The Healthy and Wealthy You

Dr. Joseph Mercola

Dr. Mercola has spoken out against genetically modified foods and this post spells it out carefully.  Be aware.  Take his advice to heart in order to be a healthy YOU:

Dr. Philip Bereano is a Professor Emeritus at the University of Washington and an actively engaged activist against genetically modified (GM) foods. His academic work is within Technology and Public Policy, and over the past 30 years,

Dr. Bereano’s work has focused on genetically engineered organisms (GMOs) in foods, crops and animals, as well as human genetic engineering issue

Dr. Philip Bereano has spent the last three decades looking into genetically engineered organisms (GMOs) in foods, crops, animals, and humans—both nationally, here in the United States, and internationally. His work led him to participate in the negotiation of two international treaties under the United Nations that dealt with issues relating to GMOs. He’s also participated in the U.N. agency relating to foods, and the Codex Alimentarius Committee’s taskforce on genetically engineered foods.

GMOs Have Never Been Proven Safe, Nor Beneficial…

In this interview, he shares his perspective on the safety of GM foods, or rather the lack thereof.

“First of all, we need to understand what we mean by the word safe,” he says. “Actually, in terms of the academic literature, “safe” refers to “an acceptable level of risk.” It doesn’t refer to situations where there is no risk. Most of us drive in cars all the time and consider it to be safe even though we know that people are killed and injured in automobiles frequently. We have to understand that safe equals acceptable risk.

The problem with calling genetically engineered organisms safe is that there are no valid risk assessments being done on them. There is no research, really, being done into the health or environmental effects of a genetically engineered organism. Certainly no work that is published in the peer-reviewed literature that isn’t proprietary. Corporations promoting these things claim that they have done research, but you can’t get any information on it because it’s all claimed to be proprietary.

Under what is known now as the precautionary principle—which is what your grandparents used to teach you about looking before you leap—the only prudent course of action is to NOT proceed with something which has potential risks and only potential benefits until you know a little bit more about it.”

I couldn’t agree more.

Safety Principles are Being Ignored in a Number of Ways

There are in fact international treaties—most notably the Cartagena Biosafety Protocol, which about 175 countries have signed—that enshrine the precautionary principle.

“It says very clearly that countries may use the precautionary approach before allowing the import of any genetically engineered organisms into their territories,” Dr. Bereano explains.

The US is one country, however, that has fully embraced GM foods, on a government level, and does not appear to have any intentions of following the precautionary principle. The primary reason for this is because Monsanto, the clear leader in the biotech industry, has managed to infiltrate virtually every government office that has a hand in regulating their industry.

Another way to ensure safety (or acceptable level of risk), is to conduct the necessary research to evaluate the potential environmental- and human health risks involved prior to condoning the use of GMOs. However, that’s NOT being done either. In fact, there are very few peer-reviewed studies available on the effects of GMOs.

“There is quite a bit of research that has indicated that there may be health risks,” Dr. Bereano says, “but this research has not been funded for replication, for extension, for further studies, and so forth. And very often the scientists who have performed that [independent] research… have become ostracized instead of recognized for maybe opening up an important area of inquiry.”

Dr. Bereano also brings up another important point, which is that for all the benefits touted, they’re primarily potential benefits, because just like there’s a lack of proof of safety, there’s a glaring lack of proof of actual benefit.

Who actually benefits from GMO’s, and who or what might be harmed by it?

“It’s not just a question of what the total risks or benefits might be, but who do they accrue to? That makes it also a more political or social set of issues,” he says.

Then of course there are the conflicts of interest, which can be found at virtually every level, from the research labs to the regulatory agencies. But there’s also the issue of group-think, which is typically more insidious and harder to root out because it’s a social mechanism, and few people are immune to its power.

“Conflicts of interest operates very institutionally too, because a lot of scientists are in departments that get funding from the biotech industry. What it evolves into is a set of world views.

If you are immersed in a profession and a culture and all of your colleagues think certain ways about certain things, then you’re not very likely to challenge that… The exact same phenomenon happens with geneticists and people who do biotech science. They read the same journals. They get reviewed for promotion…  You have to parrot the same views that your older superiors believe or otherwise they’re going to think you’re crazy and not doing good work and won’t promote you.

There are social mechanisms which reinforce this that go well beyond “conflict of interest” in a very simplified sense.”

The “Legal Fiction” of GMO Regulation

Dr. Bereano points out that the decision to regulate GMOs based on earlier regulatory statutes is “a kind of legal fiction,” because those earlier statutes were created well before the technology of genetic engineering was even developed.

“There was a public policy decision made not to go for special regulation, which would have of course resulted in lots of news articles, congressional hearings and all the rest of it, which would have alerted the public in this country to the existence of this new technology which huge numbers of Americans have no idea exists their food supply, unlike countries where these have all been matters of public debate.

It was a very shrewd decision by the government and by the industry to claim, first in 1986 that this coordinated Federal framework of existing regulatory bodies could handle it, and then in 1992, officially claiming that genetically engineered foods were “substantially equivalent” to their non-engineered counterparts.”

This policy was created and announced not by the FDA itself, but rather by the President’s Council on Competitiveness—a council composed of, you guessed it: corporate executives.

Interestingly, most FDA scientists actually vigorously objected to this policy! This was only made public, however, after a lawsuit granted access to FDA documents in which FDA scientists expressed concerns that there was, naturally, major differences between genetically engineered and conventional foods.

Perhaps the most ironic part of this whole charade is the fact that ever since then, Monsanto and other biotech companies have filed patents arguing that their GM products are completely unique and different from their conventional counterparts, and therefore must receive patent protection and monopoly!

Are GM Crops the Answer to World Hunger as Claimed?

One of the justifications for the use of genetically engineered crops is that it can eradicate world hunger. Clearly, the production of adequate food supply is a noble goal, but the supposition that we can achieve this goal through the use of GM crops is seriously flawed.

“The largest study in the world that dealt with this, which included about 400 scientists, was assembled by the United Nations and the World Bank into something called the IAASTD (International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development). After a long set of studies that were peer-reviewed, portions were sent around and I received elements of the final report,” Dr. Bereano says.

“The IAASTD found little evidence to support a conclusion that genetic engineering or modern biotech are well suited to meet the needs of small scale and subsistence farmers who were of course feeding huge numbers of people, especially in the Third World where hunger is so evident.”

He also accurately points out that we have hunger right here in the US, despite our grain surpluses and despite the fact that we use genetic engineering more than any other country. Food production and hunger is not necessarily a simple one-to-one equation. There’s also the issue of not having enough money to buy the food that is readily available!

Additionally, GM crops sure aren’t less expensive than conventional!

On the contrary, GM seeds are getting increasingly expensive, as are the prerequisite pesticides—not to mention the fact that farmers are forced to buy new GM seeds every year, opposed to saving the best seeds for the next planting, which has been done since the beginning of agriculture. The increased expense of farming with GM seeds has likely already caused more than 180,000 Indian farmers to commit suicide when faced with insurmountable debt, failed crops, and no money to buy new seed.

Not surprisingly, Monsanto and the United States, along with a couple of other countries refused to sign off on the final report that was ultimately issued by the UN…

On the other hand, studies have repeatedly confirmed that farming methods that promote healthy soils and biodiversity can dramatically increase production and yield. For example, as recently as March 8, the United Nations issued a press release with the headline: Eco-Farming Can Double Food Production in 10 Years.

It states:

“Small-scale farmers can double food production within 10 years in critical regions by using ecological methods, a new UN report shows. Based on an extensive review of the recent scientific literature, the study calls for a fundamental shift towards agroecology as a way to boost food production and improve the situation of the poorest.

“To feed 9 billion people in 2050, we urgently need to adopt the most efficient farming techniques available,” says Olivier De Schutter, UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food and author of the report. “Today’s scientific evidence demonstrates that agroecological methods outperform the use of chemical fertilizers in boosting food production where the hungry live — especially in unfavorable environments.”

Agroecology applies ecological science to the design of agricultural systems that can help put an end to food crises and address climate-change and poverty challenges. It enhances soils productivity and protects the crops against pests by relying on the natural environment such as beneficial trees, plants, animals and insects.

“To date, agroecological projects have shown an average crop yield increase of 80% in 57developing countries, with an average increase of 116% for all African projects,” De Schutter says…

“We won’t solve hunger and stop climate change with industrial farming on large plantations. The solution lies in supporting small-scale farmers’ knowledge and experimentation, and in raising incomes of smallholders so as to contribute to rural development.”

Best of all, these agro-ecological approaches do not pose any danger to the environment or to human health whatsoever—quite the contrary!

So, wouldn’t it make sense to focus on the safest, most beneficial, and most effective methods of food production instead of dabbling around with unproven high-risk technology that may or may not provide any benefit whatsoever to anyone besides the patent holders?

Unfortunately, the fact this isn’t happening is a testament to the immense power of the biotech industry, led by Monsanto, whose corporate officials rotate in and out of the White House administration, the FDA and other regulatory agencies.

What Do We Know About the Health Effects of GMOs?

As Dr. Bereano explains in this interview, genetic engineering is based on an extremely oversimplified model that suggests that by taking out or adding one or several genes, you can create a particular effect or result.

However, this reductionist model is nowhere near complete.

“First of all, genomes are so complicated with so many interactions within the genes of the genome that we don’t really understand it well,” Dr. Bereano says. “Let me give a simple example.

The genome in a cell in your eyeball is identical to the genome of a cell in your pancreas, but your eyeball does not make insulin. The constituents of what’s in a genome are not the end of the story as to what that cell is going to produce and do.

There are in the human body maybe about 30,000 genes but there are millions of proteins. These proteins are produced by very subtle and different interactions among the genes in different locations in the body. There are proteins which turn on insulin manufacturing to the cells in the pancreas and don’t turn it on in your eyeball

… It’s important to understand that the structure of the genome is not determinative of what that cell does.

Yet, the kind of mental model that’s being used in all of these discussions is what I call the Lego model or the tinker toy model. Let’s take out a yellow piece or let’s put in a green piece… but it’s not an issue just of structure—it’s of interaction.

These things are not being studied well. How stable is this genome after it is altered? In many instances we don’t know. It might change spontaneously. There are lots of questions there.

They have this very simplistic model and then they claim that these results are going to flow from it. But biology is much more complicated than that.”

GM Contamination—An Intentional Strategy to Destroy Organic

If you’ve followed the debate about genetically engineered crops for some time, you may remember that the USDA initially proposed that the organic rules should allow GM foods to be labeled organic. Fortunately, the public outcry squashed this atrocious proposal. In fact, it was the second largest citizen response up until that time for any proposed regulation. After several hearings around the US, the final organic rule did not allow for GM ingredients.

However, we now face another problem, namely contamination—both in the fields and during processing.

It’s becoming increasingly difficult, if not impossible, to guarantee a food will not contain any kind of GM substance. This is an industry fact that holds true for all organic retailers. Even the Non-GMO project has admitted this. The recent approval of GM alfalfa will only make matters worse, as alfalfa is a powerful pollinator.

“Contamination is an intentional strategy,” Dr. Bereano says. “It’s an intentional strategy by both the government and the industry. We have statements to that effect… Contamination in the field by pollen flow; contamination in the processing. They use the same railcars for engineered and non-engineered crops and things like that.”

Ronnie Cummins with the Organic Consumers Association also discussed this in a recent interview, warning that any alfalfa growing within a five mile radius of GM alfalfa will immediately become contaminated. The ramifications of this contamination are actually far worse than you might think, because alfalfa is a major food source for organic dairy cows. So once organic alfalfa becomes contaminated, organic milk and beef goes out the window too.

Echoing Dr. Bereano’s beliefs exactly, Cummins also said:

“I believe that this is an act of premeditated genetic pollution of the gene pool of alfalfa and related plants by Monsanto. They know exactly what they’re doing.

They understand is that if you pollute enough alfalfa across the country to where it becomes impossible to grow organic alfalfa that isn’t contaminated, perhaps then the organic community will weaken and allow genetically engineered animal feed under the rules of organic production.”

Final Thoughts

In closing, I want to remind you that you and I do have the power to turn this around, but it will require steadfast avoidance of all genetically modified foods, which by and large means avoiding processed foods that contain corn, soy and canola—unless it’s USDA Certified 100% Organic. Soon this list will also include non-organic sugar beets, as GM sugar beets have also recently been approved.

It will also require steadfast sharing of information to educate those around you about the problems with GM foods and why it’s so essential to vote them off the market with your pocket book. It’s quite clear that we cannot win this fight through regulatory action, but we can still force it off our shelves and out of our fields if sufficient amounts of people simply refuse to buy these products.

What You Can Do to Help Bring About the Tipping Point

To help you do this, the Institute for Responsible Technology (IRT) has created a variety of tools that makes it easier for you to choose non-GM foods and help educate others to do the same:

1. Distribute widely the Non-GMO Shopping Guide to help you identify and avoid foods with GMOs. Remember to look for products (including organic products) that feature the Non-GMO Project Verified Seal to be sure that at-risk ingredients have been tested for GMO content.
2. Download the free iPhone application that is available in the iTunes store. You can find it by searching for ShopNoGMO in the applications.
3. You can also order the Non-GMO Shopping Guide in bulk and give it to your family and friends.
4. Join the Non-GMO Tipping Point Network, where you can connect with Local and National Non-GMO Action Groups to learn more and help get the word out about GMOs to others.
5. Bring the film Hidden Dangers in Kid’s Meals to your local access TV station, or perhaps your child’s school, along with some educational material specifically designed for teachers and educators.
6. Share Your Milk on Drugs – Just Say No!, and Jeffrey’s lecture, Everything You Have to Know About Dangerous Genetically Modified Foods with everyone you know. Post them to your Facebook page, or email the links to your network of friends and family.
7. Join the Institute for Responsible Technologies Facebook page, or follow them on Twitter.

Also support the Non-GMO Project by urging your local food retailers to join the Non-GMO Project’s Supporting Retailer Program, and food manufacturers to join and become Non-GMO Project Verified. This is currently the best way for manufacturers to get around the fact that there’s no GM-labeling system.

We deeply appreciate Dr. Mercola for allowing us to share this vital information and his interview with Dr. Phillip Bereano with our visitors today.

Connie Baum

The FTC wants you to know there are links in this post.  Should they be clicked, resulting in sales, your humble blogger would be fairly compensated.  Please do your due diligence when conducting affairs online or offline.  Always do business with those you trust implicitly

I found an ad in our newspaper that just made me want to WEEP.  The ad was full of hype about how all our favorite food combinations are on sale this week end.  They fancy we should stampede through their doors and buy all this JUNK instead of real food.  Real people need real food!

The sad truth of the matter is that people WILL flock to stores everywhere to get what they can afford to buy to fill the tummies of the people they love best.  Here are just a few examples of what I mean:

1. Young mommies will buy soy formulas for their babies
2. Tired families will load their shopping carts with chips and crackers.
3. Working men and women will purchase plastic packages of lunch meats.
4. People of every size and shape will load up on soda pop.
5. Shoppers will fill their pantries with canned soups.
6. Hungry folks will buy peanut butter and cheese “food” that is filled with inedible materials.
7. People who are determined to cook at home will opt for “helper” products which are loaded with toxicity.
8. Those who do take time to eat breakfast will choose cold cereals that are devoid of nourishment.
9. Shopping lists will include non-foods like margarine.

Shoppers will not make these choices because they are bad people.  They make these choices because they have become a habit, or they simply have not learned about the choices that would be better.  They choose the foods in our example because they can afford them.  AFTER ALL, THEY ARE LISTED IN THE SALE BILLS.  They buy these things because they presume that since the items sit on a grocery shelf, they are  automatically edible.

Not so.

Let me say that soy formulas, soy milk, soy products by any name are not good for human consumption because they interfere with hormonal function.

Chips and crackers are not good sources of vitamins or minerals, the fuel that makes the body go, no matter how good their advertising campaigns make them out to be.  Baked not fried?  No matter.  They are packaged, processed.  NO GOOD.

Soda pop and luncheon meats with all their toxic ingredients can ultimately lead to issues with the pancreas, neurological problems and dehydration.  Weight management is nearly impossible if soda pop is ingested.

Canned goods of every description are loaded with MSG or hydrolyzed protein or “emulsifiers” which might very well be powdered U.S. currency! As Jack Paar used to say, “I kid you not.”  Do you want your children eating toxic additives?  I don’t think so.

“Helper” products are a losing proposition.  The junk that is contained in those “cheap” boxes are not good for people.  You can help the flavor of the foods you cook by adding salt and pepper and spices that do not cost a fortune.  Even when helper products are offered at ‘Ten for a Dollar’ you have to know you are buying trouble!

Cold cereals are convenient, to be sure.  But they are processed and so not nutritious.  You can cook up a pot of hot cereal quick as a bunny if only you PLAN AHEAD.  And you will save a king’s ransom!

Are you  using margarine?  It’s plastic.  Cheap peanut butter has lard in it. Your body has no way of digesting margarine and lard clogs up all your plumbing.  Butter is a much better option.  Real peanut butter is far more preferable.  In the long run, these items will be cheaper.

The bottom line is that real people need real food.  Whole food.  Fresh food, if it’s available.  Frozen is acceptable; use canned if you must.

In 1936 our own government declared that the soils used for agriculture was depleted.  How much more depleted must they be by now?  It is really important that we grow as much of our own food as possible and where that is not feasible, we must find real food for our tables.  Even then, supplementation is critically important.

It’s possible your grocery list has now been seriously affected.  I hope you’ll consider these points and adjust your shopping list accordingly, because YOU are an important feature of this blog, The Healthy and Wealthy YOU.  We want you to be well and properly nourished.  Your health AND your wealth depend on that!

BTW, this post is sponsored by Real Guys Real Money. Maybe you can check them out after you put your groceries away?  Tell them The Healthy and Wealthy Crew sent you…

Connie Baum

The FTC wants you to know there are links in this post.  Should they be clicked, resulting in sales, your humble blogger would be fairly compensated.  Please do your due diligence when conducting affairs online or offline.  Always do business with those you trust implicitly

Vitamin supplements, mineral supplements provide a dizzying array of choices! Perhaps a good way to begin might be with an analysis of your health.

Are you overwhelmed and confused by what you should take to supplement your diet in order to enjoy optimum health?  Many people are.  They don’t understand the difference between vitamins and minerals and they aren’t always willing to spend money for supplements, particularly if they are unclear about WHY they might need this element or that.

The good folks at Nature’s Sunshine have demystified the whole process with their health analysis.  If you visit their website, you will find a button to the left side of your screen that says “Health Analysis” and if you click there you will be taken to a questionnaire.

It’s a painless process, very short and extremely informative.  It’s a simple matter of checking the box where you have a concern and the information is processed so you will know which elements might serve you AND WHY.

Not knowing about vitamins and minerals is one thing.  Not TAKING whatever nutritional supplements will help you be the best YOU possible is downright criminal.

Check it out, please.  You will have no reason to regret being educated and elucidated and enlightened!

Remember to wash out your mouth with soap, too, because our sponsor, ToothSoap will appreciate that.  You will LOVE ToothSoap, btw; it is the best dental care on the planet.

BE WELL!

Connie Baum

The FTC wants you to know there are links in this post.  Should they be clicked, resulting in sales, your humble blogger would be fairly compensated.  Please do your due diligence when conducting affairs online or offline.  Always do business with those you trust implicitly

One of the best things about being a blogger is that you get to brag about your kids and get away with it…especially if they are so good they make  happy front page headlines of their local newspaper:

Angela got her interest in health from her mom’s side of the house.  Her beauty came from her dad’s side.

Congratulations, Angela!

Connie Baum

The FTC wants you to know there are links in this post.  Should they be clicked, resulting in sales, your humble blogger would be fairly compensated.  Please do your due diligence when conducting affairs online or offline.  Always do business with those you trust implicitly.

Looks as if her weight loss program could be "Fearless 45"...

Personally, I’ve been 33 so many times that my size really is the most insignificant to me ever.  Time was when I obsessed over the size of my waistline.  It just isn’t one of my priorities any more.  I’m far more interested in being HEALTHY and FIT than what I look like in a swimsuit.

WHO AM I KIDDING?  Where would I WEAR a swimsuit?  It’s January, remember? grin

There is a program that piqued my interest, though.  One of my associates popped up on one of the social networking sites…he looked all buff and muscular and I was curious how he managed to make the metamorphosis from very thin to all healthy looking and fit as a fiddle in a very short time.  He declared it was “Fearless 45!”

Well, you just have to see for yourself, boys and girls.  You take a look and then make up your own mind.  As lazy as I am, I’m really tempted to GO for it!

Here’s where to find the straight skinny.  Uh, I mean the 411:

CLICK HERE TO LEARN ABOUT FEARLESS  45

Oh…just a word of caution: This is a program that is FEARLESS.  It’s nothing to toy with because it gets good results.  Scope it out.

Take a little time to reflect

Okay, people.  It’s January.  We are spending a brand new year, 2011, and everyone has their knickers in a twist over resolutions.  Let’s be bold and just reflect on a few items without making elaborate lists and “shoulding” on ourselves…

1.  Let’s begin by remembering that the body heals itself.  Our hearts know the truth and if we just allow our bodies to heal, it will happen as naturally as our breathing.

2.  Don’t be shy about expressing what you think.  It’s a healthy way to get rid of all that does not serve you.  It’s not the ONLY way; it’s one way.

3.  Stand up straight, just like your parents advised.

4.  Do you really NEED all the STUFF have?  Listen to George Carlin’s bit about it and you might just consider a thorough detox of your home!

5.  Be the sort of person others like to be with; if you do so, you won’t mind being alone.  Alone-ness and loneliness are two entirely different animals.

6.  What can you learn today?  Moreover, what can you TEACH?

7.  Do you know your direction in life?  Are you coming or going?

8.  Remember to be grateful, even when things are not going according to YOUR plan.

9.  Is FUN a part of every day of your life?  If not, you’d be wise to add some in.  Do things YOU enjoy.  Laugh.  Dance.  Sing.

10.  Who can you help today?  What do you have to share with someone?  How can you make the world a better place and make the most of who YOU are.

You may have a list of your own.   Post your comment to give us YOUR thoughts because they are important to us and others may see something of value that you have to offer.  We refer you to #10.

Connie Baum

The FTC wants you to know there are links in this post.  Should they be clicked, resulting in sales, your humble blogger would be fairly compensated.  Please do your due diligence when conducting affairs online or offline.  Always do business with those you trust implicitly.

No need to sacrifice your good health over holiday fuss...here is some pragmatic wisdom for you:

How to Have More with Less at Christmas
by Jill Cooper and Tawra Kellam

After laying down my last women’s magazine telling me how to be less stressed during the holidays, I’m even more confused and stressed then ever! On one page I’m told to take time for myself and indulge in a lovely spa bath. That sounds great, but I can hardly find time for a shower on a slow day in June let alone take a spa bath the week before Christmas.

As I turn the page, I’m told to give all my friends and family homemade ornaments to which I have lovingly glued 500 beads, each the size of a grain of sand. OK I’ll admit I’m not a rocket scientist, but I am baffled when I try to imagine how I could accomplish these two things even if I didn’t have an ever growing list of Christmas preparation tasks. Hmmm… Maybe I could lay in my spa bath carefully gluing on beads to ornaments throughout the night.

As I read on, there are articles telling me how not to gain weight at Christmas parties. Isn’t that like telling a three year old to not get dirty while making mud pies?

But it gets better. They then tell you to eat a meal before you go to the party. What? Is that some kind of new diet where you lose weight by eating two meals in the evening instead of one? If it is then I’m all for it. I mean really — who eats four carrot sticks and five pieces of celery at home then arrives at a party where they have pecan pie, five different types of fudge, 10 dozen cookies and egg nog and says “Oh no, I really couldn’t eat a thing. I’m sooooo full…?” Excuse Me! Doesn’t anyone live in the real world any more?

To top it all off -and the part I like the best- is after they tell us how to get rid of stress and not gain weight, they give us 10 pages of recipes for Christmas cookies made with real butter and cream that are decorated so elaborately in the pictures that it probably took a trained kitchen staff of 10 a week to make each cookie.

If you are like me and can’t stand that kind of stress, try some of these Christmas ideas to help you have a relaxed and Merry Christmas:

• Don’t over-spend - It may be tempting to fixate yourself on the sparkling look in little Johnny’s eye when he sees that $300 play car under the tree. Advertising people are really good at feeding many parents’ fantasies of their children thinking that mom and dad are the superheros for shelling out the cash and looking fondly back on that moment for the rest of their lives. The reality, though, is that most kids have lost all interest in that particular toy long before the credit cards are paid off.
• When we were growing up, my mom pulled out all of the stops at Christmas to make it as wonderful for us as she possibly could. The funny thing is that now that we are grown, the things we remember the most fondly are mom’s red Jello salad – made with red hots – yummy! – and sitting together and reading the Christmas story before opening our presents. I can’t remember what presents I received, but I always look back fondly on the Christmas story.
• Do a few things well - Instead of trying to do everything and ending up depressed with how it all turns out, focus your energy on a couple of things that are the most important to you. You may be tempted to extravagantly decorate every room in your house, but if you don’t have the time or energy, focus on one room, like a living or family room. If your entire house is beautiful but you have to go see a therapist when it’s all over, the romantic mystique will be lost. Trust me, I know about this one from personal experience.
• Limit activities — Don’t commit to do too many things. One or two parties during the holiday season will make you get all tingly in that “It’s a Wonderful Life” kind of way. Two or three parties a week may send you over the edge, especially if you have kids.  Refer to my therapist comments above.
• This also applies to all of those appealing looking activities around town like Victorian Christmas events, Christmas celebrations at the zoo or winter carnivals. One or two can be a lot of fun, but too many will ruin the fun.
• Limit cookie baking. Don’t try to make 15 different kinds of cookies like Martha Stewart. She may look like she is super woman, but did you know she has a lot of people that help her? How much help do you get with your baking? I mean real help, not your five year old who makes everything twice as difficult for you. This is great for grandma, but you have to see your daughter every day and grandma can send her back when the house is sufficiently covered in flour. Again, pick your two or three most favorite or traditional cookies to bake and celebrate the fact that you had few enough priorities that you remembered to put the sugar in them.

• Everything doesn’t have to be homemade. I know that we advocate making your own stuff, but Marie Callender’s makes some great pies that you can pass off as homemade if you want to soothe your guilty Martha Stewart conscience. In 20 years, your kids will look fondly back on it as the best pie they ever had. Seriously, if you are making things homemade just to save money, remember that some things like candies and pies are often more expensive to make homemade, especially if you cut your finger while slicing the apples. Don’t ask me how I know, just trust me on this one.

These aren’t the only things you can do to reduce your stress, but if you stick to doing a few things well, you can truly relax and enjoy the season with your family. In the end, they would rather have fond memories of their time with you than memories of how strung out mom was after she burned the cookies.

Jill Cooper and Tawra Kellam are frugal living experts and the authors of the Dining On A Dime Cookbook. Dining On A Dime will help you save money on groceries and get out of debt, by cooking quick and simple homemade meals. For free tips & recipes visit Living On A Dime.

It’s great fun to have Jill and Tawra chime in on this post.  We thank them for their pragmatism and their humor.  If you have not indulged yourself by procuring any of their great products, you are in for a treat…and it will not mean loss of great wealth because all of their products are quite affordable.  Not stressing will advance your health and well being, too!

Connie Baum

The FTC wants you to know there are links in this post.  Should they be clicked, resulting in sales, your humble blogger would be fairly compensated.  Please do your due diligence when conducting affairs online or offline.  Always do business with those you trust implicitly.

There's a great lot of buzz about being as well as can be with simple honey and yummy cinnamon!

In Part I of our message about the health benefits of honey and cinnamon we discussed heart issues, arthritis and cholesterol.  This time around, let’s see what good things can happen with more  issues commonly encountered:

COLDS and FLU: It’s getting to be that time of year, eh?  Rather than pay big money for over the counter or prescription remedies, you could try something different.  Here’s one solution:  Those suffering from common or severe colds should take one tablespoon lukewarm honey with 1/4 spoon cinnamon powder daily for three days. This process will cure most chronic cough, cold, and clear the sinuses.   Here is a pragmatic way to deal with  miserable flu symptoms, as well: A  Spanish scientist has proven that honey contains a natural ‘ ingredient’ which kills the influenza germs and saves the patient from flu..

UPSET STOMACH: The holiday season may find some of us with a finicky tummy from too many goodies or the stress of seasonal activities.  Here is a nifty solution: Honey taken with cinnamon powder cures stomach ache and also clears stomach ulcers from the root.

FLATULENCE aka gas: Not only is this uncomfy; it can be downright embarrassing.  Here’s an interesting resolution for an annoying problem: According to the studies done in India and Japan , it was revealed that honey, taken with cinnamon powder,  relieves the stomach of gas.  WHO KNEW?

You may be astonished to learn about these simple and cost effective ways to maintain a healthy body.  You may also be astonished to learn that very serious ailments are greatly helped by the use of Energy Medicine.

For more information about being healthy and wealthy without toxic drugs or draconian treatments please visit The Healing Codes. But hurry, because your well being depends on it!

Connie Baum

The FTC wants you to know there are links in this post.  Should they be clicked, resulting in sales, your humble blogger would be fairly compensated.  Please do your due diligence when conducting affairs online or offline.  Always do business with those you trust implicitly.

We are buzzin' about... HONEY...and CINNAMON!

Someone I love  a lot once gave me this advice:

“If three people tell someone he’s drunk, he’d better go lie down.”

Your humble blogger mentions this because the Inbox had the same message three times this morning.  We can only presume some of you have seen this same information.  Some of it is being shared here today because clearly it can impact your health for the better and part of the reason Mother Connie wakes up every morning is to help people be as well as can be.

Here are three reasons why you would be wise to add HONEY AND CINNAMON to your daily regimen:

1.  HEART ISSUES:

You can make a paste of honey and cinnamon powder, apply on bread or toast, instead of jelly and jam, and eat it regularly for breakfast. That would reduce cholesterol in the arteries and save one from heart attack. Also, for those who have already had an attack, if they do this process daily, they are kept miles away from the next attack.  Regular use of the above process relieves loss of breath and strengthens the heart beat.  In America and Canada , various nursing homes have treated patients successfully and have found that as aging progresses, the arteries and veins lose their flexibility and get clogged; honey and cinnamon revitalize the arteries and veins.

2.  ARTHRITIS:

Arthritis patients may take daily, morning and night, one cup of hot water with two spoons of honey and one small teaspoon of cinnamon powder. If taken regularly even chronic arthritis can be cured. In a recent research conducted at the Copenhagen University, it was found that when the doctors treated their patients with a mixture of one tablespoon Honey and half teaspoon cinnamon powder before breakfast, they found that within a week, out of the 200 people so treated,  73 patients were totally relieved of pain, and within a month, mostly all the patients who could not walk or move around because of arthritis started walking without pain.

3.  CHOLESTEROL:

Two tablespoons of honey and three teaspoons of cinnamon powder mixed in 16 ounces of tea water, given to a cholesterol patient, was found to reduce the level of cholesterol in the blood by 10 percent within two hours.   As mentioned for arthritic patients, if taken three times a day, any chronic cholesterol is cured. According to information received in the said Journal, pure honey taken with food daily relieves complaints of cholesterol.

*Mother Connie notes that these remedies are not only tasty but cost effective as well.  And they are so easy, even a child can do them!

Energy Medicine is also extremely effective in dealing with any health issues that may be problematic.  For more information, just click on these words.  But hurry, because it’s really, really important.

Connie Baum

The FTC wants you to know there are links in this post.  Should they be clicked, resulting in sales, your humble blogger would be fairly compensated.  Please do your due diligence when conducting affairs online or offline.  Always do business with those you trust implicitly.

Mother Connie has shared many articles and facts regarding MSG; she has warned her visitors about the evils of processed foods which contain the bad stuff for a long, long time. She cringes to think that she ever purchased Accent when it was introduced to the market in the 1960s. Who knows what havoc it wreaked until the truth came out? MSG is one of the chief reasons why eating out is very seldom an option.  MSG is hard enough to avoid in your own kitchen; who knows where it might lurk in restaurants and cafes?

Please read what Dr. Mercola has to say about MSG or hydrolized protein or any of the other pseudonyms it has been given. You will be enlightened and relieved to know the real deal.

We also encourage you to visit some of the sponsors of this blog: Rapid Cash Marketing and ToothSoap are top-o-the-line vendors and they have quality products and services to solve problems you may be experiencing.

Connie Baum

The FTC wants you to know there are links in this post. Should they be clicked, resulting in sales, your humble blogger would be fairly compensated. Please do your due diligence when conducting affairs online or offline. Always do business with those you trust implicitly.