Another natural approach to allergies: Local Honey

This image was selected as a picture of the week on the Malay Wikipedia for the 46th week, 2009. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I covered a great way to help with allergies in a previous post.  I now want to focus on another natural form of allergy control: honey.  I was talking to my doctor that other day and the topic of natural health came up.  He asked me if I had tried honey as a method of allergy control.  I told him that I have been eating a lot of honey, but that I was unsure of how much I ate per day.  He stated that the suggested amount of daily honey is 1 tablespoon per day.
The thought behind honey is that bees feed on pollen.  By eating honey everyday, you are essentially taking in a small amount of pollen.  This concept is similar to the method of allergy hyposensitization (allergy shots.)  One key is that the honey must be produced locally by free ranging bees.  This allows the bees to collect the pollen from sources that are likely bombarding your histamine cells.
So is there any science behind the claims that honey helps to alleviate allergy symptoms or is this simply a false claim?

There does not to be a peer-reviewed study that has been conducted on this treatment/ theory.  As a veterinarian, the premise makes

sense in that you are introducing very low amounts of the allergens into your body over a long period of time (the same concept as immunotherapy).  It appears that the pollen should be a local as possible (within three miles is generally recommended.)

Honey (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

One informal (unfunded) study on allergies and honey conducted by students at Xavier University in New Orleans produced positive results. Researchers divided participants into three groups: seasonal allergy sufferers, year-round allergy sufferers and non-allergy sufferers. These groups were further divided into three subgroups with some people taking two teaspoons of local honey per day, others taking the same amount of non-local honey each day and the final subgroup not taking honey at all. The Xavier students found that after six weeks, allergy sufferers from both categories suffered fewer symptoms.  The group taking local honey reported the most improvement.

The good effects of this local honey are best when the honey is taken a little bit (a couple of teaspoons-full) a day for several months prior to the pollen season.   There are a multitude of success stories online to back up these claims.

Canadian goldenrod (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Some allergists rebel at the concept of honey relieving allergies.  Their claims are based on the thinking that most allergies are caused by plants that are fertilized by the wind and not insects.  As a result, the bees do not collect this pollen and it does not show up in the honey that they produce.

Related articles

• Benefits of Honey (farmfoodieandfitness.com)
• Natural approach to Allergies (heritagebreedfarms.wordpress.com)
• Allergies? Some Pollens Are Much More Aggressive Than Others (myallergysupport.wordpress.com)
• Can Local Honey Help My Allergies? (webmd.com)

Foods for anemia

DarkRedKidney (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Sesame seeds (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Recent blood work revealed that I have a mild anemia.  My doctor made some reçommendations for improving my intake of iron.  Being the curious person that I am, I am now researching these foods on my own.  I would like to avoid taking a multivitamin.  I would like to improve my iron intake with only natural sources.  So here is what I have found so far.
Red Meat.  I actually am glad to jear that I need to eat more red meat.  I now need to find a source of grass fed beef, but we do still have some conventional beef in the freezer.  I will work through that.  The iron content of red meat is listed below.  It appears that liver (yuck) and kidney (who eats that?) are excellent sources of iron.

Green Leafy Vegetables, Red Meat, Beans, some seeds and some types of nuts are good sources of iron.

Garbanzo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

• I got the following information from an eHow article:

  Excellent Sources of Iron

  • Excellent sources of heme iron (3.5 mg or more per serving) include: liver, which has approximately 11 mg per serving depending on the type of liver; kidney, which has 7 to 11 mg, depending on the type; and shellfish, such as clams and oysters.

    Excellent sources of non-heme (plant) iron include: cooked beans, including white beans, soybeans, lentils and chickpeas; breakfast cereals (the ones enriched with iron); and lima beans, red kidney beans and split peas.

    Good Sources of Iron

    • Good sources of heme iron (2.1 mg or more per serving) include beef, poultry (the darker the meat, the more iron it contains) and blood pudding.

      Good sources of non-heme iron include: enriched egg noodles, or any other enriched, cooked noodles; dried apricots and other stone fruit; spinach; peppers (canned/fresh) and tomatoes

    Other Sources of Iron

    • Foods containing 0.7 mg or more of heme iron include chicken, ham (and other lean pork meat), lamb, veal, seafood (be careful to avoid mercury poisoning by consulting the mercury levels in your seafood) and eggs

      And, finally, foods containing 0.7 mg or more of non-heme iron include: nuts; seeds and legumes such as peanuts, pecans, walnuts, pistachios, hazelnuts, almonds, cashews and sunflower seeds; breads (enriched with iron); breakfast cereals like oatmeal and farina/cream of wheat; wheat germ; canned beets; dried seedless raisins and fresh stone fruit such as peaches, plums/prunes, dates, apricots and nectarines.

    Iron-Rich Drinks

    • The juice of any of the fruits listed previously can make an excellent iron-rich drink, along with beverages such as milk or protein shakes that specify they are enriched with iron.

      In general, iron absorbs poorly into the body. Iron supplements and non-heme iron do not absorb as well as heme iron, so to maximize absorption, be sure to eat and drink foods high in vitamin C to better absorb the iron.

       

Related articles

• Eat These Iron-Rich Foods to Boost Your Workout (self.com)
• How To Treat Anemia (answers.com)
• Which Foods Are Rich In Iron? (answers.com)

Homesteading Series Part 7: Garden Site selection

How should I select a garden?

 There are many things to consider when choosing a garden site. One consideration is simply where to place the garden. The answer will vary according to your situation and what you desire to grow. I have seen people who have incorporated gardens into their landscaping. I call this edible landscaping. Edible plants can be incorporated in among many traditional flowers and bushes. Thia interplanting allows for pest control and confusion.

So on to the more traditional gardening types.

Raised Beds

Raised bed . (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

One method that I like is the raised bed method of gardening. Raised beds can vary in length to suit a particular situation. They tend to be three or four feet wide, which allows for weeding from either side. A person can weed to the middle of the raised bed from either side. An advantage of raised bed gardening is drainage.  Another advantage is that they have a small footprint.  This means that they can be tucked into small spaces and catered to fit small areas that are available.  Still another advantage is that they have very deep, loose soil.  This allows for deep root penetration.  In the end, that plants may be healthier as a result of having more extensive root systems.

Strip Gardens

I modified this system and made what I refer to as strip gardens.   I took 50 foot long strips of sod and dug them up in four foot wide sections.  I then began to pile on the compost and other soil amendments.  This gave me a raised bed type garden.  I was able to add soil as I went.  In this system, I was able to eliminate the walking paths that serve to compact the soil near the plants.  I eventually elected to fill in the areas in between the strips.

Traditional Gardens

Finally, on to a more traditional garden.  Our garden is about 60 feet long by 50 feet wide.   We elected to go this route as we are now able to plant rows of corn and bean in whatever configuration that we choose.  We lay out our corn in rows separated by 30 inches.  The beans go in rows that are 24 inches apart.  We are then able to grow cucumbers, zucchini, and other plants where we want them.

The ideal site should be sunny (at least 8 hours of sunlight per day).  It is ideal for it to be flat or sloped slightly to the south.  In our area, it is best to have a wind break to the west and north.  This prevents the corn from blowing over later in the summer when the big storms tend to roll in.  We have our small orchard and berry patch to the West, which seems to keep the corn upright.

Related articles

• Homegrown: Plants thrive in a raised garden bed (thegazette.com)
• Homegrown: Raised Garden Bed (thegazette.com)
• {DIY} Raised-Bed Garden (typicalhousecat.com)
• Homegrown: Square-foot gardening (thegazette.com)

Hay has arrived

cattle_07 (Photo credit: NDSU Ag Comm)

Last night we were able to put up 38 round bales of hay.  This is a great start to next winter’s feed supply. Our neighbor cut, raked, tettered and baled the hay over the weekend and brought them up into the barn last night.  We are excited to have a great jump start for next season.  Now the challenge is to get some of the pasture eaten down by the cows that we have.  We may be in the market for a few more adult animals or steers that need to finish.  There is a total of about 12 acres that needs to be eaten, well more than our three adult cows will be able to eat.

We do not supplement our cattle at this time, featuring a grass fed beef program.  We hope to provide good, flavorful and nutritional meat once our calves finish out.  We also employ a hormone-free, organic program.  (We did not certify our land organic, but sprays and chemicals are not used on our farm).

Until Next Time

Grass fed beef. Is there a demand?

Red Poll cow, Temple Newsam. Home Farm, Temple Newsam, is the largest Rare Breeds Survival Trust (RBST) Approved Centre. Significant breeding groups of livestock from the RBST Watchlist are kept at Home Farm. This is one of a herd of Red Poll cattle, and there are 8 other breeds of cattle kept here. See http://www.leeds.gov.uk/templenewsam/farm/farm_live.html (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I was talking to a local farmer today about our small herd.  He asked if we were raising beef cattle or dairy.  My response to this is usually that we are raising Red Poll cattle.  The common retort from people is that we have Red Angus cattle with no horns.  I explain that the breed is called Red Poll.  That is the name of the breed and that my cattle are registered.  They then begin to ask about them, so I explain that they are a heritage breed of cattle that are very good at foraging.  They are known for good milk production and have been bred more for grass fed beef.

I then explain that we are believers in grass fed beef and are trying to capture like-minded people within our niche market.  To my surprise, this farmer began to tell me how his son is producing grass fed beef for a restaurant in Wisconsin, where he currently resides.  They are looking for any and all grass fed beef. This immediately gave me some hope for our products. Though I do not necessarily want to sell the grass fed beef to a distant market, it is nice to know that one exists.
So this got me to thinking: is there an increasing demand fir grass fed beef, or do I simply perceive an increased demand because I am a recent covert? So I began to look into it. I did the common research technique known as ” Google it.” Here is what I found with some links:

http://www.denverpost.com/food/ci_17186593

This article highlighted the growing demand for natural or sustainable beef production.  The author discusses that Walmart and McDonalds are even getting in on the movement.  She mentions that grass fed beef is no longer just offered in high end restaraunts.  In fact the trend has moved more and more mainstream.  She also mentions several books about the subject matter such as:  “Food, Inc.,” “Eating Animals,” “The Omnivore’s Dilemma,” “Animal Factory” and “CAFO.”  Those are some titles that perhaps we will read and do a review at some point.

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/11/switching-to-grass-fed-beef/

This article. blog talks about the benefits of grassfed beef.  These benefits include:

• Lower levels of unhealthy fats
• Higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids.
• Lower levels of dietary cholesterol
• Offers more vitamins A , Vitamin E and Antioxidants.
• Twice the levels of conjugated linoleic acid, or CLA, isomers, which may have cancer fighting properties and lower the risk of diabetes and other health problems.
• These statistics were gathered by the author from a report in the Nutrition Journal.

So in summary, there appears to be a greater awareness of the benefits of grass fed beef.  These benefits are nutritional, as can be noted above.  Other benefits that are linked to grass fed beef production include environmental benefits and humane benefits for the animals themselves.  Those are both a discussion for another time and place.

I added some additional articles that are related below.  One is one of our own posts, the others are from various authors.  It appears that the first one has some concerns about the sustainability of the grass fed industry due to the increased cost per pound for the meat itself.

Cover via Amazon

Related articles

• Why Grass-fed Beef Costs More and is worth it! (gauchoranchgrillboutique.wordpress.com)
• Red Poll Cattle (The perfect breed) (heritagebreedfarms.wordpress.com)
• Increased Demand for Grass-fed Beef (gauchoranchgrillboutique.wordpress.com)
• The Performance and Health Benefits of Grass-Fed Beef (stack.com)

Next Steps

As I think a bit more about disaster preparedness, I think about what to do next.  Should we dig a pond for a water source?  Should we make a larger garden in order to store more food?  Should we build a root cellar to increase the variety of food that we can store?  Should we purchase some more animals: goats, pigs and sheep?

One of my strengths in life is looking toward the future and trying to anticipate various scenarios. One of my faults is getting too wrapped up in the bad scenarios that can happen. In other words, I look at how thing may play out, but have a hard time rolling with the punches and not being a doomsday prophet. So with that in mind, let’s revisit what I call practical preparedness.

I define that as preparing for the possibility of negative future events, yet not sacrificing the here and now to prepare. I see the value in buying 100 canning lids, as we will save a bit on the per lid price and have some leftovers just in case. We are going to use them eventually. That is an example of being practical. Impractical in my humble opinion would be buying a bullet proof, reinforced Hummer, which could come in handy in the event of the apocalypse, but is not practical in the here and now. (Though I can think of a lot of fun ways to play with one of those.)

So what is the next step?  That is the question that I am posing.  I feel that the next step has multiple steps contained within it.  It is basically an issue of stocking up.  I look at stocking up in three main areas:

Food and water:  This goes without saying, but a likely disruption of the economy means a scarcity of food for all.

Tools:  The possibility of long-term power outages and the lack of skilled tradesmen, would make tools invaluable

Supplies and Resources:  These include cooking items, canning lids, lanterns, guns, ammunition, hunting supplies, matches, fuel, the list is virtually endless.

I will show my bias and add the least expensive, yet most practical asset of all: knowledge. The know how to do things and to fix things is priceless. The ability to gain that knowledge is oftentimes very inexpensive. Part of it involves simply living life and doing some trial and error. A good example from my everyday life is gardening. Each year, I try at least one new type of plant and one or two new techniques. I also think back to what worked or failed in the past. I can think of my straw bale garden attempt two years ago, it flopped. (I may try it again, perhaps having learned from my previous attempt). I evaluate plants by how they performed and how well their product was eaten by either us or the animals.
One of my goals is to do a better job of documenting and journaling how the garden performs. I can track yield and production.

Back to learning. Gaining knowledge can be done through friends and even online. Resources such as this should be helpful. There numerous resources, be it blogs or websites. I enjoy asking around and learning from others. I also enjoy sharing my passions with others. I embrace the opportunity to learn and better prepare myself. I also enjoy being able to help others.

Until next time……..

 

Homesteading: What Is It?

"The Covered Wagon of the Great Western Migration. 1886 in Loup Valley, Nebr." A family poses with the wagon in which they live and travel daily during their pursuit of a homestead. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

So what is homesteading?  Without looking up the formal definition, I feel that homesteading incorporates many aspects.  These include self-sufficiency, food production, preparedness, self-reliance, knowledge…

From Wikipedia: Broadly defined, homesteading is a lifestyle of simple self-sufficiency.  The term may apply to anyone who follows the back-to-the-land movement by adopting a sustainable, self-sufficient lifestyle.

It seems to me that people who are defined as homesteaders tend to have some common traits.

Self-Sufficient:  The first is the desire to live as self-sufficient as possible.  Notice I did not state that they are independent, for in my experience homesteaders tend to have a very intricate network of similar minded friends and family.

Nutrition:  The second trend is that they place an importance on nutrition.  It seems that one of the main reasons that people begin down the path of homesteading is to provide healthy food for their families.

Environmentally Friendly:  A third trait may be that of environmental awareness.  Do not confuse this with being a tree-hugger or avid environmentalist, just simply that homesteaders tend to respect their land.  At least the homesteaders that I have dealt with have a focus on taking care of their land by composting, cultivation, seed saving, and other friendly practices.

Family Focused:  Homesteaders tend to have a tight knit family.  Many forgo the modern day trends of television and the like to keep life simply and unconstrained.  Also the lack of cable also provides a chane to save money.  Many tight knit homesteaders homeschool their children.  We also give our children “real chores” like feeding the animals.  This goes above and beyond the common city chores of cleaning your room and doing the dishes.  Animals are reliant upon us to take care of them.  Lack of responsibility and provision results in lack of production and ultimately death (If care is extremely poor).

Organic:  Some tend to be organically focused.  This is may simply tie in to the nutrition thing as stated above.  The concern about the overuse of chemical agents and insecticides tend to be a common theme that I have noted.

Conservation:  A lot of homesteaders end up as conservationists, perhaps unintentionally.  By this I mean that homesteaders will save seeds, preserving may heirloom and non hybrid types of vegetables.  Also the focus on dual purpose cattle in some instances also furthers the preservation of heritage breeds (something we like!)

Disaster Preparedness:  Homesteaders will tend to be preppers.  This means that they are prepared for potential disasters on some level or another.  This may be from canning, quilting, storage, seed saving, as well as many other facets involved in homesteading.

Connected:  As I stated above, homesteaders tend to be connected to one another.  There are networks that are established, as no one person or family can go it alone for every vital need.  Blogs like this also function within that network.  We have a network locally of about 6 families, which extends very loosely to perhaps dozens of acquaintances of one form or another.

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Amish:  This is just a funny, though the Amish are practically homesteaders by tradition.  They may, in fact, be the ultimate homesteaders.  I say it is a funny, as many of us joke and get teased about being Amish.  It is a joke made with the utmost of respect.

Learners:  It seems to me that those I have associated with are constantly wanting to learn.  Whether it be skills or simply practical knowledge, I note the extreme desire to learn and the craving of knowledge.

Christian?  This may be controversial, but I think that many a homesteader tends to have a deep faith in God.  So whether that be Christian or not, I do not know, but it sure seems to me that God is a thread that runs deep within many homesteaders.  We like to live a little outside of the trends of society.

To sum it up, Homesteading is an intricate plan to:

1. provide for your family,
2. prepare for the future,
3. conserve the land that has been granted,
4. preserve genetic of both animals and plants,
5. live off the land, share knowledge and wisdom,
6. and to raise a family that is focused on family and thrive.

Please share your thoughts below and perhaps even your definition of homesteading.

(I will note the website below as an inspiration for this posting, though I did not follow it to a tee.)

http://www.christianhomesteaders.org/

Rural Areas….the Key to Prosperity and Preservation.

Rural Revival

The past several years have seen the United States, as well as many regions around the world, experience a recession, depression, economic downturn, call it what you will.  Various media outlets cover the world’s economic status differently.

• Glenn Beck warns his listeners and subscribers to GBTV.com to continue to prepare.  In fact, a recent radio show of his featured a $50  bet with Bill O’Reilly that there will be a lot of chaos this coming summer.
• More traditional media outlets continue to preach an economic recovery that is upon us.  They cite decreasing unemployment numbers and increases in the manufacturing sector as evidence that the economy is healthy and vibrant
• Pundits of the traditional media question the validity of those numbers.  Some questions linger about how unemployment numbers can be accurate when the numbers do not include those people who do not have a job, but have quit looking for one.
• Greece and Europe continue to struggle, but talks are underway to bolster those countries that are at risk.

Regardless of which scenario you adhere to and which philosophy you choose, one thing is certain is that the United States economy is not as strong as it has been at points in the past.

With this as a backdrop, where will the recovery and stability come from?  May I suggest that farmers and producers may hold the key to recovery, as well as preservation.  Farming is one of the main things that has made the United States the great nation that we are (or have been).  We are one of the leading producers of the world’s food supply.

There is also an increasing demand for food throughout the world.  There have been food shortages in many countries, such as Greece.  A 2008 article out of the UK suggested that Great Britian could face a food crisis due to many factors.  (Global Food Supply is Growing Problem 2008 the Telegraph)

This article pointed out that food is being used in increasing amounts for alternative fuels.  Perhaps the saddest part of this is that we are spending more in fossil fuels to produce a gallon of ethanol than we actually produce in ethanol.  This is sad as many in our world starve due to lack of food, which often times is restricted for political reasons.

Another trend that hits the food supply hard is the urbanization of the planet.  More and more people are moving to the cities and suburbs.  This not only means less people to do the farming, but more houses built on what was previously farmland.  This sometimes seems a “win” for the farmer who sells the land for development, but is ultimately a huge loss for the potential production of food.  We can only get so efficient with what we produce per acre and the means of increasing that production can be downright scary (BST in Milk, GMO laden products, Increased fertilizers, increases in the amount of glyphosate used, hormones in animals, coccidiostats in poultry feed….the list goes on and on)

So I feel that the US is poised to remain the world’s economic and military superpower if we take heed.  It will take a lot to shift the thinking to increase farm production, as a large portion of our population moves to more and more urban areas.  Some creativity may be needed as well.  There have been some recent strides made as far as “vertical gardening” goes.  There has also been a huge increase in the amount of people raising backyard chickens for egg production.  (MyPetChicken.com and Backyardchicken.com)

Why the economic Revival from Rural Areas? 

Well this seems simply a game of supply and demand.  The demand in the world is rapidly growing as the population grows in what seems to be an exponential fashion.  In the aforementioned article, it was estimated that it would take t $30,000,000,000 (that is thirty BILLION) a year to relaunch agriculture in the developing world and avert future threats of food conflicts.   That is a ton of cold, hard cash.

The United states still has a large amount of acreage in rural areas.  With improving technology, we may be able to farm even more acreage than in the past.  This can be attributed to larger and more specialized equipment.  There are also constant developments that allow us to provide better drainage.  This opens up previously wet areas to a better potential to be farmed.  I am not suggesting we drain out wetlands, but rather talking about smaller areas that are simply prone to flooding.

What can you do about it?

I suggest you start by supporting local farmers.  This can be done in many ways.  The first of which goes to my previous post of supporting your local farmers markets.  Another way is to buy meat from a farmer in your area.  Many farmers are beginning to focus on selling animals more directly to consumers.  In fact, many offer to ship to customers.  We at Heritage Breed Farms hope to someday be able to market more directly to local consumers.  We plan to focus on the quality of our products in that the animals are given no hormones and are either grassfed or free range.  Keep in mind that buying from a small local farm may be a little more expensive due to the economy of scale, but you dollars not only go for more nutritional products, but also support the local economy.

I also think that gardening on whatever scale that you can is a great way to help with the global food supply.  The more you grow, the less somebody else is forced to produce.  This allows larger farms and companies to export more food overseas.  This will help to bolster the overall economy of the US.  You may be thinking: “yeah, right I grow a few green beans and help the economy?”  Well think of it this way, if everybody grew enough green beans for their own use, all the other green beans that the US produces can be exported.  Also, farmers may see the decreased need for green beans and plant other cash crops in their place.  The result will either be lower food prices here, or greater exports abroad.

Well I think that is enough rambling for one post.  Hopefully, that makes some logical sense to our readers.  Hopefully you are encouraged and inspired to help in any way that you can.