OT - Cleaning the Natural Way - You, Your Mask, Your Home

[jennmary]

I had a feeling something was up jen. Congratulations. That is terrific. I hope this time around will be much easier and even more full of joy now that you are treating the SA. Keeping you in my prayers.

[roster]

......

So what about avacados and nuts as fat solids? ... or are ya'll only eliminating animal type of solid fats?

Sorry if I am getting off topic, but our Johnson & Wales University just announced yesterday that they were eliminating all trans fats in their culinary program and their on-campus restaurants.

They are replacing the trans fats with palm oil. What is this all about? I have been taught for decades that palm oil is very highly saturated fat and should be avoided in the diet. Eh?

[ozij]

AHA, so that was what kept you tired and quiet. Congratulations, Jen.

O.

[socknitster]

......

So what about avacados and nuts as fat solids? ... or are ya'll only eliminating animal type of solid fats?

Sorry if I am getting off topic, but our Johnson & Wales University just announced yesterday that they were eliminating all trans fats in their culinary program and their on-campus restaurants.

They are replacing the trans fats with palm oil. What is this all about? I have been taught for decades that palm oil is very highly saturated fat and should be avoided in the diet. Eh?

Rooster, Before hydrogenation was discovered and became really popular, palm oil and coconut oil were commonly used as a butter/lard substitute. Then when some scientist got it in his head that hydrogenated fats were "healthier" than butter/lard/cocounut/palm and proliferated this wrong belief all over the world, margerine and all its decendents were born. And they have become so widespread with the advent of the era of convenience foods.

For your heart, liquid oils are really best. All solid fats have a high degree of saturation--it is the saturation that is bad for you. But, if the choice is between hydrogenated fats and palm or coconut oil, the truth is the natural oils are the lesser evil. The problem is that baked goods just are NOT going to taste as good unless a solid fat is used. Liquid oils just are not going to make a good donut or whatever. Believe me, I did a lot of baking with oils after I discovered I was allergic to dairy (prior to that I was a devotee of butter). I concluded that for some things, palm oil shortening (available at the health food store) or a good free-range lard was just going to be necessary.

I think this is going to be a new trend. I think we will be going back to basics over time. You will see more and more free range meats and with that a better fat profile. Did you know that when an animal is raised the way God intended, its fat profile contains the proper ratio of fatty acids we need? Cows can actually make Omega-3 fatty acids when they eat grass instead of grain and live outside with less stress and the ability to move.

If we as a nation move away from convenience foods and embrace more natural foods, I firmly believe a lot of our health problems will evaporate.

Do you know why breast milk is best for babies? Women are able to produce omega 3 fatty acids (that is what DHA and ARA are that they are now trying to put in formula) and all those other millions of micro and macro nutrients (including antibodies) that no man in a lab can come close to formulating. Formula isn't evil. It is necessary because not everyone can breastfeed. But breastfeeding is just a way to return to the natural state of things and I applaud the fact that the breastfeeding rate is steadily increasing in this country as we learn more and more about the health benefits of it--for both baby and mother.

A side note--you hear these retarded internet rumors about deodorant/antiperspirant causing breast cancer. The real truth is that when women turned their backs on breastfeeding for the convenience of formula, they paid a terrible price. If you don't use breasts for what they are intended for, they are going to be prone to disease. Just like the margerine thing, formula was touted as a healthy and convenient alternative and the general population believed it.

There is a strong trend towards breast cancer in my family (grandfather and his daughter, my Mom). I had to go for my first mammagram last summer. I nursed my son for 1 year. The technician exclaimed with glee when she saw my breasts on film. She could see every duct like branches on a tree. My breasts had softened and all the fibrous tissue that young breasts have was gone. My mothers breasts on the other hand (she didn't breastfeed either of us kids) are still very dense and hard to read like a teenagers breasts would be.

Avocado and nut oils are such a good source of fat and their fat is a liquid fat. I have seen avocado oil and nut oils and they were liquids. That said I have also seen avocado butter, but I don't know anything about it. Avocados are very good for you. I wouldn't give them up. They are a great first solid food for 6 month old babies. My son loved them then and still does now. Just had some last night on tacos.

Thanks for the congrats everyone. I'm starting to feel better now that the first trimester is almost over.

Treesap--congrats to your sister. She is on the right track with the c-section. There can be complications for the second child born when twins are delivered vaginally. It isn't worth the risk in my opinion. My sister has 1 year old twin boys and she delivered them by c-section and they are both happy healthy little guys and she recovered amazingly fast. She also had to do in vitro because her husband had testicular cancer about 8 years ago. She has been struggling with infertility for so long, getting twins on her second invitro attempt was such a blessing.

Ok, ok, I'm very sorry for the diatribes and taking this way off the topic. But this is the NATURAL thread and you can guess what is on my mind right now, right?

Jen

[Guest]

CONGRATULATIONS JEN & MITCH & HARRY!

Looking forward to screenshots of Gummy Bear in Utero.

As for hydrogenated fats.... Is natural homemade butter a hydrogenated fat because it's whipped to form butter? I ask this because I just bought my own personal butter churn, for living history purposes, and have been immersing myself in butter churning info for the past few weeks.

Gasp - I feel much better now about coming to visit you. I can eat healthy for short periods of time, though. I survive the occasional meal at my mom's house, after all. Not that my mother avoids roast beef OR butter. And yes, she has perfect skin.... sigh... hate her....

I personally believe it's the amount of PROCESSED food and fat I personally eat that causes most of my problems. If I just had the energy to cook for myself.... I'm contemplating going back to Dinner's Ready. That was pretty easy.

Jen, can we have a Gummy Bear naming contest? I vote for "Iphegenia" if it's a girl. Sorry, I just like that name right now. It's the screen name of a reenactor buddy on another list.

If it's a boy, I vote for "David" so you can have "Harry & David" . Yuck yuck!

Cheers,
Babette

[roster]

.....
As for hydrogenated fats.... Is natural homemade butter a hydrogenated fat because it's whipped to form butter? ........

Nah. You are just making a physical change to milk. Hydrogenation is a chemical change that adds H2 (hydrogen) to create a new molecule = a new substance. Wikipedia gives the details, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogenation.

Overall, the work of chemists in the last 125 years is one of the major contributing factors to our greatly increased life spans. However, the widespread use of hydrogenation for food is probably not be one of their resounding successes.

[Guest]

Personally, after spending a week with my 95 year old grandfather, I'm not really in favor of increased life spans. Dying at 50 looks better and better to me.

Now, don't get me wrong. Grandpa's a great guy. But I really see no reason for ME to be 95. I don't have grandkids and great-grandkids and great-great-grandkids. Ex-Step-Dogs do NOT count.

I think God intended us to expire. It works better for us, it works better for the planet. I don't plan to advocate widespread euthanasia (GW Bush does that so much better than I), I just find our tweaking with the natural life span of our bodies gross and unneccessary. Spend as long as I have caring for elderly bedridden family members and you might feel the same way.

Live today well, and you won't need to extend your lifespan unncecessarily trying to reach some "Retirement Nirvana" that does NOT exist.

Cheers,
Babs

[roster]

..........

Live today well, and you won't need to extend your lifespan unncecessarily trying to reach some "Retirement Nirvana" that does NOT exist.

Cheers,
Babs

Hey, I am just trying to hang around long enough to be a good gramps to those grandkids that may come along some day.

[gasp]

. . . But there are a few that I can consume and do--coconut milk has tons of solid fat in it and it is my dairy subsititute I go to when I'm craving something creamy and sinful. . . .

Coconut milk fat is so good for the body, I do use it from time to time. I use it topically too, in the summer when smelling a bit like coconut isn't weird. : )

The beef I eat is mostly free range, but the fat in it, while composed of healthier fats than contemporary farming methods normally produce, is still solid.

We eat 90% organic and some natural vs organic meat. The fat our bodies absorb from feedlot big box beef is filled with nasties. How medical America can let it go . . . well it is a money making adventure. I have a friend with breast cancer who was emphatically told by her doctor to not eat or drink anything but organic. Estrogenic properties being one of the harmful side effects of pesticides and chemicals found in non organic foods.

Right now I have what is classified as severe acne. I might as well bust out with my secret now--it has been about killing me keeping it to myself for the last 6 weeks.

Since it's not me that has it, I can't fully understand - but from someone who has had breakouts in years past I empathize about how it makes you feel. I wondered if people thought I didn't clean my skin, or if it was catchy. Sheesh. What we go through as humans : 0 That said, you have such a beautiful nature that people probably look right past it!

drum roll. . . I'm due on June 23, 2008. So, I'm at 10 weeks now. I had some touch and go moments. I wasn't sure at first it was going to stick. But two ultrasounds later and a month of all day morning sickness and extreme fatigue and I'm pretty sure this little gummy bear is going to be here to stay.

So there you go! Thanks for reviving the thread Babs. Now you guys know why I have been lurking quietly and not saying much for the last 2 months.

Jen

Yeah! So happy for you! I was so busy with work I've been off the forum quite a bit and didn't miss you : 0 That said, now that I know you were gone, I missed you : )

Never hesitate to PM to talk about anything you don't want to post to the world. Maybe we should make an OT forum that is private instead of public!

-gasp

[Guest]

..........

Live today well, and you won't need to extend your lifespan unncecessarily trying to reach some "Retirement Nirvana" that does NOT exist.

Cheers,
Babs

Hey, I am just trying to hang around long enough to be a good gramps to those grandkids that may come along some day.

That's a reasonable life span in my books. Just don't go shooting for 125. Seriously - it's not fun to be that old.
B.

[roster]

.....

Coconut milk fat is so good for the body, I do use it from time to time.
........

Well you convinced me to stay away from coconut oil:

[socknitster]

Gasp wrote:

We eat 90% organic and some natural vs organic meat. The fat our bodies absorb from feedlot big box beef is filled with nasties. How medical America can let it go . . . well it is a money making adventure. I have a friend with breast cancer who was emphatically told by her doctor to not eat or drink anything but organic. Estrogenic properties being one of the harmful side effects of pesticides and chemicals found in non organic foods.

I KNOW! With all the knowledge about health these days, I cannot believe it isn't common knowledge what agro-business is doing to us. They obliterated the small family farm and they churn out meat like a factory. Animals were meant to be cared for--not to have the only hands ever laid on them be the ones that pluck them out of the cage after they are dead.

I have lived my whole life in the midwest. It is shocking when you drive thru the countryside how few ANIMALS you actually see. You see the occasional odd farm with a few horses or cows or sheep--they are being raised for fun, or are the few organic/free range small farms out there. All the other animals, the ones we put on our tables, are grown in BUILDINGS and never see daylight or feel any sense of freedom. They are stressed out from conception to slaughter and fed hormones and antibiotics in insane amounts to keep them "healthy." The first man who decided to try this kind of farming must have been a cold hearted bastard with a deep love of money. It stuns me that it ever caught on and has become the norm.

But I find it interesting that we as Americans have an underlying understanding that our food sources are suspect, and have known this for some time, yet the organic movement, originally sniggered at, has taken so long to catch on. Long before organic was cool I was growing my own veggies and dreaming of having a small farm like the one I grew up on where we kept a few cows and pigs every year--we did this out of poverty, but they were mostly organic, nonetheless. Now, thank goodness, it is no longer necessary for me to do the back breaking work that comes with caring for animals--finally, there are lots of local farmers here who have got "the calling" and I can buy from them!

Another thing that will turn your stomach is when you see those Dr. 90210 (I am not a fan, but have watched an episode or two out of curiosity) type plastic surgeon shows and you see a liposuction. Lipo is gross enough, but when the fat coming out of a person is neon orange? That is absolutely bizarre--and proves that we are addicted to some strange permutations of food.

We eat mostly organic too, whenever possible. I can't decide if it is dismaying or heartening to see big businesses begin to "go organic" too. I worry that they are hoodwinking us and selling us the same crap. On the other hand, if they put their considerable wealth to the problem of farming without pesticides, maybe many plausible solutions will be found.

I absolutely understand why the first farmers turned to pesticides. I have seen a patch of squash get decimated in turn by three different species of bugs, leaving nothing but stumps behind. After world war II people didn't want to lose their victory gardens to bugs. I get it. But their trust was misplaced.

Coconut milk: I have heard the coconut milk is super good for you and palm oil as well. There are whole books and subcultures based on these two oils. I don't know much more about them than that. I don't know what the healthful properties of them might be. They make good soap, though. I have a stockpile in my sewing room waiting for me to feel well enough to make another batch of soap!

Acne: People are very dismissive and discriminating against people with acne. They make you feel like you are dirty or something when they couldn't be farther from the truth. I had moderate acne as a teen, and mild to almost zero acne as an adult. This, for me, came out of the blue. I had some acne in the first trimester of Harry's pregnancy but it was nothing like this. In fact this whole pregnancy feels different. This kid is going to be totally different!

Jen

[Guest]

Sounds like a girl to me.

Hi Gummy Girl!!!!

LOL,
Babs

[socknitster]

Are you subscribing to the notion that the baby girl steals her mother's looks? LOL?

Could be. It'll be about 9 or 10 more weeks before we get another ultrasound to be able to find out. Last time we didn't and we were very excited to find out at the birth. This time I'm already feeling impatient to know if I will be using Harry's hand me downs or able to indulge in buying some pink frocks.

jen

[Guest]

No No! I was saying that if this pregnancy is VASTLY different from Harry's pregnancy, then it must be a girl.

I'm in favor of indulging in a pink frock or two. You can always pass them along to another mother if you don't end up needing them.

Little pink booties? Nice knitting project...

And there's no way I stole my mother's good looks - she stole MINE!

LOL,
Babs