Hi damask: Welcome to the Organic Rose. Thank you for a great pic. of hummingbird. I really enjoy that ... what type of red flower are those? Thanks for the info. Hi Alana: It's so nice to hear from you. I'm so sorry that your daughter Willow and you got pneumonia this past Christmas. Three weeks of antibiotics !! 20 yrs. ago I had pneumonia and was on antibiotics. Afterwards I had to get Jarrow-Femdophillus (probiotics) to treat my yeast infection, plus NatureMade Acidophillus so I could drink cow milk again. Those 2 are the highest rated probiotics sold on Amazon. My 2 brothers are M.D.'s (an emergency room physician, and the other is a dermatologist). My sister is a retired family doctor. About pesticides in tea (imported from China) ... I didn't know either and suffered years of prolonged tummy ache after drinking Jasmine green tea. Pesticides are also linked to rheumatoid arthritis. See an excerpt from link below: "Now a new study from Georgetown University has shown that drinking tea raised the risk of RA in post-menopausal women. The study involved more than 76,000 women between the ages of 50 and 79 in the US and found significant association between tea consumption in any amount and a 40 percent rise in the risk of getting RA. Women who took more than 4 cups of tea per day upped the risk by as much as 78 percent. Effects of black tea were assessed in this study and green and herbal teas were excluded. Coffee, filtered and otherwise and caffeinated and decaffeinated has no similar effect. The study was presented at the Annual Congress of the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) 2010 in Rome." When it comes to health, I double-check ALL the info., such as a Mom nearby who told me her kid is on multivitamin, that's why she doesn't have a cold for 2 years. Then I spent HOURS checking on multivitamin, and found many Amazon customers report breaking out in pimples from vitamins (thanks to added excessive B12, plus B6). I had similar experience with joint pain, as reported by other Amazon customers, thanks to excessive level of copper and mobylleum added. The truth is: that girl who didn't catch cold for 2 years was a skinny, athletic and competitive runner. Same with my husband, he went for 7 years without a cold since he was a competitive marathon runner, running at least 6 miles a day. Sweating out everyday is a cost-free way to boost the immune system. I don't exercise much, except for shoveling the snow ... but I beat my husband's record: I went for 8 years without catching a cold, including this year. I didn't take any multivitamin, but I drink Kefir (high in vitamin D versus zero vitamin D in yogurt), plus 12 strains of beneficial bacteria. I also take Brewer's Yeast. Both Kefir and Brewer's yeast ARE DOCUMENTED to boost the immune system, see link below. Kefir has the 2 bacteria that help with cold: Bifidobacterium animalis subsp.lactis Bb12(Bb12) •Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG(LGG) http://kefirandkombucha.blogspot.com/2013/07/probiotics-prevent-colds-and-flu.html "A study published in the medical journal Pediatrics was conducted on 326 children in China. They were from the age of three to five years old. The children were given milk twice daily that contained the probiotics Lactobacillus acidophilus by itself, or combined with Bifidobacterium animalis. The children were followed for six months, from November 2005 to May 2006. The study results were impressive and showed that the one probiotic was helpful but the benefit was enhanced in the group who took the two probiotics together. The group who took the Lactobacillus contracted had half the number of fevers of the placebo group (53%). They also had 41% less coughs and 28% less runny noses. When they became sick, their illnesses were one third shorter than the placebo group (32%) and they used 68% less antibiotics. They missed 38% less school than the placebo group as well. The children who took both Lactobacillus acidophilus along with the Bifidobacterium animalis contracted over two thirds less fevers than the placebo group (72%). They had 62% less coughs, and 59% less runny noses. Their duration of illness was nearly HALF of that in the placebo group (48%). They missed slightly less school than the children taking only one probiotic (32% compared to the other group's 38%), but they used 84% less antibiotics compared to the placebo group, surpassing the other group's level of 68% less usage. The study was double blind and placebo controlled, and it was conducted during the winter cold and flu season. Though the study was funded by a Danish company that makes probiotics, Danisco, similar results have been sited elsewhere." Brewer's yeast is also effective in boosting the immune system, but NOT as well-documented as vitamin D. Thanks to another poster in Organic Rose who notified me that Lewis Lab is the best-tasting brewer's yeast, I'll going to buy that for my picky kid. I'm fine with the cheap NOW brewer's yeast, lots of people complain it's nasty in taste, but I made it better by mixing 1 Tbs. of that with 1 cup of soy milk, plus 1 heaping Tbs. of buckwheat honey. The buckwheat honey really help to make it tasty .. I tried other types of honey ... didn't taste as good. See below excerpt from U. of Maryland Medical Center: "At least one study has found that brewer's yeast may improve acne. Another linked it to a reduced risk of a second skin cancer. And one large, preliminary study found that taking a specific kind brewer’s yeast product (EpiCor) may help prevent colds and flu. Brewer's yeast is often used as a source of B-complex vitamins, chromium, and selenium. The B-complex vitamins in brewer's yeast include B1 (thiamine), B2 (riboflavin), B3 (niacin), B5 (pantothenic acid), B6 (pyridoxine), B9 (folic acid), and H or B7 (biotin). These vitamins help break down carbohydrates, fats, and proteins, which provide the body with energy. They also support the nervous system, help maintain the muscles used for digestion, and keep skin, hair, eyes, mouth, and liver healthy." http://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/supplement/brewers-yeast#ixzz3MBHc8Nct Here is a link that might be useful: Black tea raises rheumatoid arthritis risk

Straw wrote: "Khalid: the advantage of rocks or pebbles is SLOW-RELEASE, so it's safer. If I don't like red-lava-rock leaving red iron-stains on the leaves, I just take them off... but I can't undo the damage of gypsum that drop the pH level with its 17% sulfur, or lime that shoot up the pH too fast. Taking off rocks or pebbles takes 1 min, compare that to hours scraping off cow manure .. the damage was done too fast & could not reverse that cow-manure-disaster. The advantage of pebbles/gravel is it's naturally released whenever acidic rain hits it ... so the release is controlled gently by Nature, rather than us foolishly dumping all at once. I take magnesium oxide daily with lemon juice, only 1/2 teaspoon is enough to have a MAJOR laxative effect in human. One Amazon customer complained of explosive diarrhea since he took 1 teaspoon. Rose is smaller than a human, so 1/4 teaspoon, or just a touch is enough to UP the pH-level ... it's very alkaline. Calcium is just the opposite: it's constipating, tense up muscle & contract heart ... versus magnesium is laxative, relaxes muscle, used as IV to treat heart diseases. Taste-wise, Magnesium oxide have zero salt, versus salty & bitter Epsom salt (magnesium sulfate). When I gave Angel Face rose too much gypsum (calcium sulfate), its leaves crinkled & curled up .. plus it lost the scent. Same with Bayes Blueberry: the foliage became ugly & dull. Too much calcium tense up and contract muscle in humans, which explains why leaves tense up .. and pucker up instead of flat & relaxed like normal leaves. OLDER leaves crinkled & curled up is typical of magnesium deficiency. YOUNGER leaves crinkled & curled up with yellow blotches is boron deficiency. Both are induced by too much calcium. Too much calcium also drives down potassium, resulting in less blooms & faded color. Calcium can be from gypsum (calcium sulfate), or lime (calcium carbonate), or hydrated lime (calcium hydroxide) which is added by municipals to treat tap-water .. this form of calcium shoots up the pH of tap water, causing magnesium and boron deficiency. Too much calcium drives down potassium, thus roses become stingy with tap-water high in hydrated lime. Too much calcium also cause balling of blooms: petals bunch-up, rather than relax and open-up. Below is a picture of boron deficiency, manifested as crinkled & curl-up YOUNGEST leaves, too much calcium induces boron deficiency." God bless you Straw....you are a gem. So....... I don't have to go to a chemical store to buy MgO2. I can buy it from a pharmacy I guess but they are selling it in the form of capsules mostly and that is expensive to as it comes with a brand name. But I will get it today because day after tomorrow morning I will be leaving Islamabad for 22 days. So I must do it before I leave. BTW, also need to keep some Monopotassium Phosphate in my stock. Just in case I see a potassium deficiency in any rose (which I don't expect anytime soon). Thanks a ton Straw.

Vaporvac: Thank you !! I post info. here to help myself & family toward better health. The kelp & iodine info. posted in Feb 2017 helped me to get down to 118 lb. in August 2017. I always snack 2 hours before bedtime, and keep a diary of what's eaten before bedtime and the quality of sleep. I notice that when I had Multigrain Cheerios before bedtime, my sleep quality was poor (zero dreams), plus icky chemical-acrid-after-taste. Then I bought gluten-free FREEDOM ancient grains (rice & corn & sorghum & buckwheat) imported from Australia .. and was surprised how improved my sleep was (with vivid dreams). Glyphosate is known to kill beneficial bacteria in the gut. Other effects are cancer, kidney and liver damage, endocrine/hormonal disruption, autism and depression. https://www.ecowatch.com/monsanto-glyphosate-cheerios-2093130379.html The tests conducted by Anresco were done on 29 foods commonly found on grocery store shelves. According to the report, glyphosate residues were found in: General Mills' Cheerios at 1,125.3 parts per billion (ppb) Kashi soft-baked oatmeal dark chocolate cookies at 275.57 ppb Ritz Crackers at 270.24 ppb Concerns about glyphosate comes as new research shows that Roundup can cause liver and kidney damage in rats at only 0.05 ppb, and additional studies have found that levels as low as 10 ppb can have toxic effects on the livers of fish. The U.S. has set the ADI for glyphosate at 1.75 milligrams per kilogram of bodyweight per day (mg/kg/bw/day) while the European Union has set it at 0.3. https://detoxproject.org/alarming-levels-of-glyphosate-contamination-found-in-popular-american-foods/ On the heels of the growing controversy surrounding glyphosate’s safety, this unique testing project that started in 2015, has found alarming levels of glyphosate in General Mills’ Cheerios and Honey Nut Cheerios, Kellogg’s Corn Flakes, Raisin Bran and Frosted Flakes and PepsiCo’s Doritos Cool Ranch, Ritz Crackers and Stacy’s Simply Naked Pita Chips. https://s3.amazonaws.com/media.fooddemocracynow.org/images/FDN_Glyphosate_FoodTesting_Report_p2016.pdf Glyphosate Food Testing Results: (in parts per billion – ppb) General Mills Original Cheerios - 1,125.3 ppb Honey Nut Cheerios – 670.2 ppb – 14.5 Wheaties – 31.2 ppb Trix - 9.9 ppb Gluten Free Bunny Cookies Cocoa & Vanilla – 55.13* ppb Kellogg’s Corn Flakes – 78.9 ppb Raisin Bran – 82.9 ppb Organic Promise - 24.9 ppb Special K - 74.6 ppb Frosted Flakes - 72.8 ppb Cheez-It (Original) – 24.6 ppb Cheez-It (Whole Grain) – 36.25* ppb Soft-Baked Cookies, Oatmeal Dark Chocolate – 275.58* ppb Nabisco Ritz Crackers – 270.24 ppb Triscuit – 89.68 ppb Oreo Original – 289.47* ppb https://www.bestfoodfacts.org/glyphosate-in-food/

We are all on low salt diets, so I had trouble finding no salt pistachios at the store, at least ones that were shelled. I can shell pistachios but my Dad has grip problems in his hands and I doubt he would easily invest in doing that. I bought some honey roasted ones to try out, which had only a little salt on them. Wonder how roasting affects the chemical compounds? I ate a handful last night. No effect on my falling asleep, but definitely something was up with my waking up. Could not wake up this morning for the life of me, didn't get out of bed until 11 and have felt groggy all day, slight headache. Also many weird dreams, and I hardly ever dream. Of course association does not prove causation . . .