Category Archives: diet

Diet and Health, via Weston Price **edited

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A member of the mercury support group posted this link to the Spring Caustic Commentary on the Weston Price Foundation website.

It’s pretty informative for those who are unfamiliar with Weston Price’s work.  He was a dentist who traveled the world, observing the indigenous tribes.  He discovered that they had perfect teeth–no dental decay.  When they became industrialized, and ate a more Western diet, their dental health began to suffer.  Price also observed the changes in mouth structure–before the Western diet, the parents had bright, wide smiles….but the generations afterward had more narrow smiles and misshapened teeth by overcrowding the mouth.  And yet, Western doctors refuse to see the connection between diet and overall health and wellbeing.

**edited to add the link. Geesh.

Getting started potting plants

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Farmer’s Almanac has a blog up on getting plants starting in pots.  If you’re living in the city, where you can’t have a traditional garden, potted plants may be the way to go.   I have heard of folks using their balconies…but if you don’t have even that, perhaps the owner will allow you to put the pots in a sunny location.  The only drawback is that potted plants require more water than those in the ground, as the ground can supply moisture and protect roots from drying out.

Related to this–one of my Sedum Autumn Joy plants died.  It was in a pot (because I wanted to take it with me to Fort Wayne) and this winter was just too harsh for it.  Fortunately, I had also planted one here, so I still had one of the plants I brought with me from my house.  It has a huge sentimental value because I had first planted it when my son was young.

I also planted some of my tiger lilies from my house, and they apparently are doing well.   It’s bittersweet…because then I think about my house and what I would be doing at this time of year.

Hope you all get out and go play in the dirt. 🙂

(A side note~I probably won’t be blogging as much.  I’m starting to feel like I did before when I worked full time–I’m just pooped after working.  I’m hoping that it’s just a temporary thing until I get acclimated…and not the stupid mercury.  I know that I’m less toxic now than I was before, but perhaps not as far along as I had hoped.  Time will tell.)

More adventures in gluten free foods

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(I meant to post this a few days ago. Oops.  Too much going on…geesh.)

A member of the mercury support group posted about foods that might create problems for folks who are gluten sensitive.   She had taken an expensive ($225) test for foods that the body reacted to as if they were gluten.  A lot of the foods she reacted to are on the “safe” list for gluten sensitive folk.

And then another member of the group posted this link.  Of course, coffee, chocolate and eggs are on the list.

As you can imagine, I was depressed that chocolate was once again mentioned as a problem for us.  But coming off of a five day migraine means that something is wrong and I need to start looking at what I am eating.

Worse than that was the eggs and coffee.  If you can’t eat grains, the usual stuff you would eat for breakfast is out the window…so eggs were an easy option for me.

So, I went searching for others’ views on this, and found a helpful links here .  This makes more sense to me, because Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride (GAPS), had eggs on her list for recommended foods.  She even recommended raw eggs beaten with honey for their nutrient value.

I have been trying to get free range eggs, but that is hard to come by in my area.  I came across someone who has eggs for sale independently of stores, and I plan on asking about the feed they use.  As a side note~when I first saw the notice, my first thought was “I wonder if they take food stamps?”  And the next happy thought was…”I don’t have to choose my food according to who will take food stamps anymore! Woot!”

On another site, coffee is debated (in the comments section) on whether it or the dairy creamer might be responsible.  Dr. McBride states that we should not drink instant coffee, but that freshly made coffee that is somewhat weak can be in our diet.

Okay, I feel a little less constricted.

And I realize that chocolate IS a problem, but I seriously don’t know how I’m going to give it up.  It’s an addiction, for sure.  I think I’m going to have to approach it like an addiction and focus on one day at a time.  It would be sooo much easier if it didn’t taste so good.  And be comfort food.

Same with rice.  I had purchased rice flour and made biscuits and gravy as comfort food…and now it looks like I’ll have to give that up, too.  And the rice flour pizza, too.  Arrgh.

One of the comments linked to this page.  He explains gluten reactions a little more in-depth than most.

Another mentioned the gluten free society.

 

Study links Monsanto pesticide with gluten intolerance

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You know what really bothers me about this story?  They already know that pesticides, herbicides, and chemical fertilizers destroy the immune system.  It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that multiplying the chemical is going to do more harm.

So if the immune system begins in the gut, and chemicals destroy the gut…intolerance to problematic grains is a no-brainer.

Can the USDA, FDA, or anybody with a brain and ethics in Washington do something about this? Or is money going to once again trump common sense and forward thinking of not only the present day but the future, as well…..?

2014 Food Summit

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Center for Food Safety is sponsoring a Food Revolution Summit this coming week- April 26th to May 4.

You can sign up for free here.  Of course, I’m not a fan of those trying to sell something but there are some good speakers listed.

(Meanwhile, this is the weirdest migraine yet–it’s been a mild painful but persistent.  I’m expecting it to get worse today…so…we’ll see. )

Low blood sugar and anger

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Okay, if you ignore the stupid methods of using voodoo dolls in this study, it does make sense.

I could have saved them the $$ spent on the study…my oldest child was getting into trouble –which usually meant picking on his sisters.  I began to notice a pattern that it almost always happened before dinner.  Aha! Low blood sugar!  So then I would give him something to eat to keep his blood sugar level–cut down on the arguments.

So, yeah…all they had to do was ask a Mom…

Diet, Allergies, and Mental Health ** edited

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I found this article to be one of the best I’ve read so far about the connection between diet, allergies, and mental health.

They explore the connection between behavior and diet–something that has been known since the 1940s.   They observed during WWII that schizophrenia cases went down in Germany and Holland because grains were scarce.

It is disgraceful that Big Pharma was allowed to trump diet in the treatment of schizophrenia….especially when one realizes the drugs that they have foisted on the hapless mental patient contained antihistamines–an indicator that they knew brain allergies were at the heart of the problem.

I disagree with the concept of neutralizing doses of allergens…it just doesn’t make sense to me to give the allergens to people to help them overcome it.  The fact that they don’t have symptoms does not mean they aren’t allergic anymore.  In my experience, I didn’t have symptoms of celiac or gluten intolerance that were noticeable–yet I was eating wheat every day.  This didn’t mean I wasn’t allergic–it meant that I wasn’t reacting to it because my immune system was not functioning and could not muster a response in the traditional sense.  My response after beginning the GAPS diet and now when I am accidentally exposed to gluten proves that allergy.

I’m pretty sure I was tested for wheat allergy by an ear, nose, and throat doctor who looked in my nose, and said I had the tell-tale blue veins of allergies.  He knew I was allergic to something…but he couldn’t determine what that allergy was–the traditional tests did not reveal allergies.  And yet, here I am, some twenty years later, figuring it out.  My immune system was compromised and did not respond to allergens appropriately, even though I appeared healthy.  At that point, I had had one dental amalgam in baby teeth, and had been exposed to mercury, lead, and arsenic through coal dust.  I had also had mercury exposure through Rho-Gam shots.  Plus the toxins from pesticides, herbicides, and chemical fertilizers in my food–all known to compromise the immune system.

As the article states, I don’t think mental patients should be given drugs until they are put on an elimination diet.  It is nothing short of a miracle how a good diet can restore health and it’s nothing short of criminal to give them drugs that are questionable in their efficacy and many times cause harm.

The article also mentions salicylates.  They have popped up on my radar lately, so I thought I’d post a link to a pretty good website on what they are, what they do, and foods that are high in salicylates.  **edited to add:  here’s the link to the website’s guide to foods that contain salicylates.

Homemade Toothpaste

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(A side note~ Thank you to my oil industry friend for understanding.  It’s important to me that we talk about oil and fracking toxicity and the need to reduce our use of it for our health, our children, and the planet.  I know that we have to have it because of some necessity, but with everything, there needs to be restraint in use and balance in nature.  And the U.S. oil companies are notorious for carelessness and stupidity. They are not proactive in knowing what to do if a spill occurs and they don’t take the damage they do seriously.  And we haven’t even begun to really push for sustainable energy, and no, sustainable does not include nuclear.)

Okay…on with this neat toothpaste recipe a poster in our mercury support group posted–

As you all are aware, I think Nature trumps everything man-made, so if I can find the natural remedy, I’ll take it.

I’ve been using plain baking soda to brush because A) it’s cheap, and B) I can afford it on food stamps.  (Now that I’ve mentioned I’ve used something I bought with food stamps, the neocons will do their best to get baking soda banned from food stamp programs.  Just wait for it.   They’re getting candy banned from food stamps because they’re just plain mean.  And while I’m here, you cannot buy alcohol with food stamps. ++ You.can.not.buy.alcohol.with.food.stamps. ++ It’s an electronic card swiped into an electronic system that will NOT allow a sale to go through of alcohol or cigarettes.  <sigh>  )

Sorry for the diversion, folks….just had to get that out of my system.

Okay, back to the toothpaste…she posted two recipes:

HEALTHY MOUTH BLEND (2-3 drops on wet toothbrush)
essential oils of cinnamon, peppermint, spearmint, clove, myrrh and manuka in almond oil
1/2 oz apricot or almond kernel oil
18 drops manuka   
24 drops myrrh
27 drops clove
34 drops cinnamon (20 bark, 14 leaf)
36 drops peppermint
42 drops spearmint
MAKES TOTAL generous 3/4 oz
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I’m not wild about oil, although others swear by it.  They also swear by oil pulling, which is where you put olive oil in your mouth and swish it around like mouthwash.  This is called “pulling” because it is supposed to pull the icky stuff out of your mouth.
I tried it for awhile, and it actually made things worse.  I started having tooth pain.  This was at the start of the GAPS diet, and my teeth were really showing the detox at that time–lots of tooth aches.  Weston Price is spot on about one’s health showing up in the mouth.  He was a dentist that traveled the world, and noticed that the indigenous folks had beautiful teeth.  They did not brush their teeth, and they did not have dental decay!   However, once they adopted a Western diet of grains, they suddenly began to have dental issues.  Fascinating, eh?
Here’s the other recipe:
Herbal Healing Toothpowder Recipe (Dip your web toothbrush in it) It healed my teeth sensitivity
This combination of herbs helps heal mild to moderate cases of gingivitis by tightening gums and fighting bacteria. It’s very astringent.

2 tablespoons powdered myrrh
4 tablespoons powdered white oak bark
4 tablespoons baking soda-arrowroot
½ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon powdered cloves
¼ teaspoon powdered cinnamon
(my addition: red clay for stains)
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I made a batch up this morning — only mixed together the chemical free baking soda, pink salt, powdered cloves, powdered cinnamon…and it smells w-o-n-d-e-r-f-u-l.
I’m wary of the clay, because of lead being in clay, but according to Redmond Clay’s analysis, aluminum is actually higher than lead, which appears to be minimal.   So…I might sprinkle a tiny bit on my toothbrush, but not add it to the mix.  That way, if I decide later that I don’t want to use it, I haven’t wasted the whole batch.

 

10 Foods that are high in Protein…

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…but you wouldn’t have guessed them.

Here’s the nutrition data sheet on:

Peas

Black Beans (not pasta, mind you)

I was looking for the absorption rate of the protein because one of the issues that Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride- (GAPS diet) has with vegetarian diets is that the body does not absorb plant protein as well as animal protein.  And then there’s the debate on how much protein we really need to be healthy.  They make note that athletes and active people need more, but then leave people in the dark about their definition of “active”….is someone active who exercises two days a week?  Three days? Is an athlete someone who exercises an hour every day?  One bodybuilder site mentions that their standard is two hours a day (for bodybuilding).  It would be easier if they could give more definite terms such as body weight, hours exercised, days exercised, and how much protein is required for those levels.

Lastly, what about the effect of GMO’s and food absorption?  What about inflammation?  If you are consuming beef that is fed GMO corn, how is that being absorbed?  Since beef is more slowly absorbed, does it cause more inflammation than if one is eating organic vegetable protein?  All of those factors need to be considered, too.

 

 

Heavy Metals and Chemical Toxins in Foods **edited

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Where’s my spoon?  /snark

Magnetic Wheaties.  The press refused to publish this because they didn’t think it was real.  Anyone want to test their own Wheaties and dispute it?

Heavy Metals in Vegan foods. 

Sea vegetables.

Here’s another paper on heavy metals content in foods.

Arsenic in food.  The discussion is in defense of reports of arsenic in organic foods.  What the news reports got wrong was that heavy metals are present in conventionally grown foods, too.  It’s not a fault of growing them organically…but it is a fault of our toxic environment—which we are all responsible for promoting.

Another link here.

While there is a set legal limit for the amount of arsenic in water, that’s not the case for food. In previous weeks, researchers also detected high levels of arsenic in apple and grape juices. “All of these arsenic studies come back to the fact that there are multiple exposures, with the levels varying from product to product and batch to batch,” says Patty Lovera, assistant director of Food & Water Watch, a consumer safety organization. “We need to figure out some regulatory limit.”

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Arsenic in rice has been discussed on the mercury support group–obviously, we’re concerned about putting more poison in our bodies.  It’s frustrating as hell because even if you eat organic, you’re still at risk of heavy metals by the soil contamination.

Someone said in a reply on one of the sites I visited:  you’re pretty much going to get exposed by anything you eat…nothing is safe.

But I would not give up organic food.  Conventionally grown food is less nutritious, besides polluting the environment even more–it doesn’t make sense on that point alone.

Finally, here’s a disturbing video produced by Environmental Working Group on toxic chemicals in babies’ blood.

I looked up the Kids Safe Chemicals Act of 2008…and I’ll give you three guesses how it turned out.  Yep.

But, wait!  There’s yet another bill introduced with link to co-sponsors…here’s where it stands. 

Sen. Frank Lautenberg [D-NJ] Bill Author

Kirsten Gillibrand [D-NY] Bill Author

Max Baucus [D-MT]

Michael F. Bennet [D-CO]

Richard Blumenthal [D-CT]

Barbara Boxer [D-CA]

Maria Cantwell [D-WA]

Benjamin Cardin [D-MD]

William “Mo” Cowan [D-MA]

Richard Durbin [D-IL]

Dianne Feinstein [D-CA]

Al Franken [D-MN]

Tom Harkin [D-IA]

Angus King [I-ME]

Amy Klobuchar [D-MN]

Patrick Leahy [D-VT]

Robert Menéndez [D-NJ]

Jeff Merkley [D-OR]

Barbara Mikulski [D – MD]

Patty Murray [D-WA]

Bill Nelson [D- FL]

Bernard Sanders [I-VT]

Brian Schatz [D-HI]

Charles Schumer [D-NY]

Jon Tester [D-MT]

Tom Udall [D-NM]

Elizabeth Warren [D-MA]

Sheldon Whitehouse [D-RI]

Ron Wyden [D-OR]

Again, no mention on the toxins’ effects on the animals and birds.  Mercury has been found in birds on land and sea birds.  It’s also been found in marine mammals.

**edited to correct wording.