Comments on: Resolutions -v- Action Plans

By: Garden Jools

Garden Jools — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 18:00:48 +0000

It has been good Jean…its all “food for thought” and we are what we eat!!! Lol! Health has certainly been a huge issue in my life of late. It had been something that I took for granted (as I was a pretty damn fine specimen…even if I say so myself!!) and I thought that I was indestructible…well, just thought that I would always be strong and fit. And then to be struck down with such a complicated injury has made me so much more aware, not just of health in general, but also of my own limitations. This BGO (Brilliant Glimpse of the Obvious!!) has in turn taught me more about myself as a person overall. We are such a complete and complex package as humans….heart, soul, mind muscle and bone! Each portion of who and what we are dictates what we do and how we do it. What amazes me is how we have the ability to transform and utilise our skills and spirit to keep functioning as a miniscule part of “the big picture”.

By: Jean Burman

Jean Burman — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 05:12:49 +0000

Okay… the liver talk was a bit over the top… but hey… who’s gonna defend it when it’s gone? (((LOL)))

It’s been a fascinating discussion everyone… thanks to all who weighed in! Glancing back we covered some interesting ground… kicking off with wishes for good health and plans for the new year God willing… sailing to the farthest horizons… and on to the aztecs… and then to New Guinea… flashing back to Oprah… fast food and obesity… orange oil was in there somewhere… along with food manufacturing and organic farming… basil… corn… government corruption… toxic harvests… and all the way back again to health! Wow… how’s that for diversity? But then… we’re a wildly diverse and vastly “interesting” bunch of people… who could expect anything less! LOL

By: Jean Burman

Jean Burman — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 00:28:15 +0000

I’ve found the best source of really “fresh” fruit and veges here is the supermarket. We have our big farmer’s market (Rusty’s) but more and more the produce sold there is supermarket surplus and not home grown. You have to know what you’re looking for and search around until you get what you want… but I make the effort to get to the markets for fresh eggs with a nice yellow yolk… lemons (usually the bush variety) and locally grown limes… and of course the fruit that grows so well here… pineapples, red papaya, passionfruit etc.

Genetically modified? Hmmm… I’ve heard the debate from both sides… and both make sense to me. The idea that we might be able to grow produce without the need for pesticides appeals to me… but this technology left in the hands of the unscrupulous (and history has shown there are plenty of those) is of great concern. The jury’s out for me right now.

As for being allergic to the 21st century… the poor old liver can only take so much and store so many toxins before it fails to do it’s job. When it reaches capacity the body breaks down wherever there is a weakness. Allergies are the first indicator that something isn’t right. There are successful ways to detoxify the liver but all of them require a healthy ingestion of fats… (the very thing we are warned against ingesting by the so-called experts) But without fat in our diet… the poor old liver hasn’t got an icecubes hope in hell of getting rid of the toxins that have been stored there because the body has no-where else to store them. It’s a big topic… too big for a forum like this… but if I could just say one thing to my fellow human beings I would humbly beseech them to:

“Get involved with your own health… don’t rely on your doctor to save you! Ask questions and insist on answers… or better yet… find your own answers… keep your eyes and ears open and trust your own intuition”

By: Garden Jools

Garden Jools — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 12:10:35 +0000

You could chase your tail around and around with that one Jean! There have been changes…….ever so slight I agree, but we do not ingest the potent chemicals that we used to twenty years ago. The use of many chemicals have been banned and the swing towards “watching what you eat” is gaining momentum. Yes, Poison is still being used to combat the imperfections of food (what do we think of genetically modified food????) But, I have noticed many more stalls of many more varieties of “organic food”. The greater the demand for it, the greater the supply shall have to be. And as we become more aware, the more we shall seek! I believe that many more people are becoming educated, instead of “hibernated”. I myself still buy fruit and vegies and meat from the supermarket…I guess we are all complacent until we are personally affected by it. I know of a couple of people who are allergic to the 21st century and must have organic products, not just food…but soap, shampoo etc. Imagine that kind of life….being alienated from what we take for granted.

By: Jean Burman

Jean Burman — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 03:54:03 +0000

It’s the grain fed export quality beef here in Australia that we need to watch out for… (unless of course it’s bound for the Japanese market who won’t tolerate anything less than organic!) It seems that for our own population though it’s okay to sell us the less-expensive-to-raise grass fed beef… but that’s absolutely fine by me… at least we can be relatively sure it hasn’t been chemically “enhanced” ~grin~

There is too much politics and big business in the production of food. But then… there’s too much politics and big business in the production of just about everything… where large corporations (sanctioned by Government) make obscene amounts of money exploiting and betraying the trust of the unsuspecting (and dare I say long suffering) public.

Not sure what it will take to turn it around… (besides public awareness)… but maybe when health budgets blow out to “gastronomical” proportions and Governments (and also surprise surprise… the medical fraternity) finally make the connection between ill health and the food we eat… Govts may eventually see more fiscal sense in keeping people healthy rather than having to pay for their care when they get sick. Don’t mean to sound negative… but it probably won’t turn around until someone’s back pocket begins to hurt. I’m surprised that the health insurance industry hasn’t woken up… but then maybe they have vested interests in the food industry? Sheesh… how’s that for a conspiracy theory? (((LOL)))

By: Mary

Mary — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 03:08:33 +0000

Jools, Bovine Growth Hormones are used in abundance in the US. Not only that, but the poor cattle are forced to eat “renderings” from previously butchered stock. And they are, (because we have such a surplus and it’s cheap) also forced to eat corn. Corn is a terrible thing to feed to a cow. They are not capable of digesting it properly and get horrible ulcers as a result. Sometimes they produce so much saliva as a result of fatiguing rumination they die of asphixiation. Absurd! I know! And yet…this insane and inhumane practice is widespread and common. The meat from these animals is often of poor quality and the techiniques for “dressing” up the beef at the supermarket are deceptive and DANGEROUS! Yet…the government is bought off by owners of these massive meat producers and turns a blind eye. It gets worse…and far more ugly…but at least, like you say…people are just beginning to wake up and understand what goes on behind the grocery shelves…

By: Garden Jools

Garden Jools — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 23:35:50 +0000

So true Jean….but while we are aware of it and “talking” about it, the focus will surely shift!

By: Jean Burman

Jean Burman — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 22:17:26 +0000

Katherine… that spray you mentioned is more than likely Sodium Metabisulphite (or sulphur dioxide) a common preservative in wine… dried fruit… and many other foods… and sprayed liberally on salad bars in some restaurants to keep the produce “looking fresh”. It’s a particularly dangerous practice as those sensitive to the effects of sulphur can suffer serious reactions including asthma and shortness of breath, urticaria (hives), racing heart and any number of other health related problems.

Until the focus is shifted from food that simply “looks and tastes good” and lasts a heck of a long time on the shelf… to food that actually IS good for us and provides real nourishment… we will continue to have rather poor health outcomes I’m afraid.

By: Garden Jools

Garden Jools — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 21:28:07 +0000

Katherine Hi!!! I do not know what the product is that you are speaking of..but it sounds encouraging!!! When I think of the chemicals some orchardists still use (and used to use that still lay in the soil…heavy metals!!!) it chills me to the core! To help promote the “safe food”..I’ll let you in on a few things that I know. Heavy metal sprays were used to defoliate fruit trees (to encourage leaf drop and speed up the growing process for the following season. Also used in Vietnam) insecticides attack the nervous system of pests..they have a similar effect on humans – the food chain thing! With meat there is another rather ghastly practice…hormones. I could not say if this is still a routine practice, it was common 20 yrs ago while I was working on cattle stations, but hormones USED to be injected into cattle and chickens (I do not know of other meats) to promote growth (larger meat harvests). Now… considering the amount of food the western world wastes, I would not say that this is all for “supply and demand”..it is for more of the “market” dollar! I would suggest that these “product enhancements” eventually squeezed out the smaller farmers as they could not compete with the price wars of the whole cycle. I have not been in the food growing industry for a long time, so cannot say if these things all still occur. I do know that certain products have now been banned from use (with fruit and vegies)..but the whole scenario was making us sick…thank heavens the pendulum is swinging back to more natural ways of farming. If smaller farming was given half a chance, the farmers could control pests more effectively with natural processes. It is only farming on a large scale that requires massive amounts of pest control with chemicals….biting off more than they can chew!!! (pardon the pun!!) I also think that the poor old farmers are suffering from another “disease”…stress! The suicide rate of farmers in our country is apallingly high. Its all very sobering and serious stuff!

By: Katherine Courtney

Katherine Courtney — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 15:46:59 +0000

When I was growing up we had nothing but local produce and dairy that was fresh. During WWII every one was encouraged to grow a “Victory Garden” as most of the produce from the large farms was sold to the military. Then someone came up with some kind of spray for veggies that was supposed to help keep them fresh. I am sure it is still used. I don’t know what it is. Does anyone know?