Seasons Cycle – Life Challenges Us – Promise and Guidance Abound

 

As the soul-searching of Yom Kippur is most recent in my mind, I offer the thoughts of 2 people, one of whom I know well, the other not at all. I hope that each will help you on your own Life Journey. Meanwhile, I have pondered humanity’s “place” as I watch the wildlife all around me get ready, in their natural cycle, for the winter and lean times. The promise of Spring and continued survival always abounds because they follow their Natural Guideline Body Manual  (NGBM) — which we call “instinct” — a word which deprecates the Divine Wisdom inherent in it’s guidance.

As I watch the mother deer bring 5 of her young, of various ages, to our back lawn to delicately peruse and then eat very specific greens and that, moment by moment, I see each child is learning to watch-out for itself and make decisions, based on her example. After 6 weeks, I finally saw one of her oldest deer decide to leave the pack, as it saw me at the window and was no longer re-assured by it’s mother’s peaceful stance of Experience. It knew it was close to having total-responsibility, and made it’s independent assessment — the only thing that will help it survive when it is forced to leave the group soon. Are we any different? What should we be teaching our children to give them the best chance for Health and Survival? 

And I admire the bushy-tailed grey squirrel’s uncanny ability to find the bit of water from a source where only it’s tiny face can fit to lick-up and for it to continue to chase it’s mate in a game-of-tag between the hard-work of gathering nuts. Yes, work must always be balanced by play.

I watched the wildlife lose access to precious food by staying away from our land for a whole week after my sister’s dog came and left her scent everywhere, until the scent disappeared after the first rainstorm of the season. My parents built this home more than 30 years ago, and lived here in harmony with the wildlife — not applying poisons to the land and not fencing it — unlike so many of our new neighbors, who have felt it their “right” to fence off “their” land with huge wrought iron-gates and fences and stone pillars, everywhere, so that ours is one of the few original, unfenced properties, where the wildlife can find food in a land that was “theirs” from Time Immemorial, when they shared it only with a few, more respectful humans — the indigenous Native American clans. Today, it’s shameful how humans put only their desires into the mix and call them “rights”.

I haven’t seen any California quail this year; that worries me. They used to be abundant. I have only seen one pair of jack rabbits; they used to be more abundant, too, and this pair is very wary, often coming alone. The raptors are fewer, and that will happen when the world below them gets out-of-balance. But the rooks or crows or ravens, whichever they are, have become much more numerous, and, as they are smart, they take over other’s eco-niches easily.

People have interfered with the natural access routes here and thereby the Cycle-of-Life for these animals, putting their very existence in jeopardy, and lack of access as well as replacing natural flora and plant biodiversity has impacted the whole ecology severely here, in just this tiny area of California’s richness. And, as for the lessons to be learned here, remember to ask yourself, “Am I living according to my Human Guideline Body Manual?”

What happens when we don’t use our HGBM? We become ill; we shorten our life; we fail to thrive and survive. Is it worth the price? In my opinion, very few humans live according to their HGBM — in Harmony — at one with the Land, the Cycle of Time, in accord with one another and with Self. The vital question now is “Can we undo the health-mess we have become?”.

It is important to remember that Healing is an Art and we have been divinely endowed with all kinds of skills, often not used or understood. Anyone dealing with a chronic health issue needs to pursue skills and find modalities to “get in touch” with their Innate Healing Ability (IHA).

Many alternative medical practitioners can start you on your Journey; as there are many ways to approach finding and then utilizing your Vital Life-Energy, also known as: “Chi”, “Prana”, “Ruach”, “Ki”, “Qi”, “Orgone Energy”, “Tachyon Energy”, “Mana”, “Barraka”, “Vital Force”, “Kundalini Energy”, “Navitas” and “vis medicatrix naturae”, Latin for the healing power of Nature.

All peoples on the planet have a name for this bio-energy, so we must acknowledge it’s existence; it is not a matter of new-age thinking. Only the still “sensitive” people among us can help the rest of us return to our Root, and move our Energy until we are well enough to feel and move our own Energy, again.

Last week, I just had my first session with a well-regarded Bowen Technique practitioner. I have known about Bowen for almost a decade, but never had access to a practitioner, but now, while staying with my Mum, several are nearby — there are about 12,000 world-wide now.

It was a relief to feel my “chi” flowing again and the painful muscles finally getting help to release. I often wonder how many dis-eases are “caused” by the strangulation of glands and organs by a bio-armor girdle of stressed-out, tight musculature.

Bowen is much more sophisticated and wide-reaching than Therapeutic Massage, but massage also has it’s place, as does: Jin Shin Jyutsu, Acupressure, Acupuncture, Esogetic Colorpuncture System from Dr. Peter Mandel, ND,  Dr. Bach’s Flower Essence system and California’s Flower Essence Society’s system, Reiki, Alexander Technique, Reflexology, Tai Chi and Medical Qi Gong like Pangu Shengong and Chi’Lel. I have experienced most of these modalities and / or have officially studied, or independently learned, a great deal about them.

They help me be a better physician and custodian of my Soul and Body. 

You can find each of the official sites on the web to learn more. And, when in doubt about a path, emulate a child’s intuitive choice, as they are more in touch. We can be again, too.

I humbly and sincerely encourage you to learn about each modality. Now, some food for thought.

————————————————————————————-

” we embody all the skills and arts we need to manage our own health
by self-listening and guidance from those who already understand
but ultimately, the decisions and road must be our own
so, use the open-heart and open-mind you received at birth
listen to their Truth to guide you

we are the pilot of our body, mind and soul
wisely-used free-choice is a hallmark of our existence
all 3 trillion of our cells must have their voice and needs considered.
our well-being depends on bringing the universal energy to them
to nourish them and bathe them in the goodness of this greatest Gift

gain understanding that All is the Energy of Love — there is no separation
we are all One Life, One Be-ing — you are never alone
all angst, solace and joy are shared, and change is our constant companion
the energy constantly re-vitalizes and restores us to Perfection,
even if momentary, when we open our hearts to it”

                                                                     Margaret Levin Shatzen
(c)2007 all rights reserved*

* Margaret has kindly granted that you may copy this for your own personal use. No commercial use is acceptable.
—————————————————————————–

Sir Dr. Robert Hutchison’s Physician’s Prayer
— written on the walls of Children’s Hospital, London

” From inability to leave well enough alone,
From too much zeal for the new and contempt for what is old,
From putting knowledge before wisdom,
Science before art and cleverness before common sense,

From treating patients as cases, and from making the cure of the disease more grievous than the endurance of the same.

Good Lord, deliver us.”

——————————————————————————–

Meanwhile, find an excellent human being as your physician, and realise that you are at least an equal-partner in your own care.

This necessary equal-partnership is also emphasized in the new book I highly recommend by Dr. Thomas Rau, MD, Switzerland’s foremost naturopathic physician, “The Swiss Secret to Optimal Health”. We’ll talk about it more in the future, but it is a first-step to use your HGBM and for you to learn to strengthen your skills and knowledge of your IHA, as your inner-physician.

I certainly wish you all the Best.

Em

(c)2007 Em https://diabetesdietdialogue.wordpress.comIf you desire to quote from or use my article, please include the full copyright citation and website address. Thanks!
“Everyone knows someone who needs this information!” (TM)

 

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Rosh Hashannah – A Sweet New Year – Happy 5768!

 

Mmm! Warm Honey Cake. Doesn’t that smell good! Mine just arrived Monday afternoon, by FedEx, quite a few days after Rosh Hashannah last week, but honey cake keeps exceptionally well, as honey has a natural antibiotic qualities.

So, my Mother and I will enjoy the cake my husband and daughter baked with such love, and it will re-inforce the bonds which have kept Jewish families together through thousands of years of forced diaspora, in every nook and cranny around the world. We are, indeed, the first global tribe and first global cuisine.

This is our year 5768, acknowledging us as having the most ancient, organized calendar and community still in existence. Archeologists have recently found the remains of the oldest apiary and it was in Israel, being used by bee-keepers in about 900 B.C.E. That is why Israel has always been called the Land of Milk and Honey.

Erev Rosh Hashannah began in the evening of Wednesday, September 12, when 3 stars could be seen all in the same view of the sky — the Jewish “day” always begins in the evening, as it says in Genesis, ‘And there was evening, and there was morning, the First Day’. So, now a New Year had begun. And, our traditional greeting is “L’shana tova tiketevu”, which translates to ‘May you be inscribed in the Book of Life for a good year!’.

Jews actually have several “new year” celebrations. The next one will be in January / February to celebrate the New Year of Trees, as the fruit trees of our Northern Hemisphere stir from winter dormancy and return to life. Blessings for the most simple yet profound occasions and an appreciation, moment by moment, day by day, week by week, month by month, year by year and lifetime by lifetime are always present in the thoughts of spiritual people, regardless of their “religious” pursuasion.

Another “new year” will be when we begin to read the Torah (the Five Books of Moses, the Old Testament) at it’s beginning chapters, in Genesis, again.

For Jews, Rosh Hashannah, and the holiest day of the year, Yom Kippur, which is celebrated 10 days later, are times of introspection and gratitude, rather than raucous celebration. So, only in subtle ways, are there the delights for the body, and Honey Cake is traditional, along with a sweet, round braided challah bread, sometimes with little ladders or birds on it, so our ‘prayers ascend to Heaven’. These are traditional foods only eaten at this time. Roundness is the preferred shape as it symbolizes continuity, completeness and the cyclicity of Life etc.

Just like the first bite of matzah at Passover, Honey Cake at Rosh Hashannah brings forth memories and hopes.

It’s hard to balance where to put Honey Cake on the Health Scale. There are so many ways to make it, and many are far too sweet for diabetics. Honey, although natural, is still high on the glycemic scale, but it is a yin, alkaline food, so helpful in the pH battle against body acidity.

I prefer to use Y. S. Raw Honey, but raw honey should not be given to any child under 3 years old, as all honey contains botulism spores, potentially. Cooking honey changes its structure and our body’s relationship to it, so I prefer to cook with it as little as possible, but if I have to, I prefer to start with a raw honey, so it is cooked once, not multiple times.  http://www.ysorganic.com/organic.html 

Honey bees are our world’s hardest workers, and we will be in dire straits if the honey bees continue to killed off as they have been for the last 2 years, in huge numbers, several places in the world. This is an ecological disaster in the making. So far, entymologists are looking at a viral cause. Keep up on this topic!

So far, on the internet, I have not found any Honey Cake recipes where people have experimented with the low glycemic sweeteners such as stevia or agave nectar. If I have time, I will adapt the best recipe I find to use an equivalent partial or whole substitution using agave — which is basically a form of cactus “honey” or syrup.

I’ll ammend my post here when I get around to that recipe, but for now, here are a couple of the more interesting honey-cake type recipes I found.

And, Jews will make Honey Cake one more time — for the harvest festival of Sukkot, a few days after Yom Kippur, so you can still enjoy these cakes in a timely fashion, especially in the little outdoor Tabernacles where orthodox Jews live during Sukkot or on your patio in the still, clear days and evenings of Autumn, under a harvest moon.

I think this first recipe below (based on one from Dr. Bruce Fife, ND) is a good one to experiment with. Originally, these were Honey Muffins and they are NOT a traditional Jewish Honey Cake, but I think I’ll not divide the recipe in muffin tins and make it as an 8″ cake instead — worth a try. I will use buckwheat honey, as that is what I always use and it is most traditional for Ashkanazi Jews from Europe.

So, here’s another no-gluten, coconut recipe for those with celiac, sprue, Chrohn’s or other gluten intolerance or just a taste for adventure!

NON-TRADITIONAL, LOW GLYCEMIC, HONEY MUFFINS or CAKE

This is a basic coconut flour muffin recipe you can use to make as a base for other-flavored muffins, too.

3 eggs – free-range and Omega-3 supplemented (do not reduce the number of eggs!)
2 T organic butter, melted

2 T coconut milk, (or almond or hemp or rice milk) or organic whole milk
3 T honey (buckwheat preferred, for Jewish-style honey cake)

¼ t Celtic sea salt
¼ t organic vanilla extract

¼ C sifted organic coconut flour (put coconut in food processor to very fine flour or purchase)
¼ t baking powder (non-aluminum type like Rumford’s)

INSTRUCTIONS:
Blend together eggs, butter, coconut milk, honey, salt, and vanilla. Combine coconut flour with baking powder and thoroughly mix into batter until there are no lumps.

Pour batter into greased muffin cups or (1) an 8″ round cake pan, also greased.

If making as muffins, bake at 400 degrees F (205 C) for 15 minutes. Makes 6 muffins.

BUT — You will need to reduce the heat to 325 and cook it longer for an 8″ cake — it will probably take about 30 – 35 minutes or so. Keep checking and do be prepared to cover the top with aluminum foil if it browns too fast.

NOTE:
To know if it is done, poke a wooden skewer into the center, and only dry crumbs or no crumbs should cling to it. If anything moist is on the skewer, bake the cake longer. It is also “done” when it begins to pull away from the sides. Let it cool in the pan, then turn it out to finish cooling completely on a wire cake rack.

If you try this, please write in to tell us how it worked out, if I don’t report first.

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from Epicurious.com archive:

Ben Moskowitz’ and his Mother’s Honey Cake

1/2 C dried apricots, roughly chopped (Australian, unsulphured are best)
1/4 C dark rum (Marsala wine is more traditional, until 500 years ago, anyway)

2 large eggs – organic, free-range and Omega-3 supplemented
1 C clover honey (use buckwheat, if possible, or orange blossom)

1/3 C oil (use olive oil, as Italian Jews do, or safflower or grapeseed)
Grated peel and juice of 1 lemon – organic preferred

Grated peel and juice of 1 orange – organic preferred
1/3 C sugar (others have eliminated this ingredient; I won’t include it either)

1 t salt – use Celtic sea salt
1/3 C apricot jam – use a 100% fruit-only “jam”

1 3/4 C white rye or unbleached all-purpose flour – organic preferred
1/4 C cake or unbleached all-purpose flour – organic preferred

1/2 t baking soda
1/2 C slivered almonds, or roughly chopped walnuts (nuts are usually not used at Rosh Hashannah)

INSTRUCTIONS: 

In a small bowl, soak the apricots in the liqueur for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a 10×5-inch loaf pan (make sure you measure your loaf pan, as they vary widely in size).

In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs with a whisk. Stir in the honey, oil, grated lemon and orange rind and juice, sugar, salt, and apricot jam.

Sift the 2 flours into another bowl. Remove 1/4C of the flour to use to toss the drained apricots, below. Add the baking soda to the rest of the flour. Mix it in well.

Strain the apricots, reserving the excess liquid. Toss the drained apricots into the reserved 1/4C of flour. This dries them a little and helps them “suspend” in the batter. Return the unused flour to the larger bowl of dry ingredients.

Add the flour alternately with the alcohol to the honey-egg-citrus cake mixture. Fold in the apricots. Scoop the batter into the prepared pan and sprinkle with the nuts (if using them).

Make sure the cake batter is level before putting it in the oven, as this mix does not level-out on its own.

Bake in the oven on the lower rack for 50-55 minutes, or until the center of the cake is firm when you press it (and use the instructions I gave about the wooden skewer technique).

Remove from the oven and cool in the pan, on a rack. When cool, remove the cake from its pan, and make sure it is completely cool before wrapping for freezing, mailing and can be kept out in an airtight container for several days, otherwise refrigerate.

Makes 1 Cake.

Notes and Suggestions:

— additionally, use parchment baking paper in the base of a metal cake pan. Some people have also suggested using tube pans, but this will need time adjustments, as the cakes will cook faster due to heat coming more quickly to the center. Some mention using silicon pans and that they cook more evenly, but I am not going to use them as I believe that it is likely that at least some silicon will be ingested.

— some said to add 1/2t more baking soda

— 5x5x3 mini loaf pans were done in about 35 minutes

— add 1/4t cinnamon

— spelt flour would be a traditional flour used in the ancient Mid-East; substitute it for the same amount of rye or unbleached wheat flour

========================================================================

From The Jerusalem Post:

Suzanne Quintner’s Basic Israeli Honey Cake – Ashkanazi-Style

4 eggs
1 C bland oil – use olive oil, or (tasteless) safflower or grapeseed oils

1 C brown sugar – use Succanat, a natural, brown sugar
1 C honey – use buckwheat or orange-blossom

1 C double strength black coffee – cooled, close to room temperature
350g self-raising flour* 1oz. = 28gms that would be approx. 12 ½ oz of flour; measure on scale

1 t allspice
1 t cinnamon

Method:

Beat the eggs, oil and sugar until sugar has dissolved. Add honey and cooled coffee and then beat in the flour gently, a little at a time. Bake in a large round fluted tin (bundt pan) at 170 degrees for 1 hour (this seems low to me; may take more time).

* self-rising flour is available in America. You must look for it, and it has the leavening ingredients (baking soda, baking powder etc ) already included in it.

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Daniel Rogov’s Sefardi Honey Confection – Muhallabia

Sefardi Jews are those who remained in the Middle East and all around the Mediterranean countries, traditionally, with premier communities in Moorish Spain and in Italy and in Morrocco. Their cuisine always reflects the foods of these sunny climes.

100 gr. (6 oz.) very fine sugar (use a natural, brown sugar and whizz-it finer in a Cuisinart)
1 1/4 C sweet white wine (use a Marsala)
5 T honey (use orange-blossom)
1 t grated lemon rind
pinch of ground cinnamon
4 whole eggs and 2 egg yolks

WARNING!

For this first cooking step, please watch the pan the whole time. Do not leave it for a moment; be careful pouring it, too. Keep children out of the kitchen completely while you do this first step. 

___ In a heavy skillet slowly heat the sugar in 2 tsp. of water, stirring regularly, until the sugar has melted and turned into a caramel syrup. Immediately pour the syrup into a cake tin, tilting so that the entire bottom of the tin is coated. Let cool.

___ In a saucepan heat the wine and honey, stirring until the honey dissolves. Add the cinnamon and lemon rind, stirring well. Remove from the flame and let cool 5 – 6 minutes.

___ In a mixing bowl beat together the egg yolks and whole eggs. Add these to the honey-wine mixture, beating until well blended, and pour into the cake tin. Place the tin in a large pot of water (be sure that the water is not higher than 1 cm. (1/2 “) from the lip of the tin) and bake in a medium oven until the mixture is set (about 45 minutes).

Let cool for 15 – 20 minutes and then refrigerate.

Just before serving, run a thin knife blade around the edges to loosen the sides and invert onto a chilled serving dish.
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Have fun. Enjoy these cakes and let me know if and how you adapt them. When I get a chance to make my changes, I’ll let you know, but I’m taking care of my Mother at the moment, and it’s taking most of my time.

Best to all — Em

(c)2007 Em https://diabetesdietdialogue.wordpress.com
If you desire to quote from or use my article, please include the entire copyright citation and website address. Thanks!
“Everyone knows someone who needs this information!” (TM)

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Recipes For Longevity – Coconut, The Tree of Life – Part 4A

 

I’m a Survivor! If you could choose only two plants to have on a desert island to help you survive, what would you choose? For me, they would be industrial hemp and coconut. Why?! Well, here’s the first article about coconut, which I believe to be an original, foundational human food (FHF).

Coconut really reached a top-level echelon for me a few years ago, due to Donna Gates’ research about its anti-viral efficacy, but I got more intrigued about coconut’s great possibility to Heal after I spent almost all of last summer reading. (It’s a passion, so the hours easily roll by. This summer, I have had less of that luxury, as caring for my Mother has arisen.) One of the most important books I read last summer was “UltraMetabolism” by Dr. Mark Hyman, MD.

Mark is one of the growing number of Holistic Integrative Medical doctors — i.e. MDs who willingly embrace Alternative Medicine’s desire to:

1) really cure the root of the problem while

2) using as natural a therapy as possible, with the idea of working WITH your body, doing NO harm.

I believe these doctors are the best hope for the future of the Healing Arts – for arts they are, more so than science, but science has its place.

One of the studies Mark cites found diabetics seem to have smaller mitochondria in their cells. What’s a mitochondria you ask? Glad you did.

Mitochondria are your intra-cellular power-houses. They are your bio-engine. It is where all the nutritional material you put in your body is literally “burned” for you to make the energy you need — the energy to run your body and mind smoothly and seamlessly, as well as make the “extra energy” you want to use to play or work.

If diabetics do indeed have smaller power-houses, then the food-fuel which cannot enter the mitochondria to turn into energy, starts being stashed as fat, instead. Insulin is very effective in “doing” fat-storage as blood sugars cannot stay high, while waiting for food to be burned.

What’s a solution?

1) Eating small meals is one. 

2) Choosing the kinds of foods you eat, and especially whether you are eating medium-chain fatty acids and Omega-3 fats (these are “the good fats”) is another strategy. These good-fats impact your metabolism favorably and help it be more efficient, just as the right kind of exercise also does.

3) Obviously, when we mention exercise, you have to consult your own physician as to what is correct for you, but usually, long, slow exercise counts. This is why walking is so beneficial.

Exercise builds muscle, and new muscle includes lots of new mitochondrial power-houses — so even if these mitochondria are smaller, too, you still MADE more power-houses due to muscle-building.

The two techniques I’ve mentioned help you from two different directions:

1) made your metabolism more efficient and

2) made more mitochondria!

Keep tabs on your blood sugars, as you should see a positive response and feel more energy, too, over time.

Where do you find the medium-chain miracle fatty-acids you need to start rebalancing your biochemistry? They are found in cold-pressed, extra-virgin coconut oil — a healthy, although saturated, vegetarian oil.

BUT,  do not use trans-fat hydrogenated coconut oils; these are rampantly-used in factory-produced foods; read product labels, as these hydrogenated forms gave ‘coconut and tropical oils’ an undeserved stigma.  Natural coconut oil is trans-fat free; only factories make it hydrogenated.

Humans began in warm, tropical climes where coconuts proliferate, and they are the basic foundational human food (FHF) that is easily available to sustain life. All hunter-gather tribes utilize them fully, for food, clothing and housing. The coconut “water”, inside the nut, is sterile, and safer to drink than the often microbially-infested surface waters. The mineral profile of the coconut water (not coconut “milk”, which is made with pulp) is almost exactly the mineral electrolyte profile your cells need for health — potassium, calcium, sodium, phosphorus, iron, zinc, manganese, copper along with vital amino acids. Although “fatty”, coconuts contain no cholesterol.

This largest-nut was truly a gift, and it’s calories enabled us to be satiated when there was largely only high water-content tropical fruits and difficult to find shell-fish or ocean fish.

Fresh coconuts are an alkaline pH food, and so they can help combat the modern acid-producing life-style which eats away at your circulatory system and organs. Coconuts are also a high-fiber, low-glycemic food and they have a low carb profile along with their protein.Every ounce of shredded coconut contains about 5 grams of fiber. Your quota of fiber should aim to be around 30 – 35 grams, daily.

Just about everyone loves the taste of coconut, too. It’s especially easy to use it for children.

It’s important to know that there is a big difference between the nutrition of “old” brown coconuts and “young” green coconuts. Ask your health store to import young, green nuts. Their jelly-like flesh is perfect for smoothies, puddings and just straight-from-the nut eating. Unfortunately, most of the nuts from Thailand are now being “irradiated”, so ask lots of questions about your retailer’s sources. Consider tracking down naturally-processed nuts online, if you have to. Young green coconuts are often sold wrapped in plastic with only the white inner husk showing because the green part has been hacked off.

Coconut is a potent anti-viral food and it is proving to be helpful in combatting yeast-infections and the Epstein-Barr like virus which is associated with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, too.  Lauric acid and caprylic acid are the most effective, active anti-virals. 

Coconut is also an important substitute for wheat flours in cooking for gluten-intolerant people who have Crohn’s disease, celiac or sprue. Dr. Bruce Fife, ND is a vociferous advocate for coconut as a healthy food, and he has written many books on the subject.  The recipe I am including is from his book “Cooking With Coconut Flour“.

Organic, unrefined coconut oil is also very healthy to use for frying. Use just a bit. A little goes a long way, and as it is one of the highest-temperature stable oils, it is much better to use for these high-temperature cooking processes than lower temperature “unsaturated” oils, which de-nature in the frying zone and produce harmful products.

Other palm oils also supply medium-chain fatty acids, and are beneficial if naturally-processed and organic, although they are vegetarian “saturated” fats. The deep orange color of organic palm oil is naturally-occurring beta-carotene, and it’s a richer source than carrots.

Purchase as cold-pressed, extra-virgin form of coconut oil only. Get it at excellent health stores like Whole Foods, nationally or online from manufacturers, from retailers online like Dr. Mercola ( http://www.mercola.com/2003/jan/18/raw_coconuts.htm   ), Dr. Martin’s carries coconut-water ( http://www.dr-martins.at/index.php?l=e   ) and contact other fine health stores for organic coconut products.

In the bottle, organic coconut fat should be fluffy-cloud white — yet be unbleached; if the room temperature is more than 76 degrees Fahrenheit, then coconut oil will be a clear liquid in its bottle.

Jungle Products, Omega Nutrition and Spectrum Oils each have suitable versions; I include them in that order, according to my taste tests. Spectrum makes unrefined and refined, so look at their labels carefully.

The extra-virgin, cold-pressed coconut oil’s medium-chain fatty-acids and the Omega-3 fats (in another article, soon) available from cold-water fish and hemp, can go a long way toward helping ameliorate diabetes.  They offer the possibility of near-cure or cure of diabetes when in a co-ordinated plan.

Cherie Colbom’s “The Coconut Diet” and Dr. Mark Hyman’s “UltraMetbolism” books will help you learn lots more, as will Donna Gates’ Body-Ecology Diet site at  http://www.bodyecologydiet.com/ and, check out her starter and directions for making coconut-water kefir.

Coconut products are usually room-temperature stable; this is true for coconut oil, tightly-closed dried coconut and unopened coconut water. Canned coconut milk and coconut-water should be refrigerated after opening, tightly-covered for a maximum of 4 days OR you can freeze them.

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BANANA – WALNUT COCONUT BREAD

In this recipe, the eggs are the source of the leavening to produce “lightness”. Do not change the proportions or types of ingredients. This recipe is basically the one from Dr. Bruce Fife, ND.

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Pan-spray a 9x5x3 inch loaf pan.

1   organic banana, mashed
8   eggs, organic and free-range and Omega-3 supplemented

1/2 C   organic coconut milk, canned or made from fresh pulp by blender
1/4 C   Succanat or brown sugar

1T   agave nectar OR  1  1/2 teaspoons liquid stevia extract
1/2t   organic vanilla extract, Cook’s brand or other high-quality vanilla

1/2t   organic almond extract
1/2t   Celtic sea salt

Blend these together and then add:
3/4C   sifted, dry organic coconut flour (whizz shredded coconut in blender)
1t   Rumford’s or another no-aluminum baking powder

Mix well, so there are no lumps. Next, fold in the nuts.
1/2C   organic walnuts or pecans

Pour the batter into the pre-sprayed loaf pan and put into the pre-heated oven for 60 minutes. Check that the center of the loaf is done by inserting a wooden slewer. If only a few dry crumbs cling, that’s OK, but it should not be moist on the skewer. Remove the loaf from the pan, carefully, and let it cool on a wire rack before serving or wrapping for storage.

Makes 1 loaf ======================================================================
I usually choose pecans over walnuts, but as I am at my mother’s home, in an orchard of organic walnuts, in California, I’ll be hard-pressed to not be using walnuts when this year’s harvest is ready in the fall. The black walnuts are already dropping, but the English ones are still on the trees, at the moment.

I’ll try to share more about coconuts next time, as they are such an important food. Meanwhile, you can read more about them at:

http://www.answers.com/topic/coconut-water-1

Best to all — Em

(c)2007 Em https://diabetesdietdialogue.wordpress.com
If you desire to use my article or quote from it, please include the full copyright citation and website address, too. Thanks!
“Everyone knows someone who needs this information!” (TM)

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Thoughts About A Working-Life

Today is Labor Day in the United States — a day which is meant to celebrate the American Worker.

In modern times, many of us define ourselves by the “job” we have. I think that is an aberration.

I believe we need to re-orient in several ways, and if we succeed, then we have the opportunity for a healthier life!

___   First of all, we are NOT our job description. We are much more than that narrow encapsulation of skills and its “power” over us short-circuits our potential and shades our responsibility to become “more”.

We owe it to ourselves to be aware of our innate gifts (attributes) and to take-on the real act of living our lives by utilizing them all to the fullest, in as wide a range of influence as possible. Dream big dreams and make them real!

___   Speak out against injustice. It’s very prevalent in even more areas of life today. As a person of 61 years, I think the workers are having an even tougher time and corporate-greed is at an all-time high, world-wide, on a scale heretofore unimagined. The checks and balances meant to “protect” the ordinary person, who makes the world operate everyday, just seem to be handed over to the Powerful. The only way to stop all this is to advocate, participate in government, or as a citizen, and make new things happen — throw out officials who do not act equitably and honestly. If you sit back, you will lose even more of your freedoms and your economic life-line.

___ Your “real” labor is to find and do your Universal Purpose, to learn your Universal Lessons, and earthly labor is just meant to give you the resources to feed, clothe and house yourself while you spend more of your time on the Big Picture — producing Your Real Life.

___ Hone your divinely-given talents. They were given as Keys to Your Success. Honor them by using them. If you love writing, do it — find Your Voice. If you are a good athlete, find a way to use it to make even more happen, especially by helping others. For all of us, part of our Life’s Purpose is to help others — if you are not, then you have dis-empowered and “impoverished” yourself, no matter how “successful” and “prosperous” you think you are.

___ Love is in the mix. If you don’t “love” what you are doing and who you are doing it with, try to find a place where you are nourishing your heart and soul as soon as you can. Living in less than healthy mental states, or ones which are chronically stressful, negatively impacts your life. It takes courage to move-on. Find your courage. Dig deep. It’s there. We are all-powerful Beings. We are a piece of the Universal Divine. How can it be any other way? Draw strength from that.

___ Forge new relationships throughout your life. Learn from others. Help them to learn from you. Have friends of all types and ages. Take counsel from only wise people.

___ Be a great role-model for the next generation. Only take on parenting if you have a love of children, understand their needs and the degree to which they will change your life. In being a parent, your corporate job must become secondary.

Well, I may add more later … but I’m going to get some well-deserved rest. I hope you do too.

Best to all — Em

(c)2007 EM https://diabetesdietdialogue.wordpress.com
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