Category Archives: Friday Feature

Friday Feature: Cold Cocktails

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The common cold is inevitable for most, but I don’t remember the last time I had one and historically that is unusual for me. For years I had to deal with having a cold every couple of months or so and it would seem I had just gotten over the last one. I heard that the average adult catches a cold six times a year. With colds lasting anywhere from four to 12 days that’s just too many sick days for me. There is too much Kingdom work to do to be hindered with a cold and I have a lot of work to do. I don’t want anyone to spend up to 72 days a year nursing a cold when we can be ministering the Gospel and changing lives. So I thought I would share with you the changes in my diet over the last few years that I believe have helped me remain cold-free every time a virus hits my entire family.

• Stop stressing—Do what you can do. Worrying about what you have to do and the little time you have to do it WILL NOT help you accomplish any task but WILL DEPRESS your immune system and make you sick.

• Limit processed foods—Most of these are tasty but lack nutrients that keep your immune system strong.

• Eat foods high in antioxidants and antiviral properties—I love garlic, onions, berries and leafy green vegetables and these all work on my immune system’s behalf.

• Prepare fresh green juices—Green fruits and vegetables are high in antioxidants and all sorts of nutrients. Some people like to prepare green smoothies, which would be blending the produce, so they can get the fiber in addition to the nutrient properties.

• Drink teas with antiviral properties—Check out my post on Immune Builders to get some specific ones.

• Drink lots of water—Water flushes toxins from the body that would otherwise fester and work to depress your immune system.

You can use all these techniques to treat a cold but more importantly you can use them to prevent a cold. Try these and join me in having more healthy days to work to build the Kingdom of God. You will be glad you did.

Friday Feature: Roundup Eight

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GMO Film Project Sizzler from Compeller Pictures on Vimeo.

Friday Feature: Soy No More

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As you may know from my posts here, my transition to a more plant-based diet had been a long time coming, 18 years in fact. So four months ago when I cut out meat and poultry, opting for plants and occasional seafood, I was more than ready. In fact I knew I would have a smooth transition because of the variety of textured vegetables available that I love and I could always use soy products. I had gotten soy Italian sausage and lunch meat and a few frozen traditional Indian dishes I like with tofu, a form of soy. With soy, I wouldn’t have to worry about getting enough protein, something that vegetarians have to be conscious of. Though some people are allergic to soy I don’t have that problem, though I never opted for it as a supplement to my breast milk because of reports of how soy negatively affects hormonal development in baby boys.* Now after reading a more extensive report about a month ago, not only will I avoid giving soy to my children, but soy is something that I will be careful to avoid for three main reasons:

Effect on all children—One property in soy is similar to our bodies’ estrogen and when it enters the body, the body thinks there is a heightened level in our bodies. The increase in estrogen has been shown to disrupt sex hormonal development in boys and girls, giving them doses as strong as multiple birth control pills and negatively impacting their reproductive systems. For boys, this could mean a lower sperm count. Both boys and girls could also be at a higher risk for gender-organ cancers.

Effect on endocrine system—All hormones come from glands that make up our endocrine system, including our thyroid. When the estrogen-mimicking property in soy gets into our bodies it can affect the thyroid by causing hypothyroidism. I know a number of friends with this issue or the threat of it; one has been a vegetarian for years and had consumed a large amount of soy for those years until she heard it may be the cause of her problem.

Effect on soy supply—Ninety percent of America’s soy bean crops have been genetically modified, which means bacteria or viruses have been injected into the food’s seed to change its DNA structure. Food companies do this so the foods become resistant to pesticides that are sprayed on crops. The danger to us is that we are ingesting the unknown substances used to modify the foods and the powerful chemicals used to spray them. Thus, the food and the chemicals both potentially cause us harm, even death.

Even with the push in our nation to consume soy, I believe these points make reconsidering eating soy worthwhile.

*Nourishing Traditions, Revised Second Edition by Sally Fallon; New Trends Publishing, 2001.
Besides Nourishing Traditions and the website I linked above, I have amassed information in this post from my readings over the years. As always, I challenge you to check for yourself what I have found to help me.

Friday Feature: MSG:Tasty Death?

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It’s cheap, tasty, and filling, but it can make you fat, be addictive and even be deadly. I’m talking about monosodium glutamate, commonly known as MSG, an ingredient in many packaged and fast foods. Food manufacturers use MSG because it’s a cheap way to flavor foods, but they don’t consider your health risks, but you should.

MSG “is an excitotoxin, a substance that overexcites neurons to the point of cell damage and, eventually, cell death” (The Link between Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) and Obesity). When MSG enters the brain it “creates a lesion in the hypothalamus that correlates with abnormal development, including obesity, short stature and sexual reproduction problems” (The Link between Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) and Obesity). Other reported health problems from MSG include headaches, including migraines, ADD, joint and bone pains, sleep disorders and heart irregularities.

So, you see, you should not take ingesting MSG lightly. You just may be suffering from migraines or other chronic issues because of MSG. Avoid fast food and junk food, and read labels. Just because a product says “No MSG” doesn’t mean it doesn’t contain MSG. Yes, that’s possible because the additive has different names, including yeast extract, autolyzed proteins and hydrolyzed vegetable proteins. Make sure when you read labels that you check for these names along with MSG and monosodium glutamate. Read here for a more comprehensive list of MSG names.

If MSG is so bad for us, why hasn’t it been regulated? I’ll let the conspiracy pundits answer that in detail, but let me say this: Systems, be they economic or political, often only care about their financial bottom line not the bottom line of your health. No one is going to care for your health the way you should. As Christians, it’s our responsibility to be a good steward over our body, the temple of the Holy Spirit. We need to seek optimum health so we can do the optimum work of building God’s kingdom. Watching what we eat always helps us to do that.

Friday Feature: Sea Salt vs. Table Salt

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Driving down the street my nine-year-old, Joshua, asked me “Why do we use sea salt and not regular salt?” I don’t know what made him ask me that, but I’m grateful because I realized that I had never shared that information with you. In short, forgetting my own research, I told him we don’t use regular salt, or table salt, because the additives in it that aren’t good for you. That was not true. The truth is that, depending on the quality of your sea salt, sea salt is not always that much different than table salt.

Sodium content. Sea salt does have a slightly lower sodium content. Maybe this is why I find that I don’t use as much sea salt as table salt.

Mineral content. Some sea salts have been refined much in the same way as table salt, stripping them of most of their more than two dozen minerals, including the necessary nutrient iodine.

Taste content. Perhaps because of the minerals in sea salt that are lacking in table salt, I find that sea salt more fully flavors food.

One indicator of your sea salt being genuine is its brownish color, which is how the second layer of salt crystals dry after the sea water evaporates from it. This is “the layer that retains important minerals” (Sea Salt may be Healthier than Table Salt by Sheryl Walters). The refining process, like with table sugar, turns sea salt white.

As I frequently tell you, I want to share with you information that I have learned in an effort to heal myself naturally and help myself nutritionally. Don’t be fooled by marketing ploys like the labeling of products “all natural” or, in this case, “sea salt.” Just because products are labeled as such does not necessarily mean they are better for you. Research and find out for yourself.