Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Adrenal Glands

"The adrenal gland is the master organ of the endocrine system."

Then it seems to me then that this is the organ to care for if you want to maintain hormonal health.  The article continues:

"Through their adaptation to stress mechanisms, the adrenal glands direct the synthesis and flow of virtually all the other hormones. The adrenals also have the ability to produce hormones that are normally made by other glands. A particularly striking example of this is the hormone estrogen. After menopause, when the ovaries reduce the production of estrogen and progesterone, healthy adrenal glands can make up the difference and set the basis for a long healthy life with little or no repercussions from the loss of ovarian function.

Impotency is not primarily a problem of testicular dysfunction or testosterone deficiency. Rather, it involves an imbalance of the entire hormonal axis–pituitary gland, adrenal glands, testicles and even the thyroid gland. All of these glands are governed by the same feedback loops between the brain and the body. They function as a group and have much to do with determining our overall health. Impotency is not simply due to deficiency of testosterone–or Viagra; the treatment of impotency must involve the restoration of health. Science actually corroborates the practices of ancient physicians, who treated impotency by restoring male vigor. This is best accomplished by relieving emotional blocks, often old lingering impediments that still stand in our way, and by taking steps to restore the health of the adrenal gland."
Super Miraforte from LEF.org.

For men, one health practioner recommended Super Miraforte by Life Extension Foundation.

"In addition to the diet and the work on soul connections and our relationships, I recommend several interventions that have proven useful in treating impotency. The first is the herbal extract of Tribulus terrestris, from Mediherb. 
Tribulus Terrestris




Tribulus is adaptogenic, meaning that it helps our bodies adapt to stress by improving adrenal hormonal production. A number of studies involving both animals and people indicate that the herb improves erectile function, decreases the latency period (that is the time between ejaculations), and increases the length of time that an erection can be sustained. It does not provide any testosterone, nor is it clear that it improves the ability of the testicles to produce testosterone. Rather, the herb seems to directly stimulate the adrenal glands to produce their hormonal products and therefore adapt to stress, even the stress of aging. Studies also indicate that tribulus improves cardiovascular endurance and slightly dilates the coronary arteries, thereby allowing improved oxygenation of the heart. The recommended dose is 1 tablet 3 times per day, for at least 6 months. Many men report an improvement in their potency during the third to fourth month of treatment.

In more severe cases, or with men who have lost overall vitality in addition to sexual potency, I recommend Bacopa complex, a Mediherb preparation that combines schisandra (a liver herb) and Siberian ginseng (a well-known adaptogenic herb) with bacopa (an adaptogenic herb that has a specific effect on improving memory). Together these herbs help strengthen the nervous system, liver and adrenal glands. The dose is 1 tablet 3-4 times per day for at least 6 months.


Finally, to help restore the glandular health of the entire pituitary-adrenal-testicular-thyroid axis, I use the Standard Process preparation Symplex M, which contains the proto-morphogen extracts from each of these glands. In fact, it was the genius of Royal Lee who recognized, well before it was appreciated by normal science, that effective treatment of any of these glands requires treatment of the whole group or axis, rather than treatment of each in its own fiefdom. The dose is 1-2 tablets 3 times per day for 6 months."


Tuesday, April 28, 2015

We Need Intelligent, Cautious Parents

Clearly, as a parent you need to fight for your kids.  For some, it comes naturally.  For others, it requires a learning curve.  One thing that is needed is situational awareness.  When you talk to an Eskimo about buying a refrigerator, know who you are talking to and what their interests are.  So that when you fight for your children, as much as their well-being is at stake, so is the public knowledge of your ability as a parent fighting for your kids' well-being.  Not to mention your ego.  You don't know everything. Community asks that you be a good father or a good mother, that you attend school functions, that you take your kid out to a park or to Disneyland, or celebrate their young lives with birthdays.  The social demands can be taxing.  You are living the life of a role function where everyone else defines it for you and assigns it the proper value . . . that is until you get smarter and learn what is best for your kid.
Perhaps the most important of all protections that a parent provides is that against illness or injury to a child.  We can't guard against every injury, of course.  We can't stifle our children's movements or adventures.  We have to let them live.  But live with some intelligent cautions. Find a way to strengthen their coordination as they develop.  Find a way to increase their love for ethical conduct, beauty, artistry, history, and science in a world that is handed down to us.
As you fight you will learn.  Your new knowledge will help address past grievances I believe. What I am thinking of are those discussions that people have with their doctors' diagnoses.  Their opinion is not infallible, as you know, but instead, it is biased.  When an orthopedic recommends surgery, stop and think "Is that recommendation biased?" or is it to generate more business so that he can pay off his medical school debt?  I don't mean to sound cynical; just practical.  Count the costs.  Can't rely on the universities to be bastions of truth and accuracy.  Not in today's world.  Not saying that there aren't intelligent people working on campuses around the country or the world.  Just saying that the information is often times agenda driven.

Here is a young family with an adorable daughter and the parents surrender their authority over their child weeping in regret and fear.  They opted to have their daughter undergo brain surgery.  They signed off on the idea that it is okay to have a portion of their child's brain removed. This is the outrage. And who led them to this conclusion before seeking alternative treatments like foods, herbs, exercises, whatnot?  Their university-trained doctors, who post every kind of certification on the wall behind their desk to coerce you into accepting their narrative and legitimacy?  

Turns out that cannabidol or CBD, one of the 85 active cannbinoids in marijuana, is an anti-seizure remedy.  Here is what Wikipedia says:


Cannabidiol (CBDis one of at least 85 active cannabinoids identified in cannabis.[4] It is a major phytocannabinoid, accounting for up to 40% of the plant's extract.[5] CBD is considered to have a wider scope of medical applications than tetrahydrocannabinol  (THC).[5] An orally-administered liquid containing CBD has received orphan drug status in the US, for use as a treatment for Dravet syndrome, under the brand name Epidiolex.[6]

Neurological effects [edit]
A 2010 study found that strains of cannabis containing higher concentrations of cannabidiol did not produce short-term memory impairment vs. strains with similar concentrations of THC, but lower concentrations of CBD. The researchers attributed this attenuation of memory effects to CBD's role as a CB1 antagonist.[8] Transdermal CBD is neuroprotective in animals.[9]
Cannabidiol's strong antioxidant properties have been shown to play a role in the compound'sneuroprotective and anti-ischemic effects.[10]


Thursday, April 23, 2015

Recycling: Feeling Good for No Good Reason

H/T Bob Wenzel

And how about a little support material?


Bone Broth

Bone broth is stock. It's not quite soup; it's just the liquid part of the soup. Soup is more of a meal that contains meat, carrots, celery, onions, potatoes, and what not.  Stock is a hearty and nutritious and hot beverage that is a terrific replacement to coffee.  Coffee amplifies.  Bone broth fortifies. In addition to the vitamins and minerals mentioned in the video, bone broth will also contain Retinol, a fat soluble Vitamin A. This is excellent for repair, which is why bone broth is presented to folks when they are sick. Try it. Cook cut-up pieces of beef bone in a pot of hot water. One large pot makes enough for a couple of days.  You'll love it and you'll feel the positive difference from tea or coffee.

Friday, April 17, 2015

Last Year's Ebola Crisis: A $1.4 Billion Scam?



Remember the “Ebola scare” last summer? As usual, it was government hype, aided and abetted by a compliant mainstream media. As it turns out, USAID spent $1.4 billion building treatment centers that served a total of 28 patients. Here’s the Ron Paul Liberty Report taking on this scam." 

Another report says that:
USAID spent $1.4 billion constructing treatment centers in Africa but nine out of the 11 centers did not treat a single patient. The locals using hygienic products and traditional methods solved the crisis before the US top-down approach. But plenty of contractors did very well in this boondoggle!"
That the Ebola "epidemic" is a hoax and a scam is no surprise. Not at all. Fear sells, and fear is government's primary sales pitch.  So gov't and media join efforts to scare everybody only to find out that it was a scam used to provide a military presence in Africa.  The military looks a lot better if they can paint themselves as freedom fighters or rescuers of innocents from a horrible disease than invaders.  Somebody made millions: $1.4 billion taxes got wasted.  
Here's the gov't view:
Shawn Helton at 21st Century Wire provides insightful background on the ebola crisis as a government hoax.  If it is a hoax, which it fully appears to be, then to what end--make money, scare people, create a faux crisis to put the U.S. military on the ground in African countries?  Let's read some and find out. 

Helton writes:
Following Spencer’s case, [states] like New York, New Jersey and Illinois didn't waste any time by issuing mandatory quarantines as was the case in the highly publicized civil rights battle involving nurse Kaci Hickox, who as it turns out, did not have a fever or any signs of viral illness upon returning from Sierra Leone on October 24th.  Here's a YouTube clip of Hickox being interview by Candy Crowley on CNN's State of the Union on October 26th discussing the quarantine she was forced to undergo eventhough she was asymptomatic.
 
In the interview above, Hickox recommends that we have to be very careful letting politicians making healthcare decisions.  I couldn't agree with her more.  

Helton continues, "Both the mainstream media and many alternative media outlets seemed to be giving in to the manufactured frenzy of fear concerning nurse Hickox. Some news outlets were seen promoting the idea of a quarantine without any evidence that nurse Hickox was sick by digging up Hickox’s associations. However, in a moment of constitutional clarity, Judge Charles C. LaVerdiere upheld Hickox’s individual rights, lifting the unjustified quarantine by stating the following:

“The court is fully aware of the misconceptions, misinformation, bad science and bad information being spread from shore to shore in our country with respect to Ebola,” continuing, he clarified his decision, The court is fully aware that people are acting out of fear and that this fear is not entirely rational."


FINANCIAL ANGLE
Whereas Ron Paul and Daniel McAdams highlight the military-industrial angle, Helton tries to expose the financial angle to the ebola scare.  

Ebola predictions have gone afoul
According to the Associated Press, predicted simulations modeled by Risk Management Solutions (RMS), have projected that there could be between 15-130 new cases of Ebola in the US by December 2014. In March 2012, it was reported that RMS and the RAND Corporation had joined up to launch a new company called Praedicat, Inc., a consulting services firm dealing with catastrophic management for the “casualty insurance industries with a particular focus on liability risks,” as reported by Artemis.bm.

As stated on Rand.org, Hemant Shahthe president and CEO of RMS, who is also the director of Praedicat, was quoted as saying that: 

“RMS and RAND, and now Praedicat, are excited to extend this transformation to the casualty insurance market, taking it to the leading edge of an industry trend of deeply embedding analytics and models to increase risk-adjusted profitability.”

Pharmaceutical companies aren’t the only ones who stand to benefit from a large viral outbreak, here you can see how the research and insurance side of things stand to grow business operations as well – over perceived liability through modeling analytics.

In a recent Business Wire article, it was reported that RMS had stated that the, Ebola virus disease outbreak in West Africa has the potential to be the most deadly infectious disease event since the 1918 flu pandemic,” continuing, it was then reported that according to RMS modeling, “the severity of the outbreak will continue to multiply, with the total number of new cases approximately doubling each month.”

Due to RMS’s bold claims, I wanted to take another look at the back to back comparison of Ebola cases provided by the Liberian Daily Observer
, a report that we covered at 21WIRE two weeks ago:

This report outlines a rapid decline in Ebola-listed cases in Liberia from March 22, 2014, to October 17, 2014, directly contradicting the claims of RMS.  


Continue reading . . . 

Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Gut Health Is the Way to True Health: The GAPS Diet

Constipation  
In cases of stubborn constipation, introduce freshly pressed juices earlier in the diet, from stage 2: start from carrot juice first thing in the morning and take your cod liver oil at the same time.  The juice will stimulate bile production as many cases of persistent constipation are due to poor bile production.  When there is not enough bile, the fats in the food do not digest well; instead they react with salts and form soap in the gut, causing constipation.  Removing dairy may also help.

If you have decided to go straight into the Full GAPS Diet, keep in mind that about 85% of everything your patient eats daily should be made out of meats, fish, eggs, fermented dairy and vegetables (some well-cooked, some fermented and some raw).  Baking and fruit should be kept out of the diet for a few weeks, and then be limited to snacks between meals and should not replace the main meals.  Homemade meat stock, soups, stews and natural fats are not optional - they should be your patient's staples.

INTRODUCTION DIET
EVERY MORNING
Start the day with a cup of still mineral or filtered water.  Give your patient the probiotic.  Make sure that the water is warm or room temperature, not cold, as cold will aggravate his or her condition.  

Only foods listed are allowed: your patient must not have anything else.  On the First Stage the most drastic symptoms of abdominal pain, diarrhea and constipation will quickly subside.  If, when you introduce a new food, your patient gets back diarrhea, pain or any other digestive symptoms then he/she is not ready for that food to be introduced.  Wait for a week and try again.

If you suspect an allergy to any particular food, [then subject it to the] Sensitivity Test 

SENSITIVITY TEST
Take a drop of the food in question (if the food is solid, mash and mix with a bit of water) and place it on the inside of the wrist of the patient.  Do it at bedtime.  Let the drop dry on the skin, then let your patient go to sleep.  In the morning check the spot: if there is an angry red reaction, then avoid that food for a few weeks, and then try again.  If there is no reaction, then go ahead and introduce it gradually starting from a small amount.

STAGE 1
Homemade meat or fish stock.  
Meat and fish stocks provide building blocks for the rapidly growing cells of the gut lining and they have a soothing effect on any areas of inflammation in the gut.  That is why they aid digestion and have been known for centuries as healing folk remedies for the digestive tract.  Do not use commercially available soup stock granules or bullion cubes, they are highly processed and are full of detrimental ingredients.  Chicken stock is particularly gentle on the stomach and is very good to start from.  
To make good meat stock you need joints, bones, a piece of meat on the bone, a whole chicken, giblets from chicken, goose or duck, whole pigeons, pheasants or other inexpensive meats.  It is essential to use bones and joints, as they provide the healing substances, not so much the muscle meats.  Ask the butcher to cut in half the large tubular bones, so you can get the bone marrow out of them after cooking.  
Put the bones, joints and meats into a large pan and fill it with water, add natural unprocessed salt to your taste at the beginning of cooking and about a teaspoon of black peppercorns, roughly crushed.  Bring to boil, cover and simmer on a low heat for 2.5-3 hours.  You can make fish stock the same way using a whole fish or fish fins, bones and heads.  
After cooking take the bones and meats out and sieve the stock to remove small bones and peppercorns.  Strip off all the soft tissues from the bones as best as you can to later add to soups or encourage your patient to eat all the soft tissues on the bones.  

Extract the bone marrow out of large tubular bones while they are still warm: to do that bang the bone on a thick wooden chopping board.  The gelatinous soft tissues around the bones and the bone marrow provide some of the best healing remedies for the gut lining and the immune system; your patient needs to consume them with every meal.  Take off all the soft tissues from fish bones and heads and reserve for adding to soups later.  The meat or fish stock will keep well in the fridge for at least 7 days or it can be frozen.  Keep giving your patient warm meat stock as a drink all day with his meals and between meals.  Do not use microwaves for warming up the stock, use conventional stove (microwaves destroy food).  It is very important for your patient to consume all the fat in the stock and off the bones as these fats are essential for the healing process.  Add some probiotic food into every cup of stock (the details about introducing probiotic food follow).

Homemade soup with your homemade meat or fish stock.
Please look for some recipe ideas in the recipe section of the book.  Here we will go through some details, specific for the Introduction Diet.  Bring some of the meat stock to boil, add chopped or sliced vegetables: onions, carrots, broccoli, leeks, cauliflower, courgettes, marrow, squash, pumpkin, etc. and simmer for 25-35 minutes.  You can choose any combination of available vegetables avoiding very fibrous ones, such as all varieties of cabbage and celery.  All particularly fibrous parts of vegetables need to be removed, such as skin and seeds on pumpkins, marrows and squashes, stalk of broccoli and cauliflower and any other parts that look too fibrous.  Cook the vegetables well, so they are really soft.  When vegetables are well cooked, add 1-2 tablespoons of chopped garlic, bring to boil and turn the heat off.  Give your patient this soup with the bone marrow and meats and other soft tissues, which you cut off the bones.  You can blend the soup using a soup blender or serve it as it is.  Add some probiotic food into every bowl of soup (the details about introducing probiotic foods follow).  Your patient should eat these soups with boiled meat and other soft tissues off the bones as often as he/she wants to all day.

Probiotic foods are essential to introduce right from the beginning.
These can be dairy based or vegetable based.  To avoid any reactions introduce probiotic foods gradually, starting from 1-2 teaspoons a day for 2-5 days, then 3-4 teaspoons a day for 2-5 days and so on until you can add a few teaspoons of the probiotic food into every cup of meat stock and every bowl of soup.  If your patient is ready to introduce dairy, then use your homemade yogurt or kefir.  If dairy is still out [by results of sensitivity test or negative reaction when introducing it], then into every cup of meat stock or soup add juice from your homemade sauerkraut, fermented vegetables or vegetable medley (please look in the recipe section of the book).  Make sure that the food is not too hot when adding the probiotic foods, as the heat would destroy the beneficial probiotic bacteria.

Ginger tea with a little honey between meals.
To make ginger tea, grate some fresh ginger root (about a teaspoonful) into your teapot and pour some boiling water over it, cover and leave for 3-5 minutes.  Pour through a small sieve and add honey to taste (optional).

STAGE 2
Continue with Stage 1.
Keep giving your patient the soups with bone marrow, boiled meats or fish and other soft tissues off the bones.  He or she should keep drinking the meat stock and ginger tea.  Keep adding some probiotic food into every cup of meat stock and every bowl of soup: juices from sauerkraut, fermented vegetables or vegetable medley, or homemade kefir/yogurt.

Add raw organic egg yolks.
It is best to have egg yolks raw added to every bowl of soup and every cup of meat stock.  Start from 1 egg yolk a day and gradually increase until your patient has an egg yolk with every bowl of soup.  When egg yolks are well tolerated add soft-boiled eggs to the soups (the whites cooked and the yolks still runny).  If you have any concerns about egg allergy, do the sensitivity test first.  There is no need to limit number of egg yolks per day, as they absorb quickly almost without needing any digestion and will provide your patient with wonderful and most needed nutrition.  Get your eggs from a source you trust: fresh, free range and organic.

Add stews and casseroles made with meats and vegetables.
Avoid spices at this stage; just make the stew with salt and fresh herbs (look for a recipe of Italian Casserole in the recipe section of the book).  The fat content of these meals must be quite high: the more fresh animal fats your patient consumes, the quicker he or she will recover.  Add some probiotic food into every serving.

Increase daily amount of homemade yogurt and kefir, if introduced.  Increase the amount of juice from sauerkraut, fermented vegetables or vegetable medley.

Introduce fermented fish, starting from one piece a day and gradually increasing.  
Look for recipes in recipe section.

Introduce homemade ghee, starting from 1 teaspoon a day and gradually increasing.  Look for recipe in recipe section.


STAGE 3
Carry on with all the previous foods.

Add ripe avocado mashed into soups, starting from 1-3 teaspoons and gradually increasing the amount.

Add pancakes, starting from one pancake a day and gradually increasing the amount.
Make these pancakes with three ingredients: 1) organic nut butter (almond, walnut, peanut, etc); 2) eggs; 3) a piece of fresh winter squash, marrow or courgette (peeled, de-seeded and well blended in a food processor).  Fry small thin pancakes using ghee, goose fat or duck fat.  Make sure not to burn them.

Egg scrambled with plenty of ghee, goose fat or duck fat.
Serve it with avocado (if well tolerated) and cooked vegetables.  Cooked onion is particularly good for the digestive system and the immune system: melt 3 tablespoons of duck fat or ghee in the pan, add sliced large white onion, cover and cook for 20-30 minutes on low heat.

Introduce the sauerkraut and your fermented vegetables (your patient has been drinking the juices from them for a while now).
Start from a small amount, gradually increasing to 1-2 tablespoons of sauerkraut or fermented vegetables per every meal.

STAGE 4
Carry on with all previous foods.

Gradually add meats cooked by roasting and grilling (but not barbecued or fried yet).
Avoid bits, which are burned or too brown.  Let your patient eat the meat with cooked vegetables and sauerkraut (or other fermented vegetables).

Start adding cold pressed olive oil to the meals, starting from a few drops per meal and gradually increasing the amount to 1-2 tablespoons per meal.

Introduce freshly pressed juices, starting from a few spoonfuls of carrot juice.
Make sure that the juice is clear, filter it well.  Let your patient drink it slowly or diluted with warm water or mixed with some homemade yogurt.  If well tolerated gradually increase to a full cup a day.  When a full cup of carrot juice is well tolerated try to add to it juice from celery, lettuce and fresh mint leaves.  Your patient should drink the juice on an empty stomach, so first thing in the morning and middle of afternoon are good times.

Try to bake bread with ground almonds or any other nut and seeds ground into flour.
The recipe (please look in recipe section of the book) requires only four ingredients: 1) nut flour; 2) eggs; 3) piece of fresh winter squash, marrow or courgette (peeled, de-seeded and finely sliced); 4) some natural fat (ghee, butter, goose or duck fat) and some salt to taste.  Your patient should start from a small piece of bread per day and gradually increase the amount.

STAGE 5
If all the previous foods are well tolerated try to add cooked apple as an apple pure.
Peel and core ripe cooking apples and stew them with a bit of water until soft.  When cooked add some shee to it and mash with a potato masher.  If ghee has not bee introduced yet add duck or goose fat.  Start from a few spoonfuls a day.  Watch for any reaction.  If there is none gradually increase the amount.

Add raw vegetables starting from softer parts of lettuce and peeled cucumber.
Watch your patient's stool.  Again start from a small amount and gradually increase if well tolerated.  After those two vegetables are well tolerated gradually add other raw vegetables: carrot, tomato, onion, cabbage, etc.

If the juice made from carrot, celery, lettuce and mint is well tolerated, start adding fruit to it: apple, pineapple and mango.  Avoid citrus fruit at this stage.


STAGE 6
If all the introduced foods are well tolerated try some peeled raw apple.  Gradually introduce raw fruit and more honey.

Gradually introduce baking cakes and other sweet things allowed on the diet.  Use dried fruit as a sweetener in the baking.

As I mentioned before, your patient may be able to move through the Introduction Diet faster or slower depending on the stool changes: let the diarrhea start clearing before moving to the next stage.  You may have to introduce some foods later than in the program depending on his/her sensitivities.  Make sure that you carry on with the soups and meat stock after your patient has completed the Introduction Diet at least once a day.

After the Introduction Diet is completed and when your patient has more or less normal stools move into the Full GAPS Diet.


THE FULL GAPS DIET
A Typical Menu:
Start the day with a glass of still mineral water or filtered water with a slice of lemon.  It can be warm or cold to personal preference.

If you have a juicer your patient can start the day with a glass of freshly pressed fruit/vegetable juice diluted with water.
A good juice to start the day is 40% apple + 50% carrot + 10% beetroot (all raw of course).  You can make all sorts of juice mixes, but generally try to have 50% of therapeutic ingredients: carrot, small amount of beetroot (no more than 5-10% of juice mixture), celery, cabbage, lettuce, greens (spinach, parsley, dill, basil, fresh nettle leaves, beet tops, carrot tops), white and red cabbage, and 50% of some tasty ingredients to disguise the taste of therapeutic ingredients: pineapple, apple, orange, grapefruit, grapes, mango, etc.  Your patient can have these juices as they are, with some yogurt or diluted with water.

Every day our bodies go through a 24 hour cycle of activity and rest, feeding and cleaning up (detoxifying).  From about 4 am til about 10 am the body is in the cleaning up or detoxification mode.  Drinking water and freshly pressed juices will assist in this process.  Loading the body with food at that time interferes with the detoxification.  That is why many of us do not feel hungry first thing in the morning.  It is better to have breakfast around 10 am when your body has completed the detox stage and is ready for feeding.  At that stage we usually start feeling hungry.  Children may be ready for their breakfast earlier than adults.

BREAKFAST CHOICES
A variation of English breakfast: eggs cooked to personal liking and served with sausages and vegetables, some cooked, some fresh as a salad (tomato, cucumber, onions, celery, and fresh salad greens, etc.) and/or avocado and/or meat.  The yolks are best uncooked that the whites cooked.  Use plenty of cold pressed olive oil as a dressing on the salad and eggs.  Mix a tablespoon of pre-soaked or sprouted sunflower and/or sesame and/or pumpkin seeds with the salad.  Sausages (full fat) should be made of pure minced meat with only salt and pepper added.  Make sure that there are no commercial seasonings or MSG (Monosodium Glutamate) in the sausages.  I recommend finding a local butcher, who would make pure meat sausages for you on order

Avocado with meat, fish or shellfish, vegetables raw and cooked, lemon and cold pressed olive oil.  Serve a cup of warm meat stock as a drink with food.

Pancakes made with ground nuts.  These pancakes are delicious with some butter with honey, or as a savory snack.  If you blend some fresh or defrosted berries with honey, it will make a delicious jam to have with pancakes.  Weak tea with lemon, ginger tea or mint tea.

Any of the home baked goods: muffins, fruit cake and bread.

LUNCH CHOICES
Homemade vegetable soup or stew in a homemade meat stock.

Avocado with meat, fish, shellfish and raw and/or cooked vegetables.  Use olive oil with some lemon squeezed over it as a dressing.  Serve a cup of warm homemade meat stock as a drink.

Any meat/fish dish with vegetables.

DINNER CHOICES
One of the dishes from the lunch or breakfast choices. 

There are many recipes found in the book.  You can also take old recipes and give them your own GAPS diet update.

Sunday, April 12, 2015

Collagen More Important Than Calcium for Building Bone



Dr.Kaayla Daniel says "Our bones need the structure of collagen fibers. So it's the structure that's most important.  And the calcium gets laid on that.  The collagen framework is what's most important."  Eat plenty of stews, broths, and mint tea she adds.  

Saturday, April 11, 2015

Justin Stellman Interviews Sally Fallon Morrell


Sally Fallon Morrell, who went to high school while in Iran, made some interesting points about heart health. She outs statins for how they destroy the muscles around the heart and the heart itself. Instead of statins, she recommends COQ10. COQ10 doesn't really work without cholesterol, so you need to consume foods that maintain healthy levels of cholesterol in your blood. Also, the cholesterol in the food is not the cholesterol in your blood.  Cholesterol is not the cause; it's only a marker. Lower cholesterol is bad for you; in fact, it indicates illness.

Organ meats have lots of B vitamins.
Mix the chicken livers with butter and herbs into a pate.  
Calf livers you can do the same thing.  But she has made the point in an earlier interview that chicken livers have the perfect balance of A and D and K.
She likes brains, marrow, kidneys if they are cooked the right way and sweet bread: bread them and fry them and they'll be just like chicken nuggets.  The only bone I found in the store this morning was a lamb shank.
Muscle meats and organ meats
Blonde Caviar is the least expensive caviar you can buy.  Fish eggs. Salmon, sour cream, and crackers. 
The upper classes ate pig fats.  In lower classes, peasants ate mainly muscle meats.  Kings got organ meats.  Nourishing Traditions by Fallon.
Pregnancy and Infertility
Many women who could not get pregnant ate her diet and became fertile. Soy is an anti-fertility food.  
Both the mother and father should eat this diet for 2 years before they get pregnant.  Not a hard diet to follow.  You're not depriving yourself. You have salt, sweat things, and lots of fat.  Her diet tells how to eat, not what to eat.  It's a philosophy that says yes.  Women have been told from the time they're very young to not eat fat.  And that it's vulgar to eat lard, one of the healthiest cooking fats, filled with Vitamin D.  We've told people not to eat foods that serve them the best.  We've ended up with eating pathologies.  Binging and splurging is what people resort to, where they eat pornographic foods.
Says that Vitamin A is a great protector against soy foods that fill the food market.  Women should avoid xeno estrogens, like drugs, plastic bottles, and industrial chemicals.  Cod liver oil and its Vitamin A is a great protector against pesticides and industrial chemicals.  She recommends one manufacturer.  It's clean and pure.  Many people distribute the oil. WestonAPrice.org, Cod Liver Oil, Our #1 Superfood.
Celiac, IBS, and other gastric issues.  Low-fat, low-cholesterol diets cause this.  The gut needs just as much cholesterol as does the brain.  
When she eats grains, she soaks them before cooking them.  Grains are designed to be indigestible.  This is why she says soak the grains before you cook them.  We only have one stomach.  Pre-digest them by breaking them down.  Doing so liberates the minerals and vitamins.  Today we have the added problem of Genetically engineered grains.  Corn, Soy, Canola, and Cotton.  Canola oil is in everything.  Canola oil is a renamed oil that comes from rape seed from India.  It contributes to heart problems. Canola oil is from Canada.  All canola oil is genetically engineered.
Olive oil is fine to cook with because it gets solid in the fridge. Polyunsaturated oils--canola, and soy--are highly reactive.  
Oxidized cholesterol is the cholesterol that causes health problems. Animal fats are the best fats for cooking.  Very stable fats.  Butter, ghee, and olive oil.  How is ghee different from regular butter.  Butter keeps the milk solids, which gives it its flavor.  Ghee has butter fat but no solids.
Raw milk.  She doesn't touch pasteurized, homogenized milk.  She's a big fan of raw milk.  She calls it a "real insurance policy."  RealMilk.com
If you have digestive problems drinking raw milk, Fallon suggests drinking cultured milk, like Keifer and yogurt.  Milk is a food, not a beverage. Bring it to room temperature and sip slowly.  Always full fat.  Fats are important for digesting the milk.  
Celiac and IBS.  Supplements?  Gut and Psychology Syndrome, GAPS Diet. Take lots and lots of bone broth.  The lining of your small intestine has a layer of cartilage.  And that is fed and nourished by bone broths.  Good for health in almost every world tradition.  Use any animal for bone broth. Lamb bone, turkey carcass, chicken feet.  With the stock, Justin uses mushrooms and vegetables.  Eat your meat with the broth and your meat is more digestible that way.  Water with a meal dilutes your digestive juices, like hydrochloric acid.
Want to buy chicken stock.  Order the Weston Price shopping guide.  It's $3.  There's a page in there on soups and stocks.  
Make your own salad dressings.  The bottled ones are just garbage.
Put more time into your health.  Health is wealth.  A cliche, I know, but true.  
Fermented foods as well.  Big topic.  Sauerkraut, pickled foods, pickled beets.  Every culture has had fermented foods that provide enzymes and good bacteria for good digestion.  Rheumatoid arthritis stems from intestinal walls and health is not correct.  The butter, cod liver oil, stocks, and liver pates are all good for rheumatoid arthritis.

Thursday, April 9, 2015

Homeopathic Remedies
PAIN, SWELLING, SHOCK, & SPORTS INJURIES
Let’s begin with a remedy that is often thought of first, particularly when the pathology has a quick and abrupt start: Aconitum napellus. When it comes to the pain, swelling and shock of a sprained ankle and similar sports injuries, this is a rewarding first choice. It should be administered orally as soon as possible and from every few minutes for more severe injuries to once daily for minor ones. This method is the rule of thumb for the administration of homeopathic remedies in general.

ARNICA MONTANA FOR TRAUMA
The second most frequently used remedy for trauma is Arnica montana, particularly when it comes to injuries to the head such as in concussions. If the injury is serious, it should be administered on the way to the hospital every few minutes. It can be taken until the initial need for Aconitum has passed. Homeopathy is compatible with conventional medicine so one can feel confident using it simultaneously with other treatment methods to bring needed calm, pain relief and healing. In her book More Magic of the Minimum Dose, Dr. Dorothy Shepherd relates that in homeopathic hospitals throughout Europe and India, Arnica montana, when used in high enough potency, has relieved pain from injuries more effectively than morphine! And there are no side effects or addictions associated with homeopathic medicines. Arnica montana can also be used for dental work. It is powerful in its ability to address potential infection and anxiety and soften the shock and discomfort of surgery. Indeed, it can even reduce fear of dental work. Dr. Dorothy Shepherd, British homeopathic doctor and researcher states in her book, A Physician’s Posy, “It is advisable to take Arnica before going to the dentist to prevent shock and pain after an extraction. Hemorrhage is frequently much lessened by such preventative measures.”

LEDUM FOR INSECT STINGS
Ledum is the remedy of choice for most insect stings. Think of it also for accidents from punctures, stabs, even an injury from an embedded nail, as well as bites from cats, rats, dogs and horses. Meanwhile, be sure to get traditional medical care as well, since Ledum is not a substitute for professional care when the injury is serious. Having Ledum on hand however, is an opportunity to augment the body’s ability to begin healing, reduce swelling, minimize potential infection and bring about calm. 

HYPERICUM FOR NERVE INJURY
Hypericum is also used for injuries particularly if the pain involves nerve injury, and when pain is severe. Hypericum is a capital choice for tooth pain that originates in an inflamed nerve or after an extraction.

IPECAC FOR GASTRIC ISSUES
When considering gastric issues there are many remedies of equal value to Ipecac, yet Ipecac is the remedy you want on hand when vomiting is relentless and affords no relief after the episode. All homeopathic remedies must be chosen specifically for their symptoms and etiology. For example, Nux vomica is the premiere remedy for overdoing a good thing: the New Year’s Day hangover; the child who stays up late at a friend’s house after gorging on pizza and soda; or overindulgence from Halloween candy. Usually the sufferer is cold and has the feeling that if he could only vomit, he’d feel better. There may be irritability and bloating or diarrhea alternating with constipation. Food poisoning, regardless of the pathogen is often aided by Nux vomica, but the ultimate remedy for this malady isArsenicum album. This is particularly valuable for diarrhea that is exhausting accompanied by cold and restlessness and burning pains in the stomach or rectum.

CROTON TIGLIUM FOR POISON IVY
What about that wretched poison ivy that causes so much summer distress? Pack Croton tiglium in your backpack for when a poison ivy outbreak is blistering a great deal with inflammation and itching. It is particularly useful for when the outbreak is located on the scalp, near the eyes or on the genitals. If the eruption is of a burning nature that causes severe itching and is aggravated by the warmth of a bed, the night, and by scratching, consider Rhus tox. This powerful remedy is particularly interesting since it is made from poison ivy. For those with a propensity for these itchy outbreaks yearly, it can be used as a prophylactic before the season begins with a few doses each day for two days.


On planning your homeopathy kit, it is best to buy it already organized in a neat box from a reputable pharmacy. The price is substantially less per bottle and the pharmacy’s expertise aids in choosing the most useful remedies. There are several kit sizes available. Purchase the most extensive kit you can afford. Since the remedies, if handled properly, will last indefinitely, the kit becomes an investment of long term benefits. Hylands (www.Hylands.com) carries a kit that is well organized and economical. Consider taking a teleseminar in first aid homeopathy and purchasing a how-to book or CD. The more fleshed out your understanding of this vital discipline, the more able you’ll be to depend on its effectiveness. So the next time you hear children chant, smile and think: “I’m ready for an emergency. I have my homeopathy kit.”

Saturday, April 4, 2015

Paleo v. Weston A. Price Diet


Fascinating interview. Sally Fallon Morrell explains that if you take a lot of Vitamin D (presumably D3) supplements that it depletes your Vitamin A stores. You want your Vitamin A, so don't over do it with Vitamin D3.
A lot of exercise will deplete Vitamin A.  Lean meats, Vitamin D supplements, lots of exercise, and no sources of Vitamin A in the diet.  If you take a lot of A it will deplete Vitamin D.
Lean meats deplete Vitamin A.
The last thing that ancient people would eat was lean meat.  They wanted the older animals--buffalo or caribou--for the build-up of fat along the spine.  These older animals would produce about 80 lbs of fat. The first thing they would do is eat the fatty organs--the brain, the liver, the tongue, and marrow, which is 90% fat.  
Lean meats were storage foods, like jerky.  Fat was poured into a bag to saturate the lean meats.
People on paleo are getting some gout because they need fats.  
Natural sources of Vitamin D?  Fats, organ meats, blood, egg yolks, fish live oils (A & D in balance). This is  Too much D without the A and K can lead to calcification of the arteries and heart disease.  
Fish oils are bad because they can go rancid easily.  Lots of polyunsaturated.  They are boiled at 230° for hours.  
Vitamin A, DHA, and EPA will be protected.  The liver is used to ferment inside the shark's stomach.  The oil from the liver of the fish is prized for its fertility capability.  Fermentation allows you to get the oil out of the cells without chemicals or without heat.
Anti-liver campaign for 40 or 60 years.  WWII pregnant women were encouraged to eat liver. Vitamin content in organ meats is 10 to 1000 times that which you'd find in muscle meats.
The best organ meats are poultry because of the nice balance of A, D, & K. Most nutritious parts of the animal.  The best are chicken, duck, goose, and turkey liver because of the nice balance of A, D, & K.  
Vitamin K, natto, soy food from Japan.

Natto
Goose liver, duck liver, and emu oil are high in vitamin K.  Hard cheese is a good source of K.  Cheese is a wonderful food for Westerners.  
Grains?  Prepare them with a fermentation process and the vitamin content goes way up.
African diet is low in protein.  But high in A, D, & K.  Lots of fermented beverages.  Really sour beverages.  Because they're fermented--a great source of K and B.  Grains are best when fermented. Eat them fermented.
Can't let the wisdom of ancient cultures die.  Human beings have eaten everything.  Throughout the world.  We like to say
Dairy--raw, full fat, pastured.  

Fermenting grains.  Oatmeal.  The night before put oatmeal in warm water with something acidic--a tablespoon of lemon, or vinegar, and leave it on the counter overnight.  Next day, cook it with salt and that oatmeal will give you a lot of energy. [PS, as of this edit (5/31/2024) I no longer eat any grains.]  Once the grains are soaked you will not have any allergic reaction to them.

Genuine sourdough, not sourdough that just adds vinegar to make it sour.  Genuine sourdough means no allergic reactions.  

Make your own bone broth.  Every culture made use of the bones--broth or ground it up.  The glycine balances the myethene in meat.  It makes it easier to deal with stress and creates mental balance.  Great for the gut to heal.  Save up bones or buy them.  Put them in the slow cooker, a splash of vinegar, and that's it.  Sauces and gravies.  Bone-based sauces make food taste delicious.  

Unrefined salt is preferred.  Even table salt is okay.  Make sure you get 1.5 tablespoons of salt.  

Carbohydrates?  A small amount is fine.  May need them for thyroid health. 

Paleo has very little calcium from plant foods.  She needed braces.  Her parents grew up on cod liver oil.  

Bone brother builds cartilage and collagen framework.