HONEY & BRAIN CELLS

For this to be true, you must consume fresh, raw, local honey.  A lot of brands will label their product as raw, and they very well may be. But if you're living in San Antonio, Texas and the honey manufacturer is from Springfield, Illinois, you're not getting the most nutritious honey.  But local, raw honey.  Honey is a powerful food, again a statement that only means something if you buy raw and local honey.  Yes, honey solidifies on the shelf after a certain number of months.  If the honey you buy is solid, then more than likely it has been on the shelf for a long time and it is not fresh from your local bee farmer.  Fresh, raw, and local honey will have the consistency of soft guava paste.  It will be slightly opaque and not clear.

And the way that honey works on the brain is through the nerve cells and neurotransmitters in your gut.  It has anti-septic properties as well as anti-biotic properties.  

Y.S. Organic Bee Farms raw honey is very popular.  Notice the color.  Where is it?  Bee pollen is at least yellow or golden.  Also, though this honey claims organic status, it should be nutrient-packed and you should feel those nutrients, not just a sugar boost.  I have personally tried this brand and variety of honey. The flavor is a deep, rich honey flavor.  But I did not feel any health benefits from it.  And without the health benefits, it functions and metabolizes like any other sugar, molasses, stevia, etc.

According to Benefits of Honey, ". . . some honey varieties have more medicinal value than others due to its higher anti-bacterial properties e.g New Zealand's Manuka UMF 10+ and above, Malaysia's Tualang honey, Yemeni Sidr honey and European honeydew honey. Such varietals of honey are tagged 10 or 20 times more in price than regular honey and are simply beyond the reach of many consumers' purchasing power. So, these expensive varietals are usually not consumed on a daily basis but kept as a treasure for treating burns, cuts, coughs, sore-throats, infections, and other ills. But of course there are people who somehow believe only in Manuka and consume it daily (and they have tried to convince me that that is the only honey worth eating)."

Another brand of honey that I've tried and liked the flavor of is Really Raw Honey.  But again I didn't experience detectable health benefits. Only a delicious form of sugar.

Rainbow Acres is a local market/deli that sells health products.  They make some decent bee pollen, but was not able to locate any honey, raw or otherwise.

Bennett's Honey is another local bee farm in Los Angeles area.

Bill's Bees sells wildflower honey.  This sounds good, since wildflowers offer a variety early in spring.

LAETRILE COVER-UP

Dr. Mercola has posted at his website this video and article.  It is about the cover-up on the benefits of Laetrile for a cancer treatment.  The author of the article is Mercola himself as is indicated by the by-line.  But after transcribing just a few paragraphs, I began to realize that Mercola transfers his own biases with Laetrile.  Toward the end, he explains that "Some Laetrile proponents claim that it's more toxic to cancer cells than to normal cells.  Getting cyanide poisoning from apple seeds or almonds is extremely unlikely."  Not only is it extremely unlikely, it's extremely rare.  I mean extremely.  If you want the real scoop on Laetrile and on Sloan Kettering as a fraudulent institutions, see G. Edward Griffin's book World Without Cancer.  By far the best book on cancer as well as the best book on the medical industrial complex and how it poisons people.  Yep, poisons people.  

From the beginning, Mercola distorts the story on Laetrile, saying that "Kettering's Board of Directors swept positive findings . . . under the rug."  Which they did.  But what were the positive findings.  Mercola doesn't say. The positive findings were that Laetrile killed cancer cells.  How's that for positive findings?  

More from Mercola . . . .

If you are old enough, you might recall a controversy in the early 1970s regarding the compound Laetrile, purported to prevent the spread of cancer. New York's Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center was ground zero in that firestorm.  In the early 1970s, America's war on cancer was in full force, and Sloan Kettering was regarded as one of the world's leading cancer research centers.  

But Sloan Kettering's Board of Directors swept positive findings about Laetrile under the rug when it became unprofitable and publicly unpopular for them to support it.  

Their Laetrile research was done under their own roof by one of the world's most respected cancer researchers of the day--Dr. Kanematsu Sugiura. One person--and only one--has come forward with the truth about what turned out to be one of the most reprehensible cover-ups in the history of cancer research.  

In 1974, young science writer Ralph Moss had just netted his first big-time job in Sloan Kettering's public relations department, but he soon found himself smack dab in the middle of the Laetrile fiasco.  

In July 1977, Moss was no longer willing to lie on behalf of his employer, so he exposed the truth about Sloan Kettering's conduct at a highly publicized press conference.  The next business day he was fired and swiftly escorted to the door by armed guards.

WHAT IS LAETRILE

Laetrile is the patented drug made from the natural compound Amygdalin, found in the seeds of many fruits, such as apricot, plum and peach pits, apple seeds, and quince, as well as in almonds.  Laetrile is also known as Amigdalina, B-17 or Vitamin B17, although there is very little evidence that it warrants classification as a vitamin. 

Amygdalin contains glucose, benzaldehyde, and cyanide.  Cyanide is believed to be the active cancer-toxic ingredient in Laetrile.  However, cyanide is toxic to all cells, so Laetrile's overall toxicity is a concern.

Some Laetrile proponents claim that it's more toxic to cancer cells than to normal cells.  Getting cyanide poisoning from apple seeds or almonds is extremely unlikely.

In 1924, Laetrile was synthesized from amygdalin and promoted as a cancer treatment.  By 1978, it was estimated that more than 70,000 Americans had tried it--despite its being banned in the US since 1963.  Most people obtained Laetrile from Tijuana clinics, as the agent is still legal in Mexico."

If you  are considering buying and taking bitter almonds, you might want to read this article by Sarah C. Corriher where she explains that "Most almonds are pasteurized with Propylene oxide.  Propylene oxide is a known carcinogen, and it is on California'sProposition 65 list of chemicals that are known to cause both cancer and reproductive harm.  This means that the majority of almonds sold in the U.S. are not only nutritionally neutralized, but contain dangerous chemical toxins as well.  Remember that before the F.D.A. decided almonds must be tainted, almonds were so healthful that they could quickly cure cancer without side effects in most test subjects.  Alternative medicine's magic bullet just had to go!"

How the health for your body hasn't become a war against powerful interests is not hard to see.

iHEAR

Not exactly a food remedy, but effective and inexpensive.

ANOTHER REASON TO EAT TURMERIC
Mercola claims that it's more potent than Vitamin D3 in fighting cancer. 
Read more . . . .

Hydrochloric Acid: It Does a Body Good

How important is hydrochloric acid to general well-being?  Turns out very important. Dr. Rob D'Aquila explains that "A need for hydrochloric acid supplementation is definitely one of the most common things I see in patients. Especially those patients who complain of digestive difficulties like bloating, gas, diarrhea, constipation, yeast overgrowth (even vaginal), and even heartburn. Additionally, patients who complain that they “lost the taste” for meat tend to need HCl as well. Lastly, it should be investigated in everyone with mineral deficiency symptoms, especially osteoporosis."

Nutritionist and Certified Trainer, Brad Sly, observes, "The digestive system is really the corner stone of our wellbeing, as it is involved in so many processes. If our digestive system is in order, we feel great, we can perform at the level we want, and we can push ourselves to make bigger and better gains in the gym. If our gut health is poor, we can end up with impaired immune and nervous systems, and it can also wreak havoc with our hormonal function throughout the body."

He made an interesting point about coffee, which I had suspected, and that is that the caffeine renders the gut more permeable and can . . . can lead to a leaky gut.  Not good.  Not good at all.

WHAT ROLE ZINC?

Both Sly and D'Aquila note the importance of zinc in the repair, maintenance, and formation of HCL.

D'Aquila explains that zinc plays an important role in the formation of hydrochloric acid, ". . . it takes more energy to make HCl in the body than any other chemical. Additionally, the mineral zinc is absolutely necessary to make it. Hydrochloric acid production is formed by the interaction of carbon dioxide and water, which is mediated by an enzyme called carbonic anhydrase, which is zinc-dependent. As a result, I always supplement zinc when I find a patient needs HCl, and then eventually wean them off the HCl. By the way, a generally accepted reliable indicator of the need for more zinc is white spots on the finger nails. I can’t find conclusive scientific evidence for this, however, I’ve had personal experience with it and also with my patients."

He finishes by saying that the best way to fix HCI deficiency is that ". . . 90% of the time, the patient must alter their diet. Very often, HCl supplementation is one of the main solutions." 

HOW TO REPAIR THE GUT?

Sly recommends the following. 

"In this first step we remove the offending foods and toxins from your diet that could be acting as stressors on your system. This means caffeine, alcohol, processed foods, bad fats, and any other foods you think may be causing issues, like gluten and dairy. All of these all irritate the gut in some form and create an inflammatory response."

Though not surprised I was disappointed to read this.  Not for any perceived or tested inaccuracy but for the inclusion of dairy as a stressor. Yes, I've heard how dairy is inflammatory, but I'd always thought that at least in its purer forms that it was actually beneficial for your immune system.  Must be a kind of inflammatory but perhaps in certain amounts or for certain conditions it is beneficial.

 

He continues, "The next step is to begin to repair the gut and heal the damaged intestinal lining. You do this by consuming an unprocessed diet and giving your body time to rest by providing it with substances that are known to heal the gut, like L-glutamine, omega-3 fatty acids, zinc, antioxidants (in the form of vitamins A, C, and E), quercitin, aloe vera, and turmeric."

FOOD REMEDIES FOR THE GUT

Marilee Nelson explains that eating ". . . unpasteurized unheated salt-free sauerkraut . . . helps to raise stomach acid "if" it is too low, and it lowers stomach acid "if" it is too high. Eating 1/4 to 1/2 cup of sauerkraut with meals is very helpful to the digestive system. I recommend making your own or buying Rejuvenative Foods.

Here is a second article on the importance of this acid and how to rebuild it.