For "Foodie Friday":
Real Salt, Celtic Salt and Himalayan Salt
"This is what real salt looks like—we all know what regular white salt looks like—and we mistakenly think it is real salt when it is not. The fact is that refined white salt, such as commercial table salt is bad, very bad stuff. Unrefined natural salt on the other hand is good, very good stuff providing many health benefits.
Unrefined sea salt is healthy. The blood-pressure-raising effect of table salt can be due to its high content of sodium with not enough magnesium to balance it. This has a magnesium-lowering effect that can constrict the arteries and raise blood pressure. Real salt (of various kinds) contains plenty of magnesium and other important minerals, which is why it usually does not affect blood pressure in a negative way.
"Dr. David Brownstein weighs in heavily on this matter saying, "Nobody makes a distinction between unrefined and refined salt. They 'lump' all salt together as a bad substance. This is a terrible mistake. There are two forms of salt available in the market place: refined and unrefined.
Furthermore, the minerals elevate the pH (correct acidity) and lower blood pressure. Our Maker gave us salt to use in our diet—unrefined salt—with its full complement of minerals. It should be the salt of choice. It is a vital ingredient that needs to be part of everyone's diet." More at: http://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/real-salt-celtic-salt-and-himalayan-salt
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Table Salt vs. Himalayan Salt
"Dr. Barbara Hendel explains why we need salt in our diets, but only healthy natural Himalayan crystal salt, not common table salt."
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This 'Beloved' Food Can Cause Allergic Reactions for Years - and Infertility for Generations!
"Soy can be found in almost every product on your grocery store shelves -- corn chips, ice cream, canned tuna and every packaged food you can think of. It goes under names like yeast extract, soy protein, soybean oil, soy lecithin and soy flour.
But soy is one of the top eight allergens that cause immediate reactions such as coughing, sneezing, runny nose, hives, diarrhea, difficulty swallowing and anaphylactic shock.
Delayed allergic responses can also occur several hours to several days after the food is eaten.
According to Mannie Barling and Ashley F. Brooks-Simon on the Blogger News Network:
"To make soy more appetizing, the manufacturers added sugar, synthetic sweeteners, genetically modified high fructose corn sugar, refined salt, artificial flavorings, colors and MSG. So the soy isn't really soy. It is a Frankenfood created for the sole purpose of making a profit from health conscious people trying to live a healthier life."
The fact that unfermented soy is widely regarded as a health food in the United States is a perfect example of how a brilliant marketing strategy can fool millions.
It all started when the food industry, presented with a quandary over what to do with the byproducts of their ever-growing soybean oil industry, had an idea.
The propaganda that has created the soy sales miracle is all the more remarkable because, only a few decades ago, the soybean was considered unfit to eat - even in Asia. During the Chou Dynasty (1134-246 BC) the soybean was designated one of the five sacred grains, along with barley, wheat, millet and rice.
However, the pictograph for the soybean, which dates from earlier times, indicates that it was not first used as a food; for whereas the pictographs for the other four grains show the seed and stem structure of the plant, the pictograph for the soybean emphasizes the root structure. However, the soy plant was initially used as animal feed and for crop rotation.
Agricultural literature of the period speaks frequently of the soybean and its use in crop rotation. Apparently the soy plant was initially used as a method of fixing nitrogen."
In 1997, about 8% of all soybeans cultivated for the commercial market in the United States were genetically modified. In 2010, the figure was 93%. More at: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/03/14/is-the-hidden-soy-in-your-foods-contributing-to-illness.aspx
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Henry Ford thought soybeans were the future; He had his engineers develop a plastic that used soybeans for the frames of his cars in 1935.
One acre of soybeans can produce 82,368 crayons.
One-half of all daily U.S. newspapers are printed with soybean oil-based ink. USA Today is one example.
Soybean oil is the most widely used vegetable oil. It is found in margarines, salad dressings, canned foods, sauces, bakery goods and processed fried foods.
Soy products actually increase requirements for vitamins B12 and D.
Soy also contains goitrogens - substances that depress thyroid function.
The Chinese, did not eat the soybean as they did other pulses (legumes) such as the lentil, because the soybean contains large quantities of a number of harmful a substances. First among them are potent enzyme inhibitors which block the action of trypsin and other enzymes needed for protein digestion.
Soybeans cannot be considered a starch staple because they are too high in fat to be allowed on any diet regularly.
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Confused About Soy?--Soy Dangers Summarized
"High levels of phytic acid in soy reduce assimilation of calcium, magnesium, copper, iron and zinc. Phytic acid in soy is not neutralized by ordinary preparation methods such as soaking, sprouting and long, slow cooking. High phytate diets have caused growth problems in children."
More at: http://www.westonaprice.org/soy-alert
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170 Scientific Reasons To Lose The Soy in Your Diet
"For those of you who just sat down because you are so taken aback by the notion that soy is not actually the healthfood you thought it was, here are 170 scientific reasons to back up this assertion.":
http://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/170-scientific-reasons-to-lose-the-soy-in-your-diet/
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On This Day:
King Tut's sarcophagus uncovered, Jan 3, 1924:
"Two years after British archaeologist Howard Carter and his workmen discovered the tomb of the Pharaoh Tutankhamen near Luxor, Egypt, they uncover the greatest treasure of the tomb--a stone sarcophagus containing a solid gold coffin that holds the mummy of Tutankhamen.
When Carter first arrived in Egypt in 1891, most of the ancient Egyptian tombs had been discovered, although the little-known Pharaoh Tutankhamen, who had died when he was a teen, was still unaccounted for. After World War I, Carter began an intensive search for "King Tut's Tomb," finally finding steps to the burial room hidden in the debris near the entrance of the nearby tomb of King Ramses VI in the Valley of the Kings. On November 26, 1922, Carter and fellow archaeologist Lord Carnarvon entered the tomb, finding it miraculously intact.
Thus began a monumental excavation process in which Carter carefully explored the four-room tomb over four years, uncovering an incredible collection of several thousand objects. The most splendid architectural find was a stone sarcophagus containing three coffins nested within each other. Inside the final coffin, made out of solid gold, was the mummy of the boy-king Tutankhamen, preserved for more than 3,000 years."
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Great Lakes region digs out from record blizzard, Jan 3, 1999:
"After three days of high winds and heavy snow, people in the Great Lakes region begin digging out from one of the worst blizzards on record on this day in 1999. More than 100 people died in storm-related accidents.
The storm began on January 1, when snow began falling across Illinois, Indiana,Wisconsin, Michigan and Ohio. Most areas saw at least 15 inches of snow before the storm moved on. The hardest hit area was Chicago, where wind gusts of up to 60 miles per hour combined with heavy snow to reduce visibility to near zero at times and create huge impassable drifts. O'Hare Airport, one the nation's busiest, had to shut down, stranding 200,000 people for as much as four days. The weather also made train travel through the area impossible, and mail across the country was delayed because of the blizzard.
The storm caused treacherous road conditions throughout the region. A 60-car pile-up on January 2 in Wisconsin resulted in scores of injuries and one death. In Indiana, a 100-mile stretch of Interstate 65 was closed for a full two days. When the snow finally stopped on January 3, record cold temperatures arrived. In Congerville, Illinois, a state record low of -36 degrees was reached. In the aftermath, President Bill Clinton declared Illinois and Indiana disaster areas and sent federal relief.
As the storm moved east, serious accidents followed in its wake. A 15-car pile-up on I-81 in Virginia killed four people and a 50-car accident in New Jersey injured dozens. There were 200 separate accidents on the New York Thruway alone during the blizzard. When the storm reached Buffalo, it began a two-week period during which the city received a remarkable 60 inches of snow. Still, Buffalo was prepared and able to plow the snow to make streets passable. In Detroit, a shortage of snow plows combined with the subsequent cold weather left some streets blocked for more than a week.
In all, more than 100 deaths--as many as 36 from heart attacks--were attributed to the terrible blizzard of January 1999."
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Yesterday:
Misty and I went to Jay's, but we didn't have much of a walk down there. It was windy and cold.
Jay had asked me to bring a sink plunger, as their kitchen sink was bunged up. The sink plunger didn't do it, so we came back here to drop off Misty, get my snake and a toilet plunger. I have two snakes, and couldn't find either one. I know where everything is, and they just weren't there. I must have loaned them out, or someone "borrowed" them, as in without my permission. Jay tried with the toilet plunger, but said he couldn't do it, so I got behind that handle with all my little might and main, and the sink unplugged. What a mess!
I found out that he had stuffed the garbage disposal with potato peelings and cabbage leaves, instead of feeding the disposal a little at a time. The main problem with that kitchen sink is that someone plumbed it with 1-1/4" pipe instead of 1-1/2", 1-1/4" is just for vanity sink drains.
We tied the long plank that we had retrieved from the lake the day before, and dragged it behind the van from Jay's all the way to my house, and left it on my side lot. It was too heavy for us to put away, so that will have to wait.
When I went out with Misty the night before, I discovered that the temporary barrier that we had put up in the space where we were working on the fence, had blown down. So Jay and I were going to continue with our fence building. But it was way too cold to work out there, so we screwed it in place this time. Hopefully, it won't be too cold to work on it today.
"The best organic food is what's grown closest to you. Use our website to find farmers' markets, family farms, and other sources of sustainably grown food in your area, where you can buy produce, grass-fed meats, and many other goodies.
