**This post is part of the Get Real series. Please remember that this is meant as a learning community. We know that many of you are passionate about what you do and we want you to express that, just please do so in a way that will be an encouragement and aid to others making a transition. We want this to be a “safe space” for participants to learn. For that reason, we reserve the right to delete any comments that are not handled in this manner.
This is a guest post from Sue Becker of Bread Beckers, our February product sponsor. I have met Sue on several occasions and am always drawn in for her passion for whole foods and educating the public on their benefits. Well, I will let you see for yourself. . .
It is very difficult for me to condense into a few words what I would like to share about a subject that I have studied for more than 20 years – the nutritional benefits of real whole grains. As I struggled to choose the most important nuggets of truth, two words kept coming to my mind: hope and encouragement.
I meet so many people who are very discouraged and have lost hope, mostly because of health challenges they are facing. As Americans, we live in the sickest, yet most affluent nation in the world. Most of us have friends, loved ones, family members, or even ourselves who are struggling with serious or even life-threatening health issues. Many of us have children who are chronically ill and seem to live from one doctor visit to the next or perhaps we have the common complaints, such as reflux, sinus congestion, or bowel issues that are just considered part of life these days.
I understand. I have been there. As a wife for nearly 37 years, mother of 9 children, and grandmother to 6 (so far), I have faced many challenges. But I have learned that chronic sickness does not have to be a part of everyday life. Twenty years ago I was introduced to a healthy eating concept that radically changed my life and the health of my family. I learned that:
- Whole grains are the most nutrient-dense food we have been given.
- Real whole grain flour spoils quickly.
- Only when whole grains are freshly milled do they contain all their life-giving nutrients.
- Prior to the 1900s, most bread baked in this country was made at home from freshly milled flour.
- 100 years ago, America was the healthiest country in the world.
- 100 years ago, our ancestors, ate a diet consisting mostly of whole grains and real fruits and vegetables.
- 100 years ago, Americans did not suffer from cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and obesity like we do today.
- The common diseases that plague most of us are directly related to our consumption of commercially milled flour and processed grain products – even products labeled whole grain.
With a degree in Food Science and a background in physiology and biochemistry, I was surprised that I had never put these pieces of the health puzzle together. I was introduced to the concept of milling my own flour at home to make all the bread for my family. I purchased a small in-home grain mill and began to mill my own flour to make all the bread, muffins, pancakes, and cookies for my young family. I had 5 young children at the time.
This was the only change I made to our diet at the time. The health benefits were immediate and very noticeable. On the first day alone, my own bowel issues were resolved, and I had a noticeable increase in energy. By the end of the first month, not only had my constipation been relieved and energy levels increased, but also my sugar cravings had greatly diminished, my frequent headaches were gone, and my dependence on antihistamines eliminated.
The overall health of my children was drastically improved. No more snotty noses, chronic sniffles, and ear infections, or catching every “bug” that came around. Even one of my children’s warts went away. If we did get sick, we got well more quickly with no need for medical intervention. In fact, in the past 20 years, my children have only needed to visit a doctor 4 times for an illness. We have not needed an antihistamine or decongestant of any kind in the past 20 years!
Health alone was worth the endeavor, BUT the bread was also delicious! In fact, it was the best bread I had ever tasted. My kids loved it. This was healthy food my entire family would eat and enjoy. Needless to say, I became very excited. I began to share my delicious bread with others. As I shared, one by one, others began to notice improved health as well. One by one, they asked me “where can I buy a grain mill” and “will you teach me how to make bread”.
In November of 1992, the vision of teaching others to make bread from freshly milled flour was birthed in my heart. My husband and I started The Bread Beckers, from our tiny 1300 square foot home with a customer base of 4 and now six young children. As others shared their own testimonies of improved health with me, I would study my physiology and biochemistry books to discover what was in whole grains that could produce such noticeable and varied health improvements. I began to share the truths that I learned. My lectures on bread grew longer and longer as I put the pieces of the health puzzle together. As I shared my finding with others, it was like scales dropped from their eyes, and they could see the truth as well.
Bread Beckers Getting Started Video Class Online
Our business began to grow mostly from my teaching and the testimonies of others. Today The Bread Beckers, Inc. occupies 18,000 square feet of retail/warehouse space in Woodstock, GA. We are both a grain and whole foods supplier as well as a kitchen store. We have over 100 grain co-ops that we serve every quarter throughout the eastern United States. We teach healthy cooking classes that are taught both live in our store and web-streamed.
In 2005, our older children bought a bakery, with a passion to make real whole grain bread more readily available. They grind the flour fresh the day they make the bread. Visit them online at The Real Bread Company.
Over the years, we have seen countless lives changed and health issues resolved. I have been committed to healthy eating for more than 30 years. I have never seen one dietary change bring such immediate and noticeable health benefits. Over and over the words we hear, as people share with excitement, are, “all I changed was the bread…”.
So if you want to radically change your life and the health of your family, all I can say is, “Buy a GRAIN MILL”. You may be thinking this seems too hard or extreme. But we at the Bread Beckers are committed to coming alongside you and help you in your journey. Please visit our website and be sure to request a copy of my free 90 minute CD on the health benefits of freshly milled whole grains.
February Get Real:
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