WHY SHOULD WE STOP CONSUMING THIS HEALTHY FOOD

My health guru cousin Audrey told me not to eat any soy products unless it is fermented, and if so, not to indulge often.  Some ofher reasons went over my head. Thus, I decided to do some research given to me by a dear friend.  It was hair raising and almost unbelievable.

Dr Marcolo did extensive research on soy, finding it extremely toxic unless fermented. Soy contains a number of problematic components that can wreak havoc with your health, such as:

Goitrogens – Goitrogens, found in all unfermented soy whether it's organic or not, are substances that block the synthesis of thyroid hormones and interfere with iodine metabolism, thereby interfering with your thyroid function.   Could this be why my thyroid is not functioning well?  My doctor keeps changing my meds to regulate it.  I make the best sauce for my fish that contain soy

It is also important to understand that while fermented soy is healthier for you, it is not wise to consume it in large quantities because it is still loaded with phytoestrogens, like isoflavones, which can cause detrimental feminizing effects.

Some of the more recent research shows that many of the health problems do not even occur in those who consume these GM foods. Some of the most devastating harm may occur in the second and third generations!

He  recently interviewed GMO expert Jeffrey Smith about the latest findings by Russian scientists, who discovered that GM soy effectively sterilized the third generation of hamsters..

One group of hamsters was fed a normal diet without any soy whatsoever, a second group was fed non-GMO soy, a third ate GM soy, and a fourth group ate an even higher amount of GM soy than the third.

Using the same GM soy produced in the US, the hamsters and their offspring were fed their respective diets over a period of two years, during which time the researchers evaluated three generations of hamsters.

Shockingly, the second-generation of GM soy-fed hamsters had a five-fold higher infant mortality rate, compared to the 5 percent normal death rate that was happening in the controls.

Worse yet, nearly all of the third generation hamsters were sterile! Only one single third-generation female hamster gave birth to 16 pups, and of those, one fifth died.

Another bizarre side effect found in the GM soy-fed groups was an unusually high prevalence of an otherwise extremely rare phenomenon – hair growing inside the animals' mouths.

But soy is not the only GM food to beware of.
Soy oil
Soy ice cream
Soy yogurt
Soy "meat" (meatless products made of TVP)
Soy lecithin
Infant Soy Formula – Perhaps the Most Dangerous Soy Products of All

Many children are allergic to conventional formula, and these parents can easily be convinced that soy formula is the solution.

Sadly, soy formula is FAR worse than conventional formula, in large part due to its excessive levels of phytoestrogens. The estrogens in soy can irreversibly harm your baby's sexual development and reproductive health. Infants fed soy formula receive a level of estrogen equivalent to five birth control pills every day!

Infants fed soy formula have up to 20,000 times the amount of estrogen in circulation as those fed conventional formulas!

In addition, soy formula has up to 80 times higher manganese than is found in human breast milk, which can lead to brain damage in infants, and altered behaviors in adolescence.

So please, do not ever feed your baby soy formula, and warn others who are pregnant or who you know are considering using formula over breastfeeding.

The next best alternative to breast milk is to make a healthy homemade infant formula.

Thank you Teddi, for your research

NO COOKING IN THE KITCHEN

My Vegan cousin Audrey has a sign on her refrigerator that says "COOKING IS POISON"  She never eats anything from animals or fish.

Audrey has the most beautiful circular kitchen in her lovely home. Instead of the usual toaster, broiler, and canisters on the counter, she has vials, droppers, scale, and small jars.

On my last visit to her home, I watched with amazement her preparing lunch and dinner in her million dollar looking kitchen. It took a couple of hours mixing several berries, seeds, nuts, fruit and several other items too numerous to mention. She prepared her smoothie in her elaborate blender insisting it made her full all day. She snacks on almonds, that were washed and soaked for days.

Whole Foods is her source for shopping most foods. She carefully selects her organic fruits and veggies.  She places them on a  $150 wood square block like a trivit..  Audrey says it energizes the food on it. She also has  a large magnet under her bottle of purified water to give that energy as well.

Audrey is a health food guru among her peers.  She devotes her entire life reading, attending lectures and preaching about healthy eating.  Although too overwhelming for me to digest all the information given to me, she does not get insulted if I change the subject. Truthfully, I must say, at times I am slowly starting to listen.  I take it very gradually and try to eat with substitute foods.  I am trying Stevia, the safe sugar substitute. "Never consume any soy products" she warned. I was flabbergasted at the horror of soy.  I will tell you what my friend researched in my next issue.

At first, listening to my fanatic cousin, I thought she was crazy. But I realized she made a lot of sense in the foods we eat. She explained milk is harmful after infancy. "How can we live without milk? I love milk and cookies before bed time" But why does my stomach slightly feel weird, and my mouth has a sour taste every time I drink it?

While watching her prepare her smoothie, she gave me a taste of coconut milk, almond milk, and another kind of milk. I loved the almond milk. It was a little creamy and sweet. Great for my coffee. So I am now weaning myself gradually away from milk and  am purchasing almond milk at Whole Foods.. It tastes better anyway. I wont be a vegan any time soon, but I will gradually become more aware of some of the poisons in food and look for an alternative.

The advice my cousin gives makes a lot of sense. However at my age, it is too difficult to change my eating habits.  Audrey says, "take it one day at a time.  A little knowledge is better than none"

MY EULOGY FOR MARILYN J. BERMAN

EULOGY FOR MY DEAR FRIEND MARILYN

About 37 years ago, I met Marilyn in the model of Fairhaven, a new development at that time.

It seemed we both contracted for the same lot. She thought there was going to be an argument. However looking into her beautiful blue eyes, we just chose another lot around the corner from her.

We became good friends when we moved into Birchwood Bungalow Colony waiting for our new houses to be built. Because we lived in close quarters, we became family, sharing car pools to school, vacationing and having holiday dinners together. It was thrilling watching Jenine, Stacey and Rodger grow up to become beautiful and productive people. Marilyn was always proud of her children and her children were always very caring and loving to her.

We had history together and sometimes we laughed at ourselves when we  reminisced the silly things we did.. Like the time we went to the mall, riding the escalators gabbing, going up, and going down, then going up and down again still chatting away. Like the blind leading the blind

Marilyn was determined to further her education and graduated college while her children were young. She loved her studies and discussed many of her classes with me. One special story she shared with me was from her classroom assignments . It was about a misdiagnosed autistic boy named Tibbs. I found it an excellent learning experience for anyone who read that book. I was extremely thankful to her for sharing.

During the years of our friendship, Marilyn often said to me that she hoped we remain good friends until we grew old and spend the rest of our time together in a nursing home. At that time we were in our thirties. I humored her while never giving my aging a thought. Unlike me, she always knew she would someday wind up in a nursing home.

Marilyn had a vision for her future. Perhaps watching her mother with the same illness and later her brother, she was so sure it would happen to her. And, when it did, she was so helpless with no cure in sight.

My friend Marilyn was very fortunate to live long enough to see her grown children and knowing her grandchildren. What is so great is that her grandchildren had the pleasure of knowing their wonderful grandmother. They gave her lots of Nachas and pleasure. She was very proud of all of them. Marilyn had comfort knowing that all her children had loving spouses and was proud of Itsik, Eli, and Rachael.

Most important, how lucky Marilyn was to have such a wonderful, loving and caring husband, especially to the end of her life.

Marilyn I will miss our laughs, your phone calls and your friendship. You will always be in my heart.

Rest in peace my dear friend.

HOW TO TAKE A SIMPLE TEST TO FIND OUT WHAT YOU'RE ALLERGIC TO

In my last issue I explained how the foods we eat affect our mind and bodies. It is extremely difficult for me and many others to start eliminating some of our foods, the ones we love so much. Many ignore their ill symptoms after they ate, others listen to their bodies and look for answers as to what they had that made them feel ill. They start thinking about what to eliminate from their diets

As promised I will pass on a simple test I learned from Dr Michael Schacter. After paying him hundreds of dollars testing my son for food allergies, he told me to go across the street to his health food store and buy his book Food, Mind and Mood. It was in his book that I learned how to test for foods that cause weakness to your body and your immune system that cause allergies. Too bad he did not tell me about it before I paid him all that money.

Here goes: Sit at the table with your partner and place your hand on the table. Have him place his hand over yours tightly. You try to get out of his grip as he tries to resist your strength. The idea is to know your strength before the next step. The book says afterwards to fast for a few days. We would probably be dead by then. So I suggest you fast for 24 hours. Then take a piece of food, one which you suspect you might be allergic to. Place it under your tongue. You do not have to eat it, as the food under your tongue goes into your blood stream anyway. Now place your hand on the table, having your partner place his hand over yours. Try to resist him. If you are weaker than the first time, that food is probably your culprit. If not try again the following week with another food, like bread, cheese, etc. Jut one food at a time
 
Years after my teenage son's asthma was arrested, I started to have lower back pain all the time. Heating pads became my best friend. Refusing to take drugs, I was bed ridden for days, unable to raise my pillow or get out of bed to turn off the TV. We had to purchase an electric queen size bed and a remote control TV which at that time was unpopular. When my lower back recovered, I was able to carry on with my household duties until the next attack.

One day, I accompanied my husband to see one of his clients to sign a contract. He owned a famous store on Canal street. The client told me he was heavy into drugs until he had hepatitis . His health guru friends nursed him back to health months before most hepatitis patients recovered. He became a health nut and drug free.

When he saw me in pain, he advised me to quit eating all the foods I was accustomed to. When he mentioned root, and foods I never heard of, I said 'forget it" Thus, he said, " just eliminate one food and I promise you will feel better. You see, the atmosphere stinks, the water we drink is not good, especially the foods we eat. So naturally our bodies are breaking down because we cannot resist all the toxins getting into us"

"What did I have to loose?" I said to myself. I could still eat many of my favorite foods, so I just eliminated meat. After three months the pain in my lower back went away. My friends said it would have gone away anyway, so I cheated. After having meat two nights in a row, I felt a light tinge in my lower back. It was not bad, just a warning. That was over twenty five years ago, and I never had a back ache again. Oh, yes, I can now have steak, or hamburgers but only once a month. Some times I will cheat and have it twice. My back is very forgiving. I will never push it though. My philosophy is, If I am good to my back, my back will be good to me.We made a deal and we are sticking to it