By Elizabeth Szlek, LMHC
For The Rome Observer, December 28, 2010
Many people I meet tell me that they have become vegetarians, or vegans. Often, when pressed, they will admit they are doing this for “spiritual” reasons. They sometimes say they don’t eat anything “with a face”. They often seem quite self-satisfied when they say this, and expect me to congratulate them for their highly developed sense of morality and sensitivity. Unfortunately, for them, this is an unwise decision, destined to reduce them to a state of nutritional deficiency. So, to explore this idea, let us consider the concept of nutrient-dense foods. What are they?
When Adam and Eve lived in the Garden of Eden, they were vegetarians. They were given every possible kind of fruit and vegetable to eat, and they were quite content. They lived in complete harmony with nature, and all their needs, nutritional and otherwise, were met quite simply. They did not have to plow or plant, but merely had to stretch out a hand and pick luscious fruits and other delights. Vegetarians often point to the Garden of Eden, saying that Adam and Eve were vegetarians. But wait, not so fast!
After the Fall, they were expelled from this paradise on earth, and Adam was instructed that he now had to work hard to produce his food. Farming and animal husbandry began. From that time on, men on earth have been eating animal products and animals themselves. They ate things with faces, delighting in them. Throughout history, many people have voluntarily given up eating meat, but there never has been a society that was completely vegetarian. Individuals in a society may have decided, usually for religious reasons, to eschew the use of meat or any other animal product, but this was always an individual choice, and a difficult one.
Today, though, we have children, adolescents and adults all hewing to the vegan “lifestyle”. That is, no meat, eggs, dairy or any other animal product, even honey. And I am here to tell you, this is an diet that is doomed to failure. Humans need to eat certain foods to provide them with essential fats and vitamins. There is really no substitute for vitamin B-12 produced by animals. There is really no good substitute for the fat-soluble vitamins in fish liver oil, and if one lives in a northern climate, getting the right amount of vitamin D is very difficult, if not impossible.
The foods that are avoided by vegans, and some vegetarians, are what we would consider nutrient-dense. In other words, you get a lot of bang for the buck. Eating organ meats, such as liver, provides concentrated nutrition that is not obtainable by eating vegetable products alone, since the amounts of vegetable matter needed to equal the nutrients in a food such as liver puts it out of reach for most people. The body simply needs these foods, and no amount of wishful thinking will change what our body needs.
Now, it is true that throughout history, there have been examples of men and women we would call saints, who subsisted on little or nothing. But, I am guessing you are not such a person, and you have ordinary needs. A Bocaburger is not the nutritional equivalent of a quarter pound of good beef. Sorry. And, I don’t mean a “Quarterpounder” from McDonald’s, because you have probably heard the anecdote about the man who has a McDonald’s hamburger from 1989 which has yet to decompose. This is not real food, but is some kind of dead thing that no one should ever eat.
Some months ago I connected with a woman who has chickens who produce what we would call free-range eggs. Her eggs come to me unwashed, lovely, large, sometimes with green shells, and always with huge orange yolks. They are absolutely delicious! They are real eggs, from some past time before factory farms. There is nothing to compare with them. They are nutrient-dense, and to some, they have a face.
I also made friends with some people who sell me raw milk. Did you know you can make cream cheese directly from raw milk? And wonderful yogurts and kefir and buttermilk, and butter? Not to mention cottage cheese and quark. All these foods are ancient, wonderful and nutrient-dense, because the milk is alive, not dead, as all pasteurized milk is. You feel more alive when you drink it! Another face here.
I regularly go to markets to buy bones now. I look for big, fat beef bones with marrow and cook them for twenty-four hours or more, to extract all the nutrients from them. I don’t eat soup from packets or cans, because they usually contain many additives that are harmful to the brain and to the body, like monosodium glutamate (MSG). You cannot imagine how delicious homemade stock from marrow bones can be. It is a revelation! It is also very nutrient-dense. Cows have faces, too. They are beautiful!
When I lived in Poland, I went to visit my relatives on the farm where my grandmother was born. It was Christmas the first time I went, and for our Christmas dinner, my great aunt took a rooster and chopped off his head and plucked him, and she then made a soup of him. It was the most delicious soup I ever had! Nutrient-dense, too. With a face.
If we were cannibals, and we were going to eat a fellow human, you can bet that everyone would want to eat the best parts: the heart and the liver. As we go up the food chain,( leaving humans off it, please), we seek these “best parts” instinctively. Except, in our society, we are so divorced from our God-given instincts, that we shy away from the best things, and just eat muscle meat. In my mind, we must retrain our palates to appreciate the best. All the best foods have faces.
We are not cannibals because we understand that man is made a little lower than the angels, and he is a special creation of God, worthy of respect and honor. Animals are worthy of respect, too, but they are of a lower order, and do not have souls, as we do. This is why it is acceptable to eat them, and we do not commit moral evil when we do so. They are here to help nourish us, and when we use them with reverence, there is no sin. Factory farms which force animals to live in squalor and misery are sinful and disrespectful to the animals, and should be banned from civil society.
Nutrient-dense foods are here to provide men with healthy lives, sound minds, and good character. We must thank God for them, and use them wisely.
Elizabeth Szlek is the Director of The Door Counseling Center of Yorkville. Questions and comments can be directed to her at (315) 768-8900 or at info@thedoorcounseling.com.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Elements of a Traditional Diet
For The Rome Observer, December 21, 2010
By Elizabeth Szlek, LMHC
In my last column I outlined the way in which all human communities, over thousands of years have found diets that promote good health, good emotional stability and even contentment. If this seems a foreign concept, no wonder. We in the western world are surrounded by thousands of so-called “foods” that do nothing but promote our demise. The worst aspect of this situation is that we have lost our innate ability to choose foods that are nutritious. Think about this for a moment: When faced with the hundreds of thousands of choices available in the supermarket, we are pretty much at a loss as to which of them is truly good for us. The vegetables look “healthy”, right? They say chocolate is good for you! I should stay away from fat, that’s for sure! Skim milk is the way to go! Eat lots of soy! No butter- eat heart-healthy margarine! And get that whole wheat bread, too!
Most of us would agree with these statements, because we have fallen for the food myth, or I like to call them memes (pronounced meems) that prevail in our time. Memes are carefully constructed slogans or ideas that are floated out to society by those who have something to gain from their adoption. You can call them propaganda, if you like. Truth or falsehood is not the idea of a meme, because someone other than you is going to benefit if you take it to heart. What I am now going to deliver are some actual facts, backed by thousands of years of empirical evidence. Empirical evidence is part of the scientific process – you just notice what is happening in front of you, with no theory. Our ancestors had no theories of nutrition, and they did just fine in that department. We, on the other hand, are in the grip of many competing theories which are supposedly based on real science. But, let me point out a little factoid that all scientists know: Scientific theories are know by scientists themselves to be noting more than “useful fiction”. That is, science is not really in the business of finding the truth. It is in the business of testing theories. So, if you have any doubts about what you should be eating, why not go back to the tried and true? Your ancestors certainly did a good job of choosing nutritious foods, or you wouldn’t be here. Why not look backward for direction?
The Weston A. Price Foundation
Professor Mary Enig was one of the first experts to point out the dangers of trans fats to the human organism. She sounded the alarm that these notorious man-made new fats were killing millions of people every year. At this point, science has grudgingly admitted she was right, and these pernicious fats have been reduced in our diets, but do not think they are really gone. They are still present in lots of foods you are eating, but they are occurring at levels that keep them from having to be labeled. Thanks, FDA, for that! So, they are still accumulating in your arteries if you are eating processed foods.
I mention Dr. Enig, because it was she, along with food activist Sally Fallon, who founded the Weston A. Price Foundation in 1999. These two remarkable women have worked to bring to our nation information about traditional diets, based upon the findings of Dr. Weston A. Price, a pioneer in world nutrition and the causes of degenerative diseases.
So, what did they come up with for a nutritious diet? Here are the general outlines of their diet. In succeeding weeks I will focus on each of these elements in depth, so that you can understand the importance of each of them. Remember, all human diets prior to the introduction of the “western diet” were life-enhancing. And none of them was vegetarian! Or especially, vegan!
Elements of the Weston A. Price Diet
1. Butter, cream and raw whole milk
2. Organ meats, such as liver
3. Pasture-fed meats, dairy and eggs
4. Wild fish, shellfish and fish roe (caviar)
5. Organic vegetables and fruits
6. Traditional lacto-fermented foods, such as sauerkraut and yogurt
7. Healthy lacto-fermented soft drinks, such as kombucha tea
8. Homemade bone broths
9. Properly prepared whole grains and traditional sourdough breads
10. Unrefined salt
11. Coconut and coconut products, and unprocessed and unrefined oils
Surprised by how delicious all this sounds? Believe me, it is! Your head may be spinning at the thought of ALL THAT FAT, but believe me, this diet is the road to health! But, we will have many weeks to understand the whys and hows of this remarkable OLD way of eating.
The Other Side of The Coin
Of course, for every yin, there’s a yang, and here it is. Stuff you should avoid like the plague.
1. Modern soy products, i.e., unfermented soy foods
2. Pasteurized, homogenized dairy products
3. Margarine and trans fats
4. Processed vegetable oils
5. Dry breakfast cereals (throw out the Wheaties!)
6. Artificial sweeteners and food additives
7. Fast foods and sodas
8. Refined sweeteners and processed fruit juices
9. White flour products
10. Genetically modified foods (GM or GMO)
11. Factory-raised meats and farm-raised fish
12. Unprepared grains and nuts (these need to be soaked before eating)
Now, if you read these two lists, and try to figure out what you are doing right and doing wrong, it can be kind of overwhelming. I have been following this diet for about six months now, and I have not yet been able to completely rid my kitchen of all the “bad” stuff, but remember, this is a journey to health, and every step you take in the right direction brings you closer to your goal. Don’t despair! The best news is, you can eat wonderful foods with abandon, because if you eat the right foods, you will actually lose weigh. I was trained as a French chef, and after years of fearing the butter, cheese and eggs, they are back with a vengeance. Pates, rich stews and soufflés are also back! Delicious! And I am learning to make traditional dishes that are absolutely satisfying and nutritious. So will you, I promise!
Elizabeth Szlek is the Director of The Door Counseling Center of Utica, NY. Questions and comments can be directed to her at (315) 768-8900 or at info@thedoorcounseling.com.
By Elizabeth Szlek, LMHC
In my last column I outlined the way in which all human communities, over thousands of years have found diets that promote good health, good emotional stability and even contentment. If this seems a foreign concept, no wonder. We in the western world are surrounded by thousands of so-called “foods” that do nothing but promote our demise. The worst aspect of this situation is that we have lost our innate ability to choose foods that are nutritious. Think about this for a moment: When faced with the hundreds of thousands of choices available in the supermarket, we are pretty much at a loss as to which of them is truly good for us. The vegetables look “healthy”, right? They say chocolate is good for you! I should stay away from fat, that’s for sure! Skim milk is the way to go! Eat lots of soy! No butter- eat heart-healthy margarine! And get that whole wheat bread, too!
Most of us would agree with these statements, because we have fallen for the food myth, or I like to call them memes (pronounced meems) that prevail in our time. Memes are carefully constructed slogans or ideas that are floated out to society by those who have something to gain from their adoption. You can call them propaganda, if you like. Truth or falsehood is not the idea of a meme, because someone other than you is going to benefit if you take it to heart. What I am now going to deliver are some actual facts, backed by thousands of years of empirical evidence. Empirical evidence is part of the scientific process – you just notice what is happening in front of you, with no theory. Our ancestors had no theories of nutrition, and they did just fine in that department. We, on the other hand, are in the grip of many competing theories which are supposedly based on real science. But, let me point out a little factoid that all scientists know: Scientific theories are know by scientists themselves to be noting more than “useful fiction”. That is, science is not really in the business of finding the truth. It is in the business of testing theories. So, if you have any doubts about what you should be eating, why not go back to the tried and true? Your ancestors certainly did a good job of choosing nutritious foods, or you wouldn’t be here. Why not look backward for direction?
The Weston A. Price Foundation
Professor Mary Enig was one of the first experts to point out the dangers of trans fats to the human organism. She sounded the alarm that these notorious man-made new fats were killing millions of people every year. At this point, science has grudgingly admitted she was right, and these pernicious fats have been reduced in our diets, but do not think they are really gone. They are still present in lots of foods you are eating, but they are occurring at levels that keep them from having to be labeled. Thanks, FDA, for that! So, they are still accumulating in your arteries if you are eating processed foods.
I mention Dr. Enig, because it was she, along with food activist Sally Fallon, who founded the Weston A. Price Foundation in 1999. These two remarkable women have worked to bring to our nation information about traditional diets, based upon the findings of Dr. Weston A. Price, a pioneer in world nutrition and the causes of degenerative diseases.
So, what did they come up with for a nutritious diet? Here are the general outlines of their diet. In succeeding weeks I will focus on each of these elements in depth, so that you can understand the importance of each of them. Remember, all human diets prior to the introduction of the “western diet” were life-enhancing. And none of them was vegetarian! Or especially, vegan!
Elements of the Weston A. Price Diet
1. Butter, cream and raw whole milk
2. Organ meats, such as liver
3. Pasture-fed meats, dairy and eggs
4. Wild fish, shellfish and fish roe (caviar)
5. Organic vegetables and fruits
6. Traditional lacto-fermented foods, such as sauerkraut and yogurt
7. Healthy lacto-fermented soft drinks, such as kombucha tea
8. Homemade bone broths
9. Properly prepared whole grains and traditional sourdough breads
10. Unrefined salt
11. Coconut and coconut products, and unprocessed and unrefined oils
Surprised by how delicious all this sounds? Believe me, it is! Your head may be spinning at the thought of ALL THAT FAT, but believe me, this diet is the road to health! But, we will have many weeks to understand the whys and hows of this remarkable OLD way of eating.
The Other Side of The Coin
Of course, for every yin, there’s a yang, and here it is. Stuff you should avoid like the plague.
1. Modern soy products, i.e., unfermented soy foods
2. Pasteurized, homogenized dairy products
3. Margarine and trans fats
4. Processed vegetable oils
5. Dry breakfast cereals (throw out the Wheaties!)
6. Artificial sweeteners and food additives
7. Fast foods and sodas
8. Refined sweeteners and processed fruit juices
9. White flour products
10. Genetically modified foods (GM or GMO)
11. Factory-raised meats and farm-raised fish
12. Unprepared grains and nuts (these need to be soaked before eating)
Now, if you read these two lists, and try to figure out what you are doing right and doing wrong, it can be kind of overwhelming. I have been following this diet for about six months now, and I have not yet been able to completely rid my kitchen of all the “bad” stuff, but remember, this is a journey to health, and every step you take in the right direction brings you closer to your goal. Don’t despair! The best news is, you can eat wonderful foods with abandon, because if you eat the right foods, you will actually lose weigh. I was trained as a French chef, and after years of fearing the butter, cheese and eggs, they are back with a vengeance. Pates, rich stews and soufflés are also back! Delicious! And I am learning to make traditional dishes that are absolutely satisfying and nutritious. So will you, I promise!
Elizabeth Szlek is the Director of The Door Counseling Center of Utica, NY. Questions and comments can be directed to her at (315) 768-8900 or at info@thedoorcounseling.com.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
What Should We Eat?
For The Rome Observer, December 14, 2010
By Elizabeth Szlek, LMHC
For many months now, I have been studying nutrition and various claims made from all angles. I began somewhere around last October after attending a break-out session conducted by Gary Kohl, M.D., who is now retired, but who made it his life’s work to find out how to help people who were taking psychotropic medications. That is, he learned how to get them off these terribly, unnecessary drugs, and back to health.
Along the way, he ran into a cast of characters, including Russell Blalock, M.D., a neurosurgeon, who was very much interested in nutrition and its effects on the brain. He also bumped into many of the folks working with the Weston A. Price Foundation, including Mary Enig and Sally Fallon, were the founders of Weston A. Price in 1999. These two have attracted many other sterling scientists, all intent on figuring out just what humans need to thrive, and what people from all over the world have, in the past, consumed in order to preserve their health.
In studying the horrible effects of psychotropic medications, I had not originally realized that this problem was only the tip of the iceberg. Yes, these medications damage everyone who takes them, but the larger issue of the general health of all people came into view. At the same time, my mother underwent some scary procedures, and the doctors, being oriented only toward allopathic medicine, prescribed more medications for her. At this same time, I was being sent to various websites, and found that a whole world of non-allopathic medicine exists, and is thriving, and is saving lives.
Briefly, allopathic medicine relies on poisons, otherwise known as “medicine”, to effect changes in the human body. It looks as disease as something to “cure” this way. And, to a small extent, this works. I mean, if you have a raging bout of strep throat, a dose of strong antibiotics gets rid of it, quickly. This is the allopathic approach. It does not usually look at questions such as: Why can’t my body resist this germ? Is there something I am lacking, nutritionally, that renders my immune system helpless in the face of this organism? What kinds of foods should always be in my diet? Or even, what should I be eating to preserve my body in an optimum state? Now, this is not to say that some doctors are prescribing various nutrients in various forms, or telling people what they shouldn’t be eating. But, I have never felt that “regular” doctors see nutrition as the first line of defense in the prevention of disease. It just isn’t their normal orientation. Fixing problems is their normal way of seeing things.
Back in the Mists of Time!
While medicine has come a long way in understanding the microbiology of the human body, and in understanding germ theory and such, we should remember that for thousands of years, people were living on this earth without these theories to guide them.
They had to eat food to survive, and they had to find ways to do this in quite extraordinarily different climates.
Think of Polynesians, surrounded by coconut palms and the seas. Think of the Swiss, living in secluded mountain valleys, with a few cows and some rye. Think of the Eskimos, with no green plants or fruits or many vegetables, other than seaweed, but surrounded by whales and seals and fish. It is amazing that ALL these people came up with diets that promoted excellent health. And all without a single nutritionist or doctor on hand to guide them! We must look, then, to some different answer as to how they could do this. We have to understand that man is not evolving into a superior being, but that he is devolving and degrading into a lesser one.
If every primitive community on earth somehow understood and sensed what they needed to eat to thrive, we must understand that we humans have lost this precious gift of discernment. We no longer instinctively, or with the grace of God, know what we need to eat. On the moral plane, it is also obvious that man is devolving, not advancing in virtue.
When these primitive cultures were studied, at the last possible moment before they were thrust into the “modern”world, it was found that not only were they healthy physically, but that their moral character was exemplary, as well. And what is more, they suffered from few emotional problems. Depression and anxiety, the plagues of our current existence, simply didn’t make it onto their radar. In a word, they were happy. Happy to live on just oats and fish, or cheese and rye bread, or fish and coconuts, or seal meat, blubber and seaweed.
This state of contentment and moral, physical and emotional health ended in every case when the “western diet” was introduced to their culture by the supposedly “advanced” civilizations. Eager to advance themselves, and tantalized by the sweetness of sugar and the refined white flours with their soft, cushiony cakes and breads, all the primitive cultures soon took these western foods for their own – and all degenerated just as the western societies that provided these deadly foods
What Is Happening To Us?
If anyone wants to understand what is going on in our world, the best place to begin to understand would be in the Bible. There you will learn that the highest point of our civilization occurred hundreds of years ago, when Christianity became the dominant force in the world. Of course, I cannot outline the degeneration of Christian society for you here, but take it on faith that the decline began well before what are considered the Middle Ages. Before the Crusades, and before the split between East and West, when the Roman Empire under Christianity still existed.
Heights of moral and personal sanctity have never been reached since that time, save by a few saints who serve as example of what man can achieve when guided by God. We are the poor, struggling remnant of that time, and if one continues to look into the Bible, we cannot help but notice that things now happening point to decline, not some glorious evolution into supermen.
With this in mind, one can look at one’s place in the march of history and understand that at this terrible place, when assaults against God are daily occurrences, there are also assaults against all people, in various forms. Our liberties are being stripped away daily. Our children and elders are being drugged into submission. But, a very important piece of this is: Our food supply is being adulterated and turned into a source of our demise, and we have very little control over this process, since we still believe that those in charge are looking out for us. This is part of the great delusion.
Let me just say this: You are now in charge of your own life and your own safety, and even your own medical care. Luckily, we still have the internet and some freedom to pursue knowledge. There is little you can do that would be more important than begin to study the effects of the foods you are being offered in the marketplace, and to begin to choose those which will preserve your health and your life. In the coming weeks, I will outline the diet, created by the Weston A. Price Foundation, that I believe will be best for preserving your lives and your emotional health.
Elizabeth Szlek is the Director of The Door Counseling Center of Yorkville, NY. Questions and comments can be directed to her at (315) 768-8900 or at info@thedoorcounseling.com.
By Elizabeth Szlek, LMHC
For many months now, I have been studying nutrition and various claims made from all angles. I began somewhere around last October after attending a break-out session conducted by Gary Kohl, M.D., who is now retired, but who made it his life’s work to find out how to help people who were taking psychotropic medications. That is, he learned how to get them off these terribly, unnecessary drugs, and back to health.
Along the way, he ran into a cast of characters, including Russell Blalock, M.D., a neurosurgeon, who was very much interested in nutrition and its effects on the brain. He also bumped into many of the folks working with the Weston A. Price Foundation, including Mary Enig and Sally Fallon, were the founders of Weston A. Price in 1999. These two have attracted many other sterling scientists, all intent on figuring out just what humans need to thrive, and what people from all over the world have, in the past, consumed in order to preserve their health.
In studying the horrible effects of psychotropic medications, I had not originally realized that this problem was only the tip of the iceberg. Yes, these medications damage everyone who takes them, but the larger issue of the general health of all people came into view. At the same time, my mother underwent some scary procedures, and the doctors, being oriented only toward allopathic medicine, prescribed more medications for her. At this same time, I was being sent to various websites, and found that a whole world of non-allopathic medicine exists, and is thriving, and is saving lives.
Briefly, allopathic medicine relies on poisons, otherwise known as “medicine”, to effect changes in the human body. It looks as disease as something to “cure” this way. And, to a small extent, this works. I mean, if you have a raging bout of strep throat, a dose of strong antibiotics gets rid of it, quickly. This is the allopathic approach. It does not usually look at questions such as: Why can’t my body resist this germ? Is there something I am lacking, nutritionally, that renders my immune system helpless in the face of this organism? What kinds of foods should always be in my diet? Or even, what should I be eating to preserve my body in an optimum state? Now, this is not to say that some doctors are prescribing various nutrients in various forms, or telling people what they shouldn’t be eating. But, I have never felt that “regular” doctors see nutrition as the first line of defense in the prevention of disease. It just isn’t their normal orientation. Fixing problems is their normal way of seeing things.
Back in the Mists of Time!
While medicine has come a long way in understanding the microbiology of the human body, and in understanding germ theory and such, we should remember that for thousands of years, people were living on this earth without these theories to guide them.
They had to eat food to survive, and they had to find ways to do this in quite extraordinarily different climates.
Think of Polynesians, surrounded by coconut palms and the seas. Think of the Swiss, living in secluded mountain valleys, with a few cows and some rye. Think of the Eskimos, with no green plants or fruits or many vegetables, other than seaweed, but surrounded by whales and seals and fish. It is amazing that ALL these people came up with diets that promoted excellent health. And all without a single nutritionist or doctor on hand to guide them! We must look, then, to some different answer as to how they could do this. We have to understand that man is not evolving into a superior being, but that he is devolving and degrading into a lesser one.
If every primitive community on earth somehow understood and sensed what they needed to eat to thrive, we must understand that we humans have lost this precious gift of discernment. We no longer instinctively, or with the grace of God, know what we need to eat. On the moral plane, it is also obvious that man is devolving, not advancing in virtue.
When these primitive cultures were studied, at the last possible moment before they were thrust into the “modern”world, it was found that not only were they healthy physically, but that their moral character was exemplary, as well. And what is more, they suffered from few emotional problems. Depression and anxiety, the plagues of our current existence, simply didn’t make it onto their radar. In a word, they were happy. Happy to live on just oats and fish, or cheese and rye bread, or fish and coconuts, or seal meat, blubber and seaweed.
This state of contentment and moral, physical and emotional health ended in every case when the “western diet” was introduced to their culture by the supposedly “advanced” civilizations. Eager to advance themselves, and tantalized by the sweetness of sugar and the refined white flours with their soft, cushiony cakes and breads, all the primitive cultures soon took these western foods for their own – and all degenerated just as the western societies that provided these deadly foods
What Is Happening To Us?
If anyone wants to understand what is going on in our world, the best place to begin to understand would be in the Bible. There you will learn that the highest point of our civilization occurred hundreds of years ago, when Christianity became the dominant force in the world. Of course, I cannot outline the degeneration of Christian society for you here, but take it on faith that the decline began well before what are considered the Middle Ages. Before the Crusades, and before the split between East and West, when the Roman Empire under Christianity still existed.
Heights of moral and personal sanctity have never been reached since that time, save by a few saints who serve as example of what man can achieve when guided by God. We are the poor, struggling remnant of that time, and if one continues to look into the Bible, we cannot help but notice that things now happening point to decline, not some glorious evolution into supermen.
With this in mind, one can look at one’s place in the march of history and understand that at this terrible place, when assaults against God are daily occurrences, there are also assaults against all people, in various forms. Our liberties are being stripped away daily. Our children and elders are being drugged into submission. But, a very important piece of this is: Our food supply is being adulterated and turned into a source of our demise, and we have very little control over this process, since we still believe that those in charge are looking out for us. This is part of the great delusion.
Let me just say this: You are now in charge of your own life and your own safety, and even your own medical care. Luckily, we still have the internet and some freedom to pursue knowledge. There is little you can do that would be more important than begin to study the effects of the foods you are being offered in the marketplace, and to begin to choose those which will preserve your health and your life. In the coming weeks, I will outline the diet, created by the Weston A. Price Foundation, that I believe will be best for preserving your lives and your emotional health.
Elizabeth Szlek is the Director of The Door Counseling Center of Yorkville, NY. Questions and comments can be directed to her at (315) 768-8900 or at info@thedoorcounseling.com.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
It's All Coming Together!
By Elizabeth Szlek, LMHC
For The Rome Observer, December 7, 2010
I have been reading and studying for over a year now in the area of nutrition, and I think all my work is finally coming together in a structure that makes complete sense, is useful for all I work with, and is personally fulfilling. God, in His infinite wisdom, has sent me someone to work with who absolutely has demonstrated the truth of what I have been suspecting. When I tell you this, I hope you will take this information and apply it to your own life, and the lives of your families, and especially, your children.
Daniel’s Story
Some weeks ago, a new client came to me. He is a marvelously talented man, mid-30’s, who has spent many months in various mental hospitals. He tried to commit suicide several times, mostly by ingesting huge amounts of prescription medications.
He has been diagnosed as bi-polar, schizophrenic, and probably some other things. The fact is, he suffers from none of these mythical disorders. He has also been labeled an alcoholic, due to his irregular binges. He has been carted off to mental hospitals, and finally, was brought under the care of some people in a nearby town.
Now, let’s just say this: Daniel is a fabulously intellectual man, with several advanced degrees under his belt. He appears to be totally “normal”, and I could see nothing “off” in him. That is, many times people come to me and immediately there is some eccentricity, usually of an autistic nature, that let’s me know all is not well, neurologically. Daniel, however, displays nothing but ordinary human interaction. He is wonderful to talk to. I really like him, a lot, and would consider him a great dinner guest: One of my highest designations for a person. He could grace any table and give pleasure to all my guests, merely by speaking his deep wisdom and insight.
The Beginning
When someone comes to me with multiple psychiatric diagnoses, and the like, I first have to consider that they have psychological problems, if only in deference to the doctors who went before me. So, I began by taking his history. He comes from a family of intellectuals, but he talked of their coldness and emotional neglect. We mined this field for a couple of weeks, and while this could have been part of the problem, I just wasn’t picking up a lot of deep emotional turmoil. He even gave me some articles written by his father, a psychologist, but even this did not open any doors to understand why Daniel was suffering from such deep depression. In fact, he never experienced the “manic” phase of bi-polar disorder, so pretty soon I discarded that label.
As for being schizophrenic, deep depression can look like psychosis, and he really was very well grounded in reality, so I tossed that one, too. So, he is massively depressed, and there is no real compelling reason for it. I don’t believe he was “hiding” anything from me. This really didn’t make any sense.
Then, it hit me!
It’s About His Diet, Stupid!
I asked Daniel about his diet, and what I heard really got me thinking.
Daniel has been eating a largely vegan diet since he was around twelve. That means over twenty years of no meat! Often, he eats no fish, either, or eggs, or milk products. He eats a lot of starchy foods, obviously, since little is left. He sometimes eats beans and rice, and he consumes soy products such as tofu. All his food is cooked in vegetable oils, such as canola, soy and corn oil, which are hydrogenated, and totally processed. He gets few fresh vegetables or fruits, and does not drink fresh squeezed juice. He eats little of cultured milk products or other fermented foods.
And there you have it! For the past ten years, at least, he has been suffering from varying depths of depression, sometimes massive depression that renders him unable to get out of bed in the morning. And, as I said, when it gets too bad, he is shipped off to a mental institution for months at a time. He describes the horrors of these institutions to me, and I wonder that this highly intelligent man could be reduced to such misery.
Here was a test case for my new understanding of what people need to survive and thrive. There is no distinction between what our brain needs for mental health, and what our bodies need for maintenance and growth. It is all nutritional, all the time.
Daniel’s Solution
My assessment of Daniel, therefore, was that he is massively undernourished. He weighs much more than he should, but a lot of that can be attributed to the horrible medications he is taking for his supposed psychiatric problems. Things like Paxil, Seroquel and the dreaded lithium. All poisons, which further put a burden on his already malnourished body.
What Daniels really needs are nutrient-dense foods, such as good butter, eggs, lots of fish, fresh fruits and vegetables, seafood of any kind (he will not eat meat, but that’s OK), whole grains, and LOTS of cod liver oil, vitamin D3, K-2 and A, magnesium and a whole lot of other nutrients, but especially the omega-3 oils. I told him to get out there and get these items, plus others as we see how he does, and he started chugging cod liver oil the very next day.
So, What Happened?
When I first met Daniel, he was unable to work, basically. He could not sleep, either. Now, in less than a month, he is working about 8-10 hours a day in his profession of writer, which is a total change, and his has described himself as “happy” in his work.
“Happy” is not a word that a massively depressed person uses to describe himself, so I would have to say that he is well on the road to recovery. He also disavows any idea of suicide, and seemed shocked that I asked him that!
It is so gratifying to be able to work with a person so seriously affected, and see him come out of his malnourished state to one of normality. This is the first time I have had such an opportunity, and I feel particularly blessed to have met this client. It demonstrates how very important proper nutrition is for all of us. Unfortunately, this cure runs counter to most of what passes for conventional nutritional wisdom in America, and so millions of Americans will continue their sad, malnourished lives because no one will speak the truth to them. I hope this story will help you understand some of the realities of human nutrition. Please contact me if you have any questions!
Elizabeth Szlek is the Director of The Door Counseling Center of Yorkville, NY. Questions and comments can be directed to her at (315) 768-8900 or at info@thedoorcounseling.com.
For The Rome Observer, December 7, 2010
I have been reading and studying for over a year now in the area of nutrition, and I think all my work is finally coming together in a structure that makes complete sense, is useful for all I work with, and is personally fulfilling. God, in His infinite wisdom, has sent me someone to work with who absolutely has demonstrated the truth of what I have been suspecting. When I tell you this, I hope you will take this information and apply it to your own life, and the lives of your families, and especially, your children.
Daniel’s Story
Some weeks ago, a new client came to me. He is a marvelously talented man, mid-30’s, who has spent many months in various mental hospitals. He tried to commit suicide several times, mostly by ingesting huge amounts of prescription medications.
He has been diagnosed as bi-polar, schizophrenic, and probably some other things. The fact is, he suffers from none of these mythical disorders. He has also been labeled an alcoholic, due to his irregular binges. He has been carted off to mental hospitals, and finally, was brought under the care of some people in a nearby town.
Now, let’s just say this: Daniel is a fabulously intellectual man, with several advanced degrees under his belt. He appears to be totally “normal”, and I could see nothing “off” in him. That is, many times people come to me and immediately there is some eccentricity, usually of an autistic nature, that let’s me know all is not well, neurologically. Daniel, however, displays nothing but ordinary human interaction. He is wonderful to talk to. I really like him, a lot, and would consider him a great dinner guest: One of my highest designations for a person. He could grace any table and give pleasure to all my guests, merely by speaking his deep wisdom and insight.
The Beginning
When someone comes to me with multiple psychiatric diagnoses, and the like, I first have to consider that they have psychological problems, if only in deference to the doctors who went before me. So, I began by taking his history. He comes from a family of intellectuals, but he talked of their coldness and emotional neglect. We mined this field for a couple of weeks, and while this could have been part of the problem, I just wasn’t picking up a lot of deep emotional turmoil. He even gave me some articles written by his father, a psychologist, but even this did not open any doors to understand why Daniel was suffering from such deep depression. In fact, he never experienced the “manic” phase of bi-polar disorder, so pretty soon I discarded that label.
As for being schizophrenic, deep depression can look like psychosis, and he really was very well grounded in reality, so I tossed that one, too. So, he is massively depressed, and there is no real compelling reason for it. I don’t believe he was “hiding” anything from me. This really didn’t make any sense.
Then, it hit me!
It’s About His Diet, Stupid!
I asked Daniel about his diet, and what I heard really got me thinking.
Daniel has been eating a largely vegan diet since he was around twelve. That means over twenty years of no meat! Often, he eats no fish, either, or eggs, or milk products. He eats a lot of starchy foods, obviously, since little is left. He sometimes eats beans and rice, and he consumes soy products such as tofu. All his food is cooked in vegetable oils, such as canola, soy and corn oil, which are hydrogenated, and totally processed. He gets few fresh vegetables or fruits, and does not drink fresh squeezed juice. He eats little of cultured milk products or other fermented foods.
And there you have it! For the past ten years, at least, he has been suffering from varying depths of depression, sometimes massive depression that renders him unable to get out of bed in the morning. And, as I said, when it gets too bad, he is shipped off to a mental institution for months at a time. He describes the horrors of these institutions to me, and I wonder that this highly intelligent man could be reduced to such misery.
Here was a test case for my new understanding of what people need to survive and thrive. There is no distinction between what our brain needs for mental health, and what our bodies need for maintenance and growth. It is all nutritional, all the time.
Daniel’s Solution
My assessment of Daniel, therefore, was that he is massively undernourished. He weighs much more than he should, but a lot of that can be attributed to the horrible medications he is taking for his supposed psychiatric problems. Things like Paxil, Seroquel and the dreaded lithium. All poisons, which further put a burden on his already malnourished body.
What Daniels really needs are nutrient-dense foods, such as good butter, eggs, lots of fish, fresh fruits and vegetables, seafood of any kind (he will not eat meat, but that’s OK), whole grains, and LOTS of cod liver oil, vitamin D3, K-2 and A, magnesium and a whole lot of other nutrients, but especially the omega-3 oils. I told him to get out there and get these items, plus others as we see how he does, and he started chugging cod liver oil the very next day.
So, What Happened?
When I first met Daniel, he was unable to work, basically. He could not sleep, either. Now, in less than a month, he is working about 8-10 hours a day in his profession of writer, which is a total change, and his has described himself as “happy” in his work.
“Happy” is not a word that a massively depressed person uses to describe himself, so I would have to say that he is well on the road to recovery. He also disavows any idea of suicide, and seemed shocked that I asked him that!
It is so gratifying to be able to work with a person so seriously affected, and see him come out of his malnourished state to one of normality. This is the first time I have had such an opportunity, and I feel particularly blessed to have met this client. It demonstrates how very important proper nutrition is for all of us. Unfortunately, this cure runs counter to most of what passes for conventional nutritional wisdom in America, and so millions of Americans will continue their sad, malnourished lives because no one will speak the truth to them. I hope this story will help you understand some of the realities of human nutrition. Please contact me if you have any questions!
Elizabeth Szlek is the Director of The Door Counseling Center of Yorkville, NY. Questions and comments can be directed to her at (315) 768-8900 or at info@thedoorcounseling.com.
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