Sometimes Life Throws You A Wasabi Pea!

Blogging Naturally, Entry #8, October 7, 2011

Sometimes Life Throws You A Wasabi Pea!

If you know me and are familiar with the incredible journey I have been on you may understand why I have this need to share what I learn.  Share, share that’s fair!  This is one of my favorite mottos; ask my 3 kids and my husband!

I went through an epiphany several years back where I realized that I should eliminate any and all China-made products from my home that related to food.  I threw out any food products that were manufactured there and also threw away all my dishes and cups and converted to glass made by Anchor Hocking, a U.S. company who verifies that they do not have toxins in their glass, also food grade stainless steel and beautiful pottery from a super cool artist in VT who I am trusting his verification that he utilizes no toxins in his products.  China, to me, is the most toxin riddled country and has no shame in producing edible products and dishware loaded with every petro-chemical, BPA, lead and the list goes on, that they can get their hands on.  They have no regard for their own inhabitants and they sure don’t care about us!

So, where does the wasabi pea come in already?  I absolutely adored those little edible gems and would purchase and eat as often as I could.  The crunch and spice factor had me always at the first one and never let up till the package hit the garbage can, until sadly I discovered that 99.999999999999999% were made in freaky China!  I was so sad to have to give them up and cold turkey no less!  I literally had withdrawal symptoms.  Imagine how excited I was to find that TraderJoSan’s (Trader Joe’s Oriental Division) was now making their own right here in the beautiful U.S. of A.!  I bought a package on my way into my class at the Natural Gourmet Institute and felt compelled to share them with my classmates.

I ate those scrumptious little treats the entire train ride home until about the 2^nd to last one in the package when I felt this incredible pain shoot up from my # 5 tooth that travelled like lightning straight up to my brain! OWWWWWWWWWWWW!  There is no pain like tooth pain.  I would gladly deliver 3 more babies; yes I said that, than have to endure that kind of pain. I knew in my heart that # 5 was going down!  How did I know?  Unfortunately because I recently lost Hey #19 to an almond!  I told my husband to ride a few more ships because Momma needs another implant!  Oh and by the way, in case you are looking for the hole in my smile, you know you will be looking; I immediately had a flipper made for a temporary fit while I have to wait the 6 months for an implant.

O.K. so what I really feel the need to share is not the above true story but a quickie little overview education that I now have regarding Calcium and its obvious benefits or should I say detriments when one is not consuming enough through their diet or through supplements.   I recently found out that the Calcium supplement I was taking for God knows how many years and through nourishing all 3 of my pups for at least the first year of this life for them, was Calcium carbonate. Unfortunately this type of calcium does not absorb well in our bodies.  I was told it is like chalk and the forms of Calcium supplements like that of Calcium Citrate are much better for human absorption.  Well why then do they still sell the form that’s not so great?  Because they can I think is the answer.  Obviously it is up to the consumer to educate ourselves.

Here’s the rub.  The ultimate best way to give our bodies the proper amount of Calcium it needs for healthy bones and teeth is through eating Nature’s bounty.  I am hoping that you will print the following chart and amounts of calcium derived and start to incorporate more calcium into your and your families’ daily diet intake.  If you feel you can’t cut the mustard then please do supplement but not with Carbonate.  I just read my almond milk carton and realized that the Calcium even in my milk is Carbonate!  For the love of Teeth, can’t I catch a good break? Calcium Citrate with D3 for absorption is your friend but spinach, broccoli and pumpkin seeds really love you!  Along with Calcium our bones and teeth also require magnesium and vitamin D3 & K which will also be provided should you choose to take on this mission of incorporating more foods like those listed below into your every day diet.  PLEASE NOTE THE AMOUNTS NOT TO EXCEED.

AGE	APPROXIMATE AMOUNT OF DAILY INTAKE	AMOUNT TO NOT EXCEED
0-6     Months	210    mg (milligrams)	1,000 mg
7-12   Months	270    mg	1,500 mg
1-3     Years	500    mg	2,500 mg
4-8     Years	800    mg	2,500 mg
9-13   Years	1,300 mg	3,000 mg
14-18   Years	1,300 mg	3,000 mg
19-50   Years	1,000 mg	2,500 mg
51 +     Years	1,200 mg	2,000 mg

TYPE OF FOOD	AMOUNT CONSUMED	MILIGRAMS (MG)
Sesame Seeds	¼ cup	351   mg
Spinach	1 cup boiled	245   mg
Beans	½ cup soaked and prepared	100   mg
Figs	4	100   mg
Blackstrap Molasses	1 TBS	150   mg
Oatmeal	1 oz serving	100   mg
Salmon	3 oz. serving	181   mg
Almonds	1 oz. (23 nuts)	75   mg
Broccoli	2 cups boiled	124  mg
Celery	2 cups raw	81  mg
Oranges	1 medium	52  mg
Tahini	2 TBS raw	126  mg
Collard Greens	1 cup boiled	266  mg
Baked Beans	1 cup	154  mg
Trail Mix(nuts,seeds,choc)	1 cup	159  mg

DAIRY(Organic & Raw if possible)	AMOUNT CONSUMED	MILIGRAMS (MG)
Yogurt	8 oz  serving	452   mg  (Wowie!)
Nonfat Milk	1 cup	300   mg
Whole Milk	1 cup	236   mg
Romano Cheese	1.5 oz	452   mg
Cheddar,Swiss,Part-Skim Ricotta & Mozz., Provalone	1.5 oz	300   mg
Feta,Blue,Whole-milk Ricotta	1.5 oz	200   mg
Eggs with Cheddar Cheese	2 eggs with 1.5 oz cheese	344   mg