A Halloween Post: Cats Prefer Meat

In honor of my sister who celebrates her birthday each and every Halloween...a true story that illustrates that even the cat, given the choice, prefers meat.

I've noticed as I wander the pet food aisle at Sam's Club, that it is now possible to find vegetarian cat and dog food, so that Fido and Fluffy don't suffer the same horrible end that will eventually take all the other carnivores to an early grave. I don't think the average person realizes that both cats and dogs, given the choice, actually prefer meat.  Warning the following true account offers two cats this very choice and will change forever the way you think about your lovable pet.

Janice, by all accounts, was a lovely person, much loved by her co-workers at one of the many nondescript businesses that populate the vast industrial landscape in the City of Vaughan. She was quietly competent in her secretarial duties. She was prompt, efficient, and rarely missed a day of work. On those rare days when she was ill, or needed to be absent for any reason, she was sure to call well in advance.

Janice had scheduled to take a Friday off work, and on Thursday, bid her co-workers farewell. She proceeded to her small  bungalow which was nearly swallowed by the mini-mansions that were preferred by her wealthy Italian neighbors. The formerly sleepy town of Woodbridge had, in the late 80's, been transformed into a trendy, if slightly congested, enclave of the newly rich. Dozens of new subdivisions had sprung up and the hardworking Italians had squeezed maximum square-footage onto every possible inch of their lots. As a police officer assigned to the City of Vaughan, the Woodbridge area contained my favorite patrol zones. There was not much trouble in Vaughan. A couple murders each year were of the cleanest kind: A businessman found in the trunk of his Cadillac with a bullet in his skull. The killer would long since have arrived back in Italy...or wherever hit-men for the mob reside. Overall, the City of Vaughan was a fantastic place for a young police officer to work in the 1980s. Janice was not wealthy, and I'm sure her neighbors resented that her rundown bungalow was affecting the property values on their street.

I first heard of Janice on a Tuesday morning day shift. It was slightly after 9am and Janice's boss called to report that she had failed to show up for work Monday, and also today. Everyone was concerned because Janice was never late, let alone absent without giving notice. Her boss had called her repeatedly since mid-day Monday and was now very concerned that something was wrong. I was dispatched to drive to her residence and check on her well-being. I drove to her bungalow and noted that her vehicle was in the driveway and there were no tire tracks in the snow that had fallen over the past couple of days. It was bitterly cold and I resented that I was going to have to leave my warm police cruiser and brave the bitter wind.

I walked to the front door, rang the bell and knocked loudly. There was no answer. I looked in the kitchen window and was surprised that the window appeared to be frosted on the inside. I also noticed that Janice had secrets of which her coworkers were likely unaware. Janice was a hoarder and apparently also an alcoholic. Her kitchen was literally waist-deep in empty soup tins, discarded liquor bottles, and assorted garbage. There was a single pathway that allowed access to the doorway which led to the rest of the house. I yelled "Anybody home?" and almost jumped out of my skin when a large cat jumped up to the kitchen windowsill and peered back at me. I had a sense of dread that something bad had happened to Janice. I called for another officer to back me up as we would have to force entry into the home to find out what was going on.

Officer Bell responded and I was thankful that a big guy had responded to back me up. The cat on the windowsill had spooked me and I was on edge. We walked to the rear of the home and pounded some more on the back door, trying to get a response from inside. After a few minutes, it was obvious nobody was responding. We notified the dispatcher that we would be forcing entry to the back door. I can't recall who kicked in the door, but it was a flimsy door and kicking it in was a non-issue. We carefully entered the home with our pistols drawn. It was very quiet and as we yelled, "Police! We're coming in!", there was no response. I immediately noticed that it was the same temperature inside the home, as it was outside. It was probably 20 degrees below freezing, inside and out. We entered a dim hallway which had garbage piled high on both sides. There was a single footpath through the debris, leading to the interior of the home.

As we entered the living room, we saw a body face-down on the floor, near the sofa. Two large cats were sitting near the head of the body and as we came into the room, they ran to us and began to contentedly purr and rub against our legs. Having dark pants, and having no desire to spend the rest of the shift picking cat hair off my pants, I used my boot to "gently" discourage the cats from rubbing against my legs. A 40 oz. bottle of vodka, lay partially empty on its side, cap removed. We called out, but based on the complete stillness and silence in the room, it was obvious that we were dealing with a corpse. Thankfully, due to the cold, there was no decomposition. However, the strong odor of cat urine/feces was evident. Scattered around the floor were packages of cookies, potato chips, some bread, and pastries. Janice was wearing a heavy woolen sweater and several pairs of sweat pants. We noticed a small table that contained a huge pile of "Final Notice" bills from the city for water, electricity, etc. That would explain the sub-freezing temperatures. Janice's power and water had been disconnected. How this happened in the middle of winter is unknown. There is a standing policy in the city that essential services such as water and electricity should not be disconnected during the winter months. Somehow a mistake had been made.

Although we were 99.9% sure that Janice was dead, we knew we would need to check for a pulse. Our first shock came as I reached down to grab her hand to pull her over on her back. As I reached for her wrist and grabbed, I felt what seemed like a skeleton's bone beneath the wool sleeve of her sweater. "Janice must be really skinny," I thought. I pulled her over on her back and recoiled in horror. Both sides of Janice's face had been cleaned off to the bone. Both eyes and ears were missing and with the exception of her nose and a small patch of her forehead, her face was completely gone. The skeletal skull smiled up at us. I glanced down at her hand and noticed why I had suspected she was very thin. The flesh from her hand and wrist was missing...gone, right up to the point at which her arm disappeared into the sleeve of her sweater. I had grabbed her wrist which was mainly covered by the woolen sleeve. The flesh that was visible and easily accessed had been eaten by these two lovely cats. I'll never forget how sad I felt as I spoke with the extended family. Janice was divorced, living alone with her two feline companions, and by all accounts was a lovely person and a highly competent employee. She obviously had her struggles, but it was especially sad to realize that she died alone, and let nobody into her life. All she had in this life, at this time, were her cats.

The cats were removed by the humane society and I suspect that these cats, who obviously preferred to eat their master rather than feast on the abundant cookies, pastries, and chips that were strewn around the home, were probably adopted by some family with no idea that their new pet(s) had a taste for human flesh. Only the police officers, the morgue, and the funeral home ever knew what happened in Janice's home over those four days. But for those of us who experienced it, we will never look at a cat the same way again.

Lessons Learned:

1. If you live alone, and have an animal in the house with you, always leave a large supply of preferably meat-based food in a convenient dish. You just never know...
2. Cats, like humans are omnivores. They can eat both plants and animals...but as you now know, they greatly prefer meat to anything else.
3. Don't drink large quantities of alcohol in extremely cold environments. If you pass out...you could die. 

Happy Halloween and Happy Birthday to the best big-sister a guy could have. Until next time...BBB Safe (beef, butter and bacon).

Since the WHO has now classified bacon and a red meat as a carcinogen...what will change?

Bacon makes everything better...

Just in case I hadn't heard, a co-worker ran up to me first thing yesterday morning and breathlessly proclaimed that the World Health Organization had just classified processed meats (including my beloved bacon) and red meat, as carcinogens, joining a long list of truly deadly poisons such as cigarettes and asbestos. Click NY Times report on WHO meat warning for a nice summary of this report. Knowing my love of all things meat-related, and this co-worker's affinity for all things fruit and vegetable-related, I'm sure this major pronouncement was yet another feather in the cap of each and every anti-meat activist. Since red meat will now join cigarettes, diesel fumes, asbestos etc., we can all get back to work eating our low-fat and preferably vegan diets that have worked so fantastically well for everyone since the government in this country and around the world starting advocating for this WOE decades ago.

While all vegans rejoice, let's remember that this "life-changing" report, says this about red meat: consuming red meats “probably” raises the risk as well. But the increase in risk is so slight that experts said most people should not be overly worried about it.

(Excuse me, but if this is the best you got, why even mention red meat? Oh...now I remember, meat is bad and so profane that you must take every opportunity to slam it.)
If you are reading this blog, you are doing so because of one, or perhaps several of the following reasons:

1. You secretly or not-so-secretly also love all the high-fat animal products that we are constantly told are going to kill us. (Despite the fact that the unbiased scientific evidence shows exactly the opposite...that our bodies crave saturated fat because these fats are so essential to all the many processes that go on in the human body.) Want more energy, forget energy drinks, eat more saturated fat. Want to avoid Viagra, eat more saturated fat as saturated fat is the precursor for many, many sex hormones in both men and women. Want to clear the fog in your brain caused by all those carbs, eat more saturated fat. I work in a highly technical field, standing on my feet for 7-8 hrs. per day and teaching complicated subject matter. Previous to this experiment (high fat, low-carb) which began in August 2015, I would often struggle with that feeling that I knew the word or concept I wanted to speak, but couldn't quite grasp it. Since I have adopted this WOE, my instructional content has been crisp, clear, and it is amazing how a high-energy level and a brain with adequate rest and saturated fat can enhance the classroom experience for my students. Want to sleep better, go to bed satiated with the saturated fat that your body will use while sleeping to repair damaged cells and heal itself. Want to lose weight, eat as much saturated fat as you want, and cut the deadly sugar and carbs. You can and will lose weight effortlessly. 
2. Perhaps you are reading for the same reason that people slow down when they approach a car accident. You are thankful that you are not personally involved, but are curious as to what the effects of this disaster are going to be. Now several people are eagerly awaiting my next visit to the doctor, at which time I will submit to a full panel of blood work to compare with my pre-HFLC lab results which frankly, were not very good. I do not intend to go to the doctor until I have given this experiment a full 6-month trial, knowing that it takes the body a significant amount of time to fully adapt to this WOE. As of right now, the visible results are striking to me, and since I am the one who puts my clothes on every morning, I assure you that my body continues to respond fantastically well to this WOE. I am 229 lbs., which is about 25 lbs down from my weight in August 2015. I started this experiment in mid-August, so, I am just approaching the 2.5 month mark...and I would say 25 lbs lost, with no pain, suffering or deprivation is phenomenal.
3. Perhaps you trust and respect the World Health Organization and believe them to be a brilliant think-tank of  scientist/doctors. Hate to burst your bubble here, but the World Health Organization is the same group gave North Korea credit in its health care review for having an adequate supply of doctors (hint: like everyone else, they aren't free to leave...thus doctors are likely to stay in country) and a population that is not overweight. (hint: the svelte physique of the average North Korean, that would be known as starvation.) 

So, the title of this post suggests that there is a decision that needs to be made, given that the world-wide experts in health have now listed bacon, other processed meats, and red meats on the same list of deadly carcinogens as asbestos, cigarettes, and exhaust emissions.

No need to draw this out. In my late-teens I had a life-changing experience that had a remarkable impact on my life that changed my path, and I'm going to make the connection to this "life-changing" pronouncement by the WHO. 

The Assault

Prior to joining the York Regional Police, way back in 1987, I was employed by Romandale Farms Ltd. in Unionville, Ontario. While it is no longer in operation, here is a short commentary about Romandale Farms:

Romandale -  In the 1960’s and 1970’s the Romandale Farms’ herd of Stephen and George Roman was a commanding force in Holstein affairs.  At this point in history, the Canadian Holstein was beginning to dominate the industry.  This Unionville, Ontario dairy farm in its glory years fielded North America’s leading show herd, in its four decade history setting the record for All-Canadians bred and owned.  David Houck joined the firm in 1953 as herd superintendent.  These 3 gentlemen combined made the Romandale legacy for forty-three years.

 While I was primarily tasked with field-work and tending to the young cattle at various locations, I was assigned as a fill-in milker on certain days when one of the full-time milkers was off for the day. I always dreaded this day because, while I was raised on dairy farm, I've never been a fan of milking. The cows were tied and standing in a stall similar to the configuration shown here:

Now, pay particular attention to those dark lines that run behind each of the cows. These gutters will play a crucial role in this life-changing moment.

Now the "target area" while milking is obviously the udder, which means for a big guy like me, that I am going to be crouching down and reaching under the cow once to wash and dry her udder, again to put on the milker, again to check her progress to see if she is done, and again to remove the milking machine and dip her teats (yes, I said teats) in a disinfectant solution. For a big "husky" guy, that's a whole bunch of deep-knee bends over the course of 2-3 hours...repeated morning and night.

As you know, I love to eat cows, but am not so much a fan of milking them. My sister Dianne is the cow-person in the family. I'd much prefer to be on the tractors in the fields. However, at Romandale Farms I had the opportunity to work with the most famous cow in Canada, the #1 rated Holstein Show Animal of all time. Here is a picture of "Charity" with her accolades below (pay special attention to her tail as this also will play a big role in this story):

BROOKVIEW TONY CHARITY EX-CAN EX-97-5YR-USA DOM 13* – Photo by Maggie Murphy

BREEDER: JOHN D. & KARL E. HAVENS FREMONT, OH, USA

OWNER: ROMANDALE FARMS LTD TORONTO, ON & HANOVER HILL HOLSTEINS PORT PERRY, ON

• ALL-CANADIAN 1987, 1985, 1984, 1983, 1982
• ALL-AMERICAN 1987, 1985, 1984, 1982
• GRAND ROYAL 1987, 1985, 1984, 1983
• GRAND MADISON 1987, 1985, 1984, 1983

Reasons: No comparison. Charity was never defeated in her class and 8 times was Grand at Madison or the Royal. She was incredible perfection!

So, these were obviously not "regular" cows, although they behaved remarkably similar to every other regular run-of-the-mill cow I have ever worked with. Romandale Farms bought Charity while I was at the farm and paid the then-record price of $750,000.00 for a 1/2 interest in Charity. (she looked remarkably like all the other cows to me...but to this day is considered the "perfect 10" of the Holstein breed. (think Bo Derek in her prime...but with 4 legs and a tail)

Now that you have the background, the incident occurred on a bitterly cold morning in January. I arrived at the barn at 4:45 a.m. to assist my partner is getting set-up to milk. The cows were all laying down, and so the first job was to get them all up and ready to be milked. The barn was warm with all the hot bodies, and immediately upon waking, cows, not-surprisingly, do the same thing as most people...they use the bathroom...or in this case, the gutter, which holds the accumulated material that the cows expel. Milking progressed without incident until I reached a certain cow that had gone "back to bed" for a few extra zzz's, instead of standing obediently waiting for be milked.

I arrived to milk this animal and gave her a "nudge" with my boot to get her on her feet. It was safe to nudge her with my boot because the herdsman David Houck was not yet in the barn. There would be no nudging these cows with any boots while Dave was around because these cows were worth more than the combined economic output of most small countries. However, she responded to the boot with the desired result, and she was now standing obediently (more or less), waiting to be milked. (Now is a good time to go back and review the picture of Charity's tail, which accurately reflects the impressive body and form of all the cows in this herd, although this tail was definitely not clean)

As I knelt down to wash her udder, she took the opportunity, at that exact moment, to whip her long and flowing tail with blazing speed, up over her side, as though she were swatting an imaginary fly. I failed to notice this back-swing, and was therefore stunned, when she brought the soaking wet tail back down with violent force. The full tail which was completely saturated with a pungent mixture of manure and urine, wrapped itself around my entire head. Then, with the coordination of a medieval torturer, she ripped it back, leaving me gagging on manure, urine, while wiping my burning eyes...trying desperately to understand what had just happened. This beloved creature had been laying with her tail in gutter, and in my haste to get her up and get her washed, I neglected to notice that her long flowing locks were transformed into the equivalent of a cat-of-nine-tails...soaking wet with a disgusting mixture of body fluids and manure. Picture this wrapping around your head, then being ripped away, and you get the idea:

I was hurt, I was furious, I was insulted, and my partner was standing behind me laughing hysterically...and that is when I made this life-changing decision. I was done, that was it...I was getting out of this place and never coming back. It took me a few months, but soon I was working as a police officer in York Region, and to this day, I have never been similarly abused by an animal. (people, that's a different story)

So, what, you may ask, does this have to do with the pronouncement yesterday by the WHO regarding the danger of bacon and red meat? When I see the glee of the vegans and anti-animal fat crowd, I get exactly the same taste in the back of my throat and the same smell in my nostrils that I experienced that morning. In the interest of keeping this post family-friendly, let's just say that, based on my own research, and those of many esteemed scientists and cutting-edge nutritionists, this is utter BS...and I will happily continue with this WOE as it has brought about so many fantastic changes in my health.

I feel bad for the farmers, especially those who produce our pork and beef, as many in our herd will simply follow the WHO recommendation and eat less beef and pork...to their own detriment...and the drug companies can continue to line their coffers with all the proceeds from the drugs that will be required for the many millions of diabetics and other carb-addicted sufferers. For me, bacon and red meat will get cheaper...but I don't welcome that because I know that hurts our farmers who spend their blood, sweat and tears, putting food on our tables. With everything stacked against them, I'm continually surprised that people still go through the struggles of farming. While I would have loved to raise my boys on a farm, I'm thankful that I haven't had to go through the uncertainty and constant politics that impact our farmers every day. From weather, to the twisted minds of the typical dullard politician, to the anti-animal activists that ban raw milk, and try to discourage people from eating any other natural food, the deck is sadly stacked against our farmers. We are all blessed with food because they persevere. 

A sad commentary...now pass the beef, the bacon, and the butter...because I got a big day ahead and need the fuel that my body craves. Until next time...BBB forever.

Ten Week Update, Thoughts on Florida, the Cholesterol Myth, and a new Trailblazer added...

Ten weeks on this WOE and I thought I should share some new insights that have been impacting my thoughts about the High fat, low carb way of eating. (HFLC WOE).

I'm in the midst of a very heavy workload right now with tons of travel, and large kettle corn events almost every weekend for the past 6 weeks. I'm in Jacksonville FL this week, training at Blount Island Marine Corps Supply Facility. It is a pleasure to work with our military personnel and I have the opportunity to observe the great work that these people do to ensure our security.

Despite my heavy travel schedule, and my crazy weekend schedule, I'm holding up and have experienced strength and vitality on this WOE. A couple minor bugs have come through the home over the past couple months and this is normal with 3 boys in school and the change in weather from high heat/humidity, to cooler Fall temperatures. I have avoided each illness, despite the wear-and-tear and fatigue of my current schedule. Thankfully, November should calm things down as I'm currently only scheduled for 2 trips, and 2 kettle corn events.

I am holding at 229 lbs, but have noticed that on this trip I have been slacking on my diet and allowing some carb-creep. Carb-creep occurs when you make little concessions to yourself to allow things that you know are high-carb. E.g. As a frequent traveler I have a few perks that come with various chains. Here in Jacksonville, my hotel gives their frequent guests access to a lounge that is stocked with: fruit (not tempting), soda (not tempting), coffee/hot chocolate from a machine (yuck), and a freezer display full of every conceivable ice cream treat (VERY TEMPTING). I'm a huge fan of all things ice cream. Last night I went to the lounge for no good purpose...just to "look around". Truthfully, the woman at check-in mentioned a stocked ice-cream display and that had been on my mind all evening.

After a fairly healthy chicken dinner from Pollo Tropical, (had a little of their sauces on the chicken and a couple plantains (major carbs in those plantains...might as well be sticks of sugar!!) my mind kept reminding me that just upstairs, a few seconds away, was ice cream. So, I confess, my little visit to "look around" was a recipe for failure. I ended up back in my room with my contraband...two mint chocolate ice cream bars coated in a thick chocolate shell. They tasted absolutely heavenly! I examined the label and then began to try to justify going back upstairs for another visit to "look around"...AGAIN. Thankfully, I managed to get myself under control but I expect to experience the same desire to go wandering upstairs again tonight. You see, for the previous 3 years I have rewarded myself and dealt with the emotional pain of being separated from my wife and kids by eating in the evenings...often ice cream. This is the definition of "emotional eating" and I need to be very careful not to slip into this habit, especially after last night. When I feel down, sad, angry, lonely, discouraged etc., I decide I "need" a treat, and ice cream is my favorite. Perhaps it isn't just me? It seems every hotel now has a little ice cream freezer in the lobby where you can purchase the delightful Ben and Jerry's or some other sweet concoction. To be fair, ice cream is probably less damaging than alcohol, drugs, or other vices that people use to self-medicate when they are feeling low. The solution that I need to get back to this evening is a high-fat meal (chicken last night was too lean), followed by an early bedtime. This cuts down on the loneliness and provides less opportunity to sit alone and feel sorry for oneself. Tonight it is back to a ribeye steak and an early bedtime.

While I have intentionally avoided exercise of any kind over the past 10 weeks, I am going to do 3 light weight routines this week. It isn't that I'm going to try to lose more weight. This experiment has taught me that exercise is almost useless when it comes to losing weight. If you need to know why, go to the "Trailblazers" page and read the section on William Banting. I just feel like lifting weight and since this hotel has a nice large fitness room, I am going to do some light weight lifting with dumbbells and see how it goes.

Speaking of exercise, I have noticed that many seem to be getting really involved in the extreme aerobic activities, and/or marathons. A cautionary tale from yesterday when two marathoners collapsed while running a marathon in Toronto. I believe one victim was in his 40's and one was in his 20's. I haven't heard an update, but both were basically dead until rescuers shocked the heart back to life. Here is a link to the story:
2015 Toronto Marathon Runners Collapse-Critical Condition

A couple of thoughts on Florida:

1. I know that many, many people absolutely love Florida. I'm not one of them. I have traveled extensively throughout the US and Canada and I have to say that Florida ranks right near the bottom of my list of favorite states. Reason #1 is the weather. Now I know that many people dream of moving to Florida for the weather, but to me it is just too much heat, too much humidity, too many swampy lagoons, and the absolute lack of the Fall season (which is my absolute favorite). While much of the country enjoys the spectacular Fall colors, Florida is blah...swamps, bugs, lizards, snakes, sunshine, thunderstorms, downpours, humidity, repeat...and speaking of lizards. I left the classroom at on my lunch break today for a short stroll in the beautiful sunshine. Humidity actually wasn't too bad and there was a nice breeze. As I crested a small knoll on the path, I glanced to my left and there...at the edge of the water, was a great example of why Florida is not a personal favorite. To give this guy credit, he quickly left me and jumped into the water, but it just seems wrong for a reptile of this size to be just hanging out near a public path. I told my students about my encounter and they just shrugged and said, "They're everywhere..." Well, isn't that special...how nice. Must be interesting walking your dog when just being in the wrong place at the wrong time and oops, there goes Fido, right down the gullet. 

1. Homeless people everywhere. I know it is reasonable for the homeless to gravitate to the warmth of Florida, but it seems you can't go anywhere in Florida without being solicited or accosted by a homeless person that has "their story" about why they need $4.50 for their mother's diabetes medicine etc. etc. Now I don't want to appear callous, but when you are repeatedly solicited, it just gets old and tiresome, and depressing, and sometimes dangerous. I used to give to the homeless people, but in Florida you can't afford to...they're everywhere.
2. While there are extremely high-end areas of Florida, much of the state is run-down and just plain depressing. For every West Palm Beach-like mega-mansion-filled neighborhoods, there are dozens and dozens of run-down slums. 

So, sorry to rain on all the Florida-lovers...but you can keep this state. I'll suffer through the heat/humidity of a few months in Virginia, and enjoy the gloriously cool Fall weather with the amazing colors of the Blue Ridge Mountains in October.

To close this post I want to share some stunning information that just blows my mind. I have spent the past few months reading, studying, cross-checking studies related to this WOE and my recent discoveries about the role of cholesterol in the human body has been life-changing. The research is simply overwhelming and it is diametrically opposed to the prevailing medical advice which strictly advocates lowering cholesterol in the body to avoid heart problems. I'm going to list several quotes from a book that is full of revolutionary thinking about diet, and that blows the lid off the scam that has lined the pockets of the drug companies to the tune of billions of dollars (over $900 billion in 2011) worth of statin drugs...and probably killed a multitude by depriving their bodies of life-sustaining cholesterol. Here is the book, by Nina Teicholz. The Big Fat Surprise: Why Butter, Meat and Cheese Belong in a Healthy Diet

The following quotes regarding cholesterol come directly from her book which is extremely well-documented with a wide variety of studies that all go against the prevailing medical theory that cholesterol is damaging to the heart.

Here is a very interesting study to compare a tribe eating high fat vs. a tribe eating very low fat...both in the same geographic area in Africa.

"Decades before George Mann arrived in Kenya, the British government commissioned scientists in 1926 to compare the Masai to a neighboring tribe, the Akikuyu. They had lived side by side for many generations, in “very similar”conditions, according to the researchers. However, whereas the Masai ate mainly animal foods, the Akikuyu subsisted on a near-vegetarian diet that was very low in fat, with the “great bulk”of their food consisting of “cereals, tubers, plantains, legumes, and green leaves.”Investigators spent several years in detailed examination of 6,349 Akikuyu and 1,546 Masai adults, and in the end, found that the health of the two groups differed dramatically, though not in ways one might expect. The vegetarian Akikuyu men were found to be far more likely to suffer from bone deformities, dental caries, anemia, lung disease, ulcers, and blood disorders; the Masai were more likely to contract rheumatoid arthritis. The Masai men were on average 5 inches taller than the Akikuyu and 23 pounds heavier, and much of that extra weight was apparently muscle, since the Masai had narrower waists and broader shoulders and possessed far more muscular strength than the Akikuyu, who were generally less fit and had little capacity for manual labor.VIII"

Ever wonder why all the focus is on lowering the LDL Cholesterol instead of raising the HDL Cholesterol (here's a hint...statins can lower LDL, but the best way to raise HDL Cholesterol is eating saturated fat from animal sources.)

"The choice to favor LDL-cholesterol over HDL-cholesterol was also probably fueled by the megabillion-dollar pharmaceutical industry, which heavily favored LDL-cholesterol as a target for therapy. Drug companies had made quite a few attempts to find a drug that raised HDL-cholesterol, but those efforts had all failed. Lowering LDL-cholesterol, however, was something they could do— very well. The first such drug, lovastatin, was discovered in the 1970s, and a world of billion-dollar “statin” drugs followed from there:"

"Worldwide, statins earned $ 956 billion in 2011."

This next one is shocking...and it makes me angry that women are repeatedly told that a low-fat diet is healthy. For my wife, my mother, my sisters, my daughters-in-laws, my granddaughters...I hope you will consider the benefits of adding fat to your diet!

"Yet although these results were unpopular, they were not an anomaly: other trials have also found that women on low-fat diets tend to see their HDL-cholesterol fall by about a third more than do men.XVI In Knopp’s trial, women also saw their triglycerides rise more. And whatever the low-fat diet’s benefits—notably, its power to reduce LDL-cholesterol—these tend to happen less in women. Knopp summed up all these gender differences in a review paper in 2005, concluding that the low-fat diet could not really be recommended for women, and that they might consider exploring “alternative dietary interventions”instead. Maybe women need a diet lower in carbohydrates and higher in fat, Knopp suggested. Knopp’s study could very well have been a watershed. After it came out, experts might have alerted women to the possibility, at least, that adopting a low-fat diet was, for them, a premature and inadvertently harmful piece of advice. Women, after all, have been shown to be especially conscientious about reducing calories since the 1970s, and according to government data, have cut back on fat and saturated fat more strictly than have men. Knopp’s findings implied that women were actually betraying their health by eating a low-fat diet. And yet among the nutrition elite there was no reckoning with these disturbing implications. Most women didn’t know—and still don’t know—that a low-fat diet may possibly increase their risk for heart disease." 

Everyone on both sides of the argument agrees on one thing: High HDL is good for your heart. However, notice how few people are aware that the best thing you can do (and the easiest thing) to raise your HDL is eat saturated fat from animal products...high-fat dairy, butter, fatty beef etc.

"Nutrition experts also ignored the research showing that what raised HDL-cholesterol more effectively than anything else was not red wine or exercise, as we commonly think, but saturated fat. Eating animal fat was found to raise HDL-cholesterol and was the only food known to do so. “This is an important issue. Neglect of the saturated-fat-induced rise in HDL-cholesterol has made saturated fat (in general) look worse than it really is,”Meir Stampfer, a nutritional epidemiologist at the Harvard University School of Public Health, wrote in 2004. A growing number of researchers agree with this view, yet in the 1990s, when these highly uncomfortable discoveries by Knopp and others were just coming out, the predominant response to anyone who raised the topic of HDL-cholesterol and the low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet was basically to cough politely and look elsewhere."

Well, that's all for today. I'm absolutely loving Nina's book and I will post more in the days to come about more "secrets" that the drug manufacturers don't want you to know, including this: Children need to eat more fat...not less! Until next time...wishing you BBB (Butter, Bacon, and Beef...3 of my favorite things in life!)

Back on Track, my coffee love affair, and a new Trailblazer added...Gary Taubes

After my Chinese debacle on Monday evening, I got back on track yesterday. I started my day with black coffee/no sugar as usual. I have a love affair with coffee that continues to be very satisfying. My most faithful travel companion is my AeroPress coffeemaker. I discovered this about 3 years ago after getting fed up with the absolute crap that hotels serve for coffee. Since my AeroPress and I became acquainted, I am always able to start my day with a rich and satisfying cup of coffee...or two, or three. This is probably the best $30 I ever spent. After 3 years it works as well as the day it arrived. Yesterday I ordered a new travel companion, a mini coffee grinder that I'm hoping to get to know on my next trip. One of the benefits of travel in America is the growing number of specialty small-batch coffee roasters that are popping up everywhere. With my new mini-grinder, I can find fantastic coffee beans and grind them for each cup...and I'll report next week on my results. I'm pretty excited about this new companion.
My day ended with a trip to Jim's Rib Haven in Rock Island, IL. One of the students in my class recommended it and Jim looked after my dinner last night. I had a "significant" portion of beef ribs, along with a side of coleslaw. I had a couple tablespoons of Kerrygold butter on the side, not because it really went with the meal, but rather because I had to throw out the bread, which is always tough for me. If I can't have the bread, I at least can enjoy the butter and enjoy it I did! I ended the night with my homemade "Peanut Butter Pudding", and that, my friend, was a successful High Fat, Low Carb day. The ribs had a very modest amount of sauce that was spicy and not too sweet, so they were definitely a good choice. They were a little on the lean side, and next time I would probably choose the pork, just to ensure I got enough fat.

In closing, if you are still reading along, make sure to check out the Trailblazers page where another one of my favorites has been added. Gary Taubes. Gary is all over YouTube, and his book, Why We Get Fat should be required reading for anyone who still believes you can trust the American Heart Association, or the FDA, or the government in general. When I first read this book it actually made me angry when I understood that we have been lied to by the very people that were pretending to be the experts on what we should eat. It is a very compelling book and I highly recommend it to everyone.

Month 2 update...and the risks and results of diet decisions while traveling...and something I haven't seen in over 25 years!

After 2 months of this way of eating (WOE), I am on the road to Moline, IL for another week of travel. I am training at Rock Island Arsenal which is in the middle of the Mississippi River, between Moline IL, and Davenport, IA. Moline is the world headquarters of John Deere, and since I have spent many, many, many, many hours of my boyhood/teen years on John Deere tractors, combines, etc., this is like Disney for me.

My day began at 3:15 a.m. and I had 3 flights enroute to Moline IL. I'm very conscious and cautious of potential digestive issues while flying, so I rarely eat while enroute. I also have been fairly consistent over the past few weeks with not eating breakfast and doing intermittent fasting, (16hr fast/8hr eating period) so going all day without eating has been fine, provided I keep my evening meal macros in line with this WOE (70% fat, 20% protein, no more than 10% carbs). This seems to keep my blood sugar very stable and allows me to have good energy all day, despite the fact that I am going 16-18 hrs without food. I just worked an extremely rigorous, physically demanding kettle corn event (Appomattox Railroad Festival) on the intermittent fasting schedule and it went very well. I had great energy all day and no hunger. Now, back to my travel day from Oct. 12.

After leaving the airport, I went directly to the John Deere Pavilion in downtown Moline. I only had a couple of hours, but this is a great opportunity to see the impact that John Deere has had on the entire world of agriculture. Sadly, I only had a couple of hours to spend here.

By 5:00pm CT, (6pm Eastern) I was very hungry and for some reason this Chinese Buffet was really calling my name. I went inside knowing I was in dangerous territory. Tons of fried foods and heavy, sweet sauces. . I would say that I let my flesh lead the way in this decision. I could have gone to a steakhouse and stuck to my WOE, but instead, I entered the world of culinary temptations, and the result was pretty much what you would expect. I avoided the rice, the noodles, and some of the fried foods...but there wasn't much in the way of healthy food to be found here. A skinny ribeye was cooked for me, but it was poor quality,  and only about 3 oz.

To summarize, I ended my unhealthy meal with a big scoop of cookies/cream ice cream, and immediately realized why I should not eat in this type of restaurant. There is simply no benefit in putting oneself into that type of environment, and deluding yourself into thinking you will be able to get quality choices. The healthy choices are few and far between, and you are surrounded by the temptations from your previous WOE. You are setting yourself up for certain failure. If you fully intend to eat unhealthy food, and want to cheat, then at least accept it and dive in with a full awareness that this is NOT going to be a healthy meal. I somehow convinced myself I could eat healthy at this restaurant, and I was wrong.

I ended my evening at Walmart where I picked up some Kerrygold butter, some heavy cream, some unrefined coconut oil and peanut butter. This allows me to create my nightly treat, Peanut Butter Pudding, (my own creation) which has successfully kept me from my old ice cream/snacking habits in the evening. My "treat" is 2 tablespoons of peanut butter, 1 tbsp of coconut oil, a little heavy cream, all melted together. Very rich, very satisfying, and quite sweet with only a small amount of sugars from the peanut butter. While not optimal for weight loss, it is rich, fatty and satisfying...and just a few tablespoons makes you feel like you have had dessert.

Tomorrow is a new day, I see Outback in my future for dinner tomorrow night. My options are limited to restaurants this week as I am not staying in a suite that has a kitchen. While the suites with full kitchens are always my preference, they simply are not always available in every location, and so this week I will be using restaurants for my food. This is a challenge, as 3-years of restaurant eating while traveling quickly packed on 30+ pounds. For those like me who are math-challenged...that equals about 10 lbs per year.

Now, after all this talk of failure, a bit of good news in closing. For the first time since my late teens, early 20's, I actually stepped on the scale this week and saw 2-2-9!!!  I weigh 229.2 lbs. and am well on my way to my goal weight of 215 lbs. Even though my weight loss has slowed, it is still creeping downward, and I have not suffered from any hunger, nor any deprivation from the foods that I naturally love to eat.