Ann Marie's Blog

Tags:	beatrix, books, cavities, cows, food, grass fed, immunity, nutrition, organic, pastured, probiotics, raw milk, tooth decay, weston price, whole wheat
Subject:	The Town Without a Toothache
Time:	08:44 pm
Current Mood:	curious

Dr. George Heard was a dentist in the early part of the 20th century who first practiced in Alabama, where he had a majority of patients with tooth decay that required fillings and extractions -- ultimately resulting in false teeth. He later moved to a small town in Texas where he was stunned to find very few cavities (average of 1.2 decayed spots per child between the ages of 6-18).

No, it wasn't fluoride. There were other Texas towns that had just as much or more fluoride in the water -- and their incidence of tooth decay was greater.

Dr. Heard attributed the town's excellent dental health to diet. Particularly homegrown vegetables from beds rich in minerals, whole grain bread, and plenty of raw milk. And avoidance of white flour and refined sugar.

I asked every patient who came to me: "How much milk do you drink every day. Do you drink raw milk? Do you drink buttermilk and clabber?"

For years I made inquiry of my patients as to their milk habits. Almost invariably I found that the possessor of a mouth full of sound teeth had been a consistent milk drinker from early childhood. A surprisingly large number liked either buttermilk, clabber or both.

The significant fact is that the milk those patients drank came from cows that had grazed on native grass in Deaf Smith County pastures. In winter, as a rule, the cows had grazed on green wheat.

from "Man Versus Toothache" by Dr. George W. Heard, copyright 1952

Why in the world are we drinking skim milk from GRAIN-fed cows? Not to mention cows that are fed corn, soy, dead animals, day-old pastries, etc. Skim, pasteurized milk is completely devoid of nutrition. You may as well drink water.

And cows that are forced to eat grain and other things are not healthy. Grain makes them sick. Which requires more antibiotics, etc. Which is why you don't want to drink pasteurized milk. Not only is it devoid of nutrition, it is from sick cows that are pumped to the gills with antibiotics (and hormones in many cases).

And just what are all those antibiotics doing to the delicate balance of flora in your intestinal tract, the very seat of your immunity?

Do you think the antibiotics are killed or inactivated by the pasteurization process? Does anyone know? I don't know -- I'm not a microbiologist, for godsakes.

But I do know that it can't be good to drink milk from sick cows who are pumped with antibiotics. I don't know how you can dispute that logic.

Cows are meant to eat grass in spring and summer, and hay in fall and winter. They are not meant to stand shoulder-to-shoulder in cramped factories eating grain and other abnormal things out of troughs.

Where are you getting your milk? Do you know the dairy? Do you know what they feed the cows?

If you like to drink milk (I hope you do, it's very good for you and delicious), not to mention eat cheese, ice cream, and butter, here are some good posts to read on my friend Beatrix's blog. These two posts illustrate the difference between real, healthy grass-fed-cow-produced raw milk and factory farm swill.

Please educate yourself:

The Sweet Sound of Cowbells Ringing Out in the Fields:
http://constantstateofflux.wordpress.com/2007/10/24/the-sweet-tone-of-cowbells-ringing-out-in-the-fields/

STOP DOING IT NOW:
http://constantstateofflux.wordpress.com/2007/09/21/stop-doing-it-now/

Think you can't get raw milk, pastured eggs, and grass-fed meat? Well you're probably right that you won't find it at Safeway. You might not even find it at Whole Foods (unless you live in California which does sell raw milk -- for now...).

Here are some resources to help you find good real milk and grass-fed animal food:

http://www.realmilk.com/ (click on WHERE to find sources for real raw milk)

http://www.eatwild.com/

comments: 2 comments or Leave a comment

Tags:	alla, beatrix, broth, cholesterol, food, kate, milestones, nourishing traditions, nutrition, rapadura, saturated fat, seth, stock, sugar, tv, weston price, zucchini bread
Subject:	Broth, sugar, and healthy people with no cavities
Time:	09:23 pm
Current Mood:	relaxed

It was a grey day in LA. Rainy and cold and dreary. This kind of weather is so rare in LA, so when it happens, it's kind of fun. Like a snow day or a blackout.

I had soaked some oatmeal last night, so this morning I got to wake up to coffee and a bowl of comforting oatmeal with raisins and maple syrup garnished with a little raw milk.

For lunch I used some of the turkey stock (from the turkey carcass) and leftover turkey from Thanksgiving, added a few carrots, some parsley and sea salt, and made the most delicious, comforting soup for Seth and Alla and myself.

Tonight after dinner I was reading my new friend Beatrix's blog. Even though she lives in the French Alps, I found her online because she and I are into all the same stuff health- and food-wise. Weston Price, raw milk, etc.

Anyway, it was so cool to read that she was feeding her family bone broth today too.

http://quatrepattes.wordpress.com/2007/11/30/comfort-for-a-little-one/

Kate LOVES broth. Absolutely loves it. I feed it to her with a little liver pate mixed in. She likes squash, but she LOVES broth. She can't lap it up fast enough.

This afternoon I made zucchini bread from the "Nourishing Traditions" cookbook. It came out great. Very moist. Maybe a tiny bit too sweet (I added extra maple syrup and uncalled for Rapadura). Next time I'll make it a little less sweet. I might make some other adjustments as well.

I have to say though... I think my taste buds are changing. I don't want sweets as much anymore. I used to eat 2-3 chocolate chip cookies almost every night. I used to crave chocolate and sweets. Now I really don't. I can go days, weeks, months even -- and I don't care about eating sweets at all. Every once in a while I will have a chocolate chip cookie before bed (I got the kind that are frozen but it's all-natural ingredients). I can only eat one. Even then, it feels like a tad too much.

Sweets just taste TOO sweet for me now. That Halloween party where I had the Bluebonnet Cafe cupcake -- it made me dizzy and kind of nauseous. And I only ate half! And I used to be able to devour those cupcakes.

I know part of it is the fact that I am not eating sugar. I don't know the last time I ate real sugar. I've only been eating stevia, maple syrup, raw honey, agave nectar (which I found out I'm not supposed to be eating) and Rapadura.

I think part of it might also have to do with the amount of fat I am eating now. Good fats. Butter, coconut oil, whole milk, eggs. I am satiated. I don't crave anything. I wonder if part of the reason people crave sweets is because they need more fat.

I'm struck by that statistic I read today -- that breast milk is over 50% fat and loaded with cholesterol. If fat and cholesterol are bad for you, then why is breast milk -- the epitome of health food for humans -- loaded with it?

And then you read Weston Price's book (I'm halfway through) and all these people from around the world are eating diets of 50% or more of saturated fat. And they are the healthiest people on the planet. No degenerative diseases. No cancer. No heart disease. No diabetes or arthritis. No obesity. Very, very few cavities. They had no need for doctors or dentists.

What did they eat? Different things, depending on where they lived. The Eskimos ate differently than the people living in the Swiss Alps or African tribes. But overall they all ate a very similar diet -- a lot of saturated fat, some vegetables, lots of meat, fish and/or dairy, and occasionally whole grains. Zero refined flour or sugar.

The people in the Swiss Alps for example, lived on raw milk, cheese, butter, whole grain rye bread, some vegetables, and, once a week they had meat. These people had almost no cavities. And no degenerative diseases. Am I repeating myself? I can't help it. It's just astounding to me! Can you imagine never having to see a doctor or dentist?

So interesting... I read that book about babies and sleep ("Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" by Dr. Weissbluth) and it says that sleep begets sleep. In other words, the more you help your baby get his or her rest, the better and more he will sleep. Likewise, it's eat fat to lose fat. Eat more fat and you will want to eat less and you will lose fat. Counter-intuitive, eh?

I'm watching "What Not to Wear". They're making over a Rastafarian hippie with dreadlocks that look like really long turds. When I was in the hospital with Kate, I watched this a few times while I was nursing her. It reminds me of that special time. It was so wonderful being in the hospital with our perfect baby, so in awe of and in love with her.

I can't believe how big she's gotten over the past several months. She's so alert and curious and she's crawling and babbling and she even did her first sign the other day. Monkey. You make the sign by scratching under your arms like a monkey.

She also waves now -- hi and goodbye. Not consistently -- but when she does it, it is clear that she knows what she is doing.

It's so fun cuddling with her and nuzzling and kissing those cheeks, that belly, those toes. She's such a delectable baby. And it's fun learning about who she is. She has a strong personality. Independent, unflappable, curious, determined. And she definitely has a good sense of humor. That's obvious already. Very bright, too. It's interesting to me that their personalities emerge so early.

Time for some milk and then bed.

comments: 2 comments or Leave a comment

Advertisement

December 1st, 2007

November 30th, 2007

Advertisement