All About Organic Wines

Wines are available in a number of different types and organic wines are one type that is getting more and more attention these days. Organic wines are processed from grapes which are grown without the use of synthetic fungicides or fertilizers. In vineyards where biodiversity is encouraged, vines are grown with the help of living soil i.e. soil full of worms and bacteria which helps to draw the maximum level of minerals from soil. The wines which are grown in living soil have good resistance to disease. Biodiversity also creates an eye catching landscape.

Grape growing is organic by origin but not all vineyards are organic. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is in charge of regulations for organic food products. USDA defines organic food as 'the food which is produced by farmers with the help of renewable resources and by conversion of water and soil which enhances the quality of environment for future generations'. Organic farming is done without the use of harmful pesticides or fertilizers or any ionizing radiation. Before declaring the farm as organic the government inspects the farmland and checks that the farmer rules of to meet the standards set by United States Department of Agriculture.
The Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) did not give permission for wines to be designated as organic. This decision of ATF was challenged by Hallcrest Vineyards. Since then few of the wineries have become certified processors of organic wines.

Organic wines are of four types:
• 100% organic: Produced with 100%organically grown grapes and contain no added sulphites.
• Made with organic ingredients: They have at least 70% of organically grown grapes and may contain sulfite.
• Organic: They contain at least 95% of ingredients from certified sources.
• Some organic ingredients: Thus, before buying organic wine one must know the difference between the four categories of organic wine.

The wine which is processed from organically grown grapes and which also gives information about its certifying agency is labelled as organic and is sealed by United States Department of Agriculture as 'organic wine'. Such wine does not contain any added sulfites but can consist of natural sulphites which must be less than 20 parts a million. Sulfite is a preservative of wine which is commonly known as sulphur dioxide. Sulfite has antioxidant properties and also some antimicrobial properties. It is a controversial topic whether it is possible that wine could be sulfite free. The producers of organic wine have to undergo various inspections by the organisations to get the organic certification.

Reconversion is the process by which conventional vineyards are converted to fully organic vineyards. The whole process takes up to 3 years to complete. The use of non organic treatment is strictly prohibited in the organic vineyards. As per law all the organic claims of wine are to be mentioned on the label so that one can read the label and can come to know about the contents of the bottle. Organic wines are a gem of ecosystem. Organic wines do not contain any harmful ingredients as the conventional wines.

Sound – More Than Your Thinking!

If you happen to be near some piece of technology which can play an MP3 file from the internet, direct it to play as you’re reading this (you’ll learn why later). If the speakers are small and you have the option to plug in headphones, please do so, as the little speakers aren’t up to the task here.

Sound as we know it:
Listen… REALLY listen… what do you hear? Sound tells us a great deal about our environment. Sound is all around us ALL THE TIME, and unless you go to some extreme measures, it’s nearly impossible to hear NOTHING. If you were to ask a scientific person what sound is, they may say something about air molecules vibrating in a particular pattern. Although sound is indeed that, when sound is intentionally and purposefully created it can be much, much more.

Beethoven knew!
You’ve likely heard the opening notes to Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony at some point. What was your response or feeling upon hearing those notes? It was probably like someone just shouted at you, “HEY – sit up and pay attention, because this is important!” Why? Because that was the INTENTION (or consciousness) which Beethoven attached to those notes. You see, Beethoven was a master of sound, and he understood that SOUND IS A CARRIER WAVE FOR CONSCIOUSNESS and that in order to convey a particular intention, he had to have the RIGHT SOUND.

Soundsmithing
Sound is very complex, though, and music is just one application of sound. When creating and working with sound, the parameters which need to be taken into account are:

* Frequency (pitch).
* Amplitude (volume, or sound pressure level).
* Harmonics (timbre, or waveform) – this is why each instrument (even if it’s playing the same pitch) sounds different.
* Modulation: Frequency (vibrato), and/or amplitude (tremolo).
* “Envelope” characteristics (such as attack, initial decay, sustained level, and release).

Mind your thoughts
Before we get too mired in the mechanics of sound, let’s examine that other aspect called “consciousness.” The majority of Beethoven’s music does not have any words, yet the intention (consciousness, or feeling) comes through – which is, by the way, why Beethoven’s music remains among the most popular music ever written. How is this unspoken communication possible? To explain this, let’s use a metaphor of two types of “thinking systems” which comprise the mind. We’ll call them “left mind” and “right mind.” The “left mind” is where we live nearly all the time, and it uses thought fragments (words – both verbal and written) to communicate. The “right mind” works entirely differently and MUCH faster, using WHOLE thoughts, pictures, and metaphors. Another difference is that “right mind” is creative, whereas “left mind” can only do things as it has been taught or shown to do [almost our entire educational system teaches the “left mind”].

Music and sound
Music is sound which has been structured in a particular manner – usually divided up time wise into beats and measures, having proper melodic and harmonic structures and progressions, etc. All this makes it possible for this codification of sound, called music – largely so that it can be reproduced at some later time. And do you know what? “Left mind” loves that sort of neat, orderly, logical stuff. “Right mind” is interested in what the sound conveys. Unfortunately, being that “left mind” is where we hang out most of the time, it becomes dominant and when it’s being stimulated or used, “right mind” doesn’t get to do much.

Teaching an old mind new tricks
There’s been a lot of interest and press time lately given to various methods, processes, and so on – all designed to help people change the way they think in order to attract… whatever. Over the years I’ve tried some of them. They have some good points, I’ll admit. My experience, though, was that it was a rather long, tedious and expensive (both in terms of time and money) process with limited results. Why? Because they were using the usual “left mind” methods, and left mind cannot be taught to be creative and think in NEW ways – only to think differently. Just for a moment, think of all the thoughts you’ve had today. Can you find any thought which is NEW or UNIQUE – an idea which you’re SURE no one has ever had before? Not likely.

Edgar Cayce knew!
In at least one of his reading/prophecies, Edgar Cayce stated, “Sound will be the medicine of the future.” Why “the future?” Back when Edgar said that, electronics were pretty primitive. The accurate capture, reproduction, and distribution of that sound – still a long way off. Creation of sound was limited to acoustic sources only. A true “medicine of the future” would be one which would bring a person back into a state of harmony (balance) by affecting the cause of the dis-harmony (that being the state of consciousness of the mind). In order to affect that change in the mind, one must speak concisely in the language of consciousness. At this point in our (d)evolution, though, I don’t know of anyone who’s capable of conveying pure thought/intention to another mind, so we need a third-dimensional carrier wave to do the job, and it’s called SOUND! Today, we have available the means to produce ANY sound (because it must be the RIGHT sound) necessary to convey the consciousness, capture that sound, distribute it (let me count the ways), and reproduce it. All YOU have to do is LISTEN.

The bottom line
You cannot truly change anything about your life until you change the way you think.

You cannot change the way you think until you engage the creative abilities of your right mind.

You cannot engage the right mind with left mind constructs (language and what we see).

The right sound, coupled with the right intention is the most effective (and perhaps the only) way to reach your right mind.

7 Types of Fat Burning Supplements

There are many ways to burn fat:

Increase exercise and decrease food and alcohol consumption is the most obvious and safest answer.

Another idea is a “thermic diet”: a diet that increases your metabolic rate, such as consuming whey protein which requires more energy to digest than other foods

A third alternative is taking “fat burning” supplements.

With all the choices of “fat burning” supplements out there, it’s very confusing for the average consumer what the differences are. “Fat burning” supplements can be broken down into 7 categories, where the first 4 are stimulants:

1. Ephedrine and Ephedra. Ephedrine and its herbal forms Ephedra and Ma Huang are often included in supplements designed to promote fat burning and/or energy. About 5 years ago, Ephedra was in the news over the controversial death of a baseball player Steve Bechler and football player Korey Stringer during spring training. Many believe it was a combination of heat stroke, dehydration, and lack of conditioning. The results were inconclusive.

2. Caffeine and Guarana. Caffeine and its herbal form Guarana are often included in supplements designed to promote energy and/or fat burning. Caffeine is known to suppress the appetite. Side effects include the jitters or nervousness and frequent trips to the restroom.

3. Ephedrine & Caffeine Combos. The combination of Ephedrine and Caffeine makes up the core of some popular supplements that has been proven to burn fat and while retaining lean muscle mass. The supplements below represent many variations of this popular combo or their herbal equivalents (Ephedra / Ma Huang and Guarana). Xenadrine is a popular brand in this category.

4. Synephrine Combos. The herbal form is Citrus Aurantium or Bitter Orange. These are thought to be easier on the Central Nervous System than supplements that contain ephedrine or its herbal equivalents. Synephrine is still a stimulant but is a milder alternative to ephedrine.

5. Thyroid Boosters. These are designed to preserve or increase thyroid output and increase the metabolic rate to promote fat loss stimulant free. This is an excellent alternative to supplements containing stimulants.

6. Insulin Mimickers are said to aid or act similar to insulin in order to help avoid large amounts of natural insulin from being secreted in the body - which would result in excess carbohydrates being stored as fat!
Chromium is the second best-selling mineral supplement in the United States, behind calcium. It is found in whole grains, wheat germ and nuts, and is poorly absorbed in our intestinal tract.
By combining Chromium with Picolinic Acid to create Chromium Picolinate reportedly improved absorption into the bloodstream. Evidence is currently inconclusive, and more research is required.

7. Carnitine and Actetyl-L-Carnitine. This is probably the lowest risk of the 7 types of supplements. Over 50 percent of our daily needs for Carnitine is normally supplied by the diet by meat, poultry and fish. Unless you are a vegetarian or a strict vegan, current research shows no evidence that it will reduce body fat.

Pick & choose your supplements carefully!

Folic Acid, The News Keeps Getting Better

National press has recently taken an interest in the benefits of folic acid, with coverage increasing throughout the media. Folic acid, a B vitamin and other folates helps the body to form red blood cells and aids in the formation of genetic material within every body cell. Folic acid also helps to prevent birth defects. Proponents of dietary supplements have encouraged the use of folic acid by women who are of the child-bearing age for a long time.

The public is becoming increasingly aware of the importance of this nutrient to prenatal development. In a survey done by U.S. Health and Human Services in 2007, about 40% of all women surveyed reported the daily consumption of a supplement that contained folic acid, while about 42% of women surveyed reported that folic acid is the most important vitamin for women of child-bearing age. This study also found that awareness of the benefits differed by age group. Younger women were the least likely to know about the benefits of folic acid, and therefore, were the least likely to consume folic acid. These younger women were also more likely to hear about folic acid from a magazine or newspaper or school or college, rather than their health-care provider.

On the contrary, the women who aged 25-34 and 35-47 were much more likely to hear about folic acid and its benefits from their health-care provider. Because of these results, the U.S. Health and Human Services considers it vital to increase young person education and awareness. Folic acid has long been known to help prevent birth defects. Recent research on folic acid shows that it may also help in preventing premature births, boost baby weights, prevent preeclampsia, reduce risk of Alzheimer’s disease, and even cut male smokers’ stroke risk.

Folate is determined from the term “foliage,” and is a member of the B vitamin family where it can be primarily found in dark leafy green vegetables, legumes, citrus fruits, beets, meat, and wheat germ. Folic acid does not occur in nature and cannot be found in unfortified foods. It is not an active form of the B-vitamin. However, it is the most common form of folate used is supplements and in fortified food products due to the fact that it is highly bioavailable and chemically stable. It is also readily reduced to tetrahydrofolate, which is the active coenzyme form of folate. One study, comparing folic acid from orange juice and folic acid from a supplement showed that the supplement had a better absorption rate than the fortified orange juice.

Although folic acid is not generally associated with side effects, there have been some clinical reports that high level of folic acid can mask a deficiency of vitamin B-12. However, a deficiency of B-12 is very uncommon and it has been determined that only amounts about 3000 – 4000 micrograms per day of folic acid for extended periods of time may have this masking effect, which can in turn be eliminated by supplementing with a few micrograms of B-12. For more information about folic acid and its benefits to your body, contact your local health food retailer.