Three Letters Re: Four Great Preparedness Myths

JWR:
Reading over all the responses to Dan B.’s article, there seems to be a common misunderstanding of the foe we are facing. I have seen several failed states and disasters up close and they are nothing like a “B Movie”. Please don’t expect to face a disorganized mob of lightly armed refugees. The refugees are going congregate in a town nearby. They are not going to storm your cabin, they are going to vote in a town meeting to send professionals to do it.

There may be “raiders” in the form of biker gangs or prison escapees (think The Road Warrior), ravaging your area. If so, you have a slight (but possible ) chance of standing them off with a determined armed response. Outlaw raiders suffer from all of the faults pointed out in the recent response letters. They will be too selfish to risk death, and not cohesive as a unit. They may also move on to easier pickings if you bloody their noses. The trouble is, Mutant Zombie Biker (MZB) gangs are almost a fantasy enemy. I don’t see outlaw gangs as the primary foe.

The enemy that will approach your homestead will be wearing a badge and smiling. He may be a deacon in your church. He will politely knock on your door and show you a paper that authorizes him to search your property for “hoarded food” and fuel. He will probably have a small group of workers and a truck, but may not even be armed. He will be apologetic. He’s “just doing his job”. What are you going to do? Shoot him?

If you choose to refuse his reasonable request, you are a criminal. The polity that sent him, (probably a town council) will put out a warrant for your arrest. They may not have enough food, but they have other resources, like weapons and manpower. They can deputize hundreds of men if they need to. The very fact that you are not letting them search your property will be enough justification to use whatever force they require. Remember, the Mayor or council, doesn’t have to storm your homestead. They are in no danger of being shot. They have nothing to lose and everything to gain from sending in the dogs of war.

Their “professionals” may be a sheriff and a small police department and you might even be so arrogant that you think you can beat them in a firefight. But remember, the local town sheriff is not alone. He can request assistance from the county, or state. And he will. No sheriff can let a group of nuts with rifles defy him with impunity. He must take you down or risk losing his authority or even his job. He will get help in the form of heavy weapons and troops from the national guard if he needs it. You may be facing a Bradley [Infantry Fighting Vehicle] platoon, or an artillery barrage, not a starving mob.

A local government is never going to “move on to easier pickings if you shoot a few.” That’s because they are going to systematically search every building…not just the easy ones. You literally can’t fight city hall (and expect to win).

I know this is hard to think about, but please believe me: An infantry squad or a SWAT team will defeat you if you plan to fight from a fixed defense. Dan B. is absolutely right. You can’t win, no matter how much ammo you store. You are much better off storing more food. – JIR

Dear Mr. Rawles:
With regard to the thought of BG in his comments on Four Great Preparedness Myths, I recall Bruce Clayton in “Thinking About Survival “, relating his evolution as a survivalist, finally considering securing enough wheat to feed every family in a five mile radius from his homestead for one year. (pp. 21-26). One aspect of his rationale bears on this issue: “…(my neighbors) might not form a very effective fighting force by military standards, but at least I’d know that anyone who started taking potshots at my windows would soon have one of my neighbors getting into position behind him. It wouldn’t just be (my family) and me against the world any more”. BTW, I strongly recommend this book to one and all. Very thoughtful, very thought provoking. – Skyrat

Dear Jim and Family,
Thanks to articles on Polities, defending against the Golden Horde, and Greece, I have to conclude there are some very different, and probably equally viable ways to get through this enduring crisis we call the Great Recession (which is still not over). Some of the outcomes have been rather surprising. I did not, for example, expect the price of oil to drop. Its running out, after all, so you’d think it would go up and up. Greece and the rest of the EU depression has drastically cut demand so the price has fallen. This will only happen until the oil producing nations cut production so they can hang onto what they’ve still got for their children.

Thirty years ago, in 1980, the conventional wisdom for dealing with TEOTWAWKI was “beans and bullets”. That’s not so much the best way now. This is a multigenerational collapse, but it’s not a Golden Horde MZB collapse. It’s a Great Depression type, perhaps similar to what has happened in Japan for the last 20 years. Japan has been in and out (but mostly in) Recession since 1990. The population endures long term unemployment. They tried to cheer themselves up, and have finally moved to saving their money in the mattress rather than buy things they don’t need. We are looking at much the same thing. Manufacturing jobs have moved overseas to benefit multinational corporations. Our only defense against them is to refuse to buy their products. Those same multinationals somehow convinced (Bribed?) our government to bail them out when their bets went South, but they always kept the profits when things were good. We have to hold our government responsible for that. The poll results of the primaries have certainly shown we don’t like what they’ve done. I think it highly unlikely the current president will get a second term. He’s made Jimmy Carter look successful, and that’s really saying something.

The good news is that this multigenerational collapse is so slow moving that the fears of a population panicking and turning into the Golden Horde hasn’t happened and probably won’t. They have lots of time to adjust to the new reality, a return to poorer roots. It will be hardest for today’s teenagers, raised on limitless wealth and materialism. Some here refer to spiritual defense. In this case I’d agree. A spiritual defense against materialism is definitely called for. If we fail in this, those same youth will be hurting us to get what they want via gangs and mafia and even simple burglary or falling into drugs and prostitution, which is typically a short trip into the next life, such as it is. It is easy to say: respect their choices and let them die. But we do need them. We need them to work and reshape our world into something which can exist without cheap energy and easy solutions. We can’t throw money at a problem until it goes away. That was how our parents did things, and look where that got us. We have to do better. It’s our job now.

The only ways through the current mess of enduring Recession (Depression) is 1) hide or 2) lead. Leading is easier and cheaper. Hiding may end up making you a target, once your position is known. You can build the rural complex, and call it a farm and start bartering with your neighbors, but eventually the tax man or the burglar will come and the wrong choice at the wrong time will lose the farm or get you locked away, maybe both. This is the biggest downside to the firearms collection. It has very limited utility, and a very small legal window, particularly because Rule Of Law is not suspended during our Long Recession and probably won’t be. We don’t get to have easy answers. We get to have hard ones. That’s the biggest and most unpleasant truth to this Multigenerational Collapse. If you lead you have a chance to change the course and fix the mistakes and say no when it must be said.

The good news is once the current generation of materialist twits, and the past generation that caused this collapse have either grown up or faded away, ourselves and a generation without the conceits of easy materialism can build a serious future that will actually work, one without cheap oil, celebrity worship, and cultural antagonism. Why am I so optimistic? This isn’t optimism. It’s pragmatism.

The Recession is a temper tantrum. It will end when we stop clinging to a past that isn’t going to get better. We have to embrace a future built on honest labor, clean water, local agriculture, local manufacturing, rail transport, and renewable energy. No more money to angry Middle Eastern tyrants, hypocritical Asian capitalists, African pirates, or pretentious Venezuelans. Our government has shown itself incompetent dealing with those threats. Those things aren’t our concern any more. There is no point in continuing to pay for failure.

We really should let our leaders know that the world needs to take care of itself, and we should take care of ourselves. As is the case in business, being first is often the way to succeed. If you’ve shaken off the yoke of materialism, you have a real chance to lead the rest of your generation out of this mess and end the collapse, at least locally, sooner. I really do think we’ll end up locally bootstrapping ourselves out of this, that relying even slightly on Washington DC to fix it is childish. We have to be grownups here, because they can’t be. They’re trapped into the image of a lost age, one that’s well and truly over. Best, – InyoKern

Economics and Investing:

Volcker Says Time Is Running Out for U.S. to Tackle Fiscal Woe. (Our thanks to RBS for the link.)

Chester suggested this bit of frank commentary: The Morality of the Financial Monetary System is Really What is Broken

Brett G. flagged this bit of “recovery” news: Week’s unemployment claims jump to 471,000

Items from The Economatrix:

Ticking Time Bomb: $600 Trillion in Derivatives at Risk

Next Year’s Federal Budget Sinking in Deep Red Ink

Reforming Fannie and Freddie Will Slam Home Prices

Germany’s ‘Desperate’ Short Ban Triggers Capital Flight to Switzerland

Fading of Inflation Helps Buyers and Borrowers

Food Price Inflation to Spur Zombie Takeover

Odds ‘n Sods:

Estimate for Nashville property damage from flood tops $1.9 billion. The eventual insurance tab may surpass the New Orleans flooding, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina!

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Nic mentioned that the excellent Gun Test consumer review magazine has come out with a new online magazine – Gun Reports – to cover the multiplicity of guns and gear that can’t fit in their print magazine:

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Savings Experiment: Where better batteries meet bargain power. (Thanks to Matt in Oklahoma for the link.)

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Judy T. was the first of several readers to send this: US rifles not suited to warfare in Afghan hills. My congrats to Associated Press writer Slobodan Lekic, who got the technical details right in reporting this complex issue.

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"Grace be to you and peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God." – 2 Corinthians 1:2-4

Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 28 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round will include:

First Prize: A.) A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses normally cost between $500 and $600, and B.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees, in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $392 value.) C.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com. (A $275 value.), and D.) A 500 round case of Federal 5.56mm XM193 55 Grain FMJ ammo, courtesy of Sunflower Ammo. This is a $199 value, and includes free UPS shipping.

Second Prize: A.) A “grab bag” of preparedness gear and books from Jim’s Amazing Secret Bunker of Redundant Redundancy (JASBORR) with a retail value of at least $400, and B.) two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value).

Third Prize: A.) A copy of my “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course, from Arbogast Publishing, and B.) a Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21. (This filter system is a $275 value.)

Round 28 ends on May 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that articles that relate practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Use the Ground You Live on for More Than Walking, by John Z.

I’ve learned that the best way to obtain much needed resources is to look on the ground.

Food
We grow a large garden at two sites for my family. We can and preserve what we will use later and eat the stuff from the grocery now while it’s cheap.
The fruits and veggies we consume come from the ground. We box in one area, add proper compost, manure, sand and dirt and then till until we get the proper texture for the different plants we grow. All the while the ground is the entire reason for this. Everything we use for our gardening techniques starts from the ground.
Rabbits and chickens for meat and eggs walk the same ground we use to fertilize our gardens. We feed the rabbits and chickens leaves, stalks and any inedible bits from the garden to minimize the cost of feed. Again, it starts from the ground and ends back on the ground when the critters are done with it.

Water
Of all the countries I’ve traveled during my military career, water is one of the hardest, if not most impossible commodities to come across. However, we all literally walk on water every day.
Our forefathers were able to drink from rivers and streams during their time. My grandfather was able to drink from rivers and streams as a boy because they weren’t polluted with chemical and pesticide runoff like they are today. However, some of that same “dirty” water is filtered with, well, dirt.
Dig deep enough and you will find water in most climb and place. The deserts of the Middle East have natural springs scattered throughout their vast terrain. The mountains of South America have water running through them. The plains of the central United States sit atop one of the largest water reservoirs in the world.
Again, look at the ground for what it is. It’s your helper for almost everything you NEED.
One thing I’ve realized, and it should have been common sense, is that if rain water is absorbed by the ground and filtered through layer after layer of sand, gravel, sediment and rock, we should be able to mimic this same natural process to help us obtain clean water to use during TEOTWAWKI.

I’ve seen nothing on the Internet to demonstrate how to do this, but the way I figure it, do it in stages. Filter water through a 55 gallon drum filled with sand. A drainage hole at the bottom would allow the first stage of water to flow into another container. Dump that container into another drum filled with gravel. Repeat process until you have sent it through multiple stages. I’m not 100 percent certain, but what you should end up with is usable water for feeding animals and cleaning. If all goes well enough you might end up with water that can be boiled, cooled and then used for drinking and cooking. The boiling should remove the final remnants of bacteria that escaped the natural filtering process.
This is just a thought but as of yet I haven’t found anything to prove it wouldn’t work. I’m sure with enough attempts someone will get it right and it will work for the benefit of others. And I’m also certain you have readers who are familiar if not experts in this field that can write something to help this along.

Food storage
We store most our canned goods underground in a root cellar. It’s a genuine cave that stays generally the same temperature year round, with the exception of winter when the cold air settles into the cellar. But nothing has frozen or spoiled since we’ve been doing this.
Our larder grows larger by the month because of our ability to keep our food fresher underground than in the cupboards in our kitchen. When we need something to feed our family, which all growing families generally do, we go underground to get it.

Alternate living spaces
During the summer months in the Midwest the humidity can sometimes be unbearable. Some families have adopted to live in their basements to stay cooler. Others have moved kitchens into their basements to avoid heating an entire house while cooking. Still others aren’t lucky enough to have this retreat built into their homes.

A place to escape
As much as I hate to admit it, I’m scared to death of thunderstorms in my neck of the woods because they generally create a few tornadoes.
I’ve lived in tornado alley for more than four years now and my home has so far gone untouched by one, but I’ve lost sections of fence and a couple windows from the high winds. When a tornado siren starts sounding its alarm we retreat to our basement. It offers us as much protection as we need to avoid flying debris and broken glass.
Also, a basement is a great place to store the first part of your G.O.O.D. supplies and anything you will need for the long haul if you bug out in place. Aside from escaping natural disasters, a basement offers protection from an intruder.
I would never flee in the face of adversity, but if I had to choose “run, run away but live to fight another day” I would haul tail to a place I can reorganize and resupply. My basement is that place for me and mine.

A meeting place
What a better place than a hole in the ground to meet like-minded individuals to discuss plans on how to defend your community. Where else can you think of that offers more protection or privacy than a cave or in modern terms, a basement. Where else can you store an entire supply of goods and materials that will last and you have easy access to. Privacy is preached on this site almost as commonly on how and why to store what and how much of any certain item. A quiet corner of your basement is a great place to invite friends to talk about what to do in these uncertain times. I’ve got few friends whom I trust enough to see my basement. It’s a secret place for me and my family because it offers us a place to live and breathe. So choose who you open your cave’s door to wisely.

Just a final thought
I’ve eaten from it, off it and slept on it. It grows the food I need and filters the water I drink. What more can you ask for?
I’m no ground dweller, but I see the benefits of using what the good Lord gave me to my advantage because one day I will return to the same stuff I’m made up of.

Letter Re: Self-Storage Spaces as Caches

Sir,

Regarding Lynn in Washington’s pointer to the YouTube video (as representative of a “secure” lock?), I know of, and have known of, for quite some time, two ‘other’ locks which fit, much better, the criteria of “round” and “disk”.

The first “round” lock is manufactured by the American Lock Company. (Yes, that is its real name).
Many truck-delivery companies (in New York City, and surrounding vicinity) use this lock on the back doors of their vehicles, and anyone who, honestly, believes they can open this lock with a bolt-cutter is being dishonest with themselves. Picking is also rather difficult.

The second lock (“disk”) is manufactured by Abus, and is known as [the]”Discus”. I owned my first one while in High School during the late 1970s, and it never failed me (amongst a dorm full of amateur-lock pickers, this was quite an achievement). As seen in the illustrations, it would be extremely-difficult, if not impossible, under ordinary conditions, to push a bolt-cutter in to cut the shackle of a Discus lock..

That’s all here. You have a very nice blog. – Manatee

Two Letters Re: Healthy Food Storage

Mr. Rawles:
I do believe R.J. may have some valid points but the way it is presented was very disturbing. RJ is making it sound as though the food (grains, rice and corn) will cause health problems. We already have health problems with the majority of the population. Hopefully all the preppers are changing their ways eating and living healthier.

I do believe that R.J. thinks those of us that are putting food into storage for the future are putting processed food away. That is very far from the truth. Everyone that I have talked to are putting the basics (grains, rice, corn, protein) away. Very little comfort food (processed food) is on the shelves. (It takes up too much room)

My great grandmother lived to be 98 years old, lived in the mountains of West Virginia and her diet consisted mostly of dried beans (pinto) and corn bread. Very little meat was used and very little sweetening was around. And she worked hard and lived without running water and electricity. I hope I can match some of her longevity. She died in a farming accident not from health problems. Blessings to you and your family. – J.A.N.

James,

I just read the article about “healthy” food storage. While the author is correct about sugar and soy, perhaps I am missing something but I have to disagree with the overall theory that grains, legumes, and corn are bad for you. Since the time of Adam mankind has always tilled the earth, getting our sustenance “by the sweat of our brow.” Peoples of that time lived for hundreds of years but I have yet to see any evidence that they needed to soak their grain in yogurt to do so. As a person with Celiac I know first hand about Gluten, but wheat is only one of many grains and there are different kinds of gluten. Potatoes have gluten.

How are whole grains, legumes and corn considered a “refined” grain? I have always read that unless one of these is stripped of its natural nutrients it was a “complex” carbohydrate the human body gets long-term energy from. Does the fact that game must be cut up and cooked make it refined also, because it cannot solely be eaten in the raw? If the mere necessity of having to soak beans or remove hulls from grains to eat them makes them bad for you, then what about the coconut? Coconut hulls have to be removed for consumption also but it makes them no less nutritious, and the benefits of coconut oil have been discussed on this blog.

Native Americans were eating corn and beans when the Pilgrims arrived, along with fish and game. Perhaps what the author is missing in the fad/raw food theory is that all these foods eaten by themselves are incomplete, no matter how they are prepared, but eaten together they neutralize the bad and maximize the good. That is what the term “Balanced Diet” means. The Native tribes the author describes also do a great deal of physical movement, labor and calorie burning. Perhaps it is the circulation that improves dental health, or keeps the cholesterol from hurting their eyesight? Some peoples like the Mayan had worn teeth because of how they prepared their food, grinding corn with stones. I’ve spoken to elders who grew up on farms and ate corn right off the stalk and chewed raw wheat like bubble gum. They are in better health for their age than most of us at our ages.

In a TEOTWAWKI life I am going to be much more worried about the need for antibiotics, a common cold or being shot by looters. Having three family members who have died of cancer I do not mean it lightly when I say: If I live long enough to develop cancer from my food storage I will be truly blessed.

Thank you for the information, but I am happy with what the good Lord provided for his children and I won’t be throwing out my grains, legumes and corn any time soon.

Thank you, – Rebekah

Economics and Investing:

E.M.B. sent a link to a useful US Coin Melt Calculator.

Michael K. sent us this: South Africa Fights Rand Counterfeits a Month Before World Cup

Brett G. suggested this: Jim Rogers: Even More Currency, Market Turmoil on the Way

Andrew H. sent this from Richard Russell, the editor of The Dow Theory Letter: You Won’t Recognize America by the End of the Year. Here are a couple of quotes: “Do your friends a favor… Tell them to get out of debt and sell anything they can sell (and don’t need) in order to get liquid. Tell them that Richard Russell says that by the end of this year they won’t recognize the country.” … “Just as for years I asked, cajoled, insisted, threatened, demanded, that my subscribers buy gold, I am now insisting, demanding, begging my subscribers to get out of stocks… and get into cash or gold (bullion if possible).”

Items from The Economatrix:

Moody’s Sovereign Debt Head to Quit Moody’s

Pfizer Axing Eight Factories, 6,000 Jobs

Dozens Storm D.C. Bank Branches

With Local Gold Inventories Depleted, Panicking German Dealers Stage Run an Krugerrands

Shadow Inventory Sales for Years to Come

Odds ‘n Sods:

GCM sent a link to this cool water, gear, and fuel storage product: Rotopax.

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G.G. flagged: The Closers: How the pros shut down a failing bank

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Reader J.A.B. suggested FindYourSpot.com, a relocation web site that finds “your spot”, based upon 40 to 50 questions are asked about your lifestyle and preferences, and you’re given (immediately) a list of
20-odd locales across America that suits your needs. At the end, they’ll be some questions pertaining to advertising, but never fear, you can click through to the selections. Some locations might be no-brainers for the SurvivalBlog readership types but who knows, some may be surprised. For many folks, this may be the first step to finding a general retreat locale.

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Loren sent this link: Global Cooling Is Coming — and Beware the Big Chill, Scientist Warns

Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 28 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round will include:

First Prize: A.) A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses normally cost between $500 and $600, and B.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees, in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $392 value.) C.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com. (A $275 value.), and D.) A 500 round case of Federal 5.56mm XM193 55 Grain FMJ ammo, courtesy of Sunflower Ammo. This is a $199 value, and includes free UPS shipping.

Second Prize: A.) A “grab bag” of preparedness gear and books from Jim’s Amazing Secret Bunker of Redundant Redundancy (JASBORR) with a retail value of at least $400, and B.) two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value).

Third Prize: A.) A copy of my “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course, from Arbogast Publishing, and B.) a Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21. (This filter system is a $275 value.)

Round 28 ends on May 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that articles that relate practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Healthy Food Storage, by R.J.

A common staple in any good prepper’s store is food and another is medication.  We make sure to have loads of food that will last a long time (grains, legumes and corn) and do not realize that eating these very things help contribute to cancer, diabetes, heart attacks and cardiac syndrome X (just to name a few).  WTSHTF where in the world are we supposed to get chemo medication?  Or who is most qualified to do a triple bypass or mix up a new batch of insulin?  If the need ever comes to actually use our stores it would be a great help if we knew we could avoid some of the major diseases that plague modern society.

Studies of modern hunter-gatherers like the Maori, Inuit, Aborigines, Masai and !Kung show a lack of diseases like cancer, diabetes, heart attacks and had incredible dental health.  But these same people contracted these diseases like cancer, diabetes and tooth decay when they adopted foods not indigenous to their lifestyle.  These tribes ate lots of protein (land and sea) but not just the muscle.  They also enjoyed the organ meats like the liver, heart and kidneys, which provide great amounts of soluble vitamins.  Vegetables were enjoyed (though not by the Inuit whose diet is almost all protein and fat), with some tubers and the occasional fruit. 

What these people did not eat was a lot of sugar or refined grains.  These two items are the main causes of cancer, heart attacks and the whole host of diseases that society faces today.  So much so that these diseases are referred to as diseases of civilization (DOC).  Sugar, for example, is the food stuff cancer cells like most and thrive when there is an abundant supply of glucose (sugar in the blood) in the blood while people without cancer will have normal glucose levels.  And refined grains turn straight away into sugar directly in the blood when ingested and raise glucose and is often the precursor of diabetes.  Any doctor worth his salt will tell someone with a glucose level above 100 to stay away from refined carbohydrates (read grains). Though great civilizations are built on these things it does not negate the fact that these societies have health problems stemming from these foods and doesn’t mean that we cannot take protective measures to ensure that we live beyond what our government tells us is healthy. Other examples can be made to associate these things with the other diseases mentioned but since this is down and dirty I will refer you to other more in depth books on the matter which should be right next other books in your bookshelf next to “Patriots”, “Where There Is No Doctor” and “Atlas Shrugged”. 

So what the heck do I do with all my wheat, corn and beans?  These foods cannot be eaten raw.  They were the world’s first processed food.  If one were to try to eat these three foods in plain form you would become sick.  And when you eat them without the proper preparation you will in all likelihood contract one of the abovementioned diseases.  Not a happy proposition especially after TEOTWAWKI. 

Grains have a great deal of Phytic acid, which is bound to phosphorus.  This is in the outer part of the grains (husk), which is the healthiest part.  Phytic acid combines with calcium, magnesium, copper, iron and zinc in your intestinal tracks and blocks their absorption.  Now if you go without these minerals there will be a lot of problems with overall health.  There are also enzyme inhibitors that slow down digestion and stress your pancreas.  Irritating tannins, complex sugars which can’t be broken down and gluten.             

Animals in the wild that have multiple stomachs and various acids to break these properties down but people don’t have these things and need external preparation to properly digest grains.  This is accomplished through soaking, sprouting and fermenting.  Take your grains that you are about to make into pancakes, cake or whatever and soak them in buttermilk, kefir or yogurt for twelve to 24 hours before baking or cooking.  This process enables the cultures in the fermented food to predigest the grains so that the anti-nutrients are rendered harmless and allowing the body to digest more of what is good about grains like the mineral and vitamin content. 

Beans contain a lot of alkaloid toxins.  While these protect the beans in the wild these toxic cyanogens like cyanide in Lima beans do nothing for health.  Beans and peas contain hemagglutins that cause blood to clump along with substances that inhibit digestion of protein.  Fava beans contain vicin, covicince and isouramil, which can’t be broken down by some people.  These toxins keep red blood cells from delivering oxygen to the rest of the body, which can cause, headaches, nausea, vomiting and fever (stay away from the fava).  Soybeans negatively affect the thyroid and cause estrogen in men to spike.  Asians never eat the amount of soy products like in America.  The only soy products that are consumed are fermented soy like miso, tempeh, and kimchi in small amounts.  Soak beans for 24 hours before cooking to make beans fully digestible (helping to eliminate gas) and enable the body to digest all of the good stuff.  These steps neutralize phytic acid and the enzyme inhibitors and breaks down the hard to digest complex sugars.

Corn has spread all over the world but the proper preparation has not.  Nixtamalization is the process that enhances the nutritional quality of corn.  This process helps make the amino acids more like a complete protein and making niacin more easily absorbed.  Cultures that do not use this process often develop pellagra (niacin deficiency) and kwashiorkor (a protein deficiency).  Soak for twelve to 24 hours and cook with lime-the alkaline substance and not the fruit.  This process is even briefly discussed in the revised edition of “Where There Is No Doctor” on page 117 under “lime soaked maize.”

Get the books “Nourishing Traditions ” by Sally Fallon for great recipes using these techniques, “Wild Fermentation” by Sandor Katz for more recipes but know that the author of this books swears and is a bit of a commie in my humble opinion and “Good Calories, Bad Calories” by Gary Taubes for the total science and history behind the studies (a bit dry but very knowledgeable).  Good luck.

Letter Re: Advice on Precious Metals Investing

Mr. Rawles:
Please tell me, what would be the best form to purchase gold to store, that is not a stock [or an Exchange Traded Fund]? I cashed out a penny stock that my father left me, which will cover almost one once of gold. Thanks, – Wendy H.

JWR Replies: At the present time, I don’t recommend gold for most investors. Instead, I recommend silver. The silver to gold ratio is currently around 63 to 1, which is way out of whack. It should be closer to it historic norm, which is 16-to-1. This means that gold is relatively over-valued, and silver is under-valued and has a lot of catching up to do. In my opinion, at the present time silver is far more likely to double in price than gold! Also, as I described in my novel “Patriots” (see Chapter 16, “For an Ounce of Gold”), silver is a superior choice for barter. Gold is simply too compact a form of wealth for most day-to-day barter transactions. For some advice on silver purchasing search the SurvivalBlog archives for articles with details on U.S. Pre-1965 mint date “junk” 90% silver coins. Silver dimes, quarters, and half dollars are your best bet. Also, as I’ve often been quoted, it is important to get your Beans, Bullets and Band-Aids squared away first, before considering any precious metals investing.

Economics and Investing:

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