Building Raised Beds and Raising Hope among the Poor

Posted on | March 24, 2012 | No Comments

It’s great to know that in a hurting economy there are Christians shining their light and two such light-bearers are Suzanne and Barry Birch from Portland, Oregon.

Brot (Bread)-By Klaus Höpfner at de.wikipedia (Original text :Helge Höpfner)*

Back in 1992 a local charity wanted to find someone to give some left-over bread to and they ended up contacting the Birches. The Birches gave away the “squished bread” that was dropped off on the porch-to three needy families. From there things just took off and more and more families came to the Birches for help and soon businesses and other concerns started donating food to them and it was a bit like the biblical story of the loaves and the fishes.

“We had to move bread when we had company,” Barry said in an interview I caught on the 700 club. “It just sort of took over the whole house.”

Community Gardening/img courtesy Ernest von Rosen www.amgmedia.com

From there as more and more people began to hear about what they had to offer they had to purchase a premises to house all the donated food that was coming in. As they attracted more people willing to help and give back they incorporated becoming the non-profit Birch Community Services or BCS. They were able to move into a warehouse and now many of the people they have helped have become volunteers, helping others.  They are not just a charity ,donating food.   Members are asked to give back to others as well.  At the center of it are 600 member families, most of whom are still working, but many of whom are close to the poverty line.

These members are asked to make a  minimal $50-a-month payment, and also volunteer their time.  In exchange for that these member families can choose food and goods from the many racks and displays when the warehouse is open for community ‘shopping.’  Except it’s not really shopping- there are no cash registers where you pay after you’ve loaded up your cart.

It’s not just food they get-members can develop their skills in different areas.  One room in the warehouse has computers where members of the community can develop their computer skills.  They have a ’raising chickens’ class-and gardening classes!

Community Gardening and Building Raised Beds

A lot of the vegetables they give away come from their own community gardening initiative.  The BCS teach how urban dwellers can create food from their homes.   Melissa Youd, one of the organizers of the community gardens suggests families learn how to build a raised bed garden, and they then help provide materials to teach them about building raised beds.  These are, as the name suggests, beds for vegetables (or flowers if you really want) grown above ground level, framed either with timber or stones or with simple mounds of earth and compost.

“It’s easier to garden,” Melissa says. “There are less weeds; you can keep your animals out. The moles stay out.”

My wife has always been a keen gardener but recently I have been really taken with the idea of building raised garden beds, not just for the health benefits.  So much so I got an e-book on how to build them published recently.  There may be those out there who like the concept of raised bed gardening but simply have no knowledge of how to go about it.  And you have no access to the BCS community groups.  Well, good news!  The book tells how even if you are someone as non-greenfingered as myself, or if you are a 71-year-old, you can build these types of gardens.  For a short time I will make this available on free loan at Amazon.

One of the reasons why this non-profit works so well (apart from the obvious blessing of God) is that members are given  ” hand up, not a handout” and they get to be part of a community to share with and give back to.

In an era when governments are running out of cash trying to help reduce poverty and satisfy the interests of narrow self-interest groups should this not be a lesson to us all in helping the poor and helping society at the same time?

© johnreason.com.  2012. All rights reserved.

*Picture of bread above [GFDL (www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)], from Wikimedia Commons

Related links: Birch Community Services

How to Build a Raised Garden Bed With your 71-year- old Mom!

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How to Eat Well yet Lose Weight with the Diet Solution Program

Posted on | March 1, 2012 | No Comments

I don’t know about you but eating wilted lettuce leaves and crackers and fruit most days of the week is not my idea of fun!  After reading about the dangers of soy I don’t think I will be feasting on tofu or soy protein either.

Image courtesy of daitenshi6 of sxc.hu

On the other hand, following a diet consisting of red meat four or five times a week with french fries for vegetables and drinking milk and eating white breads and cookies like some of my (Antipodean)  friends seem to do regularly, is even more undesirable and unhealthy, and my body has told me in no uncertain terms what to expect if I follow that kind of diet as well-rebellion from my own members!

Click Here to Visit the Diet Solution Program

So is it possible to eat well and lose weight at the same time?  Isabel de los Rios of the Diet Solution Program would say yes-if you choose good-quality foods and are willing to attempt new things, you can dine (or “have a feed” as my Kiwi friends say (Aside to reader:my hat, where do they get that phraseology from?-sounds like a grazing cow! ) on delicious meals and shed pounds too.

Choose the Right Foods

The issue is-and this is widely known now-if you eat unhealthy food that have lots of calories you’re not going to lose weight whether you’re following a program on How to lose arm fat or whatever it might be.  Unhealthy food is that which is canned or processed.  If you know how to cook, and have time to make your own meals (and that is a subject for another day) you’re on to a winner because there are tons of healthy options out there and celebrity chefs like Jamie Oliver show you how to make simple, healthy meals.

Foods that you should be serving yourself and your family members are things like fresh fish, organic meat and poultry (the problem is -that is expensive, I know), organic whole eggs, raw nuts, fresh herbs, and fruits and vegetables you either got from your garden or from a market or vegetable store. Natural foods are better for you because they are low in calories and have lots of nutrients which your body needs.

Also, natural foods aren’t stuffed with additives that can lead later on down the track to high blood pressure and bp monitors or diabetes or cancer, and so it’s a no-brainer to choose them if possible.

Look at Different Flavors, Ingredients and Cooking Methods

I like making foods from a wide variety of styles and countries.  I mentioned Jamie Oliver-you can see one of his popular cookbooks at the end of this article.  Just look at what’s on offer.  Isabel de los Rios has some Diet Solution recipes along with her diet solution book and program, which I think are great and you can see further down.   Experiment,experiment..

If you come across something with  unhealthy ingredients, just swap the bad ingredients for healthier ones. For instance, if a recipe needs milk, you can replace this ingredient with coconut milk or almond milk. Also, you can experiment with  spices and seasonings in a wonderful way to give new flavor to a dish.

Vary your cooking methods to keep things interesting taste-wise. Maybe try covering your steaks with olive oil and dropping it on the grill if you are used to frying or broiling.

The Diet Solution Recipes

I like many of Isabel de los Rios’s recipes and of what I have heard of her Diet Solution Program, although I have not had to use the latter because I have managed to keep slim in spite of some health (painful external hemorrhoid) issues some years back.

This is an example of one of her recipes:

Baked Chicken a la Isabel

• 1 whole baking chicken
• extra virgin coconut oil
• your favorite Italian spices (I use thyme, parsley, oregano, garlic powder, sea salt and pepper)

Directions: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place 2 tablespoons of coconut oil in a small pan and melt it over low heat. Mix 1 to 2 teaspoons of each of your spices in a small bowl and pour in the melted coconut oil. Mix all the ingredients together. Let the spice and coconut oil mixture cool.

Rub the spice and oil mixture under the skin of the chicken with your hands. Once the chicken is completely coated, place it breast side down in a glass baking pan and pop it in the oven. Let the chicken cook for 1 to 2 hours until it’s done.

For an example of her “famous” salad dressing click here:

For her Healthy French toast have a look here.

You will see that there’s nothing boring or tasteless about the above recipes. If you’re creative and are willing to experiment with new recipes, there’s no reason why you can’t eat well and look hot!

You can achieve permanent weight loss and I think this program will really help you in that direction. Watch this video to find out how The Diet Solution Program can help you EAT GREAT and LOSE WEIGHT.

©2012. johnreason.com.  Thanks to Isabel de los Rios. All rights reserved.

P.S If you’re still sceptical have a quick look at this Diet Solution program review:

Here’s the Jamie Oliver book I was yapping on about: Jamie at Home: Cook Your Way to the Good Life

3 Reasons to Make Green Tea Your Beverage of Choice

Posted on | January 14, 2012 | No Comments

The Health Benefits of Green Tea

Green Tea

There are so many incredible benefits to be found in green tea, and even though lots of people know about green tea, there’s still much that many are not aware of about this herbal tea. While the Asian peoples have been aware of its healthy properties for over a thousand years, it is extremely young here in the West. Yes, it can be made into a delicious drink, but the health properties are extraordinary.

Try Gyokuro Green Tea

In this web blog I try to cover natural healing remedies and natural health products that have either helped me or others..  I think sometimes we can be too focused on natural health products such as fat burner supplements-which have their place-and overlook natural foods and plants that give us so many health benefits.  So without further ado. let’s discuss some of the health benefits of green tea..

First of all and interesting to many, regular ingestion of green tea will assist you with weight loss. As you may know, many weight loss pills make use of artificial stimulants to achieve their effect. Green tea possesses natural stimulant properties that are gentle. This not only helps you to burn fat more efficiently, but it can give you more energy to exercise, which of course helps you to lose weight also. So, when you begin taking green tea you’ll notice a higher feeling of energy, and then you just may want to get up and do something like maybe some exercise.

Of course with very serious diseases such as cancer it’s necessary to proceed with caution; but the research in this area holds promising data for certain kinds of cancer states. Molecules known as polyphenols exist in the anti-oxidative properties within green tea; the former are also known to have certain positive effects on cancer cells. There is research all over the world, and for example one study in China showed green tea’s ability to decrease the risk of esophagus cancer. Other types of cancer that may be helped by green tea include lung and stomach. We’re not here to preach, but if you can avoid as many unhealthy habits as possible, then obviously that will help a great deal.

Another way green tea can improve your health is that, by giving you more energy and focus, it makes it easier for you to stick to an exercise program. Just one result of that will be an easier time with the weight loss if you need to do that. You may also want to consider that energy supplements are synthetic and not natural at all. For example, a lot of energy drinks are high in sugar and caffeine, too. You will receive about 50% the amount of caffeine in green tea that you will get from a cup of regular coffee. All in all, green tea has a wide variety of helpful effects on the body, and experts are releasing more findings all the time. The price of green tea is within everyone’s reach, and it is fairly safe for all – but do see your doctor if you have ongoing health issues. This is something you can easily take, and the effects on your health can be enormous.

If you want to start taking it, you have a choice of drinking tea or finding a good green tea supplement. If you take it regularly, you will enjoy more of the benefits.  There are many varieties to choose from, such as gyokuro green tea, which is considered Japan’s best green tea. It is a steamed green tea with a full flavor and a light, refreshing character. The tea is made from from single buds that are picked only in Spring months going into early Summer; and ,of course, there are many Chinese varieties.

Ginkgo & Decaf Green Tea	Dieter’s Green Herbal Tea By Triple Leaf Tea	Chinese Jasmine Green Tea

Raspberry Gardens Green Tea

The benefits of green tea are enormous and powerful, and who knows what else will become known about it.

©johnreason.com . 2012

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Why Soy May Not Be Good For You

Posted on | December 7, 2011 | No Comments

Is Soy bad for you?

Soy and soy products have been consumed in Asian countries as staples for a long, long time but they have only really taken off in the U.S since the 1990′s. Soy is cheap to produce and when it’s taken in whole fermented forms it has health benefits, so it is not hard to understand its popularity.  So why would it not be good for you?

Soy Beans:Picture by pennylayn (Sxc.hu)

Shin Ohtake,  fitness and fat loss specialist, author of the popular workout program MAX Workouts says the problem lies in the way soy is processed in the U.S.  He says the terms “whole” food and “fermented” are absolutely crucial to answering the question.  As we know whole foods are largely absent in North American diets, and “almost all soy produced in US is processed and converted into two lucrative commodities – soybean oil and soy protein. So that means you can obtain the benefits of whole fermented soybeans without having to ingest..the smelly fermented foods.   “  That sounds like a good thing, right?”

“Uhhh…NO”, Shin says. The problem is that soybean oil is heavily refined and most of what is produced he says has trans-fats in it. Unfortunately if you eat a lot of canned or processed food there is a likelihood that soybean oil is a constituent or has been used. Soy protein is also processed, and although healthier for you than soybean oil, Shin says all the health benefits of the soy are negated in the course of processing, making it a poor source of protein. This is very confusing because the FDA claims that soy protein is very healthy and they recommend consuming 25 g of soy protein a day to help reduce the risk of heart disease.

The Soy Foods Association of America seems to support the FDA claims and that there are no major health concerns to worry about in soy food.  It’s probably worth pointing out here that sales of soy food products went from 300 million dollars in 1992 to 4 billion dollars in 2006.  It only took ten years or so to make soy one of the world’s most cultivated crops.  In fact, the soy industry is growing so quickly that deforestation is happening on a large scale  to keep up with the demands of the industry.

GM Soy

Unfortunately , as we all know, the love of money is the root of  all evil and and from the viewpoint of an admitted non-food expert, I would find it easy to sympathise with various arguments I have read that suggest that some “scientific studies” are sponsored or influenced by  the big Food Producers . On top of that, as Shin Ohtake points out, there is the GM problem.   Soybeans that are genetically modified are able to grow faster, bigger and be resistant to most diseases other plants succumb to.  In U.S. about 90 % of all soy used is genetically modified.

GM soy is resistant to toxic herbicides and pesticides, which is great because they can keep pumping out soybeans without worrying about crops being destroyed by insects. As Shin says, this sounds all fine, except that these toxic chemicals are being passed down the food chain into to animal feeds and you guessed it…, the consumers.  (I am thankful that where I live at present (new Zealand) -as far as I know-does not grow GM food.  If you live in Australasia and know different, please post a comment.)

Here’s Dr Mercola’s take on soy foods : “Soy formula is one of the worst foods that you could feed your child. Not only does it have profoundly adverse hormonal effects as discussed above, but it also has over 1000% more aluminum than conventional milk based formulas…. Soybeans in fact contain a large number of dangerous substances.  One among them is phytic acid, also called phytates. This organic acid is present in the bran or hulls of all seeds and legumes, but none have the high level of phytates that soybeans do. These acids block the bodyís uptake of essential minerals like calcium, magnesium, iron and especially zinc. Adding to the high-phytate problem, soybeans are very resistant to phytate reducing techniques, such as long, slow cooking.”

Also a combined research team of Cornell University Medical College and Long Island Community Hospital medical experts have found that children who develop Type 1 diabetes are twice as likely to have been fed soy formulas as those fed all other foods.

Shin Ohtake provides in one of his many information-laden articles the following health information on Soy.

Health facts about soy

Soy as a legume possess the following  unhealthy qualities:

• Soy contains anti-nutrients which hinder the ability of digestive enzymes needed to properly digest food.
• Soy contains phytates (phytic acid) like nuts, which prevent absorption of certain important minerals like zinc, magnesium and calcium , as we have already learned from Dr Mercola.
• Soy is full of isoflavones which are phytoestrogens.  They’re plant compounds that resemble human estrogen and have been known to disrupt endocrine function.  It’s also been linked to infertility and breast cancer.
• Soy also contain goitrogens which block the synthesis of thyroid hormones.  So if you have thyroid issues, it’s definitely not recommended.

So those are  just the negatives health effects soy has in it’s natural state.  If you add to that the effects of genetic modification (GM), it’s not an encouraging picture.

What effect Does Genetically Modified soy have on your health?

GMO is fairly new, so currently there’s only one published human study and a few published studies conducted on animals.

Although companies that produce GMO products claim that it’s completely safe for human consumption,  studies done on animals fed GM soy have shown negative outcomes including infertility and even death – infant mortality. (see this article in the Huffington Post))

Shin explains that doing  genetic modification in soy involves placing a gene from a bacteria that produces protein that’s completely foreign to humans.  “And if that doesn’t sound bad enough, the one human fed study done on GM soy, found that the gene inserted into the genetically modified soy transfers into the DNA of our gut bacteria and continues to function.  This means that even years after you stop eating GM soy, there’s a real good chance that foreign protein will still be produced in your gut.  Sounds like a premise from a cheesy sci-fi movie…only it’s actually happening!”

So what can we do?  Shin suggests the following:

• It is probably safe to assume, he says, that most soy products are genetically modified, especially meat and dairy substitutes like soy burgers, soy dogs, soy cheese, even soy milk.
• Try and stay away from anything that has soybean oil in it, which shouldn’t be hard to do if you’re avoiding processed foods.

He also advises one stay away even from “healthy foods” with soy protein in them such as vegan protein bars, soy chips, soy nuts, and believe it or not…even tofu.

• Many vegans and vegetarians take tofu as a source of soy protein, but Shin advises from his research that the negative factors outweigh the positives

So what Soy Products are Safe ?

Shin Ohtake recommends the following, and you can see they are all fermented:

Essiac Tea:the Fascinating Story of Rene Caisse

Posted on | October 4, 2011 | 2 Comments

I was taking a brief weekend break the other day and whilst staying at the holiday chalet with family came across the book “Suppressed Inventions and Other Discoveries” by Jonathan Eisen.

Check Out Essiac Tea

One of the chapters was about a Canadian nurse Marie Caisse and the wonderful benefits of Essiac Tea, subtitled “Nature’s Cure for Cancer”, which she brought to the attention of the world.
Because I had previously heard about the health benefits of Essiac tea (‘Essiac’ is ‘Caisse’ spelt backwards)  in my research on natural healing remedies, my interest was engaged and I made notes on the article.

Who Was Rene Caisse and Why the Fuss About Essiac Tea?

Part of the article include the following interview by Elizabeth Robinson of Dr Gary Glum which I enclose an abridged version of here, for the sake of space.  Rene Marie Caisse was a rather humble Canadian nurse who lived 70 years ago and treated thousands of patients with a herbal remedy which she called Essiac.  She discovered the remedy via an Ojibway folk medicine practitioner

(from Suppressed Inventions and Other Discoveries by Jonathan Eisen):

” GG:I learned about Rene from Mary –  who was a personal friend of Rene’s -also a patient.  Mary worked with Rene in the 1930′s and she had in her possession..these documents that had to do with Essiac over the 40 years Rene administered it.  All the documents Rene had were destroyed by the Canadian Ministry of Health and Welfare at her death in 1978.  They burned all that information in 55 gallon drums behind her home.
ER: Why?
GG:because they don’t want this information in the hands of the public or press or anybody else.  They indeed found out what Essiac was in 1937.  The Royal Cancer Commission hearings had then came to the same conclusion Rene had…that Essiac was a cure for cancer.
…ER: Why do you think the information on Essiac is not more widely known?
GG: The information is withheld because cancer is the second largest revenue producing business in the world, next to the petro-chemical business.  Money and power suppress the truth.  No-one has ever sought to cure cancer…only to control it.
ER: Do you know if the remedy is being used or tested anywhere…?
GG: Right now Essiac is being used in every state in the U.S,throughout Canada,into Mexico..Australia,Europe,Asia and ..also in Africa.  So the message of Essiac is beginning to (spread) but it’s still known only on a limited basis”

In the interview Gary Glum, in addition to the rather eye-opening comments mentioned, highlights a few problems with buying Essiac from distributors. He mentions that herbal distributors have been known to substitute yellow dock and curly dock for sheep’s sorrel, which is apparently one of the crucial elements to Essiac that Rene developed in her Essiac formula.  Gary Glum went on to say that sheep’s sorrel was the herbal ingredient in Essiac said to be responsible for destroying cancer cells in the body or their amalgamation where metastasised cells return to the original tumor site.  He refers to research around this being done by a Dr Chester Stock at Sloan-Kettering over a three-year period.  When the information was gathered it was withheld from the general public but handed over to the Canadian Ministry of Health and Welfare.  The Canadian government apparently then banned anyone from selling or distributing it!

Essiac Tea Benefits and Caveats

So the little I have been able to ascertain about this product is that, firstly, it has helped a lot of people;
-it appears (from sources like the Eisen book) to have been perceived as a threat to the Cancer Control Commission and they seem to have been successful in limiting public access to, and effectively shutting down, Nurse Caisse’s discovery during her lifetime, despite many testifying to the efficacy of Rene Caisse’s treatment.

-many products sold as original Essiac are not original Essiac and the four ingredients you should look for are burdock root, slippery elm inner bark, sheep sorrel, and Indian rhubarb root. In combination these herbs are claimed to cleanse the blood, boost the immune system, and help repair cells.

-from what I have researched I do not advise viewing Essiac as a cure-all for cancer.  The reason is that no two plants are identical and obviously the product is made from different batches of plants.  The bottle you purchase necessarily will not be as fresh as the freshly-made up treatments Rene Caisse used on her patients. Also the success of any treatment seems to depend on the stage of the cancer of individual patients.

Read this useful article for pointers on who should not used Essiac: http://www.cancertutor.com/Cancer/Essiac_Warnings.html

HOWEVER I am impressed by the dedication and zeal of Rene Caisse and her story and I believe she was sincere and sincerely right that this product can help in the worldwide fight against cancer.  Depending on the stage of cancer you may have it may need to be administered in conjunction with other treatments.  From my research on problems requiring natural hemorrhoid treatment and other natural healing remedies, as well as into finding out the best colon cleanse and natural detoxification program to detoxify the body I have come up with this phrase, time and again, and it’s always with a ringing endorsement: Essiac tea is  great for building immunity, it is recommended in effective detoxification programs including ones I have followed, and this is quite apart from any benefits it may have in shrinking tumors (which, as a layperson and not a doctor I have not been able to verify).  So it may very well be high on the list of natural cancer cures-if I had cancer I would certainly be investigating it as an option.

Essiac Formula Capsules

So obviously consult your doctor before undertaking any course of treatment but I believe we owe it to sufferers of the terrible disease to spread the word about Essiac as there are many who say they have been helped by it in their fight against the disease;a disease which the Cancer Society and others that get billions of dollars for their cancer research, have not been able to eliminate or cure from when Renee Caisse was nursing and up to now.

The products we are reflecting on this site are “imported from Essiac Canada International, which has the exclusive right to the original proprietary Essiac formula used by Rene Caisse”.

Click Here to Get Essiac Tea

For Essiac Tablets Click Here

© johnreason.com. 2011/2012

If you like this post click here to subscribe to future posts.  Also leave a comment below if you have any experience with Essiac.

To read “Suppressed Inventions and Other Discoveries” by Jonathan Eisen Click Here (See all History of Science Books)

  If you live in Great Britain Click Here

  Spanish readers click here.

Also on www.amazon.es:Clinic for Hope: The Story of Rene M. Caisse and Essiac

Please read our site disclaimer.  No extensive clinical studies have been performed as yet which would provide conclusive evidence that Rene Caisse’s herbal formula will alleviate, cure or prevent any disease or condition. The purpose of this article is to bring the story of nurse Rene M. Caisse and the history of Essiac to a wider audience. All excerpts were taken from published sources.