This year’s conference in Minneapolis was brimming with fabulous speakers, delicious food, inspiring talks and friendly faces. It’s such a large event that it’s difficult to summarize so I will share a few pearls from some of the talks I attended.
Chapter Leader Meeting
- The chapter leader who came from the farthest away was from the Netherlands! We have a chapter in Iran but the chapter leader there was unable to get a visa.
- The WAPF petitioned the FDA in 2008 to remove the soy heart health claim. And good news! The FDA is now proposing to revoke the heart health claim for soy protein.
- The WAPF is supporting a PhD student for a year to use magnetic resonance testing for vitamins, rancidity in fish oils and isoflavones in egg yolks.
- The 12 Spoons restaurant rating project is waiting for more reviews. They would like to launch it with at least 50 restaurants already rated.
- A few years ago there were claims that fermented cod liver oil was rancid; that vitamin levels were not what is claimed; and that there were trans fats/vegetable oils added. As soon as these claims were made Sally Fallon Morell contacted Nina Teicholz to find out where to get these oils tested and sent samples to England. No rancidity was found. These samples were very stable even when heated.
- Dr. Price’s three basic principles were: Diets did not contain any processed or denatured foods; all traditional diets contained animal foods of some kind; and all were nutrient-dense, containing very high levels of vitamins and minerals.
Understanding How Your Thyroid Works
Ronda Nelson, holistic nutritionist and master herbalist, talked about all things thyroid:
- Benign thyroid nodules are often selenium/iodine deficiency.
- Iodine and Vitamin D saturation decreases cancer by 50%. She suggests supplementing with bladderwrack or Lugol’s solution.
- The thyroid needs protein, iodine, selenium and Vitamin D.
- Herbs for support: Digestive bitters, apple cider vinegar, eating while calm for upper digestion. Beets and greens and milk thistle for the liver. Ashwaganda, rhodiola, eleuthero and Korean ginseng as adaptogens; Rehmania rebuilds and nourishes the thyroid; licorice supports the adrenals and viranon for viral issues. Artemisinin for lyme disease. Hemidismus calms an overactive immune system.
Ask the Practitioner
Dr. Tom Cowan, Natasha Campbell-McBride, Louisa Williams, Kim Schuette and Ronda Nelson made up the practitioner panel.
- Migraines are often a food allergy so gut healing is in order. Coffee enemas stop them quickly.
- Receding gums occur from dysbiosis in the mouth. Can use an oral rinse of myrrh. Oil pulling with myrrh and coconut oil or sage was suggested.
- Mental illness is often from gut dysbiosis. The pathogenic bacteria produce toxins which affect the brain.
- Lyme treatment per Ronda Nelson: This is one cycle: artemisinin – 6 tabs/day x 4 days + myrrh forte – 8 tabs/day x 4 days plus Viranon with echinacea or astragalus 4 tabs each. (For first 4 days, take all 22 tabs, then next 10 days take only Viranon with echinacea or astragalus.) Do 6 cycles of this treatment without stopping in between. Please consult with Ronda to decide whether this treatment is best for you.
Rendering Animal Fat
Becca Griffith gave a very easy way to render fat. Her preferred way is to use the oven. She likes to use a meat grinder to cut up the fat. For every 5 pounds of pork fat about 9 1/2 cups of lard is rendered with 2 cups of cracklings.
- She sets the oven at 225 degrees and melts the fat for about 45 minutes then pours off the fat and does it again several times as needed for 45 minute intervals until you are left with just browned cracklings.
- Cracklings are delicious to add to roasted veggies; you can flavor them with onion or garlic powder. Scotch eggs are made with sausage and cracklings.
- Back fat has more pork flavor; leaf lard from around the kidneys are more neutral in flavor – good for flaky pie crust; belly fat is the bacon; and caul fat is the wrapping around the innards.
- The longer the fat is rendered, the shorter the shelf life.
- Lard can be flavored by simmering a few minutes with fresh rosemary or other herbs.
- For tallow balm, use suet. One cup of suet plus two tablespoons of liquid fat (olive oil or jojoba) works well.
Chairs, Beds and Footwear
Stefan Hagopian says that no part of the human anatomy is built for sitting. We are built for squatting, walking or standing. There is no back pain in cultures where there are no chairs.
He says to beware of sitting in bed or the sofa due to sinking into a soft surface. He says that causes compression of the low spine and interferes with circulation. He suggests sitting forward on sit bones or reclining.
Our feet have 26 bones and are meant for soft irregular surfaces, not flat rigid surfaces. A hoof is the type of foot designed for flat rigid surfaces.
Detoxification Protocol for Autistics and Other Vaccine Injured
Dr. Tim O’Shea wrote a book called Vaccination is not Immunization: The War on Children.
80% of all vaccines in the world are manufactured by 5 companies. In the US in the 1950s a child was given 2 vaccines by the time they were 18; in the 1980s a child was given 20 vaccines; in the 1990s, 40 vaccines; in 2001, 58 vaccines and in 2017, 69 vaccines are given by age 18. He asks the questions: Do they work? Is the health of the US children better than those in other countries? We are #156 in infant mortality. Our children are fatter, sicker and dumber in history – they have degenerative diseases, learning disabilities, diabetes, autism, allergies, asthma and neurological issues.
The CDC says there are 1 in 68 autistics in the US (1.1 million at this time). 1 in 45 boys and 1 in 189 girls become autistic although he believes these are misleading statistics and we don’t really know how many people are autistic in the US.
According to Boyd Haley a single vaccine given to a 6 pound newborn is the same as giving 30 vaccines on the same day to a 180 pound adult.
He has a 60 day program of detox in two phases – clearing the digestive tract and clearing the blood.
By Karen Hamilton-Roth