To understand the enormity of the problem it is necessary to examine the biology of the world's food chain. and the way it has been distorted and manipulated to serve the interests of a select few.

Let's consider a simple chain like : Grass, Grasshoppers, frogs, trout, and humans.

At each stage of the chain there is a loss of energy:

it takes energy to eat grass, to digest it, to catch a grasshopper etc.

In the process of catching and devouring prey, scientists have estimated about 80% to 90% of the available energy is lost as heat to the environment.

In other words only 10 to 20% of the energy is passed on to the next stage of the chain.

If we assume that you need 300 trout to support a human for a year, those 300 trout would need consume 90,000 frogs, which would need 27 million grasshoppers. Those 27 million grasshoppers would live off 100 tons of grass.

With this in mind it is not difficult to fathom the dire consequences of a beef industry that completely lost its way when it moved from grass to grain fed. Cattle are among the most inefficient converters of energy. it takes 9 pounds of feed to make a one pound gain  in a feedlot steer, six pounds of which is grain. By the time this animal is ready for slaughter, it has consumed 2700 pounds of grain and weighs approx. 1000-1100 pounds. Currently in the United States alone, some 200 million metric tons of cereal, legumes, and vegetable protein suitable for human use is fed to to livestock to produce some 30 metric tons of animal protein which humans consume annually.

But!! There are several breeds of cattle that can be perfectly raised on grass alone (Limousin, Highland) and which can make excellent use of land not suitable for other food production.

Note: Beef raised on pasture, with no or hardly any grain is higher in Omega 3, while grain fed beef is high in Omega 6

In 1963 it was discovered that the omega-6  was converted by the body into pro-inflammatory agents called prostaglandins. By 1979 more of what are now known as eicosanoids were discovered: thromboxanes, prostacyclins and the leukotrienes. The eicosanoids, which have important biological functions, typically have a short active lifetime in the body, starting with synthesis from fatty acids and ending with metabolism by enzymes. However if the rate of synthesis exceeds the rate of metabolism, the excess eicosanoids may have deleterious effects. Researchers found that omega-3 is also converted into eicosanoids, but at a much slower rate. Eicosanoids made from omega-3 fats often have opposing functions to those made from omega-6 fats (ie, anti-inflammatory rather than inflammatory). If both omega-3 and omega-6 are present, they will "compete" to be transformed, so the ratio of omega-3:omega-6 directly affects the type of eicosanoids that are produced.

This competition was recognized as important when it was found that thromboxane is a factor in the clumping of platelets, which leads to thrombosis. The leukotrienes were similarly found to be important in immune/inflammatory-system response, and therefore relevant to arthritis, lupus, and asthma. These discoveries led to greater interest in finding ways to control the synthesis of omega-6 eicosanoids. The simplest way would be by consuming more omega-3 and fewer omega-6 fatty acids.

We all know  that the clumping of the platelets is the major cause of a heart attack or a stroke.

Safety Margins in the Supply Chain?

and the Greatest Story not told

Health facts Compliments of Palliser Group Network

Other major findings that may lead to greater prevention of chronic illnesses include a decrease in risk of colon cancer with longer du- rations of use of aspirin. The risk reduction was substantial after ->10 years of use. A decrease in risk of colon cancer with moderate levels of physical activity also offers an important avenue for prevention. We reported that coffee drinking is not related to risk of CHD. Women consuming ->6 cups of coffee per day had a relative risk of CHD that was 0.95 (95% CI 0.73-1.26) compared with women who did not consume coffee. Suicide is less likely among women as level of coffee intake increases.

Dump the vegetable oil, wheat, soy, sugar and processed food in favor of the things the human body is equipped to handle: animal fats, root vegetables, vegetables, fruit, meats, organs, seafood, eggs, nuts and soaked or fermented non-gluten grains and legumes. Throw in some bugs if you're feeling adventurous

Saturated Fats Charged with New Crime!

Swedish newspapers recently described a new study in which saturated fat is charged with impeding cognitive performance. "Saturated fat can make you stupid," said one headline.

The study was published in the European Journal of Neurology (volume 13, 2006). Male and female rats were divided into two groups, one fed a diet of 42 percent fat from a mixture of coconut oil and corn oil; the other was fed a diet of 10 percent fat. The high-fat diet had a negative effect on "hippocampal neurogenesis," that is, the generation of nerve cells in an area of the brain called the hippocampus, but only in the male rats. The authors concluded, ". . . our study provides the first compelling evidence that a high intake of dietary fat per se has a negative influence on hippocampal neurogenesis."

Note, first of all, that the authors did not single out saturated fats in their conclusion--these accusations only appeared in the media. In fact, the authors do not provide any information in the study about the precentage of fatty acids in the dietary mix. The mix could have been mostly polyunsaturated corn oil--and several studies have shown that polyunsaturated oil inhibits neurological development and function.

Nor do the researchers indicate what kind of coconut oil they were using. Most of the coconut oil used in scientific experiments is fully hydrogenated, a process that gets rid of all the essential fatty acids. Thus, the diet of corn oil and coconut oil may have induced a deficiency in omega-3 fatty acids, another likely explanation for cognitive decline.

But the interesting thing about these findings is that they only occurred in male rats, not in the females, an indication that the lack of neurogenesis was related to hormonal factors. Most rat chow is based on soy, rich in estrogenic compounds that have been shown to have deleterious effects on male rats. So maybe this is the dead give away and a possible indication of what kind of fat we are dealing with.

There is no way to tell from this study which factors inhibited hippocampal neurogenesis but the one that is the least likely to be the culprit--the normal brain contains very high levels of saturated fat--has become the whipping boy for the others.

NB. the brain is 70% fat necessary to insulate the neurons

In fact all indications point in the direction of polyunsaturated fats and an over abundance of Omega -6 fatty acids Now slowly becoming one of the main culprits in so many North American diseases.

Greatest Story not told

CoEnzyme Q10 for Healthy Hearts

by John Williamson Cameron

ARTICLE SUMMARY

• CoenzymeQ10 is a substance synthesized in all cells of the body which is necessary for synthesis of ATP, the substance that provides energy to all cells.

• CoenzymeQ10 deficiency can be caused by reduced synthesis of CoQ10 due to nutrient deficiencies or statin drug use, or by increased utilization of CoQ10 by the body due to certain diseases, aging, or by an inflammatory atherogenic physiological state resulting from excess consumption of carbohydrates, calories and omega-6 fatty acids and inadequate intake of omega-3 fatty acids.

• The filling or diastolic phase of the heart cycle uses more energy than the contraction or systolic phase and CoQ10 deficiency can cause impairment of the filling cycle of the heart leading to heart failure if not corrected. CoQ10 supplementation to provide adequate CoQ10 levels can prevent diastolic heart failure. For those with diastolic dysfunction, CoQ10 supplementation will improve diastolic function and can normalize heart function if irreversible damage to heart muscle has not occurred. CoQ10 also regenerates alpha-tocopherol to the active, reduced form.

• Ubiquinol, the reduced form of CoQ10, is a potent anti-oxidant that helps protect cells of the body from oxidative damage. Increased oxidative stress due to aging, poor diet or inflammatory disease results in decreased levels of ubiquinol and total CoQ10. The level of oxidative stress can be reduced by adoption of a good diet and by supplementation with CoQ10 to increase the anti-oxidant protection available. For those who have coronary artery disease, these measures will reduce the progression of the disease and reduce the risk of plaque rupture.

• Those with conditions such as type-2 diabetes, asthma, arthritis and hypertension, and those over 65 years of age or taking statin drugs, are likely to be CoQ10 deficient and would therefore benefit from CoQ10 supplementation. CoQ10 is a substance that occurs naturally in the body so there are no significant side effects. While it would be desirable to have blood levels tested, there are very few labs in the US capable of accurately testing CoQ10 levels.

Coenzyme Q10 is a fat-soluble vitamin-like substance present in every cell of the body, which serves as a coenzyme for several of the key enzymatic steps in synthesis of ATP on which production of energy within all cells depends. In its reduced form, called ubiquinol, Coenzyme Q10 is a potent anti-oxidant that protects cells from damage by free radicals. It also regenerates other anti-oxidants, including vitamins C and E.

Read the Full Story Here and understand the horrific consequences of a pharmaceutical industry only interested in profits and not even remotely trying to keep up the pretense of interest in human welfare or social benefit.

Much of our present human suffering is not by accident or a necessary outcome of our western wy of living. Most of it is by insidious design because it either maximizes profits or it would slowdown a company's growth potential or momentum