Vegetarian No More
I just had to let you know what a blessing the Foundation’s work has been to our family. We were vegetarians for about 7 years (my husband for over 25). I had no energy and was gaining weight despite the fact that we ate “really well.” My son came along and was happily breast-fed for 2 1/2 years. He changed overnight when I weaned him, becoming grumpy, argumentative and belligerent.
Then one day we were at a church dinner and I was just about to tell the little old lady not to put chicken on his plate but it was too late. So I thought, we just won’t eat it. Well, Mr. 21/2 year old ate his, mine and one other person’s! And guess what, he wasn’t crabby anymore! I gave up the vegetarian cause and resolved to feed my family good-quality meat.
Here we are four years later and boy, if this kiddo doesn’t have his fat and protein–look out! We have learned our lesson, which brings me to the next lesson. Good meat! I have a farm near by that has pastured poultry. When we cook those birds, the whole house is alive with the most amazing aroma. We have gravy, lots of meat and soup after–heaven. One night when I was working long hours I stopped and picked up some chicken from the grocery store–yuck! No nice smell and no taste. The kids wouldn’t eat it.
So the long/short of this tale is that I have resigned my position at the university to stay home full-time. People think I am nuts because my kids are in school. But I am going to make bone broths all day, lacto-ferment veggies and beverages and make wonderful traditional food. It takes a lot of time to do all this. And I run to our farm (Midvalleyvu in Arkansas, Wisconsin) once a week. I get raw milk, raw cheeses, the most amazing yogurt ever, eggs like no one has ever seen in their lives, meat and a chat with some incredible people. I feel blessed beyond belief. Money will be tight but we figured that rather than dump it into the stock market for their college education, they will be able to stand on their own two (strong) feet when it comes to college. What we lack in liquid assets, we will make up for in bone density and mental health.
Thanks for all you do!
Lisa Hood
Eau Claire, Wisconsin
P.S. My 49-year old husband still calls himself a vegetarian but eats bone broths, gravies, and I usually find most of my leftover meat missing. The dark circles under his eyes have disappeared, he doesn’t fall asleep at 7:00 at night and he has more energy than ever before. I let him call himself a veggie but laugh at him and put more gravy on his plate.
Chapter Work
Recently, members of the Buffalo, New York chapter manned a booth representing the Weston A. Price Foundation at the Veterans Administration. It was very successful. I was not expecting a very large turnout or the response we received from the visitors. We set up the booth with books, pamphlets and two of the posters, but we also set up a display of healthy fats including butter, lard, beef tallow, coconut oil and goose fat, all labeled as good fats. The elderly folks who visited the booth were all thrilled to hear that they could return to these delicious fats, many exclaiming that this is what they grew up on and their parents and grandparents who ate these fats lived long and healthy lives. Many of them thanked us for being at the health conference and were eager to go home and throw out their Crisco and margarine.
Many of the “younger” health care professionals who visited were just as intrigued to hear that these fats not only taste good but are also healthy. Many wanted more information so they could investigate further for themselves and thus we went through all the pamphlets you sent us. We will also be representing the Foundation at the Batavia Veterans hospital. We plan on attending more health and nutrition fairs this year–this is a great way for local chapters to spread the word.
Jill Tiebor-Franz
East Aurora, New York
Broth to the Rescue
The article on gelatin-rich-broth in the Spring 2003 issue was fascinating. I’m so grateful to have learned that this may be the key ingredient for me to make cooked meats work better for me. I mean, all the digestive benefits from increased hydrochloric acid to improved liver detoxification functions, this is truly amazing information. My respect and “hats off” to Kaayla T. Daniel, MS, CCN. She did an outstanding job on this article. I am a nutritionist and I’ve had to struggle with digestive and other health issues and I believe this broth is the solution. Normally I’m a pretty finicky eater which is one reason why I’m so skinny and run out of energy too quickly. I eat small amounts because that’s all my digestive system can tolerate. But last night I ate like a horse using the broth with everything–rice, chicken, spinach. I ate huge helpings and felt great and woke up easily with energy and no puffy eyes. The puffy eyes tend to happen as a result of my liver not being able to handle all the detoxification measures needed from eating cooked food. But with the abundant supply of glycine from the broth, I did fine and feel I’ve got a recipe for eating heartily and having more health and energy as a result. Yah hoo! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Stephen Heuer
Cupertino, California
More Broth Miracles
Greetings. My 20-month-old son, Tommy, has a genetic weak bone condition called osteogenesis imperfecta. It’s caused by a reduction in collagen throughout his body, but particularly in his bones. Since collagen is what gives bone some flex, Tommy’s bones are more brittle, more like splintery chalk. I’ve been giving him bone broth in a bottle a few times a week since he was 6 months old, just to support his bone density in general. I also drink the bone broth to enhance my breastmilk and support my own bone density. Now that we are weaning, I am giving Tommy traditional foods.
It seems to be helping; Tommy’s had only 1 fracture since birth which is quite remarkable. I feel most sincerely that the information you’ve provided has contributed to Tommy’s growth and good health. Unlike most children with this bone condition Tommy has normal stature, normal weight, and a good strong walk. He’s lean and heavy, which means to me that his bone density must be pretty good. He hardly ever gets sick, and when he does he’s well again within 3 days. I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
One more tidbit: when Tommy broke his tibia last November, he had x-rays that day and x-rays four days later. He drank a lot of broth in those four days. When the orthopedist looked at the second set of films, he said that it looked like the bone had been healing for two weeks.
Eleanor Mitchell
Culpepper, Virginia
Statin Madness
This statin craziness gets worse. I’ve a friend with a cholesterol level of 157 who was put on the statin drugs with the intention of getting it down to 120. She immediately got sick and stopped the drugs. Another friend’s 89-year-old mother in reasonable mental health was put on a statin drug a year ago and now has advanced senile dementia. Age or drug? No proof either way, but I’ve got my suspicions.
Glenda Glass
Ione, California
Not Politically Correct
As a precaution, I am informing national organizations of which I am a member about a recent occurrence.
I had contracted with American Speciality Health Networks, a large national HMO based in California, which covers chiropractors and acupuncturists, etc. The contract required voluminous paperwork and an inspection of my offices, and has in the past two years generated no income, since they tell me they only have nine dietitians signed up in our state of Oklahoma and for that reason cannot get insurance companies to provide coverage. This year it was time to renew the contract; they sent me a questionnaire but did not like my answer to the question about what type of diets I recommend, since I promote protein and fat as being very important, along, of course, with vegetables and fruit.
They sent me a notice of noncompliance, threatening to terminate my contract unless I immediately changed my counselling to that advocated by the American Heart Association, the American Diabetes Association and the American Dietetic Association of 65% carbohydrate. I was amazed at their heavy-handed approach especially since they claim to be ALTERNATIVE. I first called them and stated that I was resigning on the basis that I did not want to advise my clients to do something that would damage their health severely. I then wrote them providing four pages of research titles, and in essence told them that they were asking me to do something that was unethical.
I am hoping that this will not lead them to report me to the American Dietetic Association but I have to stick to my guns since I cannot possibly do anything to harm my clients!–who are all doing so exceptionally well with normal cholesterol levels and normal blood pressure.
Julia Glenn RD/LD
Tahlequah, Oklahoma
A Different Child
I’d like to report a success story regarding my 10 year old daughter, Chelsea. We had some extensive evaluations done last year as it seemed she was having some academic and social problems in school. The counselor identified several specific problems (they all coincided with weaknesses that I myself possess–the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree). Her diagnosis included the word “organic.” That was what I needed to hear because that meant we were dealing with some deficiencies that could be addressed instead of some type of injury. I immediately started her on fish oil supplement and last summer when I discovered your foundation and its tremendous work, I incorporated the dietary information as soon as I could. We started using only raw dairy products from a local farmer and we purchased 1/2 a pasture-fed cow. We avoid refined sugar, white flour, and hydrogenated garbage.
Just a week ago, the school counselor called me to tell me that Chelsea is doing wonderfully and she seems “so different.” Her “eyes look different.” She asked me if I had put Chelsea on medication. I answered with a very distinct “NO!” I told her about the dietary changes and about your work and hope that she follows up and educates herself so that she can help other children. It’s amazing how quickly everyone wants to shove pills down the throats of our children when they don’t need them. Well, I’m going to continue to “shove” raw dairy, grass-fed beef, free-range chicken and eggs, and whole foods into my four children. Thank you for everything!
Laurie Fisher
Odessa, Florida
A School Visit
Recently I spent two hours with the nurse at a local high school and got to witness first hand exactly how shocking the health of teenagers is today. She warned me we’d be interrupted all morning and she was right. During that two hours, at least 10 kids paraded into her office seeking help for headaches, stomach aches, low blood sugar, a diabetic who didn’t take his insulin that morning–it was really something–and their appearance was shocking. They seemed unhappy and didn’t talk clearly. When the nurse questioned them about what they’d had to eat for breakfast, one said Pop Tarts. The low blood sugar girl had had apple juice and a Nutri-Grain bar–no wonder she was crashing. But the nurse said nothing, like making a suggestion to her about eating something different for breakfast to sustain her–like a nice wad of raw butter on her Nutri-Grain bar.
The nurse is proposing that the elementary school buy more heart monitors and exercise equipment, so the kids know how hard they have to exercise to achieve their target heart rate. I explained to her that they will not exercise if they don’t have the energy but she just didn’t seem to get it. Everybody thinks exercise is the only answer to obesity. There are a number of kids in the 6th grade who are already 250 pounds.
When we talked about the “traditional” diets and our ancestry, that sparked her interest and the nurse did say she was going to recommend that I speak at one of the first parent-teacher meetings in the fall. At least I have planted some seeds.
Elise Stephinson
Clarion, Pennsylvania
Community Food Security
It was a cold December day in Kentucky. My daughters and I headed across the county to a neighboring biodynamic farm. Paul and Robin Bela-Verson use a compost-based fertility management system to grow a diverse array of vegetables for a CSA in Nashville. Striving for a self-sufficient operation that does not have to import fertilizers from outside the farm, Paul and Robin have integrated a diversity of livestock on their 87 acres of land. Chickens in tractors, milk goats, cows. . . and last spring they raised two feeder pigs.
Fully grown by this time of year, the pigs had recently been taken to the slaughterhouse. The meat was now back at the farm, and we were heading over to spend the day rendering lard. We even had a donut party planned for the end of the day. Fresh donuts fried in fresh lard. Good old-fashioned fun.
It was a long day of chopping white fat into cubes, constantly stirring and tending the kettles of lard sizzling on the wood cook stove. The children joined in the cutting. At least 3 old-time cook books lay open to lard recipes.
Slowly the chunks of fat shrunk and shriveled, then floated to the top. This is the signal that the lard is rendering. Finally, the cracklings sank to the bottom of the clear hot liquid. Somewhat golden, smelling rich and full, the lard was finished. We could just imagine the delicious flavor that it would impart to our biscuits and piecrusts.
Because Robin and Paul really care about quality food, they have sought out additional sources for real meat, milk and eggs for when these items are not being produced on their own farm. A gallon of raw milk and a dozen fresh eggs waited for me in their refrigerator: the bounty of more neighboring farms.
So we drove home that evening, our feet aching, our bellies filled with donuts. We felt rich from the generosity of our friends–taking home five pounds of lard, the milk and eggs, 12 pounds of pork, a bag of cracklings and a bag of homemade donuts.
As a farm wife, and someone who provides my family with as much home grown food as possible, I am happy to be a part of a network of small scale growers who are living “Community Food Security” in a real-life, down-home way.
Christy Karrow
Burkesville, Kentucky
Mysteries of Sacrifice
Human beings today are very limited in their Will forces. It is fine to have ideas and ideals, but these can only be put into practice when we have sufficient Will forces. Development of the Will forces is connected to understanding the Mysteries of Sacrifice–the powers and forces that are released and transferred unto us when a being sacrifices itself completely. Such a deed occurs in the animal world. The animals have achieved this, this highest level of the Mysteries of Sacrifice. Humans today are very limited in their awareness of this principle; however, in ancient cultures and in some indigenous cultures, this esoteric understanding still prevails.
What is gleaned from the research of the esoteric mystery temples on the animal sacrifices is that as the animal dies–as it is sacrificing and offering up its existence, its feelings, its very being–nature is transferred, projected, mirrored. The life forces of nature flow into the animal body. This phenomenon was called “the great outpouring,” “the great emanation.” The animals have a Will that is so highly evolved that they are capable of making this great sacrifice.
It is crucial to have this understanding in order to accept the gift of sacrifice from our animal friends. Otherwise an individual can really struggle with the eating of animal foods that are so important in developing the Will and the physical body to do one’s calling here on Earth. This mystery was understood in all ancient cultures and is still found in the indigenous cultures. Living here in Kansas, I find that American lore is full of the esoteric mysteries on the great sacrifice of the buffalo. I am always moved by the stories that they tell. When the tribal community was in need of buffalo, they always performed a great ritual of prayer and ceremony. Deep was the appreciation and understanding of what this buffalo was going to offer them. The tales are told repeatedly of how, after the prayer and ceremony, one buffalo always separated itself from the herd to offer itself up.
My buffalo farmer here in Kansas has read and studied these myths. The way they honored the buffalo before the sacrifice was so moving to his soul that he took upon himself to honor them in his own way. The night before he kills a buffalo, he prays deeply to God, thanking him for these animals and for all they provide him and his family and his small community. He tells me that he does this every time–and every time he goes out to his herd of over 200 head, one buffalo always separates itself from the herd, coming towards him. When he first told me this, I cried, it was one of the most powerfully moving things I had ever heard.
Since then I tell my farmer to let me know when it is time to do a sacrifice and the night before I offer up my own prayers to the Great Buffalo Spirit in the Sky. My Catholic friend does Hail Mary’s–and more and more people in our little CSA are doing the same.
When animal sacrifices are done in this manner, the younger generation who has been struggling with vegetarianism is often able to participate in taking the animal foods, provided they are respected and raised the way my buffalo farmer does. They often realize as I did when I disdained meat-eaters, how arrogant I was and condescending I was about a way of life that our ancient ancestors laid down as the means to achieve great strength and powers within the human temple. When you take in the animal food, you take in its spirit and powers. I do not have words to describe the incredible feeling that mantles my soul as I tuck into my buffalo burger. And my Will forces are stronger than they have ever been in my life. And certainly, all of us need strong Will powers, each one of us, to do our own part in making the necessary changes in this world.
The current culture cannot continue to get away with the abuses to animals. The animals will give themselves over completely, regardless of treatment, just as old faithful dogs will devote themselves to their master regardless of the master’s treatment. However, the animal forces are waning–it is only so long before their forces will die out if current conditions continue to prevail in the massive corporate farms.
Elizabeth Benner
Topeka, Kansas
Aspartame and the Thyroid
Thank you for the article on your website “Diet for the Prevention of Women’s Diseases.” I had suspected for some time that I may have a subclinical hypothyroid condition. Despite having a normal TSH (1.89), I experienced low body temperature (an average of 97.0 degrees F), weight gain and lethargy. Nothing I had tried–fiddling with the macronutrient ratios of my diet, doing various types of exercise–seemed to help.
I must confess that, despite my efforts to improve my diet in the direction of traditional foods, my one weakness continued to be diet soft drinks. I have known for a long time that aspartame causes problems for some people, but a line in the above-mentioned article really got me thinking: “Many substances in the modern diet depress thyroid function, including soy foods, fluoride and possibly even aspartame, the artificial sweetener found in Nutrasweet.” I don’t consume any soy, I don’t eat raw cruciferous vegetables–what if it’s the aspartame that’s giving me trouble? I went cold turkey on my diet soda habit the next day.
Well, in the two weeks since, my body temperature has risen to an average of 98.4, I have already lost a couple pounds, and I am finding I have much greater energy. My sleep is more productive and I awake feeling rested, instead of exhausted. And my “brain fog” is gone, too.
Thanks and God bless you for all you do to improve the health and lives of so many people–including me.
Rebecca Raether
Madison, Wisconsin
Chemical Poisoning
Your Fall 2002 issue concerning chemical poisoning was informative. Even though I’ve been eliminating my body’s burden of man-made chemicals, I had no idea of the basic symptoms. I was shocked to learn about the spraying in Montana. Just last night I watched a World War II documentary as they were spraying the Dachau survivors with DDT to stop a typhus epidemic. The ignorance about all toxic man-made chemicals, be they agricultural or pharmaceutical, is astounding. Even those who are going through detox don’t comprehend what is happening to them.
Chemical poisoning is the most insidious event of the last and current century starting with the mustard and nerve gases of World War I. The health of all nations has deteriorated with the burning of coal, and the poisoning of our soils and farm animals. My recovery from multiple chemical poisoning has been extremely difficult. Without raw milk it would have been impossible. My research indicates that aerial spraying created more problems by changing the bacterial forms into modified species. Who needs genetic engineering? The petri dish is us.
As long as we ignorantly use man-made chemicals, health will continue to elude us. A wonderful resource for further study is www.ourstolenfuture.org.
CFIDS (chronic fatigue syndrome) does not actually exist. Each time the body experiences an internal physical stress such as extreme fever or hypothermia, a stream of chemicals is released from the key places the body stores such things. These chemicals short-circuit the body’s energy circuits. Pharmaceuticals can do the same. Chemotherapy survivors often experience neurological deficits verified by nerve conduction testing. Very few medical doctors understand toxicology, neurology and biochemistry well enough to be anything other than “baffled.” More drugs only intensify the problem. And how much dementia is really multiple chemical poisoning? I guess we will never know.
Please continue to research this topic and report your findings in future issues of the Journal.
Terry L. Smith
Akron, Ohio
Editor’s Response: See the feature article in this issue, in which Jim West argues that SARS is caused by environmental toxins, not viruses.
Good Beef Drippings
I have long noticed that people instinctively know what is good for them. In your articles on fat, you note that saturated fat such as beef fat helps protect the liver from damage. You may not be aware but the usual custom amongst the working class of the UK was to have a heavy night beer drinking followed by a good nosh of fish and chips cooked in fine beef dripping. This activity was curtailed by the introduction of vegetable oils and replaced by curry and chips cooked in vegetable oil. Perhaps this is a contributor to the rise in obesity, liver damage and other things.
I was raised in a poor family frequently having only dripping sandwiches to eat. I remember eating the white fat raw off the rind my mother cut off the bacon. Also, through all the scares about bad fats, I refused to bow the knee and continued to eat cheese, full cream milk and butter.
It is nice to find my instincts vindicated by your thoughtful and in-depth research.
Richard Gibas
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
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