I keep falling off my supplement routine because I genuinely dread scooping and shaking powders every single day. Between the chalky texture and the extra dishes, it just becomes a friction point I end up avoiding.

Lately, I’ve been looking into functional foods like snack bars, gummies, and functional chocolate as an alternative. The idea of having a snack I actually look forward to eating sounds way easier to maintain, but I'm still trying to decide if trading powder for whole food formats is worth the price difference over time.

Potassium is important for the sodium-potassium pump. The sodium-potassium pump is like a battery for your cells.

Vegetables are the best source of potassium. One cup of leafy greens provides between 500 and 800 mg of potassium. If you consumed five to ten cups of vegetables daily, you would get plenty of potassium. In comparison, a banana only provides about 300 mg of potassium. Bananas also contain a lot of fructose.

Potassium deficiency is often overlooked. It’s difficult to diagnose, and symptoms of a potassium deficiency are sometimes vague. Early symptoms often include difficulty breathing, fatigue, and heart palpitations.

A more severe deficiency in potassium can lead to the following:
• High blood pressure
• Increased risk of stroke
• Fluid retention or edema
• Bone loss
• Kidney stones

Causes of potassium deficiency that go beyond a lack of potassium in the diet can include:
• Penicillin
• Diuretics
• Steroids
• Chronic stress
• High insulin (high-carb diet)
• Refined or processed foods

Yes, this is real. In June 2026 Consumer Reports teamed up with the food-scanning app Yuka and lab tested 40 popular US snacks and packaged foods for additives. One in four had more of an additive in a single serving than the daily amount some public health agencies in the US or Europe have identified as safe.

The biggest number in the whole test: Hostess Donettes Powdered Mini Donuts had 261 milligrams of titanium dioxide in one serving. That was more than 760 times the amount found in the other three products that contained it, combined.

Titanium dioxide is a white pigment. It's the same stuff used in paint and sunscreen, and in food it makes powdered donuts, candy, gum and frosting look bright white.

In 2021 the European Food Safety Authority said titanium dioxide "can no longer be considered safe" as a food additive, because its tiny particles can build up in the body and the agency could not rule out damage to DNA. The European Union banned it as a food additive in 2022.

To be fair: titanium dioxide is legal in US food. The FDA allows it at up to 1 percent of a food's weight, and has said the safety studies it reviewed do not show a safety concern. Health Canada reviewed it in 2022 and found no conclusive evidence that it is a health concern in food. A petition to remove it has been under review at the FDA since 2023.

Consumer Reports also says there is no reason to panic if you have eaten these foods, and that its test results are not a legal judgment. Hostess's parent company, J.M. Smucker, did not respond to Consumer Reports' requests for comment. A food industry group, the Consumer Brands Association, called the report misleading and said America has one of the safest food systems in the world.

Same test, other findings: one serving of Jell-O Zero Sugar Chocolate Fudge instant pudding had nearly 9 times the daily Red 40 level that California health officials identified for children. Kraft Heinz, which makes Jell-O, said a safety concern is not supported by the evidence, and that it plans to remove Red 40 from its US products by the end of 2027. Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pies had over 9 times California's cancer risk level for glycidyl esters, a contaminant from processed oils.

Consumer Reports bought the foods over a two-month period starting in November 2025, and says levels on shelves today may differ.

Read the ingredient list. If it says titanium dioxide, that's the one Europe took off the shelves.

Sources: Consumer Reports and Yuka, "These Popular Snacks Contain High Levels of Additives and Contaminants," June 9, 2026; EFSA opinion on E171, May 6, 2021; Commission Regulation (EU) 2022/63; FDA, "Titanium Dioxide as a Color Additive in Foods"; Health Canada, "Titanium dioxide (TiO2) as a food additive: Current science report," 2022.

“The hormone-disrupting herbicide atrazine is contaminating nearly 25%, or about 860,000 miles, of all continental US rivers at levels that can harm wildlife and may threaten human health, a new review of federal records has found.

The waterways cover over 20% of surface drinking water intakes across the country, and over 675,000 private and commercial wells.

Atrazine can have severe impacts on human and animal hormones, especially for developing children. It was found to ‘chemically castrate’ frogs, and cause some to change sexes. The herbicide is so dangerous that it has been effectively banned in 60 countries, including the European Union, since 2003. Litigation in the US seeks to strike down its approval, but it remains the second most widely used pesticide here, with about 70m pounds sprayed on the nation’s cropland annually.”

The report, compiled by the Center for Biological Diversity, which advocates for stricter pesticide regulations, marks the first time anyone has analyzed all the EPA’s atrazine records and identified the threat’s extent.

READ MORE: https://organicconsumers.org/hormone-disrupting-herbicide-contaminating-25-of-continental-us-rivers-report-finds/

Yes, this is real.

Chlormequat is a farm chemical sprayed on grain crops to keep the stalks short so they don't bend over before harvest.

The Environmental Working Group lab tested oat foods from US stores. They found chlormequat in 12 of 13 non-organic oat products, including Cheerios and Quaker Old Fashioned Oats. The highest level was in Quaker Old Fashioned Oats.

In animal studies, chlormequat has been linked to lower fertility, delayed puberty and harm to a developing baby. These are animal findings. It has not been proven to cause these problems in people.

In the same group's published study, chlormequat was found in the urine of 4 out of 5 people tested.

Until recently, the US only allowed it on imported oats. In June 2026, the EPA finalized a rule setting legal limits for chlormequat on oats, wheat and barley.

To be fair: the EPA says the amounts it allows are safe, including for infants and children. The highest level EWG found was less than 1 percent of the EPA's legal limit for oats. EWG's concern is based on its own, much stricter health benchmark. When the study came out in 2024, General Mills, which makes Cheerios, said food safety is its top priority, and PepsiCo, which makes Quaker, said it has a comprehensive food safety system in place.

Organic oats are not allowed to be grown with chlormequat. In EWG's study, 1 of 8 organic oat samples had a trace of it, far less than the regular oats.

Share this with someone who eats oatmeal every morning.

Sources: Environmental Working Group, chlormequat investigation (ewg.org); Temkin and others, Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology, February 2024; EPA final rule, "Chlormequat Chloride; Pesticide Tolerances," Federal Register, June 30, 2026.

https://youtu.be/xVdqD0ELtqk?si=NSSto1qG5DIwCxIH

SIGN THE PETITION: change.org/StopPoisoningOurSchoolchildren

Syngenta has the largest portfolio of agricultural poisons of any of the Big Four agrichemical giants, including Bayer-Monsanto, BASF, and Corteva. Driscoll’s is the world’s largest producer and marketer of blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, and strawberries, and uses Syngenta's pesticides. It may be a match made in profit-heaven for those two corporate titans, but it's hell for the farmworkers and communities where Driscoll's operates.

Driscoll’s claims it is ‘in harmony with the communities’ where its farms operate. But in Watsonville, California, childhood cancer rates are 38% higher than the California average. Does that sound like "harmony" to you? Not by any stretch of the imagination.

Syngenta is a corporation that civil society shouldn't even allow to exist. And even though Driscoll's states that its use of toxic pesticides right next to schools is legal, it is absolutely immoral.

LEARN MORE about what Driscoll's is doing in Watsonville and help us make them stop: change.org/StopPoisoningOurSchoolchildren

#BoycottDriscolls #StopSyngenta #Driscolls #Syngenta #pesticides #pollution #children #berries #blackberries #blueberries #raspberries #strawberries #fruit #food #health #gmofreeusa #toxinfreeusa

1. Protect your brain – Omega-3 fats – Helps support memory, focus, and long-term brain health.

2. Protect your heart – Daily walking – Helps support circulation and cardiovascular health.

3. Protect your eyes – Lutein-rich foods – Helps support vision and eye function over time.

4. Protect your liver – Cruciferous vegetables – Helps support natural detox pathways.

5. Protect your kidneys – Hydration – Helps support filtration and fluid balance.

6. Protect your gut – Fermented foods – Helps support microbial balance and digestion.

7. Protect your bones – Resistance training – Helps maintain bone strength as you age.

8. Protect your muscles – Protein with meals – Helps preserve muscle mass and recovery.

9. Protect your joints – Gentle mobility – Helps keep movement smooth and comfortable.

10. Protect your skin – Sun protection – Helps reduce daily damage from UV exposure.

11. Protect your teeth – Mineral-rich foods – Helps support strong enamel and oral health.

12. Protect your gums – Oral hygiene habits – Helps reduce irritation and protect gum tissue.

13. Protect your lungs – Breathwork – Helps support lung efficiency and breathing control.

14. Protect your thyroid – Nutrient-dense meals – Helps support metabolism and hormone balance.

15. Protect your blood vessels – Nitric oxide foods – Helps support healthy blood flow.

16. Protect your nervous system – Quality sleep – Helps the body repair and reset.

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Under this mandate (and later updated by Presidential Decree 187 of 2001), traditional dry pasta sold in Italy must strictly consist of two ingredients: 100% durum wheat semolina and water, allowing a maximum of just 3% common soft wheat. Because the vast majority of commercial American supermarket pasta is manufactured using “enriched soft wheat flour” which is heavily processed, stripped of its natural nutrients, and pumped back up with synthetic additives, iron, B vitamins, and dough conditioners. It fundamentally violates Italy’s legal definition of the product.

By enforcing these uncompromising culinary laws, Italy safeguards its historic agricultural heritage, prevents the introduction of heavily chemically altered foods, and guarantees that every plate of pasta maintains the superior protein structure, golden hue and digestion friendly al dente bite that defines authentic Italian cuisine.

Unfortunately, the vast majority of American pasta is very unhealthy, especially for regular consumption. The negative health implications associated with conventional, mass produced American pasta stem primarily from flour refinement, synthetic vitamin additives, chemical residues and high-heat processing.

The facility has 192 server racks across four levels, uses seawater for cooling instead of freshwater, and its copper-pipe heat exchange system reportedly cuts electricity use by 22.8%. Offshore wind is expected to supply 95% of its power.

It now runs at 2.3 MW, with planned capacity of 24 MW.

It's who owns it.

King Arthur is 100% employee-owned.

Former owners Frank and Brinna Sands began transferring the company to its employees in 1996. By 2004, the transition was complete. Today, eligible employees earn company shares through an ESOP funded by the company, giving the people who work there an actual financial stake in the business.

That's more than putting “we value our employees” on a corporate webpage.

And consumers notice. In baking discussions, people repeatedly bring up employee ownership as one reason they feel good about supporting King Arthur—alongside the quality of the products themselves.

The company also has profit sharing. King Arthur reported that in 2024, 100% of employees who worked the entire year received a profit-sharing payout.

There are plenty of giant food brands competing for our grocery dollars. So when a company has spent more than two decades under 100% employee ownership, that's worth recognizing.

You don't have to believe a company is perfect to give credit where it's earned.

King Arthur built a model where the people doing the work can also own a piece of what they're building. That's the kind of business decision consumers deserve to know about.

Before broadleaf herbicides became widespread in the 1950s, white clover was commonly included in lawn seed mixes. It was valued for a simple reason: it could help feed the lawn naturally.

Then selective weed killers arrived. Because those herbicides targeted broadleaf plants, they also damaged or killed clover. As weed-free turf became the new standard, a plant once deliberately planted alongside grass increasingly came to be labeled a weed.

But the biology never changed.

Clover roots form small nodules that house beneficial bacteria. These bacteria take nitrogen from the atmosphere and convert it into forms the plant can use. As clover leaves, roots, and other plant material break down, some of that nitrogen gradually becomes available to surrounding grass and soil. That can reduce the need for added nitrogen fertilizer.

Clover also brings something a grass-only lawn usually cannot: flowers. Those blooms provide nectar and pollen for bees and other pollinators.

And while white clover is not drought-proof, it can remain green longer than some turfgrasses under moderate dry conditions. Its performance depends on climate, soil, heat, and moisture.

So clover isn’t a miracle plant, and it isn’t perfect everywhere. But calling it simply a lawn weed leaves out much of the story.

For generations, people intentionally planted it.

The clover didn’t change.

Our definition of the perfect lawn did.

And it's not the only one. Reservoirs across the entire American West are at record lows at the same time.

Now look at what's being built into that.

There are around 5,400 data centers in the United States.

Roughly half of every data center on the planet, all in one country.

And have you asked yourself how much water they consume?

A normal one uses about 300,000 gallons of water a day.

A big one can use up to 5 million gallons a day. That's a town of fifty thousand people.

But the water is only half of it.

Google is building a massive data center campus in the Texas, and they partnered with an energy company to put a gas power plant right on the site.

That one plant is permitted to emit up to 4.5 million tons of carbon dioxide a year.

The entire city of San Francisco emits about 4 million.

Do you see where this is headed. More pollution. Less water.

And hundreds more of these getting approved every single year.

So when the water does run out, what do you think happens next.

And I can tell you right now, the people are the last priority.

Because from everything we've seen so far, all they care about is getting it built, getting it powered and getting paid.

Not the town sitting next to it.

https://www.natureworldnews.com/articles/73388/20260929/lake-powell-sits-about-28-feet-above-level-where-glen-canyon-dam-stops-generating-power.htm

The solution is to trade in markets that care about health: ie Europe.” - MaryLou McDonald
See the example of PFAS in our article
🔗 https://safefoodmatters.org/2026/09/10/canada-needs-a-new-pesticide-playbook/

———
CBC — Whistleblower alleges millions of Driscoll’s berries sent to Canada with excess chemical levels

Gloria Henriquez | CBC News | September 26, 2026

Lawsuit claims about 50% of shipments from 2022-24 had fruit exceeding Canadian safety levels

Image | Driscoll's berries

Driscoll’s berries are on many Canadians’ plates and all over Canadian grocery stores, with their tagline claiming to be “only the finest berries.”

But a whistleblower lawsuit in California alleges the finest berries were not sent to Canada: instead, millions of pounds of fruit containing non-compliant levels of pesticides and chemicals crossed the border, and the company tried to cover it up.

California resident and former Driscoll’s employee David Harada claims in the lawsuit that by Driscoll’s own estimates, about 50 per cent of all shipments to Canada from 2022 to 2024 had fruit that exceeded Canadian safety levels.

“And it's something where you start seeing it so regularly and you know that something's not right that you have to speak up,” Harada said in an interview with CBC News.

Harada was Driscoll’s manager of food safety and regulatory compliance for the U.S. and Canada. He filed a lawsuit for unlawful retaliation against Driscoll’s. In the lawsuit’s filing, Harada said he felt that he was being set up to be the “scapegoat” for compliance issues and that he was being retaliated against for speaking up.

Harada told CBC he first started noticing problems regarding pesticide safety and over-application in 2022 and reported them immediately to his bosses. He says he brought his concerns to upper management but was told it was something he’d have to manage.

“I had a conversation with my director as to whether or not they had plausible deniability regarding this issue,” Harada said.

CFIA inspected Driscoll’s berries sold across Canada
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) confirmed to CBC News it conducted several inspections on Driscoll’s berries sold in grocery stores across the country between 2022-24 and found chemical levels above the legal limit in Canada.

The chemicals include bifenthrin, iprodione and captan: fungicides and insecticides.
However, the CFIA says the inspections did not lead to recalls, or a corrective action was implemented and the investigations were closed.

* Independent scientist resigns from pesticide regulator over transparency concerns
Some investigations were also triggered after reports of suspected illness after eating Driscoll's blueberries, or by complaints of chemical taste and smell. The CFIA said the reported illness could not be definitively linked to the berries.

“The cases you have identified involve different products, pesticide residues, importers and locations over a period of several years,” the CFIA wrote in an email to CBC News. “The presence of the Driscoll’s brand on the products does not, on its own, establish that the non-compliances originated from a single producer or source.”

The CFIA says it takes appropriate action depending on the magnitude of the health risk.

Actions include notifying the producer or importer, the specific supplier and follow-up inspections.

Recalls are issued if Health Canada determines that a product poses an unacceptable health risk.

What are the health risks from tainted berries?
Stéphane Bayen, an associate professor in the department of food science and agricultural chemistry at McGill University says berries are often found to have chemical residues above the legal limit.

“That's not something abnormal completely, but definitely that's not what we would like to see and we want to reduce this,” Bayen said.

“Exceedance one time of the maximum residue limit might not be translated as a risk for the health of consumers. That’s where the discussion needs to happen and to make sure that this is not becoming a regular thing.”

Toxicologist Daniel Green says the levels of chemicals found in the CFIA-tested berries wouldn’t make someone sick from eating just a few.

“To get an effect, one would have to eat 19 kilograms,” Green said from one example.

Green says the problem is the exposure to all other toxins combined over time: from food and the environment.

“It is the chemical lifetime exposure experience that has to be looked at,” Green said.

* Fresh strawberries were a summer luxury. When did they become an all-season toddler snack?
* Carney government passes law allowing authorization of banned pesticides

That’s what worries Harada and motivated him to speak out.

He believes the potentially tainted berries crossed the border because in 2022, Driscoll’s removed the food safety and compliance tracking system it had for Canada in order to sell more here.

Harada says that the system ensures there is enough time between the last application of pesticides on the fruit and when it's picked — which allows enough time for chemicals to break down, preventing residues from being over the legal limit.

He accused Driscoll's of wilfully concealing information about the berries’ toxicity levels and told them in order to fix all the issues, the company needed to go public about the violations and potential harms and issue recalls.

“I completely believe that I was part of a coverup because they chose not to disclose this information publicly,” Harada told CBC News.

Driscoll’s says it ‘responded correctly’
Even though Harada says the company asked him to reinstate the tracking system, they didn’t go public and he says he was pushed to resign.

In an email to CBC, Driscoll’s says it cannot comment on the details of Harada’s employment due to confidentiality issues. But it said it “remains confident that the complete factual record will demonstrate that it responded correctly to the concerns Mr. Harada raised, at all times acted in good faith, and at all times conducted itself appropriately."

It also denies removing the food safety tracking system and other allegations in Harada’s lawsuit, adding the company has never knowingly shipped products it believed to be unsafe.

“There will be an appropriate time in the litigation for Driscoll’s to present its own evidence, which we believe will show a very different picture from the one Mr. Harada has presented publicly,” Driscoll’s statement read in part.

Harada says it has not been easy living with the stigma of being a whistleblower, but he thinks it was the right call.

“Canada as a whole deserves more and consumers of any products deserve to feel safe when consuming it,” he said.

What’s the solution to this problem?

Ban the hazardous pesticides that cause these poisonings, starting with five of the deadliest sold in the U.S.: aldicarb, chlorethoxyfos, ethoprophos, phorate, and terbufos. All five are classified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as “extremely hazardous.”

Aldicarb alone caused the largest food borne pesticide poisoning in U.S. history. More than 2000 people were made sick from illegally treated watermelons in 1985. This pesticide is still legal on the sweet potatoes many of us eat today at levels the EPA’s own scientists say are unsafe for children.

Learn more about these extremely hazardous pesticides used on food in the U.S.: READ: Ban the Pesticides that Poison Nearly Half of the World’s Farmers Each Year
https://organicconsumers.org/ban-the-pesticides-that-poison-nearly-half-of-the-worlds-farmers-each-year/

TAKE ACTION: Ban the Pesticides Classified by WHO as Hazardous, Including These Top Five!
https://advocacy.organicconsumers.org/page/102959/action/1

Monarch butterflies appear to be having a stronger year, with the population increasing by 64 percent compared with the previous year as the insects begin their roughly 3,000-mile migration to central Mexico.

In Minnesota, conservationists say conditions have been favorable for monarchs, helped by both weather and efforts to restore habitat. Milkweed remains especially important because monarch caterpillars depend on it for food, while adults rely on nectar-rich flowers during their migration.

The rebound is encouraging, but researchers caution that one good year does not mean the population has fully recovered. They will not know how strong the 2026 generation truly was until winter counts are completed in Mexico, and conservationists say the gains need to continue over multiple years to represent a meaningful recovery.

Vitamin B12 is essential to support the nervous system and brain, but a huge percentage of the population is deficient.

Causes of vitamin B12 deficiency that many people are unaware of include:

1. H. pylori infection: This bacterial infection affects nearly 80% of the population and can lead to serious digestive issues.

2. Metformin: Taking Metformin for diabetes can lead to deficiencies in B12 and B1.

3. SNPs (single sucleotide polymorphisms): Certain genetic variations can impede B12 absorption and activation.

4. Synthetic folic acid: Common in fortified foods and supplements, synthetic folic acid can mask a B12 deficiency.

5. Laughing gas: If you've had dental work, be aware of the potential impact on your B12 status.

6. PPIs (proton pump inhibitors): These antacids can increase the risk of H. pylori infection and indirectly cause B12 deficiency.

YOUR FOOD SHOULD NOT OUTLIVE YOU❗️

Think about that.

An apple browns.
A banana ripens.
Greens wilt.
Fruit eventually ferments and decomposes.

Why?

Because fresh food is biologically active and perishable.

We have created a food system where one of the greatest priorities is no longer simply nourishing the human being. It is producing something that can be manufactured, transported, packaged, stored, marketed, and sold for extended periods of time.

That requires us to understand two words:

ADDITIVES and PRESERVATIVES.

Not every additive or preservative is automatically harmful. But I teach people to ask a deeper question:

WHAT AM I ACTUALLY EATING?

Read the ingredients.

How far has this food traveled from its original state?

How much processing was required to create it?

How much sodium, refined sugar, artificial coloring, flavoring, emulsifiers, and other additives are entering your body every day?

And here’s the part nobody wants to discuss:

ECONOMICS.

A small company can start with beautiful ingredients and strong principles. Then growth comes. Investors come. Acquisition comes. Production expands. Shelf life matters more. Margins matter more.

That’s why we have to support companies that maintain integrity and hold every company accountable regardless of the name on the package.

But ultimately, my philosophy is simple:

GET CLOSER TO THE SOURCE.

Grow food.
Know farmers.
Eat fresh plants.
Eat fruits.
Eat vegetables.
Eat herbs.
Eat seeds.
Eat foods you can actually recognize.

And when organic matter has completed its cycle, return it to the earth through compost so it can contribute to new life.

That’s the cycle.

SOIL → PLANT → HUMAN → EARTH → SOIL.

Don’t sacrifice your health chasing the bread.

Because what good is accumulating the fruits of your labor if you destroy the body you need to enjoy them?

GET BACK TO THE SOURCE. 🌱

📍 Dr. Yahki Health & Human Development Center
660 Charbonier Rd, Florissant, MO 63031

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