Doctor Dumps Insurance to Serve Patients Better, Posts Lower Prices Online

“I’m freed up to do what I think is right for the patients,” Ciampi said. “If I’m providing them a service that they value, they can pay me, and we cut the insurance out as the middleman and cut out a lot of the expense.” Ciampi expects more doctors will follow suit. Some may choose to run “concierge practices” in which patients pay to keep a doctor on retainer, he said.

Who Owns Organics?

The latest version of Who Owns Organics has been released by Dr. Phil Howard, an Assistant Professor at Michigan State. Dr. Howard teaches in the University’s Community, Agriculture, Recreation and Resource Studies program. The latest update now includes the top 100 food processors in North America. According to Dr. Howard, acquisitions and changes in the organic industry have been picking up this year. Hain Celestial has acquired Ella’s Kitchen, and Danone acquiring Happy Family just this month. And Hain Celestial’s CEO stated earlier this year that they intend to acquire several more firms in the range of $25 to $30 million.

Genetic Testing for Breast Cancer and Radical Mastectomy—Are Women Being Misled into a False Sense of Security?

A key point for women to remember is that while women with BRCA defects have a 45-65 percent increased risk of breast cancer, only about TWO PERCENT of diagnosed breast cancers are caused by BRCA faults. So this genetic defect is nowhere close to being a primary cause of breast cancer. Clearly, other non-genetic factors play a far more significant role.

USDA violates the Organic Foods Production Act

Political corruption and power grabs usually happen behind closed doors. The Cornucopia Institute has consistently called for more transparency at the USDA’s National Organic Program, but quite frankly, this power grab, in broad daylight, is unexpected. The National Organic Standards Board (NOSB), the citizen panel charged by Congress to determine which synthetics are allowed in organic food production, voted to prohibit the use of carrageenan in organic infant formula, to prohibit the use of synthetic microcrystalline cellulose as a food ingredient, and set a deadline for reviewing synthetic and potentially harmful ingredients in previously approved pesticide formulations. By law, the USDA cannot allow a synthetic material in organics unless it has been approved by the NOSB. But the agency seems completely uninterested in following the law governing organics, the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990. The USDA’s proposed rule, released on May 3, disregards the NOSB’s decisions entirely on these three important topics. Please send a comment to the USDA—let them know that they are acting outside their legal authority and that we will not stand by quietly while they protect corporate interests rather than the health of consumers and the environment.

Research Proving Vitamin C’s Therapeutic Value in 200+ Diseases

Vitamin C is generally considered to be an important "nutrient," but its perceived value usually ends there. Only rarely does the public (and the medical profession) glimpse its true potential in the prevention and treatment of disease -- and this because, by legal definition (in the US), only FDA-approved drugs can prevent, treat and cure disease. This does not mean, however, that essential nutrients like Vitamin C cannot in fact prevent and treat disease, i.e. only because it is illegal to speak truthfully about something, doesn't mean that that something isn't true. The National Library of Medicine, in fact, contains thousands of studies demonstrating vitamin C's ability to significantly improve health, with 220 disease applications documented on the research site GreenMedInfo.com alone. The best thing 'we the people' can do, despite our lack of medical degrees and licensure, and without the FDA's iron-fisted legal and regulatory apparatus on our side, is to use the peer-reviewed research at our disposal to inform and protect our treatment decisions.

Cholesterol-lowering Statin Drugs Provide No Benefit: Study of 4 Million People

Aside from demonstrating that statins provide no benefit to most people, this study also demonstrates that the so-called gold standard, randomized double blinded placebo controlled, study is a farce. Add to that, though, the fact that statins have severe and deadly adverse effects, it’s apparent that these drugs are doing great harm while providing no benefit.

How to Grow Your Own Food in Small Spaces

One of the major benefits of growing your own food is that you have complete control over the end product, from soil composition to chemical exposure. Anyone can also produce their own food. If you have a back yard, you’re blessed indeed. But apartment dwellers can also grow fresh produce.

Is God Trying to Get Your Attention?

Is God Trying to Get Your Attention? When we find ourselves far from God, we are always the ones who moved. A loving father will always discipline his children for their own good, with the goal being restoration and healing.

Hemp Could Free Us From Oil, Prevent Deforestation, Cure Cancer and It’s Environmentally Friendly – So Why Is It Illegal?

Hemp is the most universally useful plant we have at our disposal. Up until and even during WWII, hemp was a widely grown crop, which provided the world with an excellent and most durable source of fibre. Less than a century ago hemp cultivation was not just encouraged, but mandatory, with hefty fines being levied against farmers who refused. 'Hemp for Victory' was the government coined slogan that fuelled the last big bout of legal hemp cultivation during WWII, promoting hemp cultivation as a patriotic cause. The first dollar bills were printed on hemp paper, your old family bible is probably printed on hemp paper and even the constitution itself was drafted on hemp paper. So why is it illegal in the U.S.?

What Will Be in Your Organic Produce, Fish, and Fortified Grains if Codex Gets Its Way?

Pesticides? Yes. GMOs? Maybe. Hormones? Maybe not. ANH-USA’s executive and legal director, Gretchen DuBeau, was a member of the US delegation to the Codex Committee of Food Labeling (CCFL), which met in Canada last week. We were honored to bring the voice of the consumer to the table at Codex, especially since it is otherwise heavily influenced by big corporate interests. At this meeting, four areas of concern were discussed: GMO labeling; Whether the pesticide ethylene may be used on organic produce; Organic standards for aquaculture and seaweed; and Biofortification of grains.