H.Pylori and Migraines

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I picked up a mag that one of the residents had left in the lobby the other day and was surprised by a blip on migraines being connected to H. Pylori, a bacteria that is linked to ulcers. Unfortunately, this article recommended antibiotics to rid the stomach of the bacteria.  Arrrrgh!!

I had just read in the GAPS diet book that H. Pylori was connected to low stomach acid, a condition that is, typically, undiagnosed.  We’ve discussed low stomach acid on the mercury support group, as well, but like this article states, I didn’t think I had a problem because of the acid reflux and other stuff.  Dr. Campbell-McBride recommends taking a bit of sauerkraut juice before meals and also recommends Betaine HCL with pepsin to help the stomach make enough acid.  She says that one wouldn’t have to continue with the Betaine HCL, only until the gut is healed enough that the stomach is able to make enough acid on its own.

Just thought I’d pass this along in case anyone is having issues in that area…

More adventures on the GAPS diet, and more…

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Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride recommends making your own homemade yogurt because the commercial stuff is inferior, with less active live cultures.  So, I’ve been experimenting with using organic Kefir with this wonderful locally made milk, from Trader’s Point Dairies here in Indiana.  It’s pasteurized (since raw milk will kill you/snark) but it is not homogenized, which is only a cosmetic, not a health concern.  Dr. Campbell-McBride says that the process to homogenize changes the fat molecules.  I suppose the body cannot recognize it in the changed form?

Anyway, I’ve decided that my homemade yogurt is like a box of chocolates…I never know what I’m going to get. 🙂  It’s either runny or lumpy….although I have to admit the times when it’s been more of a solid, I’ve added more Kefir to it, so maybe that’s the cause.

Homemade sauerkraut is totally under-rated.  The commercial stuff has this bitterness to it, but the homemade stuff doesn’t.  It has a kick to it, for sure.  The only problem is that you have to wait 5-7 days for it to ferment.

I’ve also tried fermenting carrots.  I thought I might get the sweet-and-sour thing….yeah, that didn’t work out so well…but they’re still edible.

There’s also a recipe for homemade ice cream, using real cream that’s also been fermented into sour cream, adding eggs, honey, and whatever ingredient you want…sounds delicious.

Dr. Campbell-McBride encourages certain ripe fruits on the diet–I’ve tried some, but still have strong reactions to them, so I’m back to ripe bananas (brown spots on the skin) and apples.  I mashed a ripe banana and threw it in the pan with the eggs in the morning, and oh.my.god, it was like eating pancakes! Yum…pancakes are something I’ve been missing.

I’ve been pretty good at sticking with the diet, although I have to admit I cheated last week…succumbing to the call of M&M’s.  But I’m still proud of myself for sticking to it.  I’ve now lost 20 pounds.  Amazing.

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Fort Wayne has free firewood, if anyone’s interested…you’ll have to drop by and pick it up yourself. 🙂  Just a little storm humor.  Geez, it still amazes me how powerful that storm was…I was walking home from the grocery this morning (haven’t been able to walk anywhere because of the heat), and there were trees with major damage on each of the six blocks I walked.  One guy passed by and said his friend’s car was demolished by a tree.  I don’t think insurance even covers that–nice out for them, eh?

Oh, and a minor correction–I don’t think the picture I linked to with the tree in the street was the actual one in front of the library.  I’m still not that familiar with the streets, not being that mobile.  I think the tree down was actually about a couple blocks over.  Anyway, wanted to clear that up.  Truth in reporting and all that 🙂

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No Justice for Bhopal

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Incredibly, the citizens of Bhopal, India, are still left holding the bag after Union Carbide’s tragic 1984 accident that killed 20,000 people and polluted unknown amounts of water, soil and air.

In the environmental book I’m reading, they recount the Love Canal disaster and all the complexities involved in resolving a toxic event.  The original company, Hooker Chemical, sold the land to the local school board, and incredibly, the school board took it with a contract that stipulated that Hooker Chemical was not responsible for any chemicals on the land.  They had been dumping chemicals there for years—and they built a school on top of the land. Parents began complaining about their children’s health issues within five years after the schools’ opening.

This is where it gets interesting–they were ignored, and when they were finally believed, at first the reaction is what you would expect by those in charge–they admitted there was a problem, and came up with solutions for it.  However, once the financial numbers were crunched, they decided there wasn’t a problem, after all.  Even the state’s health dept scientists were loathe to charge the state for the clean-up.

And the ones who did the toxic dumping–the chemical company–walked away.  This is the real problem–chemical companies, pharmaceutical companies, oil companies that screw up and just walk away because it’s more important to keep them in business than it is to hold them accountable.

Materials for tooth fillings

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A member of the support group I belong to posted this link for safe tooth filling materials.  I’ve had concerns about the plastic composites for the reasons listed on this website, but hadn’t come across something that wasn’t very expensive or had its own toxins.

I don’t know about this, because I haven’t tried it, but I thought I’d pass along the information.  Happy chewing. 🙂

Dept of the Interior Not Releasing Data

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Indian Country has this up on the Dept of the Interior refusing to release data on a survey of employment and poverty of the Native Americans.

Okay, if there’s a problem with the methodology, why not release the information and point out those problems to the reader?

Or is this a case of they didn’t like the answers they got and want to rephrase the questions? A red flag is the statement in the story that they want to revise survey questions.

I took a statistics class (political science class, no less) and the point that was stressed was that you could phrase questions to get the answers you were looking for–if your goal was to skew something to your viewpoint. When the data was entered into the computer program that tallies the answers, it will show a skewed view.   Never trust a “survey” or “poll” that is more than 2 percentage points + or –  because it means the questions have been phrased to obtain a desired result.

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More from Indian Country.  This makes no sense to me…the wolf population has recovered, so let’s shoot them??  They say the reason that the deer population has swelled so much is because the wolf was nearly hunted into extinction.

I’ve been back and forth with the hunting thing–I’ve never really liked it, but when I became vegetarian, I despised hunters–mainly because the ones that I knew seem to get off on killing living things.

But then I read of the American Indian’s view of reverence for animals and how they took only what they needed and thanked the animal for its sacrifice.  That made a huge difference to me.  It especially helped me when I was told that I needed to start eating meat again because of severe anemia.   I could live with it as long as I gave thanks to the animal for its sacrifice.

What’s needed here is balance–and humans to stop messing with the populations and their habitats for their own gain.

Terry Kath

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…gone but not forgotten.  Not by a long shot. 🙂

What a strong spirit he had, and how artfully he conveyed that through his soulful guitar playing and his voice…

His daughter is trying to raise money for a documentary on his life.  Website here.

There’s a great video of Terry in 1970 (?) playing the hell out of guitar on Make Me Smile. It’s not on the official Chicago youtube now, unfortunately.