Protect yourself with the latest weapon against GMOs—smartphone technology

Consumers will soon have the power to conduct on the spot tests for a variety of poisons in their food -- including GMOs, nanoparticals, pesticides and bacteria. Using smartphone technology, along with a specialized cradle and app, researchers have developed a biosensor that identifies various toxins, bacteria, viruses, proteins and other molecules in mere seconds. With the pervasiveness of GMOs and other dangerous elements infiltrating our food supply at every turn, using modern technology to add another layer of protection against these hazards is a smart move.

As unbelievable as it may seem, the average person contends with an astounding amount of environmental pollutants on a daily basis. Prevent Disease drives the point home in the article, "Consumers Will Soon Have Devices In Their Hands To Detect GMO and Toxic Foods":

Luci inflatable solar lantern: eco-friendly, zero emissions and affordable—what more can you ask for?

(The Grommet) Luci is an inflatable, affordable, solar lantern that generates continuous light with zero emissions anywhere on earth independent of the grid; it can be charged under direct sunlight or cloudy skies (as well as incandescent light).

As easy to use as it is to deflate and stow, Luci’s durable, waterproof design makes it ideal for everything from boating and camping to outdoor entertaining, and power outages. In fact, lack of electricity was the inspiration for the idea. MPOWERD was co-founded by Jacques-Philippe Piverger, John Salzinger and Jason Alan Snyder. Principal inventor Jason Alan Snyder worked hand in hand with John Salzinger to develop the Luci lantern after an earthquake in 2010 left thousands without power in Haiti. Now, MPOWERD is on a mission to illuminate the lives of people who live in energy poverty all over the world.

Incidence of gluten sensitivity skyrocketing in the U.S. — Are GMOs to blame?

Gluten intolerance has reached epidemic proportions -- a staggering 40 percent of the U.S. population now suffers from it in one form or another. Celiac disease alone strikes one in every 133 Americans. Taking into account the fact that gluten sensitivity has risen sharply over the last 20 years, researchers and food safety advocates are looking at the role GMOs play in this this dramatic spike.

The dynamics of food intolerance

When a person has a sensitivity, the body believes the ingested food is an 'invader' and embarks on a mission to destroy the irritating substance. Unfortunately, the microvilli in the small intestine are harmed in the attack and leaky gut syndrome develops. Because of this damage, the gut wall becomes overly permeable and molecules of food are inappropriately digested. These molecules then leach into the bloodstream and the body responds with inflammation. Food sensitivities and malabsorption issues soon follow. This sets the stage for a spectrum of disease from autism to irritable bowel syndrome to cancer.

Eight unique ways to use honey beyond the kitchen

As a healing and nutrient-dense food, many of us are familiar with the benefits of raw honey. But did you know that honey can be used in a variety of ways outside the kitchen?

If we only use honey for its sweet taste and glorious texture, we miss out on an entire spectrum of applications. Granted, a batch of local, organic and unpasteurized (raw) honey offers a wealth of nutritional perks, including minerals like iron, calcium, potassium and magnesium -- not to mention easily digestible simple sugars, which can give you a healthy boost when energy lags. Nevertheless, honey is much more than just a delicious food. Have a look at the following eight alternative uses for this "liquid gold."

Exposed: Wikipedia Holds Bias against Natural Health

In an article by the watchdog group Alliance for Natural Health (ANH), Wikipedia entries for alternative and natural medicine are shown to consistently have severe censorship, misinformation, and vandalism. Since Wikipedia is an extremely popular reference site on the internet with over 16 million articles, this bias towards conventional medicine negatively affects the accessibility of accurate natural health information.

Wikipedia is an on-line international collaboration of volunteers who post, edit, and research a variety of topics. According to Wikipedia's Five Pillars, "articles should strive for a neutrality, cite verifiable, authoritative sources, and honor multiple points of view." Issues arise when solid, referenced information conflicts with another perspective and is edited mercilessly or deleted. Contributors have little or no accountability and can post, edit, or vandalize an entry anonymously or even under a false "expert" alias. This was seen when a prominent Wikipedia contributor was discovered to be a 24-year-old drop out posing as a tenured college professor.

Edible clay and healing with mother earth

(Dr. Sircus) Today it time to get even more serious about protecting ourselves from the health challenges of tomorrow. We need to have everything on hand at home and in our clinics that we and our patients will need to help them survive the coming world convulsion, which will leave in doubt our access to basic health services and many of the essential medicinals we will need. Personally, I am stocking up on magnesium, iodine, sodium bicarbonate, spirulina and clay and should also be doing so with whole food vitamin C. In addition, every home should have some activated charcoal.

The secret to safe and effective medicine (maintaining or returning to good health) is caught up with the question of how to fix what ails us without suffering from side effects from the medicines we use. There are certain choices we make in life and many of them take us far away from Nature and the basics of life. The earth, though, is literally our mother and has given us part of her in the form of natural medicines to fix what ails us.

Study suggests 'soul mates' have the worst relationships: Here's a better way to think about romance

Of course we've all been primed to find our soulmate and live in a state of unconditional love and unity.

But is the social conditioning around soulmates valid? Or is the concept of soulmates just a pop psychology fantasy that leads to frustration and loneliness?

One team of researchers set out to discover just how well soulmates fare in the real world of relationships.

Social psychologists have long known that people think and talk about love in a wide variety of ways. Two very common themes are: 1) viewing love as a journey that two people take together, or 2) believing in love as a perfect union that was meant to be - soulmates!

Could micro-algae free America from foreign wars, debt and environmental destruction? 'Green crude oil' and 'living buildings' may hold the secret to liberation

Next time you notice green slime growing in a pool or pond, take a second look. Incredibly, that bit of algae could be the secret to solving our war related financial difficulties and environmental troubles. As an incredible source of alternative energy, algae is used in a variety of innovative ways. Two outstanding examples include an office building utilizing a bioadaptive facade to produce energy as well as an American company that employs the power behind this tiny organism to manufacture biofuel.

$3.7 trillion price tag and counting

Warfare in Afghanistan and Iraq has created staggering debt for the American people with estimates reaching close to $4 trillion. While some believe the Afghan war was in response to the September 11 attacks, many suspect it's the result of a proposed central Asia oil pipeline which would travel through the country. And most don't doubt the war in Iraq was waged in the name of oil as well. A hefty price is paid for this 'black gold.' With these two wars alone, over 224,000 people have died directly because of the violence and many more indirectly due to the destruction of clean drinking water, healthcare and nutrition. Financial and human losses are not the only consequence of petroleum addiction—the environment is in serious jeopardy too.

BMJ Case Reports journal: Gardasil vaccine suspected in early menopause of 16-year-old girl

Continued controversy over Gardasil has emerged with a report published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) linking the vaccine with premature ovarian failure in a teenaged girl. The connection was discovered when the young Australian went into menopause after receiving the human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccine.

When Dr. Little first met her new patient, the 16-year-old had ceased to menstruate. In her report, Dr. Little states that the girl's menstrual cycles were normal before the Gardasil vaccination and her personal medical history did not indicate a cause for early menopause.

In the fall of 2008, the girl was injected with Gardasil; by January 2009, her menstrual cycle had become irregular. Over the next two years, her menses became extremely erratic until she stopped menstruating altogether in 2011. After several tests, which included measuring hormone levels and organ functioning, the diagnosis was "premature ovarian failure."

DIY solar food dehydrator

(Mother Earth News) More and more people are recognizing the importance of food quality in their daily lives. The freshest, ripest, tastiest and most nutritious food comes from our own gardens or local farmers. But because these high quality fruits and vegetables are seasonal, you have access to them for only a few weeks or months each year.

What do you plan to eat the rest of the year? Will you rely on industrial foods grown by strangers from all over the world and shipped thousands of miles? With increasing interest in healthy eating, sustainable local food supplies and self-reliance, many people are discovering the benefits of a solar food dehydrator.

The dark underbelly of sustainable development: Agenda 21

Sustainable development has been the catchphrase of the environmental movement for over 20 years and rarely are underlying motives questioned. After all, a majority of people want a healthy future, free of pollutants and global warming where the earth is protected for ourselves and subsequent generations. There is a catch, however. The underpinnings of sustainable development are rooted in Agenda 21, a body of regulations inspired by the United Nations (UN) "Earth Summit" conference in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. At first glance, the agenda looks beneficial and harmless—except for the fact that it sets forth a policy which strips individuals of freedom and controls private land unconstitutionally.

The birth of sustainable development

The United Nations conference on environment and development, often referred to as the "Earth Summit," was held in 1992 to advance sustainable development throughout the world. Agenda 21 was born out of the summit as an international standard of policy. On the surface, the agenda appears favorable—helping to save humans, wildlife and the environment from destruction through building guidelines and proper management of natural resources. But dig a bit deeper and it will soon become apparent Agenda 21 is yet another vehicle of control.

Common dehydration linked with cancer, diabetes, stroke and depression—Learn how water therapy can keep you happy and healthy

Even though we may think that we're well hydrated on any given day, the truth of the matter is that most of us aren't. The wide-spread consumption of dehydrating caffeinated beverages, such as coffee, soda and tea, make it easy to become imbalanced. By the time we have the telltale signs of thirst or a dry mouth, it's already too late. On the surface, this may not appear to be much of a problem, but the reality is that chronic dehydration, even if mild, leads to numerous health disorders - some quite serious like cancer, stroke and fatal coronary heart disease. Research has also shown that, when the body is dehydrated, fatigue sets in, while anger and mood disorders run rampant.

Hemp-Based Batteries Could Change the Way We Store Energy Forever

(Global Research) As hemp makes a comeback in the U.S. after a decades-long ban on its cultivation, scientists are reporting that fibers from the plant can pack as much energy and power as graphene, long-touted as the model material for supercapacitors. They’re presenting their research, which a Canadian start-up company is working on scaling up, at the 248th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS), the world’s largest scientific society.

Although hemp (cannabis sativa) and marijuana (cannabis sativa var. indica) come from a similar species of plant, they are very different and confusion has been caused by deliberate misinformation with far reaching effects on socioeconomics as well as on environmental matters.

Hemp is the most universally useful plant we have at our disposal. The history of mankind’s use of hemp can be traced way back in time to between about 5000 – 7000 BC.

Seeking a medical miracle? Cannabis may hold the answer

Meet Charlotte, a young girl with Dravet syndrome who not so long ago was catatonic and experiencing over 300 seizures per week. Then cannabis entered the picture, and her life changed forever. Down to one seizure each week, Charlotte also began to walk and talk. A feeding tube had been the norm; now she feeds herself unassisted. And this is just one of many miracles attributed to this highly controversial plant.

A beneficial 'weed'

William L. Courtney, M.D. a dietary raw cannabis specialist, makes an important distinction between marijuana and cannabis. When cannabis is juiced or consumed in a raw state, the plant is a potent antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and immune stimulator -- with no psychedelic effect. According to Courtney, marijuana on the other hand is the product of human manipulation by heating the plant, which changes the chemical components of the plant into mind-altering tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Both forms have their medicinal benefit, although many believe that cannabis in a raw state is the most powerful. Ingesting raw cannabis is effective for pain, epilepsy, depression, anxiety, cancer and autism, as well as a number of different disorders involving dysfunctional immune response, like lupus.

Sungazing: Discover the bright rewards of this ancient practice

Reserved for the elite priests and shamans of ancient sun worshiping civilizations, sungazing was considered a powerful tool for spiritual and physical transformation. Today, the practice has been revived and embraced once again - gaining popularity with those who seek heightened vibrancy and joyful states of being. Proponents also believe sungazing reduces hunger and helps to maintain a slim body.

How to feast on sunlight

The fundamental sungazing protocol is quite simple. During sunrise or sunset, stand barefoot on the earth and gaze at the sun for 10 seconds. Each day, look 10 seconds longer until you build up to 44 minutes - about 10 months' worth of daily practice. Remain relaxed and calm, do not squint or strain. Once you have reached the 44 minute mark, the program is complete, further sungazing isn't necessary - although many continue the practice throughout their lives.

3 unexpected foods that can help you beat the blues

Who hasn't, at one point or another, battled with depression? That unmistakable energy-zapping, soul-crushing and utterly unpleasant state. In these uncertain times of economic failure, joblessness and threats to home and food security, it's no wonder rates of depression are on the rise. But before relying on risky pharmaceutical antidepressants, consider food-based solutions instead.

Nature's antidepressant

A nutrient dense diet can go a long way in fending off, if not downright curing, fits of depression. Be that as it may, certain edibles are better at targeting the blues than others. The following three examples have shown exceptional promise in helping to defeat depressive mental states.

Make a Biogas Generator to Produce Your Own Natural Gas

(Mother Earth News) You can use many household organic “waste” materials to produce your own natural gas for cooking, lighting, and space and water heating. This gas, known as “biogas,” can also replace fossil-based natural gas to fuel an engine or an absorption cooling system, such as a gas refrigerator or chiller. Some gasoline engines are designed for or can be modified for use with natural gas, propane or biogas. Diesel engines can accept up to 80 percent biogas.

Biogas is a mixture of primarily flammable gases — mostly methane — along with carbon dioxide that forms anywhere organic material decomposes anaerobically (without oxygen), such as in water, deep in a landfill, or in the guts of animals, including you.

Love coffee but not the toxicity? Minimize health risks with these tips

Coffee beverages are big business in America, generating a whopping $30 billion in annual revenue. Controversy continues to plague this beloved drink, however, with reports of toxicity stemming from dangerous growing methods and the roasting process. Then there's the addicting properties of caffeine, as well as the issue of acidity. In spite of the bad rap, research has shown that coffee also lowers the risk of cardiovascular disease, depression, stroke, type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer's disease and asthma, along with cancers of the of liver, colon, kidney and prostate. Coffee contains a hearty dose of beneficial antioxidants too. Fortunately, we don't have to banish coffee completely from our lives - a happy medium can be struck if we pay attention to the bean type, growing practices, roast and brewing technique.