This is a doozy!  Who would have thought that the more technologically advanced a hospital, the more chance you have of an unfavorable outcome.  But so it is, according to this Business Week study.

Sadly, the main reason seems to be financial:  cutting into you right now puts money in the pocket.  Telling you to try a drug approach, or a lifestyle change - doesn't. 

Organic has been much in the news recently:  Walmart has announced it intends to become a significant player.  Organic dairy is popping up everywhere.  Certainly in some ways this could be good, if it signals a shift towards greater care of our planet and the animals we tend.

True organic, though - authentic organic, you might say - certainly does.  It is connected to health, and to husbandry*.

I like to think that most of the people reading this blog are savvy enough to see further than the smiley face label on the "organic " Rice Krispies; they will want to know what principles have been compromised to get the low price point.

So here is the first example. Scroll to the bottom to find how you can influence the sequence of events.

ACTION ALERT: ORGANIC DAIRY REGULATION COMMENTS

WESTON A. PRICE FOUNDATION
ACTION ALERT
May 22, 2006

Organic Cattle Should Be Pasture Fed- Not Raised in Intensive Feedlots

Two of the largest organic dairy companies in the nation, Horizon Organic (a subsidiary of Dean Foods), a supplier to Wal-Mart and many health food stores; and Aurora Organic, a supplier of private brand name organic milk to Costco, Safeway, Giant, Wild Oats and others, are purchasing the majority of their milk from feedlot dairies where the cows have little or no access to pasture. Together, these corporations control up to 65% of the organic dairy market. A routine practice on these giant dairy feedlots, many with thousands of cows, is to continuously import calves from conventional farms, where animals have been weaned on blood, fed slaughterhouse waste and genetically engineered grains, and injected or dosed with antibiotics. Certifiers endorsing these factory farm organic products include QAI and the Colorado state department of agriculture.

Here's How Organic Consumers Can Help Put a Stop to This

The USDA has posted revisions to the National Organic Program and is seeking public comment until June 12, 2006. A portion of the revisions relate to the issue of dairy produced on factory farms being labeled as "organic." The National Organic Standards Board, which is made up of representatives of the organics industry, has proposed that organic dairy cows be required to spend at least 120 days each year on grass and that at least 30 percent of the cows' feed must come from pasture during the grazing season.

For many organic dairy farmers, having grazing standards that can be enforced are essential to protect the industry from the large corporate players in the West with large herds that offer their cows only token access to grass. The organic dairy farmers warn that by leveraging economy of scale, these large dairies can lowball prices, thus putting the livelihood of the smaller family dairies along with the more modest-sized companies and cooperatives that market their milk at risk.

Please send a message to the National Organic Program of the USDA to stop the labeling of factory farm milk as "organic." To do so, please click on the following link:http://tinyurl.com/mqvup

* Husbandry: Careful management or conservation of resources; economy.

Here is the SECOND example. This article is about a lady who moved to what she thought was "healthier food" and still did not lose weight.

Why?  Because she was buying "fake" healthy foods.

Once again, in chorus: when the big manufacturers make a change in their lines, they are following the money. They are doing it not to make you healthier, not to make cows or chickens happier,  not to be better stewards of the earth, but to MAKE MORE PROFIT.

I expect you have all heard the Word:  calcium and vitamin D supplements do not protect older women against osteoporosis.

Well certainly just standing near the supplement bottles isn't going to do it.   It appears that seven years into the study, only 59% of the participants were actually taking their doses. 

When you adjust for this fact, among fully compliant study members, the risk of hip fracture dropped by nearly 30%. 

Now, THAT's statistically significant. 

Underscoring yet again that there are unscrupulous companies out there who will not hesitate to take your money and run,  studies are finding that a significant number of putative Black Cohosh supplements actually contain a similar but ineffective Asian herb.

So, if Black Cohosh did not help your menopausal symptoms, perhaps it would be a good idea to try it again, making sure you get it from a reputable company.

More information here 

As some of you may be aware, my recent diagnosis of cancer caused me to implement the Budwig Diet, which is pretty much a vegetarian regimen. (I will add that 9 months post diagnosis, I am still doing fine.)

Her diet does allow fish - but after reading this depressingly accurate analysis of the state of our planet, I am considering eliminating even that.

Sometimes it is difficult to make choices:  one would think that farmed fish might be the answer... then one reads horror stories about how toxic they are, what they are fed, how they are colored, how much lower their nutrient content is  .

Consider, too, that this state of affairs has come about when most of the world has not reached our level of consumerism.  What will happen to our planet when all others join us at the table?

Going vegetarian - the Vegetarian Society

Be careful - not all vegetarian is vegetarian! Another excellent example of my theory that when big companies try to exploit a health trend, believe me, they are NOT doing it for your benefit.  Stick to the companies who are authentically vegetarian on principle, and you will be safe.

Vegetarianism's 20 questions

Best and worst fish to eat

It would appear that the reassuring comment "don't worry!  It's only puppy fat" can no longer be given credence.  The British medical Journal reports that children who are overweight at age 11, will probably stay that way into adolescenece, and possibly for life.

Read more details here

Read the Vitamin Lady's suggestion for Children's Health here

The FDA, Canada and Mexico appear to be exploring a way to impose European style restrictions on nutrients, without any oversight from Congress, or input from us.

There is a petition you can sign here: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/373269232?ltl=1147017874#body

They explain the situation as follows: you will have to copy and paste their links.

"The FDA is engaged in conferencing with Canada & Mexico for the purpose of creating one "harmonized" set of food & drug regulations for all 3 nations with zero INPUT from the PEOPLE of Canada, the USA, or Mexico. (See http://www.fda.gov/oia/charter.html

On what legal AUTHORITY does the FDA presume to take this action?

What they're doing clearly violates the Administrative Procedures Act, the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as well as other laws and I demand Congressional Oversight immediately to rein them in!!

This is clearly part of a planned effort to destroy America and force us into a North American Union with Canada & Mexico patterned after the EU Dictatorship. Its being scripted by the Council on Foreign Relations:http://www.cfr.org/publication/8102/building_a_north_american_community.html

Which is what prompted the Neocons to create the (so called) "Security & Prosperity Partnership of North America http://www.spp.gov

In their "SCOPE" section http://www.fda.gov/oia/charter.html#purpose FDA says their main purpose is to focus on what they call "HEALTH FRAUD"

We all know how the FDA INTERPRETS "health fraud". Take their current vendetta against cherry growers http://www.lef.org/magazine/mag2006/mar2006_cover_cherries_01.htm 

FDA is ordering Cherry growers not to repeat the story that eating foods high in plant nutrients may protect against some types of cancer and strokes (despite recommendations of the Surgeon General and the National Research Council). 

 The alleged criminal acts had occurred on Ocean Spray's website. Normally, the FDA has no authority over websites, but the company had put its website address on its products, and the agency does have authority over labels.

Incredibly, now the FDA is attempting to extend this tyranny to Canada & Mexico, while simultaneously they'll attempt to impose the WORST ASPECTS of those countries regulations on AMERICANS.

For example: Canada regulates dietary supplements as "drugs", but in the USA, under the Dietary Supplement Health & Education Act of 1994, these products are FOODS, and Americans enjoy far greater ACCESS to these products and to health information about them than Canadians do.

The last thing Americans need is the FDA unilaterally making decisions in the way that they are via the "Trilateral Cooperation Charter" without any input from Congress or the American people. Ostensibly, they would have us believe that this is all about providing us with "increased security"."

It is excellent news that a positive link has been found between some deadly, mysterious and tragic nervous system diseases (such as Lou Gehrig's)  and poly-unsaturated fatty acids. In other words, increasing consumption of Omega 3 and Omega 6 oils is protective.

More details

It would be interesting to follow up on this, and see whether there is a negative link between the increase of saturated fats, and incidences of those diseases.

PUFAs protective against neurological diseases

The Vitamin Lady's article on Essential Fatty Acids