Weston A Price - Indianapolis Groundwork Conference

Weston A. Price

Saturday, myself and 3 friends went to our first Weston A. Price -  Indianapolis Chapter - Groundwork conference.

Can I just say.............wow!

First, it was amazing to be surrounded by 200+ men and woman who share the same passion that I do.  To GREEN our lives.  To eat traditionally.  To stay away from GMO's.  To ditch processed foods.  To grow your own food (weather permitting).  To eat organic (if safe local food is not available).  You get the point.  

I walked in with my bright orange shirt that reads "GMO's are not food!" (with each o filled in with a bio-hazard symbol and did not feel like a freak.  It was wonderful!  :-)  I should take a pic of my shirt.  Hmmmmmm......maybe I will surprise you with it at the end.  :-)

Bio-hazard symbol

The day consisted of speakers and break out sessions, vendors with booths, lunch and dinner.  It was a great day.  My butt, (who is not used to sitting) thought different, but I told it to shhhh so I could hear what the speakers were saying.

Here is a little info about Weston A. Price.  1870-1948.  Dr. Price was a dentist who wanted answers.  He wanted to know why we, Americans had such awful teeth.  He could not find one person around him who did not have a cavity that had been filled.  So, he decided that in order to find out what was causing our dental problems he would have to go to countries that did not have any dental problems.  What he found was that we ate a lot of processed foods (white flour, white sugar and processed animal fats in particular).and other countries ate whole healthy foods that had not been processed.  The countries that ate the whole, natural foods had good teeth.  There is MUCH more to Dr. Price, that I am not going to write here, this blog post would never end, so read about Dr. Price here.  

So, here are some highlights/notes that I thought I would share.

1.  The pesticides that we thought were so great years ago are actually horribly messing up crop yield today.  When crops are compared today, the crops that do not have the pesticides on them are yielding more product and have less weeds.  Crazy isn't?  (not really)  Glyphosate (broad spectrum pesticide) can stay in the ground for 22 years after it was applied.  This is why we should not eat ANY root vegetable that is not locally grown (without pesticides) or organic.  The glyphosate accumulates at the root of crops.  Glyphosate has messed up a lot.   It has decreased yield, depleted nutrients, killed good microbes, depleted manganese levels and depleted B12.  Right now farmers are wishing they had not applied Glyphosate years ago.  Crops have been genetically engineered to withstand the application of the glyphosate and still live.  And then we eat the plant.  Not food but a science project.  
~Speaker: Dr. Don M. Huber, Emeritus Professor of Plant Pathology, Purdue University

*Note:  Remember when a label reads "Organic" it can not be made of genetically modified organisms (GMO's).  Only buy fruits and vegetables that begin with the barcode of "9."  9 means organic.


2.  Oh, are some of you going to hate me for this one...but here we go.  STOP using SUNSCREENS and CHOLESTEROL is GOOD!!!

Are you spinning?  I will elaborate.

Sunscreens are not protecting our skin from cancer, it is more likely (depending on what sunscreen you are using) your sunscreen is causing cancer.  (ouch!)  High SPF products contain aluminum which is very damaging to apply to the skin and then go out in the sun.  

When you go outside your skin will naturally begin to produce sulfate to protect itself from the sun.  When you put sunscreen on you are interfering with the skin's ability to detoxify sunlight.  Vitamin A, also found in sunscreens, inhibits cholesterol suflate synthesis making the sunscreen damaging to your skin.  Eating foods that are high in sulfur is recommended over applying sunscreen.

Cholesterol is essential for our living.  Cholesterol sulfate is actually who gets the credit instead of Vitamin D3.  It protects us against cancer, heart disease and diabetes, as well as improved immune function.  Cholesterol sulfate provides our bodies with cholesterol, sulfur, oxygen, energy and negative charge to all of the tissues.  The brain contains only 2% of our bodies mass but 25% of the body's cholesterol. 
~Stephanie Seneff PhD.  B.S. in Biophysics and a M.S., E.E., and PhD in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from MIT.

When we eat a "cholesterol free" diet, we are actually harming our bodies more than helping.

And I don't have an exact answer for you on what to do if you and your kids are going to be outside for a long time in the sun.  What I do at my own house is this, we purchased swim shirts this year, my kids practically wore them all summer and I used Badger or Burt's Bees sunscreen on their necks and arms.  I think the boys had a slight burn once.  I tried to always wear a shirt and a hat and I think I got slightly burned once or twice on my face when I did not go back in and get a hat.  So, you can do it.


3.  Fermented Foods
Sour kraut, the traditional way, is an example of a fermented food. :-)  You can ferment 100's of foods....carrots, beets, ketchup, cabbage, green beans, the list goes on and on.

We NEED the microorganisms more than ever doe to the lack of healthy organisms in the sterile foods we are consuming every day.

(This gets me FIRED UP!!!  Please try to think before you eat.  "It tastes good."  Well that's great.  But think about where it came from and what is it made of?  Think about a sandwich from a fast food restaurant...white bread....you are eating air...there is NO nutrition in that bread.....the meat on the bun...where did it come from?  What living conditions did that cow or chicken live in?  What steroids, hormones, neglect, manure, antibiotics, etc did they ingest, that you are now eating?  I am not saying you have to give this life up 100%, we still eat out occasionally, but please think about what you are eating...REALLLY think about it.  We have lost the connection between farmer and our table.  We don't think about the farmer or how this food was raised.  We go to the store, buy it, take it home and cook it.  There is so much more behind every piece of food we buy.  We "VOTE" every time we go through the checkout line.)

Preventative maintenance to our health can be achieved by simply eating fermented foods.  Each of us already have 5-6 pounds of bacteria in our gut.  What kind of bacteria do you want in your gut?  Live bacteria from eating good foods or sterile bacteria from the food we eat today that is lacking nutrition and vitamins?  If you eat "dead or sterile" food, you will become dead and sterile.  Kombucha, Kefir and Fermented foods MUST be added back to our diets!!!!

If you eat 1 tbsp of fermented vegetables you are eating more good bacteria in that 1 tbsp that Americans eat in 1 year!  CRAZY!!! 
~Josh Henson and Mark Cox owners of Fermenti Artisan

I am in the process of studying and starting to ferment my own sauerkraut!  Can't wait!!


4.  Fluoride-here goes another touchy subject.  But keep in mind as you are reading this one, this speaker is a DENTIST...do you hear me?  A DENTIST!!!!!

Fluoride in our water systems is a baaaaad idea.  A BAD IDEA!!!!  Consuming fluoride in "safe" amounts (that's what the ADA and FDA call the amount they pour into our water systems) leads to cracked teeth, cavities and broken bones.  The FDA and ADA have admitted that fluoride is a drug.  Fluoride falls between lead and arsenic based on its toxicity level.  Harvard just finished a meta-analysis of 27 studies.  26 out of the 27 studies showed a negative effect on kids IQ.  (That just ticks me off!!!!)

Back in the 1940's dentists claimed that babies needed to drink fluoride in their water to increase the formation of fluoride on their teeth during the "teething period" a baby goes through and before the teeth erupted through the surface of the gums..  Now, studies show that ingesting fluoride plays no role to aid in helping strengthen our teeth.  Topical use is the only use where there is evidence that fluoride helps to strengthen the teeth.  But this evidence is not true for adult/permanent teeth.

When fluoride is described in it's scientific terms, it reads " According to the CDC, there are three main mechanisms by which topical fluoride can prevent decay. It can (1) enhance remineralization of carious lesions before they become full-blown cavities, (2) inhibit demineralization, and (3) poison the enzymes in the oral bacteria that produce the acids that erode the teeth. (CDC 2001). Importantly, neither of these three mechanisms depends on teeth having high concentrations of fluoride in their internal matrix. Accordingly, each of the three topical mechanisms can fully occur without a person swallowing a single drop of fluoride their entire life." 

Do you see that?  Number 3?  "Poison the enzymes in the oral bacteria that produce the acids that erode the teeth."  Then this stuff definitely DOES NOT BELONG in our glass of water!!!!!  
Children are developing a white film/spots over their teeth from drinking water with fluoride in it called fluorisis.

Picture of child with fluorosis.  Buildup of fluoride in their body.

Not all reverse osmosis filters filter out fluoride.  Dionizers and water distillation do work on eliminating fluoride from your water.  If you buy spring water make sure it is really from a safe spring somewhere and not from someones sink in their garage.

Fluoride decreases testerone levels and increases infertility rates.

Countries that don't have fluoridated water show a decrease in cavities.  While countries a.k.a. America show an increase in cavities and cracked teeth, directly linked to the states where the water systems are fluoridated.

Dialysis patients can only drink reverse osmosis water because they will develop a fluoride toxicity by drinking water with fluoride in it and could die.  (I am sick just typing this!)

Fluoride Action Network has an awesome website, check it out.

So, topical use of fluoride does help reduce decay, but is mostly beneficial only in kids.  

So, from what I heard in this presentation, I am going to keep using fluoride toothpaste, like every other tube purchased in my 5 year old son's toothpaste (who knows how to spit).  For my almost 3 year old, he is starting to spit after teeth brushing but until I feel like he has spitting down to perfection his teeth with be brushed with Weleda's toothpaste for babies (does not have fluoride).  And I will not allow the fluoride treatments at the dentist office since saliva is increased profoundly when those trays are placed in their mouths making ingestion highly likely.  If a problem arises, then my answer may be different on the treatment.

I would love to flip a switch and change my families teeth brushing habits to just baking soda.  But I don't see that happening today.  More research here.  :-)

I will DEFINITELY tell you, that if you have children under the age of 3, I would not buy toothpaste with fluoride in it and I would be very careful what water you use to mix your baby's formula in, if you do not breastfeed.  (And please, everyone, try breastfeeding first.  This is the food that God created for our babies, not formula.  I know now everyone can breastfeed, but PLEASE try first before you make a decision to not breastfeed.  Please.)

To decrease fluoride in other items you are buying, change the following....
-only buy organic or white tea (non organic tea leaves contain high levels of fluoride from the water used to water the tea plant)
-wine, same thing, only organic wine is free from fluoride
-buy organic grape juice (conventional grapes are the highest for pesticides and fluoride)
~Michael Fossweiler, DDS

This is a link to the Top 10 Ways to Avoid Fluoride.


5.  RAW Milk-aaaanother touchy subject....
There were 3 gentlemen who sat on the stage for this presentation.

Steve Bonney, American, political independent, community activist and organizer, Army veteran, eco-farmer, natural food advocate.

Alan Yegerlehner owner of The Swiss Connection Farm that provides products to Trader's point Creamery for sale.

Bret D. Marsh, DVM (vet), Indiana Board of Animal Health, Purdue Grad. B.S. in Animal Science.

It was an interesting presentation.  The each spoke a little and then the floor was opened for questions.  In nutshell, there is a lot  a   l  o  t   of noise being made to legalize raw milk in Indiana.  They are all currently working on this task and trying to come to a conclusion.  As for now, you can purchase a herd share to acquire your raw milk.  Use this link to find a RAW milk farmer near you.  
  

6.  Death By Food Pyramid
This was a really cool presentation, Denise Minger spoke about the research she has been doing regarding our food pyramid.  You can follow Denise's blog here.  She went back in time to where the first "Food pyramid" was created.  And it was hilarious to see how the food pyramid has evolved.  And she offered some very cute humor along the way of her presentation.  Her new book "Death by Food Pyramid" will be on shelves in early 2013.

Denise referred to the name Luise Light who was a pioneer in her time.  Luise wrote "What to eat."  Luise worked for the USDA as their Director of Dietary Guidance and Nutrition Education Research back in early '90's.  She created a pyramid that she believed was healthy for us.  It was high in fruits and vegetables and low in grains and meats.  She created the pyramid, that I am trying to live by today.  Crazy concept, isn't?  Any way when the pyramid that Luise created was reviewed before going to print, it was destroyed... needless to say.  Do you want to know why it was destroyed and completely rewritten????  Because the grain farmers caught wind of the new pyramid and FREAKED, they lost their minds, because they were going to loose money.  Not because they cared that too much grain in our diets would kill us, but because they were going to be making less money!!!  Do you see a theme here...a shall I dare to say it??? .......a conspiracy!?  I will let you decide, but I will be buying Luise's book.  Here is the link on Amazon.
~Denise Minger


7. Dangerous Grains
I did not hear this presentation, as I had to decide between 3 presentations and there is only one of me.  :-)  But in a nutshell here it is....we Americans eat WAAAAAAY too many grains.  That is bread, cereals, tortillas, etc.  Overeating grains leads to weight gain, sinus problems, headaches, inflammation, decreased immune function and food allergies.

If you are going to eat grains you have to soak or sprout them.  HAVE to.

Soaking is sooo easy.  See my post on this topic here.  Seriously, for example with oatmeal....pour oatmeal in a glass dish...cover with water...count how many 1 cup measurements it takes to cover the oatmeal...for example 2 cups of water...stir in 4 tbsp of yogurt...cover....let sit on counter.   In the morning, rinse and cook.  Soooo easy and so much healthier.

Same thing with flour.  But you have to tweak the recipe to use less liquid since your flour will be wet to start off with.  I have a ton of recipes here that I will be starting to make and blog about.

Here's an example....oatmeal not soaked=you starving in a few minutes.  oatmeal soaked=you possibly making it all the way to lunch without being hungry. Hmmm?

There is a BIG difference when you soak.  Trust me.  So START SOAKING!  :-)


So....what's your thoughts on all of this?  Feel like you went to the conference with me?  Good.

Here's my shirt.  :-)

:-)