Circumcision: a complete 180

Okay, so after doing a lot of research, I have become passionately anti-circumcision, in all its forms. I know a year or so earlier, I caused a small stir on my blog because of my espousal of so-called "holistic" circumcision. I have since reversed my position, and I am now patently against circumcision, no matter the "reasons" people give for mutilating their sons.

Having said that, I have found a wonderful website that dispels the propaganda of this victorian practice, called Circumstitions. It is a wonderful site that gives a heavy dose of reality.

When you really think about it, all of those arguments that pro-circumcision people use don't really make any sense. I mean, if a foreskin was a harmful thing to have that should be removed--very painfully I might add-- in infancy, then why are men born with one? How can it be cleaner to remove an organ that nature has bestowed upon males (and females really, since the clitoral hood is very similar to the male foreskin). And really, what is cleaner? Is it supposedly less bacteria? With all the new information that has been discovered about bacteria and how people actually need bacteria to survive, I don't even think that argument relevant. Because there is less bacteria, does not mean that it is cleaner. We need to get away from this idea--an idea that is a result from our modernized society that demonizes anything natural, including organs-- that our bodies are somehow dangerous for us that we need the good ol' doctor to come and take away the "useless" parts. Everything on our bodies has a purpose, and if we let nature take its course, that purpose will be fulfilled.

Like all other unnecessary surgical procedures such as apendectomies, tosillectomies, and what ever other organs people these days desire to remove, this must be stopped! I mean, not too long ago, it wasn't considered ludicrous to remove part of people's brains through lobotomies in order to "cure" their mental problems--the medical knowledge we have gained has somehow given us this idea that we to start removing organs because we are supposedly more enlightened now.

One poster, correctly, criticized my support for so-called holistic circumcision. I am glad that poster criticized me as they did, because it prompted me to seek out the real truth behind this procedure: it lit a fire under me, and forced me not to complacently and blindly accept the falsehoods that purported by the American Medical Machine.

I feel like boys today are being attack from all sides: vaccines that predominantly affect them, plastic products that will affect their fertility, and a general attitude that being a boy is some how bad. That is not to say that girls are treated with the utmost respect, but the environmental changes that we see today are affecting boys in a very profound and dangerous way, and, in effect, our future. Now, I am not saying that pollution does not effect girls negatively, in fact I think it is effecting girls in a way that has not been reported on yet (and I have my suspicions that all of these feminizing hormones work to contribute to estrogen dominance in girls).

It seems like in society today, men are portrayed like sex-hungry, dumb, and abusive creatures, without souls and hearts. There are so many negative attitudes towards boys in movies, television, and music that I think we are conditioning a whole new generation to just value the opposite sex for nothing more than mere satisfaction of primal urges.

Like I said before, it is time to resurrect the image of males in general, and to stop casting them into categories. I think we can start that by stopping circumcision. I mean, in the website, some women even described the natural male penis as gross looking and disgusting! Any way, I know that when I have children, my sons will most certainly NOT be circumcised. I will leave them as nature has intended them to be. I know beforehand, when I was on the dark side (pro-circumcision), I cited religious arguments to sustain my position. I can no longer use that as a reason to destroy my future son's body, and I won't use that as a reason. After watching an actual circumcision I cannot reconcile within my heart to do something so dastardly to a newborn, and I cannot conceive how any one else can do that to their kids. Even then, my heart was torn apart by this commandment and by the prospects of having to do this. But I won't. It is not my son's choice to do this to himself, so I won't start off his life on such a bad foot!

We are in the 21st century, it is time to move on from this truly barbaric practice.

G-20 protest post

Okay, in Pittsburgh, the City where I live, the G-20 summit was held last week. It was a very interesting experience. There were so many police officers. . . Now, I am a student at the University of Pittsburgh, but I do not live on campus, so I did not witness the protests and riots on Thursday and Friday nights. I have heard from friends who live on campus what happened. In short, police were tear gassing students and were shooting them with rubber bullets. I watched youtube videos of the event and was really upset at what I saw. Here are some videos,








Truly disturbing! I usually try and stay away from political posts, but since this happened in my hometown, I feel the urge to represent what I saw happen.

Swine Flu scare

I have been watching these videos on youtube about how ridiculous this whole 'swine flu' thing. Here are some of the interesting videos:


and this one:



Very interesting stuff.

Patrick Swayze died...

It is so terrible to hear that Patrick Swayze died after going through the traditional methods of cancer treatment. I cannot help but think that if he, or any of the celebrities who died from cancer-related treatments, would still be around if maybe they looked at their options, or new that there were other options.

Had he known that there are ways to combat cancer, would he have employed them? I mean, even if you know that there are different ways of doing things, these days you have to be made of a steel countenance and really be rooted in your convictions. Without proper support of those around you, you are pretty much pressured into doing things the 'normal' way. I guess that is a topic for another time.

He brought happiness to millions through his movies, and he left behind a legacy that will not soon be forgotten.

Natural news has a wonderful article on him:http://www.naturalnews.com/027030_cancer_chemotherapy_Patrick_Swayze.html

Its been forever!

Wow, my last post was in March! It has been really difficult for me to post new things up here because school and work have taken up the majority of my time. I am trying to get to a place where I can post more frequently though. I guess I need a lesson in time management.

Since March, I have been trying to incorporate more natural and healthful foods into my and my family's diet. It has been a struggle but I think it is working. What I am most proud of is that I have really been doing a lot of reading! I am more than half-way through Nutrition and Physical Degeneration, and I have a lot of books about natural health, gardening (which I am so very excited for!) and other health topics. I feel like I have grown so much and have learned so much over the summer that I can really help people and provide answers.

One thing that I am really getting into is pregnancy nutrition. I really hope to get the brewers diet book, because I have only read a little about it but it will be really helpful to me and other if I can get it. The price is a bit steep on Amazon, but it is definitely worth the price.

I mentioned earlier about gardening, I found this website that I really think sells good seeds. This site is called Non-hybrid seeds, and it looks really good! I plan getting seeds from here at some point in time! I really want to start a garden in Spring 2010, and I am gonna get my seeds from here. I will add it to my website list.

I also came across this story on science daily about how cigarettes contribute to MS (multiple sclerosis), pretty interesting stuff.

Until next time (whenever that is)!

Update on reading

As many of you have noticed, I have not updated or posted on this website for a bit a of time. That is because I am really trying to immerse myself in learning about natural health and natural health practices. I have been doing a bit of reading, from the new edition of Ron Schmid's Truth About Raw Milk book, to Keeping a Family Cow book who's author's name escapes me at the moment (but it was recommended in Nourishing Traditions book), and I am learning a lot!

I am excited to really start applying more of these principles to my life, although it is difficult because money is often a big obstacle, I am confident that I will be blessed by God, though, so I am not worried.

I have also been doing a bit more reading on Chemtrails, and I was admittedly worried when I first came across this information. But then, my fears were surpressed because I realize that a) God is in control, and that b) there is always a counteraction for every negative thing, its just a matter of finding the solution to these chemtrails.

I do want to put this question out there though: Is there anyone out there who has information on counteracting the negatives of the chemtrails?

Fetal Stem Cells Cause tumor

I was purusing the articles on ABC news, and I was surprised to see that a headline that said fetal stem cells cause tumors in his spine and brain.
Quote from the article:

"Patients, please beware," said Dr. John Gearhart, a stem cell scientist at the University of Pennsylvania who wasn't involved in the Israeli boy's care but who sees similarly desperate U.S. patients head abroad to clinics that offer unproven stem cell injections.

"Cells are not drugs. They can misbehave in so many different ways, it just is going to take a good deal of time" to prove how best to pursue the potential therapy, Gearhart said.

I think that we need to stop emphasizing embryonic stem cells and use adult stem cells. We keep finding negative things about these embryonic stem cells.

Update on Soy Online Service

Last week, I posted a comment by a reader who questioned the validity of Soy online service's source information and wrote me saying so. The reader did not like how my article relied on soy online service for so much of my information.

I felt that the reader's claim was worth investigating, because I feel it is important to be able to verify the veracity of my sources.

Here is the email I received,

Hi Emily...There are about 200 citations in
www.soyonlineservice.co.nz Every one of those scientific research reports is
from the USA NIH PubMed data base and is linked back to the summary
abstracts. If you use those links you will see at the head of each are the
names of the researchers and the scientific laboratory where the research
was done

After reading this, I went to investigate, and saw that there were numerous citations to pubmed, Journal of Reproduction, etc. I concluded from this that soy online service is a reliable source.

Wonderful Youtube video

I was on natural news, and I came across a Youtube link of a 12 year old girl who makes some really good points about abortion and why it is not a good thing.

Aside from the content, I feel that this young girl represents a portion of children who are actually intelligent and can present themselves well. She did an excellent job and I thought I would post about it here because I was completely ecstatic to see someone so young being able to express themselves in such a positive and intelligent manner. I think this kind of thing is lacking in our society. Any way, here is the video:

Vaccines

Obama has really been bringing change! But not in a good way. I was reading this on naturalnews today and I thought it was really disturbing.

http://www.naturalnews.com/025608.html

It is about the economic stimulus bill that is being proposed before congress. All I have to say is oh boy, and that this is not going to be good!

Recent News

Everyone has heard about the new-mother of eight, Nadya Suleman. And I just wanted to add my two cents to the conversation.

First and foremost, I want to say that I do not agree with the decision she made to have go through in-vitro fertilization in order to have more babies. She already has six children, and is currently unable to afford to care for her children and is a single mother (I am not saying it is bad to be a single mother, but I do think it is wrong for her to bring 14 children in the world without a father.) That is a given, just about everyone, with the exception of Ms. Suleman, can agree that her decision was unwise, selfish, and impractical.

What I do not agree with are the ideas that her children must be taken away from her, that she should have aborted those babies, or (more frighteningly) her actions should be illegal. What she did was, as stated previously, selfish, silly and wrong; however, it is not, and should not be illegal!

I firmly believe that people have the right to make their own decisions in life: whether stupid or not. Her case is a special one, and should not be used to bolster up the idea that we should be able to limit the amount of children one can have.

Let's really look at this: she is clearly an unstable woman who has an unnatural fixation of babies. The person who is really at fault here, and who we should be castigating is the doctor who performed this procedure. He was really at fault, because there is no way she would have conceived these children without his unscrupulous aid. He knew that she had six other children, possibly that another specialist had turned her away, yet he proceeded with the procedure! How outrageous! He should have recommend she get help! She didn't need eight mroe children, she need someone who could help her get through this fixation!

But then who could help her? Obviously, psychiatrists would do nothing more than prescribe some pill to help her. May be there was something in her diet or in her lifestyle she could/should have changed in order to correct the problem.

All in all, I am trying to say, let's not get fanatical and start calling it a crime to produce as many children as we desire--whether it is wise or not. This is not China, and we need to remember that.

Comment I received....

A few weeks ago, I received a comment about my article on the dangers of un-fermented soy products. The comment reads,

I came here after reading your article on soy on the Natural News website. I found your article interesting as I - like many others I expect - had read much about the health benefits of soy. So I decided to read more and follow the source links at the bottom of the article.

That led me to the 'Soy Online Service' which you have extensively used for references in this Blogger post and in your Natural News article. What I saw there worried me. 'Soy Online Service' describes itself as: "a small group of private citizens with a mission to inform the public of the truth about soy". Looking around their website, there is no information on who this group of "private citizens" are or what their qualifications are. They denigrate soy with references to "independent research" but don't provide any source references and don't publish any research reports on their site.

Their "testimonials" attacking soy seem to be too well written to be true (they look like they are professionally written), and there seems to be an underlying theme through many of them about how bad soy tastes (that seems strange because to me soy has a fairly bland taste).

I am therefore wondering, just wondering, given that website is based in New Zealand, whether we are all being hoodwinked not by a group of "private citizens" but by a group of "dairy farmers".

I am not challenging your observations on soy, because I haven't researched the issue enough myself, but I am concerned that you are basing your articles on what appears to be quite unsubstantiated sources.

There is so much 'information' and 'counter-information' about natural health (you know, one day there's an article about how bad coffee is for you, the next day there's another one that says quite the opposite) that I have learned to be skeptical from both sides, but there does seem to be far more independent research published supporting the health benefits of soy against research that says the opposite (and I am excluding research financed by the soy industry).

One thing that I do know is that everyone's bodies react to different foods and substances in different ways. Even some healthy foods can't be tolerated by some people, so it does not surprise me that you may have had problems with soy. But I am wondering whether what you read on the 'Soy Online Service' was simply what you wanted to hear. It's easy to be convinced in that frame of mind.

Me . . . I'm much more of a skeptic about anything I read on the Internet - especially a website where people are not prepared to identify themselves or their experience.

I would just like to say that I think that you are right to be skeptical and worried about where this information is coming from--it is a sign that you are an invested reader and do not blindly take information at face value. I find it interesting that you find limited sourcing for their articles. This is going to be a matter I will have to look in to in the future.

I thank you for your honest criticism, and I would just like to assure you that my conclusions about soy were not solely reached from this one website: I have been gathering information, both personal and scientific, from varying sources over the years. I used soy online service just as kind of a reference to which a lot of the things I had read about were found.

Thank you again!

Fermenting and Super Bowl

I am so excited! I just started making my first bactch of beet kvass! I hope it turns out well because I had one little concern: I used the kind of whey that Sally Fallon used in the book, but I think there might be too many milk solids! I hope that is not the case.

Also, I used a different brand of sea salt than was mentioned in the book. I hope that is not going to affect the final product because I have read some stories on how the batch can be too salty. I am also scared of it becoming alcoholic! Oh so many fears! It is my firts time lacto-fermenting anything other than milk (which is pretty easy) so I am a little nervouse! All I can do is wait and pray that every thing turns out alright.

I also am making a huge batch of kefir. I need to drink more, but I think I might have made a mistake on that as well. Typically, I only fill the container half-way up so I can easily mix the kefir, but this time I filled it almost to the top. I fear that kefir grains are sitting in the cream and not in the milk! I will stir it as soon as I get home. Oh well, you live and learn.

I ordered some new books, (I think I am addicted to Amazon shopping!). I am going to get a book about keeping, milking, and caring for a cow and I also purchased the milk book by Dr. William Douglass! I read some of quotes from his book in Nourishing Traditions and I thought to myself, "I absolutely have to get this book!" I am also excited that I am getting the latest edition of The Untold Story of Milk! I cannot wait!

This may seem frivilous to some, but in a world where our food supply is heavily tainted, unjust wars going on in the Middle East, chaos in our economy, one must take pleasure and seek relief amongst some of their favorite hobbies, and one of mine is football!

I love my Steelers and I am ecstatic they won the superbowl on sunday! I am a little saddend that I could not attend the victory parade; however, when they win their seventh title, I will go and celebrate with my townsfolk! Go Steelers!

Update on Jan. 29th post

A very informed and thoughtful reader posted a comment on that post and gave a link to a wonderful website that exposes and details the flaws of this latest study.

Thanks again to the reader, sites like the one you gave really help further knowledge and truth.

Here is the address: http://www.ageofautism.com/

and the link referring to the latest study:
http://www.ageofautism.com/2009/01/an-addendum-to-februarys-first-read.html

In the News

Today, I was browsing through some of my favorite news sites, and I found some pretty interesting things.

First off, CBS news reports that a news study supposedly in Italy adds to the, and I quote, "Mountain of evidence" pointing thimerosal away from autism. I went to this article with an open mind, and reading it I found a few problems. For one thing, lack of adequate sourcing. I would have to research this study more. I personally think it is garbage.
Also, this link is very interesting:
http://thimerosal-autism.wetpaint.com/page/Thimerosal+VSD+Study+Phase+I

Vicks vapor rub danger

A story posted on MSNBC details how Vicks vapor rub probably makes kids sicker not better.

What is with all of these childhood cold & flu remedies that end up doing more harm than good? Why is it these cold-medication manufacturers are delivering not only faulty products, but potentially harmful ones? Is the medical industry so corrupt that now our cold medicines are no longer safe? It is such a shame, I would rather bargain with massive amounts of vitamin C.

What I found most disturbing about this was the responses of the mothers: One said, and I quote, ";I’m a rebel mom,' said Rosenberg, the mother of Lucie, 17 months, and Clara, 3." This mother was referring to the fact that even though the study found that Vicks Vapor rub could be potentially dangerous, she will continue to use it on her children. I am all for parental rights and freedom, but you would think that if something was found to make kids sick, you might at least consider using more natural approaches. I may be being too harsh, but I know if I had a child and I read this (I wouldn't use traditional methods) I would especially stay away from these over-the-counter 'remedies'.

In my personal research, I have read that chicken soup made from homemade chicken stock and good vegetables is the best remedy for colds, congestion, stuffiness, etc. I know growing up my mom would make this drink consisting of garlic, honey, cayenne pepper, and lemon juice, and it works extrodinarily well. Oranges, grapefruit, other fruits, some vegetables, these are all potential cures of colds. Garlic is a powerful remedy, when chewed and masticated. Cayenne pepper by it self can also allieviate some symptoms. Also, herbs like echinecea, work well. These, along with lots of rest and sleep can really get rid of a nasty cold.

News today

Today is newsworthy day, not only because Barak H. Obama is being inagurated as the 44th and first African-American president.

Since this story is already heavily covered, I thought I might post some important stories that might slip under the radar on this historic day:

-ABC news health is reporting that there has been a spike in the incidence of MRSA among children. Not too surprising since we live in a pretty 'sterile' environment, which is not very good. If you watch television long enough, you are sure to come across cleaning product advertisments touting a 99.9% kill rate of all bacteria, good and bad. We need to stress cleanliness, not sterility.

-Naturalnews is reporting something particularly, shocking: HRT drugs shrink women's brains. Just another strange side-effect that such drugs have on women, and more reason to stay away from these drugs and search for alternatives.

-Naturalnews is also reporting that the Heart disease gene is virtually a useless indicator of heart disease incidence.

-The Salmonella scare is still in high gear. I betcha' this is all going to lead to the "renewed importance of irradiating all food." It seems like in the last few years, every year started off with a bacteria epidemic where the health officials have no idea where it is coming from.

A story I found particularly interesting was one posted today on Sciencedaily. It is about how DNA may not be the only source of heritability.

Book list

This year I am wholly dedicated to learning more and more about good nutrition and healthy ways of living. So, I have begun reading several books which I think will be important, and have compiled a list of books that I will read that are pretty relevant to health. Already, I have read a great deal of Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon and Sugar Blues by William Dufty, and I am excited to continue reading these kinds of books. I just got Darwin Day in America by John G. West, and I cannot wait to read that, I am getting the new edition of The Untold Story of Milk by Ron Schmidt.

This is going to be an exceptionally enlightening year this year.

I suggest reading some of these books because they have important truths that need to be dispelled, health myths that need to be exposed, and really good information. I encourage all to read these books!

Gattaca

Interesting title right? Well, it is actually the title of a movie I just watched yesterday, and I thought that it was important especially in these days of cloning, genetic testing, what have you.

This movie was made over ten years ago (1997) and stars Ethan Hawke as a genetically "inferior" man who uses the identity of a genetically "superior" man (Jude Law) to make his dreams of space travel come true. It sounds like a silly premise, but this movie speaks volumes to the dangers of eugenics and playing God with genetics.

In the movie, the world is separated by who was natural born and who was genetically engineered to be superior or perfect (perfect hair color, perfect eyes, etc.). In a world where women lop off their breast because they have the cancer gene(not the cancer itself!) and where newborns will have their DNA extracted, with or without parental consent, I think movies like this are going to become increasingly important.

New Year, New Resolutions. . .

With a new year upon us, we have new trials to face, new resolutions that were made/altered/broken, a year that will be big and important. This year, I have really committed myself to expanding my knowledge of natural health. I am going to read some really good health books, and I have already read most of the nutrition classic, Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon, so I plan to be bringing more in interesting posts and articles concerning health.

After reading a large portion of Nourishing Traditions, I have decided to start lacto-fermenting a lot more foods. I am going to start making beet kvass, apple cider, continue to make Kefir, and make various other things. I cannot wait to get Wild Fermentation by Sandor Elix Katz.

I have high hopes for 2009, and hope you do as well.