Who Else Wants Potassium Supplements?
Why would someone supplement Potassium? Potassium can be an essential ingredient to maintaining your healthy nerve network, heart, kidney function, muscles and your digestive system. While certain diets naturally will provide the potassium levels most men and women, but there are indeed select individuals who must have more than what can be found through the typical diet.
A potassium supplement is necessary for those who have temporary or permanent deficiency that empty their body of potassium, included, but not limited to: having fluids drained from your body (heat stroke, sweat, dehydration, diarrhea, etc.), from vomiting (the 24 hour flu, self-induced bulimia, as a side effect to another ailment), because of having a disease (G.I. disease, Gastrointestinal disease, kidney disease, some forms of diabetes, digestive diseases, etc.. Potassium supplements can be prescribed to replenish, replace or prevent or stop potassium deficiency issues.
When should one take a potassium supplement? Depending on the specific supplement you are supplementing, as its dosage and the frequency varies greatly. That said, however, potassium supplements usually are consumed 2 - 4 times per day, and most of the time with food. Your friendly, neighborhood pharmacist can help you if you have any question or trouble creep up regarding your supplements.
How should you properly take a potassium supplement? You should always read the label of your prescription bottle for specific to that supplement, instructions. Tablets and capsules should be taken whole; avoid breaking, if at all possible. Of course, that will not be possible for everybody. Some people who have trouble swallowing tablets may have that as an obstacle to overcome, that is alright. Do what you normally would do. If your supplement is in liquid, granule, effervescent tablet or powder make sure you completely mix your potassium in water, before you drink it. Using cold water can help in covering up less than ideal flavor, or adding your favorite fruit juice can help make your potassium much easier on your taste buds. Whatever form your potassium supplement comes in, taking them with eight fluid ounces of water is recommended.
Nutrition Facts - Fats and Oils, Fish Oil and Folic Acid, Potassium and Food Labels
Choose vegetable oils and margarines with liquid vegetable oil as the first listed ingredient and no more than 2 grams of saturated fat per tablespoon. Examples include:
• Canola
• Corn
• Olive
• Safflower
• Sesame
• Soybean
• Sunflower oil
Choose liquid or tube margarines low in saturated fat and trans fat. Choose reduced-fat and no-fat salad dressings and mayonnaise with no more than 1 gram of saturated fat per tablespoon.
Preparation tips include:
• Use fats and oils lowest in saturated fat and cholesterol for cooking, baking and in spreads sparingly.
• Use reduced-fat or no-fat salad dressings with salads and dips.
• Coconut oil, palm oil and palm kernel oil have no cholesterol; however, they are high in saturated fat.
Fish and Omega-3 Fatty Acids
The American Heart Association recommends eating fish, particularly fatty fish, at least two times per week. Good choices include:
• Mackerel
• Lake trout
• Herring
• Sardines
• Albacore tuna
• Salmon
Other good sources of omega-3 Fatty acids include:
• Soybeans
• Canola
• Walnut and flaxseed and their oils
The American Heart Association does not recommend widespread use of folic acid and B vitamin supplements to reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke. Instead, they advise a healthy, balanced diet rich in fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and fat-free or low-fat dairy products. Good sources of Folic Acid include:
• Citrus fruits
• Tomatoes
• Vegetables and grain products
• Wheat flour fortified with folic acid
There is a lack of evidence for the benefit of lowering homocysteine levels; however, patients at high risk should be advised to be sure to get enough folic acid and vitamins B-6 and B-12 in their diet. Sources of these vitamins include:
• Fruits and green, leafy vegetables eaten daily.
Potassium
Potassium is necessary for the body’s growth and maintenance. It plays an important role in the response of nerves to stimulation and in the contraction of muscles. Good sources of foods high in potassium include:
• Bananas
• Cantaloupe
• Grapefruit
• Oranges
• Tomato or prune juice
• Honeydew melons
• Prunes
• Molasses
• Potatoes
If you need to keep your weight under control eat lower calorie potassium containing foods such as fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy products.
Food labels are a major accomplishment for the American Heart Association who participated actively in the legislation and regulatory process that has made nutrition labeling more useful to consumers. It is now easier for consumers to choose foods low in saturated fat, total fat, cholesterol and sodium as well as foods that contain potassium, calcium and other nutrients.
I rarely purchase an item these days without first reading the nutritional label. Remember to read nutritional labels when provided on foods. Nutritional food labels are a tremendous asset for everyone.
Source: American Heart Association
Disclaimer: *This article is not meant to diagnose, treat or cure any kind of a health problem. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Always consult with your health care provider about any kind of a health problem and especially before beginning any kind of an exercise routine.
Bananas: All That Potassium And Carmen Miranda Too!
“We have old-fashioned tomahto, Long Island potahto, but Yes, we have no bananas. We have no bananas today..”- Folk song by Frank Silver and Irving Cohen (1923)
Whether you are off to Rio following the colorful trail of Carmen Miranda’s fruit-filled hat or seated on your couch contemplating the universe, the banana can always come along for the ride. There are so many aspects to this strange and wonderful fruit. Even its shape is a bit mysterious; conjuring images of tropical islands and sun-filled days. Did you know that the word “banana” originates from the Arabic and means finger? Doesn’t that make you wonder where the rest of the hand is? I have been hooked on bananas ever since I was a child, and Miss Chiquita, drawn by Dik Brown who also created the Campbell kids, used to sing to me through the television in my parents’ living room. (I always wondered why she never had her own show. She was so much cuter than Ed Sullivan.) You remember her words:
I’m Chiquita Banana and I’m here to say
Bananas need to ripen in a special way
When they are flecked with brown and have a golden hue
Bananas taste the best and are the best for you.
The banana is so popular in America today that four million tons of them are imported every year. Not to compare apples to oranges, but rather apples to bananas, a banana has less water, fifty percent more food energy, four times the protein, half the fat, twice the carbohydrate, almost three times the phosphorus, five times the Vitamin C and iron and at least twice the other vitamins and minerals as a single apple! The average American eats 33 pounds of bananas a year. An excellent source of potassium and carbohydrates, they can be eaten any time of the day because of their digestive properties. Natural sugar provides energy for those sports requiring endurance and low proportions of sodium chloridium render a good recommendation for salt free diets.
That’s all quite impressive, I know, but where did the banana come from in the first place? Did it arrive as a conundrum along with the chicken or the egg, or did both of them precede it? Buddhist texts from 600bc mention the banana for the first time in history. Alexander The Great tasted bananas in the Indus Valley in 327bc and in his day they were called pala. China records the presence of banana plantations as far back as 200ad (way before the birth of Scarlet O’Hara). In 650 ad Islamic conquerors brought bananas back to Palestine and through trade spread them all over Africa. They were unknown to the New World until 1516 when the first root stocks were brought here by Spanish missionary, Father Tomas de Berlanger.
So much for traveling. How do they grow? The whole matter is extremely confusing. The banana tree itself (even though it is not a tree but a giant plant) is by definition an herb. What is an herb? Without passing go or collecting $200, the answer is a flowering plant with a fleshy, rather than woody, stem. Each stem consists of ten to fourteen hands, each carrying from eighteen to twenty bananas. The stem, however is a false one, formed by tightly wrapped overlapping leaves, resembling stalks of celery. The plant belongs to the same family as lilies, orchids and palms and the fruit is a berry. By definition, a berry is a simple fruit having a skin surrounding one or more seeds in a fleshy pulp. A banana cut lengthwise will reveal very tiny black seeds within its center. Therefore, a banana is a fruit, herb, berry and plant all at the same time. The expression “going bananas” probably came into vogue during the time all of these terms were being defined, don’t you think?
There are about four hundred different varieties of this fabulous fruit, but don’t tell Carmen Miranda. (Apart from the fact that she is dead and you couldn’t possibly, there is no way the woman could fit one more piece of anything on top of one of her hats!) The three chief imported brands are Chiquita, Bonita and Fyffes. The Chiquita (according to her whom I trust implicitly) is always a guarantee of quality. Its production sites are located in Honduras, Panama, Costa Rica and Columbia. The Bonita banana hails from Ecuador and is the cheapest of the three, but only because it is never advertised. Fyffe’s founded in 1888, has the distinction of being the oldest fruit brand in the world. These bananas are produced in Belize, Columbia, Honduras, Suriname, Jamaica and The Windward Islands.
Harvesting is a race against time that starts while the banana is still green. From harvest to delivery at the supermarket twenty days remain before spoilage occurs. Transportation is done with specialized refrigerated cargo ships, each containing some 250,000 boxes of bananas collected the day before. The bananas are stocked in “ripening rooms” for six to eight days at a temperature that can not exceed 14.5C. This temperature allows a homogenous ripening of the bananas of different sizes.
The color of a banana’s skin indicates its degree of ripeness, but here is a more precise guide. Green bananas are not ripe, but can be safely used in soups and stews. Yellow with green tips indicates the fruit is partially ripe and it can be broiled, baked or fried. All yellow bananas are ripe and are best eaten raw or baked into cakes or pies. Yellow bananas with brown freckles are fully ripe and can be eaten raw, in a salad or in any other dishes calling for uncooked fruit. All brown bananas are over ripe, but if the flesh is firm they are still in prime eating condition. Blackened areas indicate bruised fruit and should be avoided.
Bananas can be utilized in hundreds of dishes prepared in as many ways. Roasted, fried, broiled, par boiled, baked, sautéed or eaten raw, the results are always delicious. They wear many hats, so to speak, and can serve as relishes, stuffing for goose, duck, turkey or chicken, sauces, spreads, jellies, jams, candies, cake and pie filling, flour for breads and fresh fruit in salads. There is little that one cannot do with a banana I am sure that Carmen Miranda loved bananas in every way, but dying as she did at such an early age, I wonder if she didn’t put more of them on her hats than she ever ate. Chiquita could have told her the truth, but would she have listened? Somehow I tend to doubt that those two would have ever gotten along!
Want Good Health - Increase Intake Of Potassium, Reduce Sodium
One of my doctor friends used to advise his patients, who were 40years plus, to label their containers of Salt (Sodium Chloride) and Sugar as ‘ POISON’. This is more pronounced in the cases of patients suffering from Diabetes and high blood pressure. On the other hand, increasing the itake of potassium does a lot of benefits to the human body system in all major functions. It is a mineral that is involved in both electrical and cellular functions in the body. It is essential to the smooth running of human body systems, just about all functions depending on Potassium to some extent.
Regulating the body’s fluid levels is one of the mineral potassium’s greatest functions. Not only that but it also has a great part in regulating the blood pressure. It also helps to keep the heart thumping steadily and regularly and is also essential to the nervous system. Potassium works to promote the proper functioning of the tissue that makes up the nervous system. It also serves to enhance muscle control plus the growth and health of cells particularly through its importance in waste product removal. This mineral is also vital to the kidneys in their waste removal tasks. Potassium also plays an important role to mental function as well as to physical processes. It helps to promote efficient cognitive functioning by playing a significant role in getting oxygen to the brain. Following are some salient points to note :
1. Increased intake of potassium lowers blood pressure in both hypertensive and normotensive people.
2. Increased Potassium and reducing Sodium help in lowering blood pressure.
3. High Potassium intake reduces the risk of strokes and prevents renal vascular, glomerular and tubular damages.
4. Potassium reduces urinary calcium excretion, creating poritive calcum balance, which in turn reduces risk of formation of kidney stones and helps prevent bone demineralization. This helps in higher bone mass and stops Osteoporosis, especially women.
5. It is important to note that Calcium excretion in the urine, causing complications of Osteoporosis and formation of kidney stones is directly linked with higher intake of Sodium.
6. Entry of Potassium in cells is impeded by insulin deficiency. High potassium intake is associated with a lower risk of developing type II diabetes. This inverse association is attenuated among obese people, especially in women.
7. Processed food loses Potassium completely., It is therefore advised to avoid processed food.
Potassium is rich in fresh fruit / fresh vegetables. A few of the fruit/ vegetables rich in Potassium are listed below.
Medium Potato -1 720 mg
Broccoli- 1 Stalk 540 mg
Banana 1 Medium 400 mg
Tomato 1 medium 368 mg
Besides, Watermelon, raisins, dates, spinach, yam, ham, beef and milk are rich in Potassium.
One of the Herbalife Nutritional Products, Shapeworks- Formula-1 comes with high protein and high Potassium contents, which goes well with anyone needing a wellness product.
Remarkable Minerals - Potassium and Sodium
Today you cannot afford not to know the information this article has for you. It is a matter of life and death. Taking the proper minerals and knowing why is a must for vitality. Cancer cells are found to die in potassium solutions. Potassium improves blood circulation.
Excessive salt intake create a loss of potassium reserves. Lung disease and chest infections are improved by taking high doses of calcium, potassium and sodium. Olives are one of the highest food in potassium and can help nourish the nerves, brain and heart. Potassium is the mineral spark plug that enhances the entire bodys’ cellular healing. Raw food dishes with foods high in potassium are best. Potassium plus phosphorous are a winning combination of minerals that get oxygen to the brain and increase mental functioning. Low levels of potassium can cause irritability.
Potassium is a mineral that should be included in any detox program. The heart uses potassium to keep its muscle strong and in combination with iron brings oxygen to the heart and helps circulate clean ,rich, blood to the rest of the body. The foods highest in potassium are dandelion greens, almonds, raisin, collard, black currants, potato, radish, peas, barley, dates and figs.
Sodium is a strong ingredient in producing a healthy lymphatic system. Sodium must be taken in its organic form such as sea salt. Sodium plays a role in curing lung diseases because it helps remove carbon dioxide from the lungs. Liquid minerals combined with vitamin nutrients are the antidote to the world of the busy. Sodium helps balance magnesium. The main influence sodium has in the body is preventing hardening of the arteries.
You are your own best friend. You can chose to allow knowledge to empower you to heal thyself and thrive. Sodium levels are responsible for the production of saliva which is the first step in digestive enzyme action Skin, hair and eyes are dependent upon the mineral sodium for beauty, clarity and brilliance. Don’t put your lamp under the table shine with your natural power and understand how to consciously chose how to fuel your body intelligently.
Carbohydrates need sodium to process the dreaded good and bad carbohydrate.
These are a list of sodium rich foods ,nuts like cashews, sesame seeds, kumquat, prunes, brusell sprouts, honeydew melon, mango, wheat bran, artichoke , chickpea, cauliflower, onion, coconut, beetroot, garlic and cabbage. Lower levels of sodium but still high in sodium foods are cucumbers, rice, endive, red bean, and cayenne.
Making it your business to understand that the blood needs sodium mineral and 16 other minerals makes it easy to understand it is time right now to act and make sure everyday you are consciously supplying your body with its needs and amazingly enough you will see your body give you what you want.
China’s Carbon Neutral Town A Token
China is surprising many people these days with their seemingly environmental friendly initiatives. They have banned free plastic bags (billions are used daily in China) and they are having talks with Great Britain in hopes of coming to an agreement for the reduction of greenhouse gases (at least a framework for the discussions of). They just announced that they will build an entirely carbon neutral town of 10,000 residents. That is a great step towards making the world a better place, well, okay maybe not.
The town, Dongtan, will be built on an island and like an island it is a small paradise in an otherwise toxic sea. Thousands of residents cannot negate the billion others in China that produce and consume and produce and consume.
It should be noted however that at least the government is taking small steps. The steps being taken are mostly due to international criticism, the fallout from the toxic toys being shipped around the globe and of course to give China a friendly face as the Olympics draws closer. The idea is a good one, an entire town that is carbon neutral. However, the reality is that the town will be supported using the money tainted from the widespread environmental abuse so common in China. If China created whole regions that were carbon neutral, then that would be hailed as dramatic and serious steps in the right direction. The United States is the major carbon producer in the world, but we do try, albeit halfheartedly. We no longer, legally, pollute for profit, we do have safeguards. Our future lies in creating environmentally friendly alternative fuels, where China’s future is coal, oil and toxic waste. China cannot continue its growth with environmentally friendly practices. It has to pollute.
These little token measures, like Dongtan, at least show that international pressure does have some effect on this up and coming economic giant. As time goes by and China’s middle class grows they will start wanting healthy lives, for their own sake and their children. Dongtan could provide a blueprint for other cities in China. A blueprint that the middle class will point to and say “we want more towns like that, we deserve towns like that.” A breath of fresh, clean air is just a memory reserved for the very old in many regions of China. Hopefully, fresh air will become a dream of the middle class and steps will be taken to make that dream a reality.
How To Reduce Your Carbon Usage?
It’s the most ardent problem most environmentalists have to deal with, it’s the thing on everyone’s lips over the past years, but even if they all talk about it, no one really does anything concluding to assist the world’s movement against global heating.
The thing is that people are reluctant to any ideas that imply reducing their carbon emissions because they believe it would somehow take from them all the comforts modern life accustomed us with. And those who did research and understood they don’t have to give up any commodities, are convinced they can’t help because it would be too expensive.
The truth is that reducing carbon usage is anything but expensive, and it can actually save you money in the long-term. To set things straight, and to convince all the hesitant readers once and for all, here are a few easy and accessible ways to reduce carbon usage for you own home.
1. Insulate your house. With a small investment you can properly isolate walls and windows from the winter cold. Cover up all leaks, look for each small hole that communicates with the outside, buy some double curtains for you windows, and install thermal isolations onto the walls. You will spend little money and you will succeed in making you home more comfortable while reducing carbon usage by more than 12%.
2. Reduce your electricity consumption. There is no need to keep lights on over night; your garden doesn’t need illuminated alleys while you sleep. When you leave home, be sure to turn off all electronic appliances. Also, don’t think that if you switch the lights on and off frequently they will wear out faster. Be sure to turn off the lights each time you leave a room. Buy some fluorescent light bulbs. Change that old refrigerator, coffee maker, computer and all other old electronics. They consume way too much electricity. By doing this, you will reduce your electricity bills by more than 40%.
3. Use hot water wisely. If just once a week you give up a hot bath and take a shower, and if you wash your clothes in cold water (40o C) you can help the environment by reducing the carbon emissions by a considerable 5% given the small effort.
4. How many cars do you own? Your family can live very well with just one car. Sell the oldest one because it’s the one that pollutes the environment the most. Or better yet, sell both cars and add a few thousand $ to buy an environmental friendly hybrid car, they have become extremely popular and are quite competent and fuel wise.
5. Replace the furnace. That old furnace needs to go, it’s inefficient and it’s already showing aging signs. Replace it with a 90%+ efficient furnace and the most efficient water heater you can afford. This might be quite an investment but it will count for more that 50% of you quest for 0% carbon emissions. Also, heat bills will reduce in half and in maximum two years you will get your invested money back.
Of course, there are numerous other things you can do. You can, if you have a backyard, try to grow some vegetables on your own; you could walk more and use your car less; plant a tree once in a while; stop drinking fizzy drinks and carbonated water; find a company that provides a renewable electric source like solar energy and so on. If you take only one of the steps shown above, you will see how much better your life is and I’m sure you’ll be inclined to continue.
Clothes Drying Racks - Homespun Carbon Neutral
I guess I secretly love hanging out the washing. Being seen completing this ‘clean’ household task is a bonus. After all it lets everyone who sees me know how ‘clean’ I keep my home. I suppose it goes with beating carpets or airing bedspreads. Being house proud is important and means we try to keep up standards. That’s all very well in the home but how about in the world at large. Somehow it does not occur to us all that by making small changes we can really impact the health of the planet.
Little did I realise I could also be part of a worldwide movement to reduce our carbon footprint! Today everyone is urged to reduce his or her carbon footprint. At the root of this is the use of electrical appliances in the home.
The dishwasher needs to be fully loaded to reduce its impact. Similarly the washing machine. Each uses the same amount of electricity whatever the load. A huge amount of guilt goes with the carbon footprint debate. In a way we have to accept responsibility for our actions, as individuals, as companies, as nations. But how can we hope to plant a tree every time we take a plane journey, or visit our relatives 200 miles away. Turning down the room thermostat by 1° will help. Mending clothes, recycling waste, re-circulating unwanted presents all make contributions. Similarly buying local produce and avoiding supplies trucked long distances. The supermarket aisle is like a walk through the League of Nations. So much out of season produce finds its way to your local shelf.
By avoiding these out of season products we make a stand for low carbon local stuff.
The clothes airer is one of the very few appliances we use every day. And because of that it reduces our carbon footprint every time we use it. Put simply it gives a clear alternative to the tumble dryer. So instead of feeling guilty about those trips by air or road. Or taking the car to the supermarket for the occasional shop. Simply place the laundry on the airer and enjoy the homespun carbon neutral solution.
Activated Carbon Water Filters vs Distillation Systems
U.S. municipal drinking water / tap water is far from being clean and pure; considering the increased water contamination the need to purify and filter water of municipal sources becomes apparent. Current water treatment facilities are timeworn and municipal city water sources contaminated with pollutants; the problem of impure, unsafe and contaminated water is increasing at an alarming rate.
So the question is: Which water treatment solution / water filter system ensures the purest, cleanest and healthiest water for the family? The examination of two common water filtration & purification methods throws light on this question.
Water Distillation Systems Lack Effective Contaminant Removal
During the water purification process of distillation water is heated until it reaches its boiling point and begins to vaporize. A constant temperature is maintained to keep the heat and provide constant vaporization of the water. The process prohibits other undesirable elements from vaporizing (salts, metals, sediment - anything that won’t boil or evaporate - remains in the distiller and must be removed) and separates the water molecules from microscopic, disease-causing organisms; the pure (or mostly pure) steam leaves the non volatile contaminants behind.
When all water is vaporized, the vapor is led into a condenser and cooled down until it condenses back into liquid water, and runs into a receiving container. However, a carbon filter or other filters should be used along with a distiller to ensure the complete removal of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which will evaporate and condense with the water vapor.
Healthy Natural Trace Minerals Will Be Removed
Only activated carbon filters and KDF (Kinetic Degradation Fluxion) are able remove the molecularly smaller substances and chemicals like pesticides, herbicides and chlorine. Another disadvantage of Distillation Systems is the removal of naturally occurring and healthy minerals along with harmful contaminants. These minerals make the water tasty and support vital functions in our body system.
Water without these trace minerals can actually be unhealthy for the body. Long-term consumption of such de-mineralized water can be harmful to the body system and result in mineral deficiencies in the body. Above all, distillation does not remove pesticides, herbicides, and chlorine solutions.
Activated Carbon Filters Reliably Purify Water
The process of water filtration with Activated Carbon Filters is characterized through the flow of water through a granular bed of sand or another suitable media (e.g. several stages of carbon and multimedia filters). The media retains most solid matter and ensures the removal of all unwanted materials while permitting the water to pass. The first filtration stage will remove the most concentrated chemicals like chlorine and Trihalomethanes; subsequent stages will remove smaller and more evasive chemicals, like herbicides or pesticides.
Carbon Adsorbs Chemicals
Granular Activated Carbon Filter Systems clear water of larger compound materials (e.g. salt) and retain trace minerals in it, and also selectively remove much smaller and more dangerous chemicals like chlorine and pesticides, which Reverse Osmosis Systems can’t remove. These water filters use a chemical adsorption process (which means to attach by attraction). In this way a variety of dissolved contaminants are attracted to and held on the surface of the carbon particles. Above that, these systems do not require a heat or pressure source, which makes them fairly cost-effective.
Pesticides, solvents and other volatile organic chemicals (VOCs) are not completely removed by Reverse Osmosis Systems because the pores of the membrane are blocking only larger molecules. Only if an additional post carbon filter is used, these filters are effective and able to remove the molecularly smaller substances and chemicals like pesticides, herbicides and chlorine.
Conclusion
Granular Activated Carbon Filters are effective and valuable water treatment devices, but the consumer has to consider its limitations. One has to keep the water pressure at a uniform and steady flow rate that needs to be maintained for optimal performance, and the filter cartridge must be changed according to the manufacturer’s recommendation and/or the number of gallons the filter is rated for.
The most effective Home Water Filtration and Purification System currently available on the market is a Point-of-Entry Water Filter System, which combines two filtration technologies: Granular Activated Carbon and KDF process media, where water runs through several layers of GAC and KDF media for maximum exposure and purification.
Plasma-Carbon Symbiosis and Bioplasma Body Fusion
Biologists are beginning to realize that co-operation was just as important as competition in the evolution of life’s diversity and resilience. Every cell in the human body contains a mitochondrion which is thought to be a bacterial cell which invaded an early eukaryote. Instead of being digested, both cells tolerated each other and began to live with each other - a merger which provided synergies to both. This is a startling example of symbio-genesis. But then every multi-cellular animal or plant is also an obvious example of co-operation rather than competition. More than a 1,000 trillion cells are living peacefully and co-operating in your body; together with 500 to 100,000 species of bacteria. In fact, there are about ten times as many bacteria as human cells in the human body.
Lynn Margulis, member of the National Academy of Sciences and Distinguished Professor at the University of Massachusetts, has argued that random mutation, claimed to be the main source of genetic variation is of only limited importance. Much more significant is the acquisition and integration of new genomes by symbiotic merger. But of course, she was confining herself to only carbon-based life forms.
Jay Alfred’s “Parallel Earth” hypothesis proposes that a counterpart dark matter Earth co-accreted with the visible Earth in the embryonic Solar System. According to plasma metaphysics (Jay Alfred, Our Invisible Bodies, 2006), dark matter consists largely of a plasma of very high energy non-standard particles (sometimes of a different parity) - or “dark plasma”. On this counterpart Earth, life flourished, just like it did on our visible Earth. The difference was that the life forms were plasma-based. Two different substrates, plasma and carbon, gave rise to life-forms in two different habitats.
Jay Alfred’s “Dark Panspermia” hypothesis proposes that meteorites, asteroids and comets, containing both the dark and visible building blocks of life fell into habitable zones and generated the first single-celled and later multi-cellular life-forms which developed both ordinary and dark bioplasma bodies that were coupled to each other. Hence, even when life began on the visible Earth, plasma life forms were already forming symbiotic relationships with the abundant carbon-based life forms on our counterpart Earth.
Inter-Substrate Plasma-Carbon Symbio-genesis
“Symbiosis” is a term used to describe a close ecological relationship between the individuals of two (or more) different species. Sometimes a symbiotic relationship benefits both species, sometimes one species benefits at the other’s expense, and in other cases neither species benefits. It has been observed by metaphysicists that the symbiotic relationship between the bioplasma and carbon-based bodies is one of “mutualism” where both species benefit. (At least one leading metaphysicist, however, describes the relationship as “parasitic”.)
Practically all carbon-based life forms today, including homo sapiens, had symbiotic relationships with plasma-based life forms. Hominids are the products of a symbio-genesis between a carbon-based and plasma-based life form. Unlike other animals, however, carbon-based hominids were able to utilize the alternative cognitive-sensory systems of their plasma-based symbiotic partners. Their unique brains allowed them to activate the higher energy bioplasma bodies that co-evolved with the carbon-based body without necessarily having any conscious awareness that they were accessing a different cognitive system. Relationships developed between the lower energy carbon-based bodies of hominids and the higher energy bioplasma bodies and were sustained for several millions of years up to the present.
When certain brain circuits in the biochemical brain (particularly in the parietal and temporal lobes) were disabled (see Jay Alfred, Brains and Realities, 2006 for details), the locus of consciousness from the carbon-based body of a human was transferred to the plasma-based body. During REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep the carbon-based body processes information from the bioplasma body.
According to plasma metaphysics , there is a higher energy correlate of the (carbon-based) physical-biochemical fertilized egg. This correlate, usually in its adult form, is often called the “(etheric) double” in the general metaphysical literature. It is often observed as a replica of the carbon-based body but operates on an electromagnetic platform, being a bioplasma body. It is classified here as a “Level 3 bioplasma body”. (”Level 3″ signifies that the body inhabits a universe which has 3 spatial dimensions and 1 time dimension, just like the carbon-based body.)
Type 1 Bioplasma Body Fusion
“…all visible organisms, plants, animals and fungi evolved by “body fusion.” Fusion at the microscopic level led to genetic integration and formation of ever-more complex individuals.” - Lynn Margulis, Acquiring Genomes, 2002
According to the metaphysical literature, the Level 3 bioplasma body originates and usually dies together with physical-biochemical body (which is also a “Level 3″ body) or a short time thereafter. This is not surprising as the age of this bioplasma body approximates the carbon-based body since both bodies originates at about the same time in a particular lifetime. However, in certain cases, for example accidental death, the still healthy and undamaged bioplasma body (the “donor”) decouples from the carbon-based body. Subsequently it may absorb (or fuse) with an embryonic Level 3 bioplasma body which is coupled to an embryonic carbon-based body (the “recipient”). This “body fusion” gives rise to a new Level 3 bioplasma life-form and is quite rare. It does not amount to a symbio-genesis as both bioplasma bodies are of the same species.
It was reported by Paul Pearsall (in his book the The Heart’s Code) that recipients receiving a donor’s heart during heart transplants may experience certain emotions and even “cellular memories” of the donor. Recipients have reported inheriting everything from the donor’s food cravings to knowledge about his murderer - information that in one case led to the killer’s arrest. Similarly, in Type 1 Bioplasma Body Fusion (where the bioplasma bodies being fused are relatively close in frequency on the electromagnetic spectrum to the physical-biochemical body) the carbon-based body of the recipient may be impacted by certain events or even the appearance or phenotype of the donor.
In certain cases, features that were associated with the carbon-based body of the donor which impacted the donor’s Level 3 bioplasma body was transferred to the carbon-based body of the recipient through the fusion of the donor’s bioplasma body with the recipient’s bioplasma body. In this type of symbio-genesis, typical of most reported reincarnation cases, memories relating to the donor may be accessed by the recipient. This usually most easily occurs when the recipient is young and has not completed the full development of the brain. Access to the memories of the donor will be increasingly lost as the brain prunes its neural networks.
Ian Stevenson, a scientific researcher in reincarnation-type cases, has discovered that certain Burmese children who remembered their “previous lives” as British or American Air Force pilots shot down over Myanmar during World War II have fairer hair and complexions than their siblings. Distinctive facial features, foot deformities and other characteristics were carried over from one life to another. Most often birthmarks resembling scars from physical injuries have been carried over. In one case, a boy who remembered being murdered in “his former life” by having his throat slit had a long reddish mark resembling a scar around his neck. A boy who remembered committing suicide by shooting himself in the head in his previous incarnation had two scar-like birthmarks that lined up perfectly with the bullet’s trajectory, one where the bullet entered and another where the bullet exited. Stevenson has gathered hundreds of these cases and has published articles in authoritative journals, including the Journal of of the American Medical Association .
These cases suggest that a transfer of characteristics and memories took place a short time after the death of the carbon-based body and that the Level 3 bioplasma double had not disintegrated completely. In these rare cases, even certain physical features and attributes, which were developed during the previous carbon-based lifetime, may appear again in the new carbon-based body.
In these cases, the Level 3 bioplasma body had been impacted by the physical deformation to the previous carbon-based body and transmitted it as a feature in another carbon-based body which is not genetically linked with the first body. In other words it is a Carbon-Plasma-Carbon transfer of characteristics which suggests some form of cross-substrate imprinting.
Type 2 Bioplasma Body Fusion
In the majority of cases, however, Type 2 Bioplasma Body Fusion occurs. In this case, the bioplasma body at the next higher energy level fuses with an embryonic bioplasma body at the same energy level which is linked to a Level 3 bioplasma body. (”Level 4″ signifies that the body inhabits a universe which has 4 spatial dimensions and 1 time dimension.)
In this case, memories of the fusing Level 4 bioplasma body may be difficult to access unless certain brain circuits within the carbon-based physical-biochemical body are switched-off either chemically (through psychoactive drugs), physically (through surgery, transcranial magnetic stimulation which simulate brain lesions or accidents) or psychologically (through deep meditation or hypnosis). During a near-death experience (”NDE”) the “light” which accompanies and reveals itself to the NDEeris usually the Level 4 bioplasma body.
Conclusion
The symbiotic relationships between carbon based bodies and bioplasma bodies show that the principles and study of ecology should be extended to parallel environments - beyond the visible environment. Life on the visible Earth is intricately linked to invisible life in the parallel higher energy Earth. Human beings are chimeras. Chimeras are life forms which are composites of body parts which have different origins.