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Liz James

Raw Milk Dairy Needs Our Help

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The following plea for assistance is from one of my most favorite organizations: Weston A Price Foundation. As a fellow farmer with dairy cows of our own, I can attest to the crazy stupid prices of farming this year. The drought down here is real, and it’s at least doubled the cost of doing business, if not even more than that.
If you can, please consider sending over a few bucks to help this farm out. Raw milk is hard to come by for the general public, and each and every raw milk dairy needs protection. “They” would like nothing more than to see all food types fully under “their” control. If you control the food, you’ll control the people.
 
Raw milk is healing. Raw milk is medicine for many. It was for me. It was key in reversing my own story of osteopenia and improving my cholesterol ratios back when I was 33. My bones at 55 are much healthier than they were 25 years ago thanks in large part to raw milk. That story is the reason we have dairy cows now, and the reason we are willing to do the hard things so we will always have personal access to raw milk. Not everyone is able to have their own dairy cows, so farms like Swan’s Dairy in Oklahoma stand in the gap. Please. Do consider helping them so they may continue to help others have access to quality food. Grocery store milk (homogenized and pasteurized) is a beast…. it has the power to take you down, unlike raw milk. I’m happy to talk for hours about this topic if you are interested. 😉🤓😍👩‍🌾🐮.
 
Here’s the info from Weston A Price:
OKLAHOMA’S OLDEST RAW MILK DAIRY NEEDS OUR HELP
Swan’s Dairy of Claremore, Oklahoma has been providing raw milk to Oklahomans since 1923. This family dairy has been a reliable source for raw milk, raw cream, raw cheese, grass-fed meats and locally prepared foods for decades and is a fixture in the natural food community.
 
Unfortunately, 2022 has been extremely trying for this dairy. For several months they were required to cease their raw milk sales during an investigation by the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry (ODAFF). They cooperated fully and waited, along with their loyal customers, for approval to resume sales of raw milk products as the months dragged on.
 
The dairy was finally permitted to resume raw milk sales this summer, but months of waiting for the ODAFF to resolve the matter took a hefty toll on the dairy’s ability to stay afloat. Each week that this ordeal continued equated to around a $5,000-$7,000 loss per week in sales. The dairy endured this loss for nearly eight months. This, along with inflation, drought in the region, and the expense of feed and hay, has become a real threat to the future of this dairy.
 
ACTION TO TAKE
Please make a donation to help Swan’s Dairy survive at
If everyone makes even a small donation, it can help Swan’s continue to provide raw milk to growing children and individuals seeking nutrient-dense whole food.
 
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
swan brother’s dairy is fighting to stay open

The Southern Side of the Endocrine System: Pancreas Part I

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“The pancreas is my favorite organ.” Says no one (almost) ever. Seriously.
 
Unless someone has an existing pancreatic malady, this is one organ that gets very little attention. That’s a shame too… because with the exception of the rarer cases of genetics, infection, or blunt force trauma, nearly all pancreatic dysfunction is self induced. It’s time to bring this odd little organ out of its sandwiched space between the stomach and small intestine and figure out what makes it tick and tremble.
The pancreas has two main jobs: to produce chemicals which help regulate blood sugar, and to produce enzymes which help further digest food and bicarbonate which will further neutralize any stomach acid that has found its way into the small intestine. For being a rather underappreciated organ, if any of these tasks falls by the wayside, there are big consequences.
 
Pancreatitis (both chronic and acute) accounts for more than 360,000 hospital stays each year…. A number that continues to rise.😢
The lifetime risk of pancreatic cancer is currently 1 in 64 ….. A number that continues to rise.😢
The lifetime risk of acquiring diabetes is now roughly 1 in 3 adults….. And that number too has only continued to rise.😢
 
The problem is that the pancreas squeaks out tiny little “help me’s”, and few people take the time to learn and put clues together and then go on to correct the course of personal health history. True, the clues are not necessarily ones that will beat you over the head with a two by four, but they ARE there, nonetheless, and only you, the astute sleuth will likely see them or feel them.
 
Have you ever been out to eat with someone who won’t sit with their back to the door? Chances are, they have been well trained🧑‍✈️ to observe their environment so they won’t be taken off guard by an offender who has ill intent.
 
This is how we guard the pancreas… watching for environmental clues that endanger that little organ, and then blocking their entry into our personal space that we do have control over. None of us wants to be the 1 in 3, the 1 in 64, or the 1 in 100.
 
Environmental contributors to pancreatic distress include:
🔎Heavy alcohol consumption or diagnosis of cirrhosis
🔎A high fat, heavily processed food diet
🔎Obesity
🔎Tobacco products
🔎Abdominal surgery where the pancreas may have had interrupted blood supply
🔎Nutritional deficiencies including (especially) vitamins A, D, E, and K and selenium
🔎A history of infection such as hepatitis, Epstein-Barr Virus (Mononucleosis), Lyme disease, or Cytomegalovirus.
🔎A prior history of autoimmune disorder: especially celiac, irritable bowel disease, psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, or Sjogren’s Syndrome.
🔎A history of gallstones
🔎Lab work that reveals high triglycerides
🔎Abdominal trauma
🔎Damage to specific molars (those that are pertinent to pancreatic health and wellness… go back and re-read Chapter 7 in BYOHD Volume I)
🔎Long standing emotions and feelings closely associated with pancreatic distress including: guilt, shame, insecurities, frustration, joylessness, fear of rejection, and lowered self esteem.
🔎Many medications: More than 500 drugs have been reported by the World Health Organization database as causative agents for pancreatic distress. Common offenders include synthetic estrogens (birth control pills and hormone replacement therapy), opiates, steroids, many classes of antibiotics, diuretics furosemide and HCTZ, acetaminophen, and the blood pressure medication enalapril. The vaccinations formulated to prevent mumps (MMR and MMRV) have also been implicated in causing complications with the pancreas in some people.
Perhaps there hasn’t been a vigilant awareness until now, and the environmental offenders have already gotten through the door and gotten a little rowdy with the pancreas, and it’s been roughed up a bit. What would that look like?
When you have a handful of the following clues, you can be fairly certain they have been up to mischief that needs help or correcting.
🔎Diarrhea or bloating
🔎Unexplained weight loss
🔎Signs of malnutrition (lab work can identify this)
🔎Oily, foul smelling stools that are clay or pale in color and tend to float
🔎Poor blood sugar control
🔎Blurred vision
🔎Occasional abdominal pain that worsens after a high fat meal
🔎Occasional abdominal pain that may be worse if lying flat on the back
🔎Fatigue
🔎Chronically dry lips (according to Chinese medicine)
 
Do not hesitate to contact your favorite health professional if you’ve checked the majority of these clues or also have fever or unrelenting abdominal pain!
Thankfully, there are MANY things that may be done to support a healthy pancreas:
💜Eat a healthy varied diet rich in fruit and vegetables, white fish and meats, grass fed beef, foods high in iron, foods that are rich in antioxidants….. Cherries, blueberries, spinach, YL wolfberries, tomatoes, bell peppers, NingXia Red.
💜Incorporate digestive enzymes into your daily routine. (Amylase, lipase, and protease are commonly referred to as pancreatic enzymes, and are found in Essentialzymes-4, Detoxzyme and Allerzyme, or pancreatin and pancrealipase found in Essentialzyme.
💜Avoid opiates as a source of chronic pain management. There are MANY more effective ways to manage pain including scientifically proven meditation, relaxation exercises, acupuncture, yoga, and massage. Supportive supplements to consider include Sulfurzyme, BLM or Agilease, and Golden Turmeric, and essential oils PanAway, Deep Relief, Frankincense, Palo Santo, Helichrysum, Dorado Azul, Valerian, Peppermint, Copaiba, and Idaho Grand Fir. Reishi mushrooms ( found in NingXia Greens and Immupro) help support normal inflammatory and immune system response, especially when used with regularity.
💜Support the pancreas nutritionally with OmgaGize3 (for Omega 3’s), and an excellent multivitamin ( Master Formula ) that contains selenium, and vitamins A, D, E, and K and Vitamin B12 (Super B).
💜Incorporate MCT (Coconut oil) oil into the diet. It doesn’t burden the pancreas the way many other oils do, and it has properties which are helpful to inflammatory conditions.
💜Green Tea (found in Young Living’s Vanilla Lemongrass Tea)
💜Achieving and keeping a healthy weight. Remember, this is a marathon, not a sprint. Often simply losing 5-10 lbs is extraordinarily helpful to pancreas function.
💜Keep a close eye on triglyceride levels (optimally, they should be between 50-90mg/dL), and adjust the diet accordingly.
💜Add natural sources of glutamine into the diet: bone broth, grass fed whey protein, grass fed raw dairy, venison, organic poultry, spirulina (found in both Multigreens and NingXia Greens), cabbage, asparagus, and broccoli.
💜Improve levels of melatonin in the body! (Immupro or Sleep Essence if supplemental help is needed). There are some compelling studies on the protection melatonin appears to give to the pancreas.
💜Increase intake of antioxidants (easily done with NingXia Red or NingXia Greens)
💜Alkalinize the body with Apple Cider Vinegar and/or Alkalime
Pancreatic Insufficiency, Pancreatitis, and Pancreatic cancer are all three very stealth dysfunctions. The obvious problem with stealth is that they are able to cause a fair bit of dysfunction before the problem is large enough to warrant medical attention. Chronic inflammation of the pancreas is a leading cause of pancreatic cancer, and this form of cancer has a very poor survival rate. All the more reason to keep your pancreas well loved and protected. Taking a quick glance at your stools💩 before they go down the porcelain highway and doing an honest environmental and habit assessment is so important!🧐
 
Roughly 98% of the pancreas is devoted to the job of supplying the body with digestive assistance. The other 2% is devoted to managing blood sugar levels…. And that’s what I’ll bring to the table next: the pancreas and diabetes.
xoxo~ liz
 

Trans Fatty Acids

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Fantastic book/chapter on Trans Fatty Acid (Nutrition and Cardiovascular and Metabolic Diseases) ….. otherwise known as the vegetable oil most fast foods are cooked with.
I’m only able to include the link for the teaser without getting into trouble for posting “paid for” material. Nonetheless, there are nuggets just in the teaser.
Trans Fatty Acids are consistently associated with coronary heart disease, as well as sudden death.
Other things TFA’s are good at? 🤔
🧐raising triglycerides (one of the reasons triglycerides are often thought of as the “tattletale” on a lipid panel… it is a marker (usually) of the junk someone is consuming.
🧐lowering HDL while raising LDL ( what we think of as “good” vs “bad” cholesterol)
🧐raising lipoprotein(a): the worst type of LDL that increases risk for blood clots
🧐promoting generalized body inflammation
🧐promoting insulin resistance (which leads to diabetes)
🧐visceral fat (no amount of working out to compensate for diet will get rid of this so you can eat junk and still have 6pack abs)
🧐 heart arrythmias
Why are they even allowed in the food industry? 🥴 Good question! Follow the money. They are cheap, and increase shelf stability of products, making something “stay fresh (ha!)” longer.
You can read what is free to read here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/…/neuros…/trans-fatty-acid
Know better. Do better. Be better.
Take care of that temple….. it’s the only one we’ve got!
xoxo

~ liz

Happy Birthday, Charlie!

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Happiest of birthdays to my best friend, my love, my life partner! 60 is a big number and it looks good on you. For many people, they see 60 as a negative place to be….. God is truly refining you in your years, and I’m thankful you have chosen to lean into His refining process and you look forward to what’s to come instead of backwards at what was. With age, comes wisdom, and wisdom trumps youth any day! You’re gonna rock the next era of life, and I’m looking forward to it with you!
 
If you know Charlie, you know he is a good man with a heart the size of Texas, a love of Jesus, an encourager extraordinaire, a guy’s guy, a lover of people, and holds a work ethic that just doesn’t quit. What’s a great memory you have of him?
 
Happy Birthday🎂 to my favorite person on the planet🌍!

Graith Care

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If you or a loved one feels trapped in a medical situation and you need an advocate who will help you fight for your rights, this is a FANTASTIC organization. It’s not free (they have to make a living too), but they could literally help save your life. Back in 1995, after my husband had a terrible ruptured appendix situation, and I was able to advocate for him (for the 3 weeks he was in the hospital and beyond), I prayed that an organization like this would become available – for those people who don’t have an advocate in their family who know the questions to ask, the words to say, the knowledge of what needs to be avoided, and full informed patient care.
Every situation is unique, and not knowing all the facts could literally cost you your health or your life.
I’m here to help you avoid this kind of situation. Graith Care is here when you are in the middle of a situation you never thought you’d be in.
I’ll include a podcast link in the comments for a podcast that speaks to this.
Quote from Dr. Allen Greenburg (MD): “As a retired physician, I can honestly say that unless you are in a serious accident, your best chance of living to a ripe old age is to avoid doctors and hospitals and learn nutrition, herbal medicine and other forms of natural medicine unless you are fortunate enough to have a naturopathic physician available. Almost all drugs are toxic and are designed only to treat symptoms and not cure anyone..”
xoxo

~ liz

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