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More reverberations….
….from the “Monsanto protection act”. Increasingly, Congress has moved away from regular order in handling potentially controversial issues. Like genetically modified crops. It’s common now to simply skip committee hearings and floor votes. Just find a complicated bill and slip in some extra language nobody will notice….until it’s too late. You almost get the feeling they really don’t care what we think. http://www.newsmax.com/newswidget/Monsanto-bill-protection-food/2013/04/01/id/497254?promo_code=EB8D-1&utm_source=National_Review&utm_medium=nmwidget&utm_campaign=widgetphase1
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It’s about time….
….safe food advocates are turning their fire on President Obama and Congressional Democrats for their “patty cake” deal with Monsanto. With all the talk about sequestration, the powers-that-be made sure last week that the dollars keep rolling to the chemical giant. Democratic Senator Barbara Mikulski snuck the pro-genetically engineered language into a massive continuing resolution and it sailed through, apparently without anyone noticing the amendment. At least, that’s what they’re all saying on Capitol Hill. http://www.kmov.com/news/local/Critics-slam-Obama-for-protecting-Monsanto-200599011.html We note that while Monsanto’s relationship with the Obama Administration could be described as “incestuous”, it’s only closer in degree from past Republican administrations. Last we knew, at least three former Monsanto executives are…
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Your reading assignment for tonight….
….if you’ve been wondering what the “gluten free” fuss is all about, this may be the best treatment of the subject. Technically, only a few percentage points of the total population are said to be gluten-sensitive but I doubt that. From personal experience, all the aches associated with being 78 years old disappeared from the time we did two things here at Thistle Hill: went to all grass fed meat and eliminated grains from our diet. Frankly, I wouldn’t bother with all the expensive testing. Just try it for a couple of weeks. (Warning: you’ll even lose weight!) http://www.amazon.com/Gluten-Ditch-Grain-Brain-ebook/dp/B009QT5XBW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1362492183&sr=8-1&keywords=lose+the+gluten+lose+the+gut+ditch+the+grain+save+your+brain
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Why do women live longer?
Sorry men, “because we take such good care of them” is not an acceptable answer! But reading one of those health blogs this weekend I discovered there’s something we can do to balance things out: Yes, eat more grass fed beef. You have to read a long way for the payoff, but it’s there. http://blog.grasslandbeef.com/bid/82922/How-Do-Women-Outlive-Men?utm_source=Mar+17+Newsletter+-+New+Edition&utm_campaign=130317&utm_medium=email My browsing this weekend also revealed a new disease: orthorexia. Roughly, it describes a condition among those who carry diet and exercise to slavish extremes. To fight the problem, I have found avoiding exercise to be effective.
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A low bar….
….now comes a British expert who says we’d be safer eating hamburger than those bags of pre-cut salad. The label says the salad has been washed, of course, but that’s not enough. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/foodanddrinknews/9948987/Salad-is-more-dangerous-than-beefburgers-leading-food-expert-warns.html Now about the line: “safer than hamburger”. Suffice it to say we think there’s probably nothing more dangerous to eat than commercial hamburger, whether you get it at the store or a fast food outlet. Or even a fine restaurant. The only thing more dangerous is chicken. Stick with naturally raised meat from a farmer you know….or can find, if you want to.
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Old news butt….
….still worth repeating. Studies show that “processed” meats are bad for you. Processed, in this case, is any meat that has preservatives or flavoring or coloring added. Bacon and sausage, the kind you generally buy in a supermarket or eat at a restaurant, are the prime offenders, of course. Here’s the report on the British study: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-21682779 We do love that British term, “fry up”. So well, in fact, that I plan to have one for lunch. Needless to say, but we’ll say it anyway, there are no additives of any kind in Thistle Hill sausages and bacon. For the observant, yes, the two “t’s” in the heading was intentional. …
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A Whole Foods spa….
….is in the works at a location somewhere in the Austin, Texas area. Whole Foods continues to try to find ways to extend its “brand” and now has decided to build a competitor to places like Canyon Ranch. Earlier, the company dabbled in wellness centers, but that didn’t work. Here’s a report on its latest marketing effort: http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2013/03/13/whole-foods-health-resort-canyon-ranch-pritikin/1985281/
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How many Paleo diet blogs are there….
….well, I’m old enough to remember when there were none. Of course, I’m old enough to remember just about everything. But there are a sufficient number, I see, that some organization even lists the Top 50 of the year. Here’s a new one and, just in time for the holiday, even features O’Cave Girl’s Irish stew. http://cavegirlcuisine.net/
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Prefer the old-fashioned way….
….thank you. Seems to be the day for health tips. We’ve long advocated red wine, in moderation, along with Thistle Hill grass fed beef. But we may have to drop the “moderation” part. Turns out that not only is a glass of red wine a day good for you, and two maybe even better, but 100 glasses of red wine every day could really cure everything that ails you. Of course, holding your glass steady enough for that 100th glass could pose a problem. Now science has the answer: a red wine pill! http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/03/08/could-red-wine-pill-cure-major-diseases/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+foxnews%2Fhealth+%28Internal+-+Health+-+Text%29
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You’ll have to decide…
…whom to believe. The government and scientific establishment, of course, says “eat less red meat”. There are many dissenters though, and we’re in that camp, who think we should eat all the red meat we can. And all the fat, too! What’s strange is that just about all the research demonstrates that it’s sugar, which is linked to most of our health problems. And nothing pumps sugar into our cells more efficiently than carbohydrates. We worry constantly about air quality but reducing pollution has had no appreciable effect on cancer rates and heart disease. Sugar consumption, meanwhile, has soared in recent decades while the FDA and its pals in Big Food keep pointing our…