The Truth About Fats: How They Affect Your Health, Hormones, and Weight (summary)

This is a summary of 

https://youtu.be/5f2E_LKEUgk?si=-wjX3ONLloRUUlJk

Sumarized in ChatGPT 

Overview:

This video dives deep into the misunderstood world of dietary fats, revealing their critical role in metabolism, disease prevention, and overall health. The presenter debunks common myths, explains why Americans are deficient in essential fats, and breaks down how different types of fats, saturated, unsaturated, trans fats, and Omega-3s, affect the body. The discussion also covers the biochemical impact of fats on metabolism, cholesterol levels, and cardiovascular health, while emphasizing the importance of choosing the right fats for long-term well-being.

Detailed Summary:

The video opens with a thought-provoking question: Which fat contains an essential nutrient missing in most American diets? The answer: Omega-3 fatty acids, which are crucial for brain function, inflammation control, and overall health. Shockingly, 95% of American children and 70% of adults lack sufficient Omega-3 intake while overconsuming unhealthy fats, leading to widespread metabolic and cardiovascular diseases.

Fats have been misunderstood for decades due to conflicting dietary advice. The presenter explains that although fats provide a dense source of energy, consuming them with carbohydrates leads to blood sugar spikes. Additionally, the quality of fat matters more than the quantity when it comes to health outcomes.

To simplify fat biochemistry, the presenter introduces key terms:

Triglycerides: The most abundant fat in the body, serving as a primary energy source. When triglyceride levels are too high, they become harmful and accumulate in organs like the liver, pancreas, and muscles, leading to metabolic dysfunction.

Phospholipids: Essential components of cell membranes that help transport fats in the bloodstream.

Steroids: This category includes cholesterol, which is necessary for hormone production (testosterone, estrogen, cortisol) and vitamin D synthesis.

A critical discussion follows on lipoproteins, which transport fats in the blood. LDL (low-density lipoprotein) and HDL (high-density lipoprotein) are commonly measured in blood tests, but one often-overlooked factor is lipoprotein(a). This genetic marker significantly increases the risk of heart disease, stroke, and aortic stenosis. The presenter stresses the importance of testing for lipoprotein(a) at least once in a lifetime.

The Good, The Bad, and The Dangerous Fats

1. Trans Fats (The Worst Type)

Found in processed foods, margarine, fried foods, and baked goods.

Increase insulin resistance, oxidative stress, and inflammation.

Raise LDL (bad cholesterol) while lowering HDL (good cholesterol).

Even though the U.S. banned artificial trans fats in 2020, manufacturers can still label products as having “0g trans fat” if the amount per serving is under 0.5g, making it crucial to check ingredient lists for partially hydrogenated oils.

2. Saturated Fats (The Metabolic Toxin)

Found in butter, coconut oil, dairy, and fatty meats.

Solid at room temperature, making them easy to identify.

Linked to fat accumulation in metabolic organs (liver, pancreas, muscle), which worsens insulin resistance and metabolism.

Excess consumption leads to plaque buildup in arteries, increasing the risk of heart disease.

3. Unsaturated Fats (The Healthiest Choice)

Monounsaturated Fats: Found in olive oil, avocados, and nuts. They support heart health and reduce inflammation.

Polyunsaturated Fats (PUFAs): Include Omega-6 and Omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-6 is abundant in vegetable oils but should be balanced with Omega-3 to prevent excessive inflammation.

The Essential Omega-3s

Sources: Fatty fish, krill oil, algae, walnuts, and flaxseeds.

Types:

ALA (from plants)

EPA and DHA (from marine sources, crucial for brain and heart health).

Deficiency Consequences: Impaired brain function, higher inflammation, and poor metabolic health.

Many people rely on plant-based Omega-3s (like flaxseeds), but the conversion to active EPA and DHA is inefficient. To truly meet needs, marine-based Omega-3s are recommended.

The Danger of Mixing Fats & Carbohydrates

One of the most critical points is how fat affects insulin response. Eating fat with carbohydrates leads to:

Increased insulin resistance.

Higher blood sugar spikes.

Accelerated fat storage.

This is why the Standard American Diet (SAD), which combines processed fats and refined carbs, is a leading cause of obesity and metabolic disease.

How to Choose the Right Fats

Avoid ultra-processed foods that separate fats from their whole-food sources. (e.g., eat whole olives instead of olive oil, whole nuts instead of nut oils).

Increase fiber intake to slow fat absorption and improve metabolism.

Focus on whole foods with naturally occurring fats instead of refined oils.

The video ends with a call to action: educate yourself on fats, avoid misinformation, and prioritize real food choices over processed ones. The presenter provides a free handout for viewers to further explore the topic.

Actionable Takeaways:

✔ Get tested for lipoprotein(a) at least once in your life.

✔ Cut out trans fats completely, check labels for hidden sources.

✔ Limit saturated fat intake to protect metabolic organs and reduce inflammation.

✔ Prioritize Omega-3-rich foods or supplements (fish oil, algae oil).

✔ Avoid mixing high fat with high carb meals to prevent insulin resistance.

✔ Choose whole foods over ultra-processed versions to improve metabolism.

✔ Increase fiber intake to slow fat absorption and enhance weight management.

Hashtags:

#HealthyFats #Omega3 #Metabolism #Cholesterol #HeartHealth #NutritionScience #WeightLoss #StandardAmericanDiet #FatBiochemistry #BloodSugarControl

---

My personal take, I stopped consuming toxic fats/oils many years ago, I do use butter, tallow, lard (only if it's not hydrogenated), coconut oil, olive oil, and avocado (seed) oil. I agree with most of what's written above, except for the part about some of the saturated fats being bad for us. I have no issue with eating or using the fats/oils I listed above, of course I consume these in moderation, mostly because of the calorie content.

All written text from this blog are copyrighted and owned by Wretha unless otherwise stated. All rights reserved, You may download or copy for your own personal enjoyment, but please do not distribute without written permission. You may post a portion of this (or any) message from this blog on another site as long as you include a link back to this site and the original message.

Wretha,

Thanks for visiting!

Chickpea Cookies and ChatGPT (short version)

Hey everyone, I understand that not everyone wants to read lengthy, wordy posts, so I shortened my previous post about my chickpea Toll House cookies experiment. Enjoy!

Hey everyone! Hope you're doing well! Today, I’m sharing a healthy and tasty post about my journey to eat healthier. I've been an avid label reader since my son Josh was young. Over the years, I’ve realized that many processed foods, even the so-called healthy ones, contain undesirable ingredients.

I'm working on cutting out sugar, especially cookies, which are my weakness. While I typically avoid store-bought cookies, I sometimes buy Mexican wafer cookies for PB, they have less junk. I love dipping cookies in my after-dinner coffee, but I often end up eating half a package!

Thanks to Facebook and other social media videos, I've discovered cooks who use healthy ingredients to recreate unhealthy foods. Inspired, I decided to make Toll House-style chocolate chip cookies with better ingredients. Here's my recipe (more my experiment, no real measurements this time, maybe later):

- **Ingredients:**

  - 1 can of chickpeas (drained and rinsed, save the juice!)

  - Coconut flour

  - 5 pitted dates (softened in boiling water)

  - Maple syrup

  - Celtic salt

  - Coconut oil

  - Aquafaba (chickpea liquid)

  - Baking powder

  - Chocolate chips

- **Instructions:**

  1. Blend drained and rinsed chickpeas into a fine mass.

  2. Pulverize dates with a bit of hot water.

  3. Mix chickpeas, dates, coconut flour, maple syrup, and salt.

  4. Add coconut oil and aquafaba for moisture.

  5. Separate dough for 2 cookies, add baking powder and chocolate chips.

  6. Bake at 350°F for 12-20 minutes.

Initially, the cookies were crumbly. Adding an egg improved the texture. I plan to use oat flour and more eggs next time. I also forgot the vanilla extract. I sought advice from ChatGPT.

ChatGPT suggested the following tips to reduce crumbliness:

1. Increase binding agents (extra egg or aquafaba).

2. Add moisture-retaining ingredients (applesauce or Greek yogurt).

3. Use different flours (almond or oat flour).

4. Add a small amount of starch (cornstarch or tapioca starch).

5. Chill the dough before baking.

6. Adjust temperature (lower) and baking time (longer).

I found that chickpeas make a great base for cookies, providing a healthier alternative to traditional ingredients. Despite my dislike for whole chickpeas, they work wonderfully in this recipe.

Have you tried baking with coconut flour or chickpeas? How did it turn out for you?

Thanks for visiting!

Wretha

Original, more wordy version of this post can be found here:
https://www.wretha.com/2024/06/chickpea-cookies-and-chatgpt.html

All written text from this blog are copyrighted and owned by Wretha unless otherwise stated. All rights reserved, You may download or copy for your own personal enjoyment, but please do not distribute without written permission. You may post a portion of this (or any) message from this blog on another site as long as you include a link back to this site and the original message.

Wretha,

Thanks for visiting!

Chickpea Cookies and ChatGPT

Hey, hope everyone is doing well! It's time for a happy post, and it's healthy too (that's a bonus!). So I have been working on eating healthier for quite some time now, I am a rabid label reader, it's a habit I took up back when my son was very young (remember that Josh???). I kept it up over the years, one thing I notice currently is that most processed foods, no matter what they are, tend to have garbage in them. I'm not even referring to so-called "junk foods"; I mean even the healthy choices, if you read the labels, will often contain at least one ingredient that I am opposed to putting in my body.

Now, I'm not a health nut by any means, this is definitely a work in progress and will be something I continually work on for the rest of my life. I am currently working on cutting out sugar, specifically things like cookies, a definite weakness I have. I am quite able to walk past the cookie aisle in the store with no problem, all I have to do is pick up the package and read the label, it's not hard to put the package back on the shelf. BUT, I am not opposed to making my own cookies, and occasionally I buy these Mexican wafer cookies for PB, they contain "less" junk than many commercial cookies, so I have been willing to buy them for PB, the problem is I like to drink coffee after dinner a couple of times a week, I treat it as a dessert and love dipping cookies in it. If I steal, uh borrow, oh who am I kidding, I'll eat half a package of those cookies without batting an eye.

Along comes Facebook short videos, and all the other social sites with short videos, they have figured out I love watching cooks who use healthy ingredients to make what would otherwise be unhealthy foods, they bring in alternative flours (coconut, oat, almond...), if IF IF IF I am going to use an "alternative" sweetener, it's going to be natural and non-toxic, so things like raw honey, dates, maple syrup... it turns out that you can make cookies with these ingredients and they look so tasty. 

I've been hankering for Toll House style chocolate chip cookie, but with better ingredients. So I opened a can of chickpeas (garbanzo beans, but honestly I prefer the word chickpeas LOL), I drained and reserved the liquid (called aquafaba), I rinsed and drained the chickpeas and placed them in a Magic-bullet blender and ground the chickpeas. I didn't make a paste, but nearly, it was a finely finely finely minced chopped mass of chickpeas, I put that into a large bowl. Next I poured in some ground coconut flour. Sorry I don't have a recipe, I just added each ingredient, mixing until it looked right and moved to the next ingredient, that's just how I roll...

Wait, before I did that to the chickpeas, I needed to soften up some pitted dates, I added about 5 pitted dates to a bowl and poured some boiling water to cover, I allowed that to sit while I worked on the chickpeas. I used the Magic-bullet with a tiny bit of the hot water to pulverize the dates, then I added that to the ground chickpeas, mixed and added the coconut flour. I also added a bloop of maple syrup. I tasted at each addition to make sure everything was sweet enough but not too sweet. I sprinkled in some Celtic salt, actually quite a bit, it really needed that to keep from being too bland. Oh puff, I just remembered what I forgot, I should have added a small bloop of vanilla extract, that would have make it better... oh well, next time.

I knew I'd need something to make it moister, I added a few spoons of coconut oil and some of the aquafaba. I was hoping the aquafaba would add some structure, like adding an egg. I wasn't opposed to adding an egg but I was thinking I might make this safely edible without cooking, like eating raw cookie dough without the salmonella surprise lottery. Well, honestly I didn't care for the texture in its raw form, so I moved on from that idea, for now...

At this point, I had a base mixture that looked a lot like the Toll House cookie dough, minus the chocolate chips, those would come later. I wanted to test out 1 or 2 cookies, cooking them and seeing what needed to be added to make it better. So I separated enough "dough" to make 2 cookies; I added some floof powder (baking powder) and a few chocolate chips, preheated my oven, and rolled 2 cookie balls; I flattened them, thinking they wouldn't flatten during cooking (I was right). I cooked them for 12 minutes, they didn't seem done, I kept adding 2-3 minutes a couple of times, then removed them from the oven. I ate them while still warm. They were OK, not the best cookies I've ever made or eaten. The biggest problem was they were crumbly, not exactly dry, but didn't hold together, they were almost "sandy" in texture. 

Next, I broke an egg into a separate bowl, whisked it, and used just a little of that in another batch of 2 cookies; I noticed that batch came out much better. The texture was getting better. I noticed that I needed to bake these for around 20 minutes. They didn't really "brown" or crisp up, they stayed soft and still had a bit of a "sandy" texture. But they were definitely getting better. So I committed to the egg, adding it to the rest of the entire batch, along with floof powder and the chocolate chips. 

I made one small tray of cookies, and then on the final batch of cookie dough, I added a few spoons of cocoa powder to give it an even bigger chocolate hit. The final outcome was that they are pretty decent cookies, better than just OK, good enough that I want to continue with this experiment. I know that having chickpeas as the main ingredient makes them much, much healthier than the traditional Toll House cookies. 

I needed to figure out what makes traditional Toll House cookies hold together. Normally I would go to Google to ask such questions, but lately I have been playing with ChatGPT, I'm even paying the $20 a month to get the extra sauce from them (It's been soooooo worth it to me!). I decided to ask ChatGPT a series of questions and find out what it has to say about this. Here is the chat I had with it:

ME: What makes toll house cookies hold together?

ChatGPT: Toll House cookies, like most cookies, hold together due to the combination of ingredients and the chemical reactions that occur during baking. Here are the key factors:

1. **Flour**: Provides structure through gluten formation when mixed with liquid.

2. **Eggs**: Act as a binding agent and add moisture, which helps in holding the ingredients together.

3. **Sugar**: Caramelizes during baking, adding to the cookie's structure.

4. **Butter**: Contributes to the cookie's texture and helps bind the ingredients.

5. **Leavening agents**: Baking soda or baking powder creates air pockets that help the cookies rise and maintain their shape.

The right balance and combination of these ingredients ensure that Toll House cookies have the desired consistency and stay intact. 

ME: I made Toll House style cookies using a can of chickpeas, drained then ground fine. I added some unsweetened coconut flour. For sweetness I added dates that had been soaked in boiling water for a bit, then drained and ground, I also added maple syrup for sweetness. I added a beaten egg, some salt and baking powder, a little coconut oil, and enough of the aquafaba liquid from the can of chickpeas to make a moist batter that held together. I added some chocolate chips. I baked them,, they needed extra baking time compared to regular Toll House cookies, they came out tasty but the cookies seemed crumbly. What can I add or do different to make them have a better texture?

ChatGPT: To improve the texture and reduce crumbliness in your chickpea-based Toll House style cookies, you can try the following adjustments:

1. **Increase Binding Agents**: Consider adding an extra egg or more aquafaba. Eggs and aquafaba both help to bind the ingredients together.

2. **Add a Moisture-Retaining Ingredient**: Try adding a tablespoon or two of a moisture-retaining ingredient like applesauce, mashed banana, or even Greek yogurt. These can help add moisture and improve texture.

3. **Use a Different Flour**: Coconut flour tends to be more absorbent and can make baked goods crumbly. You might want to try a different gluten-free flour like almond flour, oat flour, or a gluten-free baking blend.

4. **Add a Small Amount of Starch**: Incorporating a tablespoon of cornstarch or tapioca starch can help give the cookies a better structure and hold them together.

5. **Chill the Dough**: Letting the dough chill in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes before baking can help the cookies hold together better during baking.

6. **Adjust Baking Time and Temperature**: Since your cookies needed extra baking time, consider baking at a slightly lower temperature for a longer period. This can help them bake more evenly and reduce crumbliness.

Try one or more of these adjustments to see how they affect the texture of your cookies.

ME: Next time I'll replace half of the coconut flour with oat flour, will that help?

ChatGPT: Yes, replacing half of the coconut flour with oat flour should help improve the texture of your cookies. Oat flour is less absorbent than coconut flour and has a higher protein content, which can provide better structure and moisture retention, making your cookies less crumbly. This substitution should result in a more cohesive and less dry cookie.

ME: How healthy is the recipe I used (without the oat flour) compared to traditional Toll House cookies?

ChatGPT: Your chickpea-based Toll House style cookies are generally healthier than traditional Toll House cookies in several ways:

1. **Lower in Refined Sugars**: By using dates and maple syrup as sweeteners, you're avoiding refined sugars, which have a higher glycemic index and can lead to blood sugar spikes.

2. **Higher in Fiber**: Chickpeas and dates provide a good amount of dietary fiber, which can aid in digestion and help you feel full longer.

3. **More Protein**: Chickpeas are a good source of plant-based protein, which can be beneficial for muscle repair and growth.

4. **Healthier Fats**: Using coconut oil instead of butter introduces medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs), which can be a more easily digestible form of fat. However, the health benefits of coconut oil vs. butter can vary depending on the overall dietary context.

5. **Nutrient Density**: Chickpeas, dates, and aquafaba offer additional vitamins and minerals not typically found in traditional cookies, such as iron, potassium, and magnesium.

6. **Lower in Saturated Fat**: Your recipe likely has less saturated fat compared to the traditional recipe which uses butter.

7. **Gluten-Free**: Your recipe, using coconut and chickpea flours, is naturally gluten-free, which is beneficial for those with gluten sensitivities or celiac disease.

However, it’s important to note that while your recipe is healthier in many ways, it still contains sugars (even though they are natural) and fats, so they should still be consumed in moderation. Overall, your chickpea-based cookies provide a more nutrient-dense and lower glycemic alternative to traditional Toll House cookies.

ME: 

 This is how they turned out, I also added cocoa powder to the last batch.

ChatGPT: They look delicious! The addition of cocoa powder to the last batch adds a nice variety. Considering the ingredients and methods you used, the cookies have a great appearance. For the next experiment with oat flour, you might find the texture to be improved and less crumbly.

Given their current look, you might want to:

1. **Add More Binding**: As mentioned before, a bit more egg or aquafaba might help.

2. **Consider Moisture Content**: Adding a bit more coconut oil or a moisture-retaining ingredient like applesauce or Greek yogurt could also help.

Your approach to making these cookies healthier is commendable. Keep experimenting, and you're likely to find the perfect balance! 

So, that was my conversation with ChatGPT, I was even able to add a photo, it's amazing that it can recognize what is in photos. For the record, the chocolate chocolate chip ones were the best of this batch, it made it less "sandy" or crumbly. I do intend to replace approximately half of the coconut flour with ground oats (oat flour); I think that will improve the texture greatly. I'll also add 2 eggs to the mix. Believe it or not, chickpeas as a base in cookies turn out pretty good, I don't even like chickpeas by themselves, I love hummus and other things MADE with chickpeas, but honestly I just don't care to eat chickpeas in their whole state, I think it's the texture I dislike. 

The cookies turned out tasting like cookies, not like chickpeas. The coconut flour did add a tiny bit of coconut flavor, it's not overwhelming though. The biggest issue was the texture, presumably from using coconut flour, so exchanging half of that for oat flour should help the texture be better, and adding a second egg to the entire batch will also help the texture. And I must remember to include some vanilla extract, I have some really good vanilla paste from Sam's Club. 

The coconut flour is on clearance at my local small-town grocery store; they do have a small section of healthy alternative flours, but they tend to be very expensive. I came in one day to find the coconut flour was on clearance but no price label, I grabbed half of what they had ( I didn't want to be greedy) and found the price to be extremely good. The following week, when I went back, all the rest of the bags of coconut flour were still there, so I snagged all the rest of them. I gave many of the bags away to my friends, the rest of the bags I needed to figure out what to do with them. This is a good thing IMHO. 

Have you tried coconut flour? If so, what did you do with it? Were you happy with the outcome? What about using chickpeas in cookies or something like this? 

All written text from this blog are copyrighted and owned by Wretha unless otherwise stated. All rights reserved, You may download or copy for your own personal enjoyment, but please do not distribute without written permission. You may post a portion of this (or any) message from this blog on another site as long as you include a link back to this site and the original message.

Wretha,

Thanks for visiting!

Lost another good one...

I just learned a bit of sad news (more melancholy), I found out that John Wells, of the Field Lab persuasion (https://thefieldlab.blogspot.com/) passed away from pancreatic cancer early in this year. I originally learned about John about the time we were going off-grid back at the tail end of 2007, we heard an interview on Marfa Public Radio about this transplanted New Yorker going off-grid down in Terlingua Texas, quite a bit south of us. I looked him up, we connected immediately but for various reasons, we never met face to face. I enjoyed following him on his blog, I'm sure he read my blog (I like to think so). We followed each other on FaceBook as well.

Even though we shared a lot of the same ideas, living off-grid, being conservative, our religious beliefs,  and some of our politics, but one thing we didn't have the same mindset on was medical/health things. He considered many of my ideas on "alternative" medicine to be conspiracy theories. Sadly that caused enough of a rift between us that we both stopped following each other as closely as we had before, thus the reason why I'm just now learning about his passing. 

This has made me (again) wonder about why people who are diagnosed with cancer tend to die so quickly after the diagnosis, certainly not everyone across the board, but enough that it sticks with me. I am utilizing some of what John would consider conspiracy theories to up my health, I am very much opposed to going to see doctors "just because", if I have a condition that requires medical intervention that I can't do myself, such as a broken bone, a serious infection, things like that, I'll go see a doctor. But for everyday health-related stuff, especially things that I consider proactive, things like eating better, moving more, taking supplements (good ones, not the garbage they sell in many stores that just gives you expensive pee), doing the things that are going to improve my gut health and immune system, you better believe I'm doing all of that and more. I also stopped using things topically that are not good for my body, things like antiperspirants, I changed to deodorants then went to natural deodorants, I don't use anything that contains fluoride, I am super careful about what ingredients I'm applying to my body, your skin is one of your largest organs and anything you apply to your skin will be absorbed and "ingested" by your body.

I don't write much about these things, just touching on them here and there, mainly because I don't wish to have any extra attention placed on myself by the "powers that be". I also don't want to send someone down a road that would be not as good for them as it was for me, we are all different and honestly, it's not hard to research once you are willing to see beyond the filter of Google, the FDA and other alphabet agencies who don't have our best interest at heart. It's sad that artificial sweeteners (think sucralose, aspartame...) are considered good yet raw milk is considered bad and even illegal by the powers that be, just think about that for a minute.

This just confirms my feelings about doubling down on some of the things (I can't write about) that I am doing to counteract the things that happen as we age, I know I can't live forever, but I want the life I have left to be as good as it can be. 

Well, I'll end this here, and wish a good RIP to John Wells of the Field Lab, I have no doubt as to where your eternal soul went/is going. 

All written text from this blog are copyrighted and owned by Wretha unless otherwise stated. All rights reserved, You may download or copy for your own personal enjoyment, but please do not distribute without written permission. You may post a portion of this (or any) message from this blog on another site as long as you include a link back to this site and the original message.

Wretha,

Thanks for visiting!

Kefir, second ferment

Well, I have exceeded my expectations with my kefir! I am so glad I purchased fresh kefir instead of dry, I'm sure I could have succeeded with the dry, but it would have taken me longer to get to the finished drink.

I think it took me an extra day at both ends, the first and second ferment, the reason being because the SkyCastle is on the cooler side, and cold temps slow down the activity of the kefir. I let the first ferment go for 4 days, I tasted it on days 2, 3 and 4. The point here is to get to a slight sour, yeasty, yet slightly sweet, it is complex. I watched so many YouTube videos, so many were tasting the first ferment, they described it so exquisitely, I wondered if I would be able to recognize when the first ferment was complete...

I had nothing to worry about, I was able to detect the flavor of a completed first ferment with no problems. I pulled out 3 bottles for the second ferment. 2 large Topo Chico bottles and one smaller bottle that originally contained a commercially available kefir water, the first one of its kind I tried.

I filled each bottle, leaving enough space to add juice, fruit and still enough head space for the carbonation to happen. I also started a second batch of kefir water, the kefir grains were apparently very happy, they had doubled in size and quantity. I was able to split off 2 batches to give away. 

I took the remaining kefir grains and started another batch. The first batch of water kefir that I drained went into the next bottles, I added grape juice to one, a mix of juice in another, and in the smaller bottle, I put in a couple of lemon slices. I capped them tightly and set aside for the second ferment.

It took about 3 days for the first bubbles to appear in the second ferment, by the 4th day, they were fizzy! I had been tasting them a little bit on each day, I placed the 2 larger bottles in the fridge, the smaller lemon flavored bottle didn't last long enough to be refrigerated.

I did notice the way the fermentation slowed in the cold and increased in the warmth, I had placed my second fermentation bottles near the wood stove, they really began to bubble vigorously. I didn't allow them to get too warm, I didn't want any accidents, explosions, or dead ferments. 

It turned out to be just enough, the end product was tasty, fizzy and all around fun to drink. I can't wait to have enough going to be able to drink as much as I wish. For now, I'll just keep working both ferments.

My second batch I added grape juice to one bottle, and apple cider to the second bottle, on the smaller bottle I stayed with the lemon slices. I expect to be able to start drinking those in a few days. 

If you live close by to me, ask me about getting a batch of kefir grains from me, otherwise, if you want to get the same ones I have, go here KEFIR LINK and order from Amazon, thanks!

All written text from this blog are copyrighted and owned by Wretha unless otherwise stated. All rights reserved, You may download or copy for your own personal enjoyment, but please do not distribute without written permission. You may post a portion of this (or any) message from this blog on another site as long as you include a link back to this site and the original message.

Wretha,

Thanks for visiting!

It's Alive!

I am a strange combination of healthy eating and eating absolute garbage, well not actual garbage, but snack foods and less than healthy foods. I like to feel that I'm making up for the less than foods by consuming much more healthy fare.

My healthy food of the week (hopefully it will last more than a week though), I'm doing water kefir now. I am somewhat familiar with commercially available milk kafir from the health food store and the healthier sections of the grocery store. It's much harder to find a commercial water kafir drink, I finally found one and wanted to try it before going to all the trouble of making my own water kefir drinks.

Turns out I did like it and began to learn everything I could on the subject, fortunately it is so so SO simple! No special equipment, no expensive tools, no complicated or long methods are involved. I went ahead and purchased a batch of fresh (not dried) kefir grains to start with, that bypasses the first steps involved in STARTING or activating the growth, I would be essentially starting in the middle of step 2, and since there are only 3-4 steps in total, and I tend to want (almost) instant gratification, I couldn't argue with that route.

So, just what the heck ARE kefir grains? Well, first off they aren't actually "grain", what people are calling a grain is a tender but rubbery, bouncy, almost like a soft gummy bear like texture nodule that this bacteria and yeast grow in, these living organisms grow their own structure to live in, and much like a happy sourdough starter, once you start your own colony of kefir, it will multiply, it will grow larger and you will most likely end up giving it away to your friends and family.

The kefir grains live and grow in a sugar water solution that you supply, that's all, you should also give it minerals, so brown sugar, molasses, anything like this that contains minerals will make your kefir happy. As they consume the sugar in the water, they ferment and create probiotics which happen to be super healthy for us!

So I ordered from a person on Amazon (Kefir Link), I wasn't exactly sure how much I would receive, there seemed to be lots of measurements and numbers being thrown around, it said 1/4 pound, then 7 ounces, I just don't know what 1/4 pound or 7 ounces of kefir looks like. The reviews sounded pretty good, it was going to be fresh (not dried) grains, the price was reasonable, so I pushed the button.

After I did that, I began to look around the SkyCastle for large enough glass jars and containers. I am a bit of a hoarder, I blame that on my dad who grow up in the depression, you don't throw away ANYTHING that might come in handy, no matter how far into the future that might be... much to the annoyment (is that even a word???) of PB... we have had this long term battle over how many glass jars and bottles I NEED to save, he is constantly asking me if I'm done with a jar or bottle, translate that to: can I throw it away now? Wellll, if it is of a good size and has a decent lid, then the answer is almost always NO, you can't toss this, yet. Eventually he does wrestle away many of my jars and bottles, but I manage to save back just enough.

I looked through my bottle/jar stash and found just the perfect couple of containers for my new pets. Hmmm, pets, well they are a living entity, they grow and multiply, I am feeding and caring for them, I'm not exactly eating THEM though you can, just their by-products. OK, enough of that visual.

I had a large 2 quart Mason jar that I saved from a cold coffee making setup, I just don't make that much coffee, hot or cold to use that size of jar, the other jar was from a cold coffee concentrate that I had bought from the grocery store, it's 32 ounces or 1 quart. The second jar has a small mouth, but it's the perfect size, honestly when I bought these originally, I knew I would be saving those jars for something I would do in the future.

My kefir showed up a bit earlier than I expected them to, and they stayed in my mailbox for a few days, in my defense, my mailbox is some 6 miles away and I don't tend to make a special trip just to check my mail, I knew I was planning on going to town in a few days, and the temperature was going to be mild,  so I figured it would be OK, I had read a couple of reviews from people in hot places who said they had left theirs in their mailbox for a few days in the heat of summer and it turned out just fine.

Once I got my kefir babies home, I still wasn't ready to start so I popped them in the fridge for a couple of days. I had read mixed thoughts on that, most said it was OK, a few said that wasn't ideal, the directions on the package even said not to do that, I'm such a rebel, I did it anyhow.

Fast forward to last Thursday, that was the day, the day I would get everything ready and start my kefir farm. I found 2 suitable jars, I had coffee filters and rubber bands, I didn't have the exact sugar I really wanted to start with (a less processed, more natural sugar), I did have some regular brown sugar, that would work for now.

My water is about the most perfect part of this, it's well water so no chemicals, no fluoride, we do put bleach in the tank, but just enough to make the water safe to STORE, it's actually pretty good water otherwise. It is also high in minerals, which is something the kefir likes, so it's not a worry.

I had 2 containers of kefir grains, tightly packed in these things that you would see in a food take out for your condiments. I added about a quarter cup of brown sugar to the water and added the kefir grains. A few hours later, I realized I wanted to mark the level of the kefir grains at the bottom of the jars so I would know how much they grew, I could tell that they had already puffed up a bit. 

I placed the covered jars in a darkish cabinet and covered them with a towel, apparently kefir are shy and prefer to work in the dark. The following day, I marked a second line to show their growth, one jar seemed to be doing better than the other, it could have been the fact that my jars were 2 different sizes and the smaller jar just made it look like those kefir were doing better. 

So today (Saturday), it had been 2 full days, the kefir grains had puffed up, gotten larger and definitely multiplied, some of the grains were floating, a really good sign, and there were bubbles, at the top of the jar and buried within the kefir grains themselves.

I considered going another day, but thought I should taste my experiment first. I didn't know exactly what to expect, except for the descriptions of those who described what theirs smelled and tasted like. The descriptions were yeasty, fermented, sour smell. Mine definitely had all three of those things going for it. It is said that a properly developed liquid would no longer taste sweet but rather yeasty, fermented and slightly sour, well it also had all of those things going for it as well. I could barely taste a hint of the former sweetness it had started out with. 

I wanted to do a second fermentation, which is where you drain off the liquid, saving back the kefir grains and a little bit of the fermented water, then you place that liquid in another glass container with a good lid, at this point you can add fruit, fruit juice or a myriad of other things to add a flavor and wait for the juicy bubbles to form.

Yes, it does get fizzy, at least what I've seen on other YouTube videos on the subject. It's not supposed to take very long either, just add whatever fruit or juice you wish, bottle and wait. That's where I am now. I managed to hide back a hand full of large glass bottles with good lids, I filled 2 of the larger ones and a smaller one. I added grape juice to one, a mix of fruit juices for another, and for the smaller one, I cut up a lemon and put that inside of the bottle.

I closed up the lids tightly, something that may or may not be risky, if you want lots of fizz (and I do!) you have to tightly cap your bottles, but you have to either burp them, or don't let them go for very long. I've seen on YouTube from 6-12 hours, or 24 hours, I suspect it depends on the fruit or juice you add and the temperature where you are storing your capped bottles. The warmer it is, the more it ferments and the bubblier it can get. Right now we are at the cooler end, not cold enough for a fire in the wood stove, but definitely cooler, generally in the 50s F inside of the SkyCastle.

I keep looking at my bottles sitting on the shelf, I know they won't explode, at least not yet... it's been around 6ish hours, I did open one of the bottles just a little to see (or hear) if it was building up any pressure, and I'm happy to announce, it did release a tiny bit pressure! So, success so far. 

I'll probably pop them in the fridge tomorrow and later in the day, give them a taste test, I'm hoping it turns out and that I like the flavor. I just remembered that I have some cucumbers in the fridge, I wonder how that would taste??? 

I also started my second batch of kefir water, this time I had the sugar I wanted to use, a turbinado style sugar I order from Sam's Club, I also added just a little regular brown sugar, I thought I had some molasses, and I might, I just can't find it. Brown sugar is just white sugar with molasses added so it should be just fine. 

My kefir critters have easily doubled in size and volume. I'll have plenty to share around in a very short time. I know of 2 friends who are very interested, and I'm sure once word gets out, I'll have quite a few people wanting to start their own kefir farm.

How about you? Are you familiar with water kefir? Have you hade it? Do you grow your own? What are your favorite flavors to add?

If you wish to order some fresh kefir grains, you can order from the same place I got mine, they are alive and thriving, click here Kefir Link

All written text from this blog are copyrighted and owned by Wretha unless otherwise stated. All rights reserved, You may download or copy for your own personal enjoyment, but please do not distribute without written permission. You may post a portion of this (or any) message from this blog on another site as long as you include a link back to this site and the original message.

Wretha,

Thanks for visiting!

Could It Be Working Already???

PB and I have been working on the sky castle, his daughter, son-in-law and their two boys are coming out for a visit, basically a long weekend. I've been faithfully taking the serrapeptase, the first 2 days I've taken 2 pills (80,000 units total) first thing in the morning, I had no side effects, so on the third day I took 2 pills in the morning and 2 pills before going to bed, I also got PB to take 2 pills last night. He will be a little more challenging because he starts drinking coffee with creamer and sugar first thing in the morning, this HAS to be taken on an empty stomach, at least 30 minutes before eating or drinking anything but water, or 2 hours after eating.

OK, so today, while working on the sky castle, moving furniture, stripping beds, going up and down the hill with laundry, I've been working my arms pretty hard. I checked my range of motion in my painful arm/shoulder and I noticed that I can move my arm a lot more than I could before, it still hurts, but not nearly as bad. I am not taking any other medicines, not even using DMSO on it, though I have been thinking about using it too just to speed it along. PB is really loving the DMSO and regularly asks me to apply it to him. We also sent a couple of bottles to PB's mom and brother, they love it too, PB's mom just asked for another bottle to give to a friend. Soooo, I'm thinking the serrapeptase is working, I had read that you would know by the time you finish your first bottle if it is working for you or not. I'm sure I'll be ordering more of this.

Last week, I was in Abilene TX, drove a friend to a doctor appointment, while there we took advantage of the vast number of shopping locations to get some much needed goodies. First thing I have to say is the people in the bigger towns have clearly lost their ability to smile, not all of them, but a great number of them have. I have gotten so used to living in a tiny town where everyone smiles and waves whether they know you or not. That aside, we found a store called Drug Emporium, if you are lucky enough to have one of those near where you live, you have GOT to check this place out! They carry regular drug store stuff, plus really inexpensive supplements, vitamins, health foods, it appears that much of what they have is close to the expriy date so it's marked down sooooo cheap, and the choices, they carry so much, it was like I died and went to health food vitamin store heaven (without the dying part). :) Oh and the employees there were so helpful, they seem to know their stuff and where it's located, I am impressed.

I snagged a small bottle of almond oil (for my skin), a bottle of GSE, a bottle of DMAE liquid, and some other stuff, it was really cheap, and I don't mind if it's getting close to expiring, that will give me incentive to use it quicker. I tend to want to save stuff, not to use it up, and that is just silly, I shouldn't waste it but by not using it, it's the same as wasting it too. The DMAE and GSE is good for skin (externally) as well as taking it internally. I just opened the bottle of almond oil and rubbed some on my skin, it really soaked in well, it doesn't feel greasy, I think I'm going to like this stuff :) I found a recipe on line for a natural scrub, it had sea salt as a  base, then oil and lemon and orange oils. I'm thinking I can do something similar with Epsom's salt, almond oil and orange oil, perhaps I can also put in some DMAE and GSE... I've been drinking lemon water every morning, so I have all of these lemons that I can zest and use in the scrub too. Thoughts and ideas... :)



All written text from this blog are copyrighted and owned by Wretha unless otherwise stated. All rights reserved, You may download or copy for your own personal enjoyment, but please do not distribute without written permission. You may post a portion of this (or any) message from this blog on another site as long as you include a link back to this site and the original message.

Wretha,

Thanks for visiting!

Bad News, Good News...

Warning, if bodily functions bother you, offend you or otherwise make you squeemish, then you might want to skip this post... Ye have been warned!

A couple of things going on, first I am discovering that my body doesn't like 100 mcg of selenium per day, that's what is in 3 drops of a liquid form made by BodyBio, I got it because I know that selenium is one of the cancer fighting supplements. Gotta be careful with selenium, from what I have read, one can take up to 400 mcg per day safely, I figured 100 mcg would be a breeze... NOT. Apparently my body decides to have lower bowel issues when I take that dose, at least that is what happened the 2 times I did take it. The first time, I barely, and I do mean barely made it to a bathroom, I normally don't have that sort of trouble, it's usually the other way around, I have to convince it to exit my body... not this time, there was rather painful gas and shortly after, well lets just say I'm nicely cleaned out now, glad no one was within visual, aural or olfactory range.

Being who I am, I needed to know if that was a one-off, coincidence... I waited a couple of days and did another 3 drop dose first thing in the morning... same results by the afternoon, painful, extremely uncomfortable gas, and again, barely made it to the bathroom.

So, I'm sitting here looking at this full bottle of selenium, still wanting to take it, so I'll try doing one drop and see how things progress from there, if one drop does the same thing to me, I suppose I'll stop using selenium and look for another anti-cancer product.

Now that you have had the TMI from my blog, this is the good news part, I won! I won a couple of first aid books from Pete over at http://patriotsagainstthenwo.blogspot.com, if you haven't visited his site, or it's been a while, then hop on over, there is always something interesting and... hmmm what do you get when you add scary and educational? Sceducational? Pete and I shot a couple of emails back and forth and we both feel like things are getting bad here in the good ol' USA, I feel like I'm in a safe place, at least safer than in the city if/when TSHTF. I rely on my faith and my knowledge of what is written in the Bible, if you aren't familiar, you should get that way, I fully believe we are in the end times and this is going to be a bumpy ride. I'm not too worried though, I've read the "end of the Book" and I know which side wins. :)

ps
To any non or unbelievers, don't bother trying to convince me otherwise, I'm a lost cause as far as you are concerned, and quite happily so, NOTHING you can say or do will/can change that.

pss
If you would like to learn about some of the things I've been currently studying, just go to YouTube and look up Chuck Missler, you can also insert the terms "end times" or "learn the Bible in 24 hours", I am absolutely fascinated by what I've been learning.

All written text from this blog are copyrighted and owned by Wretha unless otherwise stated. All rights reserved, You may download or copy for your own personal enjoyment, but please do not distribute without written permission. You may post a portion of this (or any) message from this blog on another site as long as you include a link back to this site and the original message.

Wretha,

Thanks for visiting!

Health-n-up

As you can probably tell from my last few posts, I'm working on getting healthier. Most of my life, growing up, I've been a very healthy person, with the exception of 2 instances when I was a kid and ended up in the hospital, once was to remove my tonsils (something that was done to a lot of kids in my generation) and a more serious incident when I had a staph infection in my hip joint, I almost lost my leg at the hip, but that old saying is so true, what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger. :)

I rarely get sick, and when I do, it's typically just a shadow of what other people get, I might feel bad for a day or two, I might get a short lived cough, but as I am getting older, 46 to be exact, my body isn't what it used to be and I am starting to feel the effects of aging... I don't want to hear from the old timers who have real issues, I know these things are pretty minor, and that is the point, I'm trying to cut it off at the pass before these little issues become big issues. I want to be able to continue living my off grid life for as long as possible and to do that means I need to be as healthy and fit as possible. I am beginning to feel pain, pain from sleeping, pain from doing everyday things, it's not terrible pain, just a low lying reminder that I am not as young as I used to be.

The biggest thing I can do for myself is eating better... I love sweets, I love starches, I love fried anything, I also tend to eat once a day, these are all things that aren't good for me I know. I have been getting off the sweets over the last few years, in fact I tend to not eat sweets as much as I used to, and there is no way I'll be going to the artificial chemical sweeteners, I'll stick with the real stuff thank you very much! The only alternative sweetener I use from time to time is xylitol, and that is in major moderation. Fried foods are going away for me too, mainly because of the inconvenience of frying foods, the mess and the amount of propane it takes to get oil up to that temp., I tend to get my fried foods when I go out to eat, which isn't very often. The starches are going to be the hardest, I'll work on it. :)

Here is what I have started doing, and even though it's only been about a week since I've started this, I can already feel the difference. First off, I needed to check my PH, the more alkaline the body, the healthier, the more acidic the body, the less healthy you are. I dug out my PH test strips and sure enough, I'm on the acidic side, no surprise there. So I looked up alkalizing foods, the quickest and easiest ones for me to do are lemons and yogurt. I purchased a bag of lemons and picked up a yogurt drink. It's getting harder and harder to find things like yogurt that isn't filled with toxins like artificial sweeteners, even the ones that contain sugar are likely to also contain artificial sweeteners. I found one by Lala that is sweet but has no artificial sweeteners, so I have been drinking one or two bottles in the afternoon.

First thing in the morning, I fill a glass half full of water and squeeze half a lemon into it, I drink this straight, nothing else added. I love lemon water, it's something I often drink at restaurants instead of soft drinks or tea. The lemon water, even though it is acidic itself, it does have an alkalizing effect on the body. Yogurt is also supposed to be alkalizing, now that I know I like the yogurt drink, I'll start buying plain yogurt and making my own drink, I'll post whatever recipe I find. I suspect it will contain yogurt (of course), xylitol, agave syrup, something to flavor it, perhaps a pure juice (pineapple, orange, lemon...) or cocoa... add enough water to thin it to a drink consistency and I'll be set. Who knows, maybe I'll start making my own yogurt.

I also ordered a couple of alkalizing items from Amazon, both are liquid and easy to add to my morning lemon water. One is Body Rescue Alkalizing Booster PH Drops (1.25 oz), this is supposed to increase the alkalinity of your body, I have been looking into PH drops like this but with the many different ones available on the internet, I didn't know which one to pick, this was recommended by a lady on the DMSO Yahoo group that I frequent, with the price being as little as it is, I decided to give that one a try.

The other one I ordered is BodyBio/E-Lyte - 8 Selenium Trace Minerals 2 oz, (there is a cheaper one on Amazon, but when you add in shipping, it's no longer cheaper, this one has free shipping and is overall the least expensive), the main reason for this is it's anti-cancer, you use 3 drops a day, mixed with liquid, that will give me 200 mcg of selenium per day, it IS possible to take too much of this, but what I read it would take 400 mcg per day over a long period to become toxic. I'm probably going to add other trace minerals to my diet, but for now, this is the biggie for me.
1) It has Anti cancer properties
2) It is an immune system stimulant and has antiviral properties
3) Selenium is essential for Proper Heart Function
4) It is the precursor to the powerful antioxidant Glutathione
5) It is involved in production of thyroid hormone
6) Involved in Muscular strength
7) Required for healthy sperm function

Of course, I'm not worried about #7 LOL, but for you guys, it might be something to consider. Once I take this for a while, then I'll probably cut back to one or two drops per day, perhaps by my second bottle. There is cancer in my family, I'm trying to head that one off at the pass.

I'm still taking vitamin D3, cinnamon w/chromium, and turmeric extract every day. I'll be adding more supplements to my diet as time goes by, I do prefer adding things one or two at a time, that way I can better gauge how my body reacts. Egads, I just remembered, I must be turning into my grandparents (on my mother's side), when I was a kid, I would spend the night with them, in the mornings and in the evenings, they would both sit at the kitchen table, a plethora of bottles between them, my grandpa would divvy out the various pills between the two of them, then they would take handfuls of vitamins and supplements... I suppose I come by this naturally :)

So what do you do to stay healthy?

Disclaimer, I am not a medical person, I have no medical training, nothing written here is meant to be medical advice or replace medical advice, this is for entertainment purposes only, use at your own risk, if you have any questions or doubts, consult with your doctor.

All written text from this blog are copyrighted and owned by Wretha unless otherwise stated. All rights reserved, You may download or copy for your own personal enjoyment, but please do not distribute without written permission. You may post a portion of this (or any) message from this blog on another site as long as you include a link back to this site and the original message.

Wretha,

Thanks for visiting!

DMSO Update et al

When you are a kid and you are playing rough, climbing trees, walking fences, jumping off the house (yeah, I did all those things and more)... did you ever stop to think, wow this is gonna hurt later... of course not, you are young, your bones are made of hardened rubber, you have endless energy and lest we forget, you are immortal. Now, fast forward 20, 30, 40 years and all those falls you took as a youngster, any broken bones, and such are coming back to haunt you like a far far away memory that is just tickling the edge of your mind, and more than tickling your back, shoulders, neck, legs, any joints...

You can take ibuprofen, aspirin, and other pain killers, but ultimately those are bad for your other parts that BTW are wearing out too, like your stomach and your liver. As I wrote not too long ago, I "discovered" DMSO, or rediscovered it, the bottle I purchased about a year ago but was afraid to use it. It smells bad, and the warning labels on the bottle and on the internet are enough to scare off even the most adventurous alternative health nut.

I found an interview by Janet Perry, a very educated and smart lady who explained the uses of DMSO and after listening to her, my fears mostly evaporated and I dug out my bottle. Like any good health nut wannabe, I wanted to give it a real try, so I used it on PB first, he is one of the most skeptical critics I know when it comes to alternative health products. But it worked on him, and it worked very well. We did experience the fact that the more you use it, the better it works, it is cumulative. Now PB asks for his "treatments", I use emu oil first, then I apply DMSO, mainly to his lower back and his arm. He has a former broken bone and it healed up strangely, causes pain from time to time.

You can listen to Janet Perry's interview here, or you can go here:
http://www.oneradionetwork.com/health/janet-perry-dmso-answers-from-an-expert-february-28-2012/

I am also using it on my achy parts. Mainly my right ankle, and now on my left shoulder and upper arm. Not sure why I am having pain there, it seems to be my joints instead of my muscles, I didn't injure it that I can recall, but it sure hurts most of the time, especially if I lift my arm. Maybe it's sympathy pain for my Dad's shoulder joint problems.

Oh and the smell, well it does smell pretty bad, it smells like very strong garlic, fortunately it doesn't seem to stay with you, the odor seems to dissipate once it is rubbed in and is dry. Neither of us has experienced the garlic taste in our mouth, it seems that some people are more susceptible  to it than others, so far it hasn't happened to us. You can read my other posts about DMSO here: http://wretha.blogspot.com/search/label/DMSO

Another healthy thing I'm doing is each morning I am taking about a third cup of aloe vera juice, adding a packet of Emergencee (joint health formula) and drinking it. The Emergencee is covering the taste of the aloe. I have only been doing it for a couple of mornings now, so I'll be waiting to see what health effects I get from that.

I also ran across a really inexpensive (read: CHEAP) method of alkalizing your body, if you are familiar at all with how cancers work, they cannot exist in an alkaline body, they need an acidic environment to live. I found this video about a man who had stage 4 prostrate cancer that had metastasized to his bones, he had at least one other doctor's opinion about it with the same report. He was sent home to die, they told him there was nothing they could do. He researched alkalizing methods and settled on one that is so ridiculously cheap and available to any and everyone, in fact, I'd be willing to bet that you probably have these 3 ingredients in your kitchen right now. Baking soda, molasses and water. Yup, that's it.

Years ago I began to study all the different alternative methods of treating (the FDA will not allow me to say "cure") cancers, there were many many different programs, protocols, supplements and such, I finally came to the conclusion that what they all have in common is they alkalize your body, some are very expensive, some are difficult to do, Vito's methods are simple, inexpensive and how can it not work? It's simple, you alkalize your body and cancer cannot exist, period.

Watch his video and he will explain it himself.


His website is:
www.phkillscancer.com

You can find DMSO at most feed stores, if you can't find it locally, you can get it here:


Disclaimer, I am not a medical person, I have no medical training, nothing written here is meant to be medical advice or replace medical advice, this is for entertainment purposes only, use at your own risk, if you have any questions or doubts, consult with your doctor.

All written text from this blog are copyrighted and owned by Wretha unless otherwise stated. All rights reserved, You may download or copy for your own personal enjoyment, but please do not distribute without written permission. You may post a portion of this (or any) message from this blog on another site as long as you include a link back to this site and the original message.

Wretha,

Thanks for visiting!

DMSO & Stairs

Yesterday PB built half of a set of stairs that go from our deck to the roof, he felt pretty good yesterday, but today his lower back was really hurting him. I had purchased a bottle of DMSO quite some time ago but was afraid to use it, I listened to a show about DMSO http://www.oneradionetwork.com/health/janet-perry-dmso-answers-from-an-expert-february-28-2012/ and now I am not afraid of it, I got the bottle out and applied it to PB's back...

...of course PB was skeptical, he always is about "natural" or "alternative" healing products, but fortunately he does tend to humor me and allowed me to use this on his back. The first thing I noticed was the odor, it has a fairly strong garlic smell, fortunately that odor dissipates pretty quickly, I also had some distilled water, I put the water on his back first, then applied the DMSO then rubbed it in with a paper towel soaked with the distilled water, the idea was to dilute the DMSO somewhat, I didn't rub it in vigorously, I just lightly rubbed it to spread and slightly dilute the DMSO.

About 15-20 minutes later, PB came into the kitchen and sarcastically said it was working while he did a couple of jumping jacks... I quickly pointed out that he JUST DID JUMPING JACKS and it didn't hurt, before he was hobbling around moaning about how much his back hurt, he even laid down in bed while complaining about not being able to get into a position where his back didn't hurt. :)

 A little while later, he asked me to apply more DMSO to his back, I have now applied it 3X, he is now outside building the rest of those stairs.

You can find DMSO at most feed stores, if you can't find it locally, you can get it here:







All written text from this blog are copyrighted and owned by Wretha unless otherwise stated. All rights reserved, You may download or copy for your own personal enjoyment, but please do not distribute without written permission. You may post a portion of this (or any) message from this blog on another site as long as you include a link back to this site and the original message.

Wretha,

Thanks for visiting!

Second Part of the Dental One-Two Punch

I have been teasing you with the other part of my one-two punch dental plan, this is actually what got me started on this. I listen to and follow several alternative health podcast websites, one of them is called OneRadioNetwork, I get an email a couple of times a week letting me know who they are interviewing next. I am especially interested in the dental shows, I have learned that the silver amalgams that used to be used to fill cavities (I HOPE they aren't using those any more!) are very toxic and unfortunately, I have several of these in my mouth. I have also learned that drill and fill are not the "be all-end all" of dental treatments. I have learned that it is possible to remineralize your teeth, and actually reverse cavities, I don't know if you can do that for large cavities, but certainly for the smaller ones.

I listened to a podcast interview of Dr. Mark Manhart, DDS, he has been a practicing dentist since 1962, he believes in and practices healing rather than the barbaric methods used today. His secret? Calcium and zinc.
You can listen to the audio podcast here or click on the link above to go directly to the page and listen, it's just under an hour, I believe you will get a lot from it.
Download

This is what really piqued my interest, I like the idea of non-surgical dental therapy. I purchased the Calcium/zinc kit and the Calcium Carpule System. I'll explain more about each of these in a follow up post, for now let's just say that the prices for these products were in the very inexpensive range, if they work as advertised, they are well worth twice the price.

I have learned that in order to remineralize or rebuild the enamel on your teeth, there are some very common dental product ingredients that you need to avoid, this will actually prevent remineralization, namely glycerin, it's an ingredient in many dental products, toothpaste, rinses and such, glycerin coats your teeth and prevents remineralization, it stays on your teeth for a while after using it, I've read it can take up to 20 rinses to remove this glycerin layer. Just do a search for this and you will learn more than you ever wanted to know about it
click here for search

Before considering using anything on my teeth or in my mouth, I read the ingredients, if it contains glycerin, I put it back on the shelf, period. It's not worth it to me to use something that will coat my teeth and prevent my teeth from remineralizing naturally.  I've been doing this for a number of years, while I haven't been to a dentist in many years, I don't believe I have any cavities, or if I do, they are small, I believe one of the reasons is that I stopped using anything containing glycerin. I also don't use fluoride,  it is a well known toxic waste product and it is not needed, for the record Periogen does contain a small amount of fluoride, a very tiny amount, it is used in the process of removing the tartar, not for "strengthening" teeth, I am willing to use it for now. Their website says:

Question
Periogen has fluoride; how much?  Why?
Answer
Periogen contains a small percentage of sodium fluoride ions (.04%) in order to have a guaranteed ion source to facilitate tartar dissolution.  Typical fluoride toothpastes contain about .24% sodium fluoride, or 6 times as much. 

you can read more about that here:
http://www.periogen.com/pages/faq.html

So here it is, my one-two punch on dental health care, I'm trying both of them now, one to remove tartar and the other to heal my teeth and gums. I'll keep you informed as to how these are working for me. What I can say now, 3 days into using them is, so far so good. :) 


Disclaimer, I am not a health professional, nothing written on this page or website is meant to diagnose or treat any health issues, this is not meant to replace any medical professional's advice. I am only telling you what I am doing and what is working for me, follow at your own risk, I am not responsible for any damage, health issues or worse as a result of you trying anything I am using or writing about here.


I received 2 bottles of Periogen free of charge for the expressed intent of giving it a trial and writing about that trial here, I purchased the other dental products, this in no way influences the outcome of the trial, I will write an honest review of these dental products and expect to receive no other compensation for the trial or review.


All written text from this blog are copyrighted and owned by Wretha unless otherwise stated. All rights reserved, You may download or copy for your own personal enjoyment, but please do not distribute without written permission. You may post a portion of this (or any) message from this blog on another site as long as you include a link back to this site and the original message.

Wretha,

Thanks for visiting!

Health, of the Dental Sort

Health, if you have it, then you probably aren't thinking about it much, if you don't have it, then it's probably what you think about most of the time... part of getting older is realizing that you aren't as young as you used to be... that isn't supposed to sound funny, it's honest and true. I just don't bounce back as quickly as I used to, I am a pretty healthy individual, in-spite of the fact that I haven't done all the things I could have to take care of myself.

So in a "better late than never" attitude, I am kicking up my health routine, I've already talked about the big M that is working its way around my body now, (sorry guys, I know some of you are still cringing over that discussion), another part of my body that needs more care is my dental health.

Let me give you a bit of history, growing up, my family didn't have things like dental insurance, I don't even think we had regular health insurance, it was just too expensive for a big family, so things like going to the dentist just wasn't top priority, fortunately our genetics allowed for good teeth, we didn't have dental problems even though we did very little to take care of our teeth.

Well, when I hit 15 or 16, for some reason it was decided that we would go to the dentist for the first time, I know it's shocking to some of you, but that was just the facts of life for us. Believe it or not, I only had one cavity, a small one on a lower back molar. Unfortunately the dentist we went to had a terrible bedside manner, he berated me severely for having so much tartar on my teeth, like it was my fault! It seemed to irritate him to no end that I had tartar on my teeth and he was having to deal with it. He unceremoniously scraped the tartar from my teeth, filled the cavity and sent me home, well I went home with a toothbrush and a very sour attitude toward dentists. His negative words seared my soul and kept me from going to see another dentist until I was in my 20s.

Once I became an adult, I worked in an industry that was very hung up on appearance, I was a hairdresser. By then, I had very crooked teeth and was very self conscious of my smile, I just wouldn't smile, if I did smile, I kept my lips closed as much as possible. I also had a major buildup of tartar by then, mostly on the inside of my teeth, not so visible but I knew it was there. The company I worked for was a big company with deep pockets, they wanted to keep their stylists happy so they sent us to continuing education and they sent us to motivational speakers, my favorite one was Zig Ziggler. Ziggler told a story about a man he knew who had crooked teeth, he didn't smile much either, Ziggler asked him why he just didn't have it taken care of, well that man did have his teeth fixed and it changed his life, of course Ziggler elaborated much more on that story than I am here, never the less, it filled me with hope, I sat there with the dozens of other stylists soaking up that story in particular, I decided I would fix my smile too.

I'll cut this off here and continue with a part 2 in a few days... I have a reason for posting this particular story, I need to pick up where I left off on my dental health, I did get my smile fixed, at the cost of $1000's of dollars, it was worth every penny I spent and fortunately at the time I could afford it, but now with little access to dental care even if I had the money to go, I am having to take action myself, I have a plan in place that hopefully will get my mouth back into a healthy state and will also keep up my physical health.

Look for part 2 coming soon... :)

Disclaimer, I am not a health professional, nothing written on this page or website is meant to diagnose or treat any health issues, this is not meant to replace any medical professional's advice. I am only telling you what I am doing and what is working for me, follow at your own risk, I am not responsible for any damage, health issues or worse as a result of you trying anything I am using or writing about here.


All written text from this blog are copyrighted and owned by Wretha unless otherwise stated. All rights reserved, You may download or copy for your own personal enjoyment, but please do not distribute without written permission. You may post a portion of this (or any) message from this blog on another site as long as you include a link back to this site and the original message.

Wretha,

Thanks for visiting!