Day: July 23, 2014

Interesting (AND SAD) Information: CDC Estimates 1 in 68 Children Has Been Identified With Autism Spectrum Disorder

Interesting Information:  July 23, 2014

 

CDC Estimates 1 in 68 Children Has Been Identified With Autism Spectrum Disorder

1 in 48 boys and 1 in 189 girls…

30% higher than 2012 data…

Autism rates are worse in some areas than others…

When I was growing up, people were just not sick like they are now…

Where’s the tipping point where we demand change, where we demand what is good for human health BEFORE what’s seemingly good for industry?

Here’s a quote from the press release:

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 1 in 68 children (or 14.7 per 1,000 eight-year-olds) in multiple communities in the United States has been identified with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).  This new estimate is roughly 30 percent higher than previous estimates reported in 2012 of 1 in 88 children (11.3 per 1,000 eight year olds) being identified with an autism spectrum disorder.    The number of children identified with ASD ranged from 1 in 175 children in Alabama to 1 in 45 children in New Jersey.

The surveillance summary report, “Prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorder among Children Aged 8 Years – Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, 11 Sites, United States, 2010,” was published today in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.  Researchers reviewed records from community sources that educate, diagnose, treat and/or provide services to children with developmental disabilities. The criteria used to diagnose ASDs and the methods used to collect data have not changed.

The data continue to show that ASD is almost five times more common among boys than girls:  1 in 42 boys versus 1 in 189 girls. White children are more likely to be identified as having ASD than are black or Hispanic children.

CDC estimates 1 in 68 children has been identified with autism spectrum disorder Latest snapshot shows proportion of children with autism and higher IQ on the rise | Press Release | CDC Online Newsroom | CDC.

Turkey Tracks: My Dog Food

Turkey Tracks:  July 23, 2014

My Dog Food

 

With the dogs I have now, and which I’ve had for 12 years and 9 years (Penelope, No No Penny, PenBay–was about two years old when we rescued her from Katrina), I’ve never used dry dogfood.

Up here in Maine, I am able to get whole chickens (skin, bones, organs, meat) ground up for $1.59 a pound.  I mix that pound with 1 cup of dried veggies (Sojos) and one cup of water and let it sit overnight.  This batch feeds two small dogs for two days.  I only recently added the veggies as both dogs needed to drop a bit of weight.  I’ve been very pleased with the addition of vegetables.

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Before Maine, I used various ground muscle meats from the Virginia grocery stores, mixed with veggies I cooked.  That’s ok, but eating all muscle meat isn’t great either.  Make sure you get at least 15% fat, not all lean muscle.

I’ve never added grains to dog food.  And I supplement with some of my constant and ongoing bone broths, leftover foods and fats they like, and so forth.  Penny likes fruit.  Reynolds does not.

Both dogs LOVE raw chicken necks–and those are filled with so many great things for dogs.

The dogs love this current mixture, and they are really healthy.  People can’t believe their ages (10 and 11).  They don’t have any old-age white on their faces, their coats are thick and glossy, their eyes are bright, they have no skin issues, and their poop is great.

I think feeding issues show up when dogs get old…

Penny’s teeth stay pretty clean because she will chew bones.  I use a 5 or 6-inch marrow bone (those little ones don’t get chewed) that makes her work to get at the marrow.

Reynolds won’t chew bones on a regular basis, so I have to have her teeth cleaned about once a year–which is hard on her I think.  My holistic vet uses a chemical that knocks her down, cleans her teeth, then rouses her up with the antidote.  It’s the same process that you see when a vet knocks back a lion, or tiger, in order to check them.  I am with her the whole time, touching her and talking to her.  We did the teeth cleaning thing last Monday.  An hour later Reynolds enjoyed a walk all along the Belfast harbor.  You’d never know she’d been knocked back an hour earlier.

 

 

 

 

 

Turkey Tracks: Soaking Nuts

Turkey Tracks:  July 23, 2014

Soaking Nuts

 

All nuts and seeds need to be soaked, sprouted, or fermented in order to get rid of the awesome chemical packages they carry to protect themselves from being eaten before they can sprout and grow.  Some of these chemicals are phytates, and phytates can seriously inhibit your body’s ability to keep or use the minerals it takes in.

When I mention “soaking nuts” before eating them, the listener’s eyes glaze over, and I get slotted into the category of “weird woman.”

But, you know, it isn’t hard to soak nuts.  And they are delicious afterwards.

Here’s a bowl of walnuts soaking in my kitchen the other day:

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Basically you just cover the nuts with water and add some salt.  I used two tablespoons for this lot

After soaking for from 12-24 hours, I scoop them out and dry them in the dehydrator–which does not take all that long.

I put them in a Mason jar and they keep for a long time.  Now I have an asset to use as my heart desires.  All for less than 10 minutes of real work.

These are WALNUTS, which need to be refrigerated, so into the frig they went.

Not all nuts need refrigeration.  And some nuts, like cashews, need only about 6 hours of soaking–or they get mooshy, would be my guess.

For more information on good-food practices, I cannot recommend highly enough getting a copy of NOURISHING TRADITIONS, by Sally Fallon Morell and Dr. Mary Enig, both of The Weston A. Price Foundation.