Gluten Free Menu Offered to Hawk Circle Campers this Summer!

Over the years, I have noticed more and more kids coming to our summer camp requiring a gluten free diet. Last year, when we had six people here who were in need of gluten free meals, I realized that this phenomenon was only going to continue to grow. It not only gave me the realization that we needed to do more to accommodate this growing need, but it also inspired me to search for answers as to why having an allergy or a sensitivity to wheat was on such the rise.

I found it odd that wheat being one of our oldest grains, certainly not the oldest, but definitely one of the oldest grains was giving people so many problems. After doing some research, the information that I found to make the most sense was research done by Dr. William Davis, author of Wheat Belly.

In Dr. Davis' book, he explains that with the efforts in the mid 1900's to solve the problem of world hunger, scientists developed thousands of new strains of wheat through plant hybridization. While the new strains offered high yields, particularly the semi-dwarf wheat plant that now comprise more than 99% of all the wheat grown worldwide, they are altered so much from their original ancestors, that it's practically a different plant all together.

One of the most dramatic changes is with the gluten proteins. As Dr. Davis says, "when compared to century-old strains of wheat, modern strains of Triticum aestivum express a higher quantity of genes for gluten proteins that are associated with celiac disease". Along with an increase in gluten proteins, the hybrid wheat plants are completely reliant on human assistance for their survival and can not survive in the wild as did their ancestors.

I am just giving you a very small sampling of the information that is in Dr. William Davis' book, Wheat Belly. And this book's focus is not on celiac disease or gluten sensitivities, but instead offers a variety of information that links many ailments from arthritis to diabetes to the consumption of our modern day wheat. It gave me a better understanding why sensitivities to gluten are on the rise. So Hawk Circle's contribution to this dilemma is to offer a gluten free menu this summer in hopes that it will support the families who have children with wheat allergies and sensitivities.

The Healing Magic of Essential Oils

I've been using essential oils in supporting my family's wellness for the past few years. I started using them in the creams, oils and herbal salves that I make mainly for their beautiful scents and purity. However, after traveling to Egypt and seeing hieroglyphs containing vessels of what appeared to be healing oils, my interest was peaked. I began doing a much more in depth study of the use of essential oils through out the ages and I have found working with them to be nothing short of magical!

I have many favorite oils that I have used to support my family's immune system as well as emotional stress. But my favorite oil for its many uses and beautiful aroma is lavender. It's a great stress reducer, as the molecules of pure essential oils are so small that they can penetrate the "blood brain barrier" having wonderful healing effects that work directly with our brain, bringing peace to our emotional center. Aside from relieving stress, I have found lavender to be a must have in your natural medicine cabinet for a variety of other uses. It is one of the few oils that can be put directly onto open wounds.

This summer, Ric had a very sharp chisel slip, leaving a significant gash across his stomach that in hindsight should have had stitches. I immediately reached for my lavender oil and put it right on the open wound and then covered it with bandages. I continued this for a couple days until Ric had had enough of smelling like a flower. The wound had very little to no redness around it and was not sensitive to the touch; it healed beautifully!

Lavender is also very good for burns. I've applied it directly to burns to help heal and relieve the sensitivity. It's also great mixed with a bit of water and poured into a spray bottle for relieving sunburns.

I'm adding lavender to our Hawk Circle infirmary this summer to help us take care of any minor cuts and abrasions as well as sunburned campers.