Grasping the Essence

First Aid with Essential Oils

2012-02-24T08:04:00.002-08:00

The healing properties of plants are indeed wonderful. What a blessing to harness these natural benefits and be confident we are helping and healing, not harming.

As a mother I want to be able to use things to help my family without worrying about the side effects of chemical and synthetic toxins in conventional First Aid kits.

Welcome therapeutic grade essential oils! Plants grown with organic standards of production yield oils which do not contain any contaminants.

Because the distillation process for Young Living oils does not destroy the therapeutic properties inherent in the plant, you can be confident that you are not wasting your money: the full value of the plant will be available to you.

Furthermore, because there are no synthetic solvents and compounds added to extend the oil, as in most 'pure' essential oils sold today, you can be confident in their quality, potency and ability to work as intended. (To learn more about this, see our earlier post 'What is Therapeutic Grade?')

How to Make Your Own Natural First-Aid Kit

So let's see what oils you can use in your Natural First Aid Kit.

For Burns:

apply 2-4 drops of Lavender Oil directly on the affected area. Spray LavaDerm Cooling Mist directly onto affected area (contains Aloe Vera & Lavender oil). Lavender supports tissue regeneration and reduces scaring. Aloe Vera is anti-inflammatory and tissue regenerating.
For sunburn, spray LavaDerm Cooling Mist immediately on sunburn and continue misting as necessary. Spray as often as needed. Follow with 2-3 drops of Lavender Oil.

For Insect Bites and Stings:

Use Purification Blend - apply 1-2 drops on location to disinfect and cleanse. Use Lavender or Peppermint Oil to reduce insect bite-induced itching and infection.

Chigger and Tick Bites:

Try removing ticks and chiggers by mixing Thyme Oil or Oregano Oil in a 50/50 dilution with a pure oil such as olive oil or almond oil and applying 1-2 drops. The phenols in these oils will usually cause the tick to let go and try to get away from the oil. A single drop of Peppermint Oil should also cause the tick or chigger to come out of the skin. Afterwards apply Purification Blend or Lavender Oil on the bite location.

Insect/Tick Repellant:

Rub on Purification Blend, Lavender Oil or Peppermint Oil.

Cuts, scrapes and minor wounds:

Use Purification Blend directly. Follow up with Lavender Oil.
Peppermint Oil will soothe, cool and reduce inflammation in damaged tissue - dilute with Lavender Oil or olive oil 50/50 if it stings, and apply 2-3 drops 1-4 times daily.
Geranium Oil regenerates and heals the skin.
The Melrose Blend is a wonderful antiseptic and helps with tissue regeneration. Use topically for cuts, scrapes, burns, rashes and infections. Apply to broken skin and open wounds several times a day. Follow with an ointment like Calendula or Rose Ointment to help seal oils in the wound.
If there is an open bleeding wound, first use a cold compress with a few drops of Melrose and/or Geranium until bleeding stops.

To Reduce or Control Bleeding:

Apply a cold compress using five drops of Geranium Oil, five drops of Lemon Oil and two drops of Helichrysum Oil. Follow up with Melrose Blend or Lavender Oil sealed with Calendula or Rose ointment.

Indigestion:

Apply Peppermint Oil or Ginger Oil (you may want to dilute) topically to stomach and gently massage or put 1-3 drops in water and sip.
Di-Gize Blend is a wonderful blend that relieves digestive problems including indigestion, heartburn, gas and bloating. Gently message on the abdomen. DiGize works really well orally as well! A couple of drops in a glass of water or in a capsule is wonderful. Or you can do both – topically and internally.
Lemon Oil also works great for acid indigestion (heartburn). A few drops in a glass of water takes care of it within minutes!

Motion Sickness:

Use either Peppermint, Ginger, Patchaoli, Lavender or Di-Gize. Apply topically behind ears and massage 6-10 drops on stomach and chest 1 hr before traveling and continue using whilst traveling by placing a few drops on the tongue, back of neck, and inhale as needed. Or put 1-3 drops in water and drink as needed. I have found Peppermint Oil to be invaluable on journeys for both tension headaches and motion sickness.

Sprains:

PanAway Blend reduces pain and inflammation, increases circulation and accelerates healing. It relieves swelling. Dilute 1:1 with olive or almond oil or more if your skin is sensitive and apply 4-6 drops 3 to 5 times daily or as needed. Add to bath water for whole body relief.
Or Relieve It a blend high in anti-inflammatory compounds that relieve deep tissue pain and muscle soreness. Dilute with almond, coconut or olive oil and massage on area as needed.
Use either of the above blends in a cold compress to reduce inflammation.

Emotional and Physical Shock and Trauma:

TraumaLife Blend or Peace and Calming Blend or Lavender. Use after accidents and for shock. Directly inhale and apply to bottom of feet, chest, forehead, back of neck and behind the ears.

Prickly Heat:

Cool down. Apply Lavender Oil or spray on LavaDerm Cooling Mist.

To Disinfect Surfaces:

Use Thieves Wipes.
Put 10 drops of Thieves Blend with one cup of white vinegar and two cups of water for a great surface cleaner.

To Disinfect Hands:

Use Thieves Hand Sanitizer.

General Immune Booster:

Use Thieves Blend as a general protection and immune booster to enable the body to fight infections and heal. Apply to bottom feet morning and evening or in need of extra protection, then cup hands around nose and inhale.

Multi-Purpose Oils

Many of the oils highlighted are multi-purpose oils. This is great news for budget minded moms!

Using the information on this page, here is a quick reference to help you put a First Aid Kit together.

Lavender and LavaDerm:

burns
insect bits and stings to reduce itching and heal
Cuts and scrapes
Trauma and distress after an accident
Prickly Heat
Insect repellant

Purification:

Insect bites and stings
Insect repellant
Cuts and scrapes

Peppermint:

Insect bites and stings to reduce itching
Chigger and Tick bites
Cuts and scrapes (diluted to reduce inflammation)
Indigestion
Motion sickness

Melrose:

Cuts and scrapes and open wounds
antiseptic

Di-Gize:

stomach upsets
motion sickness

PanAway or Relieve-It:

Sprains and swelling

Thyme or Oregano:

Strong infection fighters take internally in juice or milk or apply diluted topically
Chigger and tick bites

Geranium:

Reduce and control bleeding
cuts and scrapes

Trauma Life:

Trauma or distress

Thieves:

Diffuse in the air or apply diluted as a great infection fighter and general immune booster

Peace and Calming:

After an accident

Lemon:

Cleaner and Purifier
Anti-infection

Thieves Wipes:

General disinfectant

Thieves Hand Sanitizer:

General disinfectant
cleaning

To really benefit from these and other wonderful oils become a wholesale customer with Young Living Essential Oils. The great thing is that the wholesale enrollment starter kit item number 3700 Start Living with Everyday Oils, already contains seven of the oils recommended above. So you can begin to build up your First Aid Kit using the enrollment fee!

Whether you decide to buy these oils Wholesale (24% off retail prices) or retail, click here for how to buy.

Enjoy serving your family.

What is 'therapeutic grade'?

2012-01-31T22:29:00.000-08:00

What is the difference between the therapeutic grade essential oils provided by Young Living and other over-the-counter essential oils that claim to be ‘pure’?

The distinction is of utmost important since 90% of the essential oils marketed in the United States as 'pure' are actually only fragrance-grade.

To start with, ‘therapeutic-grade’ is not simply an indication of purity. Young Living produces oils that have an unusually high concentrations of therapeutic components. You can't get that without having your own farms and doing your own distillations - or in the case of Frankincense, have access to the finest plants (trees) in the world.

It is not possible to import the finest Frankincense resin from Oman or any other Middle East country, then distill and bottle it for $20 per 1/2 oz. There are no Frankincense trees that can produce therapeutic-grade oil anywhere else. A Frankincense tree has to be at least 50 years old (preferably over 100) to begin to produce high-quality resin and Young Living buys most of the world's supply. Thus, if other companies claim to be selling therapeutic grade Frankincense for cheaper, that is very suspicious.

To get the high concentrations of therapeutic components in their oils, Young Living uses a process that involves strict attention to detail right from the seeds sown to the plants harvested. This ensures that the oils they provide are the purest, most potent essential oils available. This precise, detailed method is known as the ‘Seed to Seal’ process.

Young Living essential oils are:

•    100% pure
•    Sourced only from known botanical species
•    Sustainably grown and harvested
•    Grown on chemical-free lands in carefully nourished soil (organic)
•    Unmatched throughout the essential oils industry
•    So pure and natural, they’re used and recommended by integrative health professionals around the world

The fact that Young Living's oils are organic is more important than food being organic. Since essential oils are the concentrated essence of the plant, any contaminants in the soil or on the plant will become present in the oil.

When we compare Young Living ’s ‘therapeutic-grade’ essential oils with the type of “pure essential oils” available at wholefood shops, we find significant differences in quality and purity. For example, the Essential Oils Desk Reference tells us that

“Pure frankincense is often extended with colorless, odorless, solvents such as diethylphthalate or dipropylene glycol…unfortunately, a large percentage of essential oils marketed in the United States fall in this adulterated category. When you understand the world of synthetic oils as well as low-grade oils cut with synthetic chemicals, you realize why unsuspecting people with their untrained noses don’t know the difference…

The Four Grades of Oils

Basically, there are 4 grades of essential oils:

1.    Grade A oils are pure, therapeutic, and superior quality. They are usually made from organically grown plants, and are distilled at the proper temperatures. “Virgin” soil may also be used. Most of the new companies do not understand that the word "therapeutic-grade" is not simply an indication of purity. The gas chromatographs show that Young Living produces oils that contain therapeutic components that have never been seen before in that plant.

2.    Grade B oils are the most common essential oil and they are sometimes labeled as “pure.” However, they may still contain pesticides, fertilizers, synthetics, extenders, or carrier oils. While Grade B oils are considered “food grade,” I would never recommend ingesting these oils.

3.    Grade C are perfume grade and usually contain the same type of adulterating chemicals as Grade B oils. They also often contain solvents which are used to gain a higher yield of oil per harvest. Solvents are not healthy. Still, these oils are sometimes used in aromatherapy or for making perfume products.

4.    Floral Water is a byproduct of the distillation process. It can be very high quality if superior, organic material is used and it comes from a “Grade A” distillation process. However if it is from compromised raw materials and/or a poor distillation process, it will be a very low quality. Floral Water is often used for more expensive oils, such as Rose Oil, since it takes 5000 pounds of roses to make just one 1 pound of essential oil.

FDA Says Only 5% of Ingredient = 'pure'

In her book Their Leaves for Healing: The Divine Gift of Plants That Heal, Elizabeth Flores writes that

Only 90% of what is sold in the United States as 'pure' essential oil is fragrance-grade and diluted. (The FDA has determined that a product need contain only 5% of the ingredient on the label in order to use the word pure.) These oils are found on the shelves of many health food stores and at online discount houses. They may be less expensive, but they will not be useful for healing.).

Questions to Ask

When trying to decide which quality of oils to buy, these are some of the questions that need to be asked (taken from The Essential Oil Desk Reference):

When a company is able to sell therapeutic grade oils at a cheaper price than Young Living, is it because the oils are mixed with a carrier oil like coconut oil or almond oil? (For example, the company Rocky Mountain Oils claims to sell oil blends at a better price than Young Living, but when you look at the ingredients you find this is because they contain less essential oil, since the essential oil is mixed with a carrier oil.)
Are the fragrances delicate, rich, and organic? Do they “feel” natural? Do the aromas vary from batch to batch as an indication that they are painstakingly distilled in small batches rather than industrially processed on a large scale?
Does your supplier subject each batch of essential oils through multiple chemical analyses to test for purity and therapeutic quality? Are these tests performed by independent labs?
Does your supplier grow and distill its own organically grown herbs?
Are the distillation facilities part of the farm where the herbs are grown (so oils are freshly distilled), or do herbs wait days to be processed and lose potency?
Does your supplier use low pressure and low temperature to distill essential oil so as to preserve all of their fragile chemical constituents? Are the distillation cookers fabricated from costly food-grade stainless steel alloys to reduce the likelihood of the oils chemically reacting with metal?
Does your supplier personally inspect the fields and distilleries where the herbs are grown and distilled? Do they verify that no synthetic or harmful solvents or chemicals are being used?
Do your essential oils meet AFNOR or ISO standards?
How many years has your supplier been doing all of this?
Do your essential oils have a shelf life of just a few years? (This means they are probably mixed with a carrier oil (like almond oil) that will go rancid). This means the oil is certainly not pure. Do your essential oils come from an edible plant, yet have a warning on them not to take them internally? This is a huge red flat to me.

To buy therapeutic grade essential oil today, click here.

Interview about Health Freedom

2012-01-31T21:14:00.000-08:00

Watch out for the Food Police! New laws are now threatening the freedoms that Americans enjoy to make their own health decisions.

Americans have long had the liberty to make their own choices about what to eat and drink. However, new legal infrastructures are now putting that freedom in jeopardy.

Health freedom has been a concern of mine ever since 2009 when I wrote “An Historic Perspective on the Health Care Debate”. In that article I used the example of Germany under Hitler and America under Woodrow Wilson to show that when a government succumbs to the totalitarian temptation, one of the first impulses is to assert authority over the food and health of its subjects, thereby gaining control of their physical bodies. (To read more of my articles about health freedom, click here.)

The concerns I raised in 2009 are now becoming a reality. Reports have been pouring in from all over America of armed raids from police to confiscate honey, milk and other products, in addition to banning a variety of perfectly harmless foods. Moreover, under recent health care legislation, Americans could soon be forced to buy commercial products aimed at keeping them healthy.

These threats to our liberties prompted Ryan Close, an architect in Springfield Missouri, to draft a Declaration of Health Freedom. The Declaration, which can be read here, asserts that Americans have a fundamental right to make their own health choices.

I was privileged to interview Mr. Close about this issue and what ordinary Americans can do to protect their health freedom. Following is a transcript of our interview:

Robin: Thank you Ryan for joining me to do this interview on health freedom. Can you tell us what health freedom is and what led you to write the Declaration?

Ryan: Health freedom is the right to make our own health choices. This includes the right to eat nutrient dense food that we believe to be healthy, free from dangerous additives, pesticides, or genetic manipulation, and the right to make our own choices on how to prevent disease and to pursue a course of treatment that we believe to be most beneficial. It also includes right to refuse foods, medicines, interventions, scans, or other medical procedures that we believe to be harmful.

The ideas behind the Declaration were inspired partly by C.S. Lewis. When addressing capital punishment in “The Humanitarian Theory of Punishment" in God in the Dock, Lewis remarks that capital punishment used to be a subject that all men and women had a right to comment on based on the mere fact that they were human beings. But since criminal correction has become the domain of certain "experts", the only people who have a right to comment on what is appropriate punishment are the correctional professionals who then have no restraint on the kind and duration of any punishment that they choose to implement.

The same thing happened with food and medicine. In the past each person had the right to decide what food and medicine was healthy for them based on the mere fact that they were human because they had a stake in their own health. But gradually the people delegated that responsibility to "experts" who now dictate what is healthy based their own prejudices and the pseudo-authority they derive merely from being scientists. But their version of "science" is too myopic and politically correct to understand the full scope of human life and the unexpected consequences of a centralized and industrialized food supply.

Ryan Close wrote the 'Declaration of Health Freedom'
to warn Americans that vital liberties are now in jeopardy

Robin: Are you against modern medicine then?

Ryan: Proponents of Health Freedom are not against modern medicine when it is genuinely necessary. High-tech American medicine is the best in the world for dealing with certain major illnesses and diseases but should not be implemented for minor illnesses or for routine preventive health. Often a less costly, less invasive, low-tech approach can achieve better results.

Robin: But the government isn’t stopping anyone from pursuing the type of alternative approaches you are suggesting.

Ryan: Health Freedom is continually under attack through the ongoing sabotage of what remains of our nation’s safe, reliable, and local food supply and the criminalization of natural health alternatives.

Many Americans feel that this systematic erosion of our freedoms has as its object the establishment of a tyranny over the individual bodies of the American people. I wrote the Declaration of Health Freedom to publicly assert our right to make our own health choices unrestrained by corporate or Statist interference.

Robin: Okay, so what are some practical ways that the health freedom of Americans is under attack? Give me some examples.

Ryan: The producers and consumers of whole foods and natural alternatives are often targeted by regulatory agencies for searches, seizures, and confiscations that violate our rights to private property. For instance, on June 30th, 2010 Rawesome Foods, a 1500 member privately owned whole food-buying club in Venice Beach, CA, was raided by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, the Los Angeles County district attorney's office, the California Department of Food and Agriculture, the FDA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Four police officers with drawn guns entered the club. Investigators seized the club's computer and 17 coolers filled with bottles of organic honey, 10 gallons of raw whole milk and two bottles of raw cane syrup. The health department allegedly left a closure notice on the front door accusing the club of “operating a food facility without a valid public health permit.”

Farmers suspected of being the source of food borne contaminations are presumed guilty until proven innocent and can only establish their innocence when government laboratories destroy their inventory in the process of testing, thus depriving them of their private property and the means of providing for themselves. This recently happened to two dairy farms in Missouri, Estrella Family Creamery and Morningland Dairy, attracting national attention.

As a result of the increasing cost of regulatory compliance, the smallest and most vulnerable food producers, small family farmers, are pushed out of the market, leaving the factory farm industry with greater control of our food supply, thus centralizing it and making it more susceptible to instability and large scale contamination.

Robin: How does health freedom relate to other important freedoms that Americans cherish?

Ryan: Health freedoms are embedded in the fabric of almost all our rights. As I have said in the Declaration, if a government body or a corporation has the power to force people to receive potentially toxic medicines against their will then the people have been deprived of their liberty. And if they become ill from such interventions they may lose their money and property caring for their continued medical expenses. They may even lose their lives.

In cases of epidemic government officials can decide that an individual is a risk to public health and hold them in quarantine as long as they see fit. This violates our right to habeas corpus.

Robin: Can you give me an example of that?

Ryan: In 2007, personal injury lawyer, Andrew Speaker, was flying from Atlanta to Europe and then from Europe to Montreal, Canada. While attempting to return to the United States he was placed under involuntary isolation using a provision of the Public Health Service Act because he was believed to have tuberculosis. This was the first time the law had been used since 1963. The Public Health Service Act is a United States federal law enacted in 1944. The full act is under Title 42 of the United States Code, "The Public Health and Welfare."

Robin: But it is the responsibility of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to protect the public from potentially hazardous food, right?

Ryan: The FDA is allegedly an agency meant to regulate food and drug companies and protect the public, but in my opinion it has become the most vocal marketing wing of the factory farm and pharmaceutical industry.

By allowing drugs that are known to be toxic and food additives that contribute to degenerative disease to remain on the market, the FDA has actually harmed millions of Americans. And by trying to create regulatory barriers that favor Big-Ag and shut down small family farms, the FDA is not making food any safer. It is actually controlling people. This contributes to the erosion of freedom that moves our nation further and further toward a Soft Tyranny.

Moreover, the FDA interferes with commerce by regulating and censoring truthful free speech guaranteed by the Bill of Rights. The FDA recently stated publicly, in opposition to a lawsuit against them, that in their opinion individuals and corporations do not have the right to form contracts without government restrictions. This was reported by the Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund. The freedom to contract is the underpinning of laissez-faire economics and is a cornerstone of free market libertarianism.

As all of this illustrates, the erosion of health freedoms are actually a symptom of the erosion of freedom in general. If Americans enjoyed a robust liberty that included the right to life, the right to private property and the freedom of contract, then they would not have to worry about defending their rights to produce, purchase and consume the natural whole foods and alternative remedies or medical treatments that they choose for themselves.

Robin: In your Declaration you talk about the US regulatory standards being aligned with those of international bodies. Could you tell us more about that and why it threatens health freedom?

Ryan: In 1994, the American people won back for themselves the right to use dietary supplements through the Dietary Supplements Health Education Act (DSHEA) that classified nutrients and herbs as foods rather than drugs. This meant people had greater access to supplements than they otherwise would have if the FDA had been allowed to regulate as drugs.

However, this privilege is being undermined by an attempt to harmonize our regulatory standards with that of an international trade commission known as Codex Alimentarius. The name is Latin for “food list.” Established in 1963 by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO), the commission intends to create a global standard for foods that will govern the arbitration of international trade disputes.

Robin: What’s wrong with that?

Ryan: Codex Alimentarius threatens health freedoms because it subjects our access to vitamin and herbal supplements to the decisions of unelected international bodies, thus mitigating the power of local government and self-government. By delegating authority to make laws the sovereignty of the United States is undermined. Furthermore, it is not clear whether there are conflicting interests controlling this secretive international commission.

Under the tradition of Common Law, upon which our nation’s legal system is based, anything not prohibited is permitted. This means that there are more things that are legal than illegal. Most things that people want to do or grow or eat should be lawful. Only a finite number of prohibited activities or products are illegal. This goes along with the principal of limited government that circumscribes the powers of government while leaving all remaining un-enumerated powers to either self-government or the authority of local governments.

Under Codex, only those foods on a finite list will be legal. All foods will be guilty until proven innocent.

Robin: That’s pretty scary. But is there any precedent for your concerns in the writings of the founding fathers or the Constitution? This seems to be a pretty recent issue.

Ryan: In the list of grievances against King George, the Declaration of Independence says, “He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance.” This grievance is just as pertinent today, although now the perpetrator is the United States’ own federal government. Our governing class has erected massive new agencies, in addition to strengthening the police powers of old agencies in order to protect the people from themselves. Some of these agencies send armed agents into the countryside to harass raw milk dairies, subscription farms and home school mothers and to confiscate their cheese. (Just do a google search of “Missour Dairy Raid" or "Morningland Dairy" or "Estrella Family Creamery” and you’ll see what I mean.)

The United States Constitution was written specifically to put restraint on the power of government, since the founders believed it could easily by hijacked by the natural human impulse to control one’s fellow man. Thus, the Constitution lists a short number of expressly enumerated powers and then declares that every other power belongs to local government and self-government. Health freedom is implied as an un-enumerated power outside of the jurisdiction of the Federal government.

The Constitution worked so well at restraining tyranny that we now take many liberties for granted. This is why health freedoms are subliminal.

Robin: Very interesting. In your Declaration you talk about the government’s suppression of free speech when it comes to health. Could you tell our readers a bit more about that?

Ryan: On February 2010, the FDA sent warning letters to Diamond Foods, a producer of walnuts, accusing the company of violating the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act because the company had suggested walnuts are beneficial to human health.

The National Library of Medicine database includes thirty-five peer-reviewed papers supporting the health claim that walnuts improve vascular health and may reduce the risk of heart attack. Walnuts also contain omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants, and phytosteros that may reduce the risk of breast cancer.

The FDA says that these are “unauthorized health claims” and that walnuts are “not generally recognized as safe and effective.” The FDA did the same thing to the producers of cherries in October 2005, even threatening to imprison those responsible for making “unauthorized health claims.”

To put this in context, the FDA allows Frito-Lay to advertise its chips (crisps in the UK) as "heart healthy"!

Robin: Are you being serious? So what you’re telling me is that the FDA doesn’t allow people to claim that walnuts are healthy while they do allow Frito-Law to advertise their products as being healthy?

Ryan: That’s just the tip of the iceberg Robin. The FDA allows companies to put high-fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oils, MSG, and aspartame in almost all processed foods. Is the FDA even interested in science? By censoring truthful health claims the FDA is limiting free speech, controlling commerce, and thus attacking our Bill of Rights. They seek to isolate people from truths that may benefit them creating an information asymmetry that controls people’s choices. In the end, our whole food supply may be at risk because many other foods, such as blueberries, garlic, cabbage, onions, ginger, turmeric, cinnamon, aloe vera and almonds, contain natural medicine.

Robin: It’s interesting what you say about the government getting so worked up over raw milk. I’ve had trouble digesting milk for a long time but discovered last year that I was fine with unpasteurized milk.

To change the subject slightly though, can you tell us about the cozy relationship that the “junk food” industry enjoys with the American government?

Ryan: The government food and drug regulators think that Twinkies are just as healthy as an apple and much healthier than raw milk. They can say this because they tend to think of food as neutral and they generally do not acknowledge that nutrients can have a positive or preventive effect on health. They have also taught us to believe that all bacteria are indiscriminately bad. Therefore the only healthy food is an entirely dead food, which shouldn’t contain biological contagions. Twinkies are dead so they are good. Raw milk is living so it is bad.

Ordinary Americans like Ryan
and Tami Close may soon
be told what foods the
government will permit
them to consume

Furthermore, the makers of junk food have millions of dollars to lobby the government to prevent the dissemination of truthful scientific free speech that would expose junk food for its toxic effects. The regulatory system therefore seeks to outlaw whole foods and supplements under the pretext of public safety even though the industrial alternatives are much more toxic and even potentially deadly. Even though some of the claims that health freedom activists make may be fantastic, exaggerated, unproven or unprovable, the regulatory system they are fighting has proven itself to be even more biased, dangerous, unconcerned with public health, and unconcerned with real scientific findings.

Robin: That’s interesting that the government is particularly antagonistic to living food. When I was in London I had a friend who shared some kefir with me made from live kefir grains. When I returned to the States I tried to buy some kefir grains I was told that Uncle Sam had criminalized the commercial sale of them.

Ryan: There is apparently a California Law that forbids any yeast from being present in kefir sold on the California market. Kefir grains are a combination of good bacteria and yeasts much like a sourdough starter, which is why they are such a nutrient rich food. Since most foods in the US are regularly shipped over state lines, this means that commercial kefir must be free from yeast.

As this suggests, the federal government is not the sole offender. Many states are guilty of trampling on our food freedom as well.

Robin: Does any of this relate to the recent controversy over health care?

Ryan: In the face of a skyrocketing federal budget deficit, curing people from degenerative disease could help reduce the growing government health care obligations. But the controversial Health Care Reform Bill only changed who pays for “sick care.” It isn’t going to make people healthier. In fact it will only grow the national debt because more people will be accessing high priced and possibly toxic pharmaceuticals.

Part of the controversial health care reform bill mandates that every American citizen must purchase health insurance. Some people who would prefer to use integrative health or alternative remedies that are not covered under health insurance would be compelled to purchase health insurance for medical practitioners that they would never use thus supporting a system that they may find morally repugnant.

Robin: Tell us about the Health Emergency Declaration?

Ryan: On Friday, October 23, 2009 the honorable President Barack Obama signed the Health Emergency Declaration suspending human and civil rights in response to a supposed epidemic. It gave the un-elected Health and Human Services Secretary the power to suspend our rights to habeas corpus, informed consent, to make one's own health decisions, and to leave a health care facility.

The authority to create such a declaration was established by the National Emergencies Act passed in 1976 and then strengthened by President George W. Bush on May 4, 2007 through the National Security and Homeland Security Presidential Directive. This gives executive power to provide continuity of the federal government in the event of a “catastrophic emergency” defined as “any incident, regardless of location, that results in extraordinary levels of mass casualties, damage, or disruption severely affecting the U.S. population, infrastructure, environment, economy, or government functions.”

There is no redress or appeal built into this power so that, once taken to a distant holding facility, a "patient" has no way out of that facility until he or she is released at the determination of the State or until they die. Hospitals will have the ability to designate citizens as "patients" and hold them until they are no longer a threat. This Declaration uses people's fears of an epidemic to "justify" and "legitimize" abuses of power that have historically been used by fascist and totalitarian states that declared war on their own people using existing legal structures as an assault on the life, location (mobility), and liberty of their citizens.

Robin: Wow, that’s pretty scary! While we’re on the subject of President Obama, what does he think about health freedom in general?

Ryan: “Health Freedom” was actually one of the “Top Ten” social issues of the President’s campaign. On June 10, 2010 President Obama signed an Executive Order establishing the National Prevention, Health Promotion, and Public Health Council. Among the experts and bureaucrats appointed to this council, none of them represented alternative health practitioners that I know of.

The President strongly promoted the Health Care Reform Bill and signed the repressive Food Safety and Modernization Act that would negatively affect small family farmers. However, his wife seems to be very concerned about the harmful effects of junk food on children and is promoting a greater awareness of health and nutrition issues and greater access to nutrient dense foods.

Robin: Is there widespread awareness of this problem and what are some of the groups that have been drawing attention to it?

Ryan: A number of films have been released in the last ten years that raise awareness of food and health freedoms. Food Inc. exposes the industrialization of food, the dangers of concentrated animal feeding operations, the treatment of raw beef with ammonia, the litigation against farmers who save their seeds, and the optimistic surge in the organic whole foods movement. The film features an interview with Joel Saladin, of Polyface Farms and author of Everything I Want To Do Is Illegal: War Stories From the Local Food Front. Simply Raw, a film by Alex Ortner was released on National Diabetes Day promoting wellness through raw and vegan nutrition especially as a potential cure for diabetes. Another interesting film demonstrating the harmful effects of cascading sick-care interventions and systemic opposition to alternative point of view is The Business of Being Born. Made by former talk show host Ricky Lake, the film explores the increasing risks of modern obstetrics and hospital birth and the growing movement of women who are seeking out traditional midwives for home birth.

The Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund, Mike Adams the Health Ranger at Natural News and Health Freedom USA provide people on their mailing lists with information about health freedom issues and give specific political actions to take to confront threats to food freedom.

Robin: What can individual Americans do to protect their health freedom?

Ryan: The most important thing you can do to protect your health freedom is to support local agriculture. In so doing, you will be helping small family farmers and restoring your area’s local agriculture economy. This will promote and secure a safe local food supply. Do not under estimate the power of supply and demand.

Secondly, call your representatives in government. Republicans tend to support big business and attack big government while democrats tend to support big government and attack big business. Since threats to health freedom stem from an alliance between big government and big business, it should be easy to move both Republicans and Democrats away from dangerous policies. Thus, when talking with Republicans I focus on how policy should protect people's health freedoms from an ever-growing governmental bureaucracy. When talking with Democrats I focus on how policy should protect people's health freedoms from an ever-encroaching mercantile imperialism.

It is time that people everywhere stand up to corrupt un-elected government agencies and their mafia like tactics and take back the authority to determine their own health choices. Health freedom is about liberty and tyranny, life and death. It is everyone’s responsibility.

Robin: Thank you Ryan very much for this interview and for helping to raise attention on these important issues.

(Those wishing further information can email at r y a n . c l o s e 1 (at) g m a i l . c o m.)

God Cares What's in the Pot (Part 2)

2012-01-31T20:41:00.000-08:00

(This article originally appeared at the Chuck Colson Center here)

“And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20

Understanding the Great Commission expansively

It is sometimes easy for evangelicals to fall into the trap of thinking that the Great Commission is just about saving souls. However, when Jesus told His us to make disciples of all nations, He seems to have had more in mind than simply getting individuals into heaven, important as that is. Discipling the nations also involves bringing a Christianizing influence to civilization and culture. We are called, not merely to save individuals, but to redeem the communities and cultures in which we live.

At least, that is what I recently argued in an article I wrote for my personal blog. Pointing to the example of the ancient missionary Boniface and the modern missionary Jim Elliot, I remarked:

"When Jim Elliot and the other missionaries, and later some of their wives and sister, took the message of Christ to the Waidoni Indians in South America, the result was the emergence of a Waidoni Christian civilization that remains strong to this day. When Boniface took the message of Christ to the wild Germanic tribes, the result was a Christian civilization that remained in existence for hundreds of years.

Boniface

My point in these examples is that the work of evangelizing the world cannot be separated from the work of building Christendom, not only because the latter is the inevitable result of the former, but because by having the latter in view, it effects how missionaries do evangelism. For example, because Boniface believed that the success of his mission should be judged in terms of generations and centuries, not merely the fruit produced during one lifetime, he put mechanisms in place to assist the progress of the gospel after he was gone. This included planting schools to increase literacy so that the young could be more easily discipled and become strong in the Word. He also worked to bring art, music and poetry to the barbaric tribes. He established libraries and put men to work copying manuscripts so that the next generation would have access, not only to the Bible, but to other great works of literature.

Boniface did this because he knew nothing of the false dualism between building a Christian civilization and saving souls. The two projects may be distinguishable but they should never be divisible."

So what does transforming a civilization for Christ actually involve? John Frame gave some pointers in his The Doctrine of the Christian Life: “The gospel, you see, is not only a message for individuals, telling them how to avoid God’s wrath. It is also a message about a kingdom, a society, a new community… This simply means that if you are a Christian artist, car repairman, government official, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”

In other words, transforming civilization for Christ involves hundreds of little things that we often do not even associate with the gospel. “Realizing that Gnosticism is bad,” remarked Douglas Wilson in a 2005 blog post, “we need to remember that grace results in far more than forgiveness of sins (which does, however, remain at the center). It also extends into other things, like advancements in dentistry, glorious poetry, and the building of suspension bridges.”

Grace also extends to the area of diet and food. At least, that is what my friend Renée DeGroot argued in her 2010 book Health for Godly Generations: A Reformational Perspective. “If ‘Culture is religion externalized,’” she writes, “and if diet preferences are an element of culture (which they are, since diet is not universal but is shaped by geography, people groups, and traditions), then all food practices, including harvest, preparation, nutrition, and consumption, are associated with the working outward of a people’s religion….A distinctively Christian and reformed view of culture will likewise affect our food preparation and diet choices.”

What makes me suspect that DeGroot is onto something is that it is true to history. Throughout history when the Gospel has permeated an area, one of the knock-on effects is often that the quality of the eating improves. While this is often simply the byproduct of the civilizing influence of Christianity over savagery, resulting in vices as well as virtues becoming more refined and sophisticated, the civilizing influences in the area of food remain significant and are an important part of cultural reform.

Charlemagne and the wines of Liechtenstein

One example of this is Charlemagne and the wines of Liechtenstein. The quality of these world-famous wines is itself a testimony to the influence of the Gospel on food (or, in this case, drink). James Foster Robinson explains about this in his article ‘The Wines of Liechtenstein’:

Under Charlemagne wines not only tasted
nicer; they were also healthier

"…with the introduction of Christianity into the area in the 4th Century, vine growing and wine producing was re-established. The Christian monks, preaching the word of God, encouraged agriculture including wine.

Charlemagne, who ruled over the area around 800 AD, owned the vineyards on the flanks of the hill on which Gutenberg Castle stands in Balzars. The vineyards yielded him three thousand gallons of wine a year. Among Charlemagne's many accomplishments was his hygiene reforms. He was especially concerned about the traditional method of pressing the grapes. He forbade the Raetians to stamp out grapes with their bare feet, but they refused and continued in the old ways. Charlemagne then tried to improve the hygiene by ordering all men to wash their feet before treading out the grapes and to wear garments to prevent perspiration from running into the juice."

Just think of it: Charlemagne, the great Christian king who is largely responsible for the Christian Europe of the Middle Ages, was concerned with wine being healthier and more hygienic! Charlemagne may have realized that God cares about the artefacts we produce, or he may have simply wanted his wine to taste nicer. Whatever the reason, the wines of Liechtenstein remain a lasting testimony to the fact that the Gospel fleshes itself out into all areas of human creativity and production, including food and drink.

Glorifying God with Artifacts

What is true of food is actually true of any area of life. Think back to the quotation I shared earlier from John Frame. If I am a Christian architect, I can glorify God by trying to be the best architect I can be; if I am a Christian king, I can glorify God by trying to be the best Christian king I can be; if I am a Christian slave, I can glorify God by trying to be the best Christian slave I can be. Similarly, if I am involved in the production of food and drink, I can glorify God by trying to produce food in the very best possible way that I can. That often means sacrificing expediency for health and taste concerns. In the case of the Liechtenstein wine-makers, this meant taking a little extra time to stop and wash their feet before treading on the grapes for the sake of a healthier product.

The point is that God cares about culture even down to the details of what we make. Culture itself is largely made up of the artifacts we produce, as Andy Crouch has shown in Culture Making: Recovering Our Creative Calling. God cares about the paintings on our walls, the harmony of our music, the rhyming of our poetry, the strength of our bridges, the beauty of our clothes, and the precision of our computers. And He cares about our food.

Food and the Aesthetic

I know many Christians who would be quick to say “Amen” to everything I wrote in the last section except for what I said about food. When it comes to cultural production in the area of food they will be quick to point out that God just doesn’t care. This is an area, they will say, where it is a category mistake to even speak about reformation and maturity, since the only thing God cares about when it comes to what we eat is that we do not sin. According to this line of reasoning, it is the attitude in our heart, not the food in the pot, that is important to the Lord.

One of the reasons that Christians adopt this erroneous position is that we live in an era in which the “art” of food preparation has been disengaged from the medieval sense of “craft.” We can thank the Enlightenment for this since this was the time when the fine arts were separated from the mechanical arts. The unfortunate corollary of this separation was that the mechanical arts were loosed from aesthetic criteria while the fine arts became increasingly disengaged from ordinary life. As the fine arts were separated from the aesthetic, they began to be conceived in purely functional and utilitarian terms. Think of the types of houses that many of my readers probably live in; they were built to be functional rather than beautiful. Diet is another area that has fallen victim of the dichotomy between the mechanical arts and the fine arts, with food largely falling into the category of the former. The result is that many Christians will acknowledge that aesthetic relativism is wrong in the art gallery but will embrace relativism in the kitchen. Such an inconsistency often arises as the unconscious consequence of a purely functional concept of eating in which the objective categories of the aesthetic have been evacuated, having migrated over to the fine arts.

However, we cannot say that God is indifferent to the content of our diet without lapsing into aesthetic relativism. We cannot say it is important to God that our music, art, architecture and poetry should be good, but that food is neutral unless we have first assumed that food is separate from artistic craft. I confess much of the way food is treated in our day and age tends to fortify such an impression. Thanks to the commercialization of food as well as the decline of family meal times, we often think of food as a commodity not a craft, a product not an artifact. Consequently, we tend to divorce diet from the objective categories of the aesthetic.

By contrast, Renée DeGroot has argued convincingly that Christians should once again view eating through an aesthetic lens. “True beauty” she writes, “is sought as we cultivate food in the way God created, preparing it purely and wholesomely to nourish and strengthen us, and serving it lovingly at the family meal table. We can use the natural beauty and pleasure of food to build godly culture. Science and inventions not used for God’s glory, however, can lead to the making of food products that are not good and wholesome, and which do not beautify our bodies and the earth....Meals eaten together as a family are a place where children are discipled in Christian aesthetics...”

Culture and Worship

To say God takes an interest in the production of cultural artifacts, whether smoothies or symphonies, cup-cakes or couplets, is simply to say that these are areas that can be legitimately touched by a Christ-glorifying cultural reformation. And to be sure, these are areas where we should be patient and be content for God to take His time – if need be, hundreds of years – in letting the implications of the Gospel percolate into every area of life. But being patient with cultural reform does not mean being unconcerned about it. On the contrary, a passionate concern for cultural reformation should spring out of the fact that our cultural artifacts are an expression of our worship. This was a point articulated by Luke Jankovic in an article for Credenda Agenda:

"The word "culture" is downstream from the Latin colere—to tend, cultivate. In Genesis 1, God gives Adam marching orders: "Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth" (Gen. 1:28). Adam’s calling was to tend and cultivate the earth—to rule it. Before the fall, he was wholly capable of doing so and, being made in the God’s image, it came naturally to him. Adam’s communion with God (his worship) and his calling (cultural dominion) were one and the same. The two were intertwined. The link between worship and culture was not lost on the post-fall descendants of Adam, which is why "cultus" (worship) also shares lineage with the Latin parent colere. The cultivation of land, the tending of the natural world, and the production and consumption of food (initial culture) have been tied with up with worship since the Garden. When Adam broke communion the connection between worship and the calling to tend and inhabit—to create culture—didn’t disappear. The nature of the communion changed, but not the calling."

What do Jankovic’s observations have to do with food? Simply this: if God calls the descendants of Adam to create cultures that glorify him, then the role of food cannot be dismissed as irrelevant to this project. This is because, to quote Mark Kurlansky from his book Choice Cuts, “Food is a central activity of mankind and one of the single most important trademarks of a culture.”

So where to start? In bringing cultural reformation into the kitchen, I want to suggest three final areas where Christians, and particularly Christian parents, can follow Charlemagne’s example and start glorifying God today.

Food and Education

The first area is education. Building on the comments in my earlier post, ‘God Cares What’s in the Pot (Part 1)’, I want to suggest that parents can begin educating themselves about the origin and nutritional value of the food they put on the table for their kids to eat, even as Charlemagne educated himself about the processes of wine production. Parents can begin to learn the difference between healthy oils and unhealthy oils, why sugar is preferable to corn syrup, and why the government’s food pyramid is one of the myths perpetuated by the agricultural lobby. Renée DeGroot’s book Health for Godly Generations: A Reformational Perspective can be an enormously useful resource here.

Food and Love

Second, parents should self-consciously recognize the relationship between eating and love. My friend Brad Littlejohn recently shared some important insights on his blog concerning the relationship of love and healthy eating:

"All three levels of horizontal Christian love apply--love of ourselves, love of others, and love for the creation. God does desire us to love ourselves--to be concerned with our well-being, that we may enjoy him and serve him and others effectively. Obviously, what we eat is absolutely central to our well-being. If we eat foolishly and destroy our bodies, or weaken them so that we have to spend thousands of dollars on medical care for chronic and easily preventable conditions, we are exercising extremely poor stewardship, harming ourselves and indirectly others. So, to this extent, while surely even the worst foods are essentially harmless in sufficiently small quantities, we can say that in general, God does care (in our carefully qualified sense) if we eat too much…refined sugar or ‘processed stuff made out of something that used to be like corn.’

God desires us to love others--to work for their physical and spiritual well-being, and to be mindful of the ways in which our actions directly or indirectly help or harm them. Obviously this means, in the case of food, that we should care not only that we don't destroy our own bodies with foolish eating, but that, as much as reasonably possible (mindful of the thousands of taxing duties that parents have, and their very human limits) we protect our children from it as well."

The Family Meal

Third and finally, no discussion about the role of food in cultural reformation would be complete without saying something about the family meal.

Eating a satisfying meal three (or even two) times a day helps to militate against the tendency to snack. More importantly, however, the family meal is a time where relationships are solidified and enjoyed. It is a time to connect with each other, to tell stories, and for our children to learn the art of conversation and debate. One of the casualties of our fast-paced society, however, is that the family meal can easily be lost. Even when families do eat together, it is often centered around the television, thus depriving children of the communal aspects of the eating ritual. This is unfortunate given that the institution of eating, especially the family meal, plays a formative role in shaping culture and perpetuating it to the next generation. Michael Pollan had this to say about the family meal in In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto:

"That one should feel the need to mount a defense of ‘the meal’ is sad, but then I never would have thought ‘food’ needed defending, either…It is at the dinner table that we socialize and civilize our children, teaching them manners and the art of conversation. At the dinner table parents can determine portion sizes, model eating and drinking behavior, and enforce social norms about greed and gluttony and waste. Shared meals are about much more than fueling bodies; they are uniquely human institutions where our species developed…this thing we call culture."

Next steps: At your next meal with family or friends, share some of these insights from this and his previous article. Strike up a conversation about eating and drinking to the glory of God (1 Cor. 10:31) and what that might involve. See if you can reach some conclusions on the question, “How can every meal I eat become an opportunity for advancing the Kingdom of God?”

Further Reading

God Cares What’s in the Pot Part 1

A Theology of Health

Chewing at God’s Blessing

Interview About Health Freedom

Health for Godly Generations

Debunking 4 Health Food Myths

Does God Care? Christian Liberty and Food

God Cares What's in the Pot (Part 1)

2012-01-31T20:39:00.000-08:00

(This article originally appeared at the Chuck Colson Center here.)

“For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church...” (Ephesians 5:29)

The Chuck Colson Center has a page called Worldview Spheres in which we have identified eight categories of reality to which the Biblical worldview applies. One of the spheres is, “Culture/Institutions: the artifacts, institutions, and conventions by which people define, sustain and enrich themselves.”

There’s a lot that falls under that heading, to be sure. However, in worldview thinking one of the most neglected artifacts by which humans both sustain and enrich themselves is food. The neglect of intellectual engagement with food should surprise us. While I don’t have any official figures, I reckon that humans probably spend at least 35% of their waking moments either eating, drinking or preparing food - a percentage which would obviously be higher in pre-industrial societies where all of life centers around agriculture.

Given the amount of time we spend either directly or indirectly on the activity of eating, it makes sense that Christians ought to apply their minds, and not merely their mouths, to this critical area of life. We need to think through the worldview implications of diet.

At least, that is what I recently argued in my Worldview column. Certain objections have been raised to the ideas I put forward in that article, and these objections require some critical reflection. This article will seek to engage with these objections by considering issues of personal wisdom and responsibility. In a follow-up article I will engage with these objections by considering larger issues of cultural reformation.

Food and Faith

Does the Biblical worldview have any relevance to what we eat? Yes it does. When writing to the Corinthians the apostle Paul said, “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” (1 Cor. 10:31) In gathering, preparing and eating meals, we have a God-given obligation to glorify Him. This is true of food just as it is true of “whatever you do.”

There are many ways that we can fail to glorify God with our food. Food prepared in anger, food eaten with a grumbling heart instead of a spirit of gratefulness, or food eaten to excess, are just some of the many ways it is possible to sin (and therefore fail to glorify the Lord) while eating.

But can we go further than this? Sure, God cares about attitude issues in how we eat, but does He actually care what we eat? God cares about the attitude in which we receive the soup, but is He really interested in what goes in the pot?”

A Thing Indifferent?

One popular Christian has stated emphatically and repeatedly in numerous articles, blog posts, and online videos that God does not care what you eat. In one article discussing 1 Corinthians 8:7-13, this teacher wrote,

“Food is adiaphora, a thing indifferent. God doesn’t care what we eat. We are no better off if we eat certain things, and we are no worse off if we refrain. God doesn’t care what we order off the menu, just so long as we are grateful for it.”

Elsewhere this same teacher comments, “The starting point is that God doesn't care what you eat.” Provided we do not sin while eating, the menu for a spiritually mature Christian is open-ended.

Or is it?

Putting aside for the moment that in 1 Corinthians 8 Paul was addressing the question of food sacrificed to idols and was not making a blanket statement about food being adiaphora (indifferent) in any absolute sense, we may question the scientific accuracy of the assertion that “We are no better off if we eat certain things.”

Most of us can appreciate from personal experience that our bodies generally function better on a nutritionally responsible diet. If this be doubted, the history books are full of examples which illustrate that people can, in fact, be better off for what they eat. One thinks of the accounts of sailors with scurvy, or families having to endure siege conditions, or even Laura and Mary in The Long Winter when they could eat nothing but grain until the snow melted and the train could get through with new supplies. Few people in such conditions would agree with the statement cited above “we are no better off if we eat certain things, and we are no worse off if we refrain.” It is only because the modern West is (by God’s grace) so comfortably insulated against these types of deprivations that we have the luxury to entertain the false notion that food doesn’t make us better or worse off.

But are we better off spiritually for what we eat? Granted that our bodies may be better or worse off because of what we eat, can the same be said of our spirits or souls?

To even pose the question in these terms assumes a stance towards the body that was probably alien to the Biblical writers. This is because scripture does not draw the type of hard and fast distinctions we are accustomed to between the spirit and the body. As Peter Leithart reminds us in Against Christianity,

“...Scripture makes no hard or absolute demarcation between inner and outer. When people eat and drink, Scripture says their ‘souls’ are refreshed (e.g., 1 Sam. 30:12), and exterior discipline of our children purges foolishness from their hearts (Prov. 22:15). So, outer events invade the inner life. And inner things come to outer expression, for out of the thoughts of the heart come murders, adulteries, and other evils (Mk. 7:20-23). The mere fact that the Bible often names the ‘inner’ man by reference to bodily organs (heart, kidneys, liver) is a hint that Scripture does not sharply distinguish inner spiritual from outer physical realities; even the ‘inner’ man is conceived physically, not as an unbodied, ghostly self. Scripture thus teaches a complex interplay of inner/outer in human existence, a duality within unified human being.”

Our physical bodies are spiritual because they are part of what it involves to be God’s image-bearers (Gen 1:26), to be the temple of God (1 Cor. 3:16; 6:19), and to be living sacrifices unto the Lord (Rom. 12:1-2). It follows that we should reject the narrative, often put forward by Christian teachers who wish to defend junk food or smoking, that God is only concerned with our attitudes and not with our bodies.

Christian Freedom vs. Wisdom

Still, to acknowledge that God is concerned about our physical bodies is not necessarily to say that He cares what goes in the pot. After all, isn’t the content of our dinner a legitimate area of Christian freedom? Well, it is and it isn’t. Let’s start with the sense in which the content of our diet is an area of legitimate Christian freedom.

There is nothing in the Bible that tells us what to have for breakfast in the morning just as there is nothing that tells you what clothes to put on when you get up. These are matters that can be legitimately regulated by our desires, as well as more mundane concerns such as practicality, economics and cultural considerations.

However, like many areas of Christian freedom, there are limits. While Christians are no longer bound by the Old Testament food laws, we are bound by wisdom. If my eating habits, like my dressing habits, lack wisdom, then Christian freedom ceases to apply.

Before going any further, let me assure the readers of my column that this is not a plea for dieting or obsessive fussiness with health food (putting aside, for the moment that most diet food is actually unhealthy.) To continue the analogy with dress, just as there is nothing wrong with someone occasionally staying all day in their pyjamas (assuming modesty issues are not violated), so there is nothing wrong with someone occasionally eating food that is unhealthy. However, if someone regularly remains all day in their pyjamas, and habitually leaves the house looking sloppy, then it is probably time for wisdom to start kicking in. Similarly, if a person eats a regular diet of junk food or is never concerned to even know the ingredients he is putting in his mouth, then it might be time for that person to stop thinking about Christian freedom and begin thinking about wisdom.

Putting it like this, however, is to beg the question, for if it is true that “God doesn't care what you eat”, as some have argued, then we know a priori that the content of our food is an area not regulated by wisdom. However, such a position can easily be refuted by a simple reductio ad absurdum argument. After all, consider what it would mean in practice if wisdom only applied to how we eat our food, and not what we put in the pot. If God really is indifferent to the content of our food, then it logically follows that He cannot care what I feed my children. But is it wrong for me to feed my children food that I know will impair aspects of their growth? Would it then be ok to serve my children food that will contribute to weakness rather than strength? Is it legitimate to feed my children food that significantly increases the likelihood of diabetes or other diseases later in life? Would it be ok to serve my children food that inadvertently trains them to have an appetite for a diet that, over many decades, may shorten their life-span?

These are the very questions that health-conscious parents wrestle with, and there are a growing number of resources to help parents make informed judgments (I have given links to some of these resources in my article ‘Debunking 4 Health Food Myths’). However, if it is true that God does not care about the content of our food as long as we do not sin while eating, then it would follow that this aspect of parental nurture are not regulated by the considerations of wisdom, for to say that these are matters of wisdom is to acknowledge, almost by definition, that these are matters about which God does in fact care. But if that were the case, then to be consistent we would have to also maintain that God is unconcerned with other aspects of our children’s bodily health, such as making sure they generally get sufficient sleep, that they have plenty of fresh air and exercise, or they get into a habit of brushing their teeth after dinner and that they receive basic hygiene.

I think few parents would say that that the obligations of wisdom do not apply here. However, to say that God is concerned with these other aspects of our children’s physical nurture but that He suddenly ceases to care when diet is concerned, is to draw an arbitrary distinction since all these considerations fall equally under the umbrella of physical health.

If, therefore, God is concerned that we make nutritionally responsible choices for those who are entrusted to our care, then it is a short step to also acknowledging that He is concerned that we make nutritionally responsible choices for ourselves, since our own bodies are also entrusted to our care.

Responsible stewardship of our bodies is part of the more general stewardship of nature that God required of man when he put him in the garden and told him to tend and keep it (Gen 2:15).

It is here that Biblical anthropology runs directly counter to the evolutionary concept of man. If human beings are the random products of time plus chance, then we are under no obligation to take care of our bodies any more than we are obligated to care for the natural world, since both are void of any ultimate significance.

The drunk-man-on-the-horse Syndrome

Martin Luther once compared the human race to a drunk who falls off his horse on the right side and then, just to make sure everything evens out, the next time he tries to fall off his horse on the left side. This is an apt metaphor of the human condition. In trying to correct a tendency in one direction, we often err by going to an extreme in the opposite direction. In the area of health we see this tendency in those Christians who, being convinced that God does actually care about the content of our diet, become worried and fussy calorie-counters, or are afraid to enjoy a good ice-cream after dinner. Such a person finds it difficult to be grateful if provided with a less than healthy meal, or to know when considerations of health must be subordinated to more important concerns. We are called to be wise and nutritionally responsible, not legalistic, pessimistic worry-warts.

Similarly, to say that God cares what goes in the pot is not to say that attitude issues are subordinate to issues of ingredients. It is still better to eat a milk-shake from McDonald’s with a thankful heart than to eat a healthy soup with grumbling. However, this does not mean that God is unconcerned with what we eat. Merely because there are weightier matters of the law does not negate the existence, nor the importance, of lighter matters.

Gnosticism in the Kitchen

In the end, the notion that God doesn’t care what we eat colludes with the Gnostic idea that the physical body is unimportant to God, that what really matters is the things of the spirit. (To learn more about the heresy of ancient Gnosticism, see my article ‘Tears in Things’ and ‘8 Gnostic Myths you May Have Imbibed.’)

Throughout Christian history a Gnostic dualism between spirit and matter has propelled Christians to neglect taking proper care of their physical bodies, and to do this on spiritual-sounding grounds. One thinks of some of the medieval ascetics who almost killed themselves through bodily neglect. Similarly, many Christians today will dismiss the health food movement on the equally spiritual sounding ground of Christian freedom. In both cases a subtle Gnosticism may be at root, leading to a mentality which fails to reckon with Paul’s statement, “For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church.” (Ephesians 5:29)

Further Reading

God Cares What’s in the Pot Part 2

A Theology of Health

Chewing at God’s Blessing

Interview About Health Freedom

Health for Godly Generations

Debunking 4 Health Food Myths

Does God Care? Christian Liberty and Food

Blessings You Can Chew

2012-01-31T20:27:00.000-08:00

(This article originally appeared at the Chuck Colson Center here.)

On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined.” (Isaiah 25:6)

In Angels in the Architecture, Douglas Jones has an excellent chapter titled “Worshiping with Body.” In this chapter Jones notes the prominent role occupied by feasting in the Biblical narrative.

Jones draws our attention to some of the many places in Scripture where fine food is talked about as being a blessing. For example, when Isaiah is prophesying about the time when God will bring salvation the ends of the earth, he speaks of “a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined.” (Is. 25:6)

God gives His people blessings they can chew, and part of our ability to receive these blessings depends on our food preferences growing in maturity. It is on this point (food maturity) that Jones believes Americans are sadly lacking, and he points to the examples of the French and Italians to shame us.

It is difficult for modern Americans to get their heads around the fact that food is an area where maturity is even possible in any objective sense. Given our Gnostic assumptions, we tend to think the Lord is only interested in attitude issues, and that the actual stuff of our diet is a thing indifferent to Him. We easily understand that the Lord is concerned in how we eat (i.e., we must be grateful, we mustn’t grumble, etc.) but we instinctively feel He couldn’t possibly care about what we eat. However, if God promises to bless His people, not just with any food, but with good quality ‘rich’ food, then the quality of food cannot be dismissed as irrelevant to God.

Part of our ability to receive the blessing of good quality food is being able to identify and enjoy it. However, because modern Americans are so used to a diet of highly seasoned junk food, many of us do not even like the taste of good quality food. We would prefer cheap microwave dinners to the types gourmet described by Isaiah. However, it is not only healthier for us to learn to appreciate fine foods – to prefer well-refined wines to cheap beer, to prefer rich food full of marrow to pre-processed chicken – but in becoming more discriminating in our diet, we can actually grow to enjoy God’s blessings more.

“We can at least start” writes Jones, “with single meals. But even that will require a concerned pursuit of good cooking and delightful tastes. God has surrounded us with so many amazing tastes, and yet we Americans are barely scratching the surface.”

The key: retraining

The key is being willing to retrain ourselves. Just as a person who has grown up on a diet of heavy metal music may find a Bach cantata heavy plodding at first, so a person who has grown up with a diet weighted to microwave dinners and soda pop may find it difficult to enjoy good full of marrow or aged wine well refined. But this does not mean that both are equivalent. A Christian is not allowed to be a culinary relativist any more than he is allowed to be a moral or aesthetic relativist. Some food actually is objectively superior to other food. Pure organic butter from cows eating real grass actually is objectively better than factory-processed margarine that flies won’t even touch. Yogurt made with rich creamy full-fat milk really is objectively better than a carton of yogurt with an inch of additives that only a scientist can pronounce. When Charlemagne ordered his men to wash their feet before treading out the grapes, the wine they began producing really was objectively better than before these reforms were introduced. It isn’t just that these foods are better for us, though that is certainly true; rather, they actually taste better.

Or at least, they should taste better, but many of us will need to retrain our palate to appreciate good quality food. As my friend Stacy McDonald has noted on her blog:

“Those of us who grew up on Frankenberry and Ding Dongs learned to love the taste of dirt. But, I’ve found that as we begin to eat right, we develop a taste for what is good, wholesome, and nourishing. Our palates ‘heal’ and we learn to recognize and enjoy the ‘good stuff’ from the pink sugared cardboard.

Further Reading

God Cares What's in the Pot (Part 1)

God Cares What's in the Pot (Part 2)

A Theology of Health

Interview About Health Freedom

Debunking Four Health Food Myths

Frankincense

2012-01-30T13:27:00.000-08:00

Frankincense Trees

To qualify to buy essential oils at wholesale prices, we purchased Young Living's Everyday Oils Kit. The kit contained many wonderful oils, such as Peppermint Oil which acts as a caffeine substitute, or the blend of different plant oils called Peace and Calming because of the way it functions as a sedative. But my favourite was by far Frankincense.

Probably the most remarkable of all the essential oils, Frankincense was a key ingredient of the incense formula prescribed by God in Exodus 30. It is mentioned in the Bible 52 times and was considered by the ancients to be more valuable even than gold. It was one of the gifts that the Magi brought the Christ child, a fitting gift for a king.

There is a reason Frankincense was so valuable. The trees that produce it only grow in two places in the world, the southern peninsula of Arabia and the Somalian deserts of northeast Africa. Moreover, it takes a Frankincense tree around 100 years to reach the point where the resin can begin being used to produce the oil.

But there is another reason for Frankincense's value. It was much coveted by the ancients because of its medical benefits. Scientists have still only scratched the surface of all the oil's medicinal uses. A team of scientists from the University of Oklahoma, along with immunologist Dr Mahmoud Suhail have discovered that Frankincense appears to be able to stop cancer cells from reproducing and to correct a cell’s DNA code. (CLICK HERE to read about their studies in this fascinating BBC article.) Studies at Cairo’s King Faisal University show Frankincense to exhibit a strong immuno-stimulant capability. Studies at Weber State University in the U.S. claim that Frankincense is effective in dissolving petrochemicals in the blood and preventing DNA breakdown. A joint study by 3 Indian universities found that patients with osteoarthritis experienced reduced pain and stiffness and less difficulty in performing daily activities.

I have already mentioned that Frankincense is one of the primary ingredients of incense that was prescribed in the law of Moses. It makes sense to use the oil liturgically because of its effect in enhancing spiritual awareness. In her book Their Leaves for Healing: The Divine Gift of Plants That Heal, Elizabeth Flores writes:

...the intriguingly deep, musky, exotic and mystical fragrance of frankincense has been present in houses of God, from medieval cathedrals to the Orthodox churches of today.

Frankincense...contains sequiterpenes. It too, effectively penetrates the blood-brain barrier and has an uplifting and mood-elevating effect. Frankincense is an oil of gladness and has been effectively used as an antidepressant. [See here for an amazing testimonial about using Frankincense to treat depression.] It creates emotional balance, enhances spiritual awareness and is useful for meditation.

Expect me to post more about the spiritual and medical benefits of Frankincense in the days ahead.

What are Essential Oils?

2012-01-30T11:56:00.000-08:00

What are essential oils? The Young Living website (from which you can also buy the oils at wholesale prices) offers the following very helpful explanation:

Essential oils, known as nature’s living energy, are the natural, aromatic volatile liquids found in shrubs, flowers, trees, roots, bushes, and seeds. The distinctive components in essential oils defend plants against insects, environmental conditions, and disease. They are also vital for a plant to grow, live, evolve, and adapt to its surroundings. Essential oils are extracted from aromatic plant sources via steam distillation, and are highly concentrated and far more potent than dry herbs.

While essential oils often have a pleasant aroma, their chemical makeup is complex and their benefits vast—which makes them much more than something that simply smells good.

Historically, essential oils have played a prominent role in everyday life. With more than 200 references to aromatics, incense, and ointments throughout the Bible, essential oils are said to be used for anointing and healing the sick. Today, essential oils are used for aromatherapy, massage therapy, emotional health, personal care, nutritional supplements, household solutions, and much more.

Young Living Essential Oils, the leading provider of essential oils, offers more than 300 essential oil singles and blends. All Young Living essential oils meet the YLTG standard. This means that every essential oil Young Living distills or sources has the optimal naturally-occurring blend of constituents to maximize the desired effect. Only YLTG essential oils should be used for the primary methods of application, which include inhalation and application.

A Theology of Health

2012-01-30T11:48:00.000-08:00

An early Christian meal

We like Essential Oils because they make us feel nice, but also because they are healthy. Over the next few weeks, we will be posting articles on this blog about the health benefits of various essential oils.

But is being healthy even important? From a Christian perspective, is health something we should even value, or should we be concerned with more 'spiritual' matters?

We believe the answer to both these questions is yes.

Last year Robin wrote three articles for the Chuck Colson Center looking at what the Bible had to say about health. Although the articles dealt mainly with healthy eating, the principles apply to all aspects of a healthy lifestyle. Robin also explained part of the theological rationale we have for providing resources to increase people's physical, mental and emotional health through essential oils. We've posed all three of the articles below:

•    Blessings You Can Chew

•    God Cares What’s in the Pot Part 1

•    God Cares What’s in the Pot Part 2

Peppermint Oil

2012-01-28T10:11:00.000-08:00

Peppermint Leaves

As a PhD student and writer for a variety of other publications, I often find myself suffering from mental fatigue. If I have to get up early to meet publishing deadlines and haven't had an opportunity to take a nap, it is typical that around 3:00 pm I will start to fade. The problem, however, is that I have to keep working. I can't just say to my publishers, "Sorry, but at 3:00 pm I was just too tired to write anymore so I didn't finish your project."

In order to drive myself to unrealistic heights of productivity, I confess I often rely on caffeine. A few weeks ago around 3:00 pm I asked my wife to make me a cup of tea. Esther replied, "Why don't you try peppermint oil in a glass of water instead." I confess I was skeptical at first, but I decided to give it a try. I watched as Esther dropped a couple drops of Young Living's therapeutic grade Peppermint oil into my glass of water.

Almost immediately I began experiencing a new mental alertness, a freshness and energetic uplift that enabled me to make it through the end of the day without a nap and without any caffeine.

From there I began researching about the benefits of essential oils in general and peppermint oil in particular. This website explains how Peppermint Oil

has a long history as a powerful natural remedy for many physical, emotional and mental ailments. "Aromatherapy An A-Z" by Patricia Davis highlights peppermint oil's history and also provides information on its complex chemical compounds. Peppermint oil contains high menthol levels, something used in many commercial products. Menthol provides greater benefits when used in its natural state, such as in essential peppermint oil....

A strong natural stimulant, peppermint oil powerfully affects and improves mental clarity and raises energy levels. Patricia Davis recommends essential peppermint oil for any task needing high mental alertness and functioning. The book "Daily Aromatherapy" advises utilizing peppermint oil for increasing general energy levels and assisting in promoting clear thinking. Due to the strong stimulant properties, do not use peppermint oil in the evening or anytime when sleep is planned because it will likely inhibit or prevent sleep from occurring says essential oil author Marge Clark in her book "Essential Oils and Aromatics."

And that's actually only the beginning. Peppermint Oil can also be used to treat upset stomach and vomiting, relieve a headache, reduce muscle pain, in addition to simply being very healthy for the body. A friend of mine wrote as follows about her experience using Peppermint Oil to help her husband off his addiction to energy drinks:

One of the reasons I’m so thankful for its popularity in our household is because it finally broke my husband of his dependence on garbage energy drinks and cheap coffee when we’re on long road trips. Now, he drinks (and adamantly prefers) pure Spring water with a couple of drops of peppermint in it! It keeps him alert and refreshed on those late night road trips! In addition, he uses it during the day while he’s studying and writing his sermons. He even uses it on our all-day Sundays at church instead of visiting the coffee station multiples times! Yay for peppermint!

How to Make an Essential Oils Home Business

2012-01-28T08:24:00.000-08:00

I know people who have turned their love of oils into a profitable and pleasurably home business. This blog is my attempt to do the same thing. Not only are we able to enjoy the health and pleasure benefits of essential oils, but we get paid for sharing them with others!

If you are interested in also turning your love of oils into a home business, click here to learn more.

The Essential Rewards Program

2012-01-28T08:21:00.000-08:00

If you hate all things natural, can’t stand saving money, detest getting a package in the mail once a month, and love synthetic, chemically processed toxic air fresheners and home products, please don’t read this:

If you’re like us, you like to budget for what you need each month. That’s one of the reasons we like the Essential Rewards Programs. Well, there’s that, and I like earning “points” for free products! So, we wanted to let you know about a great way to save even more money while learning about and using Therapeutic Grade Essential Oils.

The Essential Rewards program is a wonderful option that is only available to Young Living Wholesale Customers (Independent Distributors). It is an auto-ship program that offers discounts and reward points based on your monthly purchases. It is free to join and there is no obligation to continue; you are simply agreeing to purchase at least 50 PV per month.* This is a great way to budget, so that you can slowly and steadily build your family’s “natural medicine cabinet.”

To qualify for certain bonuses, you must maintain an Essential Reward order of 100 PV or more.*

It’s free to sign up, there is no obligation to continue, and here are some of the other benefits:

Essential Rewards Benefits

Guaranteed monthly shipments of your favorite Young Living products at a reduced shipping rate
Discounted pricing on exclusive product packages (I love this!)
Essential Rewards credits redeemable for free products (Even better!)
Qualification for additional compensation and bonus rewards
Monthly Wellness Essentials product training and support CDs
Choose your processing day, and change it whenever you like

You can join Essential Rewards when you place your first order, or you can easily join later.

If you are serious about learning more about, and regularly using, Therapeutic Grade Essential Oils, I highly recommend joining this program. And make sure to modify your order each month, so that you can experiment with the different oils and products. Don’t always get the same thing!

For more information about the Essential Reward Program, download the flyer HERE.

And CLICK HERE to join! Or call 1-800-371-3515.

FAQ

Q: How do I sign up for the Essential Rewards program?
A: You can sign up in one of three easy ways.

Online through your Virtual Office when you initially join Young Living, or at a later date in your Virtual Office, after becoming a YL member.
On the phone at 1-800-371-2928 after becoming a YL member.
By faxing a signed Essential Rewards agreement to 1-866-203-5666 after becoming a YL member.

Q: Can I change the items in my Essential Rewards order and still receive all of the benefits of the program?
A: Yes. You can change the items anytime (it is recommended to change the oils and products you get each month so you can experience the wellness options YL has available), up to midnight on your processing date (determined by you when you enroll).

Q: Can I make changes to my Essential Rewards order online?
A: Yes. You can make changes to your Essential Rewards order online anytime by logging in to your Virtual Office. However, to cancel your order, you’ll need to contact Distributor Network Services.

Q: Do I need to submit the Essential Rewards agreement before my Essential Rewards order ships?
A: If you sign up for Essential Rewards by phone, you’ll have a 30-day grace period to submit the agreement. If you sign up through your Virtual Office (easiest), the virtual agreement is completed as part of the online process before you begin the Essential Rewards set up. You can also mail or fax a completed form to Young Living.

Earning Points

Q: How many points do I earn for my Essential Rewards order?
A: The first six consecutive months, you receive points worth 10% of the PV of each Essential Rewards order. The second six consecutive months, you receive points worth 15% of the PV of each Essential Rewards order. At 13 months and beyond, you receive points worth 20% of the PV of each Essential Rewards order.

Months on Essential Rewards Points Earned

Months 1–6 earn 10%
Months 7–12 earn 15%
Months 13+ earn 20%

Q: If I cancel my Essential Rewards order, do I lose my points?
A: If you cancel your Essential Rewards order, you forfeit all your unused Essential Rewards points and your monthly participation in the program is reset to zero. You also forfeit any points earned on products that you later return. If you must cancel your Essential Rewards it is recommended you call in and redeem your points before canceling.

Q: How soon can I redeem points that I earn?
A: You earn points the minute your order is shipped. You can redeem points anytime after you’ve participated in the program for two months.

Q: When redeeming my points, do I go by the dollar amounts or the PV amounts in the price list?
A: When redeeming Essential Rewards points, use the PV amount rather than the dollar value. For example, if you have 200 points saved up, you can redeem them for any product with a PV value up to 200 PV (usually equal to the dollar value).

Q: Can I use my points for promotional products, such as the 10% off monthly offers?
A: You can buy any regularly available products at regular price as part of your Essential Rewards order, but you will not receive the discounted pricing if the item is part of your Essential Rewards points order. Some promotional items may not be available for purchase using Essential Rewards points at all. Contact Distributor Network Services if you have questions about specific items.

CLICK HERE TO JOIN!

And please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have. 208-457-9288.

If you are not a purchasing member of Young Living, and would like to order products, click on the following button to register:

*To qualify for Young Living’s bonuses, your monthly Essential Rewards order must be 100 PV or more.

Buy Now!

2012-01-28T08:17:00.002-08:00

First time buyers will need to decide between being a retail customer or a wholesale customer. Either way, you will be asked to put in our customer # which is: 1297759.

After registering under us, you will be given your own customer number which you will use to place all future orders.

Please note that as a wholesale customer you will be called a 'distributor' but you are not required to sell anything or refer anyone, although you have the option to do so if you wish. As long as you purchase at least $50.00 of oils a year, you will maintain your wholesale status without having to pay any yearly fee! And you will be eligible to buy at wholesale prices which is 24% off retail pricing!

Here’s the simplest way to sign up as a wholesale customer:.

Click HERE
Select the “Independent Distributor” membership type.
Enter my member number: 1297759
Choose the “Start Living” kit of your choice (I recommend the Everyday Oil Kit).
Click “I Agree” on the distributor application.
Once you’ve completed this process you will be given your own member number, which will allow you to start shopping with wholesale prices immediately.

(For more information about the benefits of being a wholesale customer, click here.)

Once you have joined, in addition to benefiting from the phenomenal discounts, you can also become benefit from commissions when you refer friends and family. This is a great source of extra income. To learn about how the commissions structure works, click here.

Debunking 4 Health Food Myths

2012-01-27T06:55:00.000-08:00

One of the reasons that health food so often gets a bad wrap is that healthy eating is associated with yucky food. A common narrative that I have often encountered (though rarely stated so explicitly) runs like this:

1)    God wants his people to enjoy their food.
2)    Health food doesn’t taste nice.
3)    If we eat food that doesn’t taste nice, we will not enjoy our food.
4)    Therefore, we shouldn’t try to eat healthy.

The problem with this argument is premise 2. Usually if a person thinks healthy food doesn’t taste nice it is because they have been brainwashed by the media to accept certain myths. This is not the place to explain the political and economic reasons that the media has for perpetuating these myths, although I have touched on that elsewhere. Suffice to say that these myths have arisen because of the unholy alliance between Big Government, Big Pharmaceutical, the junk food lobby and the media.

Among the various health food myths, there are four that have been particularly damaging in cementing the idea that to be healthy means eating food that doesn't taste nice.

Myth #1: low-fat = healthy

A low-fat diet does not equal a healthy diet, despite what commercials and advertisers try to make us think. In fact, given the ingredients that typically go into low-fat products, the reverse is most often the case.

There is a reason that God designed human beings to crave fatty foods. The reason is simple: fat is good for us.

Well, let me qualify that: the right sort of fats are good for us. The bad sort of fats are trans-fats and those fats which have been processed like all vegetable oil.

So what are the right sorts of fats? There are five: butter, coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil, animal fats (that's right, you heard me correctly), and cod liver oil. We need these fats to function properly, to regulate our hormones and to feed our brain (did you know our brain is made up of approximately 60% fat?).

One can hardly overstress the importance of this. Getting the right fat is even more important than eating organic.

To read more about this, see the article Five Fats You MUST Have in Your Kitchen.

Myth #2: eating fatty foods causes weight gain

Everything you have been told about weight gain is wrong. Eating the essential fats does not make you fat; eating refined foods does. Refined flour and refined sugars are the main culprits in weight gain. Ironically, these refined foods are often packaged as low-fat and targeted to those who are trying to lose weight. This locks many obese people into a cycle of frustration: they are doing everything the 'experts' are telling them yet they continue to gain weight. What they really need to do is to cut out white flour and sugar.

To read more about this, see Patrick Holford’s excellent article ‘Fat doesn’t make you fat’ or Donald W. Miller, Jr's article 'Enjoy Saturated Fats, They're Good For You!'

Myth #3: high-cholesterol = bad

I know you’ve heard it time and again that foods high in cholesterol cause, or at least increase the risk of heart disease. This is actually a myth propagated by the pharmisitical companies. The reality is that human beings need plenty of cholesterol (at least, the right sort) for our bodies to produce the right hormones. Cholesterol is used in thousands of bodily functions from helping our bodies to produce cell membranes to covering our nerve sheets.

The real culprit in heart disease is refined sugurs.

To learn more about this, watch Dr. Mark Hyman’s fascinating video ‘Why Having High Cholesterol isn’t Always Bad.’

Myth #4: calories are bad

Foods that are high in calories are not bad for you, nor do they necessarily help you to lose weight. In fact, low-calorie products are often the most unhealthy things a person can eat.

What the low-calorie industry hasn’t told you is that the real distinction isn’t between low-calorie products vs. high calorie products, but between good calories and bad calories.

To learn more about this, get Gary Taubes's book Good Calories, Bad Calories: Challenging the Conventional Wisdom on Diet, Weight Control, and Disease or watch the video Fathead (available through Netflicks and incredibly entertaining).

How to Buy Essential Oils at Wholesale Prices

2012-01-26T18:07:00.000-08:00

Becoming a wholesale member is quick and easy and gives you instant wholesale discounts. Once you receive your member number, use it to get wholesale prices on all future orders!

Just like any wholesale buying club, there is a fee to join (think Costco, Sam’s Club etc.). The difference here is that you don’t just pay a fee and start shopping – you get all sorts of products with your fee! And, unlike Costco or Sam’s, there is NO yearly fee; as long as you spend at least $50.00 during the year in essential oils, you’ll maintain your wholesale status.

Here’s the simplest way to sign up as a wholesale customer:.

Click HERE
Select the “Independent Distributor” membership type.
Enter our member number: 1297759
Choose the “Start Living” kit of your choice (I recommend the Everyday Oil Kit).
Click “I Agree” on the distributor application.
Once you’ve completed this process you will be given your own member number, which will allow you to start shopping with wholesale prices immediately.

Good Overview of Essential Oils

2012-01-26T16:38:00.001-08:00

Frankincense Testimony

2012-01-25T13:14:00.000-08:00

. .. .. ..

Essential Oils Used in Hospitals

2012-01-14T14:39:00.001-08:00