It came true last week. Just before the trial of sickness began in earnest. And no, this is not about our new dog. Believe me, this smells much better!

I had been dreaming of going to Global Foods ever since I purchased Serene Allison’s Rejuvenate Your Life: Recipes for Energy. I’d read here and there about young coconuts; especially in regard to making kefir from the water of young coconuts. But I’d not heard about the delectable, creamy, scoopable flesh of the young coconut until reading Serene’s recipe book. And about the myriad of health benefits associated with coconut water. There were other things I wanted from Global Foods, like Extra Virgin Olive Oil in a tin (so as not to be rancid), and tahini, but the coconuts were my main motivator.

So we drove for an hour and fifteen minutes on Monday to get to this marvelous market. It was truly a smorgasbord of many foreign and unusual foods. As you walk in the door, you pass a large chocolate section with all of the quality chocolate you would find at a regular grocery store, plus all of the foreign chocolate you can imagine! I lingered here as long as I dared with five children in tow.

Next we perused the produce section, which was huge! I asked the produce-man where to find young coconuts, and he directed me to the third table down. I am ashamed to admit that I still couldn’t find the coconuts! The annoyed man had to show me personally, because I didn’t know what a young coconut looked like. It isn’t brown, hairy or round, which are all adjectives I associate with the word “coconut”. The young coconut is actually green, but for the market it has been carved, and so it is an off-white color. It is shaped like a rounded pyramid house, and covered with plastic wrap. I put five of them in the cart. They were $1.89 apiece and $1.00 for the older, semi-moldy ones. I “hurried” through the rest of the store, with only a slight detour at what I’ve dubbed “the wall of coffee”. Each aisle was labeled with countries, and it was hard to find what I wanted when I had to locate personnel for each item on my list! Laborously, I located the Extra Virgin Olive Oil (first cold press) in a tin, tahini, and Nori sheets. The store apparently did not carry Nama Shoyu (a natural soy sauce). The bulk nuts were reasonably priced and I picked up some walnuts and cashews to make crispy nuts. We hurried home, with yours truly dreaming of the Coconut Cream shake I was going to make with my young coconuts.

Well, it was that night when Rebekah (my eight-year-old) began to be sick with some sort of stomach virus. My coconuts stayed in the fridge, forgotten, as I began to care for her and juggle school, new puppy and nursing her back to health. When she continued to lose fluids for 2 days, I immediately thought of the young coconuts. I already knew that the coconut was very good for you, but as I began to investigate, I was truly amazed at the astonishing properties of the young coconut. The water inside the coconut is the most sterile available from a natural source. It is actually used as a blood plasma substitude in third world countries, known as the Coconut IV, because it’s makeup is nearly identical to our blood plasma. It is full of minerals and the most natural electrolyte beverage available (much better than Gatorade). So naturally, I wanted to rehydrate my sick daughter with this wonderful beverage.

But first, I had to get the water out. Fortunately, Serene Allison’s book had instructions for opening the coconut in a non-frustrating manner. First, I sawed off the top of the coconut with a good, serrated knife. The sawn-off part resembled a spinnable toy top. Then I was rescued by my over-protective husband from a flimsy knife, as I stabbed a hole in the newly flattened top of the young coconut. I wiggled the knife around until I had a sizable hole, and then poured off the coconut water. I was pleasantly surprised with the amount of water I obtained from one coconut. It was surely more than 2 cups.

The next part required a bit of strength and again a good, solid, sharp knife. I turned the coconut on it’s side and carved a circle, the size of which a spoon can enter to scoop out the tender coconut flesh from inside the coconut. My ‘circle’ was really more of a triangle. I first scooped the flesh from the bottom, using just enough force to scrape the white flesh and not too much of the darker rind underneath. Then, I turned the spoon over and scooped from the top, removing the flesh from the upper third of the inside of the coconut. I scooped it all out into a bowl and removed any larger portions of the rind still attached to the flesh. The coconut flesh was moist and slightly sweet with a subtle, tropical flavor. Nathan and I both loved the coconut water also, as it has a sweet, mild flavor which does not scream “coconut!”

Well, imagine my surprise when my daughter, whose sense of smell had been elevated to super-sensory, was apalled at the coconut water! She truly did not like it all. I am happy to report that I forced her to drink some on that first day, and she was able to hold it down for quite a while, so I’m sure that it was helpful to her rehydration, but I was truly disappointed to encounter reluctance in the face of such a gift! However, I’ve not given up hope. I think that she may change her mind in the face of some of the delicious smoothies coming her way.

So far we’ve made 2 coconut smoothies. The first was Coconut Cream, from Serene Allison’s book. It was truly a delight, containing the coconut flesh, water, vanilla, maple syrup. The second was my own concoction, with coconut flesh, kefir, lime juice, maple syrup, and vanilla. Mmmmm-Mmmm! It was a delight! I was motivated by the much-loved muppet song chorus line: “put de lime in de coconut, and drink ‘em both up.”

The coconut dream, it seems, has only just begun. I just found three more ways to open a young coconut, and I’ve got 3 more in the fridge . I’ll keep you posted.

When I faltered in my attempt to avoid sugar in my diet, I considered using xylitol instead, whose myriad of health benefits range from fighting tooth decay and reducing ear infections to losing weight and overcoming depression.  As I searched for the least expensive xylitol on the market, I scanned multiple sites to learn that much xylitol is made from corn.  The last few years we have made efforts to avoid GMO produce, so I was curious:  Was xylitol produced from GMO corn?  If so, did it’s GMO-ness come through in the xylitol?

As I continued to search, I came across a product that was not produced from corn.  Global Sweet Xylitol is made from birch trees.  I found that I could purchase a 55 lb. bag of Global Sweet Xylitol for $217.50.  But I had questions.  I asked the nice lady on the phone exactly how they produced their xylitol.  She directed me here.  Long story short, my questions remained unanswered.  I began to wonder, exactly how is the same product produced from birch trees and corn?  And that caused me to wonder, exactly how is xylitol made?  And why is it so expensive?  My research has by no means been exhaustive, but Rami Nagel seems to have found some answers, and shortened my search for cheap xylitol.  Go to the article yourself, or read it below:

(NaturalNews) Consuming 1.4 ounces of Xylitol per day will cause diarrhea in many subjects according to a study conducted in 1977. On Xylitol.org the page sates, “In the amounts needed to prevent tooth decay (less than 15 grams per day), xylitol is safe for everyone.” 15 grams of xylitol is about 0.5 ounces. What about doses over 15 grams?

What is Xylitol?

Xylitol is a 5-carbon sugar alcohol found in many fruits and vegetables and produced in small amounts by the human body. Xylitol is also found in things like hardwood. Keep in mind that the xylitol in chewing gum is not necessarily the same thing as xylitol in fruits or vegetables because it has to be treated and processed in order to extract the sugar crystals from the fruit or vegetable. This is akin to the differences between synthetic vitamins and naturally occurring vitamins in foods. They are not the same thing.

How is Xylitol Made?

A search of patents online explains one process for making xylitol, tell me if this sounds healthy? You begin with some source material containing xylan. One commonly used source is corn imported from China.

1. First the xylan needs to be broken down in a process called acid hydrolyzing. The results of this process leave us with xylose and acetic acid. The process of hydrogenation is carried out at higher pressures and temperatures ranging from 158 degrees Fahrenheit and higher. Hydrogenation needs a catalyst, so a substance called Raney nickel can be used which is a powdered nickel-aluminium alloy.

2. The acetic acid needs to be removed as the material safety data sheet describes it as, “Very hazardous in case of skin contact (irritant), of eye contact (irritant), of ingestion, of inhalation. Hazardous in case of skin contact (corrosive, permeator), of eye contact (corrosive).”

3. Then the hydrolyzing acid and organic residues must be removed, this is done by heating the mixture and evaporating it.

4. The resulting syrup, now free of acetic acid, hydrolyzing acid, nick-aluminum and other residues.

5. The syrup is crystallized by stirring ethanol into it.

6. The crystalline xylitol is now separated in a centrifuge from the ethanol and from the sorbitol remaining in solution.

7. Viola, you have xylitol.

Health Claims

It is obvious to me, as it might be to you, that xylitol, in addition to killing bacteria, will probably kill just about anything. This clearly explains why it is only recommended to be used in small doses. Yet if you go to a health food store, you will see larger sized bags of xylitol on the shelf, promoting its many health uses.

Health Concerns

In lab tests, xylitol will kill a rat 50% of the time in a dosage of 16.5 grams of xylitol for every 1000 grams of rat. Medium rats weigh 100-120 grams, or say .25 pounds. That means, to kill a 100 gram rat, you need only to get the rat to consume, 1.65 grams of xylitol.

A typical xylitol piece of gum contains .7 – 1 gram of xylitol. About half the amount needed to kill a rat. I read of a study stating that humans consumed up to 400 grams of xylitol per day without any ill health effects. I find that hard to believe that such a study is accurate in comparison to the lab tests done as indicated on the material safety data sheets. If 1.65 grams can kill a rat, consuming 400 grams would be highly toxic to humans.

A more detailed look gives cause for even more concern, there seems to be no long term safety data about the long term health effects of regularly consuming xylitol. The data sheets state:

“Epidemiology: No information found

Teratogenicity: No information found

Reproductive Effects: No information found

Mutagenicity: No information found

Neurotoxicity: No information found”

Critics will claim that lethal doses on material data sheets are not conclusive proof. But I must ask this question, has xylitol been proven conclusively to be safe or effective?

What About Cavity Fighting Power?

Let’s assume you don’t mind your liver being poisoned or the diarrhea side effects that are possible from xylitol gum or mints, because you want to fight the cavities. While one would assume that there is a huge body of evidence showing that xylitol prevents cavities, an article published in 2006 in the Journal of the American Dental Association volume 137, states, “Some studies claimed that xylitol-sweetened gum had an anticariogenic effect, though these claims need further study.” This basically says that any evidence that xylitol sweetened gums stops cavities is not conclusive and requires further study.

Conclusions About Xylitol

Xylitol is a processed sugar. After being hydrogenated and having toxic chemicals added to xylan from corn or other plant material, and then removed, you get xylitol. For anyone who wants to be healthy, the first thing that is pretty much unanimous about any diet or protocol to restore your health, is that you need to avoid processed sugars. While there is a variety of opinions on what foods to eat in replacement of processed sugar, it is blatantly clear that processed sugars, like xylitol, are extremely harmful to humans. Perhaps, xylitol has special uses in special cases; as a regular part of your diet, it is clearly a poor idea.

Xylitol might inhibit bacteria growth, but so does white sugar. Xylitol’s dirty little secret is that even in moderate doses of larger than 15 grams, which is approximately 3 teaspoons, xylitol’s own promotional material says it is not safe for everyone to use. Children being smaller and less developed than adults, will obviously be much more sensitive to xylitol’s effects.

The way to prevent and control cavities is not with a processed sugar chewing gum or mint, but rather with a good diet. A good diet that is capable of preventing cavities is generally low in sugar, and high in absorbable vitamins and minerals, particularly fat-soluble vitamins in foods like avocado, coconut, the germ of wheat, raw/unpasteurized milk, pastured organ meats, and sea foods.

If you want healthy teeth and gums, you need to avoid processed sugar’s like xylitol. Avoiding other processed foods like processed sugar, white flour and other foods not made from freshly ground grains, cheap low quality vegetable oils, soft drinks and artificial flavors and preservatives, soy milk, pasteurized milk, and other non-organic, non-wholesome foods will help increase your immunity to cavities.

I have found that there is no short cut to good wholesome whole foods for health.

Is xylitol safe or effective? The answer is clear.

Cheeseslave posts some interesting information about Agave sweetener also.  Apparently it is processed and high in fructose.  Sigh.  I’m agreeing with Rami here.  There is no substitute for natural foods.  I’m going to renew my efforts to eat less sugar, and forget all about my “turkish delight”. .

My son David is particularly fond of this recipe; in fact he helped to develop it himself. I am absolutely thrilled that he loves it, for he tends to be one of my more picky eaters, and I feel good knowing that he is partaking of something as wonderful as kefir. Kefir is a cultured beverage, which (like yogurt) is extremely probiotic in nature. Here is an excellent website which gives everything you want to know about kefir (and everything you didn’t want to know ). Dom’s Kefir Site is very fun to read because it is written in such an engaging style.

We were blessed when the wise and gracious Robyn (Mama of 7), from whom we buy goat’s milk, gave us some kefir grains (and sold us a $6 strainer), and we have been having these smoothies every other day since then. It is so easy! We just pour fresh milk over the strainer, which contains the kefir grains, and then set it in our pantry for a few days until it is of the right consistency (kind of lumpy). When we use it up, we transfer the kefir strainer to a new jar, pour fresh milk over it and then begin the process anew.
So, without further ado, here is this easy recipe:

Combine the following in a blender, chill (if you can wait) & enjoy! My son will often add color to the smoothies, so it will sometimes be rather vivacious looking .
1 quart kefir

1 quart milk

1/4 cup raw honey

2 bananas

1/4 tsp. vanilla

5-6 strawberries (optional)

Our area coop representative sent out this great list, and I wanted to post it because I’ve been looking for information like this for awhile! But the time to research it has eluded me. Right now I am making plans for our garden this spring; we will be jump starting it this year by getting some seeds started very soon. After reading this list, I’ll be making some changes . The list came from Newsmax, but I haven’t been able to locate the article – perhaps it’s in their archives?

More Americans than ever are worried about carcinogens from pesticides and fertilizer in their food, and they are adding organic foods to their food carts. When the FDA and USDA ran tests on more than 100,000 samples of food, they found pesticides known to cause cancer, damage to the brain and nervous system, and birth defects. But if you don’t have a lot of money to add to your food budget, but still want to expose your family to as few chemicals as possible, where should you put your valuable food dollars?

Here’s a list of the most contaminated food products:

Meat. Beef, poultry and pork have higher residual levels of pesticides than any plant food. Chemicals accumulate in the animal’s fatty tissue and go straight to the dinner table.

Milk, Butter, and Cheese. Pesticides are concentrated in milk. In addition, growth hormones and antibiotics are also found in non-organic milk, butter and cheese.

Strawberries, Raspberries and Cherries. Strawberries receive the most pesticides of any crop grown in America. Thirty-six pesticides are applied to strawberries and 90 percent of berries tested have pesticide contamination above levels considered safe. Raspberries and cherries don’t rate much better.

Apples and Pears. The FDA detected 36 chemicals in apples. Half are neurotoxins which cause brain damage.

Tomatoes. A tomato’s thin skin allows the more than 30 pesticides used on conventionally-grown crops to seep through the entire tomato.

Potatoes. Heavily contaminated with both pesticides and fungicides, the FDA found that 79 percent of potatoes had levels of several pesticides that were deemed unsafe.

Spinach. Spinach is the vegetable most often contaminated with the most powerful pesticides used on food. The FDA found that 83 percent of spinach had dangerous levels of pesticides. Other greens are also heavily contaminated.

Coffee. The pesticides that are so dangerous they’re not allowed to be used in this country are shipped overseas where they’re used on crops and shipped back in our foods. Coffee is one of the worst.

Peaches and Nectarines. 95 percent of peaches and 97 percent of nectarines tested were contaminated from the forty-five pesticides used in conventional orchards. Don’t think you can avoid the pesticides by peeling; their thin skin allows the pesticides to soak deep into the fruit.

Grapes. Thirty-five different chemicals sprayed on grapes are showered on several times during their growth. Testing found 86 percent of grapes were contaminated with pesticides. Imported grapes have even more pesticides, with those from Chile having the most.

Celery. 94 percent of celery was found to have dangerous levels of pesticides.

Red and Green Bell Peppers. Bell peppers, doused with 39 pesticides, also have high levels of chemical residues. In addition, peppers are often coated with unhealthy wax.

I dream of a time when I will not have to go to the grocery store. With my mind’s eye I can see myself pushing a button to order the month’s needed groceries, and then receive them at my door in a few days. Ahhhh! It will be wonderful For I truly hate shopping.

Right now I do once-a-month shopping. I’ve found that this makes it easier to stay on track with what I was intending to spend. At the moment it also has unintended consequences; we are pottytraining Joshua because we ran out of diapers and I refuse to buy more. At least until the first of July, but potentially never The problem is that he is not motivated to be pottytrained. He knows that I will buy him a new bike when he is trained, but that far-away reality doesn’t stick with a three-year-old in the day-to-day grind. I think I need to get some stickers. Or something.

But what does pottytraining have to do with hydrogenated oils? Absolutely nothing. I am truly on a rabbit trail. Ahem. Shopping. Right. Well, when Nathan said I was not to buy anything else with hydrogenated oils it really made shopping difficult. I became a label-reader; and the kids were really bored and acted up during our three-hour shopping trips. On the up-side, we now had a hard-and-fast reason to say “no” to our seven-year-old son if he was eyeing the Twinkies….

David: “Mom, can we get these cupcakes?”
Mom: “I don’t think so. Just read the label David.”
David: “Does it have hydrogenated in it mom?”
Mom: “Yes”
David: “Aw Mom, why does everything have hydrogenated in it?”

He is right. Nearly everything in the store has hydrogenated oils in it. We sadly walked by the hydrogenated underwear, and for awhile I had the children convinced that all of the toys were hydrogenated (I’m sure if they don’t have hydrogen bubbles blown into them, they must surely have “hypnotic” bubbles blown in). I jest, but nearly every cracker and cookie in the store contains this health-risk. All donuts and all peanut butter except for a few natural brands (we buy Smuckers Natural Peanut Butter). Most of the chips contain hydrogenated oils. Even the ones which now say: “0 Grams Trans-Fat” have hydrogenated oils. The law states that they are allowed to make this statement if the product has less than a gram (per serving?). Considering the risks associated with just a small amount of trans-fat, this seems a bit sneaky to me.

What are the risks anyway? Why is it important to avoid hydrogenated oils? Consider the following:

What’s Wrong with Hydrogenation?

Unlike butter or virgin coconut oil, hydrogenated oils contain high levels of trans fats. A trans fat is an otherwise normal fatty acid that has been “transmogrified”, by high-heat processing of a free oil. The fatty acids can be double-linked, cross-linked, bond-shifted, twisted, or messed up in a variety of other ways.

The problem with trans fats is that while the “business end” (the chemically active part) is messed up, the “anchor end” (the part that is attached to the cell wall) is unchanged. So they take up their position in the cell wall, like a guard on the fortress wall. But like a bad guard, they don’t do their job! They let foreign invaders pass unchallenged, and they stop supplies at the gates instead of letting them in.

In short, trans fats are poisons, just like arsenic or cyanide. They interfere with the metabolic processes of life by taking the place of a natural substance that performs a critical function.

We have not been able to eliminate 100% of these poisons; I’m sure some of our food when we eat out is contaminated, and we sometimes “cave” when an urge for some favorite storebought good overcomes common sense (arrrgggghhhh!). But over time, by focusing on reading labels, we have drastically changed the amount we consume. Who knows? Maybe soon the companies who are continuing to poison the American public will be forced to change too. Then everyone would benefit.

Update: I started writing this in June; sorry about the reference to July 1st! Also, my son has utterly resisted my efforts to potty-train (even with M&M’s and our potty song), so rather than continue washing diapers I bought “just one more” pack of Walmart diapers .

I knew we could do it. If I could just find something tasty enough!

And finally it happened. We received our Republic of Tea catalogue in the mail, with their customary sampler tea bag. It was ginger-peach. Mmmmm. That sounded so good. We brewed it to accompany our supper that night, and I knew there was hope for me. It was soooo delicious! But not by itself. There is more to the story.

There is a plant which grows naturally in South America, known as Stevia Rebaudiana. A plant from the daisy family, it has long been prized in many cultures for it’s intense sweetness. When the plant is mature, it is three feet high and it’s beautiful green leaves contain stevioside, a sweetener estimated to be 300 times that of sugar.

Stevia was introduced in Japan in the 70′s and by 1988 it had taken over 41% of the market of potentially sweet substances. They use it to sweeten ice cream, candies, pickles & soft drinks (to name a few).

Here in the United States stevia is only approved as a dietary supplement. It has been labeled by the FDA as an “unsafe food additive” due to insufficient toxicological information to demonstrate it’s safety, though studies have been conducted that demonstrate its safety. I find myself wondering if there are other reasons. Perhaps not of the scientific variety. If you are interested, there is a book which tells the stevia story at this link: The Stevia Story.

We now use it regularly to “supplement” our teas. And I am happy to report that after failing many times to give up soda, we are finally successful! I still crave bubbles sometimes with a movie & popcorn, but we are very much enjoying the stevia sweetened tea. And it is so much easier on the pocketbook . We are still using the very first 2 oz. bottle of Stevia Liquid Concentrate we purchased for $20 a few months ago – it only takes 15 drops to sweeten a pitcher of tea.