Agave: A Triumph of Marketing over Truth

Agave: A Triumph of Marketing over Truth: "Agave: A Triumph of Marketing over Truth


By Dr. Mercola
The popularity of agave syrup, also called agave nectar, is on a meteoric rise -- thanks in large part to clever marketing which positions the product as a healthy alternative to sugar and artificial sweeteners.
Agave is also heavily promoted as a low glycemic food, enticing diabetics.
I’ll discuss just how “healthy” agave is in a minute."



------------- an alternate viewpoint, I'm just making it available - click on the title for the full article. ... sometimes the comments at the end of the article by those who have read it and done other research can be quite informative too - not everyone has the same opinions.


I've been off sugar products (mostly, not completely, I rather like deserts) for close to 5 1/2 years now - I know when I tried the agave, it did give me a whopper of a sugar high - so I've not tried it again. Tim likes it, but then he eats way more sugar products (mostly sodas) than I do ever. Even a banana has enough sugar to make me feel a bit ill.

I've long been a believer in not blaming others for my health woes, and researching all views possible before making up my mind on any health issue. While I do enjoy reading Mercola, he is not my sole source of information either. But I have found that much of his advice works for my family - not everything - but much of it. Cutting most sugar out of our diet and limiting the grains has resulted in children who are sick half to as third as long as our friends and family - plus they are usually the last ones to fall ill. Vannan's asthma has settled to somewhat minor blips (as long as she stays away from cats) as opposed to 1 - 3 major episodes a year that required medical intervention - though thankfully not hospitalization.

Freebie of the Day » Blog Archive » July 2: The Tongue Twister Treasury!

Freebie of the Day » Blog Archive » July 2: The Tongue Twister Treasury!: "Treasury of Tried and True Tonsil Tangling Tongue Twisters to Torment Trusting Tots, Tweens, Teens (& Parents Too)! (PDF ebook) - This could easily be one of the funnest family collections ever – if you use it! Challenge your whole family with these delightful wordplay tongue twisters. Aside from being fun wordplay for all ages, tongue twisters can also be quite helpful in developing speech skills, and are often used in speech therapy and as a way to improve pronunciation. So while you are having fun with these, you’re also helping your kids improve their enunciation and communication skills. How neat is that? Have fun"


..................... click on the title to find the download link to this free resource

This is one of my favorite daily visits - a free resource daily to add to my supply of things for our home school. No, I don't take all of it - only what we will probably use - I put them into files on my computer and then burn them to DVD for later use when I need to make more room on the computer.

They have a weekly newsletter than you can sign up for and they will let you know what is happening for the week - as well as an extra freebie.

And I signed up for their blog feed using Google Reader - so it reminds me daily to go get the offering of the day if I want to!

Joel's Computer

During nap time - if he lays still long enough for Marriana to go to sleep - he can choose an activity to play by himself...
he can read library books, play his computer, play with his LeapFrog books, do school work, or sometimes he gets to do a craft or go on a Daddy outing.

It's taken a while for him to get the hang of his computer - but lately he's been asking for it a lot.

We've still got to sit down with him and teach him how to do a few of the games. Some of them though, he's gotten right so much that he's got the speed or teaching level well beyond his abilities, and he is frustrated by that.

He has figured out that his keyboard looks just like mine ... Qwerty style.

Practice for Being a Big Brother

Joel is taking his coming role of "big brother to a baby" very seriously.

He's borrowed Ty from Vannan - and takes care of him most of the time on most days ... feeding, changing, singing, snuggling.....

Yes, I know he's playing with a doll - a boy doll. At least he's got it straight that boys do not breast feed their baby - only a Mommy can do that.

Almost every day he asks if his sister is big enough to come out yet.

Yes, I know he's sleeping with a doll ... he's got Dora on his bed too. He also digs in the dirt and plays with his cars.

Yes, he's taken to sleeping on the floor - right by the air vent - to stay cool.

And he's putting himself to bed - unless he can manage to put Mommy to bed so he can hold Mommy's hand to help her go to sleep.

I just think he's cute.

Helping Hands --- Grill Hambergers

Don't they look adorable in their aprons!

Don't worry - all events were carefully supervised ... and aprons washed after making mud pies for desert.

More Garden

Cucumber - now attaching itself to our entire window screen.

The leaves on this zucchini are bigger than my hand ... now if only it would make Zucchini!

This 1 watermelon plant is approx 4 feet x 6 feet - and growing. We found 1 watermelon. And a HUGE ant bed. UGH. Weeding is very hard because of the ants.

We still have 8 of the 9 cantelopes - but they are not looking very well. Next time we will put them in containers too.

The Garden

Carrots have really taken off!

We only trim enough for the meals we want green onion and it just keeps growing.

Banana Peppers

Maybe by the end of summer - we'll have enough extra to put up some tomatoe sauce for our spaghetti dinners.

Highlights of our Heat Wave

These were just the ones that came out alright - remember the clock is 2 hours off, so add up.

Later it did hit 105.6 in the shade and was 86.4 in the house - but I was too hot to hunt down the camera and take a picture.

It's been hot again the last couple of days - but the house is not getting much over 83 by the end of the day!

Thank Goodness!

And the car's AC is dead yet again. Something bigger than the AC must be wrong for it to quit so often - works fine in the fall and spring, just not in the summer! And it's so expensive to fix it, especially with no income.

Tim's taking it for a second opinion on Monday, and he's borrowing my Dad's big car when he's got Marriana with him this week - not often, but they are doing VBS this week, so he drives them down for that. I don't drive at all.

I do try to get out of the house in the early hours of the morning - before 10am - when the weather is still "cool" enough to sit outside and watch the little ones and get a little Vit. D.

Which Antibiotics are More Dangerous and Should be Avoided at All Costs?

Which Antibiotics are More Dangerous and Should be Avoided at All Costs?: "Which Antibiotics are More Dangerous and Should be Avoided at All Costs?"

Excerpt from an open letter to Congressman Holt from Jay S. Cohen, M.D. about severe, disabling reactions linked to Cipro, Levaquin, and other fluoroquinolone antibiotics:
Dear Congressman Holt,
Thank you for taking the time to speak with people concerned about, or injured from, reactions associated with fluoroquinolone antibiotics (e.g. Levaquin, Cipro, Floxin, Tequin). I am the author of a study about severe, long-term fluoroquinolone reactions published in the December 2001 issue of the Annals of Pharmacotherapy.
These severe reactions are occurring in patients who are usually healthy, active, and young. Most often, the antibiotics are prescribed for mild infections such as sinusitis, urinary or prostate infections. Most reactions occur very quickly, sometimes with just a few doses of the fluoroquinolone antibiotic. Reactions are acute, severe, frightening, and often disabling.
Since the publication of my article with its 45 cases two and a half years ago, I have received e-mails from more than 100 people seeking help for their reactions. In most cases, their doctors have dismissed their complaints or outright denied that the reactions could occur with fluoroquinolones.
Yet extensive medical workups do not find any other cause. Worse, there are no known effective treatments. Thus, these people suffer pain and disability for weeks, months, and years.
I hope you will look seriously at this problem and respond accordingly. These people need your help. This is a largely preventable problem.
Thank you.
Jay S. Cohen, M.D.
Associate Professor
Departments of Family and Preventive Medicine and of Psychiatry

University of California, San Diegohttp://www.MedicationSense.com





............... click on the title for the full article

Making a monkey out of Darwin

Making a monkey out of Darwin: "Making a monkey out of Darwin


Posted: June 29, 2009
8:48 pm Eastern

© 2009
'You have no notion of the intrigue that goes on in this blessed world of science,' wrote Thomas Huxley. 'Science is, I fear, no purer than any other region of human activity; though it should be.'
As 'Darwin's bulldog,' Huxley would himself engage in intrigue, deceit and intellectual property theft to make his master's theory gospel truth in Great Britain.
He is quoted above for two reasons.
First is House passage of a 'cap and trade' climate-change bill. Depending on which scientists you believe, the dire consequences of global warming are inconvenient truths – or a fear-mongering scheme to siphon off the wealth of individuals and empower bureaucrats.
The second is publication of 'The End of Darwinism: And How a Flawed and Disastrous Theory Was Stolen and Sold,' by Eugene G. Windchy, a splendid little book that begins with Huxley's lament."


............ read the full article by clicking on the title.