Aquaponics USA/World
December 2015 Newsletter
#24
Tabel Of Contents
A Word From Our Editor, Grace Sylke
The December Bundle of 2015 Newsletters
One Way We Get Our Protein
Another Way We Get Our Protein
The Dark Side of Wheat
Introducing Dr. Joel Wallach
Introducing Dr. William Davis
Just to Re-cap . . .
A Word From Our Editor, Grace Sylke
Instead of the extensive sharing we were planning to do in this our December, Welcome To Our Vegetarian Kitchen Newsletter, we were detoured onto the dangers of Gluten subject, which needed to be addressed but surprised us when it popped up. There's a lot more to share about our new Vegetarian Kitchen, so that's coming in January of 2016. 

We can't thank you enough for following our Newsletters, which we're writing for you and us and everyone who is ready to leap into healthy, nutritious eating. 
Follow Grace on Instagram at 
If you're on a desktop or laptop, just click this Instagram Link to see what she's uploaded today!

If you're mobile, go to Instagram and Follow: Aquaponics_Grace


At this point, the word is out, Grace is a Food Activist who is doing her best to create more Food Activists because if we sit around and do nothing, we'll all die sooner and lead lives of sickness with Big Pharma's pills flooding our medicine cabinets and Big Foods poison filling our cupboards.
Get Links to all of our 2014 Newsletters from our December 2014 Edition. This is also the Newsletter where Obesity In AMERICA, Part 1 Starts!
Here they are all in one place. Our fist year of Newsletters full of incredible information about Aquaponics and our Food System.
Look for this December 2015 Newsletter to show up in our sidebars all through 2016 as the carrier of all the 2015 Newsletters.
Here they are all in one place. Our second year, 2015, of Newsletters full of incredible information about Aquaponics and our Food System.
 
Be sure to get the Ap for the Aquaponics Digest Magazine!
Catch all 4 Parts of Grace's Series on the FOOD REVOLUTION! To read her Food Revolution Series in Newsletter format, click on the December 2014 Newsletter and it will guide you to Food Revolution Parts 1-4.

Th e Aquaponics Digest Magazine features an advanced digital magazine and publishing and marketing platform for the 21st century; and it's just getting started.

Click on the Link to learn how/where to get the Ap for iPhone, iPad and other mobile devices.

Aquaponics Digest Magazine is a must read for any and all Aquaponics enthusiasts.

It features articles by the field's leaders like:
Sylvia Bernstein
Aaron Woolf
Glenn Martinez
and our own
Grace Sylke
Read our Daily Newspaper, the
This paper features articles about Aquaponics, our Food System, Health, Healthy Eating and Much more.

And it comes out Daily!
 
Aquaponics 101 is here and people are loving it! Get it Free on our Aquaponics USA site under the Education Menu Bar.
This is some of the best information you'll ever find about Aquaponics and How to build an Aquaponics System. It's on our website complete with Quizzes and a Certificate of Completion.
Be Sure to Visit our Pinterest Wall
It's full of Original Art by our Editor, Grace Sylke. No new Pixton Cartoons designs were created for this Newsletter.
Watch for the new Food Documentary THE NEED TO GROW
It's still in production but coming out soon. It features famous food activists like we discuss in this Newsletter including Jeffery Smith and Vandana Shiva and we're in it. Click the Link to Check out the Trailer.
We now have QUICK KITS!
And they're all about saving money on one of our Food Forever Growing Systems and saving money to get it shipped!

"You Build A Little,
We Ship A Lot For Less!". 
We have several Videos on How To Do Aquaponics including two on installing our Food Forever Growing Systems in two schools in Tucson, AZ. 
Obesity in AMERICA Part 9
 
Dear Subscriber:

It is hard to believe it was a year ago that we started this Series on Obesity in America. At the time, we had no idea that it was going to become a Nine Part Series. As the year started, we diverted from the Series and added in a few other Newsletter topics; but this topic has dominated 2015 to say the least. 

In that first Newsletter about Obesity, we opened with a horrifying fact, that we can't repeat here with accuracy because it isn't true. We stated at the end of 2014 that  the US is at the top of the List of the 10 Most Obese Countries in the World. And we connected you to the above link. 

Upon further research at the end of 2015, we're getting a slightly different story. It's true that America is the most obese among its fellow developed countries; but it now sits at number eleven in an infamous line-up on the  List of the World's 15 Fattest Countries in 2015.  

Eight of the countries on that infamous 15 List are Arab countries where the women are baring the brunt of the problem because of the cultural restrictions on their movement. "Across the Arab world women are disproportionately likely to be overweight or obese. Cultural norms discourage women's mobility, physical or otherwise, and encourage lives of sedentary binge eating. In Libya, this leaves women double the obesity rate of men." (Quote taken from The Richest website article entitled  The List of the World's 15 Fattest Countries In 2015)

"Overweightness tends to rise steeply with age in most parts of the world; again, this is especially true for women in Arab countries. Showcasing the cultural gender-discrepancy well, research from 2008 found a staggering 81% of Syrian women between 46 and 65 qualify as obese, despite the same rate in the comparably fat US being only 24.4%." (Quote taken from The Richest website article entitled  The List of the World's 15 Fattest Countries In 2015)

It's a bit ironic that we're fighting an entirely different kind of "extremism" in America right alongside eight Arab countries. We're all fighting an Extreme Obesity Epidemic. As our cover image suggests, we have to find the balance point. We have to learn how our food and nutrition affects our weight and our health or the prediction that the millennial generation will die younger than their parents will come true.
It's now become a Tradition that we bundle all of a particular year's Newsletters into the December Newsletter of that year so you have a handy place from which to access them. 

So What Did You Miss in 2015?
Before we get our teeth deeper into the Obesity Subject, we want to make sure you didn't miss any of the other 11 Newsletters we published this year. So here is a convenient List with Links to every one of them. Pay particular attention to the May through November Newsletters as they continue the Series on Obesity In AMERICA.

January 2015 Newsletter: http://conta.cc/1EOgZbJ
February 2015 Newsletter: http://conta.cc/1DtezA4
March 2015 Newsletter: http://conta.cc/1EzFLzN
April 2015 Newsletter: http://conta.cc/1Dvm5Xm
May 2015 Newsletter: http://conta.cc/1GTezMv
June 2015 Newsletter: http://conta.cc/1HRgXzj
July 2015 Newsletter: http://tinyurl.com/oxowpl3
August 2015 Newsletter:  http://tinyurl.com/qyr5xht
Sept. 2015 Newsletter:  http://tinyurl.com/pyqlsdn
October 2015 Newsletter:  http://tinyurl.com/o3h7mrl
Nov. 2015 Newsletter:  http://tinyurl.com/hjawcay

Now back to our final Newsletter for 2015, Welcome To Our Vegetarian Kitchen!
Here's One Way We Get Our Protein?
Before making the big shift into being vegetarians, we used a whey protein supplement. Whey is derived from milk, and since our diet is dairy free, we needed to find a new source of protein. We decided to try PlantFusion because it's also Gluten Free and Soy Free (the Soy story is coming in a 2016 Newsletter). PlantFusion is made from Pea Protein Isolates, Artichoke Protein, Organic Sprouted Amaranth Powder and Organic Sprouted Quinoa Powder all blended together to create a 21,000 mg Amino Acid Infused Protein Blend. And it's really delicious.  

The above photo is of our Vanilla Bean PlantFusion protein, but it also comes in a tasty chocolate flavor. We have at least one shaker bottle of PlantFusion a day; and sometimes two or more depending on how the day goes or how extensive the exercise workout is on any particular day.
Another way to get Protein while replacing Grains that are full of unhealthy Gluten.
Quinoa (pronounced Keen Wah) is a staple in most vegetarian kitchens. In Bolivia where it originates, Quinoa is known as "the mother grain" (even though it isn't actually a grain at all); and it's one of the few plant-based sources of complete protein. 

It is a relative of Swiss chard, spinach and beets and comes in three varieties (whole grain white, red and black), and it really delivers when it comes to our nutritional needs. "Just one cup contains 8g of protein, 5g of fiber, 15% DV iron, 30% DV magnesium, 19% DV folate and heart-healthy omega 3 fatty acids."

"Quinoa is also a complete protein, which means it provides all nine essential amino acids necessary for good health, hence the name "essential." Your body can't produce these nutrients itself, so you have to get them frequently through food. Amino acids support strong muscles, keep our immune systems in tip-top shape and do lots of other stuff to keep our bodies healthy. Not all plant-based proteins are created equal. Wheat, rice and most other grains are missing one or more essential amino acids, but quinoa is a one-stop shop. Nice, right? Suddenly the word 'wholesome' takes on a whole new meaning." (Quote taken from the Ancient Harvest website)

You can cook up a batch of Quinoa in 20 minutes. Just add Organic Vegetable Broth to your pan and boil briefly. Then add the Quinoa (2 parts Veggie Broth to 1 Part Quinoa). Simmer and stir occasionally until the Quinoa absorbs all the liquid. We season our Quinoa with parsley, basil, coriander, salt, pepper and some minced onion. You can use Quinoa as a basis for many different dishes by mixing it with vegetables or stir fries. You can even make a cereal out of it by adding fruit and Almond Milk.  

The Ancient Harvest company is making Quinoa Spaghetti, Penne, Rotelle which is low in carbs and has all the advantages of Quinoa described above. Plus, they are putting out lots of other Quinoa based products for wheat and grain free kitchens.

Why would you want a wheat and grain free kitchen, you ask? It's all about that big bad boy called Gluten.

The Dark Side of Wheat.
According to our newest Health Guru, Dr. Joel Wallach, people aren't actually allergic to Gluten. It's a much broader and deeper issue then that. Gluten is an irritant in the human digestive system, which means that wheat and other popular grains, which are full of Gluten, were never supposed to be a part of our diet. 

Our stomachs simply aren't adapted to eat Gluten, which comprises 80% of the protein found in wheat, barley and rye. "Contrary to what is believed by many, wheat is not to be avoided only by those who suffer Celiac disease, the autoimmune disease caused by a reaction of the immune system against gliadin, a gluten protein. Those with Celiac disease only react more strongly to wheat and gluten than those without the disease, but most people have a reaction in some way or another to wheat consumption, often in insidious ways." (Quote taken from a PaleoLeap.com website article entitled "11 Ways Gluten and Wheat Can Damage Your Health")

Most likely someone close to you is on a Gluten-free diet as the tide is quickly turning away from wheat in favor of non-Gluten food choices. There was a time when white bread under the label of "Wonder Bread" was on every table in America before the big shift from white bread to wheat bread took place. There's a whole wonderful (pun intended) story that goes along with this shift from brown, home-baked bread to white bread and back to brown bread that will have to wait for 2016. Suffice it to say, we've done it before. "In a generation, the wonder bread that had eliminated a third-world problem in the American South and gained popularity as a symbol of America's post-war triumph, instead turned into the opposite: a marker of poverty, ill-health, and bad taste, a consensus broken over bread." (Quote taken from the online Chicago Magazine article entitled "How Wonder Bread Saved Civilization") 

Our bread of choice until we break out the bread maker and do it ourselves is Paleo Bread. It is Gluten free, GMO free, Soy free, Yeast free and only has 1gram of carbs per slice. It has to be kept refrigerated, breaks up easily and isn't cheap; but it's allowing us to make our favorite Amy's meatless California Burgers just like we love them with plenty of aquaponically grown tomatoes and lettuce on them.
In another generation we'll be reading articles entitled "How Quinoa and Paleo Bread Saved Civilization from Wheat". But the Wheat Lobby isn't going to go down easily. The Wheat Lobby consists of the Grain Foods Foundation, the Whole Grain Council and other smaller lobby/trade groups for the wheat industry; and you can believe they are busy continuing to spread the word about the nutritional value of whole grains. In fact, the lies about how healthy whole grains are for us have been so engrained (pun intended) in our minds, that hearing the truth about how bad wheat is for our health for the first time is not only shocking--it's downright unbelievable.  

With that in mind, let us introduce you to Dr. Joel Wallach below. If he can't convince you that the human body was never meant to eat wheat, no one can.
Introducing Dr. Joel Wallach of Critical Health News.







"Joel D. Wallach is a biomedical research pioneer, who spent decades in the field of Veterinary Medicine observing and researching the effects of individual nutrients on animal health before becoming a Naturopathic Physician in 1982. Today, Dr. Wallach is renowned for his groundbreaking research on the health benefits of selenium and other minerals. He now dedicates his time to lecturing throughout the world on the therapeutic benefits of vitamins and minerals and on advising the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on behalf of the dietary supplement industry." (Quote taken from the Critical Health News website's About Page)

Starting in 2016, we'll be selling Dr. Wallach's Youngevity Products on our Aquaponics USA website so look for our up-coming Health & Wellness Pages in January. 

The exact same thing has happened with Gluten as happened with sugar over the past 50 years. We've taken it too far. The Wheat Lobby has done a very successful job of selling us on the benefits of whole grains to the detriment of our health. 

"With the significant increase in our gluten intake over the past 50 years due to the ubiquity and overconsumption of products made with highly refined wheat flour, we are just beginning to appreciate gluten's impact on our health. As a society, we are in a state of 'gluten overload,' and millions of people of all ages and all walks of life are suffering as a result of a condition that was recognized only a few years ago, called gluten sensitivity. When people with gluten sensitivity eat foods containing gluten, it triggers unpleasant symptoms: stomach pains, bloat, heartburn, joint pains, headache, skin rashes, fatigue, insomnia and brain fog, to name some of the most common." (Quote taken from a CNN online article entitled " Gluten: 5 things you need to know". 

Watch this informative Video by Dr. Joel Wallach on Gluten intolerance.


Dr. Wallach isn't alone in the fight against the Wheat Lobby. Meet Dr. William Davis.
Dr. William Davis of Wheat Belly Blog is on a crusade to inform people about the dangers of wheat and other grains. He's a Cardiologist and author of a New York Times best selling book called Wheat Belly. 



"The driving theme in all of cardiologist Dr. William Davis' books is self-empowerment, providing readers with powerful tools that cut through the misinterpretations, misconceptions, misleading marketing, and bad science that passes as nutritional and health information.

Conventional nutritional advice has led the country, now the world, into record-setting epidemics of obesity, diabetes, and other 'modern' health conditions." (Quote taken from WheatBellyBlog.com)

Top on his list of destructive advice is that from 
the Wheat Lobby to eat lots of wheat and grains. Dr. Davis' About page asks this provocative question:

"Who had the audacity to write such an against-the-grain book exposing 'healthy whole grains' for the incredibly destructive genetic monsters they've become? That's me, Dr. William Davis, cardiologist and seeker-of-truth in health. 

Over 80% of the people I meet today are pre-diabetic or diabetic. In an effort to reduce blood sugar, I asked patients to remove all wheat products from their diet based on the simple fact that, with few exceptions, foods made of wheat flour raise blood sugar higher than nearly all other foods. Yes, that's true for even whole grains. More than table sugar, more than a Snickers bar. Organic, multigrain, sprouted-it makes no difference."
(Quote taken from WheatBellyBlog.com)

So, now we have two reputable doctors saying wheat and grains are disastrous. We're sure if we keep looking, we'll find more; but now it's time to celebrate the Holidays.
Because, ready or not, here We GO--Leaping into 2016!
Girl jumps to the New Year 2016
Just to re-cap, our November Newsletter was a personal look at our STOP Diabetes Program, how we realized we needed to have one and what our glucose levels looked like when we started and how they looked a month later.

This Newsletter was supposed to be about our new Vegetarian Kitchen. Then the huge subject of Gluten reared its ugly head, which means Wheat and Grains had to be addressed. There's still lots more to share about our Vegetarian Kitchen, our Glucose numbers and how that's all progressing (notice we're waiting until after the Holidays to share that information). 

The truth is we're really doing well in that department, and we've extended our timeline out to six months so we'll be sharing our glucose numbers way into 2016. 

We've also started taking Dr. Wallach's Youngevity Products, and we will be sharing our results from using them also. It seems we've turned ourselves into nutritional experiments while running, designing and selling aquaponics systems. And, of course, there's more on the huge Gluten subject. So 2016 is already being defined by what we didn't complete in 2015, not to mention the Food Revolution Resources we promised to share and the research on the popular sweetener we missed called Agave. So stay tuned, it's all coming in 2016!
This Newsletter marks the end of the 2nd Year of continuous Monthly Newsletters; and let us tell you, that's no small feat. But once again, we did it, and we're publishing this one between Christmas and New Years.

We don't know about you but we've just experience the fastest moving year yet, and it's shocking that New Years Day is just around the corner. We're also sure we'll be building a Food Foreverâ„¢ Farm or two or three in 2016; and when that happens you'll witness the entire operation from start to finish in these Newsletters.

Thank You for following our Newsletters. We so appreciate your interest in our two cutting edge Aquaponics Companies, Aquaponics USA and Aquaponics Wold, LLC. We'll continue to bring you important information about Aquaponics, our Food and our U.S. Food System, which, right now, is broken and has turned us into subjects of Big Food.

Please help us turn the tables around so we can declare our Food Freedom again and become the healthiest country on the planet instead of the sickest.

We trust you had a Merry Christmas and will have a joyful New Year Celebration followed by a prosperous and healthy 2016.

Sustainably,
 

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