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"We each have the innate ability to heal ourselves. To empower ourselves with natural solutions, instead of succumbing to life-altering chemicals. There's a time and place for pharmaceuticals, but it shouldn't be the first answer, nor the only form treatment."
Dana Arcuri - author, speaker, wellness coach

If you like to take care of you and your family's health safely and naturally, you might want to consider adding some essential oils to your medicine cabinet.

Essential oils have been used throughout recorded history for a wide variety of health-related applications. The very wise Egyptians were some of the first people to use essential oils extensively in their medical practice, beauty treatments, food preparation, and religious ceremonies.

Frankincense, sandalwood, myrrh, and cinnamon were considered incredibly valuable cargo along the caravan trade routes and were sometimes exchanged in return for gold.

The Greeks discovered the Egyptian's methods and also used essential oils in their practices of therapeutic massage and aromatherapy. The ancient Romans also used essential oils to promote health and personal hygiene amongst their people. Chinese and Indian Ayurvedics also used aromatic herbs, and the Persians began to improve distillation methods for extracting essential oils from aromatic plants and herbs.

When King Tut's tomb was opened, 350 liters of essential oils were discovered in alabaster jars.

Moses used essential oils and this is referenced in the bible. In the book of Exodus, the Lord refers to holy anointing oil that was a specific 'god formula' ( source plus free ebook here)

Essential oil extracts were used throughout the dark ages in Europe for their anti-bacterial and fragrant properties. When the plague broke out, essential oils were used to help treat sick patients. (source)

More recently, in 1937, the very powerful healing properties of essential oils were rediscovered by a famous French chemist, Rene-Maurice Gattefosse, who healed a very badly burnt hand with pure lavender oil.

Another French contemporary, Dr. Jean Valnet, used therapeutic-grade essential oils to successfully treat injured soldiers during World War II. He then went on to become a world leader in the development of respected aromatherapy practices. The modern use of essential oils has continued to grow incredibly rapidly as health scientists and medical practitioners continue to research and validate the benefits of therapeutic-grade essential oil.

Exciting Research

Why are essential oils so effective for beauty and health? It's because they are composed of very small molecules that can penetrate very deeply and quickly into the cells. This is caused transdermal delivery. They even can cross the blood-brain barrier.

For a long time, lovers of essential oils lacked solid scientific proof of the efficacy of essential oils, and the medical industry labelled their use as a "quack" treatment (some still do!), but there have now been thousands of studies examining exactly what essential oils can do for health and well-being. If you look at pubmed, there are over tens of thousands of studies using essential oils. Searching for "essential oils cancer" brings up 641 results. If you have the time to look check out pubmed

Oils are doing wonders for other health ailments too. Check out some of these articles:

Frankincense Superior to Chemotherapy in Killing Late-Stage Ovarian Cancer Cells (source)

Lavender Aromatherapy Proven to Calm Premenstrual Emotions (source)

Peppermint has 15 proven health benefits (source)

Natural Ear Infection Alternatives to Antibiotics Proven Safer and More Effective (source)

Lavender for Migraines (source)

Clove oil tested to be the most effective repellent against mosquitos (source)

Lavender has anti-fungal activity against candida albicans (source)

Cinnamon verum bark has the highest antimicrobial activity, particularly against antibiotic resistant strains

It's pretty clear that essential oils are an effective way to treat common and more serious ailments.

Here are some Doctors speaking about how using Essential Oils changed their approach to the way they treat their patients

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIe96KecmuU

Dr. Mercola's Top 5 Recommended Oils and Their Benefits

Dr. Mercola is a medical doctor who very much understands how beneficial organic essential oils are for human health. Here are his top 5 essential oils, and what they have been shown to help with:
Sandalwood

Low self-esteem

Insecurity

Stress

Enhanced sleep

Female reproductive and endocrine health

Urinary tract infections

Bronchitis

Stretch marks

Depression

Laryngitis

Sensitive skin

Lavender

Anxiety

Depression

Irritability

Mental fatigue

Panic attacks

Stress

Oily skin

Bruises

Stretch marks

Earache

Chickenpox

Hypertension

Vertigo

Whooping cough

Flatulence

Cedarwood

Anxiety

Skin problems like acne, psoriasis, dandruff, and dermatitis

Arthritis

Bronchitis

Coughing

Cystitis

Stress

Insect repellant

Hair loss

Tuberculosis

Gonorrhoea

Peppermint

Mental fatigue

Nausea

Headache

Exhaustion

Vertigo

Asthma

Flatulence

Sinusitis

Frankinsense

Insecurity

Grief

Immune system stimulation

Cancer

Depression

Allergies

Headache

Herpes

Brain damage from head injuries

Panic Attacks

Anxiety

Asthma

Coughing

Bronchitis

Scars

Stress

Stretch marks, stress (Source)

That's an impressive list, isn't it? And it's only a drop in the ocean considering how many more types of essential oils are out there.

Which Ones To Use? Trusted Essential Oil Brands

There are so many essential oil brands on the market today it is indeed a huge industry. However, not all oils are created equal, and in fact most brands are simply not pure. They are often made synthetically, offering no benefits to your health and with some experts saying that they are in fact very toxic. Many "natural" smelling products don't contain anything natural - no pure oils at all, just fake scents made in a lab.

Fortunately there are companies out there who produce essential oils that are not only pure, but are of the highest standard you can possibly find.

From the United Kingdom, is my favourite (not affiliated to CE by the way) choice, NHR organic oils. They have the largest range of Soil Association Certified organic essential oils in the world. They also sell distiller kits for people who want to make their own oils at home and their selection of organic chocolates made with some of their oils are absolutely amazing.

There are many other excellent brands out there Dr Josh Axe, also has a range of top quality oils, and so does Organixx

Need More Proof Essential Oils Really Work?

To discover more scientific proof about how essential oils work on physical and emotional health please visit:

aromaticscience.com Just type in the name of the essential oil or ailment and you will find so much amazing stuff comes up! It's absolutely fascinating to read.

History Of Essential Oils

image from Greenmedinfo

Cooking With Essential Oils

Recipe: Black Bean Peppermint Chocolate Brownies

When you use good quality oils you can even cook with them. If you love mint, for example, adding peppermint to a chocolate smoothie will awaken your tastebuds - you've never tasted a better mint when using pure essential oils. A few drops go a very long way so don't worry, you won't be using up your bottles too quickly.

I've got a great recipe from the doTerra blog for you to try.

Black bean brownies are a delicious and nutritious twist to a traditional chocolate brownie. You might be nervous about baking with black beans, but don't be - they have a very mild flavor and are extremely rich, creamy, and full of protein. You can also boost the flavor of your brownie with essential oils such as Peppermint, Wild Orange, Cinnamon, or even Lavender.
Ingredients:
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, drained, and rinsed
2 large eggs
1/4 cup cocoa powder
2/3 cup honey
1/3 cup coconut oil
½ teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
4 drops Peppermint essential oil
¾ cup chocolate chips, divided

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Place all ingredients, except for chocolate chips, in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.

3. Pour batter into large bowl and stir in 1/2 cup of chocolate chips.

4. Pour into greased 8×8-inch pan and top with ¼ cup chocolate chips.

5. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let cool and cut into pieces. Store in refrigerator.

Eat and enjoy!

For more recipes and information please click here:

* It's important to note that essential oils are incredibly powerful and need to be used very very wisely. You need to know what can or can't be put on skin directly, and only use internally under the care of someone who really knows what they are doing. I've burnt myself using too many drops of certain oils in the bath and have been silly in the past putting some oils on my skin undiluted - ouch!

You also must take care when pregnant or breastfeeding. There are some oils that are contraindicated.

When used properly, essential oils can be absolutely amazing for you and your family's well-being.

The Facts:
According to a report released in June by The Environmental Working Group, all children's foods made from Oats are all contaminated with Glyphosate, the popular weed killer that's been getting a lot of criticism.

Reflect On:
How are these products able to get approval from Federal Health Regulatory agencies when it's quite clear that they are harmful to human health as well a the environment.

Western cancer research is organized as a business whose fundamental motivation is profit, this is why it will likelynever cure cancer because it's so profitable, and it's sad that the causes of cancer continue to be ignored. Raising money for a cure is great, but cancer prevention needs more attention, and more resources should be poured into alternative treatments and research. Doctors are only allowed to recommend the patented treatment.

One of many supposed causes of cancer, among several other diseases, is glyphosate, the main active ingredient in Monsanto's Roundup herbicide. Despite the fact that countless amounts of publications and research have shown that it's carcinogenic, only recently did the World Health Organization (WHO) classify it as such.

It is commonly believed that Roundup is among the safest pesticides... Despite its reputation, Roundup was by far the most toxic among the herbicides and insecticides tested. This inconsistency between scientific fact and industrial claim may be attributed to huge economic interests, which have been found to falsify health risk assessments and delay health policy decisions." - R. Mesnage (et al., Biomed Research International, Volume 2014 (2014), article ID 179691)

Glyphosate has received a of attention in the form of lawsuits lately, the latest example would be Diamond & Diamond, a national personal injury law firm in Canada, they are spearheading a $500 million class-action lawsuit against various Roundup makers, including the pharmaceutical company Bayer, the owner of Roundup maker Monsanto. There have been many lawsuits filed across North America alleging that glyphosate can cause health problems including non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a type of cancer that affects the lymphatic system. In the United States alone, there have been about 18,000 lawsuits filed against the makers of Roundup. This all seemed to become more recognized within the mainstream when schools groundskeeper, and cancer survivor, Dewayne Johnson was awarded millions of dollars in his lawsuit against the Monsanto corporation as the courts determined it caused his non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

What's terrible about Glyphosate, like other harmful environmental toxins that were once deemed safe, like DDT, for example, is that it has ended up everywhere, it's in our soil and it's in most of our conventional, genetically modified non-organic foods. This was made even more evident by a report released in June by The Environmental Working Group (EWG) which confirmed previous reports that America's breakfast cereals, consumed primarily by children, are contaminated with the toxic herbicide, glyphosate.

The recent report was published by Olga Naidenko, Ph.D., senior science advisor, and Alexis Temkin, Ph.D., Toxicologist, at EWG. They tested 21 oat-based cereal and snack products, and found all of them had high levels of the toxic glyphosate.

Major food companies like General Mills continue to sell popular children's breakfast cereals and other foods contaminated with troubling levels of glyphosate, the cancer-causing ingredient in the herbicide Roundup.

The weedkiller, produced by Bayer-Monsanto, was detected in all 21 oat-based cereal and snack products sampled in a new round of testing commissioned by the Environmental Working Group. ( Full Report.)

The two highest levels of glyphosate were found in Honey Nut Cheerios Medley Crunch, with 833 parts per billion, or ppb, and Cheerios, with 729 ppb.

This also comes shortly after Moms Across America, a a National Coalition of Unstoppable Moms, discovered that glyphosate is found inside of all 5 major orange juice brands across the United States. These juices are heavily marketed as '100 percent pure orange juice,' but that's not true as they're loaded with unhealthy amounts of added sugars. You can read more about that here.

What's even more concerning is that organic products in this category are also contaminated in the US.

With over 80% of the U.S. food supply now reportedly contaminated with the herbicide glyphosate, many people are turning to USDA certified organic products to avoid this toxic chemical. Current USDA NOP (National Organic Program) standards do not allow the use of the herbicide glyphosate on organic crops.

However, a new investigation by Tropical Traditions has revealed that the U.S. organic grain market is contaminated with glyphosate.

Tropical Traditions has sold organic grains for years. After reading new research about the issue of " crop desiccation " done by using glyphosate on wheat and other grains just prior to harvest, Tropical Traditions decided to first test some commercial wheat products with wheat grown in Montana, North Dakota, and Canada. They sent the commercial samples to a well-known and respected laboratory to test for glyphosate.

All tested positive for glyphosate residue. The range was from 0.07 mg/kg to 0.09 mg/kg. Keep in mind this is glyphosate found in non-GMO crops. For a GMO crop such as GMO soybeans, which are sprayed heavily with glyphosate, the range is typically between 3.3 and 5.7 mg/kg. ( Source.) ( source)

Many popular cereals have also been found to be contaminated, you can access that list here.

How Are Products Like Glyphosate Able To Gain Approval By Our Federal Health Regulatory Agencies?

I've mentioned it many times before, but there is an abundance of examples of corruption within our federal health regulatory agencies, and they the corporations they work with have a tremendous influence and say when it comes to their products and the process of approval.

For example, EU regulators recently decided to relicense glyphosate, and their decision was based on an assessment that was plagiarized from industry reports. It's quite backwards that, for years, health regulators have been relying on the scientific reports from the companies that manufacture these products instead of seeking out independent scientific studies. A group of MEPs decided to commission an investigation into claims that Germany's Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (bFr) copy-and-pasted tracts from Monsanto studies. You can read more about that here. In addition, Monsanto colluded with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to stifle cancer research and any connections to their products.

The corruption is never-ending when it comes to the link between corporations and government agencies. In fact, only a few years ago, more than a dozen scientists from within the CDC put out an anonymous public statement detailing the influence corporations have on government policies. They were referred to as the Spider Papers.

There are many examples, but you get the point.

What Can You Do About It?

It's easy to feel hopeless when coming across this type of information, but there are many things you can do. Not all products, especially most organic products, are contaminated with glyphosate, but as mentioned above, some still are. One thing you can do is buy all of your produce organic. Furthermore, live a healthy active lifestyle, along with eating healthy, to give your body the best chance of combating this type of contamination. The body can work wonders when you take care of it. You can share articles like this one, spread awareness, and make it harder for these companies to roll out their products, especially when more and more people are refusing to use them. At the end of the day, we are the ones who can make these changes, and we are. Just a few years ago, this wasn't even on most peoples radar and now it is. Times are changing. We are the ones who choose to use these products, which is why awareness with extreme credibility is very important. Every single person who comes across information like this is a a huge tool in the battle to stop these products from continually rolling out. Is glyphosate sprayed on your lawn? If so, stop and use alternatives. Do you buy popular orange juice brands that are listed above? If so, stop. Stop buying your children cereals that've been found to be contaminated with glyphosate.

The Facts:
A study published in PLoS validates what so many drum circle participants have already experienced first hand: group drumming produces significant changes in well-being, including improvements in depression, anxiety and social resilience.

Reflect On:
What if our medical industry investigated and put resources into methods of healing that don't require medicine? How much more would we discover? His the health industry really about health care, or sick care?

This article was written by Sayer Ji, founder of Greenmedinfo.com, where it was originally posted. Posted here with permission.

With the World Health Organization identifying depression as the #1 leading cause of disability, globally, and psychiatric medications causing severe side effects, including permanently disabling the body's self-healing mechanism, drug-free alternatives are needed now more than ever. Could group drumming provide just such a solution?

Titled, "Effects of Group Drumming Interventions on Anxiety, Depression, Social Resilience and Inflammatory Immune Response among Mental Health Service Users," UK researchers enrolled thirty adults who were already recipients of mental health services but were not receiving antidepressant medications in a 10 week program of drumming versus a control group of 15. The two groups were matched for age, sex, ethnicity and employment status. The control participants were informed that they were participating in a study about music and mental health but were not given access to the group drumming sessions. The treatment group received weekly 90-minute group drumming sessions over a period of 10 weeks. The drum group sizes were between 15-20. Each participant was provided with a traditional African djembe drum and sat in a circle. Twenty percent of the session time involved instruction and talking, whereas 80% was direct participation in music-making. The control subjects were enrolled in community group social activities (e.g. quiz nights, women's institute meetings and book clubs). Both groups were monitored for biomarkers related to immune status and inflammation, e.g. cortisol and various cytokines, to track the biological as well as psychological changes associated with the intervention.
The results of the study were remarkable and reported as follows:

Significant improvements were found in the drumming group but not the control group: by week 6 there were decreases in depression (-2.14 SE 0.50 CI -3.16 to -1.11) and increases in social resilience (7.69 SE 2.00 CI 3.60 to 11.78), and by week 10 these had further improved (depression: -3.41 SE 0.62 CI -4.68 to -2.15; social resilience: 10.59 SE 1.78 CI 6.94 to 14.24) alongside significant improvements in anxiety (-2.21 SE 0.50 CI -3.24 to -1.19) and mental wellbeing (6.14 SE 0.92 CI 4.25 to 8.04). All significant changes were maintained at 3 months follow-up. Furthermore, it is now recognised that many mental health conditions are characterised by underlying inflammatory immune responses. Consequently, participants in the drumming group also provided saliva samples to test for cortisol and the cytokines interleukin (IL) 4, IL6, IL17, tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNFα), and monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP) 1. Across the 10 weeks there was a shift away from a pro-inflammatory towards an anti-inflammatory immune profile. Consequently, this study demonstrates the psychological benefits of group drumming and also suggests underlying biological effects, supporting its therapeutic potential for mental health."

In summary, by 6 weeks the drumming intervention group experienced decreases in depression, increased social resilience; by 10 weeks they saw further improvements in depression, alongside significant improvements in anxiety and mental wellbeing. These changes continued to be maintained 3 months follow-up. The drumming intervention group also saw their immune profile shift from a pro-inflammatory towards an anti-inflammatory response.

This remarkable research opens up the possibility that group drumming may produce positive psychospiritual changes that, in comparison to conventional treatment with psychiatric medications like Prozac, support side-effect free improvement in parameters beyond symptom suppression.

Additionally, when one considers that the benefits associated with conventional pharmaceutical treatment of depression may actually result from the placebo effect and not the chemicals themselves, as well as the fact that antidepressants can cause severe adverse effects including suicidal ideation, the findings of this exploratory study becomes all the more promising.

Another important discovery here is that group drumming down-regulated inflammation within the immune profiles of study participants. Could the dysregulation of inflammation be a root cause of a wide range of psychiatric disorders and anti-inflammatory interventions a solution? This is exactly a thesis explored in-depth by Dr. Kelly Brogan in her new book, "A Mind of Your Own: The Truth About Depression And How Women Can Heal Their Bodies To Reclaim Their Lives," wherein the crucial physiological role of inflammation in conditions as varied as depression, bipolar disorder, and anxiety are discussed. The inflammation-depression link, in particular, explains how interventions such as turmeric have been clinically proven to be superior to common antidepressant medications like Prozac, presumably because of turmeric's broad spectrum and systemic anti-inflammatory properties.

Drumming As An Ancient Mind, Body, Soul Healing Technology

In a previous article titled, "6 Ways Drumming Heals The Body, Mind, And Soul," I reviewed the published scientific literature on drumming's therapeutic potential, and explored some of the possible evolutionary origins of this ancient cultural technology. It is fascinating to consider that even insects drum, and that human language itself may have originated from these primordial gesticulations, which appear almost universally within the animal kingdom. Moreover, sound waves (percussion) may carry biologically meaningful energy and information with epigenetic significance. Drumming could therefore be considered a form of "informational medicine."

While the science on drumming's therapeutic value continues to accumulate and is increasingly compelling, it may not at all be necessary. The most important thing to remember is that drumming is something one must directly experience in order to fully appreciate and understand it. There are hundreds of community drum circles throughout the country. They attract all ages, walks of life, experience levels, and are always free to join. Those who know them intimately understand that the only thing required to be part of a drum circle is a human heart beat, as the beat of the drum and this ancient rhythm within your chest are fundamentally one.

Inspiring Drumming Quotes

Rhythm and harmony enter most powerfully into the inner most part of the soul and lay forcible hands upon it, bearing grace with them, so making graceful him who is rightly trained. - Plato

Music creates order out of chaos: for rhythm imposes unanimity upon the divergent, melody imposes continuity upon the disjointed, and harmony imposes compatibility upon the incongruous. -Yehudi Menuhin

Where I come from we say that rhythm is the soul of life, because the whole universe revolves around rhythm, and when we get out of rhythm, that's when we get into trouble. - Babatunde Olatunji

Rhythm is a heartbeat. It's the first drum, a story in sound that reveals our imagination and celebrates our power. Rhythm is the multi-culti common ground of the human family.-Tony Vacca

Sayer Ji is founder of Greenmedinfo.com, a reviewer at the International Journal of Human Nutrition and Functional Medicine, Co-founder and CEO of Systome Biomed, Vice Chairman of the Board of the National Health Federation, Steering Committee Member of the Global Non-GMO Foundation. Link to the original article. For more info from Greenmedinfo, you can join their newsletter by clicking here.

The Facts:
A recent study published in the journal Environmental Research examined four families who eat conventional diets. Pesticide levels were measured via urine before switching to an organic diet for 6 days. A dramatic drop in pesticide levels was found.

Reflect On:
The pesticides found on conventional foods have been linked to multiple diseases, and some originate from chemical warfare, used as nerve agents. They're not safe, so why do government regulatory agencies keep telling us they are and approving them?

Humanity is moving rapidly in different directions, and it would be nice to say the collective is moving forward, but that doesn't seem to be the case in many areas. Sure, we are becoming far more technologically savvy, and no doubt more advanced in several areas, but all of our advancements seem to be driven by profit, greed, control, and lies as well as the manipulation of our consciousness in order to accept certain developments. Genetically modified foods are a great example, along with a number of pesticides that go along with them.

"As part of the process, they portrayed the various concerns as merely the ignorant opinions of misinformed individuals - and derided them as not only unscientific, but anti-science. They then set to work to convince the public and government officials, through the dissemination of false information, that there was an overwhelming expert consensus, based on solid evidence, that GMOs were safe."

The quote above comes from Jane Goodall, who wrote the forward to a book about a lawsuit in 1998 that forced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to divulge its files on genetically engineered foods, showing how the agency fast-tracked the approval of them based on flawed science. Today GMOs are banned in multiple countries as they've cited countless studies that clearly show great cause for concern regarding our health and environment. You can read more about that here and see a few examples.

"Someday we shall look back on this dark era of agriculture and shake our heads. How could we have ever believed that it was a good idea to grow our food with poisons?" - Goodall

The same thing goes for pesticides, as they represent a great example of the tight knit relationship that plagues North American as well as global health regulatory agencies. I recently published an article on Robert F. Kennedy Jr. explaining how our federal regulatory agencies, which were allegedly designed to protect us as well as our children, have been completely compromised. I provided a few more examples within the article, which you can access here.

"Imagine the power they exercise over both republicans and democrats. They've captured them (our regulatory agencies) and turned them into sock puppets. They've compromised the press... and they destroy the publications that publish real science." - RFK Jr.

Not only do they destroy these publications, but they completely ignore them, and the science used to approve the pesticides sprayed in our environment as well as on our food (which also end up in our food) come from the corporations who manufacture these pesticides themselves. For example, glyphosate, an active ingredient within Monsanto's Roundup herbicide, was recently re-licensed and approved by European Parliament. However, MEPs found the science given to them was plagiarized, full of industry science written by Monsanto. You can read more about that here.

Organic VS. Conventional

You will hear a lot of people ask, how do we know that organic is really organic? Well, it's quite simple, you can take a conventional piece of fruit to a lab and test it for pesticides yourself, or you can simply read the studies that have already done so. One of the latest and most recent ones was published in the journal Environmental Research, titled, "Organic diet intervention significantly reduces urinary pesticide levels in U.S. children and adults."

The study highlighted that diet is the primary source of pesticide exposure in both children and adults. It found that an organic diet significantly reduced neonicotinoid, OP pyrethroid, 2,4-D exposure, with the greatest reduction observed in malathion, clothianidin, and chlorpyrifos.

The researchers noted that all of us are exposed "to a cocktail of toxic synthetic pesticides linked to a range of health problems from our daily diets." They explain how "certified organic food is produced without these pesticides," and ask the question, "Can eating organic really reduce levels of pesticides in our bodies?"

They tested four American families that don't typically eat organic food to find out.

First, we tested the levels of pesticides in their bodies on a non-organic diet for six days. We found 14 chemicals representing potential exposure to 40 different pesticides in every study participant. These included organophosphates, pyrethroids, neonicotinoids and the phenoxy herbicide 2,4-D. Some of the pesticides we found are linked to increased risk of cancer, infertility, learning disabilities, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and more. ( source)

After this, they tested them on a full organic diet and found that it produced a dramatic reduction with regards to exposure to pesticides. All pesticides detected in the body dropped an average of 60.5% in just six days on an organic diet.

The most significant drops occurred in a class of nerve agent pesticides called organophosphates. This class includes chlorpyrifos, a highly toxic pesticide linked to increased rates of autism, learning disabilities and reduced IQ in children. Organophosphates are so harmful to children's developing brains that scientists have called for a full ban. ( source)

Neonicotinoid pesticide exposure also dropped significantly. These pesticides are significant contributors to massive pollinator losses and bee die-offs, and they are the most commonly reported residues in infant foods and have been linked to developmental issues within fetuses and children, possibly leading to changes in behaviour and attention including an association with autism spectrum disorder.

In addition to reducing eaters' exposure to toxic pesticides, organic farming systems protect the health of farmworkers, farmers and rural communities, and safeguard our air, water, soil, pollinators and other critical species. We need organic for all. No one should be exposed to toxic pesticides in the food they eat. No farmer or farmworker should have to sacrifice their health or their children's health to grow the food we all eat. And the way we grow food should protect rather than harm the ecosystems that sustain all life. ( source)

The researchers make it clear that pesticides are poisonous not only to humans, but to other lifeforms as well. They point out that more than 90 percent of Americans have detectable pesticides in their bodies, and that government testing has found at least 29 different pesticides in the average American.

They state and provide sources for their claim:

Decades of data clearly shows that pesticides can disrupt and derail the healthy functioning of our bodies. Pesticide exposure is linked to cancers, asthma, neurodevelopmental disorders like autism and ADHD and to adult neurological diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. Pesticide exposure is also associated with reproductive disorders like infertility and other disorders related to the endocrine system. Over 50 pesticides are associated with endocrine disruption. Endocrine disrupting chemicals, even at extremely small doses, can scramble, block or mimic the cellular mechanisms responsible for developing and managing the body's reproductive, neurological, metabolic or immunological systems. Endocrine disruptors are associated with hormone-influenced cancers such as thyroid, breast and prostate, as well as learning disabilities, brain development problems, birth defects, obesity, diabetes and reproductive disorders.

This study and others that I mention below prove that an organic diet is a great way to reduce exposure to pesticides and to protect our health.

Organic farmers produce abundant food without the use of an estimated 17,000 pesticide products approved for use in conventional farming in the US. An organic diet has been shown to reduce overall risk of developing cancer by 25 percent.

The information above further proves what scientists have known for a long time. For example, a study conducted by researchers from RMIT university nearly 5 years ago published in the journal Environmental Research found that eating an organic diet for just one week significantly reduced pesticide exposure in adults. Thirteen participants were randomly selected to consume a diet consisting of at least 80% organic or conventional food for precisely 7 days, afterwards crossing over to the alternative diet from which they started. Urinary levels were used for analysis. The study found that urinary dialkylphosphates (DAPs) measurements were 89% lower when they ate an organic diet for seven days compared to a conventional diet for the same amount of time.

A lot of these agents were initially developed as nerve gases for chemical warfare, so we know they have toxic effects on the nervous system at high doses. Conventional food production commonly uses organophosphate pesticides, which are neurotoxins that hinder the nervous systems of humans by blocking an important enzyme. Recent studies have raised concerns for health effects of these chemicals even at relatively low levels. This study is an important first step in expanding our understanding about the impact of an organic diet.

To understand this controversial issue it is helpful to look at the history of pesticide use. Prior to World War II, the pesticides that we use now did not yet exist. Some pesticides currently in use were in fact developed during the World War II for use in warfare. The organophosphate insecticides were developed as nerve gases, and the phenoxy herbicides, including 2,4-D (the most commonly used herbicide in Canada), were created to eradicate the Japanese rice crop, and later used as a component of Agent Orange to defoliate large areas in jungle warfare. After World War II, these chemicals began to be used as pesticides in agricultural production, for environmental spraying of neighbourhoods for mosquito eradication, and for individual home and garden use. ( source)

Below is a very interesting clip titled "The Organic Effect" from the Swedish Environmental Research Institute. Watch what happened when this family decided to switch to organic food. Here is the full report.

The Takeaway

It's odd how cancer awareness as well as awareness of other diseases like the ones mentioned in this article receive practically no attention when it comes to their association with pesticides. Instead, all we ever hear about is donating money, and the many causes of these diseases sadly go unaddressed.

That's why it's up to people like us, you and me. Nobody these days knows anybody who has not been affected by cancer. Rates continue to increase and at this point they are very concerning. The best ways to fight these diseases are to increase awareness, speak up about the topics mentioned in this article, and most importantly, commit to lifestyle changes. We can vote with our dollar, and we can choose to greatly minimize how much we surround ourselves with harmful products and disease-causing foods.

The solution is quite simple.

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The History, Medicinal Uses & Science Behind The Use Of Essential Oils

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"We each have the innate ability to heal ourselves. To empower ourselves with natural solutions, instead of succumbing to life-altering chemicals. There's a time and place for pharmaceuticals, but it shouldn't be the first answer, nor the only form treatment." Dana Arcuri - author, speaker, wellness coach If you like to take care of you and [...]

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Your access to the NCBI website at www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov has been temporarily blocked due to a possible misuse/abuse situation involving your site. This is not an indication of a security issue such as a virus or attack.

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Password: thyme            Please watch this NOW!! This is Stephanie Poe. She has a Ph.D. in immunology and studied inflammation of the lungs for years. She left that field recently because she recognized they couldn’t find meds to solve the issues. Please hear her now

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Password: thyme            Please watch this NOW!! This is Stephanie Poe. She has a Ph.D. in immunology and studied inflammation of the lungs for years. She left that field recently because she recognized they couldn’t find meds to solve the issues. Please hear her now

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Password: thyme