- My kids get to ride the bus.
- Their teacher sings with her students and my kids LOVE it!
- Alyssa is at the top of her class with her writing skills.
- Payton is READING! YEAH! (I seriously thought I was going to have to make more of an effort to get him going.)
- They are so excited to share birthday treats with their classmates.
- They're making new friends.
- I hear Alyssa really enjoys math too and is always right there participating with her group.
- The school is very quick to contact me when my child throws up.
- They LOVE the treasure box.
- They LOVE library day.
- They seem to like the structure and routines provided there.
- Each student gets to have their own water bottle at their table. (I love that they are making it possible to keep these kids hydrated.)
- If a students needs to use the bathroom they hold a fist in the air and their teacher will nod to let them go. The student then sets a timer and runs off to use the bathroom. They have to beat the timer getting back to class. I've watched this in action and it works great!
- I love that the students take turns having different responsibilities in the class.
- I love that they give Payton gloves on the playground when his get left at home.
- The adults know my kids --- and me!
- The kids have lots of opportunities to succeed. (For example, Alyssa was recognized as a "Bucket Filler" meaning she filled someone with good feelings --- however, she can't remember what it was she did! They also work towards certain goals and have class parties when they reach them. My kids love these.)
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Kindergarten Possitives
I feel bad leaving my last post sounding so negative about kindergarten. So, this post is to help me see all the positives of sending my kids to kindergarten.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Kindergarten Blues
It's no secret that I am disappointed with my children's kindergarten teacher. She's new and she's not the teacher I requested. (I've decided to write about this because I just really need to get it off my chest once and for all.)
At the beginning of the year Payton and Alyssa would report on how many times she yelled at their class each day. It concerned me. I listened to all they had to say about school, overall, they liked their teacher. However, it made me sad that Alyssa would take it upon herself to draw smiley faces and put them in the parent/teacher communication folder, to "remind my teacher to be happy."
At first, the teacher didn't want any help in her classroom, she wanted to establish rules and routines on her own. I heard from others at the school that she ruled her students with an iron thumb. Again, I was not impressed.
The class often has substitutes so that she can continue her teacher education. About halfway through the year the principal subbed and decided a pencil or two needed to be taken and broken to maintain order in the classroom. Alyssa told me all about it because it bothered her. "Thankfully, she's only a sub," I thought. Then, I heard that pencils were now being broken by their teacher.
February was a rough month for my kids, especially for Alyssa.
One day, Alyssa told me some of her friends' pencils got broken. For the first time, she told me her teacher was mean. Being the sensitive and compassionate girl she is, this was eating at her. The next day she was very upset when I picked her up from school. Her teacher had broken her pencil. An image entered my mind of the teacher pulling Alyssa's pencil out of her little fingers, snapping it in half and tossing it into the garbage while the entire class watched. That is too harsh for my kindergarten baby. I considered this the entire evening.
Now, I get that it's just a pencil. I get that those are cheep. But, who's paying for them? Not the teacher. Parents aren't buying pencils so the school can punish their children with those. I don't break my children's belongings at home and I don't want their teacher breaking their belongings at school. I am trying to teach my children to take care of their stuff. Don't teachers learn appropriate disciplinary techniques in school? Don't they learn that they don't have to be mean to 5-year-old students to get them to do what they want? If I find myself getting so upset over something that it effects my kids negatively, then I know I have to find a new approach. What she's doing is just plain mean.
I have had it with that teacher! I want to keep my babies home with me. I want to put them with a different teacher. But, neither of those are choices for me.
The next morning I put the kids on the bus, even though, understandably, Alyssa does not want to return to school. I then go about my morning duties and discovered a broken pencil on the living room floor and then another on on the laundry room floor. Only Payton would go that far. He was acting out. It must bother him too to have watched his twin's pencil get snapped. I wanted to hug him close to me and protect him too. Classroom discipline should not cause problems at home.
I put my concern up on Facebook and found that this teacher's actions effected other mothers similarly. It was good to have my feelings validated and I intended to talk to the teacher the following Monday. But, by Monday, I had chickened out and decided not to act on it. I felt like such a wimp.
A few days later, Alyssa tells me that some kids at school told her and Payton that they were going to hurt them real bad when they got out outside. Further questioning revealed it was the three girls that she usually plays with --- her FRIENDS! She didn't seem to know why they said that. My babies are in KINDERGARTEN! Why can't they just have a good, fun year? But the more I thought about it, it occurred to me that it most likely had to do with the "Bullying" play they had gone to see and the girls were probably acting out from that. But, still, why doesn't the teacher say anything to me? I'm their MOM! (Which reminds me that no one ever bothered to inform me when Payton fell from the top of the big slide at the beginning of the school year. Do they think mom's aren't interested in their child. I know I am!)
Anyway, it occurred to me that over the previous couple weeks, Alyssa had told me about a few occasions that her friends (the same three girls) were also being mean to some of the other kids in her class. After asking more questions I learned that she had told them that so-and-so were her friends and not to be mean to them. I wondered if this is why they turned on her that day.
Back at home, I was asked to create a bunch of posters for a ward dinner/activity night. I went out to the garage to find some poster board I had bought awhile ago and discovered an old, fat, big black crayon, which actually made me happy because this would come in handy to outline the images. I brought it in and placed it on a cluttered counter top, hoping my kids would not discover the new crayon. Unfortunately, I later discovered it again all over a child-size chair and bedside table in my daughter's room. I was angry with her and myself. I reminded her for the 100th time that, "Crayons belong at the kitchen table, on paper!" I told her, "It all needed cleaned up!" Then, I went too far with a selfish demand, "Do not touch MY crayons!" (blushing now) Alyssa put it back on the counter all right, after she broke it in half. Hmmmm... I didn't have to wonder who she learned that from.
Last week, I went to help in my children's classroom. Alyssa had a pencil grip that she bragged about to her classmates at her table. I thought it was cute that she was so excited about it. The next day I picked up, this now very whiny, girl from school. I asked her what happened and lots of other questions to piece together the whole story. I learned that she had earned enough points to choose that pencil grip from her teacher's treasure box. This day, she had put it on her finger. Her teacher exclaimed, "That is not a finger toy," took it from her and threw it away. So --- the students earn points for treasures, but then the teacher can toss it if it bothers her? That's just lame! As far as I can tell, Alyssa was totally playing with --- discovering --- a pencil grip at a kindergarten level.
Last week, Alyssa came home with a note from one of her friends. It was an apology from one of the girls that threatened her. It was good to know that the threat had not gone completely ignored.
Last Friday was parent teacher conference. The poor teacher totally open the door when she asked me first thing, "Do you have any concerns about your kids at all?" I was not intending to say anything --- but I did. I said, "I'm not really sure about the breaking the pencil thing because I'm not in the classroom all the time, but, when Alyssa got hers broken it really upset her. I noticed it bothered Payton too because I found broken pencils at home." Her response, "This shocks the kids." Uh, ya?! (I've decided over the past five years that shocking young children isn't necessary!) Me, "It seems to me that it teaches kids that it's okay to break other people's things." Her, "Some kids need to be shocked. It's very effective at getting their attention." Ya, effective in proving that you're bigger. What's it gunna take to shock them later in life? Anyway, I felt she wasn't hearing my concern and I could feel myself getting ready to take her on so I slowed down and tried to word my retort as nicely as I could. "Breaking their pencils seems to show disrespect. It kind of comes off as bullying." I just called her a bully! Ya, I didn't word it as nicely as I would have liked. Her, "I will make sure Payton's and Alyssa's pencils don't get broken in the future." Me, "Thank you." So, I didn't win it for all the kids, but at least mine will be spared. I hope she'll reconsider her technique, but, I'm pretty sure she won't get past the part where I called her a disrespectful bully.
I quickly informed her that my children were reading really well and that Alyssa's reading seems to have just taken off. I thanked her for that. I was careful to continued the compliments because I really didn't want her to feel bad. I continued to remind myself that she's not a terrible teacher, it's her first year, she doesn't have any children of her own, and, I don't have a classroom of my own.
Today, I reported this to a good friend. She listened. But she did not not agree with my assessment that the teacher is good at teaching reading and writing. Her response, "Any teacher that belittles and shames her students to keep control of her classroom does not belong in there." Very well stated! And she's right! I agree with every word. I can use those words myself! And I took those to heart, "Any parent that belittles and shames her child to keep control of them should not be parenting that child." I contemplated my own mistakes as a parent and wished I could do-over the past five years with her words in the back of my mind. But, I will just have to adjust now to comply with the words of my new parenting rule.
I thanked my Heavenly Father for allowing me a glimpse into the heart of this wise mother and pray that I can become a better mom because of it --- I have so much to learn and so much to protect.
At the beginning of the year Payton and Alyssa would report on how many times she yelled at their class each day. It concerned me. I listened to all they had to say about school, overall, they liked their teacher. However, it made me sad that Alyssa would take it upon herself to draw smiley faces and put them in the parent/teacher communication folder, to "remind my teacher to be happy."
At first, the teacher didn't want any help in her classroom, she wanted to establish rules and routines on her own. I heard from others at the school that she ruled her students with an iron thumb. Again, I was not impressed.
The class often has substitutes so that she can continue her teacher education. About halfway through the year the principal subbed and decided a pencil or two needed to be taken and broken to maintain order in the classroom. Alyssa told me all about it because it bothered her. "Thankfully, she's only a sub," I thought. Then, I heard that pencils were now being broken by their teacher.
February was a rough month for my kids, especially for Alyssa.
One day, Alyssa told me some of her friends' pencils got broken. For the first time, she told me her teacher was mean. Being the sensitive and compassionate girl she is, this was eating at her. The next day she was very upset when I picked her up from school. Her teacher had broken her pencil. An image entered my mind of the teacher pulling Alyssa's pencil out of her little fingers, snapping it in half and tossing it into the garbage while the entire class watched. That is too harsh for my kindergarten baby. I considered this the entire evening.
Now, I get that it's just a pencil. I get that those are cheep. But, who's paying for them? Not the teacher. Parents aren't buying pencils so the school can punish their children with those. I don't break my children's belongings at home and I don't want their teacher breaking their belongings at school. I am trying to teach my children to take care of their stuff. Don't teachers learn appropriate disciplinary techniques in school? Don't they learn that they don't have to be mean to 5-year-old students to get them to do what they want? If I find myself getting so upset over something that it effects my kids negatively, then I know I have to find a new approach. What she's doing is just plain mean.
I have had it with that teacher! I want to keep my babies home with me. I want to put them with a different teacher. But, neither of those are choices for me.
The next morning I put the kids on the bus, even though, understandably, Alyssa does not want to return to school. I then go about my morning duties and discovered a broken pencil on the living room floor and then another on on the laundry room floor. Only Payton would go that far. He was acting out. It must bother him too to have watched his twin's pencil get snapped. I wanted to hug him close to me and protect him too. Classroom discipline should not cause problems at home.
I put my concern up on Facebook and found that this teacher's actions effected other mothers similarly. It was good to have my feelings validated and I intended to talk to the teacher the following Monday. But, by Monday, I had chickened out and decided not to act on it. I felt like such a wimp.
A few days later, Alyssa tells me that some kids at school told her and Payton that they were going to hurt them real bad when they got out outside. Further questioning revealed it was the three girls that she usually plays with --- her FRIENDS! She didn't seem to know why they said that. My babies are in KINDERGARTEN! Why can't they just have a good, fun year? But the more I thought about it, it occurred to me that it most likely had to do with the "Bullying" play they had gone to see and the girls were probably acting out from that. But, still, why doesn't the teacher say anything to me? I'm their MOM! (Which reminds me that no one ever bothered to inform me when Payton fell from the top of the big slide at the beginning of the school year. Do they think mom's aren't interested in their child. I know I am!)
Anyway, it occurred to me that over the previous couple weeks, Alyssa had told me about a few occasions that her friends (the same three girls) were also being mean to some of the other kids in her class. After asking more questions I learned that she had told them that so-and-so were her friends and not to be mean to them. I wondered if this is why they turned on her that day.
Back at home, I was asked to create a bunch of posters for a ward dinner/activity night. I went out to the garage to find some poster board I had bought awhile ago and discovered an old, fat, big black crayon, which actually made me happy because this would come in handy to outline the images. I brought it in and placed it on a cluttered counter top, hoping my kids would not discover the new crayon. Unfortunately, I later discovered it again all over a child-size chair and bedside table in my daughter's room. I was angry with her and myself. I reminded her for the 100th time that, "Crayons belong at the kitchen table, on paper!" I told her, "It all needed cleaned up!" Then, I went too far with a selfish demand, "Do not touch MY crayons!" (blushing now) Alyssa put it back on the counter all right, after she broke it in half. Hmmmm... I didn't have to wonder who she learned that from.
Last week, I went to help in my children's classroom. Alyssa had a pencil grip that she bragged about to her classmates at her table. I thought it was cute that she was so excited about it. The next day I picked up, this now very whiny, girl from school. I asked her what happened and lots of other questions to piece together the whole story. I learned that she had earned enough points to choose that pencil grip from her teacher's treasure box. This day, she had put it on her finger. Her teacher exclaimed, "That is not a finger toy," took it from her and threw it away. So --- the students earn points for treasures, but then the teacher can toss it if it bothers her? That's just lame! As far as I can tell, Alyssa was totally playing with --- discovering --- a pencil grip at a kindergarten level.
Last week, Alyssa came home with a note from one of her friends. It was an apology from one of the girls that threatened her. It was good to know that the threat had not gone completely ignored.
Last Friday was parent teacher conference. The poor teacher totally open the door when she asked me first thing, "Do you have any concerns about your kids at all?" I was not intending to say anything --- but I did. I said, "I'm not really sure about the breaking the pencil thing because I'm not in the classroom all the time, but, when Alyssa got hers broken it really upset her. I noticed it bothered Payton too because I found broken pencils at home." Her response, "This shocks the kids." Uh, ya?! (I've decided over the past five years that shocking young children isn't necessary!) Me, "It seems to me that it teaches kids that it's okay to break other people's things." Her, "Some kids need to be shocked. It's very effective at getting their attention." Ya, effective in proving that you're bigger. What's it gunna take to shock them later in life? Anyway, I felt she wasn't hearing my concern and I could feel myself getting ready to take her on so I slowed down and tried to word my retort as nicely as I could. "Breaking their pencils seems to show disrespect. It kind of comes off as bullying." I just called her a bully! Ya, I didn't word it as nicely as I would have liked. Her, "I will make sure Payton's and Alyssa's pencils don't get broken in the future." Me, "Thank you." So, I didn't win it for all the kids, but at least mine will be spared. I hope she'll reconsider her technique, but, I'm pretty sure she won't get past the part where I called her a disrespectful bully.
I quickly informed her that my children were reading really well and that Alyssa's reading seems to have just taken off. I thanked her for that. I was careful to continued the compliments because I really didn't want her to feel bad. I continued to remind myself that she's not a terrible teacher, it's her first year, she doesn't have any children of her own, and, I don't have a classroom of my own.
Today, I reported this to a good friend. She listened. But she did not not agree with my assessment that the teacher is good at teaching reading and writing. Her response, "Any teacher that belittles and shames her students to keep control of her classroom does not belong in there." Very well stated! And she's right! I agree with every word. I can use those words myself! And I took those to heart, "Any parent that belittles and shames her child to keep control of them should not be parenting that child." I contemplated my own mistakes as a parent and wished I could do-over the past five years with her words in the back of my mind. But, I will just have to adjust now to comply with the words of my new parenting rule.
I thanked my Heavenly Father for allowing me a glimpse into the heart of this wise mother and pray that I can become a better mom because of it --- I have so much to learn and so much to protect.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
"The Great Health Debate" Summary of Speakers 9 & 10
My kids had the day off school so we cleaned our floors with the incentive of signing valentine's for their class party on Monday. So, while they sucked on candy hearts and clipped paper hearts, I sat at the same table and listened to the last 2 speakers of this event.
The first speaker, Dr. J. E. Williams, was the most boring, perhaps because he didn't bring up new ideas. Which made him the most realistic on getting a good diet without going to extremes. Of course, you would still want to be aware of the type and quality of food you put into your diet. After raising his family vegetarian, becoming a raw-foodist and then Vegan, he eventually ate some meat again. And he felt good! After that, he came to the conclusion that adding a small amount of meat back into the diet only made for a healthier body. He noticed his kids health, although already healthy and never sick, seemed to improve with the small addition of meat.
Williams travels the world in search of natural cures and medicine. He studied with some of the most secluded groups of people (Eskimos, hunters that eat almost entirely animal and also eat the entire animal to the Q'ero who eat almost exclusively carbohydrates --- both extremely healthy and fit) in order to learn from their ways that have be passed down through generations.
About raw-foodist, he says this is a good way to drop your cholesterol level but it will eventually drop way too low. You can survive on this type of diet, but not thrive, and does not recommend it at all for women of childbearing age. He recommends eating meat to produce a healthy offspring.
He advises, rather, to be a "Consious Omnivor." To do this, an average American would need to eat less: meat, salt, sugar, processed food and bad fats. Whole fresh live foods, and a little fruit should be our main diet.
He also believes that the food sensitivities that many people are experiencing are from a variety of races, foods and chemicals all coming together --- that all this is too overwhelming for our bodies to handle.
And finally, Dr. Alan Goldhamer, uses water/juice fasting as a major source of healing --- his patients having had remarkable success through this technique at his therapuetic fasting center of 28 years. I would love to take my first childhood friend, myself, and our husbands to this place for a month and come back home with a better, maybe cured, body and a set of tools for eating a healthy diet. I wish... but I suppose it is more feasible that I figure out how to eat right on my own. I would also like to purchase his new cookbook, Bravo, when it comes out. (That would be feasible!) He is convincing!
The diet is purely vegetarian. It doesn't allow for anything processed. "Processed health food is a marketing ploy from people pretending it is good for you. These people just want to charge a lot for an inexpensive item because they can say it's healthier." This means the healthy oils, including olive oil; all salt, including Tamari Sauce (which we use and love) and sugar. He goes on to explain that processed oil, sugar and salt form a highly addictive combination, as addictive as cocaine and alcohol. The food companies know this and use it to their advantage. Rats put on this type of diet gain 49% more weight in only 60 days and birds will eat so much that they can't fly. Then he recommends his book "The Pleasure Trap" which I would love to read (maybe while I'm resting in that fasting center...).
Anyway, a typical breakfast would be a big bucket of fruits and seeds. Lunch and dinner would include a large salad with dark leafy greens (so large that someone walking into the room would be shocked that you are going to eat all of that), a platter of steamed starchy vegetables and maybe a small amount of cooked grains. I'm not too sure about this diet, although, it partly sounds real good. On his site a suggestion was made to get a crock pot and put 1/2 a cup of beans and 1/2 a cup of rice (and water) in it and let it cook on low overnight. That way you have soup all day and it stays good for 72 hours. I can do that! Oatmeal is also allowed (so rolling oats is not making those processed?) At this point, though, I'm convinced that adding a little quality meat would be fine.
As for salad, I don't like salad! I hate making salad --- all that endless washing and chopping! I make it for Eli. Eli loves vegetable salads. I eat salad purely for it's nutrients --- that's why I use spinach and Romain lettuce and refuse to use iceburg lettuce. I even pass on Ranch dressing if there's a healthier option. If I'm going to make the effort to eat all those raw vegetables, then it better be good for me. Perhaps, when I'm detoxed, I'll crave vegetables again instead of bread. (However, that still wouldn't make all the chopping and rinsing go away!)
I would like to post a review with my plan of action with it, but it's late and the weekend has started, so it will have to wait for another day.
The first speaker, Dr. J. E. Williams, was the most boring, perhaps because he didn't bring up new ideas. Which made him the most realistic on getting a good diet without going to extremes. Of course, you would still want to be aware of the type and quality of food you put into your diet. After raising his family vegetarian, becoming a raw-foodist and then Vegan, he eventually ate some meat again. And he felt good! After that, he came to the conclusion that adding a small amount of meat back into the diet only made for a healthier body. He noticed his kids health, although already healthy and never sick, seemed to improve with the small addition of meat.
Williams travels the world in search of natural cures and medicine. He studied with some of the most secluded groups of people (Eskimos, hunters that eat almost entirely animal and also eat the entire animal to the Q'ero who eat almost exclusively carbohydrates --- both extremely healthy and fit) in order to learn from their ways that have be passed down through generations.
About raw-foodist, he says this is a good way to drop your cholesterol level but it will eventually drop way too low. You can survive on this type of diet, but not thrive, and does not recommend it at all for women of childbearing age. He recommends eating meat to produce a healthy offspring.
He advises, rather, to be a "Consious Omnivor." To do this, an average American would need to eat less: meat, salt, sugar, processed food and bad fats. Whole fresh live foods, and a little fruit should be our main diet.
He also believes that the food sensitivities that many people are experiencing are from a variety of races, foods and chemicals all coming together --- that all this is too overwhelming for our bodies to handle.
And finally, Dr. Alan Goldhamer, uses water/juice fasting as a major source of healing --- his patients having had remarkable success through this technique at his therapuetic fasting center of 28 years. I would love to take my first childhood friend, myself, and our husbands to this place for a month and come back home with a better, maybe cured, body and a set of tools for eating a healthy diet. I wish... but I suppose it is more feasible that I figure out how to eat right on my own. I would also like to purchase his new cookbook, Bravo, when it comes out. (That would be feasible!) He is convincing!
The diet is purely vegetarian. It doesn't allow for anything processed. "Processed health food is a marketing ploy from people pretending it is good for you. These people just want to charge a lot for an inexpensive item because they can say it's healthier." This means the healthy oils, including olive oil; all salt, including Tamari Sauce (which we use and love) and sugar. He goes on to explain that processed oil, sugar and salt form a highly addictive combination, as addictive as cocaine and alcohol. The food companies know this and use it to their advantage. Rats put on this type of diet gain 49% more weight in only 60 days and birds will eat so much that they can't fly. Then he recommends his book "The Pleasure Trap" which I would love to read (maybe while I'm resting in that fasting center...).
Anyway, a typical breakfast would be a big bucket of fruits and seeds. Lunch and dinner would include a large salad with dark leafy greens (so large that someone walking into the room would be shocked that you are going to eat all of that), a platter of steamed starchy vegetables and maybe a small amount of cooked grains. I'm not too sure about this diet, although, it partly sounds real good. On his site a suggestion was made to get a crock pot and put 1/2 a cup of beans and 1/2 a cup of rice (and water) in it and let it cook on low overnight. That way you have soup all day and it stays good for 72 hours. I can do that! Oatmeal is also allowed (so rolling oats is not making those processed?) At this point, though, I'm convinced that adding a little quality meat would be fine.
As for salad, I don't like salad! I hate making salad --- all that endless washing and chopping! I make it for Eli. Eli loves vegetable salads. I eat salad purely for it's nutrients --- that's why I use spinach and Romain lettuce and refuse to use iceburg lettuce. I even pass on Ranch dressing if there's a healthier option. If I'm going to make the effort to eat all those raw vegetables, then it better be good for me. Perhaps, when I'm detoxed, I'll crave vegetables again instead of bread. (However, that still wouldn't make all the chopping and rinsing go away!)
I would like to post a review with my plan of action with it, but it's late and the weekend has started, so it will have to wait for another day.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
"The Great Health Debate" Summary of Speakers 7 & 8
My head is exploding with all sorts of conflicting information that I really don't have much of a desire to blog about it. So, hopefully, this will be a really short blog and I won't get all opinionated along the way.
I looked forward to hearing from David Wolfe because I recently discovered that he is the big guy behind promoting the raw food diet. He doesn't eat meat --- "Killing brings about bad Karma." He calls eating raw meat a "silly extreme." (I've personally have only wished for raw milk --- especially once I learned that heating the milk changes the protein into one our body cannot metabolize. But, currently, I'm not convince milk, either way, is a good choice anymore.) He also says that if you do eat meat, do so sparingly. He encourages us to limit our exposure to: mutigans (I'm assuming GMOs), carcinogens, bad Karma and unknowns in our diet.
The main idea is to switch our meat calories to raw food calories. One of his SuperFoods, marine plankton, is full of chlorophyll, EPA and DHA, a range of phospholipids (meat sources are: lecithin, found in egg yolk; bee products such as Royal Jelly (good for fertility) and bee pollen; and something else I didn't catch.) He also gave a list of vegetarian sources of proteins: marine (krill and muscle) oils for a successful vegetarian, Royal Jelly, bee pollen, blue-green algae, goji berries, maca berry (good for hormone balance and menstruation), phytoplankton and incan berry.
His theory on acid/alkaline foods is that herbs and SuperFoods are alkaline and all the rest are acidic or neutral and that it is important to keep a balance between the two. For example: nuts and seeds are the opposite of vegetables, stems, leaves and roots. Therefore they should be eaten together. Another example would be eating rice and beans together. He says that if you eat meat, you must eat the bone marrow as well, which he doesn't encourage because of all the toxic build up in the bones. And, olives are an excellent alkaline fat source.
Over time your stomach will shrink and it will be able to better utilize the nutrients. "The less you eat, the longer you live," seems to be well-known with everyone that's into health and nutrition. If we want to live longer we need to "be careful what we put in our bodies and protect it from the 75,000 toxic chemicals that we have dumped into our environment since the 1930s."
Some ways to detox our bodies of these toxins are to use designer and normal detoxes which include colonics and month long herbal detox programs. (He says some good ones are Euguva, Health Force, Blessed Herbs and Rise and Shine.) Also, use hot and inferred saunas to sweat it out. (I've heard that that is the only way to remove plastic toxins, but that you can sweat those out by exercising. Maybe a sauna is better at making you sweat?) You can also use Vitamin B3 in 200 mg/500 mg/1000 mg dosages, but I'm not sure how often. 1000 mg supposedly makes you feel like your dying! Combine the vitamin with using a rebounder. Fasting is also a good way to detox. Same as juice fasting and his favorite way to do that is with citrus fruits or apples.
"Digesting is the #1 energy zapper" and raw fermented chocolate (and here for you chocolate lovers) is the #1 longevity food! (Olives and honey are also really good longevity foods.)
Ok, onto Daniel Vitalis, he use to be a vegetarian, turned raw foodist and eventually Vegan, but found it didn't work for him. He informs us that cooking vegetable properly (not microwaving or frying) releases more nutrients, making those foods more nutrient dense, but still, animal nutrient density is 10 times higher because they have already eaten the grass and now those nutrients are compacted in their meat. So now he takes the hunter/gather approach and forges for his own wild greens and hunts wild animals. (He's done a lot of research to learn how humans have eaten throughout history and says we have always eaten animals.) I'm not really sure how much meat he eats, but he never says to eat it sparingly and says that wild greens aren't enough. He does insist on you eating your meat from your local wild whenever possible, otherwise, find a good healthy local source for an heirloom quality healthy animal. He just bought himself a grass-fed cow and intents to eat the entire animal, tongue and all! (The idea of doing that myself just isn't going to happen.)
He says, just as a vegetarian wants to avoid pour quality and genetically altered plants, you also don't want your meat source to come from manufactured animals, "Deficient animals make deficient meat. ... We are eating ourselves into extinction." He also claims those animals to be the reason our skeleton structure is getting smaller and weaker and also our brains are smaller then ever in history. He asks if we ever see a squirrel with crocked teeth and that all these abnormalities in our bodies are not found in history. We do things to hide what is happening to our bodies so we don't really see the big picture.
I did find it interesting when he talked about the main problems with most people's diet is the nutrients they are missing. He says we should get our nutrients from all the Kingdoms of Life: the Plant Kingdom, the Microorganism Kingdom (fermented foods), the fungus Kingdom (he really loves those mushrooms, too) and the Animal Kingdom.
Although he made some good points about eating meat, overall I don't think going on his diet is for me. Also, he ended with this whole doomsday deal. I just didn't think his comments about the world being overpopulated so we all can't eat this superior way was needed. He went on to talk about our diet's making us sterile and pretty soon we won't be so crowded anymore and that's just the way it is. He plans on staying around so his (health?/genetics?/wilderness land?) can be passed down through his generations.
Ok, so at the very end when he's thinking about what he can leave for his posterity isn't a bad idea, and maybe that's something I should do, it's the hopelessness he has for the rest of us --- or is that just for those that don't plan on eating like him?
More tomorrow.
I looked forward to hearing from David Wolfe because I recently discovered that he is the big guy behind promoting the raw food diet. He doesn't eat meat --- "Killing brings about bad Karma." He calls eating raw meat a "silly extreme." (I've personally have only wished for raw milk --- especially once I learned that heating the milk changes the protein into one our body cannot metabolize. But, currently, I'm not convince milk, either way, is a good choice anymore.) He also says that if you do eat meat, do so sparingly. He encourages us to limit our exposure to: mutigans (I'm assuming GMOs), carcinogens, bad Karma and unknowns in our diet.
The main idea is to switch our meat calories to raw food calories. One of his SuperFoods, marine plankton, is full of chlorophyll, EPA and DHA, a range of phospholipids (meat sources are: lecithin, found in egg yolk; bee products such as Royal Jelly (good for fertility) and bee pollen; and something else I didn't catch.) He also gave a list of vegetarian sources of proteins: marine (krill and muscle) oils for a successful vegetarian, Royal Jelly, bee pollen, blue-green algae, goji berries, maca berry (good for hormone balance and menstruation), phytoplankton and incan berry.
His theory on acid/alkaline foods is that herbs and SuperFoods are alkaline and all the rest are acidic or neutral and that it is important to keep a balance between the two. For example: nuts and seeds are the opposite of vegetables, stems, leaves and roots. Therefore they should be eaten together. Another example would be eating rice and beans together. He says that if you eat meat, you must eat the bone marrow as well, which he doesn't encourage because of all the toxic build up in the bones. And, olives are an excellent alkaline fat source.
Over time your stomach will shrink and it will be able to better utilize the nutrients. "The less you eat, the longer you live," seems to be well-known with everyone that's into health and nutrition. If we want to live longer we need to "be careful what we put in our bodies and protect it from the 75,000 toxic chemicals that we have dumped into our environment since the 1930s."
Some ways to detox our bodies of these toxins are to use designer and normal detoxes which include colonics and month long herbal detox programs. (He says some good ones are Euguva, Health Force, Blessed Herbs and Rise and Shine.) Also, use hot and inferred saunas to sweat it out. (I've heard that that is the only way to remove plastic toxins, but that you can sweat those out by exercising. Maybe a sauna is better at making you sweat?) You can also use Vitamin B3 in 200 mg/500 mg/1000 mg dosages, but I'm not sure how often. 1000 mg supposedly makes you feel like your dying! Combine the vitamin with using a rebounder. Fasting is also a good way to detox. Same as juice fasting and his favorite way to do that is with citrus fruits or apples.
"Digesting is the #1 energy zapper" and raw fermented chocolate (and here for you chocolate lovers) is the #1 longevity food! (Olives and honey are also really good longevity foods.)
Ok, onto Daniel Vitalis, he use to be a vegetarian, turned raw foodist and eventually Vegan, but found it didn't work for him. He informs us that cooking vegetable properly (not microwaving or frying) releases more nutrients, making those foods more nutrient dense, but still, animal nutrient density is 10 times higher because they have already eaten the grass and now those nutrients are compacted in their meat. So now he takes the hunter/gather approach and forges for his own wild greens and hunts wild animals. (He's done a lot of research to learn how humans have eaten throughout history and says we have always eaten animals.) I'm not really sure how much meat he eats, but he never says to eat it sparingly and says that wild greens aren't enough. He does insist on you eating your meat from your local wild whenever possible, otherwise, find a good healthy local source for an heirloom quality healthy animal. He just bought himself a grass-fed cow and intents to eat the entire animal, tongue and all! (The idea of doing that myself just isn't going to happen.)
He says, just as a vegetarian wants to avoid pour quality and genetically altered plants, you also don't want your meat source to come from manufactured animals, "Deficient animals make deficient meat. ... We are eating ourselves into extinction." He also claims those animals to be the reason our skeleton structure is getting smaller and weaker and also our brains are smaller then ever in history. He asks if we ever see a squirrel with crocked teeth and that all these abnormalities in our bodies are not found in history. We do things to hide what is happening to our bodies so we don't really see the big picture.
I did find it interesting when he talked about the main problems with most people's diet is the nutrients they are missing. He says we should get our nutrients from all the Kingdoms of Life: the Plant Kingdom, the Microorganism Kingdom (fermented foods), the fungus Kingdom (he really loves those mushrooms, too) and the Animal Kingdom.
Although he made some good points about eating meat, overall I don't think going on his diet is for me. Also, he ended with this whole doomsday deal. I just didn't think his comments about the world being overpopulated so we all can't eat this superior way was needed. He went on to talk about our diet's making us sterile and pretty soon we won't be so crowded anymore and that's just the way it is. He plans on staying around so his (health?/genetics?/wilderness land?) can be passed down through his generations.
Ok, so at the very end when he's thinking about what he can leave for his posterity isn't a bad idea, and maybe that's something I should do, it's the hopelessness he has for the rest of us --- or is that just for those that don't plan on eating like him?
More tomorrow.
"The Great Health Debate" Summary of Speakers 5 & 6
These two speakers both brought up several new ideas that I hadn't considered before. They also recommend different approaches to health. This post is going to be harder to summarize, but I'll do the best I can for those of you who have shown interest in my thoughts on health and nutrition.
Each speaker had 1 hour to share a huge amount of their knowledge. I took a lot of notes, but, I will be commenting mostly about what makes sense to me, share it the way I understand, and share my personal thoughts on it.
First, I listened to Donna Gates. Her photo is of a pretty young lady with a nice convincing voice. I was surprised to learn that she is actually 64-years old. She talks a lot about fermented food, which I didn't know or really care to learn about until I visited my in-laws at Christmas time and my sister-in-law shared her interest in it and wondered what I thought about it. I didn't know. She explained briefly and gave me a recipe for rejuvelac (fermented wheat water). However, in my research, I came across a comment here and there that made me worry that the risks, however small, were not what I wanted to test out on my family --- I set that idea aside for another time.
However, the more Donna Gates spoke, the more I became convinced that I would feel good about placing my health in her care. She is all about fermenting foods and says that fermenting helps the body to assimilate the food. She explained a little about the history of fermenting and the beneficial role they play in our gut. She also has a "safe starter" she sells on her site (of course).
She doesn't love raw or processed milk. Doesn't like meat. Loves coconut kefir and Natto (fermented soy). She says everything has its opposite and that there is a balance in everything, such as your body should be 80% alkaline and 20% acidic.
She basically recommends all the good quality foods touted by health enthusiast but adds fermenting to it. This is her list of essential nutrients:
The next guy's diet description, at first, had me imagining myself in my backyard, sunbathing while sipping from a clear glass of ice water and licking a salt rock and listening to tummy growls. I wondered what and if I would get to eat!
Dr. Robert O. Young studies health on a cellular level --- in the blood and it's pH level. He is against eating ALL and ANY meat saying healthy red blood cells should be even in shape, color and size and that eating animals make those cells lemon shape, which manifests in disease. In fact, he claims we do NOT need PROTEIN! (I've decided he is only referring to animal protein because towards the end he begins talking about eating dark leafy greens, which are full of plant proteins.) "Our body can't digest it's own flesh, so it can't digest animal flesh either... It just sits in our body and rots." ("If you want to kill your children, feed them meat!")
He is against ALL sugar. It doesn't matter whether it is processed or natural (from whole fruit), he says that sugar is a waste product of metabolism unnecessary for ATP (converts/transfers energy). He rather believes that our body runs on electrons, that our body is electric. (Are you singing the Electric Slide!) He goes on to explain that all the energy we need we can get from the sun --- if we have enough chlorophyll in our blood to absorb that energy through our skin and eyes. (I'm assuming it's similar to the way plants absorb energy from the sun). Interesting concept. So --- it's extremely important to eat your greens --- and lots of those. (Oh, let's not forget how important salt is either --- "salt is what keeps us alive.") He suggests making green drinks and raw blended soups and salads from alkaline foods every day --- don't forget the salt! (NOT table salt because of added chemicals and the aluminum (so it doesn't cake), try rock salt or Himalayan salt.
He did comment briefly on other diets: the fruitarian, with sickly looking cells; the vegetarian, which he hates because dairy and eggs are allowed; the raw foodist, which he says is better but still not great; next best is the Vegan diet, which he almost likes; but his "Alkalarian diet is best of all!" Young claims his diet can make you immortal. IMMORTAL! Seriously!(RED FLAG!) As if he's God!
If you recognize the term "alkaline" or "acidic body" --- that is Young's baby. He claims the more alkaline the body you can get it, the healthier you are. In fact, he says, an alkaline body can stay young forever! Wow! That's quite the claim. I even went so far as to wonder if he had his name changed so that he could be called "Dr. Young." (I may Google that some day.) Anyway, I went to his site to check out his alkaline food chart he mentioned (amazingly, it seams you have to buy everything if you want to get anything from this guy, including the book with his chart). I did find this other alkaline food chart very interesting because it includes many healthy foods I've been adding to our diet since we started eating raw! (Those do get a little easier to eat as you get use to the "green" taste.) The chart also includes a lot of fruits, Young says we don't need fruit because of the sugars, so I'm assuming that those would not be on his list. Do take note of how alkalizing the grains are once they are sprouted. I had to refer back to The Word of Wisdom (verse 14) just to see the part about how grains is worded again. As I noted in my previous post, it doesn't specify that you have to ground the grains into flour, so why not sprout those?! (That would mean I would need to go back to the original "staff of life" being the main part of my diet, eating it every day instead of eating it sparingly (as a support) in times of famine and cold (maybe winter is a good time to have wheat ground?)
It did get me thinking a little about Utah and the pioneers, and even today! The Great Salt Lake is full of real salt. We are counseled to eat grains (sprouted?) and all the many natural springs in the mountains (springs being the best source of raw water by David Wolfe --- the big raw foodist whom I'll hear from later tonight.) And sunshine, even in winter. If this is what we need to live a good quality healthy life, it was given to the pioneers all at once in the Salt Lake Valley --- for FREE!
Since I mentioned water, and you do need to drink good quality water, you can buy water systems from his site that add electrons into your drinking water that can help alkalize your body. I read a lot about this several years ago from a Japanese Doctor (I'd post a link, but I can't find it again.) Anyway, he convinced me we needed one, but with the water system costing nearly $2000, my husband was not convinced. (Thank goodness for him!) I thought it would only be a one time cost, but then I discovered the actual filter has to be changed every few months and those ran close to $500 each (if I remember right, you needed 2 of those). Surely, God doesn't expect us to pay money like that for our health! (I haven't checked lately to see if prices on those have dropped.)
If this truly is the diet of immortality and living on it will eventually change me in a "twinkle" --- then he has something amazing. What my heart tells me is that he is on to something but it needs more fine tuning. It bothers me that he seems so business oriented, greedy and full-of-himself. I don't like that he made it a point to invalidate the other nutritionists' research --- especially when it appears they have started using some of his research to fine tune their practices. Some pieces may fit together nicely, but, I keep hearing "Too Good to Be True," and although I will probably glean (his chart) from him, I don't know when or if I will do much more than that.
Besides, I'm not looking for the diet that's going to keep me alive the longest, I'm on a fertility quest!
Each speaker had 1 hour to share a huge amount of their knowledge. I took a lot of notes, but, I will be commenting mostly about what makes sense to me, share it the way I understand, and share my personal thoughts on it.
First, I listened to Donna Gates. Her photo is of a pretty young lady with a nice convincing voice. I was surprised to learn that she is actually 64-years old. She talks a lot about fermented food, which I didn't know or really care to learn about until I visited my in-laws at Christmas time and my sister-in-law shared her interest in it and wondered what I thought about it. I didn't know. She explained briefly and gave me a recipe for rejuvelac (fermented wheat water). However, in my research, I came across a comment here and there that made me worry that the risks, however small, were not what I wanted to test out on my family --- I set that idea aside for another time.
However, the more Donna Gates spoke, the more I became convinced that I would feel good about placing my health in her care. She is all about fermenting foods and says that fermenting helps the body to assimilate the food. She explained a little about the history of fermenting and the beneficial role they play in our gut. She also has a "safe starter" she sells on her site (of course).
She doesn't love raw or processed milk. Doesn't like meat. Loves coconut kefir and Natto (fermented soy). She says everything has its opposite and that there is a balance in everything, such as your body should be 80% alkaline and 20% acidic.
She basically recommends all the good quality foods touted by health enthusiast but adds fermenting to it. This is her list of essential nutrients:
- Fermented foods (it increases the value of a food hundreds of times)
- Mineral rich foods
- Protein (from dark leafy greens. These produce anti inflammatories and strengthen muscles)
- Vitamin C
- Sunshine
- Good night sleep
- Water
- Air (breath!)
- Exercise
The next guy's diet description, at first, had me imagining myself in my backyard, sunbathing while sipping from a clear glass of ice water and licking a salt rock and listening to tummy growls. I wondered what and if I would get to eat!
Dr. Robert O. Young studies health on a cellular level --- in the blood and it's pH level. He is against eating ALL and ANY meat saying healthy red blood cells should be even in shape, color and size and that eating animals make those cells lemon shape, which manifests in disease. In fact, he claims we do NOT need PROTEIN! (I've decided he is only referring to animal protein because towards the end he begins talking about eating dark leafy greens, which are full of plant proteins.) "Our body can't digest it's own flesh, so it can't digest animal flesh either... It just sits in our body and rots." ("If you want to kill your children, feed them meat!")
He is against ALL sugar. It doesn't matter whether it is processed or natural (from whole fruit), he says that sugar is a waste product of metabolism unnecessary for ATP (converts/transfers energy). He rather believes that our body runs on electrons, that our body is electric. (Are you singing the Electric Slide!) He goes on to explain that all the energy we need we can get from the sun --- if we have enough chlorophyll in our blood to absorb that energy through our skin and eyes. (I'm assuming it's similar to the way plants absorb energy from the sun). Interesting concept. So --- it's extremely important to eat your greens --- and lots of those. (Oh, let's not forget how important salt is either --- "salt is what keeps us alive.") He suggests making green drinks and raw blended soups and salads from alkaline foods every day --- don't forget the salt! (NOT table salt because of added chemicals and the aluminum (so it doesn't cake), try rock salt or Himalayan salt.
He did comment briefly on other diets: the fruitarian, with sickly looking cells; the vegetarian, which he hates because dairy and eggs are allowed; the raw foodist, which he says is better but still not great; next best is the Vegan diet, which he almost likes; but his "Alkalarian diet is best of all!" Young claims his diet can make you immortal. IMMORTAL! Seriously!(RED FLAG!) As if he's God!
If you recognize the term "alkaline" or "acidic body" --- that is Young's baby. He claims the more alkaline the body you can get it, the healthier you are. In fact, he says, an alkaline body can stay young forever! Wow! That's quite the claim. I even went so far as to wonder if he had his name changed so that he could be called "Dr. Young." (I may Google that some day.) Anyway, I went to his site to check out his alkaline food chart he mentioned (amazingly, it seams you have to buy everything if you want to get anything from this guy, including the book with his chart). I did find this other alkaline food chart very interesting because it includes many healthy foods I've been adding to our diet since we started eating raw! (Those do get a little easier to eat as you get use to the "green" taste.) The chart also includes a lot of fruits, Young says we don't need fruit because of the sugars, so I'm assuming that those would not be on his list. Do take note of how alkalizing the grains are once they are sprouted. I had to refer back to The Word of Wisdom (verse 14) just to see the part about how grains is worded again. As I noted in my previous post, it doesn't specify that you have to ground the grains into flour, so why not sprout those?! (That would mean I would need to go back to the original "staff of life" being the main part of my diet, eating it every day instead of eating it sparingly (as a support) in times of famine and cold (maybe winter is a good time to have wheat ground?)
It did get me thinking a little about Utah and the pioneers, and even today! The Great Salt Lake is full of real salt. We are counseled to eat grains (sprouted?) and all the many natural springs in the mountains (springs being the best source of raw water by David Wolfe --- the big raw foodist whom I'll hear from later tonight.) And sunshine, even in winter. If this is what we need to live a good quality healthy life, it was given to the pioneers all at once in the Salt Lake Valley --- for FREE!
Since I mentioned water, and you do need to drink good quality water, you can buy water systems from his site that add electrons into your drinking water that can help alkalize your body. I read a lot about this several years ago from a Japanese Doctor (I'd post a link, but I can't find it again.) Anyway, he convinced me we needed one, but with the water system costing nearly $2000, my husband was not convinced. (Thank goodness for him!) I thought it would only be a one time cost, but then I discovered the actual filter has to be changed every few months and those ran close to $500 each (if I remember right, you needed 2 of those). Surely, God doesn't expect us to pay money like that for our health! (I haven't checked lately to see if prices on those have dropped.)
If this truly is the diet of immortality and living on it will eventually change me in a "twinkle" --- then he has something amazing. What my heart tells me is that he is on to something but it needs more fine tuning. It bothers me that he seems so business oriented, greedy and full-of-himself. I don't like that he made it a point to invalidate the other nutritionists' research --- especially when it appears they have started using some of his research to fine tune their practices. Some pieces may fit together nicely, but, I keep hearing "Too Good to Be True," and although I will probably glean (his chart) from him, I don't know when or if I will do much more than that.
Besides, I'm not looking for the diet that's going to keep me alive the longest, I'm on a fertility quest!
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