Could bread be the enemy?

I recently completed a book by William Davis M.D. called "Wheat Belly".  It is a #1 New York Times Bestseller that has received mixed reviews. Obviously, since I have been dealing with digestive issues it was of interest to me but I was totally taken aback by his claims. If what he suggests is remotely true the American diet, even the pyramid promoted by the ADA (American Dietetic Association), could come crashing down. If his concern over the consumption of wheat went global the food industry as we know it today would become extinct!

Following is some information taken from the book:

1. Eating 2 slices of whole wheat bread gives increase blood sugar levels more that 2 T. sugar!

2. Wheat has addictive properties that cause a roller coaster ride of hunger, overeating, and fatigue. 

3. There are connections with fat buildup in the wrong places.

4. It speeds up the aging process and contributes to foggy brain tendencies.

5.  Eliminating wheat can offer relief from a broad spectrum of health and digestive problems.  Eating a wheat-free diet has significant benefits for alleviating type 2 diabetes, recovery from intestinal woes, like ulcerative colitis and celiac disease, improvements in overall cholesterol and LDL counts and bone density and reversal of osteopenia as well as helping reduce inflammation and rheumatoid arthritis pain and cessation of hair loss and other skin conditions.

Wow-if "no wheat" means living longer with less bone loss, lower cholestrol levels, and less arthritis pain why would I not do it??

I have done it for almost 3 months-not easy for sure but hopefully making my body a "better me"!

Check this book out:

"Poop" Coffee Beans

For Christmas this year the children bought Hunter a VERY unusual gift-what we have lovingly labeled: Poop Coffee Beans. For those of you who have never heard of this delicacy here is a bit of information I located on the web.

" Kopi Luwak, also known as civet coffee, is the world’s most expensive coffee. Produced primarily in Indonesia, what sets this bean apart from your average Gold Blend is that the coffee berries are eaten by the wild Asian Palm Civet (a small feral cat-like mammal) , excreted undigested and then harvested from their droppings. Apparently, the animal’s stomach acids cause an enzymatic process that imbues the bean with a complex and unique flavour.

For those of you who haven’t tried a “crappuccino”, as some jokers have dubbed it, you may not only be sceptical as to the culinary merits of an excreted coffee bean, but moreover, its level of hygiene. However, a scientific study carried out in 2002 verified the coffee’s quality; the lead researcher confirmed that tests revealed “the Kopi Luwak beans had negligible amounts of enteric (pathogenic) organisms associated with faeces”. Knowyourmoney blog "10 most expensive foods"

In order for Hunter to actually experience this coffee he had to properly prepare the beans.               Following are some photos of this two day process.

                                                                       "Poop beans" in their original bags.

                                                                                                     In the raw

                                                                                              First washing

                                                                                              First drying.

Second washing 

                                                                                                Second drying

                                                                    Stomping the parchment off the beans

                                                                         Wind blowing chaff off the beans

                                                       Coffee roaster preparing to roast the "green" beans

                                                                           Beautiful beans ready to grind

                                                       Mission accomplished & enjoying the fruit of his labor!

Looking "down the road"

The new year has arrived, fresh calendars have been unwrapped, and blank squares are being filled with ink notations. The ball is rolling and picking up speed as schedules are juggled and events skillfully planned. Was there a second, a minute, an hour, a day to ponder the year ahead-to look down the road and actually plan instead of just react? For those with busy children and involved work schedules the answer is probably no!
But for those of us, the empty nest retirees, we have "many a moment" to do just that-peer into the future, try to imagine what might be. So here is what I see in my crystal ball-whether or not they actually materialize:

-growing a list of tolerable foods my stomach enjoys

-traveling to Italy to visit children and grandchildren: at least twice

-flying to Arizona to spend some time with my mom and sister

-biking and more biking with Hunter both in the states and abroad

-having tea with friends in the Quad Cities

-making new friends in the Austin area

-hiking some trails

-teaching myself to make Kefir

-learning how to dehydrate nuts & beef jerkey

-attending a wedding in California

-welcoming a grandchild into the "fold"

-exploring Cinque Terre with Norwegian friends

-reading the Bible through chronologically

Well, there is my list.
What is yours?

My Journey with GAPS

About three years ago I embarked on a Whole Foods diet to try and get a "handle" on stomach issues that have "dogged" my every step for over 12 years, gradually increasing in intensity the last two years. The Whole Foods diet didn't bring about a cure or even relief so I abandoned it after 3 months. In fact, as I've continued to read and investigate my symptoms, the Whole Foods diet, which consisted of a variety of whole grains was detrimental to my health, only setting me back having to start all over in the healing process. It's a road I didn't choose but one that I'm nevertheless on, complete with "mountains to climb and rivers to ford". I often empathize with what Paul must have struggled with when Jesus said to him in 2 Corinthians : " My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Paul with his unknown affliction was asking for some relief, possibly even a cure yet God chose to allow the affliction to remain. Paul accepts this and even goes on to say: "Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weakness, so that Christ's power may rest on me." 2 Cor. 12:9  It is so difficult to not only accept but be thankful for and even "boast" about one's weaknesses! Paul was certainly a godly man whose example I'd like to follow. Can't do it without the help of the Holy Spirit!

 Nothing seems easy. Where are the days when a hot dog, fries, and a root beer float were more than a dream? At 63-GONE I guess!

Ok-back to my current endeavor to heal an inflamed digestive tract. I recently had my second round of food intolerance blood tests revealing 47 food items that I must avoid-a bit improved over a previous test taken 2 years ago in Holland, which revealed 61 food items my system did "not like"!  I'm currently saying "NO" to these foods and following a rotation system where I tract what I eat and don't repeat foods but every four days. This is all confusing enough but I'm also weaving into this complex system the GAPS diet.

What is that exactly? Until a month ago I would have asked that same question but now I'm knee deep in a program I'm committed to for two years! Here goes:

GAPS: Gut and Psychology Syndrome by Dr. Natash Campbell-McBride MD
This is a natural treatment for a number of illnesses ranging from autism to depression; schizophrenia to ADHD; and, for me in particular: general digestive distress.
The authors premise is that all diseases begin in the gut. If you heal the gut many, if not most problems in the body will disappear. I'm not going into a detailed explanation of this theory nor the medical research behind it. If interested buy her excellent book. But what I am going to share is my particular experiences thus far.

The diet is quite radical and never would I have attempted it if my "condition" wasn't pushing me flat into a wall with no other options available. I'm so tired of feeling stomach upset after I eat that I'm willing to try "just about anything" if there is a sliver of hope of someday eating and actually enjoying the "eating" experience once again. I'd also like to stop dropping weight. I'm not a wrestler!!

Getting back to the diet-it involves ridding your body of all sugars, (except a bit of honey), carbohydrates, dairy, and all grains-YES that means no more bread, potatoes, cake or ice cream, popcorn, and on and on the list goes!
Basically you start with light soup three times a day for the first week. How about fish soup for breakfast! THAT was a first for me. I ate mostly organic meat, tons of vegetables and soups made from these two food groups and fruit between meals for the first stages of this program.

After week four I had about completed the intro portion of the diet, and I've had more downs than ups on this journey. I've experienced gluten withdrawal-similar to a drug withdrawal where I'm depressed, moody, and tired as well as die-off reactions from my body shedding off  the dead carcases of "bad" microbes that had been living on the sugar and carbs I was feeding them in my gut. This die-off reaction manifested itself in the form of flu-like symptoms where I could barely get out of bed for four days. Nice-huh?
I'm finally over these two mountains but I'm still not out of the desert, since I continue to experience stomach aches following my meals but I will admit it is slowly getting better-I think. I'm on week five and I can say I have had two full days of NO stomach distress. Wow-My stomach has the same sensation as others feel after they eat-just full!

I know my stomach is sensitive and raw and just doesn't like the work of digesting what I "send down".  Unfortunately I can't just "tell it to relax and rest"- take a vacation for a month or two. Wouldn't that be great! I guess this is why Dr. Natasha Campbell says the healing is a SLOW process taking upwards of two years to complete, since we can never really rest the stomach.
I'll occasionally update this journey on my blog with hopefully more positive progress.

 Committing to memory:
2 Cor. 4:16-18
"Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing; yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen but at the things which are not seen."

Not sure how stomach distress is "working for me an eternal weight of glory" but I'm just leaving it in God's hands.

P.S. Anyone reading this with children who have either tendencies toward autism or other behavorial disorders I'd highly recommend purchasing Dr. Campbell's book. I think you will find a great deal of wisdom to assist you with good diet choices to help your child.

Christmas in Indianapolis

Christmas Eve:

Christmas morning:

Cookie fun:

Snow fun:

Have a Merry Christmas and  a Happy New Year full of God's Blessings! from Hunter & Nancy

Leisurely December days around Austin

What do two retired adults do around Austin in December besides bike? How about hiking, wine tasting, fly fishing and reading a good book on a bench along the Guadalupe River for starters??  Fortunately, the weather cooperated with us this particular year with record breaking temps of over 80 degrees for the majority of the month. We'll take it!

December 1st

Ok, it's 80 degrees outside in Texas with sunny, warm breezes and it is the beginning of the Christmas season?? I see it in the stores and here it on the radio but do I believe it? Yes, after reading this little poem:

"Love brought Him down from the glory, Love made Him come from the sky; Love in His heart for the sinner Led Him to suffer and die". —Anon. 

Christmas is the love of God sending his only Son, Jesus Christ, and although we celebrate it only once a year on December 25th, actually we need to celebrate it every day of our lives!