Tomato as Sunscreen???

To test tomato's ability to protect the skin, ten volunteers were asked to eat five tablespoons of tomato paste mixed with olive oil every day for three months.

Another ten had a daily dose of olive oil - minus the tomato paste.

Tests using ultra-violet lamps showed the tomato-eaters were a third better protected against sunburn at the end of the study than at the start, the British Society for Investigative Dermatology's annual conference heard.

Fun Time on the Kitchen Floor

Feel like a few minutes of non-productive, time wasting FUN? Check this out.

Kittens-Coca Cola Box - For more funny videos, click here

A True Elder: Check her out!

Here's a clip of a lady with the fire and the energy and the wisdom that I would hope I have at the age of 82. She appeared at an Obama rally; check her out! If you care about ageing like I do, it's so great to see role models doing it!
An elder, a sage, is, to me, a chronologically endowed person who has NOT given in to fear.
See her here

Now THAT's a Vibe!

(Ian:I received this from Maia, one of our long term water afficionados. You may have heard a few alkaline water stories, but none like this one!
Gabrielle Hart has an amazing set of Alchemy bowls, made of various crystals, including ruby, emerald, amethyst, citrene, moldavite, rose quartz and Japanese charcoal. These bowls are said to have the ability to energize water that is placed in them and to imbue it with healimng properties. )

As experienced and recounted by Maia.

"One day Gabrielle came along to a small social gathering in my home and brought some of her bowls with her. In addition to how incredible they sound and feel, she also offered to ‘make’ some water for us.

I gave her some freshly ionised, alkaline water from my IonLife filter. She put it into one of the bowls, and then sounded the bowl. It was remarkable to watch how the water behaved with the vibration, and then it started to get really interesting…

She had not been sounding long when she suddenly expressed surprise that the water was ‘ready’ far more quickly than usual; something like half the time it would normally take water to reach the stage of readiness for drinking/enhancing wellness in the body.

Then we drank some of the water. One sip and we all had a similar experience, in that it ‘spun our heads out’ – as in, a weird sensation; a very ‘full’ yet light, spacey feeling…not unlike how it feels sometimes with some alternative healing modalities.

We all continued to sip (very slowly!) and the conversation revolved around our experience, and the water. Gabrielle was so blown away by the water that she bought a filter, as did another who was there on the day.

In her ‘SoundSpa’ workshops, Gabrielle ‘sounds’ water for everyone to drink.
She also holds ‘HartSpace’ evenings in Brisbane, Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast."

Finland Study on effect of Hard (alkaline) water on Chronic Heart Disease

Readers have been asking me to fix the link on my website so they can read this report.

It was done in 2003 and used around 100,000 death certificates to correlate cause of death with water the person drank during their lifetime. It showed that drinking alkaline (hard) water gave drinkers a 22% better chance of resisting chronic heart disease. Put another way, one degree of hardness increase caused a corresponding one degree or percent of decrease in acute myocardial infarction. Here's the link

I've also added a list of some twenty or more reports that you may care to investigate in your spare time.

Make Mine Beer.. er.. water

ATLANTA — In a new report on bottled water consumption, the industry newsletter Beverage Digest said in its latest issue that per-person consumption of bottled water has now outpaced that of beer and is second only to carbonated soft drinks in that category, according to an April 28 report in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The report said per-capita consumption of bottled water in 2007 compared with 2006 was up 7.1 percent, to 22.5 gallons, with beer rising by 1.4 percent, to 22.2 gallons per person last year, the report said.
Soft drinks kept hold of the No. 1 spot, at 49.3 gallons per person in 2007, down 3.3 percent over 2006, according to the story. It said that per-person consumption of bottled water has doubled in the past 10 years.

Ian: Just a wonder... so why is beer in glass, but water in plastic?

A brand New Use for Cigarette (Packets)

What do you do when you can't afford to return to the doctor to finish off your op.? And what if 'finishing off' means closing the hole the doctor made in you? In China, you work with what you have, so when Rao Jiachung was left with a 7 x 3 inch hole in his torso and no money to get it fixed, that's what he did! He used the silver wrap paper of his cigarette packets to wrap the sterile dressing over the wound/hole. He's 51, and the operation to remove part of a diseased lung was performed in 1998! Here's more info with a better pic of the hole, for those of you still comfortable.

And even more (Antique Oriental) Body Snatcher Art...

Down the page a bit I shared with you some amazing anatomical artwork. Now I find even more amazing stuff, this time from Japan's Tohoku University. Here's the link, but remember that Japanese do things differently so when using the 'forward' and 'back' buttons; they are in reverse. Their 'start' is at our 'end'. Confused? So was I. Amazing art, hundreds of years old.

A Truly Epic Plastic Bottle rebuttal.

As you all know, I've been strident in my criticism of the plastic bottle culture.

Only problem is that I don't yet have an answer, but events of the last few weeks are beginning to crystallize answers. Only last week we heard that it's official; Nalgene has pulled its whole highly popular Polycarbonate bottle range off the shelves and has said that it will be back with Bisphenol-A free product. here at ION LIFE we're faced with the same dilemma and have bitten the bullet. I have decided to no longer sell our highly popular IONLIFE Polycarb bottle.

It's kind of interesting; it's not becasue the bottle is really dangerous when used only as a water bottle. The problems begin when it is left in the sun, or put in a dishwasher, or subjected to ordinary detergent. So assuming you use a polycarb bottle but never leave it in the car, add hot water or detergent, you're OK. The Bisphenol-A stays in the bottle.

But take a look at this article which absolutely nails the plastics dilemma.

A new look at the body...

A set of amazing images of partial dissections.. in colour! never seen a heart look quite so... er...
More Here

An Alternative to Chemo.. but not yet

A very interesting new look at finding cancer in the body.. and killing it.
Here

Could the Earth's Magnetic Field cause Suicide?

Here's a link to a challenging article from New Scientist. It appears that fluctuations in the earth's magnetic field may increase the risk of suicide.

I'm guessing, therefore, that my 'dog days' may not be because my PC has spat the dummy after all. It may just be good old Mother Earth moving me right along!

Who'd Be A Teacher In L.A?

A report received this morning:

LOS ANGELES — Water from one drinking fountain at a San Fernando Valley elementary school, which is part of the Los Angeles Unified School District, has tested positive for high levels of lead, according to an April 23 Daily News article. David Brewer III, school district superintendent, said in a news conference that he is holding staff accountable for this latest drinking water safety infraction. Brewer said at a news conference that school staff at the Woodlake Elementary School responsible for flushing water fountains and keeping logs will be held accountable for their negligence.

Ian: So.. the poor teachers are going to have to go out and find a whole-school water filtration system and install it.. while they get on teaching? And the Head says they are 'negligent' if they don't? This headmaster has commitment issues! Hopefully he'll soon become David Brewer the third last! (What is it with people with names like that?)

How cancer spreads

Canadian scientists say they've discovered cancer cells spread by releasing protein "bubbles" -- a finding that might alter our concept of how cancer works.

The discovery was made by Dr. Janusz Rak and colleagues at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Center in collaboration with Dr. Ab Guha of the University of Toronto.

The researchers found cancer cells are able to communicate with their more healthy counterparts by releasing vesicles -- bubble-like structures containing cancer-causing proteins that can trigger specific mechanisms when they merge into non- or less-malignant cells.

Rak said the finding demonstrates that cancer is a multi-cell process, where the cells "talk" to one another extensively.

"This goes against the traditional view that a single 'mutated' cell will simply multiply uncontrollably to the point of forming a tumor," said Rak. "This discovery opens exciting new research avenues, but we also hope that it will lead to positive outcomes for patients."

The study appears in the online edition of the journal Nature Cell Biology.

Free MindBody Spirit Passes

For you Aussies, I have two free passes to Sydney's 'Mind Body Spirit' Festival in Sydney on 1-4 May. They'll be given to the 5th person to sign up to receive my free Alkaline Defence Course. Just drop your details in the box below. We'll call the winner. If you're from out of Australia, please feel free to sign on anyway; we'll send on your 12-part Alkaline Defence Course free.

What a Great Idea!

This site organises and supports environmental film makers. As you're no doubt aware, there are some real enviro-gem videos out there that, because of the mass market big biz distribution channels, we never get to see. You can now get these videos for yourself and support the film makers at the same time.
See it here

How it works: Alkaline water Ionizer

Eau Technologies is a company that makes water ionizers - not unlike our own ION LIFE ones, but much, much BIGGER. They sell them to all sorts of industries wherever chemical free cleaning is required, using the acid water; the same acid water that your home water ionizer outputs, but with a bit more salt added to make it even more acidic.

One example of how they use it is in a recent order they received. Here's the press release about its use in a huge chicken processing plant.

Many people ask me just how the water ionizer works, and Eau technologies have provided an excellent little animation to demonstrate just that. Here is the animation (Apple Quicktime required)

Say No More...

Taking it to City Hall; Citizen Power

From here
Joe Holbrook has been carrying around a dirty drinking water filter, wrapped in a brown paper bag.

He's been complaining to local officials that the filter, from his son-in-law's house next door, shouldn't be so dirty and gray.

It turns out Holbrook's drinking water in Pinconning Township has bacteria in it.

He passed off the filter to Bob Hill, from the Bay County Environmental Health Division, at a public meeting earlier this month about Saginaw Bay water quality.

Samples taken by the Bay County Department of Water and Sewer outside Holbrook's home in Pinconning Township have since found bacteria in his area's drinking water.

Under water quality standards, there isn't supposed to be any bacteria in drinking water.But five separate tests, conducted from Thursday through Sunday, found single colonies of 'indicator bacteria' in a drinking water line that feeds Holbrook's home and others in the area, said Bill Schubert, water superintendent for the Bay County Department of Water and Sewer, which distributes water from the Bay City water plant.

The Pinconning Township samples didn't contain enough bacteria to cause health problems, Schubert said, or trigger a boil water advisory for residents.

The results are classified as "atypical" rather than "positive," he said.

Still, the water department takes bacteria seriously, Schubert said.

Holbrook said he's upset his pleas for help were ignored by some local officials.

"If I wouldn't have brought that filter in, how long would I have been drinking this?" Holbrook said.

He's been drinking water at his home since 1988, and doesn't feel so good after hearing that bacteria was found.

"Is that why I've got a bad cold right now and I don't feel good? I think it was the water," said Holbrook, 69.

Schubert said he doesn't know what caused the bacteria in the water line or how long it's been there.

Holbrook said his drinking water often smells like fish in the summer. He thinks Saginaw Bay beach muck, which has been found to contain traces of human waste, has something to do with his poor water quality.

On Monday, water crews were out in Holbrook's area flushing and resampling the lines where Holbrook lives, on East Whitefeather Road, and nearby Shore Road.

"We don't want anything in the water, that's truly our goal," Schubert said.

"We are continuing to sample and monitor it until we have it all clear," he said Monday afternoon.

But Schubert said people have to realize that the Bay City area's drinking water isn't pure. It's drawn from Saginaw Bay, and cleaned up as best as is economically possible.

"It's not sterilized water," he said. "It goes through a sand filter and has gone through a lot of tests, but it's not reverse osmosis."

Holbrook said he plans to keep using a $34 drinking water filter at his home, which he bought at Home Depot and replaces at least every three months.

His son and son-in-law, who live in neighboring houses, also use one.
"I don't want that stuff coming down in my glass when I turn the faucet on," Holbrook said.

Merrilyn returns.. with more!

Remember Merrilyn, the lady whose story about her rheumatoid arthritis improvement touched so many readers? Well, she's back, with something a little more mundane, but equally interesting.. at least I think so!

Most readers will be aware that the ION LIFE Water Alkalizer also outputs acid water, which Merrilyn has used to reduce household drudge!

"I cleaned tiles with acid water and 2 teaspoons of vinegar. Leaves tiles shiny and clean which you can feel underfoot. Over 2 months using acid water on my skin, long standing Gingivitis has hugely improved."

-Merrilyn McQuillan QLD

Rain Water Tanks Alert

Nobody believes me.. rainwater tanks are VERY OFTEN health-threatening.

Firstly, they almost always have bacteria or parasites in them. WC Fields wasn't wrong when he said "I don't swim in the sea. Fish crap in it." Well, fact is, birds do the same into our roof-fed water tanks.

Secondly, if you live in an agricultural area you have this huge overspray collector that funnels all airborne pesticides etc from crop dusters or spraty systems used on windy days. I have seen reports of serious health issues in areas such as the darling Downs in Queensland Australia.

Thirdly, if you test tank water from a tin roof, be prepare to find lead and cadmium. This report confirms what we've always known.

Finally, rainwater in a tin or plastic tank is often VERY acidic. peter, my co-worker, was taking the dog for a walk this morning when he encountered a neighbour also walking her rickety old dog. They got to talking and it appears the dog and its mistress are both suffering really bad arthritis. peter - naturally - asked her what water she was drinking and her answer was "We only drink rainwater; it's straight from the sky so it must be the healthiest!" Peter gave her a pH kit to test the water and it was the most acid he's ever seen. And hey, this is a country town!

I've developed strategies to overcome all of these problems for my many clients who are in a similar situation, so give us a call or email Peter on peter@ionlife.info if you find yourself in a similar situation. My US readers may find themselves ina similar situation so just click on the link on the header to contact our US team.

Boomers.. time to drop the drugs and get serious about health care!

Eventually some of us will hear the sirens. Dr. John W. Rowe, professor of health policy and management at Columbia University, is one such siren.

"We face an impending crisis as the growing number of older patients, who are living longer with more complex health needs, increasingly outpaces the number of health care providers with the knowledge and skills to care for them capably,"

Rowe headed an Institute of Medicine committee that released a report Monday on the health care outlook for the 78 million baby boomers about to begin turning 65.

The report from the institute, an arm of the National Academy of Sciences, said:

•There aren't enough specialists in geriatric medicine.

•Insufficient training is available.

•The specialists that do exist are underpaid.

•Medicare fails to provide for team care that many elderly patients need.

The study said Medicare may even hinder seniors from getting the best care because of its low reimbursement rates, a focus on treating short-term health problems rather than managing chronic conditions and lack of coverage for preventive services or for health care providers' time spent collaborating with a patient's other providers.

So... how are YOU travelling? I've got clients who have health-ages almost half their chronological age. Here is one.

Tell Your Wife About This one!

It appears that there is an anti-snoring pill on the way! Here's the story.
Although.. on a personal note, Cassie has linked my nightly efforts to whether I have had dairy that day. Just a thought for all you milk chocolate nibblers.

Pepper and salt as you've never seen it before

This image of a peppercorn and a grain of salt taken by David McCarthy is the overall winner (and close-up category winner) in this year's Visions of Science Photographic Awards. The competition is sponsored by Novartis and The Daily Telegraph. (©David McCarthy) More here

Open Wide... But Clean your teeth: People will be watching!

Don't worry about ugly scars from your next organ removal. Now surgeons are removing major organs via the MOUTH!
More here

Beat Epilepsy; Get Fat

It appears that kids with epilepsy can stave off potential traumatic fits if they just eat fatty food. Now this will be a home goal winning therapy in obese nations like Australia and the US!
More here

John Kanzuis' Cancer Device

I spent some time talking about John Kanzius, a man who took cancer therapy into his own hands with a device of his own making. Well, it's gone further. Here's the latest

Send Me your Empties!

I've been raving on about the waste created by non-recyclable plastic bottles for ever. Now there's someone you can send your next empty plakky bottle to!

High Antioxidant Coco Oil for our Aussie readers

'Gold Label' Virgin Organic Coconut Oil is the same Virgin Coconut Oil that Tropical Traditions has sold for the past 6+ years, and has now been enhanced to the point where TT have developed even higher standards for the production of this premium Virgin Coconut Oil. It contains the highest levels of antioxidants. While almost all Virgin Coconut Oils on the market are mass-produced, Tropical Traditions still produces their Virgin Coconut Oil by hand in small batches by family micro enterprises. Most of them have been producing Virgin Coconut oil for over 6 years. They learned what it takes to produce the high quality oil, including as how to hand pick the higher quality coconuts from each harvest.

Their most recent discovery in 2007 came when certain groups in rural areas had problems with water sources. Water is needed to make the coconut milk from which the oil is extracted. Using true Filipino ingenuity, farmer producers began collecting and using the pure nutritious coconut water from inside the organic coconuts instead.

They noticed that the water separated from the oil much quicker, that less heat was needed at the end, and that less filtering was needed. The end result was a higher quality and better tasting Virgin Coconut Oil.

Independent laboratory analysis confirmed that this new method produces even higher levels of antioxidants than first tested in 2006 by Professor Dia, which showed TT Virgin Coconut Oil to contain higher amounts of antioxidants than any other Virgin Coconut Oil they had tested. So TT now require all of their Virgin Coconut Oil farmer-producers to use the pure coconut water from their coconuts instead of boiled or purified tap water. This enhanced Virgin C oconut Oil with the highest levels of antioxidants is now our Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil, available here.

Aspartame... Again.

I'm not going to add to the massive opposing data against Aspartame. There's plenty out there already about this artificial sweetener.

However this data just crosses my desk about how it works to KEEP US HUNGRY.

Imagine; a sweetener that replaces sugar - that makes us fat - that also makes us hungry - that makes us FAT!

"Aspartame has been shown in laboratory studies to create changes in insulin levels called a "cephalic phase insulin response." A cephalic response is a digestive reaction triggered in the brain by the taste, smell, sight or thought of any food. Your entire digestive system, from your mouth to your colon, can be affected by these messages. Changes in cephalic phase responses such as salivation, gastric acid production and liver metabolism can alter normal appetite.

Additionally, studies prove that you stay hungry on a sugar-free, chemical diet because:

1. aspartame penetrates the brain
2. this penetration suppresses serotonin
3. then you crave carbohydrates

Michael G. Tordoff, Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior, University of California at Davis, has published several studies showing that artificial sweeteners can:

1. increase hunger, short-term food intake, and cravings
2. affect blood sugar levels, which can be especially dangerous to people with diabetes or epilepsy
3. cause fluid retention
4. increase cellulite
5. contribute to weight gain"

Er.. wouldn't it be simpler to eat natural foods? just a thought... Ian

Upgrade Now

I know it's sometimes difficult to upgrade your ION LIFE water alkalizer, so I've created a new blog where you can post your own ad to sell your present system to our huge audience in Cyberland... for free!
Go here

'Resolation'?

Here's an er.. unusual method of using alkaline hydrolysis. As we have discussed here, acids really go to work when we die, decaying the body. However this Scottish company has gone the other way with a 'eco alternative' to cremation.
Check it out

Eight Tips To Dramatically Increase Your chances of Longevity

Here's another good summation of anti=ageing. You'll note one of the story sources as Ray Kurzweil, inventor and avid anti-ageing 'guinea pig" Ray is also an avid advocate of Alkaline water.

Go here

This article seals the case on the relationship between diet and health - and cancer!

I receive a truly wonderful newsletter from the Cancer Support Association of Western Australia. It is always filled with prescient, targeted and relevant articles and this one is no exception. if you have any doubts about the relationship between diet and your health, spend the time on this article.

A Video to challenge everything you thought you knew about your brain.

Neuroanatomist Jill Bolte Taylor had an opportunity few brain scientists would wish for: One morning, she realized she was having a massive stroke. As it happened -- as she felt her brain functions slip away one by one, speech, movement, understanding -- she studied and remembered every moment. This is a powerful story of recovery and awareness -- of how our brains define us and connect us to the world and to one another.

I'd really like to hear your comments on this talk. I 'll share mine; a bad night's sleep! The idea that someone can enter the state of Nirvana is very confronting to me., because it arouses the 'victim' in me. I mean, if this lady can enter a state of ultimate consciousness and bliss at will, why can't I?

I'm sure some readere will attempt to tell me I've got it all wrong, but I can assure those of you who may think I haven't 'done the work' that I have a wonderful resume of spiritual endeavour ready to roll out to let the world know that I'm ready willing and waiting to 'graduate' to her sdtate of consciousness.

Anyway, as they say, before enlightenment, carry water, shovel dung. After enlightenment, carry water, shovel dung.

For those of you without sound, a transcript of her talk is here

Many Ways to skin a cat - or to purify water

Here's a company that has taken a novel approach to water purification. Instead of taking the contaminants out of the water, they have created a system that takes the water out of the contaminants. Check their web page here

Walnuts as a water purifier? Who'd have thought?

Chromium is a common heavy metal contaminant of water supplies, largely arising from the textile, leather and wood production industries. Levels of chromium in drinking water have been controlled in the past by expensive, often toxic chemical-based cleansing procedures.

Xuesong Wang and co-workers at Huaihai Institute of Technology in Lianyungang1 have shown that walnut shells could provide a natural, cheap and easily available alternative to chemical cleaning.

Walnut shells have previously been used to successfully remove hydrocarbons such as benzene and toluene from water. In the new study, nutshells sourced locally in China were dried, ground up and tested as adsorbents of chromium VI, a known carcinogen, under various experimental conditions.

The nutshells were found to be capable of removing up to 97% of the chromium from water. They performed particularly well in acidic solutions and at high temperatures, but were adversely affected by high salt content — a potential drawback for practical use because industrial wastewater often contains large amounts of salt. Nonetheless, the walnut shells are among the best substances for adsorbing chromium VI when compared with previous studies, which have tested the adsorbent capacity of a range of other natural substances, including wool, coal and cacti.

The authors of this work are from:
Department of Chemical Engineering, Huaihai Institute of Technology, Lianyungang, China.
Thanks to Clive for this post!

New data to Support Acid/Alkaline balance

I received a copy of a Taiwanese study today about the relationship of alkaline water to heart disease. It's far from total, as the study says, but it agrees with so many other studies that it's bankable as far as I am concerned.

A Wonderful Story about an Autistic kid

I can't add to this article; we all hope that an ailment - any ailment - will turn around and give us the relief we so dearly desire. in the case of this story, a beautiful breakthrough occurred; yet I can't help but wonder at the pain we cause ourselves daily through our unacceptance of where we find ourselves right here, right now.

See the article here

BTW, Leslie of Mindd Foundation hosts an excellent forum for Autism parents. She tells me that there's a great deal of discussion on the forums these days about alkalizing. When I attended her wonderful annual conference, I was amazed that virtually every guest expert talked about the need to alkalize. Given that there are so many theiories about heavy metals and autism, it's pretty obvious that anyone with heavy metals has acidification as a result!

Fun Time for Dogs. A Lesson For us on how to have fun