How to reduce cholesterol levels without drugs.

Cholesterol can have serious consequences on your health, so learn to keep it under control before it’s too late. There are pills that can be taken to lower cholesterol, but you can turn to natural alternatives.

A first step to lower your cholesterol is to eat oatmeal for breakfast. By doing this, you take 2 grams of soluble fiber, and to take another half a gram, add a banana or strawberries to your diet. Nutritionists recommend consuming 15 to 30 grams of fiber a day and at least 10 grams needs to be soluble fiber.

Beans.

Beans are extremely rich in soluble fiber and will maintain satiety feeling longer, because it takes longer to digest.

Nuts.

Numerous studies have shown that nuts are good for the heart and lower cholesterol. They are rich in nutrients that protect your heart.

Vegetable oils.

Use vegetable oils when cooking instead of butter or margarine, and your cholesterol will be lower.

Fruits rich in soluble fiber.

Grapes, apples, strawberries and citrus fruits are rich in soluble fiber and will help lower your cholesterol levels.

Foods rich in stanols and sterols.

Plant’s stanols and sterols increase the body’s ability in absorbing cholesterol from food. You can find them as supplements. 2 grams of stanols and sterols per day lower your cholesterol with 12%.

http://www.womenzoom.com/how-to-reduce-cholesterol-levels-without-drugs/ 

5 Million Nigerians Oppose Monsanto’s Plans to Introduce GMO Cotton and Corn.

Millions of Nigerians are urging the Nigerian government to reject Monsanto’s attempts to introduce genetically modified (GMO) cotton and maize into the country’s food and farming systems.

One-hundred organizations representing more than 5 million Nigerians, including farmers, faith-based organizations, civil society groups, students and local community groups, have submitted a joint objection to the country’s National Biosafety Management Agency (NABMA) expressing serious concerns about human health and environmental risks of genetically altered crops.

The groups’ petition follows Monsanto Agricultural Nigeria Limited’s own application to NAMBA that seeks to release GMO cotton (Bt cotton, event MON 15985) into the city of Zaria as well as surrounding towns. Another application seeks confined field trials of two GMO corn varieties (NK603 and stacked event MON 89034 x NK603) in multiple locations in Nigeria.

In a press release, the groups said they are particularly alarmed about the commercial release of Bt cotton into Nigeria, which is being phased out in Burkina Faso due to the “inferior lint quality” of the GMO cultivars.

“We are totally shocked that it should come so soon after peer-reviewed studies have showed that the technology has failed dismally in Burkina Faso,” Nnimmo Bassey, the director of the Health of Mother Earth Foundation, one of the leading opposition groups, said in a statement. “It has brought nothing but economic misery to the cotton sector there and is being phased out in that country where compensation is being sought from Monsanto.”

He asked in the statement: “Since our Biosafety Act has only recently entered into force, what biosafety legislation was used to authorize and regulate the field trials in the past in accordance with international law and best biosafety practice?”

Former Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan signed the National Biosafety Management Bill into law last year, basically opening the doors to GMOs cultivation in the country.

The groups noted Monsanto’s crops are genetically enhanced to tolerate the use of the herbicide glyphosate which was declared as a possible carcinogen by the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) last March.

“Should commercialization of Monsanto’s GM maize be allowed pursuant to field trials, this will result in increased use of glyphosate in Nigeria, a chemical that is linked to causing cancer in humans,” Mariann Orovwuje, Friends of the Earth International’s food sovereignty co-coordinator, said in a statement.

“Recent studies have linked glyphosate to health effects such as degeneration of the liver and kidney, and non-Hodgkin lymphoma. That NABMA is even considering this application is indeed unfortunate and deeply regrettable, knowing full well about the uncontrolled exposure that our rural farmers and communities living close to farms will be exposed to.”

Besides the potential contamination of local maize varieties, the groups argued that the health risks of introducing GMO maize into Nigeria could be “enormous” considering that maize is a staple food in their diet.

Coupled with a lack of resources to adequately control and monitor the human and environmental risks of GMO crops and glyphosate, the groups argued that Nigeria doesn’t have a platform to test for glyphosate or other pesticide residues in food and food products, nor do they have an agency that can monitor the herbicide’s impact on the environment, including water resources.

On the flip side, GMO-advocates tout that biotechnology is not only safe for human consumption and the environment, it’s also a solution to malnutrition and global food security, as these crops have been genetically tinkered with to provide certain nutritional benefits and/or spliced-and-diced to resist certain pathogens and other roadblocks.

For instance, Monsanto’s Water Efficient Maize for Africa, a five-year development project led by the Kenyan-based African Agricultural Technology Foundation, aims to develop a variety of drought-tolerant maize seeds. The project receives funding from the Gates Foundation, United States Agency for International Development and Howard G. Buffett Foundation.

In an interview with Wall Street Journal’s Rebecca Blumenstein, Bill Gates explained his views about GMOs:

“What are called GMOs are done by changing the genes of the plant, and it’s done in a way where there’s a very thorough safety procedure, and it’s pretty incredible because it reduces the amount of pesticide you need, raises productivity (and) can help with malnutrition by getting vitamin fortification

“And so I think, for Africa, this is going to make a huge difference, particularly as they face climate change … The U.S., China, Brazil, are using these things and if you want farmers in Africa to improve nutrition and be competitive on the world market, you know, as long as the right safety things are done, that’s really beneficial. It’s kind of a second round of the green revolution. And so the Africans I think will choose to let their people have enough to eat.”

But in the video below, Bassey objects to the argument that GMOs are necessary to ensure food security and nutrition in Africa and that the continent can feed itself without the aid of multinational biotech companies.

“Genetically engineered crops are not engineered to help anybody,” he says about six minutes into the video. “They are engineered to help the industry that produces the crops.”… (Lorraine Chow).

http://ecowatch.com/2016/03/29/monsantos-gmo-cotton-corn-nigeria/ 

Kate McWilliams, 26, says EasyJet passengers ask about her age all the time

Kate McWilliams joined EasyJet as a first officer in May 2011 and recently rose to the rank of captain. She is based at Gatwick airport. Photograph: easyJet/PA.

A British woman has become one of the world’s youngest commercial airline captains at the age of 26. Kate McWilliams, from Carlisle, said she is asked about her age by cabin crew and passengers almost daily and most people are “pleasantly surprised and impressed” when she tells them.

McWilliams began flying in the air cadets aged 13 before going on a training programme at CTC Aviation in Southampton on her 19th birthday then joining EasyJet as a first officer in May 2011. She recently rose to the rank of captain after passing the airline’s command course. An EasyJet spokeswoman said the budget carrier believes McWilliams is the world’s youngest commercial airline captain.

McWilliams said: “Personally, I don’t think my age matters. I’ve been through the same training and passed the same command course as every other captain, so I’ve proven myself capable regardless of my age. I do now get asked how old I am on an almost daily basis, which didn’t used to happen when I was a first officer.”

McWilliams lives in Reigate, Surrey, and is based at Gatwick airport. She flies Airbus A319 and A320 planes to about 100 destinations, including Reykjavik, Tel Aviv and Marrakech.

McWilliams said that when she was growing up, she did not think it was an option to become a commercial pilot, but she has “never looked back” since beginning her training. “I love being a commercial pilot for EasyJet and I am proud that I have now achieved my ambition of becoming a captain,” she said.

Only 5% of commercial pilots are women and last year EasyJet announced an initiative to double the proportion of new female entrants to 12% over two years.

Julie Westhorp, the chair of the British Women Pilots’ Association, said she hoped that McWilliams’ progression would inspire more women to consider a career in aviation. She went on: “Both the BWPA and EasyJet are aware of the importance of visible role models for girls and young women when making career choices and continue to work together to encourage young women to consider a pilot career.

“Kate’s achievement clearly demonstrates to other young women that it is possible to succeed as a pilot in commercial aviation. We wish Kate continuing success in her career and are delighted that she is now an excellent role model for other females.”

Last week, McWilliams flew from Gatwick to Malta alongside Luke Elsworth, who earlier this year became the UK’s youngest pilot aged 19.

Michael Crowley, of Boca Raton, Florida, was promoted to the role of captain with SkyKing, a charter carrier, in 2012, at the age of 24. He flies Boeing 737s between Miami and Cuba.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/sep/26/kate-mcwilliams-worlds-youngest-airline-captain-aged-26-easyjet