Keralee Roberts

Everything posted here by others is true in my 35 years experiance as a healer.  However there is one thing not mentioned and its kind of a bighie but also not on very many radars yet.  Oxalate overload is another major cause of UTIs, particularly look at when infection is not present but there are symptoms of irritation and sometimes cloudy urine.  This often coexists with infections and renders persons more susceptible to frequent infections, as the damage done by oxalate crystals in the urinary tract is physical...think of it as nano-sized shards of broken glass, it cuts up the tissues and causes tiny fibrotic scarring.    

Citrates of any kind help, as they break the crystals down into smaller and different shapes.  Under electron microscope instead of long sharp needles and pointy crystals you will see tiny rounded balls...the wee balls are easier for the body to eliminate with less damage.  

This damage can happen anywhere in the body and NOBODY is immune to it.   There is no genetic advantage that makes a body better able to handle these things.   If intake exceeds the 50 mg per day the body can safely eliminate (thats a mere five leaves of spinach, folks!)  the excess gets stashed in whatever parts of the body are weakest for whatever reason--injury, illness, genetics, etc.   Its like clutter in a house getting stuffed into the back of a closet because one doesnt know where else to shove it.   Over time this builds up and the clutter busts out of the closet and starts causing real problems.   Oxalates have even been found in brain and nerve tissues, and may be a major factor in development of dementia and other neuro diseases.   Pretty much everything associated with "old age" is actually the result of oxalate overload, imcluding arthritis, bad bines, brown spots, stiffness, vision issues, prostate and blader and kidney issues (it is THE primary cause of both kidney stones as well as CKD and good luck getting any doctor to tell you that).   Oxalates slowly and steadily  wreck havoc.   And yes they are associated with cancer too, as it also affects the immune system.   Hard to diagnosis because there is no one set of consistent symptoms that everyone has---every single person has a different experience and the symptoms mimic humdreds of other conditions.  

Oxalates are present in diet in many of the "healthy" foods we are being encouraged of late to ingest in unuallly large amounts...Spinach is one of the worst offenders, followed by almonds, sweet potatoes, beets, beet greens and chard, quinoa, buckwheat, potatoes, whole grains and most brans...there are more but these are among the very worst.  

They bind readily to minerals and are the main cause (its not just soil depletion) of the many mineral deficiencies many now struggle in vain to overcome via diet...often by eating more of the offending "superfoods" .

Since eliminating oxalates from my diet two months ago I no longer require massive intake of mineral supplements.  My back pain is about 60 percent better too, my feet dont hurt anymore, my flexibility is improving...its like the clock is turning backwards for a change!  

This is a highly nuanced topic.  I am of the opinion that every person who cares to pursue a low oxalate diet whould do some reading and research, and will refer all of you to Sally K. Norton and her superbly researched  book "Toxic Superfoods".   She has many interviews up on youtube and so forth as well, all good starting points for what I assure you will be an eye-opening and life-changing journey.  

I agree with Sally...take it SLOW.   Assess your personal oxalate  overload situation and then phase them out gradually.  Oxalate dumping is a real thing, and it can cause major detox upheavals and serious pain, it can even be life-threatening if the overload is very old/large...so of particular concern as one gets older or among those who have spent a fair bit of time as vegans, which should be viewed as the same thing as working with an elderly person in terms of total oxalate load.  

Pleae, all of you, Do your homework on this one.  Its a very serious situation.  None of us is immune.   It is very sneaky.  

Once you really understand it, please tell others.  We need massive public awareness to overcome what is a truly massive and, imo very deliberate,  level of brainwashing regarding diet.  

PS--One thing NOT mentioned by Sally or pretty much anyone yet, is that even if you ingest zero oxalates, for instance  are on a carnivore diet, you can STILL have a problem with oxalates.  This is because the body can and will make them out of PUFA fats.  This occurs via converson of pufa to glyoxal, which then converts to oxalate (which is actually just two carbon dioxide molecules stuck together so you wouldnt think its so nasty, but it is).   So carnovores do not get an automatic free pass either, of they get pufa from chicken and pork.   The diet of the animal has a large impact here.    For the details see the blogs of Chris Masterjohn, PhD.  He is the only one who has mentioned this that I could find.  

Good luck, I hope you all have as much success with this as I have, or more!  

Just wondering how your starplate guest cabins turned out?  And was the Rmh a good fit for these?   I plan to build some myself, as it seems the fastest way to get a cheap and sturdy structure, esp if I use latexcreted fabric as the exterior shell.  

Years ago I knew an artist who built huge adobe sculptures in Phoenix, they had to be weatherized.  She tested many substances for years making test bricks and leaving them out in the elements.  
What worked for her was boiled linseed oil.  It has to be mixed in with the clay/sand/straw mix ..wirked A LOT better than bitumen btw which caused spalling.  

So.  i was building a strawbale hut in the desert.  Plastering it with mud.  I came up with my iwn mix, which worked like magic...a tiny bit of portland goes into the mud mix, then a tiny bit of motor oil.  Yeah i know...toxic gick. I am not saying use it. I am saying it was FREE and I was living on $20 a month at the time so that mattered.  No doubt many types of oils will function well in this role.  

What the oil did was transformed the whole shebang into dreamy smooth plaster that stuck beautifully, dried without ever cracking, hard as a rock, and shed water perfectly.  I lived in that hut for 8 years, the oil-treated adobe mud plaster never cracked and continued to look same as day applied...one thick coat did the trick too!    I think oils dont do well with portland but it seems they do play well with clays and therin lies the magic.  Portland only added hardness--and it only needed a bit.  

That hut is still standing over 20 years later and someone else is living in it.  

I had a broken knee for a while, stairs became a problem.  Now I am designing the ground floor of next project to have one small bedroom and shower/compost toilet in case that ever happens again... so that is one thing, it might be esaier to accomodate the stairs-challenged by removing the need to use stairs.  

Every physical therapist I have ever met and some research concludes:  Squats are life!   My regimen now includes 10 free squats all the way to the floor and back up daily.  Even the elderly can build muscle if they try, and a 5 g dose of creatine also helps a lot.  Start with assisted until the individual can manage on own.  Slow is better than fast, and knees over toes is far better than how its generally taught, for the info on that there is yt chan Knees Over Toes Dude to explain.  PTS will disagree with that but pro athletes will not.  

An DIY elevator using an sturdy electric winch, platform in framed cage, steel cables and 4 square feet of space somewhere is another option, likely more pleasant and safer  for all concerned.   It wont block normal use of stairs, will serve as dumbwaiter too.   Various vids out there on doing this in garages, it will work in houses too.

Colloidal silver, homemade, is what my family uses for food poisoning.  Actually we use it for everything and I wouldnt dream of not having a diy generator on hand, its my go-to home remedy.   Including for the big C.   Straight, undiluted, strong batch.  Very reliable.  Kills bacteria and viruses both  but doesnt upset  gut biome.   Even heals stomach ulcers, as it also gets helicobacter pylorii.    As a rule, appy directly to the problem and strongly...for instance if its pneumonia, inhale it.  It its a burn, use topically...if its stomach bug, drink it.

I also like andrographis paniculata, which is even preventative for really horrible stuff like ebola, marburg, dengue and yellow fevers.  Its a little-known but powerful southeats asian herbal rmedy for pretty much anything.   Incredibly bitter, so put it in capsules.   Grows well in southern US, is semitropical.  I try to keep everyone in family with a stash for dire emergencies.  I take it if I feel even vaguely off.  Combines well with silver too.   That will handle the infection part.   Activated charcoal will help greatly with whatever has advanced deeper into the gut, plus absorbs byproducts produced by the undesirable organisms.    

Lots of good ideas here.  I like the straw and leaves as temporary winter insulation...reminds me of wigwams, winterized with an inner hut, surrounded by an outer hut, the space in between stuffed with leaves to stay cozy.

Starwbale structures dont have to be as complicated as people make it out, especially if you are thinking temporary and cheap.  I built one with no foundation whatsoever in AZ more than 20 years ago and its still standing.   If I were doing it again I might put down some tarpaper, or maybe dirtbags.  But bales are rather heavy and I am one oldish female with a sore back so likely wont do that one again.  Labor is always a factor, I favor easy more and more as I get older.  

If you have lots of long thin trees, you can use those and make a tipi structure or sami hut (a bit more structured with a center openable smoke ring), and cover with plastic, inner and outer layer, insulate the north side with flexible insulation like reflectix or prodex...easily removed and rolled up or repositioned for summer.  

Since tipis are classified as "tents" perhaps it would not require permit?  Certainly would be portable.

I am considering doing this myself in WI, as a cheap and fast greenhouse that I can quickly "disappear" if code people get on my case.    I see no reason why one couldnt live in one as well as grow plants?   Altho I am equally tempted to throw up a pallet-walled straw-stuffed yurt and cover with mud, top roof with plastic, grow a plant or two and call it a "greenhouse."  

Another portable and very affordable option for greenhouse frame is the starplate dome kit, these are easily covered with anything fabric-like, such as greenhouse plastic, or regular fabric.   Or rigid materials.  Whatever you want really.  The frame can be bolted together by 1 person in two hours if you have predrilled the holes with included templates.   The connectors are $110 and then you need 25 2x4's, roughly 13 foot diameter.  Can connect multiples together in various ways.  Tall enough for a small sleep loft.   Should be easily permittable as a greenhouse, they are engineered structures.   Can do a small one inside a large one and stuff the gap with leaves or straw or ??  if massive insulation desired...   considerably extending the eave struts adds outside storage options or makes an outer ring that be greenhouse space as well.  

The starplate dome or tipi is probably the easiest, fastest and cheapest way to get a sturdy littly greenhouse in very little time with minimal labor. Either can be disassembled and moved quickly if you dont cover it with rigid materials.

Its definitely a "corn" plant, dracaena fragrans.  Mine got like that when it wasnt getting enough sunlight during winter.

They like  sunlight, also like being warm but not really hot (not on the radiators).   Mine was happiest living putdoors during summer.  

I have a piece thats been thriving in a jar of water for two years.  
They can get very large, mine was over 6 feet tall at one point.  That was too large for my house so I cut it way back into multiple little plants.    

I lost several young fruit trees to girdling by mice or voles during a very bad winter.  Now I use a remedy my father taught me...pee all over the tree.  Seems to work and is good fertilizer as well and free.   I also throw random food scarps into yard...which attracted feral cats...and now I have zero mice and zero rabbit issues.  
Dont do this for peach trees though...it makes the fruit bitter.  

Ok, I used to live in the desert.  Cactus pads (nopales, nopalitos) are edible indeed, but a pain to harvest, with or without the thorns.  Its a LOT easier to buy the jarred stuff in Mexican groceries and rinse it well.  Quite tasty as a cold salad with red bell pepper slices, a bit of jicama, and plenty of lime juice and chile, which is a general version of how I usually eat it for quick and easy, interesting food.  The mucilage is an anti-diabetic starch substance too.
If you are stalwart and harvesting own, be sure to use SMALL pads, big ones are inedibly tough.  Use leather gloves AND tongs, place them in bucket, do not touch them.  Fire up a gas torch and burn off all the glochids and/or spines.  Then you can safely handle them and prepare variously, boiled or roasted.  They are often pickled as the sour helps with the mucilaginous nature. 
Have fun.  Fruits are picked similarly, just made into different things, much tastier overall.