Radiation on your Vegetables?

There is some voiced concern all over the Internet that we aren't being told all the facts about radiation contamination coming from Japan. I have no clue if it's true or not, but I offer an ounce of prevention... just in case.

Vegetables can be washed in a mixture of 1 part calcium bentonite clay to 8 parts of water in a small non-metallic container. Add the vegetables, toss to be sure all the vegetables are well-coated, and allow them to sit under the water mixture for 10 minutes. Rinse, and prepare or store.

Bentonite clay has a strong negative ion charge which causes pesticides, radiation and other toxins to bind with it. When you rinse off the clay, you also rinse off the contaminant. (Source) 

Bentonite clay can be added to catchment tanks, drinking water or raw milk to isolate radioactivity, which will not be released once captured by clay. Also, the body cannot digest clay, but will rather release clay through excrement. The clay can be added to milk or drinking water at a dosage of 1 oz liquid calcium bentonite to 1 gallon raw milk or drinking water. (Source)

Bentonite clay is inexpensive, and non-toxic. I found some on Amazon for $1 plus shipping. In fact some people ingest a tablespoon or two of bentonite in water daily to rid the body of heavy metals, like mercury in old dental fillings and whatever else we ingest from industrial foods and our contaminated atmosphere. I suppose they might use the liquid calcium bentonite like suggested above for water and raw milk but I really don't know.

You can treat your garden vegetables with a spray of Bentonite clay, French green clay, or Zeolite clay mixed in water. They all absorb contamination, from heavy metals and pesticides to radioactivity. If you are concerned that rainfall might bring more radiation down on your plants, just re-apply the clay spray after a rain.

An excellent means of treating the soil is using rock dust to remineralize the soil and remove radioactive materials. Remineralization is essential for growing strong and healthier vegetables and fruits. At the Chernoble disaster it was found that:

“Remineralization protects not only soil and plants from radioactivity, but humans, too. Supplying abundant minerals especially trace elements to the human body improves radiation tolerance, immune system integrity and radiation exposure recovery.” -David Yarrow, 2006 (Source)

A very important part of remineralization and fertilization is the inclusion of magnesium. Magnesium is a crucial factor in the natural self-cleansing and detoxification responses of the body, and Magnesium is the central core of the chlorophyll molecule in plant tissue and nutrient uptake. The loss of a healthy green color in plants can be the first indication of a Mg deficiency. (Color loss reflects the shortage of chlorophyll in the plant.) As the deficiency becomes more severe, the area between the veins of the leaves becomes yellow while the veins stay green.

While this is an essential element for all plants, these crops have been found to be especially responsive: alfalfa, blueberry, beet, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, celery, clover, conifers, corn, cotton, cucumber, eggplant, lettuce, onion, pepper, potatoes, pumpkin, spinach, squash, tobacco, tomato, and watermelon.

Grass Tetany is a magnesium deficiency in ruminants. It occurs when livestock are fed a diet of forages low in Mg.

"Magnesium is a vital mineral whose lack leaves us open to not only radioactive damages but also those from heavy metals and thousands of chemicals, which we are commonly exposed to.

Mercury, and now a long list of radioactive particles, are floating in the environment like invisible clouds that have spread out everywhere. They are raining down on us, damaging and damning our future. We can no longer be passive about building our defenses against the toxic onslaught.

Without sufficient magnesium, the body
accumulates toxins and acid residues,
degenerates rapidly, and ages prematurely." (Source)

If plants do not get enough Mg. from the soil, neither do the foods they produce... and neither do we when we eat those foods!

For the garden, you can apply Boron to your garden soil at a rate of 1 pound boron per acre, or 10 pounds of Borax (which is 11% boron) per acre. Boron is recognized as extremely safe and can be used to absorb radioactivity on our soils, gardens, orchards, etc. It can also be safely ingested by humans and animals, where it binds the radiation and is excreted in the stools. For humans 4-10 mg per day of boron OR 1/8 tsp. Borax in a liter of water daily for women, and 1/4 tsp. for men. Red wine and coffee, and non-citrus fruits are good sources of boron. (Source)

Some foods we can eat also combat radiation poisoning, which I wrote about here.

Baking soda, used in baths (with salt) is very effective for counteracting radiation effects on the body, even from x-ray radiation, and cathode ray tubes [CRT's] like my ancient television set and defunct computer. Use 1 cup of baking soda and 1 to 2 cups of ordinary coarse salt, epsom salts or sea salt to a tub of water. You can soak for 20 minutes. (Source)

Lastly, something to watch: 

Russian scientists in the Khibinsky Mountains in the Arctic Circle have made an important scientific discovery. They’ve found a new mineral which absorbs radiation!

It does not yet have an official name and is known only as number 27-4. It can absorb radioactivity from liquid nuclear waste.

“It can extract radioactive substances from any water-based solution and so has a very important practical significance,” said Yakov Pakhomovsky, the head of the Kolsky Research Institute.

After coming into contact with the mineral, radioactive water becomes completely safe. Had this mineral been available to physicists after the Chernobyl or Three Mile Island disasters, the consequences might have been very different, as both accidents resulted in contamination from radioactive water. (Source)

Silver Bullets and Weed Control?

Photo courtesy An Nguyen's photostream

Many of us old-timers associate silver bullets with The Lone Ranger, who always left one as a calling card, and we associate a silver bullet with good guys in white hats. In folklore, a silver bullet was the only thing supposed to kill werewolves and witches... another example of a silver bullet being good.

The term has become a general metaphor where 'silver bullet' refers to any straightforward solution believed to have extreme effectiveness. The phrase typically appears where some new technology is expected to cure a major prevailing problem. 

One such "silver bullet" is glyphosate, the main ingredient in Monsanto's  Roundup™which is a broad-spectrum herbicide that kills weeds. The exact blend of ingredients in Roundup™ is a "trade secret" and not disclosed to the public. But is glyposate really a silver bullet? Is it really a 'good guy in a white hat'??

Research has discovered glyphosate in the soil can increase the severity of various plant diseases, impair plant defenses against pathogens, and immobilize soil and plant nutrients making them unavailable for plant use. They also found glyphosate reduces manganese in plants... and manganese is essential for many defense mechanisms that protect plants from environmental stress as well as disease.

Glyphosate also immobilizes copper, potassium, iron, magnesium, calcium and zinc so they are no longer nutritionally functional. When glyphosate is sprayed on a plant, it is absorbed and transported throughout the plant, where it accumulates in the roots (killing the plant) and migrates into the root zone. Some of the chemical is metabolized by soil micro-organisms in the root zone. However, it is also toxic to some bacteria and fungi, so the net effect is a actually a disruptor of soil ecology.

That means if you apply Roundup, it may kill the weed(s) but in the longer run, it may cause far more harm to the soil, and the eventual runoff has been shown to be cell membrane disruptors in fish, amphibians, and other microorganisms in our streams and lakes.

Monsanto assures the public that the ingredients in Roundup™ are inert and therefore non-toxic. To whom?

From NaturalNews.com about Roundup in our food chain:

As the percentage of genetically modified (GM) soy in the US burgeons to over 91%, researchers are beginning to publish harbingers for the potential of a maelstrom of future health problems from GMOs (genetically modified organisms). 

Monsanto's G, the secret blend of glyphosate named Roundup, is the active ingredient utilized in nearly 75% of all edible GM plants that have been engineered to tolerate high levels of this form of G. G works by inhibiting an enzyme that synthesizes the amino acids tyrosine, tryptophan and phenylalanine thereby killing the weed. Researchers examining the amounts of herbicide used on GMO soy have concluded that the GMO soy typically receives several more pounds of G than conventionally grown soy per acre 

One of the potential harmful triggers includes the increased amounts of chemicals present in the environment disseminating at an alarming rate,  with few researchers examining the combined effects of these xenobiotics on plants, animals or humans. Similarly, much of the existing research on GMOs has been undertaken on the individual organism itself and neglects to examine the more important ecological issue of synergism.

Researchers have found that several types of newly created superweeds resistant to Roundup (e.g., pigweed, ryegrass and marestail) have been rapidly surfacing leading to increased amounts of Roundup used on such crops.

The researchers concluded that, "the proprietary mixtures available on the market could cause cell damage and even death around residual levels to be expected, especially in food and feed derived from R [Roundup] formulation-treated crops".

Miracle-Gro?

 Photo from seantoyer's photostream

Scotts is the owner of Miracle-Gro, and the SOLE licensed US distributor of Monsanto's RoundUp.

Below is a copy of a post I made on a gardening forum years ago; the article was originally published in Organic Gardening magazine July/August 2000.

"Miracle-Gro is a synthetic fertilizer that contains ammonium phosphate and several other chemicals that can be toxic to your soil and plants.

It is prohibited from use in certified-organic farming.

Here’s what soil expert Robert Parnes, Ph.D., says in his book Fertile Soil: [Ammonium fertilizer] acidifies the soil, and thus it is probably more harmful to soil organisms than any other nitrogen fertilizer. The application has to be timed carefully and placed properly to avoid burning the leaves and roots.

In addition, ammonium tends to inhibit the release of potassium. Ammonium fertilizers are deliberately manufactured to be spread at high application rates in order to obtain maximum yields with no regard to adverse effects on the soil.

Probably nowhere is the conflict between the mass production of food to feed the world and the preservation of the soil more obvious than in the confrontation over the use of either ammonium fertilizers or liquid ammonia. [editor's note: Now, 10 years later, it's probably glyphosate, aka RoundUp.]

And there’s more: long-term studies at the University of Wisconsin have shown that acidic chemical fertilizers are causing serious, permanent damage to our soils. Usually these fertilizers are also highly soluble, so they leach away and pollute our water systems, too.

Soil fertility authority Garn Wallace, Ph.D., of Wallace Laboratories in El Segundo, California, points out that Miracle-Gro contains muriate of potash, which contains excess chlorine that will burn plants and inhibit the uptake of nitrogen.

Dr. Wallace also warns that products such as Miracle-Gro often contain unsafe levels of zinc and copper that will be toxic to soil life.

And if all that’s not enough to convince you to avoid this stuff, consider this: you have to mix Miracle-Gro with water and apply it ever '7 to 14 days.'

If you opt to fertilize organically, on the other hand, all you have to do is mix a ½-inch layer of grass clippings into your beds before each crop. As the grass decomposes, it will improve your soil’s texture and stimulate microbial life and help prevent disease, all while releasing plenty of nutrients to feed your plants."

--KATHY BAUMGARTNER, Fremont, Michigan

"Real Gardeners Grow Without Miracles!"

Soaps (not the TV kind)

Photo courtesy of Pixel Drip's photostream

Since I can no longer use commercial shampoos and laundry soaps without a skin rash or worse, I have been researching to see what's IN them that affects me. First, most things advertised as soaps are actually detergents.

The difference? Petroleum. Detergents are made from petroleum products, and they contain a high percentage of surfactants, foaming agents and alcohols. Then they add cheap synthetic fragrances to mask the chemical smell. Because these formulations (in liquid form) could spoil, they add preservatives and anti-bacterial agents.

A commonly used preservative is paraben, which has been detected in breast cancer tumors. That doesn't necessarily mean parabens caused the cancer, but the mere presence worries me. Parabens are also found in toothpaste, food additives, cosmetics, shaving gel, personal lubricants and moisturizers.

The chemicals in detergents easily penetrate the surface of the skin and accumulate in our tissues. Although this may not affect most people initially, it causes allergic reactions in a lot of us. And the toxins are accumulative.

Photo courtesy of mwri's photostream

Soaps, true soaps, are made from natural products like fat and lye. Your great-grandmother probably made her own soap, or traded with a neighbor who did. Lye was easily made by dripping water through fireplace ashes, and fats from the butchered hogs and beef was always available. Making soap is actually pretty easy, needs far less energy than commercial soaps, and there's no residue for the landfill.

I urge you to check the ingredients even in hand-made soaps because not all of them have all natural ingredients, especially if there is significant production. They may use animal fats from CAFO's which often contain residues of pesticides and antibiotics, and synthetic fragrances. My digestive system no longer tolerates soybean, canola, sunflower and safflower oils, and if I can't even digest them, WHY would I want to absorb them through my skin?

Castile soaps are made mostly with oilve oils and other natural oils; hand-crafted recipes usually add palm and coconut oils to harden them and create more lather. Since I eat (and tolerate) those oils, they make a safe soap for me.

Photo courtesy of Kevin's photostream

Besides the goat-milk facial soaps, I also use Dr Bronner's soaps (pure-castile soaps) for laundry, bathing, shampoos, and washing my truck. Soaps DO create a scum, but it is 100% biodegradeable. I can live with that. The fragrances used in Dr. Bronner's soaps are organic essential herbal oils, and are less than 2/10 of 1% by weight anyway. Supposedly you can use Dr Bronner's peppermint soap for toothpaste, just a drop or two... but I'm too chicken to try it.

I used to buy Tom's of Maine's natural toothpaste, succumbing to advertising... but finally having read the ingredients (fluoride, sodium lauryl sulfate, aluminum tubes, xylitol, highly refined vegetable glycerine, salicylates, sorbitol, etc.), I stopped. Actually I stopped long before I recently decided if things require an ingredient label, I generally won't buy them, and if it is something claiming to be a food, I won't buy it at all.

My grandfather mixed just fine salt (slightly abrasive) and baking soda (sweetens and deodorizes) and water to brush his teeth, and that works just fine for me. My changes in diet will reduce if not eliminate tooth decay by changing the bacteria in my mouth (and system), so brushing is more for cosmetics and a feel-good mouth.

I'm angry... very angry, at chemical use

Photo courtesy of omarali.md's photostream

I woke up this morning dizzy and light-headed, and feeling nauseated. I have to hold onto the walls to walk.

I am house-sitting, and yesterday their cleaning lady came to steam-clean the carpets. I must have absorbed some chemicals through the soles of my feet later in the day. Damned hazardous chemicals are everywhere.

About 10 years ago I was diagnosed as having 'increasing environmental sensitivity' due to the wanton and irresponsible over-use of chemicals everywhere. Even though I personally have been chemical-free for over 25 years, the chemicals everyone else uses have seriously diminished my health, and I'm angry. Chemicals have diminished the nutrition values in my food, and I'm angry.

I don't really much care if you choose to harm or kill yourselves, but what right do you have to harm or kill me? (Actually I DO care what happens to you, but it is your free CHOICE to do what you will to yourselves.)

I can no longer use commercial soaps, shampoos and laundry detergents (or fabric softeners); I cannot wear synthetic fabrics. Breathing someone's cloud of after-shave or cologne makes me ill. I can't even go into most fabric stores... the formaldehyde in cheap fabrics makes my eyes burn. I can, however, go into a very high-end fabric store that deals in natural fabrics like wool, linen, silk, cotton... with no problems. My sensitivities grow worse every year thanks to increasing chemical use. I'm beginning to understand how the fish in our chemically-polluted streams must feel. Helpless.

I read an alarming report in an English newspaper this morning about continued (and increasing) honeybee decline. We've lost over 3 million colonies in the US and scientists have found 121 different pesticides in samples of bees, wax and pollen. Some commercial beekeepers lost 60-80% of their hives this past winter, on top of many previous losses, and it is spreading world-wide. Folks better start waking up because more than a third of everything we eat is thanks to the honeybees' pollination.

And it is not just commercial agriculture, either. It's us... from the chemicals we use to wash our windows and clean our toilet tanks, to the chemicals we use on our lawns and gardens. I'd bet the ranch that the cleaning lady yesterday never read the ingredients' list, and probably would not have understood it anyway.

Most homes have enough chemicals beneath the sink and in the garage to be considered 'weapons of mass destruction' for the microbial population of the earth, killing beneficial bacteria along with pathogens, without discrimination.

What happened to good old vinegar and newspaper instead of 'windex' to clean windows? What happened to the old-fashioned wire-mesh screen flyswatters? The 'modern' flyswatters made of plastic push so much air in front of them they alert the fly and we miss... and so, we resort to aerosol pesticides. Our lungs must love that! Why take the time to learn that wasps have a dormant period every morning and evening when the nest can be safely smoked out with a burning newspaper, when we can buy a $7 bottle of wasp spray and spray them anytime?

Have we become so dumb that we are incapable of understanding we are killing ourselves by killing the planet that supports us? Or are we just too lazy to care? A 'pill' will not fix this. Not now, not ever.

I am seeing the same syndrome in health issues surrounding nutrition. Most people don't really want to be healthy if they can't do it by taking a 'pill'... it's too hard. "I don't have the time to cook from scratch with real ingredients because I have a job and 3 kids..."

Actually, it's probably more like "I don't have the time to learn that the propaganda (via advertising and 'advice' from supposed authorities) is leading us down a merry path..."

Fortunately there is a growing percentage of us that DO care.

But what will it take to finally awaken the general population? Is it even possible? I thought something like the current oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico might... but I doubt it. Most folks care philosophically, but in reality they don't really care much because it isn't their shores... oh, they may get a glimpse when there are no more gulf shrimp or fish. Or when the dead ecology of the gulf deltas affects the food chain world-wide. When will they realize it's their world, and we're all connected?

It's NOT up to someone else.