Welcome to October! Thanks for the interest so many of you have expressed in my birthday trip. Ellen and I had a great time at Safari West, 9 miles west of
Calistoga, Ca. We stayed in a safari tent on a hillside overlooking a paddock occupied by several giraffes and antelope. The tent may look solid, but the thin walls of canvas and screen mesh gave little protection from the elements. Good thing they had plenty of blankets for us tenderfeet. We were well advised to take our shower in the evening before the cold air moved in over night. In the chilly morning we were greeted by a giraffe 
munching the little tree outside the screen window on the left side of the tent.
Calistoga, Ca. We stayed in a safari tent on a hillside overlooking a paddock occupied by several giraffes and antelope. The tent may look solid, but the thin walls of canvas and screen mesh gave little protection from the elements. Good thing they had plenty of blankets for us tenderfeet. We were well advised to take our shower in the evening before the cold air moved in over night. In the chilly morning we were greeted by a giraffe munching the little tree outside the screen window on the left side of the tent. The highlight of the trip was the 3 hour jeep trip back into their 480 acres of free range area for the animals. It is a very different experience when the animals are looking at you as the curiosity in their natural habitat. We bumped into a small 
herd of zebra and antelope hanging out together, and rode rather quickly around a herd of water buffalo because it was mating season and that makes them cranky and not real tolerant of visitors. The guide related that water buffalo act like the mafia. If you hurt one of them , the others will hunt you down and get 
you even across hundreds of miles. She said they never give up, so we did not want to annoy them.
herd of zebra and antelope hanging out together, and rode rather quickly around a herd of water buffalo because it was mating season and that makes them cranky and not real tolerant of visitors. The guide related that water buffalo act like the mafia. If you hurt one of them , the others will hunt you down and get you even across hundreds of miles. She said they never give up, so we did not want to annoy them. We spent the middays exploring the Napa Valley sights and eating gourmet lunches at the Culinary Institute cooking school, and a restaurant named Mustards which had a garden in which they grew their own 
herbs and veges next to it. All in all it was a most delightful birthday trip. Even as a day trip I would recommend the excursion. It only takes a little over 2 hours to get there and is well worth the drive. Recreation is an essential part of health. It is our feeling mind that runs our immune system, our digestion, the tone and coordination of our muscles, our hormones, and practically everything else. Happiness in your heart creates health in your body.
herbs and veges next to it. All in all it was a most delightful birthday trip. Even as a day trip I would recommend the excursion. It only takes a little over 2 hours to get there and is well worth the drive. Recreation is an essential part of health. It is our feeling mind that runs our immune system, our digestion, the tone and coordination of our muscles, our hormones, and practically everything else. Happiness in your heart creates health in your body. Many thanks for your feedback on the name description for Gracework University.
So far the most chosen names have been School of Inspired Living followed by School of Optimal Potential. I chose the word University because it carries the clear feeling of a higher order of learning. Learning to be free, happy, empowered, fulfilled – are just a few of the skills to be learned through Gracework University. And as mentioned above, your health directly relates to your personal feeling abilities. So for any chronic health problems, stress related problems, or even structural pain problems that come on without an injury of some sort, Gracework is a deep way to address the underlying causes behind the symptoms.
Found: a great new sugar replacement !
As most of you know from hearing me talk about it in the office, blood sugar imbalances are probably the most important and first to correct on the journey to health. There are a lot of toxic things in our environment and diet that we gradually want to eliminate, but nothing begins to compare to the toxic load sugar and simple carbohydrates put on our system simply because of the amount of exposure we get to these damaging foods.
Just in sugar alone, the average American consumes over 30 teaspoons of sugar a day without actually ever dipping into a sugar bowl. Sugar is a component of virtually every pre-packaged prepared food. This doesn’t even count the grains, flours, and other starchy foods that turn into sugar in your system within minutes of eating them. We love sugar!
As some of you are aware, I have been trying to find workable sugar replacements for my patients for many years. I was importing Splenda from Australia before it was available in the US. It looked like a great replacement from the literature available at the time, but newer reports that have come out recently have made me cautious with it. We have had Xylitol in the office which works great except that some people get gas from it. I have been using different brands of stevia, but it tends to have a bitterness to it and it does not work well in things like cookies. I found coconut flour and started importing it from the Philippines because it does not have the negative blood sugar impact that flour has. Several of my earlier newsletters had coconut flour recipes in them.
Now my latest find – Erythritol. Like Xylitol, erythritol is a form of sugar that our body does not break down. It inhibits tooth decay and does not produce any blood sugar reaction. Unlike other sugar substitutes however, erythritol does not cause gas or diarrhea. It has been used in foods for many years without problems and naturally occurs in melons, pears, and grapes. I found small 13 oz. containers locally at the health food store for around $10. I went searching for where I could buy it in bulk and found a source that enables me to have some in the office for only $34 for a 5 pound bag.
This is still costly but as I am applying the effort to get away from sugar and simple starches, this gives me a way to still enjoy some of my favorite indulgences without damaging my health. Between Erythritol, Coconut flour, and Coconut oil, I can recreate most any taste treat without fear. I know, it would be better to just let go of the desire to eat anything sweet and love the taste of vegetables instead….yeah well I have been trying to do that for almost 37 years and somehow vegetables just don’t do it for me. I eat plenty of them. I even like several of them. But truth be told I will take a cookie any day over a bell pepper or a zucchini. Maybe someday…..