Category Archives: Chronic Disease

School Food Fight

Posted on by
homemade-treats

How do we get to the point where homemade treats can't be sold? Do you think governments should be involved in these types of decisions? Photo by Brittanya Beddington.

It is far better for a man to go wrong in freedom than to go right in chains.
Thomas Huxley

Angela Davis is the Brooklyn, NY Chapter Leader for the Weston A Price Foundation. She posted this disturbing information on the WAPF Leader’s Board. There is now a ban on homemade desserts at her local school. The reason behind this ban is there is no nutritional labeling on the homemade desserts telling how many grams of macro-nutrients it contains. Of course, processed foods from the Industrial Food System are allowed because the package states this type of data. Please read and weep at the US government’s wrong-headed approach to solving our society’s childhood obesity problem. Here is what The New York Times has to say about the issue.

Of course, this couldn’t happen in a school near you. Could it? After reading this posting I updated my own Funny Troubles with the local school system over nourishing traditional food and the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD).

Updated March 3, 2012: A preschooler in North Carolina, US had her homemade lunch–turkey and cheese sandwich, banana, potato chips, and apple juice–taken away because it wasn’t nutritious enough. It didn’t meet the new USDA guidelines. She was given chicken nuggets and the parents were given a bill for the meal. Read more about this story at Preschooler?s Homemade Lunch Replaced with Cafeteria ?Nuggets?. The USDA seems to have a bias toward processed foods with nutrition labeling!

The Garden of Fertility

Posted on by
fertility-chart

This is part of a fertility chart you can download for free from Katie Singer's website.

The Garden of Fertility by Katie Singer is a guide to help a woman chart her monthly fertility using basal body temperature, changes in vaginal secretions, and cervical texture. This book will help a woman and her partner to avoid pregnancy without the use of dangerous endocrine disrupting hormone treatments. This book will help with strategies for the couple having problems conceiving a child, a situation becoming more and more common.

For the older and younger woman alike, fertility awareness will help with assessing endocrine health. Fertility awareness will give the woman early warning of hyperthyroid or hypothyroid problems, low progesterone levels, risk of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) and miscarriage. Charting gives a method to assess if changes in diet and lifestyle are successful in reversing a problem. The Garden of Fertility has a whole section on how to improve gynecological health with night-lighting techniques and nourishing traditional foods. For more information about pre-conception diet please read: Thinking about Motherhood.

The Garden of Fertility is a book I wish had been available when I was a young woman. I have found this book so useful, I will teach the method to my daughters when they reach sexual maturity. Early training in charting gives a young woman a better understanding of her changing body. Charting gives the young woman safer choices regarding methods of birth control. It is my hope that an early understanding of how their bodies work will last a lifetime.

It happened so that our family faced the problem of infertility. After many unsuccessful attempts to get pregnant, doctors diagnosed me with polycystic disease. We spent a lot of effort and money on the treatment of polycystic disease. We tried a lot of pills, folk methods of treatment, various collections of herbs that normalize the cycle. As a result, the doctor recommended trying the drug Clomid about which I learned from My Fertility Choices reviews.

Katie Singer’s has written two books called The Garden of Fertility and Honoring Your Cycles: A Natural Family Planning Workbook. Both books are available at the Kamloops Public Library. Katie Singer maintains a website where you can download fertility awareness charts at: gardenoffertility.com.

Updated August 5, 2010: If you are having trouble conceiving Dr Andrea Hansen specializes in Traditional Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture. She teaches Natural Fertility Awareness Method. For more information:
130-546 St Paul St, Kamloops, BC V2C 5T1
T: 250.682.7289
E: dr.andreahansen(a)gmail.com

Updated February 25, 2011: Here is a very interesting article called How “The Pill” Can Harm Your Future Child’s Health.

Updated February 26, 2011: Here is a podcast by CBC Ideas on How to Think About Science with Dr Ruth Hubbard. The podcast covers a variety of topics including reproductive technologies, recombinant DNA and probability testing.

Cholesterol: Foe or Friend

Posted on by
know-your-fats

This is an excellent book to help you learn your fats. I used to skin my chicken to get rid of saturated fat. Wow, was I misinformed.

Our Society’s views about cholesterol are based on the work of Ancel Keys and the Lipid Hypothesis. The Lipid Hypothesis “proposes a connection between plasma cholesterol level and the development of coronary heart disease”.

In the last few years there has been increased questioning of the Lipid Hypothesis. What if the Lipid Hypothesis is wrong? This would mean there is a lot of misinformation in the general population. Our society has spent an enormous amount of resources to battle the evils of cholesterol. There is a whole industry developed to fight this scourge. This means there is a lot of resistance to change, because so many people’s livelihood depend on the battle continuing.

The Weston A Price Foundation does not support the Lipid Hypothesis. This is part of an email correspondence with someone interested in the views of the Weston A Price Foundation on saturated fat and its evil twin cholesterol:

I have written very little about cholesterol on eatkamloops.org. This is mainly because of embarrassment. I completely believed the Lipid Hypothesis. It was very hard for me to admit I could be so wrong.?The only writing on this topic that I can find is The Grease Bucket: Something from Nothing.

The issue around fats is a very important area to get clear on. There is research that shows that people with cholesterol below 150mg/dL are at a high risk of cancer. Also, that women with the highest cholesterol levels live the longest. The research is very confusing and I am not going to tell you I know the answer because I don’t.

The Specific Carbohydrate Diet radically improved my health but it was after going high fat with the Specific Carbohydrate Diet that my health problems finally resolved. I would have never gone high fat if it wasn’t for the Weston A Price Foundation and their materials. I was brainwashed. I couldn’t see that what I thought was a “healthy diet” wasn’t working for me. I nearly crashed my endocrine system. I will say this: a low fat diet is a slow killer. If you stay on it long enough, you want to die, because you feel so crappy and are sick all the time.

The Weston A Price Foundation’s website has a number of excellent essays on this topic. Do your own research. Check out the facts, and make your own informed decision. Please read Know Your Fats.

And no, I do not think industrial vegetable oils are safe at all. Remove all new fangled foods from your diet. Eat butter, coconut oil and grease for cooking. Use organic extra virgin olive oil on salads. If you are looking for a laugh, please watch the trailer for the movie Fat Head called Big Fat Lies. In the eternal words of the creator of Fat Head, Tom Naughton:
“You’ve been fed a load of bologna.”

Updated December 5, 2009: Here is a link to an interview with Utte Ravnskov called Does High Cholesterol Really Cause Heart Disease? Utte Ravaskov is the author of The Cholesterol Myth. If you would like further reading about cholesterol Good Calories, Bad Calories by Gary Taubes will give a historical perspective on the issue. Both books are available at the Kamloops Public Library.

25 Steps to Eating Nourishing Traditional Foods

Posted on by
pork-eggs

Eating well does not have to cost a fortune. Find quality sources of food and consider growing some food yourself. Cooking your own meals will save money and your health.

  1. Purchase your food as whole ingredients and as close to the original natural state as possible. Avoid processed foods. Avoid all additives, coloring, stabilizers and fillers. Avoid Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO). Here is a link to the Non-GMO Shopping Guide. If you are wondering what is wrong with GMOs please see the numerous video presentations by Jeffery Smith on GMOs. Make it a point to understand the system used to process your food. If you cannot understand the process, do not eat the food.
  2. Try to source your food locally. Get to know your farmers and ranchers. Show appreciation for all the work that goes into producing your food. Look for pastured raised or organic. If you are wondering what is so great about pastured raised animals please listen to Jill Eisen, on CBC Ideas program, Have Your Meat and Eat It Too! Find the local suppliers for un-sprayed products. There are many local suppliers which are not certified organic but follow organic principles. Un-sprayed products are usually cheaper than certified organic. Use eatkamloops.org to find local farmers and ranchers. For some guidelines about assessing food quality read WAPF Shopping Guide for Canada.
  3. Eat local foods seasonally. The food has better nutrition and is cheaper. If you would like to eat these foods out of season, find a suitable storage method. Get a large deep freezer and find an area in your home for dried stores. Consider building a root cellar or cold room. For more information read Winter Storage Part I and Winter Storage Part II.
  4. When buying from non-local sources try to buy certified organic. When we can’t talk to the producers about their practices, having a third party certification is a good idea. If certified organic foods are not in the budget, read about The Dirty Dozen and avoid foods with the most contamination.
  5. Consider growing your own food. Use container gardening on small properties or a big garden on larger lots. If labor is an issue, you might be able to trade garden space for labor. Depending on your zoning, you might be able to have laying hens for eggs or a miniature goat for raw milk.
  6. Start a grease bucket. Save all your drippings and fat from roasted meat and fowl. Use the grease for any high heat frying or roasting. For more information read The Grease Bucket – Something from Nothing.
  7. If you eat industrial vegetable oils or foods containing industrial vegetable oil, stop now. For cooking, replace these industrial vegetable oils with your grease bucket, butter, or coconut oil. Save your extra virgin olive oil for salads and uncooked foods. Other cold-pressed oils may be used occasionally in very small amounts. If you have any condition involving inflammation, removing even quality cold-pressed oils may improve your condition.
  8. Make bone broth. Save all your bones from meals and store in the freezer until you have a pot full. Cover the bones with water and add 4T cider vinegar and simmer for 6-24 hours. For more information read Beautiful Bone Broth.
  9. Eat some fermented foods each day or with each meal. Fermented foods improve our digestion. Fermentation can remove anti-nutrients from our food and increase nutrient availability. Fermented foods are not commonly available in the Industrial Food System and must be made at home. For more information read Wild Fermentation.
  10. Start making some fermented foods at home. A good place to start is making yoghurt or kefir. If you do not consume dairy, try making lacto-fermented vegetables or use sourdough for breads and biscuits. Contact eatkamloops.org for free starter cultures. For more information about what starters we have read I Got Culture!
  11. If you eat grains, beans, and legumes, soak them overnight in water, salt and fresh lemon juice before cooking. This soaking will remove the anti-nutrients from the food and make it easier to digest. Use bone broth when appropriate for the recipe in place of water. This will improve your digestion of these foods. If you are wondering why you need to soak grains read Be Kind to Your Grains. Here are FAQ about traditional food processing of grains, nuts, seeds and beans.
  12. Purchase all of your grains whole. If you are making flour, grind it yourself, and use it within four days. Flour is very perishable and will go rancid very quickly. Freshly ground flour can be stored in the freezer for later use.
  13. If you eat nuts and seeds, soak them overnight in water and salt. Nuts and seeds can be then dried and consumed uncooked. These store well in the freezer for quick use.
  14. Look for a local supply of grains, beans, legumes, nuts and seeds. There are many local varieties which will be fresher. Look for un-sprayed or organically grown.
  15. If you eat rice, buy organic brown rice. Since this is not a local product, buy certified organic. Brown rice does not need to be soaked overnight but cooking in bone broth will help with digestion and improve flavor. If you would like to try fermenting rice to improve mineral availability read A New Way to Soak Brown Rice.
  16. Buy your meat by the whole animal. This allows you to have a variety of cuts, offal, fat and bones. The butcher will package the meats in sizes that are best for your family. Get all the products from the animal even parts you do not know how to cook. They can always be used to make bone broth. For more information read Cooking with Grass-Fed Meat and Fowl and Visit to the Killing Floor at Kam Lake View Meat.
  17. If you consume dairy, find a source of raw milk or raw milk products. This will involve having your own cow, goat or sheep or being a member of a herd share program. If you are wondering what is so great about pastured raw milk please read Let’s Talk about Raw Milk Safety. For more information about herd share programs in the province read Birdsong Farm – Cow Share Program.
  18. If you are concerned that you have a deficiency in your diet and want to take a supplement, consider using whole foods, sometimes called superfoods. Examples of superfoods are: fermented cod liver oil, high vitamin butter, liver, spring and fall butter, raw milk products, bone broth and fermented foods. Other superfoods are related to the health problem of the person such as: various fresh or dried glands, kelp, assorted clays, probiotics, assorted high vitamin berries and herbs. For more information about superfoods read Supplement or Superfoods.
  19. Look at your cosmetics and decide if you would eat them. If you would not like to eat them, consider stopping use. Our skin is far more porous than was once believed. The use of coconut oil can be a excellent moisturizer. Consider making your own soap or buying brands with very few ingredients. A good source of information about the safety of your cosmetics can be found on Skin Deep: Cosmetic Safety Database. If you would like recipes for making cosmetics, cleaners and simple medicines please read Healthy Household: Staying Clean Safely and Saving Money.
  20. Look through your medicine chest and decide if you can do without most of your medication. Many medications mask symptoms while the condition worsens. It is better to feel the pain and make fundamental changes in our lives, rather than masking symptoms while the condition gets worse. Think about the other drugs you take on a daily basis. Assess if these drugs might be adding to your health problems.
  21. Think about food preparation in the home and how the task can be done efficiently. The job of running a traditional household is more work than eating convenience foods. This means someone must be willing to allot time for this important work. Some people use one day a week where they spend a morning in the kitchen producing meals for the whole week. Others cook larger meals and consume the leftovers.
  22. Remove all plastics from your kitchen and replace with glass containers. Remove Teflon and aluminum from your kitchen and use stainless steel, glass, cast iron or enameled cast iron. Stop using a microwave for cooking or reheating foods.
  23. If you are thinking about having a child, start thinking about what you eat before you conceive. All traditional populations had a special feeding schedule for mothers and fathers to be. For more information read Thinking about Motherhood.
  24. If you continue to have health problems after changing over to a nourishing traditional diet, consider looking at the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. This diet is also known as Gut and Psychology Syndrome (GAPS). This diet is for very sick people. For more information about SCD and GAPS please read Specific Carbohydrate Diet. Please read this very good article by Dr Ron Schmid called Diet and Recovery from Chronic Disease.
  25. Continue getting educated about health. eatkamloops.org has donated a number of books to the Kamloops Public Library. For a list of donated books read Recommended Reading List. Look through the WAPF Shopping Guide for tips on assessing the quality of your food choices.

Cure Tooth Decay

Posted on by
cure-tooth-decay

This book outlines a protocol for reversing tooth decay.

I have just read Ramiel Nagel’s book called Cure Tooth Decay: Heal and Prevent Cavities with Nutrition. This book outlines a protocol for reversing tooth decay. This book questions a number of very well entrenched ideas about dental health. First, it questions the standard belief that bacteria, feeding on sugar in our mouths, causes tooth decay. Second, the book states it is possible to reverse and heal tooth decay.

As fantastic as these two statements may seem, there is a long history of research in this area. Dr. Weston A. Price and Dr. Melvin Page both worked on this issue and came to very interesting conclusions. Dr. Price found indigenous groups who ate raw or rare organ meats from grassfed animals, consumed raw dairy from grassfed animals, and raw or rare organs and meats from fish and shellfish, were immune to tooth decay. Dr. Price did a feeding experiment on children with rampant tooth decay. He found with proper diet and supplementation he could stop and reverse tooth decay. Please read eatkamloops.org is Now a Distributor for Green Pasture, for more information about Dr. Price’s feeding experiment.

Dr. Page did extensive research on blood chemistry and endocrine function. He found tooth decay was not caused by bacteria feeding on sugar in the mouth but a malfunction in the ratio of calcium and phosphorous in the blood. This malfunction of mineral absorption was caused by fluctuations in blood sugar levels and insulin caused mainly by… sugar. If this hypothesis is correct, managing blood sugar levels and insulin, would help to slow and possibly reverse tooth decay. This is exactly what Dr. Page did in his research. An explanation of this process can be found in Suckled by Triceratops.

Cure Tooth Decay is a summary of the work of these two dentists. The protocol is very simple. Remove all “displacing foods of modern commerce” from your diet. Eat nourishing traditional foods properly prepared from a quality source. Supplement your diet with fermented cod liver oil and high vitamin butter oil. Ramiel has done his own personal experimentation with diet and supplementation with whole foods which has helped his own dental health. He talks about the pain he experienced as a parent making decisions regarding his infant daughter’s crumbling teeth. The wonderful thing about this book it how Ramiel’s family took this very upsetting situation and transformed it into something wonderful. Through research, diligent application of principles he had learned, and experimentation, he found a solution to his family’s health problems.

Ramiel has become passionate about improving our children’s health through nutrition. Children’s health starts before conception with the quality of the parent’s diet. He has started another website dealing with the issue called Healing Our Children.

It is store food that has given us store teeth.
Earnest Hooton

December 27, 2009: Need some more proof? I have just found a very informative blog by Stephan Guyenet called Whole Health Source. This is a link to his writings about Dental Health. There are many very good photos and references for further reading on the topic.