Mistaken Enemy?

So, I've had a revelation of sorts--I think.  At least, it's the glimmer of a revelation.  It has to do with assuming that we have an enemy, due to all the propaganda and real evidence against this enemy.  And in this instance, I believe that moderation may indeed be the key.  Oh, how I love the concept of moderation--and I've been sad that it too often doesn't apply.  But perhaps here it does.
So, our enemy?  Bacteria.  We have been brought up in the era of public sanitation, refrigeration, and antibiotics.  We are so grateful that we aren't dying of cholera and the bubonic plague, right?  We are grateful that we can store and keep our food in the refrigerator.  Anyhow, I even saw a joke in my naturopathic medical school one day where a student had written a letter arguing against sanitation--signing it 'S. aureus'.  While the students obviously got the joke, one of our administrators was quite upset with it--I think he probably wasn't aware that S. aureus is one of the well-known pathogens. 
I listened to a nutritional conference and was impressed by the importance of healthy bacteria in our gut.  They protect the lining of the gut and manufacture nutrients, even as they help with nutrient absorption.  The speakers pointed out how, traditionally, our ancestors ate fermented foods.  They had yogurt, clabbered milk, sauerkraut...  Before refrigerators there were iceboxes, and before those were simply no refrigeration at all.  That steady stream of fermented foods were what our ancestors ate--and it is rather extreme that within a couple of generations we've completely subtracted that important dietary element.  Many wonder if the disrupted gut flora is associated with the skyrocketing incidences of food sensitivities/allergies.
Of course, pesticides, such as RoundUp, also disrupt the gut flora--so we have a double whammy there.  Triple if you add rampant use of antibiotics (such as in animal feed--which trickles down to us) or especially our own prescriptions of antibiotics.
So...while I knew that probiotics could be helpful, I had never considered the drastic upheaval that was caused by the advent of refrigeration.  We are supposed to have a steady stream of dietary, healthy bacteria.  I truly hadn't really gotten this concept before.  Therefore, I have begun making soy yogurt and sauerkraut.  Perhaps I wouldn't need the soy version if my GI tract had been healthier to begin with, but I do react significantly to dairy.
Okay, so that's where I was a week ago, when the urge struck me to look up macrobiotic diets.  I read some of the basic tenets of the macrobiotic lifestyle system, and I was struck by a recommendation to 'avoid taking long, hot baths in order to preserve your minerals'.  What?  This sounded silly, right?  But wait...we know and have known for ages that boiling vegetables causes them to leach their vitamins and minerals into the water--hence the steam recommendations.  What if...you got it...yep, we are in effect soaking out our nutrients into the clean, pure water?  Osmosis is a very real phenomenon, and folks have gone to the mineral springs for health benefits for centuries, if not millenia.  And guess what?  Yours truly has been a glutton for taking long, hot soaks--often daily.  The shower is only utilized if I'm in a big hurry.

So...I'm not saying I won't indulge in those long, hot soaks, but I did go to the store and buy some Epsom salts to add to the bath.  I plan to limit my temp, water level and soaking time if I'm not using those salts.  And, probably, I'll take showers instead more often--I can be in and out in no time flat if I'm not washing my hair.
Anyhow, I have often wondered why I seem to benefit so much from adding minerals to my supplementary regime, and why my mother didn't seem to have some of the same issues as me.  It may have nothing to do with it, but my mother has never been a hot bath soaker.  I've been that way since I was a tween--I'd sneak a book in there and stay for hours, refreshing the hot water as needed! 
Here I'd considered this practice beneficial and hygienic.  All those baths seem purifying, right?  Well, I'm going to give this epsom salt thing and pure water hot soak restriction thing a go and see if I start to feel an improvement.
So, anyhow, my argument is that we need to stop being so racist against the small, wee critters.  Just because a couple of them are big-time troublemakers doesn't mean they're all bad.  Quite the contrary, as we need them for our very survival!  

Fermentation and knitting

So, it's already February, and I'm still as scattered as can be.  I wanted to write on here just to discuss some of my latest notions and where I am with writing.
Writing progress is dismal at best, honestly.  I did start a new story last fall, once again (what is that now--four???), but the holidays disrupted my writing.  I'd planned to recommence in January, but it still hasn't happened.
And, really, I suppose I'll admit I've lost a bit of enthusiasm and drive.  I ask myself, "What's the purpose of this story?"  And the idea of writing for no particular purpose, of marketing to readers, of contributing to deforestation...sigh, I'm a bit down and out right now, to be honest.  I mean, I do love a good story, but I've been getting letters back from publishers saying things like, "We receive 20,000 submissions annually and only publish one book a month."  How many wonderful stories are out there, unpublished??? 
And while part of me wants to write for the purpose of creation and art, there are the other parts of me as well...the mother part that wants to spend time on family, on homemaking, on cooking.  There's the 'reader' and 'student' in me that is passionately interested in learning new things continually.  There's the ethicist that wants to garden and parent and communicate effectively...  There's all sorts of different dimensions to me, even aside from the batty, spacey, spinning-in-circles me that gets absolutely nothing done as I fret about getting nothing done.
I've taken up knitting and have made a few really neat scarves and a hat.  Not sure if I'll tackle a sweater eventually, but I do love the look of beautifully-knit cardigans and cable sweaters.  It's just easier to adjust a scarf or a hat than it is a sweater.  And besides, the amount of work is insane!  I'm not sure if I'll really go much further with it, but I may continue on the simple scarf venue--maybe some washcloths and such...  I like to knit simple things while watching TV or riding in the car, but I've found that complicated work (like an amazing Celtic-pattern neck warmer I've just completed), takes far too much focus and can eat up entire days.  And when my house is a mess, I've got a zillion things that need tending to, my poor unfinished books are dangling...well, it was an interesting adventure, but I may be moving on for the most part.  I may put in a little effort here and there for a slightly different pattern or some such...but I think I'm through with the multi-hour 'figuring it out' for now.  Maybe I'll get back to it when I'm older.  But I will say it was interesting, and I'm far more aware of patterns in clothing these days.  I have a whole new appreciation for the sweaters I already own...  You know, I say all this like it was a mistake or disappointment, but it wasn't.  It was precisely what I meant it to be.  Fiona and I learned together as a mother/daughter thing.  I said from the get-go that I wanted it to be a 'learning curve' so that I could knit more absentmindedly later.  That's exactly what happened.  Strange, that feeling of deflation about it, hmm?  Perhaps it is because I traded that in for working on my books.  Not purposely, but it's what happened.
And, I suppose, the same is true for the other things that I've been doing.  I just completed a rather 'random' 5-day nutritional on-line conference.  And, again, I'm so glad to have done it.  I was inspired very much--in particular by the ideas on fermentation.  In short, up until a couple of generations ago, our ancestors all ate fermented foods.  It was part of our diet.  Refrigeration changed all that.  Now, I'd considered gut dysbiosis before, but this took the concept to a whole new level.  With the pesticides in our environment and foods killing off our natural, healthy gut flora, we need those fermented products more than ever.  So...here's another success, I suppose...for the past week, I've been making my own soy yogurt (from store-bought soymilk, of course).  I'd bought it occasionally, but that stuff is expensive, and I'm always averse to fast-food packaging that causes massive waste.  This is very economical (maybe a quart for $1.50 or so?), without all the plastic, and my kids love it, too.  I hope to try to make my own sauerkraut soon, too (not sure how 'habitual' that will become!)

So...they say that once things are a habit, they no longer take so much energy.  I plan to make the soy yogurt regularly at night, and keep a big bunch of homemade gluten-free granola as a topping in the fridge.  If I make a big batch to keep handy, this should make it easier to have healthy snacks handy.

The fermentation lecture caused me to revisit French Women Don't Get Fat, by Mireille Guiliano.  She recommends yogurt as a daily part of the diet, but I'd mostly ignored it before because I can't do dairy.  However, I'm enthused now at incorporating yogurt into my daily regimen.   A half-cup of yogurt seems so much more filling than a half-cup of soymilk, though it should be roughly the same calories.
Oh, and do you remember how much honey I've always used in my coffee?  Well, I don't know why one little bit, but I've just discovered that if I steam and froth my soymilk FIRST, then I don't need additional sweetener in my coffee.  That, actually, is in part thanks to hearing several times lately (last time from a Rick Steves' tour video in England) that tea is better with the milk added first.  I don't take milk with my tea, but it prompted me to try the steaming and all--and voila!  They're right, of course (if I can credit them with my extrapolation).  My soymilk is pre-sweetened, of course, so there is that--but I wonder if the steaming process makes chemical alterations that sweeten it?

On top of fermenting and knitting and just daily trying-to-keep-up, we have been having more regular family meal times.  That's something I can't get back in the future, and I think it's important, so there's that.  Yes, this is absolutely a self-pep-talk. :)

I have to run to a conference at Fiona's school now, or I'd keep writing, but I wanted to check in and say hello.  I miss writing my blog.  I miss writing my books.  Maybe I'll eventually get back to it...but how, oh how, are we supposed to get everything done?  I still need to make that exercise thing more of a daily habit.  I'm certainly on it maybe 3 times per week, but it's at a bare minimum.  When you notice a big difference in your mood afterwards, then you know that you're absolutely not getting enough exercise!  And how much easier could it be for me?  We have our own workout center (i.e., elliptical and TV system) in the garage...sheesh...