Well, it's been a very busy month. We've put up quarts and quarts of pickles - all different kinds, pints and pints of green beans, pickled beets, zucchini, zucchini pickles, zuccini relish, turnips, greens and radish relish. We dried all kinds of herbs and hung the tobacco. The girls are busy learning how to read and I'm learning more and more about how to teach them. We've been watching the world events and becoming more and more against war. The world we are creating to leave to them is just terrible. War, killing and suppression - both political and economic - everywhere. We've used colloidal silver for eye infections and cuts, tea tree oil for burns and insect bites and lavender oil to wind down after busy summer days. Life in the summer is busy and bustling and as we go into August the busiest month of putting up veggies and herbs for the winter is ahead of us. We're starting to look foreward to the cooler months that are calmer and give us more time for reflection and spending family times for fun instead of working so hard. Of course, school will start in the fall and that always makes for busy-ness as well.

Well here it is July and the garden is growing well. We put up pickled beets last weekend and we'll be pickling zucchini and cucumbers this weekend. The other day my husband put in an attic fan to help with cooling the house. He banged his head on a nail and cut the skin. We put tea tree oil on the injury neat - kills germs, helps with healing and relieves pain. He's been fighting post herpatic pain in the back after a round with shingles several months ago. We use a product called CM cream that contains estherified essential fatty acids. It's a fantastic anti-inflammatory and we put that on his back regularly to relieve that pain. One of the kids fell on the driveway and scraped up her knees. Out came the tea tree oil again. We also use an essential oil blend called Trauma which helps with the boo boo's. The both kill germs, speed healing and relieve pain. Lavender oil will do this as well, although we usually save that for the burns that happen in the kitchen or around the grill. Blends can be used, but make sure that each individual essential oil they contain is one that can be used neat. Neat means used full strength without diluting in a carrier oil. The picture above is of Arnica - used for hundreds of years for injurys. The flowers are harvested, dried and used to make an oil infusion. A cream or ointment made with the oil makes an excellent compress for sprained or strained joints. Wrap the joint in bandages after applying the cream. The swelling and bruising will be minimized and the healing accelerated. Arnica taken internally as a homeopathic medicine will assist in the healing as well. These are essential elements for any herbal first aid kit. Keeping them on hand is always a good idea.

Obesity is a disease caused by mineral deficiencies. The intake of large amounts of sugars, carbohydrates and the decreased amount of physical activity certainly contribute, but the underlying cause is mineral deficiencies. Mineral deficiencies cause cravings or "pica" and binge eating. Iron and phosphorus deficiencies at the same time will result in almost psychotic binge eating and sort drink consumption that results in morbid obesity. Reducing caloric intake and increasing physical activity will not solve the underlying problem of mineral deficiencies. Glucose is an all-purpose fuel sugar that can be used as a source of energy by the body, however, the overt intake of sugars is not necessary, as adequate levels of blood glucose can be made from dietary or stored fat and protein. Sugars and carbohydrates are not essential nutrients, they are quick sources of energy, they can be fun to eat, but the are not necessary or essential to consume.

A portion of whatever we eat, including bread, rice or beans is converted to glucose. To keep the blood levels of glucose at the level each of us requires, the hormone insulin is produced by the Islet's of Langerhans and released to regulate the rate of glucose metabolism. Insulin can't perform properly without several cofactors including the trace minerals chromium and vanadium. As we consume food, insulin is relased into the blood from the pancreas to regulate the use and storage of sugar and carbohydrate.

Carbohydrates are fractured ino the simple sugar glucose and used for an instant energy source, glycogen (animal starch) for storage and later use or converted to body fat for long term storage. The body's ability to control or manage the use of blood sugar is referred to as "glucose tolerance."

The absence of, or insufficient levels of dietary or supplemental chromium and vanadium, results in blood glucose being converted into blood lipids and body fat, rather than efficiently being burned for energy. The concurrent deficiences of chromium, vanadium and other minerals results in ravenous hunger, cravings, binge eating, pica, cribbing and the munchies.

The increased intake of carbohydrate in the form of sugar (one half pound per person per day in 2004 compared with one half pound per person per year in the 1700s) and the deficiencies of minerals are the basic root causes of obesity. It is an interesting fact that as the Asian and Latin American countries "catch up to western countries in terms of lifestyles and economics," their rates of obesity catch up as well!

The reason that the transition from third world cultures to industrialized cultures results in an almost immediate increase in obestity is that they give up using wood for fuel - they convert to electricity, natural gas and propane for heating and cooking fuels! There are no wood ashes left to put in the gardens or use as "culinary minerals." Wood ashes are the minerals left over after the carbon of the wood has been burned away.

The resulting mineral deficiencies produce the munchies, cravings and binge eating; add to these deficiencies a significant increase in carbohydrates in the diet and only one thing can happen - obesity!

In 1971, 14.5% of Americans were obese; in 2004 the rate rose to 30.9%. The number of American deaths attributed to obesity is 400,000 per year and expected to rise by 2005 to be the highest cause of preventable deaths.

Adult onset diabetes (insulin resistent diabetes) is a simple mineral deficiency disease. Insufficient dietary intakes, or reduce absorption efficiency of chromium, vanadium and other minerals produces increased blood levels of insulin. Increased blood levels of insulin produces hypoglycemia, hyperinsulinemia, narcolepsy, prediabetes and adult onset type II diabetes.
This is an excerpt from the book, Hell's Kitchen by Dr. J.D. Wallach and Dr. Ma Lan. Mineral deficiency diseases are responsible for a multitude of illness and conditions that are ever on the rise in our society. Using wood for cooking and heating and puting the ashes on the garden or using ashes for agricultural fertilizer had preserved us for many years by providing the minerals not available in the soil that our food was grown in. Since we switched to electricity or natural gas to cook and heat our homes and purchase food grown in the grocery store, we no longer have access to the minerals that once we put in our home grown food every morning. Plants can do well with only three elements - nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. Go to your local garden store and take a look at the bags of fertilizer on sale. They all have 3 numbers on them: 10-10-10 or 20-3-3 or 10-5-8. Ask the salesman what that means and he will tell you - they stand for the nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium content of the fertilizer. Different amounts for different types of plants, but always the same three. That's why fertilizer is often called NPK. The elemental abreviations for those three elements. Farmers can't afford to put all 77 minerals in the soil and since the plants do very well with only those three - that's what they use. For the other minerals we're on our own. Unless you wish to go on line and purchase a wood cook stove, give up your natural gas furnace and start building a fire every morning for cooking and heating. Then put in a huge garden in order to produce all the food for yourself, your family and the animals you raise which you must then kill, butcher and eat, you will be eating minerally deficient food. It is not possible to get all the minerals you need by chance. The only way to ensure that you get all the minerals you need is to supplement. As I said in a previous post, all minerals are not the same. You can take the average minerals available in the stores today but you will never see any benefits. In fact, that's why most people who start taking mineral supplements soon stop - they see no benefit and can't justify the expense. However, if you will be sure that your mineral supplements are organic, plant derived and colloidal you will never look back. The difference in your life, health and well being will be phenominal. They must be all three - organic, plant derived and colloidal. Plain colloidal minerals are just smaller molecular sized versions of the same old metallic minerals that are available everywhere. Organic minerals that are not colloidal have a molecular size that is too big to be absorbed in adequate amounts. The best organic, plant derived, colloidal minerals that are available today are what I carry on my web site. Click here to go to the Gift of God Healthy Living website. You can read more about minerals in general, colloidal minerals and order the products that I take and recommend.

Today I want to talk about Frankincense. We usually don't thing about Frankincencse at Christmas time. But we don't usually think about why the wise men brought the baby Jesus Frankincense. It is antiseptic, cytophylactic, anti-inflammatory, sedative and an expectorant. It has been used for centuries to cleanse and purify a space - a home or temple. At Jesus' time the infant mortality rate was very high. They knew that Jesus had to live long enough to complete his mission. Frankinsence was used during the black plague to help prevent the spread of the disease. Perfumers were much less likely to die from the black death than the regular population. As an antiseptic it works well to kill bacteria and viruses on surfaces. Added to a bucket of water when rinsing the floor it works as well as any antibacterial floor cleaner without having the risk of causing resistent strains of bacteria to develop that the overuse of antibiotics has been shown to cause. Cytophylactic is a fancy word for cell rejuvinating properties or the ability to promote cell growth. For this reason it is excellent added to creams or ointments that are used on cuts and scrapes. It kills germs while it helps new healthy cells grow to heal the injury. It also works well in face creams for mature skin as it helps the skin grow new, plump cells and makes the skin brighter and fuller and reduces wrinkles. It also works well in a lotion for sun damaged skin. It can be expensive, but it used in such small amounts and works so well that it is well worth the cost. The following recipes are very easy to make, work better than their commercially available counterparts and are delightful to use.

Facial oil: 1/2 oz almond or grape seed oil blended with 4 to 5 drops of essential oils.

The almond oil is lighter and soothing to the skin. The grape seed oil is a natural sunscreen, but is heavier and "oilier." The essential oils can be all the same or a blend of your favorites. Rose, lavender, sandalwood and calendula are good choices.

Body lotion: 8 oz bottle of plain, unscented lotions (not mineral oil based) blended with 20 to 30 drops of your favorite essential oils. Do not use cinnamon oil - it is very irritating to the skin.

Bath salts: 2 cups of sea salt blended with 10 to 15 drops of essential oil.

Hand and shower liquid soap: 4 oz of liquid castile soap blended with 12 to 20 drops of essential oil. This soap works very well with a body scrubber or loofah and also inhibits bacterial growth on the scrubber that can make it smell stale.

House cleaning liquid: 2 gallons of warm water in a bucket blended with 10 to 20 drops of essential oils. As well as Frankincense, you can use lavender, thymol (thyme) and tea tree are all cleansing as well as antibacterial. The chemicals used to make cleansers and soaps anti-bacterial have been shown to cause the development of resistent strains of bacteria or "super bacteria" that cannot be killed with any known antibiotic and are therefore causing infections in people that are very difficult to treat. People are dying from simple infections again, just as they did before the invention of antibiotics. As bacteria develop that are not affected by antibiotics a scrape or cut is fast becoming as dangerous as it was 100 years ago. The floor or surface can be cleaned with a soap or detergent as usual and the above cleaning fluid used for the rinse.

Shower freshener: 16 oz water in a spray bottle blended with 20 to 30 drops of essential oil. Spray this around the shower to deter the growth of mildew and mold. It can be used to freshen the inside of the car, furniture, drapes and carpets. Check to make sure it does not affect the color of fabrics prior to using on large areas.

Frankinsence oil and resin is available on my website at www.giftofgod.ispeedway.com, as are many other essential oils. I love to get in the kitchen and start cooking up my own personal care and household products. Keep them in the fridge if you make them in advance. It's great fun to experiment and play around with ingredients until you find the one or ones that work the best for you.

The kids' last day of school is tomorrow. Then we'll really be into summer. The owl to the left is my latest find. I put him in the garden because I thought he was cute and for the first time I have not had any bunnies eating my lettuce! I can't believe how well it works. The tomato plants are already making little green tomatoes, the zuccinis are blooming, the peppers have little tiny peppers and pretty white flowers where more peppers will come. The green beans are coming up and flowers are blooming all over. It's a magical time in the garden when little green shoots start poking up and flowers start to come and you know that soon you'll be drowning in produce!

Cadmium is widely distributed as a result of its use in the metal and rubber fabricating industries. Cadmium plating is used on many metals to prevent rust. It is added to the rubber in automobile tires to enhance the quality of the rubber. As a result of this widespread industrial use, cadmium toxicity is becoming a major health challenge in the industrialized world. Tobacco contains 23 micrograms of cadmium per pack of cigarettes. The major portion of the cadmium in tobacco is volatilized when the tobacco is burned and is inhaled and the residue not absorbed is passed out in the exhaled smoke as a major feature of "second hand" smoke. Cadmium interferes with the biological function of several metalloenzymes, especially those containing zinc, copper, calcium and selenium.
There are no less than 70 metalloenzymes that require zinc to function. Zinc helps to bind enzymes to substrates by maintaining spatial and configurational relationships. It participates in the metabolism of nucleic acids (RNA and DNA) and the synthesis of proteins. It is an integral part of the RNA molecule itself and participates in cell division and synthesis of DNA. Zinc deficiency in pregnant women causes a wide variety of birth defects, including Down's syndrome, cleft lip, cleft palate, brain defects (dorsal herniation and hydroencephaloceol), micro- or anopthalmia (small or absent eyes), micro- or agnathia, spina bifida, clubbed limbs, syndactyly (webbed fingers and toes), diaphragmatic hernias (hiatal hernia), umbilical hernias, heart defects, lung defects and urogenital defects. Overt signs of a zinc deficiency include pica (earth/dirt eating, wool eating, hair eating, etc.), loss of sense of smell, loss of sense of taste, infertility, failure of wounds to heal, immune status failure, poor growth (short stature), high infant mortality, hypogonadism (small, poorly functioning ovaries or testes), remaining in a prepubescent state (failure to mature), anemia, alopecia (hair loss), frizzy hair, brittle hair, diarrhea, depression, paranoia, oral and perioral dermatitis (rashes in and around the mouth), weight loss, prostate enlargement (benign prostatic hypertrophy), severe body odor (smelly tennis shoe syndrome), anorexia and bullemia.
Copper is essential to all living organisms and is an important cofactor for many hundreds of metalloenzymes. Copper is required in many physiological functions including, but not limited to, RNA function, DNA function, lysyl oxidase cofactor, melanin production (hair and skin pigment), electron transfer of oxygen in subcellular respiration and tensile strength of elastic fibers in blood vessels, skin and vertebral discs. Copper functions as a cofactor and activator of numerous cuproenzymes that are involved in the development and maintenance of the cardiovascular system and in skeletal integrity. Deficiency in copper results in reduced lysyl oxidase activity causing a reduction in conversion of proelastin to elastin causing a decrease in tensile strength of arterial walls and ruptured aneurysms. It results in a particular form of arthritis of young people in the form of bone spurs in the bone's growth plate. It can result in myelin defects, anemia, poor hair keritinization and loss of hair color. Overt signs of a copper deficiency include white or gray hair, dry/brittle hair, ptosis (sagging skin - eye lids, breasts, stomachs, etc.), hernias, varicose veins, aneurysms, thyroid disfunction, anemia, arthritis, ruptured discs, liver cirrhosis, violent behavior, blind rages, explosive outbursts, learning disabilities, cerebral palsy and elevated blood cholesterol levels.
There are no less than 147 deficiency diseases that can be attributed to a calcium deficiency or imbalance. Calcium is the most abundant mineral in the human body; 99% is found in the bones and teeth and the other 1% is found in the blood, extracellular fluids and within cells where it is a cofactor and activator for numerous enzymes. In addition to being a major structural mineral, calcium is also required for the release of energy from ATP for muscular contraction, blood clotting, the transport of nutrients and other substances into and out of cells, the release of neurotranmitters for nerve cell function, the synthesis, secretion and metabolic effects of hormones and enzymes, the regulation of the heart beat and maintenance of muscle tone. Diseases that are a result of a calcium deficiency and it's cofactors include osteoporosis, receding gums, osteomalacia, arthritis, hypertension, insomnia, kidney stones, bone spurs, calcium deposits, cramps and twitches, PMS, low back pain and sciatica, Bell's palsy, nutritional secondary hyperparathyroidism, osteofibrosis, tetany and panic attacks.
Selenium is the most efficient anti-oxidant and is found at the subcellular level in the glutathione peroxidase enzyme system and metallo amino acids (selenomethionine). Selenium prevents cellular and subcellular lipids and fats from being peroxidized which literally means it prevents body fats from going rancid (seen externally as age or liver spots). It also functions to protect cellular and organelle bi-lipid layer membranes from oxidative damage. High intakes of vegetable oils including salad dressing, margarine and cooking oils concurrent with a selenium deficiency is the quickest route to a heart attack and cancer. The polyunsaturated configuration of the oils when heated or treated with hydrogen (trans fatty acids) literally causes the rancidity (free radical damage) of cellular fat. Selenium deficiency in adults appears as reduced immune capacity, anemia, infertility, age spots, myalgia (muscle pains), muscle weakness, multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, ALS, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, palpitations or irregular heart rhythms, cardiomyopathy, hypertrophy or thickening of the cardiac muscle, liver cirrhosis, cataracts and cancer. It is a versitile anticancer agent and a defieincy of selenium is related to the onset of full blown AIDS in chronically infected HIV patients.
Contrary to what is frequently proposed by anti-smoking literature and proponents, smoking does not directly cause cancer and heart disease. The cadmium in tobacco interferes with the action of necessary minerals that are required by the body and the resultant deficiencies of those minerals is responsible for the diseases that are frequently associated with smoking. While the best choice would be to stop smoking, it is prudent, therefore, for the person who wishes to continue smoking to supplement with extra of those minerals as they are already in limited supply in the food available due to the minerally deficient soils that our food is grown in. This would also go a long way to explain why so many people who don't smoke, have never smoked and are not exposed to second hand smoke also get those diseases that are supposedly caused by smoking.
(This information comes from the book Rare Earths, Forbidden Cures by doctors Joel D. Wallach and Ma Lan.)

Gift of God Healthy Living
www.giftofgod.ispeedway.com
571-203-9840
mahmoudm@cox.net

These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. The products mentioned in this post are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any diseases.

The garden is looking very nice. The dirt in the yard is really no good for growing anything, so everything is in raised beds. Some are 8 ft. x 2 ft. and some 6 ft. x 2 ft. There's a 4x4 ft square bed in the middle. Following the square foot garden techniques, I've planted most of the beds. We'll be busy in the fall putting all the veggies up and drying all the herbs. I've planted chamomile and lemon balm in pots along the fence. Lemon balm is in the mint family and will spread to anywhere in the garden it wants to. There is no containing it unless it is literally in a container. It is a perennial and comes back year after year, spreading throughout the garden if you let it. The chamomile is an annual and therefore dies every year. It self seeds though and will also spread everywhere if you give it half a chance. They are both used as a tea that will calm an upset stomach, help you sleep and make you feel a little relaxed. The lemony flavor of the lemon balm blends nicely with the chamomile. Plain chamomile is so gentle and safe, it can be given to young children. No herbal products should ever be given internally to a child under the age of one due to the risk of botulism . Both lemon balm and chamomile can be purchased as a bulk tea, a bulk herb or tea bags. The bulk chamomile is available at my website at www.giftofgod.ispeedway.com.

Well, I have to tell you, we moved 6 months ago and we're still surrounded by boxes. In the old house we had a beautiful garden with fruit trees, veggies, herbs and flowers. I fed my children home grown fruits and veggies and my husband (who does all the cooking in our house) cooked with fresh herbs. Now we're starting over in the new house. The garden is looking good, but it's taking a very, very long time. The first thing we had to do is thin the trees - you can't grow anything in a deep, dark forest! The neighbors responded as if we were thinning their children. We had people yelling at us, swearing at us and telling us to "go back to where we came from." Then we also had some people singing tree songs and reciting tree poetry at us! After the trees were done, we put up a fence. That went over almost as well as the tree thinning. We have small children who need to be kept in and a large garden that we need to keep the deer out of. The fence was also esthetically needed - but apparently the neighbors' taste and ours don't quite mesh. It didn't bode well for a happy move with all the people around us yelling about all the things we were doing in our new yard. However, things moved on - we now have a beautiful fence, the yard and house actually have some sun - I believe for the first time in years - and over the winter months we had a huge supply of firewood for the woodstove. With the woodstove, the garden, the forest; you might think we live out in the middle of nowhere, but actually we are less than 15 miles from Washington, DC. The house is old; built in 1953, but beautiful and well built. The garden isn't finished, but the seasons don't wait for man so I've planted as we prepared it. We have zuccini, tomatoes, canteloup, cucumbers, green beans, green peas, eggplant, bell peppers, hot peppers, lettuce, raddishes, beets, blueberries, elderberries, basil, parsley, rosemary, tarragon, cilantro, dill, sage and thyme for eating and medicinal herbs - lavender, comfrey, twin leaf, calendula, eidelweise, chinaberry, cotton wood, hawthorn and rue and just for beauty - geraniums and some new flower my 6 year old picked out. The house came with hostas, ferns, hydrangias, dogwood, rodadendron and lilly of the valley (all, you'll notice, things that can grow in shade - because of the trees). You might think we have acres and acres, growing all that, but it really can be done in a normal, suburban yard. We use the square foot gardening method that Mel Bartholemew invented. He used to have a PBS show and has a new book out. Absolutely a must buy if you want to grow a lot of stuff in a small space and not kill yourself with work. Our last house was a townhouse and we grew cherries, apples, peaches, plums, almonds, pears, blue berries, asian pears, all the veggies and herbs that I mentioned above as well as crepe myrtles, japanese maples, magnolias, azaleas, day lillies, asian lillies, irises, hyacinths and grapes. That was a corner townhouse lot! It absolutely can be done and you can keep your full time job as well. Now, in that house we used up all the available land as well as growing in some containers. There was no mowing at all - no grass. Since it was a townhouse community there was lots of "open space" that the homeowner's association maintained and my children had plenty of space to run and play. The new house is a single family home and we have a bit more than half an acre, so there's some grass left over after the garden because children need space to play and have picnics and the like. Grass, for the most part, seems such a waste of useable land, so much of our property will be given over to growing edible or medinical plants. Yesterday I put up the trellises for the vine plants - the tomatoes, canteloups, zuccini, beans and peas are all grown up a trellis to save space. They also grow so much better than when they are left to grow out instead of up. It's harder to find the veggies, harder to pick them and they rot if left on the ground - you have to put something under each one as it grows or it turns to mush. When they're grown up a trellis you can find them hanging there on the vine, they stay nice and they're easy to reach and pick. We use a product called soil revitalizer to put minerals in the soil that we grow our fruits and veggies in. This ensures that we have optimized the mineral content of our produce. That's one way to get your children to take their vitamins and minerals! We still supplement quite heavily, but much of the food we eat is fresh - 5 minutes from garden to kitchen - and it has more minerals and nutrients to start with as we put them in the soil. The average fruit or veggie in the US has travelled 1500 miles from the place it was grown to the place it is eaten. Many nutrients degrade over time even under the best conditions and so that fruit or veggie necessarily has less nutrients when it is eaten that it did at it's peak. Add to that the veggies are picked before they are ripe in order to make that trip, they are bred for the toughness needed to make that trip not for the nutrient value and they are ripened by ethelene gas in the back of an 18 wheeler as they make the trip (by the way ethelene gas is a known carcinogen). All these factors mean that the average produce available in the market has the least amount of nutrients possible rather than the most. The best thing you can do for your family, if you can't (or won't) grow your own veggies is to buy them from a local farmer or farmers market where you know they were picked only the day before instead of several weeks before. They look better, taste better and are soooo much better for you.