food | Ain't Complicated

Mental Health and the Brain in Our Gut

Dora Smith helps you connect your gut to your brain.

In our society today mental health has become an epidemic of vast proportions. The overly taxed mental health system struggles to reach around to the needs this epidemic has created. Our beautiful parks and our sidewalks overflow with garbage and tents, and people with no homes. Our jails and our psychiatric wards overflow with some of these same victims of mental health. Our psychiatric doctors continue to prescribe powerful but insufficient antipsychotics, antidepressants, and mood stabilizers. And yet the problem of mental health remains and many patients repeatedly cycle through the revolving door of the psychiatric ward, or worse, the criminal justice system. If psychiatric medicines truly healed an individual or gave them the ability to function normally in society, why do these individuals continue to haunt the halls of our psychiatric institutions? Individuals and families who have found psychiatric medicine to be wanting, may desire to explore alternatives. However, most psychiatrists are not versed in nutritional healing (Naidoo p. 1) and may even discourage an alternate approach to treating mental health. There are also few resources and little education available outside of traditional psychiatric treatment. But what if a focus on healing the gut could improve mental health beyond what psychiatric medicines are able to do?

Science has verified the connection between our brain and our microbiota. Read it all

Photo: It Made Me Think of Nevada

But maybe it should have been Utah.

oddly familiar natural bridge, seen in Oregon

Yes, it made me think of Nevada: The barren landscape, the carved canyons, the shadows cast by the recently risen sun.

Ruby wondered if I meant Read it all

Prayer Chewing

An absent son, a present pancake, a father's present

Some folks go prayer walking.

toasted pancake A few minutes ago, I chose to do some prayer chewing. (Why not?)

Our youngest son Andy is on the East Coast somewhere singing with Tapestry Chamber Singers. He likes to eat leftover pancakes, toasted. I needed a late afternoon snack. I opened the fridge. I saw a bag with leftover pancakes from yesterday morning’s breakfast.

I toasted one in his honor. And thought of him. And prayed for him. While I chewed. (It’s what Dads should do.) Read it all

Juli’s Grandpa’s Favorite Homemade Yogurt

Actually, I don't know that to be true. I haven't tried it yet.

Juli and her grandpa in 2003

I think even I could make this yogurt… 😯

Half gallon milk in a covered crockpot on low for 2.5 hours.
Turn off cooking machine and let it all sit (still covered) for 3 hours.
Whisk in 1 cup of plain yogurt. (Uncover first, of course.)
Recover (as in, put the lid back on the crockpot) and then wrap the whole thing in a large towel and leave thusly for 8 hours.
Done.

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My Snack’s Health Benefits

Before and after taking activated charcoal

This morning so far I’ve consumed two cups of Nescafé Clásico instant coffee, one banana (speckled skinned), one tangerine (wow!), and some craisins.

Pre-consumption remains

I got to wondering what health benefits I will derive from having eaten them. Read it all

Simply Delicious Gore

I can't certify any aspect of the title...

I Googled simply delicious gore and this was at #1 — yep, simply delicious gore!

Weapons-Grade Assault Food

I've led a sheltered life -- I had no idea.

First of all, I’ve led a sheltered life — I had no idea about triangular pancakes. 😳

Second of all, what’s to keep the aggressive “non-lambs” from cutting their altered flapjacks back into weapons-grade assault triangles? 😯

Third of all, here’s the story as I copied and pasted it: Read it all