Jasmine - part of it is that I dont really believe that cows milk in ANY form is all that great. I also dont pay much credence to what societies did before pasteurization, truthfully cows and the dairy industry in the US have so radically changed (diet, living conditions, milking conditions, breeding etc) that there really isnt an apples to apples comparison.
I grew up drinking raw milk. BUT It was from a family we knew well, we knew EXACTLY what they fed their cows, they were milked by hand and they were careful on how the milk was handled (cows udders were washed before milking, etc. ) And STILL when we had guests visit, we bought pasteurized milk. Its like drinking the water in a foreign land. If your system is not used to the bacteria level, its NOT going to be happy. Eventually with good hygeine conditions you would probably adjust and be fine. However, since the only milk drinker of any significance in my house is less than 3, I am not going to put her system through that. Heck we had a severe ecoli outbreak here from unpasteurized APPLE juice. Farming is just not what it used to be. The only way I would consider raw milk is from a single family non-commercial farm. (i.e. a friend who owns a cow or two)
I still feel that if I were that concerned about the effects of pasteurization I would just eliminate milk altogether
As for the whole milk better than lowfat thing. Lets face it, its not that milk was designed be drunk whole, its that milk was designed to be drunk by baby cows.
Thanx so much for your response sweetie! I liked what you had to say. As far as dairy goes I do feel it is (supposed) to be good for us. Some people even think it heals. What I am concerned about is the fact that there are some things we can get from dairy that are hard to get elsewhere. Like the vitamin A thing, I know everyone thinks, duh!, carrots! But from what I am reading there are different forms of vitamin A, when I checked my centrum bottle it says 70%(29%as beta carotene) so there is something going on. Mercola also says that the particular vitamin A needs to come from real butter, milk, and maybe I believe kale? Can't remember what else but that it does not come from the other veggies in the way we think.
I do feel a well rounded "diet" is best and try not to avoid any food group. I do hear ya on the baby cow thing. That is what my dad used to say too. I also believe I heard that raw cheese is legal everywhere in the U.S. so maybe that is not as riaque as the milk itself. I LOVE cheese. I could probably live without milk and have done so in the past, never w/out cheese though. Yogurt is enjoyable but not an absolute. Since becoming more concerned about getting all my nutrients though I am all over it though. Not drinking milk, but the yogurt, kefir, cheese, etc. Then I think supplements and I do take the centrum but I also feel it is important not to get all my nutrients from supplements.
I know even mercola said we do not need nearly as much calcium as the "experts" say we do. I don't know, it's a toss up. One year eggs are bad, the next year they are in, etc. I try to pray about all the decisions I make with this stuff. I guess all we can do is make our best judgement at the time.
Here is a question: I know the tillamook says "cultured milk", (it doesn't say "raw" though") most all the other ones say "pasteurized cultured milk". What gives?
Anyhow everyone I am home from the dentist. Hooray!! The pain medicine worked this time hooray! But he was pulling so hard on my bottom tooth I thought my jaw would break!! Joey was even trying to hold my head in place. He had a hard time getting that one out and I just kept praying. The top one was easier thank God and I am home safe and sound. Next year I will have to go back in and get a partial or something. Thanx to everyone for their good thoughts and prayers!
Hun.e.B:
I was your secret santa and I have not forgotten about you! I am sorry I didn't finish and send it to you yet but we have been so busy and I haven't been online much! I will have it for you tomorrow sweetie!!! *BIG HUGZ* Hope your not mad at me!!
Yes I enjoyed the cards hun! I was wondering if it was spam email or someone else!! hahahahahah
Canuk4
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Jasmine, I eat oatmeal everyday, usually the processed kind, not a good choice, will have to go back to the original kind and soaking it. As a kid I visited my grandparents farm all the time, where they had grass fed cows and I drank there milk right from the cooler, I remember how good it was, I will have to see if there is raw milk being sold anywhere around here. That link covered quite a few subjects on food. I feel a little ill after reading it, but definately more informed on what I am really eating. Thanks
I am glad you liked it. It is alot to take in all at once. I have been reading alot about stuff and check out the rest of the website for more links and stuff. How long did you used to soak the oatmeal for? I will give you the link for the real milk website and you can look your state up.
Hey there all! I hope you had a wonderful Holiday and are looking forward to the new year! I decided to weigh myself on Christmas morning, just hoping it wouldn't be above 186. Eep! I was happily surprised to see that it was the same as last week (minus .2, lol) and that my measurements on my ribs, waist and hips had gone down as well. I am also in the very beginning of my visit from TOM, which started on Mon. as well (Merry Christmas to me ) so I'm excited to see how much weight I'll have lost once the bloating and "extra" weight has gone down. I'm hoping for 179, but we'll see. I'll just be happy feeling fitter than I did last year.
I've been thinking about a lot of things lately. I don't know about the rest of you, but I do know that for me, I'm still amazed at things others seem to think of as "small". I'm now a size 14 (which to some is no big deal), which I haven't been in over 8 yrs.! I'm off the "plus size" rack now and can actually shop in the Juniors department. I can run (omg, I said RUN) up a flight of stairs and not gasp for air. 8 months ago, I never would've believed I could've gone from 229+ to where I am now. I was pushing a size 22, now I'm in 14's and shrinking! My mom just told me today to keep my paws out of her closet (she's a size 12), lol. I used to be depressed that my mom was thinner than me growing up, and now I'm catching up to her. I'm actually beginning to like my shape and the direction I can see it taking! 8 months ago, I was scared I was going to die young and leave my children without a mother. Now, I actually enjoy working out and how strong and fit my body feels. Running used to be painful and akward, but now I feel like I'm floating across the ground. My legs are stronger and I feel so much better. I don't know how long it'll take me to get to my goal weight, or what size I'll be when I get there, but I do know I'm not going to quit; I'm doing it for me (and my kids and boyfriend too, in part, but mainly for me); I feel great, and although I have a lot of stress, trials and tribulations right now, it's worth it to press through those things to come out better on the other side. God help me.
I know I'm rambling, but I just want to say thank you to all of you for being both a source of support and inspiration for me to continue on, even in the tough times. Thank you, and Happy Holidays.
Just want to quickly say, SORRY! Secret Santa is still here, but everyone was supposed to send them around Christmas, or whenever they could. I was out of town visiting my mom and step dad in southern Alberta with no access to internet, and arrived home on the 24th. Spent Christmas Eve driving 8 hours (bleh!), and then Christmas day with DF's family. Today we went and did a bit of Boxing Day shopping, and now it's pretty late.
I just wanted to throw in a note, and I will be back soon to do the personals.
Please, everyone who joined the secret santa, remember to send your "gifts!"
While the ongoing process of research into vitamin A and its effects is a boon to children and adults throughout the world, modern agriculture and food processing conglomerates gain nothing from this knowledge. Confinement farming practices effectively prevent vitamin A from incorporation into animal foods and the processing industry would rather use vegetable oils than animal fats. Some vegetable oils contain carotenes but they do not contain true vitamin A. Only animal fats contain vitamin A and vitamin A is present in large amounts only when the animals have a source of carotenes or vitamin A in the diet, such as green pasture, insects and fish meal.
Unfortunately, the vast majority of popular books on nutrition insist that humans can obtain vitamin A from fruits and vegetables. Even worse, FDA regulations allow food processors to label carotenes as vitamin A. The label for a can of tomatoes says that tomatoes contain vitamin A, even though the only source of true vitamin A in the tomatoes is the microscopic insect parts. The food industry, and the lowfat school of nutrition that the industry has spawned, benefit greatly from the fact that the public has only vague notions about vitamin A. In fact, most of the foods that provide large amounts of vitamin A—butter, egg yolks, liver, organ meats and shellfish—have been subject to intense demonization.
Under optimal conditions, humans can indeed convert carotenes to vitamin A. This occurs in the upper intestinal tract by the action of bile salts and fat-splitting enzymes. Of the entire family of carotenes, beta-carotene is most easily converted to vitamin A. Early studies indicated an equivalency of 4:1 of beta-carotene to retinol. In other words, four units of beta-carotene were needed to produce one unit of vitamin A. This ratio was later revised to 6:1 and recent research suggests an even higher ratio.5 This means that you have to eat an awful lot of vegetables and fruits to obtain even the daily minimal requirements of vitamin A, assuming optimal conversion.
Please, everyone who joined the secret santa, remember to send your "gifts!"
I got mine sent off tonite!
Mande: I missed ya hun! I was wondering what happened to ya!
Calejo: That is so awesome! Keep up the great work! I know what ya mean about running. I can't do it for too long but before even with all my walking I would of never even attempted such a thing! !4 is great! I can't wait to get there!!
But the transformation of carotene to retinol is rarely optimal. Diabetics and those with poor thyroid function, a group that could well include at least half the adult US population, cannot make the conversion. Children make the conversion very poorly and infants not at all — they must obtain their precious stores of vitamin A from animal fats6— yet the low-fat diet is often recommended for children. Strenuous physical exercise, excessive consumption of alcohol, excessive consumption of iron (especially from "fortified" white flour and breakfast cereal), use of a number of popular drugs, excessive consumption of polyunsaturated fatty acids, zinc deficiency and even cold weather can hinder the conversion of carotenes to vitamin A,7 as does the lowfat diet.
Carotenes are converted by the action of bile salts, and very little bile reaches the intestine when a meal is low in fat. The epicure who puts butter on his vegetables and adds cream to his vegetable soup is wiser than he knows. Butterfat stimulates the secretion of bile needed to convert carotenes from vegetables into vitamin A, and at the same time supplies very easily absorbed true vitamin A. Polyunsaturated oils also stimulate the secretion of bile salts but can cause rapid destruction of carotene unless antioxidants are present.
but on the flip side....be very very careful with supplements that have vitamin A --it should be beta carotene, not preformed vitamin A. In high doses, preformed Vitamin A is toxic. The benefit of carotene is you cant o'd on it.
There is actually a push to LOWER the RDA of Vitamin A because of its teratogenicity (causes birth defects)
Also - yes you absolutely need fat to absorb Vitamins A, D, E and K because they are fat soluble. BUT just because Vit A is primarily located in animal fat, it doesnt mean animal fat is the only fat that will absorb it. Olive oil added to your dinner will ALSO help you absorb the available Vit A and Carotene. Only very very very lowfat diets will lead to Vit A deficiency. It is generally only seen in underdeveloped countries
(Vit D deficiency is actually far more common...because our bodies were meant to use sunlight to create Vit D, the trend towards daily SPF 15 has hurt our Vit D creation)
Good Morning! Well I've had two days straight of riding my bike 2 hours each day! I'm going for a third day. Tonight is the big interview so I'm pretty nervous. It will be done soon. I love being home with the kids.
I eat oatmeal every day for breakfast. I am also lactose intolerant so I have very little milk except my favorite, ice cream, which I pay for.
We are going to have a New Years Eve Party with our children this year. Rent lots of movies, junk food galore, games, and family time. Any plans for New Years Eve?
but on the flip side....be very very careful with supplements that have vitamin A --it should be beta carotene, not preformed vitamin A. In high doses, preformed Vitamin A is toxic. The benefit of carotene is you cant o'd on it.
Yeah I knew there was something funny going on. Okay my centrum says 70%, 29% as beta carotene, so what I want is for all the supplement to say "beta carotene". Now what is up with the fruits and veggies? How do we know which ones are from beta carotene?
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Olive oil added to your dinner will ALSO help you absorb the available Vit A and Carotene. Only very very very lowfat diets will lead to Vit A deficiency. It is generally only seen in underdeveloped countries
Yeah I have since stopped cooking with olive oil, usually just added it in a tbs at the bottom of the sp. rice but now I hear about the oil heating up too much and that being bad, I am going to try just adding a little bit on to the beans and rice when I make it, (you know after it is already cooked and we are sitting down to eat) does that sound like a good idea? Like maybe a tsp on each plate? I have also heard that extra virgin cocunut oil is great to cook in. So am thinking of doing that if I need to use something to cook in. I didn't see it at the regular store but did at that one place in S.B.
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(Vit D deficiency is actually far more common...because our bodies were meant to use sunlight to create Vit D, the trend towards daily SPF 15 has hurt our Vit D creation)
Yeah in Ca I don't have to worry about that too much. I do wear the oil of olay cream which has an spf. I know in colder places I have heard of cod liver oil encouraged as a supplement. Not too crazy about that idea though.
stopeating:
That is awesome! Well done!!! Did you go any where or just a trail on your bike? My kids all got bikes for x~mas and my eldest is my same heighth so i will probably borrow hers. I am a bit leery though of being on it by myself so maybe this weekend Joey and I can try to go riding together!
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Tonight is the big interview so I'm pretty nervous. It will be done soon. I love being home with the kids.
Good luck on the intterview hun!! I love being home with the kids too. We spent most of yesterday in the kitchen, Joe did not want me going anywhere on the bus not even to go see him, just wanted me to stay at home and relax, he said he didn't even care if I stayed in bed all day! I told him, haha he wouldn't care anyways. He would probably just wonder WHY under normal circumstances! But he wanted me to rest after the tooth thing. So I was cooking and cleaning, making chili beans and using our new food processor to chop up onions, carrots, tomatoes, spinach, etc. Made an awesome salad for yesterday and tonite. Scrubbed the kitchen down good, even cleaned behind the fridge. I made some corn bread too and wanted to make some home made bread and rolls and maybe sugar cookies for the kids but the stupid oven shut off and would NOT turn back on! Maybe tomorrow I will bake more. Shredded them up some cheese for omelettes this a.m. you just reminded me I should go chop some bell pepper up for spanish rice tonite!! But I really enjoyed just being at home and not running off to go do something. EVen days like that where I am busy and rarely home beats being at "work" any day!
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I eat oatmeal every day for breakfast. I am also lactose intolerant so I have very little milk except my favorite, ice cream, which I pay for
I hear ya. What do you put on your oatmeal?
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We are going to have a New Years Eve Party with our children this year. Rent lots of movies, junk food galore, games, and family time. Any plans for New Years Eve?
That sounds like so much fun! Hopefully we will have some cool movies in from netflix! My best friend and her bf and kids said they wanted to come up, BUT he has to work! So they said they will be here around 10:30. Ummmm....okay! They are going to drive 70 miles one way to get here at 10:30! That is cool though. The day before x~mas we went out and seen them for a few hours since we had the van. Everyone!!! I am still doing the dairy too. I just found this great article everyone is welcome to read! It is about how the Azerbaijan's live to be over 100 years old! It tells what they eat, alot of dairy products and the other foods they eat with it to help break up the fat etc.
Okay so I did do the chil beans yesterday but it was still kind of a high cal day, like 1900 or so cause I was needing two big containers for the two salads and the rest of the lemon cake was in one of them! I had a piece and gave ther rest to the kids. I also seen the chocolate covered peanuts in there, in a cluster. So I had one of those. BUt I did stop after that! Thank God and here is to eating "clean" until new years! I got on the scale this a.m. for damage control and the scale says 210! So 2 pounds more than my ticker. and 2.5 more than what I had some how gotten doewn to before x~mas. Remember I was bad for like a week and a half but stiull managed to lose .50 a piund? haha I am not worried and if 2.5 pounds is the worse damage thruout almost 2 weeks of being pretty darn bad. Then that is okay. There is a few days I didn't walk this week like xmas and the day before that and yesterday to rest etc but I am back on it today!
How did everyone else fare? Are you up or down or even? I figure lets wait til new years day and then lets start a valentines day challenge ladies!!
okay i'm back. I think i went "incogneto" for a short time during the christmas week didn't think it would set me back like that but it did. I did play golf one day with my mom and my son Jacob. Well I'm back on track today.
Jasmine - I probably wouldnt worry about your supplement, as long as its only 70%. Unless you are eating a lot of fortified foods. When I was preggo with dd, I was looking at the prescription prenatals (pisses me off that Vit A is in prenatals at ALL- well frankly prenatals should be trimester specific) which had preformed Vit A, then I was eating clif bars when I worked out (supplemented with Vit A) and of course there was fortified cereals. And then I remember looking at a jamba juice "add on" which had Vit A and realized how easy it would be for someone to OD on vit A and not even realize it.
All vit A from fruits and veggies is from carotenoids.
Okay I back after Christmas! I had a great time and got to spend alot of time with my family and DH's family. We played this really fun board game Apples to Apples and I laughed so hard so many time that my stomach muscles really did hurt. I didn't gain over the holidays so that was the best Christmas present ever! The next few days will be the hardest because we are having friends down for New Year's and they like to eat. I am sticking to healthy choices with my splurge day on New Year's Eve. I have made it to the gym the past two day and plan on going the next three to keep my calories in check.
Jasmine: My brother and I grew up on raw milk until I was in junior high because gramps sold his farm. We never got sick and our friends used to drink it when they came over. I don't think I could drink it know because all I drink is skim and the consistency is much thicker. Gramps also used to make us butter and it was much creamer and not as salty as you find the stores today.
I'm back from the interview and I lived. They are actually hoping to call and let me know tonight yet. I'm okay not getting the job, I just wanted to have a good interview and know that I did my best and I did.
Dollypie - great job not putting on any weight.
Loveandlaugh - great to hear from you.
Jasmine - I think you are a workaholic...you never stop! People coming over at 10:30 p.m. from 70 miles away??!! Wow, I can't remember the last time I saw midnight on New Years Eve, obviously I would not be good company. How is your mouth feeling? Are you done with the dentist yet? I hate going to the dentist.
When I speak of a bike, it's actually my exercise bike. Here in Michigan we ride outside from May to September, that's about it.
I actually had the guts to weigh myself this afternoon and I was 2 pounds higher than my counter. I was thrilled because I ate breakfast and lunch already. I have been SOOOOOOO bad for the last two weeks, I just want to have my counter number on New Years day. I would be so happy!!!
Stopeating - glad you aced your interview, job or not, having that many interview you is a major on the nerves, Congrats on just getting through it.
Jasmine, I really don't know much about Vit. A. other than what I have read here, but I do know how important it is to get beta caratene, I have macular degeneration in one eye and have lost the central vision, the beta caratene is super important for your eyesight, I take a multi everyday and a special Vit. called Vitallux for my eyes, that has beta caratene in it.
I soak my oatmeal in water, just like my folks did in the old days.
I have been reading Women's World again and was reading how you can train your mind with some saying's to help you lose weight, it may sound far fetched, but I tried it and it seemed to help, it is just mainly about a few bites of an intense food, as opposed to a healthy food, it is from Steven Gurgevich, Ph.D. author of The Self Hypnosis Diet and top advisor to natural health superstar Andrew Weil, M.D. It is really no dieting and no deprivation, the usual small amounts of fattening foods and eating healthy. Interesting though, I am back down to 236 and I have not been very good, the Choc. devil finally got the best of me. I do agree home made butter from the farm was richer and not as salty and I would still go for that milk, it tasted so good from that cooler on the farm. And yes the cows utters had to be carefully washed before milking. Good childhood memories for me. Wish I had not grown up, with the exception of hubby #2 and my kids. Life was so simple.
No New Years Plans for us, I might have my girlfriend over her hubby is working, otherwise TV.
I would really like to go for a Valentine's challenge, I have really just been playing with the same six pounds since Nov. up and down! Count me in.
Sharon
Thanks Sharon. I got the call and I did get the job! It is a huge honor. My employers don't want me to leave and made an offer also, but I don't think they can beat this one. It's hard for me to leave people that I've worked with for so long, but I'm also excited about the challenge. This kind of thing is really difficult for me. I get really attached to people and I feel happy and sad at the same time.
That article you read in Woman's World sounds like the diet that Mariah Carey was doing. I think you could have anything, but not bigger than a spoonful?? Anyway it sounded pretty interesting to me since I don't like to feel deprived.
I also believe I heard that raw cheese is legal everywhere in the U.S. so maybe that is not as riaque as the milk itself. I LOVE cheese. I could probably live without milk and have done so in the past, never w/out cheese though. Yogurt is enjoyable but not an absolute. Since becoming more concerned about getting all my nutrients though I am all over it though. Not drinking milk, but the yogurt, kefir, cheese, etc. Then I think supplements and I do take the centrum but I also feel it is important not to get all my nutrients from supplements. 
) so I'm excited to see how much weight I'll have lost once the bloating and "extra" weight has gone down. I'm hoping for 179, but we'll see. I'll just be happy feeling fitter than I did last year.
I'm going for a third day. Tonight is the big interview so I'm pretty nervous. It will be done soon. 
I love being home with the kids. 
which I pay for. 
I also seen the chocolate covered peanuts in there, in a cluster. So I had one of those. 
People coming over at 10:30 p.m. from 70 miles away??!! Wow, I can't remember the last time I saw midnight on New Years Eve, obviously I would not be good company.
