Category Archives: organic

Back

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Okay, back from a bout of the flu.  Gah, it’s been at least six years and probably ten years since I’ve had the flu.  Seriously. The last time I felt this bad, I had it in the lungs (probably walking pneumonia) and it was one of the times I woke up gasping for breath.

Mercury interferes with your immune system so much that even though we know we are exposed to viruses, we don’t “get sick”.

The theory is that the virus is there, but the immune system cannot muster the usual attack response that shows up as vomiting, diarrhea, muscle aches, fever, headache.  I think it’s another wonderful testament that my immune system is healing and starting to respond to viruses.  I don’t know if this particular virus was dormant…but I’m kind of leaning that way because it usually takes three days to incubate before symptoms show up…at least that was how it was with my kids and I when they were young.  With this flu, I was only in the public the day before, which would have been the best time to be exposed.  My sis could have brought the virus home, I suppose, but nobody else got sick.

Anyway, I’m actually happy that I had the flu….and I lived to tell about it!  I should alert the CDC.  /just a little snarky

I think the fact that I had a quick recovery is testament to eating good organic non-gluten food….the best medicine, along with proper herbs (dandelion and rose hips tea).

 

The Farm Bill

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I’ve dragged my feet looking this up, and it was as depressing as I thought…

Not only did they cut food stamps again in the Un-Depression, the heartless creeps gave the corporate interests lots of goodies.  I really don’t know how these people sleep at night.  But then again, when you have no conscience, your guilt doesn’t keep you awake…

The right to raw milk

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…is also a right to decide what goes into our bodies.  Apparently, Americans aren’t the only ones battling the bureaucrats who won’t allow us to know what food contains GMO’s…but tell us that good, natural raw milk with natural enzymes and natural Vitamin A and D (not synthetic, which is questionable)  that help us digest that milk…is bad for us.  Riiiight.  Somebody please explain this backward thinking…’cause I don’t get it…

More here.

Additionally, the right to decide what goes into our bodies has a far-reaching aspect–the right not to be vaccinated.  It never ceases to amaze me that abortion advocates will call you a nutjob for being anti-vaccine while saying that you have a right to choose to have an abortion…but not have a right to refuse vaccination.  Unreal.

 

Grain Brain

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A discussion was started on the mercury support group about a member getting her mother to move in with her and get the horrible amalgams out of her mouth so she could detox.

I was happy for her and her mother.  I related to her that my mother suffered from Alzheimer’ s that I am almost positive she was a Celiac and mercury toxic. But unfortunately, my own self diagnosis came too late to help her. I tried to convince my siblings that she was Celiac. This was about six months before she passed. They were saying she was too far gone at that point, and I am still questioning that–hell it was worth a try.

The nurse at her doctor’s office practically laughed at me when I called to request the doctor investigate a possible Celiac diagnosis. I tried to explain to the nurse about the neurological connection to Celiac and mercury poisoning… she politely listened, but I could tell she thought I was a nut.

My mother continued to eat breads, cakes, and cookies.  My siblings were of the opinion that it was the one pleasure she had left in life…but my thinking was that pleasure was surely causing her illness.

Another member brought up the book, Grain Brain by neurologist David Perlmutter.  I haven’t read the book yet, but I did catch him on PBS yesterday.

What he said stunned me–that a *cough* scientific “fact” has been disproven:   That your brain does not regenerate brain cells.  It does.

Stunning–we have been taught that our brains cannot regenerate, but Dr. Perlmutter states that aerobic exercise turns on the genes responsible for brain cell regeneration.  He stated that DHA (fish oil) also does the same thing.    I had experienced this myself, prior to mercury poisoning–I noticed about six months after beginning aerobic exercise how much better I felt and how much better my brain functioned.  I started after the birth of my first child, and it was the only exercise that I enjoyed  (I always disliked sit ups, push ups, etc. …b-o-r-i-n-g.  And I disliked the competitive nature of gym class.  We had a teacher once that punished the side that lost–since one side always had to lose, it was a ridiculous punitive action that made me hate gym class.)

Anyway, Dr. Perlmutter was basically stating everything I had learned from Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride on the GAPS diet…grains are bad for you. Period.  I think Perlmutter goes into more detail about specific amounts of carbs to have…I’m just not comfortable with the mindset that one-size-fits-all.  I think we are too individualistic and medicine still does not recognize that.  They like to have us pigeonholed into neat little scientific packages when it has been shown, over and over again, that our bodies are unique and respond differently….as in the case of mercury poisoning…there are few symptoms that are alike for merc poisoning.  That is why it is so difficult for them to diagnose–they can’t seem to wrap their brains around many different symptoms–some physical, some neurological–coming from toxin exposure.

 

Dealing with Celiac haters

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They have a good discussion going on at celiac.com on the “haters” who treat people with Celiac as whiners who should just eat whatever is put in front of them….never mind that it is poison to their bodies.

The comments are spot on–not exaggerating in the least about how hateful people are towards Celiacs–as if we asked to get this disease…

…note the comment that a doctor, a doctor, scoffed at gluten free diet as a hoax.  And a nurse did it, too.  No wonder I never got diagnosed by a *cough* medical professional.

On those rare occasions when I get to go out to eat, it is the rare restaurant (in my area) that has a gluten free menu or will make accommodations (gluten free bread, for instance).

I have been met with hostility from servers who couldn’t be bothered to find out if a menu item had gluten in it.  Not even when I asked each time she returned to the table.  I finally just had to pick off the ala carte menu and order mash potatoes (even though potatoes were not supposed to be part of my diet until I healed my gut with GAPS).

It happened the other night when I was in a diner and when I asked the owner about gluten free, she actually told me that another customer had asked about it, and requested the ingredient list for hamburger buns.  The customer actually fed the hamburger buns to her child!!  So…the restaurant owner, who obviously doesn’t know and doesn’t care about poisoning her customers, took it that the buns were safe for Celiacs.  She asked me what gluten was, and I had to explain it was wheat, rye, barley, and oats.  She suggested an entree of chicken.  There were two reasons I would not order it:  1.  Since she didn’t know and didn’t really want to be bothered with finding out about gluten, I wasn’t about to order anything more complicated than a burger without the bun.  2.  I eat chicken nearly every day….going out to eat is supposed to be something special–so yeah, I’m not going to eat more chicken.  Blech.

Another comment on the site spoke about:

As for the hostility of others, I sometimes wonder if it is because they know they need to change their diet but don’t want to, so they become resentful of those of us who do.

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I’ve wondered this, myself.  Once I started the GAPS diet, it still took me awhile to get it in my head that I was indeed a Celiac.  You might recall that I cheated for awhile with a snack that had wheat in it–a powerful draw to continue with something destructive.  And it’s still hard at times–favorite foods with gluten in them still make my mouth water.  But after a few times of cheating and becoming ill from it…yeah, you’re pretty much cured of cheating.  Nothing tastes so good that throwing it all up later  (or worse) makes it worth it.    Sticking to my diet is tough, so it is puzzling why others would be resentful…

Happiness that money can’t buy

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Gene Logsdon has a post up on the Christmas gifts that go against the notion that you have to buy the “latest” to make someone happy.  I’m all for the practical gift that someone will truly use and appreciate.  I would love to get a jar of homemade orange marmalade or a jar of raw honey for Christmas.

Be sure to read the comments–a former Marine bought a farm after leaving the service and he writes about it in the comments.  A truly inspiring story.  Enjoy.

Probiotics and brain function

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The more I learn about the gut and neurological health, the more amazed I am at the intricate workings of our miracle bodies…and how spot on Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride is with the GAPS diet…

I’ve been all over the ‘net this morning, reading blog after blog on probiotics.  One linked to this post on the gut-brain-skin axis.

Some of this is over my head, but it appears that probiotics help reduce inflammation after a heart attack.

Here’s a good paper on the connection between probiotics and the brain.  It is so interesting that fermented food, like sauerkraut, can contain acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter.  Blows me away.

This blog has a recipe for GAPS yogurt.  Since I was very sensitive at first, I gave up on yogurt.  I tried making my own according to another member’s method of putting it in an electric skillet on low heat, but didn’t have satisfactory results.  It could have been that I didn’t use yogurt starter, but rather, used store-bought kefir.  I found out later that this brand, an expensive organic brand, was putting the live cultures back in after processing it.

Yeah, that’s not going to work.

I like her idea of using raw milk.  But since obtaining raw milk is a crime…I’ll have to go through the Mafia to get some.  /super snarky

She talks about using her food dehydrator for growing the culture, but I thought it might be easier to use a yogurt maker.  I looked at several brands, and they had automatic shutoffs at 6-10 hours, which is waaaay too short a time to allow the cultures to develop…but there was this one that follows GAPS, too.  Not having tried it, I’m not able to give any kind of review on its ease of use or reliability.

 

Remedies of nature

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First, the legal stuff:  Statements posted on this blog are for information only, and should NOT be taken as medical advice. If you need medical advice, you should seek it from those who are licensed to give medical advice. You are responsible for any decisions you make, or actions you take (or do not take).

(It is sooo stupid that I have to say that when I have had more harm done by licensed medical professionals than by non-professionals. Pshaw.)

Okay—I was doing research on herbs used to rid the body of xenoestrogens, and came across several helpful sites. (xenoestrogens are plastics/chemicals that match the body’s estrogen receptors, taking the place of the real hormones).

One of the sites mentioned the connection between xenoestrogens and breast lumps.  I had tried this product, Estrosense, many years ago, but stopped taking it because of an adverse reaction.  I was unaware of that I was full of mercury at the time, and since turmeric is sulfuric, it made me miserable….being that I was sulfur dominant from the mercury.

I tried it again the last two months, and had a successful go of it this time around.

And guys, if you think this is *just* a woman’s concern…think again.  Signs are out there that these stupid fake hormones are affecting men, as well.  So ixnay on the hormones-only-affect-women-bit.

More here on the connection to breast cancer and xenoestrogens.

Here’s a good blog on what to do to avoid them.  I think it is always better to avoid them in the first place rather than trying to remove them afterwards.

While doing that research, I came across a blood purifer using plants, called Kroeger blood toner.  I researched the ingredients, one by one, and found a fairly helpful site on herbs here.  It just never gets old discovering all the neat stuff that plants can do for us.  Like I’ve said a zillion times before–we’ll discover that all the stuff we called “weeds” were the cure for cancer, diabetes, heart disease, etc….

Milkweed being one of those undervalued plants….as shown by the site.  Now we see the damage that herbicides are doing through the chain of nature…first the milkweed, then the butterflies:

A major cause is farming with Roundup, a herbicide that kills virtually all plants except crops that are genetically modified to survive it. As a result, millions of acres of native plants, especially milkweed, an important source of nectar for many species, and vital for monarch butterfly larvae, have been wiped out.

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Monsanto, milkweed, and the monarch butterfly.  A 59% decline!!

Gah, I remember when we saw milkweed *everywhere* we went.  Now you’re lucky if you see a few plants scattered here and there.  Same with burdock.   Our dog rarely came home without burrs on him (this was back in the day when you let your dogs run loose.)

Nope…now we need manicured lawns with nary a weed on them.  Got to be perfect.

I used to allow a small (24 x 24) patch of my lawn go to weed…much to the irritation of my neighbors who thought of me as the local hippie of the neighborhood.  It.just.was.not.done.  It was like I was letting the whole neighborhood go to hell.  And the thing was–my little overgrown patch was off the road behind a line of private evergreens.  Only two neighbors could actually see the *jungle* (said with a grin).

Anyway….I’m all for allowing more manicured space go back to its natural habitat.

There’s a certain peace, tranquility, and restfulness when nature is allowed to be…nature.  There’s nothing like bending over to admire a plant when a butterfly comes floating by and lands on a plant near you….as if to say hello…

…and *thanks* for not messing with my nourishment and my home…

 

 

 

 

African Soul Fried Rice

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Michael Twitty has done it again with this blog on African Soul Fried Rice.  Sounds delicious.

I like the fermented aspect of the food.  I wondered if he means the bean from the locust tree…so I went looking and found this.

It’s considered medicinal, too….gotta wonder how much wisdom has been lost about our ancient remedies.  Thanks, modern medicine, for a bang up job of ignoring past wisdom. /snarky, for sure.

The locust beans are seen as a nuisance here…as is the dandelion.  We’ll discover, when it’s too late, that the things we thought were nuisances were healing plants to cure cancer, diabetes, etc.

Michael Twitty also has a blog up on some badass rice growers.  Yes, badass rice growers.  I *love* that they are bucking the system, the status quo of  Big Ag and getting the cold shoulder for it.  They are raising rice crops in unconventional ways that thwart the Ag profiteers who want to sell chemicals and bioengineered rice.  Heh.

On top of that, the way that they are raising it lowers the arsenic level in rice–very important to lower our exposure to heavy metals.

From the Washington Post article:

Thomet has unwittingly aligned himself with a small group of experimental U.S. farmers and hobbyists, probably no more than 50, who are breaking with a tradition that dates to colonial America. They’re rejecting paddy rice in favor of an increasingly accepted agricultural system that promises to increase crop yields while decreasing water use, chemical dependency and even the amount of arsenic in our grains.

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See, it bothers the status quo when you don’t play along with the technology-is-king mentality.  Using one’s brain is not allowed. :p