Farming, Food & Health; There is a link

My heart was singing this morning as I awoke. I must take a drive to Southwest Georgia and meet this “radical” farmer and his new ideas, now pushing 25 years in the making. It is simply that, his ideas, foresight and intuition about farming and cattle ranching+ are a return to the way things are meant to be—in my mind and thought process. We have a long way to go, like in many facets of modern life, but the shift is here and visible for those awakened souls seeking evidence.  But, his story reminds me of many other things that have captured the American people and the world by big money and those bent on domination and control.

I preordered the book, A Bold Return to Giving a Damn and just finished it an hour ago, now a week later.  I suggest you get a hold of a copy and read it for yourself. Will Harris, a Southwest Georgia farmer, is the story of a very brave and bold, awakened old soul returning to work with the natural cycles of the earth and its complexity, which few seem understand or care about. Rather than seeing Nature as the enemy, he nows sees Nature, his land and all his animals as something that works in a symbiosis or harmony for our benefit and Mother Earth’s as well. 

It was his association with what he calls “the holistic farm” that I book marked. Admirably, he had the courage and chutzpah to step away from the industrialization of his farming operation, which he realized one fine day, was making him beholden to the big corporations and inhumane treatment of his cattle. This new found awareness sparked one afternoon while watching his cattle loaded onto the semi parked on his farm, that he realized he was only a cog in the wheel of our industrialized, captured food industry.  His ah ha moment?  That by participating as a cog in the mechanized wheel of BigAg was to prop up and hold the corporate bottom line while they gave us, the unsuspecting American public, an inferior, chemical laden product for grocery store cases to sell. Nothing else seemed to matter to the investors, Wall Street, the regulators and legislators who were bought and paid for by lobbyist and political donations.

Something had that familiar ring—it was the sick care policies that kept so many trapped in a system of its own giant mechanized wheel, where one way of thinking is pushed on everyone. And, you are threatened if you don’t comply. I don’t have to explain that, if you know what I mean! But, so many have no clue!

Our “Health care” system had been corrupted by the same forces. They benefited from selling the bad food, and benefit from polluted water, sprayed chem trails, processed food and the expensive bandaids that keep folks just well enough to keep working their 9 to 5 jobs. What a business model—making money on both ends and not giving a damn—just keep the money rolling in! Think about it, our “Healthcare” system has fallen down a deep dark hole. And, I don’t believe it is individual doctors and nurses per say, I believe it is the corporate money supporting grants and educating future providers into the funnel that brings big returns in the self-perpetuating cycle of chronic illness, drugs, surgery, etc..

Harris writes, “We put our attention on a single goal: making the whole process of producing food more efficient. And the way we did that was through the use of reductionist science, which broke down the holistic and complex systems of the natural world into smaller and smaller isolated parts that could be studied and mastered and improved by technology. This reductive approach was applied to everything—to the way we treat health and sickness for one thing—and it completely changed agriculture.”

This captured and normalized American way of life doesn’t allow for much diversion. One is seen as a rebel, an outlier or a trouble maker for not going along and embracing what the system of mechanized sick care allows for. One stop at the lab. After waiting—another quick visit at the doctors office—and 90% of the time, out the door with another prescription. My Mother-in-law had 19 different pills. Another friend of mine has even more! The system needs a good overhaul or a total makeover!

Many have lost touch or haven’t realized the intimate relationship with the Mother Earth. The Earth is its own soul group, a sentient consciousness of the planet and it is interwoven with our beingness as well. The core of the consciousness was created by the Pleiadians. It’s about the way we live. And, we must incorporate a greater understanding and belief that we are entangled. There is no separation between us and Mother Earth. Every indigenous tribe understands this sacred relationship.

So, what’s the difference between a healthy holistic farm and a healthy holistic human body? Not much. Probably only the chemicals we consciously or unconsciously (by mal-intented forces) consume. Every chemical, drug or fake food we eat creates a reaction in our body. It is our own cycle of birth, life and death. Isn’t it time to research what the ancients and indigenous knew and believed as truth?

Every antibiotic we take throws off the health of our gut—and makes the “bug” we’re trying to rid of more resistant next time around or for someone else. There is much overuse. Even what we generally think of as benign over the counter medications have their downside usually warning of kidney or liver damage if taken too often or for too many years. Every side effect, is an effect—and something else is usually added to combat those effects and unintended consequences. It’s a catch 22 in the allopathic—germ warfare, chronic winner take all view of the world.

Harris continued his reflection, “What I failed to understand, however, was that the technologies of reductionist science has an ugly underbelly. For each industrial tool I used, there was always a consequence—one that without fail was bad, always unintended, and always unnoticed until tomorrow or next week or next year or even next decade. I failed to see that the unnatural grain I fed the animals, trucked in from industrialized monocultural farms, required substantial amounts of petrochemicals to cultivate and transport, using up nonrenewable resources—and also created painful acidosis in the animals, unnecessarily causing suffering”. 

But, haven’t we used the same reductionists theory—tearing things apart that should be kept together? In heath and wellness, the food, water and air are major players, but so are stress, childhood traumas, and the separation of our physical body’s ills from our mind and spirit. We are living in an unbalanced state. As T. Harv Eckart used to say, “How we do anything, is how we do everything.” Modern life seems to be a series of pieces torn from our ancestral heritage twisting in the wind as the “experts” portend to tell us what we need and what we must do to be healthy. Yet, many, many of those so-called experts have missed the mark because they too are driven by corporate interests, big grants or a hefty paycheck. We don’t need to look very far back to see that at one time cocaine, tobacco and DDT were considered harmless. What about glyphosate today? We rarely get the truth anymore.

It’s time we discern for ourselves and use our god-given wisdom to decide what’s best for us. It’s time to back out of our destructive ways, and lean into the barrier of energy that breaks the old paradigm of consciousness and moves us toward a more enlightened era. By bringing the pieces of the puzzle in WHOLENESS, working with our smart bodies natural intelligence,—correcting what has led us astray from what we inherently already know. 

Did you know that according to Kryon, “Children on small farms aren’t allergic to milk? But children in urban areas often are? “The children in the areas that you call home are often allergic to many things.” Why the difference? “If you don’t honor the animals, you’re not going to get the nutrition! But this fact hasn’t been put together yet by those who are responsible for producing your food. In fact it sounds really silly to them. Here’s the premise: Those who want efficiency and try to create a factory-farm approach to food will put the cows so close together that they touch all the time—all their lives. They’re strapped in containers or small spaces and are milked and fed . . . and you wonder why you’re allergic to milk? But the farm that has one or two cows that are cared for correctly will create milk that your body see differently. This requires an inter dimensional realization that you and the earth and the cows are very connected. Your cellular structure knows the difference and reacts.” “The new energy is going to accelerate certain things like allergies to foods, unless you decide to change how foods are developed and collected and preserved.” But, it’s not just milk, it’s every processed food we consume.

The tie between what we eat, how it’s handled and raised and what chemicals it contains are critical for our well being. There are many levels to our food supply chain. Our modern way of thinking does not include this wisdom. We must become aware and revaluate our current way of doing things if we are to break the ties to what we’ve been led to believe is a healthy sustainable way to grow food and maintain our health and well being. We’ve got to dig ourselves out of the ditch that we’ve landed in. It seems only then, we will be have a truly healthy population that will be able to live twice or three times the lifespan we currently have now. And, one that will include vitality, passion and a zest we don’t see or have currently. Our food system is broken and it must be fixed or reworked with integrity for animals and humans alike.

As Carolyn Baker writes:With the mass movement of people from the land to cities, the sanctity of food was eclipsed by fascination with artificial, synthetic, and technologically-produced forms of food. No longer was it necessary to hunt or grow food because now it was delivered from short or long distances to nearby markets, and thus it seems that the sacredness of food decreased in proportion to the energy required to obtain it. 

Chief Seattle simply said it this way: “The earth does not belong to man, man belongs to the earth. All things are connected like the blood that unites us all. Man did not weave the web of life, he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself.”

The wonderful thing about food is you get three votes a day. Every one of them has the potential to change the world.

~Michael Pollan~

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Decoding Our Lives Podcast – Pending

Nutritional Bites: Trans-FAT–Take a second look!

Look for the word "Hydrogenated"--If you see if--DON'T EAT IT!

Look for the word “Hydrogenated”–If you see if–DON’T EAT IT!

I was horrified as I read Martha White Yellow Corn Muffin mix contains “partially Hydrogenated soybean and Cotton seed oils. This means in layman’s terms: TRANS FAT. Yesterday, I pulled a box from my pantry shelf and read the ingredient list.  Unhappily, I proceeded to make the mix–but called the company asking if the ingredients had changed. No, I was told after I gave the pleasant-voiced customer service woman the bar code on the box.  How does this happen?  Companies are allowed by law  to label their Nutritional Facts  “0 trans fat” if it is less than 500 mg. per serving; sneaky and untruthful. Especially given the amount of unhealth and disease in this country: Coronary Heart Disease, Blood Lipids, Insulin Resistance, Inflammatory Dysfunction, Blood Pressure . . . It was the echoing voice in my head from Walter Willet, MD, PhD and Chairman of Harvard’s school of Public Health, “on a gram for gram basis–trans fats are twice as bad as saturated fats, which should make you pretty concerned.” Trans fat also lower the good HDL cholesterol. Trans fats are used because they increase shelf life. Great. The manufacturers are worried about their bottom line–not our well-being. So I put this out here to anyone who will listen, read the ingredient list and be discerning; it may ultimately save your life. You know, its kind of like teaching your kids to look both ways before crossing the street! I also began to  wonder, is it GMO corn? Probably–another day and another blog. We always have a choice, and in the end, FYI, I threw out the corn bread; choosing not to serve it for dinner.

Be Well,

Cathy

Blocks of trans-fat in the bottom left hand corner--preserve shelf life--NOT OUR LIFE!

Blocks of trans-fat in the bottom left hand corner–preserve shelf life–NOT OUR LIFE!

Does Coconut Milk Help With Osteoporosis?

Veggies for our Health and Wellness

Great question for most of us. I acknowledge you for looking deeper–beyond the mainstream thinking, and advertising by famous celebrities such as Sally Field, my favorite Flying Nun.

I guess the real question is: why do I have osteoarthritis, and is it a symptom of something larger going on within my system or body? Can I balance my pH with coconut milk or perhaps do I need to start adding in some additional foods that will help to give my body the balance it innately desires and needs? Is there something I can do to reverse this trend? (these comments and thoughts, are not meant to diagnosis, treat or cure.)

The body is a brilliant energy designed to be self-healing–our thoughts, and what we eat and drink have an effect in how we feel. For most of us, until we are about 40-45 our body has a great ability to buffer and neutralize the acid conditions within, but after we hit that 45 +\- marker, that ability begins to fall and people begin to show imbalance–which we label as sickness and disease or dis-ease. So what can we do?

One hundred years ago, Thomas Edison said, “The doctor of the future will give no medicine, but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, in diet, and in the cause and prevention of disease.”

Brilliant researcher and author, T. Colin Campbell, PhD writes, “Investigations of Human populations show that our risk of hip fractures and osteoporosis is made worse by diets high in animal-based foods. Animal protein leeches calcium from the bones by creating an acidic environment in the blood. We now have a deep and broad range of evidence showing that a whole foods, plant-based diet is best for our kidneys,bones, eyes and brains.” The China Study, p.349

It is time to head in another direction. Let’s begin to think about adding foods to support in the reduction of that acidic state (one end of the equation) and support our body’s access to more alkaline foods,(the other side of the equation) so it’s not forced to steal calcium from our bones, joints, cartilage and teeth to maintain that critical blood pH of 7.365-7.4 pH. Foods that support this delicate balance include: spinach, kale,avocado,asparagus, dandelion greens, wheat grass, and alkaline-ionized water.

I also drink Kangen water which is mineral rich, alkaline-ionized with powerful anti-oxidants. Check out www.energiesofhealing.com. Another easy practical way is to add “live” powered organic greens to your shakes or stir them into water. I like the Green Organic International available at www.thepowerofph.com. See my post on greens for a super green shake you can make and drink and go in under 5 minutes!

And, the answer to your question: Does Coconut Milk Help With Osteoporosis? Coconut milk varies with a pH between 6 (still slightly acidic) and 7 pH (neutral). So, based on that information, the answer is no,coconut milk is not alkaline. And anything that is acidic would be pulling minerals from your bones. My personal testing of coconut water is the same– on the acidic side. You decide. Leafy green vegetables would be a better choice for your osteoporosis. Raw green veggies contain calcium and are alkaline too! Kale, Dandelion greens,Collard and Turnip greens being some of the best.

Be Well,

Cathy

COWS MILK; It’s high time to question its value.

Substitute for a healthier alternative

“Neither kids or their parents are learning about how milk has been linked to Type 1 diabetes, prostate cancer, osteoporosis, multiple sclerosis or other autoimmune diseases, and how casein (the main protein in dairy foods) has been shown to experimentally promote cancer and increase blood cholesterol and atherosclerotic plaque.”  p. 294 The China Study, by T. Colin Campbell

I probably could not bring up a subject anymore “un-American” than suggesting not to drink cows milk and stay away from dairy. I am talking about some not-so-nice and startling truths. Maybe it is time to ask, who is running things anyway? That was rhetorical; we all ready know. But I am here to remind you, big business, special interests and clever marketing distort the truth and are misleading. They have their interests in mind–not yours!

Growing up, our family drank more milk than the Albertson family down the street–with their 8 kids; we were half that number. My Mother was quite proud of that accomplishment and boasted frequently. Even now, as these words roll off my keyboard, they would be considered blaspheme within my childhood home. Yet, did you know, Countries that use the most cows milk and its products also have the highest fracture rates and worst bone health? Americans consume more cow’s milk and its products per person than most populations in the world. So Americans should have wonderfully strong bones, right? (Nope.) Studies show American women 50 and older have one of the highest rates of hip fractures in the world. 1 (p. 205) The China Study

Dr. Thomas Rau, MD, Medical Director of the Paracelsus Clinic Lustmuhle, made the following comments when it comes to milk and dairy:
“The only cow dairy allowed (for his patients)are small amounts of organic butter and cream from time to time, because my concern is with the proteins, not the fat. Even if you are not allergic to cow’s milk, I discourage its use. Because of the way milk is collected, processed and distributed in the United States, it is possible source of many contaminants, not least being the artificial estrogen DES given to cows to boost their milk production on large corporate farms. This drug causes unexplained infertility in humans as well as cancer, and traces are present in the milk of cows treated.
Problems such as osteoporosis arise not from drinking too little milk, but from ingesting too much animal protein. It is acidity in the bloodstream caused by eating too much protein that leaches calcium and other minerals from the bones and cartilage. Numerous studies as far back as 1988 have documented this; though it is only recently, with the latest results, that the public is being made aware. Eating plenty of leafy green vegetables and whole grains will give you all the calcium you need. Combining this good diet with moderate weight-bearing exercise will result in healthy bones.Every time you drink a glass of cow’s milk, eat a container of yogurt or cottage cheese, or dig into a slab of Cheddar, your immune system is assaulted. Most people who believe they are lactose intolerant are actually suffering from an allergy to the proteins in the milk, not the lactose, which is a simple sugar.

Women in particular are beset with this problem because before and during menopause, to avoid osteoporosis they are strongly encouraged by their doctors—and the dairy industry, which has a very powerful lobby—to drink excessive amounts of milk. And look at all the symptoms that crop up at this time in their life: fatigue, depression, lack of muscle strength, indigestion, acid reflux, insomnia, thyroid insufficiency.”

There are many alternatives such as unsweetened almond, coconut or rice milk. So Delicious makes a great Cultured Coconut Milk Yogurt.  Instead of cheese for an afternoon snack reach for a stalk of celery and almond butter; even hummus and sliced cucumbers are refreshing and filling.   Balancing your system and constantly lightening your toxic load is an intelligent and powerful way to lead a healthy and active life as long as you can.

Be Well,

Cathy

www.energiesofhealing.com

Three new choices for you to try–have fun! See which one your family likes best.