Let's start with the bad. I know I've pointed this out before, but if you are drinking store bought apple juice or giving it to your kids MAKE SURE THE APPLES COME FROM THE US and preferably are organic. Apples from China and Argentina have wickedly high levels of arsenic. Yes I said Arsenic! Bad juice! Bad Bad!
I have also talked about juicing a little along the way, but I'll focus more on it here because a couple of friends are now jumping on the juice program.
Pam and I drink 2 juices a day as part of our diet. The "morning" juice is roughly 50% carrots with one red beet and its' greens, a 1 inch chunk of ginger, 1/2 lemon and 1/2 lime. Many people just starting add an apple to that juice to make it a little sweeter. I use ONLY ORGANIC produce.
Our "afternoon" juice has spinach, kale, 1 golden beet, 1 inch of ginger, 1/2 lemon, 1/2 lime, a pear, and a good size chunk of fennel along with the stalk and greens.
If you add both drink we are eating the following:
10-12 medium Carrots
1 Red beet
1 Golden Beet
2 inches of ginger
1 lemon
1 lime
2 cups of Spinach
2 cups of Kale
1 Pear.
I'm pretty sure that is more than the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables.
Why juice? First. They taste great! The are an easy way to get the fruits and veggies you need. Since they aren't cooked, you get micro nutrients that are killed by cooking. Some sources refer to them as enzymes but the end result is the same.
A ton or research has been done in the last decade focused on "Phytochemicals." They have shown the ability to both stave off and cure virtually every chronic disease including asthma and arthritis and virtually every cancer. We all know by now that a plant based diet will turn most diabetics around in about a month.
The phytochemicals that researchers have uncovered are changing
the way we think about fruits and vegetables. Broccoli contains a substance that can prevent and cure breast cancer.
Citrus fruits make it easier for your body to remove
carcinogens, decreasing the chance of getting cancer.
Grapes, beets,and leafy greens contain a
phytochemical that protects each cells' DNA from damage.
The list goes on and on of produce and health benefits.
The Machine:
While it is hard to argue with Jack Lalane - he did live a long healthy life - his machine heats the produce because it runs at high RPMS. The other thing you can't do with those machines is greens. There is a ton of calcium and magnesium in leafy greens. That is the best way to get your calcium.
What we settled on is a low RPM single auger dual action juicer. Ours is an Omega 8003, but there are others that work the same way. The work by first slow grinding the produce and then pressing it to extract the juice. It won't make soup or ice cream, but the juice will be the most nutritious.
I'm not saying that you should juice all of your produce. There are benefits to eating an apple. The fiber is soluble that way as opposed to once juiced.
If you elect to buy non organic produce you must peel it. Citrus holds 90% of the pesticide in the peel. Strawberries grown with pesticides are not something I would EVER eat. The skin is way too porous so the pesticides get in and stay in.
On the other hand, if you buy all organics a quick wash is all you need. The citrus can be 100% juiced so you get the benefits of the zest as well.
There is a lot of talk these days about "detoxing." There is no better way to do this than juicing. We did a 3 day detox last year during New Years. We each lost weight, but the best part was the restart on your appetite and the instant adjustment your palate goes through. You lose the taste for fat, salty and sweet right away. We plan to juice through New Years again this year. I would be glad to pass on the program to anyone who is interested.
For a recent party we made an apple cranberry juice that didn't last long. The best part was no added sugar (most juice is laden with high fructose corn syrup) or chemicals.
Good juicers are $200 plus. They have 10 year warranties also. Here's a link to a site that has a bunch. We bought ours off Amazon. com. http://www.discountjuicers.com/
More soon....
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Bottles Problem
Don't buy bottled water. Don't drink bottled water. Now that we have that established we can move on.
I know all of the reasons why you are doing it. Just don't do it anymore.
Water is a finite resource contrary to what most of us were taught. They are likely still teaching kids that whole story of the rain falling and refreshing the soil and then evaporating and the cycle starts over.
It is not true anymore. We have diverted,dammed, paved and otherwise blocked that process from working properly. We lose ground water sources regularly. The next time you hear about a sink hole opening and swallowing up a house ask what used to be where the sink hole was? That would be ground water.
To get all of that lovely water in the bottles they pump it from lakes, rivers, and reservoirs. When I say "they" I refer to Pepsi and Coke and the like. We went and got all conscious of what we were drinking so they moved to cover that need as well by selling us what we can pour from our own pipes at home. We are just lazy enough to follow them in a lemming line and pony up our dough for it.
This is the easiest form of water privatization for us to fight, and we NEED to fight corporate control of water. Watch "Water Wars" and "Thirst" for more reasons to worry about privatization.
Here are some practical considerations.
1. The water in the bottles is no different than your tap water. If yours needs filtering go get a Brita filter or a GE whole house filter setup from Home Depot. They take very little time to install and are less than $50 with filters being about $10 for a filter good for 90 days.
2. The plastic in the bottles and sometimes even the water is bad for you. BPA is often present in the plastic bottles as well as other chemicals that you likely don't want to consume or feed your kids. In some cases pathogens have been found in the water as well.
3. 2.5 Million extra pieces of trash in the US every year. That is how many bottles we are talking about. The landfills are full and they just pay lip service to recycling plastic. It can take as much as 7 times the amount of water to make the plastic bottle than the bottle can hold.
4. $$$$ Tap water costs $.0002 per gallon as opposed to up to $8.26 per gallon for bottled water.
What should you do? Go to REI or somewhere like that and buy a BPA free water bottle for everyone in the family. Other options include stainless bottles from Costco or wherever. Either add a home filtration system or use a filter pitcher setup if you don't like your tap water. Don't let our want of convenience override our sense of right and wrong.
More soon...
I know all of the reasons why you are doing it. Just don't do it anymore.
Water is a finite resource contrary to what most of us were taught. They are likely still teaching kids that whole story of the rain falling and refreshing the soil and then evaporating and the cycle starts over.
It is not true anymore. We have diverted,dammed, paved and otherwise blocked that process from working properly. We lose ground water sources regularly. The next time you hear about a sink hole opening and swallowing up a house ask what used to be where the sink hole was? That would be ground water.
To get all of that lovely water in the bottles they pump it from lakes, rivers, and reservoirs. When I say "they" I refer to Pepsi and Coke and the like. We went and got all conscious of what we were drinking so they moved to cover that need as well by selling us what we can pour from our own pipes at home. We are just lazy enough to follow them in a lemming line and pony up our dough for it.
This is the easiest form of water privatization for us to fight, and we NEED to fight corporate control of water. Watch "Water Wars" and "Thirst" for more reasons to worry about privatization.
Here are some practical considerations.
1. The water in the bottles is no different than your tap water. If yours needs filtering go get a Brita filter or a GE whole house filter setup from Home Depot. They take very little time to install and are less than $50 with filters being about $10 for a filter good for 90 days.
2. The plastic in the bottles and sometimes even the water is bad for you. BPA is often present in the plastic bottles as well as other chemicals that you likely don't want to consume or feed your kids. In some cases pathogens have been found in the water as well.
3. 2.5 Million extra pieces of trash in the US every year. That is how many bottles we are talking about. The landfills are full and they just pay lip service to recycling plastic. It can take as much as 7 times the amount of water to make the plastic bottle than the bottle can hold.
4. $$$$ Tap water costs $.0002 per gallon as opposed to up to $8.26 per gallon for bottled water.
What should you do? Go to REI or somewhere like that and buy a BPA free water bottle for everyone in the family. Other options include stainless bottles from Costco or wherever. Either add a home filtration system or use a filter pitcher setup if you don't like your tap water. Don't let our want of convenience override our sense of right and wrong.
More soon...
Monday, November 28, 2011
It Helps To Be Obsessive
It turns out I am obsessive. Someone who has worked in mental health for a long time told me that yesterday when we were discussing what is important when making life changes.
That lets everyone who isn't obsessive off the hook I guess. You can't be held responsible for your non-obsessive nature so you might as well not try to make any healthy changes.
Maybe big Pharm could make a pill to make people more obsessive. Surely one of their fashionable drugs for ADHD or some other ailment real or imagined has obsessiveness as a side effect.
Maybe we could make a bunch of money by creating a program to make normal folks more obsessive. The TOYS-R-US of life changes.
I have to figure this out now. I'm obsessed with it. For now don't just give up. Hang in there and try to stick with what you know is right.
Recipe:
Whole Wheat - Or Multigrain Bread
This recipe is easy and has worked both times I made it. The bread not heavy at all and it has no eggs and no milk so it would qualify as Vegan.
7 - 7 1/2 cups Flour You can use all Wheat or mix in some Brown rice flour or some rye flour or some raw oats.. I used 2 cups rye, 1 brown rice flour, 1 cup oats and the rest wheat.
2 3/4 cups Water between 100 and 110 degrees.
2 Tbsp Yeast
1 Tbsp Salt
1/3 cup honey or raw sugar if you want
1/4 olive oil
I bloomed the yeast in 2 cups water for a couple of minutes.
Add everything except the flour into a mixer. Add 2 cups of flour and mix well. Add the rest of the flour a little at a time - 1/2 cup or so - until the dough just comes away from the side of the mixer bowl. Switch to a kneading hook and knead on medium for 4 or 5 minutes. Oil a bowl and put the dough in and coat it with the oil in the bowl. Cover with a towel and allow it to rise in a warm place for 1 hour. Punch down and place in 2 oiled bread pans and allow to rise 30 - 45 minutes. Bake at 350 for about 35 - 40 minutes until it sounds hollow. Flip the bread out of the pans and onto a cooing rack. Go ahead and cut a nice warm slice. You earned it.
More soon....
That lets everyone who isn't obsessive off the hook I guess. You can't be held responsible for your non-obsessive nature so you might as well not try to make any healthy changes.
Maybe big Pharm could make a pill to make people more obsessive. Surely one of their fashionable drugs for ADHD or some other ailment real or imagined has obsessiveness as a side effect.
Maybe we could make a bunch of money by creating a program to make normal folks more obsessive. The TOYS-R-US of life changes.
I have to figure this out now. I'm obsessed with it. For now don't just give up. Hang in there and try to stick with what you know is right.
Recipe:
Whole Wheat - Or Multigrain Bread
This recipe is easy and has worked both times I made it. The bread not heavy at all and it has no eggs and no milk so it would qualify as Vegan.
7 - 7 1/2 cups Flour You can use all Wheat or mix in some Brown rice flour or some rye flour or some raw oats.. I used 2 cups rye, 1 brown rice flour, 1 cup oats and the rest wheat.
2 3/4 cups Water between 100 and 110 degrees.
2 Tbsp Yeast
1 Tbsp Salt
1/3 cup honey or raw sugar if you want
1/4 olive oil
I bloomed the yeast in 2 cups water for a couple of minutes.
Add everything except the flour into a mixer. Add 2 cups of flour and mix well. Add the rest of the flour a little at a time - 1/2 cup or so - until the dough just comes away from the side of the mixer bowl. Switch to a kneading hook and knead on medium for 4 or 5 minutes. Oil a bowl and put the dough in and coat it with the oil in the bowl. Cover with a towel and allow it to rise in a warm place for 1 hour. Punch down and place in 2 oiled bread pans and allow to rise 30 - 45 minutes. Bake at 350 for about 35 - 40 minutes until it sounds hollow. Flip the bread out of the pans and onto a cooing rack. Go ahead and cut a nice warm slice. You earned it.
More soon....
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
What My Drug Pusher Forgot to Tell Me
I got the hard copy of my Lipid panel test in the mail the other day. From the last test to this one - 6 months- everything came down that should come down and my HDL (good cholesterol) went from 34 to 54!
Somehow a nearly 60% increase in HDL wasn't worth mentioning. All of the natural treatment sources I researched used the ratio of HDL to Triglycerides as a measure of cholesterol risk so as long as your HDL isn't less than half of your triglyceride number you were a lower risk person. Since my number there is 75 with the 54 HDL I'm good by their standards, but whatever.
The fact that in 6 months I increased the number by almost 60% should have elicited at least a question of what I did to do that. I'm not looking for an atta boy, but someone who sees patients who have the same issues should be at least a little interested.
The point? I am ready to bail on corporate medicine. I am looking for a recommendation for a Naturopath in the Tacoma area if anyone knows of a good one. I've been eating and exercising with the goal of getting my body in condition to protect and heal itself. Now it's time to put my money where my mouth is I guess.
Please pass on any info you have on local Naturopaths and have a great Thanksgiving!
More soon....
Somehow a nearly 60% increase in HDL wasn't worth mentioning. All of the natural treatment sources I researched used the ratio of HDL to Triglycerides as a measure of cholesterol risk so as long as your HDL isn't less than half of your triglyceride number you were a lower risk person. Since my number there is 75 with the 54 HDL I'm good by their standards, but whatever.
The fact that in 6 months I increased the number by almost 60% should have elicited at least a question of what I did to do that. I'm not looking for an atta boy, but someone who sees patients who have the same issues should be at least a little interested.
The point? I am ready to bail on corporate medicine. I am looking for a recommendation for a Naturopath in the Tacoma area if anyone knows of a good one. I've been eating and exercising with the goal of getting my body in condition to protect and heal itself. Now it's time to put my money where my mouth is I guess.
Please pass on any info you have on local Naturopaths and have a great Thanksgiving!
More soon....
Monday, November 21, 2011
Thankful Things For Me
This is what I am thankful for nowadays.
1. Having great taste is women or maybe blind luck. Either way I ended up with the prize of the bunch. Pam puts up with my insanities and shares my love of Wine, music, travel, dogs and food. She also attracts some of the best people who we are lucky to call friends.
2. Figuring out my health before it got any harder than it was. Lethargic and 270 is not a great way to move into your golden years. It may have taken a thorocotomy to get me moving, but it was worth it. The thing I didn't factor in then was that I would have to learn as much as I did about food to really protect what I was working on. I had no idea what a GMO was or why anyone would buy organic even as I changed my diet at the beginning of this.
3. Returning to a teen-like need to question authority. That sounds odd, but I now know that we must do our own research to protect ourselves from what I once took for granted. Two years ago if my doctor had told me I needed statins I would have gone like a lemming to the pharmacy and paid my copay for a jar of toxins. How are we supposed to react to a drug manufacturer who sets a penetration they want for their product even if they have to remodel the tests and alter the recommendations to get there? Trust me, I purposely use the word "penetration" here.
4. Having a young, energetic dog for a training partner. Athena keeps me moving - sometimes whether I like it or not. She has her little show to let you know she wants something and when she wants to go for a walk she licks her leash or harness. Even her need to patrol the yard regularly adds steps to the day.
5. Learning how to cook freely so that I can incorporate new ingredients into my dishes making them healthier without giving up any flavor. It's nice to know that Quinoia is a great protein and fiber source, but if you don't know what to do with it so what? Luckily, there are sources on the Internet for recipes for lots of great ingredients. Even my little blog here has some such recipes.
6. My blog readers. Knowing that you are all out there waiting to hear what I think is worth writing about keeps the pressure on to find a nugget to pass on regularly. I'm sure that last sentence was badly structured, but you get the idea. You all keep me honest especially when I'm always saying -
More soon....
1. Having great taste is women or maybe blind luck. Either way I ended up with the prize of the bunch. Pam puts up with my insanities and shares my love of Wine, music, travel, dogs and food. She also attracts some of the best people who we are lucky to call friends.
2. Figuring out my health before it got any harder than it was. Lethargic and 270 is not a great way to move into your golden years. It may have taken a thorocotomy to get me moving, but it was worth it. The thing I didn't factor in then was that I would have to learn as much as I did about food to really protect what I was working on. I had no idea what a GMO was or why anyone would buy organic even as I changed my diet at the beginning of this.
3. Returning to a teen-like need to question authority. That sounds odd, but I now know that we must do our own research to protect ourselves from what I once took for granted. Two years ago if my doctor had told me I needed statins I would have gone like a lemming to the pharmacy and paid my copay for a jar of toxins. How are we supposed to react to a drug manufacturer who sets a penetration they want for their product even if they have to remodel the tests and alter the recommendations to get there? Trust me, I purposely use the word "penetration" here.
4. Having a young, energetic dog for a training partner. Athena keeps me moving - sometimes whether I like it or not. She has her little show to let you know she wants something and when she wants to go for a walk she licks her leash or harness. Even her need to patrol the yard regularly adds steps to the day.
5. Learning how to cook freely so that I can incorporate new ingredients into my dishes making them healthier without giving up any flavor. It's nice to know that Quinoia is a great protein and fiber source, but if you don't know what to do with it so what? Luckily, there are sources on the Internet for recipes for lots of great ingredients. Even my little blog here has some such recipes.
6. My blog readers. Knowing that you are all out there waiting to hear what I think is worth writing about keeps the pressure on to find a nugget to pass on regularly. I'm sure that last sentence was badly structured, but you get the idea. You all keep me honest especially when I'm always saying -
More soon....
Saturday, November 19, 2011
We Hate Doctor's Appointments Because...
You walk in the door and the reasons to hate have already begun.
1. A week before this appointment you went to a lab where a vampire hits you for a couple of blood samples. You also have to fast for the bloodsucker so no food or drink for 12 hours.
2. You walk in and have to make your co-pay. When it was $5 I didn't hate them as much as I do now that they are $30 or something. The best part is that when their cortisone shot freezes your shoulder and you need to come back they get ANOTHER $30!
3. There are inevitably sick folks in the waiting room with you. That is why most people go to the doctor after all. They should have a sick patient area and a "just here for my yearly" patient area.
4. THE SCALE - your home scale has you 5 - 15 pounds lighter than the scale at the doctor's office. Now, we can account for 5 of them because we weigh ourselves right after we get up and go to the bathroom - naked. By the time we hit the scale at the doctor's we have a couple of pounds of clothing, shoes and breakfast in us. It's the other 5 - 10 pounds that we really hate. Is that supposed to be some kind of incentive plan for us? Are we supposed to redouble our efforts because the scale weighs us heavier.
5. The wait. The nurse takes you back close to your appointment time and takes your vitals. She asks a few more questions, leaves and then the loneliness begins as you wait for the doctor to make his appearance. If you are lucky the wait will only be 15 - 20 minutes.
6. Redundancy. The doctor repeats most of the questions the nurse asked before jumping into the test results.
7. Medical language. Your test results reveal that you have a sumpity sumpin score on your blasteosynthesis blah blah blah. What does it all mean? How about "You are fat and old and your body isn't happy with you." At least then you have some idea of what is going on.
8. The prescription pad. In our brave new world of a drug for every malady - real or perceived- there must be a prescription for every visit. There will not be a natural remedy for what is wrong with you. After all, when you have a sumpity sumpin score on your blasteosynthesis blah blah blah the answer can hardly be that you need to add more fiber or greens to your diet or some jumping jacks to your exercise routine.
9. You get to do this all again in 6 months to a year. Oh boy! Are we happy or what?
I usually try to have a solution for this kind of stuff since I try to live by the "If you can't fix it - forget it." program, but short of never going again - I got nothin'.
More soon.....
1. A week before this appointment you went to a lab where a vampire hits you for a couple of blood samples. You also have to fast for the bloodsucker so no food or drink for 12 hours.
2. You walk in and have to make your co-pay. When it was $5 I didn't hate them as much as I do now that they are $30 or something. The best part is that when their cortisone shot freezes your shoulder and you need to come back they get ANOTHER $30!
3. There are inevitably sick folks in the waiting room with you. That is why most people go to the doctor after all. They should have a sick patient area and a "just here for my yearly" patient area.
4. THE SCALE - your home scale has you 5 - 15 pounds lighter than the scale at the doctor's office. Now, we can account for 5 of them because we weigh ourselves right after we get up and go to the bathroom - naked. By the time we hit the scale at the doctor's we have a couple of pounds of clothing, shoes and breakfast in us. It's the other 5 - 10 pounds that we really hate. Is that supposed to be some kind of incentive plan for us? Are we supposed to redouble our efforts because the scale weighs us heavier.
5. The wait. The nurse takes you back close to your appointment time and takes your vitals. She asks a few more questions, leaves and then the loneliness begins as you wait for the doctor to make his appearance. If you are lucky the wait will only be 15 - 20 minutes.
6. Redundancy. The doctor repeats most of the questions the nurse asked before jumping into the test results.
7. Medical language. Your test results reveal that you have a sumpity sumpin score on your blasteosynthesis blah blah blah. What does it all mean? How about "You are fat and old and your body isn't happy with you." At least then you have some idea of what is going on.
8. The prescription pad. In our brave new world of a drug for every malady - real or perceived- there must be a prescription for every visit. There will not be a natural remedy for what is wrong with you. After all, when you have a sumpity sumpin score on your blasteosynthesis blah blah blah the answer can hardly be that you need to add more fiber or greens to your diet or some jumping jacks to your exercise routine.
9. You get to do this all again in 6 months to a year. Oh boy! Are we happy or what?
I usually try to have a solution for this kind of stuff since I try to live by the "If you can't fix it - forget it." program, but short of never going again - I got nothin'.
More soon.....
Friday, November 18, 2011
Some New Offenders
Here are some of the yummy things they have been advertising lately on TV.
Wendys Asiago Ranch Chicken Club weighs in at 690 calories with a whopping 36 grams of fat - 12 of which is saturated fat and an insane 1630 milligrams of sodium. That's not nourishment - it's punishment!
Weighing in at 440 calories with 16 grams of fat - 6 saturated- and 1370 milligrams of sodium is Subway's Flat Bread Steak and Bacon Melt. Again, punishment.
Taco Bell has been hitting the airways with their Triple Steak Stack which has 690 calories with 30 grams of fat - 13 saturated - and a heart stopping 1950 milligrams of sodium. And people wonder why I call this stuff poison.
KFC has their Mashed Potato Bowl that has 680 calories, 31 grams of fat - 8 saturated - and WAIT FOR IT 2130 milligrams of sodium! How is that even palatable with that much salt?
Luckily we can go get breakfast all day at Jack In The Box. For instance the Jumbo Breakfast Platter With Bacon has 657 calories with 37 grams of fat - 7 saturated- and 1300 milligrams of sodium. How do they do it with that little salt?
I think I'll settle on McDonalds Big Breakfast with Hotcakes and the regular sized biscuit which weighs in at 1090 calories with 56 grams of fat 56! - 19 grams of saturated fat - and 2150 milligrams of sodium.
OK. Let's try BK's Tendergrill Chicken Sandwich Meal - Small - with 1000 calories 33 grams of fat - 9.5 grams of saturated fat - and 1580 milligrams of sodium.
Maybe we'll just stay in and cook something.
You see all the sodium they add to this stuff. That is how you can make over processed - dead - food have some flavor.
More soon....
Wendys Asiago Ranch Chicken Club weighs in at 690 calories with a whopping 36 grams of fat - 12 of which is saturated fat and an insane 1630 milligrams of sodium. That's not nourishment - it's punishment!
Weighing in at 440 calories with 16 grams of fat - 6 saturated- and 1370 milligrams of sodium is Subway's Flat Bread Steak and Bacon Melt. Again, punishment.
Taco Bell has been hitting the airways with their Triple Steak Stack which has 690 calories with 30 grams of fat - 13 saturated - and a heart stopping 1950 milligrams of sodium. And people wonder why I call this stuff poison.
KFC has their Mashed Potato Bowl that has 680 calories, 31 grams of fat - 8 saturated - and WAIT FOR IT 2130 milligrams of sodium! How is that even palatable with that much salt?
Luckily we can go get breakfast all day at Jack In The Box. For instance the Jumbo Breakfast Platter With Bacon has 657 calories with 37 grams of fat - 7 saturated- and 1300 milligrams of sodium. How do they do it with that little salt?
I think I'll settle on McDonalds Big Breakfast with Hotcakes and the regular sized biscuit which weighs in at 1090 calories with 56 grams of fat 56! - 19 grams of saturated fat - and 2150 milligrams of sodium.
OK. Let's try BK's Tendergrill Chicken Sandwich Meal - Small - with 1000 calories 33 grams of fat - 9.5 grams of saturated fat - and 1580 milligrams of sodium.
Maybe we'll just stay in and cook something.
You see all the sodium they add to this stuff. That is how you can make over processed - dead - food have some flavor.
More soon....
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Was Poison Too Strong A Word?
When I called statins poison was I overreaching? Did I exaggerate?
Statins are an isolated poison from red rice yeast (Monascus purpurus). When introduced to the body the natural response is to create a chemical lovastatin which changes liver function. This change blocks production of cholesterol and also CoQ10.
Low levels of CoQ10 lead to muscle decline and pain (the heart is just a big muscle folks), amnesia, kidney and liver failure and more.
Since cholesterol is the "bad guy" it seems like a fair trade, but the fact is that people with low cholesterol and CoQ10 levels are approximately twice as likely to die as those with high cholesterol. ( Nicole Schupf. Rosann Costa. Jose Luchsinger, Ming-Xin Tang, Joseph H. Lee. Richard Mayeux. Relationship Between Plasma Lipids and All-Cause Mortality in Nondemented Elderly. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. Volume 53 Issue 2 Page 219 - February 2005 doi:10.1111/j.1532-5415.2005.53106.x)
I must have missed that part when the doctor was telling me about my future without statins.
I also missed the part about how cholesterol is key in fighting off infections.
So what is the point Paully? The point is that there is a healthy middle ground. Your body produces cholesterol whether you eat food with cholesterol or not. You should eat a high fiber diet, and if you don't like broccoli and nuts and beans and whole grains and apples and pears and oatmeal then take a psyllium powder supplement to compensate. I eat all of these but I plan to start the psyllium when it arrives tomorrow.
The research that Merck and their buddies don't want you to know about suggests that the real problem with arterial disease is not cholesterol but chemical and metal poisoning and DIET. I hate to take things away from you but red meat consumption has HUGE correlations with most chronic disease. Certainly heart disease, cancer and diabetes are the ones we all want to avoid. They are also the ones most closely correlated with high animal protein diets - and that includes dairy.
So, in conclusion, I wish there were a stronger word than poison that I could have used to describe statins.
More soon....
Statins are an isolated poison from red rice yeast (Monascus purpurus). When introduced to the body the natural response is to create a chemical lovastatin which changes liver function. This change blocks production of cholesterol and also CoQ10.
Low levels of CoQ10 lead to muscle decline and pain (the heart is just a big muscle folks), amnesia, kidney and liver failure and more.
Since cholesterol is the "bad guy" it seems like a fair trade, but the fact is that people with low cholesterol and CoQ10 levels are approximately twice as likely to die as those with high cholesterol. ( Nicole Schupf. Rosann Costa. Jose Luchsinger, Ming-Xin Tang, Joseph H. Lee. Richard Mayeux. Relationship Between Plasma Lipids and All-Cause Mortality in Nondemented Elderly. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. Volume 53 Issue 2 Page 219 - February 2005 doi:10.1111/j.1532-5415.2005.53106.x)
I must have missed that part when the doctor was telling me about my future without statins.
I also missed the part about how cholesterol is key in fighting off infections.
So what is the point Paully? The point is that there is a healthy middle ground. Your body produces cholesterol whether you eat food with cholesterol or not. You should eat a high fiber diet, and if you don't like broccoli and nuts and beans and whole grains and apples and pears and oatmeal then take a psyllium powder supplement to compensate. I eat all of these but I plan to start the psyllium when it arrives tomorrow.
The research that Merck and their buddies don't want you to know about suggests that the real problem with arterial disease is not cholesterol but chemical and metal poisoning and DIET. I hate to take things away from you but red meat consumption has HUGE correlations with most chronic disease. Certainly heart disease, cancer and diabetes are the ones we all want to avoid. They are also the ones most closely correlated with high animal protein diets - and that includes dairy.
So, in conclusion, I wish there were a stronger word than poison that I could have used to describe statins.
More soon....
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
A Natural Alternative
So after my doctor suggested I take statins for a "high LDL particulate count" - not high LDL- I did some research and found a couple of things. First, psyllium powder, which is basically a really good soluble fiber source, has great results in not only lowering LDL and raising HDL but also reduces triglycerides and aids in weight loss without side effects.
Why doesn't my doctor know this stuff?
The second thing I found was that the "advanced lip panel" test was designed as a part of an initiative by our pharmaceutical friends to have a goal amount of us on statins by the end of the decade. Admittedly, the source is a little sketchy, but just because you are paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get us.
What makes me mad is that I had quickly turned around the levels on the old test which I guess had to make me a candidate for the new one. Right? It's just another case of the man trying to keep us down or something like that. It is at least moving the finish line after you've already crossed it.
Enough whining! I have some psyllium on the way and I will continue being walked by Athena and drug out on hikes and snowshoes by Pam - not that either of them has to work too hard to get me moving. I will also keep adding better ingredients to my dishes and subtracting the crap - although there isn't much crap left to ditch.
I'm not ready to give up my red wine. This is where I throw in some sentence that ends with "my cold dead hands."
When I go back in March or April for my doctor follow up I'll pass on the data.
More soon.....
Why doesn't my doctor know this stuff?
The second thing I found was that the "advanced lip panel" test was designed as a part of an initiative by our pharmaceutical friends to have a goal amount of us on statins by the end of the decade. Admittedly, the source is a little sketchy, but just because you are paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get us.
What makes me mad is that I had quickly turned around the levels on the old test which I guess had to make me a candidate for the new one. Right? It's just another case of the man trying to keep us down or something like that. It is at least moving the finish line after you've already crossed it.
Enough whining! I have some psyllium on the way and I will continue being walked by Athena and drug out on hikes and snowshoes by Pam - not that either of them has to work too hard to get me moving. I will also keep adding better ingredients to my dishes and subtracting the crap - although there isn't much crap left to ditch.
I'm not ready to give up my red wine. This is where I throw in some sentence that ends with "my cold dead hands."
When I go back in March or April for my doctor follow up I'll pass on the data.
More soon.....
Monday, November 14, 2011
Against Medical Advice
Since I began this journey a little less than 2 years ago I began going to the doctor for regular tests and exams. He started with a lipid panel that showed I had high LDL or bad cholesterol. I kept exercising and went back 6 months later to find that my LDL number had fallen to within the guidelines.
I was told to come back in a year for my physical and did. To my dismay he switched to a new test - an advanced lipid panel - that is supposed to be a better test. It said I once again had higher bad cholesterol than I should. I hadn't been exercising much because of a foot injury that I was told to rest and I had put almost 20 pounds on so I wasn't totally surprised by the results.
I got my foot right and got back to work and got back in today for my exam and now he says that while the LDL number is close to right some particulate count isn't. COME ON MAN! you can't just keep moving the goal posts on me!
He wants me to take statins which I am not willing to take. I tried the niacin last time and it made my heart rate jump by 20 beats per minute when I exercised so I quit it. I told him that I have no issues when I exercise so he hit me with the Jim Fixx argument. I told him that I wasn't aware of what Fixx' diet was and we agreed to disagree.
So I left without a prescription for anything. I know I may seem crazy about this, but I look at this as a slippery slope issue. You take a statin that gives you muscle pain and weakness as a side effect but you can't remember why because it also gives you memory loss. They give you a prescription for the muscle pain and another for the weakness and a third for the memory loss. The associated side effects of those drugs require a couple of more and so on.
So here I am - against medical advice - continuing MY health care program of eating a diet of nearly 100% organic fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and legumes. We rarely eat any meat and when we do it is either wild fish or organic chicken or turkey.
If this isn't good enough I will likely not live to be 80, but the reality is that I have already outlived most expectations based on how I lived when I was young.
More soon....
I was told to come back in a year for my physical and did. To my dismay he switched to a new test - an advanced lipid panel - that is supposed to be a better test. It said I once again had higher bad cholesterol than I should. I hadn't been exercising much because of a foot injury that I was told to rest and I had put almost 20 pounds on so I wasn't totally surprised by the results.
I got my foot right and got back to work and got back in today for my exam and now he says that while the LDL number is close to right some particulate count isn't. COME ON MAN! you can't just keep moving the goal posts on me!
He wants me to take statins which I am not willing to take. I tried the niacin last time and it made my heart rate jump by 20 beats per minute when I exercised so I quit it. I told him that I have no issues when I exercise so he hit me with the Jim Fixx argument. I told him that I wasn't aware of what Fixx' diet was and we agreed to disagree.
So I left without a prescription for anything. I know I may seem crazy about this, but I look at this as a slippery slope issue. You take a statin that gives you muscle pain and weakness as a side effect but you can't remember why because it also gives you memory loss. They give you a prescription for the muscle pain and another for the weakness and a third for the memory loss. The associated side effects of those drugs require a couple of more and so on.
So here I am - against medical advice - continuing MY health care program of eating a diet of nearly 100% organic fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and legumes. We rarely eat any meat and when we do it is either wild fish or organic chicken or turkey.
If this isn't good enough I will likely not live to be 80, but the reality is that I have already outlived most expectations based on how I lived when I was young.
More soon....
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Sure We Can, But Should We?
All of the reading and research I have done and subjected you all to leads me to this statement on American inventiveness and ingenuity - Just because we CAN do something doesn't mean we SHOULD.
We have factory farms that grow chickens to maturity in something like 7 weeks when naturally it would take much longer. They grow so fast that many of them can't support their own weight and suffer broken bones which requires the farms to add more supplements to their feed to strengthen their bones. Supplements that are not tested on humans prior to entering our food supply. That, along with the arsenic that they feed to cut down parasites and the antibiotics to fight bacterial infections that would be a problem when they are packed like sardines in huge, dark barns is what they CAN do to move the program along faster, but SHOULD they?
The beef feed lots feed antibiotics as well along with bovine growth hormones and some cow parts as well. When did cows become cannibals anyway? This stuff is included again to get them to size sooner. We pay subsidies on corn crops so that they can feed them for less than it actually costs to produce the corn. Again all of this is possible so we CAN, but SHOULD we?
Our water rights are no longer rights as our government entities sell the rights to companies who sell the water back to us thus converting a right to a commodity. At the current rate the planet is desertizing we have about 50 years of clean water supply left so the question is just because we CAN pass these rights to companies SHOULD we?
We all thought the Wall Street mess was bad, but the exact same issues exist in our food and water supplies. The difference is that the Wall Street crap can make you broke but it isn't likely to poison you slowly with arsenic and render us unable to fight off infections because of the antibiotic saturation in our food, water and air.
It might be time to Occupy more than Wall Street.
We all know the problem with politics is the corruption in the system. I submit that there is not as chance of corruption if you take the money out of the system so here is my plan. A seat in government that pays $200,000 per year for 4 years would allow the candidates to raise and spend exactly $800,000 running for that office and NOT A PENNY MORE. We let them raise MILLIONS of dollars for an office that never pays that much. CAN we allow this? SHOULD we?
Until we take the ability for Tyson and Monsanto to buy our elections and "representatives" we will continue having places in need of occupation, a scary financial system, and a food supply that is increasingly unfit to eat. CAN we stand up for ourselves and demand safe food? SHOULD we?
Later I'll tell you how I really feel, but this is it for now.
More soon...
We have factory farms that grow chickens to maturity in something like 7 weeks when naturally it would take much longer. They grow so fast that many of them can't support their own weight and suffer broken bones which requires the farms to add more supplements to their feed to strengthen their bones. Supplements that are not tested on humans prior to entering our food supply. That, along with the arsenic that they feed to cut down parasites and the antibiotics to fight bacterial infections that would be a problem when they are packed like sardines in huge, dark barns is what they CAN do to move the program along faster, but SHOULD they?
The beef feed lots feed antibiotics as well along with bovine growth hormones and some cow parts as well. When did cows become cannibals anyway? This stuff is included again to get them to size sooner. We pay subsidies on corn crops so that they can feed them for less than it actually costs to produce the corn. Again all of this is possible so we CAN, but SHOULD we?
Our water rights are no longer rights as our government entities sell the rights to companies who sell the water back to us thus converting a right to a commodity. At the current rate the planet is desertizing we have about 50 years of clean water supply left so the question is just because we CAN pass these rights to companies SHOULD we?
We all thought the Wall Street mess was bad, but the exact same issues exist in our food and water supplies. The difference is that the Wall Street crap can make you broke but it isn't likely to poison you slowly with arsenic and render us unable to fight off infections because of the antibiotic saturation in our food, water and air.
It might be time to Occupy more than Wall Street.
We all know the problem with politics is the corruption in the system. I submit that there is not as chance of corruption if you take the money out of the system so here is my plan. A seat in government that pays $200,000 per year for 4 years would allow the candidates to raise and spend exactly $800,000 running for that office and NOT A PENNY MORE. We let them raise MILLIONS of dollars for an office that never pays that much. CAN we allow this? SHOULD we?
Until we take the ability for Tyson and Monsanto to buy our elections and "representatives" we will continue having places in need of occupation, a scary financial system, and a food supply that is increasingly unfit to eat. CAN we stand up for ourselves and demand safe food? SHOULD we?
Later I'll tell you how I really feel, but this is it for now.
More soon...
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Wicked Fast
When everything is in balance Athena and I can go pretty fast. Today was such a day as we walked 6.61 miles in 1:18 or 11:48 miles! That is just over 5 MPH and our personal record.
She is sacked out on the bed and has been for hours. We may never walk that fast again, but it was fun.
More soon....
She is sacked out on the bed and has been for hours. We may never walk that fast again, but it was fun.
More soon....
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Dressing Undressed
If you are trying to lose weight you are likely eating more salad than you used to. If you dress your salad the way most restaurants do you might as well eat potato chips instead.
The serving size for salad dressing is 2 Tbsp. The average salad at a restaurant has twice that and if you get it on the side they will give you between 4 and 8 tbsp. The ranch dressing will average 200 calories for 2 tbsp with a a whopping 20 grams of fat and 1/3 of the sodium you should eat in a day. Overdressed as most salads are you are looking at 400 - 800 calories and a ton of fat and sodium.
Pam and I share one side of the vinaigrette and leave 2/3s of it in the container when we're done.
The low and non fat options generally contain MSG which signals your body to store fat which is not very helpful either.
At home I make all of the dressing we use so I can control what's in it and what's not. Dressing is an easy thing to make and it is fun to play with different ingredients to make a dressing you like.
Basically you have an acid and a fat and flavoring. Let's start with acids.
Your acids include citrus like lime, lemon, and even oranges and grapefruit. They also include vinegars. You will usually have less than 1/2 as much acid as fat in the mix.
Fats include oils and dairy. I don't use dairy in dressings anymore as I don't consider them to be a good fat. I normally use Extra Virgin Olive oil.
The main difference between a regular dressing and a vinaigrette is a vinaigrette generally has some good mustard included.
My Italian dressing recipe is as follows:
Spice Mix:
1 Tbsp Garlic powder
1 Tbsp Onion powder
2 Tbsp Dried Oregano
1 Tbsp Dried Parsley
1 Tsp Dried Basil
1/4 Tsp Dried Thyme
1 Tsp Ground Black Pepper
1 Tbsp sea Salt
This makes more mix than one batch of dressing!
Pour 1/4 Cup vinegar, 2/3 Cup Olive Oil, 1/2 Tbsp Honey and 2 Tbsp water in a jar with a lid and shake well. Add 2 Tbsp of the Spice mix and shake well.
I use either Apple Cider Vinegar or Red Wine Vinegar.
Variation One:
Use Balsamic vinegar for 1/2 of the vinegar and you have a balsamic Italian dressing.
Variation Two and Three:
Add 2 Tbsp of stone ground mustard and you have a Vinaigrette. If you add this to the Balsamic Italian it's now a Balsamic Vinaigrette.
Variation Four:
Swap out citrus for the vinegar for a nice tart dressing in any of the above.
Variation Five:
If you want spicy stuff use hot sauce half and half with vinegar or citrus.
You get the idea. There is no real magic to this and I would be disappointed if you stuck with the herb amounts in the mix. Want more basil? Add more. If you like your dressing sweeter add more honey. Don't like honey? Use Agave nectar.
So the thing is to enjoy your salads so they become a sustainable part of your daily eating. Don't forget to add some different ingredients to you salads so they aren't boring.
More soon....
The serving size for salad dressing is 2 Tbsp. The average salad at a restaurant has twice that and if you get it on the side they will give you between 4 and 8 tbsp. The ranch dressing will average 200 calories for 2 tbsp with a a whopping 20 grams of fat and 1/3 of the sodium you should eat in a day. Overdressed as most salads are you are looking at 400 - 800 calories and a ton of fat and sodium.
Pam and I share one side of the vinaigrette and leave 2/3s of it in the container when we're done.
The low and non fat options generally contain MSG which signals your body to store fat which is not very helpful either.
At home I make all of the dressing we use so I can control what's in it and what's not. Dressing is an easy thing to make and it is fun to play with different ingredients to make a dressing you like.
Basically you have an acid and a fat and flavoring. Let's start with acids.
Your acids include citrus like lime, lemon, and even oranges and grapefruit. They also include vinegars. You will usually have less than 1/2 as much acid as fat in the mix.
Fats include oils and dairy. I don't use dairy in dressings anymore as I don't consider them to be a good fat. I normally use Extra Virgin Olive oil.
The main difference between a regular dressing and a vinaigrette is a vinaigrette generally has some good mustard included.
My Italian dressing recipe is as follows:
Spice Mix:
1 Tbsp Garlic powder
1 Tbsp Onion powder
2 Tbsp Dried Oregano
1 Tbsp Dried Parsley
1 Tsp Dried Basil
1/4 Tsp Dried Thyme
1 Tsp Ground Black Pepper
1 Tbsp sea Salt
This makes more mix than one batch of dressing!
Pour 1/4 Cup vinegar, 2/3 Cup Olive Oil, 1/2 Tbsp Honey and 2 Tbsp water in a jar with a lid and shake well. Add 2 Tbsp of the Spice mix and shake well.
I use either Apple Cider Vinegar or Red Wine Vinegar.
Variation One:
Use Balsamic vinegar for 1/2 of the vinegar and you have a balsamic Italian dressing.
Variation Two and Three:
Add 2 Tbsp of stone ground mustard and you have a Vinaigrette. If you add this to the Balsamic Italian it's now a Balsamic Vinaigrette.
Variation Four:
Swap out citrus for the vinegar for a nice tart dressing in any of the above.
Variation Five:
If you want spicy stuff use hot sauce half and half with vinegar or citrus.
You get the idea. There is no real magic to this and I would be disappointed if you stuck with the herb amounts in the mix. Want more basil? Add more. If you like your dressing sweeter add more honey. Don't like honey? Use Agave nectar.
So the thing is to enjoy your salads so they become a sustainable part of your daily eating. Don't forget to add some different ingredients to you salads so they aren't boring.
More soon....
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Gnocchi Dokey
Maybe one of the easiest things to make that you don't need to tell anyone is easy is gnocchi. There are a ton of recipes out there for gnocchi. This is one I came up with.
Whole Wheat Pumpkin Gnocchi
2 3/4 cups Organic Whole Wheat Flour
15 oz Pureed Pumpkin - Savory NOT Sweetened( I roasted a pumpkin in large pieces brushed with olive oil and lightly sated and peppered at 350 for 45 minutes and then pureed it.)
1/2 tsp salt
Add salt to flour and mix. Mix in pumpkin until a soft dough is formed. If you need to add a little water or flour to get the dough right do it. Knead the dough in the bowl for a couple of minutes. Cut into fourths. Take each piece and roll it out until it is 1/2 inch thick. Once the dough is all in long pieces cut into 1 inch pieces. It should make about 72 gnocchi.
Add gnocchi to sated boiling water. Once the gnocchi are all floating at the top - boil for one more minute and then drain.
Done! Like I said, Easy!
You can sauce this gnocchi however you like. I just mad a Mushroom Ragout (pronounced ragu) for mine, but Olive oil infused with rosemary, sage or thyme topped with some good Parmesan or Romano is very nice as well.
Mushroom Ragout ala Paully
1 medium Yellow Onion
3 Cloves Garlic
Olive Oil
3-4 cups Crimini Mushrooms - I like to quarter them so they are nice and chunky.
28 oz of good quality Organic Tomatoes
1/3 cup fresh basil minced
Balsamic Vinegar - optional
salt and pepper to taste
Saute onion in olive oil and then add mushrooms. Mushrooms will squeak when they are cooked. Add garlic - minced - and then add Balsamic vinegar. Allow the vinegar to reduce by 2/3s . Add tomatoes and allow to cook until the sauce thickens to marinara thickness. Toss in basil and the cooked gnocchi and allow the pasta to cook with the sauce for 1-2 minutes. Serve with good hard Italian cheese. Enjoy!
If you don't like mushrooms swap out eggplant or squash or brocolette or whatever you do like.
More soon....
Whole Wheat Pumpkin Gnocchi
2 3/4 cups Organic Whole Wheat Flour
15 oz Pureed Pumpkin - Savory NOT Sweetened( I roasted a pumpkin in large pieces brushed with olive oil and lightly sated and peppered at 350 for 45 minutes and then pureed it.)
1/2 tsp salt
Add salt to flour and mix. Mix in pumpkin until a soft dough is formed. If you need to add a little water or flour to get the dough right do it. Knead the dough in the bowl for a couple of minutes. Cut into fourths. Take each piece and roll it out until it is 1/2 inch thick. Once the dough is all in long pieces cut into 1 inch pieces. It should make about 72 gnocchi.
Add gnocchi to sated boiling water. Once the gnocchi are all floating at the top - boil for one more minute and then drain.
Done! Like I said, Easy!
You can sauce this gnocchi however you like. I just mad a Mushroom Ragout (pronounced ragu) for mine, but Olive oil infused with rosemary, sage or thyme topped with some good Parmesan or Romano is very nice as well.
Mushroom Ragout ala Paully
1 medium Yellow Onion
3 Cloves Garlic
Olive Oil
3-4 cups Crimini Mushrooms - I like to quarter them so they are nice and chunky.
28 oz of good quality Organic Tomatoes
1/3 cup fresh basil minced
Balsamic Vinegar - optional
salt and pepper to taste
Saute onion in olive oil and then add mushrooms. Mushrooms will squeak when they are cooked. Add garlic - minced - and then add Balsamic vinegar. Allow the vinegar to reduce by 2/3s . Add tomatoes and allow to cook until the sauce thickens to marinara thickness. Toss in basil and the cooked gnocchi and allow the pasta to cook with the sauce for 1-2 minutes. Serve with good hard Italian cheese. Enjoy!
If you don't like mushrooms swap out eggplant or squash or brocolette or whatever you do like.
More soon....
Monday, November 7, 2011
Crosstraining?
So, Friday I get a call from a brother who was building a retaining wall and headed over to help. We only got an hour and a half in because of a buried stump that required more than brawn to be gone.
Saturday we lost our minds and helped a friend move. We loaded and unloaded one moving truck and loaded it a second time.
Sunday we headed out for a hike by Mowich lake on the Carbonado side of Mt Rainier. Our 6.5 mile fairly flat hike was aborted by a closed road so we hiked the Paul Peak trail to the Mowich river - all downhill and back up - 7.2 miles roundtrip.
Saturday we lost our minds and helped a friend move. We loaded and unloaded one moving truck and loaded it a second time.
Sunday we headed out for a hike by Mowich lake on the Carbonado side of Mt Rainier. Our 6.5 mile fairly flat hike was aborted by a closed road so we hiked the Paul Peak trail to the Mowich river - all downhill and back up - 7.2 miles roundtrip.
We knocked out the hike in 3 hours somehow. I was dying from carrying furniture upstairs on Saturday, but it didn't slow us down much.
Today I had to take Athena for her 6.7 mile route and she was ready to go fast. It was all I could do to keep her down to 4.6 + MPH so we did the 6.7 miles in 1:26.
I think tomorrow I will take a day off from exercise and embrace my soreness instead.
Next post I promise a recipe or two.
More soon....
Friday, November 4, 2011
Back To The Rescue & Great Movies
I have been asked what Athena actually does that helped "rescue" me. It is hard to verbalize some of it but this is what I can put into words.
Athena requires a lot of patience. She is strong willed and stubborn. In order to bond with her I had to learn to be much more patient than I was previously capable of. I still have work to do there, but then who doesn't need to improve their patience.
Athena is a clown in dog's clothing. She likely developed her act as a device to change bad moods of prior humans in her life. At first we thought she was trying to assert some form of dominance, but now I'm sure it is her show. She doesn't go a day without making us laugh, and laughter is the best medicine as they say. The only downside to her efforts to make people smile is that she will walk towards cars as they slow down so that the driver will notice her and smile. We're still working on that.
Athena is the best exercise partner you could ask for. She is always ready to go and she pushes you to go harder than you originally thought you could go. I'm sure I wouldn't be walking as fast as I am without her help.
She is a sensitive em path which requires you to stay more even keeled. She reacts badly to spikes in anger. When a dumb ass driver nearly runs us over I have to count to 10 instead of going off on them. She will yap at me otherwise - kind of a "let's just walk" yap that is high pitched. Our last dog - Tasha - was empathic as well. She used to stand between me and the TV during Seahawk games when things were going bad so I could calm down. It might just be a girlie dog thing.
Lastly, she likes to patrol the yard on a regular basis so I am required to let her out and back in later which adds steps to the day and keeps me fighting the good fight.
NETFLIX report:
If you haven't watched these 2 movies yet watch them as soon as you can.
River of Waste - A documentary on the factory farm
Forks over Knives - Great documentary with information on a huge study on diet with correlations to chronic diseases and cures.
More soon....
Athena requires a lot of patience. She is strong willed and stubborn. In order to bond with her I had to learn to be much more patient than I was previously capable of. I still have work to do there, but then who doesn't need to improve their patience.
Athena is a clown in dog's clothing. She likely developed her act as a device to change bad moods of prior humans in her life. At first we thought she was trying to assert some form of dominance, but now I'm sure it is her show. She doesn't go a day without making us laugh, and laughter is the best medicine as they say. The only downside to her efforts to make people smile is that she will walk towards cars as they slow down so that the driver will notice her and smile. We're still working on that.
Athena is the best exercise partner you could ask for. She is always ready to go and she pushes you to go harder than you originally thought you could go. I'm sure I wouldn't be walking as fast as I am without her help.
She is a sensitive em path which requires you to stay more even keeled. She reacts badly to spikes in anger. When a dumb ass driver nearly runs us over I have to count to 10 instead of going off on them. She will yap at me otherwise - kind of a "let's just walk" yap that is high pitched. Our last dog - Tasha - was empathic as well. She used to stand between me and the TV during Seahawk games when things were going bad so I could calm down. It might just be a girlie dog thing.
Lastly, she likes to patrol the yard on a regular basis so I am required to let her out and back in later which adds steps to the day and keeps me fighting the good fight.
NETFLIX report:
If you haven't watched these 2 movies yet watch them as soon as you can.
River of Waste - A documentary on the factory farm
Forks over Knives - Great documentary with information on a huge study on diet with correlations to chronic diseases and cures.
More soon....
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Stuff We Need To Know
By now you know that we try to eat as close to 100% organic as we can. I have reported to you our reasons for eating organic including better tasting foods, avoidance of genetically modified foods, pesticides, herbicides, hormones, antibiotics etc.
We eat less and less animal protein these days - mostly because the flavors of the food we cook are better. Some recent research I did validated what was a gradual and natural pullback from meat.
These are the things you need to know about commercially processed meats and their impact on our environment.
1. Factory animal farms in the US produce 1.3 billion tons of waste per year. That number is roughly 5 tons per human in the US and 100 times the amount of human waste generated per year. While we treat and deal with human waste the waste produced at factory farms is spread on the surrounding land. That may sound like fertilization but the amounts spread have more phosphorus and other material than the soil can absorb. The net effect is that the soil is killed and the excess runs off into the water supply.
2. 70% of the antibiotics used in the US are used in livestock. The bulk of them are used in the feed at factory farms. They use them to aid in the growth of the animals. Since the animal won't use any energy fighting off bacterial infections they can use the energy to grow to maturity faster. If you used this tactic with your child you would be have a 2 1/2 year old that was over 300 lbs! Does that sound right to anyone?
3. Arsenic is widely used in chicken feed at factory farms. The addition of arsenic in chicken feed fights parasites in the birds again so they can grow faster. As scary as that sounds for the meat they produce it is even worse than you might think as the manure from the birds has stable arsenic in it as well. It doesn't take much research to find cancer cluster near factory chicken farms as they are more than happy to spread the manure at schools and parks. Nice Huh?
4. Growth hormones are a staple food at factory farms. They also remain stable in the meat and in the waste. They are one of many Endocrine Disruptors which are known cancer causes. Other endocrine disruptors include pesticides. Just sayin'.
We have been overwhelmed lately with problems like MRSA and other antibiotic resistant infections and we have been told it is from over-prescribed antibiotics. While that is part of the problem it makes just as much sense that our food supply which is laden with antibiotic raised animals has a good part of the blame as well.
We are the only advanced country that allows antibiotic, hormones, GMO feed or arsenic in meat production. THE ONLY ONE! Why? Money of course. Beginning with the Clinton administration relaxing the regulations and continuing and expanding under Bush the EPA and FDA have been neutered in terms of enforcement while the regulations have been stripped of any real teeth.
I'd like to think we can just vote with our dollars and buy organic to fix this problem, but the reality is that water and air are not infinite resources. We need to vote with our votes this time. We need to install leaders with the moral will to overcome the political pressure to leave things as they are.
Maybe we need to occupy the FDA and EPA.
More soon.....
We eat less and less animal protein these days - mostly because the flavors of the food we cook are better. Some recent research I did validated what was a gradual and natural pullback from meat.
These are the things you need to know about commercially processed meats and their impact on our environment.
1. Factory animal farms in the US produce 1.3 billion tons of waste per year. That number is roughly 5 tons per human in the US and 100 times the amount of human waste generated per year. While we treat and deal with human waste the waste produced at factory farms is spread on the surrounding land. That may sound like fertilization but the amounts spread have more phosphorus and other material than the soil can absorb. The net effect is that the soil is killed and the excess runs off into the water supply.
2. 70% of the antibiotics used in the US are used in livestock. The bulk of them are used in the feed at factory farms. They use them to aid in the growth of the animals. Since the animal won't use any energy fighting off bacterial infections they can use the energy to grow to maturity faster. If you used this tactic with your child you would be have a 2 1/2 year old that was over 300 lbs! Does that sound right to anyone?
3. Arsenic is widely used in chicken feed at factory farms. The addition of arsenic in chicken feed fights parasites in the birds again so they can grow faster. As scary as that sounds for the meat they produce it is even worse than you might think as the manure from the birds has stable arsenic in it as well. It doesn't take much research to find cancer cluster near factory chicken farms as they are more than happy to spread the manure at schools and parks. Nice Huh?
4. Growth hormones are a staple food at factory farms. They also remain stable in the meat and in the waste. They are one of many Endocrine Disruptors which are known cancer causes. Other endocrine disruptors include pesticides. Just sayin'.
We have been overwhelmed lately with problems like MRSA and other antibiotic resistant infections and we have been told it is from over-prescribed antibiotics. While that is part of the problem it makes just as much sense that our food supply which is laden with antibiotic raised animals has a good part of the blame as well.
We are the only advanced country that allows antibiotic, hormones, GMO feed or arsenic in meat production. THE ONLY ONE! Why? Money of course. Beginning with the Clinton administration relaxing the regulations and continuing and expanding under Bush the EPA and FDA have been neutered in terms of enforcement while the regulations have been stripped of any real teeth.
I'd like to think we can just vote with our dollars and buy organic to fix this problem, but the reality is that water and air are not infinite resources. We need to vote with our votes this time. We need to install leaders with the moral will to overcome the political pressure to leave things as they are.
Maybe we need to occupy the FDA and EPA.
More soon.....
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