Did you know that there is such a thing as the American Frozen Food Institute? Seriously, I did not make that up. They have lobbyists in Washington. But the front for them is The Coalition for Sustainable Meal Programs which is funded by corporations like ConAgra. Collectively they are the enemies of healthy school lunches for our children. They argue against serving fruit without added sugar and for retaining the current levels of sodium in school food because, as their website says, "Sodium is an essentail mineral and required for life."
Brilliant. Freaking Brilliant.
Obviously the processed food industry is upset with the proposed improvements to school meals that the nearly ineffective USDA was trying to put through. I say "nearly ineffective" because they have been supposedly "trying" for seven years now to get school lunches healthier. Seven years. But look what they are up against. The industry's lobbyists are flexing their political muscle to get their way.
Now let's see. Who has the most money? The Corporations. And how do they use this money? They "invest" it in Congress (via the lobbys) to see that laws are passed that will allow them to make even more money and more money. What has happened here is Congress has hijacked the USDA's regulatory process to do the food industry's bidding.
Just how bad do things have to get when the USDA gets backed into a corner? Lots of money bad. According to a report on "Grist", "The agency seemed a tad shell-shocked recently when, in defending its proposed rules, it told the Washington Post that keeping pizza in schools won't save any money, as the GOP had claimed."
And so now we Pizza declared a vegetable. I'm sure God is thrilled!
If you haven't wanted to see the money connections to our sorry state of food in this country, here's a flaming example. It makes it pretty easy to understand the games that go on in the name of profits and since this was done in the open by Congress, can you imagine what goes on that you DON'T hear about? Scary!
I'd love to fire the entire Congress. Then outlaw lobbyists.
If, for any reason, you have not seen that corporations and greed/profits run this country and that "they" are in charge of the food supply, time to tune in. This is a blatant example, declaring pizza a vegetable! Childhood obesity rates are soaring. This is what our government does to help? What is your reaction to this insanity?
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Sunday, November 27, 2011
Monday, November 21, 2011
Quinoa - A Super Wonder Food
Quinoa (pronounced KEEN-WAH) is a super food and I wonder if you have tried it? Easy to cook, (15 min.) it is a powerhouse of nutrition and very versatile. It's gluten-free too! It's great for weight loss and packed in protein. That alone is fantastic because here is a protein that doesn't come from animals or dairy. It is easily digested and it's a complex carb, the good kind, that does not quickly convert sugar to fat - will help you feel full and not upset blood sugar levels. It has been identified as one of the world's healthiest foods - yes I didn't say Wonder Food for nuthin'.
Quinoa, while technically not a grain, is similar to whole grains which have been dmonstrated to reduce high blood pressure, prevent heart failure because they slow the speed of arterial plaque and may even help to remove plaque build up in the arteries. It is rich in magnesium (most people have a shortage of that!) and phytonutrients which are thought to be responsible for protection against a variety of diseases.
The ancient Incas called quinoa "the mother grain" for a reason. The whole food was thought to promote healthy pregnancy, and enhance a mother's milk. Quinoa is rich in the amino acid histadine, which cannot be formed by combinations of nutrients and instead must be provided directly in the diet. Histadine is considered an essential amino acid in children because it is necessary for human development. For children this is a great food, in lieu of rice when they start eating solids because it has better nutrients. It is almost always organic, full of fiber, iron and calcium.
The Incas also found that only quinoa was powerful enough to sustain their bodies and provide them with the stamina, strength and energy required to perform endurance activities. (Sounds good, doesn't it?) The Inca armies would march for days - even weeks - at altitutdes about 12,000 ft. consuming absolutely no animal protein. Their only source of nutrition and energy cam from a mixture of quinoa and fat which they called "war balls". I guess this was probably more effective than MRE's of today's armies!
There are times, when I stumble across things like quinoa, that I wonder why we don't pay more attention to GOOD foods, the power foods, that were so life-sustaining to ancient cultures. This is one of the best in terms of non-animal, gluten-free protein! We could do well to farm it here as it is so easy to grow in marginal conditions but most of the quinoa here comes from South America.
If we want to get really technical about quinoa, although it appears a grain it is actually the fruit of a broadleaf plant in the same family as spinach and beets and is classified as a "pseudocereal". It is higher in calcium and iron than either rice, corn, wheat, barley or oats.
You can find quinoa in most grocery stores today, without having to go to Whole Foods or speciality health stores. It comes in boxes in a a variety of colors - red, black, white or golden. I haven't noticed any taste difference so the color is strictly your preference as the nutritional values vary so slightly it's not a worry. Quinoa flakes can be used instead of oat flakes but are harder to find. Quinoa flour is also available, and most often has the same fine texture as regular all-purpose flours. I bought some but have yet to try it for baking anything. Let me know if you have and share your experience.
Quinoa is small, like a coucous, fluffs up when cooked and it's really kind of cute. Use it in place of rice and pastas - it's great as a base for casseroles, added to soup, salads or even eat it as you would oatmeal, with fruit and nuts. You can cook up a batch of it - it keeps in the fridge about a week - and use it in by itself for cereal or add to your dishes all week.
I bought a quinoa cookbook (just because I'm a book hog) but there are tons of great recipes on line and I tend to use those more. I hope if you haven't made friends with the little quinoa, that this post will encourage you to try it. It's a powerhouse, a super food, quick and easy to cook, inexpensive and versatile. A wonder!
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
p.s. Wednesday of this week I will be guest posting on a cool website Telling It Like It Is - stop by http://www.tellinitlikeitis.net
Quinoa, while technically not a grain, is similar to whole grains which have been dmonstrated to reduce high blood pressure, prevent heart failure because they slow the speed of arterial plaque and may even help to remove plaque build up in the arteries. It is rich in magnesium (most people have a shortage of that!) and phytonutrients which are thought to be responsible for protection against a variety of diseases.
The ancient Incas called quinoa "the mother grain" for a reason. The whole food was thought to promote healthy pregnancy, and enhance a mother's milk. Quinoa is rich in the amino acid histadine, which cannot be formed by combinations of nutrients and instead must be provided directly in the diet. Histadine is considered an essential amino acid in children because it is necessary for human development. For children this is a great food, in lieu of rice when they start eating solids because it has better nutrients. It is almost always organic, full of fiber, iron and calcium.
The Incas also found that only quinoa was powerful enough to sustain their bodies and provide them with the stamina, strength and energy required to perform endurance activities. (Sounds good, doesn't it?) The Inca armies would march for days - even weeks - at altitutdes about 12,000 ft. consuming absolutely no animal protein. Their only source of nutrition and energy cam from a mixture of quinoa and fat which they called "war balls". I guess this was probably more effective than MRE's of today's armies!
There are times, when I stumble across things like quinoa, that I wonder why we don't pay more attention to GOOD foods, the power foods, that were so life-sustaining to ancient cultures. This is one of the best in terms of non-animal, gluten-free protein! We could do well to farm it here as it is so easy to grow in marginal conditions but most of the quinoa here comes from South America.
If we want to get really technical about quinoa, although it appears a grain it is actually the fruit of a broadleaf plant in the same family as spinach and beets and is classified as a "pseudocereal". It is higher in calcium and iron than either rice, corn, wheat, barley or oats.
You can find quinoa in most grocery stores today, without having to go to Whole Foods or speciality health stores. It comes in boxes in a a variety of colors - red, black, white or golden. I haven't noticed any taste difference so the color is strictly your preference as the nutritional values vary so slightly it's not a worry. Quinoa flakes can be used instead of oat flakes but are harder to find. Quinoa flour is also available, and most often has the same fine texture as regular all-purpose flours. I bought some but have yet to try it for baking anything. Let me know if you have and share your experience.
Quinoa is small, like a coucous, fluffs up when cooked and it's really kind of cute. Use it in place of rice and pastas - it's great as a base for casseroles, added to soup, salads or even eat it as you would oatmeal, with fruit and nuts. You can cook up a batch of it - it keeps in the fridge about a week - and use it in by itself for cereal or add to your dishes all week.
I bought a quinoa cookbook (just because I'm a book hog) but there are tons of great recipes on line and I tend to use those more. I hope if you haven't made friends with the little quinoa, that this post will encourage you to try it. It's a powerhouse, a super food, quick and easy to cook, inexpensive and versatile. A wonder!
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
p.s. Wednesday of this week I will be guest posting on a cool website Telling It Like It Is - stop by http://www.tellinitlikeitis.net
Monday, November 14, 2011
Apples - Weight Loss, Fiber & Nutrient-Rich Gems!
Indeed apples are an adventure in goodness - yet how many do you eat in say a week? That old addage "An apple a day, keeps the doctor away" is not nonsense. They are filling, satisfying and they are great for weight control and adding fiber to your diet. Depending on their size they range from 50-80 calories.
What's so fun about this commonly found fruit is the variety in them. If you haven't gone beyond the "Red Delicious" then I encourage you to experiement. There are different degrees of tartness and crispness that are so much more flavorful than the Red Delicious. Try Gala, or Fuji. My favorite is in season now, Honeycrisp - love those! I buy tons of them and de-hydrate them for later. The Granny Smith (green) apples have the least sugar, so if you are going thru any stage of cancer - you must eliminate sugar totally. If you are going thru a sugar de-tox, and eat no sugar at all, they will taste surprisingly sweet to you.
If you are watching your weight, calories and fiber - any or all of those - you can't beat apples!
You get fiber from the pectin in the apple. It helps to lower cholesterol and helps to stablize blood sugar - linking it to a lower likelihood of insulin resistance and pre-diabetes. This pectin also has the effect of reducing your appetite by making you feel fuller longer.
You get quercetin from apples as well. That is a potent anti-inflammatory and natural antihistamine. That makes it a great food to consume for heart disease prevention. It is a great nutrient for dealing with cancer. Studies have shown that children who consume apples frequently have lower rates of asthma and adults may benefit by improved allegery symptoms.
Apples also contain polyphenols, another potent anti-oxidant. Polyphenols are also found in red wine and green tea, all found to be beneficial and associated with lower cancer rates, better heart health and enhanced immune function.
Since the peel of the apple contains so many of the goodies, try to buy only organic apples so you can rest easy on the pesticides/fungicides - otherwise you should use a very good fruit/veggie wash that will get rid of some of that yuck. Organic is best really. It's worth it to know you aren't getting something "else" in the bargain price of conventionally grown. Apples on one of THE most heavily contaminated foods out there so keep that in mind. Besides, if you are buying apples for snacks instead of processed snack foods, the increased price in the organic apples all evens out in the end. Get all the benefits without the poisons!
Apples for snacks are wonderful, since they are so filling and low in calories. But think out of the box. Throw apples in salads. Put diced apples on your oatmeal. Serve apples sliced on a plate with a bit of cheese perhaps along with a soup dinner in lieu of a salad altogether.
I think I may have shared my apple, celery, walnuts salad tossed in a low-fat mayo? Stretch it out for dinner by adding some chunks of cooked chicken. I throw apples in as many things as I can think of, making sure I eat at least one a day somehow or other. Dipping them in a bit of peanut butter or almond butter is a treat. In former days I dipped them in the carmel dip - oh how I loved that - but reading labels cured me. The nut butters are treat enough. My two little dogs LOVE apples. Either fresh slices, or de-hydrated, they will beg for them like dog cookies. Who knew?
I take apples (as well as their benefits) for granted. It wasn't until I had a few weight loss clients who started "dieting" by just adding apples to the daily consumption - rather RE-acquainting themselves with apples so to speak - that I realized this common gem has so much to offer it was worth a whole blog. These people were delighted that an apple snack left them feeling satisfied and couldn't believe they never, or rarely, ever ate apples.
Do share if you eat them or have an outside-of-the-box use for them. The internet is a fabulous source of recipes so just look apples for integrating more of them into your life.
What's so fun about this commonly found fruit is the variety in them. If you haven't gone beyond the "Red Delicious" then I encourage you to experiement. There are different degrees of tartness and crispness that are so much more flavorful than the Red Delicious. Try Gala, or Fuji. My favorite is in season now, Honeycrisp - love those! I buy tons of them and de-hydrate them for later. The Granny Smith (green) apples have the least sugar, so if you are going thru any stage of cancer - you must eliminate sugar totally. If you are going thru a sugar de-tox, and eat no sugar at all, they will taste surprisingly sweet to you.
If you are watching your weight, calories and fiber - any or all of those - you can't beat apples!
You get fiber from the pectin in the apple. It helps to lower cholesterol and helps to stablize blood sugar - linking it to a lower likelihood of insulin resistance and pre-diabetes. This pectin also has the effect of reducing your appetite by making you feel fuller longer.
You get quercetin from apples as well. That is a potent anti-inflammatory and natural antihistamine. That makes it a great food to consume for heart disease prevention. It is a great nutrient for dealing with cancer. Studies have shown that children who consume apples frequently have lower rates of asthma and adults may benefit by improved allegery symptoms.
Apples also contain polyphenols, another potent anti-oxidant. Polyphenols are also found in red wine and green tea, all found to be beneficial and associated with lower cancer rates, better heart health and enhanced immune function.
Since the peel of the apple contains so many of the goodies, try to buy only organic apples so you can rest easy on the pesticides/fungicides - otherwise you should use a very good fruit/veggie wash that will get rid of some of that yuck. Organic is best really. It's worth it to know you aren't getting something "else" in the bargain price of conventionally grown. Apples on one of THE most heavily contaminated foods out there so keep that in mind. Besides, if you are buying apples for snacks instead of processed snack foods, the increased price in the organic apples all evens out in the end. Get all the benefits without the poisons!
Apples for snacks are wonderful, since they are so filling and low in calories. But think out of the box. Throw apples in salads. Put diced apples on your oatmeal. Serve apples sliced on a plate with a bit of cheese perhaps along with a soup dinner in lieu of a salad altogether.
I think I may have shared my apple, celery, walnuts salad tossed in a low-fat mayo? Stretch it out for dinner by adding some chunks of cooked chicken. I throw apples in as many things as I can think of, making sure I eat at least one a day somehow or other. Dipping them in a bit of peanut butter or almond butter is a treat. In former days I dipped them in the carmel dip - oh how I loved that - but reading labels cured me. The nut butters are treat enough. My two little dogs LOVE apples. Either fresh slices, or de-hydrated, they will beg for them like dog cookies. Who knew?
I take apples (as well as their benefits) for granted. It wasn't until I had a few weight loss clients who started "dieting" by just adding apples to the daily consumption - rather RE-acquainting themselves with apples so to speak - that I realized this common gem has so much to offer it was worth a whole blog. These people were delighted that an apple snack left them feeling satisfied and couldn't believe they never, or rarely, ever ate apples.
Do share if you eat them or have an outside-of-the-box use for them. The internet is a fabulous source of recipes so just look apples for integrating more of them into your life.
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Labels:
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health food,
pectin,
polyphenols,
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recipes,
salads,
snack food
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Veteran's Day - A Personal Story
This post ran on Veteran's Day 2009. I re-run this in honor of all veterans and also to celebrate the end of deployments to Iraq. This is "our" story.
November 11, 2009
This week's post is in honor of Veterans Day - and a special salute to the Veteran in our family, our son ,Garrett , who served for six years in the U.S. Army - first with the 101 Airborne unit in Iraq, and later with the 10th Mountain unit in Afghanistan, as a crew chief on Chinook helicopters.
To ALL Veterans - and their families - THANK YOU! Your sacrifices in your service to this country are SO appreciated. I humbly honor all those who serve, and all the families as well! The recent event at Ft. Hood is devasting and my heart and prayers go out to all those touched by this senseless horror.
Being a military family for six years was not easy. I decided to write a post about it. Then I wondered why? Was it cathartic, healing? I've never blogged about it.. Does it serve a purpose? I debated hitting publish. It is intensely personal and not my "normal" kind of blog post. And yet, something tells me to let this rip. Maybe there is something you need to know - I don't really know.
Perhaps you have not been involved with the military and the emotional cost of the war on a personal level. Perhaps you only see news bites of the departures and arrivals of soldiers. Perhaps this WILL serve a purpose - maybe you may reach out and hug that neighbor who's son is deployed. Maybe you will offer child care, or cut grass/shovel snow for the gal down the street raising her kids alone for a year while her husband is gone.
It is not for me to be attached to the outcome. It is pouring out of me at this time for some reason I do not need to know. This is the story of one day. There are thousands of stories out there. And many tears.
I will never forget February 26,2003. Or the following good-bye day.
My son, Garrett, called at 7:30 a.m. from Ft. Campbell, Kentucky to say he was leaving for Iraq the next day so we had less than 24 hours to go say goodbye to him. We knew this was coming. He told us to be on alert for his call since early January. It is a 7 hour drive to Ft. Campbell from our house. I sent a text to my daughter at school, called my husband at work, arranged for pet care, and the three of us deployed out of here, hastily packed for a quick overnight trip, by 10:00 am.
The drive down was a blur of thoughts and knitting needles furiously creating an afghan to keep my hands busy, and to keep me from jumping out of the car, truth be told.
Garrett enlisted right after 9-11, at age 19 after one year of college at an aviation school. I begged him not to go. I knew there was going to be a war. I tried to tell him at least to go into the Air Force (aviation!), not the Army, four years, not SIX. I lost that battle too. He signed up for six years with the Army. The die had been cast. War was coming, I knew it, and he would be going. I planned a good-bye party for him before he left for basic training. I was planning this as I attended the memorial for my best friend's daughter. She was in the Pentagon plane! The grief was so compounded. I tried my best to be supportive for my son's decision tho my heart was breaking for my friend, and selfishly for me at having to give up my one and only son to godonlyknew WHAT. It would be war. I couldn't help feeling the memorial I was attending as a friend grieved the loss of her eldest child was practice for me.
The conversation in the car driving down there for the three of us was interrupted with one or the other of us crying and wondering how in the hell we can do this. How do you say goodbye? This isn't a son leaving for college. This is a son leaving for a war! Where do you find the courage for war?
Especially this war. Iraq? Aren't we looking for Bin Laden in Afghanistan? Isn't that where the "bad guys" are that pulled off the 9-11 disaster? Iraq? Invading that country for what??? To find weapons of mass destruction we were being told.
My mind flipped back to Viet Nam. The war for........what the hell was that about? Keeping South Viet Nam from the Communists we were told. I spent 3 years at Fort Rucker, Alabama with my first husband. We saw friends leave and never come back. We saw some come back without wholeness. We saw some come back mental messes. Yes. We saw. We saw families fall apart with grief and despair. We were treated like villians, spat on and viciously verbally abused when we went anywhere off-post. If anyone in town saw me driving our car with an Army sticker from Ft. Rucker on it, I was considered one of "them", the bad guys. If my then-husband was with me, it was worse!
And now I'm going to go say goodbye to my son. My son. My only son. His entire childhood flashed through my mind, every detail of it, every laugh, every adventure, every tear. He's going off to some country that has weapons of mass destruction, godonlyknows what else, and I have to say goodbye. I didn't know HOW. HOW does a mother who has protected her child for his entire life let him go to war?
Our arrival at Ft. Campbell, the home of the 101st Airborne, was in time for dinner. We joked. We took pictures. We filled him with a great steak dinner. Mom's do that. They feed their young for voyages, adventures, long trips. I was feeding him for war. It felt awful. I couldn't eat. I was too busy choking on tears that I couldn't show. Not now. Not at dinner. We stayed together until nearly 11pm. and arranged to meet at 3 am. for "deployment". The army sets crazy times for things. Crazy times, crazy lines. Hurry up and wait is the theme.
Our hotel was on the opposite side of town. We were lucky to have a room at all. Ft. Campbell was sending over 20,000 troops out. There were other families in town to say goodbye too. I stayed in my clothes. It was only three hours and I really did not sleep. No, I was busy. I was telling myself how brave we had to be at 3 am. We shouldn't have bothered with a room at a hotel at all. We three laid on the beds in our clothes. We didn't speak. But we didn't sleep.
At 3 am. we picked him up at his barracks, loaded a ton of gear into our car and drove to the airfield. There were huge containers for the gear - all with numbers on them. Garrett found the one he was assigned to and put most of his bags into it. Then we went into a building and waited in a long line. It gave him the opportunity to introduce us to a lot of his friends. We were all faking socialability - nervous laughter and a tight grasp on the inner emotional turmoil, lest it spill out.
"What's this line for?" I asked.
"Paperwork", he said. It was then that he told us about the preceding days. He made out a will. He took out more life insurance. He left it all to us. WHAT???? I have no idea how I kept from fainting.
After nearly an hour, we left to go to another building. Another long line.
"What's this line for?" I asked.
"Meds." he said.
They distributed ziplock bags full of medications that were to be the LIFE-saving antibodies against the various chemical attacks they may encounter - small injection meds, all color-coded. He and a few friends were looking at them.
"Is the purple one the one for anthrax?" one asked.
"No. That's the orange one." said another.
" The orange one is for..........."
"Good God," I said "Don't you guys KNOW???"
They all laughed. Nervous laughter.
"Don't worry, Mrs. B, we'll get a refresher course on this stuff on the plane" I was told.
Well that sure made me feel better now, didn't it? We left that building for another one, another line. I noticed walking over to the third building that the sun was up now. Hours were passing by, tick-tock, tick-tock. Was I really awake or is this a nightmare? Time to move to yet another building. Another line.
"What's this line for?" I asked. "Rifles." he said.
I gulped, swallowed hard, told myself to breathe.
Rifles. Nothing like seeing your son in combat camo being issued a rifle. My heart stopped. I had a policy when I raised this child. No guns. He never had one til he turned 16 and bought a beebee gun in Wisconsin to do target practice on the old shed at the lake house. I remember teasing him and calling him our G.I.Joe back then. He was a sharp shooter. Who knew? It didn't surprise me to learn he'd become a certified sharp shooter in the Army.
As we left that building and headed toward the airport hangar with his friends I over-heard them grousing about the rifles, how they were in bad condition, probably they would work or no, you don't think this is jammed?! I didn't need to hear that. My tears were in my throat! My husband and daughter holding my hands as we walked, all of us squeezing our fingers trying to find an ounce of strength to give one another. It wasn't there. We were collectively crumbling.
We walked into a huge hangar with hundreds and hundreds of people, some in groups with families, others just groups of friends. It was eerily quiet for that many people. Very hushed. I looked around at the faces. I sensed something palpable in the air. And then it hit me. It was the unmistakable smell of fear. I saw it on the faces, though the soldiers were all trying to be brave. I saw it in their eyes. They are leaving for an invasion of a country with potential deadly stuff in the air, for which, of course, they are "prepared" with their color-coded crap nobody knows for sure what is what! Stay calm.
There was an announcement we had 10 minutes until the soldiers were to be in formation and all civilians had to leave. I was numb. I couldn't see well at this point thru the tears that had welled up in my eyes. Inside I was SCREAMING - this is insane! These soldiers are being sent to a potential desert slaughter with chemical warfare! What is the war about? Why are we doing this? They are going to the wrong place!!! They are CREATING a war - what????
I was snapped out of it. My son came up to me and gave me the hug of his life. I blubbered. I hugged him back with all my might. "You be safe now," I choked out between the tears. "Please come back to me!" I whispered in his ear. It was out before I could bite my tongue. He backed away from the embrace so he could get something out of his pocket. His cell phone. He gave it to me. "I had it turned off at 6 am. this morning. It's on suspension. Pay the bill when it comes, ok? Oh and here..." he reached in his other pocket. "You take real good care of my baby. I know you can handle driving it home , just watch yourself, mom, the engine is NOT your mini-van. I trust you." he tried to smile but his chin was quivering.
This was huge. The two things this kid of mine never shared. His phone and his car. Nobody drove his car - ever. He stripped himself of himself in so many ways - and became what? A soldier? I knew in my heart I was losing a huge part of my son that day. He would not come back. This was the official ending of his childhood. I could no longer protect him. He would have experiences there that would change him forever.
"Mom, promise me you won't protest this war! I know you and I know you don't think this invasion is the right thing to do. But it is! I hafta go protect you and everybody."
I could only nod my promise. I could not speak. I wasn't sure at that moment if I was even breathing! He was spouting the party line because he HAD to. He had to believe he was being ordered to do the right thing. I know if he didn't believe that he would not have gone at all. None of them would have. It was all over the faces, the fears, the doubts, the resigned cooperation in their tones.
I heard other soldiers whispering amongst themselves -
"Wow, this is it, isn't it?"
"Well, are you ready?"
"Do you think you could actually kill somebody?"
"Let's get this overwith!"
"I wish to hell my family was here!"
"I'm telling myself this is just another drill........"
"Do you think we'll win?"
"I think we are going to the wrong country."
"Are you sure we'll be ok?"
On the way out of that hangar, my daughter, husband and I gave hugs to as many soldiers as we could. I had several hug the breath out of me, crying on my shoulder and murmuring "Thank you!" "Thank you for coming." "Thank you for the hug, I needed this!" They looked so young! It ripped my heart into pieces. Several guys asked me to pray for them.. One guy gave me a letter to mail to his parents, the envelope tear-stained. I went to the ladies room quickly. In there I was hugging too. Young girls (wives?) crying, shaking, other moms who, like me, fell apart. We hugged. We were all family that day. We understood each other without speaking one word. It was a hug of acknowledgment on the deepest level I've ever known.
If I am shattering your illusions of our soldiers being infused with whoop-ass for this invasion, too bad! There may have been a few - but I sure didn't see any happy, let's-go-get-em faces that day. Anything BUT! You may see news clips on tv of departing units but unless you are there, and saying goodbye, you have NO idea of the collective emotional toll filling the atmosphere.
I clutched the car keys Garrett gave me and began the numb, yet hysterical, search in the parking lot to find his car. My daughter and I were to drive it all the way home, following my husband. I saw the "remnants" of his last few days in the car. It smelled like him. I sat in the driver's seat for what seemed to be hours, crying, wondering what on earth would become of him. I knew I was not alone. Other families were there, just as hysterical as I was. Kids saying goodbye to their daddies, young women pregnant and terrified, wives, husbands, all sharing in this moment of fear and tears. It was the single most heart wrenching experience of my life.
I will write "the rest of the story" - the turn-around, and what the nod of promise created and how I ended up meeting Oprah. It's all good, not to worry. My story is nothing compared to others! This story is not about just me - I wrote it for all the moms who have lived through this day but cannot write about it.
(You can find part 2 my 2009 Nov. archives if you want)
HUG a Veteran today!!!!! It's not about politics - it's about human beings! A special hug and shout out to Garrett! (I know, mom is a mush - get over it!)
November 11, 2009
This week's post is in honor of Veterans Day - and a special salute to the Veteran in our family, our son ,Garrett , who served for six years in the U.S. Army - first with the 101 Airborne unit in Iraq, and later with the 10th Mountain unit in Afghanistan, as a crew chief on Chinook helicopters.
To ALL Veterans - and their families - THANK YOU! Your sacrifices in your service to this country are SO appreciated. I humbly honor all those who serve, and all the families as well! The recent event at Ft. Hood is devasting and my heart and prayers go out to all those touched by this senseless horror.
Being a military family for six years was not easy. I decided to write a post about it. Then I wondered why? Was it cathartic, healing? I've never blogged about it.. Does it serve a purpose? I debated hitting publish. It is intensely personal and not my "normal" kind of blog post. And yet, something tells me to let this rip. Maybe there is something you need to know - I don't really know.
Perhaps you have not been involved with the military and the emotional cost of the war on a personal level. Perhaps you only see news bites of the departures and arrivals of soldiers. Perhaps this WILL serve a purpose - maybe you may reach out and hug that neighbor who's son is deployed. Maybe you will offer child care, or cut grass/shovel snow for the gal down the street raising her kids alone for a year while her husband is gone.
It is not for me to be attached to the outcome. It is pouring out of me at this time for some reason I do not need to know. This is the story of one day. There are thousands of stories out there. And many tears.
I will never forget February 26,2003. Or the following good-bye day.
My son, Garrett, called at 7:30 a.m. from Ft. Campbell, Kentucky to say he was leaving for Iraq the next day so we had less than 24 hours to go say goodbye to him. We knew this was coming. He told us to be on alert for his call since early January. It is a 7 hour drive to Ft. Campbell from our house. I sent a text to my daughter at school, called my husband at work, arranged for pet care, and the three of us deployed out of here, hastily packed for a quick overnight trip, by 10:00 am.
The drive down was a blur of thoughts and knitting needles furiously creating an afghan to keep my hands busy, and to keep me from jumping out of the car, truth be told.
Garrett enlisted right after 9-11, at age 19 after one year of college at an aviation school. I begged him not to go. I knew there was going to be a war. I tried to tell him at least to go into the Air Force (aviation!), not the Army, four years, not SIX. I lost that battle too. He signed up for six years with the Army. The die had been cast. War was coming, I knew it, and he would be going. I planned a good-bye party for him before he left for basic training. I was planning this as I attended the memorial for my best friend's daughter. She was in the Pentagon plane! The grief was so compounded. I tried my best to be supportive for my son's decision tho my heart was breaking for my friend, and selfishly for me at having to give up my one and only son to godonlyknew WHAT. It would be war. I couldn't help feeling the memorial I was attending as a friend grieved the loss of her eldest child was practice for me.
The conversation in the car driving down there for the three of us was interrupted with one or the other of us crying and wondering how in the hell we can do this. How do you say goodbye? This isn't a son leaving for college. This is a son leaving for a war! Where do you find the courage for war?
Especially this war. Iraq? Aren't we looking for Bin Laden in Afghanistan? Isn't that where the "bad guys" are that pulled off the 9-11 disaster? Iraq? Invading that country for what??? To find weapons of mass destruction we were being told.
My mind flipped back to Viet Nam. The war for........what the hell was that about? Keeping South Viet Nam from the Communists we were told. I spent 3 years at Fort Rucker, Alabama with my first husband. We saw friends leave and never come back. We saw some come back without wholeness. We saw some come back mental messes. Yes. We saw. We saw families fall apart with grief and despair. We were treated like villians, spat on and viciously verbally abused when we went anywhere off-post. If anyone in town saw me driving our car with an Army sticker from Ft. Rucker on it, I was considered one of "them", the bad guys. If my then-husband was with me, it was worse!
And now I'm going to go say goodbye to my son. My son. My only son. His entire childhood flashed through my mind, every detail of it, every laugh, every adventure, every tear. He's going off to some country that has weapons of mass destruction, godonlyknows what else, and I have to say goodbye. I didn't know HOW. HOW does a mother who has protected her child for his entire life let him go to war?
Our arrival at Ft. Campbell, the home of the 101st Airborne, was in time for dinner. We joked. We took pictures. We filled him with a great steak dinner. Mom's do that. They feed their young for voyages, adventures, long trips. I was feeding him for war. It felt awful. I couldn't eat. I was too busy choking on tears that I couldn't show. Not now. Not at dinner. We stayed together until nearly 11pm. and arranged to meet at 3 am. for "deployment". The army sets crazy times for things. Crazy times, crazy lines. Hurry up and wait is the theme.
Our hotel was on the opposite side of town. We were lucky to have a room at all. Ft. Campbell was sending over 20,000 troops out. There were other families in town to say goodbye too. I stayed in my clothes. It was only three hours and I really did not sleep. No, I was busy. I was telling myself how brave we had to be at 3 am. We shouldn't have bothered with a room at a hotel at all. We three laid on the beds in our clothes. We didn't speak. But we didn't sleep.
At 3 am. we picked him up at his barracks, loaded a ton of gear into our car and drove to the airfield. There were huge containers for the gear - all with numbers on them. Garrett found the one he was assigned to and put most of his bags into it. Then we went into a building and waited in a long line. It gave him the opportunity to introduce us to a lot of his friends. We were all faking socialability - nervous laughter and a tight grasp on the inner emotional turmoil, lest it spill out.
"What's this line for?" I asked.
"Paperwork", he said. It was then that he told us about the preceding days. He made out a will. He took out more life insurance. He left it all to us. WHAT???? I have no idea how I kept from fainting.
After nearly an hour, we left to go to another building. Another long line.
"What's this line for?" I asked.
"Meds." he said.
They distributed ziplock bags full of medications that were to be the LIFE-saving antibodies against the various chemical attacks they may encounter - small injection meds, all color-coded. He and a few friends were looking at them.
"Is the purple one the one for anthrax?" one asked.
"No. That's the orange one." said another.
" The orange one is for..........."
"Good God," I said "Don't you guys KNOW???"
They all laughed. Nervous laughter.
"Don't worry, Mrs. B, we'll get a refresher course on this stuff on the plane" I was told.
Well that sure made me feel better now, didn't it? We left that building for another one, another line. I noticed walking over to the third building that the sun was up now. Hours were passing by, tick-tock, tick-tock. Was I really awake or is this a nightmare? Time to move to yet another building. Another line.
"What's this line for?" I asked. "Rifles." he said.
I gulped, swallowed hard, told myself to breathe.
Rifles. Nothing like seeing your son in combat camo being issued a rifle. My heart stopped. I had a policy when I raised this child. No guns. He never had one til he turned 16 and bought a beebee gun in Wisconsin to do target practice on the old shed at the lake house. I remember teasing him and calling him our G.I.Joe back then. He was a sharp shooter. Who knew? It didn't surprise me to learn he'd become a certified sharp shooter in the Army.
As we left that building and headed toward the airport hangar with his friends I over-heard them grousing about the rifles, how they were in bad condition, probably they would work or no, you don't think this is jammed?! I didn't need to hear that. My tears were in my throat! My husband and daughter holding my hands as we walked, all of us squeezing our fingers trying to find an ounce of strength to give one another. It wasn't there. We were collectively crumbling.
We walked into a huge hangar with hundreds and hundreds of people, some in groups with families, others just groups of friends. It was eerily quiet for that many people. Very hushed. I looked around at the faces. I sensed something palpable in the air. And then it hit me. It was the unmistakable smell of fear. I saw it on the faces, though the soldiers were all trying to be brave. I saw it in their eyes. They are leaving for an invasion of a country with potential deadly stuff in the air, for which, of course, they are "prepared" with their color-coded crap nobody knows for sure what is what! Stay calm.
There was an announcement we had 10 minutes until the soldiers were to be in formation and all civilians had to leave. I was numb. I couldn't see well at this point thru the tears that had welled up in my eyes. Inside I was SCREAMING - this is insane! These soldiers are being sent to a potential desert slaughter with chemical warfare! What is the war about? Why are we doing this? They are going to the wrong place!!! They are CREATING a war - what????
I was snapped out of it. My son came up to me and gave me the hug of his life. I blubbered. I hugged him back with all my might. "You be safe now," I choked out between the tears. "Please come back to me!" I whispered in his ear. It was out before I could bite my tongue. He backed away from the embrace so he could get something out of his pocket. His cell phone. He gave it to me. "I had it turned off at 6 am. this morning. It's on suspension. Pay the bill when it comes, ok? Oh and here..." he reached in his other pocket. "You take real good care of my baby. I know you can handle driving it home , just watch yourself, mom, the engine is NOT your mini-van. I trust you." he tried to smile but his chin was quivering.
This was huge. The two things this kid of mine never shared. His phone and his car. Nobody drove his car - ever. He stripped himself of himself in so many ways - and became what? A soldier? I knew in my heart I was losing a huge part of my son that day. He would not come back. This was the official ending of his childhood. I could no longer protect him. He would have experiences there that would change him forever.
"Mom, promise me you won't protest this war! I know you and I know you don't think this invasion is the right thing to do. But it is! I hafta go protect you and everybody."
I could only nod my promise. I could not speak. I wasn't sure at that moment if I was even breathing! He was spouting the party line because he HAD to. He had to believe he was being ordered to do the right thing. I know if he didn't believe that he would not have gone at all. None of them would have. It was all over the faces, the fears, the doubts, the resigned cooperation in their tones.
I heard other soldiers whispering amongst themselves -
"Wow, this is it, isn't it?"
"Well, are you ready?"
"Do you think you could actually kill somebody?"
"Let's get this overwith!"
"I wish to hell my family was here!"
"I'm telling myself this is just another drill........"
"Do you think we'll win?"
"I think we are going to the wrong country."
"Are you sure we'll be ok?"
On the way out of that hangar, my daughter, husband and I gave hugs to as many soldiers as we could. I had several hug the breath out of me, crying on my shoulder and murmuring "Thank you!" "Thank you for coming." "Thank you for the hug, I needed this!" They looked so young! It ripped my heart into pieces. Several guys asked me to pray for them.. One guy gave me a letter to mail to his parents, the envelope tear-stained. I went to the ladies room quickly. In there I was hugging too. Young girls (wives?) crying, shaking, other moms who, like me, fell apart. We hugged. We were all family that day. We understood each other without speaking one word. It was a hug of acknowledgment on the deepest level I've ever known.
If I am shattering your illusions of our soldiers being infused with whoop-ass for this invasion, too bad! There may have been a few - but I sure didn't see any happy, let's-go-get-em faces that day. Anything BUT! You may see news clips on tv of departing units but unless you are there, and saying goodbye, you have NO idea of the collective emotional toll filling the atmosphere.
I clutched the car keys Garrett gave me and began the numb, yet hysterical, search in the parking lot to find his car. My daughter and I were to drive it all the way home, following my husband. I saw the "remnants" of his last few days in the car. It smelled like him. I sat in the driver's seat for what seemed to be hours, crying, wondering what on earth would become of him. I knew I was not alone. Other families were there, just as hysterical as I was. Kids saying goodbye to their daddies, young women pregnant and terrified, wives, husbands, all sharing in this moment of fear and tears. It was the single most heart wrenching experience of my life.
I will write "the rest of the story" - the turn-around, and what the nod of promise created and how I ended up meeting Oprah. It's all good, not to worry. My story is nothing compared to others! This story is not about just me - I wrote it for all the moms who have lived through this day but cannot write about it.
(You can find part 2 my 2009 Nov. archives if you want)
HUG a Veteran today!!!!! It's not about politics - it's about human beings! A special hug and shout out to Garrett! (I know, mom is a mush - get over it!)
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Doctors, Science and OMG Truth?
I read a newsletter written by a medical doctor, Dr. Mark Hyman. He is so refreshingly honest about the medical professional I am frankly surprised they haven't kicked him out of the tightly monitored AMA, who, God Forbid, would ever allow a doctor to espouse natural alternatives!
I thought I would share what Dr. Hyman has to say about doctors.
"Your doctors think they make decisions based on medical evidence. But they don't. In fact, half of medical evidence is hidden from your doctors. And the half that is hidden is the half that shows drugs don't work! The bad news is that drug companies are not policed by the FDA the way they should be. A drug should be proven both effective and safe BEFORE it is prescribed to millions of people."
He went on to say that there is a dangerous collusion between drug companies and our government agency, the FDA, which he says should stand for "Federal Drug Aid".
One example he gave was the cholesterol-lowering drug Zetia, which actually causes harm and leads to faster progression of heart disease. Sure it lowers your cholesterol, but at what future cost to your health?
There is a $40 billion dollar cholesterol drug industry. That alone raises my eyebrows. When there is that much money involved, how honest are these companies anyway? Rather narrow minded if they cure the cholesterol but kill you anyway. Reminds me of chemo, but that's another blog.
Dr. Hyman said doctors (and thereby most of the public) have been brainwashed to think that cholesterol is the cause of heart attacks even though half of all people who have heart attacks have NORMAL levels.
"You see, the FDA approved Zetia without any proof that it lowered heart attacks or reduced the progression of heart disease. The drug was approved solely on the basis that it lowered cholesterol. Yet Zetia was given to 5 million people - and made the drug companies $5 billion a year. That's almost $14 million a day! And once Zetia was approved, its makers had to incentive to prove it actually did what it was thought to do (as advertised) lower heart attacks.
They dragged their feet doing the studies and then released the negative data (which they did only under pressure from news agencies and Congress) after a long delay. Wouldn't you drag your feed too if you were making $14 million a day?
But the FDA had the negative data on Zetia - and it didn't speak up. The data that was withheld proved that Zetia did not reduce heart attacks but actually INCREASED fatty plaques in the arteries, despite lowering cholesterol.
Researched is flawed. What gets studied depends on who is funding it. Since the drug companies fund most of their own research, other therapies that work better - like natural alternatives, nutritional therapies will never get funding. Then the drug companies are aided by the FDA which suppresses, hides and doesn't publish negative studies.
Doctors, patients and the media believe they have the whole truth. Truth? Who paid for it?
I hope YOU won't pay for it. If you are taking any drugs for some condition your doctor believes you need them for, I urge you to spend a little time doing some independent research. Don't find out on tomorrow nights Nightly News that they have "recalled" the drug you are taking because of too many people dying from it.
There is another very similar example with antidepressants, which is starting to come to light. More than half of all the studies on these drugs were never published (they were negative of course) and this gave doctors a false sense of effectiveness of using them to treat depression.
Doctors mean well. They are working with drugs, however, and the doctors are not being given all the information they should have before passing it along to you. Even though they THINK they know all, the real truths about these tests for safety and effectiveness are manipulated. This is done not for your benefit but to line the coffers of the drug companies themselves. Vested interest, not public interest.
If you are taking meds, check them out thoroughly yourself. I would never advise anyone to just stop taking what they are taking but to do the work to research just what the history and facts are about whatever that drug is. The time you spend researching could save your life.
As a postscript to this - If you ask your doctor about "safe alternatives" you will probably be told there are none. Conventional medicine (sadly) will never recommend nutritional therapies or vitamin therapy when they can write a presciption. It's the system. It won't change unless there is a huge revolt and with the pill-popping apathy in this country, it is not likely to happen.
I just finished attending (via internet) the World Cancer Summit - so amazing I have a notebook full of notes. I'll share more later but there are many doctors using "integrative" therapies that are as individualized as your fingerprints with outstanding success without patients loosing hair and experiencing terrible side effects. Amazing!!!
I thought I would share what Dr. Hyman has to say about doctors.
"Your doctors think they make decisions based on medical evidence. But they don't. In fact, half of medical evidence is hidden from your doctors. And the half that is hidden is the half that shows drugs don't work! The bad news is that drug companies are not policed by the FDA the way they should be. A drug should be proven both effective and safe BEFORE it is prescribed to millions of people."
He went on to say that there is a dangerous collusion between drug companies and our government agency, the FDA, which he says should stand for "Federal Drug Aid".
One example he gave was the cholesterol-lowering drug Zetia, which actually causes harm and leads to faster progression of heart disease. Sure it lowers your cholesterol, but at what future cost to your health?
There is a $40 billion dollar cholesterol drug industry. That alone raises my eyebrows. When there is that much money involved, how honest are these companies anyway? Rather narrow minded if they cure the cholesterol but kill you anyway. Reminds me of chemo, but that's another blog.
Dr. Hyman said doctors (and thereby most of the public) have been brainwashed to think that cholesterol is the cause of heart attacks even though half of all people who have heart attacks have NORMAL levels.
"You see, the FDA approved Zetia without any proof that it lowered heart attacks or reduced the progression of heart disease. The drug was approved solely on the basis that it lowered cholesterol. Yet Zetia was given to 5 million people - and made the drug companies $5 billion a year. That's almost $14 million a day! And once Zetia was approved, its makers had to incentive to prove it actually did what it was thought to do (as advertised) lower heart attacks.
They dragged their feet doing the studies and then released the negative data (which they did only under pressure from news agencies and Congress) after a long delay. Wouldn't you drag your feed too if you were making $14 million a day?
But the FDA had the negative data on Zetia - and it didn't speak up. The data that was withheld proved that Zetia did not reduce heart attacks but actually INCREASED fatty plaques in the arteries, despite lowering cholesterol.
Researched is flawed. What gets studied depends on who is funding it. Since the drug companies fund most of their own research, other therapies that work better - like natural alternatives, nutritional therapies will never get funding. Then the drug companies are aided by the FDA which suppresses, hides and doesn't publish negative studies.
Doctors, patients and the media believe they have the whole truth. Truth? Who paid for it?
I hope YOU won't pay for it. If you are taking any drugs for some condition your doctor believes you need them for, I urge you to spend a little time doing some independent research. Don't find out on tomorrow nights Nightly News that they have "recalled" the drug you are taking because of too many people dying from it.
There is another very similar example with antidepressants, which is starting to come to light. More than half of all the studies on these drugs were never published (they were negative of course) and this gave doctors a false sense of effectiveness of using them to treat depression.
Doctors mean well. They are working with drugs, however, and the doctors are not being given all the information they should have before passing it along to you. Even though they THINK they know all, the real truths about these tests for safety and effectiveness are manipulated. This is done not for your benefit but to line the coffers of the drug companies themselves. Vested interest, not public interest.
If you are taking meds, check them out thoroughly yourself. I would never advise anyone to just stop taking what they are taking but to do the work to research just what the history and facts are about whatever that drug is. The time you spend researching could save your life.
As a postscript to this - If you ask your doctor about "safe alternatives" you will probably be told there are none. Conventional medicine (sadly) will never recommend nutritional therapies or vitamin therapy when they can write a presciption. It's the system. It won't change unless there is a huge revolt and with the pill-popping apathy in this country, it is not likely to happen.
I just finished attending (via internet) the World Cancer Summit - so amazing I have a notebook full of notes. I'll share more later but there are many doctors using "integrative" therapies that are as individualized as your fingerprints with outstanding success without patients loosing hair and experiencing terrible side effects. Amazing!!!
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