FDA should regulate amount of salt hidden in food products, health experts say

Americans eat about 1½ teaspoons of salt daily, more than double what they need for good health
By Associated Press health & medical staff

Public health experts urged the Food and Drug Administration Tuesday to force food makers to gradually cut the salt hidden inside their products, something the agency is considering.

Americans eat about 1½ teaspoons of salt daily, more than double what they need for good health — and high enough to increase risk of high blood pressure and other problems. Most of that sodium comes inside common processed foods — from soups to frozen pizza to sliced cheese.
Tuesday, the prestigious Institute of Medicine said the food industry hasn't done enough to voluntarily cut back. It urged FDA to set maximum sodium levels for different foods in a stepwise rollback, so people have time to adjust to the change.

The FDA hasn't decided whether to regulate sodium levels, but "no options are off the table," said spokeswoman Meghan Scott.

"There is no initiative at the moment," she said. But, "there is very little debate any longer over the impact sodium has."

The IOM is an independent agency chartered by Congress to advise the federal government, and is just the latest in a string of health groups to pressure the FDA in recent years to cut the salt.

The American Medical Association has said that if the salt in processed and restaurant food were cut in half over 10 years, that ultimately 150,000 lives a year could be saved.

See: FDA should regulate amount of salt hidden in food products, health experts say

Ahk Dahveed Nelson actively defies "aging"

KNN-Staff
Denver Press Release

The cover story for the JULY 1-7, 1992 issue of Westword featured legendary poet/entertainer Dahveed Nelson. Hailed in the article as “the father of rap” as a founding member of the world renowned 1960’s era Last Poets, this globetrotting septuagenarian is on the move again! Making a trek from his residence in Ghana, West Africa to Denver, Colorado he shows absolutely no signs of slowing down.

Nelson is travelling to the states to participate in the prestigious Denver Half Marathon which will take place on Sunday morning May 16th. He will be one of only a handful of 70-plus year old participants in the competition.

If that is not enough, this active super-senior is also issuing a friendly challenge to any senior (65 plus) basketball players in Denver to “choose up” for a three on three hoops game. Apparently, Dahveed has embarked upon what can only be described as very aggressive campaign to redefine the term “age appropriate”!

The whirlwind excursion will include a seminar on healthy living titled, "Seven Keys to Life". That presentation will feature recitations from Dahveed’s recent compilation, “The Last shall be First”. Information concerning the dates and times of these events will be forthcoming.

These latest series of activities are part of an ambitious (and undoubtedly exhausting) world tour that has included marathons, in St Croix USVI, Tiberius Israel, Accra, Ghana, St Louis, Missouri, and most recently a half marathon in February in Fort Lauderdale Florida.

As was mentioned before, the tour has also included basketball, poetry recitations, and healthy living seminars – all under the auspices of Divinity Inc. Divinity is the non-profit organization headed by Nelson. Divinity Inc. was created to promote the adoption of Active Healthy Holistic Sustainable (AHHS) lifestyles.

Soul Vegetarian Restaurant Opens in Tallahassee

Popular mobile food cart opens its doors at new storefront

Ahkote Hitzhirealah Israel
KNN-Tallahassee, Florida


Traditionally known as “Soul Vegetarian on Wheels,” the popular mobile vegan food supplier celebrated the Grand Opening of its new Take-Out Restaurant on Shabbat (Saturday) April 24.

About 300 attendees crowded the storefront from 2 to 8 p.m. to enjoy menu items at 50 percent off, free food samples and new menu items such as pizza pockets, Jamaican patties, milkshakes and soy bean ice cream. The soy bean ice cream, Dream Cream, included vanilla bean, carob chocolate, and butter pecan flavors.

The Festivities featured remarks from founders, Ahmatsiyah and Daniella Rahm. Special guests Nasik (Prince) Rahm Ben Yehuda, who is the head of the Atlanta Jurisdiction of the African Hebrew Israelite Community, also shared a few words at the opening. He was among many representing Soul Vegetarian Restaurants in Atlanta and Houston.

“It was remarkable to see hundreds of people who stood in the lines sampling the various foods, desserts, soya ice creams for five hours straight,” Nasik Rahm said. “In all these years, I've never seen anything like it."

Attendees also enjoyed African drumming by the African Caribbean Dance Theatre, local craft vendors and live music. Restaurant owners even showcased a Solar Cooker, which they advocated as the latest green innovative means to prepare food. Due to an overcast, customers were unable to sample the food intended to be prepared by this process.

Soul Vegetarian has been operating in Tallahassee since 1997, after its owners purchased the mobile cart used by the 14-chain Soul Vegetarian Restaurant at the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta. Today Soul Vegetarian restaurants are internationally renowned for its nutritious cuisine and remains dedicated to providing healthy vegan alternatives to traditional meals.

The Take-Out Restaurant is located at 1205 South Adams St., and is open Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday from 5 to 10 p.m. Soul Vegetarian will continue to function from its mobile food cart during festivals and community events. For more information about the restaurant and menu items please contact Ahmatsiyah B. Rahm at (850) 893-8208.

Your Health is Your Wealth - Water

Most people do not drink enough water
by Zakhah Baht Israel
KNN - Dimona

Before we can gain strong economic power, reclaim our youth, and join together in unity, we must first take a look at our health. What good is it to gain the whole world if we die at age 49 of a heart attack? For example, consider Reginald F. Lewis. He acquired millions became the richest Black man in history, structured the largest leveraged buyout ever of an international company- and died six years later of brain cancer at the age of 44. The true wealth is in changing our health for the better. All diseases are preventable. We can have it all and maintain our health at the same time, but we must reexamine our eating habits and lifestyle. In this article we will explore the benefits of drinking water.

WATER

As cited in You Are Not Sick, You Are Thirsty: Your Body’s Many Cries for Water by Dr. Batmanghelij, chronic long-term dehydration is the root cause of many illnesses. Dehydration causes stress on the body which can make us feel stressed out. Water has been known to cure every ailment from dehydration to peptic ulcers. It lowers the blood pressure, clears the skin and alleviates headaches. Water is needed to regenerate cells. It also flushes out toxins so that the body can better absorb nutrients.

Water regulates the body’s many intricate systems such as blood circulation, respiratory and nervous systems. Sufficient water is necessary so that the fluids will arrive at the right place, in the right amount, at the right time. The body has a hierarchy of which organs receive adequate fluids first. The heart, lungs, and liver are high on the priority list. The brain, skin and muscles are not. Our heart has to keep beating and we must breathe, but the trade-off will be loss of clarity of thought, muscle cramps and arthritis, and acne and skin rashes. We must drink enough water on a consistent basis so that every part of our body can enjoy its benefits.

The minimum requirement in order for the average body to function properly is 8 glasses to one gallon every single day. The body is 75% water. So guess what? Seventy-five percent of our diet should consist of water or water-dominant foods like fresh juices, delicious fruit and raw vegetables. Drinking water also helps with weight loss. Sometimes we think we are hungry when we are really thirsty because these two sensations feel similar. Drinking water can curb our appetite.

Most people do not drink enough water. Some do not drink water at all, citing that they do not enjoy the bland taste. There is no excuse not to take care of our health. To improve the taste of water, try adding a squirt of lemon. Always boil or freeze tap water to kill harmful microorganisms. Try drinking filtered, distilled, or spring water to determine which taste is preferred. There is much controversy surrounding which is the best water to drink, but instead of worrying about which water to drink, it is more important to drink enough water.

As a side note, NEVER drink and eat at the same time. Water dilutes the digestive enzymes in the stomach, causing the food to improperly digest. As a result, a number of disorders develop such as indigestion, stomach cramps, constipation, gas and malnutrition. (African-Americans are among the most malnourished people on the planet due to a poor, meat-based diet.) Our food must digest properly so that we can get the maximum amount of nutrients from it. The rule is to drink 30 minutes before or 1 hour after eating a meal.

If our body is not functioning properly with the basics- food, water, etc., then how can we move forward by focusing on our dreams, goals and spirituality? Drink water. Drink it in the morning when you first wake up. Drink it before lunchtime. Drink it during and after a good workout. Try it for a day and continue for a lifetime.

Zakhah is a graduate of The Institute of Regenerative Truth and The School of the Prophets Institute of Jerusalem (Israel) with a degree in Divine Nutrition. She is also a raw and living foods chef and the author of the world-reknown raw food recipe book The Joy of Living Live: A Raw Food Journey (www.joyoflivinglive.com), winner of the Holy Jerusalem Writers Conference Award. Zakhah is co-founder of the Elements of Truth Magazine and Catalog and a freelance health writer for various independent publications in the US and United Kingdom.

Fatty foods may cause cocaine-like addiction

High-fat, high-calorie foods affect the brain in much the same way as cocaine and heroin
By Sarah Klein, Health.com

Scientists have finally confirmed what the rest of us have suspected for years: Bacon, cheesecake, and other delicious yet fattening foods may be addictive.

A new study in rats suggests that high-fat, high-calorie foods affect the brain in much the same way as cocaine and heroin. When rats consume these foods in great enough quantities, it leads to compulsive eating habits that resemble drug addiction, the study found.

Doing drugs such as cocaine and eating too much junk food both gradually overload the so-called pleasure centers in the brain, according to Paul J. Kenny, Ph.D., an associate professor of molecular therapeutics at the Scripps Research Institute, in Jupiter, Florida. Eventually the pleasure centers "crash," and achieving the same pleasure--or even just feeling normal--requires increasing amounts of the drug or food, says Kenny, the lead author of the study.

"People know intuitively that there's more to [overeating] than just willpower," he says. "There's a system in the brain that's been turned on or over-activated, and that's driving
[overeating] at some subconscious level."

In the study, published in the journal Nature Neuroscience, Kenny and his co-author studied three groups of lab rats for 40 days. One of the groups was fed regular rat food. A second was fed bacon, sausage, cheesecake, frosting, and other fattening, high-calorie foods--but only for one hour each day. The third group was allowed to pig out on the unhealthy foods for up to 23 hours a day.

Not surprisingly, the rats that gorged themselves on the human food quickly became obese. But their brains also changed. By monitoring implanted brain electrodes, the researchers found that the rats in the third group gradually developed a tolerance to the pleasure the food gave them and had to eat more to experience a high.

They began to eat compulsively, to the point where they continued to do so in the face of pain. When the researchers applied an electric shock to the rats' feet in the presence of the food, the rats in the first two groups were frightened away from eating. But the obese rats were not. "Their attention was solely focused on consuming food," says Kenny.

In previous studies, rats have exhibited similar brain changes when given unlimited access to cocaine or heroin. And rats have similarly ignored punishment to continue consuming cocaine, the researchers note.

Diabetes Rising Rapidly in China

Urban populations had the highest risk of diabetes
KNN News

Researchers in China estimated that 9.7 percent (92.4 million) of Chinese adults had diabetes, and an additional 15.5 percent (148.2 million) had prediabetes during 2007 and 2008. The China National Diabetes and Metabolic Disorders Study looked at 46,239 adults in a wide range of provinces and municipalities. Previous surveys showed diabetes to affect approximately 3 percent of the population in 1994, and 5 percent in 2000 and 2001.

Urbanization in developing countries is associated with Westernized diets, physical inactivity, and obesity. Diabetes is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death in China.

Grand Opening-Garden of Life Vegan Deli

by Ahkote Havanah E. Shlomo
KNN-Houston, Texas

The Garden of Life Vegan Deli (GLVD) officially opened its doors for business on Saturday, February 13 after a ribbon-cutting ceremony inclusive of live music, dance, poetry, and food sampling and guest nutritionist speaker.

Aturah Yafah E. Yehoadeen, nutritionist and author of both the original Soul Vegetarian Cookbook and The New Soul Vegetarian Cookbook, shared some health facts and words of wisdom for eating and living for the attainment of everlasting life.

"This is so needed," Aturah Yafah said about the deli. "This is the future. This is the future right now. As you look out, our people can not continue to consume the things they consume and to have the lifestyle they have. You see what its doing to us in your own families-the degeneration, the disease, the unhealthiness of the body. It's not just occurring in African Americans and not just with the elders, but even our children are experiencing it now."

Aturah Yafah warned that in being a vegan, there are still limitations and cautious measures one must take to assure a healthy diet. She stressed the need for us to change our taste buds and to free ourselves from the desire of excess salt, sugar and fat.

"We have to make sure nether to become "SAD" (Standard American Diet) adherents nor to consume the "SAD"-vegan style diet. We can't do that. We have to change and retrain our taste buds," she said. "We were mis-educated. We have to re-educate our own selves. We let somebody else feed us and they did not do a good job. So we're firing them and we are taking control over own destiny through our own food. Our women are back in the kitchen again, halleluYah!"

Additionally, Aturah Yafah shared three phenomenal things that are destroying the health of the human family and the health of your family: a lack of water, a lack of a sleep, and stress.

"We must calm down. We must stop. There are many benefits in stopping and regenerating," she said.

GLVD is owned and operated by the Houston extension of the African Hebrew Israelite Community, and is but one of the many extensions of the Community's international chain of vegan restaurants including the Soul Vegetarian Restaurants, Ta'am Ha'Khieem (A Taste of Life) Restaurant (Israel), and Asasse Pa (The Earth is Good) (Ghana, West Africa). As a whole, the Community humbly promotes the vegan lifestyle that it has practiced for over 40 years, and assures its patrons that they can be free of all worries when dining in their eateries.

"Whether you are a vegan or transitioning into a vegan, this is the perfect place for you because it's not just the food we are going to give you. We are going to give you how to eat the food and explain what the food does for your body," said Bahtyah E. Shalame, the grand opening's mistress of ceremony.

"We just don't deal in the area of food, but we are the foremost nutritionists on the planet! I don't want you to think this is just another vegan restaurant. On our fliers, it says "a vegan's paradise. It means you have no fears, no worries when you come here and take part in the cuisine, because we are not just here cooking. This is our lifestyle."

The deli, located at 12121 Veterans Memorial, is Houston's only completely vegan deli. During the event, guests delighted their palates with samples of barbecue tofu, lentil bean soup, macaroni and our homemade soy cheeze, greens, jollof rice, marinated kale greens, carrot supreme, broccoli salad, almond nut loaf, wakame salad, cous cous, cornbread, sweet potato pie, vegan chocolate cake, vegan brownies and vegan chocolate covered strawberries.

Are you hungry yet? That's just a portion of the menu's offerings!

For more information about the deli or to check out daily specials, call (in the US) at +1 (281)893-4300.

Sugarless & Live Weeks are coming soon!

Back by popular demand:
Sugarless & Live Foods Weeks
KNN-Village of Peace
Dimona, Israel

In its continual ascension into the higher realms in pursuit of perfect health and Everlasting Life, the African Hebrew Israelite Community's Ministry of Divine Health at Dimona, Israel has taken the reigns in directing and regulating Sugarless and Live (raw) Foods consumption Weeks. This quarterly cycle of cleansing and rejuvenation was created by and for the Community, and has been practiced by it members worldwide for several years. It is a viable health-enhancing lifestyle adddition for anyone in pursuit of excellent health, a more vibrant life, more abundant strength, energy and longevity than what is enjoyed prior to engaging it.

For ample time to prepare and put in place necessary procedures and items relative to this cycle such as maple syrup, colon cleanser, schedule colonics/colemas, ionic foot baths, etcetera, prior to the upcoming seasonal cycle, please make a note of the following dates:

12 March-Sugarless Week will begin at sunset on Yom Sheshe (Friday).
20 March Sugarless Week will end on Mohtsai Shabbaht (Saturday at sunset).

20 March-Live Week will begin on Mohtsai Shabbaht (Saturday at sunset).
26 March-Live Week will end on Yom Sheshe (Friday) at sunset.

To date, the manifold benefits and blessings of Sugarless and Live Foods Weeks have been appreciated worldwide by thousands of Community members and non-members alike. Each season, these individuals reap its delicious fruits and bear precious personal testimonies of health success towards the attainment and maintenence of optimal health.

The results of the standard curative global health model have been well noted. Alternatively, through conscienscious application of any of the Community's tried and proven health-enhancing lifestyle practices as a safeguard in the prevention of dis-ease, some of this preventive health model's benefits include decreases in:

• frequency of hospital, doctor and pharmacy vists,
• dependency on high-cost, high-risk medical interventions,
• occurrences of unpaid leave and "sick days" off of work due to illness,

The healthy lifestyle adjustments also brings in testimonies of increases in:

• weight loss,
• intestinal (bowel) regularity,
• overall greater sense of well-being,
• ability to think/reason more clearly,
• ability to achieve a more sound sleep,
• greater relief from former troubling ailments,
• sense of empowerment, control of and responsibility for one's own health,
• greater financial freedom (more time at work earning full salary due to better health),

Do you have a testimony relative to the benefits of healthy lifestyle adaptation, such as Sugarless Week, Live Week, incorporating weekly exercise, increasing water consumption, transitioning towards a plant-based diet, etcetera? Then KNN welcomes you to share your testimony with us. Simply leave your brief testimony and name (optional) in the "comment" section below. As we desire to publish as many testimonies as we can, please remember to keep your testimony as succint as possible.

To learn more about Sugarless and Live Foods consumption weeks, please click here. Otherwise, simply stay tuned to KNN for seasonal Sugarless and Live Foods Week updates.

For holistic health-related inquiries, The Ministry of Divine Health may be contacted at divine.healers@yahoo.com


"We are encouraging all to utilize this special cycle of Sugarless and Live Foods Weeks to prepare the Adamic mind/soul/body complex for the physical and spiritual elevation of THE NEW MAN."
-Ministry of Divine Health

35 Years of Yom L'Mokereem

KNN-Dimona, Israel

The Village of Peace

The African Hebrew Israelite Community is in the midst its 35th anniversary of Yom L'Mokereem (Day of Appreciation) Festivities.

Contrary to its name, the "Day" of Appreciation is a special time wherein acknowledgments of love and appreciation are exchanged between families, friends and loved ones of all ages locally and abroad for the entire second month (February).

As we near the closeout of this year's festivities, KNN hopes that this season of appreciation has been very blessed and exceedingly joyful! Remember to save up some of the fun, sweets and gestures of appreciation for next year's celebration!

YOM L'MOKEREEM SAMEHYAHK! (HAPPY APPRECIATION DAY!)

Divine Ag Min. Yadiel Delivers Agri-Truth

Agriculture seminar slated for next month

Hosted by Antigua-Barbuda's Ministry of Agriculture African Hebrew Israelite Minister 'Sar' Yadiel conducts multimedia seminar presentation and Keynote Address

Please click on flyer to enlarge.

Written by Theresa Gordon
Antigua Sun Online

The Ministry of Agriculture in collaboration with the Institute of Regenerative Truth will be conducting a training seminar on the 4 March for local farmers and other agriculture stakeholders on the island.

The seminar entitled “Agrarian truth science” will focus on the dynamics of redemptive developments for African endemic communities, and environmental issues.

President of the Institute of Regenerative Truth Antigua Ammi Ben Israel told the AntiguaSun that the keynote speaker at the seminar, Sar Yadiel the minister of divine agriculture of the African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem community, who is a scientist of the soil, will be presenting the relationship to man and the environment and environmental issues facing our society today, namely, water and air pollution, environmental degradation through a multimedia presentation.

“He is going to use video/audio to deal with each aspect of the presentation and tie these into biblical law, how the laws of God and nature affect both people and the environment as well as, it will also show you a breakdown of the years over the last three centuries as well as the positive things different groups have done to restore it."

Israel said that the Hebrew-Israelite community is one based on the application of truth in every aspect of life; the connection to the land, and environment being of utmost importance and this community lives according the laws given by the creator.

Minister Yadiel will also give insights on how people can increase health and dietary standards and show how much the latter is depending on our ability to provide for and feed ourselves.

“The minister has developed projects in Ghana and Benin. During the presentation, he will also be explaining how to farm in an eco-friendly manner, and how farmers can make their own pesticides and fertilisers from natural waste."

The seminar will be held at the Multipurpose Cultural and Exhibition Centre on 4 March at 5:30 pm.

New US Food & Drug Report finds

Controversial diabetes drug harms heart
Internal F.D.A. reports are part of fierce debate over Avandia

By Gardiner Harris
New York Times


Hundreds of people taking Avandia, a controversial diabetes medicine, needlessly suffer heart attacks and heart failure each month, according to confidential government reports that recommend the drug be removed from the market.

The reports, obtained by The New York Times, say that if every diabetic now taking Avandia were instead given a similar pill named Actos, about 500 heart attacks and 300 cases of heart failure would be averted every month because Avandia can hurt the heart. Avandia, intended to treat Type 2 diabetes, is known as rosiglitazone and was linked to 304 deaths during the third quarter of 2009.

“Rosiglitazone should be removed from the market,” one report, by Dr. David Graham and Dr. Kate Gelperin of the Food and Drug Administration, concludes. Both authors recommended that Avandia be withdrawn.

The internal F.D.A. reports are part of a fierce debate within the agency over what to do about Avandia, manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline. Some agency officials want the drug withdrawn because they believe there is a safer alternative; others insist that studies of the drug provide contradictory information and that Avandia should continue to be an option for doctors and patients. GlaxoSmithKline said that it had studied Avandia extensively and that “scientific evidence simply does not establish that Avandia increases” the risk of heart attacks.

Please click here to view full article.

Documentary Release- Beyond The Mountaintop

Gamariyahu Ben Yehuda
KNN-Dimona, Israel-The Village of Peace


I send you greetings from the Holy Land and the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr/ Southern Christian Leadership Conference/ Ben Ammi Institute for a New Humanity(INH), a social development and research institution dedicated to the eradication of violence in all forms.

At this time I am blessed to be able to share news of the INH’s release of a profound documentary entitled “Beyond the Mountaintop: the Beloved Community, The Village of Peace.”
This video presentation explains the Civil Rights Movement and the profound work of Dr. King within its proper context in the overall Prophetic Redemptive Struggle as recorded by the ancient Hebrew Prophets in Biblical Scripture.

• Learn about the “Penalty Box,” a 400 year captivity prophesied upon African Edenic peoples and lands.
  
• Understand Dr. Martin Luther King’s historic role as a modern day prophet.


• Explore the prophetic significance of King’s famous Mountaintop speech as revealed through scripture.


• Discover the phenomenal story of the people that fulfilled King’s declaration that “we as a people will get to the Promised Land” to establish the long-awaited Beloved Community/ Kingdom of God.”

The world premiere of this profound documentary was held to rave reviews in the Village of Peace/ Shomrey Ha Shalom in Dimona, Israel and now available for international release.

To order, place inquiries, schedule a showing of the DVD, or receive information about the Institute For a New Humanity please call:
(215)469-6787 (USA)
+972-(0)52-533-4964 (Israel, include the "0" if calling from within Israel)
or
email: holyland@netvision.net.il

Peace and Blessings from the Holy Land,
Gamariyahu Ben Yehuda
Director

Hospital infections killed 48,000, report shows

KNN Staff comments: "So, you're not feeling too well? You might want to really rethink that run to the local hospital. More importantly, you might want to rethink the relative ill lifestyle choices (seeds) that were made which resulted in illness (fruit).
It is far better to prevent sickness and dis-ease than it is to cure them!
Let a word to wise be sufficient... "

Reuters-Washington


Pneumonia and blood-borne infections caught in U.S. hospitals killed 48,000 patients and cost $8.1 billion in 2006, according to a report released on Monday.

The study is one of the first to put a price tag on the widespread problem, which is worsening and which some experts say is adding to the growing cost of healthcare in the United States.

"In many cases, these conditions could have been avoided with better infection control in hospitals," said Ramanan Laxminarayan of Resources for the Future, a think tank that sponsored the study.

Sepsis — a blood infection — killed 20 percent of patients who developed it after surgery, Laxminarayan and colleagues reported in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

They studied hospital discharge records from 69 million patients at hospitals in 40 U.S. states between 1998 and 2006, looking for two diagnoses — hospital-acquired pneumonia and sepsis.

Patients who developed sepsis after surgery had to stay in the hospital on average nearly 11 days extra, at a cost of $32,900 per patient, they found. And just under 20 percent of them died.
Pneumonia patients stayed an extra 14 days after surgery, at a cost of $46,400 and more than 11 percent of them died, the researchers found.

"That's the tragedy of such cases," said Anup Malani of the University of Chicago, who worked on the study.

"In some cases, relatively healthy people check into the hospital for routine surgery. They develop sepsis because of a lapse in infection control and they can die."

The researchers said that 1.7 million healthcare-associated infections are diagnosed every year.

Many are due to drug-resistant bacteria, such as methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus or MRSA, which cost more to treat because only a few drugs can work against them. These infections can also be caught outside hospitals and some studies show that such community-acquired infections are also on the rise.

One estimate from Pfizer Inc suggested that treating MRSA alone cost $4 billion a year.

Measures to prevent infection are simple and include careful handwashing, hygiene and screening patients when they check in. However, these measures are difficult to enforce, many studies have found.

KNN's Celebrates 4 Blessed Years!

KNN: Realizing the Need & Timing of the Seasons
Celebrates 4 Blessed Years of Divine Servitude
Ahtur Keymah B.N. Aharon
KNN-Cleveland

Greetings to our beloved family, friends and read-ience. We at KNN are humbled that this month we've made it to the 4-year mark of reporting on breaking news from around the world!

We feel greatly privileged to have been able to serve you in our capacity, and we look forward to continuing to keep you up-to-date on current events occurring in all sectors of society as well as within the Hebrew Israelite Community at large. It is our prayer that our articles have been informative, enlightening, refreshing and thought-provoking.

Within these past 4 years we has been blessed with over 100,000 visits to our site and we are excited about reaching even more people in the years to come. It is our goal to continue to provide you with up-to-date news articles that will give you a broader understanding about the world in which we all live.

We thank you for all of your love and support, and again for making the choice to plug in to KNN!

Peace and Blessings.



. . . . . .

Yom L'Mokereem Celebration 2010-Village of Peace

Please click on poster for larger view.

KNN-Village of Peace
Dimona, Israel

Yom L'Mokereem Celebration 2010-Atlanta, GA

Please click on poster for larger view.

In the Season of Divine Appreciation

KNN Staff -Village of Peace
Dimona, Israel







All praises to Yah, we greet you in perfect love & peace.
Shalom, shalom. (Greetings of peace unto you.)
Yah Khai!!! (Yah Lives!!!)


The observance of Yom L'Mokereem (The Day of Appreciation) the most festive annual celebratory season observed by the African Hebrew Israelite Community (AHIC) in Dimona Israel, as well as throughout its satellite communities around the world, at underway. This is the time of year wherein all Community members take time demonstrate even greater acts of love, kindness and appreciation to and for one another throughout the entire month of February.

It is in the spirit of this season of Yom L'Mokereem that KNN would like to take this opportunity to officially recognize merely a fraction of the AHIC's many noteworthy international institutions, through whose tenacious advocacy in disseminating the Sacred Seeds of Truth to the four corners of the earth, we witness the steadily increasing testimonies and yield in the changing of socio-spiritual paradigms and policies towards the restoration of health and sanity to a world which more often than not suffers from, is plagued by, is dis-eased and dying SO NEEDLESSLY from the effects errant and preventable lifestyle-related health challenges.

A few of those agents of change are:
-the Ministry of Divine Health
-the Joy of Living Live Live Foods website
-the African Hebrew Development Agency (AHDA)
-the AHIC's official online audio/visual portal YahKhai.com
-the African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem's official website
-the Ministry of Divine Information & the Audio Visual Truth Center
-and last but not least, the Soul Vegetarian, A Taste of Life, and Asasse Pa Vegan Restaurants worldwide.

For your unyielding efforts to nourish, feed and enlighten literally millions of people around the world regarding this alternative social system and its healthy lifestyle practices,
KNN humbly salutes you!!!

If you would like for KNN to post your extension's Yom L'Mokereem activities and events, on our site, please email them to Ahtur Keymah at keymah777@aol.com for publication ASAP!

Todah rabbah (thanks) for allowing KNN to serve you and
Yom L'Mokereem Samehyahk!
(Happy Day (Season) of Appreciation!)


. . . . .

Cali town's birth defect rate 'not unusual'

Expansion of toxic waste facility OK'd by board despite increased rate of birth defects, infant deaths in Kettlemen, CA-a town of mostly Spanish-speakers

By GARANCE BURKE
Associated Press


California State health officials said Tuesday they found nothing unusual about the rate of infant birth defects in an impoverished San Joaquin Valley farm town located next to the West's largest toxic waste dump. The officials told a packed meeting of the Kings County Board of Supervisors that they had discovered no common cause for the birth abnormalities and facial defects among children in Kettleman City, prompting anguished comments from the audience.

"It's important to keep in mind that this is a preliminary finding, and we are going to be in the community gathering additional information," said Kevin Reilly, chief deputy director of the California Department of Public Health."Our interest is trying to find some answers for these families if we can." California's two U.S. senators pressed for answers as well, calling for a halt to the proposed expansion of the Chemical Waste Management Inc. landfill until a cause is found for the birth defects.

"I am very concerned about the recent surge in birth defects," Sen. Dianne Feinstein said in a statement. Sen. Barbara Boxer also said the health concerns deserved a closer look. Kettleman City saw an average of 1.09 birth defects per 100 live births between 1987 and 2008, Reilly said. The rate was not unusually high when compared to a rate of 0.94 for the surrounding five-county region between 1987 and 2007, he added. Regional data for 2008 is not yet available.

A survey done by Greenaction, an environmental justice group, found that of 20 children born in the area from September 2007 to November 2008, five had defects including clefts in their palates or lips. County officials recently said a sixth child was born with birth defects in roughly the same period. Community members blasted officials for drawing conclusions before interviewing mothers whose children have undergone surgeries to repair cleft palates.

"This was a bunch of guys up at the state fiddling around with statistics on the computer and slapping it together in a rough report," said resident Maricela Mares-Alatorre, whose niece's son was born two years ago with severe birth defects."This wasn't an in-depth look at anything going on in town." Many residents have said the health problems were caused by the hazardous waste landfill and have rallied to stop its proposed expansion, which needs state and federal approval.

Officials of Chemical Waste Management Inc. said they welcomed the state scrutiny and were confident it would show their operation was not causing health problems. "Our Kettleman Hills facility is safe, and we are proud of our 30-year legacy of safety and environmental stewardship," company spokeswoman Helen Herrera said. "With so many other potential environmental exposures in the area, this is just the first step in an ongoing process."

The landfill is one of the largest employers in the largely Spanish-speaking community of 1,500 people along Interstate 5, the main artery linking Northern and Southern California. Every day, thousands of diesel trucks pass by Kettleman City on the highway. In addition, the town is bisected by high-tension power lines, and many residents work in nearby fields sprayed with pesticides and chemical fertilizers.

Last month, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger ordered the health department and the state EPA to conduct a full investigation, including interviews with residents, and reviews of soil samples and medical records. Reilly said his team planned to speak with relatives of children with birth defects. Last week, Jared Blumenfeld, regional administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, visited the area, toured the dump and promised to ensure all regulatory, enforcement and permitting procedures had been properly followed. The EPA did not immediately comment on the state health study.

Please click here for to read article entitled "Board OKs expansion of California toxic waste facility".

Third-hand smoke endangers child health

A new study shows increased vulnerability in babies, toddlers to effects of carcinigenic residue from third-hand smoke
by Kathleen Blanchard RN
emaxhealth.com

A new study warns that third hand smoke is especially dangerous for children. Parents need to be aware of how toxins in extinguished cigarettes intermingle with fabrics, skin, hair, and other surfaces where children can easily get a dose of poison from third hand smoke that lingers.

The findings come from researchers at MassGeneral Hospital for Children (MGHfC) and colleagues. Jonathan Winickoff, MD, MPH, assistant director of the MGHfC Center for Child and Adolescent Health Policy warns that smoking anywhere – outside or when babies and children are not in the home – still puts them at health risks because they come in contact with toxins in cigarettes.

Children are especially vulnerable to third hand smoke as they crawl, touch and put their mouths on potential neurotoxins found in cigarettes that can also lead to cancer. "When you come into contact with your baby, even if you're not smoking at the time, she comes in contact with those toxins. And if you breastfeed, the toxins will transfer to your baby in your breast milk”, says Winickoff who also clarifies that breast milk is still preferable to bottle feeding.

Some of the chemical in cigarettes include toluene, used in paint thinner, lead, a known neurotoxin, chromium that might increase risk of lung cancer, polonium-210 that is a potent cancer causing chemical, and arsenic that is also cancer causes and can cause a variety of health related problems.

The scientists investigated how members of households perceive the dangers of third hand smoke. A survey of 1500 households showed that 95.4 percent of nonsmokers, but only 84.1 percent of smokers said they know about the health harm that could occur to children from third hand smoke. Non smokers were most likely to have stricter rules about smoking inside.

The researchers say education is needed to make people aware that third hand smoke is especially dangerous to children and lingers in the environment. Clinicians are urged to teach parents, and anti tobacco campaigns should also include information about the health dangers of toxins from third hand smoke to promote smoking bans in the home and give people another reason to quit smoking altogether.

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Mekodshet Announcement

The Prophetic Priesthood
at Jerusalem

Shalom beloved family!

We are pleased to announce that the following couples have now entered into the sacred and holy cycle of Mekodeshet:


Ahk Chashavyah Ben Israel (Texas extension) & Akhote Oreet Baht Yehuda

Ahk Nisiel Ben Israel & Ahkote Ameetiyah Baht Aviav

Ahk Aminome Ben Israel & Ahkote Matanyah Baht Yaaziel (Both of the Atlanta extension)

Ahk Odayd Ben Israel & Ahkote Zoheret Baht Israel (Both of the Southern Eden extension)

Ahk Nahkoom Ben Israel & Ahkote Tseedkeeyah Baht Israel (Both of the Southern Eden extension)

Ahk Shamah Ben Israel (Antigua extension) & Ahkote Maskelah Baht Shlomo


Please govern yourselves accordingly upon the hearing of this special announcement.


HalleluYah!!!
Yah Khai!!!