months and in some cases many years before going bad. In theory it sounds good but is that the way the Lord intended for us to eat? Man was supposed to get his food from the field. The further away man gets from the field, the further away he will be from good health. That’s the bottom line.

According to Dr. William Rice, a licensed Nutritional Consultant, many common additives have been linked to cancer, allergies, migraines, liver and kidney damage, birth defects, and brain damage. To make things worse, many additives do not appear on labels. According to Rice, food manufacturers are not required to list all the ingredients on certain foods like ketchup, mayonnaise and ice cream. A shocking 93 additives may go unlabeled in bakery products, 76 in soft drinks, 58 in frozen desserts, and 31 in cheese.

CRUSADOR:  What can you tell us about pesticides and other industrial contaminants and is this a problem?

Pesticides are a major problem affecting people’s health. Recent scientific tests show that every person alive in the United States of America has pesticide residues in their body. Industrial chemicals, pollutants and pesticides are abundant in our water and food. In a recent study released by the U.S. Geological Survey, they found the presence of 100 pesticides across the nation’s waters. Where are most of these pesticides coming from? Unfortunately, the majority are from farmers that have been conned into using them by chemical companies that think they know what’s best. Pesticides are a serious health risk. Many pesticides are linked to cancer, birth defects, and neurological disorders.

Last year for example, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) released a report that found an average of 200 industrial chemicals and pollutants in umbilical cord blood from 10 babies born in August and September of 2004. According to the report: “The umbilical cord blood of these 10 children, collected by the Red Cross after the cord was cut, harbored pesticides, consumer product ingredients, and wastes from burning coal, gasoline, and garbage.”

Also, there were the reports not too long ago that showed high levels of rocket fuel in lettuce and other vegetables grown in fields irrigated by the Colorado River. One story released by EWG stated: “Test results never before made public show that leafy vegetables grown with contaminated irrigation water take up, store and concentrate potentially harmful levels of perchlorate, a thyroid toxin that is the main explosive ingredient of rocket and missile fuel.”

And we wonder why so many people are sick today. That’s why I call all of these problems “Deadly Deceptions.” We’re being deceived and indiscriminately taken out by the toxic chemical assault we’re all under. The only way to avoid pesticides and rocket fuel in your vegetables is to eat organic foods. Otherwise, like all the other issues we discussed, you are playing Russian roulette with your health.  

CRUSADOR:  One last topic I would like to touch on before wrapping up this interview is hydrogenated fats and trans fats.  What can you tell us about them?

Avoid them at all costs. Most of the processed foods and just about all fast foods contain toxic fats that will harden your arteries, slow down your metabolism, cause high blood pressure, obesity, cancer and a number of other health problems. If you are consuming anything with hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated fat/oil in it, you’re asking for real trouble. Hydrogenated oil does not occur in nature. Hydrogenated oil is a way for the food companies to extend the shelf life of oil that would normally go rancid. The same reasoning behind preservatives is the excuse for using hydrogenated oil.

Most dietary fats and oils exist in a structural form called the “cis” form. Oil becomes partially hydrogenated when you bubble hydrogen gas through it at high temperatures which changes their molecular structure to the “trans” form. Oil goes from a liquid to a solid once hydrogen is bubbled through it. The difference in cis and trans shapes is of major significance. Trans fats interfere with important, normal functions by inhibiting enzymes which are necessary for the body’s normal metabolism of fats, and their negative interference lingers long after the point of ingestion.

Margarine is a great example. Margarine is nothing more than hydrogenated soybean oil with artificial color, flavor, and salt added to it. You could take a tub of margarine and leave it outside for fifty years and it would probably not spoil. Even bugs won’t eat margarine. Yet, consumers eat this plastic tasting garbage and somehow think it’s a healthy alternative to butter.

CRUSADOR:  Should we boycott the companies that are putting all of these products out?

I think a boycott is a good idea but not really feasible. Getting any group of people organized in America to do anything is virtually impossible unless billions of dollars are behind it and well known personalities spearhead the fight. There are two major obstacles to overcome to change the system. One, so many people are addicted to these toxic foods and beverages that it’s like trying to get a crack addict clean. If people don’t have their fast food, Coke or Pepsi, they literally go into meltdown. Not only can’t most people get off of these products, many don’t care. A large segment of our society seems to have lost the will to live. Maybe that’s what all the MSG and aspartame has done to them. They’re happy being 50 or 100 pounds overweight, and popping fifteen different meds everyday from the side effects they have from ingesting these products.

The other obstacle with a boycott is that most foods and beverages are manufactured by a handful of companies. A legitimate boycott would create serious havoc with trying to find alternatives and that’s not likely to happen. I would say that approximately twenty to thirty companies control 70 to 80% percent of the entire food and beverage market in the U.S.

The best way to make a difference is to change yourself first. Take the initiative to learn more, study labels and start changing the products you buy. While I have focused on a lot of the problems in the market, there are some very positive things occurring. Take Whole Foods for example. This health food chain is growing by leaps and bounds. Their stores are jam-packed every time you shop there. In my opinion this company has the best run stores in the country. The selection of high quality, natural products is impressive. The organic industry is growing by close to 20% a year. More and more people are waking up and demanding better foods. Some big grocery chains are starting to cater to the health food market. Publix, a large chain in Florida, continues to expand their selection of organic foods and has plans to open GreenWise stores similar to Whole Foods throughout the state. There is some encouraging news to report so hopefully I didn’t alarm your readers to the point where they felt powerless to avoid the assault. Knowledge is power. Learn the truth and vote with your wallet.

CRUSADOR:  Well David, you’ve given our readers plenty of good information to help them along in their quest for better health. I appreciate your time and the hard work you’re doing to educate people about these dangers. Keep up the good work!

Thank you Greg. We really need more truth tellers and publishing companies like yours that are willing to alert people to what’s happening, but also help offer solutions. 

by Ella Andersen

(NaturalNews) Through many cancer regiments, the results of the treatments leave the patients with debilitating and most of time deadly side effects such as hair loss, vomiting, weight loss, edema, immune dysfunction, etc. For prostate cancer, another consequence of the treatment can be added to the list: the degeneration of cognitive abilities.

Typically, prostate cancer patients go through a treatment known as androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) or hormone deprivation therapy that blocks testosterone production and can slow the growth of the tumor.

Though a recent MSNBC article presents the type of cognitive decline as miniscule and limited to functions such as spatial ability and the ability to multitask (and other such actions), can we be certain that the effects of this treatment are as minimal as the mainstrem media make it out to be? I do not think anyone can accurately know the answer to that question, unless there are those who know these effects to be more serious than what is reported here; however, what is sure is that these cognitive decline effects can certainly be avoided through natural means.

One way to treat prostate cancer is to cut out low-fat dairy products. Low-fat dairy products are callously promoted under the misconception that saturated fat is unhealthy and "bad" for you. A study conducted by the Cancer Research Center of Honolulu last year found that, after collecting data from 1993-2002 of 82,483 male participants forty-five years old and over, there was a twelve percent decrease in the risk of developing prostate cancer for the whole milk drinkers: there was a sixteen percent increased chance for developing the illness for those who drank 2% milk or skim milk.

Another way to treat prostate cancer is to increase the intake of broccoli and tomatoes together. Sheryl Waters of Natural News wrote, when quoting Professor John Erdman of University of Illinois food science and human nutrition, that, "When tomatoes and broccoli are eaten together, we see an additive effect. We think it's because different bioactive compounds in each food work on different anti-cancer pathways," These documented effects demonstrate the wonderful, yet simple, solution to better health that broccoli and tomatoes provide.

Unfortunately, there is another added side effect to the purported treatment for prostate cancer; however, that does not have to be the undue fate of the illness's sufferers. There are natural treatments that can help to restore the physical and mental health of the afflicted.

by Barbara Minton

(NaturalNews) In an amazingly simplistic view of how things work, we have been told for the last 40 years that fat makes us fat. So we cut out the fat from our diets and discovered that we were not only still fat but unhealthy too. Then we were told that we needed to cut out even more fat and increase our visits to the gym. And to top it off, we were handed a copy of the government approved food pyramid or the diet of the National Cancer Institute and told that this is what we are supposed to eat to reach our ideal weight and be healthy. Now we are fatter than ever, riddled with degenerative disease and dying at an earlier age than our parents did. What are we doing wrong?

A recent study from the United Kingdom reports that the lower the number of hours you sleep, the higher the likelihood you will put on extra weight. These findings apply to all age groups including children. The research team reviewed the findings from 696 studies on the effects of sleep time on weight gain. They found a solid relationship between hours of sleep and risk of obesity. All the studies of adults as well as children showed a significant and consistent negative association between Body Mass Index and hours of sleep.

Another study reports that sleeping too little is linked to increased risk of stroke. While the researchers point out that their findings can be applied only to the postmenopausal women in the study, other experts are saying that the same relationship between sleep and stroke risk is universal.

Is it possible that the risk of obesity is not only controlled by what we eat but also how we sleep? A number of other studies have documented the adverse effects of sleep deprivation and its heightened risk of death. Let's look at the mechanisms that may support this connection.

We came out of the dark and into the light

Up until the early 1900's, average adults slept nine to ten hours a night, especially during the winter months. They were healthy most of their lives and died of old age. They didn't spend their time worrying about heart disease and cancer, and for the most part they weren't obese. The energy of the sun informed them as to what to eat, when to eat, and when to reproduce to ensure there was food for the offspring. They were part of the rhythm of all life on earth. When it was summer they stayed up late in the long days, and ate lots of sugar laden fruits and vegetables.

As a result of eating all those carbohydrates, insulin levels rose and so did the levels of the sex hormones which was a good thing because conceiving a child at harvest time meant it would be born at a time when food to feed everyone was just becoming plentiful. The rising insulin levels saw to it that the carbohydrates from the fruits and vegetables were stored in the body as fat to tide them over through the winter, and as cholesterol to serve as antifreeze in the cells.

As winter came on and the days shortened, our ancestors went to bed earlier. There was nothing else to do unless they were rich enough to have lots of candles around and wood to burn. They slept until they were awakened by the light of dawn, sleeping for about 9 to 10 hours a night, even 12 or 14 hours a night in the dead of the winter season. There wasn't much around to eat in the way of carbohydrates except for some root vegetables. The winter diet was mainly protein derived from animal products. Researchers in the low fat era have called it paradoxical that our ancestors lived all winter on a diet primarily of meat and animal fat and remained quite healthy. Maybe it's not.

By 1925, most of the big cities in America were lit by the electric bulb, an invention that parallels the discovery of fire, agriculture, and the microchip in its impact on the way we live. Coincidentally, the transportation industry began to bring to our tables foods out of season and electricity gave us the energy to process them. With these events, mankind divorced itself forever from the rhythms of nature and the energy of the sun. Now we can stay up as late as we want to no matter what season it is, and eat lots of carbohydrates every day of the year. And we can be obese and have heart disease and caner.

Now the average adult is getting somewhere between 6 and 7 hours of sleep a night except for the really motivated who like to brag that they get by on only 4 hours of sleep a night. If we are getting half the sleep our ancestors got when they were tuned into the rhythms of the biosphere, could it be that we will live only half as long as we were meant to live?

In exchange for obesity, degenerative diseases and shortened life, we now have the night shift, cable TV, email, internet surfing, career advancement, quality time, homework, chauffeuring, entertaining, doctor's appointments, sitting in traffic, and going to the gym. It's a wonder we can squeeze in those 6 or 7 hours of sleep. Our parade of activities is powered by our endless supply of carbohydrates.

Endless summer

Electricity has given you the ability to have summer all year round. Since your brain thinks you are still a biological being and thus hooked into that rhythm of life, it is going to perceive all that extended light as summer, and it's going to tell your body to store carbohydrates so you don't starve in the coming winter. Since the light has made it perpetual summer and you stay up late every night, your brain is going to put you into perpetual storage mode and make you crave carbohydrates. So let's make it clear right now that no matter what the National Cancer Institute tells you, it is carbohydrates that make you fat. Dr. Atkins was right, it is impossible to get fat without consuming carbohydrates. Getting fat has nothing to do with eating fat.

Whether you get your carbohydrates from processed sugar, organic fruit, Coca-cola, beans, brown rice, birthday cake, air popped corn, or wheat germ, your body recognizes it as only one thing — sugar. Whether it's low or high on the glycemic index, processed or natural, it's all just sugar to your body.

It is insulin's job to make sure you have enough food stored up in your body as fat and cholesterol so that you can make it through the winter without starving or freezing. It is only carbohydrates that produce an insulin response in the body. That fat pad you have on your abdomen is made from stored carbohydrates. It is supposed to keep your organs warm in the winter and slowly be burned as energy during the normal famine period of winter when carbohydrates are in short supply.

Mother Nature created a world in which balance and symmetry is evident everywhere you turn. Ying and yang, love and hate, boy and girl, it's all about balance. This reversion to balance is nowhere better displayed than in the body's constant striving to maintain homeostasis. This balance includes night and day, and feast and famine. In a world where balance still ruled, you would never be able to stay up through the darkness or stuff yourself with carbohydrates except in the summer and early fall.

In this out of balance situation in which contemporary life is being lived, our perpetual summer and never ending supply of carbohydrates puts us into a constant mode of feasting to get ready for a famine that never comes. This makes us gain more weight with each passing year until we become really obese. And the solution that's offered to us for all this weight gain is to exercise and thereby further stress a body already stressed by living outside of the rhythms of the biosphere.

Exercise and the cortisol response

Cortisol is our primary stress hormone. It's made and released by the adrenal glands in response to metabolic or emotional stress for the purpose of stabilizing blood sugar and blood pressure, and getting you back on an even keel. Think homeostasis. In excess, cortisol causes a deterioration of metabolic processes with one of the results being weight gain.

What goes on when you get up on that treadmill, lift weights or go jogging? If you do it maybe once a week or so, the release of cortisol will do what it's supposed to do and restore you to homeostasis. But if you are convinced that your weight gain is the result of lack of exercise and you decide that you really need a grueling workout every day, your body and brain begin to perceive that you are in some dangerous situation like being attacked by a wild beast and that's the reason for all the frantic activity. Your cortisol levels skyrocket to make sure you have glucose available to your muscles to fight or take flight. When your blood sugar is high your insulin levels are also high, and when this state is chronic, you become insulin-resistant and weight gain sets in.

Sleep and your immune system

The main component of your immune system is the zillions of bacteria that populate your gut, living in beautiful symbiosis with you. Keep them happy and they will keep you happy.

These thriving bacteria exude endotoxins throughout the day. When the level of endotoxins reaches critical concentration, an immune response is triggered. Sleep is that immune response, induced by the cytokine interleukin-2 produced in response to the high level of endotoxins. If you go to bed shortly after it gets dark, melatonin production will begin as you are falling asleep and continue into the wee hours of the night when prolactin production begins. White cells known as macrophages and leukocytes will be promoted by these two hormones for the purpose of thinning out some of your gut bacteria to restore harmony in the ratio between you and them. But you need at least 8 or 9 hours of sleep for the entire cycle of melatonin and prolactin production to occur. If you don't sleep this long, you do not have time to produce an adequate amount of these critical hormones resulting in an impaired immune system.

Melatonin only gets produced when it's dark. If you sleep with the TV on, have a street light streaming in your window or get up in the middle of the night to raid the refrigerator, you are effectively ending your melatonin production for the night. This is bad for you because it's the melatonin and prolactin of sleep that make white cells, T cells, and natural killer cells (NK) that seek out and destroy defective cells throughout your body.

Staying up late with the lights on interferes with your melatonin production and the maintenance of your gut bacteria, and therefore your immune response is compromised. Your body is unable to attend to the housekeeping chores it is programmed to do while you are asleep. When this goes on for awhile you become a prime candidate for cancer and other degenerative diseases.

What all this means

Our current genetic makeup is the result of evolution over billions of years. It is only in the last 80 or 90 years that we have had the ability to light up the night and stay awake to watch, so the question of what it all means is yet to be answered. We are in the process of trying to genetically adapt to the constant stream of light and carbohydrates. It remains to be seen if any of us actually make the cut. We have changed our environment and the environment will now change us if we are genetically up to the task. If we aren't, we will go the way of the dinosaur.

by News Director Jim Kouri

Many conservatives and watchdog groups are expressing concern — even outrage — over the nomination of former Iowa governor Tom Vilsack's nomination by President-Elect Barack Obama to the cabinet position of Secretary of Agriculture, long considered a low-key but powerful government position. Vilsack, according to The Organic Consumer's Association, was named Governor of the Year by Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), the biggest pro-genetic engineering lobby in existence.

"Vilsack is one of us 'folks' with deep Iowa roots. The question is: Does Vilsack get marching orders from common, concerned citizens or the four horsemen of the Big Ag gravy wagon: Dupont, Monsanto, ADM, Cargill?" asked OCA's Jill Richardson.

"The pick that offers the most insight into where Obama will lead the country is his selection to the most misunderstood position in the Cabinet: secretary of Agriculture," said Richardson.

Genetically engineered (GE) crops — including crops engineered to resist pests or tolerate herbicides — are widespread in the United States and around the world. Taking direction from the 1986 Coordinated Framework for Regulation of Biotechnology, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulate GE crops to ensure that they are safe.

"Watchdog groups discovered unauthorized releases of GE crops and demanded coordination among the three agencies, and additional actions. They have proposed improve oversight, as well. Personally, I fear Gov. Vilsack will not heed the wishes of these private-sector watchdogs," said political strategist Mike Baker.

Like other nations, the United States faces growing food safety challenges resulting from at least three major trends. First, imported food makes up a growing share of the food supply.

Second, consumers are increasingly eating foods that are raw or have had minimal processing and that are often associated with foodborne illness.

Third, changing demographic patterns mean that more of the US population is, and increasingly will be, susceptible to foodborne illness.

And fourth, genetically engineered crops, cloned animals, and unethical, unauthorized or surreptitious biotechnology treatment of America's food supply.

The OCA believes there are at least six reasons Vilsack is a terrible choice:

    1 – Former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack's support of genetically engineered pharmaceutical crops, especially pharmaceutical corn.

    2 – The biggest biotechnology industry group, the Biotechnology Industry Organization, named Vilsack Governor of the Year. He was also the founder and former chair of the Governor's Biotechnology Partnership.

    3 – When Vilsack created the Iowa Values Fund, his first poster child of economic development potential was Trans Ova and their pursuit of cloning dairy cows.

    4 – Vilsack was the origin of the seed preemption bill in 2005, which many people in Iowa fought because it took away local government's possibility of ever having a regulation on seeds- where GE would be grown, having GE-free buffers, banning pharma corn locally, etc.

    Representative Sandy Greiner, the Republican sponsor of the bill, bragged on the House Floor that Vilsack put her up to it right after his state of the state address.

    5 – Vilsack has a glowing reputation as being a shill for agribusiness biotech giants like Monsanto. Sustainable ag advocated across the country were spreading the word of Vilsack's history as he was attempting to appeal to voters in his presidential bid. An activist from the west coast even made this youtube animation about Vilsack.

    6 – Vilsack is an ardent supporter of corn and soy based biofuels, which use as much or more fossil energy to produce them as they generate.

In recent years, both domestic and imported produce have been linked to reported outbreaks of foodborne illness. Contamination in produce is of particular concern because produce is often genetically engineered and consumed raw.

While the Food and Drug Administration has primary responsibility for ensuring the safety of both domestic and imported fresh produce, the Agriculture Department oversees the actual cultivation of that produce.

The Government Accounting Office was asked by the US Congress to examine the resources the US government has spent on fresh produce safety and how it has allocated those resources, and investigate the effectiveness of federal actions to oversee fresh produce safety.

In addition, GAO analysts were requested to investigate the extent to which planned actions to enhance fresh produce oversight address identified challenges. For this review, GAO analyzed spending data, estimates and activities data, reviewed plans, and interviewed officials and others.

Specifically, USDA and FDA do not have a formal method for sharing information that could enhance FDA's voluntary early food safety review for certain genetically engineered crops in the field trial stage and support USDA's oversight.

Also, the three agencies do not have a coordinated program for monitoring the use of marketed GE crops to determine whether the spread of genetic traits is causing undesirable effects on the environment, non-GE segments of agriculture, or food safety, as recommended by the National Research Council and others.

While conservatives have considered fresh produce safety a priority for many years, resource constraints and other work — including counterterrorism efforts and unplanned events such as foodborne illness outbreaks — have caused the federal government to delay key produce safety activities. The Agriculture Department and the FDA have no formal program devoted exclusively to fresh produce and has not consistently and reliably tracked its fresh produce spending.

Based on GAO estimates, the government spent at least $20 million and 130 staff years on fresh produce in fiscal year 2007–or about 3 percent of its food safety dollars and 4 percent of its food safety staff years. In addition, the feds had few staff dedicated solely to fresh produce safety.

Moreover, FDA acknowledged that it has not yet been able to conduct certain fresh produce work crucial to understanding the incidence of contamination of produce by pathogens such as E. coli O157:H7 or Salmonella, because it has lacked the resources to either fund its extramural research grant program or perform some critical research internally.

Finally, FDA delayed issuing final fresh-cut produce guidance at least 6 years because it had to shift staff to counterterrorism and outbreak investigation work. FDA has provided limited oversight of domestic and imported fresh produce. For example, while FDA has issued guidance for industry on recommended practices for reducing the risk of contamination during the processing of fresh-cut produce, it has not issued regulations requiring firms to take action to prevent contamination, even though some industry groups would like it to do so. FDA's intervention efforts have also been limited.

Specifically, domestic fresh produce firms were inspected infrequently. Furthermore, FDA examined less than 1 percent of the 7.6 million fresh produce lines imported from fiscal years 2002 through 2007.

Many experts do not believe Vilsack will clampdown on unauthorized releases of GE crops into food, animal feed, or the environment beyond farm fields have occurred, and it is likely that such incidents will occur again. While there is no evidence that the six known releases into the food or feed supply or into crops meant for the food or feed supply affected human or animal health, some resulted in lost trade opportunities, according to the GAO.

Moreover, the total number of unauthorized releases into the environment is unknown. USDA and EPA have the authority to inspect fields in which GE crops are tested, but crop developers have detected most violations. USDA and EPA have taken enforcement actions in response to violations, ranging from warning letters to significant penalties. The agencies have used lessons learned from unauthorized releases to make regulatory and policy changes.

For example, USDA increased inspections of field trial sites for GE crops producing pharmaceutical compounds; EPA discontinued a policy under which a GE crop containing a pesticidal agent could be approved for animal feed, but not for food; and FDA established a voluntary early food safety evaluation program for certain GE crops intended for food use to help mitigate the impact should unauthorized releases occur during field trials, although it has not made these evaluations available to the public. USDA, EPA, and FDA routinely coordinate their oversight and regulation of GE crops in many respects, but could improve their efforts.

"USDA, EPA, and FDA have proposed regulatory changes intended to improve their oversight of GE crops. But with Vilsack at the helm the USDA will not be expected to push these necessary changes," claims biochemist Dr. Diane Goldstein of NYU.

"Furthermore, the 2008 Farm Bill required USDA to take actions on lessons learned from its investigation of an unauthorized release of GE rice. EPA has proposed several changes to its regulations for GE crops that produce pesticides, including one change that would distinguish between pesticidal agents produced in GE crops and those applied topically to crops. It remains to be seen if the Obama Administration — especially Vilsack — will follow through on such preventive actions," said Dr. Goldstein.

by David Gutierrez

(NaturalNews) The FDA has decided against placing new warning labels on anti-seizure medications used to treat epilepsy, in spite of recent findings that those drugs can increase a patient's risk of suicide.

In January, the FDA raised the possibility of labeling 11 anti-seizure drugs with "black box" warnings, after numerous studies linked them to increased risks of suicidal behavior: carbamazepine (marketed as Carbatrol, Equetro, Tegretol and Tegretol XR), felbamate (marketed as Felbatol), gabapentin (marketed as Neurontin), lamotrigine (marketed as Lamictal), levetiracetam (marketed as Keppra), oxcarbazepine (marketed as Trileptal), pregabalin (marketed as Lyrica), tiagabine (marketed as Gabitril), topiramate (marketed as Topamax), valproate (marketed as Depakote, Depakote ER, Depakene and Depacon) and zonisamide (marketed as Zonegran).

The so-called anti-convulsants are used primarily to treat epilepsy, bipolar disorder and migraines.

In early July, the FDA announced its intention to add a black box warning about suicide risk to the drugs' labels. This is the strongest warning that the FDA can place on a product without withdrawing from the market.

The next week, however, an FDA advisory panel recommended against adding a black box warning. While the panel had found, upon review of study data, that there was definitely an association between anti-convulsant use and increased suicide risk, it was concerned that a black box warning might lead to reduced use of the drugs.

"If we have good drugs that are working, we have to be very careful about scaring patients into not taking them," said FDA adviser Rochelle Caplan, of the University of California-Los Angeles.

Following the panel's recommendation, the FDA reversed its position and announced that it would no longer add a black box warning the drugs. The agency's prior advice to doctors still stands, however: to be alert for any changes in the "mood, behavior and actions" of those taking anti-convulsant drugs.

by Tony Isaacs

(NaturalNews) The major active compound in the amazing cancer fighting and immune boosting oleander plant is felt to be the cardiac glycoside oleandrin. However, the opinion among those who have studied oleander is virtually unanimous; it is a synergistic combination of many ingredients which makes oleander as successful as it is.

It has been reported that over 500 different compounds have been identified in the amazing cancer fighting and immune boosting oleander plant. Research has yet to discover exactly which ones work both independently and together for optimum effect, though oleander extract has shown remarkable success against a very broad range of cancers, including lung, liver, leukemia, breast, brain, prostate, stomach, pancreatic and more.

To paraphrase a quote attributed to a department head at noted cancer research facility M. D. Anderson in Houston, "We don`t know yet exactly how it works, we just know that it does work, attacking and killing bad cells – and only bad cells – and stopping their multiplication."

Among the known cancer fighters and immune boosters which have been identified so far are:

Cardiac glycosides, long chain polysacharrides and other types of compounds including: Oleandrin, Oleandrinogen, Oleandrigenin, Beta-sistosterol, Quercitin, Linoleic-acid, Oleic-acid, Adynerin, Alpha-amyrin, Betulin, Foliandrin, Folinerin, Gitoxigenin, Isoquercitrin, Lauric-acid, Neriin, Oleanolic-acid, Rutin, Stigmasterol, Ursolic-acid, Uzarigenin.

Now, two Japanese studies from last year which were apparently conducted jointly appear to shed new light on yet other compounds in oleander which were tested against malignant fibroblast tumors, liver tumor cells, lung tumor cells and ovarian cancer cells.

One study, titled "Bioactive Cardenolides from the Stems and Twigs of Nerium oleander", evaluated thirteen compounds against fibroblast, liver and ovarian cancer cells. The test results found that seven of the compounds demonstrated anti-cancer activity against the fibroblast tumors; three compounds were active against liver tumor cells and four exhibited selective cell growth inhibitory activity toward fibroblast tumors.

All thirteen compounds were evaluated against ovarian cancer cells on the basis of the amount of calcein accumulated in MDR human ovarian cancer 2780AD cells in the presence of each compound. Three of the compounds showed "significant effects on calcein accumulation" and one of the three showed "stronger activity than that of verapamil."

In the second study, "Bioactive pregnanes from nerium oleander", three new pregnanes compounds together with two known pregnane compounds were evaluated against fibroblast, liver, lung and ovarian cancer cells. One of the pregnanes was found to have significant cytotoxic activity against both fibroblast and liver cancer cells. Three of the pregnanes were found to have significant activity against ovarian cancer.

The study would appear to be especially encouraging for cancer patients with ovarian cancer, a particularly difficult cancer, especially when combined with previous studies which concentrated mostly on the cardiac glycosides or else the entire array of compounds found in an aqueous extraction of the oleander plant.

Thus far, studies on oleander extracts have been shown to 1) inhibit angiogenesis, the process where cancer produces blood vessels and spreads, 2) inhibit the NF-kB factor in cancer cells, which is the process that cells use to protect themselves when they come under attack, 3) induce apoptosis, or normal cell death, in cancer cells, 4) greatly stimulate immune activity and 5) induce and increase autophagic cell death.

In real life applications, oleander medicines and supplements, and a noted oleander home remedy, have enjoyed tremendous success against cancer. Dr. H. Zima Ozel, who re-discovered an age old oleander remedy and later developed the patented medicine Anvirzel reported success rates of over 70% in the 40 plus years that he has used oleander in Turkey. The present manufacturers of Anvirzel similarly report very high success rates against a variety of cancers, including the very difficult pancreatic cancer.

During the past five plus years, hundreds of people have used an inexpensive oleander based supplement, Sutherlandia OPC, as well as a home remedy version based on the Ozel extract with over 90% success reported.

With so many compounds working together, it may be a very long time, if ever, before all the synergistic compounds which make oleander work are identified. What has been identified is that oleander works and works very well indeed.

Note: The oleander plant is highly toxic in raw form and no one should try to make their own home remedy without following exact instructions which can be found at:

by Barbara Minton

(NaturalNews) Americans are losing the ability to feed themselves. Nothing signifies this loss of the golden age in America more than our growing reliance on foreign countries for our food. Yet American's happily buy their produce from Mexico and their fish from China without giving it a thought. These are the same Americans who bemoan the loss of our manufacturing base saying that we should have done something about it before it was too late. Why can't they see the similarity to us losing our agricultural base? Buying food from the Chinese is no different than buying a Toyota from the Japanese. Both actions portray an American turning his back on his country.

When you buy food from a foreign country, you enrich the same corporations that have dumped their long time, faithful employees here in America. These are the food conglomerates that have shut down factories in the U.S. and created ghost towns where there were once thriving communities. They are the same corporations that show their contempt for Americans by using toxic chemicals and pesticides in their food production that are not allowed in the U.S. Maybe you say, "I only buy organic so I don't have to worry." What does 'organic' mean in Mexico or China? Who enforces those standards?

If this scenario isn't enough, add in government policy to ignore the fuel inefficiency of vehicles in the U.S. and instead to turn its attention and rhetoric to the encouragement of using our food for fuel. You would almost think there was a plot against the American people.

You don't have to be a dedicated fanatic to see what is going on. Just pick up some newspapers and you will find stories that paint a glaring picture of our fall from grace. Like the one in the New York Times about the death of the catfish industry in the U.S.

Last year, Dillard & Company raised 11 million fish. Next year they will raise none, and 55 more Americans will be unemployed while the rest of us will be getting our catfish from Asia.

With the rising costs of corn and soybeans, feed is now more than half the total cost of raising catfish. The president of Dillard says that for every dollar the company spends raising catfish it gets back only 75 cents when the fish go to market. Along with other producers Dillard's takes its fish to Consolidated Catfish Producers where they are cut into fillets. With fewer fish coming in, Consolidated is laying off half its workers. Dillard also blames governmental policy resulting in ethanol mandates.

Producer's Feed Company, across the highway from Dillard's has already shut down. The ripple effect continues at Peter Bo's Restaurant, locally known for its catfish dinners but now out of business.

Catfish has always been a delicacy that symbolized the South. The founder of Dillard's came to the Mississippi delta 50 years ago and put in a catfish pond. The idea caught on and soon the industry was booming, employing more than 10,000 people at its peak. But producers from Vietnam and China flooded the American market, resulting in the loss of pricing power.

Then there's the Associated Press article about a Mexican named Martinez who used to pay smugglers to sneak him into the U.S. to manage farm crews. Now he is back at home working for U.S. owned VegPacker de Mexico, one of many companies that have turned their backs on their American customers and moved their fields to Mexico to take advantage of hands willing to work for half of the prevailing rate in the U.S.

American companies now farm more than 45,000 acres of Mexican land with about 11,000 employees according to a survey quoted in the AP article. U.S. direct investment in Mexican agriculture, including American companies moving operations to Mexico and establishing Mexican partnerships, has grown seven fold to $60 million since the year 2000.

U.S. agribusinesses are now in the position of overrunning the local growers in Mexico and putting them out of business, much as they have been doing in the U.S. for decades.

A story in Tulsa World tells us that cattle in feedlots is at its lowest level since last August due to record high feed and fuel costs coupled with massive flooding in the Midwest that took out 5 million acres of farmland earlier in the summer. It looks bleak for the fall when cattle ranchers can no longer rely on the grass in their pastures to cushion high feed prices.

High prices for feed affects every part of the food chain from crop to consumer with higher prices all along the way. Placements of cattle into feedlots to gain weight for slaughter are down over the long term with May's placements totaling only 40,000 head, the second lowest monthly figure in more than a decade. Cattle inventories are at some of their lowest levels since the early 1960's as the result of the squeeze between higher feed costs and the ceiling of what feedlot operators will pay.

Again, the government policy to encourage the use of ethanol for fuel is sited as a determining factor. Cattle ranchers see their future as resting in the hands of what consumers are willing to pay, and it doesn't look good.

Meanwhile, the Wall Street crowd has turned its attention to farming in order to harvest a crop of fat profits. Crop price manipulation has long been a mainstay of speculators but now we've got hedge funds and venture capital amassing billions of dollars from global investors wanting to own farmland, and all the commodities involved in food production, transport and storage. They call it 'owning structure'.

Americans who have left any footprints in foreign countries are being contacted to act as go-betweens as foreign investors need intermediaries to contact real estate brokers of farmland not just in the U.S. but worldwide. Their goal is price control. With big size and deep pockets, these investment groups can almost corner the markets in corn or any targeted commodity, and store it long enough to force prices into huge advances. In the process, any small time operator can be brought to his knees. And since these funds own the mechanisms of transport and fuel, they are also in a position to move the commodity to whatever market is paying the most for it.

What can you do about all this? You can start by increasing your awareness of where your food comes from. This is fairly easy to do since most produce and packaged meat carries identification of the country of origin. Then you can tell your grocer that you are unwilling to spend your hard earned money on advancing the standard of living in another country while it's declining in your own country. You can go to weekend Farmers Market events and support your local growers. Buying only what is grown in the U.S. can be a cumbersome task but one that leaves you feeling good. You can start a victory garden in your own backyard and encourage your family members and neighbors to take part in it.

On a political level, you can support candidates that are at least willing to acknowledge and debate the issue of food crisis. Unfortunately there appear to be no such candidates in this year's election at the national level. Both the republicans and the democrats are on the bandwagon in support of the globalist's agenda and it doesn't seem to matter to them if Americans lose the ability to produce their own food supply.

Sources:

David Streitfield, "As Price of Grain Rises, Catfish Farms Dry Up" New York Times.

Jessica Bernstein-Wax., "Some U.S. Farms Outsourced to Mexico" Associated Press.

Rod Walton, "Feed Costs Keep Cattle Off Lots" Tulsa World.

by David McLaughlin

(NaturalNews) People encounter many types of stress yet there are natural products that will calm and rejuvenate their common thread: the nervous system. Two of the most potent such products are the herbs Valerian and Kava kava, and these also have synergistic benefits when used together. This article will explore these two powerful herbal remedies.

Valerian – Valeriana officinalis (Valerianaceae)

Valerian is a nerve tonic primarily used as a sedative and muscle relaxant. Containing the key constituent Valerianic acid, Valerian reduces nervous tension and anxiety while promoting relaxation and restful sleep. An adaptogen, Valerian acts both as a sedative to those who are over anxious and as a stimulant to those suffering fatigue. Valerian is useful to treat spasms, neck tension, exhaustion, backache, headache, asthma, irritable bowel syndrome, menstrual cramps, and high blood pressure. Safe, non-habit forming, and without any serious side effects, Valerian does have an unpleasant odor (it was called phu by the Romans). Valerian contains up to 1.4% volatile oils (bornyl acetate, beta-caryphyllene), iridoids (valepotriates), valtrate, isovaltrate, and alkaloids.

Used since Roman times to relieve stress, Valerian was regarded as a cure-all during the Middle Ages. Favius Calumna used to treat epilepsy, publishing a detailed work. Valerian treats the nervous system itself, essential to actually overcoming certain disorders.

To measure the quality of Valerian, see whether a cat likes it! It has a similar effect to catnip and helps relieve cats of flea rashes (when added to their food along with powdered greens).

Kava Kava – Piper methysticum (Piperaceae)

An indigenous Polynesian vine, kava grows throughout the Pacific islands as far east as Hawaii. Containing the key constituent Kavalactones, Kava Kava contains the resin kawain along with the alkaloid pipermethysticine. A topic pain reliever and aphrodisiac, kava has antiseptic, anti-inflammatory, and even narcotic effects (if taken in excess). Kava is closely related to P. sanctum, a native plant to Mexico. It also contains kavalactones. Other related species are Piper's Angustifolia, betle, cubeba and nigrum).

Kava kava has major cultural significance in the Pacific Islands, where it has been used for thousands of years without FDA approval. Kava Kava is used in social and religious rituals in the south sea islands, Kava kava's calming and stimulating properties produce both euphoria along with intoxication. Kava can be used as mouthwash due to its powerful antiseptic properties. An analgesic, Kava promotes a restful night's sleep.

To measure the quality of Kava Kava, note that is should have a strong numbing effect in the mouth, and look for products that guarantee 25% or more kavalactones.

Note: As with many herbs and most pharmaceuticals, Kava can be toxic to the liver if used in high amounts for long periods of time. Those with liver problems should consult their doctor before taking Kava kava.

Adaptogenic Herbs

Adaptogens help the body to seek overall system balance. Instead of always pushing the body up (stimulant) or down (sedative), adaptogens move the body toward the middle, where proper balance is achieved.

Thus, adaptogens can act both as a stimulant (to those who are fatigued), and as a sedative (to those feeling overanxious). Valerian is a pure adaptogen (2) while Kava Kava has both stimulating and sedative properties.

These products help you relax and sleep which in turn allows the body to heal itself.

No More Sleepwalking

With most sleep aids, the body is neither here nor there, neither really awake nor truly asleep… a zombie-like state. One wakes up feeling the same. In some cases patients taking prescription medications have been found sleepwalking.

Kava Kava and Valerian have calming rather than sedative effects. These herbs directly calm the mind, reducing any symptoms of anxiety including panic, palpitations, sweating and insomnia. Herbal treatments like Kava and Valerian help to detoxify the nerves themselves (reversing the neurotoxic damage caused by products like MSG and Aspartame). It removes nervous tension often caused by food additives, encouraging a restful sleep.

How to use Valerian and Kava

Many feel that these two herbs are best when used together. People who have not experimented much with herbs will notice an immediate effect with these (unlike St. John's Wort which requires 6 weeks and intense media coverage to work). These herbs quickly make believers out of those who doubt natural medicine!

* Tincture – The concentrated liquids (tinctures with eye droppers) are the strongest and have little flavor, and be sure to use high quality tinctures with guaranteed content of Valerianic Acid and Kavalactones (for about $60, a person can get a 30-90 day supply of both). One normally finds that they do not need them more than a few days in a row, using them only once in a while. Adding the liquid(s) to a little warm water and absorbing the mixture under the tongue before bedtime is the preferred method. This is called sublingual (the sipping action does this naturally if done properly).

* Capsules – Capsules in high quality form are about as fast as aspirin in providing relief and are equally potent to tincture.

* Tea – Neither Valerian nor Kava Kava have a pleasant taste, so tea is not recommended, however that is how Kava Kava is normally consumed in the Pacific islands (it does numb your mouth so you can't taste it for too long). While blends are fine in tincture and capsule form, they should be consumed separately as tea.

Note that low quality versions of these herbs will be far less effective if at all.

by David Gutierrez

(NaturalNews) The FDA has sent letters to 25 companies, threatening them with disciplinary action if they do not stop claiming that their herbal products can prevent or cure cancer.

The agency identified a total of 125 "tablets, teas, tonics, black salves and creams" that made prohibited claims, including "shrinks malignant tumors;" "treats all forms of cancer;" "target[s] cancer cells while leaving healthy cells alone;" "avoid painful surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, or other conventional treatments;" "80 percent more effective than the world's number one cancer drug;" "skin cancers disappear;" and "causes cancer cells to commit suicide."

"These claims are supplemented by use of the word 'cancer' in most of your product names, as well as in the URL address for your Web site," the FDA's letter to one company read. "Furthermore, the metatags used to bring consumers to your Web site include 'cancer,' 'herbs for cancer' and 'fight-cancer.'"

"FDA expects prompt and complete corrective action," said Office of Enforcement Director David Elder. "Firms that don't heed the warnings that we've delivered and other firms marketing similar unapproved products may face further regulatory action."

Potential sanctions include injunctions, fines and product seizures.

The FDA expressed particular concern over the marketing of such herbal cures on the Internet, which is much more difficult to regulate. It is easy for companies to shut down one Web site and start up another, while at the same time it is difficult for authorities to figure out exactly who owns and operates a given site.

"Although promotions of bogus cancer 'cures' have always been a problem, the Internet has provided a mechanism for them to flourish," said FDA regulatory chief Margaret Glavin.

The American Herbal Products Association responded by saying that while it is certainly illegal to make unapproved medical claims, the products in question are not harmful.

The FDA has not received any consumer complaints or negative side effect reports from the targeted products.