- Mold Prevention and Removal
- Carbon Monoxide and Meat
- Salmonella and Peanut Butter
- Rustle the Leaf
- The Global Warming Myth
- Stevia: The (Sweet) Dietary Supplement

This issue's sponsor is Gardens Alive! Your source for natural pest control. $20 FREE off your first order at Gardens Alive!
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Prevent Mold in Your Home

Even in a drought like the one we're experiencing here in the Texas Hill Country, mold is a common fungus that can invade your home and cause allergy symptoms (runny nose, sneezing, cough) and worse.

The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America offers these suggestions on how to prevent the growth of mold in your home:

* In bathrooms, install an exhaust fan or open a window when showering to prevent moisture build-up.
* If you have a plumbing leak, repair it as soon as possible.
* Avoid carpeting in bathrooms, as it can retain moisture.
* Scrub bathtubs and sinks at least monthly, preferably with a bleach-based cleaner to kill mold.**
* Clean garbage cans regularly.
* On humid days, use a dehumidifier to remove moisture from the air.

**I used to ascribe to the chlorine bleach method, but I've changed my mind, now that I found the Zymoco MoldZyme products. They use enzymes to "digest" the mold, rather than poisonous chlorine, which damages the lungs and thickens the pericardial fluid around your heart (making your heart muscle work harder).

And - BONUS - MoldZyme actually works better than bleach.

Ask for it at Real Foods.

What Color is Your Steak?

They're at it again.

The Big Guys (Wal-Mart, Tyson, et al) have figured out how to market old meat without consumers finding out... til it's already going rotten.

This video actually downloads pretty quickly, but if you're on dial-up, click on the "pause" button (||) to let it complete the loading process before you start viewing.

http://www.real-foods.net/200702.html#e35
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How Does Salmonella Get Into Peanut Butter?

First it was e-Coli in fresh spinach, now it's Salmonella in peanut butter, of all things.

It's Peter Pan and Great Value(?) peanut butter (with the number "2111" on the lid) that have been implicated. Consumers who have questions should contact ConAgra's toll-free hotline at 866-344-6970.

Hmmmm... interesting that it never seems to be the organically grown and processed products that have the problems. This, despite how John Stossel (a few years back on TV's 20/20) made loud statements about dangerous bacteria on organic lettuce (he failed to check out what proved to faulty research. No public retraction. Go figure.).

Real Foods carries only organically-certified peanut butter (crunchy, smooth, and unsalted) and Sesame Tahini. Also, we have natural Soy Butter (no GMOs), Almond Butter, and Cashew Butter. Add some organic jam or maple syrup, and Ezekiel bread, and you're good to go!

Environmental Comics

For this week's "Rustle the Leaf" environmental comic strip, scroll down to about mid-page on the Real Foods website home page:

http://www.real-foods.net

Talked to Any Climate Change Skeptics Lately?

Global Warming is a myth, right?

Grist magazine has an interesting series of answers to just about any question a skeptic might pose.

One example from the Global Warming guide:

"Objection: So 2005 was a record year. Records are set all the time. One really warm year is not global warming.

Answer: This is actually not an unreasonable point -- single years taken by themselves can not establish or refute a trend. So 2005 being the hottest globally averaged temperature on record is not convincing. Then how about:

* every year since 1992 has been warmer than 1992;
* the ten hottest years on record occurred in the last 15;
* every year since 1976 has been warmer than 1976;
* the 20 hottest years on record occurred in the last 25;
* every year since 1956 has been warmer than 1956; and
* every year since 1917 has been warmer than 1917."

Please check out How to Talk to a Climate Change Skeptic
http://gristmill.grist.org/skeptics

What is Stevia?

This week's Healthy Shopper article is about Stevia, a (Sweet) Dietary Supplement.

Stevia rebaudiana is a small shrub native to portions of northeastern Paraguay and adjacent portions of Brazil. Stevia has been used by the Guarani Indians, in Paraguay, as a medicinal and sweetener since pre-Columbian times.

For nearly three decades, stevia has been an approved food additive widely available in Asia.

In the mid-1980s, several US herbal tea companies were using stevia as a "natural flavoring" in their products before the 1991 embargo. According to a 1999 interview with Rob McCaleb, president and founder of the Herb Research Foundation, Boulder, CO, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) launched an offensive against companies using stevia at that time.

In May 1991, the FDA imposed a ban on the import of stevia into the US based on a study in which a genetically altered, synthetic version of stevia extract was allegedly found to cause precancerous changes in a strain of bacteria.

Ironically, this was the same year that a follow-up study pointed out flaws in the first study and threw these conclusions into great doubt.

Since the FDA recognizes a food additive as being GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) if used in food prior to 1958, the US herbal tea companies teamed with the American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) to obtain GRAS status for stevia based on its safe use for centuries worldwide.

In 1992, and again in 1994, AHPA petitioned the FDA, offering over 900 articles testifying to stevia's safety. The FDA failed to "file" both petitions, an act which would have technically opened up the documents to the public. At the time, the FDA insisted that filing the petitions would depend on data which demonstrated that stevia had been used "by a significant number of people for a substantial period of time" prior to 1958.

The FDA was pressed to define what it considered a "significant number" [of people]. The FDA's Direct Additives Branch chief, Eugene Coleman, responded, "This may sound flippant, but we would know that number when we see it."

In September 1995, the FDA modified the import ban on stevia, saying that it could be imported as a "dietary supplement" but not as a sweetener.

Its use in food products is still restricted, however, and its sweetening quality is still not recognized by the FDA. Hence any labeling, advertising, or promoting stevia as a "sweetener" is still not allowed.

The FDA's position, aside, stevia, when naturally refined, is said to be 100 to 300 times sweeter than table sugar yet, is said to not affect bloodsugar, metabolism, making stevia a good option for diabetics and hypoglycemics.

[Healthy Shopper is reprinted with permission from Vitamin Retailer magazine and is provided for educational purposes only by Real Foods Market and real-foods.net. No part of this article is intended as medical advice. Always consult your health care provider for any medical problems.]

If you'd like to know more about artificial sweeteners and the FDA, you'll want to read Sweet Deception by Dr. Joseph Mercola.

It's a real eye-opener; you may never touch a Diet Coke again.

Sweet Deception: Why Splenda, NutraSweet, and the FDA May Be Hazardous to Your Health
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'Til next time,

Sherri and the Gang
Real Foods Market
410 Fourth St
Blanco, Texas 78606
(830) 833-2483

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