Each evening the women in this family would make up their recipe for bread dough and leave it to rise until morning.  Then up at 4 a.m. to shape it into loaves, to rise again and then bake.  In the meantime, they would slice their own bacon, gather the eggs and proceed to make breakfast.  All before the men came in from milking the cows to eat breakfast.  How many of us would want to do that today?

However, I was inspired to go back to making my own bread, a much easier task today, (These 19th century women often made their own yeast or starter dough, as well.)  especially if you have a bread-making machine or a mixer (like the Kitchen Aid) that has a dough hook.  With a bread machine or a mixer, putting a recipe together and baking your own bread is much simpler and not so time consuming as the machine does all the kneading for you.  Yet, you also have the option of kneading your bread by hand, if you like to.

I’ve taken to making my bread, though, with my Kitchen Aid mixer.  I found the bread machine made a small loaf and even though there are only two of us, we ate it up so fast that I had to make a loaf every other day.  What I like about making it with the mixer is that, depending on the recipe, I can make 2 to 3 loaves at once.  I then can freeze one or two, or give one loaf as a gift or make a pan of rolls along with 1 or 2 loaves.  I like knowing, too, that my bread is healthful and not loaded with preservatives, GMO foods like soy, and powdered cellulose.  Read your bread labels for all the chemicals added to it.

Author Michael Pollan, who also appears in the documentary Food, Inc,  says it best in his book, Food Rules. “Don’t eat anything your grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food.”  In his book In Defense of Food, he writes:  “Instead of food, we’re consuming ‘edible foodlike substances’ — no longer the products of nature but of food science. Many of them come packaged with health claims that should be our first clue they are anything but healthy.”

On the Mayo Clinic Nutrition-wise blog, the value of powdered cellulose in our food is questioned.  Read some of the comments as well as the blog.  While cellulose is a major part of plant cells and provides fiber, it is argued that eating the plants with the natural cellulose is much better for you than the powdered cellulose.  Some studies that indicate the powdered cellulose added to bread, pasta, cereals and other foods like ice cream, provide some health benefits. Yet, we have to ask, like the Wall Street Journal did, “Would you eat wood?” This is another article you have to read. You’ll be surprised at all  the foods that contain the powdered, manufactured cellulose, engineered fiber. (I’m going to grate my own cheese from now on.)  And yes, it really is made of wood! Read your labels as even some organic foods have powdered cellulose in them.

According to the article, “Powdered cellulose is made by cooking raw plant fiber—usually wood—in various chemicals to separate the cellulose, and then purified. Modified versions go through extra processing, such as exposing them to acid to further break down the fiber.”  I ask, do you know of any highly processed foods that are really good for you, especially when processed with chemicals?

The website The Street , a site about stock investing, in an article titled 15 Food Companies That Serve You Wood, adds this about engineered cellulose:  “Cellulose is virgin wood pulp that has been processed and manufactured to different lengths for functionality, though use of it and its variant forms (cellulose gum, powdered cellulose, microcrystalline cellulose, etc.) is deemed safe for human consumption, according to the FDA, which regulates most food industry products. The government agency sets no limit on the amount of cellulose that can be used in food products meant for human consumption. The USDA, which regulates meats, has set a limit of 3.5% on the use of cellulose, since fiber in meat products cannot be recognized nutritionally.”  The article includes a slide show of the companies who use cellulose in their foods as well as a list of the specific foods that contain cellulose.

Okay, so one good reason to make your own bread is to avoid manufactured cellulose.  Another is that soy flour and soy lecithin are often added to bakery breads.  What is the problem with soy?  Two things:

1. Soy is one of the biggest GMO (genetically manipulated organisms) crops, along with corn and rapeseed used to make canola oil.  Just type in GMO in your search engine.  There is a great deal of controversy about gentically manipulated crops for any number of reasons.  For an informative movie on this subject watch The Future of Food.  GMO soy is often the cause of soy allergies.

2. There is some controversy about whether soy products are all that good for you.  While the media has led us to believe that Asians eat a lot of soy, that is not quite true.  They eat fermented soy, such as found in soy sauce, tamari, tempeh and miso, and mainly as a condiment, not in the quantities Americans eat it.  Only in recent history have Asians eaten soy like we do.  For centuries unfermented soy was considered inedible, unfit for human consumption and was used to fix nitrogen in the soil–in other words, as fertilizer.  Why was it considered inedible?  Because cooked soybeans contain many toxins, which are neutralized by fermentation.  The Whole Soy Story: the dark side of America’s favorite health food, by Kaayla T. Daniel, PhD, CCN.

Other warnings about soy issue from Scientific American, who warn that the soy that often appears as filler in our food is not the whole soybean, but soy protein with its isoflavones, called soy isolates.   ”Children that have been fed soy formula as infants may have received as much as estrogen as what is in contained in five contraceptive pills”, according to a Natural Therapy Pages article.

Dr. McDougall, a leading expert on vegan diets, in a newsletter published in April of 2005, entitled Soy – Food, Wonder Drug, or Poison? ,  wrote: “We recommend that you use traditional soy foods, like soy milk and tofu, only as a small part of your diet, at most 5% of your daily calories. ‘Synthetic soy foods”, like meats, cheeses, and soy bars, should rarely, if ever be consumed.”

Soy is often used in baked goods to boost the protein.  But with all these warnings, you wonder whether you should be eating soy daily.

Somehow I like to be in better control of what I eat.  It worries me when I see advertising propaganda about how good a food is for you, especially when it is highly processed.

Recommended websites:

Readers Digest: The Fib About Some High Fiber Foods

Sargento Cheese:  Grated cheese includes cellulose

Weston A Price Foundation:  Studies Showing Adverse Effects of Isoflavones, 1950-2010

I have adapted a couple recipes for bread to include whole wheat.  Research has shown that whole grains are more healthy than white flour bread.

This is a recipe my mother used to make when we were kids.   Originally, it was made with white flour.  It makes 3 loaves.

Health Bread

1 cup Kellogg’s All-Bran Cereal (original)

1 cup Post Grape-nuts Cereal

2 Buscuits Post Shredded Wheat Cereal

2 teaspoons butter

4 cups Hot Water

2 cups unbleached flour

6- 6 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1/2 cup Brown Sugar

1/4 cup Molasses

1 heaping teaspoon Salt

2 packages Dry Yeast (or about 4 1/2 teaspoons if you buy yeast in a jar.)

In your Kitchen Aid mixer bowl, pour hot water over cereals, brown sugar, molasses and butter.  Let cool to around 80 degrees.

Dissolve the yeast in 1/2 cup of warm water (about 80-83 degrees). Add a pinch of sugar and allow yeast to foam up.

Start with the Kitchen Aid mixer paddle. Add yeast to cereal mixture when it has cooled.  Add 5 cups of flour (the 2 cups of white flour and 3 of the whole wheat) and mix on a low speed.  When all ingredients are blended, add more flour 1/2 cup at a time until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.

Switch to the dough hook and continue to knead at low speed, adding flour a little at a time until the dough is firm and elastic.  Test by stopping the mixer and touching the dough.  If any dough clings to your finger, continue adding a little more flour.  Test again until no dough clings to your finger.

Oil a large bowl; empty dough into the bowl and flip it once so that the dough is coated with the oil.  Place the dough in a warm place free of drafts, cover with a towel and let rise until double in size–probably about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.  Punch the dough down.

Turn out onto a floured surface.  Divide dough into three equal parts.  Shape each into a loaf and place in 9″ x 5″ greased bread pan.  Let the dough rise again until double.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Bake for 45 minutes for a light brown crust, longer if a darker crust is desired.   Turn out of pans onto cooling rack.  (At this point I sometimes brush a little melted butter on top if I want a softer crust.)  Allow to cool thoroughly before packaging in plastic bags.   Bread that is completely cooled is easier to slice, but it tastes soooo good when sliced and buttered while still warm.  The aromas that fill the house from baking bread are tantalizing.

One of the wonderful things about baking your own bread is that you can schedule it around your other household duties.  Start a load of wash; then make your dough.  While you are waiting for the bread to rise, throw your load of wash into the dryer and start another load.  Or vacuum while you are waiting for the dough to rise.  Or do it like the women of earlier times:  start your dough before going to bed.  You do not need to put it in a warm place if leaving overnight.  When you get up, punch it down, shape into loaves, let it rise and bake it for fresh bread with your breakfast.  The odor of baking bread will wake your whole family.  Believe me, it is worth the effort.

You should take very seriously your diagnosis of diabetes or pre-diabetes. Diabetes can cause neuropathy, a condition where the peripheral nerves are damaged causing pain and/or numbness; slow wound healing; low physical energy; kidney damage, blindness and blurred vision, and other organ damage.  If your doctor has told you this, it is indeed true. Any rise in fasting blood sugar should be taken seriously.

However, if you have Type 2 diabetes and are overweight, stop kicking and blaming yourself for your lifetime of bad eating habits and weight gain.  Chances are you’ve been told you got diabetes because you are overweight. It is a myth. Plenty of people are overweight and don’t develop diabetes.  Also, one in five diabetics are people of normal, healthy weight.

The myth:  In the past doctors and researchers thought that diabetes was caused by “insulin resistance”, a condition where the body produces more than the normal amount of insulin to lower their blood sugar, a condition caused by obesity.  The stress of pumping all that insulin into your bloodstream produces a kind of burnout or fatigue.

Therefore, you get the message that you have only yourself to blame for being diabetic.  Newspaper and magazine articles further this bias by reporting that Type 2 diabetes is on the rise not only among adults, but also children, due to the “obesity epidemic”.   You get the message that Type 2 diabetes is just punishment for overeating, you fat slob.  Sounds judgmental, doesn’t it?  It couldn’t be further from the truth!

The truth:  While overweight people are often insulin resistant, not everyone who is insulin resistant gets diabetes.  The majority of people who are overweight will never develop diabetes!  That bears repeating:  The majority of people who are overweight will never develop diabetes!  The fact of the matter is that overweight people may be just as insulin resistant or even more so than those who develop diabetes.  So you can stop beating yourself up. You didn’t eat your way to diabetes, not that losing weight isn’t a good idea for other health risk factors, but being overweight is not the cause of diabetes, but it may be a symptom that you have poor carbohydrate metabolism.  In fact, most diabetics experience sugar metabolism problems before becoming overweight.

Researchers are now finding that certain genetic flaws are a contributing cause of Type 2 diabetes.  They found in a study of identical twins that if one twin got Type 2 diabetes, the other had a 4 out of 5 chance of getting it too.  Non-identical twins do not have the same risk factor, making any argument that the twins were fed the same foods by their mother and developed the same unhealthy eating habits obsolete.  The fact, though, that one in five of the identical twins does not get diabetes indicates that there are other environmental factors to consider.

The flawed genes cause beta cells to produce less insulin. Beta cells are responsible for creating and releasing the hormones insulin and amylin, which serve to regulate glucose levels in the blood.  Beta cells constitute 65 to 80 percent of the cells in the islets of Langerhans, the endocrine structures in the pancreas.  In addition to the hormones they produce, beta cells also release a byproduct of insulin production called C-peptide, which aids in repair of the muscular layers of the arteries, thereby preventing neuropathy and similar complications of vascular deterioration.  Therefore, Type 2 diabetes is not from “insulin resistance” or insulin fatigue, but your beta cells actually secrete less insulin because of the damaged genes.

Here is where it gets interesting.  There is quite a list of genes associated with risk for Type 2 diabetes and the list is growing;  in different races the diabetic genes are a different set of genes from Caucasians of European descent.  Whether you get diabetes or not also depends on how many of the flawed genes a person has and perhaps even which particular genes are affected.  The more diabetes genes you have the worse your beta cells perform in secreting insulin.  Having the diabetic genes does not always mean you will get it.

Another connection that researchers have discovered is that between our Circadian clock and diabetes.  People with sleep disturbances often have raised blood sugar levels.  Melatonin levels control our body clock, which in turn regulates our insulin secretion, among other body processes.

What causes the abnormalities is different with every person.  It may be that the cells that secrete insulin have become poisoned by exposure to chemicals or certain drugs, excessive stress.  The cells either die or  fail to respond to the body’s need for insulin.  About 1 in 12 of those with type 2 diabetes have markers in their bloodstream that they have been the victim of an autoimmune attack that has killed off the cells making insulin.  Other times problems with the adrenal glands or with hormones in the gut that signal the body there is food there have caused the overload of sugar in the bloodstream. It’s also possible a person has more than one of these factors.

Therefore, while all diabetics share too much glucose in the bloodstream as a symptom, the cause of diabetes is very individualistic. Your diabetes is not the same as mine, nor is either of ours the same as a friend or the neighbor down the street.  Because of that we each need to learn how our own version of diabetes works.  That requires educating ourselves.

One of the wonderful things about the Internet is that we have a resource to educate ourselves about our disease.  One site I have found particularly helpful is bloodsugar101.com.  There are some great pdf files you can download onto your computer or you can order Jenny Ruhl’s book Blood Sugar 101: What They Don’t Tell You About DIABETES from Amazon.com.  I downloaded her book to my kindle.  Her information is not so much what you can eat as it is helpful to understand diabetes and how you can monitor and control it. On her website she discusses the latest research and findings.

Better Homes and Gardens network has a magazine and website just for diabetics: http://www.diabeticlivingonline.com/.  The magazine is Diabetic Living, available at $1.75 an issue for your kindle or other ereader when you subscribe.  Both are a great resource for recipes and meal planning.  I’ve just downloaded their pdf file for a workbook: Take Control Diabetes Workbook to both my kindle and my computer. Also sign up for their newsletter.

Now while overeating and leading a sedentary lifestyle did not cause your diabetes, losing weight and exercising can certainly help it.  Besides, with obesity come other risk factors that are exacerbated by your diabetes.  So take control of your health.  Many who do that reverse their diabetes and no longer have to take insulin.

P.S. I’ve lost 15 pounds since being told I have pre-diabetes last August.  I’m still working on finding out how to eat to stabilize my blood sugar.  Get yourself a meter.  Jenny recommends taking a fasting blood sugar reading, one an hour and another at 2 hours after eating.   On her website there is a pdf download of a flyer to help you control your blood sugar. http://www.phlaunt.com/diabetes/flyer.pdf

Great News about Resveratrol Dear Shaklee Family Member, The most significant human study to date, which supports the health-enhancing benefits of resveratrol that may address many of the chronic age-related diseases of our time, has just been published! In a study published this month in Cell Metabolism, Dutch researchers showed that taking a resveratrol supplement for 30 dayssignificantly lowered multiple markers associated with heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and many other chronic diseases. These include markers of inflammation, improved mitochondrial capacity, lowered blood pressure, and blood glucose. Since inflammation is at the root of literally hundreds of diseases, this has immense potential health implications. And we know that chronic inflammation leads not only to age-related diseases but to accelerated aging, as well! This study also showed reductions in both blood pressure and triglyceride levels, both of which are associated with heart disease risk. Diabetes has increased a whopping 35% in just the past decade. Until now, the only nonpharmacologic way to improve insulin sensitivity and reduce your risk of developing diabetes has been calorie restriction and weight loss—which is so very hard for people. This study would suggest that adding a high potency resveratrol supplement may help improve your insulin sensitivity and lower blood-sugar levels. Anyone out there too tired to exercise? Well, this study may provide an answer for this, as well! These study participants showed significant increases in markers of mitochondrial function. Mitochondria are your body’s energy producers that tend to decrease in number and output as we age. The increases seen in this study were similar to those seen with endurance training. So get some of the energy benefits associated with exercise and ramp up your mitochondria just by taking a resveratrol supplement! Sounds too good to be true, but I must say the results here are compelling and exciting. My advice is that, along with trying to eat better and exercise regularly, it makes better sense than ever to add in a high potency resveratrol supplement to your daily routine. Learn more about resveratrol products >>. To a longer and healthier life, Dr. Jamie McManus MD Chair, Medical Affairs, Health Sciences & Education

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In another ad a couple is sharing a picnic where the woman hands the man a popsicle.  A similar conversation ensues.  We are told high-fructose corn syrup is  made from corn, has no artificial ingredients, has the same calories as  sugar and is okay to eat in moderation.

The truth:  Calorie for calorie HFCS contains about the same number of calories as table sugar.  High fructose corn syrup is not any more processed than other sugars.  It is not bad for you if consumed in moderation.  So just what is the problem?

The problem is that high fructose corn syrup is in so many products it is difficult for most of us to know how much we are consuming.  HFCS is used in almost every processed food item on our grocery shelves–salad dressings, cereals, condiments, soft drinks, candies, fast foods, baked goods including breads–you name it.

Also, according to a Princeton University study, not all sweeteners are created equal when it comes to weight gain and obesity.

The study found:

Rats with access to high-fructose corn syrup gained significantly more weight than those with access to table sugar, even when their overall caloric intake was the same.
“When rats are drinking high-fructose corn syrup at levels well below those in soda pop, they’re becoming obese — every single one, across the board. Even when rats are fed a high-fat diet, you don’t see this; they don’t all gain extra weight.” according to Bart Hoebel, who specializes in the neuroscience of appetite, weight and sugar addiction.

The rats showed all the characteristics of obesity including higher levels of triglycerides. Results were published in the February 26, 2010, issue of Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior.  To read more about the study visit Princeton Study.

What made the difference between the table sugar and the HFCS?  The article explained:

High-fructose corn syrup and sucrose are both compounds that contain the simple sugars fructose and glucose, but there at least two clear differences between them. First, sucrose is composed of equal amounts of the two simple sugars — it is 50 percent fructose and 50 percent glucose — but the typical high-fructose corn syrup used in this study features a slightly imbalanced ratio, containing 55 percent fructose and 42 percent glucose. Larger sugar molecules called higher saccharides make up the remaining 3 percent of the sweetener. Second, as a result of the manufacturing process for high-fructose corn syrup, the fructose molecules in the sweetener are free and unbound, ready for absorption and utilization. In contrast, every fructose molecule in sucrose that comes from cane sugar or beet sugar is bound to a corresponding glucose molecule and must go through an extra metabolic step before it can be utilized.

Did you know that diabetes has increased by a staggering 90 percent and 8 percent or 24 million Americans now have diabetes?  So we should be concerned about how much HFCS we are consuming!

Another concern is the amount of mercury being found in items containing HFCS.   Nearly one-third of the HFCS-containing grocery products (tested for a study) were contaminated with detectable levels of mercury. (For a list of those products see Web MD.)  Methylmercury causes neurological disorders and neuropsychiatric symptoms, such as emotional mood swings, memory loss.  It can cause your kidneys to fail, your hair to fall out and you can lose your nails and teeth.  However, the form of mercury found was not specified.  Elemental mercury is less toxic than methylmercury because it is not as easily absorbed into the body as methylmercury.   Toxicologist Carl Winter, PhD, also notes that it is the dosage of mercury that also makes the difference.  ConAgra Foods spokesperson,which makes Hunts Ketchup, notes that you’d have to eat 100 pounds of their ketchup a day to be affected by the mercury in it.

Where is the mercury coming from?   Mercury can be used to make caustic soda, which is one of the products used to make high-fructose corn syrup.  In the US, HFCS makers no longer use caustic soda that contains mercury–they use mercury free products in making corn syrup.  However, HFCS has become a global product.  Food processors in the US don’t just buy US produced HGCS.  Other countries may still use the older caustic soda.

You have to check this out.  Bruce Bradley worked for the food industry for a number of years.  Does he have concerns about the way farming is being done these days?  You bet.  Here is his blog on corn syrup.

High Fructose Corn Syrup:  All Natural Really?

According to a study done at Tufts University 12 volunteers were given two cups of gazpacho a day for two weeks.  They discovered that the level of vitamin C in their subjects’ blood significantly increased, while indicators of inflammation  and oxidative stress correspondingly decreased, after just one week.  Oxidative stress and inflammation can lead to chronic ailments such as cardiovascular disease, stroke, cancer and dementia.  Apparently the vitamin C, as a potent antioxidant, eliminates some of the potentially harmful free radicals that cause disease.

Gazpacho bursts with vitamin C, about 36 mg. per 1-cup serving as well as carotenoids and folic acid.  That is 60% of the daily value.  Besides, in a large bowl, you are taking in 4-5 servings of vegetables.

How much vitamin C do you need?  The current daily intake for men is 90 mg and for women is 75 mg.  Tomatoes, the base of gazpacho is an excellent source of vitamin C.  One half cup of tomatoes contains 23 mg of vitamin C.  Green pepper contains 60 mg of vitamin C in a half cup.

Actually, tomatoes picked in season contain more flavor and the vitamin C content may be twice as much as that of tomatoes picked November to May.  Although, cooked and canned tomatoes have less vitamin C, they do contain lycopene so that the antioxidant activity is not diminished.

Other excellent sources of vitamin C (per 1/2 cup serving):

Strawberries = 45 mg

Broccoli = 39 mg

Cantaloupe = 29 mg

Sweet potato (baked) = 20 mg

Medium orange = 70 mg

1 Kiwi = 74 mg

1/2 Grapefruit = 44 mg

Mango = 57 mg

So while gazpacho is usually considered more of a summer soup, during cold and flu season you may want to add some to your menu for the vitamin C.

“Indeed, stock is everything in cooking. Without it, nothing can be done.” French chef, Auguste Escoffier 1846-1935.

“Soup is a healthy, light, nourishing food good for all of humanity; it pleases the stomach, stimulates the appetite and prepares the digestion.” Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, 1755-1826, famed epicure and gastronome.

“Make thy food medicine and thy medicine food.” Hippocrates.

It is now cold and flu season and nothing tastes better or feels so comforting as a bowl of soup.  Homemade soups are just the thing, too, for cold, snowy days.  Served with crunchy whole grain bread or crackers.  Not only is homemade soup delicious but it is also good for you. On the Mayo Clinic’s list of cold remedies that work– “Chicken soup may be soothing because of its possible anti-inflammatory and mucus-thinning effects.”

But I’m talking homemade soups made with real homemade broth from bones, the foundation of a good healthy soup.   Canned broths are okay in a pinch, perhaps when you have the flu or a bad cold and just want to get something hot and tasty into your stomach.  However, canned broths are loaded with sodium.  Even the low-sodium varieties are not as good for you as homemade.  The whole factory canning process removes nutrients and then artificial ones have to be added back in, not to mention the cost. It’s so much better to make your own and keep it in the freezer.  I just use the zip bags or if you have a Food Saver®, first freeze in a container.  Then put the block of frozen broth in a plastic bag and seal.  Label and date and toss back in the freezer.

Therefore, the thing to do is to learn how to make stock yourself and freeze it for later use.  I know it sounds time-consuming, but while the stock is simmering away you can be doing laundry, cleaning the kitchen, shoveling snow or playing with the grandkids.  I know, you work and finding time to cook is so hard.  Yet, let me tell you, for this it is worth making the time or use a crock-pot to make your stock while at work.  The house fills with amazing aromas.  You know what good, healthy things you put into the soup stock and your family will love it.  No one in my house will even eat canned soups anymore.

Plus, making your own stocks and broths is so economical. Making your own stock costs just the pennies it takes to heat up your pan, especially when you use leftover bones and scraps from vegetables according to Jenny at Nourished Kitchen.  In these hard times, any place you can save money is a good thing.  Especially with the traditional holidays coming up.  Save your turkey carcass, your beef bones and ham bone in the freezer.  Then use them to make your soup base.  First of all, the bones and marrow add calcium and other minerals to your broth.  I always save the bones from a whole chicken, even the ones I buy already cooked from the store.  You’d be surprised how much meat you can still get off an already stripped carcass.

Sometimes a local butcher will give away “doggie bones” for free or check your local market for inexpensive ones to buy–chicken, turkey, veal, beef, ham and pork are great choices.

Other good nutrients from bone according to Jenny Stewart of Nourished Kitchen:

• Gelatin–natural gelatin from the bones adds protein to your broth or stock.  Gelatin is good for your hair and nails as well as your joints.  It also helps the lining of your intestines.  The use of gelatin as a therapeutic agent dates back to the ancient Chinese.  Hooves, feet and heads are the most gelatinous part of an animal, often why calves’ or pigs’ feet are used in making stock.
• In addition to calcium, your broth will contain magnesium, phosphorus and other trace minerals that are more easily used by your body.  (To get these nutrients add a little cider vinegar to the broth.  The acid helps to leach them from the bones which may be why so many cooks add tomatoes to their beef soups.)
• Broth made from bones contains chondroitin and glucosamine.  Great for healthy joints too.

What are the health benefits of making your own stock?  Here’s a list from kitchen steward, Katie Kimball:

• Boosts immune system
• Aids digestion
• Increases efficiency of protein use
• Provides easily digestible minerals, including calcium
• Can improve symptoms of: joint pain, common cold, peptic ulcers, tuberculosis, diabetes, muscle diseases, infectious diseases, jaundice, cancer, food allergies, colic, maldigestion, inflammatory bowel disease, osteoporosis, pain and inflammation, cramps, muscle spasms, delusions, depression, insomnia, irritability, hyperactivity, anxiety, palpitations, hypertension, high cholesterol, allergies.

Kelly the Kitchen Kop also touts the health benefits of making your own stocks for homemade soups. All three writers emphasize it is the bones that add the nutrients to your stock or broth.

Stock or broth begins with bones, some pieces of meat and fat, vegetables and
good water. For beef and lamb broth, the meat is browned in a hot oven to form
compounds that give flavor and color–the result of a fusion of amino acids with
sugars, called the Maillard reaction. Then all goes in the pot–meat, bones,
vegetables and water. The water should be cold, because slow heating helps bring
out flavors. Add vinegar to the broth to help extract calcium.

Heat the broth slowly and once the boil begins, reduce heat to its lowest
point, so the broth just barely simmers. Scum will rise to the surface. In the scum are impurities, alkaloids, large proteins called lectins.One of the basic principles of the culinary art is that this  should be carefully removed with a spoon. Otherwise the broth will be ruined by strange flavors.

Two hours simmering is enough to extract flavors and gelatin from fish broth.
Larger animals take longer–all day for broth made from chicken, turkey or duck
and overnight for beef broth.

Broth should then be strained. The leavings, picked over, can be used for
terrines or tacos or casseroles. Perfectionists will want to chill the broth to
remove the fat. Stock will keep several days in the refrigerator or may be
frozen in plastic containers. Boiled down it concentrates and becomes a
jellylike fumée or demi-glaze that can be reconstituted into a sauce by adding
water.

Recipes (from Sally Fallon Morrell at Weston A. Price Foundation)

Chicken Stock

1 whole free-range chicken* or 2 to 3 pounds of bony chicken parts, such as
necks, backs, breastbones and wings
gizzards from one chicken
(optional)
2-4 chicken feet (optional)
4 quarts cold filtered water
2 tablespoons vinegar
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
2 carrots, peeled and
coarsely chopped
3 celery stalks, coarsely chopped
1 bunch parsley

*Note: Farm-raised, free-range chickens give the best results. Many
battery-raised chickens will not produce stock that gels.

If you are using a whole chicken, cut off the wings and remove the neck, fat
glands and the gizzards from the cavity. Cut chicken parts into several pieces.
(If you are using a whole chicken, remove the neck and wings and cut them into
several pieces.) Place chicken or chicken pieces in a large stainless steel pot
with water, vinegar and all vegetables except parsley. Let stand 30 minutes to 1
hour. Bring to a boil, and remove scum that rises to the top. Reduce heat, cover
and simmer for 6 to 8 hours. The longer you cook the stock, the richer and more
flavorful it will be. About 10 minutes before finishing the stock, add parsley.
This will impart additional mineral ions to the broth.

Remove whole chicken or pieces with a slotted spoon. If you are using a whole
chicken, let cool and remove chicken meat from the carcass. Reserve for other
uses, such as chicken salads, enchiladas, sandwiches or curries. Strain the
stock into a large bowl and reserve in your refrigerator until the fat rises to
the top and congeals. Skim off this fat and reserve the stock in covered
containers in your refrigerator or freezer.

Beef Stock

about 4 pounds beef marrow and knuckle bones
1 calves foot, cut into pieces (optional)
3 pounds meaty rib or neck bones
4 or more quarts cold filtered water
1/2 cup vinegar
3 onions, coarsely chopped
3 carrots,
coarsely chopped
3 celery stalks, coarsely chopped
several sprigs of fresh thyme, tied together
1 teaspoon dried green peppercorns, crushed
l bunch parsley

Place the knuckle and marrow bones and optional calves foot in a very large
pot with vinegar and cover with water. Let stand for one hour. Meanwhile, place
the meaty bones in a roasting pan and brown at 350 degrees in the oven. When
well browned, add to the pot along with the vegetables. Pour the fat out of the
roasting pan, add cold water to the pan, set over a high flame and bring to a
boil, stirring with a wooden spoon to loosen up coagulated juices. Add this
liquid to the pot. Add additional water, if necessary, to cover the bones; but
the liquid should come no higher than within one inch of the rim of the pot, as
the volume expands slightly during cooking. Bring to a boil. A large amount of
scum will come to the top, and it is important to remove this with a spoon.
After you have skimmed, reduce heat and add the thyme and crushed
peppercorns.

Simmer stock for at least 12 and as long as 72 hours. Just before finishing,
add the parsley and simmer another 10 minutes. You will now have a pot of rather
repulsive-looking brown liquid containing globs of gelatinous and fatty
material. It doesn’t even smell particularly good. But don’t despair. After
straining you will have a delicious and nourishing clear broth that forms the
basis for many other recipes in this book.

Remove bones with tongs or a slotted spoon. Strain the stock into a large
bowl. Let cool in the refrigerator and remove the congealed fat that rises to
the top. Transfer to smaller containers and to the freezer for long-term
storage.

Fish Stock

3 or 4 whole carcasses, including heads, of non-oily fish such as sole,
turbot, rock fish or snapper
2 tablespoons butter
2 onions, coarsely
chopped
1 carrot, coarsely chopped
several sprigs fresh thyme
several
sprigs parsley
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup dry white wine or vermouth
1/4 cup
vinegar
about 3 quarts cold filtered water

Ideally, fish stock is made from the bones of sole or turbot. In Europe, you
can buy these fish on the bone. The fish monger skins and filets the fish for
you, giving you the filets for your evening meal and the bones for making the
stock and final sauce. Unfortunately, in America sole arrives at the fish market
preboned. But snapper, rock fish and other non-oily fish work equally well; and
a good fish merchant will save the carcasses for you if you ask him. As he
normally throws these carcasses away, he shouldn’t charge you for them. Be sure
to take the heads as well as the body—these are especially rich in iodine and
fat-soluble vitamins. Classic cooking texts advise against using oily fish such
as salmon for making broth, probably because highly unsaturated fish oils become
rancid during the long cooking process.

Melt butter in a large stainless steel pot. Add the vegetables and cook very
gently, about 1/2 hour, until they are soft. Add wine and bring to a boil. Add
the fish carcasses and cover with cold, filtered water. Add vinegar. Bring to a
boil and skim off the scum and impurities as they rise to the top. Tie herbs
together and add to the pot. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for at least 4 hours
or as long as 24 hours. Remove carcasses with tongs or a slotted spoon and
strain the liquid into pint-sized storage containers for refrigerator or
freezer. Chill well in the refrigerator and remove any congealed fat before
transferring to the freezer for long-term storage.

Please leave a comment.  What homemade soups do you like to make?

“The end result of this study is that women who ate more chocolate had a lower risk of stroke,” says Javier Provencio, MD, an intensive care doctor at Cleveland Clinic’s Neurological Institute. “We don’t know why they had a lower risk of stroke, and that needs to be further investigated.”

Of course, after reading this, I was motivated to do some further research on the benefits of chocolate.  Here is what I found.

National Institute of Environmental Medicine:  In another study done in Stockholm survivors of heart attacks who regularly ate chocolate also lowered their risk of dying from a second cardiac event.  Their survival rate was three times higher than the group that did not eat chocolate several times a week.  Findings were reported in the Journal of Internal Medicine.

CNN.Com  HEALTH page also reports that researchers at Harvard University School of Public Health recently examined 136 studies on cocoa and found it does seem to boost heart health.

“Studies have shown heart benefits from increased blood flow, less platelet stickiness and clotting, and improved bad cholesterol,” says Mary B. Engler, Ph.D., a chocolate researcher and director of the Cardiovascular and Genomics Graduate Program at the University of California, San Francisco, School of Nursing. These benefits are the result of cocoa’s antioxidant chemicals known as flavonoids, which seem to prevent both cell damage and inflammation.

Not only is chocolate good for your heart, but it lowers blood pressure.  Hypertensive patients who ate just 3.5 ounces of chocolate a day for two weeks saw a significant drop in blood pressure. LDL cholesterol dropped as well, as reported in the Hypertensive journal.

At Indiana University cyclists who consumed chocolate milk between workouts had less fatigue and more endurance than those who had sports drinks.

Got to love this one:  German researchers gave 24 women a half-cup of special extra-flavonoid-enriched cocoa every day. After three months, the women’s skin was moister, smoother, and less scaly and red when exposed to ultraviolet light. The researchers think the flavonoids, which absorb UV light, help protect and increase blood flow to the skin, improving its appearance.  Who doesn’t want to look younger and have great skin?  I wonder if bathing in chocolate has the same benefits.  Would be lower in calories.

Researchers at West Virginia Wheeling Jesuit University found that chocolate may also improve brain function.  Chocolate may help to  boost your memory, attention span, reaction time, and problem-solving skills by increasing blood flow to the brain.   Chocolate companies have found similar results on young women and the elderly.  Pass the chocolate please!  My brain could use better function!

Down side.  The calories and sugar are not good for people watching their weight and who have diabetes or borderline diabetes.  However, the darker the chocolate, the more cocoa there is, the less calories and sugar.  So the key here is moderation.  A few pieces of dark chocolate a week can be worked into our diet–sorry white chocolate just doesn’t have the same benefits.  There are no cocoa and no flavonoids in white chocolate.  Plus it has even more sugar than milk chocolate.

Calorie content of popular chocolate:

• Hershey’s dark kisses:  4.39 calories per gram
• Ghirardelli dark chocolate squares:  5.12 calories per gram
• Dove dark chocolate pieces:  5.25 calories per gram
• Hershey’s milk chocolate:  5.35 calories per gram
• Lindt Excellence (dark):  5.5 calories per gram
• Hershey’s milk chocolate kisses:  5.61 calories per gram
• Four Godiva milk chocolate truffles have 420 calories and 26 grams of fat. The dark chocolate ones are not much better in calories and fat.

Well, on special occasions, I’ll have to throw in a couple extra workouts.

In the past I have had prescriptions for Tagamet, Nexium, Prevacid and more.  Be that as it may, any prescription drug taken for a long period of time can have serious side effects.  Really, these drugs are meant to be taken as a temporary measure to allow your esophagus to heal.  You must make some lifestyle changes to find permanent relief.  Besides, I’m always looking for non-drug treatments.

Untreated GERD, though, can have some serious consequences:

1. Chronic cough and asthma attacks–Acid in the esophagus can lead to restriction of the airway, thus triggering coughing in non-asthmatics and an asthma attack in those who have it.  The acid can also be aspirated causing inflammation in the lungs leading to coughing, choking and shortness of breath.  It can also cause infections and pneumonia and chronic infections can cause scarring.
2. Ulcers–Acid in the esophagus can cause damage to its lining and lesions known as ulcers can form. Not only are ulcers painful, but they can also bleed causing anemia.  You may find yourself in the hospital facing pressure to take a blood transfusion.
3. Strictures–Scar tissue can form where an ulcer in the esophagus has healed.  As a result, the esophagus can shrink and narrow causing the unpleasant experience of food getting stuck.  It’s possible the stuck food will need to be surgically removed, as well as undergo a procedure that stretches the stricture.
4. Barrett’s esophagus–This is a condition where the cells of the lower esophagus undergo metaplasia, changing to match stomach cells.  While this at first may sound desirable, it is very painful and can lead to esophageal cancer.
5. Esophageal cancer–Esophageal cancer develops in about 1% of those who have Barrett’s esophagus.  So the risk is minimal.  Still, the cancer can be life-threatening.  So you don’t want to ignore your acid reflux.
6. Damage to larynx, throat and teeth and gums–When acid reaches the throat it can cause hoarseness.  When it reaches the mouth, it can cause erosion to the teeth and gums.

The complications of acid reflux can be avoided simply by learning how to prevent it. Here are some measures you can take:

• Learn what foods trigger your acid reflux and avoid them.  Common triggers include acidic foods such as tomatoes, citrus fruits and juices, chocolate, coffee, tea, carbonated beverages, fatty meats and dairy, baked goods because of their high fat content.   Eat an alkaline diet for a time.  (An alkaline diet includes lean meat, poultry and fish, vegetables and fruit.)  Reintroduce a food listed above one at a time to see which ones bother you.  Avoid foods that trigger the reflux.
• Increase the amount of water you drink each day.  It will help dilute stomach acid.  Drink a glass of water or two after you have eaten.
• Chew a few almonds very thoroughly when you get up and after each meal.
• Fennel or chamomile tea sipped slowly.  Take your time.  It has a calming effect on the person and the stomach.  Other herbs beneficial for acid reflux are peppermint, caraway, ginger, blackthorn and aloe vera taken as a juice.  If you don’t like the taste of the aloe vera juice, mix with apple or grape juice. It heals your esophagus as well as your stomach.  Use daily.
• Eat an apple 30 minutes after a meal.   The reason that apples may help is because they contain tartaric and malic acid, which helps to neutralize stomach acids.  Choose sweeter varieties rather than tart.  Chew well.  Some have also found relief from chewing a few slices of apple about 2-3 hours before going to bed, especially if you have acid reflux when you lie down.

• 

  Apple cider vinegar with mother

  Organic apple cider vinegar that has not been pasteurized is another top cure for acid reflux, and it can be taken indefinitely without harmful side effects.  Apple cider vinegar aids digestion and acid reflux is often a result of impaired digestion.  Shake it well as the pulp, the “mother”, is what is needed to relieve indigestion.  This substance has enzymes that are ideal for keeping the symptoms of acid reflux a distant memory for you.  Add 2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar to 8 ounces of water and drink it shortly before or after a meal.  A little honey, maple syrup or agave syrup can be added to improve flavor.  Another site recommends 2 tsp apple cider vinegar in 16 ounces of water that you sip all day up to 2 concoctions a day.

• Avoid overeating.  Eat smaller meals more frequently, 5-6 per day.  Also, slow down for meals.  We live such fast-paced lives, we often gulp down our food without properly chewing it.  Take your time at meals.
• Some suggest raising the head of your bed about 6 inches higher than the foot of the bed.  Thus gravity aids to keep your food in your stomach.
• Glutamine is an amino acid found in our bodies that has anti-inflammatory properties. Glutamine can be found in dietary sources such as beef, chicken, fish, eggs,  milk, dairy products, cabbage, beets, beans, spinach and parsley. It also has cleansing properties.
• Honey, especially raw honey, works because it coats the esophagus  and helps prevent irritation. Even a small teaspoonful can bring relief.  Honey is a natural substance and does not have the side-effects of drugs.

The apple cider vinegar, eating some apple and the ginger mint tea have all worked for me.  However, I find that not overeating and watching when I eat and what I eat, and slowing down have helped tremendously.

Links to other sites about Acid Reflux:

Health.com lists 13 foods that fight acid reflux.

http://www.refluxcookbook.com/

Kathy’s Recipe for Ginger-Mint Tea

I have mint growing in my herb garden.  I dry it, crush it and store in an air-tight container.

Warm your teapot first by filling with hot tap water.  Meanwhile, place about a teaspoon of dried mint leaves into a loose tea ball. Peel and slice a couple pieces of fresh ginger root.  Fill your teapot with boiling water, loose tea ball and ginger slice.  Steep for 5-10 minutes.  May add honey to taste.  Very soothing to your stomach.

Since 1945 more than 72,000 synthetic chemicals have been produced, while less than 2% of them have been tested for toxicity, carcinogenic effects and birth defects. Many of these harmful chemicals are found in our cleaning products.

The Cancer Prevention Coalition reports:

According to the EPA, indoor air pollution is one of the nation’s most pressing personal health concerns. Peak concentrations of 20 toxic compounds – some linked with cancer and birth defects – were 200 to 500 times higher inside some homes than outdoors, according to a 5-year EPA study that surveyed 600 homes in six cities.

Residues of more than 400 toxic chemicals – some found in household products and  foods – have been identified in human blood and fat tissue.

Chemicals are attracted to and stored in fatty tissue. The brain and breasts are prime targets because of their high fat composition. Breast cancer is the number one killer of women between 35-54. Primary suspects are laundry detergents, household cleaners and pesticides. According to a 15-year study presented at the Toronto Indoor Air Conference, women who work at home have a 54% higher death rate from cancer than those who work away from home. The study concluded that this was a direct result of the increased exposure to toxic chemicals found in common household cleaners.

Feel like you need one of these to clean?

Many of these chemicals are neurotoxin–nerve poison–acting specifically on our nerve cells  or neurons causing loss of muscle control, loss of mental abilities, loss of feeling and, sometimes loss of consciousness.  Mild poisoning can cause drunkenness, but prolonged exposure can cause loss of neurons.  When ingested, neurotoxins, such as mercury, can cause severe disabilities  and impaired neurological development to a developing fetus.  Neurotoxins impact on cognitive thinking, memory, attention, language, and fine motor and visual spatial skills.  Some may cause cancer. (And you thought you were losing your memory because of aging!)

The Safe Shoppers Bible reports that many common household products contain known carcinogens (cancer causing) and/or neurotoxins.  Some of these are popular, well-known products: Windex, Dawn, Joy, Sunlight, Lysol, Arm & Hammer Heavy Duty Detergent, Tilex Soap and Scum Remover, Bon Ami Foam Cleanser, Shout Aerosol, Spray ‘n Wash Tough Stain Remover, Pine-Sol and Spic and Span Pine Cleaner Liquid.

Just because chlorine bleach has been used for years does not mean it is safe.  Bleach is being linked to rising rates of breast cancer in women, reproductive problems in men and learning and behavioral problems in children.  In fact, when bleach is used in industrial areas, OSHA requires that protective clothing or face shields be used.  According to Poison Control, household products and bleach are among the top culprits for more than 3 million poisonings each year. Chlorine is the number one cause of child poisonings in the U.S.

Since 1980 asthma has increased over 600%.  Canadian health associations and researchers have identified common household cleaners as triggers.

Considering all these statistics , your home is probably toxic.  So what can you do?  Doesn’t it make sense to you to investigate safe alternatives?

 The Cancer Prevention Coalition provides a list of harmful ingredients in household cleaners.