Feedlot Cattle Fattened on Candy
Some Commercial Feedlots feed stale candy to cattle in an effort to reduce costs. According to a recent review, such businesses think milk chocolate and candy are “often economical sources of nutrients, particularly fat…. Milk chocolate and candy may contain 48% and 22% fat, respectively,” The article states that “upper feeding limits for candy or candy blends and chocolate are 5 and 2 lb. per cow per day, respectively.”
Many American consumers are unaware that they eat meat that is artificially high in fat and low in vitamin E, beta carotene, omega-3 fatty acids, and conjugated linolic acid, all of which are found in grass-fed animals.
Source: “By-Product Feedstuffs in Dairy Cattle Diets in the Upper Midwest,” Randy D. Shaver, Ph.D. More at http://www.eatwild.com/cla.html.
Medical Doctors question the Food Pyramid
“The USDA food pyramid isn’t about health. It’s about selling agricultural products.”
– Mary Dan Eades, M.D., co-author, “Protein Power” books
“The amount of blood sugar in your bloodstream, if you have normal blood sugar, is a little less than on teaspoon. Three hundred grams of carbohydrates (The FDA’s suggested daily intake) converts to a cup and a half of sugar.”
-Michael R. Eades, M.D., co-author, “Protein Power” books
From http://www.fathead-movie.com/index.php/meet-the-experts/.
Exercise and Osteoarthritis
Physical exercise is often very helpful in improving joint mobility and reducing pain in osteoarthritis. The best exercises are isometrics, walking and swimming. Isometric exercise is a technique in which your effort is directed against a resistant object. (As an example, make “hooks” with all the fingers of both hands. Lock the “hooks” together and try to pull them apart.) These types of exercises increase circulation to the joint and strengthen the surrounding muscles without placing excessive strain on joints. Increasing muscles strength around joints affected with osteoarthritis has been shown to improve joint function and reduce pain.
-Michael Murray, N.D., in Dr. Murray’s Total body Tune-Up, Bantam Books, 2000
Beyond brown Rice: Black Rice as Prime Antioxidant Source
Brown Rice, Good and black rice, even better. So say Zhimin Xu, Ph.D. of Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, after analyzing black rice grown in the southern U.S. Partially milled brown rice bran contains high levels of antioxidants, but brown rice appears to contain even more. (White rice, from which the bran is removed, is well known to have limited food value).
“Just a spoonful of black rice bran contains more health-promoting anthocyanin antioxidants than are found in a spoonful of blueberries, but less sugar and more fiber and vitamin E antioxidants, “Xu reports, asking, “If berries are used to boost health, why not black rice and black rice bran?”
Xu advocates a greatly increased role in our diets for inexpensive black rice, which at present is mainly used in Asia. Not only can it be served at the table, it can be also added to processed food to raise nutritional values. Moreover, black rice bran pigments, ranging in color from pink to black, might even replace the artificial colorants that are causative factors in cancer, children’s behavioral problems, and other undesirable effects.
Source: “Black Rice is Cheap Way to Get Antioxidants, “by Bill Hendrick, 26 Aug. 2010, http://www.webmed.com.
Vitamin B Halts Memory Loss
New Research at Oxford University looked at ways to slow or stop Alzheimer’s disease, and the study investigators found that three vitamin B supplements considerably slowed brain shrinkage linked to memory loss. Drug trials have not been successful in memory loss scenarios.
Homocysteine, naturally produced in the body, has been linked to memory loss and Alzheimer’s when found at high levels. Since vitamin B is known to break down homecysteine, the researchers tested the vitamin with 270 pensioners suffering from slight memory lapses, or mild cognitive impairment, which affects one in six persons age 70-plus.
Half of those taking part in the trial took a combined vitamin B tablet each day for two years. The tablet contained doses of vitamins B-6 (20mg), B-9 (or folate, 800 mcg) and B-12 (500 mcg); a typical serving of sirloin steak contains about 2.4 mcg of B-12. The control group took a placebo. Brain scans showed that the rate of brain shrinkage in the vitamin B group decreased by an average of 30%, and as much as 50% in some participants. Evidence indicates those with the least shrinkage do best in memory tests.
John Hough, a participants in the trial, took the combined vitamin B tablet with his breakfast every day for two years. He said, “It seemed to arrest my memory decline. I stopped taking it at the end of the trial, and I noticed after a few months, my memory was getting worse.” Since the study ended, he has put together his own vitamin B cocktails from health store supplements. He estimates that the combination of supplements costs him about 19 cents a day.
Source: “10p pill to beat Alzheimer’s disease: Vitamin B halts memory loss in breakthrough British trial,” by Fiona Macrae, The Daily Mail, 09 Sept. 2010, wwwdailymail.co.uk.
