The Cholesterol Hoax - Sherry Rogers, M.D.

The fundamental point from this book is that high cholesterol is a warning sign of damage happening in the body. In line with other books I am reading, the damage is a result of trans fatty acids, pesticides, plastic chemicals (phtalates, BPA, PCBs, Teflon, etc), and heavy metals. Combined with a processed food diet that lacks natural nutrients (synthesized vitamins for fortifying, colors, preservatives can also contribute to the toxic load in your body), the body is not able to purge the toxins, which accumulate in the body until they produce disease.

Another interesting point is cholesterol is an incredibly poor predictor of heart attack. However, it is pushed to the forefront because the pharmaceutical companies have patented drugs that affect cholesterol. More predictive molecules in the body can only be affected (currently) by proper nutrients, which can't be patented and sold for a huge profit.

There are a lot of details in this book. It probably could have been half as long, but Sherry likes to make sure we get things in our head by repetition. I would recommend it for people that might have high cholesterol and especially if you are on a statin drug (if you have a drug for your cholesterol it is probably a statin). If you don't have high cholesterol, then I would recommend Detoxify or Die by Sherry Rogers, as it is probably more general and should help prevent high cholesterol (I haven't read it yet, but I am going to).

Take-Away Points

• At top research universities, scientific studies have shown proper nutrients are more effective at reducing cholesterol than statin drugs (the medical field has apparently chosen to ignore these studies).
• Statins and other drugs work by poisoning biochemical pathways that produce the symptoms. They do not address the underlying causes (unless it is a deficiency of that particular drug :P ) but almost always have a number of crappy side-effects because they are messing up the natural processes.
• Proper nutrients can regulate the cholesterol production pathway and help detoxify the chemicals that are causing high cholesterol in the first place.
• The body is a biochemical system that is designed to be nourished by correct foods. When the proper nutrients are available, the body can actually fight cancer and other diseases without all the side-effects. Each individual must own their health and not give it over to the pharmaceutical controlled, medical field that loves the profits it gets from cranking people through a doctors office, giving drugs to mask symptoms, and then providing additional drugs for the symptoms brought about by the side-effects.
  

The Hundred-Year Lie - Randall Fitzgerald

Great book. Dispels a lot of thinking that is either wrong or simply ignorant. It is a nice high-level look at our society, which allows you to see the bigger impact that has happened through the years in small steps. HIGHLY RECOMMEND

Some Random Points from the Book
I would call this book a historical documentary. It goes through the roughly the last 100 years (1906 to present) showing the how our society has bought into several lies.

1. The government (FDA) will protect me from harmful substances. NOT true! The FDA relies on studies from the manufacturers, showing that a product is "safe". Chemical companies are not morally upright. They are a COMPANY that seeks to make profit and will meet the written requirements of the FDA but not the spirit of the requirements.
   
2. The chemicals produced for plastics, pesticides, food additives, and medicines have been tested to be safe. It was startling that he reports that of the thousands of chemicals on record, only about 15% have health and environmental impact data.
   
3. Synthetics are better than natural options because they have SCIENCE behind them. I have been through the higher education system in science at a Research-1 university, and I can tell you that science is not impartial. It is very much like companies, out to get the funding and the recognition for research and not about people. Coming back to the book, the author's big problem is that science looks for a single chemical within a food (like vitamin E) and synthesizes that one chemical. However, the synthetic is often not identical to the natural version at some molecular level.
   

There are a number of other myths that the author addresses, but these are the key ones I wanted to mention. The book was quite sobering because of the overarching societal picture it paints.

Another key thing the author mentions repeatedly is synergies. For example, food has a synergy of components that make it easier to absorb the nutrients (like vitamin E). As well, the particular combination of nutrients in a given food makes it more effective at nourishing because it bolsters multiple systems within the body. On the negative side, synthetic chemical have synergies also. Chemical A (Teflon perhaps) and chemical B (pesticides found in tap water) may not cause significant harm if they were in the body individually (but it was never meant to be in the body). However, put chemical A and B in together and they cause havoc (anyone up for some chemical AB cancer?). Often this occurs when A and B are both lower in concentration than their individual government limits. It is impossible to test for all the potentially dangerous synergies between the hundreds of thousands of synthetic chemicals we currently produce.

This brings us to the food and medical industries. For thousands of years, humans have survived and done quite well with whole foods as their diet and natural remedies for sickness. Over the last 100 years, we have traded whole, natural foods for processed foods that have all (or almost all) of the natural nutrients stripped out and synthesized, chemical nutrients put in. Guess what, food additives are not food. They contribute to the chemical load in our body and do not provide sufficient nutrition. The food industry has plenty of lobbyist in Washington, constantly trying to convince authorities that cocoa puffs are heart healthy because they contain whole grain. Without proper nutrition, the bodies natural defense system, the immune system, cannot properly function and cells cannot properly function.

The human body is an incredible biochemical system that does a great job of maintaining itself with the proper building block (nutrients). However, the medical field on the back of the pharmaceutical COMPANIES now communicates that sickness and disease are a result of a synthetic chemical deficiencies, for which they have many options. When was the last time your doctor really helped you consider your diet and what nutrients you are getting. Has anyone ever had a doctor suggest you get blood work done to see what nutrients you have in your system. Probably not. Proper diet (i.e. one with real foods that take time to make like a couple generations before, which I will mention had almost non-existent rates of cancer and mental illness) is just too inconvenient when compared to the "magic bullet" pills. The author points out that drugs are designed to mask the symptoms in hopes that the immune system will take care of the underlying problem. When the immune system can't overcome, the drugs become life sentences. Going back to the synergies concept, drugs are often designed to affect one specific process in the body. This why there are often a cascade of side affects. We are putting CHEMICALS into our body that nature never intended to have there.

Shepherding a Child's Heart - Tedd Tripp, Part 2

Quick Background: As many of you know, I do not have children and therefore it may seem strange that I am reading a book about childrearing and reviewing it. I decided to read this book, along with the families in my small group, so that I would be able to understand and converse with the parents about raising children Biblically. This book is serving as a starting point for conversation. The children in the small group have been or will be dedicated, and as part of the dedication, the body of believers agrees to come alongside the parents. As well, I have found the shepherding principles laid out in the book are applicable to other relationships where I have some level of authority.

Disclaimer: I don't have children, therefore I lack some practical understanding. I submit this review humbly to the parents that may read it. I had a wonderful conversation with an elder from my previous church that is raising three children (oldest is now 16) and who teaches a parenting course based on this book (and the Bible of course). I have tried to include the key points he made during our conversation. He and I feel that this book is well founded in scripture and that if you don't agree with things stated, you must evaluate them against scripture and not worldly culture or personal preference. If you have not read the first post that is a scriptural preface, then please read that first here.

The Review and Summary:
To start, I would highly recommend this book to parents in particular, but also to anyone who interacts with children or anyone who has authority over someone. This review is going to be more of a high level summary.

Obedience -The starting point
Genesis, God gives Adam and Eve some simple commands to obey. Only one command specified something there were not to do, "Do not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil". From the beginning God required obedience. Jumping ahead to Jesus as he was about to ascend, he commanded his followers to "Go and make disciples...teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you." Again, God requires obedience. The question for every individual is whether you are going to submit your life to the authority of Jesus in obedience. Why does God require obedience? It is not because we can earn righteousness before him. It is because He is holy and has Authority over all things. Obedience is a sign of humble submission. It should not be surprising then, that the most direct command to children, stated in both the New and Old Testament (Ex. 20:12, Eph. 6:1, Col. 3:20, 1 Tim. 3:4), is for children to obey their parents. God has been gracious throughout history to give his people an intermediary to help us understand who God is and what he desires. This culminated in Jesus, who is the image of the invisible God (Col. 1:15). For children, God has given them parents to help them understand their relation to Jesus and what he desires. To that end, the book highlights three fundamentals.

First, parents must understand their relationship to their children, as God has assigned it. God has chosen and prescribed that parents communicate His truth found in the scripture and exercise Authority. Second, a child's development is not simply a product of the environment they are in. Rather, it is a product of how the child responds to their environment. The book uses the terms Godward Orientation to Shaping Influences. Third, God's concern is with the heart and parents must be diligent to understand the sin in their child's heart that leads to the behavior they are witnessing. The rest of the book is details about Biblical methods, training objectives, and training methods.

Authority
Throughout scripture God gives authority to individuals. Kings, rulers, prophets, and parents. Consider Moses in Deuteronomy 6. He was given authority over God's people, Israel, and was given the task of teaching God's commands so that they might be Obedient. Likewise, God has given parents authority over their children and the task of teaching them to be obedient to God. The two words "to God" are key. Parents are God's physical representatives that children can see and interact with, but the parents must constantly direct their children to God. I think the profound implication from this is parents who do not require obedience from their children are allowing their child to continue in disobedience to God. I want to highlight that having children understand obedience is not so that their behavior is "correct" but so they understand that they are ultimately under God's authority and that they will be accountable to him.

I think a common question is "What is obedience?" The author clearly defines obedience as doing what you are told without challenge, without excuse, and without delay. It ties back to the idea that obedience is demonstrating submission to authority. Consider the following situation:

Your child loves chocolate and you tell him/her to finish their chocolate cake before they get up from the table. They eagerly eat it all.

At some level they are being obedient because they are following your direction. However, in their heart they want to eat the cake because of their own desire. Thus, there is no reason to challenge or delay or find an excuse. They are not being submissive because they are not subjecting their desire to some other authority. Consider the next situation:

You tell your child that they cannot have cake until they finish their broccoli. They subsequently...

• say, "But I don't want to eat anymore broccoli." challenge
• say, "Can I just finish this one piece." challenge
• push it around on their plate. Perhaps "accidentally" knocking one to the floor. delay
• say, "I can't get the little pieces on my fork." without even trying. excuse

For any of these responses, and any others that don't have the child eating their broccoli, the author would say that the child needs to be disciplined because they are being disobedient. I know people are going to have the reaction, "That is too strict and rigid" or "What about giving a warning". Let me continue and flush out what the author would say about those reactions. The author talks about an appeal process, but the process start with obedience. Continuing the previous example, the child starts by immediately eating some broccoli at which point they could say, "Do I need to eat these little pieces? I can't pick them up with my fork." By maintaining obedience first, the child is starting from a place of submission. As for a warning, the author makes the point that children are smart and they will learn (because you are training them) how much disobedience they can get away with before discipline occurs. In response to a common question he gets (If I follow your counsel, All I'll do is spank), the author make the following reply:

"The truth is, if parents are consistent with discipline, they will find quickly
that the child responds and the necessity for discipline decreases. Could it be that you are confronted with disobedience all day because you tolerate it? As long as you are unwilling to require precision in obedience you will have sloppy responses to your directives." (pg. 154)

I will wrap up the Authority section with a note on discipline. The elder from my old church commented that using the rod is not commanded in scripture, but is the one discipline that is highly praised. He and the book both advocate the wise use of the rod, which I will recommend you read in the book to learn more. The overarching principles for discipline (because spanking a teenager is not going to work) were expressed by my elder as

Discipline must be:

1. Immediate: Helps the discipline be linked to the disobedience.
2. Clear: You should be able to communicate in a sentence, why they are getting disciplined.
3. Costly: It must help the child understand the severity of sin. If the child is indifferent or unaffected, it is not discipline.
4. Compassionate: Your heart as a parent must be one of compassion towards to child (vs. anger)
5. Consistent: Two aspects. First, a particular disobedience should be disciplined every time. Second, there should be a consistent discipline for a particular disobedience.

The book makes the distinction that discipline is not punishment, but discipline is necessary for communicating that children are under authority; yours right now but ultimately God's.

Godward Orientation to Shaping Influences
This fundamental is around helping parents understand that how their child turns out is not simply a function of the environment that they grow up in but it is also a function of how they view themselves and others in relation to God.

Shaping influences (school, family values/roles/structure/history, etc) will bring out responses from your child. These responses inherently demonstrate how your child Godward Orientation. Because of our inherent sinfulness, it is possible to surround a child with "Christian" influences and have them reject Christ. It happens all the time. For example, a good shaping influence could be family dinner time. Consider how Godward Orientation can effect how a child develops.

Because family dinner time is consistent and Mom always makes the dinner, junior feels and develops a sense of entitlement. He is so "special" that he deserves to be feed regularly and served by someone. This may become evident when he is asked to help with dinner and he becomes indignant and has an attitude.

He was not disobedient at the family dinners leading up to now, but his orientation to God was not right. This is where parents my be proactive in helping their children understand that food is a provision from God. God desires that we serve on another.

Simply having the "right" context is not the only part of the equation. Parent must be diligent to teach and demonstrate the appropriate responses to Shaping Influences, which are born out of and understanding of who we are before God.

The Heart
This fundamental clearly flows out of the others. Parents must understand who their children are and not merely what they do. Who they are is their heart. Using Christian symbology, a child's behavior is the fruit of their heart. Simply addressing behavior trains a child to know what expressions of their sinful heart they can and cannot do (or at what times or for how long they can do it). The title of the book is such a great summary. We need to shepherd (direct and lead), children's hearts so that they understand their position before God. Only then will they recognize their need for a savior, Jesus Christ, and his power to live.

Although I am not going to go into detail, the two Biblical methods that the author puts forward are communication and the rod. In shepherding, communication is the key component and often overlooked because it is where the hard work is. He says parenting is often viewed as

• RULES
• CORRECTION
• DISCIPLINE (punishment in many cases)

There is very little communication in that list. Tedd Tripp adds communication in a variety of forms.

• Encouragement
• Correction
• Rebuke
• Entreaty
• Instruction
• Warning
• Teaching
• Prayer

He uses an example of a little kid giving its stuffed animal a drive of orange juice. That is not an offense that you discipline for. It is a opportunity to teach your child that stuffed animals can't eat and drink because they are not living, but God has given life to him and to sister and Daddy and Mommy and he provides for us. The difficulty is reacting to the inconvenience of the orange juice all over everything versus using the opportunity to direct your child's understanding of their place under God's authority and God's character.

God is so gracious in giving us tangible examples. There is a book by a shepherd regarding Psalms 23. The sheep learn to follow the voice of the shepherd. However, lambs will wander off from the flock, which is a place of danger. It is the same way for children, as it is for us, and as it was for the Israelites. When we are following and obeying, we are in a place of protection and good. When we wander, we are in a dangerous place. When a shepherd finally finds the lamb, he would break its legs with a rod and then carry the lamb on his shoulders. The entire time the lambs legs were healing, it would be in the closest place of protection and good, and it would hear the voice of the shepherd the clearest. What and incredible example, that communicates to me that most of shepherding should be communication, but that God has a place for discipline in order that we might hear and follow him closer.

THE END
If you have made it to here, I applaud you for your perseverance and thank you for taking the time to read my ramblings. I hope that my thought have encouraged you and possibly challenged you also. I know this review and summary is somewhat abstract, but I was trying to summaries and explain the big picture in the book. I would recommend reading it, so that you can get more of the context that Tedd Tripp presents and the associated details.

Humbly in Christ, Elliott