Years of Minerals are missing...

"Every sickness, every disease, every ailment can be traced to a mineral deficiency."
Dr. Linus Pauling, two-time Nobel Prize winner

www.foodasgrown.com/minerals

Today's foods have less minerals then the amount we would have received 100 years ago.  Less minerals in our food means a lack of nutrients which leads to mineral deficiency causing a poor quality of health.  These minerals, coming from the earth, relied on the richness of soil to perform at their peak.  Soil gets depleted of minerals and need to be fertilized in order to put the nutrients back into the earth.  100 years ago when the soil became depleted, there was only a small amount of nutrients put back into the soil when it was fertilized.  Today, the same type of fertilizer is still used on many soils where food is grown and we are eating.  At this time there are about 80 different types of elements that are lacking in many soils that are needed to give food its full nutrients. 

Minerals play a major role in the cells, bones and blood in the human body.  Health problems can develop due to prolonged deficiency of minerals.  As an example, minerals are alkaline and many minerals reduce stress, having a calming, relaxed reaction as the body metabolizes it.  Manganese, Copper, Magnesium and Potassium are a few minerals that ease tension.  Cancer, Arthritis, Depression and Hypertension can all benefit from a healthier diet with a variety of vitamins and minerals.  Getting the best quality of foods on the table will be helpful in providing the best health.  A good place to start would be with top quality fertilizer which creates a better soil.  Which takes us back to the beginning...years of minerals are missing.

Patricia

More Good Food...

Update on Refrigerator and Cabinet

From taking the Nutrition 110 class, there are many things that I am doing different to bring a healthier balance into my life.  Some changes are as simlple as, I am storing my nuts and seeds in the refrigerator.  Fresh, organic and buying from local farmers is my goal.  I am driving further to find quality food which is sustaining the quality of my life.  There are new foods, seasonings, cooking methods, storing and selecting processes that I am implementing into my everyday live.  I am more aware of the vitamins and minerals that I'm consuming and where I am lacking.  Being healthy is a choice for me so I use food as medicine.  Not everything edible has quality nutrients that will benefit the human body in a productive way.  Therefore; reading labels, buying fresh, in season, local, organic, quality, proper storage, preparing with love and safe cookware are some of what goes into the planning of what I decide to eat.

Patricia

:-) Vitamins.....

There are water-soluble vitamins and fat-soluble vitamins, which are all complex qualities in the food that we eat.  These vitamins are essential to human life.  The water-soluble vitamins are B-complex which encompasses all the B vitamins (B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B7, B9, and B12). These water-soluble vitamin are not stored in the body, therefore the human body requires a replenishing of them daily.  The fat-soluble vitamins are vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin E and vitamin K.  The human body can store these vitamin in the adipose tissue (mainly around the liver and abdominal area) just in case the daily recommended nutrients are not being supplied.

I find the topic of vitamins is so exciting!  It's like a blueprint or mapping to help the necessary vitamins do their job of keeping us healthy.  I have found that as I gravitate to certain foods, (the ones that taste best to me or come natural as a creature of habit) I am receiving an abundance of a particular group of vitamins.  While my body may be lacking a few major vitamins that are essential for my health.  This nutrition class has really opened my mind to more vitamin possibilities.  I find myself checking for foods that have more of the vitamins that I feel my body is telling me it needs according the symptoms that can lead to deficiency.

In looking over my food diary, making note of the number of times I am eating certain foods, I can look at the vitamins that I am blessing my body with and see where I am lacking.  There is no doubt that I am receiving more vitamins then before this class started.  My refrigerator is cleaner, not as cluttered and smells better.  I am going to the store more offend because I want to make sure I am getting fresh items as I need or want them.  I am also driving a little further to find the best quality that I can in my area.  My bowel pattern was not an issue before, however I feel that I am going less because I am eating less.  My mood seems lighter, body is thanking me and I sleep well.  Many times I fall asleep thinking of food and what I'm going to cook next.  I have been sharing what I am learning with my daughter, she's a senior in college and is absorbing it all in.  She sends me pictures of what she is cooking in her dorm.  Also, my sister and a friend are planning to take this class online.  Wow! Who knew vitamins would excite me :-)

Patricia Couser

Fiber Facts

• Fiber promotes bowel regularity with an increased size and completeness in the feces.  With daily fiber in the diet, there is an decrease in the amount of time that the fecal matter is in the intestines.  Which improves health, helps prevent and decrease the risk of colon cancer, irritable bowel syndrome,  hemorrhoids, obesity and constipation. 
• Soluble Fiber that is found in oat bran and barley help reduce blood cholesterol levels and reduce blood sugar levels.
• Insoluble Fiber that is found in wheat bran and legumes require extra chewing in order to utilize adequate biochemical health benefits.
• Too much daily Fiber or an intake of over 50 grams a day may cause a fluid imbalance, dehydration or intestinal obstruction in some people.  An excessive increase in Fiber maybe approached gradually and with an increase of water intake.

My 5 Interesting Facts about Protein

1.  The word Protein is an ancient Greek word that means "greatest importance" and in the Encyclopedia of Healing Foods book it says the Greek word means "primary".  Webster's Dictionary reminds us that protein is "occurring in all living matter and essential to diet."  This is nothing new, just interesting to help promote protein with an "aha" moment in a debate I had about what the human body can live with or without.

2.  Proteins are small molecules that are the amino acids that are necessary to sustain life.  I have found some contradicting information on the number of amino acids that the body can manufacture, the non-essential amino acids, which has been between 9-14.  The other 10, which are called "essential amino acids", must be obtained from a person's nutritional diet.

3.  Some of what the amino acids help in is proper development of cell tissue, muscle tissue, repairing damaged tissue, defending the body against illness and disease, regulates hormones, healing wounds, carrying nutrients and enzymes and  maintaining the body's optimal health.  Therefore consuming the healthiest, top quality, organic nutrients on a daily basis will help insure the best quality of health for your body.

4.  Proteins makeup about 1/2 of the non-water portion of the human body.

5.  The more active a lifestyle a person has, the faster the proteins will breakdown in the body.  The faster the proteins breakdown, the more an active person needs to consume more protein back into their body because proteins are not stored in the body like fat is.

Alkalizing vs Acidifying

Diet Total to Date:  +90

To Date:  75% Alkalizing

Analyzing my diet with pH was very interesting and I still have room to grow and learn in this area.  My results were positive and some of my foods may have been acidifying but I believe my healthy emotions made up for that.  Most of my diet is organic and I am doing better with that each day.  I will continue on my path to health and wellness to bring my body to a neutral balance.

Namaste,
Patricia