Fit to Survive

There was a link on Ol' Remus the other day to an interesting, short letter found on SurvivalBlog. A letter you may not take notice of at first, but after we read it a couple of times, we found a number of messages there. The part that struck us most were the last few sentences.

"Being fit enough to survive won’t happen overnight. It takes a long time to harden especially if you are older. Most “tactical” courses are money that is wasted. The way you have been trained to eat will kill you. Prepare for war. Pray for peace. God bless, – Mark X."

You will have to read the rest of the letter to get the whole gist of his meaning, What You "Learn" Can Kill You.

For some reason that Frank and I have yet to figure out, December 3, 2014 was a day that we decided to change our lives. Why that particular day we don't know. We had a conversation with the neurosurgeon

that did Frank's back surgery and he told us about a book called Protein Power. When we left the office and got in the truck, we talked about it, looked at each other and agreed, we can do this. We had talked about losing weight many, many, many times for a number of years. We'd try for a while then go back to eating too much of the things we liked the most. We still wonder why this time was different, but we are very, very glad it was.

Now fast forward 10 months. Frank and I have lost almost 50 pounds each. We feel better and are able to do more than we have in a long, long time. Now go back and look at the quote from Mark X. "Being fit enough to survive won’t happen overnight. It takes a long time to harden especially if you are older." We would have to agree with that. It has taken a while to get in better shape and adjust to the weight loss, and neither one of us has reached our weight loss goal yet. 

Now for his next sentence. "The way you have been trained to eat will kill you." If you read the rest of his letter he talks about fat, carbs and the popular healthy ways we're 'supposed' to eat. Most people are surprised when we tell them we are eating all of the meat and fats we want, lots of them. We are very careful about the amount of carbohydrates we eat because of how they are metabolized in the body. It was surprising for us to find out that the body, and especially the brain, prefers to obtain it's energy from protein instead of carbohydrates. We had always thought of carbohydrates as 'energy' food. Turns out they are the 'sleeper' foods because of the insulin spike needed to deal with all of the sugar produced from the carbohydrates. The book Protein Power explains it much better than I can, so if you are interested, I would recommend reading it.

Last Sunday at church, the preacher commented on Frank's weight loss and told him he looked very good. Frank told the preacher that he is better shape now at age 65 than he has ever been and the reason for that is because we have a war coming. You see, even though we're not sure of the how's or why's of the life changing events in our diet and life, we do know the purpose. We agree with Mark X, "prepare for war, pray for peace".

We wrote an article the other day called A Group of Your Own. There were multiple comments, but I want to share one in particular along with Frank's response to the comment.

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"Even the people I know who do believe everything in America is coming undone are either too ignorant (I mean "not having knowledge") or are too afraid to admit that everything they have believed in and loved will soon come to an end. They seem to feel that, if they can just keep their heads down and not acknowledge it, the crises will all go away and everything will be okay. While that attitude perturbs me, I can understand it. I, too, am overcome with inexplicable grief for the loss of culture, country, and the bountiful prosperity and liberty America has known. Some days, I just want to ignore what is going on and never read or watch "news" again.

People I love seem to understand what is happening, but they refuse to move a muscle to do anything about it -not even to prepare with a few weeks extra groceries. This makes it all the harder for those of us who have been preparing. It is so hard to trust people anymore, even those who have been friends for years. 
Anonymous"

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"Hello and thank you. We feel the same way, there are days that I just don't even want to think about it. It grinds on my spirit, soul and heart. But I pull myself up, and continue on with everyday life.

If folks will study history, wars don't start with a single event, there are multiple divisions and factions that are precursors to war, or what we call the beginning of a war. We are well advanced into those stages right now. We are going to experience war in this country. The lines are being drawn. Our government is actively dividing this country. I can't speak of the divisions, because I could be charged with a hate crime. This is where we are, and remember, we are well into this process. This process can't be stopped. Get ready. Frank"

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Now Frank is absolutely not an historian or an expert on war, but then you don't have to be a meteorologist to see the obvious signs of a storm coming. We have war coming in this country. So what are we going to do to prepare? Continue to talk about it? Or we can wish, or we can hope, but hoping for something is a very poor strategy. Whatever you need to do,

get it done. If you need to be in better health, do what is necessary to take care of yourself. If you need to lose weight, lose it. If your diet is killing you, change it. Do what is necessary. If you watch too much TV, turn it off. If you are on the internet too much, quit reading this, get to work. Do what is necessary. Or, go turn the TV on, get a bag of Cheetos and zone out for a while, that will sure help you get in touch with reality. If you think this sounds a tad bit curt, it is. There is a reason why. You can't help save my life, if you can't save your own. Think about it, during the commercials. When this world falls, and fall it will, there will be no commercials, no time to get in shape, no time to learn how to survive and no escape.

Until next time - Fern

Low Carb Fried Chicken

I think I have made a great discovery. Frank loves fried chicken, well, we both do. After we changed our diets to accommodate a low carbohydrate intake, I no longer fried chicken. But I have only found so many ways to bake or saute chicken that meets our dietary requirements and supports our weight loss.

As I was pondering new and delicious ways to fix chicken, I ran across some information about sourdough starter and it's carbohydrate content. As the starter ferments it predigests, or consumes much of the carbohydrates in flour. When sourdough bread is made and left to proof, or ferment, the starter will consume much of the carbohydrates in the wheat, creating a bread that is lower in carbohydrates compared to yeast made breads. This got me to thinking about different ways I can use my sourdough starter. I am very interested in what you think about this information. Here are some of the things I have read.
 
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From Cultures for Health: Low Carb Fermented Foods 

"One of the beauties of the fermentation process is that it actually lowers the carbohydrate count of the food you are fermenting.

Fermentation occurs when bacteria feasts off of the carbohydrates found in a food. In making kombucha that food is the sugar. In making sourdough bread that food is the flour. In making sauerkraut that food is the carbohydrates in the cabbage. In making yogurt that food is the lactose naturally occurring in milk.

In fermentation, the sugars and starches are eaten up by the bacteria cultures, and converted to lactic acid, carbon dioxide, and more bacteria. So, by definition, fermentation is a process one could use to lower the dietary carbohydrate levels found in various foods.

It is difficult to know the exact carbohydrate count of a fermented food, but there is one principle to keep in mind if you are concerned about the carbohydrates in your fermented foods:

The longer the fermentation time, the more carbohydrates eaten up by the organisms, the more sour the ferment, the lower the dietary carbohydrate count.

So by controlling the culturing, you control the carbohydrates found in fermented foods and in this way you can eat low-carb and enjoy many fermented foods."

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From Daniel Reed: Sourdough Bread and Health

"Researchers in Sweden at Lund University have noted that the fermentation process that’s involved in the creation of sourdough utilizes carbohydrates, lowering the carbohydrate level in the dough as it’s transformed to lactic acid. The result of this process means that sourdough bread can aid in ensuring that your blood glucose level remains in line, helping to guard against various diseases especially diabetes."

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With this information in hand, the question then became how many carbohydrates that are contained in fresh ground whole wheat flour are 'consumed' during the fermentation process? There doesn't seem to be a consensus on the numbers. If you look up the number of carbs in whole wheat flour, you will find that a bag of whole wheat flour at the store, and flour you just made from grinding up wheat berries appear to have a different carb counts, and quite a different amount of nutritional value. 

Nutrition Data indicates that 1 cup of whole wheat flour has 87g of carbs and 15g of fiber. Subtracting the fiber from the carb count gives a total of 72g of carbs. It doesn't indicate whether this is store bought flour or fresh ground whole wheat flour.

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The Whole Truth has an article that says, "When wheat is ground for commercial flour sales, the bran is first removed and the germ and oil in particular are separated out, since these spoil in a short period of time. The remaining endosperm is then finely ground, leaving white flour. In order to market “whole-wheat flour,” a small percentage of the bran is returned to the product, yet it still lacks the germ and thus is far from being “WHOLE” wheat flour."

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There are a few opinions out there about how many carbs are consumed during the fermentation process, but most indicate it would depend upon the length of time the flour is allowed to ferment. There are several forums that discuss possible numbers like this one. "I have done some thinking on this. The starter itself should not be high carb if you consider the example of wine. One bottle of wine contains approximately 2.6 lbs of grapes. That would make the carb load 468 grams. However we know that there only remain around 30g of carbs in a bottle. Hence we know how much the beasties eat. Essentially we are left with 7 % of the original carb count. Two problems with this. Wine ferments on average for 2 weeks. This starter takes 4 days. Second, we cannot automatically assume that the uptake of carbohydrates is the same with flour as with grape juice. If I was to make this I would assume 20% of carbs remaining to be on the safe side."

 
So, if I take the 72g of carbs in 1 cup of commercial whole wheat flour, add it to the sourdough starter and let it ferment all day, or a minimum of 8 hours, and multiply that by 20%, I get 14.4 carbs. 




Now, what does all of this have to do with fried chicken? I started all of this research to try to get a reasonable estimate of how many carbohydrates would be in 1/2 cup of our whole wheat sourdough starter. After all of this reading, I determined that 1/2 cup of starter should, could or probably contains about 7 or 8 grams of carbohydrates. That is doable for us on the amount of carbohydrates we are limiting ourselves to during this phase of our diet.

I mixed 1/2 cup of starter that had not been fed for over 8 hours, with one egg, cut up the chicken (which we raised; it doesn't have skin), dipped each piece in the batter, shook off any excess, and fried it up. I realized after we were eating that I hadn't thought to put any salt and pepper in the batter which would have made the chicken better. But, you know what? It was really good. Like I said before, we both like fried chicken and we hadn't had any for over four months.

When figuring our carb count for the chicken in this meal, I count it at 6g of carbs per person. That is probably higher than it actually is, but I would rather error on the high side than the low side. We only have a meal like this about once a week or less, but it does add a tasty alternative to the way we have changed our eating style.

My question for you is this. Do you think I am close to accurate in my assessment of the carbohydrate contents of the sourdough starter? I don't want to try to kid myself into thinking I am fixing a low carb meal if I'm really not. I know there are many differences between sourdough starters that are fed all purpose white flours instead of only fresh ground whole wheat. But if this really is a decent low carb way to fry chicken, then I am happy to provide an occasional tasty meal for my husband. 

Until next time - Fern
 

An Addendum; Our Journey to Better Health

Hi Everybody, Frank here.

 A couple of months back, actually February 13th, Fern and I put out a post called Our Journey to Better Health. This post dealt with medication we had taken over long periods of time, a few things we have done to reduce our exposure to chemicals, like changing toothpaste, deodorant and other things like that. We talked quite a bit about some of the prescriptions that doctors had given us over the years. Well, the reason for this addendum, is that I wanted to add one more to it, one more prescription, that is. 

In the original post, I talked about taking the prescribed medication Relafen, which I took for a pain in my shoulder blade area. Now remember, this was before the Internet. Well, after doing a little research and some experimentation, it dawned on me that the Relafen was causing the continued pain in my shoulder blade. So, what it boils down to, is that I was taking a medication for a symptom that the medication was creating. Well, that was easy enough to solve. Quit taking the Relafen, deal with the pain for a handful of days, and it's a miracle, I'm cured. Like I told you in the original article, I took Relafen for a couple of years. When I asked the doctor about it, he said, sure it could cause that pain.

Moving along here. Also in the original article, I talked about having dry itchy armpits while living in Alaska. I used steroid creams, shots, numerous different forms of medications, and finally it dawned on me somehow or another, it was just dry skin. Now these steroid creams, shots and medications all came from doctors via prescriptions. All that it was, was simple dry skin, that within a short period of time, Vaseline Intensive Care hand lotion took care of.

Well, there is one medication that I had been taking for over 20 years, that I didn't share with you in the original post. It's called Zyrtec. Most people take it for some type of allergy. I took it because I had this uncontrollable entire body itch. Like I said, I took it for 20+ years. I'd tried to quit it multiple times, but every time I tried, two or three days later, I would get this uncontrollable itch that felt like my skin was crawling.

Well, about the time I hurt my back, while in Alaska, and took pain pills for weeks, the itch would go away and I could quit taking the Zyrtec. Which, by the way, at that time, Zyrtec was a prescription drug only, now it is over the counter. But, when I quit taking the pain medication, I would start to develop the same type of itch patterns again. Then out would come the Zyrtec.

Now, let me compliment the Internet. There is a tremendous amount of data available. Some of this data is worthless, some of it is filth and trash, but it can provide you with good, solid medical data. 

Fern and I started looking back. Here is some of the data we discovered. When coming off pain pill usage for long periods of time, one of the classic withdrawal symptoms are chronic itching and the feeling your skin is crawling. Very interesting. Also included in the data is with long term Zyrtec use, the major withdrawal symptoms include chronic, unbearable itching and feeling like your skin is crawling. 

Let me digress a little. I do not know the exact reason why I started taking Zyrtec. Fern and I changed our bar soap, laundry detergent, I quit wearing polyester type clothes and went to strictly cotton with a minimum amount of dyes, we changed everything we could change, and I cannot tell you exactly why I started taking the Zyrtec. I took the Zyrtec for the itching sensation, but we could never determine what caused the itch, not even with allergy testing. But the prescription Zyrtec took away the symptoms, or removed the itch. Wouldn't it be ironic if that itch was caused by something as simple as dry skin? But I honestly do not know what caused it.

Going back to the original article, Fern and I have been trying to remove chemicals from our lives, and unnecessary medications. Now I still take a handful of vitamins daily, but I was also taking that one last medication that I couldn't quit. Zyrtec. Back in January of this year, before we wrote the piece on February 13th, I had gone to my family doctor for some reason. While I was there, I asked him about some help for quitting Zyrtec, and his answer astounded me. "Why not just keep taking it? It doesn't hurt you."

You see, I had used the Internet to also study the side effects of Zyrtec, and one person had mentioned that he used a steroid medication for short term, to counter the effects of the Zyrtec withdrawal, so he could cease his addiction. That day at the doctor's office, I asked him for a prescription of a steroid dose pack. At first he said the side effects of the steroids were worse than the long-term Zyrtec side effects. But with a little prodding he wrote me the prescription. It's one of those things where you start off with a large dosage and for three, four and five days, gradually take less and less. Fern had an old prescription of this same type of steroid that she keeps around for poison ivy outbreaks. I used it to extend my daily steroid intake for a couple of weeks. Also, the day the doctor gave me the prescription, he gave me a steroid shot.

Well, that occurred back in January. Three months later, I am happy to say that I have not had a Zyrtec since middle January. I am not addicted to the steroids, I haven't had one of those in two months. But after 20+ years, I'm off of the Zyrtec. You see, the Zyrtec was causing the itching. Now I have taken one of those things, either every day or every other day for over 20 years. I tried to get help to quit the Zyrtec multiple times over the years from numerous different doctors. Why is it that I, a retired educator, can figure out how to get myself off of a drug, when the medical profession can't figure it out? And the doctor's comment still plagues me, "Just keep taking it. They don't do you any harm." 

It bothers me to not trust the medical profession. It bothers me to not trust my government. It bothers me just to not trust. Period. But it seems that I have good solid reasons not to trust. That saddens me. It saddens me a great deal.

Now, on to happier things. In the original post, Our Journey to Better Health, Fern and I mentioned that we had also started a weight loss program. We started it December 3, 2014. Fern has now lost 26 pounds, and I have lost 30 pounds. We've done this by reducing our carbohydrate intake. We have had no sugar and almost zero processed foods. We have lost inches and reduced a couple of sizes in our clothes. I'm happy to say that we both feel much better. 

Other good news. Fern has ceased all prescription medications except one, and that is a thyroid medication. I am a 65 year old man, that a few months back was taking four or five prescribed

medications on a daily basis. I have, one at a time, quit all of them, without any negative side effects. Actually, I feel much better. So, why was I taking four or five prescribed medications if I really didn't need them? Now, I know there are lots of folks that have to take medications, like Fern does. But, how many of us are taking medications that were administered originally for a short-term problem, that continue to take them for the long-term? How come our doctors, that we trust with our lives, keep us on medications that we don't really need to take? Yes, I know there are lots of reasons why, but I don't want to believe that my doctor would do that to me.

We all know that big business pharmaceuticals control the medical profession. Just like big business agri-chemicals control the food industry. I really don't believe that any of them care about the people any more at all. So much for the doom and gloom.

If you would like, please read the original article. I hope you enjoy it, and I hope it causes some serious thought. In the meantime, I am now Zyrtec free after 20+ years. Now, if the world, for whatever reason were to collapse, then I would not scratch my skin away from Zyrtec withdrawals. Imagine that 20+ years. I'm happy. Hallelujah! Free at last, free at last!

We'll talk more later, Frank