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Despite improvements in recent years, the health of the vast majority of sub-Saharan Africans remains in jeopardy. The figures are sobering. One in six children born in the region today will die before age five. African women face more than 100 times the risk of maternal mortality than do women in the developed world. And the average life expectancy in sub-Saharan Africa is a mere 51 years. Sadly, most countries in the region appear unlikely to meet the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals for health,1 let alone to address significant chronic issues beyond their scope.
The fundamental problem is a pervasive lack of access to primary health care. Conservative estimates suggest that four in ten people in sub-Saharan Africa have no access to medical facilities or personnel. Our experience in the region suggests that the actual figures are often much higher. Moreover, because of Africa's vast distances and large rural populations, solving its access problem using only traditional clinics staffed with doctors and nurses would be prohibitively expensive and require decades to accomplish.2 Meanwhile, millions of Africans would continue to suffer from diseases that are relatively simple to prevent, treat, and cure.
This need not happen. Our work in recent years suggests that a combination of three delivery approaches could catalyze Africa's health systems and boost access across the continent, thus dramatically improving the lives of its people. The keys are to employ community-based health officers who would provide essential primary care at the village level, to adopt mobile phone–based "telemedicine" approaches that connect health officers and rural patients with specialized care, and to create networks of mobile health clinics that transport diagnostics and other technologies to remote places. Together, these approaches could quickly save many lives at relatively low cost—about $2 to $3 per person a year, compared with about $8 for traditional clinics.
No access
Access to primary care drives health outcomes. Here's how: quality access brings treatment and prevention; with treatment and prevention comes education; and with education comes demand. Greater demand for health care, in turn, creates more opportunities for successful and timely treatments that boost demand still further. All of this leads to healthier populations and saves lives.
This cycle is broken across much of sub-Saharan Africa, however, since access to health care is limited or nonexistent. Only 60 percent of the region's population has even nominal access to health facilities, and the effective figure is often much lower after you factor in the number of doctors, actual access to drugs and equipment, and the productivity of health workers. In Tanzania, for instance, fully 80 percent of the people will never see a doctor in their lifetimes.
To see what might be done, we studied the experience of eight countries3 that have improved on more than one of the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals for health. Along the way, we interviewed upward of 100 health experts, including African health ministers, academics, specialists from health organizations, and representatives of donor agencies. Notably, we found that each of the eight countries (regardless of income level, geography, or political system) had succeeded by delivering a thorough yet pragmatic range of primary-care services4 to the "last mile" in rural areas.
Encouraged by what we learned, we next looked for novel ideas that might extend these successes. The effort led us to examine 100 or so delivery methods being explored by private, public, and nonprofit groups around the world. From these, we identified the three most promising approaches for Africa.
A new model
While there is no "silver bullet" solution, our work suggests that a model combining local health officers, telemedicine, and, where possible, mobile clinics could help African countries leverage their existing health systems to scale up access to primary health care quickly, effectively, and cheaply. While the model's individual components aren't new, together they could help revolutionize health care in African and other low-income countries.
Local health officers
Africa suffers about one-quarter of the world's burden of disease yet has barely three percent of its health workers. By complementing standard medical doctors with less intensively—though professionally—trained local health officers who serve their home communities, African countries could dramatically improve access to health care. Several practical lessons emerged from our research.
Successful programs hire local women as health officers whenever possible. Rural women are perceived as more trusted (and trustworthy) than men by other rural women, and women are already the focal point of many health initiatives, including reproductive ones. While an ideal candidate would be well educated, health officers need only be literate, with a primary education. Countries that have tried to relocate more skilled urbanites to rural areas have struggled both to hire and retain them.
Training will vary according to the specifics of a country's program but should include about 9 to 12 months of formal instruction (classroom and field work) paired with practical apprenticeships to build comprehension, confidence, and independent work habits. Supplemental training is essential. In Bangladesh, for instance, BRAC5 complements its basic training with monthly refresher courses to keep health workers current on best practices in treatment and prevention, as well as to teach new skills.
Health workers should have manageable territories—roughly one health officer for every 1,000 to 1,500 people. This ratio ensures that workers can visit patients regularly to monitor them, check compliance, and follow up over time. Bigger territories jeopardize a worker's ability to serve and build trust with patients.
Local health officers must be paid, with compensation ranging from perhaps one-sixth of an average nurse's salary to 125 percent of the country's average salary. Volunteer models suffer retention problems and are unlikely to be sustainable. Indeed, Ethiopia's decision to pay its health extension workers (after initially treating them as volunteers) helped it add 30,000 of them in just five years.
Health services should be focused enough to be manageable and affordable yet broad enough to cover a range of essential needs. These will include first aid, basic preventive and diagnostic services, the distribution of materials (say, nutritional supplements or condoms), and essential curative care—as well as the monitoring and, occasionally, treatment of chronic conditions. If the services provided are too narrow, patients will ultimately disregard them. Furthermore, services must be offered at low cost. Small out-of-pocket costs for drugs appear to be bearable, but charging higher sums for services, drugs, and other supplies appears to be impossible on a large scale, at least today.
Programs should aspire to an eight-to-one ratio of health workers to supervisors. At these levels, a supervisor can accommodate often lengthy travel times yet still meet with workers at least two to four times a month. In our experience, this level of contact gives health workers enough time to sharpen their skills and even to start viewing their positions as promising careers. (Our work in Tanzania suggests that career development can be more important than financial considerations to health officers.) Best-practice programs will focus on supervision and performance management—using checklists and other simple tools to keep guidance fair and thorough—while striving to create opportunities for professional growth.
By applying these best practices and employing groups of local health officers, African countries could address the bulk of the most important clinical conditions they face. Furthermore, meeting this goal would require just a single local health officer per every 1,000 to 1,500 people, at a cost of about $1 a year per capita. This staffing level would give patients more than three meaningful interactions a year with trained medical personnel—a dramatic improvement over the status quo.
Once African countries establish a critical mass of local health officers to serve as first responders, they could harness the power of mobile telephony to dramatically increase the scope of more extensively trained health workers, such as doctors and nurses. The technology is readily available. In fact, most people in sub-Saharan Africa already have access to mobile phones through friends, family, or group sharing agreements. Moreover, typical African countries have 2G and 3G data service and coverage rivaling that of the United States, often with better reception.
A successful model, we believe, would employ urban call centers staffed by clinical officers,6 nurses, and doctors. Instead of serving patients directly, these centers would act as hubs that increase the impact of local health officers by providing them with advanced clinical support (exhibit)—for example, in making diagnoses in the field. (Mozambique has successfully used mobile phone–based diagnostic tools for this purpose.)
A district-level call center staffed with doctors and nurses functions as a support hub that makes local health officers more effective.
Just as important, call centers could also support the personalized training and supervision of health workers by giving them access to more skilled advisers than they could get locally. Local health officers could submit medical data and updates to a call center on an ongoing basis (for example, by voice or text message), and supervisors could follow up with 30-minute calls every one or two weeks. The combination of better data and better interactions with supervisors could help health workers improve the quality and timing of their interventions (say, by creating improved vaccination schedules for a community). Supervisors could manage the performance of local health workers more effectively—a common challenge in systems using them in hard-to-reach rural areas. All this comes at quite a low cost. Assuming one check-in a week, a supervisor could support 50 or 60 health officers; biweekly check-ins would double the span of control. Such call centers, which would cost about $0.75 a year per person, are affordable.
Private models serving patients directly will be increasingly viable, as well. While no business model has won the race to deliver telemedicine at scale in Africa, some promising experiments suggest what's possible. In Mexico, for instance, MedicallHome (partly owned by the telecom provider Telmex) successfully provides over-the-phone medical advice and triage services to about one million households (five million people) for a flat $5 a month each. The company, which fields about 90,000 calls a month, uses triage protocols developed by the Cleveland Clinic, a leading US medical institution, to help its doctors serve patients quickly and effectively. Many cases are resolved by doctors over the phone and don't require further consultation or emergency care.
Mobile health clinics
The third piece of the puzzle is the use of mobile clinics to bring diagnostic tools, medicines, and supplies to local communities where possible. Mobile clinics have long served this function. In recent years, however, various organizations have begun employing them at scale. This suggests that they could play an important role in maximizing the reach of local health officers, while further lowering the transport barriers that keep many Africans from receiving care.
In India, for example, the nonprofit Health Management and Research Institute deployed 475 mobile clinics across Andhra Pradesh in just one year and is using them to improve medical coverage for the state's massive rural population. Turkey's government has used mobile clinics to give large portions of the country's rural population greater access to about 80 medical services. Egypt's government uses truck convoys to transport temporary hospitals around the country. Comparable experiments are under way elsewhere in India, as well as in Namibia, Nigeria, and other African countries.
While no single best-practice template will work across Africa—budgets, infrastructure constraints, and terrain vary too dramatically—our research suggests that successful models will embody several characteristics.
Smaller is generally better: vans can cover more of Africa's diverse terrain and poor roads than larger vehicles can. The vans should be equipped with coolers to transport refrigerated vaccines, medicines, and lab samples to and from faraway health clinics. They should also have a bed to treat patients and to accommodate a doctor or nurse-practitioner on multiday journeys.
The vans can focus on providing care for chronic conditions and more complex follow-up interventions (say, antenatal care). They should play a primary role in providing direct support for health officers' activities, as well. A van's supplies will therefore include test kits, basic medicines, and some equipment (higher-end gear like ultrasounds would be ideal). Services could include education and awareness, screening, diagnosis, treatment, the delivery of supplies, and supplemental training for local health officers.
Routes must be chosen carefully so that each community can receive a visit at least every four weeks. The key is to minimize travel time and maximize treatment time. Health clinics can serve as a natural base of operations and resupply for mobile journeys, which might take two or three days and cover a number of villages. Whenever possible, trained schedulers in call centers should coordinate scheduling, with input from local health officers.
Routes must be well advertised and timetables kept so that patients are properly screened and paperwork doesn't eat into treatment time.
Finally, maintenance and running costs must not be overlooked. When mobile clinics fail to show up in villages because of breakdowns, patients quickly become disillusioned and a program's potential declines.
Despite the versatility of mobile clinics, their operating costs are quite reasonable when programs are designed to supplement the work of local health officers (through monthly visits, for example). In fact, we estimate that a mobile clinic staffed by two nurses would cost less than $0.75 per person a year in most African countries.
The way ahead
The model we propose would deploy a significant—but feasible—level of resources in areas that are now poorly served. A rural region of one million people, for instance, would require 700 to 1,000 village health officers, a call center with 40 to 50 clinicians (a mix of clinical officers, paramedics, nurses, and doctors to support inbound calls from village health officers and the general public), 10 to 15 supervisors responsible for outbound planning and follow-up calls to village health officers, and 20 to 25 mobile clinics, each staffed by one or two nurses. This model would require one-fifth to one-tenth as many nurses and doctors as traditional clinics do. And since nurses and doctors in call centers can be located in major urban areas, where many of them live, the approach is practical given the current distribution of resources.
It's important that the model we propose would not—and must not—replace Africa's existing national health systems and infrastructure but should instead help extend their reach by making better use of their doctors, nurses, and other health care workers. Moreover, this is not a "lesser" model for the developing world. In fact, some governments and private entrepreneurs in developed countries are not only introducing telemedicine call centers and mobile clinics but also experimenting with the idea of shifting many tasks to nurse-practitioners.
To make the model work, African governments should start by determining the package of services they can afford and then explore practical ways to deliver them. The private sector will have a significant role, as it is a "natural owner" of some elements (notably call centers) and already plays an important role in delivering health care in Africa. With the right investments, the private sector could do even more.
Finally, assistance and investments from donors will be vital in taking the model to scale, since donors are well positioned to support promising (but subscale) ventures by providing start-up capital and funds to support implementation.
By embracing a model combining local health officers, telemedicine, and mobile clinics, Africa can radically improve access to basic health care and provide essential, life-saving services to its people at low cost. Making the model scalable and sustainable will require significant and concerted efforts from both the public and private sectors. Nonetheless, the goal of radically improving health outcomes in Africa is now firmly within reach.


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This is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. I'm Melissa Block. Here's another milestone for Iraq. For the first time in more than two decades, the Arab League is meeting in Baghdad. Little in the way of major policy is expected to come out of tomorrow's summit, but as NPR's Kelly McEvers reports, after years of violence and war, it's a marvel the gathering is happening at all.
KELLY MCEVERS, BYLINE: We are standing out in front of the Sheridan Hotel. It's one of a handful of hotels that was renovated here in Baghdad specifically for the Arab Summit. The Iraqi government reportedly spend a half a billion dollars on renovations of the city, the hotels, the plots of grass, the new flowers planted along the boulevards and the streets.
In certain parts of Baghdad it looks like a new city, but of course business has ground to a halt as security measures are so tight that much of the city has been closed down.
Not very far from Sheridan is a middle-class neighborhood that's usually hopping into night with open shops and restaurants. Now it's a ghost town. Political science student Abul Asal says at least some of the money should have been spent on basic services that most Iraqis still don't have, like clean water and regular electricity.
ABUL ASAL: (Through translator) Had this money gone to the people in need for housing or other needs, it would have at least raised the living standard of people from the lower class to at least the middle class.
MCEVERS: Iraqi officials say the people of this country will thank them later for removing Iraq's pariah status and opening it up for trade with its Arab neighbors.
Pounding on his desk while he speaks, Iraq foreign minister Hoshyar Zebari says that pariah status started the day Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait.
HOSHYAR ZEBARI: This country was isolated with sanctions, was blindfolded since 1990.
MCEVERS: The 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq didn't help. As the security situation got worse, Iraq accused its Arab neighbors of allowing Islamist militants into the country. Security in Iraq is much better than before, but attacks are still pretty common. Just yesterday, authorities say they stopped a suicide bomber at a checkpoint in West Baghdad. His vest bomb blew up when he was shot by police. One policeman died and two more were injured.
Iraqis say the only way officials could pull off this summit was to basically halt all normal life in the city. All government officials were given the week off. Checkpoints are everywhere, and bridges are closed. Any Iraqi who needs to get to work has to walk for hours.
Those attending the summit must have a special badge, but the clearance process has been slow and confusing. At one summit event, a manager for the BBC presses an Iraqi government official to get his badge.
Still despite the hiccups, it is surprising to see a city like Baghdad play host to so many foreign visitors and VIPs. Mansoor al Jamri writes a column about the region for a newspaper he runs in nearby Bahrain. He says not only does this summit legitimize the new Iraq, it also legitimizes Arab countries like Tunisia and Libya where uprisings installed new leaders.
That, he says, makes up for the fact that this summit is unlikely to pass any new policy on the pressing issue of the day: the so far unsuccessful uprising in Syria.
The Iraq hosted summit will not call on Syrian president Bashar al-Assad to step down, but he says it will urge Syria to begin some kind of political transition.
MANSOOR AL-JAMRI: Well, I think Iraq now has an opportunity to go back to the fold of the Arab League, and therefore to bet all their cards on the Syrian regime would be the bad option.
MCEVERS: But for Shiite-dominated Iraq to bet on the Sunni-dominated opposition in Syria would not be wise either, he says. That's why Jamri says Iraq will push for a more neutral resolution on Syria, a resolution that's acceptable to Iraq and all its newfound Arab friends.
Kelly McEvers, NPR News, Baghdad. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

subset: commoncrawl


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How Your Heritage Affects Your Vision Health
How Your Heritage Affects Your Vision Health
Your height, weight, and eye color are influenced to some degree by the genes inherited from your ancestors. Unfortunately, you can also inherit an increased risk for developing certain eye conditions and diseases. Learning which diseases are more common based on your ethnicity will help you identify early warning signs that could indicate that you have a vision problem.
Your risk of glaucoma increases with age, but that's not the only factor that can raise your risk. If you are Hispanic, African American, or Asian, you are much more likely to develop glaucoma. The disease damages the optic nerve and can cause loss of vision and blindness if it's not diagnosed and treated promptly. The problem occurs when too much pressure builds inside your eye.
Symptoms of angle-closure glaucoma develop suddenly and can include severe pain in the eye, redness, blurred vision, or loss of vision. If you have this form of the disease, it may seem as if a curtain suddenly drops over your field of vision. Low-tension glaucoma, another form of the disease, can occur without any symptoms. Your eye doctor can detect this type of glaucoma with a simple test performed during your annual vision examination.
Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD)
Macular degeneration damages the cells in the macula, the area of the retina responsible for central vision. Caucasians are more likely to develop the disease than any other group. If you have AMD, you may notice that your vision looks blurry or distorted. It may be difficult to recognize faces or read a clock because you can only see the outline of objects. Although there is no cure for AMD, vitamins, and laser treatment may slow vision loss, in some cases.
Cataracts are associated with aging, but you may be more likely to develop the condition if you are Hispanic or African American. A cataract occurs when proteins inside the lens of your eye clump together. Since the lens is transparent, these clumps prevent light from reaching your retina at the back of your eye. If you have cataracts, you may notice that your vision is blurry or cloudy. You might have trouble seeing at night or see halos around lights. As the cataract grows, it will begin to substantially affect your vision. Cataracts are treated by replacing the lens during a surgical procedure.
Diabetic Retinopathy
Ethnic groups that have a higher risk of developing diabetes, including African Americans and Hispanics, are more likely to also develop diabetic retinopathy, a complication of the disease. The condition occurs when high blood sugar levels cause tiny blood vessels in your retina to leak, distorting your vision. As the problem progresses, new abnormal blood vessels may begin to grow in the retina.
There are often no symptoms during the early stages of the disease, and you may not even know that you have it until your vision has been damaged. Diabetic retinopathy is treated by injections, corticosteroids, and lasers that stop leaking and prevent new blood vessel formation.
If your heritage puts you at increased risk for developing an eye disease, regular eye examinations are a must. Call us today to schedule your exam.
The color of your eyes is influenced by the areas of the world in which your ancestors lived. The amount of melanin in your eyes, a pigment that gives your skin its color, also affects eye color. Take a look at the way heritage influences these eye colors.
Brown eyes contain the most melanin and are the most common eye color in the world. They are particularly common in people of Asian, African, Eastern European, and Southern European heritage.
Blue eyes, never a common color, have decreased in recent years, as members of the various ethnic groups are much more likely to have children together. Since blue eyes are a recessive trait, both parents must carry the trait. Blue eyes are more common in people of Irish, English, and Northern European origin.
Green eyes are rare and more likely to occur if your ancestors were from Ireland, Iceland, or Germany. They are also found more often in women.
Have you ever wondered where your gray eyes come from? They are most common in people who ancestors were from Lithuania, Russia, Latvia, Estonia, and Finland.
This unusual yellow-copper eye color is found in people with South American or Asian heritages.


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Sunday, March 25, 2012
The Meat Myth
The entire top three levels of the pyramid are not by any means necessary or conducive to good health. There is not a single vitamin, mineral, nutrient, phyto-nutrient, amino-acid, fatty-acid, protein-chain, omega, or any other such elusive vital ingredient to health, not a single thing found in meat or dairy products that cannot be found, in greater abundance and more optimally, in the plant kingdom. For instance there are more omegas in seaweed than in fish, over twice as much protein in spinach than steak, and four times more calcium in sesame seeds than in milk. An actual healthy food pyramid would look something like these:
Meat and dairy products are highly acidic, fattening, cholesterol-laden, artery-clogging, lymph-clotting, mucus-forming, constipating, difficult to digest, and full of worms, parasites, bacteria, metabolic waste, hormones, and chemicals. Eggs are actually unfertilized avian menstrual cycles, otherwise known as chicken periods. Milk is the puss and hormone-filled mammary excretions of a female cow and meant to nourish her young. None of these animal bits and pieces are beneficial or necessary for human consumption.
There is not a single chronic disease or deficiency exclusive to vegans. However, heart disease, cancer, tumors, cysts, MS, diabetes, and many other major health problems have all been cured by switching to a 100% vegan diet. Some of the strongest animals in nature like gorillas, elephants, moose, rhinos, hippos, and giraffes are all vegetarians. The idea that you need to eat another animal's flesh to be strong is a ridiculous superstition. Shaolin martial monks, arguably the toughest men on the planet, are all strict vegetarians.
Our bodies are demonstrably that of an herbivore/frugivore. Omnivores and carnivores have claws, fangs, no molars, no pores, short intestinal tracts, hydrochloric stomach acid, and acidic saliva essential for digesting meat. Humans, like herbivores, have no claws, no fangs, molars for grinding, 4 times longer intestinal tracts, 20 times weaker stomach acid, and alkaline saliva ptyalin to pre-digest grains. Humans simply are not natural omnivores and that is why eventually all meat-eaters suffer from chronic degenerative diseases.
"In using comparative anatomy to determine what man was "meant" to eat, we should look at the species most similar to man, namely the anthropoid apes - chimpanzees, gibbons, gorillas, and orangutans. Of all animals, man's digestive organs and teeth most closely resemble these apes. In captivity, some of these animals will eat meat if forced to rather than starve to death. But in the wild, all eat a vegetarian diet. Another strong clue that man is naturally a vegetarian is the fact that vegetarians in general are much healthier than omnivores. The American Dietetic Association has acknowledged that vegetarians are less at risk for a number of chronic diseases, including heart disease, some types of cancer, obesity, high blood pressure, and adult-onset diabetes ... Eating a healthy diet goes far beyond cutting back a bit on red meat. In a recent study of 6,500 Chinese, Dr. T. Collin Campbell of Cornell found that even though the Chinese overall eat only a fraction of the animal protein Americans do, those who ate the least animal protein nonetheless had lower risk of disease than the average Chinese. Dr. Campbell concludes, "We're basically a vegetarian species and should be eating a wide variety of plant foods and minimizing our intake of animal foods." -Glen Kime, president, Vegetarian Society of Washington, D.C.
All omnivores and carnivores eat their meat raw, tearing through fur/skin, and lapping up the nutrient-rich blood with their tongues. A true omnivore like a bear will take a fish out of the water and swallow it whole, uncooked, scales, bones, fins, head and everything. When a lion kills an herbivore for food, it tears right into the stomach area to eat the raw stomach, liver, intestines, and other organs that are filled with blood and nutrients. They will NOT eat cooked meat. For most humans, the smell and taste of raw bloody meat is putrid, so in order to consume it they must first clean, cook, season and marinate the flesh in various vegetarian herbs and spices to make it palatable.
"The final point I would like to make on how we as humans were not meant to eat meat is this. All omnivorous and carnivorous animals eat their meat raw. When a lion kills an herbivore for food, it tears right into the stomach area to eat the organs that are filled with blood (nutrients). While eating the stomach, liver, intestine, etc., the lion laps the blood in the process of eating the dead animals flesh. Even bears that are omnivores eat salmon raw. However, eating raw or bloody meat disgust us as humans. Therefore, we must cook it and season it to buffer the taste of flesh. If a deer is burned in a forest fire, a carnivorous animal will NOT eat its flesh. Even circus lions have to be feed raw meat so that they will not starve to death. If humans were truly meant to eat meat, then we would eat all of our meat raw and bloody. The thought of eating such meat makes one's stomach turn. This is my point on how we as humans are conditioned to believe that animal flesh is good for us and that we were meant to consume it for survival and health purposes. If we are true carnivores or omnivores, cooking our meat and seasoning it with salt, ketchup, or tabasco sauce would disguise and we as humans would refuse to eat our meat in this form." -Dr. Akilah El
Finally, plain moral decency and ethics should be reason enough to end this animal holocaust. Can you imagine if aliens came to Earth and treated humans the way we treat cows, pigs, and chickens? If aliens kept us locked together in tight cages, fattened us up, cut our noses and balls off, raped our women, chained down our children, then killed and ate us when we were the most tasty, would you see anything wrong with that? And for the anti-war meat-eaters out there: Need I point out the hypocrisy? If you kill innocent, defenseless animals every day just because you like the taste, then go around pretending you're "anti-war," you're only fooling yourself.
"As long as there are slaughterhouses, there will be battlefields." ~Leo Tolstoy
"Recognize meat for what it really is: the antibiotic- and pesticide-laden corpse of a tortured animal" ~Ingrid Newkirk
"A man of my spiritual intensity does not eat corpses" ~George Bernard Shaw
"A human can be healthy without killing animals for food. Therefore if he eats meat he participates in taking animal life merely for the sake of his appetite. And to act so is immoral" ~Leo Tolstoy
"Non-violence leads to the highest ethics, which is the goal of all evolution. Until we stop harming all other living beings, we are still savages" ~Thomas Edison
56 comments:
Couldnt agree more!
Just the other day I made a "new" food pyramid to show my students. Fruits are at the bottom. Oh yea - March 26, 2012 at 1:48 AM
Veryyyyyyyyy nice post! Like!!!!!!
- March 26, 2012 at 2:03 AM
- The Health Sensei said...
it's a shame that for how extremely intelligent you are, that you still buy the raw food propaganda. a raw food diet is great for the short-term, but in the long term it lends to disease and mineral deficiencies in abundance. I should know, i was a high-raw vegan (85% or more raw) for two years, and during that time my health skyrocketed in the first 4-5 months, and then after that it was a steady decline. I'm still veg, but with not such a high amount of raw food. furthermore, a friend of mine specifically called out several famous raw vegans and asked them to get their RBTI numbers run, and none of them have done it yet. That tells me these "gurus" are hiding something...
food for thought. - March 26, 2012 at 4:06 AM
- Eric Dubay said...
Raw food propaganda? Raw is how all animals eat their food. That's not propaganda, that's nature. Cooking food destroys 95% of the nutrients and enzymes and releases carcinogenic free radicals. Cooking food does not in any way make it healthier.
You say your health skyrocketed so obviously you felt the benefits, but then you say after 4-5 months your health steadily declined. What changed? Many top-performance athletes have been on a raw vegan diet for decades without any "diseases or mineral deficiencies." Here are Harley Johnston's blood tests after 10 and 11 years raw vegan:
Perfect Health After 10 Years
Perfect Health After 11 Years
The World's Sexiest Seniors are Raw
The Healthiest, Fittest People in the World
Look at Mimi Kirk and Jim Morris, they are raw foodists in their seventies but look like their forties. Mike Arnstein's been a fruitarian for years and regularly wins marathons. My fiance and I are also thriving and disease-free on raw foods. If you failed at the raw food lifestyle it's because of you, not because you need to cook your food. My guess is that you weren't getting enough carbohydrate calories from fruit every day. That is the main mistake people make. Go to 30bananasaday.com to learn more. - March 26, 2012 at 4:46 AM
Man Does 180
;) - March 26, 2012 at 8:57 AM
Ping Pong Champ of All Time
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SncapPrTusA - March 26, 2012 at 8:59 AM
Eric i love the positive message in there about eating healthy/vegan... BUT WTF is with that gnarly fear-mongering parasite vid?
EVEN IF every single word in that vid is true there is a better way to share the information.... I stopped 1/2way through because I figured it had to end with a purelle/pharma ad.
also i STILL do not get the whole:
I'm an elitist vegan and if you have any reservations about becoming vegan yourself then.. FUCK YOU MURDERER!
AGAIN... I just personally feel there are other ways to help other people see your point of view, (like start by speaking to them from THEIR point of view instead of yours).
That last part is not directed toward you specifically, (I've never met you obviously and am sure you are a way chill guy irl), mainly just commenting on the tone of some of the hardcore vegan ish you share. - March 26, 2012 at 9:17 AM
it's all well and good saying don't eat animal flesh, but would we have to resort to culling,even as humans we do evolve from a food chain, living in the 21st century i guess we don't have to rely on animals anymore to sustain us, it's just the two evils,animals will always be the victims over human kind, as it was once quoted when man learns to walk with the lion
- March 26, 2012 at 9:20 AM
- Eric Dubay said...
Eric i love the positive message in there about eating healthy/vegan... BUT WTF is with that gnarly fear-mongering parasite vid? EVEN IF every single word in that vid is true there is a better way to share the information
Parasites are serious problems. If you know "a better way to share the information" please make your own parasite video and I will post it here. The Essene Gospel of Peace is all about parasites, attributes them to all diseases, equates them with satan, and talks about how they control your mind to get what they want. Your cravings for meat, dairy, refined sugars, beer and other junk foods are not even your own. Parasites secrete chemicals to eat away your intestinal lining if they're not appeased by the junk foods they thrive on, so your subconscious feeds their cravings until you eliminate them and clean up your diet. Once you've flushed your system of parasites and rebuild with vegan foods, junk food cravings will cease, and parasites won't stay inside you.
also i STILL do not get the whole:
I'm an elitist vegan and if you have any reservations about becoming vegan yourself then.. FUCK YOU MURDERER!
AGAIN... I just personally feel there are other ways to help other people see your point of view, (like start by speaking to them from THEIR point of view instead of yours).
I've never said anything like that. Nor am I short with people who have reservations about veganism. I even take time to respond to your petty criticisms and half-hearted compliments. If you know a better way to stop people from eating my friends and ending the animal holocaust, please let me know. And if you have a better way to teach people about parasites, I'm all ears. - March 26, 2012 at 9:55 AM
Eric, this information is very reassuring! I am in a situation right now, trying to point out these biological differences we have with "real" omnivores/carnivores.. So this post is perfect dude!! Now if only you had those Facebook "like" buttons...
- March 26, 2012 at 12:39 PM
- Eric Dubay said...
Hey Dublyn, send the article along to your stubborn friend and let me know how it goes. Also if you add me on Facebook you can click "like" on all my articles there :) Peace
- March 26, 2012 at 5:15 PM
- emekajd said...
Hi Eric,
I must admit that I find your blog quite inspiring, however it is quite funny that you have fallen for one of the NWO con; dehumanization. I am really stunned that you have no differentiation between an animal and a Human Being! - March 27, 2012 at 12:45 PM
- Eric Dubay said...
I'd say eating my friends simply because you think they taste good means YOU'VE been dehumanized.
- March 27, 2012 at 6:00 PM
- emekajd said...
Hi Eric,
From your reply it is quite clear to me that your crusade on raw vegan diet is not to educate the public, but a fanatic view which you will love imposed on all mankind.
Raw vegan diet is not the only solution to healthy living, rather it is about eating organic foods rather than genetically engineered food. Your fear mongering tactics was used in retrospect by the NWO/Satanic globalists to centralize food production in the 20th century, and we both know the end result.
I had two grandparents who ate organic food and died peacefully in their 90's! Also, as a Christian, I must state that there is absolutely nothing wrong with eating meat and killing animals in the process. - March 28, 2012 at 2:31 AM
- Eric Dubay said...
From your reply it is quite clear to me that your crusade on raw vegan diet is not to educate the public, but a fanatic view which you will love imposed on all mankind.
I love how you think NOT murdering animals is "fanatic." Peace is a pretty fanatical notion these days isn't it? I write articles advocating veganism, that's a far cry from "imposing it on all mankind," thanks.
Also, as a Christian, I must state that there is absolutely nothing wrong with eating meat and killing animals in the process.
Yeah, I'm sure Thou Shalt Not Kill was a typo. But thanks for the reassurance that there's "nothing wrong with killing animals." I'm on my way to your house right now to run over your dog and eat it for dinner. - March 28, 2012 at 6:41 AM
the first man-killer was a vegetarian according to the bible.
i am surprised you have fallen for the animal/man equality thing as well.animals show us how not to behave,hence the insult,you animal.
what do you make of the inuit who survive entirely on whale and seal meat?
and what do you make of the reccomended daily dose of fruit and veg being entirely different in every country?it used to be one a day here and now its five.
all the domesticated animals that we eat all appeared at the same time,and would have very hard lives if we didnt care for them.i think it is intended that we care for them and in return they allow us to eat them.just look at a neglected sheep with wool in its eyes and turds hanging off its tail to see that they need caring for.
i know a dog that will only eat cooked meat as well.
i think the act of animal-slaughter was intended to make us terrified of doing that to one of our own kind,only the stupid elites thought they would gain an advantage by becoming immune to it and forced their children to accept having the blood of the kill smeared on their faces. - March 28, 2012 at 7:58 AM
i tried to go on a vegan diet have recently relapsed, was a good time though because now my food pyramid has meat as the capstone and mostly vegan underneath
- March 28, 2012 at 8:44 AM
@Anon above,
from Anon below
you know of only ONE dog that eats cooked meat? out of the billions out there? so who's going to cook that steak for all the dogs out in the wild? does every dog owner take the time to cook up a hot meal for their pets?
did you ever meet that first veg man-killer IN PERSON to verify your facts?
if you think domesticated animals would live hard lives if not domesticated, then why don't YOU go live in a jail? you will be fed, clothed, and have snuggle buddies to sleep and play with.
if the act of slaughtering animals make us so immune to killing our own kind, WELL, we should kill every living non-human thing in sight. but what if somebody thinks YOU are lesser than human (e.g., that you less than a dead animal carcass)? should we kill YOU-the subhuman dipshit, so that we will not kill the intelligent uberhuman?
hmmm... food for thought.
here's one for you :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9izSiYToLyY - March 28, 2012 at 8:47 AM
that there is better way to share this information then attacking the majority. Would be more productive to promote the health benefits and why the eating habits of the vegan minority would be so great if they were adopted by the meat eating majority.
this is one good way how... i lol'd
"Yeah, I'm sure Thou Shalt Not Kill was a typo. But thanks for the reassurance that there's "nothing wrong with killing animals." I'm on my way to your house right now to run over your dog and eat it for dinner." - March 28, 2012 at 8:56 AM
- emekajd said...
Hi Eric,
I leave you with one final thought; how would you survive in africa? It is easy to slag off meat eaters as killers simply because you was opportune to be an american and live excessively up till when you decided to become a vegetarian. In africa, where there are human beings like you, noble hunters set out for their days works while their children sit around their mum and pray he comes home with their dinner.
In reference to the Bible, Genesis 9:1-3 says: "Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth. The fear and dread of you will fall upon all of the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air, upon every creature that moves along the ground, and upon all the fish of the sea; they are given into your hands. Everything that lives and moves will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, now I give you everything."
God has given animals as food for Man, you can be a vegetarian if you like, however you can't make eating meat evil cos you a vegan. - March 28, 2012 at 9:27 AM
I cant believe all these pro animal eating comments and these comments towards Eric.
Looking at this, it's hard to believe in a better world ahead.
You guys a deeply brainwashed and confused. So sad... - March 28, 2012 at 11:02 AM
- Eric Dubay said...
what do you make of the inuit who survive entirely on whale and seal meat?
Yeah, what about them? They're all unfit, over-weight, and die 10 years younger than everyone else.
Inuit Greenlanders, who historically have had limited access to fruits and vegetables, have the worst longevity statistics in North America. Research from the past and present shows that they die on the average about 10 years younger and have a higher rate of cancer than the overall Canadian population. We now know that greatly increasing the consumption of vegetables, legumes, fruits, and raw nuts and seeds (and greatly decreasing the consumption of animal products) offers profound increased longevity potential, due in large part to broad symphony of life-extending phytochemical nutrients that a vegetable-based diet contains. Link
You can't show me a slim, fit old Eskimo, but I can show you plenty of slim, fit old vegans:
The World's Sexiest Seniors are Raw Vegans
And what do you make of the reccomended daily dose of fruit and veg being entirely different in every country? it used to be one a day here and now its five.
I make of it that you're quite naive and impressionable to give such importance to government-issued portion sizes. The American government now says pizza is a vegetable, do you believe that too? You can eat as many fresh fruits and veggies as you like every day, no limit or portioning necessary.
I leave you with one final thought; how would you survive in africa?
Oh that's right! Fruits and vegetables don't grow in Africa! Hahaha, God you're dumb.
In africa, where there are human beings like you, noble hunters set out for their days works while their children sit around their mum and pray he comes home with their dinner.
Oh, how dramatic. Instead of a "noble" hunter, he could be a nobler farmer. These are all red-herrings anyway though because you're not an Eskimo or a starving African are you? You're just grasping at straws trying to find something, anything you can, positive about flesh-eating because you want to justify to yourself your immoral eating habits. - March 28, 2012 at 6:35 PM
- Eric Dubay said...
I cant believe all these pro animal eating comments and these comments towards Eric. Looking at this, it's hard to believe in a better world ahead. You guys a deeply brainwashed and confused. So sad...
I agree, thanks for the support. - March 28, 2012 at 6:42 PM
- the Blinding said...
It's funny how you constantly say that Christ was a mushroom and how he was made up, yet you refer to the Essene Gospel of Peace, that was supposedly taken from the same figure you are denying. People (including me) are not going to stop eating meat just because a few vegans want to be totally obnoxious about it. We get it, raw food is the best way to eat. I'm trying my best to eat healthier but what can I say, I enjoy the occasional white meat and ice cream. When people are arrogant and obnoxious about a cause, it just makes me not want to support said cause. Also, you're a hypocrite for telling people to 'Like' you on Facebook, when Facebook is just another way for the C.I.A. to keep tabs on us. I grew up on the Navajo reservation in Arizona, where the government put my people (after they made us walk to New Mexico), and there is no food for us to grow ourselves because it's a total wasteland that we are not allowed to farm, even though we were there first. The government even put up damns to keep our fresh water supply to themselves and to top it off, they tested atomic bombs near our land and poison our skies with chemtrails. People there have to drive 30 minutes into Gallup, New Mexico (if they have a car at all) to work and shop for food and supplies at Wal*Mart, the largest grocery store there because their prices are cheap and they put the other stores out of business--most of which are owned by holier-than-thou Muslims anyway (who treat Natives like we don't belong there even though we have lived there for thousands of years and they are only here because of the War they blame us for starting in the Middle East). I'm sick of other races telling me that they have it right and I need to assimilate (which is what it is called) to their lifestyle choices. There has to be a better way than fear mongering and other unsavory methods. I enjoy your blog and your sharp wit but you are thisclose from becoming the next Alex Jones. You could use a lesson in humility and empathy. Peace and love.
- March 28, 2012 at 9:07 PM
- Eric Dubay said...
It's funny how you constantly say that Christ was a mushroom and how he was made up, yet you refer to the Essene Gospel of Peace, that was supposedly taken from the same figure you are denying.
The 100% truth about who/what Jesus Christ was is a mystery lost in history as far as I'm concerned. But the astrotheological and mushroom mythology connections cannot be denied and were most certainly weaved into the Christ story. The Essene Gospel of Peace as a manuscript just resonates with me and I've seen it's message confirmed in my own and many other's lives. Whether or not the central character in the book was a historical personage as well or merely mythological, I don't know.
We get it, raw food is the best way to eat. I'm trying my best to eat healthier but what can I say, I enjoy the occasional white meat and ice cream.
I applaud and appreciate you and everyone else who is reducing their meat/dairy consumption and trying your best to eat healthier. I understand it takes time to transition and I'm not criticizing anyone who's genuinely trying. That already makes me happy, and I'm proud of everyone who's cleaning up their lifestyle.
Also, you're a hypocrite for telling people to 'Like' you on Facebook, when Facebook is just another way for the C.I.A. to keep tabs on us.
Thanks, I've already covered that subject:
Fuck Facebook
I enjoy your blog and your sharp wit but you are this close from becoming the next Alex Jones. You could use a lesson in humility and empathy.
What does it mean that I'm close to becoming Alex Jones? And what about humility and empathy do I need to learn please? Peace - March 28, 2012 at 9:51 PM
i find most disconcerning, is most people that don't eat meat, as no problem with wearing leather shoes,so they don't like eating the animal but have no problem wearing the animal, strange but true
- March 29, 2012 at 2:07 AM
Hello all. As a committed vegetarian and almost vegan for six months now I would like to say that Eric's "fanatical" approach is exactly what I needed to compel me to watch some of the horrific videos of slaughterhouses posted here. I would not have viewed the films without considering his passion for the cause and, once I did, they helped me to realise that I would never have been a meat eater had I forced myself to understand the reality earlier in my life. Now that I have, I can no longer be blind to my actions and support the meat industry, my conscience will not allow it. I have always called myself an animal lover and understand now how amazingly hypocritical that really was. My excuse is that I was living in an illusion - in part due to the dissociation served up by the supermarkets.
The comment about vegans struggling in Africa is ridiculous and proves nothing. I would imagine that if Eric (or any vegan / vegetarian) was forced to eat meat because his/their survival depended on it then he/they would be forced to re-think their ideology, as I would. The point is that we do have a choice and if we choose to eat meat and impose such incredible mental anguish and physical suffering on animals purely for pleasure alone then this is an immoral choice to make. I wouldn't kill a fly, so why did I happily munch on the leg of beautiful baby lamb just because it has been served to me in attractive packaging or because my friends, family, a religion or the majority of society would tell me it's ok?
On a totally different note Eric I came across an interesting document the other day which reminded me of your spat with that Arran fella from repeace and his strange comments about "Indigo Children!" I had no idea what he was on about at the time and I'm not promoting the views of this websiet but have come across something that I feel you will be interested in http://briansbetterworld.com/articles/indigochildren.pdf
"It appears to be the consensus of New Agers that the Indigo Children are a new race of beings whose function will be to effect a paradigm shift to a higher dimension for humanity to enter into."
Not commented for a while but still read your articles daily, keep up the fascinating work. Jim at blogicalcomment - March 29, 2012 at 3:49 AM
eric, thanx for staying strong for such a long time !! admirable !!
to this fool who said africa houses the proud hunter with his wife and kids praying ...to bring back meat ...hahahahaha !!!! ... it is because of these EVILS that the animals are more rare than kentuky ... mac donalds ..spur steakhouses and shops in africa ... hunter??? or rather shoppers and diners ..... if people just realise that they can get all the nutrients they need directly from the soil ...rather than taking some nutrients filtered through another specie's body
lets treat these ..mistreated animals with the love dignety and respect they deserve ...stop consuming VIOLENCE AND VIOLENT DEATH
south africa - March 29, 2012 at 2:27 PM
- Eric Dubay said...
Thanks for those great comments Jim and Robbie! I've heard about "Indigo Children" before, and I agree that certain people in this generation will/are helping a shift in consciousness, but to name and classify those people as "a new race of beings" sounds to me like creating a false-grouping, a false-identity that could create a superiority complex and/or a movement to be led astray (which would explain why Arran is into it). What do you think about it? Peace
- March 29, 2012 at 5:53 PM
Great post, i love the picture of the man drinking from the cow utter-AG
- April 1, 2012 at 3:33 PM
to anon,
1.i never claimed to have met the first man-killer,i said the bible says he was the first vegetarian.
2.i dont know billions of dogs and cant comment on them,only a few.
3.why would i want to live in a jail?the animals i eat lead happy lives,well cared for,in green pastures less than 10 miles from where i live.
4.have you ever seen a sheep that has been lost for some time before?it doesnt take long before they are blind with wool in their eyes and if their tails arent clipped and sheared they get parasites hanging out of their arse,even worse if someone doesnt worm them.
5.do you have problems with understanding sentences?if you find slaughter upsetting,as most would,then you would not want to kill anything unnecesarily,much less kill a man.why would you want to kill everything?why would you want to kill sub/uberhumans?
your comments show a distinct lack of intelligence.perhaps the food you are eating is not good for thought.
to eric,
i am not naive and impressionable,and my intention was not to make you feel persecuted,i wondered what your opinion was on these changing reccomended doses,and the publicity they recieve.anything the government pushes has a negative consequence of some kind and i will not eat too many vegetables because of this.
perhaps they cause people to misunderstand constructive critisicm and lash out,like the poster i answered above.
i have said nothing about africa and fail to see why you would quote someone else,unless you had got mixed up over who had written what.
you do seem very antagonistic,perhaps there is something to the vegetarian man-killer myth. - April 3, 2012 at 9:38 AM
- Eric Dubay said...
the animals i eat lead happy lives
Hahahahaha, "happy."
"Man is the only animal that can remain on friendly terms with the victims he intends to eat until he eats them" ~Samuel Butler
anything the government pushes has a negative consequence of some kind and i will not eat too many vegetables because of this
Hahahahaha, let's hope the government doesn't tell you to breath or you're fucked.
perhaps they cause people to misunderstand constructive critisicm and lash out
Hahahahaha, stop, please, I ate a big salad last night and now I can't stop lashing out at constructive criticism. It's the damn gooberment vegables I tell ya!
i have said nothing about africa and fail to see why you would quote someone else,unless you had got mixed up over who had written what.
Sorry, it's tough to differentiate the trolls :P You all sound the same. - April 3, 2012 at 6:18 PM
animals that dont run from humans are happy.
it is a shame you have such an antagonistic attitude.it doesnt do you any favours. - April 4, 2012 at 9:39 AM
- Eric Dubay said...
Wah. I'm sorry that you don't like me but won't go away. That must be difficult for you. And by the way, that's the definition of an antagonist. I may be harsh and reactionary, but you're the antagonist, dumb dumb.
- April 4, 2012 at 6:22 PM
- XeniZondich said...
Hey there!
I just got linked to your article and it was extremely interesting. Did you hear of the movie released last march called Hungry for Change? Sounds like something up your ally. :)
Enjoy! - April 9, 2012 at 6:47 AM
- Eric Dubay said...
Thanks for the comment Xeni. I saw Hungry for Change and thought it was a decent introduction to eating whole foods, but it paled in comparison to the documentaries "Eating" and "Forks Over Knives" for several reasons. They never once specifically mention veganism and skirt the meat/dairy issue instead of tackling it head on like the others. Instead they focus almost exclusively on demonizing refined sugar, which is fine, except that many of the "health food gurus" on there like Mike Adams, David Wolfe, and Dr. Mercola all sell supplements with refined sugars on their websites. They don't get into the China study or any research being done on plant-based nutrition and Mike Adams even promoted raw meat at one point. Overall I'd say it was a good film, but not nearly as informative or conclusive as some others.
Durian Rider's Hungry for Change Review - April 9, 2012 at 8:06 PM
Love the site with all the interesting information you provide. For the meat eaters, like some animal species do go eat your own kind and then come back and criticise my friend Eric.
Better still dont come back to his site! - April 18, 2012 at 2:36 AM
I was Vegan for a month or so . It sucks man , well for me it sucked , then one day when i was walking towards my house , i saw a resturant with a steak . So i went in and ate the bloodiest Steak . OH god how delicious was that Steak . By the way eric you talk about NWO , masons e.t.c... while you are the victim of illuminati brainwashing yourself . The fact that you are comparing humans to animal is enought to tell that you are brainwashed . I am not saying that you Should eat meat 3 times a day , But quitting is also bad . Atleat eat once in a week .it is ok . And Please don't give me example which degrades humans .
God has made earth and all its living things for the humans . We are borned for a purpose , this doesnot means we start destroying the planet . I hope you understand eric . All this things are created for US , the humans . We never evovled , we never were fucking monkey or apes and we never ever will evolve into somthing . We are borned for a purpose . As Jeses Said "Life is a Bridge , don't build anything on it , Just pass it ". - May 12, 2012 at 1:00 PM
- Eric Dubay said...
So i went in and ate the bloodiest Steak . OH god how delicious was that Steak
Boasting about your vampiric lust for blood is a bit disturbing. A cow's flesh and blood is the property of that cow... murdering that free, beautiful creature to turn into your bloody steak simply because you like the taste is embarrassing, not something to boast about.
The human body does not need or thrive on animal products. All necessary nutrients we need are found in greater abundance and more bio-available in the plant kingdom. - May 14, 2012 at 7:44 PM
There are innumerable health benefits of eating meat, to say, for example, it serves as a fabulous source of high quality proteins, which a single vegetarian food is not able to provide. It contains all the essential amino acids that the body requires.
The red meat contains very high quantities of iron, when compared with plant origin foods. 100 grams of Liver contains 6000 mcgm of iron as against 325 mcgm in 100-gram carrots. Read further to explore information about the advantages of eating meat…
The phosphorus content present in meat gets much more easily absorbed than that present in cereals and legumes. This is owing to the fact that cereals and legumes contain phosphorus, usually in the form of phytic acid that must be hydrolyzed before absorption. Meat also serves as the main source for the intake of vitamin B12.
You can't deny the benefits of meat or egg or milk . this are just Physical benefits , there are even more spiritual benefits of eating meat and drinking milk - May 16, 2012 at 3:35 PM
- Eric Dubay said...
There are innumerable health benefits of eating meat, to say, for example, it serves as a fabulous source of high quality proteins, which a single vegetarian food is not able to provide
Bullshit, there is more protein in spinach than steak, get your facts straight. Besides the only protein deficient people on the planet are malnourished and starving. There isn't even a medical term for protein deficiency because to have one you'd have to be starving yourself. Animal protein is not "a fabulous source of high quality protein." It is the lowest quality source filled with toxic chemicals, adrenaline, hormones, cholesterol, and parasites.
There is also more iron in beans and leafy green vegetables than in meat, so that's more bullshit from you.
Iron in the Vegan Diet
And nuts/beans provide vegans plenty of phosphorous, that is not even an issue. Again, you're talking out your ass and claiming this shit that comes out is truth.
Americans eat more animal protein than anyone on the planet and 39% of the population is B12 deficient. Back to the drawing board on that one too.
Please enlighten us about the spiritual benefits of murdering animals and eating their flesh. I'd like to hear that one. - May 16, 2012 at 5:38 PM
- Unknown said...
unfortunately meat eating is an addiction which is not recognized as such by today's society so no institutions can treat it. But the uric acid in meat is trioxypurine which is more addictive than caffeine which is dioxypurine.
It is as pointless to wean a meat eater from this habit as it is to wean a smoker away from smoking by facts, rationalization, scientific, physiological proof etc. Both require serious medication and de-addiction guidance groups like Alcoholics Anonymous
Unfortunately there is nothing for meat eaters yet - August 12, 2012 at 12:37 PM
- Eric Dubay said...
You're absolutely right Kieran. Flesh-eating is an addiction with withdrawal symptoms on par with cigarette or alcohol addiction!
- August 12, 2012 at 6:43 PM
- Dgosse said...
Wow, so much of the same propaganda taken strait out of the vegetarian bible.
Why do vegetarians always put so much emphasis on life expectancy?
If I never leave my property and breath purified bottled air and never used a computer or watched TV or drank anything other than water then I would have a "statistical" chance of living longer ... or rather just existing longer.
If you want to compare yourself to a gorilla I am ecstatic for you, go into the jungle naked with none of your possessions and live like the primates, I fortunately understand and appreciate the immense gift of humanity I was given.
Don't get me wrong, we are supposed to be responsible for the planet and its many beautiful creatures, but if eating animal products was wrong I would assume eating any living thing would be, but we must live off organic matter, it's an unfortunate side effect to life, and yes to survive you will have to KILL a carrot or cow or something that has life to sustain your own.
Just as our fruits and vegetables have lost an immense amount of nutrients through over cropping in thousands of years, so has our meat, and to think a vegetarian diet is safe from chemicals and parasites would just be ignorant.
BTW.. the few times a year I have steak, I have it practically rare, no salt pepper or seasoning...bloody delicious!!!
Lastly, The day we can feed the world and stop killing our own species, we can than worry about converting everyone to vegetarianism.
Thank you for hearing my more than likely condescending and aggressive rant, I did have some bacon today.
Dan - August 17, 2012 at 7:01 PM
- Eric Dubay said...
to survive you will have to KILL a carrot or cow or something that has life to sustain your own.
The fact that you don't see the difference between killing cows and carrots is disturbing. In case you didn't notice, carrots don't have nervous systems, brains, mouths to scream, tears to cry, feet to run away, or mother's to grieve.
to think a vegetarian diet is safe from chemicals and parasites would just be ignorant.
To think it isn't far safer than flesh-eating is ignorant.
Lastly, The day we can feed the world and stop killing our own species, we can then worry about converting everyone to vegetarianism.
I see it the other way around. So did Tolstoy: "As long as their are slaughterhouses, there will be battlefields." ~Leo Tolstoy - August 18, 2012 at 4:24 AM
- Dgosse said...
Now, to give context to this I must explain, I eat very little meat, all the food I consume is local and organic, I have personally inspected the farm I get my meat from, and I am thankful every day of the life that is sacrificed so I can live, and as crazy as it might sound to you I value both the life of the carrot and the cow, equally.
Life is merely energy when you "kill" something you are just releasing that energy, whether it be a carrot or a cow.
I am perfectly aware of the structural differences between a cow and a carrot, I am referring to the taking of their life, which both have.
also, we are fully within our rights to kill a human fetus which has a brain, mouth and nervous system, but killing a cow is wrong?
Either you respect life as a whole and be a responsible consumer of the natural world, or you disregard all life and do with it as you please, how convenient a world we live in that lets us pick and choose what life we deem righteous to destroy and what life we deem worthy of our compassion, remember it is all those evil meat eaters that constructed a system that allows you to have that choice in the first place.
If you could pass Tolstoy's message on to the other animals that cause suffering and prolonged deaths to other animals, it would be greatly appreciated, but alas, you more than most, considering the theme of your blog would understand war has very little to do with life and death in the grand scheme of things, its just a tool, usually to gain control or power, and if you truly believe a slaughterhouse is what stands in the way of peace and understanding, than allot of the posts on this sight would be irrelevant.
"To think it isn't far safer than flesh-eating is ignorant"
I don't, and as I explained in my previous post, If life was about doing the healthiest or safest things, you would be preaching a far different sermon, In fact you probably wouldn't be anywhere near a computer having this discussion with me.
Dan - August 18, 2012 at 8:59 PM
- Eric Dubay said...
as crazy as it might sound to you I value both the life of the carrot and the cow, equally.
Thank you for showing me the light of egalitarian eating! Life is life, and I see now that I was being prejudiced against carrots! Now that I know you value all life equally, I've decided I want to eat your family for dinner. That's right, carrots, cows, and humans are all equal and now, thanks to your enlightened teachings, I'm going to become a cannibal, and start by eating your family. I hope you don't mind, as that would be quite hypocritical.
Life is merely energy when you "kill" something you are just releasing that energy, whether it be a carrot or a cow.
Yeah, exactly, don't worry when I eat your family because when I "kill" them I'm actually just releasing their life energy... "Releasing their energy" sounds a lot better than murder doesn't it?
also, we are fully within our rights to kill a human fetus
Killing humans is "fully within our rights." Wow, cool, so you definitely won't mind my Dan family buffet.
LOL. Save your empty spiritual sign-offs for your steak dinner. - August 21, 2012 at 6:38 AM
vegans will win. certain animal industry in my area like dairy farm are becoming less and less. less people buy animal products and it will continue so in time... E.N.
- November 21, 2012 at 10:43 AM
Wow, this must be the biggest misconception /delusion of all time: that humans, for countless eons, have been slaughtering and consuming the meat of animals without realising that such an act is cruel, needless and immoral. I sincerely ask you: if everyone were to stop eating meat, how would the world be benefited?
- February 18, 2013 at 1:06 PM
- Carryminati said...
Hey Eric ,
Check out this why I don't eat meat ?
- April 7, 2013 at 1:14 AM
Hey Eric, I wonder if you've seen any of the guests Jan Irvin has had on his youtube GnosticMedia channel, the basic gist I got from those was that animal fat is more stable than flax or such for the cell walls of our body? And I guess backed up by the long history of european culture of success from animal fats, and I think I remember that bone structure degredates (sp?) after a generation or so without animal fats. I understand that we have more possibility and option to NOT use animals to source the vitamins and everything we need, but after watching those videos I mentioned I have gone back to including fish and meat in my diet, focusing on grass fed / wild caught as an essential, as I was too skinny while I was trending more towards veganism, which I've been trying for maybe 2 years. I can concede that as a student I don't have the time to dedicate to properly source a balanced vegan diet, as I feel most food out there (in the city) is just poison, and I would much sooner go hungry than eat most of what is on offer - but I wonder If you had thoughts specifically about the stability of the fats, animal vs plant based, thanks
- April 3, 2015 at 3:41 PM
* BUMP * from Anon, the gnostic media videos in specific I was talking about were 'vitamin K2 and the calcium paradox' and the two videos with Dave Asprey; also on red ice creations there is one about western price foundation - there is also a summation of the sorts of things these videos discuss in this article. I look forward to your response very much; considering the great work you've done on other things, I'd really like to reconcile the disparity in information I've come across. Is killing animals for their meat to obtain optimum health not just using the darkness within you, which is surely there in equal measure with the light? If all nature is one, and it all eats and subsists itself off of itself, then isn't it quite perfect to kill animals? like yin and yang, all things in balance and moderation, non? I can imagine you're very busy but if you have time to check those videos out I would be interested to hear your rebuttals. I'm beginning to think that if killing for meat gives optimum health but accumulates karma, then going vegan is like 'opting out', gradually reducing your being until it is as pure as prana itself.
Regards, Philip - July 22, 2015 at 6:05 PM
- EnmanuelPhoenix said...
"the first man-killer was a vegetarian according to the bible."
Bible genesis is a distortion/corruption of Jainism. In the original story its Cain(Bharata) who creates a caste of animal sacrificers (the brahmin rishis - abrahmanic farishees). In the original story Abel(Bahubali) doesn't die, but he abdicates his kingdom and becomes a Siddha(Seth).
- March 25, 2016 at 6:42 PM
- Unknown said...
Wow the comments here are atrocious. Exposing, or having an opinion opposite to the meat industry is hardly fanatical... if anyone reads this comment before making such a statement, please consider the view point in which you are speaking out against before resorting to ad hominems and comparing to people such as Alex Jones. Have you ever heard the quite that a truly intelligent man will entertain a thought, and that doesn't mean he has to believe in it. Before commenting about how inferior animals are, perhaps you first should consider that yes, animals, and the earth, are in a sense inferior, but wouldn't that be the reason we are responsible for taking care of them? So many people have adopted such a 'dominant' mind set towards the world and everything in it, when true dominance is assuming responsibility and caring for it. Please think about these things and ask yourself why you have such an aggressive, war like outlook on things. Have a great day!
- July 23, 2016 at 3:42 PM
I just spent almost 2 hours reading. Lots of passion here as well as conflicting information. I'm not a big meat eater, mostly fruit since we have a lot fresh around here (Oahu) I think the truth in all this is somewhere between. Bless you all
- October 18, 2020 at 12:30 PM
Jainism, the oldest religion in the world (it predates Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Judaism, Islam, and Christianity) says in it's scriptures (shastra-agamas) that all humans used to be raw vegan fruitarians in the golden age called the Utsarpini. Jain cosmology is similar to Hindu cosmology (and likely what the Hindu cosmology was originally based on, since Jainism existed before Hinduism), in Hinduism there are multiple ages in a cycle of time starting with the is the Kali-Yuga/dark age and Satya-Yuga/golden age with and in Jainism it's called Avarsarpini/Utsarpini since the Jain scriptures are written in Prakrit mostly and Hindu ones mostly in Sanskrit.
A sect of Jainism called Digambara Terapanthi Jains asserts that humans have always been designed to eat raw fruit and uncooked food, however, due to the demonic influence of the Kali Yuga/Avasarpini, people have forgotten this ancient knowledge about health.
Hinduism is a religion that requires it's followers to be vegetarian, Jainism also requires it's followers to be vegetarian, but in addition to this the scriptures recommends abstaining from all food which are not of plant origin for health benefits and. Some Jains even go so far as to not eat root vegetables because Jain believe that plants have souls as well, so Jains would prefer to take only part of a living plant for food, rather than killing an an entire plant by uprooting it. The Term "Jain Vegetarian" can mean either vegan, or a vegan who does not even eat root vegetables so as not to kill whole plants, that is how strictly non-violent some of the Jains are.
However, since most Jains are people from rural India who have been impoverished by the British raping and pillaging of India, they are vegetarian and do eat root vegetables, even though the Jain scriptures say that people should Ideally be vegan or fruitarian without eating root vegetables, it's just not practical for most Jains.
In the book "A Comparative Study of Jainism and Buddhism" by Sital Prasad, you can see a comparison of the Jain and Buddhist scriptures which also shows that Buddhism used to be a vegan/fruitarian religion as well.
Buddhist scriptures also state that there have been multiple Buddhas in past time-cycles, this is the same as Jain doctrine which says that there are multiple Tirthankaras, Buddhas and Tirthankaras are different names for the same deities. The Buddha was taught from linage of monk-disciples stemming from 23rd Tirthankara Parshvanath, and lived during the time of 24th Tirthankara Mahavir. The Jain Scripture called "triṣaṣṭiśalākāpuruṣa", the lives of 63 illustrious people, also says that Krishna was a cousin of 22nd Tirthankara Neminath, and that Krishna became a Jain monk later in his life.
Jainism says that there are 24 Tirthankaras per time cycles, with roughly 250 years between each Tirthankara. 250x24 =6,000. Judaism, Christianity and Islam all claim that the Earth was created 6,000 years ago. And Since Hinduism and Buddhism also have common roots with Jainism, this means that all major World religion somewhat agree on this historical Chronology, the world is periodically created and destroyed following a particular pattern.
The Historical Chronology compiled by Russian Mathematician Anatoly Fomenko also confirms the Jain cosmology theory about time cycles.
- February 8, 2021 at 5:56 PM


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Does this lady look happy, or what?
She was on the cover of an ad brochure one of my drug reps dropped off. It's for a pill used for excessive daytime sleepiness.
What I think is funny, though, is that the pictures on the left (the "before drug" shots) are supposed to be abnormal.
Lets start at the top:
1. Lady dozing off at work. Who doesn't do that here and there? Hell, I slept through most of my pathology class in medical school. To this day I'm conditioned to automatically nod off when I hear the word "amyloid". And it's not even like she has a can of the sacred waters next to her.
2. Lady finding ironing boring and tiresome. As if anyone froths at the bit and has an adrenaline surge at the thought of finally getting to that mountain of wrinkled clothes.
3. This one is my favorite. The lady has fallen asleep while her boyfriend/husband is watching sports. Mrs. Grumpy is the sports person at out house, but I know plenty of women who consider dozing off in these situations to be perfectly normal. Let's face it- I'm pretty sure he's not watching figure skating.
Personally, if I see anyone who looks like the lady on the right at work or doing housework, I think they need their Lithium dose lowered.


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Doug Fister (0-1, 11.57) vs. Ivan Nova (1-0, 2.84).
Let's hear it for three LDS Game Fives! The first of the three is played this evening, with two AL powerhouses starting...a pitcher who began the year with the Mariners versus a rookie who spent part of the year at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre? Let's hear it for competitive balance!


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Let's just say I was not entirely sold on baked kale chips at first. When I reach for a crisp, salty snack it's usually popcorn that satisfies my craving. Not a vegetable that is chock full o' skin-healthy vitamin C, bone-strengthening calcium and immunity-enhancing beta carotene. No thanks.
But, being the curious food lover I am, I picked up a bunch of fresh kale for 99 cents and thought, What the heck. I'll give it a shot.
A matter of minutes after these came out of the oven, let's just say I was glad I did! This surprisingly crisp and flavorful snack blew me away, as did the fabulous health benefits of this superfood. Kale's omega-3 provides many benefits for your hair, skin and nails, but it also contains chemicals with powerful anti-carcinogen properties and metabolism-boosting iron.
Hot tip: Look for small-leafed kale – the bigger the leaves the more bitter the taste.
Why buy pricey bags of these flavorful kale chips at Whole Foods when you can make them with an inexpensive bunch of ingredients at home?
If you're not keen on red pepper flakes, try garlic powder or a dash of cayenne. Sprinkle over some fresh lemon juice or toss in a little feta. Bake it, fry it, steam it. Add it to a soup, omelet or pizza. You'll never know what your body is missing 'til you try a dish with tasty kale!
Spicy Baked Kale Chips
- 1 bunch small-leafed kale, rinsed and pat dry
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
- 1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
- Cut kale into 1-inch pieces. Toss the kale in a large bowl with the olive oil and spread evenly on two baking sheets, making sure the pieces are in one layer. (Do not salt. Salt will draw out moisture and cause the kale to not crisp.)
- Bake them for about 8-10 minutes, or until crispy, making sure to flip them around half way though. Season with salt, pepper and crushed red pepper flakes.
- Enjoy!


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On the road and looking to rebound after two consecutive home losses, the T.C. Williams Titans dominated against a winless Robert E. Lee team Tuesday night, clinching their first win of 2012.
"It's a new year," said senior point guard Daquan Kerman following the 71-32 rout of the Lancers. "Forget about 2011."
After a tight initial eight minutes, the 4-2 Titans broke out in the second quarter. Fast breaks, a smothering defense and an impassioned return to the fundamentals — making rebounds, smooth transitions and heads up play — all translated into a game that quickly spiraled out of Lee's hands.
It was a far cry from the struggling Titans who fell 51-50 to West Potomac on December 13 and 48-38 to W.T. Woodson a week later. But there wasn't any gimmick behind the turnabout, just hard work, said freshman stand out Malik Smith.
"We've been working hard over the break, we had to come out strong in 2012, and be strong," the 5-foot-6 point guard said. "We've got to keep working hard, keep practicing and keep listening to the coach."
Coach Julian King confirms he had the team running drills most days during the school district's holiday break – they had Christmas off – and the practice paid off. They still started slow against Lee, a hallmark of T.C.'s recent squads, and made mistakes, but they displayed a marked improvement in the second half, the coach said.
"It's going to take time with this team," he said. "There's going to be some ups and downs."
Just weeks ago, following their second loss of the nascent season, King's players looked lost. Few with any experience in the program could recall such a troubled start; losing was something other teams did on Earl Lloyd Court.
With a 13-day stretch to dwell on the twin defeats, they've found their answer: hard work.
"We've got to work hard and we've got to have pride," Kerman said.
A year ago, the team harnessed the still painful memories of the previous season's ineligibility scandal to motivate them. They played to win and to restore the program's reputation — a mantra King's players repeated until they bowed out in the semifinal round of the state championship tournament.
Even before this season's first tip off, King was telling Kerman, Smith and company they were playing to uphold the program's legacy. Nobody wants to be remembered as the group that let the tradition down, he said.
After two district losses, the message seems to have sunk in. Even after a win, senior forward T.J. Huggins said the group had more work ahead of them. They're not satisfied yet.
"We're just hungry. We're more mad than happy. We let the dynasty down," Huggins said. "[Losing] taught us a lesson. It really did. It pushes us and gets us motivated."
Hunger is what King wants to see in his players. They hadn't shown the willingness to give it their full effort until the matchup with Lee.
"I've told them it's not so much about the wins and losses, it's about the effort," King said. "Hopefully, [the win] will boost their confidence and show them they did something right."


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Now streaming on:
Film director Werner Herzog's voice is so distinct and soothing that those of us who swear by it as a tonic for the soul sometimes assume the man is a household name. I made that mistake recently while chatting with a friend who praised Christoph Waltz's performance in "Django Unchained." "Yeah," I said, "The only person who could play a multilingual, multi-genius German impresario better than Waltz would have been Herzog."
"Wha? What's a hearse hog?"
I played her Herzog's reading of the children's book Go the Fuck to Sleep and his narration for Ramin Bahrani's short film "Plastic Bag." She was hooked. The mellifluous German accent, that rising-falling modulation, worked its magic.
And that was just Werner lending his singular sound to other people's projects.
Herzog's voiceover narration has been as powerful a utility for his own potentially ponderous documentaries as Clint Eastwood's profile has been for the latter's tough-guy dramas. The films could probably stand on their own merits without That Voice, but why should they?
Like "Grizzly Man," Herzog's latest documentary, "Happy People: A Year in the Taiga" is mostly built around another filmmaker's priceless footage. Russian videographer Dmitry Yasyukov shot four documentaries about Russian fur trappers in the Siberian Taiga, a remote wilderness larger than the whole of the United States. Herzog happened upon the films at an L.A. friend's house and became as obsessed with their beauty as he once was with Timothy Treadwell's footage of grizzly bears.
His authorial signature comes through in the way he edits the material and gives it meaningful context through narration. It's a touching gesture, one filmmaker finding the glory in another's images and amplifying it through his own generous and idiosyncratic vision. What Herzog gleans from Yaskyuov's exhaustive material is a simple observation: The men of the Taiga are heroes of rugged individualism.
"They live off the land and are self reliant, truly free," Herzog intones, as a Klaus Badelt score works to send a chill of admiration up our spines. "No rules, no taxes, no government, no laws, no bureaucracy, no phones, no radio, equipped only with their individual values and standard of conduct."
In nearly every Herzog documentary there is a speech like this one, wherein the director reveals in plain language his passion for his subject. This particular song of praise says that people who live simply, honestly and responsibly are generally happy people. It also sings of tradition more eloquently than Teyve in "Fiddler on the Roof." Work and tradition abide. One hunter boasts that his skill is an inheritance of a thousand years of practice and refinement.
There is another way to interpret Yasyukov's material, as a bleak, miserablist view of the hunters' circumstances that emphasizes the fact that they hardly ever have a moment's rest. Work is a constant, and nature always threatens to freeze, drown, starve or (in the form of aggressive bears) eat them. This is the perspective a young Herzog might have chosen. "Overwhelming and collective murder" is how he described nature during the making of his bleakest, angriest epic, "Fitzcarraldo." (His grandiose rants were just as fun to listen to when they were depressing.)
Instead, this time we get celebratory scenes of a hunter and his son serenely enduring mosquitoes that swarm over every centimeter of exposed flesh during a dank Taiga summer. Yasyukov's footage exhaustively documents the hunters' work processes, so Herzog uses it to take us through each step of making mosquito repellent from scratch. (To my surprise, it's similar to preparing old-fashioned blackface.)
Though they use manufactured equipment like snowmobiles and wear some presumably factory-made clothing, much of the technology these trappers and their families employ is built from scratch. In a fascinating segment that suggests Herzog and Yasyukov would produce great instructional DVDs ("How to Survive the Apocalypse"), a hunter shows us how to make wooden skis that will outlast the most expensive synthetic designer ones.
Fascination with processes and with the men who master them to become expert woodsmen leaves Herzog no time to address their wives and children, whom we glimpse only at hunting sendoffs and when the men return to their homes loaded down with quarry. Whatever routines occupy the wives is of little interest to either Yasyukov or Herzog. What we do catch of them says that they, too, are very happy people. "I'm alone again," one wife says, as her man heads out on another long expedition. In a typical arthouse fiction film, she would be the face of uncertainty and despair in that moment. In "Happy People," she just states the fact with a bittersweet smile. Herzog cuts away (or Yasyukov's cameraman stops recording) quickly.
The dogs, on the other hand, receive rapturous attention. One thing I learned from "Happy People" is that a dog in the Taiga is like a horse in the American Frontier: not merely a "best friend" but a lifeline. A brooding hunter becomes emotional when recalling a dog who gave up her life defending him from a bear attack. We see the dogs set to work with military discipline. Herzog adds some stirring, heartening Badelt music to a scene of a dog keeping pace with his master's snowmobile for nearly a hundred miles.
So the focus is tight, but the love comes through in many ways. Herzog mentions that one of the fishermen who shot some of the footage is a relative of the great Russian filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky. The instant that name came up, I was struck with memories of all the odes to Russia's natural beauty in Tarkovsky's nostalgic films. It made me consider that Herzog might have taken on this project as a gesture of German-Russian relations—an interdependent association now, but historically one of horrific wars. Imagine a Japanese filmmaker celebrating Chinese traditions. (Actually, there are films like Kenji Mizoguchi's Japanese take on Chinese history, "Princess Yang Kwei-fei," and they tend to be weirdly interesting.)
The fact that Herzog shot none of the footage comes across most strongly when we briefly visit a couple of indigenous Taiga people. They build a boat with staggering precision, row it out onto the icy waters, and then they are gone from the film. I can't imagine Herzog having access to folks whose traditions go even further back than the Russians leaving it at that.
All of this apparent Walden-like freedom struck close to home for me—or would, if I had a home. I stepped off the grid in New York City four years ago, trying to find a simpler way to live that would free me of corporate wage-slavery. Four years later, I've found that such freedom is virtually impossible in American cities. To live as free and clear as the men of the Taiga do, I would have to go to a farm, a commune—or the Taiga. On a landscape of concrete, there is no hunting or homesteading, just purchasing and renting. Parks and community gardens preserve some testy relationship with the natural world, but, let's face it, the world I and most folks reading this essay occupy keeps us dependent upon corporate delivery systems for our survival essentials. Are we happy this way?
Herzog, whose films have captured ecstatic faces in prisons, asylums, rainforests and arctic base camps, would probably answer, "That is up to you, my friend. You must work with whatever you have been given," in a voice that could make a man caught in a bear trap smile.
90 minutes