Health Tips From Giving & Sharing
Bread Making Tools, How to Live to be 100, Favorite Health Tips, Herbs, Nutrition Action Newsletter, Grow a Vegetable Garden, Prevention Magazine Website, What the Bible Says About Healthy Living, Echinacea and Your Immune System, Bug Juice!, Rice and the Cure for the "Irish Disease," Coping With Cancer, Olive Oil, The Importance of Garlic, Signs of a Stroke
Serious joggers obtain the best running shoes money can buy. Master carpenters obtain the most professional tools to help them do a quality job. Likewise, serious Bible students spend the money to obtain essential Bible Study tools, such as the six we distribute through Giving & Sharing: Wide Margin KJV Bible, Strong's Exhaustive Concordance, Englishman's Hebrew & Chaldee Concordance, Englishman's Greek Concordance, Franklin Bookman Electronic Bible, and The Interlinear Bible. You need quality tools to do anything right. If you are not interested in obtaining the best tools, chances are you are not really concerned about the details, and are satisfied with something less than "whole-wheat."
Bread and water are the very basics of a healthy diet. You need to do what it takes to get the best bread, the best water, for your good health. Here in Wyoming, we use a reverse osmosis and carbon filter system for pure drinking water.
After Shirley and I were married in 1972, we obtained a hand-operated stone grinder, and Shirley laboriously kneaded bread dough made from stone-ground flour I made with the grinder. I had to run the grain through coarse the first time, and then tighten the stones for a second pass, to obtain flour fine enough for Shirley to bake bread. This was good exercise for both of us. In spite of great effort, Shirley was often unable to make whole-wheat bread that did not crumble. I remember consoling her more than once. Dough must be thoroughly mixed, or kneaded, for some time, in order for the wheat gluten (a pasty substance like glue) to bond the flour particles together, so the bread will not crumble when it is baked. As the gluten comes out, the dough gets harder to knead. It is much easier to bring out the gluten in white flour, but it lacks many essential nutrients. White bread is inferior to whole-wheat bread.
We upgraded to an electric stone grinder, and purchased a Bosch Universal Kitchen Machine, which kneads 12 pounds of bread dough. On a single afternoon, Shirley can bake enough bread for a month or two, plus make pizza dough, cinnamon rolls, etc., all out of whole grains, freezing loaves for future use. The electric stone grinder had problems. The stones would lock up if the grain was too moist, and the stones would not handle soybeans. We finally purchased an electric Magic Mill, with stainless steel blades revving at thousands of revolutions per minute, which literally explode the grains, even soybeans, generating much less vitamin-destroying heat than a stone grinder. You can make pastry flour on one pass. When grain is ground into flour, you should immediately make it into bread, as vital nutrients are lost in a matter of hours.
We have used our Bosch Universal Kitchen Machine for over 23 years, and the Magic Mill grinder for over 15 years. The Bosch is a marvel of German engineering; it has gears which automatically change into a lower ratio, when the gluten is worked up and the kneading hooks are harder to turn. These are quality products, and now Bosch has a Whisper Mill, similar to the Magic Mill.
Sometimes I tell my children, "Eat mother's good bread, it puts hair on your chest!" However, we have three girls. One of them will say, "But daddy, I don't want hair on my chest!" But, you get the point: whole-wheat bread sticks to your ribs; it satisfies and gives you strength, Psalm 104:15.
If you buy an expensive car, television set, or other costly goods, yet neglect the basics, what have you accomplished? Perhaps you can purchase quality bread made from whole grains. But, why not bake your own at less expense, and be sure it is the best quality?
Here are some sources for kitchen equipment we have obtained from the Internet: If you want to do it the hard way, obtain a hand-operated stone grinder for $63.95 ($8.50 shipping to USA customers) with a 2-year warranty, from: Total Juice Plus, 1125 East Glendale Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85020, telephone (602) 488-7808. This source also sells the electric Magic Mill III for $236.95, plus $13.00 USA shipping, with five-year warranty, six-cup grain hopper, 1.75 horsepower motor, which can output 75 pounds of flour per hour. Another unit that looks like a Magic Mill, with the same specifications, can be had for $179.00 from The Preparedness Mart, (800) 773-0437 or Internet http://www. preparednessmart.com/kitchen.html.
We strongly recommend Bosch kitchen products. We can personally vouch for their quality and durability. You may view Bosch equipment online at http://www.adg-bosch.com. You may purchase the Bosch Universal Kitchen Machine online at http://www.nutritionlifestyles.com/bosch.htm. Another vendor is http://www.best-bosch.com.
Standard equipment for the Bosch Universal Kitchen Machine includes the heavy duty mixing bowl, stainless steel dough hook, bowl cover, French whisks, and heavy duty blender, 3-year motor warranty. You can do much more with this machine than just knead bread! Optional attachments include a noodle maker, meat grinder, berry press for making fruit leathers, etc. Other fine Bosch products include: the Grainmaster Whisper Mill, with a self-cleaning, surgical quality, stainless steel milling chamber. It is quieter than the Magic Mill. Bosch also makes the Air Preserve II Food Dehydrator with 8 trays, fruit leather sheets, and How to Dry Foods book. If you have never eaten whole-grain noodles or fruit leather, you are in for a tasty, nutritious treat!
Finally, we have received good testimonials for the West Bend Breadmaker, available at many retail stores in the USA, such as Wal-mart, for around $100-$120. It kneads and bakes 1-2 pounds of bread all in the same unit. This equipment appears to be designed for low volume usage, and is not heavy-duty like Bosch equipment.
If bake your own bread, you should definitely use whole-grain flour, and it is best to grind it yourself to ensure retention of nutrients. Obtain quality bread-making tools. Eat the bread of life. Here's to your health!
What are the chances you'll live to be 100? Better than you think! Life span was 47 years in 1900 - today it's 76. Those 85 and over are the fastest-growing segment of our population. Researchers find that getting to your mid-eighties is the hard part - after that those lucky "masters" are often more robust and healthier than people years younger. These people often took good care of themselves. Some 70% of aging's effects may be due to factors that we can control. Only about 30% are genetically based. Avoiding cigarettes, eating a variety of nutritious foods, and exercising regularly, are ways to increase life span. Here are some more:
(1) Train Your Brain. Stay mentally active. To keep your brain alert, treat yourself to new experiences. Take up a foreign language, visit a new place, learn to play an instrument. Vigorous exercise will also keep your brain sharp. Stay optimistic, "Since the brain literally changes its structure in response to the signals you send it, it makes sense to train your brain to be positive," (Walter Bortz, MD, author of Dare to Be 100). By being positive, you may actually create circuitry in your brain that helps you see the challenge instead of threat in difficult situations.
(2) Thrive on Hard Work. Successful people are busy. They have worked hard all their lives and love it, unlike workaholics who work nonstop without pleasure.
(3) Be Self-Disciplined. About 90% of 1,200 centenarians in a survey had their days organized and well-structured. They got up and went to bed about the same time each day, ate three square meals and enjoyed work they had done for years. Why does a routine help us live longer? Perhaps it makes it easier to avoid bad habits like smoking and stick with good ones like exercising to avoid self-destructive behavior like bingeing on alcohol or driving too fast. It also allows us to sidestep worry and redirect our minds to more positive thoughts when flooded with stress.
(4) Enjoy Helping Others. Those with strong social ties get sick less often, recover faster, and live longer. Why? Scientists now believe social connections may rev up the immune system. From a purely practical standpoint, older people who have strong social connections get more support when they need it.
(5) Have a Passion. People who live longest have strong interests and goals. Robert Butler, MD, states, "It doesn't matter what the interest - it can be flower gardening or a beloved grandchild - as long as there is some passion."
(6) Learn to Deal with Loss. Interviewing seniors reveals that most have had quite difficult lives but have resilience. It gives them the creative ability to put their lives back in order after being hit with so much stress that they've fallen apart. Getting older means having a lot of losses. It's important to be able to incorporate losses in a positive way so you can go on. People have disappointed me many times; the Savior is my comfort in time of loss.
(7) Give Your Soul a Workout. Centenarian's serenity in the face of multiple losses may also be explained by their spirituality. A strong faith can help reduce stress. Growing scientific evidence suggests that a belief in God might be linked to less illness. Those who have experienced divine healing are witnesses to this fact.
Finally, people who age well often display a trait called "self-efficacy," a hearty self-confidence. With this type of can-do attitude, anything is possible, even reaching 100 . . . or beyond! All true believers have one or more spiritual gifts, and confidently use these gifts in the Almighty's service.
- adapted from "How to Live to Be 100," by Sue Browder, August 8, 1996, Women's Day magazine.
Deodorant Many deodorants and anti-perspirants have aluminum, which has been linked to Alzheimer's Disease. Unless I forget, each Monday morning, I apply a tiny dab of Lavilin natural deodorant under each arm. It's made from the calendula plant from Israel. Body odor is caused by bacteria growing in perspiration. With Lavilin, I perspire normally, but odor-causing bacteria hate calendula, and stay away from me for a week or two, no matter how many times I shower or swim. To order Lavilin, write Micro Balanced Products, 25 Aladdin Avenue, Dumont, New Jersey 07628 for a current Lavilin catalog.
Garlic Whew! The health benefits of this backyard herb are numerous. It is said to lower cholesterol, protect against cancer, and many other things. My mother, a nurse for over 30 years, has measured her blood pressure before and after taking garlic, proving it helps lower her high blood pressure. Sick with a cold and fever? I pull out the stops with raw garlic nested in bread and butter. Raw garlic seems to be more potent than the capsule variety. As they say, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away, but garlic keeps everybody away!"
Licorice Not a candy, but an expectorant and cough suppressant, people use licorice to treat symptoms associated with the common cold. Licorice-like anise oil does not have the benefits of true licorice.
Rice Rice is nice. Some folks are allergic to wheat. I am not, but love whole grain rice, organically grown, delivered to our doorstep right from the farm, and lots cheaper than from the health food store. Write Lundberg Family Farms, 5370 Church Street, PO Box 369, Richvale, CA 95974-0369 or call (530) 882-4551.
Rosemary Rats fed rosemary are twice as resistant to cancer-causing chemicals. Since I am a rat, I eat rosemary. It's a tasty spice on potatoes and vegetables, or a tea, and is available from any grocery store. Rosemary eases the discomfort of stomach indigestion. Remember to use this herb moderately (pregnant women are advised not use Rosemary).
Rub-a-Dub All of us are "flakes," because our skin dies, and new cells are continually growing. Good blood circulation is necessary for overall health. After my morning shower, I dry off with a wash cloth, then take a dry Turkish towel, and briskly rub all my skin, which gets rid of dead skin cells and increases circulation to my extremities. I feel invigorated to tackle the day!
Sage According to Prevention magazine, some folks say that sage heals in 60 different ways. Germans gargle with sage to soothe a sore throat.
Can you provide us with more verified health tips?
Fifty or sixty medicinal herbs are readily accessible to the average person. A few herbs should be avoided, and others carefully used. A simple guide to the use of herbs, and their potential benefits, is given in the 72-page booklet, Prevention's 200 Herbal Remedies, which is free to new subscribers of Prevention, a well-known health magazine ($18.95 per year for 12 issues, call 800-666-2503, or write Prevention, PO Box 7319, Red Oak, IA 51591-0319). Prevention's web site is www.healthyideas.com. You may also borrow the herbal remedies booklet free, from Richard Nickels, 3316 Alberta Drive, Gillette, WY 82718.
The December, 1997, issue of Prevention contained an article describing medical research which indicates that frequent use of common headache relief pills can actually cause more headaches. I can vouch for this through personal experience. After I was baptized in 1969, I stopped taking aspirin or other headache relief medicine. The frequency of my headaches began to diminish. Now, I rarely if ever have a headache. Are the giant pharmaceutical companies and sellers of herbs more interested in your health and well-being, or in their own profits? (You should ask the same question of religious organizations as well.)
Thomas Edison wrote, "The doctor of the future will give no medicine but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, in diet and in the cause and prevention of disease." That time should be NOW for the Almighty's people.
What are ten foods you should never eat? What are ten super foods you should eat? What are the ten most dangerous food additives? This and more is covered by the ten-issue-per-year, Nutrition Action Healthletter, published by the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest. Some foods you should never eat are movie theater popcorn popped in coconut oil (fat), Haagen-Dazs ice cream (fat), and Campbell's red and white label soups (salt). Some of the foods you should eat are: sweet potatoes, whole-grain bread, broccoli, strawberries, beans, cantaloupe, spinach, kale, oranges, and plain oatmeal. To subscribe to this excellent newsletter, write: Nutrition Action, 1875 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009.
Grow a Vegetable Garden
You have no doubt read about the Year 2000, or Y2K, computer problem. No human knows for sure the coming effects of this problem caused by man. It is NOT a punishment from the Eternal. One of the lessons we should heed is that this potential crisis should stir us to be doing some things that we should have been doing anyway, but were often too lazy to put into practice. In any year, we, as believers, should be working to live healthier, more productive, lives, serving our employers, our families, and our Creator.
One of the most basic of things is to grow a garden. Growing some of our own food provides heathy recreation for the entire family, ensures high quality food, and provides a safety store for emergency situations. Even if you live in an apartment, if you try hard enough, you can find community gardens or a little space to grow some of your own food. Do it. Do it now. Keep on doing it.
Believe me, in Wyoming, we understand the curse God pronounced because of Adam's sin, "cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee: and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return," Genesis 3:17-19. In Wyoming, to raise a decent garden takes a lot of hard work, gardening skill, and God's blessing of good weather during our very short growing season. We normally have seven to eight months of winter.
One year, I had a good stand of tomatoes in our backyard garden, and was looking forward to eating them. However, a blistering hailstorm struck our property, leaving only naked stalks totally stripped of leaves. Such a ruin of hard work could make a grown man cry! This past growing season, we had an unusually early spring. By April, I was able to work the ground, and plant some early crops, when usually I did not dare plant anything before May 15. Young and tender plants were up and doing well by the end of May. But then, on June 2, we got hit with a snowstorm and freezing temperatures. I frantically covered most of the plants with plastic sheeting and straw. After some losses, I replanted, and had a better than normal garden.
My productive garden attracted some unwanted company: hordes of grasshoppers. I fought them off in hand-to-hand combat. Maybe I should quit raising vegetables and harvest grasshoppers instead. After all, they are supposed to be clean. I'll let you try this idea first! Where you live, you may not have to worry about frost, grasshoppers, and drought. If so, what is your excuse for not having a garden? Growing a garden puts you in tune with nature and closer to your Creator. I need His help, and I am most grateful for the delicious produce He provides.
What should you plant? That depends on your climate and soil. We have a harsh climate, and sandy or clay soil. It is difficult to grow anything. I generally stick to the basics, and once in a while try something new. I keep notes from year to year so I can learn from experience what does well, and which gardening methods work best in our location. Garlic, onions, parsley, radishes, potatoes, several varieties of squash, cucumbers, and sunflowers do well in Wyoming. Tomatoes and corn are tough to raise here. This year I tried celery, and got a little, after the grasshoppers had their share. New Zealand spinach did not do too well, but I will try again.
Where do you get your seeds? Mail order catalogs or local nurseries are good choices. Nichol's Garden Nursery, 1190 North Pacific Highway, Albany, Oregon 97321-4580, E-mail: nichols@pacificharbor.com, Telephone: (541) 928-9280, has mail-order vegetables and herbs, and mild giant-sized elephant garlic. Other mail order sources we use are Gurney's Seed & Nursery Co., 110 Capital Street, Yankton, SD 57079; and Henry Field's Seed & Nursery Co., 415 North Burnett, Shennandoah, IA 51602.
When do you prepare to plant? Garden preparation starts in the fall, but is actually a year-round job. Work up the soil with a shovel or tiller. Plant a cover crop of clover or vetch (you can get seed very inexpensively at a local feed store), or cover the soil with straw and leaves. In early spring, work up the soil again, by turning over your cover crop, or straw and leaves. Before planting, work in your compost. You do have a compost pile, don't you? It is a gardening basic. Here in Gillette, the city gives you free a large plastic garbage dumpster on wheels with aeration holes drilled in it. We throw in our kitchen vegetable scraps throughout the year, and work in lawn clippings, leaves, and dirt. I empty our compost bin on our garden several times a year, and the compost is crawling with red earthworms, those wonderful engineers that keep my garden healthy.
What do you do with the produce? Eat it as it ripens. If you have more than you can eat, preserve it by canning, freezing, or drying. Give some of it away to friends and neighbors. In early spring, we eat green garlic and onions and parsley. By August, when our yellow squash and zucchini squash are in abundance, we discover new ways to eat squash. By September we are harvesting grapes and sunflower seeds. Yes, we can raise grapes in Wyoming, a North Dakota variety that withstands our harsh winters. You would be surprised what you can raise!
Expand your garden. When we first moved here, there was a very small plot that we began to garden. Each year, I try to dig a little more to expand our garden. This year, I added a 50-foot long section 3 feet wide along the back fence. Shirley wanted to put rocks along the border, so we lugged pink granite rocks down from the mountains. The new section is easy to tend and water, and is very productive.
What is a good recipe for vegetables? I enjoy a vegetable stir-fry, and like to cook it myself. As the summer progresses, I throw into each stir-fry what is ripe in the garden. I do not measure anything. So far, every stir-fry has tasted great! Here's how I make a stir-fry: I dice and cut up into small pieces whatever vegetables I have on hand, often mixing store-bought and garden-grown vegetables together. Carrots and celery are the base vegetables I use. Other tasty types, depending upon availability, include kale, potatoes, onions (including stalks and seed tops), garlic (the whole stalk), zucchini, yellow summer squash, and parsley. I use a stir-fry pan with a wooden handle. It has sloping sides and is about five inches deep. I put a little canola oil in the bottom of the pan and turn the heat on medium high. After a couple of minutes, I add the vegetables and turn down the heat to medium or medium low. I add several squirts of rice vinegar. Then I throw in spices: onion salt, garlic powder, chives, cayenne pepper, rosemary, etc. I cover the pan and turn the heat to low, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon. In 10-15 minutes, dinner is served!
I encourage you to grow a vegetable garden this year, and every year. Your hard work, and God's blessings, will produce a wonderful harvest.
What the Bible Says About Healthy Living
We would like to recommend What the Bible Says About Healthy Living, 284-pages, by Dr. Rex Russell (from Giving & Sharing, $10.99 retail, $9.00 suggested donation). Dr. Russell and his family found their own health failing and providentially began a search for health and healing from his Creator's manual, the Bible. His humorous approach is refreshing. Dr. Russell boils it down to simple, sound, practical advice in three basic principles easy to read, remember, and apply: (1) Eat the foods God created for you, (2) Don't alter God's design, (3) Don't let any food or drink become your god. There is an excellent listing of whole food sources, tests of your food IQ, and lots more. This book is highly recommended by Giving & Sharing directors Earl Lewis and Steve Kieler.
Echinacea and Your Immune System
According to Dr. Tori Hudson, ND, there are nine species of echinacea, but e. angustifolia, e. purpurea, and e. pallida are the most commonly used. More than 350 scientific studies have evaluated the chemistry, pharmacology, and clinical uses of echinacea. Echinacea has direct anti-inflammatory effects, immunostimulatory properties, the ability to increase the production and movement of white blood cells toward areas of infection, antiviral properties, antibacterial properties and even indirect anti-cancer activity. One of the most popular uses is in the treatment of the common cold.
You may obtain echinacea in the form of dried root, tea, freeze-dried in a capsule, herbal/alcohol tincture, and regular dried herb capsules or tablets. Check with an herbalist, educated natural foods store worker, or naturopathic physician for appropriate doses and effective uses. (Source: www.healthyideas.com, a service of Prevention magazine.) One source of echinacea and other herbs is Health Fitness USA, PO Box 814, Mt. Flora, FL 32756, E-mail: ForAnHerb@aol.com.
Kitchen spices such as basil, cumin, and turmeric, help add zest to bland foods. According to Environmental Nutrition of June, 1993, researchers in India have found that these spices have cancer-fighting properties, and turmeric may also boost the immune system. Truly, the more we look at the herbs God has created, the more we see that He has graciously provided herbs for the healing of nations.
According to the label, it's a non-carbonated, "real fruit beverage" drink, with luscious-looking tangerines, strawberries, and kiwis. Don't be fooled! Coca-Cola's Fruitopia drink is only 5-10% fruit juice. That figures out to be 2-4 tablespoons of fruit juice per bottle. What's the rest of this drink made of? If you guessed sugar, you are right, 17-19 teaspoons of added sugar per bottle. But that's not all! One of the listed ingredients is cochineal. You don't know what this word means? Are you ready for this? It's a red dye made from the pulverized bodies of insects, which has caused severe allergic reactions in some people. The Nutrition Action Health Letter, of December 1998, says that they have asked the FDA to ban cochineal.
If you are familiar with Giving & Sharing literature, you may recognize cochineal as the substance used in carmine, a basic ingredient of eye shadow. It takes 70,000 cochineal bugs to make a pound of carmine. Tell me, do you want these "natural" ingredients oozing into your skin? Do you want to drink unclean bug juice?
We encourage you to subscribe to Nutrition Action Health Letter, published by the non-profit, Center for Science in the Public Interest, Suite 300, 1873 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20009-5728. Ask your local library to subscribe to this outstanding health resource.
God created the cochineal bug to have an amazing property. The female has a powerful and long-lasting dye, known as carmine. One can compare the illustrious history of the cochineal bug used for red dye, with that of the Mediteranean Phoenician murex shellfish for purple dye. The insect cochineal was found in both the pre-Hispanic cultures of Mexico and Peru. It was used to dye textiles only for the use of nobility, due to its relative difficulty of harvest. This bug looks like a seashell, and lives exclusively on the leaves of Cactus Pear. The insect perforates the skin of the leaf and feeds from the plant's juices.
During the Spanish conquest, Spaniards lost no time in taking this new resource to Europe, pretending it was a seed and not an insect. This was a well-kept secret for many years, until an inquisitive Dutchman, with the aid of his microscope, "discovered" that it was not so. During the time of this deception, there was an unparalleled monopoly of trade and the price of a pound of cochineal sometimes approached an equal weight of silver.
Early in the 20th century, the English popularized the use of much cheaper artificial colors and that meant the end of cochineal cultivation in Mexico, and limited its production in Peru. During the 1960s, mounting evidence proved the dangers of using some colors in the Food and Cosmetics industries. This led to the rebirth of the use of cochineal. Instead of only using the color as a clothing dye, savvy marketers expanded cochineal use into foodstuffs as well.
Crafty Chilenos introduced efficient cochineal farming to Chile, resulting in an increase in production of cochineal dye, and a drop in prices. There has been a constant increase and growth of the use of cochineal derivatives. More and more uses are discovered day to day. You may find further information about the cochineal insect dye business on the Internet at www.cochineal.cl.
Lest you believe that cochineal bug dye does not affect you, think again. You may have unknowingly been consuming it for years. Due to a weird twist of human nature, the carnal mind thinks that food has to be colored a certain way to taste good. If it looks good, it must taste good, and it must be good for you, because it's natural. Red food coloring is probably the most common food additive. And, perhaps the best red dye is carmine, or cochineal. Cranberry juice, ruby grapefruit juice, and maraschino cherries, may contain unclean cochineal dye.
Increasingly, food consumed in America comes from overseas, often from China, where cochineal dye and monkey entrails are commonly used as food coloring (see The Wall Street Journal, December 2, 1998). You and I would be helpless consumers of unclean substances unless there were an army of "kosher police," from the 304 nonprofit agencies worldwide that certify food as fit for consumption by Orthodox Jews. You have a better chance of avoiding eating bug juice if you see a "K" for kosher, on the label. Kosher food inspectors probably do a better job than the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Common sense would help as well. Read the label!
Welch's 100% Grape Juice doesn't have a "K," but the contents are 100% grape juice and vitamin C, and "no artificial flavors or colors added." Sam's Choice Raspberry & Cranberry Juice Cocktail has 25% juice and its ingredients include water, high fructose corn syrup, juice, fumaric acid, vitamin C, and "natural flavor," whatever that is. The prices being similar, guess which juice would be your best choice!
Now, let's get bug juice into perspective. We ought to take reasonable and prudent precaution to avoid eating unclean substances such as revolting bug juice. But, there will probably be folks reading this article who are more careful to avoid a little bug juice, than to worry about supporting lying ministers who are not qualified Biblically to be Church leaders. It is like straining out a gnat or cochineal bug, and swallowing a camel, Matthew 23:24. Don't be stupid! For your sake, please read the label!
The Ninth Commandment is still in the Bible. If you are led by the Spirit of the Almighty, you will be given wisdom to discern lying spirits, deceivers, and false prophets who exalt themselves. You will "read" their "label," that is, their fruits. Discerning liars is the first step. The Spirit will then lead you to confront and overcome evil with good, certainly better than any "kosher police." It makes me sick to think of drinking bug juice. Even more so, it is disgusting to see many of God's people taken in by liars who write one thing, and then a few months later make boldface lies which contradict their former testimony. Yet in spite of this, most members "stand behind" a disqualified leader whom they foolishly believe to be "God's servant." They are like clumps of cochineal bugs, waiting to be squashed into bug juice! May God help His people to listen to His Spirit, and wake up.
Rice and the Cure for the "Irish Disease"
One in fifty Irishmen have it, as opposed to one in 250 of the general population. It is called Celiac Disease (CD), a severe toxic intestinal reaction to gluten, a protein substance in wheat, oats, barley, rye, and other grains, except rice. Because of the propensity for the Irish to suffer from this malady, CD is sometimes called "the Irish Disease." It is difficult to diagnose; many have the disease without knowing it.
A gluten-free diet is central to a curative program for treatment of Celiac Disease. Rice has no gluten, which makes it very difficult to make it into bread. A CD sufferer can freely use rice in a variety of salads, casseroles, soups, syrups, side dishes, and desserts. If you do not suffer from Celiac Disease, you may find that rice is nevertheless one of the greatest gifts from the Creator God. In its unrefined state, rice is almost a perfect food.
It breaks my heart to see relief programs in poor countries distribute white rice to starving people. The sinful nature of mankind has led some agribusinesses to strip off the nourishing vitamins and minerals in the bran, leaving mainly carbohydrates in a foodless food. We need the whole grain, just as God made it! Lundberg Family Farms, 5370 Church Street, PO Box 369, Richvale, CA 95974-0369, has been growing organic whole grain rice for more than thirty years. Write them for an order blank, or visit their website, www.lundberg.com, for an order blank, free mouth-watering recipes, and a wealth of information about rice and the many tasty rice products available. Lundberg will deliver rice products directly to your door, far cheaper than health food stores.
I want to optimize my physical health by adding plenty of whole grain rice to my diet. We receive no benefit for enthusiastically recommending Lundberg rice, other than knowing that others will reap healthful results by eating more whole grain rice.
He was diagnosed with fast-acting advanced histiocytic lymphoma. The doctor gave him one month to live. As a Church pastor, he had counseled others. Now, his faith was put to the test. God intervened and he was miraculously healed. Through it all, he learned twelve "creative choices" that took him through his fight with cancer. If you know someone who has cancer or another life-threatening disease, they need all the help and encouragement possible. Cancer survivor Dr. John Packo has written a 225-page book, Coping With Cancer, and Other Life-Threatening Diseases. For a copy, send $12 (postpaid) to: New Hope Ministries, 407 Joann Lane , Miamisburg, OH 45342.
Packed with Biblical support, Packo explains in detail the 12 creative choices he made during his battle for life (scriptural references amplify his 12 points): (1) "I did not choose cancer, but I choose to trust God for courage to cope with cancer." (Joshua 1:9.) (2) "Cancer is a divine appointment to receive Christ's miracle of His life into one's heart." (I John 5:11-12.) (3) "Since our sovereign Lord permits cancer for His glory and our spiritual growth, I will glorify God and grow." (Jeremiah 29:11.) (4) "Because Christ's death on the wondrous cross is the basis for divine healing, I choose His supernatural power to supplement my doctor's treatments." (I Peter 2:24.) (5) "I pick James' prescriptions administered by the elders of the local Church, then leave the healing results to God." (James 5:14-16.) (6) "If I select the wonders of modern medicine, I must be prepared to manage the not-so-wonderful side effects." (Matthew 9:12; Colossians 4:14.) (7) "I practice positional thinking that produces power to live above tough circumstances." (Ephesians 2:6.) (8) "When God withholds the miracle of instant healing, I humbly embrace His alternative of amazing grace that creates inner strength, and a joyful disposition." (II Corinthians 12:9.) (9) "I love God who specializes in the miracle of turning cancer into my ultimate god of Christ-likeness." (Romans 8:28-29.) (10) "I dedicate my body to Christ and separate it from unhealthy eating habits, chemical abuse, and overexposure to sun." (Psalm 139:14, I Corinthians 3:16-17.) (11) "I accept death as the departure [from this life to the new life] . . . made possible by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead." (John 11:25-26.) (12) "I celebrate the wonder of life by filling my heart with the joy of worshipping Jesus." (Proverbs 17:22; Nehemiah 8:10; Revelation 5:13.)
Most people have read about the beneficial effects of garlic. It is a natural antibiotic, lowers blood pressure, may help fight cancer, and has many other beneficial effects.
Stephen Foster said, “If you understand the uses of garlic, you understand 50% of all herbal medicine.”
Garlic is good for you! Louis Pasteur was an early scientist to use garlic in scientific experiments. He found that putting a bit of garlic in a petri dish full of bacteria would quickly kill the bacteria.
Research has shown that certain compounds in garlic (allyl-cysteine, and ajoene) can be beneficial to our health. Garlic is an effective antibiotic, an anti-viral and anti-fungal agent, and probably an immune system enhancer. Some studies have found lower rates of certain types of cancer in people who consume large amounts of garlic. Other studies show garlic can reduce LDL or “bad” cholesterol. Lots of garlic information is available on the Internet at www.garlic.com or www.garlicpage.com.
The saying goes, “an apple a day keeps the doctor away.” Well, garlic every day keeps everybody away! Some people are allergic to garlic. To learn more about garlic and health, check out the book, The Healing Power of Garlic, by Paul Bergner. He discusses when NOT to use garlic, and when to use raw vs. cooked garlic. Order from the Giving & Sharing website, www.giveshare.org/amazon/health, or send $20 to me for your copy.
If I am sick with a flu, I try to “stoke up” with raw garlic placed between bread and butter. This is strong medicine! Germs do not like garlic!
When we moved into our current home in Wyoming, I was working up the garden spot in the back yard, when I noticed a strange smell coming from what looked like grass. It turned out to be a mild wild garlic. I have cultivated and grown it ever since. I like it much better than Egyptian “multiplier” garlic which is too strong for me. My garlic survives even Wyoming’s frigid winters. I enjoy the garlic pearl beads, the seeds which are produced on the tops of the plant, to garnish salads and to add to stir fry vegetables. Garlic, with olive oil, is a key element to savory cooking, plus it is healthy for you.