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What's the Scoop on Chocolate?
by Paulette Millis

Cacao beans are the seed of a fruit tree grown in regions in South America, Africa, and Malaysia. This tree, Theobroma cacao, means “the food of the Gods”. It is said that the cacao beans were so valuable they were used by the Mayans and Aztecs for money, i.e. three beans for one fish, one bean for an avocado. The trees are diminutive and grow wonderfully in a rainforest, counteracting global warming, as well as providing the habitat for monkeys and many other flora and fauna. The increasing demand for chocolate is causing farmers to remove the forest trees to allow the cacao trees full sunlight, as this, along with chemicals, increases pod production for a time. This practice not only wrecks havoc with the forest but eventually causes loss of the cacao trees themselves as they have a life span of ten years less than the forest trees. Cacao is pronounced “ka-COW”, and cacao and cocoa both refer to the cacao bean before the beans are fermented and dried. It is actually a NUT (seed of a fruit) but commonly called a bean. The chocolate is processed from the cocoa bean. Dried cocoa beans are called "cocoa nibs". Raw cocoa beans contain over three hundred chemically identifiable compounds, making cocoa one of the most complex substances on earth.

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Late-breaking Natural Health News!
Copyright © 2008 by Joe Smulevitz, C.H., M.H.

From studies that link vitamin D to cancer and omega-3 fatty acids to bones, 2007 was filled with eye-opening ways that natural products promote health and help prevent disease. The following is a brief review of documented research from the past year gathered from leading scientific journals. Although the information is based upon credible studies, they are not to be regarded or relied upon as medical advice.

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HypnoBirthing®
A Method for Women to Experience a Relaxing, Joyful, and Empowering Birth
by Marie Berwald

When Vadna Ward learned in February, 2007, that she was pregnant, the birth of her baby was immediately on her mind. After witnessing her sister’s experiences with both a chemically-managed birth and a natural birth, she decided that natural birth was the best and most healthy choice for her and her baby. As a working ultrasound sonographer, Vadna knows more than many women about the medical model of birth, which often views it as a painful and hazardous medical procedure. However, at her prenatal yoga class Vadna was presented with a different outlook on birth: birth as a natural, normal, and healthy event in a woman’s life. Instead of something to endure, birth was discussed as an event which allows a woman to connect with her own beauty, strength, and grace. This second vision of birth resonated with her, but Vadna was still not sure how to achieve it until she discovered HypnoBirthing, a method which teaches women exactly how to experience that kind of positive birth.

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Living "Green" Both Inside and Out
Health Begins in the Colon
by Dr. Edward Group

The body cannot become green if it isn't first clean, and the body can't become clean unless it is free of toxins and other harmful substances. As you learn to recycle, reuse, and reduce consumption, you can remove toxic substances from your external environment, but did you know you must also remove them from your internal environment—your body? Just as the outer environments in which we live can become polluted with trash, violated with industrial chemicals, and covered in sickness-causing smog, our entire inner environments (our bodies) can become filled with toxic garbage as well.

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Ion Cleansing – The New Trend in Detox
by Brenda Wilkins

No matter how much we strive to live a healthy lifestyle, we cannot escape a build-up of toxins in our bodies. They enter through the air we breathe, food we eat, and our water supply. Over time these toxins can cause sensitivities, loss of energy, compromised health, or even disease. The Ion Cleansing Foot Bath is the newest trend in detoxification methods. It is gaining popularity because of its simplicity in our busy lives. It is a relaxing method—requiring that the feet be immersed in the water for just 30 minutes per session.

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Now is the Time to Awaken Your Powers and Heal the Earth
by Peter Calhoun

A shaman perceives the world around him through beingness rather than through the mind. When you perceive the world in this way, you enter a very magical place and your life very quickly becomes miraculous. It is a lost art; an art that I am trying to reintroduce to people through my book, Soul on Fire. We all have a natural connection to the Earth. What you may not know is that each of us has an energetic umbilical cord extending from our spine into the Earth connecting us to it. I have seen this cord many times in various altered states. People feel separated from Earth and nature because this cord has been damaged by belief systems and the consensus reality of our culture. We have learned since childhood that the world is something separate from us, a cold mechanistic phenomenon of nature, when in reality it is a very magical place, the manifestation of a divine being that is responsible for all that we have—what we call the Earth Spirit. When one reconnects with Earth Spirit, the first thing one experiences is a growing elation and eventually ecstatic joy. I believe that a lot of the lostness and loneliness in our species has nothing to do with inhumanities, wars, or sickness. It has to do with this lost connection.

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For the Love of Horses
by Carol Marriott

The horses are calling. A powerful transformation is taking place all over the globe. Our way of being with horses is evolving to higher ground and the horses are leading the way. This is profoundly evident by a Google of phrases such as equine-assisted learning (EAL/EAP), spirit of horses, healing with horses, way of the horse, One with the Herd, the Tao of Equus, and Path of the Horse, which are just a few examples resulting in a vast array of websites and articles linking to this powerful and emerging way of being with horses. Amongst these sites are thousands of heart-felt testimonials from people who have been deeply moved and inspired through experiencing horses in this way.

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Editorial
by Melva Armstrong

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Plus:

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From Wheat Fields to "Star Gate" for Paul Elder
Profile: Spiritual Navigator
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