Landscape upgrading, curcumin and black pepper, vitamin-D, plants defense mechanisms, garlic, organic food, pech and apples, organic wines, organic gardener, chronic disease and glyphosate

An article in the August TURF magazine was on how much does landscaping add to the value of one’s house. They looked at home values in seven states and found that landscaping greatly increased the value. For a $150,000 home, the increase ranged from $8,250 – $19,050 depending on the state one lived in. The study also found that by upgrading one’s landscape from average to excellent increased a home’s value another 10-12 percent. 

There has been a lot of information published in the last few years on the health benefits and anti cancer properties of Curcumin. There is a great article in the September issue of Life Extension magazine on Curcumin pp. 44-51. I found it interesting that combining curcumin with black pepper (piperine) increases the absorption into the bloodstream 6.3 fold (I knew there had to be a good reason that I like black pepper so much). 

In the same issue there was an article on the benefits of vitamin-D for fighting autoimmune diseases like Multiple Sclerosis. In addition, vitamin-D is useful in preventing and treating other neurodegenerative diseases including Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. Another great reason to have gardening as a hobby, as more exposure to sunlight our bodies produces more vitamin-D. 

A study from Europe has found that a Beech trees can recognize when a branch is randomly tore off or has been eaten by a deer. The deer’s saliva has chemicals in it that that the plant can sense which tells the plant to activate its defense mechanisms. 

Many vegetable gardeners love to grow garlic from the beautiful flowers to insect repelling properties and for its great culinary uses. A study reported in Natural News (9-11-16) found that eating garlic daily reduces the risk of lung and bowel cancer by 40%! 

Acres, USA has a list of articles on carbon (organic matter) and soil improvement that one can download or print at www.amazingcarbon.com. 

A recent article in USA Today “Organic Food is great Business, but a bad investment” by Bjorn Lomborg illustrates how the media twists or falsifies information to please their advertisers. He stated that going organic would kill 13,000 people each year yet he fails to mention the thousands that die each year from pesticide exposure, not to mention the tens of thousands of deaths from cancer and other health problems from eating the toxic chemicals on conventionally grown food. The Organic Center rebukes the false information presented in the USA Today article. It can be found on their website at https://www.organic-center.org/news/the-organic-truth-research-shows-organic-provides-a-multitude-of-benefits/ 

Their website is full of useful information and they have a free e-newsletter called the “Organic Scoop”. 

An article in the Journal “Organic Agriculture” (March 2016) by the Maryland Department of Agriculture, “Impact of Organic and conventional peach and apple production practices on soil microbial populations and plant nutrients.” The researchers looked at several species each of apples and peaches and found significantly higher active and total fungal biomass, flagellate, actinobacteria populations, and plant nutrients in the organic orchards. Nutrients from phosphorus (P) to copper (Cu) in plant tissues to higher organic matter, and nutrients from phosphorus (P) to sulfur were higher in organic than conventionally grown irrespective of crops and varieties. 

For you wine lovers, a study in the Journal of Wine Economics compared expert rankings of 74,148 California wines and found that wines certified as organic or biodynamic scored higher in quality tests than conventionally grown wines. 

Several articles published in the Journal Environmental Health Perspectives (September 2016) has found that women whom are exposed to more “greenness” in their lives, live longer, have less health problems from cancer to respiratory and kidney issues. This is another great reason to be an organic gardener! From Acres, USA (September 2016) a study from researchers at MIT published in the Journal of Biological Physics and Chemistry has found that glyphosate acts as a pathway for modern diseases. Epidemiological studies have revealed a strong correlation between the increasing incidents in the United States of a large number of chronic diseases and the increased usage of glyphosate on corn, soy, and wheat. Glyphosate substitution for conserved glycines can easily explain the link with diabetes, obesity, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pulmonary edema, adrenal insufficiency, hypothyroidism, Alzheimer’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, prion diseases, lupus, mitochondrial disease, non Hodgkin’s lymphoma, neural tube defects, infertility, hypertension, glaucoma, osteoporosis, fatty liver disease and kidney failure. 

The 2015 study by the Detox project found glyphosate in the urine of 93% off all Americans! 

A study funded by Moms Across America has found the herbicide Round-Up in all 75 air and rain samples tested. They also found Round-Up (glyphosate) in many vaccines with the MMR II vaccine with levels 25 times higher than the others. 

Note: GMO’s foods have over 10 times the level of glyphosate (think Round-Up) on them.