A new book by Joel Salatin, Folks, This Ain't Normal in bookstores on October 10

I got an email from the leader of my WAPF (Weston A. Price Foundation) http://www.westonaprice.org/ and thought it was worth sharing. It definitely looks like something I would enjoy reading...

FOLKS, THIS AIN'T NORMAL
By Joel Salatin

We live in abnormal times. Really abnormal times. Times when most people think Twinkies, Cocoa-puffs, and Mountain Dew are safe but raw milk, compost grown tomatoes, and Aunt Matilda's homemade pickles are unsafe. The average morsel of food travels fifteen hundred miles between point of production and point of consumption. Indeed, the average T-bone steak sees more of America than the farmer that grew the cow.

Never in the history of civilization has a culture eaten foods it can't pronounce, foods that can't be made in a domestic kitchen, or foods that won't rot. Living foods mold, rot, and decompose. How long can an M&M remain on your counter without altering its appearance?

Until extremely recent days, people had to think about energy, whether it was providing for draft animals for transportation and power, or accumulating firewood to keep the stove burning in the winter
We are the first culture to abdicate domestic culinary arts in favor of microwavable boxes of processed, stabilized, extruded, reconstituted, dye-colored, amalgamated, irradiated, nutrient-compromised, transgenic modified, prostituted pseudo-food. Modern America now has the highest rate in history of chronic, debilitating diseases, and leads the world in unhealthiness.

We're the first culture to invent supermarkets and to universally equate children's chores with abuse. We're the first culture to confine animals in factories, use pharmaceuticals on our food, and break the soil-building carbon cycle on a massive scale.

These themes, discussed in historical context, conventional modern-day thinking, and future response, position Joel Salatin's new book FOLKS, THIS AIN'T NORMAL as a must read for Weston A. Price members. Indeed, he even uses the book to acquaint the world with WAPF as well as the Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund.

"When a major publisher (CenterStreet, an imprint of the Hachette Book Group) decided to put their weight behind this project, I decided that part of my objective would be to let the world know about all these wonderful groups and thinkers who really have all the answers to people's fears. I get tired of seeing the media wringing their hands as if solutions don't exist, when in fact, they do. I hope this book draws thousands and thousands into the WAPF camp--just mentioning the organization should drive people to the website."

Never one to allow victimhood excuses, Salatin ends each chapter with a bulleted list of "things you can do." This broad book addresses issues as varied as food police, soil development, Disneyfication of the culture, and scientific findings proving pasture-based livestock is far more nutrient dense than factory-farmed counterparts. It will warm your soul.

If you've ever wondered how to articulate how ridiculous many modern assumptions are, this book will give some sound bites. Filled with stories, satire, and humor, FOLKS, THIS AIN'T NORMAL is due for release Oct. 10 in hardback, Kindle, and audio-book.

http://www.amazon.com/Folks-This-Aint-Normal-Healthier/dp/0892968192/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1318206009&sr=8-1

Ginger Mint Cookies

I found this recipe for these ginger mint cookies and they are AMAZING! Let me know what you think.

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp dried mint (I used spearmint)
2 Tbsp finely chopped crystalized ginger
1 Tbsp lemon zest
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg yolk, room temperature
1/4 cup sugar for rolling

Preheat oven 350 degrees. In a medium bowl mix flour, mint, ginger, lemon zest and baking soda. With an electric mixer, mix butter, sugars, vanilla and egg yolk until light and fluffy. Mix in flour slowly at a low speed just until combined. Roll dough in small balls and roll in sugar. Place on cookie sheet about an inch apart. Bake until bottom is slightly brown (about 15 minutes). Yummo!!

Flu Vaccine

I was on Facebook and someone posted this copy of popular flu vaccine insert. She said she got it from a RN who was giving vaccinations at Wal-Mart. After she showed it to the RN, the nurse was speechless. Are you amazed that the people administrating these vaccinations don't read these inserts? Don't be, because I would be willing to bet money doctors and pediatricians all over the world have never taken the time to read one of them. I'm sure the pharma reps are giving them the "research" results and tell them just how amazing and safe their product is. Please do your research before you put ANY pharmaceuticals in your (or your children's) bodies!

A Little Arsenic in your Apple Juice

A lot of people have been asking me if I had heard anything about the arsenic in apple juice. Apparently Dr. Oz had a show about it. He tested a few different brands of apple juice and there were traces of arsenic in most of them. The issue is that most of the apple juice we use in America is from concentrate and that gets imported from China were it gets exposed to pesticides that may contain arsenic. (I do want to note here that apple juice concentrate is also used to sweeten a lot of processed food products including food bars, fruit snacks, etc.) After his show aired the apple juice companies and the FDA were all fired up (shocked aren't you). The FDA released a statement stating that these were "acceptable" levels of arsenic in the juices.........I'm sorry, what did I just say...... that's right I guess the FDA thinks it's perfectly acceptable to consume some levels of arsenic. They never cease to amaze me I swear. Anyway, I have read that there is a little glitch in Dr Oz's research though. There are two different kinds of arsenic; inorganic (man-made) and organic (naturally occurring) and in his testing they did not separate the two. So, it's a little tainted in my book. The moral to the story...if you make sure and buy organic apple juice (preferably made in USA) you are not going to be exposed to the inorganic arsenic (you know, the stuff that can kill you).


Here's the link from the Dr Oz show:
http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/arsenic-apple-juice

Soy

You may not be aware of this but soy is one of those things that is in almost everything and it is not something you want to be consuming. Well, let me be more specific, un-fermented soy. The types of soy that you should eat are natto, tempeh and soy sauce. To start out soy is most likely to be genetically modified (over 90%). Second, it is very high in a phytoestrogen which mirrors human estrogen and has been linked to a number of diseases, including breast cancer. Soy is especially dangerous for infants/children to consume. A friend of my sister gave her daughter soy formula and when her teeth came in they were grey because of the soy!! Soy also has potent enzyme inhibitors which disrupt digestion. Also, soybeans contain hemaglutin, which is a clot promoting substance which causes red blood cells to clump together. Soybeans also have a high level of phytates or phytic acid which inhibits your body the ability to absorb certain minerals. Sounds like something you want to avoid doesn't it. The reason the fermented soy is ok is because there is something that happens in the fermentation process that removes the negative issues with soy. You may notice that Asian cultures eat a lot of soy, but it is the fermented kind they mostly eat. Now, I am guilty of enjoying a plate of salty hot edamame when I'm at a Japanese restaurant, but all the processed soy, I really try and avoid. Don't let the marketing monsters con you into thinking it's good for you! If you drink soy milk, try something different like coconut milk or almond milk. Once you start looking at labels though, you will be amazed at the fact that it is in nearly everything! The chemists have figured out ways to break this bean up into a million different uses. A common ingredient is soy protein isolate. I swear, who comes up with this stuff. Anyway, like I said, try to stay away from soy as much as possible without losing your sanity in the interim.


There is a book that comes highly recommended about the risks of soy, it is called "The whole soy story" Keeyla T. Daniel PhD

Here's a Mercola article that touches on a lot that I mentioned above:
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/09/18/soy-can-damage-your-health.aspx

Alkaline - The Anti Cancer

I can't stress it enough, you are what you eat. It never seems to amaze me what people will eat as part of their everyday diet. Well in case it wasn't obvious, you get out what you put in.

I'm sure a lot of you have heard of an alkaline diet vs. an acidic diet? Well, the theory is that your blood is slightly alkaline making the pH levels between 7.35-7.45. When you eat diets high in acid, is disrupts this pH level and inhibits your ability to absorb certain nutrients/minerals. Cancer also thrives in an acidic environment and cannot survive in an alkaline environment. Most people have an acidic diet (hence the enormous cancer rate). I read a fascinating book where the author compared our diet to that of primates. Since we share over 90% of the same DNA you would think we were susceptible to the same diseases, however, they do not get a fraction of the diseases we do. In this book she attributes this to their diet. She breaks it down even further and if you would like to check her book out it is called "Green for Life" by Victoria Boutenko.

You can find a good list of what foods are alkaline/acidic on this website: http://www.rense.com/1.mpicons/acidalka.htm.

As you may suspect all the "fun" foods (by fun I mean you knew they weren't gonna be good for you) are acidic. The way I look at it, if you keep filling the "cup" with acidic foods and never empty it, or refill it with alkalized food, there will eventually be an issue. I can't stress the importance of detoxes here. You can almost compare your body to a car. If you never tune it up or flush it out every now and again, build up will occur; it's just a matter of when. The same goes for your body. I saw an amazing quote the other day that I will end this post with...

"Health is not simply the absence of sickness"

Diatomaceous Earth

Hello strangers ;o) I'm a part of a local yahoo group for conscious parenting and they were talking about Diatomaceous earth (DE). Has anyone heard of it before? I have heard of it, but I haven't tried it. It sounds fascinating though. It is basically a fossilized hard shelled algae (phytoplankton) that has a ton of uses. It can be used as a stabilizer in dynamite, for pool filtration, pest control (it takes the exoskeleton of the bugs, especially fleas) among lots of other uses. It is important to know to get the food grade DE. You can give it to your pets orally for about 60-90 days to get rid of any parasites they have. Actually, you can use it on yourself if you suspect you have a parasite (I read on one website to take one tsp with a drink per day). The food grade DE does not work chemically so there is no chemical toxicity to it. It resembles the shape of a honeycomb (when magnified) and the sharp edges to it are what kill the parasites, much like the fleas I mentioned earlier. You can use it topically to control many insects, for instance, rub it on your dog’s fur for fleas. If you see roaches, spread it where you see them. Pour it over an ant mound. Sprinkle it where you see aphids. Pretty cool stuff! I love how nature provides use with the most perfect remedies that are useful in so many ways and they don't poison everything else in their way!

http://www.earthworkshealth.com/

http://www.gardenharvestsupply.com/ProductCart/pc/Diatomaceous-Earth-Food-Grade-5-lb-Bag-11p39.htm?gclid=CIzP0Ymm86oCFcER2godWBcBOA

Coconut Oil Sale

I just wanted to give everyone a head's up (sorry a little last minute though). Nutiva has a sale on coconut oil right now.

Here is the sale: Save $$ on Nutiva ORG Coconut Oil 1 Gallon @ $46.99 till Friday 12th midnight coupon code: cocodeal - or buy case of 4 for $41.45 ea code: cocodeal4 - http://ow.ly/5Zf7I

This is a GREAT deal!! If you miss this one though, you can find them on facebook and if you like their page they will give you a $10 off coupon code. They also have a bulk deal on chia seeds too, 3 pounds for $20. If you don't need that much, split it with someone! I just ordered some of each of these things!

I use coconut oil for most of my baking, and as a lotion. It isn't greasy when you rub it in real good and it is great smelling (well as long as you like the smell of coconuts).

Nutrition and Hospitals - Need I Say More?

So my father was recently in the hospital having surgery. He had a fistula from Diverticulitis (hence why I had the few posts on fiber). Anyway, I just wanted to vent how disgusted I am by the stuff they tried to pass as food in that place. I really don't understand how a place full of sick and injured people wouldn't place any emphasis on good nutrition. It's not like they aren't making any money in these places. Two days after his surgery (to remove a section of his colon) they put a tray in front of him with an ice cream scoop of processed mac n cheese, brown vegetables (they had been nuked to death) and a piece of white bread...SERIOUSLY!? Thankfully my sister was there and let them have it about how ridiculous that was and they promptly gave him some slightly more nutritious foods. But think about how many people don't have any advocates there for them, or the people who just don't know any better. Shouldn't a place full of health workers know better? It really makes me want to figure out a way to change things. This is where I really wish I had a nutrition degree to back up the wealth of knowledge I have so that these people will listen to me and make a change. If anyone has any other suggestions, please let me know.

Fiber

So I was talking a few posts ago about the importance of eating your fruits and veggies. I want to add to that. I think I should have emphasized the importance of fiber instead. Did you know that everyone should have an average of 30-40 grams of fiber every day. That's a lot of fiber! Most people only consume around 8-12 grams each day. So as you can see, there is quite a gap. I wanted to provide a link I found on different ways to get fiber and how much fiber some food actually has. If you can try to consume your fiber via food, rather then fiber supplements, that would be the best option. Besides fruits and veggies, some other fiber sources are whole grains, beans and nuts.

There are two types of fiber, soluble and insoluble. I found this website that gives a pretty good breakdown of the two and here's what they said: "Soluble fiber is found in dried beans, peas, oats and oat bran, flaxseed and psyllium husks. It's also found in fruits such as oranges and apples and vegetables like carrots. Soluble fiber binds with fatty acids in your stomach and prolongs digestion time. This helps to regulate blood sugar. Studies also show that soluble fiber can help reduce your overall cholesterol count. But what's even more important, soluble fiber lowers your LDL, which is considered to be bad cholesterol.
Insoluble fiber is found in whole wheat, wheat bran, vegetables such as cauliflower and green beans and the skins of fruits and root vegetables. Insoluble fiber helps remove toxins from your colon and balance intestine acidity. It also helps move waste through your intestines and bowel."

As you can see, fiber is some pretty important stuff. Here is the link that I mentioned earlier. At the bottom of the chart it has links for other charts, check those out too.

http://commonsensehealth.com/Diet-and-Nutrition/List_of_High_Fiber_Foods.shtml