Foods That Prevent Prostate and Other Types of Cancers

It's movember, the month many men grow moustaches to show awareness of prostate cancer. Overall people have become more aware of risk factors to cancer, but prostate cancer is still the second most common cancer. This interesting map shows rates of incidence of most different types of cancer

http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/cancer-info/cancerstats/world/incidence/#By

The map is interesting because it shows rates that are sometimes significantly different in similarly developed countries in different regions of the world, and because certain ethnic groups have much higher or lower rates of cancers. I was especially struck by the high rates of liver cancer in Mongolia. It has an incidence rate of 78 per 100,000 people compared to just 22 per 100,000 in neighbouring China.
According to this article it is due to high rates of hepatitis infection

http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2811%2960448-0/fulltext

 An important thing to remember though is that sometimes lower incidence rates mean lower detection rates or that people are just dying earlier of other causes before the cancer can develop. Increasingly though nutrition is being linked to lower rates of certain types of cancers. The book "The China Study" linked the consumption of animal products in western society to higher rates of cancer. The book's conclusions are controversial but the evidence of higher cancer rates in western influenced Japan compared to China are compelling.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_China_Study#Eight_principles_of_food_and_health

Much research is being done now that is slowly revealing that particular foods will have special effects on particular or many different types of cancers. Foods like berries and cruciferous vegetables like broccoli and cabbage seem to have tumor shrinking properties in animal studies. Tomato consumption seems to result in lower rates of lung cancer, and habanero peppers caused prostate tumors to self destruct by blocking testosterone from entering them and other factors. And the list goes on. Indeed Mexico with it's high habanero consumption seems to have a very low rate of prostate cancer as the aforementioned map shows.

http://www.watershedsentinel.ca/content/investigating-habanero-peppers-prostate-cancer

But for all this readily available information doesn't seem to be getting publicized a lot even during this month of prostate cancer awareness. There are a few good articles out there to read like the one I link to here.

http://www.healthline.com/health-slideshow/prostate-cancer-procrastination-6-foods-eat-today#1

As you can see this list included tomatoes and broccoli (cruciferous) as well as Green Tea which some theorized was a factor in China having lower rates of certain types of cancer compared to the west. Antioxidant rich food like pomegranates or berries could also be a factor in the prevention of cancer causing damage to your cells. As for myself  I drink green tea, eat berries, and try to get some organic greens every day. I find broccoli to be a very versatile food and it is known to be rich in a wide variety of vitamins and minerals. It's inexpensive and I always chop up the stems as well to add to stir fries or steam them with garlic and butter which is very tasty too. A good part of getting the proper nutrients is establishing a routine for yourself to get all these important things into you over the course of a day. In my case I start out the day with a spoonful of berry powder, and work in other things in like tomato juice with Omega3s (anti inflammatory) stirred in. Once your own routine is established you should start to see the effects of these antioxidant rich foods on your own outward appearance like better hair and skin quality.

The Best Foods For Dental Health

So I noticed the other day that my molar was wearing down and it got me thinking about what I could do naturally to reverse this condition. An ugly cavity I missed at the back of my mouth. I was already aware that our teeth can re-mineralize on their own because typically when I feel something is coming on, I increase my consumption of calcium with milk and other supplements. I am surprised about this particular tooth though because I have largely eliminated refined sugar from my diet. What I didn't know though was that the best re-mineralization results were achieved when grains, nuts, and beans were also eliminated or largely reduced. This is because these foods will result in high amounts of Phytic Acid in the body, which in turns binds with calcium that would otherwise be used to maintain the teeth. Interesting isn't it. Other minerals in turn are less readily absorbed as well, and this has the greatest effects on children's health. Sadly for vegans the ideal diet for dental health is more difficult to achieve as the foods with the lowest amounts of phytic acid are things like meat, fish, and raw dairy. As some commenters say this is very close to the paleo diet. Vegans often consume large amounts of tofu (bean curd) and grains which could result in high amounts of Phytic Acid. There are however calcium supplements on the market which could help. My largest problem has been finding one that is unflavoured in stores where I live though. So far they all seem to be flavoured with Stevia or Citric Acid (even when that package said unflavoured!). Very annoying. I am taking some of that though, along with extra milk, using a Sensodyne toothpaste labelled repair and protect (it contains calcium as well), and using a natural dental gel  that kills cavity forming bacteria with essential plant oils. For me it would take too long to wait and see if this tooth repairs itself though so I will need to get a filling from the dentist. All the same though my diet is changing as much as possible.

Check out the graph showing the cavity/remineralization rates with various diets in this article about reversing tooth decay.

http://wellnessmama.com/1756/reverse-tooth-decay/

Just for fun I also looked up whether people could make their own fillings. Turns out that they can! And very simple as well too!

For people who do not have coverage for dental operations, maybe this temporary filling could help. It only involves zinc powder and clove oil so it is not expensive and such information could save some teeth !

 http://www.toothacheselfhelp.com/fill-your-own-teeth/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GC8RxLnbio

Another important issue for dental health is the use and consumption of sweeteners. Lately I have been using a calcium supplement sweetened with stevia. I had been searching for a totally unsweetened calcium powder but I had to settle for the Natural Balance SeaCal. It seemed to be the closest thing but after doing some reading online about stevia I won't be buying this product again. It appears that Stevia may have all sorts of negative effects for overall health! Even for diabetics because there is evidence that sweeteners other than refined sugar can still cause an insulin response. And according to this blog below liquid stevias may contain glycerine that may interfere with the remineralization of teeth. Not a concern in the case of the Natural Balance powder, but still something to be aware of.

http://empoweredsustenance.com/is-stevia-bad-for-you/

And although Stevia does not provide nutrition for bacteria that help create cavities, some dentists have warned that their has not been sufficient studies to guarantee that stevia does not harm teeth in other ways.

 http://www.dental-tribune.com/articles/news/europe/7965_stevia_might_harm_oral_health_dentists_suggest_.html

There is xylitol also but that is an artificial ingredient so that does not really attract me much to it.

 http://cyberdentist.blogspot.ca/2011/02/sugar-substitutes-better-for-your-teeth.html

We do still need glucose for proper body function though so things like fruit in moderation and raw honey may be the best option. Milk surprisingly will feed the bacteria causing cavities so you have to be careful to brush after drinking it. The calcium is important though for building strong bones and teeth.

I have also bought coconut oil to swish and Cod liver oil for Vitamin D. Apparently the Coconut Oil swishing removes a lot of toxins and acts against bacteria. Great article about it here.

http://wellnessmama.com/7866/oil-pulling-for-oral-health/


For further reading this site also has a lot of general information about the way bacteria harm your teeth.


http://www.webmd.com/oral-health/plaque-on-teeth

Does farming crops kill more animals than raising livestock animals?

When it comes to vegetarianism vs meat eating the costs to animals is not always very clear cut. While vegans can often be quite sure of themselves when eating a bowl of oatmeal there are other consequences that they may not have considered. Growing crops may kill more animals and living creatures than pasturing cows in a field. Here is why. Large scale farming involves the use of heavy machinery and vehicles that will run over many small animals in the fields. Groundhogs, mice, voles, snakes just to name a few. Grain farmers will also poison millions of mice periodically, which will also result in their offspring perishing. Pesticides used on non organic farms will also kill billions of insects. Using a field to grow crops will also drastically alter the ecosystem and natural plant life while using the same field for pasture will largely preserve those things.

Not so black and white is it ?

Consider that this situation only involves grass fed cattle though. It's easy to see that factory farms for chickens are far more harmful than that cattle pasture. And some farms do not use machinery and instead just have people harvesting by hand. My personal philosophy is about minimizing the damage to other living creatures. Vegetarians would be well advised to think more closely about how the food on their plate came to be there and make their food choices accordingly. I got some great stats on the question of whether crops or raising livestock is responsible for more harm to animals here. Sometimes you have to pick the lesser of two evils.

 http://www.quora.com/How-many-years-do-you-think-it-will-be-before-people-stop-eating-meat-What-do-you-think-the-biggest-obstacles-will-be-to-achieving-this/answer/Colin-Wright-9/comment/5726874?__snids__=586356254&__nsrc__=1&__filter__=all&share=1#comment5729255

Gorillas: The Muscular Vegans. How do they do it?

How can gorillas and chimpanzees  be so closely related to humans but are so strong and muscular on a vegan diet?

When people try to survive on the same diet as their close genetic relatives the gorilla they tend to wind up weak and scrawny. The diet these people consume is called the fruititarian diet. Even vegetarians and vegans must use a carefully planned mix of food and often must also add supplements to their food to avoid becoming deficient in certain vitamins and minerals. Gorillas eat a diet primarily consisting of leaves and fruit and yet a gorilla is stronger than practically any human. Where did our diets diverge and why? I asked this question on a great site called Quora and got a very well written explanation. Link to it here

http://www.quora.com/Questions-That-Contain-Assumptions/What-evolutionary-factors-resulted-in-gorillas-having-the-ability-to-process-protein-from-vegetation-when-humans-do-not/answer/Trevor-Best-2?share=1

Picking the Right Pet Food

My Opinion on a Biased Article About By Products in Pet Foods 

Just read this article and found it very frustrating that this information is being spread on the internet when so much has been done in the past decade to improve the quality of pet foods that are available.

http://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/dog-food-label-ingredients/#comment-205592

 As a person with many past and present beloved family pets I do quite a bit of reading on pet foods and want the best for them. One of our family pets did die a painful death from cancer before I started learning about pet foods, and I think it is possible that cheap pet food was a factor in the development of that cancer. Pets live short lives but we all want them to be healthy and spend as much time as possible with us. Playing the odds and giving them the best diet possible is a step in the right direction. I want to share what I have learned in the hopes your pet can live a healthier life.

The important thing to remember is that the main source of material for this opinionated article is Pedigree dog foods. This company manufactures a food with  By-Products in the ingredient list. Hardly unbiased.


Now lets take a closer look at Pedigree Dog Food. They do a lot of advertising {unlike the really good super premium brands interestingly) and their commercials show leaping happy dogs. But how good are their ingredients?

Here are the ingredients for their original formula food.

 http://www.mypedigree.ca/en/our-food/foodproductlist/dryvitalityib/

There are a number of things wrong with this food. First of all the first ingredient which is the largest by weight is corn. Think about it. We make syrup out of corn so that's not going to be good for their blood sugar, and probably bad for their teeth as well. It's a simple carb with little nutritional value. The next ingredients are meat and bone meal, and animal fat. Meat and animal fat? From what animal? I don't know where this company gets their meat meal. When you buy a food with meat and animal ingredients what  assurances in general are there  there that it isn't from a very bad source. Are those sources  euthanized or diseased  animals, expired grocery store meat,  road kill, or even restaurant grease? These questions need to be more clearly answered by the government and pet food makers. http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-industry-exposed/dogs-meat-meal/

Try finding a pet food containing By Products with OVERALL ingredients as good as a food with HUMAN GRADE chicken. You will have a hard time doing that. Really good quality brands that I would feed to family pets like Orijen, Fromm, and Go Natural have meat that is specially inspected to be fit for human consumption. That of course means that the ingredients are not from euthanized animals etc. Secondly the really good quality foods do not have filler like simple carb wheat and corn. Instead they contain antioxidant rich fruits and vegetables that support the overall health with natural sources of vitamins, minerals, and fiber. These fruits and vegetables may also have valuable cancer and disease preventing properties for your pet just as they will for you. In the long run spending money on better pet food may save you money on vet bills. Any trip to the vet will likely cost you enough money to  buy  a lot of dog food. At an average cost of about $70/bag good quality dog food winds up costing you about $2.50 a day. Not so bad when you look at it that way right?

They also will not have any artificial colors or preservatives like many cheaper byproduct pet foods. Those chemicals will build up in your pet and be a risk factor for cancers. On top of all this really good quality foods contain probiotics that can help with digestion. Probiotics are beneficial bacteria in your pet's stomach that can help break down food and promote good health.

These days people consider their pet a member of the family and want them to eat as good quality food as the humans. Would you eat a diet of byproducts, corn/wheat, and synthetic vitamins? How healthy do you think you would be? Still think a food with byproducts is better? Look up that brand on dogfoodavisor.com and see what they say….

This pup is going to eat the best food possible.

Benefits of Blackstrap Molasses For Your Hair and Skin

 The Many Beneficial Compounds in Molasses

I find hair an interesting subject. How much can it be protected by nutrients in food? Sometimes I see someone in the grocery store and wonder if they had picked different foods or a more organic shampoo their hair quality might be improved. What if they gave up smoking or had less stress? Does it make a difference? There are quite a few things that seem to be beneficial including zinc, copper, vitamin B12, Omega 3s, antioxidant Superoxide Dimutase and Catalase. Pretty hard to fit so many supplements in your diet. I have tried a few things like the Chinese Herb He Shou Wu (The Man With Black Hair), and copper tablets. Certain things do contain a combination of these substances and one such is Blackstrap Molasses. Blackstrap molasses is what is left over when sugar is refined from sugar cane. While it may be the leftover, in this case the leftover contains most of the nutrients including zinc and copper. The little paint factories that make the colours in your hair need many nutrients to function effectively. One theory about damage to hair as you age is that mounting levels of free radical hydrogen peroxide eventually bleaches your hair and damages the follicles, while you produce declining amounts of antioxidants. Pretty interesting stuff. I buy my molasses in bulk containers at a local supermarket. I tried it out for a while and while it does not seem to sweeten tea much, the main problem is that it's so messy! Check this link for more detailed information.

 http://www.naturalnews.com/046100_blackstrap_molasses_hair_growth_nutrition.html

10,000 Dogs Tortured as Part of Annual Yulin Dog-Eating Festival | The Dogington Post

10,000 Dogs Tortured as Part of Annual Yulin Dog-Eating Festival | The Dogington Post



I think this is just awful. How can these people not see how intelligent dogs are and that they are our natural friends? One thing that makes dogs different from many other animals is that they have actually evolved and been bred to be our friends. Not our meals. But it's good to see that there actually is an outcry in China over this now.

Tariq Hossenbux Opinion on Bill Gates Researching Meat Replacements

Bill Gates is Funding Research on Meat Replacements

Great article here about how Bill Gates  is funding meat and egg replacements. Things are moving fast so this could become mainstream in our lifetimes.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/bill-gates/10792629/Bill-Gates-turns-attention-to-latest-project-fake-chicken.html

The poultry industry is a huge one to challenge. Only someone with Bill Gates type of money could stand a chance. The way I see it if we as the human race can survive and enjoy life without the need to kill other animals it must be a good thing. Already it is no longer scientifically necessary for us to kill other animals because supplements have advanced to the point where we can easily balance our diets with the addition of inexpensive products. It's just a matter of convincing those who will not give up their meat or admit that they are part of an industry to can be very cruel and destructive. The factory farming industry has a great interest in preserving people's notions of eggs coming from traditional looking farms, but the modern factory farm is a monster far removed from that now. Most consumers would not know that millions upon millions of baby male chicks are killed as soon as they born because they are not useful as egg layers. The egg layers do not live much longer either and some will never see the light of day. Truly it would be an advancement for human civilization to no longer have to treat other sentient beings this way.

Meat replacements have really come a long way lately. Years ago I would not have been able to stomach vegan burgers and hot dogs but I think I am ready to try things again. I have bought Earth Island vegan mayo and buttery spread that might even be superior to the real thing. And just the other day I bought these vegan chicken nuggets that were just as good as real meat.Wherever possible I try to reduce consumption of animal products. So far the hardest one to replace has been cheese but surely a good replacement is around the corner.

I am not a vegetarian but I do look forward to the day when animals are no longer slaughtered for our needs.

Sunset near Highway 17 Sault St. Marie

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Long distance driving I got a reward at the end of the 14 hour driving day  day when I saw this beautiful sunset off Highway 17 near Sault St. Marie Ontario. My little GoPro camera has been really handy. I don't have a larger expensive camera with zoom but this one happens to catch things with a little bit of an interesting perspective. I always wanted one , and when I was at the Oshkosh Air Show last year with money in my pocket I had to cash in on the $400 show special with accessories like an LCD backpack. 

Can Enough B12 be Found in a Natural Vegan Diet?

Can Enough B12 be Found in a Vegan Diet ?

http://www.veganhealth.org/b12/plant

Vegetarianism is a big topic these days. People are more concerned about animal rights and the environment than ever before. The factory farming industry has become a monster that resembles little of the traditional farms many people still imagine their eggs come from. Recently I posted on a Google+ board in a discussion about whether milk and eggs were necessary. It's my opinion that,while I am not a complete vegetarian, people have access to the supplements and nutrition that eliminate the requirement for animals to be killed or used otherwise for our diet. Some people do not want to change and have a typical repertoire of knee jerk responses like "I'm the top of the food chain so it's natural", "Why would I have pointy canine teeth", or "we have to eat animals to get Vitamin B12."  This last one is an  interesting issue  and will be the primary focus of this post.

So lets start with the basics. Vitamin B12 is essential for healthy human life and is produced by neither plant nor animal. It is produced by bacteria that live in all animals including humans. For us however the bacteria reside a little further down in the colon than the vitamin can be absorbed in large amounts. Vitamin B12 is only required by humans in very small amounts, and is stored by the body for long periods of time. Thus it takes quite a while for the symptoms of B12 deficiency to show.

B12 is required for a multitude of roles in the body. These include converting carbohydrates into energy, maintaining a healthy nervous system including regulation of mood, good energy levels, cardiac health, protection against some types of cancers, digestion, and is essential for healthy hair, skin and nails. People who have vitamin B12 deficiency may develop anemia.

It is possible that some humans have been able to survive on a true vegan diet without the addition of B12 supplements. Many animal herbivores consume their own feces which is a source of B12 and it was found that extracting B12 from human feces and giving it to humans with B12 deficiency could ward off the symptoms of the condition. In India many vegetarians consume amounts of dairy sources of B12. Some Indian Vegans (who do not consume dairy or eggs of course) also do not have B12 deficiency. Scientists have theorized that insect larva and residues of insect fecal matter and dirt may contain enough B12. Not much is required as the Liver stores somewhere in the vicinity of a 2 year supply of B12.  In another case Iranian villagers who ate very how amounts of animal products were found to have normal levels of B12. It was theorized that it was due to the fact they were using human fecal matter as fertilizer and possibly because low protein levels allowed their own B12 producing bacteria to ascend high enough in the digestive tract for the vitamin to be absorbed.  It is interesting when some Indians mentioned here moved to the West they were found to be afflicted by B12 deficiency when eating the western diet of food that is cleaned of impurities like dirt and insect residues.  One last possibility in these cases is that the water supply in that part of India contained B12 producing bacteria.

The studies mentioned in the seems to have found that by and large the foods that were tested did not have enough B12 to counteract deficiencies. However they did find some interesting evidence that certain types of food may provide the required B12. A good example of this would be the Korean Centenarians who consumed little animal product but did eat Kimchi at every meal and had the proper B12 levels. Certain types of algae like Coccolithophorid algae did seem to produce results of higher B12 level in those who consumed them. In other cases Japanese vegan school children who consumed Seaweed in large amounts seem to have normal B12 levels. In addition some vegans who ate produce which may have had contamination from soil and manure were able to maintain normal B12 levels. These examples warrant further study. For the most part though it has been found that vegans who do not consume B12 fortified foods or supplements are at a much higher risk of B12 deficiency.  With all the inexpensive supplements, and B12 fortified products out there it is one of the easiest health problems to avoid though.  In fact research has shown that raw  fortified foods may be a better source than animal products as cooking may damage the vitamin levels.  Finally in the future studies have shown that plants injected with B12 retained the vitamin in significant amounts so this will be an option as well. There is no reason for anyone to be afflicted by B12 deficiencies but the end  results of these studies will still be interesting to see in the future. 

True Canadian Dog Encounters

An Encounter With True Canadian Dogs

Sometimes the most interesting experiences happen with animals when you least expect it. If you go out in the forest and be still for a while you will notice the things happening around you. Animals are amazingly sensitive to which humans are their friends. 

Here is a true Canadian Dog I met in a remote area outside of town  the other day. I was walking in the forest and I saw two dogs run by me. They ran by but didn't look directly at me. I didn't think they were going to meet but later on they came to find  me again and we made friends. I gave this one an organic apple and a banana. She ate the whole thing including the skin! After that we were all friends and the dogs had a nap under my vehicle.

Vegetarian Sweet and Spicy Curry Recipe

Sweet and Spicy Vegetarian Curry

Recently I made some comments on a Google+ post regarding whether it was necessary to eat eggs or milk. I personally feel that it is no longer necessary to consume those things considering  all the great and inexpensive  Vitamin B12 supplements out there. There is just too much cruelty in the factory farming industry so I try to reduce my association with it as much as possible. Here is site that details some of the benefits of lentils http://ic.steadyhealth.com/what_are_the_benefits_of_lentils.html. This spicy curry combines potatoes and lentils with some antioxidant rich vegetables. It also has potatoes and fibre from cabbage in it so it should be satisfying without being very high in calories. You can store the leftovers for nutritious and warming lunches throughout the week. It has minimal preparation involved so all there is to do after your curry starts to cook is to wait for your desired thickness in it. If you like, you can increase the amount of cayenne to a full tablespoon to make it really hot. The meal should be ready in an hour.

Ingredients

2 potatoes chopped in 1 inch cubes ,1 onion choppe,d 1 carrot sliced, 1/2 cup of red lentils, 1 cup shredded cabbage, 4 tablespoons of honey, 1 can of sweet green peas. Vegetable oil to fry onions.
You will also need a variety of spices including 1 tablespoon each of cumin, turmeric, mustard powder, salt, black pepper, garlic powder, celery seed, coriander, paprika, and parsley  (You can use a ready made curry powder too if you are short on time but I like to make it from scratch!) 1/2 tablespoon each of fenugreek, caraway, clove, cinnamon, cayenne. 1 teaspoon of rosemary, 2 curry leaves and a Bay leaf, Plain Yogurt

Preparation

Begin by boiling 6 cups of salted water. Chop the potatoes into 1 inch cubes and put them in the boiling water. The skins have a lot nutrition in them. If possible use organic potatoes. After the potatoes have begun to soften up a little bit add the sliced carrots and lentils. Wait another 10 minutes and then fry 1 chopped  onion lightly in a frying pan. Add the onions into your pot along with the cabbage. Lower the heat to medium low. Prepare a curry paste by putting all the spices in a smaller bowl, mixing them up, then adding water gradually and stirring to make a paste. Put the paste in your pot and stir in along with the curry and bay leaves. Add in the four tablespoons of honey at this time also. Let the curry simmer for about 40 minutes reducing and thickening. Stir occasionally and add salt and pepper or additional honey to taste.  Add in the peas and some shredded greens of any time for the last 5 minutes of cooking time. Serve in a bowl with a dollop of yogurt to temper the spicy heat and garnish with some artful greens on top. A side of salad and some Naan bread will also accompany this very well. I hope you enjoy it. Many other vegetables can be added if desired later such as broccoli, green pepper, or chilies

Tariq Hossenbux opinion on NYC animal abuser registry

Important New Law Advances NYC Animal Rights

http://www.dogheirs.com/dogheirs/posts/5095-new-york-city-creates-city-wide-animal-abuser-registry

Excellent news here on this progressive law. Creating a registry to list offenders does a lot of good. While on the surface it doesn't increase fines or punishment in reality it does because it threatens the offenders with public shaming. Even sick minded ones  like people who abuse animals don't want to be shamed in front of everyone else. And it does treat them for what they are. The equivalent of perverts and psychopaths. This article is right in saying that how people treat animals will be an effective predictor of how they treat other people. If they do this to animals I would be asking how long it will be before they move on vulnerable people. I am of the thinking though that as disgusting as the pain the perpetrators inflict on animals is, this mentality must be the product of their upbringing. I am not a psychologist but I like to believe that such people could be rehabilitated. If that is true, NYC must also have a system to help those who are having urges to inflict pain on animals. Let them come in anonymously before they do harm and speak with a mental health practitioner in the employ of the city. And publicize it so that everyone in the city knows that there is some help available to them. Surely the people who abuse animals are acting out rage and frustration at what has happened to them in the past.The law makes it more difficult for such people to continue those violent hurtful actions by preventing them from buying animals from pet dealers. This will save some pets who otherwise may fall into the possesion of those who would harm them. These pets will have the opportunity to contribute to society.
Many animals are doing valuable work as virtual citizens and are totally lacking in protection from crimes. Dogs work with police, the military, customs, as therapy dogs, and many other roles. They do work for humans but at the end of the day only ask for our companionship in return for their loyalty. Even dogs that do not work provide their owners with priceless companionship. Shouldn't the punishment for harming such loyal companions reflect what they add to society?  While it dosn't increase fines/punishment for abusing animals, the New York Registry is the first step in recognizing them  as thinking beings who are virtual citizens. As such it is a giant step, and a statement of the civilization of New York City.

Pictured: Rufus is an example of a dog rescued from abusive conditions.

Infants Addicted to Their IPADS

 Telegraph Article On Infant IPAD Addiction

 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/10767878/Infants-unable-to-use-toy-building-blocks-due-to-iPad-addiction.html#comment-1346049922

I sometimes mention the radiation concerns with cellphones to a doctor I know  in Ottawa and he is very dismissive. Doctors tend to like to stick to whatever the conventional thinking is at the time. But as far as the addiction to electronic devices in the general population goes it's very scary. People get on the bus and feel the need to plug themselves in to a device and isolate themselves that way. What if something dangerous or maybe just interesting is happening around them? They might just not even know ! Are people missing out on their life when they plug in too much? Are some important social skills already being lost because people are communicating more with text messages and less with speech? Sometimes people complain that they don't even get service when they walk into a store. Is it because people treat real life the same way as they treat an internet chat or forum?  I think so.....

Tariq Hossenbux

Tariq Hossenbux on Brandeis University Cancelling Islam Critic's Honorary Degree

Tariq Hossenbux's Opinion on Brandeis University cancelling Ali's Honorary Degree

CNN Article on Brandeis University cancelling Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s Honorary Degree

http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/11/opinion/stanley-brandeis-invite-islam/index.html?iid=article_sidebar

Self Hater probably describes Ali pretty well. She has obviously has some psychological problems related to her barbaric mutilation but who can blame her for that? Some of the tribes in her ancestral country have some pretty primitive practices but that doesn’t have much basis in religion. Maybe the university has some counselors on hand that could give her some free therapy as a consolation prize instead of that honorary degree. Regarding the people with bigoted attitudes towards ANY group of people: You should leave the insular world  and go and meet some people from other cultures. Even if they are Muslim or gay or whatever group you think are demonic barbarians who discuss their future evil plans over dinner. You would probably find that all human beings with the same basic human desires, reasons to be happy or sad, and aspirations.  And yes some other countries have backwards policies and medieval cultures that they have brainwashed their populations with. And they still have a long way to go before they achieve modern free societies. And guess what? Things are not cartoon black and white issues. Brainwashing people with doctrines that encourage hate has historically helped dictators to oppress their own people. I don’t even need to name one particularly strong example of a hypocritical state. But if you travel to Monaco you will see their princes gambling and drinking while at home they preach radical puritanical religion to their people. Such brainwashing has even backfired on the dictators. Despotism pushes people underground where radical terrorism grows. Neither one of these things are good. There are many evil people and they find outlets for their violent interests. In one place one may become a terrorist and in others they go and shoot people at schools. Confrontational states encourage weapons sales as well! I like to think that Bush’s idea that establishing a democratic state in Iraq will eventually lead to more freedom in the middle east but with dictators gaining power all around them I am afraid that they may bring down that nascent democracy.

Tariq Hossenbux on the Benefits of Oil of Jojoba

 From what I have read certain types of nutrients will benefit your hair's overall health. These include Omega3s found in fish oil or kelp/spirulina, B vitamins, Copper, and Zinc. The minerals will help to support your hair follicles production of pigments that also moisturize your hair. Get a good natural shampoo with a complete profile of nutrients that your hair needs. Avoid chemical dyes and heat treatments on your hair that will dry them out. Oil of Jojoba is a great conditioner that protects your hair with a natural sunscreen, moisturizes, and contains some  of these important nutrients for your hair.

I have several products that I keep as essentials in my daily regimen of supplementation and general diet. Today I want to let you know about a wonderful natural product that can replace many of the chemical containing liquids and gels you may have in your household. It's oil of jojoba.

You have probably heard of it but are not aware of the many great aspects of it. This golden liquid is not actually an oil but a wax. It is absorbed through all seven layers of your skin as its structure closely approximates that of human skin oil. This gives it great advantages in moisturizes skin and it fills intra cellular spaces. As such it can reduce the appearance of wrinkles and be used as a general moisturizer.

I used to buy the small 16oz bottles but now I special order a bottle that is about 4 times the size. Since you only use a few drops at a time this can last for months even if you use it every day. You can even add it to your shampoo to get an extra conditioning effect. The big bottle costs me about 50$ but i'm sure you could get it for less by ordering online.

Here is the Desert Essence brand I used to get in the smaller size  https://www.desertessence.com/store/organic-jojoba-oil

It's an excellent way to replace the chemical laden products that are all too common in our lives.

Me and Bobby McGee - Some local music from here in Ottawa

 Just stumbled across this on YouTube... She does a great job with one of her first videos here I think....



A good tune can make your day I think!

Tariq Hossenbux's Opinions on Kraft Dinner Food Colouring Additives

Tariq Hossenbux's Opinions on Kraft Dinner Food Colouring Additives

 Daily Mail Article on Kraft Dinner Food Additives

So this morning I saw a recipe for Kraft Dinner with Salsa that I decided I had to make.

 http://www.kraftcanada.com/recipes/salsa-mac-cheese-90357

After I was done the day's work, I ran out to the grocery store and picked up 3 boxes for myself. The Kraft Dinner Original was on special for a dollar each, but I hate Yellow #5 food colouring, also known as Tartrazine. It's what gives KD that unaturally orange colour. It's been linked to Asthma and Hyperactivity in kids, and I think it gives breakouts of acne as well. It's made from petroleum industry byproducts so it's no surprise that it may even have links to cancer.

 http://www.stopkillingmykids.com/the-side-effects-of-tartrazine/

Because of this I bought the white cheddar version which costs 87 cents more just as I will usally get white cheddar when I can too. You have to be careful though and always read the ingredients because sometimes they even put colours in things that are white like yogurt or sour cream. The White Cheddar version has M0321 but I was unable to come up with anything when I googled that. It especially upsets me when they add colours to things like drink box juice  that the person consuming it will hardly  see.  The recipe also calls for cheddar and they had the cracker barrel type on sale so i picked up this Kraft product also. Personally since i started eating good quality English cheddar  i hardly even consider cracker barrel to be cheese. It falls apart way too easily and you can't compare cracker barrel to the nice strong taste of the English Dorset Drum cheese.

Most foods in this country that look orange are coloured with Tartrazine. When i was in England it was refreshing to see that candies and other things are coloured with natural ingredients instead of the artificial ones. Instead of words like tartrazine and lake blue you see spinach or carrot extracts colouring foods. Even their version of Kraft Dinner called Cheesy Pasta has natural ingredients. And Yes I am aware that Kraft Dinner has a KD smart version now with no artificial flavours or colours in it. But what this tells you is that big corporations have more control over politicians and legislation in North America. And that means they then have more control over our health and welfare. It extends to other things of course like Europeans requiring more tests on genetically modified foods (GMOs) before they are accepted on the market. Kind of sad don't you think?

I completed the recipe which consisted on mixing salsa with KD, sprinkling some cheddar on top, and baking it.  Not bad, but not really great. I saved up a little of the powder to sprinkle on top after cooking. We always did that as kids.  The tomato salsa overpowers the other flavours a little too much I think.You never know what a recipe is like till you try it though!

Tariq Hossenbux's Opinion on the Ukraine Crisis 2014

Can War be Averted With Putin's Communist Mentality?

http://news.yahoo.com/ukraine-claims-100-000-russian-troops-near-border-151112283.html

During World War 2 Stalin didn't care how many troops he lost in battle so long as they gained ground. Neither did other Russian leaders as they threw poorly trained conscripts into the meat grinder  in Afghanistan and Chechnya. Now 100,000 Russian troops may be massing on the border with Ukraine. They have already seized Crimea and the parallels with the beginnings of World War 2 are becoming more apparent. At first our leaders were mostly afraid to draw that comparison but it is quickly becoming obvious. World War 2 began when Hitler moved into areas of Czechoslovakia to ostensibly protect German speaking residents. Putin moved into Crimea to ostensibly protect Russian speaking people there.  When Hitler did not see any concrete response to what he did he took more land. Now the west has had a response that ruled out military action. Sanctions only. This will hardly scare the leader of a country that is willing to sacrifice the lives of its soldiers so quickly. Thankfully today there was a vote at the United Nations with a 100 to 11 result against Russia's actions in Crimea. We should not be too hopeful though because Putin wants to restore Russia's past glory and the Ukrainian breadbasket is a jewel in the crown. The West has appeared weak in a variety of areas lately. In Syria there has not been any direct action to end the rebellion against Assad, and no hard action against the Egyptian military's coup against the democratically elected government. The dictators of the world have concluded that NATO is a paper tiger and will not oppose unilateral seizures of territory or violations of the sovereignty of neighbouring countries. NATO could place some troops in Ukraine to participate in exercises with the Ukrainian military and other regional countries currently threatened by possible Russian land grabs. It could be that the possibility of an escalation to combat with NATO forces may be enough to deter Putin. Or it might further inflame Putin's rage at what he observes as western encroachment on a country that he believes should stay in Russia's sphere of influence. With some justification, but we have to hope that Putin will step back and finally realize that the cold war is over. And so should be the era the gunboat diplomacy he used to seize Crimea.

Tariq Hossenbux - 1 week in Varadero

 

A Family Vacation in Varadero.... Sort Of! 

Tariq Hossenbux

So picking up from one of my last blogs somewhere or other on the web, I had just arrived at the Melia Marina in Varadero Cuba with my sister, her husband, and their 2 children. I had really been anticipating a quiet week of relaxation on my own but with my family members  suffering recently from winter colds, they joined my escape from the fearsome "Polar Vortex" covering North America. Our rooms are beside each other (I had my own  of course), despite the fact that I asked at check in for a room further away from them. Not being anti social or anything like i just wanted to get away from it all in a more complete way. Unfortunately the hotel was quite heavily booked with other escapees from the northern cold, and i was forced to settle for room 1480, right beside room 1481. My sister assured me that they could not hear anything through the walls. Knowing the screaming power of my 2 year old nephew, I hoped that would be true. It's amazing that such a small boy can make such painfully shrill and loud noise with such small lungs. The room was nice and clean with a little fridge and a balcony that overlooks the patio by the Marina that functions as the nightly entertainment area. You need to bring a transformer to use any electrical devices because they have a different voltage in Cuba. There is TV, but there are only about 4 channels in english. Those are CNN, CTV, and ESPN and the Weather Channel. There is a chinese news network channel that is sometimes in english, and various french, spanish, and german channels too. No matter i don't plan on watching a lot of TV on this 1 week trip.

Of course as soon as possible after lunch (all the buffet food is good at this hotel if a little bland), changing some dollars to Cubans money (mandatory to buy things in the hotel stores) and settling in my room a bit  I head down to check out the beach. Although the hotel is not adjacent to the beach, it's an easy 3 minute walk from the pool area or you can get on the golf cart shuttles go every few minutes. I prefer to enjoy the walk during this trip. I get the idea to put the grip GoPro Mount on my head like a snorkel and take it on a swim with me. Not all my ideas work out exactly as I would like, but this one did work out ok. 

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ce2B_mC23GE

The beach is a very nice one and the water is clear and warm. You can walk out very far in the water and the sea floor is sandy and smooth below. The advisories about this area that i read beforehand were that February was jellyfish month, and that sand fleas could give you bites. I did not see any jellyfish and didn't seem to have a lot of bug bites on my legs later. I had some but I think those were from the mosquitos at night so be sure to bring long sleeves to protect yourself if you come here.  What you do have to watch out for are the occasional stingrays underwater. They can be hard to spot as they are sand coloured and sometimes are hiding waiting for a fish lunch to cruise by. A guy called Byron I met one night commented that it seemed the Cubans had tried to create the perfect beach and went too far. By that he meant they had cleared away so much of the sea floor that the fish wern't coming back. There are no structures really to protect them in the water. There is also a nice fish restaurent overlooking the beach that you can eat at. Over the course of the week i also spent some time with my niece and nephew at the hotel pool. It's pretty nice and split in two fairly shallow pools. One side has a pool side bar, and the other side is a little shallower still so it's extra good for young kids. I gave my niece a few swimming pointers that came back to me from swimming lessons. Learning by holding on to the edge and kicking until you are good at that. Remember now? 

Youtube video of swimming pool

The pool is not heavily cholorinated so its quite pleasant
Very pleasant. Also very pleasant are the Cuban People. I was a little apprehensive that maybe they had been spoilt by the dollar but that was not the case at all. It's a good idea to buy some little presents at dollar stores for them before you come. People advised me to get pencil crayons for the kids of wait/room staff etc, and that worked out well. It's a communist country and most are very poor though the hotel staff likely make much more than others. Someone in one of my classes told me whether or not you leave a dollar tip they will be nice and it's true. 
The cubans i met on the trip were well mannered friendly people. And so talented at music and dance! Almost every night we managed to meet up for dinner. Most were at the buffet restaurent and as i said earlier everything was pretty good. There were various chefs stations where you could get fresh grilled fish, meats, or pasta. The spaghetthi was actually quite good i must say. It was a little short on the spice in most cases, but there were bottles of various sauces that you could use anyhow. Strangely enough fresh greens seemed to be in short supply I guess the cubans don't like their lettuce as much as I do. Then after dinner we enjoyed nice entertainment by the water or in the hotel lounge. Remember to have long sleeves or bug repellent though because the mosquitoes can be agressive. Here is a video of some of the musical entertainment we enjoyed.

Youtube video of the nightly entertainment

The energy of the Cubans dancers, musicians and entertainers was very impressive to me. The musicians played their pianos, violins and guitars with a true passion for the music. The dancers went on the scene with explosive energy bounding around the stage. One night there was even a magic show and the participants performed with the same zeal as the dancers. In the lounge the violin players were obviously very absorbed with playing professional quality music.
The only rude people i met on this trip were some other Canadians and that was a little sad. Most Canadians were friendly and talkative and I had a few interesting conversations that started during the nightly entertainment near the marina. Quite a few people had stories to tell from their lives. One 19 year old girl called Andrea told me some information from the Sammy Yatim saga that is going on in our news.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Sammy_Yatim
According to her Sammy Yatim was her best friend and had been kicked out by his father the night he died. She also told me that she had seen video where he had clearly dropped the knife before he was shot.  That changed my mind about whether there was any justification to what the officer had done. This girl also shared with me that she came from a family where cancer was common and that she had already had cancer at her young age. Fortunately it had been caught and treated in time. Another night there was a round table conversation with a mixed group of travellers. Life Coach Carol and her 20 yr old son Adrian were on a vacation, and then there were a couple of married 30 something greek women. Pat was one of those greek women and she was burdened by the accidental death of her mentally disturbed brother years before. Despite all the obviously artificial beauty work she had done like pearly whitened teeth and skin cleared of any flaws by lasers, this burden cast an ugly shadow on her. Carol tried to use her life coach skills to convince Pat to let go of  some of the memories but she was reluctant because she feared that would mean forgetting her brother and thus losing what she had left of him. Interesting night for me to learn about people's lives and thoughts. I don't think Carol was able to convince Pat that she needed to let something go to move forward in her life. One night i was hanging out with Adrian and we met some people from Montreal that seemed a little unfriendly and insular. Couldn't let go of whatever rat race they were in at home and just be friendly to everyone. Not outwardly unfriendly, but somehow stuck in a very narrow view of things. They might have been mafia but i forgot about them pretty quickly. Many of the Cuban were sincerely friendly and happy to talk to us. I remember many of their names like Yaney, Tony, and Edely. Yudelkris was a waiter who arranged a cab tour of Havana for us at a cost of 140 Cuban convertible pesos which was lower than some other tourists paid. We decided to go towards the end of our trip and met our driver at the hotel front door at around 9am. Yudelkris had advised us that the original driver was not able to go, but his friend was going to take us instead assuring us that this new person was very professional. The new car was a 1985 Mercedes that was actually more comfortable for our 5 persona party anyhow. As an extra bonus we got a short ride to start in a 1927 ford taxi!

Most Cubans seem to really appreciate children as you can see in this photo of the start of our cab tour. Taking a cab tour is also a really great way to see outside of the rather artificial area around the hotel complex. See a little more of the regular Cuban life and talk to the driver about how people live. During the cab journey I learned for example that most Cubans don't have internet access even though supposedly it's available according the driver. There is something a little strange about driving through towns that don't have the usual capitalist level of storefronts. there are little restaurants every so often on the highway but less activity than you would expect in a free market country. At times I commented about how it seemed that much of the land didn't seem to bet getting used by the highway. If it had been in another country I'm sure someone would have been trying an organic farm or something there. But our driver would just say that people don't like the hard of the country. What he really meant was that people need the motivation of money and personal success to go and innovate as the Israelis have learnt to farm in their desert. Instead of organic farms here there were thin horses and the odd herd of goats in that empty land. The route goes through some interesting highlands where once upon a time revolutionaries hid from the government. 145kms later and through Cubas only underwater tunnel  we were driving along Havana's Miami like waterfront. I was glad to have my GoPro along to take some video of the interesting architecture. Our driver gave us informative commentary throughout also.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXF25TpYuK8

Then the first stop on our tour was the Jose Marti Memorial in Revolution Square. The main thing quickly became finding a washroom for the kids though. My niece really needed to go and they wouldn't let us use the washroom at the government library. So we had to hurry up to the Jose Marti memorial before we caused an international incident by letting a child pee on Revolution Square. The Jose Marti Memorial is a pretty impressive building actually and it houses a museum of the revolution inside which cost 3 Cubans to enter. Must have cost a lot of money to build this towering structure. For some reason only one of us was allowed to use the washroom at a time. While i was waiting i read some pretty inspiring revolutionary sayings from a pamphlet like "It's a sin to not do what you are capable of doing"

Next stop was the Cigar Factory outlet store. I wasn't too keen on this but I'm sure the driver gets a little kickback from this because it was pretty clear he would not be dissuaded from taking us there. Along the way we got to see some of  the nice old houses of Havana which have now largely been turned into Museums. The driver told us that in times before the revolution the city had become a sort of Las Vegas of vice and corruption. Interesting to imagine how different it must have been in Havana in the days that the gangsters had moved in to control a lot of things here. The sold construction of these old stone houses is impressive too. Along the way to the factory store the driver explains to me that in Cuba cars are often handed down through the family. All the old 1950s cars driving around are passed down that way too and obviously can't be sold to outsiders. Because parts are not available for these antiques the local people must find ways to adapt other parts for them. Weren't the designs so interesting and unique in the 50s though?

Finally we arrive at the Cigar Factory. Obviously not a great place for kids as people smoke inside, but my sister's husband buys 10 cigars for $61.50, plus a couple of bottles of rum. I get a $7.50 bottle of this sweet type called Legendario that i will give as a gift later. Might as well i figured at that price, but i realized later that the liquid  meant i would have to check that piece of baggage instead of taking it carry on and avoiding the baggage carousel. I'm sure our driver got a little cut of this too but that is good as well! Next we took a drive through the downtown area which was fascinating. This city is so solidly build! In the old city it's the gold of south america that built it! Fascinating things to think about. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OodLvyTYY4Youtube Havana Grand Capitolio Building

Cuban pedestrians are very bold walking out to the middle of the street seeming to not even look at oncoming cars. Makes for some tense moments in the car actually. Living in Cuba is desired by many here, but many dwellings don't have running water according our driver. We make a stop to see the famous old city but it's going to be a short one because the kids are getting tired. Being a World UNESCO Heritage site our trip would not be complete without a few footsteps on the centuries old cobblestones. They aren't what I thought though. I imagined irregular stones but these cobblestones are almost uniform brick shapes. We went for a short walk and visited the Cathedral which dates from 1777 and was described by one write as music set in stone. Quite a lot of interesting religious artwork inside. It struck me that the dramatically solid construction of the city came from the gold of the Incas and Mayans that passed through this point in the distant past.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Havana_Cathedral

We did not eat lunch here and there was not much of interest in the shops to me. Some small galleries and handicrafts but nothing too exciting there so we returned to the cab and went on to the flea market near the harbour. I was getting really hungry at this point and had to buy a snack at the snack bar there. My sister being a shopaholic spent a lot of time in this huge flea market. I think the place is about the size of a soccer field but most of the stalls are selling the same things. I got bored pretty quickly and went outside to wait near the water. Some Cuban kids asked for some money so i gave them a couple of coins. We returned back to the hotel after this and through our conversations learnt more about life for ordinary Cubans. It struck me that maybe the reason they were so friendly, and well socialized is that they spend more time with each other. Here in North America people spend a lot of time on non social activities like watching television and using the internet! I actually conscientiously decided not to use the internet for the whole week. It will probably be a while before that happens again! We tipped the driver $20 which seemed decent on a $140 trip. He was very patient and professional throughout.
After this it was just one more day to have a couple more swims in the ocean and at the pool, then a 730am bus pickup to the airport. Once again there, we were confronted with a huge check in lineup. Fortunately i bought some chicken flavoured Malaysian chips to keep the kids happy. After checking in we got in another large lineup for customs. Upon finally reaching the customs officer, she told us we had to go and pay our departure $25 tax at another counter next to the check in ! We had just assumed that we would be paying that at customs so it was a dismaying surprise. There were multiple opportunities for check in or tour personell to point this out but nobody did. We were getting close to departure time so we rushed back to the front of the customs lineup had our photos taken, and went through security. As we arrived at our gate the plane was just boarding. The flight home was completely smooth and uneventful.

All in all, the Melia Marina is a good place to spend a week. Not the place to see local culture, but it's a good value for the nice sandy beach, decent quality food, and excellent nightly entertainment!

Nightly Entertainment at the Melia Varadero Cuba

Arrival in Varadero Tariq Hossenbux

Posts: Arrival in Varadero

Tariq Hossenbux

Arrival in Varadero - Tariq Hossenbux

Our flight from Ottawa to Cuba eventually gets airborne after a trip to the deicing pad. It's a 737-800 series which is modern but not yet equipped with the latest seatback entertainment screens. Nicely staffed though by a friendly crew who in part probably are not Canadian. This airline sends its plane to do work elsewhere in the off season from sunholidays flying from Canada. After debarking from our Sunwing flight around 11am, we encountered an enormous lineup at customs. Seemed like about 3 planes had unloaded all at once and we were at the end of the line! Finally after a very long time in what was probably one of the slowest moving of the lines we were processed by the customs officer. They don't ask many questions, but they do take your photo. There are some footprints painted on the ground that you stand on, then a little logitech camera takes your picture. They don't stamp your passport, but instead stamp your visa. As you open the door to the next area we thought we were done with the lines, but then you get in line for ANOTHER big line for security going into Cuba! It gives you some time to consider the differences. Why is there another line? Stopping smuggling? Providing jobs to more people? I think it's probably the latter. Anyhow because our party had young children we were able to pass ahead more quickly than others. Finally stepping outside into the parking lot we were blasted by heat that felt like about 38 degree heat. Be careful to have your sunscreen here in Cuba! We were directed towards our bus. It's a nice modern Volvo coach and once aboard our tour guide was a friendly young Cuban woman. She was able to give us some early tips and information about the pricing of excusions from the hotel like bus tours to Havana or Catamaran trips. They have beers on the coach that you can buy  2 for $5. To be honest the scenery isn't very interesting on the way to the hotel. They land has sandy soil that only seems to support scrubby vegetation and there are not very many farms here. Sometimes you see horses or a few cows grazing by the roadside. There are a couple of smalls towns along the way during the 30 minute ride to the hotel, with small square concrete dwellings. The people are obviously very poor, but sometimes they manage to make their homes better by growing hanging vegetation like vines over them or growing litle gardens. Being a communist country you don't see a lot of businesses in these towns from the highway other than little cantinas for the locals. When you enter the hotel zone though the scene changes in an artificial seeming way as they bus makes its stops at the well maintained hotel properties dropping off guests. You won't really be absorbing the authentic local culture of Cuba at the hotel because they are isolated from Cuban towns. You can however rent a scooter or cab to see other places though. Our hotel is the Melia Marina Hotel which at the end of the Varadero Peninsula. When we arrive our rooms are not ready yet (which is not good) but we go to the restaurant to eat lunch. It's an all inclusive, and our fears (based on the stories of others in Cuba) were proven to be unfounded at least in this case. There is a wide selection of foods available and everything is perfectly good. They don't seem to spice the food a lot, but they have some sauces that you can add to it . There is pasta, fresh grilled fish, beef and chicken among many other things. For some reason there usually isn't a lot of lettuce at the salad bar. I find that strange because it's so easy to grow. The staff are friendly, attentive and eager to provide good service. The restaurant is on the second floor of the hotel and has a nice view overlooking the marina and the main entertainment area alongside it. In between eating lunch we check the main lobby television periodically because Canada is playing an Olympic semi final hockey game. There is a big crowd of Canadians watching of course and a huge cheer when we win 1-0! A good start to the vacation i would say. After checking in our nice rooms overlooking the marina it's time to check out the famous beach.....


Tariq Hossenbux -  Melia Resort 2014

Tariq's Tips for a Cleaner Diet!

Tariq's suggestions to help you switch to a more natural diet

Despite the many food recalls and increasing evidence that cumulative damage from chemicals in food could contribute to cancer, many of still buy food and other products without knowing what the effects of  the various chemical ingredients may be. If we all did a little more reading on what goes into our foods, I'm sure big food manufacturers would see the profit they could make by making more natural products. I know from traveling in Europe that some of the things found in our Canadian foods are banned there. They are much more likely, for example, to use natural colors rather than the artificial ones.
It actually isn't that difficult to eliminate most artificial colors chemicals and flavoring from your food and other products. I personally avoid those things, and drink well water instead of tap water whenever i can (though this is hard to arrange for most people). Look up the top ten foods that should be purchased organic. Don't buy things that contain monosodium glutamate, sodium benzoate, tartrazine, bht, or obvious colorings. Choose whole grain foods over processed white foods and add lots of antioxidant and anti inflammatory spices to your food. Antioxidants and plants like astragalus will protect DNA from cancer causing mutations. Spices are cheap! When you buy meats you should buy grass fed or organic meat because those livestock should have less pesticide concentrations in them. Factory farmed animals are likely eating feed which in itself is pesticide sprayed and the chemicals will build up in greater concentrations in the animals that eats it.

Google all the ingredients in your home products and cosmetics )if you are a woman) and analyze whether they are dangerous. A lot of creams have a formaldehyde preservative that is a known carcinogen, parabens, and petroleum by products. I use a mineral stone instead of deodorants that contain aluminum and colorants. If you clean yourself out of all those chemicals your sweat will mostly just smell like water and salt. Shampoos should be organic so you arn't rubbing chemicals into your hair every day, and a chlorine filter attached to the shower head so you aren't breathing in toxic chlorine. John Masters Shampoo is one that I like a lot. It's about $20 a bottle but you don't use much, and really you only need to shampoo every 3 days or so. Give yourself good hard exercise and that means sweating. The lymphatic system which runs parallel to the circulatory system does have its own pump so the only way to get toxins flushed out is by muscle contractions. I go to a class a few times a week and its a fun inexpensive activity as well as a way to flush out the system. You can eliminate 30 percent of the toxins in your system through sweating. If your body is cleaned out of those chemicals then I really believe that sweat should smell mostly like water and salt. So far in the past few years  have not had a problem using anything more than a cheap mineral. There are definitely some very smelly people in the change room after class though and I wonder what they have been eating!
Believe it or not sugar is not hard get away from. I drink all my coffee and tea without it now, and the only sugary drink i consume regularly is Ribena Blackcurrant Juice (Which has tumor inhibiting properties itself!) And it really is  important is to eat organic berries and a lot of them. Raspberries and Strawberries have a special compound in them called Ellagic Acid that studies found shrinking tumors by up to 70% in lab animals. When combined with other anti tumoral wormwood tinctures i saw tumors shrink or burst in pet animals. Very exciting! If anyone has other information or stories to share you can send me messages through my personal website
at www.tariqhossenbux.ca 
I hope there was some useful information here.

Tariq Hossenbux 

Tariq Hossenbux - Lettuce Farmer

 Tariq Hossenbux - Lettuce Farmer

My Garden Box

When i used to live in Dunrobin, one of my favourite things was that I could grow hundreds of lettuce plants in the summer and always have fresh salad.It really is a pleasure to be able to just walk out the door and pick out a bowl of crispy lettuce. And so easy to grow- after the neighbour had roto tilled part of the back field with his tractor it was just several days of work dragging a shovel up and down the field, walking by dropping the seeds in, and covering up the rows with soil. It was clayey soil, but rich in minerals and other nutrients for the plants. After a couple of weeks the little lettuce plants were sprouting up just as easily as grass.  The neat rows of vibrant green was something i looked forwrd to in the spring. For a few months i would be spared the strange feeling i had in the winter when i actually had to hand over money at the grocery store to buy greens. And it's a unique and proud feeling when you grow your own food, and watch the miracle of  life as your little plants grow. Now that the house has finally sold, the last remainder of my field of lettuce plants and kitchen garden is a blue box that i filled up with soil and took with me. This year has been a new experiment growing some lettuce inside it. I started in the summer and grew some things, but then brought it inside- worms and anything else that was under the soil. It's going well enough i think. Not enough to feed me full time or anything but when I need some lettuce to top a taco or something like that my lettuce is there. Typically i buy my lettuce seeds at the dollar tree. They usually have this gype called Grand Rapids that grows very quickly. It's not heirloom or non GMO as far as I know, but it's very easy to grow. When i used to buy seeds for my field in Dunrobin, the cashiers would be amazed (or possibly a little annoyed) when put down 60 packages of 3 for a dollar lettuces seed packages on the counter. Of course they would exclaim about how many lettuce seed packages i was buying and I would be happy to tell them about my annual project. I would also grow pumpkins and zucchinis but that would come second to my lettuce field in importance. The pumpkins became soups, pumpkin pies, and harvest squash soups. The zucchinis were sliced and made into jars of renowned dill pickled zucchini (the dill grew well in my garden!). I still have a stack of cases of jars from when i imagined that I could make a business out of  it. The pickles and even bags of lettuce were given as gifts and even sold. People were quite willing to pay 8$ for a large ziplock bag of my just picked pesticide free lettuce. It wasn't about money of course though. I was happy that people in the city could also enjoy eating fresh, natural,
nutritious and chemical free food. Perhaps sometime in the future there will be another version of my Dunrobin lettuce field.


Tariq Hossenbux
www.tariqhossenbux.ca Tariq Hossenbux

Managing Dog and Cat Cancers and Cysts with Berry Powder and Wormwood. By Tariq Hossenbux

 Pet Cysts and Their Possible Relationship to a Tumor 
By Tariq Hossenbux opinons from personal experience and reading 
My personal webpage at www.tariqhossenbux.ca

 Exciting news to relate here....I want to share it with you because you may be able to use this information!

Just had an interesting conversation with an herbalist I know today.  Anti Tumor tincture that I have had a lot of success in past years improving the vitality of pet dogs and cats with cancer. Its the most common cause of death in older pets so over the years unfortunately I have seen it quite a few times.  But I also noticed it shrank cysts too until today didn't know exactly why. According to the herbalist there is usually a tumor as an underlying cause .This tumor could often be in the lymphatic system causing blockages in circulation that create the fluid buildup of a cyst in another place. The lymphatic system does not have a pump and needs muscle contraction (exercise) to move toxins out. Kind of complicated but not really eh? Suddenly made a lot of sense how the cysts were cleared up when the underlying cause was handled. I recommend the tincture in conjunction with organic berry powder. I look at it as a sort of double shot approach. The berry powder has raspberries that contain ellagic acid which studies are showing can reduce tumor size in lab animals by 70%, and the wormwood extracts in the tincture cause a free radical reaction with iron in cancer cells to help destroy it. Pretty exciting stuff. So exciting its in clinical trials in the US with lung cancer survivors! If you have a pet with cancer i recommend you search out these ingredients and try it out. Its a slow process but I think you may see results in a few weeks.

Tariq Hossenbux

clinicaltrials.gov/show/NCT00681512
 http://news.sciencemag.org/chemistry/2001/11/wormwood-extract-kills-cancer-cells Tariq Hossenbux

Talking about Wing Night reminded me that I don't like them

By Tariq Hossenbux  visit my page at www.tariqhossenbux.ca
Wing Night reminded me ......


Last night after my workout I had an interesting conversation with another guy in my class. We were talking about getting some people together to go out after class sometime, and when i mentioned it was wing night at a nearby pub, he said he didn't like them. I agreed and realized that for a different reason, I didn't like them either. He just didn't like the taste, but I don't like the factory farmed chicken industry. I am not a vegetarian but I do try to think about the source of my food and  avoid eating chicken most of the time in fact. When I was younger my family had chickens living on the property that became virtually pets and over time observed their behaviour and their relationship with other animals. One of our dogs gave in to his prey drive and killed one of the chickens. Nobody blamed the dog, he knew it was wrong. It was his natural behaviour as an animal and that can never be entirely surpressed. Another dog later on became friends with the chickens. But we saw the chickens becoming fearful of the dog afterwards and you realize that they do think. The factory farming industry wants us to be disconnected from the idea that our food was once a living, breathing and thinking creature. That's why words like  poultry, beef, and pork are used instead of chicken, cows, and pigs. My philosophy is that farming livestock is part of human heritage, but that we should respect the beauty of life. For me that means allowing animals raised for livestock to live out some part of their life in an enjoyable way. When i buy beef  I travel to a farm a little outside of town and I can see that the grass fed cows are being treated well. And the beef is healthier and tastes a lot better for it. Even the stewing beef is more tender than the factory farmed steak at expensive restaurants. Much easier on the conscience that way. Back to my conversation about Wing Night. I walked back to him to tell my friend that I think in my lifetime technology will find alternatives to meat. I related an article about how Bill Gates is backing companies that are trying to invent chicken and egg alternatives. Only someone with that kind of money has any chance of  taking on the livestock industry. And he just might be successful.

Tariq Hossenbux Tariq Hossenbux