*from Chaya
Rosh HaShana, the new Jewish year, is finally here! On this day, we crown G-d as King. We crown Him King every day really, but this day is specially aside for this coronation. Throughout the year, we toil and work hard, and G-d is beside us in our endeavors, they should only be for good! And on this day, He returns to His throne, so to speak. This is a time of celebration, folks. Cook your best food, dress in your finest attire, stand straight and let your heart take pride. G-d is our King. Look at the what He has created, and how can we not be awe-struck! From star-filled night skies, to deep ocean depths-from the mysteries of our human heart to the miracles of birth. Yes, G-d, yes. We gladly and proudly crown You King.
G-d bless!
Friday, September 18, 2009
What is cholesterol?
Hi, this is Chaya, Miriam's sister. Miriam moved up to Tsefat, and she is settling in. However, as we all know, computers can be finicky things, and she's presently having some computer problems. But she says hello to everyone and hopes to get back to blogging soon. So, in the meantime, she asked me to write a post or two. This one I wrote awhile back. Peace!
* * *
What is cholesterol? I hear the word thrown around a lot, but what IS it exactly?
Cholesterol is steroid, which is a lipid. Hmm, what's a lipid? It's a large molecule in the body that comes as waxes, fats and hey, steroids!
Cholesterol is produced in the liver, and it forms other steroids, the sex hormones, and helps make Vitamin D. It also maintains the structure of cell membranes.
We know how water and oil don't mix, right?
Well, cholesterol is waxy, and blood is "watery." So, the way cholesterol gets around in the blood is by attaching itself to a protein and voila! You've got your lipoprotein! (There's the "good" cholesterol, HDL, and the "bad" one, LDL.)
LDL, or low-density protein is considered bad b/c it's the one bringing cholesterol to our arteries which, we're told, leads to heart disease.
But let's zip into the world of arteries and check out the scene...
When the cell membranes in the arteries becomes damaged, cholesterol gets sent to the rescue to basically patch up the holes and cracks. That is it's job-to maintain structure. So, if my blood cholesterol is too high, it means I'm needing a lot of cholesterol to protect myself from damage. But why the damage?
Sally Fallon, author of Nourishing Traditions refers to cholesterol as the police force. If you've got a lot of crime going on, you're gonna need the police frequently. But you can't blame the crimes on the police! You've got to smoke out the real culprit...
And taking a drug to prevent the liver from producing cholesterol is like turning off the alarms and giving the police a vacation! Not too smart.
So, why all this cholesterol? What are the "crimes?"
Well, firstly if someone has poor thyroid function, she's gonna have high cholesterol levels. The NY Times reports that about 15 million American have UNRECOGNIZED thyroid disease, often mistaking it for something else. Symptoms can include weight gain, dry hair or hair loss, fatigue, depression, abnormal menstrual cycles, etc.
Poor thyroid function can occur when the diet is high in sugar and low in usuable iodine, fat soluble vitamins, and other nutrients. (There can also be a genetic factor.)
Whoa.
Secondly, ruptures and damage to the artery walls occur when there's a lack of vitamins and minerals and instead a lot of processed foods, oxidized cholesterol, and the deadly trans fats that cause the body to need lots of repair.
When you think trans fat, think margarine...
Thirdly, high levels of homocysteine, an amino acid, seem to be related to plaque build-up, an indicator of heart disease. This may be caused by a Vitamin B12 deficiency.
Ok, so I understand abit more what cholesterol is. Aside from other uses, it's my alarm, my police, my band-aid, and I need it.
But I need vitamins and minerals to ensure that my alarm doesn't go off and to make sure my body remains strong. That means eating more of the good stuff: Green, leafy vegetables, fruits, and throwing in eggs in the mix. Folic acid, and vitamins B6 & B12 are our targets, in this case. They break down homocysteine.
These are the power-packed, butt-kickin' foods G-d has already made for us!!!
Plus, natural sea salt is a good source of usuable iodine. I know there's table salt with iodine added, but NATURAL sea salt has not been refined, and at this point the less refined, the safer we are!
G-d bless!
Check it out yourself...
http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4677
http://www.endocrineweb.com/hypo1.html
http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/disease/hypothyroidism/risk-factors.html
http://www.cholesterol-and-health.com/Cholesterol-Cell-Membrane.html
Nourishing Traditions, by Sally Fallon
* * *
What is cholesterol? I hear the word thrown around a lot, but what IS it exactly?
Cholesterol is steroid, which is a lipid. Hmm, what's a lipid? It's a large molecule in the body that comes as waxes, fats and hey, steroids!
Cholesterol is produced in the liver, and it forms other steroids, the sex hormones, and helps make Vitamin D. It also maintains the structure of cell membranes.
We know how water and oil don't mix, right?
Well, cholesterol is waxy, and blood is "watery." So, the way cholesterol gets around in the blood is by attaching itself to a protein and voila! You've got your lipoprotein! (There's the "good" cholesterol, HDL, and the "bad" one, LDL.)
LDL, or low-density protein is considered bad b/c it's the one bringing cholesterol to our arteries which, we're told, leads to heart disease.
But let's zip into the world of arteries and check out the scene...
When the cell membranes in the arteries becomes damaged, cholesterol gets sent to the rescue to basically patch up the holes and cracks. That is it's job-to maintain structure. So, if my blood cholesterol is too high, it means I'm needing a lot of cholesterol to protect myself from damage. But why the damage?
Sally Fallon, author of Nourishing Traditions refers to cholesterol as the police force. If you've got a lot of crime going on, you're gonna need the police frequently. But you can't blame the crimes on the police! You've got to smoke out the real culprit...
And taking a drug to prevent the liver from producing cholesterol is like turning off the alarms and giving the police a vacation! Not too smart.
So, why all this cholesterol? What are the "crimes?"
Well, firstly if someone has poor thyroid function, she's gonna have high cholesterol levels. The NY Times reports that about 15 million American have UNRECOGNIZED thyroid disease, often mistaking it for something else. Symptoms can include weight gain, dry hair or hair loss, fatigue, depression, abnormal menstrual cycles, etc.
Poor thyroid function can occur when the diet is high in sugar and low in usuable iodine, fat soluble vitamins, and other nutrients. (There can also be a genetic factor.)
Whoa.
Secondly, ruptures and damage to the artery walls occur when there's a lack of vitamins and minerals and instead a lot of processed foods, oxidized cholesterol, and the deadly trans fats that cause the body to need lots of repair.
When you think trans fat, think margarine...
Thirdly, high levels of homocysteine, an amino acid, seem to be related to plaque build-up, an indicator of heart disease. This may be caused by a Vitamin B12 deficiency.
Ok, so I understand abit more what cholesterol is. Aside from other uses, it's my alarm, my police, my band-aid, and I need it.
But I need vitamins and minerals to ensure that my alarm doesn't go off and to make sure my body remains strong. That means eating more of the good stuff: Green, leafy vegetables, fruits, and throwing in eggs in the mix. Folic acid, and vitamins B6 & B12 are our targets, in this case. They break down homocysteine.
These are the power-packed, butt-kickin' foods G-d has already made for us!!!
Plus, natural sea salt is a good source of usuable iodine. I know there's table salt with iodine added, but NATURAL sea salt has not been refined, and at this point the less refined, the safer we are!
G-d bless!
Check it out yourself...
http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4677
http://www.endocrineweb.com/hypo1.html
http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/disease/hypothyroidism/risk-factors.html
http://www.cholesterol-and-health.com/Cholesterol-Cell-Membrane.html
Nourishing Traditions, by Sally Fallon
Friday, September 4, 2009
Change of Place
.
In Judaism, the sages say there are three things that can change one's mazal: a change of place, changing one's name, and changing one's behavior. (Some translate mazal as luck, but its more like the flow of energy. we want mazal tov /good flow of energy). So, when we moved to Tsfat, I was nervous to see what kind of mazal we would have.
Well so far, my email has been stolen.
The contractor turned out to be a thief! (Yeah, so much for the story about the three Arabs beating him up).
Some good things happened also...
I'm closer to my true friends.
I'm more able to be the real me, rather than the pretended socially acceptable me.
Ah, Rosh Hashana....
In Judaism, the sages say there are three things that can change one's mazal: a change of place, changing one's name, and changing one's behavior. (Some translate mazal as luck, but its more like the flow of energy. we want mazal tov /good flow of energy). So, when we moved to Tsfat, I was nervous to see what kind of mazal we would have.
Well so far, my email has been stolen.
The contractor turned out to be a thief! (Yeah, so much for the story about the three Arabs beating him up).
Some good things happened also...
I'm closer to my true friends.
I'm more able to be the real me, rather than the pretended socially acceptable me.
Ah, Rosh Hashana....
Thursday, September 3, 2009
No Despair
.
Despair does not exist at all!
Renew yourself. Continuously! Begin anew. Refresh yourself and try again.
Every day is a new beginning. Go!
Shalom, Madonna
.
Madonna is in Israel. Rumors have it, she's trying to find residence in Tsfat. Maybe she'll be my neighbor? LOL!
Madonna is in Israel. Rumors have it, she's trying to find residence in Tsfat. Maybe she'll be my neighbor? LOL!
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
BEWARE: Email Alert
.
BEWARE EVERYONE:
Do not accept email from my yahoo account! It has been hacked and even I don't have access to it. Friends are telling me that people are receiving strange emails from me saying that I"m in London. Not True.
Sorry for the inconvenience. As I'm locked out of my own email, I don't think I'll get the username again. So you may as well delete it from your address list.
Thank you.
BEWARE EVERYONE:
Do not accept email from my yahoo account! It has been hacked and even I don't have access to it. Friends are telling me that people are receiving strange emails from me saying that I"m in London. Not True.
Sorry for the inconvenience. As I'm locked out of my own email, I don't think I'll get the username again. So you may as well delete it from your address list.
Thank you.
The Bone
.
There is a topic I want to discuss and expose to BW, etc. but I am not quite sure how to explain it. I've tried to tackle it from one angle only to erase everything and start over. I try a different angle and same fruitless result. Well, I've decided to just blurt it out and hopefully it will be good.
There is a concept which I call "the bone". The world was created and there were lots of good created, but evil is allowed to be. To be like a parasite on the good. It leeches on and gets its "sustenance" from good. And so, quite often this parasite has to be part of the equation of things.
For example. Somebody wins a million dollars. She's rich! But two parasites will come out: those who are jealous of her and her own feelings of undeservedness. To offset those parasites, she will say things like, "Oh my, being rich isn't all that great. Look at the bills I now have to pay. " with a big sigh. or "Well, its a responsibility..." Some how those parasites want their piece of the pie. Their appeasement.
Another example. Someone wins a battle. They finally lose the weigh they've been trying to lose! Again, here comes the parasites ready to leech on. She throws it a bone by agreeing to have a piece of cake with (spiteful) friends.
Then there are those who would rather not throw the parasites a bone. Such as the very pious man who upon receiving a complement regrets his fleeting moment of pride and flagulates himself because of it. Or those who fast because of a perceived flaw. And those who steel themselves for hateration when they succeed on something, but choose not to throw the haters a bone.
Either way, that parasite or those parasites will have to be dealt with. I hope the self empowerment blogs out there address that.
There is a topic I want to discuss and expose to BW, etc. but I am not quite sure how to explain it. I've tried to tackle it from one angle only to erase everything and start over. I try a different angle and same fruitless result. Well, I've decided to just blurt it out and hopefully it will be good.
There is a concept which I call "the bone". The world was created and there were lots of good created, but evil is allowed to be. To be like a parasite on the good. It leeches on and gets its "sustenance" from good. And so, quite often this parasite has to be part of the equation of things.
For example. Somebody wins a million dollars. She's rich! But two parasites will come out: those who are jealous of her and her own feelings of undeservedness. To offset those parasites, she will say things like, "Oh my, being rich isn't all that great. Look at the bills I now have to pay. " with a big sigh. or "Well, its a responsibility..." Some how those parasites want their piece of the pie. Their appeasement.
Another example. Someone wins a battle. They finally lose the weigh they've been trying to lose! Again, here comes the parasites ready to leech on. She throws it a bone by agreeing to have a piece of cake with (spiteful) friends.
Then there are those who would rather not throw the parasites a bone. Such as the very pious man who upon receiving a complement regrets his fleeting moment of pride and flagulates himself because of it. Or those who fast because of a perceived flaw. And those who steel themselves for hateration when they succeed on something, but choose not to throw the haters a bone.
Either way, that parasite or those parasites will have to be dealt with. I hope the self empowerment blogs out there address that.
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