Date Nights, Leeches, and What Do Big Cats Eat? - Fascinating Articles This Summer

August 25, 2011

http://tuberose.com/Adrenal_Glands.html

If you think the adrenal glands are small and boring body parts, then you should check out this article. I don't agree with authors' ideas on treatment specifically, but this is a fascinating article if you suffer from any of the many symptoms of adrenal fatigue, or fatigue in general.

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http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=the-neuroscience-of-gut

Yet more fodder for fascinating discussions at the dinner table: “The Neuroscience of the Gut. Strange but true: the brain is shaped by bacteria in the digestive tract...”

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http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/media/releases/low_carb_higher_fat_…

“Low-Carb, Higher-Fat Diets Add No Arterial Health Risks to Obese People Seeking to Lose Weight”

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http://lewrockwell.com/miller/miller38.1.html

“Enjoy Saturated Fats, They’re Good for You!”

This article is by Donald W. Miller, Jr., MD, who is in an interesting position to comment on this issue because he performs coronary artery bypass surgery on a regular basis.

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http://www.wordpress.peakmoment.tv/conversations/?p=438

I generally do not have patience for audio, but I listened to this while doing kitchen chores as per the recommendation of the lovely woman who helps us obtain our raw cream. It's a half-hour interview with Lierre Keith, impassioned environmentalist, progressive, and activist, author of “The Vegetarian Myth.”

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http://www.npr.org/blogs/krulwich/2011/06/10/137084528/gut-bacteria-kno…

Gut Bacteria Know Secrets About Your Future – interesting little take on the ramifications of newly-discovered “bacterial typing” that's been in the news lately.

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http://higher-thought.net/complete-notes-to-good-calories-bad-calories/…

Fascinating resource overall (complete notes to accompany “Good Calories, Bad Calories” by Gary Taubes), but especially interesting bit about gout:

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http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks02/0200251h.html#toc

Every single bit of “Nutrition and Physical Degeneration” is pretty much fascinating, including this bit concerning the native eating habits of large cats:

“...In approaching this problem as it applies to human beings, much can be learned from a study of domestic and wild animals. Until recent years it has been common knowledge among the superintendents of large zoos of America and Europe that members of the cat family did not reproduce efficiently in captivity, unless the mothers had been born in the jungle. Formerly, this made it necessary to replenish lions, tigers, leopards and other felines from wild stock as fast as the cages were emptied by death or as rapidly as new stock should be added by enlargement.

“The story is told of a trip to Africa made by a wild animal specialist from the London zoo for the purpose of obtaining additional lions and studying this problem. While in the lion country, he observed the lion kill a zebra. The lion proceeded then to tear open the abdomen of the zebra and eat the entrails at the right flank. This took him directly to the liver. After spending some time selecting different internal organs, the lion backed away and turned and pawed dirt over the carcass which he abandoned to the jackals. The scientist hurried to the carcass and drove away the jackals to study the dead zebra to note what tissues had been taken. This gave him the clue which when put into practice has entirely changed the history of the reproduction of the cat family in captivity. The addition of the organs to the foods of the captive animals born in the jungle supplied them with foods needed to make reproduction possible. Their young, too, could reproduce efficiently. As I studied this matter with the director of a large lion colony, he listed in detail the organs and tissues that were particularly selected by animals in the wilds and also those that were provided for animals reproducing in captivity. He explained that, whereas the price of lions used to be fifteen hundred dollars for a good specimen, they were now so plentiful that they would scarcely bring fifteen cents. If we observe the parts of an animal that a cat eats when it kills a small rodent or bird, we see that it does not select exclusively the muscle meat.

“During my biological investigations using animals, I have had barn rats gnaw their way into the room where the rabbits were kept and kill several animals during a night. On two different occasions, only the eyes of the rabbits had been eaten, and the blood may have been sucked. On another occasion the brains had been eaten. It was evident that these rats had a conscious need for special food elements that were provided by these tissues...”

--Weston Price

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http://www.invertebrate.us/leech/info/leech.pdf

Fascinating article about leeches.

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http://www.cookingincastiron.com/files/20080123_slowcooker_to_dutchoven…

Turns out that my favorite type of cookware is making a comeback! Here's some useful info on cooking your favorite slow-cooker recipes in a cast-iron, stove-top Dutch oven.

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http://glennrowe.net/BaronCohen/AutismSpectrumQuotient/AutismSpectrumQu…

What do you think? How should slippery mental health issues be diagnosed?

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http://www.geekfill.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/first-world-problems…

I suffer from an embarrassing number of these First World Problems...

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http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/07/110701121528.htm

It's not just for ulcers any more! “Gastric Bacterium Helicobacter Pylori Protects Against Asthma...”

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http://www.alignedandwell.com/?p=3173&option=com_wordpress&Itemid=223

Bare Feet – good for adults too!

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http://harvillehendrix.com/wordpress/?p=7

Although I might quibble on the details (including the author's own dietary choices), this article by a couples' therapist brings up some fascinating questions:

“Is it possible that some of the conflict between partners could be diet related? From my research so far, it seems so. Could a change in diet reduce irritability and contribute to a couple’s sense of well being? I am beginning to think so, so much in fact that in my initial interview with couples I have started asking them what they eat.”

“...a woman named Rosie [explains]: '...The greatest change in our relationship...has occurred recently over the past 3 years. This has come about as I have made radical changes to the way I eat which have also been taken up by the family. You spoke of detox and the importance of good eating and nutrition. I endorse this whole heartedly!!!!! I have taken sugar and flour out of my diet, besides a 17 kg weight loss I have experienced the most profound changes in my moods and negative thinking. I have discovered I am actually a very positive person and full of energy and vitality. I feel so much younger and alive and can concentrate better. My husband and I have been together for some 30 years the best of these being the past 3 and a half. [...] I am writing to agree with the sentiment that nutrition is a vital key in our lives and can profoundly affect our relationships.'”

So why am I writing about this? Because I have become a fan of healthy eating, with almost as much energy as I had 30 years ago when I started my research on couples. In fact, about 30 years ago I read a book on food and mood but was unimpressed and discounted it. I have never been much interested in food, except whether or not it tasted good. My experience of the Detox process, however, has suggested that diet contributes to mood and behavior, and perhaps to disease prevention and cure.

The implication of this for our work with couples, while obvious, has been overlooked. Is it possible that some of the conflict between partners could be diet related? From my research so far, it seems so. Could a change in diet reduce irritability and contribute to a couple’s sense of well being. I am beginning to think so, so much in fact that in my initial interview with couples I have started asking them what they eat. While I am uninterested in becoming their nutrition coach, I do believe I have a responsibility to the total welfare of my clients...”

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http://www.beyondveg.com/

“Reports from veterans of vegetarian and raw-food diets, veganism, fruitarianism, and instinctive eating, plus new science from paleolithic diet research and clinical nutrition.”

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http://realchilddevelopment.com/family-life/the-date-night-myth

http://katiekind.wordpress.com/2010/09/11/because-when-the-kids-are-gro…

These were some of the best blog posts I read all summer! At last, two people who are willing to admit in public that they don't worship at the alter of (The Necessity of) Date Nights...