Liturgical dance?

I first saw liturgical dance when I was 18 at Manchester College.  It didn't impress me then, and still doesn't.  But at least it was school girls then and they didn't dress in their underwear.  I've seen a number of suggestions for what this might be trying to say, but I wish I could see the expressions on these older men's faces (Metro New York ELCA [Lutheran]  Synod) in the audience.  Perhaps I've misinterpreted this and someone can clarify.

Beans, greens and onions—Joel Fuhrman

This morning I woke up too early to get up, so I turned on the TV and PBS was having its fund raiser.  The program was about weight maintenance, so I watched it.  Fuhrman talks about nutratarian eating which in my opinion is just vegan under another name because he didn’t mention eggs, dairy, fish or even fruit (except he likes berries and some tomatoes).  But I noticed what he recommends is essentially what I’ve been doing since Christmas, but I have fruit and some meat, eggs, milk and yogurt.  He says you should eat very large helpings of these 3 things.  He’s REALLY excited about onions. So here’s his beans, greens and onions plan with large servings.

1. A large green salad - Along with other favorite salad veggies like romaine and tomatoes, be sure to include raw cruciferous vegetables and raw onions.
   • Cruciferous veggies can include shredded red cabbage, arugula, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels Sprouts. Lightly steaming some cruciferous vegetables can better bring out their health properties. Cruciferous veggies activate detoxification enzymes in the body, block abnormal cell division that can lead to cancer, and interfere with growth of fat and help remove fat from the body.
   • Raw onions are rich in phytochemicals that fight disease and helps us maintain our weight. They contain flavonoids, quercitin, chromium, organosulfides, polyphenols, phytosterols, all super good for you! A massive European study showed a 50% to 85% reduction in all major cancers in those eating about a half cup of onions a day. Also favorable bacteria grows in our digestive tract from eating onions. And this favorable bacteria helps prevent diabetes and heart disease.
   • Don’t ignore the importance of choosing a tasty but healthy Salad Dressing. It is important to eat some oil with vegetables to facilitate the absorption of ’fat soluble’ nutrients. But remember that each tablespoon of oil contains about 100 calories! So experiment with nutrient dense oils that also contain anti-cancer properties. Blend up a dressing of seeds and nuts and avocados of which their oils will contain natural anti-cancer properties. Include the juice acids of oranges, lemons, limes and naturally flavored aged vinegars with your favorite herbs and spices.
2. Bowl of vegetable bean soup – Along with your favorite beans and spices, include mushrooms. Beans and mushrooms are both best eaten cooked. Make a big pot of a bean “Super Stew/Soup” on the weekend and eat all week! ( Here is one recipe that you can even freeze in dinner size containers for quicky meals)
   • Beans are high in fiber and high in slowly digestible starches. So beans keep you satisfied for hours. They also contain resistant starches, which are starches that do not get absorbed in the body. Dr. Fuhrman says ..”these starches allow the calories of beans to pass right through you and right into the toilet!”. He says beans are the food most correlated in multiple studies for life longevity. One study documented that for each two tablespoon of beans eaten death rates decreased by 8%!
   • Mushrooms are actually a Superfood! One study showed that just 10 grams, about the size of your thumb, can lower cancer rates by over 60%. And when you combine mushrooms with greens, breast cancer reduction was close to 90%. Mushrooms also normalize hormones and resist fat storage. Remember, just a little bit goes a long way!
3. A large serving of steamed green vegetables - Some vegetables release certain properties when raw and other properties when steamed. Have a large serving of a variety and mixture of steamed veggies such as steamed greens, asparagus, string beans, artichokes, snow pea pods etc. You can fill your tummy with as much as you want! No tiny diet portions here!

Fuhrman likes to use the term G-BOMBS to help you remember.  Greens, beans, onions, mushrooms, berries, seeds

Health and Fitness: Keeping Your Golden Years Golden, guest blogger Helen Hilton

As they approach retirement, many people choose to stop focusing on health and fitness, instead leading increasingly sedentary lifestyles. This is a grave mistake. Exercise and healthy eating can actually help to slow many of the effects of the aging process. As our God-given bodies begin to age many of us choose to accept and embrace this aging process, but many more struggle to accept their changing abilities and those extra aches and pains that they feel at the end of the day. The good news is that you can choose to minimize the effects of the aging process on your body and that it is much easier to achieve than you might think: Staying healthy and feeling your best is important as you age, and the two sure-fire ways to ensure that you remain as active and health as possible are to eat well and to exercise regularly:

Eat Well, Live Well

Healthy home grown fruits and vegetables should be at the heart of every meal you eat (the five a day rule has been in place for a long time and it continues to hold true), but there is more to eating well as a senior than simply maintaining the same healthy diet that you have enjoyed during your younger years. You should begin to opt for low fat dairy products in order to lower your blood pressure and reduce your risk of hypertension. You should also avoid too much red meat, instead opting for plenty of low fat but protein rich chicken and fish instead. Finally, it’s important that you do remember to eat three healthy meals every day: as we age our appetites tend to get smaller, and whilst it is OK to eat smaller portions to suit your appetite, you should avoid skipping meals which can have a massively detrimental effect on your overall health and wellbeing.

Exercise and Repair Your Muscles

Exercise is important at any age, but it becomes increasingly important as we age. As well as benefiting our physical fitness and health levels, exercise can also improve how you feel mentally and emotionally, and generally contribute to your quality of life. As we age our physiology begins to change, leaving us with reduced muscle mass and weaker and more brittle bones. After the age of forty the metabolism also slows down, which can lead to weight gain. All of these factors combined serve to make exercise vital to the aging population. Exercise can improve your core strength, rebuild your muscle mass, and help you feel more supple and revitalized. The more you exercise now, the easier you will find it to continue having good mobility as you age. Despite this all being good, common sense, an incredible 78% of men and women over the age of 40 either don’t get an adequate amount of exercise or simply choose not to exercise at all. You only get one body, and it’s an important responsibility to take care of it to the best of your ability for the full length of your life.

Active Minds Lead to Active Lives

As well as ensuring that you take good care of your body, it is also essential to ensure that you take care of your mind and nourish your mental, emotional, and spiritual wellbeing. Mental health issues and alcohol abuse are common problems that affect women of the baby boomer generation, though these issues are largely unreported by the press. The fact is that as they age their pace of life slows and for many women this can lead to a sadness brought on by an inability to cope with change. Depression also affects one in five seniors living within the United States: many older people are lonely and struggle to cope with their new position in society. It is therefore important to keep your mind as active as your body and remain active within your church and your wider community. As well as protecting your mental wellbeing, this proactivity can also help to keep dementia at bay and ensure you can continue to serve and support those around you.

Five ways to protect your eyes from age-related macular degeneration

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a condition in which the macula, the part of the eye that's responsible for your sharpest and most detailed vision, begins to thin and break down, causing vision loss. If left untreated, it can lead to blindness.

There is no surefire way to prevent AMD. However, there are things you can do to delay its onset or reduce its severity. Here's how:

1. Smoking can speed up AMD damage. If you smoke, quit.

2. Sunlight is thought to possibly promote AMD. Protect your eyes from the sun by wearing sunglasses and broad-brimmed hats.

3. Research also suggests that certain nutrients help prevent macular degeneration. Eat a diet rich in fresh fruits and dark green leafy vegetables — such as spinach, collard greens, and kale — that are rich in lutein and zeaxanthin, which are key for eye health.

4. For people at high risk of developing the advanced stages of the "wet" form of AMD, high-dose combinations of antioxidant vitamins and minerals may lower their risk by about 25%. However, supplements don't seem to help people who don't have AMD or who have early AMD.

5. Ask your doctor about supplements if you have intermediate or advanced dry AMD or wet AMD. It's unclear whether omega-3 supplements are beneficial for AMD, but eating fish and other foods high in these nutrients may still be worthwhile for preserving optimal vision and overall good health.

We’re not sure, but

we think Lotza is between 85-88 years old in human equivalence.  She sleeps a lot, has a problem with stairs, loves the warmth of our laps (more than usual), and is deaf.

Another great loss under Obama

Last July and August even the liberal news sources were reporting how much of our equipment and ammo Obama had lost to ISIS. And it hasn't gotten better, but he's still patting himself on the back for the great job he's doing and some of you are falling for it because you so wanted him to succeed.

http://hotair.com/archives/2015/06/01/just-great-iraq-may-have-lost-more-than-2000-humvees-to-isis/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/30/isis-weapons_n_5725418.html

http://nypost.com/2015/05/23/isis-rises-the-economy-falters-and-obamas-legacy-falls-apart/

Cauliflower Soup, my recipe

In an effort to add more vegetables to our diet (above 5-6), yesterday I made this delicious soup and there's not a drop left! Amounts are guesses the way our grandmothers did it.

Half a quart of chicken broth/vegetable broth (I had both on hand so mixed them)
Half a head of cauliflower (could be more or less, but it's what I had)
About 1/4 cup of chopped onion (could be more)
One large white potato cut into pieces (this is for thickening the soup, so don't use red unless you want runny soup), but it also serves, in my mind, as a vegetable.

Tender cook this and run through a blender. Add some Half n half. Again, I eye-balled this.

Because cauliflower is rather bland, I added just a smidgen of hot mustard, and I think that's what did it. Not enough to taste it, but it did give it some zip.

It was a cool, spring day, so it was just perfect. My side dish was sliced cucumbers and big giant strawberries, so that was 5 fruits/veggies for one meal.

Most of the recipes I scanned add cheese, but that's just more calories and this was very hardy and delicious without it.

The Jenner hysteria in the media

There are people who are amputees by choice; it's got a fancy name--Body Integrity Identity Disorder--and I'm sure someone's making mega bucks studying it and facilitating in the surgery. I know they have websites; probably even FaceBook pages seeking acceptance, honor and attention. Not unlike the formerly famous athlete named Bruce who is being applauded for being courageous for removing body parts (not sure he’s done that yet) and having his face and chest remodeled. There are millions who are just not happy in their own skin and body. Entire industries cater to them. Perhaps they need to volunteer in war torn countries where buried bombs are a problem, or with war vets, or auto accident victims in order to appreciate their God given and designed bodies.

Pro-life sermons

I got this e-mail yesterday:

"Dear Pro-Life Friend, When was the last time you heard a pro-life homily?"

That's easy. Never. You? Also, only one sermon on marriage--in about 70 years (don't remember those before that). So let's not blame the unbelievers, or the "liberals."

I can find good Catholic sermons on the internet on the purposes in God's creation and sexuality--just wish we had them in our tradition. The Catholic church is the only institution in the world strong enough to stand up to governments (although in some countries it cooperates with government), and in the U.S. I'm afraid it too will be silenced. Our churches, Protestant and Catholic, need more attention to the first 4-5 centuries of the church to see how to deal with a pagan culture and remain true to Christ.

"A society lacks solid foundations when, on the one hand, it asserts values such as the dignity of the person, justice and peace, but then, on the other hand, radically acts to the contrary by allowing or tolerating a variety of ways in which human life is devalued and violated, especially where it is weak or marginalized. Only respect for life can be the foundation and guarantee of the most precious and essential goods of society, such as democracy and peace." John Paul II, Evangelium Vitae

The old hymns

For my exercise on the stationary bike this morning I Googled "YouTube choral hymns" and found this nice selection. It's not the beat, it's the content I look for. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpHf3hMnPfA

I grew up in the Church of the Brethren and I don't recall we sang anything that had a beat--and then in 1974 we joined UALC and became Lutherans and they missed out on those twangy camp songs too, being mostly ethnic Scandinavians (in our synod). Now we're ecumenical and have boomer music at one service and loud and bouncy at another, but I'm back with the hymns. The Brethren were pacifists and didn't have "Onward Christian soldiers" in the earlier hymnals although I think we all knew it. So it’s good to hear all the oldies but goodies.

Caitlyn Bruce Jenner

She wants to be real, but the cover of Vanity Fair isn't it. Although most cover girls are photo shopped and digitized. She's also a Republican and a Christian. Bruce Jenner had 6 children, 3 wives (married a total of 37 years), was father to 4 step children, was an Olympic athlete who visited the White House, made commercials based on his fame and TV reality star with his Kardashian family. But Bruce Jenner is gone--we know that because if we use his name or the wrong personal pronoun, we'll be corrected or called “transphobic.” We'll have to see what Caitlyn can accomplish after the media find a new darling to chase.

Identity theft information

What to do right away.

What to do next.

And then what to do.

https://www.identitytheft.gov/

The Rolling Stones rolled into Columbus Saturday

We were at an event yesterday enjoying great food in a party tent, when a woman I didn't know from Worthington told me she could hear the Rolling Stones at Ohio Stadium (OSU) at her home in Worthington. The Stones were tax exiles from Britain over 40 years ago--left when taxes on the rich were 83%. That's what Bernie Sanders and other Democrats want for the U.S.--only he says 90%. Let's chase away all the rich with their money for investing and buying expensive toys that will eventually come within our reach, like flat screen TVs and mobile phones (which used to be only for the rich).

College costs soar, material goodies plunge

Rolling stones

Sweet potatoes win the nutrition race

I don't usually serve sweet potatoes and potato salad in the same meal, but they were growing little shoots (both) so decided to use them but baked with some butter and pineapple. Right in the middle some how the stove top threw its circuit, and in the process, the oven was turned off, so they had a rough start and then over cooked. Sweet potatoes win the nutrition race and are only very distantly related to the potato which are part of the nightshade family. Also sweet potatoes are not yams, which really have little nutrition at all.

Here's a very nice chart from the Cleveland clinic.

Prostate cancer and nutrition

An excellent summary (2009) of recent research on nutrition, diet, exercise and genetics of prostate cancer.

Welcome June!

Ah yes, but I now drink decaf. I never thought it could happen, that I would look forward to it, but I'm fine now. And I have my dark chocolate drink for the energy boost.

May is something we look forward all winter, and yet it goes by so quickly with all it's memories. We've had really hot, and really cold, and some all in the same day. We started out yesterday about 3 p.m. for a Conestoga event, quite warm, and within an hour I was so glad I'd brought along a jacket. Not only was it a cold front, but it came with rain.

Not surprising, crime is on the increase in Baltimore

As the former mayor of Baltimore, so far left he could fall off, announces he will run against Hillary, ABC reports on the Baltimore crime increase. Not a word about the mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake's and prosecutor's role in this mess--only that arrests have dropped sharply. If police were the problem in Baltimore, wouldn't less policing mean less crime? Plus, Rawlings-Blake's crime team is fleeing.

Crime report via AP

Criminal justice team leaving

Martin O'Malley

When wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone

Wolves had been gone from Yellowstone for 70 years. Now they've been reintroduced with remarkable results. Small in number, mighty in ecological changes.

Check out this video, you'll be amazed.

Organically grown food does use pesticides

Research shows food labeled organic isn't more nutritious but does it use less pesticide?

"But the idea that organic foods are healthier isn't even the largest myth out there. That title belongs to the widely held belief that organic farming does not use pesticides. A 2010 poll found that 69% of consumers believe that to be true. Among those who regularly purchase organic food, the notion is even more prevalent. A survey from the Soil Association found that as many as 95% of organic consumers in the UK buy organic to "avoid pesticides."

In fact, organic farmers do use pesticides. The only difference is that they're "natural" instead of "synthetic." At face value, the labels make it sound like the products they describe are worlds apart, but they aren't. A pesticide, whether it's natural or not, is a chemical with the purpose of killing insects (or warding off animals, or destroying weeds, or mitigating any other kind of pest, as our watchful commenters have correctly pointed out). Sadly, however, "natural" pesticides aren't as effective, so organic farmers actually end up using more of them!*

Moreover, we actually know less about the effects of "natural" pesticides. Conventional "synthetic" pesticides are highly regulated and have been for some time. We know that any remaining pesticide residues on both conventional and organic produce aren't harmful to consumers. But, writes agricultural technologist Steve Savage, "we still have no real data about the most likely pesticide residues that occur on organic crops and we are unlikely to get any.""

Biggest myths

That's a lot of veggies!

The following is from the Harvard Medical School HealthBeat, May 28, 2015

"Several studies have shown that in countries where men eat a typical "Western" diet containing a large amount of meat, the incidence of prostate cancer, especially aggressive prostate cancer, is higher than in countries where plant-based foods are a primary part of the diet. Unfortunately, these studies weren't designed to prove cause and effect. So for now, definitive answers about prostate cancer and diet aren't yet in — although researchers are actively studying this topic.

Investigators have launched a federally funded national study to see whether a diet that's higher in plant-based foods and lower in animal-based foods than the typical Western diet will help control tumor growth in men with early-stage prostate cancer.

Participants in the Men's Eating and Living (MEAL) study will try to eat nine servings of fruits and vegetables daily — significantly more than the three to four servings consumed each day by the typical American man — as well as two servings of whole grains and one serving of beans or other legumes.

This clinical trial will include men 50-80 years old who have small, low-grade tumors and who have opted to have their condition followed closely (active surveillance) rather than undergoing immediate treatment. Researchers will randomly assign participants to telephone counseling about how to achieve the dietary MEAL goals or to a control group that receives standard dietary advice for Americans.

During the two-year study, the investigators will collect blood samples to assess levels of antioxidants and nutrients, and then monitor the men with PSA tests and prostate biopsies to determine whether the cancer is progressing. A pilot study showed the approach is workable, and that with enough telephone prompting, men can increase their intake of vegetables and other healthy foods. To learn more about the larger phase III MEAL study, or to enroll, visit www.clinicaltrials.gov and search for Trial NCT 01238172."