MSG- another problem in itself

Remember: By food industry definition, all MSG is "naturally occurring." "Natural" doesn't mean "safe."  "Natural" only means that the ingredient started out in nature, like arsenic and hydrochloric acid.

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Information provided by the Truth in Labeling Campaign

             Web: www.truthinlabeling.org     

Click here to find out more about MSG



Hidden sources of MSG- click here to see them

The truth about aspartame. It's not pretty!

Click here for information about why aspartame is so dangerous

I was a diet coke fanatic.  Had to have one every morning.  Then Coke 0 came along.  That was my addiction.  After reading this article I am very thankful I am no longer partaking of either anymore!

An egg is not just an egg everywhere!

So, in this journey there have been many occasions in which I have had to eat outside of my home.  As I have learned....this is NOT an easy task.  Traveling, vacations, last minute lunches, unplanned events all lead to the need to eat in a restaurant of some sort.  I have tried my best to make the most "yeast free" choices possible when I have had to eat out. However, today I decided to "look up" exactly what is in the "choices" I have been making.  



Not pleasant! Not pleasant at all people!  


You see many times I have stopped by McDonald's (yup, red flag right there!) for breakfast in a hurry.  The kids have gotten pancakes and I have gone for the what I thought was a good "yeast free" choice by getting eggs.  Sometimes with the sausage patty, although I can  not lie. I have known that there must be something BAD in the patty. Not sure what.  But it just can't be the same as my nitrate free sausage I have at home.  Well, apparently, eggs are not just eggs everywhere.  Oh, it might start out as just as egg.  But the time the restaurant is done with it....it has soo much more to offer. Ingredients that, well, make the egg something other than just an egg.  It's a shame really.  Poor egg.  It just wants to be an egg. It's what God designed it for.  Another choice I have made is when we stop at Chick Fil-A (you know...cause it's MUCH healthier than the other places)I have gotten the grilled chicken salad.  I take off the little amount of cheese, but everything else is ok.  I even take along my spray bottle of olive oil to embarrass my children if we go inside to eat.  I have to confess, I have also eaten a few chicken nuggets when a salad was just not what I wanted or I was driving in which a salad is very difficult to manage.  How bad can those little nuggets be?  It's Chick- Fil-A for pete's sake! 


Well, here is the bad news.  I should add that I am not surprised by any of this.  I "should" have known.  But seriously, when you order a scrambled egg, don't you think you are getting just that?  Here is the ingredients list for a few items at McDonalds and Chick Fil-A.  Now I am starting to understand WHY it is taking me so long to become yeast free......hummfff...

McDonald's 

Sausage Patty:

Pork, whey protein concentrate, water, seasoned with (salt, corn syrup solids, spices, dextrose, sugar, spice extractives, caramel color), preservatives (BHA, propyl gallate, BHT and citric acid).

CONTAINS: MILK. (really? sausage contains milk?!) 

Scrambled Eggs:

Pasteurized whole eggs with sodium phosphate, citric acid and monosodium phosphate (all added to preserve color), nisin preparation (preservative). Prepared with Liquid Margarine: Liquid soybean oil, water, partially hydrogenated soybean oil, salt, hydrogenated cottonseed oil, soy lecithin, mono-and diglycerides, sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate (preservatives), artificial flavor, citric acid, vitamin A palmitate, beta carotene (color).

Chick-fil-A® Chargrilled Chicken Garden Salad: 

Ingredients: 100% natural whole breast filet, seasoning (sugar, salt, dextrose, garlic powder, onion powder, maltodextrin (corn based), autolyzed yeast extract, spice, disodium inosinate, disodium guanylate flavor, paprika [color]), seasoning (salt, sugar, spices, and paprika), butter flavored vegetable oil (partially hydrogenated soybean oil, palm kernel oil, lecithin, artificial flavor, TBHQ, beta carotene), rice starch and potassium phosphate, romaine lettuce, iceberg lettuce, carrots, grape tomatoes, broccoli, red cabbage, Monterey/Cheddar cheese blend (Monterey Jack cheese [cultured pasteurized milk, salt, enzymes], cheddar cheese [cultured pasteurized milk, salt, enzymes, annatto color], powdered cellulose to prevent caking).

chicken nuggets:

100% natural whole breast meat with no fillers or additives, seasoning (salt, monosodium glutamate, sugar, spices), seasoned coater (enriched bleached flour [with malted barley flour, niacin, iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid], sugar, salt, monosodium glutamate, nonfat milk, leavening [baking soda, sodium aluminum phosphate, monocalcium phosphate], spice, soybean oil, color [paprika]), milk wash (water, whole powdered egg and nonfat milk solids), peanut oil (refined peanut oil with TBHQ added to preserve freshness and Dimethyl silicone to inhibit foaming).

So there you have it.  The good, the bad, and the really ugly!  What are the 3 things to avoid (whether you are on a yeast free diet or not)?  

1.  All corn

2.  All peanuts

3.  All Soy

Ommm...go back and read the ingredients. 

CORN

PEANUTS

SOY 

Yuck  

Bummer

Patoooie

 No more eggs for me outside of home.  No more grilled chicken salads at the "healthy" place.  

Eating out is going to become nonexistent for a while.

......nice......

just in time for the Holidays!

Know the cause.....

Click here For more information about fungi and how it can create huge problems in your body check out this site.  He has lots of good information and videos.

Empty and Beautiful by Matt Haher

A beautiful song of how our Savior never leaves us.  Enjoy.

Lyrics to Empty and Beautiful by Matt Haher

My past won't stop haunting me
In this prison there's a fight between
Who I am and who I used to be

This thorn in my side is a grace
For because of it the flesh and blood of God
Was offered in my place, my place

You fought the fight in me
You chased me down and finished the race
I was blind but now I see
Jesus You kept the faith in me

Where did my best friends go?
In my defense they disappeared
Just like Your friends did to You, oh Lord

But You were there, You gave me strength
So this little one might come to know
The glory of Your name, Your name

You fought the fight in me
You chased me down and finished the race
I was blind but now I see
Jesus You kept the faith in me

Awaiting, set apart like incense to Your heart
A libation I'm pouring out
Empty and beautiful, beautiful, beautiful

You fought the fight in me
You chased me down and finished the race
I was blind but now I see
Jesus You kept the faith in me

You fought the fight in me

You chased me down and finished the

race

I was blind but now I see

Jesus You kept the faith in me

Jesus You kept the faith in me

Savior, You kept the faith in me 

16 weeks later.....gosh, golly, gone....

Gosh!  

I can't believe I have been on this yeast free diet for 16 weeks now.

Golly!  

That is a really long time.  Sure am glad God didn't let me know before hand I would be still be on it 115 days later!

Gone!  

98% of all my pain, arthritis, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, 30 pounds, restless leg syndrome, diabetes, blood clotting disorder(figure that one out?!), size 16-18 pants!

Something to think about.......

"If our internal environment is changed from an acidic, oxygen deprived environment to an alkaline environment full of oxygen... viruses, bacteria and fungus cannot live."

- Dr Otto Warberg, 1931 Nobel Prize – Physiology

What's the big deal about pH?

The pH of your tissues and body fluids affects the state of your health or inner cleanliness or filth. The closer the pH is to 7.35 - 7.45, the higher you’re level of health and well being and your ability to resist states of disease and the onset of symptomologies.

The pH scale is like a thermometer showing increases and decreases in the acid and alkaline content of these fluids. Deviations above or below a 7.35 -7.45 pH range in the blood can signal potentially serious and dangerous symptoms or states of disease. When the body can no longer effectively neutralize and eliminate the acids it relocates them within the body’s extra-cellular fluids and connective tissue cells directly compromising cellular integrity.

pH (potential of hydrogen) is a measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a solution. It is measured on a scale of 0 to 14—the lower the pH the more acidic the solution, the higher the pH the more alkaline (or base) the solution. The body continually strives to balance pH. When this balance is compromised many problems can occur.

Most people who suffer from unbalanced pH are acidic. This condition forces the body to borrow minerals—including calcium, sodium, potassium and magnesium—from vital organs and bones to buffer (neutralize) the acid and safely remove it from the body. Because of this strain, the body can suffer severe and prolonged damage due to high acidity—a condition that may go undetected for years.

Mild acidosis can cause such problems as:

•                Cardiovascular damage, including the constriction of blood vessels and the          reduction of oxygen.

•                Weight gain, obesity and diabetes.

•                Bladder and kidney conditions, including kidney stones.

•                Immune deficiency.

•                Acceleration of free radical damage, possibly contributing to cancerous mutations.

•                Premature aging.

•                Osteoporosis; weak, brittle bones, hip fractures and bone spurs.

•                Joint pain, aching muscles and lactic acid buildup.

•                Low energy and chronic fatigue.

 What Causes Me to be Acidic?

The reason acidosis is more common in our society is mostly due to the typical American diet, which is far too high in acid-producing processed foods like white flour and sugar and drink acid-producing beverages like coffee and and far too low in alkaline-producing foods like fresh vegetables. 

We use too many drugs, which are acid-forming.

We use artificial chemical sweetners like NutraSweet, Equal, or aspartame, which are extremely acid-forming. 

THE EFFECTS OF PROPER BODY pH BALANCE

When your body pH is balanced the cells in your body will oxygenate and cause you to heal at a phenomenal rate. 

Cancer cells put in a test tube with acidic fluids will multiply. 

Put those same cancer cells in a test tube with alkaline fluids and they die. 

THE EFFECTS OF IMPROPER BODY pH BALANCE

Acidic conditions in the body will cause you to have low energy and to "not feel good" in general. 

Acidic conditions causes a poor immune system, making you less resistant to sickness (colds, flu etc.). 

Acid hinders the bodies ability to absorb oxygen, vitamins and minerals.

Lack of oxygen intake will slow down the metabolism, an acidic body cannot lose weight and keep it off. 

Some of the more common symptoms associated with acid conditions are Chronic Fatigue, allergies, ADD, ADHD, ear problems, and upper respiratory problems.

If the body pH balance gets very far out of balance the body will pull alkalizing minerals from your bones. 

This will help lower the acid in your body but leaves the bones weak leading to osteoporosis and gout.

God wants something more

November 7 at 4:13pm

I have had a sense all along that God had something different planned for this journey than just becoming yeast free. 

The last few weeks I have felt very deeply that this journey was going to end up not being so much about the food but a dependence on God that I have never had before. 

God has been showing me, revealing to me something I already know...I am not maturing as a Christian. 

I have been a Christian now for 18 years and even though I have great faith, know where I am going when I die, believe beyond a shadow of a doubt Jesus is Lord, everything in the Bible is true....my maturity has never made it past that of a child. 

I still have that child like faith- which is not a bad thing- but I never have taken it to the next level.

I don't have bible verses memorized, I can't tell you where most of the stories or people in the bible are, I can't tell you who wrote what.....I use the excuse of "I don't have a good memory with that kind of stuff"...and I also know that one does not have to be able to know the Bible backwards and forwards to love God and go to Heaven. 

There are people who "find" Jesus (I dislike that terminology, as Jesus is not the one who is lost!) a few days before they die and don't know anything where any of the books of the bible are and they are with God now. 

But, God is strongly showing me through this journey that I am missing out on the intimate relationship with Him that He designed me for. 

It's time. 

It's time I start diving into the word every day. 

It's time I start really searching out scriptures, memorizing them, knowing where they are, knowing things that an "18" year old Christian should know. 

It's time for me to "grow up". 

I've been a baby too long. 

God is using this journey, which started out being about food, to bring me to a place of maturity. 

To grow me into the woman He designed me to be. 

I have been too complacent all these years with letting my husband tell the kids all the answers they have about where things are in the bible. 

I have been too complacent about where my relationship is with my Savior. 

He clearly revealed to me about 2 weeks ago- 

"I am not releasing you from this diet until you get to the point where it's not about the diet. I want you to come to me for everything. I want you to love me more than the food. I want you to love my words more than the taste of food. I want you to stop counting the days and the pounds. I want your full attention and admiration. "

I know it has ONLY been through HIS power that I made it 106 days without cheating. 

I know He has a great purpose in my "cheating "this weekend. 

He wanted to show me what would happen when he "released me" from this just for a few minutes. 

Look what I did.

 I showed where my real loyalties are. 

Still with the food. 

When given a choice to choose.... which I feel He allowed me to have that free will- I chose the food over Him. 

It was such a powerful visual for me. 

Such a powerful, necessary lesson for me to see that even after 106 days.... my heart is not where it should be. 

He knew I needed to see this first hand. 

He allowed Satan to be right there to start feeding me the lies. 

Nothing comes before me that has not gone before my God! 

Satan is still trying at this very moment to feed me the lies. "Ha! God tested you and you failed! Of course you did, you are a failure in this area and you always will be."

.....but Satan also knows that the closer we get to God, the further of a chance he has to keep us in his devilish clutches! 

106 days of no cheating was about to drive Satan nuts! Satan is trying to tell me I have to "start all over" with day 1. 

You see, on the other diets if you mess up, you have to start all over.

7 mini chocolate bars and a handful of pretzels are NOT going to undo what I have done for 106 days! 

I will NOT let him fool me into believing that. 

I can totally see how God allowed this to use for others. 

I am sure there are so many others out there that get to this point and do end up listening to the failure lies. 

They give up.

 I am not going to be one of those statistics! 

I know God will use this for me to help others get through the same "cheating" episodes that I just went through. 

My "choice" would have been to say that when this was all over (like there is really an end to this journey!) that I made it all the way through with no cheating! 

But that was not God's plan. 

He wanted me to go through this weekend so that I can see His mercy, grace, love, and how much He really does want me to make this journey less about food and more about Him.

As soon as I ate the first set of candy...I immediately knew I was going to have to confess to 2 people. Deborah and Jeff. 

It had become a part of this journey that I could not keep to myself. 

It was not to remain silent. 

As I am sitting here I thinking,

 "all this just over a few mini candy bars?Really?" 

Really.....God is that serious. 

He wants my attention. 

He wants my full admiration. 

He wants my whole heart. 

Just as we love watching our children grow and learn new things- He desires that for me. 

He wants me to stop being in the baby stage and grow up" in Him". 

This journey is going to lead me into a deeper intimate relationship with my Savior. 

How exciting that we serve a God that loves us so much that He will allow us to go through whatever it takes to draw closer to Him.

I have never been one to just "open" the bible and start reading. I have always relied on a bible study to get me in the word. Bible studies are important, but I don't feel God calling me to "do" that. I feel him calling me to study the bible! My first inclination is to go "find" a book that I could do a study to help me get closer to Him. I already have the book......actually I have several copies. 

I don't need "another" study book to help me study the bible. 

I just need to study the bible! 

His word is all I need right now.

I seem to have always relied on "others" to help me learn about God. 

I need to stop trying to go through the middleman.

I have the only book I need and a God who is ready and eager to teach me everything I need to know!

Oh, but I do LOVE how He speaks through you, Deborah! So keep that writing going. Your ministry is a huge part of how God has chosen to show me how little I have matured spiritually over 18 years. He has used you as an example of what a maturing Christian looks like. Oh, I have seen many before. But He has chosen you specifically to teach me and guide me in this spiritual growth area. 

He has different plans for my growth than yours for sure.....and I can't wait to see what they are!

And all this time I thought you just did "diet" stuff.....wow.....you do actually have lots of other parts to your ministry! 

God's first step in my maturity....opening my eyes to why you don't have a "diet" link on your web page! 

Maybe that has been reserved for mine! :)