Explaining the real health threats from GMOs

GMO OMG is the documentary to watch in 2014 about the health effects of GMOs. Rats fed with GMOs in studies have been found with giant-sized tumours. A 2-year lifespan of a rat is equal to a lifetime period for humans. By the end of the first year, the rats were found to have those tumors.

GMOs that are altered to withstand Monsanto's Round Up herbicide have the greatest levels of herbicides/pesticides, conventional have moderate and organic have the least contamination.

GMO OMG documentary on Chemical Food Conspiracy w/ Jeremy Seifert
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQUm5Qg4-5I

GMO OMG Facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/gmoomgfilm

Monsanto denies link between GMOs and cancer, birth defects in Argentina
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sY16uNIjzKk

Glyphosate induces human breast cancer cells growth via estrogen receptors
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0278691513003633

"Glyphosate is an active ingredient of the most widely used herbicide and it is believed to be less toxic than other pesticides. However, several recent studies showed its potential adverse health effects to humans as it may be an endocrine disruptor. This study focuses on the effects of pure glyphosate on estrogen receptors (ERs) mediated transcriptional activity and their expressions."

"These results indicated that low and environmentally relevant concentrations of glyphosate possessed estrogenic activity."

Bioaccumulation
http://toxics.usgs.gov/definitions/bioaccumulation.html

Bioaccumulation – “Progressive increase in the amount of a substance in an organism or part of an organism which occurs because the rate of intake exceeds the organism’s ability to remove the substance from the body.”

What I think is the reason for the huge surge of vegans in Sweden

I heard someone in a vegan Facebook group talking about the huge surge of vegans in Sweden, and I thought about the reason. It seems like the reason is found in a blog post I recently wrote.

Even Ikea is going to introduce vegetarian meatballs very soon. I have seen the meatballs at Ikea but could not eat them due to my preference for vegan food, but now I can finally try them.

IKEA Will Soon Serve Vegetarian Meatballs
http://time.com/70650/ikea-vegetarian-meatballs/

One in ten Swedes is vegetarian or vegan, according to study
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/one-in-ten-swedes-is-vegetarian-or-vegan-according-to-study-9212176.html

Here is what I think to be the reason for the surge:

I think the main reason is the lack of religion in Sweden, which does not constrict the people in thinking for themselves. This means there is less mind control and brainwashing, and therefore less resistance for any positive new ways of living.

AAI 2010: Lone Frank - The life and mutations of a cognitive parasite Complete
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcQC7-_ymuc

Insight: S2014 Ep8 - Changing a Mindset
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14Fovpy6lmg

I believe the main thing that is restricting many people from going vegan is cultural and religious mind control and brainwashing. Nations that have very few religious people are the ones that would embrace new ways of living much faster than other countries.

For India, perhaps their strong vegetarianism is due to religious and cultural brainwashing and mind control, rather than the people thinking for themselves on how is the best way to eat and treat the environment.

The Swedes are a more caring and supportive group of people compared to many other groups of people in the world. They face less resistance in going vegan compared to more aggressive groups of people in other countries. (China is also seeing a rise in vegetarians)

The recent rise of vegan products in Sweden gives them the opportunity to finally change their diet for the better.

If you go to the Swedish vegan group on Facebook, you can see them discussing many new vegan products such as textured vegetable protein and vegan cheese that seems to be relatively new to some of them.

Vegetarianer och Veganer i Sverige
https://www.facebook.com/groups/243147290951/

How to Have Good Hair and Skin Health

Hair and skin are made up of protein, and one needs to consume good amount of protein to maintain hair and skin structure. It is already known that good skin needs vitamin E and vitamin C to stay healthy. However, what many people don't realize is that hair and skin need to be constantly moisturised with vegetable fats in order to stay moist and healthy. Skin that is protected by oils are much less prone to irritation and bacterial infection.

When buying shampoo and shower lotion, buy those that contain avocado, argan oil, grape seed oil, shea butter, oatmilk, carnelian rose oil etc Such oils can be used to moisturise both hair and body to prevent dry, itchy and brittle conditions, and ensure shiny and smooth hair and skin.

Coconut oil is not just suitable for consumption, it can also be used to be applied on hair and skin. It is anti-bacterial, anti-viral and anti-fungal.

Home-made sugar scrub can be made with fine sugar and coconut oil, and can be used to exfoliate dead skin cells and recondition skin, to create a super smooth and soft result.

Use facial mud wash and mud masks to unblock pores and exfoliate skin.

Cucumber extract and watermelon skin extract can be used to nourish skin, as well as to moisturise and alkalise.

The most important of all, one should avoid consuming meat and dairy as they can cause skin irritation and acne. One should drink plenty of distilled water to ensure hair and skin are well hydrated at all times.

Necessary Fat Intake For Proper Brain and Blood Vessel Function

The brain is made up 60% of fat and fat is very necessary to be consumed to ensure proper brain functions. Vegan diet groups like 30 BAD(bananas a day) have gotten the wrong biased view that fat should be avoided for the sake of weight loss, and I realize that their level of bias seems to relate very accurately to their low level of food and health intelligence. Other health diet preachers who have appeared in food documentaries have gotten the biased view that all oils are detrimental for the endothelial cells in the blood vessels but this is not true, it is only olive oil that has been found to pose such a problem.

There is science research that has found olive oil to be able to dilate blood vessels possibly due to the polyphenols that have an astringent effect. So people who have problems with their blood vessels might be wise to avoid olive oil and take other kinds of fat.

Dr Vogel's research properly explains how olive oil can significantly injure the endothelium and that the effects of other oils used in the research such as canola oil had insignificant effects on the endothelium.

http://connecticare.com/GlobalFiles/HealthNews/article.asp?ID=091e9c5e8000735f&Cat=0&Num=6

"The olive oil meal caused vessels to constrict by 34%, whereas the canola oil and salmon meals caused insignificant changes in blood vessels, Vogel reports. Because such constrictions injure the blood vessels' endothelium, they contribute to heart disease."


The postprandial effect of components of the Mediterranean diet on endothelial function.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11079642

"CONCLUSIONS: In terms of their postprandial effect on endothelial function, the beneficial components of the Mediterranean and Lyon Diet Heart Study diets appear to be antioxidant-rich foods, including vegetables, fruits, and their derivatives such as vinegar, and omega-3-rich fish and canola oils."

Since Dr Vogel's research has found that oils such as canola "caused insignificant changes in blood vessels", other oils such as flaxseed and hemp oils should be alright to consume. Oils rich in omega 3 has been found to improve endothelium function.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22317966
Effect of omega-3 fatty acids supplementation on endothelial function: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

"Supplementation of omega-3 fatty acids significantly improves the endothelial function without affecting endothelium-independent dilation."


Beneficial fats that contain high amounts of omega 3 can be found in foods like tofu, soya beans, soybean oil, soymilk, flaxseed oil, walnuts etc. A good balance of omega 3 and 6 is already found in soybeans but if one can choose to consume flaxseed oil to gain more omega 3 fats.

The recommended daily requirement for fat intake is 65grams. So each meal could contain about 20grams of fat.

A 14g tablespoon of flaxseed oil contains 14grams of fat and about 7000mg of omega 3. A 14g tablespoon of soybean oil contains about 1000mg of omega 3. 7 full pieces of walnuts of 28g contains 18grams of fat and 10000mg of omega 3.

Flaxseed oil
http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/fats-and-oils/7554/2

Soybean oil
http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/fats-and-oils/507/2

Walnuts
http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/nut-and-seed-products/3138/2

People Including Vegans Need to Consume Sufficient Vitamin B12

Many people including vegans themselves don't realize the nutrients they are missing from a vegan diet. Many people including meat-eaters are suffering from Vitamin B12 deficiency, especially those who have trouble absorbing the vitamin. Many vegans are also deficient in vitamin B12, they don't realize how much of the vitamin they should consume in a day in order to properly absorb the nutrient. B12 deficiency can cause irreversible nerve and brain damage in the long term.

I discovered there are 2 types of vitamin B12 being sold, cyanocobalamin and methylcobalamin. Cyanocobalamin needs to be converted to methylcobalamin in the body in order for it to be utilized, so it is better to take B12 in the form of methylcobalamin to better ensure the body gets what it needs. I read that the liver only converts 1% of ingested cyanocobalamin into methylcobalamin.

The recommended daily allowance(RDA) for B12 may be a small amount like 4mcg, but one needs to ensure that the body would get at least that amount after the process of absorption, so one should buy B12 supplements that should have much more than the RDA amount of 4mcg. The RDA for various vitamins is for preventing deficiency, to ensure good health, one has to consume more than the RDA.

Research has found that the small intestine absorbs B12 in varying percentages due to the limitations of the Intrinsic Factor. If B12 is taken in small amounts such as 5-50mcgs, then the absorption amount is limited to about 1.5 mcgs, falling below the RDA, so it has to be taken at least twice during the day to fulfill the RDA, while giving the Intrinsic Factor a few hours' time to recover. But if B12 is taken in a high dosage such as 1000 mcg each time, the vitamin will be absorbed in 10-15 mcgs, fulfilling the RDA in one dosage.

http://www.veganhealth.org/b12/formula

There are some people on the internet saying that one does not need to take too much B12, and that B12 that comes with over 100s of mcgs are due to companies wanting to make money. But they are actually stupid to not realize that B12 also needs to be undergo the process of absorption, and not all the amounts would eventually get used by the body(I think this would also apply to other vitamins and minerals).

http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/vitaminb12/
"Dietary supplements
In dietary supplements, vitamin B12 is usually present as cyanocobalamin [5], a form that the body readily converts to the active forms methylcobalamin and 5-deoxyadenosylcobalamin. Dietary supplements can also contain methylcobalamin and other forms of vitamin B12.

Existing evidence does not suggest any differences among forms with respect to absorption or bioavailability. However the body’s ability to absorb vitamin B12 from dietary supplements is largely limited by the capacity of intrinsic factor. For example, only about 10 mcg of a 500 mcg oral supplement is actually absorbed in healthy people [8]."

"Some people—particularly older adults, those with pernicious anemia, and those with reduced levels of stomach acidity (achlorhydria) or intestinal disorders—have difficulty absorbing vitamin B12 from food and, in some cases, oral supplements [22,23]. As a result, vitamin B12 deficiency is common, affecting between 1.5% and 15% of the general population [24,25]. In many of these cases, the cause of the vitamin B12 deficiency is unknown"

Perhaps the ignorance about the proper intake amount of B12 has led to severe brain and nervous system damage in lots of vegans. And those crazy and emotionally extreme animal rights activists could be one of those suffering from extreme B12 deficiency.

More links to information about vitamin B12:
http://www.prohealth.com/library/showarticle.cfm?libid=481
http://www.dadamo.com/B2blogs/blogs/index.php/2004/02/07/cyanocobalamin-versus-methylcobalamin?blog=27
http://www.naturalnews.com/032766_cyanocobalamin_vitamin_B-12.

Super Effective Weight Loss Tip #7 Replace French fries and mashed potatoes with mashed chickpeas(hummus)

Mashed potatoes are high glycermic Index foods with a GI score of 90 and above, meaning they can get converted to fat very easily. For effective weight loss, it is crucial to stick to low GI foods so that the calories can have more time to be utilized by the body instead of turning into fat too quickly.

Mashed chickpeas(hummus) have a GI score of around 30 and tastes just like French fries and mashed potatoes.

Soak dried chickpeas overnight for at least 8 hours, then boil for 15 to 20 mins until soft. Then process in a food processor. One can add salt, dried Italian herbs, ground black pepper and replace the fat with coconut oil. Add coconut cream to make it more creamy like having butter. Or you can add coconut mayo instead of sour cream for weight loss.

If you want to eat roasted potatoes or french fries, you can roast or fry them in coconut oil(that can cause weight loss) instead of regular oil.

Super Effective Weight Loss Tip #6 Eat Only When You Are Hungry, Stop Sticking to Meal Times

Many overweight people who stick to meal times such as noon and 7 pm eat when they are not hungry. This can cause the premature intake of calories too soon, and such build-up of unneeded calories can cause weight gain.

Eating when one is not hungry can be the same as eating unnecessarily, which can cause weight gain.

When a person starts eating before hunger sets in, one might be prematurely taking in calories that might not yet be needed by the body especially for those who are already overweight. This can cause the conversion of unneeded calories into fat that gets stored in the body.

The trick to overcome this is to eat only when one is hungry. This means delaying a meal time until one is hungry. Instead of eating dinner at 7 when one is not yet hungry, one can delay the meal time and eat later when one feels hungry.

This method is not to starve oneself but to eat when one really feels the real need for calories.

Super Effective Weight Loss Tip #5 Replace Sugar with Stevia for Everything

There are many foods that contain sugar in them such as sweet drinks, jelly, nuts, jam, cookies, cakes, tarts, pies, even sauces. The sugar in them can get converted into fat easily.

One can already get stevia from the supermarket or even grow the stevia plant in one's backyard. The leaves of the stevia plant can be grounded and added into home-made jam, jelly, drinks, smoothies, sauces, and baked goods. it can even be sprinkled onto cut fruits.

For foods that require lots of sweetening to taste good, using stevia would be very effectively in replacing the unnecessary calories without having the detrimental effects.

Super Effective Weight Loss Tip #4 Replace Common Fatty Foods with Less Fatty Options

There are many foods rich in LCT fats(long chain triglycerides that are slow to metabolize and can increase weight and keep it on) that keep people over-weight. Some of these foods include mayonnaise, cheese, dairy milk, creamy pasta sauces, tomato sauce, gravy, ice-cream etc

Instead of mayonnaise, one can make home-made mayo with coconut oil and non-dairy milk. Add some coconut oil, unsweetened non-dairy milk, some garlic and vinegar or lemon juice in a big jar, then use a hand blender to turn it into creamy mayonnaise. I mentioned in weight loss tip #1 that coconut oil can create thermogenesis for weight loss, so this coconut oil mayo is a guilt-free weight-loss mayo. This hand blender technique can also be used to make coconut ice-cream, just leave out the garlic and vinegar and use stevia as a sweetener. Add strawberries to turn it into fruit ice-cream.

Instead of using dairy cheese for spaghetti and pasta, using nutritional yeast flakes that tastes the same without the high fat content. Just sprinkle onto pasta like parmesan cheese powder and it is good to go.

Instead of drinking dairy milk and yogurt high in fat, choose unsweetened non-dairy milk and yogurt.

Instead of relying on creamy sauces to flavor foods, use coconut mayo and fresh/dried Italian herbs and spices.

You can make your own tomato sauce with bottled tomato paste with dried Italian herbs, salt, vinegar, garlic and a little stevia for some sweetness.

Super Effective Weight Loss Tip #3 Include Fluid-Rich Foods During Meals to Boost Satiety

Fluids in food can increase the feeling of satiety or the feeling of being full. Rather than rely on foods that are low in fluids that can cause one to eat much before feeling full, choose the foods that are high in water content. Such foods that are high in fluids can also improve digestion and prevent constipation.

Many people don't realize that vegetables and fruits that are very high in water content can boost satiety and promote weight loss. They also make one feel very refreshed and promote good sleep. These foods are the best choice for the foods high in water content.

One can also choose other foods such as ramen noodles in clear soup, miso with seaweed soup, rice porridge, pasta in soup broth, minestrone soup, curry gravy.

For dessert, choose to eat fruits such as watermelon and honeydew that can make one feel refreshed rather than the dense dry desserts that are low in water content but high in carbs, sugar and fat.

For breakfast, oatmeal porridge, fruit and vegetable smoothies, and cereal in unsweetened non-dairy milk are good choices.

Super Effective Weight Loss Tip #2 Satisfy Your Thirst Before Having Meals

Many overweight people don't really understand whether all the hunger they feel really comes from the need to eat food or the need to satisfy their thirst for fluids. If they confuse thirst with hungry, they might eat too much unnecessarily during meals and gain weight or keep weight on.

What I recommend is to drink a good amount of water right after waking up from bed in the morning. This not only gets the body hydrated, feel refreshed, and lessen the feeling of hunger, but it can also dilute the acidity in the stomach and prevent too much acidic reaction from digestion that could cause stomach discomforts. Many people don't realize that drinking water can prevent constipation.

Pure distilled water tastes really great and refreshing, and tastes the best in comparison to tap or filtered water, and having it on hand makes one want to drink it more often rather than the sugary drinks that can add unnecessary calories that can make one gain weight. It is best to get a water distiller rather than constantly buy bottled water from the supermarket.

Cold water requires the body to produce heat to warm it up to body temperature so the calories used for the heat production would also help one lose weight.

Transcendence 2014 Movie Review Starring Johnny Depp and Morgan Freeman

At first sight, the boring movie poster did not seem very creative nor provocative, which really put me off from watching the movie. But I decided to watch anyway because it involves computers and high tech stuff, and I was really bored.

It is refreshing to see Johnny Depp taking on a role that distances him away from his recent Pirates of Carribean roles. In this movie, he plays a character similar to the computer giants Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. He plays a famous computer scientist Dr(or something) who is working on an AI alongside influential partners that includes his scientist wife and good friends to benefit the world.

All things look happy and perfect until he gets shot by an extremist group who fears the emergence of Artificial Intelligence that could take over the world. The bullet contains a plutonium toxin that would not get him much days to live. In desperation, his partners uploaded his consciousness into the supercomputer system to preserve his consciousness or his ‘soul’.

I researched consciousness and cognitive science a few years ago, so I am very familiar with the various consciousness-related topics brought up in the movie and can recognize and understand the various consciousness-related topics right away. The consciousness-related problem that is still mystifying the scientific community's efforts to explain what consciousness is, as well as the consciousness researcher Daniel C Dennett, easily came to mind as I watched the movie. The movie was definitely written based on the philosophical themes of consciousness studies, too bad the movie poster was so dull that hid such an interesting plot about artificial intelligence that is very familiar to me.

This movie brought on the feeling of having an eerie ghost in the machine taking a captive hostage who gets disturbed by the artificiality. It explores people’s innate fear of letting an unknown computer-driven intelligence take control of the world and their battle to determine the very good or corrupted nature of such a computer-driven intelligence. Those who are huge fans of the Terminator movies, the A.I. Movie, The Net and the Borg of Star Trek would definitely like this movie, they would have a great thrill as well as great fun trying to guess how the movie would turn out in the end.

Johnny Depp takes on a role that is reminiscent of one of his earliest movies Edward Scissorhands that brought him to great fame and caused many female fans to fall in love with him. This latest movie really reminded me of his role in that movie that portrayed a good-hearted innocent character amongst many fear-driven people who did not understand him. This movie seems like a form of tribute to that movie and I wonder if it signals Johnny’s retirement from acting.

Morgan Freeman once again takes on a very very bad baddie role, the last one I know being in the movie Now You See Me. Anything that stars Morgan Freeman seems to guarantee a great movie.

This film deals with much intellectual philosophical themes and would spark lots of intellectual thought, and it is presented in a very refreshing way since the other related movies about AI came about. This is a definitely a great movie to watch and to rewatch. I give it a 9.5 out of 10.

Cocoa consumption is linked to testicular cancer

I have already quit taking cocoa a long while ago due to the headaches it caused me time and time again. I have found the following research study linking cocoa consumption to testicular cancer, it would certainly get people to twice twice before consuming it again, or as frequently. If anybody wants to know of an alternative to cocoa, carob is a good alternative.

Correlation Analysis of Cocoa Consumption Data with Worldwide Incidence Rates of Testicular Cancer and Hypospadias
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2672359/

"This correlation analysis suggests that cocoa consumption during early life might be correlated to both TC incidence among young men aged 20–34 years and hypospadias, a reproductive congenital defects supposed to underline the same pathogenetic mechanism of TC.

In particular, the increasing incidence of TC over time in developed countries is consistent with increases in the consumption of cocoa. The intake of some of the main sweet ingredients, in fact, such as cocoa and sweeteners increased significantly during the last 45 years in developed countries [8,9]. Over the years 1961–2004 cocoa consumption overall in developed countries grew at an average rate of 1 % per year [9]. For example, in Denmark cocoa consumption more than doubled in the period 1961–2004. Similar trends have been observed in other European countries [8,9]. The magnitude of these increases is similar to those noted for incidence rates of testicular cancer and other MRD. The reduced risk for testicular cancer for the cohorts of Danish, Norwegian, Swedish and Japanese men born during World War II is also consistent with a greatly reduced supply of sweet foods and cocoa during the war.

Data from food balance sheets (FAOSTAT) indicate that the consumption of cocoa in Denmark, where TC and hypospadias rates are elevated, is among the highest in the world and is more than three times that in Finland, where MRD rates are rather low [9].

Is there any evidence that this association may be causal?

Cocoa powder is a complex substance containing several biologically active compounds, including theobromine, caffeine, serotonin, phenylethylamine and cannabinoid-like fatty acids [11].

Various studies reported that theobromine, the main stimulant of cocoa, exerts toxic effects on the testis, inducing testicular atrophy accompanied by aspermatogenesis or oligospermatogenesis and that even low doses of cocoa impair sperm quality [10–14]."


THEOBROMINE
http://www.inchem.org/documents/iarc/vol51/06-theobromine.html
"In human cells in vitro, theobromine induced sister chromatid exchange and chromosomal breaks."

Palindromes and Chromosomes
A new clue to the origin of genomic instability that leads to cancer
http://tuftsjournal.tufts.edu/2008/09/briefs/03/
"In the past decade, researchers have observed that many kinds of cancer are associated with areas in the genome-the genetic makeup of living things-where chromosomes break."

Taking substances that stretches the repair function of the genome doesn't seem a healthy wise idea but unnecessary.

Religion as mind leading/controlling parasite

I saw a video lecture by Lone Frank a while ago about religion being a form of cognitive parasite. I recently saw a TV show on YouTube about how people around the world were mind controlled in cults. The two videos gave me the insight that religion is something that people who lack leadership would follow, because such people cannot think for themselves and lack purpose of life, and need something substantial to lead and guide them on what to do in life. So these people follow a god-like figure that has seemingly great leadership to guide them on how to live life, what to hope for, what purpose in life to follow, how to treat people, how to react to certain things, how to think, how reality is etc

I think religion is more specifically a kind of a leadership parasite, it is a form of external 'foreign' leadership that can lead whoever wants to be led/controlled by it. Religious followers are like aimless clueless kids who need a parent figure to guide them on what to do in life and how to do them. People who are very religious allow themselves to very easily believe what their religion tells them to think and do. Surrendering to God is to give up more of one's own leadership to follow the lead of a God figure. People who lack leadership skills commonly lack critical thinking skills and they very often do not question the religious doctrine that leads them. They are similar to impressionable young teens who easily get influenced to follow certain fashion and diet trends without the life experience to know exactly what they are following.

Denmark does not have a strong nation of religious people compared to Americans, this could reflect the Danes' higher level of leadership ability.

I think childhood does have a big role in creating such people who lack leadership ability. Parents who often command their children to follow their instructions and do not encourage their kids to think for themselves could cause their kids to lack leadership ability and easily fall prey to leadership parasites.

Research have found those who follow religion to have lower rates of heart disease, are happier and live longer. Allowing one to have good bearings in life would obviously reduce much stress of facing the unknown.