The other day I wrote about my discovery that HEB's Central Market Organics' brand of whole milk is ultra-pasteurized in the half gallon size but not in the gallon size. (If you are not familiar with the difference, read about ultra-pasteurization here.) Yesterday at Kroger's, I quickly checked two other brands. One of them was "simple TRUTH", which is the new Kroger brand. The other was Horizon. The same thing held true for both: ultra-pasteurized in the half gallon but not in the gallon. Check your favorite brand. Generally, if you can't get raw milk, then whole organic, non ultra-pasteurized milk is the best you can do. Within that category, check out the brands available to you on Cornucopia's comparison list, which rates them according to farming practices. Horizon is rated in the lowest category (0 cows). Here's an excerpt from Cornucopia's review of Horizon:
They operate two corporate-owned farms, in Maryland and Idaho. Their Idaho facility, milking 4000–5000 cows, was originally a conventional factory-dairy that they converted to organic production. It has, according to widespread industry reports, very little access to pasture. Unlike the majority of all organic dairy farmers in the United States, who concentrate on the health and longevity of their cows, caring for them from birth, the Dean/Horizon Idaho farm sells off all their calves. Later, presumably to save money on organic feed and management, they buy one-year-old conventional animals on the open market. These replacements likely have received conventional milk replacer (made with blood—considered to be a "mad cow" risk), antibiotics, other prohibited pharmaceuticals, and genetically engineered feed. Many practices on a farm of this nature put ethical family-scale organic farmers at a competitive disadvantage.
The downfall with the Cornucopia list is that I can't find a date on it, so I don't know how current the information is. Also, I didn't see any information about the pasteurization issue. Organic Valley is one of the top-rated brands (4 cows) but I know when I have looked at it at Whole Foods, it was ultra-pasteurized. At the time, I didn't know to check the gallon size. I'll have to do that the next time I go. I primarily shop at HEB, and they do not carry Organic Valley at my location. I have learned to never take any milk product for granted though. Check the label each and every time you buy it.
Emma sent me a link the other day to realmilk.com's listing of raw milk suppliers, organized by state. It had been a long time since I looked at it. I was pleasantly surprised. It appears that the list has grown for our area. You might be able to find a raw milk farmer near you and avoid all the intrigue of store milk shopping. Check it out:
Where Can I Find Real (Raw) Milk?
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Monday, February 13, 2012
Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist, Issue Statement on President Obama’s So-Called Compromise
NEWS RELEASE
Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist
Issue Statement on President Obama’s So-Called Compromise
Ann Arbor, MI - In response to President Obama’s remarks regarding the final rule for individual and group health plans under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Mother Mary Assumpta Long, O.P., the Prioress General of the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist released the following statement:
“Regarding the so-called compromise by President Obama on the Department of Health and Human Services rule for “preventative” services that mandate coverage for abortion-inducing drugs, sterilization, and artificial contraception for their employees, the mandate still compromises religious, economic, and political liberty.
Despite the assurances by President Obama that separating the premiums paid by religious institutions to insurance companies somehow protects the religious liberty of Catholic and other religious institutions, the bottom line is these institutions will still have to pay the insurance company that is mandated to provide these services for free to any employee who wants these services. It is insulting for President Obama and his administration to suggest the so-called compromise “should be net cost neutral.” It is simply impossible to ensure that the insurance companies will not pass on those costs to the organizations and individuals who conscientiously object to their insurance policies covering abortion-inducing drugs, sterilization, and artificial contraception. In short, not only does the Administration not comprehend Catholic moral reasoning and the full-meaning of the principle of religious liberty, it does not even understand the basic economics of health-care insurance. The fact that Planned Parenthood has so quickly expressed satisfaction with these arrangements only confirms that nothing has changed in substance.
As the Second Vatican Council declared in paragraph four of its Declaration on Religious Liberty, Dignitatis Humanae:
“religious communities rightfully claim freedom in order that they may govern themselves according to their own norms, honor the Supreme Being in public worship, assist their members in the practice of the religious life, strengthen them by instruction, and promote institutions in which they may join together for the purpose of ordering their own lives in accordance with their religious principles.”
Moreover, as citizens of the United States we are guaranteed by the Constitution the right to fully and vibrantly live our Catholic faith according to the teachings of the Church. We as Catholics demand that our institutions not be required to formally or materially cooperate in acts that the Church has always taught to be intrinsically evil.
The Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist plead with God to protect the ability for all Americans to freely exercise their religious liberty. The Dominican Sisters of Mary will offer up daily prayers with the intention that this unjust mandate be overturned, and we will do so until it is overturned.”
The Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist is a Roman Catholic community of women religious based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Our primary apostolate is the education and formation of young people. We remain open to engaging the modern culture with new forms of evangelization in order to preach the Gospel and teach the Truth. In 15 years, the Sisters have grown to over 100 in 14 years, the average age is 28 and the average age of the women who enter is 21. Sisters represent most of the States across the U.S., various Provinces in Canada, and countries in Europe and Asia.
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Live, Learn, and Read Labels
I made a startling discovery recently. The same whole milk sold under HEB's Central Market Organics label is not the same in the half-gallon as the gallon size. The half-gallon is ULTRA-pasteurized. The gallon is not. I thought maybe this was a mistake, but the expiration dates correspond perfectly. The gallon has a much shorter shelf life than the half-gallon. Needless to say, I am now buying the gallon size exclusively. I don't know why there is a difference. I suspect they are processed/packaged at totally different facilities. I have learned from researching gluten-free candy, that size can make all the difference. A chocolate bar in one size is safe, but the same brand bar in a different size is not safe because it is made in a different facility that also processes wheat products.
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Friday, February 10, 2012
Emma's Hashimoto's Diagnosis, Part 7a
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| Nick and Emma celebrating their engagement with champagne and dancing |
Good morning, dear readers! I want to apologize for taking so long with the next update on Emma's Hashimoto's Diagnosis. I had hoped to have it done yesterday so that you wouldn't be left hanging. Part 7 brought us up to the middle of last August. Emma has made major improvements since then, and I have been working hard to explain them all in Part 8. I know some of you are looking for answers to your own autoimmune issues, so I try to make these updates as informative as I can. I tend to focus on the worst symptoms because those are the ones that make the sufferer feel isolated and scared. It has helped us a lot to read about others who are also going through "dark rooms" so to speak. I want to assure you that Emma is coming out into the light; is feeling good; is listening to a variety of music; and has a new and perfectly normal bridal registry! :)
Also, I think I forgot to explain in Part 7 that when Emma took the herbs to see which arm of the immune system was dominant, her reaction of becoming depressed and thinking no one liked her was the answer to the test. We were supposed to look for that kind of reaction to know that was the side that was dominant. That's why I didn't want to do that test, but I let the chiropractor talk me into it. Since Emma reacted to the TH1 herbs and not at all to the TH2 herbs, we learned that in addition to gluten, she needed to avoid certain foods like mushrooms to help bring her immune system in balance. Her reaction had nothing to do with her maturity and everything to do with her illness, which we are conquering one layer at a time. It's a complex issue. I often wonder if I made a mistake by writing about it. Emma's willingness to be exposed this way in order to help others testifies to her great maturity and selflessness. I am proud of her. I am also proud of Nick. He has proved that he will stay with Emma through anything. He is an amazing man. I am glad that they found each other so early.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Saint Josephine Bakhita on Forgiving and Forgetting
I am just learning about St. Bakhita, a former slave whose feast day is today. She was canonized in 2000 by Pope John Paul II. Fr. Mark's post that I excerpted below served as my introduction to her. I am happy that she has come to my attention now to encourage me in my determination to forgive and forget. According to this Wikipedia article, while a slave, St. Bakhita suffered cruelties regularly. But her most terrifying memories were from the time she had a 114 designs carved into her body and then filled with salt to ensure scarring. This was done by a woman while Bakhita's mistress watched with a whip in her hand.
Here is the aforementioned excerpt from Fr. Mark's post, "A Saint for Those Who are Prisoners of the Past", with thanks to Mary-Eileen Russell for bringing it to my attention. Do follow the link and read the whole thing if you have time.No Trace of Bitterness
Mother Josephine Bakhita served her Master for almost fifty years. The Collect speaks of her following Jesus the Crucified Lord with unremitting love. In charity, it says, she persevered in a ready mercy. This is the miracle of Saint Bakhita. There was no trace of bitterness in her. The cruel degradations and unspeakable moral outrages suffered as a slave, though never forgotten, had no hold on her. She to whom men had refused mercy persevered to the end in a ready mercy for others. She was not a prisoner of her past. We who are so often prisoners of the past, unable to let go, unable to forgive, unable to move beyond old hurts, do well today to seek her intercession.
Set Free by Love
Looking to the future does not mean forgetting the past; it means transfiguring it. It means re-reading it with eyes of mercy in the light of faith. We need not remain slaves of our own histories, chained to the evil things, the hurtful things, the unjust things that happened ten, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty, or seventy-five years ago. There is another way: the way of those set free by love.
Looking to the future does not mean forgetting the past; it means transfiguring it. It means re-reading it with eyes of mercy in the light of faith. We need not remain slaves of our own histories, chained to the evil things, the hurtful things, the unjust things that happened ten, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty, or seventy-five years ago. There is another way: the way of those set free by love.
Emma's Hashimoto's Diagnosis, Part 7
The Long Road, continued from Emma's Hashimoto's Diagnosis, Part 6
I apologize for my delay in reporting. I got to the point where I was sick of talking about sickness. Because it's been so long, I know there is a lot I have forgotten. I'll do the best I can to be accurate.
To resume where I left off in Part 6, Emma did the test to find out which arm of her immune system was dominant. Taking the TH-1 herbs caused her to go into a depression. First she started playing some of her favorite Scottish music, the Corries, for me, my sister, and my niece, and didn't want to stop even when it was clear that everyone had grown tired of it and wanted to enjoy conversation. It was like she lost the ability to detect other people's feelings or she lost the ability to care. Then she went further downhill and went and stayed in her room and told me that nobody liked her. She stayed in her bed the whole day for this reason. It was such bizarre behavior for her that it made me want to laugh. On the other hand, it was really sad because she missed out on a day of visiting with her aunt and cousin. A few days later she took the TH-2 herbs, and nothing happened. So we eliminated from her diet all foods/supplements that would support TH-1, including mushrooms, astragalus, and echinacea. There are others, but I can't remember them right now. She did the GABA challenge to see if she had a leaky brain barrier. The results were inconclusive. Maybe I don't understand it properly, but it would seem to me that if something you eat causes you to get depressed, then you have a leaky brain barrier. I have since learned that GABA, a neurotransmitter, is a natural relaxer. I have used it quite a bit with Emma since reading The Diet Cure by Julia Ross.
She became obsessed with the Corries the fall that she was in college. It's good music, traditional and beautifully rendered. I like it myself. I think the obsessiveness came in because of the outstanding harmony. Her brain was under attack; she couldn't cope with any kind of stress, and this music calmed her. She has probably a hundred Corries tunes on her iPod, and she listened to that music almost exclusively for nine months. On bad days she would stay in her room because she said that she felt better in there. I think that was because the room is painted yellow and she has light from windows on the east and south. She would sleep and listen to the Corries.
Another example of obsessive behavior was her Amazon wedding registry. I can't remember exactly when she created it. I think it was in the Spring. Anyway, it was almost exclusively cookie cutters! No dishes. No pots and pans. No household appliances. No linens. Not only that, the cookie cutters were mostly gingerbread men, gingerbread women, and gingerbread children. I never checked, but I have wondered whether she didn't have every available gingerbread cookie cutter that Amazon sells. The only other thing she chose were pieces for a Lenox Nativity set. I mentioned this to my stylist one day when I was getting a haircut. She laughed and remarked animatedly in her Texas drawl, "That Emma, she just wants to bake cookies and see Jesus!" I cracked up! It was so funny! I could have just hugged her for that. Laughter truly is the best medicine, but she went even further and put the situation in a positive light that really did reflect the Emma that she had known for years. As a caregiver, it can be hard not to get depressed yourself and to forget what it was like when your patient was healthy. So I appreciated this on several different levels. I have thought of her remark many times since then, and it always gives me a lift and makes me smile.
Emma had a thyroid panel again in the spring and saw no improvement in thyroid function. Particularly, her free T3 was still extremely low. That's the one that actually goes into your cells and affects everything. She was feeling much better, though, than when we had started. It's just that there were a lot of relapses. That was the hardest thing for me to deal with. She would seem perfectly normal for weeks, and then all of a sudden she would have a major setback. Eventually we were able to add eggs, dairy, and peanut butter back into her diet. We rejoiced exceedingly, to say the least. We continued on GAPS. So in addition to no gluten-containing grains, no rice, no corn, no oatmeal, no quinoa. No grains whatsoever.
One issue that had surfaced in January was sickness associated with the onset of her period. She had been feeling good, and I let her drive across town for an outing with friends. She got so sick that she had major trouble walking, and she threw up several times. She stayed in bed for about three days after this incident. It seemed to sap the life out of her. This problem has persisted to the present, although now the sickness only lasts the first day. I consulted the chiropractor we had been seeing about it, and she said that she goes to her gynecologist for such problems. I thought, and still do, that it is a hormone imbalance caused by the Hashimoto's. I am guessing that it is a deficiency of progesterone. I am sure that there are some good gynecologists out there who could probably help. I am also sure that there are a good number of them who will prescribe the birth control pill to "regulate" the cycle instead of figuring out the cause. I decided to wait on trying to figure that one out.
Believing that we had reached the limits of this chiropractor's ability to help, last summer I sought out another Kharrazian-protocol chiropractor. He knew things that the first one didn't. Emma was still suffering with adrenal fatigue symptoms. He started Emma on supplements to improve her liver and gall bladder function and added another cream to support her adrenals. That's when I learned that the cream the first chiropractor gave us was supposed to be used in the morning to help her wake up. The new one was for bedtime to help her get to sleep. It was a little upsetting to learn this. We had been told to use that first cream throughout the day.
I continued to read everything I could about Hashimoto's, depression, and adrenal fatigue. I found the "Stop the Thyroid Madness" site's information on lab tests and on adrenal fatigue extremely helpful. I incorporated whatever I thought would help into the Kharrazian protocol. I think it was last June that I added Houston Tri-Enza digestive enzymes to Emma's regimen. I read about them on a GAPS site. So she was taking the enzymes fifteen minutes before each meal and then taking Betaine (stomach acid) halfway through the meal, plus about six Kharrazian supplements, like the liver and gallbladder support formulas and liquid vitamin D. I also had her take B complex, Omega 3 fish oil, and a multivitamin called Glucobalance designed to help regulate blood sugar. We found a Chinese herb supplement at our local health food store that helped lessen her menstrual woes. She had three egg cups full of pills each day, one for each meal. It was horrible, but during this period she improved dramatically. We were able to go on vacation and spend our days swimming and tubing and had a fabulous time. Having low thyroid function slows down all the bodily processes, so the extra help with detoxing and digestion really helped. She did this for about three months. It was nearly impossible for her to just relax and enjoy a meal because she had to take pills throughout. She can't swallow them without food because they get stuck in her throat. Finally she got sick to death of it all and quit. I didn't blame her. I just hoped she could hold on to her gains.
To resume where I left off in Part 6, Emma did the test to find out which arm of her immune system was dominant. Taking the TH-1 herbs caused her to go into a depression. First she started playing some of her favorite Scottish music, the Corries, for me, my sister, and my niece, and didn't want to stop even when it was clear that everyone had grown tired of it and wanted to enjoy conversation. It was like she lost the ability to detect other people's feelings or she lost the ability to care. Then she went further downhill and went and stayed in her room and told me that nobody liked her. She stayed in her bed the whole day for this reason. It was such bizarre behavior for her that it made me want to laugh. On the other hand, it was really sad because she missed out on a day of visiting with her aunt and cousin. A few days later she took the TH-2 herbs, and nothing happened. So we eliminated from her diet all foods/supplements that would support TH-1, including mushrooms, astragalus, and echinacea. There are others, but I can't remember them right now. She did the GABA challenge to see if she had a leaky brain barrier. The results were inconclusive. Maybe I don't understand it properly, but it would seem to me that if something you eat causes you to get depressed, then you have a leaky brain barrier. I have since learned that GABA, a neurotransmitter, is a natural relaxer. I have used it quite a bit with Emma since reading The Diet Cure by Julia Ross.
She became obsessed with the Corries the fall that she was in college. It's good music, traditional and beautifully rendered. I like it myself. I think the obsessiveness came in because of the outstanding harmony. Her brain was under attack; she couldn't cope with any kind of stress, and this music calmed her. She has probably a hundred Corries tunes on her iPod, and she listened to that music almost exclusively for nine months. On bad days she would stay in her room because she said that she felt better in there. I think that was because the room is painted yellow and she has light from windows on the east and south. She would sleep and listen to the Corries.
Another example of obsessive behavior was her Amazon wedding registry. I can't remember exactly when she created it. I think it was in the Spring. Anyway, it was almost exclusively cookie cutters! No dishes. No pots and pans. No household appliances. No linens. Not only that, the cookie cutters were mostly gingerbread men, gingerbread women, and gingerbread children. I never checked, but I have wondered whether she didn't have every available gingerbread cookie cutter that Amazon sells. The only other thing she chose were pieces for a Lenox Nativity set. I mentioned this to my stylist one day when I was getting a haircut. She laughed and remarked animatedly in her Texas drawl, "That Emma, she just wants to bake cookies and see Jesus!" I cracked up! It was so funny! I could have just hugged her for that. Laughter truly is the best medicine, but she went even further and put the situation in a positive light that really did reflect the Emma that she had known for years. As a caregiver, it can be hard not to get depressed yourself and to forget what it was like when your patient was healthy. So I appreciated this on several different levels. I have thought of her remark many times since then, and it always gives me a lift and makes me smile.
Emma had a thyroid panel again in the spring and saw no improvement in thyroid function. Particularly, her free T3 was still extremely low. That's the one that actually goes into your cells and affects everything. She was feeling much better, though, than when we had started. It's just that there were a lot of relapses. That was the hardest thing for me to deal with. She would seem perfectly normal for weeks, and then all of a sudden she would have a major setback. Eventually we were able to add eggs, dairy, and peanut butter back into her diet. We rejoiced exceedingly, to say the least. We continued on GAPS. So in addition to no gluten-containing grains, no rice, no corn, no oatmeal, no quinoa. No grains whatsoever.
One issue that had surfaced in January was sickness associated with the onset of her period. She had been feeling good, and I let her drive across town for an outing with friends. She got so sick that she had major trouble walking, and she threw up several times. She stayed in bed for about three days after this incident. It seemed to sap the life out of her. This problem has persisted to the present, although now the sickness only lasts the first day. I consulted the chiropractor we had been seeing about it, and she said that she goes to her gynecologist for such problems. I thought, and still do, that it is a hormone imbalance caused by the Hashimoto's. I am guessing that it is a deficiency of progesterone. I am sure that there are some good gynecologists out there who could probably help. I am also sure that there are a good number of them who will prescribe the birth control pill to "regulate" the cycle instead of figuring out the cause. I decided to wait on trying to figure that one out.
Believing that we had reached the limits of this chiropractor's ability to help, last summer I sought out another Kharrazian-protocol chiropractor. He knew things that the first one didn't. Emma was still suffering with adrenal fatigue symptoms. He started Emma on supplements to improve her liver and gall bladder function and added another cream to support her adrenals. That's when I learned that the cream the first chiropractor gave us was supposed to be used in the morning to help her wake up. The new one was for bedtime to help her get to sleep. It was a little upsetting to learn this. We had been told to use that first cream throughout the day.
I continued to read everything I could about Hashimoto's, depression, and adrenal fatigue. I found the "Stop the Thyroid Madness" site's information on lab tests and on adrenal fatigue extremely helpful. I incorporated whatever I thought would help into the Kharrazian protocol. I think it was last June that I added Houston Tri-Enza digestive enzymes to Emma's regimen. I read about them on a GAPS site. So she was taking the enzymes fifteen minutes before each meal and then taking Betaine (stomach acid) halfway through the meal, plus about six Kharrazian supplements, like the liver and gallbladder support formulas and liquid vitamin D. I also had her take B complex, Omega 3 fish oil, and a multivitamin called Glucobalance designed to help regulate blood sugar. We found a Chinese herb supplement at our local health food store that helped lessen her menstrual woes. She had three egg cups full of pills each day, one for each meal. It was horrible, but during this period she improved dramatically. We were able to go on vacation and spend our days swimming and tubing and had a fabulous time. Having low thyroid function slows down all the bodily processes, so the extra help with detoxing and digestion really helped. She did this for about three months. It was nearly impossible for her to just relax and enjoy a meal because she had to take pills throughout. She can't swallow them without food because they get stuck in her throat. Finally she got sick to death of it all and quit. I didn't blame her. I just hoped she could hold on to her gains.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
At the Beginning of the Day
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| Sweet Angels |
We celebrated Emma's 19th birthday on Sunday. I gave her the two angels in the picture. (Sorry for the poor picture quality. I turned the flash off my iPhone so you could get the soft effect.) Someday soon they will grace her own home. She thinks they would look really good in the nursery. I think so too. They are so sweet. In the meantime, I get to enjoy them on our mantle. I'm sitting in front of them right now as I write. It's peaceful. The only sound is the ticking of the timer, counting down the minutes until my full-comfort, whole milk, pastured egg, maple syrup-sweetened custard is done baking. I got the recipe from the Healthy Home Economist. I plan to eat it warm with nutmeg sprinkled on top.
I'm working on an update to "Emma's Hashimoto's Diagnosis" series. I had planned to have it ready yesterday, but our internet was down for about a day and a half. My second excuse is that I have so much to tell, and it has been so long, that I am struggling to remember the whys and hows of it all. Also in the works is a post on our trip to the Houston Bridal Extravaganza a few weekends ago. Ahhh! There goes the timer for the custard.
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