Natural News

October 2007

Natural Colors in Fruits and Vegetables May Be Good for Us:

   A study by researchers at Ohio State University has concluded that naturally occurring blue, red and purple coloring in fruits and vegetables plays a role in preventing cancer.  The chemicals responsible for the colors, anthocyananins, not only stopped the growth of colon cancer cells in their tests, but in some cases even destroyed those that already existed.  The researchers used extracts of grapes, radishes, purple corn, chokeberries, bilberries, purple and black carrots, and elderberries.
   ""There are more than 600 different anthocyanins found in nature," Monica Giusti, lead author of the study, is quoted as stating.  "While we know that the concentration of anthocyanins in the GI tract is ultimately affected by their chemical structures, we're just beginning to scratch the surface of understanding how the body absorbs and uses these different structures."  She also suggests that: "It is possible to use natural, anthocyanin-based food colorants instead of synthetic dyes.   Doing so still maintains the wonderful colors of foods while enhancing their health-promoting properties."


Source

Ohio State University News Article by Holly Wagner

---

Herb Day:

   The second Saturday of October, October 13th this year, is Herb Day, a day to celebrate herbs, the marvelous variety of plants that we can use to flavor our food, to provide beauty and fragrance, and to help our bodies remain healthy.  Herb Day was started in 2006 by a coalition of non-profit organizations seeking to promote the use of herbs by educating people as to how to safely use them for culinary, beauty care and healing purposes.
   Any one who wishes can organize an event in their own community to celebrate this day.


Source

The Herb Day.Org website has a listing of events around the country.   Their site also has interesting information and FAQs on herbs and their use.

---

Fair Trade

   October is Fair Trade Month.  Fair Trade is about much more than the price of a product.  It involves a whole system of economic justice.  Farm workers are paid a fair price, have adequate housing and safe working conditions.  They are able to provide schools and healthcare for their families.  They are free to organize.  Child labor and forced labor are absent.   Farmers use sustainable farming practices.
   Transfair USA is a non-profit, independent certifier of fair trade products imported into the United States.  They maintain a rigorous audit system that verifies industry compliance.  Look for their "Fair Trade Certified" label on the products you buy.
   Global Exchange is sponsoring "reverse trick or treating" this Halloween.  Children will go door to door handing out leaflets about fair trade cocoa, and giving out samples of fair trade chocolate.


Sources

Global Exchange

Transfair USA

United Students for Fair Trade

---

September 2007

Interactions Between Natural and Conventional Medicines:

   A recent study by the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada found that interactions between traditional herbal medicine and conventional drugs may be more common than many people think.   While herbal medicines are certainly safer than many conventional drugs, they are nonetheless capable of powerfully effecting our bodies and  can cause reactions when used in combination with drugs.  (Even some common foods, such as grapefruit, for instance, can have an effect on how drugs act on our bodies.)

    Because herbs have been used for many centuries, the expected effect on our bodies is very well documented.  Conventional drugs are new on the scene and we cannot necessarily predict how they will interact with each other or with herbs or foods.   Interactions between gingko and the blood-thinner class of drugs that includes warfarin are well documented.  Likewise, the effect that St. John's wort may have on some prescription drugs has now been established.  In other cases, interactions have not been well documented or sufficiently studied.  Indications are that herbs and drugs do not interact by causing a toxic substance to be formed.  Instead, some herbs may increase the potency of a conventional drug, others may lessen the effectiveness of a conventional drug.

   If you must take conventional drugs, it is a good idea to tell your doctor what herbs and supplements you are also taking, research the possibility of interactions, and carefully observe your own  physical reactions.


Sources

Checking for Possible Herb-Drug Interactions by Subhuti Dharmananda, Ph.D., Director, Institute for Traditional Medicine, Portland, Oregon

Medicine - Herb/Food Interactions by holisticonline.com

Potential Herb-Drug Interactions by George L. Schmidt, O.D.

Selected Herb-Drug Interactions by University of Michigan Health System

---

Weird News:

   As of September 1 the USDA is requiring that all raw almonds be pasteurized, but will allow them to be labeled "raw" nevertheless.  This action is in response to two outbreaks of salmonella in 2001 and 2004 that were traced to raw almonds.  Some small growers have pointed out that the salmonella resulted from poor sanitary conditions on factory farms, and had nothing to do with the almonds themselves.  (Almonds are not by nature good carriers of salmonella.)  However, the USDA has decided to "protect us" nonetheless.

    All commercial almonds, conventional or organic, that are grown in the US are now required to be pasteurized, either by steam or by the more common method of gassing with propylene oxide.  Propylene oxide is a chemical fumigant that is a suspected carcinogen and is banned in Europe, Canada, Mexico and many other countries.  Either method is expensive and the new ruling may put many small American almond growers - most US almonds are grown in California - out of business.

   The only exception to the new rule is almonds that are marketed at local farm stands.  Since many of us who pay a lot of money for raw almonds would probably prefer that they be actually raw and not laced with carcinogens (but will not be able to go to California to buy them at farmstands) natural food distributors are looking for overseas sources of raw almonds.

   We, the consumers, whether we buy our almonds raw or "raw" can expect to pay more for them this year.


Sources

Environmental News Network

Washington Post

---

CARE Rejects US Food Aid:

   CARE, one of the largest aid organizations in the world, announced late in August that it would no longer accept US food aid under the "Food for Peace" program.  "We came to the realization that if we wanted to do what was in the best interest of poor people and efficiency in aid, that this wasn't it," stated Helene Gayle, president of CARE.   "I think people are becoming more sophisticated and understand that if we don't make economies more self-sufficient, we're just perpetuating these cycles of poverty.   They're starting to understand that this doesn't help in the long run."

   The US government purchases nearly 2 billion dollars a year of surplus US crops that are given to aid organizations.  The organizations are required to ship the food in US ships and it is sold to raise money for poverty programs: a process that is called "monetization".

    A recent study by the GAO (Government Accounting Office, an investigative agency of Congress) indicates that with the rising expense of shipping food, the program is only half as effective as it was 5 years ago.  
A report by Oxfam states that under the current food-aid system, food takes months to deliver and costs as much as 50% more than purchasing local food.  Other critics of the US food-aid program point out that the system is subsidizing cheap corn and soy (which are the building blocks of the junk food industry) in the United States, and harming domestic farmers in other countries.  They would like to see the money used directly in the countries that need it, either to buy local food for emergencies or to fund programs for helping local farmers.

    This development comes as Congress is debating renewal of the Farm Bill, a bill that will set agricultural policy for the next five years.


Sources

Albion Monitor

allafrica.com

The Independent

Union Leader

---

Breastfeeding and Organic Food:

   A recent study of women in the Netherlands concluded that mothers who ate organic meat and dairy had higher levels of essential fatty acids in their breast milk than those who ate non-organic meat and dairy.Specifically, they had higher levels of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), a beneficial type of fat that plays a role in regulating body fat and helps infants form strong immune systems.


Sources

Cornucopia Institute

British Journal of Nutrition