Thread: BASIC LIST / SUGGESTED ITEMS FOR LONG TERM SURVIVAL

Disaster Accountability Blog

http://www.disasteraccountability.org/blog/

Preparedness failures may have cost lives in deadly tornados

Posted in April 28th, 2011

This Letter to The President and FEMA Leaders was emailed to the White House and FEMA on April 28, 2011.

April 28, 2011


Dear Mr. President, Mr. Fugate, and Ms. Roth:


April has brought devastating tornados to at least half-a-dozen states from Oklahoma to New York. The most recent tornados in Alabama and Georgia revealed avoidable failures and gaps in regional emergency preparedness systems that almost certainly resulted in deaths. Some of these deaths were likely preventable.


Even as the victims of these tornados are buried and communities grieve, we must work to ensure that these vulnerable communities are protected before the next weather system arrives.


As the tornados were bearing down on Tuscaloosa, AL TV 33/40 reported that the entire weather siren system in Tuscaloosa AL had been knocked out.


Just a couple months ago, we watched as other critical power systems failed after Japan’s devastating earthquake and tsunami.


Memorial Hospital suffered its tragedy during Hurricane Katrina after critical backup power systems flooded, on the ground floor.


After 2008’s Hurricane Ike in Texas, the public lacked information about where to go to access shelters and other mass care services.


As Tuscaloosa and other severely damaged jurisdictions rebuild, new sirens and warnings systems should be considered. The ability of these warnings systems to withstand power failure is critical and we must be ready for more tornados now.


Action Items


1) I am writing to request that the White House, FEMA, Army Corps of Engineers, and other agencies immediately deploy any/all available federal assets to address these faulty warning systems. A combination of short, medium, and long-term reforms are needed to ensure Americans have fully functional and power-failure resistant warning systems.


2) Further, I am requesting the White House convene a multi-agency and multi-state meeting on emergency alert and warning systems that engages all stake-holders from tsunami vulnerable Western states to fire/hurricane affected Texas, to tornado vulnerable states hit this week.


The convening should include discussion of:


• Back-up power and storm resilient siren/warning systems.

• Alert systems for individuals with disabilities and other access and functional needs. This year, the State of Texas suspended its DeafLink program that ensures accessible warnings for deaf individuals across the state. Imagine having no siren at all.

• Pros/cons of siren and alert uniformity. Some neighboring counties have different sirens that can lead to confusion for people living near county borders.


While some alert and warning systems may take months to implement, there are things that must be done now to prevent additional loss of life from natural hazards, especially when we have advance warning and time to prepare.

Sincerely,


Ben Smilowitz
Executive Director



The President’s Federal Disaster Declaration can be read to authorize federal assistance with tornado sirens and alert systems in Alabama:


“To provide appropriate assistance for required emergency measures, authorized under Title V of the Stafford Act, to save lives and to protect property and public health and safety, and to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe in all 67 counties in the State of Alabama.”

http://www.disasteraccountability.or...adly-tornados/

bttt

Tips for Overcoming Record Food Prices

By Angela, on June 6th, 2011

Note from Angela: Food prices are on the rise, so what can we do about it? Thanks to reader Kalen for this guest post with some great ideas. Any other ideas? Add them in the comments.

The world is currently experiencing some of the highest food prices on record. The United Nations has recently stated that the price of food has increased over 30%. This has triggered crises around the world, which are now starting to come to America.
As the prices of food start to grow, you need to think about what you can do to keep them from draining your bank account. Here are some things you can do so that you don’t feel the pinch of rising food prices:

1. Stock up on nonperishables. This will be important, because the cost of food will probably be going even higher in the near future. Make sure you find canned and dry foods which are on sale. If you stock up now, you won’t feel the bite later on.
2. Find fresh foods that can be frozen as well. Of course, you can buy extra meat at the store and freeze it for months, but many foods that you didn’t think could be frozen should also be considered. Many people know they can freeze bread and fruits, but don’t think to do so. However, they don’t realize that they can safely freeze milk, eggs, vegetables and a number of other foods as well. Learn how to do these safely and you should be able to save a lot of money in the long run.
3. Cheaper foods will be out of sight. Stores will place the most expensive food where it is likely to catch your eyes. Pay attention to the lower shelves where you will find the best deals.
4. Learn how sales work at your local stores. You will find that the sales of most stores operate on a certain rhythm. Meat may go on sale at a certain time and produce at another. These cycles are not publicized and you will have to get a feel for them so you know what to look out for. Once you discern their pattern, you can be better prepared to take advantage of the sales that they offer. Be prepared to store the foods that are on sale during that time and buy as much as your budget and diet allow. Many stores offer their sales mid-week to midweek, so this is something you should look out for.
5. Don’t always limit yourself to a list or a weekly budget. Many people think that if they make a list beforehand, they will save on unplanned purchases. However, unplanned purchases are not always a bad thing. If you find an item is on sale that you will likely have to purchase at some point anyways, why would it make sense to pass up on it because it isn’t on your list at the moment? By all means, make a list to help get yourself organized, but don’t pass up on opportunities to save yourself money.
6. Stay away from many of the prepared and prepackaged foods. These foods typically have the highest profit margins. It is better to buy a head of lettuce than a bag that is packaged and sealed for you. Keep in mind that you will need to use up fresh foods before they perish.
7. Grow your own food. This is going to be very important if the price of food increases beyond what you can afford. You can save and plant the seeds of many of the vegetables that you purchase.

The price of food is getting a little pricy for many people’s taste. Try to take advantage of cost saving measures that will help you reduce your food bills now. You will be glad that you got in the habit if things get even tougher down the road.

http://foodstorageandsurvival.com/ti...d-food-prices/

An Adventure in Making Syrup

By Angela, on May 18th, 2011


Photo: Casey Jones

The fair is finally behind me and so is my second year of learning the syrup-making trade. This second year was much more informative and hands-on than last year was. As I often write about learning forgotten skills, I figured that a recap of my week and some details on the process and people might make for some good material. Big thanks to my friend Casey Jones for sharing these pictures! The story is always much more compelling with visual aids! Hang with me.......I'm going to jump around. I'm going to share some of the process and some of the people. It gets long, but it's Americana at it's finest.


In our community, the county fair is put on by the local Kiwanis Club, of which I am a member. This is our only fundraising event of the year and all of the proceeds stay in our community. The club tries hard to keep the identity of a "real" fair, making sure to include livestock shows, displays of old farm equipment and other heritage related activities. One of those activities is syrup making. As the club gets up in age, the need for younger members to take over certain jobs is becoming increasingly evident. In my time I've seen the soap making and candle making exhibits go by the wayside because those artisans passed away. I have committed to not let the same thing happen to syrup.


The process began a few months ago when we had someone come in to rebuild our furnace. The years had not been kind to the brick work. A gentleman by the name of Randall generously donated his labor and expertise to the club and rebuilt the entire furnace.... free of charge. Randall did so because he loves to see these types of traditions live on. He later mentioned to me that his daughter had received a Kiwanis scholarship some years earlier as well. I'm sure that helped too A few weeks ago we began scouting the sugarcane and gathering wood for the week. I talked about the time I spent with Mr. Thomas in a previous blog. He is the reason I'm involved with this in the first place. Mr. Thomas is no spring chicken! He's a good man and very good to take me under his wing and teach me. I hope that I do him proud. With the wood stacked, the new furnace drawing like a champ, we were ready for a busy, but enjoyable week.

Photo: Casey Jones

The fire was hot and the new furnace was up to the test! At one point we had a 3 ft flame coming out of the top of the chimney!

They syrup that we make is pure Cane Syrup. We add nothing....no Karo, no preservatives.... nothing. We even probably let a little bit of dirt make it through to the bottles just so that it's authentic. It all starts as we feed sugarcane stalks through a cane grinder, or mill, to press the juice from the stalks.

The cane goes in on the left and is pressed between rollers. The spent stalk comes out on the right and the juice flows down into a barrel. That high-tech filtering system that you see is a tobacco sheet, more commonly known as burlap. That keeps out the random pieces of cane and other larger pieces of trash.


Once we had 60 gallons of juice, we dipped it from the barrel into washtubs, walked it inside and dumped it into a cast iron pot which is mounted into the brickwork that I mentioned earlier. At that point we built a rip-roaring fire and waited on the juice to boil. The key to cleaning the syrup is "skimming." As the juice comes to a boil the dirt and remaining trash comes to the surface. At that point we skim it with what is nothing more than an old colander mounted to a stick. The man who is best a feeding the fire and skimming the juice is George.

Photo: Casey Jones

George has been a mainstay at the fair over the years. In fact, he's an institution in our community. Everyone knows him. Someone asked George how old he was. He replied, "I'm seventy nine this year...... no..... sixty nine.....yeah sixty nine years old." No one really knows. I'm not sure George knows. I know this though...... George can and does work circles around men half his age. He does it with a smile too. It is always a pleasure to work with George. He has no clue who I am from year to year, but he always lifts my spirits.


Back to the process........ As the juice is skimmed those remains are dumped into a barrel. If you wanted to really be true to the old times you would use that too. Five or six days later that foul-smelling, fly infested mess that ends up in the barrel becomes what we know and love as........ Rum.


As the juice begins to boil, it's time to place the ring in the pot. The ring slightly more narrow than the diameter of the pot and is used so that the juice will boil over and through rags that are placed around the edges of the pot. This keeps the juice boiling and the rags also serve as another filter, catching fine particles of remaining dirt as they boil to the top. When it's cooking at its peak it looks like this:

Photo: Casey Jones

Photo: Casey Jones

After about three to three and a half hours we're getting mighty close to having syrup. This is a good point to introduce another of our band of merry men. He's the man who "knows" all about the actually cooking of syrup. He can look at the way it boils and knows if it needs to cool, or if we need more wood. He can watch it bubbling and knows within a few minutes of when it will be ready. Few know his real name, but most everyone knows him as Preacher.

Photo: Casey Jones

Preacher is likely as old as George. Every year he says that he's not coming back because hes getting too old. I'm told that he's been saying that for the last 10 years. Thankfully he keeps coming back. The stories he shares about syrup are only a small part of the tales that he has. Everything from "scalding" hogs in those same type cast iron pots to the importance of working hard and keeping a career.....he's a treasure. One of the funniest things I have ever witnessed is when George and Preacher start squabbling about when the syrup is actually ready. You see, George likes his syrup a little more thin and Preacher likes it a little more thick. It's a difference in about 10-15 minutes of cooking time. Usually whoever is holding the dipper near the end is the winner.


When the syrup is nearing the end of it's run it begins what Preacher calls "dogging." As the water cooks out of the juice it gets much thicker and therefore boils much differently. It shoots up flares of hot syrup. (This is where the arguing typically began)

Photo: Casey Jones

A few minutes later Preacher would begin testing with the dipper. The key to knowing when it's done is that the syrup will begin "flaking" as it rolls out of the pan. No tools here. It comes up when it looks right!

Photo: Casey Jones

The contraption that you see below the dipper is nothing but a washtub with several layers a cheesecloth held on with clothes pins. This is the last "filtering" that the syrup receives before it's bottled. Remember........this is an exhibit. Otherwise the freaking health department would have us using gas instead of wood and stainless steel pots instead of our beloved cast iron. We're doing the old way! When it's just right the syrup is dipped from the pot, poured through the cheesecloth and it's off to be bottled.

Photo: Casey Jones

At this point the syrup is about 400,000 degrees. Not really that hot, but it felt like that when some spilled on my hand during one evening's bottling process. There is nothing fancy or automated about our bottling either. It's a small pot to dip..... poured through a small plastic funnel........ into donated glass bottles.

Photo: Casey Jones

Photo: Casey Jones

The end result is delicious pure case syrup that we could hardly keep in stock. On a couple of nights people were clamoring to buy as soon as we bottled it. As one person put it, "You can't get that stuff at Bi-Lo!" He's right! Most of the cane syrup that you get at the grocery store is really only 35% cane syrup. What do they cut it with? High Fructose Corn Syrup. Why would anyone want that garbage on their pancakes?


So there you have it! The process of making syrup. What I laid out was just one afternoon/night. We did this all week long and even cooked two batches on Wednesday and Saturday. It was hot. It was sticky, it was smelly. It was hard work. I was pretty sore after the second night, but the soreness worked away on the third day. It's something to no one really cares to do anymore. Why would they? You can go to the store and get it for a dollar.


As the week went along it became clearly evident why we do it, and why I made the right choice in volunteering for this particular job at the fair. Countless numbers of people came by to see the process. Older visitors came and remarked, "Oh, I remember doing this every Thanksgiving!" "I remember washing clothes in a setup just like that!" One bright eyed lady even reminisced, "That used to be my hot tub...... before they even had hot tubs!" College students and young adults came up wondering what the heck was going on. They stopped to watch and hear about the process. If not for us, they would have likely never been exposed to this trade of days gone by. And then the kids.....tasting the sweet fruits of our labor was always a treat for them.


The opportunity to work with good-hearted people was a big treat too. Our crew came from all walks of life. All had different concerns at home and at work. All had problems. Some worse than others. However, when we were working this exhibit none of that mattered. We had fun. We enjoyed the fellowship. We enjoyed learning from and teaching each other. Props to James, Thomas, Barbara, Carletha, Preacher and George! Working with them made me a better person. I'm honored to have spent a week with them. I hope I hope to have the opportunity to be with them again next year.

Photo: Casey Jones

Ya'll take it easy,


Alex

http://agrovenstein.blogspot.com/201...ing-syrup.html

Concrete Canvas Emergency Shelters

by Survival Joe | Wednesday, June 1, 2011





http://survivaljoe.net/blog/concrete-canvas-shelters/

Survival Topics
Your Online Survival Kit!

Find the Temperature Using Crickets

More Articles Related to Tips And Tricks http://www.survivaltopics.com/survival/tips-and-tricks/

Why and How of Cricket Chirping

You have no doubt heard crickets chirping away in the grass and bushes. The male cricket chirps at regular intervals in order to attract female crickets, ward off predators, or establish territory. He creates the cricket chirping sound by rubbing one of his wings on a hard rigid structure located on its other wing.

You can use these cricket chirps as a way to determine the temperature. But first, a little lesson on why this works:

Cricket Metabolism

Like all insects, crickets are cold blooded. This means that unlike you and me (warm blooded creatures) a cricket produces little or no body heat of its own. Instead, a cricket’s body temperature tends to match the temperature of its surroundings

Because the metabolism of an insect is proportional to its body temperature, if it is too cold the cricket cannot even move. As the temperature of its environment warms, the cricket's body also becomes warmer. Its metabolism increases and the insect can move faster.

You have probably witnessed this increase in insect metabolism as the temperature increases. For example, ants will run must faster when on a hot sunny sidewalk as compared to when it is cool.

Calculating Cricket Temperature

What does all this cold-blooded-temperature-of-the-environment stuff have to do with finding the temperature using crickets? Plenty. You see, the warmer the ambient temperature of the crickets surroundings, the warmer the cricket. And the warmer crickets increased metabolism allows it to chirp faster.

In 1898 Amos Dolbear noticed that warmer crickets seemed to chirp faster. Dolbear made a detailed study of cricket chirp rates based on the temperature of the crickets environment and came up with the cricket chirping temperature formula known as Dolbears Law:

T = 50 + (N - 40) / 4

Where

T = temperature in degrees Fahrenheit.
N = number of chirps per minute.

For those of you who cannot remember your elementary school math, here is the wordy version of the same cricket temperature formula:

Count the number of chirps the cricket makes in 1 minute (60 seconds)
Subtract 40 from this number.

Divide the result by 4
Add 50.

The result of this calculation is close to the temperature of the environment the cricket is in. For example, if the cricket chirps 120 times in one minute then the temperature is about 50 + (120 - 40)/4 = 70 degrees.

If you are working in degrees Celsius here is the Dolbears Law formula for degrees C: T = 10 + (N - 40) / 7

A simplification of Dolbears Law can sometimes be found listed as something like:

Temperature = Number of chirps in 13 seconds + 40

Which seems to closely agree with the more complicated formula Amos Dolbear came up with.

When Determining Temperature Using Crickets

It is important to note that the cricket chirp temperature formula is based on the temperature of the cricket, which is not necessarily the temperature of where you are. Be aware that the temperature of the grass or bushes close to the ground where the cricket is may be quite different than the temperature several feet off the ground.

Another factor that must be considered is that Amos Dolbear came up with his revolutionary cricket temperature formula while experimenting with Snowy Tree Crickets. Other crickets may give varying results based on the cricket species and age.

Estimating the temperature using cricket chirps is a good approximation of the temperature. Give it a try and amaze your friends!

http://www.survivaltopics.com/survival/ ... -crickets/

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Your Online Survival Kit!

A Native American Cure For Scurvy

As expert survivors, we take pride in our ability to live where others fail. http://www.survivaltopics.com/ Sometimes one small detail can make the difference between life and death. http://www.survivaltopics.com/survival/ ... ve-to-die/

To fully utilize the bountiful resources nature provides requires knowledge and experience. And in any survival environment the best place to get that is from the people who call it home. The following is a case study.

In late 1535, the French explorer Jacques Cartier and his men became ice-bound near present day Quebec, Canada while attempting to sail downriver to the Atlantic Ocean. They built a fort and were forced to hunker down for the long northern winter.

Short on supplies, by December scurvy took a heavy toll and over 50 men died. All of those who managed to hold on to life were so weak as to be of little use in fending off the angry Iroquois Indians who surrounded them. And winter had only just started.

Scurvy Tea

Indian Cure for Scurvy http://www.survivaltopics.com/survival/ ... curvy-199/

In desperation Cartier sought out the son of an Iroquois Chief, Dom Agaya, and asked him how it was that the Indians stayed healthy while all his own men were falling to scurvy.

Fortunately for Cartier, Dom Agaya shared the secret.

The means of survival for Cartier's men was close at hand the entire time. Dom Agaya simply pulled a few needles from the closest white cedar tree (some say a pine) and boiled them into tea. When Cartier and his men drank this pine tea they almost immediately felt better. Within eight days the entire tree had been stripped bare and all the men were cured of scurvy.

*** You see, Pine needles contain five times the amount of vitamin C, the cure for scurvy, as lemons ***

How to make Pine Tea, the Native American Cure for Scurvy

* Grab a handful of pine needles, about 1/4 cup is all you need.
* Place in boiling water for ten to fifteen minutes.
* Add lemon and honey if available.
* You now have 100% of the US RDA requirement for vitamin C.

Drink up and enjoy your woodsy brew, it tastes and smells like the pine forest from which it came.

So there you have it - as long as there is an evergreen tree handy, the knowledgeable survivor will never suffer from scurvy. And what became of the Indians who helped Jacques Cartier and his men survive that terrible winter of 1535 - 1536? Cartier kidnapped Dom Agaya, his father the Chief, and several others and brought them to France where they died.

So much for helping other people survive.

http://www.survivaltopics.com/survival/ ... or-scurvy/

Plant-Based Diets: An Overview of Options for Optimal Health

(NaturalNews) The common question surrounding plant-based diets concerns the source of protein. Although food calories also consist of carbohydrates and fats, protein is typically considered the most essential of the three groups. In fact, Americans have long been dogmatic in their regard for the quality and quantity of this nutrient since its discovery in 1839.

Protein is made up of amino acids -– the "building blocks" with which our bodies construct and repair tissue. Among the twenty or so different amino acids are at least eight which are considered essential because they must be obtained from foods.

Animal sources –- especially beef –- are commonly thought to be the most efficient means of obtaining the nutrient since they provide "quality" proteins similar to human flesh and contain all of the essential amino acids. In the recent past it was believed that each daily meal should include complete proteins –- containing all the amino acids, and even though science has since disproved this notion, the misconception persists. This has led to an over consumption of animal protein in most western diets and the mistaken belief that plants are an inferior source of the coveted nutrient.

Protein is responsible for tissue development. Growing infants, among all humans, have the highest requirement of the nutrient. Approximately 6% of the calories in mother's milk come from protein, which adequately meets the infant's needs (1). A wealth of research indicates that more than 10% of calories from protein –- especially when the bulk of it is from animal sources –- leads to many chronic illnesses, including cancer. On average, Americans consume more than this amount, yet a collective fear of not getting enough "quality" protein persists.

Virtually all plant food provides protein, in addition to their other health benefits. In his essential book The China Study, T. Colin Campbell, PhD. discloses undisputed evidence that plant protein is the healthiest source of this nutrient.

With heart disease, cancer and diabetes on the rise many individuals have discovered the health benefits and wisdom of a plant-based diet. As they seek healthier lifestyles however, they may be confused by conflicting information and surprised by the various options to the Standard American Diet.

The Plant-Based Diet Spectrum

Among the many plant-based diets that have helped individuals reverse chronic illness and disease are the macrobiotic; natural foods; fruitarian; raw foods; vegetarian; vegan, raw vegan and low-fat raw vegan diets. This report will not give space to any of the calorie reducing, nutritionally unsound fad diets such as the Atkins and the South Beach.

Knowledge of the various plant-based diets' basic aspects is necessary before deciding which is best for one's health and healing. Further individual research and application is the only way to determine which diet will be most feasibly incorporated into one's lifestyle.

Macrobiotic

Whole grains, green leafy vegetables and root vegetables –- primarily locally grown –-
are the bases of the macrobiotic diet. Soybean products and other beans are consumed often, if not daily. Among the occasional foods are fruit; seeds and nuts; fermented condiments; sea vegetables, and fish which are typically consumed two or three times per week. Beef, poultry, dairy products, sugar and processed foods are avoided.

Macrobiotic meals are combined with the principals of balance in mind, with consideration of season, climate, gender and the general health of the individual. Natural foods are preferred over refined foods, and light foods are favored over heavy foods that drain the body of energy.

This low-fat, high fiber diet involves careful planning and provides many health benefits, at least in the short term. Opponents suggest that the diet is too restrictive and results in nutritional deficiencies over time. While there are numerous accounts of healing from cancer by following a macrobiotic diet, several long-term practitioners, teachers and authors espousing the lifestyle have ironically succumbed to the disease (2).

Natural Foods

A diet that includes fresh fruits, vegetables and other whole foods while eliminating or severely restricting processed foods is considered a natural foods diet. Refined grains; sugar; table salt; carbonated beverages; hydrogenated oils; chemical additives, and food coloring are considered harmful to the body and are generally avoided. Healthier choices include whole grains; honey; herbal teas; olive oil; sea salt and culinary herbs and spices. Wild or ocean-caught fish as well as pasture-fed beef and poultry are preferred over the factory-farmed varieties.

Clearly, a natural foods diet provides superior nourishment than the Standard American Diet and is useful for health maintenance and disease prevention; however, it is not considered a cleansing diet. When optimal health is the goal, or if a life-threatening disease occurs, a more restrictive diet may be necessary to allow the body to cleanse and heal itself.

Fruitarian

The original human diet seems likely to have been one consisting solely of fruits, and this concept is the basis of the fruitarian philosophy. Fruitarians maintain a diet of whole raw fruits, including the non-sweet varieties such as cucumbers, tomatoes and avocados, and embrace this diet and lifestyle as the most natural to our existence. Unlike other natural food sources, fruit is harvested without killing the plant and is therefore considered by the fruitarian to be the most sustainable, natural and humane diet.

The purist consumes only raw fruit and believes that the consumption of nuts, seeds and grains are unnatural, although some fruitarians include small amounts of these foods in their diets. A fruitarian diet is extremely cleansing and useful for short-term detoxification; however, existing solely on fruit for the long-term may be difficult and detrimental to health as some practitioners eventually experience severe food cravings and unpleasant symptoms signaling nutritional deficiencies.

Vegetarian and Vegan

Many individuals opt for a vegetarian or vegan diet due to health, concern for animals and the environment, and/or philosophical reasons. A vegetarian diet excludes all animal flesh but does not restrict animal by-products. For instance, a lacto-ovo vegetarian eats dairy and eggs while refraining from meat. A vegan diet on the other hand excludes all animal products, including honey. There are no restrictions from any of the other food groups, nor are their limitations on the method of food preparation. Food may be raw, cooked, whole or processed.

Simply eliminating meat, fish and animal by-products does not necessarily ensure good health; in fact, many vegetarians regularly consume a high-fat, highly processed diet of refined grains, sugar, coffee, alcohol and other empty calorie foods. However, the vegetarian and vegan diet is conducive to good health when it consists of a wide variety of natural foods. According to the American Dietetic Association and Dietitians of Canada "appropriately planned vegetarian diets are healthful, nutritionally adequate and provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases".

Vegetarians run the risk of developing a vitamin B-12 deficiency since plant foods don't provide adequate amounts of this essential nutrient. Among its many functions B-12 is responsible for growth in children, a healthy nervous system, and the formation of red blood cells. Prolonged deficiencies may lead to anemia and neurological damage.

Spirulina and sea vegetables are thought to contain B-12, yet studies show that these food sources actually contain a form that is structurally similar to B-12 (a B-12 analog), which is not utilized by the body and may in fact compete with the vitamin for absorption (3).

Vitamin B-12 is made by microorganisms in the soil, (as well as in animal intestines), and research indicates that plants will absorb the vitamin if grown in healthy organic soil containing a concentration of B-12 (4). Nevertheless, to avoid the possible risk of a deficiency, vegetarians and vegans should have their levels checked periodically and supplement with a sublingual form of methylcobalamin, if necessary.

Raw Foods

Any diet that excludes cooked animal or plant food is considered a raw foods diet. Cooking food at high temperatures reduces its nutrient value and destroys enzymes that would otherwise aid the body in the digestion and absorption of food. Common practices among raw foodists include warming, drying, and dehydrating food up to approximately 115 degrees Fahrenheit as this low heat will not compromise enzyme activity. Countless studies have revealed that cooking food produces toxic by-products, and once consumed, the body reacts by generating white blood cells to attack the foreign debris.

Raw Vegan Diets

In 1878, Louis Pasteur published his "germ theory of disease" which led to the widespread fear of germs and the popular belief that all foods must be cooked to protect health (1). Diets that once contained very little cooked food and an abundance of fresh, raw fruits and vegetables were switched to a predominance of cooked food. Today the concept of a high raw diet is foreign to most people, although it continues to regain popularity and credibility as its advocates and practitioners increase globally and exponentially.

A raw food diet may contain fish, eggs, unpasteurized milk and other raw animal products; however, a raw vegan shuns all animal flesh and by-products in favor of raw fruits, vegetables, (including seaweeds), sprouts, juices, herbs, nuts, seeds and their unprocessed oils.

Raw vegan preparations often include dehydrated and fermented foods. Fat content can be extremely high on a raw vegan diet when nuts, seeds, avocados and oils comprise the largest percentage of calorie intake.

80-10-10 Raw Diet

The low-fat raw vegan diet known as the 80-10-10 diet is thoroughly explained in the book by the same name, written by Dr. Douglas Graham. The numbers refer to the recommended ratio of carbohydrates, proteins and fats in the diet. Graham, who has followed this lifestyle for nearly thirty years, asserts that a minimum of 80% of total caloric intake should come from carbohydrates, a maximum of 10% from protein and up to 10% from fat. The concept may seem radical and unacceptable to many but it nevertheless takes the raw vegan diet to the next level of health.

With science to back him up Graham makes a convincing case for a diet of whole, fresh, ripe, raw and unprocessed fruit, tender greens, and small amounts of nuts and seeds, as the most natural to our anatomy, physiology and biochemistry. If left to fend for ourselves in nature with our bare hands and without the convenience of stoves, utensils, refrigeration and other modern devices we would seek out and thrive on this dietary model.

Fruit sugar provides energy to cells within a matter of minutes as long as there is a relatively small amount of fat in the diet. Without excess fat to slow it down, the natural sugar travels easily from the digestive tract through the intestinal wall and into the bloodstream where it then makes its way to nourish cells.

Fats on the other hand take twelve to twenty-four hours to finally reach the cells. An excess consumption causes the bloodstream to remain congested with fat which in turn slows sugar from reaching the cells. The resultant elevated blood sugar contributes to candida, diabetes and many other illnesses.

Excess dietary fat (more than 10% of total caloric intake), not natural sugar, is the offender as it holds up digestion and adversely affects blood sugar levels. According to Graham, high fat intake "contributes not peripherally, but directly and causally to all the misleadingly named 'blood-sugar metabolic disorders.'

Graham maintains that fruit is the most nutritionally-complete food and should be the basis of a healthy diet. Vegetable fruits (cucumbers, tomatoes, etc.) and tender greens are also cleansing and alkalizing, and are an important component of the 80-10-10 diet as well.

Transition

For most people addicted to the Standard American Diet the transition to any one of the healing diets may be difficult. Instead of eliminating foods it may be easier to initially begin adding raw vegetables and fruits to one's daily diet. This may take a period of several days or weeks, but once this has become habit some of the health-damaging foods may be easier to release. The next level might be a natural foods diet before attempting a further restrictive cleansing diet. The strategy is to follow an incremental path to the optimum dietary lifestyle, regardless of how long it takes.

Many chronically ill individuals have made their transitions literally overnight in an effort to end their suffering or save their lives. These individuals endured the symptoms of detoxification until finally arriving at renewed health, and many have subsequently published their remarkable accounts of healing. Among the scores of noteworthy testimonies are The Raw Family: A True Story of Awakening by Victoria, Igor, Sergei and Valya Boutenko, (http://rawfamily.com/index) , A Way Out by Matthew Grace, (http://www.matthewgrace.com) , and Dying to Get Well by Shelly Keck-Borsits (http://www.rawandjuicy.com) .

Transitioning to a plant-based diet for optimum health is a lifestyle adjustment rather than a temporary phase, and determining the best option is an individual investigation that takes time. We tend to eat for reasons having less to do with nutrition and more to do with comfort, emotional attachment and tradition, and it's been said that changing one's diet is more difficult than changing religions. Nevertheless, once the addictive and highly processed foods are eliminated and the restorative powers of healing foods are realized it becomes easier and more desirable to stay the course.

References:

1. Graham, Dr. Douglas N.: The 80-10-10- Diet. Key Largo, FL: FoodnSport Press,
pp. 100; pg. 106; pg. 54, 2006

2. (http://macrobiotics.co.uk/foodlist.htm)

3. (www.vegsoc.org/info/b12.html)


http://www.naturalnews.com/023837_diet_food_foods.html

Natural News is a very good and informative site. I get a lot of emails from them...also the links on this board are very extensive..I try and bookmark as many as I can. I also want to put some of the information on a CD/DVD...

http://www.naturalnews.com/023837_diet_food_foods.html

This boards needs to be made into a sticky otherwise it will get lost in shuffle...


Kathyet