Computers, Health Food and Other Musings

I'm back... but not for long! Our regular desktop computer is still having problems with connecting to the internet, so I'm stuck with a rather ancient, dilapitated laptop for the week that sometimes connects and sometimes doesn't... Rather, most of the time it doesn't work!
Suffice to say, I won't be blogging much or adding any new pictures till we get a computer working better. Hopefully, that will be soon!

Meanwhile, the lack of a decent computer translates into me having much more time to do other things... like cleaning my office which has recently begun to look like a tornado went through (it didn't help when my family decided to stack the contents of the schoolroom in there, too!) and doing housework (we managed to thoroughly clean the whole house in two hours today - lovely!) and catching up on thank you notes and paperwork. It's nice, but also a bit disconcerting to have things piling up in my inbox that really need to be dealt with soon!

Yesterday was a lovely spring day. We transplanted hundreds of little romaine lettuce plants to the garden in the afternoon. It was a nice chance for Mom and we older girls to catch up on everything happening in our lives and just talk.


Then, last night we attended the seminar put on by the New York Times Bestselling author, Jordan Rubin. (Perhaps you've read his books, "Patient, Heal Thyself" and his more recent one, "The Maker's Diet.") Last night Jordan was promoting his latest book, "Perfect Weight America" as he's on a nationwide tour, trying to get Americans to eat for health and wellness.

I've always like Jordan Rubin and his message. He was one of the first "health food fads" that I felt had a balanced approach to health and wellness and food. He didn't advocate vegetarianism and soy burgers, or all raw foods, or apple peels or sesame seeds three times a day to stay healthy. Perhaps I was a bit biased to start with because I was already a fan of Weston Price and his decades of research into native tribal diets and the need for a lot of high quality fats (butter, fish oils, etc) in the diet, which seemed so contrary to everything people were promoting in the 90's.

Anyway, Mr. Rubin always inspires me every time I hear him speak. Even though he's now the head of a huge and growing alternative health supplement company and a best-selling author, every time I see him, he seems just as genuine and humble as ever. One of my friends introduced me to his products back when he answered his own phone and packed the orders himself in a garage. When I first met him in person, his wife was a week away from her due date with their first baby. Their "baby" is now four years old! Time flies!

Last night his message was tinged with desperation, as he talked about America's health going down the tubes, and almost every unhealthy habit and disease trending the wrong direction each year. He begged everyone attending his seminar to go home and change their own lifestyles, but also to spread the message to other people.

Jordan threw out all kinds of interesting new studies and pieces of research on diet, food, and lifestyle choices. He rattled off all kinds of numbers about America's health going in the wrong direction. I guess the one that really hit me was when he stated that it is expected (following the current trend) that by the year 2015, one out of three children under the age of 8 will have Type II Diabetes! Wow!

I think I've even heard or read that statistic before, but hearing it combined with all the other information he presented made me ponder, What is this world coming to?!
Really. That statistic is unreal! One out of three kids giving themselves insulin shots? Pricking their finger before a meal?!

And that's only the tip of the iceberg. About five years ago in a CPR class, I remember being told that when checking for a carotid pulse (on the side of the neck where the carotid artery runs) in a child over the age of 10, to always check both sides if you don't find a pulse on one side. Why? Because, many of them have arteries so plugged by the age of ten, that you can only find a pulse on one side!

I better not get started....so I'll quit now, before you hear me ranting about diet soda, vegetable oil, and macaroni and cheese! (For those of you wondering, I don't eat perfectly all the time - far from it! But I'm working on it, and try to make concious decisions to choose good food!)

Hearing Jordan Rubin speak again renewed in me a desire to see people care about their health enough to *do* something about it. And it reminded me of how grateful I should be that I was raised on fresh Jersey milk and butter, homeground wheat bread, and vegetables out of the garden! I have a lot to be thankful for!