Wisconsin Man Argues Right to Sell Raw Milk

FOOD

Wisconsin man argues right to sell raw milk

By Chris Hubbuch

La Crosse Tribune

VIROQUA, WI

Max Kane Farley thinks unpasteurized milk saved his life.

The Chicago native, who goes by Max Kane, was diagnosed with the digestive disorder Crohn's disease at age 10.

He suffered abdominal and joint pain. He had thin bones and only 110 pounds on his 5 foot 10 frame.

"I looked like someone who came out of a German concentration camp," Kane said.

After 13 years, he heard about the primal diet — raw meat, raw eggs, raw milk. He gained 80 pounds, and his symptoms went away, he said. He hasn't needed medication in five years.

He credits raw milk and has devoted himself full-time to promoting its benefits and helping others get it. He rode his bike 3,600 miles, mostly on a raw dairy diet.

The 32-year-old, who lives in Viroqua, founded a Chicago-based club through which members could buy unpasteurized dairy products.

That's put him at the center of a legal battle over the state's authority to regulate food sales.

The thirst for raw milk has been growing, attracting the notice of lawmakers and health officials. As a bill to legalize the sale of unpasteurized milk makes its way through the Wisconsin Legislature, the state is cracking down on black market sales.

Kane's case started in March, after the mother of an ill 16-year-old told health officials he'd drank raw milk she got from Kane's club, Belle's Lunchbox. Although tests did not link the illness to milk, Illinois officials notified Wisconsin officials.

Kane received a letter requesting details about his club, his providers, handling practices and licenses, as well as tax returns.

He sent a "cease and desist" letter stating the department had no jurisdiction over his club and accusing officials of violating the Constitution and state law. He threatened to sue.

The state subpoenaed him.

Kane will get his chance today in Vernon County Court to explain his position.

Raw dairy proponents say unpasteurized milk is tastier, healthier and easier to digest. It has been touted as curing everything from asthma to lactose intolerance and childhood behavior problems.

Federal and state officials say uncooked animal products are dangerous and can carry bacteria capable of causing illness and death.

"All it takes is a fleck of manure on a cow's teat and you've got contamination," Department of Agriculture spokeswoman Donna Gilson said.

Raw milk advocates say the benefits far outstrip the risks.

Twenty-eight states allow on-farm sales of raw milk. In nine, consumers can buy raw milk in stores.

The Department of Agriculture estimates a couple dozen Wisconsin farmers sell raw milk.


Copyright ©2009 The Appleton Post-Crescent. All Rights Reserved.

Study; Coffee and Tea may Reduce Diabetes Risk

DIABETES

Study; Coffee and Tea may Reduce Diabetes Risk
It's possible that there's something in coffee and tea that lowers diabetes risk, but that something is likely not caffeine

Garden of Healing®

People who drink tea or coffee, even if it's decaf, seem to have a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes, according to a review of studies reported this week.

The study, appearing in the Archives of Internal Medicine, was a meta-analysis, meaning it reviewed all the literature on coffee, tea, and diabetes risk. The researchers, led by Rachel Huxley, of the George Institute for International Health at the University of Sydney, narrowed their review down to 18 studies published between 1966 and 2009, involving almost 460,000 participants.

Six studies included information about regular and decaffeinated coffee and diabetes risk, and seven studies reported on tea consumption.

When the authors combined the data, they found that each additional cup of coffee consumed in a day was associated with a seven per cent reduction in diabetes risk.

People who drank three to four cups of coffee a day had about a 25 per cent lower risk of diabetes than those who drank two or fewer cups a day.

The researchers say the apparent protective effect of tea and coffee appeared to be independent of other factors that may raise the risk of diabetes, such as a high body mass index, increased age and family history of diabetes.

But it's also possible that there's something in coffee and tea that lowers diabetes risk. But that something is likely not caffeine, since even decaf coffee was linked to a lower diabetes risk.

Instead, other compounds in coffee and tea may be involved, including magnesium, antioxidants known as lignans or chlorogenic acids.

"The identification of the active components of these beverages would open up new therapeutic pathways for the primary prevention of diabetes mellitus," the authors write.

"It could also be envisaged that we will advise our patients most at risk for diabetes mellitus to increase their consumption of tea and coffee in addition to increasing their levels of physical activity and weight loss."


© 2009 The Garden of Healing® Company. The Star Raconteur™. All Rights Reserved.

Formula for Health is not in the Vitamin Aisle

NUTRITION

Formula for health is not in the vitamin aisle
Supplements do not work as well as food, yet 40 per cent of Canadians take them every day, study says

By Leslie Beck

Source: Globe and Mail

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/

It's estimated that 40 per cent of Canadians take vitamin and mineral supplements each day. Yet according to a report in the December issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, the formula for optimal health isn't in the supplement aisle of a health-food store.

Instead, the best strategy for staying healthy and lowering your risk for heart disease, diabetes and certain cancers is to eat a wide variety of nutrient-rich foods - a practice that for many people is not a habit.

Still, the report recognizes that some people do require vitamin and mineral supplements. Knowing which ones to take - and how much - can be confusing.

The fact is, the maintenance of good health is related more to the types and amounts of foods you eat than to the amount of certain vitamins or minerals you consume. When obtained from foods, certain nutrients have been demonstrated to guard against a number of health conditions. But studies investigating the effect of supplements on health outcomes have turned up disappointing results.

Foods are complex, providing more than just a single vitamin or mineral. Plant foods such as fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts and whole grains also contain fibre, along with hundreds of disease-fighting compounds called phytochemicals. It's thought that vitamins and minerals work in concert with other components of food to exert health benefits.

You've heard it over and over: Choose mainly whole grains, get seven to 10 daily servings of fruit and vegetables, eat beans and lentils more often, and so on. Yet a very small percentage of Canadians lives by Canada's Food Guide.

According to national survey data, Canadians of all ages don't get enough magnesium, folate or potassium from their diet. Most adults don't get enough calcium from foods. And women under 50 consume too little iron.

While it's ideal to try to meet your daily nutrient requirements from food, for some people this is hard to do. Pregnant women, nursing mothers, strict vegetarians, people with food intolerances and allergies, and elderly adults often need to fill dietary gaps with a multivitamin and mineral pill.

People with certain health conditions, or who take medications that alter their need for some vitamins or minerals, may also need to rely on supplements. And older adults, people with dark skin and those with inadequate sun exposure require extra vitamin D.

If you fall into one of the following categories, consider taking certain supplements in addition to eating plenty of nutrient-rich foods.

Women of childbearing age Women who may become pregnant should take a multivitamin supplement that provides 0.4 to 1 milligram of folic acid, a B vitamin that reduces the risk of neural tube defects - birth defects that affect the brain and spinal cord.

Menstruating women also need 18 milligrams of iron per day, an amount that's challenging - if not impossible - to get from foods alone. Look for a multivitamin with 10 to 18 milligrams of iron. (Vegetarians need an extra 14 milligrams to account for reduced iron absorption from plant foods.)

Pregnant women

During pregnancy, women need 0.6 milligrams of folic acid from a daily supplement in addition to food sources of folate. Natural sources include spinach, lentils, asparagus, broccoli, avocados and oranges.

Pregnant women also need 27 milligrams of supplemental iron each day (vegetarian women 48 milligrams). Choose a prenatal multivitamin supplement with 0.6 to 1 milligram of folic acid and 27 milligrams of iron.

Older adults

The U.S.-based Institute of Medicine advises that people over 50 get 2.4 micrograms of vitamin B12 each day in the form found in fortified foods and supplements. That's because aging reduces ability to digest B12 from food.

Vitamin B12 helps maintain nerve function, keeps red blood cells healthy and is needed to make DNA. Evidence also suggests it may guard against heart disease and maintain cognitive function.

To get your B12, choose a multivitamin and mineral supplement. If you prefer, take a B-complex supplement that contains all eight B vitamins.

Choose a product that provides no more than 0.4 milligram of folic acid, the recommended daily intake. Recently, there's concern that higher doses may accelerate the growth of pre-cancerous cells or early cancer growths.

In healthy cells, folic acid ensures that DNA replicates normally. But cancer and pre-cancer cells synthesize new copies of DNA faster than normal cells and need folic acid to multiply.

There's no evidence that the B vitamin in foods is harmful. In fact, the evidence shows that a diet rich in natural sources of folate is good for you.

At 50, calcium requirements increase to 1,500 milligrams daily. In most cases, people need to rely on calcium supplements in addition to diet to meet daily needs.

More vitamin D

Evidence suggests that optimal vitamin-D status helps prevent certain cancers, heart attacks, multiple sclerosis, diabetes, osteoporosis and rheumatoid arthritis.

The fact that Canadians don't produce enough vitamin D in their skin from sunlight between October and March prompted the Canadian Cancer Society in June, 2007, to recommend that adults take 1,000 international units (IU ) of the vitamin daily in fall and winter.

Older adults, people with dark skin, those who don't go outdoors often, and those who wear clothing that covers most of their skin should take the supplement year-round.

Before you buy, figure out how much vitamin D you're already getting from multivitamin and calcium supplements. Choose a supplement than contains D3 instead of D2, which is less potent.

Haphazard eaters, dieters

If you don't eat well despite your best intentions, or you consume less than 1,600 calories per day, a multivitamin and mineral supplement can help make up for shortfalls. But keep in mind that supplements can't replicate the nutritional and health benefits of whole foods.

Speak to your dietitian or doctor about which supplements and what doses might be appropriate for you. If you take medications, ask about possible interactions.

Leslie Beck, a Toronto-based dietitian at the Medcan Clinic, is on CTV's Canada AM every Wednesday.

Her website is http://www.lesliebeck.com/


© CTVglobemedia Publishing Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Monsanto Named Worst Corporate Climate Lobbyist

CLIMATE

Monsanto named worst corporate climate lobbyist
US company wants its GM crops to be given carbon credits and to be at the forefront of tackling climate change despite link to deforestation.

The Ecologist

http://www.theecologist.org/News/news_round_up/381809/monsanto_named_worst_corporate_climate_lobbyist.html

COPENHAGEN

Biotech giant Monsanto has been criticised for its aggressive corporate lobbying on climate change at the Copenhagen summit.

In a public vote organised by an alliance of NGOs, including Friends of the Earth and Spinwatch, the US agricultural company came out ahead of oil giant Shell and the American Petroleum Institute.

Monsanto was nominated for its promotion of genetically modified (GM) crops as a solution to climate change and for pushing its crops to be used as biofuels.

According to the alliance, the expansion of GM soy in Latin America is contributing to major deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions.

Carbon credits

The company has also been lobbying for carbon credits for its RoundUp Ready crops on the basis that it does not need ploughing because it can be heavily sprayed with herbicides.

While not ploughing the fields leaves more carbon in the ground, the alliance says the spread of soy monocultures in Latin America has caused deforestation, the displacement of local people and an increase in the use of herbicides, which have been linked to health problems.

‘Big business must not be allowed to sabotage action against climate change by promoting their vested interests,’ said vote organiser Paul de Clerk from Friends of the Earth International.

‘All the nominated companies have lobbied to protect their own profits and prevent effective action to tackle climate change. Governments need to stop listening to them and choose real solutions to the climate crisis.’

The other nominees for the Angry Mermaid Award for corporate lobbying were:

•American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity
•American Petroleum Institute (API)
•European Chemical Lobby (Cefic)
•International Air Transport Association (IATA)
•International Emissions Trading Association (IETA)
•Sasol
•Shell


Copyright 2009 Ecosystems Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

Having a Baby Face may Mean You Live Longer

AGEING

'Baby-Faced' People Seem to Live Longer
People blessed with youthful faces are more likely to live to a ripe old age.

Garden of Healing®

LONDON

A new study by Danish scientists says appearance alone can predict survival, after they studied 387 pairs of twins.

Research published Monday in the British medical journal BMJ suggests that people who look younger than their years also live longer.

The researchers asked nurses, trainee teachers and peers to guess the age of the twins from mug shots.

Those rated younger-looking tended to outlive their older-looking sibling, the British Medical Journal reports.

Key pieces of DNA called telomeres, which indicate the ability of cells to replicate, are also linked to how young a person looks.

A telomere of shorter length is thought to signify faster ageing and has been linked with a number of diseases.

In the study, the people who looked younger had longer telomeres.

All of the twins were in their 70s, 80s or 90s when they were photographed.

Over a seven-year follow-up the researchers, led by Professor Kaare Christensen of the University of Southern Denmark, found that the bigger the difference in perceived age within a pair, the more likely it was that the older-looking twin died first.

The age, sex and professional background of the assessors made no difference to any of the results.

“It's probably a combination of genes plus environment over a lifetime that are important” UK expert Professor Tim Spector.

Professor Christensen said it might be that people who have had a tougher life are more likely to die early - and their life is reflected in their face.

The researchers told the BMJ: "Perceived age, which is widely used by clinicians as a general indication of a patient's health, is a robust biomarker of ageing that predicts survival among those aged over 70."

Professor Tim Spector, a UK expert who has been doing his own twin research, said: "We are also finding this in our study.

"It's probably a combination of genes plus environment over a lifetime that are important."


© 2009 The Garden of Healing® Company. The Star Raconteur™. All Rights Reserved.

Spending Bill Heads to Obama

ECONOMY

Spending bill heads to Obama
Senate approves $1.1 trillion package

Garden of Healing®

WASHINGTON

On Sunday the Senate passed a $1.1 trillion spending bill with increased budgets for the federal government, including health, education, law enforcement and veterans' programs.

The 1,000-plus-page package, one of the last jobs of Congress in 2009, passed 57-35 and now goes to President Barack Obama.

After the vote, the Senate immediately returned to the debate on health care legislation that has consumed its energy for weeks. Senate Democrats hope to reach a consensus in the coming days on Obama's chief domestic priority.

But even as they sent the measure to Obama for his signature, Democrats were deeply divided over efforts to substantially raise the federal debt limit.

The idea of increased spending and more red ink provoked new congressional alarm, and some Democratic deficit hawks were insisting that Congress and the White House agree to new efforts to rein in the deficit.

Failure to increase the $12.1 trillion debt limit to cover federal borrowing could lead to a technical government default.

Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., and others said they wanted a vote on a new proposal to create a bipartisan independent commission to recommend spending cuts and revenue increases to pare the deficit. Others want an agreement by Congress to follow "pay as you go" rules when considering legislation.

If they are unable to strike a deal with the White House and the congressional leadership, the lawmakers said they would support only a short-term increase in the debt limit — perhaps into February — to allow for more negotiations.

The spending bill combines six of the 12 annual appropriation bills for the 2010 budget year that began Oct. 1. Obama has already signed five others into law.

The final one, a $626 billion defense bill, will be used as the base bill for another catchall package of measures that Congress must deal with in the coming days.

Those include raising the debt ceiling and considering proposals to stimulate the job market.

The spending bill passed Sunday includes $447 billion for departments' operating budgets and about $650 billion in mandatory payments for federal benefit programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. Those programs would see increases of about 10 percent.

All but three Democrats voted for the bill; all but three Republicans opposed it.

Democrats said the spending was critical to meet the needs of a recession-battered economy.

Appearing Sunday on "State of the Union" on CNN, Lawrence Summers, the president's chief economic adviser, said Obama was receptive to new ideas for reducing the deficit.

"What's fundamentally important is that we find a solution that works," he said.


© 2009 The Garden of Healing® Company. The Star Raconteur™. All Rights Reserved.

Personal Care Positioned for Rebound

PERSONAL CARE PRODUCTS

Personal Care Positioned for Rebound
The naturals segment remains a relatively high-growth proposition

Natural Foods Merchandiser
http://naturalfoodsmerchandiser.com/

Sales of natural personal care products have grown about 8 percent in the United States in 2009, a slowing growth rate from 15.3 percent a year earlier, but still healthier than the personal care industry as a whole, according to new research.

And personal care will rebound in 2010, driven by natural products, global demand and value lines, New York-based Kline Group predicts.

“The naturals segment remains a relatively high-growth proposition from both a product and packaging standpoint in personal care and home care,” Carrie Mellage, Kline Group’s director of consumer products, wrote in a newsletter.

Value brands and private-label products have also surged in growth, with double-digit gains in sun care products, shampoos and personal cleansing products, as shoppers look for cost savings.

“Personal care was hit pretty hard in the last year, less so in the natural sector,” said Lynea Schultz-Ela of A Natural Resource in Hotchkiss, Colo.

Better growth will be driven by new products, where small companies have the edge because they’re able to bring items to market faster, she said.

“Innovation is the name of the game in personal care,” Schultz-Ela said.

Mellage told NFM that greater availability of natural products has pushed down prices, hampering dollar growth. But the “relatively untapped” area of private label natural personal care has the potential to grow, as cash-strapped naturals consumers are lured back into the category by house brands with natural ingredients.

“I think we will also see a greater shift toward mass natural brands, so prices will be pushed downwards,” Mellage told NFM.

High-growth overseas markets have put their own unique spin on natural personal care, with Brazilian natural products emphasizing biodiversity and the rainforest, while Indian consumers favor products based on Avurveda and Chinese products reflect China’s heritage of herbal medicine, Mellage noted.


Copyright 2009 New Hope Natural Media. All Rights Reserved.