Are Screening Mammograms Really Helping to Save Lives or is it Really Just Big Business? What Your Doctor ISN’T Telling You

Are mammograms helping to save lives?

Ignoring the Science on Mammograms

 “Women in the mammogram group were just as likely to die as women in the no-mammogram group.”

“Mammograms increased diagnoses and surgeries, but didn’t save lives.”

“For years now, doctors like myself have known that screening mammography doesn’t save lives, or else saves so few that the harms far outweigh the benefits.”

By DAVID H. NEWMAN, M.D.

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/11/28/ignoring-the-science-on-mammograms/?smid=tw-nytimes

A Must Read for Today: Cornstalks Everywhere But Nothing Else, Not Even A Bee

Meet Monsanto Madness and please, please spread the word.  We need a grass-roots uprising.  Laura

by Robert Krulwich

November 30, 2012

Nikola Nikolovski/iStockphoto

“Yet, 100 years ago, these same fields, these prairies, were home to 300 species of plants, 60 mammals, 300 birds, hundreds and hundreds of insects. This soil was the richest, the loamiest in the state. And now, in these patches, there is almost literally nothing but one kind of living thing. We’ve erased everything else.”

 

Please read the full article here:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/krulwich/2012/11/29/166156242/cornstalks-everywhere-but-nothing-else-not-even-a-bee?utm_source=NPR&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=20121130

“White Slime” Emerges as Newest Consumer Worry

This is beyond gross.  Laura

 

By Kimberly Budziak | November 26, 2012

A recent Huffington Post article examines the mounting food safety issues surrounding chicken products.

Pink slime, aka the ammonia-treated “lean, finely textured beef” developed by America’s ground-beef suppliers, can no longer hog the slime spotlight. Enter “white slime”—aka chicken. In a November 19 article for The Huffington Post, contributor Bruce Friedrich explains why consumers should be far more concerned about the threat chicken poses than its textured beef counterpart.

more fecal bacteria was found on kitchen sponges, dish towels, and in the sink drain than in the toilet, adding that public health expert Dr. Michael Greger has equated chicken “juice” to essentially being “raw fecal soup.”

Read the rest here:  http://vegnews.com/articles/page.do?pageId=5196&catId=8

Direct Evidence that Vegans have Lower Cancer Rates

This should be shouted from the rooftops, but we know the mainstream media won’t.  Share this post to educate and save lives.  Laura

 It was the only diet category to have a statistically significant lower risk of cancer (.83, .71-.97). There were 4,922 vegans in the study.

 

Read all about it here:  http://jacknorrisrd.com/?p=3315

Meat Industry Campaign to “Crush” Myths Makes False Claim About Millions of Pounds of Antibiotics Fed to Farm Animals

Meat industry public relations campaign to “crush” myths makes false claim about the millions of pounds of antibiotics fed to farm animals.

 

 

http://nutritionfacts.org/video/meat-mythcrushers/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=meat-mythcrushers&utm_source=NutritionFacts.org&utm_campaign=4ad0171769-RSS_VIDEO_DAILY&utm_medium=email

Consumer Reports Sounds the Alarm on Pork!

For years, pork has been promoted by the industry as healthy food option — “the other white meat.” But the new report suggests otherwise.

 

Even more, 90 percent of the bacteria Consumer Reports found were said to be resistant to antibiotics. In other words, they were super-bugs.

 Rangan said, “All of these things paint a very concerning picture about this indiscriminate use of antibiotics in meat production in this country, and what we believe are the resulting consequences of that.”

Watch here:  http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505269_162-57554632/consumer-reports-sounds-alarm-on-pork-safety/

Apple Crisp Recipe

Made this tonight to see if it is good enough to serve on Christmas.  It definitely is!  Didn’t even have time to take a picture, we ate it so fast!  Maybe next time.   Laura

 

Apple Crisp

This version is every bit as good as mom’s. Whole-grain flour adds even more fiber.

Makes 2 servings

4 large medjool dates, pitted and chopped

1/4 cup rolled oats

1/4 cup all-purpose whole wheat or rye flour

2 teaspoons raisins

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 medium apples

Combine the dates, oats, flour, raisins, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Remove the apple cores to within 1/4 inch of the bottom of each apple. Put about 1 inch of water into a medium saucepan and then put the apples in the saucepan. Stuff each apple with as much of the date mixture as possible, allowing each one to overflow.  Cover and cook over medium heat for 20 to 25 minutes, or until tender. Serve hot, warm, or chilled.

Tip: Alternatively, the apples can be baked. Preheat the oven to 350 F, arrange the apples in an uncovered baking dish, and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until soft.

Per serving (1/2 recipe): calories: 223; fat: 1.3 g; saturated fat: 0.2 g; calories from fat: 4.8%; cholesterol: 0 mg; protein: 4.3 g; carbohydrates: 53.6 g; sugar: 27.5 g; fiber: 8.4 g; sodium: 3 mg; calcium: 40 mg; iron: 1.5 mg; vitamin C: 5 mg; beta-carotene: 35 mcg; vitamin E: 0.5 mg

Recipe by Ellen Jaffe Jones from Eat Vegan on $4 a Day

http://www.pcrm.org/health/diets/recipes/thanksgiving-menu#Apple

Indian-Spiced Bean and Tomato Soup

 

I think it may be the best soup I’ve ever made!!     I did not use the oil, I just used a little water.  My chilies were in the Rotel original diced tomatoes & green chilies can, and I didn’t use yogurt.   Laura

 

Total Time Martha Stewart Living, November 2012

• Prep Time20 minutes
• Total Time30 minutes
• YieldServes 4 to 6

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Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon safflower oil
• 1 1/2 cups finely chopped onion
• 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons minced garlic (from 4 cloves)
• 2 tablespoons finely grated peeled fresh ginger (from a 2-inch piece)
• 1 or 2 green Thai chiles, jalapeno chiles, or other fresh chiles, finely chopped, plus more, sliced, for serving
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 can (15 ounces) peeled plum tomatoes, coarsely chopped, with juice
• 4 cups cooked beans, plus 2 cups cooking liquid
• Pinch of coarse salt
• Yogurt, cilantro sprigs, and pita chips, for serving

Directions

1. Heat oil in a 4-quart pot over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened and golden, about 8 minutes. Add ginger, chopped chiles, and spices; cook, stirring occasionally, until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
2. Stir in tomatoes and their juice, beans and their liquid, and salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until thickened slightly, about 10 minutes.
3. Coarsely mash a third of the beans in pot using a potato masher or an immersion blender; stir to blend into soup.
4. Top with yogurt, cilantro sprigs, and sliced chiles, and serve with pita chips.

   http://www.marthastewart.com/942180/indian-spiced-bean-and-tomato-soup

Eating Healthy Foods Can Save You Money

If you’ve been a reader of this blog, you already knew that!  There’s a cookbook titled Eat Vegan on $4 Day by Ellen Jaffe Jones http://www.vegcoach.com/  that can help you.  There are also many other plantcentric cookbooks available.  Your local library is a great free resource!   And an added benefit will be that your family and you will get healthier too.   Laura

 

A new study shows that shifting your food dollars to beans and grains gives you the healthiest bang for your hard-earned bucks.

BY EMILY MAIN

The secret of saving money on healthy food: More beans and grains.

RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—Despite the fact that economists are saying that the recession is officially over, times still feel pretty tough, and few of us are ready to throw caution to the wind and start emptying our wallets on fancy clothes and gourmet food. A survey published in early 2009 even found that people were saving money during the recession by spending less on healthy food and more on, of all things, hotdogs! But you don’t have to live on white bread and wieners to save money; eating healthy foods can be just as cost-efficient.

Read the rest at:  http://www.rodale.com/eating-healthy-foods?cm_mmc=Facebook-_-WomensHealth-_-Content-Rodale-_-EatingHealthy

Make Today the Day to Dump the Junk…in Your Kitchen

Dumping the Junk (and not restocking with more!) has saved us so many times.  There have been plenty of nights where if we had had it in our cupboards or fridge, it would have been eaten in a flash!

I would also add GMOs to the following list.  Throw out that Canola Oil.  Throw out anything with soy or corn or refined white sugar (comes from sugar beets), unless it specifically states it’s non GMO or has the GMO Verified stamp on it.

Remember:  You can’t eat it if it’s not there!

Laura

YOU:  On a Diet

Tip from RealAge

Dump Your Fridge
Are you harboring nutrition felons in your kitchen? It’s time to put these criminals away for good — in the trash can.

The YOU Diet is all about eating foods that help your body function the way it should. So shake down your kitchen cabinets, your refrigerator, your secret boxes, and everywhere else you stash food, and make room for the good guys.Read ingredients labels; if something includes simple carbohydrates, added sugars, fructose — especially high-fructose corn syrup — trans fat, saturated fat, or non-whole-grain flours, throw it out.

Beware of Imposters
Many foods contain cheat words on their ingredients list — they don’t clearly scream “Diabetes ahead!” or “Imminent heart attack!” like some other words. But they indicate dietary danger, just the same. Here are four typical food-label traps to watch out for. Some other notable clues:

For sugar: Avoid dextrose, sucrose — anything with “-ose.” And stay away frommannitol or anything with “-ol”; they are alcohols that are quickly converted to sugar.

Stay away from foods that have more than 4 grams of sugar in them. Even “natural sugars” like maple syrup and molasses are still sugar, so limit them to fewer than 4 grams per serving unless you’re eating pure fruit (we make that exception because fruit has so many nutrients).

For fats: Besides saturated fats (fewer than 4 grams per serving) and trans fats (avoid them all), avoid foods with other fat code words, such as partially hydrogenated, palm oil, and coconut oil.
Reference: YOU: On a Diet, Revised and Updated Edition. Roizen, M. F., Oz, M. C., New York: Simon & Schuster, 2009.

http://www.realage.com