Article: Keep Your Cats Safe During The Month Of October And Especially On Halloween

Summer has come and gone and now it’s officially the Fall season. The air is starting to get crisp and cool once more, and one of my favorite holidays is fast approaching, that being Halloween.

Halloween, that time of year where people can dress up in costumes and isn’t just a “holiday” for kids to have fun, but a time where no matter what one’s age is, we can let our “adult” selves let go and act silly. We can dress up as a superhero, a person from history such as Cleopatra, we can dress up as a character from Lord Of The Rings, or become a favorite Disney character, and needless to say, attire ourselves as a witch, which consequently is still one of the most popular Halloween costumes to wear. 



There is however, a very negative down side to Halloween and not just on October 31st, but for the whole month of October. The month of October is perhaps the worst month of the year for cats, particularly black cats. As an animal activist, not one day goes by when I hear of outright animal abuse throughout the year for sadly there are all too many people that are cat haters. Antagonisms toward cats aren’t limited to outright animal abusers, but a seeming hatred toward cats and rather “sick” suggestions are made even by the media. For instance, on March 14, 2013, Ted Williams, a guest writer for the Orlando Sentinel suggested to rid the feral and stray cat population by “lacing” pet food with Tylenol. (1) Some states in the USA are suggesting bills to be passed to change the status of feral and stray cats to “wildlife” so that it would be no longer considered illegal to hunt and kill cats. The latest is a landlord in Missouri requesting tenants to leave bowls of antifreeze out to poison cats. (2)

Now to get back to Halloween which may be fun for us, but not for cats. Did you know that reputable pet rescuers and animal shelters will not adopt out black cats during the whole month of October and in my opinion rightly so. Hatred and abuse of cats, especially black cats, intensifies during the month of October and all cats can be targets for sick, demented people with ill intent, and not just limited to feral or stray cats, but people’s pets who are allowed to “roam” freely by their owners. During the month of October, cats are more likely to be stolen as bait for dog fights, brutalized, abused, tortured and killed by sick demented people.

So here’s an urgent plea on my part. If you’re the type of person who allows their pet cat to “roam” no matter what color your pet cat is, but especially if your pet cat(s) are black cats, during the entire month of October, please, please, please KEEP THEM INDOORS!!

Sources:

(1). Outcry about Ted Williams article:


http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/03/130320-feral-cats-euthanize-ted-williams-audubon-science/

Ted Williams article

(2). Anti-freeze threat to kill cats:

http://news.alleycat.org/2014/09/23/cats-threatened-by-antifreeze-notice-in-missouri/


Anti-freeze threat to cats

Image Source

http://animals.desktopnexus.com/wallpaper/2658/

ARTICLE: Oh No! Ekk!!! Bedbugs!! And How I Dealt With Them

Originally published on Bubblews~March 14, 2014

Bubblews Article

I had read an article here by &o0o_Sea-Sparkles_o0o about how she avoids the issue of bringing in bedbugs by accident, especially when staying in a hotel, and it reminded me all too painfully of an incident that happened to me last year. Yup, I had gotten hit with those nasty critters.

First, one has to realize that I've lived in my apartment for a long, long time. I was only a little girl when my grandmother, mother and I moved into this place. Over the years, yes, there would be a variety of "critters" that we had to deal with. For a long time, when we first moved in, there often were silverfish, why I don't know, but thankfully, after a period of time, haven't seen any in decades. Then of course, on and off during the years, cockroaches, which seem to be a plague one deals with a lot when living in a urban type apartment building. About five years ago, all of a sudden I had an infestation of ants coming in.

Well being that I have pets, I don't like the idea of using anything toxic or poisonous that could be a danger to them. That means I refuse to use any kind of insecticide sprays (besides I can't tolerate the smell of bug juice either). I won't use baits, since my feeling is, is that, say the particular insect goes into the bait and eats the poison. Now the insect has the poison in them, so if a nosy pet decides to go after the poisoned insect, plays with it and maybe bite sin to the insect, then the pet is poisoned as well. By the way, it actually has been documented that poisons designed for one type of "pest" can and will affect other animals, including wildlife. (1)

When I got the ant problem years ago, instead of getting ant baits, I resorted to trying something more natural and non-toxic: baking soda. Yes, believe it or not, common ordinary baking soda, which I sprinkled around where I saw the ants coming in. It took awhile, but sure enough, it did the trick, as the baking soda sort of "smothers" them if they go into it. I haven't had one ant since. Yea!

Well last year I was in for the surprise of my life, the appearance of bedbugs on my bed! Just how they managed to get into my apartment I'll never know. There are a good number of ways that bedbugs can come in one's home: if one takes in used furniture, the arrival of packages via deliveries where the delivery truck is infested with them; many stores, even theaters are infested with them, also, hotels and motels may have them. There's also another more common reason.

When I think of it, who knows what critters are lurking and running up and down in the foundation and behind the walls of an apartment building or home. Do I really want to know? No thanks, since if I really sat and thought about it, I'd probably get the willies. It's my suspicion that the bedbugs got in via any cracks in the baseboard of my bedroom from another apartment with them.

Now how I discovered them. One day, last year I was doing my fanatical cleaning routine. I set aside one day of the week and clean all the floors of my apartment, clean and tidy up the bathroom, clean and tidy up the kitchen, clean and tidy up the bedroom. If I need to dust, I will, I also will do light hand-washable laundry. Yes, I do it all in one day, and often into the night, to get it all done. Well, I also decided to air out my bed that one particular day. The sheets didn't really need to be changed, but I wanted. as I said to air out my bed, so pulled the sheets off the mattress. That's when I saw them.

I'm not by any means a squeamish person, but when I saw the bedbugs on my mattress, I got annoyed more than anything else, and don't ask the "lovely" language that spewed out from my mouth. If anyone had been watching me for what I did next, they would have thought they were watching a crazed person. I ran into the bathroom, and quickly filled my bathtub with hot water. I ran back to the bedroom and stripped off the fitted sheet, flat sheet, pillow case, then ran back into the bathroom and dumped the sheets into the tub. I had remembered reading that heat kills bedbugs, thus the hot water in my bathtub. Ah, but it didn't end there!

I got out my vacuum and dragged it into the bedroom, then quite literally took my bed apart, and no easy feat considering I have painful RA issues. I took the mattress off the bed and vacuumed it, took the box spring off and vacuumed that. I lifted the two large and heavy slats of the bed off, vacuuming them, then vacuumed every nook under the bed.

Not confined to just trying to get rid of the bedbugs in the bedroom, armed with my vacuum I made an inspection of the rest of the bedroom and the entire apartment, especially going through the sofa as well. Thank goodness I didn't see any bedbugs anywhere else; they seemed to have been confined only on my bed. v Luckily at the time I just happened to have Diatomaceaous Earth on hand. If you don't know what it is, it's a powdery substance made from the crushed up remains of marine phytoplankton. (2) I had heard about it sometime ago, and had gotten some to keep cockroaches away; it is a non-toxic means of getting rid of many types of insects, but it is known to work wonders particularly with bedbugs and completely safe around pets. So I grabbed my container of Diatomaceaous Earth and began sprinkling it all around all over the place in the bedroom.

Well it took a bit of doing as the bedbugs didn't disappear overnight. I started reading up on bedbugs, to be informed what to look for. It's easy to see them as adults, since while not very large, they are nonetheless very noticeable, but one has to be able to identify what bedbug eggs look like as well as the "baby" bedbugs. Needless to say, I kept up with my routine and searching for the critters and sprinkling more of the Diatomaceaous Earth around. Thankfully, I must have caught the bedbugs early on and was not a heavy infestation of them, since to date, a year later, I haven't seen a single one.

So if by chance you get hit with bedbugs, if not a heavy infestation, consider getting Diatomaceaous Earth and be sure it's the "food grade" kind. Where can one get this product? There are several websites one can order it, including good old Amazon.com which is where I got it. I would also recommend looking up about bedbugs to see what to look for, as many websites will show photos of bedbugs in all their stages, from eggs to adults. Sadly, if you do have a real infestation, you might have to consider getting rid of all the infested furniture. The real trick however, is to get rid of them before it does become out of control.

(1) Dangers of various poisons. Includes mention of poisons for rodents, slugs and other toxic substances that can affect pets and wildlife:

http://www.petpoisonhelpline.com/2011/09/things-in-your-yard-that-are-poisonous-to-dogs-cats/

Toxic Substances Affecting Pets and Wildlife

(2). One of the best articles about Diatomaceous Earth:

http://www.richsoil.com/diatomaceous-earth.jsp

Diatomaceous Earth

Image Source:

A Take of this image found here, but I changed the caption around via Photoshop

http://www.seekwellness.com/wellness/reports/2012-07-07.htm

Article: Natural And Alternative Means Of Healing For Pets: Holistic, Homeopathic And Naturopathic

Originally published and posted in Bubblews~July 22, 2014 HERE

Just as many people are turning to alternative means of health and healing, so are pets owners. I've never been a great fan of the medical profession to begin with and I've gotten that viewpoint no doubt from my great-grandmother who was a nurse, for the most part thought doctors were idiots, was a walking encyclopedia of natural remedies, never took anything stronger than aspirin, and lived to be 98; I can only hope I can live that long!

Now I'm not saying one should completely forsake and dismiss the medical profession altogether , whether for humans or for pets, but I think a good number of people are getting a bit more wary. You no doubt, when watching TV for instance, will see those commercials about some medication that is good for a specific medical problem, and then of course the announcer starts rattling about the potential side effects and to tell your doctor if you get certain side effects that could be detrimental, or in extreme cases life-threatening. I sit back and listen to all this and think to myself, just why on earth would a person want to take this?

Also, another point. Just because a medication has been FDA "approved" does not mean the medication entirely safe in other regards. By this I mean, not all side effects are recognized at first and can often trigger other health problems later on that were not known when they were initially tested. A good example is the cholesterol lowering medication Lipitor now linked to triggering off Diabetes in women.

You may wonder why I'm bringing all this up; quite simple. What is one of the questions a doctor will ask you as a patient when he or she is prescribing a medication? Are you allergic to it? This has to be one of those like duh moments. How can one tell if one is allergic to a medication if one has never had it before? One has to consider this with pets as well. Many of the medications designed for humans are also prescribed for pets, just at a much lower dosage.

Just as we humans may suffer from side effects of medications or may be allergic to them, so can pets, but there's a big difference. If we start experiencing what could be detrimental side effects from a medication, we at least can say something about it, pets can't until perhaps unfortunately too late.

I had a horrific experience in the past with one of my cats many, many years ago back around the late 1970s. One of my younger cats had developed a mild URI (Upper Respiratory Infection). No real big deal, right? It's a condition that is very treatable with antibiotics. So I went to the vet, he examined her and gave me a common penicillin type antibiotic, Amoxicillin. In the past, a few of my other cats would also have URI and would give them the same medication without a problem. So I came home and prepared the Amoxicillin and proceeded to give her the medication. Within minutes she started having not only horrific seizures but worse, passed on. Do you have any idea how guilty I felt? Here I was trying to help my young cat but instead due to the medication in which she had a rare and fatal reaction, she died from it.

IMPORTANT: Before I continue on, once again, I'm not saying one should completely forgo any medications for pets, just be wary, and perhaps investigate more holistic means of healing.

Not long after this horrific incident occurred, I started looking into a more holistic means of healing for my cats. In fact, it was back in the 1980s I happen to come across the book, The Natural Cat: The Comprehensive Guide to Optimum Care by Anitra Frazier. Let's put it this way, it has virtually become a "bible" for me in helping and healing my cats in a more natural, holistic way. Think of and name the potential and possible health condition a cat may face, and Ms. Frazier has fantastic suggestions how to heal and heal naturally. I might add, she also doesn't completely ignore veterinary help.

Well, many years have passed, and yes from time to time I do still rely on veterinary care, but before racing to a vet, I now attempt alternative means of healing and with great success I might add. There are numerous books out there for one to explore about natural alternative means for healing not only cats, but dogs, of course top on the list should be Anitra Frazier's book. I include a listing of just some of the books available. Do a google search under holistic and/or natural healing for cats, or dogs or pets in general for a more comprehensive listing.

Also, with such "alternative" means of healing pets, there are of course, homeopathic/naturopathic medications one can buy to give pets and I've included the websites of just two places where one can get such natural remedies; again, one can do a google search for more websites where one can obtain such natural medications. Be prepared though, these medications can be quite pricey.

Listing of just a few suggested books on alternative health and healing for pets:

The Natural Cat: The Comprehensive Guide to Optimum Care http://www.amazon.com/The-Natural-Cat-Comprehensive-Optimum/dp/0452289750/ref=pd_sim_b_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=1ZDACARP7ZVEEM67KDTE

The Natural Cat: The Comprehensive Guide to Optimum Care

Veterinarians Guide to Natural Remedies for Dogs : Safe and Effective Alternative Treatments and Healing Techniques from the Nations Top Holistic Veterinarians

http://www.amazon.com/Veterinarians-Guide-Natural-Remedies-Dogs/dp/0609803727

Veterinarians Guide to Natural Remedies for Dogs

Veterinarians Guide to Natural Remedies for Cats : Safe and Effective Alternative Treatments and Healing Techniques from the Nations Top Holistic Veterinarians http://www.amazon.com/Veterinarians-Guide-Natural-Remedies-Cats/dp/0609803735/ref=pd_sim_b_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=12MHZDFM4QN7DMDW0SEC

Veterinarians Guide to Natural Remedies for Cats

The Nature of Animal Healing : The Definitive Holistic Medicine Guide to Caring for Your Dog and Cat

http://www.amazon.com/The-Nature-Animal-Healing-Definitive/dp/0345439198/ref=pd_sim_b_5?ie=UTF8&refRID=19FDMXHP7JA4KV7KV1PA

The Nature of Animal Healing

The Complete Guide to Holistic Cat Care: An Illustrated Handbook

http://www.amazon.com/The-Complete-Guide-Holistic-Care/dp/1592535666/ref=pd_sim_b_7?ie=UTF8&refRID=1WJ3FY0PARN96C0BMG6E

The Complete Guide to Holistic Cat Care

Listing of Homeopathic and Natural Medications For Pets:

Pet Alive Website For Homeopathic Medications

http://www.nativeremedies.com/petalive/

Pet Alive Website

Only Natural Pet Website:

http://www.onlynaturalpet.com/dogs/

Only Natural Pet Website

Disclaimer: I am not a veterinarian, but am passing on this information based on some of my own personal experiences.

ARTICLE: How To De-clog Drains Naturally

First published on Bubblews~July 17, 2014 Here

Whenever I have a problem with clogged drains I think of my on-line friend Nola whomI met via a discussion forum. Now you may wonder why; what does a friend have to do with clogged drains? Well it was that friend of mine who told me of a very simple way to de-clog drains naturally and without harsh and toxic chemicals.

First up, my apartment building is an old one with all the original piping system, so as you can imagine it's very easy for problems to occur including getting clogged up drains, whether kitchen or bathroom sinks, or even the bathtub. In years past, yes, I often did resort to getting any one of those de-clogging chemicals such as Drano or Liquid Plumber, however, I was always kind of cautious about using them; let's face it, read the warning labels; they all caution about keeping out of reach of children and pets, and have that skull and crossbones symbol, indicating that the product is highly poisonous. Now I don't have children, but I do have pets and when I would use those chemicals it made me a tad nervous. Also, another thing one has to think about is that those chemical de-cloggers can be highly corrosive and affect the pipes, wearing them down and perhaps even eroding them to a point that the pipes may have to be completely replaced.

On the other flip of the coin, I would sometimes resort to and ask the super of the building to de-clog a drain. Talk about a disaster! The super would come up to my apartment with one of those air-pressure type pumps. The man clearly didn't know what the heck he was doing. He would pump up the machine with air to blast air down the drain: he'd be at it for at least an hour and only succeeded in blasting up this God-awful looking sticky, smelly, black sludge that looked like it came from the sewer. Ironically, one time the super of another building that my landlord owns happened to be around, used the same pump and viola, he'd unclog the drain in about five minutes.

So not being too keen on either using toxic poisonous chemicals or having my super come up, I once did a discussion on that forum about my dilemma in that I had a real heavy duty clogged up drain and in chimed my on-line friend Nola who told me about a more natural, non-toxic means to de-clog drains: baking soda and white vinegar. I'm thinking, huh? How can something so simple work, but work it does!

Instructions:

First up, make sure there is no standing water, whether kitchen or bathroom sink or bathtub. Pour a good amount of baking soda, perhaps maybe about half a cup. Then start pouring in the white vinegar, about a cup or more. Be ready for a surprise when the vinegar contacts the baking soda…lets put it this way, rather fizzy and "explosive". The first time I did this I have to confess I nearly freaked out since I wasn't expecting such a reaction. The combo will bubble and fizz for quite awhile. Wait about 15 minutes, then pour down boiling hot water. If by chance this doesn't work first time round, depending on how bad the clog is, repeat the process, but I do guarantee you, it will work. To keep drains unclogged, repeat this perhaps every few weeks.

There you have it, a completely natural, non-toxic and eco-friendly means to unclog drains. What could be simpler?

Youtube Video of how to declog drains using baking soda and white vinegar:

Youtube Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MLEO5JWRYI

IMAGE SOURCE~©MELANIE NEER~own photo

ARTICLE: Pet Toy Safety: Just How Safe Are Some of Those Pet Toys?

First Published at Bubblews~April 11, 2014

Bubblews Article

Image source~Internet images of Typical Pet Toys

ABSTRACT: If one has a pet, one should be a conscientious consumer about some of the potential hazards that can exist in some pet toys especially pet toys made in China.

CONTENT:

If you're a pet owner, no doubt you pamper your pet with a variety of cute toys that will allow your cat(s) or dog(s) a chance for them to play and perhaps even give them exercise, but just how safe are some of those toys? My question came to mind as I've been seeing a good number of my on-line friends talk about buying the seemingly new pet toy craze: that is the Crinkle Ball Toy. But my question of safety factors for pet toys isn't limited to the Crinkle Ball, but other pet toys as well.

One of the real problems as I see it, while one may hear of numerous recalls for products targeted for children on TV media news, one will rarely hear of recalls for products for pets. We are also more aware of foods for human consumption that are recalled, but with a few exceptions, we hardly ever hear of any massive pet food recalls. To be knowledgeable of recalls of any kind of pet products, be it toys or food, one has to turn to the internet.

Think of all the children's products that have been recalled in the past few years of toys found containing lead paint to a good number of strollers that have had defects in them. There is a seemingly common denominator and factor involved when it comes to products made for both children and pets, and that is the vast majority of them are made in China where safety standards are less diligent.

Now let me to explore and bring up some issues and concerns about pet toys.

Back in 2008, I very vividly remember hearing the story about a dog owner who had bought a popular chew toy, called the Pimple Ball With Bell and made Four Paws, Inc. While playing with this ball, somehow the dog's tongue got caught into the hole of the ball and despite efforts for the owner to remove the ball, the owner wasn't able to as the dog's tongue quickly became swollen. The owner took the dog to a vet to have the ball removed, however, even with the ball surgically removed, the dog's tongue continued to swell and the tongue eventually had to be amputated. You can read the whole story here.

One very popular toy for cats is known as the Lattice Plastic Ball with a Jingle Bell. Many years ago as a treat for my cats around Christmas time I bought a large Christmas stocking filled with a variety of cat toys, one of them being a few of those Lattice type balls. I refrained from giving my cats this type of toy as right away I saw a potential hazard. The lattice plastic part of the ball was rather flimsy and could easily be broken. I also saw a potential danger of that jingle bell, that if the plastic part of the ball was broken, a cat could possibly swallow that jingle bell, not to mention the plastic part of that ball as well. What did I do? Simple, I threw them all out.

Before I go on, I wish to mention something about those jingle bells. A pet owner may notice that those small jingle type bells seem to appear in or on a lot of pet toys. I suppose the idea behind having them included is to attract the attention of the pet, but in my mind they should be eliminated as there is too much of a risk of that jingle bell being accidentally swallowed by a pet. A good while ago, I had bought a mouse-shaped toy filled with catnip. Dangling from the tail part which was made out of string was, yes, a jingle bell. Not only did I cut off the bell, but the tail part of the toy. My advice then that if you do get a pet toy that has one of those shiny metal jingle bells is to cut them off!

Feather toys also seem to be popular for pets however, I question the safety factor of these toys as well. Yes some of those feather toys are "cute" and often brightly colored to attract the attention of a pet. However feathers are easily torn apart, and there is the risk of the feather being swallowed, and what about the safety factor of the dyes used to make those feathers so colorful? I mention the later as I often have made crafts that call for feathers, usually the "marabou" type of feathers, and yes they are brightly dyed. In handling the feathers that are dyed red, blue or yellow, some of the dye comes off on my hands. Needless to say, I keep the feathers I use for my crafts sealed up and stored in a container so there's no potential of my cats getting to those feathers.

Beware of any pet toys that are made of "fur", yes real fur. Some years ago I bought a mini-condo for my two cats. With the condo was a mouse shaped toy and yes made of real fur, not only that, but the fur was dyed a sickly orange color. The irony of any pet toy made out of fur is that it can be made from any type of fur bearing animal such as rabbits, but more horrifying believe it or not, possibly made from dog or cat fur from the Chinese fur trade where cats and dogs are skinned alive. If you don't believe me, google "Cats and Dogs Skinned Alive In China"; it will absolutely repulse you.

Rawhide Dog Chew toys can also be suspect in their safety factor as well since many are treated with a whole array of toxic chemicals, including FD&C Red 40, which is a known carcinogen, sodium benzoate, arsenic, formaldehyde. Chemical "concoctions" isn't limited to rawhide type dog chews, but two years ago a toy called Snuggling Furry Friend, and sold by Petco also contained Trimethyl Benzene, Arsenic, Cadmium, Lead and Naphthalene. One can read more about rawhide dog chew toys and about the Snuggling Furry Friend toys in the articles I provide in my Sources section.

Now to discuss those Crinkle Ball Toys which I've been wondering about for awhile and are increasingly becoming more popular. All those Crinkle Ball Toys are made from Mylar which is a shiny plastic. I can't help thinking that such plastic I can be easily ripped apart when a cat plays with them and perhaps chews on them, so once again here we have a potential choking hazard. Also, these Crinkle Balls come in a bright, dazzling array of colors to make them more attractive; attractive for whom I don't know, certainly not the pet but more for the owner. I went on a search to see if anything has yet been mentioned about the safety factor of these Crinkle Ball Toys and came across a posting by a cat owner on the Pet360 website. The owner mentions how when one of these Crinkle Ball Toys fell into her cat's water bowl, the water had turned red from the dye of the ball. She then suspects that her cat drank this water laced with the red dye from the toy as she found vomit nearby the water dish.You can read the entire posting here: http://community.pet360.com/t5/Whole-Cat-Health-Wellness/Are-Crinkle-Ball-Toys-Safe-For-Cats-Or-Not/td-p/45091

So what is a pet owner to do? Naturally we want to pamper our pets with toys for them to play with. But for the safety of your pet, refrain from buying pet toys made in China where standards and quality of materials used are suspect. Do some research in buying toys for your pets. There are plenty of pet toy manufacturers right here in the USA. To find such toys, google "Natural or Organic Pet Toys" and you'll be surprised by how many websites come up. One of my favorite natural toys to buy for my cats are anyone of the products made by Yeowww and a lot are sold over at Amazon.com.

Lastly, your pets are your "children", don't you want them to be safe? All I can say is to be a conscientious consumer. Research, research, research!

Sources:

Dog Chew Toy

http://consumerist.com/2008/08/21/owner-calls-for-chew-toy-recall-after-dogs-injury-results-in-tongue-amputation/

Rawhide Chew Toys

http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2013/03/07/the-risk-of-rawhide-chew-toys/

http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/dogs/tips/dog_toys.html

Dog Toys

http://thebark.com/content/beware-lead-and-toxic-dog-toys

http://www.petsitusa.com/blog/?p=4843

Crinkle Toys

http://community.pet360.com/t5/Whole-Cat-Health-Wellness/Are-Crinkle-Ball-Toys-Safe-For-Cats-Or-Not/td-p/45091

Massive Recall of Children's Toys From China Due to Lead

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/20254745/ns/business-consumer_news/t/mattel-issues-new-massive-china-toy-recall/#.U0iVpaVsr1w

Natural or Organic USA Made Pet Toys:

Purrfect Play Website:
http://purrfectplay.com

Only Natural Pet:
http://www.onlynaturalpet.com/dogs/

Image Source~My own photo of a Yeowwwy Catnip Toy

ARTICLE: You Are What You Eat: What Exactly ARE You Eating? Part 3: Are Dairy Products Really Healthy?

First published at Bubblews~March 15, 2014

Bubblews Article

ABSTRACT: This article explores the issue as to whether or not milk and dairy products are as healthy as we've been led to believe.

CONTENT:

This article is the third in a series of articles where I explore the various aspects of the food industry.

In this article, I explore the issue concerning dairy products and as to whether or not milk and dairy products are as healthy as we have been led to believe. For decades we in effect have been bottle-fed (no pun intended), that milk does the body good, builds strong bones, that it is a good source of protein and calcium and so forth. As children we were encouraged by our parents to drink our milk, and if we didn't care for the taste of milk outright, our parents thought of other ways to get us to drink milk, that is by adding a chocolate syrup such as Bosco or Hershey's.

In the past twenty years, who can forget the ad campaign "Got Milk?" that began in 1993 where celebrities such as Naomi Campbell, Taylor Swift, Ron Howard, Harrison Ford, Marg Helgenberger, Brooke Shields, Whoopi Goldberg, Susan Sarandon, just to name a few, posed with a glass of milk and had that milk mustache? In fact, if you wish, do a google search "images of celebrities got milk" and you'll be amazed as to how many celebrities participated in the "Got Milk?" campaign. Only recently, beginning in February of this year, the "Got Milk?" campaign has been changed to "Milk Life" with a whole new type of message to encourage people to drink more milk.

The big question however, do we really need to drink milk or consume dairy products, and are they really as healthy as we've been made to believe?

In a nutshell, to answer the question as to whether we really need to drink milk, the answer would be a flat outright no. The human species seems to be the only species that continues to drink milk after babyhood. You won't find any other mammals drinking their mother's milk after they are weaned. We have been in effect programmed that even as adults we need to drink milk and consume dairy products, and that would include cheeses, yogurts, sour cream, cottage cheese, ice cream, and I might add, not limited to cow's milk, but also the milk and dairy products from other milk producing mammals such as goats and sheep.

We have been in a sense programmed in how beneficial milk is as far as adding more protein in our diets. Well there are of course other sources of protein: meats, fish, beans, nuts, even vegetables have a certain amount of protein in them and of course for those who prefer a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle, there is soy milk, and tofu.

Not only have we been programmed that milk and dairy products are a great source of protein, but also for calcium. Guess what though? Milk and dairy are not the sole and only sources for calcium either. Other sources of calcium include: Bok Choy, Kale, Beans, Salmon, Spinach, Oranges, Oatmeal, Soy Milk, and Tofu, just to mention a few. In a pinch, if one feels they aren't getting their daily intake of calcium, there are of course calcium supplements one can take. A full listing of calcium sources is at this website

The Health Factor Of Milk:
Unless one is getting organic milk and dairy products, that is from cows raised "humanely" and not in a farm factory type environment, one is also consuming a number of less desirable elements. Farm Factory raised dairy cows are pumped up with Bovine Growth Hormones, known as rBGH which encourages the cows to produce more milk. If that isn't bad enough, dairy cows are also injected antibiotics to decrease infections like mastitis. (1) Also, once again, unless one is drinking organic milk or eating organic dairy products, one is also in effect consuming Monsanto GMOs. How? Humanely raised cows are grass fed, which is a cow's normal type of diet, while farm factory raised cows are feed GMO grains such as corn, and 90% of all corn grown are GMO corn. What does this mean to us? It means when we drink milk or consume dairy foods, we are also ingesting the rBGH, antibiotics and GMO corn.

Can Milk And Dairy Products Actually Trigger Health Problems?
For decades we were have been told how milk and dairy products helps to build strong bones and helps to avoid medical conditions such as osteoporosis. Sorry but I'm about to shatter that illusion. I've read countless articles where actually the opposite is true. Just do a google search, "does milk cause osteoporosis" and you'll be amazed at what comes up. I list only one source here but take my word, there are a lot of articles out there.

Let me quote a few things directly from the one article I found:

"…although milk makes bones stronger in the short term, in the long term it erodes bone-making cells, increasing the risk of osteoporosis…" and "…women…who drank milk three times a day actually broke more bones than women who rarely drank milk." (2)

If that isn't enough, do you have chronic headaches or even migraines? In another article, I found a list of possible triggers for these health issues as well, and guess what? Yes you can guess, among the list of headache and migraine triggers was cultured dairy products, sour cream, buttermilk, and all types of cheeses. (3)

The Humane Factor of The Dairy Industry:
I wish to add here, that one does have to also consider the humane factor when it comes to the dairy industry. Dairy cows in farm factory type environments live a life that is anything but humane. The female cows are kept in small, crammed stalls where they can barely move and each cow is hooked up to machine to pump out their milk. Also, the female cow is constantly kept pregnant in order to produce milk in the first place. Upon the birth of a calf, that calf is virtually yanked away from it's mother within hours of being born, and either outrightly killed or sent to be raised as veal, which of course means its eventual slaughter upon reaching around the age of 18 to 20 weeks old. (4)

Lastly, I do need to mention that I'm by no means a vegetarian nor vegan, though I have been cutting down on the eating of meats. As far as the milk factor, I've never have been a big milk drinker to begin with, yet ironically I do confess in loving cheeses. However, ever since I became more aware and conscious of the cruelty factor behind farm factory raised dairy cows, I've cut down on eating cheeses as well.

Got milk? Don't think so!

Sources:

Got Milk Campaign:

Got Milk Campaign

Milk Life

The Truth About Milk:

Facts About Milk (1)

Health Issues With Milk:
http://www.news-medical.net/news/2005/09/12/13120.aspx (2)

Milk Triggers Headaches and Migraines (3)

Calves (4)

Calves

My earlier articles in this series:
Part 1: Introduction
Part 1
Part 2: Organic Vs. All Natural Vs. Monsanto GMO
Part 2

ARTICLE: You Are What You Eat: What Exactly ARE You Eating Though? Part 2: Organic Vs. All Natural Vs. Monsanto GMO

First Published at Bubblews~October 29, 2013