[OT] Pre-pregnant? I think I'm gonna pre-puke

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oups.com...

Jo Firey wrote:
wrote in message

I'm also a strawberry snob, and a peach snob too. Supermarket
strawberries are gross. They're usually extra-large, but white or
hollow in the middle, and have *no* flavor. I"d honestly rather buy the
frozen ones. Same for peaches. We have our own strawberry patch and
peach trees, but in the off-season, it's gotten where I don't even buy
them. The peaches trucked in from California are *beautiful*. But they
have no taste. I bet they're wonderful when they're allowed to ripen on
the tree though.


We get great local strawberries just about now, I have a cherry tree that
is
currently dead ripe and feeding the entire neighborhood of adults, kids
and
birds. Plum tree will be ripe in two weeks. Not many plum. No bees
this
year, But they should be really nice and large.

Then there are peaches. Peaches are starting to ripen in a week or two,
and
will continue till the end of August depending on the variety.

Charlie knows each and every peach source and will go out once or twice a
week and bring be two or three dead ripe peaches. Usually the white ones
that are pure heaven.. He almost never eats a peach. They are all for
me.

Guess this is why I keep him around. Besides the cats like him.

Jo

That is so sweet of Charlie. And fresh, ripe peaches for four months??
Can I move there?? Except I'd have to live in a box in the peach
orchard, from the previous discussion about property values... Our
season seems to last about 3 weeks. By the first of August, you can't
find local peaches anymore.
DH & I love a bargain and sometimes get stung for it. We went to a tree
auction and bought several fruit trees for $1 each. But they weren't
tagged, so we didn't know what kind they were. Turns out they were
Asian pear (love that one), apricot, and cherry. The cherry tree is the
SOUREST cherries I ever saw. I mean, they will pucker your mouth they
are so sour. Shame, too, cause the tree is doing well and just loaded
with fruit.

Sherry


One of our primary sources is an orchard owned by an Italian family that is
really into trying out lots of different varieties in addition to their
cannery crop. And for the cannery market, it helps if you can stretch out
the season with early and late varieties. Their contract is for freestone
peaches for S & W. They have a market stand where they sell a huge variety
of fruits and vegetable. Mostly grown for fun and sold to raise college
money for the kids.

I was so disappointed when we first moved here. We were just about
surrounded by peach orchards. Figured it would be no problem to help our
selves to a few. Learned they taste exactly like canned peaches. Now I'm
not sure what I expected.

Jo

"CatNipped" wrote in message
...
"W. Leong" wrote in message
.. .
It was all over the news this morning. The headline reads:

Study says Canadians healthier than Americans.

" Canada's national health insurance program is at least part of the
reason for the differences found in the study"

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servl...andHealth/home

or

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNew...0?hub=CanadaAM

Winnie

From the article:

=======================

"ATLANTA - You can add Canada to the list of nations that are healthier
than the United States of America.

Americans are 42 per cent more likely than Canadians to have diabetes, 32
per cent more likely to have high blood pressure, and 12 per cent more
likely to have arthritis, Harvard Medical School researchers found. That
is according to a survey in which American and Canadian adults were asked
over the telephone about their health."

=======================

I think this has more to do with America being the "fattest nation on
earth" more than our healthcare.


You have to wonder how many were included in the survey. And how many they
called in the US were actually Canadian sunbirds down here for the milder
winters.

You have to be healthier to live in Canada. It is a harsher climate.

Jo

CatNipped wrote:

I think this has more to do with America being the "fattest nation on
earth" more than our healthcare.

I have no doubt that American lifestyles (eating lots of junk food,
not exercising) do have a lot to do with our poorer health. But why
are Americans so damn defensive everytime anyone suggests that we
aren't the best country in the world in every conceivable way?

Joyce

wrote in message
...
CatNipped wrote:

I think this has more to do with America being the "fattest nation on
earth" more than our healthcare.

I have no doubt that American lifestyles (eating lots of junk food,
not exercising) do have a lot to do with our poorer health. But why
are Americans so damn defensive everytime anyone suggests that we
aren't the best country in the world in every conceivable way?

Joyce

Oh, no, I didn't mean to imply that. I absolutely agree that our healthcare
system sucks - I just think being fat has more to do with those three things
listed (diabetes, high blood pressure, and arthritis) than preventative
health care.

America is also falling way behind in education, jobs, and many other
things - about the only thing we can brag about is we can blow up the planet
a lot more times over than any other country! :

--

Hugs,

CatNipped

See all my masters at: http://www.PossiblePlaces.com/CatNipped/

"Jo Firey" wrote in message
. net...



You have to wonder how many were included in the survey. And how many
they called in the US were actually Canadian sunbirds down here for the
milder winters.

That will really skewer the results as snowbirds tend to be seniors and
assuming
seniors are not as healthy as younger folks. But I've met some seniors
that are healthier than people half their age. Acutally come to think of it,
unhealthy seniors probably won't go south for the winter because of the
cost of health care.


You have to be healthier to live in Canada. It is a harsher climate.

Only the winter is harsher, but not necessarily any harsher than Alaska.
The summer may not be as harsh as that in some southern states.


Winnie


Jo

On 2006-05-31, Jo Firey penned:

"CatNipped" wrote in message
...

=======================

I think this has more to do with America being the "fattest nation
on earth" more than our healthcare.


You have to wonder how many were included in the survey. And how
many they called in the US were actually Canadian sunbirds down here
for the milder winters.

The main thing I can think of is that "America" (really the US) is so
huge. So is Canada. I know that lifestyles and climate vary wildly
throughout the US -- I assume this is somewhat true of Canada, as
well.

I wonder if this would still be true if they compared, say, Toronto
vs. Boulder. There are 7 times as many bicycle commuters in Boulder
than the national (US) average. People are incredibly active. I
don't know that much about Canada; maybe another city would be a
better comparison than Toronto. Is there a Canadian small city known
for its active, outdoorsy population, more so than the rest of the
country?

Diabetes and heart problems are strongly tied to food and exercise
choices. Arthritis, not so much. But I'm not sure how having
arthritis would say anything about the kind of health care you've
received. There are two kinds, rheumatoid and I guess injury-related.
I have injury-related arthritis ...

Phone results seem strange, anyway. For example, I have only a cell
phone, and never get people calling me for surveys. A lot of young
people now only have cell phones. Who will actually be home and be
willing to take the time to complete such a survey? I don't know. It
would be interesting to find out how many total phones were called and
what percentage of those actually had people on the end willing to
take the survey.

Anyway, thanks for the article, Winnie. Interesting. I'm sure there
are all sorts of factors, and certainly access to health care is one
of them.

--
monique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully

pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca

On 2006-05-31, penned:

I have no doubt that American lifestyles (eating lots of junk food,
not exercising) do have a lot to do with our poorer health. But why
are Americans so damn defensive everytime anyone suggests that we
aren't the best country in the world in every conceivable way?

I don't know. There's a lot to worry about -- jobs, education, health
care, just for starters -- but most US citizens seem to assume that as
long as we are the good ol' US of A, nothing can hurt us.



--
monique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully

pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca

"Monique Y. Mudama" wrote in message
...

The main thing I can think of is that "America" (really the US) is so
huge. So is Canada. I know that lifestyles and climate vary wildly
throughout the US -- I assume this is somewhat true of Canada, as
well.

I wonder if this would still be true if they compared, say, Toronto
vs. Boulder. There are 7 times as many bicycle commuters in Boulder
than the national (US) average. People are incredibly active. I
don't know that much about Canada; maybe another city would be a
better comparison than Toronto. Is there a Canadian small city known
for its active, outdoorsy population, more so than the rest of the
country?

Lots of people use the bicycle in Vancouver. Vancouver is a big city
Same here in Ottawa and the city is smaller than Vancouver. I think
Ottawa is the 4th largest city in Canada. Toronto is the largest.
What is the population in Boulder?
We have many bike paths here. On Sundays, the River Parkway is closed
to traffic except for bicycles. You can even take a bike onto the O-train,
which is part of the local transit system. On many buses there are bike
racks in the
front for passengers use. Of course you can't bike in the winter.
Toronto is too big for many to commute by bikes. But many do use the bikes
during
the transit worker strike just the other day.

I guess both Vancouver and Ottawa have outdoorsy population. Vancouver
because of its milder weather. In Ottawa, lots of people go skating and
skiing in the winter despite the cold. During Winterlude, the Rideau Canal
is packed with skaters.We are the 2nd coldest capital in the
world, even colder than Moscow. The coldest capital is in Mongolia.
I see lots of sail boats in the Ottawa River in the summer. In the winter I
see
ice fishing huts on the river. I live close to the river and have a good
view of it.
..
I better stop before I sound like a tourism promotion.


Diabetes and heart problems are strongly tied to food and exercise
choices. Arthritis, not so much. But I'm not sure how having
arthritis would say anything about the kind of health care you've
received. There are two kinds, rheumatoid and I guess injury-related.
I have injury-related arthritis ...

I didn't know you can get injury-related arthritis.


Phone results seem strange, anyway. For example, I have only a cell
phone, and never get people calling me for surveys. A lot of young
people now only have cell phones. Who will actually be home and be
willing to take the time to complete such a survey? I don't know. It
would be interesting to find out how many total phones were called and
what percentage of those actually had people on the end willing to
take the survey.

I don't like doing phone surveys.

Winnie


Anyway, thanks for the article, Winnie. Interesting. I'm sure there
are all sorts of factors, and certainly access to health care is one
of them.

--
monique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully

pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca

On 2006-05-31, W. Leong penned:

"Monique Y. Mudama" wrote in message
...

I wonder if this would still be true if they compared, say, Toronto
vs. Boulder. There are 7 times as many bicycle commuters in Boulder
than the national (US) average. People are incredibly active. I
don't know that much about Canada; maybe another city would be a
better comparison than Toronto. Is there a Canadian small city known
for its active, outdoorsy population, more so than the rest of the
country?

Lots of people use the bicycle in Vancouver. Vancouver is a big city
Same here in Ottawa and the city is smaller than Vancouver. I think
Ottawa is the 4th largest city in Canada. Toronto is the largest.
What is the population in Boulder?

Pretty tiny. For some reason I didn't think Toronto was all that big.
Silly me.

According to wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boulder,_Colorado

Boulder's population as of 2000 (I'm sure it's higher by now) is
94,673 people. That's for the city proper, not the county.

Here's an on-topic quote about Boulder:

"People who have pets are referred to by local law as pet guardians,
not pet owners."

Anyway, it sounds like Canada has several extremely active cities,
which is great.

I guess both Vancouver and Ottawa have outdoorsy population. Vancouver
because of its milder weather. In Ottawa, lots of people go skating and
skiing in the winter despite the cold. During Winterlude, the Rideau Canal
is packed with skaters.We are the 2nd coldest capital in the
world, even colder than Moscow. The coldest capital is in Mongolia.
I see lots of sail boats in the Ottawa River in the summer. In the winter I
see
ice fishing huts on the river. I live close to the river and have a good
view of it.
.
I better stop before I sound like a tourism promotion.

Nothing wrong with liking where you live =) I sound like that about
Boulder. (Well, actually, I live in Longmont, but anyway anywhere
near the Rockies here is pretty cool.)

Winter is an interesting phenomenon here. As soon as it gets dark, it
gets very cold, but during the day a typical temp would be 40 or 50F.
The sun shines so strongly even in the winter that you don't usually
need a winter coat during the day -- you'll be warm in a sweatshirt.
There are a few days of the year when it's really cold (high of 10F or
so).

Diabetes and heart problems are strongly tied to food and exercise
choices. Arthritis, not so much. But I'm not sure how having
arthritis would say anything about the kind of health care you've
received. There are two kinds, rheumatoid and I guess injury-related.
I have injury-related arthritis ...

I didn't know you can get injury-related arthritis.

Well, I don't even know how well I understand what's going on with my
knees. But what you'll see in an X-Ray of my knees is that the
cartilage is "fuzzy" at the bottoms of the knee caps. That "fuzzy"
cartilage is probably the result of an injury I had in college, and
it's what makes my knees ache, apparently.


--
monique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully

pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca

On Sun, 28 May 2006 22:14:49 -0500, "Howard C. Berkowitz"
wrote:


RDAs and MDAs are "nutritional" values for the amount needed to perform
normal bodily functions. There is another category, called "pharmacologic"
dose, at which the vitamin is being used for a different effect. For
example, niacin is an essential B vitamin. In very large doses, however, it
can have excellent effects on blood lipids (cholesterol and associated
substances).

At pharmacologic doses, even water-soluble vitamins, such as the B complex,
can have unexpected toxicity. Frequently, taking a pharmacologic dose of
niacin causes an intense hot flash that some people can't tolerate (I found
it pleasant0. I was unable to continue the dose, because I had a rare skin
reaction called acanthosis nigricans -- areas of skin would turn brown to
black, get leathery, and crack and bleed. Stopping the niacin therapy made
this go away--but while I was taking it, it did wonderful things for
cholesterol. Doses this large also can affect the liver.

It's not wise to take megadoses of vitamins without having laboratory
monitoring -- we _think_ several vitamins have no toxic level, but we don't
know. There are truly strange things, as in the B vitamin pyridoxine can
cause nerve inflammation both at inadequate and very large doses.


My cardiologist told me that large doses of niacin could help my
cholesterol readings, but would also make it difficult for me to
control my blood sugar (I am diabetic), so he would be reluctant to
prescribe it without approval from my endocrinologist.

--
John F. Eldredge --
PGP key available from http://pgp.mit.edu
"Reserve your right to think, for even to think wrongly is better
than not to think at all." -- Hypatia of Alexandria