Never eat meat again.

Fantastic assortments of whole foods! I dearly love quinoa and make a super tabouli out of it - instead of using wheat.

I am thrilled to hear that you are not having any wheat. Anyone reading this thread should seriously give that a try if they are having any allergies, stomach/digestive issues, acne, aches and pains, etc... I kept a food diary at one point many years back and looking back it was amazing how often I ate wheat. Morning, noon and night. No longer in my daily menu. Of course, refined is the worst, but still, giving the body a break from wheat is a great idea.

It really goes without saying that giving your body a rest from animal products is a must - even if it is for just a short time. It is so less taxing on the system to not have to spend energy on digestion. I imagine your energy level has soared!!

Thanks again and do keep us posted.

G

W

While I was away, I picked up a copy of Vandana Shiva's book, Stolen Harvest: The Hijacking of the Global Food Supply to read on the road. She's a social and environmental justice activist, scientist, and advocate of creating sustainable communities. She has an incredible knack for taking the information from sources like Michael Pollan's Omnivores Dillemma and giving clear explanations of the effects of our simple daily food choices (or lack of choices.)
/quote]

This book arrived today! Can't wait to get into it tonight!

G

All kinds of great things ... the cleanse involves avoiding the following items for 21-day:

Animal products
Caffeine
Gluten
Sugar
Alcohol

Instead you eat such things as:

Mixed grain cereals (without Gluten and sugar).
Gluten-free bread.
Grains such as brown or wild rice, quinoa, buckwheat, corn.
Nuts: almonds, walnuts, cashews, soynuts, filberts, etc.
Seeds: sunflower, sesame, pumpkin ...
Nut or Seed butters: peanut butter, cashew butter.
Beans & Legumes: black beans, lentils, chickpeas, black-eyed peas, edamame.
Faux meats: burgers, sausage patties, etc.
Artichoke, rice or quinoa pasta.
Pasta sauce
Vegetables
Fruits
Non-dairy milk
Herbal teas
Popcorn
Cornchips
Guacamole
Hummus
etc.

I've been having some terrific meals, such as:

Tomato Herb Risotto
Curries
Artichoke & Mushroom Paella
Roasted summer corn and basil grits w/ blackbean chipotle burger
Spaghetti with Mixed Herb Pesto
Tomato & Onion Quesadillas
Rice & Corn Stuuffed Peppers
Basmati & Black-eyed pea Pilaf
Creamy Italian White Bean Soup
Moroccan Vegetable Stew w/ Harissa Paste
Tuscan Beans
Cream of Asparagus Soup

and much more ...

All kinds of great things ... the cleanse involves avoiding the following items for 21-day:

Animal products
Caffeine
Gluten
Sugar
Alcohol

I could do without all of these.....except caffeine

So true! That is a tricky one. I need to get off it though. It messes with my blood sugar levels and makes me crash. I love the initial lift but the side effects not so good!

I saw a sight yesterday that I've seen many times in the past that makes me not want to eat chicken.

There are a lot of poultry processing plants in Georgia. I saw a truckload of chickens passing through town in near 100 degree weather. They were packed into cages like sardines and didn't look very healthy.

Sorry, old friend Doug Cagle, I know they were going to one of your plants. But couldn't your chickens at least not be miserable before they get their heads chopped off? I wonder if their stress hormones (if chickens have such hormones) affect my body when I eat them after they are processed.

Gidget, I deer hunt with a bow by the way and now moving on to a primitive style longbow. Im one of the few good hunters left that only takes what his family eats.

Oh I've seen that before too. Not exactly the pastoral pic that comes to mind when one things of "farm raised" chicken.

That's what this thread is all about. Like I said before, poultry and pigs have it really bad.

G

My Granny lived on a farm near Tyler, TX. She had chickens, and at lunchtime she'd go outside, grab a chicken, wring its neck, and fry it up for lunch. In the meantime she'd go to the garden, grab tomatoes, corn, butterbeans, etc., and cook them up. Yum. Sad for the chicken, but at least it didn't suffer in 100 degree heat for hours in a cage.

It is a good point about the chicken. How long did your granny live? Was she active into her later years?

G

Beach Runner, my grandmother sounds like your grandmother and she was from Tyler, Texas too. Rachelle Dickard was her name but she was a Vance when she lived in Tyler. She moved to Dallas and eventually JXN, Ms. post WWII. She raised us to grow your own vegetables, raise your animals and pretty much live off the land not the supermarket.

Gidget, you are so right about the wheat. Our teen son began suffering with chronic fatigue about a year ago, and we were unable to pinpoint the cause. He had ongoing insomnia and seemed almost depressed - less social, diminished sense of humor, difficulty concentrating in school. And this was previously a bright, talkative, funny kid. Though I chalked some of it up to adolesence, I knew that something was wrong. Fortunately our doc, Tommy John at Sacred Heart, thought to check for the gluten antibody. His blood tests came back with raised antibody levels, so he referred us to gastro doc. We saw two. One in Panama City, said that although he may be gluten sensitive or celiac, that was not likely the cause of his fatigue problem. He wanted to put him on Buspar and have him quit weightlifting (the one thing he still enjoyed doing). Sorry, that diagnosis did not fly with momma. The other local gastro doc was better, but still doubtful that his symptoms were the result of gluten sensitivity. The only way to know for sure, he said, was to perform a small intestine biopsy, which would require him eating gluten for six weeks prior to get an accurate result. We had reduced his gluten consumption already, and when I re-introduced it, he immediately felt worse. Fortunately, I found a lab online founded and run by Kenneth Fine, a gastro doc specializing in gluten and casein senstivity. It uses a non-invasive stool sample and does not require the patient to re-introduce gluten to be effective. They also offer a DNA test for genetic sensitivity to gluten. As we suspected, his test came back positive, not for celiac, but for gluten sensitivity, and his DNA test indicated he has not one, but two, genes predisposing him to it - meaning Mr. C and I have gluten issues, as well. And he is sensitive to casein, as well.

The bottom line is that his problem was indeed the result of eating gluten. My bright, funny, active boy is back. He has more energy, and though he still suffers a bit with sleep issues, that continues to improve, as well. And since I've stopped eating gluten, the mild arthritic pain in my hands has completely disappeared. There are so many diseases and conditions that may be associated with gluten that the list is staggering: fibromyalgia, lupus, cancer, arthritis, asthma, autism, ADD & ADHD among them. How many prescriptions are written needlessly for these conditions?

When I think of all the people unnecessarily medicated for conditions that might be resolved through dietary changes, especially children, I want to cry. I thank God I was prompted to find the underlying cause of my son's health issues. Discovering my own genetic issues with gluten provides a better picture of my family's past health issues, as well.

Organicmama loaned me an eye-opening book titled Dangerous Grains, which I highly recommend. It was especially interesting to note the connection some studies have made between gluten sensitivity and alcoholism. And there are many books on amazon related to both gluten and casein, including cookbooks with recipes.

The lab that did our testing is http://www.enterolab.com. The cost for the entire battery of tests was under $400, which I consider a bargain, and there is a detailed explanation of how to interpret your test results on the site.

Sorry to be so wordy, but I'm convinced that many people are suffering needlessly, as we were, with issues related to gluten in their diet. I hope this helps get the word out.

She lived until she was 90. She was active until she broke her hip due to osteoporosis. Mom has broken both hips. When her second one broke a year-and-a-half ago,she told the surgeon,"I'm glad I only have two legs because I'd hate to think about breaking another hip." My doctors started me on osteo meds early because of my family history.


My Mom is a Weatherall (I won't say her father's name because he abandoned the family when she was a young child). We are related to the artist who owns Weatherall Fine Art on 30A. My first name is Leita, as is hers, named after her aunt by marriage, Leita Weatherall.

Small world.

YouTube - Food, Inc

I want to see this. It is called Food Inc.

Thinking in terms of health, and yes, humaneness, I recently decided to see if I could become a vegetarian. But I soon discovered my stomach would become somewhat bloated and uncomfortable when I ate my veggie burgers etc. It actually kinda hurt my sweet little tummy. Made me look fat, too.

I googled it and found out it was a common problem. I don't know how people do it or if its just what I was eating. I agree that the 'meat' practices should be as humane as possible and like everything else, including our government practices, would be better served to be on the local level. (Btw, there's no way I'm watching the video. As a writer and 'creative type' I tend to 'feel' too much. That would live with me on too great a level. Maybe that's part of the point of showing it, but...

Anyway, I just wonder, if eating veggies has that affect on our systems, as I've mentioned, then maybe we weren't wired to eat them exclusively. I don't know. And I realize that's not necessarily the point of this thread, to mandate that. I know it's more about treating animlas humanely. I just can't eat veggies that much. Although I do stir a powdered substance into water, Greens stuff.