• Incredible Healing Properties of Active Manuka Honey
• Don't Seek the Sun: Top Reasons to Get Vitamin D From Your Diet
• What Exactly Does "not tested on animals" Mean...
• Stick to the Basics, Use the Whole Plant When Possible
• Natural Laughs
• Spring Cleansing

By Steve Reed

Honey has been used throughout the ages as a medicinal treatment for wounds and other topical skin conditions. We don't know just when early man discovered the healing properties of honey, but evidence has been found to indicate that honey was used as an antibacterial agent by ancient Egyptians thousands of years before bacteria were discovered to be the cause of infections.

One of our first written accounts of using honey as a healing agent comes from Aristotle, who wrote that light honey was a good salve for sore eyes and wounds. A Greek physician, pharmacologist and botanist named Pedanius Dioscorides, who practiced in Rome around the time of Nero, traveled extensively throughout the Greek and Roman empires in search of medicinal substances. He is famous for writing a five volume book, De Materia Medica, which is a forerunner to all modern pharmacopeias and continues to this day to be one of the most influential books on herbal remedies in history. In his writings, Dioscorides described honey as being ""good for all rotten and hollow ulcers"".

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Research shines dangerous truth on sun exposure and vitamin D

Our bodies need vitamin D to build and maintain strong bones. Without vitamin D, the body cannot use calcium and phosphorus — two minerals necessary for healthy bones. The American Academy of Dermatology (Academy) does not recommend getting vitamin D from sun exposure or indoor tanning. Both sources emit ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Getting vitamin D from your diet and practicing sun protection offer a healthier alternative. Still skeptical? Read on.

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By Earth Talk - Nov 6, 2006

What Exactly Does "not tested on animals" Mean on a Product, Like a Shampoo?

Where can I find products that are completely not tested on animals and are also eco-friendly?-- James Masarech, via e-mail (HealthNewsDigest.com).. Many consumer products go through precise testing to make sure they are safe and healthy for people and the environment before they are made available in the marketplace. The downside is that many of these tests make use of live animals. According to the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), safety testing of chemicals and consumer products accounts for roughly 10 to 20 percent of the use of animals in laboratories (or approximately two to four million animals) in the U.S.

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By Ryan Grant - Apr 22, 2007

I took a class at the Evergreen State College a few years back called "Plants and Healing". A topic that stands out in my mind more than any other is the discussion on using the plant as a whole for healing verses isolating and/or synthesizing single constituents from a plant. There were valid arguments on both sides of this discussion, however it became clear to me that mega pharmaceutical corporations will often put profit before quality and continue to misinform the public by telling us that it is these synthesized chemicals we need in order to look and feel better.

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By Steve Reed

When my youngest son was in second grade, I asked him over dinner one night what he had learned in school that day.

"All about condoms," he said, playing with his peas. Peas tended to disappear from his plate, but I doubted he ever ate any. I was watching his peas closely when I realized what he had said.

"Condoms?" I asked, my eyebrows meeting my hairline. The kid was only seven. What in the world was his teacher thinking?

"Yeah," he said. "It was real boring."

"Oh," I said, relieved he had not found the subject too interesting. "What did you learn?"

"Not much," he said. "About how people in ‘partments are in trouble. They're gonna lose their homes."

I laughed, relieved. Housing was the lesson of the day, not some early sex ed. Then I noticed all his peas were missing.

"Where are your peas," I asked.

"Gone," he said.

By Desiree Nelson

Spring is the time to clean out closets, cobwebs and under furniture. Why not start with your skin? Cleansing is one of the most important things that you can do for your skin. Cleansing in the morning before you put on your makeup and in the evening to remove it and all the toxins in the air that can accumulate on your skin. Try using Apicare's Queen Bee Creamy Cleanser for normal skin, and for sensitive skin use Apicare's Queen Bee Foaming Face Wash which is soap free.

Spring is also a time that we start working outside, either on our gardens or a family game of baseball. Don't forget sunscreen on those nice spring days, using a minimum if SPF15 will aid in reducing wrinkles, age spots and help combat skin cancer. Try our UV Natural Sunscreen that is paraben and fragrance-free.

See our full product range: www.vashonorganics.com