Gut health

FARFA

Liz James · October 9, 2017 ·

I hardly know where to begin. I am so far behind on all the wildly magical things going on in our life that this Summer has somehow morphed into Fall. I can hardly recall a year that has gone so quickly in my adult life.

I’ve always said I could be a professional student if only I was independently wealthy. Well, We’re still not independently wealthy, but we have somehow begun building a life that is allowing me to explore my passions and get paid. I pinch myself occasionally. Is this really me, getting to do this?

Pharmacy has been good to me ya’ll, but it’s no walk in the park. There is a reason it’s listed among the Top 10 Professions most likely to commit suicide. It’s a high stress job with long hours and demands 100% perfection. No surprise that the burnout rate is also remarkable. I am tremendously blessed with a husband who enjoys his job and has encouraged me to pursue what pulls at my heart. It is a gift he has given me this year… and a timely one at that!

At the end of September, I was fortunate enough to attend The 2017 Farm & Food Leadership Conference. Blessedly, this national event was held in nearby McKinney, Texas.

FARFA…. Farm & Ranch Freedom Alliance is a national organization supporting independent family farmers. It works to protect a healthy and productive food supply for American consumers. FARFA is an advocate for independent farmers, ranchers, livestock owners, and homesteaders, as well as the consumers who support them.

Ya’ll, you’d hardly think this organization would be necessary. We all need food and farmers. Shouldn’t it be easy to farm enough nutritious food to feed our huddled masses? Let these statistics sink in:
*The average age of a farmer in the United States is 65 (in Texas it’s 58)
*Soil depletion (of minerals) and hybridization of seeds has decreased the nutritional value of commercial fruits and vegetables by 50-70%.
*The GDP spent on healthcare used to be 2.5%. It is now a whopping 18%, due largely to quality of food.
*Farmers too rank in the Top 10 Professions most likely to commit suicide.
*Non-sustainable farming practices expose farmers and farm families to a tremendous amount of chemicals including (but not limited to) pesticides, herbicides and fungicides. Farmers have an elevated risk of developing non-Hodgkin lymphoma, leukemia, multiple myeloma and soft tissue sarcoma. They also have higher rates of brain cancer, stomach cancer, prostate cancer, skin cancer, Parkinson’s Disease, and various Auto Immune Disorders.

This AMAZING Conference covered so many facets of Farm to Table Education. There were so many education opportunities, but not nearly enough time to attend each session. I settled on those that pertained directly to our farm and the direction we are headed.
*Q&A Session on Cooperatives
*Growing sustainable grains (not surprisingly, Einkorn Wheat was a large part of this discussion… one of the reasons Young Living remains committed to producing healthy grain options for its members)
*Activating your Microbiota for Health (So excited to see this topic offered at a farm conference!!) This is truly one of the most important things we can do to be healthy, and it is the reason I offer monthly Gut Health Classes .
*Opportunities for Military Veterans and Young Farmers. Did you know that there are really some amazing opportunities offered to those who want to farm but have no idea how or where to start? There are even opportunities (in the form of grants, education, low interest loans, and equipment for disabled farmers) available thru various programs. Healing (both emotional and physical) occurs when you connect with the earth. This is not some new age mumbo jumbo…. this is real scientific fact.
*Fermentation techniques taught by the incredible Nancy Falster of Falster Farms. Gut health again!!! I LOVE IT! Fermented foods were incorporated into the food supply for thousands of years in every single culture. Modern culture had nearly eliminated it, to the detriment of our gut health… I hope it’s making a comeback!
*Alternative revenue streams for small farmers. This falls right into our vision for our farm. It’s too early to reveal what is in my heart, but this topic was so interesting and helpful. City folk are simply craving connection with their food and with nature. I can’t tell you the number of times we’ve had people come thru our gates and tell us they experience a type of peace (on our farm) they don’t normally feel in their day to day lives.
*Sustainable home gardening. I felt like we are ahead of the curveball on this topic. We are the king and queen of composting, and are figuring out what works for organic pest control around here.
*20 other topics ranging from Legislative policy to Home Brewing and Distilling.

I almost forgot… the most amazing Farm to Table dinner too. This was our first, but it won’t be our last. Dinner for about 150 people at Pure Land Organic Farm , catered by the incredible sustainably (and locally) sourced ingredient restaurant in McKinney: Harvest.

Connecting people with a common bond. Farmers, Ranchers, Nutritionists, Chefs, Sociologists and Anthropologists, Beekeepers, Backyard gardeners with a vision, Inner City gardeners with a plan for their community. This event paid no heed to political affiliation, ethnicity, age, or religious beliefs. Our goal is the same. To learn. To provide sustainable nutritious food for the body, mind, and soul to all walks of life. Breaking bread together never tasted so good.

White Gold

Liz James · July 26, 2017 ·

More than 15 years ago, we made the decision to begin drinking raw milk. You can learn more about that journey in the category “My Story”. It was not a decision we took lightly, and I literally did over 100 hours of research before embarking on this new path.

I know. I can see the smile on some of your faces, and I can see the nose wrinkling in disgust on others. Raw milk seems to divide foodies, nutritionists, medical professionals the way God divided the Red Sea for Moses.

I never gave milk much thought thru my early 30’s. It came from the grocery store, and we consumed it like many people do. I knew people with ‘lactose intolerance’ and felt remotely sorry for them… not because they couldn’t enjoy milk, but because they also didn’t get to enjoy ice cream, yogurt, and cheese. Yes, I’ve been a dairy lover my whole life. It’s likely the reason my cholesterol started rising in my early 30’s.

Cholesterol and Osteopenia were the driving force behind our introduction to raw milk. It was suggested to me after my diagnosis of both. Being the bookworm researcher that I am, I promptly went out and bought a few books:

The Untold Story of Milk by Ron Schmid, ND (Foreward by Sally Fallon of Weston A Price fame)

The Milk Book by Dr. William Campbell Douglass (an easier read, not quite as detailed)

I have to say that The Untold Story of Milk was likely the catalyst that changed the course of my life. It completely revealed true nutrition and wellness in ways I never found in college.

I want to leave you with a few thoughts:

Be open to learning about the other side of this topic. The dairy industry is just that… an industry. They will do whatever they need to do to sell their commodity. Theirs is the reason milk is both pasteurized and homogenized. Factual information about Raw Milk shakes things up in the ADA (American Dairy Assoc) world.
True lactose intolerance is more uncommon than you would think. Milk from the grocery store is not the original milk. It has been manipulated and manufactured. Real milk is a light yellow color (see pics above). It is not blue-white or grey-white as you find it in cartons. There is a reason for that: additives. In my experience on our farm, I have had ZERO lactose intolerance at our kitchen counter when serving a class of milk to someone who has been told they are lactose intolerant. If you think you are… or have been told you are…. I’d encourage you to give raw milk a try (organic and raw are not synonymous). We do not sell our milk… it is for personal use, but I can direct you to sources who do sell to the public.
Healing can occur with healthy foods. This happened to me, and it’s happened to other people I know. My cholesterol levels are awesome, and so are my husband’s. The same can be said for my bone density.
I hear people say that milk was not designed to be consumed by adults. Only babies…. and the humans are the only species who do this. Humans are also the only animals with opposable thumbs (barring other primates), and I’d like to think that space and ocean exploration among other things are human unique events too. Maybe we’ve been drinking it all these eons because some wise guy in biblical times figured out that the land of Milk and Honey actually meant nutrition the way God intended! It may also be because I think it would be darn near impossible to hand milk without thumbs

To each his own, but I’d encourage you all to have an open mind. Do a little research… and give raw milk a try. It has the flavor of mildly sweet melted vanilla ice cream.

I know, it looks like whipped cream… truly this is how it comes out….. milk with a foamy top. Farmgirl style!

The Gut Health/Brain Health Connection

Liz James · July 17, 2017 ·

Good morning friends,

I saw an article this morning, and wanted to share it . Here are a few excerpts from the study referenced:

“Investigators led by Caroline Wallace, PhD candidate, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada, found that symptoms of mood, anhedonia, and sleep disturbance were significantly reduced with probiotic therapy after just 4 weeks, with results maintained at 8 weeks.

The findings are of particular interest because probiotics are not associated with any of the adverse effects of current antidepressant therapies and can be safely taken over long periods.

These results, the investigators note, “suggest that probiotics may be effective in alleviating depressive symptoms such as mood, anhedonia, and sleep quality.”

Our gut is just so dang important for our overall body health…. not just physically, but also emotionally. Antidepressants are among the top three medication classes prescribed by doctors. I can verify that as a pharmacist. While antidepressants are not addictive, they do have the ability to completely change the wiring in your brain, making them very difficult to discontinue. I’ve been told by more than one patient that being on an antidepressant is like experiencing your world thru a filtered lens. Everything is muted, and while you may have muted depressed emotions, you will also find you have muted joy and pleasure. And yet, for mild to moderate depression, doctors offer this alternative over suggesting non-prescription remedies first.

As we age or assault our gut with diet, antibiotics and household toxins, the good bacteria in our gut can’t maintain their healthy colony size……and, I’ve read that some of these little beasties (the Bifidobacterium strains specifically) really start to struggle when we’ve reached ‘a certain age’, leading to (among other things) anxiety, depression, and sleepless nights…. all things the elderly (or those with a gut issues) can struggle with.

Sadly, almost no insurance pays for probiotics. Such a simple aid for such a widespread problem!……Just one more aspect of our broken healthcare system here in the USA.

Not all probiotics are created equal, and there are hundreds of brands on the market. Among the many I have researched, there are only a few brands I would recommend. The reasons are diverse: packaging (not protective enough), strains (not diverse enough), quantity (not enough colony forming units to make much of an impact), release mechanism (releasing directly into the stomach is a death sentence for these beasties)….. the list goes on.

While you can be thrifty and bargain shop for many things, probiotics is not one of them. In this case, you truly do get what you pay for. The best ones aren’t cheap; you can expect to pay about 25-30$/month. Even then, purchasing a pricey probiotic does not mean all the criteria above will be met. A close dissection and understanding of the label is very important.

I know…. that sounds like a lot of money, but at 300-400$ per year, it is a darn cheap way to invest in your life, your health, and your emotional balance. I know people who spend that much on designer coffee and fast food each month (to the detriment of their health). We all have choices to make in life.

One of the things I love and respect about Young Living (the company I do business with and endorse) is their ability to simplify my life. I really appreciate that their products do not require ‘label dissection’ (that was a game changer and time saver for me). All of them. Clean. Pure. Unadulterated. Researched & developed with attention to the minutia of detail….. making this pharm/farm girl one happy camper.

Ya’ll take care and have a blessed day!

Liz

(Oh, and yes…. this picture has nothing to do with this article…. even tho these thistles are terrible weeds, I still thought it was a pretty thing ;). I love finding beauty in the everyday-ness out here.)

Sleep Week – day 7

Liz James · July 11, 2017 ·

OK ya’ll….. I’m coming clean here… Sleep is important to me. I’ve researched sleep for several months now, and the more I researched, the more I appreciated its value. These last few days have been ginormously busy for me…. so much so, that I have not had a moment to catch my breath except when it’s time to head to bed.

By 9:30 each night, I had to make some decisions…. what was more important? Sleeping or blogging. I know that many of you have hung out and reached out to me during sleep week, but I also knew that none of you would lose sleep if I missed a blog posting day.

So….. I chose to make a good example of myself, and picked respecting my bedtime hour over blogging and sharing with you all.

There is much more to sleep than I could cram into 7 days anyway, and I’d love to share more. If you’d like a more in depth class I’m happy to schedule one at some point.

In the meantime, I leave you with this video about simple habits you can either break or create to gift yourself quality sleep.

If I’ve piqued your interest in any products that have helped me and thousands of other people sleep please let me know, and I’ll show you the most economical way to own your own stash. Everyone deserves healthy restorative sleep!

Enjoy!

Sleep Week – day 3

Liz James · July 3, 2017 ·

Deficiencies. Sometimes our bodies don’t produce enough, and other times, we just don’t consume enough. The only way (aside from supplementation) we can receive minerals like Magnesium or Potassium is thru the plants we consume, and to a much lesser extent, meat from animals who have eaten plants. Additionally, our bodies give us the ability to synthesize D, but D can come from a non-vegan diet as well.

Current farming practices have overworked the soil and synthetic fertilizers bind minerals. Both practices prevent the transfer of minerals to the plants. Since the 1970’s, the mineral content of plants we eat has diminished greatly (50-70%). Growing your own food with organic (ex: cow poop!) fertilizer will help, but supplementation has become a growing necessity. This is exactly why we’ve chosen to garden and use our own compost….. and choose very specific seeds.

Not all Magnesium is created equal. Some forms are not absorbed well. Highly absorbable forms of magnesium include citrate & glycinate ( Thankfully YL uses both forms).

Not all vitamin D is created equal either …..D2 (ergocalciferol) and D3 (cholecalciferol). Studies indicate that vitamin D2 is much less potent and has a shorter duration of action than D3. Young Living uses D3 in their formulations.

Thank goodness they know this and incorporate the good stuff into their formulations. (Believe me, I see what’s available out there in pharmacy land!)

What are the chances you are deficient in any (or all) of these? Deficiencies abound in the good ol’ US of A. Despite the wealth of our nation, we are sorely lacking in many nutrients.

80% of us are lacking in Magnesium

75% of us are lacking in Vitamin D

98% of us are lacking in Potassium

Give yourself a high five if you thought you might be deficient. Now go do something about it !… and work towards that 7 hours of golden sleep.

Supplementing is so helpful to keep us above that wellness line. All three deficiencies can cause many more body system dysfunctions than just missed sleep. God made a finely tuned machine when He designed us. If someone finds they are significantly deficient, there are prescription strength D, Pot, (and non prescription, but high strength Mag) available…if you need concentrated help with magnesium, make sure you opt for glycinate and/or malate forms (higher doses can cause diarrhea, and these are less apt to do that, while still being highly bioavailable).