Be Veg, Go Green, Save the Planet!

Store bought toothpaste contains fluoride. Fluoride in the body can potentially displace iodine, which is an essential element needed for proper thyroid function. Store bought toothpaste is also very expensive. Why not just make your own toothpaste? What follows is a simple and inexpensive recipe of toothpaste:

1/ Put two tablespoons of baking soda (i.e. sodium bicarbonate) into a glass or plastic container.

2/ Add one tablespoon of hydrogen peroxide (3%).

3/ Stir the mixture.

4/ Wait for about five minutes.

Optionally, you can add essential oil of mint or citrus fruits to make the taste of this toothpaste more appealing.

The final solution is so-called DIY toothpaste. To use, just dip the toothbrush into the toothpaste and brush your teeth as usual.

Scientists from Iran have shown that activated carbon produced from walnut shells can cost-effectively adsorb mercury ions from water. On the other hands, I have done some experiments on activated carbon derivated from walnut shells [6]. According to the results of my own experiments, activated carbon from walnut shells is apparently much better for filtering mercurous ions as compared to activated carbon from bamboo.

In additon to mercury ions, activated carbon from walnut shells can also filter ions of some other toxic metals, including cadmium ions [2], zinc ions [3], copper ions [3, 4], lead ions [3], nickel ions [5], and some other oily contaminants.

For more details about my work or other scientists' work, check out the links in the reference section.

[1] Removal of mercury from water by carbonaceous sorbents derived from walnut shell 

[2] Removal of Dissolved Cadmium by Adsorption onto Walnut and Almond Shell Charcoal: Comparison with Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) 

[3] The use of nutshell carbons in drinking water filters for removal of trace metals 

[4] Removal of Copper(II) Ions from Aqueous Solutions by Walnut-, Hazelnut- and Almond-Shells 

[5] Sorption of nickel ions from aqueous solutions using activated carbon derived from walnut shell waste 

[6] How to Remove Hg Ions from Water 

Fasting for a short period is not difficult at all. However, most of us cannot starve ourselves for a prolonged period, not because of our hunger for food, but because we are running out of energy. This problem is due to the fact that we rely too much on food as a major source of energy. When the food is not around us, our bodies have no more energy to survive.

Fortunately, it seems that our Creator has already provided a solution for us to survive and stay strong without too much food around us. It seems that we can tap the energy directly from the Sun without we having to eat food for energy. The method of solution is called Sun Gazing.

What we can do is to:

1/ Gaze the rising or setting sun on a daily basis. Then, our appetite will gradually disappear as time goes on. Additionally, scientists have already proven that the far-infrared light from the sun can heal the body of certain ailments. There is no need to suppress the appetite by following the useless nutrition protocols that have been littered on the internet.

2/ Practise oil pulling on a daily basis. According to Ayurveda, it is possible to purify the taste-buds and the entire body system by practising oil pulling.

Oil pulling is very easy to practise. Just rinse the mouth with a tablespoon of sesame oil or sunflower oil on empty stomach for 15 to 20 minutes. After the process of oil pulling, your mouth will be filled with milky white foams. You should spit out all the white foams to the toilet without delay. Finally, brush the teeth and further rinse the mouth with clean water.

3/ Make sure you have enough iodine and chromium in your body. Chromium is an essential element, without which the hormone insulin would not work. Scientists have found that chromium picolinate can be used to ease intense cravings for carbonhydrate and treat atypical depression [1], [2]. On the other hand, there is clinical evidence [3, 4] that atypical depression is linked to thyroid abnormalities and patients with atypical depressionmay benefit from triiodothyronine, a medication used to treat hypothyroidism.

[1]  A double-blind, placebo-controlled, exploratory trial of chromium picolinate in atypical depression: effect on carbohydrate craving. 

[2] Effectiveness of chromium in atypical depression: a placebo-controlled trial. 

[3] Depression, the Thyroid, and Hormones 

[4] An open study of triiodothyronine augmentation of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors in treatment-resistant major depressive disorder. 

CLICK HERE ON MY ANOTHER ARTICLE. 

You can quit drinking very easily, as long as you understand drinking is bad for you and your family. What you need is a therapy called oil pulling. Oil pulling is powerful therapy for pulling toxins out of the body. The mertis of this therapy has not been fully investigated by clinical trials. However, unlike drugs, this therapy involves virtually no side effects and there is no such thing as overdose of oil pulling.

Oil pulling means rinsing the mouth with sesame or sunflower oil for 15 to 20 minutes.

During the process of oil pulling, you need to swish, suck, chomp and pull the oil through the teeth. The oil must not be swallowed.

To avoid acid reflux, which could potentially cause accidental swallowing of the oil, you should practise oil pulling on empty stomach. The best time to practise this therapy is 4 hours after meal.

After the 15-20 minute process of swishing oil, the mouth will be filled with milky white and thin foam. All the oil and saliva which remain in the mouth should be spit out immediately. According to the Dr Karach, who introduced this therapy to the western world, the milky white foam contains a lot of bacteria and toxins.

Finally, the tooth should be brushed, preferably with baking soda, and the mouth should be rinsed with clean water.

Colloidal gold will work too. According to my experience with the alcohol addicts, colloidal gold can be used to regain the conscience of a drunk person. But colloidal gold is very expensive. You probably want something inexpensive for experimental purposes.

Just CLICK HERE  for more details.

You can quit smoking easily, as long as you understand smoking is bad for you. What you need is a therapy called oil pulling. Oil pulling is powerful therapy for pulling toxins out of the body. Unlike drugs, it does not has many side effects. The mertis of this therapy has not been fully investigated by clinical trials.

Oil pulling simply means rinsing the mouth with sesame or sunflower oil for 15 to 20 minutes.

During the process of oil pulling, you need to swish, suck, chomp and pull the oil through the teeth. The oil must not be swallowed.

To avoid acid reflux, which could potentially cause accidental swallowing of the oil, you should practise oil pulling on empty stomach. The best time to practise this therapy is 4 hours after meal.

After the 15-20 minute process of swishing oil, the mouth will be filled with milky white and thin foam. All the oil and saliva which remain in the mouth should be spit out immediately. According to the Dr Karach, who introduced this therapy to the western world, the milky white foam contains a lot of bacteria and toxins.

Finally, the tooth should be brushed, preferably with baking soda, and the mouth should be rinsed with clean water.

Just CLICK HERE   for more details.

Many people tend to use vinegar, banana peels, white flower balm and many other so-called natural medicines to treat insect bites. While natural-occurring substances are largely harmless, they cannot disinfect the site of insect bite. They are either very expensive, or not easy to carry around all the time.

What is overlooked is iodine. Iodine can be purchased from drug stores, but iodine is not a synthetic chemical with alot of side effects. Iodine is probably the only inexpensive option which not only reduces the itching sensation around the bite areas, but also kills all the bacteria and virues carried by the biting insects. Believe it or not, iodine has been used by a doctor as a first aid treatment for snake bites. It sounds scary, isn't it?

To treat insect bites, just store bought iodine with crushed chili peppers. Apply the mixture onto the bite sites. Let the mixture sit on the bite areas for a few minutes. In general, five minutes should be enough for the iodine liquid to disinfect the bite sites. If the itching sensation reamins, reapply some more iodine to the bite sites.

Iodine is antimicrobial, while capsaicin in chili peppers is effective in reducing itching and inflammation. Together, the mixture of these two substances becomes an effective medicine against insect bites.

This method should be suitable for pet animals as well. Just CLICK HERE FOR MY ARTICLE ON IODINE TREATMENT OF INSECT BITES .

There is growing evidence that excessive iron build-up in the body can cause cancers and other seemingly unrelated diseases. Over the past few decades, many clinical investigations have consistently proven this fact. However, many people tend to focus on nutrition intake. Most os us worry about the lack of iron rather than the toxicity of iron. The problem of iron overload in the body has been overlooked, even by the vegetarian population around the globe. The link between cholesterol and health has been the only reason which justifies a a vegetarian lifesstyle.

According to the latest research, iron becomes carcinogenic because of two mechanisms:

1/ Iron is a pro-oxidant which can induce oxidative stress and DNA damage. A study has shown that the production of free radicals is largely proportional to the level of iron in the body.

2/ Iron is a nutrient for cancer cells and some disease-causing pathogens. E. Coli, for example, is fed on iron. Iron promotes cancer cell multiplication as well as growth of some disease-causing pathogens.

For health sake, there is a need to remove the surplus iron without overly harming the red blood cells. In general, iron can be absorbed but not excreted. Women can off-load some surplus iron through their periods, but this benefit does not apply to woman after menopause. To prevent excessive build-up of iron, a vegan lifestyle is a MUST. In addition, it is important to know how to manage the excess iron stores in our bodies without using any synthetic drugs.

To minimize surplus iron which can potentially cause cancer, it is very important to stay on a pure vegan diet. Meat is the biggest contributor of free iron radicals that can be readily absorbed by the body.

There are natural occuring substances that can remove surplus iron from the body. IP6 is one of those that can be found is the bran of almost every seeds. IP6 is a chelator of mercury, lead and cadmium as well as loose iron, copper and calcium. IP6 is one of those [1, 2]. IP6 can bind with mercurous ions (Hg2+) in the presence of chloride in the body [1].

In addition, IP6 is a selective chelator that does not bind to important electrolyte minerals required for heart rhythm, including potassium, sodium or magnesium. IP6 does not chelate calcium from the bone tissues or iron from red blood cells [3]. The chelated minerals are excreted via the urinary tract [3].

Additionally, various independent studies confirm that IP5 inhibits the formation of kidney stones and cal be used as an alternative treatment of calcium kidney stones [4, 5, 6].

CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS ON HOW TO REMOVE EXCESS IRON FRM THE BODY. 

Reference:

[1] Speciation of phytate ion in aqueous solution. Sequestering ability toward mercury(II) cation in NaClaq at different ionic strengths.  

[2] J Agriculture Food Chemistry 47: 4714-17, 999

[3] Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 35:495-508, 1995

[4] Scandinavian Journal Urology Nephrology 34: 162-64, 2000

[5] Scand J Urology Nephrology 32:261-5, 1998

[6] Arch Esp Urology 52:305-10, 1999

Do you want to grow your own vegetables without a backyard garden? If your answer is yes, then this self-watering hanging planter is for you. This planter is designed for the people who don't want to water their plants everyday. It is not difficult ot make. All you need is to recycle the plastic soda bottles which would otherwise be landfilled. The following figure illustrates how simple this planter is:

 

CLICK HERE FOR MORE DETAILS 

Are you tired of watering your trees every day? Do not worry. Here is another slow drip irrigation system for you so that you can enjoy holidays peacefully. In addition, this system offers a simple way to recycle plastic bottles, off-date soya milk as well as used carbon cartridges. Unlike the previous system, this one allows you to refill the bottle conveniently:

CLICK HERE FOR MORE DETAILS 

A water filter based on activated carbon can be very expensive. In the UK, for example, a very simple one can be purchased at £30 each. However, you can make a better water filter without paying a penny. All you need is to recycle the plastic soda bottles which would otherwise be landfilled. The following figure and URL point to article about a method of recycling plastic bottles into water filters. I wouldn't say this method is perfect. But at least, with this method, you can demonstrate to your friends how to go-green while travelling:

CLICK HERE FOR MORE DETAILS 

Papayas are fast-growing plants. In Asia, it does not take longer than a year for young sprouts to develop into fruiting trees. Once their roots are well-developed, they have the ability to grow to an incredible height, keeping the fruits out of reach of the children. For me, papayas are ideal candidates for going green in an urban area. The URL presents a new method for growing papaya trees. I have already experimented this method with positive results:

CLICK HERE FOR MORE DETAILS 

Colloidal gold is a form of liquid gold solution, in which gold particles rather than gold ions are suspended in a liquid. The sizes of gold particles are normally in the order of 10 nanometers. Like other group III metals such as silver and copper, gold has its own medicinal use. Since the civilization came into being, liquid gold has been used as a therapeutic agent for treating rheumatoid arthritis, internal heat, loss of consciousness, delirium, agitation, red tongue, sudden fainting, furuncles, smallpox, skin ulcers, measles and baby's sudden convulsion. This article presents an overview of colloidal gold.

Brief History of Colloidal Gold

Gold has been used in medicine for many thousand years. The earliest application of gold as a therapeutic agent was recorded in China. Back in 2500 BC, compounds made with gold were used in China to treat diseases in joints, internal heat, loss of consciousness, delirium, agitation, red tongue, sudden fainting, furuncles, smallpox, skin ulcers, measles and baby's sudden convulsion. Records also suggest that medicinal gold was used for removal of mercury from human bodies.

China was the first country where cinnabar was used to extract gold from gold ores. In China, medicinal gold was once a part of a very important Taoists' medicine, called "紫金丹" in Chinese, or "purple gold distillate" in English. For some unknown reasons, the medicinal gold in China is similar to "Aurum Potabile“ in Paracelsus' teaching. It is unclear if the Taoists' medicine "purple gold distillate" is equivalent to "Electrum" documented in modern alchemists' writing.

The knowledge of medicinal gold did not remain in China forever and it began to vanish after the Tang Dynasty. Instead, the Taoist religion was later influenced heavily by mercury-based alchemical concepts. Ironically, by 11th and 12nd centuries, much of the knowledge of medicinal gold was lost to Arab, and then to Europe and the British Isles.

E175, an Additive Containing Gold

Nowdays, there are many ways whereby gold can be ingested into human bodies. Gold is one of the food additives with E-number E175. In many countries, one can legally and unknowingly consume gold by consuming foods containing E175. Another way to ingest gold is to take gold salts or colloidal gold. This article focuses on colloidal gold, with emphasis on its science only.

Use of Colloidal Gold as Therapeutic Agent

Colloidal gold has been successfully used as a cure for:

1/ Alcoholism and addictions:

In the nineteenth century, colloidal Gold was commonly used in the United States to cure alcoholism (then called dipsomania, defined as the uncontrollable craving for alcoholic liquors). Colloidail gold has been used with success to reduce dependency on alcohol, caffeine, nicotine, additive drugs and carbohydrates.

2/ Rheumatoid arthritis:

Colloidal gold has been successfully used as a therapy for rheumatoid arthritis in dogs, rats and humans. According to the experience of adults with arthritis, the effects of colloidal gold on joint pain and swelling are usually positive and noticable within a week. There is no published clinical evidence of gold toxicity on any arthritic patients taking colloidal gold .

3/ Mental illness, like depression:

Paracelsus (1493-1541), a physician and a pioneer of gold drugs, wrote a treatise on "Diseases that deprive man of his reason," quoting potable gold as one of his medicamenta comfortativa. According to his writing, potable gold is useful in many forms of mental illness, including epilepsy, mania, St. Vitus dance (Sydenham’s chorea), melancholy, and "suffocation of the intellect" (hysteria).

4/ Tuberculosis:

In 1980, Robert Koch, a bacteriologist from Germany, successfully demonstrated that compounds made with gold suppressed maturation of the bacilli that caused tuberculosis. In eighteen hundred ninety, Koch was awarded a Nobel Prize in Medical science for this work. Since then, Gold is also known to retard prostate cancer in men. Women with ovary cancer are treated with natural colloidal gold, and in surgical operation to patch impaired nerves, blood vessels, bones, and membranes.

5/ Cancer:

In a paper published in the Journal of Materials Chemistry, scientists documented the use of an anticancer plant chemicals, or phytochemicals, found in Darjeeling tea as a reducing agent to turn gold salts into nanoparticles of gold. The process turns the tea from purple-red to pale yellow. The scientists believe that the gold nanoparticles in the tea could be used to zap tumours [1 ].

6/ Toothache:

So far, two persons have successfully used colloidal gold against toothache. Me and my friend. We need some more "guinea pigs".

Use of Gold to Unbind Mercury-containing Compounds in the Human Body

For some unknown reasons, most of the health problems that can be improved through the use of medicinal gold are associated with mercury poisoning. UPI has previously reported that a child diagnosed with autism appeared to improve markedly (and unexpectedly) after being treated with gold salts for an attack of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. Boyd E. Haley, a biochemistry professor at the University of Kentucky, who strongly supports mercury poisoning as the primary cause of many neurological disorders, tested gold salts in his laboratory following the report by UPI. He suggests that gold salts can "reverse the binding" of mercury to a chemical compound.

In regards to this story, Haley further says, "This does lend support to the possible removal of mercury from biological proteins in individuals treated with gold salts." He suggests that gold might pull mercury off the enzyme it's inhibiting and reactivate that enzyme. However, he warns, “This issue needs research as it has good possibilities for helping the older autistics but it is also replete with danger if used ignorantly. Also, consider the thiols that are part of the gold salts, namely thioglucose and thiomalate, both analogs of natural compounds. It might be that the delivery of these thiols to the appropriate areas of the body is what reverses any possible mercury effect instead of the gold itself,”

At the time of this writing, Haley did not offer further hint on the role of gold in mercury poisoning. However, it is not difficult to guess how gold works in the presence of mercury toxicity. Elemental gold is known to amalgamate with mercury even at room temperature. In effect, this process unbinds mercury from the body enzymes, thus mobilizing the accumulated mercury in the human body. Though not formally proven in any clinical trial, this process has already been tested and reported in another study[2], in which gold colloids in acetonitrile were used to catalyze the disproportionation of (Hg-Hg)2+ to Hg2+ and Hg0. Chemically speaking, the process looks like:

[Hg1-Hg1]2+ --> Hg2+ + Au0 Hg0

Mercury is highly volatile at room temperature. The radiations from the sun or some other high energy sources can drive off the elemental mercury Hg0 from the mercury-gold amalgam Au0 Hg0, resulting in a release of mercury vapor from the human body. This explains why many victims of chronic fatigue syndrome experience a significant relief following an exposure to the sunshine.

Since the gold particles Au0 cannot evaporate at such a low temperature, they will remain in the body for a week or so and continue to unbind the remaining mercury ions from the body enzymes. It is unclear if these gold particles will unbind Hg2+ as well. If they do, then the overall mechanism should continue to lower the mercury burden in the human body until all the gold particles are excreted.

On the other hand, since colloidal gold can cross the blood brain barrier, it should not be difficult for gold to mobilize mercury in the body. Now, the following questions deserve some answers from the scientific community:

1/ Since mercury itself has strong affinity for sulfhydryl-groups, it bonds firmly with the protein tissues in the central nervous system. The bonded mercury will remain and accumulate with newly added mercury day after day in the central nervous system for a very long period. The half-life of the bonded mercury in the central nervous system can be anywhere between 15 and 30 years. The presence of gold can change this situation, because of the likelihood of formation of mercury-gold amalgam. Then, what is the half-life of the mercury-gold amalgam in the central nervous system?

2/ Does this mercury-gold amalgam as a result of this process have any negative impact on the central nervous system? This is a very tricky question. It is widely believed that the presence of selenium and other trace minerals in the food can mitigate the toxicity of mercury in fishes and other seafoods. It is unclear if gold plays a role similar to the detoxicification activities of selenium and other trace minerals in human bodies.

3/ After zapping (or unbinding) the mercury particles, the colloidal gold particles would contine to attach to the mercury particles and remain trapped somewhere in the human body until the sun heat is present. It is widely believed that DMPS can chelate gold from the human body. To prevent excessive build-up of gold-mercury amalgam in the human body, is it possible to remove this mercury-gold amalgam through the use of DMPS or other similar chelating agents?

Colloidal Gold/Silver mixture and Stem Cell Growth

There is a speculation that stem cells can be cultivated with a proper mix of colloidal silver and colloidal gold [3 ,4 ]. According to some online literature, Dr. Robert Becker discovered stem cells on people on bone fractures after a silver laced bandages was placed. Also, another study has proved excellent results in the Parkinson cases when wet cells batteries combined with colloidal gold and silver solutions have been used during a four-month treatment.

There is likely some more knowledge yet to come. Right now, I am still looking for the original publication in this field for further clarification.

Reference

[1] "Straight from the teapot, a golden anti-cancer brew ", Daily Mail, 25th March 2009

[2] Horst Kunkelya and Arnd Vogler, "Dismutation of Hg2+ catalyzed by colloidal gold ", Elsevier B.V. , 6 October 2004.

[3] Parkinson's Disease - Colloidal Silver or Colloidal Gold 

[4] Cerebral Palsy Remedies 

(Disclaimer: This article is provided as a research tool for the purpose of education only. Most of the information in this article is pieced together from a variety of Internet and non-internet sources (including the results of my own experiments). Not all the sources are unbiased, accurate, reliable, current and complete. It is also important to understand that the Internet environment is variable and dynamic.

This article will be actively updated whenever correction is warranted and/or new information on colloidal gold becomes available. If there are any errors found in this article, please let me know and I will be happy to correct them. Meanwhile, I recommend that my readers exercise good judgement when reading this article.)

Many studies suggest that milk-free cocoa drink is beneficial to the heart. Cocoa contains theobromide (comes from root Greek, meaning “food of the Gods”) which is is a bitter alkaloid of the cacao plant. Throughout the century, theobromine has been used as a treatment for many circulatory problems including arteriosclerosis, certain vascular diseases, angina pectoris, and hypertension.

Some scientists believe that, flavoniods, the antioxidants found in cocoa, can help the body produce more nitric oxide, thereby relaxing the veins, lowering the blood pressure and helping the blood circulation.

According to a study carried out by preventive cardiology center at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago [1 ], the best cocoa to drink should be milk-free and sugar-free.

The study involved 45 overweight or obese participants aged 30 to 75. Overweight participants were chosen for the study because they were believed to have higher risks of cardiovascular disease. The participants were instructed to drink an 8-ounce cup of sugar-free cocoa, sugared cocoa, or a hot nonfat milk beverage each morning for six weeks.

Results of the study showed that the ability of arteries to relax and expand to accommodate increased blood flow to the heart increased by about 39% by two hours after people drank the sugar-free cocoa. When they drank cocoa with sugar it improved by about 23%. In contrast, it dropped 12% when they consumed the nonfat milk drink.

The study also demonstrates the fact that milk is counter-productive to the blood circulation system. Some other studies even suggest that adding a diary product actually blocks the body's ability to properly absorb antioxidants found in cocoa .

In another study [2], researchers even suggest that flavanols, the antioxidant found in cocoa, could have a "promising role" to treat brain conditions such as stroke and dementia.

Cocoa may not be qualified as a food for famine. But it is not expensive even in a developing economy. In Hongkong, for example, one can buy a can of cocoa powder from Welcome Supermarket for about HK$40 (approximately, US$ 5). By drinking cocoa everyday, those living in Hongkong can not only enjoy the health benefits of cocoa, but also cost-effectively cut down their food bills without overly taxing their bodies.

On the other hands, scientists in the US have discovered that some of the cocoa products have been contaminated with lead. That's not a big deal. I bellieve some inexpensive vegetable such as cilantro can chelate lead.

Reference

1) Charlene Laino, "Cocoa Boosts Heart Health, Flavonoid-Rich Dark Chocolate Improves Blood Vessel Function ", March 24, 2007, WebMD.

2) Kelley Colihan, "Cocoa Compound Boosts Brain's Blood Flow: Flavanols in Cocoa May Help Treat Stroke, Dementia  ", Aug. 21, 2008, WebMD.

Tied of watering your garden everyday? Or do you need to leave your plants alone for weeks because of travelling? Perhaps, you need an automatic drip irrigation system. What follows describes a system that is exactly what we need. This system can be readily made from a recycled plastic bottle without any electrical drill or solder iron. It can keep your plants watered for months without you having to pay for electricity.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE 

Keywords: be veg, go green, save the planet, vegan/vegetarian, vegan, vegetarian, ahimsa, vegan meat, vegan t-shirt, vegetarian-restaurant, vegan-restaurant, meat-free, non-dairy, dairy-free, egg-free, no-smoking, no-drinking

This entry describes a procedure for growing mung bean plants in a self-watering planter. Why mung beans? Mung bean plant is one of the edible vegetables that are highly resistant to drought. It can extend its roots deeper into the soil in response to drought. It is moderate in both moisture and temperature needs. During this critical time, when many places are affected by drought because of the unprecedented climate change, mung bean is perhaps one of the most interesting food sources for survival.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE 

Keywords: be veg, go green, save the planet, vegan/vegetarian, vegan, vegetarian, ahimsa, vegan meat, vegan t-shirt, vegetarian-restaurant, vegan-restaurant, meat-free, non-dairy, dairy-free, egg-free, no-smoking, no-drinking

Solar panel cooker is not a efficient cooker. There are better alternatives available. However, its cost is low enough by low income communities around the globe. In the following experiment, we will demonstrate that food stuff can be grilled in a solar panel cooker without a metallic pot.

Method

Step 1: Get hold of the required materials. All you need are:

A steal or bamboo steamer.

A sweet potato.

A sheet of aluminium foil with one side painted in black.

A microwavable box or a high temperature plastic bag.

A solar cooker .

 

Figure 1. The required materials other than solar oven (Photo taken at 10:30, 11 Feb 2009)

Step 2. Wrap the sweet potato in blackened aluminium foil. To minimize contamination, it is important not to let the black side of the aluminium foil to touch the sweet potato. The black side of the aluminium foil is designed to absorb infrared radiations and, as such, it should face outwards.

To play safe, the sweet potato can be wrapped in clean foil in the first place, and then wrapped in blackened aluminium foil.

 

Figure 2. Sweet potato to be wrapped in blackened aluminium foil, with the black side faces outwards. (Photo taken at around 10:30, 11 Feb 2009)

Step 3. Place the wrapped sweet potato from step 2 into the microwave box (or high temperature plastic bag). Use the steam steamer to support the sweet potato. The microwave box (or high temperature plastic bag) acts as a greenhouse enclosure.

Figure 3. Sweet potato supported by the steamer and enclosed inside the microwave box. (Photo taken at around 10:30, 11 Feb 2009)

Step 4. Start solar grilling at around 11:00.

 

Figure 4. Solar grilling at around 11:00. (Photo taken at around 10:30, 11 Feb 2009. At that time, the starting temperature was about 23 deg C. )

Step 5. Wait until afternoon. Enjoy your meal.

Figure 5a. In two hours, the greenhouse enclosure was filled water vapor, suggesting that sweet potatoes may reach a temperature above 100 deg C.

Figure 5b. Sweet potato fully grilled. (Photo taken at around 14:30, 11 Feb 2009. At that time, the temperature was about 79 deg C. )

Concluding remarks

While this experiment shows how we can enjoy solar cooking without a metal pot, the implication of this experiment is stunning. We have demonstrated the fact that localized heating has been easily achieved as a result of the combined effects of the greenhouse enclosure and the blackbody radiators.

The icy ground in the north pole of this planet is largely reflective. As a reflective layer that reflects the solar radiations to outerspace, the icy ground blocks the solar radiations from penetrating into the ocean bed, thus keeping the toxic gases frozen underneath the ocean. However, the ground and water underneath the ice layer are mostly non-reflective and they can become new blackbody radiators which absorb more sun heat if the ice layer covering them are not there. As of right now, however, the concentration of the greenhouse gases is on the rise to an unprecedented level, whilst the icy areas in the northern hemisphere are shrinking.

Have you ever imaged what will happen in the coming future if the ice cap in the north pole of this planet continues to melt, exposing the non-reflective ground? The ocean bed in the north pole is full of toxic gases. According to a report , the methane gas in Arctic is beginning to bubble to the surface from the ocean bed, thanks to the sun heat that penetrates into the ocean bed. Methane is not the only harmful gas underneath the ocean that is to be released into the atmosphere. If this cycle continues unchecked, a runaway greenhouse effect occurs and the excessive build-up of methane in our atmosphere will sooner or later cause mass extinction. This event is not unprecedented in historical record.

Inspired by Solar International Cooking's Cookit , the following is the method that I have been using to construct my own solar panel cookers for months. The method to be described here is basically the same as the version supplied by Solar International Cooking, with exception that all the round corners of the original version are now replaced with sharp corners.

Like many other solar panel cookers, this one looks deceptively simple and does not cost a lot of money to build. However, its usefulness and efficiency surprise many. We have already used it to grill sweet potatoes with great success.

Many vegetarian meals involve prolonged cooking of grains and beans at a moderate temperature. Most panel cookers do not need a hugh investment to start with, as opposed to other more efficient but less cost-effective counterparts. I believe panel solar cooking is a way to go for those who want to be vegetarian without taxing the environment.

Solar cooking involves no carbon footprint. Panel cookers can be built inexpensively. You can run multiple panel cookers in parallel without incurring additional costs so that you can serve a large group of people. I believe portable panel cooker is a must-have item during the time of disasters. Even in the absence of any disasters, you can extend the idea of solar cooking using panel cookers to other go-green related applications, such as pasteurizing potting soil and solar distillation.

How to assemble and how to use your own solar oven

Step 1: First of all, get hold of the following materials:

Two rolls of adhesive aluminum tape.

One can of black spray paint. (Ideally, the paint should be non-toxic when dry.)

One high temperature plastic bag. (If you can't find one, just buy a glass container or microwavable box)

One piece of 4 feet x 3 feet cardboard paper. (Note: If you cannot find a sheet of cardboard that is bigger enough to cover 3 feet by 4 f feet, you can join several pieces of cardboard paper together in a way to make up the same area.)

One metal food pot (Note: If foot pot is too expensive for you, you substitute it with a sheet of aluminium foil. We will teach you how to cook without a metal pot in next post.)

One steel or bamboo steamer

Step 2: Cut the cardboard according to the solid line of the following plan. (Note that, instead of having round corners in the plan, as was done in the version from Solar International Cooking, I prefer to have sharp corners.):

Figure 1: Solar Oven Plan

Step 3: Cover one side of the sheet of cardboard with adhesive aluminium tape. Then, you are done. What you end up with shouldn't be overly different from the one shown in the following figure. Like it or not, this lousy thing is called a solar oven:

Figure 2: The thing so-called solar oven.

Step 4. Lay the solar oven flat with the shiny side up. Fold the solar oven from step 3 according to the fold lines shown in Figure 1. Close the front flap with clothes pins left and right. The final sharp should look like the following diagram:

  

Figure 3a. Schematic of the Solar oven.

Figure 3b. Photo of the solar oven that we made from scrap cardboard.

Step 5: Blacken the exterior of the food pot with black paint (See the following figure):

Figure 4: Paint the exterior of your food pot with black paint.

Step 6: Put food stuff into the blacken foot pot (see the following figure):

Figure 5: Put food stuff into the pot.

Step 7: Place a steamer into a high temperature plastic bag or glass container. Technically, the high temperature plastic bag or glass container is equivalent to a greenhouse enclosure. The steamer will be used to support the foot pot from step 6 (see the following figure):

Figure 6: Place the steamer into the bag

Step 8: Place the food pot from step 6 into the bag. The food pot should be well supported by the steamer (see the following diagram):

Figure 7: Place the the pot into the bag in a manner that the pot is supported by the steamer.

Step 9: Make sure the bag is filled with air. Now, close the bag with a string (see the following figure):

Figure 8: Close the bag with a string.

Step 10. Place the bag enclosing the foot pot onto the solar oven for cooking. Make sure the solar oven is in the sunny area:

Figure 9a: Final setup --- schematic

Figure 9b: Final setup --- photo

Colloidal Silver is a well-known natural antibiotic that can be inexpensively homemade. It is formed by electrolytically pulling microscopic silver particles from a silver electrode into a liquid, such as distilled water. The sizes of these microscopic silver particles are normally less than 100 nanometers so that they remain suspended in the liquid without forming silver ions, or dissolved solution. Because of their ultra-small dimensions, these nano-particles of silver can easily penetrate and travel throughout a human body.

General Track Record of Colloidal Silver

It has been reported that colloidal silver is effective against more than 679 different disease-causing pathogens. Diseases which Colloidal Silver has been used successfully against include (but not limited to): acne, allergies, appendicitis, blood parasites, bubonic plague, burns (colloidal silver is one of the few treatments that can keep severe burn patients alive), cancer, candidasis, cholera, conjunctivitis, diabetes, gonorrhea, hay fever, herpes, leprosy, leukemia, lupus, lymphangitis, Lyme disease, malaria, meningitis, parasitic infections both viral and fungal, pneumonia, rheumatism, ringworm, scarlet fever, septic conditions of the eyes, ears, mouth and throat, shingles, skin cancer, staph infections, strep infections, syphilis, toxemia, trenchfoot, all forms of viruses, warts and stomach ulcer.

University of North Texas has carried out a study that tests a colloidal silver product against a wide range of illness-causing pathogens. Although the study is specific to one colloidal silver product only, its implication convincingly suggests that colloidal silver at 15 ppm or above is chemically effective as an anti-biotic against Staph, Candidas, Salmonella and Psuedomonas [7 ].

The benefits of silver in medicine, and as a purifier have been well acknowledged for centuries. In ancient times, silver containers had been used in Greece, Rome and Vietnam to keep liquids fresh. Around 400 B.C. Hippocrates, the Father of Medicine, listed as a singular treatment for ulcers “the flowers of silver alone, in the finest powder.” Herodotus describes how the King of Persia carried with him boiled water in silver flagons to prevent sickness. In 69 B.C., silver nitrate was described in the contemporary pharmacopoeia. In 1869, Ravelin reported that silver exerted its germicidal effect at very low concentrations. In 1881, Crede advocated silver to prevent eye infections in newborns, and silver drops were used to prevent gonorrhea of the eye in newborns. In 1920, the microbiological action of silver was determined to be due to the Ag+ ions formed by tarnishing, surface-oxidation, or ionization.

How It Works

Colloidal Silver may be ingested by drinking it in a diluted form. When ingested, it takes one to two days for colloidal silver particles to go to the body cells in an amount sufficient for benefits to begin.

After the silver particles entered the body cells, they reacts with thiol (sulphydryl, SH) groups in the bacterial cell, producing structural change in the cell membranes. Silver particles further penetrate into the bacterial cell, interacting with nucleic acids. These process, in essence, disable the oxygen metabolism enzyme that all one celled bacteria, fungi and viruses use for their oxygen metabolism. Within a few minutes, the pathogen suffocates and dies, and is cleared out of the body by the immune, lymphatic and elimination systems.

Colloidal silver will not remain in the body forever. After three months, it will be eliminated by the kidneys, lymph system and bowel. In general, increasing water intake tends to increase silver elimination through the urine.

Simplest Method of Making Your Own Colloidal Silver

First, prepare the following materials:

three 9-volt batteries,

a glass of distilled water,

two pieces of pure silver wire (.999 fine).

(Note: in the UK, you can buy distilled water from Boots, or Superdrugs, or some other chemists.)

Now, follow the following steps:

1/ Heat up the glass of distilled water to just below the boiling point. The purpose of this step is to improve the conductivity of the distilled water. (This step is optional.)

2/ Clean the silver wires (or silver electrodes) with alcohol.

3/ Insert the silver wires into the distilled water. Placement of wires is not critical, but they must not be touching each other.

4/ Connect a circuit in the following manner:

5/ Wait for about 30 minutes, or until the distilled water becomes slightly yellowish. The yellowish solution is called Colloidal Silver.

Caution: When the final solution turns milky white rather than yellow, the water you use may be mineral water rather than pure distilled water. This situation is very common in the UK, as bottled distilled water is not always available. Do not use mineral water to make colloidal silver. If one has to make colloidal silver out of mineral water, reduce the time duration in step 5, say from 30 minutes to 1 minute.

Caution: If you end up with brown stuff in your colloidal silver solution, this means that you have left the process for too long. The brown stuff is silver oxide.

Caution: Some people end up with a greyish solution at the end of the process. The greyish particles in the solution comes from the unwanted impurities in the silver electrodes. This means that the silver electrodes they use are not 0.999 pure. Do not use impure siliver electrodes because they may contains lead and other impurities which may harm your bodies. Use only the pure 99.99 fine silver electrodes provided.

Caution: Under normal circumstances, the smallest nanoparticles are a clear yellow color. Increases in size lead to amber, brown, and finally a cloudy brownish/green color, which are increasingly less effective as antimicrobial agents.

Storage

According to the author's experience, colloidal silver can be stored for more than a year. Since colloidal silver is photo reactive, the solution will become less clear after a prolonged exposure to light. Therefore, it should be placed in dark or brown glass containers or empty hydrogen peroxide bottles that exclude light and do not affect ion charge.

Colloidal Silver will NOT Reach the Large Intestine

However, although many studies have demonstrated the fact that colloidal silver can chemically inactivate almost all kinds of viruses or bacteria, the large intestine is the place where colloidal silver will not penetrate when taken in normal dosage. The majority of the colloidal silver that is taken orally is normally absorbed before reaching the large intestine, with very little ending up in the large intestine or colon. On the positive side, the friendly bacteria in the large intestine are mostly unaffected by the germicidal effects of colloidal silver. Unfortunately, a number of diseases such as cholera, canine parvovirus or other diseases where the problematic pathogen is active in the large intestine not only have negative impacts on our health, but are also life-threatening, mostly due to the dehydration caused by severe and prolonged diarrhoea and vomiting.

How to use Colloidal Silver

1/ As a liquid antibiotic for animals:

Colloidal silver can be used as an antibiotic for almost all kinds of infections caused by single-celled viruses or bacteria.

Colloidal silver can be mixed with colloidal gold.

For nonchronic conditions, the maximum daily dosage for humans is [10 ]:

12 x Your body weight (in Pounds) / concentration (in PPM) = Number of Drops per day.

According to a report published by WHO, United Nation, toxic intake of silver for humans is 60 mg/day, while lethal intake is 1.3 to 6.2 mg/day.

2/ As a water purification agent:

Water can be purified by adding 1/2 to one teaspoon of 30 ppm colloidal silver and a few drops of iodine to one gallon of water. Legionella pnuemophilia (Legionnaire's disease) is lethal in water with a temperature of 95 degrees Fahrenheit. It has been reported that water with a colloidal silver concentration of only 20 ppb (parts per billion) kills Legionella pnuemophilia.

3/ As an antibiotic for plants:

A colloidal silver solution can also be sprayed directly onto plants and shrubs in the garden or the water-reservoir of a self-watering planter. The action of the colloidal silver positive ions work on the outside of the plants to destroy bacteria, virus, fungus, etc. Garden food plants that have been sprayed with colloidal silver leave no residue, as do poison sprays, and are safe for human consumption.

Tests in a hydroponics greenhouse have shown that Colloidal Silver is absorbed and used by the living plant as are any other minerals. Hydroponics is an ideal gardening method having only one problem: Viruses, funguses and bacteria tend to thrive in the plant nutrient fluid. The presence of silver in the hydropnic solution will not only kill the viruses, fungues and bacteria present in the solution, but also prevent mosquitoes from hatching.

4/ Keeping algae, mosquito larvae and parasites out of still water:

Tests have shown that algae, larva of mosquitoes and eggs of some parasites are effectively killed by colloidal silver. Colloidal silver may not kill mosquitoes and parasities. However, since the eggs of mosquitos or parasites are mostly single-celled, their reproduction process will end in the presence of colloidal silver. It should be remembered that to remove mosquitoes or parasites by killing their eggs or larvae means that one must continue the course of treatment until all of the adults die.

5/ As a wound healing spray for burns:

As a trained first aider, I have been taught to spray pure water or Coca Cola onto burned flesh immediately following an accident. But according to an example shown in Young's famous book, entitled "Sick and Tired: Reclaim Your Inner Terrain ", colloidal silver solution is apparently much better and more reliable than pure water or Coca Cola. Colloidal silver is not only an effective cooling agent which can be absorbed into skin and flesh instantly, but also assists in regrowth of new tissues. However, pure water and Coca Cola are devoid of the tissue regrowth benefit.

6/ As a nasally administered medicine for treatment of sinus infection, nasal conjection, runny nose, sore throat, cough, flu, or the like:

Since most disease-causing organisms enter your body through the mucous membranes of the nose, the mouth, and/or the pulmonary system, it is possible to treat the disease by killing the disease-causing organisms through the same channel ---- i.e. the mucous membranes of the nose, the mouth, and/or the pulmonary system. Inhalation of colloidal silver can be a better alternative to oral ingestion of the same by virtue of the fact that the colloidal silver itself can directly irrigate and disinfect the loose foreign bodies and particulate debris from the nasal cavity and posterior nasopharynx.

An ultrasonic fogger is a device that uses ultrasonic energy to simulate low clouds and fog in the terrarium. It is mainly used for increasing humidity levels to create a naturally misty and damp environment. The mist from any ultrasonic fogger can be made with a colloidal silver solution, instead of just pure tap water. According to a message posted in curezone [8 ] , the colloidal silver mist can form an extremely effective yet easy lung/bronchial/nasal treatment that clears up sinus infections, nasal conjection and many related allergies.

Even without an ultrasonic fogger, one can nasally take coloidal silver solution by pouring, pumping or spraying colloidal silver solution directly through the nose in a way to achieve the similar effects. According to the author's experience, it is not difficult to use this method to treat a cold or other similar infections in less than one afternoon.

How to test if a Silver Solution is Actually Ionic Silver?

There has been a lot of controversy surrounding whether a solution is ionic silver. According to [11 ], you can easily test the presence of silver ions in a solution by mixing it with table salt (i.e. sodium chloride). If silver ions are present, then the chloride ions will combine with the silver ions and create a white, cloudy appearance.

Possible Tricks to Minimize the Chance of Getting Argyria

Argyria is the only known side-effect associated with excessive exposure to silver products. Whether or not an individual exposed to silver products contracts argyria depends on many factors, including the dose of exposure, the duration of exposure, the form of exposure (ie: ingested, inhaled, skin contact) and the chemistry of the silver products.

Although argyria is believed to be an irreversible condition that cannot be cured, some online literatures have uncovered successful cases of argyria cured (CLICK HERE FOR THE SOURCE ).

According to a document  released by European Comission, antioxidant deficiencies (e.g. vitamin E and selenium) appear to enhance silver toxicity. Some researchers believe that silver can reduce the intracellular content of selenium, with eventual inhibition of glutathione peroxidase synthesis, which is selenium-dependent. On the other hand, supplemental vitamin E and selenium in diets of rats and chickens have been shown to increase the animals' tolerance of high dose of silver.

A document from Environmental Protection Agency in the USA echoes the same finding. According to Environmental Protection Agency (CLICK HERE FOR MORE DETAILS ), individuals with low vitamin E and selenium levels are more susceptible to argyria.

A formula for curing argyria has been published on a website (CLICK HERE FOR THE SOURCE ), which surprisingly contains very high doses of vitamin E and selenium. The formula is as follows:

3 Vitamin E 1000 mg 100% Natural d-alpha Tocopheryl

1 Selenium 100mcg yeast free

2 vegetarian Vitamin C 1000 mg

1 teaspoon MSM organic

1 super potency Vitamin B 100,

1 teaspoon of Kelp powder.

(Taken every morning with 2 16oz glasses of water, with close to 3/4 of a gallon distilled water a day. This procedure may take from several weeks to several months to be totally effective, depending upon the severity of the Argyria.)

Although the cure for argyria has not been very much mentioned on the Internet, the role of selenium in detoxifying silver has been documented in medical and scientific literatures ( example ). According to an article from eMedicine (CLICK HERE FOR THE SOURCE ), for example, selenium has been shown to have favorable modifying effects on the metabolism and toxicity of silver by forming complexes with silver. Silver can react with selenium to form silver selenide in human bodies. Since silver selenide is inert and highly insoluble in vivo, monovalent silver becomes less available to interfere with normal enzymatic activities in tissues.

In human bodies, selenium is an essential constituent of a number of enzymes, most of which have antioxidant functions. For example, selenium protein complex (Biomin S-P-C) has been shown to neutralize free radicals on the skin, which is thought to minimize the aging effects of the sun. According to research as well as my experience, selenium can be taken in conjunction with Vitamin E to help prevent severe damage from sunburn.

Selenium also acts in conjunction with glutathione peroxidase by binding with toxic heavy metals such as mercury, lead and cadmium through a process called chelation and flushing them out of the body through urine (SOURCE ).

The link between argyria and deficiencies of selenium and/or Vitamin E is apparently stronger than many wish to believe. Perhaps, when taking colloidal silver, it is not a bad idea to consider a body cleansing protocol involving high doses of vitamin E and selenium. Wheat germ oil is the major source of Vitamin E (SOURCE ). Brazil nuts are probably the better choice, because brazil nuts are not only a very good source of Vitamin E, but also contain an unusually high amount of selenium (SOURCE ).

The Institute of Medicine in the US has set the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for selenium at 55 micrograms per day for adults. One single Brazil nut far exceeds the U.S. Recommended Daily Allowance of selenium (see below). Perhaps, one or two brazil nuts a day is more than enough.

Brazil Nut Nutrition Facts ( serving size, 1 oz, 6 nuts)

calories: 185

fat: 19 g

saturated fat: 4 g

fiber: 2 g

carbonhydrates: 3 g

protein: 4 g

Thiamin: 12% RDA

Iron: 4% RDA

Magnesium: 27% RDA

Phosphorus: 20% RDA

Potassium: 5% RDA

Zinc: 8% RDA

Copper: 25% RDA

Manganese: 17% RDA

Selenium: 774% RDA

Other Sources of Silver

Silver is present in food additive E174. E174 (Silver) is commonly used to decorate cakes, candies, and other sweets. In addition, silver can be found in a number of other foodstuffs. Refined wheat, for instance, contains approximately 0.3 microgram/gram, wheat bran 0.9 microgram/gram, and mushroom hundreds of microgram/gram (SOURCE ).

Current Uses of Colloidal Silver

1/ The American space agency NASA has chosen silver as the water-purification agent for its space shuttles; so do the Russians.

2/ Water-filters based on Colloidal Silver are approved by the US Environmental Protection Agency and also by the Swiss government for use in homes and offices.

3/ Silver-based water filters have been used by many airline companies, including Air France, Alitalia, British Airways, Canadian Pacific, Japan Air Lines, KLM, Lufthansa, Olympic, Pan Am, SAS and Swissair, to curtail water borne diseases.

4/ Silver is often used in place of chlorine for disinfection in swimming pools, because, unlike silver, chlorine reacts with organic compounds and nitrogen compounds present in chlorinated swimming pools and forms objectionable by-products such as trihalomethanes (THMs) and chloramines. These by-products are blamed for irritation of eyes, nasal passages, and skin, as well as with objectionable odors in the pool environment.

5/ A few Japanese companies have very good success in silver-based technologies for air purification. For instance, one Japanese firm managed to convert 50 ppm carbon monoxide into harmless carbon dioxide by passing the carbon monoxide gas through a stack of filters coated with silver compounds. Another company successfully uses a similar technology to eliminate 200 ppm nitric oxide. One firm uses silver compounds to remove vinyl cyanide, methyl cyanide and hydrocyanic acid from its discharges.

Other Less-mentioned Concerns of Colloidal Silver

Whilst colloidal silver can kill almost all kinds of single-celled viruses, there is no evidence suggesting that colloidal silver can eliminate free-radicals. In fact, since silver is a reactive metal in human bodies, there is a likelihood that the opposite is true if the silver particles become too small [5 , 6 ].

Our grassroot wisdom has evolved to a level where we can fight Swine flu without even consulting a doctor. However, colloidal silver is not designed to fight free-radicals which are either naturally produced in our bodies in response of a virial attack, or multiplied when colliding with metal particles in our bodies. The outbreak of swine flu is due to our hunger for meat. Due to the presence of nano-silver particles in our bodies, swine flu or other animal bonre viiruses may not be able kill us immediately, but the excessive build-up of free-radicals because of the silver crystalioids in human bodies will eventually manifest themselves as one or more age-related diseases, which may or may not be life-threathening. Perhaps, this is the price we need to pay if we choose to consume meat, alcohol, cigaratte smoke and/or other additive drugs.

The oxidative stress due to excessive build-up of free-radicals is believed to be the main cause of many degenerative diseases, including heart disease, boss loss, aging, DNA damages, cancers and arthritis. Free-radicals, in general, come from pollution, over-cooked oil, smoking, alcohol drinking, meat-eating, excessive exercises, panicking, or drug abuse. The only way to combat unwanted free-radicals is to follow the following steps:

1) minimize exposure to pollution and ionizing radiations,

2) cut down consumption of meat, seafoods, cigarette smoke, alcohol and problematic drugs,

3) increase the intake of anti-oxidants from plants or from minerals, and optionally.

Disclaimer

This article is provided as a research tool for the purpose of education only. Most of the information in this article is pieced together from a variety of Internet and non-internet sources (including my own experimental results). Not all the sources are unbiased, accurate, reliable, current and complete. It is also important to understand that the Internet environment is variable and dynamic. This means that websites which I considered relevant in the first place may change from day to day.

This article will be actively updated when correction is warranted and/or new information on colloidal silver becomes available. If there are any errors found in this article, please let me know and I will be happy to correct them. Meanwhile, I recommend that my readers exercise good judgement when reading this article.

Recommended Literatures

1/ Dog's cataract healed with colloidal silver  

2/ Colloidal silver beats the swine flu!  

3/ This War Against Germs Has a Silver Lining - Wall Street Journal 

4/ Biotoxicity of Nano-silver 

5/ Scientists Study Health Implications Of Products Using Nanosilver 

6/ Nanosilver disinfects — but at what price?  

7/ University of North Texas: Time-Kill Study on SilverKare Colloidal Silver 

9/ Colloidal silver using ultrasonic humidifier for sinu infection, etc. 

10/ THE SILVER SAFETY AUTO-CALCULATOR 

11/ New Guidelines for Safe Usage of Colloidal Silver  

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Sweet potatoes are relatively easy to grow. They can be grown indoor in a container. They are started from slips or a cut sweet potatoes.. You can either order sweet potatoes slips from Internet or grow your own slips from store bought sweet potatoes. What follows is a procedure for planting sweet potatoes and sweet potatoes viines.

Part I: Sprouting and growing sweet potato vines

Follow the following steps:

1) Buy a sweet potato from the supermarket. Make sure the sweet potato you bought is not a cooked one.

2) Use toothpicks to hold the sweet potato in place. Then, immerse the sweet potato into a jar of water.

4) In about one month's time, if the ambient temperature is not way too off, the sprouts will emerge. The sprouts are called slips. Each sweet potato can produce up to 50 slip sprouts! The slips will eventually go to soil, from which they eventually grow new sweet potatoes.

Sweet potato vines can be eatened as ordinary vegetables. In case you just want to eat the vines, you don't need to grow new sweet potatoes unless you want to propagate your sweet potatoes. The vines are also very tasty.

<<

Part II; Planting sweet potatoes slips to grow new sweet potatoes

Once your sweet potatoes have sprouted, the vines can be eaten as ordinary vegetables. At this stage, you are also ready to plant the slips to grow new sweet potatoes. To do this, follow the following steps:

1) Carefully cut the slips off the mother potatoes. Each of the slips should be about 6 inches long. If any of the slips is too long, just cut it into two halves and plant both.

2) Submerge the slips into a shallow jar of water.

3) In about one week, new roots will be formed. When the roots are about one inch long, the slips should be ready for planting in soil.

4) Finally, plant the slips in soil. Dig holes on the ground first. Then, insert a slip onto each hole. Finally, fill the hole with sand or sandy soil.

Sweet potatoes are pretty drought resistant. They do not need too much watering. According to my experience, watering once a week is more than enough.

Part III; Harvesting sweet potatoes

Sweet potatoes should be ready to harvest in about 3 to 4 months, depending on the ambient conditions. They prefer temperatures above 50F at night and below 90F during the day. Any temperature outside this range will hinder their growth.

What follows is a way for making your own self-watering planter. This self-watering planter uses the well-known capillary effect to maintain a steady stream of moisture for the plant growth. With this self-watering planter, you don't need to water your plant every day.

This planter is not difficult to understand. Basically, it comprises a water reservoir and a soil container. Between the water reservoir and the soil container, there is some type of wicking structure that wicks water out of the water reservoir. The wicking action, together with the evaporation effect due to the sun heat, draws the water from the water reservoir up into the soil. As a result, the soil contines to be wet without running into a waterlogged situation.

1. Materials required: a pair of sissors, a wire cutter, a soft-drink bottle, a plant, a few pieces of kitchen towels, a few cotton strings.

2. Use a pair of scissors to cut the soft-drink bottle into two halves --- that is, the upper half and the lower half. Be careful, don't cut yourself.

3. Use the wire cutter to create an opening on the bottle cap. This opening should be large enough to accommodate a wicking structure, which, in this case, is a piece of kitchen towel.

4. Insert about two cotton strings into the mouth of the soft-drink bottle. Herein, the cotton strings is referred as wicking structure.

5. Position the bottle cap in a way that the side opening of the bottle cap fits the wicking structure. Then, screw the bottle cap on tightly.

6. Use a thumbtack to puncture as many holes around the bottleneck as possible. This step is highly important, because the root system of your plant will need to breath. Without enough holes around the bottleneck, your plant can die of lack of oxygen and get root rot.

7. Pour water to the lower half of the soft-drink bottle to 1/2~1/3 full.

8. The next step is to turn the upper half of the soft-drink bottle upside down and place it onto the lower-half, with the bottle cap pointing downward. Now, the wicking structure should be partially immersed into the water.

9. Before filling any soil, add another piece of kitchen towel into the upper half of the soft-drink bottle. At this stage, you can even cover the base of the soil container with compost teas dry leaves and other dry kitchen wastes.

10. Add some soil or purchased potting mix:

11. Sow your seed or transplant your plant.

12. Fill the planter with more soil, trim off the rest of the kitchen towel which remains on the edge of the planter and soak the soil with water:

32. There is no need to water the plant unless the water reservior is running out of water. If there is not enough water left in the water reservoir, then add some water onto the soil. The excess water as a result of over-watering will eventually drain off into the water reservoir, but most of the fertilizers and other important minerals will not get carried away. After serveral days, the wicking structure will draw water up again.

Notes:

a) The cotton strings absorb water through capillary action. The capillary action that moves water up into the soil is subjected to the resistance due to the gravity. It is important to plant your plant as deep as possible so that the root can readily access the moisture. However, planting your plant in too deep will encourage stem rot.

b) If you don't have any platistic bottle, then find one from the nearby rubbish bin.

c) If you don't have any cotton strings, then use kitchen towels, shoelaces, pieces of scrap cloth, old newspaper or whatever similar.

To cure diarrhea, just eat pineapple. It works for me very well. I got this trick from HERE . Pineapples contain bromelain which is a mixture of protein-digesting enzymes. According to a study, bromelain can prevent diarrhea in piglets infected with pathogenic E. coli. The study suggests that, in about 30 hours, bromelain blocks receptors on gut endothelium necessary for successful invasion by the bacteria and apparently directly interferes with bacterial toxins.

Thanks to the NDEr who offered such a simple but effective trick.

It is not difficult to make your own fertlizer with the cheapest available materials from the surpermarket. And in fact, this fertilizer is a very good one. All my trees are healthy and strong simply because of this fertilizer. Do not waste your money on those expensive fertilizers. They are not environmental friendly.

All you need are:

One 12oz can of beer;

One cup of epsom salt;

3 cloves of garlic;

two cups of tap water;

A small bottle of ammonia ( 125ml, 25%)

1/10 of toilet soap (optional)

Here are the steps you need for making the fertlizer:

1/ Crush a clove of garlic into small pieces and mix them with a can of beer, a cup of epsom salt, two cups of the tap water and the ammonia.

2/ Place the mixture from step 1 into a closed bottle, and wait for 1 day.

3/ Use two tablespoons of the mixture from step 2 per gallon of water for a twice per month feeding.

Beer is considered a source of carbohydrates for the microbes which convert food matter in the soil to food elements that plants can utilize.

Ammonia and beer provides nitrogen, which could be absorbed quickly by plants, depending on a few other factors, such as temperature. However, ammonia is very expensive in my area. I normally don't add too much ammonia. Instead, I prefer to plant some mung beans around the plant which I want to fertlize.

Garlic can act as an insect repellent and/or fungicide, which repell pests and eliminates fungi that can kill the plants.

Epsom salt is a source of magnesium that is essestial to plant development. It is required by plants to produce chlorophyll. Leaf yellowing is the deficiency symptom. Magnesium is absorbed through both roots and leaves of plant. It not only helps plants absorb phosphorus , but also increases a plant's natural resistance to disease.

Soap is optional. When mixed with the solution, soap becomes a very powerful insect repellent. However, due to its alkalinity, soap is not suitable for feeding acid-loving plants.

I am a first time gardener with no previous experience of planting and harvesting. I planted my corns on 7 October, 2009. So far, I have applied this fertilzier onto my corn plants three times. The following photographs were taken on 19 December, 2009. Honestly, I am not sure if this "miracle" came from the soil or from this fertilizer:

Figure 1: A zoom-in photograph showing a corn ear.

Figure 2: Another photograph showing some corn ears

DEET has been the most common active ingredient in commercial mosquito repellents for more than 40 years. I constantly need to use mosquito repellents to do my gardening work, but many DEET-based mosquito repellents are terribly expensive. As of right now, the cheapest DEET-based mosquito repellent is being sold for £2 per bottom in the UK.

Fortuantely, I discovered that catnip-vinegar mixture as a mosquito repellent is not a joke. At least, it works for me. Here are the steps for making your own mosquito repellent:

Step 1: Crush some fresh catnip leaves into small pieces.

Step 2: Put them into a cup of white or rice vinegar in a quart jar.

Step 3: Seal and store the catnip-vinegar mixture in a dark cupboard.

Step 4: Shake the catnip-vinegar mixture when you have time.

To use, just apply the mixture onto the exposed skin.

I recemmend AGAINST using dry catnip leaves. According to my experiments, dry catnip leaves simply don't work.

Vinegar may soothe and heal mosquito bite to some extent, but, in contrast with what many people believe, vinegar does not repell mosquitos.

Patenting an invention in the USA carries a lot of risks. This topic is not for faint heart. Before going ahead, make sure you understand all the pitfalls revealed in Nesta's website. According to this website, US patent law differs significantly from the rest of the world. Key differences include:

• A US patent application is not published until grant. A published US patent application is always a granted US patent application. As a result, no information at all is available about it before then. This creates a problem when you’re searching for prior art; the prior art may already exist, but it may not be undetectable.

• An inventor can file a patent application up to one year after disclosing the invention. In this respect US patent law is much more helpful to inventors, giving them extra time and freedom to explore commercial possibilities before the patent is validly granted.

• The inventor can discountinue a US application and file a ‘continuation’ application with the filing date of your first application. Or if you want to add more technical detail, you can file a ‘continuation in part’ application, containing both the original and the additional information. Unlike the UK or the European Patent Laws, the US patent laws allow inventors to add technical details in the newly filed applications.

• An US court can invalidate if the count believe that the applicant behaves ‘improperly’ - for example by not naming the correct inventor(s), not revealing all the relevant prior art he or she knows of, or not describing the ‘best mode’ of operating the invention. This gives competitors or predators considerable scope to challenge your US patent. Since legal disputes usually end up to a financial fight, the US patent system tends to favor the rich.

• In disputes about origin, the UK or Europen Patent Laws dictate that the inventor is whoesver files the priority application first. But in the USA it’s whoever invents first. The standard of proof involves a lot of laboratory paper work counter-signed by witnesses and, as such, non-US inventors rarely meet it. For example, you must record what you do in bound notebooks with no missing pages and no alterations, and entries must be corroborated and signed within a few days by someone who is not directly connected with the idea but can understand how it works. (This is ridiculus. If a holder of an US patent used to work alone without anyone around, does it mean he/she can never win any patent litigation. )

Non-US citizens should never embark on a US patent application without specialist advice. In the UK this normally involves your UK patent agent liaising with a US patent attorney. Patenting and selling in the USA carries a lot of risk because the USA is a highly litigious society in which many lawyers operate on ‘no win, no fee’ terms. Someone may therefore challenge your patent or product on the flimsiest grounds if they have nothing to lose and much to gain.

If you seriously want to get a US patent without patent agent help, follow the following link:

http://www.tutorial-reports.com/innovation/patent/howtogetus.php 

To get a patent protection in Hongkong, you need to register your patent applications from the UK or Europe with the Registrar of Patents. The Registrar of Patents will then examine your patent application to ensure that it meets the formal requirements for filing. Unlike other countries, Hongkong does not have a patent office that conduct substantive search and examination of the novelty or inventiveness of your invention. There are two types of patent in the HKSAR

* standard and

* short-term

Protection under standard patents is renewable annually for a maximum term of 20 years. Protection under short-term patents is renewable after four years from filing, for a maximum term of eight years.

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You need to file an application with the Patents Registry of the Intellectual Property Department. Applying for a patent elsewhere in the world or in other regions of China does not automatically give you protection in Hong Kong, China.

The Registrar of Patents examines your patent application to ensure that it meets the formal requirements for filing. We do not conduct substantive search and examination of the novelty or inventiveness of your invention.

The Patents Registry accepts fax-filed application given that the applicant separately submits the hardcopy of the application together with the application number by post. This gives a means of establishing the earliest filing date.

Application Procedures for both types of patent protection can be viewed online in:

http://www.ipd.gov.hk/eng/intellectual_property/patents/how_to_apply.htm 

It is not difficult to obtain a valid UK Patent. You can get an UK patent wiithout a patent agent. Under the current UK Patent Laws, inventors of a green technology are eligible for requesting an accelerated prosecution for his/her patent application. If you have an invention related to a green technology, you may be able to get an UK patent within one and half years. If you have a invention related to a green technology, but your patent agent cannot take advantage of the latest patent laws, then you should fire your patent agent. The official website of the UK patent office is here.

The basic procedure for getting a patent in the UK is as follows:

1) In order to establish the first priority claim, the applicant should first file an application containing at least a specification and a dully signed Form I/77.

In the first filing, the specification should contain at least a full description of the invention. However, the specification does not necessarily contain an abstract or a set of claims. The claims and the abstract can be added later.

2) In the next step, the applicant can use Form I/77 to refile the patent application with a more detailed description, an abstract and/or a set of claims defining the scope of protection. In the second or later filing, the application will claim priority from the previous application. It should be noted that no new information can be added during this step in order for the previously filed priority to be validly claimed.

3) Within one year after the first priority date, Step 2 can be repeatedly undertaken until the applicant feels ready for prosecution of the patent application. The specification for the patent application to be prosecuted MUST contain an abstract, a full description of the invention and a full set of claims.

4) Having filed the final specification as referred in Step 3, the applicant can proceed with patent prosecution either through the standard prosecution route or the accelerated prosecution route.

a) Standard Prosecution Route

To prosecute the patent application through the standard prosecution route, the applicant should file a Form 9A/77 to request for a Patent Search from the Patent Office.

The Patent Search enables the Patent Office to determine if any previously disclosed documents would affect the novelty or inventive step of the invention as claimed.

After the Patent Search, the Patent Office will issue a Search Report detailing all the previous disclosures relevant to the invention. In the Search Report, the Patent Office will also identify if any claim in the patent application may be relevant to patent infringement.

About 18 months after the first priority application is filed, the Patent Office will publish the application together with the Search Report. This step enables external parties to raise objections against the potential award of the patent if they find any evidence of patent infringement.

If the applicant feels confident about the patent application, he or she should request for Substantiative Examination by filing Form 10/77.

During the Substantiative Examination, the Patent Office carries out a detailed examination of the claims and the application as a whole, raising objections if appropriate and giving the applicant an opportunity to amend the application to overcome the objections, if this can be done.

The patent will be granted if all objections have been overcome.

b) Accelerated Prosecution Route

The standard prosecution route normally takes up to four and a half years, but you can accelerate the prosecution process by asking for a "Combined Search and Examination" that might get you a patent in as little as a year. It doesn’t cost any extra and can help a lot if there is serious commercial interest in your idea. BUT: it may miss rival applications in the system at the same time. This can cause serious problems if you get to an advanced stage of development and a strong competing application suddenly leaps out at you.

To be eligible for this request, the applicant has to file Form 9A/77 and Form 10/77 together with a letter explaining why he/she needs accelerated prosecution.

During the Combined Search and Examination, the examinator will first carry out a Patent Search. Following the Patent Search, the examinator will then switch to a Substantiative Examination of the claims and the application as a whole, raising objections if appropriate and giving the applicant an opportunity to amend the application to overcome the objections, if this can be done.

After the Combined Search and Examination, the Patent Office will issue an Examination Report together with a Search Report. The Search report will detail a list of Examinar's comments and identifiy if any claim may be relevant to patent infringement. The Examination Report will detail the Examinar's comments and a list of suggested amendments to be made by the applicant.

The patent will be provisionally granted if all objections by the patent examinar have been overcome.

After the Combined Search and Examination, the Patent Office will publish the patent application together with the search report. This step enables the external parties to raise objection if they find any evidence of patent infringement.

The patent will be formally granted if all objections by the external parties have been overcome.

Note that this is just an overview of a typical procedure. There will be formal requirements to be met at different stages of the procedure as well, such as filing powers of attorney, making sure that the drawings meet specific requirements, and so on. The time taken to complete the procedure typically takes at least 18 months.

The official website of the Indian patent office is here: http://patentoffice.nic.in/ipr/patent/patents.htm . Here are the important points (taken from this URL ) which a patent applicant should follow in order to apply for an Indian Patent:

1. Carry out a patent search on your invention that you believe is patentable;

2. Before you proceed with the filing process, make sure that you file your application for innovative R&D work only;

3. Before you proceed with the filing process, do not publish or display the invention anywhere in the world.

4. File the provisional application with specifications as early as possible. In your provisional application, the nature of the invention should be conceived and partially demonstrated to the extent that you can obtain a record of the authorship/ownership of the invention with the Patent Office.

5. File the complete specification as soon as the invention, as a whole, has been successfully and reproducibly replicated or demonstrated in the laboratory.

6. Inform the patent office about any case of potential infringement of patent rights. Yiour communication with the Patent Office should be substantiated with all available documentary evidence for filing legal notice or initiating legal action.

7. Do not refer any technology to industry until you file a specification-complete application for patent at the Patent Office. Such reference, if necessary, must be made on the basis of an agreement for secrecy (similar to NDA) to be executed by the parties in compliance with the extant guidelines on the subject.

8. Do not let your patent-pendiing invention be used in the industry until you obtain the patent application number / patent number for your provisional application from the Indian Patent Office.

9. Do not enter into joint research and/or development work agreements involving your invention without checking with the patent office.

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