Natural Cures Not Medicine: 11/06/13

Most Read This Week:

Refrigeration Without Electricity



Source: http://thetechawards.thetech.org/the-laureates/stories/1405 via Minds.com

Image: gizmodo.com
Mohammed Bah Abba
Country: Nigeria
Region of Impact: Nigeria


Project Overview:

Mobah Rural Horizons, is a Rural Development and Consulting Organization that designs, invents, and disseminates appropriate technologies for poor rural areas. The project is a fresh foods preservation system that uses two clay pots. This system requires no electricity supply to preserve and prolong the storage life of perishable fresh food items.

Problem Addressed:

For people who live in hot climates with little electricity, food spoils quickly. Produce spoils in within three days without refrigeration, forcing farmers to rush their crops to the market and sell them at undervalued prices. This has a lot of consequences to the farmers, and their families, because it affects their village life and leads a decrease in income in the poor rural areas. For Kano City, which is around 60 miles from many farmers, the fresh produce that is grown rots along the way, causing its farmers to earn smaller profits and provide for fewer people.

Refrigeration is a method for storing foods around the world, but places in Africa like Kano City do not have the resources to support a stable supply of electricity to make refrigerators a viable option.

Technology Solution:

Mohammed Bah Abba designed an elegantly simple food storage device that is made up of two earthenware pots which utilize the principles of evaporation to create electric-free refrigeration. In between the two pots is a layer of fine, wet, river sand, and on top is a moist jute bag. When kept in a dry, well-ventilated, and shady location, water evaporates, cooling the inner container. As a result, Mohammed's desert refrigerator allows produce to stay fresh for weeks, so less food is wasted, and farmers are able to increase their profits so that they can continue to provide for their communities. Mohammed sells around 30,000 coolers a year to farmers and other people who want to preserve food for their families and communities.

About The Tech Museum of Innovation

The Tech Museum is a hands-on technology and science museum for people of all ages and backgrounds. The museum—located in the Capital of Silicon Valley —is a non-profit, experiential learning resource established to engage people in exploring and experiencing applied technologies affecting their lives. Through programs such as The Tech Challenge presented by Cisco, our annual team-design competition for youth, and internationally renowned programs such as The Tech Awards presented by Applied Materials, The Tech Museum endeavors to inspire the innovator in everyone.

According to Gizmodo.com, this is how you build one:
"Materials and Tools Required 
two terra cotta pots with a 2-3 inch difference in diameter. The smaller pot should be glazed and preferably lacking a drainage hole. If the inner container is double glazed (on its inner and outer walls), non-potable water—say seawater—can be employed. 
a bag of sterile sand 
a square of burlap cloth large enough to cover the top of the inner pot 
a trowel 
Building It 
1. If your pots have drainage holes, plug them with a bit of cork, caulk, or other waterproof material. If you don't, moisture from the sand will seep into the lower pot and immerse the stored goods or seep out the bottom of the larger one. 
2. Put down a one-inch deep, level layer of sand in the bottom of the large pot. Set the smaller pot on top of that layer and center it in the larger one. Make sure that the smaller pot's lip is even with the larger one's. 
3. Fill sand in around the sides of the of the two pots, leaving about an inch of space below the lip. 
4. Pour cold water over the sand until it is thoroughly saturated. Put your food into the smaller pot. Cover that with a burlap cloth, also soaked with water. That's it! Just be sure to refill the water regularly, about once or twice a day."

The Anti-Insomnia Juice


Finding it hard to have an 8 hour sleep? Perhaps you are the type that wakes up every forty-five minutes and needs another thirty minutes to doze off again? And we all know that there is nothing worse than suffering from annoying insomnia and the stressful effect it has on the rest of your days; the task of getting through a work day when you can barely keep your eyes open is painstaking, and makes you quite unpleasant to be around. This juice can help!

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The Anti-Insomnia Juice.

Ingredients: 1 Cucumber, 1 in. Ginger Root, 1 Lemon, 1 Green Apple, 9 Asparagus Stalks.

Source: RawForBeauty

GMO Labeling Defeated in Washington by Monsanto Funny Money

Natural Cures Not Medicine

Image: rt.com
GMO labeling, once again, was defeated not by informed voters, but by millions of dollars worth of negative ads bought and paid for by Monsanto & company.

via Liberty Beat:
"In a closely fought battle, voters in Washington state have decided not to label Genetically Modified Foods. Initiative 522 appears to have lost by a margin of 45% in favor of labeling and 55% against. In early September, polls showed support for labeling to be ahead by 45%, that number quickly dwindled after a $22 million advertising campaign against the measure was launched by General Mills, Nestle, PepsiCo, Monsanto, DuPont and others."
This win for GMA, the lobbying arm of 'Big Food', comes despite a lawsuit filed over the GMA's suspected illegal political finance activities and money laundering. Acording to seattlepi.com:
"The attorney general went to court on Wednesday, saying the association gathered and spent more than $7 million in the campaign, shielding its donors and violating public disclosure laws."
The GMA is well known for it's political activities which are aimed at countering grass-roots food rights initiatives such as Washington's I-522 and California's Prop 37; where they contributed a large part of the $40+ million raised to defeat GMO labeling.

Monsanto, one of GMA's largest contributing members($4.8 million to defeat I 522 alone), has had a long history of both anti-science and anti-health stances: claiming that scientists across the globe who question GMO safety are simply conspiracy theorists for thinking Monsanto's claims that pesticides are actually good for the soil and that pesticide exposure is not bad for you, are questionable claims.

Other top donors which contributed to the false propaganda campaign, according to firedoglake.com, were:
"General Mills, Inc. ($598,819), PepsiCo, Inc.($1,620,899), Kellogg Company ($221,852), Nestlé USA, Inc. ($1,052,743) and ConAgra Foods ($285,281)"
The GMA, 'Big Food' and the bio-giants may have won the battle for now, but the war is far from over. Many activists are likely to double their efforts after being beaten by corporate cash and political corruption, just as we saw the March Against Monsanto movement gain momentum from Prop 37's corporately funded defeat, this is only the beginning in the fight for our right to know if it's GMO.

Rick Simpson Has Cured Over 5000 Patients with This Recipe

Image: www.denbeauvais.com
“Once the public becomes aware of the fact that properly made hemp medicine can cure or control practically any medical condition, who is going to stand up against the use of hemp?”

Rick Simpson has dedicated his life to helping suffering patients (with all types of diseases and disabilities) with the use of natural hemp oil.

Rick Simpson’s Hemp Oil Proves Effective In Curing Cancer

Rick Simpson is a medical marijuana activist who has been providing people with information about the healing powers of Hemp Oil medications for nearly a decade now. Rick cured himself of a metastatic skin cancer back in 2003, and has since then devoted his life to spreading the truth of hemp oil. He has met an absurd amount of opposition and lack of support from Canadian authorities, as well as pharmaceutical companies, government agencies for health, and UN offices. Despite that fact, Rick Simpson has successfully treated over 5,000 patients (free of charge), and believes that all forms of disease and conditions are treatable. He states that it is common to have all types of cancer and diseases cured with the use of high quality hemp oil as a treatment.

Rick has treated patients will all types of conditions including, but not limited to, cancer, AIDS, arthritis, multiple sclerosis, diabetes, leukemia, Crohn’s disease, depression, osteoporosis, psoriasis, insomnia, glaucoma, asthma, burns, migraines, regulation of body weight, chronic pain, and mutated cells (polyps, warts, tumors).

“Run From The Cure” Official Video Documentary

This documentary “Run From The Cure” was made by Christian Laurette in 2008 and shares Rick Simpson’s story. The movie features interviews with people who were cured by Rick’s oil, but were refused from testifying on Rick’s behalf in the Supreme Court of Canada in his 2007 trial. This video documentary does a great job explaining the medicinal benefits of hash oil.


“I want people to know how to heal themselves.”

Rick Simpson believes that the oral ingestion of hemp oil seeks out, and destroys cancer cells in the body. When used as a topical, hemp oil can control or even cure various skin conditions such as melanomas.
However, as with any ‘drug’, too much hemp oil may cause some side effects; the most notable three are hungry, happy, and sleepy. This is an extremely safe medication compared to the hundreds of drugs that are approved with little to no study, and provided to patients that experience horrible side effects including death. Nobody has ever died from cannabis in any form.

Rick Simpson’s Hash Oil Recipe

To make the Rick Simpson’s hash oil, start with one ounce of dried herb. One ounce will typically produce 3-4 grams of oil, although the amount of oil produced per ounce will vary strain to strain. A pound of dried material will yield about two ounces of high quality oil.

IMPORTANT: These instructions are directly summarized from Rick Simpson’s website. Be VERY careful when boiling solvent off [solvent-free option], the flames are extremely flammable. AVOID smoking, sparks, stove-tops, and red hot heating elements. Set up a fan to blow fumes away from the pot, and set up in a well-ventilated area for whole process.

1. Place the completely dry material in a plastic bucket.

2. Dampen the material with the solvent you are using. Many solvents can be used [solvent-free option]. You can use pure naphtha, ether, butane, 99% isopropyl alcohol, or even water. Two gallons of solvent is required to extract the THC from one pound, and 500 ml is enough for an ounce.

3. Crush the plant material using a stick of clean, untreated wood or any other similar device. Although the material will be damp, it will still be relatively easy to crush up because it is so dry.

4. Continue to crush the material with the stick, while adding solvent until the plant material is completely covered and soaked. Remain stirring the mixture for about three minutes. As you do this, the THC is dissolved off the material into the solvent.

5. Pour the solvent oil mixture off the plant material into another bucket. At this point you have stripped the material of about 80% of its THC.

6. Second wash: again add solvent to the mixture and work for another three minutes to extract the remaining THC.

7. Pour this solvent oil mix into the bucket containing the first mix that was previously poured out.

8. Discard the twice washed plant material.

9. Pour the solvent oil mixture through a coffee filter into a clean container.

10. Boil the solvent off: a rice cooker will boil the solvent off nicely, and will hold over a half gallon of solvent mixture. CAUTION: avoid stove-tops, red hot elements, sparks, cigarettes, and open flames as the fumes are extremely flammable.

11. Add solvent to rice cooker until it is about ¾ full and turn on HIGH heat. Make sure you are in a well-ventilated area and set up a fan to carry the solvent fumes away. Continue to add mixture to cooker as solvent evaporates until you have added it all to the cooker.

12. As the level in the rice cooker decreases for the last time, add a few drops of water (about 10 drops of water for a pound of dry material). This will help to release the solvent residue, and protect the oil from too much heat.

13. When there is about one inch of solvent-water mixture in the rice cooker, put on your oven mitts and pick the unit up and swirl the contents until the solvent has finished boiling off.

14. When the solvent has been boiled off, turn the cooker to LOW heat. At no point should the oil ever reach over 290˚ F or 140˚ C.

15. Keep your oven mitts on and remove the pot containing the oil from the rice cooker. Gently pour the oil into a stainless steel container

16. Place the stainless steel container in a dehydrator, or put it on a gentle heating device such as a coffee warmer. It may take a few hours but the water and volatile terpenes will be evaporated from the oil. When there is no longer any surface activity on the oil, it is ready for use.

17. Suck the oil up in a plastic syringe, or in any other container you see fit. A syringe will make the oil easy to dispense. When the oil cools completely it will have the consistency of thick grease.

At The Dawn Of A New Age In Medicine

Rick Simpson states that hemp oil rejuvenates vital organs, and that it is not uncommon for people to report the oil making them feel 20 to 30 years younger a short while after beginning treatment. In a message from Rick on his website, he proclaims, “Once the public becomes aware of the fact that properly made hemp medicine can cure or control practically any medical condition, who is going to stand up against the use of hemp?”

“We are at the dawn of a new age in medicine and a new day for mankind. Not only can hemp save the world, it can eliminate a great deal of human suffering and can even put an end to starvation. What are we waiting for?” – Rick Simpson

Source: Medical Jane via realfarmacy.com

The Monarch Butterflies are Being Decimated by Monsanto

by Lauren McCauley | Common Dreams

Image: 
The migratory population of the monarch butterfly has reached an “ominous” low, researchers in Mexico announced Wednesday.

Scientists are attributing the decline of this essential pollinating population to the ongoing drought and the “explosive” increase in the use of genetically modified crops in the American corn belt.

“Because farmers have planted over 120 million acres of crops resistant to the milkweed-killing herbicide glyphosate, the monarchs’ essential food supply has been all but destroyed.”

Released by the Mexican government along with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), a recent survey found a 59% decrease in the area occupied by monarch colonies wintering in the forests of central Mexico, the Los Angeles Times reports.

Because of the difficulty in counting butterflies, scientists rely on measurements of the area that butterflies occupy to estimate their numbers; 1 hectare may contain as many as 50 million butterflies.

“The report of the dwindling Monarch butterfly winter residence in Mexico is ominous,” said leading entomologist Lincoln Brower.

According to Chip Taylor, director of the conservation group Monarch Watch at the University of Kansas, the decline was “hastened” by North America’s ongoing drought and record-breaking heat

However, the more “alarming” source of decline, according to Taylor and Omar Vidal, head of WWF in Mexico, is the “explosive increase” in the use of herbicide-tolerant genetically modified soybean and corn crops across America’s farmland which, the New York Times reports, has “enabled farmers to wipe out the milkweed,” on which monarch larvae feed almost exclusively.

“The American Midwest’s corn belt is a critical feeding ground for monarchs, which once found a ready source of milkweed growing between the rows of millions of acres of soybean and corn,” they continue. However, as farmers have planted over 120 million acres of crops resistant to the milkweed-killing herbicide glyphosate, the monarchs’ essential food supply is all but destroyed.

“That habitat is virtually gone. We’ve lost well over 120 million acres, and probably closer to 150 million acres,” Mr. Taylor said.

Previously, environmental groups cited logging in Mexico’s forests, the butterfly’s winter habitat, as the primary threat to the population. Since the area was declared a nature reserve in 2000, that is now considered a lesser threat.

“The conservation of the Monarch butterfly is a shared responsibility between Mexico, the United States and Canada,” said Vidal. “By protecting the reserves and having practically eliminated large-scale illegal logging, Mexico has done its part. It is now necessary for the United States and Canada to do their part and protect the butterflies’ habitat in their territories.”

Like bees, butterflies provide essential pollinating functions for entire ecosystems.”The fruits, nuts, seeds and foliage that everything else feeds on,” said Taylor. “If we pull the monarchs out of the system, we’re really pulling the rug out from under a whole lot of other species.”

According to Nature World News, the Monarch butterflies begin life as an egg that hatch into larvae (which feed almost exclusively on the milkweed plant). These larvae become caterpillars and in the fourth stage they become butterflies. Only Monarchs born between late summer and early fall make the migration. Even though it takes about four generations of the Monarchs to make the incredible journey, each butterfly knows the way and at times, these butterflies have been found to come back to the same tree from where their great grandparents had begun the journey.
“This is one of the world’s great migrations. It would be a shame to lose it.”

Source: Common Dreams via RealFarmacy.com


The 4 Best Foods for Your Bones (and the 4 Worst!)

by Becky Striepe | care2.com

Image: Care2.com
What are the best foods for bone health? What are the worst? The answers might surprise you!
If you’ve turned on the TV or opened a magazine lately, you’ve probably seen one of those Got Milk? ads touting three glasses a day for bone health. The dairy industry spends billions of dollars to convince us that their products are the end-all when it comes to bone health.

Sure, milk is high in calcium, but there are actually a number of nutrients that come into play when we’re talking bone health. I get into the details a little bit more here, but magnesium is actually just as important for your bones as calcium, and dairy products are not rich in this vital nutrient. Vitamin K is another piece of the bone health puzzle that’s missing from dairy products.

Related Reading: 25 Plant-Based Sources of Calcuim

Fortified milk products do have plenty of vitamin D, but you can also get your fill of this vitamin just by spending a few minutes a day outdoors without sunscreen. Boom! Sunshine vitamin? Check!

OK, so maybe dairy’s not at the top of the list when it comes to best foods for bone health, but where it does fall definitely surprised me. Check out the lists below of the best foods and the worst ones for your bones.

Best Foods for Bone Health

1. Dark Leafy Greens

Dark and leafies, like kale and collard greens pack a one-two-three of calcium, magnesium, and vitamin K. When it comes to strong and healthy bones, these are your #1 for sure. Need some leafy green inspiration? Check out these 10 kale recipes to get you started!

2. Seeds

Sprinkle some seeds onto your next salad for some bone-building power. If you want the most bang for your buck, opt for mineral-rich pumpkin seeds.

3. Nuts

Snack on a handful of nuts to protect your bones. You can add them to soups or salads, use them to top casseroles, or even puree them to make creamy vegan desserts (no, really!). Want the most bone-protection power? Walnuts are your friend.

4. Beans

Beans aren’t just a cheap way to round out a meal. They’re also packed with nutrients to keep your bones healthy! Black beans in particular are great for building bone health.

Worst Foods for Bone Health

1. Dairy Products

I am as surprised as you are! I knew that dairy wasn’t the end all when it comes to bone health, but it turns out that dairy products may leach calcium from bones and increase your risk of fractures over time. What the what?

2. Salt

If you’re trying to eat healthily, chances are that you’re already cutting out the table salt, and here’s one more reason to watch the white stuff: if may increase bone fragility. A Japanese study found that women who ate more salt were four times as likely to fracture a bone.

3. Cola

You may have heard that carbonated beverages or sodapop are bad for your bones, and I found some new research that uncovers what exactly is going on there. Scientists believe that it’s actually the phosphoric acid in cola specifically that depletes your bones.

4. Too Much Protein

Healthy eating is all about balance, and of course you need protein to stay healthy, but there’s some solid evidence that too much of the stuff can weaken your bones. What’s a little bit tricky about this research is that the group who ate less protein also ate a plant-based diet, so it’s unclear whether it’s the amount of protein or the type of protein that’s causing the damage.

Source: care2.com

Disclaimer:

Before trying anything you find on the internet you should fully investigate your options and get further advice from professionals.

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