Alfalfa proven to lower cholesterol and shows promise in healing lupus

(NaturalNews) Alfalfa (medicago sativa L.) is probably one of the most widely recognized foods in the natural health community. Alfalfa sprouts are found in practically every grocery store in the U.S., and alfalfa grass powder is well known as a green superfood. Alfalfa is an antipyretic, which means it is a fever reducer. It is a diuretic, meaning it increases urination. It is an appetite stimulant, and is a hemostatic, which means it helps to stop bleeding. Alfalfa is mineral and vitamin rich. It is very high in the macro-nutrients calcium, magnesium, potassium, and phosphorus. Alfalfa has a high chlorophyll content, and contains almost every known vitamin. It has been clinically proven to reduce LDL cholesterol and shows promise in the treatment of autoimmune diseases such as lupus.

Alfalfa seeds lower LDL cholesterol

In a 1987 clinical study published in Atherosclerosis, fifteen patients with hyperlipoproteinemia (high blood cholesterol levels) were given forty grams of alfalfa seeds three times a day for two months. No other changes were made to the patients' diets. At the end of the study, the patients saw an average 17% decrease in their overall plasma cholesterol levels and an 18% decrease in their LDL, the so-called "bad" cholesterol levels. After the patients stopped eating alfalfa, all of their blood cholesterol levels rose again. The researchers concluded that adding alfalfa to the diet on a daily basis could help normalize blood cholesterol levels.

Similar results were found in-vitro and with rats during a 1984 clinical study. Here, the researchers used alfalfa sprouts and grass. Liver cholesterol, bile acid excretion and colon structure were observed in the rats. Alfalfa grass bound significantly with cholesterol. Alfalfa sprouts did as well, but to a lesser extent. Bile acid absorption was also greater in alfalfa grass than in alfalfa sprouts.

Alfalfa shows promise in healing lupus and other auto-immune diseases

The March 2009 issue of the medical journal Lupus included a study performed on female mice who had systemic lupus. The scientists knew that alfalfa sprout extract has anti-inflammatory properties, so they wanted to test alfalfa for any effects on lupus erythematosus. Protein in the urine was delayed and longevity was significantly increased in the experimental group of mice who consumed alfalfa sprout extract. In addition, blood markers for infection were also significantly lowered in the alfalfa-fed mice. The mice also had less kidney disease (glomerulonephritis). Because alfalfa sprout extract decreased the severity of disease, increased both the survival and the life span of the mice who consumed it, the researchers stated that alfalfa should be considered as a treatment in auto-immune diseases.

Sources for this article include:

Medicinal Herb Info.org. "Alfalfa" http://medicinalherbinfo.org/herbs/Alfalfa.html

Pubmed.gov. "Alfalfa seeds lower low density lipoprotein cholesterol and apolipoprotein B concentrations in patients with type II hyperlipoproteinemia." J. Molgaard, et al. Atherosclerosis. May 1987; 65(1-2): 173-9. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3606731

Pubmed.gov. "Interactions of alfalfa plant and sprout saponins with cholesterol in vitro and in cholesterol-fed rats." J.A. Story, et al. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. June 1984; 39(6): 917-29. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6720621

Pubmed.gov. "The ethyl acetate extract of alfalfa sprout ameliorates disease severity of autoimmune-prone MRL-lpr/lpr mice." Y.H. Hong, et al. Lupus March 2009; 18(3): 206-15.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19213858

The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.org. "Alfalfa, Vitamin E, and Auto-immune Disorders," Victor Herbert and Tracy Stopler Kasdan. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition October 1994; 60(4): 639-40. http://www.ajcn.org/content/60/4/639.long

About the author:
This article is provided courtesy of Donna Earnest Pravel, owner and senior editor of Heart of Texas Copywriting Solutions.com. Get free biweekly tips on natural healing and herbs by visiting her blog, Bluebonnet Natural Healing Therapy.

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/034740_alfalfa_cholesterol_lupus.html#ixzz1kMibdTho

Parsley attracts predatory insects that protect your garden against pests

(NaturalNews) Companion planting is the ancient technique of planting different crops in close proximity that can provide benefits to each other. For example, the famous three sisters planting widely used by native people across North America involved planting beans to fix nitrogen in the soil, corn for the beans to climb, and squash to shade the ground.

In a garden, parsley excels at repelling harmful insects and attracting beneficial ones. Beetles dislike parsley leaves and will avoid it, an effect that can be extended by sprinkling nearby crops with parsley leaves or a tea brewed from them. If you let your parsley flower and go to seed, it will attract predatory wasps and hoverflies that will kill caterpillars and other garden predators.

Tomatoes especially like being planted near parsley, as the herb attracts wasps that kill the tomato hornworm. Parsley planted near rose bushes will actually make your roses more fragrant.

After parsley has done its job eliminating pests in the garden, you can juice it along with celery, apples and carrots to make a super detox cleansing juice. Parsley is high in chlorophyll which also helps cleanse your blood and eliminate bad breath and body odor.

One caution, though: don't plant mint and parsley close together, or neither plant will thrive.

Source: 25 Amazing Facts About Food, authored by Mike Adams and David Guiterrez. This report reveals surprising things about where your food comes from and what's really in it! Download the full report (FREE) by clicking here. Inside, you'll learn 24 more amazing but true facts about foods, beverages and food ingredients. Instant download of the complete PDF. All 25 facts are documented and true.

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/034746_parsley_companion_planting_garden_pests.html#ixzz1kMgMeYtX

A primer on 3D printing

http://www.ted.com 2012 may be the year of 3D printing, when this three-decade-old technology finally becomes accessible and even commonplace. Lisa Harouni gives a useful introduction to this fascinating way of making things -- including intricate objects once impossible to create.

Understand the calcium myth; here's what really makes healthy bones

(NaturalNews) For years we have been taught that calcium was the great solution to weakened bones. Pre and post-menopausal women are recommended to take calcium supplements to prevent bone loss and osteoporosis. New research has shown that the theory of calcium supplementation improving bone health is a myth.

Calcium is the cornerstone mineral in bones. However, calcium consumption does not build bones. Countries with the highest dietary calcium consumption (US, Canada, & Scandinavian countries) have the highest rates of osteoporosis.

A recent meta-analysis published in the British Medical Journal showed that calcium supplementation actually increased the risk of heart attacks. This study and others have looked at individuals taking calcium supplements in isolation without other key nutrients that play a role in calcium homeostasis.

New research has shown that very little dietary calcium actually makes it into bones. Experts estimate that it is around 1-2% at best. Many forms of calcium such as coral calcium, oyster shell calcium, calcium citrate and calcium carbonate are not metabolized well in the body. These forms of calcium are not well tolerated and form small rocks that get deposited in the soft tissue structures of the body.

Nanobacteria use the little calcium blocks to form hard shells of calcium phosphate as protection against the body's immune system. This is similar to a snail using a shell as a form of armor from predators. This encapsulation provides a hiding spot for pathogenic bacteria, viruses and parasites. This promotes a continual inflammatory process in the area around the calcium shell creating plaque formation.

Proper Calcium Mineralization Depends upon Vitamin D3 and Vitamin K2
These nutrients stimulate the activity of the osteoblastic protein osteocalcin. Osteocalcin acts to strongly absorb and selectively place calcium from the bloodstream into the bone matrix. This acts like a vacuum, creating a very strong pull that sucks the excess calcium stones out of the bloodstream and possibly out of mineralized plaques.

Osteocalcin only becomes active when adequate levels of vitamin K2 are present. Vitamin K2 and vitamin D3 also act to inhibit osteoclasts, which act to break down bone. Most individuals are both deficient in D3 and K2. This creates an environment of poor calcium metabolism that leads to weakened bones and calcium deposition in soft tissues.

The bones also need a good mix of essential minerals and fatty acids for healthy bone function. This includes plant-derived magnesium and silica as well as animal forms of saturated fat and the long-chain omega-3 fatty acids EPA & DHA.

The best forms of silica come from cucumbers, celery, bell peppers, horsetail, nettles, oat straw & alfalfa. Magnesium comes from many different sources including nuts, seeds, legumes and green vegetables. The best source of magnesium is raw, organic cacao and high quality dark chocolate.

Another powerful form of essential minerals is found in pink salts including Himalayan Sea Salt. These salts provide ideal mineral ratios for optimal absorption and usage in the body. Sea vegetables such as kelp, dulse and other forms of seaweed and sea algae like chlorella are also fantastic sources of bone-building nutrients.

The best forms of calcium and bone building nutrients come from leafy green vegetables and fermented, raw milk products from 100-green fed cows and goats. Pasteurized forms of milk and grain-fed animals provide inflammatory fatty-acids and other metabolites that promote calcium mineralization into arterioles.

Raw cheese and fermented drinks from 100% green-fed animals provide the perfect ratio of vitamin D3, K2, calcium, magnesium, zinc, omega-3 fatty acids and saturated fat. Raw cheese is perhaps the best bone building, cardio-protective food one could consume.

Sources For This Article Include
http://www.bmj.com/content/341/bmj.c3691.full
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/03/26/the-delicate-dance-between-vitamins-d-and-k.aspx
Rheaume-Bleue, Katie. Vitamin K2 and the Calcium Paradox: How a Little-Known Vitamin Could Save Your Life. 2012.
Proper calcium mineralization depends upon optimal levels of vitamin D and vitamin K.

About the author:
Dr. David Jockers owns and operates Exodus Health Center in Kennesaw, Ga. He is a Maximized Living doctor. His expertise is in weight loss, customized nutrition & exercise, & structural corrective chiropractic care. For more information go to www.exodushc.com To find a Maximized Living doctor near you go to www.maximizedliving.com Dr. Jockers is also available for long distance phone consultations to help you beat disease and reach your health goals

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/034677_calcium_bones_vitamin_D3.html#ixzz1jn1xxykt

Giant Foot Print 200 Million Yrs Old - South Africa

Michael Tellinger shows off what could be one of the best pieces of evidence that there were giants on Earth a long, long time ago. Geologists have marvelled at this giant foot print in rough granite, about 4 feet long. Some still say that it is a natural erosion pattern.
Personally I find that suggestion highy improbable for various reasons that I will not go into here. Prof. Pieter Wagener from UPE, suggests that "there is a higher probability of little green men arriving from space and licking it out with their tongues, than being created by natural erosion".
It is located in South Africa, near the town of Mpaluzi, close to the Swaziland border. It is estimated to be between 200 million and 3 Billion years old because of our current understanding of the formation of granites in Earth's history. This dating immediately causes great debate and argument - so I urge you to keep your mind open and focused on the evidence.
This amazing footprint in granite was discovered in 1912 by a hunter called Stoffel Coetzee, while hunting in the remote area. At the time this was a deeply remote part of South Africa known as the Eastern Transvaal, teeming with wild life, including antelope and lions. It remains in the same condition as it was when first discovered and the possibility that this was a carved hoax is extremely low because of its remote location. Even today, it is difficult to find.
The real mystery is how this amazing phenomenon occured - I have no idea - but here it is and we cannot wish it away.
YES - It is granite - it is a well recognised geological part of South Africa and recorded on all geological maps - that is why this footprint is such an incredible mystery. It can be desribed as a "phenocrystic" granite, OR coarse porphyritic granite, that underwent several different stages of cooling. The result being an interesting mixture of large and small granules. This is why granite companies are keen to mine this area for granite because it will look really "pretty" when polished. In the official Geology Of South Africa, this outcrop is called Mpuluzi Batholith (Granite) and the official dating of this rock produced dates of around 3,1 billion years.
A real mystery that needs close scientific examination.

How to detox aluminum and why it's necessary

(NaturalNews) We are in the "Age of Aluminum", this according to a lecture by Dr. Chris Exley, PhD at a January 2011 vaccine safety conference in Jamaica. A common expression among those who deflect aluminum's toxicity issues is that aluminum is prominent throughout the earth's crust. What they fail to mention is that aluminum (Al) wasn't widely bioavailable to humans until the latter part of the 19th Century when it began to be mined for creating metals and medicines.

Now we have aluminum appearing in cookware, wrapping foils, beverage and food containers, underarm deodorants, tobacco, over the counter (OTC) and prescribed medicines, and as adjuvants in vaccines. Al is highly reactive with other chemicals and creates antigens to stimulate immune system antibody responses in vaccines. But the mechanics of these reactions are not understood by Big Pharma.

Dr. Exley, has been focused on aluminum biochemical mechanics for two decades, and doesn't claim to know all the answers. But he knows how wrong those who do claim to have all the answers are, and they are among the ranks of Al toxicity danger naysayers and the vaccine industry.

Aluminum body burdens

We all have some level of Al in us with which are bodies are coping. The tissues most prone to collecting and storing aluminum are those tissues with a slow cellular turnover. Cells die off and regenerate quickly on the skin, but not so quickly in bone matter, heart tissue and the brain. Those last three organs that don't have a rapid cellular turnover are most prone to collecting and storing Al.

Yes, the brain stores quite a of bit Al. And that's where MS, chronic fatigue syndromes, epilepsy, ADD, Alzheimer's, Guilliane-Barre' syndrome (a common post vaccination injury) and other neurological disorders manifest. Aluminum compounds that are injected bypass the liver and kidneys and tend to remain in slow cellular replacing tissues.

Non-ingested Al also includes smoking tobacco or marijuana, applied sunscreens and cosmetics and chemtrails. All vaccinations contain Al. Claiming they're safe without mercury, as some A1 proponents do, is incorrect. Exley also mentioned that most vaccines contain some iron -- iron combined with aluminum creates a highly biochemically-reactive compound.

Chemtrails are not contrails. They are real. All samples collected worldwide contained aluminum and more (http://www.naturalnews.com/032572_chemtrails_health.html).

In the last 100 years, we have managed to increase the Al body burden considerably. The threshold for Al toxicity varies. But the incredible increase in neurological disorders during this "Age of Aluminum" demonstrates the need for eliminating it from our bodies as much as possible.

Easy methods for eliminating Al

Dr. Exley mentions one agent that pushes out stored Al from our bodies: High silica content mineral water. He mentioned two brands, Volvic, which is sold at various Whole Food and Trader Joe stores, and Spritzer, which is harder to find.

He and his team of researchers have tested the urine to prove high silica content mineral waters do the trick. He even presented anecdotal evidence of Gardasil adverse-reaction victims improving after a few months of drinking this type of water. He recommends drinking a liter a day to reduce your aluminum body burden.

But that water's a little pricey. You can order an inexpensive pound of horsetail herbs and make teas and tinctures to accommodate a less expendable budget. Making tinctures is easy (http://www.naturalnews.com/032298_herbs_tinctures.html). Organic cucumbers are high in silica also and provide yet another alternative.

As long as there pockets of Al stored in our bodies, the potential for passing the threshold of absolute toxicity exists. Reducing the Al burden is vital for optimum health even when you manage to avoid the most common sources.

Sources for this article include:

http://gaia-health.com/gaia-blog/2011-12-14/leach-aluminum-from-your-body-drink-silicon-rich-water/

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10612067

http://www.whole-body-detox-diet.com/raw-foodist.html

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/034607_aluminum_poisoning_detox.html#ixzz1j1v6hx1c