Company: U.S. Wellness Meats Contact: John, Lee Ann, Megan, Lacey, McKenzie
Street: P.O. Box 9 Other:  
Town/City: Monticello Prov/State: MO Tollfree: +1 877 383-0051
Country: USA Code/Zip: 63457 Fax: +1 573 767-5475
Internet: http://www.grasslandbeef.com/ E-mail: eathealthy@grasslandbeef.com
Internet: Wholesale Packs for savings Internet: Or-ion Concentrated Minerals
Blog: uswellnessmeats.blogspot.com/ Twitter: http://twitter.com/uswellnessmeats
Revised: March 11, 2013

Other Background Details:

Customer Service: Lacey Griesbaum

Blogspot:
http://uswellnessmeats.blogspot.com/

INDEX


U.S. Wellness Meats was founded on September 1st, 2000.
Pasture management and meat science research originated in 1997.
The company office is domiciled in Monticello, Missouri in Lewis County which joins the Mississippi River 140 miles North of St. Louis. The company has branched from beef products into lamb, certified humane pork, free range poultry, salted and unsalted grass-fed butter, grass-fed raw cheese, raw honey, gourmet rabbit , artisan soaps, wholesale packs, nutraceuticals , seafood, grass-fed goat , pre-cooked entrees and on sale products.


Why is a handling fee added when shipping is advertised as free?
On May 15, 2006, after 10 days of notice, U.S. Wellness Meats instituted a handling fee to cover rising costs in the packaging process up to the point of shipping the package.

We have absorbed two price increases from the shipping container manufacturer, fuel surcharges have escalated dramatically from Omaha processing center to the Ames, Iowa cold storage that prepares and places the order into the shipping system and more labor has been employed to make the pic and pac center more punctual. Rest assured we debated this issue for 6 months before deciding we had little choice. Consequently, we decided to add a flat fee (one per total order) that rewards the larger order versus raising the price of all products across the board. Shipping charges are 100% included in cost of beef which has been the case since inception of the company. We appreciate your understanding as we attempt to make ends meet.

U.S. Wellness Meats is raised in the heartland near Monticello, Missouri.
Even though this meat is shipped across the country, the energy costs to raise this naturally pastured meat is far far less than the grain-fed commercially raised meat you would find in the grocery store. In addition, U.S. Wellness ships its meat across the country in the most energy-efficient way, direct to your door. You need never get in your car to get our products.

Newsletter, June 28, 2009

... Perhaps we all need to take a step back from the more for less thinking that we've all fallen into, and think about what that cheap factory meat, and everything else we buy in bags and boxes, ready to eat in ten minutes, and what it actually does to our health. If we are suffering maladies from red meat consumption, then perhaps it is time to think about how that meat is being manufactured, and remember that if we fill those animals with drugs and garbage food, that is the quality of meat that we're going to get on our tables.

If we eat meat from animals who have been treated with respect and fed properly, we benefit in so many ways, healthfully, and morally. We have a responsibility to these animals who are entirely at our mercy, who are bred by, cared for by us, cannot survive without us. Their entire lives are in our hands. We owe it to them to stop buying garbage that is produced by factories. If we did this, perhaps we'd even see the return of more small family farms, more care for our environment, and better health for us in both regards.

Sincerely,

A.H. (Customer)
Lithia, FL



The Growing Demand for Grass-Fed Beef in America
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2006/06/24/
the-growing-demand-for-grass-fed-beef-in-america.aspx

More than 1,000 U.S. ranchers have transitioned their herds to an all-grass diet -- which cattle are naturally designed to eat -- in the last five years. Sales grew to $120 million in 2005 and are estimated to increase over 20 percent a year for the next decade. ...

Still, purely grass-fed beef represents under 1 percent of the U.S. beef supply, and can cost from 20 percent to 100 percent more than grain-fed beef, due partly to its longer growth cycle. ...

Grass-fed beef is lower in chemicals that can harm you and higher in beneficial fats like CLA, which can even help you lose weight and defeat cancer.

An important point to understand when purchasing your beef is that certified organic beef is not necessarily as healthy as grass-fed, non-factory-farmed beef. Most of the organic beef I have seen are fed organic corn, which still causes most of the negative problems that have traditionally been associated with eating beef.

Typically, most grass-fed beef are fed crops that are not sprayed with pesticides -- it is just that the ranchers could not afford the expensive organic certification process. ...



Grass fed Beef online order from Mercola.com
FAQ page, Order page
http://www.grasslandbeef.com/StoreFront.bok?affiliate_no=69

Packaging:
After appropriate aging, meat is vacuum packed in state of the art cryovac packaging. This airless environment ensures high quality and long life in your freezer. Meat will arrive at your door in its protective wrapping, boxed, and insulated in our styrofoam shipping containers.

Wet Aging:
Aging is critical to ensure you receive a tender product. Wet aging is done in a vacuum package to improve meat safety and eliminate the product's exposure to additional pathogens that can occur during a dry aging process.

The meat is cut into wholesale cuts and aged for an average of 21 days before portion cutting. Wet aging also enables the meat to age without losing valuable moisture incurred during the dry aging process

Cooking Preparation:
It is best to thaw meat using the refrigerator. Using this method, a one pound package will thaw in approximately 20-24 hours.

Cook ground beef until no pink remains, or until the meat temperature registers 160 degrees Fahrenheit. Slow-cooking methods that retain moisture work great on lean, red meat. Braising is recommended for roasts and low heat is ideal for steaks.

Steaks should be prepared to a minimum of 140 degrees Fahrenheit (rare) to a maximum of 160 degrees Fahrenheit (medium) to harvest the best tenderness and flavor.

Storage Space
One cubic foot of freezer space will hold approximately 30 lbs. to 32 lbs. of beef.

Shipping:
Orders received Wednesday afternoon through 12:00 noon Monday will be shipped on Monday afternoon. Orders received before 12:00 P.M. on Tuesday and Wednesday will go out the same day.

Federal Express will be the principal carrier. Our standard shipping protocol is to ship priority overnight, which allows most orders to arrive by 10:30 A.M. in most U.S. cities.

After appropriate aging, meat is vacuum packed in state of the art cryovac packaging. This airless environment ensures high quality and long life in your freezer. Meat will arrive at your door in its protective wrapping, boxed, and insulated in our styrofoam shipping containers.

Shipping Costs:
1-800-Go-FedEx.
To calculate shipping costs on FedEx's web page, simply enter in your zip code, then the zipcode for Quincy, IL which is 62301.

Enter in the approximate weight of the item(s) you wish to order, which you can find by clicking on the images on ordering page.

You will likely find the rate is over 70% more than what we charge on our site, because of our specially negotiated rates.



Does the E. Coli risk decrease with grass-fed beef?
A: Yes. Grass-finished beef has a minimal risk compared to grain-fed beef due to the difference in epigastric pH in the two diets. Grain diets create a much higher level of acidity in the stomach, which the E.coli bacteria need to survive. Grass-finished animals live in clean grass pastures where higher levels of sanitation greatly reduce the risk as well. Always cook ground beef until no pink remains.

Where do the grass-fed cattle come from?
A: The cattle are born and raised to about 500 lb. in various parts of the country.
Most are born and raised here in Northeast Missouri and West Central Illinois. The cattle we are selling currently came from James and Buster Geisendorpher in Monticello, Missouri.

We know how James and Buster raise their cattle and we trust them.
We then purchased the calves and grass-fed them on our own ranch. This way we know the whole history of the animal.

The cattle are slaughtered by PM Beef in Windholm, Minnesota.
PM is not a "typical" slaughter facility. We chose them after an exhaustive search for the "best we could find". We toured the plant and found it to be exceptional.



2008-06-04 -- $106.40 Box 72A - Spicy Beef Jerky - 6 lbs.
Shipping is $7.50 regardless of number of boxes.
Account required for order.
Minimum order of $75.00
Same cost as plain, salted, beef jerky.
Less costly than Bison jerky.

2008-06-13 Geo Cure II - Or-ion Fulvic Acid - 16 oz --- $44.45
Or-ion GeoCure II is a humic/fulvic acid complex that has been extracted from one of the richest, naturally ionic, organic deposit on planet earth. It consists of pure vegetative matter from ancient forest processed over time by the pressure of Mother Earth's geologic physics. In a sense, sunlight in a bottle. ..

GeoCure II is one of the best fulvic acids available extracted from toxin free deposits. The extracted fulvic acid is infused with modulated frequencies to re-energize the complex molecule enhancing potency, vitality and all other properties which make fulvic acid nature's prefect chelator/chaperone.

16 ounces per bottle with a recommended dose of 1/2 ounce per day or a 32 day supply.

Beef Pemmican - new 3.2 ounce bar
This is your power bar! Very low carbs . . . combination of grass-fed beef jerky, grass-fed tallow, touch of honey, dried cherries and sea salt. Recipe from old native American culture. Bars weigh approximately 3.2 ounces each and on average contain 20 grams of protein and 380 calories each.
Ingredients: beef jerky, beef tallow, water, cherries, honey, sea salt
PRICE: $3.42



COOKING TIPS
Preparing grass finished beef requires lower cooking temps and moisture management techniques. Grass finished beef will prepare 30% faster compared to grain fed beef due to lower internal fat levels.To find our recipe page and cooking tips please click on the following link:
http://www.grasslandbeef.com/meat_descriptions.html.

The following cooking tips are our suggestions, but please feel free to respond with cooking ideas we may share with everyone.

We suggest burger patties be pulled from the grill while still showing a bit of pink in the middle. Pre-formed patties cook much faster than hand made patties; consequently, it is essential not to overcook. You will note brown to gray burger patties in the package if you ordered preformed patties. This is normal as the vacuum sealing process removes some oxygen from the patties during sealing. This is also proof that we are not adding dye to the burger as most others due to cover up the bleaching appearance. Plus, this is the safest package we can ship to your door.

We suggest searing steaks rapidly followed with low heat for the duration.
Grass-fed cuisine will cook much faster than grain fed beef, due to lower internal fat content, which speeds the flow of heat through the beef.

A crock pot works excellent to slowly cook all roasts.
Chuck roasts can be grilled and basted with the 'mojo' recipe .
Oven bags with a dry onion soup mix added are a delight.

The franks are precooked, so they just need to be warmed up.

We suggest storing your butter, jerky and pemmican in the freezer until use. Then keep in refrigeration after packages are open. However, feel free to take the jerky and pemmican to the office or a weekend camping trip.


To maximize your budget when ordering from US Wellness Meats:

  1. Shop for weekly sale items, which are announced each Sunday and run through Saturday night.

  2. Order primal cuts of steak, roast and back ribs will save you money by cutting a primal into portions at home.

  3. Order wholesale/bulk packages of your favorite products. Our frozen meats are packaged to withstand long term storage in your freezer, which allows you to order in bulk without products going to waste. Splitting bulk packages with friends or family can also boost your savings on high quality grass fed beef.

  4. New steak choices, developed as "value cuts," including the flat iron and teres major, are equally tender and delicious alternatives to traditional cuts such as New York strip and tenderloin filet steaks.

  5. Sandwich steaks, minute steaks, skirt, petite top sirloin, and large top sirloin are all outstanding values.

  6. Order in 40 pound multiples and receive $25 off on each 40 pound segment of the order

  7. Finally, think of good nutrition as an investment



Newsletter, June 15, 2008
OMEGA 3 Fatty Acids protect eyes

Consuming fish and other foods that contain omega-3 fatty acids may reduce the risk of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of severe vision loss in elderly people.

Australian researchers reviewed nine published studies that included a total of 88,974 participants, including 3,203 people with AMD. The combined findings from the studies suggest that a high dietary intake of omega-3 fatty acids is associated with a 38 percent reduced risk of late (advanced) AMD, and that eating fish or grass fed meats twice a week is associated with a reduced risk of both early and late AMD.

The study was published in the June issue of the journal Archives of Ophthalmology.

The University of Melbourne researchers noted that long-chain omega-3 fatty acids form an integral part of the layer of nerve cells in the retina. Outer cells of the retina are continually shed and regenerated. Because of this, deficiencies in omega-3 fatty acids may cause AMD.

"A diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids and salmon, tuna, and grass fed meats as a proxy for long-chain omega-3 fatty acid intake, has therefore been hypothesized as a means to prevent AMD," the researchers wrote. ...

Source: June 13, 2008 HealthDay News



Kieba (Dawn Blacklidge)
http://www.uswellnessmeats.com/
Testamonial

Before my sojourn to Hawaii, I was a former Miss Natural California and finished 2nd in the nation for Natural Body Building in the early 1990's.

Currently, I am the owner of Body Temple Boot Camp in Hawaii which is an organic, non-vegan boot camp specializing in unique exercise, nutrition and scenery. I attribute my regained strength, lean muscle mass, and improved health by changing my diet from a raw vegan to a more primal type I call "Retro-Raw" which includes only the best sources of grass-fed meats and some local caught fresh fish just to mention a few. Of course, I offer the unique tropical goodies that can only be harvested here on the Big Island.

U.S. Wellness Meats provides me and my campers with a majority of my protein needs. This diet has given me the essential living nutrients for optimum health after a mid life crisis on a vegan diet.

I feel great; lab chemistry is off the chart and living life better than most women half my age.

Kieba (Dawn Blacklidge) Pahoa,
on the Big Island, Hawaii



Newsletter, August 10, 2008

Meat Recalls and Food Source significance.
... The shock in the food world on Saturday was the recall of Coleman Beef from Whole Foods. This sad news was the continued fall out from Nebraska Beef's second recall in two weeks.

Keep in mind, the first stomach of the grazing animal is pH 7.
The pH is determined by the digestive process of the forage diet. This is the diet bovines, lamb and goats were designed to process. When starch (grain) is substituted for forage, the pH drops to approximately 4, which is the ideal environment for ecoli 157 to thrive.

Eating grass-fed will minimize the risk the ecoli dramatically as this pathogen will not tolerate pH 7 in the forage animal's first stomach fermentation vat.

The quick advise is to cook meat to 160 degrees Fahrenheit or 71 degrees Celsius. Keep counter tops, hands and utensils properly sanitized.


MOMS NATURALLY, we love food. Naturally!
By: Jennifer Worley & Kristen Janci

We love food! Thanks to our health-minded parents, who encouraged us to work with food, we've been cooking and baking since we were kids. We loved buying cookbooks and browsing through our Mom's recipes to choose new and interesting meals to make. We enjoyed watching our Dad's favorite cooking shows on Public Television, and over the years we've continued to adapt our ways of cooking to maintain good health. This is especially true now that we are moms.

Momsnaturally.org, launched in March of '08, grew from the desire to help other people, especially moms, learn how to enjoy cooking healthy for themselves and their families. We know time is precious, so our recipes are down to earth and relatively simple to prepare. We also realize everyone is different and tailor recipes to fit a broad range of dietary needs.

There are basic principles of health, however we understand there's not one single way to staying healthy. For instance, whole-grains are packed with nutrients, but for a person with extreme digestive disorders, they can be nearly impossible to digest. Spelt flour is a great option if you're wheat-free, but not for a person with gluten intolerances. There are many health benefits to using organic dairy products, however, someone with a dairy allergy can't benefit from cooking with them. In such cases, a different approach to staying in balance is needed.

Moms Naturally offers families recipes that are simple, healthy and taste good. And in the case of those with restricted diets, we offer healthy options that fit into their way of eating without sacrificing flavor. We also provide food tips and time savers. We include recipes for natural meats, poultry, fish and game in our Main Dish section, along with vegetarian recipes. There's a recipe for every family member here.

While we have many dessert recipes on the site, we don't advocate being out of balance in this area. The sweeteners we suggest using are naturally produced and are not bleached or stripped of their nutritional value. We promote the use of natural and organic ingredients in our recipes, and we are linked to various national and local health conscious companies. We want our readership to have access to lots of food and health related information. From where to find healthy ingredients for recipes to knowing how to join a local CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program.

For us, Moms Naturally is a way of living.
When we're sharing information with other moms, developing recipes and photographing food, it keeps us on track and reminds us that we love food, naturally.

jbw@momsnaturally.org



Tasmanian Production Benefits.

U.S. Wellness has forged a relationship with a group of the world's best grass farmers on the Island of Tasmania off the coast of Australia.

This partnership, with a stellar group of year round small grass farmers, will solve a critical shortage of specific cuts we simply have been unable to keep up with in the last 6 months. Specifically, flank steak, skirt steak, hanger steak, sandwich steaks and sirloin tips will be in the store by Christmas if all goes well. Again, our apologies for those of you still impatiently waiting for hanger, skirt and flank steaks.

The bovine only yields one hanger steak per animal.
Only two skirt and flank steaks per animal.
Limited sirloin tip and sandwich steaks that have developed a huge following.
Consequently, we felt it was more important to maintain inventory versus being painfully out of stock too many days per year.

The tiny island of Tasmania is a unique piece of real estate on Mother Earth.
NO hormones or GMOs are allowed on the island and the air is rated as cleanest in the world today. The air standard is used as a base for measuring air pollution world wide. Grass is everywhere and the integrity of the producers and processor is world class.

The small frame English breeds that we raise in the USA were also transplanted by the British years ago into a utopian environment. The summer high averages 75 degrees and the winter low only 55 due to the buffer of the South Pacific. Simply stated, cow heaven and the perfect environment for producing premium grass-fed beef. ..

The website will label Tasmania production when it is available.



Families eating together have healthier children.
Newsletter, 2008-12-28

Studies show that families who sit down to eat together regularly have children who have better grades and are less likely to fall into bad habits, such as smoking or using drugs.

If you ask people what their most meaningful holiday tradition is, many would probably say sitting down to the holiday dinner with family and friends.

They enjoy the opportunity it creates to reconnect with loved ones and experience a sense of belonging and family identity. But when the holidays are over, it's not unusual for family members to jump right back into their over-scheduled lives, eating at different times or even in front of the TV.

Although parents instinctively know that family mealtimes promote good feelings and good nutrition, it might be hard for them to believe that frequent family meals can improve their children's grades and overall academic performance. Or reduce their children's risk of depression, suicide, smoking, drinking or using drugs. Or even just decrease their children's stress levels.

But can something as simple as eating together regularly have such an impact?

Researchers say it most likely can. In fact, multiple studies have found a long list of favorable factors associated with sitting down as a family for meals on a regular basis.

One such study, the University of Minnesota's "Project EAT," has tracked the eating patterns of thousands of teens and young adults. Principal investigator and author of the book "I'm, Like, SO Fat!: Helping Your Teen Make Healthy Choices about Eating and Exercise in a Weight Obsessed World," Dr. Dianne Neumark-Sztainer said her research has found that more frequent family meals are associated not only with better dietary intake, but also with fewer eating disorders and better psychosocial well-being, "including less substance use, better grades in school, and higher self-esteem and lower depressive symptoms."

Unfortunately, in our fast-paced world, sitting down for dinner every night is easier said than done.

Surveys have shown that the frequency of family dinners has been declining over the past decade or two. And according to Neumark-Sztainer, the most frequently mentioned barrier is the family schedule.

Experts suggest that families strive to eat a meal together at least three to four times a week. They acknowledge that it takes planning and commitment for busy families, but the results will be worth the effort.

Source:
Susan Gonzales,
"Study: Family meals may improve kids' test scores."
Hanover PA Evening Sun, 12/22/2008.



Beyond Hydration Water.
http://www.grasslandbeef.com/Categories...Hydration+Water

The key to overall health and performance is your cells.
Your body demands water, and efficient entry of water into the cell and the exit of waste from the cell. The better job your body keeps the cells hydrated the better you will perform. Proper cellular hydration promotes performance, endurance, recovery, anit-inflammatory, mental clarity and anti-aging.

The sample pack contains one each of the following flavors in 16.9 ounce bottles:
Raspberry Rain, Mango Mirage, Tropical Mist and Vanilla Spray.
No high fructose corn syrup, white sugar or caffeine on board.

INGREDIENTS:
calories-18, carbs-3gms, natural fruit sugar-4gms, B3-6.7mg, B5-26.7mg, B6-1.7mg, B12-3mg, choline bitartrate-10mg, D-ribose-1.5gm, L-carnitine-111mg, CoQ10-1.1mg, Lecithin-0.1mg, calcium (organic) 2mg, magnesium (organic) 69mg, potassium (organic) 16mg, sodium (organic)14mg, omega-0.1mg, amino acid blend 1.3 mg, Or-ion trace minerals-369mg



High Fructose Corn Syrup & Mercury in Meat?
Newsletter, US Wellness, 2009-03-22

Many commercially sold meat products are now pumped with high fructose to improver the flavor. Pork is a prime example. If you are in Wal-Mart this week, check the meat case and see how many items carry high fructose corn syrup on the label.

Mercury was found in nearly 50% of tested samples of commercial high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), according to a January article in the scientific journal, Environmental Health. A separate IATP study detected mercury in nearly one-third of 55 popular brand-name food and beverage products where HFCS is the first or second highest labeled ingredient, including products by Quaker, Hershey's, Kraft and Smucker's.

"Mercury is toxic in all its forms," said IATP's David Wallinga, M.D., and a co-author in both studies. "Given how much high fructose corn syrup is consumed by children, it could be a significant additional source of mercury never before considered. We are calling for immediate changes by industry and the FDA to help stop this avoidable mercury contamination of the food supply. Find additional background material at IATP's homepage.



NAIS (national animal Identification system).
US Wellness newsletter, 2009-03-19
http://www.worc.org/Animal-Identification/%20%20%20%20main%20page
Western Organization of Resource Councils

My Scotch-Irish roots will be tingling on Tuesday as we celebrate St. Patrick's Day. History tells us St. Patrick was captured as a 16 year old in Wales and whisked off to Ireland where he was used as slave labor in Slemish, County Antrim. Now for the surprise, St. Patrick worked as a herdsman (short for grass farmer) for six years.

After six years he heard a voice calling him home to Wales.
He was reunited with his family after a 200 mile escape to a port where he was able to secure safe passage back to the British Isles.

Several years later, St. Patrick had a calling to return to Ireland and the rest is history with a bit of mystery interwoven between fact and fiction. Needless to say he was a true leader in his time and lighting rod for change.

Flash forward 1549 years from the passing of St. Patrick and you will see the NAIS (national animal Identification system) train barreling down the tracks. The NAIS train left the station as a voluntary program for animal agriculture. Unfortunately, socialist political forces have taken the reins and were attempting this past week to force this very expensive intrusion into the pioneering spirit of animal agriculture.

One of the reasons we enjoy the cheapest food supply in the world today is the fierce independence and resolve of the agriculture community dating all the way back to our ancestors in the days of St. Patrick.

We have managed to stamp out many ills in animal agriculture without government interference in our daily farming rituals.

The following quote from Max Thornsberry DVM MBA sums it up succinctly:

"This is about forcing individual animal ID on cow-calf producers, nation wide. Canada can do it because they only have about 8 to 12 million head of cattle, and Australia can do it because they only have about 20 to 25 million head of cattle. Imagine the logistics of individually electronically identifying 95 million head of cattle across the entire geographical United States. You will need an Individual Animal ID office in every county seat in the United States in order to manage the data base and trace the movement of every cow and calf in every county. The cost will be unimaginable."

If you are in the letter writing mood, the following website has the necessary details which just might put some common sense back into a government that is broke and in drastic need of down sizing:
http://www.worc.org/Animal-Identification/%20%20%20%20main%20page
Western Organization of Resource Councils



Slavery, Civil Rights, Farming
US Wellness Newsletter, July 12, 2009

IS LITERAL SLAVERY A CIVIL RIGHTS ISSUE? By a worried human being - Linn Cohen-Cole,
February 26, 2009.
Source: Food Freedom Blog
http://foodfreedom.wordpress.com/2009/06/23/
the-literal-enslavement-of-the-american-farmer/

What is apparent is the depth of farmers' desperation about it.
Repeatedly, I hear them talk about loss of freedom.

I've taken "loss of freedom" as an expression of outrage at the bureaucratizing of farming, or a way of talking about huge governmental overreach, or as use of conservative or libertarian language to describe loss of personal or democratic or constitutional rights. Symbolic speech, poetic speech. But somewhere in the midst of trying to explain to someone how much was at stake and why farmers refuse to compromise because it would be acceding to something that can't in any way be acceded to, something clicked.

I was in the midst of trying to convey why the effort to stop the bills in Congress now (and still coming) must be centrally focused on farmers themselves and not on other people's food, when I found myself saying (in essence):

In the simplest terms, the bills enslave farmers to an industrial system (having to do its bidding or face penalties and prison so severe they function as whips) that will demand purchase and application of petrochemicals and drugs, rendering the farmers not only slaves but paying slaves (or else giving up) and the land and animals poisoned and/or genetically engineered.

Given that a hidden form of enslavement is at stake, it's reasonable for farmers to look for reassurance that no accidental acceptance of any portion of those bills will happen.

It was only after writing it that I was jerked up by my own words and suddenly experienced them as neither symbolic nor hyperbole. It struck me then that we are in fact looking at a new form of slavery.

I have always assumed that slavery was an historic event which we have rejected now morally and have made changes in law to codify. I see our cultural repulsion at continuing forms of slavery as a sign of civilization having learned lessons about slavery and being committed now to stopping it wherever it still exists (even if it is hard to do).

So, it was not easy to recognize that bills being introduced are an actual form of enslavement of a whole class of people. A new form.

What other word would people use to describe controls imposed on people that define work they must perform, down to the most extreme detail, or suffer penalties as high as $500,000 and ten years in prison for mere infractions?


I've been writing variations on those words for sometime.
Why did it take so long for the light to dawn? NAIS is more than bad, it is more than terrible, it is more than insane - it is astoundingly immoral. It is slavery.

And along with NAIS come "best farming practices" which would force a person on their own land (though it is not clear that the land is not being stolen away, too ) to feed their own animals what the government determined, to treat them medically as the government determines, to spray the land as and when and with what the government determines. And animals are not supposed to be on the same farm as crops.

For anyone who knows the least thing about farming and the wholeness of it and the value of manure and the help chickens give in eating bugs in a vegetable garden, or goats give as they eat back ivy, or pigs naturally give as turn over soil that can used for planting, the wrench of such utter nonsense is extreme. But for a farmer to be commanded to do the very things that would destroy his farm - a place he knows intimately, the workings of which he lives moment to moment in sensitivity to his animals and crops, the lifetime of learning from those who know and from his own experience of each particular - is why this is slavery.

Perhaps if it were only applied to one aspect of someone's life, it might be called tyranny, but because what is being proposed comes down on farmers where they live and on what they do and on all they own and on what defines them as people, it is deeper than "mere" tyranny. It is theft of all meaning and reduction to operating against one's will, against one's knowledge, against one's land, against one's animals, against one's needs, against one's being.

And within this enslavement by which the farmer is mandated to perform tasks that undo all animal husbandry and all needs of the soil and plants, he is also required to purchase inputs (feed, drugs, sprays ... and likely GMO seeds will be chosen as well) so he is not only a slave but forced to pay the ones who enslaved him, for products he specifically would avoid.

We are used to seeing things in a familiar shape - slavery as a black man in chains, imperialism as foreigners on someone else's soil and ruling by guns and fiat. So, it is easy to be fooled that what is happening in agriculture is no relation to this but even progress. But today, globalization is a new kind of master with immense power. Its "plantations" are decentralized small farms scattered around the world and its involuntary "taxes" are levied through forced repurchase of seeds and biotech contract agreements and its plantation managers are lawyers with briefcases and its agents are thugs who spy on farmers and rough them up or the state itself which keeps them in line not through whips but through demanding they record their every move on computers and punishes and breaks and even kills them with prison or debt.

Shall we strip away our familiar templates and recognize that their "food safety" bills are the strangest lies because we are looking at multinational corporations as true totalitarian masters actually setting up to take over the land from farmers and control them as thoroughly as slaves were ever controlled, threatening their lives and all they hold dear if they do not obey. But it has been such a slick thing how these masters present themselves - in boardrooms, with our politicians, running our agencies, in our courts, in science laboratories - that we miss the brutal, ugly, cruel, immoral reality.




Catherine Ebeling, RN BSN
Head off Alzheimer's Disease with high Omega 3 diet.

According to the latest statistics, more than 26 million people worldwide have Alzheimer's disease, and a new forecast says the number will quadruple by 2050. ...

The biggest jump is projected for densely populated Asia, home of almost half of today's Alzheimer's cases, 12.6 million. By 2050, Asia will have 62.8 million of the world's 106 million Alzheimer's patients, the study projects.

What you eat today just may help determine your risk for Alzheimer's disease late in life. Changing your diet from processed, high sugar, starchy foods and commercially raised meats, to organic produce and grass-fed meats, seafood, and organic fruits, and nuts, will have a major impact on whether you develop this debilitating and heartbreaking disease.

Two new studies offer preliminary evidence that dietary choices could help prevent age-related mental decline or slow its progression.

READ MORE ... http://www.uswellnessmeats.com/newsletter/...

... Greg Cole, professor of medicine and neurology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and associate director of UCLA's Alzheimer Disease Research Center, and his colleagues report that the omega-3 fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) found in fish oil and grass-fed meats increases the production of LR11, a protein that is found at reduced levels in Alzheimer's patients and which is known to destroy the protein that forms the "plaques" associated with the disease.

The plaques are deposits of a protein called beta amyloid that is thought to be toxic to neurons in the brain, leading to Alzheimer's. Since having high levels of LR11 prevents the toxic plaques from being made, low levels in patients are believed to be a factor in causing the disease. ...

Salynn Boyles, WebMD, June 2008.

Science News,
Anti-Alzheimer's Mechanism In Omega-3 Fatty Acids Found,

ScienceDaily Jan. 2, 2008
Anti-Alzheimer's Mechanism In Omega-3 Fatty Acids Found.



CATHERINE'S COMMENT
by Catherine Ebeling, RN BSN
July 27, 2008 Newsletter

Reverse Osteoporosis with Vitamin K2

... A meta-analysis of studies regarding vitamin K and bone health has found that supplementation is associated with increased bone mineral density (BMD) and reduced fracture incidence. ..

There are two main forms of vitamin K.
Phylloquinone, also known as phytonadione, (vitamin K1) is found in green leafy vegetables such as lettuce, broccoli, and spinach, and makes up about 90 per cent of the vitamin K in a typical Western diet.

The second form consists of menaquinones (vitamin K2), which make up about 10 per cent of Western vitamin K consumption and can be synthesized in the gut by micro flora. Menaquinones can also be found in the diet in animal meat such as grass-fed meats and fermented food products like cheese, especially cheese from cows fed purely on grass, as well as butter from grass-fed cows.

Both vitamins K1 and K2 have been shown to play a role in bone health, influencing the secondary modification of osteocalcin, a protein needed to bind calcium to the bone matrix. ...

When Dr. Weston Price was studying K2, he found through experimentation, K2 was showed some remarkable synergy with the vitamins A and D. Combining cod liver oil, which is high in Vitamins A and D, with butter containing large amounts of the Vitamin K2 ingredient, was found to be incredibly effective when he treated his patients for dental caries, rickets, seizures, broken bones, and other degenerative diseases.

Previously, cod liver oil alone was tried as a treatment for these disorders, but when used in combination with this "Activator X' nutrient or Vitamin K2, the results were not only noticeable, but remarkable. This ingredient was interesting because of its ability to control cavities in the teeth, help heal bones, and lent itself to the belief that there were obviously important nutrients missing in modern diets.

Not only did this interesting nutrient work well on dental problems, it was also shown to work very well to stop progression of, and to help to replace bone loss in degenerative bone diseases.

... a number of trials have shown that Vitamin K2 completely reverses bone loss, and in some cases even increases bone mass in those with osteoporosis. Vitamin K2 has been shown to produce a 60% reduction in vertebral fractures and 80% reduction in hip and other fractures. In the case of broken bones, K2 has been shown to dramatically reduce the healing time.

Many of the studies have focused on K2's ability to reverse, or at least seriously slow down, post-menopausal osteoporosis. Due to the decrease in bone-friendly estrogen after menopause, osteoporosis with consequent fractures is common among women.

One 24-month study compared K2 to the biphosphonate drug etidronate, (Boniva and Fosamax), with the control group getting only a calcium supplement. After two years, both the etidronate and K2 groups had significant increases in bone mineral density compared to the control group, with etidronate doing even better than the K2. Yet the incidence of new vertebral fractures was radically less in both the K2 and etidronate groups: 65 percent and 70 percent less than the control groups, respectively.

K2 has been used clinically to treat other forms of osteoporosis with success as well. K2 has successfully prevented the bone loss that normally occurs in kidney dialysis patients. K2 stopped bone loss in liver cirrhosis patients, as well. In an 11-month study of recovering anorexia patients, K2 cut bone loss 60 percent compared to the control group. In a 12-month study of 120 female Parkinson's disease patients, the fracture incidence in the K2 group was only 10 percent of the control group's fracture rate! K2 also increased bone mineral density and reduced the fracture rate in a 12-month study of 108 stroke patients with one-sided paralysis.

K2 has been shown to help build strong bones through multiple mechanisms.
It protects osteoblasts, the cells that build new bone, from programmed cell death. K2 also causes many mature osteoclasts to undergo apoptosis, and inhibits the formation of new ones. Osteoclasts are the cells that destroy existing bone. While some are necessary, with aging and osteoporosis osteoclasts become more numerous, while osteoblasts become fewer in number. So bone destruction overwhelms bone building.

K2 also inhibits the formation and bone-destroying activity of prostaglandin (PGE2), an inflammatory eicosanoid intimately involved at the molecular level in promoting bone breakdown. Another study that showed K2 inhibited the bone-destroying activity of PGE2 also found that K1 had no PGE2-inhibiting activity. K2 also preserves the microstructure of trabecular bone, the spongy bone found at the ends of long bones, which tends to disintegrate with age or osteoporosis. K2 also opposes the bone-destroying effects of cortisol, prednisone.

Getting K2 into your diet: while today's commercial foods are sadly lacking in K2, it can still be found in good concentrations in some foods, but you probably wont find them at your local grocery store. K2 is found primarily in grass-fed animals' meat and dairy products such as grass-fed beef, grass-fed lamb, and grass-fed goat, as well as grass-fed raw dairy cheeses and butter. You can find all of these things at U.S. Wellness Meats.

SOURCE / REFERENCES:
Archives of Internal Medicine, 26 June 2006
Bolton Smith et al, Ann Nutr Metab 2001; 45, p 246;
Braam et al, 2003, Calcif Tissue Int 72
Journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,
04/0706



The Localvore's Dilemma.
by Catherine Ebeling, RN BSN

... A localvore is a person committed to eating and learning about food grown within their own area. Localvores recognize that there are multiple benefits of eating food grown close to home. This informal movement has sprouted in the past five years in response to a food supply that has become increasingly global and sprawling.

The case for local food is several-fold:
It tastes better, its proponents argue, and preserves species biodiversity.
It shores up small-scale economies and communities in the face of globalization and cultural homogenization. It favors the smaller local farmers as opposed to the huge, multi-national corporations. It even, some of its advocates claim, protects against terrorism: a decentralized food system could limit the impact of a virus or other bio-agent introduced into the food supply. ...

Some evidence also suggests that local food can sometimes consume more energy -- and produce more greenhouse gases -- than food imported from great distances. Moving food by train or ship is quite efficient, pound for pound, and transportation can often be a relatively small part of the total energy "footprint" of food compared with growing, packaging, or, for that matter, cooking it. A head of lettuce grown locally may have less of an energy impact than one shipped up from Chile. But if that lettuce is grown late in the season in a local heated greenhouse, its energy impact goes above and beyond the imported option.

How food travels, in other words, matters as much as how far it travels, and what happens on the farm or in the kitchen can leave a much bigger energy footprint than what happens between them. Often it's those activities and behaviors at the two opposite ends of the production system that tend to dominate. Food analysts point out that, per pound of food, the grocery shopper's drive home from the store or farmer's market can often use more energy than the entire rest of the supply chain. ...

Traditionally, all beef was grass-fed beef till the end of WWII, but in the United States today what is commercially available is almost all feedlot beef. The reason? It's faster, and more profitable. Seventy-five years ago, steers were traditionally 3 years old at slaughter. Today, they average 14 month with good management. You can't take a beef calf from a birth weight of 80 pounds to 1,200 pounds in a little more than a year on grass. It takes enormous quantities of grain, protein supplements, antibiotics and growth hormones.

Switching a cow from grass to grain (starch) is so disturbing to the animal's digestive system that it can kill the animal if not done gradually over 3 weeks. Low dose antibiotics are used to protect the liver from the large swing in rumen pH from pH 7 in the grazing animal to the starchy grain rumen pH that is very acidic. These animals are designed to consume forage, but we make them eat grain, primarily corn, in order to make them achieve market weight as fast as possible.

Something important to consider: cattle fed solely on grass digest their food far more efficiently and easily since grass is the cow's natural diet. Cattle fed grain are continually challenged by the pH impact of the heavy starch intake. Grass-fed beef is much healthier for you, and healthier too, for the cattle, as well as the environmental advantages for the landscape.

There are also decided environmental benefits to grass-fed beef.
According to David Pimentel, a Cornell ecologist who specializes in agriculture and energy, the corn we feed our feedlot cattle accounts for a staggering amount of fossil fuel energy. Growing the corn used to feed livestock in this country takes vast quantities of chemical fertilizer, which in turn takes vast quantities of oil. Because of this dependence on petroleum, Pimentel says, a typical steer will in effect consume 284 gallons of oil in his lifetime. Comments Michael Pollan, "We have succeeded in industrializing the beef calf, transforming what was once a solar-powered ruminant into the very last thing we need: another fossil-fuel machine."

In addition to consuming less energy, grass-fed beef has another environmental advantage - it is far less polluting. The animals' wastes drop onto the land, becoming nutrients for the next cycle of crops. In feedlots and other forms of factory farming, however, the animals' wastes build up in enormous quantities, becoming an environmental challenge to return the nutrients back to soil in a smart manner.

From a humanitarian perspective, there is yet another advantage to pastured animal products. The animals themselves lead a controlled free range lifestyle where they are strategically moved to fresh grass paddocks daily. This method allows the animals to optimize growth and lets the landscape recover brilliantly during 30 to 45 rest recovery periods. ...

Eating locally, or eating naturally is more sustainable, in most cases.
In the context of peak oil, a looming energy crisis, and a potential food crisis by 2020, it is essential that we work towards a more sustainable community. In the same vein, eating naturally also creates a self-sufficient community. When our community becomes more self-reliant, we are less vulnerable to being manipulated by big food corporations, the federal government, and market pressures.

Eating locally is a great way to get connected with the land. By eating with the seasons, we are eating foods when they are at their peak taste, are most abundant, and the least expensive. By eating naturally, we are consuming less energy. So while all food that we may be eating may not be local, naturally produced is the most energy efficient. ...



Create a Peaceful Home Life with Omega-3's.
2008-10-05 Newsletter
Catherine Ebeling, RN BSN
http://www.uswellnessmeats.com/newsletter/
catherine_ebeling_october_5_newsletter.html#Continued

Ever wondered if there was something else you could do to calm down your wound-up kids or get them to stop fighting? Would you like them to get along better with you and to cooperate? What can you do?

Studies have shown that reinforcing children's diets--and parents' too -- with Omega 3 fatty acids can drastically calm them down, and improve behavior. Not only that, but when parents and children eat diets high in Omega 3's, they actually bond better! While Omega 3 supplements may help, the best form of these precious oils is in whole foods. US Wellness Meats and US Wellness fish such as sardines, and halibut contain high amounts of Omega 3 fatty acids, as well as high quality protein, iron and CLA in the beef, lamb and dairy. ..

Crabbiness, temper tantrums, talking back, hitting, fighting, impulsive behavior.

Sound like the daily routine around your house with the kids? Did you know feeding your children the right kinds of oils could alleviate some of this behavior? How would you like to improve not only your children's behavior, but increase the bonding behavior of both parent and child and create an environment of peace and tranquility in your home?

Omega 3 oil, such as that found in grass-fed meats and fatty fishes such as salmon and sardines, has been found to improve behavior of children, improve concentration and parent bonding, so says a study out of the UK.

The dramatic results showed that while 47% of the children in the study started with what was rated as poor behavior, by the end of the study, only 4% had behavior rated as poor. ...

One of the most significant advantages of this study shows that not only did the Omega 3's improve behavior and concentration in the children, but helped to facilitate a much stronger parent and child bond!

This is very good news if you're a parent trying to improve your relationship with your child. Quite often it is the bonding -- or lack thereof, that causes the initial friction to develop, and the more the child pulls away from the parent, the less the child cares to cooperate. This creates a vicious cycle that can worsen with time. A good parent/child bond helps both to maintain a better relationship on both sides.

Previous studies involving children have shown that omega-3 fatty acids can have a beneficial effect on conditions such as ADD, ADHD, depression, impulsive behavior, and dyslexia. We now know that these conditions can run in families so it's likely that many parents are suffering alongside their children.

Children may soon benefit from less moody parents if a newly launched trial with omega-3 fatty acids is successful, adding to the list of studies linking Omega 3's to behavior and cognitive function. This is the first study of its kind to look at the effects of omega 3 on parents.

Depletion of essential fatty acids can take place during pregnancy, and each subsequent birth. To counteract this reduction, a very good diet is important. This is not an easy option for busy parents but without it, parents may experience mood swings and/or depression, which can have an adverse effect on family life.

If Omega 3's can even have a positive effect on aggressive prisoners, then surely there is hope for children.

A UK trial at a prison showed that when the inmates were fed multivitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids, the number of violent offenses committed in prison fell by 37%. There is a direct link between diet and antisocial behavior...

The head clinical researcher of a similar US study, Joseph Hibbeln, says the results of this trial are not a miracle, but simply what you might predict if you understand the biochemistry of the brain and the biophysics of the brain cell membrane. His hypothesis is that modern industrialized diets may be changing the structure and function of the brain.

We are suffering from widespread diseases of deficiency.
Just as vitamin C deficiency causes scurvy, deficiency in the essential fatty acids the brain and nervous system need is causing of a host of mental and psychological problems from depression to aggression.

The pandemic of violence in modernized western societies may be related to what we eat or fail to eat. Junk food may not only be making us sick with chronic illnesses, but aggressive and angry too.

Over the last century, most western countries have undergone a dramatic shift in the composition of their diets in which the omega-3 fatty acids essential to the brain have been flooded out by competing omega-6 fatty acids, mainly from commercially-prepared foods containing oils such as soy, corn, and sunflower.

In the US, for example, soy oil accounted for only 0.02% of all calories available in 1909, but by 2000 it accounted for 20%. Americans have gone from eating a fraction of an ounce of soy oil a year to downing 25 pounds per person per year in that period.

An amazing and eye-opening research project followed the growth of consumption of omega-6 fatty acids from seed oils in 38 countries since the 1960s, against the rise in murder rates over the same period. In all cases there is an unnerving match. As omega-6 goes up, so do homicides in a linear progression. Industrial societies where omega-3 consumption has remained high and omega-6 low--because people eat fish -- such as Japan, have much lower rates of murder and depression.

Essential fatty acids are called essential because humans cannot make them but must obtain them from the diet. The brain is a fatty organ - it's 60% fat by dry weight, and the essential fatty acids are what make part of its structure, making up 20% of the nerve cells' membranes. The synapses, or junctions, where nerve cells connect with other nerve cells, contain even higher concentrations of essential fatty acids - being made of about 60% of the omega-3 fatty acid DHA.

Communication between the nerve cells depends on neurotransmitters, such as serotonin and dopamine, docking with receptors in the nerve cell membrane.

Omega-3 DHA is very long and highly flexible.
When it is incorporated into the nerve cell membrane it helps make the membrane itself elastic and fluid so that signals pass through it efficiently. But if the wrong fatty acids are incorporated into the membrane, the neurotransmitters can't dock properly. We know from many other studies what happens when the neurotransmitter systems don't work efficiently. Low serotonin levels are known to predict an increased risk of suicide, depression, and violent and impulsive behavior.

Laboratory tests have shown that the composition of tissue and in particular of the nerve cell membrane of people in the US is different from that of the Japanese, who eat a diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids from fish. Americans have cell membranes higher in the less flexible omega-6 fatty acids, which appear to have displaced the elastic omega-3 fatty acids found in Japanese nerve cells.

The mechanism behind the fatty acid and cognitive function seems to be specific to the type of omega oil. Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is said to be involved in the membrane of ion channels in the brain, making it easier for them to change shape and transit electrical signals.

Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) is proposed to function by increasing blood flow in the body. It is also suggested to affect hormones and the immune system, both of which have a direct effect on brain function.

Other experts blame the trans fats produced by partial hydrogenation of industrial oils for processed foods. Trans fats have been shown to interfere with the synthesis of essentials fats in fetuses and infants. Minerals such as zinc and the B vitamins are needed to metabolize essential fats, so deficiencies in these may be playing an important part too.

There is also evidence that deficiencies in DHA/EPA at times when the brain is developing rapidly - in the womb, in the first 5 years of life and at puberty - can affect its architecture permanently. Animal studies have shown that those deprived of omega-3 fatty acids over two generations have offspring who cannot release dopamine and serotonin so effectively.

The trouble is, fish-oil supplements don't have nearly as much clout as high Omega 3 grass-fed meats, or oily fish - the mackerel, sardines, salmon and fresh tuna. Studies have shown that you need incredibly high doses of omega 3 given as a pure fish-oil supplement to get the same effects as with grass-fed meats and oily fish eaten regularly in the diet. The chances are there is something else in eating the whole food that works in synergy with Omega 3.

Feeding your family foods high in Omega 3 fatty acids and CLA (conjugated linoleic acid), and decreasing their intake of Omega 6 fatty acids from processed foods, such as chips, crackers, cookies and vegetable cooking oils such as soy, canola, and corn oils will drastically decrease aggressive behavior. U.S. Wellness Meats offers delicious healthy meats the whole family will love and benefit from. Try nitrate-free bologna, hot dogs and sausages, as well as the delicious ground beef patties, pre-cooked BBQ shredded beef and ribs.



Cholesterol Provides Benefits and Increases Life.
http://www.uswellnessmeats.com/newsletter/
catherine_ebeling_december_14_newsletter.html#Continued
by Catherine Ebeling, RN BSN
December 14, 2008

If the drug companies pushing statin drugs have you paranoid, and you are worried about high cholesterol levels and keeping your heart healthy as you get older, don't push aside bacon, eggs and butter just yet. Several studies are showing the benefits of cholesterol, in spite of physicians and drug companies battling to continue lowering it.

People with high cholesterol live the longest.
This statement seems so incredible that it takes a long time to clear one's brainwashed mind to fully understand its importance. Yet the fact that people with high cholesterol live the longest emerges clearly from many scientific papers.

Consider the finding of Dr. Harlan Krumholz of the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine at Yale University, who reported in 1994 that old people with low cholesterol died twice as often from a heart attack as did old people with high cholesterol. most studies of old people have shown that high cholesterol is not a risk factor for coronary heart disease.

Eleven studies of old people came up with that result, and a further seven studies found that high cholesterol did not predict mortality either.

Now consider that more than 90% of all cardiovascular disease is seen in people above age 60 also, and that almost all studies have found that high cholesterol is not a risk factor for women. This means that high cholesterol is only a risk factor for less than 5% of those who die from a heart attack.

But there is more comfort for those who have high cholesterol;
six of the studies found that total mortality was inversely associated with either total or LDL cholesterol, or both. This means that it is actually much better to have high than to have low cholesterol if you want to live to be very old. Many studies have found that low cholesterol is in certain respects worse than high cholesterol. For instance, in 19 large studies of more than 68,000 deaths, reviewed by Professor David R. Jacobs and his co-workers from the Division of Epidemiology at the University of Minnesota, low cholesterol predicted an increased risk of dying from gastrointestinal and respiratory diseases.

Continued from Newsletter

In 1976, one of the most promising theories about the cause of atherosclerosis was the Response-to-Injury Hypothesis, presented by Russell Ross, a professor of pathology, and John Glomset, a professor of biochemistry and medicine at the Medical School, University of Washington in Seattle. They suggested that atherosclerosis is the consequence of an inflammatory process, where the first step is a localized injury to the thin layer of cells lining the inside of the arteries, the intima. The injury causes inflammation and the raised plaques that form are simply healing lesions.

Their idea is not new.
In 1911, two American pathologists from the Pathological Laboratories, University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Oskar Klotz and M.F. Manning, published a summary of their studies of the human arteries and concluded that "there is every indication that the production of tissue in the intima is the result of a direct irritation of that tissue by the presence of infection or toxins or the stimulation by the products of a primary degeneration in that layer." Other researchers have presented similar theories.

Researchers have proposed many potential causes of vascular injury, including mechanical stress, exposure to tobacco fumes, high LDL cholesterol, oxidized cholesterol, homocysteine, the metabolic consequences of diabetes, iron overload, copper deficiency, deficiencies of vitamins A and D, consumption of trans fatty acids, microorganisms and many more. With one exception, there is evidence to support roles for all of these factors, but the degree to which each of them participates remains uncertain. The exception is of course LDL cholesterol. Much research allows us to exclude high LDL cholesterol from the list.

Whether we look directly with the naked eye at the inside of the arteries at autopsy, or we do it indirectly in living people using x-rays, ultrasound or electron beams, no association worth mentioning has ever been found between the amount of lipid in the blood and the degree of atherosclerosis in the arteries. Also, whether cholesterol goes up or down, by itself, or due to medical intervention, the changes of cholesterol have never been followed by parallel changes in the atherosclerotic plaques; there is no dose-response.

However, true dose-response demands that the individual changes of the primary causal factor are followed by parallel, individual changes of the disease outcome, and this has never occurred in the trials where researchers have calculated true dose-response.

Physicians have become so engaged in driving cholesterol to the lowest possible level that they have lost sight of the primary goal of health care, which is to keep individuals functioning at the highest level possible for as long as possible. The overall health of the patient is often overlooked and ends up declining as a result of the intervention for lowering cholesterol. The patient then becomes at risk of dying as their treatment progresses. This is a sad irony of medical treatment.

These and others obsessed with lowering cholesterol have accepted the hypothesis that cholesterol is harmful as fact. In reality, the "cholesterol is harmful" hypothesis is not only unproven, it is now possible to state with certainty that it is false.

The "cholesterol is harmful" hypothesis is but one of several theories that have been advanced over the past 200 years to explain the phenomenon of atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries). The story of how our understanding of atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease develop is interesting. Current research suggests that a theory first advanced in 1815 may be correct, but it is receiving as little attention today as it did 200 years ago.

Coronary artery hardening was first described by another English physician, Caleb Hiller who, in 1799, found a gritty substance in coronary arteries while doing an autopsy. His first impression was that some plaster had fallen from the ceiling, but upon closer investigation he discovered that the plaster-like substance was within the arteries themselves.

In 1815 a London surgeon, Joseph Hodgson, advanced a novel theory of atherosclerosis.
Hodgson suggested that inflammation was the underlying cause of the disease rather that a natural part of the aging process. In that same year, however, cholesterol was discovered by a French researcher and Hodgson's theory was largely ignored.

It was in 1841 that Carl Von Rokitansk, one of the first pathologists, proposed that the deposits he observed in the inner layer of arteries were derived from substances circulating in the blood. The primary component of arterial plaque was shown to be cholesterol just two years later.

The "cholesterol is harmful" hypothesis was advanced in 1949 by J. W. Gofman, an American physician who was researching fats in the bloodstream. He and his team suggested that LDL cholesterol was the cause of atherosclerotic plaque. The hypothesis gained additional support when autopsies of young soldiers killed in the Korean War revealed that 77.3 % had cholesterol deposits in their coronary arteries.

Spurred by the observation that the death rate from heart attacks dropped in areas where the food supply was low during World War II, a University of Minnesota researcher, Dr. Ansel Keys, conducted studies on dietary fat and heart disease beginning in the 1950s. As a result of his studies Dr. Keys became an advocate of what is now known as the Mediterranean Diet, a diet high in vegetable oils and low in saturated fat.

Dr. Keys' findings were eagerly endorsed by "cholesterol is harmful" advocates, but he himself did not state that cholesterol was the direct cause of heart disease or atherosclerosis. He pointed out that just because cholesterol is present in arterial plaque does not mean that cholesterol is the cause of arterial plaque.

The "cholesterol is harmful" train had left the station, however, and nearly all dieticians, physicians, and medical researchers ran to jump on the bandwagon. The movement steadily picked up momentum during the 1960s and 1970s. By the time an alternative theory was advanced in the late 1980s hardly anyone was willing to listen.

Despite its popularity, the "cholesterol is harmful" theory remains unproven.
Conclusive proof does not exist. While lowering cholesterol has been shown to decrease the number of deaths from heart attacks in some age groups, real evidence that lowering cholesterol increases longevity and prolongs vitality is lacking.

Since fifty years of pursuing the "cholesterol is harmful" hypothesis has produced few tangible results perhaps it is time to ask, "Is lowering cholesterol harmful, and, if so, do the risks involved outweigh the observed benefit?" Does having the technology to cut cholesterol levels in half mean that an individual's cholesterol should be lowered from 192 to 102 or, for that matter, from 280 to 180?

It has been nearly forty years since Atromid-S, the first drug approved for the lowering of cholesterol, appeared in the United States. Released in 1967, it was withdrawn from the market in 2000. While the drug was never proven to decrease the risk of heart attacks or shown to lower the mortality rate, it was found to increase the incidence of gallstones, cancer, liver disease, and a severe inflammation of the pancreas called pancreatitis. Individuals who took the drug reported nausea, diarrhea, loss of sexual ability, headache, weakness, abdominal pain, muscle pain, and other side effects. Some died of a severe muscle disease called rhabdomyolysis.

Currently available cholesterol-lowering drugs are promoted as safer and more effective, but most studies have failed to demonstrate a decrease in the death rate in those taking them and the risks and side-effects appear to be similar to those seen with earlier medications.

Total cholesterols of 250 mg/dL or even 300 mg/dL were considered to be within the normal range. As drug therapy to reduce cholesterol became available the "normal" levels were dropped to 240 mg/dL or less and then to 220 mg/dL, and today even lower standards are being pushed by the drug manufacturers.

Before lowering the acceptable levels of cholesterol it would have been wise to ask,
"Does the benefit of lowering one's cholesterol outweigh the risks involved in doing so?"

The answer, I believe, is a resounding NO!
A number of epidemiologic studies have demonstrated that the cholesterol-lowering benefits are seen primarily in men under the age of fifty who have other risk factors for having a heart attack. When those risk factors, such as cigarette smoking, high blood pressure, and inactivity, are addressed a much greater reduction in heart attacks is seen than when cholesterol lowering is the focus of prevention.

While some studies purportedly do so, it is very difficult to demonstrate a cholesterol-lowering benefit in women and in either sex over the age of fifty. Rather than showing that high cholesterol levels are dangerous in people over sixty, studies have repeatedly found that senior citizens with high cholesterol levels tend to live longer than their peers with low cholesterol values. You didn't misread the last sentence. As a group, elderly people with high amounts of cholesterol outlive those with low levels of cholesterol.

Unfortunately, physicians have been taught for the past four decades that cholesterol is dangerous and that it must be lowered at all costs. The "cholesterol is harmful" hypothesis, although never proven, has come to be accepted as fact by physicians and patients alike. Any suggestion that cholesterol is beneficial and not harmful tends to fall upon deaf ears. Those who will listen, however, should carefully weigh the benefits and risks before taking measures to lower their body cholesterol.

In an article entitled
Needs to Change the Direction of Cholesterol-Related Medication
- A Problem of Great Urgency,

published in November 2005,
Japanese researcher H. Okuyama reported his findings based upon the data available in the medical literature.

He concluded, " . . . reducing the intake of saturated fatty acids and cholesterol and increasing that of polyunsaturated fatty acid are ineffective in reducing total cholesterol in the long run, but rather increase mortality rates from coronary heart disease and all causes . . . high total cholesterol is not positively associated with high coronary heart disease mortality rates among general populations more than 40-50 years of age.

More importantly, higher total cholesterol values are associated with lower cancer and all mortality rates among these populations . . . Although the effectiveness of statins in preventing coronary heart disease has been accepted in Western countries, little benefit seems to result from efforts to limit dietary cholesterol intake or to lower TC values to less than approximately 260 mg/dl among the general population and the elderly . . .

[These measures] create major risk factors for CHD, cancers, and shorter longevity. Based on the data reviewed here, it is urgent to change the direction of current cholesterol-related medication for the prevention of CHD, cancer, and all-cause mortality."

On the basis of an exhaustive review of the available data:

  1. High cholesterol levels are not associated with heart attacks in people over 40 to 50 years of age.
  2. High cholesterol levels are associated with lower cancer and premature death rates.
  3. There is little benefit in lowering cholesterol levels below 260 mg/dL in older people.
  4. Efforts to lower cholesterol increase the risk of developing cancer and shorten life span.

That same year an analysis of the results of the Honolulu Heart Program revealed a sharp increase in death rates from hemorrhagic stroke, cancer, liver disease, chronic obstructive lung disease (emphysema), and deaths from unknown causes when cholesterol levels dropped below 190 mg/dL. The investigators theorized that lowering cholesterol would not have any substantial impact on total mortality over fifteen years because premature deaths would increase in those individuals with starting cholesterol levels less than 225 mg./dL (approximately 60 % of the population).

One of the largest investigations of all-cause mortality and cholesterol involved nearly half a million Korean men between the ages of 30 and 65. Reported in 2000, the study found that the lowest death rates corresponded to cholesterol levels between 211 and 251 mg./dL., well above currently recommended treatment goals.

Another large study, which looked at nearly 150,000 men and women, was published in 2004. This report, Why Eve is not Adam, concluded that while high cholesterol levels predicted risk of death from heart disease in men of all ages and women under the age of 50, low cholesterol in men of all ages and women over the age of 50 was associated with deaths from cancer, liver disease, and mental diseases.

Researchers at Texas A&M University have discovered that lower cholesterol levels can actually reduce muscle gain with exercising, as well. Lead investigator Steven Riechman, assistant professor of health and kinesiology, and Simon Sheather, head of the Department of Statistics, along with scientists from The Johns Hopkins Weight Management Center and the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, have recently had their findings published in the Journal of Gerontology.

The team studied 55 men and women, ages 60-69, who were healthy non-smokers and were able to perform exercise testing and training.

At the conclusion of the study, the researchers found that there was a significant association of dietary cholesterol and change in strength. In general, those with higher cholesterol intake also had the highest muscle strength gain.

Cholesterol circulating in the blood also appeared to have contributed to greater muscle gain in the participants.

Combined with exercise, cholesterol appears to play a role in contributing to muscle gain, Riechman says. The key here is working out - it doesn't mean sitting in front of a television all day thinking you don't have to worry about cholesterol levels.

"Our findings show that the restricting of cholesterol - while in the process of exercising - appears to affect building muscle mass in a negative manner. If it's true, as our findings suggest, that cholesterol may play a key role in muscle repair, we need to know exactly how that happens. And because cholesterol is negatively associated with cardiovascular health, we need further study in this area. It shows that there is still a lot about cholesterol that we don't know."

And, again as was discussed in the previous newsletter,
a lack of muscle, especially in the elderly, predisposes them to increase in infection, decrease in immunity, and lessened cardiac function, as well as mobility and balance-all of which negatively affect ones quality and length of life.

Stop being brainwashed by the big pharmaceutical companies trying to push cholesterol lowering drugs and realize that current evidence points towards reducing stress and environmental factors such as smoking, drinking, poor diet, etc, as the biggest factors in heart disease, not cholesterol.

You may eat your steaks with the fat, good quality grass-fed butter and cheeses, bacon and eggs with little to worry about. U.S. Wellness Meats will provide these delicious and healthful foods for you to prolong your health and increase your quality of life.

Adapted from materials provided by Texas A&M University.
ScienceDaily (Jan. 10, 2008)



You have the power to make yourself Happy.
http://www.uswellnessmeats.com/newsletter/
catherine_ebeling_december_28_newsletter.html#Continued

Of the myriad things we wish for in life, from the perfect mate to a financial windfall, all are merely means to a single, intangible end called "happiness."

Lately, it has been the most elusive of emotions.
Confronted by a crashing economy, joblessness, and rising prices, we are floundering. Like looking for silver linings in storm clouds, we have a tough time finding the bright side in depressing current events.

Although happiness is the most sought-after human emotion, it also is one of the least understood. For decades, researchers have studied negative emotions -- anger, anxiety, fear, depression - to find ways to get rid of them. But scientists and psychologists habitually have been stymied by happiness, deeming it too subjective, too broad or too culturally relative for serious exploration.

In the past few years, however, cognitive neuroscientists have made considerable advances in unraveling the enigma of human happiness. One of their basic findings: More than 60 percent of a person's propensity for positive emotion is due to nature -- genetic makeup -- but the rest is all nurture, meaning the brain's happiness is highly dependent on an individual's experiences, emotions and thought, and thus capable of being "learned."

Just looking for the bright side, it seems, can stimulate the brain and reset its circuitry to more easily find those silver linings.

Despite everything, many people (myself included) have a remarkable capacity to maintain optimism and confidence. The label for the process by which we manage to survive -

Continued from e-Newsletter

and even thrive -- in the face of stress, trauma, and adversity is coping.
It's how we assuage the hurt, anxiety or suffering caused by a negative event.

And yet, when people are faced with adversity, they are resilient and resourceful and often believe they are happy anyway.

... our brains are wired to make the best of a bad situation.
Happiness, it would seem, is a biological necessity.
Our brains crave it, seek it out and, when it can't be found, manufacture it. Some brains, of course, are better at it than others, depending, in part, on how they are genetically wired.

The most recent research reports that happiness is contagious as well.
The more happy people you know, the more likely you are yourself to be happy. And getting connected to happy people improves a person's own happiness, as it was reported in a British Medical Journal.

"What we are dealing with is an emotional stampede," Nicholas Christakis, a professor of medical sociology at Harvard Medical School in Boston, said in a telephone interview.

Christakis and James Fowler, a political scientist at the University of California, San Diego, have been using data from 4,700 children of volunteers in the Framingham Heart Study, a giant health study begun in Framingham, Massachusetts in 1948.

People with the most social connections -- friends, spouses, neighbors, relatives -- were also the happiest, the data showed. "Each additional happy person makes you happier," Christakis said. "Imagine that I am connected to you and you are connected to others and others are connected to still others. It is this fabric of humanity, like an American patch quilt."

Each person sits on a different-colored patch.
"Imagine that these patches are happy and unhappy patches.
Your happiness depends on what is going on in the patch around you," Christakis said.

It is not just happy people connecting with happy people, which they do.
Above and beyond, there is this contagious process going on.

And happiness is more contagious than unhappiness, they discovered.

"If a social contact is happy, it increases the likelihood that you are happy by 15 percent," Fowler said. "A friend of a friend, or the friend of a spouse or a sibling, if they are happy, increases your chances by 10 percent," he added. A happy third-degree friend -- the friend or a friend of a friend -- increases a person's chances of being happy by 6 percent.

"But every extra unhappy friend increases the likelihood that you'll be unhappy by 7 percent," Fowler said.

In 2004, scientists at Bowling Green State University in Ohio tested for that path when they studied people's ability to control their own emotions. Using the same brain scanning technique as Davidson, the psychologists reported that even when people simply imagined emotions, their thoughts triggered mood-related neuronal activity.

When subjects imagined laughter, their left-brain "happiness" circuits were stimulated and they reported a reduction in sadness. When they imagined crying, their right-brain negative emotional circuits were triggered, and they reported a decrease in happiness.

Years ago, researchers identified key areas in the brain where emotions are regulated, and in particular the role of the amygdala, the small almond-shaped structure deep in the middle of the brain, which registers fear and the sense of danger.

Recently, neuroscientists have extended their understanding of the amygdala's role in relationship to happiness. As the left prefrontal cortex is turned on, they have watched the negative emotional circuitry of the amygdala shut down. Some psychologists now suspect that in the chronically depressed, the failure of sustained activity in the left prefrontal region essentially allows the amygdala's negativity to flow unabated.

Happiness studies have come a long way since the 1950s, when dopamine became the first neurotransmitter associated with positive emotions. Twenty years after dopamine was discovered, endorphins, the brain's pain suppressers, were identified as being a kind of happiness stimulant.

... happy, left-brained people not only have lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol, but higher numbers of natural killer-cells, which help defend the body against infection.

Among other benefits, happiness has been shown to have an important effect on reduced mortality, pain reduction, and improved cardiac function. So better understanding of how happiness spreads can help us learn how to promote a healthier society.

While psychologists continue to try to nail down the causal relationships between mood and brain activity, what has become increasingly clear is that to some extent human beings can affect -- even control -- the plasticity of their own brains.

Remember to take care of your body.
Honor it with nutritious food like U.S. Wellness grass-fed meats, cheese, butter and snacks and exercise. Make exercise an integral part of your everyday life. This doesn't have to be a regimented program. It could be as simple as running up the stairs in your house instead of walking or gardening or playing with your kids outside. Think of exercise as a little extra movement you incorporate into your daily schedule. If you have time for a regular class, make sure to pick something you love to do. If you need motivation, team up with a friend, partner or personal trainer. Endorphins are released from exercise and they contribute to that feeling of happiness and well being.

Happiness researchers have learned a great deal about how people can become happier and stay happier. Of course, its not just 'training our brains,' but training ourselves -- that is, learning to practice certain ways of thinking and behaving, like expressing gratitude, following intrinsic life goals, practicing optimism, investing in relationships -- all of which, we now have scientific evidence for, increase our happiness.

Sources:
Reuters; Maggie Fox, Health and Science Editor, December 5, 2008.
New Jersey Star-Ledger; Amy Ellis Nutt, October 09, 2008



Weight Management w/stone age diet.
http://www.uswellnessmeats.com/newsletter/
catherine_ebeling_january_11_09_newsletter.html

For millions of years, early humans existed on a diet of meat and vegetation.

With the dawn of agriculture, only 10,000 years ago, humans began consuming large amounts of sugars and starches in the form of grains and potatoes. Fossils and ethnological studies of hunter-gatherers (which would be the closest surrogate we have to stone age humans) indicate that humans rarely, if ever, ate any type of cereal grains, nor did they eat diets high in carbohydrates. Rather, it suggests that the diet of pre-agricultural humans was derived primarily from animal-based foods.

Consequently, diets high in carbohydrates derived from cereal grains were not part of the human evolutionary experience until only very recent times.

Indeed, 99.99% of our genes were formed before the advent of agriculture, so in biological terms, our bodies are still the same as those of hunter-gatherers.

Because human genes have changed very little in the past 40,000 years since the appearance of behaviorally modern humans, our nutritional requirements are almost identical to the requirements for Stone Age humans living before the advent of agriculture.

Fossil records indicate that early agricultural farmers, compared to their hunter-gatherer ancestors, had a noticeable reduction in stature, an increase in infant mortality, reduction in their life span, an increased incidence of infectious diseases, an increase in iron deficiency anemia, increased incidence of osteoporosis, rickets, and other bone mineral disorders, and an increase in the number of dental caries and enamel defects.

Thus, the fossil and ethnographic data suggests that humans evolved on a diet that was primarily animal-based, and low to moderate in carbohydrates, high in protein, and moderate in fat. This is in extreme contrast to the low-fat, high-carbohydrate, plant-based diet, which is almost universally recommended by modern day nutritionists.

Obviously, humans have had little evolutionary experience with the current high-carbohydrate, high-fat, cereal-based diet which is omnipresent in western, industrialized countries, and there is considerable evidence to suggest that these types of diets have the potential for creating weight gain, obesity, and other health problems in many.

Can fifty thousand years of human evolution be wrong?
What are we really "designed" to eat?

Continued from Newsletter

Are high-carbohydrate "Food Pyramid" diet standards a health disaster?
What do Paleolithic fossil records and ethnographic studies of hunter/gatherer groups around the world suggest as the ideal human diet?

Contemporary humans have not evolved mechanisms to incorporate the high carbohydrates from starch and sugar-rich foods into their diet. In fact, we are consuming far too much bread, cereal, pasta, corn (a grain, not a vegetable), rice, potatoes, granola bars, cookies, crackers, chips, etc., with very grave consequences to our health. Making matters worse, most of those carbohydrates consumed come in the form of processed food.

The fact that 65-70% of Americans are overweight, and 30% are clinically obese, and addicted to Krispy Kremes, Cinnabons, bagels, and Little Debbie snack cakes, is no coincidence. It is not the fat in the food, but the excess carbohydrates from the starch and sugar-loaded diet that is making people fat and unhealthy, and leading to epidemic levels of obesity and diabetes.

symptoms:
If you are happen to ever have any of the following symptoms, the chances are very good that excess carbohydrates in your body are to blame:

    • Overweight
    • Sleepiness or chronic fatigue
    • Depression
    • Brain fogginess
    • Bloating
    • Low blood sugar
    • High blood sugar
    • High blood pressure
    • High triglycerides

We all need a certain amount of carbohydrates, however, this quantity is very small and can come from fruits and vegetables. But, thanks to our current misleading food pyramid and our addiction to grains, potatoes, sweets and other starchy, sugary foods, we are consuming way more carbohydrates in the forms of grains and sugars than we need. The body's storage capacity for carbohydrates is quite limited, though, so here's what happens to all the excess: they are converted, via insulin, into fat and stored in the adipose, or fatty, tissue.

Any meal or snack high in carbohydrates generates a rapid rise in blood glucose. To adjust for this rise, the pancreas secretes the hormone insulin into the bloodstream, which lowers the glucose. Insulin is, though, essentially a storage hormone, evolved over millions of years prior to the agricultural age, to store the excess calories from carbohydrates in the form of fat in case of famine.

Insulin, stimulated by the excess carbohydrates in our overabundant consumption of grains, starches and sweets, is responsible for all the bulging bellies.

Even worse, high insulin levels suppress two other important hormones -- glucagons and growth hormones -- that are responsible for burning fat and sugar and promoting muscle development, respectively. So insulin from excess carbohydrates not only promotes fat, but then wards off the body's ability to lose that fat.

Excess weight and obesity lead to heart disease and a wide variety of other diseases. But the ill effect of grains and sugars does not end there. They suppress the immune system, contributing to allergies, and they are responsible for a host of digestive disorders. They contribute to depression, and their excess consumption is, in fact, associated with many of the chronic diseases in our nation, such as cancer and diabetes.

The bottom line is this:
In order to lose weight, you need to reduce your intake of grains, especially corn-based foods, and foods containing corn syrup and high-fructose corn syrup, and any sweets and potatoes, dramatically.

The key to losing weight is keeping blood sugar and blood insulin levels low.
When blood sugar and therefore, insulin levels are high, our body simply cannot burn fat; it is impossible, as the body prioritizes the burning of sugar. Fat is stored in the fat cells and can't be burned at all until blood sugar and insulin levels fall again. Furthermore, unless one is very active, any excess blood sugar will get converted to fat and stored. This is far more important than the number of calories consumed.

Many people can eat a surprising number of calories and not gain weight if the foods are chosen wisely.

So what is the key? Avoid any form of sugar
(anything ending in "ose" on a label), alcohol, and starch, as these are the foods that will increase blood sugar and blood insulin quickly.

Cutting out sweet beverages like soda pop and juice, as well as sweet desserts can be huge. Avoid flour products like baked goods and pasta, and gravies and soups thickened with flour or starch.

The dieting mistake many make is eating "low fat" versions of foods, like low-fat dairy. The problem with this is the food then has a higher ratio of sugar, which leads to the blood-sugar spike and the inability to burn fat, which wouldn't happen if the higher fat version were consumed as the fat would slow the sugar's journey into the bloodstream. You would actually be better off drinking full-fat dairy rich in CLA's, and eating raw cheeses.

Quality fats, such as Omega 3 fatty acids, and Conjugated Linoleic Acid are actually very healthy for us and don't cause heart disease as we have been lead to believe. There is more and more science backing up the idea that low starch, high protein and fat diets actually improve metabolic health, including cholesterol and triglyceride levels.

There is increasing evidence to indicate that the type of diet recommended in the USDA's food pyramid is discordant with the type of diet humans evolved with over eons of evolutionary experience. Additionally, it is increasingly being recognized that the "food Pyramid" may have a number of serious nutritional omissions.

One of them is that it does not specify between complex carbohydrates and refined, starchy, high sugar carbohydrates, and it also does not specify which types of fats should be consumed. The western diet is overburdened not only by saturated fats, but there is a huge imbalance in the type of polyunsaturated fats we eat.

We consume way too many Omega-6 fats and not nearly enough Omega-3 fats.

The Omega-6/Omega-3 ratio in western diets averages about 12:1.
High Omega-6/Omega-3 ratios are associated with increased risk for cardiovascular disease, some types of cancer, and tend to exacerbate many inflammatory disease responses.

When bread and baked goods are such a big part of our life, it can be hard to imagine life without them. Part of the solution can be to find substitutions. For example, put a spaghetti sauce over spaghetti squash or julienned zucchini. Replace the noodles in soups with bean sprouts. Nori sheets (the Japanese seaweed sheets that sushi is made with), can be used like a wrap, filling them with nut butters, hummus, liver pate, or raw cheese and veggies, and rolling them up for an easy and very nutritious snack.

Breakfast should consist of high quality protein such as free-range eggs, nitrate/nitrate-free pork or beef bacon, and some veggies such as: fresh tomato, avocado and roasted red peppers. If you are in a hurry, grab a high-protein breakfast-to-go of grass-fed beef pemmican or beef jerky.

Lunch can consist of a variety of snacks that you can bring along to work or school. A hard boiled egg, beef jerky, nori-sheet roll ups, or a bag of nuts and dried fruit.

Ready-to-eat cooked salmon, tuna or sardine chunks can be eaten from a can, or try salmon or beef jerky. The key to lunch and snacks is thinking ahead. Cooking enough dinner to bring for lunch the next day also works very well. If you are starving and in need of a snack, have a bag of nuts like almonds or cashews in your pocket or purse, or bring along a bag of delicious organic dried fruit and nut trail mix.

Dinner should consist of a high quality all-natural protein such as grass-fed beef, lamb, veal, free-range chicken, or wild-caught fish. An aboveground, non-starchy vegetable can accompany this dinner and add in a salad made from an organic salad mix, and you have a filling, satisfying meal and still lose weight!

Initially, if weight loss is the goal, go without grains totally for at least two weeks to reduce your cravings for carbohydrates and to lose weight quickly, and then add back in whole grains by the tablespoon, until you notice you are not losing weight anymore.

Remember that the goal is to stop the spikes of blood sugar and insulin, so if you do have a glass of wine or a starchy carbohydrate, make sure to add a protein and a fat with it to slow the sugar into the blood stream. Fats and proteins fill you up better than carbs, so frequently you will consume fewer calories eating this way.



Testosterone balance and assistance.
http://www.uswellnessmeats.com/newsletter/
catherine_ebeling_november_1_newsletter.html#Continued

Testosterone is a hormone produced by the testes, ovaries, and adrenal glands.
As we age, testosterone production slows down and the body has a decrease in the amount of free testosterone that is available in the bloodstream. The normal level of testosterone in your bloodstream is between 350 and 1,000 nanograms per deciliter (ng/dl). Like hair, those quantities silently start to wane around age 40. You lose about 1 percent a year -- a harmless decline in the short term, but a cause of obesity, brittle bones, muscle loss and impotence in men, and loss of libido in women, by the time you reach your 60s -- if you live that long. Testosterone levels in the low range (a blood serum score below 350 ng/dl) may increase your chances of dying of a heart attack.

It's not just an old man's problem, either.
Men in their 30s and 40s also fall prey to low testosterone counts.
It's a disorder called hypogonadism, and it can be caused by an undescended testicle, a testicular injury, a pituitary gland disorder or even prescription drugs. It usually goes undiagnosed until a man hits his doctor with a telltale complaint: "I can't get an erection."

"If you have reduced levels of sexual desire, have your testosterone level checked immediately," says Dr. Allen Seftel, a urologist at Case Western Reserve University Hospitals of Cleveland. "For men and women with borderline testosterone scores, I advise them to try to raise their levels through exercise and weight loss before going on testosterone therapy," says Dr. Goldberg. And it might pay to start young. "Since your testosterone declines at a steady rate, it's conceivable that raising your hormone levels naturally in your 20s and 30s could help you maintain higher levels later on," he says. Either way, the reward can be a stronger physique and better bedroom sessions than you'd otherwise deserve.

Testosterone is very important to a woman, too.
Women produce increased amounts of this hormone in puberty, because testosterone is the precursor to estrogen. Without testosterone, there would be no "woman." Testosterone in women increases the libido, clear thinking, and overall feelings of wellbeing. As a woman approaches menopause, more effects from testosterone deficiency begin to become apparent.

The ovaries produce the majority of testosterone and estrogens.
With the cessation of 80% of hormonal production, a perimenopausal woman suffers from estrogen, progesterone and testosterone deficiency. And, the replacement of estrogen alone will not correct an absent sex drive, loss of muscle tone and general lack of mental get-up-and-go.

In both men and women as they age, the ability to produce testosterone declines.
This decrease in testosterone production is sometimes referred to as andropause or 'male menopause.' These reduced levels of testosterone can cause a variety of problems including the inability to maintain all of your muscle mass. If testosterone levels fall below the normal range some typical symptoms may include:

    • sexual dysfunction
    • depression
    • fatigue
    • lack of energy
    • irritability and mood swings
    • loss of strength or muscle mass
    • increased body fat
    • hot flashes

Aging and lifestyle factors such as stress, improper diet, physical inactivity, smoking, drinking and the use of prescription medications can significantly reduce these levels.

There are several ways to increase your testosterone levels naturally to help you look and feel better. Here are steps to increase your testosterone naturally:

1. Eat grass-fed beef instead of commercially raised beef.
Commercially raised animals are fed growth-stimulating hormones, antibiotics and processed grains. While the protein and zinc in organic grass-fed beef will help in maintaining optimum testosterone levels in men, the hormones used in industrial beef will increase estrogen production and lower testosterone levels. Various combinations of hormones, estradiol, progesterone, and testosterone, and the synthetic hormones, zeranol and trenbolone acetate, may be given to cattle during their growing cycle. Another hormone, melengesterol acetate, may also be added to cattle feed to "improve weight gain and feed efficiency."

When humans eat this drug and hormone-tainted beef, measurable amounts of hormones are transferred to humans. Some researchers warn that human consumption of estrogen from hormone-drugged beef can result in cancer, premature puberty and falling sperm counts.

"Protein" in Latin means "above all else."
Adequate protein is a dietary necessity as it stimulates testosterone release, and it's also the fundamental building block for muscle repair and growth. Beef is an excellent source of protein and vitamin B12. It's a very good source of zinc and selenium.

2. Eat more zinc and foods containing zinc.
Many people can restore proper testosterone levels through zinc alone.
Zinc deficiency is also associated with decreased serum testosterone levels. But of all the minerals found in the body, zinc is the most crucial for testosterone production. Zinc deficiency is very common in the U.S. population, especially among athletes and the aged. Not only is zinc absent in most commercially-processed foods, it can be depleted from the body by alcohol and many prescription medications including diuretics. Red meat, especially grass-fed meat, is high in zinc, as well as seafood - especially oysters.

Vitamins A, E, C and B6 and zinc are all used by the body in converting prohormones to testosterone. Eating more vegetables is essential in testosterone production; especially green, leafy and cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, kale, Swiss chard, Brussels sprouts, green leafy lettuce and cabbage. These vegetables contain phytochemicals essential for healthy metabolism of estrogen in both men and women.

3. Essential fats such as the Omega 3 fatty acids (found in grass-fed meat),
and saturated fats, are essential for normal testosterone production. Foods containing cholesterol (yes its GOOD for you!), are excellent, so eating egg yolks will increase cholesterol. All steroid hormones are produced from cholesterol and when fats are deficient in the diet, this process will be inhibited. Studies clearly indicate that low fat diets result in lower testosterone levels. Those higher in protein, lower in carbohydrate, and moderate in fat contribute most to the greatest sustained levels of testosterone.

4. Limit your intake of refined, high-carbohydrate foods.
These include simple sugars such as cookies, candy and ice cream; and starches such as breads, potatoes and pasta. Excess intake of these carbohydrates raise blood sugar rapidly, creating chronically elevated levels of the hormones insulin and cortisol. These two hormones oppose the action of testosterone and diminish its production.

5. Losing weight will help to restore testosterone production.
In both men and women, fat cells breed aromatase. Aromatase is the enzyme responsible for converting estrogen into testosterone. Fat cells also store excessive levels of estrogen, harmful to both men and women. As you loose weight your ability to convert testosterone to estrogen will diminish, so should the symptom of menopause or male menopause.

6. For both men and women, lift weights in addition to cardio exercise.
Lifting heavy weights will stimulate testosterone release, while excessive cardio will decrease testosterone. Incorporate basic movements that involve several muscle groups in your training routine. Great compound movements are barbell squats, dead lifts, and military presses. These basic core exercises have been shown to play an important role in testosterone levels.

The greatest workout-related testosterone production occurs with the use of heavier weights and lower rep range. A study shows that the best is 85 per cent of your one-rep max. Make sure to train with high intensity for short periods of time. Your overall weight training workout should not last longer than 60 minutes (45 min is optimal). Train hard and get out of the gym to let your muscles recuperate and grow!

Rest Harder Than You Work Out.
If you overtrain -- meaning you don't allow your body to recuperate adequately between training sessions -- your circulating testosterone levels can plunge by as much as 40 percent, according to a study at the University of North Carolina. The symptoms of overtraining are hard to miss: irritability, insomnia, muscle shrinkage, joining the Reform Party. To avoid overtraining, make sure you sleep a full eight hours at night, and never stress the same muscles with weight-lifting movements two days in a row.

If you follow the above guidelines you may find a decrease in your symptoms without having to resort to injections, patches or pellets. If you see no change in your symptoms, you may need to visit the Doctor to get your hormone levels checked. Both men and women, especially those in their 40's and 50's, may find that free testosterone levels need an extra boost.



Sport Drink cautions.
http://www.uswellnessmeats.com/newsletter/
catherine_ebeling_may_31_09_newsletter.html

Athletes everywhere pick up sports drinks to quench their thirst and replenish carbohydrates. Do they really work? Do energy and sports drinks help performance or do they just add empty calories?

A recent scientifically formulated new sports drink called "Beyond Hydration" water may actually be the only drink that does. However the leading sports drinks on the market may actually be detrimental to athletic performance.

Expensive and highly visible advertising campaigns, and celebrity athlete spokespersons give many people the impression that drinks like Gatorade and Red Bull are healthy and essential during or after a workout to replace energy, lost electrolytes, carbohydrates and fluids.

Although simple carbohydrates are helpful for athletes engaging in high-intensity exercise; are sports drinks effective, or even appropriate, for the average gym member or weekend warrior? Studies seem to be split on the matter.

In one study, researchers prepared beverages containing glucose, maltodextrin or neither, so that they tasted identical, and gave them to athletes, who rinsed the drinks around in their mouths before spitting them out during exercise. Despite not reaping the energizing effects of the carbohydrates in the drinks, the rinsing of the simple sugar mixes were shown to "significantly reduce the time to complete the cycle time trial," while the placebo drinks had no such effect. The data was so impressive that the researchers concluded "much of the benefit from carbohydrate in sports drinks is provided by signaling directly from mouth to brain rather than providing energy for the working muscle."

Another study found that citric acid, commonly found in sports drinks, ate away at the enamel coating on teeth. As a result, the drinks could easily leak into the bone-like material underneath, causing a weakening and softening of the tooth that could result in severe tooth damage and even tooth loss if left untreated.

Sports drinks are up to 30 times more erosive to your teeth than water. As this recent study pointed out, brushing your teeth does not help because citric acid in the sports drink will softens tooth enamel so much it could be damaged just by brushing.

The leading brands of sports drinks on the market typically contain as much as two-thirds the sugar of sodas and more sodium. They also often contain high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), artificial flavors, and food coloring, none of which belong in your body,

If you are exercising to lose weight and get into shape, you should know that sports drinks and energy drinks will cause weight gain, similar to drinking soda. It is a sad irony that many people work hard and sweat to lose weight, only to gain weight from drinking sports drinks.

And although these drinks are often referred to as "energy" drinks, in the long run the sugar they contain does just the opposite. A quick explosion of energy followed by a plummet in blood, as your pancreas floods the body with insulin to balance out the toxic stimulation to your blood sugar. So the quick energy you may feel from the sugar soon becomes less energy as your blood sugar drops.

"Energy drinks" were popularized in the U.S. with the 1997 introduction of Red Bull, a carbonated beverage from Austria that contains 80 mg of caffeine in every bottle - about the same amount as is found in a cup of coffee. For comparison, classic Coca Cola contains 23 mg caffeine and Mountain Dew contains 37 mg caffeine.

Other brands of "energy drinks" may contain twice as much or more caffeine as Red Bull, plus other questionable ingredients such as guarana - a South American caffeine-containing herb.

The calories in these drinks do provide some energy, but mostly their content of caffeine and taurine turn up one's feelings of alertness and may produce troublesome side effects such as anxiety, irritability, heart palpitations, difficulty sleeping, and indigestion.

These manifestations are more likely to occur with "energy drinks" than with hot coffee, which is usually drunk more slowly than the chilled "energy drinks. "Energy drinks" can also lead to dehydration because caffeine stimulates urination and thus increases water loss. Dehydration during athletic activities not only reduces performance, but also can cause painful muscle cramping.

Because it is metabolized by the liver, the fructose in high fructose corn syrup does not cause the pancreas to release insulin the way it normally does. Fructose converts to fat more than any other sugar. This is most likely a big reason Americans continue to get fatter. Fructose raises serum triglycerides significantly. For complete internal conversion of fructose into glucose and acetates, it must rob ATP energy stores from the liver. ATP is the fuel, which supplies the energy to muscles, especially while exercising. If you are robbing your muscles' energy stores, then actually the sports drink is decreasing your athletic performance.

And if your sports drink is low calorie and sugar-free, be warned that it likely contains an artificial sweetener, which is even worse for you than high-fructose corn syrup or sugar.

Sports drinks also contain large quantities of salt, which is there to replace electrolytes. However, unless you're sweating profusely and for a prolonged period, that extra salt is simply unnecessary, and possibly harmful.

Also the excess salt will actually make you thirstier and make you want to drink more, while causing you to retain water and feel heavier.

In many ways drinking sports drinks is not a whole lot better than chugging a can of soda after your workout. Less than 1 percent of those who use sports drinks actually benefit from them.

Unless you exercise for more than 30 minutes at a time, sports drinks are unnecessary. It's only when you've been exercising for longer periods, such as 60 minutes or more, or at an extreme intensity, such as on a very hot day or at your full exertion level, that you may need something more than water to replenish your body.

Anything less than 45 minutes will not result in a large enough fluid loss to justify using these high-sodium, high-sugar drinks.

Besides water, the best thing to quench your thirst may be a new product just emerging on the market.

Beyond Hydration Water is the most hydrating drink on the market. Its 74 electrolytes and 18 amino acids don't just quench your thirst; they hydrate the inner cells all while delivering nutrients such as B3, B5, B6, B12, and removing metabolic waste from the cells.

Beyond Hydration does all of this without adding high fructose corn syrup, artificial sweeteners, caffeine, preservatives, and other junk that slow the body down. It not only rehydrates the body, it aids in muscle recovery, mental clarity and energy.

Formulated by a team of scientists, it actually helps to increase ATP (the body's fuel source for muscles) by 9%! Studies have actually shown Beyond Hydration water to bring about a noticeable improvement in performance in athlete's strength and endurance, as well as a reduction in muscle soreness.

When you get down to natural nutrition, real hydration and total body performance, Beyond Hydration stands alone. Because unlike its competitors, Beyond Hydration goes beyond hydration (with 74 electrolytes!) to provide your body with the natural minerals it needs for energy, exercise recovery and cellular hydration.

If you really want a drink that is better than water to improve athletic performance and truly hydrate the body, drink Beyond Hydration water.

Beyond Hydration LINK
http://www.grasslandbeef.com/Detail.bok?no=1007



Autism, Omega 3's and Behavior.
http://www.uswellnessmeats.com/newsletter/
catherine_ebeling_june_28_09_newsletter.html

Autism rates in industrialized countries have risen dramatically in the last decade, and more research is being conducted looking more at the effects of diet and nutrition (both prenatal and post natal) on behavior.

Much has been written about the gluten-free/casein-free diet for autism, and this diet has a lot of merit and many have seen noticeable improvement using it. New studies are now looking more at the positive effects of fatty acids-primarily omega 3 fatty acids--on the brain and behavior, and specifically, autism. As previous studies have shown, the effects of omega 3 fatty acids on dementia, aggressive behavior, and ADHD have been very beneficial and have brought about marked improvements in these conditions. Now new research shows there is increasing evidence that fatty acid deficiencies or imbalances may contribute to autism behaviors.

In Scotland, where autism rates have risen at the same steep incline as in the U.S., researchers conducted studies with omega 3 fatty acids. They made an exciting breakthrough: Childhood autism may be associated with a deficiency of fatty acids, primarily omega 3 fats.

According to a study of autistic children, cell membranes in the blood of autistic children processed fatty acids at a much faster rate than other children. Brain cell membranes are largely made up of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. Based on their discovery, researchers speculate fatty acid deficiency may be a partial trigger for autism. Omega-3 fatty acids appear to be very important in normal brain development and capability. These particular fatty acids are recognized as essential fatty acids that are vital to our health, but cannot be produced by the body.

These essential fatty acids appear to be particularly important for cognitive and behavioral function. In fact, infants who do not get enough omega-3 fatty acids from their mothers during pregnancy are at risk for developing vision difficulties, nerve problems, behavior problems, and ADHD.

Low levels of essential fatty acids in the general population are associated with a wide range of psychological disorders, including depression, post-partum depression, PMS bipolar (manic/depression) and Rett's syndrome. Other less severe symptoms of omega-3 fatty acid deficiency include: extreme tiredness, poor memory, dry skin, heart problems, mood swings, and poor circulation.

Aggressive behaviors often associated with autism, and are theorized to have a relationship with omega-3 fatty acids. Studies have found that children with autism have lower levels of omega 3 fatty acids than do typical children. In other research studies it was established that the addition of essential fatty acids in children's diets with autism significantly increased language and learning skills.

Since aggressive behavior often accompanies autism, omega-3 fatty acids may be helpful in treating such behavioral difficulties. Another study showed that the use of fish oil supplements in children with autism increased red blood cell levels of omega-3 fatty acids while reducing omega-6s. These changes were accompanied by improvements in general health, cognitive skills, and sociability, as well as reductions in irritability, aggression, and hyperactivity, according to parental reports. Among children with developmental coordination disorder, which is common among people with autism, omega-3 supplementation improved reading, spelling and disruptive behaviors.

Scientific evidence suggests that imbalances or deficiencies of certain highly unsaturated fatty acids (HUFA) may contribute to a range of behavioral and learning difficulties including ADHD, dyslexia, dyspraxia, and autistic spectrum disorders. This could help to explain the strong familial associations between these conditions and their common overlap within the same individuals.

Omega-3 fatty acids -- also known as polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), play a crucial role in brain function as well as normal growth and development.

There are three major types of omega 3 fatty acids that are ingested in foods and used by the body: alpha-linoleic acid (ALA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Two of the major omega 3 fatty acids are EPA and DHA. Once eaten, the body converts ALA to EPA and DHA. DHA is critical for early brain development, and EPA is useful for later development, cognition, and behavior.

It is important to maintain an appropriate balance of omega-3 and omega-6 (another essential fatty acid) in the diet, as these two substances work together to promote health. Omega-3 fatty acids help reduce inflammation, and most omega-6 fatty acids tend to promote inflammation.

The overall benefits suggest that creating a diet heavy in omega 3's and including grass-fed meats, can lead to the reduction of the negative behaviors associated with autism. Further, there is no apparent harm associated with omega-3 supplementation. As with any form of supplementation, the decision to supplement the diet with more omega 3 fatty acids in children with autism should be made in along with a primary care provider.

Omega 3's can be found in fatty wild-caught fish, such as salmon, tuna, and halibut, and in grass-fed beef. However, many fish are high in mercury and other toxins, especially the large predators (shark, swordfish, and tuna). One of the best solutions to this diet quandary is the inclusion of grass-fed meats in the diet.

Grass-fed meats are high in omega 3 fatty acids, with none of the toxins that many fish may carry. Grass-fed beef, as opposed to grain-fed commercially raised beef, has a similar omega 3 fatty-acid profile as fatty fish, without the danger of toxins such as mercury and PCB's. Grass-fed meat is a rich source of this healthy fat because the cattle spend their lives eating green forage plants that are naturally rich in omega-3s themselves. Just by eating their natural diet, the cattle absorb these valuable fats and then pass the nutrition on. The result is beef that has nearly 60% more omega-3s than beef from cows that have been raised on a feedlot grain-based diet.

Ongoing research will help to clarify the importance of this vital nutrient and autism. Although deficiencies of omega 3's are common in dyslexia, dyspraxia, ADHD and autistic spectrum disorders, they are certainly not confined to individuals with these conditions. The standard American diet is sadly lacking in omega 3 fatty acids and everyone can benefit by including more omega 3-rich foods in their diet.



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