There has been a great increase* in food allergies in recent history and many are linking them to additives and modifications to our food sources. "Scientifically" the jury is still out on some, but we don’t need an undeniable "scientific link" to know when our body functions and feels better and doesn’t.

In addition to food allergies, in which the immune system has an immediate response, there are also far more food sensitivities, when the bodily changes can happen more slowly.

How can you best avoid foods that cause allery or sensitivity responses?

"O’Brien recommends that people throw out their nonorganic, processed, genetically modified, artificially created, or hormone-laced food." Mercola.com

Frankly, that is a great start. Adulterated foods are usually the culprits, and their effects go far beyond immediate allergic reactions, and milder sensitivities. They tear down our health in many ways.

In addition to the chemical additives, (in both growing and producing,) other processes can be the culprit too. Pasteurization of milk renders many unable to tolerate it. Although even without pasteurization, cow’s milk is highly mucous producing and a tearer down of our health. Dairy is one of the top three food allergens. But some people with dairy allergies are able to tolerate raw dairy products far better then pasteurized.

Along with dairy products, wheat is another of the top 3 allergens. Many people who are unable to tolerate wheat are able to eat Kamut and Spelt (non-hybrids) without problems. But for some gluten, no matter how pure the form, is intolerable.

Soy is the other of the top 3 food allergens. I wonder with all the rap soy is taking if this is a plate of cooked soy beans, or all the modified soy food "products", that people are allergic too. Soy, as a cooked bean is rarely eaten in America. But soy products abound.

I still agree with "O’Brien" quoted above. Get a pure food source and see what happens in your body. If you still have problems, remove one (or all) of the top 3 offenders. In fact, even if you don’t suspect food allergies or "sensitivities" follow O’Brien’s advise anyhow. Your body will love you for it.

*note: hospitalizations for food allergies have increased 400% in the UK since 1990.

For Me and My House ~ At Jesus’ feet,
Lisa @ Me and My House ~ Discipleship for Life!
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What Happens to Your Body Within an Hour of Drinking a Coke?

How much naturally occurring fiber are you getting? Fiber acts like a broom or a mop in your intestines, sweeping and mopping away the wastes, the leftovers, from the food you eat. Without fiber those wastes just sit there and accumulate like in a clogged drain or backed up sewer pipe.

There is no fiber in meat, or milk, or cheese, or ice cream, or other dairy products. There is no fiber in “refined” white flour and all the products that are made from it, pasta, breads, cookies, cakes, pastries, and the list goes on and on. There is no fiber in other “refined” grains, white rice, etc. There is no fiber in sugar. There is no fiber in fat.

Fiber is found in fruits and vegetables, in whole grains and the products made from them, in nuts and seeds, in legumes (beans and peas).

How much fiber are you getting? Is your drain clogged or free flowing?

Another type of “fast” some people go on is really an elimination diet, ridding the body of those fiberless foods, and eating only fiber rich foods to do some “house cleaning”. In addition they may take additional fiber, to work on the “tough clogs” that have been there a LONG time, and won’t budge without some added effort.

Some of these fiber rich cleansers also contain parasite killers. You’d be amazed at how many people have parasites. They thrive in those gunked up drains.

If your diet has consisted of a large amount of fiberless foods over the course of your life you may want to consider not only eliminating them and switching to fiber rich foods, but also using an extra fiber supplement for a while.

Fiber cleansers are a powder that is stirred into water or juice, then drank quickly before the fiber expands in the glass and turns to a gel. You must drink a lot of water with them, because of this bulk. Fiber Cleanse and FiberBlend are two we recommend; they have natural parasite killers in them. They don’t taste great, but are better than most, and are highly effective. AND NOW they come in capsules! The best way to take them, IMO.

Many of you are preparing to begin various types of diets, cleanses, or fasts as we begin the New Year. The (so called) Daniel "Fast" (Diet) is one form of "Biblical" diet that you may be considering. It’s what I’m sharing about today, and I hope over the next several days to share about others.

The Daniel "fast" is not a true fast at all, but simply a simple diet, or lifestyle of eating, that eliminates certain types of foods, namely "rich" prepared dishes, (in our day, including our "refined" and convenience, prepackaged foods,) as well as all meat and animal products. Daniel purposed to eat only sown plants and drink water, rather than partake of the king’s delicacies. (See also Proverbs 23.) He interceeded to not be forced to eat the way of the King’s lifestyle, which was considered "better" by the Chaldeans of course, since it was the food of the rich.

Daniel basically was calling for a pure diet to not defile himself, most likely in the kosher sense. He asked to prove that his lifestyle of eating simple foods would NOT make them "inferior" in any way. And as we know it proved them superior in mind and body.

The diet of Daniel and his friends, in this foreign land with foreign, unkosher foods and foods prepared in unkosher ways, stuck to foods as they came from God – just plain water and foods that are sown – vegetables, grains, legumes, (and possibly fruits, though I don’t see this in Biblical studies of this, just modern articles/books on "Daniel Diets"). These were fresh (raw) or simply prepared by just cooking plain, rather than prepared in "rich" "dishes".

The "deceptive foods" of their time were no where near what our deceptive, processed (non-)foods of our day are, but they WERE rich foods, no doubt not kosher – and those that ate them tended to gluttony/ overindulging. As in our time, the "rich" felt they deserved to eat whatever they wanted. Isn’t that America today? We feel we’re deprived if we "have to" drink water instead of pop/soda or rich coffee drinks, or feel sorry for those that "have to" eat beans and rice, or don’t get sugary "treats", etc. Perhaps we even feel sorry for those that make things from "scratch" rather than "get to" buy pre-prepared foods.

Daniel’s Diet is a Good for You – Naturally™ diet that can be followed by all, all the time for health. We too would be wise to refuse the deceitful "dainties" placed before us – all the time.

Although we can’t know exactly which plant foods Daniel ate, the Daniel diet most likely is basically the same as the Gen. 1:29 diet God originally gave to man. The Hebrew word zeroa, that comes from zara, means something sown, i.e. plant foods. In KJV it is translated "pulse" which is a bit more restrictive definition. IOW, it generally can mean the foods grown from the sown seeds (vegetables), or more restrictive and literal, the seeds themselves that can be sown and grown to eat (legumes and possibly grains). Pulse meaning, "beat out" as in our "heart beat" is our "pulse", and in plant foods, those that we "beat out" the seeds (beans and peas).

So whether you choose to eat vegetables only, or legumes (beans and peas) and possibly grains, or include all of these and perhaps even fruits too, a diet similar to what Daniel and his friends ate is a Good for You choice for beginning a New Year with a New way of eating.

After beginning with this very simple Daniel Diet, you may choose to add in some unrefined plant oils (extra virgin olive oil, raw coconut oil, etc.), some herbs and spices, and perhaps even some honey and/or eggs, to continue on a not-as-simple, but still Good for You – Naturally!™ lifestyle of eating.

Big government continues to legislate our diet, dictating our choices in food, more and more NOT for our health and benefit. And I just can’t keep up with it all. Too many laws! And many, like this one, not required to be labeled as such.

This one has evidently been on the books for almost a year, and took effect in Sept. But I am just learning about it.

The raw almonds I now buy aren’t really raw.

In January, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced  that virtually all almonds would have to be pasteurized as of September 1. This new rule was a result of Salmonella outbreaks in 2001 and 2004 that were traced back to raw almonds. – San Fransico Gate

As I’ve reported previously, not only are you losing yet another healthy whole food source, but that very fact is also being hidden from you through the approved use of false labeling, by allowing treated almonds to be labeled and sold as “raw.” – Dr. Joseph Mercola

I was told that the Almond Board of California will not use any heating or radiation to “pasteurize” their almonds. Instead, he [ABC CEO] explained, they will use propylene oxide in their almond “pasteurization” process. In the FDA’s “Guide to Inspections of Manufacturers of Miscellaneous Food Products,” this process is referred to as “terminal gas sterilization.”

Also, in April 2007, the FDA proposed relaxing the labeling requirements, and allowing companies to use the more palatable term "pasteurized", to describe irradiated foods, if the radiation kills germs as well as the pasteurization process does. In essence, this means that almonds may not only be pasteurized, but irradiated. Apparently the term “pasteurized” is an OK substitute for “terminal gas sterilization” as well. If the FDA gets its way, as long as the food looks and smells normal, chances are better than good you won’t ever know whether that specific food has been "nuked,” or “terminally gassed,” or not. – Dr. Joseph Mercola

Propylene oxide is a highly toxic flammable chemical compound. It was once used as a racing fuel, but that usage is now prohibited under the US National Hot Rod rules for safety reasons. It is also used in thermobaric weapons. It is an epoxide. – Wikipedia

Here’s the "good news"?  Thanks be to God, there is a loophole which allows the producer to sell directly to the end consumer. So now you must look for "unpasteurized" on the label, not just "raw".

Here are 3 links for sources that are NOT "pasteurizing" their almonds, and are selling direct to end customers. Check them out. The prices may seem high, almonds seem expensive, but they are a nutrition packed food, and these prices are cheaper than from my food co-op/buying club. Organic almonds cost about double non-organic. Only you can determine whether to invest in the extra cost. Organic is definitely better. (I’ll write more on that another day.)

http://www.almonds-from-california.com/cgi-bin/ppcart/ppcart.pl?cat&californiaalmonds

http://organicpastures.com/shop.html

http://www.realrawfood.com/wholesale-raw-nuts.htm#almonds