Stay up to date on what I share on my blog, Scripture quotes, news as it pertains to staying healthy, body, soul and spirit, etc.
I should probably check in so people don't get worried about me. I haven't been online much the last few days due to working on something that will make teaching both foraging AND wild medicine to the children of Christian home-schooling parents, a fun and hopefully engaging experience. But it's taking up all the time I'm willing to give it, including late nights as I am trying to ensure I can have it in hand before mid-April! If I can accomplish that, I'll be taking it to a one-day crammed-in version of my "Make Your Own Trailkit" workshop for a homeschooling family and maybe some of their friends. Stay tuned!
So . . . my adult daughter is not only a history nut, but has become a history nut with a penchant for historical medical texts. She's found the occasional questionable book, such as "The Farmer's Own", and squirrel's such books away as the kind of thing that gives their times a bad name in modern medicine. We recently heard about what is deemed to be the first-ever medical text covering medicine in the Americas, back during the days of the Aztec's and Spanish conquerors. People were crowing about a translation of this text and how amazing it was that it named herbs, minerals, trees, and more. The version most were crowing over was difficult to find unless you're willing to visit a university or state library around the world. A second version was easier to find, and then the horror hit!
We scanned several of the "treatments" wondering how on earth human feces might solve an eye problem, how a burned frog might be a suitable stand-in for fried blood, etc. While people crowed about how doctors must have been SO precise using tools such as thorns as surgical instruments, the treatments we saw in just a few pages had us cringing! Some of it was highly superstitious to add to the problem. Sure, other books have shared superstition to be fair, and those treatments are generally glossed over in favour of other treatments in the same books that actually work, have no dangerous ingredients, etc. . . but not this book! I deleted my attempts at obtaining parts of the one translation and closed all tabs related to the one we finally looked at in English.
If you ever hear of the Badaino Codex, it is one historical medical text you do NOT want on your shelf! Horrific doesn't capture the sentiment!
The discussion of which is safest to use in the kitchen, be it glass, plastic, silicon, steel, or wood, is apparently a very contested subject. Mainstream anti-bacterial teaching holds that plastic is safer than wood, that steel is safer than plastic, and wood is put at the bottom of the safety pile.
Government foodsafe guidelines have either informed the knowledge of woodworkers out there, or their lack of anti-bacterial knowledge around their favourite crafting material has informed governments.
The currently promoted misinformation around the safety of wood in the kitchen is best shown in the discussion, or should I say conflict, around oak, whether we're talking red or white oak.
"Some wood species like pine and oak showed excellent antibacterial characteristics, efficiently killed applied bacteria, and had clear hygienic advantages compared to other woods and plastics."
"A growing body of the literature points to the hygroscopicity of wood—its ability to draw water and bacteria from its surface, deep into the wood, where the bacteria are trapped and die—as the wood attempts to even out its moisture content."
"Our findings suggest that a minimal coating of wood with oil delays/prevents the absorption of bacteria into the wood grain and/or protects the bacteria from stresses associated with the wood surface (antimicrobial compounds, rapid desiccation due to hygroscopicity)."
Are we trying to protect the human, or the bacteria?!
While many woodworkers out there will tell you pine should not be in the kitchen, it does perform well when killing a wide range of bacteria. Oak is another that kills many of them as well.
For the full article with study links, click here:
https://naturalhealthgodsway.c....a/2025/03/14/address
So this weekend, I added a utility certificate to the mix. I now have my FoodSafe Level 1 Certificate! It will take 4 to 6 weeks to get to me on paper, but I have a temporary version they offered for download.
Many people in the past have had to register for in-person classes to get their FoodSafe, but the BC government began allowing people to do it online, on your own time, for up to 20 days in length if needed. This sounded better than trying to find in-person classes that fit my schedule, so I went to register. Half this review is about the processes involved.
Information in the course was interesting to say the least.
On the surface, the idea of avoiding bacteria-borne illness is wise and smart, but the need to keep the public healthy should be balanced with not tossing edible food into the garbage!
It's also come to light that many foods are still good well past their due dates/expiry dates. These dates contribute to a fair bit of food waste as well, and discussion did reach mainstream news sites at times over the past decade.
And whose idea was it to begin the insects as food discussion in 2019?! It's in the pop quiz "name that hazard" of unit one. I took a screenshot of it.
Would I recommend taking your FoodSafe Certificate training online? Only if you have this review pdf'd and ready to refer to before you register so you know what's coming when and how to deal with it. Otherwise, perhaps look for classes in your region and book a seat in one of those classes.
Otherwise, now that this gauntlet is conquered, I have my FoodSafe Level 1, which allows me to rent and operate kitchens or meeting spaces with kitchens in the future.
https://naturalhealthgodsway.c....a/2025/03/08/got-my-
Your soul, the part of you that thinks, feels, and processes, needs care just as much as your body does. Today, I'm talking about how you think about obstacles in the path of life. The bumps and potholes we encounter as we try to accomplish things. It's all in your perspective.
Many times, obstacles and rough patches in life, are an opportunity to discover just how creative you can be!
If you really struggle with this, take a moment to look back over your life, and list off all the times you overcame things others said you couldn't or wouldn't.
As various people have said over the years, if you believe you can, or you believe you can't, you are correct. Your chosen belief will dictate what you can and can't do, and what you will or won't do. Choosing "can do" over "can't do" may take time to achieve, but it is achievable.
Click through for the full article here:
https://naturalhealthgodsway.c....a/2025/03/05/your-pe
About
Did you know God considers how you look after yourself to be an act of worship toward Him? Do you want to learn how to look after yourself in a God-honouring way? As your Biblical Natural Health Coach, I can help.