Archive for Health
Monsanto and Our Food
Posted by: | CommentsThis film is almost 2 hours long, but is well worth your time to learn what is happening to our foods, and how the entire world is impacted by what one company has done. I am very sad, disappointed, and disgusted by the story of Monsanto, and what they have done…with the help of the US government.
On March 11 a new documentary was aired on French television – a documentary that Americans won’t ever see. The gigantic bio-tech corporation Monsanto is threatening to destroy the agricultural biodiversity which has served mankind for thousands of years
acupuncture works!
Posted by: | CommentsWith Katie, I started having “pre-term labor” at 35 weeks. These often very intense contractions did not stop until the day I had her, at 40 weeks + 2 days. My midwife had suggested I consider acupuncture to help with some muscle/tendon pain that I had been having, and by the time I got in to see the acupuncturist I was 2 days late. She assumed I was there for an “induction”, and I decided whatever she might try would be fine–contractions every 3-5 minutes for most of the last 5 weeks was really taking its toll on my mind and body.
Long story short, I got to the acupuncturist office at 3pm, had 3 needles inserted by 3:10pm, and started having “active labor” by 3:20. At 4:14 we were in traffic, about 5 minutes from home, and I told Roger I needed to push! Roger had our midwife on the phone, who by this time was also on her way to our house, but she was stuck in traffic. She told Roger that he might have to deliver this baby. Now that the event is over, I really wish I could have seen the look on Roger’s face when she said that. At the time I was curled up in the back of the van, on the floor, dealing with labor. But can you imagine Roger’s reaction when he thought he would be delivering a baby!?
As it turned out, Katie was not born for another hour and a half, so there was plenty of time. But quite frankly, if I had not gotten out of the van when I did, I may have seriously had the baby in the van!
It was not until after the birth that Roger and my midwife discussed the details of the acupuncture visit. When I started active labor, I ask the acupuncturist to call Roger and get him back to the office (he had taken Julie out for a walk). She was so super duper calm, that when she said, “things are RAMPING up here”, he thought she said, “things are WRAPPING up here”, so he took his sweet time coming back! He says that when he got in the room, and saw me crying, he thought I just had “an emotional session”. Even the midwife said she didn’t sense the urgency in the acupuncturist’s voice. With me, she didn’t mince words. She looked me straight in the eye (and with a very calm voice) said, “I think you’re in active labor!”. And when Roger did finally get back to the office, she ask him how far the drive would be to get home, and when he said 15 minutes, she had a very concerned look on her face, and I think she said something like: try to hurry!
Of course, everything worked out perfectly. My midwife was here in plenty of time to get set up and my doula lives close by, and she was able to drop everything and be here within just a few minutes.
Someone has since ask me if it could have been a coincidence that I went into labor while having the acupuncture treatment, and my answer to that is that it was definitely NOT a coincidence. The acupuncturist noted a “change in my energy” when she checked my pulse before and after putting in the needles. At the time, I thought it was a little hokey-pokey that she noticed such a big difference, but since she produced results, now I’m a firm believer! My midwife says she’s never experienced anyone responding so quickly and positively to acupuncture treatment. And the acupuncturist told me that only one other time has a woman gone into active labor during treatment, and she ended up driving that woman to the hospital. So I guess my results were a little “unusual”, but the acupuncturist believes I was already “ripe and ready”, and that was just the little nudge I needed.
I admit to being somewhat of a skeptic at first. When we arrived at the office, we parked behind a car with a license plate frame that said, “acupuncture works!”. I told Roger, “ha! we’ll see about that!”. I also said that if it DID work, I would get one of those frames and put it on my car. Now I have to find one of those frames!
The Future of Food
Posted by: | CommentsLately I’ve been hearing about GMO’s (Genetically Modified Organisms) aka GE’s (Genetic Engineered) for humans, but it wasn’t until I learned more about it that I realized why it’s so bad for us!
“The Future of Food” is great film that explains GMO’s and talks about the science and politics behind it. The film is 1 1/2 hour, which took me a day or two to watch all the way through (because I’m also caring for Julie), but it was well worth the investment of time.
There’s lots of things that disturb me about GMO’s, but perhaps the biggest is the fact that we (the consumer) have no idea if we’re eating GMO’s. Even if food packages and produce were labeled (which they are not), some farmers claim they have no idea that GMO seeds have taken root in their fields. One farmer interviewed in the film claims that he only learned he had GMO seeds when Monsanto filed a lawsuit against him for patent infringement. GMO crops are indistinguishable from non-GMO crops. According to the farmer’s neighbor, a truck load of GMO seeds was passing by his farm when the tarp blew off, and seeds were blown into the air, settling in his field. The farmer first noticed something different when he sprayed Round-up (a weed/grass poison) around power poles in his field and his crop didn’t die–he dismissed it, thinking that the weeds must have built a tolerance to the poison. This is in fact one of the patented “features” of Monsanto’s seed. It’s called “Round-up Ready”. They take the active ingredient DNA in Round-up, and insert it in the DNA of other crops. This enables a farmer to dump loads of poison on the crops, killing pest weeds and grasses, but not killing the crop. There is a lot still unknown about GMO’s and how they will impact our health in the long run–this is one of the reasons that lots of other nations have stopped accepting imports of certain American foods.
Some scientist and scholars say that the methods used to make these genetic changes to seeds further compromise the seed to unknown viruses and bacteria that most likely will have long term effects on our health. Accordng to the film, scientists penetrate the cell of the seed using e. coli bacteria and “cauliflower virus”. Lots of studies have been done on animals, and the results are disturbing at best. There are lots of unexplainable problems including illnesses, stomach lesions, sterility, damaged immune systems, development of severe allergies, and death.
Now I use this list as a reference of processed foods. This list contains both non-GE and GE foods.
cooking with stainless steel
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Over the years, Roger and I have spent a small fortune on non-stick pans! We’ve tried them all: the super cheap Costco pans, the cast-iron teflon covered pans, and the “gourmet/professional grade” non-stick pans. No matter what, the pans are always destroyed between 1 – 3 years. The last pan was an Anolon brand “professional-grade” that cost $200+.
I admit, Roger and I both had a very bad habit of always cooking on “high”, which we have learned is a BIG no-no with teflon. Not just because the high heat destroys the coating (which is part of the reason why the pans never lasted) but also, teflon contains the chemical perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), which is a “likely” carcinogen, according to the EPA. I’m sure everyone’s heard the story about the indoor pet birds who have died while their people were cooking with non-stick pans in the same room. As a result, DuPont has decided to “voluntarily” reduce emissions of PFOA by 95 percent by no later than 2010. But after the last non-stick pan went to the landfill after about 18 months, I was tired of using these disposable pans.
I started looking into cooking with stainless steel, and found that people who use it love it and never go back to non-stick. We ultimately went with this 3-quart All-Clad Copper Core saucier pan for our “all-purpose” cooking, and an All-Clad Copper Core 4-quart stock pot for soups and stews. I do love cooking with the stainless steel, but there is definately a learning curve when going from non-stick to stainless.
Here’s my advise:
If you buy a stainless steel pan, spend the extra money on a copper core. Everyone seems to agree that cooking on stainless without the copper core is a lot more difficult because stainless steel alone is a poor conductor of heat–which makes it very difficult to control the distribution and intensity of the heat. We went with the All-Clad Copper Core. It cost a little more than we had been spending on non-stick, but these pans most likely WILL last for many years, so I see it as an investment.
- When searing/frying foods, it is common for the food to stick to the pan. If you are patient, the food will release from the pan, and you’ll keep that nice brown crust on the food. From what I’ve read, it seems that most people agree that the reason for this is that the food initially sticks to the surface until steam builds between the food and the cooking surface. Once the steam builds enough, it releases the food from the surface. This has been my experience with steak. However, I lost the nice brown crust on Tilapia the other night
Next time, I’m going to turn the heat up just a little, and hopefully that will solve the problem–I NEVER cook with a setting higher than MEDIUM. - If something does stick to the pan, fill the bottom with water, and let it soak for a little while, and the stuck food will come right off. I usually put water in the pan as soon as I’m done cooking, and by the time we’re done eating, the pan is ready to be washed.
- Keep the finish looking like new by using “Barkeeper’s Friend” or “Bon-Ami”. We’ve had our All-Clad pans for a few months, and I’ve polished the cooking surface about 3 times. I expect to polish less as I gain more experience cooking with the pans.
Overall, I highly recommend trying stainless steel. I like the health aspect of not using dangerous non-stick teflon, but I also love the lip around the edge of the pan. When pouring from the pan to serving dish, the liquids/food don’t dribble down the edge of the pan. Not a really big deal, but it sure is nice to not have to wipe the edge! I also like the way these pans look. These pans are all business, but they have a beauty to them that I have never seen in the non-stick varieties.
can hot liquids stop a cold?
Posted by: | CommentsI thought we dodged the bullet over the holidays. We were around lots of people coughing up lungs and sneezing, and I thought for sure we’d get sick. A few days went by, and nothing!–yay! we dodged that bullet. Then yesterday, around the same time, Roger and I both started getting that scratchy, swollen, feverish feeling in our throats. I took a peek back there, and oh yea, it looks like the virus is taking hold.
Roger has a theory that drinking hot liquids possibly stops (or weakens the effects) of a cold. His logic is that the heat from the liquid kills the germs. It does make sense because the body’s natural way of killing bad germs is by running a fever, and typically the fever has to get a little high, ~103-104 degrees. The only thing I’m not sure about is the effect this would have on the rest of the body. I’m not a doctor, so I’m not real sure how this works, but I believe the virus would exist in the rest of the body (not just the throat?). If this is the case, the hot liquids are only treating the throat area, which in this case could theoretically ease the symptoms and maybe shorten the length of illness.
I may never know if this really works, but I am definitely chuggin’ the hot tea, just in case! It does temporarily make me feel better, but then the sore throat comes back.
Ahhh…a cold…the Christmas gift that keeps on giving! Thanks!
UPDATE 12/30/07: Well, there might be something to this theory. As I said, I’ve been drinking a LOT of hot tea for the past 3 days, and I am feeling better. My throat still appears a little red, but it has improved considerably since yesterday. And I feel much better today too.
