mercola.com: What do Americans Have to Say About the Food Pyramid?

Dr. Mercola tells us this morning about What do Americans Have to Say About the Food Pyramid?. Apparently, the food pramid is being revised which is a good thing because it's a bit of a mess.

What's interesting about the process is that the various food industry lobbying groups are weighing in with their plugs. To me, it's simply unbelievable what they manage to say with a straight face. Or how about: "The Sugar Association of Washington said that sugar consumption was not involved in any lifestyle disease, including obesity." Do they need the references to the studies to realize how ridiculous they sound?

The opportunity right now is to come up with a new way of thinking about food and wellness that can stake out a new course for the public health debate and the policy makers. It's obviously a political process and anything can happen. We shall just have to wait and see.  ⊕

Japanese Magnetic Fan

I bring your attention to a story from Japan.com that I don't know quite what to make of. Japan.com - Japanese Magnetic Fan: "She then moves us to the next device, a weighty machine connected to a tiny battery. Apparently the load on the machine is a 35kg rotor, which could easily be used in a washing machine. After she flicks the switch, the huge rotor spins at over 1,500 rpms effortlessly and silently. Meters show the power in and power out. Suddenly, a power source of 16 watt or so is driving a device that should be drawing at least 200 to 300 watts.

Nobue explains to us that this and all the other devices only use electrical power for the two electromagnetic stators at either side of each rotor, which are used to kick the rotor past its lockup point then on to the next arc of magnets. Apparently the angle and spacing of the magnets is such that once the rotor is moving, repulsion between the stators and the rotor poles keeps the rotor moving smoothly in a counterclockwise direction. Either way, it's impressive."

If this works, it'll be huge. The promise is a saving of up to 80% in electricity costs compard to conventional electrical motors. The purchase price of an electric motor may be as low as 3% of the life time cost of ownership. Up to 97% of the cost is the electricity to operate the motor itself. Now, is this suddenly more exciting? I should think so.

The inventor has sold 40,000 units to a Japanese chain store. This is at least some early support that this may have vialbility as a commercial product.  ⊕

mercola.com: Why We're Losing the War on Cancer

Dr. Mercola shares this little tidbit this morning. Why We're Losing the War on Cancer: "An article of great importance titled 'Why We're Losing the War on Cancer' has appeared in Fortune magazine. The author, Clifton Leaf, is executive editor of the magazine and is himself a survivor of adolescent Hodgkin's disease. Leaf recognizes that he himself was extraordinarily lucky in surviving. But he still has the courage to ask, 'Why have we made so little progress in the war on cancer?' "

The findings are not news to those who have beenclose to cancer and cancer research, but worth a read nevertheless. Good to get confirmation from time to time.  ⊕

Kerala News: Homeopathic medicines double up as bio-fertilisers

From Kerala News - you read this paper don't you?:) - comes this story: "Path-breaking clinical trials carried out by a homeopath in Kerala has proved that select homeopathic medicines can be used as organic vitalisers. A select range of medicines are now considered to have excellent bio-fertilizer qualities with pest repellent properties for a number of plants and crops.

Abdul Lethif, principal of the Government Homeopathic Medical College in Trivandrum, is the man behind the project. The experiment by Lathif's team centred on applying liquid form of drugs in adjusted dosage, which gave a good harvest. The team also observed that the medicines augmented self-protective mechanisms to ward off diseases.

'From the very begining we could see that the plant growth had a 30 percent increase and another thing is the longevity of the plant. Last time the tomato plantS which were 18 in number having no pest attack or disease survived for 202 days. Growth from the mother plant, we collected the fruit, lasted for four months in room temperature without any damage', Lethif said.

People are very happy with the new technique as the vegetables and fruits have a longer life. 'By applying the medicine and getting fruits and vegetables from this homeopathic cultivation we have seen that it gives longer life without getting decayed', said Mrs.Latif, a housewife. The farmers have gleefully accepted the new technique and have volunteered to experiment with the medicines.

Local media reports said the experiment has drawn the attention of the federal agriculture ministry, which has asked for a demonstration before a panel of experts."

If I follow this story correctly, the test was on one plant species: tomatoes. 18 plants were tested (treated) and they survived 202 days disease and pest free. Not sure how to interprete the 'motherplant growth' information. However, these plants lived longer than any tomatoes we ever tried to grow in our back yard. Now, what exactly did they treat the plants with?  ⊕