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I spend quite a bit of time each week answering comments on my blogs, both old and new. I love answering comments and no question is ever a “dumb” question in my book. The only dumb questions are the ones that never get asked!
There are always a few comments each week that really grab my attention for whatever reason.
Here are the ones in the spotlight this week ….
Brilliant Comments
Loved this comment from D. in reference to the post Hey Chicken Nugget Fans, Get a Load of This!
I agree about Snopes.com They are downright fraudulent in their advice at times. But just try telling them about it and you’ll get the whole of their wrath!
Yes, that awful pink slime and some other junk like it is produced in my home State of SD. There are “meat glues” and other stuff which are so nauseating to talk about it makes me gaggy just to think about it.
I agree with you D. Snopes has no credibility with me and their defense of the food industry is just shocking. Any organization that defends the disgusting practices of factory farming and processed foods is more than likely in their pocket. Who crowned Snopes King of rumor control anyway?
This comment from Patrick, an attorney at the excellent blog The National Fork, in reference to Whole Grains Cause Cavities?
I respect the paleo diet, and I think it is consistent with the WAP teaching. It is consistent in the sense that it doesn’t conflict with it. But I think it is unnecessarily restrictive. Many of the traditional cultures that Dr. Price studied ate foods that the paleo diet excludes, yet these cultures were supremely healthy. Of particular importance are raw dairy foods, which many traditional cultures considered the cornerstone of their diet. Properly prepared grains is another example.
Patrick, your comment is very insightful. I agree that the paleo diet is unnecessarily restrictive and perhaps an example of folks overcorrecting in the other direction once they realized that overconsumption of grains and starches was making them sick. The fact is that humans have eaten grains for thousands of years. Humans have by and large adjusted to eating grains in moderation and when properly prepared. We don’t have to eat like cavemen anymore to be healthy although subsisting entirely on these foods is ok – it just doesn’t make life all that pleasant in my opinion since eating is such a big part of life! I believe there will be a backlash against paleo and primal diets in the coming years. Some folks will need to continue eating this way for health reasons, but there is already evidence of fallout in the primal community from complete abstinence from grains. Avoiding grains/starches really should be a short term thing (few months or even a few years) to heal the gut in most cases. Abstinence for the rest of one’s life is simply not necessary for most people.
This insightful comment from Martha regarding the post The Desperate Grab for Prescription Painkillers:
When I read this post, I couldn’t help but think of Dr. Campbell McBride’s comment in her book about how many kids with gut dysbiosis grow up to have addictions to drugs and or alcohol. The constant ingestion of drugs, just makes this worse. it’s a vicious cycle.
Martha, you are so right on here. I’ll bet you 100% of these people who are robbing pharmacies or are addicted to painkillers have severe gut dysbiosis. Having an imbalanced gut does indeed predispose someone to addiction more than someone who has balanced gut flora. The folks I know who have used these painkillers for a short time but easily stop when their physical condition improves tend to be healthier in general with better gut function. Excellent observation!
Ann, a reader with a degree in horticulture, added this brilliant comment to the post The Lunacy of the American Lawn:
Grass that has been allowed to die back in the heat of season will definately come back in the cool of fall and spring. Our grass is a cool season grass and it’s natural for it to stop in the heat and drought. If allowed to do so, it will grow a better root system and be able to find that moisture in the ground. Grass/plants that are watered constantly, have shallow root systems since it doesn’t have to search for moisture and will therefor not do well if not babied. Also, grass/plants that are fertilized regularly become addicts to the chemicals. Sound familiar? So, a natural lawn/planting will better sustain itself than a manicured/over-watered/over-chemicalized lawn. BTW-I have an entire book on how to calculate fertilizers for golf courses. A course I had to take for my degree in horticulture was turf grass management. I really disliked it since I’m into native plantings/prairies.
Ann – thank you for explaining this so very clearly. I never knew why yards that weren’t watered seem to have hardier grass than watered lawns. Makes sense that the root systems would be deeper. Perhaps I can use this information to explain to my Mom why she should not water her grass anymore and just let it go through the cycles of green and brown naturally!
Boneheaded Unenlightened Comments
This short sighted comment from Michael S. regarding The Lunacy of the American Lawn:
Homeowners should strive to maintain their property out of consideration for their neighbors. A neighborhood of homeowners is an investment group. Each homeowner is partially dependent on the others for the maintenance of property values. Until presentation and value become completely unrelated, the homeowner who neglects his lawn is expressing contempt for his neighbors. So I’m glad you moved out to the country. I wouldn’t want you to be my neighbor.
Unfortunately, Michael seems to have missed the point of this post completely. Untreated yards are frequently much more beautiful than overchemicalized perfect yards! Am I saying have your yard look like a dump so that property values drop for your neighborhood and all your neighbors hate you? Absolutely not. I am saying that going the natural approach will cause you less grief, save you money, and usually bring you better results than the obsessive chemicalized approach.
I challenged Michael to send me a picture of his chemlawn and I would post it with a picture of my au naturale yard and see which was more beautiful. We could even do a poll on it. So far though, Michael has not responded.
And this from Jack in reference to Most Vegetarians Return to Eating Meat:
None of these warnings about health problems and recidivism are reflected in my personal experience, either with my own health or the condition of the hundreds of vegetarians and vegans that I know. if you must eat the flesh of abused animals ( and don’t kid yourself about “organic” or grass-fed animals not being abused, no one wants to die, you realize), then do it, but skip the rationalizations.
Jack, this is not so. Study of the Native American tribes which depended and tracked buffalo herds for survival document how a buffalo would typically “sacrifice” itself to the tribe when the time for slaughter came near. The buffalo would stand away from the safety of the herd and willingly offer itself as food for the tribe. Of course, the Indians were grateful to the buffalo and never wasteful — using every part of the animal for food, shelter or clothing. Grassfeeding of animals attempts to replicate this in some ways by being respectful and grateful to the animals which provide us the food we need to be healthy and treat them with utmost respect and care while they are under our stewardship.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this edition of The Weekly Comment Spotlight! Check back next week for more amazing reader comments!
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