Were you aware that many of the longest living folks around happen to eat regular servings of a relatively small fruit which is considered by some researchers to be the most powerful anti-aging food known? For this reason it is legendary in Asia, where it is tradionally associated with longevity, while modern research verifies that there may be no berry which is higherin antioxidants than the wolf berry from which goji juice is made. In fact this juice features 4 individual polysaccharides (these are important phytonutrient compounds) which happen to run and monitor some of the body’s main defense systems. As a matter of fact, many published research studies have verified the fact that these polysaccharides are the single most essential bioactive parts of the said berry. These polysaccharides are true Master Molecule’s and are not found in any other plant on the planet. Some researchers such as Dr. Earl Mendell consider Goji Juice to be a superior health alternative than simply eating the berry, since the quality of mainstream available dehydrated goji berries may vary substantially, and there is also the strong possibility that the polysaccharides in the dried berries have already oxidized and degraded by the time you eat them. Liquid form also adds versatility in preparation. More of Dr. Mendell’s research on this topic can be found at Premium Goji Juice from Freelife and there you will find a plethera of research studies. If you decide to eat the dried berry by itself, know that there is more than one type of goji berry. In fact, just as there are number of different kinds of grapes used in wine, there is a plethera of goji varieties. We are talking more than forty species of it growing in Tibet region of China alone! The goji berry is sometimes referred to as the wolf berry.
November 28, 2007
Pet Food Recall: a personal story
When the phone started to ring and my email started to fill, I knew something must have happened again in the world of dog and cat food. As of this writing more foods have been recalled and a few more ingredients besides wheat gluten have been added to the list of “not to safe.” As reported by OregonLlive.com posted by The Associated Press and The Oregonian “Ingredients imported from China that went into recalled pet food may have been intentionally spiked with an industrial chemical to boost their protein content, federal officials said today. That’s one theory being pursued by the Food and Drug Administration as it investigates how the chemical, melamine, contaminated at least two ingredients used to make more than 100 brands of dog and cat foods. Melamine has been found by U.S. laboratories in both wheat gluten and rice protein concentrate imported from China.” Melamine, an ingredient in plastics and fertilizers could lead to kidney failure in animals. Stephen Sundlof, chief veterinarian for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), said melamine, which has turned up in more than 100 brands of cat and dog food, might have been used to falsely boost the apparent nutritional content of rice protein. Melamine can skew test results to make a product appear more protein-rich than it really is, Sundlof said. You think when you are buying food that all pet food manufacturers have your pet’s best interests in mind …………..right? – After all, who doesn’t love your pets more? Current pet food regulations allow manufacturers to use ingredients that you would never knowingly give to your pet. For example: by-products used (feet, bones and intestines, etc.), or as some of you heard the 4 D’s, dead diseased, dying and disabled Chemical preservatives (BHA and BHT) should not be in your pet’s food. Look for grains that are often difficult to digest (corn, wheat, gluten and soy), which are often used as a protein source instead of meat, should be avoided If you switch to premium dog food, switch your pet’s diet to premium treats, bones and supplements. Often times we over look what else we are giving them. Treats can contain the harmful and not so healthy ingredients as listed above. Life’s Abundance Premium Food for Puppies & Adult Dogs is made using only fresh, human-quality ingredients. It is a nutrient dense food with high quality meat proteins and NO by-products, corn, wheat, gluten or soy. NO artificial flavors, colors, sugars or chemical preservatives. Lori Matthews studies health, nutrition and wellness. She enjoys writing articles on health for both people and pets. Please visit healthy dog food by Lifes Abundance for additional information about premium dog food, premiuim cat food, the recall and pet health in general.
More Real Estate Ripples?
According to an April 17 article by Marcy Gordon of the Associated Press, which was also reported on the blog at The Real Estate Portal Federal bank regulators have called upon lenders generally to work with the many troubled borrowers who are having a difficult time with their mortgage payments. As everyone know knows all too well, delinquencies & foreclosures have been sharply increasing recently, particularly for those many individuals who took out the risky subprime loans. This distress has roiled financial markets and increased worries that it could spill over into the larger national economy. The various proposals for subprime loans of government-sponsored Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac, the largest single buyers of mortgages in the nation, were disclosed by their top executives at a hearing by the House Financial Services Committee.
Real Estate Woes Continue
Sorry to have to bring you more bad news, but In a St.Petersburg Times editorial entitled ‘The Real estate slowdown is coming home across area’,
journalist CHUIN-WEI YAP stated in his April 16, 2007 article that, sadly, sales are still down and the glut of unsold homes is way up, which is contradicting the optimists who predicted that the market would turn around by the spring 2007.
Only 2 years ago, 1 in 2 homes sold in any particular month. But today, the same period would see 1 in 20 sell.
He also reports that a new vocabulary is emerging in the real estate market, referring to terms such as “short sale,” which means a seller getting less from his home sale than what he owes
in loans; and “home staging,” which means the art of dressing up a home to look model-pretty just so a buyer might take another look at it.
….”Foreclosures have more than doubled,” states one Linda Pichler, vice president of business development for Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Central Florida.
Let us hope that this recent trend of negative news does not continue for very much longer.
Pet Owners Scrambling?
The pet food recall seems to be getting even worse. Now, the chemical melamine has been found in the recalled foods.According to an article from the March 31, 2007, issue of The Oregonian, the Food and Drug Administration said Friday, it had found melamine in samples of pet food, as well as in imported wheat gluten that was used as an ingredient in the pet food. Melamine is a chemical used to make plastics.Now, it appears that the contamination is not just limited to wet foods, it is also found in dry food. The FDA found melamine in the wheat gluten of Prescription Diet m/d Feline dry food and on Friday, March 30, Hill’s Pet Nutrition announced the recall.Menu Foods has recalled a phenomenal 95 brands of cuts-and-gravy type dog and cat food made between December 3, 2006 and March 6, 2007. Wheat gluten was cited as the cause of that recall and the wheat was said to be imported from China.
It’s mind blowing! 95 brands of food! 95 brands of food! Two questions immediately come to mind; 1) Who was conducting the quality control; and 2) Why was the wheat imported from China?
It’s starting to get confusing, because just a week ago, New York State Food Laboratory identified aminopterin – a rat poison as the problem.
With melamine also a suspected culprit, and with 95 brands contaminated, you might be thinking are there any safe foods left for my pet? If so, where can they be found?
There is one brand of food that has not been recalled and it does not contain corn or wheat and it is SAFE for your pets. The name of that food is Lifes Abundance Cat Food and Life’s Abundance Dog Food. Online resources can be found at http://www.BestFurryFriend.com or http://www.Dog-Food-Zone.com .
Your best friend deserves a fresh, wholesome, nutritious and SAFE food. And, it seems like there aren’t many available! So look into Life’s Abundance and see if it might just be what you are looking for.
Pet Food recall Update
Here is a quick update on the pet Food recall: rat poison was not found in the recent batch testings, and Dry food was recalled today for the first time. Also, according to the National Ledger (March 30, 2007), The pet food recall has now widened to include at least 1 brand of dry food. According to the Fox News, Hills Pet Nutrition recalled 1 of its brands of dry cat kibble for fear it contains melamine, which is the very same toxin which forced Menu Foods to pull “cuts and gravy” products from shelves across North America recently.
It is a kind of cat food which is called Prescription Diet m/d Feline Dry food. The firm states that it is not taking any chances after melamine, a chemical used as a fertilizer in Asia and also to make plastic kitchenwares, was identified as the most likely culprit in the Menu Foods recall – one of the largest of its kind ever in North America.
Should you be Concerned about the Pet Food Recall?
Many dog and cat owners are worried that the food they have been feeding their pet may not be as safe, much less as nutritionally balanced, as they were led to believe. This concern is perfectly understandable, particularly since tainted dog and cat food has been linked to the deaths of at least 23 animals. After all, the current recall has been quite widespread, with over fifty dog brands and more than forty cat brands recalled at this time, including some of the largest brand names out there such as Iams, Best Choice and Eukanuba. In a March 21, 2007 Newsweek article by journalist Matthew Philips entitled ‘Is pet food properly regulated?’ the report states: ” …..authorities still cannot explain exactly what went wrong. Some critics and animal lovers are honing in on what they see as lax regulation of the fifteen billion dollar pet-food industry in the United States.” It should be noted that this recall has not only impacted the U.S. Canada and mexico as well. “There is almost a void there,” states Bob Vetere, president of the APPMA, or the American Pet Product Manufacturers Association. “There is no real pet-food department of any federal agency.” This news is very troubling, but it comes as no surprise to some. I have been hearing about the rendering plants for a while now, and it is clear to me that where there is smoke there is usually fire. Sadly, the standard was low from the start. The first dog food sold was produced in 1860. A salesman named James Pratt was visiting Great Britain from America and saw dogs surviving off of mere left-over biscuits from ships. So he decided to prepare a dog biscuit product consisting of wheat meal and meat, and begin selling them entirely to English rural gentlemen who owned sporting dogs. So at one time dogs subsisted of of scraps, meaning the quality of the produced food never had to be particularly high. The current problem has been linked to rat poison by some sources, but there are many, many other problems with mainstream brands as well. For example, artificial coloring is used extensively despite the fact that they are totally unnecessary and have been linked to medical issues. It is believed by some in the medical field that if an ingredient is foreign to the body the body reacts to it and can cause numerous health problems. Pets are not concerned about color too much. In addition, by-products are a way for dog food or cat food companies to keep their costs down and therefore profits up. Instead of using whole meats, they simply use by-products instead. These are simply the least desirable parts. And there are a number of other items which the labels do not always reveal. For instance, condemned parts of animals which are not fit for human consumption are often rerouted into commercial treats. These parts may be the parts of animals who are dead, dying, decayed or actually diseased. Furthermore, specific meats & other ingredients can’t be sold for use by people, because it is damaged or has some other kind of defect. The dimensions of the problem may be so sizeable that we might not know the reasons for this tragedy for some time. According to a recent MSNBC article, “Some of the 60 million cans and pouches of food have been blamed for kidney failure in scores of animals and killed over 16 pets. Neither the manufacturer nor the authorities have been able to determine why the pets died”. The article mentioned that articles are already being filed by consumers, which calls into question the future of some of these pet food firms. Should you stick with a mainstream brand or go to a premium grade food? Considering that many of the mainstream brands are owned by the same parent company I would be inclined to go with the latter. Who knows what brand will be recalled next. The best brand I an aware of is Life’s Abundance Premium Dog Food from Dr. Jane and also Holistic, Premium Cat Food and supplements but there are several top notch premium pet foods out there to choose from. Especially look for whole food ingredients and freshness above everything else. The ones that mention they are human grade are also usually a safe bet in my experience.
Choosing the Right Dog food
This article is especially important to me because of the recent pet food recall including both dog and cat food. Please visit your vet immediately if you see any signs that may appear “abnormal” behavior. It may have nothing to do with what they ate but it is better to be safe than sorry. As I write this article on March 25, 2007, the recall has widened to include all wet food as a safety precaution regardless of the date code, reports the Globe & Mail. Retailers have been asked to remove all of these foods. The “recall” list can be found by visiting www.menufoods.com/recall/. As you may or may not have heard there has been a huge pet food recall on numerous brands of dog and cat food that may contain aminopterin, rat poison. Yes, rat poison. At this time there is no news as to how it got into the food. It has been reported this has been the cause of at least 16 deaths as well as more that are very ill and receiving treatment. What can separate the premium food from mainstream? Sadly, current pet food regulations permit producer’s to use ingredients that you would never knowingly give to your dog or cat. In fact, you may be shocked to learn what some brands of pet food really contain. For example: the use of by-products (feet, bones and intestines, etc.), chemical preservatives (BHA and BHT) and grains that are often difficult to digest (corn, wheat, gluten and soy), which are often used as a protein source instead of meat. Be Aware of Unfavorable Ingredients By-products – basically this is what is left over when the good cuts of meat are taken for humans. Bones, intestines, heads, feet, tendons, ligaments and other body parts are known as by-products. Grains such as soy, corn, corn gluten and wheat gluten are often used as protein sources; however, they are often either inferior and difficult to digest. Chemical Preservatives including BHA, BHT and ethoxoquin can be very harmful to pets. Freshness – Big corporate manufacturers produce both dog and cat foods in massive batches which may last for a long period of time, so you might be feeding your animal food which is 6 months or even a year old. These are only some things to stay away from. Look to see if your dog or cat food contains vitamins, minerals, anti-oxidants and bacteria cultures to name a few. Remember, what your vet recommends as premium dog food might be the farthest thing from healthy. Lori Matthews studies health, nutrition and wellness. She enjoys writing articles on health for both people and pets. Please visit her site containing information on quality, premium dog food by Life’s Abundance This is an all natural, holistic dog food formulated by Dr. Jane Bicks. In light of the recent dog food recalls which have affected thousands of consumers and tainted over 50 brands, you can only imagine how important it is to feed our pets the proper food. It is obviously important to feed premium, quality foods for their wellness and in some cases even their mental well being.
Dog and Cat Food Recalls
If you are a pet owner, It is now more important than ever to be certain that you are feeding your animal a premium dog food or a holistic, premium cat food. When I first heard about the horrors of the rendering plants, I thought it was an exaggeration. But upon hearing the recent news of the dog and cat food recalls I see that what I heard may have been just the tip of the iceberg. At the time of this writing, there are some 53 dog products which have been recalled and another 42 cat products. And this list is likely to grow. If your dog or cat has eaten any of the food listed on the rather extensive recall list and they are showing signs of illness, be sure to contact your vet right away because with treatment it may not be too late. The FDA states that contaminated dog food that was sold in twenty-three states has already killed nearly two dozen dogs in the country and sickened some eighteen 18 others. The final tally will almost certainly be higher, unfortunately. CBS News has reported on it’s website that some of the dog food may contained aflatoxin. This is basically a chemical which comes from a fungus occasionaly found on corn & other crops, and may cause severe liver damage in some instances. What are the symptoms to look for in your pet? Look for general sluggishness or lethargy, diminished appetite and in extreme instances heavy vomiting, fever and jaundice. According to an article by on USA today’s website by journalist Liz Szabo entitled Pet food recall affects 90 brands’, Laurie Miller, who is a veterinarian at the Hope Center for Advanced Veterinary Medicine in Vienna, Virginia., states that she has received many of calls regarding the recall and that she now is treating a two year-old German shepherd who developed diarrhea and vomiting after eating a particular type of Iams dog food which is included in the recall. Most of the products listed are are marketed around the country by retailers like Wal-Mart, Kroger, Safeway and PetSmart, to name a few. In fact, consumers kept a phone line (866-895-2708) set up by Menu Foods busy all weekend. A big part of the problem seems to be that many of these mainstream type brands are owned by the same parent conglamorate corporation. The pet food in question has not only been widely distributed in the United States but also in Canada and Mexico, according to Mathew Verrinder, an Associated Press journalist, as reported in Yahoo news. How can you make sure that your dog or cat is eating Healthy, safe food? I would choose a true premium dog food or cat food. Not just the “natural” version of the mainstream brand found in your local grocery store. According to my research Premium Dog food from Life’s Abundance may very well be the best choice in this regard. This food is formulated by renowned holistic veternarian Dr. Jane Bicks. This Premium Dog Food does NOT contain corn, wheat, dairy, by-products, artificial colors or flavors found in most mainstream brands. If fed a diet that it is optimally balanced, your dog can live to his or her maximum potential lifespan. For cats, take a look at Holistic,Premium Cat food from Life’s Abundance Hopefully this will get you started in the right direction.
Mobile Sites
It seems that on eof the leading trends in internet marketing this year is with building special websites that can market to mobile phones. The world wide web changes so rapidly it is truly difficult to keep up sometimes. Trying to learn whatever the latest marketing trend is, whether it be podcast advertising, RSS marketing, blogging or whatever can be quite exhausting or at least time consuming. But I will be researching the effectiveness of mobile website marketing in the coming weeks and will give you a report on this soon, so look out for updates on that…..don’t you just love guerrila marketing techniques?