Tuesday, August 30, 2011

HDL/LDL

I thought I would take some time today and talk about HDL and LDL. There is more to these two nutrients than one being "good" and the other "bad".
 HDL, high density lipoprotein, is believed to carry cholesterol away from the tissues to the liver. Once in the liver there are various tasks HLD does. If there is enough, HDL can be excreted in the bile acids. In the CDT, common death trap, HDL is thought of as the good guy because it takes cholesterol away from the heart and other tissues. We are always encouraged to raise these levels, not that is a bad thing because it is not. Some of the ways to raise these levels is to eat fat, all of the fat we have talked about eating like eggs, whole raw milk, nuts, seeds fat on your meat as well as organ meat. Another great way to increase HDL is exercise. The best way is with aoribic exercise, walking, sprints high intensity weight training. We will talk about training in futures posts. I bet you have an idea that I am not an advocate of going for a run for two hours with how I eat, which I am not! We also need to understand there are things we can do to decrease our HDL levels and we want to avoid these. When consuming a low fat diet, what decrease is not cholesterol levels, but HDL levels, do not go low fat. Carbohydrates will have the same effect. The more carbs you eat, the higher your triglycerides will be and the lower your HDL. Another good reason to not eat grains, or many of them.
 LDL, low density lipoprotein, we know this guy as the bad guy. Let us look further into LDL to see if he really is all that bad. The reason the CDT believes they are bad is because LDL carries cholesterol from the liver to the heart and other tissues. When you believe as they do, have more cholesterol in your blood stream being carried to your heart will be a bad thing. Because we know cholesterol is not a bad thing and by having more in our systems probably means the body is trying to heal itself from damages, then there has to be good in LDL. If you are thinking this way, pat yourself on the back! You are growing and beginning to understand health and nutrition, what they do not want you to know.
 Not all LDL is the same. You see there is some LDL found in things like egg yolks and butter that are light and fluffy, so to speak. What these do? They make it so the more dense forms cannot find ways into your arteries. They do not stick together forming clots. Think of it like clouds. The light fluffy cumulus clouds, make you happy, at least me, provide shade, light, not dense block out the rain clouds. Rain clouds on the other hand are dense, they packed together and bring rain and thunder and lightning. Bad example, but maybe you get the idea. We want and need LDL cholesterol to provide this protective mechanism, the more you have the less of a chance of heart disease you have. the dense stuff can not make it's way in.
When can LDL become bad, when it is oxidized. What do I mean by oxidized? It has been bombarded by oxygen and becomes a dangerous free radical. We have all heard of these, they have been receiving a lot of attention lately. We are beginning to understand just how bad they are. Once it is oxidized it promotes atherosclerosis which increases inflammation, a snow ball effect. In turn all of this causes heart disease.
 What are some things that can cause LDL to oxidize? Smoking, harmful chemicals, exercising to hard and then not consuming enough antioxidants, heating polyunsaturated oils, like olive oil, to high temperatures,  chair broiling your meat, stress is a big one. All the times you hear about free radicals, this is what they are talking about, oxidized LDL.
 With a better understanding of HD/ LDL and cholesterol, we can now venture into a better way of detecting heart disease risks. Just having your cholesterol checked and having a random number does not make much sense to say if you are going to have heart disease does it? The most sensitive way of determining your risk for heart disease is the ratio between cholesterol/HDL. The ratio result look something like this:
    * No risk : less than 3.5
    *  Low risk: 3.5-4.5
    * Medium risk: 4.5-5.5
    * High risk: greater than 5.5
For example: Say you go to your doctor and he does a cholesterol panel, checking your total cholesterol, HDL and LDL. When you receive your numbers back he tells you  your total cholesterol is 280, you would be told this is too high and you need to lower your cholesterol. You LDL is 180, which again would put you at high risk for heart disease according to him. Your HDL level is 76, which is perfect, you want it about 75. When we look at your ratio of cholesterol/HDL, 280/76 =3.7, no risk zone. Ask yourself, are those numbers really that bad and you need to fear you are going to have a heart attack? Or do you look at them and say, I have an enviable panel and need to continue eating all of my fat. I am going with option B! You see, there is a lot more to heart disease risks than having high cholesterol levels.
 If you have read the previous posts I have written, maybe you are wondering then what does cause heart disease, if it is not cholesterol and saturated fat? The main causes of heart disease are going to be stress, hydrogenated vegetable oils, trans fats, inflammation, oxidative stress and sugar. We have already looked into sugar and oxidative stress, but the rest we will go into more detail in later posts to understand why they cause heart disease.
Until next time, in the love of Christ,

Saturday, August 27, 2011

Saturated Fat

In the previews two posts, I discussed cholesterol with mentioning saturated fat here and there. Today, I would like to discus saturated fat in more detail. If you read the last two posts, I am sure you already have an idea of my thoughts on saturated fat, it is wonderful for you and we need to be eating more of it. If you have not read those two posts, I would suggest reading them first.
 Let us begin with some of the health benefits of saturated fat: it can lower total serum cholesterol levels, increase immune system, raise good HDL, it is essential to cellular health, protect your heart, help prevent strokes, we need less of the essential fatty acids, like omega 3 and 6, and many more benefits that we probably have no clue exist yet. We tend to only study the bad parts about saturated fat, at least that is all we hear about it. Those who study the health benefits of this important nutrient cannot find any support in the CDT, common death trap. They want us to fear this vital nutrient so they can keep us sick and make money.
 Who would have thought that by eating saturated fat and cholesterol we could lower our total serum cholesterol levels. This is true. I know it sounds oxymoronic because this is not what we are taught, however when you begin to understand what is happening in the body you begin to understand why this is true. More importantly  it will begin to make intuitive sense. The main jest of it has to do with our body's being able to produce so much cholesterol. Our bodies can make more cholesterol than we could consume in a day! When we eat cholesterol and saturated fat our body's do not have to make so much, because we are consuming it from other animal sources. Our body's our receiving the life sustaining nutrients they need to function and thrive. Remember everything our bodies need cholesterol for. Saturated fat also helps to normalize cholesterol levels. If our cholesterol is too high or too low, eating saturated fat will help to stabilize it and bring it to normal levels for your body. No two bodies are the same. You may need very high levels of cholesterol for your body to function, whereas someone else may need lower levels. It is not a one size fits all like they want you to believe. If you have very high levels of cholesterol, something could be happening in the body that needs to be addressed. Cholesterol helps to protect the body and heal it. If you have high levels, do not think it is bad and trying lowering them. Look further to find the main cause of your high cholesterol levels and fix that. We need to being looking for the root cause of health issues and not mask them, high cholesterol being a perfect example. Once the real problem is resolved, your cholesterol levels will return to their normal levels. In another post will look at a better way to determine your risk for heart disease and how to tell if your cholesterol levels are in a healthy range.
 Another important component of saturated fat is its structure. We will not get deep into the biochemistry of saturated fat, just know it is important and the basics. It tends to be a straight molecule, this is why it is solid or semisold at room temperature. This allows all of the available carbon bonds to be occupied by a hydrogen, making it stable. When cooking with high temperatures it is best to use something like coconut oil or butter, a saturated fat, so it does not go rancid, forming dangerous free radicals, which cause illness. Something like olive oil is not stable at high temperatures because of its chemical structure making them very harmful to cook with. The bonds can break and change in structure with high heat, this makes them unstable and causes dangerous free radicals. You may think you are being more health conscious and protecting your heart if you cook with olive oil, in reality you are killing yourself due to its instability. Switch to butter, lard or coconut oil.
 One of the best sources of saturated fat is coconut in general with coconut oil being very high in saturated fat. Most people will not eat coconut oil due to it's high levels of saturated fat. As we have seen, saturated fat is not an enemy and better for cooking with high temperatures. Coconuts main source of saturated fat, yes there are different types, is medium chain fatty acids, MCFAs. The beauty of these is your body does not have to break them down, longer ones you do. Because this is the case, your body can use coconut oil as pure energy. When you hit that afternoon lull, instead of reaching for a sugar laden pastry turn to coconut oil. This will give you quick energy and lasting energy. It is not like a sugar high which you crash from. It is a longer sustaining energy as well as keeping you full longer, weight lose anyone. Other benefits of coconut oil is it's lauric acid. This type of acid has been proven to be antiviral, antibacterial and antifungal properties. This will help to protect and strengthen your immune system. When you begin to feel sick, reach for the coconut oil. Or if you are like me, you eat some everyday anyway and sickness stays at bay. If I do feel like I have something coming on, I will take a few extra tablespoons of it throughout the day. But, what about the saturated fat? It is stable, heart healthy, has nothing to do with heart disease, keeps you full, is tasty, is a vital nutrient for every cell in your body.
What you have to do is ask yourself: What about the cultures who have lived before us who ate 80% of their diets from animal fats and did not have heart disease. Or the cultures who still do this today. Is all of the animal fat really as bad for us as they claim today or do we really need to take a step back and look at what real health is? I can not make you believe cholesterol or saturated fat are healthy for you. You need to do your own research and thinking and decide for yourself what real health is. I can tell you until I am blue in the face how healthy these fats are for you and that you absolutely need them, but until you decide this, there is nothing I can do. You can lead a horse to water, but you can not make him drink. Through this blog, I am hoping to plant seeds and have you begin to question the CDT to be able to return to health.
In the love of Christ,




Thursday, August 25, 2011

Cholesterol, What Happened?

 Recall, it was in 1924 that the rabbit study was done, which first began to villainize cholesterol. It was after WW II when things really began to heat up. This is when the infamous Framingham, Massachusetts study was begun. From here, the work of Ancel Keys, the father of the lipid hypothesis, was able to go from supporters to the National Cholesterol Education Program.
 Famingham Mass. Study. This study began in 1948 and included two-thirds of the adult population of Farmingham Mass. There were some interesting findings from this long study. It was conducted for more than 30 years. However, most of it was not ever published, at least not the what the researches really found. You see, everything had to be politically correct. A statement saying for 1 mg/dl drop in total cholesterol, there was and 11% increase in dying from heart disease as you age. What they found is you want your cholesterol to go up as you age, not down. What was published, in 1990 in the journal Circulation was a 1%decrease in cholesterol related to a 2% reduced risk of heart disease. I hope you are asking, WHAT? That is not what they found. This fabrication of science happens all the time. This is not the first time it has happened, nor will it be the last either. In the end, the most interesting peace of information which came from this study was put out 40 years later when the director of the study admitted in the Archives of Internal Medicine that those who ate the most saturated fat, cholesterol and calories the lower their serum cholesterol was. These same people also weighed the least and were the most physically active. Wow! Doesn't that make you want to go against everything we have been preached to for years? I guess all that cholesterol and saturated fat is good for you after all.
 Ancel Keys had something similar to say in Eating Well. He said we have known all along that there is no connection between cholesterol in food and in our bodies. Yes, I did say he is the father of the lipid hypothesis. Keys is also the one who came up with American version of the Mediterranean diet. Fruits and veggs, whole grains, olive oil, beans, nuts, seeds, fish and sea food, eggs poultry, low fat cheese, yogurt, and then meat and sweet with wine. Eventually, he came around to realizing this is not what they eat. He needed to because he finally realized cholesterol was not enemy number 1 to heart health. This his staetment.
 If what we believe is the Mediterranean diet and it is not, then what is the diet, what do they really eat? If you have ever been there or seen the real meal plan, it will look similar to what I eat, lots of animal fats. Eggs, fish, meat, butter, cream, lard, full fat cheese, vegges and wine are consumed on a daily bases. Some fruit, real whole grains and the occasional sugar is consumed sparingly. Significantly different from what Keys fulled the American public into believing.
 Is there any claim this is better for you, a real Mediterranean diet? Actually, there is. After WWII when Americans began this fear of cholesterol and saturated fat and began not eating this healthy foods, heart disease began to ski rocket here. It quickly became the number one killer. Our diets began to consist of more sugar from grains and trans fats along with hydrogenated oils from vegetables. This trend has continued to the present day and heart disease is still the number one killer. When Americans began eating "low fat" the people of the Mediterrean areas had more money after WWII. What did they do? Well, they began to eat more animal fat, their diet they were used to eating. They had the money to begin enjoying real food again, the full fat rich foods of their culture. What was the difference, heart disease dropped by about 20%. The difference, they were eating full fat foods and not the sugars or low fat along with the trans fat, hydrogenated oils. We do not hear about these trends, or what these people really eat. The higher powers do not want us to know about this. If we eat the way they tell us too, they make more money from treating everyone for heart disease along with all the other disease which come from the American diet and way of life. If we began to eat the way we were meant too, there would not be as much sickness in the U.S. and therefor less money being made by the higher powers.
 If this has not been enough to get you thinking and questioning, how about another example. Let us take a look at Dr. Paul Dudley White. You might recognize his name, he was the doctor for President Eisenhower. When Dr. White graduated from medical school in 1911 he had never heard of a heart attack before! The first paper was not written on it until 1912. When he introduced the electrocardiograph at Harvard, his colleagues thought he was crazy and should be using his knowledge to further something of relevance, something which would make money. At the time there were not enough people in the entire U.S. to test the electrocardiograph  heart disease was that rare! Little did they know, Dr. White was giving something to future generations to save their lives. It has been documented that between 1930 and 1970, the time Dr. White was practicing, death by heart disease had increased by 1000%. What changed? People were no longer eating animal fat, they were eating grains and vegetable oils. We should all be grateful to Dr. White for his ingenuity. What he has given us has saved many a life.
 Why are we still claiming heart disease is caused by animal fat, cholesterol and saturated fat in particular? Is there not enough evidence, with the few things I have shared here along with countless other studies, to make the public and the CDT, common death trap, to realize they are killing us by telling us to not eat animal fat? Remember though, it all goes back to money. There is more money to be made when you eat all of the processed foods, grains and vegetable oils. Also when you are taking multiple medications for high cholesterol, other heart problems and all the other medications you take. They do not want you to know this. Now you do! They do not want you to know that if you want to prevent heart disease, cancer, obesity, diabetes and so many other diseases of today, eat animal fat. Go back to our old ways of living like in the 1800's, lots of animal fat and little stress.
 If you would like more information on any of this or more studies a few great books are: The Untold Story of Milk by Dr. Ron Schmid. This is a long book, however you can pick it up and read a chapter or two that interest you. You do not need to read the whole book or previous chapters to understand another chapter. Another is Politically Incorrect Nutrition by Michael Barbee. This is a shorter book and very easy to read, it will blow your mind. Eat Fat Lose Fat by Dr. Mary Enig and Sally Fallon should also be on your shelf.
 I hope I have opened your eyes to the wool that has been pulled over them. Hopefully this will give you some ambition to begin asking questions and not be afraid to be the one in charge of your own health. To not be a victim and easy prey for the wolves out there who want you sick and your money.
In the love of Christ!












Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Cholesterol, A Villain Or Healthy

For legal purposes, I have to say this, I am not a medical doctor, I can not tell you to go against your doctor's orders or what to do. You need to discus this with your doctor.
 In this post, I would like to dive further into cholesterol and give the you another side of cholesterol. I hope to arm you with information so you can make the decision for yourself, is cholesterol a villain or healthy.
Cholesterol is an absolutely vital competent to the human body, you have to have it. Everyone of your trillion cells has a lipid by-layer, this is what surrounds your cells to keep everything inside of them. This layer also helps to keep foreign things outside of your cells, such as bacteria and viruses. This lipid layer also allows the cell to be permeable, allowing molecules to pass through it with ease. To make new cells, you have to have cholesterol. Cholesterol is a basic component for bile acids, helps to create sex and adrenal hormones, along with other steroid hormones. Cholesterol is a precursor to fat soluble vitamins, such as A and D, both vitally important to mammals. With vitamin D, if you do not have enough cholesterol in your system, you can not make vitamin D from exposure to the sun, which is the best way to obtain your vitamin D. The brain and central nervous system us cholesterol to function properly. The electrical impulses go along the cholesterol rich membranes of the nerve cells, making the nervous system do it's thing. Are you beginning to understand the fast importance of cholesterol and how our bodies have to have it? This list is just some of the things cholesterol is used for in the body.
 What happens if your cholesterol is too low. Yes, I did say too low. We just learned cholesterol is needed by the brain and nervous system to function properly, would it surprise you then if you have low levels of cholesterol you are more at risk for depression or anxiety? Those with low cholesterol exhibit more tendency for mood disorders, mainly depression and anxiety. In severe cases, this can also lead to suicide. In people with low cholesterol, aggression is also seen. There is an increased rick for a stroke. And if all of that does not scare you or make you want to go and eat cholesterol, then maybe knowing you are at a greater risk for having cancer will. One way to prevent cancer is to make sure your cholesterol levels are adequate. What is too low? From the reading I have done, anything below 150. You are best to have your cholesterol about 200.
 Now that we have seen how cholesterol is used by the body and what happens if it is to low, lets look at some of the other uses of cholesterol. If you have eaten to much sugar from grains or other sources of sugar, you might remember from a previous post about grains and sugar, they can create cuts and divest in your artery walls. If you remember one of things your body had to have cholesterol for is building new cells. So, if there is a cut in the artery wall, your body is going to need to make cholesterol to heal this damage, it needs to make new cells, new cells means more cholesterol. What point am I trying to make? When there is damage in the body, there is an abundance of cholesterol because the body is trying to heal itself. Cholesterol is healing, just like a fever is healing. There for, when a mass, or plaque, from an artery is examined, it is found to have an abundance of cholesterol in it, healing cholesterol. The body is trying to heal the damage which has been caused by sugar or whatever the damage is from. Thus leading to the myth that cholesterol causes heart disease, because there is cholesterol in the plaque. We know better now though. All cholesterol is trying to do is heal the body, make new cells to repair the ones which have been damaged. Another component of a mass that would be found in the artery along with cholesterol is calcium. Have you ever heard this before? Do you hear horror stories about calcium? That you should be watching your intake of calcium because it can cause heart disease and build up in the arteries which can cause a heart attack? Nope. I am not saying calcium is bad for you, we need calcium, just like we need cholesterol. Do be careful with amount of calcium you are taking and be sure to take it with magnesium, they are complementary minerals. You see, cholesterol has been given a bad rap for being in the "right place" but at the wrong time.
 Another class of individuals who have higher levels of cholesterol are post menopausal woman. Recall cholesterol is needed to create sex hormones. After menopause woman are not making the amount of hormones they used too. Their bodies compensate for this lack of hormones by increasing cholesterol levels. Hormones are protective for women's hearts. If this protection is gone, it would stand to reason cholesterol would increase due to the lack of hormones and its protective nature as well. It has been found through research, woman who have gone though menopause live longer when they have higher levels of cholesterol. It really does not make much sense then to put these woman on dangerous cholesterol lowering medications does it?
 a picture is unfolding for you of the great importance of cholesterol for your body. Maybe, you are being to understand why I eat so much of the heart healthy stuff. If not, there is more to come.
In the love of Christ,




Monday, August 22, 2011

What To Eat....


If you are not doing all of the grains, then what do you eat. Ohhhh, this is where a whole world of delicious yummy food enters. You see, I love to eat! I know there are people who do not think I eat, but let me tell you, I can pack the food away with the best of them. Not do I just love to eat, I love delicious food. Full of flavor, food that will take you to the next level. I want food also that is healthy for me and my family. A tall order, I know. I have the fix though. It is called a traditional/primal diet. What could be better than fresh vegetables, especially when I take them from my garden, and saute them in butter, pastured feed and no growth hormone butter. I am not talking a little butter, I like them dripping in butter with some sea salt pepper and what ever other seasonings I am in the mood for that day. For something a little sweeter I will use coconut oil, very good. Bacon drippings works well also. Beginning to understand why I love food?
If you have read any of my previews posts, you will recall other foods we eat: eggs, nuts, seeds, avocados, cream, whole raw milk, coconut oil, coconut milk, coconut flour, the fat on our meat, veggies and some fruit. Real food is what we eat. Hublet stills likes some of the processed stuff, not as much or as often though. It is beginning to make him not feel so well. When your body begins to receive the real food it needs, it begins to crave it, thrive and not want the other nasty stuff. After a time, you will not want the other any longer and if you eat to much of it, you will not feel so well, just like Hublet.
As you read my list of foods, many of them I am sure you are saying don't they have a lot of cholesterol and saturated fat in them? Those are suppose to be bad for you and cause heart disease. How can you eat them?
Is this really true though? Is saturated fat and cholesterol bad for your heart? Have you ever stopped to truly think about these claims? Ask yourself some questions such as: if they continue to push this low fat, low cholesterol, high grain diets, then why is heart disease continuing to be the number one killer in America and growing? Why did heart disease ever rise to become the number one killer? A big important question should be about money. Are all these organizations like the FDA, CDC, WHO really looking out for our health or are they more concerned about lining their pocket books?
I have answered these questions for myself. My answer is a big fat NO! Cholesterol and saturated fat are very healthy for you. If you want to prevent heart problems, lose weight, stay in shape, feel great and have energy like you have never had before, then eat fat. Do not take my word for it, research it yourself.
Let us take a walk down memory lane, they are so much fun. Back in our cave man days and up until about the 1930, animal fat was our main source of fat. During this time, heart disease was pretty much unheard of. In 1924, an animal study was conducted with rabbits. The researches feed the rabbits cholesterol, oxidized cholesterol, which is damaged. Unfortunately the rabbits died. This makes perfect sense when you understand rabbits are vegetarians, unlike humans who are carnivores. They can not incorporate animal cholesterol into their systems. Because the cholesterol was damaged, it is going to cause problems in any animal, even if they can deal with cholesterol. Instead of having good science and realizing these two facts, the cat was out of the bag so to speak. Cholesterol began to be villainized. The manufacturers of vegetable oils caught wind of the scare tactic, people are beginning to believe cholesterol is bad for them and going to kill them. Let us play on this fear and convince them they need to eat vegetable oil, which is laden with trans-fats and hydrogenated fats. The slippery slop continued and here we are in 2011 fearing cholesterol and saturated fat.
I think I have given you a mouth full to gnaw on. This is a topic I believe needs to be taken in small bits because it goes against everything we have been preached to believe for our lives.
Until next time in Christ,

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Celiac and Gluten Intolerance

Along with our discussion on grains comes celiac disease and gluten intolerances. How do you know if you have them and what to do about it.
Let us begin with what these two diseases are because they are different. Celiac is an autoimmune disease where the body attacks the villi in the small intestine. The villi are are what actually absorb the nutrients from your diet. As you can imagine, if these are damaged, you are not going to absorb vitamins and minerals from your food. You could eat all of the vitamins and minerals you want, but it is not going to make any difference if you are consuming gluten and you have damage to your villi. Symptoms include weight lose, diarrhea, fatigue, for children not growing properly and thriving, abdominal pain, and bloating, among other symptoms. Diagnosing celiac can come from a simple blood draw. If it is found you have the disease, your doctor may want a biopsy of the villi to see how extensive the damage is. The good news is that once you eliminate gluten from your diet, your amazing body can heal the villi and life will go back to normal for you. Avoiding gluten is the only way to treat celiac.
If you do have celiac and you buy processed food of any type, you Must read every label. There is gluten in things you would not expect. Even toothpaste you will probably need to make on your own. As crazy as it sounds, there is gluten in toothpaste. The easiest way to combat this problem and make sure you are not consuming gluten is to buy real food, single ingredient items.
Gluten intolerance are more a term used for those who do not have celiac, however, they do have similar symptoms of celiac, but blood work will come back negative for celiac. A little confusing I know. Intolerance to gluten is what I have. A blood test was done to check for antibodies to gluten, which did come back positive. Mine villi are not being destroyed, which I will take, when I eat gluten on the occasion. I do however feel like my stomach is being ripped apart if I eat to much. For this reason and others which I have discussed on previews post, is the reason I do not eat very much gluten.
There is also gluten allergies. This is more like having hey fever or other allergies. Symptoms for this can be very wide and varied, depending on the person. Again like the intolerance, an allergy is not destroying the villi.
If you believe you might have a gluten issue and you do not want to have blood work done you can test yourself. What you will need to do is avoid all gluten for at least two weeks, a longer period would be best, and then eat some gluten for a day or two. See how you feel after eating the gluten. Do you have bloating, stomach discomfort, fatigue, or other symptoms? If you do, then it is very likely you have some form of gluten issues, celiac, intolerance or possibly an allergy. From here, you can make the choice of just avoiding gluten or being tested to make sure it is not celiac. If you are going to have blood work, be sure you have been eating gluten. If you have not been eating gluten, it is not in your system, and the test could come up negative.
I hope this has helped to differentiate between all of these diseases which are caused by gluten. If you have questions be sure to ask.





Wednesday, August 17, 2011

To Grain Or Not To Grain, Continued...

Another question/comment I receive with not eating grains is: Jesus ate grains, or other cultures continue to eat grains, like Italians. If they eat grains, then they are good for you and I am going to eat them.
My response to this is as follows: Yes, Jesus ate grains. They speak about grains in the old Testament frequently as well. And yes, there are cutlers who eat grains. However, there are major differences from the grains eaten here in the USA to grains of Jesus' time and other countries. If you remember from yesterday's post, I spoke about how grains are consumed today. The main portion consumed is the endosperm, with little to any of the germ or bran put in. I also spoke about soaking and fermenting the grain, which is customary for most cultures to do with their grains before consumption. They also did not eat as many. Do you really believe  before the industrial movement of machines to easily changes grains into a form to consume, they ate that much grain? Think about it, if you have read the Bible, they had to pick the grain by hand, then they crushed it using stones, but they did not have some automated machine doing the work. They had to manually make the stone work. None of this is easy. It would stand to reason then, small amounts of grains were actually eaten, clear up to the industrial revolution. Due to all of the work which went into grains, watering, picking, grinding, soaking, fermenting and then baking, they would not be high on the food list. It was far easier to consume animal, in the form of fat and the protein, milk, which was whole and raw along with and vegetables and fruit.
The same goes for cultures, like the Italians, who eat grains today. The whole grain is put into the food, not portions along with soaking and fermenting.
In the USA, most grain consumed is genetically altered, unlike in Jesus time when grains were genetically the way God designed them to be. Today, to many "scientists" and industries, think they are "god" and know best. This playing is destroying our food today.
The other big difference, grains are on the bottom of their eating habits. A small bowel of pasta might be on the side or a few pieces of bread eaten with fat. The rest of their food is animal fat, protein and vegetables. Different than what we think.
I mentioned the bread, or grain in general is eaten with fat, real butter or olive oil for example. This is because the fat will help to slow the sugar uptake in the blood stream. The last post, I said one of the main reasons grains are bad for us is that they spike insulin levels, which causes weight gain. So, if you are going to choose to eat a few grains, be sure to eat them with real fat and protein. This goes for anything with sugar, like fruit.
Why is slows the uptake of sugar is because fat takes longer to digest as well as protein. By eating the grains this way, you will not see the insulin spikes. If you eat grains, keep in mind, they need to be the whole wheat berry, as Jesus would have consumed them, soaked, fermented and eaten with fat and protein.
While we are talking about sugar in the grains, let begin to look at the question if grains are really healthy for your heart. You might think it is odd I am bringing this up with sugar. We are only told it is fat and cholesterol that causes heart disease. We will tackle this in another post. If you think what I have been saying about grains is out there, just hold on! We have discussed sugar from grains increases our insulin levels, causing weight gain and insulin resistance, this same sugar can wreck havoc on your heart. Why? It increases bad cholesterol, not just flat out LDL, far more to it. Sugar increase LDL you do not want increased because, this LDL is a very low density LDL and this will clog your arteries and cause problems. The other nasty thing sugar does to our arteries is scuff them up. What do I mean. Sugar is abrasive, woman out there how many of you have done a sugar scrub for your skin? The same thing sugar does to our skin, exfoliating the dead skin, which is a good thing, it does a similar thing to our arteries and veins, which is not a good thing. Another way to look at it, is if you have a PVC pipe, and you push through the pipe small sharp pebbles, it will create divots in the pipe. Then you begin to water your lawn with this pipe. After a time the pipe is going to clog up because debris and will form and clot together, backing up the pipe. If you do not take care of the problem, the pipe could burst. Sugar does a similar thing. If your arteries are being all scuffed up, it is very easy for plaque, very low LDL and other items to clog up your arteries, every where not just the heart. Grains are hopefully not sounding all that great for heart health any longer.
Hopefully this is helping you to understand why grains of today are not the healthiest. The difference in today's grains verses 100 years ago grains or another countries for that matter. Remember the difference in amounts and how others consume grains, at the bottom of their consumption along with fat and protein.
Until next time,
In Christ




Tuesday, August 16, 2011

To Grain Or Not To Grain?

When I tell people we do very little to no grains, people really have an issue with this. They think I might have lost it, if I had it to begin with. As a society, we have been conditioned to believe we have to basically live on grains. If I remember correctly, they recommend eight to 12 servings a day. Grains are to be the base of your diet. I know I used to be in that crowed. Eat more grains, more whole wheat, you will lose weight and protect your heart. Is this true?
Let us take a look at today's grain consumption. By far, the largest grains consumed are simple grains, the white stuff, in the form of bread and pasta. Is this the only place simple grains are consumed? Not even close. How about all the cereals, cookies, crackers, cakes, snake packs, candy, baked goods, this list could go on and on. The largest majority of our food is grains, simple grains. You might say, but Jenn, I eat "whole wheat bread." Read that label. The first ingredient is enriched flour or something to this nature, usually. What this really is, is simple white flour with synthetically added vitamins and minerals. This bread you pay so much more for is not to much different than a bag of white bread.
By know, we should all know there are three layers to grain. The bran, germ and endosperm, with the endosperm being the main  portion used for today's grains. The two portions with the most nutritional value, the bran and germ, are considered by-products. If you are lucky, there might be some of both of these in whole wheat foods. However, most of the time it is just the endosperm with synthetic vitamins and minerals put in. Simple, highly processed flour.
Why is this bad? Well, your body sees this as sugar. The problem with your body seeing all this grain as sugar is that it will spike your insulin levels. Now, what needs to be understood is that weight lose is all about insulin levels, not calories in calories out. When our insulin goes high, like it will after eating grains, our bodies go into a fat storage mood. Then after a time, for some about two hours, our insulin levels drop. We get tired, shaky and cranky. So we then eat more simple sugar through grains and the cycle goes on again. After a time of cycling through these peaks and troughs of insulin, we run the risk of becoming insulin sensitive, causing metabolic syndrome and then onto diabetes, type 2 first and if we continue down this path, type 1 is sure to follow. Those grains sound so healthy know? I did not think so.
If weight lose is all about controlling our insulin levels, and our bodies recognize grains as sugar, would it follow then that if you eat all those grains you are going to lose weight? I am going to leave that question for you to gnaw on. This is a question you need to answer for yourself. It is time to take control of your health and weight lose, this means you need to be engaged in this process.
I know I am asking you to go out on a limb here and go against the grain! I am asking you to think for yourself and question the CDT, the common death trap. I know it is not easy. It took me several months to fully understand all of this and begin to ask questions about what we are suppose to eat. These questions have lead me on a journey and taking a very different road than what we are told we are suppose to take. If this is the first time you are reading this, I am sure you are throwing things at your computer or yelling me, thinking I am an idiot. Give it some time and thought and do your own research. I have provided some great web pages with all the information you could want to know about all this.
With all of this in mind, is there any healthy grains you can eat? Yes, if you do not have celiac or gluten intolerance and if you choose to consume grains. What you need to look for is sprouted whole wheat and if you can sourdough. The reason for sprouted whole wheat is the entire wheat berry is used, all three layers. The ingredients are usually limited to only a few, not a list, that you can read and know what every ingredient is. When it is sprouted it helps with phytates, which binds minerals making them unavailable for you. The fermentation processes helps with gluten to be partially digested by the bacteria. All of the gluten can not be consumed by the bacteria, but it can take care of a lot of it. This is a great option for people with gluten intolerance. If you choose to consume some grains, they need to be at the bottom of your food consumption list, not the top.
I think for know, this little snippet is enough for you to digest and gnaw on. Some of this journey may need to be taken with little steps. We will continue this next time.
Peace and blessings!





Monday, August 15, 2011

Primal vs. Traditional

What do you think of when you here of a Primal diet? Or a Traditional one for that matter? Are they the same or very different? What do they entail?
Well, considering Hublet and I eat a Primal/Traditional diet I thought I would give my interpretation of what the diets consist of and how we blend them.
As a side note, I am not perfect, nor do I eat a perfect diet all time. Generally I would say I follow my way of eating about 90-95% of the time, if not more. Yes, there are times I eat things that are not the healthiest.
Lets begin with the differences.
A Primal diet:
No grains, oats, barley, things of this nature, this includes breads, pasta, cereals, and such. What the CDT, the common death trap, says you are suppose to eat the most of. The other big thing is no dairy.
A Traditional diet:
A Traditional diet is from the work of Dr. Weston Price. There are grains, in the form of sprouted whole wheat. This involves consuming the whole wheat berry, not one part as grains are consumed today. This is done though at the bottom part of your food consumption, not the top. Dairy is consumed, in the form of whole raw milk and its products.
This is opposite of each other, I know. You might be wondering how I can blend therm. Well, lets discus their similarities. 
Both diets are all about consuming real food, no processed foods. The best part, lots of animal fat along with some other fats! Butter, cream, eggs, the fat on your meat, bacon, nuts, seeds, coconut in all cold pressed forms along with the flour, olive oil and the likes. Along with veggs and some fruit. Lots of real food and delicious food at that. How much better could assorted veggies be loaded with real butter, dripping in butter for that matter. Could not be better.
The way I combine these two is very simple. I consume all the real foods, the animal fats as well as the good and healthy other fats, more on these later, along with the vegetables and fruit. I also drink whole raw milk, love it, crave it in fact. For my other dairy products, I can not purchase them raw, unfortunately and I do not have the time or make the time to make them from the raw milk. Cheese, yogurt, sour cream and regular cream, I do buy, being mindful that they do not contain rBGH, a bovine growth hormone, and that the cows are free range and pastured feed as often as possible. I do purchase the full fat varieties, need my fat.
However, I do not very often consume grains. I have a gluten intolerance. When I eat to much grain, it rips my stomach apart. Maybe when I have more time, I will buy organic wheat berries, soak and sprout them and then ferment them before making bread, this helps to take out the gluten, But for know, I stick with little to no grains. We will discus the benefits of no grains in the next post.
Well, that is a good start.
Until next time, the blessings of Christ be with you.








 

Sunday, August 14, 2011

First Post!

Lame, I know!
A few weeks back, my Hublet, which he will hence forth be affectionately referred to as, walked in the door from being at work all day. He did not say, hi, I love you, how was your day. No, it was, "You need to start a web page. I can not remember all the nutrition and training stuff you tell me to be able to tell everyone at work. You need a web page with all the information in a central location so I can give it to everyone." I love you too Hublet!
Well, I guess you can call this being a good Wifey then and listening to my husband. I try once in a while to be good.