Saturday, April 26, 2008

Food and Common Sense

Here it is. I said I was gonna write it and I finally have. Food and Common Sense.

In an earlier post I mentioned how I thought so much of eating well is just common sense. Unfortunately, I think many people today lack common sense. I really think that it is a gift from God. I know that I do not always have it in all things and sometimes more than others.

First, I would say that things God has blessed us with in nature are to be our sustenance. When we take something God made as good and twist it, corrupt it, adulterate it… then our minds, our conscience, dare I say, our common sense should instruct us that it will not promote the same life and fuel in the body that God’s untampered sustenance would.

Naturally then, one can see that if we, in addition to ruining good food, also presume to eat or ingest things that are man-made, artificial, and/or manufactured then our God-made bodies will not function appropriately on the artificial (read fake) food.

Since we all approach life and learning with different presuppositions, let me tell you where I am coming from. I am not a vegetarian, vegan, or all raw food advocate. I strive to eat the diet of the Bible while recognizing, as I mentioned in my ‘About Me’ section, that “man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.”

In Genesis 1:29 it says “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food.” From the beginning God gave us good food from that which He created.

Later, after the fall of man, God instructed Noah saying “Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you all things, even as the green herbs.” This was a change in that God gave man freedom to eat meat.

Later, when giving the law to Moses in Leviticus 11, God instructed the Israelites on foods they could eat by the cleanliness. While we are not under the law of Moses today the wisdom that God gave then still applies today. There are foods that are more excellent than others. There are meats that are better than others. There are clean and unclean things.

So common sense looks at what God has made. It looks at what God has revealed in creation and revealed to people throughout the ages. Wisdom with regard to food has been passed down such that we can know with common sense that cooking food is ok, eating meat is ok, and enjoying God’s creation is good.

There are new things to consider though. Governments and corporations try to tell us what is good when they have no clue. Don’t buy it. If you don’t know what something is on an ingredient list don’t just eat it thinking it will be ok. Go learn about it. So how does this play out in a practical way? Let’s say you pick up that can of diet soda and see ‘high fructose corn syrup’ and ‘aspartame’ on there. Do you know what that is? Really? Go look it up and read about them. After learning I hope that you will not drink that anymore.

In our day and age many great foods are not the same. Take the example of fish. So much fish is contaminated with mercury that one must be careful in choosing (and not to choose farmed fish either… ha). Also, the soil of many industrial farms is not the quality of a small private organic farm. Also, one farm may let their animals out on pasture eating greens as God intended while another farm may never let their animals outside of a barn. The quality in the food from these animals is drastically different.

Life gives life. Eat food that promotes life and you will be giving life to your body… you will be eating today to live tomorrow. Remember though, we are body, soul, and spirit. I believe our bodies are the weakest of the three. If you ask God, the Giver of Life, to give life to your spirit then He will and you will never die.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

Food and Common Sense. 

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

The health benefits of raw milk… again

I am not going to list them now but I just saw another good article on Natural News.com so I am bringing your attention to it.

You can check it out here.

Nice.

Hmmm… oatmeal

I ate some pretty darn good oatmeal this morning. I don’t have a picture for you though… you know how I like to look at pictures of my food.

Oatmeal is an all around pretty decent food. I know, I know… so many people laud the praises of oatmeal. I think it is good, I just don’t think it is excellent. It has decent amounts of vitamins, minerals, and protein (when compared to other grains), but it is still a grain that many people can have a hard time digesting. Sprouting and/or soaking grains makes them easier to digest and therefore makes the nutrients more bioavailable as well. Having said that I don’t always soak my oats the night before… I should.

Some excellent grains that I would recommend you do some reading on are: buckwheat, amaranth, quinoa, and millet. My favorite of these is buckwheat. I always digest buckwheat really well and like using it for pizza crusts, pancakes, and cookies. Yes, I just said cookies. In the future I will have to highlight some food I make with buckwheat but in the meantime check out what you can find on it. I am sure I will talk about it more.

Anyway, just so you know… this is how I like my oatmeal: Organic rolled oats, butter, organic maple syrup, sliced banana, and some almond butter. Wow is that good. I need to get some Scottish oats though… make a note.

Out

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Since I am on the subject…

Considering I just highlighted a company doing some scandalous things to the taste buds. Well… I shouldn’t say scandalous things… they can do it, we just should not buy it.

Anyway, I thought I would highlight another travesty with regard to the production of food. Ever heard of a company called Monsanto? Honestly, I would be surprised if you have. I think it was a year or two ago when I first heard of them.

Monsanto is so dangerous because they control so much of the production of food in the world. They are the world’s leader in genetically modified seeds. They also have farmers agree to buy new seed every year when they purchase from them. That is ridiculous. They have taken something as simple and wonderful as seed… that we can just grow and reuse from the plant (like God made it) and they have twisted it and patented it.

They have even recently developed a seed which resists their own herbicide (Roundup). Now to the point… in case it is not obvious to you. Companies like Monsanto, not only have shady practices (shady is an understatement), but they threaten to destroy the foundation of naturally grown, God-ordained food.

Also a great video on what I am talking about can be seen here.
For some more information check out www.healthfreedomusa.org. Take what you see and read here with balance and carefully… but lots of true and good info.
The link for the article is here.

Out.

Monday, April 21, 2008

Oh, you mean those taste bud changing chemicals in your food?

Woa. It has been a while since I have last blogged. I shall have to remedy that this week.

On to what prompted me to write just now.

I want you to check out this article that was on NaturalNews.com. It is crazy.

It talks about a company called Senomyx which has contracts with Kraft, Nestle, Coca-Cola, Campbell Soup and more. They have developed chemicals that trick your brain into thinking something is more salty or sweet than it really is. That way, companies can use less sugar or salt and you will not notice the difference in taste.

Even worse, companies do not have to tell you the ingredients. They can just put it under the “artificial flavors” category. Good thing I don’t buy anything with artificial flavors (or anything artificial for that matter).

It’s crazy what people are selling as food. I don’t think the government needs to get more involved. I do think YOU need to get more involved. I do think companies need to truthfully state all of the ingredients that are in their products (which has already taken government involvment).

I will see you soon… well… write you soon.

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Two good meals

Friday, April 11, 2008

On Dairies and Dairy Farming

The Ithaca times had an article recently showing some of the negative impact of industrial farming with regard to Willet Dairy.

It is amazing to see the negative effects of distorting the way God meant for things to be. Milk in this manner is a poison all around.

What can be done about the wrong industrial practices when it comes to food?

I think one of the first things is to use your pocketbook. In the case of Willet Dairy that would mean stop buying their products… or stop buying from the distributors which buy from Willet.

The second thing to do would be to help educate people or encourage people to educate themselves with regard to their food choices.

The third thing in this case would be to move.

I am sure that many people, probably even the owners, are “great”, well-intentioned people at Willet Dairy. However, in our economy the only thing that really talks is money. Therefore the best thing to do is to let the business die. Move out of the town, stop supporting the products, and help educate other people.

I am not an environmentalist by any means… well, in truth I am, but not politically as we define environmentalist these days. It is just a fact that cows need to be on fresh pasture and that confining creates a host of negative ramifications. The cows health is bad, the milk quality is bad, the “bad bugs” are abundant in everything, the manure is toxic and creating illness in the surrounding community. It is a rather sad picture.

So, how should it be done? I mentioned them earlier: Organic Pastures Dairy Company. Check them out. Learn. Read.

There are lots of other free-range, grass-fed farmers all over the country though. I have met several in the midwest. You just do not see the quality with 9000 cows. Organic Pastures is a decent size operation and they only have 300-400 cows. Think about a mega farm with 9000 cows.... not raised on pasture the way God intended… only bad things for everyone… except maybe the bankers.