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The Good News about Butter
"Butter is a natural fat, made from cream. Margarine is an artificial concoction of chemicals. Not only does butter taste better, but it's good for you. Butter is a source of fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K, and important trace minerals magnesium, zinc, chromium, selenium and iodine. Purchase organic butter produced without the use of hormones, steroids and antibiotics. Raw butter from pasture-fed cows is even better."

From "Taking the Fear out of Eating Fat" by Lori Lipinksi 

And another variation on the same theme:
Why Butter is Better
by STEPHEN BYRNES, ND, RNCP

also Know Your Fats from Weston A. Price Foundation,

And some sources if you can't find good butter locally.

The Good News about Red Meat
Of all growing things, the grasses contain the greatest number and the greatest variety of those life-giving elements, the vitamins and minerals. A whole industry has been built around the health benefits of powders and tablets made from fresh green grass (Example - Springgreen). Elaborate and expensive procedures are utilized to preserve the enzymes, vitamins, and other living elements in these powders. But Mother Nature has given us the perfect machine to extract all these vital nutrients from grasses (which we humans can't digest) and herbs - the cow! (and other animals) feeding on green pasture. The resulting beef is far better for your health than the typical meat in the grocery store. To find out more check out Eat Wild, the clearinghouse for information about pasture-based farming.

Myths and Truths about Beef 

The Good News about Real Milk
All those wonderful nutrients in grass also end up in the milk from the cow, as long as she is fed on pasture, and as long as the milk is not heat treated. Raw milk contains important vitamins and enzymes that are destroyed by heating. The enzymes make raw milk much more easily digested than pasteurized milk. Furthermore, there are many protective factors in raw milk that destroy pathogens - one of the many reasons why raw mother's milk is so good for babies, and should never be overheated.   Clean raw milk from pasture-raised cows is never a source of serious disease (not true of commercial pasteurized milk).  In fact pathogens do not survive well in good raw milk, and raw milk is known for its many healing qualities. 

   Unfortunately raw milk became an easy target - blamed for health problems in the early part of the 20th century that were really the result of careless and unsanitary conditions on farms and in dairies at that time and other public health problems of the time.  Although the movement for certified raw milk solved these problems, the vendetta against raw milk continued, making it ever more expensive to produce and in many cases illegal to sell. The sale of raw milk (certified) is legal only in 3 states, California, New Mexico, and Connecticut. The solution, for now, to restrictive state laws is a cow-share program in which farmers keep and milk cows owned by individuals. For more info on this remarkable food check out these articles:

• The Health Benefits Of Raw Milk From Grass-Fed Animals
  by Ron Schmid, ND

• Raw Milk - History, Health Benefits and Distortions
  by Ron Schmid, ND  

• Raw Milk Information You Can Trust!  www.Raw-Milk-Facts.com 

• Milk Cures Many Diseases, by J.E. Crewe, M.D.

• Why a Campaign for Real Milk?  

• The Milk Book - a review

• The Untold Story of Milk by Ron Schmid, ND, a review  
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• ***Raw Milk Action Alert***   
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• Raw Milk & Raw Milk Products - Health, Safety, Economic, and Legal Issues, by Lee Dexter & Sally Fallon. 
  For an impressive outline of why raw milk is far safer that pasteurized milk,
  go to  http://www.realmilk.com/raw-milk.ppt . This is a large PowerPoint file, so it may be slow to download.
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• IT'S A RAW DEAL FOR RAW DAIRY  (Body Ecology Diet Web site)    
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• Want Milk? - Citizens Against Milk Prohibition
  Our mission is to raise consumer awareness of the current raw milk prohibition in Ohio. Our goal is to enact new legislation that will make raw milk available in Ohio.  Documentation for Legislators
  
  

• www.RawMilk.org  "Preserving the people's right to choose the healthy foods they want, through education and activism." 
   
  

• Northeast Organic Farming Association - Raw Milk info 

• For further info

The Good News about Eggs
The long running controversy over whether eggs are good for you is the result of the misguided attack on cholesterol. The cholesterol in eggs has little effect on blood cholesterol, since your body compensates for the cholesterol by adjusting production by your liver. Cholesterol is very important in your body. 
Check out these Web sites for more details.
*Don't be chicken about the egg! 

*The Chicken & Egg Page http://www.motherearthnews.com/eggs/ 

The Good News about Salt
Salt restriction is a common recommendation that dietitians make, because salt (sodium chloride) has been associated with high blood pressure, which is so common these days. But, surprise! This notion, too, is misguided and perhaps related to the refined salt most people use. The liquid in our blood and in our cells is very similar in mineral composition to the ocean's waters, which contain a complex combination of minerals and trace elements. Unrefined sea salt has all the minerals of the sea. Your body needs these minerals. So while ordinary table salt is best avoided, unrefined sea salt, such as Celtic Sea Salt® is a healthful way to add flavor to your foods. It pays to go out of your way to get Celtic Sea Salt®, which some health food stores have, or can be ordered. 
Further information and sources.

The Good News about Raising Healthy Children
Families face many challenges these days raising children - crooked teeth, behavior problems, obesity. Our healthy ancestors can offer some valuable advice in this challenging endeavor. To find out more, read Ancient Dietary Wisdom for Tomorrow's Children by Sally Fallon. See also Feeding Our Children by Dr. Cowen, and Children's Health at Weston A price Foundation Website.

Nourishing Our Children - a wonderful source of excellent information by WAPF chapter leader, Sandrine Hahn, in California

Healthy Future for Kids - a blog started by two WAPF chapter members in Wisconsin, with lots of useful info on what you need to know when raising children these days.

Planning for pregnancy is also important. Donna Gates has some good advice: 
What Every Girl & Woman Needs to Know NOW if They Ever Want to Have a Baby

Nature Mom's Blog - a Guide to a Natural Family Life 

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Why do I believe this is true? 
In spite of all the fancy nutrition research that claims to show that these traditional foods are bad for you, I believe the historical wisdom of healthy communities of people is a much better guide to good eating. That is why the research of Dr. Weston A. Price is so valuable. When modern science condemns traditional healthy foods that have been consumed by healthy peoples for hundreds of years, something is wrong! The research is inadequate or poorly done, the interpretation is misguided due to bias (the powerful influence of the commercial food, agriculture, and medical industries), and/or the foods tested are not actually the traditional healthy foods (for example, commercial beef vs. pastured beef). For the story of how I came to these conclusions read My Thoughts on Nutrition and Health.

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The Mystery of the Universe

Occasionally I run across a story or book that gives us a peek into the mystery of the world we live in, revealing how limited our understanding is of God's Creation. I am assembling these stories here to prick the imagination of those of us stuck in the Western reductionist scientific mindset.

The Lost Language of Plants by Stephen Harrod Buhner
    The loss of connection to plants, to the land, to Earth, leaves the holes with which we are naturally born unfilled. No matter how much Ritalin or Prozac is poured into those holes, synthetic pharmaceuticals can never fill them; merely human approaches can never heal them. Pathologies come from the empty holes that are unfilled, from lack of contact and communication with the wild…
    Without deep connection to the land our healers remain anthropocentric-human centered-in their approaches, their theories of human health generated in isolation from the environment with which we evolved. They contain the same category error that all reductionistic sciences contain. The solution is reconnection to the natural world and the living intelligence of land.  Page 229

A story from Buhner - How did ancient cultures learn about herbs?

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