An Old Time Food For a Healthy New Body

3 John 1:2

Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.

For anyone first reading the Health and Nutrition Update, please read this first: Your Health. 

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Always remember that you are in charge of your health and not the doctors. Do not put your life in their hands without first seeking God and His health system.

Commentary

This post originally was published in 2014 but because the information is more relevant than ever, we’re re posting it again for those who may not have seen it then.

The human body has over 100 trillion bacteria which need to be kept in balance. Antibiotics, diet, fluoridated water and our western lifestyle have wreaked havoc on the beneficial bacteria that naturally are present in our system to aid digestion. While antibiotics kill the bacteria that cause infection and make us sick, they also kill the good bacteria that we must have. More people are learning this every day and as a result, common knowledge now says that we should eat yogurt after taking a course of antibiotics. But is that enough?

While foods created from a culture, like yogurt, can help, they aren’t enough. That’s especially true because some popular brands actually contain more sugar than anything else, so that you aren’t even getting those good bacteria. When looking for yogurt, be sure that you get the most natural form possible, and that it actually contains probiotics like acidophilus. Yet even the best brands don’t provide nearly enough to compensate for what that course of antibiotics will have destroyed. 

So to supplement, bottled probiotics are becoming more popular. But all of the probiotics on the market are not the same. Some have only a few of the needed types of bacteria; others have very low levels of good bacteria in them. As a general rule, if they look like a bargain, they probably aren’t. And check expiration dates carefully. While most things don’t actually go bad by the date printed on the label. that’s not true of probiotics because they are live organisms. By the way, your cats and dogs have the same problem if they’ve taken antibiotics. Most like a little yogurt occasionally, but there also are a number of probiotics specifically designed for each species made by companies like Purina, Dr. Goodpet, and others, available at little cost.

But there’s something that’s much better than the best bottled probiotics. It’s a food that was much more common for past generations, and our ancestors made it in a way that maximized its beneficial effect. That food is fermented sauerkraut. The article below notes that the best results are obtained by making it yourself because the overcooked, pasteurized, sterile forms we purchase today have removed much of those beneficial bacteria just by the way it’s made and packaged. Making your own sauerkraut isn’t hard, and it’s one of the best, yet least expensive steps you can take to radically improve your health.

Noah and Lionel enjoy the marvelous taste of barrel cured sauerkraut

Making your own has another benefit also – taste. In the 1951 Cary Grant movie, “People Will Talk” Noah Praetorius (Grant), a man who was considered an old-fashioned country doctor even then, is sitting in the kitchen with his best friend eating sauerkraut. He laments, “Sauerkraut belongs in a barrel, not a can. Our American mania for sterile packages has removed the flavor from most of our foods. Butter is no longer sold out of wooden tubs, and a whole generation thinks butter tastes like paper. There was never a perfume like an old time grocery store. Now they smell like drug stores, which don’t even smell like drug stores anymore.” 

The film not only highlights some old fashioned values, it’s fun. And it makes one yearn for the days when sauerkraut in barrels, sauerkraut that tastes like the real thing, was common. Clicking on the title, above, will take you to a site where you can watch this film (and others) online simply by registering your email, then signing in each time you watch. But some evening, instead of sitting back watching this wonderful old film with a bowl of popcorn, try a bowl of homemade sauerkraut instead. Your body & soul both will benefit.

Probiotics

Fermented Sauerkraut – Trillions of probiotics in every mouthful!

Lab results reveal this truly superior source of probiotics  But there is a source of natural probiotics which is far superior to even the best capsules on the market, and that food is fermented sauerkraut. It is especially beneficial when it is homemade and eaten on a daily basis because of the lack of pasteurization, which means it contains many more beneficial bacteria than commercially processed forms and the fermentation makes it “highly bioavailable to the body.”

Every mouthful contains trillions of good microbes which will “kill pathogens in the gut and restore the beneficial flora.” Eating sauerkraut frequently is one of the best things you can do for your health. Recipes for making it are included in the article. Just make certain that you use organic cabbage shredded very finely when making your own.

“Some of the nutritive benefits of sauerkraut include:

• Vitamin B1, B6, B9, C and K
• Manganese, calcium, potassium, magnesium, phosphorus and iron
• A great source of dietary fiber
• An excellent source of antioxidants and phytonutrients
• Rich in indole-3-carbinol (a known cancer fighter and toxin remover)

A 4-6-ounce serving of homemade sauerkraut that was recently analyzed in a lab showed that it contained literally 10 trillion bacteria! To provide perspective, 2 ounces of raw sauerkraut made at home had more probiotics than a 100-count bottle of probiotic capsules. To look at it another way, 16 ounces (2 cups) of sauerkraut is equal to eight bottles of probiotics! Even one of the more popular and potent brands of probiotics “only” provide 50 billion active bacteria in a 3.5-ounce bottle.”

Feds keeping people sick: The Vitamin D story  Exclusive: Dr. Lee Hieb explains how medical ‘consensus’ robs patients of their health

It’s advisable to take 10,000 units of D3 daily

“Studies showing beneficial effects of high vitamin D levels are quite convincing. They not only show a correlation between low Vitamin D blood levels and the problem, but show improvement in the disease or prevention of the condition when levels are raised up through supplementation.

As an example, it has been shown in the laboratory that heart muscle does not contract well unless adequate Vitamin D is present.But to achieve the positive effects seen in many diseases, blood levels need to be in the range of 50 to 100 ng/dl, not the 20 ng/dl that laboratories report as the lowest range of “normal” (how labs determine “normal” is the subject of another column). Specifically in the case of breast cancer, if one achieves blood levels above 55 ng/dl, the risk of breast cancer is diminished 85 percent.

It is the observation of many, many practicing clinicians that 1) most patients test in the low 20s, and 2) 400 iu of Vitamin D a day – the government recommended daily allowance doesn’t raise the levels at all. Studies of equatorial inhabitants demonstrate that some of the longest-lived people on the planet obtain 30,000-40,000 iu of Vitamin D (specifically D3) a day from the sunlight – nature’s source of the vitamin. Given that, it is not suprising that supplementing 10,000 iu a day of Vitamin D3 has been shown to have no adverse effects.

 I for one take 10,000 units of Vitamin D3 a day. I have done so for over 7 years, and my levels of 55 ng/dl are barely in the optimal range of 50-100ng/dl. I recommend the same to all my patients. But I must warn them that the government, via the Institute of Medicine and the FDA, disagree and believe people should take only 600-800 iu a day.

 

Vitamin D Deficiency Linked to Depression, Pain, Inflammatory Bowel Disease, and Breast Cancer

 “It has become abundantly clear that vitamin D deficiency is a growing epidemic across the world and could be contributing to hundreds of common health problems. In fact, correcting your vitamin D deficiency may cut your risk of dying from any cause by 50 percent, according to one analysis.

If this sounds too incredible to be true, consider that vitamin D influences nearly 3,000 of your 24,000 genes. This occurs via vitamin D receptors, which can be found throughout your body, and should come as no great surprise given that humans evolved in the sun.

Just one example of an important gene that vitamin D up-regulates is your ability to fight infections and chronic inflammation. It also produces over 200 anti-microbial peptides, the most important of which is cathelicidin, a naturally-occurring broad-spectrum antibiotic.

This is one of the explanations for why vitamin D is so effective against colds and influenza.

According to a January 2013 press release by Orthomolecular Medicine,1 there are now 33,800 medical papers with vitamin D in the title or abstract, and this veritable mountain of research shows that vitamin D has far-reaching benefits to your physical and mental health. Such research has shown that vitamin D can improve:”

Coconut Oil

The Tree of Life, health-wise

Coconut (Cocos nucifera) The Tree of Life  This is a post from the Coconut Research Center on the uses of coconut, particularly the oil, which provides incredible health benefits. It breaks down the uses for coconut oil in both traditional and modern medicine and lists all of the ailments for which coconut oil is useful. In addition, it addresses the false claim that coconut oil is unhealthy because it is a saturated fat as it provides accurate information about dietary fats.

Because the list of conditions for which coconut oil is helpful is so extensive, I’d recommend that everyone check out this site and the article linked here.

“Coconut is highly nutritious and rich in fiber, vitamins, and minerals. It is classified as a “functional food” because it provides many health benefits beyond its nutritional content. Coconut oil is of special interest because it possesses healing properties far beyond that of any other dietary oil and is extensively used in traditional medicine among Asian and Pacific populations. Pacific Islanders consider coconut oil to be the cure for all illness. The coconut palm is so highly valued by them as both a source of food and medicine that it is called “The Tree of Life.” Only recently has modern medical science unlocked the secrets to coconut’s amazing healing powers.”

Nutrition

Top 10 Destructive Nutrition Lies Ever Told  This is a great article that covers common beliefs about nutrition. While I’ve only listed the fallacies here, the articles explains why each of these beliefs is inaccurate and what you should be doing instead.

Lie #1: Breakfast Is the Healthiest Meal of the Day, and You Should Eat Many Small Meals a Day

Lie #2: Saturated Fat Causes Heart Disease

Lie #3: High Omega-6 Seed and Vegetable Oils Are Good for You

Lie #4: Artificial Sweeteners Are Safe Sugar Replacements for Diabetics, and Help Promote Weight Loss

Lie #5: Soy Is a Health Food

Lie #6: Whole Grains Are Good for Everyone

Lie #7: Genetically Engineered Foods Are Safe and Comparable to Conventional Foods

Lie #8: Eggs Are Bad for Your Heart

Lie #9: Low-Fat Foods Prevent Obesity and Heart Disease

Lie #10: Carbs Should Be Your Biggest Source of Calories

 

Pineapple is a natural cough suppressant

Pineapple found to be five times more effective than cough syrup   When combined with other ingredients pineapple has been shown to relieve those suffering from hacking coughs and tuberculosis. The fruit is effective as a natural cough suppressant because it contains bromelain, an enzyme which fights inflammation and and is an aid to digestion. It also is rich in manganese, which aids in forming connective tissue and improves nerve function. All of this aids in fighting coughs and in lessening mucus build-up. It also is high in vitamin C which helps build immune functioning, helping to prevent colds and flu.

“In one case, it was shown that a mixture of raw pineapple juice, raw honey, cayenne pepper and salt helped dissolve the mucus in the lungs of tuberculosis patients. (1) In another instance, researchers found that the raw extracts from pineapple had the ability to decrease mucus five times faster than over-the-counter cough syrup and help patients recover 4.8 times faster. (1) Overall, the fruit was found to offer relief across the board when it came to coughing symptoms, hacking in particular.”

It also assists in arthritis relief, in fighting breast, throat and mouth cancer, in managing blood pressure, and as we noted in an earlier post, in weight loss by speeding up metabolism.

Health

Junk food, antibiotics cause Crohn’s disease rates to triple among young persons    Although doctors don’t know exactly what causes it, in the UK consumption of junk food and widespread antibiotic use are being blamed. Yet American doctors are adamant that diet and emotional stress are not the cause. They maintain that genetic predisposition, an overactive immune system responding to intestinal viruses or bacteria is probably responsible. Because of that belief, treatment focuses on relieving symptoms, not curing the disease.

Junk Food Encoded in Children’s DNA and Beyond:  New study ponders impact of Western food and GMOs on posterity’s genes…  It has been discovered that a “poorly trained immune system” can be passed genetically on to offspring as can a preference for junk food. The recent study came to some conclusions which should raise concern, not only for ourselves but for future generations who are being impacted by our choices.

While a properly functioning immune system can be transmitted to children, if the mother has an imbalance of bacteria in the gut, that too can be passed on to her children. That will lead to weakened immune systems in the children and increased risk for allergies and other diseases.

“What is perhaps of larger concern is that the harmful effects of diet can actually stretch across generations. A mother’s diet may potentially shape her child’s flavor preferences even before birth, potentially skewing their palette towards anything from vegetables to sugary sweets in ways that could influence subsequent propensity for obesity and/or unhealthy dieting. In addition, children inherent their microbiome from their mother mostly through parturition but also during breast-feeding and development until the bacterial balance matures around to four years of age.

Later, while the study definitely doesn’t condemn the genetic modification of food crops, major concern surrounds the inflammatory effects of certain Bt pesticide-resistant varieties and its potential genetic impact on gut bacteria, and perhaps that issue being passed on. They point out that it would be hard to fully determine since patent laws bar independent study without permission, and the potential for evidence suppression and conflict of interest on the word of biotech companies is a possibility. Indeed.”

FDA food inspector

As Food Imports Increase, FDA Can’t Keep Up with Inspections Only 1 to 2 percent of food imported into the US is physically inspected each year. That is very troubling considering that much of the sold and food eaten here increasingly is from international sources. Because of that, the nation is more at risk for outbreaks of food-borne illnesses than ever before since virtually none of that imported food is being inspected. In 2011 the Food Safety Modernization Act was passed to address these problems but as yet, none of it has been implemented due to funding problems. Fifteen percent of our diet is imported from overseas and half of all winter fruits and vegetables originate outside the US. Even worse is the fact that almost all seafood is caught in non-US waters.

Part of the problem is the global economy. There are:

“130,000 export facilities in 150 countries to check on. The agency often inspects foreign processing plants only after there has been shown to be a problem with the product.”

While horror stories are beginning to make their way into news reports, few people know the extent of the problem and how dangerous the problem is. If they did, more would demand better funding and inspection procedures, or they would insist that food imports be limited.

“In India, Moon Fishery India Pvt. Ltd was found to be running a truly horrible operation, replete with “water tanks rife with microbiological contamination, rusty carving knives, peeling paint above the work area, unsanitary bathrooms and an ice machine covered with insects and ‘apparent bird feces,’” FairWarning and INN reported. The company’s exports to the U.S. were halted.

But by then tainted food had already reached the U.S., causing a salmonella outbreak that sickened 425 people, hospitalizing 55, in 28 states and the District of Columbia.”

If you eat seafood you need to see this video. But you should be warned, it was from a 2007 report. In the last 7 years, the situation has worsened so that almost all seafood now is imported and virtually none of it is inspected.

Taking your dog to work can reduce stress for everyone there

Benefits of Taking Fido to Work May Not Be Far ‘Fetched’

A Virginia Commonwealth University study found that having employees’ dogs in the workplace reduces stress and has a positive impact on all employees, not just on the dogs’ owners. Job satisfaction rose even among those who weren’t dog owners. At the North Carolina business where the week long study took place, 20-30 dogs are a regular feature of the work environment. Stress levels were measured through surveys and through objective indicators such as saliva samples.

“Stress is a major contributor to employee absenteeism, morale and burnout and results in significant loss of productivity and resources. But a preliminary study, published in the March issue of the International Journal of Workplace Health Management, found that dogs in the workplace may buffer the impact of stress during the workday for their owners and make the job more satisfying for those with whom they come into contact.

“Dogs in the workplace can make a positive difference,” he said. “The differences in perceived stress between days the dog was present and absent were significant. The employees as a whole had higher job satisfaction than industry norms.”

Pet presence may serve as a low-cost, wellness intervention readily available to many organizations and may enhance organizational satisfaction and perceptions of support. Of course, it is important to have policies in place to ensure only friendly, clean and well-behaved pets are present in the workplace,” he said.”

Prescription Drugs

*UPDATE*

Antidepressant use during pregnancy may lead to childhood obesity, diabetes  Research indicates that children may be predisposed to develop type 2 diabetes and obesity later, if their mothers took antidepressants while pregnant. Up to 20% of pregnant women are being prescribed these drugs at present. The study linked fluoxetine (or fluoride, see our post “Escape from Antidepressants” for more info on the dangers of these drugs). One in five American women suffer from depression during pregnancy and are prescribed antidepressant medication.

“While it is known that these drugs can increase the risk of obesity in adults, it is unknown whether a woman’s antidepressant use during pregnancy increases the risk of metabolic disturbances in her children…”

“We have demonstrated for the first time in an animal model that maternal use of a class of antidepressants called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs, resulted in increased fat accumulation and inflammation in the liver of the adult offspring, raising new concerns about the long-term metabolic complications in children born to women who take SSRI antidepressants during pregnancy….”

Conclusion

Your physical health is very important, but of even greater importance is your spiritual health. Man suffers from a fatal spiritual disease called sin, which always leads to death.

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.