Health Education 101: Must Read To Proceed

Here are a few titles for this post that obviously didn't make it but helps give a clearer perspective for those that find themselves reading it, "Since You've Taken the Red Pill..." or "Should-a, Could-a, Would-a..." or my personal favorite, "There Is A Logical Answer For That Malady And The Cure Is Based in Food... ."

Swiss Farm 

It is common knowledge that there can be extremes in fields of thought and the nutrition field definitely has its pendulum swing. Hopefully,  I can help manage this aspect of the nutrition world by stating the following tips as you read the references I suggest; common sense, moderation and learning to 'listen' to your body should be your 'filters'.

Books For The Library ( in my house, the bookshelf)

I have a hard time putting these in any particular order because they are all rich with information. I will begin with the one that was the first to open my eyes to a problem I was wondering about and dealing with concerning my daughter.

Nutrition and Physical Degeneration by: Dr. Weston A. Price

My daughter was dealing with an under bite and her top jaw was growing slower than her lower jaw. I had an over bite and needed braces when I was an adolescent and I knew my husband had braces but I was wondering why my daughter had a more severe problem and at an early age. A dear friend told me to read this book for the answers to why modern man has dental cavities and malocclusion's. I had some nutritional background from my family and knew certain aspects of what to do, what not to do but this book was the kicker for my personal journey in really understanding how important food is for health.

This book not only directed the spotlight on the answers to my questions about my daughter's dilemma but flooded me with answers to so many other questions concerning health. I was like a sponge. I was constantly in awe at the simple yet profound work of Dr. Weston A. Price. I kept saying to myself, 'No wonder there are reproductive problems, genetic abnormalities, behavioral disruptions... It all has to do with our FOOD System.'

The traditional wisdom taught in this book when implemented can save a family financial woes as well as set-up generational wealth in the form of health. I only wish I had this book before I decided to have children. It is available for free by the project Gutenberg press. Click HERE to read it. Take your time and let it sink in and really look at those pictures, it will bring the point home.

When your done reading the research of Dr. Weston A. Price and want to start implementing your new found food paradigm, Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon and Mary Enig is the recipe book for you.

If you can't get enough information and want to delve in to highly scrutinized research the next step is to read as many articles on the Weston A. Price Foundations website as you can. (It can take a while, I'm still reading) One of my all time favorite articles is, On the Trail of the Elusive X-Factor: A Sixty-Year-Old Mystery Finally Solved, written by Chris Masterjohn. This article will satisfy the Science Geek in you; it has the tests, chemical reaction charts along with the whys and the how's.


Oh my, this post is getting long... I will have to extend Health Education 101: Must Read To Proceed for another post... These MUST READ books and articles can keep one busy for a lifetime. I'll let it sink in for awhile before proceeding with the next MUST READ selection.

Achieving Health- A Starting Point

These posts may come off as a bunch of rambling on a large topic that can take years of research and is fraught with debate. I hope that some of the rambling can take out some of the seeming complication that is attached with trying to achieve health in this modern age.

I am not a doctor, a trained nutritionist or guru of any sort.  My interest in human health has its' roots in family history, especially on my Mom's side. My grandparents grew up in the Minnesota Farmlands, ate what the land provided for them and also researched the gamut of medical and nutrition literature available at the time. My interest also stems from not being able to afford health insurance. Sure it can be fearful living not having this modern necessity but before you lecture me on not being responsible, things happen in life that may seem so wrong on the outside but push us to learn and step outside the box and trust.

My focus in this post is on chronic ailments and disease. (Injuries are another matter). I don't claim to have THE answer or claim to be the most perfect specimen and have no problems, but what I want to get across is that through my experiences and self experimentation, you can rely on yourself for figuring out how to deal with issues as they arise and heal yourself through food.

I have read accounts of people being sent home to die with late term cancer, a mother not willing to give up on her terminally ill daughter poisoned by chemicals, out of control diabetes and heart conditions all corrected and fully healed by FOOD therapy.

Photo By: Designkryt

A Basis for Critical Thinking About Health- A Starting Point

God made the human body with amazing healing capabilities. He also made an environment that produces the catalyst for proper health; FOOD. This is as simple as it gets. The quote by Hippocrates can not define it more clearly, " Let food be thy medicine, and medicine be thy food."  He gets to the nitty gritty, no NEED to look elsewhere to heal ailments.

Where the complication in Food healing occurs is when man manipulates God's original design. When we cut corners, (pesticides, hormones, large plot farming without resting the land-which leads to soil nutrient depletion, mass-production instead of local farming, genetic manipulation) we are the ones to reap the harmful outcomes. This is why organic farming and produce is so important. When you do it right, the soil is full of ALL the nutrients needed to grow healthy produce which retains those nutrients that get passed to your system when you eat it in it's most natural state, raw.

If one living system is depleted of nutrients, the trickle down effect results in deficient nutrients. Since health and food are symbiotic, the root of illness, is nutrient deficiency and toxicity in the system.

To heal your ailment the first part of the puzzle is to clean the body (cells) of toxins so it can accept nutrients. The second part of the puzzle is to find out what your body is lacking, what your nutrient deficiencies consist of.

The simple fact is, you may not even need to know specifically what the deficiency is. Once detoxifying begins and nutrient rich foods (a fast way to send nutrients through the system is through the bloodstream, this is accomplished best through juicing vegetables or IV Vitamin C therapy) enter the system, your cells recognizes this natural function and begins to repair.


Pitfalls of Modern Health

• Due Diligence: Failing to do your own thorough research
• Wanting the 'expert' to fix it for you
• Believing you are not smart enough to figure out what your body needs 
• Reverting to a placebo (pills) 
• Accepting band-aid treatments instead of dealing with the root cause
• Not going the full distance

I hear this saying almost as if it was a 'mantra', "Being healthy today is so complicated." There is some merit to this saying but it is not entirely true. The complication stems from scientific gobbledygook, ignorance, suppression of information, oppression of truthful case studies and treatments or lack of self- discipline. Please understand, I do not say this to diminish experts in their field, or bash the medical field, or make you think I'm better than you and really have a handle on this health thing. I struggle with this saying as well but know that it is not to be used as an excuse.

So how does one filter out the propaganda, the quackery, weed through the jargon and really get to the nitty gritty of it all?

It DOES start with research, laying fear aside so you can think clearly, setting up a system of checks and balances, implementing your findings through self experimentation, allowing flexibility in tweaking to your bodies needs and a stubborn resolve to discipline yourself.

This is a Starting Point...Next, where to begin educating yourself...

Self Education Encouragement

BEN FRANKLIN

Photo By: Designkryt

I read, The Autobiography and Other Writings of Benjamin Franklin as part of my Summer relaxation by the pool.  It is a small hobby of mine to learn what people thought and what influenced them to think a certain way; Ben is a big character to tackle. Despite the plethora of information about this multi-talented man I wanted to focus on his views of education.

This year is a big year for my daughter and me. Fifth grade will commence with school held right here under my own roof. We've taken the leap, started something fresh and we feel the gamut of emotions typical of a new adventure. I thought reading about Ben's successful accomplishments may just give a morale booster as we prepare for the unknown.

First, let me list some of those accomplishments. Keep in mind he only had two years of formal schooling and the rest of his education was self taught.

• Printer and Tradesman (He was so successful he retired comfortably at the age of 42)
• Alderman; councilman, Burgess, justice of the peace (elected member of Municipal Council) 
• Founded public institutions: fire company, militia, college and hospital
• Inventor, Scientist: Electricity is his best known interest but he also dabbled in; Medicine-yellow fever, cancer. Weather -astronomy, The Gulf Stream,  formation of raindrops, hot-air balloons. Studied- sleep, magnetism, surface tension, demography, heat absorption. Invented- tool for retrieving books from high shelves, a 'copy' machine for handwritten devices. Writer of various topics- Agriculture, chess,military strategy, literary style, silkworms, ice boats etc... He wrote pieces for his brothers newspaper under the name, Mrs. Silence Dogood' at the age of 16. He also wrote Poor Richard's Almanac.
• Post Master General
• Public Library Founder
• Received by five Kings
• Awarded Honorary degrees by six Universities
• Philosopher
• Founding Father
• Ambassador to France

This information tells me quite a bit. It tells me with the proper motivators and self discipline education will happen naturally. 

A letter written to Ben Franklin from a close friend (Benjamin Vaughan) encouraging him to write his autobiography explains the gusto behind Ben's large success. Vaughan calls this, "man's private power..and goes on to say, "But your biography will not merely teach self education, but the education of a wise man.." ( pg. 80) essentially he is advocating personal responsibility.

Although Franklin never comes out and says it in plain terms, thinking for oneself is a virtue. (Critical thinking in today's terms)

Vaughan compliments this thought with his supportive statement, "School and other education constantly proceed upon false principles, and shows a clumsy apparatus pointed at a false mark; but your (Franklin's) apparatus is simple...."

The simplicity of the thought that learning should be enjoyable and unhampered with agendas is refreshing. Finding out for oneself, taking responsibility, asking questions, observing other's with foresight are all virtues to aid in our upcoming adventure in homeschooling.

Franklin's list of accomplishments is a bar to be admired I can only wonder at what we will accomplish?

Holiday Goodies

Photo By: Kakisky


Upon pondering Christmas time
I like to think of cheese and wine
but this year I could not yield my mind
from thinking of the sugary food we wield.
We chew and gorge on dainty delights
as our waistbands grow and pants get tight.

There is one Holiday icon who fits the bill
eating cookies til' he gets his fill.
We endear our children to his jolly girth,
his 'belly full of jelly', his laugh 'full of mirth'
See how we use such 'cute' phrases when describing
a fat man on a road to health malaise's.

Why don't we say, "Here comes the man with junk in his trunk."
or ask rhetorical questions about the chimney size and his ba-dunk-a-dunk?
Maybe it's a ploy of the politically correct,
full of hypocrisy and word dialect.

Ahh!

It doesn't amount to a hill of beans in the long run.
Just enjoy all the goodies until the Holiday is done,
and revel in the spirit of Christmas fun!

Now go grab a cookie!

Doggerel provided by: Chandra Brown

Merry Christmas!

The Christmas Coyote

Let me tell you about young Emily Robbs, Emily Robbs was 10 years old  and the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Robbs who owned a ranch in Colorado. One thing that the Robbs were not pleased to see, was a coyote. That is exactly what this story is about. One day, young Emily saw a beautiful fright; out side her window was a gleaming white coyote clothed in a scarf and booties. Poor little Emily thought she was loosing her mind. She pinched her thigh, she slapped her cheeks and put ice down her shirt to see if she was dreaming and finally she came to realize the coyote was really there starring at her right in the eyes. She backed away in fear, the coyote cocked its head then prowled away. Of course young Emily never told her parents about such things or they would think she was messing with coyotes. Then something caught her eye, she had noticed that her advent calender was at the 24th. "It's getting late," she said, "I better get to sleep, Santa comes tonight."
 
BLEEP! BLEEP! BLEEP!!! she awoke to her alarm clock in a flash and gasped, "Santa came!!!!!!"  She found a letter in her stocking along with all the toys it read:

Dear sweet Emily, I know you want to be a Veterinarian when you grow up so I am assigning you to help one of the most special animals in all the land, the Christmas coyote, she will lead you to her problem.
Thank You!
From, Santa Claus

Christmas Coyote With Her Pup
Photo By: Alex Brown

Straight then she knew that the coyote she saw that day was the special Christmas coyote. Emily dashed to the window and there it was. Legend has it that every year the Christmas coyote would go around and decorate the peoples yards and  it would choose one child to give a special gift to. Immediately, she grabbed her vet kit and trudged outside in wonderment even though she hadn't had her breakfast yet. She followed the coyote into the deep forest covered in snow.

Nervously she spoke, "I'm sorry but Mrs.coyote its been an hour already and I'm awfully hungry."
She turned and shot her a look, that said, 'We're almost there, so please don't argue.' Finally, Emily arrived at a bloody trap and inside it was an adorable, pudgy coyote pup. "Awe, it's so cute," Emily said, "Is he yours?" The coyote nodded with a painful yes, then whapped Emily on her thigh with its tail. Emily huffily asked,"Ow, what was that for?" The coyote looked at Emily then at the injured pup. "Right," she exclaimed, then she pryed open the trap and gently pulled the pup out and wrapped its wounded leg and gave it to the Christmas coyote. She picked it up as fast as lightning and trotted away, as Emily shouted, "Don't I get a thank you?" to the coyote who was about 30 meters away. It just went on plodding off into the woods. Emily turned to head back home with a happy heart that she was able to help.

After getting away from worried parents she slipped into bed and went to sleep. The next morning Emily awoke to a scratch at her door, she opened it and found a little coyote plush identical to the pup she had saved. It was from the Christmas coyote and this year Emily was that special someone.

Emily Finds the Christmas Coyotes Gift

THE END

This Christmas tale was written by: Alex Brown

Hook, Line and Sinker

Photo by: Chandra Brown
 

I took this picture over the Summer while fishing on Town Lake with my daughter. It struck me as funny but also a little sad. I imagined the scene vividly; happy angler on the shore balancing his rod gently tilting it backwards getting ready to cast, then suddenly the pole tugs on his arm as the line gets stuck in the branch just out of eyesight above his head. Realizing his dilemma the smile on his face turns to concern. His arm starts to tire wrestling with the tangled mess. Finally, he succumbs to defeat, flips his hat on the ground in disgust and pulls his knife from his pocket to cut the line. He didn't even get his bait in the water. Not exactly a relaxing day fishing.

I sat on this picture and post for months. I took the photo knowing there was a post behind it but I wasn't ready to write it until last night when I was pillow talking with my daughter. We were discussing Luke 5:1-11. We read the account from her new Pre-teen Bible she specifically asked for so she could know Jesus better.

Jesus uses Simon's boat to teach a lesson from the shore, after He was done speaking he tells Simon to go out into the deep and cast his net. Simon is skeptical because they fished all night and caught nothing but is obedient. The boat overflows and he calls James and John over to help with the bountiful catch because the nets were splitting and the boat was sinking. Simon repents of his unbelief and Jesus uses this event to invite Simon to become His disciple. Simon, James and John were smart, it says, "they left everything and followed."

After we read the account, I asked Alex what did Jesus mean when He said, "..from now on you will fish for people."

Her answer was spot on, she said, "I can explain it in kid terms, Jesus is going to teach them the truth so they can go out and tell others."

I asked her, "What 'truth' would Jesus teach them?"

And this is where I get excited about her answer...she said, "Jesus is going to teach them about Himself."

A parent has never been so proud. I couldn't stop kissing her forehead. That is IT! Jesus wants us all to know the truth about who HE is, why HE came and then tell others. Sadly, this simple truth is lost in this day and age because people don't know who He is. They go fishing in their own way and end up a tangled mess, they are so encumbered with the world they can't even get the bait in the water. They are caught up in the world just like the branch catches the line in the picture.

I like to contemplate what kind of fisher woman I am? Am I caught hook, line and sinker into the world's philosophies or swallowed up in the truth of Jesus and able to share the bounty with others?

Homemade Laundry Detergent

Photo By: Chandra Brown
Ingredients for Dry Laundry Detergent
 

Who knew laundry detergent could be so cheap?

Borax                    64 oz. (approximately 9 cups)     $2.99
Ivory Soap            10 count   (3.1 oz.)                       $4.25
Washing Soda      55 oz. (approximately 7 Cups)     $7.35

*Baking Soda       64 oz. (approximately 9 Cups)     $4.67

Ingredients: Makes approximately 36 loads (1/4 cup per load)
3 cups Borax
3 cups finely grated soap  (1 bar) (Ivory, or other natural soap)
3 cups washing soda

Mix together, Voila!

I spent about $3.03 for 36 load homemade, allergy-free detergent. Compare that to All Free and Clear 36 load detergent for $7.25.

When I first started the ingredients seemed out of reach at local chain stores but with some gumption I was able to find everything needed.  Washing soda seems to be the hardest ingredient to find locally but there's a trade secret with a simple chemistry twist that makes this task simple as pie.

*How to Make Washing Soda:
Pour 3 cups Baking Soda into a large glass dish. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Bake, stirring frequently until powder turns to crystal form. Three cups takes approximately 1 hour baking time. Store in a tightly sealed jar. Label it. Baking the soda changes the chemical composition; for explanation of how this change happens, click here.

Tips:
Many users of homemade detergent say they achieve best results with warm water.

You MUST finely grate the soap. Larger flakes tend to clump in the washer. Fine grating assures dissolution.

It is also recommended to start your washer, let it fill with some water then add detergent and give
the water a swirl before adding clothes, this helps the soap flakes dissolve better. Or for those with more modern machines that add the detergent in the cycle; do not overload the bin with clothes for best results.

If you have hard water, add more washing soda. This will help soften the water. (1/2- 1 cup extra washing soda, you may have to adjust amount higher or lower)

If you want to have a scent, you can add a few drops essential oils of your choice to the soap flakes before mixing with powders.

Make sure you click on the highlighted words throughout the post. They give you other uses for these ingredients as well as what the ingredients are made of. One of the uses I was drawn to and plan to try is the dishwashing detergent. The recipe is simple 50/50 of borax and baking soda. Can you imagine the savings on this product?

Let me know how you end up using Borax and Baking Soda. I think we'll be surprised at the simple brilliance of these natural products.

Happy wash day! I have never been so excited to do a load of wash.

If you want some inspiration and motivation for making household changes. Watch Chemerical, a documentary about your average families journey to rid toxic products from their house.