Thank You, Jitterbug!!

I do not need a cell phone that can check my email.
I do not need a cell phone to txt my frnds.
I do not need a cell phone with GPS.
I do not need a cell phone with a camera.
I do not need a cell phone with 600 minutes of talk time every month.
I do not need a cell phone that stores music.

All I need is this.

Complementary Medicine for Menopause

Lots of news on alleviating discomforts of menopause with supplements in the latest issue of the journal Menopause. First up, in an extensive review of previously published clinical trials, researchers found that St. John’s wort was effective for treating mild to moderate depression in five out of seven earlier studies. In addition, black cohosh provided relief for depression and anxiety in all studies that were reviewed, and kava reduced anxiety in half of the clinical trials that were examined. Finally, ginkgo and valerian were determined to be ineffective at treating anxiety or depression in middle aged women. There are other good reasons to take ginkgo, however, as I noted in a previous post.

The second study tested the effectiveness of isoflavones, compounds derived from soybeans, on women experiencing hot flashes and night sweats. During the three months of testing, those who were given a daily dose of 60 mg isoflavones reported a reduction of 57% in hot flashes and 43% in night sweats. Pretty decent results, and no side effects were reported.

Finally, both these studies are supported by a survey of nearly 1,300 Australian women between the ages of 45 and 65. More than half had reported using complementary or alternative medicine for menopause symptoms. Among the most popular supplements: soy, evening primrose oil, phytoestrogens (such as isoflavones and other plant compounds) and black cohosh. If you’re interested in adding any of these supplements to your daily regimen, talk to your physician or a knowledgeable alternative health practitioner first, especially if you are currently taking prescription medications or are being treated for a health condition. By and large, nutritional and herbal supplements are benign. But side effects and drug interactions can occur, so do your homework. If you need to locate an alternative health practitioner, check here or here.

It's Never Too Late to Get Healthy

A good nuts-and-bolts article about how boomers can stay -- or get -- healthy. (NOTE: It's not that hard, seriously!)

Dear FDA: Thanks for Nothing!

Why even bother issuing a statement about fish farms that may have used contaminated pet food, if this is all you're going to say?

Prepare to be Shocked...

The FDA is lying. It seems there could be health consequences of eating melamine-tainted food, including the pork, chicken and fish that entered our food supply. How do I know? I looked it up on the Internets (actually, at PubMed, the government's own medical research database).

As far as I can tell, there have been only a handful of animal studies done on the effects of consuming melamine. In every case, the animals developed bladder and/or kidney problems, including bladder stones, enlarged bladders, and tumors.

But here's the real problem -- in a study from 1985, researchers called the melamine connection to the formation of bladder stones and related problems an example of the threshold effect, and added that "there is strong evidence linking bladder stones with the induction of tumors...." This same study also found that the youngest animals were the most susceptible to developing these problems. Here are the researchers’ conclusions:

"A decision by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency concerning the levels of MA [melamine] allowed to occur in the food chain indicates that data regarding thresholds, even in the case of urolithiasis [stone formation], are not being utilized in the risk assessment process."

I could be wrong, but that seems to say that for the past twenty-plus years, the EPA has chosen to ignore evidence that melamine damages the bladder and kidneys, and, based on the results of the animal study, that children would be particularly at risk. Plus, let's not forget that tens of thousands of companion animals have been sickened and killed by the same food the pigs, chickens and fish ate.

It seems to me we should avoid chicken and pork for at least a few months. But as the FDA's newly appointed "food czar," David Acheson, told a Congressional committee today, the agency would need "proof of human illness" before it would issue a ban on imported fish. Apparently, it's too much of a stretch to believe that food poisoned with industrial waste might make humans sick, too.

As for farmed fish, melamine is just one more reason to stay away, given the chemicals that have been found in tested samples. To get the considerable health benefits of fish without the risks, buy fish oil that has been molecularly distilled to remove the toxins.

Optimists Live Longer

How long will you live? There's an easy way to find out -- or at least get a ballpark figure. Visit Deathclock, answer a few questions and voila! -- you'll receive an exact count, in seconds, no less, of your remaining time on Earth. The amazing thing is the difference attitude makes. For example, when I listed "normal" in the mode box, Deathclock gave me twenty years to live. But change the mode to "optimistic" and -- whoa! -- I'll be here until 2049, as long as I look on the bright side! (By the way, Deathclock is not just a gruesome reminder that we're all "circling the drain" -- there's a lot of excellent health information there, too.)

Just in case you're not buying the "attitude is everything" line, a new study confirms it. Researchers found that older individuals (between the ages of 70 and 79) with the fewest signs of depression at the beginning of the study were nearly 40 percent less likely to be diagnosed with a health problem during the next five years. The emotionally healthy group was also 76 percent less likely to become depressed and they had a 30 percent lower risk of dementia.

The study, which involved more than 2,600 people, also measured the effects of physical health and mental functions. Not surprisingly, those in good shape were nearly 50 percent less likely to become debilitated during the study and 29 percent less likely to die. As for mental functions, those who were sharpest when the study began were a whopping 77 percent less likely to be diagnosed with dementia.

(Full disclosure: a hat-tip to www.owhata.com for the Death Clock link. Next time you feel you're not wasting enough of your life on the Internets, check out owhata -- loads of great stuff!)

Bad Medicine

It looks like contaminated foods -- for both pets and humans -- aren't the only dangerous things China has been exporting, as this feature from the New York Times explains.

The Beauty Beat: or How to Have More Money to Spend on Good Food

How many times have I heard people say that they can't afford to eat better? Way, way too many. The truth is, from a nutritional point of view, you can't afford not to eat better. Poor eating habits lead straight to the doctor's office, the pharmacy and eventually to the hospital. And none of those options are cheap, or even reasonable at this point. (The same is true for companion animals, by the way. And sadly, we've seen the catastrophic effects of cheap ingredients during the past few months.)

Instead of spending money on empty-calorie junk food, why not cut corners in the cosmetics department? If you use moisturizers, skin lotions and bath products, you're probably paying a hefty amount for what is basically water and a few other (often toxic) ingredients. Here are some alternatives:

Next time you're tempted to blow the budget on a product that promises to fix your most annoying problem, check out the Beauty Brains. The site is operated by two chemists who can tell you if that $100 bottle of shampoo can turn your hair into spun gold or not. Search their archives, sign up for a daily email or send them a question about a product. This is the site where I learned that good old (inexpensive) coconut oil can strengthen and moisturize dry hair as well as far more costly treatments. Whenever my hair starts to look like Sideshow Bob's, I grab the coconut oil. Plus, it's a great skin moisturizer, and you can cook with it, too!! Seriously, it's a healthy, "good fat," but be sure to get the food grade, virgin coconut oil. Nothing's better!

MakeupAlley is another good place to check out products before you buy. You'll have to register to use the service (it's free), but once you have an account, you can find out what other people have to say about specific products -- and potentially save yourself a bundle. Example: One of the most popular blemish treatments is a super-cheap aspirin "mask," and many users rave about their favorite moisturizer -- none other than good old Vaseline. Another nice feature -- if you bought a product that you wish you hadn't, you can offer it in exchange for something else on the site's "swap" list. Just think -- you might be able to unload that fuschia eye shadow for something you'll actually use.

Finally, you can find loads of information, recipes and ingredient resources for making your own cosmetics at the aptly named MakeYourCosmetics website. Enjoy!

(Photograph of Old English Sheepdog pup from www.bobtail.ru, because few things are more beautiful than a puppy.)

The Latest on the Pet Food Recall

The pet food recall just keeps growing larger, making it tough to stay on top of what is and isn't dangerous for your dogs or cats. For a regularly updated list, check the ASPCA's website. There's lots of great information, including a page on "what to tell children" about the food problems (the link is named "Visit ASPCA Animaland," about halfway down on the right hand column, illustrated with a cute cartoon of a blue dog and brown cat).

How Far Has the Contamination Spread?

When I started this blog, it was a place to let people know that assisted living facilities often fail to live up to their promises, especially when it comes to dealing with Alzheimer's patients. I know this because my sister and I lost our father due to negligence on the part of two different assisted living facilities. He became so severely dehydrated that when he went to the emergency room, the doctor there said she had never seen anyone in his condition who was not in a coma. So much for assisting him with living.

Dad recovered a bit in the hospital and went to a nursing home. But the dehydration had made swallowing difficult, so his diet consisted of "thickened" foods, products made specifically for people who can't swallow well on their own. In checking the ingredient list on some of these foods, I found a number of different products that made me think: Where are these ingredients from? If they came from abroad, did the FDA inspect the shipment? (Actually, that's highly unlikely, since only 1 container out of 100 is actually examined and that's when the container holds actual food. When it comes to ingredients, the inspection rate is even lower.)

Dad died from kidney failure, the same thing that has killed thousands of pets who ate tainted food recently. There don't seem to be any glutens in the thickened foods, but there are plenty of other ingredients that could have been bought in China on the cheap and been contaminated with who-knows-what. I could be way off base, but the tainted food scandal is far more widespread than the FDA wants you to think, so who wouldn't be wondering whether anything is safe anymore?

Why Do We Import Food From China?

Money. That's the short answer. It's all about profits. And value. We are a nation of people who want to pay the lowest possible price for everything, including what we feed ourselves and our pets. In order to provide "value" priced pet food and still make a profit, manufacturers imported dirt cheap grain glutens from China that appeared to have a high protein content. The FDA, which physically inspects a mere one in 100 containers of foreign food entering this country, didn't discover that the "protein" was actually melamine, normally used to make plastic dinnerware and fertilizer. Some consumers saved a few bucks (but not in every case -- the Hill's Prescription Diet foods, for example, are not cheap). Manufacturers boosted profits. The pets paid the price. David Goldstein has more at Huffingtonpost.com.

Meanwhile, our food supply is loaded with ingredients from China, the vast majority of them uninspected. Gives new meaning to the phrase "you get what you pay for," yes? What can you do about it? For starters, make pet food at home or verify that yours is safe. The Simply Pets website has a long list of recipes, and you can find loads of others by Googling "pet food recipes." Also, check the updates at Howl911, as well as the FDA pet food recall page daily for updates. Given the FDA's track record, Howl911 would be my first stop.

Finally, since it's clear that humans and animals are at risk, consider shopping locally whenever possible. Farmers' markets are springing up everywhere. They feature locally grown produce, so you and your community both benefit. For more ideas on how to eat locally, check out the 100 Mile Diet book and website.

Pet Food for People who Love Their Pets

For anyone who is concerned about contaminated pet food, check out the offerings at Flint River Ranch. This what my dogs and cats eat, and everyone is fine . There's plenty of information at the website on the ingredients, how to make the switch to a new food, and a lot more. If you want to talk to a real person, try their toll-free number. Another nice thing: the food comes to your house via UPS, so you don't even need to drive anywhere, a major advantage here in LA. (Just fyi, I am not receiving any free food or goodies for mentioning Flint River. We just like the food and company's transparency about where the ingredients come from.)
PS: Photo of Pup with chewable versions of Bush, Rove and Rumsfeld is courtesy of www.politicalpettoys.com. Yum!

Food Safety? What Food Safety?

Many thanks to "Anonymous" for the link to a recent Sacramento Union piece on tainted food. Some excellent points in this article. First, as Anonymous points out, the contamination was intentional. That's right -- the melamine was added to the wheat gluten (and very likely other ingredients, as well) on purpose. Why? To make it appear to have a higher protein content so the manufacturers could charge more.

Second, finding out whether or not foods you or your family eat contain any of these tainted ingredients is going to be difficult, if not impossible, as the columnist who wrote this piece found. His quest for straight answers produced results that would be hilarious under other circumstances.

Third, here's how Menu Foods, the company that produced the pet foods -- and which, by the way, is based in Canada, reportedly to avoid paying corporate income taxes -- responded to reports of sickened and dead pets.

"... Menu Foods told the FDA that they began receiving reports of dogs and cats being sickened and dying on Feb. 20. They claim to have started testing their products a week later on Feb. 27. Menu fed suspect food to “40-50” dogs and cats. 7 of the animals died. In what he calls a “horrible coincidence” Menu Foods Chief Financial Officer, Mark Weins, sold 45 percent of his stock in the company on Feb. 26 and 27. The first public announcement and initial recall was made on March 16."

How shabby is that?? First, they wait a FULL WEEK to even begin testing the food. Then they test it on "40 to 50" animals, with seven dying, and still don't tell the public until March 16?? Plus, the "horrible coincidence" of the company's CFO dumping nearly half of his stock in the company -- does he seriously think anyone is going to believe that was a coincidence? Please.

This is nothing short of an atrocity. But it's the last few paragraphs that should make everyone's hair stand on end.

"A Final Footnote

On April 12, the FDA highlighted the largely honor-system style enforcement of U.S. food safety by announcing that contaminated pet food still appeared on hundreds of store shelves.

Two of Menu Foods’ largest customers are household names and manufacture hundreds of products including, probably, a large percentage of the items in your grocery cart. They are Proctor & Gamble and Swiss-based international conglomerate Nestle.

Nestle announced on April 12, 2007 the acquisition of Gerber Products. Gerber represents 79 percent of the US baby food market."

It's Not Just Pet Food Anymore

Tainted pet food may seem to be a bit off-topic for a blog devoted to helping Baby Boomers stay healthy. But read on and you'll see that a) it's not just pet food that's being poisoned (as I noted in the previous post) -- it's food we eat every day, and b) the contamination has been going on for some time. Bottom line -- even people who are doing everything they can to stay healthy are likely to feel the effects of this BIG TIME!

From this morning's reading, here are a series of links for anyone interested in following the story:

From a diary at one of my favorite blogs -- dailykos.com -- breaking news on Congress holding hearings and sending investigators to the West Coast to pursue reports of widespread melamine contamination. Plus, an excellent round-up of related news on this enormous scandal.

From the current issue of USA Today, a story on the FDA finally -- FINALLY! -- taking action to limit Chinese imports. Plus, check out this sidebar on commonly used ingredients that could be contaminated. What's the likelihood that all of us have consumed at least one of these ingredients? Something like 99.9%?

And finally, at MSNBC, a piece about nearly 40 chicken farms in Indiana where tainted food was fed to chickens that were sold for human consumption. More area farms are likely to be added to the list, as well.

The point here is not to frighten people, but to make everyone aware of how widespread this contamination is. Clearly, the "self-regulation" this administration endorsed is not working. We need -- and should demand -- stringent controls on food and individual ingredients, whether they come from abroad or not. Write, call, fax and/or email your representatives in Congress. (Go to Congress Merge to find names and contact information.) Tell them you want strict oversight of our food supply and an FDA with the resources it needs to be fully functional. It's bad enough that thousands of innocent dogs and cats had to die to make us all aware of this issue. How many children are being sickened by these products? What about people with chronic illnesses and the elderly -- surely they shouldn't be eating food that's not fit for animals. Actually, none of us should. So let's do something about it.