Category Archives: Body, Mind & Spirit

RE: The Pineal Gland

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10 Questions About the Pineal Gland That Add to the Mystery of Spirituality

April 11, 2014 | By  

Pineal Gland -1Buck Rogers, Staff Writer
Waking Times

The  pine cone shaped, pea-sized pineal gland, located in the center of the human brain, is an organ of tremendous interest these days. To many spiritual seekers it is the ‘seat of the soul‘ and the ‘third eye,’ the anatomical part of the human body that acts as our spiritual antennae, connecting us to the non-physical, spiritual planes of existence. However, to many scientists and rigid materialist thinkers, it is strictly an endocrine gland responsible for the secretion of the hormone melatonin, a substance which, among other things, aids in the regulation of our circadian rhythms.

Far from cased closed, this small, but intriguing piece of the human organism is the source of endless discussion and consideration, as many people believe that by cleansing, detoxifying or decalcifying the pineal gland, one can more readily achieve spiritual states of consciousness and can experience with greater depth and clarity.

Of course naysayers who disregard the possibility of the existence of any spiritual dimension to life and to the pineal gland are quick to point out that no scientific evidence has proven that the pineal gland is in fact the organ responsible for spiritual experience. Yet, many people who’ve developed the subtle awareness and inward reflection required to connect to the spiritual qualities of humanity can clearly sense that something profound takes place within the area of the brain where the pineal gland sits, including visions, intuitive thoughts, vibrations, harmonic resonance with certain sounds, and other mystical phenomenon.

As the debate between science and spirituality carries on, the pineal gland sits at the center of the brain enticing both spiritual adepts and naysayers alike to take a closer look into the mysteries that make human beings spiritual creatures capable having psychological experiences that evade validation by modern scientific research methods and modes of thought.

Here are 10 questions about the pineal gland that add to the mystery of spirituality:

1. Is the pineal gland the evolutionary remnant of a literal third mammalian eye that moved into the center of the brain and changed functions from gathering light to entraining rhythms in accordance with information gathered by the retina?

2. Why do the visionary states of consciousness induced by psychedelics and meditative practices seem to be centered around the very part of the brain where the pineal gland sits?

3. If there is no connection between spirituality and the pineal gland, how is it that the 6th chakra (Ajna chakra), according to ancient Hindu tradition, is located precisely where the pineal gland sits, and has for centuries been associated with the ‘mind’s eye,’ the eye of intellect and intuition?

4. Is there a connection between the spiritual promise of the pineal gland, which is shaped like a pine cone, and the Pigna, the colossal bronze pine cone statue of ancient Rome which now sits in a courtyard in the Vatican?

5. Does the pineal gland produce the body’s natural supply of DMT, dimethyltriptamine, a chemical compound that produces incredible visionary effects when consumed in concentrated form or in the Amazonian medicine Ayahuasca?

6. Does the pineal gland release massive doses of DMT when a person dies, or when a person nearly dies, which causes the mind to have near-death experiences, or causes the soul to return to source?

7. What is the significance of the fact that the ancient Egyptian symbol, the Eye of Horus, strongly resembles the anatomy of the middle section of the brain and upper cortex, centering on the thalamus and the pineal gland?

8. Why is the pineal gland the only organ in the human body that calcifies and solidifies with age?

9. If the pineal gland has little effect on consciousness, why is it that people suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, diseases which cause them to be severely psychologically disconnected from the ‘real world,’ have pineal glands that are much more calcified than those of ordinary people?

10. Why is it that following the methods of pineal gland decalcification and cleansing often bring genuine results to people who are seeking heightened spiritual experience, and why do these practices often result in people being able to more easily remember dreams and lead them to feel more connected to ‘source?’

Conclusion

There certainly is more to the human spiritual experience than just having a decalcified pineal gland, however, in our modern culture, which has grown spiritually bereft, the pineal gland holds special significance as people look for any possible technique or enhancement to the human body and mind that can assist them in re-connecting to divinity.

Some of these questions are better suited for serious scientists and laboratory research, however, simply pondering the role that human anatomy plays in spiritual experience can expand our awareness of the connection between the health of the body and the health of the spirit.

from:    http://www.wakingtimes.com/2014/04/11/10-questions-pineal-gland-mystery-spirituality/

Shamanic View of Mental Illness

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What a Shaman Sees in A Mental Hospital

August 22, 2014 | By  

ShamanStephanie Marohn with Malidoma Patrice Somé
Waking Times

The Shamanic View of Mental Illness

In the shamanic view, mental illness signals “the birth of a healer,” explains Malidoma Patrice Somé. Thus, mental disorders are spiritual emergencies, spiritual crises, and need to be regarded as such to aid the healer in being born.

What those in the West view as mental illness, the Dagara people regard as “good news from the other world.” The person going through the crisis has been chosen as a medium for a message to the community that needs to be communicated from the spirit realm. “Mental disorder, behavioral disorder of all kinds, signal the fact that two obviously incompatible energies have merged into the same field,” says Dr. Somé. These disturbances result when the person does not get assistance in dealing with the presence of the energy from the spirit realm.

One of the things Dr. Somé encountered when he first came to the United States in 1980 for graduate study was how this country deals with mental illness. When a fellow student was sent to a mental institute due to “nervous depression,” Dr. Somé went to visit him.

“I was so shocked. That was the first time I was brought face to face with what is done here to people exhibiting the same symptoms I’ve seen in my village.” What struck Dr. Somé was that the attention given to such symptoms was based on pathology, on the idea that the condition is something that needs to stop. This was in complete opposition to the way his culture views such a situation. As he looked around the stark ward at the patients, some in straitjackets, some zoned out on medications, others screaming, he observed to himself, “So this is how the healers who are attempting to be born are treated in this culture. What a loss! What a loss that a person who is finally being aligned with a power from the other world is just being wasted.”

Another way to say this, which may make more sense to the Western mind, is that we in the West are not trained in how to deal or even taught to acknowledge the existence of psychic phenomena, the spiritual world. In fact, psychic abilities are denigrated. When energies from the spiritual world emerge in a Western psyche, that individual is completely unequipped to integrate them or even recognize what is happening. The result can be terrifying. Without the proper context for and assistance in dealing with the breakthrough from another level of reality, for all practical purposes, the person is insane. Heavy dosing with anti-psychotic drugs compounds the problem and prevents the integration that could lead to soul development and growth in the individual who has received these energies.

On the mental ward, Dr Somé saw a lot of “beings” hanging around the patients, “entities” that are invisible to most people but that shamans and psychics are able to see. “They were causing the crisis in these people,” he says. It appeared to him that these beings were trying to get the medications and their effects out of the bodies of the people the beings were trying to merge with, and were increasing the patients’ pain in the process. “The beings were acting almost like some kind of excavator in the energy field of people. They were really fierce about that. The people they were doing that to were just screaming and yelling,” he said. He couldn’t stay in that environment and had to leave.

In the Dagara tradition, the community helps the person reconcile the energies of both worlds–”the world of the spirit that he or she is merged with, and the village and community.” That person is able then to serve as a bridge between the worlds and help the living with information and healing they need. Thus, the spiritual crisis ends with the birth of another healer. “The other world’s relationship with our world is one of sponsorship,” Dr. Somé explains. “More often than not, the knowledge and skills that arise from this kind of merger are a knowledge or a skill that is provided directly from the other world.”

The beings who were increasing the pain of the inmates on the mental hospital ward were actually attempting to merge with the inmates in order to get messages through to this world. The people they had chosen to merge with were getting no assistance in learning how to be a bridge between the worlds and the beings’ attempts to merge were thwarted. The result was the sustaining of the initial disorder of energy and the aborting of the birth of a healer.

“The Western culture has consistently ignored the birth of the healer,” states Dr. Somé. “Consequently, there will be a tendency from the other world to keep trying as many people as possible in an attempt to get somebody’s attention. They have to try harder.” The spirits are drawn to people whose senses have not been anesthetized. “The sensitivity is pretty much read as an invitation to come in,” he notes.

Those who develop so-called mental disorders are those who are sensitive, which is viewed in Western culture as oversensitivity. Indigenous cultures don’t see it that way and, as a result, sensitive people don’t experience themselves as overly sensitive. In the West, “it is the overload of the culture they’re in that is just wrecking them,” observes Dr. Somé. The frenetic pace, the bombardment of the senses, and the violent energy that characterize Western culture can overwhelm sensitive people.

Schizophrenia and Foreign Energy

With schizophrenia, there is a special “receptivity to a flow of images and information, which cannot be controlled,” stated Dr. Somé. “When this kind of rush occurs at a time that is not personally chosen, and particularly when it comes with images that are scary and contradictory, the person goes into a frenzy.”

What is required in this situation is first to separate the person’s energy from the extraneous foreign energies, by using shamanic practice (what is known as a “sweep”) to clear the latter out of the individual’s aura. With the clearing of their energy field, the person no longer picks up a flood of information and so no longer has a reason to be scared and disturbed, explains Dr. Somé.

Then it is possible to help the person align with the energy of the spirit being attempting to come through from the other world and give birth to the healer. The blockage of that emergence is what creates problems. “The energy of the healer is a high-voltage energy,” he observes. “When it is blocked, it just burns up the person. It’s like a short-circuit. Fuses are blowing. This is why it can be really scary, and I understand why this culture prefers to confine these people. Here they are yelling and screaming, and they’re put into a straitjacket. That’s a sad image.” Again, the shamanic approach is to work on aligning the energies so there is no blockage, “fuses” aren’t blowing, and the person can become the healer they are meant to be.

It needs to be noted at this point, however, that not all of the spirit beings that enter a person’s energetic field are there for the purposes of promoting healing. There are negative energies as well, which are undesirable presences in the aura. In those cases, the shamanic approach is to remove them from the aura, rather than work to align the discordant energies

Alex: Crazy in the USA, Healer in Africa

To test his belief that the shamanic view of mental illness holds true in the Western world as well as in indigenous cultures, Dr. Somé took a mental patient back to Africa with him, to his village. “I was prompted by my own curiosity to find out whether there’s truth in the universality that mental illness could be connected with an alignment with a being from another world,” says Dr. Somé.

Alex was an 18-year-old American who had suffered a psychotic break when he was 14. He had hallucinations, was suicidal, and went through cycles of dangerously severe depression. He was in a mental hospital and had been given a lot of drugs, but nothing was helping. “The parents had done everything–unsuccessfully,” says Dr. Somé. “They didn’t know what else to do.”

With their permission, Dr. Somé took their son to Africa. “After eight months there, Alex had become quite normal, Dr. Somé reports. He was even able to participate with healers in the business of healing; sitting with them all day long and helping them, assisting them in what they were doing with their clients . . . . He spent about four years in my village.” Alex stayed by choice, not because he needed more healing. He felt, “much safer in the village than in America.”

To bring his energy and that of the being from the spiritual realm into alignment, Alex went through a shamanic ritual designed for that purpose, although it was slightly different from the one used with the Dagara people. “He wasn’t born in the village, so something else applied. But the result was similar, even though the ritual was not literally the same,” explains Dr. Somé. The fact that aligning the energy worked to heal Alex demonstrated to Dr. Somé that the connection between other beings and mental illness is indeed universal.

After the ritual, Alex began to share the messages that the spirit being had for this world. Unfortunately, the people he was talking to didn’t speak English (Dr. Somé was away at that point). The whole experience led, however, to Alex’s going to college to study psychology. He returned to the United States after four years because “he discovered that all the things that he needed to do had been done, and he could then move on with his life.”

The last that Dr. Somé heard was that Alex was in graduate school in psychology at Harvard. No one had thought he would ever be able to complete undergraduate studies, much less get an advanced degree.

Dr. Somé sums up what Alex’s mental illness was all about: “He was reaching out. It was an emergency call. His job and his purpose was to be a healer. He said no one was paying attention to that.”

After seeing how well the shamanic approach worked for Alex, Dr. Somé concluded that spirit beings are just as much an issue in the West as in his community in Africa. “Yet the question still remains, the answer to this problem must be found here, instead of having to go all the way overseas to seek the answer. There has to be a way in which a little bit of attention beyond the pathology of this whole experience leads to the possibility of coming up with the proper ritual to help people.

Longing for Spiritual Connection

A common thread that Dr. Somé has noticed in “mental” disorders in the West is “a very ancient ancestral energy that has been placed in stasis, that finally is coming out in the person.” His job then is to trace it back, to go back in time to discover what that spirit is. In most cases, the spirit is connected to nature, especially with mountains or big rivers, he says.

In the case of mountains, as an example to explain the phenomenon, “it’s a spirit of the mountain that is walking side by side with the person and, as a result, creating a time-space distortion that is affecting the person caught in it.” What is needed is a merger or alignment of the two energies, “so the person and the mountain spirit become one.” Again, the shaman conducts a specific ritual to bring about this alignment.

Dr. Somé believes that he encounters this situation so often in the United States because “most of the fabric of this country is made up of the energy of the machine, and the result of that is the disconnection and the severing of the past. You can run from the past, but you can’t hide from it.” The ancestral spirit of the natural world comes visiting. “It’s not so much what the spirit wants as it is what the person wants,” he says. “The spirit sees in us a call for something grand, something that will make life meaningful, and so the spirit is responding to that.”

That call, which we don’t even know we are making, reflects “a strong longing for a profound connection, a connection that transcends materialism and possession of things and moves into a tangible cosmic dimension. Most of this longing is unconscious, but for spirits, conscious or unconscious doesn’t make any difference.” They respond to either.

As part of the ritual to merge the mountain and human energy, those who are receiving the “mountain energy” are sent to a mountain area of their choice, where they pick up a stone that calls to them. They bring that stone back for the rest of the ritual and then keep it as a companion; some even carry it around with them. “The presence of the stone does a lot in tuning the perceptive ability of the person,” notes Dr. Somé. “They receive all kinds of information that they can make use of, so it’s like they get some tangible guidance from the other world as to how to live their life.”

When it is the “river energy,” those being called go to the river and, after speaking to the river spirit, find a water stone to bring back for the same kind of ritual as with the mountain spirit.

“People think something extraordinary must be done in an extraordinary situation like this,” he says. That’s not usually the case. Sometimes it is as simple as carrying a stone.

A Sacred Ritual Approach to Mental Illness

One of the gifts a shaman can bring to the Western world is to help people rediscover ritual, which is so sadly lacking. “The abandonment of ritual can be devastating. From the spiritual view, ritual is inevitable and necessary if one is to live,” Dr. Somé writes in Ritual: Power, Healing, and Community. “To say that ritual is needed in the industrialized world is an understatement. We have seen in my own people that it is probably impossible to live a sane life without it.”

Dr. Somé did not feel that the rituals from his traditional village could simply be transferred to the West, so over his years of shamanic work here, he has designed rituals that meet the very different needs of this culture. Although the rituals change according to the individual or the group involved, he finds that there is a need for certain rituals in general.

One of these involves helping people discover that their distress is coming from the fact that they are “called by beings from the other world to cooperate with them in doing healing work.” Ritual allows them to move out of the distress and accept that calling.

Another ritual need relates to initiation. In indigenous cultures all over the world, young people are initiated into adulthood when they reach a certain age. The lack of such initiation in the West is part of the crisis that people are in here, says Dr. Somé. He urges communities to bring together “the creative juices of people who have had this kind of experience, in an attempt to come up with some kind of an alternative ritual that would at least begin to put a dent in this kind of crisis.”

Another ritual that repeatedly speaks to the needs of those coming to him for help entails making a bonfire, and then putting into the bonfire “items that are symbolic of issues carried inside the individuals . . . It might be the issues of anger and frustration against an ancestor who has left a legacy of murder and enslavement or anything, things that the descendant has to live with,” he explains. “If these are approached as things that are blocking the human imagination, the person’s life purpose, and even the person’s view of life as something that can improve, then it makes sense to begin thinking in terms of how to turn that blockage into a roadway that can lead to something more creative and more fulfilling.”

The example of issues with an ancestors touches on rituals designed by Dr. Somé that address a serious dysfunction in Western society and in the process “trigger enlightenment” in participants. These are ancestral rituals, and the dysfunction they are aimed at is the mass turning-of-the-back on ancestors. Some of the spirits trying to come through, as described earlier, may be “ancestors who want to merge with a descendant in an attempt to heal what they weren’t able to do while in their physical body.”

“Unless the relationship between the living and the dead is in balance, chaos ensues,” he says. “The Dagara believe that, if such an imbalance exists, it is the duty of the living to heal their ancestors. If these ancestors are not healed, their sick energy will haunt the souls and psyches of those who are responsible for helping them.” The rituals focus on healing the relationship with our ancestors, both specific issues of an individual ancestor and the larger cultural issues contained in our past. Dr. Somé has seen extraordinary healing occur at these rituals.

Taking a sacred ritual approach to mental illness rather than regarding the person as a pathological case gives the person affected–and indeed the community at large–the opportunity to begin looking at it from that vantage point too, which leads to “a whole plethora of opportunities and ritual initiative that can be very, very beneficial to everyone present,” states. Dr. Somé.

Excerpted from:  The Natural Medicine Guide to Schizophrenia, or The Natural Medicine Guide to Bi-polar Disorder, pages 178-189, Stephanie Marohn (featuring Malidoma Patrice Somé).

from:    http://www.wakingtimes.com/2014/08/22/shaman-sees-mental-hospital/

Importance of Affirmations

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The power of I AM in healing, forgiving and moving through difficult situations

Saturday, August 30, 2014 by: Lance Johnson

(NaturalNews) Humans are a gifted, blessed species with a level of spiritual free will that often goes unused in modern day society. It’s easy to feel doubt, to feel less than capable, letting time pass us by.

But humans have more power than they are led to believe. The great I AM pulsates through everything with confident divinity. Every passing moment, a person’s reality is created by a magical and synergistic blend of beliefs, intentions, thoughts and actions. Negative experiences from the past can skew one’s future reality by distorting their beliefs. The beliefs humans carry around initiate the trajectory for what may or may not come into their future reality. To let go of the old and embrace the new requires one to let go of past experiences, adopting a new mindset of hope.

As world-class rock band Rush puts it, “The future disappears into memory, with only a moment between. Forever dwells in that moment; hope is what remains to be seen.”

Subconscious affirmations guide our world view and what we attract

Each person’s subconscious mind holds a culmination of affirmations that play quietly, over and over inside their head. These thoughts make the person feel a certain way, influencing how they see the world around them. These affirmations may be negative or positive and may stay with a person, as long as they let these deep embedded thoughts remain a part of them. These affirmations are often derived from past experiences, or they may be stored because the person holds tight to the opinions of other people.

What we do to others, we do to ourselves

Every action that we engage in, every word that we breathe, every intention that we conjure, is sent out into time and space in our waking universe. What we do to others, what we do to the planet, is what we ultimately do to ourselves. This is how the human race is connected. When one gossips about others, they are only bringing more gossip upon themselves, into their reality, perpetuating a cycle of negative emotions. When one hurts another, the victim can choose to forgive, effectively ending the cycle of pain. This is why it’s important for humans to be mindful for what they ask into their lives, treating each one of their own thoughts and actions with caution and reverence. The golden rule applies: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

The power of I AM and I CAN in healing, forgiveness, and accomplishment

Two of the most powerful affirmations in the universe are the phrases “I AM,” and “I CAN.” These simple phrases can be turned into guiding principles that strengthen a person’s ability to heal, to mend relationships, to forgive, to move through difficult times.

A person defines who they are by consciously declaring the I AM’s in their life. With concentrated, precision-thought and mindful meditation, positive I AM’s can transform a person’s life, by opening up new doors, opportunities and relationships. Reality can change for anyone willing to move boldly in faith.

I CAN is a similar powerful set of guiding beliefs. What is the human race capable of if they embrace the power of I AM and I CAN positively? How do humans limit their own ability to learn and grow by holding onto negative affirmations and bitter accord?

As Rush so eloquently puts it, “The treasure of a life, is the measure of love and respect — the way you live, the gifts that you give.”

What are you telling yourself each day? I AM? I CAN?

How do you treat others?

What are you telling the universe to bring into your existence?

On IQ’s and Intelligence

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Ignore the IQ test: your level of intelligence is not fixed for life

We’re getting more stupid. That’s one point made in a recent article in the New Scientist, reporting on a gradual decline in IQs in developed countries such as the UK, Australia and the Netherlands. Such research feeds into a long-held fascination with testing human intelligence. Yet such debates are too focused on IQ as a life-long trait that can’t be changed. Other research is beginning to show the opposite.

The concept of testing intelligence was first successfuly devised by French psychologists in the early 1900s to help describe differences in how well and quickly children learn at school. But it is now frequently used to explain that difference – that we all have a fixed and inherent level of intelligence that limits how fast we can learn.

Defined loosely, intelligence refers to our ability to learn quickly and adapt to new situations. IQ tests measure our vocabulary, our ability to problem-solve, reason logically and so on.

But what many people fail to understand is that if IQ tests measured only our skills at these particular tasks, no one would be interested in our score. The score is interesting only because it is thought to be fixed for life.

Who is getting smarter?

Standardised IQ tests used by clinical psychologists for diagnostic purposes, such as the Weschler scale, are designed in such a way that it is not easy to prepare for them. The contents are kept surprisingly secret and they are changed regularly. The score given for an individual is a relative one, adjusted based on the performance of people of the same age.

But even as we become better educated and more skillful at the types of tasks measured on IQ tests (a phenomenon known as the “Flynn effect”, after James Fylnn who first noted it) our IQs stay pretty much the same. This is because the IQ scoring system takes into account the amount of improvement expected over time, and then discounts it. This type of score is called a “standardised score” – it hides your true score and merely represents your standing in relation to your peers who have also been getting smarter at about the same rate.

This apparent stability in IQ scores makes intelligence look relatively constant, whereas in fact we are all becoming more intelligent across and within our lifetimes. The IQ test and the IQ scoring system are constantly adjusted to ensure that the average IQ remains at 100, despite a well-noted increase in intellectual ability worldwide.

Politics of IQ testing

Psychologists are aware that intelligence scores are somewhat subject to cultural influence and social opportunity, but some have still insisted that we cannot raise our IQ by much. This is because our general intelligence (or “g”) is a fixed trait that is insensitive to education, “brain training”, diet, or other interventions. In other words, they say, we are all biologically limited in our intelligence levels.

The idea that IQ is fixed for life is built into the questionable politics of IQ testing. The most serious consequence of this is the use of IQ tests to blame educational difficulties on students rather than on teaching systems.

But it is the job of psychologists to find better ways to teach, not to find better ways to justify the poor performance of students. This particular use of IQ tests has caused one leader in the field of intelligence research, Robert Sternberg, to refer to IQ testing as “negative psychology” in a 2008 article.

All is not lost

Those who hang dearly onto the notion that IQ is fixed for life have managed to ignore decades of published research in the field of applied behaviour analysis. This has reported very large IQ gains in children with autism who have been exposed to early intensive behavioural interventions once they have been diagnosed with learning difficulties.

Another 2009 Norwegian study examined the effects of an increase in the duration of compulsory schooling in Norway in the 1960s which lengthened the time in education for Norwegians by two years. The researchers used records of cognitive ability taken by the military to calculate the IQ of each individual in the study. They found that IQ had increased by 3.7 points for every extra year of education received.

More recent studies by John Jonides and his colleagues at the University of Michigan reported improvements in objective measures of intelligence for those who practised a brain-training task called the “n-back task” – a kind of computerised memory test.

My own research, in the field of relational frame theory, has shown that understanding relations between words, such as “more than”, “less than” or “opposite” is crucial for our intellectual development. One recent pilot study showed that we can considerably raise standard IQ scores by training children in relational language skills tasks over a period of months. Again, this finding challenges the idea that intelligence is fixed for life.

So it’s about time we reconsidered our ideas about the nature of intelligence as a trait that cannot be changed. Undoubtedly, there may be some limits to the development of our intellectual skills. But in the short term, the socially responsible thing to do is not to feel bound by those limits, but to help every child work towards and even exceed them.

from:    https://theconversation.com/ignore-the-iq-test-your-level-of-intelligence-is-not-fixed-for-life-30673

Essential Oils for Health

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20 All Purpose Remedies Using Essential Oils

20-All-Purpose-Remedies-Using-Essential-Oils

27th August 2014

By Gaye Levy

Contributing Writer for Wake Up World

The use of essential oils for wellness and healing seems to be catching everyone’s attention these days.  This is true not only in the prepping and homesteading world, but in the mainstream world of traditional medicine as well.

While it is easy to recommend using essential oils for whatever ails you, the question of which essential oil to use for a specific ailment can be elusive.  Let’s face it.  Sometimes you have a little problem that you want to solve right now, without resorting to a ton of research.

I am going to make it easy for you.  With the assistance of author Rebecca Schiffhauer, I have compiled a go-to list of 20 great ways to use essential oils to solve everyday ailments not only for you, but your pets and children as well.

20 Great Ways to Use Essential Oils

1.  Hiccups

Dab some Peppermint on the back of your neck, a little on each side of the spinal cord.

2.  Runny nose

Swipe a drop of Lemon down each side of the nose to dry it up.  Stay out of the sun afterwards to avoid sunburn.

3.  Drowsiness

Combine Peppermint and Wild Orange, apply to the back of the neck, next inhale the oil left on your hands.  Or add 4 drops of each to your diffuser.

4.  Itchy, irritated eyes

Dab Lavender with a bit of carrier oil on the facial bones surrounding your eyes (careful to keep oil away from eyes).  If applying to children, make sure they don’t rub their eyes until oil is absorbed.

5.  Allergies

Mix up equal parts of Lavender, Lemon and Peppermint ~ nature’s antibiotic!  Apply to bottom of your feet morning and night.  Diffuse if possible.  Spark Naturals sells a convenient blend called called L.L.P. – short for Lavender, Lemon and Peppermint!

6.  Ear Ache/Infection

Combine 2 drops Basil or Melaleuca (aka Tea Tree) with a little carrier oil and rub around the rim of the ear, behind the ear and just inside.  Apply several times a day.  Note:  never drop essential oils directly into the ear.

7.  Troubled breathing

Have a bit of chest congestion or asthma?  Apply Respire blend on the chest, then cup your hands over your face and breath in the residual Respire blend on it ~ creating a natural “inhaler”.

8.  Bad breath

A drop of Peppermint on your tongue and you’re kissable fresh again.

9.  Athlete’s foot

Melaleuca works wonders!  Apply neat (meaning undiluted) to affected areas twice a day.

10.  Toe fungus

Melaleuca to the rescue again.  Dab the affected toenail with a saturated q-tip morning and night.

11.  Unsightly warts or skin tags

Use a Q-tip to dab one drop of Oregano oil on the affected area morning and night.  Oregano is a hot oil so you won’t want to spread it around.  Skin tags should fall off in two or three of weeks.  Warts will take a bit longer but eventually will disappear.

For kids: Lemon works wonderfully too.  Apply morning and night and don’t cover with a Band-Aid; it’s important to let the area breathe.  Also, it’s convenient to put the EO in a roll-on bottle so kids can apply themselves…they like taking charge   Be careful of too much sun after the application of lemon oil.

12.  Cellulite

Pour a bottle of Grapefruit into a 4 oz. bottle of fractionated coconut oil and rub into problem areas after shower or bath.  You’ll smell divine and your skin will be so soft.

13.  Diaper Rash

Mix up some Diaper Spray: 18 oz. water, 1 tsp. organic body wash, 4 drops Melaleuca, 4 drops Lavender.  This is a great diaper rash preventative too!  DIY Healing Salve is a wonder for this as well.

14.  Fleas on Your Dog

Drip a couple drops of Melaleuca on back of your dog’s  collar.  Or, tie a bandanna with a few drops of Melaleuca around your dogs neck and watch fleas flee!

15.  Dog’s Ear Infection

Place 1 of drop of Melaleuca and carrier oil on a cotton ball, wipe inside of ear several times a day.

16.  Dog with Sunburned Nose

Dab a little Lavender with carrier oil on his nose for relief.  This works for people too!

17.  Muscle Aches

Mix 1 part Amend blend with 1 part fractionated coconut oil as a penetrating, pain relieving massage oil.  Add a drop of Birch or Wintergreen for extra strength.  Or, try Lemongrass mixed with some DIY Healing Salve.

18.  Fever

A few drops of Peppermint mixed with a carrier oil and applied to the torso can drop body temperature by 3 degrees in minutes.

19.  Burns

A drop of Lavender will immediately stop the pain and mitigate tissue damage.

20.  Heartburn

A couple drops of Peppermint in a small glass of milk will knock out heartburn.  Or, try rubbing a few drops of Digest blend over your chest.  It really works!

The Final Word

My love affair with essential oils continues.  These days I have moved beyond the basics of Lavender, Rosemary, Peppermint and Melaleuca (tea tree) and  rely on a variety of oils to do various things.  They are used for first aid, personal grooming, stress relief, and general health and wellness.

To be honest, three years ago, if someone told me I was going to dump, literally, all of my over-the-counter remedies in favor of essential oils I would have thought “no way”. Clearly, that is exactly what has happened.  I now have a large collection of oils that should serve me well for a long time as long and I continue my pursuit of knowledge about these amazing substances.

I know I am not alone.  Whenever I write an article extolling the virtues of essential oils, I receive a flurry of emails that reflect a pent up interest in learning more about essential oils and how they can be used to enhance our long term well-being and survival.

from:    http://wakeup-world.com/2014/08/27/20-all-purpose-remedies-using-essential-oils/

Superfoods you.ve Probably Never Heard of

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10 Amazing Superfoods – Harnessing Nature’s Healing Potential

10 Amazing Superfoods - Sacha Inchi Seeds23rd August 2014

By Maxwell Honey

Guest Writer for Wake Up World

Since time immemorial, human beings have been experimenting with what we eat. We have discovered, consumed, and created countless foods and substances – some of which taste amazing, some that make us feel invincible, and some that even induce profound and revelatory visions! – all in the name of trying to figure out who we are, how to live longer, and how to feel the best ever.

But something that is just now starting to be understood scientifically is that: a culture is what it eats – and food really does make us who we are!!

Via the internet, we now have access to thousands of years of indigenous knowledge in regards to the best and worst foods man has ever eaten – and today, the ones that pack serious nutritional power and medicinal qualities are now often referred to as ‘superfoods’. By choosing to learn about and consume only the healthiest foods on the planet, and understanding the reasons why we want to consume them, we have an unprecedented ability to support our bodies and consciously boost the evolutionary thrust of humankind via our diets!

So.. to start things off, here’s a list of 10 absolutely amazing superfoods that – along with just being superbly nutritious – will also start you on your path towards becoming a truly exemplary human being :)

 

10 Amazing Superfoods

10. Pine Pollen

Pine Pollen has been used as a medicine since the beginning of time. It is a truly super substance, and is now beginning to get a lot of attention in the health food community; very few substances on Earth have as many positive benefits as Pine Pollen.

Pine pollen is powerful tonic, which means it can be used for any length of time without becoming toxic to the body. It is also an androgen – containing both testosterone and DHEA- and is amazingly effective at balancing the ratio of androgens to estrogen, making it appropriate for both men and women. There are only a handful of substances in nature that naturally raise testosterone levels – and pine pollen is one of them! It is also a complete protein – containing all essential amino acids – as well as a complete nutritive, which means it contains a vast array of vitamins and minerals.

For thousands of years Pine Pollen has been used successfully by people from all different parts of the world to elevate libido, increase vitality, slow the aging process, boost energy levels, maintain mental integrity, and even fight against breast and prostate cancer! It can be be used externally to treat conditions like eczema, rashes, and acne; it also contains Phenylalanine, which stimulates dopamine production in the brain, and is an L-dopa precursor (more on L-dopa to come) – which itself is now being used widely to treat depression and other mental disorders, and is now widely available in supplement form.

10 Amazing Superfoods - Harnessing Nature's Healing Potential - Pine Pollen

The depth of benefits Pine Pollen provides are honestly to vast to list – more benefits are being discovered and researched everyday. Although Pine Pollen has proven itself throughout history, the power of this whole food tonic is just now starting to go mainstream – and the results for many people are staggering! One thing is for sure: if health, longevity and happiness are goals in your life, Pine Pollen would certainly be a great place to start.

9. Cordyceps

Cordyceps are a mycellium fungi that grow at very high elevations throughout China. It looks a bit strange – sometimes like a caterpillar, other times like a piece of grass – and is often used to treat immune deficiencies, boost energy, increase endurance, and improve chronic fatigue syndrome. More recently, it has received a lot of attention for apparently improving oxygen utilization in the body – which has been great news for endurance athletes!

It is incredibly difficult to harvest, and this is why traditionally it was very expensive to buy. However today, there are new methods of growing and harvesting Cordyceps that are more sustainable and much less difficult.

Cordyceps renowned ability to improve cardiovascular performance in endurance athletes began many years ago when it was used extensively by long distance runners in rural China. In Traditional Chinese medicine it has been, and still is, one of the most sought after super food medicines around. Cordyceps have been shown to increase oxygen uptake, boost immune function, improve digestion, raise testosterone levels – and again, for you athletes out there, this little fungus is now being used extensively to help slow down the onset of exercise induced fatigue while improving stamina, by increasing ATP (adenosine triphosphate) levels in the body (ATP is essentially the energy currency for the entire body). Not too shabby yeah?

If that weren’t enough, Cordyceps has also been used to treat kidney disorders, sexual dysfunction issues, heart and blood related ailments, anemia, high cholesterol levels, even liver disorders such as Hepatitis B.

10 Amazing Superfoods - Harnessing Nature's Healing Potential - Cordyceps

Today in the United States, you can buy Cordyceps in many different forms – from whole extracts in capsule form, to powders, to liquid tinctures. Traditionally the whole fungus was consumed, as it is was believed that consuming the entire fungus was the best way to get all the beneficial compounds into your system in the right balancing ratios. Opinions vary on this, and the jury is still out on whether or not this is still the case, but many people still choose to use the entire fungus, as this is considered to be the true, holistic way.

Regardless of how you choose to take it, Cordyceps remains a profoundly powerful superfood that will definitely aid you in your quest towards becoming truly superhuman. Just give it a try! You won’t regret it.

8. Sacha Inchi Seeds

Very recently, Sacha Inchi Seeds (*see first image, above) have been re-popularized by the Vegan triathlete Brendan Brazier as an absolute must for any serious health nut (no pun intended). They are touted as being the absolute best source of Omega 3 fatty acids on the planet — with over 7000mg of heart-healthy Omega 3’s per one ounce serving — which is vastly higher than Chia seeds, salmon, or algae oil. Truly awesome.

Omega 3’s are important for more reasons than we can get into here – but if there is anything to walk away with about Omega 3’s, it’s this: they keep your body flexible and un-inflamed, your mind sharp and your brain healthy – and most importantly – they keep your spirit soaring! Without adequate daily Omega 3 intake we quickly become sad and depressed – it’s as simple as that. And so it’s very important that we start to increase and then balance our intake of Omega 3’s, as much as we can, and as soon as possible.

Unfortunately today, Omega 6 fatty acids are still the most abundantly consumed fatty acids all around the world. This is because most cooked foods are cooked in oils that are very high in Omega 6, and very low in Omega 3’s – and so unless you’ve been living a very healthy existence for most of your life, you are likely dealing with some degree of Omega 3 deficiency. To balance this deficiency, we have to start by increasing our intake of Omega 3’s daily, while also decreasing our intake of Omega 6 fatty acids – and supplementing Sachi Inchi Seeds into your diet is perhaps the best and healthiest way to do just that!

In addition to being am amazing source of healthy Omega 3 fatty acids, Sacha Inchi contain about 29 mg of the amino acid tryptophan per serving – much higher than any animal source. Tryptophan is essential for promoting a clam and positive mood, as well as helping one to sleep soundly. These amazing seeds are also very high in antioxidants, fiber, and are an excellent source of quality protein.

Given all these amazing attributes, it’s difficult to understand why superfoods like Sacha Inchi are not being talked about more. Hopefully after reading this however, you’ll not only go out and try them out for yourself, but maybe even start spreading the word and sharing them with your friends!

Man, what a healthier world it would be…!

10 Amazing Superfoods - Harnessing Nature's Healing Potential - Dulse

7. Dulse

Dulse is pretty much an all around rockstar in the superfood game. It is a sea vegetable that has been used for thousands of years by many different cultures throughout East Asia, and is most widely utilized today in Japanese cuisine – in dishes ranging from soups, to salads, to sushi. Although it may not sound or look all that appealing, the vast benefits of eating Dulse are by far reason enough to begin adjusting your palate!

Dulse is incredibly high in vitamins and minerals – specifically Vitamins B6, B12,A, Iron, Potassium, Phosphorus, and Manganese. It helps to heal poor digestion, cleanses the body of heavy metals, is high in protein and fiber, supports healthy brain function, and is incredibly high in Iodine. (Iodine is paramount for healthy thyroid function, and is even being made into supplements now to help people with hyperthyroidism). Dulse is also a powerful liver detoxifier, healing and enhancing the liver’s ability to deal with stress of all kinds, while increasing its ability to detox the body.

Supplementing Dulse into your diet is not difficult – there are literally thousands of awesome recipes that utilize Dulse as a tasty additive. When dried, Dulse is quite salty, so it can easily be used in soups and salads to increase flavor. Dulse can also be sprinkled on basically any cooked dish instead of table salt, making it an ideal alternative for people looking to either reduce their salt intake, or transition to a healthier type of salt.

The Japanese are renowned for their long life spans and lack of debilitating diseases – and this has been directly linked to their continued use of seafoods and sea vegetables in their diet. In addition to adding Dulse to your diet, you can also find Dulse supplements, and it is often included in many green superfood powders. Therefore, if you’re looking for a way to get the benefits of Dulse without having to adjust to the taste, there are plenty of options out there for you.

NOTE: Due to the possible radiation contamination of much of the Pacific Ocean after the nuclear catastrophe at the Fukushima plant in Japan – as well as the concentration of heavy metals and other toxins in ocean fish and seaweeds due to other pollution – be sure to seek out only organic sources of Dulse and other seaweeds. There are organic options available – Eden Foods and Maine Cost products are great sources to start from. By choosing organic you will get all the amazing benefits of ocean seaweeds, without any possibility of contaminating your own health, so make the safe choice.

10 Amazing Superfoods - Harnessing Nature's Healing Potential - Macuna

6. Macuna

Best known in Ayruvedic medicine as “Kapikachu”, Macuna is nourishing to all three Dosha types. In Indian medicine this essentially means it is balancing to all facets of the body/mind, and can be used by most people – a trait only a few other herbs and adaptogens possess (Ginseng is also nourishing to all three Doshas). Macuna is truly multifaceted in its medical uses. It is often used to treat fertility issues in men, libido issues in both men and women, to build muscle in weak individuals, and to treat depression, Parkinson’s, and other brain disorders.

Macuna’s high L-dopa content is part of what makes it so extraordinary. As stated earlier, L-dopa is a direct pre-cursor to dopamine, which is an essential neurotransmitter responsible for regulating mood and balancing hormone levels, keeping the body/mind in balance and equilibrium. In addition, Macuna also contains trace amounts of the chemicals DMT, 5-meo-DMT, 5HT (serotonin), nicotine, and bufotenin – all of which have mind altering effects, and which contribute to Macuna’s anti-depressant activity. Some people say after taking Macuna for a period of time, that all of the grayness and boredom that used to plague their day-to-day life seemed to just fall away. Some even go so far as to say that Macuna gave them a second chance at life!

The real promise of Macuna is that it reportedly has an astounding ability to make life colorful again – by regulating depressive feelings, mildly heightening the senses, balancing brain chemistry, and increasing interest in other people and the environment. Furthermore, when mixed alchemically with other foods – such as Cacao – Macunas effects are not only compounded, but it also helps to mitigate the overstimulating effects that substances like Cacao have on some individuals – which basically makes the Macuna/Cacao combination a superbly balanced elixir treat!

So if you’re looking for an all-around awesome superfood, you really need look no further than Macuna. A powerful adaptogen, aphrodisiac and anti-depressant, this herb was truly made for the gods – which is really just another way of saying that it was made for you!

5. Moringa Oleifera

Tree of life! The mystical miracle tree! These are just a couple of the names people have used to refer to this amazing superfood, more commonly known as Moringa Oleifera – or just Moringa.

10 Amazing Superfoods - Harnessing Nature's Healing Potential - Moringa Oleifera

Moringa is a super-leaf that touts an incredibly vast and impressive nutritional profile. It contains 92 nutrients, 46 antioxidants, 36 anti-inflammatories, 18 amino acids, and 9 essential amino acids. It contains 125% daily value of Calcium, 225% daily value of vitamin A precursors (which means it basically blows carrots out of the water), 3X more potassium than bananas, and 7X the amount of vitamin C of oranges. Sometimes, the simplest looking foods are actually nature’s greatest heroes.

But what really makes Moringa so profound is its uncanny ability to boost energy levels (which isn’t hard to understand, given everything that’s in it). Many people are starting to replace their morning cup of joe with Moringa tea – yes, it’s that powerful – because they’re realizing that the over-stimulating nature of coffee is not ultimately the best thing for the body. The energy you get from Morninga lasts much longer, there’s no crash, and it doesn’t drain your adrenal glands – it’s the best of all worlds!

In addition to increasing physical energy, Moringa also helps with digestion, immune system function, mood and emotional balance, blood pressure, stomach ulcers, workout recovery, inflammation… again, there are so many benefits to taking Moringa that it really is impossible to list them all here! And really, if you’re not convinced yet, well then, perhaps this just isn’t your cup of tea!

Moringa can be taken in a number of ways, but the most popular are to either make a tea with the leaves, ingest the oil, or take it in powdered form. And while each method offers some benefits that the others do not (something you can experiment with), no matter how you decide to take Moringa, you will certainly not be disappointed. More than likely, you will soon find yourself preaching the word of the magical, mystical Tree of Life to everyone you meet!

4. Shilajit

The discovery of Shilajit in modern times is almost as awesome as the substance itself. Back in the 1860’s, some British explorers who were hiking in the himalayan mountains came upon a group of monkeys who were eating something gooey and strange that seemed to be oozing out from the rocks. After some research, it was soon discovered that these particular monkeys were aging much slower than others in the region – monkeys who were not consuming this substance each day. Coincidence? They didn’t think so… and they were right!

So what is this weird oozing substance exactly? Shilajit. It is basically very old plant life that has been concentrated and condensed under the perfect climactic conditions over hundreds of years, and has since turned into a thick mineral pitch, full of beneficial substances such as fulvic acid and ionic minerals. These minerals are said be absorbed on a cellular level (which is not the case with most foods), and this makes Shilajit the ideal anti-aging substance. The yogis of India say that Shilajit will make the human body like a rock, allowing it to further withstand the natural decay and destruction that usually accompanies the aging process.

10 Amazing Superfoods - Harnessing Nature's Healing Potential - Shilajit

In addition, Shilajit is believed to be a powerful aphrodisiac in Indian culture, and is used extensively in Ayurvedic medicine to treat inflammation conditions such as arthritis, to cure depression, increase immunity, and boost brain function and metabolism. It is the perfect substance to pair along with other foods and herbs to further boost their bioavailability and e!ffectiveness- basically a superfood for superfoods!

All this said, it is very important if you are interested in supplementing Shilajit into your diet, that you seek out authentic and pure sources. lotusbloomingherbs.com is a good place to start, as long as you have some money in the bank. There are other quality brands out there as well, just make sure you read lots of reviews and do some research before you make any purchases, because unfortunately there are some fakers out there… and you definitely want the real stuff.

3. Baobab

The Baobab fruit (from the Baobab tree) has been used for thousands of years in Africa to treat a variety of diseases and ailments – it possesses powerful nutritional benefits that are so astounding, this superfood ranks in as one the most sought after in the entire world.

What makes Baobab so powerful is it’s incredibly high vitamin C content; a 100 gram serving of Baobab pulp contains almost 500 milligrams of vitamin C – nearly 10 times the amount in oranges. This places Baobab in a rare group of ‘super fruits’, for there are only a handful of fruits in the world containing Vitamin C at that level.

A note on Vitamin C…

The difference between naturally occurring Vitamin C and ascorbic acid is profound – it’s truly like day and night. Consider this quote: a vitamin is “a working process consisting of the nutrient, enzymes, coenzymes, antioxidants, and trace mineral activators” (Royal Lee “What Is a Vitamin?” Applied Trophology, August 1956).

Without the entire nutrient profile – that is, the whole food and everything that is in it – Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) does not contain the necessary counterparts to make it a truly effective and bioavailable medicine. By taking Vitamin C out of nature and into a lab, we destroy most of what makes Vitamin C beneficial, which is the complex relationship between a wide variety of contributing nutritional factors. Take away the relationship and the mutual support of the enzymes, antioxidants, and minerals that assist Vitamin C in being so effective, and your basically left with a hollow shell. This does not mean that there is no benefit to taking ascorbic acid, because there is. But comparatively speaking, natural vitamin C sources are vastly more effective for a wide range of diseases, disorders, and deficiencies.

10 Amazing Superfoods - Harnessing Nature's Healing Potential - Baobab

In addition to it’s high Vitamin C content, Baobab has been shown to help overweight or obese people to reduce weight, by keeping insulin levels under control. This is due to its ability to balance starch/sugar digestion, and modulate glycemic response. It has been shown to support healthy skin due to it’s unusually high level of key minerals and antioxidants – such as calcium, potassium, and magnesium. And finally, it has shown great potential as a treatment for heart disease and liver detoxification.

Again, the nutritional profile of Baobab works synergistically to create balance and health on a multitude of levels. Each mineral, coenzyme and hepato-protective property must be present in order for the food to do its best work, and you cannot divorce even one property from the rest without drastically reducing the quality of Baobab’s nutritional potential. This goes for all foods, but is especially important with superfoods, if indeed we are interested in becoming the best human beings ever!

Superfoods are the true powerhouses of nature’s healing potential, and Baobab is the perfect reminder of that fact. If you are looking to try this awesome superfood for yourself, there are several online retailers offering organic Baobab powder at reasonable prices.

2. Gynostemma (or Jiaogulan)

Gynostemma – or Jiaogulan in Chinese – is quite simply the best of the best when it comes to adaptogenic herbs. Sometimes referred to as southern Ginseng, Gynostemma is an amazingly diverse herb, and its applications (like many super foods on this list) are seemingly limitless! It is neither a stimulant nor a sedative, but rather promotes a balanced sense of invigoration and calmness. It has anti-aging effects, supports digestion, and is superbly powerful for building the immune system. It’s also widely known throughout China to induce a “spirit lifting” effect – enhancing ones mood, while also making one more social.

A true adaptogen, this herbal treasure has a stress modulating quality which keeps the neurological, immunological, metabolic, endocrine, and respiratory systems functioning at the highest level. There is no age at which one cannot safely consume Gynostemma, which makes it the ideal herb for anyone generally looking to improve their quality of life, throughout their life.

The ability of Gynostemma to be both invigorating and calming has to do with its effect on the central nervous system. Japanese scientists have recently done numerous studies with Gynostemma and have concluded that it has a double-directional and regulating effect on the CNS (a fancy way of saying that it is awesome at keeping the body in equilibrium).

10 Amazing Superfoods - Harnessing Nature's Healing Potential - Gynostemma

The ingredients that make this herb so powerful are generally known as saponins, and in Gynostemma they are called gypenosides. There are over 100 active gypenosides in Gynostemma, and these are what give it its amazing healing and adaptogenic effects. There have been studies to suggest that these compounds may also be good for the heart, and that it even helps athletes, as well as underweight individuals, to build and maintain healthy muscle mass.

In order to get the most out of this herb and receive all of the beneficial gypenosides, you would do well to either buy the leaves yourself and make a tea – or my personal favorite – go out and try Ron Teeguardens Spring Dragon Tea from Dragon Herbs. Proclaimed to be “healthiest tea on earth”, it not only boasts Gynostemma as the main ingredient, this tea also contains 5 other tonic herbs – Schizandra fruit, Goji Berries, Eleuthero Root, Astragalus Root and Lou Han Guo – all of which have healing properties of their own.

1.  Chaga

King of the medicinal mushrooms! Mushroom of immortality! A gift from God! These are just a few of the titles given to the amazing superfood commonly referred to as Chaga. The most nutritionally dense of all tree growths, Chaga mushroom has developed has become the masterful king of the forest over thousands of years of evolution. It concentrates natural compounds for its own protection in harsh climates (which is precisely what makes it such a powerful medicine) as well as to nurture and protect the tree it is attached to. There is truly nothing in the world like Chaga mushroom.

Tree’s can live a very long time – much longer than herbs or other plants. Chaga essentially takes the life giving properties of trees and concentrates them in itself, while also helping to heal the tree at the same time – it’s a symbiotic relationship. And so, by eating Chaga mushrooms, you are literally absorbing the energy and nutritional compounds of the longest living beings on Earth! What else do you need to know?!

Well, it actually gets a lot cooler. Chaga contains numerous B vitamins, flavonoids, phenols, minerals, enzymes, as well as SOD (superoxide dismutase) and phenolic compounds which are known as chromogenic complex; this complex is highly protective against all tissues in the human body, and is a complex only found in Chaga mushrooms. It is anti-inflammatory, anti- parasitic, anti-fungal, anti-tumor, and anti-allergenic, it’s a powerful blood sugar balancer and blood purifier, it has immunomodulating properties, it improves circulation, helps purify the liver, is cardio- protective… and the list just goes on and on!

10 Amazing Superfoods - Harnessing Nature's Healing Potential - Chaga

But the real champion of Chaga mushroom lies in in its SOD content. Superoxide dismutase is an enzyme with great potency and the ability to halt oxidation – specifically the toxicity of a free radical known as singlet oxygen. Singlet oxidation is responsible for damaging and destroying tissues in the body, and is one of the main contributors to aging; SOD is able to halt this free radical and slow down the aging process, making people look, think, and feel younger again! It is also Chaga’s incredibly high SOD content which accounts for most of it’s historical powers. In addition, Chaga boasts one of the highest antioxidant contents of any food on Earth, and is already being used in a variety of anticancer protocols around the world for its uncanny affinity for fighting melanomas.

Russian scientists invented the term ‘adaptogen’ in reference to a class of tonics, herbs and mushrooms with incredibly beneficial properties. Of all the adaptogens they studied, Chaga was found to be the most beneficial across all spectrums. Chaga is backed up by thousands of scientific studies, many of which were first done in Russia, and which are still being conducted today in order to find out what else Chaga might be able to do for humanity. Chaga’s use in anti-cancer protocols has already been shown many times – now the word just needs to get out!!

When sold, Chaga comes in many different forms, each of which offers its own unique benefits (There’s a lot to go into on this topic so if you’d like to know more about how to prepare Chaga, David Wolfe’s amazing book ‘Chaga’ is highly recommended and the absolute best resource on the subject. There is also a lot of good information on Paul Stamets’ website as well as online).

You can make tinctures, teas, or just use the powder. And depending on which way you prepare Chaga, different compounds will be extracted in different ratios, while the bioavailability of those different compounds will also vary. Chaga tea is certainly the most popular, but they are all beneficial in their own way. So look into the research and try a few different methods; it is astonishingly effective regardless of how you take it.

In truth, we have yet to scratch the surface of how amazing this superfood could be for human beings – especially when combined with other super foods, tonics and adaptogens. Having seen all the amazing benefits of this powerful adaptogenic mushroom, it seems that Chaga may not only be the king of the medicinal mushrooms, but perhaps also the king of all superfoods as well!

from:    http://wakeup-world.com/2014/08/23/10-amazing-superfoods-harnessing-natures-healing-potential/

TIme for a Leap of FAith

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Spiritual Leap Of Faith

BY:    Kim Hutchinson
Clayhut Healing Centre

The theme of owning one’s power keeps coming up in my healings, readings and conversations. As a response to encouraging people to stand in their power, I am frequently met with unbridled fear. Never have I had so many people in such crisis over the same issue. This is obviously a collective consciousness blockage which needs to be purged.

What is a spiritual leap of faith?

Imagine that you are leisurely driving along the Road of Life, a meandering country lane. You are on your way to Enlightenment Town, a Shangri-La of spiritual awareness, Oneness and Divine Love. Accompanying you on this trip are some great friends. These angelic guides are lovingly assisting you all along your journey.

Suddenly, without warning, the road comes to an abrupt end. You stomp on the brake pedal with both Suddenly, without warning, the road comes to an abrupt end. You stomp on the brake pedal with both feet, and your car skids to the very edge of the precipice. There, before you, lies nothing but open air….no road, no land, just sky and clouds. Gingerly you exit your vehicle and creep towards the edge of the cliff. Your breath quickens as you peer ever-so carefully over the sheer cliff face. The land below is so far away that the trees look like matchsticks. Your gaze shifts upward and you squint hard trying to see what lies on the other side. Alas, it’s too far away.feet, and your car skids to the very edge of the precipice. There, before you, lies nothing but open air….no road, no land, just sky and clouds. Gingerly you exit your vehicle and creep towards the edge of the cliff. Your breath quickens as you peer ever-so carefully over the sheer cliff face. The land below is so far away that the trees look like matchsticks. Your gaze shifts upward and you squint hard trying to see what lies on the other side. Alas, it’s too far away.

You turn to your friends and bemoan the fact that there’s no bridge. Your friends tell you that there is in fact a bridge there, but that you can’t see it. They explain that you must cross this chasm unaided, using faith as your only support. You can’t imagine anything more insane, and so you argue with them, but to no avail. They are adamant that you can do it.

Your friends’ lack of assistance, coupled with the daunting and seemingly impossible task ahead, causes you to react with fear, and that fear turns into anger. Instead of taking the leap of faith, you plunk yourself on the ground and cross your arms in defiance. You refuse to move forward without their help. You even consider turning back. You are at an impasse.

Owning your power

At some point in everyone’s spiritual reawakening process, you must make a leap of faith. This point in your journey back to Oneness almost always appears with little or no warning. Although unspeakably frightening, the leap is unavoidable and very necessary. Not only is it mandatory, but it must also be achieved by you alone. No one can assist you, for to do so would defeat its purpose. It serves to help you own, and stand in, your spiritual power.

Ego is the problem, not Spirit

Your ego is scared and so it’s throwing up road blocks everywhere it can. It doesn’t want you to take that leap of faith. It’s telling you to go back where it’s ‘safe’. Since the ego is connected to your left At some point in everyone’s spiritual reawakening process, you must make a leap of faith. This point in your journey back to Oneness almost always appears with little or no warning. Although unspeakably frightening, the leap is unavoidable and very necessary. Not only is it mandatory, but it must also be achieved by you alone. No one can assist you, for to do so would defeat its purpose. It serves to help you own, and stand in, your spiritual power.brain, it uses your intellect to rationalize away the need for this leap.

Ego is very good at arguing its case, and it (temporarily) wins almost every argument with spirit. That’s because your soul doesn’t argue. It just states the truth quietly, and then stands in that truth. The ego clamors to be heard; the soul whispers. The ego is clever; the soul, authentic.

The leap from the head to the heart

The chasm you must cross is the one from the brain to the heart. You must to leap from one side (earthly/ ego/ brain/ male) to the other (spiritual/ soul/ heart/ female). Once you fully cross into the heart, your ego will never have the same control over you. That fear you’re feeling is the stemming from the ego’s false belief in its impending demise. Ego believes it is fighting for its life.

What the ego doesn’t know is that the soul will lovingly incorporate the ego into your whole Being, and will nurture and protect you in a way that ego never could. In other words, this leap of faith will make your ego a very happy camper; that is, once you get across to the other side. So, you must make this crossing despite your ego’s protests.

Dealing with ego’s arguments

“I can’t do it.”

Actually, you can do it; otherwise, the challenge would not have appeared. Don’t believe your ego. It is making you feel powerless. It wants someone to help you; yet, if your guides give in, they would only be compounding your feelings of powerlessness. The only cure is for you to take the leap of faith. It’s the only way to discover of what you are really capable.

“I’m not ready!”

This leap of faith opportunity would not have appeared unless you were ready. Your higher self and This leap of faith opportunity would not have appeared unless you were ready. Your higher self and angelic guides do not make mistakes. You don’t have to believe or feel you’re ready in order to be ready. In fact, the majority of spiritual seekers do not feel ready when presented with their leap of faith challenge. Your human incarnation has never encountered anything like this before, so how could it feel ready? Thankfully, this has nothing to do with your mind/ego/human side. The leap is a spiritual feat.angelic guides do not make mistakes. You don’t have to believe or feel you’re ready in order to be ready. In fact, the majority of spiritual seekers do not feel ready when presented with their leap of faith challenge. Your human incarnation has never encountered anything like this before, so how could it feel ready? Thankfully, this has nothing to do with your mind/ego/human side. The leap is a spiritual feat.

“This is crazy! I’ll fail/get hurt.”

The leap may look impossible, but it’s actually designed to strengthen your spiritual confidence. Without this extreme challenge, would you ever be willing to fly solo? Or, would you ever come to appreciate how incredibly gifted and intuitive you are? Most people feel “less than” until they are forced to discover of what they are truly capable.

“I don’t know what to do, or how to do it.”

If your spiritual guides have presented you with a leap of faith challenge, then that’s your assurance that you do know what to do; you just don’t know with your human brain. You need to tap into your intuition. Whether or not you feel intuitively capable, remember that your intuition is like a muscle. The more you use it, the better it gets. No one can work it out for you. That would be like taking you to a gym and demonstrating how to lift weights. Unless you’re doing the work, you’re not developing your intuitive muscle.

“I won’t do it, and you can’t make me!”

You’re right; you have free will. You are not required to do anything your spirit and angels suggest. But, if you are serious about owning your power, their guidance is golden. (Have they ever led you astray?) The next step is really up to you.

Like mama and papa birds, your angels and soul are telling you it’s time to leave the nest. Their urging doesn’t mean they don’t love you anymore. Quite the contrary! They love you so much that they want you to know the exhilaration of flight.Spread your wings and fly, baby bird!

Like mama and papa birds, your angels and soul are telling you it’s time to leave the nest. Their urging doesn’t mean they don’t love you anymore. Quite the contrary! They love you so much that they want you to know the exhilaration of flight.

The ego’s supreme belief in its inability to survive the leap of faith is the only thing standing in your way. If you could silence your ego long enough to enter your heart, then you could establish the connection with spirit that will empower you. Then you could sprout wings and fly cross the chasm. But if you continue to listen to ego and its fears, you will never know how amazing you are, or how high you could soar.

How to shift from ego/mind to heart/soul

Your head is not your friend right now. The heart is the key. That’s your place of peace and fearlessness. In order to stay heart-centered, here are some suggestions:

  • Draw a labyrinth in the sand and then slowly walk it
  • Go earthing (walk barefoot in the dirt or on sand)
  • Breathe slowly, deeply and rhythmically
  • Spend time with people you love
  • Sit beneath, and/or hug, a tree
  • Practice Yoga, Tai Chi or Qigong
  • Paint, draw, write or compose
  • Swim in the ocean or a lake
  • Play with childlike abandon
  • Volunteer at a soup kitchen
  • Go on a spiritual retreat
  • Pet a dog, cat or horse
  • Hum or Sing
  • Hold a baby
  • Meditate
  • Garden
  • Laugh

Do whatever you can to still your mind. Once ego is silenced, it’s much easier to shift your awareness to your heart. From there you can enter the sacred space of your heart along with the tiny space. Within that space dwells your soul, your connection to All That Is. Every answer you could ever want is in your heart.

Fly free, baby bird!

 

from:    http://in5d.com/spiritual-leap-of-faith.html

Vaccine-Autism Link Data

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CDC whistleblower confesses to publishing fraudulent data to obfuscate link between vaccines and autism

Friday, August 22, 2014 by: Ethan A. Huff, staff write

(NaturalNews) A medical conspiracy of epic proportions stands to bring down the entire vaccine house of cards following the revelation that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) censored key data linking the MMR vaccine to autism. A top CDC researcher-turned-whistleblower has come forward with the truth about a study that the CDC has long claimed proves the safety of MMR, when in fact it actually shows the exact opposite.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, the CDC whistleblower told Dr. Brian Hooker from the Focus Autism Foundation (FAF) that a 2004 CDC study published in the journal Pediatrics, entitled “Age at First Measles-Mumps-Rubella Vaccination in Children With Autism and School-Matched Control Subjects: A Population-Based Study in Metropolitan Atlanta,” contains data that was deliberately manipulated to conceal the vaccine-autism connection.

Drs. Frank DeStefano, M.D., Marshalyn Yeargin-Allsopp, M.D., and Coleen Boyle, Ph.D., all employees of the CDC, published the joint paper that looked at 624 children with autism living in the Atlanta-metro area of Georgia. These children were evaluated alongside 1,824 children without autism, all of whom were matched according to age, gender, school and time of vaccination.

Between the two groups, similar proportions of children were vaccinated both before 18 months and before 24 months, with the bulk having been vaccinated between 12 and 17 months of age. And based on this analysis, researchers say they found no link between the MMR vaccine and autism, a claim that Dr. Boyle, who currently holds the position of Director of the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities at the CDC, reiterated during a 2012 Congressional hearing.

CDC altered study sample size to obscure autism link, particularly in black boys

The implication, of course, is that these findings prove once and for all that MMR does not cause autism, a claim heralded by the mainstream media as undeniable fact. But according to the CDC whistleblower, everything is not as it seems when it comes to what the study actually found.

Early on in the research, it was apparently discovered that African American boys who received the MMR vaccine at three years of age or younger were 340 percent more likely to develop autism than other children. This is obviously not what the CDC wanted to find, as it betrays the loyalty that the agency has to the vaccine industry. So the CDC basically scrubbed it by paring down the sample size, excluding children who did not have a State of Georgia birth certificate.

“CDC researchers excluded children that did not have a valid State of Georgia birth certificate — reducing the sample size being studied by 41%,” explains an FAF press release on this groundbreaking discovery. “[B]y introducing this arbitrary criteria into the analysis, the cohort size was sharply reduced, eliminating the statistical power of the findings and negating the strong MMR-autism link in African American boys.”

Dr. Wakefield’s new film exposes MMR-autism coverup by CDC

What the CDC did, in essence, was recreate the original study design after it was discovered that the original one showed adverse effects associated with MMR. In other words, the CDC deliberately withheld the truth about MMR, manufacturing a false study after the fact in order to arrive at what appears to have been a predetermined outcome.

“The results of the original study first appeared in the journal Pediatrics which receives financial support from vaccine makers via advertising and direct donations,” adds the FAF announcement. “[This fraudulent study] is widely used by the CDC and other public health organizations to dismiss any link between vaccines and autism — a neurological disorder on the rise.”

For people like Dr. Andrew Wakefield, the British gastroenterologist who had his career stolen from him over similar findings, this revelation is timely. No longer will the mainstream media be able to claim that no link between vaccines and autism exists, as this grand deception by the CDC proves that MMR isn’t nearly as safe as we’ve all been led to believe.

“We’ve missed 10 years of research because the CDC is so paralyzed right now by anything related to autism,” admitted the CDC whistleblower, who says he deeply regrets his previous involvement in the MMR-autism coverup. “They’re not doing what they should be doing because they’re afraid to look for things that might be associated.”

A new short film directed by Dr. Wakefield provides a visual timeline of the CDC’s misgivings concerning MMR and autism, linking the original experiment to the heinous Tuskegee syphilis experiment, which was foisted on unsuspecting African Americans back in the 1930s.

You can watch Dr. Wakefield’s film for free on Vimeo:
Vimeo.com.

Birth COntrol Pill SIde Effects

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That Naughty Little Pill. Birth Control Side Effects

Posted by Kelly Brogan MD

It was early in my actualization as a feminist-minded, righteous post-adolescent that I began to think of birth control as a woman’s right (who was anyone to tell me that I couldn’t assault my hormones with synthetic imposters). It would be years before I would learn about the nuanced considerations of tacit permissiveness toward reckless unprotected sex, the wholesale delegation of contraception to the female counterpart, and the fundamental divorce of a woman from the very feedback systems that fire up her reproductive age vitality.

These concerns would begin to color my perception of this gift from Pharma, well before I began to learn about functional biochemical concerns surrounding the metabolism of synthetic hormones. With over 100 million women using this form of hormonal suppression worldwide, I have to wonder how many of them have any exposure to information about the Pill’s subtle but important perturbations to the system, not to mention the consensus risks of thromboembolism, hypertension, cerebrovascular events, gallstones, and cancer.

As notorious as our hormones are for wreaking havoc, they are what pop us into high relief – they excite us, move us, drive us and enliven us.  The highly non-linear relationships between sex hormones, thyroid hormone, and adrenal hormones is like the magic of 3-D glasses: if you cover one lens, things just don’t look as exciting.

When patients come to me with complaints of low libido, low or flat mood, weight gain, hair loss, and cloudy thinking, one of my first questions is ,“Are you on the Pill?”  When they come complaining about premenstrual irritability, insomnia, tearfulness, bloating, and breast tenderness, requesting that I sanction beginning a course of oral contraceptives and perhaps an antidepressant, the one-size-fits-all-cure-all of psychiatrists and gynecologists nationwide, my first comment is “There’s a better way.”

The signs of hormonal imbalance are often quickly dismissed as a problem too complex to rectify from its source. In my practice, I first look at diagnostics to better personalize dietary recommendations, targeted nutritional interventions, and herbal options to promote the body’s own drive toward harmony. If it’s not enough to celebrate their right to an optimally functioning hormonal system, and they also want to preserve their right not to have a fertilized egg, then I recommend a non-hormonal IUD, nifty gadgets like the Pearly, or the good ol’ fashioned condom.

Why is it that I think rendering a woman a 2-dimensional version of her hormonal self is such a big deal?  Simply because, if she’s in my office, she is someone who has struggled with mood and anxiety, and the last thing she should be doing is stacking the cards against her recovery with synthetic hormones and the pharmacologic burden they bring. Since the 1960s, there has been controversy around the potential mood effects of oral contraceptives, but over 50 years of their use has not settled the question.

There is acknowledgement; however, that depression is the most common reason for discontinuation of use. I don’t need pilot studies that demonstrate women using the combined oral contraceptive pill were significantly more depressed than a matched group who were not, to persuade me because I see it first hand, most notably, in those who begin contraception (hormonal IUD, progestin-only, or combined) postpartum.

The data, overall, is compromised by inconsistent assessments of mood pathology across the cycle and between groups, and often by study design, but suggests that there is likely a subset of women for whom oral contraceptives represent a major risk factor for depression and/or related mood disturbance.

Who might these women be? From 13 prospective trials, it appears that they have a personal or family psychiatric history (though doesn’t that include the entire population at this point?), one that has been exacerbated by pregnancy/postpartum, and premenstrual periods, and young age. More specifically, women with premenstrual mood symptoms prior to use experience more adverse effects with lower progestin dosages or triphasic OCs, unlike women without this history who experience more psychiatric side effects with higher progestin preparations.

Could these side effects be just coincidence? Could they represent “confounding by indication” or the fact that many women who opt to suppress their cycle might already be prone to depression?  It’s possible, but so are some of these important mechanistic insights:

  • Synthetic hormones like those in combined oral contraceptives increase thyroid and sex hormone binding globulin, effectively decreasing the available testosterone and thyroid hormone in circulation (which can render you of nun-like libido, and functionally hypothyroid or depressed, constipated, overweight, cloudy, with dry skin and hair, to boot!). A randomized, open-label, 9 week trial of 3 forms of hormonal contraception found that they all increased SHBG, as well as insulin resistance, and markers of inflammation such as c-reactive protein.  Another study suggests that increases in SHBG may persist long after discontinuation of the Pill contributing to sexual dysfunction/low libido.  Incidentally, xenoestrogens such as PCBs, BPA, and pthalates, as well as poor excretion of estrogen as occurs with gut dysbiosis, can also contribute to elevated SHBG and lead to undesirable states of “estrogen dominance”.
  • Oral contraceptives promote oxidative stress.  Stress is often defined as the inability to cope with demands, and oxidative stress is a destructive force in the body perpetuated by reactive oxygen species that outnumber available antioxidant enzymes and factors.  One measure of oxidative stress, lipid peroxidation, was found to be higher in those taking OCs, and improved (not quite to baseline controls) when they were treated with vitamins E and C, known antioxidants.  Thus OCs may decrease the activity of two major defense systems in the body.
  • Oral contraceptives deplete vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants as measured by activity of Coenzyme Q10, vitamin E, and Total Antioxidant Activity.  More specifically, OCPs have been acknowledged to deplete vitamin B6, a cofactor for the production of serotonin and GABA, as well as zinc, selenium, phosphorus, and magnesium demonstrated by this cross-sectional randomized study.  Interestingly, elevated levels of copper (which can upregulate catecholamines, potentially causing feelings of overstimulation), iron (which can be a pro-oxidant), calcium, and cadmium were elevated compared to controls.  Given that replacing and correcting these vitamins can be an imperfect effort, perhaps it’s best not to mess with them in the first place!

The review also discusses that the identification of patients vulnerable to these risks should include assessment of hormone sensitivity (menstrual cycle history, acne/hirsuitism, body mass index), comorbid diagnoses indicative of hormonal disarray (thyroid, diabetes, breast cancer), and baseline hormone assessment.  I would add that an assessment of antioxidant and micronutrient status and markers of inflammation would also help to risk stratify.

This tends to be my major concern with regard to pharmaceutical interventions – there’s just no free lunch with medication treatment, and a risk/benefit analysis is very difficult to do if we don’t know what environmental and genetic risks an individual is bringing to the table.  If there is a treatment option that presents minimal to no appreciable risks and some degree of evidence-based benefit, this, to me would represent the kinder, gentler road to health.  These days, women’s lib looks a lot more like a healthy, happy menstrual cycle free from the grips of a prescription.

from:    http://kellybroganmd.com/article/that-naughty-little-pill-birth-control/

Health Ranger Tests Countertop Water Filters

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water

Water filters tested for heavy metals removal: Zero Water, Pur, Brita, Mavea, Culligan, Seychelle and Waterman

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

(NaturalNews) As promised, we’ve now published the results from testing countertop water filters for their ability to remove toxic heavy metals and elements with radioactive isotopes. The brands we tested are:

* Zero Water
* Pur
* Brita
* Seychelle
* Culligan
* Mavea
* Waterman Portable Alkaline Water Purifier

(We also tested large “survival” gravity filters, with results to be published separately here on Natural News.)

Click here to see the full results at the Natural News Forensic Food Lab.

What we tested

Using ICP-MS instrumentation (see lab videos here), we tested these water filters for their ability to remove toxic heavy metals and elements which have radioactive isotopes.

Specifically, we tested for removal of:

* Aluminum
* Copper
* Arsenic
* Strontium
* Cadmium
* Cesium
* Mercury
* Lead
* Uranium

Why didn’t we test for fluoride removal? Fluoride is an extremely difficult element to work with due to its high reactivity (which is one reason why you probably shouldn’t drink it). It is also very difficult to remove from water. Testing fluoride concentrations via ICP-MS requires a complicated process run separately from other elements, using different matrix solutions and different plumbing for the instrument.

How we tested for heavy metals removal

To conduct the tests, we created a multi-element “spike” solution containing from 1300 ppb to 2300 ppb concentrations of each of the tested elements. This spike solution consisted almost entirely of laboratory-grade water (DI water), with a very small fraction (less than 0.1%) of laboratory acids found in element standards for the purpose of matrix stabilization.

For each water filter, we first ran several cycles of pure water through the filter in order to “flush” it and pre-load the filter cartridge with purified laboratory water. Once that was complete, we loaded each water filter pitcher with the spiked solution containing the multiple elements listed above.

After the water passed through the filter and was emptied into the holding section at the bottom of the pitcher, that filtered water was then sampled with a clean pipette, weighed on a calibrated laboratory scale and prepped for ICP-MS analysis.

Each sample was run via ICP-MS using a variety of quality control methods, including the use of calibration checks during the run and a four-point calibration curve for each element. Keep in mind that our ICP-MS instrumentation is far more accurate and sensitive than labs running ICP-OES. In fact, we have had to correct other labs using ICP-OES who discovered their calibrations were way off. The Natural News Forensic Food Lab is in the process of ISO 17025 certification.

Click here to see the actual results at Labs.NaturalNews.com

Click here to learn about Heavy Metals Defense, a supplement invented by the Health Ranger for capturing toxic heavy metals during digestion.

What we did NOT test for

We did not test for removal of PCBs, pesticides, chlorine or other organic compounds. Accordingly, we cannot reach any conclusions on how well these filters might work on removing those substances.

Testing for those complex molecules would require additional instrumentation which we do not yet have in our lab. (Remember, the Natural News Forensic Food Lab is entirely self-funded and receives no grant money from the government.)

Performance overview

What shocked me the most about the results of this testing is just how poorly most water filters performed on the removal of toxic heavy metals.

Most of the water filters we tested were entirely unsatisfactory in terms of heavy metals removal, in my informed view. Only two filters showed results which I would consider to be sufficient. Most filters also appeared to perform very poorly for removal of elements with radioactive isotopes (uranium, cesium, strontium).

Here’s an overview of what we found, element by element:

Aluminum removal

Four of the seven filters tested here actually increased aluminum concentrations in the filtered water.

This indicates they are using a filtration media which contains aluminum and allows some amount of aluminum to enter the water stream during filtration.

Only one filter removed 100% of all aluminum (Zero Water). See full results here.

Copper removal

Copper removal ranged from a low of 8.6% to a higher of 99.1%.

The average copper removal rate was 44.8%.

Copper is associated with mental insanity if consumed in very high quantities. Many homes still contain copper pipes, causing copper contamination of tap water.

Arsenic removal

Arsenic removal ranged from 12.1% to 99.3%, with an average removal of 42.6%.

Arsenic is a cancer-causing metal that’s linked to cancer and organ damage. It’s a common contaminant in well water. Click here to see full results on arsenic removal.

Cadmium removal

Cadmium is a toxic heavy metal which can cause kidney damage, heart damage and hardening of the arteries.

Cadmium removal ranged from 6.6% (Brita) to a high of 99.2% (Zero Water). The average removal was 33.1%.

Mercury removal

Mercury is an extremely toxic heavy metal that can cause brain damage, kidney damage and reproductive damage.

Because mercury is a “sticky” element, it’s the easiest to remove of all. Removal rates ranged from 62.4% (Culligan) to a high of 99.7% (Waterman Mini).

Average mercury removal across all the filters was 88.5%.

Lead removal

Lead is a toxic heavy metal that causes brain damage and organ damage in the human body. Natural News has found significant quantities of lead in Organic Rice Protein superfoods imported from China.

Lead removal ranged from a low of 14.1% (Brita) to a high of 93.7% (Waterman Mini).

Average lead removal was 52.5%.

Strontium removal

In its non-radioactive form, strontium is a bone-building nutrient that’s often found with calcium.

Some water filters removed almost no strontium (Brita and Mavea), while the Zero Water Filter removed 100% of strontium.

One filter, the Waterman mini, increased strontium concentrations in the resulting water, indicating use of strontium in the filter media. This is not a bad thing. Strontium is actually a nutritive mineral, much like calcium.

Cesium removal

Cesium removal is important to consider due to the Fukushima disaster and the radioactive fallout of Cesium-137.

I am intimately familiar with cesium binding and removal technologies, as I invented the patent-pending Cesium Eliminator dietary supplement that binds with and captures radioactive isotopes of cesium.

In our testing of water filters, cesium removal varied from a low of 9.5% (Brita) to a high of 100% (Zero Water).

Average cesium removal was 35.3%.

Uranium removal

Removal of uranium is crucial for those planning on surviving a nuclear accident or nuclear war. Following nuclear events, uranium and cesium both fall out of the sky in radioactive forms, settling on bodies of water which are used for irrigation and public water supplies.

Removing radioactive uranium isotopes from drinking water is a crucial survival strategy following a nuclear incident. Only two filters we tested showed an ability to remove substantial amounts of uranium: Zero Water and the Waterman Portable Alkaline Water Purifier.

Click here to see actual results and uranium removal rates for all filters.

Magnesium mineralization

Two water filters we tested substantially increased the level of magnesium in the filtered water. The highest water mineralization rate was achieved by the Waterman mini filter, which is advertised as creating “alkaline water.”

The claim is true. While the magnesium concentration of the water we poured into the water filters was only 1.3 ppm, the Waterman Mini increased the magnesium concentration of the resulting water to nearly 250 ppm.

This is a substantial increase in magnesium concentration. The Seychelle filter also increased magnesium concentrations to nearly 250 ppm, indicating it has a “mineralization” component in its filter cartridge.

Recommendations and conclusions

Based on the laboratory analysis completed here at Natural News, I can only recommend two water filters in the category of countertop “pitcher” filters.

Natural News does not sell any of the water filters tested here, but they are available at retailers like Amazon.com. If you wish to help support our non-profit efforts to conduct more testing, please click this Amazon Smile link before shopping on Amazon.com, and Amazon will donate 0.5% of your purchase price to the non-profit Consumer Wellness Center.

The two filters I recommend are:

1) Zero Water
2) Waterman Mini

Click here to see full laboratory testing results and data.

Heavy Metals Defense – a breakthrough in dietary self defense

In addition to researching the removal of toxic heavy metals in water filters, I’ve also pioneered extensive, original research into heavy metals contamination of foods, superfoods and dietary supplements.

From this research, I was able to invent a patent-pending dietary supplement formula called “Heavy Metals Defense” which binds and captures toxic heavy metals during digestion.

This formula is laboratory validated to reduce heavy metals by the following factors:

Aluminum reduction: 98.7%
Arsenic reduction: 77.6%
Cadmium reduction: 98.5%
Copper reduction: 95.8%
Lead reduction: 99.9%
Mercury reduction: 92.9%
Uranium reduction: 76.5%

Click here to view the full laboratory results data on Heavy Metals Defense and see how it works.

Essentially, Heavy Metals Defense works in a very similar way to the “ion exchange membrane” of the Zero Water filters. That’s why the metals capturing capacity is so high.