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Jeffrey Smith on Anxiety, depression, GMOs and Roundup on the Anxiety Summit

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Jeffrey Smith, non-GMO advocate, founder of Institute for Responsible Technology, producer of the movie Genetic Roulette, is speaking on the Anxiety Summit. Our topic: “Anxiety & Depression: Health Risks of GMOs and Roundup.” We also talk about GM tryptophan and why it was removed from the market. It was a fabulous interview!

Here is an outline of what we cover:

  • GMO definition, health effects and why advocate a complete ban
  • The sad story of the South African GM corn/mielie farmer – this is a powerful story
  • How Bt toxins damage the gut and become “pesticide producing factories” – this is scary and sounds like a futuristic movie
  • How Roundup affects serotonin production, detoxification and the gut – more on this below in the snippet and video preview
  • Roundup’s new scary use – I had no idea!
  • The GM tryptophan disaster in 1989 – and the theory as to why tryptophan was banned
  • The good news and how you can help bring about change – there is light at the end of the tunnel!

I brought up South Africa during the interview because I was recently there. GMOs are labeled in South which is good and bad. It’s good because you can avoid eating GM products. It’s bad because labeling was done without all the activism we are seeing here in the USA, and I feel there is less awareness about the dangers. Many people are simply consuming these products without any questioning. Here is a picture of the Knorrox label.

knorox pic 1

knorox-ingredients

In this close-up picture, you’ll notice a few things. As well as the label “contains genetically modified materials” i.e. the maize/corn), it also contains:

Getting back to my interview with Jeffrey…he shared the sad story of the South African GM corn/mielie/maize farmer that had a happy ending and he assured me that awareness is growing.

We also talked extensively about how Roundup affects serotonin production, detoxification and the gut.

Here is a snippet from our actual interview we did for the summit:

Roundup shuts down this pathway called the shikimate pathway. Monsanto bragged up-and-down because Roundup blocks the shikimate pathway in order to kill weeds. And because humans don’t have the shikimate pathway, they said Roundup must be safe for humans.

But it’s not safe for a lot of reasons.

It’s an endocrine disruptor. It can promote cancer. It’s linked to heart disease and diabetes. But what they failed to point out was that the shikimate pathway is what our gut bacteria use to produce the vast majority of the l-tryptophan that we assimilate. L-tryptophan is a precursor to melatonin, which is linked to sleep and circadian rhythms, daily cycles, but it’s also a precursor to serotonin and now we land squarely on the world of anxiety. Without sufficient serotonin there can be anxiety and depression.

I managed to nab Jeffrey for a quick preview in August – this snippet in itself is enlightening – he shares more on the shikimate pathway and low serotonin. I always learn from Jeffrey and his energy and passion is amazing! Just watch him in action doing this unprepared on-the-fly interview. Sorry about the background buzz – we were at an event and I couldn’t miss the opportunity to have Jeffrey inspire you.

This is all very timely with October being Non-GMO month, a month of awareness created by the Non-GMO Project, a non-profit organization, offering North America’s only third party verification and labeling for non-GMO (genetically modified organism) food and products.

I hope you’ll join us on the Anxiety Summit season 2. It runs from Nov 3-16 and you’ll learn about this and many other nutritional and natural solutions for anxiety, panic attacks, OCD and social anxiety. This is one of many great topics we’ll be sharing.

 

CA Assemblymember Jerry Hill speaks at NANP conference lunch – part 2

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This is a continuation of the presentation given by CA Assemblymember Jerry Hill during the lunch at the NANP conference, where he mentioned a number of CA nutrition/legislative matters that are near and dear to the hearts of our members, and are encouraging for the health of all Californians.

In this article I’ll be sharing information about California Healthy Food Financing Initiative and school lunches, the award and the delicious menu. The “Let’s Get Healthy California Task Force”, labeling of GMOs and the tax credit for farmers who donate fruits and vegetables to food banks were covered in part 1.

(1)  The introduction of the California Healthy Food Financing Initiative (AB 581) to expand access to healthy foods in underserved communities.

According to the author, AB 581 will increase access to healthy and nutritious foods to underserved urban and rural communities in California.  Known as “food deserts,” regions of California without access to healthy food generally have a higher incidence of certain types of diseases such as diabetes, cancer, obesity, heart disease, and premature death.

You can read the whole bill here.

(2)  First Lady Michelle Obama is championing the cause of improving the health of our children. The California Department of Education will work closely with school districts as they make school lunch improvements

“These new standards will help put more fresh fruits and vegetables in school lunches, which means healthier children in our classrooms,” State Schools Chief Tom Torlakson stated.

This is a great start and we do have a way to go as Congress wants to keep pizza and french fries on school lunch lines, fighting back against an Obama administration proposal to make school lunches healthier.

Assemblymember Jerry Hill wrapped up by saying “thank you for everything you are doing” and awarded an Assembly Certificate of Recognition to NANP:

I am pleased to recognize and commend the NANP for its advocacy on behalf of holistic nutrition professionals in support of their right to practice.

recognition from assemblyman jerry hill
Recognition from CA Assemblyman Jerry Hill

And then we all enjoyed a delicious organic locally sourced lunch that was free of gluten, corn, soy, canola, white or artificial sugars and included raw dairy and wild-caught fish.  You can see all the menus here. Here is the lunch menu:

Tossed Arugula and Baby Spinach, Dried Figs, toasted Walnuts with Balsamic Vinaigrette (Dressing on the side)
Poached Salmon with Watercress Reduction
Brown Rice Lentil Pilaf
Braised Spinach with Extra Virgin Olive & Herbed Roma Tomato
Gluten-free Bread
Raw Butter
Seasonal Fruit with Fresh Whipped Cream
Vegetarian Option: Roasted Eggplant Stuffed with Mediterranean Vegetable Ragout with Quinoa Pilaf

May all Californians (and everyone everywhere) be healthy and happy and have the means to eat delicious and healthy food like this. Thanks Assemblymember Hill for joining us and doing your part!

[Note: I say “we” on behalf of NANP and the legislative committee, which I chair]

CA Assemblymember Jerry Hill speaks at NANP conference lunch – part 1

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Assemblyman Jerry Hill luncheon address at NANP conference

It was a real pleasure to have CA Assemblymember Jerry Hill (who  represents the 19th district) join us for lunch at the NANP conference.  We had met him and invited him to join us during the recent CA lobby days. We are so pleased he joined us and we thoroughly enjoyed his wonderful presentation.

Assemblymember Hill started off by saying “You represent everything that is good” and endorsed the conference theme of Holistic Nutrition Through the Ages, saying “what you are doing is so important”.

Assemblymember Hill then went on to mention a number of CA nutrition/legislative matters that are near and dear to the hearts of our members, and are encouraging for the health of all Californians:

(1)  On May 3, Gov. Jerry Brown  drafted a “Let’s Get Healthy California Task Force” to develop a 10-year plan to improve Californians’ health and reduce health-care costs.

Preventable and chronic health conditions are detrimental to every Californian’s quality of life, cause disproportionate social and economic burdens, and result in California spending 80% of the state’s total healthcare dollars on just 20% of the population.

The NANP and our members can be a big part of this, distributing wellness and nutritional information and helping people make informed decisions about their own health.

(2)  The labeling of GMOs was added to the CA ballot on May 2

In victory rallies across state today, supporters celebrated as the California Right to Know campaign filed 971,126 signatures for the state’s first-ever ballot initiative to require labeling of genetically engineered foods. The huge signature haul, gathered in a 10-week period, is nearly double the 555,236 signatures the campaign needs to qualify for the November ballot.

If passed this November, Californians will join citizens of over 40 countries including all of Europe, Japan and even China who have the right to know whether they are eating genetically engineered food.   

You can read why we need this GMO labeling to ensure the safety of food for California families and children and that even chickens refuse GM corn (or mielies as its called in South Africa)

(3)  California legislators enacted a tax credit for farmers who donate fruits and vegetables to food banks.  Here is information on AB152 prior to the bill being passed: http://www.cafoodbanks.org/docs/AB%20152%20Full%20Factsheet.pdf

Every dollar in credit leverages approximately 10-20 pounds of fresh healthy food for low-income Californians. California growers want to do their part to help low-income Californians eat more fresh healthy food. California would be following the lead of several other states, including Arizona, Colorado, North Carolina, and Oregon that offer tax incentives to encourage fresh produce donations from growers to emergency food providers.

You can read this great post by Amy Winterfeld: what lawmakers in other states are doing to encourage better eating and support local economies.

Assemblymember Hill also shared information about California Healthy Food Financing Initiative and school lunches and this, together with the award and  menu  will be covered in part 2.

[Note: I say “we” on behalf of NANP and the legislative committee, which I chair]

Label GMOs for the safety of food for our families and children

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There is an initiative in CA to label products that contain GMO (Generically Modified Organisms) ingredients. Label GMOs is a great site for everything you need to know and the Facebook page is http://www.facebook.com/labelgmos

“Help ensure the safety of food for California families and children. Let’s get labeling of genetically modified foods on the Ballot for 2012.”

“Because this is a California Ballot Initiative, we need in-person, physical signatures. We cannot gather online and have until April 22nd to gather 800,000 signatures to get this on the 2012 California Ballot.”

I think these statements say it all:

“We Currently Eat Genetically Engineered Food, But Don’t Know It”

“GMO Corn is regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency as an Insecticide” – wow! I did not know this!

“Today, as much as 86% of corn in the U.S. is GMO” so if you’re eating processed foods you are eating GMO ingredients.

“also potatoes altered with bacteria genes, “super” pigs altered with human growth genes, tomatoes altered with fish genes, and fish altered with cattle growth genes”

You can read more from Label GMOs here and I know you’ll want your food to be labeled.

The Millions Against Monsanto Facebook group is growing by the day and has some great resources for learning about GMOs   Millions Against Monsanto. It’s an open group so feel free to join and learn and comment.

This was a pretty sad and poorly researched GMO article in the Sacramento Bee http://www.sacbee.com/2012/02/19/4272670/label-this-one-do-not-touch.html

But good to see how many people are not putting up with poor reporting like this! One good thing is understanding how the uninformed think.

You can read some of my earlier posts on GMOs, where I talk about why GMOs are unhealthy and also labeling of GMO salmon in California last year.  At this stage we just don’t know enough about the possible long term consequences to our physical and mental health.