Maple Syrup – The Sweet Liquid Gold

A few days after my husband, Gary cut a branch from a tree that was hanging over our driveway, the weather warmed up and sap began to flow from the wound in the tree!  We hadn’t really thought about what kind of tree this is; the branch simply needed to be cut.  When the temperatures dipped again that night, the dripping sap formed an “icicle”.  Not only did it look pretty, but much to our surprise it was a sweet delight to our taste buds!  We kinda reacted like Jed Clampett strikin’ oil when we realized this big ol’ maple tree was dripping sweet “liquid gold”!  While it won’t fetch us a mansion in Beverly Hills, I must learn how to tap this tree!

I have two friends who tap maple trees and it is obvious from their stories that “sugaring” is not an easy chore.  But… they both return to it year after year because the rewards are worth their effort and challenges.  Why don’t they just purchase some good ol’ Aunt Jemima and be done with it?

It is my assumption that most hard working “sappers” realize something that many consumers do not.  We don’t have to look too far to learn the difference between the nutritional value of imitation maple syrup and the real stuff.

Pure Maple syrup contains a single ingredient – pure maple;

table syrup contains more than 10 chemical and artificial ingredients.

– Get Real Maple

The main ingredient in fake syrup (often referred to as “table syrup”) is high fructose corn syrup (HFCS).  While I’ve written about this harmful FDA approved commodity in other articles, I’ll summarize a few of the risks here:

·        Obesity - Rats fed HFCS gained fat 300% more quickly than those fed equal doses of fruit-derived sugar. ^[1].

·        Diabetes – HFCS significantly increases the risk of developing Diabetes. ^[2] 

·        Heart Disease – There is a strong link between HFCS consumption and high blood pressure and elevated cholesterol levels. [3] 

·        Liver Damage – HFCS can cause liver scarring which diminishes the organ’s ability to process toxins ^[4] and may also cause fatty liver. ^[5]

·        Nervous System injury – Alarmingly high levels of mercury are often found in HFCS which can result in irreversible brain and nervous system damage. ^[6] 

Maple syrup’s nutritional value has been found to be superior to other sweeteners such as honey, brown sugar and corn syrup?  This sweet treat, gifted to us from the Creator of this world:

• is an excellent source of manganese, which plays an important role in energy production and antioxidant defenses.  Manganese is necessary for normal brain and nerve function.  A ¼ cup portion contains 100% of the Daily Value of manganese.
• provides 37% of the Daily Value of riboflavin, which aids in the metabolic process.
• offers 18% of the recommended Daily Value of zinc, which is essential for a healthy immune system.
• supplies magnesium, calcium and potassium, decreasing the risk of hypertension which can lead to strokes.
• is lower in calories than honey and corn syrup, averaging about 50 calories per tablespoon.

http://www.purecanadamaple.com/benefits-of-maple-syrup/maple-syrup-nutrition/,

I read an article in Science Daily which explains that plants have strong antioxidant mechanisms because of their ongoing exposure to the sun.  In studying sugar maple trees, scientists have found that when the tree is wounded by a tap, it secretes an antioxidant as a defense mechanism!  Research shows that when consumed in its concentrated form, maple syrup is more potent than maple sap.  How interesting!

To reinforce my interest even more, according to an article published in the Journal of Medicinal Food, studies have demonstrated that maple syrup has many health benefits, including anti-cancer and anti-diabetic properties!  (Reference: Journal of Medicinal Food 01/02/2010; ISSN: 1557-7600, OI: 10.1089/jmf.2009.0029)

Given all these wonderful health benefits of pure maple syrup, why are the grocery store shelves lined with the debilitating qualities of imitation syrup?  It isn’t too difficult to figure out, is it?  It is disappointing to learn of the extent to which companies will lower themselves in order to make a buck. 

The first band of “breakfast syrup” was marketed in 1887,

and at the time it contained 45% maple syrup.

Its most expensive product today contains a mere 4% –

and virtually no maple syrup nutrition.

–        Get Real Maple

Isn’t it reassuring to know that our Creator is not interested in a dollar!  He gives gifts freely to everyone and maple syrup, the sweet liquid gold is not the least of them!

Whole-Heartedly,

Bonnie

P.S.  Please feel free to contact me with questions, thoughts, topics you’d like to ponder or to read past articles at: http://whole-heartedlife.blogspot.com/.  You may also contact me at:

             Bonnie Jaeckle

             In Search of the Whole-Hearted Life

             Diagonal Progress

             505 Jefferson St.

             Diagonal, IA 50845

DISCLAIMER:

The author of this article does not endorse everything represented on/in suggested links, books, etc.  Each of us is accountable to God to weigh everything according to His Word.

All content of this article is commentary or opinion and is protected under Free Speech. The author sells no hard products and earns no money from the recommendation of products. The information herein is presented for educational and commentary purposes only and should not be construed as professional advice from any licensed practitioner. The information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent disease.  This is best left to the Creator of the universe.  In all health-related situations, “qualified healthcare professionals” should always be consulted.  The author deems THE GREAT PHYSICIAN to be most qualified.  The author assumes no responsibility for the use or misuse of this material.

“No! Say, Stone!’”

My son, Jake demonstrated an interest in nature at a very young age.  We loved going for nature walks, identifying the critters, listening to their voices, etc.  For as long as I can recall, Jake also exhibited a tender heart toward children with “disabilities”.  When he was a pre-teen, we lived close to a state park which had a nature program for such children.  I talked to the director about the possibility of having Jake volunteer to help.  The director was very keen toward Jake’s young heart and was more than interested in having an assistant!  Once a week, Jake went to “work” at the nature center and to spend the day with his new friends.  What an experience this was for him! 

Jake developed a special relationship with Gina, a young girl who was blind.  Wanting to make something very special for her, Jake decided upon a “touch and feel” book of Bible stories.  Upon its completion, we made a trip to Gina’s home in order for Jake to present his gift to her.

Jake and Gina sat next to one another as he read the book to her.  At certain points in the stories Jake would take Gina’s finger and helped her to feel something that was described in the text.  We used a piece of sand paper to emulate a stone mentioned in one of the stories.  As Jake read about the stone, he took Gina’s finger and rubbed it across the sandpaper and explained, “This is a stone.”

After some time, Gina’s mother returned home from work.  Gina excitedly encouraged her mother to read the book that Jake had made.  When she came to the part about the stone, Gina’s mother took Gina’s finger, rubbed it across the sandpaper and said, “This is a ‘rock.’”  Gina promptly retorted, “No!  Say, ‘Stone!’”  Gina wanted to hear the story, just as Jake had told it!  Any other version seemed incorrect to her.

As sweet as this story is, I’ve come to realize more and more how tainted our lenses are toward hearing spiritual truth.  We’ve heard “the story” told in a certain way for so many years that we resist reading it without our tinted lenses; in fact, it is one of the most difficult things we’ll ever have to do.  We like the story the way that we’ve always heard it.  Regardless of whether or not we learned it accurately, it’s familiar and comfortable.

A number of years ago, I encouraged a lady to reexamine a particular spiritual subject.  Together, we read the various sections of scripture investigating the topic.  I then asked her what her thoughts were.  She reiterated her preconceived understanding.  I challenged her response, “But… what does Scripture say?  She acquiesced, “I know what you are getting at, but…. if I go there it will require me to re-evaluate everything I’ve ever believed.  You have to understand that everything my family has ever stood for rests upon this!  It is too frightening and over-whelming to consider that we’ve had it wrong all along.  I just can’t go there!”

Although I was pretty certain of her answer, I felt it necessary to ask,

“Are you saying that you’d rather believe a lie

than to seek truth

no matter what the outcome may be?”

With reservation she said, “Yes.”  My heart sank.  I knew she was not standing on solid ground.

As familiar and comfortable as it may be, your foundation may not be a solid rock.  In fact, it may very well be sinking sand.  The consideration is frightening; isn’t it?  I truly understand the fear.  I’ve been there!  However, at some point, we all have to face the reality that we only have two options:

1.      continue, in vain, to reinforce the unsupported and deceptive security upon which we’ve always trusted until there is nothing left to stand on.

2.      be willing to let the unstable foundation to come tumbling down around us and trust Father to rebuild a firm and lasting foundation, one solid rock at a time.

Or should I say “stone!?

Whole-Heartedly,

Bonnie

P.S.  Please feel free to contact me with questions, thoughts, topics you’d like to ponder or to read past articles at: http://whole-heartedlife.blogspot.com/.  You may also contact me at:

             Bonnie Jaeckle

             In Search of the Whole-Hearted Life

             Diagonal Progress

             505 Jefferson St.

             Diagonal, IA 50845

The Perfect Socks!

I’m knitting my first pair of socks!  Well…. I have obviously worn socks before.  It would be more accurate to say; “This is the first time that I’ve knitted socks!”  I’m not sure if my husband, Gary would agree, but for me it’s been kinda fun!  I like watching something develop that I’ve never tried to do before.  But, since these socks are custom made for him, every few minutes, I’m saying, “Honey, would you try this on, please?”  With a wee bit of a huff, off comes a slipper and a sock so that I can place my developing creation over his foot.  Yesterday he said, “I hope you are going to wash these socks before I wear them!”  Funny!

I bet I know why he’s not the most excited about this venture.  He tells me stories about his grandma making him socks as gifts when he was a young boy.  He describes these socks as bulky, hot and never fitted to his foot!  In Grandma’s defense, this wasn’t really her fault.  It used to be that all sock patterns were knitted from the top down.  When they got to the toe, the knitter had to somehow close the hole!  So… they pulled the gap together and closed it up with some yarn!  Talk about uncomfortable!  Socks in those days were made with the only yarn that was available which was a bulky weight, itchy wool!  Needless to say, this didn’t help the comfort measures for this young boy!

Gary hates bulky socks.  He hates hot socks.  He hates socks that don’t fit.  And… if they itch, forget it!  I can only imagine that he also hates socks puckered together at the toe with a glob of yarn!  I can just picture him as a young boy, desiring to appease Grandma and to show appreciation for her efforts, putting the sock on… yanking the sock off, putting the sock back on and yanking the sock off again.  I’m sure he did everything in his power to get the socks to “feel right,” but to no avail!

No wonder the poor guy is skeptical about my endeavor to make him socks!

Oh, but these socks are made with lightweight yarn that stretches

and conforms to his foot

and does not itch!

They will be warm in the winter and cool in the summer!

They are custom made to fit his foot only!

These socks are knitted from the toe up and…

like magic, a tunnel develops for his foot, but there are no seams!

These socks will be the perfect socks!

Where did I find such a perfect sock pattern?  http://www.k1p1design1.com/socks.html. Not only are there instructions for making these socks at this site, there are also videos to watch as someone shows you how to go about each step.  You don’t have to be a knitting expert to make socks.  This pattern can be as simple or as complex as you make it to be!  Try it!  It’s fun!

Whole-Heartedly,

Bonnie

P.S.  Please feel free to contact me with questions, thoughts, topics you’d like to ponder or to read past articles at: http://whole-heartedlife.blogspot.com/.  You may also contact me at:

             Bonnie Jaeckle

             In Search of the Whole-Hearted Life

             Diagonal Progress

             505 Jefferson St.

             Diagonal, IA 50845

Chest Colds – Momma Knows Best

Chest colds are no fun and it seems that this warm winter is the culprit for many of them!  Not only is that hacking and coughing exhausting, elevated temperatures often accompany these respiratory ailments causing chills, aching and fatigue which can be quite debilitating.  When we don’t feel good, we just want to “Be done with it, already!”  So… we often reach for the easiest, quickest “remedy”.  However, did you know that…

• while cough suppressants may be effective in quieting a cough; a productive cough is our body’s way of expelling mucus in the lungs and upper airways?  Suppressing the cough causes retention of secretions which can lead to secondary infections.
• fever reducing medications suppress our body’s ability to produce antibodies.  In fact, studies show that this actually results in the infection lasting up to 50% longer!  The elevated temperature actually destroys the virus or bacteria causing the problem.  They don’t like heat!

So… what am I suggesting; allow the fever to fry your brain cells and wait until you collapse from exhaustion before you take any action?  While this isn’t quite what I have in mind J, I would like to offer a few suggestions that may be more effective in the long run than the typical modern-day approach:

X-rays – if you have chest congestion and a productive cough, you don’t need a chest x-ray to tell you that your lungs and/or upper airways are congested.  You already know that!  It really doesn’t matter which lung!  It really doesn’t matter how far down the congestion runs!  What matters is you have respiratory congestion and you need effective treatment!  Don’t expose yourself to radiation needlessly!

Antibiotics – Most often chest colds are viral and not bacterial.  An antibiotic will have no affect whatever on a viral infection.  Taking antibiotics needlessly only builds your body’s resistance to antibiotics.  If you are unsure if your infection is viral or bacterial and you are keen on antibiotics, have a sputum specimen done.  If the infection is bacterial, the report will specify which antibiotics will be effective.  Don’t accept a wild guess from your doctor as to which antibiotic you need.  Personally, I’d hold off on the antibiotic until I knew it was absolutely the last result.

The measures that momma and many other caring moms always took when we had colds

are still as effective today as they were then and

most of us are alive and well to tell about it!

I would encourage you to use them:

REST – Momma would keep us home from school when necessary, but… there was “no horsing around!”  We were in bed!  She knew that our bodies needed rest to heal.  If we had a fever, she didn’t have to do much coaxing!  Isn’t it amazing that a fever makes us so tired that we can hardly function?  There is a reason for that!  We need to stop trying to function as normal so that we can heal!  If coughing is keeping you awake, use extra pillows to prop yourself up or sleep on your side to prevent drainage and facilitate freer chest movement.

FLUIDS – Momma always had hot tea, broth and water available on a chair next to our beds.  She knew how important it was to “Drink!  Drink!  Drink!”  An elevated temperature isn’t going to hurt us unless we become dehydrated.  Stay way from mucus producing fluids like dairy products.  Many herbal teas are very effective for cold treatments: Echinacea, mullein, elderberry to only name a few.

HUMIDITY – I remember that momma would make a misting tent over our bed with blankets.  She then placed steaming pans of water on a chair next to the bed and just inside an opening in the “tent”.  She knew that moisture in the air helps to relax the airways.  Run a humidifier, put a tea pot full of water on the stove and/or cover your head and shoulders with a towel and hold your head over a steaming pan of water.  Do anything that will help to increase the moisture in your respiratory system!

AROMATICS – Lozenges and cough drops are aromatics.  The aroma and cooling effects of the essential oils in them help to sooth the throat, quiet a cough and expectorate mucus.  When I was a child, Vicks Vapor Rub was also the ticket!  Momma rubbed it on our chests!  She rubbed it on our temples!  She even stuck it up our nostrils.  It was definitely her go-to item when we had a cold.  While studies have shown since then that shoving petroleum up your nose isn’t the safest thing in the world to do, using aromatics is still a very important part of treating respiratory ailments.  Here is a simple recipe for making your own chest rub that is not only quite effective at clearing congestion; the ingredients are a bit healthier than its over-the-counter “equivalents”.

Heat one ounce olive oil.  Add ¼ tsp Vitamin E and one tbsp. grated beeswax

When the wax is melted add:

60 drops eucalyptus

20 drops wintergreen

10 drops peppermint

2 drops thyme

Allow to cool thoroughly and solidify before using.  Rub on chest and back and apply heating pad or warm rice pack for 20 minutes 3-4 times daily.

While it is no fun to be miserable, don’t add fuel to the fire by shutting down your body’s natural defenses.  When we work in harmony with how Father has created our body to heal itself, we are reminded how fearfully and wonderfully made we really are (Psalm 139:14)!

Whole-Heartedly,

Bonnie

P.S.  Please feel free to contact me with questions, thoughts, topics you’d like to ponder or to read past articles at: http://whole-heartedlife.blogspot.com/.  You may also contact me at:

             Bonnie Jaeckle

             In Search of the Whole-Hearted Life

             Diagonal Progress

             505 Jefferson St.

             Diagonal, IA 50845

DISCLAIMER:

The author of this article does not endorse everything represented on/in suggested links, books, etc.  Each of us is accountable to God to weigh everything according to His Word.

All content of this article is commentary or opinion and is protected under Free Speech. The author sells no hard products and earns no money from the recommendation of products. The information herein is presented for educational and commentary purposes only and should not be construed as professional advice from any licensed practitioner. The information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent disease.  This is best left to the Creator of the universe.  In all health-related situations, “qualified healthcare professionals” should always be consulted.  The author deems THE GREAT PHYSICIAN to be most qualified.  The author assumes no responsibility for the use or misuse of this material.