Wise Traditions 2012 – Friday

Wise Traditions Conference 2012: 

I had salmon roe from Vital Choice Seafoods

Underground Breakin’Fast:

In the morning we went downstairs for the Underground Breakin’Fast sponsored by the Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund. I donated $10. As donor gifts I received 10 “Donor Moolah” (DM). By going around to different vendor’s booths I was able to turn in the DM in exchange for food. It was a fund-raiser for FTCLDF. The vendors donated the food and the FTCLDF keeps the donated money. There were many foods available to choose from. I had a (generous) ounce of salmon roe from Vital Choice Seafood and 8 ounces of raw Organic Pastures Dairy milk that morning and felt good until lunch. 

Kim Thompson demonstrated sitting comfortably

 

How to Sit Comfortably:

During Underground Breakin’Fast Kim Thompson held a session on Sitting Comfortably. I stopped in to drop off some salmon roe for my roommate. I found it so interesting that I stayed for the rest of the talk. She showed a spine with all the vertebra lined up with even spacing between each one.  She told us that this is the shape that the spine makes naturally and it wants to be this way. She discussed how to sit and use your body in the best way to feel good after a day in a conference.  Her tips included sitting with your pelvis tilted backward (sitting on your “sit bones).  Use a rolled up towel to help elevate the back of your pelvis if needed.  Don’t overemphasize the lower curve to your spine, keep the ribcage upright.  Let your shoulders roll back, but don’t pinch your shoulder blades together.  

A question about Kegels also generated some wonderful discussion about the natural support structure of a woman’s pelvis.  She said that Kegels have never been proven to do any good.  When the spine is in the correct position and the pelvis is tilted back all the internal organs are supported by a cradle of bone!  This is quite a different story than the one about the soft tissues that are commonly referred to as the “pelvic floor”. 

Tracks:

The rest of the day was broken up into 5 “Tracks”, with three 2-hour sessions each. 

  • Track I – Nourishing Traditional Diets
  • Track II – Gut & Psychology Syndrome
  • Track III – Nutrition & Behavior
  • Track IV – Science of Farming
  • Track V – Cooking

Everyone is free to move about in the different tracks, which is usually what I do. All the tracks sounded wonderful, and it is always hard to chose between them. The theme of this year’s conference was Nutrition & Behavior, which is a really fascinating and important topic for me, so this time I stayed in the Nutrition & Behavior track all day. 

Sugar is more addictive than cocaine!

 

Sugar Addiction:

The first session I attended was Sugar Addiction: Defeating the Greatest Dietary Crisis of all TimeIt was excellent. The Eugene Chapter purchased DVDs, and I will definitely be showing all of the presentations by Julia Ross when the DVDs arrive. 

Julia Ross

 

Julia Ross is a psychotherapist in the bay area, and the author of The Diet Cure, and The Mood Cure. Throughout this track she spoke at length on the necessity of sufficient protein in the diet for brain health and mood regulation. 

Proteins are broken down in the digestive system into their component amino acids. Amino acids are then converted into neurotransmitters, which the brain uses to carry messages. When one or more of these neurotransmitters are deficient the results are mood imbalances, anger, irrationality, loss of emotional control, sleep disorders, food cravings, food-drug-alcohol dependencies, and more. The brain can become deficient in neurotransmitters due to stress, illness, poor dietary choices, poor digestion, and other reasons. A traditional diet that includes adequate fats and protein supplies the necessary amino acids, but when there is already a deficiency in the brain diet alone may not be enough to restore balance. Supplemental amino acids are quickly converted into neurotransmitters and mood problems and cravings for food or drugs are eliminated. These supplements are inexpensive and readily available in natural food stores. After a few months of supplementation people usually no longer need the extra amino acids. 

US diet 1970 to 2012

 

The use and abuse of sugar has been going up since 1972, when the first USDA food pyramid came out. She called the 1970’s “The first decade of Famine”. During that time fat was cut 45% to 35%, refined sweets and starches increased over 50%, high fructose corn syrup was added to foods, low calorie dieting boomed (including skipping meals, fasting, cleansing, caffeine, tobacco and diet pills, and low protein vegetarian diets). 

Definitions of Addiction

 

Sugar meets the definition of an addictive substance. In her practice, Julia Ross found that sugar cravings could be halted 80% of the time using supplemental amino acids. L-Glutamine was one that was particularly helpful in stopping sugar cravings. She said that for fast results one could open a capsule of Glutamine and empty it directly into the mouth. The amino acid is absorbed through the mucus membranes and can quickly halt cravings. 

Cute baby enjoying the conference

 

I’ve been using Glutamine with my son and myself since then. I open a capsule into some water and add a pinch of stevia to make it more appealing (yes, I know I am still using the sweet taste for motivation). I believe that I have seen a difference in behavior, especially when I pick him up from school. He is hungry and usually begs for sweets. Now he is willing to eat savory protein and fat based foods before having a sweet. 

I would love to learn more about using nutrition and amino acids to improve mood and emotions.  Everywhere I look I see people who are depressed, manic, obsessive compulsive, angry and more.  I am especially worried about the younger generations.  I think a big part it has to do with nutrition.  Just like in the faces that Dr. Price observed, you can see the loss of nutrients in their behavior as well.  We are seeing the effects of multiple generations of poor diet take its toll on the children.  

Lunch:

Traffic Jam

 

Lunch had wonderful food, but the logistics was a chaotic mess! I got out of the first session and ran smack into a traffic-jam of people. It turns out we were in line for lunch, but no one knew for sure if it was a line for lunch and if we were moving or not. The line was a total standstill as it went past vendor’s tables. I eventually made it into the lunchroom (a loooooong was down the various hallways) and got my lunch. 

Lunch line

 

We had Baby Greens Salad, Sauerkraut, Grilled Pork Sausages, Beef Sausages, Molasses Baked Beans, Warm Bavarian Potato Salad, and Sourdough Bread with deep yellow Butter. And for dessert Baked Apples with Raw Honey. 

After lunch I walked back up the lunch line and found Charlotte Smith (or rather she found me). I followed her party back into the lunchroom and we talked while they ate. I was very happy to have a chance to talk with her and called my farmer right after that and told her to get herself signed up for the Raw Milk Seminar in Oregon!

Wise Traditions Conference 2012: