Life is a Process

I can’t believe that it is almost the end of February. Where does the time go?

The toddler is graduating into the preschool class next week. He’s a little growing ball of anxiety. I’m branching out into more unusual modalities and considering trying some flower essences on him. It seems that Walnut is called for in this time of transition.

I again witnessed more development in him following the last illness (the flu, I think?). For a change, we had to deal with a low-grade fever (rare in this boy) - we did nothing for that because science indicates that white blood cells function most efficiently in those feverish temperature ranges. What better way to combat a pathogenic invader than with your own immune system? As the illness was hitting, he regressed behaviorally - wanting to be carried “like a baby” and even using sign language (we haven’t used sign language in at least a year). But then, as usual, this was followed by a series of developmental bursts - better overnight bladder control is the one that has persisted. My son is a camel - he can hold his pee overnight for 15 hours. I wish I knew how he did it because I can’t hold it that long!

His food preferences are changing - he is becoming a bit of a picky eater. Though he still loves my pesto (even if made with cilantro and pumpkin seeds) on “Mary’s Gone Crackers” crackers or on raw carrots or celery. He doesn’t like “regular” potatoes, preferring sweet potatoes instead. He is definitely a meat eater - my latest hurdle is to find a good quality pepperoni (without MSG or other nasty preservatives) that we can use in the evening as a quick snack. He seems to have developed an intolerance to apple skins and anything that may contain apple skins (apple juice and apple cider, specifically) - sudden unexpected and uncontrollable meltdowns, coupled with bright red cheeks are the give-aways here. But it is weird that he is fine with just the apple itself.

I’m itching to get my hands on the book “Good Calories, Bad Calories” by Gary Taubes. I watched a video of a lecture he gave not too long ago. In a nutshell, scientific evidence shows that carbohydrates are a poor source of calories but that fat is a better choice. Since we ourselves have been largely gluten-free, I’m trying to get us into a grain-free state of being (hard especially in the winter when my basal intuitive cravings are for carbohydrates from root vegetables, non-gluten grains, and legumes). The Paleo diet, however, is a goal for most meals as we move towards summer.

Many of the basic tenets of biology, particularly that of evolutionary biology, rely on substantial genetic diversity in the gene pool. Sadly, in big agriculture, those folks have totally forgotten some of those basics. The FDA, as well, is closing its eyes to basic biology. Our fields are filled with monocultures of plants (corn, soybean, wheat). GMOs are increasingly finding their way into our food, in spite of sufficient evidence to convince the Europeans that GMOs should not be eaten. Today, the FDA in all its wisdom has deemed it safe to munch on cloned animals. Remember, this is the same bunch of patronage appointees who decided that Vioxx was safe - then changed their minds after people died and a few lawsuits were filed.

Now, I’m off to hunt down (figuratively) a new supplier for my local, organic, grassfed beef and hogs, and to see if my supplier of super tasty local organic pastured chickens has her 2008 order form up yet.

Indiana parents are trying to get a midwifery licensure bill onto this year’s state legislative agenda.  The Indiana Midwifery Taskforce is holding a rally from 9:30am to 1:30pm on January 24, 2008 at the Statehouse in the Rotunda (200 West Washington Street, Indianapolis).  Bring kids, grandparents, eccentric relatives, signs (but NO sticks to hold up those signs), a wireless laptop if you have one.  Decorate your car with midwifery slogans and signs.  Learn some songs.  For those who homeschool, this is a good opportunity to teach your kids about how a bill becomes law.

The basic premise of this legislation is that it would allow Certified Professional Midwives to offer legal homebirths to expectant parents.

I don’t know how this slipped past me. I knew that in the realm of personal care products (e.g., shampoo, soap, hair colorings, etc.), the term “organic” is not well regulated. That is, anybody can claim that such a product is “organic” even if it really isn’t. Enter the USDA. As of 2007, the USDA has a “USDA Organic” seal that they are now allowing for use (when conditions are met) for personal care products. Indeed, the Organic Consumers Association has quite a bit of this information on their website: Coming Clean: Organic Integrity in Body Products.

VACCINATION BEFORE CHRISTMAS
WITH HELP FROM Clement Clarke Moore and
Rima E. Laibow, MD (found at this blog)

T’was the night before Christmas and all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, they all were too soused
With toxic components of deadly vaccines
To control populations these are excellent means.

The Children we nestled all snug in their beds
While vapors of mercury damaged their heads
The doc in his smock and the nurse in her cap
Were newly empowered to inject kids with more crap.

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter
I sprang from my desk to see what was the matter
Away to the journal I flew like a flash
Tore open the wrapper and scanned table of trash
The print on the paper, all glossy and bright

Gave the luster of science to the drug company hype
When what to my wondering eyes should be seen
But a company study on how safe are vaccines
With a famous first author, so very renowned
I was totally convinced because his name I found.
More soothing than opera, more comfort I gained
And he skewed all the data, and called them by name:

“Now, Measles! Now Tetanus! Now Pertussus and Meningitis!
On Mumps! On Human Papilloma! On Rubella, On Hepatitis!

To the top of the charts, to the top of the census
Now vaccinate! vaccinate! Vaccinate all! must be the consensus!”

As dry tears before the autism behavioral spectrum fly,
When a parent’s tears are all shed, no tears left to cry.
When doctors mislead, because they are misled,
And lives are destroyed because neurons are dead

Not from dangers unknown, but from profits protected,
And rights trampled down and freedom neglected.

As I shook off the “pseudo” that enwrapped the junk “science”
I did some clear thinking about the logic’s defiance
The great man’s first authorship was “science for hire”
His reputation was tarnished: the great man was a liar.

A bundle of vaccines he had flung on his back,
He looked like a snake oil salesman just opening his pack.
His eyes - how they twinkled! If every one takes them,
Vaccines are a money machine - if you make them!

Of course, there are problem of autism and death,
Just deny all the science, tell parents their crazy and then hold
your breath;
‘Cause the propaganda machine is working just right,
And the lobbying money gleams bright in the night;

New Jersey, the home of Corporate Merck,
Has a commissioner who’ll sign, while smirking a smirk
Clever elf, the commissioner, knows he’s not staying
After December. Just who will be paying?

A wink of his eye, and a twist of his head,
His kid’s not autistic: He’s got nothing to dread!

He said for the good of all moms who work,
He wants them injected with products by Merck,
And laying a finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the corporate ladder he rose;

He finished his job, to his team gave a whistle,
And the spent needles flew like a poisonous thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ‘ere he took year-end flight,
“Vaccinations to All, Autism’s all right!”

Love that nutrient-dense cat food.

We have two cats, half-brother and half-sister. We know they had the same mother, that they were from the same litter, but we are uncertain about the paternal factor.

The male kitty has food allergies galore - beef, pork, seafood, fish, wheat, corn… Needless to say, we were not affected by the major recall on cat food a few months ago. These kitties eat Royal Canin’s IVD Duck and Green Pea cat food. I suspect he developed allergies through leaky gut (increased intestinal permeability) but cat physiology is sufficiently different from human physiology that healing this has been beyond my expertise.

Our female cat has recently started having her own intestinal issues. In the summer, we increased the amount of wet food and cut back on the amount of dry food. As a result, she underwent some change in her gut flora - she’s lost quite a bit of weight and, well, there are other indications of a change as seen in the litterbox.

The light went off the other day - probiotics. She needs probiotics. So off I went on a hunt for probiotics that culd help her, yet that would not adversely affect the male kitty. I think I may have found something tasty. Wysong has some nifty products. I picked out the medium-size packet of Pheasant (oo-la-la), Dream Treats ^TM, and their feline probiotics. The food itself is a HUGE hit with these kitties. They are eating less of it but they are super duper excited to be eating it. Moreover, they are so much more satiated by it - they snooze during the evening now instead of complaining. Because they aren’t eating as much, it may actually be cheaper to use Wysong products exclusively. I’m hoping that the probiotics will soon kick in and take effect so that the litter box becomes just a wee bit less stinky.

Last winter, we used a lot of Apitherapy elderberry syrup to get through the daycare colds. It worked! We emerged in the spring having had only a few minor sniffles - nothing like the first winter in daycare.

I’ve become a little more frugal and a lot braver now. I discovered, for instance, that Mountain Rose Herbs (MRH) carries dried elderberries. Then I became more inspired and hunted down a recipe. I was able to buy almost everything through MRH, though I declined to include the Osha root as MRH’s stock is wild crafted, the species is endangered and in limited supply. I doubled the recipe and ended up with 3 wine bottles of super juice.

For the skeptical out there, this little study showed that influenza symptom were relieved about 4 days earlier for those using elderberry extract, compared to placebo. Another study showed that elderberry extract revs up the immune system by boosting cytokine production - both inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines. An older study demonstrated the ability of elderberry extract to reduce hemagglutination and inhibit replication of 8 strains of human influenza viruses (both type A and type B); patients that took the extract recovered faster (2-3 days compared to 6+ days without extract).

I’ve always been skeptical of the flu vaccine, especially since I heard a talk from an evolutionary biologist who is involved in helping pick the strains for the vaccine. But I’ll save the debate about phylogenetic reconstruction methods for another day (and another blog?). I sleep better at night now just knowing that we can continue opting out of the thimerosol-loaded influenza vaccines and chug-a-lug our homebrew elderberry syrup (with Grand Marnier) instead.

We’ve been casein-free for well over a year now (read: dairy-free; no cheese, no milk, no uncultured dairy). I am the kefir queen here, dropping my kefir grains into almost any liquid - coconut milk, berry juice, cow milk. I can’t set aside enough of our local apple cider to try kefir-ing that though.

For a few months, I have been largely gluten-free. I try to maintain a mostly GF house, though the car is another story. I have got to find a GF substitute to those darn animal crackers or fig bars that the toddler adores. Maybe he’ll be happy with apple chips…

Some wonder how we do it. I don’t bake, and now when I do (which is more often than the pre-GFCF days), I use coconut flour or rice flour. Though I like having the book, the excerpts from “Cooking with Coconut Flour” are enough to get a GF-baker well on the way to using coconut flour. We have pancakes more often now than we did pre-child; I found 2 recipes that are acceptable to my crew and I alternate between them (depending on the number of eggs or on the status of our nut butter): Buttermilk Coconut Pancakes, where we use kefir in lieu of buttermilk; and Midas Gold Pancakes, using nut butter instead of nut flour. Cashew butter works really well, phytates be darned.

Over the summer, I experimented with the “diet” from The Garden of Eating. Grain-free, instead of just gluten-free. I’m finding, though, that winter brings a yearning for beans and rice and tortilla chips. I did notice, however, that we have actually reduced our food consumption since dumping the beans and grains, as evidenced by our expensive grocery trips (instead of embarrassingly expensive).

The challenge for me still rests with daycare - a nut-free, vegetarian facility that requires packaged goodies as alternative snacks, if provided by the parent.

GFCF diets seem to be the diet du jour.  People perceive it as hard.  It is really only hard if you regularly eat out or if you live in the packaged-food aisles of the grocery store.  As soon as you realize that GFCF means, really, meat + veggies + fruit + nuts, it becomes quite surmountable.  I won’t be focusing on our GFCF efforts here, but occasionally I’ll sneak in a gem of a recipe (sorry! without pictures as my cooking is not a work of art).

I usually consider myself to be fairly “crunchy” (i.e., green, a treehugger, at one with mother nature… you get the idea). Some time ago, I subscribed to Ideal Bite and I find it only occasionally gives me something useful. Generally it is just yet another email in the inbox to delete. However, this morning’s tip actually does contain something useful.

With gift-giving season right around the corner, the thought of the money spent on stuff nobody wants is on my mind. If you really aren’t altruistic enough to ask your loved ones to buy someone else a cow, you can avoid those long return lines by just giving your family a very specific list of what you do want instead. Check out this free general purpose gift registry. Even better (than it being free) is that it is apparently compatible with wishlists already in existence at Amazon, JC Penney and so on.

Back to crunchiness though…. This morning I dropped off some Holistic Moms flyers at a local Wellness Expo. I must admit, for all my perceived crunchiness, I felt amazingly soggy (mainstream, even) in that environment. Maybe I just need to go hang out there to absorb it all. Bloomington townies - if you’re reading this - please do go check out this expo. It should be quite informative if one is beginning a journey into holistic-ness.

When the toddler was an infant, this mother watched a lot of television - mostly MacGyver reruns but also some news (what else do you do when nursing a squirmy infant?). Around the time that the toddler (then infant) arrived, I declined to renew my subscription to the local newspaper - a silly newspaper that hasn’t figured out that more people would read it online (and generate ad revenue) if they offered that content for free. A few months ago, we dropped cable to basic and, having found ourselves not even watching TV much then, we dumped cable completely not long thereafter. Since then, I have pretty much stopped following news. Except on the rare occasion.

Let’s start with the news that I do read… Most of it is depressing. Just check out the headlines featured on Truthout. Death, doom, destruction. As a movie once put it, “The Decline of the American Empire.”

Occasionally, I stumble on news that just leaves me scratching my head. Like this CNN tidbit today. Really now, with all the resources for newborns and their parents (have you ever looked at the shelves in Barnes and Noble or Borders?), can’t CNN send its reporters out to, well, report on something other than babies? Though I must credit CNN for enlightening me today and reminding me why I object to plastic toys - some plastic-y toys undergo a chemical conversion to a date-rape drug when it is ingested (as most kids will do at least once). Yes moms, not only do you have to worry about lead in those toys, but it seems you also have to worry about those toys turning into rohypnol.

To be fair, Fox News also has me scratching my head. I think it is safe to say that most of the Fox viewership probably doesn’t have “green” tendencies. Which made me wonder why Fox has this “Go Green” section accessible from its main website. But then I started poking around at its content and realized that we don’t have to worry too much about Fox educating its viewers. This old one, Mow away your weeds, advocates tweaks to the lawn mower. Why does it feature a nice not-so-green gas mower? Why wouldn’t a push mower be featured? Well, at least they didn’t include a picture of this puppy.

But in searching for silliness for this post, I did find some good, not-so-silly news. At least one person - a politician no less - has decided that clotheslines aren’t so awful. Ontario’s energy conservation head honcho wants the clothesline bans to be rescinded across the province so that people can actually choose not to waste energy drying the clothes that can be just as easily dried on a line outside.