Category: News

Forget the myths about massive numbers of slaves or Jews building the great pyramids, Egypt’s chief archaeologist argues this week. He says Egyptian researchers have found the tombs of more pyramid builders, and in those tombs more evidence that free men erected these monumental tributes to the ancient pharaohs.

Zahi Hawass this week unveiled new research on 4,000-year-old tombs found near the pyramids—tombs he says belonged to pyramid builders. Graves of the pyramid builders were first discovered in the area in 1990 when a tourist on horseback stumbled over a wall that later proved to be a tomb [Canadian Press]. These new ones stretch beyond those previously-discovered tombs, and contain a dozen skeletons.

What matters for the historical interpretation, Hawass stressed, is location, location, location. “These tombs were built beside the king’s pyramid, which indicates that these people were not by any means slaves,” said Mr Hawass. “If they were slaves, they would not have been able to build their tombs beside their king’s” [The Times]. In addition, Hawass says that the walls of the tombs (which the builders probably built for themselves) bear graffiti like “friends of Khufu (a pharaoh).”

For Egyptologists like Dieter Wildung, a former director of Berlin’s Egyptian Museum, this is more confirmation than surprise. “The myth of the slaves building pyramids is only the stuff of tabloids and Hollywood…. The world simply could not believe the pyramids were build without oppression and forced labour, but out of loyalty to the pharaohs” [Canadian Press], says Wildung. In particular, Egyptian officials like Hawass, who have national pride at stake, have long pushed against the idea slave-built pyramids, saying it undermines the skill involved in their construction, and the sophistication of ancient Egypt’s civilisation [BBC News].

Actually, the slave myth dates back much further than “tabloids and Hollywood,” to ancient texts. The Greek historian, Herodotus, visited Egypt several thousand years after Khufu’s pyramid was built, he wrote that Khufu forced his people to “labour as slaves for his own advantage” thus prompting the first accounts that the pyramids were built by slaves [The Times]. Legends have also held that Jews worked on the pyramids, and the first century A.D. Jewish historian Josephus includes a mention. But Jews did not arrive in Egypt until long after construction was completed.

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DISCOVER: Pyramid Building Saps the Soul
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Image: Wikimedia Commons / Ricardo Liberato

Get ready for Calvin Klein’s latest soon-to-be banned campaign: Eva Mendes is baring all for Calvin Klein Jeans — again. The highly-steamy ads for the brand’s Spring/Summer 2010 collection feature a topless Eva frolicking in the sand with cK newcomer Jamie Dornan!

In part II of “Vitamin D and the Raw Vegan Diet,” I look at vitamin D3, problems with supplementation, and winter weather.   Be sure to check out Part I for information on where vitamin D comes from, how much we need, and the toxic ingredients in sunscreen.

D3?

Vitamin D (as well as vitamin D supplements) actually comes in two forms: vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol) and vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol).   Although once thought to be equivalent, it is now known that vitamin D3 (manufactured from exposure to UVB rays) is not absorbed by the skin right away.   It actually takes up to 48 hours before the majority of the vitamin D you have been exposed to has entered your bloodstream.

What’s the big deal?

After a nice, sweaty day spent outside, what’s the first thing we want to do?  Take a shower.

And what do we typically do in the shower?  Lather on lots of sudsy soap.

Uh oh.   The problem here is that you are not just washing away your sweat with that soap.   If it’s been less than 48 hours, you are stripping your skin of all that precious vitamin D!

The solution?  Well, there are a couple:

#1: Wait two days to shower

I may not wear makeup or lots of fancy accessories, but I am still a lady.

I am not WAITING two days after sweaty time in the sun to rinse off!

#2: Only use water

I like to take a shower almost everyday so this is my personal preference.

I know, I know.   Only water?!

If you eat a healthy, low fat raw diet, without added salt, spices, or condiments, you really do not need to use soap.   In fact, I NEVER use any form of soap, natural or not, to clean my skin.

But I’ll save that for another post.

Problems with Supplementation

The research out there on problems with supplementation of any kind, including vitamin D, is rather extensive.

One particular study conducted in 2008 showed that vitamin D supplementation can actually block the Vitamin D Nuclear Receptor (VDR), which is necessary for the “repression or transcription of hundreds of genes, including genes associated with diseases ranging from cancers to multiple sclerosis. ”

Here is a quote from the professor at Australia’s Murdoch University School of Biological Medicine and Biotechnology, Trevor Marshall, Ph. D. , as quoted in a ScienceDaily article on the study:

Molecular biology is now forcing us to re-think the idea that a low measured value of vitamin D means we simply must add more to our diet. Supplemental vitamin D has been used for decades, and yet the epidemics of chronic disease, such as heart disease and obesity, are just getting worse.

Our disease model has shown us why low levels of vitamin D are observed in association with major and chronic illness,’ Marshall added. ‘Vitamin D is a secosteroid hormone, and the body regulates the production of all it needs. In fact, the use of supplements can be harmful, because they suppress the immune system so that the body cannot fight disease and infection effectively.

Debbie Took from RawforLife makes a very good point regarding supplementation and animals in the United Kingdom:

The animal world is full of clues as to how to live healthfully. So, as looking at domesticated mammals (ingesting various unnatural substances in their feeds) would complicate things, let’s consider wild mammals such as squirrels, deer, rabbits. They don’t supplement (and neither do they eat oily fish or vitamin D-fortified milk).

Sure, they’ll get lots more sunlight each summer than we will (which gives us a clue as to lifestyle adjustments to be made). However, the supplement manufacturers like to make us feel that no matter how much sunshine we get in the UK summer our health is going to be compromised if we don’t take D supplements in the winter. Yet these animals are doing just fine! (but note they don’t sit behind windows, soap themselves down daily, drink alcohol or overeat either. . . )

Well said, Debbie!

I think I’ll take a lesson from my animal friends and stick with simple (and free) sunshine.

What About Winter Weather?

Because vitamin D is fat-soluble, it can be stored by the body.   This means that you have the potential to get enough sunshine during the warm months to last you through the winter.

But don’t think you can’t get a wicked tan in the winter time.   Did you know that you can get pretty seriously burned from sunlight that is reflected off of snow?

Now, you won’t catch me sunbathing in 30 degree weather and I certainly do not recommend it.   But if you’re a fan of cold weather (or a masochist), be my guest!

My Advice to You

If you haven’t already, be sure to make the most of the last couple of weeks of mild weather before it gets too cold.

Remember, all it takes is 15-30 minutes outdoors (unless you have dark skin, in which case you will require more exposure) to receive adequate vitamin D.

You can spare a few measly minutes for your health, right?

For great info on vegan vitamins, vegetarian supplements and nutrition, visit www.vegetarianvitaminsguide.com today!

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Vitamin D and the Raw Vegan Diet: Part II is a post from the Vegetarian Vitamins Guide blog where you can find suggestions and advice from vegetarians and vegans on vegetarian diets, supplements, vitamins and overall nutrition.

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Audi acaba de confirmar que hará estándar la tecnología de radio de digital en tres de sus modelos para el próximo año 2011. Los modelos elegidos que contarán con radios HD de serie son el Audi A6, A8 y Q7.

El Gerente General de Planificación de Producto de Audi en América, Filip Brabec, ha declarado que han tomado esta medida para suplir la demanda de sus clientes y del mercado actual:

“Audi está dedicada a ofrecer a sus clientes las mejores opciones de entretenimiento y confort para hacer más amena la conducción. Los modelos de 2011 estarán equipados con la mejor ingeniería de transmisión por lo que es necesario ofrecer una tecnología digital en las radios de nuestros clientes”.

Recordemos que en comparación con las radios normales de AM y FM, la Radio HD dispone de alta calidad de sonido en canales FM y AM. Actualmente hay más de 2.000 emisores de Radio HD. En Estados Unidos, el 85% de los conductores hacen uso de esta tecnología.

Related posts:

1. Audi A8, nuevos datos
2. Audi S8, S7 y S1 confirmados
3. Audi confirma la fecha de presentación del A8