Cornstarch and Guar Gum

I really honestly think I have not lost my mind. However I went looking for the info I had read on Cornstarch. I remember it said that the cornstarch coats the insides of your blood vessels. However since I cannot find that information, I will shelf it till a later date. I even surfed the net for any hint of health problems. The only sites I did find had been disabled. So on to Guar Gum. Guar Gum is from the ground seeds of an Indian tree. It has 8 times the thickening power of cornstarch so it you need a teaspoon of cornstarch use 1/8 t Guar Gum. It you need a Tablespoon of cornstarch use 3/8 of a teaspoon. So far I have tried it in homemade salad dressing, gravies and other sauces. It swells when wet so does not need to be heated however you can heat it in a gravy with no problems. The only caution is, it takes a while to thicken and if you think you will help it out and add more, you will end up with a solid mass of uneatable gunk. You can find Guar Gum in health food stores. For more info go to this site. I buy Bob's Red Mill brand and here is that site. There does seems to be health concerns, but that was when they were selling it in capsules as a diet control. Hello people out there, a substance that swells to 8 times its size when it gets wet is gonna cause some problems! They said there were numerous cases of intestinal obstruction DUH. However if it has already swelled in your gravy and sauces then there is no need for concern. No blockage for you! It is also used in ice cream as it thickens without forming ice crystals. So surprise! If you have eaten ice cream you have eaten Guar Gum.

Monday Musings: Airborne VS Generic

Anyone have that flu that is going around? It is a really powerful strain that sucks the lifeblood out of you, makes your joints ache in any position and coughing splits your head open? My hubby who NEVER gets very sick, his colds last about an hour or two (seriously), got sicker than I had ever seen him in the 26 1/2 years I have known him. I on the other hand tend to be anemic and get everything that is going around, most times much worse than everyone else. And because I just got over three sicknesses in a row lasting 5 week, I was ARAID.......VERY AFRAID. So I stopped all sugar consumption, and started talking Airborne, an effervescent tablet that contains 17 herbs and nutrients that boost your immune system, three times a day. A second grade school teacher developed it to help prevent sickness from all the germs kids bring in the classroom. My mother and sister who were also VERY AFRAID, took a generic brand. Upon comparing there are 2 ingredients that are different. Anyway, I seemed to make made it through without getting sick where as my sis and mother both got very ill. Not sure if that was a coincidence or not, but for now I would stick with the brand name Airborne. Costco has it in 2 double sized containers for around 17 dollars. Or you can get it in the mini version for 6 to 8 dollars at your local pharmacy. Try it you just may avoid an illness. I even kept my son well enough to go to the District Swim Meet which was important for him (okay I was excited too). He was a little sick, so his times were about a second slower, but he did very well for his age group. More about that tomorrow.........

Mondays Musings: Health Benefits of Garlic

Garlic is a powerful antibiotic, antiviral and antifungal. It can prevent Cancer, reduce heart disease, fight parasites and viral infections, has antioxidant effects, reduces fungal infections, and reduces bites from insects. In order for garlic to be effective it must be taken within an hour of crushing and not be exposed to cooking or heat. The best way to take it is in a teapoon of honey (sounds funky but is not that bad) Also its best if the whole family does it, because then you wont notice the smell as much. I have read that if you take parsley it deoderizes the smell. For more detailed info check out Dr Mercola's Site.

Tune in tomorrow for our Mission Trip update, Go Kiara, and Wii would like to play.

Monday's Musings: 7 Health Habits

Want to live longer? The following 7 health habits are associated with long life.

1. Sleep 7 to 8 hours
2. No eating between meals
3. Eat breakfast regularly
4. Maintain proper weight
5. Regular exercise
6. Moderate or no use of alcohol
7. No smoking

Count up how many habits you are following then see below for your adjusted age (add or subtract from your age according to the plus or minus signs).
Habits..0-2.........3...........4...........5...........6...........7

20.....+14.3......+7.4.......+0.5.......-1.1......-4.2.......-9.4
30.....+16.9......+9.1.......+3.0.......-0.6......-4.7.......-11.1
40.....+19.4......+10.7......+5.4.......-0.1......-5.2.......-12.9
50.....+20.8......+12.4......+7.9.......+0.3......-5.7.......-14.7
60.....+24.5......+14.0......+10.4......+0.8......-6.2.......-16.4
70.....+27.1......+15.7......+12.8......+1.3......-6.8.......-18.2


My dad is a perfect example of how this works. He has followed all these rules for as long as I can remember. He is 71 and he doesn't look a day over 50. He works as hard as a teen and is sharp as a tack. He was a teacher for 40 years and still teaches computers part time.




Here a picture of him last summer when he rode a mule all the way to the bottom of the Grand Canyon. He was suppose to hit the mule with that stick he is holding but he said "My mule is walking on a small pathway in the side of the mountain and it is straight down on one side. I am not going to make this mule mad!"

Monday Musings

Monday's Musings... Garlic, Oatmeal water, Water Therapy and Hydrogen Peroxide for preventing and treating colds and infections.

In all my reading I have come across some ways to help prevent and treat infections. This is what I will be doing next winter to prevent my annual 3 sicknesses in a row.

Garlic is such a powerful antibiotic, and antiviral that if you place a garlic clove close (not even touching) to a petri dish full of bacteria the bacteria will die. The best way to take garlic is raw crushed as cooking destroys the antibiotic properties and crushing activates them. Not many people I know can just munch on raw garlic so put your raw garlic in a teaspoon of honey or mix in with a little cream cheese and put on a cracker.

Oatmeal water can prevent sickness. In the early 1900's (I think, maybe it was 1800's) when the railroad was being built the men were working 12 hour days and couldn't afford to be sick so they gave them oatmeal water to drink. They made history because not a single man missed work due to sickness. Here is the recipe Take 2 T of instant rolled oats and place in 2 quarts of water in a pot on the stove. Bring to a boil, then turn down and simmer for 20 minutes. Strain and drink. Sounds a little weird but doesn't taste that bad, even if oatmeal is not your thing.

Water therapy can improve your immune function. When you feel a sickness coming on, take a hot/cold alternating shower then go to bed for 30 to 45 minutes. In the shower use hot water as hot as you can stand for 2 minutes then as cold as you can stand, without getting a chill, for 30 seconds. repeat three times and end with cold. Get in bed and relax for 30 to 45 minutes. You will probably sweat so when you are done save your friends noses and shower again :)

Hydrogen Peroxide in your ears can stop a cold! When you first start feeling a cold coming on place a few drops of hydrogen peroxide in each ear. I understand this is very effective.

Tomorrow: "My own American Idol" AND "Welcome home and wish you were here"

Monday Musings--Microwaves are they safe?

While looking up some health information this year I came across an article on Microwave safety. I had always heard that Microwaves were safe unless the radiation was leaking from a faulty seal. Almost all sites that report Microwave safety, are reporting just that. They do not report what microwaves do to the food that is cooked or warmed in them. An experiment you can try at home if you are skeptical is this. Plant two pots with seeds and water one with microwaved, cooled water and the other with tap water. The seeds in the microwave watered plant will not sprout. You can also water an existing plant with Microwaved water and it will die.

More supporting evidence:

A nurse microwaved a pint of blood to warm it before giving it to a patient who had hip surgery and the patient died.

Russian research at the Institute of Radio Technology at Klinsk, Byelorussia showed that microwaved foods lead to a higher percentage of cancer causing substances in the bloodstream and microwaved foods lower the body's ability to utilize Vit B complex, C, E, essential minerals and Lipotropics

Kinesiologist David Bridgeman states “99.9 percent of people I test for allergies show an allergy to microwaved food”

Russian research reported by the Journal of Natural Sciences in 1998 found that people who ate microwaved foods have statically higher incidence of stomach and intestinal cancers

A Spanish study published in the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture in 2003 states that microwaved broccoli lost 87m to 97 percent of three cancer protecting antioxidants

Japanese research reported in Science News in 1998 stated that microwaving destroys at least half of the B 12 in dairy and meat


Stanford researchers reported in the Journal of Pediatrics that re heating human breast milk in the microwave, even at low settings ,can destroy lypozome, a compound that fights bacterial infections.

In 1976 Russia banned the use of microwaves due to the results of studies, however after Perestroika the ban was lifted.

Microwaved plastic wrap has 10,000,000 times the FDA limits of carcinogens.

Standing in front of a microwave is also damaging to your health. Cells explode in the microwave so imagine how many are getting damaged if you stand in front of the microwave for 5 to 10 minutes.

You ask why you have not heard any of this? Most of the time if an item is popular or profitable, it is treated with the adage. “What they don't know wont hurt them” For example, Swiss scientist Dr. Hertel and researcher Blanc did research on the effects of microwave cooking and found changes in the blood that are similar to the blood of patients who have cancer. When they tried to publish their finding a “gag order” was issued. Blanc recanted. Hertel demanded a jury trial and finally in 1998 the gag order was lifted.

If their findings were not valid, why were they not just proven wrong? Do your own research, just type in “Micowaves are they safe?” into a search engine and see what comes up.

Now for how to survive without one.

We obtained a George Foreman grill, even though we are vegetarian, because it cooks both sides of a vegetarian burger at the same time. We also grill vegetables, rewarm pizza, cook vegetarian bacon and sausage substitutes.

An idea for keeping food warm if your spouse is late coming home is to cover the plate with a saucepan lid and place the plate on the sauce pan with simmering water in it. (make sure the plate can withstand the heat) This will keep it warm without drying it out. We have also learned to eat as soon as the food is done. Crock pots are great for warming food without it sticking and rice cookers come with a timer so the rice can be done exactly when you need it to be. I found it to be slightly more work at first, but fell into a routine quickly, and I have not regretted the choice to get rid of the microwave.

Coming tomorrow: Tuesdays Child and What to do if your Teen is not acting so terrific.

Microwaves: Are they safe?

Research says NO.

The facts are that microwaving causes the atoms, molecules, and cells in food to reverse polarity billions of times persecond, causing friction, the more friction the more heat. This ocilliation tears and deforms the molecular structure of food. These damaged food New compounds are formed which are not found in nature.
cells can cause cancer because free radicals circulate in a persons blood within hours of eating microwaved food. Microwaving also leads to malfuctions in the lymphatic system and decreases the body's ability to protect itself. The microwaved foods caused stomach and intestinal cancerous growths. They also lowered the body's ability to utilize vitamins b-complex, C, E, plus essential minerals and lipotropics. In people with allergies, 99.9 percent show severe sensitivity to any microwaved food.

If you would like to do an experiment yourself, plant seeds in two different pots. Water one with tap water and the other with microwaved water (allow to cool).`the seeds that recieved microwaved water will not grow!

In 1876 Russia banned microwaves becasue of their negitive health consequences and many studies were conducted on their use.