Besides all the warnings we constantly hear about eating low-fat, low cholesterol diets for heart and cardiovascular health, we are also receiving many reports about the flu and colds and how dangerous this particular season will be for the majority population’s health.

Typically, we are told to get flu vaccines, wash our hands, and stay away from others who are visibly ill and carry symptoms. But did you know that one of the best ways to keep your cardiovascular system healthy and ward off flus and colds is by maintaining a healthy lifestyle and eating real, healthy foods that are nutrient dense – and in particular – replete with fat and cholesterol? It’s true! Don’t be fooled by what so-called experts say about “prevention methods”.

Listen to this informative interview from Underground Wellness about the distortions we’ve been taught by the medical, health, and food industries regarding the effects of cholesterol on our health:

One of your best weapons against disease and illness is and always will be a healthy lifestyle – which is usually headed up by a healthy diet. Contrary to popular opinion, saturated fats and cholesterol are two of your main allies against becoming sick.

For decades, so-called health experts have warned against the dangers of consuming too much fat and cholesterol. People now live in fear of receiving the diagnoses of high cholesterol by their physicians. Sally Fallon Morell, president of the Weston A. Price Foundation states that in fact, the opposite is true: “Having adequate cholesterol levels in the body is key to good health. The notion that cholesterol is a villain in the diet is a myth, based on flimsy evidence and opposed by many honest scientists, including prominent lipids researcher, Dr. Mary Enig.” This untruth about fats and cholesterol has in fact been perpetuated by two parties – the industrial food industry to sell unhealthy, processed vegetable oils and the pharmaceutical industry to promote the sale and use of drugs to counteract the effects of consuming industrial food. It’s an ingenious, money-making system, and one that has all the health communities fooled.

Despite the way the food system has been constructed, having proper levels of cholesterol is essential to good health.  Cholesterol remains an important fundamental component of cell structure and provides integrity to the cell membrane to render it waterproof. “Without adequate cholesterol in the cell membrane, our cells become ‘leaky’ and cannot function properly,” says Sally Fallon Morell. A variety of critical body substances are composed of cholesterol such as the reproductive hormones estrogen, testosterone, stress hormones like cortisol, and bile salts produced by the liver and used in the gallbladder to digest fats and Vitamin D.

So what foods cause health issues? The very substances which cause the cell membrane to weaken are the foods we are told to eat by mainstream health experts, such as the following:

• polyunsaturated oils, such as canola, soy, and cottonseed, which break down the integrity of the cell wall structure, causing it to become permeable and soft
• artificial trans fats in vegetable shortening, margarine, artificial “butters” and other partially hydrogenated oils – found in a wide range of processed foods – which alter the structure of the cell wall
• commercially produced meats and dairy from factory farm environments – including many low-fat, non-fat, or skim products

In simple terms, these foods are bad for our health because the nutritional structure of the foods has been altered to something that the digestive process and human body does not recognize. Natural fats and cholesterol from real food can be absorbed and used by the body as nature intended, to provide support for all bodily functions.

Not only does cholesterol play an important role in hormonal and digestive processes, but it also ensures the success of neurological processes and regulates many proper functions like the formation of memory and hormone uptake in the brain that uses chemicals such as seratonin – the chemical responsible for a sense of well-being in the body. When cholesterol levels are not optimal, seratonin receptors fail to fire. This is one leading cause of depression and mood disorders.

If you know about someone taking medication for a mood disorder, the problem could very well be linked to a deficit in cholesterol in the body. The brain is mostly composed of fat and cholesterol, and the lack of this important nutrient can lead to a myriad of health issues.

The best way to supply your body with necessary cholesterol and fats is to eat real, whole foods from organically and sustainable produced sources. Here is a list of some of those foods:

• Grass-fed meats
• Pasture-raised poultry and eggs from pasture-raised hens
• Cod liver oil
• Dairy products from grass-fed animals – milk, butter, cream, cheese, sour cream, and yogurt
• Healthy organic oils and fats like extra virgin olive, coconut, and palm, cold-pressed flaxseed, grapeseed, and pumpkin seed
• Raw, sprouted nuts and seeds like almonds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, walnuts, hazelnuts, cashews, and Brazil Nuts

For more information on cholesterol and its role in health, visit the web site of Chris Masterjohn, author of various publications and knowledgeable researcher on the subject. Chris is completing his PhD in Nutritional Science with an emphasis on Biochemical and Molecular Nutrition at the University of Connecticut.

Also visit the non-profit web site, Weston A. Price to learn more about the intensive research conducted by doctors and scientists into the importance of these critical nutrients.

This article is part of Food Renegade’s Fight Back Fridays Carnival. Please visit this site and read all the other real food articles linked there.

Does this picture of breakfast food look healthy? It may look appealing and tasty, but it provides little to no nutritional value. If you are like many people, your morning time does not allow for the preparation of a healthy meal that will satisfy your hunger and provide the nutrients you need for starting your day.

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day because you are literally breaking a fast from not eating since the night before. Your body has not eaten in quite a few hours – perhaps 10 or more. So what you put in your body is of critical importance.

Many people start off their day with coffee and something processed with a lot of carbohydrates in it and little protein such as toast with jam, a cinnamon roll, pop tart, blueberry muffin, or bagel with cream cheese. Even fruit is of little help when it is produced from a conventional source and accompanies the likes of  such processed, sugary foods. Sound familiar? A breakfast like this will fill your body with toxins and wreak havoc on your blood sugar levels. Over time, consuming this type of breakfast will cause weight gain, mood disorders, insulin resistance and eventually Diabetes and heart disease.

By contrast, traditional, whole foods are just what nature ordered. They contain the right amounts of fats, proteins, cholesterol, and other vital nutrients to help balance out our weight, mood, blood sugar, blood pressure, and organ system health. Fat soluble vitamins only found in whole foods with fat help the body to properly absorb and use nutrients for good health. If you are suffering from health problems, making a switch to whole, traditional foods can help you to eliminate sugar cravings, hunger, mood swings, weight problems, headaches, and other problems that lead to chronic disease and illnesses of all types. And the perfect place to start is breakfast!

Ask yourself this important question…what do you normally eat for breakfast in the morning, and does it satisfy your hunger and keep you going until lunch? Or, does it leave you hanging and feeling hungry in an hour or two…or even worse, sick and jittery?

Why I changed my breakfast habits

Years ago I used to eat garbage for breakfast. My typical eating choices were a cup of tea with a slice of processed bread and peanut butter. Sometimes I’d eat cereal and milk or a sugary yogurt (my favorite brand was Yoplait…one of *the* most unhealthy yogurt products you can eat) with my cup of tea. I never felt satisfied but I didn’t think I had time for anything else. By 9:30 or 10 a.m. I’d start feeling shaky and sick. I couldn’t understand what could possibly be the matter. Usually I was at work, so there was nothing else to eat until lunch unless I had brought something from home (which I hadn’t), or if someone happened to bring bagels or muffins into the break room to share. Invariably, I’d be starving and cranky by lunch. And most of the time my lunch wasn’t nutritious either. So by the time dinner came, I was starving again and hadn’t really eaten anything substantial all day.

When I discovered how different I could feel by preparing a nutritious breakfast, I finally made the connection that making those choices to eat garbage all those years had damaged my health and made me feel lousy. Now I eat a nutritious meal each morning.

What’s nutritious and what’s not? Here’s how to transform an unhealthy breakfast into a healthy one:

Breakfast 1: cold cereal and milk with orange juice and toast becomes:

• organic grains (soaked overnight) such as oatmeal or millet, cooked the next morning with

• real butter melted on the top and mixed into the cereal
• organic whole milk (raw milk is a plus!) or organic, plain whole milk yogurt (home-made from raw milk is a plus!) poured over cereal
• organic fruit of your choice (blueberries, blackberries, bananas, strawberries)
• organic, freshly ground flax seeds (optional)
• a bit of raw honey or real maple syrup

Breakfast 2: a bagel and cream cheese with coffee or orange juice becomes:

• sprouted, organic whole grain bagel or bread (we use Ezekiel or sprouted grain bread from Silver Hills)
• real organic butter (we use Kerrygold – grass-fed Irish butter)
• raw organic melted cheese (we use Organic Valley raw cheeses from grass-fed cows) or spreadable fresh goat’s cheese and cow’s cheese mixture (we use Sno Frisk)
• scrambled eggs from pasture-raised chickens (optional)
• your choice of organic fruit

Breakfast 3: frozen breakfast sandwich from your freezer, local coffee house, or work kiosk becomes:

• sprouted, organic whole grain bagel or bread with real organic butter
• raw organic melted cheese
• over-easy or scrambled eggs from pasture-raised chickens
• real bacon, or ham, or sausage from pasture-raised hogs or grass-fed beef or game (we use Organic Prairie products)

Breakfast 4: pop tarts or toaster strudel, orange juice, and milk becomes:

• Fancy French toast made on sprouted grain bread dipped in egg mixture from pasture-raised chickens, cooked with plenty of butter

Put on a plate and serve with:

• plain, whole milk yogurt
• your choice of organic fruit
• freshly ground flax seeds (optional)
• a drizzle of real maple syrup and a glass of organic, whole milk (raw is a plus)

Breakfast 5: scrambled eggs and toast becomes

• omelet or scrambled eggs with real butter
• chopped broccoli and avocado slices (vegetables for breakfast? Yes! Get used to the idea of incorporating these colorful, nutrient-dense foods in with your breakfast meals and you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how good you feel!)
• diced onions
• garlic (optional)
• shredded raw cheese
• topped with salsa made from organic ingredients (home-made or store bought)
• sprouted grain toast with real butter

So what’s the secret to making these breakfasts a success? Budgeting, planning, and a little research. Decide where you’d rather spend your money – on cheap, industrial food that is quick and convenient and then pay later with poor health, low energy, doctor bills, and missed time at work or school, or making an effort to prepare home-made versions of some of these foods or locate good, wholesome foods that are locally produced or sold at your health food store.

Other ideas for healthy breakfasts items: Try plain, whole milk yogurt with organic fruit and freshly ground flax seeds, or hard-boiled pasture-raised eggs with sprouted grain toast spread with real butter and raw almond butter, or home-made pancakes with sprouted organic whole-grain flour spread with plenty of butter and organic fruit with plain whole milk yogurt and perhaps a bit of real maple syrup or raw honey. Left over grass-fed meats or poultry are fantastic with eggs or in omelets and hash-browned potatoes.

Don’t forget the vegetables in your egg creation – whatever you have around – zucchini, broccoli, tomatoes, bell peppers, onions, garlic, or mushrooms. If you find that big breakfasts are just too much, limit your portions to smaller servings. You can still eat a healthy breakfast with good foods that isn’t too overwhelmingly large.

Don’t forget to cook with healthy oils such as real butter, extra-virgin olive, coconut, and palm oils. Good lard from pasture-raised hogs is amazingly healthy and tastes great, too.

With a little bit of planning and variation, in no time you can create a menu of delicious and nutritious breakfast choices to switch around so you are not becoming bored with meals and you are giving your body the best there is to offer for optimal health.

Once you have located the sources for your healthy food and worked into your personal routine, you’ll wonder how you ever managed without healthy food – especially when you discover a new sense of energy and well-being. Some of the foods you’ll have to spend extra money on up front; in general, healthy, organic food tends to cost more than processed, industrial food. But the money you’ll save on your health care costs later will be worth it. If you are diligent, you can save money on organic and local foods by clipping coupons, watching for sales, bartering, volunteering to work at farms or make deliveries in exchange for food, and supporting local agriculture by purchasing from your neighboring farmers. Local foods travel less distance so that part of the cost is normally reduced for selling the food (and it’s better for you and the environment).

Some of these foods can be made more healthy just by a few minutes of advance preparation such as soaking your organic grains overnight in filtered water and a bit of whey from real milk or yogurt, kefir, apple cider vinegar, or lemon juice. These substances help break down phytic acid activity in grains that renders them indigestible and damaging to the digestive tract (think IBS, Crohn’s disease, grain intolerance, and allergies). Many people who are allergic to grains find that they can consume soaked and sprouted grain products with no problem at all.

What’s the bottom line?

Budget your finances and make time for your health! These makeovers really pack a nutrition punch..not to mention, they are delicious! With a little bit of planning and variation, in no time you can create a menu of delicious and nutritious breakfast choices to switch around so you are not becoming bored with meals and you are giving your body the best there is to offer for great health. Next time you go into the kitchen to make breakfast, consider these alternatives to the boring, nutritionally-bankrupt foods you’ve been eating…and make healthy eating the new order of the day.

This article is part of Cheeseslave’s Real Food Wednesdays Carnival. Please visit this site and read the other great real food articles there.

Don’t miss this important film! There are many diligent and brave filmmakers out there today willing to make sacrifices and take risks to bring you important information about our food industry, and this film is no exception. The American people have a right to know how their food is produced, and should be informed about what really goes on in the dealings and activities of corporate agribusiness – one of the most powerful and wealthy entities in existence. Considering how they make their money, there should be no question of their accountability for ours and other nation’s health issues – which are directly affected by what we eat and how that food is grown and produced.

If everyone really understood the impact and magnitude of what has been allowed to, by our own country’s laws, continue to occur – there would be a revolt the likes of which no one has ever seen. Let’s cause this revolt to happen…go see this film! Empower yourselves and educate others…and then stop purchasing factory farmed, industrial food! Buy organic, sustainable, and local!

The New York times printed a story on October 3rd, 2009 about a young dance instructor, Stephanie Smith (age 22) whose entire life was altered in 2007 when she went over to her parents’ house for a home-cooked hamburger one afternoon. Her illness started out like many others – she believed she had a stomach virus. She had the usual stomach cramps and discomfort that many individuals experience. And then other symptoms appeared – bloody stool, failing kidneys, and violent convulsions. The convulsions were so severe doctors put Smith into a coma for 9 weeks. When she awoke from the coma, she found she was paralyzed from the waist down, had suffered brain damage, and was unable to walk.

This food-borne illness, non-other than the deadly E. coli bacteria, originated from ground beef which can trace its roots to slaughterhouses in Texas, South Dakota, Uraguay, and Nebraska. These slaughterhouses process meat for Cargill, one of the corporate giants of agribusiness. Like most agribusiness companies, the meat is taken from a variety of sources and is not only lower-quality cuts but sourced from parts of the cow most likely to have contamination from feces. Feces from industrially-produced meat also normally contains the E. coli virus due both to the feed consumed by the cattle (soy, grains, corn) and the filthy, abhorrent living conditions of the animals.

Federal inspectors have continually found Cargill in violation of its own safety procedures. Even though the corporation was remiss in its handling of meat, they received no sanctions or fines for their breach from the government.  The Department of Agriculture did threaten to withhold their seal of approval stating  on the package “U.S. Inspected and Passed by the Department of Agriculture.”

The digestive tracts of grain-fed cattle are extremely high in acidity. This environment causes the E. coli bacteria to develop and thrive. On the other hand, grass-fed animals on sustainable lands generally do not have these virulent strains in their digestive tract, and are therefore much less likely to infect people who consume their meat. The grass-fed variety is also clean from another deadly pathogen – Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), or the infamous Mad Cow Disease (MCD).

According to federal inspectors and plant workers, the risk of contamination is likely along each step of meat processing in industrial processing facilities. Feces from the animals’ hide, smeared all over the outside of the animals’ bodies, can easily be spread onto meat being separated from the carcass during removal. The movement of carcasses along the assembly line goes at such a rate that employees are not always able to “keep up” with the pace, and as a consequence, many mistakes can be made. When the meat is completely removed, it is treated in a bath of ammonia to kill bacteria.

Cargill’s meat products amount to about seven million pounds of meat produced weekly. The company’s product can be found all over the country in grocery stores, fast-food restaurants, as well as in the federal school lunch program eaten daily by our children. In the breakdown, ten percent of the burger eaten by Ms. Smith came from Beef Products, who proudly state on the main page of their web site “The Use of Ammonia Compounds in Food Processing”. The price paid by Cargill? As shown by billing records, about $1 per pound, which according to industry experts is roughly 30 cents less than cuts made from whole meat. Would you eat meat that only cost an average of $1 per pound?

A study funded by Beef Products from Iowa State University determined that ammonia baths effectively reduce E. coli to levels that are virtually undetectable. This discovery was accepted by The Department of Agriculture as proof that the procedure was not only effective but safe. After the outbreak, Cargill declared to the federal agency that Beef Products was definitely not on the list as a possible source of contamination for the meat.

One safe meat producer, U.S. Wellness Meats (Missouri-based) guarantees their meat due to the following:

Hamburger meat comes from from whole muscles which are  completely safe. Meat is removed from the carcass with machinery that leaves intact much of the meat from the spinal area, unlike practices used only in industrial meat processing plants that move through thousands of animals on a daily basis. U.S. Wellness Meats also uses a procedure which removes the spinal fluid sack from the backbone immediately following slaughter, thus eliminating the risk before processing the meat.

Animals are raised on sustainable lands with grass as feed, and are not consuming grain which is a direct cause why E. coli and other virulent bacteria form in the first place. The animals are raised in a clean environment from the first day of life to ensure they are exposed to neither animal contaminants nor chemicals such as pesticides.

We’ve seen this time and time again over the last two decades with news reports of meat recalls and illnesses occurring from people who have consumed the meat. The tainted meat clearly shows flaws in a system rooted well beyond the inspections process. I’d like to pose the point that this entire situation is really what’s working against the ethical treatment of animals (and humans). What additional proof do government officials, health experts, food industry regulatory personnel, and the general public need that the problem isn’t going to be solved with stepped up food safety protocols – and that the real issue lies in the growth, production, and processing of the meat from the animals in the first place? In general, if you aren’t supporting the growth, sale, and distribution of real, sustainable food operations, you are in effect supporting this abominable, multi-billion dollar industry that seeks only to produce more food faster for profit – all at the expense of the environment and human and animal.

Some individuals might automatically assume this is yet one more reason to stop eating meat; and this is not an uncommon sentiment as vegetarianim and vegan diets are becoming more en vogue. Last week I posed the point about supporting sustainable farming and consuming meat from sustainable sources to PETA, whose reply was that eating meat sustainable-raised was just not realistic because there are simply too many people to feed. We’ve already gone over the fact that when people produce and consume sustainable meat, they not only eat less meat but they take care of the environment.  But by maintaining the belief that “we just can’t feed every person sustainable meat”, and by not supporting those who are raising real, sustainable food, groups like PETA are granting power to and supporting agribusiness giants like Cargill. This whole way of thinking is really a large part of what is responsible for allowing the horror of factory farming to continue at all.

If people truly desired the ethical treatment of animals and humans, they would jump in and support the real sustainable community and food growers who are seeking to treat our lands, people, and animals with the utmost respect and stewardship. Of course PETA supporters are going to protest factory farming and its treatment of animals. But they also discount what people who want to support a truly sustainable way of life are trying to advocate as well. So when you hear someone claiming solidarity with PETA who says that sustainable meats just won’t cut it, remember the way that the meat you eat is processed and relay this story to him or her. You just might save someone’s life.

This article is part of Cheeseslave’s Real Food Wednesdays Carnival – please visit this site and read the other great real food articles listed there.

A little over a month ago, I happened upon a web site affiliated with PETA (they have multiple sites) containing an article detailing the many benefits of living a vegetarian/vegan lifestyle. I left a comment discussing why vegetarian and vegan diets can be damaging both to the planet and our health. Karen Dickerson, Correspondence Assistant for PETA, personally sent me a response and I wanted to share it with my readers.

I’d like to point out that I fully supported each argument against vegetarian/vegan diets, and some of the responses that were given make it seem as though I had not provided a logical explanation behind the argument.  For instance, I stated that those who eat humanely-raised, sustainable meat will consume less meat because their nutritional requirements would be met from eating real, healthy meat replete with nutrients. Her response was that realistically, this is just not possible with our current meat consumption rates – overlooking completely my statement about the fact that meat consumption would decrease if we were all eating sustainable meat.

Another point that came up is the “free range” phrase that gets thrown around a lot in packaging and marketing of food. I actually never used the term “free range” in my commentary to PETA, and here’s the reason why:  “Free range” is a marketing term used to lead the consumer to believe the animals or birds of whose meat or eggs you are consuming have been living a humane existence, and are able to roam around freely most of the time. In reality, “free range” might only mean the animals or birds receive access to outside installments for as little as 5 minutes a day!

It is also interesting to note that at least twice I mention the environmental destruction occurring due to the pesticides, chemicals, and genetically-modified seeds used in growing many legumes, grains, and vegetables that vegetarians eat. But nary a response to this argument can be found in Karen’s reply! One of the most aggravating points about vegetarian and vegan foods that seems to rarely sink in to those who consume them is the fact that all these soy, fake “meat”, and processed grain products (just to name a few) are some of the most unhealthy, incredibly environmentally-unfriendly items you can purchase and eat!

Please take a few minutes to read my commentary and the response that follows. Then leave your own comment at the bottom and let your voice be heard about this important issue!

I’d like to pose a slightly different view of sustainable living, which is that eating meat is not only perfectly acceptable, but a healthy part of being human – but only as long as you are eating organically-produced, sustainable meats from healthy animals where the farmers are treating them humanely.

As long as people support industrial farming, on any level (and that includes conventional farming of fruits, vegetables, legumes, grains, and nuts eaten by vegans and vegetarians), we will never get the message across about sustainability on our planet. If you are purchasing vegetarian and vegan products, a great deal of these are not produced in accordance with safety nor sustainability. Just consider many of the packaged, processed products marketed toward vegetarians and vegans – they are produced with pesticides, chemicals, and genetically-modified materials.

Until we educate and inform by pulling together to support truly sustainable, clean, ethical, humane farming, we will not make a drop of difference in our habits, health, nor future on planet earth.

Humane, sustainable animal farming uses less resources and maintains the principles of stewardship toward the land (some people argue that grains and vegetable farming uses less water and other resources than animal farming). By its very nature, sustainable animal farming helps to complete the circle of life – animals graze on grass instead of being fed corn, soy, or wheat which requires a great amount of resources to maintain and is usually grown with artificial methods. The land is tended to from the animals grazing on and living as nature intended, and there is no need for chemicals, fertilizers, or pesticides (just ask Joel Salatin, well-known farmer living in Virginia who runs sustainable Polyface farm).

People who consume sustainable meats eat less meat because the meat is in balance with nature and provides the body the proper nutrients and nutrition – unlike factory farmed meat which is unhealthy all around. Those eating industrial meat (or any other industrially-produced product for that matter) are getting an imbalance of nutrients (not intended by nature) and are receiving toxic substances in the body as well. Please visit Agriculture Society for more information on truly sustainable living. Find out how you can make a difference!

Raine Saunders

The response:

Dear Raine,

Thank you for your comment posted on PETA Living regarding animal products that are considered “free range” or “humane.” While we understand your argument for compassionate, sustainable farming, we do not believe that it is realistic.

It is impossible to humanely raise and kill the billions of animals slaughtered each year in the U.S. to satisfy this country’s enormous appetite for food from animals. Even if workers on factory farms were willing to give each individual animal the time and attention necessary to promote humane conditions―and concern for animals’ wants and needs on factory farms is notoriously rare―they could not possibly attend to the countless animals who are enslaved and exploited to feed our current meat habit. As for animals’ chances for a peaceful death, euthanasia by painless injection―the only true form of humane killing―is impracticable in the case of animals raised for food because it renders their flesh inedible.

Unfortunately, animals raised on many “organic” or “free-range” farms suffer the same conditions that characterize factory farms. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), which defines “free-range” and “free-roaming” for labeling purposes, relies “upon producer testimonials to support the accuracy of these claims,” which are, needless to say, highly biased and, for that reason, unreliable. Most eggs labeled “free range” come from hens who are raised in dark, overcrowded sheds, much like those used to confine “broiler” chickens. Even on “humane” farms, male chicks—of no use in egg “production”—are killed upon hatching, often by suffocation or being ground up alive. When they have outlived their “usefulness,” hens are killed since farmers’ need for high profits prevents them from continuing to feed and care for animals who no longer contribute to the bottom line.

Conditions on small dairy farms are similarly cruel. Male calves, considered useless because they can’t produce milk, are usually sold to the veal industry or to larger dairy farms and eventually slaughtered. Pigs, steers, and other animals raised for meat on “humane” farms are butchered in the same terrifying slaughterhouses as animals raised on factory farms. The intense fear and pain suffered by farmed animals are among the many reasons why we at PETA advocate a vegan diet. For more information on “free range” animal products, please visit http://www.GoVeg.com/organic.asp.

Not only do we not need to eat animals’ flesh; we’re healthier if we don’t. We can help ourselves as well as animals by switching to a vegan diet. By eliminating animal products, we can also help reduce our risk of countless diseases and other health problems, including strokes, osteoporosis, kidney stones, many cancers, diabetes, hypoglycemia, kidney disease, peptic ulcers, hernias, obesity, gallstones, hypertension, and asthma, among many others.

We have so many choices as consumers today that there’s simply no reason―or excuse―to continue to raise and slaughter animals for food. The only truly humane alternative to making animals suffer is to stop buying and consuming animal products―and it’s not as hard as you may think. For a free vegetarian starter kit packed with nutrition information, shopping tips, and recipes, please visit http://www.VegStarterKit.com.

Thanks again for your inquiry.

Sincerely,

Karen Dickerson

Correspondence Assistant

The PETA Foundation

I’ve said it many times, and I’ll say it again:

It is much cheaper putting forth the effort to prevent disease in the first place than spending your money to pay to “find a cure”.

I’d love to hear everyone’s comments, thoughts, and rebuttals.

For a great article on the finer points of the unhealthy aspects of vegetarian and vegan diets, visit Nourished Kitchen’s “49 Reasons to be a Vegetarian – A Rebuttal“.

It is also important to note that the commentary I left on the PETA Living web site was not included in the list with other comments -  it was removed. Please visit the PETA Living web site and read some of their posts, including the one linked above (incidentally, there is another article which talks about support from the American Dietetic Association. And we all know how healthy their viewpoints are!).

This article is part of Food Renegade’s Fight Back Fridays Carnival. Please visit this site and read the other real food articles listed there.

Some of you may have noticed the slow down in new articles on this site. The reason for this is that school has started and we are home-schooling this year.

We have four years of home-schooling experience under our belts, but things are different this year because we are using a publicly-funded home-education program which has a specific set of assignments and standards that must be met. The time we spend each day on these tasks is very consuming, unlike the more free-structured, independent home-schooling we’ve done in the past. It may sound like we were slacking off before, but the reality is, my son was far ahead of his class both in his first and second grade years at regular, public school. First grade we were dual-enrolled which means that half our day was spent at home and the other half he was in the classroom.

My motivation to home-school stemmed from my own dissatisfaction with school as I was growing up. I often felt either isolated or unhappy – a sentiment felt by many people. I felt unchallenged by my classes. When I finally had a child of my own, I looked back at my experience and wished there was something better for him to look forward to. I hoped to foster a love of learning at a much earlier age than what appeared in me during my childhood.

When second grade came around, I thought a change might be good to allow him to make friends in the neighborhood and become accustomed to being in an environment that was essentially away from home without ever really being too far away (the school is only one block from our house). I hoped he’d make friends, gain independence, and have a good “at-school” experience that would enrich his life. The school is a small, neighborhood school with an intimate, close-knit group of people. I wanted him to be a part of this and have the benefits of  knowing children from around the neighborhood so that he’d have kids to play with and grow up with.

In his first grade year, he became close friends with a little girl in his class. They were inseparable and shared the same love of creativity and imagination. My son often commented that the activities and games the other children played at recess were dull and uninspiring to him – dodge ball, tag, and soccer. He and the little girl had a special connection. I began to understand that while he intensely disliked organized sports, he loved being active and moving around. His favorite physical activities are climbing, bicycling, and swimming. I made efforts to cultivate those interests and skills by enrolling him in gymnastics and swimming outside of school and taking advantage of our close location to the Boise foothills, by hiking and biking frequently.

During the entire year spent home-schooling half time, it became apparent that my son and I were butting heads a little too often.  I wondered if it was time to enroll him in public school full-time, just to see what would happen. I assumed this would be a positive change for him, and that maybe he and I were spending a little too much time together – we were arguing about school work a lot. He had at least one good friend at school as a foundation, and he would have the opportunity to become close with other children as well.

But what happened over the course of the year was really quite disappointing. Most days I had to drag him out the door to go to school. Often we’d spend more time arguing about being late, and he’d end up in tears (sometimes me as well), and he wasn’t making the friends I’d hoped he would. As with most of the kids at school, the little girl he’d spent all his time with during first grade was starting to play only with other girls. I observed the boys and girls to separate out into groups, which left my son alone with no one to play with since he had not formed any type of connection with any of the boys in his class. Children were not seeking him out to be their friend on the playground or in the classroom. Instead, my son was spending most of his time wandering around at recess trying to find children to play with (he claimed that no one would play with him).

I’d ask him if he ever made attempts to ask the other children to play or join him in one of his favorite games. His response was always that everyone else was already engaged in some activity and wouldn’t break away to play with him – that no one wanted to do anything besides an organized sport or a game he didn’t like. I explained that sometimes in order to find friends you have to compromise and play something you are not especially fond of, but then later you could suggest a game or activity that you like to your new friend.  Another problem was that he was being bullied by a girl in his class, who from my own observations was always nasty and negative to everyone she came into contact with – and the teacher never seemed to notice nor do anything about it, even when I brought up the subject.

I thought for certain this episode would pass.  His persistence in the idea that no one wanted to play with him did not wane over the course of the whole year. I continually reminded him he needed to stay in school for the rest of the year to see if anything changed, and then at that time we’d assess the situation and decide what to do. Many times I had conversations with the teacher and the counselor to try and remedy the problem. The responses I received were mostly that he was doing just fine whenever I was not around, and that a great deal of his problems were likely due to the fact that I was basically around too much and not allowing him to gain badly needed independence.

Finally at the end of second grade, it became evident to me that we needed to do something different. My husband maintained that our son should just go back to school and deal with the hardships, and that it was just part of life. I reminded him that he did not have to deal with our son’s bad mood and negative attitude everyday as I was the one taking him to school, picking him up, and delivering his lunch. Each and every day our son was developing a more negative attitude toward school and school lessons. It was evident that what was occurring was detrimental to his outlook about education.

Choosing to home school

For several weeks we discussed available options. Enrolling in another school away from our neighborhood didn’t seem to be a good solution. In the end, I decided to return to home-schooling because I wanted to give our son something to look forward to again – to not feel left out everyday, isolated, and bullied by those who weren’t being policed for their bad behavior at school. I wanted him to love learning and be in a loving environment where he felt valued and cared for. I knew he did not feel the way he should in the public school where he had spent his first and second grade year because he was inherently unhappy about all the experiences he’d had since his first day of school. As an added bonus, two of his dearest friends (two sisters) were already enrolled in the state program we wanted to become involved with – and we could spend time with them doing activities and lessons.

I had some feelings of ambivalence about starting to home school again – for one, I knew this time around it wouldn’t be as easy as he was older and the curriculum would be more challenging both for him and me. I also had  resentment about the negative experience my son had gone through at school. Why couldn’t my son have friends and fit in like the other children? After all, he is bright, has a good sense of humor, and is very social. So what was the problem? What was happening was essentially this – a child that was once fearless, gregarious, and willing to take chances in social situations had now had his spirit squashed by other children to the point that he was beginning to develop issues of self-confidence and doubt – emotions he had not been acquainted with at all at the start of his first grade year.

What’s going on in public schools?

Some years ago my mother used to talk about the children at the school across the street from her house and how they’d run around and scream like animals on the playground all during their recess period. I figured my mother, being retired, was bored and just had too much time on her hands. But one day as I was out in the yard watering the plants, I listened to the sounds of the kids at the school one block away as I had often done so many times before. In the past I had heard those sounds and thought nothing of it. But this time it occurred to me as I stood there remembering all those times my son had cried and lamented about how much he disliked school that maybe there was a reason for the screaming and tearing around at such speed.

From being a food-conscious parent I know first-hand how under-nourished and poorly fed most children are. At one time, my own son was in that category because I was ignorant and didn’t know any better. I now know that many behavioral, social, emotional, and physical problems occur as a result of poor nutrition, and that this factor is one of the most overlooked in our culture. I realize that children like to run and play and have fun; that’s just part of being a kid. But it dawned on me that maybe the reason the kids are so hyped-up on the playground and exhibit some of these outwardly aggressive and malicious behaviors was due to the fact that they are going into the lunchroom and getting loaded up on industrial food -  high in refined carbohydrates and unhealthy fats, and then are being sent out to play. Let’s not forget that in general, the food they consume outside of school probably isn’t much better.

My son actually doesn’t display much of the kind of behavior I see in these other kids. He is very sensitive and emotional, but he also has a very highly-developed sense of justice and fairness, and has a low tolerance for other children not playing fairly or nicely. I’ve also noticed another startling difference – my son doesn’t really get hungry between meals. He likes snacks here and there, but mostly he eats his breakfast, lunch, or dinner and gets full. I believe it’s because the meals he’s eating are nutrient dense and satisfy his hunger and nutritional needs.

You’ve heard parents complain that their kids are eating the house down and are always hungry, right? Maybe it’s because they are not making every meal count with nutritious food, and are eating nutritionally-empty foods that don’t satisfy or satiate hunger. Once again, we are reminded that food has an enormous impact on our well-being, emotionally and physically. It’s something that simply cannot go without affecting all facets of our lives.

How does all this affect health and health care?

Which leads me to the next subject of health care reform and the food industry. I can’t help but think how greatly impacted our children will be by the decisions made in Congress and the local legislatures about health care reform and its intrinsic connection to the food industry.  When law-makers leave out the critical components of health care reform:

1) preventative measures

2) education about prevention

3) insurance coverage of preventative health services, and most importantly

4) changes in the way our food industry is allowed to grow, manufacture, distribute, and sell food

they are overlooking the most significant issues that are affecting health care and our health – and any changes made to the system that don’t include these will be for naught.

The way our food is grown and processed and the food we eat makes an impact – socially, physically, spiritually, and

environmentally. Ask yourself, would you make a conscious choice to eat meat from a facility like the one in the picture?

Or would you rather know the food you are eating and feeding your children is raised in a healthy, wholesome environment? What are the repercussions of eating food raised from industrial sources?

So, I urge everyone reading this article to contact your local legislature and congressperson be contacted and communicated with about these issues. They are so important! Even if you don’t have children, please consider the impact a health care reform plan without these critical components will have on our future. It starts with the lifestyle people maintain and the foods they eat – plain and simple. If children are eating garbage at school every day and then going home and eating more garbage, what possible chance do they have of looking forward to reasonable health as they grow up and continue on into adult life? The answer is, our health care system will continue to favor surgery, drugs, and expensive procedures all because it is not actually geared toward preventative measures that work and actually change the condition of health of the individual. The way we do things now lines the pockets of the drug and industrial food industry – and they are making billions upon billions of dollars off our ignorance and lack of education.

To the current system, preventative measures include things like screening for breast or colon cancer with a mammogram or colonoscopy – two dangerous procedures that can actually be harmful to your health. If cancer is found – what’s the solution? Normally it’s toxic drugs and invasive surgery. If the cancer is removed and the person survives, what’s to say it won’t recur? Ultimately, cancer can return again and again unless something fundamental is altered – lifestyle habits. But how often do you hear of someone’s doctor telling he or she to eat a truly healthy diet replete with traditional, nutrient-dense foods or to be certain to get enough sunshine and outdoor exercise? All the advice I hear about is usually involves some artificial replacement for real health maintenance – taking synthetic vitamins, going to a health club, eating low-fat foods, or being remiss about emphasizing real, sustainable-produced foods.

If you really want to make changes in our health care and food systems, for ourselves and our children, it all starts with us as individuals – spreading the word, maintaining web sites, contacting our decision-makers in the government and letting them know how we feel and that we won’t accept a health care reform plan that doesn’t tackle the real issues and make an impact on what’s been going on for so many years. Republican, Democrat, Independent, Libertarian, Green Party, or to whatever affiliation you belong, it’s your duty as an American Citizen to stand up for what’s ethical and moral – make a difference and help to change our health care and foods systems – which go hand in hand, on the basic levels. As with many other things, it starts in local communities and in our schools. Make your voice heard!

For more information about health care reform and preventative measures, read Is Reactive Medicine Cheaper than Preventative? and ACTION NOW! An Open Letter to the President and Other Decision Makers Regarding Preventative Health Care.

For more information about school lunch initiatives, read Changing the Face of School Lunches and Your Voice can Make a Difference in the Way Children Eat School Lunch.

For more information about the food industry, visit the Food Inc. web site.

This article is part of Food Renegades’ Fight Back Fridays Carnival. Please visit this wonderful site and read all of the real food posts there.

Do you find that in order to get through the day you snack a lot or eat between meals? Many health experts say eating small, frequent meals is a good idea to maintain health, weight, and blood sugar levels. But snacking between meals and eating “all day long” has really just become a symptom of so many health ailments in our culture. Eating between meals can actually lead to health issues and disease. Here’s why:

Frequent hunger is a sign that you are not feeling satisfied and are therefore not getting adequate nutritional requirements out of meals. The result is that you must supplement with something in addition to what you have already eaten. Because most people lack the time (and often the desire) to prepare something healthful, what ends up being eaten are foods with little to no nutritional value. Frequent eating helps to promote cravings in the body. Many people feed their cravings with unhealthy choices such as convenience foods or processed snacks loaded with hydrogenated, rancid oils and fats, refined sugars, and white flours. Eating these foods regularly can cause weight gain, irritability, fatigue, and headaches which lead to many other health disorders such as heart disease, auto-immune problems, Diabetes, high-blood pressure, and cancer.

When the body has not completed the digestive process, it cannot fully perform the task at hand to handle additional food coming in. This sets the stage for digestive and metabolic problems. Incoming food only gets partially-digested. As a result, the first batch of food in the digestive process begins to rot and becomes a source of toxins to the body.

Eating off-schedule from regular meals times also greatly disturbs the natural biorhythms of the body. Because the body performs certain functions on a time schedule, irregular eating habits disrupt the natural clock-work of bodily processes. For instance, the largest meal of the day should be consumed at lunchtime. If your largest meals are eaten during breakfast or dinner, this can alter your body’s regular schedule of digestion and toxin removal and cause issues. Similarly, if you eat meals late at night, you disrupt a major toxin dump which normally occurs between 11 p.m. and 1 a.m. This allows unflushed toxins to remain in the body, causing health issues. Late-night eating interrupts this cleansing process performed by the liver. To allow this process to occur, meals should be eaten no later than 7 p.m.

To get control of food cravings and get your body back on track for being healthy, here are some things to be aware of when your body is craving something to eat:

• When you feel the urge to eat between meals, it can often be a sign of dehydration. When you feel hungry between meals, try drinking 8 or more ounces of filtered water and wait ten or fifteen minutes. If you still feel hungry, carefully consider the choices you make for a snack.
• If you feel the need to eat something sweet, try a piece of fruit instead of a processed, sugary product such as a muffin, cookie, or pastry.
• The best way to avoid the temptation of eating foods that are unhealthy in the first place is to remove those items from your home. Don’t purchase processed foods. Stick to real, whole and traditionally- prepared foods: this includes organic meats, poultry, game animals, and dairy products that chemical, and hormone/antibiotic-free, organic fruits and vegetables that are pesticide/herbicide-free, real oils and fats like butter, tallow, lard, olive oil, palm oil, and coconut oils, and whole grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, and rice (all soaked or sprouted). Read labels and become educated about what is healthy to eat. If a food is conventionally-produced or has anything added to it, it is likely not a healthy choice for consumption.
• Make your biggest meal of the day at lunch time. The body is designed to handle the largest intake of food at mid-day. Avoid eating larger meals at breakfast (when the body is just getting going) or dinner (when the body is starting to wind down for the day).
• If you do get the urge for a snack, remember your body needs something substantive. Eat foods like organic fresh fruits and vegetables, raw cheeses and nuts, sprouted grain breads with real butter or raw almond butter, raw milk or yogurt made from raw milk and organic fruit for smoothies, cut-up leftover organic meats and poultry, freshly juiced fruits and vegetables (stick to greens and low glycemic fruits such as berries, while avoiding carrots and beets which have high sugar content for juicing) with olive oil or coconut oil added for necessary fats that will keep you from becoming hungry again soon. Use a bit of raw honey or Stevia for added sweetness if desired.

When you start focusing on getting more nutrition out of meals and eating real, whole foods, you will find that your in-between meal eating will become less and less over time. This is because your body will receive the nutrition it needs from the meals you eat. You should notice an improved sense of well-being and more energy from picking up good eating habits while discarding those which can cause your health to be less than optimal. If you find yourself still needing snacks in between meals, make healthier choices about those foods and give your body the substance and nutrition it needs with real food.

This article is part of Food Renegade’s Fight Back Fridays Carnival. Please visit this site and read the other real food posts listed there.

I wrote this letter to my state senator, Mike Crapo today. I’m urgently concerned about the state of our health care and the food system – which are intrinsically tied together. Feel free to cut and paste this letter and send it on to your local congressperson or legislative representative. I’ve written over a dozen letters to senators, congresspeople, and The President about our health care system, prevention being a priority (with coverage for preventative services as well as emphasis on education about the proper prevention such as real nutrition), and the food system being directly tied to our health care system reform. Please make the effort and reach out to the political decision-makers in your local area and to those in Washington. Only the people can make a difference!

_____________________________________________________________________________

Dear Mr. Crapo -

Thank you for taking the time to respond to my phone call and concerns. I am generally less interested in more government layers and regulations about food than I am accountability and responsibility on the level of taking care of the problems in food where the problems begin – at the point of origin, which is the facilities and practices themselves surrounding the growth, distribution, and sales of food products.

I’m interested in H.R. 2749 as a method of furthering the work needed to be done to clean up our food systems. It is a well-known fact that much of our food originates from the conventional sector (agribusiness) where the most abhorrent conditions for food production and growth prevail. I want to see regulation directed at the practices and methods of how we grow our food and changes made from industrialization to sustainability. When I say this, I specifically mean that laws be passed which stop the feeding of genetically-modified substances to cattle, hogs, sheep, chickens, turkeys, and other livestock or fowl used for food. I also want to see a return to natural farming methods (a return to pasture-raising) – from feeding animals grain, soy, and corn (all unnatural and genetically-modified). Why not use H.R. 2749 for this purpose – to require the banning of harmful, toxic substances from our meats, poultry, produce, and other foods such as hormones, antibiotics, pesticides, and other toxins which reduce the nutritional value of food and inherently cause harm to human health/animal health/the environment?

These issues are tied heavily into our health care system, and without attention paid to our food supply and the safety of its management, we will continue to contribute to the depth of which this nation is under strain from rising health care costs and burdens to our health care system. When we make preventative measures with food a priority, we will improve the condition for the health of every citizen in this country – our nation, of which we should not only be proud, but be protective and watchful. Being protective means doing the right thing to achieve the correct result  – not by going in and adding more analysis of a system that is already in grave jeopardy due to the mismanagement of its processes. A big component of our food safety plan, then, would certainly include an overhaul of current practices in farming methods, to change the root cause of why we are seeing so many food safety problems in the first place. That’s the only way any of this will make sense.

Time and time again we have seen the results (E.coli and salmonella poisioning) of industrial methods of farming (grain, soy, and wheat feed) and the impact it has on the health of animals being slaughtered for food – and the subsequent negative affects it has on the humans who consume it. These are the issues I’m talking about. Until we make fundamental changes in the methods we use to grow and distribute food, we will continue to see food safety issues cropping up more and more, as with the tomatoes (watered with runoff from factory farms, where they handle animals in this way, which causes salmonella and E. coli to enter fruit and vegetable systems and poison those who eat it). This is where the change needs to occur. Please understand the seriousness of this matter and help the American people gain back control of their food supply, and have more sustainable, safer, more nutritious food to eat. There is plenty of evidence and research which proves this is occurring in our food system, and must be stopped! No furthering of layers and government regulations will prevent this from continuing to occur. I’m a consumer health writer and educator about sustainable issues and I’ve done the research - I know it’s there, and I’m counting on you – please don’t let me down!

-Raine Saunders

Boise, Idaho

Over the last few months I’ve been hearing about a lot of people who have been ill with terrible head colds, bronchitis, pneumonia, flus, and sinus infections. It always seems strange to me when people are coming down with stuff like this in what is not typically considered the cold and flu season. But when you stop to consider the diet and subsequent state of health of people in general, it really shouldn’t be surprising.

In the summer of 2006 my husband, son, and I all became ill with a terrible sickness that I might have otherwise described as West Nile Virus – except for the fact that none of us had been bitten by mosquitoes or been around any areas where mosquitoes inhabit. Our symptoms were severe – extreme fatigue, malaise, body ache, and high fevers that lasted for over a week (in my son’s case he had a fever for 15 days!). From start to finish, the entire episode lasted for nearly two months. But our symptoms started subsiding immediately after we paid a visit to my acupuncturist and Chinese herbal doctor.

Since then I’ve been a devoted follower of natural treatments. This year, I was once again reminded just how useful natural treatments are when the sore throat and body ache I came down with turned into conjunctivitis and a horrible sinus infection. The sickness first came on in mid-June, and I figured it would just be a mild sore throat that would last a day or two…after all, I’m a pretty healthy person who eats a good diet and doesn’t get sick much anymore…but I was wrong. The sore throat, headache, body ache, fatigue and cough went on for about five days. Day six found me with a sinus headache and red, weepy eyes. I assumed these symptoms would go away without much consequence. Wrong again.

The normal course of action I take with a sinus infection is to use my neti pot and breathe hot steam with essential oils. Because at first my condition didn’t seem too severe, I didn’t irrigate frequently enough. Within a few days the infection became so acute I was in excruciating pain daily until afternoon when the congestion would subside and have me believing that it was on its way out. Then, the following day I’d wake up again only to be in agonizing pain within an hour or two.

Just two days before my sinus infection developed, I had paid a visit to my neighbor, a nutritional therapist. She said that I had strep in my body, and I tested positive for candida. I had performed a candida cleanse in 2007 which lasted about 14 weeks. I wasn’t too thrilled about having to do another candida cleanse, but knew from talking with her and my own research that both the sinus problem and the conjunctivitis could likely be caused by a candida overgrowth. After I put these things together in my head I decided to do another candida cleanse and went on a grain and sugar-free diet. My normal diet is pretty healthy anyway, so I just removed a few things and also began taking Candidase by Enzymedica. This is an outstanding product I’ve used before in the past, and is one of the most recommended products I know of for elimination of candida overgrowth in the body.

In the meantime, I was seeing little improvement. I tried everything my neighbor had suggested – I took an oil of oregano supplement and colloidal silver. My research revealed that goldenseal, apple cider vinegar, and various immune-boosting herbal products I already had in my house were effective natural treatments for a sinus infection. I also used hot compresses with oil of oregano, peppermint, lemon, melaleuca, and eucalyptus, breathed essential oils in hot steam several times a day, and used my neti-pot ’round the clock. I was drinking a lot of water and eating well, but nothing seemed to work.

During this time of course, everyone around me was urging me to go to the doctor and get a prescription for antibiotics. All I could think of was how this would wipe out my immune system – especially because I now had some kind of candida problem that would inevitably only get worse with antibiotics.

I’ve had enough!

Although I thought I’d lose my mind if I didn’t figure out a way to get over the sinus infection, this factor alone is what kept me from breaking down and going to a conventional doctor.  Finally, I decided to go see a naturopathic doctor who also has an M.D. working in her office. I decided that if she couldn’t help me with something natural, I’d have her do a culture to determine the cause of the infection – bacterial or fungal, as any sinus problem that goes on for that long is not usually caused by a virus. If the culture came out positive for something besides a virus, I was nearly resigned to taking antibiotics or an anti-fungal medication if necessary. From my experience and what others have reported, most medical doctors don’t think of sinus infections as being caused by fungal sources, they usually just tap on your head and write out a prescription for an antibiotic. I wanted to find out what was causing it and fix it. I didn’t want to be given some random medication and sent on my way.

The naturopath said she wasn’t sure that anything else she could do would cure my sinus infection since I had already been doing those things for three weeks and had not achieved results. But she was willing to try and wait to see if I felt any improvement the following day. We agreed that if what she did failed to work, I would come back and do a culture to find out what type of medication would be best.

The first thing she did was perform some manipulations (she knows chiropractic treatment) on my neck and head. Then she took four long cotton swabs and soaked them in essential oils and pushed them up into my nasal passages – yes, inside my nasal passages! It felt very odd, but once they were in it wasn’t a problem and she left them there for ten or fifteen minutes. While the swabs were in, she did some head and facial massage and manipulations on pressure points corresponding to my sinuses. After she was finished with these treatments, my head was almost completely pain free – for the first time in over two weeks! It was amazing. She also told me to go home and do alternating hot and cold compresses on my sinuses before bed, take an herbal tincture from her office, and perform a sinus rinse with colloidal silver in my neti-pot (I had tried the colloidal silver as a nasal spray already with no success).

Later that afternoon I talked to my neighbor again and she suggested putting a probiotic capsule in my neti pot. I take daily doses of probiotics, but had not yet tried breaking open the capsule and putting it in the pot. I used self-massage on my sinuses throughout the rest of the day, as shown by the naturopath. I also did the compresses and took the tincture as directed.

Now here’s the most amazing part - at bedtime, I emptied the contents of a probiotics capsule into the neti-pot and proceeded to pour the warm water, salt, baking soda and probiotic mixture into my nasal passages. Immediately I felt a terrible burning sensation that went on for a good ten minutes. It was quite painful, but as it subsided, I was filled with a peaceful calm, and then retired to bed and had a good night sleep. The next morning, I awoke and was surprised to find that even as time went on, my head remained pain-free throughout the day. The horrible “ice pick” sinus pressure which was normally in full-swing by 10 a.m. was completely gone. Whenever I felt like I was getting a slight ache, I performed the facial massage to my temples and sinuses I had done the day before. I also used the probiotics in my neti pot a few more times over the next five days, along with my Whole Body Defense from Gaia Herbs, and some grapefruit seed extract (about 5 drops in 6 ounces of water twice a day). I was cured! I really believe those probiotics did some magical trick – although I’m sure some of the other things I did helped as well – because the first time I did it, after the burning came and went, the pain was completely gone and has not returned since.

Some people might still be skeptical after reading this and say, “yeah, you got well naturally, but it took nearly 4 weeks!” Yes, that is true. But how many people do you know who take antibiotics and don’t get well for weeks…or become sick again after thinking they are cured? How many others take one antibiotic, only to have it not improve their condition, and then return to the doctor for one or two more rounds of other antibiotics? This is a pretty common occurrence, and I didn’t want to be one of those people.

Here’s something else important to remember: the first two weeks I assumed whatever I had would go away on its own and didn’t make much of an effort to treat it sufficiently. It wasn’t until at least week two where I realized it was a serious infection and decided to do something. In many cases, the first thing you try isn’t the thing that is going to work. Just as described above, medical doctors often try many different medications before something actually brings results…and still, sometimes, it doesn’t work.

The other factor in all of this that people fail to take into account is the natural immunity granted to your body when you allow it to recover naturally instead of using pharmaceuticals and over-the-counter medications. These artificially-produced, toxic substances weaken the immune system by wiping out friendly bacteria and depleting the body of vital nutrients. They are also responsible for  a wave of resistant bacteria which could ultimately cause the death of mass numbers of our population in the not-so-distant future. These bacteria become impervious to medications when they are actually needed, and in some cases, cannot be killed at all or will only be taken down by certain medications which are dangerous to use and can cause damage to the human body. Ultimately, I claim victory in this situation because even though it took me awhile to get over this, I did it without compromising my immune system and I gained natural immunity to whatever was making me sick.

Are antibiotics useful?

Remember that the word antibiotic literally means “anti-life”. Antibiotics have their place in the world, but they shouldn’t be used every time you get a flu, cold, or respiratory infection that lasts longer than 7 – 10 days . I once heard a story from a friend who went to the doctor and was given a prescription for antibiotics. When she asked whether antibiotics were really necessary, the doctor replied that she didn’t want to mess around with a possible infection and antibiotics were the best thing. My friend asked whether she would die if she didn’t take the antibiotics and to which the doctor replied, “it’s possible”.  So what if she hadn’t taken antibiotics for her infection? What would be the likelihood of her dying because she did not follow the doctor’s recommendation? Most people have compromised immune systems due to diet and poor lifestyle anyway, but taking antibiotics when your health is compromised will only make the problem later worse – even if it temporarily stops an infection in its tracks.

If you become sick and take antibiotics, you are really only wiping out all the bacteria in your body. You are not dealing with the underlying cause of the illness, which is why you became sick in the first place. This is why people get sick over and over again, even though they have taken antibiotics.

Viewing health holistically

It goes without saying that maintaining wellness isn’t just about curing yourself. It should be viewed holistically through a  healthy diet to give your body the foundation with which to fight off viruses, bacteria, and fungal infections in the first place. It’s also about getting enough rest, drinking enough filtered water, staying active, and avoiding chemicals, hormones, antibiotics, preservatives, pesticides, and other toxins in the environment.

Would I do things differently in the future? I certainly would. But antibiotics still wouldn’t be part of my solution. Next time I feel something coming on, I’ll react more quickly to implement a natural remedy, and be more aggressive about treatment instead of waiting a week or two. After finding the right treatment, it worked to eliminate my sinus problem because the pain was still severe the day I went into see the naturopath, and when I left her office, the pain was almost 100 percent eliminated. Then, after following recommendations from the naturopath and my neighbor, the infection was gone and did not return. Nothing else I had tried up to that point made much difference.  So, never again will I believe otherwise – proactive measures are the best bet for staying healthy.

This article is part of Cheeseslave’s Real Food Wednesdays Carnival. Please visit her site and read the other great real food articles there.

The name of the game in tough economic times is to save money. I couldn’t even begin to count the number of people I’ve heard say they buy cheaper food because they can’t afford anything else lately. But consider just how expensive some of that cheaper food really is. On the surface, a six-pack of soda or juice can run anywhere from 2 to 3 dollars (and if you buy name brand, it could be higher). And what are you getting for your money? Sugar, chemicals, and toxins.  Does it satisfy your thirst? Do you have to keep drinking more to feel satiated? If so, chances are you’ll buy more. Many people become addicted to sodas, juices, and other sugary drinks, so they buy more to feed their addiction. And in the process, they are harming their health by continuing to consume these beverages which contribute to obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure, Diabetes, and cancer. Is this really a good definition of saving money?

Water may or may not be cheaper, but it depends on what type of water you are buying. Most bottled waters are of questionable quality, and can leach BPA and other toxic chemicals from the plastic bottle. Find a good source of water at your local health food store that you can buy in your own refillable bottles or invest in a good filtration system for your sink or home. This will ensure you are getting better quality water and you are saving money from continually purchasing expensive bottled water that may or may not be good quality.

Your tap water is dangerous to drink and should be avoided. According to the Ralph Nader Research Institute, tap water contains over 2100 toxic chemicals.  Some of those are heavy metals like cadmium, iron, mercury, and lead. It also contains arsenic, fluoride and chlorine, proven in studies to be harmful to the human body. Finally, tap water that is filtered out by water reclamation sites does not get filtered for all the other substances that go down the drain – prescription medications that people take, pesticides, and many other toxic chemicals.

What about a box of processed cereal? A box of Cheerios will probably cost around $3, less if you buy the generic. If you buy whole, organic grains from the bulk section of your store, you will spend anywhere from around .75 to just over $2.00 a pound. But the whole grain cereal will last you longer because it is a real food and will deliver nutritional value to your body that the boxed doesn’t. Processed cereals contain extruded grains that the human body cannot absorb, and the nutrients are all stripped away during processing and then synthetic nutrients are added back in. Because this is not a real food, it is not useful to your body.

The cost of buying commercial, industrial meat may be less on the package, but what are you getting for your money? Meat that is loaded with hormones, antibiotics, too many Omega 6s from the animals eating the wrong types of feed (corn, soy, grain), high in calories, fat, and carbohydrates, and low in protein. Nutritional content in this type of meat is not only poor, but the chemicals contained in the meat help deplete your body of nutrients as well. Locally-raised, grass-fed meat, on the other hand, is high in protein, low in fat, calories, and carbohydrates, and is an excellent source of Omega 3 EFAs and CLA (conjugated linoleic acid) which is extremely beneficial to the human body. Grass-fed meats generally cost more, but they are nutritionally good for your body and can help prevent heart disease, Diabetes, and cancer.

Then there’s the long-term effects and deferred costs of eating nutritionally-bankrupt foods. Weakened immune system. Frequent colds and flus. Headaches. Sore throats. Allergies. Asthma. Chronic fatigue. Depression. Insomnia. Anxiety attacks. Fluctuating blood sugar which leads to insulin resistance and Diabetes. Weight gain. Irritability. Heart disease. High blood pressure. Cancer. The list goes on.

So then: if you are buying cheaper foods, but they are not delivering nutritional quality to your body, is that a waste of money, or do you still persist in thinking you are saving yourself money by eating this way? Investing in your health and well-being doesn’t have to be an exorbitant cost, it just has to be planned out and managed well.

Here are some ideas for saving money and still eating healthy during a recession:

1. Eat all or most of your meals at home.
2. When you shop at the store, buy only real, whole foods. Avoid purchasing foods in packages, cans, and boxes.
3. Eat some meals meatless or spread your meat out amongst several meals. Use foods like cheese, milk, eggs, and butter as your main source of protein and fat in some meals, along with vegetables, fruits, and whole grains (soaked or sprouted).
4. Plan your shopping so you can make less trips to the store.
5. Buy from farmer’s markets and local food growers. You will be supporting your local economy and you can often get foods for reasonable prices because you are not paying for packaging, marketing, processing, and transportation of your food.
6. Become interested in and learn to grow, can, jar, cook, freeze, and sprout, soak, and prepare foods at home. The more you do these types of things, the further your food will stretch. You will save money and your health.
7. Use up all your food at home before going returning to the store.
8. Plan your shopping trips, make a list before you go and stick to it.
9. Use networking in your area to find new resources for healthy food. Talk to neighbors and folks at the farmer’s markets and local health food stores. Attend events where local food is being served. Look in your local paper for a list of resources and activities centered around local food and food growers.
10. Take time out to grow food in your own yard or space. Be sure to use organic fertilizers when you plant so that the nutritional content and disease resistance of the food you plant is higher.

This post is part of Food Renegade’s Fight Back Fridays Carnival. Please visit this site and read the other real food posts there.