You're NOT alone. . .

There has been an immense amount of research of late emphasizing the crucial role bacteria play in our overall health.  It's important to know that over 90% of the DNA that makes up each and every one of us is not our own.  It's that of the countless numbers of bacteria that call us "home".  It's a symbiotic relationship that we are only beginning to understand let alone appreciate the importance of, and the truth of the matter is our health depends greatly on this relationship.  Maybe more accurately put our health depends on the delicate balance of good versus bad bacteria, with good controlling the bad of course.  I think this is one of the amazing details in some of the latest research; the fact that our bodies naturally harbor both (good and bad), but as long as we provide the proper environment for healthy bacteria to flourish keeping the "bad guys" in check we stay healthy.  It's when our bodies, through improper diet and exposure to external toxins, becomes more habitable for bad bacteria do we ultimately suffer.

Take for instance dental hygiene.  Many prominent dental experts (those that have broken away from the false traditional medical way of thinking) conclude that the majority of your dental health, or lack thereof, is a result of diet and not how many times you visit the dentist; or how you brush; or how many times a day you brush. . . it's all about maintaining the proper "friendly bacteria" environment.  The same goes for every inch of real estate these friendly and not so friendly companions call home.  And it's basically EVERY INCH!

Research on this subject is simply fascinating and may be the most important of its kind.  The better we understand how directly and unavoidably tied our overall state of health is to the choices we make on what we put into our mouths or on our bodies, the better we will understand how to avoid or cure disease.  The link below is an amazing article about just that, and is a must read if staying (or getting) healthy is important to you.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/08/26/mucus-phages.aspx

We are partners in this journey of life, like a high rise apartment for micro-organisms of every kind, and although outnumbered by these symbiotic roommates that call us home, it's ultimately the decisions we make that set the tone.  So do yourself a favor and make the next decision on what to eat a healthy one.  Your healthy immune fighting allies will thank you!

Pharmaceutical facts you should know!

Did you know that livestock antibiotic use accounts for nearly 80% (if not more) of the antibiotics sold in the U.S.!

That sentence alone should get your undivided attention.  Because even if you're not one of the millions of Americans that regularly take some sort of pharmaceutical, if you consume factory farmed (i.e. store bought) meats, eggs, and dairy, you are indirectly consuming the antibiotic cocktail fed to these factory farmed animals.

More importantly though may just be the fact that you are unknowingly contributing to the rise in 'Superbugs' (antibiotic resistant bacteria).  Superbugs are a hot topic of late and for good reason.  Antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria such as TB, Meningitis, Pneumonia, and Typhoid fever are on the rise, and this can only spell disaster for such an unhealthy nation!

So you may be wondering then why this massive consumption of antibiotics by livestock is often not "front page news worthy" with any of the major mainstream news outlets?

Factory farming and Pharmaceutical companies are big business.  BIG business!  And with CAFO's (concentrated animal feeding operations) being such an unhealthy hot bed for breeding bacteria, their only option is to try and give the unhealthy animals a preventative pharma-cocktail.  It's a win win for both industries. . . but a lose lose for everyone else (people, animals, earth)!

If being healthy is your top priority, and if not contributing to the poisoning of nature in all its many forms is a cause-worthy added bonus, then say no to CAFO's!  Say no to GMO's!  Say no to Factory Farming and if possible pharmaceuticals!  And support your local organic sustainable farmers!  Plant you own garden and fight the urge to use pesticides.  Raise your own backyard free-range laying hens and experience what a healthy egg should taste like. . . yoke and all!
 

Sustainability is more than a way of life

Its a state of mind!  Or at least that's how it feels when your surrounded by people that support this philosophy of working with nature and giving back more than you take.  My wife and I do our best to live our lives by this belief, and supporting small local farms and businesses that do the same is our way of doing our part.  Sure we have a flock of backyard laying hens and a medium sized garden that allows us to experience these organic sustainable practices first hand, but with barely an acre and a quarter we can only do so much.  And that's where being a patron to others that have the means to do more comes into play. 

When you can say you know (personally) those who raised the meat that you eat, or the fruits and vegetables at the farm stand that you enjoy fresh or canned, or the wine that pairs perfectly with dinner, or the coffee that gets you going in the morning; it's an amazing and rewarding feeling! 

Some people have to travel half way around the world to some remote location to reach that state of mind that they so desire, but for me its merely a car drive away!  Be it around the corner or less then a half day's drive, its equally rewarding knowing that your supporting (and of course enjoying) the fruits of someone's labor that has taken the time to do it right.

Be a proud supporter and patron your local organic farms and businesses!

Biotech companies or government watchdogs?

These days it has become near impossible to differentiate between the biotech giants that want nothing more than to take total control over our food system with their ever growing number of patented GM seeds, and the very government watchdogs that are appointed to police such business with our (the general public's) best interest at heart.  

It's been dubbed the "revolving door policy", where those with personal / profit driven interest in our food system (food manufactures, chemical companies, biotech companies, etc.) rotate like shift work between these "companies with interest" and the very federal regulatory agencies policing them (FDA, USDA, EPA).  

Kind of like the Mafia days of Al Capone and the like, where the general public couldn't trust the police for fear that they were employed by the very thugs they were looking for protection against... take a look at the link below and you'll see what I mean.

http://media.mercola.com/ImageServer/public/2012/january/study1-big.jpg

This is why you can't trust these government agencies when it comes to your better interest (your health).  The only true way to fight the system is to make the conscious decision NOT to support GMO's, and this can only be done by choosing NOT to buy products that contain / were made from genetically modified anything!  

Unfortunately though these companies have become wise to this and therefore we must make a conscious effort not to indirectly support such research and development as well.  This means avoid when possible those organic brands that are affiliated with these biotech giants.  The organic community is growing and with this movement so comes the "dirty deeds" by the very companies that oppose organic standards.  They simply take the "if you can't beat them, join them" approach, or at least that's what they want you to believe... but you can be assured that ALL profits gained by the sale of an organic brand owned by a non-organic company (or any company that supports GMO's), will no doubt be used to fund GMO development.  And if and when they get their way, that is GMO's in all foods without labeling, they will stop production of their organic non-GMO brand. Take my word for it!