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January 6, 2021 www.DesertMessenger.com 21 While Christmas lights still twinkle HerbMama Canola Oil... Harmful or beneficial? ROUND DANCE LESSONS Starting Monday, January 4, 2021 MONDAYS & WEDNESDAYS 3-4 PM (Right After Square Dance Lessons) What is Round Dancing? It‛s pre-choreographed Ball Room Dancing and is cued so you don‛t have to remember every dance you learn! AT THE QIA (Quartzsite Improvement Assoc.) 235 E. Ironwood St., Quartzsite, AZ Callers/Instructors Rick & Kathy Utter 208-267-5315 READER'S OASIS BOOKS 690 E. Main - Quartzsite (one block east of Family Dollar) Are you on the fence as to weather canola oil is full of the healthful benefi ts they are saying?? Some say it's poison & contains the same sub- stance as the warfare agent mustard gas, is responsible for most maladies from mad cow to blindness. Then again, some say it's one of the health- iest foods around as it contains high levels of omega 3's, low in saturated fat & excellent source of oleic acid. It's the 3rd most produced vege- table oil. Canola meal is one of the most common protein meals on the planet, 2nd only to soy. First off, there's no such thing as canola meal. The canola plant doesn't actually exist! It's derived from the rapeseed plant which is a member of the mustard family. Re- searchers found out how to chemi- cally engineer it to meet the FDA standards for human consumption. Rapeseed has signifi cant health risks due to high levels of erucic acid, a monosaturated omega 9. It's found in soaps, lipstick, lip gloss, printer ink, biofuels, insecticides and more! When it's fi nally broken down, it's one of the largest contributors to the omega 3 & omega 6 imbalances. The ration of omega 6 to omega 3 should actually be like a 20:1 ratio. That imbalance can cause infl am- mation, chronic diseases & auto- immune diseases. By Jackie Deal While a few Christmas lights still twinkle and the Christmas din- ner pounds abound, let's think of Christmas Past. I remember three kinds of Christmases; perhaps you'll remember them too. There's the Minnesota Christmas: COLD,Cold cold. The Oregon Christmas: rainy, wet, foggy. And the Arizona Christ- mas: cactus, palm trees and sand. You may have known them by other names but the surroundings were probably similar. The Minne- sota Christmas always meant snow, in fact after I moved from Minne- sota I just couldn't feel Christmassy until I saw some snow. However, the most snow I ever saw was in New Hampshire where I spent one winter. In the morning, ready to go to work, you open the door and there's nothing but white, white, white. The snow was deeper than the door! It was nothing to walk in snow up to your waist. One winter was enough! Oregon, the Willamette and Umpqua River valleys, where I've experienced many Christmases is stingy with its snow. Rain and fog are normal. The fog lifts and drops and the scenery changes: sometimes you're surrounded by mountains and other times, noth- ing exists but your own driveway. It's really rather enchanting. And the rain, there are different kinds of rain. My favorite is the soft, gentle mist-like rain that makes you lift your face and say "Oh, isn't this a lovely, nice rain." Of course, there's also the blasting horizontally driven downpour that makes you wonder why you don't live in Arizona! Christmas in Arizona? Awe, total- ly different. Twinkle lights nestled in palm trees and adorning cac- tus. There's nothing like it! Santa doesn't come on a sleigh, maybe a hay wagon pulled by a camel. It can get a little crispy, cold (not by Min- nesota standards!) and winter jack- ets feel good. Once, just once, I saw snow on the desert fl oor and spar- kling on the cactus: what a novel sight! But if you're waiting for snow, you'll miss Christmas. Now I know, Northern Arizona in the mountains does have snow but they don't share it with the valley and the deserts. Whatever, wherever your Christ- mas, this was the year of the Covid Christmas for all of us. So let's look ahead: Covid can't last forever. It will be contained faster if we all do our part. You know the drill: masks, wash hands, 6 feet apart. This too shall pass but Christmas? Awe, it will last forever. It's a GMO & a Canadian invention backed by the Canadian govern- ment. It's cheap to produce. Many packaged or process foods con- tain it. In 1998 the most disease & drought resistant canola variety to date was developed using genetic modifi cation. A type of vegetable oil, the canola plant was derived from the rape- seed's seeds in order to produce a food grade oil with lower erucic ac- ids. End result is a high omega 6 fat content. Eurcic acid has been linked to heart damage and found in rape- seed & mustard oils. The oil is made by refi ning, bleaching & deoderiz- ing. A solvent called hexane chemi- cally extracts the oil from seeds. Over 90% is grown in the U.S. & is genetically modifi ed. It's the 2nd largest oil crop in the world. Aside from small amounts of Vit. E & K, it's devoid of vitamins & minerals. They use high amounts of it to make canola butter which the public thinks is more healthy than regular butter, but it isn't. Health hazards include increased infl ammation, impact on memory & heart health. It's just not a healthy oil to be consuming. There are many other healthy oils out there such as avocado, coconut, olive, ghee, but- ter, fl axseed, hemp seed & red palm (certifi ed sustainable). Disclaimer: This is not meant to treat, cure, heal or diagnose any type of illness or disease as it is for infor- mational 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! too much junk? CLEAN OUT THAT GARAGE List your items in Desert Messenger CLASSIFIEDS Email Editor@DesertMessenger.com or CALL RAIN @ 928-916-4235

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