Organic Food Blog

By Susan Yurek

Genetically Engineered Organisms and Genetically Modified Organisms, with Monsanto Corporation in the forefront of development. GE crops, including cotton seeds, have genetically modified properties with built-in resistance to herbicides and insects (Bt cotton), and are also called Frankencotton.

Another mutant called terminator seeds, are sterile and force farmers to buy seed from major suppliers like Monsanto, instead of naturally saving seeds from year to year. Thankfully, terminator seeds are not expected to be marketed in the near future, according to Cornell University.

Cottonseed oil from GE/GMO cotton crops is already in our food supply as a common ingredient in many processed foods, including peanut butter, cooking oils, salad dressings, cookies, snack chips and pastry crusts.

GE and GMO farming is legal in the United States, and currently 73% of cotton grown in the U.S. is genetically engineered. With enormous global profit potential at stake, Monsanto has been viciously aggressive in acquiring global contracts and lobbying reluctant governments. Worse, poor farmers in these regions are routinely exploited with unfair pricing, and farmers in India have been devastated by losses from Monsanto’s GE crop failures.

While no studies are yet available to prove the danger of GE/GMOs, governments, scientists and environmentalists worldwide are alarmed at the potential contamination of soil and water, food supply, and airborne spread of these toxic organisms.

The very real environmental contamination caused by GE/GMOs is making it impossible for any organic business to say with absolute certainty that organic cottons and woolens are 100% toxin free anymore, because we and our children, and animals, are increasingly exposed every day.

However, organic producers and organic retailers will continue to offer their customers certified organic products grown from natural seeds and farms, and fiercely reject the spread of GE/GMOs.

The Organic Consumers Association is spearheading campaigns of zero tolerance, to stop corporations like Monsanto from continuing to flagrantly place the well being of people in last place, for corporate profit. We urge you to visit the Organic Consumers Association to learn more, fax petitions and make your voice heard.

Susan Fullen Yurek of Kushtush.com Organics (http://www.kushtush.com) is an e-commerce entrepreneur and advocate of organic initiatives for the health of our families and preservation of our planet.

by: News Canada

(NC)-Food is more that just fuel for our bodies. What we eat - and when - has a major influence on the hormones that control our moods and emotional well-being, according to Sam Graci, nutritional researcher and author of the new book - The Food Connection: The Right Food at the Right Time.

For many Canadians, eating-on-the-go and opting for convenience foods - instead of healthy foods - is a way of life in today’s fast-paced, stress-filled society. Poor eating habits not only cause poor concentration, depression and fatigue, but they are making Canadians “hormonally” unhealthy. Foods that are high in cholesterol and fat are wreaking havoc on the hormones that control moods.

Serotonin is the hormone that regulates the body’s appetite, obsessive behaviors and cravings - and it also controls our moods. Getting just the right amount of this hormone will help keep the body emotionally fit - and prevent us from packing on unwanted pounds. However, too much serotonin can cause nausea and diarrhea, and too little can leave us feeling anxious, restless, depressed, impulsive and aggressive.

Balance your moods - and cravings - by eating protein at the right time of day and with the right amount of carbohydrates. It’s important to reduce protein during the day and increase the amount of complex carbohydrates such as ripe fruits and raw vegetables that we eat. Try a nutritional supplement such as greens+™ - just one serving is the equivalent of six organic salads.

Each meal or snack has a major hormonal affect on our current mood, energy, mental clarity and emotional stability. Our last snack before bed will determine how well we’ll sleep during the night, and that sleep will have a direct impact on our appetite, motivation, energy, decisiveness and overall moods the following day. The next time you’re tempted to reach for a candy bar or bag of potato chips, think about the consequences it will have on your hormones - and your overall health.

For more information about greens+, call 1-877-500-7888, or visit the web site at www.greenspluscanada.com.

About The Author

News Canada provides a wide selection of current, ready-to-use copyright free news stories and ideas for Television, Print, Radio, and the Web.

News Canada is a niche service in public relations, offering access to print, radio, television, and now the Internet media, with ready-to-use, editorial “fill” items. Monitoring and analysis are two more of our primary services. The service supplies access to the national media for marketers in the private, the public, and the not-for-profit sectors. Your corporate and product news, consumer tips and information are packaged in a variety of ready-to-use formats and are made available to every Canadian media organization including weekly and daily newspapers, cable and commercial television stations, radio stations, as well as the Web sites Canadians visit most often. Visit News Canada and learn more about the NC services.

Consumers advocates say the decision it will help ensure that people get higher-quality food when they buy products with the organic label.

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The U.S. District Court in Maine finalized a court ruling this month that bans synthetic ingredients in products labeled organic. Also, the ruling requires dairy farmers to feed their cows 100 percent organic feed during the transition to organic.

In a lawsuit against the department, a Maine grower of organic blueberries, Arthur Harvey, contended the current regulations violated the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990.

The organic dairy industry says the new regulations would make it more expensive for dairy farmers to convert to organic because organic feed can cost two or three times more than conventional feed. Advocates are considering going back to Congress for a legislative remedy.

The department declined comment about the court case or what it would do about the standards.

“We think this will discourage dairy farmers from becoming organic,” said George Siemon, chief executive of Organic Valley, a national farmer-owned organic cooperative based in La Farge, Wis. “I think it will slow down supply and buyers will have to contribute more to the cost.”

Demand for organic milk has risen steadily as consumers seek products free of pesticides and antibiotics.

The court gave the department one year to develop new regulations; the agency would then have an additional year to phase them in.

Current regulations allow dairy farmers who want to go organic to feed their cows 20 percent conventional feed and 80 percent organic feed in the first nine months of the transitional year. That goes to 100 percent for the last three months.

Milk can be labeled organic only after the transitional year.

Members of the U.S. House Organic Caucus recently wrote Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns to warn that the decision “could decimate every sector of the organic industry.” The lawmakers did not call for a change in law, but said they wanted to work with Johanns to resolve the conflict.

Six agriculture, retail and food safety groups, including the Center for Food Safety, have asked the department to develop strict standards in the wake of the court ruling.

The department declined comment to The Associated Press.

Jerome Walch, who has a 50-cow dairy near Rochester, Minn., about 90 miles south of Minneapolis, is in the process of converting to organic. He said he still hopes to go through, but now worries about the economics.

“We’ll be selling milk at conventional prices, but buying feed at organic prices,” Walch said. “I can buy conventional corn feed for $1.78 a bushel. Organic corn costs $5 to $6.”

Urvashi Rangan, an environmental health scientist at Consumers Union in Yonkers, N.Y., said farmers and consumers will benefit from the ruling in the long run.

“It’s a big victory for consumers, as far as the integrity of the organic label and what it means,” Rangan said. “This will increase the value of the organic label.”

She said that fears about slowing the growth of the industry are shortsighted.

“What we don’t want to get into is lowering standards so more of the market can meet the standards,” Rangan said. “We want to see a steady increase in strength and rigor of the standards over time. Those who do meet those higher standards will ultimately be rewarded in terms of premium for their product.”

The court decision does allow for the use of some synthetic ingredients in products labeled “made with organic,” but not in products with the more coveted “organic” label.

Among those likely to be affected are baking powder and pectin, a gelling agent used to make jam and jelly.

Katherine DiMatteo, executive director of the Organic Trade Association, based in Greenfield, Mass., said the industry has spent a lot of money in market development and customer recognition.

“It’s unfortunate to have changes made at this early stage in the industry and implementation of the law,” she said.

Madison Daily Leader - News - 06/30/2005 - Stricter standards could slow growth of organic food

MOSCOW - Organic foodstuffs may fill European shops but they are almost totally unknown in Russia where they are seen as luxury items for the affluent few.

In the whole of Russia, a country of 140 million, there appears to be just one small specialty shop in the capital while larger supermarkets stock organic foods in modest quantities.

“This must be for diabetics,” a lady in her 50s said to a friend, as she walked past the organic food shelves in a Stockmann supermarket near the centre of the capital.

She expressed surprise when told organic foods are not only for diabetics, but beat a hasty retreat after checking prices.

“All food should be organic,” she said. “And cheap.”

Stockmann has had mixed results selling organics.

“People are not buying much, these products are very expensive,” Snezhana, a section manager, told Reuters.

The store offers pastas, soya products, rice, canned vegetables, juices, teas, coffees and chocolates imported from France and Germany at prices significantly higher than those of non-organic equivalents.

Natalya, a manager at a supermarket of the Perekryostok chain, said a small organic food section occupying 4.5 square meters of 1,500 opened in the store in November 2004.

“Trade goes well. Clients are mostly local residents, both Russians and foreigners, as we have many diplomatic missions around,” she said, though shoppers seemed more interested in traditional food.

The Ryzhaya Tykva (Orange Pumpkin), apparently the only specialty organic shop in Russia, opened in April 2004 near the city centre. Since then it has increased offerings by 50 percent to 1,500 items, Maria Fedoseyeva, shop deputy director, said.

“We have a stable clientele, mostly Russians with above average incomes, and foreigners. Some live close by, but some come from the outskirts of the city to shop,” she said.

When asked why the shop was empty in mid-afternoon, she said with a smile: “Perhaps, you should come at a different time.”

The shop has a range of foreign suppliers but offers Russian products, too — milk, dairy and honey. Unlike the imports, which carry green price tags, these are labelled in orange, as there are no official standards for organic products in Russia.

A sister shop opened in February in prestigious Zhukovka Place, outside Moscow, where many rich Russians live but closed shortly afterwards for lack of customers, Fedoseyeva said.

PROSPECTS DIM

Agriculture officials have said Russia should export more organics, but only a few small farms have European certificates to export mainly buckwheat, wild berries and mushrooms.

“Some 9,000 hectares of land have been officially certified by foreign companies,” said Tatyana Rybalova, an analyst with the Institute for Agricultural Market studies.

Many Russians grow vegetables on plots near country homes for their own use, but these hardly qualify as organics as the use of fertilisers, herbicides and pesticides is commonplace.

Mikhail Mishchenkov, managing partner of the CVS Consulting market research agency, told Reuters that draft rules for cultivating organics have been prepared but he did not say when they might be submitted to parliament.

“The market for ecologically clean products in Russia has large potential — in the last 10-15 years much land has not been treated with chemical agents and it can obtain a status, permitting it to grow ecologically clean plants,” he said.

“People are ready to pay more. It is natural, because people, especially in big cities feel a shortage of healthy, high-quality food,” Mishchenkov said.

Agricultural analyst Rybalova is sceptical.

“Organic foods will occupy a small niche for a very long time,” she said. “Only when we produce sufficient average products at average prices may we start thinking about producing more organic products.”

Story by Aleksandras Budrys

Planet Ark : \For

By Ian MacKenzie

EDINBURGH (Reuters) - Annual retail sales of organic foodstuffs have soared tenfold to top one billion pounds in the past decade, spurring more growers to get involved, officials at the Soil Association say.

Scotland leads the way with the amount of land devoted to organic farming or being converted to it, figures from the group, which also acts as a certifier of organically-grown food, show.

Scotland accounts for 54.2 percent of the total, amounting to 373,249 hectares in April 2004, or 6.8 percent of total agricultural land in Scotland.

England had 36.5 percent, or 2.7 percent of total agricultural land, Wales 8.3 percent, or 3.9 percent of total, and Northern Ireland 0.9 percent, or 0.6 percent.

“We’ve got more licences than three years ago. Year-on-year, there are more applicants in this year, more farmers are interested,” Lyn Matheson, agricultural development officer with the Soil Association in Scotland, said in a weekend interview. “We will have about 130 additional producers in Scotland,” she added.

Marketing of organic food has been boosted by direct selling through farmers’ markets, box sales in which a selection of fruit and vegetables is delivered to homes on a regular basis, supermarkets and through government health initiatives aimed at schools.

Matheson said farm size went from a couple of hectares to 2,500 ha, with an average of around 250 acres.

Hugh Grierson, who farms more than 405 hectares near Perth, said he began converting to organic farming in 2000 from an environmental point of view. Now, he said, there was more wildlife on the farm.

“I enjoy working to a high set of standards, and as to profit, on balance I’m better off organically,” he said at the Royal Highland Show.

Latest Business News and Financial Information | Reuters.co.uk

ORGANIC food sales have rocketed in the UK over the past decade, with Scotland boasting more than half of all agricultural land devoted to organic farming.

Annual retail sales of organic foodstuffs have increased ten-fold to top £1 billion in the past ten years, as more and more growers jump on the organic bandwagon.

With 373,249 hectares - or 6.8 per cent - of Scotland’s farmland assigned to cultivating organic produce, the country accounts for 54.2 per cent of the UK total. Lyn Matheson, agricultural development officer with the Soil Association in Scotland, said: “Year-on-year, there are more applicants, more farmers are interested.”

Marketing of organic food has been boosted by direct selling through farmers’ markets, box sales in which fruit and vegetables are delivered to homes, supermarkets and through government health initiatives aimed at schools.
Scotsman.com Business - Food, Drink & Agriculture - Sales of organic food take root and shoot upwards

A group of 71 small farmers from the city of Três de Maio, in the southernmost Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, are going to harvest their seventh crop of organic products this year. They produce soy, maize, rye, wheat, vegetables, fruit, milk and brown sugar, controlled by Cotrimaio. The cooperative was a pioneer in incentives to organic production in the country and exports to France, Germany and the United States.

São Paulo - Small farmers form a city in the interior of the southernmost Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, Três de Maio, are winning fame on the foreign market as producers of organic foods. The associates of the Cooperativa Agropecuária Alto Uruguai, the Cotrimaio, are going to harvest this year their seventh organic crop. They plant soy, maize, rye, wheat, vegetables, fruit, and also produce organic milk and sugar.

The group is made up of 71 farmers, most of them small, with properties that range from 10 to 20 hectares. The cooperative plans, however, to increase the number up to 2006. Cotrimaio has a total of 12,144 associates.

“There is market for organic products. Our problem is the dispute with technology and the production of genetically modified products,” stated the president of Cotrimaio, Antônio Wünsch. According to him, the cooperative was a pioneer in incentives to organic production in the country and the level of quality that has been reached may be measured by the visits of foreigners that take place regularly.

“Organic products have brought us greater visibility both in the country and on the foreign market and the reflexes of this may be noticed in the demand by foreign organizations that are interested in further information regarding the program for organic products,” stated Wünsch.

Organic products are one of the Brazilian bets for greater exports. The worldwide organic product market brings revenues of US$ 30 billion to Brazil every year. Today, Brazil has 7,100 certified organic product farmers and a cropland of 170,000 hectares. There is space for production of organic products, however, on six million hectares.

According to the Economic Research Institute Foundation (Fipe), Brazilian producers of organic products have revenues of US$ 250 million a year. Up to 2010, however, Brazil may have 10% of the world market of organic products, around US$ 3 billion.

Awareness

So as to inform and guide farmers regarding the benefits of cultivation of organic products, Cotrimaio organizes meetings, seminars, training and technical visits to the properties. The cooperative is also responsible for the certification of organic products. “In the beginning we started using the stamp of a French certifier, Ecocert, considered one of the largest in Europe and present in over 50 countries,” stated the supervisor of Agroindustry, Nelson Hammes.

Ever since the Cotrimaio organic product program was created, in 1999, organic soy and soy chaff have already been exported to France, Germany and the United States. On the domestic market, organic products reach the shelves of the main supermarkets, throughout the country. The greatest buyers are in the states of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, in southeastern Brazil.

The cooperative also has an organic product store, at the organization’s head office, where they trade flours, juices, mate tea, wines and fruits and vegetables.

Drought affected production

In the 2004/2005 crop, due to a loss caused by the drought that affected the south of Brazil, a total of around 150 tonnes of organic soy were harvested in an area of 409 hectares, against 369 tonnes in an area of 572 hectares in the 2003/2004 crop.

The cooperative’s global revenues in 2004 totalled US$ 95.4 million. The net result was US$ 2.2 million. According to Wünsch, in the 2003/2004 crop, Cotrimaio received 2.5 million bags of soy, between organic and conventional, representing around 180,000 tonnes. In the 2004/2005 crop, due to the losses, only 40,000 tonnes of the product were harvested. The wheat harvest was also affected. It dropped from 1.2 million bags, 80,000 tonnes in the 2003/2004 crop, to 1 million bags, around 70,000 tonnes.

China is the main import market of soy produced in the city. Exports currently represent 20% of production and the tendency is to grow in years to come. “Our target is for exports to reach at least 30% of soy production next year,” guaranteed the president.

The cooperative

Cotrimaio was established in 1968 by 25 farmers. There are currently 12,200 associates, 96% of them having less than 50 hectares of land. The cooperative has the capacity for storage of approximately 5,900 bags of grain.

The cooperative is located in the northwest of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, with branches installed in the cities of Dr. Maurício Cardoso, Humaitá, Independência, Horizontina, São José do Inhacorá, Vila Cascata do Buricá, Alegria, Esquina Araújo, São Caetano, Boa Vista do Buricá, Sede Nova, Tiradentes do Sul, Crissiumal, Três de Maio, Cruz Alta, Pejuçara, Boa Vista do Incra, Boa Vista do Cadeado, Fortaleza dos Valos, Três Capões and Ponte Queimada.

The cooperative also has supermarkets, agricultural input stores, petrol stations and a company for fuel trade and transport, apart from industrializing and selling products under brand Raízes.

*Translated by Mark Ament

ANBA

(AP) WASHINGTON Some farmers are worried that a federal court ruling requiring the Agriculture Department to come up with stricter standards for organic food will slow the fast-growing industry.

But consumers advocates are cheering the decision, saying it will ensure people get higher-quality food when they purchase products with the organic label.

Earlier this month, the U.S. District Court in Maine finalized a court ruling that bans dozens of synthetic ingredients that the USDA had allowed in products labeled organic.

Of particular interest in the upper Midwest, the court also ruled that dairy farmers must give their herds 100 percent organic feed for a full year before being certified organic. They had been able to get by with 80 percent organic feed.

The ruling came after a Maine organic blueberry farmer, Arthur Harvey, sued the USDA, arguing the current regulations violate the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990.

The organic dairy industry says that the regulations the USDA will have to implement will make it more expensive for dairy farmers to conform to organic standards. That’s because organic feed can be two or three times the price of conventional feed, which can be grown using pesticides and other chemicals.

Advocates are considering going back to Congress for a legislative fix.

“We think this will discourage dairy farmers from becoming organic,” said George Siemon, chief executive of Organic Valley, a national farmer-owned organic cooperative based in La Farge, Wis. “I think it will slow down supply, and buyers will have to contribute more to the cost.”

Demand for organic milk has been steadily rising, as consumers seek products that are free from pesticides and antibiotics. The Organic Trade Association has projected a 17.3 percent increase in sales between 2004 and 2008.

The court gave the USDA one year to come up with new regulations; the agency will then have one year to phase those in.

Current regulations allow dairy farmers who want to go organic to feed their cows 20 percent conventional feed and 80 percent organic feed in the first nine months of the year before going organic; and 100 percent for the last three months.

Siemon said that most farmers take advantage of the 80 percent rule, which he called a workable standard. “We do hope there is some consideration for a legislative fix,” he said.

Members of the U.S House Organic Caucus, including Wisconsin Democrat Ron Kind, wrote a letter to Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns recently warning that the decision “could decimate every sector of the organic industry.” The lawmakers did not call for a change in law, but did say they wanted to work with Johanns to resolve the conflict.

Meanwhile, six agriculture, retail and food safety groups, including the Center for Food Safety, have sent a petition to USDA urging it to come up with strict standards in the wake of the court ruling. The USDA declined to comment for this story.

Jerome Walch, who has a 50-cow dairy near Rochester, Minn., about 90 miles south of Minneapolis, is in the process of bringing his herd into compliance with organic labeling rules.

He said he still hopes to go through with the conversion, but worries about the economics in light of the court ruling.

“We’ll be selling milk at conventional prices, but buying feed at organic prices,” Walch said. “I can buy conventional corn feed for $1.78 a bushel; organic corn costs $5 to $6.”

Urvashi Rangan, an environmental health scientist at Consumers Union in Yonkers, N.Y., argued that both farmers and consumers will benefit from the ruling in the long run.

“It’s a big victory for consumers, as far as the integrity of the organic label and what it means,” Rangan said. “This will increase the value of the organic label.”

She said that fears about slowing the growth of the industry are shortsighted.

“What we don’t want to get into is lowering standards so more of the market can meet the standards,” Rangan said. “We want to see a steady increase in strength and rigor of the standards over time. Those who do meet those higher standards will ultimately be rewarded in terms of premium (prices) for their product.”

The court decision does allow for the use of some synthetic ingredients in products labeled “made with organic,” but not in products with the more coveted “organic” label.

The USDA currently allows organic food to include some synthetic ingredients used to process food, such as baking powder and pectin, a gelling agent used to make jam and jelly. But these ingredients would likely be banned in organic food under new regulations.

Katherine DiMatteo, executive director of the Organic Trade Association, based in Greenfield, Mass., said that the industry has spent a lot of money in market development and customer recognition.

“It’s unfortunate to have changes made at this early stage in the industry and implementation of the law,” she said.

The group’s Washington lobbyist, Bob Gray, said that if USDA’s new rules are too restrictive, working with Congress to change the law would be an option.
WCCO: Stricter Standards May Slow Growth Of Organic Food

by: Jan McCracken

I don’t know which of the biggest headlines are being read right now… Mad Cow or New Diets for a New Year (but I have my suspicions!).

HOWEVER ~ let’s look a little further at REAL statistics… and do a little “common sense” comparison here… (by the way, common sense seems to have disappeared completely in this great land of ours)!

We look at the number of deaths in the all-out Mad Cow “epidemic”, if you will, in Britain… number of deaths connected to it… approximately 130. Shall we just mention here the deaths that we are suffering RIGHT NOW from diabetes and obesity?

So… let’s have a little closer look at that big animal in those green fields, contently chewing his cud and rolling those big, brown eyes…

Some of you will get to this part of this article and toss it… so have a nice day! Some others of you will be curious and continue to read…

How much do you know about our friend “the cow”? I’ll bet not much except that you prefer rib eye steak over NY Strip and that you buy hamburger when it is on sale and, and, and…

Do you know the nutritional value that the “cow” brings to us? In addition to proteins, iron, zinc and vitamins B6 and B12, beef contains omega-3 fatty acids that are essential for life and gives us strong protection and immunities from vascular diseases!

Our friends, the cows, were designed to eat grasses and grains that were also designed for our diets!

HOWEVER ~ our Creator made the COW very special! What do you know about a cow’s stomach?

Did you know that a cow’s stomach contains four rumination pouches that secrete many kinds of bacteria in digesting the grasses and grains that a cow eats?

You say, “who cares”?

Well, let me tell you that we should care and why… these bacteria in the digestion process in the cow are competing during the process for nutrients, nutrients, utrients! In this miraculous process harmful bacteria is crowded out… parasites are destroyed… viruses are obliterated… and nasty toxins are literally knocked out BEFORE they reach the very flesh of the COW!

The awesome design of the digestive system of the cow brings to us “flesh with purified nutrients”!

In turn, our consumption of COWS that have been range-fed, organic and chemical free protect us from harmful effects of triglycerides and cholesterol!

Now I am REALLY going to lose some readers… as most of us know, in nutrition, meats are great sources of complete protein. However, because hormones, antibiotics and pesticides enter the picture of raising beef the Great Design of the Creator is altered. This is NOT the way it was meant to be.

My message to you: Don’t throw the baby out with the bath water!

I found a great quote from What the Bible Says About Healthy Living by Rex Russell, MD, that I would like to share with you:

“Maybe it’s time to get off our rump roast and eat more of everything God created for food.” ~ Rex Russell, MD

Jan McCracken
http://lowcarbcookin.com
Author, Low Carb Christmas Cookin’
COMING SOON: Low Carb Everyday Cookin’
jan@lowcarbcookin.com

About The Author

Jan McCracken is author and self-publisher of 39 gift books and cookbooks. Born in the Midwest and former owner/innkeeper of a country bed and breakfast in Branson, MO, she has been cooking since she was 17 years old (she won’t tell us how many years that is)!

Jan has been living the low carb lifestyle for 8 years. Her long-term goal is helping people understand that food is truly the great medicine, prevention and healer of disease.
jan@lowcarbcookin.com

by: News Canada

# Help balance estrogen and testos-terone by lowering insulin levels. Sweet treats such as cookies, chocolate and pop cause insulin levels to spike and send hormones out of balance. Avoid sugar and salt cravings and reach for more ripe fruits, leafy green vegetables, nuts, seeds and whole grains.

# Stress hormones deplete testosterone levels. To help increase testosterone levels and reduce stress hormones, start each day with greens+™, a balanced formula of 23 vitamins, minerals, organic and nutrient-rich foods. This will help promote mental clarity and balance moods.

# Eat more soy products such as soy beans to help regulate estrogen and modulate testosterone production. The nutritional supplement greens+ also contains a healthy dose of soy lecithin to help keep hormone levels balanced.

# Do plenty of weight-resistance exercises - the earlier in the day the better - since this will help stimulate testosterone production. Alternate these exercises with walking or cycling.

# Try to get at least eight hours of sleep each night. This will help increase the body’s level of melatonin, the hormone that produces a relaxing, calming affect and signals our “morning mood.”

For more information about greens+, call 1-877-500-7888, or visit the web site at www.greenspluscanada.com.

About The Author

News Canada provides a wide selection of current, ready-to-use copyright free news stories and ideas for Television, Print, Radio, and the Web.

News Canada is a niche service in public relations, offering access to print, radio, television, and now the Internet media, with ready-to-use, editorial “fill” items. Monitoring and analysis are two more of our primary services. The service supplies access to the national media for marketers in the private, the public, and the not-for-profit sectors. Your corporate and product news, consumer tips and information are packaged in a variety of ready-to-use formats and are made available to every Canadian media organization including weekly and daily newspapers, cable and commercial television stations, radio stations, as well as the Web sites Canadians visit most often. Visit News Canada and learn more about the NC services.