The woman I saw who I never want to be!

Hey Marnie -

I'm a school nurse and am entitled to eat whatever the lunchroom in my school is serving. (Actually, they want us to eat it to help promote health/food options in the cafeteria.) So...being the cheapskate I am, I fell for it. I gained 7 lbs within the first month. I quickly stopped and dropped the weight.

This was 12 years ago and I haven't touched the "stuff" since except for an occasional vegetable that hasn't already been dressed with butter. I was also still eating what they called "egg whites" until recently. I thought how bad could they be?? Well, NYC Bd of Ed has a website (which I believe is fairly new) where you could look up the calories and nutrients of everything they serve. A small helping of these eggs were something like 250 calories with 200 from fat. (I was probably eating three servings thinking they were good). ???????? WTH??????? Needless to say, I don't believe there's much, if anything, you can eat out of the cafeteria. Sad story for the kids.

Nancy
 
"I've heard of drug companies keeping drugs on the market that have serious or even fatal "side effects," hoping that they can make enough profit from sales in the meantime to outweigh any payments they might be forced to make to compensate for the injury done by their product. Very scary. And the FDA isn't out to protect the consumers anymore, if it ever was. "

I can tell you for a fact, and not just hearsay/rumors, that this is very true. I can say this, because I used to work for a pharm company. I also used to edit another pharm's newsletters ... again, I'm afraid to name the company or the drug, but it was a drug that was beleived to be causing certain deaths in people, and the CEO of the company addressed his employees in the newsletter. This was a newsletter that would only meet the eyes of the pharm employees, and me the editor. The CEO wrote that if the company took this drug off the market, the company would go out of business.

Also, here is less of an eyewitness account. A friend of mine had a BIL who worked in drug research. The put out a BREAST CANCER drug that they KNEW did not work. But they marketed it anyway cuz they couldn't afford to lose the billions they put into researching it. So basically, you never know when you are just popping M&Ms either!!! What's sad is that the general public has no idea about these horrifying facts. What's sadder, is that for many people, even when you tell them these facts, they won't believe you.
 
Marnie,

Though it would be a huge undertaking, I feel that the public most definitely has the power to change things in your school. Start with the parent organization, and get as many people as you can. Then move it up to the school committee...if that doesn't work, take it to the overall town gov't, and then to the state if needed. Again, I know it's work and time, but think Erin Brokovitch .... if enough people make enough noise, collectively, then things can and will change. You can even get the teachers to join the crusade as well.
 
>I thought aspirin
>was the "wonder drug" and was considering it since heart
>disease is a problem in my family.

So the aspirin manufacturers' PR works very well!
Just like with any drug, aspirin can have side-effects, including intestinal irritation (not a good thing, since about 70% of our immune system is housed in the intestines, where immune cells are created).

>I have ordered "Overdosed America" at the library (I think
>that is the title). I am looking forward to reading it - sure
>is taking a long time to get to my library (could have really
>used it this week while waiting in court!) Marnie

It's an excellent book, IMO.
 
>A small helping of these eggs were
>something like 250 calories with 200 from fat.

!!!! Doesn't sound like 'egg whites' to me!

Healthy school lunches are so important. I've read of some schools that specialize in students with behavioral problems. They feed plant-based, additive-free, and I think mostly organic food, and find that behavioral problems are greatly reduced or even disappear, just from changing what the kids eat.
 
Hi,
Just wanted to say that this is one of the most informative threads I've read here in a while and that right now I wish I was living in or near NYC.

However, as an immunologist, I just want to clarify a few points. Misconceptions about science irk me, especially since most of what is out there is usually dumbed down or just completely off the mark.
Aspirin's used by most of the public as an anti-inflammatory/ pain-suppressor. The most common side effect is stomach irritation, mainly in people who already have a problem like an ulcer. It does not typically cause intestinal problems. And aspirin does not wreak havoc on the immune system. In fact, all immune cells are created in the bone marrow and then move to different sites in the human body either via the bloodstream or the lymphatic system. Yes, you do have immune cells that reside in your intestines but that is not where they originate. That isn't where ANY immune cells originate! The immune system is not neatly packaged in one organ or another but spread throughout the body with distinctive concentrations of cell types in your spleen and lymph nodes.


Keep in mind that ALL drugs have some side effects. But the vast majority of drugs have established reputations and all undergo vigorous testing. Yes, there are always going to be drugs that can cause death in certain people for any number of reasons. Aspirin has been around since something like the 1880s. PR has very little to do with it.

cristina
 
"Keep in mind that ALL drugs have some side effects. But the vast majority of drugs have established reputations and all undergo vigorous testing. Yes, there are always going to be drugs that can cause death in certain people for any number of reasons. Aspirin has been around since something like the 1880s. PR has very little to do with it."

I disagree ... just take one look at the new wave of drug commercials on TV. Never before in history did we ever have TV commercials trying to sell us drugs ... if that's not PR and marketing, I don't know what is. Also, if you look carefully at the way these commercials are engineered and presented, they are 6000% marketing/PR driven.

And I don't think it's that simple to say that just because ALL drugs have side effects, that excuses it or makes it OK. In fact, to say that all drugs have side effects just makes the argument even stronger that chemically maufactured drugs are unnatrual and dangerous, and wouldn't it be wonderful if more of the public could be informed about alternative healing practices, that are majorly effective, natural, and safe.

In terms of aspirin, in ancient Chinese medicine practice, headaches manifest through liver energy (called Qi (pronounced Chee). Aspirin targets liver Qi, which is why it can cycle you into more headaches. The next headache that comes on, just ease through it, take a nap, etc. Let it go away naturally, and get all that aspirin out of your system. You till then find that you have broken this headache cycle ... keep your life as stress free as you can, layoff the aspirin, and you will find that frequent/cycle headaches will not be an issue in your life and perhaps the aspirin companies will go out of business....

Again, if you break a leg, by all means, get yourself to the ER! But speaking of which, I broke my finger @ 5 yrs ago. The worst break you can get, as it was diagonal and cut across the joint. I of course went to the hospital to get an X-Ray, just so I could see what I was dealing with. I was seeing the top hand doctor from Harvard. He wanted to cut me open and put a permanent metal pin in my finger! I was like "No way!" So, I gave him no choice but to send me on my way with a finger splint and some physical therapy excercises. After about 4 months of me faithfully wearing my splints, doing my physical therapy excersises, and also doing enegy work on my own finger, I went back to the Harvard doctor for an exit exam. And he was shocked. He literally told me that my finger healed back almost perfectly, and that it healed far more better than it would have had he done the surgery. HE asked ME how I did it! When I told him, he just sorta looked at me weird and said, "Huh ..." Then, he ended up taking pictures of my finger because he said he wanted to give a lecture on my case and show the pictures of the advanced healing that took place on my hand, with no western interention whatsoever .... Also, when I was in college, I had asthma and took asthma meds .... when I later got into alternative medicine, I adusted my diet and made some other lifestyle changes, and the asthma disappeared ... the western doctor again just sorta cocked her head and said "Oh, you must have grown out of it." The same things happened for me with hypothyroidism (as with asthma and headaches, another condition that causes you to be on meds the rest of your life.) Again, with lifestyle changes, I "grew out of" my hypothyroidism as well.
 
B& G--I know what you mean about asthma. When I was in my first year of grad school, I had a serious one-time bout with asthma. As a new and young teacher teaching college students who were about the same age as I, I was consumed with anxiety for weeks. In this time of stress and weakness, I developed a respiratory infection. Then as misfortune would have it, I was cleaning the house with a dust vac and stopped to empty it. The mechanism was jammed, so I forced it open and before I knew it, I breathed in a cloud of dust (which I'm allergic to). A short time later, the wheezing and feelings of suffocation began. I tried the steam treatments, but these were ineffectual against that panicky feeling of being suffocated. In desperation, I ended up doing some shots in the arm and a round of steroids, which gave me relief but had terrible effects.

When the episode past, the doctor spoke to me about getting on drugs to control and live with my asthma. I told him frankly that I didn't believe I had a "condition" and that what happened to me was the coming together of three unfortunate circumstances (prolonged stress meets virus meets dust vac). Well, I never assented to the stigma or the "condition managing drugs" he recommended. Twenty years later, I can happily report that I have never once thought of myself as "an asthmatic" nor have I had another episode with it. Now imagine the toxicity of my liver after 20 years had I agreed to add that unnecessary drug to my system.

What I learned firsthand from that event was that prolonged stress plays a huge role in weakened immunity and illness. It was a good lesson at a young age, for I took it as an incentive to learn techniques for beating stress, for getting to the root of the problem. It is this, I think, which has been largely responsible for my robust good health and excellent immunity. It is stress which must be controlled and managed, not the symptoms of a stress-weary body.
Manmohini
 
If you think that is bad, I went to Wal-Mart one day and there was an obese woman and in a wheel chair and on Oxygen and she bought $200 worth of candy!!! I couldn't believe what I was watching, and yes I have seen women buy nothing but Junk food for their kids, I had a friend who was obese and diabetic and she bought nothing but cookies, cakes and candy and her kids were also over weight, I would think she wouldn't sentance her kids to the same fate as hers since she has so many health problems herself.
 
Reading through these posts makes me think about what drives me crazy. I too try to teach my kids to eat in moderation. I know I can't expect them to eat absolutely perfectly. For example, we only buy whole-grain bread products, skim milk, lots of fruits and veggies (although they are very picky about these). However, we do let them have mac and cheese every now and then and small portions of sweets.

What I can't understand, though, is why so many other moms make everything about food. The school always seems to have parties with moms bringing in so many sweets for one occasion, or if a child has a birthday, huge cupcakes are brought in. If there are two birthdays on one day, the kids will be given two items. When I tell people about this, they say well it's a special occasion. It seems to me that these special occasions are all the time (girl scout meetings, birthdays, even Sunday school).

My husband's family makes everything about food as well. I could write a book about this, so I'll just leave it with they think I'm ultra uptight because I don't want my kids eating so much junk. One more point about this - these same people have no concept of portion control. My mother-in-law once said that my girls ate such a "good" breakfast at her house when they ate "a lot": three biscuits, eggs, 5 pieces of bacon, etc.

I'm always wondering if all of these moms and my in-laws ever read about nutrition. (I have these same issues with sunscreen!)
 
>
>
>>I'm always wondering if all of these moms and my in-laws ever
>read about nutrition. (I have these same issues with
>sunscreen!)



Yes! I live in Georgia and obesity is a big problem, especially among our large african-american community. I really don't think hardly anyone around here has any real (other than some basic) knowledge of nutrition. And sunscreen! I read about this program some schools were having teaching kids about sun safety and having kids wear hats and sunscreen when they go out. Seems like this would be a real issue here in the south. I try to remember to put sunscreen on my little dd in the morning. I'm not sure, however, how effective it is when I apply it at 6am and she goes out at 12:30 and its 100 out!

Of course, my little community is big in pageants, etc and all the teens go to the tanning booths.

(sorry somewhat OT , but it seems we need to discuss and vent :p )
 
I just wanted to mention that my son has a wonderful teacher this year (Thank God....last year was Kindergarten Nazi Bootcamp). She is very much into rewards and treats. I think it is great that she focuses on good behavior, but she is always passing out candy. (She is also on the obese side....)

I remember in 2nd grade and on Fridays, my teacher would reward us with these cool toys!! They were little junk toys, but I loved them!!!!! Now, why can't teachers do that? Why does every classroom teacher at my son's school have a big jar of candy to pass out for rewards? Crazy!

Sara
 
Here's a link to a news article I read this morning

http://my.earthlink.net/article/top?guid=20070820/46c911c0_3ca6_1552620070820-928949888

Basically, it is about the overuse of pain medicine and the problems that is causing for people abusing it and people who really need it.

I thought these 2 snippets were right on target to this discussion (or part of it!)

AP investigator lists reasons why sales have gone through the roof - one reason:


"Drugmakers have embarked on unprecedented marketing campaigns. Spending on drug marketing has gone from $11 billion in 1997 to nearly $30 billion in 2005, congressional investigators found. Profit margins among the leading companies routinely have been three and four times higher than in other Fortune 500 industries"



And later in the article


"Perhaps no place illustrates the trends and consequences for the world of pain better than Myrtle Beach, a sprawling community of strip malls, hotels and bars perched along a 60-mile strip of sand on the Atlantic Ocean. The metro area, which includes three counties, is home to 350,000 people but sees more than 14 million tourists annually, drawn to its warm water, golf courses and shopping.

During the eight-year period reflected in government figures, oxycodone distribution increased 800 percent in the area of Myrtle Beach, partly due to a campaign by Purdue Pharmaceuticals of Stamford, Conn. The privately held company has pleaded guilty to lying to patients, physicians and federal regulators about the addictive nature of the drug."
 
Suz and Sarah, I agree totally! And Suz you are right, Sarah said it perfectly!
Sometimes the holier then thou posters make me never want to come back here but its the reasonable posters that make me return. People who pretend that they always do and think what is "right" and they never think negative thoughts burn me. We all think them...but some never say them. And yes, if I went to the grocery store today and saw a overweight person or a tiny person pushing a cart full of junk with a kid trailing behind her, I would also say to myself "that poor kid"! Saw it last week and thought it! And I'd do it again today when I go.

Lori:)
 
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