Category Archives: healthcare

The dirty nine

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Nine state legislators were flown on a chartered flight and…well, you can read the rest here.

From the article:

The tar sands of Alberta are estimated to be the third largest reserve of crude oil on the planet. But the process of turning the tar-like bitumen into a refined product that can be used as fuel is extremely energy intensive and highly polluting. The former NASA scientist James Hansen, warned that the extraction and use of Canadian tar sands would mean “game over” for the climate. TransCanada is the operator of the proposed KXL pipeline, which would carry the tar sands to Texas for processing and likely for exports to markets abroad.

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I think it’s really important to highlight NASA scientist James Hansen’s statement on this because most folk think that folks who believe in climate change are “fringe” liberals, when they’re not.  Dr. Hansen is a prime example of that.

More:

TransCanada, which is a member of ALEC, sponsored ALEC’s Spring Task Force Summit in Oklahoma City in May 2013, alongside other corporations with tar sands interests including BP, Devon Energy and Koch Industries. TransCanada’s Vice President Corey Goulet presented to legislators at the conference during a session called “Embracing American Energy Opportunities.“

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Dimon stayed in touch with Adams’ office over the proceeding months, providing his staff with further materials about Keystone XL, including a set of talking points stamped with the TransCanada logo.

By February 14, Adams had an updated draft that had been reviewed by the Ohio legislative service commission, the non-partisan body that assists legislators with drafting legislation. Adams staffer Ryan Crawford sent this language to Rob Eshenbaugh, a lobbyist with Ohio Petroleum Council, the state affiliate of the American Petroleum Institute. “Please let me know if I can be of further assistance,” Crawford wrote to the lobbyist. Eshenbaugh responded with some requested changes, which Crawford then incorporated into the bill.

 

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So…yeah….pretty glaring examples of not so subtle bribery.  Unethical. Unethical. Unethical.

I have something of a quibble with the story saying that the XL has become a national issue….where were you when Enbridge was getting the northwest Indiana pipeline approved even though it runs near Lake Michigan and other sources of water?  Does anyone know why Indiana is ignored?    I’d like to know why we don’t matter….somebody tell me, please.

 

 

 

 

Correction

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I was thinking about the previous post and I misstated something:  my doctor actually urged my (ex) husband to urge me to get a hysterectomy.  Incredible, eh?  Not to mention a sneaky way to influence me to get an unnecessary operation that would have caused more problems than it solved.

Again, I am so grateful that I did my research and listened to my intuition and didn’t succumb to the pressure.

Giving thanks. 🙂

Celiac diagnosis

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I found a used book on natural medicine by an M.D. that actually believes in food as a healing or in my case, a hurting element of health;  exercise, and vitamin supplements helping one to stay healthy.  The book is called Natural Prescriptions by Robert M. Giller, M.D. and Kathy Matthews (this cover isn’t the same as my book, so I’m not sure if it is the same one or another updated version).

I guess now would be a good time for the lawyer-speak:  The suggestions here are not meant to diagnose or cure.  If you are having health issues, you should seek the guidance of a health care practitioner.

Dr. Giller touches on Celiac disease.  He mentions the neurological connections with schizophrenia and depression, but he fails to note migraines, seizures, and possible Alzheimer’s as symptoms of Celiac.  He also states that once one begins the gluten-free diet, one’s symptoms should abate in a couple of weeks.  bwahahahahahahahahahaha. Obviously not an expert of Celiac.  Healing the gut, as noted by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride, takes one to two years, depending on severity.  But Dr. Giller does note that one cannot go back to eating gluten after the symptoms subside.

Anyway, Dr. Giller did have some pretty good questions to diagnose Celiac:

1.  Do you have Irish, Scottish, English, or Scandinavian heritage?  (I would add German or Dutch)      Dr. Giller notes that every 1 in 215 Irish suffer from Celiac. Whoa.

2.  Is there a history of intestinal disease in your family? Does anyone in your family experience similar symptoms including chronic gas, bloating, and indigestion?  (This is harder to answer because the farting thing is kinda a dirty little secret…I can’t imagine folks sitting around at family gatherings talking about it.  :p  )

3.  Have you ever had a blistery rash on the inside of your elbows, behind your knees, or at other body folds?

4.  Is your abdomen ever swollen?  (Take heed of this–I just thought that I had gained weight (due to thyroid/mercury) and that was why my abdomen was swollen.  Nope.  It was dramatic how much it shrunk when I began the gluten diet.  If you recall, I lost twenty pounds within six months.  Remarkable. )

5.  Is chronic fatigue a serious problem in your life, affecting your job performance and social obligations?  (I notice just before I get a migraine, my energy levels plummet. BUT this is an incredible improvement from just three years ago, when I got tired just walking twenty feet from my bedroom to the front room.   Most people are mischaracterized as being lazy when they actually have chronic fatigue.)

6.  Do you have frequent diarrhea or constipation?  (This is a tricky question because if you have been undiagnosed all of your life, what is “normal” to you is not a true indication of health.  That is, you may suffer from either or both, thinking this is just how your body is, without knowing that you’re a Celiac.  So you might not think to mention this to the doc because it is “normal” for you.)

7.  Does your family have a history of stunted growth or delayed maturity?  (This is my family.  My son was the shortest kid in his class until his Junior year in high school, when he grew.  I did not fully mature physically until in my late twenties. )

Of course, Dr. Giller does not mention GMO’s and their possible implication with gut inflammation.  This book was published in 1994, so the GMO monster had not yet been released (as far as we know—I keep reading different dates as to when this monster was released.)

 

 

 

Histamine and the Brain

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A member of the mercury support group posted a link to an interesting report on the effects of histamine on the brain and the resulting serious psychological problems.

I am of the belief that many mental problems are not caused solely by brain chemicals gone awry.  I know too much now to ever go back to that thinking–mercury poisoning has taught me that.  Rather, I think many mental problems are manifesting in the brain, but the real issue is something gone wrong in the body.  And the issue of environmental toxins is key, also.

This page explores the effects histamine has on a person’s personality.  It is just stunning how severely someone can be affected.

I learned something today.

The Food Stamp Lie **edited

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**edited.  I missed the claim that he purchased all of this on $21.55  + 6.03 …. So, he’s saying that he used this for a week? At five weeks, that would be $137.90…and that’s only if you live within walking distance of a big box store (that pays minimum wage to its employees) …..but it still stands that this is not  healthy nor sustainable, without meat, fruits and veggies, butter (or olive oil) and eggs.

Donny Ferguson, an aide in the office of Rep. Steve Stockman (R-TX), made the bogus claim that he could eat well on the amount of food allowed with Food Stamps, or SNAP, as it is officially called.

I was surprised to see such a well thought out response here.  Not expecting that from Forbes, for sure. 🙂

I read a rather lame article on MSNBC.  (not linking to it, you’ll have to google it.)   The article writer didn’t bother listing the food items that Ferguson bought, but started with the headline “Republican Staffer Beats Food Stamp Challenge”   I don’t know why folks think MSNBC is liberal…it’s not.  Save for a couple of the more enlightened ones.  I’m sure they’ ll be gone, however, if they really stick their necks out….a la Phil Donahue.  (I find it highly ironic that I grew up on Phil Donahue and my kids have control freak and bully Dr. Phil.)

The llist of the items bought by Ferguson:

For $21.55 Ferguson purchased at Dollar Tree:
Two boxes of Honeycomb cereal
Three cans of red beans and rice
Jar of peanut butter
Bottle of grape jelly
Loaf of whole wheat bread
Two cans of refried beans
Box of spaghetti
Large can of pasta sauce
Two liters of root beer
Large box of popsicles
24 servings of Wyler’s fruit drink mix
Eight cups of applesauce
Bag of pinto beans
Bag of rice
Bag of cookies

For $6.03 at the Shoppers Food Warehouse next door Ferguson bought a gallon of milk and a box of maple and brown sugar oatmeal.

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First, there are no can sizes listed. Highly suspect.  How big a box of sugar-coated cereal?  How big a can of chemically suspect red beans and rice?  How big a jar of grape jelly?

Speaking from a Celiac viewpoint, I couldn’t get past Day One of this wheat based diet.  I would be ill after the first meal, and in a hospital by the end of the month….if I made it that long.

Secondly, as the Forbes article mentions, this diet is void of fruits and vegetables.  And meat, too.  Not one egg.  No flour.  No butter. It has everything to encourage heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and dental decay.  There is nothing nutritious or healthy about this diet.

I don’t drink milk, but if I did before the crash and burn, I would have stopped by now because it’s too expensive and nutritionally questionable with pasteurized milk from grain-fed cows kept in captivity shot up with antibiotics.

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This is not a sustainable diet–for the planet nor for its inhabitants.  It’s disingenuous.  And no doubt if someone follows this diet, the repubs would be blaming them for getting sick and costing taxpayers $$$ dollars in healthcare costs.  Pffft.

Deer infected with neurological disease

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CMD also reports of a neurological disease in Wisconsin deer that is like mad-cow disease.    The DNR reports that there have not been any documented cases where the disease has been transferred to humans….but they’re not exactly testing for it, either, according to this report.  I did a quick check of Indiana’s DNR website, and they have not reported the disease in the state.  Yet.  But the report is from 2008, so they may be stricken in the last five years.

It just blows my mind that they are so lackadaisical about it.  They’d much rather deny your eating raw milk (that has beneficial enzymes) than deny you venison.

Just think about the recent reports of horse meat being served as beef in restaurants…yeah, you get the picture.  And we have poor folks who are probably harvesting road kill in order to eat.  Not saying that I have actual knowledge of this, but I wouldn’t be a bit surprised to learn this has been going on.  Poor people without health insurance are not going to go to the doctor.  They would end up in emergency rooms —who would know to look for the disease?

The biggest question of all–why are they now becoming so sick?  It seems that since 2006, it has rapidly climbed.  Why?

I know you all are going to groan, but with the gut affecting the neurological function, I have to think it’s related to the gut….and there might be a connection between GMO’s and the deer now suffering so much neurologically.  Deer love corn.  Corn is now all GMO (unless specifically grown organically, but as we have explored before, GMO corn is pollinating organic and non-GMO corn–from this excellent blog on how serious genetic manipulation is:

Another concern is the natural cross-breeding of crops in adjacent fields, resulting in the transfer of transgenes into organic and conventional (non-genetically-engineered) crops.

Sadly, farmers who become the victim of natural crop cross over are often subject to lawsuits: Monsanto has repeatedly filed patent infringement lawsuits against farmers who may have inadvertently harvested GM crops mixed into their non-GM crops. Farmers insist these crops are the result of cross-pollination from GM crops planted a field or two away; Monsanto claims the farmers obtained Monsanto-licensed GM seeds from an unknown source, and mixed them into their seed sources without paying royalties to Monsanto.

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Another recent blog on GMO.

So…think they’ll test these diseased deer for a) Celiac-like gut inflammation; and b) GMO infected gut flora?  Nah.  That would make too much sense.

Moyers on ALEC

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Center for Media and Democracy has this up on Bill Moyers covering the dirty dealings of American Legislative Exchange Council.  It states that this was all over the nation on PBS stations this weekend.  If it was on my local station, I saw no advertisement of it, so I missed it.  (Boy, do I miss FW, which has such a kick butt public radio station, and three PBS stations, as well. )

Luckily, there is a link here to watch the show online. Also, there is a link for finding out which of your own state’s representatives belong to ALEC.  I found a couple of surprises, there, such as Win Moses, who was the former mayor of Fort Wayne, and John Gregg, the guy who just ran for governor.  Mike Pence was not listed, but yeah, he seems to be doing their bidding:

mikepence.com/newsletter/pence-hires-atkins-policy-director

See…this exposure of ALEC is a double-edged sword–you’re getting the word out and people are paying attention, but they (ALEC)  will find ways around it by people who are off in the wings, such as Atkins.

Congress to the hungry:

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Eat Sh*t.  (Yeah, I know, I’ve said it before, but it speaks so well of the contempt of the poor).  As they debate the Farm Bill, once again they target the vulnerable and less able to fight back:  the food stamp recipients….giving them even less money for food that they can’t afford now…

I was watching CSPAN this morning with Rosa Delauro who is adamant on keeping the food stamp funds as is…and targeting the fraud in other areas that nobody speaks about.  You never hear the so-called conservatives, who love to kick the poor when they’re down, talk about this.   They try to categorize the Food Stamp program as full of fraud and waste….but never quite get around to putting facts out there.  Ronald Reagan started the “welfare queen” lie by taking a true story (a woman on welfare arrived to pick up her food stamps when they were still paper, in a Cadillac.  What Reagan and his ilk failed to report was that the woman was being given a ride by a wealthy lady so she could pick up her stamps.  Nice way to skew public perception to hate these lazy good-for-nothings that are driving around in luxury vehicles../snark.)  Good on Rosa when a woman caller called in spewing the conservative talking points that there was massive fraud and waste in the program.  A man also called in saying, “I don’t want to see anybody starve, but there are other ways for them to get food.  You have to cut these programs.”  Yeah, he doesn’t want to see people starving, so they best do it behind closed doors to soothe his conscience.

From the article:

Government audits and court records show hundreds of millions of dollars in losses due to fraud in a variety of farm programs, including crop insurance and subsidies that help agribusinesses promote their products abroad. The rate of food stamp fraud, on the other hand, has declined sharply in recent years, federal data shows, and now accounts for 1 percent of the $760 billion program, or $760 million a year.

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It would be damn near impossible to commit fraud with the food stamp program.  (Note that the error rate is at 3 percent.  3 % !! ) You must give them employment information, bank statements, rent information, number in household, etc., and you are checked up on.  And if they see anything that doesn’t sound right to them, they will call you and question it.

For instance, when I told them how little I made when in FW, they were questioning me on how I could make it on that low amount.  I told them that I washed my clothes in the tub (with the exception of once a month washing my jeans and towels in the washing machines); I cut my own hair (with sometimes hilarious results); went without deodorant except for important things like job interviews; washed my hair every other day, even though it needs it every day especially in the hot weather; I walked nearly everywhere so I didn’t use gas;  I brush my teeth with baking soda,  I count the number of squares of toilet paper I use, and other things like using cloth pads (but I didn’t tell them that as it’s really none of their business).

Everything that I needed (thyroid and other supplements) my son helped pay for.  I am actually quite proud of myself for handling this as I have–this isn’t how I was raised and it’s been a learning experience.

A caller called in who said she was a former food stamp recipient but now has a college degree and is working.  But, alas, she says now that the program should be cut.  Hello?  It never ceases to amaze me how those who have made it forget how difficult it was and lose their empathy for those in that position. (As a side note:  it also never ceases to amaze me how quick conservatives are to take money for themselves at taxpayer expense, but still have the nerve to deny people something as basic as FOOD.)

And I have a college education, but look where I am now….done in by stupid amalgams put in my mouth that made me ill, and wages that stagnated (otherwise, I might have been able to keep from losing my home and weathered the storm until I got well…perhaps not, but it would have been worth the shot.)

They mentioned on CSPAN that most folks on food stamps are disabled.  A man in the building I used to live in said he only gets $16 per month in food stamps.  He’s in a wheelchair.    Others on disability are not living it up.  You can’t buy cigarettes and alcohol on food stamps.  You also can’t buy toilet paper, soap,shampoo, trash bags, and other necessities.  Some people were using the plastic grocery bags for their trash in my building…much to the disdain of the management (throwing them down the trash shoot created mega problems).

Also mentioned in the CSPAN program is the fact that good ole Teflon Bill Clinton had changed the Food Stamp program drastically…while signing away jobs per NAFTA….Reagan would have been sooo proud.  It wasn’t until 2008 that they had addressed it again.

This whole debate is nonsensical.  No one with a shred of conscience can seriously say that denying people a basic need such as food is something that “has to” be done…especially when there is so much corporate welfare out there and a bloated defense department.  (OMG, did she really say cut the defense dept?  Watch out for drones, dear…)

Top Chef Colicchio on GMO’s

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“…spraying Agent Orange on our food….”  A pretty stunning statement…glad to see Melissa Harris-Perry allowing him to speak out.

Green Pasture has this up on Dr. Huber’s speech on glyphosate.  (Purdue is pooh-poohing his assertions.  I found a web page from Purdue that says that Dr. Huber was exaggerating the implications.  Um-hmmm….a Purdue scientist with many, many years of experience is now suddenly incompetent?  I don’t think so.   There might be some reasons $$$ why…Purdue and other universities speak against Dr. Huber.)

From the article:

Huber spoke about a range of key factors involved in plant growth, including sunlight, water, temperature, genetics, and nutrients taken up from the soil. “Any change in any of these factors impacts all the factors,” he said. “No one element acts alone, but all are part of a system…When you change one thing,” he said, “everything else in the web of life changes in relationship.”

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Word.

Anybody who has grown a garden can attest to all the factors named above that impact your garden’s productiveness.  Like I said, it truly is a miracle how a plant can grow from a tiny seed.  The wonder of it all never ceases to amaze me.   And it also never ceases to amaze me how scientists feel they know better than nature.

 

As Dr. Huber asserts–if a plant is in a weakened state, it will not be able to fight off disease (or pests).  Everybody thinks that you *have to* spray bug killer and you *have to* use fertilizers to have a healthy plant, when it is a healthy soil (through composting) that creates the healthy plant and subsequently, the ability to fight off disease and pests.

More:

Huber reported on what he described as a newly discovered pathogen. While the pathogen is not new to the environment, Huber said, it is new to science. This pathogen apparently increases in soil treated with glyphosate, he said, and is then taken up by plants, later transmitted to animals via their feed, and onward to human beings by the plants and meat they consume.

[…]

He said laboratory tests have confirmed the presence of the organism in pigs, cattle and other livestock fed these crops, and that they have experienced sterility, spontaneous abortions, and infertility.

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Pretty sobering, eh?

Here’s the Rodale report on organic versus conventional farms.  This is one of the best reports I’ve ever seen.  I used this report back in 1999 (?) to counteract a Hudson Institute toadie’s assertion that organic farms did much worse than conventional—if I recall correctly, it was Dennis Avery who made the assertion.

He actually said in the article that he read in Organic Gardening that they had problems with low yields and bugs.  I happened to subscribe to it at the time, and there was no such thing in that article!  It reported the opposite:  that yields were good, and only a few plants were affected by bugs….and the best part was that with composting, the organic fields were able to retain moisture much better than the conventional soil, therefore, the organic field’s plants weathered a drought better than the conventional field.