Pesticides

Recieved a very interesting article on pesticides and fruit. This website gives you a list of 47 fruits and vegetables and the amounts of different pesticides each one was tested to have on it. There's a lot of info as to the effects pesticides cause, why nothing's been done about it, how to avoid pesticides, effects it has on children and so on and so forth.

Here's the link: http://ow.ly/3CQu and here's the table. IF you have any other info to add, please feel free to share. Whether or not these rankings change if you peel the food is not certain (by me). If you know, let me know :)

RANK	FRUIT OR VEGGIE	SCORE
1 (worst)	Peach	100 (highest pesticide load)
2	Apple	93
3	Sweet Bell Pepper	83
4	Celery	82
5	Nectarine	81
6	Strawberries	80
7	Cherries	73
8	Kale	69
9	Lettuce	67
10	Grapes - Imported	66
11	Carrot	63
12	Pear	63
13	Collard Greens	60
14	Spinach	58
15	Potato	56
16	Green Beans	53
17	Summer Squash	53
18	Pepper	51
19	Cucumber	50
20	Raspberries	46
21	Grapes - Domestic	44
22	Plum	44
23	Orange	44
24	Cauliflower	39
25	Tangerine	37
26	Mushrooms	36
27	Banana	34
28	Winter Squash	34
29	Cantaloupe	33
30	Cranberries	33
31	Honeydew Melon	30
32	Grapefruit	29
33	Sweet Potato	29
34	Tomato	29
35	Broccoli	28
36	Watermelon	26
37	Papaya	20
38	Eggplant	20
39	Cabbage	17
40	Kiwi	13
41	Sweet Peas - Frozen	10
42	Asparagus	10
43	Mango	9
44	Pineapple	7
45	Sweet Corn - Frozen	2
46	Avocado	1
47 (best)	Onion	1 (lowest pesticide load)

Note: We ranked a total of 47 different fruits and vegetables but grapes are listed twice because we looked at both domestic and imported samples.

Something to remember about Grains...

I found this article on section89.blogspot.com and thought it would help add to everyone's knowledge store house on grains. Everyone says "whole grain is better than processed grain" but I never really understood WHY and WHAT whole grains were? here was an article that help me better understand the questions I've been asking all these years.

The link to the article can be found here

Whole Grains Guide

Written by Gloria Tsang, RD
Published in Dec 2005; Updated in Aug 2007

(HealthCastle.com) You've probably heard a lot about how good for you whole grains can be. But do you really know what whole grains are – or why they're so beneficial?

A grain is considered whole when all three parts – bran, germ and endosperm – are present. Most people know that fruits and vegetables contain beneficial phytochemicals and antioxidants, but many do not realize that whole grains are often an even better source of these key nutrients. In fact, whole grains are a good source of B vitamins, Vitamin E, magnesium, iron and fiber, as well as other valuable antioxidants not found in some fruits and vegetables. Most of the antioxidants and vitaminsare found in the germ and the bran of a grain.

	Common Types of Whole Grains: wild rice brown rice whole wheat oatmeal whole oats barley whole rye bulgar popcorn Less Common Types of Whole Grains: amaranth millet quinoa sorghum triticale

Recommendations on Whole Grains

Whole grains have been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease by decreasing cholesterol levels, blood pressure, and blood coagulation. Whole grains have also been found to reduce the risks of many types of cancer. They may also help regulate blood glucose in people living with diabetes. Other studies have also shown that people who consume more whole grains consistently weigh less than those who consumed less whole grain products.

In January 2005, the US government published the new Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005. One of the new guidelines recommends that all adults eat half their grains as whole grains – that's at least 3 servings of whole grains a day.

Increase whole grain intake: An easy way to increase whole grain intake is to replace some of your refined-grain products with whole grain products.

• have a slice of whole grain bread to replace your white bread
• have a serving of whole grain breakfast cereal in the morning
• substitute half the white flour with whole wheat flour in your regular recipes for cookies, muffins, quick breads and pancakes
• add brown rice, wild rice or barley in your vegetable soup
• snack on popcorn instead of chips on movie nights

Check labels carefully! Foods labelled with the words "multi-grain," "stone-ground," "100% wheat," "cracked wheat," "seven-grain," or "bran" are usually not whole-grain products. Color is also not an indication of a whole grain. Brown does not necessary mean whole wheat or whole grain! Some brown bread has brown coloring added to achieve the brown color!

When determining if a packaged food product contains whole grain or not, look for the word "whole" in the ingredient list. Also look for the Whole Grain Stamp (see above examples). A "good source" stamp contains at least 1/2 serving of whole grains while an "excellent source" contains at least 1 serving of whole grains.

Welcome to our New Beginnings!

Hi all! this blog is going to be dedicated to health, nutrition, body treatment, healing the body naturally and more. If you have info that would be beneficial for everyone to read, please post it or send it my way. I'm hoping this blog can become a learning and sharing tool for everyone who has the slightest bit of love for the magic of the human body and the healing properties of the foods Mother Nature has given to us. I'm no expert in these fields but my goal is to share my experiences I've had with others in hope to help them find answers that they may be looking for and visa versa.

My idea's on health and respect for the body may differ from most people but that's the beauty of having a free opinion. If yours differs from mine in anyway don't be afraid to let me know POLITELY *please*. One too many times I've been told that I'm going to hell because I don't eat meat. If you feel that way too or have other harsh intentions to belittle someones opinion then please keep it to yourself. I want this to blog to be a welcoming and sharing space where people feel safe to say what they have to say, not a space of judgment and ridicule.

My hope for this blog is to document the knowledge I've gained and that other's have gained and store it so that I, and other people, can come back and recall on information that they once read that was really inspiring or handy.

So let the pool of knowledge and sharing begin. Recipes, articles, questions, books, book discussions, what you heard at the market the other day, effective exercises, weight loss and all things body, health and spirit related is welcome!