Take for instance the subject of my most recent post at Writer…Interrupted, Rejoicing in Hope Every Day, a post I wrote a winter ago when we were harvesting black walnut twigs from our back yard tree for a family friend who needed to drink black walnut tea as part of an alternative-to-chemo cancer regimen to shrink her inoperable brain tumor. Guess what? It worked in a few short weeks. Her tumor shrank enough to remove 99.5% of it surgically. She’s doing fantastic, and her regular docs are mystified. I could tell you more stories about people we personally know, who have been cured from cancer without a single chemo or radiation treatment. You don’t need to be an “expert” to realize there are better ways.

After watching three separate documentaries detailing these successful cancer treatments, I have realized that cancer is NOT a condition to be feared. It is something to be prevented by taking charge of your health now, and having a game plan in place for its seemingly inevitable arrival in the lives of those you love. Cancer strikes 1 in 4 people. Do some research before it takes you by surprise. Get your favorite hot beverage, gather the family round as we did, watch these documentaries and weep, both in disbelief at the level of corruption in the cancer industry, and in awe that cancer is curable, it isn’t a death sentence, you just have to know how best to defeat it!

• Dying to Have Known

• Beautiful Truth

One final note. Sharing things like this is kind of like sharing the gospel with someone who thinks they’re good enough without the cross and Jesus’ shed blood to cover their sins. It’s offensive to some, and I apologize for that, but lives are at stake here. Please ignore this if it clashes with your ideals for cancer treatments, please understand I’m sharing it because I truly believe it’s info we all need to know to win the war on cancer and save lives. I hope it helps someone in the midst of difficult decisions. Many people have been sent home to die with terminal stage 4 cancer, but have not given up, and have been cured simply by trying these alternatives. Not only cured, but they’re still alive decades later with no resurgence of cancer. That’s simply amazing.

We can’t afford to ignore it.

Our cornbread recipe is a tweaked version of one we got from the back of a Bob’s Red Mill package of wheat germ. Instead of making it into the corn muffins for which it was intended, I double the recipe and put it in a 9×13″ pan, and substitute the white flour the recipe calls for, with freshly ground spelt flour. And because we try to avoid most corn products (because conventionally grown corn contains GMOs), I get organically grown popcorn from our neighbor’s CSA farm, and grind it into cornmeal. Mmm! We love this stuff…

Whole Wheat Corn Bread

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F, and grease a 9×13″ pan. Recipe may be halved for a 8×8″ square dish. And, if you’d rather make it into muffins, it should make about 24 muffins.

• 2 cups whole wheat flour (we like Spelt berries, freshly ground), if you prefer, you could use white flour, or a mixture of the two.
• 1 cup wheat germ
• 1 cup cornmeal
• 2 eggs, beaten (nothing compares to our own home-raised organic eggs!)
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 4 TB sugar (best is “evaporated cane juice”, if you can find it!)
• 2 tsp. baking powder (buy “aluminum free”)
• 1 tsp. salt (sea salt is wonderful!)
• 2 cups milk (we love us our raw cow’s milk!!)

Stir together flour, wheat germ, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder and salt. Make a well in the center. Combine egg, milk, and melted butter; add all at once to flour mixture. Stir just until moistened; batter should be lumpy. Transfer batter to greased 9×13″ pan, and bake at 400*F for 20-25 minutes, till lightly browned on top. Serve warm, of course! (it’s especially good with organic local honey on top!)

(FYI–the pic above is a freebie from morguefiles, not my own, just trying to add color to the post! My own chili and cornbread look quite a bit different…)

When shopping for hygiene products, there are three COMMON ingredients we avoid where possible:

• Sodium Lauryl Sulfate–this is a main ingredient in most commercial shampoos, cosmetics, and toothpastes. In toothpastes, it’s been shown to cause a higher incidence of canker sores and that’s minor. Do your research!
• Propylene Glycol–found in automatic brake and hydraulic fluid, industrial antifreeze, paint, degreasers, wallpaper strippers and more… can cause liver dysfunction and kidney problems and more!
• Fluoride–according to the Clinical Toxicology of Commercial Products, fluoride is more poisonous than lead, and just slightly less poisonous than arsenic. It is a cumulative poison that accumulates in bone over time. After hearing about young children dying from accidentally swallowing their fluoride treatments in the dentist’s chair, we request no fluoride at our appointments.I won’t even comment about it being in our water supply!

So in light of the above, it’s been important to me to find healthy alternatives to what is typically available at Wal-mart. Wal-mart does carry Tom’s of Maine brand toothpaste, which is a “natural” toothpaste with no fluoride…but it does contain propylene glycol.

We’ve found that our favorite commercial toothpaste is JASON Cosmetics brand Powersmile toothpaste, available through the Frontier co-op site and some health food stores. Vanilla Mint is the BEST tasting toothpaste I’ve had in all my 35 years. It’s amazing, for the whole family. This toothpaste boasts the following:

• Certified organic ingredients
• Natural flavor
• Exclusive natural whiteners
• Bacteria-blaster promotes healthy gums
• Long lasting breath freshener
• No fluoride
• No saccharin
• No preservatives
• No artificial colors or flavors
• No animal by-products
• No animal testing
• no lauryl sulfates
• No propylene glycol

Sounds perfect, huh. It’s the good stuff.

Make your own. :O) Now there’s a fresh idea!

However much we like and recommend JASON brand toothpastes…recently, we’ve been using plain ole baking soda to clean our pearly whites. It’s cheap, easy, and on hand. Wet the toothbrush, add a little baking soda (Bob’s Red Mill brand–aluminum free!), a single drop of wintergreen or peppermint essential oil (more than a drop will make your mouth burn!) and wow, your teeth look and feel like you’ve just been to the dentist for a cleaning. We’re hooked.

There are some great recipes online for homemade “tooth soaps”, kept in soap dispensers, which sound like a great way to contain the mess and squirt out however much you need w/o sharing germs.

So there you go, a few alternatives to name-brand toothpastes and all their potentially toxic ingredients!

More than you wanted to know? ;O)

Why aluminum-free? Well, store-bought deodorants contain aluminum or aluminum compounds, which are said by the “experts” to increase the risk of Alzheimer’s and certain kinds of cancer. I don’t know about you, but my children are approaching the age of deodorant usage…and for them to have zero-exposure to toxic metals sounds good to me!

I love being able to pronounce the ingredients of the things I put in and on my body, don’t you? That’s just one more *plus* to this deodorant recipe.

Homemade Aluminum-free Deodorant

• Bob’s Red Mill Aluminum-free Baking soda (most baking soda brands are processed w/aluminum, so go with Bob’s!)
• Witch Hazel (available at your local supermarket…same section as alcohol and hydrogen peroxide)
• fingertip-spray bottle (for witch hazel)
• plastic storage bottle w/a flip top lid (for baking soda storage)
• essential oil of choice (coconut or rosemary…)

Fill the mini-spray bottle with witch hazel, and if desired, add a drop or two of your favorite essential oil. Likewise, fill the other flip-top container with baking soda. To use, simply spray the witch hazel on  your armpit, then dump a bit of baking soda in your hand and cup it to your pit…patting it around. It’s not as messy as it sounds, and I’m so happy to report that it’s the BEST protection I’ve ever had from B.O.  My friend who got me started w/this recipe told me that prior to trying this recipe, she also had searched for a good coverage deodorant but always ended up smelling like B.O. and whatever scent the deodorant happened to be.

I’ve been using this recipe with totally happy results for several days now!

One last tip  for sensitive skin, try one part witch hazel, one part aloe vera gel, and one part water.

While we’re on the topic of homemade deodorants, I want to point you to another recipe that sounds good…this one we haven’t tried yet, but came highly recommended by another friend of mine. She says it’s totally replaced store-bought deodorant for her family…teenage son and all! This one is more of a roll-on, and calls for coconut oil, arrowroot powder and baking soda.

At any rate, should we somehow experience a world-wide shortage of hygiene products, you now have a recipe or two to save the day!

Superfoods range from powders to actual foods. Be sure to check out the big variety of superfood powders at Live Superfoods–our favorite so far is Mesquite with its amazing claims for diabetics. Plus, it happens to be delicious sprinkled on yogurt, or added to smoothies and hot drinks!  Camu Camu powder is said to be highly effective against depression, containing between 30 and 60 times as much vitamin C as an orange!

Goji berries, bee pollen and wheat grasses are some other superfoods our family has tried and fallen in love with. And this is just the tip of the superfood iceberg. Today, I want to tell you about raw cacao nibs!

Raw Cacao Nibs

Chocolate is made from cacao beans…need I say more? But unlike processed chocolate, raw cacao nibs (broken up cacao beans) are rich in nutrients, and full of health benefits. You won’t believe all the ways they are good for you, so go to the link below and read up!

A snippet from the Live Superfoods website on Raw Cacao Nibs:

Cacao has more antioxidant flavonoids than any food tested so far, including blueberries, red wine, and black and green teas. In fact, it has up to four times the quantity of antioxidants found in green tea!

Cacao is LOADED with magnesium and just might be the number one source of magnesium of any food. Could this be why women crave chocolate before or during their menstrual period? Magnesium balances brain chemistry, builds strong bones, and is associated with creating more happiness. Magnesium is the most deficient major mineral on the Standard American Diet (SAD) – over 80% of Americans are chronically deficient in magnesium.

But what do you do with Raw Cacao Nibs?

We love our nibs mixed in with a little raw honey and coconut butter, and goji berries if we have them. You won’t find a healthier, more palate pleasing, melt in your mouth treat to replace that candy bar fix.  Sometimes we mix it up and freeze it in candy molds, and then just pop them out of the molds, bag them up and store them in the freezer.

(I think I’m going to go pull one out for a snack this minute!)

Here’s another fab recipe. I first tried Agave at the homeschool convention this spring. WOW. Delicious stuff, with the same consistency as honey, but more expensive!

Raw Almond Butter Cups from Everyday Raw by Matthew Kenney

Ingredients:

• 1 cup almond butter
• 1.5 cups agave (divided)
• 2 cups coconut oil (divided)
• 1/2 tablespoon sea salt
• 1 cup cacao nibs
• parchment paper
• a baking sheet with sides

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, mix the almond butter, 1/2 cup of agave, 1/2 cup of coconut oil and sea salt. Set aside until ready to use (not in refrigerator).
2. In a blender, blend cacao nibs, 1 cup agave, 1.5 cups coconut oil until smooth.
3. Spread 1/2 of the cacao mixture from Step 2 onto a parchment lined baking sheet with “walls” to create a thin layer. Place in freezer for 15 minutes or until it firms up.
4. Remove from freezer and spread almond butter mixture from Step 1 over the hardened cacao mixture.
5. Spread remaining cacao mixture over the top of the spread almond mixture and put the pan back into the freezer until its firm.
6. Remove from freezer and turn out the mixture from the pan onto the cutting board. Remove parchment paper and cut up the firmed up mixture into small piece. Voila! Almond butter cups!
7. Be sure to store these in the fridge or freezer.

Yield: about 1.5 quarts.

For my previous post on nut butters, including Almond Butter, go here!

Last but not least…I’m able to order our raw cacao nibs from Frontier through our local co-op. My coffee grinder handily spins some of them into a powder so my oldest daughter (braces) can enjoy them, too.  We’re totally devoted fans!

One of the first things I learned from the resident farm-pro down the road, is that washing eggs opens them wide up for contamination, which is why commercial producers have to coat their eggs with mineral oil. With 7,500 pores or openings in the eggshell, it’s best to leave intact the protective bloom, or waxy coating that God intended to protect the egg from harmful bacteria.

Spot-washing here and there is how I’ve always dealt with unwanted, errm…*smears*…but come to find out, the best way according to the above article, is to wash those spots off with warm water (20 degrees warmer than the egg) that’s been mixed in a 3:1 ratio with vinegar. Just like my grandma used to do it! (Read the above article to find out why)

We have 39 organic laying hens, and we sell about 10 dozen eggs a week–very small scale. But what you see is what you get. Our chickens free-range from early in the morning till dark, from their chicken “barn” with its two doors flung open wide. We supplement their free-ranging with organic feed that’s been mixed with Fertrell’s Nutri-balancer. This organic supplement contains 10-20% more nutrients than what the USDA requires, plus kelp meal, probiotics, chelated minerals (makes the minerals more bio-available), and phosphate, which enhances the layer’s absorption of calcium for  strong shells.

With organic eggs at the store costing anywhere from $4/dozen in our area, you might want to find a local farmer near you who does things the common sense way. Query him to know exactly what you are buying.

For more on how good free-range eggs are for you compared to your typical grocery store variety, visit Mother Earth’s Chicken and Egg page. I like to print this off and share it with my new egg customers. Most people can’t believe that pastured (free-range) poultry eggs can boast of the following when compared to their grocery store counterparts:

• 1⁄3 less cholesterol
• 1⁄4 less saturated fat
• 2⁄3 more vitamin A
• 2 times more omega-3 fatty acids
• 3 times more vitamin E
• 7 times more beta carotene

Happy News for the Kiddos: Did you know that out of the 69 billion eggs produced annually, only 2.3 million of them are contaminated with salmonella. That’s .003 %, or 1 in 30,000 eggs. Go ahead and enjoy that raw cookie dough! Salmonella infections are typically found in commercially raised hens. Sick chickens lay salmonella contaminated eggs. So buy high quality, cage free, organic eggs from a local producer and your risk of salmonella disappears!

One more thing before I sign off…yesterday we butchered around 60 chickens with the neighbors, along with another family’s help. This other family had helped friends of theirs process chickens just a week or two prior.

(This chicken killing thing is catching on…)

Anyway…the point is, this family told us how two families brought their birds to be processed, one family had fed their broilers organic feed, the other family hadn’t. The organically fed birds had more fat and healthier livers than the non-organic birds. Believe me, if you have ever butchered chickens, the liver tells the whole story. They should be dark and smooth, not spotted, green, enlarged, etc.

I’m telling you, God created us and our environments, and man keeps messing with a good thing! No antibiotics or GMO feeds for my birdies!

Get thyselves educated! We ARE what we EAT.

Why is this exciting to me? Well, our spring broilers arrived last Wednesday which means my freezer will be 25 chickens richer in about 7 weeks, Lord willing. Makes this organic, grass-fed effort to raise quality meat for my family much more satisfying.

Get this: Two groups of chickens from two generations were fed exactly the same things, except one group was fed organic feed, and the other, conventional feed. When all was said and done, scientists evaluated RNA (Ribonucleic acid–similar to DNA but different) samples from both groups’ intestines to check out their differences in gene expression. They were unprepared for the amazing results! For more info, check out this article at naturalnews.com: Organic Chickens are Genetically Different from Conventional Chickens.

My immediate thought is this: what does this say about us? If the different cultivation methods of chicken feeds can cause such changes in a chicken’s gene pool, then what does eating conventionally raised veggies and fruits as opposed to eating organically grown veggies and fruits cause in my own personal gene make-up?

Another thing–this study was done in the Netherlands. The conventionally fed chickens were NOT being fed feed containing genetically modified organisms (GMO’s), ie: “Frankenstien foods”, as they are known in Europe. Farmer John, my organic CSA farm neighbor, tells me that currently, most all corn grown commercially in the USA contains GMO’s, so it would be interesting frightening (!) to see a study comparing GMO grain fed chickens with their organically fed counterparts.

A 2006 Consumer Reports study urges that chicken is among the top products to purchase organic. It does not contain the toxic hormones, antibiotics, and pesticides that conventionally raised poultry do. This report even suggests that low levels of artificial hormones can increase one’s risk of developing cancer. Traces of toxic heavy metals have even been uncovered in commercially grown chickens. For a list of more chemically laden foods to avoid, go here.

Not only that, when you raise your animals on pasture and feed them organic feeds, you reap a huge bang for your buck. Why? Omega-3 fatty acids are created in the leaves of green plants, where they are vital to photosynthesis. When my chickens graze fresh green grass every day, they are accumulating more of these essential fatty acids. When I eat my chicken, I’m eating its Omega-3′s–and that’s just one of many nutrient benefits.

So…how about that? We really are what we eat, or er…what our animals eat.

FYI–”Afla”toxin takes its name from the short hand of  its causative agent, the mold  A. flavus, A. fla.

A little side trip…

I have always wondered why so many people had peanut sensitivities. But I reasoned my doubts away, thinking peanuts were just highly allergic, like milk. After all, there are so many lactose intolerant people out there, right?

Well, a few months ago, we were introduced to the wonders and health benefits of drinking raw milk, and educated by Mark McAfee on why lactose intolerant people can drink raw milk without any reactions whatsoever. It’s as simple as this: in raw milk, the lactase enzyme hasn’t been killed in the pasteurization process. This enzyme is necessary for many people to be able to break down the milk sugars they drink. Very exciting for certain members of our extended family who haven’t been able to drink store milk for decades! Believe me, they are cured and can drink raw milk all day long now with no adverse reactions.

So I revisited my questions on the peanut butter problem. See, God stuck me with this “inquiring mind” that just won’t stop. I can’t help it. And here’s what I  found out. The question is…

Do you really want to know?

Lest you think I’m basing this on internet drivel–please verify it all at the Cornell University website where you will learn wa-ay more than I have room for in this post!

The FAO, Food and Agricultural Organization, estimates that 25% of the world’s crops are affected by mycotoxins, of which aflatoxins are the most notorious.

Aflatoxins are sometimes detected in milk, cheese, corn, peanuts, cottonseed, nuts, almonds, figs, spices, and animal feeds . Milk, eggs, and meat products are occasionally contaminated because of the animal consumption of aflatoxin-contaminated feed.

Most people agree that aflatoxins should be considered very dangerous, and not at all allowable in food, if detectable. However, the United States FDA has set the allowable concentration for aflatoxins in human foods at 20 ppb (parts per billion). Foreign markets let far less get past them, allowing only 4-15 ppb. Animal feed can contain up to 100 ppb, which as we saw previously, sometimes allows for contamination of our dairy products and eggs. Because these molds are colorless, and don’t break down in cooking, it’s difficult to know if our foods are contaminated in these ways. And who knows what slow and steady exposure to aflatoxins will lead to over many years time?

SHOCKER: Evidence exists that Iraq used aflatoxins in their biological weapons–specifically in bombs and warheads! Agh!They evidently think that aflatoxins pose somewhat of a danger to humans!

But back to peanut butter…

Supposedly humans have a high tolerance for aflatoxin exposure, but I’m not willing to take that risk, when the lab results have shown such carcinogenic effects on animals. And not when the experts are also saying that children are  at risk from chronic exposure (pb&j anyone?), with such side effects as stunted growth and delayed development.

So you might want to check these things out for yourself.

Personally, our family loves sunbutter made from sunflower seeds. Almond and cashew butters are some other delicious nut butters, great with apple slices, in smoothies, or spread on romaine lettuce leaves and then drizzled with a bit of raw honey! Mmm! We haven’t yet tried to substitute these for peanut butter in cookies…but it’s on our can’t-wait-to-try-this list!

P.S. Since I brought up nut butters, it might be of interest to clarify that peanuts aren’t actually nuts, they are legumes… ;O)

I did have a manna experience this past week, when our Bible study friends came by and blessed us with their stash of organic grains, and even several bags of milled flour, kinds I’d always wanted to experiment with, but hadn’t yet! Hard red winter wheat, millet, rye, barley, spelt–which is one of our all time favorite grains!  Sadly, my friend is giving me these things because her young son has been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes…and because of this awesome site’s life changing info: Living Without Type 1, she is finding great success in eliminating grains and dairy from their diet. I encourage you to check the site out yourselves, it’s amazing, people are dealing with Type 1 by changing their diets–eliminating grains, dairy, going raw and organic and as a result, no more insulin shots! This is the delight of  “food therapy”–as opposed to drug therapy, check it out!

So tonight we gave barley flour a try…and WOW! We are hooked…fly thee to thy nearest health food store, get some barley flour and hie thee home to bake these…

Barley Biscuits–makes 9-10 biscuits

1. Blend the following dry ingredients in a mixing bowl:

• 2 cups barley milled from whole barley (or buy barley flour)
• 4 tsp baking powder (I recommend low sodium and aluminum free)
• 1 1/2 tsp salt (we love Farmer John’s “real salt”)

2. Blend together in separate bowl:

• 1 egg, well beaten
• 1 cup buttermilk (I keep powdered buttermilk on hand, as well as kefir which can be substituted for buttermilk)
• 1 1/2 TB oil
• 1 1/2 TB melted butter, unsalted

Or, instead of separating the last two ingredients, you could use 3 TB oil, or 3 TB melted butter–but it’s delicious half and half.

3. Blend liquid ingredients into dry ingredients just until mixed. Dough will be quite soft, like batter, and very light.

4. Drop spoonfuls of batter on lightly greased cookie sheet or stoneware, and bake in preheated oven at 400 degrees for 12-15 minutes until lightly golden on the bottom.

These are the fluffiest, lightest, whole grain biscuits ever–with delicious taste that will appeal to the whole family!

(and while you eat them, pretend you’re one of the 5,000 being fed on five small barley loaves and two fish…)

Next thing I want to try…Ezekiel bread!

(Go read this article at Science Daily for just one example of how toxic chemicals found in pesticides cause things like Parkinson’s disease, and for more stats on just how much healthier organic foods are than their unorganic counterparts visit this article.)

Yet, very few people–at least in my experience here in the mid-west–want their family and friends to label them as organic fanatics! So here’s my disclaimer to all my family and friends: going all organic is my *someday* goal, but never to the point of “bringing my own snacks to parties” etc. Our family loves food, loves fellowship and we have plenty of unhealthy eating habits. That said…I have to write this post. It’s pretty important info in today’s McDonald’s “dumbed down” culture where kids are raised loving refined products made from white flours and sugars, where genetically modified foods abound, and grocery stores sell HFCS everything and milk-flavored drinking beverages. What has happened to real food??? And why aren’t more people demanding answers?

I’ll tell you what happened…this profit driven, fast-turnover, long shelf life agenda happened. Sadly, going “organic” has had a bad rep in past years, but as more people get educated about health, they’re seeing how valuable real food really is. Organic is simply the way people grew food before the chemical ways became the norm. Back when dirt was dirt, and honeybees weren’t dying from all the pesticides.

I recently viewed The Truth about Organic Food, a 75 minute 2007 DVD interview of David Getoff, a Traditional Naturopathic Doctor with a full time health and wellness practice in San Diego, California. Wonderful introduction and overview of what “organic” is, why it’s beneficial and necessary for a long, healthy life, and how to know which “organic” products are worth buying. For instance, grass fed, free range, cage free and natural all mean varying degrees of “good for you”…and certain organic beefs were only organic (hormone & antibiotic free) for their last 90 days on this earth, according to organic standards in labeling. Organic labeling can be tricky, and just because something is organic does not mean it is healthy. Sure an organic candy bar is probably more healthy for you than a normal one, but as David Getoff says, “Cobra venom is organic–mercury, arsenic, and lead get pulled out of the earth and they’re organic!” So do your research, or better yet, grow your own!

Interesting history regarding fertilizers…

Chemical fertilizers replaced “green manure crops” as a way to put minerals and nutrients back into the soil, more time and cost effectively. Farmers and scientists must have put their heads together to find a way to grab back those seasons spent raising rye grass or other “green manure” crops that would then be plowed under as a way to naturally replenish the soil of all the goodies that crops take in their making. Somebody did the research, and found that the top chemicals the soil needed were N, P, and K–the ones found on all the fertilizer bags you buy at the farm store: Nitrogen, Potassium and Phosphorus. So they reasoned, let’s just pour this on, and get things back in the ground. Money talks, and this would be cheaper than growing a green manure crop, not to mention, you’d get those months back for growing a cash crop. Makes a lot of sense. Problem is, there are SO many minerals that our bodies need for health that are not contained in a bag of NPK fertilizer! For instance, one that Getoff shared in the DVD was Boron–Boron is a deficiency duly noted in osteoporosis patients. Selenium is another, if you don’t get enough Selenium, the cancer rate goes way up.

But on the outside, these plants grown with chemical fertilizers look great. They are cheaper for the farmer, but they are not giving the people what they need–trace minerals and nutrients, AND the foods don’t taste as good.

Organic growers have found a wealth of minerals still in the ocean and use soil amendments such as kelp meal, crabshell meal, fish meal to put the minerals and life back into nutrient robbed soil. Visit www.groworganic.com for more info. For even more info, check out the book: Worms Eat My Garbage.

Interesting thoughts regarding pesticides…

Okay, so in the beginning, somebody wanted to keep the bugs from eating plants. As in a lot of things, no one seems to have put a lot of thought into the far-reaching effects of dumping chemicals in the ground. How would insectisides affect beneficial insects, birds, bees and pollination…the soil itself? It is interesting to note, that on big organic farms, pests aren’t a terrible problem. It almost seems as if the pests are attracted to the wilting, unhealthy plants, leaving the others alone. However, if today’s conventional farmer were to give up using his pesticides after years of use, all the insects in the world would demolish his crop. David Getoff likens it to the way a shark is attracted to a dying fish. I know personally, if I remember to put newspaper collars on my tomato seedlings, I never have cutworms. Good-bye Seven’s dust forever…now if only there were an easier remedy for squash bugs than squashing…

Avoid unorganic fats because of pesticide saturation

Another biggie that I took away from watching this DVD was the fact that pesticides are fat soluble. This means that the pesticide residue on our fruits and veggies (which by the way, is not easily washed or soaked off) binds to our fat cells. Fat soluble, NOT water soluble…these buggars are not going to be eliminated via sweat or urination. And so many people are on low-fat diets, that these toxins are going to sit around in their fat cells indefinitely. The good news, is that you can let go of these old fats by eating new, organic ones. And it’s a pretty important step to take in the organic process…switching to organic fats. Because so many toxic chemicals bind to fats, David Getoff recommends definitely switching to using EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil), organic butter, and buying organic eggs for the high-fat content in egg yolks, and organic pastured poultry meat for the good fats found in the skin. Same thing with nuts, since they are very high fat. Buy organic.

To sum up, make changes where you can. Our family has been taking small steps as we’ve found the avenues to support this way of eating. Okay, maybe butchering my own chickens hasn’t been that “small” of a step, but it sure didn’t happen overnight! Switching to organic fats (EVOO, Coconut oil and butter), organic free range eggs and raw milk are things we definitely all should look into, as these things contain more toxic residue that sits around in our bodies causing trouble.

Yes, organic costs more. So put less money into the less important things. Do you really need that new car? Good health is more important. Organically grown foods have more vitamins, no toxins, and thousands of percents more minerals. There are ways around the cost, one of which is to grow your own foods without pesticides, etc. Or find a CSA farm in your area and see if they’ll let you work off part of a season’s food share. Find a food co-op at which you can purchase all your favorite health store goodies at wholesale prices, and so much more!

Finally, if you aren’t yet convinced, a Rutgers University study compared commercially- vs. organically-grown fruits and vegetables. They were astounded at how organic produce whopped the competition!

Commercially grown fruits and vegetables are less expensive, are prettier to look at, contain approximately 10-50% of the nutrients found in organic produce, are often depleted in enzymes, and are contaminated with a variety of herbicides, pesticides and other agricultural chemicals.

In comparing organically and commercially grown wheat, researchers found the organic wheat contained 20-80% less metal residues (aluminum, cadmium, cobalt, lead, mercury), and contained 25-1300% more of specific nutrients (calcium, chromium, copper, iodine, magnesium, manganese, molybdenum, nickel, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, sulfur, and zinc).

Why should we buy organic? Why indeed…