Bacdoc

Hi all, I'd just like to throw a few words in here. To the OP. Loss for the taste of meat is often a lack of Hydrochloric acid in the gut. The body instinctively turns off the craving for meat because it is having a difficult time digesting it. If this has become and issue just recently, then it may be prudent to look at the HCL issue and maybe think about enzyme support. I'd like to add that if it is an HCL issue, then going vegetarian may not be the best choice. If you look at it you will see that any herbivore that is our size generally have 2-3 stomachs, some more. The reason is the phytonutrients in plant life are not very bio available and so it takes some real digestive juices to break them down and utilize the nutrients. Hence the additional stomachs. I don't want to get into a debate about the health benefits of vegetarianism or veganism. I only want to point out that If you have less HCL than you should (which is a b complex deficiency by the way) that it will be difficult for you to break down a vegetarian diet. pH is and it's effects on the body is a very confusing subject. I'd like to just say a thing or two about that as well. The pH of the gut needs to be at 1.5 for proper digestion. If it approaches 2, you start to have real digestive issues. If it gets much higher than that, you die. So, let me ask you this question. If you eat nothing but alkaline foods, how does it survive the acidity of the gut, it's first destination, and maintain any alkaline characteristics? I believe that the alkaline diet is a good diet, except for it's marking meats as acidic and therefore bad. They most certainly are acidic, but I don't believe that they should be avoided because of their acidic nature. Those that eat alkaline foods definitely improve and they should be congratulated for that. To eat alkaline means that you are giving up processed and sugary foods, and eating foods in a much more natural state. For a lot of people that is incredibly difficult to do. The foods that are labeled alkaline are also anti-inflammatory. Inflammation is the name of the game, and will be the buzzword in health care for the next 20 years. A lot of our degenerative disease processes are the result of inflammation gone rampant. So to cut this off before this post gets any longer, my belief is that the wonderful results that people get from alkalizing is about decreasing the inflammation present in their bodies, and has little to do with the pH of their food. In the end the best advice anyone can give you about food is this. Eat more things that you find on the outside edges of grocery stores. Eat less things in the middle of the grocery stores. My .02 Good luck.

I was 34 and my wife was 31. I was right where you are right now. Wondering what's going on, and why it hasn't happened yet. I was starting to get a reputation as snobbish, too picky, looking for perfection, etc. Let me say right now, keep going to church, keep praying for that blessing, and it will happen. My wife just appeared in our ward one day from Australia. The circumstances that brought her to my town were crazy. She had other options that were more attractive, but for some reason the spirit was whispering to her to come here. Prayers are answered and yours will be too. Getting married at a later stage in life is a blessing for some of us. I know for a fact that if I had gotten married in my early to mid twenties, it would have been to someone vastly different from my wife. I was still figuring myself out. By my 30's I had a good idea who I was, and was fortunate to find someone who complements me beautifully. Heavenly Father knows you, and knows what you need, and what you want. Hang in there, it will all be worth it.

You are in Australia correct? I use an Australian company called Mediherb for all of my herbs. They are the finest herbal manufacturing company I've ever come across. The quality of the herbs can't be touched. Chaste Tree is a traditional herb used for PMS symptoms for a long time. It is great for the relief of PMS specifically the symptoms of breast tenderness, abdominal bloating, swelling of fingers or ankles, mild anxiety and mild irritability. It sounds however like you wife may need more support than chaste tree alone. Without any further details, I'm guessing, but I would probably also put her on a product called Femco. Femco is Schisandra, White peony, and Shatavari. These herbs are great as a general female tonic and stress support. I use this particularly for women just prior to the years of menopause. It is great for estrogen excess, night sweats, migraine headaches (brought on by hormones only), low libido and fertility issues, as well as many other hormone related issues. The two work great together, but if you had to choose just one, go with the chaste tree. Since the best herbal company in the world is in your back yard, you have nothing to lose. There are no contraindications to taking these products with any medications other than pregnancy and lactation, and you can take them together. If you are interested in facing this problem from a drug free perspective, I would suggest that you look for an herbalist/nutritionist to work with her as well, but these products may help and are completely safe, so maybe try them and see what happens. Seriously, I know I'm just some guy from the internet but if you have not tried herbs, do so. Most people, especially in the USA that claim that herbs don't work, have never had a good product with the proper therapeutic dose. That's why it's necessary to make sure you know what and where you are getting your herbs. Good luck to you and your wife.

mwelch28, I was once much like you. Oddly enough when I was finally old enough to drink at 21, is when I gave it up forever, deciding it was time to live the life I was meant to as a member of the church, and as a Priesthood holder. I'm 36 now, and have not touched it since. Here is my advice for you: GO TO CHURCH You are beginning to understand the importance of chastity and you seem to have true feelings for your girlfriend because you are not willing to take her virtue. You both are obviously going too far, and if you care for her the way it sounds, then you should be able to have an adult conversation with her about how you feel about her, and why you can't continue to have her sleep over. She'll understand and probably fall for you even more that you would so openly and honestly talk about these things with her. You may not yet understand completely why it is so important that you and she remain chaste, but you will if you continue to go to church. Go to church with her. Go to church without her. Go to church and get to know your Bishop. He may want to talk about things that may make you uncomfortable right now, BUT GO TO CHURCH ANYWAYS. Be honest with him about where you are right now. He will always be kind to you and make you feel welcome. If you get blitzed on a Saturday night, reek of alcohol, and are so hungover you're still spinning, get your butt out of bed in the morning and go to church anyways. Church is for everyone, and especially for you right now. A word about Godly sorrow. You are just now becoming more familiar with the spirit, and are just now beginning to see your sins in a new way. I congratulate you that you are coming to these conclusions yourself. I know right where you are. I remember how I also used to say to myself, I'm going back someday. I finally did, and it's been the best thing I've ever done. Godly sorrow will find you, you don't need to look for it or try to find it on you own. GO TO CHURCH and the spirit will touch you and the spirit will not allow these stains to stay with you. When I finally went to my Bishop and repented, I told that man that I barely knew things that I swore I would take to my grave, and settle up with God later. I told him that I couldn't believe I was telling him these things, and let me tell you, I could barely get them out because I was crying so hard. I was truly and deeply sorrowful and needed to come clean to get clean. It was hard, it took time to repair the damage I'd done to myself and others, but it was also an amazing time of my life. The Atonement is for you. It's for all of us. So, please, go to church. You will find that your life can be so much more and we need you.

We've had periods of time when the missionaries came to PEC and didn't. I find that when the missionaries are there, I've had a better relationship with them, and found I was serving the ward mission better because I knew them and saw them. When the missionaries don't attend meetings, as busy as I am on Sunday, I rarely get the chance to talk to them, and I'm ashamed to say there have been periods where I don't even remember their names. So, I believe it's good for the missionaries to attend PEC and ward council because then at least the leadership of the ward is familiar with them and having dialog with them about the work and it feels as if we are all working together for the investigators good. However, it should be said that if you let them the missionaries will take all the time, and very much need direction. It depends on the Bishop, and certainly the Mission President. JMHO.

Read the UltraMind Solution by Mark Hyman, MD. It may answer some of your questions and may allow you to change some things in your lifestyle that can help dramatically.

I'd like to thank everyone who commented in this thread. I was called to serve as the YM president a year and a half ago, and have some issues with scouting as well. I try to keep my opinions to myself, as I don't want to murmur, and I try to serve the Lord as best I can. Half of our boys are interested in the scouting program. Of that half, most of them are involved because their parents are forcing them to be there. So be it, when I was a kid I had to do things that were good for me even if I didn't enjoy it. My point though is that there is no motivation within our troop from the boys to advance and no excitement from them for scouting in general. The leaders (Bishop, myself, scoutmaster, advisers) are dragging these boys through the motions. It is a massive effort to accomplish meager goals. Those boys that are not interested in scouts never come to mutual anymore, because we are always focused on scouts, and we're losing them. The parents of these boys that do come, drop them off and expect us to take care of everything. I could go on, but............ I don't want to, you get the point, and it sounds as if it is not only our unit. I love these boys. I'm frightened for them. As I continue to get to know them, I worry more and more that they are not as prepared for life as I felt we were. Perhaps I have an inflated opinion of our education and preparation. I don't think so. I sense a lack of ambition with our boys for anything. Where is their ambition??? It's for this reason that I continue to use any tool at my disposal to teach them. Scouts and Duty to God are the tools that I have, so I do the best I can with them. I have a testimony and know that scouting can direct and teach and prepare a young man. But that young man has to be self motivated to do so. So, here's the crux of my issues with scouting. I believe that the way we do scouting some times as LDS unit's is a watered down version of scouting. Where I live there are many non LDS troops and they think that we are a complete joke. We are consistently the worst financed troop, and have the least amount of discipline and most often are the least prepared. I know that much of the blame for that can be placed at my feet, but I also see a distinct difference between our troop and non LDS troops. They are volunteers. The leaders and boys scout because they are interested and love it. Our leaders and boys do it because they were called to do so or they turned twelve and are Aaronic Priesthood holders. I will never love scouting. I love the boys and do my best, but I could care less about knots, camping, and merit badges. I would much prefer to see the boys achieve their Duty to God then Eagle scout, and much of the culture of the church seems to have this backwards. Nevertheless, I've been called to this position, the Lord knows me and my weaknesses, so I know I have much to learn and I'm here for a purpose. Perhaps in time my views regarding scouting will change. I just want a program that didn't divide the YM into groups. Scouting and non scouting. It doesn't mean to, but it does. If I try to do fun activities that don't involve scouting I hear "what does ultimate frisby, or dodge ball have to do with achieving merit badges." I just want to keep everyone involved, but I can't convince the boys that want nothing to do with scouts to come anyways and we'll have fun. And I can't blame them. Sorry for the long post and rant. I just feel like the energy that we use to "drag" these boys to different ranks that mean nothing to them that we could do something else that could be fun and help them with their spiritual progression. In the mean time, I'll continue to try to change my attitude. Thanks

Long time lurker here. I just had to thank thekabalist for your amazing insight on the BoM and on other topics. It's been a treat to read each of your posts. I look forward to them each morning. Any ways, thank you, and I look forward to learning more from you. Bacdoc