Food, Glorious Food

Magnesium is Critical

2011-06-28T15:55:00.001-07:00

For quite a while, I've been speaking with everyone I know about magnesium supplementation as a way to protect brain function from the neuro-toxic effects of MSG. (For more about MSG, go to the posting MSG - Part 2 - Why It Affects You.)

I knew that magnesium was important for everything, but my understanding about it was limited. Now I have read a book that focuses exclusively on magnesium.

Magnesium really is critical for every part and every function of the body.

Magnesium deficiency is one of the most common nutritional problems in the industrialized world.

In preparation for writing this blog, I glanced through the book, looking for important points to share with you. I thought, "If I could include the ENTIRE first chapter, that would be perfect." Because every word of the six pages in the first chapter is important. It covers the basics of the whole book. However, . . . here are just a few high points.

Read This Book

If you want to understand why magnesium is so important for every aspect of your health, read this book. Transdermal Magnesium Therapy, by Mark Sircus, Ac., O.M.D.

For now, here's a hint of what's in the book, starting with the prevalence of magnesium deficiency.

Magnesium Deficiency is Epidemic

Magnesium deficiency is one of the most common nutritional problems in the industrialized world.

If you have a significant health condition, it is always wise to consult your personal health care provider before beginning a supplementation program.

Loss of Magnesium in Foods

Our food supplies are deficient in magnesium (as well as in many other minerals, trace minerals, and other nutrients). Processing and packaging of foods severely depletes the finished product of many nutrients. Unfortunately, even when you purchase whole fresh food ingredients from your neighborhood grocery store, they are already of diminished nutrient quality, compared with foods purchased by consumers years ago.

Cultivation of food crops over the decades has seriously depleted our soils of the substances that are vital for life. Almost everything about modern farming practices accelerates this decline. (People are increasingly aware of the problems associated with use of chemical herbicides, pesticides, and fertilizers. Proliferation of genetically modified food crops results in even more chemical usage. Monoculture farming, the planting of one crop over very large areas, year after year is completely unnatural, destroys soil health, and of course, depends heavily on the application of petrochemicals. I have learned that even the process of plowing, of tilling destroys the integrity and viability of the soil ecosystem.)

The water that many people drink is also severely depleted of the minerals that would be present in naturally arising waters. Municipal water supplies may be both contaminated and mineral deficient.

Inefficient Absorption

A typical human body only contains about two ounces of magnesium; we don't need much. Our bodies are inefficient at absorbing it from the foods and liquids that we swallow. Back when people consumed only foods that were growing wild, magnesium was in almost all of their plant and animal foods. Magnesium was everywhere. So efficiently absorbing it was not required. According to the book, we only absorb about 30% of the magnesium that we get orally.

Selecting Supplements

If you have a significant health condition, it is always wise to consult your personal health care provider before beginning a supplementation program.

The most commonly used forms of magnesium supplements are poorly utilized by the body. For example, magnesium sulfate (Epsom salt) is rapidly excreted through the kidneys. Despite this inefficiency, it can produce profound results, particularly if the person's body is seriously deficient. For example, paramedics administering intravenous magnesium sulfate to a heart attack victim increases the patient's chances of recovering.

The sulfate, oxide and carbonate forms are poorly utilized. These forms are used frequently, because their are less expensive than are the better utilized forms, magnesium citrate, malate, fumarate, glycinate and taurate. Magnesium chloride is very effectively absorbed when applied topically. I'll talk more about this later. (See So What Can You Do? below.)

Here is one good way to assess the quality of nutritional supplements. When comparing products, the one with the better utilized form of magnesium is likely to be of higher quality.

Why Do We Need Magnesium?

If you have a significant health condition, it is always wise to consult your personal health care provider before beginning a supplementation program.

Do You Need Energy?

Of course you do. Every single function of your body (including healing) utilizes energy. The process of making, using, and storing energy requires magnesium. Here's a quote from the book. "Without magnesium there is no energy, no movement, no life." There is no You.

Some people experience noticeable increases in their energy levels when they start magnesium supplementation.

Enzymes Are Required For Life

According to the book, there are 325 enzymes dependent on magnesium to function. Everything in your body occurs as a result of countless chemical reactions. Enzymes are proteins that catalyze these reactions, making it possible for them to occur.

What About Aging?

Why do we age? One measure of aging is the amount of enzyme vitality that your body has. Enzyme depletion is a significant factor. When the body becomes depleted of enzymes, or when the enzymes are present but not functioning effectively, things start falling apart, and healing just doesn't happen like it used to. Making sure your body has abundant supplies of magnesium keeps those enzymes humming.

Cellular Activity

"Magnesium is the single most important mineral for maintaining proper electrical balance and facilitating smooth metabolism in the cells." It is essential for the transport of substances across cell membranes, and for modulating cellular electrical activity.

Cardiovascular Health

Magnesium promotes normal blood pressure. "Magnesium is proving to be very important in the maintenance of heart health and in the treatment of heart disease. Magnesium is useful in preventing death from heart attack and protects against further heart attacks." As I mentioned above, when someone has a heart attack, intravenous magnesium is given during transport to the hospital.

Immune System and Detoxification

Magnesium is critical for a well-functioning immune system and the body's ability to heal itself. The process of detoxifying the body of toxins and pathogenic organisms consumes tremendous amounts of magnesium. Considering the ever-increasing exposure of people to toxins in today's society, this is increasingly a factor contributing to magnesium deficiency.

Central Nervous System, the Brain, and Cognitive Function

"A magnesium deficit may lead to decreased memory and learning ability, while an abundance of magnesium may improve cognitive function."

"Magnesium deficiency may cause aggressive behavior, depression, or suicide. Magnesium calms the brain and people do not need to become severely deficient in magnesium for the brain to become hyperactive."

Diabetes

"Magnesium is necessary for the production, function and transport of insulin." It helps regulate blood sugar levels. Deficiency increases the likelihood that diabetes will develop, and makes it more difficult to manage. Diabetes also further depletes magnesium stores.

DNA and Protein Synthesis

"Magnesium is necessary for the physical integrity of the double helix of DNA, which carries genetic information and the code for specific proteins." This mineral is required for synthesis of proteins, the building blocks of the body. Cells are continually being replaced, requiring constant availability of magnesium.

All of the Systems of the Body

Looking at the chapter titles of the book gives a sense that every function of the body requires magnesium. Everything!

Mark Sircus says that he recommends magnesium to essentially everyone who comes to him with a health condition, whatever it may be. Because this vital mineral contributes to so many aspects of health and healing.

If you have a significant health condition, it is always wise to consult your personal health care provider before beginning a supplementation program.

Cancer

Cancer cells are always present within the body. Under normal circumstances they are kept under control by a whole host of protective mechanisms. Having abundant supplies of basic nutrients supports the body in functioning efficiently and in remaining healthy. With deficiencies in numerous minerals (including magnesium) reaching epidemic proportions, these protective mechanism are breaking down. Add in the constant exposure to the toxic substances surrounding us, and it's no wonder that cancer is on the rise.

So What Can You Do?

It can certainly be beneficial to take magnesium supplements. Consider also doing the following . . .

Apply Magnesium To Your Skin!!

I was unaware of this until I read Mark Sircus' book, Transdermal Magnesium Therapy. The body is extraordinarily efficient in utilizing liquid magnesium that is applied to the skin.

The body is limited in its ability to benefit from oral magnesium supplements. Dosages that would replenish deficiencies actually result in diarrhea. As mentioned above, according to the book, the body only utilizes about 30% of oral magnesium.

Depending on the person's level of magnesium deficiency, the absorption rate of transdermal magnesium is much higher. And if more has been applied than the body requires, what remains on your skin can be absorbed later.

Since the body controls the rate of absorption of topically applied magnesium, any potential chance of getting too much is essentially eliminated. (More about this below. See Can I Get Too Much?)

Now that I realize how important magnesium is, I apply it topically every day. And I carry a small bottle wherever I go. Any time I eat in a restaurant or I eat packaged foods, I apply more magnesium. (Want to know why? Read my posting about MSG. MSG - Part 2 - Why It Affects You. If you are interested, you can get to Part 1 about MSG from there.)

If you have a significant health condition, it is always wise to consult your personal health care provider before beginning a supplementation program.

Where to Get Transdermal Magnesium

You should be able to find it in the supplement section of your health food store. Personally, I recommend the product that is sold by the Life Enthusiast website. I sell quite a bit of this product, because I talk with everyone about the importance of magnesium. It is inexpensive, effective, and easy to use.

Magnesium oil is magnesium chloride in energized water. Magnesium gel is the same with some seaweed extract added.

DHEA

Dr. Norman Shealy discovered that when magnesium chloride is applied topically, DHEA levels in the body rise naturally. (Why this occurs is not entirely clear.) DHEA is an anti-aging hormone. The DHEA boost only occurs with magnesium chloride administered transdermally. Oral and intravenous magnesium do not have this effect.

Can I Get Too Much?

If you have a significant health condition, it is always wise to consult your personal health care provider before beginning a supplementation program.

The likelihood of overdosing with magnesium is very low. According to the book, the only circumstances in which overdose symptoms are likely to occur are as follows. First, when a person has kidney disease, their ability to control magnesium levels through urination is limited. They should only supplement with magnesium as approved by their doctor. Second, when a person is so deficient that they have been given multiple intravenous doses of magnesium, they could potentially experience an overdose. In this case, any symptoms should disappear shortly after the intravenous administration is stopped.

If you have a significant health condition, it is always wise to consult your personal health care provider before beginning a supplementation program.

There's Always More . . .

But I have to stop some time. This post is already quite long. Whew!

Want to Know More?

Read the book! Transdermal Magnesium Therapy, by Mark Sircus, Ac., O.M.D.

Magnesium, Magnesium, Magnesium!

Thank You's, Comments and Suggestions! There is a comments link at the end of the newsletter.

I love hearing from you and receiving your feedback. sandra@MiracleInspirations.com

Share this Newsletter. You are welcome to share the link for this newsletter with your friends. Thank you for doing so. If you copy the text, please send it in entirety, and credit the source.

Sandra

Sandra Lynn Lee
Certified Practitioner - The Emotion Code/The Body Code
Certified Healing Codes Practitioner
Miracle Inspirations
www.MiracleInspirations.com
sandra@MiracleInspirations.com

Everything in this newsletter is the opinion of the author and is provided for informational and educational purposes only. When information is drawn from outside sources, both credit and access to the source are given, when available.

MSG - Part 1 - It's Everywhere

2011-05-24T21:20:00.001-07:00

Increasingly, health conscious people believe that MSG is harmful to health. Despite this widespread concern, the culprit in 'Chinese restaurant syndrome' is now being added to more and more foods. In fact, if you eat packaged and restaurant foods, it can be difficult to completely avoid MSG.

In this posting, I'll share about what MSG is and why it is so prevalent in our food supply.

Very few people understand why MSG is harmful. In MSG - Part 2 - Why It Affects You I will explain a bit about how the brain works, and how MSG affects brain function. Then I'll share some things that you can do to protect your brain.

Enhancing Flavor - Can You Eat Just One?

MSG makes foods taste better. It provides a flavor called Umami, savoriness or deliciousness. Makers of restaurant and packaged foods add MSG, because they want us to eat more. They want us to be addicted to their products. Have you ever been able to eat just one potato chip? Particularly the ones covered with that tasty stuff? It's practically impossible, right? Well, what's in the tasty stuff? MSG, probably in multiple forms.

What is MSG? Where Does It Come From?

Monosodium glutamate is the name commonly used for free glutamic acid. Glutamic acid is an amino acid that naturally occurs in proteins. Some free glutamic acid occurs naturally in whole foods that are consumed raw, or are cooked with the methods that people commonly utilize in their homes.

Industrial processes to hydrolyze proteins alter the amino acid structure, producing free glutamic acid in much higher quantities. Hydrolyzed protein always contains free glutamic acid (basically MSG).

MSG is white and granular. It used to be available as Accent in grocery stores.

It's Hidden In Our Packages - Everywhere!

Have you looked at labels and seen hydrolyzed protein? Or soy protein isolate? What about vegetable protein? These innocent-seeming protein ingredients are pervasive throughout processed foods.

It is possible to use chemical processes to significantly reduce the amount of MSG (or glutamic acid) in the final hydrolyzed protein, but the food and chemical companies don't go to that expense. Glutamic acid makes the food taste good, so food companies want us to consume it. They want us to want more . . . and more.

To make the situation worse, the FDA allows manufacturing companies to put deceptive information on labels. Yeast extract and soy protein isolate, for example, always contain free glutamic acid (basically MSG). Bouillon and flavorings usually contain free glutamic acid. When ingredient manufacturers make "natural flavorings" they put in a wide variety of ingredients, and they can even add in MSG.

When the "natural flavorings" ingredient is then included in a food product, "natural flavorings" is shown on the label. None of the individual ingredients contained in the "natural flavorings" are listed. In some cases, it is not even necessary that ingredients including MSG be listed on the label at all.

Do you coffee drinkers know that popular coffee restaurants are rumored to put MSG into their coffee? If it's not actually in the coffee itself - though it could be - it is almost certainly going to be in the flavorings and sweeteners. Maybe that's why people stand in long lines to get their pricey coffee drinks.

Here is an interesting distinction from the Truth in Labeling site. 'If MSG is processed into a product instead of being poured into a product, they declare that there is "no MSG added" or "no added MSG," even though they know full well that the product contains MSG.'

Below are links to a site where you can get lists of ingredients that contain MSG. But make sure you get to my other posting MSG - Part 2 - Why It Affects You for information about how the brain works, and why MSG has such powerful impacts on our bodies.

Truth in Labeling Campaign

This organization is dedicated to education and advocacy about MSG issues.

www.truthinlabeling.org

List of MSG containing ingredients. I highly recommend that you review this comprehensive list, which includes ingredients that often, but do not always contain MSG.

The following ALWAYS contain MSG. Glutamate, glutamic acid, gelatin, calcium caseinate, textured protein, sodium caseinate, yeast nutrient, yeast extract, yeast food, autolyzed yeast, hydrolyzed protein, hydrolyzed corn gluten.

Non-specific ingredient names like seasonings and natural flavorings are very highly likely to contain MSG.

Powdered milk and cheese ingredients are likely to contain MSG. I think powdered eggs are suspicious, as are powdered garlic, onions, and vegetables. 'Organic' foods that contain 'autolyzed yeast' and 'natural flavoring' will contain MSG.

Are you reacting to MSG? This is a list of adverse reactions that people have experienced. I discuss reactions further in MSG - Part 2 - Why It Affects You.

Why do government and industry hide the fact that MSG is in our food?

This link takes to you to a Truth in Labeling page that gives details. To get straight to the point about it, ultimately, it's all about money. Increased sales, lowered costs, and wanting people to be unhealthy, so they will go to the doctor and take more drugs.

The Soy Connection

Hydrolyzed soy protein is added to many packaged foods. Why? First, food producers want you to eat more, and MSG certainly encourages hearty consumption. Second, putting soy protein in foods provides a profitable outlet for the waste that is left over after soy oil is removed from the beans. In a 2007 blog posting, I wrote about Kaayla Daniel's book, The Whole Soy Story. In the book, you learn that soy protein isolate was developed as a product, because soy oil producers had endless amounts of soy protein to dispose of. So they found a way to feed it to us. Very good for them, very bad for us.

Protein powders and protein bars, which people usually eat for their health, are mostly full of soy protein. If they are not soy based, the proteins may still be hydrolyzed and contain MSG.

Read Food Labels!

I did some label-reading research. I found MSG in some places that I was looking for it, and surprisingly, I did not find it in other places. I was encouraged to find that some packaged foods now actually do not contain MSG, at least not in the 'listed' ingredients. What is not listed we just can't identify. I was happy to find that some products actually specifically state "Contains traces of soybeans." In an earlier posting, I wrote about soy. Many people are allergic to soy, so the almost complete removal of soy from some products, and the labeling of products regarding the presence of soy is a big leap forward.

My first research subject was a popular brand of nacho cheese chips. You can't eat just one chip. I include all of the ingredients here, so you can see how processed this food is. Ingredients on the Truth in Labeling ALWAYS CONTAINS MSG list are in BOLD ITALICS CAPS. Ingredients that usually contain MSG are in bold italics.

Nacho cheese chips: selected corn, vegetable oil (sunflower and/or canola oils), seasoning (salt, cheddar cheese, corn maltodextrin, wheat flour, whey, MONOSODIUM GLUTAMATE, buttermilk solids, romano cheese, whey protein concentrate, onion powder, hydrogenated vegetable oil, corn flour, lactose, natural and artificial flavor, dextrose, tomato powder, spices (still suspect, I think), lactic acid, color, citric acid, sugar, garlic powder, red and green bell pepper powder, SODIUM CASEINATE, disodium inosinate (which works with MSG), disodium guanylate (works with MSG), skim milk powder, whey protein isolate, corn syrup solids), calcium hydroxide. So you can see that it's full of the stuff.

For the following products, only the relevant ingredients are listed here.

A popular brand of corn chips seems to be MSG-free, at least from the label.

Semolina pasta seems to be MSG-free, at least from the label.

A popular brand of pasta sauce contains spices, onion powder, garlic powder, and dehydrated parsley (each of which could be suspicious), citric acid, flavor

Wheat crackers contain malt flour, spice extract

A popular brand of cookies contains artificial flavor, dried egg (suspicious)

A popular children's cereal contains natural fruit flavorings. I was actually impressed that this cereal did not contain more overtly MSG ingredients. I hope this means that they have actually improved the quality of the product, though I doubt it. Of course, it is still filled with sweeteners. Another brand of cereals boxes that I looked at did say "Contains traces of soybeans."

A popular brand of bread contains yeast. I am suspicious of some of the ingredients on the label, and wonder what is not on the label. It does definitely contain soy. Soybean oil, defatted soy flour (potential MSG), calcium propionate, sodium stearoyl-2-lactylate, monoglycerides, sorbic acid. It also contains wheat flour.

What is in my kitchen? My husband's bread contains soy in several forms, and yeast.

A popular "natural" brand of crackers contain spices (suspect), whey, malt extract, cultured buttermilk, SODIUM CASEINATE, maltodextrin, AUTOLYZED YEAST, citric acid, natural flavor.

Ketchup contains natural flavorings.

Bottles of a popular brand of seasoning that is considered healthy used to say "No MSG", but apparently they can't claim that anymore, because it is a soy product and contains isolated soy proteins.

So, that's it. Whew.

Make sure you get to MSG - Part 2 - Why It Affects You.

Educational Presentations About MSG

I give presentations about this and other food- and health-related topics. Feedback that I've received indicates that people take home information that positively impacts their food purchasing patterns. If you are interested in scheduling a presentation for a group, please contact me. sandra@MiracleInspirations.com

MSG - Part 2 - Why It Affects You

On to what happens when we eat the stuff!

You Are What You Eat! Choose Real Food for Health!

Thank You's, Comments and Suggestions! There is a comments link at the end of the newsletter.

Sandra

Sandra Lynn Lee
Certified Practitioner - The Emotion Code/The Body Code
Certified Healing Codes Practitioner
Miracle Inspirations
www.MiracleInspirations.com
sandra@MiracleInspirations.com

MSG - Part 2 - Why It Affects You

2011-05-24T21:19:00.003-07:00

In giving educational presentations about MSG, I have seen that very few people understand why MSG is harmful. In these presentations, I help people understand how the brain works, and how MSG affects brain function. With this knowledge, people frequently feel more compelled to avoid MSG, and they take actions to protect themselves from MSG's damaging effects.

In this posting, I'll share with you some of what I teach in the MSG presentation. (If you are interested in having me present to your group or organization, please contact me. sandra@MiracleInspirations.com)

If you have not read my posting MSG - Part 1 - It's Everywhere, I recommend it. It helps you know how to identify MSG in packaged foods. http://foodmiracles.blogspot.com/2011/05/msg-part-1-its-everywhere.html

Why is MSG in Our Food?

MSG is a flavor enhancer, meaning it makes foods taste good. Food companies and restaurants want us to buy, eat, and buy, so they add chemicals to make us want more, more, and more. MSG and other food additives contribute to people gaining weight.

How MSG Affects People

MSG is toxic to the body's neurological system, though scientists do not completely understood how it works. Go to the Truth in Labeling site for more details. MSG causes a variety of reactions in people who are sensitive to it. Even if you are not noticeably affected, it is probably safe to assume that it has some impact on you, and that over time, any symptoms could become more significant.

On the Truth in Labeling list of reactions that people have had to MSG are cardiac, circulatory, endocrine, gastrointestinal, muscular, neurological, visual, respiratory, urological, genital, and skin reactions. At this moment, the only body parts that I can think of that aren't on this list are hair and bones. So perhaps your hair and bones are safe from MSG exposure. But then I wouldn't count on that, because if you aren't healthy overall, then your hair and bones won't be either. Your nervous system is important for the functioning of every cell.

Aspartame Too

The artificial sweetener Aspartame (or Nutrasweet) has basically the same effects as MSG/glutamate. And even more negative effects. (Aspartame is believed to contribute to cancer, headaches, diabetes, seizures, and blindness.) Avoid it. Aspartate is primarily used in beverages, sugar replacements, and diet foods. Basically, avoid all of the artificial sweeteners. It's too much to get into here.

Excitotoxins: The Taste That Kills

In this book, respected neurosurgeon Russell Blaylock explains how MSG and Aspartame damage the nervous system. Almost literally from the beginning to the end of this book, I was exclaiming in horror with each turn of the page. For many years, I have avoided buying foods that contain MSG, because I had heard and read enough to know that it is harmful. But until I read Excitotoxins: The Taste That Kills, I didn't really understand. Well now I know, and it's ever so much worse than I dreamed was possible.

In this blog, I give some brief simplified details about what Blaylock explains in extraordinary depth. Though he conveys a tremendous amount of information, this book is still relatively understandable for the average person to read. He wants everyone to comprehend the importance of this material. I was actually quite surprised at how quickly I finished the book, because it is so easily understood.

Using clearly written text and line drawings, Blaylock first explains how the brain works. He then explains how excitotoxins interfere with the normal functioning of the brain, and how they contribute to the development of degenerative conditions of the brain and spinal cord. Every person can be affected by this, from conception to death.

Why Read the Book?

Alzheimer's Disease, Parkinson's Disease, and Lou Gehrig's Disease.

That's why. Reading the book will help you avoid having those wonderful conditions to look forward to in your personal future. Do you need another reason? How about protecting the healthy development and future lives of your children and grandchildren.

Eating MSG and Aspartame can kill brain cells. Do you and your children need your brains?

So, here I go. I am vastly simplifying here. Blaylock does a much better job of explaining all this in the book. Before I read the book, I knew none of this.

Why Are MSG and Aspartame So Dangerous?

MSG is a form of glutamate. Aspartame is a form of aspartate. When glutamate and aspartate are added in large quantities to the foods that we eat, the concentrations of these substances can then be dramatically increased in the brain.

Glutamate and Aspartate are amino acids (protein components) that are used as neurotransmitters (communicating molecules) by the brain and to a lesser degree, by the spinal cord. The body's highest concentrations of circulating glutamate are in the brain, because the brain needs it to function. The brain has several mechanisms for very carefully controlling the concentration of circulating glutamate.

What happens in the brain when glutamate is present? To shorten into a few sentences whole sections of the book, glutamate causes nerve cells, or neurons to fire repeatedly. This is part of how the brain develops and functions normally.

All of the glutamate that the brains needs can be obtained through the consumption of normal, whole-food proteins.

When MSG is consumed in foods, the amount of glutamate circulating in the blood stream and in the brain can be very dramatically increased. Even small fluctuations in the concentration can disrupt brain function. With sufficient duration and/or concentration of glutamate in the brain, the neurons die. Basically, the neurons are excited to death. That is why glutamate is called an excitotoxin.

Not all neurons use glutamate as neurotransmitters. It is primarily glutamate-using neurons that die as a result of excessive excitotoxin exposure. Non-glutamate neurons will survive even when glutamate neurons right next to them have died.

Aspartate is an excitotoxin that affects the same neurons in the brain as glutamate, so for the sake of simplicity, I mention only glutamate.

The Brain's Protection Mechanisms

Because the concentration of circulating glutamate is so critical for normal brain function, the brain has several ways in which it keeps this concentration under control.

BLOOD BRAIN BARRIER

This is the brain's first level of defense, keeping out most of the glutamate that is circulating in the blood from food sources. However, numerous conditions can make the blood brain barrier ineffective in performing this protective function. That makes these conditions risk factors for increased susceptibility to excitotoxin damage.

Risk Factors for Increased Excitotoxin Exposure and Damage:
- Head impacts
- Strokes
- Hypertension
- Brain tumors
- Infections
- Increased core body temperature and Fevers

PUMPING MECHANISMS

There are a couple of pumping systems in the brain that protect against excitotoxin damage. One pumps out excess glutamate. The other would require too much explanation to go into here.

An important piece of information about these pumps is that they require a lot of energy. Energy in the body primarily comes from glucose. When glucose is low, then energy is low.

When energy is low, the pumps stop working. This results in increased glutamate concentrations and increased damage to neurons. Therefore anything that results in low glucose levels is a risk factor.

Risk Factors for Increased Excitotoxin Exposure and Damage:
- Hypoglycemia
- Anything that increases your usage of energy, thereby depleting the supply of glucose
- - Injury. The body consumes a lot of energy in repairing the damage.
- - Illness. The same as above.
- - Excitotoxin exposure. This makes the pumps work, using up a lot of energy.
- - Exercise. Exercise is healthy, but it does deplete energy reserves. When you consume foods and drinks during or after exercise, any excitotoxins in them will be more likely to enter your brain and damage neurons. Do your sports drinks contain aspartame or MSG??

Babies and Children

The developing brains of children require glutamate. Many neurons require glutamate to function and to build new nerve connections. I won't go into all of the details here. It is this section of Blaylock's book that I found most horrifying, because of the devastating impact that excitotoxins have on neural development. Until the late 1960's MSG was added in large amounts to baby foods. And when pregnant mothers consume food and drink containing glutamate and aspartate, it goes to the baby.

Suffice it to say that for an assortment of reasons, babies, both in utero and after birth, and children are more susceptible to damage to their developing brains than are adults.

Depending on when the exposure occurs, glutamate and aspartate can severely impair the development of the endocrine system. The endocrine system controls all of the body's functions, so when its formation is impacted, a whole host of malfunctions can occur, including but not limited to delayed development, learning disorders, autism, and psychological conditions.

Does it make sense that if something kills brain cells, you don't give it to babies and children, with their developing brains?

Avoid MSG and Aspartame (Nutrasweet) if you are pregnant. (Since other artificial sweeteners are also suspected of having negative impacts, consider avoiding them too.)

Avoid giving glutamate and aspartate containing foods and drinks to children, INCLUDING TEENS. Unfortunately, many packaged foods, including baby foods, are likely to contain hidden forms of MSG. For more information about this, read my posting MSG - Part 1 - It's Everywhere.

Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Lou Gehrig's Diseases
and other Degenerative Neurological Conditions

Excitotoxins are not the sole factor that results in individuals developing these conditions. But excitotoxins are significant contributors. Depending on each individual person's particular genetic makeup, lifestyle and diet, incidence of injury, and state of health, the likelihood of developing these conditions varies. These conditions are different in how they manifest physically because they each have specific areas of the brain or spinal cord where nerve degeneration has occurred.

In all of these conditions, the neurons that are affected use glutamate as a neurotransmitter.

80-90% of neurons have to die before the individual will experience symptoms of disease.

So by the time you have a diagnosable condition, the degeneration of neurons has been occurring for many years, perhaps even beginning in utero and in childhood.

Obviously it is much more complex than this. Multiple chapters in Russell Blaylock's book are dedicated to addressing these conditions.

Protecting Yourself

Does it make sense to minimize your exposure to MSG and Aspartame, knowing that they can kill brain cells? Stop eating excitotoxins now, and you can slow or prevent future degeneration. However this is not always possible. Personally, I do still occasionally eat in restaurants, and I do consume some packaged foods.

Next, I'll discuss how to avoid excitotoxins, followed by other actions you can take to protect yourself when you do consume them.

Eat Whole Fresh Foods!

Of course, making your own food from fresh whole ingredients is always best! But when that isn't a viable option, it's valuable to know how to make intelligent choices.

Avoiding Excitotoxins

Some food ingredients contain both glutamate and aspartate, and potentially other excitotoxins. As a general rule, Aspartame is primarily contained in beverages, sugar replacements, and diet foods. And MSG/glutamate/glutamic acid is in just about everything else. So if you 1) avoid the types of foods and beverages that tend to contain Aspartame, and 2) avoid anything that you suspect contains MSG, you will be pretty safe. It is difficult to completely avoid added excitotoxins if you 1) eat any packaged foods, and if you 2) eat in restaurants.

If you minimize your excitotoxin intake, your body's natural protection mechanisms may be able to take care of the rest, minimizing future damage. If you want to take additional protective measures, including those mentioned below, then you will do even better.

If you have not read my posting MSG - Part 1 - It's Everywhere, I recommend it. It helps you know how to identify MSG in packaged foods. http://foodmiracles.blogspot.com/2011/05/msg-part-1-its-everywhere.html

Protective Actions

As mentioned above, when your body's energy supplies become depleted, you are more susceptible to excitotoxin damage. So when you are low in blood sugar, be particularly vigilant in avoiding excitotoxins.

Some foods and nutritional supplements offer nutrients that help your brain protect itself. I won't go into further details of how they are protective here.

Magnesium and antioxidants help your brain protect itself. So eat foods rich in magnesium and antioxidants, and take supplements. If you want more information about how important magnesium is to health, go to Magnesium is Critical. http://foodmiracles.blogspot.com/2011/06/magnesium-is-critical.html

Educational Presentation About MSG

I give presentations about this and other food- and health-related topics. Feedback that I've received indicates that people take home information that positively impacts their food purchasing patterns. If you are interested in scheduling a presentation for a group, please contact me. sandra@MiracleInspirations.com

Protect Your Brain Function!

Thank You's, Comments and Suggestions! There is a comments link at the end of the newsletter.

Sandra

Sandra Lynn Lee
Certified Practitioner - The Emotion Code/The Body Code
Certified Healing Codes Practitioner
Miracle Inspirations
www.MiracleInspirations.com
sandra@MiracleInspirations.com

You Are What You Eat - Go GMO Free!

2011-02-20T08:58:00.001-08:00

I consider myself to be relatively well informed about food and nutrition. But until recently, I actually knew almost nothing about Genetically Modified (GM) food. I knew that it is good to avoid Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO's), and that they are potentially damaging to health. But I didn't know what foods are GM, or about the risks associated with consuming them.

In January, I received training in giving presentations about GMO's. Now that I understand the risks, I'm horrified that developing, producing, and consuming GMO's is permitted, even actively encouraged by our government.

I tell you now that this posting is long. This subject is both complex and critically important (for your health and more . . .) And I only get to the tip of the iceberg here. If you're not able to read this full posting now, please definitely read the next segment. And return later.

Where to Go to Learn More

For those of you who don't have time to read this whole posting now, I've included information about resources here.

I learned essentially everything that I know about GMO's from resources accessed through the Institute for Responsible Technology (IRT). IRT was started by Jeffrey Smith, considered the world's authority on GMO's.

Tons of information is available through IRT's website. http://www.responsibletechnology.org/
Excellent Books (Genetic Roulette: The Documented Health Risks of Genetically Engineered Foods, and Seeds of Deception by Jeffrey Smith)
Videos and Audios, both online and DVD/CD
Non-GMO Shopping Guides and Health Risks brochures. The Shopping Guide helps you know what to avoid when shopping, and lists manufacturers who purposely use non-GM ingrediets.

Have Hope - We CAN Do Something - Tipping Point

Before going further, I want to tell you that there is hope. What YOU Do Makes a Difference!

It is possible for us to stop the ongoing release of GMO's into the environment! It takes everyday people, like you and me, educating ourselves and making non-GMO food choices. Then the food manufacturing companies will lose their profits, and they will change to non-GMO sources for their ingredients to get their customers back.

The way we spend our food dollars has an impact. It is estimated that 5% of the U.S. population changing to non-GMO brands will get us to what is being called the Tipping Point. Hey Canadians, we're part of the equation too.

What Is Genetic Engineering?

Are you wondering what all this is about? To make a Genetically Modified Organism (GMO), genes for a desirable trait from one organism are inserted into another organism. For example:

Plants Making Pesticides. Bt toxin is a substance produced by soil bacteria. It is traditionally used as a 'natural' pesticide. Biotechnology companies isolate the bacterial gene (DNA) that codes for Bt toxin, and they put it into the DNA of corn plants, for example. When the corn grows, Bt toxin is made inside each cell of the plant. When pests, like the corn borer, eat the plant, the Bt toxin kills them.
(Apparently, Bt splits open the pest's digestive system. Is the prevalence of Bt from GMO's in our food supply contributing to the increases in digestive problems? Noone knows. Because noone is studying this.)

Herbicide Tolerance is another common type of genetic modification. Tolerance to Monsanto's Roundup is the most common. A very large percentage of the soy grown, and much of the corn is Roundup Ready. When pesticide is applied, weeds die and the plant survives.

Other Qualities. Other modifications are made to provide particular desirable qualities. Like Hawaiian papayas and zucchini with protection from viruses, or tomatoes with extra long shelf life. (Flavr Savr tomatoes are no longer being sold.)

The Role of Government

People naturally assume that if a product is available for consumption, then it must be safe. We have government agencies whose purpose is to test products for safety, right? Well, I agree with that in theory.

In today's real world, the U.S. Government's official policy is promoting biotechnology. The U.S.'s food regulating agency, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) appears to cooperate with corporate giants (like Monsanto) to promote biotechnology and the development and sale of Genetically Engineered foods.

The corporations and the FDA consider GM foods to be "substantially equivalent" to non-GM foods. Because they are considered to be the same, no safety studies are required.

Far less safety testing is conducted for GM foods than for pharmaceutical drugs. In fact, there are still no studies required when reactions occur that are suspected to be related to consumption of GM foods.

Many FDA scientists disagreed with this policy.

This FDA policy was made against the advice of FDA's own scientists, who recommended that long term safety studies be conducted. They said there could be unexpected side effects, including allergens, toxins, new diseases, and nutritional problems.

Noone Knows

Because no studies are conducted, we can only theorize how GMO's may contribute to human health problems. Plus, a lot (LOT!) of GM crops are used for feeding livestock. These animals produce foods like milk and eggs, or are themselves eventually consumed as meat. We do not know for certain how GMO's impact either the animals' health, or the quality and safety of the foods coming from them.

What do you think about the fact that no safety studies are required?

Preliminary Results Show Potential Health Risks

In what is probably the most in depth study conducted, rats were fed potatoes that were genetically modified to produce an insecticide. Here are preliminary results from this study. The rats developed potentially precancerous cell growth in the digestive tract, smaller brains, livers and testicles, partial atrophy of the liver and damaged immune systems. This was intended to be a long term study, but the scientist was fired, and his lab was closed, ending the study.

Other preliminary study results show potential risks of a variety of other difficulties, including allergies and reproductive difficulties.

Are GMO's Contributing to Our Health Problems?

Without results from well designed and conducted studies, we don't know. We DO know that problems with cancer, reproductive difficulties, allergies, digestive difficulties, immune system issues, and a wide variety of other health challenges have been increasing. Certainly a variety of food and lifestyle factors contribute to these trends, so this can't all be attributed to GMO's.

Since they were first released in 1996, the presence of GMO's in our food supply has been increasing. It is reasonable to assume that they may be contributing to health problems.

Antibiotic Resistance. Frequently, the process of genetically engineering plants uses genes for antibiotic resistance. (See details about this below.) Aside from any risks or benefits coming from the 'desirable' traits which are conveyed to the plants, what about the risks resulting from the proliferation of genes for antibiotic resistance? Is this contributing to the increasing problems we're having with antibiotic resistant bacteria? Again, noone knows, because this is not studied.

Scientists should study each of these risks!

What Happens When Plants are Genetically Engineered?

The following description of the genetic engineering process is greatly simplified. But it is sufficient to provide you with a general sense of what happens.

The gene (DNA) for a 'desirable' trait (isolated from a source bacteria, plant, animal, etc.) is prepared for insertion into a target plant, such as soy. (Animals and other types of organisms are also targets for genetic engineering, but for now, our focus is plants.) Usually a gene for antibiotic resistance is also added. In the most common insertion method, the new gene fragment is shot (using a gun) into a plate of plant cells. Antibiotics are dumped in. Any cells that manage to survive are antibiotic resistant, and therefore have the inserted gene. These are then cloned into full plants.

"Massive Collateral Damage"

The biotechnology industry claims that this is a technologically precise process. But they have no way of either knowing or controlling what happens. The process is random, a genetic roulette, and nothing about it is certain.

The process of creating a GMO results in massive collateral damage in the plant. There can be multiple copies of the inserted DNA fragment, existing genes within the plant can be turned off completely, or they can be turned on continuously, . . . The potential problems resulting from mutations are endless.

DNA Compared to a Book

In the book Genetic Roulette, Jeffrey Smith compares DNA to a book. The comparison makes it terrifyingly clear what can happen during genetic engineering.

The four bases that make up the genetic sequence are the letters in the book; the genes are special pages that describe characters called proteins. The common way people explain and promote genetic engineering is to say, "It is just like taking a page out of one book and putting it into another."

In reality, a book would look quite different after it had undergone genetic engineering. The inserted page (gene) may turn out to be multiple identical pages, partial pages, or small bits of text. Sections of the insert are misspelled, deleted, inverted, or scrambled. Next to the inserts, the story is often indecipherable, with random letters, new text, and pages missing. The rest of the book has also changed. There are now typos throughout, sometimes hundreds or thousands of them. Letters are switched, words are scrambled, and sentences are deleted, repeated, or reversed. Passages from one part of the book, even whole chapters (chromosomes), may be relocated or repeated elsewhere, and bits of text from entirely different books can show up from time to time. Many of the characters in the story (proteins) now act differently. Some minor roles have become prominent, leads have been demoted and some may have switched roles from hero to villain or vice versa. And, if you get bored with this story, take the original book, insert another page - even the same one - and the changes will be completely different. Or stick with the original book and over time, it might actually rearrange the inserted page.

Scientists Don't Understand How Life Works

Living beings and the functions of their bodies are extraordinarily complex. Scientists understand only a minute percentage of the events that occur.

Each naturally occurring organism on the planet developed over time, with every aspect of its functioning finely tuned. Functions are turned on and off as needed, all carefully regulated by the organism's brain, nervous system, or whatever other guiding force controls everything. It's truly miraculous. And scientists just don't understand it all, it's far too complex.

Biotechnology companies shoot DNA fragments into the genome and expect that the organism can continue to function normally, with the only alteration being making one new and desirable protein? Dream on.

If you scramble a book in the manner described above, it can no longer be read properly. Well, that's what potentially happens to the DNA, to the organism as a whole each time a plant or animal is subjected to genetic engineering. It is unreasonable to expect these organisms to consistently function normally.

One DVD that I ordered from the Institute for Responsible Technology shows deformed and suffering animals (like pigs) that were genetically engineered. It's horrendous. (The video referred to is Unnatural Selection, part of the GMO Trilogy.)

One day, will human beings suffer these sorts of horrors? Because of some 'mistake' inadvertently created by the biotech industry?

What Foods are Genetically Engineered?

Soy, Corn, Cottonseed, Canola. The main crops are Soy, Corn, Cotton (cottonseed for oil), and Canola. All are in vegetable oil. Most packaged foods contain soy and corn in multiple forms (many of which are hidden under non-obvious names). Sugar from Sugar Beets is commonly GM. As are most Papaya from Hawaii, some Zucchini and Crookneck Squash, and Quest Tobacco. (GM Tomatoes and Potatoes were both released, but are no longer sold.)

A lot of GM crops are fed to livestock. Corn and soy in particular. GM free meat, dairy, eggs, and farmed fish can therefore be difficult to find. Plus, GM Alfalfa was very recently approved by the Obama administration. This will have a huge impact on farmers, livestock animals, and the foods coming from them.

There has also been talk of approving GM Salmon. I don't think it's smart to release GMO's into the ocean. Do you?

How Do You Avoid GMO's

* Eat organic, if you can. Organic foods are not supposed to be GM or contain GM ingredients. Though there are not yet standardized guidelines, you're still safer eating organic.
* Read labels.
* Avoid Soy, Corn, Cottonseed and Canola, including hidden forms of soy and corn, and 'vegetable oil'. If sugar does not specify that it is just cane sugar, then it probably contains sugar beet, which may be GM.
The other crops are minor, though still worthwhile avoiding. Hawaiian papaya, zucchini, and crookneck squash
* When eating in restaurants ask if their food is GMO-free. Avoid obvious soy and corn. Ask what kind of oil the food is cooked in. 'Vegetable oil' will almost certainly be GM. Request olive oil, coconut oil, peanut oil, or no oil.

GMO Presentations

You, your family, your friends - everyone - can learn how to protect yourselves from the health imbalances that GM foods may be contributing to.

I give presentations near where I live in the British Columbia Okanangan Valley, and in Washington's Olympia/Seattle area. If you are interested in attending an event in these areas, please contact me for information. sandra@MiracleInspirations.com

I will be in the Olympia area in late March and early April. I am available to give presentations during that time.

Are you interested in organizing a presentation about Genetically Modified Foods? At this time, I am speaking in locations that are within an hour or two of where I live in Penticton, British Columbia, and of Olympia, Washington. However, I may extend my reach to more distant locations in the future.

There are trained presenters throughout North America, and even the world. If you are interested in attending or organizing a GMO presentation, contact the Institute for Responsible Technology. http://www.responsibletechnology.org/
Send an e-mail requesting information about events and presenters. info@responsibletechnology.org

Where to Go to Learn More

I learned essentially everything that I know about GMO's from resources accessed through the Institute for Responsible Technology.
IRT was started by Jeffrey Smith, considered the world's authority on GMO's.

Tons of information is available through IRT's website. http://www.responsibletechnology.org/
Excellent Books (Genetic Roulette: The Documented Health Risks of Genetically Engineered Foods, and Seeds of Deception by Jeffrey Smith)
Videos and Audios, both online and DVD/CD
Non-GMO Shopping Guides and Health Risks brochures. The Shopping Guide helps you know what to avoid when shopping, and lists manufacturers who purposely use non-GM ingrediets.

You Are What You Eat! Choose Real Food for Health!

Thank You's, Comments and Suggestions! There is a comments link at the end of the newsletter.

Sandra

Sandra Lynn Lee
Certified Practitioner - The Emotion Code/The Body Code
Certified Healing Codes Practitioner
Miracle Inspirations
www.MiracleInspirations.com
sandra@MiracleInspirations.com

What's Kefir? A Healthy Food!

2008-09-25T10:58:00.001-07:00

Have you ever tried kefir? My journey with making this wonderful food is just beginning.

First, here is a bit about what kefir is. Then on to my amusing personal kefir story.

Kefir is a cultured milk product similar to, but more liquid in consistency than yogurt. Kefir grains are living cultures that ferment milk. My understanding is that the fermentation process digests the lactose and proteins, making milk easier for the ultimate consumer to digest and assimilate. For people who are milk intolerant, this pre-digestion may make it possible for them to comsume kefir. Once fermented, kefir can then be made into cheese and other edibles.

The origin of kefir is considered to be in the Caucasus Mountains, possibly in North Ossetia. (Yes, near South Ossetia, the area of recent political unrest and ethnic cleansing -- primarily driven by U.S. interests in oil. Were you aware of that??) The people in this region have cultured and consumed kefir for over 1,000 years. They are renowned for longevity and good health. It is said that the tribes-folk regarded kefir as the drink of the Prophet. (Source, and for more details: Dominic "Dom" Anfiteatro, information follows.)

Introducing Dom, the World's Acknowledged Kefir Expert

My introduction to Dom occurred through a friend. (Thanks Jo!) He is both the kefir expert and the very best source for kefir grains. My first visit to Dom's website was . . . astonishing. The volume and depth of information will astound you. He knows his stuff.

http://users.chariot.net.au/~dna/kefirpage.html

I recommend spending time on his website. A printed version of some of this information can be ordered then downloaded or sent by mail: Kefir! A Probiotic Gem Cultured with Probiotic Jewels: Kefir Grains! (I encourage people to purchase kefir grains and the book from Dom, supporting his continuing work with kefir and health for the benefit of the world.)

Sandra's Adventures In Kefir Land

Having read Dom's detailed instructions, I felt pretty confident in beginning my journey with this wonderful and health-supporting food. However, when the grains arrived, I discovered that reading just isn't the same as doing. A few days ago, as I laboriously hand-sorted kefir grains from the kefir, the following came to mind, . . .

Making Kefir is NOT for the Faint of Heart

(Though in actuality, since consuming kefir has been known -- for centuries -- to have a substantially positive benefit of improving health, making kefir could potentially be VERY good for those who are physically challenged in the heart department. I couldn't really say one way or the other.)

All joking aside, at least initially, making kefir does take a bit more devotion and time than I was expecting. And though I had READ what kefir is like, when I finally had the real stuff, it bore little resemblance to what my mind had imagined.

Today, precisely a week after I first put kefir grains to revive in milk, I have a system for making kefir somewhat figured out, and I have come to love drinking kefir. I would say that making kefir is most definitely a worthwhile endeavor, and the end product is wonderfully enlivening and vital.

For those who may be contemplating the possibilities of making kefir . . . it is helpful to know in advance what you are getting into . . .

What Being a Keeper of Kefir Grains is Like

I now compare making kefir to being a person who has pets. Have you ever heard that it is the pet or pets in a household who are in CONTROL of the household? Have you seen signs saying that the person living there does the bidding of the cat (or the dog)?

If you have a dog, you feed Rover every day, and you keep water in his dish. Regular walks and the occasional bath are definitely recommended. Beyond tending to those basic physical needs, we all know that EVERYONE is happiest if Rover also gets plenty of love and attention.

Well, keeping kefir grains is somewhat like that, though definitely on a smaller scale. To a certain extent, my life now revolves around caring for and feeding my kefir grains. To keep them living and growing, the cultured milk (kefir) is strained away from the grains once a day, and fresh milk is added. Containers and utensils are washed to keep contaminating chemicals or foreign bacteria from killing the culture. Every couple of hours, I stir the mixture to put the grains in contact with fresh milk. Eventually, I will remove some grains and freeze or dry them for future use, because they will have multiplied. And because I am leaving for a week soon, my husband Ken has been designated the babysitter of the kefir grains, keeping them happy during my absence.

On a more personal level, I have a relationship with my kefir grains. Occasionally, I let them go too long before straining, and the kefir becomes thick in consistency. Straining then takes more effort and time. Because my culture is quite young, I want to keep as many grains in the culturing jar as possible, so I pick through the kefir by hand to find the grains that escaped through the holes of the strainer. When doing this, I actually find myself talking to them (occasionally even out loud). I tell them that anyone who wants to keep living in the jar needs to make themselves known and allow themselves to be retrieved. (Any that remain in the kefir will be . . . eaten! Which is perfectly acceptable. They are highly beneficial for health, providing a wealth of fabulous probiotics and nutrients.) After the grains are back in the jar and fed their milk, I frequently tell them, "Okay guys, multiply!"

I am not a pet owner, but I imagine that the fond feelings and the tender treatment that I give to my kefir grains are right in line with how people relate with their pets. Yes, kefir grains require attention and love. And I find that they are very much worth the effort.

Real Kefir vs. Commercially Produced Kefir

Real kefir, cultured with living kefir grains is NOT AT ALL like commercially available kefir. I was expecting something resembling what I had previously purchased in the store. What I got had absolutely NO resemblance to that white-liquid-in-a-carton. As far as I am concerned, their only similarities are that they are both liquid forms of milk, and that they both contain cultures of bacteria.

It is important to note that real kefir grains are quite different from the powdered kefir cultures that are commercially marketed to people desiring to make kefir. I imagine that grocery-store kefir is made with culture powder. Powdered cultures will never multiply or become real kefir grains, so continuing to make kefir requires additional culture purchases. Assuming that I keep my kefir grains healthy, I will have cultures forever. In fact, I will accumulate extra, which can be given away. The nutritional profile of the 'kefir' that is produced with powders also differs from that of true kefir. For more information, see Dom's website.

Reading that kefir is slimy in texture and consistency just did not fully clue me in. In fact, it really is quite slimy and stringy, in a liquid kind of way. My telling you that may produce a preconceived impression of what it is like, one that is perhaps a bit negative. Face it, the words 'slimy' and 'stringy' just do not convey a particularly positive image. But in fact, kefir's texture is acceptable, at least for me. Any initial anticipation of unpleasantness was quickly dissipated once I actually drank the kefir. My husband also seems to enjoy it. (While I am gone, will he continue drinking kefir on his own? That will be the true test.)

Lactic acid produced during fermentation gives kefir a slightly sour taste. Depending on how it is made and stored, kefir can also be a bit frothy. Fruit, herbs, and other food ingredients can be added in preparing kefir for consumption. I have yet to make smoothies and cheese. I look forward to this with anticipation. Dom gives quite a few recipes. For now, I am quite happy with straight kefir.

Raw Milk & Kefir

I think my kefir cultures quite rapidly went from dried to fully revived, more quickly than my reading of Dom's material led me to expect. Certainly part of this is due to the very high quality of Dom's cultures. And the raw milk that my kefir grains have been fed from day one will most certainly have contributed.

Go here for one of several postings on this blog about Raw Milk, its numerous benefits, and the issues associated with its availability.

That's My Kefir Story

For now, that's it. I may provide further installments, as the kefir adventure continues.

I'm going to have a glass of kefir, and experience the rush of aliveness and vitality that always follows.

Healthy Food to You!

Sandra

Sandra Lynn Lee
Certified Healing Codes Practitioner
Miracle Inspirations
www.MiracleInspirations.com
sandra@MiracleInspirations.com

Everything in this newsletter is the opinion of the author and is provided for informational and educational purposes only. When information is drawn from outside sources, both credit and access to the source are given, when available.

To go to the Breathe - Life's Inspirations With Sandra blog.

Do You Trust 'Em With Your Health?

2008-06-24T18:26:00.000-07:00

I have posted the June issue of Breathe - Life's Inspirations with Sandra. It addresses many food-related issues. Please go to the Breathe blog to read it.

Thank you.

Sandra

Raw Milk - A Health Freedom Issue

2008-05-18T16:36:00.007-07:00

Now, you might say, "Why would anyone want to drink raw milk? What's the big deal?"

Before I get into more detail about this, here is a video of a young man who is passionate about his raw milk. There are many people like him who CAN'T drink pasteurized milk. He shows us that raw milk isn't just for white upper class people.

Raw milk is for everyone -- for you, for me, for the guy walking down the street, and for your children and grandchildren.

This wonderful young man absolutely understands what is going on, and he does a terrific job of explaining it.
Sandra

The Demise of Raw Milk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5ZO3B2butg&NR=1

So, now that you have watched the video, do you understand a bit about why anyone would want to drink raw milk?? Now, back to the more in depth milk story.

Humble dairy cows were major contributors in helping the United States of America grow into a great nation. Raw milk and dairy foods supported people in becoming healthy and strong. The commerce of this country developed upon a foundation of small family farms and their dairy cattle.

Sadly, in recent decades, pasteurization of milk has become the rule, with tragic impacts on people's health. And family farms have been all but completely replaced by factory farms producing 'foods' that, rather than supporting optimal health, are resulting in nutritional deficiencies, toxicity, and disease within our population. This is a sad state of affairs.

Sandra's Personal Milk Story

I grew up drinking what I thought was milk. But it was actually pasteurized and homogenized milk, which I now understand is not actually real milk. No wonder I didn't like it! Once I was past childhood and providing my own food, I always thought of myself as not liking milk. I never drank milk, though I did eat cheese and butter.

Pasteurized milk isn't actually even food; the body is unable to properly digest and assimilate it. Food is supposed to provide nourishment for the body, and what is commonly thought of as milk does not accomplish this. At the same time, it actually harms the body! As far as I am concerned, pasteurized milk is inedible.

Now that I know about Real Milk, I drink about a gallon a week. I love it, you might even say that I cherish my freedom to drink milk. Fortunately, raw milk is available in stores in Washington State. This is not true in all states. For information on what to do about this, keep reading . . .

Cows and Grass Help with Global Warming

For encouraging information about how COWS and GRASS could help solve the Global Warming problem by taking atmospheric carbon and putting it back into the Earth, see this blog posting, here, here, and here.

After you read the material below, go to the next blog entry for More About Raw Milk.

Return to the What Are the Issues? blog here.

Now, to provide you with true Milk education, . . . Here is eye-opening information from A Campaign for Real Milk, a project of the Weston A. Price Foundation.
Sandra

In recent years, I have learned a tremendous amount from the Weston A. Price Foundation, about milk, and food in general, and about what people need to be healthy. Consider joining the Weston A. Price Foundation through their website.

The source of most commercial milk is the modern Holstein,* bred to produce huge quantities of milk--three times as much as the old-fashioned cow. She needs special feed and antibiotics to keep her well. Her milk contains high levels of growth hormone from her pituitary gland, even when she is spared the indignities of genetically engineered Bovine Growth Hormone to push her to the udder limits of milk production.

*Please note, there are farmers who produce excellent "Real Milk" using older lines of Holsteins and Holstein crosses. It is the modern commercial Holstein, bred only for quantity, not quality, and pumped full of hormones and antibiotics, that should be avoided. Know your supplier! Ask questions!

Buy only milk from old-fashioned breeds of cows, such as Jerseys, Guernseys, Red Devons, Brown Swiss or older genetic lines of Holsteins, or from goats or sheep.

(Or, depending on what part of the world you live in, from llamas, camels, mares, water buffalo, or reindeer!)

Real feed for cows is green grass in Spring, Summer and Fall; stored dry hay, silage, hay and root vegetables in Winter. It is not soy meal, cottonseed meal or other commercial feeds, nor is it bakery waste, chicken manure or citrus peel cake, laced with pesticides. Vital nutrients like vitamins A and D, and Price's "Activator X" (a fat-soluble catalyst that promotes optimum mineral assimilation, now believed to be vitamin K₂) are greatest in milk from cows eating green grass, especially rapidly growing green grass in the spring and fall. Vitamins A and D are greatly diminished, and Activator X disappears, when milk cows are fed commercial feed. Soy meal has the wrong protein profile for the dairy cow, resulting in a short burst of high milk production followed by premature death. Most milk (even most milk labeled "organic") comes from dairy cows that are kept in confinement their entire lives and never see green grass!

Buy only milk products from herds allowed to graze on green pasture.

Pasteurization destroys enzymes, diminishes vitamin content, denatures fragile milk proteins, destroys vitamins C, B12 and B6, kills beneficial bacteria, promotes pathogens and is associated with allergies, increased tooth decay, colic in infants, growth problems in children, osteoporosis, arthritis, heart disease and cancer. Calves fed pasteurized milk do poorly and many die before maturity. Raw milk sours naturally but pasteurized milk turns putrid; processors must remove slime and pus from pasteurized milk by a process of centrifugal clarification. Inspection of dairy herds for disease is not required for pasteurized milk. Pasteurization was instituted in the 1920s to combat TB, infant diarrhea, undulant fever and other diseases caused by poor animal nutrition and dirty production methods. But times have changed and modern stainless steel tanks, milking machines, refrigerated trucks and inspection methods make pasteurization absolutely unnecessary for public protection. And pasteurization does not always kill the bacteria for Johne’s disease suspected of causing Crohn's disease in humans with which most confinement cows are infected. Much commercial milk is now ultra-pasteurized to get rid of heat-resistant bacteria and give it a longer shelf life. Ultra-pasteurization is a violent process that takes milk from a chilled temperature to above the boiling point in less than two seconds. Clean raw milk from certified healthy cows is available commercially in several states and may be bought directly from the farm in many more. (Sources are listed on www.realmilk.com.)

Demand access in all states to clean, raw milk. Boycott processed milk!

Homogenization is a process that breaks down butterfat globules so they do not rise to the top. Homogenized milk has been linked to heart disease.

Use only milk with "Cream on the Top."

Average butterfat content from old-fashioned cows at the turn of the century was over 4% (or more than 50% of calories). Today butterfat comprises less than 3% (or less than 35% of calories). Worse, consumers have been duped into believing that low-fat and skim milk products are good for them. Only by marketing low-fat and skim milk as a health food can the modern dairy industry get rid of its excess poor-quality, low-fat milk from modern high-production herds. Butterfat contains vitamins A and D needed for assimilation of calcium and protein in the water fraction of the milk. Without them protein and calcium are more difficult to utilize and possibly toxic. Butterfat is rich in short- and medium chain fatty acids which protect against disease and stimulate the immune system. It contains glyco-spingolipids which prevent intestinal distress and conjugated linoleic acid which has strong anticancer properties.

Buy only full-fat milk products.

Powdered skim milk, a source of dangerous oxidized cholesterol and neurotoxic amino acids, is added to 1% and 2% milk. Low-fat yogurts and sour creams contain mucopolysaccharide slime to give them body. Pale butter from hay-fed cows contains colorings to make it look like vitamin-rich butter from grass-fed cows. Bioengineered enzymes are used in large-scale cheese production. Many mass produced cheeses contain additives and colorings and imitation cheese products contain vegetable oils.

Boycott counterfeits.

Pasteurization laws favor large, industrialized dairy operations and squeeze out small farmers. When farmers have the right to sell unprocessed milk to consumers, they can make a decent living, even with small herds.

A Campaign for Real Milk is a project of The Weston A. Price Foundation
PMB 106-380, 4200 Wisconsin Ave, NW, Washington DC 20016
Phone: (202) 363-4394 | Fax: (202) 363-4396 | Web: www.westonaprice.org

__________

Go to the next blog posting for More About Raw Milk.

Cows and Grass Help with Global Warming
For encouraging information about how COWS and GRASS could help solve the Global Warming problem by taking atmospheric carbon and putting it back into the Earth, see this blog posting, here, here, and here.

Return to the What Are the Issues? blog here.

More About Raw Milk

2008-05-18T16:36:00.005-07:00

My mother, Carolyn Lee wrote the following article based on the material in the references at the bottom of this posting. We have her to thank for putting a tremendous amount of time and effort into doing this. She does this for the health and freedom of all Americans.

If you have not yet read the other posting Raw Milk - A Health Freedom Issue, I recommend doing so. You can access it here.

Cows and Grass Help with Global Warming
For encouraging information about how COWS and GRASS could help solve the Global Warming problem by taking atmospheric carbon and putting it back into the Earth, see this blog posting, here, here, and here.

Return to the What Are the Issues? blog here.
Sandra

Health Freedom: the Battle over Milk

"Congressman Ron Paul introduced HR4077 on November 7, 2007, a bill to 'authorize the interstate traffic of unpasteurized milk and milk products in final package form for human consumption when the milk or milk product originates in a State that allows the sale of unpasteurized milk and milk products in final form'.

The purpose of the bill is to initiate the elimination of the federal regulation (21 CFR 1240.61) that prohibits raw milk and raw milk products for human consumption in interstate commerce. This regulation has hindered the ability of raw milk dairies to market their products; and it has made it more difficult for consumers to find sources of raw milk.

As the FDA's warnings increasingly fall on deaf ears, the regulation looks more vulnerable to a challenge. Getting rid of it would remove a major obstacle to prosperity for small dairy farms. HR4077 has been referred to the House Committtee on Energy and Commerce." (Wise Traditions, vol. 9, number 1, Spring 2008, p. 90)

Milk: Nature's Finest Health Food
Human societies on six continents have been nourished by the milk of various ruminant animal herds for thousands of years. Many made butter and cheese. Most of them consumed their milk in some fermented form, such as clabbered (soured) milk, kefir, or yogurt. In fact, one could say that these wonderful animals, who have the astonishing ability to turn indigestible grass into a glorious foodstuff for humans, have enabled entire civilizations to grow and prosper.

When you do a little research, you find that untreated, unprocessed milk, preferably from a grass-fed cow (or goat), has wonderful growth-promoting and healing properties. After all, isn't that what mother nature created milk for, to nurture and protect the young of many species? That's why breast milk is recommended for babies. Of course, new mothers who are poorly nourished produce poorer quality breast milk, as we are what we eat. (You can find a great deal of information about the proper nutrition for expectant mothers and new mothers at the Weston A. Price Foundation website, if this is a subject that interests you.)

In fact, it was the medical community that fought the hardest to preserve their patients' access to raw milk in the early days of the battle over milk, as fresh, whole milk was a highly recommended cure for many illnesses in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Milk was recommended for patients suffering from tuberculosis, heart disease, edema, obesity, high blood pressure, prostate problems, diabetes, all manner of gastric disorders, worms, allergies, to name just a few of the conditions helped by raw milk. Present-day health practitioners have added asthma, autism, neuralgia, brain and nervous disorders, paralysis, ulcers, periodontal disease, and liver, kidney, and bladder diseases to the list. Raw milk is curative because it contains essential amino acids (proteins) very similar in composition to those in human milk; various important enzymes; growth factors; immunoglobulins (antibodies); anti-bacterial factors; anti-viral agents; plus every vitam in and mineral known to be needed by the human body.

Has anyone ever died from drinking raw milk?

The answer to this question can be found on p.27 of Joann S. Grohman's book, Keeping a Family Cow, c. 2006, Coburn Press:

"But to keep things in perspective, when it comes to the safety of raw milk, it's reassuring to know that the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) which has tracked disease from many sources for many decades has no record of anyone of any age dying as a result of having drunk unpasteurized milk.

Untreated (raw) milk has considerable bacteriostatic activity (it destroys bacteria all by itself). When promptly chilled, contamination would have to be massive to cause illness. Once soured by harmless or benign acid loving bacteria, as for yogurt or cottage cheese making, or by ordinary room temperature souring (clabbering) when exposed to air, the acidity goes to work on the harmful bacteria, knocking them out rapidly. During the aging of hard cheese they are also destroyed."

Modern Factory Dairy Farming
Now, if unprocessed milk -- or raw milk -- from grass-fed cows is such a perfectly natural and healthy food, why is the government so intent on preventing consumers from buying it? Why all the resistance at the state level, nationwide? Why all the intimidation of raw milk farmers? What is really going on here? Why is the federal government so insistent that the U.S. milk supply continue to be pasteurized, when clearly pasteurization is no longer necessary, due to modern technology and sanitation procedures? Could the answers be money and corporate control of our food supply? I think so!

You see, dairy farming just isn't what it used to be. It's factory farming, in confined operations, just like pig and chicken farming nowadays. Giant conglomerates produce more and more of this nation's milk, with many operations holding thousands of cows, often in overcrowded conditions. Their cows live in the most unnatural conditions possible for a ruminant animal who mother nature designed to eat grass, then lie down in that grass for hours to digest that meal and to sleep. They eat grains and other feedstocks that their digestive systems weren't meant to handle. Most have to sit or stand on a cement floor for the greater part of their shortened lifespans. They're pumped full of antibiotics, because they often get mastitis, an infection of the udders, and have laminitis, a painful inflammation of the hooves, because of the hours they spend on hard concrete. Now, how nourishing do you think th eir mik is going to be?

Thomas Jefferson would truly be appalled, if he could see how we Americans have turned our backs on our family farmers, whom he considered to be the backbone of this country. We have allowed the small landholder, the caretaker of ten to thirty acres, to be displaced by large agricultural corporate interests whose intent is the absolute control and ownership of this entire nation's food supply. It's up to us, individually and as a collective, to take that power back from them. We will all pay the price of less and less choice, and poorer health, if we don't.

The battle over raw milk is a key component of that struggle. Right now, most dairy farmers are not permitted to market their milk freely. They are forced to sell their milk to consortiums, under government-regulated, fixed contracts. This must change. Also, in 1986, an FDA ruling banned the interstate shipment of raw milk, butter, and cream across state lines. This is the ruling that HR4077 attempts to overturn. Finally, at the present time, officials in every state are pushing for laws banning all raw milk sales, strongly supported by the CDC and FDA, citing false, misleading, and erroneous data.

It has been demonstrated that a thirty-acre farm can be completely self-sustaining, ecologically beneficial, and provide its owner with a generous living and the local community with healthy food, if the farming methods now being taught to small, grass-feeding farmers are employed. This is a threat to the mega-corporations. They can see the consumer moving more and more toward local farmers and small-scale sustainability, and they are using our government, as they always have, to give them the edge. If they can keep the independent, small farmer from selling his wares to the public, they can squeeze him out of the food production loop and put him out of business for once and for all. Only the voices of millions of consumers can stop this from happening.

How can you help?

Tell your Congressperson to support Ron Paul's bill, HR 4077. Ask him/her to co-sponsor it. Be sure to send them this information first, and ask them to look into the truth of the matter.

Tell your local and state legislators to sponsor legislation guaranteeing consumers in your state access to certified raw milk, if it is not available at this time. Make the effort to educate them as well. After a century of falsehoods, and propaganda about the benefits of pasteurization, you can't expect cooperation from public officials at any level of government until they are better informed.

Fortunately, that information is readily available from the following organizations:

1. A Campaign for Real Milk, realmilk.com;

2. The Weston A. Price Foundation, westonaprice.org; and the

3. Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund, ftcldf.org.

Please consider making a donation to the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund. Raw milk farmers are under attack nationwide. They need legal assistance badly, as do other small family farmers. And we need them desperately, as they are our best hope for clean, nourishing, unprocessed, and locally-grown food in the future.

Recommended Reading:

The Untold Story of Milk: Green Pastures, Contented Cows, and Raw Dairy Foods,

by Ron Schmid, N.D., c. 2003, New Trends Publishing, Inc.

Keeping a Family Cow, by Joann S. Grohman, c. 2006, Coburn Press, Dixfield, Maine.

Milk Diet as a Remedy for Chronic Disease, by Dr. Charles Sanford Porter, M.D., and additions by Heather A. Zimmerman, c. 2005, published by God's Whey, LLC. (262) 692-3086.

The Raw Truth About Milk (formerly The Milk Book: The Milk of Human Kindness is not Pasteurized), by William Campbell Douglas II, M.D., c. 2007, Rhino Publishing, rhinopublish.com.

Nutrition and Physical Degeneration, 8th edition, by Weston A. Price, D.D.S., c. 2008, the Price-Pottenger Nutrition Foundation, price-pottenger.org, (619) 462-7600.
_________
If you have not yet read the other posting Raw Milk - A Health Freedom Issue, access it here.

Cows and Grass Help with Global Warming
For encouraging information about how COWS and GRASS could help solve the Global Warming problem by taking atmospheric carbon and putting it back into the Earth, see this blog posting, here, here, and here.

Return to the What Are the Issues? blog here.

V: Excellent Videos About Raw Milk

2008-05-18T16:36:00.001-07:00

All of these videos are excellent. First we have two videos (thanks to Dr. Mercola and mercola.com) talking about Monsanto's bovine growth hormone, how it is banned in many countries, and how people in America are seeking rBGH-free milk products. These first videos are not specific to raw milk in particular, but are definitely relevant to this discussion. Producers of milk intended for consumption raw will raise only healthy cows, absolutely free of added hormones.

The next video features a fantastic young man who is passionate about his raw milk. There are many people like him who CAN'T drink pasteurized milk. He shows us that raw milk isn't just for white upper class people.

Raw milk is for everyone -- for you, for me, for the guy walking down the street, and for your children and grandchildren.

This guy is terrific! Just a down-to-earth normal guy straight talkin' about stuff that is real. "Do you understand what I'm saying?" I got a kick watching his other videos on YouTube. He has read Nutrition and Physical Degeneration, a book I've written about on this blog, and Pottenger's Cats. He knows his stuff!

(Here he is on grass fed beef. "Stay away from that commercial stuff. That stuff will kill you." Go man! Killer Burgers and Toxic Steaks. And straight talk about eggs. Though organic and 'free range' eggs do not necessarily come from chickens that get to wander around outside. Sandra's comment)

When it comes to milk, he absolutely understands what is going on, and he does a fantastic job of explaining it.

So, first we have videos about bovine growth hormone, then a bunch about raw milk.
Sandra

Did You Know All the Drugs in Your Milk?

Dairy products from cows treated with Monsanto's genetically engineered bovine growth hormone (rBGH or rBST) could sharply increase the risk of cancer and other diseases, especially in children.

The chemicals are already banned in most industrialized nations, and it was approved in the United States on the backs of fired whistleblowers, manipulated research, and a corporate takeover at the FDA. This film (split into two parts above) includes footage prepared for a Fox TV segment that was canceled after a letter from Monsanto's attorney threatened "dire consequences."

The Demise of Raw Milk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5ZO3B2butg&NR=1

Raw Milk and SB 201, the bill currently being debated in the California legislature. See a variety of testimonials before the legislature, both personal stories and statements by expert witnesses.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5FoFoFNeCk

The Whole Truth About Milk: Raw vs. Pasteurized
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yr5pl6lgjJ8&feature=related

The Whole Truth About Milk -- In this video Mark McAfee of Organic Pastures Dairy describes what happens when we drink pasteurized milk.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHcyAH0rOPE&feature=related

Raw Milk Ninja, Mark McAfee of Organic Pastures Dairy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6AyznQDOfM&feature=related

Does MSG Lead to Alzheimer's and Parkinson's?

2008-01-17T15:22:00.001-08:00

This posting has been updated. Here is its new location.

http://foodmiracles.blogspot.com/2011/05/msg-part-1-its-everywhere.html

King Corn

2007-11-27T07:59:00.000-08:00

I was listening to public radio while driving. They interviewed two men who made a documentary called King Corn. Because I was driving, I didn't take notes. When the radio story was beginning, I didn't realize that it was going to be so excellent. I couldn't find a recording of the interview on npr.org. So you get what information I remember. In this blog, I call these two men 'the authors.'

Growing an Acre of Corn

The authors spent a year learning about corn, and what is involved in producing and using it. An Iowa farmer allowed them to plant one acre of corn on his land. They made a documentary King Corn, which is supposedly coming out in theaters. I recommend watching the documentary when it becomes available.

Corn is in Everything We Eat

When you read package labels, it is obvious that High Fructose Corn Syrup is an ingredient in many many foods. On the radio, they listed a variety of other ingredients that originated as corn but have names that disguise this origin.

One thing that astonished me was the statistics they gave about the percentage of the beef that we eat that is really corn. Say you eat a hamburger. Between the corn that was fed to the cow and the corn-ingredients that are added in processing, it is a ridiculous percentage. I wish I had stopped the car and written the number down. Even when you eat a steak, you are still getting a lot of corn - that is if the cow was raised in a feed lot, i.e. a factory farm. Before this project both authors were frequent consumers of hamburgers, I believe primarily from fast food restaurants. Because of what they learned, the authors have now modified their diet to exclude hamburgers.

What is Involved in Growing Corn

The authors learned all of the details associated with growing corn. You don't just go down to the field and plant the stuff. Their journey began long before the placing of seeds in the ground. They spent very little time actually working in the corn field. Most of their time was spent learning about and dealing with everything else involved.

Farm Subsidies

Production of staple food commodities is highly subsidized by the United States government. (My brief search shows this to be less so in Canada.) These subsidies guarantee that farmers receive dollar amounts that are determined by the number of acres that they have planted, rather than by the market price for the food. This results in the production of vast surpluses of commodities like corn, soy, and wheat.

Because of farm subsidies, the authors received money well before they actually began growing corn. The amount is paid per acre, so they didn't receive much. The interview did not mention if they later received more.

Fertilizer

Prior to planting the corn, the soil was injected with nitrogen fertilizer. I was astonished to hear that the nitrogen for fertilizer is concentrated out of the air. Huge quantities of fossil fuels are burned to produce this nitrogen. I assume that liquid nitrogen is used.

A Note About Ethanol for Use in Fuel Mixtures

A lot of ethanol is produced from corn, for use in automobile gasoline. Supposedly we do this to conserve on fuel. But fossil fuel is burned to condense the nitrogen for making fertilizer to grow the corn! Even if other crop materials are used for making ethanol, if they are fertilized, then it does NOT really save fuel. Wikipedia says that about half the gasoline used in the U.S. contains ethanol, and that its use is expanding in other countries.

Corn is Not Edible - Industrial Material

The interview jumped straight from the innoculation of the soil with fertilizer to describing the mature plants; no details were given about the actual planting, the intervening months, the harvesting, or the transporting of the final crop.

The plants were tall, lush, and healthy looking. The authors pulled ears off to eat, expecting it to be like the sweet corn that is sold in grocery stores. Instead it is all bland starch. They described it as an industrial material that is basically inedible. It is designed to be processed. No wonder it makes cows sick. This is what is in processed foods! Sounds delectable, huh?

What Happens to the Corn?

The authors traveled around the country, learning about all of the ways in which their corn would be used.

A Cow's Life

Feed-lot life for cows is pretty dismal. The authors saw cows crammed into pens, with no room to walk around. The cows stand amidst all of their feces and other waste. Yuck.

Cows eat lots of corn, particularly in the later stages when the 'farmer' is fattening them for slaughter. Corn makes cows sick. Because of this, they are given antibiotics. Apparently, if cows ate corn all the time, they would die. They are fed corn to fatten them up, antibiotics keep them 'alive,' and they are slaughtered before the get so sick that they die.

Does this make you think twice about eating that burger?

I suggest that you get pasture fed meat, whenever possible. The quality is so much better that it is worth the money and effort.

High Fructose Corn Syrup

Huge quantities of corn are processed to produce high fructose corn syrup, an ingredient in an astonishing percentage of packaged foods. The authors went to extensive efforts to observe the process of producing it. But they were never allowed inside a production facility, and in fact, they never even saw the final product. They still don't know what high fructose corn syrup looks like.

Do you find this as horrifying as I do?? The fact that observers were completely forbidden tells me that corn must be so highly processed and altered that industry doesn't want people to know what is happening. After all, high fructose corn syrup is put into so many foods that it is difficult for someone to completely exclude it from their diet.

Corn, the industrial material, is processed into many other ingredients that are added to food products. I'm sure the process of making them is equally horrendous.

Eating Corn Free

The authors went one month without eating corn. It was extremely difficult to do. They described becoming so desperate that when they found foods that they could eat, they would binge on them.

Even if the ingredients list on a food label does not mention ingredients that obviously come from corn, this is no guarantee. Such packaged foods may still contain corn, because some ingredients are not listed on the label. I think food manufacturing companies find ways to do this, because some consumers avoid certain ingredients. In other words, reading labels still doesn't give you a guarantee that ingredients you wish to avoid are absent from the foods you buy.

Of course, avoiding consuming corn would have been easier if the authors were starting with fresh whole foods and preparing their meals, rather than eating packaged and restaurant foods. To me, this is obvious. They did not mention if they had tried this at all.

Because of what they learned during their corn-growing year, the authors have stopped eating some foods, including hamburgers. And the farmer whose land they planted has chosen to retire and stop farming corn, perhaps partly as a result of working with the authors.

I Hope You Found This Educational

That's it for my King Corn story.

Eat Whole Fresh Foods!

Sandra

To go to the Breathe - Life's Inspirations With Sandra blog.

Cholesterol - Not the Villian We are Led to Believe

2007-11-15T19:52:00.000-08:00

"You've got high cholesterol." That's one statement that you really don't want to hear coming out of your doctor's mouth. So down the medical road you go, with the impending doom of potential heart disease following you around forever. But you're in luck. Here to save the day - and your life - we have wonderful cholesterol-lowering statin drugs . . .

Let's freeze that frame and rewind.

The Cholesterol Myth

The story that we get about cholesterol being bad for health is a myth. I think it is criminal that this fallacy has become such a standard fixture of 'truth' in our medical system, media, and government.

Cholesterol is a non-issue. Or perhaps more accurately, it can be described as a manufactured issue. It is in the interests of the pharmaceutical, medical, and food industries that you believe that cholesterol is bad for your health.

Once again, I am going to recommend that you read a book. The Cholesterol Myths, by Uffe Ravnskov contains reams of valuable information. The book's subtitle says it all: Exposing the Fallacy that Saturated Fat and Cholesterol Cause Heart Disease. Need I say more? Well, okay I'll write more. But read the book, which is available through numerous sources. Also, Dr. Ravnskov's website has a lot of great information.

Diagnoses of high cholesterol are increasingly common, and prescriptions for statin drugs are on the rise. Over time, the medical system has been systematically lowering the level at which an individual is considered to have high cholesterol; this means that a person is more likely to be diagnosed with high cholesterol than in the past, even if their actual cholesterol levels are exactly the same.

This is all supposedly based on clinical studies demonstrating the risks associated with high cholesterol. When I read the book, what most stunned me was realizing how industry manipulates the results of clinical studies to suit their interests. First, industry pays for all the research. Then when the results come out, they are frequently altered; yes the numbers may actually be changed, or at least mis-stated when the results are published. The published interpretation of the results then favors the position that industry wants to prove, even if the actual results of the study contradict this interpretation.

When reviews are conducted of all of the published studies, supposedly to provide a comprehensive perspective encompassing all of the research, they conveniently leave out of the analyses any studies that produced results that disagree with the desirable conclusion.

Based on these studies and reviews, we then get revised government guidelines for health, and new medical recommendations. The media runs with the story, so we all get to hear about the new research results. And we the people swallow it all, believing and trusting in what we are told.

Now that is a stacked deck! How is a person supposed to glean the truth about what is supportive of vibrant health from that?

Our Bodies Need Cholesterol

In many of the studies, it was actually shown that low cholesterol was actually a bigger health risk than high cholesterol. Our bodies need cholesterol to heal and to maintain day to day functions. Cholesterol is critical to the structure and function of each of the cells in our bodies. It is critical to our ability to make hormones. And so so much more.

Here is a quote from Dr. Ravnskov's website. "Your body produces three to four times more cholesterol than you eat."

In other words, if you don't get enough in your food, your body makes it, because it needs cholesterol. So what happens when a person takes statins drugs to forcefully lower cholesterol levels? The body doesn't have what it needs to be healthy.

I leave it to Dr. Ravnskov to tell you the details about why high cholesterol levels aren't dangerous. About how people with low cholesterol can have just as many problems with heart disease as those with high cholesterol.

Do you get it? Cholesterol is not the source of the problem!

Recorded Call

Recently, Dr. Chris Morris, with the Ziquin Educational Group gave a fabulous teleconference lecture about cholesterol and statin drugs. This call was packed full of education about the role that cholesterol plays in our bodies, and about what actually happens in the body when statin drugs are taken.

Ziquin is a company that produces and sells nutritional supplements. But this call was almost purely educational. Ziquin's products were hardly even mentioned. The call is not a sales pitch.

For anyone who is interested in listening to this recording, I have been told that it will be available soon, even for people who are not Ziquin customers.

If you are interested in listening to this recording, please send me an e-mail to that effect. sandra@MiracleInspirations.com

I will send you a link, when and if the recording becomes available. Again, my interest in sharing this with you is to provide you with valuable education. I am not asking you to purchase anything.

Educate Yourself

Read The Cholesterol Myths, by Uffe Ravnskov. At the very least, visit Dr. Ravnskov's website.

Educate yourself and take action accordingly.

One more myth exposed. Whew.

Eat Whole Fresh Foods!

Sandra

To go to the Breathe - Life's Inspirations With Sandra blog.

MSG is Everywhere

2007-10-21T12:08:00.000-07:00

This posting has been updated. Please go to the new posting.

http://foodmiracles.blogspot.com/2011/05/msg-part-1-its-everywhere.html

Sandra

To Soy, or NOT to Soy

2007-09-27T19:57:00.000-07:00

NOT to Soy!

Soybeans and the foods that are made from them have been promoted as miracle foods. For about a decade, I was vegetarian and ate quite a bit of tofu.

Several years ago, I first started hearing from friends that soy is not good for you. The book The Whole Soy Story was recommended. But I never put the effort into reading the book or into finding out more through other avenues.

When I finally read the book, I immediately began avoiding soy. I now agree with the people who have been telling me that soy really should not be used as a primary source of food.

Soy is BAD for you. The recommendations encouraging us to eat it for our health are aimed at getting us to buy it so food companies can profit. In fact, soy in some form has been hidden in most packaged foods. So it can be very difficult to completely avoid soy.

What Does It Do?

Here is a partial list of the ways in which soy impacts our bodies. For more information about this, I strongly encourage you to read the book The Whole Soy Story, by Kaayla Daniel.

Goitrogens in soy suppress thyroid function. This is a primary reason to stop eating soy. Many people have depressed thyroid function.

Phytoestrogens disturb estrogen balance. This negatively impacts women, men, and children who consume soy. This is another primary reason to stop eating soy. We are told to take soy phytoestrogens, but they are actually bad for us.

Numerous substances in soy irritate digestion. Many people have terrible gas.

Toxic MSG is produced during soy processing. If a packaged food product contains soy protein or hydrolyzed protein, it contains MSG, even though it won't be labeled that way.

Soy proteins are poorly digested.

Soy oil virtually always contains harmful trans fats, and does not contain the essential fatty acids that are important for our health. We are told that soy oil helps prevent cardiovascular disease. In fact, it is more likely to contribute to cardiovascular problems than to prevent them.

Some people's reactions to soy are so extreme that their allergic reactions can be potentially life threatening. Soy is now considered to be one of the top 8 allergy causing foods. (peanuts, tree nuts, milk, eggs, shellfish, fin fish, wheat, soy)

And there is more. Read the book!

It is possible to remove most of the damaging substances as soy is being processed. But the food companies are not willing to do what it takes to accomplish this.

Soy Infant Formula

Soy formula should not be given to babies! In particular, the phytoestrogens have been found to disrupt the natural processes of sexual maturation.

Educate Yourself

Read the book The Whole Soy Story, by Kaayla Daniel. No matter how much I tell you, reading the whole story will really communicate the magnitude of the issue.

Educate yourself and take action accordingly.

Eat Well for Health.

Sandra

To go to the Breathe - Life's Inspirations With Sandra blog..

Nutrition and Physical Degeneration

2007-08-24T17:59:00.001-07:00

Nutrition and Physical Degeneration is a phenomenal book by Dr. Weston Price. Since reading it, I have made significant modifications to the way I eat.

Every time I think about teeth, Dr. Price's astonishing pictures come to mind. In the 1930's, he traveled to isolated places around the world to study people who had not been exposed to modern processed foods. He found communities where people had virtually no dental decay or physical degeneration. Once regular consumption of processed foods began, immunity to tooth decay was lost, and children born to parents who ate these foods had significant dental and facial deformities.

It is distressing that the state of our food supply is now very much worse than when Dr. Price conducted these studies, with comparable impacts on people's physical and non-physical health. Reading this book, you truly understand why our society has so many problems with physical and mental illness, infertility, and crime. And of course, dental decay and deformities.

For example, he describes a time when heart disease was essentially non-existant. There used to be no such thing as a 'heart attack'. Now, American Heart Association statistics (for 2004) show coronary heart disease is the single leading cause of death in America, accounting for one of every 5 deaths. There are 1,200,000 new and recurrent coronary attacks per year, and about 38% of people who experience a coronary attack in a given year die from it. (2004)

Heart disease is a nutritional issue! Malnutrition!

Of the societies that Dr. Price studied, those that followed their 'traditional' diets (free from modern packaged and processed foods) had no heart disease. They were also free from diseases like tuberculosis, which was rampant in many areas of the world in the 1930's when he did these studies. They was no mental illness and no crime.

People in these societies took special care to provide special foods, called 'sacred foods' by Dr. Price, for women and men of childbearing years, for pregnant and lactating women, and for young children. These foods provided very important nutrients that were necessary to support the birth and growth of healthy children. The readily available modern diets that are recommended to us are sadly lacking in these vital nutrients. So now we have problems with infertility, miscarriages, and difficulties in childbirth. Mental deficiencies and physical deformities in babies and children are becoming increasingly common.

These are all occurring because we have had multiple generations of insufficient nutrition.

Change the Way You Eat

Fortunately, it is possible to make a difference in your own health and in the health of your children, now and in the future.

As a result of reading this book, I eat significantly better, and I can feel the difference. In particular, it is worthwhile to acquire raw cheese, and if possible, butter and raw milk from livestock that have been fed on green pasture. (I will definitely write more about raw milk in another post to this blog.)

For about ten years, I was a vegetarian. But vegetarian diets lack nutrients that are required to maintain optimal health. I now eat a significant amount of meat, and actively seek out meat from grass fed livestock, when it is available.

Dr. Price hoped to find a society of people who was optimally healthy on a vegetarian diet. He was disappointed, because he was not able to find such a vegetarian society. Since learning this, I have heard of person after person who experienced health challenges and chose to abandon their long-term vegetarian lifestyle.

Eating Better Today Makes a Difference

It's never too late to improve the quality of your diet.

In his book, Dr. Price has pictures showing three children from one family. The oldest has perfect physical form and wonderful health. That child was born before modern foods were available to the parents. The second child, born after the parents began eating modern foods, has significant dental and facial deformities. (These types of deformities were the first that Dr. Price observed to occur in the children of parents eating modern foods.) Prior to conceiving the the third child, the parents returned to eating their traditional diet, free from modern foods. And the third child is once again perfectly formed, free from deformities.

I think everyone should read Dr. Price's book, particularly if they have or want to have children. The pictures will astound you. And you can really only understand the implications of the images when you read the text. Get the book from the Price-Pottenger Nutrition Foundation. It is also available from sites such as Amazon.

An excellent source of information is the Weston A. Price Foundation, a non-profit organization that advocates for people's right and ability to get nutritious whole foods.

Based on the work of Dr. Price, people around the world have adopted a way of eating and food preparation called the Nourishing Traditions diet, so named after Sally Fallon's excellent book by that title. Sally Fallon and the Weston A. Price Foundation provide voluminous information about how people in our modern societies can eat in a way that provides the nutrients that are necessary to support optimal health. Personally, I do not strictly adhere to this diet, but I have definitely incorporated numerous aspects of it, and I continue to make modifications.

Every little positive change to your diet helps. Even one meal makes a difference, if it provides nutrients that your body has been missing.

Educate yourself and take action accordingly.

Eat Well for Health.

Sandra

Sandra Lynn Lee
Certified Healing Codes Practitioner
Miracle Inspirations
www.MiracleInspirations.com
sandra@MiracleInspirations.com

Everything in this newsletter is the opinion of the author and is provided for informational and educational purposes only. When information is drawn from outside sources, both credit and access to the source are given, when available.

To go to the Breathe - Life's Inspirations With Sandra blog.

Fats & Coconut Oil

2007-08-07T13:06:00.001-07:00

Good Fats, Bad Fats, . . . Are You Confused??

This blog entry has been moved from the Breathe - Life's Inspirations with Sandra blog.

Hello Friends,

Are you confused by the conflicting information about health that you receive? It can be daunting, particularly when it comes to food. A new study proves that what you were told last year is completely wrong. What was good for you is suddenly harmful, and what common sense tells you to avoid now contains health-supporting antioxidants. Keeping up with this could be a full time occupation, complete with confusion and stress. Your diet would bounce all over the place, and your closets would overflow with mostly useless bottles of supplements.

Ideally, information that is sent to us, through schools (!), health care providers, and the media, would be supportive of people’s health. Unfortunately, what usually determines these priorities is the interests of big businesses, i.e. profits. Finding out what is TRULY good for you requires actively searching for information. Many people give up on figuring out what is best for their health, and just eat what they feel like eating.

How about fats? Essential fatty acids, artery clogging fat. Saturated, polyunsaturated, hydrogenated, trans, cholesterol, HDL/LDL, triglycerides. Canola, soy, Olestra (artificial fat!), flax, fish oil, coconut oil. Butter, margarine, lard. Omega 3 and 6. It’s overwhelming.

If you already know a lot about fats, the next few paragraphs may be review for you. But the information about Essential Fatty Acids and Coconut Oil is more likely to be new. It was for me. If this information is not familiar to you, and you want more details, I invite you to contact me. sandra@MiracleInspirations.com

I began learning the distinctions between good and bad fats over a decade ago. I gave up margarine, and cooked with olive oil, butter, and occasionally "clear" oils (what I call soy, canola, etc.). For essential fatty acids, I swallowed flax oil from the gallon I kept in the freezer. I figured I was doing well fat-wise.

Then I discovered that "clear" oils still contain trans fats and are rancid, even if they haven’t been hydrogenated. They are heated in processing, then treated to make them smell and taste palatable. Exposure to light (while sitting on the shelf in clear bottles), air, and heat in cooking make it worse. Then, there is the whole issue of genetically modified organisms.

Essential Fatty Acids (EFA’s).

Taking EFA’s is absolutely required for health, and you need to seek quality sources. Omega 3, 6, 9, and some 7. People who avoid fats altogether eventually discover the hard way that low fat diets are dangerous.

However, not all EFA’s are created equal. If flax oil and EFA formulas require refrigeration to prevent rancidity, what happens when they enter your body’s core at 98.6? I have stopped eating flax altogether, and what remained of my gallon of oil went down the drain. It tasted horrid from the beginning anyway.

How about fish oil? Toxicity in the oceans makes the quality questionable. It comes in gel caps, so you don’t smell or taste the fishiness. Unfortunately, getting the oil into the gel cap requires that the oil be heated. So it’s cooked and long bad by the time you buy it.

What about cod liver oil? In addition to my concerns about the potentials for toxicity, I am actually more concerned about the depletion of the fish stocks. Over harvesting has severely depleted the fish populations. The widespread recommendation that people take cod liver oil just feeds the already excessive demand for cod.

The essential fatty acids that I take come from Ziquin Educational Group. It is a stable formula that provides the beneficial Omega 3, 6, 9, and 7. If you want information about Ziquin’s quality supplementation and rejuvenation program, please contact me sandra@MiracleInspirations.com.

Coconut Oil – There’s always more to learn!

I had read online of coconut oil’s benefits. But I was really just scanning, and it went in one eye and out the other. Like I wrote above, there’s too much nutrition information to pay attention to. When I discovered that my parents eat coconut oil every day, I finally began cooking with it. What it took for me to actually learn about this truly amazing food was my mother giving me a book. (Thanks Mom, for coconut and for everything else over the years.)

The Coconut Oil Miracle, by Bruce Fife, ND. A few pages into the book, I thought, "Why didn’t anyone tell me this before?! Everyone should know about coconut oil!" I am now a dedicated coconut oil and Bruce Fife fan.

I only give you a tidbit about coconut oil here, because Dr. Fife does a much better job of explaining it all.

Coconut oil is almost all saturated fat with medium chain fatty acids. It is GOOD for your cardiovascular health, not bad like we have been led to believe. It easily turns into energy in your body and is NOT stored as fat. Coconut oil actually increases your metabolic rate, helping people lose weight who want to do so. It tastes a bit sweet, but does not have sugar’s negative effects. It is anti-bacterial and anti-viral. Its fatty acids are saturated, so it is stable in cooking, unlike polyunsaturated "clear" oils. Coconut oil is good for you, both taken internally and applied topically. The funniest part of Dr. Fife’s book is where he talks about the coconut’s only health danger: having one fall on your head and kill you, while you stand under a coconut palm. I still laugh when I read that section.

Coconut products are flowing towards my house, and Ken and I eat them multiple times a day. Coconut oil is almost exclusively the oil we cook with. I continue to use some butter (which is good for you), olive oil for salad dressing, and an occasional bit of sesame oil for flavor. That’s it for oils. Coconut milk, shredded coconut, coconut flour, . . . we’re surrounded by the stuff. There’s more that I’ll share below . . .

We put coconut oil in our tea and on top of soup and other foods. Foods taste richer and more satisfying. When I want butter, I make a 50/50 mixture. If you don’t like the oil’s mild coconut taste and smell, refined oils are essentially tasteless. I put coconut oil on my face, and my skin feels smoother and looks better. I made an herbal coconut oil ointment for bones, joints, cartilage, and skin.

Dr. Fife’s recommendation for general health is to consume 3-4 tablespoons of coconut oil per day. This can include what is applied to your skin.

Sandra Recommends Books by Bruce Fife

Bruce Fife, ND does an incredible job of explaining things so anyone can understand them. Studies and examples illustrate his points. Start with The Coconut Oil Miracle, which explains how coconut oil works and why it is good for you. Coconut Cures describes how coconut oil affects a wide variety of health conditions. I’m experimenting with Coconut Lover’s Cookbook. Cooking With Coconut Flour has recipes for cooking without wheat. Eat Fat, Look Thin is about much more than weight loss. The Detox Book is not about coconut oil. He gives the best explanations of what happens in the body, detoxification, and healing crises that I’ve ever read.

Where to Find Coconut Oil

Shopping for coconut oil in Olympia, Washington, I found it at the Olympia Food Coop and in health food stores. But I was stunned to discover that NONE of the other grocery stores had even one container of this wonder food. (I didn’t check literally all of the other stores, but pretty darned close. I figure one Safeway is like all the other Safeways.) The vegetable oil companies have so thoroughly convinced people that coconut oil is dangerous that few people buy it. For now, find it in health-oriented stores. I encourage you to ask for it at your local grocery store. Create demand, tell other people.

Featured Products – Artisana Coconut Butters

I loved Artisana Coconut Butter from the first bite. It is almost like eating candy. In fact, I like Artisana products more than candy. Coconut meat is in with the oil. Then there are the Blisses. Oooh. Goji Bliss has anti-oxidant rich goji berries and agave nectar, and coconut butter, of course. My body asks for it. Cocoa Bliss, with cocoa nibs and agave nectar, is a chocolate lover’s treat. Artisana’s products are all Organic and Raw.

You are a Miracle.

Sandra

Sandra Lynn Lee
Certified Healing Codes Practitioner
Miracle Inspirations
www.MiracleInspirations.com
sandra@MiracleInspirations.com

Everything in this newsletter is the opinion of the author and is provided for informational and educational purposes only. When information is drawn from outside sources, both credit and access to the source are given, when available.

To go to the Breathe - Life's Inspirations With Sandra blog.

Really, You Are What You Eat

2007-07-20T13:11:00.000-07:00

Thank You. I acknowledge you for choosing to read Food, Glorious Food. Thank you for being there, and for taking care of yourself.

I am quite health conscious, and my diet has been significantly better than 'average' for many years. Despite this, I have recently discovered that there are major ways in which my beliefs about food and nutrition have been sadly misguided.

There is Hope - It's Always a Good Time to Become Healthier

Fortunately, we as individuals can educate ourselves and make conscious food choices. In the past 6 months, I have made significant dietary changes, going to extra efforts to get particular foods.

Even making one small modification to your eating habits can make a difference for you and your family.

This is why I'm starting Food, Glorious Food.

This first blog briefly outlines several areas where food deception has occurred. Subsequent blogs will go into more detail about particular nutrients, foods, or issues.

Disclaimer

Some people may find what I write to be confusing, disagreeable, or just plain wrong. Food, Glorious Food may not be right for everyone.

Everything I write here is absolutely and completely my opinion. It is all based on my investigation into the literature that is available, but my opinion nonetheless. And I can be quite strongly opinionated when it comes to food.

Nothing I write here is intended to diagnose, prescribe, or treat in any way.

Everything I write here IS designed to support you in BECOMING HEALTHIER, should you choose to EDUCATE yourself and take action.

Frequently, my husband thanks me for making him healthier. We both know that between the foods we eat and the supplements we take, we are gradually becoming healthier and, effectively, younger.

This is possible for you too.

Gather Information

If you find topics that catch your interest, I encourage you to become educated about them. With knowledge, you will be most able to make choices that work for you.

I will recommend resources that I have found enlightening.

Food and Health are Big Business

Deep down inside, I want to trust that the government, the conventional 'Western' medical system, corporations that produce food, and the media do everything possible to support people's health and well being. But I am disturbed, because it appears to me that a priority on the part of the government is allowing corporations to do what they want, at the expense of the health of the People.

It's all about money.

I have come to believe that essentially everything that these entities teach us about health and food is designed to keep people 1) eating low quality foods, 2) being unhealthy and seeking medical treatment, and 3) being afraid of their food.

Looking at the state of health of the people around me, I'd say that their plan is working!

Please understand that if you need medical attention, it is VERY important that you get it!

Really, You Are What You Eat

The body can only use what it is given. I know that I have frequently been guilty of eating low quality food and hoping that it would all just be okay in the end. I think that many people do the same, day in and day out for years. Then they wonder why their body stops working properly, they get sick, or they are in pain. Really, what's the big mystery? When you eat what I call Non-Foods, what kind of building blocks are you giving your body to work with?

Food Myths and Non-Foods

We are so misinformed! The belief systems that have been created within us about these issues are incredibly strong. Even for me, a relatively well informed and health conscious person, learning a 'new' way to look at some of these issues took some doing. I still catch myself in old patterns.

Even supposedly forward thinking people teaching about food and nutrition continue to believe and repeat some of this mis-information.

At some point, I will discuss each of these issues in Food, Glorious Food. As I make up the list, I realize that there's a lot to do.

Following is a list of what I consider to be Non-Foods which we are told are healthy for us.

Soy products
'Vegetable' oils
Pasteurized and homogenized milk
Factory-raised meats and animal products, including poultry and seafoods

Here are foods which we are told are unhealthy for us.

Saturated fats, including animal fats and tropical oils
Raw milk products

Here are general dietary issues or choices which we are told are either good or bad.

Low fat diet - supposedly good
High cholesterol, both dietary and as blood concentrations - supposedly bad
Vegetarian diet - supposedly good

And things which are supposedly harmless.

Chemical pesticides, fertilizers, preservatives, etc.
Depleted soils
Food irradiation
MSG
Artificial sweeteners
Food processing

I'm sure I'll come up with more as I get going. That's just what comes immediately to mind.

Are you ready??

Submit Comments and Suggestions! There is a comments link at the end of the newsletter.

I always love hearing from you and receiving your feedback and suggestions. Please, keep it coming. In particular, do you like the new blog?? sandra@MiracleInspirations.com

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As always, you are so very much appreciated. Thank you for being there.

Feed Yourself Well.

Sandra

Sandra Lynn Lee
Certified Healing Codes Practitioner
Miracle Inspirations
www.MiracleInspirations.com
sandra@MiracleInspirations.com

Everything in this newsletter is the opinion of the author and is provided for informational and educational purposes only. When information is drawn from outside sources, both credit and access to the source are given, when available.

To go to the Breathe - Life's Inspirations With Sandra blog.