Rosecanadian. I am happy to see your Memetial Day. I just got it as a bare root.

Anna: Yes, it is a similar weather I guess with the difference of monsoon season which is from end July to end August. We have 7-8 months in the year that are very good for growing roses, ie, March to May and than September to start of January.

best regards

Anna and Khalid, do you have to deal with drought also?

I see I have a few questions to respond to. But, I'm a bit depressed (my dog, Jellybean just died and my other one has terminal kidney failure (we're doing I.V.s etc.) I'm just going to be lurking for awhile...

Carol

My sympathies are with you.

Carol: I'm so sorry to hear that. Jellybean is the black dog, right? You took good care of that dog, and love will unite everyone in heaven. My Mom is 91 year-old, she can die at any moment, but I'm at peace if she does .. I always have a good relationship with her. Nothing can cut the love-bond & good feelings between us.

Only those who mistreat others will have regrets in the afterlife.

Thanks everyone. Your kind thoughts are a comfort. :)

Hi lavender: yes we do here in California- all spring and summer.

Carol: I hope the new year will be kind for you.

Thanks, Anna. My poor Toffee still won't eat anything voluntarily. We'll decide on Wed. if we will put him to sleep. :( He's my favorite dog ever. My boy who helped me with my neurological disease, and he's only 8.

He's not eating voluntarily. He won't eat the most wonderful of food. He's on I.V. daily therapy (saline injections). He takes pills 7 times/day. I still have to clean his ears daily. I force a can of dog (kidney safe) food every day. He's lost about 30 lbs. He lies down all day. I know we need to put him to sleep...but there's a little hope that the medicine will start to work. But if there's no change by Wed....well, he's fought the good fight, and I'll let him go. I just can't believe. it. This is so hard.

Carol

Kelly: What's the name of that lovely apricot rose & very healthy leaves? Thanks.

Carol: Yes, it's so hard to say good-bye to a loved one. When heart-breaking death occurs, I remind myself that God can take care for people/pets better than I can. Happiness is giving up my control of the universe, and let go & let God.

Carol, you have been a great blessing & very nurturing & supportive to everyone in forums for the past decade. You deserve the same care & love & nurturing. When I don't eat well or sleep well, I tend to take things more seriously. I'll post more recipes for good sleep in below link:

http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/4339540/your-favorite-products-food-and-recipes-roses-wise-quotes-ideas?n=20

Below is what I shared with a friend recently, re-post here:

I found my secret to happiness: PLUG IN TO GOD from above. We are never alone if we plug-in, or connect to God our Father. Loneliness ceases when we are in touch with God our maker.

What's the point of plugging in to another flesh who has zero power on their own? Only God has the spiritual power to charge/renew us. Going to church is like charging my battery, I feel so spiritually blessed & uplifted after church service !!
Problems in life are to make us run to God, and be closer to God. From now on, the first person I would run to when I have problems is Jesus .. who went through every affliction known to mankind.

Yes, you are right about Jesus. I feel the same. Church always renews me too. :)

Thanks for your kind thoughts about me. :) :) I'm going to have a look at your link.

Carol

Carol, I just saw this link and wanted you to know that you are in my thoughts also. Animals give so much to us and it's so painful when they leave. I hope your friends here in the rose forum can be a bit of a distraction and somehow brighten your days of sadness.

Dogs are good listener. I treasure my beagle dog which I grew up with .. I used to talk to that dog about all my problems !! I have known people who lost weight just by walking their dogs daily, twice a day.

Hope everyone is well. How is Tofee doing Carol? I hope he is starting to eat. Animals are good listeners; they always seem to know how you are feeling. They also dont care or judge you when you wear your pajamas all day and eat icecream or smell bad...

The rose I posted is South Africa, Straw...

Kelly: The foliage on your South Africa is thick & healthy, the bloom is perfect.

Carol: Last year I researched on peanut-butter for my "weight-loss" thread. If you are eating peanut-butter, STOP .. there are much healthier butters, such as almond, sunflower, or cashew. I tried them all, and my favorite is sunflower, while my husband's favorite is cashew.

The problem with peanut-butter is aflatoxin (mold which cause cancer & liver damage). Aflatoxin is also a problem in dog's food. See excerpt from link below:

http://naturalsociety.com/is-your-peanut-butter-full-of-carcinogens/

" Peanuts, unlike many other nuts which are protected by a hard shell, are encased in a soft shell, which makes them vulnerable to contaminates such as fungus. The fungus produces aflatoxin which is easily absorbed by soft-shelled peanuts and if regularly consumed can lead to liver cancer. Pet foods have repeatedly been recalled in the past due to contamination with aflatoxin. In fact, just last December at least 3 pet food recalls were initiated due to aflatoxin levels above the ‘acceptable’ limit. Some of the recalls included:

• Cargill Animal Nutrition

• Procter & Gamble’s Iams ProActive Health Smart Puppy dry dog food

• Advanced Animal Nutrition’s Dog Power

The first thing you can do to prevent this problem is buy Arrowhead Mills organic peanut butter. Arrowhead Mills grows their peanuts in New Mexico, and aflatoxin has had no recognition there due to extremely dry soil. In addition, it carries the organic label so it is free of harmful pesticides.

To reduce aflatoxin exposure and fungal growth, always refrigerate your peanut butter. "

From Straw: Almonds are so much more nutritious than peanuts, plus no aflatoxin. Almonds have 4 times more vitamin E, more magnesium and more iron than peanuts. Personally my sleep had been wrecked with peanut-butter so many times during the past 2 decades, and my child has a peanut allergy (severe rash is touched or eaten). This week, I ate peanut-butter for the 1st time after a long-gap, resulting in 2 nights of lousy sleep. Below is FDA long link

" Under favorable conditions of temperature and humidity, these fungi grow on certain foods and feeds, resulting in the production of aflatoxins. The most pronounced contamination has been encountered in tree nuts, peanuts, and other oilseeds, including corn and cottonseed. Aflatoxins produce acute necrosis, cirrhosis, and carcinoma of the liver. The patients experienced high fever, rapid progressive jaundice, edema of the limbs, pain, vomiting, and swollen livers."

Here's from Medline Plus: https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/002429.htm

" The mold that produces aflatoxin may be found in the following foods:

• Peanuts and peanut butter
• Tree nuts such as pecans
• Corn
• Wheat
• Oil seeds such as cottonseed."

*** From Straw: Thank God Pepperidge Farm cookies no longer use cottonseed oil. But years ago, they did, and my kid broke out in rash from their cookies. I checked the ingredients, it listed cottonseed oil, which is full of pesticides and aflatoxin mold.

This is very true, straw and is a major problem in developing countries that don't screen for this. I've seen its orange tell-tale sign in some African markets I used to go to to buy Shea Butter, but now I just avoid shopping there. It is a known quantity and the major American producers screen for it. It's easily tested. However, I agree, there are so many others to choose from why bother. I don't have a favorite and actually try to avoid them as I can eat the whole jar! Generally, I buy whole nuts in winter and crack them. I figure I'm working off a few calories for them! : )

Hi everyone. Thanks for the kind thoughts/prayers. I'm finally feeling like I can be involved again in life.

Toffee is doing okay. He is still really, really skinny, but he's taken an interest in life again. He's on alot of medications and a saline I.V. once/day. He's having a bit more interest in food. I hide some scrambled eggs in places around the main floor, and he finds them. He thinks this is great fun. We still have to force feed him canned kidney diet food every day.

Interesting news about peanut butter. My one daughter eats it quite a bit - she likes the natural peanut butter. I guess I should get her some other kind of butter - like almond.

Carol

Good to hear from you Carol. I hope Toffee gets well soon..

Carol, so glad to hear that Toffee is doing OK. He has a lot of people thinking about you both!

Hi Carol: I won't post much in forum, but I respond to people whom I have a good relationship for the past years. I pray often for your eyes' health & good sleep & that you achieve your goals (weight loss & your daughters). Really appreciate your prayers for my daughter in 2014 when she was stressed out in her gifted English class. Now, 2 years later, she's among the top 3 in her gifted program, and got the highest score on PSAT national testing.

Moved the rest of info. on RAW greens for magnesium to below thread:

http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/4221380/breakfast-smoothies-with-rose-petals-and-rose-tea?n=62

That's very interesting about the magnesium connection to sugar! Didn't you say that citric acid causes problems? I haven't been able to find one without it and take it every day.

I have to cook all of my vegetables too and rarely eat raw salad anymore. It's such a shame because I'm sure that I'm killing lots of enzymes with the heat but the alternative is worse I'm afraid. You are lucky to have a clean source!

And congrats to Straw's daughter! Smart like her mom!

Lavender: Thank you !! The hydroponic-grown produce is safest. Move the rest of info. to Smoothies thread.

I wonder if there is an online source for hydroponic-grown organic produce? I already buy all of our meats and most of our groceries online and found it to be much easier since organic stores are so far for us.

https://attra.ncat.org/calendar/question.php/can-plants-grown-in-hydroponic-systems-be-certified-organic

Lavenderlace: See if you can find Trader's Joe grocery nearby you .. their produce is much cheaper than Whole Foods market. I bought salads & bell peppers from them often, and never get sick from their produce.

Moved info. on salmonella in plastic-contained produce to below link:

http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/4221380/breakfast-smoothies-with-rose-petals-and-rose-tea?n=69

I'm thinking of growing organic vegetables this year, but it's sad to think that I might not be able to actually find organic soil because of all the contamination. So it might not be worth the effort. Of course, certified organic is only 95 percent by law and they don't test for heavy metals.

The downside of hydoponic-grown produce would seem to be the lack of nutrients provided by the soil though. So maybe there would be a trade-off?

But don't get me started on our polluted planet!

Moved info. into "Breakfast Smoothies" thread, regarding magnesium oxide and why plastic containers provide moisture for bad bacteria to multiply.

http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/4221380/breakfast-smoothies-with-rose-petals-and-rose-tea?n=69

Straw, thanks so much for this "food for thought"!

Below link list what foods are high in magnesium, and which bottled water is highest in magnesium:

http://www.lifeextension.com/magazine/2007/2/report_water/Page-02

Mineral Water Magnesium Content

Original Fountain of Youth Mineral Water (Florida) 609 mg/L

Adobe Springs (California and other western states) 110 mg/L

Colfax (Iowa) 91 mg/L

Deep Rock (Colorado) 60 mg/L

Evian 24 mg/L

Gerolsteiner (Germany) 108 mg/L

Noah’s California Spring Water 110 mg/L

Pellegrino Sparkling Mineral Water (Italy) (43.6 mg/L of sodium) 55.9 mg/L

Manitou Mineral Water (Colorado) 43 mg/L

Both Apollinaris and Pellegrino contain more sodium than most other waters, and therefore should be avoided.

FOODS HIGHEST IN MAGNESIUM

Wheat flour, whole grain (1 cup) 166

Oat bran (1 cup, raw) 221

Trail mix with sunflower (1 cup) 235

Almonds (1 oz; 24 nuts) 78

Oatmeal (1 cup, cooked) 56

Artichokes (1 cup) 101

Pumpkin seeds (1 oz; 142 seeds) 151

Barley (1 cup, raw) 158

Rice, brown (1 cup, cooked) 84

Beans, black (1 cup, cooked) 120

Soybeans (1 cup, cooked) 148

Beans, lima (1 cup, cooked) 101

Spinach (1 cup, cooked) 163

Brazil nuts (1 oz; 6-8 nuts) 107

Halibut (1/2 filet) 170

Walnuts (1 oz; 14 halves) 45

Filberts, hazelnuts (1 oz) 46

http://www.lifeextension.com/magazine/2007/2/report_water/Page-02

Above is a cheese-shaker which I put magnesium oxide, to shake into my juice, to counter-act my high calcium-tap water ... magnesium helps with sleep. Those McCormick red plastic spice shakers are handy to put magnesium oxide powder: there's a flap to close it, so moisture won't get in after shaking.

The best-tasting stuff is the simplest recipe. Like that salad-dressing with

2 TBS sugar & 1 tsp salt & 1/4 tsp pepper & 1/4 c apple cider vinegar &

2 TBS mild oil & 1 head iceberg lettuce & 1 sliced red onion (optional)

I made the above recipe with Bragg Organic Apple Cider and it's absolutely addictive .. eat tons of lettuce with that. The Red Eden Organic Apple Cider is also tasty, but the Walmart Heinz brand is nasty. My skinny sister sent me info. on how apple cider helps with weight loss:

http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/22/health/apple-cider-vinegar-benefits/index.html

One promising benefit: It seems to help regulate blood sugar. A study published in Diabetes Care looked at men and women with type 2 diabetes. The researchers found that when the participants downed two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar before bed with a snack (one ounce of cheese), they had lower blood sugar levels the next morning, compared to when they ate the same bedtime snack paired with two tablespoons of water.

The Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry reported a study on mice that were fed a high-fat diet along with the active ingredient in apple cider vinegar: acetic acid.

The animal subjects ended up with 10 percent lower body weight than the control subjects.

What this reveals, researchers assert, is that acetic acid can “turn on” trigger genes that initiate the enzymes’ ability to break down fat, which prevents weight gain. It also helps you feel full.

A study in Japan conducted a similar double-blind trial on obese adults, each with a similar body weight, waist measurement and body mass index (BMI), and split the subjects into three groups.

For 12 weeks, members of one group drank half an ounce of ACV, one group had a beverage with 1 ounce of ACV and the third group had a drink with no ACV. When the study was over, those who drank the cider vinegar had lower body weight and belly fat, smaller waist measurements and lower triglycerides compared to the others.

The scientists wrote: “In conclusion, daily intake of vinegar might be useful in the prevention of metabolic syndrome by reducing obesity.”

Good reminder about the apple cider vinegar. I got out of the habit of drinking it!

CALM (magnesium citrate) was a nuisance since I had to warm up the water, but magnesium-oxide POWDER dissolve easily in acidic juice, or I mix that into yogurt. I'm going to put apple cider vinegar in my Spinach or Kale shake before bedtime .. that will help with digestion.

With Bragg organic apple cider, I eat 4 times more lettuce. Personally Romaine or Iceberg lettuce never cause stomach distress (I peel off the outer layer and throw away). It's only the green-leafy with BLACK BIOSOLIDS sold at Walmart, or the baby-leafy mix in plastic containers. They are labeled "organic" but I always have stomach upset with them.

I'm going to check out that magnesium since I was using the one that has to be dissolved in hot water. I'm allergic to something and have been getting hives so that's something to consider, THANKS!

I was eating a lot of Bragg's but then kept biting into nasty black slime in my organic salad and it just made me where I couldn't bear to eat any more lettuce for a while.

Just been eating cooked vegetables daily but I know that it would be better to eat them raw.

Holy cow!! Apple cider helps for weight loss??? I may have to try that. The taste though - blech!! I'm going to try that tonight and see if I can stomach it.

Thanks Lavenderlace - I am grateful for your kind thoughts. :)

Straw - thank you so much for your prayers!! I've thought of your daughter quite a bit and have prayed for her too. I'm soooooo glad things have worked out! I bet you helped her considerably!! What a comeback story!!

Carol

Lavender: Agree that those Organic "baby greens" get slimy fast. I don't even buy packaged "baby greens" anymore, I buy the entire head of Romaine Lettuce or hydroponic Boston Lettuce .. never get sick from those for the past 40+ years. Romaine, Iceberg, and Boston are more likely to be grown hydroponically and one can discard the outer leaves.

Carol: The right brand of apple cider is more tolerable: Red Eden gets my vote as most delicious in salad. Second place is Braggs Apple cider. Last place is Heinz apple cider (stinky & zero taste). I tried putting apple-cider into my cup of kale smoothie. THAT WAS DISGUSTING !! It was so bad that I ate only 1/2 for dinner, skipped my desert. It did zap out my appetite, I could not take another bite.

For the past decades, my weight gain was from guzzling 1 cup of juice after meals, but something in the apple cider prevented me from doing that: I could only take one sip of juice to rinse off the strong odor of apple-cider.

In contrast, having a sweet drink with meals stimulate my appetite: eat more & drink more. Same with chewing sugarless gum (with aspartame) makes me hungry even after a big meal .. my neighbor noticed the same: artificial sugar makes her hungrier and more thirsty. Apple cider works just the opposite: completely curbs one's appetite for food & drink.

Apple cider as a SALAD DRESSING is absolutely delicious, really enhance the taste of raw veggies. Apple cider needs something strong to hide its taste, like red-onion in salad-dressing. If I have to use apple cider, I would mix with a strong-flavored dressing, like blue-cheese, ranch, Italian dressing, and dip RAW veggies into that. It will be my "before bed" snack, rather than cheese & bread which shot up my weight.

I think I have Heinz in the pantry - maybe that's a good thing - zero taste. :) I looked on line and found that 1 ounce is 2 tablespoons. That's a lot. I'll try it tonight.

Carol

You're right Straw, Romaine is the only one that I have luck with. The hidden black slime on the greens has just turned me off for a while.

I made a dressing with brown organic mustard and Braggs that I liked but it could cover a lot of slime apparently, yuk!

I'm glad you mentioned brown mustard .. have that in refrig. Will try this salad-dressing tonight: 2 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar, 1 Tablespoon olive oil, 1 Tablespoon parsley, 1 chopped garlic, 2 teaspoon mustard, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.

Raw Kohlrabi, sliced into thin sticks with a food-processor, is really good in salad. Making smoothies is so much easier than chopping salad with a food processor. Too bad apple cider is so nasty in smoothies. My favorite smoothie is spinach and avocado.

That sounds good, have a nice dinner!

Carol: Apple cider drink by the spoon is the most disgusting thing I tried this year, and Brewer's Yeast drink, if made with milk or soy milk & honey is the most delicious. Brewer's yeast drink is like sweet caffeine for energy, versus apple cider is more like gagging one's throat with "liquid lead".

My picky child drank the Brewer's yeast shake (1 cup of milk, 1 heaping Tablespoon honey, 1/2 tablespoon BY), but she refuses my kale smoothie.

I would rather take one delicious Brewer's Yeast drink & run on the treadmill than apple cider. I used Brewer's Yeast off/on for 2 years, same with Jess from South Africa. Jess uses it daily and never catch any colds for decade.

Brewer's yeast is best ONCE a week, rather than daily, too much can cause selenium excess: thin nails, fragile teeth. Brewer's yeast is in vitamin pills and liquid vitamins. Very nutritious, best once a week for cold prevention. I put Brewer's yeast in my sweet-smoothie: berry or pumpkin with honey.

From WebMD: " Brewer's yeast is used for diarrhea, the common cold and other upper respiratory tract infections, influenza, swine flu, loss of appetite, acne, premenstrual syndrome (PMS), recurring boils on the skin (furunculosis), and type 2 diabetes. It has also been used as a source of B vitamins, chromium, and protein.

Due to the chromium content of brewer's yeast, there is interest in using it for lowering blood glucose in people with diabetes. Additionally, brewer's yeast seems to stimulate chemicals (intestinal enzymes) that could help relieve diarrhea.

It also might help fight bacteria that cause infections in the intestine, as well as improve the body’s defenses against viral lung infections such as flu and the common cold. Brewer's yeast is a source of B vitamins and protein."

http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-715-BREWER'S%20YEAST.aspx?activeIngredientId=715&activeIngredientName=BREWER'S%20YEAST

I love Byeast. It's great on pop corn and also in mac and cheese and other cheese dishes to enchance the "cheesiness". Interesting about it's possible effect in lowering blood glucose.

I think you are thinking of nutritional yeast, Vapovac...

They both are derived from Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Brewers yeast has more of a bitter flavor where nutritional yeast has the cheesy flavor (and added B12)...

http://www.livestrong.com/article/176197-what-is-the-difference-between-brewers-yeast-nutritional-yeast/

Here is a great study regarding benefits of brewers yeast in type 2 diabetes:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3843299/

Yes, I was thinking of NYeast. I used to eat BY in smoothies during Highschool, but don't really see it around anymore. MY DH may need some serious surgery soon, so I'll have to search for it to add to a nutritional shake. Thank you both for the reminder and links.

Kelly: Thank you for those links. Decades ago I tried nutritional yeast (bright yellow powder) and that was nasty .. trashed the whole can. But I really like Brewer's Yeast, it's more acidic and slightly bitter, but buckwheat honey and milk easily overcome that. B.Y. tastes best with cow milk or soy milk, and blah with almond milk.

With Brewer's Yeast, I notice a long-lasting stabilization of sugar. One brewer yeast drink is enough to give me energy for 4 hours of shopping & no hunger pangs.

Vaporvac: Best wishes/prayers with your husband's surgery. The bitter taste of brewer's yeast is from by-product of brewing industry. There's a LESS BITTER, but LESS nutrients Lewis lab BY, grown on beets, but why bother with less bitter when it's less nutrients? Besides, the slight bitterness is easily overcome by milk & honey. The de-bittering process removes the most vital ingredients: selenium (protect against cancer), chromium (against diabetes), and vitamin B's (against heart attacks).

That's why I'm quite happy with NOW brewer's yeast, slightly bitter, but retains all nutrients & plus it's cheapest. Also saw Twin Lab Brewer's yeast for $12 per can at local grocery store, but looks like chromium & selenium are removed from that one.

http://www.drugs.com/npp/brewer-s-yeast.html

" It should be avoided in individuals allergic to yeast. Mild adverse reactions have been reported, including flatulence and a laxative effect. 7"

Below is from Twin Lab's Brewer's yeast nutritional analysis:

Vitamin A 0.0 %Vitamin B-12 2.1 %Vitamin B-6 1.9 %Vitamin C 0.0 %Vitamin D 0.0 %Vitamin E 0.0 %Calcium 0.4 %Copper 1.6 %Folate 3.8 %Iron 0.5 %Magnesium 0.5 %Manganese 0.4 %Niacin 1.7 %Pantothenic Acid 0.3 %Phosphorus 1.4 %Riboflavin 2.6 %Selenium 0.0 %Thiamin 5.8 %Zinc 0.5 %

Finland is way ahead of us, they put magnesium in their salt-shakers, while American manufacturers add calcium to soy-milk and almond milk, which screw up the ratio of calcium/magnesium that God made. While looking at the ingredients of refrigerated milk, only found coconut milk with decent magnesium.

http://naldc.nal.usda.gov/download/46295/PDF

"Corica et al.53 found that 12 hypertensive obese subjects had significantly lower plasma magnesium concentrations than 25 non-obese healthy volunteers, while 26 normotensive obese subjects did not. This finding is consistent with magnesium supplementation lowering blood pressure in hypertensive, but not in normotensive, overweight Korean adults. 54 Corica et al.53 also found a significant negative correlation between waist-to-hip ratio and plasma magnesium in obese subjects. Huerta et al.55 found that serum magnesium was significantly lower in 24 obese children than in 24 sex and puberty-matched lean controls."

http://naldc.nal.usda.gov/download/46295/PDF

The above link is worth looking through .. vast number of studies pointed to high-inflammation in obesity & diseases. And high inflammation is associated with HIGH calcium & low magnesium in blood.

http://www.mgwater.com/mgrank.shtml Shows Hartford, CT with Calcium level of 8.1, magnesium of 1.6, and sodium of 2.8.

I'm in North Chicago, with a calcium of 37, magnesium of 1, and sodium of 8 in my tap water. My blood pressure is low 104/56 thanks to magnesium supplement, plus potassium salt (lite-salt). See government link below for LOW magnesium & HIGH calcium in tap-water across the nation: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1495189/table/tbl2/

The below site shows the hardness as well: the higher the number indicates calcium deposits. The hardness in my North Chicago is highest in the nation, at 143.7 ... compared that to Dallas, TX at 134 (with 51 calcium, 3.8 Magnesium in their tap.)

http://magnesiumeducation.com/magnesium-in-drinking-water

Those are really useful charts, thanks so much Straw!

For Carol: How are you doing? Previous years we had a discussion on poor sleep and weight gain. Thanks to Khalid I start on my RAW kale shake (high in magnesium) .. sleep improve. Then I added Brewer's yeast shake (for vitamin B's) and even better sleep: vivid dreams & NOT groggy nor tired when wake up.

Carol: I also thought about your daughter and her anxiety. My daughter in junior high is going through anxiety phase, and I trace that to our tap water high in calcium. Solution: magnesium oxide powder, plus RAW green shake, plus Brewer's yeast (high in B-vitamins) .. if only she would take them !!

I used to be anxious with poor sleep, now I'm pretty calm & sleep great, and things don't bother me much. The amount of magnesium vs. calcium in drinking water is also a factor in good sleep versus lousy sleep and anxiety. Still remember I was pretty anxious in junior high & didn't sleep well. Then we moved to a new town with water high in magnesium, and I slept great & anxiety went away. Mom made a lot of bone-broth soup with veggies from her garden back then.

See below link on factors that help with anxiety & better sleep:

http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/4387687/worthy-roses-that-give-useful-products-and-recipes-for-health-and-sleep?n=9

Carol: I thought about your daughter (Holly) when I researched on iodine. I haven't heard from you, how are you doing? Some info. from the other thread, which I re-post here:

http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/4387687/worthy-roses-that-give-useful-products-and-recipes-for-health-and-sleep?n=12

According to Wikipedia: "Iodine is needed DAILY by the body for production of oxytocin. This hormone is the "love" hormone .. See Oxytocin Infusion Reduces Repetitive Behaviors in Adults with Autistic and Asperger's Disorders in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology.

However, iodine competes with the other halogens (such as fluorine, chlorine, bromine) for absorption and adding iodine to table salt would have severely impaired its absorption as it lost out to chlorine in the salt.

The situation has been made worse in recent years because many people are subjected to high levels of fluoride because of their water supply or because of dental treatments; bromine was routinely used in bread making and also as a fire retardant .

Interest in iodine was re-awoken in 1993, when Gent demonstrated that 5mg a day of iodine is highly effective in the treatment of fibrocystic disease of the breast. A study in Japan showed that the average daily intake of iodine was 13.8mg (because of their high intake of seafood) and the Japanese have the lowest incidence of breast cancer in developed nations.

Absorption of iodine is enhanced by vitamin C 3 grams daily. The clinical observations Abraham has made are:

1. The excretion of mercury, lead, cadmium, aluminium, fluoride and bromine is hugely increased.

2. There is increased well being and energy levels with lessening brain fog.

3. Patients feel warmer, they seem to need less sleep, their bowel action becomes more regular and their skin complexion improves.

Symptoms of iodine deficiency also include high cholesterol, hypochlorhydria (lack of stomach acid for digestion)." Wikipedia.

*** I had just solved my family's problem (cholesterol & hypochlohydria) with Wikipedia info !!