I thought this was interesting! Tho parts of it may be specific to the
US. From
http://www.mercola.com/2005/dec/8/th..._your_body.htm
***************
The Damage GM Foods Can Do to Your Body

A project to develop genetically modified, pest-resistant peas has been
abandoned after tests showed the peas cause lung damage in mice.

Protein Kills Pea Weevils

Field peas are susceptible to pea weevils, which lay their eggs on pea
pods. The gene for a protein capable of killing pea weevil pests was
transferred from the common bean to the peas. This protein does not
normally cause allergic reactions in mice or people.

Structural Changes

But when the protein is expressed in the pea, its structure becomes
subtly different from the original. Researchers say that this indicates
a potential for unpredicted and unintended effects due to such
structural changes. In this case, it was probably caused by differences
in the ways that the two plants produce proteins.

Lung Damage

Trials showed that the GM peas were almost completely resistant to pea
weevils. But mice injected with the protein showed a hypersensitive
skin response, and those exposed to it in airborne form developed
airway inflammation and lung damage. The effect was the same whether
the protein was taken from raw peas or cooked peas.

In the early 1990s, a similar situation happened when researchers
engineered a new strain of soy bean by adding a gene taken from brazil
nuts. But that project ended when it was discovered that the hybrid was
likely to trigger a major attack in people with brazil nut allergies.


New Scientist November 21, 2005

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dr. Mercola's Comment:

For a long while, I've been warning you about the blight of genetically
modified (GM) crops on our world's food supply, always concerned about
their effect on your bodies and health. Now, we have another clue about
their potential dangers.

Luckily, this study*-- a rare glimpse into Frankenstein-like crop
combinations gone bad -- was conducted by a national research
organization. Had a private company like Monsanto been involved in this
study,*you would most likey have*never heard a thing about it.

Chances are very good you've eaten GM foods: At least seven out of 10
items at your neighborhood grocery store contain them. That said,
there's some steps you can take that will help you steer clear of them:

* Reduce or Eliminate Processed Foods.*Some 75 percent of processed
foods contain GM ingredients. There are many reasons why processed
foods are not optimal for your health -- for instance they often
contain trans fat, acrylamide and little nutritional value -- so
avoiding them will not only help you to cut back on the amount of GM
foods you are consuming, but will also boost your health.
* Read produce and food labels. GM soybeans and corn make up the
largest portion of genetically modified crops. When looking at a
product label, if any ingredients such as corn flour and meal, dextrin,
starch, soy sauce, margarine, and tofu (to name a few) are listed,
there's a good chance it has come from GM corn or soy, unless it's
listed as organic.
* Buy organic produce. Buying organic is currently the best way to
ensure that your food has not been genetically modified. By definition,
food that is certified organic must be free from all GM organisms,
produced without artificial pesticides and fertilizers and from an
animal reared without the routine use of antibiotics, growth promoters
or other drugs.
* Look at Produce Stickers. Those little stickers on fruit and
vegetables contain different PLU codes depending on whether the fruit
was conventionally grown, organically grown or genetically modified.
The PLU code for conventionally grown fruit consists of four numbers,
organically grown fruit has five numbers prefaced by the number nine,
and GM fruit has five numbers prefaced by the number eight.

Wow that was helpful Shannon - I read Mercola's column all the time - I have
twice weekly emails on the latest topics sent to me. I missed this one.

I have always known to avoid corn products - they are the most heavily
genetically engineered crop, bar none. Corn syrup is the most prevalent,
and dangerous. I read an article weeks ago about how corn syrup actually
cannot be properly metabolized by the body, so it gets converted to fat
twice as fast as regular cane sugar. It also dramatically raises
trygliceride levels, one of the chief markers for early heart disease.

It also is looking like the number one reason for rising rates of obesity
around the world. I've heard that every time people catch on to the corn
syrup debate for example, the processors of GM corn keep changing the
identifying name - examples include sucrose and maltodextrine, dextrose,
dextrine, fructose and glucose (from corn) - all sugars made from the
processing of corn - these are clear signs that GM corn is being used in a
given product. In fact, try finding a commercial jam anymore that is made
with plain old sugar. I couldn't! Unless it was organic of course. I even
wrote to the Smucker's people who just switched over to corn syrup recently,
from sugar, and I never got a response. Corn syrup is much much cheaper
than sugar; this is why everyone has been switching over - yet our bodies
just cannot properly absorb it. It's even in soft drinks now - as a liquid
sugar so to speak.

Thanks for highlighting this issue. As to any relevance to homeopathy -
tons. Sugar suppressess the immune system almost immediately after
ingestion - one spoonful's worth can suppress our immune response by up to
50%. Do this several times a day (corn products and sugars are in almost
every processed food) and homeopathic remedies have a much harder job to do.
We are also, by extension, more vulernable to the daily exposure of viruses,
bacterium, etc.

Martha


----- Original Message -----
From: "Robert & Shannon Nelson" <shannonnelson@tds.net>
To: <homeopathy@homeolist.com>
Sent: Thursday, December 08, 2005 7:59 AM
Subject: [H] OT-GM Foods, More Adventures


>I thought this was interesting! Tho parts of it may be specific to the US.
>From
> http://www.mercola.com/2005/dec/8/th..._your_body.htm
> ***************
> The Damage GM Foods Can Do to Your Body
>
> A project to develop genetically modified, pest-resistant peas has been
> abandoned after tests showed the peas cause lung damage in mice.
>
> Protein Kills Pea Weevils
>
> Field peas are susceptible to pea weevils, which lay their eggs on pea
> pods. The gene for a protein capable of killing pea weevil pests was
> transferred from the common bean to the peas. This protein does not
> normally cause allergic reactions in mice or people.
>
> Structural Changes
>
> But when the protein is expressed in the pea, its structure becomes subtly
> different from the original. Researchers say that this indicates a
> potential for unpredicted and unintended effects due to such structural
> changes. In this case, it was probably caused by differences in the ways
> that the two plants produce proteins.
>
> Lung Damage
>
> Trials showed that the GM peas were almost completely resistant to pea
> weevils. But mice injected with the protein showed a hypersensitive skin
> response, and those exposed to it in airborne form developed airway
> inflammation and lung damage. The effect was the same whether the protein
> was taken from raw peas or cooked peas.
>
> In the early 1990s, a similar situation happened when researchers
> engineered a new strain of soy bean by adding a gene taken from brazil
> nuts. But that project ended when it was discovered that the hybrid was
> likely to trigger a major attack in people with brazil nut allergies.
>
>
> New Scientist November 21, 2005
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Dr. Mercola's Comment:
>
> For a long while, I've been warning you about the blight of genetically
> modified (GM) crops on our world's food supply, always concerned about
> their effect on your bodies and health. Now, we have another clue about
> their potential dangers.
>
> Luckily, this study -- a rare glimpse into Frankenstein-like crop
> combinations gone bad -- was conducted by a national research
> organization. Had a private company like Monsanto been involved in this
> study, you would most likey have never heard a thing about it.
>
> Chances are very good you've eaten GM foods: At least seven out of 10
> items at your neighborhood grocery store contain them. That said, there's
> some steps you can take that will help you steer clear of them:
>
> * Reduce or Eliminate Processed Foods. Some 75 percent of processed foods
> contain GM ingredients. There are many reasons why processed foods are not
> optimal for your health -- for instance they often contain trans fat,
> acrylamide and little nutritional value -- so avoiding them will not only
> help you to cut back on the amount of GM foods you are consuming, but will
> also boost your health.
> * Read produce and food labels. GM soybeans and corn make up the largest
> portion of genetically modified crops. When looking at a product label, if
> any ingredients such as corn flour and meal, dextrin, starch, soy sauce,
> margarine, and tofu (to name a few) are listed, there's a good chance it
> has come from GM corn or soy, unless it's listed as organic.
> * Buy organic produce. Buying organic is currently the best way to ensure
> that your food has not been genetically modified. By definition, food that
> is certified organic must be free from all GM organisms, produced without
> artificial pesticides and fertilizers and from an animal reared without
> the routine use of antibiotics, growth promoters or other drugs.
> * Look at Produce Stickers. Those little stickers on fruit and vegetables
> contain different PLU codes depending on whether the fruit was
> conventionally grown, organically grown or genetically modified. The PLU
> code for conventionally grown fruit consists of four numbers, organically
> grown fruit has five numbers prefaced by the number nine, and GM fruit has
> five numbers prefaced by the number eight.
>

Hi Martha,
Actually this one just came this morning, so you will probably see it
there today!
Below:

On Dec 8, 2005, at 7:45 AM, tmrmartha wrote:

> Wow that was helpful Shannon - I read Mercola's column all the time -
> I have twice weekly emails on the latest topics sent to me. I missed
> this one.
>
> I have always known to avoid corn products - they are the most heavily
> genetically engineered crop, bar none. Corn syrup is the most
> prevalent, and dangerous.

I just recently read--also on Mercola--about the specific issues with
"high fructose corn syrup"--which I gather is a further step in
adulteration of the corn syrup. I *think* that corn syrup itself (not
"high fructose") is basically glucose, and not more detrimental than
any other refined sugar (empty calories being *NOT* on anybody's
"required" list, but apparently less risky than some of the
alternatives). Can anyone confirm or correct me on that?

> I read an article weeks ago about how corn syrup actually cannot be
> properly metabolized by the body, so it gets converted to fat twice as
> fast as regular cane sugar. It also dramatically raises trygliceride
> levels, one of the chief markers for early heart disease.

Can you point me at that article? I'm curious whether it was in fact
"regular" corn syrup, or the "high fructose" variety.
>
> It also is looking like the number one reason for rising rates of
> obesity around the world. I've heard that every time people catch on
> to the corn syrup debate for example, the processors of GM corn keep
> changing the identifying name - examples include sucrose and
> maltodextrine, dextrose, dextrine, fructose and glucose (from corn) -
> all sugars made from the processing of corn -

Now *some* of these are simply plain ol' sugars, which are found
naturally in fruits, and on breakdown of carbohydrates. (Aucrose,
dextrose, fructose and glucose are in that category, and the others I
don't know about. The body converts all carbohydrates eventually to
glucose, which is the form in which it is utilized from the blood.)
The issue with those, is the one of "empty calories"--energy production
is directly fueled by glucose (breakdown product of food), but that
production requires nutrients at every step of the way--vitamins,
minerals, and enzymes. When the food itself does not supply those
nutrients, then they are taken from the body's stores. That's why high
consumption of "empty calories" (mostly white flour and white sugar)
leads to deficiencies; not only are no nutrients being supplied, but
additionally they are being extracted in order to process the calories.

"High fructose corn syrup"--so I recently read, and I wonder if that
was the same article--offers additional problems, I think along the
lines of what you've written above.

> these are clear signs that GM corn is being used in a given product.
> In fact, try finding a commercial jam anymore that is made with plain
> old sugar.
> I couldn't! Unless it was organic of course. I even wrote to the
> Smucker's people who just switched over to corn syrup recently, from
> sugar,

Oh no, is it true?!?
Not too very long ago Smuckers had a line that was sweetened entirely
with fruit juice. Are they still making that? I'll have to look, and
I'll write too. (Bummed!!!)

> and I never got a response. Corn syrup is much much cheaper than
> sugar; this is why everyone has been switching over - yet our bodies
> just cannot properly absorb it. It's even in soft drinks now - as a
> liquid sugar so to speak.
>
> Thanks for highlighting this issue. As to any relevance to homeopathy
> - tons. Sugar suppressess the immune system almost immediately after
> ingestion - one spoonful's worth can suppress our immune response by
> up to 50%.

Yes, and I wonder how "natural" sweets fit in there... I assume that
would vary with the individual. For baking I use evaporated cane juice
(very much like brown sugar, but with, I read, 6 times the mineral
content, and quite yummy). I suppose even fruit could have that effect
for *some* people, but not for others?? I've never read any studies
addressing that in particular.

Thanks!
Shannon

> Do this several times a day (corn products and sugars are in almost
> every processed food) and homeopathic remedies have a much harder job
> to do. We are also, by extension, more vulernable to the daily
> exposure of viruses, bacterium, etc.
>
> Martha
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Robert & Shannon Nelson"
> <shannonnelson@tds.net>
> To: <homeopathy@homeolist.com>
> Sent: Thursday, December 08, 2005 7:59 AM
> Subject: [H] OT-GM Foods, More Adventures
>
>
>> I thought this was interesting! Tho parts of it may be specific to
>> the US. From
>> http://www.mercola.com/2005/dec/8/th..._your_body.htm
>> ***************
>> The Damage GM Foods Can Do to Your Body

Martha said:
I read an article weeks ago about how corn syrup actually cannot be
properly metabolized by the body, so it gets converted to fat twice as
fast as regular cane sugar. It also dramatically raises trygliceride
levels, one of the chief markers for early heart disease.

Shannon replied:
Can you point me at that article? I'm curious whether it was in fact
"regular" corn syrup, or the "high fructose" variety.

Hi Shannon:
Sorry it took so long to reply to your query, above. I had originally read
about the relationship between high triglyceride levels and corn syrup on
www.mercola.com and was so shocked as to what I found there, that I googled
"corn syrup triglycerides" just like that, and over 50,000 sites came up,
remarking on the links between the two - whether the high fructose variety
or just plain old corn syrup.

But just to emphasize the point again, specialists (cardiologists and
endocrinologists, especially) are shocked at how much this by-product raises
triglyceride levels and if you look into the guidelines for those levels,
you'll see how dramatically dangerous high triglyceride levels are in heart
disease. It is something they are just making the connection to: what's
called "end organ damage" (rapid deterioriation of the chief organs of the
body) which is the most alarming fallout for abnormal lipid, homocysteine,
triglyceride, and of course, hypertension (blood pressure) levels.

In fact, here in Canada homocystene tests are only done on patients with
know risk factors for heart disease, otherwise you have to pay for the test.
I happily paid my $60 to have this test done 2 months ago, since I knew it
was becoming such a strong marker for heart disease, especially
highly-touted by American researchers. My levels were excellent, as were my
triglyceride numbers. It gave me a sense of relief to know that my
lifestyle (tons of walking and healthy eating), coupled with years of
homeopathic treatment, was on the right course. I highly recommend these
tests to all (include the A1C test too!)

take care,
Martha

Thanks Martha!
Duly noted... Yet another good reason to just avoid corn, sigh...
:-)

On Dec 9, 2005, at 9:16 AM, tmrmartha wrote:

> Martha said:
> I read an article weeks ago about how corn syrup actually cannot be
> properly metabolized by the body, so it gets converted to fat twice as
> fast as regular cane sugar. It also dramatically raises trygliceride
> levels, one of the chief markers for early heart disease.
>
> Shannon replied:
> Can you point me at that article? I'm curious whether it was in fact
> "regular" corn syrup, or the "high fructose" variety.
>
> Hi Shannon:
> Sorry it took so long to reply to your query, above. I had originally
> read about the relationship between high triglyceride levels and corn
> syrup on www.mercola.com and was so shocked as to what I found there,
> that I googled "corn syrup triglycerides" just like that, and over
> 50,000 sites came up, remarking on the links between the two - whether
> the high fructose variety or just plain old corn syrup.
>
> But just to emphasize the point again, specialists (cardiologists and
> endocrinologists, especially) are shocked at how much this by-product
> raises triglyceride levels and if you look into the guidelines for
> those levels, you'll see how dramatically dangerous high triglyceride
> levels are in heart disease. It is something they are just making the
> connection to: what's called "end organ damage" (rapid deterioriation
> of the chief organs of the body) which is the most alarming fallout
> for abnormal lipid, homocysteine, triglyceride, and of course,
> hypertension (blood pressure) levels.
>
> In fact, here in Canada homocystene tests are only done on patients
> with know risk factors for heart disease, otherwise you have to pay
> for the test. I happily paid my $60 to have this test done 2 months
> ago, since I knew it was becoming such a strong marker for heart
> disease, especially highly-touted by American researchers. My levels
> were excellent, as were my triglyceride numbers. It gave me a sense
> of relief to know that my lifestyle (tons of walking and healthy
> eating), coupled with years of homeopathic treatment, was on the right
> course. I highly recommend these tests to all (include the A1C test
> too!)
>
> take care,
> Martha
>
>

Unless I am mistaken, High Fructose Corn Syrup (or just corn syrup), the
culprit indicted in American obesity, has nothing much in common with corn.
I don't think it is a reason to avoid corn--just the processed syrup made
from it. Teresa (in VA)

-----Original Message-----
From: homeopathy-bounces@homeolist.com
[mailto:homeopathy-bounces@homeolist.com] On Behalf Of Robert & Shannon
Nelson
Sent: Friday, December 09, 2005 11:11 AM
To: homeopathy@homeolist.com
Subject: Re: [H] OT-GM Foods, More Adventures

Thanks Martha!
Duly noted... Yet another good reason to just avoid corn, sigh...
:-)

On Dec 9, 2005, at 9:16 AM, tmrmartha wrote:

> Martha said:
> I read an article weeks ago about how corn syrup actually cannot be
> properly metabolized by the body, so it gets converted to fat twice as
> fast as regular cane sugar. It also dramatically raises trygliceride
> levels, one of the chief markers for early heart disease.
>
> Shannon replied:
> Can you point me at that article? I'm curious whether it was in fact
> "regular" corn syrup, or the "high fructose" variety.
>
> Hi Shannon:
> Sorry it took so long to reply to your query, above. I had originally
> read about the relationship between high triglyceride levels and corn
> syrup on www.mercola.com and was so shocked as to what I found there,
> that I googled "corn syrup triglycerides" just like that, and over
> 50,000 sites came up, remarking on the links between the two - whether
> the high fructose variety or just plain old corn syrup.
>
> But just to emphasize the point again, specialists (cardiologists and
> endocrinologists, especially) are shocked at how much this by-product
> raises triglyceride levels and if you look into the guidelines for
> those levels, you'll see how dramatically dangerous high triglyceride
> levels are in heart disease. It is something they are just making the
> connection to: what's called "end organ damage" (rapid deterioriation
> of the chief organs of the body) which is the most alarming fallout
> for abnormal lipid, homocysteine, triglyceride, and of course,
> hypertension (blood pressure) levels.
>
> In fact, here in Canada homocystene tests are only done on patients
> with know risk factors for heart disease, otherwise you have to pay
> for the test. I happily paid my $60 to have this test done 2 months
> ago, since I knew it was becoming such a strong marker for heart
> disease, especially highly-touted by American researchers. My levels
> were excellent, as were my triglyceride numbers. It gave me a sense
> of relief to know that my lifestyle (tons of walking and healthy
> eating), coupled with years of homeopathic treatment, was on the right
> course. I highly recommend these tests to all (include the A1C test
> too!)
>
> take care,
> Martha
>
>

Hi Teresa:

Thanks so much for the good wishes. I am amazed that you can even get
organic corn. I heard that organic corn is an oxymoron these days. Some
people say it really doesn't exist and that even organic corn has become
adulterated by GM spores. I am in Canada and we had a famous case last year
wherein a farmer in Alberta growing either organic soybeans or corn (I don't
remember which), sued Monsanto (based in California) because he was
convinced that the huge farms next door using these products had infected
his crop and he couldn't sell them as organic. Monsanto in return sued him,
saying that he benefited from their technology and was using them! It made
world headlines and I'm not sure where the case is, so I'm pretty sure it
would be hard to get organic corn even here in Canada.

thanks Teresa for your input! Which part of the country do you live in?

Martha

----- Original Message -----
From: "Teresa Kramer" <Teresa.Kramer@cox.net>
To: "'tmrmartha'" <tmrmartha@allstream.net>; "'Robert & Shannon Nelson'"
<shannonnelson@tds.net>; "'sherill'" <sherill@ecentral.com>
Sent: Saturday, December 10, 2005 11:13 AM
Subject: RE: [H] OT-GM Foods, More Adventures


> Martha and Shannon and Sherill (in case you are interested), I read that
> article about HFCS getting converted to fat faster than cane sugar, too,
> maybe a week or so ago. It was probably either in Discover Magazine, Yoga
> Journal, or Newsweek (kinda doubtful that it was in the latter) as those
> are
> what I have been reading. Sorry I don't know exactly where.
>
> Before that article, I read something about studies in rats that showed
> that
> HFCS may shut off a hormone that tells us we are full. That would make a
> lot
> of sense. Don't know where that article was, either, but I had not started
> reading Yoga Journal at that point, so probably one of the other two.
>
> When I wrote that corn was okay last night, I was thinking and should have
> specified, ****organic, non-GMO corn****. That is what we use. I grew up
> on
> corn bread in Tennessee and on corn on the cob and I love both. For a
> while
> in the 70s and 80s I was intolerant of the wheat family and had to eat
> corn
> and rice and buckwheat exclusively. (We eat brown rice as our staple, with
> a
> bit of corn and other grains and sprouted whole grain bread. Do you know
> that if you add a tiny bit of oil when cooking brown rice, the grains open
> and it is much nicer IMO.)
>
> Hugs to you three lovely ladies and many thanks for the teaching all three
> of you do on the list-serv, Teresa
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: homeopathy-bounces@homeolist.com
> [mailto:homeopathy-bounces@homeolist.com] On Behalf Of tmrmartha
> Sent: Friday, December 09, 2005 10:16 AM
> To: Robert & Shannon Nelson
> Cc: homeopathy list
> Subject: Re: [H] OT-GM Foods, More Adventures
>
> Martha said:
> I read an article weeks ago about how corn syrup actually cannot be
> properly metabolized by the body, so it gets converted to fat twice as
> fast as regular cane sugar. It also dramatically raises trygliceride
> levels, one of the chief markers for early heart disease.
>
> Shannon replied:
> Can you point me at that article? I'm curious whether it was in fact
> "regular" corn syrup, or the "high fructose" variety.
>
> Hi Shannon:
> Sorry it took so long to reply to your query, above. I had originally
> read
> about the relationship between high triglyceride levels and corn syrup on
> www.mercola.com and was so shocked as to what I found there, that I
> googled
> "corn syrup triglycerides" just like that, and over 50,000 sites came up,
> remarking on the links between the two - whether the high fructose variety
> or just plain old corn syrup.
>
> But just to emphasize the point again, specialists (cardiologists and
> endocrinologists, especially) are shocked at how much this by-product
> raises
>
> triglyceride levels and if you look into the guidelines for those levels,
> you'll see how dramatically dangerous high triglyceride levels are in
> heart
> disease. It is something they are just making the connection to: what's
> called "end organ damage" (rapid deterioriation of the chief organs of the
> body) which is the most alarming fallout for abnormal lipid, homocysteine,
> triglyceride, and of course, hypertension (blood pressure) levels.
>
> In fact, here in Canada homocystene tests are only done on patients with
> know risk factors for heart disease, otherwise you have to pay for the
> test.
>
> I happily paid my $60 to have this test done 2 months ago, since I knew it
> was becoming such a strong marker for heart disease, especially
> highly-touted by American researchers. My levels were excellent, as were
> my
>
> triglyceride numbers. It gave me a sense of relief to know that my
> lifestyle (tons of walking and healthy eating), coupled with years of
> homeopathic treatment, was on the right course. I highly recommend these
> tests to all (include the A1C test too!)
>
> take care,
> Martha
>
>
>

Organic corn is available in the villages of Himachal in India where
people grow it for family consumption. A quantity of cobs are
retained for the next crop. Only cattle manure is used. After harvest, the
stalks are cut up and fed to their cattle. The corn is not sold in the
market.

Jeff Tikari

----- Original Message -----
From: "tmrmartha" <tmrmartha@allstream.net>
To: "Teresa Kramer" <Teresa.Kramer@cox.net>
Cc: "homeopathy list" <homeopathy@homeolist.com>
Sent: Saturday, December 10, 2005 8:26 AM
Subject: Re: [H] OT-GM Foods, More Adventures


> Hi Teresa:
>
> Thanks so much for the good wishes. I am amazed that you can even get
> organic corn. I heard that organic corn is an oxymoron these days. Some
> people say it really doesn't exist and that even organic corn has become
> adulterated by GM spores. I am in Canada and we had a famous case last
> year wherein a farmer in Alberta growing either organic soybeans or corn
> (I don't remember which), sued Monsanto (based in California) because he
> was convinced that the huge farms next door using these products had
> infected his crop and he couldn't sell them as organic. Monsanto in
> return sued him, saying that he benefited from their technology and was
> using them! It made world headlines and I'm not sure where the case is,
> so I'm pretty sure it would be hard to get organic corn even here in
> Canada.
>
> >>
>>
>>