I read a few stories lately that just make me shake my head in disbelief.

On November 28 the Helsinki Times reported that Finnish officials were considering taking a child from its parents because they were feeding it a low-carb diet.

Ursula Schwab, a clinical nutritionist steeped in the low-fat, heavy-carb paradigm, is quoted as saying:

“A strict low-carb diet is very fatty, and it suppresses hunger. If you down eggs and bacon for breakfast it will take hours before you can even imagine eating again.”

Suppresses hunger? How can massive amounts of fatty goodness suppress hunger? I thought fat satiated hunger. I love downing eggs and bacon for breakfast, because I don’t have to eat again for another five or so hours. Isn’t that was food is supposed to do?

The second story published the same day on Yahoo says that the Ohio child protective services has taken an 8-year-old boy away from his parents because he’s obese and his parents don’t seem to be doing their job dealing with his obesity. I’m thinking a low-carb diet would probably help here. Thank God they’re not in Finland.

And the top story published yesterday is about a young girl with a style problem. She carries a purse with a replica gun sown into the flap. The TSA in Norfolk, Virginia flagged the hollow gun design as a security risk.

Gibbs said she was headed back home to Jacksonville from a holiday trip when an agent flagged her purse as a security risk.

‘She was like, “This is a federal offence because it’s in the shape of a gun”,’ Gibbs said. ‘I’m like, “But it’s a design on a purse. How is it a federal offence?”‘

After agents figured out the gun was a fake, Gibbs said, TSA told her to check the bag or turn it over.

Scam

A stratagem for gain; a swindle.

Toxic Milk

One of the Yahoo Groups I belong to contained a link to an article on the Body Ecology website. The article is titled Is Milk Making You Sick? The Modern Dangers of Milk You Must Be Aware Of. Sounds ominous. The article explains that beta-casein A1 in milk from common dairy breeds is toxic. Whoa! Does that mean that any dairy I buy in America is poisoning me?

Amasi to the Rescue

But there’s hope! The goods news is that Amasi, a fermented “healing beverage” from ancient lines of African cattle is free of this poison. But there’s only one company in America that sells it. Thank goodness, there’s a link to that company, ’cause I wants me some o’ dat. (I note that the link includes the website owner’s “enroller” number.)

Sign Up to Be an “Independent Mission Marketer”

The link takes me directly to a signup page for Jordan Rubin’s multi-level marketing company Beyond Organic, and a video pops up explaining why I should join. (You’ll have to click on the video on the right, because I’m not an enroller and the video therefore won’t pop up). Here’s part of the video’s message along with my commentary.

You Can Change Your Life and Even Your World

What If you only ate wholesome, farm-fresh foods?

Sounds good so far. I’m into that.

Trading out your conventional products for foods that come straight from the farm and can contribute to a healthier life, not to mention the lasting impact it would have on our agriculture and our environment. One change in your diet can change your life and even your world. That’s the vision of Beyond Organic.

Wow! What a great vision. I bought half a cow, half a pig and a lamb from farmers no further than 50 miles from my home. The farmer 50 miles away was only 5 miles away from the farmer who provides my cat food. I get raw milk and cheese from Showman Farms in Edinboro, a lovely drive unless it’s winter and snowing. I’m happy to buy locally when possible.

Beyond Organic is a virtual farmers’ market providing you with the highest quality organic food staples.

But not providing me with any product or shipping prices prior to signing up. (But I note that the healthful Amasi has been changed to Amasai™ and trademarked.)

But instead of going through a middleman, Beyond Organic brings these pure whole foods and beverages directly to you, straight from the farm to your front door, making an organic, sustainable lifestyle more accessible and convenient than ever.

I have to say, that is pretty convenient (sustainable, not so much). Not as convenient as buying a chest freezer and filling it with a side of beef. I have only to walk downstairs to the basement for that. And it’s cheaper than buying off the Internet. But I would love to avoid driving to the farm for my water. Oh wait, I get my water from my kitchen tap or, if I want to drive, from numerous sources found through Find a Spring.

As the name implies, these foods and beverages aren’t just organic. They’re, well, beyond. Beyond Organic foods are grown as God intended: no pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, chemical fertilizers or other environmental pollutants. And of course they’re not genetically modified.

Aren’t those already the requirements of food certified as organic?

Organic food is produced by farmers who emphasize the use of renewable resources and the conservation of soil and water to enhance environmental quality for future generations. Organic meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy products come from animals that are given no antibiotics or growth hormones. Organic food is produced without using most conventional pesticides; fertilizers made with synthetic ingredients or sewage sludge; bioengineering; or ionizing radiation. What is organic food? — USDA

So how is Beyond Organic’s organic food, well, beyond? And how do you conserve water when you’re shipping it all over the nation?

Beyond Organic foods are fair made, meaning your local farmer gets a fair cut of the deal.

Okay, this outright LIE is why I wrote this blasphemous, nonconformist post! The Beyond Organic website FAQ states:

We have our very own “Beyond Organic” standards of raising and slaughtering animals…As far as we know, we are the only 100% GreenFed™ ranch to combine all of these standards…For the last two years, we have been working on the infrastructure needed to support the production and distribution of the Beyond Organic products. There is also a plan in place for the company to continue to acquire more land, cattle and increase production capacity…All products will be shipped directly from our distribution center in Kansas City to your home

They have their own standards, and they’re the only ones complying with them. And everything ships out of Kansas City. So unless you live near Kansas City, none of the money you spend will go to your local farmer. (Just how did Jordan Rubin magically become my local farmer?)

Beyond Organic meat and dairy comes from Green-Fed™ cattle, and our certified organic farms and ranches never feed grain or administer antibiotics, hormones, or vaccines, and they use Biblical slaughter methods.

How cute! He trademarked another term. What’s the difference between grass-fed and Green-Fed™? Changing the name (and cleverly trademarking it) doesn’t stop abuse. If you want beef that ate only grass, buy “grass-finished” beef. I see no reason to trust Rubin over my local farmer whose farm I can actually visit.

My understanding is that Kosher methods require the animal to be conscious as its throat is slit and it bleeds out. Unless you’re Jewish, I don’t see the upside here. The side of beef I bought received no antibiotics, hormones or vaccines (or so the farmer tells me) and it was humanely dispatched with a bullet to the head. I saw the grass it was eating in summer, and I saw all the grass that was harvested, dried and stored for its winter feed.

Is Beyond Organic a Scam?

Do a search of “Is Beyond Organic a Scam?” and you’ll find all sorts of sites telling you it isn’t. But click on their link to the site and note the “enroller” number. Of course it’s not a scam to them; they’re hoping to cash in.

Multi-Level Marketing Turns You Into an Asshole

Have you ever been a member of an MLM? Here’s how it works. You pay a fee to sign up. This gets you discounts on the product. But the greatest wealth of this so-called self-employment opportunity occurs when you sign others up under you (but the fee is higher).

So first you go through your address book and contact all your friends about this marvelous opportunity. You cajole your family into buying something from you. Most of them become annoyed; some begin to avoid your company.

Then you get really obnoxious. You start cold calling. You purchase literature to hand out (or at least a set of business cards). Maybe you plaster people’s cars with flyers.

You start approaching strangers. Everybody becomes a potential “opportunity” to recruit into your downline. You try to turn every conversation to the subject matter to your “business.” But it’s so draining and demeaning that all your meager profit goes to buying cassettes and books on sales and keeping an upbeat attitude. Any Amway marketer can tell you they have drawers of cassettes to keep them on track.

A very clever Internet marketer might be able to pull it off with his or her own website. Unfortunately…

It seems that not only do independent Mission Marketers have to risk being potentially squashed by big business, but that Beyond Organic itself seems rather hell bent on making its members marketing campaigns an extremely difficult task. — Marketing Beyond Organic more trouble than it’s worth?

Obnoxious MLMers

You’ll also consume a lot of product, because you “believe in it,” and you want everyone to know it. (You also have to convince your subconscious mind that all the money and effort you plow into the venture is worth it.)

I went to a weekend financial seminar attended by a lot of MLMers. One lady sat next to me. She spritzed herself with her special water. She took a pill assisted down her throat with her special water. Then spritzed again. I’m trying to listen to the speaker and this woman was a bustle of marketing activity. She naturally tried to recruit me.

I moved to another seat and another very friendly woman with special stones sat next to me. She told all about their magical qualities, and when I said I wasn’t interested, she ignored me.

Then there’s the gal years ago at Costco who sat across from me while we ate lunch. I couldn’t believe how friendly she was. My faith in humankind was renewed. She asked what I did for a living, and I told her about my new word processing business. She told me she had a lot of friends she could refer to me. Meanwhile, she wanted to send me something. Turned out to be another MLM and I declined the opportunity. Of course, no one was ever referred to me.

This brings up another event. I was with a friend at the mall. A woman got to talking with him, and he came back telling me how friendly she was. She got his phone number and told him she’d call him. He was looking forward to a date with this vivacious woman.

I asked him, “Did she tell you about any opportunity she was involved with that she wanted to share with you?” As a matter of fact, yes. Then it all clicked. My friend understood why she was so friendly (and why her sister kept rolling her eyes). Then he got furious. Yes, a subsequent phone call confirmed she was an MLMer.

It’s Not About Changing the World–It’s About Greed, His and Yours

Beyond Organic appeals to that which is best within us: our desire for small-scale, local agriculture, a nontoxic world and a clean, nutritious dinner table. But it also appeals to our greed.

If you have lots of gullible friends, Jordan Rubin invites you to become a “Beyond-Organic Mission Marketer” so you can help spread the Good word! He says you can “cultivate” your own community of online subscribers, and if you sign up enough people for his “magical” grocery grab-bag of “organic” foodstuffs, you’ll get your groceries for free! — Mischa Popoff

TANSTAAFL, folks! Somebody has to pay. If you’re successful, that’ll be your downline, but you’ll have to be really, really successful. I hope you don’t have a day job.

NOT Sustainable

Listen, I have no beef (no pun intended) with entrepreneurs filling a need. What I do object to is lying to people to do it.

How does my local farmer get a fair cut of the deal?

How sustainable is the fossil fuel required to truck product across the nation?

How sustainable is drawing water from Missouri aquifers and shipping it to your front door?

How sustainable are all the temperature controlled boxes and dry ice required to ship this stuff?

And how sustainable is diverting your dollars from your local economy to M Frikkin’ City?!!!

True Sustainability and Community Building

Do you want grass-fed beef sustainably raised? Then to go Eat Wild and find a farmer in your neighborhood. Or visit Local Harvest to find local farmers’ markets, dairy, eggs, and produce. Learn how to make your own cheese and get a water filter or find a local spring.

You want to give to charity? Then give. You don’t need to join Beyond Organic to do that.

Beyond Organics is about selling beef, dairy and water from Missouri and lining the pockets of Jordan Rubin. When I was first introduced to Beyond Organic I thought I smelled a rat. But what I smell is BO!

I received this email this morning from FRESH, and I am just disgusted. It’s not enough that Monsanto has been systematically buying up seed companies. It’s not enough that they sell most of the corn and soy bean seeds in this country filling our food supply with GMOs, but now they want to market GMO sweet corn.

It’s obvious our government loves Monsanto money and will bend over backwards for them, appointing their people in key government positions. They let Monsanto introduce their GMO alfalfa, which could potentially destroy any possibility for organic meat production. Now even your sweet corn is unsafe. Please read this and sign the petition asking stores not to carry their product.

——————–

Dear Joanne,

Monsanto is at it again. Despite commanding over 60% of the U.S. corn market, they want more—they want to be on your plate. For the first time, Monsanto is marketing a genetically-modified (GM) corn that will be sold directly to consumers. This is NOT commodity corn that will be processed into oil or fed to animals. These ears of sweet corn will go directly to grocery aisles, possibly in cans or frozen packs, where it will be impossible to tell them apart from pure varieties.

We’ve got to speak up about this where it counts. Tell our nation’s largest supermarkets that we will not buy any corn unless it is clearly labeled non-GMO.

The new GM sweet corn is engineered to kill insects with Bt toxins and to resist heavy spraying with Roundup herbicide. Already, Roundup resistant crops have resulted in an epidemic of over 21 types of resistant superweeds. Even more alarming, recent studies have linked Roundup with birth defects in animals, and Bt toxins from GM foods have been found in the bloodstreams of pregnant mothers and their unborn babies. The results are clear: producing GM sweet-corn for direct human consumption will have untold environmental and health tolls.

And it doesn’t end here. If successful, Monsanto is sure to introduce more GM produce targeted for supermarket shelves.

Let’s nip this in the bud now. Trader Joe’s has already indicated they will not carry GM sweet corn. Sign to tell the rest of the top grocery chains to follow suit.

Fundamentally, this is about the freedom of choice. If we aren’t even aware when a food has been genetically-modified, we can’t make an informed decision on whether to accept or reject the technology. Monsanto is counting on our ignorance to push GM sweet corn on us. We can show them we’re watching.

Working for safer food,

Ana and Crystal
The FRESH Team

Here’s an interesting article published by Hal Herzog, PhD, on the prevalence of eating disorders among vegetarians.

Eating Disorders: The Dark Side of Vegetarianism?.

Things were going fine until I asked Staci why she quit eating meat in the first place. She said that she became a vegetarian when she was a teenager. Then she dropped the bombshell: “My vegetarianism was tied up with my eating disorder.”

She went on: “Being a vegetarian was a way for me to have more control over my body by taking the fat out of my diet. Fat was the big evil. Emotionally I was in a tough position in my life at seventeen. Vegetarianism gave me something to hold onto.

A follow-up article claims that most vegetarians who return to eating meat do so for health reasons.

Why Do Most Vegetarians Go Back To Eating Meat?

Oak Park Woman Faces 93-Days in Jail For Planting Vegetable Garden by Alexis Wiley, WJBK | myFOXDetroit.com

OAK PARK, Mich. (WJBK) – “The price of organic food is kind of through the roof,” said Julie Bass.

So, why not grow your own? However, Bass’ garden is a little unique because it’s in her front yard.

“We thought it’d be really cool to do it so the neighbors could see. The kids love it. The kids from the neighborhood all come and help,” she said.

Bass’ cool garden has landed her in hot water with the City of Oak Park. Code enforcement gave her a warning, then a ticket and now she’s been charged with a misdemeanor.

“I think it’s sad that the City of Oak Park that’s already strapped for cash is paying a lot of money to have a prosecutor bothering us,” Bass told FOX 2′s Alexis Wiley.

“That’s not what we want to see in a front yard,” said Oak Park City Planner Kevin Rulkowski.

Why? The city is pointing to a code that says a front yard has to have suitable, live, plant material. The big question is what’s “suitable?”

We asked Bass whether she thinks she has suitable, live, plant material in her front yard.

“It’s definitely live. It’s definitely plant. It’s definitely material. We think it’s suitable,” she said.

So, we asked Rulkowski why it’s not suitable.

“If you look at the definition of what suitable is in Webster’s dictionary, it will say common. So, if you look around and you look in any other community, what’s common to a front yard is a nice, grass yard with beautiful trees and bushes and flowers,” he said.

Read the rest of this pathetic story here.

I haven’t posted in a long time, so I hope you enjoy this post after my long absence.

Sunday night I had a beef and tomato stir fry. Monday morning I woke with a sore belly. When I brushed my teeth I gagged and vomited a little bile. Then by about noon I had 4 bowel movements of diarrhea, largely undigested food.

By late afternoon the pain had localized in the lower-right of my abdomen and increased in intensity. I didn’t have a fever but felt weak and sick and suffered a few bouts of extreme vertigo. I had no appetite. Maybe I had food poisoning. Maybe something in the meal didn’t agree with me. Just in case, I threw out the leftovers and the unused tomatoes. Maybe they were tainted.

I slept poorly that night. Tuesday morning I took a hot bath. I figured it must be my appendix, given the location and symptoms. I visualized me holding my appendix and telling it I loved it and didn’t want to lose it. I surrounded it with white light and faeries who told it how loved it was and cleaned it of any nasty critters meant to do it harm.

I spent most of Tuesday laying around. The pain was pretty intense. While I was watching a movie in the afternoon, I started getting chills. When I checked my temperature, it was 102. I bundled up in my terry cloth bathrobe and got in bed under my comforter. My feet were freezing so I put a heating pad around them and got nice and toasty. I stayed at 102 for several hours, and then my temp dropped to 101 and hovered there for a while. Then down to 99.6.

I had a lot of trouble moving around. Washing the dishes and feeding the cats took some time, because I had to take a break every five minutes to lie down. So a friend came over to help me with some chores.

By the evening I had a headache. But I was clearer mentally than Monday. I thought of going to the hospital, but I had had this same problem before in Oregon about four years ago, and it resolved itself. So I stayed home.

I read that if they operate on you for appendicitis and find a healthy appendix, they’ll take it out since they’re there already. No thanks. I don’t want healthy organs taken out. They say it’s a useless organ. They used to say the world was flat. Just because you don’t know the use of a thing doesn’t mean it’s useless.

I fasted. Well, I didn’t eat solid food. My tongue became completely coated with a whitish-blue film. I had a couple cups of homemade chicken broth on Monday, and my friend brought me a ginger ale on Tuesday, which really helped with the nasty taste in my mouth. And it was oh-so delicious!

Again, my sleep Tuesday night was awful. I awoke several times. But by Wednesday morning the worst of the pain was passing. My abdomen was still incredibly sore. And I was weak. So I continued my fast from solid food and rested.

I’m much better this morning. Still a little weak, but that’s typical for me when I fast. No vertigo. No fever. The pain has halved itself. My abdomen is still tender, but I can move about without pain. I feel pretty darn good, but I’m not ready yet to eat. I’m having a couple cups of homemade beef broth right now.

So the bottom line is that our bodies are amazing in their ability to heal themselves. If I followed medical advice, I would be lying in a hospital bed with a hole in my body, a missing organ, and my intestinal flora destroyed. I also believe that any invasive surgery is a psychic insult to the body and soul, which leaves a lasting emotional/spiritual scar.

Now this doesn’t mean I’m completely out of the woods. This could turn around and worsen, leading to surgery. But I’ll give my body every chance it needs to take care of the problem without allopathic meddling. I’ll continue to fast and rest until my body calls for food. I have no interest in giving up my appendix.

Last week I fed Toby as normal, but she was still hungry. So I gave her more food until her belly bulged. Dumb move. The next morning at 6:30 I was awoken by a big, wet splat. She had vomited on the toilet seat cover, down the front, and all over the bathroom floor. She vomited that night’s meal as well and became very weak and wobbly in her back end.

She had this same problem a few months ago. She became incredibly weak and was drinking enormous amounts of water and urinating frequently. She fasted for several days, and I waited until she was feeling better before taking her to a veterinarian. I mostly wanted to get a potassium supplement.

I hate going to the vet, as do my cats. Most veterinarians have the same philosophy and methodology as physicians, which is to give lip service to diet and treat symptoms without finding the underlying cause of illness. They want to take charge with therapies and pharmaceuticals, and for some reason they think that cats are better off with dried kibble made of grains, waste product meat, additives and preservatives than than actual MEAT. Come again?

So when I took Toby and I also took Tibbs, because Tibbs hasn’t been grooming herself well and I suspect problems with her teeth. She doesn’t like chewing her meat and insists on a slurry.

Toby is a very cranky girl. Always has been. The vet techs took her “into the back” to draw blood. Isn’t it funny how they never want to do that in your presence? I heard Toby screaming and walked into the back to give her a recognizable voice and smell. Toby was slightly dehydrated and her veins were difficult to tap. The tech was inserting, wiggling, pulling out the needle and Toby was just miserable. They had to flip her over and try a vein on another leg. They finally got their blood and Toby’s blood glucose shot up (as evidenced on the blood test).

This is one reason why I don’t like taking sick animals to the vet. What sick animals need most is warmth and sleep. They don’t need three people holding them down by force and repeatedly shoving needles in their body.

The blood work came back:

RBC: 10.32 M/µL (normal range 5 – 10)
BUN: 83 mg/dL (normal range 16- 36) too high
CREA: 2.0 mg/dL (normal range .8 – 2.4) so this value is good
K (potassium): 3.3 mmol/L (normal range 3.5 – 5.8) got a supplement for this

Naturally the vet wanted to hospitalize Toby and put her on an IV solution to hydrate her. The last two cats I hospitalized ended up being put to sleep in short order. So no, Toby’s not staying. I compromised by allowing them to inject some fluid under her skin. Again, they took her into the back room.

I went back when I heard Toby screaming again to find three people holding her down trying to get a needle in her. They told the vet the needle kept popping out. Kept popping out? How many times had they stuck her? “This can’t be good for her immune system,” I said. They gave up on the hydration. That’s it. We’re finished here.

The doctor wanted to sell me a reduced-protein food for kidney damage control on the idea that it’s protein that damages the kidneys. I’m reading conflicting information on the net saying that reduced protein diets don’t seem to make a difference in BUN and creatinine levels and that phosphorus is the more likely culprit.

I was informed that if Toby didn’t improve in a week that I would have to bring her back and she would be hospitalized. Suppose Toby doesn’t improve because she’s simply dying. Do we submit her to invasive procedures in a foreign environment and herculean efforts to try to save her life? Or do we just let her die at home or spend as much time at home as possible and then put her to sleep when the pain becomes uncomfortable. Why are we so afraid of death? I mean, this girl is 16-1/2 years old. She’s something like in her late 70s in humans terms.

I don’t want her to die, but I certainly don’t want her spending her last days in a cage surrounded by strange people and smells. That’s what happened to Tiny, and it was awful.

I mentioned this situation to a woman whose research and efforts reversed her child’s autism via homeopathy. She recommended I try homeopathy. I took Toby to the homeopath yesterday, but I certainly wasn’t prepared for what I encountered.

The new vet walked in looking like a diminutive Jed Clampett with a pot belly smelling faintly of bad breath and, wait, was that alcohol? I explained the situation and he came back with a needle of “remedy.” I asked what it was and he said, “It’s for detoxification.” I replied, “Okay, so how does it work?” “It detoxifies,” he replied. “Do you know what detoxification is?” I tried getting across to him that I was interested in how it worked physiologically, and he said, “If you’re scared of it, we won’t use it,” and walked out the room. “Wait!” I cried.

This guy had no idea what I was after. All he could tell me was that nobody knows how homeopathy works and this substance helped the body detoxify. He threatened several times to leave the room. I finally let him give it to her. In went the needle, squeeze, a little protest by Toby, and it was all over.

He assured me that he has reversed many cases of renal failure, and he’s had his patients go back to their original vet to have lab work redone to find the values have normalized. He gave me a liquid and some capsules to give to Toby twice a day.

I asked him if he had done dental work on cats, and he was confident he could take care of Tibbs’s teeth for a much lower cost than other vets. But after I got that whiff of what I thought was alcohol, I got the feeling I shouldn’t trust him to put my beautiful Tibbs under.

I’ve had these moments of intuition, which I’ve largely ignored. The last time was when I took some shoes to a cobbler to get fixed. I went back the next week to pick up the shoes and drop off a couple coats for new zippers only to find he had lost my shoes. I went behind his counter and found them. My intuition said, “Don’t leave your coats here,” but I ignored it.

Two weeks later he said the coats had not been brought back from the business that did work for him. I went to that business, and they didn’t have the coats. I went back to the cobbler and found my coats hanging in the back of the room. He wanted $30 for replacing two zipper pulls. I only had $20, which he took. I visited the other cobbler who put on the zipper pulls, and they said they could sew in an entirely new zipper for $22. I had been had. I vowed then to begin listening to my intuition.

Even though it may be cheaper with this vet and easier than finding another vet with a better price, Tibbs is too precious to take the chance. So I’m following my intuition this time for sure. Here’s the estimate for dental work from the vet:

Dental cleaning – Level 3: $210
VetTest Profile PAP: $59
Miscellaneous Prescription Product $30 to 45
ECG Diagnostic: $49
Local Anesthetic Block: $32
Dental Xray over 5 films: $94
Clndamycin Inj 150 mg/ml: $26
Oral Surgery: $120 to 240

Total: $620 to $755

Do you suppose they clean the teeth and then extract them?

There’s another veterinary service in town that specializes in dentistry and they offer free consultation. I’m going to take her there and see what they recommend and charge. But this needs to happen soon, because bad teeth poison the whole body.

To everything there is a season, and this is my season of rut. Or rather, being in a rut

My usual routine is to get up in the morning, make a cup of green tea with a squirt of lemon, and read my emails and blogs to which I subscribe. I’ve recently joined several Yahoo mail groups, and I find myself spending far too much time on email. I love the many things I’m learning, but I am being pulled in too many directions and not getting anything purposeful accomplished.

Sometimes I want to write something here. But the last time I had substantive content was several weeks ago. So there’s this pressure to produce something BIG, and since I’m in a rut, nothing BIG is being produced. And so I don’t post, even though I have something I’d like to write about. I suppose I’m going to have to get over that.

Update on Diet

I’ve continued with a relatively low-carb diet high in meat and fat with the occasional fruit and vegetable. I’ve cheated a lot since November when I intended to give up sugar. I still indulge, but nowhere near as often. I’ve had three Starbucks mochas since then, and have eaten even more portions of ice cream. But most days I have very little sugar, and it’s in fruit if I have it.

For a time I was eating two pomegranates every night after dinner, and now I’m completely finished with pomegranate season. I had my last one last night.

Since November I’ve lost ten pounds. Almost enough to get into the smaller pants that have been waiting for me for over a year. Almost. I’ve dropped two sizes since moving here, and in a few weeks I’ll probably drop another.

But with the weight loss has come a realization of the damage I did to my skin from such high sugar consumption and years of stress. I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to get a handle on stress. It’ll wreck your body like nothing else.

I went out to dinner with a few friends over the weekend and ate some wheat bread. The next few days brought back and rib pain, a reminder that wheat just doesn’t work for me anymore.

My body is becoming more sensitive to food with quicker responses following violations. Sometimes I’ll eat something and my heart will start beating really hard and fast. Coffee causes an almost immediate heat and flushing to my face.

Most aches and pains I’ve had over the years are gone, but now for some reason my left shoulder is hurting. I’ve read that some people are sensitive to arachidonic acid, an amino acid found mostly in red meat (but also produced by the body), and the reaction is usually inflammation. I’m hoping that is not the case, considering my stockpile of meat. But I’ve got to get the bottom of this shoulder thing. Maybe it’s from lying on my left side watching TV. I used to lie on my right side, and that’s when my right hip started hurting.

As for memory, I’m not as prone to asking myself, “Why am I here?” in the sense of standing with my head in the fridge and wondering what I wanted. I don’t forget as often why I went to a particular room. And if I do forget, I remember quicker.

My body is also warmer than last year. The heater is set at a slightly lower temperature and my hands are usually warm, which is significant improvement. However, my feet are usually always cold.

I haven’t exercised in years, and I’m now realizing how weak I’ve become. Any sort of exertion and my heart begins pounding like mad. It’s kind of scary. Is something wrong with my heart or am I just out of shape? I’ve started exercising with a kettle bell. A little at a time.

I’m also easily out of breath. I have really done some damage to my body, and it will take time to heal it all. The best step I took was giving up gluten grains. Once my gut is healed from the damage inflicted by inflammatory responses to gluten, it’ll begin absorbing nutrients better and keeping out foreign proteins.

I always wondered why I lost the outer half of my eyebrows. Turns out that’s a sign of low thyroid. I quit using iodized table salt in preference to sea salt. Then I found out that sea salt has no iodine in it. The thyroid needs iodine, and mine wasn’t getting any. Couple that with a few years of emotional stress and voila! Low thyroid. This is simplistic, I realize, but a good starting point. I’m supplementing with iodine, and my eyebrows are slowing growing back.

My eyesight hasn’t improved at all but seems to be getting worse.

Benefits of a Sugar-free Diet

The greatest benefit to going off sugar is the lack of swings in hunger and appetite. When I used to eat predominantly plants, I would obsess about food and eat quite a bit at each sitting. I would eat often. Consuming mostly meat and fat is very satiating and my appetite is much more controllable. I can often go from dinner to dinner without any discomfort.

I’ve also noted that my moods are much more even. Less up and down. It takes more to irritate me. In fact, I’m usually in a very good mood despite being unemployed and in a rut.

Some Simple Things I Learned Last Year

I learned why some cutting boards have a shallow moat around the edge. I learned that the first time I put a roast on a board to rest and the juices dribbled onto the floor for the cats. I also learned why meat must rest: to allow the juices, which have been migrating toward the outside of the meat, to settle back into the meat.

I learned how to cut up and consume a pomegranate with the least mess and most gratifying oral pleasure. I’m not only anal but oral. Maybe from being bottle fed.

I learned how to deglaze a pan.

I learned how to make stew and chicken broth and brined beef tongue.

I learned how to skin, disembowel, and cut up a rabbit.

I learned what chateau briand is. It’s the big, thick part of a beef tenderloin.

I learned that saturated fat is good, vegetable oils are bad, cholesterol doesn’t cause heart disease, and sugar spikes insulin which causes fat deposition.

I learned how to play Texas Holdem.

The Social Scene

Oddly enough, I have developed quite a social life since moving to Erie, and I met most of the people I’ve befriended at Starbucks, a mere five blocks from my home. As is usual, most of my friends are men. I have one female friend and several male friends. But no romantic interests.

My friend Neal introduced me to Texas Holdem. A few taverns host the games. You pay $2 for a drink (water for me) and you can play a tournament. Several tables play at a time, and as players lose their chips, they leave the table. The player with a short stack of chips at a table with many players gets moved to a table with fewer players. Eventually you end up with one table. The winner gets $40 and second place gets $20.

The last time I played about 40 people showed up. I made it to the final table. This is my third time at a particular tavern where I survived until the final table. I lost my chips at third, sixth, and seventh places. Not bad for a beginner. It’s a lot of fun but completely nonproductive, which means it fits in well with my season of rut.

It’s an interesting crowd. Lots of smoking, cussing, fondling and slamming of chips, and the occasional emotional outburst when someone loses or wins. Most players are men. Many nights I have to shove something in my ears because it’s so loud.

My Furry Family

My life is enriched by the relationship I have with my cats. They are annoying and messy. But just engaging a cat for a few minutes makes me smile and fills my body with love.

Pinegar has taken (the late) George’s place at night. He usually starts off at the foot of the bed, but by morning he’s curled up in my arms under the covers. Some time during the night Lyla sneaks under the covers too. She likes to crawl down deep.

Every night Lyla and Pinegar sleep with me, and sometimes I let Arthur and Puddy in as well. But around three in the morning I’m awakened by Puddy mounting and biting someone in the neck. Then he gets kicked out.

Chester Longtail Wobblehouse will visit in the wee hours and scratch the bottom edge of the door. I don’t let her in until morning, and she heads straight for the bed. She’ll scratch the sheets until I lift up the comforter. Then she slides in, I slide in, and we have our little love session. This is the ONLY time she is affectionate with me. The rest of the time she runs away from me. Little freak.

Toby is sick again. She was sick several months ago. Didn’t eat much, vomited, urinated a lot and drank a lot of water. She’s been drinking more water than usual since then. The other day I fed her her normal ration, and because she was still hungry I let her have a bunch more food. Her belly filled up like a ball, and I heard the splat of her vomit in the early morning.

The next day she was hunkered over a box of books I was going to sell on Amazon. I took her off and made a mental note to cover the box because I thought she might throw up in it. I forgot to cover the box. She threw up in it, all over a $130 book and some other expensive books. Intuition worked for me but I didn’t follow up and paid the price.

So What To Do About the Rut?

What’s odd is I hear people say how bored they are. I remember the days when I used to be bored. But these days I’m never bored. I’m happy reading all day just about, and a few days a week going to Starbucks to talk with friends. The occasional poker game. I’m watching Stargate SG-1 again, which was a great show. And I have a ton of books to read.

I’m in a rut. I’m unproductive. There’s a temptation to DO SOMETHING. But sometimes it’s best to just relax and see where it takes me. The trees have all dropped their leaves and they too are in a rut. But they don’t fight it. They just wait until spring when they can begin their new growth.

To everything there is a season. And seasons of rest are followed by great growth.

Hey, dog lovers! I just watched this video and I had to share it. It’s so adorable. (Thanks, Tim.)

I watched Avatar today at the theater in 3D. What a show! This is a movie that no fan of sci-fi or fantasy should miss.

Humans are hoping to mine a rare and extremely valuable ore from the moon Pandora, which is inhabited by a species called Na’vi who are 12 feet tall, blue skinned, and who can interface with nature using tentacles growing from their braided hair.

The humans failed to create a relationship with the Na’vi despite creating schools and teaching them English. So the scientists grew cloned Na’vi bodies–avatars–using Na’vi and human DNA from a few highly trained scientists. These scientists can then enter a closed chamber and connect their minds to the avatar and “live” in their bodies. Perhaps the Na’vi will listen to humans when they look like Na’vi.

But one of the scientists died before his time came to connect with the avatar, so his brother Jake was given the opportunity. This is exhilarating for Jake, a marine who lost the use of his legs. Jake’s assignment was to learn the secrets of the Na’vi so the military could oust the natives from their settlement on a rich area of ore. But Jake falls in love with the people and their moon.

It’s the same story of the Europeans destroying the habitat of the Native Americans and plundering its wealth. And that part is predictable but still infuriating. It’s basically Dances with Wolves with a little Last Samurai and McCaffrey’s Pern thrown in.

But I’ll tell you, this moon and its inhabitants that James Cameron created are absolutely breathtaking. The colors delight the eyes, the flora and fauna are rich and diverse, and the Na’vi are frankly beautiful and sexy. And they are above all things deeply spiritual and attuned to their moon which, as it turns out, is a living entity where all things are connected.

My two friends and I (and I imagine the entire audience) sat spellbound watching this feast of entertainment. Don’t miss this. Don’t wait for the DVD. Go see it. I’m going to go see it again.

On a Personal Note

I cried several times during this movie (which is pretty usual for me, being a softy and all), and when I left the movie I felt like my life was completely meaningless.

Here were these beautiful creatures completely connected to their land, their world. They were all slim and fit and belonged to a community that included not only their own kind but the creatures around them. They respected their world and cared for it like a mother cares for her children.

And what do we have? We have people living in boxes who hardly speak to their neighbors. Most of us couldn’t live off the land if we had to. I won’t even bother fishing in Lake Erie because the water’s so polluted there’s a limit to how many fish you can eat per month.

Me, I’ve got a body wrecked from years of poor diet, lack of movement, and stress, and I’m just trying to figure out what food is. I’m trying to heal my body and my mind and my soul. And I’ve got 20 pounds of fat that still needs to go.

We went to dinner afterwards. I had an overcooked beef filet made from feedlot beef, mashed potatoes, and tasteless, rubbery broccoli. These three foods would never exist in the natural world.

I look at the people around me, and they’re sick and fat and mostly unhappy. What happened to sitting around the campfire laughing and loving and beating drums and dancing? Do neighbors even borrow sugar or eggs from each other anymore? Why are we all holed up in our locked fortresses?

What happened to reaching for our dreams? Why am I not acting or collaborating on creative projects? Why am I writing a friggin’ blog? What happened to the life I imagined when I was 12 years old? And the wonder and joy and energy to pull it off?

Why have we all SETTLED?

I read about farmers getting arrested for selling raw milk while the pharmaceutical companies legally continue to crank out drugs that kill people. I read about Monsanto gobbling up the seed market and the USDA trying to regulate small farms out of business. I read about the Bilderberg group and their quest for domination of the planet. I read the fraud that is H1N1 and the corrupt WHO and the CDC. I watch my civil liberties picked off one at a time by the rich and powerful.

There’s so much corruption and our nation’s citizens can’t even join together to overcome it. Did we run out of energy in 1776?

Our world is facing a mass die off of many species because of loss of habitat and poaching and global warming. And people still wear furs and still bulldoze rain forests and still buy too much crap that they don’t need.

We breed too often and create children who are weak and sick. The most natural of events–breastfeeding–is an inconvenience, and sometimes it’s just harmful to infants because of the toxins passed in the milk. Then the children enter an educational system that doesn’t believe in critical thinking. Then they get a job working for someone else while the dream they had when they were 12 slowly dies inside them.

We are a sick species, and unfortunately we’re the dominant species on our world. And we keep taking.

If only I were an optimist.

Sorry this post is such a bummer.