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I just received  press release about diabetes. It's very sad. The reason that it's so sad is because type 2 diabetes is almost always a preventable disease. From the press release:

If you have diabetes, these are some of the complications:

• heart disease
• stroke
• kidney disease
  
• blindness
  
• amputation

Now consider this:

• 24 million children and adults in the United States live with diabetes
• 57 million Americans are at risk for type 2 diabetes
• 1 out of every 3 children born today will face a future with diabetes if current trends continue

This disease is avoidable. It is a known fact that the American diet is a major contributor to type 2 diabetes.

If you have it, I certainly recommend that you read Dr. Neal Barnard's book about reversing diabetes.

Read Jack Lalane's quote below. It says it all.

People kill themselves with their knives and their forks. - Jack LaLane

Got milk? Got confusion? Nowadays, milk cartons will state this: "Our farmers pledge not to treat their cows with rbST - (it is a growth hormone used to increase milk production.)

That wording seemed vague to me. So, I emailed three experts in the health and nutrition field about it.

My question: I see this verbiage on my milk carton and it seems very vague.
“Our farmers pledge not to treat their cows with rbST.” The word ‘pledge’ implies to me that they may or may not do what is stated above. I’m interested in your input.

The answers that I received:

• They are not allowed to say rbST-free.
• In the overwhelming majority of cases, farmers who pledge not to use recombinant bovine Somatotropin (rbST)/ recombinant growth hormone (rBGH) sign legal affidavits that are kept on file by the respective companies they provide milk to.
  
  In the vast majority of cases, though, this is done via an honor system.  There is no formal inspection process.
  
  There also aren’t unannounced assessments or investigations.  For example, the New York and Connecticut chapters of the Northeast Organic Farming Association explicitly state that they “do not investigate or make any guarantee that the individual farmer is complying with the Farmer’s Pledge.”

I'm still waiting for the response from expert number three.

However, it still seems confusing to me. How 'bout you?

On the main street by my home, there are approximately thirteen fast-food joints. Interestingly, on that same street, there are three (yes, three) CVS drug stores - within one mile of each other.

Seems to me, we are over-medicated. Any chance the Western diet is a reason for so many drug stores?

Recently, a friend of mine gave me that line of bull. However, it is unknown what percentage of our life's outcome can be applied to genes versus our lifestyle.

I agree with Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn's quote: "Gene's load the gun, but lifestyle pulls the trigger."

In the olden days, prior to the use of antibiotics, a chicken looked like the one on the left. Today's chicken is fed a "healthy" dose of antibiotics and looks like the feller on the right. By they way, today's chicken cannot walk.

Feeling hungry? Have a sweet tooth? Try this Pure Protein bar. What are the benefits? It taste great. It has very little sugar. It has a tremendous amount of protein. It has about 190 calories and unlike candy bars - it will make you feel full.

Here are a couple of tips: put some in the refrigerator and purchase them at Target or Costco. At those locations, the bars are about $1 each.

This is an interesting list of organizations that sponsor the ADA. Would you believe some of the sponsors are Hershey, Coca Cola, and PepsiCo?  Oh, I almost forgot Mars (think Milky Way and Snickers).

Here's the complete list.

So, when you get diet and health advice from its members - dietitians/nutritionists, keep in mind who sponsors the ADA.

I thought this was an interesting statistic:

Two percent of the livestock companies in the United States are responsible for 40 percent of the country’s cattle, poultry, and pigs.

Bottomline: Our food supply is no different than a manufacturing plant. I'll have a Ford with a side of bacon please.