Why is it important to eat fruit?

Eating fruit provides health benefits — people who eat more fruits and vegetables as part of an overall healthy diet are likely to have a reduced risk of some chronic diseases. Fruits provide nutrients vital for health and maintenance of your body.
Health benefits

• Eating a diet rich in vegetables and fruits as part of an overall healthy diet may reduce risk for heart disease, including heart attack and stroke.
• Eating a diet rich in some vegetables and fruits as part of an overall healthy diet may protect against certain types of cancers.
• Diets rich in foods containing fiber, such as some vegetables and fruits, may reduce the risk of heart disease, obesity, and type 2 diabetes.
• Eating vegetables and fruits rich in potassium as part of an overall healthy diet may lower blood pressure, and may also reduce the risk of developing kidney stones and help to decrease bone loss.
• Eating foods such as fruits that are lower in calories per cup instead of some other higher-calorie food may be useful in helping to lower calorie intake.
• Click here for more information about preventing cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and cancer.

Nutrients

• Most fruits are naturally low in fat, sodium, and calories. None have cholesterol.
• Fruits are sources of many essential nutrients that are underconsumed, including potassium, dietary fiber, vitamin C, and folate (folic acid).
• Diets rich in potassium may help to maintain healthy blood pressure. Fruit sources of potassium include bananas, prunes and prune juice, dried peaches and apricots, cantaloupe, honeydew melon, and orange juice.
• Dietary fiber from fruits, as part of an overall healthy diet, helps reduce blood cholesterol levels and may lower risk of heart disease. Fiber is important for proper bowel function. It helps reduce constipation and diverticulosis. Fiber-containing foods such as fruits help provide a feeling of fullness with fewer calories. Whole or cut-up fruits are sources of dietary fiber; fruit juices contain little or no fiber.
• Vitamin C is important for growth and repair of all body tissues, helps heal cuts and wounds, and keeps teeth and gums healthy.
• Folate (folic acid) helps the body form red blood cells. Women of childbearing age who may become pregnant should consume adequate folate from foods, and in addition 400 mcg of synthetic folic acid from fortified foods or supplements. This reduces the risk of neural tube defects, spina bifida, and anencephaly during fetal development.

Key Consumer Message: Make half your plate fruits and vegetables.

Health benefits and nutrients

Consuming dairy products provides health benefits — especially improved bone health. Foods in the Dairy Group provide nutrients that are vital for health and maintenance of your body. These nutrients include calcium, potassium, vitamin D, and protein.
Health benefits

• Intake of dairy products is linked to improved bone health, and may reduce the risk of osteoporosis.
• The intake of dairy products is especially important to bone health during childhood and adolescence, when bone mass is being built.
• Intake of dairy products is also associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes, and with lower blood pressure in adults.

Nutrients

• Calcium is used for building bones and teeth and in maintaining bone mass. Dairy products are the primary source of calcium in American diets. Diets that provide 3 cups or the equivalent of dairy products per day can improve bone mass.
• Diets rich in potassium may help to maintain healthy blood pressure. Dairy products, especially yogurt, fluid milk, and soymilk (soy beverage), provide potassium.
• Vitamin D functions in the body to maintain proper levels of calcium and phosphorous, thereby helping to build and maintain bones. Milk and soymilk (soy beverage) that are fortified with vitamin D are good sources of this nutrient. Other sources include vitamin D-fortified yogurt and vitamin D-fortified ready-to-eat breakfast cereals.
• Milk products that are consumed in their low-fat or fat-free forms provide little or no solid fat.

Why is it important to make fat-free or low-fat choices from the Dairy Group? Choosing foods from the Dairy Group that are high in saturated fats and cholesterol can have health implications. Diets high in saturated fats raise “bad” cholesterol levels in the blood. The “bad” cholesterol is called LDL (low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol. High LDL cholesterol, in turn, increases the risk for coronary heart disease. Many cheeses, whole milk, and products made from them are high in saturated fat. To help keep blood cholesterol levels healthy, limit the amount of these foods you eat. In addition, a high intake of fats makes it difficult to avoid consuming more calories than are needed.
Key Consumer Message: Switch to fat-free or low-fat (1%) milk.

Why is it important to make lean or low-fat choices from the Protein Foods Group?

Foods in the meat, poultry, fish, eggs, nuts, and seed group provide nutrients that are vital for health and maintenance of your body. However, choosing foods from this group that are high in saturated fat and cholesterol may have health implications.
Nutrients

• Meat, poultry, fish, dry beans and peas, eggs, nuts, and seeds supply many nutrients. These include protein, B vitamins (niacin, thiamin, riboflavin, and B6), vitamin E, iron, zinc, and magnesium.

• Proteins function as building blocks for bones, muscles, cartilage, skin, and blood. They are also building blocks for enzymes, hormones, and vitamins. Proteins are one of three nutrients that provide calories (the others are fat and carbohydrates).
• B vitamins found in this food group serve a variety of functions in the body. They help the body release energy, play a vital role in the function of the nervous system, aid in the formation of red blood cells, and help build tissues.
• Iron is used to carry oxygen in the blood. Many teenage girls and women in their child-bearing years have iron-deficiency anemia. They should eat foods high in heme-iron (meats) or eat other non-heme iron containing foods along with a food rich in vitamin C, which can improve absorption of non-heme iron.
• Magnesium is used in building bones and in releasing energy from muscles.
• Zinc is necessary for biochemical reactions and helps the immune system function properly.
• EPA and DHA are omega-3 fatty acids found in varying amounts in seafood. Eating 8 ounces per week of seafood may help reduce the risk for heart disease.

Health implications

• Diets that are high in saturated fats raise “bad” cholesterol levels in the blood. The “bad” cholesterol is called LDL (low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol. High LDL cholesterol, in turn, increases the risk for coronary heart disease. Some food choices in this group are high in saturated fat. These include fatty cuts of beef, pork, and lamb; regular (75% to 85% lean) ground beef; regular sausages, hot dogs, and bacon; some luncheon meats such as regular bologna and salami; and some poultry such as duck. To help keep blood cholesterol levels healthy, limit the amount of these foods you eat.
• Diets that are high in cholesterol can raise LDL cholesterol levels in the blood. Cholesterol is only found in foods from animal sources. Some foods from this group are high in cholesterol. These include egg yolks (egg whites are cholesterol-free) and organ meats such as liver and giblets. To help keep blood cholesterol levels healthy, limit the amount of these foods you eat.
• A high intake of fats makes it difficult to avoid consuming more calories than are needed.

Why is it important to eat 8 ounces of seafood per week?

• Seafood contains a range of nutrients, notably the omega-3 fatty acids, EPA and DHA. Eating about 8 ounces per week of a variety of seafood contributes to the prevention of heart disease. Smaller amounts of seafood are recommended for young children.
• Seafood varieties that are commonly consumed in the United States that are higher in EPA and DHA and lower in mercury include salmon, anchovies, herring, sardines, Pacific oysters, trout, and Atlantic and Pacific mackerel (not king mackerel, which is high in mercury). The health benefits from consuming seafood outweigh the health risk associated with mercury, a heavy metal found in seafood in varying levels.

What are the benefits of eating nuts and seeds?

• Eating peanuts and certain tree nuts (i.e., walnuts, almonds, and pistachios) may reduce the risk of heart disease when consumed as part of a diet that is nutritionally adequate and within calorie needs. Because nuts and seeds are high in calories, eat them in small portions and use them to replace other protein foods, like some meat or poultry, rather than adding them to what you already eat. In addition, choose unsalted nuts and seeds to help reduce sodium intakes.

Why is it important to eat vegetables?

Eating vegetables provides health benefits — people who eat more vegetables and fruits as part of an overall healthy diet are likely to have a reduced risk of some chronic diseases. Vegetables provide nutrients vital for health and maintenance of your body.
Health benefits

• Eating a diet rich in vegetables and fruits as part of an overall healthy diet may reduce risk for heart disease, including heart attack and stroke.
• Eating a diet rich in some vegetables and fruits as part of an overall healthy diet may protect against certain types of cancers.
• Diets rich in foods containing fiber, such as some vegetables and fruits, may reduce the risk of heart disease, obesity, and type 2 diabetes.
• Eating vegetables and fruits rich in potassium as part of an overall healthy diet may lower blood pressure, and may also reduce the risk of developing kidney stones and help to decrease bone loss.
• Eating foods such as vegetables that are lower in calories per cup instead of some other higher-calorie food may be useful in helping to lower calorie intake.
• Click here for more information about preventing cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and cancer.

Nutrients

• Most vegetables are naturally low in fat and calories. None have cholesterol. (Sauces or seasonings may add fat, calories, or cholesterol.)
• Vegetables are important sources of many nutrients, including potassium, dietary fiber, folate (folic acid), vitamin A, and vitamin C.
• Diets rich in potassium may help to maintain healthy blood pressure. Vegetable sources of potassium include sweet potatoes, white potatoes, white beans, tomato products (paste, sauce, and juice), beet greens, soybeans, lima beans, spinach, lentils, and kidney beans.
• Dietary fiber from vegetables, as part of an overall healthy diet, helps reduce blood cholesterol levels and may lower risk of heart disease. Fiber is important for proper bowel function. It helps reduce constipation and diverticulosis. Fiber-containing foods such as vegetables help provide a feeling of fullness with fewer calories.
• Folate (folic acid) helps the body form red blood cells. Women of childbearing age who may become pregnant should consume adequate folate from foods, and in addition 400 mcg of synthetic folic acid from fortified foods or supplements. This reduces the risk of neural tube defects, spina bifida, and anencephaly during fetal development.
• Vitamin A keeps eyes and skin healthy and helps to protect against infections.
• Vitamin C helps heal cuts and wounds and keeps teeth and gums healthy. Vitamin C aids in iron absorption.

Key Consumer Message: Make half your plate fruits and vegetables.

Bored with Vermont and Colorado? Enceladus [en-SELL-ah-dus] has snow with grain finer than talcum powder, only a frac­tion of a mil­li­me­ter in size, it is perfect for skiing. Because Enceladus reflects almost 100 percent of the sunlight, it is one of the brightest objects in our solar system and, the surface temperature is extremely cold, about -330° F.
Soooo, such a bright spot in our solar system should be easy to find. Space suits won’t remain bulky forever. There are lots of space plane designs in the works, and distances can always be overcome once we get past our cuts-only approach to fiscal prudence. From the looks of the surface you won’t be the first, but you may be the first in your neighborhood to ski Saturn’s moons. Seriously, are you a committed skier or not?  — Bob Kalk

The Aevia Group and Ascension University are organizing Curricular Focus Teams in an ongoing effort to insure the essential curriculum is always given the proper attention in course development. The Values Affirmation Network (VAN), is one such curriculum management component and the team will operate as part of the College of Revealed Cosmology.
The philosophical and spiritual overtones focus specifically on the meaning and value of Enduring Peace as characterized by Common Concerns, Sensitive Communications, and Impartial Judgment.
The managerial and scientific focus is concentrated on facts favoring the adoption of higher values as well as the sharing of such values.
In November of 2008, the Lead Trustee for the soon to be established Aevia Charitable Trust (The ACT), gave a talk reminding us that “we are as fishers of men stationed along a highly intricate network designed and maintained by Our Heavenly Father. As we become authenticated; as the potentials of intellectual theology give way to actual faith; and as we come into alignment with the things, meanings and values that are the design criteria for His Universe, we will discover the keys to knowing His will in every situation.” The talk also included the following statement:

“While the avowed atheist will seek some form of subjective gratification by confiding in postulates or getting in touch with his inner cookie, we can enjoy true objective satisfaction with our living, loving Heavenly Father through the high privilege of worship and prayer. We strike step with Eternity by looking to the One through Worship. This essential communion is prerequisite to getting the most from the essential curriculum.

Remember the old children’s rhyme? We said: “Here’s the church, and here’s the steeple. Open the door and see all the people.” By this definition the church’s light is contained. It is simply a religious liberty zone that is not worth persecuting for it is almost entirely consumed with serving the institution. It is polite and moreover, it is harmless.

Jesus asked: “But if this salt has lost its savor, wherewith shall it be salted?” The act of taking communion is no substitute for maintaining unbroken communion. No longer will it suffice to read the periodicals biblically and the bible periodically. Actively engaging in worship and service has meaning far beyond that of the worship service. In the new paradigm there is simply no way to compartmentalize our faith. The love Jesus demonstrated cannot be contained, for it is the most powerful force in all the universe.”

You can listen to or download the full audio of this keynote address here:

Working the Net as Fishers of Men

 
Aevia — Consider the Source

© 2011 The Aevia Charitable Trust — Robert H. Kalk – Lead Trustee

The Aevia Group and Ascension University are organizing Curricular Focus Teams in an ongoing effort to insure the essential curriculum is always given the proper attention in course development. A Ministry of Mercy (MOM), is one such curriculum management component and the team will operate as part of the School for Service to All.
The philosophical and spiritual overtones focus specifically on the meaning and value of Merciful Ministry as characterized by Sympathetic Understanding, Enveloping Tenderness , and Inspiring Beauty.
The managerial and scientific focus is concentrated on facts concerning the nurturing role of mothers and others engaged in the role of child rearing.
In November of 2008, the Lead Trustee for the soon to be established Aevia Charitable Trust (The ACT), gave a talk describing the importance of forgiveness. And, how if we were to condition our forgiveness on another’s repentance, we would find ourselves judging someone, their sincerity, or the quality of their repentance. The talk included the following statement:

“Consider also, the example Jesus gave about the man who steals your coat. By the Master’s admonition, in our time we would likely give the thief a set of matching gloves and perhaps even a scarf for a dash of color. Now would we do this simply to keep from getting shot or is there a larger principle involved? I believe our act of kindness in the face of such evil is the peacemaker’s equivalent of shock and awe. It would serve to challenge the righteousness of the self-centered thief. And even though it may not spur in him an instant conversion to altruistic hero, it also won’t support his notion that everyone’s in it for themselves. He has, at least, one unsettling example of a fellow human being acting unselfishly. Until he grows to understand your motivation, the unusual experience will be hard to reconcile in his mind.”

You can listen to or download the full audio of this keynote address here:

A Ministry of Mercy

 
Aevia — Consider the Source

© 2011 The Aevia Charitable Trust — Robert H. Kalk – Lead Trustee

The Aevia Group and Ascension University are organizing Curricular Focus Teams in an ongoing effort to insure the essential curriculum is always given the proper attention in course development. The Master Experience Key (MEK), is one such curriculum management component and the team will operate as part of the Aevia Institutes of Management.
The philosophical and spiritual overtones focus specifically on the meaning and value of Forgiving Tolerance as characterized by Balanced Perspective. Resourceful Accuracy, and Resilient Structuring.
The managerial and scientific focus is concentrated on facts concerning the arts and sciences of human endeavor with special emphasis on the building of indexes, cross references and thesauruses.
In November of 2008, the Lead Trustee for the soon to be established Aevia Charitable Trust (The ACT), gave a talk describing how the question of net-neutrality will be pivotal to future societal evolution. The talk included the following statement:

“Suppose someone posted an article on the Life of Jesus. The relevance rankings would determine your ability to find it using a search service. These rankings are conditioned by the search algorithms, some group’s doctrine concerning reliable sources and of course the quality of the subject article. If, for example, George Costanza is the relevance guy at VeryBigSearchEngine.com, a search on major celebrations during December would likely place Festivus at the top of the results page and Christmas might not place at all. This could be simply because the editor placed the birth of Jesus in August and ignored the tradition of celebrating in December. The essay titled Birth of Jesus may not even be indexed depending on the attitude towards religion or the editorial policies of the search service provider.

When we move beyond individual or institutional attitudes, beyond vestings and bias factors, we also encounter maintenance issues. A large thesaurus contains tens of thousands of synonyms and hundreds of thousands of cross references. It is just one part of the server-side system that produces search results based on input. On the client-side we have the person authoring, packaging and submitting the article. While the content of the article itself should be the primary relevance factor; naming, tagging and formatting also affect placement in search results to varying degrees.”

You can listen to or download the full audio of this keynote address here:

The Master Experience Key

 
Aevia — Consider the Source

© 2011 The Aevia Charitable Trust — Robert H. Kalk – Lead Trustee

The Aevia Group and Ascension University are organizing Curricular Focus Teams in an ongoing effort to insure the essential curriculum is always given the proper attention in course development. Deep Abiding Devotion (DAD), is one such curriculum management component and the team and will operate as part of the School for Service to All.
The philosophical and spiritual overtones focus specifically on the meaning and value of Unselfish Devotion as characterized by Divine Guidance, Patient Foresight, and Supportive Encouragement.
The managerial and scientific focus is concentrated on facts concerning the nurturing role of fathers and others engaged in the role of child rearing.
In November of 2008, the Lead Trustee for the soon to be established Aevia Charitable Trust (The ACT), gave a talk on the importance of remaining teachable. The talk included the following statement:

Appreciation must be carefully cultivated. A deep abiding devotion is patient. And those who lovingly nurture and teach wait for the teachable moment. When we arrive at that place where echoes shine and reflections ring, then we will know something about the path to enlightenment.

Winning souls cleanly is what counts. It is accomplished without coercion, compulsion or deception. We enter the Kingdom through faith. Fear is an unworthy motivator for no Heavenly covenant is secured under duress. Whether we win or lose in such cases is entirely dependent on the free will of the person that would be re-born. But it is also mightily influenced by our clear intent, our true motivation and our willingness to go the extra mile in the spiritual equivalent of neonatal care. Just how intensive such care should be is always a matter for extensive prayer.

You can listen to or download the full audio of this keynote address here:

Deep Abiding Devotion

 
Aevia — Consider the Source

© 2011 The Aevia Charitable Trust — Robert H. Kalk – Lead Trustee

The Aevia Group and Ascension University are organizing Curricular Focus Teams in an ongoing effort to insure the essential curriculum is always given the proper attention in course development. The Advanced Necessities Guide (ANG), is one such curriculum management component and the team and will operate as part of the School for Service to All.
The philosophical and spiritual overtones focus specifically on the meaning and value of Unfailing Goodness as characterized by Thoughtful Preparedness, Resourceful Adaptability, and Industrious Tenacity.
The managerial and scientific focus is concentrated on facts promoting personal health and welfare for a great humanity.
In November of 2008, the Lead Trustee for the soon to be established Aevia Charitable Trust (The ACT), gave a talk on the importance of work if one is to maintain a faith that is vibrantly alive. The talk included the following statement:

“The necessities of life work to keep us reality centered. And challenges are an important part of our discipleship. Just as actual experience is the master of all teachers, the Spirit of Truth will guide us through those experiences that are the most meaningful. And, throughout our efforts to apply the most appropriate levers of social uplift, this very same spiritual helper will be the power multiplying fulcrum.

Only God can grow us and only God can heal us. But we can set the stage for, and promote the growth and healing of, individuals and nations. We can teach the art and science of advancing individuals and civilization away from darkness and death towards the Source of higher values and an era of light and life. To do this we must renew our focus on subjecting the animal nature to the mastery of the Spirit. And we must move away from unbridled profiteering to higher types of incentive and motivation.”

You can listen to or download the full audio of this keynote address here:

Seed Bearing Fruit – The Original Food Drop

 
Aevia — Consider the Source

© 2011 The Aevia Charitable Trust — Robert H. Kalk – Lead Trustee