What’s in your milk?
Posted by Michelle Moquin on April 17th, 2012
Good morning.
With so much abuse and rape happening to women worldwide…so much destruction and murder of our fellow human beings…one can hardly think past the inhumanity between humans that plagues the waves of media, to take a moment and pay attention to the inhumane treatment of animals.
But we must.
Every so often I check in on my four-legged friends, and every time I am blown away, and brought to tears because we humans care so little for those that are bred strictly to give their life, so that we humans can survive ours. It is no wonder that I have become vegetarian a few times in my life. And the times that I have had to turn to meat for my own health reasons, I have sought meat from a family farm that I trust treats their animals kindly. It is the least I can do so that I do not contribute to the horrific animal neglect and abuse in our factory farms. But, I need to do more.
We all need to do more.
This is a recent write from Dr. Mercola. As disturbing as it is, I urge you to watch it. These animals deserve for you to feel uncomfortable for a few moments…they struggle and feel more than uncomfortable every day of their lives. These animals deserve to be noticed…deserve to be heard, when their cries of pain and suffering are ignored.
The Everyday Drink that May Contain Blood, Pus and Drugs
By Dr. Mercola
For all of us who love, respect and share our lives with animals, it is devastating to see this appalling abuse of dairy farm animals.
This video was produced by the non-profit organization Animals’ Angels, an internationally active non-profit organization based in Germany, whose mission is to end the abuse of livestock animals and improve the conditions at auctions.
Unfortunately, this video is not one of a kind.
Many other disturbing videos can be found online, documenting animal cruelty by the food industry and others valuing profit above all else.
Why suggest watching such horrible images?
The videos about cruelty are, unfortunately, a necessary evil as they inform concerned citizens about what is endured by animals entrusted to our care.
Without seeing it, many would simply be unable to believe it exists.
And seeing it has a far more visceral impact and is harder to ignore than reading about it.
Awareness is always the first step toward positive change, and GREAT change is needed to improve the lives of these farm animals.
The main points the film makes are quoted and expanded upon below.
The Disturbing Truth about Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs)
Most milk no longer comes from cows happily grazing in lush, green fields in the open air, as their advertisements commonly suggest. Most conventional milk comes from cows raised in intensive production systems, also known as confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs). According to Vegan Outreach, farms with fewer than 200 cows are in sharp decline, while the number of very large CAFOs (2,000-plus cows) more than doubled between the years 2000 and 2006. The largest operations have more than 15,000 cows.
About half of the milk sold in the U.S. comes from just four percent of the farms, which are owned by a handful of large corporations.
“Today, most dairy cows are confined to a barren, dry lot, which often holds several thousand animals.”
Most of these large CAFOs have very high animal densities and confine their cows inside barns or in feedlots. Some cows are housed indoors year-round. When lactating, most of the cows are kept tied up in stalls. Cows confined in stalls show signs of stress from social isolation and the inability to lie down, as well as increased susceptibility to a number of diseases. Only USDA-certified organic farms are required to provide some access to pasture for grazing. In 2008, fewer than three percent of U.S. dairy cows were managed on organic farms.
Dairy Cows are Forced into Continuous Birthing and Lactation
As with other mammals, in order to produce milk, a cow must have recently given birth. Dairy cows are forced to start giving birth at about two years of age, then reinseminated about 60 days after every birthing to maintain a yearly schedulei .
“To maintain high milk production, dairy operators want the cows to give birth as often as possible. Reproduction is often manipulated with artificial insemination to ensure the cow will calve and reach peak milk production quickly.”
When lactating, their udders are hooked up to electronic milking machines several times a day, which sometimes inflict electrical shocks, painful lesions, and infections. When producing milk for her calf, a cow will naturally produce about 16 pounds of milk per day. But through genetic manipulation, antibiotics, and hormones such as bovine growth hormone (rBGH), dairy cows are forced to produce 50 pounds of milk per day. RBGH also greatly increases the cow’s risk for mastitis, a painful inflammation of the udder.
Why Some Milk MUST be Pasteurized
“Pasteurized dairy is produced in the filthiest conditions imaginable. Blood, pus, and dangerous pathogens routinely end up in pasteurized milk.”
CAFO animals are given large quantities of antibiotics, vaccines, vitamins, and other potentially toxic drugs to prevent the diseases that would normally overtake them as a result of living in such filthy, overcrowded conditions. Those chemicals get passed along to you in the milk you consume. In fact, using a highly sensitive test, scientists have detected as man as 20 painkillers, antibiotics and growth hormones in samples of cow’s milk.
Newborn Calves are Ripped Away from their Mothers
“Although a cow’s natural life expectancy is between 20 and 25 years, most dairy cows are slaughtered between the ages of four and six.”
Cows can naturally live for 20 to 25 years, but on industrial dairy farms they’re usually killed at about five years of age—that is, if they even live that long. Many dairy cows die by age three or four, exhausted by constant lactation and frequent disease. In some countries where cows are revered, such as India and Nepal, cows are commonly kept as pets. Cows are very social animals, being sturdy yet gentle, and make wonderful pets for families with children.ii Miniature cows are even beginning to be bred as pets in the United States.
“After birthing, the calves are often immediately taken away from their mothers. While the female calves remain on the farm to replace other “spent” daily cows, the male calves, often called the “unwanted by-product” of the dairy industry, are usually shipped to auction and sold to veal operations.”
The female calves are commonly mutilated by tail docking, dehorning, and the removal of “extra teats.” Most female calves are fed colostrum until they are weaned at eight weeks, and then fed a milk replacer or “waste milk” that is unfit to be sold for human consumption. Each year, hundreds of thousands of female calves die between 48 hours and eight weeks of age, mostly due to diarrhea (calf scours) and other digestive problems.
The Torture of Veal Calves
“Many of the bull calves, with their umbilical cords still attached and unable to stand by themselves, are often too weak to survive and die at the auction.”
Many consumers don’t realize that veal is a direct by-product of the dairy industry. Newborn bull calves are taken away from their mothers and shipped off to veal producers for a short life of torture. Some bull calves are killed within a few days of their birth, but many are harvested for veal. These veal calves are typically kept immobilized in tiny crates so that their flesh stays tender, until they are slaughtered at 16 to 20 weeks of age. Their confinement is so extreme that they cannot even turn around or lie down comfortably. This abuse begins as young as one day old.
In order to make their flesh white, the veal calves are fed a low iron, nutritionally deficient liquid diet that makes them ill; they frequently develop anemia, diarrhea, and pneumonia.iii According to John Robbins, author of The Food Revolution and several other booksiv :
“The veal calf would actually have more space if, instead of chaining him in such a stall, you stuffed him into the trunk of a subcompact car and kept him there for his entire life.”
Sickly Animals are Treated Like Piles of Waste
The term “downer” refers to an animal that is too injured, weak, or sick to stand and walk. The leading causes are complications from calving and injuries from slipping and falling, most often occurring within one day of giving birth. The exact number of downer cattle on American farms or feedlots is estimated to be 500,000 animals per year. Most are dairy cows. You can see on the video how these poor animals are mistreated, being pushed around by tractors and forklifts as if they were piles of waste.
“When they reach auction, many dairy cows will be weakened and emaciated. Because of their poor state of health, these animals have a high risk of becoming non-ambulatory.”
Another major factor causing these animals to become ill is their transport to auction. Animals are transported thousands of miles over land and sea, and subjected to enormous stress. Frequently these transports do not meet legal requirements. The conditions of animal transport are such a huge problem that Animals’ Angels has a division specifically committed to eliminating long-distance transports.v
Unnatural Diets Lead to Painful Udder and Hoof Infections
The natural diet for a cow is grass, but a grass diet doesn’t result in an extraordinarily high milk yield. Therefore, conventional dairy farms put their cows on high grain diets (mostly corn), and diets that are also high in cheap protein, such as genetically engineered soy and animal by-products. These foods are hard for cows to digest and cause health problems. These unnatural diets, combined with filthy and overcrowded living conditions, create an environment in which metabolic disorders and infections are commonplace. Millions of cows are suffering mercilessly and needlessly at the hands of big agribusinesses that fancy themselves as “dairy farmers.”
“By the time they arrive at the auction to be sold to a meat buyer, 33 percent of dairy cows will have developed mastitis, a very painful udder infection. Many cows will be limping and in pain due to laminitis, an inflammation of the hoof.”
Raw Milk may be the Solution for You AND the Cows
If you want to continue consuming milk and milk products, I suggest you get them in the raw from organic dairy farmers who are set up specifically to produce high-quality, clean, nutritious raw dairy products. You can find milk, cheese, and other dairy products in raw form, although it may take a little searching. High-quality raw milk has an abundance of nutritional elements, including:
- Valuable enzymes (which are destroyed by pasteurization)
- Natural butterfat helps your body to absorb and utilize vitamins and minerals (also destroyed by pasteurization)
- Healthy unoxidized cholesterol
- Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), which fights cancer and may help reduce body fat
- Omega-3 fats and omega-6 fats in a better ratio than conventional milk
ALL Raw Milk is Not Safe—You Must Know What to Look for
There’s a vast difference in quality between the milk of organically raised, grass-fed “happy cows,” and that from conventionally raised, confined, grain-fed cows.
Raw, unpasteurized milk from CAFOs would be dangerous to consume.
Conventional dairy farms are not typically set up to produce milk that is safe and pure enough to be consumed raw. And really, the very idea of producing mass quantities of milk from huge numbers of cows confined to one area is contrary to the very nature of “healthy” milk. When buying raw milk, it’s important to make sure you’re buying milk that’s been produced with the intention of being consumed raw—and not just unpasteurized milk from conventional dairy operations.
It would cost large industrial dairies an enormous amount of money to clean up their operations enough to turn out milk that would be SAFE to drink raw, since it’s often loaded with blood, pus, hormones, dangerous pathogens and other sludge that you wouldn’t want to ingest under any circumstances.
Realize that when you consume conventional pasteurized supermarket milk, you are likely drinking this sludge—it’s just “cooked sludge.”
Voting with your wallet or pocketbook is the best way to send a message to the factory farm industry that there is a market for ethically raised livestock. By purchasing milk from dairy farmers who are doing things right, you are showing kindness to cows everywhere, decreasing their chances of suffering tragic and miserable lives, one gallon at a time. If you object to factory farming practices and the mistreatment of animals, and you are still buying conventional dairy products, then your actions are not aligned with your beliefs. If you had a difficult time watching this video but you continue to buy these products, then it may be time to recommit or reevaluate your values.
*******
Readers: Are you an Animal’s Angel? Please dedicate some time in your life to give back to those that gave theirs. Thank you. If you haven’t an affinity for animals, and unfortunately there are many humans who don’t…if nothing drives you but self-preservation, then at least think of what you are putting in your body when you support these factory farms. They’re in it for the profit – they care little about the animals, and not much more about you. Think about it. They’re selling you toxic meat and milk from disease ridden sick cows for your consumption.
peace & love to our four-legged friends.
Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.
Gratefully your blog host,
michelle
Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)
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April 17th, 2012 at 8:13 am
While Bottom Line Secrets give out good health advice. Be ware of any investment or political advice they provide. They are owned by a consortium of Right wingers who are dedicated to the defeat of President Obama and the Democratic party.
Anonz
April 17th, 2012 at 8:28 am
Delicious Foods that Prevent Stroke
Delicious Foods that Prevent Stroke
Picture a fragrant plate of shrimp scampi over rice or a plate of bright green spinach topped with sliced almonds. Mmm, I’m ready to dive in. Why am I making you so hungry right now? Because, according to a new analysis of seven studies, eating foods that are rich in magnesium may save you from having a stroke. That includes the foods I mentioned above—and others that you might like even more…
A MIGHTY MINERAL
The researchers found seven published studies over the past 13 years that analyzed the link between magnesium and stroke risk in a total of 241,000 men and women from the US, Europe and Asia.
All studies focused on magnesium intake from food. Researchers determined how many milligrams (mg) of magnesium participants consumed from their self-reports of foods they ate each day.
The results: Magnesium was clearly associated with reduced stroke risk. For every 100 mg of magnesium that study participants consumed each day, their risk for an ischemic (blood clot) stroke went down by about 9%.
That’s a big drop in risk! And the studies’ risk estimates were adjusted for other factors that might affect stroke incidence—including diabetes, body mass index, physical activity levels, high blood pressure, alcohol consumption, age and smoking—so it really does seem to be the magnesium that does the trick.
How might magnesium contribute to such a significant drop in stroke risk?
To help interpret what researchers at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden found in their review, which was published in January 2012 in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, I called Roger Bonomo, MD, former director of the Stroke Center at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City and an expert on stroke prevention.
Dr. Bonomo pointed out that prior research has indicated that magnesium reduces blood pressure and the risk for diabetes—two prominent risk factors for stroke.
What’s interesting is that among Americans studied, the average daily intake of magnesium from food was only 242 mg—that’s less than the 320 mg and 420 mg recommended for women and men, respectively, by the USDA.
So even though magnesium appears to be a powerful way to fight off stroke, most Americans aren’t getting enough.
You might be wondering if the subjects in these studies were taking multivitamins that may have contained magnesium. Two of the seven studies adjusted for that, while the others didn’t.
In other words, said Dr. Bonomo, taking a multivitamin might provide some magnesium, but it might not be enough. Check the bottle to see how much you’re getting in your multi…but you’ll want to eat magnesium-rich foods as well.
MORE MAGNESIUM, PLEASE!
Let’s recap: Consuming an additional 100 mg of magnesium a day may reduce your risk for stroke by 9%. And magnesium isn’t an expensive drug with side effects—it’s a natural mineral that’s already in many of the foods we eat. So what are you waiting for?
Most of us, Dr. Bonomo said—especially those of us at high risk for stroke, high blood pressure or diabetes—would benefit from eating more magnesium-rich foods, such as…
Pumpkin seeds (191 mg per ¼ cup)
Almonds (160 mg per 2 oz.)
Spinach (156 mg per cup)
Cashews (148 mg per 2 oz.)
White beans (134 mg per cup)
Artichokes (97 mg per one large artichoke)
Brown rice (84 mg per cup)
Shrimp (39 mg per 4 oz.)
You can also supercharge your cooking with magnesium if you use oat bran (221 mg per cup) and buckwheat flour (301 mg per cup).
I asked Dr. Bonomo whether anyone should be concerned about overdosing on magnesium. “It’s hard to eat too much magnesium,” he said. “If we do, our kidneys excrete the extra through urine, so only those with kidney failure need to make sure they don’t consume too much.”
Source: Roger Bonomo, MD, neurologist in private practice, stroke specialist and former director, Stroke Center, Lenox Hill Hospital, New York City.
April 17th, 2012 at 9:21 am
Zen Lill:
No, I am not happy. If Howie doesn’t come back I will be left to my own resources as I work to complete this project. However, I hardly think you can blame me if a person is so immature that he would allow a request by me to affect him detrimentally.
I didn’t threaten him all I did was suggest he help me with my timeline requirement. To suggest that my request bothered him in some manner suggests a level of immaturity I won’t address.
As for his not feeling the loyalty of his fans, my personal feelings is he is too immature to appreciate the level of loyalty of anyone. I mean if he can’t see the high level of support and respect he commands on this blog, he is just mentally so self absorbed that nothing short of suicide by his fans would convince him of their loyalty.
I really don’t think they will cooperate and do a Jim Jones to convince him of their loyalty. I hardly think you can blame me for this guy’s immaturity. Sure his stories are great. But he needs to learn that people can disagree with him and still be a friend.
I accept no blame in this matter.
Kent
April 17th, 2012 at 9:32 am
The Right has seriously infiltrated President Obama’s Secret Service. The recent event concerning prostitutes was to show him how vulnerable he is and to embarrass him for the Presidential elections.
The Right has several more embarrassing incidents planned for him. The amount of money spread around to insure the success of these black opt situations is over $100 million. There is a think house set up to run 24/7. Its sole mission is to come up with ideas that will embarrass the Obama administration.
Anonz
April 17th, 2012 at 9:33 am
Breaking: Senate Republicans blocked President Obama’s “Buffett Rule”, which would have closed the loopholes that allow corporate CEOs to pay a lower tax rate than the rest of us.
This is the culmination of everything the Koch Brothers have worked for, politically. They’ll destroy anything that resembles a fairer system. And they are the behind-the-scenes puppet masters orchestrating the GOP attempt to take back the White House and the Senate.
Already, they’ve been on the air with swift boat-style SuperPAC ads attacking President Obama and Senate Democrats. The only way for us to fight back is to neutralize their money with grassroots contributions.
April 17th, 2012 at 9:42 am
Thank you Anonz for the heads up. I am sure we will get the details as to why they had to announce that they worked for Obama before they started their whoring as soon as Hannity figures a way for Obama to be responsible, guilty and behind their conduct.
Of course Obama probably is the most angry of anyone about this debacle. I’m also sure some of that $100 million will go to compensate the agents that do get fired. It’s a hell of a lot of money.
I can see them taking it and retiring comfortably for life on a few million each. Nice bribe if you can get it. The Right has $Billions to play with to rid this country of Obama. I fear they will get it done one way or the other.
Lucia
April 17th, 2012 at 9:45 am
Once the investigation is completed, President Obama should call each & every agent that is in any way implicated in this debacle into the Oval Office, one at a time – with armed Marines present.
He should take away any government issued gun, badge or ID that they have. He should then explain to them that they have disgraced themselves, their family & their country – and then personally fire them.
April 17th, 2012 at 9:46 am
When you get to the point where even your own SS guys have so little respect for you that they are engaging in this type of behavior, you have to start questioning your own leadership ability.
Leadership can’t be taught at Harvard,.you got it or you don’t and Mr. Obama..DON’T.
April 17th, 2012 at 9:47 am
Why did hillary even go? What did she accomplish by being there other than party?
April 17th, 2012 at 9:49 am
I see the Right is ready to blame Obama JD. You creeps do miss a step. Sorry Anonz blew your scam.
Natalie
April 17th, 2012 at 9:51 am
JD, And support for this behavior comes from where? Outer Sapce? No, it comes from a certain political organization who continues to support disrespect for the Office. The Right and the GOP are certainly behind this.
Thanks Anonz
Joan
April 17th, 2012 at 9:52 am
I agree, Repubs really have shown such disdain and disrespect for the Office and President Obama.
April 17th, 2012 at 9:53 am
JD:
And of course you will blame this on Obama. Give us a break.
Only this president had to endure all your disrespect, and the battle cry of “AnybodyBut obama” by the GOP. And true Americans do not disrespect the president openly.
but it’s OK. We know where the respect is this election. (Hint: it’s not the dismantler)
April 17th, 2012 at 10:01 am
I only drink almond, flax or rice milk now, and it’s tasty, there’s too many restrictions on raw milk. If we stop eating/drinking most animal products maybe they won’t be an industry anymore, or maybe they won’t exist anymore, unlike pigs I don’t think cows make very good house pets : ) and I’m no vegan/vegatarian myself but I eat very limited meat, mostly minced buffalo from whole foods, it has 3x’s the iron, though I should check in on how they’re treated…
Kent, whatever…you made arrogant demands you shouldn’t have bc frankly, no one gives a rats ass when your deadline is. Is he sensitive, sure. Does he demand much from his fans, well…hmm, maybe he thinks of them as friends and expected just a little more in the way of back up. I don’t feel that way, no one here throws me off of how I feel about me, and we’re all in a forum here, bolg pals at best, some fans (who will turn whenever they heck they feel like it, if it suits them) are fun to have though I don’t count on back up in any situation, I’m good on my own.
…though I’ll admit that when peeps throw out strong words I often wonder what they’re approach would be if we were face to face and disagreed, my guess is it’d go a lot more smoothly, adults usually don’t yell at other adults just to make a point unless you’re an arrogant fool.
I also am mindful of pontificators, (right or wrong in their content) here or in person especially, they have proven mostly that they like the sound of their own voice, along with giving out large doses of me, and me and some more me (my opinion).
No one is responsible for anyone else’s reactions though I would venture that any one of us has had/does have and will continue to have a moment here or there where they could’ve shown some more responsibility overall for the fallout on a issue/circumstance and/or event that they were the catalyst of…have the cajones to have some foresight about your own actions rather than immediately dumping ‘not my responsibility’ all over everyone else. I’m not saying this is of that magnitude but that whole line of thinking (or not thinking) is just overused and lame, and to a degree you did do exactly that (and on MM’s blog, not showing much in the way of loyalty for her copy rights either there, kent).
Luv, Zen Lill
April 17th, 2012 at 10:01 am
So the republicans are caught again in another lie. There they were taking umbrage with Hilary Rosen comment about Ann Romney being a stay at home mom as if they were so supportive of stay at home moms.
Then we discover this: Mitt Romney, however, judging by his January remark, views stay-at-home moms who are supported by federal assistance much differently than those backed by hundreds of millions in private equity income. Poor women, he said, shouldn’t be given a choice, but instead should be required to work outside the home to receive Temporary Assistance for Needy Families benefits. “[E]ven if you have a child 2 years of age, you need to go to work,” Romney said of moms on TANF.
========================
Lying Sack of Shits
Ingrid.
April 17th, 2012 at 10:12 am
There are horror stories with regard to this rule. The majority of women who receive welfare don’t have cars and must rely on public transportation.
If they are forced to work, they add many hours to the work day on the bus… that means their 2 / 3 year olds are with many strangers for 10 – 14 hours a day.
Children have been abused and have died. The republicans want to force women to have children by denying them birth control and or abortion.
Then they want to get rid of education, medicaid and “obamacare”. They don’t support equal pay. What’s next, do they just want to club us in public and enslave us in their cave?
The republicans are destroying families. They are making life so difficult for so many women and children in order to continuously funnel all taxpayer money to the superrich, the military and their corporate friends.
How do you want your taxpayer money spent? If you aren’t willing to get out and vote, then you will not have a say.
Juanita
April 17th, 2012 at 10:13 am
I think we have lots of lazy liberals on this blog. (sorry to be redundant. “Lazy” was superfluous.)
April 17th, 2012 at 10:14 am
Poor woman + no job + children = Welfare Queen
Rich woman + no job + children = Trophy Wife
It’s a matter of semantics. The Welfare Queen is supported by many taxpayers, the Trophy Wife is supported by one taxpayer (husband).
April 17th, 2012 at 10:15 am
Larmondo Flair Allen “Entreprenuer” 25, Nine children, collecting 950 a month welfare, thats 8,550 a month 102,000. The Entreprenuer was one of 12 brothers, stepbrothers, sisters, stepsisters with 5 different last names. If the entreprenuers brothers and sisters can duplicate his efforts, you do the math. Who says welfare doesn’t pay. In all due respects if drug dealing qualifies as work, he was doing his own work for welfare pay scale. Obviously if he was shot by a white latina, this may have gotten more obami press.
April 17th, 2012 at 10:17 am
Anyone not rich white & male who votes R this election season needs to have their head examined. It is so blatently obvious who this party is for Corporations, corporations, corporations.
Plutocracy and they are stealing our democracy. Far and wide: the vast majority of Americans want the buffet rule– what do R;s do? Vote it down.
Majority want to end oil subsidies. What do R’s do? Filibuster. The list is endless. But even on Michelle’s blog you see the postings from those ill-informed citizens.
A vote for an R is a vote AGAINST your self-interest unless you are the above. Period.
April 17th, 2012 at 10:21 am
It’s the Orwellian hypocrisy and double-speak of conservative Republicans that always punch the American people hardest in the face.Anne Romney, the recipient of decades of HUSBAND-provided welfare, demands to be honored as—”a Mom who chose to stay home and raise her five children.”
Poor women, according to her husband Mitt Romney, do NOT deserve the same dignity, respect, nor privilege of staying home to raise THEIR children. That is Romney’s way of saying, by the way, that poor kids do not deserve the same parenting that HIS OWN children have been so fortunate to receive.
April 17th, 2012 at 10:22 am
Ann did not raise her and Mitt’s kids, the NANNIES and MAIDS did!!!!
April 17th, 2012 at 11:21 am
CT Scans More Dangerous than We Thought?
At some point in your life, you’re probably going to need a computed tomography (CT) scan—if you haven’t had one already—since the exam helps with everything from diagnosing the cause of headaches to monitoring cancer to preparing a patient for cardiac angioplasty and more.
We know that CT scans use radiation, and that that’s something to be careful about.
But can CT scans have another serious potential complication ?
A new study analyzed the details and the implications that we all should be aware of…
A DILEMMA OVER DYE
Here’s the issue: In preparation for a CT scan, patients sometimes have to get hooked up to an IV that’s filled with a contrast dye called iodinated contrast media (ICM), because it helps clarify internal structures when doctors look at the image later. This is administered just seconds before the scan, a single infusion that loads the patient with as much as several hundred thousand times the recommended daily intake of iodine.
Since the thyroid gland depends on a proper balance of iodine to function properly, researchers at Brigham and Women’s and Massachusetts General Hospitals, both in Boston, wanted to see whether sudden exposure to high iodine loads via ICM before a CT scan might disrupt thyroid function.
DISCOVERING DYSFUNCTION
Researchers looked at hospital data of patients who had had their thyroids checked twice within the past two years. Then they whittled that large group down to two smaller groups.
One group’s thyroid function had been normal in both tests—this was the control group. In the other group, their first test results had been normal, but not their second, meaning that they had developed thyroid dysfunction in between.
The researchers then looked at people in both groups to determine who had had at least one CT scan with ICM in between the two thyroid tests, and then they compared the groups.
The results: Researchers found that having had ICM with a CT scan roughly doubled the risk of developing hyperthyroidism (overactive thyroid)…and roughly tripled the odds of developing severe hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid). The researchers did not follow the patients to see whether these conditions normalized over time—more research will need to be done to find out.
The study was published in Archives of Internal Medicine this past January.
WHAT TO LOOK OUT FOR
To learn more about the findings, I called study coauthor Connie Rhee, MD, a clinical fellow in nephrology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Unfortunately, her research didn’t uncover why the CT scans may have caused thyroid dysfunction—future studies will tackle that issue.
But knowing that there’s a link can help us all plan ahead the next time a doctor recommends a CT scan.
If you’re required to get a CT scan, special consent forms are not usually required before undergoing one with ICM, and potential thyroid dysfunction is not a well-known complication of using ICM, so you may want to bring this up to your doctor to make sure that using the ICM is necessary and that the benefits outweigh the risks, Dr. Rhee added.
If you must have the CT scan with ICM, Daily Health News contributor Andrew Rubman, ND, medical director of the Southbury Clinic for Traditional Medicine in Connecticut, advises asking your doctor about taking iodine supplements a few days before the scan and a day after the scan as a way of saturating the thyroid gland and protecting it.
After the scan, look out for common symptoms of hyperthyroidism (such as anxiety, insomnia, weight loss, diarrhea, high heart rate and high blood pressure) and common symptoms of hypothyroidism (such as depression, fatigue, weight gain, fuzzy thinking, constipation, low blood pressure and depression).
If you notice any of these red flags, make an appointment with your doctor, who can test you for thyroid dysfunction and direct you to appropriate treatments.
Source: Connie M. Rhee, MD, clinical fellow in nephrology, renal division, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston.
April 17th, 2012 at 11:48 am
Zen Lill:
“arrogant demands,” Forgive me, but you are just coddling Howie too much. Regardless of what kind of demand I made, Howie was under NO obligation to even acknowledge my demand much less feel obligated in any way to fulfill one.
I mean are you slow or what? If I demand some loving from you on this blog would you feel oppressed by my demand or obligated in any way to consider it? You would if you were mentally retarded. Otherwise you would continue on with your day.
Your bending over backwards to accommodate Howie’s delusions of being oppressed by my “arrogant demands” is just plain silly. You are in danger of becoming an enabler for a person who needs a serious reality check.
As for his friends giving him a little more of a back up. The guy is loony tuned if he expected more from his fans or friends than they gave. And you my lady are scheduled for a seat right next to the bench they put him on.
What more of a “back up” would you suggest? The guy’s ego is insatiable. Whatever anyone did would not have been enough. Only an equal narcissist would be unable to see that.
As for yelling on a blog opposed to doing it in person, Duh!!!! that is the freedom a blog provides. The same goes for “pontificators.” Blogging gives a person all the power and freedom he/she could not dream of having in person.
The blog allows everyone to be a super hero or super villain. That dear misinformed lady is one of the draws of a blog. Anonymity to be whoever the f**k you want to be.
If pussies like Howie are going to take the dialogue so seriously as to be detrimentally hurt by it, he should stay the f**k off the blog and perhaps for his mental stability stop reading it.
Sure I will miss his extraordinary contributions to this blog. But if it is so mentally destructive to his tender bitch feelings then he shouldn’t return until he can find a pair of normal size balls.
As for loyalty to Michelle’s copyrights, if she can prove I stole something we can work it out in court. There is enough money to go around for all. And I do thank you for adding an additional side to the personality that I have given your character.
Between you and Howie’s megalomania bitching like a woman who has been abused I am gaining a beautiful insight into these new characters.
Kent
April 17th, 2012 at 1:39 pm
Happy Tuesday to all of you… Our special energy focus in this week’s issue finishes today online with Audrey’s incredible piece on a government power grab you’ve probably never heard of.
The administration has already put forth a plan to take control of this country’s waterways. The reach is so far-reaching that every possible industry that may come in contact with our waterways, is easily monitored and controlled by the government.
There’s more to it, and Audrey does a better job of storytelling than I. The story is below.
On the campaign trail — the first daily tracking poll from Gallup is out, and Mitt Romney is leading Barack Obama.
On the heels of news that the Romney campaign, along with the RNC, plan to raise $800 million this cycle, the narrative is beginning to take shape that the general election will be a battle of who uses the money they raise the most effective.
Hope has a piece on budget cuts to the Defense Department that conservatives can live with.
I think we all can agree that the safety and security of our troops here and abroad is tantamount, but there is grave instances of waste that need addressed in our armed forces.
Short and sweet today, have a good Tuesday.
-Adam
April 17th, 2012 at 1:42 pm
Kent, Why in the world would Howie be inclined to help you with your timeline. Like you said, it is your timeline not Howies. Why you would make a deal including a timeline that is dependant on someone elses work or cooperation without making some sort of deal with your source of imformation is plain stupidity.
So now you have to rely on your own resourses, what is wrong with that? Or do you not have any resourses of your own to rely on? In my opinion you are nothing but a thief. If you were stealing my work I would hunt you down, even if I had to hire a team of P.I.s and have your thieving ass eliminated.
You are probably the lowest piece of shit I have had the displeasure of reading his pleas of help in my life. You my friend are nothing but scum, fit only for the worms to feast on. But worms deserve better.
I for one enjoyed reading Howies writes and now they are no more, directly as a result of your arrogant ass. I hope you lose your shirt on this one, you certainly deserve to. You are quite stupid in your handling of your bussiness arrangements and even dumber when it comes to relating to other people.
Why, please do tell me, in the world would Howie assist you in making your deadline? And I do hope it does turn out to be a true deadline. As there are one to many Kents in the world it would seem. You Pally are in for a rude awakening and a nice surprise.
Marcus
April 17th, 2012 at 3:35 pm
Thanks for saving me words, Marcus. And Kent, like u said, I dint have to acknowledge one word of what u say, so I won’t. – ZL
April 17th, 2012 at 3:36 pm
Sorry, stupid smartphone…typos galore…
April 17th, 2012 at 5:59 pm
Zen Lill:
Are you people playing with a full deck? Mark didn’t answer anything for you. He addressed my request to Howie to help me with my timeline as if it was something more than an idle comment.
If you and Mark are so inane that you can’t tell the difference from a request that has significance and one that is just a request then you are worst off than Howie. And neither of you have any business giving anyone advice.
You both are just plain intellectually inept. As to why I “would make a deal including a timeline that is dependent on someone else’s work or cooperation without making some sort of deal with your source of information?”
That is Mark’s inane assumption. Where he got his information to verify that is what I did is from his own deduction. And why would I or anyone else fear an idiot who can’t tell the difference between a tongue in cheek request from a sincere request? Where are you going to hunt for me in OZ?
Zen Lill, your inanity simply underscores the statement that there is nothing dumber on this planet than an american white woman. Mark is obviously too stupid to help a person like Howie who probably needs someone close to him to tell him to get some professional help for his lack of mental maturity.
Yet, you side with that nut. And pretend that my request would or could have any influence on Howie’s state of mind as immature as it appears to be.
You are not showing friendship by helping him stay in his immature state. If he is such a friend email him, carefully explain to the idiot that he is OVER reacting to a request that has no bearing on what or when he writes. Tell him it is idiotic to suggest or think otherwise.
As for Mark, he is obviously in between his drug use. His vitriol towards me is manufactured anger. He is just sucking up to Howie. He does not for one minute believe that I have any influence upon Howie’s input to this blog.
We all enjoyed Howie’s input, but that does not mean we have to put up with his temper tantrums. I have only two things to say to you Howie. 1. Pay little attention to people who encourage you to act like a spoiled child. 2. Show some maturity man.
Kent
April 17th, 2012 at 6:43 pm
Ted Nugent today advocated that President Obama be harmed if he gets reelected.
There is a pattern here of advocating the harm of President Obama.
Seeing the recent incompetence of the Secret Service, I am worried about.
Donna
April 17th, 2012 at 6:56 pm
Damn, Kent, you are good. I want to invite Zen Lill to marry me and move to kansas because it’s legal to beat your wife there.
OOOOOOOuuu, are you scared? Do you feel threatened because I asked you to move to Kansas? Do you feel obligated to take my request to marry me?
If not, then how in the hell are you taking Kent’s request to Howie to speed up his Alien posts?
Dumb ass, you must be one easy fuck. I sure wish I lived in LA.
Glen
April 17th, 2012 at 7:01 pm
Glen you apologize immediately. That was crass. You are worse than any creep that has been on this blog.
Tracy
April 17th, 2012 at 7:02 pm
Glen, I do not agree with anything you have said. Men do not talk that way to women.
Get a like asshole.
Kent
April 17th, 2012 at 7:04 pm
Glen, you are not funny. Zen Lill has more sense that you will ever have. You Wish you had a chance to get next to Zen Lill.
But she would see a loser like you from a long way off.
Lisa
April 17th, 2012 at 7:04 pm
Okay, I went overboard. I apologize Zen Lill. I mean it.
Glen
April 17th, 2012 at 7:46 pm
Today in a close vote, the Senate failed to pass the Buffett Rule, a groundbreaking piece of legislation that would have made millionaires and billionaires pay their fair share. So while the middle and working class will be paying their fair share in taxes on Tax Day tomorrow, many of the 1% will not.
The GOP obstructionists voted against the Buffett Rule, just like they voted for the Medicare-killing Ryan budget. They’re basically Robin Hood in reverse – robbing from the 99% to give ever more lavish tax breaks to the rich.
The majority of the country wants the Buffett Rule but they just ignored us. They can’t be changed, they can only be defeated.
So we’ve got a plan to defeat these right-wing zealots by registering and turning out progressive voters this fall in key states and congressional districts.
April 17th, 2012 at 7:50 pm
Search Is on for Miss Earth Guam
Guam – The Search is on for the next Miss Guam! Beauties in Paradise Unlimited present the Miss Earth Guam 2012 contestants.
Come and meet all 30 contestants at Häagen Dazs at the Fiesta Resort at 3:30pm on Thursday, April 19.
The preliminary competition will be held on June 18 at the Sheraton Laguna Guam Resort, Home of Miss Earth Guam, and final competition on June 27, 2012 venue to be announced later, at 7:00pm both nights.
With the whole world in a “green” initiative and every developed nation becoming more environmentally conscious, the Miss Earth was started in 2001 and is an annual international beauty pageant promoting environmental awareness.
Along with the Miss Universe and Miss World
contests, Miss Earth is one of the three largest and prestigious beauty pageants in the world in terms of the number of national level competitors who participate in the world finals.
The Miss Earth Guam Organization was created out of the focus and determination to empower local youth and adults to take on environmental issues and projects.
The organization has become a program whose aim is to foster “Beauties for a Cause”, a cadre of young leaders and ambassadors whose mission is to encourage both our local community and the communities of the world through promoting awareness on the importance of preservation, protection, and care for our environment.
Over the past three years the Miss Earth Guam Pageant has been honored with the presence of Miss Earth 2008 Karla Henry, International winner, Miss Earth Air 2006 Ms. Katherine Untalan, Chairwoman for the Miss Earth Foundation, Philippines, 2009 Miss Earth Larissa Ramos (from Brazil), and Lorraine E. Schuck, Executive Vice President Carousel Productions, Inc.
At no other time in the history of pageants on Guam have we been graced with the presence of reigning international titleholders and dignitaries. We hope to continue this tradition.
Thank you for your time, and I hope that you will join us at the presentation of the 2012 Miss Earth Guam contestants, at Häagen Dazs, at the Fiesta Resort on April 19 at
3:30pm.
April 17th, 2012 at 8:02 pm
This morning is just another chapter in the life of Human Events newspaper, the nation’s oldest conservative weekly. We have re-launched and re-tooled, giving our readers a fresher, bolder aesthetic look. I told you about the new additions to the editorial staff, and today is just step one of the re-launch. Expect our brand new website (and e-letters) in the next few weeks. If you aren’t a subscriber, make sure to start, so you can take a look for yourself. If you are in D.C., make sure to pick it up. The bins are all over town.
In the news — Buffett Rule is scheduled to be voted on today, and reports are out that 60% of Americans are in favor of the rule, which leads me to believe that half of that have no idea what the rule really is. Another political gimmick from this administration to try and woo voters back to a failed idea… When will they drop it?
Sheldon Adelson, one of the chief financiers of the Gingrich campaign, is now donating to the Congressional Leadership fund. It’s a PAC that serves to ensure a Republican majority in the House of Representatives. I have the sneakiest suspicion that the money to this PAC will go a longer way than money to the Gingrich campaign.
In the issue this week, we focused on energy, specifically the major industries that must drive America to a sensible, self-reliant energy future. I want you all to make sure you pick up a copy, but a few choice pieces for you today:
— Audrey Hudson’s exclusive interview with Rep. Doc Hastings, the chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee. He outlines the GOP’s energy plan going forward and the difficulties with this White House’s politicization of our nation’s energy future.
— Representative James Lankford of Oklahoma outlines his state’s ongoing battle with the administration over Keystone XL and argues that energy independence is feasible, if the politics would just get out of the way.
That’s all from me today. Have a great Tuesday!
-Adam
April 17th, 2012 at 8:58 pm
Marking the 25th Anniversary of the AIDS Memorial Quilt,
Creating Youth Jobs
Marking the 25th Anniversary of the AIDS Memorial Quilt
On Wednesday, I was honored to deliver remarks at a reception in the Castro marking the 25th anniversary of the AIDS Memorial Quilt. Since the first diagnosis 30 years ago, HIV/AIDS has taken our neighbors and loved ones, siblings and parents; it has struck our communities, and decimated towns and villages worldwide. San Francisco was hit early and hit hard by the devastation of HIV/AIDS, but we came together as a community to be a model for America and eventually the world – a model for leadership, for community-based solutions, and for intervention.
In the early days, the AIDS Memorial Quilt, conceived in San Francisco, brought understanding to a nation that struggled to comprehend the epidemic that San Francisco knew all too well. In 1989, organizers worked to bring the quilt to the National Mall in Washington D.C., only to face delay after delay in the permit process.
I joined organizers to fight bureaucratic red tape and bring the quilt to our nation’s front yard. There, hundreds of thousands of people visited it and, overcome with emotion, vowed to always remember those we had lost.
As a Member of Congress, for 25 years I have fought to increase funding for HIV/AIDS care, treatment, prevention, and research initiatives. We must honor the memory of those we have lost and act on our hope, optimism, and determination to end the HIV/AIDS pandemic.
Congresswoman Pelosi joins AIDS Memorial Quilt volunteers
to mark the 25th anniversary of the Quilt.
Creating Youth Jobs
To ensure that our youth gain the skills, knowledge, and work ethic that will ensure their lifelong success, President Obama announced a Summer Jobs+ initiative to encourage business leaders and local communities to create 250,000 summer jobs nationwide. Now our city – led by Mayor Ed Lee – is rising to the challenge with San Francisco Summer Jobs Plus+, an initiative that will help more than 2,500 young San Franciscans get jobs or summer internships.
I was pleased to join Mayor Lee in announcing the initiative. Summer jobs are an investment in America’s young people, our economy, and our future.
I challenge more non-profits and businesses to commit to bringing young people into their workplaces this summer.
The partnerships will strengthen our youth, our city, and indeed our nation. For businesses looking to participate or youth looking for opportunities, the Administration has set up the Summer Jobs+ website.
Under Democratic majorities, Congress passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and provided $1.2 billion to states to provide summer employment and training activities targeted to disadvantaged youth.
The ARRA also provided tax credits for businesses hiring youth that have been out of work and out of school for 6 months.
My Democratic colleagues and I are committed to creating jobs by reigniting the American dream and building ladders of opportunity for anyone willing to work hard, take responsibility, and play by the rules.
You’re Invited!
Congress on Your Corner
Join the Office of Congresswoman Pelosi for a “Congress on Your Corner” at the San Francisco Public Library (SFPL). My staff will be available to offer assistance in resolving issues with federal agencies, such as the Internal Revenue Service, and problems securing Social Security, Medicare or other federal benefits.
Thursday, April 19th, 2012
4:00pm to 7:00pm
Stong Room of the San Francisco Public Library (SFPL)
Main Branch
100 Larkin Street
Map It!
Please feel free to forward this information to your family and friends. To learn more about these efforts, to express your views, or to sign up for email updates, please visit my website. I am also on Twitter at http://twitter.com/NancyPelosi.
Sincerely,
Member of Congress
April 17th, 2012 at 9:15 pm
My mother raised 6 children pretty much on her own, when her children’s fathers left to pursue other endeavors.
She struggled through from 1945 through 1989 when the last of her children left home. My mother was also told by one of her bosses in the 1960s, “it’s a shame you’re not a man then we could pay you twice as much.”
The argument back then was that men were responsible for the family income so that was why they got more, but that was never true in my mothers case, she had the responibility for raiseing her kids.
In my own career I ended up in middle management, and now I know that her ex- boss had been lying to her, if she had been a man he would have paid her more but not twice as much.
She also had to deal with the case where she trains some kid, and he ends up being promoted to be her boss, That really ticked her off.
She also belived that the only reason any woman votes Republican is that she has been lied to by some man. I tend to agree with her assessment with this caveat.
Some women now vote Republican because they never learned the lesson from the history of the struggles of the Suffrergets.
Women need to connect with their past and hold men, even me, accountable for how we act today.
April 17th, 2012 at 9:17 pm
Slavery was still being practiced in Alabama into the 1920s. Congress did nothing about this.
Lynching was still being practiced as a method of terrorizing a large group of citizens into the 1960s.
The Willson administration severely damaged race relations with its segregation practices.
But these are social issues rather than economic ones, although they were to some extent prompted by economic issues, and they certainly had economic ramifications.
April 17th, 2012 at 9:29 pm
Bill Gates has said he was actually “surprised” at how hard he had to work to talk most of today’s ultra-rich into giving to worthy causes.
The culture has coarsened and people definitely have become much more selfish – very into “Me, myself and mine . . .
” I completely believe the Successful and Rich think they got that way – regardless of any hard work on their parts – because they are Destined by Fate or God to be that way.
And those who are poor and/or not as successful aren’t “blessed” and somehow someway it is THEIR FAULT they’re unsuccessful/wealthy. (Similar to Calvinism-predestination beliefs.)
So the Have More’s are not at all sympathetic to the “Have Less/Have Nots” and not the least shamed at the great economic gap now in this country between the Very Wealthy and everyone else.
They are not forward-thinking enough to consider they are consuming their children’s chances of living in a fully functioning America; their kids stand to end up living in a very different country than today’s society. Which still functions, however no longer very well.
April 17th, 2012 at 9:46 pm
There is no surprise to this finding. The reason for that is this—- America is a decadent and primitive society.
While there are many exceptions, the overall decay and rot is pervasive and omnipresent.
There are major corruptions. Religion is at the center of the rot. Clergy of all types and faiths are corrupt and barbaric.
Rituals worshipping god are without moral foundation and blind, mindless faith rules. Greed rules, especially for power over the State and the minds of its followers.
Dogma is rigid and unchanging.
Organized religion is, to be blunt, just another American business, just as filthy, rotten, power driven, amoral as any mutinational company using child slave labor to make its products in overpopulated places.
Power comes from the barrel of a gun- Mao might have said it but America has been doing it from the start. The gun came with the explorers and as primitive as native americans were, europeans were much worse.
And why not? They were doing the same thing for centuries in their own sick societies. Barbarity of every kind was commonplace. Dissent was met with punishment and death.
So America picked up the banner of barbarism and still flies it. Witness the mass murderers, gun loving violence of today.
The business and political world have merged into one big machine. It gorges itself with uncontrolled hedonism. A list of behavior rivalling any Sodom in history.
America practices it and worships it and watches it, as entertainment. America asks for god to bless it, as an admission of its sin.
April 17th, 2012 at 10:26 pm
The reality is Conservatives have moved so very far Right, they make it look like everyone else – whether Moderate or mildly Liberal – are so far Left.
I know. My wife and I are 71 & 72. We were Republicans (Eisenhower type; in other words – Moderates) since we started voting. I voted the straight Republican ticket for years & years.
I became increasingly uncomfortable when the GOP started taking that very hard Right turn. But I kept thinking surely they could not get much farther Right.
I was wrong. Finally we had to face facts. Republicans were turning into total Ayn Randic John Birch Society Rabid Righties!
Then Republicans drove all us Moderates out when they shrunk what used to be Republican “big tent” down to a pup tent. That was very sad for us.
Most of us became Independents. But recently I registered with the Democratic Party. I’m so alarmed at what Republicans are trying to do to this country.
I sincerely don’t understand how Republicans became so harsh, greedy & self-centered. They seemed to march in lock-step with rise of all the mega-churches preaching their totally corrupted form of “prosperity Christianity.”
As it has often been said on this blog. I don’t know what god they are praying to, but it isn’t the God I pray to.
Willard
April 17th, 2012 at 10:44 pm
Sometimes this blog surprises me very pleasantly. Glen it is nice to see that a man can behave as a man. Your return to apologize made this old woman very happy.
I can not speak for Zen Lill, but I believe your apology was sincere. Too bad more of the men on this blog can’t follow you example.
Helen
April 17th, 2012 at 11:22 pm
Kent and Glen, and you two call women (or me, I’m sure I’m not alone in your name calling careers) names like dumb ass, etc… And I’m supposed to respond, why would I? Your both equally ridiculous. Enough said. – ZL
April 18th, 2012 at 6:08 am
…just wanted to say thanks for the intervention Tracy and Lisa.
Helen, a man insults me and then retracts/apologizes immediately upon being scolded is an example of good behavior? Not really…peeps have to mind what comes out of their pieholes in the first place, to call me an easy lay bc he believes I’m a ‘dumb ass’ (over something that ‘iinane’ and arrogant Kent said?) – nah, I’ll pass, no need to even chat that up one way or another. If you reread either comment, these two males speak for themselves nicely, I’ve got nothing to add.
Luv, Zen Lill