The 4 Best Foods for Your Bones (and the 4 Worst!)

by Becky Striepe | care2.com

Image: Care2.com

What are the best foods for bone health? What are the worst? The answers might surprise you!
If you’ve turned on the TV or opened a magazine lately, you’ve probably seen one of those Got Milk? ads touting three glasses a day for bone health. The dairy industry spends billions of dollars to convince us that their products are the end-all when it comes to bone health.

Sure, milk is high in calcium, but there are actually a number of nutrients that come into play when we’re talking bone health. I get into the details a little bit more here, but magnesium is actually just as important for your bones as calcium, and dairy products are not rich in this vital nutrient. Vitamin K is another piece of the bone health puzzle that’s missing from dairy products.

Related Reading: 25 Plant-Based Sources of Calcuim

Fortified milk products do have plenty of vitamin D, but you can also get your fill of this vitamin just by spending a few minutes a day outdoors without sunscreen. Boom! Sunshine vitamin? Check!

OK, so maybe dairy’s not at the top of the list when it comes to best foods for bone health, but where it does fall definitely surprised me. Check out the lists below of the best foods and the worst ones for your bones.

Best Foods for Bone Health

1. Dark Leafy Greens

Dark and leafies, like kale and collard greens pack a one-two-three of calcium, magnesium, and vitamin K. When it comes to strong and healthy bones, these are your #1 for sure. Need some leafy green inspiration? Check out these 10 kale recipes to get you started!

2. Seeds

Sprinkle some seeds onto your next salad for some bone-building power. If you want the most bang for your buck, opt for mineral-rich pumpkin seeds.

3. Nuts

Snack on a handful of nuts to protect your bones. You can add them to soups or salads, use them to top casseroles, or even puree them to make creamy vegan desserts (no, really!). Want the most bone-protection power? Walnuts are your friend.

4. Beans

Beans aren’t just a cheap way to round out a meal. They’re also packed with nutrients to keep your bones healthy! Black beans in particular are great for building bone health.

Worst Foods for Bone Health

1. Dairy Products

I am as surprised as you are! I knew that dairy wasn’t the end all when it comes to bone health, but it turns out that dairy products may leach calcium from bones and increase your risk of fractures over time. What the what?

2. Salt

If you’re trying to eat healthily, chances are that you’re already cutting out the table salt, and here’s one more reason to watch the white stuff: if may increase bone fragility. A Japanese study found that women who ate more salt were four times as likely to fracture a bone.

3. Cola

You may have heard that carbonated beverages or sodapop are bad for your bones, and I found some new research that uncovers what exactly is going on there. Scientists believe that it’s actually the phosphoric acid in cola specifically that depletes your bones.

4. Too Much Protein

Healthy eating is all about balance, and of course you need protein to stay healthy, but there’s some solid evidence that too much of the stuff can weaken your bones. What’s a little bit tricky about this research is that the group who ate less protein also ate a plant-based diet, so it’s unclear whether it’s the amount of protein or the type of protein that’s causing the damage.

Source: care2.com

Sign this petition to ban GMOs and all other toxins from our food supply!

Image: bloginfo.educate-yourself.eu

Ban ALL Hazardous Food Additives, Ban GMOs and whole truths on food labels. Sign the petition here.

The FDA needs to do a widespread nationwide ban on many harmful food chemical additives that are making us all sick including:

- MSG (monosodium glutamate) a neurotoxin that negatively affects the brain and nervous system and can cause brain cancer.
- High Fructose Corn Syrup. Possible leading cause of diabetes.
- Aspartame (a.k.a. Equal) another neurotoxin that can cause brain cancer and turns into deadly formaldehyde just after it’s ingested and reaches around 86°F in the body;  the same undertaker’s embalming formaldehyde use to preserve dead bodies before burial.
- rBST harmful growth hormones injected into dairy cattle that gets into the milk supply
- Wheat Gluten.
- Trans Fat.
- Yeast Extract which is at least 60% MSG.
- Fluoride in our drinking water, toothpaste and in oral rinses. Fluoride is equally toxic as lead and has killed people. It does little to no good preventing cavities and it needs to be banned completely.
- 100% complete ban on all planting, growing, harvesting and consumption of all Genetically Modified plants as well as banning GMO living animals such as genetically altered catfish etc.

The mentioned harmful additives are the cause of a variety of cancers and are also the cause of obesity, diabetes, heart attacks, strokes and neurological diseases like MS.

We also need the whole truths in food labels as well. If the front of the label says the product is All Natural and MSG free it cannot contain yeast extract which is at 60% MSG. I just seen this on a can of chicken broth made by a major manufacturer. There are many dozens of other food companies out there that do the same.

People are constantly getting sick and now they are totally outraged because the FDA has not taken action. The American people deserve a lot better and are demanding a sweeping change to eat much better healthier highly nutritious nontoxic food than this highly toxic GMO crap currently available in the grocery stores today.

You the FDA, must make these sweeping bold changes and BAN these highly toxic additives and GMOs plus tell the food companies that they cannot print bold face lies on their labels any longer. This must be done NOW!

Sign the petition here: http://www.change.org/petitions/fda-ban-all-toxic-food-additives-ban-gmos-and-whole-truths-on-food-labels-now

Monsanto Buys Climate Firm for $1B, Reports 4Q Loss On Weak Seed Sales

| WTF News |

Ahead of the Oct. 12 March Against Monsanto, Monsanto announced their latest acquisition on the morning of their earnings release revealing a “larger than expected” quarterly loss. Listen to the conference call and downloadslideshow PDF for reference. This was a slick move to paper over the loss and redirect the attention of investors, which TechCrunch described as cunning. One thing that stood out on the earnings call was there was no mention of the global Oct. 12 protests which reportedly has some hedge funds dumping the stock.

TechCrunch Interview this morning with Monsanto VP of Global Strategy Kerry Preete and Climate Corporation CEO David Friedberg

Monsanto Acquires The Climate Corporation

Monsanto

ST. LOUIS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Monsanto Company (NYSE: MON) today announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire The Climate Corporation for a cash purchase price of approximately $930 million. The acquisition will combine The Climate Corporation’s expertise in agriculture analytics and risk-management with Monsanto’s R&D capabilities, and will provide farmers access to more information about the many factors that affect the success of their crops. The companies’ combined capabilities will support greater productivity while utilizing the planet’s finite resources more precisely.

The acquisition is expected to expand on The Climate Corporation’s leadership in the area of data science, which represents the agriculture sector’s next major breakthrough, and will immediately expand both the near- and long-term growth opportunities for Monsanto’s business and Integrated Farming Systems platform.

“The Climate Corporation is focused on unlocking new value for the farm through data science,” said Hugh Grant, chairman and chief executive officer for Monsanto. “Everyone benefits when farmers are able to produce more with fewer resources. The Climate Corporation team brings leading expertise that will continue to greatly benefit farmers and their bottom-line, and we want to expand upon this tremendous work and broaden their reach to more crops and more world areas. We look forward to working closely with our distribution partners and others in the agricultural industry to bring this suite of information resources to the farm.”

The Climate Corporation was founded in 2006 by a highly successful team of software engineers and data scientists formerly with Google and other leading Silicon Valley technology companies. Since that time, the company has built the agriculture industry’s most advanced technology platform combining hyper-local weather monitoring, agronomic data modeling, and high-resolution weather simulations to deliver a complete suite of full-season monitoring, analytics and risk-management products.

“Farmers around the world are challenged to make key decisions for their farms in the face of increasingly volatile weather, as well as a proliferation of information sources,” said David Friedberg, chief executive officer for The Climate Corporation. “Our team understands that the ability to turn data into actionable insight and farm management recommendations is vitally important for agriculture around the world and can greatly benefit farmers, regardless of farm size or their preferred farming methods. Monsanto shares this important vision for our business and we look forward to creating even greater experiences for our farmer customers.”

The Climate Corporation has a core set of support tools to benefit farmers. These include products that help them boost yields on existing farmland and better manage risks that occur throughout a crop season. The Climate Corporation will continue to offer its current risk-management products including an online service that provides crop planning, monitoring, and recommendations, and insurance offerings through its network of independent agents.

The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close in the first quarter of Monsanto’s 2014 fiscal year. Following the acquisition, The Climate Corporation will operate its business to retain its distinct brand identity and customer experience. The company will continue to maintain headquarters in Silicon Valley and all of its employees will be offered continued employment.

Combined Company to Be a Leader in Data Science, Acquisition Expected to Drive Near-and Long-Term Growth Potential

The acquisition of The Climate Corporation represents a natural extension of Monsanto’s vision to increase crop productivity, conserve more of our planet’s natural resources and improve the lives of people around the world. It will also greatly expand The Climate Corporation’s capabilities in data science, agriculture’s next major growth frontier, an area that represents a potential opportunity of $20 billion beyond Monsanto’s core focus today. The companies estimate the majority of farmers have an untapped yield opportunity of up to 30 bushels to 50 bushels in their corn fields, and they believe that advancements in data science can help further unlock that additional value for the farm.

The combined capabilities will immediately expand both the near- and long-term growth opportunities of Monsanto’s Integrated Farming Systems platform and research and development pipeline in the coming years.

Longer-term, the combination is expected to broaden the product choices available to farmers beyond Monsanto’s current row crop and vegetable portfolio, both inside and outside of the United States. This includes the delivery of insight and decision-support tools that could increase agriculture productivity on a billion planted acres around the globe.

Monsanto and The Climate Corporation share a commitment to delivering innovation for farmers through a broad range of choices and service providers. Monsanto noted that, consistent with its broad-licensing and multi-channel approach to technology, it intends to deliver the value of The Climate Corporation’s current and future applications through its distribution network.

Monsanto today also announced the company’s financial results for its fiscal 2013 fourth quarter and full year, including the financial effect of The Climate Corporation acquisition. For more information about today’s earnings announcement, see the press release and supporting resources available atwww.monsanto.com.

About Monsanto Company

Monsanto Company is a leading global provider of technology-based solutions and agricultural products that improve farm productivity and food quality. Monsanto remains focused on enabling both small-holder and large-scale farmers to produce more from their land while conserving more of our world’s natural resources such as water and energy. To learn more about our business and our commitments, please visit: www.monsanto.com. Follow our business on Twitter^® atwww.twitter.com/MonsantoCo, on the company blog, Beyond the Rows at www.monsantoblog.com, or subscribe to our News Release RSS Feed.

About The Climate Corporation

The Climate Corporation aims to help farmers around the world protect and improve their farming operations with uniquely powerful software and insurance products. The company’s proprietary technology platform combines hyper-local weather monitoring, agronomic data modeling, and high-resolution weather simulations to deliver climate.com, a SaaS solution that helps farmers improve their profits by making better informed operating and financing decisions, and Total Weather Insurance, an insurance offering that pays farmers automatically for bad weather that may impact their profits. The company is also an authorized provider of the U.S. Federal crop insurance program, enabling authorized independent crop insurance agents to provide farmers with the industry’s most powerful full-stack risk management solution. In the face of increasingly volatile weather, the global $3 trillion agriculture industry depends on the company’s unique technologies to help stabilize and improve profits and, ultimately, help feed the world. For more information, please visit http://www.climate.com or follow the company on Twitter @climatecorp.

CEO and chairman Hugh Grant described the earnings call like “none other” as he talked about “integrated farming systems” and other things about extending the company’s advantages. The earnings loss is a sign of possibly weakening positions in some areas although the company is healthy overall, hence the reason for acquisition and diversification.

Yahoo
Oct 2 (Reuters) – Monsanto Co, the world’s largest seed company, reported a larger quarterly loss on Wednesday as seed sales slipped, but total sales rose and the company said it was positioned for strong growth in 2014.

The leading developer of genetically engineered corn, soybeans and other crops also announced it was acquiring a climate data science company as part of a long-term growth plan.

Overall, the company lost $249 million, or 47 cents a share, in the fourth quarter, compared with a loss of $229 million, or 42 cents a share, a year earlier. Analysts on average were expecting a loss of 43 cents a share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Sales rose to $2.2 billion from $2.1 billion a year earlier, but sales of its key seeds and genomics business dropped to $1.19 billion from $1.20 billion a year earlier.

Monsanto in their own words

Monsanto
Year after year, farmers gain valuable insights from their crops and fields. The information helps farmers grow their crops more efficiently, and allows them to make smarter choices as they work to produce more food using fewer resources.

That’s why Monsanto’s acquisition of The Climate Corporation fits in with Monsanto’s commitment to produce more, conserve more and improve lives.

The Climate Corporation’s expertise is in data science. The company turns a wide range of information into valuable insights and recommendations for farmers. For example, recommendations may be planting a few days earlier or changing an irrigation schedule.

The ability to provide farmers better information to develop practical recommendations can help them, regardless of size or preferred production practice, produce more while most efficiently using resources.

The acquisition of The Climate Corporation represents Monsanto investment in supporting farmers by offering them novel options in the way they manage risk on farm – including weather, which is the single biggest risk farmers face on an annual basis. The Climate Corporation’s data science expertise is an important complement to our Integrated Farming Systems℠ research platform that provides farmers with field-by-field recommendations on how to maximize yield and manage risk. The Climate Corporation’s weather-modeling capabilities complement our current FieldScripts℠ offering by adding an additional dimension of analysis to seed prescriptions.

Source: wtfrly.com

Tips for Starting an Apartment Garden

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Whether you’ve got a certified green thumb and are lamenting your move to a yard-less apartment or you’re a longtime apartment dweller looking for a nature-friendly hobby, apartment gardening can be a rewarding way to spend some time, decorate your home, and maybe even grow something edible. This article shares a few tips for getting an apartment garden started.

Location is a primary concern for an apartment garden. Perhaps you have a small—or, if you’re lucky, medium-sized—patio or balcony. If so, that’s a great place to put some pots. Getting down and dirty won’t be as much of a problem outside, and the plants will also be able to absorb more sunlight. If you don’t have any outdoor space to speak of, putting some plants by your windows or growing highly shade-tolerant varieties are also good options.

The Aesthetic

Just because you don’t have a garden plot to plant in doesn’t mean you can’t grow something beautiful or beneficial. Container gardening presents many options for growing a variety of plants, from asparagus to zinnias. It’s also a great opportunity to be creative. Almost anything can serve as a receptacle for soil with a modification or two. From overturned football helmets to watering cans to old boots, you can create a patio- or window-full of eclectic containers holding exciting plants. Even if you’re just using plain ol’ terra cotta pots, consider painting them in interesting ways to help liven up your balcony. Drainage holes are the main necessity for any container being used for plants. If you can’t or don’t want to put holes in a particular pot, think about how to fit a smaller container already equipped with drainage holes inside the pot in question. This can be a good way to hide the not-so-pretty plastic containers you might buy your plants in. You may have to empty the larger containers of water and clean them every so often, but it’s a small price to pay for having better-looking pots.

Consider style

And much as you planned a decorating scheme for your apartment itself, you’ll want to plan a decorating scheme for your garden. Should it be country? Cutesy? Modern and austere? Make sure your containers match each other, as well as your balcony’s general construction and the atmosphere of the rest of your house. If you have a colorful house with eclectic decoration, a dull garden with terra cotta pots will seem out of place. Likewise, if your house overflows with Victorian decor, a set of bright, funky flowerpots painted like cartoon characters might seem a bit out of place next to your Chippendale cabinet.

Eschew clutter

The multitude of exciting plant container possibilities might send you overboard, prompting a shopping spree at the nursery and quickly cluttering up your balcony. Before getting too involved, think realistically about what you can handle, both in terms of time and money. At the same time, you’ll want to remain conscious of any clutter that might develop in your small garden scheme. You may get very gung-ho about the container gardening thing, but that doesn’t mean your patio will look attractive or organized with 1000 tiny plants on it. Consider having a few larger “core” plants around which you can arrange some smaller ones. Larger plants are trickier to grow in smaller pots, but some, like the ever-popular Japanese maple, come in smaller or dwarf varieties and can be very happy in container situations.

Experiment

In addition to being practical for small spaces, container gardening is also convenient and beneficial in other ways. It allows for a lot of experimentation without a lot of investment. Instead of trying to purchase and cultivate enough of an interesting ornamental grass to cover a quarter of your backyard, you can just fill a medium-size container. You can also easily move your plants around to see what looks best, or which plants can provide shade (or thrive in it), all without the mess and uncertainty of constant transplanting. Come winter, you probably won’t need to cover, trim or transplant your entire garden—instead, you’ll just be able to lug some containers inside to brighten up your home.

Get wild

Keep in mind that, depending on their size, your containers by no means need to hold only one type of plant. Many plants thrive in symbiotic relationships with one another in nature, and you can replicate these beneficial pairings in containers. Furthermore, you can create beautiful arrays of color by joining different types of flowers in the same pot or window box. Your neighbors will gasp in envy over the rainbow of hues on your porch!

If you want to read more about starting an apartment garden click here> Read More

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Barley Grass Benefits

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Many health conscious individuals are including green food concentrates such as Barley grass and other cereal grasses in their diets. The appeal being that Barley grass is richer in individual vitamins and enzymes than many other known super-foods. The real benefit and power of Barley grass is the combination of all these nutrients and enzymes in one food.

Barley grass is sprouted from barley seeds and is best consumed by juicing the grass sprouts (at 3 to 7 days old) to produce a powerful fresh green juice elixir. It is also available in powder form (spray-dried barley grass) and is very easily digested by the body.

Celebrity Nutritionist, Gillian McKeith, states in her book, "Living Food for Health: 12 Natural Super-foods to Transform Your Health", that barley grass offers more protein than a sirloin steak, five times the amount of iron as broccoli, seven times more vitamin C than orange juice and 11 times more calcium than milk.

Consuming Barley grass has also shown to balance the pH of the body. The average Western diet is fairly acidic especially when large quantities of processed foods are eaten. Raised acidity in the body is linked to many diseases and general ill-health. Barley grass is very alkalizing and useful for helping the cells in the body function optimally.

Studies on Barley Grass
Research done on patients with ulcerative colitis showed that those given Barley grass showed significant improvements in their symptoms - including fewer episodes of diarrhoea and less pain - compared to the group receiving conventional medication (standard anti-inflammatory medication including steroids).

Ulcerative colitis is linked to low levels of friendly bacteria in the gut and an accumulation of toxins in the bowel. Barley grass helps reverse this by stimulating the growth of friendly bacteria, which in turn helps reduce inflammation and improves symptoms. Barley grass helps combat ulcerative colitis by lowering the amount of inflammatory chemicals in the bowel, including one called epithelial NF-k, and by balancing the water content of the bowel content. Studies also show that barley grass increases the amount of friendly bacteria in the patients' bowels.

Other studies done in Japan have shown that barley grass tea significantly improves the flow of blood as well as lowers the amount of LDL (Low Density Lipoprotein) cholesterol.

Barley grass has also shown promising results in preliminary studies done on its ability to inhibit certain cancer cell growths, mainly breast and prostate cancer. There are testimonies of cancer patients, who have been healed by consuming Barley grass and changing their lifestyles, but further studies are needed.

How To Include Barley Grass In Your Diet
Enjoy barley grass in healthy smoothies or by juicing it. It's simple to grow all year round (by sprouting) on a sunny kitchen windowsill. Cut the grass with kitchen scissors to juice with carrots, apples, beetroot, parsley and celery. Its super-food status makes it well worth having in constant supply.

Try this super-food energising drink from the recipe below. Drink it straight away to benefit from the enzymes and nutrients - it makes enough for two. Use a juicer with a centrifugal twisting action. Ordinary juicers don't twist the juice out thoroughly enough.

Take 2 cups of fresh barley grass and juice with:
2 medium-sized beetroots
2 medium-sized carrots
2 celery sticks
1 cup of parsley
1 large peeled apple or two smaller ones.

Other healthy grasses you can sprout and eat are alfalfa grass, oat grass and wheat grass.

References

1. "Dr. Gillian McKeith's Living Food for Health: 12 Natural Superfoods to Transform Your Health"; Gillian McKeith, M.D.; 2005

2. Yu YM, Chang WC, Chang CT et al. Diabetes Metab 2002, 28(2):107-114

3. http://www.thehealthierlife.co.uk/natural-remedies/herbs/barley-grass...

About the author

Katherine Oosthuis is completing a Diploma in Nutritional Therapy. She researches and writes for a health and nutrition website Detox For Life . Her passion is to make research available to those who are looking to improve their well-being and revolutionise their health through better nutrition and alternative medicines.

Source : Dave Sommers

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Source: http://www.realfarmacy.com,www.facebook.com/guerrillagardening

Foods that strengthen bones!

In our 30s, our bones start to deteriorate.  Prevent fractures boost your bones with a nutritional approach.

Broccoli


Sesame seeds


Spinach


Flax seeds


Kale


Almonds

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Apricot seeds can cure cancer!

 Apricot seeds have quickly gained a lot of attention. Many claim they have potent cancer killing properties. Here you can buy some if you like, they are healthy regardless if you have cancer or not. Please look into the amazing effects of apricots! And please share this info! Click this picture here if you want to look into buying some seeds ------------>

For best results you need the RAW, BITTER, ORGANIC seeds with the highest content of laetrile in the apricot seeds

Not all apricot seeds are equal. You should get the highest potency 

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Fresh RAW, BITTER, ORGANIC Non-Dried California-Grown,
Bitter Apricot Kernels (Seeds)
From: $24.95 $12.95 per lb.