Page 3 - Spring2012

Letters

A IS FOR ANTI-AGING nese consider turtle meat and the oil a would be wise to embrace the vitamin
A is also for Andrea Arias Alberto. delicacy. A-rich foods of our region. We are for-
Andrea is the abuelita (grandmother) Presently a patent is pending for tunate to have access to fermented high
of my friend and she just turned one using derivatives from turtle oil for me- vitamin cod liver oil, X-factor butter oil,
hundred one years old February 2, hav- dicinal purposes in the treatment of lung raw cream, liver of pastured animals,
ing been born in 1911. Andrea, mother disorders. By supporting cardiovascular egg yolks and, my favorite, butter. May
of ten and grandmother of fifty, lives function and possibly preventing the de- the wisdom of Andrea and Lettie be
independently, still reading and solving velopment of cardiovascular disease, the yours!
mathematical problems at a rate that patent application claims turtle oil may Kim Schuette, CN, Chapter Leader
puts most of us calculator-dependent improve the functioning of the heart and San Diego Encinitas, California
individuals to shame. circulatory system and this could benefit
When I heard of my friend’s spry the lungs. BACON BITS
grandmother, I couldn’t help but remem- Turtle oil also effectively treats Beverly Rubik’s article entitled
ber Aunt Lettie, featured several years burns and has a very positive effect “How does Pork Prepared in Various
ago in Wise Traditions. Lettie was the when applied topically to the skin. I Ways Affect the Blood?” (Fall, 2011)
beautiful centenarian with the gorgeous remember crossing the Texas-Mexican is an excellent piece of research on the
skin, which she attributed to my favorite proper preparation of pork. I would
food, butter. So what is Andrea’s elixir? however like to clarify some informa-
Turtle oil! My friend recalled that her tion on cured pork especially for those
grandmother took two teaspoons each bacon lovers that have been purchasing
day of fat-soluble turtle oil. In addi- uncured bacon with no added nitrates or
tion to her turtle oil, Andrea regularly nitrites.
consumes fresh wild fish and pastured Nitrates are used in the meat pro-
chicken. Andrea’s granddaughter is cessing industry to preserve the meat
quick to point out to me that her grand- and ensure consumers do not get an
mother ate “pollos naturale, not like the unhealthy dose of botulism with their
ones in the American supermarkets.” bacon. The most recent concern over
This example echoes Dr. Price’s ob- nitrates is the production of nitrosa-
servation that healthy primitive peoples mines (a carcinogen) in the digestive
enjoyed sacred foods high in fat-soluble tract. While the research on nitrates
vitamins, vitamin A in particular. Due causing cancer is still sketchy, anyone
to the extinction of some species of who is health-conscious should avoid
turtles, turtle oil is not widely consumed them if possible. Uncured bacon, which
as it was in years past. We do know that plainly advertises that there are no
cultures in Mexico and South America, added nitrates or nitrites, has become
as well as parts of Africa and China, border during my teen years to shop a very popular choice among those
prized turtle oil for its ability to cure and one of the most popular products in who enjoy bacon and yet are concerned
infertility and impotence, as well as border towns was turtle oil-based skin about nitrates. As Beverly points out in
tuberculosis, asthma, earaches, measles care products. her article, the uncured bacon contains
and waterborne diseases. In Kenya, lo- Obviously turtle oil will not be celery juice powder which is high in
cal midwives used turtle oil to induce found in most kitchens. However, this natural nitrates and other nutrients that
quicker placenta presentation. The Chi- serves as a wonderful reminder that we may counteract the carcinogenicity of
Wise Traditions SPRING 2012 SPRING 2012 Wise Traditions 3

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