Americans, Less Healthy. High Fructose Corn Syrup, Hydrogenated Soybean Oil. Medicinal Properties of Coconut Oil. Dawes Act. Jaguar Cars. “Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead”. Breaker Box.

 

For “Foodie Friday”:

Americans are Less Healthy, and Die Sooner Than People in Other Developed Nations

“Despite spending twice the amount per capita on health care, the United States ranks last in health and mortality analysis of 17 developed nations

Americans are near the bottom in nine key areas of health, including low birth weight; injuries and homicides; teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections; HIV and AIDS; drug-related deaths; obesity and diabetes; heart disease; chronic lung disease; and general disability

At 75.6 years, American men have the lowest life expectancy among the countries reviewed, and American women ranked second-to-last at 80.7 years. The infant mortality rate in the US is equally abysmal, with 32.7 deaths per 100,000, while most others range between 15 and 25 deaths per 100,000

The authors of the report "GMO Myths and Truths" took a science-based approach to evaluating the available research, arriving at the conclusion that most of the scientific evidence regarding safety and increased yield potential do not at all support the claims. The evidence demonstrates the claims for genetically engineered foods are not just wildly overblown – they simply aren't true. GE foods have been shown to be less nutritious than non-GE foods, and pose distinct health risks and are inadequately regulated

While failing to pin-point the source(s) of Americans’ failure to thrive, the answers are not hard to deduce: adhering to government-sponsored health- and dietary guidance has led Americans astray.”

“The top two crops grown in the U.S. are corn and soy.  High fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated soybean oil are two of the most popular ingredients made from these crops. High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) has repeatedly been shown to be a driving factor behind being overweight and having poor health outcomes. HFCS is pervasive and in many processed food items some individuals would never expect, including so called diet foods and 'enhanced' water products. Even most infant formulas contain the sugar equivalent of one can of Coca-Cola.

Furthermore, soybean oil is another common unhealthy ingredient in many processed foods and soybeans can be severely and systemically contaminated with high amounts of the potent herbicide glyphosate. Additionally, over 85 percent of all corn grown in the US is genetically engineered (GE), which further increases the risk of high glyphosate contamination.The safety of either of these items has never been proven. According to a recent report by the Environmental Working Group (EWG), Americans are eating their weight and more in GE foods each and every year.  “four of the six leading causes of death in the United States are linked to unhealthy diets.””       More at: http://www.examiner.com/article/americans-are-less-healthy-than-people-other-developed-countries  and: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/01/23/united-states-health-ranking.aspx

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Soybean Oil: One of the most harmful ingredients in processed foods

“Processed food is perhaps the most damaging aspect of most people's diet, contributing to poor health and chronic disease. One of the primary culprits is high fructose corn syrup.

The second major culprit is partially hydrogenated soybean oil. These two ingredients, either alone or in combination, can be found in virtually all processed foods and a compelling argument can be made for these two ingredients as primary contributing factor for most of the degenerative diseases attacking us today. Part of the problem with partially hydrogenated soybean oil is the trans fat it contains. The other part relates to the health hazards of soy itself. An added hazard is the fact that the majority of both corn and soybeans are genetically engineered.

As the negative health effects from trans fats have been identified and recognized, the agricultural- and food industry have come up with new alternatives. Partially hydrogenated soybean oil has been identified as the main culprit.

Unfortunately, saturated fats are still mistakenly considered unhealthy by many health "experts," so rather than embracing truly healthful tropical fats like coconut oil, which is mostly grown outside the US. The food industry has instead turned to domestic US alternatives offered by companies like Monsanto, which has developed modified soybeans that don't require hydrogenation.”  More at: http://www.thecancerguys.org/2013/01/soybean-oil-one-of-most-harmful.html#!/2013/01/soybean-oil-one-of-most-harmful.html  and:  http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/01/27/soybean-oil.aspx

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13 Evidence-Based Medicinal Properties of Coconut Oil

“While coconut oil has dragged itself out of the muck of vast misrepresentation over the past few years, it still rarely gets the appreciation it truly deserves.  Not just a "good" saturated fat, coconut oil is an exceptional healing agent as well, with loads of useful health applications.

Some examples of "good" saturated fat include

Fat-burning: Ironic, isn't it? A saturated fat which can accelerate the loss of midsection fat (the most dangerous kind). Well, there are now two solid, human studies showing just two tablespoons a day (30 ml), in both men and women, is capable of reducing belly fat within 1-3 months.

Brain-Boosting: A now famous study, published in 2006 in the journal Neurobiology of Aging, showed that the administration of medium chain triglycerides (most plentifully found in coconut oil) in 20 subjects with Alzheimer's disease or mild cognitive impairment, resulted in significant increases in ketone bodies (within only 90 minutes after treatment) associated with measurable cognitive improvement in those with less severe cognitive dysfunction.[i]

Healing Wounds: Coconut has been used for wound healing since time immemorial.  Three of the identified mechanisms behind these healing effects are its ability to accelerate re-epithelialization, improve antioxidant enzyme activity, and stimulate higher collagen cross-linking within the tissue being repaired.[iii]  Coconut oil has even been shown to work synergistically with traditional treatments, such as silver sulphadizine, to speed burn wound recovery.[iv]

NSAID Alternative: Coconut oil has been demonstrated to have anti-inflammatory, analgesic and fever-reducing properties.[v]

Anti-Ulcer Activity: Interestingly, coconut milk (which includes coconut oil components), has been shown to be as effective as the conventional drug sucralfate as an NSAID-associated anti-ulcer agent.[vi]

Of course, when speaking about coconut oil, we are only looking at one part of the amazing coconut palm.  Each component, including coconut hull fiber, coconut protein and coconut water has experimentally confirmed therapeutic applications.

Coconut oil is particularly useful because of its biochemical structure: unlike olive oil and animal fatty tissue, it consists of short-chained and saturated fatty acids. These qualities in coconut oil prevent it from becoming oxidized and rancid, thus making it suitable for the preservation of medicinal plants and for wound treatment.”    More at: http://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/13-evidence-based-medicinal-properties-coconut-oil

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On This Day:

Cleveland signs devastating Dawes Act into law, Feb 8, 1887:

“On this day in 1887, President Grover Cleveland signs the Dawes Severalty Act into law. The act split up reservations held communally by Native American tribes into smaller units and distributed these units to individuals within the tribe. Also called the General Allotment Act, the law changed the legal status of Native Americans from tribal members to individuals subject to federal laws and dissolved many tribal affiliations The Dawes Severalty/General Allotment Act constituted a huge blow to tribal sovereignty.

Under the Dawes Act, the head of each Native American family received 160 acres in an effort to encourage Native Americans to take up farming, live in smaller family units that were considered more American and renounce tribal loyalties. The government held such lands in trust for 25 years, until the recipients could prove themselves self-sufficient farmers. Before the family could sell their allotment, they were required to get a certificate of competency. If the family did not succeed at farming, the land reverted back to the federal government for sale, usually to white settlers. The Dawes Act reduced Native American landholdings from 138 million acres in 1887 to 78 million in 1900 and continued the trend of white settlement on previously Native American-held land. In addition, the law created federally funded boarding schools designed to assimilate Native American children into white society. Family and cultural ties were practically destroyed by the now-notorious boarding schools, in which children were punished for speaking their native language or performing native rituals.

The Dawes Severalty Act was finally abolished in 1934, during President Franklin Roosevelt's first term.”

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Jaguar founder dies, Feb 8, 1985:

“On February 8, 1985, Sir William Lyons, the founder of the British luxury automaker Jaguar, dies at the age of 84 in Warwickshire, England.

In 1948, Jaguar released the XK120, which was capable of reaching speeds of 120 mph and helped the company stake its claim as a sports car brand. By the 1950s, Jaguar was exporting its high-performance cars to America. In 1961, the automaker introduced the E-type (known as the XK-E in the U.S.), a sleek two-seater with a bullet-like silhouette that was the fastest production sports car on the market at the time of its launch. The iconic roadster won accolades for its design and in 1996 an E-Type became part of the permanent collection of New York City's Museum of Modern Art (it was only the third car to do so).

In 1956, Lyons was knighted for his contributions to the British auto industry. A decade later, Jaguar merged with the British Motor Corporation to form British Motor Holdings, which later became part of British Leyland Ltd. Lyons retired from the business in 1972 and spent his remaining years raising livestock on his farm. He died in 1985. In 1990, Jaguar was acquired by the Ford Motor Company. Ford sold Jaguar, along with fellow British luxury brand Land Rover, to India-based Tata Motors in 2008, for approximately $2.3 billion. For Tata, the maker of the Nano, the world's cheapest car, the deal was referred to by some as a move from "mass to class."”

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Yesterday:

Muffie arrived to be groomed.  Her ‘Dad’ knows that she can’t be rushed, and that I would be working on her bit by bit all day.

As it happened, she got lots of rest time in between the stages of her grooming, so she didn’t make like a snapping turtle, and I came out unscathed.

The electrician who was going to remove and replace my auxiliary break box, is an acquaintance of Jay’s.  Most of the people he knows are drunks/druggies, so I wasn’t too happy about letting that man do it.  If I know Jay, he was going to get a kick-back!!  The electrician didn’t even look inside the box, but said that he would have to bring a helper, and that it would take all day.  I thought his price for the work was too high, as I knew it wouldn’t take all day.   My grandfather was an electrical engineer, and I used to help him when I was there.

I called Jim the mechanic down the street, to see who he could recommend.  Jim had rewired a problem we had with the guest house electricity a while back, so he said that he would be here in 20 minutes to look at the problem.

Muffie was just at the bathing stage of her groom, and I didn’t want Jim to arrive while I was doing that, so I waited, and waited. Jim had been caught up with other things for an hour and a half, so Muffie had a good nap on my bed.

While I was waiting for Jim, I watched “Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead” again.  This is the trailer:

“Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead offers an inspiring glimpse into the journey of self-healing through whole foods

Obesity and related health problems are directly attributable to flawed diet—a diet too high in carbs and poor-quality proteins, and too low in healthy fats

First and foremost, a healthy diet is based on fresh whole, preferably organic foods, and foods that have been minimally processed”  More at:  http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/02/02/fat-sick-nearly-dead-documentary.aspx

Full movie: http://www.hulu.com/watch/289122

If the door going into the garage was slammed, it would shut off one circuit or the lights would flicker, and it scared me. Jay had told me that the breaker box was defective, and so that is why I bought a new one.   But since Ray and I had taken all the shelves down out the way, Jim was able to really investigate inside the box.  There wasn’t anything wrong with the breaker box, just that one breaker, the part that clips was bent.  Jim put in a different breaker, and the problem was solved.  It didn’t take five minutes for Jim to find and fix the problem, so he didn’t even charge me.  I am so glad that I got a second opinion.

So I saved myself $250 yesterday.