Welcome to Harmony Earth ! Taking Charge of Your Health by Learning the Truth About Nutrition A Big Picture Welcome Message by Jim Hicks Why Harmony Earth? Because after lots of reading and studying for several years, I have concluded that the primary answer to our out-of-control health AND environmental problems is found within the simple concept of living in harmony with Planet Earth. If you take a few hours and read everything on this site, you may begin to understand why I feel that way. My journey started with a study of health & nutrition... As I began to learn the truth about nutrition, one of my first questions was "Why have I not heard any of this before?"  There are many answers to that question and it took me a few years to find them. After reading this page and the articles listed in the left column, you will have a pretty good idea of how I have drawn my conclusions.   After living on this Earth for almost 60 years, I finally discovered the truth about nutrition. You see, that's no easy feat in these United States, where 90% of the people think they are already eating a healthy diet. Most of us eat the Standard American Diet (S.A.D.) where we get the vast majority of our calories from meat, cheese, fries, pasta, soft drinks, sweets, oil, chips, and other refined foods. We consume almost zero fiber and get about seven percent of our calories from fresh fruits and vegetables; the natural food for our species. It is no wonder that obesity, heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis and cancer are running rampant in our country as well as other countries who eat the way we do. In my case, I had to read over a hundred books to learn the truth about nutrition, but I am going to make it easy for you. On this little web site, not only will you learn about the many health benefits of excellent nutrition, you will also learn about the dramatic impact it can have on the future of life on Planet Earth. This site condenses what I have learned over the past few years into just a few hours of reading for you. Hopefully you will become inspired to continue your study by buying some of the works featured in the BOOKS section. Throughout all of my reading about nutrition, I have heard many points of view and have drawn my own conclusions on what I believe is best for me.  The remainder of this page documents a summary of those conclusions. I began my shift to a diet consisting primarily of whole, unrefined plant-based foods in 2002 purely for health reasons. Soon, after lots of reading and studying, I learned that what's best for my health is also what's best for the planet...how convenient is that? What about diseases; what role does nutrition play in preventing them? Here's what Joel Fuhrman, M.D. has to say... "We live in an era where the majority of Americans think that diseases strike us because of misfortune, genetics, or unknown factors beyond our control. When serious disease "strikes," we run to doctors and expect them to fix us with a pill. Most people have no idea that most diseases—including cancers, heart disease, strokes, and diabetes—are the result of nutritional folly and are avoidable." Dr. Fuhrman is a board-certified family physician in New Jersey who has built his practice around the simple concept of promoting health instead of treating disease. A noted author on the topic of nutrition & health, my friend Joel is well-represented on this site. I hope that you will benefit from your visit here at Harmony Earth and I wish you and yours a long, healthy and happy life. In this brief summary, I am giving you the bottom line of what I have learned and/or concluded about what I feel is the best path for me and what I am also recommending for my family. I chose not to clutter this section up with footnotes or references but will tell you that virtually all of the following information is based on my reading and studying the well-researched works of the six authors mentioned in the BOOKS section of this website. Here is what I believe to be the truth about nutrition... 1. Heart Disease. Let's start with the number one cause of death in the United States. Autopsies of fallen U.S. soldiers in Korea and Vietnam have clearly shown evidence of advanced heart disease in about 80% of the cases of young men in their early twenties. All of these young men were apparently killed while in prime health with no visible signs of sickness or obesity. So, it turns out that heart disease is NOT part of the "natural aging process" as we have been led to believe; it is the natural result of eating the Standard American Diet (S.A.D.).  It's just that heart disease is not noticed or diagnosed until so much damage is done that its victims begin to suffer various cardiac events, like heart attacks...in their fifties and beyond. Dr. Esselstyn, prominent former heart surgeon of the Cleveland Clinic, says, "There is absolutely no reason that anyone should ever die of heart disease." You may wish to read Dr. Esselstyn's book Prevent & Reverse Heart Disease, which appears in the BOOKS section.  Epidemiological studies show that among populations whose diet consists primarily of fruits and vegetables with little or no animal products, heart disease is rare. When those same people move to the USA or become "westernized" in their own country, that's when the heart disease begins. The good news is that many studies have also shown that heart disease is reversible at almost any age with the proper nutrition.   2. Cancer. Unlike heart disease, most forms of cancer are not reversible; however, the earlier a person shifts to an optimal diet, the greater protection they will have against cancer. In order to get cancer, you need a carcinogen, a gene and an environment such that the cancer can express itself and grow. It seems we have more control of the last one and it so happens that environment (particularly diet) is by far the most important. In other words, even if you have "cancer in your family" and you are exposed to known carcinogens, you are not very likely to die of cancer if you eat an optimal diet your entire life...the earlier you start, of course, the better. Among populations whose diet consists primarily of fruits and vegetables with little or no animal products, cancer is scarce. When those same people move to the USA or become "westernized" in their own countries, that's when the cancer begins.  Dr. Campbell presents compelling data in The China Study on this very serious topic. Also, take a look at what Dr. Fuhrman has to say about cancer in "The Most Feared Disease" in the HEALTH section of this site. 3.  Diabetes.   Another one of the "diseases of affluence," diabetes is really on the move; the incidence of occurrence increased 30% from 1990 to 1998.  And since so many children are now contracting Type 2 (adult onset diabetes), they have dropped the adult onset and now just call it Type 2, which accounts for 90 to 95% of all cases of diabetes. This disease is all about insulin; the body's ability to produce it and the insulin's ability to do its job. Affecting some 16 million Americans today, diabetes is the precursor of many potential complications:  Up to four times the risk of death from heart disease or stroke, 70% of people with diabetes have high blood pressure, diabetes is the leading cause of blindness...to name just a few.  The cause of most diabetes has been traced to the quality of diet and shifting to a whole, plant-based diet has been very effective at eliminating the need for insulin in most patients. Dr. Joel Fuhrman reports that some 90% of his Type 2 diabetic patients discontinue insulin within just a few months on his program. As in heart disease and cancer, it turns out that the fuel we put in our bodies plays a central role in our likelihood of becoming diabetic. So, what is the best fuel?   4. Best "fuel for humans". In study after study, it has been proven for many years that the best fuel for humans is similar to the best fuel for all natural herbivores such as gorillas, elephants and horses...a whole, unrefined plant-based diet with lots of fresh fruits and vegetables. Unfortunately, the average American only gets about 5% of their calories from our "ideal" fuel and gets the other 95% from a combination of meats, cheeses, eggs, sugar, chips, oils and other highly processed foods containing little or no nutrients. It's no wonder that our "engines" don't run too well and break down way too soon with some 80% of us likely to die from heart disease and cancer. Most of us put a lot more thought into what kind of fuel we put in our cars than we do the fuel we put in our bodies.  Can you imagine putting a mixture of kerosene, fingernail polish, paint thinner & lighter fluid mixed with 5% gasoline in your car?    5. What about protein? First of all, did you know that most fresh plant-based foods contain plenty of just the right kinds of protein for our bodies? Broccoli, for example, calorie-for-calorie, contains over twice as much protein as sirloin steak. Also, researchers have known for years that animal protein promotes heart disease, creates just the right kind of environment in our bodies for cancer to flourish and it also leeches calcium from the bones which, of course, leads to osteoporosis. So why have we always been taught that we should get our protein from animal foods and that we need lots of it to be healthy? The simple reason is money; the beef, chicken, dairy, pork and egg industries have been selling us a big fat lie for many decades. And I am convinced that most, if not all, of the employees of those industries truly believe that their products are good for you. That is simply not the case, and it has resulted in a lifestyle that is wreaking havoc with our bodies and destroying our environment. Ever wonder where the gorillas, elephants and horses get their protein? Natural herbivores like us, their diet is 100% plant-based and they seem to grow up to be big and strong...they also don't drink the milk of another species after they are weaned. 6.  Is the best diet vegetarian or vegan? The problem with those two words is that they don't convey what you ARE eating; they only imply that you don't eat meat and other animal products.  Simply stated, the best diet for humans is one consisting primarily of whole, unrefined plant-based foods, particularly fresh fruits and vegetables.  While some of the authors featured on this site have slightly different views, all of them believe in the power of fruits and vegetables in our diet and encourage us to maximize our calories in those healthy foods.  Dr. Fuhrman said it best, " You must get the majority of calories from unrefined plant food for optimal health."  He adds..."Following a strict vegetarian diet is not as important as eating a diet rich in fresh fruits and vegetables."  While not proclaiming to be a vegan, Dr. Fuhrman does not intentionally plan to have animal products in his diet. And like me, if he has an occasional piece of fish, cheese or chicken at a friend's house, it's really not that big of a deal. His entire program is built on the nutrient density of food; if you waste your calories on harmful or low-nutrient food, you are robbing yourself of the health benefits that those calories could have provided. And for those of us who started eating a healthy diet fairly late in life, we need all the powerful plant nutrients we can get. 7. Weight Control. We all know that diets requiring portion control or calorie counting simply do not work. Sure, people lose a few pounds from time to time but their diets are never sustainable and they almost always gain the weight back. Lots of people switch to a vegetarian diet to lose weight but continue to get the vast majority of their calories from sugar, chips, oil, fries, bread, pasta and other processed foods. Not only is this a very unhealthy diet, but it also makes losing weight virtually impossible. The simple key to weight control is get the majority (at least 70%) of your calories from whole, unrefined plant-based foods; preferably fresh fruits, vegetables, seeds and nuts. Many vegetarians never learn the truth about nutrition and continue getting most of their calories from low nutrient, highly-refined foods and they seem to never achieve anywhere near their ideal weight. But, with a diet consisting primarily of whole, unrefined plant-based food, your body will seek its ideal weight; at which time, many of your friends and family will start telling you that you have gone too far with this thing and are now too skinny.   8. Sex after 90?.  Just as the Standard American Diet (S.A.D.) causes heart disease, it also causes erectile dysfunction (E.D.).  It's really very simple, animal foods in our diet cause the build-up of plaque in our arteries, restricting the flow of blood and leading to high blood pressure and heart disease. As we all learned at a very young age, erections are all about blood flow to the penis. Restricted blood flow equals E.D. It's that simple.  Dr. Neal Barnard says "Impotence is not caused by old age.  In fact, there is no reason why sexual functioning should be lost at any age.  Impotence is preventable in the vast majority of cases and often reversible." 9. No Nursing Home. Occasionally, someone remarks to me "Why would anyone want to live to be 105 anyway?" My answer is "How about a healthy 104-year old that had great sex last night?" Okay, so maybe any sex after 100 would have to be considered great, but you get the point. You see, 80% of Americans die from the "diseases of affluence" that need never exist. An increasing percentage is spending their final years in a nursing home and getting very little pleasure (of any kind) as they approach the end of their lives. The whole point behind an optimal diet & lifestyle is to improve the quality of life for however many years each of us may live, which will likely be well past 100 if we begin our optimal diet soon enough. 10. Environment. Our basic problem is twofold:  Too many people on the planet AND the unsustainable manner in which we live. In just the past 75 years, the world's population has grown from 2 Billion to over 6 Billion and the accompanying impact on the environment has been disastrous.  A big part of the environmental problem is the way we have grown to consume animal products three meals a day in this country, with much of the world now following our lead.  After reading the information on the ECOLOGY link above, you may want to read The Food Revolution by John Robbins and Mad Cowboy by Howard Lyman. Once you learn the truth about what the consumption of animal foods is doing to our planet, it may very well result in a move toward a much healthier diet for you and your family.  For the latest on the environmental impact of animal foods, take a look at the Livestock's Long Shadow link in the ECOLOGY section. This is all about a 2006 U.N. Report documenting the effect of animal products on the environment.  One key finding: The worldwide raising of agriculture causes considerably more global warming, and other environmental problems, than all of the cars, trucks, buses, trains, ships and airplanes in the world. 11. Children's Menu. It is almost criminal what we are feeding our children. Virtually every children's menu today consists of some combination of the following: burgers, french fries, macaroni & cheese, hot dog, chicken tenders, grilled cheese sandwich, fried cheese, and white bread with a Coke as a beverage. This menu has become so ubiquitous that many of us have accepted it as representing normal food for kids. It is not normal and in fact is driving today's alarming rates of obesity and diabetes in children.  In his excellent new book, Disease Proof Your Child. Dr. Joel Fuhrman points out that the greatest predictor of future cancer in adults is the quality of their diet in their first ten years. Please get that book as soon as possible and take charge of your children's health before it's too late. 12. Vitamins. It seems like most people today are bombarded with so much false information about nutrition that they simply conclude that they will just continue eating whatever foods they enjoy and then take a multi-vitamin that will take care of whatever nutrients they are missing. Unfortunately, it's just not that simple. Many experts estimate that 90% of vitamins are a waste of money as they are never absorbed by the body. If you study the material recommended on this site, you will soon learn that the body requires a vast array of vitamins, anti-oxidants, phytonutrients and fiber that occur naturally in whole, plant-based foods. For vegetarians, most experts recommend a mild supplement for Vitamin B12, Vitamin D in some cases and DHA. Beyond those few, you're probably wasting your money on vitamins...and there are a number of health risks associated with an excess of certain vitamins.  Dr. Campbell sums it all up in The China Study, "It's not that nutrients are not important.  They are--but only when consumed as food, not as supplements. Isolating nutrients and trying to get benefits equal to those of whole foods reveals an ignorance of how nutrition operates in the human body. Supplements will not lead to long-lasting health and may cause unforeseen side effects." 13.  Giving Up Your Favorite Foods. Even after one learns and believes the truth about nutrition, most people have a difficult time imagining how they could possibly give up their burgers, fries, sausage, eggs, lobsters, clams, steaks, fried chicken, cheese, grilled fish, etc. The fact of the matter is that foods, unlike cigarettes and drugs, are not addictive; they are merely a habit...and as we know, habits can be broken.  In my own case, I ate a very unhealthy diet for most of my life and can honestly say that I have never enjoyed eating more than I do now. I have heard the same story from countless people who have made a major positive change in their diet after learning the truth about nutrition. It turns out that when you shift to a diet of whole, unrefined plant foods, that your taste buds change and you begin to savor the delicious flavors in the natural foods.  And the fact that you can eat as much as you want without any fear of gaining weight just makes it that much better. You may also find yourself feeling just a little bit better knowing that no animals had to die in order for you to eat and that your way of eating is a very "green" thing to do for the future health of our planet. 14.  Ordering Healthy Foods When Dining Out.  As a single man, I dine out often and actually find it somewhat fun to create my own healthy dish in almost any restaurant. You see, I rarely order anything exactly as it appears on the menu, but I can find out from the menu what healthy foods they actually have in the kitchen. For example, at dinner recently, I ordered a full plate of fresh tomatoes and cucumber to start, then I ordered two vegetable side dishes--snow peas and broccoli, and a side order of black beans and rice. It was a delicious and nutritious meal for under $10, about one half the cost of the average entree on the menu. At another favorite restaurant, I love to have them prepare a large grilled portobello mushroom over a huge bed of julienne vegetables; again at about half the price of other entrees. All of my favorite restaurants now know of my dietary preference and will actually offer suggestions from time to time. Trust me; it's easy to truly eat healthy if you want to...and there will be more choices in the future as more and more restaurants begin to cater to the growing trend toward whole plant foods.  Ever wonder why Whole Foods is the fastest growing grocery chain in America? 15.  Noticing Pleasant Changes in Your Body.  Making a shift to whole, unrefined plant foods is a huge step for most Americans...and they are usually rewarded with a huge improvement in their bodies. In addition to helping to protect you from the "diseases of affluence" and making your sex life better, there are many other improvements that you will likely begin to notice within a few months on your new regimen: more energy, sounder sleep, get sick far less (if ever), improved eyesight, able to eliminate most (if not all) prescriptions, face clears up, less body odor (feet, underarm, breath and stool), alleviate constipation (no need for magazines in the bathroom anymore), less gray hair, lower blood pressure and loss of excess weight...to name just a few. What we learn when we start putting the right fuel in our bodies is that our body was designed by nature to take care of itself.  Give it the right fuel, exercise and positive outlook and you won't have to worry about much else. We have all been led to believe that all of the above problems are a natural part of aging; they are not.  They are a natural result of feeding your body a diet that is nowhere close to what nature intended for us to eat. 16.  Healing & Detoxification. If you have eaten a low fiber, low-nutrient Standard American Diet (S.A.D.) for a very long time, it may take awhile for your body to cleanse itself of all of the toxins that are sure to be stored there. During this detoxification & healing process, from time to time, your body may feel a bit ill, you may have an occasional  fever and you may have some very unusual stools as your body cleanses itself. In my case, I felt feverish a few times in the early stages but had learned to trust my body to do the right thing and didn't rush for the aspirin bottle to "get that fever down." Within a few months, I began to pass very heavy, dark black stools as the colon started getting rid of the impacted fecal matter that had been stored there for years.  I read that most people have 5-10 pounds of the old stuff in their colon... According to autopsies, John Wayne had 40 pounds and Elvis had an unbelievable 60. Early on, I had looked into undergoing a few sessions of colonic hydrotherapy to hasten the colon cleansing process, but noticed that my body was making progress and decided to let nature take care of it. Within a few months, my stools became consistently dark brown "floaters" and literally took only a few seconds to leave my body. During the first two years, I got sick less frequently but did have a few bouts with "the flu" complete with fever, sore throat and a loss of appetite. I learned to trust a fever, which was part of nature's normal detox process and simply ate less when I had a loss of appetite. After several years on a 90% whole plant foods diet regimen, I find that I rarely if ever get sick...and when I do, it is much less severe and doesn't last nearly as long as before. Hopefully, my sharing this experience with you will help you through some of the not so comfortable stages of detoxifying your body. Once you understand what your body is doing, it actually is somewhat of a thrill to observe the body take care of itself, now that you have provided the right set conditions for nature to work its magic. 17.  Going to the Doctor.  Dr. Fuhrman says that if everyone consumed a whole, unrefined plant-based diet, the number of medical doctors needed would drop about 90%.  We still would need a few for emergency care, cosmetic surgery, and various operations but the vast majority would no longer be needed. Dr. Fuhrman has noticed that his patients tend to get better after just a few visits; their problems are cured and many of them never need to return to him or any other doctor...not a great situation for the financial health of his practice, but a tremendous feeling of gratification from helping his patients get better. Earlier in my studies, I read Confessions of a Medical Heretic by Robert Mendelsohn, M.D., and learned about the many risks associated with going to the doctor for most people. Apparently, "Going to the Doctor" is now the third leading cause of death ranking just behind heart disease and cancer. The reasons are many: accidents during surgery, wrong surgery, unnecessary surgery, wrong prescription, reactions from the correct prescription, complications during diagnostic tests, etc. In my own case, I still go to the doctor occasionally for blood tests or for acute care after an injury. I have decided to give my body what it needs to work its magic...and I go to the doctor only when there is an emergency. Let me add that I have the utmost respect for those in the medical profession; I sincerely believe that they are genuinely trying to help people. Unfortunately, most never learned the truth about nutrition and are only doing what they have been taught. In med school, they were never taught how to promote health; they were taught how to treat symptoms; primarily with drugs and surgery. Dr. Fuhrman got his nutritional knowledge from reading 65,000 research studies and publications...not from med school.  Chances are that after you read the seven works recommended in the BOOKS section, you will know more than your doctors about nutrition; but I wouldn't recommend that you share that little secret with them. Dr. Fuhrman sums it up..."For most people, illness means putting their fate in the hands of their doctors and complying with their recommendations--recommendations that typically involve taking drugs for the rest of their lives while they watch their health gradually deteriorate. People are completely unaware that most illnesses are self-induced and can be reversed with aggressive nutritional methods." 18.  Standard American Diet (S.A.D.)  Throughout this website, we make frequent reference to the very unhealthy diet consumed by the average American. From NPD, U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, The Washington Post...here is what the average person eats per year:  200 pounds of red meat, 67 pounds of poultry, 30 pounds of cheese, 28 pounds of ice cream, 25 pounds of candy, 23 pounds of pizza, 250 eggs, 23 gallons of milk, and 54 quarts of popcorn.  On the healthy side, the sources report that we also eat 428 pounds of vegetables, 200 pounds of grain and 279 pounds of fruit. Unfortunately a large percentage of the vegetables is french fried potatoes and much of the grain is highly refined with little nutrients.  Is there any wonder why our healthcare costs are spiraling out of control as our population becomes steadily bigger and sicker? 19. My Three-Legged Stool of Health. This site was established as a convenient tool for sharing with others the truth about nutrition. But I would be remiss if I didn't mention two other key components of health and happiness on Planet Earth. I describe it as a three-legged stool of health, which will of course fall down if any single one of the legs are missing.  The other two legs of my stool are physical exercise and a positive outlook; and since I am not an expert on either topic, I have not mentioned them anywhere else on the site.  But, I do know that they are important to both health & happiness and I strive to work on both of them continuously.  My son is a personal trainer (as a hobby) and has been a great help to me on the physical side. I walk and/or run about one hour per day and lift weights about three days a week. As for "positive outlook", I believe that this is comprised of a combination of having a reason to live (life purpose), a strong network of friends and family, loving relationships and some kind of spiritual faith.  My late father Morris A. Hicks, to whom this site is dedicated, certainly excelled in this overall "positive outlook" category.  For the very best resource on ALL of the many facets of leading a long, healthy and happy life, I strongly recommend John Robbins' latest book, Healthy at 100.  As always, he presents compelling data from countless studies that support his position on the importance of the mental, social, and humanitarian elements affecting your life span and your health span on Planet Earth. 20. What About World Hunger?  In Diet for a New America, I learned that some 40,000 children starve to death every day on this planet.  Did you know that it takes about 1/6 of an acre to feed one human being who eats a pure vegetarian diet?  How much land do you think is required to feed one person with a meat habit?  About 20 times as much land...some 3.25 acres. By cycling our grain through livestock, we not only waste 90 percent of its protein; in addition, we sadly waste 96 percent of its calories, 100% of its fiber and 100% of its carbohydrates. Think about these facts when you hear people agonizing about how we're going to feed the world when the population doubles again to about 12 billion. Then consider that the world's cattle alone, not to mention pigs and chickens, consume a quantity of food equal to the caloric needs of 8.7 billion people---nearly double the entire human population of the planet.  (This was 1985 data, it is worse today).  It is all so very simple:  Feed more people far more nutritious food, with no killing, less disease and a greener earth .  Sounds to me like what "the big guy" up there had in mind when he built this place called Earth. Summary of My Journey I first learned the truth about nutrition and the impact it has on promoting health and preventing the ubiquitous diseases of affluence we all know so well. Then I learned about the horrendous environmental impact of trying to feed the world meat three meals a day...wasted water, deforestation, pollution, excessive energy, and on and on. Next, I learned about the incredible inefficiency of producing an animal-based food supply for a rapidly growing world population. Finally, we haven't even talked about the barbaric nature of killing millions of animals every day so that we can eat foods that have little or no nutritional value and in fact lay the foundation for virtually all disease. Throughout my journey, I have gradually learned a "joy of eating" that I never experienced while consuming the Standard American Diet. In The China Study referenced below, the author eventually concludes that "we really shouldn't be eating animal products at all." I now totally agree with Dr. Campbell although I occasionally have a piece of cheese or fish while as a guest in someone's home; hence, I do not consider myself a vegan. Now that I have learned all this stuff, I find that I am probably among the 1% of the population that feels this way.  Knowing that, I decided to start discretely doing my part to help others learn what I have learned.  I started with my family and other people that I care about. Eventually, I plan to leverage my knowledge of nutrition and my management consulting skills to take a program to industry whereby we can dramatically reduce the cost of healthcare simply by teaching the total workforce the power of nutritional excellence. Already, I have enjoyed tremendous gratification knowing that my efforts have enabled many people to make major improvements in their lifestyle. For me, it's a case of giving back and doing something to help others.  Maybe the information that you find here will help you as well. You may be asking yourself right about now, "Why Haven't I Heard All This Before?"  In Colin Campbell's magnificent book, The China Study, he devotes over 100 pages to answering this question.  He sums it us thusly, "There is a wealth of published research that suggests that the diseases of affluence are a result of poor nutrition; not poor genes or bad luck. So why doesn't the medical system take nutrition seriously? Four words: money, power, ego and control. While it is unfair to generalize about individual doctors, it is safe to say that the system they work in, the system that currently takes responsibility for promoting the health of Americans, is failing us. Most, but not all, of the confusion about nutrition is created in legal, fully disclosed ways and is disseminated by unsuspecting, well-intentioned people, whether they are researchers, politicians, or journalists. The entire system--government, science, medicine, industry and media--promotes profits over health, technology over food and confusion over clarity.  The most damaging aspect of the system is not sensational, nor is it likely to create much of a stir upon its discovery. It is a silent enemy that few people see and understand." Thanks to a few courageous people like Dr. Campbell, I am now one of those few who not only sees and understands, but has decided to share my newfound knowledge with those that I care about. But because what one chooses to eat is such a personal thing, I only share this web site with people who have expressed a sincere interest in learning the truth about nutrition. As you begin your journey, I wish you the very best in your own individual search for knowledge, health and happiness. Harmony Earth...where knowledge is free and absolutely nothing is for sale I recommend that you now read the articles in the left column.  Then take a tour of the other links, particularly the success stories.  Notice that there is nothing for sale on this site; my goal here is to simply share knowledge that will help you take charge of your own health. Please let me hear feedback from you after visiting my site. Sincerely, Jim Hicks