" We are all self made, but only the successful will admit it."
Earl Nightingale
Many people chose not to believe that each of us is fully responsible for our health, our daily habits create the state of our health for good or for bad. Once we admit that we are completely responsible for the condition of our bodies we are already on a better path of health, strength, and happiness.
Your food determines in a large measure how long you shall live-How much you shall enjoy life, and how successful your life shall be. What good are all the riches in the world if we are not healthy enough to enjoy them? A man who has reached his eighty or ninety plus years and still has a bounce in his step, has vitality and strength and truly enjoys his life, his family and the things he has acquired is far more successful to me than the man whose pockets are full of the riches of the world, but has not the strength, energy, or the peace of mind to enjoy them.
So how do we eat so that our bodies and minds can reach their full potential in life?
Lets take a look at the first people that lived on the earth. Their bodies were strong and full of life, their days were long hard and strenuous yet some of them lived to be over one thousand years old!! Can you imagine living for one thousand years? In today's world living for one thousand years may not sound that appealing, but what does sound appealing is reaching eight or ninety years old and not having spent the last years of your life sitting in a wheelchair day after day in a convalescent home, not being able to remember who you are, where you live, the name of your own children, or the great memories your life is full of. Or- not laying on the couch suffering from many illnesses for five long years in pain and agony every day of your life, watching your loved ones living their lives but you not being able to be a part of it, and wishing you could close your eyes never to open them again only to be released from the Hell you are going through.
These are some pretty bleak outcomes in ones life, the latter was an example taken from the life of my own mother. I watched her suffer terribly for 5 long years, spending thousands and thousands on doctor bills, etc, etc, but to no avail. Unfortunately this will be the outcome of many of us!( maybe not these exact circumstances but something similar)! Again I ask, What can we do so our bodies are the healthiest they can be. Again I will go to the the first people on the earth. Can you imagine Adam coming home carrying a pizza for dinner, or Eve, Sara or Rachel, cooking up some white sugar, white flour, chemically laden chocolate chip cookies for their kids. We as mothers think we are being kind to our families when we make these "treats" for them, BUT WE ARE NOT! Teach them what REAL food is, and how to appreciate it.
Lets take a look at a people called the Hunza who are one of the healthiest people ever studied. "Though they didn't live to be over nine hundred years old, like Adam, a great number of them lived to be over a hundred years old. Diseases like cancer, heart disease, diabetes, tuberculosis, and many others were virtually unheard of in their society. They were generally healthy, cheerful, and active, even playing games, until the day they finally passed on. Can you imagine what the retirement centers were like there? Volleyball tournaments categorized by age, with seniors (Those between 110 and 120) versus the young-uns (those between 90 and 100)". DRC
Why were they so healthy? Because they ate only those foods they could grow and that were available to them from nature. They ate foods that had been kissed by the sun! No matter how hard we try in this modern world one can never improve on God. Why do we think that we know what is better for our bodies than the very one who created them? He has given us everything we need for longevity and health and the closer we adhere to his guidelines (his guidelines- not our interpretation of it) The healthier we are!
With how far we have come in the medical field, I ask you to remember that prevention is the greatest cure. Have you ever heard that "an apple a day keeps the doctor away" or "To eat an apple on going to bed will make the doctor cry for his bread?" I would like to add to the apple, green smoothies, lots of other veggies and fruit and grains and legumes in their most natural state. All of these are fabulous foods God has specifically created for humans. Be grateful for the bounteous foods he has offered to us. It's not about denial its about abundance! When one begins to eat more foods that have no labels, chemicals or wrapper,- one begins to realize he is living THE ABUNDANT LIFE we were meant to live. Even our very senses become more in tune with the infinite, and we find ourselves more aware of "the good things of this earth" in all aspects of life!
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Thursday, February 16, 2012
That sweet stuff we all Love! SUGAR
After starting this round of FGI8 one of the first questions many people asked me was-"What is a good sugar substitution"? To adequately answer that question I must first answer the question of "Why is sugar bad for us"? I know this is not a very fun subject! Some people may have the attitude that ignorance is bliss when it comes to sugar in our bodies. However, I feel that if you are going to put something into your body you ought to have some background on what that substance does to your body! I hope you will read the entire thing! I'll try to make it fairly short and sweet. ha ha
It always makes me laugh when I see "ALL NATURAL" on the label of something and then I turn it over and sugar is the first or second ingredient! White sugar is ANYTHING but natural!!!! Sugar goes through about 17 different chemical processes. As we eat those yummy valentines cookies loaded with white sugar we are not eating a food that our bodies even recognize. Because of this within 30 minutes of consuming sugar our immune system becomes suppressed and our white blood cell activity is reduced significantly. Diseases of every kind thrive when the immune system is suppressed.
A health care professional whose opinion I admire and respect very much once said this of white sugar-
"The worst plague to ever come upon modern man is not AIDS or cancer it is white refined sugar! It is not neutral in it's effects on the body- it is actually destructive. It destroys the teeth and stomach lining. It leaches calcium from the body destroying the tissues and bones, it destroys the delicate balance between calcium, phosphorus, and B vitamins leading to nervous breakdowns, mental illness, heart problems, constipation, cancer, mouth and skin disorders, etc. etc. etc. Can anyone really think a so called food such as sugar is any less a poison that arsenic just because its affects are more subtle to begin with? Sugar's cumulative effects become more devastating over the years and at the end of our seventy-seven (+or-) years we are crippled, blind and crazy!" Paul Leatham
Why is sugar so hard on our bodies? As I said earlier it is not a natural food that our bodies recognize. "Refined sweeteners have been extracted and isolate through various processes that strip the sugars of the balancing nutrients that accompany them in nature. When consumed they produce an imbalanced state in the body, and the body seeks to reestablish the natural equilibrium that is normally found in nature. The resources used to establish equilibrium are none other than the bodies own reserve of vitamins and other nutrients."James Simmons
Another thing to think about- The PH balance in our bodies are very important. Our bodies should have a slightly alkaline PH. The Average American diet is very acidic, fattening, and leads to the highest rate of disease and premature death in the world. Refined sugar and artificial sweeteners are very acidic in our bodies.
As mentioned above sugar destroys the calcium in our bodies. Calcium is very important in our bodies, it is the binder in our tissues. It makes our tissues elastic and strong. This includes the brain and all of our five senses. It is imperative for proper colon function, good eye sight, hearing, digestion, growth and metabolism. Calcium is depleted from our bodies at a very fast rate by acidic foods. Remember sugar is one of the most acidic foods we can eat.
Of course this is a very short answer to a very in depth subject.
Now for the good news. There are many natural sweeteners that are available for our use that are not harmful to our bodies. My favorites are- stevia, xylitol, honey, and brown rice syrup and black strap molasses. I also use evaporated cane juice, and agave which acts just like sugar in recipes but is not harmful to the body. However if you have diabetes honey, brown rice syrup and evaporated cane juice etc. will still raise your blood sugar and they have a varying amount of calories in them. I personally LOVE honey (but I still use it sparingly). I think it is one of the purest most amazing foods on earth -IF it is raw, unprocessed, unheated, and unfiltered. Which is very hard to find in stores. But can be found directly from bee farmers or on the internet. Most honey sold in stores also has water added to it. If your honey doesn't get hard it is not good honey. Be proactive when it comes to what you put in your body. You only get one! Find out where your food comes from. Black strap molasses is another sweetener that is actually good for you. It has minerals and trace elements that our bodies need. Stevia and xylitol are the two sweeteners I probably use the most. They have low calories and a low glycemic impact. I have also found that a mixture of either stevia and xylitol and another natural sweetener is a good way to go as far as taste and texture.
Your body is worth the time, effort and the extra money it will take to make the switch from white sugar to sugars that are not harmful or destructive. Take the time and effort. When you reach those seventy-seven plus years and you are not crippled, blind, and crazy, you'll be glad you did!
It always makes me laugh when I see "ALL NATURAL" on the label of something and then I turn it over and sugar is the first or second ingredient! White sugar is ANYTHING but natural!!!! Sugar goes through about 17 different chemical processes. As we eat those yummy valentines cookies loaded with white sugar we are not eating a food that our bodies even recognize. Because of this within 30 minutes of consuming sugar our immune system becomes suppressed and our white blood cell activity is reduced significantly. Diseases of every kind thrive when the immune system is suppressed.
A health care professional whose opinion I admire and respect very much once said this of white sugar-
"The worst plague to ever come upon modern man is not AIDS or cancer it is white refined sugar! It is not neutral in it's effects on the body- it is actually destructive. It destroys the teeth and stomach lining. It leaches calcium from the body destroying the tissues and bones, it destroys the delicate balance between calcium, phosphorus, and B vitamins leading to nervous breakdowns, mental illness, heart problems, constipation, cancer, mouth and skin disorders, etc. etc. etc. Can anyone really think a so called food such as sugar is any less a poison that arsenic just because its affects are more subtle to begin with? Sugar's cumulative effects become more devastating over the years and at the end of our seventy-seven (+or-) years we are crippled, blind and crazy!" Paul Leatham
Why is sugar so hard on our bodies? As I said earlier it is not a natural food that our bodies recognize. "Refined sweeteners have been extracted and isolate through various processes that strip the sugars of the balancing nutrients that accompany them in nature. When consumed they produce an imbalanced state in the body, and the body seeks to reestablish the natural equilibrium that is normally found in nature. The resources used to establish equilibrium are none other than the bodies own reserve of vitamins and other nutrients."James Simmons
Another thing to think about- The PH balance in our bodies are very important. Our bodies should have a slightly alkaline PH. The Average American diet is very acidic, fattening, and leads to the highest rate of disease and premature death in the world. Refined sugar and artificial sweeteners are very acidic in our bodies.
As mentioned above sugar destroys the calcium in our bodies. Calcium is very important in our bodies, it is the binder in our tissues. It makes our tissues elastic and strong. This includes the brain and all of our five senses. It is imperative for proper colon function, good eye sight, hearing, digestion, growth and metabolism. Calcium is depleted from our bodies at a very fast rate by acidic foods. Remember sugar is one of the most acidic foods we can eat.
Of course this is a very short answer to a very in depth subject.
Now for the good news. There are many natural sweeteners that are available for our use that are not harmful to our bodies. My favorites are- stevia, xylitol, honey, and brown rice syrup and black strap molasses. I also use evaporated cane juice, and agave which acts just like sugar in recipes but is not harmful to the body. However if you have diabetes honey, brown rice syrup and evaporated cane juice etc. will still raise your blood sugar and they have a varying amount of calories in them. I personally LOVE honey (but I still use it sparingly). I think it is one of the purest most amazing foods on earth -IF it is raw, unprocessed, unheated, and unfiltered. Which is very hard to find in stores. But can be found directly from bee farmers or on the internet. Most honey sold in stores also has water added to it. If your honey doesn't get hard it is not good honey. Be proactive when it comes to what you put in your body. You only get one! Find out where your food comes from. Black strap molasses is another sweetener that is actually good for you. It has minerals and trace elements that our bodies need. Stevia and xylitol are the two sweeteners I probably use the most. They have low calories and a low glycemic impact. I have also found that a mixture of either stevia and xylitol and another natural sweetener is a good way to go as far as taste and texture.
Your body is worth the time, effort and the extra money it will take to make the switch from white sugar to sugars that are not harmful or destructive. Take the time and effort. When you reach those seventy-seven plus years and you are not crippled, blind, and crazy, you'll be glad you did!
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