Desert Messenger

24 www.DesertMessenger.com November 6, 2019 UNCERTAINTY By Jackie Deal Uncertainty. Is "uncertainty" a basic human emotion? Well, if it isn't (and it isn't) maybe it should be. Check out "basic human emotions" on the internet and you get this: love, joy, surprise, fear, sadness, disgust, shame and pride. Hmm. Right now I'm dealing with uncertainty and it sure feels like it's basic! Let's get the story straight before folks start asking "What fl owers did she like?" or begin planning my memorial service. (Got your attention, didn't I?) I planned to leave Oregon and head for Quartzsite Oct. 22 but my plans were waylaid by an innocent letter that came late Friday evening. "Your recent mammogram...requires ad- ditional imaging studies for a complete evaluation." All medical offi ces are closed late Friday evening so I waited until 8:01 a.m. Monday and started calling. After much pleading, a repeat evaluation was scheduled for Tuesday morning and it resulted in an ultrasound Tuesday afternoon. A very young and handsome doctor talked with me after the study and the result is I'm awaiting a biopsy next Monday. I won't know the results 'til Wednesday. Uncertainty!! A report of negative (that means no cancer) or positive (yep, cancer) hangs in the balance 'til then. Making this doubly diffi cult is my almost insane desire to get down to Quartzsite before the winter snows choke the mountain passes (two of them I must traverse.) It might be easier to deal with the eight basic emotions listed. But uncer- tainty? Being a rational person I tell myself that fear and sadness are not appropriate; certainly the other basic emotions aren't appropriate. So where am I? In limbo. Limbo? My old dictionary habit, now replaced by Google, rears its ugly head and I check the internet. "An intermediate, transitional, or mid- way state or place." Sheesh! Intermediate? I'm a little too old for that. Midway? Between what and what? That leaves transitional; which really isn't so bad. Every day of our lives is a transition. We move from child- hood to adult hood and all the gray areas in between. This is just another transition; the only problem is I can't see the end of it. But then have we ever seen the end of a year, a week or even a day? So, Quartzsite hear I come…maybe. We'll see. Uncertain, that's all. Travelogue 2019 Stevia...plain & simple! Stevia is a member of the chrysan- themum family and a member of the subgroup of the ragweed fam- ily. The leaves are THE sweet part everyone seems to want. There are basically three types of stevia that is commercially available: green leaf, stevia extract and stevia blends. Many of the commercial stevia blends contain very little of the ac- tual stevia plant. Sometimes they have been altered so they contain chemical solvents. Stevia's glycosides is the compo- nent in the plant that is responsible for its sweetness. Specifi cally they are: stevioside, rebaudioside (which have 5 variations: A, B, C, D, E and F), steviolbioside and isosteviol. These active compounds, mainly the stevioside and the rebaudioside, contain 30-150 times the sweetness of sugar. They are heat stable, pH stable, but not fermentable. The body doesn't metabolize the glyco- sides so it contains zero calories. Now stevioside is sweet, but has a bitter licorice aftertaste. The re- baudiosides are sweet with no bit- terness and are usually present in highly refi ned commercial stevia products. When companies make their version of the sweetener, the plant is subjected to a water extrac- tion process. During this process, it loses about 50% of the rebaudioside A. They separate the various glyco- sides & are then purifi ed via a crys- tallization technique using ethanol or methanol as a solvent. Yummm, sounds like something I want to put into my body regularly...not!! So stevia extracts & derivatives are produced industrially and marketed under different trade names. It's also a good source of polyphe- nols, carotenoids, chlorophyll com- pounds & amino acids making the whole plant the optimum choice to add to your diet instead of processed down sugar & toxic sweeteners. It's interesting that the only part of stevia that's been approved by the FDA is the highly processed pow- der form of stevia. Which is chemically processed, contains genetically modifi ed ingredients (GMO's) and often only con- tains minute traces of actual stevia!!! Recent studies have found that ste- via has the potential to terminate chronic Lyme disease, which a 2-4 week round of antibiotics some- times can and sometimes can't de- feat this tricky bacteria. Stevia leaf extract is rich in many phytonutri- ents that are known antimicrobial agents to help get rid of most per- sistent forms of Lyme disease. This study even found how the extract could help lower high blood pres- sure and reduce blood glucose in Type II diabetics, help in weight loss and contains anticancer properties. Just a pinch of stevia powder is equal to about 1 tsp. of sugar. Do not use if pregnant, especially if it's the commercial type. Disclaimer: This is not meant to treat, cure, heal or diagnose any type of illness or disease. It is for in- formational purposes only. For more information, contact Herbmama at 580-490-1770 or go to www.herbs-4-health.com. Be sure to 'like' us on FB! Herbmama Got events? List for free! Are you planning a new or recurring event in Quartzsite this season? Please consider sharing the dates now, as folks are planning their winter trips. QuartzsiteCalendar.com is a FREE service to list your special events, workshops, classes, music jams, bingos, entertainment, pot lucks, picnics, gatherings, fundraisers, ice cream socials, meetings, etc. SUBMIT your events for FREE today! Click "Submit Event" at www.QuartzsiteCalendar.com. Quartzsite Community Thrift Store wants to let all folks know of our expansion. We are opening into the adjoining store! Come by for a look-see and a free hug. Located at 425 E. Main Street, we're open Thurs. Fri. Sat. 9am to 1pm. Community Thrift Store updates Read Desert MESSENGER ONLINE @ DesertMessengerOnline.com

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